“religion” if by religion one exclusively means an ecclesiastic system of belief and practice. More than that, Islam is a way of life with a faith or, if one wants, a traditional way of life [din] which, through the Qur’an, the sunnah and the shari‘ah, proclaims a faith and establishes rituals. It also prescribes an established social order on the basis of the “fundamentals of faith” or the “pillars of Islam” [arkan al-islam] for individuals and society in all areas that determine the condition and the raison d’être [reason for being] of the orthodox Muslim. An orthodox Muslim, as we have seen, is anyone who is sincere in his faith. A 20th century Gnostic, al-Shaykh al-‘Alawi from Mostagan, a qutb or spiritual pole of Sunni Islam of the Shadhili school,[1] said that to be an orthodox Muslim it is sufficient to observe five things: to believe in God and recognize Muhammad as his final prophet, perform the five daily prayers, give the prescribed alms to the poor, fast and make the pilgrimage to Mecca (Lings 23).[2] The
[1] Editor’s Note: As Gibb explains: al-Shadhili (d. 1258) studied in Fez under a disciple of Abu Madyan. Eventually settling in Alexandria, a circle of pupils gathered around him. He had no monastery and no set form of rituals. He discouraged his followers from giving up their trades and professions for the contemplative life. But little more than a generation later, his disciples adopted the normal organization of a tariqah, which spread over North Africa and into Arabic. The town of Mokha in the Yemen in particular adopted al-Shadili as its patron saint and venerates him as the originator of coffee-drinking. The Shadiliyyah order is in general more extravagant in ritual and more ecstatic than the Qadiriyyah, but is remarkable especially for the large number of sub-orders to which it gave rise, both directly and in conjunction with the Qadiriyyah. Among the best known are the ‘Isawiyyah, with its famous sword-lashing ritual, and at the other extreme the orthodox and austere Derqawa of Morocco and Western Algeria (108).
[2] Editor’s Note: Which is exactly what the Messenger of Allah stated himself when asked what one needed to do to go to Paradise: “Offer your five obligatory prayers, observe fast during the whole of the month of Ramadan, pay the poor due (zakat) out of your wealth and obey whatever He commands you, then you will enter the Paradise of your Lord” (Ahmad). The Qur’an and the Sunnah are explicit in establishing
Muhammad as the final prophet and messenger. Almighty Allah says that: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets [khatim al-nabiyyin]: and Allah has full knowledge of all things. (233:40). The Messenger of Allah said on numerous occasions that “[T]here will be no prophet after me” (Bukhari, Muslim, Hakim, Sadduq, Mufid, Kulayni, Majlisi). Consequently, the sects and cults who believe in a prophet after Muhammad cannot be considered Muslims. These include the Ahmadiyyah / Qadianis, the Nation of Islam and its offshoots (the Five Percenters, the Ansars, and so forth). The followers of Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan, Louis" are outside of the fold of Islam for, as the “Muslim Program” explains on their web site and their publications, they “believe that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long-awaited “Messiah” of the Christians and the “Mahdi” of the Muslims.” The NOI believes that Master W. Fard Muhammad was Allah and that Elijah Muhammad was his Final Messenger. This is whom they refer to when they say “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.” The belief in hulul [incarnation] is the antithesis of tawhid [oneness of God] and the belief in a prophet after Muhammad is clearly inconsistent with the Qur’an and Sunnah. The NOI believes racial separation and that “intermarriage or race mixing should be prohibited” while Islam has abolished racism (49:13: 4:1; 2:213; 6:98; 7:189; 21:92; 23:52). As the Prophet said in his Farewell Sermon, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white - except by piety and good action” (Muslim, Ahmad, Darimi, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, Ibn Hibban et al.). The NOI believes “in the resurrection of the dead--not in physical resurrection--but in mental resurrection” while Islam believes in physical resurrection. The NOI believes that black people “are the people of God’s choice” while Islam does not believe in Chosen People. In short, the Nation of Islam has little in common with Islam besides its name. Claude Andrew Clegg is thus in error when he claims that “[i]n regards to traditional or orthodox Islam, the Nation of Islam was heterodox in many of its views and practices; however, it was arguably a legitimate Muslim sect given its marginal adherence to central tenets of the Islamic faith.” (68). He adds that “[o]verall, the basic outlines of
arkan al-islam or pillars of Islam, as a whole, are the formal expression of Islam and encompass everything which Western language designates as strictly religious.[1] The pillars of Islam also include all of the social and legislative realms which in the Islamic world integrate into the religion. Hence, the Western concept of separation between “religion” and “state” is something foreign to orthodox Islamic thought.
Besides these five fundamentals of faith there are five other pillars of religion [usul al-din] according to Shi‘ite Islam which are in conformity with the sunnah of the Prophet.[2] They include tawhid, the belief in divine unity; nubuwwah, the belief in the prophecy; mi‘ad,[3] the belief in resurrection and the hereafter; imamah, the Imamate, the belief in the twelve Imams as successors of the Prophet and depositories of his wilayah [guardianship], the spiritual and temporal power of Islam and; ‘adl or divine justice. Sunnis and Shi‘ites agree upon the three basic pillars, namely, tawhid, nubuwwah and mi‘ad. They only
both religious traditions do appear to overlap enough to allow the black organization to reasonably claim membership in the body of Islam, albeit as a heretical limb” (69). The Nation of Islam cannot be heterodox, a legitimate Muslim sect, a member in the body of Islam and a heretical limb at the same time.
[1] Editor’s Note: The term arkan al-din is not used by Shi‘ah scholars, but there is mention of da‘a’im al-Islam in Shi‘ah tradition with five items with an interesting modification: salat, sawm, zakat, hajj and, nota bene, wilayah. For example, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said: “Islam is based on five [pillars]: on salat, sawm, zakat, hajj and wilayah --and nothing has been promoted more than the promoting of wilayah” (Kulayni). In another hadith, the same Imam has been quoted in the same way with the addition of the following sentence at the end “…but the people took the four and abandoned this one [ie. wilayah].”
[2] Editor’s Note: Shi‘ite scholars prefer to list belief, usul al-din [the pillars or religion] and practice, furu‘ al-din, [the branches of religion] separately.
[3] Editor’s Note: The term qiyamah [Resurrection] is used synonymously to express this pillar.
differ on the other two. In terms of the Imamate, what distinguishes the Shi‘ite perspective from the Sunni one is the insistence on the esoteric function and spiritual supremacy of the Imam. In Sunni Islam, this difference is formerly overcome through gnosis [ma‘rifah or ‘irfan] of Sufism [tasawwuf] in which the qutb or spiritual pole of the age represents the esoteric and initiatory role that the Imam plays in Shi‘ism.[1] In terms of ‘adl or divine justice what distinguishes Shi‘ism is the stress given to this attribute as an essential quality of the divine reality. In its concept of divine justice, Shi‘ism considers this aspect as co-substantial with divinity.[2] God cannot act unjustly because it is impossible for the Just to be unjust. There can be no division or contradiction in the One.
Finally, despite their external differences, Sunnis, Shi‘ites and Sufis share a stress on practice and conduct as opposed to doctrine. The faithful observance of the fundamentals of faith is what lies at the center of their thought and differences. It is only on the esoteric plane that every religious perspective can be placed so long as it does not contradict the transcendental unity which goes beyond any such limitations. It is this unity which is found in the
[1] Editor’s Note: Hence, whereas the Shi‘ite might seek the intercession of the Imams, the Sufis seek the intercession of their awliyya’ or saints. For more on intercession in Islam, see ‘Abd al-Karim Bi-Azar Shirazi’s “Tawassut.” The Salafis do not believe in tawassut.
[2] Editor’s Note: Most Sunnites, however, follow the Ash‘arite school of theology established by Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali al- Ash‘ari (c. 874-935), a famous Arab theologian from Iraq. Ash‘ari insists that, since God is All-Powerful, he can do as He pleases, placing a good person in hell and a bad person in Heaven. The Ash‘arites give precendence to God’s All-Powerful attribute as opposed to the intregral attribute of justice which is stressed by Shi‘ite theologians. They also hold that the Qur’an is the uncreated word of God, an idea rejected by Shi‘ites as only Allah is eternal. For more on the differences in the approach to the concept of Divine Justice among the theologians and philosophers of Shi‘ah Islam, see the introduction to Shahid Mutahhari’s al-‘adl al-ilahi which has recently been published in English as Divine Justice.
external expressions of each religion or theological school. The transcendental unity of all religions is not broken in any way by the transcendence of Islam.[1] Such unity is not a material extension
[1] Author’s Note: For the distinction between “tradition” and “religion,” see Guénon, Introduction générale à l’étude des doctrines hindoues (4) and García Bazán, “La tradición y la unidad transcendente de las religiones” in Atma Jnana (5-8). See, as well: Schuon, L’unité transcendente des religions.
Editor’s Note: Islam recognizes all revealed religions. In the Islamic view, Judaism and Christianity are steps on the spiritual road to salvation: its followers are People of the Book. The religions revealed by God are different crystallizations of the divine message. It should be noted, however, that the author is not advocating religious relativism or pluralism. His thoughts are more in line with the perennial philosophy of René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon which holds that all religions teach the same thing, but in different ways. However, in order to see this universal core, one must turn from the exoteric to the esoteric aspects of the religions. As regards the divinely sanctioned nature of religions outside of Islam, Muslims scholars are divided. Western-trained Orientalists like Nasr and Sachedina believe that all Abrahamic religions remain valid, based on the following Qur’anic verses:
Those who believe [in the Qur'an], and those who follow the Jewish [scriptures], and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (2:62; 5:69)
According to Nasr “al-islam refers to that universal surrender to the One and that primordial religion contained in the heart of all heavenly inspired religions, not just to Islam in its more particular sense” (The Heart of Islam 17). Ibn al-‘Arabi, the great spiritual master, observes that:
Religion is of two kinds, the religion of God and those whom God has taught His religion and those whom they have taught and, second, the religion of created beings, which God acknowledges. The religion of God is that chosen by Him and set by Him at a level far above the religion of creation. (Bezels 113)
According to the Shaykh al-Akbar, the Qur’anic verse “The religion
with Allah is Islam” (2:132) means following, obeying, yielding and submitting to God, regardless of one’s religion. In the eyes of Ibn al-‘Arabi, there is truth even in pagan deities since “in every object of worship there is a reflection of the Reality” (Bezels 78). Ayatullah al-Uzma Shaykh Yusuf Sana’i goes even further arguing that: I am of the opinion that paradise is the result of doing good deeds and avoiding evil deeds according to the best of one’s understanding. Regardless of the religion people practice, and so long as they are convinced without a doubt of the righteousness of their belief, they will get what they deserve. God says: “Good deeds will be rewarded ten times as much as they deserve, and evildoers will be given punishment which fits the evil; You shall not be unfairly treated.” According to Molla-Sadra, paradise inevitably evolves from spiritual development. In some Qur’anic verses, faith is a vital prerequisite for paradise. According to my interpretation, faith is a sincere belief in the goodness of one’s deeds, not belief in God. Strong belief is associated with the mental serenity, and it contributes to spiritual development. However, someone with a sense of being under compulsion can never be consistent in doing good deeds and improve. Neither identification nor label, be it Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist, is the requirement for paradise, but indeed good deeds are. An agnostic involved in his skepticism cannot believe in God or prophet. Neither do Christians put trust in Prophet Muhammad. It would be utterly inconceivable if God called for a particular identification on the Doomsday. Would it be unfair? The Qur’an says reassuringly: “God shall not be unfair to any of his creatures.” Similarly, evil doing mortifies the human soul, which leads to hell. It makes no difference which religion or belief you follow but the deeds you perform. If doubt is cast upon the authenticity of one’s religion, one must seek the truth; other wise one if guilty of laxity. (http://www.saanei.org/page.php?pg=showmeeting&id=22&lang=en) With all due respect, Ayatullah Sana’i’s interpretation of the Qur’anic iman as faith in one’s deeds and not faith in God is clearly untenable as it is duly defined by Almighty Allah as belief amana bi Allahi wa al-yawmi al-akhiri wa al-malaikati wa al-kitabi wa al-nabiyyina, namely, belief in Allah, and the Last Day, and the angels, and the Book, and the Messengers” (2:177). Ayatullah Sana’i further holds, “all non-Muslims, including Hindus, fire-worshippers, and cow-worshippers, are pure,”
only atheists are unbelievers. He holds that spiritual impurity is the result of ascribing partners to God while one knows that He is One. He claims that “ascribing partners to God through neglect does not make one an unbeliever, merely unenlightened.” However, if Muhammad had adopted this pluralistic position, the prophetic mission would surely have failed. According to most traditional scholars, particularly Muslim jurists, Islam has fulfilled all previous monotheistic religions, superceeded them, abrogated them and replaced them. In their view, Islam has precedence over its predecessors. As Legenhausen explains: Islam not only shatters previous forms in the name of the spirit, however, it also imposes its own form in place of those it has shattered. It is that form, or exterior, which constitutes the gateway to its spirit, or interior, which, by virtue of its content and the position of Islam in the line of succession of revealed religions, is more comprehensive than any other. Furthermore, Islam does not violate the truths of the previously revealed religions; rather it confirms them. What Islam shatters is what is false in the other religions because of corruption and deviation or because of the temporal limitations of their validity. Sachedina was sanctioned by Ayatullah al-‘Uzma Sistani for his belief that salvation can be obtained through any major monotheistic religion so long as one submits to God (Sachedina “What Happened”). His position find support in Imam al-Riza hadith which states that: “Whoever denies the Prophet of Allah is like one who has denied all the prophets of Allah.” Sachedina’s belief that all Abrahamic religions are valid and equal in truth was dismissed by Ayatullah Sistani as “nonsense” (“What Happened”). According to Sachedina, the word islam, as it appears in the Qur’an, merely means an act of submission and is not the name of a religion (“What Happened”). According to Ayatullah Sistani this is not the case. In his view, Sachedina’s interpretation is based on a failure to understand the basic rules of Arabic grammar regarding definite and indefinite nouns (“What Happened”). The word islam is accompanied by the article al- [the] which makes it a proper noun. As such, the Qur’an is speaking about Islam as a religion and not “submission” as a vague generalized concept. Scholars like Sistani cite the following verses of the Qur’an to argue that, since the coming of Muhammad, the Final Messenger, there can be no
salvation outside of the religion of Islam: The Religion before Allah is Islam. (3:19) O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not without being Muslims. (3:102) Those whom Allah willeth to guide, He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying. (6:125) This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. (5:3) If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost [all spiritual good]. (3: 85) Those who die rejecting faith, and die rejecting, on them is Allah’s curse, and the curse of angels, and of all mankind. (2:161) The followers of past monotheistic religions, prior to the advent of Islam, have nothing to fear: Those who believe [in the Qur'an], and those who follow the Jewish [scriptures], and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (2:62; 5:69) According to most traditional scholars of Islam, the Qur’anic verses which reassure that the People of the Book will have their reward (2:62; 5:69) apply to monotheists of all times who were not reached by the prophetic message but who would have embraced it had they heard about it. From the time of Muhammad, they argue, there is only one path, one right religion, for as Almighty Allah says: “But set thou thy face to the right Religion before there come from Allah the Day which there is no chance of averting” (30:43). And as the Messenger of Allah warned, “Any Jew or Christian who heard about me and did not believe in me and what was revealed to me in the Holy Qur’an and my traditions, his ultimate destinate is the [Hell] Fire” (Bukhari). As for Sachedina, Ayatullah al-‘Uzma Sistani has expressed the following:
and gradual development but rather the fundamental identity of the One within the multiple.[1] Even if it varies to infinity, it responds in different ways to the needs of different human cultures and races.[2] For this reason, the establishment of “orthodoxy” in Islam, based on uniformity instead of unity, as it exists with other religious forms, especially in the West, could never depend on the ijma‘ or the consensus of scholars. Gibb’s reductionist doctrine wishes to liken Islamic ijma‘ to the “councils of the Christian Church” (90). It is only the metaphysical doctrine of unity which can reconcile all types of differences while maintaining the unity of the Islamic tradition, both exoteric and esoteric, over and above any tension or conflict of a political or religious order.
I have looked at the prensentation of the writings and statements of Dr. ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Sachedina that was sent [to me]. Whereas his views on the issues presented are based on incorrect understandings, and are incompatible with religious and academic standards, and cause confusion in minds of the mu’minin [believers] all the brothers and sisters in iman [faith] (may Allah help them in [gaining] His pleasure) are enjoined to refrain from inviting him for lecturing at religious gatherings, and not to approach him for seeking answers to questions pertaining to beliefs. [21 August 1998] (Sistani “Translation of the Letter”)
[1] Editor’s Note: The author is alluding to the Prophet’s saying that “The number of paths to God is equal to the number of human souls” (qtd. Tabataba‘i A Shi‘ite Anthology).
[2] Editor’s Note: The differences in Islamic schools of thought are a mercy upon the Muslims. As the Prophet said: “Difference of opinion among the ummah is a blessing from Allah” (Bayhaqi, Maqdisi, Daylami). It is clear from the Holy Qur’an that Almighty Allah appreciates differences and diversity:
O mankind! We created you from a single [pair] of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other [not that ye may despise each other]. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is [he who is] the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted [with all things]. (49:13)
In this sense, Shi‘ite Islam represents a balancing totality of various points of view. Due to the profoundly esoteric character of its doctrine, it represents a “middle path” between the excessive formal legalism of the jurists and the excessive introversion of the mystics.[1] The tasawwuf, depository of gnosis in the Sunni world, can be defined spiritually as the Shi‘ism of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Fourth Caliph and First Imam of Islam.[2]
[1] Editor’s Note: The author is alluding to the Qur’anic teaching concerning the middle path (17:110; 35:32). As Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, “We have appointed you a middle nation, that ye may be witnesses against mankind, and that the messenger may be a witness against you (2:143). As Imam Khumayni explains, “The faqih imagines that there is nothing but fiqh; the mystic, that there is nothing but mysticism; the philosopher, that there is nothing but philosophy; and the engineer, that there is nothing but engineering… Knowledge, once seen in this way, becomes the thickest of all veils” (Islam and Revolution 395). To be a complete Muslim requires a balance between the inward and the outward.
[2] Editor’s Note: As Nasr explains, “the Imams of Shi‘ism are seen in the Sufi perspective as the spiritual poles of their age. They appear in the spiritual chain [silsilah] of various Sufi orders, even those which have spread almost exclusively among Sunnis” (Tabataba’i A Shi‘ite Anthology 7). The Shi‘ite origins of Sufism are well-documented by Nasr in his “Shi‘ism and Sufism: their Relationship in Essence and in History” found in his Sufi Essays. As Nasr explains, “from the Shi‘ite point of view Shi‘ism is the origin of what later came to be known as Sufism” (106). According to Moosa, “since the early period of Islam, the Shi‘ites...were strict Zahids [ascetics], who were the forerunners of later Sufis (xxii). Awani confirms that “There is a close relationship between Shi‘ism and Sufism… From an esoteric Shi‘ite point of view, Shi‘ism is the origin of what came to be known as Sufism. Shi‘ite Imams play a very basic and fundamental role in Sufism, but not as Shi‘ite Imams, rather as representatives, par excellence, of Islamic esoterism…almost all Sufi orders [salasil] trace their spiritual pedigree to the Holy Prophet through Imam ‘Ali” (172-73). As he explains, “Both Shi‘ism and Sufism can be described as the Islam of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Both emphasize the principle of wilayah [friendship of God or proximity to Him] which in both is traced to the Shi‘ite Imams and Fatimah. Both
Both Sufism and Shi‘ism, in accord with the traditions of the Prophet, view ‘Ali as the “gate” of initiation to the esoteric knowledge [batin] of Muhammad who stated quite clearly: “I am the city of knowledge and ‘Ali is its gate. Whoever wants to enter this city must first pass through its gate.”[1]
The symbol of the “gate” [in Arabic bab] alludes to the esoteric function of the First Imam since it is through him that one gains access to initiation [from the Latin inire or to “enter”]. Found in many traditions, the “gate” alludes to initiation into the Muhammadan “mysteries” or “secrets” [sirr].[2] In its universal sense, the “gate” refers to the spiritual office as the “seal” of the absolute wilayah [guardianship] and the esoteric pole of the prophecy who has opened the cycle of initiation [da’irat al-wilayah] which, at the same time, has been sealed by the Twelfth Imam, al-Mahdi, who closes the Muhammadan wilayah.
In short, the completion of the doctrinal legacy of Islam explains, as does the absence of any unanimously accepted human authority who has received spiritual and temporal power from the Most High, the rather indefinite character of the notion of orthodoxy outside of what is established by the Qur’an, the sunnah and the shari‘ah. In specific, with the exception of the Mahdi, there does not exist in Islam a universally recognized magistrate capable of formulating new laws. The Ayatullahs [3] [from the Arabic ayat,
believe that the cycle of sanctity [da’irat al-wilayah] starts immediately after the termination of the cycle of prophecy [da’irat al-nubuwwah] (173). As Nasr explains, the cycle of initiation guarantees the ever-living presence of an esoteric way in Islam (Sufi Essays 108).
[1] Editor’s Note: This hadith can be found in Hakim, Ibn Kathir, Tabarani, Suyuti, Kulayni and Mufid. A variant version is also found in Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir and Suyuti.
[2] Author’s Note: For the symbolism of the “gate” see Guénon, Símbolos fundamentales de la ciencia sagrada, especially chapters 25 and 41.
[3] Editor’s Note: The Ayatullahs, it should be noted, are jurists and not theologians. The titles Mawlana, Hujjat al-Islam and Ayatullah, among many others, are honorary titles given by the people and have no
signs and Allah, God] which in our epoch appear more and more as the jurists [mujtahidun] and the depositories of the wilayat al-faqih,[1] that is, the spiritual and political leadership of Shi‘ite
theological or jurisprudential implications. In the Shi‘ite system of scholarship, the main academic titles are ‘alim or scholar, an individual who has completed approximately 10 years of study in the hawzah or Islamic seminary; mujtahid, a Muslim lawyer or attorney, an individual who has reached the level of jurist, after an average of 20 years of study; and Marja‘ al-Taqlid, popularly known as Ayatullah al-‘Uzma or Grand Ayatullah, a title acquired after 30 to 50 years of study by individuals who have devoted their entire lives to the Islamic sciences and who are acknowledged by their peers as the foremost jurists and de facto heads of the hawzah.
At present, the top Shi‘ite Sources of Emulation include Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Sayyid ‘Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Shaykh Fazel Lankarani, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Shaykh Nasir Makarim Shirazi, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Sayyid Musa Shubayr Zanjani, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Behjat Fumani, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Shaykh Lutfullah Saafi Gulpaygani, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Shaykh Mirza Jawadi Tabrizi, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Shaykh Nuri Hamadani, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Shaykh Husayn Wahid Khurasani, Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid ‘Abd al-Karim Musawi Ardebili, Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Muhammad Husayni Shahroudi, and, according to some, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Shaykh Yusuf Sana’i. Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Sayyid ‘Ali Khamene’i has muqallidin [followers] from mostly outside of Iran. Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlullah, whose ijtihad [authority to interpret Islamic law] is called into question by the Sources of Emulation in Iraq and Iran, is also very popular among young people due to the more pragmatic and lenient nature of his edicts; his greater accessibility to the laity, and his acquaintance with Western culture (Takim). For links to all the leading scholars of Shi‘ism, the Marji‘iyyah al-diniyyah (Religious Authority), see: Aalulbayt Global Information Center: http://www.al-shia.com/html/eng/p.php?p= Miscellaneous &url= Ulama.
[1] Author’s Note: See Ayatullah ‘Ali Mishkini, “Wilayat al-Faqih: its meaning and scope” in al-Tawhid: A Quarterly Journal of Islamic Thought and Culture (Tehran 1406/1985): III, 1, 29-65.
Editor’s Note: The concept of the “Authority of the Jurisconsult” was
Islam, limit themselves to interpretation of the prescriptions and mandates of the Qur’an. They do so in accord with a tradition passed down from generation to generation by the Twelve Imams but with nuances and even considerable differences from one mujtahid to another.[1] One thing that must be clarified as well is that when we speak of Shi‘ism we refer to the ithna ‘ashari or branch, also known as the Ja‘fari school of jurisprudence.[2] The term Shi‘ism embraces many branches, each
developed by Imam Khumayni who brought Shi‘ite political thought in line with the Sunni perspective which views the head of the Islamic state, the Caliph or Imam, as political successor of the Prophet. Traditionally, Shi‘ite scholars have considered all governments to be illegitimate in the absence of the Twelfth Imam.
[1] Editor’s Note: The differences between Shi‘ite jurists are mainly ones of degree, expressing different dimensions of the same issue. For example, one jurist may hold that a certain act is forbidden [haram], another one may consider it a precautionary prohibition [haram ihtiyyat wajib] and yet another may hold that it is merely reprehensible [makruh].
[2] Editor’s Note: The complete name of this branch of Islam, which represents 10 % of Muslims worldwide, which is the majority in Iran and Iraq and is strongly represented in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Pakistan, is shi‘ah imamiyyah ithna ‘ashariyyah or Twelve Imam Shi‘ism. Its school of jurisprudence, the Ja‘fari madhab, is named in honor of the sixth Imam, Ja‘far al-Sadiq who, along with his father, Muhammad al-Baqir, were the founding fathers of fiqh. The Ja‘fari madhhab is also known as the fifth school of thought in Islam, along with the four Sunni schools. The orthodox nature of the Ja‘fari school of jurisprudence was admitted by Shaykh Salim Shaltut, the head of al-Azhar University, in the following historic ruling in 1959 in which he recognized the Ithna ‘Ashari school as an acceptable school of jurisprudence in Islam which Muslims were free to follow like any other school of jurisprudence among the Sunnis:
(1) Islam does not command any of its followers to follow a particular Islamic madhhab. On the contrary, it establishes for every Muslim the right to follow, at the beginning, any one of the correctly conveyed madhahib, whose verdicts are recorded in their respective books. It is permissible also for any one that
with its own interpretation of Qur’anic doctrine. The term Sunnism embraces various exoteric branches, including the four most famous schools of Islamic jurisprudence, the Shafi‘i, the Hanafi, the Hanbali and the Maliki. The term Sufism also embraces various branches. In the esoteric world of tasawwuf it is possible to distinguish spiritual paths [turuq] equal in number to the infinite variety of souls or beings.[1] As Ibn Khaldun explains in his Muqaddimah [Prolegomenon], the profession of divine unity is the very secret [sirr] of these doctrines.[2]
So far, we have examined the fundamental ubi consistam [point of reference] of Islamic thought regarding the concept of
follows one of these schools to change to another one--any other school--and he is not sinning by doing that.
(2) The Ja‘fari school which is known as “the madhhab of the Ithna-‘Ashari, Imami Shi‘i” is a sound madhhab. It is permissible to worship God according to its teaching, like the rest of the Sunni madhhabs.
(3) The Muslims ought to know this and get rid of their undue bigotry for particular madhahib. The religion of Allah and His law do not follow, nor are they bound to, a particular madhhab. All [the founders of these madhahib] are mujtahids [jurists], reward-deserving from Allah, and acceptable to Him. It is permissible to the “non-mujtahid” to follow them and to accord with their teaching, whether in devotions or transactions. (“Epilogue” Chirri)
[1] Editor’s Note: See note 29 and Ahmad Ahmadi, “‘Irfan and Tasawwuf (Sufism)” in al-Tawhid (Tehran 1404/1984), I 4: 63-76.
[2] Author’s Note: See, Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah (Cairo 1957) 321; as well as the English version by F. Rosenthal, Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History (New York: 1958): 3 vols.
Editor’s Note: ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) was an Arab historian most famous for his Muqaddimah in which he develops a scientific philosophy of history. While he recognized the Shi‘ite influence on Sufism (Awani 172-73), he held some distorted views about Shi‘ism and rejected the belief in Imam Mahdi (al-Kafi, 2:4, 479, note 2).
“orthodoxy.” Clearly, Shi‘ite Islam must not be removed from this definition. Excluding Shi‘ite Islam from the realm of Islamic orthodoxy--by omission or by excess--is one of the most common mistakes made by Western scholars who wish to give it a sectarian nature similar to reformist Christian sects. These scholars even go to the extreme of giving Shi‘ism an allegedly “fundamentalist” character which, in the broadest sense, applies exclusively to certain forms of modern American Protestantism.
In present times, the term “fundamentalist” is commonly applied to Shi‘ite Islam and to Islamic groups characterized by a rejection of all manifestation of secularism in the Eastern world.[1] This is despite the fact that, in every sense, Shi‘ism represents the living tradition of Islam.[2] Both in politics and religion, Shi‘ite Islam is
[1] Editor’s Note: Nasr defines “fundamentalism” as a reaction to the onslaught of modernism and secularism (The Heart of Islam 40). These fundamentalist groups include Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abu Sayyaf, al-Qa‘idah and their likes. It is worth recalling that terrorism is strictly prohibited in Islam and the events of September 11th were condemned by Muslim scholars, both Sunni and Shi‘i. Ayatullah al-Uzma Yusuf Sana’i has said:
In [the] Shi‘ite religion terror is definitely condemned. Therefore you are not able to find a Shi‘ite Muslim in Taliban movement. We are Shi‘ite Muslims, and my interpretation as well as that of other religious leaders in Islam, is that Islam does not accept terror. Terror in Islam, and especially Shi‘ite [Islam], is forbidden. (MacIntyre) For rulings against terrorism, see Harun Yayha’s Islam Condemns Terrorism http://www.geocities.com/islamicissues/terrorism.html which has been translated into Spanish by Abu Dharr Manzolillo; “Muslims against Terrorism,” Internet: http://www.islamfortoday.com/ terrorism.htm; “Muslims Condemn Terrorist Attack; http://www.muhajabah.com/ otherscondemn.php, as well as the following links: http://groups.colgate.edu/ aarislam/response.htm and http://www.cair-net.org/html/911statements.html.
[2] Editor’s Note: Shi‘ite scholars are unanimous in their insistence that, in matters of fiqh, one can only commence the taqlid of a living mujtahid. For Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlullah,
traditional.[1] When faced with outbreaks of innovation [bid‘ah] Shi‘ite Muslims, like all orthodox Muslims, react with the same hostility as any who face a subversive movement which seeks to overthrow the established order.[2] Due to its imminently esoteric
it is a question of precaution (http://www.bayynat.org/ www/english/Fatawa/ijtihad.htm). For all others, it is an obligation. See A Concise Commandments of Islam by Khumayni with footnotes from Shariatmadari, Najafi-Marashi, Gulpaygani, Khunsari, Shirazi, Khu’i 3; Khumayni’s The Practical Laws of Islam 18; Khu’i 18; Gulpaygani 22; Lankarani http://www.lankarani.com/English/onlinepub/tawdhih-al-masael/ taqleed.htm; Sistani http://www.sistani.org/html/eng/main/index.php?page=3&lang= eng&part=1. This prevents scholarly stagnation and allowing for gradual evolution of interpretation. The Shi‘ite shari‘ah is not static nor is it stagnant.
[1] Editor’s Note: Both the quietist and activist approaches are sanctioned by Shi‘ism and find ample justification from the lives of the Prophet and the Imams. In the early days of Islam, the Most Noble Messenger was obliged to adopt a quietist approach. After the establishment of an Islamic State, his policy became an activist one. While his Caliphate was usurped, Imam ‘Ali adopted a policy of strategic compromise. When he assumed power, he adopted an activist line. Imam Hasan moved from activism to quietism while Imam Husayn took activism to its glorious pinnacle of martyrdom. All of the Imams after Husayn adhered to the quietist line. Since the Occultation of the Twelfth Imam, Shi‘ite scholars have followed the quietist approach, which predominates in the hawzah in Najaf or the activist approach, which finds its bastion in the seminary in Qum. For more on the quietist and activist approaches, see my “Strategic Compromise in Islam” For more on activist scholars refer to Ten Decades of ‘Ulama’s Struggle by Aqiqi Bakhshayeshi.
[2] Editor’s Note: The Shi‘ite condemnation of bid‘ah is as strong as the Sunnite one. The Messenger of Allah is quoted as saying “When innovation appears among my people [the Muslims], it is the obligation of scholars to declare his knowledge. May Allah curse the scholars who do not declare [the truth]” (al-Kafi 1:2 141: hadith 160). The Messenger of Allah is also reported to have said that “For each and every innovation [in Islam] which deceives the very faith, there will be after
nature and its acceptance of diverse levels of interpretation of the scriptures--each one more profound than the other--Shi‘ism is, in the Islamic world, what least resembles “fundamentalism” if understood in its correct sense of extreme superficial and sterile literalism.[1]
It may be worthwhile to mention at this point that “fundamentalism” is a purely Christian term. It seems to have come into use at the beginning of the twentieth century and describes, first and foremost, certain American Protestant sects, particularly those with a puritanical perspective. The sects in question are noted for interpreting the scriptures to the letter of the law, from a narrow minded perspective. They reject any profound interpretation of the Bible, prohibiting any hint of hermeneutics. Notably, the term “fundamentalist” is now applied on a daily basis by many Muslims but stripped from the pejorative sectarian sense. Through a strange semantic distortion, they give
my death, a sentinel and guide Imam from my progeny, being in charge of the belief to challenge it, to defend it. He will speak under inspiration from Allah, will declare and enlighten the truth, will negate the wiles of the cunning and will speak on behalf of the meek.” (143: hadith 163). The Messenger of Allah has also said that “Every innovation [in religion] is misguidance. And every misguidance leads to hell” (146: hadith 166). Imam ‘Ali has said that “No innovation is introduced unless one sunnah is forsaken, keep away from the innovations and stick to the broad road. Surely the old tested ways are the best and the innovated ones are bad” (Nahj al-balaghah 302).
[1] Editor’s Note: Shi‘ism belongs to a true living hermeneutic tradition. As Imam Khumayni explains, “The Qur’an has seven or seventy levels of meaning, and the lowest of those levels is the one where it addresses us” (Islam and Revolution 391). He was referring to the tradition of the Prophet which states that “The Qur’an has been revealed on seven levels (ahruf), each having an outer and inner meaning, and ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib has knowledge of both” (430). A similar tradition is related in Sunni sources on the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud (Khatib al-Tibrizi, Book 3, Chap. 37 No. 605). It is also related that the Prophet said that: “The Qur’an has a beautiful exterior and a profound interior” (Tabataba’i, The Outward).
the term the erroneous meaning and the distorted sense of a “return to the fundamentals” of the Islamic faith. They do so as if at some time in Islamic history, the arkan al-islam [pillars of Islam] had somehow ceased to exist, visibly or invisibly, in all spheres of Muslim existence and in all their manifestations in the Islamic world. Even when they are relinquished or temporarily placed on the back burner--as in the atypical case of Turkey --they have always been fully maintained in the spiritual and esoteric order without which any return to original Islam is impossible.[1] In this sense, the integral restoration of the true and original sense of the Revelation depends on the ta‘alim [spiritual guidance] of
[1] Editor’s Note: The author alludes to Mustafa Kamel Atatürk (1881-1938), the Turkish soldier and statesman who was the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. He contributed to the destruction of the Ottoman Empire and abolished the Caliphate in 1924. As a result, Islam ceased to be a political force in the world. He closed theological schools and replaced the Shari‘ah with a law code based on the Swiss legal code, the German penal code and the Italian commerce code. He outlawed traditional Islamic headdress for men and insisted that all Turks wear European style hats. He banned the hijab and encouraged women to wear western dress and enter the work force. In 1928, in an effort to distance the people from the Qur’an, the government decreed that the Arabic script was to be replaced by a modified Latin alphabet. All citizens from six to 40 years of age were obliged to attend school to learn the new alphabet. The Turkish language was “purified” by the removal of Arabic and Persian words and replaced by new Turkish ones. Mustafa Kamel opened art schools so that boys and girls could engage in the visual representation of human forms which has been banned during Ottoman times. Atatürk, who was most fond of the national liquor, raki, and consumed vast quantities of it, legalized alcohol which is strictly forbidden in Islam. In 1934, he required all Turks to adopt western style surnames. Ironically, after waging war against the Turkish culture and religion, he adopted the name Kemal Atatürk meaning “father of the Turks.” He died in 1938 of cirrhosis of the liver, the result of years of excessive drinking. He left Turkey with a divided identity, trapped between East and West, Europeanized but not quite European, alienated from the Islamic world but still a Muslim country.
the Imams, the fundamental touchstone of the illuminative awakening of Islamic gnosis. They are invested with the initiatory function due to their condition as divinely inspired men and perfect interpreters of His message, well beyond the literary and philosophical paraphrase of rationalist jurists and theological puritans like Ibn Taymiyyah [1] and those of ‘Abd al-Wahhab.[2]
A return to the fundamentals implies that a distancing or a partial separation [firqah] from them has taken place. If returning to the founding principles of the Islamic faith is used in the sense of returning to the straight path, then this may very well require a reencounter with Shi‘ite Islam since its doctrine has always remained firmly grounded in the teachings of the Imams who are effectively the arkan [pillars] par excellence.[3] [In the Shi‘i view,]
[1] Editor’s Note: Ibn Taymiyyah (661- 728) was a scholar of the Hanbali school of thought. He held that Allah’s “hand,” “foot,” “shin” and “face” were literal [haqiqi] attributes and that Allah is upon the throne in person. Sunni authorities like Taqi al-Din Subki, Ibn Hajar Haythami and al-Izz ibn Jama‘a passed rulings against following him in matters of ‘aqidah [religious beliefs] as his views fell outside of the consensus of Sunni scholars. Ibn Taymiyyah is considered one of the ideological forefathers of Wahhabism and Salafism. For more on his views see Allawi’s “Sufyani or Muhammadi Islam.”
[2] Editor’s Note: Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (1703-92) founded the puritanical Wahhabi sect of Islam in Nejd c. 1744. The Wahhabis conquered Arabia (1803), were beaten by the Ottoman Turks (1819) and acquired political power under King ibn Saud (early 20th c.). They destroyed the tombs of the Prophet’s Family and Companions in the Cemetery of al-Baqi in Madinah. They were poised to raze the Prophet’s tomb but were forced to retreat due to Egyptian threats of war. Extremist Wahhabis hold that all Muslims, with the exception of themselves, are heretics and infidels whose blood is halal. This has resulted in the rape and slaughter of Sunni, Shi‘ite and Sufi Muslims throughout the Islamic world, most particularly in Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and India.
[3] Editor’s Note: It is for this reason that Shi‘ite Islam is described as Islam-Original and the Imams are viewed as the Pillars of Islam.
the Imams are the fundamental pillars of Islam in the sense that the essence of the revelation was passed on to them by the Prophet, both exoterically and esoterically, through the function of the Imamate or spiritual inheritance [‘ilm ‘itri], that is, the esoteric guidance of the prophetic batin [secrets]. According to the famous hadith al-kisa’ [The Tradition of the Cloak], the Prophet called his daughter Fatimah along with ‘Ali, Hasan and Husayn and covered them completely with his cloak.[1] This act symbolized the transmission of the universal wilayah of the Prophet, through the epiphany [madhar] of the partial wilayah [wilayah fatimiyyah ], to the plethora of the Twelve Imams, the Prophet’s immaculate progeny [ma‘sumin].[2]
Within the bounds of the excessively arid exteriorist “literalism”
[1] Author’s Note: The word kisa’ means “mantle” or “cloak.” In Shi‘ite Gnosticism, the practice of wearing and passing on the mantle is associated with the passing of spiritual and temporal authority of the Muhammadan wilayah. Among the Sufis from the Sunni world, the practice of wearing and passing on the mantle is intimately associated with the transmission of the “sanctifying grace” of “blessed influx” [barakah] of the wilayah [holinesss] which, in its origins, is related to Shi‘ite esoterics and the Gnostic doctrines of the Imams. This hadith appears in different form in Shi‘ite sources like Ghayat al-maram (Tehran 1272, 287). The recognition of the spiritual supremacy of ahl al-bayt (The Prophetic Household), namely, Fatimah, ‘Ali, Hasan and Husayn by Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, who did not include herself among them, appear in many Sunni sources like, Sahih Tirmidhi (vol. 5, 31 (H. 3258), 328, (H. 3275); 361, while the recognition of this spiritual supremacy by another wife of the Prophet, ‘a’ishah, who also excluded herself from the ahl al-bayt, appears in Sahih Muslim (Cairo, many different editions), ed. ‘Isa al-Halabi, vol. 2, 368, vol 15, 194; as well as Sahih Bukhari (Cairo, 1932) vol I, 39, and Tirmidhi V. 31.
[2] Editor’s Note: The author refers to al-Kawthar, [the Fountain], the titled bestowed upon the Prophet’s daughter, Fatimah al-Zahra’, the wife of ‘Ali, the First Imam, and the mother of the eleven Imams that followed. According to some Shi‘ite sources, Surat al-Kawthar was revealed by Almighty Allah regarding the birth of Fatimah al-Zahra’.
which defines Protestant fundamentalism, we can only include, in relation to Islam, the exceptional case of Wahhabism.[1] This obscure puritanical and reformist sect [firqah], derived from Sunni Islam’s strict Hanbali school of thought, was founded by Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, who can be called, without exaggeration, the Martin Luther of the Muslim World.[2] His
[1] Editor’s Note: For an analysis of the genesis of Wahhabism, see Hamid Algar, Wahhabism: A Critical Essay. Oneonta (N.Y.): Islamic Publications International, 2002. See also, Wahhabism by Ayatullah Ja‘far Subhani.
[2] Editor’s Note: Martin Luther (1483-1546) was the leader of the Protestant Reformation. By labeling ‘Abd al-Wahhab as the “Luther of the Arab World,” the author wishes to stress the similarities between Protestant and Wahhabi reformism. Luther, like ‘Abd al-Wahhab, was opposed to all metaphysical speculations, that is, to any interpretation which was not strictly literal. Luther, like ‘Abd al-Wahhab, was a rigid and uncompromising moralist and Luther, like ‘Abd al-Wahhab was a simpleton, devoid of intellectual lucidity. When the author makes an analogy between Luther and ‘Abd al-Wahhab, he does so to stress the dry, literalist and fundamentalist spirit of these Christian and Muslim innovators. While Luther is widely considered a “reformer,” he did not reform Christianity in the least bit. Protestantism remained the same as the Catholic Church from which it separated: Trinitarian, believing in the divinity of Jesus, in his incarnation and crucifixion. The only thing that Luther instituted was a moral reform, a reform in customs, in much the same way as ‘Abd al-Wahhab did. If the author has compared these two figures it is because they wanted to adjust the sense of the scripture to their own literal interpretation. Furthermore, both figures manifested a narrow-minded, fundamentalist and fanatical spirit. If Netton is justified in saying that “Ibn al-‘Arabi is the Meister Eckhart of the Islamic tradition,” the author is amply authorized to compare ‘Abd al-Wahhab to Luther, particularly considering the audience to which the book is addressed: the Western World. As the Qur’an says, speak to the people in the language of the people (14:14).
In the present-day Shi‘ite world, reformist figures include the philosopher ‘Abd al-Karim Soroush, often likened to Martin Luther, and Ayatullah al-Uzma Yusuf Sana’i who is at the head of what has been described as a full fledged Islamic Reformation, an event comparable in
many ways to the Christian Reformation of the 16th century. Sana’i has passed many modernist reformist rulings. He allows sex change operations under certain circumstances (Fathi). He has legalized abortion in the first trimester, and not only due to a mother’s health and fetal abnormalities. He believes that “under some conditions--such as parents' poverty or overpopulation--then abortion is allowed.” The Ayatullah even writes letters of consent for women to take to their doctors (Wright). He believes in a slack enforcement of hijab: “There is no need for admonishing against women who leave their hair uncovered if it is considered as inefficient, let alone other stages of probed to do evil. As it is with responsible people if they know it efficient to stop them” (Hamshahri Newspaper). His attitude toward nikah al-mut‘ah is the most restrictive of all Shi‘ite scholars. In his view, “temporary marriage basically is not a lawful revelry in Islam or something parallel to permanent marriage. So for those whose wives are available and they can provide their sexual needs with her, temporary marriage, even with Muslim women is problematic, in my idea, and even possible to prohibit” (Hamshahri). He has even ruled that: There is no oppression and denial of rights [in Islam] and all human beings are honored. And Allah says: “We have honored the children of Adam.” Thus, there is no racial discrimination in Islamic laws and the black and the white are equal. There is no sexual or national discrimination either. Several years ago I suggested to Ayatullah al-Uzma Lankarani that an edict prohibiting racism would be in order. He explained that no edict was required for such a matter as “Islam has abolished racism.” Rulings and edicts are only required for new issues and developments. There is no need for a fatwa against racism because Islam clearly condemns racial discrimination. The populist apologetic edicts of Sana’i, who is described as “Khomeini’s feminist protégé,” find ample support among liberals, reformists, feminists and non-Muslims. Nonetheless, Sana’i had made some important rulings regarding women’s rights which are most welcomed, namely: “Blood money for intended-like murder of women and men is equal and this is provable from reasons of blood money” (Hamshahri); and “Studying science and jurisprudence cannot be excluded to men, since all humans are encouraged to study and they can have all decrees of judgment, jurisprudence, authoring, and leadership” (Hamshahri). Women are thus equal before the law and free to assume
doctrine was inspired by the ideas of Ibn Taymiyyah, a rationalist rigorist who opposed the ideas of Ibn ‘Arabi.[1] ‘Abd al-Wahhab found his ideological support in the political opportunism of the upstart emir of the Dariya tribe, Muhammad Ibn Saud, the ancestor and founder of the actual Saudi dynasty which became the secular arm and executor of Wahhabism.[2]
Like Luther with respect to Christianity, ‘Abd al-Wahhab called for a “return to the fundamentals” of faith. These, however, were reformulated literally and were stripped of the doctrinal complement brought by the teachings of the Imams and the exegetic and hermeneutical methods instituted by the Prophet as sacred sciences aimed at discerning the inner meanings of the scripture. A “return to the fundamentals” of Islam, as proposed by ‘Abd al-Wahhab, can only be brought about by the restorative action of the ta‘alim or esoteric guidance of Imam Mahdi, the Hidden and Awaited Imam, and never through human initiative.[3]
any role within society.
[1] Editor’s Note: Ibn al-‘Arabi (1165-1240) is perhaps the most famous mystic of Islam. His chief works, Fusus al-hikam and Al-futuhat al-makkiyyah [The Meccan Revelations] form an encyclopedia of Sufi doctrines. The attitudes of philosophers towards Ibn al-‘Arabi are divided.
[2] Editor’s Note: Saudi petrol dollars, the CIA, and the Israeli secret services, are accused of spreading the Wahhabi ideology worldwide. See, Richard Labevière’s Dollars for Terror.
[3] Author’s Note: For the eschatological notion of the Parusia of the Twelfth Imam al-Mahdi, the Hidden and Awaited Imam, see Corbin, “L’Imam et la rénovation de l’homme dans la théologie shi’ite” in Erannos-Jahrbuch (Zurich 1960), XXVIII, 87; Mutahhari and Baqir al-Sadr, L’Imam Occulto (Roma 1987), translated and edited by Palazzi; ‘Allamah Tabataba‘i, Shi‘ite Islam (Qum 1409/1989), especially chapters VII, 210-214; as well as Shaykh al-Mufid’s Kitab al-irshad: The Book of Guidance (Tehran 1377), with a preface by Nasr and translated by Howard, IX, 524-551.
Editor’s Note: Numerous traditions establish Imam Mahdi’s role as religious reformer. According to the Sixth Imam, “When the Qa´im,
We “return” [ta’wil] the revealed letter [tanzil] to the plane where it becomes real. The revelation [tanzil], according to Shi‘ite Islam, is both exoteric [dahir] and esoteric [batin]. The process of understanding consists in starting from the exoteric in order to reach the esoteric. Metaphysical internalization, the cornerstone of Islamic Gnosticism, tends to revive, in the symbolic articulation of the scripture, its profound spiritual sense as revealed by Angel Gabriel to the Prophet according to its original enunciation. Consequently, ta’wil, [the allegorical interpretation], is the “returning ascent,” the march up country [anabasis] of the dahir [exoteric] and the batin [esoteric].[1] The mission of the
peace be on him, rises, he will summon the people to Islam anew and guide them to a matter which had become lost and from which people had gone astray. He is only called the Mahdi [the one who guides] because he guides to a matter from which [men] have deviated. He is only called the Qa’im [the one who rises] because of his rising (Mufid 551).
[1] Editor’s Note: Ta’wil can be translated as spiritual hermeneutics. Literally, it means to go to the origin of a thing. As Nasr explains, “[i]t means to penetrate the external aspect of any reality, whether it be sacred scripture or phenomena of nature, to its inner essence, to go from the phenomenon to the noumenon” (Shi‘ite Islam 85). According to Nwyia , Sunni exegesis is a tafsir , an explication of the text at the level of the letter of alfaz whereas Shi‘ite exegesis is more of a ta’wil, that is, an interpretation at the level of the ma‘na: it seeks, beyond the literal sense, the hidden sense, the secret of which belongs to the ahl al-bayt, the Family of the Prophet (33). The book then becomes an esoteric revelation, a sealed treasure which can only be opened by the Imams, the retainers of ta’wil and the guardians of the book (33). To speak of Sunni exegesis as literal and Shi‘ite exegesis as profound is a groundless generalization since most tafasir, of both branches, is simply tafsir, commentary. It is only the Gnostics, of both branches, who have interpreted the Qur’an according to the ta’wil. Nwyia’s comments need to be further qualified as they imply an inaccessibility of the Scripture to all but an exclusive elite of initiated, the Prophet and His Family. As Imam Khumayni explains, “The Qur’an is like a banquet from which everyone must partake according to his capacity. It belongs to everyone,
Prophet was the founding of the dahir which implies a descent by the spirit to every formal point of expression of the scripture.[1] The
not to any particular group; there is a share in it for everyone” (Islam and Revolution 424); “The Qur’an possesses everything. It is like a vast banquet that God has spread out in front of all humanity and that everyone partakes of according to his appetite” (414). “The highest share,” however, “is reserved for the one to whom it was revealed: ‘The only person who truly knows the Qur’an is he who was addressed by it’” (415); “only he who was addressed by it fully understands it” (393-94); “Full benefit can be drawn from the Qur’an only by the man to whom it was addressed--The Messenger of God” (392). “All others are deprived of such complete benefit,” he continues, “unless they attain it by means of instruction from him, as was the case with the awliyya’.” (392). “We can understand only a given aspect or dimension of the Qur’an; interpretation of the rest depends upon the ahl al-‘ismah (365-66). This is consistent with the Qur’anic verse which states that: “We bequeathed the Book on those of Our servants We chose” (35:32). As Imam Khu’i explains, “the knowledge of the Qur’an’s reality is exclusively with the Imams (A) and others do not have a share in it.” The Prophet made it clear that personal interpretation of the Qur’an was forbidden. He stated that: “Whoever interprets the Qur’an according to his opinion, let him seek his abode in the fire” (Tirmidhi); and “He who makes tafsir according to his own opinion has become an unbeliever” (Kashani and Ibn Al-’Arabi qtd in Murata 227). The interpretation of the Qur’an lies with the Prophet and the Holy Imams for as Imam al-Sadiq has said: “We are the custodians of Allah’s affairs, the treasurers of Allah’s knowledge and the containers of Allah’s revelation” (Kulayni 2:1 74: hadith 505).
[1] Editor’s Note: As Imam Khumayni explains:
The Qur’an indicates that it descended to the Prophet: ‘The Trusted Spirit descended with it to your heart’ (26:193). The Qur’an underwent a descent to the Prophet by means of the Trusted Spirit so that it might be received by him at his station. In the same connection, God says: ‘We sent it [the Qur’an] down on the Night of Power’ (97:1); that is, ‘We sent it down in its entirety to the Prophet on the Night of Power, in the form of a manifestation.’ First, the Qur’an was in the keeping of the Trusted Spirit, and then it underwent a descent in order to enter the heart of the Prophet.
mission or ta‘alim of the Twelfth Imam al-Mahdi is to lead the dahir [exoteric] to the batin [esoteric] in our present cycle. This is why he is called sahib al-zaman [the Lord of the Age].[1] In order for there to be a “return to the fundamentals” of Islam, it is also necessary for there to be a universal restoration of the esoteric sciences in all of their traditions. For that same metaphysical reason, it requires a man who, besides being inspired by God and being a perfect interpreter who masters the exoteric and the esoteric scripture, is a spiritual heir, an inheritor and direct descendant of the Prophet from the line of Husayn, the Third Imam.
According to Islamic metaphysics, which stems more or less directly from Shi‘ism, the “heterodoxy” of any idea implies, in one way or another, the falsity of its formulations which are in absolute disagreement with the metaphysical and esoteric principles of the tradition. This is precisely what René Guénon[2]
The Qur’an descended, then, from level to level, from degree to degree, until finally it assumed a verbal form. The Qur’an is not verbal in substance; it does not pertain to the audiovisual realm … When the manifestation of God Almighty emerges from the unseen and descends to the world of nature or bodies, there is a vast distance separating this lowest degree from the infinite realms of the unseen, and beyond them, the first appearance of that manifestation. There is a correspondingly vast distance separating our perception from that of those superior to us, at the pinnacle of whom stand the awliyya’ and the prophets of God. (Islamic Revolution 393)
The Qur’an is a mystery, a mystery within a mystery, a mystery veiled and enveloped in mystery. It was necessary for the Qur’an to undergo a process of descent in order to arrive at the lowly degree of man. Even its entry into the heart of the Prophet was a descent, and from there it had to descend still further in order to become intelligible to others. (409)
Or, as the Prophet put it, “This Qur’an is God’s banquet” (Darimi qtd. in Murata 291).
[1] Editor’s Note: As well as Imam al-‘Asr, the Imam of the Age.
[2] Editor’s Note: René Guénon became a Sufi Muslim in 1912 under the
influence of ‘Abdul-Hadi (1869-1917), formerly known as Yvan Aguéli, a Swedish painter who was a convert to Islam. Upon taking his shahadah, Guénon adopted the name ‘Abd al-Wahid Yahya. Shortly thereafter, he received the barakah, namely, the spiritual initiatory influence of Muslim mysticism from ‘Abd al-Rahman Alish al-Kabir, a shaykh of the Shadhili order.Guénon left Paris in 1930 and moved to Cairo, where he lived the rest of his life as a Sufi, married to Fatma Hanem, the daughter of Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim, with whom he had four children, two girls and two boys, Ahmad and ‘Abd al-Wahid. Since the 1930s, he had been surrounded by numerous European “disciples” who were drawn to Islam and Sufism, including Frithjof Schuon who visited him in Cairo in 1935, as well as Titus Ibrahim Burckhardt, Martin Lings, whose Muslim name is Abu Bakr Siraj, Michel Mustafa Vâlsan, and others. René Guénon was the restorer or reviver of traditional thought in the West and its most eloquent exponent. Subscribing to the doctrine of perennialism, the Traditionalists believe that all “traditional” religions share the same essence. They believe that salvation can be found by means of Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. They reject Sikhism, Baha’ism, and other newer religions, sects, and cults. The Traditionalist movement divided in 1948-50 after a split between Guénon and the Swiss Sufi Shaykh Frithjof Schuon (1907-98), founder of the Maryamiyyah tariqah. As Mark Sedgwick explains, Traditionalism was developed in different directions by Schuon and by two other followers of Guénon: Baron Julius Evola (1896/8-1974), and the scholar Mircea Eliade (1907-86) who had a far-reaching influence in American academia. Over the second hald of the twentieth century, “Schuon’s Sufi order remained secret, but grew in influence in Europe and America, and in Iran under the leadership of Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1933-). Although many of Guénon’s followers professed the shahadah, not all Guénonian Traditionalists are Muslims.
Guénon died in 1951, shorty after become a naturalized Egyptian. Unlike Henry Corbin, who left no Muslim followers, René Guénon brought hundreds of thousands of people into Islam in France, the United States, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Like many Sunni Muslims, Guénon had many misconceptions about Shi‘ites. He did acknowledge, however, that all Islamic spirituality was Shi‘ite, in the true sense of the term. There are those who wish to dismiss Guénon for
warns of with respect to the Vedanta.[1]According to this definition, orthodoxy lies in a constant balance between immutable principles. In the Islamic tradition, these principles are contained in the Qur’an. The balance between the letter and spirit of the revealed text constitutes the criteria of Islamic orthodoxy which is founded on faith in the oneness of God.[2]
The discussion of Islamic sects would be worthwhile if the term was restituted, as García Bazán demands, to the original sense the Romans gave it when they translated the Greek word hairesis as “sect” (114). The Greek word which has evolved into “heretic” merely means “selection,” “option,” or philosophical or religious “inclination” (115-17). It does not imply the idea of difference, separation or breaking from a tradition, nor does it possess the pejorative connotation that it has in Western languages. As García Bazán explains, even the middle form of haireo and haireomai,
being a Freemason, however, it should be recalled that he wrote strong articles against modern Masonry and was even a member of the magazine La France Antimaçonique. It must be recalled that Masonic Lodges operate independently. There is also a major difference between the Masonry practiced in France and the Masonry practiced in Scotland, for example. Guénon was opposed to the modern, anti-traditional, Speculative Masonry, not the traditional Operative Masonry of the middle Ages which build magnificent cathedrals. The original Freemasons disappeared in the XVII century and were replaced by a speculative Masonry based on Protestant ideas of free thought and progress. Despite being a Mason, Guénon lived and died as a pious Muslim, having brought many Masons into the fold of Islam.
[1] Author’s Note: See R. Guénon, Introduction général à l’étude des doctrines hindoues. III 3.
Editor’s Note: The Vedanta is the orthodox Hindu school of philosophy concerned chiefly with the latter part of the Vedas, the four books of the ancient Hindu scripture.
[2] Editor’s Note: Hence, the goal of Islamic hermeneutics is to establish a balance between the letter of the law and its spirit; not focus exclusively the letter of the law as the Wahhabis and Salafis do; nor focus exclusively on the spirit of the law as some mystics do.
from which hairesis derives, simply means “selection” or “option.”
In terms of Wahhabism, whose influence continues to be observed in Saudi Arabia and much of the Muslim world, “sectarian” deviations are not ritual or doctrinal: they are scriptural.[1] With regards to the sacred text, the Wahhabi “heresy” consists in a deformation and literal reinterpretation of the Qur’anic text and even of innovation in the Islamic canon.[2] They are “heretics” who are formally separated from the Islamic community, not by ritual practice, but by scriptural deviation.[3] These rigid rigorist literalists adhere to the external aspect of the written text and reject any extensions or interpretations transmitted through the oral and written tradition. In contrast, Shi‘ite religious practice, as strict and legalistic as it may be, which assures a solid orthodoxy and orthopraxy, is accompanied, in the matter of faith, with a profound spirituality of a metaphysical and esoteric character which extends to its interpretation of the Qur’an, the sunnah and the shari‘ah. It is for these reasons, for its Gnostic character, that the application of the term “fundamentalist” to Shi‘ite Islam is
[1] Editor’s Note: While Wahhabism aims to cleanse Islam of what its adherents view as innovations, deviances, heresies and idolatries, most historians (both Arab and non-Arab) hold that Wahhabism is in fact a new form of Islam, containing many changes in both theology and practice. Shaykh Hisham Kabbani from the Islamic Supreme Council of America has estimated that 80% of mosques in the United States follow the Wahhabi ideology. He was criticized, however, for failing to substantiate his claim.
[2] Editor’s Note: They accuse ahl al-sunnah and ahl al-bayt of innovations when they themselves are the greatest of innovators.
[3] Editor’s Note: An example of Wahhabi scriptural deviation includes the application to Muslims of Qur’anic verses that were specifically revealed regarding polytheists. For a contentious overview of Wahhabi /Salafi beliefs, see Zubair Qamar’s “Wahhabism: Understanding the Roots and Role Models of Islamic Fanaticism and Terror” and Fayad Ahmad’s “Some Beliefs of the Sipah e Sahaba and Lashkar e Jhangavi.”
totally unjustified. In every sense, Shi‘ite Islam represents Islamic orthodoxy as much as Sunni Islam.[1] Without a doubt, it is the minority status of Shi‘ism in the Muslim world, as opposed to ritual, doctrinal or scriptural deviation, that gives Westerners the impression that it is a “sect.”
From ancient times until the present, the notion of “sect” has not been freed from the prejudice that it applies only to small religious groups. As the old Latin proverb goes: Si duo faciunt idem, non est idem [If two do the same thing, it is not the same thing]. Obviously, these ideas about sects are applied by Westerners to whatever phenomenon they can reduce to this label. Evidently, this is done without considering their inner aspects, where major spiritual differences are really hidden. Moreover, we cannot dismiss the ill-concealed aims of certain specialists to place all minority religions into the framework of a single verdict of justification or rejection. They wish to do this by exclusively considering the external manifestations of religion, which constitute the visible skeleton of orthodoxy, when it is essentially a question of interiority.
Finally, if we have spent more time than necessary dealing with term “fundamentalism,” it is because the general use of this term conveys a “sectarian” attitude. Its use is obviously misguided and distorted because it is born out of a fanatic and uncompromising attitude in favor of one party or one idea. It is always convenient to give a sectarian nature to Shi‘ite Islam by means of the “fundamentalist” label, without understanding that the real reason for its existence is clearly traditional. The phenomenon we refer to is a common vice. In fact, it is the main reason why the Western mentality is unable to understand the Eastern spirit. Clearly, it is not a question of cultural differences or contradictions in term but, to paraphrase the words of
[1] Editor’s Note: As Asaf Fyzee observes, “As for ‘orthodoxy’, a minority, however small, may well have retained a very close touch with the original tradition; the majority, however preponderent, may conceivably have lost it in the stresss of political conflicts” (3-4).
source : http://www.maaref-foundation.com
