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Abandoning the Better (Tark al-Awla): Difference between revisions
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==Abandoning the Better by Prophets and Imams (a)== | ==Abandoning the Better by Prophets and Imams (a)== | ||
The Shiites believe that [[prophets]] and [[Imams (a)]] are [[infallible]], so they never commit [[Major Sins|major]] or [[Minor Sins|minor]] sins;<ref>Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''Tanzīh al-anbīyāʾ'', p. 34.</ref> but they might sometimes abandon the better, that is, they may abandon the better. The evidence for this is that the [[Qur'an]] refers to mistakes or slippages by prophets or their [[istighfar]] (asking God for forgiveness). For instance, according to [[ | The Shiites believe that [[prophets]] and [[Imams (a)]] are [[infallible]], so they never commit [[Major Sins|major]] or [[Minor Sins|minor]] sins;<ref>Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''Tanzīh al-anbīyāʾ'', p. 34.</ref> but they might sometimes abandon the better, that is, they may abandon the better. The evidence for this is that the [[Qur'an]] refers to mistakes or slippages by prophets or their [[istighfar]] (asking God for forgiveness). For instance, according to [[Quran 2]], the [[Satan]] misguided the prophet [[Adam (a)]]{{enote|Then Satan caused them (Adam and Eve) to stumble from it (paradise), and he dislodged them from what they were in; and We said, ‘Get down, being enemies of one another! On the earth shall be your abode and sustenance for a time.’ (Quran, 2:36)</ref> and then Adam practiced istighfar. Moreover, the [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]] and the Imams (a) have asked [[God]] for forgiveness in [[supplications]] transmitted from them. For example, there is a hadith according to which the Prophet (s) practiced istighfar one hundred times during a day and a night.<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Maʿānī l-akhbār'', p. 383-384.</ref> | ||
According to Shiite scholars, since there are rational arguments for the [[infallibility]] of prophets and the Imams (a), we cannot impute [[sin]]s to them. Thus, the above cases should be construed as abandoning the better.<ref>Subḥānī, ''Manshūr-i jāwīd'', vol. 7, p. 288-289.</ref> They explain istighfars by prophets and the Imams (a) in terms of different categories and degrees of sins. For example, one category of sins is the judicial sin which is referred to in [[fiqh]] as [[forbidden]]. Another category is failure to continuously think of God, which is not a judicial sin. Prophets and the Imams (a) never committed judicial sins because of their infallibility, but they could fail to continuously think of God because of their relationships with other people and the demands of their daily lives, and this led them to practice istighfar. | According to Shiite scholars, since there are rational arguments for the [[infallibility]] of prophets and the Imams (a), we cannot impute [[sin]]s to them. Thus, the above cases should be construed as abandoning the better.<ref>Subḥānī, ''Manshūr-i jāwīd'', vol. 7, p. 288-289.</ref> They explain istighfars by prophets and the Imams (a) in terms of different categories and degrees of sins. For example, one category of sins is the judicial sin which is referred to in [[fiqh]] as [[forbidden]]. Another category is failure to continuously think of God, which is not a judicial sin. Prophets and the Imams (a) never committed judicial sins because of their infallibility, but they could fail to continuously think of God because of their relationships with other people and the demands of their daily lives, and this led them to practice istighfar.<ref>Sharīfī & Yūsufīyān, ''Pajhūhishī dar ʿiṣmat-i ma'ṣūmān'', p. 184-187, 330</ref> | ||
==Examples in the Qur'an== | ==Examples in the Qur'an== | ||
The Qur'an has attributed actions to prophets in terms such as "'usyan" (disobedience) and "zulm" (injustice or oppression) and their requests for God's forgiveness. [[Exegetes]] of the Qur'an have interpreted these cases as abandoning the better. Below are some Quranic verses in this regard plus the interpretations of Quranic exegetes about them: | The Qur'an has attributed actions to prophets in terms such as "'usyan" (disobedience) and "zulm" (injustice or oppression) and their requests for God's forgiveness. [[Exegetes]] of the Qur'an have interpreted these cases as abandoning the better. Below are some Quranic verses in this regard plus the interpretations of Quranic exegetes about them: | ||
* "He said, 'My Lord! I have wronged myself. Forgive me!' So He forgave him. Indeed, He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful".<ref>Qur'an, 28:16.</ref> | * '''Killing the Egyptian man by Moses (a)''': "He said, 'My Lord! I have wronged myself. Forgive me!' So He forgave him. Indeed, He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful".<ref>Qur'an, 28:16.</ref> | ||
In this [[verse]], the prophet [[Moses (a)]] asks for God's forgiveness because of killing a person, and according to the [[Qur'an]], God forgives him. It is mentioned in Shia exegesis that the person who was killed by Moses (a) was a cruel companion of the [[Pharaoh]] and so he was rightly killed. According to this book, the man was bullying an [[Israelite]] person, and Moses (a) punched him once in order to defend the oppressed person, without the [[intention]] of killing. Thus, what he did was not a sin, but he had abandoned the better (tark al-awla), because it was careless in those circumstances and led him into unnecessary troubles.<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 16, p. 42-43</ref> | In this [[verse]], the prophet [[Moses (a)]] asks for God's forgiveness because of killing a person, and according to the [[Qur'an]], God forgives him. It is mentioned in Shia exegesis that the person who was killed by Moses (a) was a cruel companion of the [[Pharaoh]] and so he was rightly killed. According to this book, the man was bullying an [[Israelite]] person, and Moses (a) punched him once in order to defend the oppressed person, without the [[intention]] of killing. Thus, what he did was not a sin, but he had abandoned the better (tark al-awla), because it was careless in those circumstances and led him into unnecessary troubles.<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 16, p. 42-43</ref> | ||
* "And [remember] the Man of the Fish, when he left in a rage, thinking that We would not put him to hardship. Then he cried out in the darkness, 'There is no god except You! You are immaculate! I have indeed been among the wrongdoers!'"<ref> Qur'an, 21:87.</ref> | * '''Abandoning his People by Yunus (a)''': "And [remember] the Man of the Fish (i.e. Yunus), when he left in a rage, thinking that We would not put him to hardship. Then he cried out in the darkness, 'There is no god except You! You are immaculate! I have indeed been among the wrongdoers!'"<ref>Qur'an, 21:87.</ref> | ||
This verse refers to the story of the prophet [[Yunus (a)]] (Jonah). He abandoned his people because of their disobedience and then regretted what he did. He took his action to be an oppression of the people and then [[tawba|repented]] to God.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 14, p. 314-315.</ref> According to [['Allama Tabataba'i]], Yunus's (a) action was not an oppression or a [[sin]], indeed, and God punished him only in order to teach him not to do things that are slightly similar to oppression and sins.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 14, p. 315.</ref> Yunus's (a) action was an instance of "abandoning the better".<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 13, p. 485.</ref> | This verse refers to the story of the prophet [[Yunus (a)]] (Jonah). He abandoned his people because of their disobedience and then regretted what he did. He took his action to be an oppression of the people and then [[tawba|repented]] to God.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 14, p. 314-315.</ref> According to [['Allama Tabataba'i]], Yunus's (a) action was not an oppression or a [[sin]], indeed, and God punished him only in order to teach him not to do things that are slightly similar to oppression and sins.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 14, p. 315.</ref> Yunus's (a) action was an instance of "abandoning the better".<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 13, p. 485.</ref> | ||
* "Adam disobeyed his Lord, and went amiss".<ref>Qur'an, 20:121.</ref> | * '''Eating from the forbidden tree by Adam (a)''': "Adam disobeyed his Lord, and went amiss".<ref>Qur'an, 20:121.</ref> | ||
According to ''[[Majma' al-bayan]]'' in its exegesis of this verse, "'usyan" literally means any disobedience of God. Thus, it not only includes the abandoning of one's [[obligation]]s, but also the abandoning of [[mustahab|recommended]] actions. Thus, [[Adam]]'s (a) disobedience does not mean that he committed a sin.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 7, p. 56.</ref> According to ''Tafsir-i nimuna'', commands and prohibitions are sometimes "irshadi" or instructive; one case in point is when a physician tells a patient to take some medicine. In such a case, if the patient does not obey the physician's command, they only harm themselves. [[God]]'s prohibition of eating the [[forbidden tree]] does not mean that its eating was a sin, because God had not regulated obligations yet. Instead, it meant that eating the fruit would lead to Adam's (a) [[Fall|exit]] from the [[Heaven of Adam (a)|heaven]] to the Earth where he would suffer pains.<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 13, p. 323.</ref> | According to ''[[Majma' al-bayan]]'' in its exegesis of this verse, "'usyan" literally means any disobedience of God. Thus, it not only includes the abandoning of one's [[obligation]]s, but also the abandoning of [[mustahab|recommended]] actions. Thus, [[Adam]]'s (a) disobedience does not mean that he committed a sin.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 7, p. 56.</ref> According to ''Tafsir-i nimuna'', commands and prohibitions are sometimes "irshadi" or instructive; one case in point is when a physician tells a patient to take some medicine. In such a case, if the patient does not obey the physician's command, they only harm themselves. [[God]]'s prohibition of eating the [[forbidden tree]] does not mean that its eating was a sin, because God had not regulated obligations yet. Instead, it meant that eating the fruit would lead to Adam's (a) [[Fall|exit]] from the [[Heaven of Adam (a)|heaven]] to the Earth where he would suffer pains.<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 13, p. 323.</ref> | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
{{ref}} | |||
*Qurʾān. | *Qurʾān. | ||
*Iḥtishāmīnīyā, Muḥsin & Khushraftār, Amīn. 1392 Sh. "Imām Riḍā wa tark-i awlā-yi anbīyāʾ dar Qurʾān". ''Majala-yi Safīna'' 41:25-49. | *Iḥtishāmīnīyā, Muḥsin & Khushraftār, Amīn. 1392 Sh. "Imām Riḍā wa tark-i awlā-yi anbīyāʾ dar Qurʾān". ''Majala-yi Safīna'' 41:25-49. | ||
*Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. ''Tafsīr-i nimūna''. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1374 Sh. | *Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. ''Tafsīr-i nimūna''. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1374 Sh. | ||
*Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. ''Maʿānī l-akhbār''. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar al-Ghaffārī. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1403 AH. | *Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. ''Maʿānī l-akhbār''. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar al-Ghaffārī. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1403 AH. | ||
*Sayyid Murtaḍā ʿAlam al-Hudā. ''Tanzīh al-anbīyāʾ wa l-aʾimma''. Edited by Fāris Ḥasūn Karīm. Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1380 Sh. | *Sayyid Murtaḍā ʿAlam al-Hudā. ''Tanzīh al-anbīyāʾ wa l-aʾimma''. Edited by Fāris Ḥasūn Karīm. Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1380 Sh. | ||
* Sharīfī, Aḥmad Ḥusayn & Ḥasan Yūsufīyān. ''Pajhūhishī dar ʿiṣmat-i ma'ṣūmān''. Qom, Pajūhishgāh-i Farhang wa Andīsha-yi Islamī'', 1377Sh. | |||
*Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. ''Manshūr-i jāwīd''. Qom: Muʾassisat Imām al-Ṣādiq, 1383 Sh. | *Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. ''Manshūr-i jāwīd''. Qom: Muʾassisat Imām al-Ṣādiq, 1383 Sh. | ||
*Ṭabāṭabāyī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. ''Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān''. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1417 AH. | *Ṭabāṭabāyī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. ''Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān''. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1417 AH. | ||
*Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. ''Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān''. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusrū, 1372 Sh. | *Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. ''Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān''. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusrū, 1372 Sh. | ||
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