For the same reason.

For the same reason. Pharaoh’s followers told him. “Will you allow Moses and his followers to ignore your Lord?” (8) Hence, Moses demanded the freedom of others from this servitude, “That is a blessing thou reproaches me with, having enslaved the Children of Israel.” (9) So, Moses meant that it is not fit to worship anyone but God and that all human beings should be free from this bondage and that they should not follow man-made rules.

In the works of the Innocent Imams, the message of freedom is clearly discernible. The most obvious document in this regard is Nahj al-Balaghah where Imam Ali addresses his son, Imam Hasa Mujtaba, “Be not servant to anyone but God, for He has created you free.” (10) As is seen in this statement, true freedom lies in breaking from any servitude but from God.

For the same reason, Imam ‘Ali finds his honour in this kind of freedom, “O God, it suffices me to be Thy servant; this is a great honour for me to have Thee as my Lord.” (11) The Difference Between Islamic Stance on Freedom and That of Other Schools of Thought As pointed out, freedom lies in freedom from the servitude of others but Allah. However, the proponents of other schools believe that freedom lies in man’s capability to choose anything.

In their eyes, man is free to choose any religion he desires, for they regard religion as an ordinary thing. Thus, as man chooses his profession and residence, he chooses his own religion. According to this belief, religion finds its origins in the traditions and beliefs of people.

However, in Islam, this absolute freedom is servitude, for if a man is free to choose whatever he likes as his religion, then he falls into the pitfall of his desires and follows them, “Has thou seen him who has taken his caprice as his god?” (12) The implication is that man has to choose the true religion although he is free not to choose any religion. This different interpretation of freedom misguides causes the followers of other doctrines. Now we shall discuss some of these issues.

One of these issues is political freedom. In the dark atmosphere of atheism and egoism, political freedom means that people participate in the elections and vote for anyone they wish and boast of this democracy. However, in the bright atmosphere of monotheism, political freedom is never limited to this. In this atmosphere, there is talk of leadership and representation. In addition, there is a fundamental difference between the representation of Faqih and his deputyship.