“Indeed, people are slaves of this world, and religion is a lick upon their tongues; they guard it so long as their livelihoods flow abundantly, but when they are sifted by trial, the dayyānūn (upholders of religion) become few.”
The words of Imam al-Husayn (a) are the light about which the Messenger of Allah (s) said: “Indeed, al-Husayn is a lamp of guidance and an ark of salvation.”
Through understanding and comprehending them, human beings are guided, and through following them and acting according to their method, people are saved from the darknesses of ignorance and tribulations. Hence the necessity of researching and delving into his (a) words, in order to bring to light their apparent and hidden meanings.
Regarding this saying that we are addressing, which begins with his words: “Indeed, people are slaves of this world...,” some questions assail the reader about the tone that the Imam adopted in his description, since it appears to go in a negative and generalizing direction regarding the human condition, which gives a sense of futility and lack of effect, as the aim of guiding people is negated by describing them negatively with these descriptions. So how are we to understand this blessed saying of Imam al-Husayn (a)?
* The Social and Political Circumstances
Studying the contexts of speech is an important matter for bringing out the meaning, and among the important contexts are the contexts of the events in which the saying was spoken. Therefore, it was necessary for us to point to the social and political circumstances in which this saying was spoken.
The historical sources differ about the specific circumstance in which the Imam spoke this saying, and their differences are distributed across three contexts, all of which affirm that it is a saying within the Imam’s speech during his journey to Karbala. They are as follows:
1/ The Imam said it as a reaction to the words of al-Farazdaq, when the Imam asked him about the state of the people of Iraq at that time.
It came in “Nuzhat al-Nazir wa Tanbih al-Khatir,” in “Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq,” and in “Kashf al-Ghumma,” where the following is reported:
“He (a) said to al-Farazdaq—when he asked him about the people of Iraq—in reply to his saying—‘As for the hearts, they are with you; as for the swords, they are with the Banu Umayya against you; and victory is from Allah.’ So he (a) said: ‘I see only that you have spoken the truth. Indeed, people are slaves of wealth, and religion is a lick upon their tongues...’” to the end of the hadith.
It is reported in “Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarikh Halab” that this meeting took place at the stopping place of Dhat ʿIrq, and some of the martyrdom narratives did not mention the saying within the aforementioned conversation.
2/ He said it upon arriving at Karbala, on the second day of Muharram, at the beginning of his first sermon, in which he informed them of the decision to halt and set down their loads, without any other words preceding it. This came in the book “Tasliyat al-Majalis,” from al-Futuh by Ibn Aʿtham, and in “al-Amali” by al-Saduq, “al-Bihar” and others, where the following is mentioned:
Then he (a) called to his companions and set off from his place until he arrived at Karbala on Wednesday or Thursday, that being the second day of Muharram in the year sixty-one. Then he turned to his companions and said: “People are slaves of this world, and religion is a lick upon their tongues; they guard it so long as their livelihoods flow abundantly, but when they are sifted by trial, the dayyanun become few.
Then he said: Is this Karbala?!
They said: Yes.
He said: This is a place of anguish (karb) and trial (bala). Here is where our mounts kneel, where our loads are set down, where our men are slain, and where our blood is shed.
3/ The Imam said it within a sermon of his upon his arrival at Karbala, at the mountain of Dhu Husam, and the saying in question came within a speech in which other words preceded it. Al-Harrani reported this speech in “Tuhaf al-ʿUqul” from al-Tabari in his History, from ʿUqba ibn Abi al-ʿAyzar, who said: “Al-Husayn (a) stood up at Dhu Husam, praised Allah and extolled Him, then said: ‘To proceed: there has befallen of the matter what you see...’” Sayed Ibn Tawus also reported part of it in “al-Luhuf,” and ʿAli ibn ʿIsa al-Irbili in “Kashf al-Ghumma” as well. It is as follows:
“Indeed, this world has changed and become unrecognizable, and its good has turned its back, so that nothing remains of it but dregs like the dregs of a vessel, and a meager living like unwholesome pasture. Do you not see that the truth is not acted upon, and that falsehood is not refrained from? Let the believer desire to meet Allah, being in the right; for I do not see death as anything but bliss, nor life with the wrongdoers as anything but weariness. Indeed, people are slaves of this world...” to the end of the saying.
That came in the margin of Tuhaf al-ʿUqul; however, we did not find it in its entirety in the History of al-Tabari, for he mentioned the sermon: “Indeed, this world has changed and become unrecognizable...” up to his words: “nor life with the wrongdoers as anything but weariness,” whereas it is mentioned together with the saying “Indeed, people are slaves of this world” in Tuhaf al-ʿUqul; so perhaps he reported it from a copy other than the printed copy. Despite the difference in the place where it occurs and in its specific circumstance, we can nonetheless establish the general circumstance in which this saying was spoken; for all those books of narration and martyrdom narratives that mentioned it indicated that the time of saying it was after Imam al-Husayn (a) learned of the overturning of the balance in Kufa, and of the retreat of those who had written to him and invited him to come, and of their forsaking him rather than supporting him.
Here it becomes clear that the direct intended referent of the saying is the Kufan society of that time, which did not keep its promise; they did not stand firm, they inclined to the glitter of gold and silver, and they submitted to the terror of the authorities, and so they represented the deepest instance of this saying. The generalization is intended for that society which turned back on its heels. Likewise, the saying carries within it an important truth about the primary nature of the human being, to which the impulses of his self and his desires call him, namely the “utilitarian” dimension in taking interest in things: he is attracted to a thing and interested in it so long as that thing brings him profit and benefit. That does not mean a generalization to all human beings; rather, the believer who has mastered his self and trained it in obedience to Allah the Exalted and in devotion to serving religion will not be affected by those influences, and his solid metal will appear at the time of trial.
This is like the Qurʾanic verses that speak of one of the natures of the human self, such as His words, the Exalted: “and love wealth with much fondness.” (Qurʾan 89:20), and His words, the Exalted: “Indeed when We let man taste Our mercy, he boasts about it; but should an ill visit him because of what his hands have sent ahead, then man is very ungrateful.” (Qurʾan 42:48)
* Explanation
Imam al-Husayn (a) said: “Indeed, people”—either those addressed by the speech, or a general condition in the human being by his nature—“are slaves of this world.” The proof of that is the way they deal with religion if it conflicts with their interests and their livelihoods: they work for religion, while it is “a lick upon their tongues,” that is, they speak of it and claim to belong to it, and they work to protect and preserve it so long as that concern preserves their worldly life and their livelihoods and does not harm their worldly interests, whether in wealth, by its decrease and loss, or in their persons, their families and their standing. But if trial, in its various kinds, reaches them, most people withdraw from belonging to religion and from working in its way.
We draw attention to the fact that this saying does not concern the religious (al-mutadayyinun) but rather the dayyanun. Al-Dayyan is one of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah, and its meaning is: the Judge who decides, or the All-subduing. In Majmaʿ al-Bahrayn: it is of the pattern faʿʿal, from “dana al-nas,” that is, he subdued them and they obeyed him; from “dintuhum fa-danu,” that is, I subdued them and they obeyed. So from the context of the saying it becomes clear that they are those who work to spread religion, to propagate it and to carry its banner, those who constantly mention it far and wide, so that society at large may hold to it as its religion; and they are those who “guard it,” that is, who protect it and preserve it from enemies. These, by the nature of the historical challenge that began with the birth of the Islamic mission and has continued with it, are exposed to kinds of trial, for several reasons, among them: the efforts of the enemies of religion to weaken the tide of religion and of the mission, the efforts of the authorities whose thrones religion threatens and whose deviation it exposes, and others.
The reason for trial is “sifting,” which is distinguishing the metals of truthfulness from deceptive appearances, as in the words of Allah the Exalted: “We will surely test you until We ascertain those of you who wage jihad and those who are steadfast, and We shall appraise your record.” (Qurʾan 47:31)
There is a group that clings to religion and works for religion so long as religion “yields him a livelihood,” and wealth, or standing and power, or comfort; but if he is exposed to trial, he is defeated and abandons the mission-oriented values that he used to call for and whose banner he used to carry. What remains is the patient few and the faithful band, steadfast in working for the truth. Therefore Imam al-Husayn (a) said: “the dayyanun become few,” and did not say they ceased to exist or vanished. This is a glimmer of hope that the umma is never without those who work for the truth and are sincere to religion, even if they are very few.
* A religious scholar from Bahrain
(1) In Kashf al-Ghumma: vol. 2, p. 207, “slaves of wealth.”
(2) In some copies: “idle talk (laghw) upon their tongues.” Margin of al-Bihar.
(3) The Imam said it specifically after he had reached the land of Karbala, and he sought refuge from anguish and trial. Mawsuʿat Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (a), p. 453, from Maqtal al-Husayn (a), 1:234; Bihar al-Anwar 44:183; al-ʿAwalim 17:244. Tuhaf al-ʿUqul, p. 245.
(4) Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Nasr al-Hulwani, p. 86.
(5) By Ibn Manzur, vol. 8, p. 151.
(6) ʿAli ibn ʿIsa al-Irbili, vol. 2, p. 32.
(7) Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarikh Halab, by Ibn al-ʿAdim, vol. 3, p. 28.
(8) Vol. 2, p. 252.
(9) Vol. 44, p. 383.
(10) Tuhaf al-ʿUqul, p. 245.
Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi
Published in al-Huda magazine, which is issued from Karbala.
