Imam Zain al-Abedin (PBUH)...

Imam Zain al-Abedin (PBUH), the 4th Infallible Successor of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) in his famous epistle dictated to one of his disciples and titled Risalat al-Hoqouq or The Treatise on Human Rights , considers purifying the self to be the prime duty of a Muslim.

After mentioning the right of Allah upon man, he outlines our own rights upon ourselves as the second important set of rights, he says: “The right of yourself (nafs) against you is that you employ it in obeying Allah; then you deliver to your tongue its right, to your hearing its right and you seek help from Allah in all that.” In other words, temptations are an alien and unnatural feeling that drives mankind towards self-destruction.

The more mankind surrenders to carnal desires, the more he or she becomes weak and loose, since self control has been ceded to an external power, a power that drives him or her towards destruction. On the other hand, control of the self prevents such foreign and unnatural tendencies from infiltrating our self and manifests our true human personality. When a person takes control of himself with his firm will he protects himself from dangers.

Self-control is among the main objectives of religious teachings, particularly in Islam. Imam Zain al-Abedin (PBUH) cites self-building and self-reform as a right that makes human dignity flourish. We need to know the reality of our own self and traverse the straight and unwavering path of righteousness in order to achieve high goal in life, that being with obedience to Allah and His commandments. This realization is the key to human prosperity.

In the holy Qur’an, Allah Almighty says: “And I have not created the jinn and mankind, except that they should serve Me.” (1) In view of these facts, Imam Zain al-Abedin (PBUH) considers the greatest right of one’s self as obedience to Allah, and this goal should not be forgotten. The modern man who is surrounded by dangerous intellectual, cultural, and social storms, can only save himself and humanity by adhering to the laws of Allah.

The Imam makes it clear that whoever realizes the goal of creation and obeys the commandments of the One and Only Allah, has observed his right upon himself. In other words, if someone gives priority to servitude of other than Allah, he has trampled humanitarian principles. Pride in posts and worldly ranks, greediness, and dependence on big powers are symptoms of straying away from the path and commandments of Allah Almighty.