This is an excerpt from Shaheed Mutahhari’s speech titled Oratory and the Pulpit, delivered around the year 1380 AH / 1959 CE at the Islamic Engineers Association.1 The full speech is worth translating, but at the moment I have chosen to only translate this short passage from it.
Religious Awareness and Social Awareness
Knowledge and awareness are essential. Firstly, a person’s knowledge of the foundations of religion must be adequate. They must have a comprehensive understanding of Islam, a deep awareness of the spirit of Islamic teachings, both the outward and inward aspects of Islam, its shell and its core—understanding all of these in their proper scope and context to grasp what is truly in the best interest of religion.
Secondly, merely knowing and understanding religion is not sufficient to discern what is beneficial. One must also understand society, be aware of the state of the world, comprehend what is happening globally, and recognize what the interests of the Islamic community demand today in the face of current global trends. It is the responsibility of such a person to make the people aware of these dynamics and their real interests.
Regrettably, I must admit that we are weak in this regard. In the area of moral exhortation, we have not been and are not weak—or at least not significantly—but in this particular aspect, we are very deficient. We lack adequate study and attention to these matters.
The saying of Imam Ridha (a) is of immense value: “Make the people aware of the interests of their religion and their world.” A person who confines themselves to a few specific books in a particular field, such as jurisprudence, literature, philosophy, or the like, and isolates themselves within the walls of a school, cannot understand what is happening in society or determine what should be done. A person who remains secluded in a corner of a school cannot discern the needs of society.
Awareness of the ongoing and changing circumstances of the world is necessary. It requires sharp intuition, so sharp that one can predict future events from the present and guide the community through those events in a way that avoids danger. Leadership without the power of foresight is impossible.
What is Guidance?
What is guidance? Guidance means showing the way. A caravan travelling toward a destination asks someone where the path to that destination is, and the person shows them the way, saying, “Go this way or that way.” This is guidance, which depends on knowing the path. Who can guide a caravan? Someone who understands the path the caravan must take and knows where it is headed.
Society is like a caravan that is always in motion. Whether we want it to or not, this caravan continues to move forward. We must understand how to steer this caravan—just as a driver steers a car. The driver sits behind the wheel, controls the car, and guides it. At one point, the car must stop; at another, it must accelerate and pick up speed. At one moment, the driver must turn the wheel, at another, change gears, and at another, apply the brakes. All of this is necessary for driving the car effectively.
Similarly, in guiding society, all these elements are required. Each is necessary at its proper time. Understanding the best course of action for society—this is what it means to discern the interests of the community. Without this discernment, it is impossible for someone to truly guide society or address its real needs.
When Can We Be Guides for Society?
We can only guide society when we know all these aspects, distinguish their proper places, and understand where to apply the brakes and where to turn the wheel. Society is in constant motion and transformation. At times, significant social changes arise, and society finds itself at a critical juncture—a sharp turn that must be navigated carefully.
Today, with the new circumstances we face, a new civilization emerging, various ideologies taking shape, and diverse thoughts arising, our society stands at such a turn. It encounters obstacles that must be passed through smoothly and without danger. The wheel must be turned slightly to steer society away from danger. If a wall stands before us, we must steer around it and continue on our path. We cannot blindly follow the same line of movement we previously did. In the past, there was no wall; now there is. There were no obstacles before; now there are. We have reached rivers, valleys, and mountains.
In any case, a societal guide must recognize where to turn society onto a new path, aligning it with its true destination. Likewise, we must understand where to accelerate and increase speed. At times, we find ourselves in a race where everyone is striving to win and take the lead. In such a situation, we must increase our strength and speed. Today, the world is a race in science and industry. Given this competitive environment, we must strive and mobilize society to ensure it does not fall behind.
Therefore, simply sitting and constantly criticizing—saying, “Don’t do this,” or “Don’t do that”—is not guidance.
One day, at the Madrassah Marvi, I was discussing this very topic with some of the scholars and students, saying: “Gentlemen, being a guide for the people does not mean we should adopt a constant state of restriction and inaction. In every situation, we simply say, ‘Don’t do this,’ or ‘Don’t do that,’ and make life difficult for the people. There are times when we must encourage and motivate the people to move forward.”
I gave the example of a car and said, “We must be like a car driver—sometimes we need to press the gas, sometimes turn the wheel, sometimes hit the brakes, and sometimes do something else, like flash the headlights. Each situation requires its own action.” Then, jokingly, I added, “We cannot always be the ‘Brake Sheikh,’ constantly applying the brakes everywhere. Braking alone is not enough. Sometimes we must be the ‘Steering Wheel Sheikh,’ or the ‘Engine Sheikh.'”
One of the students said, “We are none of these. We are the ‘Reverse Gear Sheikh.'”
In any case, guiding society requires extensive knowledge and awareness to discern different situations. A person must understand where the strongholds are and occupy them, and recognize opportunities to take advantage of them.
The Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “Indeed, your Lord has breezes of mercy in the days of your life. Be aware of them and expose yourselves to them.”
The mercy of Allah is like a breeze—it does not announce when it will arrive. Be alert and make use of these breezes when they come.
Opportunities are like fleeting breezes; once they are gone, they cannot be recaptured. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a state where, day by day, we lose more opportunities.
The materialist ideologies in our country, or those misguided individuals who have branded their ideology as religion, are highly alert. They are seizing social positions and strongholds from us, consistently taking over sensitive areas and achieving their objectives. Meanwhile, we sit idly, content to keep saying, ‘Don’t do this,’ and ‘Don’t do that,’ constantly braking—brake, brake, brake.
This statement: “وَ تَوْقیفِهِمْ عَلی ما ارادَ مِنْ مَصْلَحَةِ دینِهِمْ وَ دُنْیاهُمْ” — meaning that we must make people aware of what benefits their religion and their worldly affairs—requires, as I mentioned, two conditions: knowledge and sincerity.
Knowledge and awareness are necessary in two areas:
- Knowledge of the religion itself, such that the person is truly an expert in Islam.
- Awareness of the state of the world, social dynamics, and the natural course of evolution and transformation taking place in the world.
In his notes that he made while preparing for this speech, but he did not mention it in the speech, he writes another interesting point2:
The Condition of Sharp Intuition for Anticipating Future Events in an Orator
A speaker and preacher are guides for society, and a guide must be at the forefront of the caravan (refer to notes on guidance). Since this group, who claims to lead, holds the role of the intellectual Islamic class, the first condition is to have a “sharp intuition.” They must be able to foresee future events accurately and prepare for them in advance. For example, this class of people should have anticipated the influence of European civilization and culture before its arrival in Iran and proposed lofty ideas to address it.
Sayyid Ali studied in the seminary of Qom from 2012 to 2021, while also concurrently obtaining a M.A in Islamic Studies from the Islamic College of London in 2018. In the seminary he engaged in the study of legal theory, jurisprudence and philosophy, eventually attending the advanced kharij of Usul and Fiqh in 2018. He is currently completing his Masters of Education at the University of Toronto and is the head of a private faith-based school in Toronto, as well as an instructor at the Mizan Institute and Mufid Seminary.
