The Universality of the Religion

The Universality of the Religion

The Complete Concluding Message

The Most Glorious and Reverent God endowed Islam, from all the divine religions, with a special peculiarity i.e. He made Islam the conclusion for all the religions and the messages. Thus, neither a religion nor a message is to come after Islam.

This peculiarity involves two prominent points. The first one lies in that Islam is complete. It is a religion that takes in consideration within its doctrine everything which the human being needs and may face in his life since his arrival to this life and till his move to the everlasting life. The Most Glorious and Reverent God, therefore, organized for the human being his individual and social interests. Moreover, He determined for him the system of his relationship with the others as regards his family and his society and as regards the politics, economics, and so on.

The Most High God says, ﴾…This day, I have perfected your religion for you, have completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion…﴿1 Also, The Most High God says, ﴾…We have neglected nothing in the Book...﴿2

The second prominent point lies in that Islam is a comprehensive everlasting message. What is meant by the message of Islam’s being the conclusion of all messages is that it came for all mankind. It was not meant for a certain nation or for a specific group; on the contrary, it was meant for all the people whatever their colors and races are. The Most High God says, ﴾…It is only a reminder for the mankind and the jinn ﴿3 in one verse; and in another verse, He says, ﴾A warning to mankind.﴿4

In addition, it is a message which is everlasting till the Day of Judgment, and it serves for organizing the life of the human being till the Day of Judgment. However this human being develops and goes high in his civilization and industry, Islam’s doctrine follows up with him throughout all of this. It is ascribed that Imam Mohammad Al-Baker (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “My grandfather God’s prophet (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) said, ‘O People, what I permitted is permissible till the Day of Judgment, and what I prohibited is prohibited till the Day of Judgment.”

Islam, therefore, is a religion which God legislated for all the people in every place and at every time. We already know, from the information previously mentioned, that the government represents the spirit and the prop of Islam. It is recognized that the government which is considered responsible for the general affairs of the society like preserving security, defense, spreading justice, general building, health, cleanliness, education, and teaching is not exclusive to a specific group of people, time, or place.

Standards of Islam

The message of Islam is comprehensive of all the sides of humanity. This implies that it organized the relationship of the individual with the others i.e. with the society as a whole. Islam includes a system for punishments which is determined by the standards of the limits and retribution; a system for defense which is determined by the standards of the fight for God’s sake; a system for economics which is determined by the standards of transactions such as: the sale, the rent, etc, and so on.

These legislations which are decreed by Islam clearly present the necessity of the establishment of the state and the government. This is so because many of these legislations are not executable unless they are found within the frame of a strong, capable state. Therefore, not establishing the government puts these standards out of action.

Moreover, the standards of Islam involve other laws and legislations which have to do with the clarifications of the how of applying these standards and the methods which must be followed in order to transform these standards into a truth to which the people refer and under the shadow of which they live.

His Eminence Imam Al-Khomeini (May his secret be sacred) said, “The group of laws is not enough to reform the society. In order that the law will serve as a material employed in reforming the people and making them happy, it is in need of the executive power. Consequently, The Most Glorious and Reverent God made beside the group of laws in the earth a government, an executive system, and an administration. And The Greatest Prophet (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) was at the head of all the executive systems as regards the administration of the Islamic society… And it is true that the social laws and systems require an executor.”

Several verses came down to spur the people on reviving the standards of Islam. The Most High God says, ﴾Those (Muslim rulers) who, if We give them power in land, order to perform the five compulsory congregational prayers (the males in the mosque) and to pay the alms, and they enjoin Al-Maarouf (i.e. Islamic monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbid Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief and polytheism and all that Islam has forbidden) [i.e. they make The Qur’an as the law of their countries in all spheres of life]. And with Allah rests the end of (all) matters (of the creatures).﴿5

It is also related in the narrative ascribed to God’s prophet (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) that he said, “The one hour of a just Imam is better than seventy years of worship. And if a rule from God’s rules is stated, then it will be better than the rain of forty mornings.”

Islam and the Necessity of the Presence of the Governor

The constant human need is the major element for the necessity of the presence of a law and a government. This necessity is deduced upon examining the nature of the human being which calls him to live with his brother the human being and to benefit him and to benefit from him.

Because of the human being’s inclinations and instincts like the love of the self and fame and absolute freedom for what he wants, a difference and thus a conflict will arouse between what he wants and what the others want.

In order to solve the conflict emerging from this difference, there must be a reference in order to seek a decision from and in order to submit to. This reference is none but the law, and the most important thing that this law must involve is justice for all the people through giving each human being his due and through taking into consideration the social justice.

The law is necessary for mankind. As well, the presence of the governor is necessary for the application of this law since the human being may trespass the law and may, in order to achieve his own interests, not abide by it. The role of the governor, therefore, is to guarantee the application of the law in order to achieve social justice.

There are several narratives which refer to the necessity of the presence of the governor. It is related in Nahj Al-Balagha [The Path of Eloquence] that when The Prince of the Believers Imam Ali (God’s peace bestowed upon him) heard the saying of Al-Khawarij [those who seceded from him]: “There is no judgment but for God,” he (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “It is a word of truth yet meant for falsehood. It is true that there is no obedience but to God, yet at the same time it is indispensable that the people have a prince, whether he is pious or dissolute. The governor is necessary, so that the believer person will work under his control and so that the atheist will be enjoyed. Also, God will fulfill His Promise and gather, by means of the governor, the booties. Moreover, the enemy will be fought; the ways will be secured; and the right of the weak will be taken from the enemy, so that the pious will recess and the dissolute will be recessed from.”

There is also a narrative related by Al-Fadel bin Shazan that he asked Imam Ali Al-Rida (God’s peace bestowed upon him), “Why did He make the authorities and order [us] to obey them?” He (God’s peace bestowed upon him) answered, “The mankind were informed about a specific limit and were ordered not to trespass that limit because this would lead to their corruption. This would not have been fixed and applied but by His making a guardian among them in order to prevent them from trespassing [the limits] and from falling into what they are prohibited to. Had it not been so, nobody would, just for the sake of not leading for the corruption of others, forsake his own pleasure and benefit.”

For Reading

Do Not Broadcast My News at the Beginning of the Newscasts

I heard that Imam Al-Khomeini (May his secret be sacred) said to Sayyed Mohammad Al-Hashimi when the latter visited the former as being the executive manager of The Radio and Television Institution that he (May his secret be sacred) did not want the news related to him to be at the beginning of the newscasts and that he did not want his picture to be shown on the screen when those news were being broadcast.

Sayyed Al-Hashimi said in response to The Imam’s (May his secret be sacred) saying, “The people always like to see you and to hear your news through the television.” At that, The Imam (May his secret be sacred) said, “Our relationship with the people was not established by means of the radio and the television. On the contrary, it was established [even] before our control of The Radio and Television Institution. Therefore, this means it affects neither our relationship with the people nor the people’s relationship with us.”

Do Not Talk So Much about Me

The Imam (May his secret be sacred) used not to like that the issues related to him be published in the newspapers. He used to repeatedly say to those in charge of the newspapers, “Do not talk so much about me!” The aim of his association to the newspapers was to publish the advisory recommendations concerning the various affairs of the country.

This attitude implies an eloquent lesson for us. The Imam (May his secret be sacred) used to like so much that the newspapers would talk about the people’s concerns, about whatever had to do to their demands, and about what would serve them. At the same time, we never noticed, not even once, that he wanted that the newspapers would do him a favor, however simple it might be even though those in charge of the newspapers were waiting for the simplest sign from The Imam (May his secret be sacred) that would express such a personal wish.6

1- The Noble Qur’an/ Al-Ma’ida [The Table Spread with Food] Chapter/ Verse 3
2- The Noble Qur’an/ Al-Anaam [The Cattle] Chapter/ Verse 38
3- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Anaam [The Cattle] Chapter/ Verse 90
4- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Moudatther [The One Wrapped] Chapter/ Verse 36
5- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Hajj [The Pilgrimage] Chapter/ Verse 41
6- The Authority of Islam Massiah Al-Mouhajiri/ The appendix of “Jumhouri Islami” Newspaper in the third anniversary of the death of Imam Al-Khomeini (May his secret be sacred)