The Consequences of Fisq and the Fate of the Disobedient
As we learned in previous lessons, along our journey toward fulfilling the purpose of creation, God has placed mirrors which help us discern the correctness of our path. One of these mirrors is verse twenty-four of Surah At-Tawbah, which states that if we do not prioritize love for Allah, the Ahlul Bayt (PEACE BE UPON THEM), and jihad (striving in the way of God) over other beloveds and concerns, we have fallen into fisq. This means that as soon as we prefer limited perfections over the Infinite and Absolute Perfection, we are no longer human beings. In this case, it does not matter whether we are a skilled engineer, a renowned doctor, or a famous scholar; since we inherently desire infinity, we cannot desire limited perfections. Whenever we occupy ourselves with these limited matters, we lose our human dignity, as we deviate from our truth as human beings and engage in our animal dimension. Naturally, this deviation from truth leads to numerous losses and deprivations in both our worldly and hereafter lives.
We have previously discussed the concept of fisq and the signs of a fasiq. In this lesson, we aim to discuss the fate of the disobedient (fasiqs)and those who stray from the Straight Path. The fate of the disobedient can be examined from two perspectives: their fate in the world and their fate in the hereafter. We will explain these two aspects in the following.
The Fate of the Disobedient in The World
The criteria for the health of the human soul, which reflect a person’s growth and enjoyment of life, include beneficence, joy, inner peace, and prioritization of the beloveds in the heart. Of course, these factors apply to someone who is on the Straight Path; however, a fasiq has none of these criteria because his system of prioritizing the beloveds is inverted, and instead of having Allah, the Ahlul Bayt (PEACE BE UPON THEM), and jihad at the top of his beloveds, he prioritizes limited perfections such as a house, a car, marriage, further education, academic achievements, wealth, social status, and similar pursuits. Naturally, such a person remains deprived of the natural and fitrah-oriented path toward eternity, and consequently, he will not reach the purpose of his creation, which is to become similar to Allah; rather, he will become distant from Allah day by day.
A fasiq has no close connection or friendship with his heavenly family; as a result, he constantly begs for love of other people like those who are lonely and destitute. In reality, because he has properly arranged his multitude beloveds in his heart, his spiritual balance is disrupted. As a result, he is always afflicted with sadness, anxiety, tension, longing, depression, and jealousy, and he can never be truly happy or at peace. He continuously strives to gain dignity, happiness, and inner peace from limited worldly perfections, unaware that this issue contradicts the mathematical structure of his soul. Although he may temporarily distract himself with these matters, ultimately, since his soul desires infinity and is incompatible with limited perfections, he will be fatigued and dissatisfied with it. This is the consequence for someone who has ignored his true human essence and turned away from his Infinite Beloved. In a word, a fasiq does not experience happiness and deep and lasting pleasures in this world.
The Fate of the Disobedient in the Hereafter
As we learned before, the content of our heart determines the type of our birth and resurrection; each of us will be resurrected in the hereafter with the beloveds of our hearts and the things we are most attached to. If our beloveds and attachments are heavenly and luminous, we will reside in Heaven; if we develop a close bond with Allah Himself, we will attain a status higher than Heaven. However, if we are involved in worldly competitions and rivalries, we will become hellish. Therefore, our most important duty in this world is to maintain the purity of heart and acquire a sound heart. The criterion for a sound heart is the dominance of the three main beloveds: Allah, the Ahlul Bayt (PEACE BE UPON THEM), and jihad over other beloveds and interests. Consequently, it is clear that a fasiq cannot acquire a sound heart, as he lacks the ability to manage his beloveds and organize his heart, and as previously mentioned, his worth will be equivalent to that of stone, plant, or at best, an animal.
According to the Law of Proportion, at the time of death, we will experience six types of births into the hereafter: robustly healthy, healthy, weak, sick, defective, and deformed, with only two types of them being acceptable in the hereafter: robustly healthy and healthy. Therefore, since a fasiq has not acquired a sound heart, he cannot have a robustly healthy or healthy birth into the hereafter and at the time of death, he will be born whether deficient, sick, weak, or disabled, just like a child born paralyzed, blind, deaf, or with heart disease.
Essentially, there is a direct relationship between the soundness of the heart in this world and bliss in the hereafter. That is, to have a healthy birth into the hereafter, we must have a healthy lifestyle in the world that aligns with our human dignity. Therefore, someone who cannot be happy and at peace in this world will not be blissful in the hereafter either. A person who has not purified his heart, as soon as he enters the hereafter, he will face numerous difficulties, as there is no room in their small heart for Allah, prophets, and the Ahlul Bayt (Peace Be upon Them).
In fact, just as the body experiences pain and illness as soon as it loses its balance, a fasiq, by preferring limited perfections over the Infinite Perfection, gradually loses his sound temper and fitrah, developing a sick nature. Instead of gravitating toward pure matters, he becomes inclined toward impure, vile, and ugly things, losing his sensitivity to sin. Until the moment of death, he continues his fisq-oriented ways, ultimately paving the way for his own entry into the fires of Hell and exclusion from heaven, unless he takes deliberate steps to cure this illness.
In this article, we discussed the fate of the disobedient, stating that since a fasiq prefers limited perfections over the Absolute and Infinite Perfection, he deviates from his normal and fitrah-oriented path and fails to achieve the purpose of his creation, which is to become like Allah. Such an individual, being satisfied with less than Allah, will ruin both his worldly and his eternal life.