Emotive comprise a significant part of the human psyche, and the course of nurturing one’s sentiments and feelings with the intention of implanting and strengthening faith in God encompasses all perfections, the most important of which are truth, justice, love, affection, and devotion. When emotion and though become rooted in such an atmosphere the path of perfection can be treaded upon. The Noble Prophet(s) is the pre-eminent epitome of these ideals and his normative conduct and precedents aim at establishing and presenting an exact embodiment of these lofty notions. In this exposition, after delineating the foregoing notions, various instances of the Noble Prophet’s comportment-both private and public, as well as in different conditions-have been examined.
In so far as emotion comprises a significant part of the human psyche, and in so far as Islam is a religion grounded in reality, it behooves us to pay more attention to this topic. Imam ‘Ali (a), while describing the pre-existing harmony between the constituent elements of the human personality-namely, intellect, thought, emotion, the senses, and willed action-has said, “The intellects are the masters of thoughts, and thoughts are the masters of the hearts, and hearts are the masters of the senses, and the senses are the masters of limbs.” (Majlisi, vol. 1,98). Through each one of these five levels, Islam makes every effort to nurture man:
1. It nurtures the element of instinctive intellection in man and propels him towards reflection, meditation, contemplation, ratiocination, and the like.
2. It lays emphasis on logical methods of reasoning and eschews every method that is against sound discussion or damages the results thereof.
3. It fosters the emotional element [in man] and satiates it with pure and original love for the Noblest Beloved, namely God Almighty who encompasses all absolute perfection; it also takes sentiment to the apex of height and magnificence.
4. It endows is divine code of law (the shariah) to be in line with man’s innate disposition which regulates his modes of conduct and draws up a plan for his felicity and well-being.
5. It nourishes a strong will and awareness in man which, more than any [other] kindled sentimental motive, given man the surety that an orientation towards emotion is correct. At the same time, it protects his freedom in shaping his conduct, and it is from this very freedom that responsibility is born. We are not of those who portray ‘will’ as ‘kindled sentiments’, for by doing so we will get entrapped [and enmeshed] in ‘determinism’-a doctrine which both our conscience and the Islamic faith rejects. Emotions and feelings too play an effective role in [shaping] man’s will and comportment, and that is why Islam lays emphasis on them through a variety of ways and methods such as:
(a) Direct instructional mandates which warn us against unbridle desires and rebelliousness. The Glorious Quran says:
Have you seen him who has taken his desire to be his god? Is it your duty to watch over him? (25:43)
(b) Indirect [instructional] allusions, including the use of allegories and stories which praises people like the prophets(a) who had gained mastery over their carnal desires and wills and had taken controls over their own lives.
(c) The presentation of the practical examples from the conduct of the Noble Prophet (s) and other key figures from the magnanimous Ahl al-Bayt (his household) and his noble companions who were nurtured within his school [of thought].
(d) The call to Muslims to heighten and magnify [their] love for God, the Noble Prophet(s), the impeccable Ahl al-Bayt (a), and the sincere companions of the Prophet(s) to the greatest extent possible; it is only in this case that emotions and sentiments can be well-regulated within an illuminated order that is compatible with reason and engenders good actions.
On the other hand, this course of nurturing emotions and sentiments with the intention of implanting and strengthening faith in God encompasses all perfections and is also man’s strongest connections with Him. On the other hand, such a course foster his conceptions of existence and life with a focus on basing these two conceptions on certain principles, the most important of which are truth, justice, love affection and devotion. The Noble Prophet’s mode of conduct and normative traditions are also discussed with the aim of firmly establishing these principles and lofty notions and presenting a higher objective epitome of them. To expound on this further, we will make reference to each one of these principles:
1.HAQQ (RIGHT, OR TRUTH, OR REALITY ) IS THE SECRET OF BEING
In his Mufradat, Raghib Isfahani says that haqq means conformity and agreement, like the conformity between the hinge of a door and its constant rotation (Raghib Iafahani, p.125). isfahani then goes on to relate a number of meanings for haqq which is summarized below:
The first meaning refers to the existence of a thing which is necessitated by wisdom. It is for this reason that God is called al-Haqq (i.e. the Truth, or, the Real):
Then they are returned to Allah their real master… (6:62)
The second meaning connotes the one who brings [a thing] into being as necessitated by wisdom. It is for this reason that the actions of God the Almighty is all true.
Indeed it is the truth from your Lord… (2:149)
The third meaning connotes belief in a thing [that is] in agreement with what one has [been convinced of] in their [inner] self, like our saying that our belief in the Resurrection and divine reward (and retribution) is true:
The third meaning connotes belief in a thing [that is] in agreement with what one has [been convinced of] in their [inner] self, like our saying that our belief in the Resurrection and divine reward (and retribution) is true:
Then Allah guided those who had faith to the truth of what they differed in…. (2:213).
The fourth meaning connotes transpired action or speech that is in accord with what is necessary, to the degree that it is necessary, and at the time in which it is necessary, like our saying that someone’s deeds are true (i.e. they will transpire).
My word become due: ‘Surely I will fill hell’… (32:13)
It can be concluded from the forgoing applications that haqq, in short, means ‘fact and reality’. What is meant by ‘fact is that very same being [that is] delimited in objective reality or the world independent of mental conception. And what is meant by ‘reality’ is a thing that is in agreement with the requirements of external actuality.
The greatest correspondence of haqq is in the Divine Essence-it is so manifest and clear to the human innate disposition (fitrah) that belief in it is an absolutely self-evident conviction. For instance, the lights of God the Almighty have embraced the whole of being to such an extent that it is only Him that is seen in all things and is thus manifested as the Undoubted Truth and the Indisputable Reality.
Creation and divine codes of law, which have been referred to as haqq in the nobles Quran, have derived this attribute of haqq from the following two aspects:
From the aspect that they are (tangible) realities though perhaps concealed form man’s sense…
To be continued.
