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Lesson: 17 Oppression
One of the
meanest vices is injustice that will appear before you in eleven parts:
Meaning
and Kinds of Zulm
Zulm means
putting a thing in a place or instance that does not belong to it. It is applicable
to several circumstances that can be divided into three headings:
A: About man's
relation with God the Lord of the worlds about His self, or His attributes of
being Glorious and Beautiful.
B: Disobeying
and opposing Divine commandments and getting out of the condition of His slavery,
Man's tyranny against another person falls in this category.
C: Man's injustice
to himself that falls in the third Category.
On this topic
several traditions have been recorded from the Prophets progeny. We suffice
with only this one: It has been reported from Imam Baqir (a.s.): Injustice is
of three kinds: 1 - Injustice which is pardoned by God, 2 - Injustice that God
does not forgive end 3 - The injustice God does not overlook. However, the injustice
which God does not forgive is shirk polytheism. But the injustice which God
pardons is the injustice which man does to himself as the result of a sin is
man's injustice to himself and the injustice which God pardons is the injustice
which man does to himself as the result of a sin is man's injustice to himself
and the injustice which God does not overlook is regarding the rights of men
on one another.
Some have divided
injustice or oppression or tyranny into common and particular: The common kind
of zulm is comprising of all immoral and mean vices whereas the particular one
means any harm or injury or wrong or damage done to others of whatever kind
it may be, physical, monetary or relating to prestige.
Causes of
Zulm
Sometimes enmity
and jealousy causes oppression or injustice. In this case zulm can be considered
as one of the vices of anger. Sometime zulm may be caused due to greed and covetousness
which can fall in the category of the vices of desire.
Verses and
Narrations Indicating Ugliness of Zulm
A: And when
Luqman said to his son while he admonished him: O my son! Do not associate aught
with Allah; most surely polytheism is a grievous inequity
B: The way
to blame is only against those who oppress men and revolt in the earth unjustly;
these shall have a painful punishment.
C: and whoever
among you is unjust, we will make him taste a great chastisement.
D: And the
day when the unjust shall Bite his hands, saying: O! would that I had taken
a way with the apostle; O woe is to me! Would that I had not taken such a one
for a friend! Certainly he had led me astray from the reminder after it had
come to me; and the shaitan fails to aid man.
E: And do
not think Allah to be heedless of what the unjust do; He only respites them
to a day on which the eyes shall be fixed open.
Vicious
effects of injustice
About the ominous
consequences of oppression in this world the Holy Quran says:
1 - So those
are their houses fallen down because they were unjust, most surely there is
a sign in this for a people who know.
2 - see
then what was the end of the unjust.
3 - Surely
Allah does not do any injustice to men, but men are unjust to themselves.
Traditions
narration too are many in this connection. These examples should suffice:
1 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) was asked about the verse he replied: It is a bridge on the Siraat in
the Hereafter which cannot be crossed by a person who is indebted to others
and he has not paid others dues.
2 - The Holy
Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said: Everyone who fears qisaas retaliation and recompense
of deeds prevents himself from oppressing others.
3 - It is also
noted: Save yourselves from tyranny doing injustice to others as it is will
cause darkness on the Day of Recompense.
4 - The worst
provision on the Day of Judgement is tyranny to others.
5 - Imam Baqir
(a.s.) said: What an oppressed will recover from the oppressor on the Day of
judgement from the religion of the former is more than what the oppressor had
seized from the oppressed in the world.
6 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) says: No helper except Allah.
7 - The one
who eats his brother's wealth unjustly and does not return it to him in fact
has eaten a piece from Hellfire.
8 - The Holy
Prophet is reported to have said: The best crusade is that a man wakes up in
the morning with no intention at all of oppressing anyone or of doing any injustice
to anybody.
9 - It has
been recorded from Imam Baqir (a.s.): Oppression in this world turns into darkness
in the other one
Harms of
oppression
Now from individual
and collective viewpoint: An oppressor always keeps his nerves restless and
harms his soul conscience unknowingly. He is always hated by the society. In
fact he has a really dangerous and because we believe that just as this world
has open and manifest causes, the real hidden causes too are such more powerful
behind the scenes. Regarding oppression, the Holy Quran and the pure progeny
of the Prophet (a.s.) have, through very effective description, warned us of
dangerous consequences. For example:
We read in
the Holy Quran:
1 - So those
are their houses fallen down because they were unjust, most surely there is
a sign in this for a people who know.
2 - The Holy
Prophet (s.a.w.s.) has reportedly said: Keep away from tyranny because tyranny
spoils your hearts.
3 - It is noted
from the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.): Consequence of oppression is regret.
4 - Imam Baqir
(a.s.) said: There is no one who does injustice to others but that God Almighty
puts him oppressor in the same difficult situation, be it about himself or his
wealth. But if the injustice concerned him and God, then it is possible that
God accepts his repentance and forgives him.
5 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) has reportedly said: Everyone who oppresses others falls in the similar
trouble either with regard to him or to his wealth or his children.
True traditions
show us that the result of tyranny returns either to the tyrant himself or to
his family and this is the ignoble consequence of oppression. Now let us look
at a philosophical discussion extracted from Tafseer Al Meezaan, under verse
218 of Surah Baqarah.
Between deeds
and between external happenings there is a relation and what is meant by deed
called good and bad and which apply to the movements or stillness of body and
which are intentional and not which are but natural to the physique like breathing
and digestion etc - Tr. and it is from this angel that the Holy Quran says:
And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands
have wrought, and yet He pardons most of your faults.
And in another
Ayah Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change
their own condition; and when Allah intends evil to a people, there is no averting
it
And again in
this verse says: This is because Allah has never changed a favour that He
has conferred upon a people until they change their own conditions.
And these verses
amply prove that between the events that take place and the deeds done either
good or bad, there is a kind of relation and this fact is explained in two ayats
of the Holy Quran:
One is verse
95 of surah Aaraaf which says: And if the people of the towns had believed and
guarded against evil We would certainly have opened up for them blessings from
the heaven and the earth, but they rejected, so We overtook them for what they
had earned.
And secondly,
in Surah Rum it has been said: Corruption has appeared in the land and the
sea an account of what the hands of men have wrought, that He may make tem taste
a part of that which they have done, so that they may return.
Thus, what
events take place in the world, to some extent, are due to the deeds of people,
that is, if man obeys Allah and walks on the path of His pleasing, doors of
good and bounty open up before him. On the contrary, if he deviates from the
path of Gods slavery and walks in the vales of misguidance and his thoughts
and deeds become mean and evil or rude, and if the society becomes corrupt and
that evil of corruption envelops both the land and the sea, leading the society
to oppression and war etc there is widespread turmoil and likewise natural calamities
like flood and famine and earthquakes fall on mankind. The Lord Almighty says
about the deluge of Iram and the flood of Nuh: Have they not travelled in
the earth and seen how was the end of those who were before them? Mightier than
these were they in strength and in fortifications in the land, but Allah destroyed
them for their sins; and there was not for them any defender against Allah.
The Lord also
says: And how many of the generations did We destroy after Nuh! And your
Lord is sufficient as Knowing and Seeing with regard to His servants' faults.
Sometimes man
invites the consequence of the society, that is, he sees the good as well as
bad results of his deeds. Sometimes he also benefits from good deeds of his
predecessors. But sometimes he also suffers due to the misdeeds of his elders
and predecessors. For example, peruse these two verses:
1 - And
as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath
it a treasure belonging to them, and their father was a righteous man; so your
Lord desired that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure,
a mercy from your Lord.,
2 - And
let those fear who, should they leave behind them weakly offspring, would fear
on their account, so let them be careful of their duty to Allah, and let them
speak right words.
Problem: All
collective calamities both common and particular like flood, earthquake, was
and famine and contagious diseases are the consequences of natural causes, as
they happen where and when the causes are there and they do not take place when
the reason for them are not existing. Thus it is mere imagination that they
are the result of any deeds.
Answer: This
criticism is made because the aim and object of the Quran and the followers
of Quran has not been understood properly because, the one who those who say:
Good and bad deeds become the causes of events which are proportionate with
the conduct. Their aim is not to put aside the natural causes or/and to deny
their natural consequences. Similarly they do not intend to mix the deeds with
natural causes in the effect. Therefore, the aim of the God worshippers is not
to, by confirming the Creator, reject or falsify the law of cause and effect.
To believe or be convinced by the theory of accident and idle talk in the world
of existence. Rather their aim is to prove the existence of the supernatural
and the belief of there being spiritual factors behind what happens in the material
occurrences. That is, a happenings are once and from one view point related
to the material or physical and in a higher stage connected with a non-material
cause. For example, writing which is related both to the pen and to the writer.
In short, flood and earthquake and do have physical causes and yet there are
behind them supernatural or non-physical reasons. So the same subject is mentioned
in verses and narrations regarding help to society and the reward of kindness
and service to parents and
Yet from the
collective or social viewpoint:
When a society
initiates a tendency of injustice and oppression, as its consequence, this novel
dishonesty turns into a tradition which gets adopted by future generation and
at last it overwhelms and imprisons the society and its generations.
And from the
viewpoint of the Hereafter:
It should be
kept in mind that oppression is darkness and as its consequence one will only
meet with harassment and trouble. Rather more than that, a tyranny will see
his oppression incarnated or personified. As the Holy Quran says: And what
they had done they will find present there; and your Lord does not deal unjustly
with anyone.
And in another
verse it says: Those who do evil shall not be rewarded for aught except what
they did.
And in a third
ayat says: As for those who swallow the property of the orphans unjustly,
surely they only swallow fire into their bellies and they shall enter burning
fire.
It can be derived
from these verses that our deeds, besides their apparent face, also have a factual
or real face which is invisible to us in this would. But these inner faces will
manifest in the Hereafter and bring forth the personification of deeds.
The Worst
Oppressions
Not with standing
that oppression is ugly and a mean thing, some of its kinds are worse and more
dangerous. We read about it in narrations like:
1 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) says: No oppression or tyranny is worse and harsher than the tyranny
wherein the oppressed one does not find any help except in the Almighty God.
2 - In one
of the wills of Imam Sajjad (a.s.) we find that at the time of his passing away
he said: O my dear son! Let it never be so that you oppress somebody who may
not find any helper except God.
Other parts
on this topic mean vices will be narrated in subsequent lessons.
