A question from grand Āyatollāh Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlullah and his answer.
Question: How do you understand (man; the human being) through the Islamic methodology?
Answer: Since the day I set out on life, I have learned love from Allah, the Messenger of Allah (p.) and the Imams (a.s.). I have seen that Allah, the Most High, the Most Exalted, has bestowed His mercy upon all people, and mercy represents a state of love. In this sense, I love the human being, wholly, yet I detest any act of deviation, crime, unbelief and oppression he might commit, as it is narrated: "Allah may love a man but hate his action, and may love the action but hate the man."*
Actually, I have learned that from the Messenger of Allah (p.), having read his biography and realized that his heart was always open to all people, as he used to say: "O Lord guide my people, they do not know (the true path)."** I also acquired that from Imam Ali (a.s.) who used to say: "Rip evil away from the heart of others by uprooting it from your own heart (first)."***
At a time I feel hurt for the path those people have followed, knowing that I do not claim to be deprived of feelings and emotions, for just as Allah has mentioned, even the Messenger of Allah (p.) used to feel sad and distressed from what others used to plot against him, so He told him (p.): "And grieve not for them and be not distressed because of what they plan," (27:70)… despite that, I always try to study the points of weakness that drove them to do so… I used to examine thoroughly the state of backwardness, ignorance and egocentrism they revolved around and were afflicted with; thus, I used to feel sorry for them from themselves more than I felt sorry for myself from them.
My slogan in life is to love even those who are at odds with me so as to guide them and to love those who are in agreement with me so as to found a state of cooperation with them. Actually, I love those whom I am in agreement with to cooperate with them on the basis of righteousness and piety, and I love those whom I am in disagreement with in order to cooperate and engage in a dialogue with them for the sake of setting them straight.
Life cannot bear any form of grudge… grudge embodies death; whereas love embodies life, and I want to live and not die.****
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* Nahjul Balaghah, section 2, p: 44, from his sermon on Ahl El-Beit and their opponents.
**Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Majlisi, section 20, p:21
***Nahjul Balaghah, section 4, p: 43.
**** Dear Loved Ones, Sayyed Fadlallah, p.8
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