The Supreme Leader's View of Religion

The Supreme Leader's View of Religion
13/07/2008

In the Name of the Most Sublime

Religion is first and foremost an outlook and a type of knowledge - knowledge about the world, man, and one's path, route, and goal. All these pieces of knowledge collectively form the basis of religion. Religion considers man to be the hub of the universe. It regards man as the unrivalled being that can make intellectual efforts and shed light on undiscovered entities.

In order for religion to fulfill its responsibility, there ought to be a world in which the responsibility could be carried out. Religion has come to shape, redirect, and guide the efforts of man in this great world that is filled with various complexities. Considered in this way, religion and the world are inseparable. There is no other place except the world for religion to achieve the purposes for which it was intended. Without the creative and constructive role of religion, the world will be devoid of spirituality, affection, and life. Without religion, the world where man lives will turn into a jungle and will be governed by the law of the jungle. In this vast world, man must feel that he has peace and security so that he can tread the path of spiritual transcendence and development.

In this sense, separating religion from the world means that we have made life, politics, and economy devoid of spirituality. Separating the two entails the destruction of justice and spirituality. The world provides man with the opportunity to live, with different worldly blessings, with many beautiful attractions, and with pleasant incidents as well as sad and bitter misfortunes. Viewed in this way, the world provides man with the means to grow and evolve. From a religious point of view, these are the means that enable man to tread the path of transcendence and development and demonstrate the talents that God has bestowed on him. The world is not separable from religion in this sense. However, the world has another facet to it as well. In Islamic texts, 'world' has been used to mean sensuality, selfishness, carnal desires, and involving others in carnal desires. Based on our traditions, the world - in this sense - is not compatible with the concept of religion.

In my opinion, it is the people who are of central importance. God-centered ideology is not contradictory to people-centered ideology in Islamic thought. These two ideologies are consistent. Firstly, as long as the people are not religious, there will be no religion-based government in a country and no religious community will be formed. Therefore, the existence of a religion-based government in a country means that the people of that country are religious. That is to say, unless the people had wished it, no such government would have come to power.

The goal of the rule of divine religion is to improve the living conditions of the oppressed, to enforce religious duties, and to uphold divine laws. That is because happiness, justice, and freedom all depend upon practicing religious laws. Where do they expect to find freedom? It is in the sanctuary of religion that all aspirations of man are realized.

In terms of his basic needs, modern man has not changed in the last 1000 or 10,000 years. The need for security, freedom, knowledge, and comfort are the basic needs of man. Basic needs also require that man detest discrimination and oppression. New needs that come up in the course of time can only be fulfilled when these basic needs have been fulfilled. These basis needs can only be fulfilled through divine religion.

The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) presented the same orientation when he introduced his religion to the people. He used to insist on spirituality, but he would also provide the people with the means to fulfill their material requirements. By way of cooperation, he used to provide people with knowledge - that is, the knowledge about life and administration affairs. And when things became complicated and required expert knowledge, he used to order them to observe and gain the knowledge and insight.

The Middle Ages were dark for Europeans and a time for scientific brilliance among Muslims. Europeans deny this reality, and Western historians do not mention it. And we have come to believe them and have grown accustomed to what they say.

The nineteenth century, which was the peak of scientific research in the West, was paralleled with separation from religion and banishing it from the man's life. This ideology affected our country as well, and the main foundations of our universities were built on non-religious bases. Scholars turned their backs on universities, and universities turned their backs on scholars and Islamic seminaries.

Those who pretend to support religion and proclaim that 'religions must not engage in political affairs' are not aware that this is the new propaganda plot on the part of the arrogant and colonialist powers to undermine the rule of Islam and revival of Islam. Of course, the separation of religion form politics was proposed centuries ago. The idea was initially proposed by the agents of autocracy, namely those powerful people who controlled the community in a tyrannical manner and who wanted to be free to do whatever they wanted to the nation and the country. For obvious reasons, they did not want Islamic laws and those who promoted them to be involved in their government. Therefore, autocratic rulers are considered among the pioneers of the misguided idea that religion has to be separated from politics.

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