Al-Furqaan (The Criterion)

43. “Have you seen him who takes his low desires for his god? Would you then be a guardian over him?”

Any god other than Allah is called ‘Hawa’ (low desire).¹

The main root of idol-worshipping is doing low desires, too.

Therefore, Allah says in this noble verse:

“Have you seen him who takes his low desires for his god? Would you then be a guardian over him?”

It means that if they ridiculed, stood against, and denied the call of the Prophet (S), it was not because that his logic was weak, his reasons were not conceiving and his religion could not be doubted, but it was because they did not obey intellect and reason, and their god was their low desires. Then, would he expect that such persons accept his call, or that he can affect them?

Great commentators have cited various opinions about the sentence:

“Have you seen him who takes his low desires for his god?”

Some say, as was mentioned in above, they have one idol and that idol is their low desires from which all their deeds originate.

However, some believe that they do not observe any logic in choosing idols, but whenever they see a piece of stone and an interesting tree or something that motivates their low desire, they select it as their god, bow down before it, make sacrifice for it, and ask it to solve their problems.

There is a narration in the occasion of revelation of this holy verse, which confirms this meaning: one year, in Mecca, it happened that Quraysh were in a tight corner and they scattered here and there.

As soon as some of them saw a beautiful tree or an interesting stone, they worshipped it and if it was stone, they named it ‘Stone of Happiness’. They made sacrifice for it and poured the blood of sacrifice on it. Even they asked it heal of their animals’ maladies.

One day an Arab came and wanted to rub his camels against that stone and so to be blessed. But the camels did stampede and scattered in the desert. Then he said a poem whose content is that I came to ‘Stone of Happiness’ to unify our dispersion, but it scattered our gathering.

Then he said that what this Stone of Happiness is. It is only a piece of stone of that land. It neither leads nor misleads man.

Another Arab saw one of these pieces of stone, while a fox was discharging urine on it, he said:

“Is it a god on which a fox discharges urine? Certainly the one on which foxes discharge urine is abject.”2

These two commentaries are consistent with each other.

The principle of idol-worshipping that is generated from some superstitions is a kind of worshipping low desires. Selecting various idols without any logic is also another branch of low desires.

Note

Undoubtedly there are various instincts and desires in man, all of which are necessary for continuance of his life: anger, fury, self-loving, being fond of wealth and earthy life, and such like. Certainly system of creation has created all of them for the sake of perfection.

What is important is that sometimes they do not cut their coat according to their cloth and exceed the limit. And they will be no longer the controlled means that are in the hand of mind and they begin to rebel and revolt. They imprison intellect and rule the whole entity of man and take him under their control.

This is the same thing that is called ‘worshipping low desires’ or ‘sensuality’, which is more dangerous than all kinds of idol-worshipping. Even idol-worshipping is also generated from it.

This is why the Prophet (S) has counted idol of low desire as the worst and supreme idol. He says:

“Under the sun and before Allah there is no greater idol than low desire that is worshipped.”3

There is another tradition that says:

“The most disliked idol that is worshipped in the earth is the idol of low desire.”

If we think well about this sentence, we find out that worshipping low desire is the source of unawareness and ignorance, as the holy Qur’an says:

“...and do not obey him whose heart We have made neglectful of Our remembrance, and he follows his own low desire and whose affair has become all excess.”4

On the other hand worshipping low desires (sensuality) is the source of paganism and faithlessness, as the holy Qur’an says:

“Therefore, let him who believes not in it and follows his own vain desires turn you away from it, lest you perish.”5

Moreover, worshipping low desires is the worst kind of misleading, as the holy Qur’an says:

“…And who goes farther astray than he who follows his lust without guidance from Allah...”6

Another matter is that worshipping low desires is the opposite of Truth-seeking and it deviates man from the path of Allah, as the Holy Qur’an says:

“...therefore judge between mankind with justice, and do not follow desire lest it should lead you astray from the way of Allah... ”7

Furthermore, worshipping low desires prevents justice and pursuit of fairness, as the holy Qur’an says:

“...therefore do not follow any passion so that, you can deal justly... ”8

Finally, if the system of heavens and the earth could be based on man’s low desires, then entire universe would be corrupted:

“And if the Truth had followed their low desires, certainly the heavens and the earth and whoever therein would have perished!...”9

In Islamic narrations we see some striking sentences about this matter, too.

Imam Ali (as) said:

“Miserable is he who is deceived by his own low desires and pride.”10

Imam Ali (as) said:

“Worshipping low desires is the enemy of intellect.”11

Imam Ali (as) said:

“Worshipping low desires is the source of pains.”12

Imam Ali (as) said:

“Neither religion nor intellect can be along with worshipping low desires.”13

In brief, when worshipping of low desires rules, there is neither religion nor intellect but pain, disaster and misery.

There will be only wretchedness, corruption and barbarity there.

Phenomena of our life and bitter experiences that we have about others and ourselves are live evidence of all points that were mentioned about worshipping of low desires in above holy verses and narrations. We see persons who suffer the consequences of one hour of worshipping low desires until, the end of their life.

We see young people who, as a result of following their low desires, have become addicted to drugs and have got sexually and morally deviated and so they have changed into a miserable worthless and disable creature. They have lost all their power and capitals.

In current age and past ages both, we see persons who slaughtered thousands and even millions of people out of their low desires and their shameful names will be remembered infamously up to the end of the world.

There is no exception to this principle. Even scientists and famous worshippers of Allah such as Bal‘am Ba‘ūra who were stripped of humane magnificence because of following low desires, and the Holy Qur’an says about them: they are like a dog which pants in any case.²

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Prophet (S) and Amir-ul-Mu’minin Ali (as) said:

“The most perilous precipice which is on the way of your happiness is worshipping low desires and ambitions, for following low desires prevents you from the truth and ambitions make man forget the Hereafter.”15

What are said in narrations and verses about not paying attention to low desires also show the importance of this issue in the viewpoint of Islam: so far that it considers being in awe of Allah and standing against the low desires as the key of Paradise.

The Qur’an says:

“But as for him who feared to stand before his Lord and restrained his soul from lust, verily the Garden will be his abode.”16

Imam Ali (as) says:

“The bravest person is one who overcomes his (or her) wishes.”17

There are many stories that are mentioned about spiritual state of some great men and the friends of Allah, who because of abandoning the low desires achieved spiritually high ranks which can not be achieved by usual ways.