It should be noted that the knowledge of the reality of the Divine Attributes and their encompassment as well as their nature is something whose summits lie beyond the reach of metaphysical proof (burhan) and whose kernel is beyond access to the yearning of the gnostics. That which has been said from the viewpoint of metaphysical proof in the speculative thought of scholars of formal metaphysics or in the discussions of the adept in the terminology of gnosis concerning the Names and the Attributes is correct and well-reasoned in accordance with their approach. However, learning ('ilm) itself is a thick(dense) veil, and as long as it is not pierced with the succour of the All-Glorious and in the shadow of perfect piety, intense mortification, complete dedication and sincere supplications to the Lord, the lights of Divine Beauty and Glory do not appear in the wayfarer's heart, and the heart of the emigrant towards Allah does not succeed in attaining to the witness of the Unseen (mushahedeh-ye ghaybiyyeh) and the manifest presence (hudur-e'ayani) of the manifestation of the Names and the Attributes, to say nothing of the manifestations of the Essence. These statements should not deter one from research and study, which are themselves reminders of the Truth, for it happens only rarely that the sacred plant of ma'rifah grows and reaches fruition in the heart without the seed of the true sciences and their customary conditions. Hence one should not abstain at the outset from the pursuit of the sciences with due observance of all its prerequisites and auxiliaries, for it has been said:
The sciences are the seed of (gnostic) disclosures. [10]
And should the sciences fail to produce for one a complete result in this world on account of certain obstacles, they would inevitably bring the desired fruits in the other worlds. But the main thing is the observance of their prerequisites and conditions, some of which were discussed in the exposition of certain foregoing traditions.
Section: The Knowledge of the Spiritual Reality of the Prophets and the Awliya' is Unattainable through Rational Thought:
It should be known that the knowledge of the spirituality and the station of perfection of the major prophetic figures and the infallible awliya', may peace be upon them, in general, and those of the Seal of the Prophets, may God bless him and his Household, in particular, is not attainable by means of thought or journey through the `horizons and the souls' (afaq wa anfus;41:53). That, because those venerable personages belong to the Divine lights of the Unseen and are the complete manifestation and the manifest signs of Divine glory and beauty, having reached, in the spiritual journey towards God, the ultimate extremity of self-annihilation (fana'-e dhati) and the ultimacy of ascent, to the point of 'two bows length or nearer' (qaba qawsayn aw adna; 53:9), though the latter station belongs [specifically] to the Seal of the Prophets and other wayfarers in their ascension are followers of his sacred being. Here we do not intend to describe the nature of the journey of that sacred personage and the difference between his spiritual ascent (mi'raj) and the ascents of other prophets and awliya', may peace be upon them. For the sake of the present discourse we shall confine ourselves to mentioning one tradition pertaining to their luminosity, for the perception of their luminosity also requires an inner light and a divine gravitation:
[In al-Kafi (al-Kulayni reports) with his isnad from Jabir, from Abu Ja'far, may peace be upon him. Jabir says: "I asked him concerning the knowledge of the Knowing One (al-'Alim, i.e an Imam). He replied saying, 'O Jabir, verily, there are five spirits in the prophets and the awsiya': the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Faith, the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Power, and the Spirit of Appetite. By the means of the Holy Spirit, O Jabir, they know everything from the Throne to underneath the earth.' Then he added, 'O Jabir, all the four spirits are subject to vicissitudes, but not the Holy Spirit, which does not engage in diversion or play."' [11]
[(In al-Kafi al-Kulayni reports) with his isnad from Abu Basir that he said, "I asked Abu 'Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, concerning the statement of God, the Blessed and the Exalted, 'And thus have We inspired in thee (O Muhammad) a Spirit of Our Command. Thou knewest not what the Scripture was, nor what the Faith' (42:52). He replied, '(The Spirit mentioned in the verse) is one of the creatures of God, the Blessed and the Exalted, greater than Gabriel and Michael, that was with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his Household, and which used to inform and guide him, and after him it is with the Imams, may God bless them." [12]
From the first tradition one comes to know that the prophets and the awsiya', may peace be upon them, possess a sublime spiritual station which is called the Holy Spirit (ruh al-qudus; lit, `the Spirit of Holiness'). By the means of that station they encompass all the particles of the universe epistemically and ontologically (ihateh-ye 'ilmi qayyumi). In that spirit there is no negligence, sleep, error, forgetfulness and other vicissitudes associated with contingency or any of the changes and deficiencies pertaining to the realm of mulk. Rather, it belongs to the world of the immaterial Unseen and the greater Jabarut.From the second tradition, one comes to know that that spirit is perfectly non-material and greater than Gabriel and Michael, who are the greatest inhabitants(residents) of the station of proximity of the Jabarut.
Yes, the awliya', whose natural form (tinah) has been fashioned by God, the Exalted, with the mighty hands of His own Beauty and Majesty, and manifested Himself, in the first manifestation of the Essence (tajalliye dhati-ye awwali), with all the Names, Attributes and the all-inclusive station of Unity (maqam-e ahadiyyat-a jam') in their perfect mirror, and initiated them into the reality of the Names and the Attributes in the Unseen privacy (khalwatgah-e ghayb) of the Divine Ipseity-the majesty of their glory and beauty is beyond the reach of the aspirations of the gnostics, and the summit of their perfection is beyond access to the gnostic endeavours of the people of the heart. And it is mentioned in a tradition of the Prophet, may God bless him and his Household:
'Ali is immersed in the Essence of God, the Exalted." [13]
In former days, this author, like a bat describing the world-illuminating sun, has described a modicum of the station of prophethood and wilayah in a separate treatise named Misbah al-hidayah. [14]
Section: On the Waiting of `the Seven Hijabs' Mentioned in Relation to the Prophet:
Several probable meanings have been suggested for these words of the noble tradition: and here we shall mention some of them.
First is the one suggested by the perfect gnostic and traditionist, the marhum Fayd, may God have mercy upon him. It is narrated in a tradition that there are seventy thousand veils of light and darkness for God, the Exalted; were He to remove them, the lights of Divine Beauty will burn down everything that His sight falls upon. Accordingly, it is probable that means that [for the Prophet, most of] all those veils have been removed so that out of the seventy-thousand only seven remain. [15]According to this interpretation, the phrase involves an ellipsis and means with God, the Glorious, as the active subject [of the verb ].
Although this interpretation is perhaps more appropriate than the other probable meanings, it is not indisputable. From the viewpoint of wording, a more appropriate expression for the description to convey such a sense would be: or . As in accordance with this interpretation, the perfection of the Messenger and the impermissibility of describing him relates not to the presence of the seven veils but to the absence of the other veils, it would have been more appropriate to mention them. Moreover, from the viewpoint of meaning, since, apparently, these veils of light and darkness that belong to God, the Exalted, pertain to creation and not to the Names and the Attributes, it entails that there is a creature nearer [to the Divine Essence] than the sacred light of the Noble Messenger, may God bless him and his Household, whereas it has been established that his being is the nearest veil and the first creature and there are not even any veils of Names and Attributes for that master, as has been proved in its own proper place, and the sevenfold stations and mysteries of that master are also not a veil for himself.
A second interpretation is the one proffered by the erudite traditionist, the marhum Majlisi, may God elevate his station in the realm of sanctity, which he also narrates from some others. According to this interpretation, this sentence is mentioned in the way of introduction and intended to describe the Prophet through later sentences. [16] That is, it means to say: `How could be described a servant, for whom God, Who is concealed from the creatures with seven veils, has made obedience in the earth like obedience to him in the heaven-like a king who is situated beyond seven curtains for his subjects, who cannot have access to him except through the mediation of a vezier appointed for them, and who sends a decree declaring that his command is mine.' And that which is meant by the sevenfold veils are the seven heavens from beyond which the revelations of God reach us through the Messenger. He has also mentioned another possible interpretation close(nearby) to this one wherein the sevenfold veils are identified as the luminous veils of the Names. [17] Although this interpretation, like the former, is not contestable from the viewpoint of meaning, it is inadequate or rather more farfetched from the viewpoint of wording and description.
There is another probable interpretation of it which is much sounder and convincing and ample appropriate to the occasion. However, the correctness of this interpretation depends on one of two things: either that has been used in a transitive sense in the sense of or that it be permissible to make it transitive with a ba; and in both the cases there be an ellipsis involving the object (maf'ul). Assuming the propriety of one of these two matters mentioned, this is what is meant in accordance with this interpretation: `How could a creature be described whom God, the Exalted, has concealed with seven veils, and for whose beauty and spirituality, which are on a par with the Divine will (mashiyyah), He has assigned seven veils extending from the plane of corporeal nature to the plane of the absolute mashiyyah, or from the plane of the corporeal realm of mulk of that master to the Unseen station (maqam-e ghayb) of his ipseity (huwiyyah). I could not find any instance in the lexicon and usage for the transitive meaning of although some scholars state that there is no impediment to making it transitive with aba'. (`And all knowledge is with God, and perchance He may make something to come about hereafter').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." [18]
In other such instances, the Prophet (S) added a number of rak'ahs to the daily prayers [19] and made fasting during the month of Sha'ban and on three days of every month mustahabb. [20]
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. " [21]
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? [22] 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? [23] 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) asbeing 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. [24]
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!' " [25]
[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.' " [26]
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. " [27]
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. [28]
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."' [29]
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." [30]
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. [31] 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.
[1]. The Qur'an, 6:91; 22:74; 39:68.
[2]. Ibid., 59:7.
[3]. This is a reference to verse 4:80 of the Qur'an: "Whoso obeyeth the Messenger, obeyeth God."
[4]. Al-Majlisi, Mir'at al-'uqul, vol. ix, p. 71, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr" "bab al mussfahah" hadith 16.
[5]. Al-Fayd al-Kashani, al-Wafi, vol, v, p. 613.
[6]. Usul al-Kafi, vol. i, p. 100, "kitab al-tawhid", "bab al-nahy 'an al-sifah bi ghayr ma wasafah bihi nafsahu ta'ala" hadith 1.
[7]. See al-Majlisi, Mirat al-'uqul, vol. i, p. 346, "kitab al-tawhid", "bab nahy 'an al tawsif" hadith 1.
[8]. Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Kitab al-tawhid, p. 31 ff., bab 2, in particular hadith 37.
[9]. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, Misbah al-mutahajjid, "Du'a Kumayl," p. 587.
[10]. Sadr al-Muta'allihin, al-Asfar al-arba'ah, vol ix, p. 123; see also his Tafsir al-Quran, the exegesis of 87:17.
[11]. Al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, vol. i, p. 272, "kitab al-hujjah" "bab fihi dhikr al-arwah al-lati fi al-A'immah" hadith 2.
[12]. Ibid., vol. i, p. 273, "kitab al-hujjah" "bab al-ruh al-lati yusaddidu Allah biha alA'immah" hadith 1.
[13]. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar, vol. xxxix, p. 313, "Ta'rikh Amir al-Mu'minin" bab 88, hadith 5.
[14]. Misbah al-hidayah ila al-khilafah wa al-wilayah, written in 1349 H.
[15]. Al-Fayd al-Kashani, al-Wafi, vol. v, p. 614, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr" "bab al musafahah" hadith 16.
[16]. Al-Majlisi, Mir'at al-'uqul, vol. ix, p. 71, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr" "bab al musafahah" hadith 16.
[17]. Ibid.
[18]. Al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, "kitab al-hujjah" "bab al-tafwid ila Rasulillah (S) wa ila al-A'immah fi amr al-din" hadith 7.
[19]. Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, vo4 iii, "kitab al-salat" "abwab a'dad al-farid" bab 13, hadith 12, 14.
[20]. Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, vol vii, p. 361, "abwab al-sawm al-mandub" bab 28, hadith 5:
[21]. Usul al-Kafi, vol. i, p. 266, "kitab al-hujjah"bab al-tafwid ila Rasulillah wa alA'immah fi amr al-din" hadith 3.
[22]. Mir'at al-'uqul, vol iii, p. 144, "kitab al-hujjah"bab al-tafwid ila Rasulillah (S)" hadith 1.
[23]. Ibid.
[24]. Usul al Kafi, vol. i, p: 183, "kitab al-hujjah" "bab ma'rifat al-Imam wa al-radd ilayh":
See also al-'Saffar, Basa'iral-darajat, p. 26, juz' 1, bab 4, hadith 2.
[25]. Usul al-Kafi, vol. i, p. 441, "kitab al-hujjah" "bab mawlid al-Nabi (S) wa wafatuh" hadith 5.
[26]. Ibid., hadith 7.
[27]. Nahj al-balaghah, Khutbah 215.
[28]. Hafiz:
[29]. Usul al Kafi, vol. ii, p. 180, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr" "bab al-musafahah" hadith 4.
[30]. Ibid., p. 179, hadith 2.
[31]. Ibid., p. 181, hadith 14.
With my continuous chain of transmission reaching up to the Thiqat al- Islam Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni, may God's good pleasure be with him, from a group of our companions, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, from his father, from Harun ibn al-Jahm, from al-Mufaddal, from Sa'd, from Abu Ja'far, may peace be upon him, that he said: "Verily, the hearts are [of] four (kinds) the heart that has [both] faith and hypocrisy in it, the heart that is inverted and upside down, the heart that has been sealed and is darkened, the heart that is clear and luminous (al-azhar)." [Sa'd], the narrator, says: "I asked him, "What is meant by `al-azhar'?" He replied, "it is a heart that has the likeness of a lamp. As to the heart that has been sealed, it is the heart of a hypocrite. The heart that is luminous is that of the believer, who is thankful when God gives him and is patient when subjected to tribulation. As to the heart that is inverted, it is the heart of the polytheist." Then he recited this verse: What, is he who walks prone upon his /ace better guided or he who walks upright on a straight path? (67:22) [Then he added]; "As to the heart wherein is faith and hypocrisy-they were a people who lived in Ta'if; so if one of them should die in the state of hypocrisy, he would perish, and should he die in the state of faith he would attain salvation." [1]
Exposition:
Mankus means `inverted' (maqlub). [The lexicographers] explain:
(i.e. `I inverted something' or `I put it means upside down'). According to al-Sihah, means a baby
whose feet (at birth) come out before its head Closely associated is the meaning of in the noble verse cited by the Imam, forikbab means falling on one's face, and therein is a figurative indication of the fact that the hearts of the polytheists (mushrikun)are inverted and their course of spiritual movement is other than the Straight Path, as will be elaborated later on, God willing.
Matbu` means `sealed' (makhtum), and tab` with sukun (of the ba'), means `sealing' (khatm), and with its harakah (i.e. taba`)means impurity (danas, wasakh). If it be taken in the sense of `sealed,' it would figuratively mean that the word of truth and Divine truths do not enter such a heart and it does not accept them-not that God, the Exalted, deprives it of His special grace, although this sense is also true. However the aforementioned sense is more appropriate.
'Azhar' means `white' (abyad) and `luminous' (mustanir), as mentioned in al-Nihayah. [2] According to a!-Sihah `azhar' means `bright' (nayyir), and the moon is called `azhar.' Ibn al-Sikkit says: `al-azharan' means the sun and the moon. `Azhar' [when spoken of a man] means a white man, of a bright face, and such a woman is zahra'. To sum up, azhar means luminous and white; hence the sun and moon are called azharan; a white and luminous man is called azhar and a white and luminous women is zahra'.
`Ajrad' is someone who has no hair on his body, and according to al-Sihah, al-jurd means a treeless (open) space. And this figuratively implies the absence of attachment to the world, or freedom from impurity and defilement. We shall expound that which needs explication in this noble tradition in the course of a preface and a few sections.
Preface: On Reforming the Heart:
It should be known that the term 'heart' has various meanings in the terminology of the Shari'ah, and that of philosophy and'irfan. To discuss that and the related terminological differences, as well as the ranks and degrees of the hearts, is outside the scope of this discourse and is not very gainful for us. Therefore, it would be better to take the matter in its unexplicated simplicity, as is done in the noble tradition, and discuss that which is important and essential for us.
It should be known that the endeavour to reform the 'heart,' on whose wholesomeness and corruption depends one's felicity and wretchedness, is more essential than an inquiry into its meanings and delving into the technical jargon. [3] In fact, it often happens that intense attention to terms and preoccupation with words and that which relates to them make one totally oblivious of the heart and its reform. [As a result] one may complete mastery in expounding the meaning and essence of the heart and the terminology of the metaphysicians (hukama') and the mystics ('urafa) while one's heart, na'udhubillah, is one that is either inverted or sealed, like someone who knows well the beneficial and harmful properties of medicines and is able to describe them with expertise(skillfulness) without himself refraining from poisonous medicines or making use of the beneficial ones. Such a person perishes despite all his knowledge of pharmacology, which is unable to rescue him.
We said earlier [4] that all the sciences are absolutely practical and even the transcendental sciences have a practical aspect in them. Here that which we have to say is that the science of the states of the heart and that which relates to their health and sickness, reform and corruption, is something which is purely a preliminary step to action and the way of its reform and remedy. Its mere knowledge and understanding is not considered a human perfection. Hence one's main attention and goal should be the reform and refinement of the heart so that one may attain to ultimate spiritual felicity and to the higher transcendent stations. And even if one were well adept in the sciences, the subtleties and the realities, during the course of his journey through 'the horizons and the souls', his main concern should be the discovery of his own spiritual states, so that if it were ruinous he should try to remedy it, and if oriented towards salvation, try to make it complete and perfect.
Section: The Basis for the Classification of the Hearts:
One should know that this classification of the hearts made in this noble tradition is one that is non-detailed and general. Every heart has a different rank and degree, whether it is from the viewpoint of shirk and hypocrisy or that of faith and perfection. Apparently, this classification of the hearts is subsequent to acquisition and spiritual conduct, not one based on the nature and constitution of different souls, so as to conflict with traditions concerning fitrah, which state that all people are born with the nature of tawhid and that shirk and hypocrisy are accidental [and not innate in human nature]. However, even if it were on the basis of nature, that would be correct in accordance with one explanation which removes the contradiction and does not lead to predestination, which is something impossible. Nevertheless, that which is closer to metaphysical proof and plentiful conducive to education is the first probability. And we said earlier [5] that as long as man remains in this world, which is the source of the tree of primal matter with its substantial, formal, and accidental changes and transformations, he can deliver himself from all levels of deficiency, wretchedness, shirk, and hypocrisy and attain to the higher levels of perfection and spiritual felicity. And this is not contrary to the famous hadith that states:
The wretched one is wretched in his mother's womb. [6]
for the meaning of the tradition is not that felicity and wretchedness are innate and incapable of change. Rather, this tradition accords with metaphysical proof, which has been set forth in clarity in its proper place, that wretchedness is derived from deficiency and non-being, and that felicity derives from being and its perfection. That which belongs to the immaculate tree of being is the sacred Divine Being in accordance with the ranks of causes and means-which is the way of the best of the latter generations and the most perfect of the early ones, the Nasir of the millah and din (i.e. Khwajah Nasir al-Din al-Tusi), may God sanctify his soul-or on the basis of manifesting and being manifested (zahiriyyah and mazhariyyah), unity and multiplicity-which is the way of the greatest of philosophers, Hadrat Sadr al-Muta'allihin. And that which derives from deficiency and non-being pertains to the vicious tree of quiddity, which is not the object of creation because of its being below creation (ja'l).
It may be said that the when the noble tradition says that felicity and wretchedness accompany one in the `mother's womb' that which is meant is the world of corporeal nature ('alam-e tabiyyat) which is the absolute mother, the womb and the cradle wherein nature nurtures its offsprings. That is, the expression `mother's womb' is not to be taken in its ordinary sense, because felicity, being perfection and actuality, cannot belong to the primal souls (nafus-e hayuliyyah) except potentially. Since the literal import is that the felicitous are felicitous in act in the mother's womb, the contrary of the literal meaning has to be adopted. And since that which has been said is in accordance with metaphysical proofs, the noble tradition has to be interpreted solely in this sense or something equivalent to it. In any case any elaboration of this matter and discussion of its proof is outside the scope of this discourse, though at times the pen rebels and runs contrary to the set aim.
The Reason why the Kinds of Hearts are Confined to the Four:
Some [scholars] have said that the reason for confining the kinds of hearts to four is that the hearts either possess faith or they don't. In the first case, the faith possessed pertains to all that the Messenger has brought or only to a part of that. The first is the heart of the believer (mu'min) and the second is a heart wherein faith and hypocrisy are both present. In the second case, there is either an outward confession of faith or there isn't. The first is the heart of the hypocrite and the second that of a polytheist (mushrik).
This interpretation does not accord with the noble tradition, which implies that at times there is real faith in all that the Prophet, may God bless him and his Household, has brought and at times there is hypocrisy. Hence, if one were forced to interpret, it would be better to say that the heart either has faith in all that the Prophet, may God bless him and his Household, has brought or it doesn't. In the second case, there is either a pretence of faith or there isn't. In the first case, the faith is either stable and established in it or [it is unstable], believing at one time and disbelieving at other times, making a pretense of belief in the state of disbelief also. The concluding part of the tradition shows that the repentance of those who apostatize after belief, to revert to unbelief and hypocrisy, is accepted, even if it should occur repeatedly.
In another tradition of the noble al-Kafi, Imam Baqir, may peace be upon him, divides the hearts into three kinds: (1) the inverted heart (qalb-e mankus), wherein there is no good; that is an unbeliever's heart; (2) the heart wherein there is a black spot, in which there is a conflict(warfare) between good and evil, each of which seek to overcome the other; (3) the 'open heart' (qalb-e maftuh) wherein are lamps whose lights will not go out until the Day of Resurrection; that is the heart of the believer. [7] This [division] does not conflict with the noble tradition [under exposition], for the first category mentioned in the above tradition includes the two kinds mentioned by the hadith, that is, the hearts of the polytheist and the hypocrite. That is because the hearts of all those three groups (i.e. unbelievers, polytheists and hypocrites) are inverted, and no inconsistency would be involved if inversion be [considered] the salient characteristic of the hearts of an unbeliever and polytheist and being seated the salient characteristic of the hypocrite's heart, and accordingly each of them is ascribed to either of them in the tradition.
Section: Concerning the States of the Hearts:
We shall begin with the believer's heart so that the state of the other hearts be known in contrast. It should be known that in the transcendental sciences and the true teachings it has been clearly(unmistakably) established that the reality of `being' is the reality of 'light.' These two terms signify one simple reality without being attributable to any separate multiple aspects. It is also known that that which pertains to perfection and completion derives from being itself. This is one of the noble principles, and to anyone who has the honour to apprehend it the door to the higher teaching is opened. Our feeble(flimsy) spirits are unable to apprehend the reality of that Being without a help from the Hidden and a success predestined from eternity. It is also known that faith in God belongs to the category of knowledge and is one of the absolute perfections. Hence, being a perfection, it belongs to being itself and the reality of light and manifestation. And that which is other than faith and all that relates to it, is outside the category of the perfections of the human spirit, belonging to the darkness of non-being and quiddity.
Concerning the Luminosity of the Believer's Heart:
Hence it is known that the 'believer's heart is luminous. It is narrated in the noble al-Kafi from al-Imam al-Sadiq, may peace be upon him, that he said: "You see some people who are so perfect in eloquence that they don't err in [the use of a single letter like] lam or waw, while their hearts are darker than a gloomy night, and there are some people who cannot express what is in their hearts, yet their heart is radiant like a lamp." [8] Further, the believer's heart is on the Straight Path and his spiritual movement is on the middle path of humanity. That is because, firstly, he has not deserted his primal divine nature, fashioned in forty days by God, the Exalted, with the hands of His Beauty and Glory. Thus he walks on the path of the nature of tawhid, oriented towards absolute perfection and consummate beauty. Inevitably, this spiritual movement from the plane of innate nature to the ultimate point of absolute perfection is without any crookedness, being as it is the path of spiritual rectitude and the middle inner way. However, all other hearts deviate from nature and the straight path. It is narrated of the Noblest Messenger, may God bless him and his Household, that he drew a straight line on the ground drawing other lines on its either side. Then he said, "This one, the straight and middlemost line, is my path." [9]
Explanation of the Believer's being on the Straight Path:
Secondly, the believer is the follower of the Perfect Man, and since the Perfect Man is the manifestation of all the Names and the Attributes and subject to the Lordship of the Truth, the Exalted, by virtue of the All inclusive Name (ism-e jami), his being is not monopolized by anyone of the Names. Like his Lord, he is an all-inclusive being and in him the manifestation of any of the Names is not overshadowed by that of any other Name. He possesses the station of middleness (maqam-e wasafiyyat) and the major mediation (barzakhiyyat-e kubra). Hence his movement is along the straight and middlemost path of the All-inclusive Name.
All other beings are dominated by one of the encompassing or non encompassing Names of which they are manifestations. Their origin and return is from and to that Name. The Name opposite to it is latent in it and plays no active role in it except from the aspect of the unity of all the Names-something whose explanation is not appropriate here. Hence God, the Exalted, at the station of the All-inclusive Name and the Lord of Man (rabb al-insan), is on the Straight Path, as He says:
Verily my Lord is on the Straight Path. (11:56)
That means the station of middleness and all-inclusiveness (jami'iyyat) without the predominance of an Attribute over another and without the manifestation of one Name rather than that of another. A being subject to the Lordship of that Sacred Being at this station is also on the Straight Path, without any station or aspect overshadowing another station or aspect. Hence [the believer] in the course of his real upward ascension [i.e. prayer] and the ultimate point of proximity [to the Divine], after making an admission of servitude, after referring every worship and service by every worshipper to that Sacred Essence and ascribing all help in all stations of expansiveness and straits (qabd wa bast) exclusively to that Sacred Being, by declaring:
Thee only we worship and Thee only we ask for help, (1:5)
says:
Guide us to the Straight Path. (1:6)
This is the same path as that of the Lord of the Perfect Man, the former from the [active] aspect of manifesting (zahirriyyat)and Lordship (rububiyyat) and the latter from the [passive] aspect of being manifested [mazhariyyat] and creaturehood [marbubiyyat]. None of the other existents and beings in movement towards Allah are on the Straight Path, but are deviant, inclining either towards (Divine) Grace and Beauty or towards Might and Glory. The faithful (mu'minin), since they are followers of the Perfect Man and walk in his footsteps, they journey by the light of his guidance and the lamp of his knowledge (ma'rifah)in submission to the sacred being of the Perfect Man. They don't take any step by themselves and do not allow their intellect to meddle with the character of the spiritual journey towards Allah. For this reason, their path is also straight, and in the company of the Perfect Man their fufilment (wusal) is subordinate to the fulfilment of the Perfect Man, provided that they protect their clear hearts from the workings of the devils, the ego, and egoism, and submit themselves totally in the journey to the Perfect Man and the station of ultimate prophecy.
Concerning Some Stratagems of Satan:
One of the evil workings of Satan is to make man turn the face of his heart away from the Straight Path and towards some coquettish person (shukh) or guru (shaykh). One of the great masterpieces of Satan, who whispers into the hearts of men, is that he, with gay and nonchalant discourse and deceptive manipulations, makes some spiritual gurus (shuyukh) enamoured to some coquette, justifying this major sin, or an act of spiritual polytheism, on the pretext that if the heart were to have a singular attachment one can succeed faster in curtailing worldly attachments. At [other] times he turns some mindless coquette towards some demonic guru, one who seduces people or is rather a satanic highwayman. The pretext offered for this act of explicit polytheism (shirk-e jali) is that the guru is a Perfect Man and that only through the Perfect Man one can attain to the realm of absolute transcendence, which is not manifested except in the mirror of the guru. At the end of their lives, the two of them-that one with the memory of his favourite's cheek and this one with the inverted face of his guru-join the world of demons and satans, and neither the former gets rid of his bestial attachment nor the latter reaches the goal through this blind alley.
It should be known that since the believer's journey is on a Straight Path and his heart is upright(erect), his orientation is towards Allah and his way is the middle path. As a result, in that world too his path is clear and straight, his posture upright, and his appearance and character, his inward and outward, have a human form and shape. One can understand the character of the heart of the polytheists in contrast to this. As his heart deviates from the Divine nature, and strays from the central point of perfection and the hub of light and beauty, departing from submission to the absolute Guide and Guardian (Wali) and preoccupied with its own ego and egoism, the world and its ornaments(jewel), consequently in the other worlds also it is not resurrected with the straight human character and form but in the form of an animal with a head turned about. That is so because, in that world, form and shape are subject to the character of the heart and the outward reflects the inward and the shell is the image of the kernel. The matter of that realm is not averse to accepting the inward malakuti forms as in this world, and this thesis has been established in its proper place. Hence the hearts which are averse to the Truth and Reality and deviate from straight nature, oriented and directed as they are towards the world, their image too, like themselves, deviates from straightness, being inverted, facing the world and physical nature (tabi`at), which is the lowest of the low. Perhaps, in that world some would walk on their faces with their feet upwards, some on their bellies, and some on their hands and feet, like animals, the way they in fact walked in this world:
Is he who goes inverted on his face more rightly guided or he who walks upright on a straight path? (67:22)
It is possible that this metaphor in the metaphoric world becomes a reality in the realm of reality and manifestation of spirituality. In some noble traditions relating to the exegesis of this noble verse, the `Straight Path' is interpreted as referring to Hadrat Amir al-Mu'minin and the Infallible Imams, may peace be upon them:
In al-Kafi (al-Kulayni reports) with his isnad from Abu al-Hasan al-Madi (al-Imam Musa al-Kazim) that (Muhammad b. al-Fudayl) says: [When asked concerning the meaning of the verse], "Is he who goes inverted on his face more rightly guided or he who walks upright on a straight path?" The Imam replied, 'Verily, God has struck a similitude [in this verse]: one who deviates from the wilayah of 'Ali [may peace be upon him] is like one who walks on his face and is not guided, and He has made one who follows him as one who walks upright on a straight path, and 'the Straight Path' is Amir al-Mu'minin, may peace be upon him.' " [10]
In another tradition the `Straight Path' is explained as meaning 'Ali, may peace be upon him, and the rest of the Imams, may peace be upon them. [11]
Also, it is narrated in the noble al-Kafi from Fudayl that he said: "I entered the Holy Mosque (of Makkah) with al-Imam al-Baqir, may peace be upon him, and he was leaning upon me. Then he threw his blessed glance upon the people as we stood at the Door of Bani Shaybah. Then he said, `O Fudayl, they used to circumambulate in this manner [even] during the days of the Jahiliyyah! They neither recognized any truth nor followed any creed. O Fudayl, look at them, they walk inverted on their faces! May God damn them, they are a disfigured creation walking on their faces." Then he recited the noble verse, Is he who goes inverted on his face more rightly guided or he who walks upright on a straight path. Then he added, "By God, that means `Ali, may peace be upon him, and his awsiya', may peace be upon them." [12]
In the foregoing we have explained how the journey and the movement of the Perfect Man are on the Straight Path. However, the exposition of the matter that the Perfect Man is the Straight Path itself is beyond our purpose in this discourse.
Complimentary Note: The Hypocrite's Heart and the Difference Between it and the Believer's Heart:
The states of the heart of the believer and the polytheist-and even that of the unbeliever-became known from the exposition in the foregoing section. A comparison also discloses the state of the hypocrite's heart. That is because the believer's heart has nor departed from its original innocent and clear nature and it naturally accepts any truths relating to faith and the true teaching. The harmony and compatibility between the nourishment-which consists of the truths and the teachings-and the nourished one-which is the heart in its state of original nature-is preserved. Hence in another tradition of the noble al-Kafi, the believer's heart has been said to be `open' (maftuh), and although this `opening' may refer to one of the `threefold openings'(futhat-e thalathah), [13] this meaning is also appropriate.
However, as the hypocrite's heart has obscurities and darkness formed in it contrary to the human nature, such as ignorant prejudices (ta'assubhaye jahiliyyat), blameworthy moral traits, vanity, ambition, and other qualities contrary to the [primal] nature, it is closed and sealed. It is not at all receptive to the word of truth and its tablet is like a page of paper that is totally blackened, on which nothing can be inscribed. Its pretense of religiosity, arising from its satanic character, is a means to secure worldly benefit and advancement in mundane matters.
It should be known that the hearts of the polytheist and the hypocrite are both inverted and sealed, as is clear and evident. But the attribution of one of these qualities to each of them in particular is for the reason that, as the hearts of the polytheists are turned in worship towards other than That which is Absolute Perfection, they have two properties and characteristics: one is sincere humility [in front of the object of worship] and another is the deficiency and obfuscation created by this humility, which is diverted towards imperfect beings and creatures. Hence their hearts are inverted and this is their predominant characteristic(typical). As to the hypocrite, he is either a polytheist in reality-and in this respect he shares equally with the polytheists the quality of inversion of the heart-besides possessing an additional quality [i.e. hypocrisy], or he is an unbeliever in reality and possesses no religiosity. Although his heart too is inverted, it has another quality which is predominant. That additional quality is his outward pretense of following the truth. He enters the congregation of the followers of the Truth and hears all the truthful preaching that is heard by the believers. Yet, while the believer absorbs them due to his inner purity and open heart, the hypocrite fails to receive them due to the darkness and obscurities of his heart, which is closed and sealed.
The reason for singling out for mention from among the attributes of the believer the two characteristics, of gratitude on being favoured with gifts and patience in trials, is the salient character of these two among the believer's qualities. These are two of the major virtues from which other virtues branch out, and we have alluded to this in the exposition of some of the earlier traditions. [14] Further, the tradition refers to two of the Divine Attributes, of Glory and Beauty, or Might and Grace, each of which is manifested in the condition of tribulation and the condition of being well provided. And although tribulation belongs to the Attributes of Grace, but since it manifests through Might, it is reckoned as belonging to it, as mentioned in the discussions on Divine Names and Attributes. The believer always observes the duties of servitude between the two manifestations.
Conclusion: Neglect of the Truth Results in the Inversion of the Heart:
From the foregoing discussion it is known that the souls, though they should have belief in God and Resurrection, become inverted if they are totally absorbed by attention towards the world and preoccupied with mundane advancements while being neglectful of God. The criterion in respect of the inversion of the heart is the neglect of God and attention to the world and its cultivation. Such belief is either not faith, as mentioned in the exposition of some of the earlier traditions, [15] or is an insignificant and inadequate faith that is not inconsistent(erractic) with the inversion of the heart. In fact, one who makes a pretense of belief in transcendence and Resurrection but has no trepidation arising from such a belief and whom this belief does not lead to act with his bodily members, such a one is to be considered as belonging to the hypocrites, not as one of the believers. Possibly this sort of apparent believers, like the people of Ta'if, who in the noble tradition are mentioned as being typical of those who are believers at one time and hypocrites at another time, may altogether lose this hollow faith which has no sovereignty in the realm of their physical, bodily existence (mulk). They might leave this world in a state of complete hypocrisy to be resurrected amongst the hypocrites. This is one of the crucial matters to which our weak spirits must attach great importance, taking care that the effects of faith become established in our manifest and hidden, inner and outer, being. In the same way as we claim to possess faith in the heart, we should make our outward being also subject to its authority, so that the roots of faith become established in our hearts, not to be destroyed by any kind of obstacle or hindrance, transformation and change, so that this Divine trust of a celestial and pure heart, fashioned with its Divine nature, is returned to the Sacred Being unaffected and unsoiled by the workings of Satan and hands of treachery. And to Allah belongs all praise, at every beginning and end. '
[1]. Usul al-Kafi, vol. II, p. 422, "kitab al-Iman wa al-kufr" "bab fi Zulmah qalb al-munafiq" hadith 2.
[2]. Al-Nihayah, vol. ii, p. 321, under z.h.r.
[3]. Author's Note. It should be known that that which is meant here is not that the science of ethics and the things which lead to the salvation and damnation of the soul are not necessary. Rather, what is meant it that that science is to considered as a mere preliminary to action, not as something of independent worth is whose pursuit and in collecting whose technical jargon one should spend a lifetime and be kept from one's real goal. ,
[4]. See under the exposition of Twenty-sixth Hadith.
[5]. See Seventeenth Hadith.
[6]. Bihar al-anwar, vol. v, p. 153, "kitab al adl wa al-ma'ad' "bab al-sa'adah wa al shaqawah" hadith 1, with a slight difference in wording.
[7]. Usul al-Kafi, vol. ii, p. 423, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr" "bab Zulmah qalb al-munafiq" hadith 3.
[8]. Ibid, vol. ii, p. 422, hadith 1:
[9]. Sadr al-Muta'allihin, Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim, vol. iv, p. 52, exegesis of 2:256 (ayat al-Kursi); See also al-Majlisi, 'Ilm al-yaqin, vol. ii, p. 967.
[10]. Al-Kafi, vol. i, p. 432, "Kitab al-hujjah" "bab fihi nukat wa nutaf min al-tamzil fi al-Wilayah" hadith 91.
[11]. Bihar al-anwar, vol. XXIV, p. 15, "kitab al-imamah" bab 24, hadith 17:
[12]. Rawdat al-Kafi, p. 288, hadith 434:
[13]. These are; al-fath al-qarib, al-fath al-mubin, and al-fath al-mutlaq.
[14]. See Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Twenty-first Hadith.
[15]. See Ninth, Twentieth and Twenty-sixth Hadith.
With my continuous chain of transmission reaching up to Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni, from al-Husayn ibn Muhammad, from al-Mu'alla ibn Muhammad, from al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Washsha', from 'Abd Allah ibn Sinan, from Abu `Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, that he said: "Among the things pertaining to the soundness of a Muslim's certitude [in faith] is that he would not please people while displeasing God, nor blame them for something that God has not given him. For, verily, [God's]rizq (provision, sustenance) is not brought about by anybody's greed, nor is it withheld by anyone's disapproval, and were anyone of you to flee from his rizq like lie flees death, his rizq would overtake him in the way he is overtaken by death." Then he added, "Indeed God, with His justice and fairness, has put joy and comfort
in certainty (yaqin) and satisfaction (al-rida) and He has put sorrow and grief in doubt and dissatisfaction:' [1]
Exposition:
Al-Jawhari says, sakhal (vowelized like faras) and sukht (vowelized like qufl) are the opposite of satisfaction (rida). Hence sakhitameans 'ghadiba' (i.e. 'he became angry' or 'indignant') and such a one is sakil (angry). Al-qist, with kasrah of the qaf, mean justice ('adl); hence its mention along with 'adl is for the sake of elucidation.
Al-rawh and al-rahah are synonymous, meaning comfort, as mentioned by al-Jawhari. Hence their mention alongside is for the sake of elucidation. Or that rawh means the peace of the heart and rahah signifies the ease of the body, as stated by Majlisi.[2]
As to al-hamm and al-huzn, al-Jawhari considers them as synonymous, on which basis their mention by side of one another would be elucidatory. And Majlisi says that hamm probably means the agitation felt by the soul at the time of experiencing (doubt and dissatisfaction), and huzn is the sorrow and anxiety felt after its passing away. [3]
Section:
As to the statement it has been considered to have two probable interpretations. First, that he would not blame the people and complain for their refraining from giving him something, as it is a matter subject to Divine power and providence, and God, the Exalted, has not decreed that gift as part of his provision, and one who is a man of conviction knows that it is a an act of Divine providence and so he would not blame anyone. This interpretation has been suggested by the muhaqqiq Fayd, [4]may God have mercy upon him, and the learned traditionist, Majlisi, has also affirmed it. [5]
The honourable Fayd, may God have mercy upon him, has also suggested another interpretation, which is that one would not blame them for something God, the Exalted, has not given them, for God, the Exalted, has gifted the people differently and no one should be blamed for it [i.e for not possessing something]. And this is like the tradition which states that "Had the people known how God has created men, no one would blame another." [6] The honourable traditionist Majlisi, may God have mercy upon him, has said: "The improbability of this interpretation is not hidden, especially on consideration of the following explanatory phrase ('for, verily, [God's] provision is not facilitated by. . .'). [7]
In the opinion of this author, the second interpretation is more appropriate than the first one, especially in view of the aforementioned explanatory phrase. That is because one may blame people in the state of need and straintened livelihood only if their livelihood (rizq) is under their own control and one's effort and endeavour are the [efficient] means of its increase. Then one may say [to another], '[Look] I have tried and made effort, whereas you have not done so, and therefore you are afflicted with straitened livelihood." However, the people of certainty know that livelihood is not obtained by one's greed and effort, and so they do not blame others.
Reconciling Traditions Concerning Livelihood being Apportioned and Traditions Exhorting Effort:
It should be known that the like of these noble traditions whose literal import is that the rizq is apportioned and predetermined-something which is also indicated by the noble verses of the Qur'an-do not contradict the traditions which command one to seek livelihood and exhort one to make effort in one's occupation and trade, and even consider the lack of effort as reprehensible and blameworthy. Thus they consider one who fails to make an effort to seek livelihood as one whose prayers are not answered and whom God does not provide with livelihood. There are many traditions on this topic and it will suffice here to cite one hadith:
From Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, the Shaykh al-Ta'ifah (al-Tusi), may his soul be sanctified, who narrates with his isnad from 'Ali ibn `Abd al-`Aziz that he said: "Abu `Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, asked me, `What is `Umar ibn Muslim doing?' I said, `May I be made your ransom, he has devoted himself to worship and he has abandoned (desert) his trade.' He said, `Woe to him! Doesn't he know that the prayer of one who abandons the search (of livelihood) is not accepted? Indeed a group of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his Household, locked their doors and turned to worship when this verse was revealed: "And whosoever fears God, He will appoint for him a way out, and He will provide for him whence lie never reckoned" (65:3). When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his Household, came to hear about it, he summoned them and asked them, "What prompted you to do what you have done." They said, "O Messenger of Allah, God has guaranteed our livelihood and so we have turned to worship." He said to them, "The prayer of one who does that would not be accepted. You ought to seek livelihood."' [8]
The reason for the absence of contradiction between the traditions is that livelihood, and all matters for that, are subject to God's power even after one's effort. Our effort is not an independent agent in the acquisition of livelihood. Rather, to make effort is a duty of the creatures, and the ordainment of the affairs and all apparent and non-apparent means, most of which are beyond the control of the creatures, is by the determination of the Exalted Creator. Hence a human being of sound conviction and informed of the courses of matters-while he does not refrain from effort and performs his duties as prescribed by reason and revealed law, and not closing the door of effort with false(forage) excuses-still considers everything as being derived from the sacred Divine Being and does not consider anything as having any efficiency on the plane of being and its perfections. The seeker, the seeking, and the sought derive from Him. That which this noble tradition says, that the man of sound conviction does not blame anyone for the lack of increase in the people's livelihood, means that if they make the usual amount of effort they are not to be blamed. Moreover, to blame those who do not make the effort is preferable in order to induce them to effort-a point which is asserted in the noble traditions.
In fine, this theme is one of the ramifications of jabr and tafwid (predestination and free will) and one who has studied that issue can discover the underlying fact of the matter, whose elaboration is beyond the scope of our discussion.
Section: On the Signs or Soundness or Conviction:
In this noble tradition two things are considered the signs of the soundness of one's conviction. First, that one should not seek the pleasure of the people at the cost of God's displeasure and wrath. Second, one should not blame people for what God has not given them. These two are the fruits of perfect conviction, and their opposite qualities are due to the weakness of conviction and an ailing faith. In these pages, whenever appropriate, we have explained faith and conviction and their fruits. Here, too, we shall briefly mention these two qualities in their state of soundness and health as well as their opposite condition.
One should know that a man seeks the pleasure and satisfaction of people and tries to win their hearts and to be in their good graces because he considers them to be effective in matters that are of his interest. For example, one who loves money and wealth feels humble before the rich; he flatters them and is obsequious in front of them. Those who seek position and outward honour, flatter the subordinates and obsequiously seek to win their hearts somehow or another. The same thing goes on in a circle. The subordinates flatter men of position and the seekers of position flatter the mean subordinates, except those who, on the either side of the matter, have trained(reared) themselves through spiritual discipline and seek the pleasure of God. The world and its adornments do not shake(vibrate) them, and they seek the pleasure of God in leading, and seek God and truth in following.
The Twofold Classes of the People:
The people of the world are briefly divisible into two classes. They are either those whom certitude has brought to the point that they see all the outward means and apparent agents as being subject to the perfect and eternal will of the Necessary Being. They see and seek nothing except God, and they believe that lie is the sole(solitary) Master and Agent in the world and the Hereafter. Finding a certitude unmarred by deficiency, doubt and hesitation, they have true faith in one of the noble verses of the Qur'an, which says:
Say: "O God, Master of all sovereignty, Thou givest sovereignty to whom Thou wilt, and seizest sovereignty from whom Thou wilt ....(3:26)
They consider God, the Exalted, the Master of the kingdom of being and all gifts to be from that Sacred Being. They consider all the ebbs and flows(flood)(influx) of being and all the existential perfections to be derived from the Sacred Being in accordance with the [best] order [of existence] and the [universal] good. Of course, the doors of gnosis are opened for such persons and their hearts become divine. They do not attach any worth to the pleasure and displeasure of the people and seek nothing except God's good pleasure. Their eager eyes do not seek anything except God and in their hearts and with their entire being they murmur the melody, "My God, when You grant us, who can intercept Your favour? And should You deprive us [of anything], who can restore it to us?" Hence they close their eyes to the people, their favours and their world, opening the eyes of their need on God, glorious is His Majesty. Such persons would never exchange the displeasure of God, the Exalted, with the pleasure of the entire order of beings, as stated by the Commander of Faithful, may peace be upon him. While they attach no significance to anything except God, the Exalted, and consider all existents to be in need of Allah, nevertheless, they view all with the eyes of wonder, mercy and compassion, and do not blame anyone for any matter except in order to reform and educate him. Hence such were the prophets, may peace be upon them, who viewed everything as belonging to God and as manifestations of His Beauty and Glory. They did not view God's creatures except with love and compassion, not blaming anyone in their hearts for any inadequacy and weakness, though they did blame them outwardly for the sake of the general good and the reform of the human family. This was among the fruits of the immaculate tree of certitude and faith and their understanding of the Divine laws.
However, as to the second group, they are those who are oblivious of God, and if perchance they attend, it is an inadequate attention and an incomplete faith. As a result, since attention to multiplicity and the outward causes and means has made them neglectful of the Cause of all causes, they seek the pleasure of the creatures. At times they are such that they seek to the goodwill of the weakest of creatures while preparing the means of God's displeasure and wrath. Thus they are led to accommodate to the sinners, or neglect the duty of amr bi al-ma'ruf and nahy `an al-munkar when conditions call for its performance, or they give decrees (fatwa) permitting what is unlawful, or are guilty of false(fake) testimony, or backbite and slander the faithful to please worldly people and men of outward status and position. All such conduct is due to the weakness of faith, or rather it constitutes a degree of idol worship (shirk). Such a view makes man prone to many fatal traits, including those mentioned in this noble tradition. Such a person has a bad opinion of God's servants and he treats them with enmity and hostility, blaming them and vilifying them in matters, and so on.
Section: The Views of the Mu'tazilah and the Asha`irah and the Correct Position:
Majlisi, the traditionist, may God have mercy on him, in Mir'at al-uqul, has a discussion under this noble tradition concerning whether the rizq apportioned by God, the Exalted, is confined to what is lawful and whether it includes the unlawful also. He has cited the conflicting opinions of the Ash'arites and the Mu'tazilites on this issue and the recourse taken by the two sides to traditions and narrated texts. He considers the Imami position to be in accord with the view of the Mu'tazilites that the apportioned sustenance (rizq-e maqsum) does not include the unlawful and is limited to the lawful. He also cites the arguments of the Mu'tazilah that take recourse to the literal meaning of some verses and traditions and are based on the literal meaning of `rizq'-as is the practice of the Ash'arites and the Mu'tazilites. [9] He has approved of the arguments of the Mu'tazilah and, apparently, finds their statements to be in accord with the dominant opinion of the Imamiyyah. However, it should be noted of that this issue is one of the corollaries of the problem of jabr and tafwid, and the Imami position in this regard neither conforms to that of the Asha'irah nor to that of the Mu'tazilah. Rather, the Mu'tazili position is more worthless and degenerate than that of the Ash'arites, and if some Imami theologians, may God the Exalted be pleased with them, have inclined towards it, that has been due to the neglect of the truth of the matter. As referred to earlier, the issue of jabr and tafwid has remained much vague(obscuring) in the discussions of most of the scholars of the two sects, and the controversy has not been resolved on the basis of right criteria. Hence, the relation of this issue to the problem of jabr and tafwid has gone mostly unnoticed, although it is one of its major ramifications.
Briefly, the Ash'arite belief that the lawful and the unlawful form part of the apportioned sustenance implies jabr, and the Mu'tazilite belief that the unlawful does not form part of the apportioned sustenance implies tafwid. Both of them (jabr andtafwid) are invalid and their falsity has been made evident in its appropriate place. We, in accordance with established and demonstrable principles, consider the lawful and the unlawful as apportioned by God, in the same way as we consider sins to be by Divine determination (taqdir) and decree (qada'), though it does not lead to jabr and invalidity. These pages are not appropriate for setting forth the proof and I have set a condition with myself not to discuss technical matters, myself being ignorant of their core(interior) reality. [10] Accordingly, we shall confine ourselves to this passing reference, and God is the Guide.
Marhum Majlisi has opened another discussion under this noble tradition, as to whether it is absolutely obligatory upon God, the Exalted, to provide the sustenance of His creatures or only in the case of effort on their part. [11] This is a topic which is plentiful appropriate to the principles of the theologians and one must proceed in these discussions, in general, with another approach based on metaphysical criteria and definite principles. What is preferable is to abstain right away from this kind of discussions which are not entirely fruitful, and we have pointed out earlier that the apportioning of sustenances in accordance with Divine ordainment does not contradict with the making of effort and endeavour in seeking it.
Section:
This section pertains to the explanation of the statement that God, the Exalted, has placed joy and
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· reassurance |
in certitude and satisfaction and sorrow and grief in doubt and displeasure and that this is in accordance with Divine justice. On should know that the joy and comfort (rawh and rahah) mentioned in this noble tradition, and so also the grief and sorrow mentioned therein, as they are mentioned in relation to the determination and apportionment of sustenances, pertain to worldly affairs and the search and acquisition of livelihood, though in accordance with a certain interpretation their relation to affairs of the Hereafter is also correct. Here, we intend to expound this [part of the] noble tradition. One should know that a human being possessing convinced faith in God and His ordainments and reliant on the firm pillar of the Absolutely Omnipotent, Who determines all the matters in accordance with what is best for the creatures (masalih) and possesses absolute and perfect mercy and is absolutely All-compassionate and All-munificent, will of course find all difficulties become easy for him by virtue of such a conviction and to him all hardships become easy to bear. His effort in search of livelihood is very different from the quest of the worldly people and those who are afflicted with doubt and shirk. Those who rely on the apparent causes and means are continuously shaky and anxious in their pursuits. And if they face any adversity they find it very unpleasant, for they do not consider them to be accompanied with hidden benefits. Also, one who considers his felicity to lie in the attainment of the world is afflicted with pain and misery in its pursuit, losing comfort and happiness. All his attention and care is spent in that pursuit. Thus we see that worldly people are perpetually in a state of anguish and they do not possess the peace of mind or of the body. Similarly, if the world and its ornaments are taken away from them, they become subject to endless sorrow and grief. Should an affliction visit them, they lose all forbearance and strength and they have no fortitude in the face of events. The reason for it is nothing except their doubt and shaky belief in Divine ordainment and its justice, and its fruits are such matters as these. We have offered an explanation earlier in this regard and so it will be inappropriate to repeat it.
As to the explanation of the dependence of these effects on certitude and satisfaction, and of those effects on doubt and anger, of their being such by Divine ordainment, and that this ordainment is just, that depends on the explanation of the sway of the efficiency (fa'iliyyah) of God, the Exalted, throughout the planes of being, without its leading to jabr, which is invalid as well as impossible. It also depends on the causative explanation of the perfection of the order of being, and both of these theses lie outside the scope of these pages. And all praise refers to God, at every beginning and end.
[1]. Al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, ii, p. 57, "Kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab fadl al-yaqin," hadith 2.
[2]. Al-Majlisi, Mirat al-'uqul, vii, 359, "Kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab fadl al-yaqin," hadith 2.
[3]. Ibid.
[4]. Al-Fayd al-Kashani, al-Wafi, iv, 269.
[5]. Mir'at al-'uqul, vii, 356, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab fadl al-yaqin," hadith 2.
[6]. Al-Wafi, iv, 270.
[7]. Mir'at al-'uqul, vii, 357, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr;" "bab fadl al-yaqin," hadith 2.
[8]. Al-Hurr al-Amili, Wasa'il al-Shiah, xii, 15, "kitab al-tijarah," "abwab muqiddimat al-tijarah," hadith 7.
[9]. Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, al-Tafsir al-kabir, ii, 30.
[10]. Author's Note: However, as the hand is subject to His power, we have briefly offered a study of this problem in the exposition of the thirty-ninth tradition. [As stated by Imam 'Ali, may peace be upon him]:
I knew God [i.e. His omnipotence] through the annulment of decisions and the breaking up of resolves.
[11]. Mirat al-'uqul, vii, 358 "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab fadl al-yaqin," hadith 2.
With my chain of authorities reaching up to the pioneering shaykh, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni, may God's good pleasure be with him, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from al-Husayn ibn Said, from someone who narrated it from 'Ubayd ibn Zurarah, from Muhammad ibn Marid that he said, "I said to Abu 'Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, "A hadith has been narrated to us from you that you said: 'When you have d the ma'rifah (i.e. of the rights of the Imam's, may peace be upon them), then do whatever you want: He replied, 'I have indeed said that.' I said to him, `Even if one were to commit adultery and theft and drink wine?' He said, 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un! By God, they (i.e. those who have interpreted our statements in such a manner) have not been just to us. (Is it fair for them to believe that) they would get away with whatever they do whereas we ourselves will be answerable for our acts?! What I said was that when you have d ma'rifah perform any works you want, whether its good be great or small, for they will be accepted of you.'" [1]
Exposition:
[In the sentence `hadithun ruwiyah.. .'], hadith is mubtada and ruwiyah is its khabar. Annaka, with fathah (on the alif) is the khabarof an elliptic mubtada (). In the statement the ma'rifah (knowledge) meant in this tradition is the ma'rifah of the Imam, may peace be upon him. In the expression ... may be either in the first or the third person. In , the is wasliyyah, and the phrase means, `if they ma'rifah, they may do whatever they want, even if it is a major sin.'
The phrase is an expression of istirja' and is said at the time of a severe and great calamity, and since this slander or misunderstanding was a great calamity, the Hadrat uttered it in order to dissociate and absolve himself totally from it.
The phrase . . . means , that is, `they have not been fair to us in [believing] that they would be quit of all accountability for their actions due to their belief in us (i.e. our imamate) while we ourselves would be accountable and answerable (for our acts): The Imam then clarifies what he had meant, that [belief in] wilayah is a prerequisite for the acceptability of works [before God], as will be discussed hereafter, God the Exalted willing.
Section: On Explanation of Absence of Contradiction between Traditions that Exhort one to Perform
`Ibadah and Abstain from Sins and other Traditions which Apparently Conflict with Them:
It should be known that if one were to refer to traditions that have been narrated concerning the states of the Noblest Messenger (S) and the Imams (a) of guidance, and study the character of their devotion (`ubudiyyah), their painstaking diligence, their lamentations and entreaties, their humility and sense of indigence, their fear(nervousness) and sorrow before the sacred station of the Lord of Majesty, and if one were to study the character of their intimate supplications before the Fulfiller of Needs-traditions whose number far exceeds what is required to establish tawatur-and similarly, if one were to refer to the counsels given by the Noble Messenger (S) to the Commander of the Faithful, may peace be upon him, and also the counsels given by the Imams to one another, as well as to the elect of the Shi'ah and their sincere followers, the greatly eloquent and emphatic exhortations that they would make warning them against disobedience to God, the Exalted-a theme with which the books of tradition and chapters relating to doctrinal and legal duties are replete-he would be convinced that certain other traditions whose apparent and literal import contradicts with these traditions are not to be taken literally. Therefore, if possible, they must be interpreted in a way that they do not conflict(fight) with those explicit and definitive traditions which constitute the essentials of the faith, or they must be reconciled. Otherwise, they must be referred back to their authors. In these pages we cannot possibly reconcile all the relevant traditions or mention even a hundredth part of them and explain them. However, it is inavoidable that we mention some of these narrations so that the truth is disclosed.
[Al-Kulayni reports) in al-Kafi with his isnad from Abu `Abd Allah [al-Imam al-Sadiq], may peace be upon him, that he said: "Our Shi'ah (followers) arc those whose hearts are informed with sorrow and grief and who are lean as a result of intense sorrow and worship. They are those who at the fall of the darkness of the night turn to it with sadness"? [2]
There are many narrations on this topic describing the characteristics of the Shi'ah.
[From him, froth al-Mufaddal, who narrates from Abu `Abd Allah [Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq], may peace be upon him, that he said, "Beware of these base people [who claim to be Shi`is]. Verily, the Shi'ah of `Ali, may peace be upon him, is none except one who is chaste in his manner of earning his livelihood and sexual conduct. [It is one] whose diligence is intense, who works for his Creator, hoping for His reward and fearing His punishment. When you see such people know that they are the followers (Shi'ah) of Ja'far." [3]
Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-'Tusi, the Shaykh at-Ta'ifah, may God's mercy be upon him, narrates with his chain of authorities from (al-Imam) al-Rida, may peace be upon him, from his father, from his grandfather. from Abu Ja'far [al-Imam al-Baqir], may peace be upon him, that he said to Khaythamah, "Convey [this message] to our followers (Shi'ah) that we do not avail them against God (that is, do not neglect works for reliance upon us). [Tell them that that which is with God cannot be attained except with works]. Tell them that, of all people, the greatest regret on the Day of Resurrection will be of those who speak about some aspect of justice but violate it in practice to do something else. 'Tell our followers that if they observe what they have been asked to, they will be triumphant on the Day of Resurrection.." [4]
In al-Kafi, [al-Kulayni narrates] with his chain of authorities, from Abu Ja'far, may peace be upon him, that he said, "Do not be carried away by [false] doctrines. By God, 'Our follower (Shi'ah) is none except one who obeys God.' " [5]
This means, "Do not invent [doctrinal] excuses to justify disobedience to God and do not adopt any false(counterfeits) notion that `We are Shi'ah and our attachment to the Ahl al-Bayt is the means of our salvation.' By God Our Shi'ah is none except him who obeys God, the Exalted."
[In al-Kafi, al-Kulayni reports] with his chain of authorities from Jabir, form Abu Ja'far, may peace be upon him, that he (Jabir) said, "He said to me, 'O Jabir, is it sufficient for one who follows Shi`ism to claim that he loves us, the Ahl al-Bayt? 'By God, our follower (Shi'ah) is none except him who is wary of God and obeys him ....
'So fear God and work for the sake of that which is with God. There is no kinship between God and anyone. The most preferred and honoured of creatures before God, the Exalted, are those who are most Godwary amongst them and arc most obedient to His commands in their conduct.
"'O Jabir, by God, one cannot attain nearness to God except through obedience. We do not possess any guarantees of bara'ah(acquittal) from hellfire and none has an argument against God. Whoever is obedient to God is our friend (wali) and whoever is disobedient to God is our enemy, Our wilayah cannot be attained except through works and piety.' " [6]
Also, in the noble al-Kafi it is reported with a chain of authorities from al-Imam al-Baqir (Baqir al-'Ulum), may peace be upon him, that he said:
"O community of the followers of the Household of Muhammad, may God bless him and his Household! You should be those who represent the golden mean, to whom the extremists (ghali) must return and to whom those who lag behind (tali) must catch up."
A man named Sa'd belonging to the Ansar said to him, "My I be your ransom, what is an extremist (ghali)?" The Imam replied, "They are a bunch who say things about us that we do not claim for ourselves. Therefore, they do not belong to us and we do not belong to them:'
Then he asked, "What is a tali?" The imam replied, "It is one who seeks guidance but does not know its way, though he wants to work and attain goodness." Then the Imam, turning to his followers (Shi'is) said, "By God, we do not have any warrant (bara'ah) to save you from God's (wrath and punishment) and there is no kinship between God and us. We do not have any arguments before God and we do not attain nearness to Him except though obedience and compliance (to His commands). Anyone of you who obeys God will be benefited by our wilayah and friendship, but our wilayah will be of no avail to anyone among you who is disobedient to God. Woe to you, should you be conceited. Woe to you, should you be conceited:' [7]
It is also narrated in the noble al-Kafi that al-Imam al-Baqir, may peace be upon him, said,
"The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his Household, once stood on the [rock of] Safa (and addressing his kinsman] said, "O descendents of Hashim! O children of 'Abd al-Muttalib! I am the Apostle of Allah sent to you, and I having loving concern for you. Verily, my works belong to me and the works of each of you belong to him. Do not say that 'Muhammad is our kinsman and soon we will be let in wherever he enters.' No, by God, O sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib! My friends, from amongst you and the others, are none except the pious. Let it be known to you that I will not recognize you on the Day of Resurrection [as one of my Ummah] when you come carrying the world [i.e. the works done by you for the love of the world) on your backs while other people come to the bearing the Hereafter [i.e. the works done by them in faith and for the life of the Hereafter)." [8]
And it is also mentioned in the foregoing narration of Jabir that al-Imam al-Baqir, may peace be upon him, said:
O Jabir, do not let false doctrines and opinions deceive you into imagining that the love of 'Ali, may peace be upon him, is sufficient for you. Can it be sufficient for a man to declare, "I befriend 'Ali, may peace be upon hire, I and am an adherent of his wilayah," without being diligent and without working much (good) works? Truly, were he to say that I love the Messenger of Allah (and the Messenger of Allah was better than 'Ali) while neglecting to follow him in his conduct (sirah) and failing to act in accordance with his sunnah, his love would not be of any avail to him . [9]
There is a famous episode that once Tawus (a companion of the Fourth Imam) heard someone crying, lamenting and pleading. The cries continued until they ceased and it appeared as if the one who was lamenting had fallen unconscious. On approaching he saw that it was Imam 'Ali ibn al-Husayn, may peace be upon him. He took the Imam's head into his arms, and said to him: "You are the son of the Messenger of Allah and the beloved of Fatimah Zahra'. After all the paradise belongs to you!" He said these words in order to console the Imam. That master replied, "God has created paradise for one who worships Him and obeys him, even if it were an Ethiopian slave, and He has created the hell for those who disobey him even if it were a Qurayshite" (or the chief of the Quraysh)! [10]
These were solve of the sacred traditions, clear and explicit, suggesting the falsity and wrongness of these false hopes of ours, as sinners and lovers of the world-hopes which derive from satanic longings and are contrary to reason and revelation (naql).
Add to these the noble Qur'anic verses, such as these statements of God, the Exalted:
Every sold is pledged for what it has earned. (74:38)
And such statements of God, the Exalted, as:
Whoever does an atoms weighs of good will see it, and whoever works an atom's weight of evil will see it. (99:7-8)
And such other statements as:
In its favour (i.e. the soul's) will be whatever [good] it has earned, and to its detriment will be whatever [evil] it has worked. (2:286)
And there are other noble verses besides, present on every page of the Divine Scripture, and to explain them away or to meddle with their meaning is contrary to (logical) necessity.
As against these there are other traditions which are also recorded in authentic books (for detail read next unit “unit70” ) but which are, as a rule, capable of reconciliation [with the above mentioned traditions]. And even if a reconciliation should appear to be unsatisfactory and were they not susceptible to reinterpretation (ta'wil), it is neither in accordance with sound reason or the interest (darurah) of Muslims to go against all these authentic (sahih), explicit, and muttawatir traditions which are confirmed by the literal meanings of the Qur'an and the unambiguous texts of the Furqan.
pan>
You (the Ahl al-Bayt) are the greatest path (sabil) and the firmest way (sirat). [5]
Whoever moves on this path steadily without stumbling, his feet will not stagger(limped) on that Sirat too, and he will pass over it in a moment as short as the stroke of lightning. Similarly, should his morals and habits be equitable and radiant, he will be immune from the darkness and horrors of the grave, of the Barzakh and the Resurrection, and there will be no fear upon him in those realms. Hence, here, we are ourselves responsible for the malady, and its remedy is in our own hands, as pointed out by Hadrat Amir al-Mu'minin in verses ascribed to him:
The remedy lies in you and you perceive not; The malady arises from you and you discern not. [6]
And the noble al-Kafi records the following musnad tradition of al' Imam al-Sadiq (A):
The Imam (A) said to a man: "Verily, you have been made your own doctor. The malady has been described to you, the sign of health ho also been made known to you, and the medicine has been shown to you. Hence look how you attend your own soul." [7]
You are afflicted with corrupt beliefs, morals and behaviour. The signs of health are contained in the prescriptions of the prophets and the illuminations of (primordial) nature and the intellect. The remedy for the soul's sickness lies in taking steps for its removal. This is the condition of the mutawassitun. However, as to the condition of the perfect and those of convinced faith, they have no abhorrence of death, although they may regard it with fear and anxiety on account of their awe of the Majesty of God, the Exalted, and the dignity of that Sacred Essence. And hence the Messenger of Allah (S) used to say;
So where is the terror of him who knows?
And Hadrat Amir al-Mu'minin (A) had a terrific fear and horror on the night of the nineteenth of Ramadan (the night of his assassination), although he used to say:
By God, the son of Abu Talib is more intimate with death than the infant with his mother's breast. [8]
Their fear is on account of other matters and is not like the fear of those like us who are in the chains of desires and hopes and are enamoured to the transitory world. The hearts of the awliya', too, greatly differ from one another. Their difference cannot be encompassed by any description or writing, and we will refer briefly to some of their points of difference. The hearts of the awliya' differ in their capacity to receive the irradiations (tajalliyat) of the Divine Names. The hearts of some of them are characterized with love and yearning and God Almighty is manifested in them through the Names of Beauty (jamal). Such an irradiation brings an awe suffused with yearning, and the fear in their terror is on account of the manifestation of Divine Majesty and its vision. The lover's heart palpitates with fear and anxiety as the time of meeting the beloved approaches, but this anxiety and terror is different from the ordinary kinds of fear.
The hearts of some of them are characterized with trepidation and grief and God Almighty is manifested in them through the Names of Majesty and Glory. Such a tajalli creates an intense yearning suffused with dread and a wonder and an awe suffused with grief. And it is related in hadith that once Hadrat Yahya (John), upon whom be peace, noticed Hadrat 'Isa (Jesus), upon whom be peace, laughing. Angrily, he said to the latter, "It appears as if you are immune of God's chastisement!" Hadrat `Isa retorted, "It appears as if you have despaired of God's mercy and beneficence!" God Almighty revealed to them that, "Whoever of you has a better opinion of Me is the dearer to Me."
Since God manifested Himself in the heart of Hadrat Yahya (A) through the Names of Majesty, he always dwelt in dread and awe and showed his displeasure to Hadrat 'Isa (A), who gave him a reply in accordance with the tajalliyat of Divine Mercy and Compassion.
The Reality of Heaven and Hell:
The literal meaning of the hadith where it says: (you have built the world and ruined the Hereafter) is that the abodes of the Hereafter and paradise are places already built and flourishing(thriving) that are turned into ruins(wreckage) by our works. But it is obvious that the intent is parallelism of expression. Since the term ta'mir (building) was used in relation to the world, the parallel term takrib (destruction) was used in relation to the Hereafter. Although the realms of hell and paradise are creations (of God), the building agency of paradise and the material of hell is subject to the deeds of their inhabitants. [9] And this interpretation is in accordance with demonstrative proof as well as mystic intuition (kashf). Hence some of the researchers among the mystics have said:
Let it be known to you - may God preserve you and us from error - that hell (Jahannam) is one of God's great creations, and it is God's prison in the Hereafter. It is called 'Jahannam' because of the remoteness of its pit. Hence a well with a deep pit(quarry) is called bi'r jahnam. It contains heat and bitter cold. Its coldness reaches the extreme degree of cold and its heat the extreme degree of hotness. A distance of seven hundred and fifty years' journey separates its uppermost and lowermost parts. The people disagree as to whether it is a creation or not, and similarly they disagree concerning paradise. However, in our opinion and that of our companions and the mystics, they are and are not creations. When we say that they are creations, it is like saying of a man building a house and who has built only its boundary(hurdle) walls that "he has built a house." However, on entering one sees nothing but an area and space surrounded by a wall. It is only afterwards that its inner quarters shall be built with rooms, compartments, storerooms and water tanks in accordance with the needs of those who shall come to live therein.
And it is mentioned in hadith that when the Messenger of Allah (S) went on his noble ascent (mi'raj), he saw certain angels in paradise who would for some time engage in constructing buildings and for some time stopped their work. The Prophet (S) asked Gabriel (A), "What is the reason behind this?" Gabriel (A) replied, 'The material for this building is made up of the remembrance of the individuals of the Ummah. Whenever they engage in remembrance, the material becomes available for building and the angels too resume their building work. But when they cease in their remembrance, these angels too stop their work."' [10] The physical form of heaven and hell is made up of the forms of the good and evil works and deeds of the Children of Adam, which return to them in that world. This has also been referred to in the noble verses of the Qur'an, as in the following utterance of God Almighty:
And they shall find all they wrought present. (18:49)
And
Indeed, these are your own works that are being returned to you. [11]
It is possible that the worlds of heaven and hell are two independent realms and abodes towards which the Children of Adam journey through substantial motions (harakat-e jawhari) and voluntary spiritual (malakuti) movements derived from their behaviour and character, where they receive their share of the Hereafter in the shape of the forms of their works.
The heaven is the higher malakuti realm, being an independent sphere by itself towards which the felicitous spirits are directed, and the hell is the nether malakuti realm towards which the spirits of the wretched make their journey. But that which each of them encounters in its own sphere are the fair and blessed or painful and dreadful forms of their own deeds. This description reconciles the literal meanings of the Book and the traditions -which are plainly(apparently) contradictory-and is also in agreement with philosophical proofs as well as the teaching of the urafa'.
It is obvious that this saying of Hadrat Abu Dharr, may God be pleased with him, consists of a comprehensive and firm command which every human being must observe with due care. Thereafter Hadrat Abu Dharr says that one should examine his deeds in the light of the Book of God. And God says: Mankind consist of two groups: the pious, who are in bliss, and the wayward, who are in hell. The man (who questioned Abu Dharr) made an attempt to cling to Divine mercy when he said, "If that is so, then where is the mercy of God Almighty?" Abu Dharr replied: God's mercy is not extravagant; it is near to the good-doers.
You should know that the accursed Satan and the vicious self that incites man to evil deceive the human being in many ways and drive him towards eternal damnation. The last arrow in their quiver is to deceive man through hope in Divine mercy and to keep man from (virtuous) action by the means of this deception, for this kind of reliance on Divine mercy is one of Satanic snares and deceits. The evidence of it is that we never put any trust in the mercy of God, the Exalted, in our mundane affairs, and we consider natural and apparent means as being independent and effective, to the extent of believing that there is no efficient agency in the world except the apparent causes. However, in matters relating to the Hereafter we imagine ourselves to be reliant on Divine mercy while we neglect the commands of God and His Messenger, upon whom and whose progeny be God's benedictions, as if God had given us no power to act and had not shown us the paths of (spiritual) health and sickness.
In the matters of the world we follow the creed of tafwid (the belief that God has delegated complete freedom to man), while in relation to the matters of the Hereafter we follow the creed of jabr (fatalism), forgetting that both of them are wrong, void and contrary to the teachings of the prophets, may God's benedictions be upon them, and the abiding path of the Imams of guidance and the awliya' near to God, whose faith was greater than all others and all of whom had convinced faith in Divine mercy. Notwithstanding it, they did not neglect their duties and did not leave off effort and endeavour for a single moment.
Brother! Study the book of their works! Read the supplications of Sayyid al-Sajidin Zayn al-Abidin, may peace be upon him. Look carefully and see how he approaches God in the station of servanthood ('Ubudiyyah). See how he attends to the duties of slavehood. Despite it all, when he studies the book of works of the Master of the Pious, Amir al-Mu'minin, may peace be upon him, he expresses his regret and his incapability! Does it mean that, na'udhu billah, we should question their veracity and say that they did not, like us, possess faith and conviction in Divine mercy? Or should we doubt our own veracity and understand once for all that all that we say are no more than snares of Satan and deceits of the carnal self, which scheme to deviate us from the straight path? We take refuge in God, the Exalted, from their malice!
And so, my dear, knowledge is extensive, as remarked by Hadrat Abu Dharr to that man, but the beneficial piece(slice) of knowledge for the likes of us is to abstain from doing ourselves this extent of wrong. We must understand that the commands of the prophets and the awliya', may peace be upon them, contain certain truths which are concealed from us. They, who know what kind of forms and consequences these corrupt words and evil acts of ours possess and what kind of blessed malakutiforms the noble morals and good deeds have, have described all the maladies and their remedies. You - should you have any love for yourself - should not pass by these prescriptions. Decide to cure your afflictions and diseases. Should we move in this condition of ours from this world to the next, God knows what afflictions, calamities and pains await us! And all praise is God's at the beginning and the end.
[1]. Al-Kafi, ii, "kitab al-'iman wa al-kufr","bab muhasabat al-'amal", hadith no. 20.
[2]. Ibid., hadith no. 2.
[3]. Tafsir al-burhan, i. 46.
[4]. Ibid., 51.
[5]. Man la yahduruhu al-faqih, ii, 613; Mafitih al-jinan, "al-Ziyarat al-jami'ah al-kabirah."
[6]. The Diwan ascribed to Amir al-Mu'minin, 57.
[7]. Al-Kafi, ii, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr", "bab muhasabat al-amal," hadith no. 6.
[8]. Nahj al-balaghah, Khutbah no. 5.
[9]. Al-Saduq, al-'Amali, majlis no. 69, p. 405.
[10]. Bihar al-'anwar, xviii, 292.
[11]. Al-Majlisi, 'Ilm al-yaqin, ii, 884.
With my chain of transmission reaching up to the proof of the sect and its authority, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni - may Allah be pleased with him - from 'Ali ibn Ibrahim, who reports in a marfu' (i.e. without mentioning intermediary authorities) tradition from Abu 'Abd Allah (A) that he said: "The seekers of (sacred) knowledge are of three kinds, so recognize them by their specific qualities and characteristics. One kind of them seeks it for the sake of ignorance and dispute(bicker) . Another kind seeks it for the sake of domination and deceit. Yet another kind seeks it for the sake of (improving) understanding and intellect.
"The one who seeks it for ignorance and dispute's sake is injurious and quarrelsome. He contests opinions in the gatherings of men, speaking of knowledge and describing forbearance. He puts on the garb of humility, though he is devoid of piety. As a result God crushes his nose and severs his waist.
"The one who seeks knowledge for domination and deception is an imposter and a sycophant. He is domineering with those who are his likes but is humble in front of the rich, whose sweetmeats he ingests while he demolishes his own faith. As a result God blinds his vision and wipes out his traces from the legacy of the learned.
"As to him who seeks knowledge for the sake of understanding and intellection, he is grief-stricken and awake at nights. Having tied his cap with the loose end of his turban, he stands up in the dark of nights. He acts and is in trepidation. A caller overawed, engaged in his work, and acquainted with the people of his times, he is apprehensive of his most trusted brother. As a result of it God strengthens his supports and grants him amnesty on the Day of Resurrection."
Al-Kulayni - may God's mercy be upon him - says: This tradition was also narrated to me by Muhammad ibn Mahmud Abu 'Abd Allah al-Qazwini from several of our companions, among them Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sayqal at Qazwin, from Ahmad ibn 'Isa al-Alawi, from 'Abbad .ibn Suhayb al-Basri, from Abu 'Abd Allah (A). [1]
Exposition:
is for stress on the pronoun of so what is meant is: "Know them themselves, so that they become determined and specified and are not mistaken with others." Similarly, it is said (I saw him himself) and:
Everything that contains halal and haram is halal for you so far as you know that which is haram itself.
The authoritative traditionist al-Majlisi, may God have mercy upon him has mentioned various possible meaning
here (i.e. of ) which are extremely far-fetched and do not include this evident and apparent possibility. He
says:
means. 'their kinds and the understanding of their categories' or 'such of their actions are visible(detectable) and observable' ... Also it has been said, 'The meaning of means, 'their kinds and the understanding if their categories. Also it has been said, "The meaning of is their look, appearance and postures, such as their putting on the garb of humility.'
Then he suggests other and as remote possibilities. means `their characteristics', that is, those conditions which are subject to the personal traits and purposes of these three categories, such as injuriousness, disputatiousness and so on. Hence these characteristics depict their condition by which they are specifically recognized.
Jahl (ignorance) is the opposite of `ilm (knowledge), and here it probably means concealing the truth or pretending not to know it or absence of its acceptance. Later on we will discuss it in further detail. Al-Majlisi says in this regard:
Jahl means foolishness and imprudence. It is also said to be the opposite of reason.
Mira' means jidal (controversy) in doctrine and theology (kalam) and is derived from the same verbal root as jadal (dialectic) which is one of the Five Topics (al-sina'at al-khams) in logic. Al-Jawhari, in al-Sihah, says: Although here kalam means speech in general but the intended meaning is apparently that which has been mentioned. There is another possible meaning involved here which we shall mention in one of the following sections.
Istitalah means seeking loftiness and eminence. Khatl, with fathah on kha' and sukun on ta', means deception and imposture. Al-Jawhari says:
As to the word mumar, we will explain later on why one who indulges in mira' is defined as mumar, (which being a verbal tautology does not seem to be a valid definition) and the one who indulges in istitalah and khatl as one who seeks to dominate his likes and one who resorts to khibb, for khibb (like khatl) also means deception.
As to the phrase it means expressing opinions. A lexicographer gives the following instance of usage:
Andiyah is plural of nadi, meaning a circle or club where people assemble for meeting and discussion. From it is derived dar al-nadwah, which was a place in Makkah which was built for assembly and consultation. Nadiyy, nadwah, muntada and mutanaddahave the same meaning, as pointed out by al-Jawhari.
The phrase bi tadhdkur al-'ilm refers to maqal or is its appositional substantive (badal), and to it is conjuncted wa sifat al-hilm.What is meant is that `they hold scholarly discourses in order to be reckoned among the learned, and they describe and extol forbearance to be counted among the forbearing, whereas they are neither among the learned nor the forbearing. His learning is a kind of ignorance that resembles knowledge and his forbearance is devoid of the excellent qualities of forbearance.' Later on we will have occasion to discuss this sort.
Tasarbala pertains to the derivative(misrepresented) formation tafa'lul, meaning putting on a sirbal- a garment. According to the lexicographer:
Tasarbala bi al-khushu' means, 'he has put on the garment of humility,' appearing to be associated with it in the way a garment adheres to and is associated with the body, though he is devoid of it, since the garment he has put on is a borrowed one.
Wara' with a fathah on ra', means complete abstinence from that which is haram or suspect.
The sentence fa-daqqa Allah .... and those resembling it in the following two sentences, may either imply a curse or may be taken to be indicative of their condition in the world or the hereafter, or in both. Daqq means knocking, or is a noun denoting sound.
The words min hadha mean 'as a result of this quality.' Khayshum is the upper part of the nose and that which is connoted by 'crushing the nose' is disgracing and humiliating. That is, God Almighty disgraces and humiliates them on account of those characteristics, and we will have occasion to discuss it further later on.
Hayzum, with a fathah on ha' and dammah on za', means 'the place where the waist band(ribbon) is tied', or 'the middle of the breast', or 'a circumscribing bone like the one encircling the neck.' The first meaning, which suits the idea of severance, fits here.
Khibb means deception, wickedness and imposture. As al-Jawhari says, . means a deceitful man. Malaq means flattery and sychophancy, and implies what al-Jawhari says in al-Sihah i.e. one who expresses with his tongue that which is not in his heart. This interpretation is rather general, for malaq or tamalluq means an expression of love and attachment mixed with a show of humility while these are not in one's heart.
As to al-Majlisi points out that there is nun (instead of hamzah) in some manuscripts. In that case it means a middleman's tip or a soothsayer's fee paid him as a bribe, and it means the presents of money made by the rich to the impostor in return for his services, which he performs at the cost of his faith.
Al-hatm means breaking, and al-Majlisi says that breaking (of faith) here implies corruption and decadence (fasad). Khubrahuhere is probably with a dammah on kha' and sukun on ba', in which case it means the capacity to cognize and discern. Though it is also probable that the word is khabarahu, with fathah on kha' and ba', in view of its consistency with the verb. The first meaning is more fitting, though the second one is not without relevance.
Al-Ka'abah means one's bad and shattered condition as a result of intense grief and sadness.
Tahannaka fi burnusihi means `he put the taht al-hanak in his burnus. Burnus is a tall cap which the devout used to wear during the early Islamic era, as mentioned by al-Jawhari in Sihah al-lughah. Al-Majlisi says, `This phrase suggests that tahannuk ismustahabb in salat. Such an inference is questionable, because given the kind of dress that was worn by the devout it suggests only the istihbab of tahannuk in general, not particularly during salat. Yes, had burnus been part of a dress- specified for salatsuch an inference would have been correct.
Hindis means an intensely dark night, as pointed out by al-Jawhari. Hindis here is substitute for night (layl) and that which is probably implied here is the dark of the night.
In fa-shadda Allah arkanahu, shadd means providing strength and power: Rukn means something on which a thing stands and by which it is sustained. Al-Jawhari says: i.e. the rukn of a thing is its strongest side.
Now, with our trust in God, we shall explain that which is essential and fitting in the course of a few sections.
Section 1:
You should know that the premises of a syllogism in relation to its conclusion(deduction) , or the arguments and theoretical proofs in any discipline in relation to the proved result and inferred conclusion, have the position of preparatory preliminaries. They are neither totally independent of the conclusions nor totally unrelated to them. In this regard both the followers of predestination (jabr) as well as the adherents of freedom (tafwid) have gone astray and departed from the path of moderation, each of them adopting an approach consistent with their doctrine. One of them (i.e. those who believe in tafwid)says that the preliminaries are independent and if the door of the World of the Hidden ('alam al ghayb) were to close and the emanations of the world of malakut to be shut off, man can derive conclusions unaided from the preliminaries themselves. The other (i.e. the believers in jabr) claims that the preliminaries are totally unrelated to the conclusions and the Divine tradition has been established to inspire the human mind with the conclusions. The preliminaries are only superficially connected to the conclusions and are absolutely unconnected in reality. Both of the views of these groups, like their basic doctrines, are false in the view of those who are acquainted with the true teaching and real knowledge. The truth, in conformity with the view of those who know it, is that the preliminaries have a preparatory relation with the conclusions and they prepare the soul for receiving knowledge through inspiration from its higher hidden sources (mabadi-ye 'aliyeh-yeghaybiyyeh). Here we don't intend to expound or refute these doctrines of these two groups, for that lies beyond the scope of our aim, and the purpose of mentioning them is only subsidiary to the exposition of another issue, which is as follows.
Having known that the knowledge and teachings are inspired(supported) by the invisible spheres and that inspiration is subject to the soul's connection (with these spheres), you should know that, as pointed out by the hadith:
Knowledge is not extensive learning. Rather it is a light that God casts in the heart of whomever He wills. [2]
Every soul that establishes a connection with the higher realm of malakut and the angelic sphere, receives such inspirations as are angelic in character and the knowledge that is cast into it is true knowledge from the angelic realm. Also, every soul that establishes a connection with the lower malakuti realm, the realm of the jinn, Satan and evil spirits, receives inspirations that are satanic in character of the order of compound ignorance and obscuring veils. This is why the 'urafa' and the people of true knowledge consider spiritual purification, the purgation of intentions and motives and the rectification of one's goals to be the first step in the path of acquisition of sciences, especially the Divine teachings and the sciences of the Shari'ah. Accordingly, they give the relevant advice and warnings to the students, for the link with the higher sources is strengthened(toughened) through the purification of the soul. And that which the holy Lord, Exalted and Glorious, says in the noble verse:
...And fear God, and God shall teach you..., (2:282)
linking the Divine teaching to taqwa (God-fearing) is for this reason that taqwa purifies the soul and connects it to the invisible sacred realm. This is followed by Divine teaching and the rahmani inspirations, for there is no niggardliness in the higher realms, which are bounteous by necessity, in the same way as the Necessary-Being-by-Essence is Necessary in all aspects.
However, if the soul engages in acquiring the sciences due to attention to selfish motives, for better food and drink and for egoistic reasons, its goal becomes non-divine and the inspirations it receives are satanic in character. This is one of the foolproof criteria - which I think has not been mentioned by the `urafa' - for differentiating between rahmani and shaytaniinspirations and most of the times one is aware of this fact. The inspirations received by the impious soul full of impurities and obfuscations belong to the category of compound ignorance (i.e. to be ignorant and be ignorant of one's ignorance), which is the incurable malady of the souls and the main impediment on their path. That is because the criterion in knowledge is not acquaintance with general concepts and scientific terms. Rather, the criterion is the removal of veils from the soul's eye and opening of the door of the knowledge of God. The real knowledge is the guiding spiritual lamp that shows the straight path of nearness to God and to the abode of His bliss.
Everything other than this is vanity, though in the world of mulk and prior to the removal of the veils of carnal nature those conversant with it should be reckoned as scholars, gnostics and jurisprudents by those used to learned controversies and disputes(bickers) But once the blinds are removed from the eyes of the heart, once the curtains of the world of malakut are raised and once one wakes up from the heavy slumber of mulk and corporeal nature, that (which once appeared to be knowledge and learning) will be found to be the darkest of veils. It will be found that all those branches of formal learning were all in all thick spiritual curtains each of them separated from the other by vast distances and we were ignorant of this fact.
The people are asleep and they wake up on death. [3]
It is then that the real nature of our learned preoccupations is revealed to us. But that which is shameful and scandalous is that even after fifty years, or more or less, of learning and study we remain mistaken about ourselves, at times imagining that our studies are for the sake of God. We remain unaware of the ruses of Satan and the self, for self-love is a thick veil that conceals our defects from ourselves. Hence the chaste awliya' and the noble Imams, may Allah's peace be upon them, have mentioned certain signs and marks of identification so that we may know and evaluate ourselves by their means without entertaining a baseless good opinion about ourselves. Later on in this exposition we will refer to the signs and marks mentioned in this noble tradition.
We came to know that in a primarily classification the seekers of knowledge fall into two groups: those who have a divine aim and those who have a mundane one. It may be said that the ultimate goal of the latter group is ignorance (jahl), for the seeming knowledge that they is compound ignorance in reality and a spiritual veil. The two groups mentioned by al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) in the tradition that we are expounding both belong to this class, for the seekers of domination as well as the impostors dwell in ignorance and misguidance. Hence it may be said that the ignorance mentioned by the Imam as a sign of the first group is something different from the ordinary meaning of ignorance. Rather, it either means muddling up issues and keeping people ignorant or it means the ignorance of one who pretends to be ignorant of the truth or is not ready to accept it. Both of these characteristics are also present in the group afflicted with mira' and jidal. They deny facts and well-established truths and adhere to ignorance for the sake of promoting their own opinions and marketing their spurious and little in demand merchandise.
Although in one classification(categorization) the seekers of knowledge do not constitute more than two groups- that is, on the basis of a preliminary classification based on an affirmation or negation of the divine goal of knowledge - a further classification will show them to be more than three groups. As to their division into three groups by the Imam, it may be said that he wished to mention two major groups consisting of most of the victims of ignorance and misguidance. Thus in another tradition we find that he considers the seekers of knowledge as constituting two groups:
In al-Kafi, al-Kulayni reports with his isnad from Abu 'Abd Allah (A) that he said: "He who seeks (to learn) hadith for worldly benefit has no share in the Hereafter, and he who seeks it for a benefit in the Hereafter, God grants him benefit both in the world and the Hereafter." [4]
Section II:
We have mentioned the evils of mira' and jidal earlier in the exposition of one of the holy traditions. However, it is also proper here that we mention some relevant traditions and describe a little of their evil effects. In the noble al-Kafi, al-Kulayni reports with his isnad the following tradition on the authority of al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A):
Amir al-Mu'minin (A) said: "Beware of dispute and controversy, for they infect with enmity the hearts of brethren. They are the roots of hypocrisy (nifaq), out of which hypocrisy grows." [5]
There are other traditions in al-Kafi narrated from al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A):
Abu `Abd Allah (A) said: "Beware of controversy, because it discomfits the heart, gives rise to hypocrisy, and creates ill will within the heart." [6]
Abu `Abd Allah (A) said: "Gabriel said to the Prophet (S): `Beware of getting entangled in dispute and acrimonious debate with people.' " [7]
Now let us take up the explanation of the fact that dispute and acrimony in talk sicken the heart, create ill feeling between friends and make hypocrisy grow(boomed) within the heart. It was mentioned earlier that outward actions leave certain effects on the inner self and the heart that are in accordance with their character. Here we must say that vicious actions have a more immediate and stronger impact on the heart. That is so because man is the offspring of the world of nature and the faculties of lust (shahwah), anger (ghadab) and diabolism (shaytanah) accompany him and are active in him, as has been mentioned in a tradition:
Satan circulates in mankind like the blood in veins. [8]
Hence the heart is directly confronted with corrupting elements and matters acclimatized to physical nature. Even a slight external assistance, either from one of the bodily organs or in the shape of an immoral and vicious companion, produces a strong effect on the heart. Therefore, there are warnings in the noble traditions against keeping company with such persons:
Al-Kafi reports on the authority of al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) from Amir alMu'minin (A) that he said: "It does not behoove a Muslim to be on fraternal terms with an immoral person, for he makes his own acts appear fair to one and likes one to become like himself. He is of no assistance to one either in the matters of the world or the Hereafter and it is a matter of disgrace for one to have social intercourse with such a person." [9]
Al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) said: "It is not proper for a Muslim to fraternize with an immoral person, a fool or a liar." [10]
An important point behind the prohibition on keeping company with sinful persons, or on presence in a gathering where God is sinned against, or on befriending and mixing with the enemies of God, is the influence of their morals, states and acts on a person. More important from the viewpoint of such influence are one's own acts and their effect upon the heart, so that the perpetration of vicious acts even for a brief period produces a strong influence on the heart, freedom and relief from which is not possible or attainable even after many long years. This indicates that should one indulge in dispute(bicker) and hostile debate, not much time would pass before a terrible darkness and obfuscation appears in the heart, the outward verbal hostility soon leading to an inward hostility that is itself the greatest cause of hypocrisy, two-facedness and duplicity. Hence the evils of hypocrisy may be recognized through a recognition of the evils of mira' and jidal. Earlier, in the course of exposition of one of the traditions we have described the evils of hypocrisy and two-facedness and there is no need to repeat that here.
Al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) mentions certain signs and symptoms of the victims of ignorance and disputatiousness, one of which is causing harm to the people and being a vicious presence, which by itself is a vice and evil that is sufficient as an independent cause of one's destruction. It is mentioned in a noble tradition of al-Kafi:
(God Almighty says:) Whoever torments a friend of Mine has challenged Me to battle. [11]
The causing of harm and tormenting of the faithful has here been equated to declaration of war against God and hostility against His Sacred Being. The traditions relating to this topic are too many to be included in this brief exposition.
Another of the signs of this group has been mentioned to be mira', contesting of opinions and engagement in learned debates for the sake of domination and proving one's merit. As to making mira' the consequence of mira' in the tradition, it is possible that the first mira' is an inner quality and a vicious trait of the heart and the mira' that has been mentioned as its consequence is its outward manifestation and symptom.
Another of the symptoms of this group is its pretence of being forbearing while it is devoid of this quality. This is itself hypocrisy and two-facedness and involves riya' and shirk. Similarly, the pretence of humility (khushu') while being devoid of piety (wara') is also another clear manifestation of shirk, riya', hypocrisy and two-facedness.
This shows that this characteristic is possessed of great vices each of which is fatal and destructive. It is necessary that we undertake any kind of effort and hardship to deliver ourselves from this shameful, faith-killing and destructive malady of the heart and purge it of its darkness and filth, purifying it and burnishing it with the sincerity(frankness) of intention and inner truthfulness. In this regard there is a point here which is enough to shatter one when one reflects upon it for a while. It is that which al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) mentions after describing the signs of this group. The Imam (A) says:
As a result God crushes his nose and severs his waist (it may- also be translated: to mean: `Hence, may God crush his nose and sever his waist').
This is either a du'a (prayer or curse) or an indicative sentence (ikhbar). Whatever it should be, it is bound to take place. For should it be an indicative sentence, the reporter is a truthful speaker of attested veracity (sadiq-e musaddaq). Should it be adu'a', it is the du'a' of a Ma'sum and a wali of Allah and is certain to be granted. Hence it is indicative of the certain humiliation and disgrace to befall such a man, and perhaps in both the worlds: in this world in front of those whose respect he wished to earn through ostentation and pretence of merit and which produce an opposite result by bringing him disgrace, reducing his worth, and earning him the contempt of those whom he sought to dominate and impress; and in the next world were he shall be humiliated and brought to shame in the presence of the archangels, prophets, apostles, the infallible awliya' and God's righteous servants.
So woe to us, the victims of mira' and jidal, of carnal desires and hostilities! How great is our affliction at the hands of this vicious, heartless self which would not leave us alone unless it has brought us damnation in all the stages of life and existence, and yet we never bother to reform it! Our ears are closed with the stoppers of neglect! We refuse to awake from the heavy sleep of nature! O God, Thou art the reformer of Thy servants and the Master of their hearts. The being of all the existents lies in Thy power and the hearts of Thy creatures lie under the total influence of Thy will. We are not our own masters and have no power over our own benefit or harm, life or death. Do illuminate our dark hearts with the light of Thy grace and correct(accurate) our vices with Thy magnanimity and mercy and help these powerless and weak creatures of Thine!
Section III:
We said concerning the mention of mira' in the first part of the noble hadith that mira' has an inner spiritual being as well as is an outward phenomenon that is the product, sign and symptom of the first kind of mira'. Similarly we may say concerning the second part of the description given by the Imam (A) that istitalah and khatl have an inner existence as a spiritual habit and quality, as well as an outward manifestation which is the result of that habit. . Similarly, in most of the activities of the heart there are various levels: the level of enduring trait (malakah), the level of state (hal), and the level of outward behaviour, which is the product of the inner trait. Thus those who have in them the trait of istitalah, the urge for domination and ambition as well as that for deception and imposture, they also carry its outward signs and symptoms, some of which have been mentioned in the tradition by al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A). One of them is deceit and imposture which make one present himself as pious and righteous while he is not such inwardly. This group of people are wolves in the garb of sheep and devils in the form of men. They are the worst of God's creatures and their harm to the people's faith is more than that of armies of opponents(rival).
Another of the characteristics of this group is that they behave with humility and in a sychophantic manner with those who are the object of their greed. They spread their nets of imposture, sychophancy and false humility to trap poor, weak people, to benefit from the sweetmeats of their love, admiration and worldly respect. For this purpose they exploit their own religion, sell their faith and make use of the mundane benefits that are available. This is the group of people about whom a tradition says that when some people in paradise see them they will say: "How is it that we came to paradise as a result of your teaching while you yourselves have been confined to hell?" They will answer, "We did not act according to what we spoke." [12]
Another of their signs is that they behave haughtily with their likes who do not attract their greed and whom they consider as impediments in the way of their own advancement. They treat them with vanity and try as far as they can to humiliate them through words and deeds, for they are afraid that anyone of them can cause him trouble which can lead to a slump in their credibility.
One should know that it is a most difficult thing to remain pious when one is in the formal dress of learning, zuhd and taqwaand to preserve the purity of one's heart in the clerical profession. That is why if someone from this class should act according to his duties and go through its phases with sincerity, correct himself, and after reforming himself engage in reforming others, and protect the orphans in the descent of the Messenger (S), such a man is reckoned among the Outstrippers and the Near Ones (muqarrabun wa sabiqun). Such a thing has been said of four disciples of al-'Imam al-Baqir (A) by al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A). The following tradition is reported in al-Wasa'il from Rijal al-Kashshi with an isnad reaching up to Abu `Ubaydah al-Hadhdha':
Abu 'Ubaydah says: "I heard Abu 'Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, say: 'Zurarah, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Abu Basir and Burayd (ibn Mu'awiyah) are amongst those concerning whom God, the Exalted, said: "The Outstrippers, the outstrippers- they are the Near Ones."'" [13]
There are many traditions relating to this topic and the excellences of the learned (ahl al-'ilm) are more than can be expressed. It suffices to cite the following tradition of the Noble Prophet, may God's benedictions be upon him and his family, about them:
When death comes to one who is seeking knowledge to revive thereby Islam, there will be only one degree between him and the prophets in Paradise. [14]
Later on, insha' Allah, there will be occasion to describe their excellence. However, if, God forbid, should the seeker of knowledge depart from the path of sincerity and take the road of unrighteousness, he will be reckoned among the worst of God's creatures about whom there are strong and strange (condemning) expressions in the traditions.- The first thing that the learned in religious sciences and the seekers of this perilous road must take into consideration is self-reform during the period of studies, counting it as far as possible to be the foremost of their duties, for this is harder and more obligatory than all the duties and obligations dictated by Shari`ah and reason.
O seekers of knowledge and spiritual excellences and teachings! Rise from your sleep and know that you have lesser room for excuse before God, and God Almighty shall call you to a tougher account. The level of your knowledge and works is very different from that of other people.
Your path (sirat) is sharper and narrower and there will be a great scrutiny of the record of your life. Woe to the student and seeker of knowledge in whose heart learning creates darkness and 'obscurity! And we see in ourselves that if we have learnt some inadequate concepts and some futile terms, it has kept us from treading the divine path. Satan and the self have dominated our being and turned us away from the path of humanity and guidance. These absurd and senseless concepts became our biggest hindrance and there is no remedy except to seek refuge in the Sacred Being of God Almighty.
O God, we confess to our shortcomings and plead guilty to our sins! We did not take even a single step in the path of Thy good-pleasure nor did we perform a single act of worship and obedience with sincerity. Yet treat us with Thine all-inclusive mercy and Thine unbounded grace. In the same way as Thou concealed our inadequacies in this world, do cover them with Thy forgiveness and covering grace in the other world, where we need it more!
Here, too, it is essential to remember the point that we mentioned while expounding the earlier part of the noble tradition. That point concerns this utterance of the Imam (A):
As a result God blinds his vision and wipes out his traces from the record of the learned.
That which is denoted by this statement, whether it be du'a' or ikhbar, is certain to happen. One must be very fearful of this inner blindness of vision which is the main source of all kinds of darkness and wretchedness. The blindness of the heart is the source of all misfortunes. Similarly, to be purged from the effects of the learned and to be deprived of their merits and gifts, apart from this deprivation itself, will be followed by an unimaginable humiliation and disgrace in the presence of God's elect on the Day of Resurrection.
Section IV:
As to the men of understanding and intellect - that is those for whom the goal of seeking knowledge is to become learned in Din and to know its truths - there are certain signs of which the main ones have been mentioned in the tradition. One of them is that knowledge creates grief, pain and dejection. To be sure this grief and dejection is not for the sake of the base and transitory worldly matters, but from the fear of the Return and the terror of falling short in the performance of duties and service. This grief and dejection, besides(alongside) illumining the heart, gives. it a purity and burnish. It becomes the original impulse for self-reform and commitment to the duties of servitude and creaturehood. The light of knowledge takes away quiet from the heart of the devotee, introducing him to God and the abode of His bounties. He derives great pleasure from praying to God Almighty and spends his nights in wakefulness and in performing the duties of devotion. Hence the Imam (A) says:
The first sentence apparently indicates engagement in worship. Another sign of this divine man of knowledge is that though fully attentive to the duties of servitude he is still in a state of trepidation. The light of knowledge reveals this to him that however much he may attend to his duties his efforts are still inadequate and wanting, that he cannot entirely fulfil the requirements of gratitude and true worship. This realization fills his heart with terror and it is about such people that God has said:
Even so only those of His servants fear God who have knowledge. (35:28)
The light of knowledge brings trepidation and grief, and though such a person is cognizant of his commitment to self-reform, the fear of the Return does not let him rest. He beseeches God to reform him and is afraid of becoming preoccupied with other-than-God. He shuns the people, fearing lest they should keep him from the path of God and the journey towards the world of the Hereafter, by making the world and its pleasures appear glamorous to him. Thereupon God confirms such a person and strengthens the supports that sustain his being, and grants him amnesty on the Day of Resurrection.
Oh, would that we had been with them, then should we have achieved a great success! (see 4:73)
And all praise is ultimately God's, at the beginning and the end, and may God's benedictions be upon Muhammad and the Pure Ones of his progeny.
[1]. Al-Kafi, "kitab fadl al-'ilm", "bab al-nawadir", hadith 5.
[2]. Bihar al-'anwar, i, 225.
[3]. Ibn Maytham al-Bahrani, Sharh-e sad kalimeh-ye qisar, 54.
[4]. Al-Kafi, i, "kitab fadl al-ilm", "bab al-musta'kil bi- ilmih", hadith 2.
[5]. Ibid., ii, "kitab al-'iman wa al-kufr", "bab al-mira' wa al-khusumah", hadith 1.
[6]. Ibid., hadith 8.
[7]. Ibid., hadith 6.
[8]. Sunan al-Darimi, ii, 320.
[9]. Al-Kafi, "kitab al-'ishrah", "bab man tukrahu mujalasatuh", hadith 2.
[10]. Ibid., hadith 3.
[11]. Ibid., "kitab al-imnan wa al-kufr", "bab man adha al-Muslimin", hadith 8.
[12]. Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, xi, 420.
[13]. Ibid., xviii, 105.
[14]. Sunan al-Darimi, i, 100.
With my chain of transmission reaching up to the best and the earliest of traditionists, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni-may God be pleased with him-from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan and 'Ali ibn Muhammad, from Sahl ibn Ziyad, from Muhammad ibn 'Isa-, from 'Ubayd Allah ibn 'Abd Allah al Dihqan, from Durust al-Wasiti, from Ibrahim ibn 'Abd al-Hamid, from Abu al-Hasan Musa (A) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah, may God's benedictions be upon him and his family, once entered the mosque where there were a group of people surrounding a man. 'Who is that?', inquired the Prophet (S). He was told, 'He is an 'allamah', (i.e. a very learned man). 'What is an 'allamah?' asked the Prophet (S). They told him, 'He is the most learned of men regarding Arab genealogies, past episodes, the days of the Jahiliyyah and Arabic poetry'. The Prophet (S) said, 'That is a knowledge whose ignorance does not spoil one nor is its possession of any benefit to one'. Then the Prophet, may God's benedictions be upon him and his family, declared, 'Verily knowledge consists of these three: the firm sign, the just duty and the established sunnah. All else is superfluous.' " [1]
Exposition:
There is (Who is he?) instead of (Who is that?) in some manuscripts. might have been said to express contempt. `Allamah is a derivative (sighah) that expresses extremeness (mubalaghah) and its ta is for the sake of (further) exaggeration. It means 'very very knowledgeable'.
You should know that in logic the word (who) is used for questioning concerning a person and the word (what) for questioning concerning a given reality or for explaining an abstract noun. Since they told the Noble Messenger (S) that this man is an`allamah, that master questioned them concerning the meaning of `allamah in relation to the character and content of the knowledge that they attributed to him. Hence he put the question with the word . Epithets are at times made a means for questioning concerning essence, for instance, where the meaning of an attribute is known but not the person to whom the attribute relates. In that case the question is nut by using the word and it becomes . But if the person be known and the attribute be unknown, or when the purpose be only to know the attribute, the question is put with the word and the question then relates to finding out the attribute, not the person attributed with it, nor the attribute and the person attributed with it as well. In this noble tradition, since it was remarked that this man is an 'allamah, the Prophet's purpose behind the question was to find out the meaning of the attribute that they ascribed to the man. Hence he asked, `What is an `allamah?' and not, `Who is an 'allamah?' or `Why and for what reason is this man an 'allamah?'
The explanation given above is clearer than what the authority (muhaqqiq) among the philosophers and the philosopher among the authorities, Sadr al-Muta'allihin-may Allah sanctify his soul-says in his exposition of this noble tradition, which we shall refrain from citing due to fear of prolixity and for its being outside the scope of our discussion.
Section I:
We have mentioned earlier that man, to put it briefly, is confronted with three worlds, stations and phases of life: first, the world of the Hereafter, which is the hidden world (`alam-e ghayb) of spirituality and the intellect; second, the phase of Barzakh, which is the world of khayal lying between the other two worlds; third, the phase of this world, the domain of mulk (corporeality) and the world of appearance ('alam-e shahadat). Each of these phases has its own special perfection and training and requires action appropriate to it. The prophets, upon whom be peace, have been encharged to instruct the people concerning those actions. Hence all beneficial sciences are divisible into these three 'ulum (sciences): the `ilm (science) that relates to the excellences (kamalat) of the intellect and spiritual duties, the science that relates to the acts of the heart and its duties, and the science that relates to bodily acts and the duties of the self's outward life.
As to the sciences that play a strengthening and educative role in the sphere of the spirit and immaterial intellect, they consist of the knowledge of the sacred Essence of God and that of His attributes of Beauty and Majesty, as well as the knowledge of the immaterial hidden spheres, including the angels of all kinds, from those of the higher levels of the higher jabarut and higher malakut to the lower levels of the lower malakut and the earthly angels and the armies of God, Glorious and Exalted, in addition to the knowledge of the prophets and the awliya' and their stations and degrees, the knowledge of the revealed scriptures, the character of the descent of revelation (wahy), angels and the Spirit, as well as the knowledge of the world of the Hereafter and the character of the Return of the creatures to the world of ghayb, the reality of the world of Barzakh and Resurrection with their details, and, in a word, the knowledge of the origin (mabda') of existence, its reality and degrees, with its expansion (bast) and contraction (qabd), and its manifestation (zuhur) and return (ruju'). The bearers of this knowledge, after the prophets and the awliya', upon whom be peace, are the philosophers and the masters among the hukama', the `urafa' and the mystics.
The sciences that deal with the discipline and education of the heart and its esoteric actions consist of the knowledge of moral dispositions that lead to salvation (munjiyat) or perdition (muhlikat). That is the knowledge of moral virtues, such as forbearance (sabr), ness (shukr), shame (haya'), humility (tawadu'), resignation (rida), courage (shuja'ah), generosity(sakhawah), piety (wara`) God-fearing (taqwa) and other moral excellences and the knowledge of the ways and means of acquiring them and their related causes and conditions, as well as the knowledge of moral vices, such as envy (hasad), pride(kibr), enmity (hiqd), deceptiveness (ghishsh), the love of position, the love of the world and the self, etc., and the knowledge of their causes and the ways of obtaining freedom from them. The bearers of this knowledge, too, after the prophets and their designated successors (awliya'), may peace be upon them, are the experts in the science of ethics and the learned in the spiritual disciplines and mystic teachings.
The science that deals with the education of the exoteric being and its disciplining consists of the science of fiqh, its preliminaries, and the science of etiquette (adab), social intercourse (mu'asharat), management of home (tadbir-e manzil), and politics or civic administration (siyasat-e mudun). The bearers of this knowledge are the learned in the exoteric (ulama'-e zahir),the fuqaha' (legists) and the muhaddithun (traditionists), after the prophets and the awsiya', may peace be upon them.
You should know that each of these threefold human spheres mentioned are interrelated in such a manner that the influence of each of them-whether it is positive or negative-percolates to the others. For instance, if one takes upon himself the performance of the duties of worship and exoteric rites as one should perform them in accordance with the prescriptions of the prophets, that will produce effects in his spirit and his heart, improving his moral character and perfecting his beliefs and convictions. Similarly, if one should engage in his moral improvement and the beautification of his inward being (batin), that will produce a positive(approving) effect in the other two spheres. 5o also the development of one's faith and the strengthening of beliefs is effective in the other two stations. This is on account of the very intimate connection between these different stations. In fact (they are so closely related that) the word `connection' also fails to express it fully. Hence one must say that they are a single reality with (different) manifestations and aspects.
Thus development and perfection in each of the three stations is interlinked. Hence no one should imagine that he can a perfect faith and a refined moral character without performing exoteric works and bodily worship, or that when his moral character (khulq) is defective and unrefined(ucultivated) his conduct can be complete and whole and his faith perfect, or that without faith in his heart his exoteric acts can be complete and his moral excellences can be perfect.
When one's bodily (exoteric) actions are defective and not in conformity with the prescriptions of the prophets, that gives rise to obfuscations within the heart and obscurities in the soul which obstruct the light of faith and conviction. Similarly, if one has base moral dispositions in the heart, they obstruct the light of faith from entering it.
Hence it is essential for the wayfarer of Hereafter and the straight path of humanity to pay an acute care and attention to each of these three aspects and to reform and exercise himself in their regard and not to neglect any of the theoretical and practical excellences. He should not imagine that sole refinement of moral character or sole strengthening of beliefs or sole conformity to the exoteric aspect is sufficient for him, as believed by some experts of each of these three disciplines. For instance, the Shaykh-e Ishraq, at the beginning of his work Hikmat al-'ishraq, divides the perfect into these three categories: those who are perfect in knowledge and action, those who are perfect in action, and those who are perfect in knowledge. This suggests as if perfection of knowledge can coexist with inadequacy of action or vice versa. Moreover, he considers those who are perfect in knowledge to be the felicitous sincere linked with the world of ghayb and immateriality, treading the path of the highest heavens ('Illiyyun) and associating with the archangels. There are some scholars of morals and esoteric science who consider the attainment of moral moderation(self-control) and the refinement of the heart and esoteric acts as the source of all excellences and attach no worth to intellectual truths and exoteric rules. On the contrary, they even consider them as thorns on the wayfarer's path. There are some scholars of the esoteric aspect who consider the intellectual and the esoteric sciences and mystic teachings as perfidy and infidelity and are hostile to their scholars and students.
Each of these three groups, who hold these false beliefs, are withheld(detained) from each of the three spiritual stages and all the three spheres of genuine human existence. They have not rightly reflected concerning the sciences of the prophets and the awliya' and hence there has always been antagonism between them. Hence each of them attacks(raids) the others considering them as pursuing falsehood, although it is incorrect to separate the stages. In a sense, each one of them is right in repudiating the others, not because their learning or action is wholly invalid, but because the limits set by them for the various human levels and their confining of human knowledge and excellences exclusively to their own discipline is contrary to fact.
The Noble Messenger, may God's benedictions be upon him and his progeny, has in this noble tradition divided the sciences into these three parts, and there is no doubt that these threefold sciences pertain to these threefold planes. This claim is testified to by the divine scriptures, the traditions of the prophets and the Infallible Imams-may peace and benedictions be upon them-for their teachings are classifiable into these three classes. One of them consists of the knowledge of God, angels, scriptures, the Messengers and the Last Day, and the heavenly scriptures-especially the all-inclusive divine scripture, the Lord's Holy Qur'an-are all full of it. Rather, it may be said that that which the Book of God teaches more than anything else is this class of knowledge. It consists of the call to God as the origin and end (mabda' wa ma'ad) of all creation through valid rational arguments and with perfect clarification, as pointed out by the authorities. In fact the other two aspects occupy a somewhat lesser position in the Book of God in comparison to this aspect, and the ahadith of the Imams, upon whom be peace, too, are full of it and beyond enumeration, as will become clear by a reference to reliable books which are accepted by all the `Imams-may God be pleased with them-such as the noble al-Kafi and al-Saduq's Kitab al-Tawhid.
Similarly the attention given to spiritual refinement and moral reform and moderation in the Book of God and the traditions narrated from the Ahl al-Bayt (A) is beyond what one would expect. However, these books and these chapters have remained in oblivion, without receiving the due attention and credence by us, unfortunate ones in the bondage of futile hopes and expectations! The day will come when God Almighty will question us and establish His accusation against us on the basis of their evidence and the Immaculate Imams (A)-may God be our refuge-will dissociate themselves from us due to our abandoning their traditions and sciences. I seek refuge in God, the Exalted, from wretchedness of the ultimate outcome and an evil end.
As to the. traditions relating to fiqh and exoteric rites, it need not be said that all our books are full of them. Thus we come to know that the sciences of the Shari'ah are confined to these three kinds in accordance with the needs of man and the threefold human aspects. None of the scholars of any one of these sciences has a right to find fault with the others. It is not right to repudiate a science if one is ignorant of one of these sciences and to be irreverent towards one who is learned in it. In the same way as a sound intellect considers the affirmation of something that one does not know as an ethical vice, so also is the denial of something one has no conception of; rather the latter attitude is worse and more vicious.
If God, Blessed and Exalted, should ask, for instance, "You did not know the meaning of the unity of being (wahdat al-wujud)in accordance with the doctrine of the hukama' and neither did you receive instruction concerning it from those adept in it, nor did you study that science and its preliminaries. Then why did you blindly accuse them of unbelief and insult them?" What answer shall one have to give in God's sacred presence except bending down one's head in shame? Of course, a pretext such as "I thought it to be so" will not be acceptable. Every discipline has certain essentials and preliminaries, without whose knowledge it is not possible to understand its conclusions. This is especially true of such a subtle issue as this whose actual reality and meaning is not well understood even after a lifetime of effort, and here you are who want to apprehend with your inadequate intellect after reading, for instance, a book or two or some verses out of al-Rumi's Mathnawi something the philosophers and the hukama' have been discussing for several thousand years and dissecting its issues. Obviously you will not make anything out of it:
May God have mercy upon the man who knows his own worth and does not transgress his limits. [2]
Similarly, if a pseudo-philosopher or mystic were to be asked, `On what religious basis did you call the fuqaha' superficial and extroversive, finding fault(offense) with them or, rather, with a branch of religious sciences brought by the prophets (A) from the Lord of all lords for the perfection of human souls, denying its worth and insulting them? On what rational and shar'i grounds did you consider affront towards a group of scholars and legists as permissible?" What answer will he offer in the presence of God, Blessed and Exalted, except bowing his head in shame and discredit? In any case let us leave this irksome part to pass on to the rest of the discourse
Section II:
Having known that the threefold sciences referred to by the Noble Messenger (S) are the same as the three mentioned above, the question remains as to how does each of these expressions correspond with each of these sciences. Although this matter is not of much importance -for that which is important in this regard is the understanding of the principles of these sciences themselves and the effort to learn them but it is essential for the exposition of the noble tradition.
The eminent `ulama', may God be pleased with them, who have undertaken the exposition of this noble tradition have differed among themselves, and to preoccupy ourselves with the differences of their opinions and their examination will needlessly prolong our discussion. Hence I will confine myself in this regard to what appears to me, with all my inadequacy, to be correct, citing such supporting evidence as has not been mentioned (by anyone). Thereafter I will mention an important point mentioned by our revered shaykh, the perfect `arif, Shahabadi, may his shadow over our heads endure(withstand) forever.
You should know that the expression `firm sign' (ayatun muhkamah) implies the rational sciences and the true doctrines and divine teachings. `Just duty' (faridatun 'adilah) implies the science of ethics and self-purification. `Established sunnah' (sunnatun qa'imah) refers to the science of the exoteric aspect and the bodily conduct (i.e. involving some kind of physical activity ). The reason for this correlation is that the word 'ayah' means `sign' and is appropriate for the rational and doctrinal sciences, for they deal with the signs of the Divine Essence, Names, Attributes and other matters, and there is no precedent of the use of the word ayah for other sciences. For example, in the Book of God, in many cases, after offering proofs for the sacred existence of the Creator or the Names and Attributes of His sacred Essence, or for the existence of Resurrection and its characteristics, or the world of Ghayb and Barzakh, such a statement as this follows as a reminder: "This is a sign" or "These are signs for those who think" or "These are signs for those who have intellects". Ayah is a word whose use in relation to these sciences and teachings is quite common. But should the sentence "This is a sign" be mentioned following the mention of a legal or ritual issue or after an ethical principle, that would obviously not be devoid of impropriety. Hence we learn that ayah,sign and mark is something that is appropriate for and special to the (intellectual and spiritual) sciences related to doctrine (`ulum-e ma'arif). Similarly, the characterization of ayah as muhkam (firm, unambiguous, precise) is also in conformity with these sciences, for these sciences are subject to intellectual criteria and based on firm rational proofs (burhan-e muhkam ). However, the other sciences, in accordance with their character, do not possess firm and steady rational proofs.
The reason for considering the expression faridatun `adilah (just duty) as referring to the science of ethics is the characterization of duty as `adilah (lit. just, moderate, balanced). That is because virtue (khulq-e hasan), as established in that science, consists of keeping distance from either of the two extremes of excess and neglect (ifrat and tafrit) and each of the two extremes of excess and neglect is blameworthy, and justice ('adalah), which signifies the golden mean and the point of moderation between them, is praiseworthy. For example, courage (shuja'ah), which is one of the principal virtues and a moral excellence, is represented by the middle point and moderate position between the extremes of rashness (tahawwur, which is absence of fear in situations where fear is proper) and timidity (jubn), which amounts to being afraid in situations where fear is improper. So also wisdom (hikmah), which is also a principal moral virtue, consists of the middle point between the vice of cunning (jurbuzah), which is the use of the thinking faculty in matters it is improper to use it, and the vice of stupidity, which is suspension of the thinking faculty in matters where it should be used. Similarly, continence (`iffah) and generosity (sakhawah)are virtues represented by the middle position between the vices of covetousness (sharah) and apathy (khumud) and between prodigality (israf) and stinginess (bukhl) respectively.
Thus the attachment of the adjective `adilah to faridah indicates that the expression faridatun `adilah corresponds to the science of ethics (akhlaq). Moreover, the term faridah by itself affirms such a connotation, for since faridah here-which has been put here in opposition to sunnah, signifying the third part of knowledge-is something which can be known by the means of the intellect, as is the actual case in the science of ethics (`ilm al-'akhlaq), contrary to sunnah which refers to matters where the criterion is pure obedience (ta`abbud) and which the intellect is incapable of apprehending. And that is why we have said that the expression sunnatun qa'imah refers to the science which deals with the acts of obedience and the rites of the Shari'ah, which have been called 'sunnah' here. Their general nature is such that the intellect is incapable of apprehending their rationale and the Sunnah is the only means of proving and apprehending them. So also the use of the adjective qa'imah in characterizingsunnah here is also congenial to the obligations (wajibat) of the Shari'ah, for it is common, as well as correct, to speak of theiqamah (establishment) of wajibat and the iqamah of salat, zakat and so on. This word (i.e. iqamah) is not used in the other two sciences and its usage therein would be incorrect. This is all that can be said in regard to correlation on the basis of congenialities. , (And all knowledge is with God).
Section III:
Now we shall mention the point that we promised to discuss. It is this that in the noble tradition the science of doctrines andma'arif has been referred to as ayah and ayah means sign, symbol and mark. The point that relates to this term is that if the doctrinal sciences and doctrinal truths are studied for their own sake and if all the related concepts, terms, high-sounding expressions, and embellished juxtapositions of terms be learned for the sake of showing off to feeble minds and for the sake of obtaining worldly status, then they cannot be called ayat muhkamat; rather they must be named obscuring veils and hollow fantasies. That is because if one's purpose in learning the sciences should not be to reach God, the Exalted, and to realize the Names and Attributes and to mould one's self in accordance with the Divine character (takhalluq bi akhlaq Allah), each of such acquisitions of his is a dungeon of hell and a black veil that darkens his heart and blinds his insight, making him one of those to whom this noble verse applies:
But whosoever turns away from My remembrance, his shall be a life of narrowness, and on the Resurrection Day We shall raise him blind. (20:124)
Then he will find himself blind in that world and will complain to God saying, "O my Lord, why hast thou raised me blind, while I was blessed with sight in that world?" The answer will come: "You were blind in that world too, for you did not see Our signs and you neglected them." The criterion for sight in the world of the Hereafter is the vision and insight of the heart; the body as well as its faculties there are totally subject to the heart and the intellect (lubb ). (The body being an image of the soul in that world), the conformity of an image to its object shall be complete and the image of something deaf, blind and dumb is such.
Hence one should not imagine that those who are well-versed in concepts, terms and expressions and have books and writings by heart are those who have the knowledge of God, the angels and the Last Day! If their learning is a sign and mark, why has it not produced its luminous effect in their own hearts? Why has it even increased the darkness of their heart and the corruption of their morals and conduct? The Noble Qur'an has mentioned the criterion for identifying the genuine Mama' when it says:
Even so only those of His servants fear God who have knowledge .... (35:28)
The fear of God is the specific characteristic of the 'ulama' (the learned) and every one who does not possess the fear of God, the Exalted, is outside the ranks of the 'ulama'. Now let us consider ourselves. Is there any trace of that fear in us? If there is, why does it not show any effect in our outward personality?
In the noble al-Kafi, al-Kulayni reports with his isnad the following tradition on the authority of Abu Basir:
(Abu Basir) says: "I heard Abu 'Abd Allah (A) (Abu Ja'far, according to another manuscript) say : 'Amir al-Mu'minin (A) used to say: "O seeker of knowledge, knowledge has many merits. (If you imagine it to be a human being then) its head is humility, its eye is freedom from envy, its ear is understanding, its tongue is truthfulness, its memory is research, its heart is good intention, its intellect is the knowledge (ma`rifah) of things and matters, its hand is compassion, its foot is visiting the learned, its resolution is integrity, its wisdom is piety, its abode is salvation, its helmsman is well-being, its mount is faithfulness, its weapon is softness of speech, its sword is satisfaction (rida), its bow is tolerance, its army is discussion with the learned, its wealth are refined manners, its stock is abstinence from sins, its provision for journey is virtue, its drinking water is gentleness, its guide is Divine guidance, and its companion is the love of the elect. [3]
These are the signs of the `ulama' and the effects of `ilm mentioned by Amir al-Mu'minin (A). Hence if one is learned in the traditional sciences but is devoid of these things, he must know that he has not partaken of knowledge. Rather he is one of the ignorant and lost ones and in the other world his concepts and his wares of learning, each of which embodies compound ignorance, will become darkening blinders for him and his regret on the Day of Resurrection shall be the greatest of regrets.
Hence the criterion in knowledge is that it should be sign, symbol and mark (of the Divine), and there should be no ego or egoism in it. Egoism gets dissolved and obliterated in knowledge, instead of it itself becoming a cause for vanity, narcissism, ostentation and arrogance. The noble tradition further characterizes the ayah as muhkamah, because true knowledge with its light and luminosity creates conviction in the heart and wipes away doubt and uncertainty. It may happen that a man spends all his life in the study of the preliminaries and proofs and commits to mind several proofs and numerous arguments in support of each of the divine doctrines and overwhelms his associates in debates and controversies, without that knowledge producing any effect in his heart. Such a man not only does not achieve conviction, even his learning multiplies his doubts, uncertainties and ambiguities. Hence the mere collection of concepts and abundance of terms has no benefit. Rather it makes the heart preoccupied with non-God and the learned man forgetful and negligent of God's Sacred Being.
My dear, the remedy-or rather the complete remedy-is that if one wants his learning to be divine he should purify his intention and purpose with all the seriousness and effort that he can muster while entering upon the study of any branch of knowledge. The capital of salvation and the fountainhead of all grace lies in the purification of intent and the sincerity of purpose:
Whoever devotes himself in sincerity to God for forty days, the springs of wisdom flow out from his heart to his tongue. [4]
Such are the effects and benefits of forty day's sincerity (ikhlas)! But here we are with forty years or more spent in the effort at collecting terms and concepts related to every discipline. You consider yourself to be an `allamah in the sciences and count yourself among the army of God, yet you do not find any trace of wisdom in your own heart nor a drop of it on your tongue. You should know that your learning and labour have not been with a sincerity of intention. Rather, you have laboured for the sake of Satan and selfish desire. Now that you see that these sciences have not produced any spiritual quality or state in you, make an effort to cultivate sincerity of intention and purify your heart from obscurities and vices. If you see any result, go on. And even though the mere motive of experimenting is inimical to sincerity, it is possible that the effort may open a window and the incoming light may guide you.
In any case, my dear, you stand in need of the true divine doctrines and the veritable sciences as well as good morals and righteous works. At whatever level you may stand, endeavour to increase your sincerity(frankness) and purge the egoistic fancies and satanic insinuations from the heart. Of course, that will produce results for you and you will find the way to the reality, and the path of guidance will open for you. May God, Blessed and Exalted, succour you. ('rod knows, if we should depart from this world with this false and futile learning, these degenerate fancies and depraved morals of ours to the next world, what tribulations and calamities will await us and what narrow passages and what dungeons of hell we shall have to encounter and what darkness, what terrors and flames this learning and morals of ours shall prepare for us!
Section IV:
The authority amongst philosopher, Sadr al-Hukama' al-Muta'allihin (`Head of the philosophers and theosophers', viz. Mulla Sadra)-may God sanctify his soul and reward him abundantly-in Sharh Usul al-Kafi gives a long quotation from Shaykh Ghazali in which the latter has classified the sciences into `worldly' and `Hereafterly' ones, putting the science of fiqh amongst the `worldly' sciences and dividing the sciences of Hereafter into the sciences of mukashafah (mystic intuition and apprehension) and mu'amalah (social intercourse, conduct, transactions; in Ghazali, the science of moral purification and spiritual cultivation).
He considers the science of mu'amalah as the knowledge of the states of the heart and the science of mukashafah as a light that is attained in the heart after it is purified from blameworthy characteristics. Through that light realities are discovered, to the extent that true knowledge of the Divine Being, Names and Attributes as well as Acts and the wisdom underlying them is d and other truths are known. Now since this authority (i.e. Mulla Sadra) accepted this classification, he says in the exegesis of the hadith under exposition that "Apparently this classification and limitation made by the Noble Messenger (S) pertains to the sciences of mu'amalat. For it is these sciences that most of the people derive benefit from. But the sciences of mukashafah are attained by a small number of people and they are rarer than the philosopher's stone (kibrit-e ahmar), as is also indicated by the ahadith of "Kitab al-'iman wa al-ku'fr that will come hereafter." This was a condensed translation of his statements.
This writer says: There is an ambiguity in Shaykh Ghazali's statements, and if they be presumed to be admissible then there remains another thing objectionable in the statements of the Akhund (i.e. Mulla Sadra), may God's mercy be upon him. As to the objection pertaining to his statement-on the basis of assumption of validity of Ghazali's statements-it lies in this that Ghazali has considered the science of mu'amalat as pertaining to the states of the heart; that is, those qualities which result in redemption, such as patience(stamina), gratitude, fear, hope and so on, as well as those which lead to perdition, such as malice, envy, deceptiveness, imposture and so on. Accordingly, the threefold sciences mentioned by the Messenger of God (S) cannot all pertain to the sciences of mu'amalat; rather only one of them, i.e. faridatun 'adilah, as explained in detail earlier, corresponds to them. However, there are two objectionable things in Shaykh Ghazali's statements. Firstly, he has considered'ilm al-fiqh as belonging to worldly sciences and the fuqaha' as worldly scholars, whereas it is one of the most valuable sciences of the Hereafter. And this ambiguity arises from self-love and the love of the discipline one of whose experts he imagines himself to be, i.e. the science of ethics, in the commonly used sense. Accordingly, he has repudiated the other disciplines, including the rational sciences (such as philosophy). Secondly, he conceives mukashafat as forming a part of the 'ulum and includes them in his classification(categorization) of them. This is contrary to fact, for that which is right is to consider as 'ilm that which is subject to inquiry, thought and proof and wherein ratiocination has a role. The mukashafat and mushahadat are at times the result of the study of the sciences of doctrines ('ulum-e haqiqiyyah) and at times the consequence of spiritual acts(a'mal-e qalbiyyah). To be brief, mushahadat, mukashafat and realization of the realities of the Names and the Attributes should not be included in the classification of science. These and the 'ulum are separate things, and this is quite plain.
Section V:
You should know that many of the sciences, from a certain aspect, fall under one of the categories mentioned by the Noble Messenger (S). For instance, the sciences of medicine, anatomy, astronomy, astrology and the like, when looked upon as Divine signs and symbols, and the science of history and the like, when looked upon as a means for drawing lesson, are included in ayatun mukhamah, for by their means the knowledge of God or the knowledge of Resurrection is attained or confirmed. At times, the learning of the sciences falls(spills) under faridatun 'adilah and at times under sunnatun qa'imah. But if their pursuit should be for their own sake or for other purposes and if they should lead us to neglect the 'ulum of the Hereafter, they become blame worthy by-accident (madhmum bi al-'arad) on account of this neglect. Otherwise (in themselves) they are neither lucrative nor harmful, as pointed out by the Noble Messenger (S). Thus all the sciences are divisible into three kinds: first, those sciences which are beneficial to man in view of the other stages of existence, success wherein is the ultimate purpose of creation. This is the category which the ultimate Prophet has considered as 'ilm, dividing it into three parts. The second kind consists of those which are harmful for man and lead him to neglect his essential duties. This kind consists of the blameworthy sciences-such as magic, jugglery, alchemy and the like- and one must refrain from their pursuit. Thirdly, there are those which are neither harmful nor beneficial, like those which one pursues in his hours of leisure for amusement's sake, such as mathematics, geometry, astronomy and the like. It would be much better if one could relate the pursuit of these sciences to the threefold 'ulum (mentioned by the Prophet), otherwise it is better to refrain from, them as far as is possible. That is because when a sensible person knows that he cannot all the sciences and achieve all the excellences due to shortness of life, scarcity of time and abundance of obstacles and accidents, he would reflect about the sciences and devote himself to the acquisition of. those which are more beneficial for him. Of course, amongst the sciences that which is better than all the rest is that which is beneficial for man's eternal and everlasting life and that is the science which the prophets, upon whom be peace, have commanded and encouraged man to seek. That science consists of the threefold 'ulum, as mentioned. And all praise belongs to Allah, the Exalted.
[1]. Al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, i, "kitab fadl al-'ilm", "bab sifat al-'ilm wa fadluh", hadith no. 1.
[2]. Al-'Amili, Ghurar al-hikam, "bab al-ra'."
[3]. Al-Kulayni, op. cit., "bab al-nawadir", hadith no. 3.
[4]. See 'Allamah Bahr al-'ulum's Risalah f'i al-sayr wa al-suluk, 22-23, footnote.
Through my continuous chain of transmitters reaching up to the shaykh of the traditionists and the best of them, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni-may God, the Exalted, have mercy upon him-who reports from Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from Ibn Mahbub, from 'Abd Allah ibn Sinan, who said: "I mentioned to Abu 'Abd Allah-may peace be upon him-a man who was troubled by waswas in his wudu, and salat, adding that he is a man of intelligence. Thereupon Abu 'Abd Allah-may peace be upon him-said: `What kind of intelligence has he, when he obeys Satan?' I said: `How does he obey Satan?' The Imam replied: 'Ask him regarding its cause and he will tell you that it is a work of Satan'."' [1]
Exposition:
You should know that waswasah (or waswas, pl. wasawis; means satanic insinuations, obsessions and suggestions), doubt, lapse of faith, shirk and the like pertain to satanic insinuation and devilish promptings, which Satan puts into the hearts of people. So also, certainty, conviction, tranquility(peacefulness), steadiness and sincerity of the heart and the like are caused by divine inspiration (ifadat-e rahmaniyyah) and angelic suggestions (ilqa'at-e malakiyyah). To explain this with brevity, the human heart is a subtle reality that is interjacent to the realms of mulk and malakut, the realms of the world (dunya) and the Hereafter. One of its aspects faces the realm of mulk and the (mundane) world, and it is with this aspect that it pursues the corporeal aspect of life. The other aspect faces the realm of Hereafter, malakut and ghayb, and with that it pursues its spiritual (malakuti) life.
Hence the heart is like a two-faced mirror. One of its sides is turned toward the world of ghayb, and in it the ghaybi forms are reflected. The other side faces the world of shahadah, and in it the mulki and worldly (mundane) forms are reflected. The mundane forms find their reflection in the outward senses and some of the inner cognitive faculties such as khayal and wahm(imagination). The hereafterly forms find their reflection in the inward intellect and the inner core (sirr) of the heart. Should the worldly aspect of the heart preponderate and its attention be wholly absorbed by the pursuit of the mundane, becoming its sole concern, the hidden side of khayal becomes attuned to the realm of lower malakut (malakut-e sufla) which is the dark reflected image of the world of mulk and corporeal nature (in the realm of malakut)-the realm of the jinn, devils and evil spirits. The suggestions induced in it due to this attunement (with the realm of lower malakut) are satanic insinuations, which are the source of baseless thoughts and unwholesome imaginings. The soul develops an eagerness for these unfounded fancies due to its absorption with the mundane, and its will and faculty of decision-making also become subject to them. As a result, all one's spiritual and bodily conduct becomes satanic in character, as is the case with waswas, doubt, uncertainty, unfounded thoughts and hallucinations. As the will in its bodily activity becomes attuned to them, bodily actions too assume the character of the inward forms; for one's acts are the image of one's will, which in turn is the image of one's thoughts. which are a reflection of the heart's orientation. Hence, when the heart be oriented toward the satanic realm, the suggestions it receives are of a satanic character, involving compound ignorance. As a result, waswas, doubt, .irk and ambiguities emerge from the inner core of one's being and pervade to the domain of the body.
In accordance with the same analogy, if the heart be oriented toward the pursuit of the Hereafter and the higher truths, its attention is directed towards the world of ghayb and it s an attunement with the higher malakut, the realm of the angels and blessed and pure spirits, which is a luminous image of the world of nature. The knowledge imparted to it, then, is of a divine and angelic character, as constituted by true doctrine, and its thoughts are induced by divine inspiration, being free from the contamination of doubt and shirk. As a result, a state of stability and bliss is created within the soul. Its desires and inclinations fall into conformity with that knowledge, and its will into conformity with those inclinations, and, as a result, its inward and outward, spiritual and bodily conduct takes shape in accordance with the criteria of reason and wisdom. There are certain stages and stations associated with these satanic, angelic and divine suggestions whose description is not suitable here. Some of the noble traditions, like the following one reported in Majma` al-bayan from al-`Ayyashi, bear out the validity of what has been said:
Al-Ayyashi reports with his chain of transmission from Aban ibn Taghlib from Ja'far ibn Muhammad-may peace be upon the two of them-that he said: `The Messenger of Allah-may Allah's benedictions be upon him and his family-said: "There is no believer whose heart does not have two ears: an angel whispers into one of them and into the other the Slinking Whisperer (al-waswas al-khannas). God confirms the believer with the means of the angel and that is what is meant by this statement of His, subhanahu: "And He confirms them with a spirit from Him" ' "(58:22). [2]
This is another tradition from Majma' al-bahrayn:
He (i.e. the Prophet) said: "Satan lays his snout, which is like the snout of a pig, on the heart of the son of Adam, and instigates him to turn towards the world (dunya) and that which God has not made lawful. But when he remembers God, Satan slinks away." [3]
There are other traditions of this kind.
2. A Simpler Explanation of the Character of Waswas:
Having known through the teachings of the urafa' that waswas is the work of Satan, as mentioned in the noble tradition being expounded here and other traditions of the kind, we are compelled to explain this matter in a way that is closer to the minds of ordinary people and more appropriate for them. Although the above description is in accordance with the rational and philosophical criteria as well as in conformity with the mystical experience of the `urafa', `the people of the heart', as it is based on certain principles whose discussion lies outside the scope of these pages, we shall abstain from pursuing it any further. That wasawis and acts resulting from them are a handiwork of Satan, insinuated by that accursed creature, and that there is therein no religious or pious motive involved-although the person afflicted may mistakenly believe that he possesses it-is borne out by their being contrary to the laws of the Shari'ah and the traditions of the pure and infallible Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt.
For instance, it has been mentioned in mutawatir traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt-may peace be upon them-that the wudu' of the Messenger of God-may God's benedictions be upon him and his Household-consisted of single washings (of the face and the forearms). It is an established fact in fiqh that it is sufficient to wash the face, the right and the left hand each with-a singleghurfah (handful) of water. There is however disagreement among the legists concerning the permissibility of using a secondghurfah. It may even be inferred from the statements of the author of al-Wasa'il that he believed in its impermissibility or at least doubted its permissibility. Although some have held a contrary opinion, the permissibility of two washings is not open to doubt. There is a heavy preponderance of legal opinion in its favour and many traditions indicate its istihbab. However, it is not improbable that a single washing that thoroughly wets the parts washed is preferable. But there is no doubt that three washings-that is, washing the parts each time in such a way that the parts are thoroughly moistened with water-is haram and abid'ah that invalidates the wudu' when the moisture remaining from it is used for mash. It is mentioned in the traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt-may peace be upon them-that a third washing in wudu` is bid'ah and that every bid'ah is in Fire.
In this case, the ignorant man afflicted with waswas washes the parts ten times during wudu', every time drawing water over the whole(intact) part washed most meticulously, or rather he first wets the whole(intact) part so well that water spreads thoroughly and a valid washing is achieved, and then repeats this action again and again. On what criterion is his action based? To which tradition and to what fatwa of a jurist does it conform? Such a wretch may offer invalid salat with such a wudu' for twenty years and consider himself to have appeared to be most pious and pure in the eyes of the people. While Satan goes on playing with him and his carnal self goes on deceiving him, he finds fault with others and considers himself to be in the right.
Should something that is opposed to mutawatir explicit dicta (nass) and consensus of the `ulama' be considered as perfect personal purity and piety or a work of Satan? If it is something that is inspired by utmost God-fearing and caution in religion, why is it that most of those obsessed by waswas and given to ignorant sanctimony do not exercise caution in matters where caution is necessary or preferable? Have you seen any waswasi who has waswas in dubious matters of a financial character? Has anyone ever come across someone affected with waswas who pays khums five times instead of once, or goes to Hajj several times instead of once? Or one who refrains from food of a doubtful(dubious) character? Why is it that the rule ofasalat al-hilliyyah [4] applies in such cases whereas the rule of asalat al-taharah [5] does not hold good even in a matter related to taharah itself? That, although in regard to things that are lawful there is greater reason to exercise abstinence in a doubtful matter as indicated by some noble traditions, like the hadith al- tathlih [6] whereas the case is quite the opposite in matters oftaharah.
One of the Infallible Imams (A) used to sprinkle water with his blessed hand on his blessed thighs at the time of answering the call of nature so that any trace of splashing that might occur would not be visible. Yet this poor fellow, who considers himself a follower of this Infallible Imam and follows him in the precepts of his religion, does not abstain from anything in matters involving wealth and its consumption. He eats his food (without any qualms about its lawfulness) by relying on the principle of asalat al-taharah and having eaten cleanses his mouth and hands. While eating, his justification is asalat al-taharah,but after eating he declares that everything is ritually unclean (najis). Should he, in his fancy; count himself among the learned, he would say that I want to offer salat with real taharah , whereas the advantage of salat with real taharah is something that remains unknown and the fuqaha'-may God be pleased with them-do not know of it. Such a person should be asked, if you are so keen about real taharah, then why aren't you as keen about real hilliyyah (lawfulness)? Even if, supposedly, he were keen to achieve real taharah, what purpose is served by his washing ten times with kurr or jari water? (Although to obtaintaharah it is sufficient to wash once with jari water and once with kurr water when the contamination is due to urine and certain other impurities. Even when it is due to urine, it is sufficient, in accordance with the mashhur opinion, to wash once with kurrwater, and washing twice is considered sufficient by consensus.) These several washings are inspired(promoted) by none other than the deceptive Satan and the tricky self which make an inconsequential matter appear as an asset to the sanctimonious.
Worse and more shameful than this is the waswasah of some in regard to niyyah and takbirat al-'ihram, for therein they commit several muharramat while they consider themselves to be among the pious and this act as bringing them some kind of merit.Niyyah (intention) in something without which man cannot perform any of his voluntary acts and it is something which necessarily accompanies all volt vary actions. Man cannot carry out any of his ritual or non-ritual acts without it. Notwithstanding it, in proportion to their devilishness and the degree of Satan's domination over them, they waste an entire hour and sometimes several hours in order to obtain what is an inescapable necessity, which in the end remains unachieved! Should this matter be regarded as a result of Satanic insinuation and the work of the accursed Iblis who has put his reins on this wretch and concealed an obvious necessity from him, involving him in many muharramat such as breaking the salat, neglecting it, and allowing its time to elapse, or as something that is inspired by inner purity, sanctity and God-fearing?
Another kind of waswas has to do with the refusal to join the congregation prayer led by someone who is 'adil in accordance with nass and fatwa due to the righteousness of his outward conduct and his dutifulness in regard to the Shari`ah, whereas only God knows his inner character, regarding which it is neither necessary nor permissible to investigate. Notwithstanding it, since the person afflicted with waswas has his reins controlled by Satan, he draws himself away from the jama'at of Muslims and prays individually in a corner of the mosque. He offers such justifications as, `I have qualms' and `It does not satisfy me' and so on, while he himself has no qualms about leading others in prayer, despite the fact that the job of imamate is more difficult and is more open to qualms. However, he does not have any doubts or qualms here because that is in agreement with his self-seeking motives.
Of the forms of waswas that is more prevalent is the one that relates to qira'ah in prayer, wherein due to repetitive(boring) and excessive effort in gutturalization the sounds of letters often violates the rules of correct recitation or the shape of the word is totally changed(altered). For instance, the word, dallin is pronounced by some in such a way that the dad sounds like qaf. The guttural ha' of rahman, rahim and other words is turned around in the throat in such a manner that a strange sound is produced and the letters of a word are so separated from one another that the very form, and root of the word is totally altered and distorted out of its original shape. Ultimately, all the spiritual aspects and divine secrets of salat, which is the spiritual ascension (mi'raj) of the faithful, the agent of nearness (to God) for the pious, and the pillar of the faith, are neglected, with all attention given to the `niceties' of recitation. And yet despite it all, the pronunciation of words is so corrupted that the recitation fails to meet the literal dicta of the Shari'ah. In view of this, should this (perverse obsession with qira'ah) be considered as satanic waswas or as a divine inspiration on the part of the sanctimonious person afflicted with waswas? Despite all these traditions relating to the presence of attention and attentiveness of the heart during worship, all that this poor fellow has understood concerning the theory and practice of the presence of heart is either to be obsessed with waswas concerningniyyah or and to twist(wrench) to extend inordinately the long vowel (madd) of his mouth, eyes and other facial features while vocalizing words.
Is it not a misfortune that one should remain for years negligent concerning the presence of heart and the remedy of his disturbed(interrupt) mind, without ever thinking of taking a step in this regard, without regarding it as one of the significant aspects of worship and without learning the way of acquiring it from those learned in the matters of the heart? Is it not a calamity that by the side of this neglect he should be obsessed with this kind of absurdities, and consider as being essential to piety and inner purity what are a `work of the accursed Slinker' according to the express texts of the Noble Scripture and a `handiwork of Satan' according to the express traditions of the Truthful Ones-may peace be upon them-and acting upon which makes one's works invalid according to the verdicts of the fuqaha'?
At times waswasah is originated or heightened in one because other ignorant persons like himself consider it as one of his virtues. For instance, they extol his piety, religiosity and sacred character by remarking that `This person is so religious and pious that he is given to waswas', although waswas has not only no relation to religiosity but is contrary to it and is due to ignorance and absence of understanding. But since they do not tell him the truth and do not regard him with repulsion and disapprobation, but on the contrary praise and extol him, he pursues this vicious conduct to its extreme, making himself a plaything in the hands of Satan and his task force and banishing himself from the sacred company of those near to God.
And therefore, my dear, now that it is known through reason and tradition that these are satanic wasawis and that these obsessions are a handiwork of Iblis that invalidate our works and turn our hearts away from God, the Exalted, beware of them, for this waswas may not remain confined to your acts and may affect your belief and creed and thus expel you from the religion of God. By making you uncertain(undecided) in your faith in God and Resurrection it may lead you into everlasting wretchedness. Since Satan cannot mislead the like of you into immoral and profane conduct, he approaches you by the way of worship and rites. First he makes your works and deeds, which should be a means of attaining divine nearness and of ascending into the proximity of God, the Exalted, to go waste and become invalid, and turns them into a means of remoteness from the proximity of the Sacred Lord, the All-Glorious, and of nearness to Iblis and his troops. Ultimately, it is feared, he may make a plaything of your beliefs. Hence, take steps for its remedy by all means and through any kind of exercise that may be necessary.
3. The Remedy for Waswas:
You should know that this malady of the heart, which like other diseases of the heart can lead man to everlasting perdition and endless wretchedness, can be cured very easily and simply by the means of beneficial knowledge and action. But first one must know himself to be sick, for only then can he take a step to cure his illness. But the difficulty is that Satan has so driven home his arguments that he does not consider himself to be sick. Rather, he considers others to be wayward and negligent of their religion.
As to the theory of remedy, it lies in contemplating about these matters as mentioned. It is good for a human being that his acts and deeds be based on reflection and thought. He should think about an action that he wishes to perform for the pleasure of God, the Exalted, as to from where and from whom he has derived its details. It is known that the common people learn them from the fuqaha' and their maraji taqlid (authorities on Law), who derive the manner of performing an act from the Book and the Sunnah by the means of ijtihad. Now when we refer to the works of the fuqaha, we find that they repudiate the conduct of one obsessed with waswas and consider some of his acts as invalid. When we refer to the noble traditions and the Book of God, we see that his conduct is ascribed to Satan and the perpetrator is considered to be devoid of intelligence. Hence when the case is such, an intelligent person should reflect and think for a while if Satan has not taken control of his mind. Then he must commit himself to setting aside this kind of conduct and correct it, for therein lies God's good pleasure.
Whenever someone finds a trace of this obsession in himself, he should turn to other ordinary people or question the `ulama' and fuqaha' about his own conduct to see whether he is suffering from waswas or not. That is because most of the time the one suffering from waswas is unaware of his own condition and considers himself as quite balanced and others as negligent. But if he should do some reflection he would find that this belief too is a satanic suggestion, for when he sees that the practice of the ulama' and the great scholars in whose knowledge and practice he has faith, or rather that of the legal authorities(maraji' taqlid) from whom all Muslims derive the issues of halal and haram, is contrary to his own practice, he cannot say that the entire class of `ulama', the leaders(director) of the faith and its adherents are not committed to the religion of God and it is only the waswasi person who is committed to piety.
After that he has come to know in theory that he is ill, it is necessary to take remedial action. The main point that relates to action is that he should not pay attention to the satanic waswasah and the whims that it insinuates. For instance, if he is suffering from waswas in the matter of wudu', he should make use of a single handful of water despite Satan's protestation. His Satan may say that this act is not valid. To this he should reply by saying that `If my act is not valid, then the practice of the Messenger of God (S) and the Pure Imams (A), as well as that of all the fuqaha' was invalid too. The Messenger of God (S) and the Imams (A) performed wudu' for nearly(virtually)three hundred years and the manner in which they performed it was like this according to mutawatir traditions. So if their wudu' was invalid, let mine also be such." If you are muqallid of amujtahid, you may tell Satan: "I am acting in accordance with the ruling of a mujtahid. If my wudu' is invalid, God shall not consider me responsible, and He has no incriminating grounds (hujjah) against me." Should the accursed one cast doubt concerning the ruling of the mujtahid, saying that he did not give such a ruling, fetch his book, which is accessible, open it and show it to him. If you ignore his insinuations several times and act contrary to his suggestions, he would take his hands off you in desperation, and it is hoped that you will obtain a definite cure of your illness, as mentioned in some noble traditions:
In al-Kafi (al-Kulayni reports) with his isnad from Zurarah and Abu Basir that they said: "We asked him (i.e. al-Imam al-Baqir or al-Imam al-Sadiq-may peace be upon them) about a man who had frequent doubts in his salat, to the extent that he wouldn't know how much he has offered and how much remain to be offered. He said, 'He shou!d repeat (the salat)'. We said to him, 'That happens to him a lot and wherever he repeats his doubt also recurs.' The Imam said, '(In that case) he should ignore his doubt: Then he added, 'Don't let the Evil One get accustomed to haunting you by tempting him by breaking thesalat. For Satan is wicked and gets accustomed to that which he is allowed to get used to. So when one of you does not pay attention to his doubt and does not break his salat frequently, and this is done a number of times, the doubt will not recur to him'." Zurarah says: "Then the Imam added: 'The Evil One wants to be obeyed, and when he is disobeyed he will not return to any of you.' " [7]
(Al-Kulayni) reports with his isnad from Abu Ja'far-may peace be upon him-that he said: "When sahw (i.e. forgetfulness, absent-mindedness, lapse of attention) occurs often to you during salat, disregard it, for that will make Satan leave you. Indeed sahw is due to Satan." [8]
Certainly, when you oppose his insinuations and do not pay attention to them, Satan will give up his hopes and the state of steadiness and certitude will return to your soul. But while you oppose him you must tearfully(sentimentally beseech God, the Exalted, and seek the refuge of His Sacred Essence from the evil of the Accursed One and from the evil of the carnal self. Of course, He shall help you. In the following tradition of al-Kafi too, we have been commanded to seek God's help against the evil of Satan:
Al-'Imam al-Sadiq-may peace be upon him-said: "A man came to the Messenger of Allah (S) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I complain to you concerning the waswasah that so troubles me during salat that I don't know how much of my prayer I have offered.' The Prophet said to him, 'When you enter your salat, strike your left thigh with the forefinger of your right hand, then say: "In the Name of God and by God, I put my trust in God, I seek refuge in God, the All-hearing, the All-knowing from Satan, the Stoned One." You will exorcize him and drive him away'." [9]
And all praise is God's, firstly and lastly, outwardly and inwardly, and may benedictions and peace be upon Muhammad and the Pure Ones of his progeny.
[1]. Al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, i, "kitab al-'aql wa al-jahl," hadith no. 10.
[2]. Al-Tabrisi, Majma' al-bayan, x, 571.
[3]. Majma' al-bahrayn, under "kh.n.s.," p. 305.
[4] Asalat al-hilliyyah means the rule that every thing is permissible unless there is evidence of its being forbidden.
[5]. Asalat al-taharah means the rule that when a doubt occurs concerning the ritual purity of something which was known for certain to be pure before the occurrence of the doubt, the doubt is of no consequence and is to be ignored.
[6]. Hadith al-tathlith refers to the following hadith recorded in Wasa'il al Shi'ah, xviii, 114: Al-Kulayni (in al-Kafi, i, 67, hadith no. 10) narrates from Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, from Muhammad ibn 'Isa, from Safwan ibn Yahya, from Dawud ibn al-Husayn, from 'Umar ibn Hanzalah that al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A)said (in a long hadith): "Matters fall into three categories: those whose rightness (or lawfulness) is evident and hence they are followed; those whose wrongness (or unlawfulness) is evident and hence are to be avoided; and those which are doubtful(undistinguished), regarding whose knowledge reference should be made to God and His Messenger. The Messenger of Allah (S) said: There is that which is evidently lawful (halal bayyin) and that which is evidently unlawful (haram bayyin), and between these there are things which are doubtful(dubious) and suspect (shubuhat). One who abstains from doubtful(dubious) things is saved from falling into unlawful things, and one who takes recourse in doubtful things falls in unlawful things and perishes without knowing it." At the end of the hadith the Imam remarks: "Abstaining from doubtful things is better than plunging into that which ruinous." The same tradition has been narrated by al-Saduq in Man la yahduruh al-faqih iii, 5, hadith no. 2 with his isnad from Dawud ibn al-Husayn, and by al-Shaykh al-Tusi in al-Tohdhib, vi, 301, hadith no. 52. It is called "hadith al-tathlith" because of the mention therein of the "three matters" (umur thalathah).
[7]. Al-Kulayni, Furu' al-Kafi, iii, 358.
[8]. Ibid., iii, 359.
[9]. Ibid., iii, 358
Nothing can spoil one by the side of faith, and nothing call benefit one by the side of unbelief. (kufr) [11]
There are several other traditions bearing this theme, [12] The honoured traditionist Majlisi, may [God's] mercy be upon him, has interpreted this group of traditions with the suggestion that the `harm' [in the above tradition] means `entry(arrival) into hellfire' or `remaining in hell for ever.' [13]
This interpretation-that what is meant by `harm' is entry into hell-does not preclude (that it might be accompanied with) other torments in Barzakh (Purgatory) and in the halts of the Day of Resurrection.
This writer thinks that these traditions may be interpreted as implying that faith illumines the heart is such a manner that if supposedly an error or sin is committed by man it is compensated, by the means of the light and faculty of faith, with repentance and penitent return to God, and the person possessing faith in God and the Hereafter does not leave his works unattended until the Day of Reckoning. On this basis, these traditions, in fact, exhort one to hold on to faith and to remain in the state of faith, like a similar tradition narrated in the noble al-Kafi from al-Imam al-Sadiq, may peace be upon him, that Moses, may peace be upon hint(implication), said to Khidr, may peace be upon him, "I have been honoured by your company. Give me some counsel." Khidr said to him, "Hold on to that with which nothing would harm you and without which nothing will be of any benefit to you." [14]
And among these is this tradition:
(Al-Kulayni reports) with his chain of authorities from Muhammad ibn al Rayyan ibn al-Salt, who narrates in a marfu' tradition from Abu `Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, that he said: "The Commander of the Faithful, may peace be upon him, often used to say in his sermons:: 'O people! Take care of your creed (din)! Take care of your creed! For a vice committed in it is better than a virtue performed outside it. The vice committed in it is forgiven, and the virtue performed without it is not accepted.' [15]
This noble tradition and others like it, whose aim is to exhort people to follow the right religion, imply that the vices of the faithful and the followers of the true religion are ultimately pardoned, as God says:
Verily, God would pardon all sins. (39: 53)
It is on this basis that it may be said that their vices are better than the virtues of others, which are never accepted (by God). Perhaps, acts of virtue which lack the conditions of acceptance, such as faith (iman) and wilayah, possess a greater darkness. In brief, this tradition does not imply that the faithful are quit of their vices.
One of them is the famous tradition which is said to be welt-known (mashhur) amongst both the groups (i.e. the Shi'ah and the Sunnis):
The love of 'Ali is a virtue by whose side no sin is harmful, and his enmity is a vice with which no virtue is of any benefit. [16]
This noble tradition is similar to the hadith mentioned earlier concerning faith (iman). Its meaning is either in accordance with the probability suggested by marhum Majlisi, that the meaning of `harm' is eternal confinement in hell or entry(arrival) into it. That is, the love of that master is the essence of faith, its perfection and completion, which results in one's being rescued from hell with the means of the intercession of the Intercessors. This interpretation, as pointed our earlier, does not preclude one's having to undergo the various torments of the Purgatory (Barzakh), as stated in a hadith where [the Imam] has said, "We shall intercede for you on the Day of Resurrection, but the care of your life in the Purgatory is up to yourselves." [17] Or it means what we have mentioned, that the love of that master results in the emergence of a luminosity and faculty [of faith] in the heart that prompt one to refrain from sins. And should one become afflicted with sin on occasion, he would remedy it through repentance and penitence, not allowing the matter to get out of hand and not permitting the carnal self to break loose its reins.
Moreover, there is a group of traditions that are cited under the following noble verse of the Surat al-Furqan:
[The servants of the All-merciful are those... ] who. call not upon another god with God, nor slay the soul God has forbidden except by right, neither fornicate for whosoever does that shall meet the price of sin doubled shall be the chastisement for him on the Resurrection Day, and he shall dwell therein humbled, save him who repents, and believes, and does righteous work those, God shall change their evil deeds into good deeds, for God is ever All-forgiving, All-compassionate. (25:68-70)
There are numerous traditions that are cited (in exegeses) under this verse and we shall confine ourselves to citing only one of them, for they are quite close to one another in meaning and content:
Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, in his Amali, reports with his chain of authorities from the highly regarded traditionist Muhammad ibn Muslim al-Thaqafi, may God's good pleasure be with him, that he narrated: "I asked Abu Ja'far, Muhammad ibn 'Ali, may peace be upon them, concerning the statement of God, Almighty and Glorious: `Those, God will change their evil deeds into good deeds, and God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.''
He replied, `The sinful believer will be brought on the Day of Resurrection until he is made to stand in the halt of reckoning. The God, the Exalted, Himself would take charge(assignment) of his reckoning and none of mankind will come to know about his account [of deeds]. Then He will inform the believer of his sins that he may confesses to his sins. God, the Almighty and the Glorious, shall say to the scribes [the angels who write men's deeds), "Change them into good deeds and disclose them to the people." Thereat people will say, "'This servant did not perpetrate a single sin!" Then God shall order him to be escorted into paradise. This is the interpretation (ta'wil) of the verse, and that relates particularly to the sinners from amongst our followers (Shi'ah)."' [18]
The reason for citing the above noble verse completely and prolonging the discussion is that the topic is of a major importance and many of the sermonizers (ahl-e minbar) interpret such traditions in a misleading manner for the people. Their connection with the noble verse would not have been revealed without the citation of the noble verse. On this basis, I am compelled to protract the discussion, even if it should be tiresome.
If one were to study the latter part of the verse, one would know that all people are absolutely responsible for their deeds and accountable for their ugly actions, excepting those who attain faith and repent for their sins and perform righteous deeds. This is how al-Imam al-Baqir, may peace be upon hire, has explained the verse, describing the character of the reckoning of such persons, which, however, is special to the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt and other people do not partake of it. That is because [true] faith is not realized except with the wilayah of 'Ali and his infallible and pure successors (awsiya'), may peace be upon there. Rather, faith in God and the Messenger would not be accepted without wilayah, as will be mentioned in the next section, God willing. Hence this noble verse and the traditions relating to its interpretation must be considered as belonging to the primary proofs, for they imply that if a person should possess faith and should he compensate for his sins with repentance and righteous deeds, he would not be covered by this verse.
Hence, my dear, let not Satan delude you and let not carnal appetites deceive you. Of course, a lazy person afflicted with lusts and the love of the world, property, and position-such as this author-is always after finding some pretext in order to justify his laziness. He turns to anything that agrees with his appetites and affirms his carnal lusts and satanic imaginings, opening his eyes and ears to it without delving into its real meaning and without considering that which contradicts it and is opposite to it. Poor man, he imagines that he is, God forbid, permitted every unlawful act and is untouched by the pen of accountability,na'udubillah, at the mere claim of being a Shi'ah and attached to the Household of Purity and Infallibility. Wretched man! he does not know that Satan has made him blind. There is always the danger that this hollow and futile love would also slip(staggered) out of his hands at the end of his life and he would be resurrected empty-handed within the ranks of the enemies (nawasib) of the Ahl al-Bayt. The claim of love is not acceptable from someone who has no proof to substantiate it. It is not possible that I may love you and be sincerely attached to you while my conduct is contrary to all your goals and objectives. The fruit of true love is deeds that are in harmony with that love. And should it lack this fruit, one must know that it was not [real] love but only an imaginary fancy.
The Noble Messenger and his honoured Household, may God bless them, spent all their lives in disseminating the law, morality and doctrines [of Islam] and their sole(solitary) objective was to communicate the commands of God and to reform and refine human beings. They willingly bore hardships when they were killed, plundered, and insulted in the way of these goals and did not flinch from marching ahead. Hence their follower (Shi'ah) and lover (mu`hibb) is one who shares their objectives, moves in their footsteps, and follows their traditions. The fact that verbal confession and practical action have been considered as essential elements (muqawwimat) of faith in the noble traditions is a natural secret and a prevailing law of God, because the reality of faith is essentially associated with expression and action. It is intrinsic in the nature of the lover to express his love and passionate yearning (taghazzul) for the Beloved, and to act as required by faith and the love of God and His awliya'. If someone does not act, he does not have faith and love. And his apparent faith and his hollow and soulless love would be wiped out by some slight accident, including the pressures [of the deathbed and the grave] and one would enter the abode of retribution empty-handed.
Section: Wilayah of the Ahl al-Bayt, the Condition for Acceptability of Works:
That which is implied by the latter part of the noble tradition [being expounded]-that wilayah and ma'rifah are prerequisites for the acceptance of works-is a matter that is one of the definite, or rather necessary, doctrines of the sacred Shi'i religion. The traditions on this topic are too numerous to be cited in these brief expositions and their number exceeds the limits of tawatur. However, we shall cite some of them in these pages for tabarruk's sake:
[Al-Kulayni] in al-Kafi reports with his isnad from Abu Ja'far, may peace be upon him, that he said: "'The crux of the matter, and its key, the door of things and the pleasure of the Beneficent-all lie in obedience to the Imam after having known him ....
"Be aware that the man who spends his nights in prayer and his days in fasting and gives as all his property as charity (sadaqah) and performs hajj throughout his life without knowing the wilayah of the Wali of God and without following him, and without conducting himself, in all his actions, according to his guidance-[such a person] has no right to any reward from God and is not one of the faithful:' [19]
[In Wasa'il al-Shi'ah it is recorded] with a chain of authorities from Abu `Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, that he said "Whoever does not come to God, the Almighty and the Glorious, on the Day of Resurrection with a creed that you follow, no virtue of his will be accepted nor will any sin of his be overlooked.." [20]
[In Wasa'il al-Shi'ah] it is reported, in a hadith, with a chain of authorities from Abu 'Abd Allah, may peace be upon him that he said, "By God, were Iblis-may God damn him-to prostrate to God for as long as the world lasts after his disobedience and pride, that would not benefit him, and God would not accept it as long as he does not prostrate to Adam as commanded by God, the Almighty and the Glorious. The same applies to this disobedient and misguided Ummah after its abandoning the Imam appointed for them by their Prophet. Hence God will not accept any of their acts nor elevate any of their good works unless they carry out what God has commanded them and follow the Imam, to whose authority (wilayah) they have been commanded by God to submit, and enter through the door that God and His Messenger have opened for them . . . ." [21]
There are many traditions bearing this theme and it may be inferred from all of them that the recognition of wilayah is a condition for the acceptability of works, or, rather, that it is the condition for the acceptability of faith in God and the prophethood of the honoured Prophet (S). However, as to its being a condition for the validity of the works, as stated by some scholars, that is not certain. Rather, that which is apparent is that it is not a condition, as is suggested by many traditions, such as the tradition concerning the non-necessity of the repetition (qada') of his acts of worship by a convert to Shi`ism (mustabsir).
Excepting the zakat which he had given during the period of his error to those who did not deserve it, he is not required to perform the qada of his other acts of worship and God would reward him for them. [22] It is mentioned in another tradition that "other acts such as prayer, fasts, hajj and sadaqah would join you and follow you excepting the zakat which was paid earlier to those who had no right to receive it and has to be paid to its deserving recipients." [23] And it is mentioned in some traditions that the acts [of the Ummah] are presented to the Messenger of God (S) on Thursdays, and God, the Exalted, reviews them on the Day of `Arafah and makes them all like dust scattered. The Imam was asked as to who are the persons whose acts are thus treated. The Imam replied that they are the acts of those who are hostile to its and hostile to our followers. [24]
And this tradition, as is clear, implies the (legal) validity and non-acceptability of the acts. In any case the pursuit of this matter is beyond our present purpose. And all praise belongs to God, firstly and lastly.
[1]. Al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, ii, 464, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr;"'bib anna al-iman la yadurru ma'ahu sayyi'ah," hadith 5
[2]. Ibid., ii, 233, "kitab-al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab al-mu'min wa `alamatuh," hadith 7.
[3]. Ibid., ii, 233, hadith 9.
[4]. Al-Amali, p. 380, juz' 13.
[5]. Usul al-Kaf i, ii, 73, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab al-ta'ah wa al-taqwa," hadith 1.
[6]. Ibid., ii, 74, hadith 3.
[7]. Usul al-Kafi, ii, 75, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab al-ta'ah wa al-taqwa," hadith 6.
[8]. Rawdat al-Kafi, viii, 182, hadith 205.
[9]. Usul al-Kafi, ii, 74, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab al-ta'ah wa al-taqwa," hadith 3.
[10]. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 46. pp. 81-82, "Ta'rikh 'Ali ibn al-Husayn (A)," bab 5, hadith 75.
[11]. Usul al-Kafi, ii, 464 "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab anna al-iman la yadurru ma'ahu sayyi'ah," hadith 4.
[12]. Ibid., hadith 3, 5-6.
[13]. Al-Majlisi, Mir'at al-uqul, xi, 396, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bab anna al-iman la yadurru ma'ahu sayyi'ah," hadith 2.
[14]. Usul al-Kafi, ii, 464, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," bab anna al-iman la yadurru ma'ahu sayyi'ah," hadith 2.
[15]. Ibid., ii, 464, hadith 6.
[16]. Al-Manaqib, iii, 197.
[17]. Ibid., hadith 4, footnote No. 33.
[18]. Al-Amali, p. 70, juz' 3.
[19]. Usul al-Kafi, ii, 19, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr," "bib da'aim al-Islam," hadith 5.
[20]. Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, i, 91, "kitab al-taharah," "abwab muqaddimat al-ibadat," hadith 3.
[21]. Ibid., p. 92, hadith 5.
[22]. Ibid., p. 97, bab 31, hadith 1.
[23]. Ibid.,
[24]. Bihar al-anwar, xxiii, 345, "kitab al-imamah," bab 20, hadith 37.
source : Forty Hadith by Imam Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khumayni
