Abstract:
When we know and recognize one another, our souls join with those of others. This is called ta’aruf in the parlance of the Qur’an. Ta’aruf increases love and unity, as it decreases violence and enmity. Knowing one another occurs in several ways. One way to know others is to love the same thing that they do. This means that several people will love a similar spiritual being. From the Shia perspective, this is a very important way in which people can understand and sympathize with one another. Sharing a common beloved also creates a loving relationship between oneself and others. Many people come to love one another since they share love for the same being and because their love is directed to the reality of the Truth, which is an all-inclusive reality. To create a love such as this requires a strong remembrance2 which comes about through the remembrance of the beloved, one’s “sufferings for.” Communication based on such love differs widely from the peace that is based on using a scapegoat, as described in Rene Girard’s Violence and the Sacred.
Machine summary:
Love and "Suffering for": A Shia Perspective on Rene Girard’s Theory on Violence and the Sacred Habibollah Babaei 1 Received: 12-03-2017 / Accepted: 29-06-2017 When we know and recognize one another, our souls join with those of others.
" Communication based on such love differs widely from the peace that is based on using a scapegoat, as described in Rene Girard’s Violence and the Sacred.
In order to do this, it is essential to regard the following issues from both Islamic and Christian perspective: human nature and its potential to create aggression and hostility, love and hate and their respective effects on human relationships, and the role of suffering in comparison to "scapegoating" in the control of conflicts in human societies.
Regarding this, I will propose a solution based on a Shia viewpoint to show how it is feasible to make peace and reconciliation between people by means of practicing divine love1 through remembrance of "suffering for.
Two Approaches to Conflicting Human Nature To sum up, according to Rene Girard’s theory, human violence arises from mimetic desire, which is the basic mechanism of human learning.
The same point of similarity and dissimilarity and mimetic desires has been considered in the Qur’an in different words and ways, when it says: Do not covet the advantage which Allah has given some of you over others.
In loving and remembering Imam Husayn’s suffering, the people who take part in the Arba’in pilgrimage create a great community that is based on human brotherhood and in which the differences between Sunnis and Shias and Muslims and non-Muslims disappear.