ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islam and Religious Pluralism Value of Belief With regard to the value of belief, the discussion should proceed in three stages: Is lack of belief in the principles of religion, such as the Oneness of God, Prophecy, and resurrection – and according to the Shī`a view, these three in addition to Divine justice and Imāmate (succession) – always and necessarily cause for Divine punishment?

Or is it possible for some unbelievers to be excused and not be punished for their unbelief? Is belief a necessary condition for the acceptance of good deeds, such that no good deed of a non-Muslim or non-Shī`a is acceptable to God? Do unbelief and rejection of the truth cause the invalidity of good deeds or not? In the coming discussions, we will touch on each of these three stages.

Being Held Accountable For Unbelief There is no doubt that unbelief is of two types: One is unbelief out of obstinacy and stubbornness, which is called the unbelief of repudiation; and the other is unbelief out of ignorance and unawareness of the truth. With regard to the former, definitive rational and narrational proofs indicate that a person who deliberately and knowingly shows obstinacy towards the truth and endeavours to reject, it deserves punishment.

But with regard to the latter, it must be said that if the ignorance and unawareness do not spring from negligence, they shall be forgiven and overlooked by God. To explain this point, it is necessary to speak a bit about submission and obstinacy. The Qur’ān says: يَوْمَ لاٌ يَنْفَعُ مٌالٌ وَ لاٌ بَنُونَ إِلاَّ مَنْ أَتَـى اللٌّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ “The day when neither wealth nor children will avail, except him who comes to God with a sound heart.

”[^1] Levels of Submission The most basic condition of soundness of heart is to be submissive to the truth. Submission has three levels: submission of the body, submission of the intellect, and submission of the heart. When two opponents face each other in combat and one of them feels likely to lose, he may surrender or submit to the other. In such a surrender, normally the losing opponent puts his hands up as a sign of defeat and desists from fighting, coming under the sway of his opponent.

That is, he acts in accordance with whatever command his opponent gives.