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Nahj al-Balaghah and Its Spiritual Teachings (8) - Al-Shia The Scientific and Cultural Website of Shia belief Nahj al-Balaghah and Its Spiritual Teachings (8) 2021-06-22 331 Views Islamic teachings , Imam Ali , The Commander of faithful , Nahj al-Balagha , The Peak of Eloquence In this part of the article titled “Nahj al-Balaghah and Its Spiritual Teachings”, we shall continue our discussions on “Zuhd” (abstention) and freedom as one of the important themes of Nahj al-Balaghah here.

Zuhd and Freedom Another ingredient of zuhd is the love of freedom and independence. The union between zuhd and freedom is as primordial as it is indissoluble. The dictates of need and exigency are the criteria of opportunists, whereas independence from want is characteristic of free men. The deepest aspiration of the free men unattached to the world is unencumbrance, buoyancy, absence of hindrance, and freedom of movement.

As a result, they adopt zuhd and contentment so as to reduce their wants to a minimum, liberating their selves from the bondage of need, of things and persons. The life of a human being, like that of any other animal, requires a series of natural and indispensable necessities, like air, shelter, bread, water, and clothing.

Man cannot free himself entirely from attachment to such needs and other things such as light and heat so as to make himself, in philosophical terminology, “self-sustaining” (muktafi bidhatih). However, there are a series of other wants which are not necessary and natural but are imposed upon one in the course of one’s life either by oneself or by social and historical factors beyond his control, which nevertheless set limits upon his freedom.

Such constraints are not very dangerous as long as they are not transformed into inner needs, such as certain political constraints and compulsions. The most dangerous of compulsions are those which emerge as inner needs from within one’s own self and shackle him.

The mechanism of these needs, which lead to inner weakness, impotence, and defeat, operates in such a way that when one turns to luxuries and comforts in order to add charm, delight, and glamour to one’s life so as to feel more secure and strong in order to derive greater gratification from life, one is impelled to possess more and more things. In the course of time, one gets gradually accustomed to and engrossed in the means of one’s comfort, luxury, and power.