Devising a Method in Fiqh and Kalam Based on a Synthesis Between Reason and Revelation

This is the third aspect of al-Shaykh al-Mufid's work as the founder and progenitor of the present Shi'i tradition of learning. Here, too, he paved a new path, midway between the unchecked rationalism of the Mu'tazilah and their Shi'i followers, such as the Nawbakhtis, and the traditionalism of al-Shaykh al-Saduq.

  the hay day of Mu'tazilism, that is, at the end of the first phase of the `Abbasid caliphate (a phase that concluded about the middle of the 3rd/9th century), the Mu'tazilah were strongly influenced by the influx of alien philosophical ideas (Greek, Pahlavi, Indian, etc.) into the Islamic world and translation of works related to those traditions. At that time, both the influx of alien thought as well as this tendency of the Mu'tazilah received enthusiastic patronage of the 'Abbasid caliphs, especially al-Ma'mun. The movement of the Ahl al-Hadith amongst the Sunnis, and such traditionists as al-Saduq, may God's mercy be upon him, amongst the Shi'ah, who sought to understand certain theological and doctrinal issues through hadith, represented a reaction to this extreme rationalism of the Mu'tazilah.

  great contribution of al-Mufid was to drive home the point that reason is incapable of independently understanding all the issues of theology. For instance, he points out, it is only with the help of revelation that reason can acquire the knowledge of such Divine attributes as Will, Hearing, Sight and so on. To enter this domain of knowledge about God, the Exalted and the Glorious, with reason as one's sole guide is to invite perplexity and perdition.

  fact, this is a restatement of the traditions that prohibit man from trying to fathom the mystery of Godhead. Al-Mufid does not expel reason from its own realm (which is not the sphere of revelation and tradition) to which belong the substantiation of such issues as the necessity of a Creator, the proofs of God's existence, Divine Unity (tawhid), and the need of prophethood. Rather, his aim is to confine reason within the limits assigned to it by its Creator so that it may not go astray.

  one point in the Awa'il al-maqalat, he writes: "The ascription of all these attributes [that is, His being the Hearer, the Seer, and the Knower] to the Eternal One, Glory be to Him is on the basis of revelation, not rational grounds or analogy."" At another place he says: "Verily, the Qur'an (kalam Allah ta'ala) is temporally produced (muhdath) and there are traditions from the Household of Muhammad-may Allah bless him and his Household-in support of this."  Elsewhere he writes: "That God, the Exalted, is Willing I say because of revelation, following and defferring to what is said in the Qur'an. I do not derive it from reason."  Yet at another place he declares: "All the Imamis concur that reason stands in need of revelation for its knowledge and conclusions and that it is inseparable from the revelation apprehended by a person in full possession of his senses (reading al-'aqil, instead of al-ghafil) in a rationally valid manner ('ala kayfiyyat al-'istidlal) .... and the Mu'tazilites concur in holding the contrary, with the claim that reason can act alone without the help of revelation and instruction " 

  are many such statements of an explicit character in al-Mufid's writings. Nevertheless, he accepts the authority of a tradition only when there are no rational grounds for considering it impossible. Accordingly, in the context of the miracles of the Imams ('a) he says, "They belong to the category of possible things that are neither necessary on rational grounds nor impossible analogously."  He reiterates similar statements in other places.  However, in the Tashih i'tiqad al-'Imamiyyah, which is a gloss on al-Shaykh al-Saduq's Risalat al-Itiqddat, after rejecting traditions that contradict with the Qur'an, his view is stated more explicity than anywhere else. There, he says: "That is why when we come across a tradition conflicting with rational principles (ahkam al-'uqul) we reject it because reason judges it to be invalid.  In this statement, in addition to rejecting such traditions as contrary to reason, he makes reason itself the criterion for this judgement and thus puts a dual emphasis on the authority of reason.

  in reasoning and rational argument in the thought of al-Shaykh al-Mufid is so much that in a passage of the Awa'il, under the heading "On salutary pain without compensation," after mentioning his own singular view which is shared neither by the partisans of Justice (i.e. the Mu'tazilites) nor the Murji'ites, he declares with a rare sense of personal self-confidence: "I have made here a synthesis of principles which only I hold, without any of the other partisans of Justice and irja' agreeing with me. Its truth is clear to me, however, from reasoning (nazar). Those who are opposed have not made me feel lonely, since I have good arguments (hujjah), and there is no loneliness where truth is concerned, and all praise belongs to God !"  In view of the fact that in his discussion concerning pain and the discussion pertaining to the doctrine of lutf (Divine help) he generally relies on reason rather than revelation, one may be sure that by`hujjah' in the above passage he means arguments based on reason rather than revelation.

  presence of the factor of revelation in the theological thought of al-Shaykh al-Mufid enabled him to resolve many of the difficult problems, whose solution is a very lengthy process, with comparable ease with the help of the sayings of the Imams, may peace be upon them, and saved subsequent Shi'i theological thought from deviance and confusion.

  relevant example in this regard is the issue of the attributes of God. The Mu'tazilah had to go a long way from the outright negation of the attributes in the statements of Wasil ibn `Ata' and the theory of niyabah concerningthe relation between the Divine essence and attributes, to the concepttawhid in the sense of not conceiving the attributes as something additional to the essence but as identical with the essence in the Divine Being. The treatment of the same issue in al-Mufid's statement is based on tradition (sam'), such as the contents of the Nahj al-bahaghah and other similar traditions transmitted from the Imams, may peace be upon them. It can even be inferred from these traditions that these problems were posed amongst the Shi'is already during the times of the Imams (`a), and their followers benefited from the perpetual source of knowledge represented by the Ahl al-Bayt, may peace be upon them (See al-Kafi , vol. i, p. 107,"bab sifat al-dhat" and the various parts of al-Saduq's al-Tawhid and the sermons of the Nahj al-balaghah). Another point worthy of notice is al-Mufid's recourse to rational argumentation by the side of argument based on sam` (in his short theological treatises such as al-Nukat fi muqaddimdt al-'usul) even in relation to the topic of Divine attributes, whereas in the Awa'il al-maqalat he considers inference from sam` as the sole source of knowledge in such matters. The following are two examples from al-Nukat;

  he goes on to offer rational arguments concerning the attributes of Hearing, Sight, Wisdom and so on (al-Nukat fi muqaddimdt al-'usul,pp. 33-34). This cannot be regarded as a departure from the view advanced in the Awa'il al-maqalat. We said earlier that the short treatises written in the question and answer format were most likely compiled as didactical guides for Shi'i initiates living in far-off regions and engaged in learning the art of polemical debate and who did not have immediate access to a teacher like al-Mufid. The Shaykh seems to have preferred the rational approach for its wider utility which made those treatises useful for confronting any kind of adversary.

  discussion makes clear that the synthesis affected by al-Mufid in his theological method between rational argument and argument from revelatory sources was an outstanding and original contribution of that great master.

  hope that this scientific and scholarly meeting will study these important topics as well as numerous other aspects of the brilliant intellectual life of the venerable al-Shaykh al-Mufid.

  the conclusion of this paper, it would be good to remember that this sublime genius carried out his long intellectual struggle-in the course of which he laid the foundations of the edifice of fiqh and inaugurated a new middle path in kalam-under difficult social conditions. Although the Buwayhid rule in Baghdad had created an atmosphere conducive to free scholarly debates, it could not solve the problem created by the fanaticism of Hanbali jurists and the harassment of Shi'is in general and al-Mufid in particular by the `Abbasid establishment. The persecution of the Shi'is of Karkh in Baghdad and the great hardships inflicted upon them and their noble leaders, are facts to which history bears manifest testimony.

  appears that besides the three instances of al-Mufid's exile recorded in the works of history, he faced difficult circumstances for two years in the period from 405-407/1014-1016, during which the exact character of his travails is not clear. This question arises because there is no mention of al-Shaykh al-Mufid in the accounts relating to the death, in the year 406/1016, of al-Sayyid al-Radi, al-Mufid's beloved pupil, which describe his funeral and other details, as recorded in the books. Although one would expect the name of al-Mufid to come up there several times, one does not find a single reference to him. Another thing that makes one curious is that in the Amali of al-Mufid, whose contents indicate that he used to hold several sessions (majalis) every year around the month of Ramadan at his house, or in his mosque, at Darb al-Rabah and that these sessions continued from 404/1013 to 411/1020, we do not find any majlis pertaining to the years 405/1014 and 406/1016 in that record of his dictation sessions.

  thing is that during the events of the Muharram of 406/1016, when there were big anti-Shi'i riots-something that had become a recurring feature of their life in Baghdad-the person who was selected as the representative and leader of the Shi'is for talks with the Baghdad regime was al-Sayyid al-Murtada, not al-Shaykh al-Mufid, although the latter was at the time the undisputed leader of the Shi'is and in the years before that al-Sayyid al-Murtada was considered his humble and obedient disciple.

  indications raise in the mind the probability that al-Mufid was faced with some kind of trouble that resulted in his absence from Baghdad during these two years. The matter needs to be investigated. However, that which is certain is that life in Baghdad was very difficult for the Shi'ah and their leaders for the most part of the hundred and thirteen years of Buwayhid rule over Iraq and Baghdad, accompanied as they were by persecution, sectarian conflict, and bloodshed.  It was in the midst of such great hardships and despite the heavy responsibilities of the leadership of the Shi'is of Iraq, or rather of the whole Islamic world, that he made such a great contribution to Shi'i teachings.

  a last point, I shall insist that the scholars and thinkers present at this academic gathering make all the efforts they can to utilize this scholarly meeting as a means of furthering intellectual concord and real solidarity between Islamic sects.

  character of al-Mufid's confrontation with the religious opponents of his era was certainly influenced by the bitter social events and hardships caused by blind prejudice with which the oppressed Shi`is of those days were faced. That kind of conduct cannot today serve as a model for mutual relations between Islamic sects, even in the area of kalam. Today all the Islamic sects should draw the lesson of friendship and peaceful coexistence from those painful scenes of history. At a time when the very principles of Islam-for whose revival the Mufids of every sect have taken great pains-are threatened by the enemies, they should devote their total efforts to the promotion of solidarity, concord and cooperation between all the sects and their thinkers. This is the great aspiration of the Revolution and the lasting counsel of our late Imam, may God sanctify his pure soul.

  again I beseech God, the Exalted, to grant you success and pray to Him to bless this gathering of yours with bright results and lasting achievements. Was-saldmu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.