Rasa News Agency reports – Hujjat al-Islam Sayyed AbdolMajid Eshkevari, a university and seminary teacher in the holy city of Qom, has said in response to some remarks made in regards to the fact that you can not send people to heaven by the force of the whip: “Governments by their sovereign duties and responsibilities must strive to guide society towards achieving happiness.”
His Eminence pointed the following verse of the Holy Quran:
“God certainly favoured the faithful when He raised up among them an apostle from among themselves to recite to them His signs and to purify them and teach them the Book and wisdom, and earlier they had indeed been in manifest error” [3:164].
Hujjat al-Islam Eshkevari explained that this verse clearly explains God’s purpose in sending prophets. Thus, the Islamic government also has a duty to purify and teach the people as a just Islamic government has the divine duty to guide society towards perfection in the absence of a prophet or imam.
“How can we ignore this important issue, when even non-Islamic governments are held responsible for their duty to enjoin justice in their societies? One of the governments’ duties is to maintain social order. We cannot invite people to follow traffic rules and when someone does not follow the rules, let them off the hook without fining them! We cannot expect someone who does not follow the rules to punish himself and put his own life in danger!” His Eminence explained.
He emphasized that social order cannot be established only with advice and guidance: “All societies have a system of laws and punishments for those who violate the safety and social order of the greater society.”
Hujjat al-Islam Eshkevari explained that the government has the responsibility to protect the security of the state and the ethics of the society: “Whenever someone compromises the society’s ethical security, the government must fulfill its duties to society to punish the violators, without making excuses.”
Hujjat al-Islam Eshkevari stated that the moral duty of the government is to provide security for the population: “In this respect, it is necessary to encourage the people [to obey the laws] and improve the culture of society along with a coercive approach toward any violators.”
“When the government has failed to properly implement some of these necessary duties, it has faced difficulties. They should act rationally on their promises and slogans so that society does not face concern and feels safe,” he advised to the nation’s authorities.
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