1.  Planting Trees

Each fruit of the tree you have planted will be appreciated by a reward from Allah. 
Kanz al-Amaal, vol.12, p.341.

2.  Learning during Youth

What is learned during youth, like an engraving on a stone, will never be forgotten. 
Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 1, p. 222.

3. Mothers

Heaven lies beneath the feet of mothers. 

Mizan al-Hikmah, hadith no. 22691.

4. Respecting The Elderly

Respecting a Muslim elderly is like showing respect to Allah.
Usul al-Kafi, vol.2, p.165.

5. The Sources of  Mercy

The elderly are the sources of mercy and divine blessing.
Nahj al-fasaha, p.222.

6. The Most Generous according to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP)

The most generous among you is the one who spreads what he has learned among people.
Mizan al-Hikmah, hadith no. 13825.

7. The Faithful  

The faithful are tied in kindness and affection together like members of a body, one’s pain and hardship affect the others. 
Bihar al-Anwar, vol.58, p.150

8.  Marriage 

The one who gets married has completed half of his/her religion. 

Kanz al-Amaal, hadith no.44403.

9. The Mission of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP)

Indeed, I have been sent to revive the virtues and good morals.
Bihar al-Anwar, vol.16, p.286.

10.  Playing during Childhood

Playfulness during childhood will elevate one in wisdom in his/her adulthood.
Nahj al-Fasaha, p.564, Hadith no. 1940.

11.  The Closest Ones

The kindest, most amiable, generous, patient, and just among you is the closest to me in manner.   
Usul al-Kafi, vol.2, p.240-241.

12. Treating Children 

Be childlike with children.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Man la Yahduruhu al-faqih, vol.3, p.483.

13.  Keep Your Promises to Children 

Love children and be kind to them and keep your promises to them since they only know you as their providers.
Usul al-Kafi, vol.6, p.49.

14. The One Who Wins Allah's Praise  

Allah’s love and praise be upon the one who helps his/her children by doing good to them, caring for, and educating them. 
Mustadrak al-Wasaiil, vol.15, p.169.

15. Greeting Children, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP)'s Tradition

There are five activities that I won’t leave off till I’m alive so that they would become part of my tradition. [One of them] is greeting children.
Makarem al-Akhlaq, vol.1, p.251.  

16. Fathers   

Being like your father is one of the best blessings of Allah to you.
Bihar al-Anwar, vol.71, p.84.

17. Looking Kindly at Your Parents   

The kind look of a child to his/her parents is as praying in Allah’s regard. 
Tuhaf al-Uqul, p.46.

18. Treating Your Family 

The best among you is the one who treats his family best, and I am better than all of you for my family.
Nahj-al fesaha, p.472, Hadith no. 1520.

19. The Desired Family    

Whenever Allah desires the best for a family, He raises their awareness about the religion. The younger ones respect the elders, they observe moderation in their expenses, and they would know about their faults to make them right. 
Nahj-al Fasaha, p.181, Hadith no. 147

20. Delighting Your Parents  

Whoever delights his/her parents, has delighted Allah and the one who displeases them has displeased Allah.
Ali ibn Abd-al-Malik al-Hindi, Kanz al-Ummal, vol.16, p.470.

21.  Imam Ali (AS)

Whomever I am his/her leader (Mawla), then Ali is his/her leader (Mawla). 

Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, vol.4, p.370. 

22. Women's Status in Allah's Regard

Women are held dearer in Allah’s regard than men, and Allah will highly reward any man who brings joy to his Mahram women.  
Usul al-Kafi, vol.6, p.7.

23. Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (AS)

Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (AS) has ignited the hearts of believers with a pain that will never be subsided.
Jami al-Ahadith al-Shia, vol 12., p.556.

24. A Good Friend 

When Allah wants to pour His blessings upon you, He endows you with a Good Friend. 
Nahj al-Fasaha, p.776. 

25. Allah's Favorite    

When Allah chooses to favor someone, He makes him the source of satisfying other people's needs. 

26. Lady Fatimah (AS)  

Fatima is of my flesh, who is the light of my eyes and the warmth of my heart.
al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Al-Amali, p.486.

27. Humanity    

Loving Humanity is second only to having faith in Allah as one of the best deeds in Islam. 
Nahj al-Fasaha, p.74,  Hadith no. 387.

28.  An Act of Charity

If a Muslim plants a tree or any plant and a human, bird, or any other animals use it, Allah counts it as an act of charity.” 
Mustadrak al-Wasaiil, vol.13, p.460.

29. Lying      

Lying would negatively influence your livelihood.
Nahj al-Fasaha, p.373, Hadith no. 1087.

30. The Most Honest, Steadfast and Kindest   

On the Day of Judgment, those who were most honest in their words, steadfast in their promises and kindest in their manners, will be the closest ones to me.
Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, Al-Amali, p.229.

31. The Lawful (Halal) Earning

Praying has seventy parts, the most important and biggest of which is lawful (Halal) earning. 
Mustadrak al-Wasaiil, vol.13, p.12.

32. Performing Prayers

The most praised deeds in Allah’s regard is performing prayers (Salat) on their due time.
Kanz al-Amal, vol. 7, Hadith 18897.

33. A Desired Companion

The most desired companion is like a perfumer; his/her perfume would reach you, even if he/she didn't give you anything.

Kanz al-Amal, vol.9, Hadith 24676.

34. Eating Less  

Eating less results in a healthier body and a more tender heart while overeating makes one sick and hard-hearted. 
Mizan al-Hikmah, Hadith 579.

35. "I Love You"  

The words of “I love you,” said by a man to his wife, will forever be engraved upon the woman’s heart. 
Wassail al-Shia, vol. 14, p.10.

36.  Causing Harm   

Causing harm to yourself and others is forbidden in Islam.
Usul al-Kafi, vol.5, p.292.

37. Security and Health 

There are two blessings to which no one gives thanks: security and health. 
Khisal, p.34. 

38. The Most Grateful Person    

The most grateful person is the one who thanks people most.

Nahj al-Fasaha, Hadith no. 312.  

39. Saving someone's Reputation   

Whoever saves a believer’s reputation will surely be rewarded by heaven. 
Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Thawab al-a'mal wa 'iqab al-Amal, p.145.

40. Ignorance and Wisdom  

No lack is more irritating than ignorance, and no wealth is more advantageous than wisdom.  
Ususl al-Kafi, vol.1, p.25-26, Hadith 25

United Nations General Assembly in the 18th article of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.”

Also in the 19th article of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights freedom of expression is defined as follows: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” [1]

In this text, I would like to explore this article and find out to what extent it is right or wrong according to the Islamic viewpoint toward freedom of thought and freedom of expression.

The Mistake of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts freedom of thought and freedom of belief alongside each other. While there is a major difference between these two.

Murtaza Mutahhari emphasizes the difference between “thought” and “belief”. He argues that “thought is a potential caused by having intellect” and because every human being has intellect, and the potential to think about different issues, thus they think and “discover some truths about universe according to their talent”. [2] While he states that “belief might be based on human’s interest towards something” or “it might be based on following other people’s opinion”. But the true belief is “based on thinking”. He believes that most of the people shape their belief based on worldly interests. And there should be thoughtful people among them to guide them in their way of thinking and choices [3].

So, in his definition of thought and belief, he points out the mistake of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He concludes that people should have freedom of thought. Yet, about freedom of belief, unlike liberalism, Mutahhari states that “freedom is not the ultimate political goal to be respected under any condition”.

The main goal of freedom as he declares is to “reach perfection”. And if one’s belief is against his path towards perfection, then his belief needs an evolution, and should not be left alone to carry on his path towards adversity. [4]

Freedom of Thought in The Quran

There are more than 300 verses in the Quran that encourage people to think, such as: “Indeed We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran so that you may exercise your reason.” (12: 2), “[This is] a blessed Book that We have sent down to you, so that they may contemplate its signs, and that those who possess intellect may take admonition.” (38: 29), “Do they not contemplate the Quran, or are there locks on the hearts?” (47: 24).

Freedom of thought is also mentioned in the Quran in choosing the path of life where Allah says: “There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong.” (2: 256)

This verse clearly shows the importance of freedom of thought in the eyes of God, and the freedom to choose a religion. It is noteworthy that the Quran gives specific guidelines for finding the truth and recognizing wrong and right. As it is stated in the same verse; “So whoever disbelieves in idolatrous and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it.” (2: 256)

Also, Allah introduces His best servants in the Quran as those who listen to different types of opinions without any prejudice, and then follow the opinion that is closest to the righteous way: “…So give good news to My servants, who listen to the word [of Allah] and follow the best [interpretation] of it. They are the ones whom Allah has guided, and it is they who possess intellect.” (39: 17-18)

When Allah encourages people to find their religion based on intellectual thinking, he keeps reminding them at different points about what is beneficial and what is harmful to human growth.

Does Islam Limit Freedom of Thought and Freedom of Expression?

As stated above freedom of thought is encouraged in Islam as long as it does not lead people and society toward diversity. “The objective of speech and expression according to Islam is to build up love, tolerance, social harmony, and understanding among members in order to ensure a peaceful coexistence.” [5]

So, freedom of thought is permitted in Islam as long as it does not harm the society. There is a fundamental rule in Islam, to which other rulings must not be contrary. A Muslim should neither be harmed nor should he harm anyone else. When thoughts are harmful to people in the society, Islam limits freedom of expressing the thoughts that may create social disorder.

Conclusion

So far we discussed that The Quran invites people to think and choose their religion and belief accordingly freely. There is no force in choosing religion. Yet, freedom of belief and expression is not completely allowed according to that fundamental rule of Islam.

That is, a Muslim should not be harmed and nor harm others. Sometimes, one may not have enough information about a particular issue and as a result is not able to form an educated opinion or belief. Hence, if someone wants to express his/ her opinions that have no scientific or logical foundations, and may bring about doubt in ordinary people’s beliefs, Islam would stand against it and will not allow its expansion. [6]

Reference:

1. Human rights
2. Mutahhari, Murtaza, About Islamic republic, p. 92-3
3. Mutahhari, Murtaza, About Islamic republic, p. 97
4. Rostami, Mohammad. Andisheh Sadegh, vol. 6
5. Bhat AM (2014) Freedom Of Expression From Islamic Perspective. Journal of Media and Communication Studies 6: 69-77.
6. Kassem AS (2012) The Concept of Freedom in the Quran. American International Journal of Contemporary Research 2, p. 165-173.