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The Supreme Religious Authority: The ruler should be merciful, just and turn those working with him to tools to serve the people and vulnerable classes

SHAFAQNA- Alkafeel: The Supreme Religious Authority stressed that the ruler should be merciful and just, indicating that he has compassion, the mercy will spread out over millions and justice will be given to millions. Therefore, one of the most important characteristics of the successful ruler is turning those working with him to tools to serve the people, the vulnerable classes and all components of the nation.
These were the important points stated in the second sermon of Friday prayer of the 3rd of Shawwal 1440 AH corresponding to June7, 2019, which was held in the holy shrine of Imam al-Hussayn (peace be upon him) and was led by his eminence Sheikh Abd al-Mahdi al-Karbala’i, in which he stated:
Brothers and sisters, in this second sermon, we will, God willing, discuss some of the ethical principles that are necessary for the individual and society. The first part is the principle of creating human compassion and mercy among the members of the society, and the role of this mercy and compassion in the life of the family and society.
Mercy and compassion face to cruelty, violence, arrogance, harshness and rudeness. First we need to meditate on this important moral principle; Mercy as a concept is mentioned more than 300 times in the Holy Quran, which indicates the great significance of this principle, noting that God has numerous names and attributes most of which are based on mercy, compassion, sympathy, and kindness towards His worshippers.
Mercy is also one of the attributes of the prophets, apostles, and the righteous, citing a verse from the Noble Quran, which says: {And We have not sent you, [O Mohammad], except as a mercy to the worlds,} citing another verse about the believing companions of the Holy Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household), which says: {Mohammad is the Messenger of Allah ; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves.} Thus, mercy should be the basis of our social relationships through which we can perform our functions in life.
Each of us needs the other as life is based on cooperation, synergy, solidarity and empathy, all of these qualities are inspired by the principle of mercy, which is deposited by God in us as a human instinct, whether believer or not, it is the mercy that makes us humans.
Therefore, the Quranic verses and the noble hadiths stressed the importance of having this principle in our life, as we, all, need God’s mercy, and also the mercy of other people, as people need each other, for life is based on cooperation and kindness that emerge from mercy; this is what verses from the Noble Quran and prophetic speeches stress, citing a prophetic speech: “God has no mercy upon those who don’t show mercy to others,” and “God has mercy upon the merciful.”.. Our life is not organized without this great principle of mercy.
The Almighty set up a system of thought for mercy, as it should be used with justice and wisdom and sometimes also with resolve and firmness when needed. But in general in our social life, we are required to deal with mercy. And one of the types of mercy is to show mercy to oneself by preventing themselves from committing sins to avoid God’s discontent and from vices, as every human self tends to do evil, and one must protect themselves from such tendency.
One of the heinous crimes committed against oneself, is committing suicide and preventing oneself from the right to live life, as it is nowadays common because of a psychological crisis, family problem or financial problem or else. What does this indicated? This is a sign of societal dysfunction and imbalance in the institutions of the state. Nobody cares or concerned with the psychological, moral and ethical construction of the individuals in the society, which is a fundamental pillar of life as we need the balance in our thinking.
Suicide indicates the societal dysfunction that should be addressed as such a phenomenon reflects human cruelty. This kind of issues arise due to a lack of care; people and governmental organizations ought to build up people psychologically, but they are preoccupied with academic, materialistic, and living matters, noting that academic and scientific matters are essential, but there has to be a balance, which is the responsibility of all: {..and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction…} (2:195)
The second matter which we need; is to turn the mercy and compassion among us into a system of life and a social situation. We should exercise mercy in the system of life, especially in politics; officials in power must be merciful and work for their country’s interests, as mercy will urge them to care for the nation’s interests in order to serve it, harnessing all the efforts to achieve the justice among the components of the society, especially for the vulnerable classes, which find difficulties in getting their basic needs.
Therefore, one of the most important characteristics of the successful ruler is turning those working with him to tools to serve the people, the vulnerable classes and all components of the nation.
And this is highlighted in the commandments of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) in his letter to Malek al-Ashtar: “Develop in your heart the feeling of love for your people and let it be the source of kindliness and blessing to them. Do not behave with them like a barbarian, and do not appropriate to yourself that which belongs to them. Remember that the citizens of the state are of two categories. They are either your brethren in religion or your brethren in kind. They are subject to infirmities and liable to commit mistakes.”
Also, the father should show mercy to his children, and protect them from what may destroy them. And not dealing with violence and cruelty! Mercy must be exercised by children toward their parents and siblings and vice versa, and we are condemning the cruelty of some fathers who torture their children, and in the case of the absence of the fathers, we are calling on people to show mercy to the aged parents whose children have neglected them, to the brothers whose eldest brother exercises cruelty towards them, and to the married couples and the rest of the society.
The Holy Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) said: “The example of believers in regard to mutual kindness, affection, sympathy is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches with sleeplessness and fever.” We should then show mercy and solidarity with one another so the Almighty show His mercy upon us!
We ask the Almighty to help us be among the people of Mercy and Compassion. And, the latest of our prayers is; praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and Prayers and Allah’s Peace be upon Mohammad and his pure and virtuous lineage.

Read more from Shafaqna:

Supreme Religious Authority: Kinship must be maintained, hearts are soft in Ramadan to take advantage of

Supreme Religious Authority addresses the youth, calls for embracing them

The Supreme Religious Authority determines the essentials that form the cognitive system of people

The Supreme Religious Authority reminds Iraqis of their sacrifices and historical victory over ISIS

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