ভূমিকা

Muhammad ibn Ya’qub (al-Kulayni), from ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from al-Nawfali, from al-Sakuni, who reports on the authority of Abu ‘Abd Allah (Imam al-Sadiq ) (A) that the Prophet (S) said, “Whosoever possesses in his heart ‘asabiyyah (prejudice in any of its forms such as tribalism, racism, nationalism) even to the extent of a mustard seed, God will raise him on the Day of Resurrection with the (pagan) Bedouins of the Jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic era).”[^1] Exposition Although now khardal is current in modern Persian for the mustard seed, the word for it in old Persian was espandan.

It is said that the mustard seed has many medicinal uses and is also used for making candles. As to the word ‘asabiyyah it is the characteristic of the person who supports his kinsmen and relatives even for a wrong and unjust cause. ‘Usbah refers to paternal relatives, as they are more likely to be those among whom one is surrounded ( ‘asaba: to wrap around) and those from whom one derives strength ( ‘asaba means, also, to bind).

‘Asabiyyah and ta’assub in general give the sense of favoring and defending. So much for the lexical meaning. As to its nature, I believe that ‘asabiyyah is an inner psychic quality which is manifested in patronizing and defending one’s kindred and those with whom one has some kind of affinity or relation, whether it be religious creed or ideology, or whether it be soil or home. The affinity may also be similarity of profession or the relationship of teacher and pupil, or something else.

It is a moral vice and an abominable trait which itself begets many more moral and behavioral deviations and vices as well. In itself a condemnable quality, it may take the form of defense of truth or religion, but in reality it is not aimed to defend a just and truthful cause but for extending one’s own influence or that of one’s co-religionists and allies.