The only possible assurity on this level is the inner...

The only possible assurity on this level is the inner feeling of responsi- bility. This means that the person who prac- tices worship is performing a duty - which differs from any other social obligation or pro- ject - when he borrows and pays back, or when he contracts and adheres to the conditions, when he borrows money from others and returns it to the debtor . . .

, he performs a duty which lies within the range of social super- vision's monitoring; hence, his estimation, in another manner, of the predictment of social reaction - in case he backs up - dictates to the same person the decision to do it. The ritual duty, towards the Unknown, is one whose inner implication none knows except God, the Praised One, the Omnipotent, for it is the result of the inner feeling of responsibility.

Through religious practices, such an inner feel- ing grows, and man gets used to behave accord- ing to it. Through the medium of such feeling can we find the good citizen. It is not sufficient for good citizenship that a person is reluctant to perform the legal rights of others for fear of the social reaction towards such reluctance. Rather, good citizenship is achieved by man who does not relax his own inner feeling of responsibility.

Had the feeling of fear of social reaction towards reluctance been the basis of good citizenship in a good society, then the escape from such obligations is quite possible in many cases when, say, it is possible for the individual to hide his reluctance, or give a false interpretation of it, or protect himself from the social reaction in this manner or that. Then, there is no guarantee in all of these cases except the inner feeling of responsibility.

We notice that it is often recommended to perform optional rites secretly, rather than publicly. There even are rites which are secretive by nature such as fasting, for it is an inner curb which cannot be checked externally. There are rites for which a secretive environment is chosen, avoiding the public stage, such as the nightly (nafl) optional prayers whose performance re- quires after mid-night time.

All this is for the sake of deepening the aspect of worshipping the Unseen, linking it more and more to the inner feeling of responsibility. Thus, this feeling gets deepened through the practice of rites, and man gets used to behave on its basis, form- ing a strong guarantee for the good individual's discharge of his duties and obligations. Previous…