On the Delegation (tafwid) of the Affair to the Messenger of God

Section: On the Delegation (tafwid) of the Affair to the Messenger of God (S), as indicated by this and many other traditions:

It should be known that the term tafwid is used in a special sense in discussions on jabr and tafwid (predestination and total human freedom).

According to this sense of tafwid, it means that God, the Exalted, has na'udhubillah, dissociated Himself in some respect from making any kind of dispositions in the world, right from the remotest extremity of creation pertaining to the Unseen immaterial spheres to the other end of the realm of creation and [corporeal] existence and delegated its administration to a being which is either a perfectly and completely spiritual and immaterial being possessing will and freedom of action, or a physical existent devoid of will and consciousness, which has a complete freedom of independent action therein.

"Tafwid" in this sense of delegation of Divine functions to someone, either in the matter of creation (takwin) or that of legislation (tashri') or on the plane of administration of the affairs of the creatures and their instruction (ta'dib), is impossible, and it implies the affirmation of deficiency and contingency in relation to the Necessary Being and negation of contingency and need in relation to contingent being.

Opposed to it is jabr, which means negation of causal efficiency in relation to the various planes of existence and an outright negation of the entire system of causes and effects. This notion is also absolutely false and contrary to firm metaphysical proofs. This is not restricted to the acts of legally responsible persons (mukallafun) as is generally known. Rather, the negation of jabr and tafwid in this sense is the operating sunnah of God in all the planes of being and in all the spheres of the Seen and the Unseen. However, the proof of this matter lies outside the scope of these pages.

The traditions negating jabr and tajwid are to be taken to apply to these meanings of the terms. [The term tafwid] has some other meaning in those traditions which do affirm tafwid [such as the following tradition of al-Kafi from al-Imam al-Baqir concerning the legislation of certain laws by the Prophet himself], or those which mention the delegation of all the affairs of the creatures [to the prophet], like the [second] tradition of al-Kafi given below.

In the first noble tradition of al-Kafi it is narrated with isnad from al-Imam al-Baqir, may peace be upon him, that he said: "The Messenger of God, may God bless him and his Household, prescribed the damages (diyah) for loss of an eye and life, and he forbade nabidh and every intoxicant." Someone asked him, "Was that without anything being revealed to him?" The Imam replied, "Yes. That was in order [that God may] know those who obey the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his Household, and those who disobeyed him." 

In other such instances, the Prophet (S) added a number of rak'ahs to the daily prayers  and made fasting during the month of Sha'ban and on three days of every month mustahabb. 

The second tradition is as follows:

[(Al-Kulayni reports) with his isnad from Zurarah that he said, "I heard Abu Ja'far and Abu 'Abd Allah, may peace be upon them, say: `Verily, God, the Almighty and the Glorious, has delegated the affair of His creatures to His Prophet, to see how they obey him' Then he recited this verse: Take whatever the Messenger brings you and refrain from whatever he forbids you. " 

Eminent scholars have mentioned certain probable meanings and interpretations. One of them is that which the erudite traditionist al Majlisi, may God's mercy be upon him, relates from Thiqat al-Islam al-Kulayni and most of the traditionists and which he himself favours. The gist of it is that God, the Exalted, after that He made the Messenger so perfect that he would not opt for anything that is not in conformity with what is true and correct and nothing would enter his blessed mind which is opposed to God's will, delegated to him the determination of some matters, such as adding to the number of rak'ahs in obligatory prayers, the determination of supererogatory matters relating to prayer and fasting and so on. This delegation (tafwid) was to make manifest the dignity and majesty of the station of that Master near God, the Glorious. However, his determinations and choices are not without inspiration and revelation, and after that Master prescribed something, the matter was affirmed by revelation?  Marhum Majlisi, may God elevate his station, also mentions other matters similar to this one, such as the matter of teaching, instructing, and administering the creatures, which has been delegated to him, or that of proclaiming and expositing of the ahkam, or refraining from that, in accordance with the exigencies of time-such as while observing taqiyyah-which have been delegated to him and the other Ma'sumun? However, in any of the two interpretations offered by these revered scholars the scope of tafwid has not been explained as a rational principle consistent with established principles. Moreover, the distinction between this tafwid and the tafwid which is impossible remains unexplained. Rather, that which is implied by their statements-especially those of marhum Majlisi, may God's mercy be upon him-is that it would be [affirmation of impermissible] tafwid to believe that someone other than God, the Exalted, can create, cause death, provide sustenance and give life, that one who holds such a belief is an unbeliever (kafir) and no rational person would doubt its being tantamount to apostasy. Moreover, they have considered the matter of miracles (mu'jazat) and miraculous feats (karamat) as being totally a result of answered prayer, wherein God is the agent of the occurrences. However, the tafwid of the teaching and instruction of creatures and the bestowal and withholding of anfal and khums and the laying down of certain laws is considered correct and proper. This topic is one of those which have rarely been clarified and hardly ever brought under a correct criterion. Mostly what they have done is to take an aspect of the matter and discuss it. This author, too, with his inadequate capacity and ineptitude and the poverty of his equipment and means cannot enter this perplexing valley by starting from the preliminaries. However, he is compelled to make a brief allusion in the way of a metaphysical conclusion, for the disclosure of truth is unavoidable.

Concerning a Brief Allusion to the Meaning of Tafwid:

It should be known that there is no difference whatsoever between big and small matters in regard to the impossible tafwid, in the sense of total suspension of Divine Activity (maghluliyyat-e yaddullah) and independence of the efficiency of any creature's will and power. In the same way as the giving of life, the causing of death, creation, annihilation, and the transformation of one element into another cannot be delegated to any being, so also the delegation of the movement(mobility) of a piece of straw to any creature is impossible, though it be an archangel, an apostle, or any other being from the non-material intellects and inhabitants of the highest jabarut to the realm of primal matter. All the particles of the universe are subject to the perfect Divine will and have no independence whatsoever of their own in any respect. All of them are needy and poor in their being, as well as in their ontic perfections, movements and pauses, power and will, and all their functions. Rather, they are sheer poverty and absolute need. Similarly, there is no distinction between major and insignificant matters in respect of God's sustaining power over being and the negation of independence of creatures and the manifestation and influence of the Divine will and its all-pervasiveness. In the same way as such weak creatures as we have the power to carry out feeble actions, such as our [bodily] movements and pauses and all the other activities, the elect of God and the non-material angels are capable of performing such great acts as giving life, causing death, providing sustenance, creation, and annihilation. The Angel of Death is encharged with taking life and his taking of life is not something like the fulfilment of prayer, and Israfil is encharged with the giving of life, which is not of the nature of a prayer answered, and these actions do not fall under invalid tafwid. In the same way, if a perfect wali and a potent pure soul-such as the spirits of the prophets and the awliya' are-were to have the power to annihilate and create, to cause death and give life, a power given to them by God, the Exalted, it would not be an instance of impossible tafwid and should not be considered invalid. The delegation of the affair of the creatures to a perfect spirit whose intention is annihilated in the Divine intent and whose will is an image of the Divine will, and which does not will anything except what God wills and makes no move except that which is in accordance with the best system (nizam-e aslah), whether in creation and bringing into being or in legislation and instruction, that is not only not impossible but quite proper. In fact, this is not tafwid, as pointed out in the tradition narrated by Ibn Sinan to be cited in the next section.

In fine, tafwid in the first sense is not permissible in any matter and is contradictory to firm metaphysical proof. In its second sense, it is permissible in all matters. Rather, the system of the universe is not realized without the order of causes and effects:

God does not make things happen except through their means and causes. 

It should be known that that which has been said here briefly is rational and in accordance with sound metaphysical proof and mystic teaching as well as in conformity with tradition. And God is the guide.

Section: Concerning the Station of the Imams, may peace be upon Them:

Know that the pure and infallible Ahl al-Bayt, may peace and blessings be upon them, have certain lofty spiritual stations on the spiritual journey towards Allah whose epistemic apprehension is beyond human capacity and above the intellects of the people of reason and the intuitions (shuhud) of the gnostics. As is apparent from the noble traditions, they share the spiritual station of the Noble Messenger, may God bless him and his Household, and their immaculate lights were engaged in the glorification and praise of the Sacred Essence before the creation of the worlds.

In al-Kafi [al-Kulayni reports] with his isnad from Muhammad ibn Sinan that he said: "I was with Abu Ja'far, the Second, may peace be upon him, when I mentioned before him the disagreement amongst the Shi'ah. Thereat he said, 'O Muhammad, verily God, the Blessed and the Exalted, is ever unique in His Unity. Then He created Muhammad, 'Ali and Fatimah. They remained for a thousand eons, then He created all the things and made them witness their creation and decreed them to obey them, delegating their affairs (i.e. of the creatures) to them. Hence they permit whatever they will and forbid whatever they will and they will not anything except what God, the Exalted, wills.' Then he said, 'O Muhammad, whoever goes beyond this creed transgresses the bounds [of right doctrine] and whoever lags behind perishes, and whoever adheres to it attains [to the truth]. So hold on to it, O Muhammad!' " 

[In al-Kafi al-Kulayni reports] with his isnad from al-Mufaddal that he said: "I said to Abu 'Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, 'How was your state when you were in the 'Shadows'?' He replied, 'O Mufaddal, we were with our Lord and there was none else except us in 'the Green Shadow': we glorified Him, called Him Holy and One and extolled Him. Besides us there was neither any archangel nor any spirit, until when it appeared to God to originate the creation. Thereupon, He created whatever He will and howsoever He will of the angels and the other creatures. Then He gave the knowledge of that to us.' " 

The traditions relating to the nature (tinah) of their bodies and the creation of their spirits and hearts, and those which speak of their having been given [the knowledge of] the Greatest Name (ism-e a'zam) and the sciences-bestowed upon them from the Unseen divine stores-of the prophets and the angels and what is above that and that which does not enter into the imagination of you and me, and that which is mentioned of their other excellences in the various chapters of reliable works of our associates(acquaintance), especially in the Usul al-Kafi, are such as to confound the intellect. No one can apprehend their mysteries and realities except their own sacred beings. In this noble tradition in whose exposition we are presently engaged, there is a reference to one of their excellences, which is the Verse of the Purification (al-ayat al-tathir; 33:33), which, in accordance with mutawatir traditions narrated through Sunni and Shi'i chains of transmission, was revealed concerning the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt. Those who are meant by "ahl al-bayt" in the noble verse, as affirmed by the consensus of the Shi'ah and abundant or mutawatir traditions narrated through non-Shi'i ('ammah) chains of transmission, are the Household of infallibility ('ismah) and purity (taharah). This is a point whose elaboration would be explanation of what is evident.

On the Reality of 'Ismah:

In this, as well as other noble traditions, rijs [in verse 33:33] has been interpreted as doubt (shakk), and in some traditions it is interpreted as freedom from all defects. A study of the exposition of some of the earlier traditions shows that the negation of doubt implies the negation of all inward and outward defects and, in fact, implies infallibility (`ismah). That is because infallibility is not something contrary to free will, as in the case of matters relating to nature and instinct. Rather it is a spiritual state and a light d by means of the perfect light of certainty (yaqin) and total tranquillity (itminan). The errors and sins that are committed by human beings are due to inadequate conviction and faith. The degrees of conviction and faith are so various as to be beyond description. The perfect certainty of the prophets and their complete tranquility(peacefulness), d through unmediated knowledge (mushahedeh-ye hudariyyah), makes them immune to error. The conviction of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may peace be upon him, had brought him to the station that he declared: "Even if I were to be given the whole world in order to unjustly deprive an ant of a grain, I would not do it. " 

In any case, by God's pre-eternal design, they have been cleansed of shirk and doubt, purified from the impurities and defilements of the world of physical nature ('alam-e tabiat) and the darkness of attachment to other than God, the Exalted, freed from the obfuscations of the ego and the thick sheaths of egoism and attention to other [than of God], becoming sacred divine lights and complete signs of the Lord, Who has made them purely and sheerly His own. Hence their stations are such as cannot be properly described and explained and, like the phoenix of the ghayb of Divine Ipseity, the peaks of their glory are beyond the reach of [gnostic] aspirations:

Take thy net away for none can ever catch the phoenix. 

Concerning the Indescribability of Faith:

It should be known that iman (faith) is also one of the spiritual perfections whose radiant reality can rarely be known by anyone. Even the faithful, so long as they remain in the world and in the darkness of nature, are unaware of the radiance of their faith and the dignity they have before God.

As long as man remains in this world, he becomes so accustomed to its conditions and habits that when he hears anything about the nobilities and bounties of the other world and its punishments and disappointments, he immediately compares them to a similar form in the realm of mulk. For instance, he compares the nobilities promised by God, the Exalted, to the faithful and the bounties He has prepared for them and whose news has been conveyed by the prophets, may peace be upon them, to the gifts and honours received by men from princes and suzerains or something better and higher. He assumes the bounties of that world to be like those of this world, though somewhat plentiful refined and superior. Such a comparison is altogether invalid. The bounties of that world, its delights and fragrance cannot be truly imagined by us, and anything like them does not enter our minds. We cannot conceive how a drink of the water of Paradise can possess all the imaginable and possible pleasures, each of which is distinct from the other, for the quality of any delight [of that world] has no similarity to the pleasures of this world.

In this noble tradition, there is a mention of one of the nobilities of the faithful which, in view of the people of gnosis and the people of the heart, are incomparable to anything and cannot be measured by any measure, and that is the statement of the tradition where it says: "Indeed, when the believer takes his brother with the hand on meeting him, God looks at them and sins are shed from their faces in the manner leaves fall from a tree." The same theme recurs in many other traditions, such as the following one:

In al-Kafi [al-Kulayni reports] with his isnad from Abu Ja'far, may peace be upon him, that he said: "When the faithful meet and take one another by the hand, God, the Exalted, turns to them with His face, and their sins fall from them in the manner leaves fall(avalanche) from a tree."' 

God only knows what inner luminosity and nobility is associated with this look of God, the Exalted, and this attention of His with His noble face, and what veils are removed from between the faithful servant and the lights of the Beauty of the Sacred Essence and what succour it provides to the faithful. However, one should know the reality and actual secret behind these nobilities and one should not be heedless of it. The heart's attention should be turned so that the act attains its perfect luminosity and a divine breath is blown into the act's body. That reality and secret truth lies in strengthening the bond of love and cordiality and renewal of the covenant of love and brotherhood for the sake of God. A great significance is attached to this point in the noble traditions and is also hinted at in traditions relating to this topic:

In al-Kafi [al-Kulayni reports] with his isnad from Abu Ja'far, may peace be upon him, that he said: "When the faithful meet and take one another by the hand, God places His hand between their hands and shakes hand with the one who has greater love for his companion." 

It is stated in another tradition that when the faithful meet and shake hands, God, the Exalted, sends His mercy down upon them; nine-tenths of it belong to the one who has greater love for his companion, and if they should be equal [in love], the mercy envelopes them.  There are many traditions on this topic and that which have been cited will suffice. And all praise is God's, at the beginning and the end.