What attitude should people adopt regarding the struggle against the dominant powers in the Universe?

Should they surrender and go with the flow? Should they consider it, as some people do, to be “God’s decree” “fate” or “God’s will” and consequently say: If oppression is our fate then let us take comfort in the knowledge that we are content to accept “God’s decree and providential appointment” and if injustice is God will then let us submit to it and yield to our weaknesses that God has given all humans? Or should they revolt against tyranny and try every possible way to bring about change. Accordingly if fighting in one place led to their defeat they should move on to another place to try to realize their goal?

This social issue is related to various philosophical subjects. Practical deeds are based on intellectual ideas and are the very embodiment of these ideas. So what is the Islamic view regarding the issue? Does it approve of submission or does it encourage rebellion? 

1. Islam supports the use of force against dictatorship

In my opinion Islam approves of rebellions and attempts to rid people of prevailing injustice and oppression. Therefore weakness does not stop us from reaching a solution; neither is it an excuse for laziness, cowardliness or defeat unless the policy of taking things step by step is taken into consideration. Indeed this point is emphasized in the following verses:

“At the moment they take them, the angels say to those who wronged themselves: ‘What state were you in?’ They reply: ‘We were weak on earth’. The angels say: ‘Was the world not big enough for to go somewhere else?’ These are the people whose refuge will be hell. What a horrible refuge! With the exception of those men, women and children who are weak and handicapped because they have not been shown the right path. These are those who God might forgive. God is the One who wipes out sins. He is merciful. He who emigrates in the path of God will find many refuges and a place on earth. The reward for he who leaves his home to follow God and His Prophet and who dies is from God. God is the one who pardons. He is the merciful. 4.97-100

These verses speak about the attitude regarding the weak and the oppressed when they appear before God on the Day of Judgment to account for their behavior in the world and the fact that they surrendered to injustice by submitting to oppressors, fulfilling their demands and complying with the plans the oppressors had laid down for them. So how do these verses view the way these weak people handled their subjugation? In fact, the verses make it clear that these people had been unfair to themselves when they went along with the plans of the despots under the assumption that their frailty and their inability to change the situation justified their submission and compliance with the existing reality. More than that, the verses actually criticize them and hold them accountable, because even if they were no longer to change the situation they nevertheless had the possibility of moving away from evil as the world is large enough for all people to find a place away from the influences that push them to deviate from God's path and where the word of God is the only rule establishing righteousness and justice on earth. And if they happen to die while searching for a new home to please God and His Messenger, God will definitely reward them.

Moreover, the glorious Qur’an says that it is the responsibility of each and every person except those who are really weak and oppressed, who have no way of doing anything or of getting out of their harsh conditions and who have not been shown a way out. The Qur’an gives the latter hope that God might forgive them but does not guarantee this forgiveness so that they will not be too quick to classify themselves as weak or oppressed without first examining their situation thoroughly in order to find a possible means of gaining strength. The latter should also consider whether they had acted wrongly at the outset by succumbing to the temptations of tyranny and going along with its horrible acts allowing it to become more powerful through them. Once the supreme power of the tyrant has been firmly established he would then take away the peoples means to act and cut off all of their escape routes thus forcing them into a weak and oppressed state of existence. In addition to these conditions that make people weak and oppressed there are other factors that make human beings swing form hope to fear even if they had previously been closer to hope than fear as the act of hoping makes you believe.

Similarly many Quranic verses discuss the humiliating situations where the weak and the oppressed are crushed by the oppressors as a result of their feeling of vulnerability before the supremacy of those who make them surrender and finally carry out their planned work and perverse acts. Hence the Qur’an revealed more than one verse for us in which there is a dialogue between the weak and oppressors of the day in order to encourage the weak to revolt against the oppressors in this world and to work on using their individual strength to confront their huge as well as small pressures before appearing before God on the Day of Judgment. In other words, if a person has the ability to fight but lets his weakness lead him to deviation from God’s path, that deviation will not be justifiable as far as God is concerned and he will be held totally accountable for it. God said:

“They will all testify before God. The weak will say to those who were arrogant: ‘we followed you! Can you do anything to save us from God’s punishment?’ They will say: ‘if God has guided us we would have showed you the way. It makes no difference if you complain or are patient. We know of no place to flee!’” 14.21

In truth the Qur’an goes into great detail over this issue in order to implant, in the subjugated peoples’ souls, the will to rebel against powerful persecutors who try to persuade them to implement their evil plans and to fulfill this mission, the Qur’an describes how each group (the despots who oppresses and the oppressed who tolerated the oppressor’s existence and carried out their evil plans) will equally be called to account for their actions. Accordingly, the leaders will try to absolve themselves of the serious sins of their followers claiming that the followers alone should be held responsible while the followers wish that they could return to their life on earth in order to acquit themselves of their sins. The Qur’an depicts this scene as a serious warning to us and presents it in different ways in order to motivate the crushed and the devastated to rid themselves of their oppressors as soon as possible and avoid facing such situations after death as a result of having yielded to weakness.

“When those who were followed disown those who followed them, when they see the punishment, when all relations are cut, when those who followed say: ‘Ah if only it were possible to go back we would disown them as they disowned us’. In this way God showed them their deeds: Woe to them! They will never be able to come out of the Fire. 2.166-167

“He said: ‘You have adopted idols other than God out of mutual love in this world; then on the Day of the Resurrection, you disowned each other, you cursed each other, while your refuge will be in the Fire and you will have no protector’” 29.25 

2. The Qur’an calls on the weak and oppressed to gain strength

The Qur’an thus reinforces people’s inner strength using several methods that mainly involve ridding man of the feeling of weakness that leads him to deviate from the path of God. Firstly by exposing the false idols that the oppressed had been worshipping besides God or to which they submit or surrender in weakness. Moreover the Qur’an tries to describe all aspects of strength and its ability to cause harm or do well including its control over living and even life and death etc. Because the source of all strength and possessor of the power of existence is God and to Him all people will return. This is clearly shown in the following verses:

“Say: ‘Would you worship something other than God that can neither harm you nor benefit you?’ God, He is the one Who hears all and knows all.” 5.76

“What you worship, other than God, are just idols. You are inventing lies. That which you worship cannot provide you which any means of subsistence. Therefore seek your means of subsistence through God.” Worship Him! Be grateful to Him! You will be brought back to Him.” 29.17

“Yet they have adopted gods besides Him that cannot create anything but are themselves created, that have no control of good or harm to themselves nor can they control death, life or resurrection.”

“Say! ‘Invoke those who you believe to be gods other than God! They do not possess even the weight of an atom not in heaven nor on earth. They are, neither here nor there, associated with God. God receives no help from them.’” 34.22

Likewise, the Qur’an encourages us to expose the reality of those who are followed by exhorting the followers to be aware of the faults of the oppressors no matter how strong and influential they would appear to be because, if their harm and benefit turns out to be ineffective in saving themselves how could it have a positive affect on others.

Moreover, in some verses, the situation becomes very serious to the extent that the Qur’an urges people who feel vulnerable before oppressors to rid themselves of the influence of the bluffing and false appearances of these oppressors and to compare themselves realistically to the latter in order to realize that they have no hidden or different power that normal people do not have, they do not have any distinctive qualities that ordinary people do not have and that they too are servants like them and with this in mind it becomes obviously meaningless to submit to or worship these people.

“In truth, those who you invoke other than God are servants like you. Invoke them! Let them heed your prayer if you are truthful!” 7.194

Some people may claim that these verses aim at stopping people from worshipping idols other than God and not to discourage people from following oppressors, persecutors or tyrants. According to this point of view, these verses came to combat polytheism that was predominant at the time. In reality, human idolatry resulted from that fact that the idolatrous were intimidated by the supernatural powers that the gods of stone or flesh enjoyed in the same way that oppressed people feel intimidated by the powers of despots and consequently treat them as their idols. And even so the persecuted do not regard their submission to the oppressors as being the same although they are putting this idea into practice because they need their oppressors and this need arises from their feeling of vulnerability before them. Hence the Glorious Qur’an attempts to destroy this worship by working on the souls of the followers: eradicating the feelings of reverential fear they have for their idols and eliminating the reasons to believe they have horrific powers. 

3. The Weak and the Oppressed Confronting the Oppressors

The Qur’an endeavors to make the weak and the oppressed feel the necessity of daring to defy their oppressors, to resist them and deprive them of their power. It therefore gives them the right to fight in defense of their homes as well as their freedom and the right to practice the religion they believe in.

“Those who have been attacked are given permission to defend themselves because they have been unjustly oppressed - God is powerful enough to save them - and the same applies to those who have been unjustly chased from their homes just because they said: ‘Our Lord is God!’ If God had not stopped certain people by means of others, monasteries, synagogues, churches and mosques where the Name of God is invoked often would have been demolished. Yes God will save those who help His cause. God is, in truth, strong and powerful.” - 22.39-40

So the Qur’an authorizes people to fight and explains the conditions where fighting is justified such as defending the right to remain in their homes, upholding their freedom of belief as well as their freedom to act as they want. In addition, the Qur’an guarantees victory over their enemies to these people if they continue along the right path in conformity with God’s methods and goals.

The Qur’an also wants to emphasize that the right of the weak to resist and confront the strong who are oppressing them is part of the natural laws that have been laid down to make humans feel secure in life and in their religious beliefs. If this law had not been in existence, no system would ever have survived on earth and no moral principles and sacred things would have endured. It is also the legitimate and natural justification for people to fight and destroy the enemies of freedom and of life itself because in this way we can realistically build a way of life based on a just system.

What is more, the Quranic verses seek to assure those who help or fight for the cause of God that their final victory is guaranteed if they continue to help His cause using His methods. One of these methods is moral boosting and reminding them that theirs is God’s battle; a battle that He Himself watches over with all His power. This is the realistic way in which the Qur’an stirs the souls of the weak into action, musters their strength and courage and invites them to use this strength and courage in the fight against those who oppress, exhorting them to rely on their individual strength and, firstly and lastly, on God. The Qur’an shows the weak that they always had and still do have strength - a strength they were not aware of because of their preoccupation with the powerful appearance of their oppressors. And this had previously frustrated them and eventually led to their defeat.

We notice that some Quranic verses emphasize the importance of souls vanquishing the dishonest as in the verse below:

“Yes, God commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality towards your close relations. He forbids all shameful acts, bad deeds and rebellion. He exhorts you. Maybe you will think on it.” 16.90

These verses as well as others have been cited in the context of describing pious people who had pleased God and acquired His forgiveness. Similarly other verses point out that the oppressed are not accountable for the harm caused during the course of a battle that gain them a victory over injustice. The oppressors would be entirely responsible as it was they who made the whole war necessary in the first place.

“As for those who, after having been treated badly, bring about justice themselves, against them no action can be taken. Action will only be taken against those who are unjust to men and who without reason, become violent on earth - these are the ones who will receive a painful punishment” 42.41-42

The height of the Quranic discourse on this subject is the promise that God will appoint the weak and oppressed to leading positions on earth such as in the story telling us how the strength of the weak will be regenerated which is a story about how faith grows through the promise of God to the weak as the verse below asserts:

“But we wanted to favor those who had been humiliated on earth; We wanted to make them its leaders and heirs. We wanted to establish them on earth and thus show Pharaoh, Haman and their armies that which they fear.” 28.5-6

It might be that this verse had been cited in the story of the children of Israel; but it shows a more general way to God’s order in this life that lets no power on earth continue its oppression or conserve its power without end as is expressed in the verses below:

“We make those changing days for men…” 3.140

“Oh God! Lord of the Kingdom, You give royalty to whoever you wish and You take the royalty from whoever you wish. You honor whoever You wish and you bring down whoever You wish. Happiness is in your hands, You have, in truth, power over everything.” 3.26

* one of the issues that Sayyed Fadlullah tried to discuss in his book “the concept of force in Islam”, that will be published soon.

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