[In al-Kafi...

[In al-Kafi, through a chain of authentic narrators], it is reported from Abu ‘Abd Allah (Imam al-Sadiq (A) that the Prophet (S) said, “The one who exerts ‘asabiyyah or the one on whose behalf it is exerted, the tie of faith is taken off his neck.”[^2] That is, such a man is deprived of faith and abandoned.

As to the person in whose interest ‘asabiyyah is exerted, perhaps he is also included in the hadith due to his compliance to the behavior of the one exerting ‘asabiyyah and hence made to share his lot jointly. And it is stated in hadith that whosoever approves of the action of a certain group is counted amongst it. However, if he does not approve of it and detests it, this tradition would not apply to him.

Imam ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (A) is reported to have said: No hamiyyah shall ever enter Paradise, except the hamiyyah of Hamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, which was (expressed) at the time when he became a Muslim on account of his anger in support of the Prophet (S).”[^4] The episode of Hamzah’s conversion to Islam has been reported variously, and is not relevant to our discussion.

In any case, it is obvious that faith-which is the invisible holy gift of God to His special servants, the sincere devotees of His Court, and the champions of His love-is contrary to a quality that disregards truth and reality and tramples truthfulness and uprightness under its feet.

Of course, if the mirror of the heart be covered with the dust of self-love and the love of the kindred and improper and blind ‘asabiyyah, the light of faith will not shine in it; it will not be fit to be the hidden abode of the Most High.