Self-management, requirement of all management/Position not opportunity to accumulate wealth, but to serve people: Ayatollah Ramazani

News News of Secretary General

Thursday, 21 July 2022

The Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Through Official Ethics we need to experience management and social life, otherwise, we would not be successful. Those who have problems in their social life cannot communicate with others.”

On Thursday, July 21, 2022, the second session of the ethics course on “Official Ethics” was held with the speech of the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly for the managers and staff of the international organization in the meeting hall of the Assembly building in Qom.

In this session, offering congratulation on the Eid al-Adha, Ghadir Khumm, the birth of Imam Musa Kazem (a.s.), and Mubahalah, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani said, “Mubahalah has many spiritual dimensions and requires more attention and discussion.”

“As much as we can, we should make our behavior similar to that of Imams (a.s.),” he added, “All people are tested by God. In Ziyarat Jami’ah Kabirah about the AhlulBayt (a.s.) we read: “و الباب المبتلی به الناس” (You are the portal through which people are tested). The existence of the Infallibles (a.s.) is for the believers to grow in divine tests.”

Morality can be changed

Pointing out that morality can be changed, the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly added, “God has granted man the free will to develop his morals, and to achieve moral virtues in personal, social and divine dimensions. It is necessary to practice social life in official ethics.”

“Regret in man is because he could have done better or sought advice. Also, the penal law is to prevent criminal acts. Man can revise his morals. On the other hand, the necessity of individual, family and social education demonstrates that education is practicable, and morality can be changed,” he stated, enumerating the reasons for the possibility of moral change.

Man must manage his body, mind, and soul

The professor of high levels of the Islamic seminary emphasized, “Every human, without exception, should implement self-management. In “self-management”, which, from a religious point of view, is the cultivation and promotion of human virtues, man falls behind every moment, and it is necessary to try to develop it every moment. According to hadiths, the best manager is the one who manages himself.”

“Man must manage his body, mind and soul,” he continued, “If a person manages his soul, he will achieve virtues, while if he does not, he will fall into vices. If a person does not manage his soul, he cannot be adorned with many moral virtues, he will not use the capacity of his intellect and soul, and his talents will be wasted. This will cause loss and damage, and human capital will be lost. According to the verses “يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ تِجَارَةٍ تُنْجِيكُمْ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ* تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنْفُسِكُمْ” (O you who have faith! Shall I show you a deal that will deliver you from a painful punishment? * Have faith in Allah and His Apostle, and wage jihad in the way of Allah with your persons and possessions.) (Holy Quran, Surah: As-Saff, Verses: 10, 11), man should use his possessions in the way of faith in God.”

“In response to someone who reprehend the material world, Imam Ali (a.s.) said, “Reprehend yourself, not the world. Because the material world is a phenomenon and creation of God, and it is not appropriate to reprehend and blame a phenomenon and creation.” According to another hadith of Imam Ali (a.s.), “مَسْجِدُ أَحِبَّاءِ اللَّهِ وَ مُصَلَّى مَلَائِكَةِ اللَّهِ وَ مَهْبِطُ وَحْيِ اللَّهِ وَ مَتْجَرُ أَوْلِيَاءِ اللَّهِ” (The world is the prostration place of the God’s lovers, the worship place of God’s angels, the place in which God’s Revelation came to, and the trading house of the God’s saint). In another narration the world considered as the farm for beneficence,” Ayatollah Ramazani added.

“Man is incompetent in self-management, management of tongue, eyes, ears, hands and feet. If someone disrespects us, we get upset and angry and seek revenge, and our words become bitter and biting. It is necessary for us to have purified moral conduct. Being a knowledgeable in mysticism and Tawhid is worthless without self-purification,” he said, emphasizing the importance of self-management.

Self-management, requirement of all managements

“Assessing man’s obedience to God, piety in the face of sin, and patience in adversity is only possible when he is placed in those situations. Man is known in the situations and practice. If man does not have a sinful situation but is pious, it does not show his strength, and if he lives in isolation and is moral, it has no value. Because it is in society that man is evaluated. According to a narration, God commanded one of the prophets to give glad tidings to the sinners and to warn the righteous. Because God shall forgive sinners, but the righteous are exposed to pride and should be more vigilant. The righteous should not be proud of their worship and avoid pride,” continued the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

“All of us are commissioned by God, and we have a mission for self-purification and self-management. Therefore, we need to understand what we were created for. We must participate in the ethics classes and benefit from the ethics mentors. Associating with moral mentors has a tremendous impact on a person. AhlulBayt (a.s.) present in the Event of Mubahala are the same moral mentors, and that is why the Christians of Najran evade the event,” he emphasized.

“Self-management, adornment with good attributions, and education of intellect will lead to wisdom. Of course, the requirement of training the soul is that man person starts the training from his organs. In this regard, Imam Ali said, “ذَكِّ قلبَكَ بالأدبِ” (Enlighten your heart with politeness). Therefore, we must first start training our tongue, ears, eyes, etc., and that’s why Imam Ali (a.s.) mentions language, eyes, logic, etc. in the Hammam sermon in describing the pious. Morals are so important that God praises the good morals of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) in the Quran: “فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنْتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ” (It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; had you been harsh and hardhearted, they would have surely scattered from around you.) (Holy Quran, Surah: Al Imran, Verse: 159),” emphasized the professor of high levels of the Islamic seminary.

We need to experience management and social life

On the Official Ethics he said, “Through Official Ethics we need to experience management and social life, otherwise, we would not be successful. Those who have problems in their social life cannot communicate with others.”

“According to a narration, the Prophet (p.b.u.h) stated, “عَلَيْكُمْ بِمَكَارِمِ اَلْأَخْلاَقِ” (Seek the elevation and magnificence of your soul”. In the ethics field of study, there are two terms “Makarem” (virtues) and “Mahasen” (merits of morality). “Makaram” (virtues) refers to high-mindedness, self-respect, stoicism, and magnanimity. In this aspect, man needs to revive the forgotten virtues. On the other hand, “Mahasen” (merits of morality) is defined in behavior with others and virtue-oriented manners with others. For example, when it is said that a person has “good morality”, he has been seen to behave well with people,” continued the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

“Some are friends with us in happiness, but not friends in difficulties. In difficulties, some claim a lot, but they cannot do collective activity for one day. In the Quran also the number of verses that refer to social life is more than the verses of individual life. Also, there is more reference to social jurisprudence topics than individual jurisprudence topics. All topics of individual jurisprudence have social impacts,” he said, emphasizing the observance of requirements of social life.

Textbooks on social life should be compiled

Pointing out the need to compile textbooks on social life, Ayatollah Ramazani continued, “We need specific textbooks about different situations of social life. On how to deal with the people, Imam Ali (a.s.) gave pamphlets to Malik al-Ashtar, Muhammad bin Abi Bakr and his other governors.”

“In social life, we must emphasize commonalities,” he added, “We need to develop the commonalities. This is how we will address the main issue of social life. As much as we deal with miscellaneous issues, the margins will increase, and people will be deprived of peace. In case of emphasis on commonalities, positive thinking and positivity, mental health and peace will be more.”

“If peace is removed from an official complex, there will be a deficiency in activities, and its committed members will be saddened. A staff member who fails to fulfill his assigned duties will suffer from sadness and anxiety. Therefore, there is a need for peace in the work environment, with the experience of social life. If social life is not experienced, management will fail to properly apply. We also need to know our work environment, and to know that in the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly we should think internationally. Because the task of the Assembly is to organize the affairs of the Shiites of the world,” continued the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

“According to Imam Ali (a.s.), management position is not a prey but a trust. We should use the opportunities to serve, otherwise they will turn into threats. Official position is not an opportunity and bait to collect wealth and power, but an opportunity to serve the people. Opportunities won’t last forever, and they will be taken away from us in a few years. Therefore, we should appreciate them,” he concluded.

AhlulBayt (a_s_) World Assembly Ayatollah Ramazani Official Ethics