The Need for the Imam — Page 11
D ar u rat-ul-Imam 11 Almighty knows that this Imam will have to confront the insolent and foul-mouthed people of the world He also gives him moral strength of the highest order. His heart is full of genuine compassion for mankind. But moral courage does not mean that he exercises clem- ency on every occasion without rhyme or reason, for it would be against moral wisdom. What it means is that these men are not like malicious and quick-tempered people who seethe with anger at every insult, and their faces betray the ugly signs of inner torture, also known as rage, and continue to rant and rave regardless of time and occasion. This is not the condition of those who are moral. True, they do sometimes use harsh words for the purpose of reform and in keeping with the demand of the occasion, but they do not get angry at heart, nor do they fly into a rage or froth at the mouth. Sometimes they do feign anger in order to overawe someone, while all the time their hearts are relaxed and happy and satis- fied. That is why Jesus as , on a number of occasions addressed others with harsh words, like 'swine', 'dogs', 'faithless', 'adulterous', etc. , but we dare not say that he lacked the high moral qualities, for he himself taught these high morals and enjoined compassion. These words, which he frequently used, were not due to some fit of anger or frenzy, rather they were used with a calm and cool mind, and only on appropriate occasions. In short, it is essential for Imams to possess a perfect stan-