SHAJÂ'AH – شجاعة

 

Literally: A being or becoming brave. Bravery. Valour.

The wasat degree of al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah (the power of savage passion). Using al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah in the bounds of as-sirât al-mustaqîm. Giving freely of oneself with love and eagerness for the defence of the laws of Islam and the upholding of the Word of Tawhîd.

 

“The authorities on Hadith and foremost Imam Bukhari report that it was rumoured one night that the enemy was attacking outside Madinah al-Munawwarah. Brave horsemen went out to investigate. On the way, they saw someone coming. They looked and saw that it was Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm. He told them there was nothing. He had mounted Abu Talha's famous horse, as his sacred shajâ'ah impelled him to, and had gone before everyone else to investigate, then returned.” The Letters (190-191 )

 

“After the Qur'an, the greatest miracle of Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm was his own self. That is, the elevated moral virtues brought together in his person which as friend and foe agreed, every aspect of which were of the very highest level. A hero of the shajâ'ah, Hazrat 'Ali, said again and again: "Whenever the fighting grew fierce, we would take refuge behind Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm." Like this, he was the highest and unattainable degree in all praiseworthy qualities.” The Letters ( 219 )

 

“As for the Shi'a’s “Khilâfah”1 , they have no rights before the Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah other than shame. For although they claim to have tremendous love for Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), they disparage him, and their madhab necessitates accusing him of immorality. For they say that although Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddîq and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) were acting unjustly, ‘Ali (ra) feigned approval for them; according to Shi'a terminology, he dissimulated. That is, he was frightened of them and behaved hypocritically. But it is not love to see someone who was such a hero of Islam, won the title 'Asadullah,'2 and was the commander and guide of the siddîqs as simulating love for people he did not love out of fear and deception, as feigning approval for them in fear for more than twenty years, and as following wrongdoers. Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) would disclaim love that sort.

Thus, the People of Haqq's madhab in no way disparages Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), nor levels accusations of immorality at him. It does not attribute cowardice to such a remarkable co shajâ'ah, but says: "If Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) had not considered the Rightly-Guided Khalîfahs to be haqq, he would not have recognized them for a minute, nor obeyed them. It means that since he thought them right and preferable, he surrendered his endeavour and shajâ'ah on the way of haqq." The Flashes ( 42 )

 

“الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ: Know that as-sirât al-mustaqîm is justice (‘adl) and is the summary of hikmah, ‘iffah and shajâ'ah which are the wasat in the three degrees of man's three powers (quwwa).

To explain: Allah (‘Azza wa jalla) housed rûh in man's body, which is changing, needy and exposed to dangers. He introduced three powers (quwwa) in it to preserve.

The First: al-quwwa ash-shahawiyyah al-bahîmiyyah, the power of animal appetites to attract benefits.

The Second: al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah as-sabui’yyah, the predacious power of anger to repulse harmful and destructive things.

The Third: al-quwwa al-aqliyyah al-malakiyyah, the power of mind pertaining to the malâikah to distinguish between benefit and harm.

However, since His hikmah necessitated that mankind should achieve perfection through the mystery of competition, Allah did not determine limits on these quwwas in fitrah, as He did on those of animals. He determined limits on them through the Sharî’ah that it prohibits ifrât and tafrît and orders the wasat. This is what is clearly ordered by the âyah فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَٓا اُمِرْتَ 3 Since there is no fıtrî limitation in these three quwwas, three degrees occur in each: the degree of tafrît which is deficiency, the degree of ifrât which is excess and the degree of wasat which is ‘adl.

Tafrît in al-quwwa al-aqliyyah is gabâwah and foolishness, and its ifrât is jarbaza4 and over-meticulousness in trivialities and its wasat is hikmah5 . وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ اُو۫تِىَ خَيْرًا كَث۪يرًۜا 6 Know that just as these quwwas vary in these three degrees, so do each of their branches. For example, in the question of the creation of actions, the wasat is the madhab of ahl al-Sunnah between the Jabriyya and the Mu'tazila, and in the question of belief, the madhab of Tawhîd is the wasat between the denial of the attributes or existence of Allah (ta'til) and anthropomorphism (tashbîh). The examples can be made further on this analogy.

Tafrît in al-quwwa ash-shahawiyyah is extinction (khumud) which is having no longing for anything, while its ifrât is fujûr which is to desire whatever is encountered whether halal or haram. Its wasat is ‘iffah, which is desiring what is halal and shunning what is haram. Compare the branches of this quwwa such as eating, drinking, dressing so on with the root of this principal.

Tafrît in al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah is jabânah that is fear of what is not to be feared and having wahm. Its ifrât is tahawwur7 which is the source and father of despotism, domination and dhulm. And its wasat is shajâ'ah which is giving freely of one’s rûh with love and eagerness for the defence of the laws of Islam and the upholding of the Word of Tawhîd. Compare this same principle within each of its branches.

The six extremes are thus dhulm and the three wasat are ‘adl which is as-sirât al-mustaqîm and is to act in accordance with  فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَٓا اُمِرْتَ 8 Whoever passes along this way will cross the bridge suspended over the Fire.”  The Sign of Miraculousness-24