Religious Scholars and Simplicity in Life
Religious Scholars and Simplicity in Life
Identification:
Author: Mohammad Reza Nekonam (b. 1327/1948)
Title: Religious Scholars and Simplicity in Life
Publisher: Sobh Farda Publications, Islamshahr, 2014 (1393 in the Iranian calendar)
Physical description: 24 pages
ISBN: 978-600-7347-63-8
Previous edition: Zohour Shafaq, 2007 (1386 in the Iranian calendar)
Cataloguing status: FIPA
Subject: Clergy
Dewey Decimal Classification: 297.45
National Bibliography Number: 3680768
Preface:
Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon Muhammad and his pure family, and perpetual curse upon all their enemies.
The study and examination of the lives of the Divine Prophets (peace be upon them) reveals that they were always confronted with numerous hardships, challenges, and difficulties. No prophet was without pain and suffering, and among them, the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the leaders of the Islamic faith stands out as exemplary. Their lives, full of trials and tribulations, culminated in the red line of martyrdom. What is significant here is that pain, sorrow, poverty, and demise, in all their forms, are essential for human growth and perfection. It is through hardships and trials that the true human essence emerges, and it is these very struggles that purify one’s soul from all impurities. A brilliant heart and profound intellect are never achieved in the comfort of ease and indulgence.
This paper draws attention to this notion, particularly within the Shiite clergy, urging religious scholars to refrain from seeking comfort and worldly desires. It expounds upon the idea that “most religious scholars have emerged from the oppressed and the suffering classes,” warning about the dangers of excessive comfort in the lives of the clergy and religious leaders in the country.
Pain, Suffering, and Tears
Scholars of knowledge and faith have never been individuals who seek comfort or indulgence. Those who live without pain can never reach perfection, for the affluent who remain unaffected by life’s hardships are but mere guests in the stables of the world.
A true scholar, detached from worldly desires, must, like all the saints of God, possess deep sorrow, pain, and grief. He must experience this in both his waking and sleeping hours, for one who does not feel pain accomplishes nothing. In fact, to be without pain is to be worthless, while the value of a person is tied to their sensitivity, awareness, and depth of feeling.
All the Divine Prophets and saints of God have experienced great pain, each according to their own spiritual stature, and each endured various forms of hardship throughout their lives. From the beginning to the end, their lives were marked by constant suffering and struggles.
Prophet Adam’s descent, which became the basis for the spiritual growth of both himself and humanity, portrayed the full spectrum of human experience, showing humans the interplay of obedience and defiance, right and wrong, and human and devilish tendencies. This divine narrative continues to unfold throughout history.
Every prophet encountered different types of hardship, overcoming them with great strength and resilience. Consider Prophet Joseph, who, after living a life of comfort, was cast into a pit, sold as a slave, and endured false accusations. Despite the immense hardship, he managed to turn this bitter cup into something sweet, passing through the experience with grace.
Similarly, Prophet Jacob, despite being separated from his beloved son Joseph and losing his sight, never fell into despair or hopelessness. His patience and faith in God remained unshaken.
The Lives of the Prophets and Their Struggles
The early life of Prophet Moses faced threats of destruction, and as a child, he was placed in a basket, cast into the Nile River, only to witness the downfall of his enemies, Pharaoh and his followers, who were drowned by the wrath of God.
The lives of Prophet Mary and Jesus Christ were filled with hardship and suffering. The intensity of their trials could break the backs of even the strongest of individuals, but these holy figures endured with dignified perseverance, showcasing a strength that transcended their earthly tribulations.
As for the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), despite being shorter in duration compared to previous prophets, it was fraught with complex and excruciating struggles. His suffering is often encapsulated in his own words: “No prophet has been afflicted as I have been” (Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 3, p. 56). This statement reflects the extraordinary trials faced by the Prophet, both in terms of the quantity and quality of suffering. These experiences were so intense that no other prophet, despite enduring their own tribulations, experienced the same level of hardship.
The lives of the Imams, from Imam Ali (peace be upon him) to the other Imams, and even that of Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her), are filled with untold pain and suffering, which is difficult for even the most perceptive to fully comprehend. The events of Karbala, in particular, remain far beyond the ability of history or modern-day locations such as Karbala, Medina, and Mecca to truly convey the depth of the suffering endured by these sacred figures.
Lessons from the Lives of the Prophets
The lives of all the Prophets and the righteous men of God provide ample lessons, demonstrating that pain, sorrow, poverty, and death in all their forms are integral to human growth and spiritual perfection. It is through trials and tribulations that the true nature of a person is revealed and refined. Those who do not experience pain cannot possess true understanding, and those who are without grief and sorrow cannot attain wisdom or spiritual maturity. A heart that does not ache is devoid of life.
We have learned that the wealthy and the comfort-seekers, the powerful, and those who are insulated from the difficulties of life, cannot reach the same spiritual heights. It is only those who have suffered, who have endured hardships, who have the potential to rise above and guide others on the path to truth.
A Cause for Concern
A matter of great concern today is the diminishing number of religious scholars and prominent figures who can carry the torch of knowledge and piety forward. Fewer families can be found today that have consistently produced individuals of high learning and spiritual stature. Especially in the present era, there are fewer and fewer “sons of scholars” who continue to uphold their family’s legacy of excellence.
It is lamentable that children born into families of scholars, particularly in modern times, often fail to follow in the path of their forebears. The affluence and ease of life today, compared to the struggles of their ancestors, hinder them from pursuing the same level of hardship and dedication. Even though some of these children may exhibit talent, they rarely reach the same spiritual depth as their predecessors.
This issue is not merely academic; it is a reflection of the broader societal shift towards comfort, worldliness, and ease, all of which detract from the true essence of religious scholarship.
Today, a spiritual father, no matter how aligned with the world he may be, finds that his child’s material aspirations grow even stronger, to the extent that the children of a devout scholar may become among the worst members of a backward society, potentially supporting harmful figures.
A child who has not experienced his father’s struggles and hardships, and does not understand his father’s poverty and difficulties, when he opens his eyes, finds his father living in a world of comfort and ease. The child will then, side by side and often ahead, indulge in the worldly luxuries and comforts his father enjoys, benefiting from them until he matures and finds himself in a completely different corner of life. Such children—whether good or bad, noble or ignoble—do not become like their fathers, and this is the inevitable result of the difference in their life experiences.
The outcome of the life of a peasant or hard-working urban or rural man is that he raises his child through hardship and struggle to the point of scholarly achievement. However, the result of the life of a comfort-seeking scholar is that he removes his child from the family of knowledge and scholarly endeavor.
A life filled with pain, hardship, and toil creates a man of effort, work, knowledge, and action, while a comfortable and easy life, like that of the father, brings forth a child who is indulgent, carefree, and comfort-seeking.
In a home full of luxury and ease, a different atmosphere prevails. There, pain, suffering, and effort are absent, and anyone living there adopts this state, whether they be male or female, son or daughter. All are well-fed, ease-seeking, and raised in a world of fantasy, as a result of the father’s labor, and they end up pursuing worldly matters more intensely than ordinary people.
This very reality leads, personally, to the clerical robes being shed by the offspring of religious scholars, leading to the eventual disappearance of such scholars, replaced by others.
A scholar whose wife, children, and even his servants stray from the path of knowledge and spirituality, who rejects his father’s robes and looks only to the world, is doomed to perish. This fate is the consequence of indifference and a comfort-seeking attitude that separates the scholar’s children from the efforts of their father, despite the persistence of religious seminaries and the fact that the children of suffering people continue to thrive with divine success.
The life of a pious scholar must embody spirituality and perfection, free from any deviations, extremes, or excesses. Neither asceticism, isolation, nor indifference to essential matters is acceptable, nor should there be alignment with the world of affluent, untroubled individuals. When a family sees their father, who is a sea of knowledge and perfection, neglecting the life and upbringing of his household, or when he is consumed by worldliness and the pursuit of deception and vanity, they can no longer be aligned with his spirituality. Instead, they withdraw and either leave the field because of their father’s excesses in either neglect or indulgence, or they harbor resentment towards his vices, or show pity and sorrow for his state, but in every case, they do not approve of his path.
When the family sees their father drowning in books and words, indifferent to his household, they view him as a hermit, removed from real life. When the father is immersed in hypocrisy, selfishness, and deceit, his family will flee from him more quickly than anyone else, and they will use only his worldly possessions, not following his path of knowledge and perfection.
A scholar who understands the middle path, and embodies the completeness of the way of the divine saints, neither being worldly nor indifferent to the legitimate needs of life, can ensure his personal continuity, creating a self that produces others who are complete or becoming more complete.
The Shiite clergy must distance themselves from secondary deviations, personal misjudgments, and public misdirections, ensuring the survival of their scholarly tradition while raising their family members to be familiar with the pain of life. A scholar should neither suffocate his family in pain and hardship, nor immerse them in a swamp of indifference, teaching them the wrong attitudes, especially today when the line between religion and worldly affairs has become blurred, making the task much more difficult. If one can revive religion in the midst of worldly life, they have fulfilled their duty. If they surrender religion to the world or place the world in a hellish state within the afterlife, they cannot create a fertile environment for growth and perfection in their family life.
Those who immerse themselves in worldly matters cannot find their way to the unseen, and those whose world becomes a hell of the afterlife will find no companionship. Clergy are not ascetics, yet neither do they find their way through worldly desires, selfishness, or deceit.
Religion is for the achievement of human perfection and governance, and in the introduction of religion, one must act with insight, not for worldly gain, self-display, or any other base motives.
A scholar whose children abandon the family of knowledge and turn to the world, and who is not beloved by those devoted to scholarship, is lost. A scholar whose home is devoid of the virtues of piety and abstinence is weak himself. A scholar who marries off his daughter to someone from the world, a wealthy individual, instead of to someone of knowledge but without worldly wealth, has set himself on a path of ruin. A scholar who sees his daughter’s happiness in the hands of a worldly, rich man has become empty-headed, devaluing his own intellect, and is doomed to perish. A scholar who seeks a wealthy, worldly bride for his son has lost his way. A scholar who fills his family’s eyes with wealth and luxury, and who seeks comfort more than the average person, has aligned himself with the people of this world and, in his pursuit, cultivates ignorance and lack of virtue. In short, a scholar whose life is steeped in worldly affairs cannot raise a distinguished child like Allama Hilli’s son, Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin, nor maintain his scholarly lineage.
Of course, it is reasonable and not blameworthy for the descendants of righteous individuals to produce corrupt or unworthy children, as even the infallible and divine figures (peace be upon them) have experienced this. Our discussion is not about this general phenomenon, but rather about specific instances of it; however, if this happens generally, it must be analyzed critically, rather than assuming that the children of clergy must always behave in such a manner. The issue at hand is about the nature of this flow, not its broad application.
The important point here is the position and value of authentic Shiite clericalism. The role of prominent Shiite scholars is so immense and rich that it cannot be overlooked, even by a heart devoid of compassion or a mind short of insight. The preservation and protection of this truth-bearing and resilient movement is a testament to divine providence and the care of the infallible saints. The continuity and preservation of this movement is miraculous, enduring throughout history without deviation, corruption, or weakness, maintaining its natural course. The intellect, in perceiving the personalities of these figures, is left in awe and bows in respect, recognizing the divine protection and the grace of the Imams in maintaining and strengthening this movement. This discussion pertains to individuals and circles that have strayed or weakened within this noble movement.
Today, every movement in society requires dependence on wealth and political parties to survive, but it is only the Shiite clergy, through self-sufficiency and independence, that relies on nothing but the book and the Sunnah. Unwavering and free from corruption, they continue their spiritual and physical existence, keeping their independence and connection to the people intact. When individuals within this community falter in these principles, they naturally separate from it, as history has clearly demonstrated. Syncretistic innovations, unfruitful deviations, and extreme movements are never accepted within this tradition and are inherently rejected.
The essence of Shiite clericalism is that it follows the book, the Sunnah, and the infallibility and leadership of the Imams, while avoiding any internal or external dependencies. It maintains its independence and connection to the people through effort, scholarly inquiry, creativity, and healthy innovations. It protects itself from the harm of external events, warding off any foreign influences and destructive movements.
The clergy who continue their lives during the Occultation in the position of general guardianship must carry the burden of suffering and striving to preserve their alignment with the divine saints. This alignment should extend throughout all aspects of their lives and their family’s lives. They should never stray from the belief in the infallibility of the Imams and should model their actions after Imam al-Zamana (may Allah hasten his return), as these beliefs necessitate that all aspects of their existence should harmonize with the book, the Sunnah, and the principles of infallibility and leadership.
Conclusion
It has been stated that pain, sorrow, sighs, striving, struggle, separation, and sadness are essential to the true understanding of human knowledge and the formation of a complete human character in all its dimensions. This applies whether the individual is an infallible Imam, a Prophet, or an ordinary person who feels a pull toward these qualities, either in the form of a scholar, a mystic, a dervish, or another such role.
A scholar is no exception to this rule; he must possess the pain, the yearning, and the sorrow, and carry within him the suffering and longing that shapes his heart into a vessel of life’s waters and the fire of pure knowledge. His words must flow not merely from memory but from the depth of understanding.
True scholars, like the divine saints, possess this vision, and their words carry the clarity of the future, of tomorrow, and the many tomorrows to come. Their discoveries are founded on solid, unwavering principles, free from doubt or delusion.
