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The Foundations of the Islamic Belief

by Al Ghazali (died 505/1111)

P eface
The first translation into English was by the late Professor Nabih Amin Al Faris, American University, Beirut, October 3 , !"# with the e$amination of %r& 'ohn (& Patton, Professor of )eligion Par* +ollege, Par*sville, ,O& U-A& The reason for this wor* being un.erta*en yet again is .ue to the nee. for u/.ating this wor* an. also to rectify English linguistic usages an. to a.a/t it for the com/uter with the a..ition of an in.e$& 0f the rea.er encounters .ifficulty in un.erstan.ing some /arts of this boo*, we woul. a.vise a visit to the gran. /hiloso/her an. -ufi of 0slam, Professor (asan El Fatih, at the ,os1ue of -hei*h ,uhamma. El Fatih, Umm %urman, -u.an& 0t is interesting to note that in the English versions of the Bible we foun. that the /ro/er noun of the +reator referre. to as 23o.2 whereas we foun. in the Arabic e.ition of the Bible the /ro/er noun changes to be 2Allah2 which is the same /ro/er noun mentione. in the Arabic 4oran& In the Name of the Compassionate, the Merciful Allah, This is the Book of the Foundations of Islamic Belief.

-hay*h Ahma. %arwish ,os1ue of the 0nternet P&O& Bo$ "5 , Tesu1ue, N, 67879 U-A Forewor. by Professor (asan El Fatih %ean of Umm %urman 0slamic University& This boo* was written in Arabic by 0mam Abu (ami. al:3ha;ali, or Alga;el as he was *nown to me.ieval Euro/e <.ie. 858= >& (is numerous wor*s are well *nown, res/ecte. an. 1uote. not only in the mi..le east but in the higher universities of west& (is contribution to theology an. /hiloso/hy have /rove. to be ma?or cornerstones of resource throughout the centuries& %uring the revival of 3ree* /hiloso/hy in the mi..le ages, many +hristians were attracte. an. swaye. by the /ersuasion of 3ree* logic& 0n an effort to /rotect +hristianity, +hristian theologians relie. u/on the /rofoun. arguments of Al 3ha;ali to .efeat the a.herents of 3ree* /hiloso/hy an. thereby /rotecte. their religion& Al 3ha;ali@s wor*s have been translate. an. /rinte. in many languages& +om/arative stu.ies have shown that 'ean 'ac1ues )ousseau, *nown in the west as the /ioneer of chil.ren@s e.ucation, base. his i.eas an. metho.s u/on the wor* of Al 3ha;ali& The -horter Encyclo/e.ia of 0slam says of Al 3ha;aliA 2(e was the most original thin*er that 0slam /ro.uce. an. its greatest theologian&2 A&'& Arberry, /rofessor an. .irector of the ,i..le East +entre at the University of +ambri.ge, Englan. referre. to him as beingA 2(e was one of the greatest mystical theologians of 0slam an. in.ee. of all man*in.&2

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0 /ray that the rea.ers will benefit from the soun. reasoning which they are about to embar* u/on an. that it will o/en gui.ing channels of thought that will give /leasure in this life an. in the (ereafter& (asan El Fatih Umm %urman -u.an !!#

!ha"te #ne The Belief of the $unni% the &ay of the P o"het
The E$/osition of the Belief of the -unni, way of the Pro/het, is embo.ie. in two /hrases of witnessing <-haha.ah> which form one of the Pillars of 0slam&

(A) The meanin' of the fi st "h ase of &itnessin'(

Be say : our success is from Allah : /raise be to Allah the +reator, the )estorer, the One who .oes whatever (e wills& (e whose Throne is glorious an. whose Power is ,ightyC who gui.es the select amongst (is worshi//ers to the righteous /ath& (e who grants them benefits once they affirm (is Oneness by guar.ing the articles of belief from the .ar*ness of .oubt an. hesitation& (e who lea.s them to follow the way of (is chosen Pro/het ,uhamma. : /raise an. /eace be u/on him : an. to follow the e$am/le of his com/anions, the most honore., by .irecting their footste/s to the way of truth& (e who reveals (imself to them in (is Essence an. in (is Bor*s by (is fine attributes which none /erceive e$ce/t the one who inclines his ear in contem/lation& (e who ma*es *nown to them that (e is One in (is Essence without any associate, -ingle without any e1ual, Eternal without a similar& Nothing /rece.es (im, (e is without any beginning& (e is Eternal with none after (im, Everlasting without any en., subsisting without cessation, abi.ing without termination (e has not cease. an. (e will not cease to be .escribe. by the e/ithets of ,a?esty& At the en. of time (e will not be sub?ect to .issolution an. .ecay, but (e is the First an. the Dast, the (i..en an. A//arent, an. (e *nows everything&

i) T anscendence (*+altation)
Allah is not a bo.y /ossessing form, nor a substance restricte. an. limite.A (e .oes not resemble other bo.ies either in limitation or in acce/ting .ivision& (e is not a substance an. substances .o not resi.e in (imC (e is not a 1uality of substance, nor .oes a 1uality of substance occur in (im& )ather, (e resembles no e$istent an. no e$istent resembles (im& Nothing is li*e (im an. (e is not li*e anything& ,easure .oes not bin. (im an. boun.aries .o not contain (im& %irections .o not surroun. (im an. neither the earth nor the (eavens are on .ifferent si.es of (im& Truly, (e is controlling the Throne in the manner in which (e sai. an. in the sense in which (e wille. : in a state of transcen.ence that is remove. from /arallel an. touch, resi.ence, fi$ity of location, stability, envelo/ment, an. movement& The Throne .oes not su//ort (im, but the Throne an. those who carry it are su//orte. by the -ubtleness of (is Power an. are constraine. by (is Firmness& (e is above the Throne an. (eavens an. above everything to the limits of the earth with an aboveness which .oes not bring (im nearer to the Throne an. the (eavens, ?ust as it .oes not ma*e (im further from the earth& )ather, (e is (ighly E$alte. above the Throne an. the (eavens, ?ust as (e is (ighly E$alte. above the earth& Nevertheless, (e is near to every entity an. is 2nearer to the worshi//er than his ?uggler vein2 an. (e witnesses everything since (is nearness .oes not resemble the nearness of bo.ies, ?ust as (is Essence .oes not resemble the essence of bo.ies&

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(e .oes not e$ist in anything, ?ust as nothing e$ists in (imA E$alte. is (e that a /lace coul. contain (im, ?ust as sanctifie. is (e that no time coul. limit (im& For, (e was as before (e ha. create. time an. /lace, an. ?ust as (e was, (e is now& (e is .istinct from (is creatures through (is attributes& There is not in (is Essence any other than (im, nor .oes (is Essence e$ist in any other than (im& (e is E$alte. from change an. movement& -ubstance .oes not resi.e in (im an. the 1uality of substance .o not befall (im& )ather, (e is in the attributes of (is ,a?esty beyon. cessation& An. (e is in the attributes of (is Perfection& (e is not in nee. of an increase in /erfection& 0n (is Essence, (is E$istence is *nown by reason <in this life>& 0n the Everlasting Dife, (is Essence is seen by the eyes of the righteous as a favor from (im, an. a subtlety as a com/letion of favors from (im through their behol.ing (is 3racious Face&

ii) ,ife and Po&e

(e is Diving, Able, the +on1ueror an. All:sub.uing& 0na.e1uacy an. wea*ness .o not befall (imC slumber .oes not overta*e (im nor slee/C annihilation .oes not /revail over (im nor .eath& (e is the Owner of the visible an. invisible 4ing.om, an. of Power an. ,ight& (is are .ominion, sub?ugation, creation, an. comman.C the (eavens are rolle. in (is )ight an. create. things are sub?ugate. in (is Firmness& (e is -ingle in creating an. inventing& (e is Alone in bringing into e$istence an. innovating& (e create. all creatures an. their .ee.s, an. .ecree. their sustenance an. their life s/anC nothing .ecree. esca/es (is Firmness an. the mutations of the affairs .oes not sli/ from (is Power& Bhatever (e .ecrees cannot be numbere. neither .oes (is 4nowle.ge en.&

iii) -no&led'e
(e is 4nowle.geable of all the *nown, encom/assing all that ha//ens in the .e/ths of earth to the highest heavens& (e is 4nowle.geable in which there is not an atom that esca/es (is 4nowle.ge in heaven an. earth& )ather, (e *nows the stam/ing of the blac* ant u/on the soli. roc* in the .ar*est night& (e /erceives the movement of a /article of .ust in mi.:air& (e *nows the secrets an. that which is more hi..en& (e is the Overseer of the whis/ering of the self an. the flow of thoughts, an. the most .ee/est concealment of the selves& Bith a *nowle.ge which is ancient from eternity an. by which (e has not cease. to be .escribe. through the ages& Not by a *nowle.ge which is sub?ect to u/.ating by occurring an. circulating in (is Essence&

i.) /ill
(e is the Biller of all e$istence an. the Planner of all contingent things& There is nothing that occurs in (is visible or invisible worl. e$ce/t by (is /rior /lanning an. (is e$ecution whether it is little or /lenteous, small or large, goo. or evil, benefit or harm, belief or unbelief, gratitu.e or ingratitu.e, /ros/erity or loss, increase or .ecrease, obe.ience or .isobe.ience all is accor.ing to (is Bis.om an. Bill, what (e wills occurs an. what (e .oes not will .oes not occur& There is not a glance of the onloo*er nor a stray thought that is not sub?ect to (is Bill&

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(e is the +reator at first, the )estorer, the %oer of whatsoever (e wills& There is none that rescin.s (is comman., an. none that su//lements (is .ecrees, an. there is no esca/e for a worshi//er from .isobeying (im, e$ce/t by (is (el/ an. ,ercy, an. none has /ower to obey (im e$ce/t by (is Bill& Even if man*in., ?inn, angels, an. .evils were to unite to try to move the weight of an atom in the worl. or to ren.er it still, without (is Bill they woul. fail& (is Bill subsists in (is Essence amongst (is Attributes& (e has not cease. to be .escribe. by it from eternity, willing, : in (is 0nfinity : the e$istence of the things at their a//ointe. time which (e has .ecree.& -o they come into e$istence at their a//ointe. times as (e has wille. in (is 0nfinity without /rece.ence or .elay& They come to /ass in accor.ance with (is 4nowle.ge an. (is Bill without variation or change& (e .irects matters not through arrangement of thought an. awaiting the /assage of time, an. so no affair occu/ies (im from another affair&

.) 0ea in' and $eein'

(e : the ,ost (igh : is the (earer, the -eer& (e hears an. sees& No au.ible thing, however faint, esca/es (is (earing, an. no visible thing, however minute, is hi..en from (is -ight& %istance .oes not /revent (is (earing an. .ar*ness .oes not obstruct (is -eeing& (e sees without a /u/il an. eyeli., an. hears without the meatus an. ears, as (e /erceives without a heart, an. sei;es without limbs, an. creates without an instrument, since (is attributes .o not resemble the attributes of the creation, an. as (is Essence .oes not resemble the essence of creation&

.i) $"eech
(e : the ,ost (igh : s/ea*s, comman.ing, forbi..ing, /romising, an. threatening, with a s/eech from eternity, ancient, an. self:e$isting& Unli*e the s/eech of the creation, it is not a soun. which is cause. through the /assage of air or the friction of bo.iesC nor is it a letter which is enunciate. through the o/ening an. closing of li/s an. the movement of the tongue& An. that the 4oran, the original Torah, the original 3os/el of 'esus, an. the original Psalms are (is Boo*s sent .own u/on (is ,essengers, /eace be u/on them& The 4oran is rea. by tongues, written in boo*s, an. remembere. in the heart, yet it is, nevertheless ancient, subsisting in the Essence of Allah, not sub?ect to .ivision an. or se/aration through its transmission to the heart an. /a/er Eby this he meant that the movement of the reciter@s tongue an. his management of the flow of air in his mouth an. ear etc&, or the writer@s inscri/tion u/on /a/er, all of which are create.& Bhereas the logic of 3ha;ali a..resses what is beyon. this human 1uality an. .imension of time an. /hysic& Thereby he refers to the 4oran before one@s movement of the tongue or transcri/tion onto /a/er& ,ost errors have come from our human .imensions, an. that we try to .escribe %ivine attributes through our own limite. human attributes : %arwishF& ,oses : Allah /raise. him an. gave him /eace : hear. the -/eech of Allah without soun. an. without letter, ?ust as the righteous see the Essence of Allah : the (igh : in the (ereafter, without substance or its 1uality& An. since (e has these 1ualities, (e is Diving, 4nowing, Billing, (earing, -eeing an. -/ea*ing with life, /ower, *nowle.ge, will, hearing, sight, an. s/eech, not solely through (is Essence&

.ii) 1eeds

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(e, the E$alte., the (igh, there is no e$istence e$ce/t (im, unless it occurs by (is action an. /rocee.s from (is 'ustice, in the best, /erfect, com/lete an. ?ust ways& (e is Bise in (is ver.icts& (is ?ustice is not to be com/are. with that of worshi//ers, because it is conceivable that the worshi//er is un?ust when he .eals with /ro/erties of other than his own& But, harm is not conceivable from Allah : the (igh : because (e .oes not encounter any ownershi/ of other than (imself, in which (is .ealing coul. be .escribe. to be harmful& Everything besi.es (im, chil.ren of A.am an. ?inn, angels an. .evils, heaven an. earth, animals, /lants, an. inanimates, substance an. its 1uality, as well as things /erceive. an. things felt, are all originate. things which (e create. by (is Power an. before they were nothing, since (e e$iste. in Eternity alone an. there was nothing whatsoever with (im& -o (e originate. creation thereafter as a manifestation of (is Power an. a reali;ation of that which ha. /rece.e. of (is Bill an. the reali;ation of (is Bor. in eternity, not because (e ha. any nee. or necessity for it& (e is magnanimous in creating an. inventing an. in im/osing obligations, not .oing it through necessity& (e is 3racious in beneficence an. reform, though not through any nee.& ,unificence an. 4in.ness, Beneficence an. 3race are (is, since (e is able to bring u/on (is creatures all manner of torture an. to try them with all *in.s of /ain an. affliction& Even if (e shoul. .o this, it woul. be ?ustice from (im, it woul. not be vile, it woul. not be tyrannous& (e : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. : rewar.s (is believing worshi//ers for their acts of obe.ience accor.ing to generosity an. encouragement rather than accor.ing to their merit an. obligation& For there is no obligation u/on (im in any .ee. towar.s anyone an. tyranny is inconceivable in (im& For there is no right u/on (im towar.s anyone& As for (is right to be obeye. it is obligatory an. bin.ing u/on all creatures because (e ma.e it obligatory u/on them through the tongues of (is /ro/hets an. not by reason& But (e sent (is /ro/hets an. showe. their truthfulness through e$/licit miracles, an. they conveye. (is comman.s an. /rohibitions as well as (is /romises an. threats& -o it became obligatory u/on all creatures to believe them an. what they brought&

(B) The meanin' of the second "h ase of &itnessin' &hich is the &itnessin' fo the messen'e s and thei messa'e)
Allah sent the unlettere., of Guraish, Pro/het ,uhamma. : /raise an. /eace be u/on him : with (is ,essage for Arabs an. non:Arabs ali*e, to the ?inn an. humanity& Therefore Allah su/erse.e. other religions by the )eligion of Pro/het ,uhamma. : /raise an. /eace be u/on him : e$ce/t that which (e confirme. amongst them& (e favore. Pro/het ,uhamma. over all other /ro/hets an. ma.e him the master of man*in., an. .eclare. incom/lete any /rofession of faith which attests to Oneness, which is 2 There is no god except Allah, 2 unless it is followe. by the witness to the ,essenger, which is your saying, 2,uhamma. is the ,essenger of Allah&2 (e obligate. all nations to believe in everything he informe. of the affairs of here an. the (ereafter& Allah will not acce/t the belief of any one <worshi//er> until he believes in that which the Pro/het informe. of the affairs that occur after .eath, the first of which is the 1uestion of the angels ,un*ar an. Na*eer& These are two awesome an. terrifying beings who will ma*e the .ecease. sit u/ in the grave, both soul an. bo.yC they will as* him about the Oneness of Allah an. about the ,essage, as*ing, 2Bho is your Dor., an. what is your )eligion, an. who is your /ro/hetH2 They are also *nown as the two e$aminers of the grave an. their 1uestions are consi.ere. as the first trial after .eath&

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Again, one shoul. believe in the /unishment of the grave, an. that it is real an. that (is )uling is ?ust over both the bo.y an. soul in accor.ance with (is Bill& An. one shoul. believe in the -cale with the two /ans with its in.icator : the magnitu.e of which is li*e the stages of the (eavens an. the earth : in it, the .ee.s are weighe. by the Power of Allah, an. its weights or measures are the mustar. see. an. the atom, in or.er to establish e$act ?ustice& The recor.s of goo. .ee.s will be /lace. in a fine image in the scale of light, an. then the balance will be heavy accor.ing to its ran* with Allah, by (is Iirtue& The recor.s of the evil .ee.s will be cast in an evil image in the scale of .ar*ness, an. they will be light in the balance through the 'ustice of Allah& One shoul. believe also that the Bri.ge is realC it is a Bri.ge stretche. over (ell, shar/er than the e.ge of the swor. an. finer than a hair& The feet of the unbelievers sli/ on it, accor.ing to the .ecree of Allah : the E$alte. : an. they will fall into the FireC but the feet of the believers stan. firm u/on it, by the 3race of Allah, an. so they are .riven into the Everlasting resi.ence& An. one shoul. believe in the fre1uente. /ool, the Pool of Pro/het ,uhamma. : Allah has /raise. an. given him /eace& From which the believers will .rin* before entering Para.ise an. after crossing over the Bri.ge& Bhoever .rin*s a single mouthful from it will never thirst again& 0ts wi.th is the .istance of one month@s ?ourneyC its waters are whiter than mil* an. sweeter than honey& Aroun. it are ewers in number li*e the stars of the s*y, an. into it flow two s/rings from al:4awthar& An. one shoul. believe in the 'u.gement an. the .istinctions between those in it, that some will be closely 1uestione., that some will be treate. with forgiveness an. that others will enter Para.ise without 1uestioning : these are the nearest& Allah will as* whomsoever (e will of the /ro/hets concerning the .eliverance of the ,essage, an. whosoever of the unbelievers concerning their re?ection of the ,essengersC an. (e will as* the innovators concerning the way of the Pro/het <sunnah> an. the ,uslims concerning their .ee.s& One shoul. believe that the believer in the Oneness of Allah <if he enters (ell on account of his sins> will be release. from (ell fire after he has been /unishe., so that there will not remain in (ell one single believer& One shoul. believe in the intercession of the /ro/hets, of the learne., an. of the martyrs, then the rest of the believers : each accor.ing to his influence an. ran* before Allah& Bhosoever remains of the believers an. has no intercessor will be release. through the 3race of Allah, the ,ighty, the 3lorifie.& Therefore not one single believer will abi.e in (ell foreverC whosoever has in his heart the weight of an atom of belief will be brought out from there& One shoul. believe the virtues of the +om/anions : may Allah be /lease. with them : an. their .ifferent ran*s, an. that the most e$cellent of man*in., after the Pro/het : Allah /raise. an. gave him /eace : is Abu:Ba*r, an. then JUmar, an. then JUthman, an. then JAli : may Allah be /lease. with them : an. one shoul. thin* well of all the +om/anions an. /raise them, ?ust as Allah : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. : an. (is Pro/het /raise. them all : Allah has /raise. the Pro/het an. given him /eace :& All these were re/orte. in the news an. witnesse. tra.itions <of the Pro/het>& Therefore whosoever believes in all this an. believes in it without .oubting will be among the /eo/le of truth an. the congregation of the Bay of the Pro/het <sunnah>, an. in.ee. has se/arate. themself from the followers of error an. /arty of innovation&

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-o we as* Allah to /erfect our faith an. ma*e us stea.fast in the )eligion for us an. for all ,uslims through (is ,ercy& Truly (e is the ,ost ,erciful& An. may the /raise of Allah be u/on our ,aster ,uhamma. an. u/on every chosen worshi//er

!ha"te T&o The G aduation of Guidance and !lassification of the $ta'es of Belief
Kou shoul. *now that what we have alrea.y mentione. un.er The Exposition of the Creed shoul. be /resente. to chil.ren in their early years in or.er that they may commit it to memory& 0ts meaning will continue to be unfol.e. before them little by little as they grow ol.er& The first ste/ is to commit it to memory, after which comes un.erstan.ing, then belief, then certainty an. reali;ation, all of which are ingraine. in the chil. without /roof& Allah : the E$alte. : from (is Iirtue over the heart of the human being has wi.ene. it by /re/aring the heart from the beginning for belief without the nee. for any argument or /roof& (ow can this be .enie. when all the articles of faith of the /eo/le are base. u/on /ure re/etition an. imitation& Kes, a belief which results from /ure imitation may not be free of some wea*ness at the beginning, in that it can be sha*en an. im/aire. by its o//osite whenever it is /resente.& 0t shoul., therefore, be strengthene. an. confirme. in the heart of the chil. an. the layman until it becomes well establishe. an. unsha*able& The way to strengthen an. confirm it .oes not lie in learning the art of .ebate an. .ogmatic theology& )ather, to be busy with the recitation of the 4oran an. its e$/lanation, an. rea.ing the Pro/hetic 1uotations an. their meanings& Also, being busy in the /erformance of religious .uties an. acts of worshi/& 0t is in this way that one@s belief continues to increase an. become well establishe. through the /roofs an. arguments hear. from the 4oran& 0t is also increase. through the e$/lanation of the /ro/hetic 1uotations with their merits& As well as it is increase. by the light of worshi/ing, the fulfillment of obligatory .uties an. through observing the /ious, by *ee/ing com/any with them, listening to them, observing their stages an. manners in obe.ience to Allah : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. : the way in which they fear (im, an. humble themselves before (im& -o the first re/etition was li*e the sowing of see.s in the heart an. what followe. is li*e its watering an. nursing until it grew an. was raise. as a goo. tree having well establishe. roots with branches reaching u/ into the air& The senses of the chil. shoul. also be guar.e. with utmost care against argumentation an. .ogmatic theology, because what argumentation im/airs is greater than what it re/airs& Bhat it corru/ts is greater than what it reforms& 0n fact, strengthening the chil. through argumentation is li*e stri*ing a tree with an iron a$e in the ho/e that it will strengthen it& 0n such a way limbs are bro*en off that can lea. to either its .estruction, or, most /robably im/air its growth& -eeing shoul., in this case, suffice as a reason& +om/are then the faith of the goo., the righteous an. the common /erson to that of those of .ogmatic theology an. .ebators& Kou will fin. that the belief of the or.inary /erson is as firm as a high mountain which is move. neither by storm nor lightning& On the other han., the belief of those of .ogmatic

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theology an. he who guar.s his belief with the classifie. .ebate is li*e a threa. hanging in the air, blown to an. fro by the win.& This is true of all e$ce/t those who have hear. the /roof of faith an. have acce/te. it through fellowshi/, ?ust as they have ta*en hol. of belief itself an. acce/te. it through fellowshi/, since there is no .ifference in fellowshi/ between learning the /roof or the /rove.& Dearning the /roof is one thingC arriving at it through in.e/en.ent thin*ing is another which is far from it& 0f the chil. were to be brought u/ on this firm belief then occu/y himself with gaining his livelihoo., he might not be more enlightene.& But accor.ing to the belief of the /eo/le of the truth he will be save.& This is because the )eligion .i. not obligate the uncivili;e. Arabs more than believing an. certifying in the a//arent articles of belief& They were never obligate. to research, in1uire, nor to be bur.ene. with the classification of arguments& (owever, if one wishes to be among the travellers along the /ath of the (ereafter in or.er to be fortunate, one woul. be able to continue to act in accor.ance with one@s *nowle.ge by hol.ing fast to /iety, restraining one@s soul from lust, /racticing self:.isci/line an. self:mortification& Then avenues of gui.ance woul. be o/ene. which woul. reveal the realities of this belief through the %ivine Dight cast into one@s heart through self:mortification in fulfillment of the /romise of Allah who sai.A 2Those who struggle in Our +ause, Be will surely gui.e them to Our waysC an. Allah is with those who .o goo.&2 <Guran #!A"!>& This is, in truth, the /recious /earl which is the ultimate goal of the belief of the sincere an. those close to Allah& 0t is the /recious secret which reste. in the heart of Abu Ba*r al:-i..i1 : may Allah be /lease. with him : an. by which he e$celle. all others& The revelation of this secret, rather, these secrets, have .ifferent stages, that .e/en. u/on the .egree of self:mortification an. u/on the .egree in which the inner self is clean an. free of things other than Allah : the (igh : as well as u/on obtaining gui.ance by means of the light of faith& This is ?ust li*e the .ifferences which e$ist among man*in. in the com/rehension of the mysteries of me.icine, ?uris/ru.ence an. the other sciences because their .ifferences vary with their .iligence an. with their natural brilliance an. /ru.ence& 'ust as the former variations are not limite., so are the latter not limite.& For e$am/le, if you as* whether the stu.y of argumentation an. scholastic theology is blameworthy, li*e astrology, or that it is /ermissible or commen.able, then, you shoul. *now that in this /articular res/ect men go to e$cess an. e$aggeration on both si.es& -ome say that it is an innovation an. unlawful an. that, e$clu.ing the sin of /olytheism, it is better for the worshi//er to face the +reator guilty of every offense e$ce/t that of 3ree* base. logic of theology& Others say that it is an obligation an. an or.inance either an 0slamic /ublic man.ate or in.ivi.ual man.ate& Therefore it is the best form of .ee. an. the highest *in. of obligation, an. that it is the verification of the science of Oneness an. the safeguar. of the )eligion of Allah : the (igh& Among the famous ?uris/ru.ists who hol. it unlawful are al:-hafi@i, ,ali*, Ahma. ibn (anbal, -ufyan an. all the scholars of the Pro/hetic 1uotations&

Page 9 of 56
0bn Ab. al A@la : may Allah be /lease. with him : sai., 2On the .ay Al -hafi@i : may Allah be /lease. with him : .ebate. with (afs Al Far., a ,u@ta;ilite theologian, Al -hafi@i sai.A JE$clu.ing the sin of /olytheism it is better for the worshi//er to face his +reator guilty of every offense than to stan. before (im with a little scholastic theology <the science of %ivinity>& 0 have also hear. (afs say things which 0 cannot re/eat&2 (e a..e., 20 have .iscovere. among the scholastic theologians things which 0 never e$/ecte. to fin.& E$ce/ting the sin of /olytheism, if the worshi//er is trie. with all the /rohibitions it is better for him than loo*ing into scholastic theology&2 Al 4arabisi relate. that al:-hafi@i : may Allah be /lease. with him : was once as*e. about some of the scholastic theology an. became infuriate. an. sai., 2As* (afs al Far. an. his cohorts about this : may Allah .ishonor them&2 Bhen al:-hafi@i : may Allah be /lease. with him : was ta*en ill, (afs came to him an. as*e.A 2Bho am 0H2 (e re/lie., 2Kou are (afs al:Far. : may Allah neither /rotect you nor ta*e you un.er (is aus/ices until you re/ent of your sins&2 (e a..e.A 20f /eo/le only but *new what /re.ilections lur* in scholastic theology they woul. run away from it as they woul. run away from a lion&2 An. a..e., 2Bhenever 0 hear a man say that the 2name2 is 2the name.2 or .ifferent from 2the name.2 0 bear witness that he is one of the /eo/le of scholastic theology an. that he has no religion&2 Al La@farani relate. that al:-hafi@i once sai., 2,y ?u.gment concerning the scholastic theologians is that they shoul. be beaten with /alm branches an. carrie. in that con.ition among the tribes an. clans& Bhile /ronouncing 2this is the /enalty of those who .esert the 4oran an. the /ro/hetic sayings an. ta*e themselves to scholastic theology&2 Ahma. ibn:(anbal, sai., 2A scholastic theologian never succee.s& Kou cannot fin. anyone who, having .abble. in scholastic theology, without unsoun.ness in his heart&2 (e was so strong in its con.emnation that he ostraci;e. al (arith al ,uhasibi, in s/ite of the latter@s asceticism an. /iety, because he wrote a wor* on the refutation of heresy, in which he tol. him, 2Boe unto you& %o you not first state their heretical beliefs an. then answer them, thereby com/elling men to stu.y these heresies an. to /on.er over these .ubiosities, all of which will .raw them into self o/inionation an. research&2 Ahma. : may Allah have mercy on him : also sai., 2The scholastic theologians are heretics&2 ,ali* : may Allah have mercy on him : sai. 2(ave you seen how, when one of stronger argument confronts him he will .iscar. his religion for a new one every .ayH2 0n other wor.s, the /osition of the .ebators is changing& ,ali* : may Allah have mercy on him : also sai., 2The testimony of the /eo/le of innovation an. heretics is not /ermissible&2 0n inter/reting this, some of his com/anions sai. that he meant by heretics the scholastic theologians, no matter whichever .octrine they might belong& Abu:Kusuf sai., 2(e who see*s *nowle.ge through .ogmatic theology will become a heretic&2 Al:(asan sai., 2Neither argue with heretics, associate with them nor listen to them&2 U/on this the scholar of the /ro/hetic 1uotations in the first era have been unanimous& The narrations which came .own to us from them are innumerable& They have sai. that the com/anions refraine. from it although they are more *nowle.geable of the realities an. more ca/able of mastering the wor.ing than others because they *new what evil woul. come out of it& For this reason the Pro/het : /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 2%estroye. are those who s/lit hairsM %estroye. are those who s/lit hairsM %estroye. are those who s/lit hairsM An. these are those who are e$travagant in investigation an. research&2 Also they /rove. by saying that if this sub?ect were an integral /art of )eligion the ,essenger of Allah : /raise an. /eace be u/on him : woul. have consi.ere. it to be the most im/ortant thing to comman. his +om/anions to a..ress themselves with, an. woul. have taught them its ways& (e woul. have also /raise. it an. commen.e. its foun.ers& One must bear in min. that he even taught how one shoul. clean oneself after relieving oneself an. urge. them to stu.y the law of inheritance an. commen.e. them on it& (e forba.e them from s/ea*ing on .estiny&

Page 10 of 56
An. he sai.A 2)efrain concerning .estiny&2 An. accor.ingly the +om/anions .i. so : may Allah be /lease. with them& Nee.less to say, to a.. to what the teacher set forth is harm an. errorC the +om/anions are our teachers an. our e$am/le, an. we are their followers an. stu.ents& The other grou/ /rove. that the forbi..en in the scholastic theology are such terms as substance an. substance@s 1uality an. the other strange terms with which the +om/anions : may Allah be /lease. with them : were not familiar& But the matter is not .ifficult to e$/lain, because there is not a single branch of *nowle.ge in which new terms have not been intro.uce. for the sa*e of conveying meanings& For e$am/le, the -cience of Pro/hetic Guotations, the -cience of inter/retation, an. the -cience of 'uris/ru.ence& (a. the reci/ients encountere. terms such as refutation, invali.ation, com/osition, .e.uction, an. false collocation, as well as the other 1uestions which are brought as evi.ence by analogy, they woul. not com/rehen. them& Therefore the intro.uction of new terms to signify a .efinite meaning is ?ust as legitimate as inventing vessels with a new sha/e an. form for use in /ermissible usages& 0f it is the meaning of these terms which is forbi..en, we .o not mean to attain through them anything e$ce/t the *nowle.ge of the /roofs for the creation of the universe, the Oneness of the +reator, an. (is Attributes as they are mentione. in the )eligion& -ince when, is it unlawful to *now Allah : the (igh : with the /roofH But if it is sectarianism, fanaticism, enmity, hatre., an. all that .ogmatic theologies an. controversy bree. which are meant an. inten.e., then these are unlawful an. shoul. be guar.e. against an. avoi.e., ?ust as /ri.e, conceit, hy/ocrisy, an. the .esire for /ower which the sciences of the Pro/hetic Guotations, 4oran inter/retation, an. ?uris/ru.ence bree. are unlawful an. shoul. be guar.e. against an. avoi.e.& Nevertheless, some of the *nowle.ge shoul. not be /rohibite. because of the metho.s& (ow then is mentioning the /roof or re1uesting it or searching for it /rohibite., when Allah sai., 2-ayA Bring your /roof2 An. (e : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. : sai. 2that he who woul. /erish might /erish by clear /roof, an. he who woul. live might live by clear /roof&2 An. (e : the (igh : sai.A 2(ave you any authority for thisH2 0n other wor.s a /roof& An. (e : the (igh : sai.A 2-ayA JFor Allah is the overwhelming /roof&@2 An. (e : the (igh : sai.A 2(ave you not seen him who .is/ute. with Abraham about his Dor.2 u/ to 2(e who .isbelieve. became /ale2 Bhen (e : the E$alte. : mentione. how Abraham /resente. the /roof in .ebating an. gaine. the u//er han. over his o//onent in a matter that /raises Abraham& An. (e : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. : sai.A 2This is Our /roof, Be give it to Abraham over his nation&2 An. (e : the (igh : sai.A 2They sai.A JO Noah, you have .ebate. us a lot&2 An. (e : the (igh : sai. in Pharoah@s story 2An. who is the Dor. of the Borl.2 u/ to 2even if 0 bring to you something clear2 Briefly, the 4oran, from its beginning to its en., is an argument with the unbelievers& The greatest /roof of theologians for the Oneness of Allah is (is -ayingA 2(a. there been in either <(eaven or earth> go.s besi.es Allah, both woul. have surely gone to ruin&2 Their greatest /roof for the /ro/hecy is, 2An. if you are in .oubt as to that which Be have sent .own to our worshi//er <Pro/het ,uhamma.>, then /ro.uce a cha/ter li*e it&2 Their greatest /roof for the resurrection is, 2-ayA (e shall give life to them Bho originate. them at first&2 An. so on of the rest of the verses an. the /roofs& Thus the /ro/hets : the /raise of Allah be u/on them : .i. not cease to .ebate with the unbelievers an. .is/ute with them& Allah sai., 2%is/ute with them in the *in.est manner&2 The +om/anions : may Allah be /lease. with them : too use. to .ebate an. .is/ute with the unbelievers, but only when necessary& %uring the time of the +om/anions the nee. for .is/utation was minimal&

Page 11 of 56
The first to establish the /rece.ence of summoning innovators bac* to truth by means of .ebate an. argument was JAli ibn abi Talib : may Allah be /lease. with him : when he sent ibn Abbas to the 4hari?ites& 0bn Abbas argue. with them saying, 2Bhat, you rebel against your lea.erH2 They re/lie., 2(e has fought, but .i. not turn the /risoners to be slaves nor too* the s/oils of war&2 0bn Abbas e$/laine. to them that /risoners an. s/oils are ta*en only in a war against unbelievers, a..ing, 2Boul. any of you, if Da.y A@isha : may Allah be /lease. with her : ha. been ta*en ca/tive on the %ay of the +amel, an. if she ha. fallen to his lot, have .eeme. it lawful to .eal with her as he .ealt with his own /ro/erty while she is referre. to in the 4oran as your motherH2 They answere. 2No,2 an. conse1uently two thousan. of them returne. to be obe.ient& 0t was also re/orte. that al (asan once .ebate. with a Ga.arite <who .enie. /re.estination> with the result that the latter re/ente.& -imilarly, JAli ibn Abi Talib : may Allah honor his face : also .ebate. with a Ga.arite& 0t is also re/orte. that JAb.ullah ibn ,as@u. : may Allah be /lease. with him : .ebate. with Ka;i. ibn JAmirah on the sub?ect of belief& JAb.ullah sai.A 20f 0 say that 0 am a believer it will be li*e saying that 0 am in Para.ise&2 Thereu/on Ka;i. ibn JAmirah sai. to him, 2O +om/anion of the ,essenger of Allah, what is belief e$ce/t to believe in Allah, (is angels, Boo*s an. ,essengers, as well as in resurrection an. the scales, an. to /erform the /rayers, *ee/ the fast, an. /ay the obligatory charity& Ket we have sins which, if we *new that they will be forgiven us, we woul. *now that we will be of the /eo/le of Para.ise& For this reason we say that we are believers, but we .o not say that we are from the /eo/le of Para.ise&2 0bn ,as@u. re/lie., 2By Allah, you have sai. the truthC this was a mista*e on my /art&2 Thus it shoul. be sai. that the +om/anions immerse. little in the .ebating an. this they .i. for a short time an. not as a long time necessity nor by the way of authorshi/, teaching it or ta*ing it as a /rofession& Furthermore this limiting /racticing on their /art was .ue to little nee. for it as innovation .i. not a//ear in their time& They a..resse. themselves to it briefly because their only /ur/ose was to silence the a.versary an. com/el him to a.mit his errorC they aime. at revealing the truth an. removing .ubiosities& Ket, whenever the confusion of the a.versary /ersiste. or he insiste. in continuing in error, they /rolonge. their argument, never rec*oning, as it were once they starte. they coul. not measure the nee. or the weight& Their not a//lying themselves to teaching an. writing about it is not unli*e their custom with regar. to ?uris/ru.ence, inter/retation of 4oran, an. /ro/hetic 1uotations& Therefore, if it is /ermissible to com/ose boo*s on ?uris/ru.ence an. to wor* out rare hy/othetical cases which sel.om arise, either as a /re/aration for the time when it is nee.e., or sim/ly to shar/en the wits& 0t is also /ermissible for us to classify the metho.s of .is/utation in /re/aration for the time when .ubiosities flare u/ or an innovator runs looseC or sim/ly to shar/en the wits or have the argument rea.y so that when nee.e. it will be within reach of all ?ust as the /re/aration of armaments for war before the .ay of battle& This is /ractically all that can be sai. on behalf of the two grou/s <the /ro/onents an. the o//onents of .ogmatic theology>&

(i) 2ulin's !once nin' 1ebate

0f you as* me what 0 thin* the best isA 0 will say that the truth of the matter is that those who con.emn it absolutely an. un.er all circumstances as well as those who /raise it absolutely an. unreserve.ly are wrong& The matter shoul. be more carefully .etaile.& Kou shoul. *now then, that first of all a thing, such as wine or carrion, may be /ronounce. unlawful from its very nature& Bhat 0 mean by Jits very nature@ is that the cause of its being /ronounce. unlawful is a 1uality inherent in it& 0nto$ication an. .eath& 0f we were as*e. concerning these two things, we woul. not hesitate to say that they were absolutely unlawful, an. woul. in no way thin* of allowing carrion to be eaten in time of .es/eration, nor ever thin* of /ermitting the .rin*ing of wine when a /erson starts to cho*e over a mouthful of foo. an. fin.s nothing with which to swallow it besi.es wine&

Page 12 of 56
0n the secon. /lace a thing may be /ronounce. unlawful for some other reason, such as un.erselling your ,uslim brother .uring the /erio. of o/tion, tra.ing .uring the call to /rayer, or eating earth which is /ronounce. unlawful because of its harmful effect& -uch things are .ivi.e. into those which are harmful both in small an. large 1uantities, an. are therefore /ronounce. unlawful& For e$am/le, /oison which is fatal whether in small or large 1uantityC an. those which are harmful only when ta*en in e$cess li*e, for e$am/le, honey, which can be harmful to a feverish /atient& The same is true of eating earth& Therefore, in /ronouncing wine absolutely unlawful, only the most general cases were ta*en into consi.eration& 0n the event that something new arises, it will be well to consi.er the .etailing& Be return now to the science of scholastic theology to say that it has benefits an. harm& Bith regar. to its usefulness whenever it is useful it is either lawful, commen.able, or obligatory, as the occasion .eman.s& As to its harm, whenever it is harmful it is unlawful& 0ts harm lies in raising .oubts an. un.ermining the articles of faith by moving them out from the realm of certitu.e an. .etermination& These things are ha//ening at the beginning an. their restoration by means of /roof is .oubtful& Furthermore, it varies with the in.ivi.ual& Therefore it is true that it is harmful to the faith& Ket it has another harmful influence which manifests itself in confirming the belief of the heretics in their heresies an. establishing them in their hearts so that their claims increase an. their insistence on them becomes more stubborn& This *in. of harm, however, results from the fanaticism which .is/utation arouses& For this reason you fin. that the lay heretic can, through *in.ness, be easily .issua.e. from his error in no time& But if he were brought u/ in a town where .is/utation an. fanaticism aboun. it will be im/ossible for both the /ast an. current generation to remove the heresy from his heart, their combine. efforts notwithstan.ing& On the contrary, /assion, fanaticism, hatre. of the a.versaries of .is/utation an. non: conformist grou/s /revail over his heart an. /revent him from com/rehen.ing the truth so that even if he were tol., 2%o you want Allah to remove for you the veil an. to reveal to you through seeing that the truth is on the si.e of your a.versaryH2 he woul. .isli*e it for fear that his a.versary woul. be gla.ene. by it& This, then, is the chronic .isease which has s/rea. among men all over the lan.& 0t is a *in. of corru/tion which is set in motion by the .is/utants through their fanaticism& That is its harm& As to its benefits some thin* that it is useful in revealing realities an. *nowing them as they really are& But how far from the truth this is, because the fulfillment of noble .esire is not foun. in .is/utation& 0n fact the /er/le$ity an. confusion conse1uent on .is/utation sur/ass anything which it may reveal or unfol.& 0f you were to hear that from a scholar of the /ro/hetic 1uotations or a semi: scholar you woul. thin* that men are the enemies of that of which they are ignorant& Ta*e it, then, from one who has familiari;e. himself with .is/utation an., after a careful stu.y an. a thorough investigation of it in which he sur/asse. the e$treme limits of its masters an. went even further to stu.y in great .etail other cognate sub?ects, has come to .isli*e it, an. has ascertaine. that the roa. to the realities of *nowle.ge is close. from this .irection& %is/utation, as a matter of fact, will inevitably reveal, unfol. an. clarify a few things, but this is very rare an. only occurs in sim/le an. clear matters which are rea.ily un.erstoo. even before any thorough stu.y of the art of .is/utation& 0t has only one benefit& 0t /reserves the belief for the or.inary /eo/le an. safeguar.s it against the confusion of innovators by .ifferent *in.s of argumentation& For the layman is swaye. by the argument of the innovator although the argument may be falseC an. to confront a false /osition with another refutes it& Peo/le are e$/ecte. to follow this belief which we have alrea.y mentione. because the )eligion has or.aine. it for the goo. of their tem/oral an. s/iritual lives an. because the goo. early generations agree. on it& The learne. are e$/ecte. to watch over it for the or.inary /eo/le against the ambiguities of the innovators, ?ust as the magistrates are e$/ecte. to safeguar. their /ro/erty against the attac*s of the o//ressors an. ravishers&

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Bhen both its harm an. benefit are fully un.erstoo., one shoul. be li*e the /hysician who is a.e/t in the use of .angerous .rugs, which he .oes not a//ly e$ce/t to the right /lace an. only at the time of .es/aration& To e$/lain further, the laymen an. the or.inary /eo/le who are engage. in crafts an. tra.es shoul. be left alone in the integrity of their beliefs which they have acce/te. when they were instructe. in the faith which we have alrea.y state.& To teach them .is/utation is .eci.e.ly harmful to them as it will /erha/s arouse .oubts in their min.s which will sha*e their belief& Once these .oubts are arouse. it will not be /ossible to reme.y their sha*en belief& As to the layman who believes in a certain innovation, he shoul. be calle. bac* to the truth with *in.ness an. tact an. not with fanaticism, with soft wor.s which are convincing to the soul an. effective in the heart, wor.s similar to those of the arguments of the 4oran an. the /ro/hetic 1uotations, mi$e. with a little a.monition an. warning& This is much better than .ebate along the line set .own by the scholastic theologians& This is because the layman, when he hears such arguments, thin*s that they are a *in. of techni1ue in .is/utation which the .is/utant has learne. in or.er to .raw men to his belief& +onse1uently, if the layman fails to re/ly to these arguments he will assume that the scholastic theologians of his school are ca/able of refuting them& %is/utation with both this man an. the former is unlawful& Di*ewise it is unlawful to argue with one who has fallen victim to .oubt, since .oubt shoul. be remove. with *in.ness by a.monition an. un.erstan.able /roofs free of e$cessive s/eculation an. en.less .ebate& 0n fact .is/utation is useful in only one case, namely, when the layman has been /ersua.e. to believe in an innovation through one *in. of argument, in which case it shoul. be countere. by the same *in. of argument in or.er to recall the /erson to the truth& This, however, a//lies to those who : because of their fon.ness of .is/utation : are no longer satisfie. with the or.inary a.monitions an. warnings, but have reache. a stage where nothing will cure them e$ce/t .ebate& +onse1uently it is /ermissible to argue with them& But in a country where heresy is rare an. one rite /revails, it shoul. be sufficient to state the articles of faith which we have alrea.y mentione., without any attem/t to ta*e u/ the 1uestion of /roofs& The /erson shoul. wait until something 1uestionable arises before he ta*es u/ the 1uestion of /roofs which he shoul. /resent accor.ing to the nee.& 0f the heresy were a common one an. a fear e$iste. that the chil.ren might be beguile. with it, then there woul. be no harm in teaching them the e1uivalent of what we have inclu.e. in /art of this boo* entitle. "The Jerusalem Message" (al-Risalah al- Qudsiyah), as a means for overcoming the influence of the .is/utations of innovators if that influence shoul. confront the chil.ren& This is a brief thing which we inclu.e. in this boo* because of its brevity& 0f the chil. were bright an. therefore became aware of a certain 1uestion or grew s*e/tical of something in his min., then the feare. .isease has a//eare. an. the mala.y has become visible& There will be no harm, then, to /romote the chil. to the e1uivalent of that which we have inclu.e. in the boo* entitle. al-lqtisad i al!"tiqad (The Mid-#ay $elie ), which is free from any .e/artures from a .iscussion of the foun.ations of the articles of faith to the other investigations of the scholastic theologians& 0f this convinces the chil. then he might be left aloneC but if this shoul. fail to convince him, then the .isease has become chronic, the mala.y roote., an. the e/i.emic wi.es/rea.& Det, then, the /hysician be as *in. an. tactful as /ossible, an. let him await the Bill of Allah until, through (is 3race, the truth shall be reveale. to the chil.& Otherwise he will /ersist in his .oubt an. s*e/ticism& The material containe. in that boo* an. others of the same *in. is that from which benefit can be e$/ecte.& +ha/ters not confine. to the same sub?ect are of two *in.s& The first com/rises cha/ters which .eal with sub?ects other than the foun.ations of the articles of faith, such as those which .iscuss /ro/ensity, transmutations an. the .ifferent *in.s of /erce/tions or .iscoursing on sight, whether or not it has an o//osite which is calle. obstruction or blin.ness& 0f this obstruction .oes e$ist, then it will be an obstruction <which /revents the eye> from <seeing> all invisible things, or a /roof which verifies every visible thing that can be seen, as well as other mislea.ing trivialities&

Page 14 of 56
The secon. *in. of these cha/ters contains a further e$/ansion of the same arguments as a//lie. to other sub?ects, together with several 1uestions an. answers : .etails which a.. nothing but confusion an. /er/le$ity to him who has not alrea.y been convince. by the /revious material& For there are certain things which become more obscure with .ilation an. e$/ansion& 0f one were to say that the investigation into the rules of /erce/tions an. /ro/ensities is useful for shar/ening the min. which is the instrument of )eligion ?ust as the swor. is the instrument of (oly war <?iha.>, hence there is no harm in shar/ening it, it will be li*e saying that /laying chess, because it shar/ens the min., is a /art of )eligion& This, however, is insane because the min. may be shar/ene. through the other sciences of the )eligion in which there is no fear of harm or in?ury& By this you see how much of scholastic theology is blameworthy an. how much is /raiseworthy, the con.itions wherein it is con.emne. an. these wherein it is /raise., as well as the /ersons who are benefite. by it an. the /ersons who are harme.& 0f you shoul. then say that, since you ac*nowle.ge the nee. for it in refuting the arguments of the innovators, an. since innovations have now risen an. calamities s/rea., the nee. for it has become urgent, it is inevitable that un.erta*ing this science shoul. become an 0slamic /ublic man.ate ?ust as un.erta*ing to safeguar. /ro/erty an. other rights an. fulfilling the .uties of ?ustice an. government an. the rest& An. unless the learne. men engage in s/rea.ing an. teaching this science an. in ma*ing research in it, it will not en.ureC an. if it were com/letely aban.one., it woul. surely .isa//earC nor is there in human nature by itself a sufficient ability to cut through the .ubiosities of innovators unless this sub?ect is learnt an. stu.ie.& Therefore there shoul. be instruction in it, an. its investigation is now one of the 0slamic /ublic man.ate, contrary to what it was at the time of the +om/anions when the nee. for it was not urgent& 0f you shoul. say this, then *now that the truth of the matter is that un.oubte.ly there shoul. be, in every town, someone who woul. un.erta*e to engage in this science an. ta*e it u/on himself to refute the .ubiosities of the innovators which have s/rea. in that /articular town& This un.erta*ing is /erforme. through e.ucation, but it is not wise to instruct the laity in it ?ust as they are instructe. in ?uris/ru.ence an. inter/retation& For this is li*e a .rug, an. ?uris/ru.ence is li*e foo.& The harm of foo. is not .angerous but the harm of .rugs is .angerous as we have alrea.y mentione.& The learne. /eo/le of this science shoul. confine their instruction to men who have the three following traitsA The first is .evotion to *nowle.ge an. /assion for itC for the wor*ing man is /revente. by his wor* from mastering the sub?ect com/letely an. from .is/elling .oubts when they arise& The secon. trait is sagacity, intelligence, an. elo1uence, because those with lessor intellect .o not benefit by his un.erstan.ing an. the .ull one .oes not gain by his argument& On the contrary such a /erson is in?ure. by .is/utation an. shoul. not e$/ect any goo. from it& The thir. trait is that the man shoul. by nature be goo., religious, an. /iousC he shoul. not be .ominate. by /assions, because the sinful man woul. stray from )eligion at the least /rovocation& Passions woul. .o away with all .eterrents an. remove the barrier which stan.s between him an. worl.ly /leasures& (e woul. not be *een on .is/elling anything 1uestionable, but rather woul. sei;e u/on it to free himself from any obligation& The things which such a stu.ent will s/oil woul. be greater than those which he woul. reform& Bhen you *now these .ivisions you woul. reali;e that, in .is/utation the /raiseworthy argument is of the same *in. as the arguments of the 4oran, *in. wor.s which influence the hearts an. convince the min.s without going .ee/ly into reasoning an. analyses which most /eo/le .o not un.erstan.C an. whenever they un.erstan. them they consi.er them tric*eries an. artifices which their /ro/onent has learnt in or.er to ma*e things ambiguous& -houl. he be confronte. by one of his /rofessional colleagues he woul. resist him& Kou will also *now that al:-hafi@i an. all the goo., early generation were forbi..en from engaging in .is/utation an. .evoting themselves e$clusively to it, because of the harm inherent in it which we have alrea.y /ointe. out& The re/orts of ibn Abbas@ .ebate with the 4hari?ites an. Ali@s .ebate concerning free

Page 15 of 56
will was of the clear an. intelligent *in., carrie. out at the time of nee.& -uch .is/utation is /raiseworthy un.er all con.itions& Un.oubte.ly the nee. for .is/utation .iffers with the timeC therefore it is not unli*ely that the rule which governs it shoul. also .iffer& This then is the rule of the cree. which Allah im/ose. on man*in. an. the metho. of .efen.ing an. /reserving it& As to .is/elling .oubts, revealing truths, *nowing things as they really are, an. com/rehen.ing the mysteries which the wor.s of this belief signify, there is no way to attain any of them e$ce/t through self:mortification an. the sub.uing of /assions, through see*ing Allah whole hearte.ly an. /ersisting in thoughts which are free from the blemishes of .is/utation& They are a mercy from Allah which comes to those who e$/ose themselves to its beneficence accor.ing to what Allah or.aine. for them an. the e$tent to which they ha. e$/ose. themselves to it as well as the ca/acity of their hearts an. the .egree of their /urity& This is the sea the .e/th of which cannot be soun.e. an. the waters of which cannot be traverse.&

(ii) 2eality and 2eli'ion

0f you say that this .iscourse im/lies that these sciences have e$ternal as well as internal meanings, that some of them are obvious an. rea.ily un.erstoo., while others are hi..en an. become evi.ent through self:mortification, .isci/line, earnest .esire, /ure thin*ing an. a heart free from all worl.ly activities e$ce/t those which are re1uire., an. conclu.e that such .iscourse is almost contrary to the )eligion because the )eligion .oes not have e$ternal an. internal meanings, secret an. manifest, but the e$ternal an. the internal, the secret an. the manifest, are in it all the same& Then you shoul. *now that the .ivision of these sciences into hi..en an. obvious is not .enie. by anyone of any insight but is .enie. by the ignorant who, having ac1uire. some *nowle.ge in their youth, .i. not a.vance any further an. conse1uently faile. to gain /romotion to the lofty heights where lie the stations of the learne. men an. the s/iritual shei*hs& This is evi.ent from the testimony of the )eligion as the Pro/het sai., 20n.ee., there is an e$ternal meaning an. an internal meaning to the 4oran, a sco/e an. a /oint&2 JAli, /ointing to his breast, sai., 20n.ee., herein lies abun.ant *nowle.geC woul. that there were some to <com/rehen. an.> transmit it&2 The Pro/het also sai., 2Be /ro/hets were or.ere. to communicate with everyone accor.ing to his ability to un.erstan.&2 An. again, 2No one has ever recite. a /ro/hetic 1uotation to a /eo/le which their min.s have faile. to gras/ without it being a tem/tation for them&2 Allah saysA 2An. we stri*e these similitu.es for the /eo/le, but none un.erstan.s them e$ce/t those who *now&2 <Guran #!A9#>& The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 20n.ee., *nowle.ge has a branch which resembles a hi..en thingC no one gras/s it e$ce/t those who *now Allah&2 An. again, 20f you only *new what 0 *now, you woul. laugh a little an. wee/ much&2 0f this ha. not been a secret which he was forbi..en to .ivulge because of the inability of the min.s to com/rehen. it, why then .i. he not e$/lain it to them, es/ecially as they woul. have certainly believe. him if he ha. .one soH 0n connection with the inter/retation of the Bor.s of Allah, 20t is Allah who has create. the seven heavens an. of earth their li*eC an. between them the +omman. .escen.s&&&&2 <Guran "8A #>& 0bn Abbas sai., 2Bere 0 to relate its inter/retation you woul. stone me&2 0n another transmission, 2you woul. have sai., J(e is an unbeliever@&2 Abu: (urayrah sai., 20 have receive. from the Pro/het of Allah two things, one of which 0 have ma.e /ublic& Bere 0 to .ivulge the other, this throat woul. be cut&2 The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 2Abu:Ba*r has e$celle. you not by e$cessive fasting an. much /rayer, but by a secret which rests in his chest&2 No .oubt this secret was connecte. with the foun.ations of )eligion an. not remove. from it& An. whatever belonge. to the foun.ations of )eligion coul. not have been hi..en from the other +om/anions through its outwar. form& -ahl al:Tustari : may Allah be /lease. with him : sai., 2The learne. /erson /ossesses three *in.s of *nowle.geA visible *nowle.ge which he im/arts to /eo/le in generalC invisible *nowle.ge which he cannot reveal e$ce/t to its own /eo/leC an. finally a confi.ential *nowle.ge which lies between him an. (is Dor. an. which he cannot reveal to anyone&2 One of the gnostics sai., 2To .ivulge the secret of the

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Dor. is e1uivalent to unbelief&2 -ome one also sai., 2The Dor. has a secret, if reveale., /ro/hecy will become obsolete& Pro/hecy has a secret, if .ivulge., *nowle.ge will become useless, an. the learne. /eo/le of Allah have a secret, if .isclose., the )eligion will become of no force&2 0f he who ha. sai. this .i. not mean thereby the futility of /ro/hecy as far as those with lessor intellect are concerne. because of their inability to un.erstan., then what he sai. is not true& )ather, that which is true is free of contra.iction& The /erfect man is he whose *nowle.ge .oes not .estroy his /iety, an. the roa. to /iety is through the /ro/hecy& Kou may say, 2These verses an. /ro/hetic 1uotations may be sub?ect to several inter/retations& -how us, then, how their visible meaning .iffers from the invisible& For if the visible is contra.ictory to the invisible, it will .estroy the )eligion, which is e$actly the /osition of those who say that reality is contrary of the )eligion& This is unbelief because the )eligion re/resents the visible an. reality re/resents the invisible& 0f the one is neither contra.ictory to, nor in .isagreement with the other, then both are i.entical& Therefore the .ivision <of *nowle.ge into obvious an. hi..en, visible an. invisible> is hereby .estroye. an. the )eligion will have no secret <meaning> which shoul. not be .ivulge.& )ather both the hi..en an. the obvious will be the same&2 0f you in1uire, then you shoul. *now that this 1uestion raises a grave issue an. lea.s into the science of )evelation .e/arting from the intent of the science of /ractical )eligion which is the /ur/ose of these boo*s& For the articles of faith which we have alrea.y mentione. come un.er the .ee.s of the heart which we are re1uire. to receive with acce/tance an. consent, by fi$ing the heart on them an. a.hering to them, not by en.eavoring to com/rehen. their realities, since this was not re1uire. of all /eo/le& Bere it not a /art of /ractical )eligion we woul. not have mentione. it in this boo*, an. were it not one of the outwar. .ee.s of the heart we woul. not have mentione. it in the first half of the boo*& )eal <an. com/lete> revelation is an attribute of the essence of the heart an. its inwar. /art& But if the .iscussion lea.s to the stirring u/ of .oubt or the sha.ow of .oubt concerning the contra.iction of the visible to the invisible, a brief wor. of e$/lanation becomes necessary& For he who says that reality .isagrees with the )eligion an. the invisible contra.icts the visible is closer to unbelief than to belief&

(iii) $ec ets !oncealed by the Peo"le of Allah

0n fact, the secrets whose com/rehension is /eculiar to the favorites of Allah an. the /ractice of which is limite. to them an. which they .o not .ivulge to the masses may be .ivi.e. into five categories& The first is that the thing in itself is subtle an. beyon. the com/rehension of most hearts an. min.s& +onse1uently its com/rehension is restricte. to the elite who shoul. not .ivulge it to those who are unable to gras/ it lest, whenever their hearts fail to com/rehen. it or to un.erstan. the conceale. secrets of the s/irit, it becomes a calamity to them& The Pro/het himself refraine. from e$/laining this /art& The min.s fail to com/rehen. its reality an. the imaginations to imagine its truth& But .o not thin* that this was not reveale. to the Pro/het of Allah : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : for he who .oes not *now the s/irit .oes not *now himself, an. he who .oes not *now himself .oes not *now his +reator& 0t is not unli*ely that this was reveale. to some of the /eo/le who are close to Allah an. the learne. men although they were not /ro/hetsC but they .isci/line. themselves in the eti1uette of the )eligion an. hel. their /eace in the matters where the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : himself was silent& 0n fact there are in the attributes of Allah many hi..en things which are beyon. the com/rehension an. un.erstan.ing of the crow.s& Of these, the Pro/het of Allah : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : .i. not mention anything e$ce/t those that are obvious to the min.s, such as *nowle.ge an. /ower an. the li*e, which men un.erstan. in terms of something a*in to them an. then su//ose that they /erforme. the feat through their own *nowle.ge an. /ower, es/ecially since they /ossess certain 1ualities which are calle. *nowle.ge an. /ower& +onse1uently they arrive at that by some manner of analogy& But if the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : mentione. some of the attributes of Allah to which men have nothing a*in an. which .o not resemble, even remotely, anything they /ossess, they woul. not have un.erstoo. them& Thus, the /leasure of coition, if mentione. to the

Page 17 of 56
chil. or to the im/otent, will not be un.erstoo. by them e$ce/t in relation to the /leasure of eating which they com/rehen.& This un.erstan.ing, however, will not be one of actual e$/erience& Furthermore, the .ifference between the 4nowle.ge an. Power of Allah an. human *nowle.ge an. /ower is greater than the .ifference between the /leasure of coition an. the /leasure of eating& 0n short, man*in. .oes not com/rehen. e$ce/t themselves an. their own attributes which are /resent with them or were with him in the /ast& By com/arison an. analogy with these they un.erstan. the attributes of others& They will also reali;e that there is a .ifference between their attributes an. those of Allah in nobleness an. /erfection& Therefore it is not within the /ower of /eo/le but to .eclare as belonging to Allah what has been .eclare. as belonging to themselves, such as action, *nowle.ge, an. /ower as well as other attributes an. to ac*nowle.ge that in Allah they are the most /erfect an. the most noble& ,ost of their em/hasis woul., therefore, be on their own attributes rather than on those of ,a?esty which belong e$clusively to Allah& For this reason the Pro/het sai., 20 cannot count /raising Kou as Kou have /raise. Kourself& 2This .oes not mean the inability to e$/ress what 0 com/rehen. but rather an a.mission of the inability to com/rehen. the Essence of the ,a?esty of Allah& For this reason again someone sai.A 2No one truly *nows Allah e$ce/t Allah (imself&2 Abu:Ba*r al:-i..i1 sai., 2Praise be to Allah who has not given men a way to *now (im e$ce/t through their inability to *now (im&2 Det us now, however, sto/ this *in. of .iscussion an. go bac* to the main /ur/ose, namely that one of these categories com/rises that which the min.s fail to com/rehen., such as the s/irit an. some of the attributes of Allah& Perha/s the Pro/het refere. to something of the same nature when he sai., 2(is cover is Dight, if (e reveals it, in.ee., the E$altation of (is Face will burn everything of (is creation that (is -ight reaches&2 <%arwish notesA +hristians are taught to believe an. surren.er their limite. reason an. trust 3o.& The same a//lies to ,uslim scholars who believe in the limitation of the brain an. trust Allah an. (is ,essengers so the 1uestion remainsA 20s there /roof that 3o. has a son which came from (im (imselfH2 The answer in both 0slam@s 4oran an. authentic, early +hristian literature is that (e .oes not& 0n the 4oran you will fin. a .enial of such claim an. that Allah tol. Pro/het ,uhamma. to tell the worl. 20f the ,erciful has a son, in.ee. 0 will be the first one to worshi/ him&2 Therefore the re?ection is not base. u/on malice or even the limitation of the brain that it fails to com/rehen., but it is base. u/on clear revelation which shoul. be consi.ere. by all&> The secon. category of the hi..en things which the /ro/hets an. the /eo/le who are close to Allah .ecline to mention or .ivulge com/rises those things which are intelligible in themselves an. the min.s .o not fail to gras/, but their mention is harmful to most hearers although it is not harmful to the /ro/hets an. the /eo/le who are close to Allah& The secret of the .ecrees of Allah which the learne. men were forbi..en to .ivulge belongs to this /art& +onse1uently it is not unli*ely that certain truths may be harmful to some /eo/le ?ust as the light of the sun is harmful to the eyes of bats an. the /erfume of the rose is harmful to blac*:beetles& An. how coul. this be .eeme. unli*ely when we *now that our saying that unbelief, a.ultery, sin, an. evil e$ist all by the Bill of Allah, which in itself is true, but, nevertheless, has been harmful to many because it was ta*en by them as an evi.ence for folly, lac* of wis.om, an. a//roval of evil an. wic*e.nessH Thus has al:)awan.i as well as several se/aratists, .eviate. from the right /ath by following such heresies& -imilarly, if the secret of the .ecrees of Allah were .ivulge. most /eo/le woul. fancy that Allah is lac*ing in /ower, because their min.s are inca/able of com/rehen.ing anything which will remove that fancy& Furthermore, if someone shoul. .iscuss the %ay of )esurrection an. shoul. say that it will fall after a thousan. years, or a few years after or a few years before, his wor.s woul. be un.erstoo.& Nevertheless the a//ointe. time of the %ay of )esurrection was not foretol. for the welfare of man*in. an. for fear of the harm which might ensue& The <intervening> /erio. may be long an. the a//ointe. time very .istant, with the result that /eo/le, thin*ing that the %ay of )ecom/ense is remote, woul. cease to min. or care& On the other han. it may be, in the 4nowle.ge of Allah, close at han.& 0f then, the a//ointe. time shoul. be foretol., /eo/le woul. be greatly frightene. with the result that they woul. neglect their <.aily> wor* an. transactions an. havoc woul. overta*e the worl.& Bere this to occur an. come true, it woul. be an e$am/le of this category&

Page 18 of 56
The thir. category is where the thing is such as will be un.erstoo. an. cause no harm when mentione. clearly, although it is usually e$/resse. through meta/hor or allegory so that its im/ression on the heart of the listener may be .ee/er& 0ts value is that it leaves a greater im/ression on the heart& Thus if a /erson ha. sai. that he ha. seen a man /lace /earls aroun. the nec*s of swine an. his wor.s were ta*en meta/horically to e$/ress the im/arting of *nowle.ge, an. the s/rea. of learning among those who are unworthy, the <or.inary> listener woul. rea.ily un.erstan. its literal meaning while the thorough an. careful listener, when he e$amines an. fin.s that the man ha. no /earls an. was not surroun.e. by swine, woul. see through an. com/rehen. the inner an. invisible meaning& +onse1uently men .iffer in this res/ect& An e$am/le of this foun. in the following /oemA Two men, one a weaver the other a tailor on either si.e of +onstellation of IirgoC One is weaving shrou.s for the .ecease., an. his com/anion tailors for the forthcoming one& The /oet e$/resse. the celestial /henomena of the rising of the stars an. their setting meta/horically through the /arable of two artisans& This *in. of <meta/hor> belongs to the /rinci/le of e$/ressing a certain meaning through a /icture which contains the same meaning or a similar meaning& Belonging to the same *in. are the wor.s of the Pro/het when he sai., 2Ierily the mos1ue will shrin* when /eo/le s/it in its courtyar. ?ust as the /iece of s*in shrin*s when it is /lace. over the fire&2 Kou can rea.ily un.erstan. that the courtyar. of the mos1ue .oes not actually shrin* when /eo/le s/it in it& Bhat the wor.s of the Pro/het really mean is that the atmos/here of the mos1ue, being honore. an. e$alte., has been .ishonore. an. belittle. by s/itting, which is as o//ose. to the i.ea of the mos1ue as fire is to the integrity of the /articles of s*in& Belonging to the same *in. are the wor.s of the Pro/het when he sai., 20s he who raises his hea. from /rostration before the /rayer lea.er not afrai. that Allah will transform his hea. into that of a .on*eyH2 This, however, will never ta*e /lace literally but only meta/horically since the hea. of the .on*ey is /roverbial, not for its form an. sha/e, but for its characteristic stu/i.ity an. foolishness& Thus, whoever woul. raise his hea. from /rostration before the /rayer lea.er, his hea. woul. become li*e that of a .on*ey in stu/i.ity an. foolishness& 0t is this which is meant an. not the sha/e which the literal meaning <of the wor.s> in.icates& For it is utterly foolish to /lace following <the /rayer lea.er> an. /rece.ing <him> together because they are contra.ictory& The *nowle.ge that, in such cases, there are inner meanings which .iffer from the outwar. significations, can only be .etermine. by either rational or legal evi.ence& The rational is when any inter/retation accor.ing to the outwar. meaning is im/ossible, as in the wor.s of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : when he sai.A 2The heart of the believer lies between two of the fingers of the ,erciful <Allah>&2 Bhen we e$amine the hearts of the believers we shall not fin. them surroun.e. with fingers, an. conse1uently we shall *now that the wor.s are use. meta/horically for /ower which is inherent in fingers an. constitutes their hi..en life& Furthermore, /ower was meta/horically re/resente. by the fingers because such a meta/hor conveys the i.ea of /ower more com/letely& Of the same *in. is the instance where Allah e$/resses the i.ea of (is Power meta/horically by sayingA 2Bhen Be .ecree a thing, Be only sayA JBe,@ an. it is&2 <Guran "A95> The outwar. meaning of this verse is not /ossible because if the saying of Allah JBe@ was a..resse. to the thing before that thing came into e$istence, then it woul. sim/ly be an im/ossibility since the non:e$istent .oes not un.erstan. a..ress an., therefore, cannot obey& An. if it was a..resse. to the thing after the thing has come into e$istence, then it woul. be su/erfluous, since the thing is alrea.y in e$istence an. .oes not nee. to be brought into being& But whereas this meta/hor has been more im/ressive u/on the min.s in conveying the i.ea of the greatest /ower, recourse has been ma.e to it& Those cases where the inner meaning is .etermine. by means of legal evi.ence are the cases which can be inter/rete. accor.ing to their literal an. outwar. signification, but, on the authority of /ro/hetic 1uotations, a meaning other than the outwar. was inten.e., as is the case in the inter/retation of the Bor.s of Allah when (e sai., 2(e sen.s .own water from the s*y which fills the riverbe.s to overflowing, so that their torrents carries a swelling foam&&&2 <Guran 3A 7>& (ere the wor. water stan.s for the 4oran an. the torrents re/resent the hearts& -ome of the hearts receive an. hol. a lotC others receive a lot an. hol. littleC while others still receive a lot an. hol. nothing at all& The foam re/resents

Page 19 of 56
unbelief an. hy/ocrisy, which, although it rises to an. floats u/on the surface of the water, .oes not lastC but gui.ance which benefits man*in., en.ures& 0n this /art a grou/ of men went .ee/ly an. inter/rete. the things which were mentione. in connection with the (ereafter, such as the balance, the Bri.ge, an. the li*e& All this, however, is innovation because it was not han.e. .own by /ro/hetic 1uotations, es/ecially since its literal an. outwar. inter/retation is not im/ossible& Therefore it shoul. be inter/rete. literally& The fourth category is where a /erson com/rehen.s the thing in a general way an. then through further investigation an. e$/erimentation, un.erstan.s its /articulars so that it becomes a /art of him& Thus the two *in.s of *nowle.ge .iffer& The first, <i&e& the general> resembles the hus*s, while the secon. <i&e& the /articular>, resembles the /ith& The first is the visible or outwar., the secon. is the invisible or inwar.& This is ?ust li*e the e$am/le of the man who sees a /erson in the .ar* or from a .istance an. ac1uires a certain /icture of that /erson& But when he sees him from a close range or after the .ar*ness has gone, he reali;es certain .ifferences& This last /icture, however, is not o//ose. to the first but com/lementary to it& The same is true of *nowle.ge, faith, an. belief& For a /erson may believe in the e$istence of love, sic*ness, an. .eath even before any of them occur& But to believe in their e$istence after they have ta*en /lace is more com/lete than believing in their e$istence before they ta*e /lace& 0n fact man*in. has, with regar. to /assion an. love as well as the other con.itions, three .ifferent stages an. three .istinct .egrees of com/rehension& The first is to believe in the e$istence of the thing before it ta*es /laceC the secon. is to believe in its e$istence at the time of its occurrenceC an. the thir. is to believe in its e$istence after it has ta*en /lace& To recogni;e the e$istence of hunger after it is gone is .ifferent from recogni;ing its e$istence before it is gone& -imilarly, there are some of the sciences of )eligion which mature by e$/erience an. their mature state as com/are. with their /remature state is li*e the invisible as com/are. to the visible& (ence there is a .ifference between the sic* man@s *nowle.ge of health an. the healthy man@s *nowle.ge of it& 0n short, /eo/le .iffer in these four /artsC yet in none of them is there an invisible meaning which contra.icts the visible& )ather the invisible meaning com/letes an. /erfects the visible ?ust as the /ith com/letes the hus*& The fifth category is where concrete wor.s are use. figuratively& Those with lessor intellect will regar. the literal an. visible meaning sensible an. will not go beyon. itC but the man who has an insight for realities will com/rehen. the secret it contains& This is li*e the wor.s of him who sai., 2The wall sai. to the /eg, Jwhy .o you s/lit meH@ The /eg re/lie. JAs* the one who is hitting me an. .oes not let me go& 3o an. see the mallet which is behin. me&@2 This is, un.oubte.ly, figurative& Of the same *in. are the following Bor.s of Allah, 2Then (e wille. to the heaven, when it was smo*e, an. to it an. to the earth (e sai.A J+ome willingly, or unwillingly&@ JBe come willingly,@ they answere.&2 <Guran 9 A >& Those with lesser intellect, because of their lac* of un.erstan.ing, woul. assume that both the (eaven an. the earth /ossess life intellect, an. the ability to un.erstan. s/eech& (e woul. also assume that they were a..resse. by a s/eech of actually enunciate. wor.s which both coul. hear an. re/ly to with enunciate. wor.s saying, 2Be come willingly&2 But whosoever has insight woul. reali;e that this was a figurative <use of language> an. that Allah only e$/resse. that the (eaven an. earth are sub?ect to (is Bill& Of the same *in., too, are the Bor.s of Allah when (e sai., 2There is nothing that .oes not /roclaim (is Praise&&&2 <Guran 7A9">& Those with lesser intellect, because of their lac* of un.erstan.ing, woul. assume that the inanimate things /ossess life intellect, an. the ability to s/ea* an. enunciate wor.s, so that they woul. have to say, 2Praise is to Allah2 in or.er that (is Praise might be establishe.& But he who has insight woul. *now that the actual utterance with the tongue was not meant by that but merely that everything, through its own e$istence, /raises Allah, an. in its own essence e$alts (im an. attests

Page 20 of 56
to (is Oneness& As has been sai.A 20n everything (e has a sign which .eclares that (e is One&2 0n the same way it is sai., 2This master/iece testifies that its ,a*er /ossesses the ability an. /erfect *nowle.ge&2 This .oes not mean that the master/iece actually utter the wor.s, 20 testify &&&2 etc& but merely that, through its form an. state, <it testifies to the Ability an. 4nowle.ge of its ,a*er>& -imilarly everything .oes, in itself, stan. in nee. of the +reator to create an. sustain it, to maintain its attributes an. to move it to an. fro in its .ifferent states& An. through its nee. it testifies to its ,a*er by E$alting (im& -uch a witness is com/rehen.e. by those who have insight, not those who stan. still an. .o not venture beyon. the e$ternals& For this reason Allah sai., 2But you .o not un.erstan. their e$tolling&2 <Guran 7A9">& Those with lessor intellect .o not un.erstan. this at all, while the favorites of Allah an. the versatile learne. men .o not un.erstan. it /erfectly because everything e$tols Allah an. /raises (im in many ways an. each com/rehen.s accor.ing to his intellect an. insight& The enumeration of these witnesses is not becoming un.er the science of /ractical )eligion& 0n this /art too those who cling to e$ternals .iffer from those who have insight, an. in it the .isagreement between the visible an. the invisible becomes evi.ent&

(i.) Inte " etation and abstention &ith submission

0n this connection /eo/le are either e$tremists or followers of the mi..le:roa.& As e$tremists, some have gone so far in the <allegorical> inter/retation of wor.s that they have e$/laine. away all or most of their outwar. an. literal meaning& They have ta*en the Bor.s of Allah, 2Their han.s will s/ea* to an. their legs will testify to their earnings&2 <Guran 3"A"8> as well as, 2JBhy .i. you bear witness against us,@ they will say to their s*ins, an. their s*ins will re/lyA JAllah gave us s/eech, as (e gave s/eech to everything&@2 <Guran 9 A# > an. the conversation which ta*es /lace between ,un*ar an. Na*eer, an. in the Balance, the Bri.ge, an. the 'u.gement %ay together with the .ebate between the /eo/le of (ell an. the /eo/le of Para.ise when <the former> saysA 2Pour u/on us some water, or of the refreshments Allah has given you,2 an. claime. that all this was figurative& On the other han. some went to the o//osite e$treme an. forba.e <any but the literal inter/retation>& Among those was Ahma. ibn:(anbal who went as far as to forbi. the allegorical inter/retation of the Bor.s of Allah 2JBe@, an. it is&2 <Guran "A9#>& (is followers have claime. that these Bor.s were wor.s of actual s/eech with enunciate. letters an. soun.s brought into e$istence by Allah the very moment (e create. a create. thing& 0 have even hear. one of his followers say that <Ahma. ibn:(anbal> forba.e the allegorical inter/retation of all but three /ro/hetic 1uotations, namely the wor.s of the Pro/het when he sai., 2The -tone is the right (an. of Allah in the earth,2 <the -tone in 4a@bah> an., 2The heart of the believer lies between two of the fingers of the ,erciful <Allah>C2 an. 2Ierily 0 shall fin. the soul of the ,erciful <coming> from the .irection of al:Kaman&2 Even here the literalists have been incline. to forbi. any allegorical inter/retation& 0t is assume., however, that Ahma. ibn (anbal *new that ascen.ing is not fi$ity of location, an. .escen.ing is not change of locationC nevertheless he forba.e allegorical inter/retation for the goo. an. welfare of /eo/le, since whenever it is allowe. matters become worse an. get out of control, overste//ing the limits of mo.eration& Things which go beyon. the limits of mo.eration are beyon. control& Therefore there is no harm .one by such a /rohibition which is also atteste. by the lives of the goo., first generation who use. to say, 2Ta*e them literally as they have been <reveale. an.> han.e. .own&2 Thus ,ali*, on being as*e. about ascen.ing, went so far as to say, 2The fact of ascen.ing is *nown but its manner is notC to believe in it is an obligation, to in1uire about its manner is a heresy&@ Another grou/ a.vocate. the mi..le of the roa. /osition an. /ermitte. allegorical inter/retation in everything which relates to the attributes of Allah but have ta*en the things which /ertain to the (ereafter in a literal sense an. forba.e their allegorical inter/retation& The a.vocates of this /osition are the Ash@arites& The ,u@ta;ilites go further& They e$/lain away the /ossibility of seeing Allah an. (is being /ossesse. of hearing an. sight& They also e$/lain away the ascension <al mi@ra?> of the Pro/het an. claim that it ha. not ta*en /lace bo.ily, the /unishment of the grave, the balance, the Bri.ge, an. other eschatological

Page 21 of 56
re/resentations& Nevertheless they confess the resurrection of the bo.y, Para.ise with its foo., /erfume, an. se$ as well as other sensual /leasures, an. (ell with burning fires which scorch the s*in an. melt the fat& The /hiloso/hers <who inva.e. all the branches of to.ay@s +hristianity> go still further& They inter/ret all eschatological re/resentations as allegories .enoting mental an. s/iritual /ain, an. mental an. s/iritual .elight& They .eny the resurrection of the bo.y but believe in the immortality of the soul an. that it will be /unishe. or ma.e ha//y by /unishment an. .elight of non:sensual nature& They are e$tremists& The true mi..le:roa. <calle. Asharia after 0mam Abul (asan Al Ashari> between this com/lete allegorism an. the rigi.ity of the (anbalites is subtle an. obscure& 0t is foun. only by those who en?oy %ivine 3ui.ance an. com/rehen. things by the ai. of %ivine Dight, not by hearsay& Then when the mysteries of things are reveale. to them, so that they see them as they are, they go bac* to the 4oran an. /ro/hetic 1uotations an. their wor.ingC whatever agrees with what they see with the light of certainty they affirm, an. whatever .isagrees with it they inter/ret allegorically& But he who bases his *nowle.ge of these things on mere hearsay will thereby fail to secure a firm foothol. or gain a well .efine. /osition therein& -uch a man who confines himself to mere hearsay woul. .o better to follow the /osition of Ahma. ibn (anbal& But a closer e$amination an. .efinition of the mi..le:roa. /osition in these things belongs to the vast sub?ect of revelation which we must leave asi.e& Our aim was only to ma*e clear that the invisible an. visible may be in harmony with one another an. that no .isagreement e$ists between them& At any rate many things have been unfol.e. through our .iscussion of these five /arts& 0t is our o/inion that for the common /eo/le the e$/lanation of the faith which we have alrea.y given is sufficient for them an. that nothing further will be re1uire. of them in the first .egree& But if any fear of .isturbances arises on account of the s/rea. of heresies, then, in the secon. .egree, recourse may be ha. to a statement of the belief wherein a brief an. un.etaile. outline of the obvious /roofs is /resente.& Be shall, therefore, /resent these obvious /roofs in this boo* an. shall confine ourselves therein to what we have issue. to the /eo/le of 'erusalem, entitle. al )isalah al Gu.siyah fi Gawa@i. al JA1a@i. <The 'erusalem E/istle on the Foun.ations of the Articles of Faith> an. inclu.e. in the following thir. section of this boo*&

!ha"te 3 $hinin' P oofs of the Foundations of the A ticles of Faith (com"osed in 4e usalem)

Be say : 0n the Name of the ,erciful, the +om/assionate Allah& Praise be to Allah who .istinguishe. the community of the sunnah </ro/hetic way> with the light of certainty an. favore. the /eo/le of truth by gui.ing them to the foun.ation of )eligionC who save. them from the errors of the unrighteous an. the wic*e.ness of the unbelievers& 0t is with (is 3race that (e le. them to follow the e$am/le of the ,aster of the ,essengersC who .irecte. their footste/s in the way of his honore. com/anions an. enable. them to emulate the goo., early generations, so that they /rotecte. themselves with the strong cor. against the .ictates of reason, an. <to emulate> the lives an. beliefs of the ancients with the clear metho., combining thereby the /ro.ucts of reason an. the or.inances of the religion&

Page 22 of 56
Furthermore they foun. out that mere verbal re/etition of the wor.s 2There is no go. e$ce/t AllahC ,uhamma. is the ,essenger of Allah2 is of no avail unless they com/letely un.erstan. what the fun.amentals of the witness involve of /rinci/le an. /illars& They also have *nown that the two witnessing /hrases, .es/ite their brevity, contain an affirmation of the e$istence of Allah (imself, (is Attributes, an. (is %ee.s, as well as an affirmation of the truthfulness of the ,essenger : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : An. they also *new that establishing the faith u/on these /illars, which are four, each one having ten /rinci/lesA The first /illar concerning the *nowle.ge of the Essence of Allah : the (igh : consists of ten /rinci/les& They areA

& The *nowle.ge that Allah : the (igh : e$ists& #& (e is Ancient 3& (e is Everlasting& 9& (e is not a substance& 8& (e is not a bo.y& "& (e is not a 1uality of a bo.y <acci.ent>& 7& (e is not sub?ect to a .irection& 6& (e is not resi.ent in a /lace& !& (e is seen& 5& (e is One&
The secon. /illar concerns the attributes of AllahA 0t com/rises of ten /rinci/les& They are the *nowle.ge thatA

& #& 3& 9& 8& "& 7& 6&

(e is Alive& (e is 4nowle.geable& (e is Powerful& (e is the Biller& (e is the (earer& (e is the -eer& (e is the -/ea*er& (is Essence is E$alte. to contain a creation <a substratum for originate. /ro/erties or a locus of /henomena>& !& (is Bor.s are ancient an. eternal& 5& (is 4nowle.ge is ancient an. eternal as (is Bill& The thir. /illar concerns the %ee.s of AllahA it consists of ten /rinci/lesA

& The actions of man*in. are create. by Allah : the (igh& #& They are gaine. by the creation& 3& They are wille. by Allah : the (igh& 9& Allah has been 3racious by creation an. invention& 8& Allah is free to im/ose unbearable obligations& "& Allah is free to /unish the innocent& 7& Bhile ta*ing into consi.eration that which is best is not obligatory u/on (im& 6& That there is nothing obligatory e$ce/t by the )eligion& !& (is sen.ing of /ro/hets is /ossible <not an obligation u/on (im>& 5& The /ro/hecy of our Pro/het ,uhamma. : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : is true
being confirme. by miracles& The fourth /illar is concerning hear. verses an. the /ro/hetic 1uotations mentioning the unseen& An. consist of ten /rinci/lesA

Page 23 of 56 & The affirmation of the assembly on the %ay of )ecom/ense& #& The accounting& 3& The 1uestioning <of the .ea. by the angels> ,un*ar an. Na*eer& 9& The /unishment of the grave& 8& The balance& "& The Bri.ge over (ell& 7& The creation of Para.ise an. (ell& 6& The ruling of the imamate <+ali/hate>& !& The e$cellence of the +om/anions is in accor.ance with the chronological or.er& 5& The con.itions of the imamate <cali/hate>& The Fi st Pilla
The first among the /illars of belief is the *nowle.ge of the Essence of Allah : the E$alte., the (igh : an. that Allah : the (igh : is One& !t consists o ten principles%

(i5a) The -no&led'e of 0is *+istence

The first /rinci/le is the *nowle.ge of the e$istence of Allah : the (ighA The first light which shoul. be use. for illumination an. the first thing to be followe. on the roa. of a.monition are the instructions of the 4oran, because there is no e$/lanation beyon. that of Allah : the E$alte.& Allah says in the 4oranA 2(ave Be not ma.e the earth a cra.le an. the mountains as /egsH An. Be create. you in /airs, an. Be ma.e your slee/ a rest, an. Be ma.e the night a mantle, an. Be ma.e the .ay for a livelihoo.& An. Be built above you seven strong ones, an. /lace. in them a bla;ing lam/ an. have sent .own from the clou.s /ouring rain that Be may bring forth with it grain an. /lants an. lu$uriant gar.ens&2 <Guran 76A": ">& An. again, 2Assure.ly in the creation of the (eaven an. of the EarthC an. in the alternation of night an. .ayC an. in the shi/s which /ass through the sea with what is useful to manC an. in the rain which Allah sen.s .own from (eaven, giving life by it to the earth after its .eath, an. by scattering over it all *in.s of cattleC an. in the change of the win.s, an. in the clou.s that are com/elle. between the (eaven an. the EarthC are signs for those who un.erstan.&2 (e : the (igh : also sai.A 2(ave you not seen how Allah create. the seven heavens one above the other, setting in them the moon as a light an. the sun as a lanternH Allah has cause. you to grow from the earth, an. to it (e will return you& Then (e will bring you forth&2 <Guran 7 A 8: 6>& An. (e : the (igh : sai.A 2(ave you seen what you e?aculateH %i. you create it, or are Be the +reatorH 0t was Be that .ecree. .eath among you& Be will not be outstri//e. that Be will charge you an. cause you to grow again in a fashion you .o not *now& Kou have surely *nown the first creation& Bhy then, will you not rememberM +onsi.er the soil you till& 0s it you that sow it, or are Be the -owerH 0f Be will, Be woul. ma*e it bro*en orts an. you woul. remain won.ering& <-ayingA> JBe are la.en with .ebtsM )ather, we have been

Page 24 of 56
/revente.M@ +onsi.er the water which you .rin*& 0s it you that sen. it .own from the clou.s or BeH 0f Be will, Be woul. ma*e it bitter, why then .o you not give than*sH +onsi.er the fire which you *in.le& 0s it you that originate. its tree, or are Be the OriginatorH2 <Guran 8"A86:7#>& Anyone with the least bit of intellect is able to reflect u/on the im/ort of these verses an. reviewing the won.ers of the creation of Allah, in (eaven an. on earth as well as the beauties of nature in animal an. /lant, reali;es that this won.erful matter with its consummate or.er cannot be in.e/en.ent from the +reator to .irect it an. the ,a*er to govern it an. 1uantify it& Therefore Allah : the (igh : sai.A 20s there any .oubt about Allah, the +reator of the heavens an. the earthH2 <Guran 9A 5>& The /ro/hets : the /raise of Allah be u/on them : were, therefore, sent in or.er to call the creation to the Oneness, that they may say, 2There is no go. e$ce/t Allah&2 They were not, however, comman.e. to say, 2Be have a go. an. the worl. has a go.,2 because such a thing is inborn in their min.s from the time of their birth an. in the mi.st of their youth& For this reason Allah : the (igh, the 3lorifie. : sai.A 20f you as* themA JBho has create. the heavens an. the earthH@ They will re/lyA JAllah&@&&& <Guran 3 A#8>& An. (e : the (igh : sai.A 2Therefore set your face to the )eligion, /urely, the u/right creation u/on which (e originate. /eo/le there is no changing of the creation of Allah, this is the valuable religion&2 <Guran 3 A35>& Therefore there is in human nature an. the testimonies of the 4oran what will ren.er the tas* of citing /roof unnecessary&

(i5b) The P oof of 2eason fo 0is *+istence

Nevertheless, by way of /re/aration an. following the e$am/le of the learne. theologians, we sayA One of the obvious logic of the min. is that an originate. /henomenon cannot come into e$istence without a cause& -ince the worl. is an originate. /henomenon, it cannot come into e$istence without a cause& As for our saying that originate. /henomena cannot come into e$istence without a cause, is obvious& For every originate. /henomenon belongs to a certain .efinite time the /rece.ence or the subse1uence of which may be assume.& 0ts being .efinite in time an. .istinct from what /rece.e. it an. what succee.e. it, will naturally re1uire one who ren.ers things .efinite& As to one saying that the worl. is an originate. /henomenon, its /roof is foun. in the fact that bo.ies are not in.e/en.ent of motion an. rest& Both states are originate. /henomenaC an. whatever is not in.e/en.ent of originate. things is itself originate.& The /roof consists of three claimsA The first is that bo.ies are not in.e/en.ent of motion an. rest& This is rea.ily un.erstoo. an. re1uires neither me.itation nor thin*ing, for he who conceives of a bo.y being in neither the *inetic state nor in the static state is both ignorant an. foolish& The secon. assertion is our saying that both motion an. rest are originate. /henomena, the /roof of which is foun. in their alternation an. in the a//earance of the one after the other is gone& This is true of all bo.ies, those that have been seen as well as those that have not been seen& For there is not a

Page 25 of 56
static ob?ect the /otential motion of which is not re1uire. by the min., an. there is no moving ob?ect the /otential rest of which is not re1uire. by the min.& The su..en is originate. because of its imme.iate occurrence an. that which has gone is also an originate. matter since it is no longer .ue to the fact if it is /roven it is ancient it will obligate that it .oes not turn to nothing : .etails of which will be e$/laine. in /roving eternity of the ,a*er : the (igh, the Purifie.& The thir. assertion is our statement that whatever is not in.e/en.ent of originate. things is itself originate.& 0ts /roof lies in the fact that if it were not so, then there woul. be, before every originate. /henomenon, other originate. /henomena which have no beginningC an. unless these originate. /henomena come to nothing in their entirety, the turn for the /resent originate. /henomena to come into being imme.iately woul. never arrive& But it is im/ossible for that which has no en. to come to nothing& Furthermore if the celestial s/heres have revolutions, the numbers of which have no en., it is inevitable that their numbers be either o.. or even, or both o.. an. even, or neither o.. nor even& But it is im/ossible that their numbers be both o.. an. even at the same time, or neither o.. nor even for this woul. be a combination of both the negative an. the affirmative, since in the affirmation of the one is the negation of the other, an. in the negation of the one is the affirmation of the other& Furthermore they cannot /ossibly be even because the even number becomes o.. with the a..ition of oneC an. how coul. that which has no en. be wanting oneH Nor can they /ossibly be o.. because the o.. number becomes even with the a..ition of oneC an. how coul. it be wanting one when its number has no en.H Therefore the conclusion is that the worl. is not in.e/en.ent of originate. /henomena, an. that which is not in.e/en.ent of originate. /henomena is itself originate.& An. when its being an originate. /henomena has been establishe., its nee. for an Originator becomes a necessity through obvious com/rehension&

(ii) Ancient *te nity

The secon. /rinci/le is the *nowle.ge that Allah is Ancient from eternity& (e has no beginning, but (e is the beginning of everything an. before anything living or .ea.& The /roof of this is foun. in the su//osition that if Allah ha. been originate. an. not ancient, (e woul. have been in nee. of an originator& 0n turn (is originator woul. also nee. an originator an. so on in a chain of infinity& An. whatever enrolls in such chain will never be foun.& Or it reaches to an Ancient Originator an. (e is the First& This is the wante. whom we name. the ,a*er, the Originator, the Fashioner, an. the +reator of the Borl.s&

(iii) *te nity

The thir. /rinci/le is the *nowle.ge that Allah, besi.es being without beginning, (is E$istence has no en.& (e is the First an. the Dast, the Iisible an. the 0nvisible, since that whose eternity is establishe. (is en. is im/ossible& 0ts /roof lies in the reali;ation that if it came to nothing it is inevitable that it shoul. come to nothing either by (imself or by an o//onent& An. if it were /ossible for a thing, which is conceive. of as self:subsisting, to come to nothing, it will be /ossible for a thing, which is conceive. of as self:annihilating, to come into being& An. ?ust as the su..en emergence of e$istence re1uires a cause, so .oes the emergence of e$tinction re1uire a cause& That it will come to nothing through an o//osing annihilating agency is false, because if that annihilating agency were ancient, e$istence si.e by si.e with it woul. be inconceivable& But we have learnt in the two /revious /rinci/les of (is E$istence an. (is Eternity& (ow .i. (e e$ist together with the claime. o//onent in eternityH 0f, however, the annihilating o//onent were an originate. /henomenon, its e$istence from eternity woul. be im/ossible because for the originate. /henomenon to o//ose the ancient an. .estroy its e$istence is less li*ely than the ancient to o//ose the originate. an. /revent its

Page 26 of 56
e$istence& 0n fact /revention is easier than .estruction while the ancient is stronger an. more /re: eminent than the originate.&

(i.) F ee F om $ubstance
The fourth /rinci/leA The *nowle.ge that (e : the (igh : is not a substance which can be in a .imension& )ather, (e is E$alte. above to be suitable for a .imension& The /roof of this lies in the fact that every substance which is .efinite, is limite. by its own /lace an. is inevitably either constant in it or moving away from it& Therefore it is not in.e/en.ent of motion or rest for both these are originate., an. that which is not in.e/en.ent of originate. /henomena is itself originate.& 0f an ancient .efinite substance were conceivable, the eternity of the substances of the worl. woul. have been reasonable& An. if a /erson shoul. use the term substance an. not mean thereby a resi.ent substance, he woul. be mista*en as far as the use of the term is concerne., not as far as the meaning for which he ha. use. it&

(.) F ee F om Bodily Fo m
The fifth /rinci/leA The *nowle.ge that (e : the (igh : is not a bo.y com/ose. of .ifferent substances, since the bo.y is that which is com/ose. of substances& Bhen (is being a substance limite. by /lace is refute., (is being a bo.y is also refute., because every bo.y is limite. by /lace an. is com/ose. of substances& But it is im/ossible for the substance to be free from .ivision, com/osition, motion, rest, form, an. 1uantity, all of which are characteristics of originate. /henomena& An. if it were /ossible to believe that the ,a*er of the worl. is a bo.y, it woul. also be /ossible to believe in the .ivinity of the sun an. the moon as well as other heavenly bo.ies& 0f, therefore, one shoul. .are an. call Allah a bo.y but not mean thereby a com/osition of substances, he woul. be wrong as far as the name is concerne., but not in negating the i.ea of bo.y&

(.i) F ee f om the 6uality of $ubstance

The si$th /rinci/leA The *nowle.ge that (e : the (igh : is not a 1uality of substance of a substance e$isting in a bo.y or a con.ition in a /laceC because an acci.ent is that which e$ists in a bo.y& But every bo.y is inevitably originate. an. as such its originator e$ists before it& (ow then coul. <Allah> e$ist in a bo.y when (e has e$iste. in eternity alone, with no other besi.e (im, an. then originate. the bo.ies an. their 1ualities afterwar.s& Besi.es (e is a 4nowing, an. Able, an. the Billing +reator as shall be .iscusse. later& 0t is im/ossible for these attributes to e$ist in substance or its 1uality& On the contrary they are im/ossible e$ce/t in a -elf:e$istent an. -elf:sufficient +reator& The conclusion .erive. from these /rinci/les is that (e <Allah> is -elf:e$isting, being neither substance, nor bo.y, nor a 1uality of substanceC that the whole worl. is ma.e of substances, their 1uality, an. bo.ies, an. conse1uently (e resembles nothing an. nothing resembles (im& (e is the Diving, the -ubsisting, there is none li*e unto (im& For how coul. the create. resemble its +reator, the or.aine. resemble (e who or.aine. it, an. the fashione. resemble (e who fashione. itH All bo.ies an. their 1ualities were create. an. ma.e by (imC hence it is im/ossible that they are li*e (im or resemble (im&

(.ii) F ee f om di ection and "lace

The seventh /rinci/leA The *nowle.ge that Allah : the (igh : is remove. from being limite. by any .irection because a .irection is either above or below, right or left, before or behin.& All these (e create. an. originate. through the creation of man whom he ma.e with two e$tremities, the one rests on the earth an. com/rises his feet, while the o//osite e$tremity is his hea.& +onse1uently the term above was originate. to in.icate the .irection of the hea. an. the term below, the .irection of the feet& This is true even of the ant which cree/s on the ceiling with the result that the .irections, in relation to it, are reverse. : what we consi.er above is to it below, an. what we consi.er below is to it above& -imilarly /eo/le were create. with two han.s, one han. usually being stronger than the other& The term

Page 27 of 56
right was therefore originate. to in.icate the .irection of the stronger han. an. the term left to in.icate the o//osite .irection& +onse1uently the right han. si.e is calle. the right an. the o//osite .irection is calle. the left& ,an*in. was also create. with two <other> .irections from one of which he sees an. towar. which he moves& +onse1uently the term before was originate. to .esignate the .irection towar. which he moves, while the term behin. was originate. to .esignate the o//osite& Therefore the .irections are originate. through the creation of manC an. ha. he not been create. along these lines, but rather create. roun. li*e a s/here, these .irections woul. never have e$iste.& (ow then coul. Allah have been sub?ect to a .irection in eternity when every .irection is originate.& Or how coul. (e have become sub?ect to a .irection when (e never ha. any .irection above (im when (e create. manC for that will mean that (e has a hea., since above .esignates the .irection above the hea.& But Allah is far E$alte. <above (is creatures> to have a hea.& Again how coul. (e have become sub?ect to a .irection when (e never ha. any .irection below (im when (e create. man*in.C for that will mean that (e has feet, since below .esignates the .irection below the feet& Allah is far E$alte. <above (is creatures> to have feet& All this is too im/ossible <to imagine> in the min.& For whatever the min. conceives is .efinite in so far as it is limite. by /lace, in the same way as substances are limite., or by substances, in the same way as their 1ualities are& But the im/ossibility of (is being a substance or its 1uality has been establishe. : conse1uently (is being sub?ect to a .irection becomes im/ossible& 0f therefore anything else is meant by the term .irection other than these two meanings then the usage will be wrong in terminology an. significationC because if Allah were above the worl. (e woul. be o//osite to it, an. everything which is o//osite to a bo.y is either e1ual to it in si;e, or smaller or larger& All this im/lies measurement which necessarily re1uires an ob?ect or measurement& But Allah the One +reator an. )uler of the worl. an. universe is far E$alte. above such things& As to the raising of han.s heaven:war.s at the time of su//lication it is because (eaven is the .irection of su//lication an. im/lies a .escri/tion of the One to whom the su//lications are offere., such as ,a?esty an. 3ran.eur, em/loying thereby the .irection of height to re/resent the 1uality of 3lory an. E$altation& For Allah is above all in .ominion an. /ower&

(.iii) Ista&a
The eighth /rinci/leA That (e : the (igh : istawa u/on the Throne in the sense which (e wille. by that state of e1uilibrium : a state which is not inconsistent with the 1uality of gran.eur an. to which the sym/toms of origination an. annihilation .o not /ermeate& 0t is e$actly what has been meant by the ascension to (eaven in the 4oran when Allah sai., 2Then (e wille. to the (eaven, when it was smo*e&2 <Guran 9 A >& This is only through .ominion an. /ower, as the /oet sai.A 2Bishr has gaine. .ominion over 0ra1, Bith neither swor. nor she..ing of bloo.&2 Thus were the /eo/le of truth com/elle. to /ursue such a figurative an. allegorical inter/retation ?ust as the /eo/le of the invisible *nowle.ge were com/elle. to inter/ret (is saying : the (igh :A 2(e is with you wherever you are2 <Guran 87A9>& This has been ta*en, by agreement, to mean thorough com/rehension an. *nowle.ge ?ust as the wor.s of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : 2The heart of the believer lies between two of the fingers of the ,erciful <Allah>2, have been ta*en to mean might an. /ower while his wor.s, 2The Blac* -tone is the )ight (an. of Allah in the earth,2 have been ta*en to mean veneration an. honor, because if they were ta*en literally, the result woul. have been im/ossible& -imilarly the istawa of Allah u/on the Throne, if it were left to mean fi$ity of location an. stability, woul. necessitate that (e who is seate. u/on the Throne is a bo.y touching the Throne, an. is either e1ual to it in si;e, or larger or smaller& But all this is im/ossible, an. what lea.s to the im/ossible is itself im/ossible&

Page 28 of 56 (i+) $eein'

The ninth /rinci/leA 0s the *nowle.ge that (e : the (igh : although e$alte. from form an. 1uantity an. e$alte. above .irections an. .imensions, is nevertheless seen with the eyes in the (ereafter, the Everlasting abo.e& For (e sai., 2On that %ay there shall be ra.iant faces, ga;ing towar.s their Dor.&2 <+h&79A##:#3 4oran>& But (e cannot be seen in this worl. accor.ing to (is saying : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. :A 2No eye can see (im, (e sees all eyes2 <+h&"A 53 4oran>& An. accor.ing to (is Bor.s in a..ressing ,oses : /eace be u/on himA 2Kou shall not see ,e&2 Boul. that 0 *new how the ,u@ta;ilites *new the attributes of Allah that ,oses himself .i. not *nowC or how ,oses as*e. to see Allah when seeing (im was im/ossibleM 0gnorance is more li*ely to be ram/ant among heretics an. sectarians than among the /ro/hets : the /raise of Allah be u/on them :& As for the reason of ta*ing the verse .escribing seeing literally it is because it .oes not lea. to the im/ossible& For sight is a *in. of revelation an. *nowle.ge, although it is more com/lete an. clearer than *nowle.ge& An. if it is /ossible to *now Allah without reference to .irection, it is also /ossible to see (im without reference to .irection& An. ?ust as it is /ossible for Allah to see men without confrontation, it is /ossible for men to see (im without confrontationC an. ?ust as it is /ossible to *now (im without mo.ality or form, it is /ossible to see (im li*ewise&

(+) The #neness

The tenth /rinci/leA The *nowle.ge that Allah : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. : is One without any associate, -ingle without an e1ual& (e is se/arate in creating an. innovatingC (e is alone in bringing into e$istence an. inventing& There are none li*e (im to rival or e1ual (im, an. none o//osite (im to contest or conten. with (im& The /roof is in (is saying : the (igh : 2(a. there been other go.s in both of them <in (eaven or earth> besi.es Allah, there woul. have been ruin&2 <+h&# A## 4oran>& An. to e$/lain, if there ha. been two go.s an. the first of them wille. a certain thing, the secon., if he were un.er com/ulsion to ai. the first, woul. be a subor.inate an. im/otent being rather than an almighty go.C an. if the secon. were able to contra.ict an. o//ose the first, he woul. be a /owerful an. .ominating being while the first woul. be wea* an. im/otent rather than an almighty go.&

The $econd Pilla ( !once nin' the att ibutes of Allah)

$ased upon ten principles%

(i) Ability
The first /rinci/le is the *nowle.ge that the ,a*er of the worl. is Almighty an. that (e : the (igh : is Truthful in (is sayingA 2(e has /ower over all things,2 <Guran 8A #5>& Because the worl. is /erfect in its ma*ing an. or.erly in its com/osition& For he who woul. see a sil* garment, fine in its weave an. te$ture, symmetrical in its embroi.ery an. ornamentation, an. woul.

Page 29 of 56
imagine that it was woven by a .ea. /erson that has no life, or by a hel/less /erson with has no /ower, woul. be com/letely lac*ing in intellect an. utterly foolish an. ignorant&

(ii) -no&led'e
The secon. /rinci/le is the *nowle.ge that (e : the (igh : is 4nowle.geable, *nowing all things an. com/rehen.ing all creationC not even the weight of an atom in (eaven or on earth is ever hi..en from (is 4nowle.ge& (e is truthful in (is sayingA 2(e has *nowle.ge of all things&2 <Guran #A#!>& Furthermore evi.ence of (is Truthfulness is foun. in (is -aying : the (ighA 2-hall (e who has create. all things not *nowH (e is the -ubtle, the Aware&2 <Guran "7A 9>& (e has le. you, through (is creation, to com/rehen. the *nowle.ge that you cannot .oubt in /roving the subtleness of creation an. or.erly creation, even in insignificant an. meager things, offers to the *nowle.ge of the ,a*er of how to bring or.er an. how to arrange& An. what Allah : the E$alte. : (imself sai. is the Dast Bor. in gui.ance an. in revealing *nowle.ge&

(iii) ,ife
The thir. /rinci/le is the *nowle.ge that Allah : the (igh, the 3lorifie. : is Alive, because (e whose *nowle.ge an. /ower are establishe., (is being /ossesse. of life will, of necessity, become establishe.& 0f it is /ossible to conceive of the e$istence of an able, *nower, .oer an. /lanner yet without life, it will be /ossible to .oubt the life of animals, .es/ite their movements, as well as the life of all craftsmen an. artisans, all of which is utter ignorance an. error&

(i.) /ill
The fourth /rinci/le is the *nowle.ge that (e : the (igh : is Billing for (is %ee.s& An. nothing e$ists which .oes not .e/en. u/on, an. /rocee. from (is Bill& (e is the +reator, the )estorer, the %oer of whatsoever (e wills& An. how coul. (e not be a Biller when, in every .ee. which has /rocee.e. from (im, its o//osite coul. have /rocee.e. from (imC for whosoever has no o//osite it is /ossible that action coul. /rocee. from (im by (imself before or after the time in which it has /rocee.e.& An. it suits (is Power both the two o//osites an. the two times in the same way& Therefore, it is necessary that there shoul. be a Bill which .irects (is Power to one of the two /ossibilities& An. if 4nowle.ge woul., in s/ecifying the *nown thing, ren.er the Bill nee.less, so that it coul. be sai. that a thing has come into being at a time when its e$istence ha. alrea.y been *nown <this is not the case otherwise>, it woul. be /ossible for *nowle.ge to ren.er /ower nee.less, so that it coul. be sai. that a thing has come into being without Power <which is not the case>, but sim/ly because its e$istence has alrea.y been *nown&

(.) 0ea in' and $eein'

The fifth /rinci/le is the *nowle.ge that (e : the (igh : is the (earer an. the -eer& Neither the whis/ers of the innermost heart nor the secret thoughts an. reflections are hi..en from (is -ight& The soun. of the cree/ing of the blac* ant u/on the soli. roc* in the .ar*est night is not beyon. (is (earing& An. how coul. (e not see an. hear when seeing an. hearing are <attributes of> /erfection not of .efectH +oul. the create. be more /erfect than its +reator, the thing ma.e more magnificent an. more com/lete than the ,a*erH Or how coul. they ever be e1ual, no matter how much (e might .iminish in /erfection while (is creation an. wor* increase thereinH An. again how coul. the argument of Abraham : the /raise an. /eace of Allah be u/on him : against his father, who ignorantly an. erroneously worshi//e. i.ols, be

Page 30 of 56
soun.H Abraham a..resse. his father sayingA 2O father, why worshi/ that which can neither see nor hear, nor can .o anything for youH2 <Guran !A9#>& But if these .efects which characteri;e. the i.ols of his father characteri;e. his +reator as well, his argument woul. have been invali. an. his evi.ence worthless, an. the wor.s of AllahA 2This is Our /roof which Be gave to Abraham against (is /eo/le,2 woul. have been false& An. as un.erstoo. (e is a %oer without limbs an. *nowle.geable without heart an. hea., so it coul. also be un.erstoo. that (e is the -eer without /u/il an. (earer without ear as there is no .ifference between both&

(.i) $"eech
The si$th /rinci/leA 0s that (e : the E$alte., the (igh : s/ea*s with a s/eech which is a -elf:e$isting attribute& 0t is neither a soun. nor a letterC it .oes not resemble the s/eech of others, ?ust as (is E$istence .oes not resemble others& 0n reality s/eech is the s/eech of the self& -oun.s were built into wor.s merely as symbols, ?ust as gestures an. signals are often use. to re/resent the same thing& (ow then has this fact not been *nown by a grou/ of ignorant <theologians> /eo/le while it has been *nown by ignorant /oets <of theology>& One of them sai.A 2-/eech is in the heartC Bhile the tongue is an in.icator for the heart&2 As for him whose intellect .oes neither .eter nor restrain him from saying that his tongue is an originate. thing, but what originates in it by means of his originate. /ower is ancient .o not be an$ious to rectify his brain an. refrain your tongue from s/ea*ing with such a /erson& -imilarly, you shoul. not .irect your heart to him who .oes not un.erstan. that the Ancient is that nothing e$iste. before (im& An. that the letter 2n2 is before the letter 2a2 in the wor. 2Name2 so that the letter 2a2 cannot be relatively ol.er than the letter 2n2& For Allah : the E$alte. : has a secret for lea.ing some men astrayC 2None can gui.e those whom Allah lea.s astray&2 <Guran 3A33>& As for him who .eems it im/robable that ,oses coul. have, in this worl., hear. a s/eech which was neither soun. nor letter, let him .eny that in the (ereafter he coul. see (is E$istence having neither bo.y nor color& But if it has been /ossible to conceive that which has no color, or bo.y, or si;e, or 1uantity, coul. be seen& An. (e is still as (e was : never seeing other than (im : similarly, it coul. be conceive. in the sense of hearing what has been conceive. in the sense of seeing& An. if it has been /ossible to conceive of Allah having one *nowle.ge, which is the *nowle.ge of all e$istent things, it woul. also be /ossible to conceive of (im having one attribute, which is a s/eech com/rising all that (e has re/resente. with meaning& An. if it has been /ossible to conceive of the e$istence of the -even (eavens, Para.ise an. (ell, written all on a small /iece of /a/er an. /reserve. in a minute /art of the heart, an. seen with a /art of the /u/il not e$cee.ing the si;e of a lentil see., without the (eavens an. Earth, Para.ise an. (ell actually e$isting in the /u/il, or the heart, or the /a/er, it woul. also be /ossible to conceive of the -/eech of Allah being rea. with tongues, /reserve. in the hearts, an. written in boo*s, without the actual e$istence of that s/eech in these things& 0f the fire of (ell, through the writing of its name on the leaves, woul. e$ist actually thereon an. <the leaves> woul. be burne., <this is not the case>, similarly the very -/eech <of Allah> shoul. not actually e$ist on the leaves of a boo*, nor Allah (imself, through the writing of (is Name on these leaves, woul. e$ist in it&

(.ii) *te nity of $"eech and Att ibutes and Pu ity f om o i'ination

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The seventh /rinci/leA 0s that the -elf:e$isting -/eech <of Allah>, as well as (is other attributes, is Ancient from eternity, since it is im/ossible that (e is sub?ect to the substance an. its 1uality <originate. /henomena>& On the contrary (is attributes obligate the same e$ternal nature which (is Essence obligate& +hange .oes not overta*e (im nor substance or its 1uality befall (im& No, (e .oes not cease, in (is Eternity, to be .escribe. with the commen.able attributes& 0n (is Everlasting Eternity, (e is far e$alte. from change& For he who is sub?ect to substance <originate. /henomena> cannot be a/art from it& An. whosoever cannot be a/art from substance is a substance <originate. /henomena>& The .escri/tion of bo.ies with the /heonmena@s origination was establishe. because of their e$/osition to changing an. alteration of .escri/tions& (ow, then, coul. their +reator share with them the acce/tance of change& Accor.ingly, it is essential that the -/eech of Allah is ancient from eternity an. it is of (is -elf:e$istence& Only the soun.s which re/resent it are originate.& 0f it is /ossible to conceive that a father /rays for his unborn son to be *nowle.geable& Then the chil. is born with that .ormant abilityC from which we un.erstan. that Allah has create. this *nowle.ge in relation to the father@s heart& The *nowle.ge e$ists an. remains in the chil. until he is able to com/rehen. the *nowle.ge which he has been given& -imilarly, it is /ossible to conceive the stan.ing of the or.inance of Allah which was in.icate. by the saying of (im : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. : 2Ta*e off your san.als2 which ,oses : /eace be u/on him : became sub?ect to after ,oses e$iste. .ue to the fact that a *nowle.ge of this or.inance was create. for him& Then once the chil. has reache. the stage of ability to be able to un.erstan., Allah has create. that *nowle.ge which was the father@s heart .esire& Accor.ingly, he hear. that Ancient saying&

(.iii) *te nity of -no&led'e

The eighth /rinci/leA 0s that (is 4nowle.ge is ancient an. not sub?ect to u/.ating& (e has not cease. to *now (imself an. (is Attributes, as well as everything that ha//ens from (is creation& Bhatever ha//ens in an. from the creation .oes not u/.ate (is 4nowle.ge, rather it is *nown to (im through (is Eternal 4nowle.ge& Thus if we were given /rior *nowle.ge of the coming of so an. so at sunrise, an. that /rior *nowle.ge /ersiste. until the sun ha. risen, then the coming of so an. so at sunrise woul. have been *nown to us through that /rior *nowle.ge without any necessity for its renewal& Di*ewise, the eternity of the 4nowle.ge of Allah : the (igh : shoul. be un.erstoo.&

(i+) *te nity of /ill

The ninth /rinci/leA 0s that (is Bill is ancient& 0n its eternity it governs the origination of /henomena in their a//ointe. times in accor.ance with the Eternal 4nowle.ge& For if (is Bill were originate., (e will be sub?ect to substance <originate. /henomena&> Furthermore if it ha//ene. in other than (is Bill, (e woul. not be the one who is the willer of it& 'ust as you yourself woul. not e$ecute an action which is not in yourself& No matter what hy/othesis you may assume, its /resence re1uires another will, an. li*ewise the other will re1uires a thir., an. so on to infinity&

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An. if it were /ossible for a will to come into being without a Bill, it woul. be /ossible for the worl. to come into being without a will&

(+) -no&led'eable &ith -no&led'e% ,i.in' &ith ,ife% Able &ith Ability% /ille &ith /ill% $"ea7e &ith $"eech% 0ea e &ith 0ea in' and $ee /ith $eein')
The tenth /rinci/leA 0s that Allah : the (igh : is 4nowle.geable with *nowle.ge, Diving with life, Powerful with /ower, Biller with will, -/ea*er with s/eech, (earer with hearing, an. -eeing with sight& (e has the 1ualities of these ancient attributes& To s/ea* of a *nower but without *nowle.ge is li*e s/ea*ing of one who is wealthy but without wealth, or of *nowle.ge without a *nower, or a *nower without something *nown& For *nowle.ge, the *nower, an. that which is *nown are inse/arable ?ust as mur.er, the mur.ere., an. the mur.erer are inse/arable& An. ?ust as it is im/ossible to conceive of a mur.erer without mur.er an. the one mur.ere., or of one mur.ere. without a mur.erer an. mur.er, it is im/ossible to conceive of a *nower without *nowle.ge, an. of *nowle.ge without something *nown, an. of something *nown without a *nower& These three are in reason inse/arable in the brain an. the one is inconceivable without the other& Bhoever woul. .eem it /ossible that a *nower coul. e$ist in.e/en.ently of *nowle.ge, he woul. have to .eem it /ossible that a *nower coul. e$ist in.e/en.ently of that which is *nown, an. that *nowle.ge coul. e$ist in.e/en.ently of a *nower, since there is no .ifference between these 1ualities&

The Thi d Pilla ( The -no&led'e of the 1eeds of Allah

$ased on ten principles

(i) # i'inated thin's a e of 0is 1eeds) ! eation and In.ention

The first /rinci/leA 0s the *nowle.ge that every originate. /henomenon in the worl. is of (is ma*ing, creation, an. invention& There is no other creator of it besi.es (im, an. there is no innovator of it e$ce/t (im& (e create. the creation an. fashione. them, an. (e brought into being their ability an. movement& All the .ee.s of (is worshi//ers are create. by (im an. relate. to (is Power, in confirmation of (is saying : the (igh : 2the +reator of all things,2 an. (is saying : the (igh : 2Allah create. you an. what you .o&2 <Guran 37A!">& An. in (is saying : the (igh : 2Bhether you s/ea* in secret or alou.& (e *nows the innermost of the chests& -hall (e who has create. all things not *nowH (e is the -ubtle, the Aware&2 <Guran "7A 3: 9>& (e comman.e. (is worshi//ers to be careful in their wor.s, .ee.s an. secret thoughts an. intentions, because (e *nows the motives of their .ee.s& An. the creation is a /roof of (is 4nowle.ge&

Page 33 of 56
An. how coul. (e not be the +reator of the .ee.s of a /erson when (is Power is com/lete an. free of any im/otence& Furthermore (is Power is relate. to the movements of the bo.ies of /eo/le : while these actions are similar to one another : the relation of the Power of Allah with them is self:e$isting& Bhat then woul. /revent its connection in the case of some actions an. woul. not /revent it in the case of others, when all are similarH For how coul. the animal be ca/able of invention by itselfH The s/i.er an. the bee as well as the rest of the animals /ro.uce fine wor*s which ama;e wise min.s& But how coul. they have invente. these things alone without the Dor. of lor.s, when actually they are not aware of the .etails of what gains are /ro.uce. from themH All creation are abase. before (im, the Owner of the 4ing.om both visible an. invisible, an. the +om/eller of the (eavens an. Earth&

(ii) In.ention by Allah and a 'ain fo 0is c eation

The secon. /rinci/leA Although Allah : the E$alte. : is the -ole 0nventor of the actions of (is worshi//ers, it .oes not negate the action from being of the Ability of Allah for the gain of the worshi//ers& )ather, Allah : the (igh : create. both the ability an. those who are able, an. create. both the choice an. those who choose& Therefore, the ability is a .escri/tion for a human being an. a creation for the Dor.C it is not a gain for (im& As for the movement, it is a creation for the Dor. : the (igh : an. a .escri/tion for the human being an. his gain, in other wor.s it is create. with ability that is his .escri/tion& Bhile movement is relate. to another .escri/tion calle. ability, an. for this reason it is consi.ere. a gain& -o, how coul. they be the result of com/lete com/ulsion when the .ifference between the voluntary actions an. the involuntary refle$es is instinctively com/rehen.e. by manH Or, how coul. they be a creation of man when he .oes not *now the .ifferent /arts of ac1uire. actions an. their numbersH Thus when the two e$treme /ositions are .is/rove., there remains nothing e$ce/t the mi..le /osition which asserts that they are voluntary through the Ability of Allah by invention an. through the ability of the worshi//er by another connection which is e$/resse. by the term ac1uisition or gain& The relation between the Ability an. the wille. is not necessary to be through invention only, since the Ability of Allah in eternity was to relate to the worl. although the worl. was not yet invente. an. at the time the invention was not yet occurring, while it is concerning the invention it is relate. with a .ifferent *in. of relation& Therefore, it is a//arent that the relation of the Ability is not s/ecifically for the occurrence of what was sub?ect of the Ability&

(iii) Gained by the c eation% /illed by Allah

The thir. /rinci/leA 0s that the .ee.s of the worshi//er, although they are his gain, are nevertheless wille. by Allah : the E$alte.&

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Neither a twin*ling of an eye nor a stray thought, or the glancing of an onloo*er ever occur, either in the visible or the invisible worl. e$ce/t through (is %ecree an. Ability, (is Bill an. (is %etermination& From (im is goo. an. evil, benefit an. harm, 0slam an. .isbelief, gratefulness an. ingratitu.e, winning an. loosing, righteousness an. error, obe.ience an. .isobe.ience, Oneness an. /olytheism& There is none that rescin.s (is +omman.s, none that au.its (is %ecrees& (e lea.s astray whom (e wishes an. gui.es whom (e wishes& 2None shall 1uestion (im about (is wor*s, but they shall be 1uestione.&2 <+h&# A#3 4oran>& This is atteste. by the narrations of the sayings of all the scholars of the /ro/hetic 1uotationsC 2Bhat (e Bills is an. what (e .oes not will is not&2 An. the saying of Allah : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie.A 2(a. Allah /lease. (e coul. have gui.e. all /eo/le&2 <+h& 3A3 4oran>& An. (is saying : the (ighA 2(a. it been Our Bill, Be will give every soul its gui.ance&2 As for the evi.ence for it from the /oint of view of reason that if Allah neither li*es nor wills sin an. crimes, they must be in accor.ance with the will of the enemy, 0blis : Allah curse. him : who is the enemy of Allah : the E$alte. : an. conse1uently what ta*es /lace in accor.ance with the will of the enemy will be greater than what ta*es /lace in accor.ance with the Bill of Allah : the (igh : & (ow coul. a ,uslim .eem it /ossible that the 4ing.om of the +om/eller, the Owner of ,a?esty an. (onor, be re.uce. to such a ran* that woul. not even interest the lea.er of a village, because if the enemy of that lea.er has greater influence in the village, no .oubt the lea.er woul. resign& %isobe.ience /revails u/on man*in., which is consi.ere. by the innovators of theology to be ha//ening .es/ite the Bill of Allah : the True, the (igh : & This woul. be consi.ere. the most wea* an. im/otent& E$alte. is the (igh, the Dor. of lor.s above the blas/hemous wor.s of the transgressors& Furthermore when it becomes evi.ent that the .ee.s of man*in. are create. by Allah, it becomes clear that they are also wille. by (im& 0f it shoul. then be as*e., 2(ow .oes Allah forbi. what (e has wille. an. or.ers what (e .oes not willH2 Be woul. say that the 1uestion is not that of will& For e$am/le, if a master stri*es his servant an. is re/riman.e. by the sultan, he ?ustifies his action by the rebellion of the servant against him& But the sultan .isbelieves him& -o he attem/ts to /rove his contention by or.ering the servant to .o something which the servant woul. refuse in the /resence of the sultan& -o, he tells the servant to sa..le a mount& <Now how about this> the master has or.ere. the servant to .o something which he really .oesn@t want him to .o& 0f he ha. not given his or.er, he woul. not have been able to /rove his /ointC an. having given the or.er : ha. he really .esire. what he or.ere. he woul. have .esire. what has not serve. his /ur/ose, which is unthin*able&

(i.) ! eation is f om 0is G ace not an obli'ation

The fourth /rinci/leA 0s that Allah : the (igh : is 3enerous in creating an. inventing an. 3racious in im/osing obligations u/on man*in.& Neither creation nor im/osing obligations were obligatory u/on (im& The ,u@ta;ilites sai. that these were obligatory on (im for the welfare of man*in.& But this is im/ossible since (e is the -ole Or.erer, the only One to obligate an. to forbi.& (ow then can (e be sub?ect to any obligation or necessity or be sub?ecte. to given or.ers&

Page 35 of 56
Obligation or necessity means one of two thingsA First, an act which, when it is refraine. from causes future harm& As when it is sai. that it is obligatory for man*in. to obey Allah if they want to esca/e torment by fire in the (ereafter, or imme.iate harm as is the case when we say that it is obligatory for him who is thirsty to .rin* otherwise he might .ie& -econ., it means that which its non:e$istence woul. lea. to an im/ossibility& As it is sai. that the e$istence of that which is *nown is necessary since its non:e$istence will lea. to an im/ossibility, namely *nowle.ge becoming ignorance& 0f the a.versary meant that the act of creation is necessary for Allah accor.ing to the first meaning, he woul. have e$/ose. (im to harm& 0f he im/lie. the secon. meaning, he woul. be in agreement, because the /rece.ence of *nowle.ge necessitates the e$istence of the *nown& (owever, if he im/lie. a thir. meaning, it is unintelligible& As to his statementA 20t is obligatory for the benefit of (is worshi//er2 it is corru/t logic, for if (e is not harme. by neglecting the welfare of man*in., the obligation u/on (im bears no meaning& -/ea*ing of what is best for man*in. is really its welfare in that (e creates them in Para.ise& Bhile to create them in the worl. of trials an. to e$/ose them to sin then becomes sub?ect to the .anger of /unishment, an. to the terrors of /resentation an. accounting <on the %ay of )ecom/ense> is not enviable by the wise&

(.) #bli'atin' /hat is Beyond #ne8s Ability

The fifth /rinci/leA 0t is /ossible that Allah : the E$alte. : im/oses on /eo/le obligations beyon. their ability& This is contrary to the /osition of the ,u@ta;ilites <or anyone who follows this way of thought>& For if this were not contingent, it woul. be im/ossible for men to as* Allah to s/are them that bur.en& But as a matter of fact they have beseeche. Allah to s/are them that bur.en when they sai.A 2Our Dor. .o not over bur.en us more than we can bear&2 <Guran #A#6">& Furthermore Allah : the (igh : has informe. (is Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : that Abu 'ahl woul. not believe (im, nevertheless Allah comman.e. the Pro/het to comman. Abu 'ahl to believe in all the Bor.s of Allah& But among the Bor.s of Allah were those that Abu 'ahl woul. not believe in& (ow then woul. he believe (im by not believing (imH The e$istence of such a thing is absolutely im/ossible&

(.i) Inflictin' Pain 9"on the ! eation is not Im"ossible

The si$th /rinci/leA +ontrary to the ,u@ta;ilites <or anyone who follows this way of thought>, it is for Allah : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie. : to inflict /ain on men an. to torment them, without their having /reviously committe. any offense, an. without the necessity of com/ensating them with future rewar.s& Because (e is .ealing with (is Own 4ing.om& 0t is inconceivable that (is actions fell beyon. (is 4ing.om& Tyranny is .is/ensing with the /ossessions of others without their /ermission& But this is im/ossible in the case of Allah : the (igh : because there is no *ing.om owne. by other than (im, whereby (is .ealing with it woul. be consi.ere. to be tyrannous& An. the /roof for this is sim/ly because it e$ists& For e$am/le, the slaughter of animals inflicts /ain on them, an. the various *in.s of torture which man im/oses u/on them have not been /rece.e. by any offense&

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0f it is sai. that Allah : the (igh : will raise them from the .ea. an. will rewar. them accor.ing to the amount of /ain which they suffere., an. that such action is obligatory u/on Allah : the (igh : we woul. re/ly that anyone who woul. claim that it is incumbent u/on Allah to bring every ant which was *ille. un.er the feet an. every bug which was crushe. bac* to life, so that (e might rewar. them the /ain which they suffere., woul. violate the .ictates of )eligion an. reason, for it is sai.A 2The .escri/tion of rewar. an. assembly is that it is obligatory u/on Allah2 : if it is meant that it will harm (im to neglect .oing it it is im/ossible, an. if it is meant by it other than the above mentione. for the necessitating otherwise any other reason beyon. this will be consi.ere. unintelligible&

(.ii) !onside in' /hat is Best is :ot an #bli'ation

The seventh /rinci/leA 0s that (e : the (igh : .oes with (is creation whatever (e wishes an. there is no obligation u/on (im to ta*e into consi.eration that which is best for (is worshi//ers, because of what we have alrea.y mentione. regar.ing the fact that there is nothing obligatory u/on (im : the E$alte.& )ather, it is inconceivable that there are any obligations u/on (im, for (e is not 1uestione. about what (e .oes whereas others are as*e.& 0 won.er what answer a ,u@ta;ilite woul. give when, in connection with his statement that it is incumbent u/on Allah to .o what is best, we /lace before him the following hy/othetical .ebateA 0t is su//ose. that in the (ereafter an argument ta*es /lace between two /ersons, a chil. an. an a.ult, both of whom .ie. as ,uslims& Now, accor.ing to the ,u@ta;ilites, Allah e$alts the ran* of the a.ult an. gives him /reference over the chil., because the former labore. har. in acts of worshi/ after he attaine. maturity& 0n fact this is incumbent u/on Allah accor.ing to the ,u@ta;ilites& -u//ose then that the chil. says, 2O my Dor.M Bhy have Kou e$alte. his ran* above mineH2 An. Allah answers, 2Because he has attaine. maturity an. has labore. in acts of worshi/&2 Thereu/on the chil. re?oins, 2But Dor., it is Kou who cause. me to .ie a chil.& -o it is obligatory u/on Kou to have /rolonge. my life until 0 attaine. maturityC then 0 woul. have labore. in Kour worshi/& But Kou, O Dor., have .eviate. from ?ustice by favoring him with long life& Dor.M Bhy have Kou favore. himH2 Allah : the (igh : woul. then re/ly, 2Because 0 *new that if you ha. live. to attain maturity, you woul. have committe. the sins of /olytheism an. .isobe.ience& (ence it was better for you to .ie a chil.&2 -uch will the a/ology of the ,u@ta;ilite <or anyone who follows this way of thought> be for Allah : the ,ighty, the 3lorifie.& But then the unbelievers will cry u/ from the mi.st of (ell:fire sayingA 2O Dor.M (a. Kou not *nown that if we ha. live. to attain maturity we shoul. have committe. the sin of /olytheism, why then .i.n@t Kou cause us to .ie in chil.hoo. before we coul. sinH Be shoul. have been content to en?oy in Para.ise in a lesser ran* than that of the ,uslim chil.&2 Bhat *in. of answer coul. be given for thisH 0n the face of this situation, is it not im/erative to conclu.e that %ivine matters, in view of their ma?esty, are e$alte. above to be weighe. by the scales of the ,u@ta;ilites& 0f it is sai. that because Allah can consi.er that which is best for man*in. but instea. inflicts u/on them all manner of torment, this will be consi.ere. un.esirable an. unworthy of wis.om& Be shoul. then say that the un.esirable is that which .oes not suit the aim, but a thing may be un.esirable to one /erson an. .esirable to the other if it .isagrees with the .esire of the one an. suits the other& Thus a family woul. .eem the mur.er of their chil. un.esirable but their enemies woul. welcome it& (ence if it is meant by what is not best that which .oes not suit the .esire of Allah : the Originator, the E$alte. : this will be im/ossible because (e has no .esire& Therefore, the o//osite of the best is not e$/ecte. from (im, nor the harm because (e .oes not .eal with that owne. by others& An. if it is meant by what is not best is that which .oes not suit the .esire of othersM Bhy, then .i. you say that this is im/ossible for (imH 0s it not merely wishful thin*ing, .is/rove. by what we have

Page 37 of 56
assume. of the .ebate of the a.ult an. the chil. an. the /lea of the unbelievers from the mi.st of (ell: fireH Furthermore the wise is he who *nows the realities of things an. is ca/able of harnessing them in accor.ance with his will& 0t is here where the consi.eration of that which is best is im/erative& An. as to the wise among us, he ta*es into consi.eration that which is best as far as he himself is concerne., in or.er to gain therewith /raise in this worl. an. rewar. in the (ereafter, or to /revent some evil from befalling him all of which are im/ossible for Allah : the E$alte., the (igh&

(.iii) -no&in' Allah by 2eli'ion and :ot by 2eason

The eighth /rinci/leA 0s that *nowing Allah : the E$alte. : an. obe.ience to (im are obligatory u/on man*in., by the obligation of Allah : the (igh : in (is )eligion, an. not by reason at all& Of course this is is contrary to the ,u@ta;ilites <an. some /hiloso/hers an. +hristians>& For if reason ren.ers obe.ience obligatory, it .oes so either for no /ur/ose, : for reason .oes not obligate resurrection : which is im/ossible, or for some /ur/ose or .esire& Or, obligates it for a benefit an. a .esire which in turn has to return to the Borshi/e. an. this is im/ossible concerning Allah : the (igh : for (e is E$alte. above .esires an. benefits& Even .isbelief an. unbelief, obe.ience an. .isobe.ience are the same from a beneficial /oint of view to (im& Or, it returns to the benefit of the worshi//er which is again im/ossible, because he has no current .esire& Because of obe.ience, he becomes tire. an. refrains from lower a//etites& Bhile there is nothing in the future e$ce/t rewar. an. /unishment& -o, how then, can he *now that Allah : the (igh : rewar.s the .isobe.ient an. the obe.ient an. .oes not /unish both of them because both are e1ual concerning <their having an affect on> (im& Because (e is incline. to neither, but we *now all these characteristics from the )eligion& Bhile he who arrives at it through .rawing an analogy between the +reator an. the creature errs, as the creature .istinguishes between gratitu.e an. ingratitu.e on the basis of the amount of ?oy, gla.ness, an. /leasure which he .erives from the one or the other& 0f it is sai. that if e$amination an. *nowle.ge are not obligatory e$ce/t through the )eligion which .oes not become .efine. unless the /erson who is re1uire. to fulfill its obligations e$amines it, an. if that /erson shoul. say to the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : that reason .oes not obligate. him to e$amine while the )eligion is not confirme. e$ce/t through e$amination, an. obviously 0 am not going to e$amine it& All this will conclu.e in the ,essenger : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : being silence.H Be woul. then say that this argument is the same as that of the /erson who, on being warne. by another that there is a wil. lion stan.ing behin. him, an. that unless he runs away the beast will .evour him, an. that he can ascertain that the warning is true if he will only loo* behin., says to the one who warne. him that the truth of your warning can be establishe. only if 0 loo* behin. me, yet 0 am not going to turn an. loo* behin. me unless your truth is /roven to meM This in.icates stu/i.ity of the s/ea*er an. gui.es him to .estruction an. there is no harm u/on the gui.eMM As such is the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : he saysA <in similitu.e> 2Behin. you is .eath, wil. cats an. the burning fire& 0f you are not cautious an. reali;e my truthfulness by turning an. loo*ing at my miracles, you will be .estroye.& -o whosoever turns will *now an. be cautious an. save.& But whosoever .oes not turn an. insists is .estroye. an. lost, an. there is no harm u/on me even if all humanity are .estroye.& 0t is only for me to /roclaim the message in a clear manner&2 The )eligion *nows the e$istence of the wil. lions after .eath, while reason ai.s in un.erstan.ing the wor.s of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : an. in reali;ing that which he /ro/hecies is /ossible, an. nature urges that /recautions are ta*en against in?ury an. harm& A thing is necessary because its neglect causes in?ury an. harmC while reason is that which ren.ers a thing necessary because it ma*es *nown the im/en.ing harm& But reason in itself .oes not lea. to the *nowle.ge that when a /erson follows his a//etite he will e$/ose himself to harm after .eath&

Page 38 of 56
This then is the meaning of both )eligion an. reason as well as their /art in .etermining that which is obligatory& For ha. it not been for the fear of /unishment, for the neglect of things comman.e., obligations woul. not have been establishe., since the term obligatory woul. be meaningless if no harm in the (ereafter were conse1uent u/on its neglect in this worl.&

(i+) $endin' ;essen'e s is not Im"ossible

The ninth /rinci/leA 0s that sen.ing /ro/hets is /ossible an. not im/ossible, contrary to the Brahmans who say there is no use in sen.ing /ro/hets since reason ren.ers it unnecessary& Because reason .oes not gui.e men to .ee.s which lea. to salvation in the (ereafter, ?ust as it .oes not gui.e them to .iscover me.icines which are beneficial to the health& Therefore the nee. of man*in. for /ro/hets is ?ust li*e their nee. for /hysicians& The integrity of the /hysician is *nown through e$/erience while the truthfulness of the /ro/het is *nown through miracles&

(+) The " oof of the ;essen'e hood of the $eal of the P o"hets
The tenth /rinci/leA 0s that Allah : the E$alte. : has sent Pro/het ,uhamma. : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : as the seal of the /ro/hets an. as an abrogator of all /revious )eligions before himC the religions of the 'ews an. the +hristians an. the -abians <a 'u.aeo:+hristian sect>& (e <Allah> u/hel. him with unmista*able miracles an. won.erful signs such as the s/litting of the moon, the /raise of the /ebbles, an. causing the .umb animal to s/ea*, as well as water flowing from between his fingers an. the unmista*able sign of the 3lorious 4oran with which he challenge. the Arabs& The Arabs, in their struggle with the Pro/het, .i. everything to counteract him, but .es/ite their .istinguishe. ability an. e$cellence in elo1uence an. rhetoric, they were not able to o//ose him with anything li*e the 4oran, because it was not within the /ower of human beings, to combine the succinctness of the /hrases of the 4oran an. the smoothness of its style together with what it containe. of the news of the ancient generations an. the fact that the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : himself was unlettere. having no e$/erience with boo*s, with the /re.iction of un*nown future events the subse1uent occurrence of which establishe. the truthfulness of the Pro/het : may /raise an. /eace be u/on him& E$am/les of this are foun. in the Bor.s of AllahA 2Kou shall certainly enter the -acre. ,os1ue in security if Allah wills, with hair shaven or cut short an. without fear&2 <Guran 96A#7>& An. again, 2The )omans have been .efeate. in a lan. close byC but after their .efeat, in a few years they shall become the victors&2 <Guran 35A#:3>& The reason why a miracle attests the truthfulness of the messengers is because everything which human beings cannot .o must be the wor* of Allah& Bhatever is lin*e. by the Pro/het with a challenge en?oys the same /osition as that to which Allah says, 2Kou are right&2 This is li*e the case of the /erson who, stan.ing before the *ing announces to the sub?ects that he is the *ing@s messenger, an. in or.er to /rove that he is, he as*s the *ing to stan. u/on his throne an. sit .own three times contrary to his usual /ractice& The *ing obliges an. the sub?ects *now, beyon. the sha.ow of .oubt, that the *ing@s action ta*es the /lace of his saying 2Kou are right&2

Page 39 of 56 The Fou th Pilla ( !once nin' the P o"hetic <uotations on the 0e eafte and the belief in &hat the P o"het tau'ht
This is &ased upon ten principles

(i) Assembly and P esentation of Accounts

The first /rinci/leA 0s the belief in the resurrection of the .ea. an. the %ay of 'u.gement both of which have been mentione. in the /ro/hetic 1uotations& They are real an. belief in them is obligatory, because, accor.ing to reason, they are /ossible& They signify restoration to life after .eath which, li*e the first act of creation, is within the Power of Allah& Allah saysA 2Bho will 1uic*en these bones after they have .ecaye.H -ayA J(e will 1uic*en them Bho create. them the first time&&&@2 <Guran 3"A76>& Therefore the Ability of Allah to restore the .ea. to life is .e.uce. from (is Ability to /erform the first act of creation& Allah saysA 2Kour creation an. your resurrection are but as a single soul&2 <Guran 3 A#6>& )estoration to life is nothing but a secon. act of creation, an. is /ossible li*e the first act of creation&

(ii) The In<uisition of ;un7a and :a7ee

The second principleA 0s the belief in the in1uisition of the angels ,un*ar an. Na*eer& This is mentione. in the Pro/hetic sayings an. shoul., therefore, be acce/te., because it is /ossible, since it .oes not re1uire anything e$ce/t the restoration to life of that /art of the bo.y with which .ialogues are un.erstoo.& This is /ossible in itself an. neither the a//arent stillness of the .ea. /erson@s cor/se nor our failure to hear the 1uestions /ut to him refute it& For the slee/ing /erson is outwar.ly still an. motionless, but he /erceives inwar.ly, /ains an. /leasures the effects of which he feels once he is awa*e& Furthermore the Pro/het hear. the voice of 3abriel an. saw him while those who were aroun. neither hear. nor saw him& For 2an. they .o not com/rehen. anything of (is 4nowle.ge e$ce/t what (e wille.&2 <Guran #A#88>& Thus if Allah .oes not create hearing an. sight for man*in., they will not *now (im&

(iii) The Punishment of the G a.e

The third principleA 0s the belief in the /unishment of the grave which is mentione. in the /ro/hetic 1uotations& Allah saysA 2Before the Fire they shall be e$/ose. morning an. evening, an. when the Dast %ay comes, <it will be sai.>A> JA.mit the /eo/le of Pharaoh in the most terrible chastisementM@2 <Guran 95A9">& 0t was also well *nown that the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : an. the goo., early generation were wont to see* refuge in Allah from the /unishment of the 3rave&

Page 40 of 56
This /unishment of the grave is /ossible an. the fact that the cor/se may be .ismembere. an. scattere. in the bellies of lions an. the gi;;ar.s of fowls .oes not /revent the belief in it, because the bo.ily members which feel the /ain of /unishment are those /articular members to which Allah ha. or.aine. the restoration of sense, /erce/tion an. feeling&

(i.) The $cales

The ourth principle% 0s the belief in the balance which is real& Allah saysA 2Be shall set u/ ?ust scales on the %ay of )esurrection&&&2 <Guran # A97>& An. againA 2Those whose scales are heavy shall trium/h, but those whose scales are light shall lose their souls&2 <Guran 7A6:!>& The manner in which this is .one is that Allah causes to e$ist in the balance of men@s .ee.s, a weight in /ro/ortion to the value of these .ee.s in (is -ight& +onse1uently the value of the .ee.s of men becomes *nown to them so that the ?ustice of Allah in /unishment, (is 3race in forgiveness, an. generosity in rewar. might become evi.ent&

(.) The B id'e

The i th principle% 0s the belief in the Bri.ge, which is stretche. over (ellC it is finer than a hair an. shar/er than the e.ge of the swor.& Allah saysA 2an. gui.e them to the Path of (ell, an. sto/ them to be 1uestione.&2 <Guran 37A#3:#9>& This is also a fact an. belief in it is obligatory& For Allah who is Able to ma*e the bir.s fly in the air is also able to ma*e man*in. wal* over the bri.ge&

(.i) Pa adise and 0ell

The sixth principle% 0s the belief that Para.ise an. (ell are create.& Allah sai. 2An. vie in haste for /ar.on from your Dor., an. a Para.ise, vast as the (eavens an. the Earth, /re/are. for those who fear Allah&2 The Bor. of Allah J/re/are.@ /roves that both Para.ise an. (ell are create.& Therefore the literal meaning of the verse shoul. be acce/te. es/ecially since it is not im/ossible& Nor will it be sai. that there is no use in their creation before the %ay of 'u.gement because 2None shall 1uestion (im about (is Bor*s, but they shall be 1uestione.&2 <Guran # A#3>&

(.ii) The T ue !ali"hate

The se'enth principle% 0s that the gui.e. cali/hs after the Pro/het of Allah are Abu:Ba*r, then JUmar, then JUthman an. then JAli& No clear .esignation of a cali/h was ever ma.e by the Pro/het of Allah : may /raise an. /eace be u/on him& 0f there ha. been any such .esignation it woul. have ha. a much better chance to become *nown an. survive than the .esignation of a local imam in some /art of the lan. by un*nown governors an. army comman.ers& 0n the latter case the .esignation became *nown an. survive.& (ow then .i. it not become *nown an. survive in the case of the Pro/het : the /raise an.

Page 41 of 56
/eace be u/on himH 0f it were really ma.e, how then .i. it .isa//ear an. why was it not transmitte. to usH Accor.ingly Abu:Ba*r was not a cali/h e$ce/t through election an. through the oath of allegiance& To maintain that someone other than Abu:Ba*r was .esignate. woul. amount to the same thing as accusing all the +om/anions of contra.icting the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : an. of violating the /rinci/le of the unanimous agreement of the scholars& No one .ares fabricate such an accusation e$ce/t the )afi.ites& The belief of the -unni community re1uires the vin.ication of all the +om/anions as well as their /raise ?ust as Allah an. (is Pro/het have /raise. them& As for the struggle which too* /lace between ,u@awiyah an. JAli, it was the result of .ifferent /oints of view in in.e/en.ent inter/retation rather than a struggle wherein ,u@awiyah .is/ute. JAli@s right to the cali/hate& Because of their many relatives among the tribes an. the fact that these relatives were scattere. all through the army, JAli .eeme. that the surren.er of the assassins of JUthman, woul. lea. to .isturbances which woul. en.anger the safety of the cali/hate in its early .ays& Therefore he saw fit to /ost/one their surren.er& On the other han., ,u@awiyah thought that any .elay in the surren.er of the assassins to ?ustice woul., in view of the enormity of their crime, incite further attac*s on the lives of cali/hs an. woul. lea. to the she..ing of bloo.& One of the celebrate. learne. men sai. that every in.e/en.ent inter/reter of the religion was right in his own inter/retationC while others sai. that he who is right is one& No one of learning an. intelligence, has charge. JAli with error&

(.iii) The 2an7s of *+cellence of the Fou !ali"hs and the 2est of the !om"anions
The eighth principleA 0s that the e$cellence of the +om/anions is in accor.ance to their chronological or.er in which they succee.e. the Pro/het& For real e$cellence is that which is e$cellent in the -ight of Allah, an. no one will have *nowle.ge of it e$ce/t the Pro/het of Allah : may /raise an. /eace be u/on him& -everal verses in /raise of all the +om/anions were reveale. an. a number of /ro/hetic 1uotations that recite their honor have been han.e. .own& Ket the subtle .istinction of e$cellence an. /rece.ence is not gras/e. e$ce/t by those who were eye:witnesses to the )evelation an. ha. the o//ortunity to observe it in its setting an. to watch its .evelo/ment& (a. they not un.erstoo. that so well they woul. not have arrange. matters as they .i., since it was not their habit to aban.on the Bay of Allah on account of threat or /ressure an. nothing woul. turn them away from the truth&

(i+) The !ondition of the !ali"hate

The ninth principle% 0s that, in a..ition to being a ,uslim, the 1ualifications of the cali/h are fiveA male, being of age, /iety, learning, com/etence, an. membershi/ in the tribe of Guraish because the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 2The cali/hs shoul. be of the Guraish2& Bhen these 1ualifications a//ear in several can.i.ates, the cali/h will be the one who receives the homage an. allegiance of the ma?ority of ,uslims, an. he who contra.icts the ma?ority is a sinner who is to be brought bac* into line with the ma?ority& E0mam of the Two ,os1ues, Al 'uwani, the teacher of Al 3ha;ali allowe. the con.ition of being from the Guraish to have no affect if this con.ition is not available in the can.i.ate if the other con.itions are satisifie.& )efA 2Al 3hiyathi2 by Al 'uwani : %arwishF&

(+) =alidity of the Inau'u ation of the !ali"h /hen Fea ful of 1isaste

Page 42 of 56
The tenth principle% 0s that if neither /iety nor *nowle.ge a//ear in the claimant, yet any attem/t to oust him will result in /erilous an. unbearable strife, we hol. that his cali/hate shoul. be consi.ere. legitimate an. bin.ing because of the grave .ilemma which woul. confront us& Thus we have either to re/lace him by another an. conse1uently stir u/ strife, in which case the evil that will afflict the ,uslims will sur/ass any loss they may incur because of the claimant@s lac* of /iety an. *nowle.ge, 1ualifications .esigne. to /romote the /ublic welfareC but no one will .estroy the means of welfare in or.er to /romote an. enhance it, for this will be ?ust li*e the /erson who will erect a single house an. .emolish a whole town& Or, we have to .eclare that there is no cali/h an. conse1uently there is neither )eligion nor e1uity in the lan., which is im/ossible& Be .eclare that the authority of un?ust rulers shoul. be enforce. in their lan. because of the urgent nee. for authority therein& (ow, then, .o we not .eclare a cali/h legitimate when the nee. for it is great an. urgentH These then are the four /illars which com/rise the forty /rinci/les which /ertain to the foun.ations of the articles of faith& Bhosoever believes therein will be in harmony with the -unni <way of the Pro/het> community an. be an enemy to all heretics& ,ay Allah by (is 3race gui.e us an. lea. our ste/s into the way of truth&

!ha"te > Belief% $ubmission and Ihsan (?$unni $ufis?)

The )elationshi/ Between Belief an. 0slam an. the %ifferences Bhich %istinguish Them& Bhether Belief 0ncreases or %ecreases an. the Gualifications Bhich the 3oo., Early 3eneration Dai. %own +oncerning 0t& This cha/ter is com/rise. of three matters& (irst matter% Peo/le .isagree. concerning the meaning of 0slam <submission>, whether it was i.entical with iman <belief> or .ifferent therefromC an., in the event it was .ifferent, whether it was remove. from belief an. coul. e$ist without it, or inse/arable from it an. .oes not e$ist without it& -ome have sai. that they are one an. the same thing& Others say that they are two .ifferent things wholly unrelate., an. still others say that although they are two .ifferent things, they are closely relate. to each other& Abu Talib al ,a**i ha. something to say in this connectionC yet what he sai. was greatly confuse. an. e$tremely long& Det us, therefore, /rocee. to .eclare the truth without bothering with that which is useless& To begin with, this .iscussion com/rises three consi.erationsA (irst concerning the literal meaning of the two terms 0slam an. 0man <-ubmission an. Belief>C )econd the technical meaning of the two terms in the 4oran an. /ro/hetic 1uotationsC Third the functions which they fulfill in this worl. an. the ne$t& The first is one of language, the secon. is of inter/retation, an. the thir. is of ?uris/ru.ence an. )eligion& The irst consideration concerning the literal meaning of the wor.s& 2Belief2 means literally 2acce/tance2& +oncerning the brothers of 'ose/h, Allah saysA 2They sai. <to 'acob>A JBe went racing an. left 'ose/h with our things& The wolf .evoure. him& But you will not BED0EIE us, though we s/ea* the truth@2 <Guran #A 7>, which is the same as saying that he will not acce/t their wor.& 0slam on the other han. means submission, an. surren.er to Allah through yiel.ing an. com/lianceC an. henceforth ab?uring rebellion, /ri.e, an. stubbornness&

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Acce/tance lies in the heart while the tongue serves as its inter/reter& But submission is more com/rehensive an. /erva.es the heart, the tongue an. the senses& For every acce/tance with the min. is a submission an. a .isavowal of /ri.e an. unbelief& The same is true of verbal confession as well as of obe.ience an. com/liance with the senses& Accor.ing to the .ictates of language 0slam is the more general term, while belief is the more s/ecific& Therefore belief <0man> re/resents the noblest /art of 0slam& +onse1uently every acce/tance is submission, but not every submission is acce/tance& The second consideration treats the technical meaning of the two terms in the 4oran an. /ro/hetic 1uotations& The truth of the matter is that the )eligion i&e& the 4oran an. /ro/hetic 1uotations, has use. the two terms as synonyms interchangeably, as .ifferent terms of .ifferent meaning, an. as relate. terms, one being a /art of the other& Their use synonymously is shown in the Bor.s of Allah when (e sai., 2-o Be brought the believers out of that they were in& Be foun. in it but one househol. of those who ha. surren.ere. themselves,2 <Guran 8 A38:3">& Ket as a matter of fact there was only one family& Allah saysA 2,oses sai.A JO my /eo/le, if you believe in Allah, in (im /ut your trust if you are ,uslims&@2 <Guran 5A69>& The Pro/het also sai., 20slam is built u/on five /illars&2 At another time the Pro/het was as*e. what belief was an. he gave the same answers, namely the five /illars& <The bearing witness that there is no go. e$ce/t Allah, an. ,uhamma. is (is Pro/het, /rayer, obligatory charity, /ilgrimage, the fast of )ama.an>& The use of the terms 0slam an. belief to signify .ifferent meanings is shown in the Bor.s of Allah when (e sai.A 2The Arabs .eclareA JBe believe&@ -ayA JKou .o not@ rather say, Jwe submit@&&2 <Guran 9!A 9>& This means that they have surren.ere. outwar.ly only& 0n this case the Pro/het use. belief for acce/tance with the min. only an. use. 0slam for surren.er outwar.ly through the tongue an. limbs& <-imilarly when 3abriel assume. the a//earance of a stranger> an. 1uestione. the Pro/het concerning belief the latter re/lie. saying, 2Belief is to believe in Allah, (is Angels, Boo*s, Pro/hets, the Dast %ay, the resurrection of the .ea., the 'u.gement, an. in the %ecrees of Allah, the goo. an. the evil&2 3abriel then as*e. what 0slam was, to which the Pro/het re/lie. by citing the five /illars& (e thus use. 0slam for submission outwar.ly in wor. an. .ee.& Accor.ing to a /ro/hetic 1uotation relate. on the authority of -a@. the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : once gave a certain man a gift an. to another he gave nothing whereu/on -a@. sai.A 2O Pro/het of Allah& Kou have given this man nothing although he is a believer&2 The Pro/het a..e., 2Or a ,uslim&2 -a@. re/eate. his 1uestion an. again the Pro/het a..e., 2Or a ,uslim&2 Their use as relate. terms, the one being a /art of the other is shown by what has been relate. concerning the Pro/het of Allah : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : when he was as*e. what .ee.s were best an. he re/lie., 20slam2C an. when he was as*e. which ty/e of 0slam was best he answere.A 2Belief2& This /roves the use of 0slam an. belief <0man> both as .ifferent terms an. as relate. terms the one being a /art of the other, of which latter use is the best linguistically, because belief is in reality a wor* : in fact the best of wor*s& 0slam on the other han. is submission either with the min. or with the tongue, or with the sensesC but the best is the submission with the min.& 0t is that acce/tance which is calle. belief& The use of the terms 0slam an. belief as two .ifferent wor.s of .ifferent meanings, as relate. terms, the one being a /art of the other, an. as synonyms, .oes not overste/ the /ossibilities which the language allows& Their use as .ifferent terms of .ifferent meanings ma*es belief signify acce/tance with the min. only, which signification conforms to the .ictates of languageC it ma*es 0slam signify submission

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outwar.ly, which thing is also in harmony with the re1uirements of language& For the submission in /art is also calle. submission, since the unanimous agreement of the scholars a//lication of a term is not a necessary /rere1uisite for its use& For e$am/le, he who touches another with a /art of his bo.y is nevertheless calle. contiguous .es/ite the fact that the whole of his bo.y is not in contact with that of the other& (ence the a//lication of the term 0slam to outwar. submission, although the inwar. submission is lac*ing, is in com/lete harmony with the rules of language& 0n this sense were the Bor.s of Allah use. when (e sai. 2The Arabs .eclareA JBe believe&@ -ayA Kou .o not@, rather say, Jwe submit,@&&& <Guran 9!A 9>& The same is true of the use of the two wor.s 0slam an. 0man <belief> in the /ro/hetic saying relate. by -a@. where the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : a..e.A 2Or a ,uslim&2 (e .i. that because he /referre. the one to the other& Bhat is meant by the use of the two terms as .ifferent wor.s of .ifferent meanings is that the terms conten. for su/eriority an. vie with each other in e$cellence& Their use as relate. terms, the one being a /art of the other, is also in harmony with the rules of language& 0t is the use of 0slam for submission with the min. as well as with wor. an. .ee.C while using belief for a /art of 0slam, namely acce/tance with the min.& This is what we meant by the usage of 0slam an. belief as relate. terms, the one being a /art of the other& 0t satisfies the rules of language with res/ect to both the s/ecific a//lication of belief an. the general use of 0slam, which is all:inclusive& 0t was in this sense that the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : use. the term belief when he re/lie. to the 1uestion /ut to him as to which ty/e of 0slam is best, thereby ma*ing it a /articular as/ect of 0slam an. a /art of it& The use of the two terms synonymously, thereby using the wor. 0slam for both inwar. an. outwar. submission, woul. ma*e it all submissionC the same is true of belief, which may be use. freely an. its /articular meaning e$ten.e., thereby ma*ing it general an. inclu.ing un.er it outwar. submission& This is 1uite /ossible because the outwar. submission through wor. an. .ee. is the fruit an. result of inwar. submission& Thus the name of a certain tree is freely use. to signify both the /lant itself as well as the fruit of the /lant& -imilarly the significance of the term belief may be e$ten.e. so as to become general, thereby ma*ing it synonymous with the term 0slam an. in e$act agree: ment with it& Allah sai.A 2Be foun. in it but one househol. of those who ha. surren.ere. themselves,2 <Guran 8 A3">& The third consideration .eals with the legal rules which govern the two terms& 0slam an. belief have two functions, one which /ertains to the (ereafter an. one which /ertains to this worl.& The function which /ertains to the (ereafter is for the /ur/ose of bringing /eo/le forth from (ell fire an. /reventing them from remaining there for ever& The Pro/het of Allah : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 2Bhoever has in his heart the weight of an atom of belief will be brought forth from (ell fire&2 Peo/le .isagree. concerning this function an. concerning its fulfillment, an. have as*e. what things com/rise. belief& -ome have taught that it is sim/ly an inwar. a.herence an. verbal confession& Others a.. a thir. elementC .ee.s accor.ing to the /illars of 0slam&

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Be shall then remove the veil an. .eclare that there is no .isagreement at all that anyone who combines in himself all these three elements will have his final abo.e in Para.ise& This is the irst degree* The second degree is that where a /erson has the first two elements an. a /art of the thir., namely inwar. a.herence an. verbal confession together with some goo. .ee.s accor.ing to the /illars of 0slam, but commits one or several great sins& Accor.ing to the ,u@ta;ilites, a /erson by committing such great sins .e/arts from the true belief but .oes not thereby become an unbeliever, but he becomes an 2in between2& (e is neither a believer nor an unbeliever but occu/ies an interme.iary /osition between the two, an. will remain eternally in (ell fire& This, however, is false as we shall show& The third degree is where the /erson fulfills the inwar. a.herence an. verbal confession but fails to /erform the .ee.s accor.ing to the /illars of 0slam with his limbs& Peo/le have .isagree. concerning it& Abu:Talib al:,a**i hel. that .ee.s were a /art of belief an. the latter is incom/lete without them& (e also claime. that the unanimous agreement of the scholars bac*e. his /osition an. cite. in its su//ort /roofs an. evi.ence which ten. to /rove the contrary, such as the Bor.s of AllahA 2Those who believe an. .o the things that are right&2 This 1uotation woul. in.icate that .ee.s are something over an. above belief rather than a /art of it& Otherwise the reference to .ee.s woul. be a re/etition, which is re.un.ant& 0t is strange that Abu:Talib al:,a**i shoul. claim the su//ort of the unaminous agreement of the scholars for this /osition of his an. yet relate the following /ro/hetic sayingA 2No one woul. be .eclare. an unbeliever unless he shoul. .eny what he has /rofesse.,2 an. fin.s fault with the ,u@ta;ilites because they insist that a /erson who commits a great sin will remain eternally in (ell fire& Ket he who hol.s such views hol.s the same views of the ,u@ta;ilites, since if he were as*e. whether or not a /erson, who acce/te. 0slam with his heart an. testifie. with his tongue thereto an. then .ie., woul. be in Para.ise, he woul. say JKes@, thereby asserting that belief coul. e$ist without .ee.s& Be woul. then a.. another 1uestion an. as* him whether or not that /erson, if he ha. live. until the time of /rayer ha. arrive., but neglecte. to /erform his /rayer an. .ie. imme.iately after, or if he ha. committe. fornication an. .ie., whether or not he woul. remain eternally in (ell fireH 0f he shoul. answer, JKes@, he woul. agree with the ,u@ta;ilitesC but if he shoul. say, JNo@, it woul. amount to a .eclaration that .ee.s are neither a /art of belief itself nor a /rere1uisite for its e$istence& Neither are they necessary for gaining the rewar. of Para.ise& But if he shoul. say that what he meant was that the /erson woul. remain eternally in (ell fire only if he ha. live. a long time without either /raying or attem/ting any of the .ee.s /rescribe. by the )eligion, we woul. say, e$actly how long is that /erio., an. how many are those goo. .ee.s through the neglect of which belief is ren.ere. worthlessH (ow many of the great sins woul., if committe., annul beliefH2 -uch a thing is im/ossible to .etermine an. no one has ever .one so& The ourth degree is re/resente. in the case of the /erson who acce/ts 0slam inwar.ly with his min. but .ies before either confessing it verbally with his tongue or /erforming any of the .ee.s which its /illars /rescribe& Boul. it be sai. that such a /erson .ie. a believerH Peo/le .iffer on this 1uestion& Those who insist on verbal confession as a /rere1uisite of belief woul. say that he .ie. before fulfilling the con.itions of belief& But this is false because the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 2Bhoever has in his heart the weight of an atom of belief will be brought forth from (ell fire&2 This /erson@s heart overflows with beliefC how then woul. he remain eternally in (ell fireH Furthermore when 3abriel as*e. Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : concerning belief, the only con.ition set forth was to believe in Allah an. (is ,essenger, (is Angels, (is Boo*s, the Dast %ay, the resurrection of the .ea., the %ay of 'u.gement, an. in the %ecrees of Allah, with goo. or evil, as has alrea.y been mentione.& The i th degree is when a /erson acce/ts 0slam in his min. an. lives long enough to be able to confess the two /hrases of the witness with his tongue an. to *now that they are obligatory u/on him, but, for some reason, he .oes not so confess them& 0t is /ossible that his failure to confess them with his

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tongue is li*e his failure to /ray& +oncerning such a /erson we will say that he is a believer not .oome. to (ell fire eternally& Because belief is sim/le acce/tance an. the tongue is its inter/reter& 0t is certain, therefore, that belief e$ists in its entirety even before its verbal confession with the tongue, so that the tongue can inter/ret it& This is the most /lausible /osition, since there is no choice but to follow the e$act meaning of terms an. to satisfy the .ictates of language& The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 2Bhoever has in his heart the weight of an atom of belief will be brought forth from (ell fire&2 The heart .oes not become voi. of belief because of the failure of the /erson to fulfill the .uty of confessing that belief with the tongue, ?ust as it .oes not become voi. of belief because of the failure of the /erson to /erform obligatory .ee.s& -ome /eo/le have sai. that to confess the two /hrases of the witness with the tongue is in.is/ensable because it is not merely an outwar. e$/ression of the inwar. belief, but rather the sealing of a contract an. the commencement of a life of witness an. obligation& The first /osition is the more correct& 0n this connection the ,ur?i@ites have gone to the e$treme, .eclaring that no one who /rofesse. to be a ,uslim will ever enter (ell fire, an. that a believer, even if he shoul. sin, is sure of salvation& Be shall see to it that their /osition is refute.& The sixth degree is to say with the tongue that there is no go. e$ce/t Allah an. that ,uhamma. is the ,essenger of Allah, but .isbelieve it in his heart& Be have no .oubt that the fate of such a /erson in the (ereafter is with the unbelievers, an. that he will remain eternally in (ell fire& On the other han. we are sure that in this worl., the affairs of which are entruste. to imams an. governors, he will be rec*one. among the ,uslims, because we have no access to his heart an. have, therefore, to give him the benefit of the .oubt an. assume that he a.heres in his heart to what he ha. /rofesse. with his tongue& Be, however, have our .oubts concerning a thir. matter, namely the status which e$ists in this worl. between such a /erson an. his +reator, Allah, in the event that one of his relatives .ies, an. as a result of his relative@s .eath he acce/ts 0slam in his heart as well& (aving thus acce/te. 0slam in his heart as well, he 1uestions the learne. men concerning his status saying, 20 .i. not acce/t 0slam with my heart, <although 0 ha. confesse. it with my tongue>, until my relative .ie.& (aving fallen heir to his /ro/erty& 0 wish to *now whether or not it is lawful for me to receive itH2 Or in case he ha. marrie. a ,uslim woman <while he .isbelieve. in his heart>, but u/on his marriage he came to acce/t 0slam in his heartC woul. he be re1uire. to re/eat the marriage contract againH These 1uestions are controversial an. leave room for .ifferent o/inions& Thus it may be sai. that the .ecisions of this worl., whether they are clear or hi..en, .e/en. u/on the e$/ress confession of 0slam& 0t may also be sai. that, in so far as they /ertain to the in.ivi.ual in his relationshi/ to other men, these .ecisions .e/en. u/on the outwar. confession of 0slam, because the heart of the in.ivi.ual is not *nown to others besi.es himself an. Allah& The more correct /osition, an. Allah *nows best, is that it is unlawful for that /erson to receive the inheritance of his .ecease. relative, an. that he must re/eat the marriage contract a secon. time& For this reason, (u.hayfah use. to stay away from the funerals of hy/ocrites, an. it was customary for JUmar to follow his e$am/le an. absent himself whenever (u.hayfah .i. so& Nevertheless /rayer over the .ea. is a formal ceremony, although it is also one of the acts of worshi/& To guar. oneself against what is unlawful is, li*e /rayer, among the obligations of the in.ivi.ual towar.s Allah& This is not contra.ictory to our saying that inheritance is the law of 0slam& 0slam is surren.er, in fact com/lete surren.er is that which inclu.es both outwar. an. inwar. acts& These are .oubtful /roblems in ?uris/ru.ence, base. u/on the outwar. meaning of wor.s, vague generalities, an. mechanical analogies& +onse1uently no one immature in *nowle.ge shoul. thin* that he coul. arrive at absolute certainty in any of these cases, although it has been customary to cite them un.er those /arts

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of scholastic theology where absolute certainty is the .esire. goal& For no one who follows the common /ractices an. conventional formalities will ever succee.&

(i) The confusion of the ;u8tazilites and the ;u @i8ites

0f you shoul. say, 2Bhat then are the fallacies of the ,u@ta;ilites an. the ,ur?i@ites <an. anyone who follows this way of thought>, an. what are the /roofs that their /osition is falseH2 0 woul. then say that their fallacies arose from their failure to un.erstan. certain generalities mentione. in the 4oran& As to the ,ur?i@ites, they sai. that no believer woul. enter (ell fire, although he might commit every /ossible sin& They base. their /osition on the Bor.s of Allah when he sai., 2An. whoever believes in his Dor., shall fear neither shortage nor in?ustice2 <Guran 7#A 3> an. again in (is Bor.s when (e sai.A 2Those who believe in Allah an. (is ,essengers are the sincere an. the martyrs before their Dor.& They shall have their rewar. an. their light& But those that .isbelieve an. belie. Our verses, are the inhabitants of (ell&2 <Guran 87A !>& They also 1uote the Bor.s of AllahA 2Every time a host is cast therein, its *ee/ers will as* themA J%i. no one come to warn youH@ JKes,@ they will re/ly, Jbut we belie. the Barner <,essenger> sayingA JAllah has not sent .own anything, you are in great errorM@2 <Guran "7A6:!>& (is sayingA 2Every time a host is cast therein2, is inclusive an. therefore every one who is thrown into (ell fire must have treate. the warner as a liar& They also 1uote the Bor.s of 3o. 20n which none shall be roaste. e$ce/t the most wretche. sinner, who lie. an. turne. away&2 <Guran !#A 8: ">& 0n this verse we fin. a s/ecification, as well as an affirmation an. a negation& Again they 1uote the Bor.s of AllahA 2Bhosoever comes with a merit, for him there is better than it, an. they are safe on that %ay from its terror&2 But belief is the beginning of goo. .ee.s& Again they 1uote, 2An. Allah loves the goo. .oers&2 Allah also sai.A 2Be .o not waste the rewar. of him who .oes goo. .ee.s&2 <Guran 6A35>& But they have no /roof in any of these verses, because when belief is mentione. in them it means belief cou/le. with goo. .ee.s& Be have shown that belief is use. to signify 0slam, which is in conformity with the heart, wor., an. .ee.& -u//orting this inter/retation are many /ro/hetic 1uotations concerning the /unishment of sinners an. the e$tent of their /enalty& Furthermore the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 2Bhoever has in his heart the weight of an atom of belief will be brought from (ell fire&2 But how coul. anyone be brought forth from (ell fire if he ha. not first entere. thereinH Be also fin. in the 4oran the following Bor.s of AllahA 2Allah .oes not forgive <the sin of inventing an> association with (im, but (e forgives other sins to whomsoever (e will&2 <Guran 9A ">& The fact that Allah may e$em/t from /unishment accor.ing to (is Bill& The usage of 2willing2 in.icates .ivisions& (e also sai.A 2(e who .isobeys Allah an. (is ,essenger, for him is the Fire of (ell, which he will be in forever&2 <Guran 7#A#3>& To .eclare such a /erson an unbeliever is, nevertheless, un?ust& Allah also sai.A 2The evil.oers shall suffer an everlasting /unishment&2 <Guran 9#A98>& An. again, 2But those who come with an evil .ee. shall have their faces thrust into the fire&2 <Guran #7A!5>& -ome of the un.erstan.ing of the generalities of these verses on first im/ression contra.ict the other generalities& Therefore we must resort to the un.erstan.ing of the s/ecific versus general an. also to .isci/line inter/retation on both si.esC es/ecially when /ro/hetic 1uotations are clear in their /ronouncements that the sinners will be /unishe.& 0n fact the Bor.s of Allah, 2There is not one of you who shall not go .own to it&2 <Guran !A7 > is almost an e$/ress .eclaration that /unishment is inevitable to all, because every believer cannot hel/ but commit an offense&

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Furthermore, by the Bor.s, 20n which none shall be roaste. e$ce/t the most wretche. sinner who lie. an. turne. away&2 <Guran !#A 8: ">& Allah meant certain /articular /eo/le, since the a//ellation Jthe most wretche.@ refers to a /articular /erson& Again in (is Bor., 2Every time a host is cast therein, its *ee/ers will as* them2 <Guran "7A6> refers to a s/ecial grou/ of unbelievers& At any rate .ealing with statements which are linguistically 2general2 to convey the meaning for 2s/ecial2 is not an uncommon /ractice& Because of this last verse al:Ash@ari as well as several other scholars of theology fell into the .enial that all 2general2 usages, an. that such usages await a 1ualifier 2evi.ence2 to clarify their meanings& The fallacy of the ,u@ta;ilites arose from failure to un.erstan. the following Bor.s of Allah& Allah saysA 20 am all Forgiving for he who re/ents, believes, /ractices goo. .ee.s, then is gui.e.&2 An. (is Bor.s when (e .eclare., 2By the afternoon timeM -urely the human is in a <state of> loss, e$ce/t those who believe an. .o goo. .ee.s&&&2 < Guran 5#A :3>& Also (is Bor.s when (e sai., 2There is not one of you who shall not go .own to itA such is a thing .ecree., .etermine.&2 <Guran !A7 > an. continue. sayingA 2Be will save those who fear Us&&&2 <Guran !A7#>& Also the Bor.s of AllahA 2An. whosoever .isobeys Allah, an. (is ,essenger, in.ee. for him is (ell, an. therein they will abi.e forever&2 As well as every verse in which Allah mentions goo. .ee.s cou/le. with belief& Also the Bor.s of Allah when (e sai.A 2(e who *ills a believer .eliberately : his recom/ense is (ell, he is eternal there&2 <Guran 9A!3>& These generalities are also s/ecific as is /rove. by the Bor.s of Allah when (e sai.A 2but (e forgives other sins to whomsoever (e will&2 <Guran 9A ">& Therefore free.om to forgive men sins, other than the sin of /olytheism, must be left to Allah& -imilarly the wor.s of the Pro/het when he sai., 2Bhoever has in his heart the weight of an atom of belief will be brought forth from (ell fire,2 /rove the same thing& Allah .eclare.A 2As for those who believe an. .o goo. .ee.s, Be .o not waste the rewar. of him who .oes goo. .ee.s&2 <Guran 6A35>& An. again 2Allah .oes not waste the wage of the goo.:.oers&2 (ow then woul. Allah suffer the rewar. of belief itself as well as that of goo. .ee.s to be lost because of one single offenseH As for the Bor.s of AllahA 2(e who *ills a believer .eliberately,2 they mean whoever *ills a believer because of his belief, an. the wor.s have been reveale. for that /articular /ur/ose& Kou may say, 2Bhat has alrea.y been sai. will lea. to the conclusion that belief obtains without goo. .ee.s although it is well *nown that the goo., early generation sai. that belief com/rises inwar. a.herence, verbal confession an. goo. .ee.sC e$/lain to us therefore the meaning of all this&2 0 shall then say it is not unli*ely that goo. .ee.s are consi.ere. a /art of belief, because they /erfect an. com/lete it, ?ust as it is sai. that the hea. an. han.s are /art of man& 0t is evi.ent that a /erson will cease to be human if his hea. no longer e$istsC but he will not cease to be a human being if one of his han.s is lost through am/utation& -imilarly both the e$altation an. the /raise are consi.ere. a /art of /rayer, although it is not annulle. by their omission& Therefore acce/tance with the heart stan.s in relation to belief as .oes the hea. in relation to the e$istence of man, since the one .e/en.s for its e$istence u/on the other an. ceases to e$ist when the other no longer is& The remaining goo. .ee.s are li*e the limbs of the bo.y, some are more im/ortant than the others& The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai.A 2A believer is no longer a believer when he commits fornication&2 Furthermore the +om/anions hel. the same o/inion as the ,u@ta;ilites concerning the fact that a /erson ceases to be a believer when he commits the sin of fornication& Bhat this really means is that such a /erson is no longer a real believer /ossessing a com/lete an. /erfect belief, ?ust as the .eforme. in.ivi.ual whose limbs have been am/utate. is .escribe. as being no longer a human beingC in other wor.s he lac*s that /erfection which is beyon. actual humanity&

(ii) The Inc ease and 1ec ease of Belief

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)econd MatterA Kou may say, 2The goo., early generation have agree. that belief is sub?ect to increase an. .ecrease : increasing with obe.ience an. goo. .ee.s, an. .ecreasing with .isobe.ience an. sin&2 0n that case 0 shall say that the goo., early generation are ?ust witnesses, an. no one has any right to .e/art from their ?u.gment& Bhat they have sai. is trueC but the im/ortant thing is to gras/ its meaning& 0t /roves that goo. .ee.s are not an integral /art of belief nor a basic thing for its e$istence& )ather they are an a..ition which augments belief& Both the sur/lus an. the .eficit e$ist, but nothing increases in itself& Thus it cannot be sai. that man@s hea. is an a..ition or a sur/lus which increases his stature or si;eC but his bear. an. cor/ulence are& -imilarly it is not /ermissible to say that /rayer is augmente. an. increase. by *neeling an. /rostrationC rather it is augmente. by the manner of its e$ecution an. the usages followe. therein& This, therefore, is a clear .eclaration that belief as such .oes e$ist, an. that once it e$ists, it may vary, sub?ect to increase an. .ecrease& 0f you then say that the ambiguity lies in the /roblem of acce/tance, how coul. it increase an. .iminish when it is always the sameH 0 shall then say that if we /ut asi.e all hy/ocrisy an. ignore the o//osition of a.versaries an. then lift the veil off the e$act meaning of the wor., all ambiguity will be remove.& +onse1uently we say that belief is a common noun use. in three .ifferent ways&

(iii) The 1efinitions of Belief 5 Iman

The first usage .enotes an acce/tance with the heart, a belief base. on the authority of other believers without the benefit of revelation an. an o/en heart& This is the belief of the or.inary /eo/leC in fact it is the belief of all /eo/le e$ce/t the elite& This belief is, as it were, a *not boun. aroun. the heart, sometimes tightene. an. ma.e stronger an. sometimes loosene. an. ma.e wea*er, ?ust li*e the *not in a /iece of string& %o not consi.er this unli*ely but remember the tenacity of 'ews in hol.ing fast to their .octrine, how they cannot be sha*en or move. from it either by threatening, or warning, /romising or a.monishing, e$amining or /roving& The same is true of +hristians an. innovators among whom e$ist some who can be ma.e to .oubt with the least wor., an. can be ma.e to move from their belief with the least attraction or threat, although, li*e the 'ews, they .o not .oubt the veracity of their own .octrine, yet they .iffer in the .egree of their .etermination& -uch variations in the .egree of .etermination also e$ist in the true belief, an. goo. .ee.s influence the .evelo/ment an. growth of this .etermination, ?ust as irrigation influences the growth of trees& Allah saysA, 2Bhenever a cha/ter is reveale., some of them as*A JBhich of you has it strengthene. in beliefH@ 0t will surely increase the belief of the believers an. give them ?oy&2 <Guran !A #9>& An. again, 20t was (e who sent .own tran1uillity into the hearts of the believers so that they might a.. belief to their faith&2 <Guran 96A9>& Accor.ing to a /ro/hetic sayingC 2Belief is sub?ect to increase an. .ecrease&2 This is accom/lishe. by the influence of goo. .ee.s u/on the heart, a thing which is not /erceive. e$ce/t by those who me.itate over their .ifferent inner states .uring the hours of worshi/ an. a//ly themselves solely to it through the /resence of the heart at the time of inactivity an. languor, as well as reali;ing the variations which are inherent in .evoting oneself in these states to the articles of belief, so that the tie which bin.s him to his belief might become firmer an. conse1uently har.er to un.o for the /erson who wishes to loosen it with .oubt& 0n fact if the /erson, who believes that the or/han offers him the o//ortunity to reveal the 1uality of mercy, will act accor.ing to his belief an. show *in.ness towar. the or/han, he will be assure. within himself of the real e$istence of mercy as well as of its manifol. increase through its active o/eration&

Page 50 of 56
-imilarly, if the /erson who believes in mo.esty will, in accor.ance with his belief, humble himself before another /erson, he will sense the 1uality of mo.esty within himself at the time he /erforms the act& The same is true of all the 1ualities of the heartA all bo.ily actions /rocee. from them, an. then the very influence of these actions react u/on them, thereby confirming their e$istence an. increasing their strength& This sub?ect will be .iscusse. in two volumes of my boo* 20hya Uloom A.:%in, The )evival of )eligious 4nowle.ge2 one volume s/ea*s of the .estructive characteristics an. another of the characteristics of safety& 0n which we mention the relation of the inwar. to the outwar. an. that of .ee.s to beliefs& This relation is of the same nature as that of the relation between the visible worl. an. the invisible worl.& By the visible worl., which is also calle. Jalam al:shaha.ah, <the witnessing worl.> 0 mean the worl. which is /erceive. by the sensesC an. by the invisible worl., which is also calle. Jalam al:ghayb, <the unseen worl.> 0 mean the worl. which is /erceive. by the light of the heart& The heart belongs to the invisible worl. while the members of the bo.y as well as their activities belong to the visible worl.& The subtlety an. fineness of the inter.e/en.ence of the two worl.s have le. some to thin* that they are closely connecte., while others thought that there was no worl. e$ce/t the visible which is ma.e of the concrete an. tangible bo.ies& One who has /erceive. the two worl.s an. reali;e. first their in.e/en.ence an. then their inter.e/en.ence e$/resse. his observation in the following mannerA 2The glass was fine, the wine was clear& -o confusion s/rea.A to some it seeme. nothing but glassC while others swore JThis is but wine, no glass is here@&2 Det us go bac* to the main /ur/ose of our .iscussion, es/ecially since the invisible worl. is outsi.e the sco/e of the science of /ractical religion& Nevertheless the two worl.s are connecte. an. inter.e/en.ent& For this reason the science of revelation e$ten.s its sco/e every now an. then into the realm of /ractical religion an. .oes not with.raw until it im/oses some obligations& This then is how belief, in accor.ance with this usage, increases through goo. .ee.s& For this reason, JAli sai., 20n.ee. belief will loom as a single white s/ot in the heart of man& 0f the man will .o that which is goo. the white s/ot will grow an. s/rea. until the whole heart is white& Bhereas hy/ocrisy ma*es it first a//earance as a blac* blotch in the heart of a man& 0f the man will .o that which is unlawful, the blac* blotch will grow an. s/rea. until the whole heart is blac*, an. blac*ness becomes man@s secon. nature&2 Allah saysA 2No, but what they use. to .o has veile. their hearts&2 The secon. usage of the term belief .enotes both acce/tance an. .ee.s, ?ust as the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : state.A 2Belief com/rises over seventy .ivisions&2 The same thing is also seen in the wor.s of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : when he sai.A 2A believer is no longer a believer when he commits fornication&2 An. when .ee.s become an integral /art of belief, it becomes evi.ent that it is sub?ect to increase an. .ecrease& %oes this, however, affect belief which is mere acce/tanceH The 1uestion is one of o/inion, an. we have alrea.y state. that it .oes& The thir. usage of the term belief .enotes certain acce/tance resulting from revelation an. an o/en min. as well as from seeing truth with the light of the heart& The last is the least to len. itself to increase& 0 shall, however, say that the way in which the heart acce/ts certain things which are free of .oubt .iffers& Thus the way the heart an. min. acce/ts the fact that two are greater than one is unli*e the way it acce/ts the fact that the worl. is create. an. originate.& Although there is not the slightest .oubt of the certainty of either fact& For certain things .iffer in the .egrees of their clarity an. in the .egrees to which the min. acce/ts them&

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Be touche. on this sub?ect in the section of certainty in the 2Boo* of 4nowle.ge2 un.er the characteristics of the learne. /eo/le of the (ereafterC therefore there is no nee. to go over it again& 0n all these usages it became evi.ent that what they have sai. concerning the increase an. .ecrease of belief was true& (ow coul. it not be true when we have the e$/ress testimony of the /ro/hetic sayingsA 2Bhosoever has in his heart the weight of an atom of belief will be brought forth from (ell fire&2 0n another /ro/hetic sayingA 2(e will be brought forth from (ell fire, who has in his heart the weight of a .inar of belief&2 Bhy then shoul. the amount .iffer if the belief in the heart .oes not varyH

(i.) The !lause of ?Allah /illin'? in $tatin' #ne8s Belief% 6uestion and Ans&e
Kou may as*, 2Bhat then have the goo., early generation meant with the sayingA JAllah willing, 0 am a believerM@2 A 1ualification im/lies .oubt, an. to entertain .oubts concerning the veracity of belief amounts to unbelief& Ket all the goo., early generation use. to refrain from giving a .efinite re/ly concerning belief, an. were e$tremely careful not to commit themselves& 0n this connection -ufyan al:Thawri sai., 2(e who says, JBefore Allah 0 am a believer, is a liarC an. he who says, J0 a really a believer@, is an innovator&2 But how can he be a liar when he himself *nows that he is a believerH For he who is a believer in himself is a believer before Allah, ?ust as he who is big an. generous in himself an. is aware of this fact, will be big an. generous before Allah& The same is true of him who is li*ewise gla., or sa., or hearing, or seeing& On the other han. if man were as*e. whether or not he was an animal it woul. not be fitting for him to re/ly, 2Allah willing, 0 am an animal&2 Bhen -ufyan ma.e this statement he was as*e., 2Bhat then shall we sayH2 Thereu/on he re/lie., 2Be believe in Allah, an. that which has been sent .own to us&2 <Guran #A 35>& An. what is the .ifference between saying, 2Be believe in Allah an. that which has been sent .own to us2 an. saying, 20 am a believerH2 Once al:(asan was as*e., 2Are you a believerH2 To which he re/lie., 20f it is the Bill of Allah2& Thereu/on he was tol., 2O Abu:-a@i.H Bhy .o you 1ualify your beliefH2 (e answere. an. sai., 20 fear saying, JKes@, an. then Allah will say, JKou have lie. (asan&@ Then 0 shall rightly merit (is /unishment&2 (e also use. to say, 20 fear that Allah may fin. that 0 have .one something abominable to (im an. will conse1uently abhor me an. say, J3o away& 0 acce/t none of your .ee.s&@ Then 0 shall be wor*ing in vain&2 0brahim ibn A.ham once sai., 2Bhenever you are as*e., JAre you a believerH@ say, JThere is no go. e$ce/t Allah@&2 At another time he sai., 2-ay, J0 .o not .oubt beliefC your 1uestion to me is an innovation@&2 JAl1amah was once as*e., 2Are you a believerH2 to which he re/lie., 20 ho/e so& Allah willing&2 Al Thawri sai.A 2Be believe in Allah an. in (is angels, Boo*s, an. Pro/hets& But we .o not *now what we are before Allah&2 Kou may as* all this an. sayA 2Bhat then is the meaning of all these 1ualificationsH2 The answer to your 1uestion is that these 1ualifications are correct an. are /ut forwar. for four reasons, two of which arise from .oubt, not of the reality of belief itself, but of its en. an. /erfectionC an. two .o not arise from .oubt at all& The first reason which .oes not arise from any .oubt at all is the care not to be .ecisive for fear of self: /raising an. ma*ing one@s self out to be /ure& Allah saysA 2%o not /raise yourselves&2 An. again, 2(aven@t you see those who /raise themselvesH2 An. againA 2Behol. how they .evise a lie against Allah&2 A certain wise man was once as*e., 2Bhat is .etestable truthH2 (e re/lie., 2,an@s /raise of himself&2 Belief is one of the highest forms of /raise an. to be .efinitely certain of it amounts to absolute /raising& The formula of 1ualification <Allah willing> is nothing but an attem/t to tem/er an. tone .own such /raising, ?ust as when the man is tol. that he is a /hysician, or a ?uris/ru.ent, or a commentator, he will say, 2Allah willing,2 not because he .oubts that the fact but sim/ly to avoi. being boastful& This formula is that of .isavowing an. .isclaiming the fact itself an. means .isclaiming one of the im/lications of the fact which is self ?ustification& Following this inter/retation, when the /erson is as*e. concerning something uncom/limentary, it will not be fitting for him to /ut forth any such 1ualification& The secon. reason for the use of these 1ualifications is courtesy by remembering Allah at every time an. un.er all con.itions, an. by submitting all things to (is Bill& Thus, Allah instructe. (is Pro/het in

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courtesy an. sai. to himA 2%o not say of anythingA J0 will .o it tomorrow,@ <without a..ing> Jif Allah wills&@2 <Guran 6A#3:#9>& Nor has Allah limite. the use of the 1ualifying /hrase to those things the occurrence of which is sub?ect to .oubt& On the contrary (e sai.A 2Kou shall certainly enter the -acre. ,os1ue in security if Allah wills, with hair shaven or cut short an. without fear&2 <Guran 96A#7> although (e ha. *nown that they were un.oubte.ly going to enter it an. that (e ha. wille. their entrance& Bhat Allah instructe. the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : in the use of the 1ualifying formula& +onse1uently the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : learne. the lesson an. showe. his courtesy by the use of that formula in connection with everything he ha. sai. :whether that thing was *nown with certainty or .oubtfulC so that when he entere. the cemetery, he sai., 2Peace be u/on you, the believing inmates of this abo.e& 0n.ee., if it is the Bill of Allah, we shall follow you&2 This he sai., not: withstan.ing the fact that .eath is not sub?ect to any .oubt, because courtesy .eman.s that Allah is always remembere. an. that all things are ma.e .e/en.ent u/on (im& This formula in.icates such a thing an. has become, by virtue of its common use, re/resentative of the e$/ression of .esires an. wishes& Thus when you are tol. that such an. such a /erson is about to .ie an. ha//ens to sayA 20f it is the Bill of Allah,2 you betray your .esire an. not your .oubt& The same is true when you are tol. that a certain /erson will recover from his sic*ness an. you say, 2Allah willing,2 by way of e$/ressing your earnest .esire& The /hrase has thus been transferre. from one e$/ressing .oubt to one which signifies .esire& Also, in the same way is its transfer to e$/ress courtesy an. res/ect for remembering Allah in all circumstances& The thir. reason for the use of those 1ualifications arises from .oubt an. means, 2Allah willing, 0 am truly a believer,2 since Allah s/o*e of some /articular men as being true believers& +onse1uently believers are .ivi.e. into two grou/sA those who are .escribe. as truly believers an. those who are not& This arises from .oubt concerning the /erfection of belief an. not its reality& Every /erson .oubts the /erfectness of his belief, yet this .oubt .oes not constitute unbelief& %oubting the /erfectness of belief is right an. ?ustifie. for two reasonsA The first is because hy/ocrisy militates against the /erfectness of belief, an. hy/ocrisy is something hi..en while free.om from it is rea.ily .iscerne. or .etermine.& The secon. is because belief is /erfecte. through the fulfillment of goo. .ee.s which are not *nown to e$ist in their /erfect form& As for .ee.s Allah saysA 2The believers are those who believe in Allah an. (is ,essenger, an. .o not .oubtC an. who struggle in (is way with their /ossessions an. their selves& -uch are the truthful ones&2 <Guran 9!A 8>& The .oubt woul., there: fore, be concerning this truthfulness& -imilarly Allah saysA 2But righteousness is to believe in Allah, an. the Dast %ay, an. the angels, an. the Boo*, an. the /ro/hets&2 Thus Allah lai. .own twenty 1ualities, such as the fulfillment of /romises an. fortitu.e un.er har.shi/, as con.itions for belief an. then sai., 20n.ee., these are they who are true&2 Allah also saysA 2Allah will raise u/ those who believe. among you, an. those who have been given *nowle.ge in ran*s&2 <Guran 9!A >& (e also says, 2Those who s/ent before the victory an. too* /art in the fighting, are mightier in ran* an. are not e1ual to those who s/ent an. fought thereafter&2 <Guran 97A 5>& (e also saysA 2They are of ran*s before Allah&2 The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : sai., 2Belief is uncovere. an. its clothing is /iety&2 An. again, 2Belief com/rises of over seventy branches, the least of which is to clear an obstacle from the roa.&2 This shows the .e/en.ence of the /erfectness of belief on goo. .ee.s&

(.) Belief is Pu e F om 0y"oc isy

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0ts .e/en.ence on free.om from hy/ocrisy an. conceale. /olytheism is shown by the wor.s of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : when he sai., 2Four things, if they gather in a /erson ma*e him a hy/ocrite, no matter how often he /rays, fasts, claims that he is a believerC he who lies when he s/ea*s, brea*s a /romise when he /le.ges his wor., betrays a confi.ence when he is truste., an. .eviates from ?ustice when he enters a controversy&2 0n another narration 2An. when he ma*es a com/act with his neighbor, he .efrau.s him&2 A /ro/hetic 1uotation relate. on the authority of Abu -a@i. al:4hu.ri, says, 2The hearts are of four *in.sA a seale. heart, which is the heart of the unbelieverC a two:face. heart, which is the heart of the hy/ocriteC a clean heart from the mi.st of which a ra.iant lam/ she.s its ra.iant lightC an. a heart which contains some belief an. some hy/ocrisy& The belief it contains is li*e a vegetable which receives its nourishment from fresh waters& The hy/ocrisy it contains is li*e an ulcer which fee.s on /us an. bloo., whichever of the two substances will /revail will .etermine its fate&2 Accor.ing to another narrationA 2Bhichever will /revail will seal his .oom&2 The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : also sai., 2The most hy/ocritical /eo/le of this nation are those among the reciters <of 4oran>2& 0n another narration he sai.A 2Polytheism among my /eo/le is more subtle than the cree/ing of the ant on the roc*&2

(.i) :a ations !once nin' F eedom f om 0y"oc isy

(u.hayfah sai., 2%uring the time of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : there were things which ma.e the man who re/eate. them a hy/ocrite as long as he live.& (owever, now, 0 hear these same things re/eate. ten times a .ay, <an. no one seems to min.>&2 A certain learne. man sai., 2The /erson closest to hy/ocrisy is he who .eems himself free thereof&2 (u.hayfah also sai., 2(y/ocrites are more numerous to.ay than they were at the time of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him :& At that time they use. to conceal their hy/ocrisyC now they reveal it&2 -uch hy/ocrisy militates against the reality of belief as well as against its /erfectness& 0t is something conceale. an. subtleA the farthest remove. from it are those who are constantly afrai. of it, while those who .eem themselves free of it are they who are nearest to it& A (asan al Basri was once tol.A 2There is no more hy/ocrisy nowa.ays&2 To which he re/lie., 2BrotherM Bere the hy/ocrites to /erish from the lan. you woul. feel lonely on the way&2 Again either al (asan himself or someone else sai., 2Bere tails to grow on the bac*s of the hy/ocrites an. trail behin. them our feet woul. no longer be able to touch the earth&2 Once 0bn JUmar, on hearing a man s/ea* .is/aragingly of al (a??a? <the Umayya. governor>, tol. him, 2Boul. you s/ea* .is/aragingly of him if he were here /resentH2 The man answere., 2No&2 Thereu/on 0bn JUmar sai., 2Be use. to consi.er this hy/ocritical at the time of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him :& The Pro/het sai., J(e who has a for*:tongue in this worl. will, in the (ereafter, be ma.e for*:tongue. by Allah@2& The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : also sai., 2The worst man is the two:face. who meets one /eo/le with one face an. another /eo/le with another face&2 Al (asan al:Basri was once tol., 2There are some who say that they .o not fear hy/ocrisy&2 Thereu/on he answere., 2By Allah, 0 woul. rather be sure that 0 am free of hy/ocrisy than have all the gol. in the worl.&2 Al (asan also sai., 2Among the .ifferent *in.s of hy/ocrisy are the .isagreements between the tongue an. the heart, between the conceale. an. the reveale., an. between the entrance an. the e$it&2 A certain /erson tol. (u.hayfahA 20n.ee., 0 fear 0 am a hy/ocrite&2 To which (u.hayfah re/lie., 2%o not fear& 0f you were a hy/ocrite you woul. not have feare. hy/ocrisy& 0n.ee., hy/ocrisy .oes not fear hy/ocrisy&2 0bn abi ,ulay*ah sai., 20 have *nown one hun.re. an. thirty of the +om/anions of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him :, all of whom feare. hy/ocrisy&2 0t was relate. that the Pro/het of Allah : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : was once sitting with a grou/ of his +om/anions who were .iscussing a certain man an. /raising him highly& -u..enly, while they were in the mi.st of their .iscussion, the man himself a//eare. before them with his face still wet with the water of ablution, carrying his shoes in his han.s an. his forehea. covere. with .ust from /rayer& Thereu/on they sai. to the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : 2Behol.& This is the man whom we were .iscussing&2 The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : turning to them, sai., 20 see on his face the mar* of satan&2 Then the man came an., after greeting the grou/, sat in their mi.st& The Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : then a..resse. him an. sai., 2Tell me, 0 as* you by Allah, have you not sai.

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to yourself when you a//roache. the grou/ that there was no one among them who was better than youH2 The man re/lie., 2By AllahM Kes, 0 .i.&2 0n his /rayer the Pro/het sai., 2O Allah, 0 see* refuge in Kou against the evil of things 0 .i. an. things 0 left un.one&2 (e was then as*e., 2Are you afrai. O Pro/het of AllahH2 To which he re/lie., 2Bhat coul. ma*e me feel secure when the heart lies between two of the fingers of the ,erciful, an. (e .oes with them what (e willsH2 Allah saysA 2An. there shall a//ear to them, from Allah, that which he .i. not e$/ect&2 This was inter/rete. in commentaries to mean that men have .one things which they thought were goo. but on the %ay of 'u.gement these things will a//ear in the balance in the scale of evil& -ariy al -a1ti once sai., 20f a /erson enters a gar.en containing trees of every *in. an. on them are bir.s of every *in., an. then each bir. calls to him in a .ifferent language saying, JPeace be u/on you, O frien. of Allah@, an. as a result he feels very well /lease. an. satisfie., he becomes their ca/tive&2 These /ro/hetic 1uotations an. narratives reveal to you the gravity of the matter, /articularly because of the subtle nature of hy/ocrisy an. hi..en /olytheism, an. bring out the fact that no one can be safe from them& This le. JUmar ibn:4hattab to as* (u.hayfah about himself : whether or not he was numbere. among the hy/ocrites& Abu -ulayman a. %arani sai., 20 hear. a certain governor say something an. 0 wante. to e$/ress my .isa//roval of it but feare. lest he or.er me to be *ille.& An. although 0 .i. not fear .eath 0 was afrai. lest 0 became tem/te. to boast before men when my s/irit .e/arts& For this reason 0 refraine. from e$/ressing my .isa//roval of the governor@s wor.s&2 This *in. of hy/ocrisy stri*es against the truth, /erfection, an. /urity of belief, rather than against its reality&

(.ii) !lassification of 0y"oc isy

For hy/ocrisy is of two *in.sA The one results in /arting with )eligion, /ursuing infi.els an. ?oining the com/any of those who are .eeme. eternally to (ell fireC the secon. lea.s the /erson to (ell fire for a certain /erio. of time an. /uts him .own from the high ran*s of Para.ise an. .emotes the /eo/le who are close to Allah from their high ran*s& 0t is a fiel. o/en to .oubt an. therefore it is .esirable to resort to the use of 1ualifications therein& This *in. of hy/ocrisy rises from the .is/arity an. .isagreement between the conceale. an. the reveale., from feeling secure from the .ee/ counsel of Allah, an. from conceit an. other things from which only the /eo/le who are close to Allah are free& The fourth reason for the use of these 1ualifications arises also from .oubt& 0t is the fear of the en., for no one *nows whether or not he will still have any belief at the hour of .eath& 0f he shoul. en. with unbelief all his /revious .ee.s woul. come to nothing an. fail, because <the value of these .ee.s> .e/en. entirely u/on their goo. en.ing& Thus if a fasting /erson were as*e. early in the .ay concerning the vali.ity of his fast an. re/lie., 20 am surely fasting,2 but later in the .ay he bro*e his fast, it woul. become evi.ent that he was lying since the vali.ity of his fast .e/en.s u/on the maintenance of the fast until sunset at the en. of the .ay& An. ?ust as the .ay is the set /erio. for the fulfillment of fasting, so the lifetime is the set /erio. for the fulfillment of the vali.ity of belief& To .escribe it as vali. before its conclusion sim/ly because it has alrea.y been fulfille. in /art is very .oubtful an. its en. is frightful& 0t was because of the en. that most of those who fear Allah have we/t& For the en. is the outcome of a /reor.aine. event an. the result of the Eternal Bill which .oes not become *nown e$ce/t when the /reor.aine. event itself ta*es /lace an. which no human being can ever tell&

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The fear of the en. is the result of the fear of that which was /reor.aine. an. there may a//ear in the /resent a thing which will give the lie to the wor.s, <20 am a believer2>& An. who can be sure that he is one of those for whom Allah has /reor.aine. goo. things& 0t has been sai. that the Bor.s of AllahA 2An. when the agony of .eath comes in truth,2 <Guran 85A !> mean that the /reor.aine. thing <has been fulfille.> an. ma.e *nown& One of the goo., early generation sai. that .ee.s woul. be ?u.ge. by their en.s& Abu a. %ar.a@ use. to swear by Allah sayingA 2There is no one who feels safe in his belief who is not robbe. of it&2 0t was also sai. that some sinful .ee.s were not /unishe. e$ce/t by their sa. en.s& Be see* refuge in Allah against such .ee.s an. such /unishments& 0t has also been sai. that such /unishments await those who falsely claim righteousness an. the gift of miracles& One of the gnostics once sai., 20f 0 were given the choice between martyr.om at the outer gate of the house an. .eath as a true believer at the .oor of an inner room, 0 woul. choose the latter because 0 .o not *now what might occur to me an. .ivert my heart from true belief on my way <from the inner room> to the outer gate of the house&2 Another sai., 20f 0 ha. *nown a certain /erson to have been a true believer for the last fifty years an. then, even though so frail a thing a /ole shoul. hi.e him from my sight before his .eath, 0 coul. not be sure that he .ie. a true believer&2 Accor.ing to one con.ition, 2Bhoever says, J0 am a believer@, is an infi.elC an. whoever says, J0 am learne.@, is ignorant&2 0n the inter/retation of the Bor.s of the Allah, 2An. the Bor.s of your Dor. are com/lete. in truth an. in ?ustice&2 0t has been sai. that truth relates to those who .ie. a believer an. ?ustice relates for he who .ies an unbeliever& (e : the (igh : sai.A 2An. all final matters belong to Allah&2 No matter how little .oubt may be in such cases the resort to 1ualification is obligatory, because belief is a means of grace for the (ereafter ?ust as fasting is a means of grace for absolving the heart from guilt in this life& Bhatever fast is ren.ere. voi. before sunset it is no longer a fast an. will not absolve from guilt& The same thing is true of belief& 0n fact a /erson may be as*e. about a /revious fast concerning which there is no .oubt& (e will be as*e., 2(ave you faste. yester.ayH2 an. he will re/ly& 2Kes, Allah willing&2 For genuine fasting is the only acce/table fasting, an. the acce/table fasting is un*nown e$ce/t to Allah& For this reason it is .esirable to use the 1ualification, 2Allah willing2 in all the .ee.s of righteousness& This will im/ly .oubt as to their acce/tance by Allah, since such acce/tance, .es/ite the outwar. fulfillment of all the /rere1uisites of vali.ity, may be bloc*e. by hi..en causes un*nown e$ce/t to Allah, the Dor. of lor.s of the ,ighty ,a?esty& (ence it is .esirable to entertain some .oubts concerning the vali.ity& These, therefore, are the .ifferent reasons for the .esirability of 1ualifying one@s answers when as*e. about his belief& Bith it we conclu.e the boo* of the Foun.ation of 0slamic Belief& The boo* conclu.e. with the /raise of Allah, the (igh an. Allah /raise. our ,aster ,uhamma., an. every chosen worshi//er& The following /rinci/le is e$/laine. by Ahma. ibn a.:%arwish

(.iii) Ihsan 5 Pe fection

0n the fourth cha/ter, 0mam 3ha;ali elaborate. u/on two of the three /arts of the )eligionC 0slam with means submission an. 0man which means belief& There is a thir. /art which he .i. not .iscuss in this boo* an. that is 0hsan& -im/ly, 0hsan in the beginning of 0slam was referre. to as 0hsan or Luh. which means .oing withoutC a form of /urification& Dater it became *nown as -unni -ufism in which /artici/ants have an uncon.itional .isci/line of following the -unni Or.er <Bay of the Pro/het>&

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0hsan is mainly an ethical an. s/iritual course which res/ects an. follows the scholars of 0hsan as well as the other two /arties of scholars namely, the scholars of 0man <belief> i&e& 0mam Ashari an. -alaf <first generation> as well as the scholars of 0slamic 'uris/ru.ence i&e& -hafi@i, (anballi, ,ali*i, an. (anafi& 0n sim/le wor.s, 0hsan is base. on three .imensionsA For the sa*e of self cleansing, one as*s Allah for forgiveness re/eate.ly, over an. over again& This is followe. by the multi re/eate. remembrance of bearing witness that there is no go. e$ce/t Allah& Thir.ly, by the abun.ant re/eating of the the /raise of Allah an. (is angels for Pro/het ,uhamma. as /rescribe. in the 4oran : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him :& %uring the time of 0mam 3ha;ali, the /ractice of 0hsan was common an. he too followe. a s/iritual shei*h of 0hsan& 0n his boo* "Al Munqi+ min Ad- ,alal" (The )a ety rom ,e'iation) he investigate. the vali.ity of the roots, theory, an. /ractices of many sects from 3ree* /hiloso/hy to the heritage of the 0n.ians an. +hinese& 0n this boo* he .issecte. an. analy;e. each sect in.ivi.ually an. certifie. without any .oubt that the -ufism of the -unni ,uslims was by far the best /ath to the +reator& (aving a s/iritual gui.e is highly recommen.e.& The un.ermentione. Pro/hetic 1uotation .escribes the three /arts of the )eligion : 0slam, 0man an. 0hsan& 2One .ay when we <the com/anions> were with the ,essenger of Allah : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : a man with very white clothing an. very blac* hair came to us& There was no sign of travel u/on him an. none of us recogni;e. him& (e sat .own in front of the Pro/het : the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : with his *nees touching his& Then, /lacing his han.s on his thighs he sai.A JTell me, ,uhamma. about 0slam&@ (e re/lie.A J0slam means that you bear witness that there is no go. e$ce/t Allah an. that ,uhamma. is the ,essenger of Allah, that you /ray <the five .aily /rayers>, /ay the obligatory charity, fast the month of )ama.an an. ma*e the Pilgrimage to the (ouse <4a@bah in ,ecca> if you have the means&@ The man re/lie.A JKou have s/o*en the truth&@ Be were sur/rise. at his 1uestioning an. then confirming that he ha. s/o*en the truth& Then the man as*e.A JNow tell me about 0man <belief>&@ (e re/lie.A J0t means that you believe in Allah, (is angels, (is ,essengers an. the Dast %ay, an. that you believe in both the .ecree of goo. an. evil&@ The man re/lie.A JKou have s/o*en the truth&@ JNow tell me about 0hsan <linguistically, /erfecting>&@ (e re/lie.A J0t means that you worshi/ Allah as if you are seeing (im, because (e sees you although you .o not see (im&@ Then the man as*e.A JNow tell me about the (our&@ (e re/lie.A JThe one who is as*e. about it is no better informe. than the one who is as*ing&@ -o the man as*e.A JThen tell me about its signsH@ (e re/lie.A JThat the mai. servant will give birth to her mistress an. the bare: foote., na*e., /oor her.ers are seen living arrogantly in high buil.ings&@ Then the man .e/arte., an. after 0 ha. waite. for a long time : the Pro/het, the /raise an. /eace be u/on him : as*e. meA J%o you *now who the 1uestioner was UmarH@ 0 re/lie.A JAllah an. (is ,essenger *now best&@ -o he tol. meA J(e was 3abriel who came to teach you your )eligion&@