Analysis of Farid ad-Din Attars Memorial of God's Friends - Lives and Sayings of Sufis - Book Report/Review Example

God’s friends: Hasan of Basra The ancient Islam religion was characterized by the seriousness by which its religious leaders perceived the religion. After the death of Prophet Mohamed, many prophets showed up to emulate the religious gap left by prophet Mohamed. However, true prophets were a unique feature as many prophets were pretenders, Munafiq. However, at the time the religion was still strong and true prophets ensured people were fed with the true word of their deity. In an argument by Aṭṭār the Muslim religion at the time enjoyed the pace set by prophet Mohamed as people were extremely religious (63). The author further points out that the situation was made simpler by the fact that religious leaders believed that they had a true calling to their position (Aṭṭār 63). Nevertheless, this did not alter the verity that Munafiqs were among the believers. For this reason, judgment of the spirituality of a Muslim was done in regards to their actions and contributions to the religion rather than just their religious affiliation. Additionally, the judgment was done in regards to the teaching by prophet Mohamed. One of the true prophets of the Islam religion was Hasan of Basra. He was a spiritual instructor, leader and a critique to the government. In the ancient Muslim writings Hasan of Basra is described as an iconic religious leader whose influence in the religion was important and the effects are still significant in the modern day Islam religion. This paper will analyze the life of Hasan of Basra and his impact in the Islam religion.Additionally, the paper will also include the teachings of the religious leader and their meanings in regards to the society now and his society. Hassan of Basra was born nine years after the death of Prophet Muhammad. He was born in Basra and brought up in the house of Umm Salma. During his raisin he is said to meet many religious figure of his time including the seventy warriors in the battle of Badr (Aṭṭār 44). From this point he was viewed as a religious figure as people thought he was chosen by God. Hassan of Basra believed that enemies of the Islamic religion were not the greatest enemies of attaining a pure religion. One more than one occasion, he pointed out that munafiqs are the greatest enemy to religion progress. This belief was based on the assumption that there other religions apart from Islam and a person’s life was dictated by the deity they worship. Regardless of the region a man embraces, their behavior should reflect integrity and not sinful. In the mind of Hassan, Islam only required its followers were to stay in line with the teaching provided by Prophet Mohamed (Aṭṭār 67). In the teachings by Hassan, hypocrisy in religion should be shunned as his teachings were based on how well true religion could be embraced. In another teaching by Hassan, leadership was a vice not just a position. Since his childhood Hassan was exposed bad leadership as he was caught between wars which on most occasions were created due to bad leaders. He led in the example of true leadership as he provided guidance and taught his followers. He gained popularity for his leadership skills as a religious leader. Additionally, he was opposed to Al-Ḥajjāj who was then the Iraqi governor. He publicly questioned his policies. He was made to hide till the demise of the governor. Muslims respected him for these efforts as he put religions first regardless of the situation he faced. The religious, social and political impact of Hassan of Basra Basra was known for its society ills in regards to the political and social state. Basra was the hometown of Basra but he left for his birth place in Arabia. After his return to Basra, he realized how religion in particular Islam as failed to control the town. He took the opportunity to do his religious duty and also as society leader. In an argument by Aṭṭār, Hassan was more than affiliated to his religion (79). The author further points out that Hassan felt the obligation to change the negative perception of the society towards religion (Aṭṭār 79). He decided to do this by making religions a correctional tool in the society. He sought to first change the hypocrites in religion before criticizing the non-believers. This change in religion was appropriate at the time since Muslims disregarded the importance of their religion. His teachings were changing the approach of religion in Basra as believer recognized him as an agent to change. The same religious changes were replicated in the social environment. He believed by changing the religious scope he would also change the social approach of people. Hassan was also victorious in doing the same (Aṭṭār 79). Considering the fact that the society was comprised of mostly Muslims, his teachings changed the behavior of people in regards to the society. His political impact was also equally significance. After his return to Basra, he realized that leadership in Iraq was under bad leadership. He publicly criticized the leader on his policies and decisions (Aṭṭār 90). Hassan supported the personal responsibility that one should be an agent change when they notice a wrong. As a religious leader he had the responsibility of ensuring that his country was under right leadership as Allah would want it. He, however, went to hiding after his life was threatened for his political views. He then showed up after the Iraqi governor died. On his death the entire city of Basra was at a standstill. All Muslims attended his burial on the day of Asr prayers (Aṭṭār 90). This was a historic occurrence as it has never happened before in the history of Basra. Even after his death the city of Basra followed the teaching by him (Aṭṭār 90). Additionally, Hassan inspired the birth on other true religious leaders as they followed in his footsteps as a social and religious leader as well as a political activist. Work cited Aṭṭār, Farīd al-Dīn. Farid Ad-Din ʻAttārs Memorial of Gods Friends: Lives and Sayings of Sufis. Costa Mesa, CA : Paulist Press. 2009. Print. Read More