“You should be afraid of cruelty to these people…”

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Basma Ta’ala

On the day of Ashura and when all the companions of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) were martyred, he made a will to his son Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) in his last moments and during his martyrdom. One of the most key aspects of this will, which was stated in a situation where it is necessary to state the most important and sensitive matters, is summarized in the following sentence:

“O my son, beware of oppressing someone who has no helper against you except God.” ) The death implied to Sadra, then he said: O Bani Ushik, what advice did you give to Abi (peace be upon him) when His Holiness passed away, and when he mentioned that Aba gave advice to him, he said: O Bani, beware of my oppression, and there is no need for a supporter except Allah (Kafi, vol. 2, page 331)

Perhaps the most obvious example of this narrative is the incident of Karbala, in which evil people oppressed Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) and his family and companions and made them martyrs in that condition, and after the martyrdom of men, women and children, While they had no helper except God Almighty, they took them captive. But this narration is not only related to that time and always includes different examples. There are different types of oppression of helpless and helpless people, some examples of which are mentioned below:

1- The oppression of some governments to the helpless people can be one of the important examples of this narrative, that is, people who dominate a nation and allow oppression towards them, and that nation does not find any helper except God for itself against the oppression of the oppressors. Also, the oppression of the employer to the worker is also a great oppression, especially when the worker has to work for an employer and if he does not accept his oppression and coercion, he will be fired and become unemployed.

2- The cruelty that family members allow towards each other can also be another example of cruelty to homeless people. For example, when a woman does not have a supporter and has to endure the oppression of her husband, and also a man has to endure the oppression of his wife in order to preserve his reputation or other aspects. Scolding, slandering, stinging, and taunting a wife who has no refuge, support, or helper except God is a great injustice. Sometimes an old and weak mother has no one else in this world except her own child and has no choice but to endure his abuse and torment and listen to his stinging sarcasms. Or a girl who has not been prepared for her marriage and is under the care of her parents, has a sensitive situation and should not be bullied, scolded or insulted by her parents.

3- Another example is oppression of helpless people, sins such as backbiting, slander and rumor spreading, which are unfortunately very common in the society. In many circles, for someone who is not present, they state his fault or spread rumors against him, and because he cannot defend himself and answer, he has no helper except God in that meeting, and he is oppressed. Taking the honor of others and insulting the character of other people is rightful, and if a person cannot compensate for his rightful wrong, he will face a terrible fate. It should be said with regret that many mass media, newspapers and internet sites publish an article today, and they themselves know that it is slander, but they wait for it to be denied. But when someone’s reputation is damaged and his character is tarnished in the public mind, denying the matter does not benefit him and does not compensate for his lost reputation.

Of course, it is emphasized that any type of oppression is condemned. But it follows from this narration that oppression in which the oppressed has no helper except God is more dangerous and the consequences are more terrible. If he was wronged by someone or witnessed the wrongdoing of others and did not defend the oppressed, he should immediately repent and compensate for the wrong done.

(Taken from the ethics course of “Ayatollah Mazaheri” (with minor changes and additions))

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