Tradition

اَلنّاسُ عَبيْدُ الدُّنْيا وَ الدِّينُ لَعِقٌ عَلَى أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ يَحُوطُونَهُ ما دَرَّتْ بِهِ مَعايِشُهُمْ فَإذا مُحِّصُوا بِالْبَلاءِ قَلَّ الدَّيآنُونَ!

Imam al-Husayn (‘a) is narrated to have said: “Many of the people are slaves of this world and religion is something present only upon their tongues. As long as their lives are going well under the protection of their religion, they support it, but on the day when difficulties come and they are tested, the truly religious are few in number.”1

Brief Commentary

Religion, particularly the religion of Islam, is a protector of the rights of the people in society. It supports what is truly in their best interests and it enacts justice in the society. In some situations, religion can go against the personal interests of various people. It is here that the truly religious and those who are simply posing as being religious are recognized.

What we mean by this is that some people are only after their own personal interests and they are only religious as long as it benefits them materially. As soon as upholding the religion becomes a cause for material loss, they completely leave it. The truly religious are those who are loyal to their religion regardless of whether it is to their material benefit or loss at that point in time. Faith is their major driving force and not personal material interest.

• 1. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 10, p. 198.