“The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act, as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of the word liberty; and precisely the same difference prevails today among human creatures.”Abraham Lincoln.

Freedom has been construed and practiced in many ways in our society. Some folk transcended religious boundaries and cultural values and interpreted freedom to be a situation free from all religious restrictions. Others practiced their lives within the frame of religious law and moral values.

Commonly, freedom stands for a condition where one is not confined, not under mental or physical pressures, not enslaved nor stopped from development. But mostly, people think of freedom when one is not chained physically, and where spiritual liberty exists. Of course, when you are not liberated from immoral activities, and you are deep in vice and wickedness and cherish lust for crime and corruption; you are enslaved intrinsically.

Shaheed Mutahhari, a great Islamic philosopher and thinker, narrates a love story to illustrate someone who is not free intrinsically. One day Romeo rode a camel to go to Juliet’s home. The camel had a baby and Romeo did not take the baby so that he could reach Juliet’s home quicker. On the way to her home, Romeo fell in a deep thought about Juliet and the bridle loosened from his hand. Meanwhile the camel was in deep thought about her baby when she saw the loose bridle she returned home. After a while Romeo suddenly found himself before his own house and made the camel return towards Juliet’s home. Three times the same behavior repeated itself. Finally, Romeo let the camel alone.

So, the same is the case with the love of money, property, possession etc. If one loves money, then there will be a desire to acquire it in any possible way, legal or otherwise. This results in selfishness; a lack of generosity. Such desires are bereft of spiritual standards.

The freedom of belief and thought is a social need .It implies that man should be free in these vital aspects of his life and that there should be no obstacle in the way of his advancement and sojourns and no hurdle to the development of his capacities. One of the most venerable capacities in man, which he needs most intensely in order to develop freely, is his capacity for thought and belief.

It is worthy of mention that religion and faith is not a matter of coercion. The path is clear. All that is required is thought and care. Basically, the kind of faith that Islam requires cannot be forced. There is no possibility of coercion, for it is impossible to force anyone to acquire the kind of Faith that is required by Islam. It is not possible to spank a child into solving a certain Arithmetical problem? His mind and thought must be left free in order that he may solve it.
The Islamic faith is something of this kind.

In addition, we have failed to remember that ‘with freedom come responsibilities.’ Whenever we claim liberty, we have to shoulder a corresponding series of responsibilities in society. In other words, there is a limitation for freedom. Besides using our rights, we are responsible to respect the rights of others. So, we are supposed to use our freedom in the frame work of law otherwise we will trample upon others’ rights. Nelson Mandela says, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Jimmy Carter says, “Because we are free we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere. Our moral sense dictates a clear-cut preference for these societies which share with us an abiding respect for individual human rights. We do not seek to intimidate, but it is clear that a world which others can dominate with impunity would be inhospitable to decency and a threat to the well-being of all people.”

Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian spiritual and political leader, talks about moral freedom which gives birth to civilization. According to him, freedom is not only freedom from coercion and domination; it is also self-regulation through self-restraint. Hence, self-restraint forms an indispensable part of Gandhi’s concept of civilization. True civilization is a state of self-transcendence through self-restraint. It is a process of making and rectifying mistakes. Freedom should provide conditions of growth for an individual. In the eyes of Gandhi, the civilizing process results from an inner reform of the individual. As for outward independence, it is a yardstick to measure the freedom of self within. There can be no outward self-rule without the experience of truth. And the there can be no experience of truth without self-realization and moral freedom. True civilization is the reign of moral freedom.

Unfortunately, in the current era, people lack moral and spiritual freedom. Almost without exception, everyone is slave in one way or another. Pursuing self interests, either our rights are violated by the country’s ruling elites or we trample upon the rights of others. In other words, everyone construes freedom in his/her own tastes and interests. Today, the issues of rights and freedoms are not only controversial but also unattainable in their true sense it is because the people lack internal freedom. Hence, social freedom is attainable only through individual or spiritual freedom.

So, the true and ideal freedom comes when we are free spiritually and do not succumb to our lust and greed. The ideal freedom is attainable when we respect the rights and freedoms of our human fellows by not crossing the religious and moral borders. And when we feel and fulfill our responsibilities as citizens. It is time to break the chains of spiritual slavery and stand against our own sinful nature .That it is the only way to obtain social freedom.