“Whoever goes to bed while his neighbor is hungry is not a true believer.” (Heysemi, Mecmeu’z-zevaid, VIII, 167)

Selfishness is a trait found in man, but it is looked down upon in our religion. It is one of the most basic characteristics of the ego – the desire to feel pleasure and possess something. Saying, “I want it all, or let someone else have less or worse than me, and I don’t even want to see that,” the voice of the ego is constantly fighting with our other inner voice (conscience). »»

Roots

Clergy and Islam

In Islam, there is no special class equipped with holy abilities to speak on behalf of God and religion. Yet, since the early days of the Prophet, there have been imams and religious officials who render religious services and administer practices of worship in society. The idea which suggests that there is no clergy in Islam is a higher, more theological idea that pertains to the origins of theology and the message conveyed by religion in the world. On the other hand, the presence of a class that renders religious services relates to practical life, and in this sense there has always been a class of religious officials. The organization of this class has been shaped by the social structures, institutional culture and the traditions of society; it has existed in various forms, such as independent, free, semi-public or public. The absence of clergy in Islamic theology does not mean that religious services were delivered in a haphazard fashion or that they were not subject to any organization in the historical experience of Muslim societies.

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