Ep 24 — The Commitment of Faith in Prophethood

Session 22: The Commitment of Faith in Prophethood. Thursday, 18 Mehr 1353 / 23 Ramadan al-Mubarak 1394 Surat al-Anfal (8:72). Indeed, those who believed and emigrated and struggled with their wealth and their lives in the way of God, and those who gave shelter and aid — those are allies of one another. But those who believed yet did not emigrate — you owe them no guardianship at all until they emigrate. And if they seek your help in religion, then upon you is to help, except against a people between whom and you there is a treaty. And God is Seeing of what you do. This issue must absolutely be raised within the discussions of Prophethood. If we fail to understand it and do not grasp it, then much of what has been discussed on the subject of Prophethood will have almost no practical effect for us. This last discussion is what guarantees that the previous discussions are put into practice and enter into our lives. What is this final discussion? It is this: we who say "Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah" — "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God" — I announce, in my call to prayer, in my ritual prayer, in the act of pronouncing the two testimonies (the shahadatayn), everywhere, that I am of the Prophet's Ummah, and I accept, I am convinced, I have faith in his prophethood — this testimony that I give, what commitment does it place upon my shoulders? Does this belief, this testimony, this profession, create any commitment for me at all, or not? There is one kind of testimony: you say, "I bear witness and accept that — suppose — the narcissus flower is more fragrant than the Muhammadan rose." That is one matter. Some people do not even know this; some believe the opposite. You, sir, whether rightly or wrongly, have become convinced that this flower's scent is more pleasing to the nose and better than that flower. Well, now that you have given this testimony — thumma madha, as we seminary students say, "and then what?" Nothing. You see that if a person testifies and accepts that this flower is better than that flower, or, conversely, accepts that that flower is better than this flower, it has no effect on our life, it creates no commitment in our life. Let me give another example. In the Christian world, one person stands at the head of the religious hierarchy, called the Pope. As you know, this Pope is in reality merely a kind of statue that people must respect. He does not put forth any new theory in Christian beliefs, nor does he issue any new ruling among Christian laws that differs from previous rulings; his being or not being is just like the presence or absence of a beautiful statue in your reception room — if it is there, the room's decor is complete; if it is not there, then in the eyes of luxury-loving people the room is deficient. The existence of the Pope and his absence have no greater effect than this on the Christian world from the standpoint of Christian thought. Now, in this very year in which we are living, if an informed Christian were to be aware that the present Pope has passed away and so-and-so has taken his place, or were not to believe it, it would have no effect whatsoever on his life. If a Christian were to say, "I bear witness that the existing Pope of my time is Mr. So-and-so," this testimony brings him no commitment. That is to say, the state of this Christian and the state of that broken-down old man sitting in a corner of some village — who has no news that this former Pope has died and that someone has come in his place — the state of this one is the same as the state of that uninformed man cast off in his corner. Just as the latter's life situation underwent no change after the death of the former Pope, so too in the life situation of this gentleman who knows the Pope died and another has taken his seat, no change of any kind comes about. "I bear witness that today the Pope is so-and-so" — this testimony creates no commitment. Now: when I say in the tashahhud of my prayer, "Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah," when it is proclaimed from the minaret of my city and province as a general slogan, as a portrayer of the overall countenance of this society, "Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah" — this testimony to prophethood, this faith in prophethood and the proclaiming of this faith, does it or does it not place a commitment upon my shoulders as the one professing it, upon the shoulders of that society for which this profession is uttered as its slogan? This is the question. The answer is this: yes, it does. What commitment does it place upon the shoulder of the follower of the Prophet and the acceptor of his call? Let me put it in a single phrase. The commitment that a person who believes in the prophethood of the Prophet takes upon his shoulder is to follow the path of the Prophet and to accept the responsibility of carrying the Prophet's burden home. These words are uttered very easily, but their responsibility is very heavy; and fundamentally, to be of the Prophet's Ummah and to be a witness to his prophethood is precisely this. A group of people imagine that if they have said "We accept that so-and-so is a prophet" — that as soon as they have proclaimed with the tongue the acceptance of his prophethood that is in their heart — their work is done, and they have brought themselves across the border of Hell into the border of Heaven. Listen carefully; see whether this belief I am describing exists in your mind too, or not. I have no concern with who holds this belief and who does not. Some imagine that human beings were burning in the fire of God's wrath and fury, and then the matter of the prophethood of the Seal of the Prophets was raised; a number of these people who were in the region of torment and the precinct of God's wrath said "Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah" — "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of God" — and by uttering this phrase they came out of the region of God's torment, they were pulled out, and they fell into the region of mercy. Now, if they prayed, they come a little closer, within the region of mercy, to the wellspring of mercy; if they fasted, they come a little closer; if they paid khums and zakat, they come a little closer; if they also enjoined good and forbade evil, they come a little bit closer; if they performed other deeds too, then they reach the wellspring of mercy; and even if they did not perform them, in the end they are still within the region of mercy. Did you grasp it? Some imagine it this way. The result of this way of thinking is that if today a person were to write in his identity document "Muslim, follower of the Prophet of Islam" — back when they used to write it in identity documents, though now they do not — or, in a question and answer put to him, when they ask, "Sir, what is your creed and religion?" and he said "Islam"; merely because he has specified Islam and not specified Christianity, not specified materialism, not specified Judaism, not specified some other religion — merely because, among these various things and items presented to him under the name of religion, he has put his finger on Islam, they say: "Very well; since you have specified Islam, go to Heaven. Now, if you also prayed, all the better; if you also fasted, all the better; if you also did other deeds, all the better; and even if you did not do them, your place is in God's Heaven — except that before you reach the Resurrection, they will squeeze you hard." This is a saying and a thought that is current in people's minds. We say this saying is not correct. Faith in the Prophet is necessary, but faith in the Prophet brings commitments along with it; if those commitments are fulfilled, then to whatever extent those commitments are fulfilled, to that same extent a person's faith is sound. If a person held a faith on his tongue, or even in his heart — a faith — but did not commit himself to any of the commitments that this faith specifies for a person, did not accept any of the responsibilities that acceptance of the Prophet's prophethood places upon a person's shoulder, then this person, although outwardly a believer, is not a true believer. What will God do with him at the Resurrection? I do not know, nor do I have any concern to know; but by the measures of this world, as a matter of judgment, as a basis on which we can pass a verdict on the faith or lack of faith of a human being, we do not regard this man as a person of faith. Of course, let me also add this. The utterance of this phrase and the outward declaration of belief does preserve a person's life and property, as the saying goes — though there is a bit of loose usage in that expression — that is, it brings a person inside the Islamic sphere. But the discussion is not about whether a person's life and property are protected or not. We want to see whether he is a believer or not a believer. On the basis of the Quranic criteria, whose verses I will now explain for you, we say: that human being who is not bound to the commitments of faith is not a believer. A believer is one who is bound to the commitments and responsibilities that faith in prophethood brings for a person. What is this commitment? This commitment is that I should see what the Prophet wanted to do in this world. The Prophet wanted to lift a tremendous burden, the Prophet wanted to uproot a tremendous boulder, the Prophet wanted to erect a tremendous edifice. And I too, in my own time, should look and see: has that burden which the Prophet wanted to lift been completely lifted? Has that stone which the Prophet wanted to uproot from the ground and completely tear out been completely torn out? Has that edifice which the Prophet wanted to demolish and to build been built? If I saw that the answer is negative — that is, that burden is still on the ground, that stone has not been torn out, that edifice has not been built — let me strive to do that work which he wanted to do. Let me strive to lift this burden myself. If my bones were weak, if my strength did not suffice, then to the extent that I can, let me strain at it, and let me also find ten other people so that we lift this burden together; let me find yet another group so that we build this edifice together. If I could not finish the building, can I not at least bring ten bricks and stack them there? Can I not dig out even a portion of its foundation and footing? Can I not at least prepare the preliminaries of the work? If I say I cannot, it is a lie. He must be bound to this commitment; otherwise, if he were not bound to this commitment, it is a lie for him to say, "I bear witness that he is the Prophet of God." This is a superficial testimony. "I bear witness that he is a prophet, but I cannot bear witness that I believe in his prophethood" — like the hypocrites: When the hypocrites come to you, they say, 'We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of God.' And God knows that you are indeed His Messenger, and God bears witness that the hypocrites are surely liars. They would come and say, "O Messenger of God, we bear witness that you are the Prophet of God." God says: yes, We Ourselves know that you are Our prophet; this matter is clear to Us, in Our view certain — the statement is, in itself, true. But We bear witness that they, in this testimony of theirs, were liars; in their hearts they do not accept this matter, while with their tongues they are saying it. The commitment of the messengership is the building of a world in the form that Islam has stated. The Messenger, when he comes, comes in order to build a world to the dimensions that Islam proposes. The Prophet is commissioned for this — so that he may set right the form of life and the order of life of human beings in the manner that God states. If you, in your own time, saw that humanity is not living by the God-ordained form, saw that mankind is deprived of having a divine society, saw that various schools are pulling humanity this way and that and that Islam has remained confined to a corner of people's minds and a corner of their hearts and no more — then your duty and your commitment, on the basis of the testimony you give to the messengership of the Prophet, is to strive to bring the world into the form ordained by Islam. This is the responsibility and the commitment of prophethood. Just as has been written in these papers, which you have studied or are studying: Islam brings a new thought; on the basis of this new thought, a new front-formation comes into being, a new lining-up comes into being. And we have repeatedly arrived at this conclusion, through the study of the verses of the Quran, that religion, in essence, means the creation of a new front-formation and lining-up. When human beings are living in an ignorant (jahili) society, they are all obedient and tamed, all facing one direction and one way. The Prophet, when he comes into this society, divides them into two groups: one group he rescues from this misguidance, this straying, this bewilderment, he changes their path, and so they become two groups. In the sense I have described, the prophets are an agent of division; in this sense, the prophets are an agent of duality. Remember the sense in which I said this, so that if you wish to recount it somewhere, you do not say "So-and-so says that the Prophet is an agent of division." In this sense the Prophet is an agent of division; in which sense? In this way: everyone is going, like the cars of a single train, toward the downward slope of ruin; the Prophet comes and takes hold of these cars from behind. Some of the cars detach themselves from the Prophet's hand and go toward the downward slope of ruin; a number welcome this holding-back of the Prophet's; division falls among the cars. This caravan is going toward the bandits, is going toward the place of death, is going toward the earthquake-zone; the Prophet comes and says, "Do not go." A number listen to his word and do not go; a number do not listen and go. So they become two fronts — division. In this sense, the prophets, when they come, create division and duality among societies — except that it is a duality within a society that was uniformly misguided. They come and say, "Turn back toward God"; among those uniform masses division falls; some turn back, some do not turn back. So a new front, a new lining-up, a new mutual positioning comes into being in society with the coming of the Prophet. The Prophet on one side, in one rank; the enemies and opponents and the obstinate adversaries of the Prophet on the other side, in another rank. Pay close attention to these two ranks that I am sketching. The Prophet was at first all alone; everyone was in that opposing rank. The Prophet has exerted effort, has striven, one by one, two by two, until at last he has been able to form a rank facing that misguided and hellbound rank; to bring into being a rank facing the rank of error. They are two ranks facing each other: one rank is the rank of the Prophet; one rank is the rank of the Prophet's enemies. What did the Prophet want to do? He wanted to take the people to Heaven — the Heaven of this world and the Heaven after death, both. Because he wants to take the people to Heaven, the people must come with him; if they did not come with him, they do not reach Heaven. Is this matter correct? The Prophet wants to take human beings to the destination of felicity; if they do not come with him, if they do not become his companions and fellow travelers, they do not reach the destination of felicity. Remember this well. Now, between these two ranks there is a person; he looks at the Prophet, he sees that he speaks true words; however much he listens, he sees that the Prophet's word is a good word. On the other hand, he sees that if he comes into the Prophet's rank, he will be compelled to contend, together with that opposing rank, against one another. He has no heart to go into the opposing rank, because he sees that they are going toward Hell; he has no heart to come into the Prophet's rank, because he sees that the Prophet's rank has trouble. What does he do? He comes between these two ranks and chooses a safe, secure, peaceful spot; he pitches a tent there and sits down. What sort of person is this? You tell me. This man who has sat down in the middle, slumbering between the two ranks on a comfortable bed — will this man reach Heaven or not? It is obvious that he will not; because the Prophet wants to go to Heaven, and those go who set out together with him, while this one has not set out with the Prophet. Whoever is between the two ranks is not with the Prophet; whoever has not joined the Prophet is against the Prophet; whoever is not with Ali is against Ali; whoever is not with the truth is against the truth. The Quran tells us this too, but the eloquent, clear tongue of the Imam (peace be upon him) — which is much closer to comprehension — states it for us. He says, "Al-sakitu akhu al-radi" — learn this hadith; the reference for the hadith is Bihar al-Anwar, the volume of admonitions (mawa'iz) — "Al-sakitu akhu al-radi, wa man lam yakun ma'ana kana 'alayna." The one who is silent in the face of a false situation is the brother of the one who is content with that situation. They do not even go on to say what the one who is content is; that is obvious — man radiya bi-'amali qawmin fa-huwa minhum: whoever is content with the deed of a community, content with the life of a people, is one of them; they too will take him and tie him to the same manger to which they tie those people. This one who is silent — even though in his heart he is discontented, yet he does not proclaim this discontent — he too is the brother of the one who is content. Then it continues: "wa man lam yakun ma'ana kana 'alayna" — whoever is not with us is against us. Between these two ranks, Islam has not supposed any place. Those who, like the companions of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud — among them this very gentleman Rabi' ibn Khuthaym (if this grave in Khurasan is indeed his) — said at the Battle of Siffin, "We are not prepared to accompany the Commander of the Faithful, because he is going to shed the blood of Muslims," and came in a comfort-seeking manner and requested of him that he send them to the frontiers to do frontier-guarding — these people read it blind. They imagined that the war between Yazdgerd the Third and — I do not know — Heraclius the umpteenth of Rome was such that, if either of them prevailed, it would be of no benefit at all to a person's religion and worldly life! So let a person, seeking ease, conclude a pact of non-aggression, conclude an agreement of non-intervention in the war, and go and sit in some corner. They imagined it was an international war in which several nations are fighting one another over power and government; whichever country can keep itself aside has won. They did not understand that the war between truth and falsehood is an unavoidable war. They did not know that in the war between truth and falsehood, if you were not with the truth, you are with falsehood. To be with falsehood does not necessarily mean that you definitely fight against the truth; rather, even that case in which you do not fight for the truth is also included in the concept of being with falsehood. This they did not understand. Prophethood comes and makes the ranks distinct; it says, "Let those who are with us come." He said: O company, whoever has not love for us, let him take to the road and depart from our Karbala. Let him go; he is no longer with us. That one whom Husayn ibn 'Ali, on the road, summons — "Come, help us" — and who says, "O son of the Messenger of God, shall I offer this horse of mine to your service, or this sword of mine?" — it is clear that he is no longer with Husayn; he is against Husayn, not with Husayn. And so you see that our traditionists write and say: that unfortunate one — truly unfortunate. And they speak the truth too. And woe to those wretched people who, like him, are unfortunate throughout time; O unfortunate one! The prophets come and make the road clear; they say, "This is it. If you are a man, if you are a seeker of truth, if you are for God's sake, if you bear witness to our prophethood — then come, by God, our road is this. But if you have sat down there, and you saw our road, you saw the wayfarers of our road, and because it was difficult you did not come, because it was difficult you did not help, because it was difficult you even turned your face the other way — that is, 'I did not see' — but at that very moment you took up a rosary in your hand and said, 'I bear witness that you are prophets, I bear witness that you are prophets, I bear witness that you are prophets,' and you also told off one round of the rosary — this is of no use. Say nothing, and come; do not bring this remembrance to your tongue, do not act: O you who have believed, why do you say that which you do not do? Great is the hatred in the sight of God that you say what you do not do. Why do you not act upon that which you say with your tongue, "I believe in it"? Woe unto me — I am describing my own condition. It is a great sin for a person to say something with the tongue, to declare a belief, but not act upon it. Why should I say I am a follower of the Prophet of God, while I am a follower of Abu Jahl? Why should I say I am after Islam, while I am after polytheism? Why should I say I am an 'Alawi (a follower of Ali), while I am of Mu'awiya and of Abu Jahl? What was the difference between Ali and Mu'awiya? By God, today you sketch out Ali and Mu'awiya in your society. Picture one person of whom everything he says is against ease and indulgence and personal comfort, everything he says lays a burden of responsibility on the shoulder, everything he wants is effort. He is repelled by lying; he is made uneasy by a bribe; he is made uneasy by a gift that gives off the smell of a bribe. On the path of God and for God's sake he is fierce. He has a strange leopard-temper on the path of God. On the path of God and the ruling of God he shows mercy to no one; even his own brother, when he comes and asks him for money from the public treasury (bayt al-mal), he places red-hot iron toward his fist. One such person in society — strict, precise, cautious in the execution of the divine and Islamic rulings and prescribed limits — this is one man. And one man is his exact opposite; he is willing for a person to make merry, willing for a person to live in comfort, willing — whatever you want from him — to give it to you, and he sets only one condition before a person in return, and that condition is that he says, "Do not help Ali, help me; and the help I want from you is not much help either — sometimes praise me, and that is enough." Well, by God, of these two persons, after which one do you go? Which one do you accept in this time and in this segment of history? Are you willing to go with him, to be with him, to act upon his command — the one who has trouble, responsibility, movement, effort — to be with him? Are you willing to pass over the one who has money for a person, has rank, has comfort, has title, has influence, has a powerful hand — to pass over him for the sake of this? If you are willing, blessed are you; if you had been alive in Ali's time too, you would have been a Shia of Ali. But if you see that your heart takes flight toward comforts, indulgences, pleasures, monies, ranks, prestige, preening and boasting before this person and that — even if it be outside the path of God — then know that if you had been there, you would have been one of those who, if you were very calculating, would by night, secretly, without having bid farewell to the neighbors, mount your horse, even telling your wife and children, "I await you in Sham (Syria); ya 'Ali madad!" — you would go off toward Sham, you would leave Ali alone, just as many of the respected figures of that time left him. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, the cousin of the Commander of the Faithful and cousin of the Prophet, the narrator of so much hadith, the commentator of the Quran, a figure respected among Shia and Sunni — did this very thing to Ali, so that the Commander of the Faithful, in Nahj al-Balagha, has two letters and two addresses to 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas. And who was 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, after all? Merely because they narrated some four hadiths from him, on the authority of the Prophet, both Shia and Sunni accept him, all accept him. He was not even a Companion of the Prophet, yet all accept him — and this is a point worth noting. If he had been a Companion of the Prophet and Shia and Sunni accepted him, it would not matter — like Salman, like Abu Dharr, like 'Ammar, whom all accept. But he is one of the Successors (tabi'in); he did not properly perceive the time of the Prophet; he was a child when the Prophet passed away. I was studying a bit of history, and I saw that this gentleman 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas was among the companions and entourage of the second Caliph; he was very fond of him too — this one also was mostly in the train of Mr. 'Umar. For a man to be one of the Successors, not to have perceived the time of the Prophet, and yet for both Shia and Sunni to accept him — ya lal-'ajab! (how astonishing!) — this must be a very strange man. What is the name for this in Islamic convention — that two hostile groups should both accept one person? This man, while he was the governor and ruler (ustandar) of Basra, took the monies of the public treasury and made his getaway! Where to? Mecca — into the safe and secure sanctuary of the Lord. No doubt he took the monies there and gave them in charity! He gave them to the poor — yes, he gave them to the poor slave-girl dealers; he bought a few slave-girls, beautiful slave-girls, with whom he might be at ease and busy himself in pleasure-seeking. Now, if 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas were here today, what do you suppose he would say about the Commander of the Faithful? He would narrate all the first-hand hadiths on the merit of Ali; he would shed tears at the remembrance of Ali; from having been with Ali he would recount memories. But would you and I — clever and shrewd as we are — accept that he is a Shia? We would say: "Sir, go set this snare for some other bird, go; if you were a Shia, you ought to have shown yourself at the time of the test." "'Inda al-imtihan yukramu al-rajulu aw yuhan" — at the time of the test a man is either honored or disgraced. "Fi taqallub al-ahwal 'ulima jawahir al-rijal" — in the vicissitudes of circumstances the substances of men become known. If you had been a Shia of Ali, you would not have given Ali so much heart's blood; by your fleeing you would not have wrung out the moaning of Ali so much, such that Ali moaned that way over the departure of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas: "You were closer to me than all my kinsmen; I had hope in you; I relied upon you. You left your cousin alone in these conditions and went away?!" It is a letter that Ali has in Nahj al-Balagha, addressed to 'Abdullah — except that the late Radi (may God's pleasure be upon him), in Nahj al-Balagha, because he was living in the time of the Banu al-'Abbas, either out of fear or out of embarrassment at writing "From a letter of his to 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas," wrote instead, "From a letter of his to one of his administrators" — he wrote that the Imam (peace be upon him) wrote to one of his agents, his governors, but did not write who this governor was. When you read this letter, well, it is obvious that it was 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas; and moreover, apart from Nahj al-Balagha, in other places they have narrated that it pertains to 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas — that "you left your cousin alone, you did such and such and such and such." In any case, the commitment of accepting and embracing prophethood is this: walking behind the Prophet, accepting his assignment, acting in the very manner that he wants. My time has now grown short for me to explain all the verses; let me explain just this brief portion of the verses for you, so that you may see what the commitment of Islam is. "Inna alladhina amanu wa hajaru…" — "Indeed, those who believed and emigrated." Those who believed and emigrated and struggled with their wealth and their lives. This is in regard to the time of the Prophet — not that I mean to say it is not for other times; no, this is a general ruling. It is being stated in regard to the time of the Prophet, when the matter of emigration (hijra) was also at issue there — emigration to the Islamic society. In those days a number of people would become Muslim, would accept the thought of the Prophet, but were not prepared to come out of Mecca. They would say, "Well, why should I go out? In Mecca I have a shop with two or three doorways, I have an excellent round telephone number, I have known and recognized customers, I have kinsmen and relatives and friends and drinking companions — should I leave all these and go off to the side of the Prophet? Well, why? Is faith required? I have faith — I will say it a hundred times, in my heart, on my tongue, softly of course so that no one hears: God is One, and the Prophet too is in the right. The Prophet wants prayer from me — I pray; he wants fasting — instead of thirty days I will fast sixty days; why should I go to Medina?" Some thought this way. Emigration was required there. The Islamic society was newly founded; they had to go, they had to strengthen it, and they had to make that society invulnerable against its enemies; therefore emigration was a decisive condition of the acceptance of faith. "Inna alladhina amanu" — those who believed and adhered; "wa hajaru" — and emigrated to Medina; "wa jahadu bi-amwalihim wa anfusihim" — and with their wealth and their lives, both, exerted struggle in the way of God; and likewise, from the other side; "wa alladhina awaw" — those who gave shelter to these people, who were without protector and without home, in Medina; "wa nasaru" — and aided them; "ula'ika ba'duhum awliya'u ba'd" — these are allies of one another. These are some who are joined to and on the same front as the others. These are those same believers who are like bricks interlocked into one another. Look at a building, look at this edifice: the bricks have gone into one another, the timbers have gone into one another, the parts of a building are interlaced and knotted together with the other parts; the believers in the Islamic society are just like this — all joined and welded and knotted to one another. Awliya' means this, wilayat means this: complete joining, complete cleaving and adhesion — this is wilayat. "Wa alladhina amanu…" — "ula'ika ba'duhum awliya'u ba'd" — they are some the allies of the others. But now — listen here — those who believed, who in their hearts believed that you are a prophet, but "wa lam yuhajiru" — but did not emigrate, did not take the commitment of faith upon their shoulder — "ma lakum min walayatihim min shay'in hatta yuhajiru" — you have no joining or connection with these people at all, until they emigrate. As long as they have not emigrated and they remain there, they are strangers to you. There is no Islamic bond or brotherhood-tie between you. Except that there is another ruling alongside it: those very ones who are there — if they happen to fall into war with another group and seek your help, you, of course, must go and aid them, because they are of one mind with you and because they are in a state of war. If a Muslim were engaged in war with a group of unbelievers, it is obligatory upon you — even though that Muslim is not beside you, is not in your homeland, has not emigrated to you — it is obligatory upon you to go and help him. Yes? Except in one case, and that is this: that the one with whom that Muslim is fighting has concluded a peace treaty with you; in that case, helping that Muslim is no longer obligatory. What does this verse make us understand here? First, it makes us understand that helping a Muslim, wherever in the world they may be, is obligatory, even if they have not emigrated. Second, it sets a limit on this. Take the Muslim who has not emigrated, who has not migrated to the Islamic society — although of course today, in the world, we do not have an Islamic society in this sense — who has remained in the abode of unbelief (dar al-kufr). Suppose this man fell into war with one or a group of unbelievers, and you have a peace treaty and non-aggression pact with that unbeliever. Then you have no right to go to the aid of your Muslim brother. Why? Because he has not emigrated, because he is not your brother, because he has not migrated toward you. "Wa in istansarukum fi al-din fa-'alaykumu al-nasr illa 'ala qawmin" — except against a people; against the harm of a people — "baynakum wa baynahum mithaq" — between whom and you there is a commitment and a treaty. "Wa Allahu bima ta'maluna basir" — and God is Seeing of what you do. And those who disbelieve are allies of one another. "Wa alladhina kafaru ba'duhum awliya'u ba'd" — those who are unbelievers, some are on the same front as and joined to the others. Do not look at the fact that they are in two camps; in enmity toward you, they are of one camp and one front. "Illa taf'aluhu takun fitnatun fi al-ardi wa fasadun kabir" — if you do not do this, there will be a discord (fitna) in the earth and a great corruption. Perhaps the meaning is that if you do not observe this front-formation and this lining-up — if you do not know, and have not known, that your rank, facing the rank of the enemies of God, is a distinct and separate rank, and if you do not know that whoever is between the two ranks is of the rank of the enemies and opponents, not of this rank — if you do not know these things and do not act in accordance with their requirements, there will be discord in the earth, there will be corruption. The fitna is the discord of distance from religion; the fasad, probably, is the corruption of the non-existence of God's ruling in the midst of society. "Wa alladhina amanu" — those who have believed; "wa hajaru" — and migrated — — pay attention to this verse too, for the verse is an interesting witness to these matters we have set forth — And those who believed and emigrated and struggled in the way of God, and those who gave shelter and aid — those are the true believers; for them is forgiveness and a noble provision. "Wa alladhina amanu" — those who have believed; "wa hajaru" — they emigrated; "wa jahadu fi sabil Allah" — they struggled in the way of God; "wa alladhina awaw wa nasaru" — those who gave shelter and aid; "ula'ika humu al-mu'minuna haqqa" — these are the true believers. Did you understand correctly? The true believer is this. But the one who has believed and from whom emigration, struggle, sheltering, and aiding have not issued — what is he? Hum al-mu'minuna ghayra haqq: false believers, lying believers. This is the import of the verse — to the end of the verses. Let me also set forth one word from those verses of Surat Al 'Imran, because it is necessary that I expound it briefly, since otherwise our meaning is not understood: And when God took the covenant of the prophets… "Wa idh akhadha Allahu mithaqa al-nabiyyin…" In this verse, whose translation I rendered there and will not translate again, this is the matter it wishes to express: that We took a commitment even from the past prophets; We said to them, to the past prophet — for example to Moses — We said: that which We have given you, if after you a prophet came who confirmed and ratified what We have now given you, it is required of you to have faith in that prophet and to aid him. That is to say, Moses regarding the prophets after himself, Jesus regarding the prophets after himself — every prophet who comes after another prophet and ratifies the word of the previous prophet — it is required of the previous prophet, who acknowledges him, to believe in that prophet who comes after him; and in addition to this, to aid him too. "La-tu'minunna bihi wa la-tansurunnah" — he must aid him. Then it says: now, what is the aid of the prophet? The aid of the prophet is this — Moses, for example, how does he aid our Prophet? In that he enjoins upon his Ummah, his friends, his companions: beware, beware, beware — if this prophet came with these signs, do not oppose him. Well, that is aid. "Qala a-aqrartum…" — God said to these prophets: Did you acknowledge? Did you accept this commitment of Mine? This covenant that I am taking from you, that you must believe in the prophets after yourselves, on this condition: "a-aqrartum wa akhadhtum 'ala dhalikum isri" — did you acknowledge, and did you take My burden (covenant) upon yourselves? Likewise, did you take this very covenant from your Ummah too, until the Day of Resurrection? That is to say, the Jews of the world are, right now, on the part of Moses son of 'Imran, being held to account for this covenant; right now Moses son of 'Imran, by the tongue of his state and his word, is as though saying to them: "O you ignoble ones! Did I not take a covenant from you that, forever, whoever has faith in Moses — Moses himself has faith in the Seal of the Prophets — must believe in the Seal of the Prophets and aid him, help him?" Chapter Four: Wilayat The Bonds of the Islamic Ummah. The Heaven of Wilayat. Concerning Wilayat (1). Concerning Wilayat (2). Concerning Wilayat (3) — (Emigration).