Islamic men of learning say that accepting position from a...

Islamic men of learning say that accepting position from a tyrannical government is illegitimate, but if his goal in doing so is service, or to help the oppressed, it is not only not a sin, but according to religious verdicts, it is sometimes recommended, and sometimes even obligatory. This applies to wealth, too. Why do you gather wealth? If you have good morals and gave a spiritual goal, then you must use this power to that end, and if you do not, you are sinful.

Islam is a supporter of two kinds of power, spiritual and economic. It believes in spiritual power in the sense that it says you should be morally so strong that you do not pay undue attention to the world and what is in it, so as not to be enslaved by it.

Imam Ali (a.s.) says that Good has declared in the Qur'an that you are an ascetic when you attain a stage where power over the whole world does not please or enslave you, and even if the world is taken away from you, it does not defeat your spirit. As for economic power, we should try to gain legitimate wealth in order to use it in the right way.

When we realize that Islam supports both spiritual and economic powers, then we find that we are "ascetics" in the sense of harbouring weakness, or remaining actually weak in both spiritual and economic matters. If we are ascetics who have avoided wealth and economic power, we have chosen weakness. Those who lack riches obviously can do nothing economically and are obliged to stretch their hands before others.

We are also spiritually weak when we are brought up to think ourselves ascetic by keeping away from wealth. Asceticism in Islam signifies spiritual strength, and having this spiritual strength enables one to make good use of wealth. Those who asked Imam Sadiq (a.s.) about asceticism were ignorant of the philosophy of it. They had heard that Imam Ali (a.s.) had been ascetic, and had supposed that an ascetic must, under all conditions, wear worn-out garments and eat barley bread.

They were ignorant of the reason for eating barley bread. Imam Sadiq (a.s.) explained it for them, and told them that Ali (a.s.) just wanted to be human. He was not an ascetic of a type who would choose seclusion. Ali (a.s.) was more sociable than anyone and was most active socially and economically, and. yet, he did not accumulate wealth. He was engaged in commerce, agriculture, gardening, planting trees, irrigation and in military expeditions.

But he remained an ascetic with all these varied activities.