Masterpieces of Rhetoric Methood (nahj Al-balagha)

The Goodness of Existence and Revolutionary Nature of Life

Very often do we see him make the revolutionary nature of life entirely out of the goodness of existence, and the goodness of existence is the whole result of the revolutionary of life!

And the revolution said: I am the puller down, the builder!

It is not the right of the just cosmos but to be compassionate good. It has no nature but to grant gifts. It does not take what it has given except to give it back good and new. The goodness of existence is an entity of its entity, and an essence of its essence. And Ali’s knowledge of it is this knowledge. And his sense of its good is his sense of its justice, no less, no more on that knowledge he spoke of this good, and increased the speech, and we have mentioned several things from his sayings about the good of existence.

Perhaps what we have mentioned of these true masterpieces could be summarized now in a word he said as if he summed up his doctrine, which believes in the goodness of existence: Allah is not more generous about what He is asked than him about which He is not asked.”

If we know that the word ‘Allah’ means in its maximum sense, for the ancients of the belief of spiritual and intellectual originality, the centre of existence and cosmic connections, we know what universal, comprehensive goodness is the good of existence which gives you beyond what you ask, then it increases!

And because man, who assumes himself a tiny body, is a representative of this greater world as Ibn Abi Talib says, so he must be as well a picture of existence with its good, as he is its picture with its justice. If existence gave you beyond what you ask of its blessings it so it takes the initiative for a need of its nature to be good.

And if you were a picture of it, then you are more in need of making good to people than people of need for it. And this is what Ali ascertains in his saying: “doers of favour to its rendering are more in need than those to whom it is renderd. And this is what he ascetains too in a phrase he refers whenever he speaks about practicing good among people: “The better in that is the beginer”.

As we want to shift to reflect on the good and its significance on the level of relationships among people, we could classify Ibn Abi Talib’s views into the following lines:

First: the good among people lies in the idea that they cooperate and support one another, and that one should act for the sake of himself and the other equally; and that this act should not have a hypocrisy from this side nor compulsion from that side “motivated by desire, not by fright” as Ali says: then to sacrifice little and much so as to save others’ comfort and people’s trust on each other, and that this sacrifice comes as an initiative not after a request, nor after a compulsion or a force. And whatever serves or benefits, whether on the material or spiritual level, is a goodness.

Second: Ali sees that good does not come except as a practice at first, then as a saying, for man must be one like the one existence, and to support one another to fulfil this law; then if he said he would practice, and if he acted he would say. And from Ibn Abi Talib’s masterpieces is a word he said of a man who hopes Allah in a concern but he does not act for the sake of this hope: “he claims according to his own thinking that he hopes from Allah. By Allah, the Great, he speaks a lie. Why doesn’t his hope appear through his action although the hope of everyone who hopes is noticed in his action.” But if you practiced the good, it is your right then to say the good: “Say the good and act the good.”

Third: Ali expands the range before the powers of good to go ahead to the most far distant, thereby making the acceptance of repentance of evil a law to be acted on. Then if a man committed a sin offending others, the repentance has a door where he could enter once again into the world of good if he liked. Ali says: “Accept the excuse of him who apologizes to you, and delay evil as long as you can.

“History know the amount of offence which Ali suffered from Abu Mosa Al-Ashary, and it too knows that Ali has not behaved except on his doctrine, whatever situations and difficulties have been, hence we see him send to Abu Mosa saying: “Know then, that you are a man ledastray by your desires, and tempted by self-conceit, so seek Allah’s pardon, and He forgives your stumbling, because he who seeks Allah’s pardon, He forgives him.”.

Forth: Ali believes that the powers of good in man summon and fasten one another in a powerful way. If a man had a side of good, it is certain that it is connected with other sides, and if it certain that it is connected with other sides, and if is certain that these sides would appear on occasions. And this insight has a frank reference to the idea that existence is one, balanced, just, and good whatever it is a universal, great existence or a particu-lar, small one manifested by the man: “If a man possesses a pure quality wait her sisters of him”

Fifth: And such a good contagion among the good qualities is a similar contagion that shfts from good to evil between people and people: “Associate with people of virtue; you will become one of them.” “seek good and its doers”.

Sixth: The deep belief that man’s power, whoever he is, is to follow the course of good, and that no one is worthier than another in this course: “No one of you should say that another person is more worthy than I in doing good.”

Seventh: One should not regard his much good acts as too much. Rather what he acts of the good remains little, however much it was, because the satisfaction with an amount of good is a denial of the great good of existence and is a denial of the power of man into whom the great world is enfolded: “They are not satisfied with their little good acts, and do not regard their plenty acts as great. They always blame themselves and are afraid of being neglectful in their actions”.

Eight: It is necessary to refer to the deep insight that Ali casts on the concepts of human tendency towards that which makes people, all people, be in a bliss.

If we think over the works of most of the thinkers who paid their attentions to people’s concerns, we find that the word ‘happiness’ is mentioned in these works, and that the signifi-cance of this word is itself the pivot of their researches and the goal of what they wanted. Yet, Ali replaces the word ‘happiness’ with what is longer in range, deeper in sense, wider in horizon, and grander in concern with which human nature should be characterized and long for.

He replaced this ‘happiness’ with the word ‘good’, then he was not directing hearts to that but to this. For happiness is restricted to a person’s limit, while good is not restricted in such a limit. So good is greater! Then good contains happiness, but it does not contain it the good, then it is more comprehensive! In Addition, some people may be happy with that which does not ennoble man; they may be happy with that which hurts others; they may be worthless and flabby and they think they are happy.

Yet good is unlike happiness, since its metal is this metal. It is a happiness dependent on the happiness of all people. It is the contentedness with the conditions of the body, mind, and con-science! Hence Ali increased the use of this word in his hot call upon whatever may elevate man’s dignity.

I have not found, in Ibn Abi Talib’s works, the word ‘happiness’ except one time. But he does not deviate from its meaning which he means away from the concept of good by what he loads it of its limits and meanings. As for the phrase in which the word ‘happiness’ is mentioned, it is this: “of one’s happiness is to have a virtuous wife, faithful children, honou-rable brothers, righteous neighbours, and that his sustenance is in his country.” Look how he joins man’s happiness with that of his surrounding, his family, then his brothers’ and neighbours’ happiness as a whole.

Afterwards he relates this man’s happiness to that of his country relying on that it is a country that produces sustenance for all its sons, and he is one of them.

Nineth: The good of existence and of man entails, by necessity, the trust in human conscience in a manner that makes it the last arbirtrator over what harms and benefits. And we have, in this subject, a view to be detailed, so we say:

From Ibn Abi Talib’s masterpieces is that which addresses mind alone some of them is that which addresses conscience. Most of them are directed towards mind and conscience, tog-ether. As for that which addresses the mind, then say it is the utmost in originality, and it is an inevitable outcome of the activity of the mind which has observed, scrutinized, and got used to the good and evil of time,

has known of the experiences whatever that reveals and clarifies the truths for it, and so they are moulded on geometric bases with limits and dimensions because of the intensity in which they are connected with the truths, shown in the most wonderful artistic frame because of the intensity in which they are connected with expressionistic aestheticism, which makes it, in matter and form, of the origins of the classical Arabic literature.

And in this sort of wisdoms directed towards mind, we see Ali portrays, leaving people to determine what they see. They may take, or leave, if they like. Hence we do not see in this sort of maxims the forms of order. We see but maxims shaped in a pure statement form cleared out of all the forms of order and prevention as a whole.

They are maxims which crystallize the natures of the friend and the enemy, the noble and the evil behaviour, the silly and the reasonable, the miser and the generous, the truthful and the hypocrite, the oppressor and the oppressed, the needy and the satiated, the holder of right and the holder of wrong,

the concept of sound manners and that of bad manners, the concerns of the ignorant and the knower, the speaker and the calm, the reckless and the forbearing, the features of the greedy and the contented, the conditions of poverty and wealth, the fluctuations of time and its effect on people’s manners, and the like which cannot be counted within a chapter or a topic.

As for that which addresses conscience, and the mind as well as conscience together, then take what is it on and what is about.

It is proved that those who saw in the systems and legis-lations alone the safety of man and the satisfaction of society can be achieved had committed a great mistake. For these systems and legislations, which declare man’s rights and order to consider and protect them, could not be verified in the end, just as they are not excelled honestly discover,

and created, except by a sound mind, a refined spirit and a sublime conscience. For the whole of people’s world is connceted within certain limits, undoubtedly, with the manners of the supervisors of their laws and orders, and the extent of good which wide or narrow in their spirits, and the amount which is related to the conscience of the society which constitute the field of thses laws and systems and justify their existence.

This is with the confession that modern social systems differ greatly in their allowance for their guard-ians to keep pace with, or violate them. That is due to their nature and the rate of what their origins contain of the capabilities of practice,. Yet, the old systems and laws were more influenced by the manners of their supervisors who supervise the action of what they require out of punishment. And that has reasons which are out of our speech.

And although these righteous systems and legislations direct people and impose on them what leads to their benefit suppo-sedly, then this direction and imposition remain outside the limits of humanitarian value unless they are accompanied by the action, stemming from the very emotion. In our belief, every act that man does is inevitably lacking humanitarian wormth – which is more valuable and greater in its harmony with the human deed, unless it carries the flame of conscience, the scent of spirit, and the will of gift without compulsion or force.

The systems and legislations do not succeed in establishing human relations except within the amount that enables them to address the mind and conscience, and convince them of good; so they create the splendid harmony between giving the opportunity for useful act and the will of the doer in a unity which secures, for the individual and the group, the rise to advance in the route of civilization.

And what is true, in this respect, in the domain of individuals and groups, comes true as well in the history of thinkers, legislators, scientists, discoverers, and the like. You can see, if you surveyed the history of those who have served man and culture, that reason which guided them to the right path, in every field, hasn’t been alone in their history.

For reason is cold, dry, and does not identify except numbers, parts and the aspects that have limits. Therefore it guides you to the way, but it does not inspire you to proceed through it and does not drive you in its plain and uneven parts. But the motive is the sound conscience and hot feeling.

Then what prompted Marcony to endure hard solitude and gloomy, depressed seclusion, unless it had been the conscience which adorns to him the keeping away from the joys of life to the depression of solitude for the sake of civilization and man? And unless it was the emotion which fills up this sound conscience with heat and warmth, then it does not languish at all.

And what is said of Marcony is as well of pasteur, Gallilo, Gandi, Bethoven, Budha, Plato, Geity and others who have have attained the human compound which is close to perfection.

And the positive evidence of this fact involves a negative evidence to increase clearness. Here are Adolf Hitler, Jankeez Khan, Hollacko, Al-Hajjaj bin Yousif Al-Thakafi, Caesar of Borjia; the hero of the ominous book ‘The Prince’ by Machia-velly([^2]) and some contemporary scientists of atom who agree to experiment it on human beings, have not all of those been distinguished with storing minds and perception which other’s perceptions become little compared with these?

Yet, they were not concerned except with killing destroying, and transgression on the sanctions of civilization, the outcomes of human efforts, on the dignity of life and creatures and the good of existence! For their minds were not gone along with sound conscience and compassionate feelings! Then, where is no conscience and no emotion there is no benefit from reason, rather say it is closer to harm.

Here, I do not want to detail for man’s different powers like emotion, conscience, reason and the like, then they are undoubtedly interacting and cooperating. But what I mean by reason is the power which realizes the concerns on a level that joins the cause with the result, and connect skillfully between cause and effect, so it turns around a frame of number and limits which are not influenced, in itself, by particular and general human environment. And I allowed this detail on this light.

So, the holder of a discovering mind has to possess con-science and emotion which drive him in the way of good. And what is applicable, in this respect, to the legislator is applicable to whom it is legislated. The individuals, whom are asked to keep pace with this good system or that one, must have an emotional persuasion in addition to the abstract intellectual persuation that drive them on the way of elevated human purifying discipline so as to establish a virtuous society. They have to get used to moral vitrues which surround the systems and legislations with refined immune fortresses. They have to be righteous.

Hence Ali has gone stirring in the individuals the feelings of good as we saw, awakening in them what days had hidden of their sound conscience, endeavouring to cultivate them, and advising to take care of them.

Ali has gone to consciences in his advices, sermons, pledges and sayings as a whole. For it has not passed him that the refining of manners has a concern in complying with the just systems, in spreading heat in the dealings among people. It has not passed him as well that the purification is demanded for itself as it is one of the human values, and is demanded to protect the social justice and its norms as it is a control for some inclinations and a directing for others.

And what helped him in that is what he has got out of a penetrating ability through which he passes to people’s depths, individuals and groups; so he realizes their tendencies, their desires; he knows their natures and manners, then he weighs their good and evil, then he portrays develops, orders and prevents, on the light of his strick confidence in human conscience to which he addresses.

Ibn Abi Talib’s confidence in human conscience was the confidence of the great persons in whom the brilliant mind has harmonized with the heart full of human wormth, and pulsant with deep affection which does not know limits.

His confidence in this conscience was the confidence of Budha, Bethoven, Rousseau, Gandi, and all great men which their heart provided them with an illumination with which every light faints. And on the basis of this confidence Ibn Abi Talib established his maxims and proverbs, and on the basis of it, the ideas and instructions with which he addresses people’s emotions connect with each other.

If imam Ali had such a confidence in the sides of good in people, despite the disaters and misfortunes he has suffered at their hands, then he refuses but to throw the seeds of this confidence in all of their hearts. He knows that “there is in the hands of people both right and wrong, true and false.” But it is more deserving for one to open his eyes and heart and notice these sides of good; perhaps they are those which develop not the sides of evil. Perhaps teaching by example and conduct is grander and more useful.

So much has Ali repeated in his sermons the necessity of this confidence in human conscience, and of his sayings are: “If a person has a good idea about you, make his idea be true.” And he says in another place:

“Do not regard an expression uttered by any person as evil at the time you can find a good interpretation to it” and it is not just to destroy confilence by relying on assumption” and “At a time when virtue is dominant on time and people, if a person entertains an evil suspicion about another person of whom nothing evil has been noticed, then he has been unjuast” and “he leads the worst life among people who doesn’t trust in anyone due to his own evil will and no one trust in him due to his bad actions.

The researchers about Imam Ali made a mistake the hour they saw that he is pessimistic extremely about people, very much weary of them, and the hour they protested for their opinion by some syaings in which he attacks people of his time strongly and violently. But our opinion is completely to the contrary. Our opinion is that Ali has not abolished his confidence in man for one hour, although he cancelled it with regard to some people in some circumstances.

Whoever knows Ibn Abi Talib’s ability to endure misfortunes which come from people, and his surprising patience is suffering the adversities resulting from betrayal, treasom and degeneration of the many of his opponents and supporters, then how he treated them when he deals with them with gentleness and kindness as much as he could; I say: whoever knows that realizes that Ali is greatly optimistic in man’s nature and his instinct which society led astray in some cases; he does not differ from his great brother Rousseau.

And if he had, in censuring people of treason, betrayal and oppression much speech it is as such because he admits implicitly that man is reformable even if it takes along time. The optimist alone is the one who scolds the wrong-doer as he rewards the benevolent person wishing to straighten crookedness in morals and behaviar.

If it had not been for Ibn Abi Talib to have such a hope he would not have been able to bear what is unbearable of the misfortunes of time which the wrong-doers brought upon him, and he would not have endured what he dislikes. Even if he said of this world and its people that: “its inhabitants are howling dogs or preclatory beasts who growl at each other.

The stronger of them eat away the weaker and the big of them trample on the small,” he but says that because he suffered from the treason of the traitors, and the offence of the harmful people what has pained and hurt him. He rebuked them this painful censure as his preference for the one who does not degenerate or betray, not be a growling dog or a predatory beast, not a strong one eating away the weak, or a big one trampling over the small one! He says that, then fights the devouring beast, the strong oppressor, the big tyrant, like the physician fights the germs as a preference from him to the safety of body and soul, rather as a preference of life to death, and optimistically strive for salvation!

So, Imam Ali, who respects life – the greatest thing Allah has created – and respect the living people – the most beautiful samples of this life -, is greatly confident in the human good, greatly optimistic of man, and wants him to be free as he must be!

And had it not been for this confidence, and this optimism, his concern with people would not be as such, and he would not say: “Do not regard an expression uttered by a person as evil if you can find a good explaination to it bearing some good. Then he would not turn toward the individual and collective con-science in his sermons which gather the depth of understanding, and the heat of emotion and the sublime purpose and the noble aim.

He wanted these commandments to be an immune fortress for general morals, the human feeling, and the concentration of advantageous action on positive bases in mind and conseince. And relying on this confidence in human conscience and as a fortification the good noble act, we see him place on people guards from themselves and eyes from their limbs, so he addresses them saying:

“Know that your ownself is a watcher over you; your limbs are watchmen and truthful keepers who preseve the record of your actions and the number of your breaths!”

And relying on this confidence in the good and justice of existence, on the greatness of life and the living creatures, Ali bin Abi Talib addresses the people of his time with what awakens in them that life is free which does not endure the chains except what is a cause in its flow and a means of its continuity, a torch of its brightness and a norm of its norms. It does not like staying in the cradle of yesterday. People should not try to chain and restrain it, otherwise it stagnantes and change into an extermination. Life is nice, compassionate, free and good like existence; its father, which protects itself by its constant laws not by the laws that pessimists want for it.

It is ever renovating, ever developing, it does not accept a substitute for its renovation and development; and they are a means it uses in its victories which intend more good and better survival continuity. Ibn Abi Talib’s accurate and deep obser-vation of life and its norms – as it is the greatest being of the good existence, consolidated in himself the belief in the revolutionary of life ever looking forward to the front, ever moving towards much more good. And the revolutionary of life is the origin of its moving, and the reason of its development from good to better.

Hence life was free, unrestrained except with the conditions of its existence. And the revolutionary of life is the origin of the movement of human society and the reason of its development. And had it not been for this speciality life would be a thing of death, and the living creatures are inanimate.

Ibn Abi Talib believed in the revolutionary nature of life in a way like to a knowledge or say a knowledge itself. Then what follows from that is a great belief that living creatures can reform themselves thereby keeping pace with the laws of life. They can be the masters of their fates thereby being subjected to the genius of life. We have said in a former speech that the revolutionary nature of life is the closest of its features to it, and the greatest in significance regarding its great capabilities.

It entails on the believers in it to act on the basis of a perfect confidence in the inevitable progress, and to awaken the thoughts to it, and to make use of evidence and proof in preventing conservative from every silly action whose practicers assume that they can stand against the revolting life which is developed by its revolution.

By this confidence and this belief, Ibn Abi Talib addressed man by saying: “For when you were first created you were born ignorant. Thereafter, you has been taught and how much you ignore, in so many matters and in your sight first wonders and your eyes wanders then after this you see it.” There is a confession in this saying that life is developing, and that learning is the getting benefit of what life stores of its genius within its sons’ chests, as we have previously said. And it contains a belief in the great human capability for development or say for good.

And his hot call to knowledge, which reveals everyday a new thing and establishes everyday a new thing is but an evidence of the belief in the revolutionary virtuous life and the capabilities of the living creatures. Knowledge to him is a revelation and victory that do not calm down.

With this belief and this confidence he addresses the people of his time saying: “Do not compel your sons to your manners, for they have been created for a time other than yours. And had it not been for his great optimism that life contains beauty, and that people have the capability of development towards the good, he would not had uttered this saying which sums up his knowledge of the revolutionary nature of life, it also sums up his optimism in the capabilities of the developing man with life, and sums up the spirit of sound eduction, and release every generation of people from the chains of tradition and custom with which a former generation was satisfied.

And Ibn Abi Talib in this sense has much speech, of which these masterpieces are in which he glorifies the work as it is a truth, a revolution and a virtue: “Whomever his action slackens him, his lineage cannot put him forward.” And “The worth of every man is what he does of good. And “Know that, people are the son of what good they do.” And “Every man has the consequences of what he has earned. Ie. Their behaviour is the result of the good thing they do.”

And of his sayings is what drives man to demand progress in work, and not to refrain or retreat in case he fails much or little, for the benevolent existence does not deprive its sons of what they deserve. And if it deprives them it is some deprivation not all of it. And the matter may be settled in a second payment of the demand by work.

And from his saying is this masterpiece: “One who is in search of something will obtain it, or at least apart of it”, I think that the reader recognizes the spirit of this phrase which glitters as if it were an emanation from Christ’s famous word: “You should knock and knock, and it will be opened for you.”

Perhaps the most beautiful in Allawiy belief in this respect is that its holder (Ali) unified the revolutionary nature of life and good of existence in letter and in spirit and in meaning. So many time we see him unify the meaning of progress, or the revolu-tionary of life, with the meaning of good of existence in a unity that does not make this a thing of that, or that of this; rather it makes the revolutionary nature of life entirely out of the good of existence, and the good of existence entirely of the revolutionary nature of life. And these masterpieces contain a compassionate proof for the trueness of what we say, so that they don’t need an explanation or a commentary.

Here is a sample of them: “The rational man is one whose present day is better than his yesterday”. And He whose tomorrow is worse than his present day is deprived.” And “He whose two days are equal is aggrieved.” And lastly take this masterpiece which includes the whole of what we are now speaking about, besides the warmth of deep sympathy, besides the beauty of true art, besides making the days participate in people’s sensations: “No day passes over a human being except it tells him: I am a new day, and I am a witness upon you; so say the good and act the good since you will not see me again at all!”

We will mention in this book masterpieces by Ibn Abi Talib which will remain as long as good man remains. They are a group that constitute a procedure in compassionate manners, great dreams and sublim human refining which he wanted it to an emanation from the revolutionary nature of life and the good of existence!

Beirut

George Gerdak

([^1]) In summary from Faghnar and Woman, the author, pp. 163 – 164.

([^2]) Machiavelly: is an Italian genius who lived during the age of the great painter Rafaed, and was a friend and a helper of him. His unique mind and compassionate manners drived him to attack means of oppression and savagery of rulers of history. So he wrote his famous book ‘The Prince’ in which he describes the insolence of those rulers, and their indecent personalities in an indirect way as he portrayed to people a picture about the prince’s personality who has not got any conscience or mind or taste, and who resorts to different means of violence like killing,

terrifying, expelling, and the whole of disasters so as to hold his position ... with reference to the idea that emirates of history and age in which they lived but concentrated on this repulsive means. Machiavelly took the Prince’s feature in this book from the character of Caesar of Borjia, son of Iskander of Borjia the committer of the known oppressions. The princeple stating the resort to such a means so as to reach authority then to concentrate it is called Machiavellian as an attribution to Machiavelly: the author of the book.