Four Californian Lectures

Questions & Answers

Q.l. You have said that mothers have more rights on children than the fathers have. Is it mentioned in the Our'an or the traditions?

Answer: It is based partly on the Our'an and partly on the traditions. In the Our'an where Allah has apportioned shares of inheritance of a deceased, He has allotted one-sixth of the estate to the father and one-third to the mother. It is the only occasion where a woman has been given twice the share of a man.

As for tradition, Hakim ibn Hizam asked the Holy Prophet: "O Messenger of Allah! Whom should I do. good to?" The Holy Prophet said: "Your mother," He asked: "Then who?" The Holy Prophet again said: "Your mother/' He again asked: "Then who?" The Holy Prophet again said: "Your mother/' He asked the fourth time: "Then who?" Then the Holy Prophet said: "Your father." It is from this tradition that the Muslim scholars have inferred that the mother's right are three times greater than those of the father.

Q.2. You have said that Allah will not accept His own worship from a child who is not obedient to his parents. What if the parents are unbelievers?

Answer: The reply is clearly given in the Our'anic verse, a sentence of which I had quoted in my speech, It says: "Be thankful to Me, and to thy parents; to Me is the homecoming. But if they strive with you to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, then do not obey them; yet bear them company in this life with fair-ness..."(31:14-15).

Q. 3. How can you justify the permission of jihad in the light of what you have said about Islam being a religion of peace? Answer: This question needs somewhat detailed reply. But I'll try to make it as brief as possible. Let me tell you at the outset that Islam does not want to exterminate wrong-doers; it only wants to remove the wrong. Evil deeds are like disease. They need treatment and every doctor wants to cure the ailments with medicines as far as possible. But sometimes the ailment reaches a stage where no medicine can do any good; he feels that surgical operation is necessary if the life of the patient is to be saved. Then he decides, not happily but reluctantly, to amputate one or more limbs of the patient. It may cause severest pain for the time being; but it is not torture, it is mercy.

Likewise, suppose that this humanity is a compact body, some of its parts become infected with spiritual disease and every medicine of sympathetic persuasion and rational pleading has failed. And there is a danger that their infection is causing and inflicting hardships upon other parts, and the spiritual doctor, I mean the Prophet or the Imam who is guided by Allah, is confident that now the surgical operation is essential to save other parts of mankind from trouble. Then, and only then, he will order a holy- war; and then also it will be limited to that part which is most necessary to remove.

Moreover, even if you feel that there is necesity of a surgical operation you will never entrust this most dangerous task to an unauthorized person. It will be a very foolish and irresponsible action. You can never be satisfied that the operation is essential unless a qualified doctor tells you so. Therefore, according to Shi'ah Ithna 'Ashari law, a war cannot be started unless specifically authorized by the Prophet or the Imam himself, and that also to the limits prescribed by that Representative of Allah.

After all, life is a creation of Allah and it should not be destroyed unless it has been authorized to do so by a Representative of Allah. Accordingly, the holy-war is forbidden for the Shi'ah Ithna 'Asharis during the period when our Imam is in occultation. This is our law about the holy-war. Self-defence is permitted at any time, but to start a forbidden without specific authority of the Prophet or the Imams.