In this part of the article titled “A Healthy Society under the Grace of Ethics”, we shall focus on another aspect of the significance of ethics in achieving a healthy society.
9- Islam has not only mentioned the matters of friendship, kindness, social cooperation, and equity as a command and obligations but also has offered comprehensive plans for bringing forth these commands. Thus, on one hand, Islam has forbidden the factors causing dispersion, hypocrisy and scattering, including slander, gossip, overriding, strictness in adjudication, suspicion, mis-nomination, and too much humour, and on the other hand has eulogized the factors resulting in consolidation of kindness, friendship and mutual trust, such as visiting, shaking hands and embracing, good opinion, expressing friendship to each other, defending the reputation of each other in one’s absence, reconciliation of difference and disunion, attempt in fulfilling supplications of each other and such like, and thereby Islam has founded a humanistic society in its full sense based on real affections, and has proceeded this issue as far as has called it one of the most essential means of life.
Prophet (S) says, The same tranquillity, which the thirsty feel when finding water, the believers feel in solidarity with each other. (1) Furthermore, it is inferred from this interpretation that the need of society’s individuals for social life is based on a natural and normal need, without which it is not possible for a man to live.
10- It is noteworthy that Islam has never contented to any limit of social relations, and is continuously trying for making these relations more strong and nearer, and proceeds in this part as far as it says: there should be such a spiritual relation among the believers that even their bodies are influenced. The Prophet (S) in a tradition says: Pay attention that friendship with a believer is one of the greatest causes of belief, and two believers who make friends with each other for God, become like a body so that when one of them feels discomfort in one part of his body, the other too feel pain in the same part. (2)
It is deduced from the above tradition that sometimes the friendship and relation of two believers become so strong and solid that their bodies are unified, and when one of them feels discomfort in one of the organs of his body, the similar organ will become painful in the body of the other without any special cause. That is to say, the relation of spirits is so strong that the complications of each body are transferred to the other (as it is narrated about some of the Prophet’s companions). This is not unlikely considering the two introductions.
First, the relationship between the spirit with the body is so close that mental discomforts leave a deep effect on the body. Nowadays, psychiatrists believe that most physical diseases do not have any special physical cause, such as organ disorders or microbes, and are merely the effect of mental distresses.
Second, it is currently proved that transmission and exchange between two minds are possible even from remote distances. In other words, two persons can create a mental relationship with each other through a particular spiritual agreement and or exercise without any physical means, and transmit their thoughts to each other’s brain. This is called telepathy. Therefore, it is possible for distresses of a person to be transmitted to his friend through mental relation, and then that particular distress will influence his body, and make similar organs painful.
11- Joining great assemblies: Islam instructs people to join greater assemblies. Imam Ali (A.S.) in a sermon for repressing the thoughts of the divisive minority of “Kharijites” (Rebels) says: Be with the great majority because Allah’s hand (of protection) is on keeping unity. You should beware of division because the isolator from the group is (prey) for Satan just as the isolator from the flock of sheep is (prey) for the wolf. Certainly, the two arbitrators were appointed to revive what Qur’an revives and to kill what Qur’an kills. Revival of the Qur’an means uniting each other and acting accordingly, and killing it refers to scattering and isolation from it. (3)
Studying the life of predecessors too indicates that smaller societies have been always more retarded in view of culture and appearance of human civilization, and developed cultures and civilizations have appeared in the great and extensive societies. Thus, in the above phrases, first, it is invited to attend the great societies, and then it refers that God’s hand is over such societies, and in contrast, the single footers are the victim of Satan and are excluded from divine support, and the similitude mentioned in the next phrase shows that overcoming the social problems and salvation from the paws of wolfs is only possible within the society, and thereby, the more massive and condense society results in the more powerful and victorious society against the events. Finally, he says in the last phrases that reviving Qur’an means gathering and uniting around it, and killing it means scattering and proceeding in a path alone! Moreover, we can use two following issues for showing Islam’s attempt at the greater societies:
1- In view of Islam, the significance of each congregation prayer depends on the number of its participants, and also the reward of mosques, including Bazar mosque, the city’s great mosque and the mosques belonging to the Muslims, and finally The Sacred Mosque, which is the greatest centre of Islamic society, is in proportion with their social situation.
2- Islam has encouraged breeding and increasing population. The Holy Prophet (S) says, Desire child because I will boast in the day of resurrection for the plentitude of your population. (4) It should be noted that the plentitude of the population may cause discomforts and problems in some societies in view of insufficient foodstuffs, and such like, but these transitory and exceptional problems can never devaluate human resources for society. These problems may occasionally occur for those nations for example lacking abundant underground resources or agricultural products and such like.
Social Seclusion
The reaction of dis-sociability and monkery in retardation of individual and society
Sociologists believe that social seclusion, in any form and in any case, has very unfavourable effects on the spirit and body of individuals and society. This is approved both with respect to those living in seclusion, and also the tribes and nations and in general the groups living separately for social, political and or geographical reasons. One of the sociologists, Rousse, in his book “Principles of Sociology” has studied the effects of social seclusion on a large number of prisoners being imprisoned in individual cells. He says: Ten per cent of them have died or committed suicide or become insane after one year, and the others too have suffered from a sort of mental disease (depression).
Then he adds: among the individual prisoners, the challenge of the social spirit of a person against death is really pathetic, because sometimes only offering one flower or one candy to a prisoner may quench his thirst for social contact and save him from death. He stipulates about the monks and cenobites that seclusion has ill effects on their spirit, and causes depression, despair, delusion and most often a sort of mental disorder. (5) The effects of social seclusion in desert travellers and nomadic tribes, who live in a sort of permanent seclusion, are particularly visible because their retardation is manifest in all mental and social aspects and in proportion with the manner of their tribal seclusion.
In addition, the countries dissociating the others for special political regimes will be involved in retardation in different aspects, if they do not communicate through other means like publications, and such. Considering previous discussions and the point that we are indebted to all developments to the accumulation of thoughts, experiences and innovations of nations and individuals, the main cause of this issue is completely clear. So, we shall accept that social seclusion is the greatest enemy for the perfection of societies and progress and men’s development in all aspects and it is also the source of all types of deviations.
Continue in the next article: ( A Healthy Society under the Grace of Ethics 4 )
NOTES:
____________________________________
1. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, 280/74
2. The same document
3. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 127
4. Hurr al-Amili, Wasa’il ash-Shi’a, 3/14, narration 2
5. Sociology, Samuel King, page 428
