مدحُ الغَيرةِ The Praise of Possessiveness

ghira: This word, that has been translated as possessiveness, denotes a possessiveness stemming from a sense of self-honour and self-worth, where a man who has the quality of ghira would be a possessive or jealous husband, seen as a positive trait because of its stemming from self-honour. When ghira is ascribed to Allah, it denotes His being deserving of and demanding exclusive worship, loyalty and adherence. In other texts, ghira has been translated equally as jealousy, zeal, and fervour. In this text therefore, it will be translated according to its connotations in individual traditions

 

1ـ رسولُ اللهِ‏ِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ): إنّ الغَيرَةَ مِن الإيمانِ.

1– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily possessiveness is part of faith.’[al-Faqih, v. 3, p. 444, no. 4541]
 

2ـ رسولُ اللهِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ): كانَ إبراهيمُ أبي غَيوراً وأنا أغيَرُ مِنهُ، وأرغَمَ اللّه‏ُ أنفَ مَن لا يَغارُ مِن المؤمنينَ.

2– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘My father Abraham [i.e. the prophet] was very possessive [i.e. guarding of his own self-worth] and I am even more possessive than him. Allah abases the one who has no sense of self-worth from among the believers.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 103, p. 248, no. 33]
 

3ـ رسولُ اللهِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ): إنّ اللّه‏َ تعالى يَغارُ وإنّ المؤمنَ يَغارُ، وغَيرَةُ اللّه‏ِ أن يَأتِيَ المؤمنُ ما حَرَّمَ اللّه‏ُ علَيهِ.

3– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily Allah, most High, is possessive, and verily the believer is possessive. Allah is possessive over a believer when he approaches that which Allah has prohibited him from.’[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 7072]
 

4ـ رسولُ اللّه‏ِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ): إنَّ الجَنَّةَ لَتُوجَدُ ريحُها مِن مَسيرَةِ خَمسِمائةِ عامٍ، ولايَجِدُها عاقٌّ ولا دَيُّوثٌ . قيلَ: يا رسولَ اللّه‏ِ، وما الدَّيُّوثُ ؟ قالَ: الذي تَزنِي امرأتُهُ وهُو يَعلَمُ بها.

4– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily the fragrance of Paradise can be smelt from a distance of five hundred years, but neither the one who is insolent towards his parents not the cuckold will ever smell it.’ When asked, ‘O Prophet of Allah, what is a cuckold?’ he replied, ‘It is one whose wife commits adultery with his knowledge of it.’[al-Faqih, v. 3, p. 444, no. 4542]
 

5ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): قَدرُ الرجُلِ على قَدرِ هِمَّتِهِ ... وشَجاعَتُهُ على قَدرِ أنَفَتِهِ، وعِفَّتُهُ على قَدرِ غَيرَتِهِ .

5– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The worth of a man is in proportion to his ambition … his courage is in proportion to his self-esteem, and his chastity is in proportion to his possessiveness [i.e. over his own wife].’[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 47]
 

6ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): ما زَنى غَيورٌ قطُّ.

6- Imam Ali (AS) said, 'A man who is possessive [over his own wife] will never commit adultery.’[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 305]
 

7ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): إنَّ اللّه‏َ يَغارُ للمؤمِنِ، فَلْيَغَرْ مَن لايَغارُ ؛ فإنّهُ مَنكوسُ القَلبِ .

7– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Verily Allah is possessive over the believer, so let him who is not possessive become possessive [through a sense of self-worth], for verily he has a degenerative heart.’[al-Mahasin, v. 1, p. 204, 455]
 

8ـ الإمامُ الصّادقُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): إنّ اللّه‏َ تباركَ وتعالى غَيورٌ يُحِبُّ كُلَّ غَيورٍ، ولِغَيرَتِهِ حَرَّمَ الفواحِشَ ظاهِرَها وباطِنَها.

8– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Verily Allah, Blessed and most High, is very possessive and loves every possessive one, and as a result of His possessiveness [over His servants], he has prohibited indecent acts, both those done in public as well as those done in secret.’[al-Kafi, v. 5, p. 535, no. 1]