لطفا منتظر باشید ...
Methods of Religious
Thought in Islam
By "religious thought" we mean that form of thought
which is concerned with any of the problems of a religious nature within
a particular religion, in the same sense that mathematical thought is
the form of thought which deals with mathematical questions and solves
mathematical problems.
Needless to say religious thought, like other forms
of thought, must have reliable sources from which the raw material of
its thought originates and upon which it depends. Similarly, the process
of reasoning necessary for the solution of mathematical problems must
have a series of established mathematical facts and principles.
The single source upon which the divinely revealed
religion of Islam depends and upon which it is based, inasmuch as it is
based on a revelation of celestial origin, is none other than the Holy
Qur'an. It is the Qur'an which is the definitive testament of the
universal and ever-living prophet hood of the Prophet and it is the
content of the Qur'an that bears the substance of the Islamic call. Of
course the fact that the Qur'an is alone the source of Islamic religious
thought does not eliminate other sources and origins of correct
thinking, as will be explained later.
There are three methods of religious thought in
Islam. The Holy Qur'an in its teachings points to three paths for
Muslims to follow in order to comprehend the purposes of religion and
the Islamic sciences:
(1) The path of the external and formal aspect of
religion (the Shari'ah):
(2) The path of intellectual understanding; and
(3) The path of spiritual comprehension achieved
through sincerity (ikhlas) in obeying God.
These three methods differ from each other in several
ways. For instance, since the external forms of religion are verbal
expressions in the simplest language, they are in the hands of all
people, and everyone benefits from them according to his own capacity.
On the other hand, the other two paths, which are appropriate to a
particular group (the elite-khawass), are not common to all. The path of
the external forms of religion leads to the understanding of the
principles and the obligations of Islam and results in knowledge of the
substance of the beliefs and practices of Islam, and of the principles
of the Islamic sciences, ethics, and jurisprudence.
This is in contrast to the other two paths. The
intellectual path can discover the problems connected with faith,
ethics, and the general principles governing practical questions, but
the intellectual method cannot discover the specific religious
injunctions given in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The path of purification
of the carnal souls since it leads to the discovery of God given
spiritual truths can have neither limits nor measure of its results or
of the truths revealed through this divine gift. Men who have reached
this knowledge have cut themselves off from everything and forgotten
everything but god and are under the direct guidance and dominion of God
Himself-May His Name be Glorified. Whatever He wants and not what they
want is revealed to them.
We will now take up in detail the three methods of
religious thought in Islam.
FIRST METHOD: THE FORMAL ASPECT OF
RELIGION
The Different Facets of the Formal Aspect of Religion
It has become clear from what has been said thus far
that the Holy Qur'an, which is the principal source of religious thought
in Islam has given full authority to the external meanings of its words
for those who give ear to its message. The same external meaning of the
Qur'anic verses has made the sayings of the Prophet complementary to the
words of the Qur'an and has declared them to be authoritative like the
Qur'an. For as the Qur'an says:
And We have revealed Unto thee the Remembrance that
thou mayst explain to mankind that which hath been revealed for them.
(XVI: 44).
And
He it is who hath sent among the unlettered ones a
messenger of their own, to recite unto them his revelations and to make
them grow, and to teach them the scripture and wisdom (LXII: 2).
And
And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it And
whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it) (LIX: 7).
And,
Verily! in the messenger of Allah ye have a good
example (XXXIII: 21).
It is quite evident that such verses would not have
any real meaning if the words and deeds of the Prophet and even his
silence and approval were not authority for us just as the Quran itself
is. Thus the words of the Prophet are authoritative and must be accepted
by those who have heard them orally or received them through reliable
transmission. Moreover, through such a completely authentic chain of
transmission it is known that the Holy Prophet said,
I leave two things of value amidst you in trust
which, if you hold on to, you will never go astray, the Qur'an and the
members of my household. These will never be separated until the Day of
Judgment.
According to this and other definitely established
hadith the words of the Family and Household of the Prophet form a
corpus that is complementary to the prophetic hadith. The Household of
the Prophet in Islam has authority in religious sciences and is inherent
in the explanation of the teachings and injunctions of Islam. Their
sayings, received orally or through reliable transmission, are reliable
and authoritative.
Therefore, it is clear that the traditional source
from which the formal and external aspect of religion is derived, which
is an authoritative document and which is also the basic source for the
religious thought of Islam, consists of two parts: the Book (the Qur'an)
and the Sunnah. By the Book is meant the external aspect of the verses
of the Holy Qur'an; and by the Sunnah, hadith received from the Prophet
and his revered Household.
Traditions of the Companions
In Shi'ism hadith transmitted through the companions
are dealt with according to this principle: if they deal with the words
and actions of the Prophet and do not contradict the hadith of the
Household of the Prophet, they are acceptable. If they contain only the
views or opinions of the companions themselves and not those of the
Prophet, they are not authoritative as sources for religious
injunctions. In this respect the ruling of the companions is like the
ruling of any other Muslim. In the same way, the companions themselves
dealt with other companions in questions of Islamic law as they would
with any Muslim, not as someone special.
The Book and Tradition
The Book of God, the Holy Quran, is the principal
source of every from of Islamic thought. It is the Qur'an which gives
religious validity and authority to every other religious source in
Islam. Therefore, it must be comprehensible to all. Moreover, the Qur'an
describes itself as the light which illuminates all things. Also it
challenges men and requests them to ponder over its verses and observe
that there are no disparities of contradictions in them. It invites them
to compose a similar work, if they can, to replace it. It is clear that
if the Holy Qur'an were not comprehensible to all there would be no
place for such assertions.
To say that the Qur'an is in itself comprehensible to
all is not in any way contradictory to the previous assertion that the
Prophet and his Household are religious authorities in the Islamic
sciences, which are in reality only elaboration of the content of the
Qur'an. For instance, in the part of the Islamic sciences which comprise
the injunctions and laws of the Shari'ah the Qur'an contains only the
general principles. The clarification and elaboration of their details,
such as the manner of accomplishing the daily prayers, fasting,
exchanging merchandise, and in fact all acts of worship (ibadat) and
transactions (mu'amalat), can he achieved only by referring to the
traditions of the Holy Prophet and his Household.
As for the other part of the Islamic sciences dealing
with doctrines and ethical methods and practices although their content
and details can be comprehended by all, the understanding of their full
meaning depends on accepting the method of the Household of the Prophet.
Also each verse of the Qur'an must be explained and interpreted by means
of other Qur'anic verses, not by views which have become acceptable and
familiar to us only through habit and custom.
Ali has said:
Some parts of the Qur'an speak with other parts of it
revealing to us their meaning and some parts attest to the meaning of
others.
And the Prophet has said,
Parts of the Qur'an verify other parts.
And also:
Whosoever interprets the Qur'an according to his own
opinion has made a place for himself in the fire.
As a simple example of the commentary of the Qur'an
through the Qur'an may be cited the story of the torture of the people
of Lot about whom in one place God says, "And we rained on them a rain,"
and in another place He has changed this phrase to, "Lo! We sent a storm
of stones upon them (all).'
By relating the second verse to the first it becomes
clear that by "rain" is meant "stones" from heaven. Whoever has studied
with care the hadith of the Household of the Prophet, and the
outstanding companions who were the followers of the Prophet, will have
no doubt that the commentary of the Qur'an through the Qur'an is the
sole method of Qur'anic commentary taught by the Household of the
Prophet.
The Outward and Inward Aspects of
the Qur'an
It has been explained that the Holy Qur'an elucidates
religious aims through its own words and gives commands to mankind in
matters of doctrine and action. But the meaning of the Qur'an is not
limited to this level.
Rather, behind these same expressions and within
these same meanings there are deeper and wider levels of meaning, which
only the spiritual elite who possess pure hearts can comprehend.
The Prophet, who is the divinely appointed teacher of
the Quran, says:
The Qur'an has a beautiful exterior and a profound
interior.
He has also said,
The Qur'an has an inner dimension, and that inner
dimension has an inner dimension up to seven inner dimensions.
Also, in the sayings of the Imams there are numerous
references to the inner aspect of the Qur'an.
The main support of these assertions is a symbol,
which God has mentioned in Chapter XIII, verse 17, of the Qur'an. In
this verse divine gifts are symbolized by rain that falls from heaven
and upon which depends the life of the earth and its inhabitants. With
the coming of the rain, floods begin to flow and each riverbed accepts a
certain amount of the flood, depending on its capacity. As it flows, the
flood is covered with foam, but beneath the foam there is that same
water which is life giving and beneficial to mankind.
As is indicated by this symbolic story, the capacity
for comprehension of divine sciences, which are the source of man's
inner life, differs among people. There are those for whom there is no
reality beyond physical existence and the material life of this world
which lasts but a few days.
Such people are attached to material appetites and
physical desires alone and fear nothing but the loss of material
benefits and sensory enjoyment. Such people, taking into consideration
the differences of degree among them, can at best accept the divine
sciences on the level of believing in a summary fashion in the doctrines
and performing the practical commands of Islam in a purely outward
manner without any comprehension. They worship God with the hope of
recompense or tear of punishment in the next world.
There are also those who because of the purity of
their nature, do not consider their well being to lie in attachment to
the transient pleasures of the fleeting life of this world. The losses
and gains and hitter and sweet experiences of this world are for them no
more than and attractive illusion.
Memory of those who have passed before them in the
caravan of existence, who were pleasure-seekers yesterday and no more
than subjects of stories today, is a warning that is continuously
present before their eyes. Such men who possess pure hearts are
naturally attracted to the world of eternity. They view the different
phenomena of this passing world as symbols and portents of the higher
world, not as persisting and independent realities.
It is at this point that through earthly and heavenly
signs, upon the horizons and within the souls of men, they "observe" in
a spiritual vision the Infinite Light of the Majesty and Glory of God.
Their hearts become completely enamored with the longing to reach and
understanding of the secret symbols of creation. Instead of being
imprisoned in the dark and narrow well of personal gain and selfishness
they begin to fly in the unlimited space of the world of eternity and
advance ever onwards toward the zenith of the spiritual world.
When they hear that God has forbidden the worship of
idols, which outwardly means bowing down before an idol, they understand
this command to mean that they should not obey other than God, for to
obey means to bow down before someone and to serve him. Beyond that
meaning they understand that they should not have hope or fear of other
than God: beyond that, they should not surrender to the demands of their
selfish appetites; and beyond that, they should not concentrate on
anything except God, May His Name be Glorified.
Likewise when they hear from the Qur'an that they
should pray, the external meaning of which is to perform the particular
rites of prayers, through its inner meaning they comprehend that they
must worship and obey God with all their hearts and souls. Beyond that
they comprehend that before God they must consider themselves as
nothing, must forget themselves and remember only God.
It can be seen that the inner meaning present in
these two examples is not due to the outward expression of the command
and prohibition in question. Yet the comprehension of this meaning is
unavoidable for anyone who has begun to meditate upon a more universal
order and has preferred to gain a vision of the universe of reality
rather than his own ego, who has preferred objectivity to an egocentric
subjectivism.
From this discussion the meaning of the outward and
inward aspects of the Qur'an has become clear. It has also become
evident that the inner meaning of the Qur'an does not eradicate or
invalidate its outward meaning. Rather, it is like the soul, which gives
life to the body. Islam, which is a universal and eternal religion and
places the greatest emphasis upon the "reformation" of mankind, can
never disperse with its external laws which are for the benefit of
society, nor with its simple doctrines which are the guardians and
preservers of these laws.
How can a society, on the pretense that religion is
only a matter of the heart, that man's heart should be pure and that
there is no value to actions, live in disorder and yet attain happiness?
How can impure deeds and words cause the cultivation of a pure heart? Or
how can impure words emanate from a pure heart? God says in His Book,
Vile women are for vile men, and vile men for vile
women. Good women are for good men, and good men for good women. (XXIV:
26).
He also says,
As for the good land, its vegetation cometh forth by
permission of its Lord, while as for that which is bad, only evil cometh
forth (from it) (VII: 58).
Thus it becomes evident that the Holy Qur'an has an
outward and an inward aspect and the inward aspect itself has different
levels of meaning. The hadith literature, which explains the content of
the Qur'an also contains these various aspects.
The Principles of Interpretation of
the Qur'an
At the beginning of Islam it was commonly believed by
some Sunnis that if there were sufficient reason one could ignore the
outward meaning of Qur'anic verses and ascribe to them a contrary
meaning. Usually the meaning which opposed the outward literal meaning
was called ta'wil, and what is called "taw'il of the Qur'an" in Sunni
Islam is usually understood in this sense.
In the religious works of Sunni scholars as well as
in the controversies that have been recorded as taking place between
different schools, one often observes that if a particular point of
doctrine (that has been established through the consensus of the ulama
(scholars) of a school or through some other means) is opposed to the
outward meaning of a verse of the Quran that verse is interpreted by
ta'wil to have a meaning contrary to its apparent meaning.
Sometimes two contending sides support two opposing
views and present Qur'anic verses in proof of their contentions. Each
side interprets the verses presented by the other side through ta'wil
This method has also penetrated more or less into Shi'ism and can he
seen in some Shi'ite theological works.
Yet, sufficient deliberation upon Qur'anic verses and
the hadith of the Household of the Prophet demonstrates clearly that the
Holy Qur'an with its attractive language and eloquent and lucid
expression never uses enigmatic or puzzling methods of exposition and
always expounds any subject in a language suitable for that subject.
What has been rightly called ta'wil, or hermeneutic interpretation, of
the Holy Qur'an is not concerned simply with the denotation of words.
Rather, it is concerned with certain truths and realities that transcend
the comprehension of the common run of men; yet it is from these truths
and realities that the principles of doctrine and the practical
injunctions of the Qur'an issue forth.
The whole of the Qur'an possesses the sense of
ta'wil, of esoteric meaning, which cannot be comprehended directly
through human thought alone. Only the prophets and the pure among the
saints of god who are free from the dross of human imperfection can
contemplate these meanings while living on the present plane of
existence. On the Day of Resurrection the ta'wil of the Qur'an will be
revealed to every one.
This assertion can be explained by pointing to the
fact that what forces man to use speech, create words and make use of
expressions is nothing other than his social and material needs. In his
social life man is forced to try to make his fellow men understand his
thoughts and intentions and the feelings which exist within his soul. To
accomplish this end he makes use of sounds and hearing. Occasionally
also he uses to a degree his eyes and gestures. That is why between the
mute and the blind there can never be any mutual comprehension. For
whatever the blind man says the deaf cannot hear, and whatever the mute
makes understood through gestures the blind man cannot see.
The creation of words and the naming of objects have
been accomplished mostly with a material end in view. Expressions have
been created for those objects, states, and conditions that are material
and available to the senses or near to the sensible world. As can be
seen in those cases where the person addressed lacks one of the physical
senses, if we wish to speak of matters which can be comprehended through
the missing sense we employ a kind of allegory and similitude. For
example, if we wish to describe light of color to one who is born blind,
or the pleasures of sex to a child that has not reached the age of
adolescence, we seek to achieve our purpose through comparison and
allegory and through providing appropriate examples.
Therefore, if we accept the hypothesis that in the
scale of Universal Existence there are immense levels of reality which
are independent of the world of matter (and this is in reality the
case), and that in each generation there are among mankind but a handful
who have the capability of comprehending and having a vision of these
realities, then questions pertaining to these higher worlds cannot be
understood through common verbal expressions and modes of thought. They
cannot be referred to except by allusion and through symbolism. Since
religious realities are of this kind, the expression of the Quran in
such matters must of necessity be symbolic.
God says in His Book,
Lo! We have appointed it a Lecture in Arabic that
haply ye may understand. And Lo! in the Source of Decrees, which We
possess, it is indeed sublime, decisive. (Common comprehension cannot
understand it or penetrate into it.) (XLIII: 3-4).
He also says,
That (this) is indeed a noble Qur'an. In a book kept
hidden, which none toucheth save the purified. (LVI: 77-79).
Concerning the Prophet and his Household he says,
Allah's wish is but to remove uncleanness far from
you, O Folk of the Household, and cleanse you with a thorough cleansing.
(XXXIII: 33).
As proved by these verses, the Holy Qur'an emanates
from sources beyond the comprehension of common man. No one can have a
full comprehension of the Qur'an save those servants of God whom He has
chosen to purify. And the Household of the Prophet are among those pure
beings.
In another place God says.
Nay, but they denied that (the Qur'an), the knowledge
whereof they could not compass, and whereof the interpretation (in
events) [ta'wil] hath not yet come into them. (X: 40), (meaning the day
of Resurrection when the truth of things will become known).
And again he says,
On the day (the Day of Resurrection) when the
fulfillment [ta'wil] thereof (of the whole Qur'an) cometh, those who
were before forgetful thereof will say. The messengers of our Lord did
bring the Truth! (VII: 53).
Hadith
The principle that the hadith possesses validity, as
attested by the Qur'an, is not at all disputed among Shi'ites or in fact
among all Muslims. But because of the failure of some of the early
rulers of Islam in preserving and guarding the hadith, and the excesses
of a group among the companions and followers of the Prophet in
propagating hadith literature, the corpus of hadith came to face a
certain number of difficulties.
On the one hand, the caliphs of the time prevented
the writing down and recording of the hadith and ordered any pages
containing texts of hadith to be burned. Sometimes also any increase in
activity in the transmission and study of hadith was forbidden. In this
way a certain number of hadith were forgotten or lost and a few were
even transmitted with a different or distorted meaning. On the other
hand, another tendency also prevailed among another group of the
companions of the Holy Prophet who had had the honor of seeing his
presence and actually hearing his words. This group, which was respected
by the caliphs and the Muslim community, began an intense effort to
propagate the hadith. This was carried to such an extent that sometimes
hadith overruled the Qur'an and the injunction of a Qur'anic verse was
even considered abrogated by some people through a hadith. Often the
transmitters of hadith would travel many miles and hear all the
difficulties of travelling in order to hear a single saying.
A group of outsiders who had worn the dress of Islam
and also some of the enemies within the ranks of Islam began to change
and distort some of the hadith and thus diminished the reliability and
validity of the hadith that was then heard and known. For this very
reason Islamic scholars began to think of a solution. They created the
sciences concerned with the biography of learned men and chains of
transmission of hadith in order to be able to discriminate between true
and false hadith.
The Method of Shi'ism in
Authenticating the Hadith
Shi'ism, in addition to seeking to authenticate the
chain of transmission of hadith, considers the correlation of the text
of the hadith with the Qur'an as a necessary condition for its validity.
In Shi'ite sources there are many hadith of the Prophet and the Imams
with authentic chains of transmission which themselves assert that a
hadith contrary to the Qur'an has no value. Only that hadith can be
considered valid which is in agreement with the Qur'an.
Basing itself on these hadiths, Shi'ism does not act
upon those hadiths which are contrary to the text of the Qur'an. As for
hadiths whose agreement or disagreement cannot be established according
to instructions received from the Imams they are passed by in silence
without being accepted or rejected.
Needless to say there are also within Shi'ism those
who, like a group among the Sunnis act on any hadith whatsoever which
they happen to find in different traditional sources.
The Method of Shi'ism in Following
the Hadith
A hadith heard directly from the mouth of the Prophet
or one of the Imams is accepted as is the Qur'an. As for hadiths
received through intermediaries, the majority of Shi'ites act upon them
if their chain of transmission is established at every step or if there
exists definite proof concerning their truth, and, if they are concerned
with principles of doctrine which require knowledge and certainty,
according to the text of the Qur'an. Other than these two kinds of
hadith, no other hadith has any validity concerning principles of
doctrine, the invalid hadith being called "tradition with a sincere
transmitter" (khabar wahid). However, in establish in the injunctions of
the Shari'ah, because of reasons that have been given, Shi'ites act also
on a tradition which is generally accepted as reliable. Therefore, it
can be said that for Shi'ism a certain and definitely established hadith
is absolutely binding and must be followed, while a hadith which is not
absolutely established but which is generally considered as reliable is
utilized only in the elaboration of the in junctions of the Shari'ah.
Shi'ism and the Transmitted Sciences
The Islamic sciences, which owe their existence to
the ulama of Islam who organized and formulated them, are divided into
the two categories of intellectual ('aqli) and transmitted (naqli). The
intellectual sciences include such sciences as philosophy and
mathematics. The transmitted sciences are those which depend upon
transmission from some source, such as the sciences of language, hadith,
or history. Without doubt the major cause for the appearance of the
transmitted sciences in Islam is the Holy Qur'an. With the exception of
a few disciplines such as history, genealogy, and prosody the other
transmitted sciences have all come into being under the influence of the
Holy Book. Guided by religious discussions and research, Muslims began
to cultivate these sciences, of which the most important are Arabic
literature (grammar, rhetoric, and the science of metaphors) and the
sciences pertaining to the external form of religion (recitation of the
Qur'an, Qur'anic commentary (tafsir) hadith, biography of learned men,
the chain of transmission of hadith, and the principles of
jurisprudence).
Shi'ites played an essential role in the foundation
and establishment of these sciences. In fact, the founders and creators
of many of these sciences were Shi'ites. Arabic grammar was put into a
systematic form by Abu'l-Aswad al-Du'ali, one of the companions of the
Holy Prophet and by Ali. Ali dictated an outline for the organization of
the science of Arabic grammar. One of the founders of the science of
eloquence (rhetoric and the science o metaphors) was Sahib ibn 'Ahbad a
Shi'ite, who was a vizier of the Buyids.
The first Arabic dictionary is the Kitab al-Ayn
composed by the famous scholar, Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Basre the Shi'ite
who founded the science of prosody. He was also the teacher of the great
master of grammar, Sibuwayh.
The Qur'anic recitation of Asim goes back to Ali
through one intermediary, and 'Abdallah ibn 'Abbas, who in hadith was
the foremost among the companions, was a student of Ali. The
contributions of the Household of the Prophet and their associates in
hadith and jurisprudence are well known. The founders of the four Sunni
schools of law are known to have associated with the fifth and sixth
Shi'ite Imams. In the principles of jurisprudence the remarkable
advances accomplished by the Shi'ite scholar Wahid Bihbahani and
followed by Shaykh Murtada Ansari have never been matched in Sunni
jurisprudence according to existing evidence.
