In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful, never will we be able to say the last word about monotheism; firstly it is the fundament of our faith, secondly it is the important principle of our individual and social practice and thirdly, the monotheistic nations do not know much about it unfortunately! Although even in the old-fashioned, primary schools, we were taught that God was one, not two or three, yet most monotheists do not know much concerning this most vital question and its various manifestations before they pass away! Thus it is really urgent that we do talk about a question of such immense importance we know so little about.
In fact, in the Quran, we read numerous verses about monotheism and its unique importance in different tones and its various dimensions and if I talked about them for days, I would not do justice to this peerless subject. So, I’ll try my best to give you the most general view of monotheism based on the very verses of the holy Quran and shall wrap up the discussion for now. Let us then pay attention to a new dimension of monotheism which I referred to briefly yesterday. I now read the verses 114 to 116 of Sura Al-An’aam which are quoted in the papers I distributed among you at the start of this session together with their translations.
Let me also read to you the verse 121 in this Sura: “Eat not of that on which the Name of God has not been mentioned; wicked is this indeed, surely the satans always inspire their friends that they should contend with you all, and if you follow them, you could indeed become one of the polytheists.” Well now, listening to these Quranic verses, I would like to talk about the nature and essence of worshipping and make this point clear in the light of the holy Quran. Let me start by saying that basically there are two kinds of worshipping. The first kind which is most common is worshipping icons, idols and saints whom people imagine to possess some supernatural powers, as Christians worship Jesus Christ and his immaculate, sinless mother Mary; they prostrate before some imaginary statues supposedly representing these two holy personalities, they bow down and weep before these statues; this is one kind of worship. They may do this sincerely and from the bottom of their hearts, and in this respect many believers in Islam also think that loving God from the bottom of their hearts, doing their daily prayers, mentioning God, praising Him and performing other similar religious duties is all there is to proper worshipping of God. But there is another more comprehensive way of worshipping God Almighty according to the verses of the Quran itself if we intend to properly and truly serve God and worship him as rightful monotheists. There have been many monotheists in history who did not prostrate themselves in front of powerful authorities or non-human idols and statues and yet, in their hearts, in their minds and souls and in practice did worship certain carnal desires, tempting incentives and human whims. Well, this state of affairs also means worshipping other elements and not God alone.
What is then the proper way of serving God according to the holy Quran? We may use the word ‘obedience’ in order to explain the issue? If one is totally obedient to another person, to a society, to a state, he is in fact serving and worshiping that person or authority. It is the Quran that tells us ‘worshipping God means obedience to Him alone; worshipping others, whether political authorities, or even internal elements such as one’s self carnal desires or one’s sexual inclinations is not monotheism. One may happen to be worshipping a woman and obedient to her or serving a friend or a powerful person extremely, that is, being obedient to them absolutely. Anyone worshipping such elements and obeying them is far from worshipping God Almighty.
Let me read a narration from Imam Javaad (AS) concerning the finest aspects of worshipping God; he says: ‘One who listens to a lecture (and is absorbed by his speech, is in fact serving him but if the lecturer is a man of God, then his listeners are worshipping God Almighty.’ This shows the difference between a true monotheist lecturer and another who follows Satan and talks on his behalf and against the divine logic and philosophy; so if you are obediently and passively listening to such spokesmen of Satan, you are in fact worshipping Satan not God Almighty.
Thus if you are a true monotheist and a true believer in God the One, your worshipping and obedience should be directed at Him, and nothing else. These other non-godly elements that may be the object of your worshipping are obedient to man-made laws, obedient to certain social orders and obedient to certain ungodly traditions and occasions. By this we do not mean that we should not obey any laws and regulations; no, if their sources are not divine, you should not follow them, but if they have their origins in the Quran and Islam, they could be obeyed because this sort of obedience equals obedience to God.
If you think this way, you will see your human horizon and your understanding of historical events become deeper or more extensive. You will find out that all prophets of God preached the unity of God; I’ll expound this further when we come to the discussion of prophethood based on the Quranic verses. Yes, the mission of all prophets was to turn people of their time into monotheists. What does this monotheism mean? It means they tried to loosen and break up the chains of obedience to man-made idols that had tied up their hands, their necks and their minds. The Quran points this out most clearly: “…the prophet…who released them from their burdens and things imposed on them like shackles…”. This is the objective of prophets’ missions.
When we consider monotheism from this angle, from this view-point, you’ll find out that monotheism is a principle and a plan for your whole life, for our social order, concerning humanity’s positions under all circumstance and the quality of human life. How significantly different is this monotheism from the empty, dry and spiritless interpretation than one, ‘not two or three’!
There are numerous verses in the Quran concerning monotheism and I only selected two of them in the paper I distributed among you because otherwise we had to write down dozens of papers! But these verses expound the meaning of monotheism very well and through them we fully comprehend that worshipping anything or anybody but God equals obedience to them, and that flawless monotheism is the spirit of religion and its most fundamental principle; in short pure monotheism means absolute obedience to God Almighty and to His divine plan, to His divine order and to His divine arrangement and administration. You may use these two verses as examples, and look through the Quran to understand monotheism more deeply in their light.
Let me make some recommendations at this juncture: read the Quran frequently, refer to the Quran as often as you need, find proper verses in the Quran for subjects you come across, not only those that I or others quote; the holy Quran is a shoreless ocean and a boundless treasure-house. There is an Arabic poem on this subject:
It’s an eternal sea,
Approaching it from any side, you’ll see,
Its waves bring up good deeds,
Its shores full of benefic seeds.
Which I translate for you; it says all those who read the Quran and try to comprehend it, whether little or much, they’ll benefit from it and the more often you refer to it, they’ll be more enlightened and benefit more. Imam Ali (AS) says in the Nahj-al-Balaagha: ‘whoever sits down and reads the Quran, will certainly get up with some addition to his knowledge and enlightening, and reduction in his blindness’. The Imam’s statement begins with ‘whoever’, it’s an absolute statement, it’s meant for all humanity.
Why did I say all this about the Quran? It’s because there are so many elements, traps and obstacles for keeping people away from the Quran. There are all sorts of tricks, deceptions and fallacies to advise people not to read and refer to the Quran. One of the most lethal weapons to spread this ignorance is the oft-repeated claim that ‘no one really understands the Quran except the sinless Imams, only they comprehend it’! About such comments I may repeat what imam Ali (AS) said about the claims of Muslim rebels of Nahrawaan: ‘a rightful claim aimed at wrongful purposes’. Yes, our Imams were of course the best people who understood the Quran, no doubt about that, but those who utter such statements, are hiding their evil, anti- Islamic intentions; they want you to abandon the Quran because, they claim, you’ll never understand it! But does the fact that the Imams understood the Quran excellently mean that you and I never understand a word or a sentence in the Quran? The people who make such claims do not intend to elevate the status of our Imams, no; their evil intention is to keep us away from the Quran. It has been reported that a Muslim did not perform his daily prayers and when he was admonished for his negligence, he said ‘nobody could do it as Imam Ali (AS) performed his prayers!’ this claim that only the Imam understood the Quran, bears the same vicious logic as this person who did not perform prayers. Woe to such claimants who either do not understand anything from the Quran themselves or, as I said, nourish evil anti-Islamic intentions. Such people are the enemies of the Quran and the Muslim umma because, through various pretexts, urge the people not to associate with the Quran; woe to them.
But you, my sisters and brothers, must know that nowadays what we really need most is to become more familiar with the Quran, and as quoted from our holy Prophet: ‘whenever your life is overshadowed by black clouds of troubles and disasters, take refuge in the Quran.’ We are facing similar circumstances these days when all sorts of deviated doctrines are attacking us, and all kinds of charlatans, deceitful leaders and anti-Islamic elements have surrounded us; do we not see these ‘black clouds’ over our heads? So, isn’t it time to refer to the Quran and to learn lessons from the Quran. When is it the time to seek help from the Quran? Is it when our 12th Imam reappears, who is himself ‘the Speaking Quran’? No, we ought to refer to the Quran now to find ways out of the present-day troubles and seditious conditions, and for this, we have to understand the Quran first.
For today’s discussion I have selected two verses relating to the subject we have been dealing with; you may search through the Quran and find many more verses; those who do not Arabic, may find such verses by the aid of Persian translations of the Quran. To those who do not know Arabic, my advice is that they should try to learn Arabic for their direct understanding of the Quran, that is, at least understanding the apparent meaning of the verses.
Well, now we read and translate and explain verses 114-116 of Sura Al-An’aam: “should I be seeking, as a source of law, other than Allah…”. As you must know the root of the verb ‘Hakama’, has the meaning of judging’ and ‘ruling’ both which, in the case of God, could have its extensive meaning, because God Almighty is both ‘the final judge’ and ‘the one who is the best ruler, as the Quran says: “…what is created is His, and under His command…”. He has created everything and He is in command of it all. So, shall I call upon others but God for judgment? And “…it’s He who sent down the Book unto you in all details…”; in details means most clear, without anything non-divine in it, but absolutely clear and understandable. And “…those given the Book are cognizant that it’s sent down from your Lord in truth…”; it is undoubtedly sent down by God, so: “…never harbor any doubt…”. This means the verses are absolutely clear and perfectly expressed. “…And those given the Book are cognizant that it was sent down by your Lord in truth…” meaning it is truly the word of God and you should not have any doubt about it. This ‘you’ is addressed to the holy Prophet and it means that you should never have any doubt in your heart or mind, you do know that God has granted you this Book, you are absolutely conscious of this fact.
Then we read: “…and the word of your Lord is perfect in truthfulness and justice…”. This means that this Book is the ultimate one, it’s inviolable, it’s absolutely truthful and it contains all the orders and injunctions of God Almighty. It was the will of God that His prophets go among the people in different times and educate people gradually and lead them towards spiritual elevation and perfection; and then it was the turn of the last Prophet to let people face an endless horizon in monotheism so that humanity could speed up to reach its final destination to return to God. Then we read: “…nothing will abrogate His Words and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing…”. God knows everything you do and everything you have in your hearts and minds, He has created you and knows you completely and so He is the best to make plans for your happy spiritual lives.
Next we read: “If you obey most people on the earth, they will lead you astray from Allah’s way…”. Notice how the verses of the Quran prepare the minds and souls of the listeners to properly understand the message. In the previous verse, we were told that ruling and judgment belonged to God only; this must have the very first priority in our life, and in the following verse, we are told that God’s religion and His injunctions are inviolable and that there could be no infringement of God’s laws. Let the disbelievers, infidels, enemies and doubters say what they stupidly like, but for believers, God’s injunctions and laws are absolute; that’s why we are advised not to follow any men whose ideas are based on conjecture and rooted in falsehoods and lies and if you follow them, they’ll certainly lead you astray, and as the Quran reasons: “…nothing do they follow but conjuncture and lies…”. They imagine things through guessing and conjecture and want others to follow their thoughts and deeds.
As you know these godless people have fabricated all sorts of theories, doctrines and programs for ‘leading human communities to prosperity and happiness’ but man-made theories have always proved wrong after a decade or two, because, as the Quran says they only follow their imagination and only plan through guesswork and conjecture. On the contrary, God Almighty leads humanity to the right path on the basis of realities and through knowledge and science in the truest sense of these words.
The Quran says: “It is your Lord Who certainly best knows the people who go astray from His way.” Yes, He is certainly the best Knower of such people. And the following verse says: “So you shall eat from that on which the Name of Allah has been mentioned, if you are believers in His revelations.” You may be surprised that following those verses on monotheism, on absolute obedience to God and rejection of following others and the eternal injunctions about religion, which are most important universal themes, then suddenly a seemingly small, minor subject is so emphatically mentioned! It says ‘eat of what on which the Name of God has been mentioned’, and you may think ‘this is a very minor subject’ and you may be quite surprised’, and you may ask ‘what is the relation of this to the afore-mentioned, most important subjects’? Well, I use the word ‘relation’ according to my own comprehension, but it is not a decisive interpretation because the space for understanding the Quranic verses is immensely vast and all people with different intellects may study the matter further and reach other own conclusions.
Now I tell you a few things about this question as I understand it. First of all, in the Sight of God who stands far higher than all His creative world and much higher than any horizons that man could envisage, all themes, subjects and matters are at the same level; for God, issues of general, secondary or minor nature in human eyes do not differ, they are all at the same level in God’s Sight. For the God who created worlds, whatever that brings about human happiness and prosperity is there as one command, as one injunction and one plan; it makes no difference for God whether this command is for one person, many persons or for humanity as a whole.
Secondly, let’s delve into the question of slaughtering animals, why is it that the Name of God should be mentioned when people will eat them after this? Well, we do know that among many nations, polytheistic communities, tribes and clans who were deprived of monotheism, it was customary to name their worshipped idols before any action or at certain occasions. It is reported that Christians did say ‘in the name of Christ’ on such occasions; we also know that even at present the world leaders do like their names to be mentioned at the inception or completion of certain activities, projects and ceremonies. These are what the godless people do and we know that any deed that is not done in the Name of God, is certainly serving others but God. Names mentioned at the inception of any effort, certainly demonstrates its objective; something that is performed in the name of money, is directed at gaining more money only. But what is performed in the Name of God will have a godly direction and serve a godly purpose from its inception.
So, we are told that slaughtered animals should be slaughtered in the Name of God. Well, what is the most urgent human need for his livelihood? It’s food, it’s feeding and eating to sustain one’s livelihood; this must be in the name of God, it must be for the sake of God. Yes, when you fill up your stomach you must fill it up in the name of God: the stomach is not a fundament, it’s God who is the first and the ultimate goal, so even if you die of hunger in the path of God, you’ll be serving God. That’s why we say ‘in the Name of God’ when we do throw down a morsel in our stomachs.
Thus, do begin everything with ‘in the Name of God’, even when you are eating and or when copulating, yes, everything you do, must start in the Name of God: entering a house, going out of it, opening up your shop, all other activities in life must begin with the Name of God. This means all directions must lead to God, according to God’s commands and His straight ways.
Thus we are advised to slaughter a sheep or a cow in the Name of God; even an elementary and basic need in life as food must accompany the Name of God. In other words, filling up your stomach is not the most important principle but what is of more importance is remembering God under all circumstances; that is why we should always say ‘Bismillah’ when slaughtering an animal or beginning to eat. You should remember God on all occasions even when copulating. Everything in our life must be performed by remembering God first. In Sura Al-An’aam we also read: “… surely my prayers and my devotions, my life and death are all for God the One, the Lord of all Creation.” That is what Prophet Abraham said: “The peerless One who has no partners…”. This means that all our efforts and deeds, our prayers, our worshipping and our life and death are in the Hand of that Administrator Lord who has no partners. This means that my existence and my body and soul are totally under the power and command of God Almighty. Yes those who do not believe in God the One, whatever they do, slaughtering, eating or opening their shops in the morning, are not in the Name of God; they remember other gods, other idols and other objects of worship.
Let us for a moment take this injunction for slaughtering animals as a symbol; of course it is a divine command and should certainly be followed, but let us just suppose that it is a symbol, the symbol for the most basic among human needs, slaughtering a sheep for human consumption. We are ordered to do this in the Name of God. What does this exactly mean? Well, it means that even your most basic, everyday needs should also be removed in the Name of God, that is, if you’re having a loaf of bread to overcome your hunger, eat it for the sake of God to have more strength, and it is obvious that the strength gained through God, must be used in the path of God, this is a most logical conclusion.
The Quran says: “And why should you not eat of that upon which the Name of Allah has been mentioned; He has already made all prohibitions plain, except under extreme conditions…”. God has plainly listed all you should not eat except in exigencies and apart from what God has prohibited, everything else is lawful (halaal). The Quran then goes on to say: “…many people, led by their low desires, mislead others through ignorance; indeed your Lord is Most-Aware of those who exceed the limits.” True, there are some people whose gods are their carnal desires who lead other people astray through their ignorance and lack of knowledge and insight, but God is Most-Aware of these exceeding oppressors and adversaries.
The Quran then says: “Eschew all sin, open or secret sins; sinners will surely get the recompense for their own earnings!” Yes, there are two kinds of sin, some are very obvious and some have secretive natures; murder is an open, obvious case, killing others is obviously wrong. There are sins that are not so obviously noticed but they are also grave sins: statements not based on knowledge, following people who are ignorant themselves, negligence in remembering God, obedience to persons and things other than God and serving idols and icons and godless people. One may tend to think that such sins are not very harmful because they are not openly done! No, the Quran admonishes that both these two groups of sin should not be committed. Those who gain something through committing sins will be punished accordingly.
Now I would like to draw your attention to the verse already quoted: “…surely the satans always inspire their every friend that they should contend with you all and if you follow them, you could indeed become one of the polytheists”. The main point of our discussion today is this very part of the verse that the satans and other evil elements always inspire their friends, comrades and their servants to argue with you, to say things against you and try to lead you astray. So, under such conditions, what would be your duty and your approach? If you follow them you also become polytheists and pagans and that’s absolutely evil. As you see, obedience to Satan is the absolute opposite of obedience to Al-Rahmaan (the Beneficent God), and following other satans or satanic elements who are their henchmen, mercenaries and operators of Satan will plunge you into polytheism or paganism.
The very last part of our discussion today relates to the picturesque scenes of Paradise and Hell as portrayed in the holy Quran. In fact, our Imams, in their reported narrations, have also drawn up scenes concerning the conditions in Hell so that people could feel them in the depths of their souls. The Quran says: “Then Paradise is closer drawn to the god-fearing, self-restrainers. And Hell shall lay wide open, before the erring strayers, and they’ll be asked: where are the idols to whom you used to be the servers instead of God? Could they be helpers to you or even help themselves?’ They are questioned ‘where are those animate or inanimate elements you worshipped, the things or whims you were attached to instead of God?’ It’s said that they cannot help you and this means that they were human, not lifeless idols made of stones and wood. Then the Quran says that: “… into it (the Hell), they shall be cast, the seducers and the seduced, and all the Satan’s host. As they wrangle together therein, they shall thus utter: ‘by God! We were in plainest error, in holding you as equals with the Lord of the worlds. Those who misled us were the ones totally steeped in sins; and now no intercessors do we find, nor any caring friend; we would be surely true believers, if we could be returned, indeed in this there is a sign, but most of them are not believers.”
They shall rightly be thrown into Hell as they were deceived, as they went astray and as they followed corrupt people as well as those who aided Satan, did some service for him and took steps in the direction of fooling and deceiving other people. In short, Hell is the Sinners Club! But even inside Hell, they start arguing and fighting one another; the followers retort ‘it was you who led us astray and kept us in ignorance’ and the leaders answer back ‘no, you yourselves chose to follow us, you followed your carnal desires and your worldly interests’. Finally the ones who followed those godless, corrupt leaders come to themselves and cry out ‘yes, we were wrong, we went astray, we forget about God Almighty, if we had stopped to think for a moment, we would find out that we were absolutely deviated, wrong and ignorant. How stupid we were to make you, corrupt leaders, the partners to God and equal to Him. We should have asked Him for our daily bread, but we asked you instead’. And it is at this moment that, according to the Quran, they confess to their corrupt behaviour in their lives on earth: “By God, we were in plainest error in holding you as equals with the Lord of the worlds. Those who misled us were the ones totally steeped in sins…”. They then find out that none could be an intercessor for them and so they resort to a final, impossible wish: “And now neither intercessor do we find, nor any caring friend. If we could only return, we would be true believers!” Yes, if they would only be allowed to return to the earth!
