Shaykh Abd al-ṣamad al-palimbānī s Classification of Religious Knowledge. Megawati Moris*

Transcription

1 Shaykh Abd al-ṣamad al-palimbānī s Classification of Religious Knowledge Megawati Moris* Introduction The classification of knowledge or the sciences is an important aspect of the Islamic intellectual tradition. Throughout Islamic history many intellectual figures tried to develop schemes of classification which would reflect the hierarchic order of the Islamic universe, including the domain of knowledge, as well as would realize the unity among the multiple disciplines which are inter-related. In other words, the goal of these scholars was to discover the order and the appropriate relationship between various branches of knowledge. 1 In addition to understanding a major dimension of the Islamic intellectual tradition and Islamic education system, the subject also provides an objective framework to assess both the current education curricula in general and Islamic education curriculum in particular which in present times are generally in a state of disorder and chaos. 2 With the rise of modern ideologies originating from the Western world especially after the nineteenth century it becomes equally urgent and necessary for Muslims to respond to and refute these new trends of thought with a clear * Department of Usuluddin and Comparative Religion, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge And Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak, Kuala Lumpur. 1 Osman Bakar, foreward by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Classification of Knowledge in Islam, (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), 2006), p. xi. 2 Ibid. 1

2 conception of the Islamic worldview which includes epistemology. 3 A holistic and integrative classification of knowledge will help provide an Islamic perspective to counter all the modern ideologies intellectually and religiously. In traditional Islamic epistemology, both the subject and object of knowledge are considered to be hierarchical. Objective reality constitutes of firstly, Absolute Reality, which is Allāh, then the angelic orders, followed by the intermediate imaginal world ( ālam al-khayāl), then the world of the jinn and human beings and lastly, the world of nature. In the Qur ān, this hierarchy is mentioned as the heavens and the earth (alsamāwāt wa al-arḍ) or more generally, the Creator and creation (ḥaqq wa al-khalq). 4 Therefore, the science which deals with God is not on an equal footing with the science of the human soul nor that science with the science of minerals. This is in contrast to the modern educational system where theology, psychology and geology for example are positioned horizontally and being studied without acknowledging any hierarchical distinction between them. 5 In terms of the subject who knows there is also present an internal hierarchy. Human beings possess different faculties of knowledge which include the senses, the imaginal faculty, reason, the heart-intellect and Revelation. Revelation represents the macro-cosmic counterpart of the micro-cosmic intellection with the eye of the heart ( ayn 3 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, A Young Muslim s Guide to the Modern World, (Petaling Jaya: Mekar Publishers, 1994), pp. 179, Osman Bakar, Classification of Knowledge in Islam, p. xii. 5 Ibid. 2

3 al-qalb). The Qur ān as the final revelation of the Word of God (kalimah Allāh) contains all of knowledge in principle because it is at the highest point of the hierarchy of the modes and sources of knowledge followed hierarchically by other modes of knowing. 6 The Islamic scholars classified the sciences derived from the Qur ān, Ḥadīth and the sciences developed by Muslim scientists and scholars on the basis of what they inherited from earlier civilizations such as the Greeks, Persians and Indians. These schemes are not arbitrarily formulated but are based on the intellectual perspective to which the Muslim scholars belonged and are usually characterized by the intellectual and social milieus during which the scholars lived and worked. 7 In the Malay world, Shaykh Abd al-ṣamad al-palimbānī (d. 1254/1839) 8 a leading scholar of Arab-Malay descent of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who classified religious knowledge in Islam was such an example. In this essay, I will present Abd al- Ṣamad s classification of religious knowledge as developed in his work entitled Siyar alsālikīn ilā ibādat Rabb al- ālamīn 9 which is a translation-cum-commentary of the 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid., xii-xiii 8 His full name is Shaykh Abd al-ṣamad bin Abd al-raḥmān bin Abd al-jalīl al-palimbānī. Verification of Abd al-ṣamad s date of death has been carried out by Mal An Abdullah, Jejak Sejarah Absus-Samad al- Palimbani, (Palembang: Syariah IAIN Raden Fatah Press, 2012), p Jawi edition: Siyar al-sālikīn ilā ibādat rabb al- Ālamīn, 4 juz, (Bangkok: Maktabah wa Maṭba ah Muḥammad al-nahdī wa awlādihi, n.d.). This edition is a reprint of the text published by Isā al-bābī al- Ḥalabī wa Sharikah, Cairo, 1372/1953, henceforth cited as Siyar (J). Romanized edition: Siyarus salikin: Jalan para salik untuk mengabdi diri kepada Tuhan Rabbul alamin, 4 Juz, Perbaikan Bahasa. 3

4 Mukhtaṣar iḥyā ulūm al-dīn 10 written by Abū Ḥāmid al-ghazzālī (d. 505/1111). Firstly, it will examine and develop the bases of his classification and secondly, it will show how these bases are related to his intellectual perspective within the framework of revelation (waḥy) and intellect-reason ( aql) as well as his milieu. The purpose of this examination is to show that Abd al-ṣamad s classification scheme which is based on his intellectual perspective is founded on principles derived from the Islamic revelation and intellectual tradition. Hence, it is an authentic and true model of a classification scheme in Islam. In the latter aspect of the scheme s relation to his milieu it will show how he used the classification scheme to fit in a discussion of the prevailing religious and intellectual confusion over a metaphysical doctrine faced by the Malay-Muslims during his time. Its purpose is to show a contextualization of an objective scheme and structure of religious knowledge. Abd al-ṣamad s Intellectual Perspective and Milieu In the Malay world compositions on theology ( aqīdah or kalạm) are written either in Malay-Jawi 11 or Arabic and they focus specifically on the subject or they form the beginning of texts written on jurisprudence (fiqh) and Sufism (taṣawwuf) combined Muhammad Labib, Tahqiq & Pembetulan. Syed Ahmad Semait, (Singapura: Pustaka Nasional Pte Ltd, 2003), henceforth cited as Siyar (R). 10 The printed editions of this work are: i) Imām Abī Ḥāmid Muḥammad bin Muḥammad al-ghazzālī, Mukhtaṣar iḥyā ulūm al-dīn. ed. Dr. Sha bān Muḥammad Ismā īl, (Cairo: Maktabah Naṣīr, n.d.); and ii) Muḥammad bin Muḥammad Abī Ḥāmid al-ghazzālī, Mukhtaṣar iḥyā ulūm al-dīn, (Beirut: Mu assasah al- Kutub al-thaqāfiyyah, 1410/1990). 11 Jawi script is Malay script based on the Arabic script. 4

5 together. Two of Abd al-ṣamad s books are placed in this latter category of writings. They are Hidāyat al-sālikīn 12 and Siyar al-sālikīn. The writings on theology (kalạm) combined together with other branches of knowledge such as jurisprudence (fiqh) and Sufism (taṣawwuf) are claimed to have begun from the sixteenth century. 13 Abd al-ṣamad like many Malay scholars especially from the seventeenth until the nineteenth century belonged to an international scholarly community made up of networks of scholars centered in the Ḥaramayn whose initiative was towards a rapprochement of Sharī ah and Sufism. Within this movement of what is referred to as normative Sufism the works of al-ghazzālī and his commentators proved influential. 14 Abd al-ṣamad was renowned among his students and colleagues in the Ḥaramayn for his outstanding expertise on the Iḥyā, and he was known to have exhorted them toward the study and practice of taṣawwuf as espoused by al-ghazzālī. 15 As is the case of al- Ghazzālī these Malay scholars adhered to the aqīdah of al-ash arī in terms of kalām and the madhhab of al-shāfī ī in fiqh and mainly draw from the teachings and works of 12 Its complete title is Hidāyat al-sālikīn fī sulūk maslak al-muttaqīn. The Romanised version of the text is by Wan Mohd. Shaghir Abdullah, Hidayatus salikin Syeikh Abdus Shamad al-falimbani, 3 vols. (Kuala Lumpur: Khazanah Fathaniyah, third edition/reprint 2000). 13 Wan Mohd. Shaghir Abdullah, Ilmu Aqidah Bersumber Karya Ulama Silam Melayu, file:///c:/users/user/documents/karya%20aqidah%20ulama%20jawi%20%c2%ab%20jawi%20nusant ara.html, date accessed March 11, Azyumardi Azra, The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia: Networks of Malay-Indonesian and Middle Eastern Ulamā in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, (ASAA Southeast Asia Publications Series: (NSW and Honolulu, 2004), pp. 109, Al-Bayṭār, Ḥilyat al-bashar, 2, 851 as cited in Azyumardi Azra, Jaringan ulama, (Bandung: Penerbit Mizan, cetakan V, 1999), p

6 al-ghazzālī and his commentators in taṣawwuf. This tradition was the norm of religious orthodoxy in the Malay world until the twentieth century. 16 These scholars wrote in Malay for the local Muslim community who couldn t read and understand Arabic and their works demonstrated their efforts in preserving, transmitting, translating and commenting on the original Arabic texts they have learnt, understood and most times memorized. In their renditions of the original works, the Malay scholars have incorporated what al-ghazzālī considers as obligatory (farḍ ayn) in jurisprudence (fiqh), principles of religion (uṣūl al-dīn) and Sufism (taṣawwuf)). Specifically, Abd al-ṣamad s choice of sources in the Siyar al-sālikīn shows a combination of the works of scholars representing three streams of Sufi traditions namely, Indian, Eastern (mashriqi) or Egyptian, and Western (maghribi). Most of these scholars are either al-ghazzālī s commentators or are influenced by his thought such as the Sufi scholars from Ḥaḍramawt C. Snouck Hurgronje, Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19 th Century, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1970), pp For example from the Indian tradition the important treatise entitled al-tuhfah al-mursalah ila al-nabi written by Muhammad bin Fadl Allah al-hindi al-burhanpuri (d. 1029/1620); from the Egyptian stream, works by Zakariyya al-ansari (d. 926 /1526) and Abd al-wahhab al-sha rani (d. 973/1565); and from the Maghrib or North Africa, works connected to the Shadhiliyyah Sufi order such as, Kitab al-hikam by Ibn Ata illah al-iskandari (d. 709/1309). For a list and analysis of the sources of the Siyar al-salikin, see Megawati Moris, The influence of al-ghazzālī on eighteenth and nineteenth century Malay thinkers and their works, with an analysis of Shaykh Abd al-ṣamad al-palimbānī s Siyar al-sālikīn, a Malay rendition of the Mukhtaṣar iḥyā ulūm al-dīn, (Ph.d dissertation, ISTAC, International Islamic University Malaysia, 2007). 6

7 Internally, the reconciliation between Sharī ah and Sufism took place to curb the religious and intellectual confusion that was taking place among the Malay-Muslim community brought about by the charge of infidelity (kufr) and persecution of the Malay existentialists (wujūdiyyah)--exponents of the Ibn al- Arabī school and who wrote on the central doctrine of Unity of Being (waḥdat al-wujūd)--a century earlier. This group gathered many followers into their fold and they grew in strength and popularity as a result of the Sultan s patronage. The main attack against the group was that their teachings were pantheistic which is considered heresy in Islam. 18 Abd al-ṣamad felt the question of orthodoxy of Sufi adherents was of prime importance and was concerned to cement the adherence of the Sharī ah in their doctrines and practices. On one hand he aimed to verify the authenticity of al-ghazzālī s Sufi teachings as providing the beneficial knowledge ( ilm al-nāfi ) referred to by the Qur ān and on the other hand he pointed to the Malays that the Sharī ah is the foundation for all knowledge and action in Islam. He quoted the saying attributed to Imām Mālik to emphasize his point: He who learns Sufism (barangsiapa bertaṣawwuf) and neglects jurisprudence (tidak ber ilmu 18 The two most influential representatives of this school were the Sufi masters, Ḥamzah al-fanṣūrī and Shams al-dīn al-sumaṭrānī from Aceh. The main critic of this group was Nūr al-dīn al-rānīrī--who upheld the existentialist position himself--and he referred to his group as the true existentialists or existentialists who affirm unity (wujūdiyyah muwaḥḥidah) but referred to the group led by al-fanîërê and al-sumaïrénê as the false or deviating existentialists (wujūdiyyah mulḥidah). See S. M. N. al-attas, Rānīrī and the Wujūdiyyah of 17 th century Acheh, (Singapore: Monographs of the Malaysian Branch Royal Asiatic Society III, 1966), pp

8 fiqah) becomes an apostate (zindiq). 19 He who learns jurisprudence (barangsiapa menuntut ilmu fiqah yang ẓāhir) and neglects Sufism (tidak menuntut ilmu taṣawwuf yang bāṭin) becomes a reprobate (fāsiq). 20 He pointed to Imām Mālik s qualification of the people who have attained the realization of the Truth (taḥaqqaqa) as those who combine the study of both the Sharī ah and ṭarīqah (man jama a baynahumā). These are the people who have attained knowledge of God ( ilmu ma rifah akan Allāh) at the level of certainty (yaqīn) and finality (putus) or referred to as the verifiers among the Sufis (orang Sufi yang muḥaqqīq). 21 In this essay I will not discuss the specific doctrine of the seven levels of Being (martabat tujuh) of the Malay existentialists but will merely show how Abd al-şamad fitted it in the Siyar al-sālikīn to remove the confusion of the Malay community. As a translation-cum-commentary of the larger work of al-ghazzālī s which is the Iḥyā, Abd al-şamad fitted this doctrine within the framework of al-ghazzālī s teachings on Divine Unity (tawḥīd) and trust in God (al-tawakkul). In Abd al-şamad s discussion of this chapter in the Siyar al-sālikīn he explained that the foundation of trust in God is faith in Divine Unity and this faith is made up of four stages. After explicating the three stages he went on to explain the fourth stage which represents the witnessing of the righteous ones (al-şiddīqīn) and it is the farthest reach of faith in Divine unity. Abd al-şamad 19 Siyar (J), 3:170; Siyar (R), 3: Siyar (J), 3:168; Siyar (R), 3: Siyar (J), 3:170, 176; Siyar (R), 3:341,

9 commented that this is the stage of unity of the super-elites (tawḥīd khawāṣṣ alkhawāṣṣ) and this stage of faith of unity is what is really meant by the affirmations, There is no God but Allāh and There is no existent except Allāh. At this profoundest level it means nothing exists except God who is the Real and the Absolute Being, 22 This final level of Divine unity is the concern of the verifiers (muḥaqqiqīn) and gnostics ( ārifīn) among the Sufis. It is the stage in which direct knowledge of the one true Reality (al-ḥaqq) is attained. It is at this point, Abd al-şamad strategically inserted the doctrine of the seven levels of Being whereby he stated that this highest form of knowledge (ma rifah) represents knowledge of the oneness or unity of Being (waḥdat al-wujūd) in which Being of God as Necessary Existence (wājib al-wujūd), as One (esa), with no partner (sekutu) and with anything similar from the created (baharu) is known by seven levels (tujuh martabat). 23 Abd al-şamad managed to integrate the doctrine of the seven levels of Being within the framework of al-ghazzālī known to be the excellent model of an orthodox Sufi and who shared with the Malays the same legal school of al-shāfi ī and theological position of al-asha rī and hence, pointing them to him as the Muslim to emulate in 22 This is what is meant by the ḥadīth: God is, and nothing is with Him. (kāna Allāh wa lā shay a ma ahu). In one of his explanations of this ḥadīth Ibn al- Arabī stated: God is described by Being, while nothing is with Him : No possible thing is described by existence. Rather, I say that the Real is Being/existence itself. This is the meaning of the saying of the Messenger of God, God is, and nothing is with Him. He says: God is an Existent Being but nothing of the cosmos is existent. See William C. Chittick (1989), The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al- Arabī s Metaphysics of Imagination, Albany: State University of New York Press, pp Siyar (J), 4:103; Siyar (R), 4:

10 religious knowledge and practice. It was possible for Abd al-şamad to accommodate Ibn al- Arabī s metaphysical doctrines within al-ghazzālī s spiritual and theological frameworks because the perspectives of the two masters are essentially one and the same since they are derived from the tradition of sapiential knowledge (ma rifah) in Islam. The differences between their teachings are only a matter of vantage point and terminology. In his reconciliation of the teachings of the two great Sufi masters in his writing, Abd al-şamad had also vindicated his predecessors of the Wujūdiyyah School such as, Hamzah al-fanşūrī and Shams al-dīn al-sumaţrānī from the charges of heretical teachings directed at them by al-rānīrī. 24 Abd al-ṣamad s Scheme of Classification In the Siyar al-sālikīn Abd al-ṣamad restricted his classification to the three sciences of jurisprudence ( ilmu fiqah 25 ), theology ( ilmu kalām) and Sufism ( ilmu taṣawwuf). The ultimate aim of these sciences which are subsumed under Sufism is gnosis or sapiential knowledge ( ilmu ma rifah bi Allāh). I have used the term religious knowledge to encompass these sciences according to al-ghazzālī s division between the religious (shar iyyah) and the non-religious or intellectual sciences ( aqliyyah) in his Iḥyā ulūm al-dīn as follows: 24 For an explication of the doctrine of martabat tujuh by Abd al-şamad and how he verified its orthodoxy and vindicated his predecessors of the Wujūdiyyah School see Megawati Moris, The influence of al- Ghazzālī, Chapter Four. 25 The terms used in Malay-Jawi texts by Malay scholars are both Malay and Arabic and some of the Malay terms originate from Arabic words but have been Malaynised. 10

11 By the religious [sciences] I mean whatever benefit is derived from the prophets (may God s prayers and salvation be upon them). The intellect [alone] does not guide [one] to it, as it does in the case of [the science of] mathematics, nor does practical experience [guide one to it], as it does in the case of medicine; nor does [knowledge of] accepted usage (al-samā ) [point to it] as it does [in the case of] language 26 Abd al-ṣamad didn t set up a classification scheme systematically in the Siyar alsālikīn. However, from his narration and explanation on the subject of knowledge and what constitutes it, the bases of his division and the division itself of the three aforementioned religious sciences can be determined and developed. Abd al-ṣamad s division of the sciences is developed on the following bases. They are: first, the benefit derived from the branch of knowledge; second, the type of religious obligation related to its acquisition, whether it s binding on every Muslim (farḍ ayn) or binding on the Muslim community (farḍ kifāyah); third, the mode of knowing or attaining the knowledge and fourth, the theoretical and practical aspects of knowledge. Beneficial Knowledge: It s Superiority According to Qur ān and Ḥadīth At the beginning of the Siyar al-sālikīn, before elaborating on the hierarchy of the religious sciences, Abd al-ṣamad affirms the nobility (kemuliaan), greatness (kebesaran) and superiority (kelebihan) of beneficial knowledge ( ilmu yang memberi manfa ah) as well as the activity of acquiring and teaching it by quoting the Qur ān and 26 Al-Ghazālī, Iḥyā vol. 1 (al- ilm), pp , as quoted from Timothy J. Gianotti, Al-Ghazālī s Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul, (Leiden: Brill, 2001), p

12 Ḥadīth. As affirmation, Abd al-ṣamad mentions for example, the verses which state that the faithful and those bestowed with knowledge are elevated in rank by God (Sūrat al- Mujādilah, 58:11); those who have knowledge and those who are ignorant are not equal (Sūrat al-zumar, 39:9); and among God s servants who fear Him are those who have knowledge (Sūrat al-fāṭir, 35:28). 27 He also gives several aḥadīth to show the high status of the learned or those with knowledge (ulamā ) for example, the ulamā are the heirs of the prophets ; the man of knowledge is God s trustee on earth ; and the superiority of a learned believer (al- ālim) over an ordinary believer (al- ābid) is seventy degrees [in rank]. 28 It is demonstrably clear that the idea of hierarchy is grounded in the Islamic revelation based on the above quotations mentioned by Abd al-ṣamad and logically it follows his two main sources for determining the basis of benefit and usefulness are the Qur ān and Ḥadīth. Beneficial Knowledge and the Science of Taṣawwuf Abd al-ṣamad explains that those with knowledge ( ulamā ) referred to in the Qur ān and Ḥadīth are the people with knowledge of the ṭarīqah (spiritual path or Path) and the ḥaqīqah (both Truth and Reality). 29 In contrast, the worshippers ( ābidūn) are those with 27 Siyar (J), 1:4-5; Siyar (R), 1: Siyar (J), 1:5-8; Siyar (R), 1:5-8. See also Nabih Amin Faris, Book of knowledge, Being a Translation with Notes of The Kitāb al- Ilm of al-ghazzālī s Iḥyā ulūm al-dīn, (Lebanon: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1987), pp for citations of aḥadīth. 29 The Arabic word ḥaqīqah means both truth and reality and the Divine Name al-ḥaqq indicates the union of the two in God who is both the Truth in its absolute sense and absolute Reality. See Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The heart of Islam: Enduring values for humanity, (New York: Harper Collins, 2002),

13 knowledge of the Sharī ah (the Divine Law) or fiqh (jurisprudence). 30 On the authority of al-ghazzālī who wrote in his book Jawāhir al-qur ān (Jewels of the Qur ān), Abd al- Ṣamad states that: The science of the Path (ilmu ṭarīqah) and wayfaring (sulūk) namely, Sufism ( ilmu taṣawwuf) is higher and nobler than jurisprudence ( ilmu fiqah) and theology ( ilmu kalām) that is, science of the principles of religion ( ilmu uṣūl al-dīn), and the science which is higher and more noble than that [science] is gnosis namely ( ilmu ma rifah bi Allāh), the science of the Divine Truth or Reality ( ilmu ḥaqīqah). Actually, knowledge of the Path and wayfaring is the way to knowledge of the Divine Truth or Reality and it is beneficial knowledge ( ilm al-nāfi ) that is, knowledge which gives benefit ( ilmu yang memberi manfa ah) in the hereafter and it is also named Sufism (taṣawwuf) and the inner science ( ilmu bāṭin) and this knowledge as that which gives benefit will be mentioned, God Almighty willing, in this book. 31 Hence, from both al-ghazzālī s and Abd al-ṣamad s point of view, knowledge of taṣawwuf is what is considered in the Qur ān as beneficial knowledge ( ilm al-nāfi ) and it is called by several names as follows: science of the inward ( ilmu bāṭin atau kebatinan), science of the Path ( ilmu ṭarīqah) and science of wayfaring ( ilmu sulūk). In terms of the hierarchy of knowledge, jurisprudence ( ilmu fiqah) and theology ( ilmu kalām) or science of the principles of religion ( ilmu uṣūl al-dīn) are lower in rank than 30 Siyar (J), 1:5; Siyar (R), 1:8. 31 Our English translation of this passage as well as others in this paper are from the Jawi text whose language is that of the original writer s while the language of the Romanized text generally, has been modernized and simplified. Siyar (J), 1:5-6; Siyar (R), 1:9. 13

14 Sufism (taṣawwuf) and the latter leads to the highest which is knowledge of God ( ilm ma rifah bi Allāh) or knowledge of the Divine Truth or Reality ( ilmu ḥaqīqah). 32 According to Abd al-ṣamad, all knowledge from taṣawwuf brings benefit since books on this science contain knowledge from both fiqh and uṣūl al-dīn, which are considered obligatory (farḍ ayn) for every wayfarer i.e., the one who treads the path of the hereafter to acquire. 33 Abd al-ṣamad mentions that in Abd Allāh bin Alawī al- Haddād s (d.1132/1720) opinion, al-ghazzālī s works such as, Ihyā ulūm al-dīn, al- Arba īn fī uṣūl al-dīn, Minhāj al- ābidīn and Bidāyat al-hidāyah surpassed those composed by other leading religious authorities in terms of providing this beneficial knowledge. Abd Allāh al-haddād s qualifies that this fact is known to people who are true and fair (ahl al-haqq wa al-inṣāf), who possess insight in religion (arbāb al-baṣā ir fī al-dīn) and who have contemplated seriously (ta ammul) on this matter. 34 The Malay writer also adds to this list of beneficial books the Malay translations of al-ghazzālī s works done by him, namely the Siyar al-sālikīn and the Hidāyat al-sālikīn Siyar (J), 1:5-6; Siyar (R), 1:9. Both the sciences of jurisprudence and theology are considered farḍ kifāyah by al-ghazzālī. See Nabih Faris, Book of knowledge, 40 and Siyar (J), 1:9-10; Siyar (R), 1: Abd Allāh bin Alawī al-haddād wrote in his Kitāb al-fuṣūl al- ilmiyyah wa al-uṣūl al-ḥikamiyyah. For an English translation of the excerpt quoted by Abd al-ṣamad see, Knowledge and wisdom, trans., Mostafa al-badawi, (Chicago: The Starlatch Press, 2001), 34. Siyar (J), 1:6; Siyar (R), 1:10. Abd al-ṣamad repeats the same quotation by Imām al-haddād in Siyar (J), 3:171; Siyar (R), 3: Siyar (J), 1:9; Siyar (R), 1:18. The Hidāyat al-sālikīn is a Malay translation-cum-commentary of al- Ghazzālī s book Bidāyat al-hidāyah by Abd al-ṣamad. 14

15 Abd al-ṣamad, quoting from Ibn Abbād s commentary of the Kitāb al-ḥikam by Ibn Aṭā illāh, 36 states that the superiority of the knowledge which is mentioned repeatedly in the Qur ān and Sunnah refers to beneficial knowledge (al- ilm al-nāfi ) that is accompanied by fear (Arabic: al-khashyah, al-makhāfah; Malay: takut) of Allāh Ta āla and made complete with reverence (haybah) for Him. Hence, fear necessarily accompanies knowledge and accordingly, those with knowledge are those with fear and reverence for God. 37 Since knowledge of taṣawwuf is what brings benefit to humankind in this world and the hereafter human beings must preoccupy themselves with acquiring this knowledge and not with other kinds of knowledge which would not bring benefit to them. This non-beneficial knowledge could sometimes bring harm (maḍarrah) to the one who possesses it. For fear of this harm, the Prophet, in a famous ḥadīth, sought for God s protection from non-beneficial knowledge. 38 Abd al-ṣamad adds that the manifold excellence of this knowledge, as stated in the Qur ān and Ḥadīth, is realized only for those with right intention (bagi orang yang 36 The commentary is entitled Ghayth al-mawāhib al- āliyyah. See, GAL II, 118; S II, 14. It has also been published by Dār al-kutub al- ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1419/1998. Over the centuries, the Kitāb al-ḥikam inspired many commentaries and one of the most popular and authoritative was ibn Abbād s. Apparently, commentators after ibn Abbād quote him as though he was the foremost authority. See, John Renard, Ibn Abbād of Ronda, 44. However, Renard mentioned the title of his commentary as Tanbīh which was another name for it. See, al-ḥikam al- Aṭā iyyah li ibn Aṭā Allāh al-sakandarī sharḥ ibn Abbād al-nafarī al-rundī, (Cairo: Markaz al-ahrām li al-tarjamah wa al-nashr Mu assasat al-ahrām1408/1988), Siyar (J), 1:6; Siyar (R), 1: Ḥadīth: Ibn Mājah, Sunan al-muṣṭafa, Introduction, 23: 1 as cited in Nabih Faris, Book of knowledge, 3. Siyar (J), 1:7; Siyar (R), 1:12. 15

16 ṣaḥīh niyatnya). Right intention here is based on its purpose (qasad) and it relates to both realms of this world (dunyā) and the hereafter (ākhirah). Hence, the purpose is correct if the knowledge is sought for the sake of receiving God s pleasure (keredaan Allāh) and for applying it to matters which bring benefit to the seeker in the hereafter as well as for wanting (menghendakki) to leave the darkness of ignorance (kelam jahil) and to enter the light of knowledge (nūr ilmu). This good intention is what is praised in the hereafter and the good consequence is for both the hereafter and this world since the immediate benefit (fā idah) derived in this world is that it forms part of worship ( ibādah) and the reward (pahala) of which will be reaped subsequently in the hereafter. 39 It is evident that the benefit (manfa ah) derived from each science Abd al-ṣamad meant was for the purpose of religion (agama), this world (dunyā) and the next or the hereafter (ākhirah). Basis of the Division into Farḍ ayn and Farḍ kifāyah Sciences Abd al-ṣamad elaborates on the distinction between knowledge which is farḍ ayn and farḍ kifāyah and gives a simplified version of the original classification expounded by al- Ghazzālī in the Iḥyā. 40 He divides the sciences which are obligatory for every Muslim to acquire and therefore considered farḍ ayn into three classes and enumerates each one 39 Siyar (J), 1:8; Siyar (R), 1: In the section (faṣl) on Explicating the Praiseworthy and Blameworthy Science and Explicating the Farḍ ayn and Farḍ kifāyah in the Mukhtaṣar iḥyā ulūm al-dīn, Cairo edition, pp and in Chapter Two (al-bāb al-thānī) and Chapter Three (al-bāb al-thālith) of the Book of knowledge (Kitāb al- ilm) in the Iḥyā ulūm al-dīn. 16

17 of them. Al-Ghazzālī defined them as farḍ ayn based on the ḥadīth, To seek knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim. 41 Knowledge which is considered farḍ kifāyah is not obligatory on every individual but on the Muslim community in its totality. Al- Ghazzālī sets three general principles for the acquisition of farḍ kifāyah sciences. They are: first, farḍ ayn sciences must always be prior to them; second, they must be studied in a gradual and graduated manner since they are of various degrees of excellence; and third, study of those sciences which have already been pursued by a sufficient number of people ought to be refrained. 42 Abd al-ṣamad quotes many ḥadīths to show the incumbency of seeking knowledge on every Muslim and the superiority of this activity over other forms of worship including the supererogatory prayers (ṣalāt al-nāfilah). 43 One such ḥadīth he cited to demonstrate the excellent status of knowledge and the act of acquiring it, is: Attending the gathering of the learned (majlis ālim) is better than performing prayer of one thousand rak ahs, visiting one thousand sick patients and witnessing one thousand funeral processions. And was asked [by a Companion]: Oh, the Prophet of Allāh! Is it better than reciting the 41 Ibn Mājah, Sunan al-muṣṭafā, Introduction, 17: 5, as cited in Nabih Faris, Book of knowledge, p Osman Bakar, Classification of knowledge in Islam, pp See also, Nabih Faris, Book of knowledge, pp , Imām Shāfi ī said: Seeking knowledge is better than superogatory prayer. Siyar (J), 1:9; Siyar (R), 1:18. 17

18 Qur ān? And he said: There is no benefit in [reciting] the Qur ān except with knowledge. 44 The division of the three religious sciences and their respective contents that are judged obligatory according to Abd al-ṣamad especially to a wayfarer is as follows: i. The science of Divine Unity ( ilmu tawḥīd), referred to as the science of the principles of religion ( ilmu uṣūl al-dīn) or science of belief ( ilmu aqīdah). This includes knowledge of the Divine Essence (dhāt), Attributes (ṣifāt) 45 and Acts (af āl); knowledge of the Prophet of Islam and the other Messengers including their teachings as well as having faith in them. According to Abd al- Ṣamad, knowledge of this science that is contained in the Siyar al-sālikīn and the Iḥyā is sufficient and whatever in excess for example, elucidating proofs and refuting doubts put forward by some parties, is considered farḍ kifāyah. In addition, he claims that for the person who treads the spiritual path it is not required that he accumulates his study on what is considered farḍ kifāyah in this science since it will not bring any benefit to him. 46 ii. The science of Divine Law ( ilmu sharī ah), referred to as the science of branches or derived principles ( ilmu furū ) or the science of jurisprudence 44 This ḥadīth is narrated by Ḥākim al-tirmīdhī in his Tārīkh and is cited in al-zābidī, al-itḥāf, 1:151 as cited in Sairus-Salikin, 1:19. Siyar (J), 1:9; Siyar (R), 1: Ṣifāt salbiyyah and ṣifāt thubūtiyyah, Siyar (J), 1:19; Siyar (R), 1: In this claim, he mentioned he is in agreement with Shaykh Qāsim al-ḥalabī who wrote it in his treatise, Sayr wa al-sulūk, Siyar (J), 1:19; Siyar (R), 1:38. 18

19 ( ilmu fiqah). Knowledge that are related to the religious duties of keeping ritual purity (ṭahārah), canonical prayer (sembahyang), fasting (puasa), almsgiving (memberi zakat) and performing the pilgrimage (naik haji) 47 as well as knowledge of the things that nullify them (perkara-perkara yang membatalkan). Any knowledge beyond these is farḍ kifāyah and hence not required to be pursued by the wayfarer. Abd al-ṣamad quotes al-ghazzālī from Bidāyat al-hidāyah as emphasis, that it is incumbent on a master to forbid the student to preoccupy himself in acquiring knowledge which is deemed farḍ kifāyah before first completing his study on what constitutes farḍ ayn in the three sciences namely, ilmu tawḥīd, ilmu sharī ah and ilmu bāṭin. 48 iii. The science of the inward ( ilmu bāṭin), referred to as the science of wayfaring ( ilmu sulūk) or the science of the Path ( ilmu ṭarīq) or Sufism ( ilmu taṣawwuf). What comprises farḍ ayn in this science includes knowledge on the purification of the heart (menyucikan hati) from all vices (Malay: segala sifat kecelaan; Arabic: muhlikāt) for example, vainglory ( ujb), ostentation (riyā ); envy (ḥasad) and pride (takabbur) etc. and of acts which adorn the soul with virtues (M: segala sifat yang kepujian; Arabic: munjiyāt), for example, renunciation (zuhd), piety (wara ), sincerity (ikhlāṣ), humility (tawāḍu ), fortitude (ṣabr) and gratitude (shukr). Abd al-ṣamad uses Abd al- 47 Knowledge of almsgiving and pilgrimage becomes obligatory when a person can fulfill these duties. 48 Siyar (J), 1:19; Siyar (R), 1:

20 Qādir al- Aydarūs (d. 1038/1628) yardstick of determining the measure of farḍ ayn in taṣawwuf taken from his book al-durr al-thamīn in which the latter stated that this level is sufficiently attained by putting into practice the contents of al-ghazzālī s book, Minhāj al- ābidīn and further study of this science whose contents are not found in the book is therefore, considered farḍ kifāyah. In addition, Abd al-ṣamad qualified that for those who wish to gain victory in the hereafter it is encouraged that they increase knowledge that is farḍ kifāyah in taṣawwuf and not in the other sciences. 49 Presential (ḥuḍūrī) and Attained (ḥuṣūlī) Knowledge In the Iḥyā and his other books namely Al-arba īn fī uṣūl al-dīn, Minhāj al- ābidīn and Bidāyat al-hidāyah, what al-ghazzālī dealt with was mostly the exoteric dimension or what he calls the science of devotional or right practice ( ilm al-mu āmalah) which contains both doctrine ( ilmu) and method or practice ( amal). This science is constituted of two parts namely, an exoteric or outward (ẓāhir) science which deals with acts and functions of man s external senses, and an esoteric or inward (bāṭin) science dealing with acts and functions of man s internal senses or the heart. 50 According to Abd al- 49 Siyar (J), 1:19-20; Siyar (R), 1: Siyar (J), 1:14, Siyar (R), 1:28. See also, for a comprehensive enumeration of the sciences and al- Ghazzālī s classification of them, Osman Bakar, Classification of knowledge in Islam, pp

21 Ṣamad this exoteric 51 dimension leads to the esoteric dimension in which the science of unveiling of the Divine mysteries ( ilm al-mukāshafah) is classified and considered as the noblest of all sciences with knowledge of God (Arabic: ma rifah Allāh Ta āla; Malay: mengenal Allāh Ta āla) as its supreme goal. Unveiling (mukāshafah) here, Abd al-ṣamad explains, God unveils or discloses knowledge of Him by casting (Arabic: yaqdhifu; Malay: ditaruhkan) light in the heart of one whose heart is pure as a result of worship ( ibādah) and strive (mujāhadah) in combating (memerangi) against the desire of his soul (hawā nafsunya) and in fighting (melawan) satan (shayṭān) until his faith has attained to the level of Sayyidnā Abī Bakr al-ṣiddīq s which if measured (ditimbang) against the faith of all who fill the earth would outweigh it. The excellence of his faith is such, because of a secret (rahsia) which is fixed (tetap) in his heart (hati), not as a result of the establishing of demonstration (burhān) and proof (dalīl). 52 For this hidden science not recorded in books, Abd al-ṣamad in the footsteps of al- Ghazzālī uses the simile of the sea (laut) whose depth (perhinggaan) cannot be determined (dihinggakan), and those whose knowledge of it is the deepest or most profound are the prophets (anbiyā ), followed by the saints (awliyā ) and 51 Since there is a spiritual dimension to al-ghazzālī s ilm al-mu āmalah i.e., the parts dealing with acts and functions of the heart, therefore, it is not totally exoteric in nature and the same would be true of books written by him on this science for example, the Iḥyā. This is the reason for some scholars to consider and term his works as mesoteric. 52 Siyar (J), 1:14-5, Siyar (R), 1:

22 then, their followers. 53 This is Divine knowledge ( ilmu ma rifah bi Allāh) or the science of the Divine Truth or Reality ( ilmu ḥāqīqah) which combine the sharī ah, ṭarīqah and ḥaqīqah. Presential knowledge (al- ilm al-ḥuḍūrī) is direct, immediate, supra-rational, intuitive and contemplative. The Sufis identify it with the heart (qalb). This knowledge which al-ghazzālī also refers to as ilm ladunī (knowledge from on high) is superior to attained knowledge because it is free of error and doubt and it provides the highest level of certainty relating to spiritual truths. 54 In contrast, attained or acquired knowledge (al- ilm al-ḥuṣūlī) is gained by the mind through the help of intermediary concepts and hence, is indirect, rational, logical and discursive. It s what referred to by al-ghazzālī as inferential knowledge. 55 Theoretical and Practical Knowledge Abd al-ṣamad divides the religious sciences into their theoretical and practical aspects. The theoretical part deals with the states and orientations of beings as they are. The practical part deals with man s actions. It aims at finding out the human activities conducive to humans well-being in this life as well as in the next. 56 For example, in the science of kalām Abd al-ṣamad clarifies that it deals with knowledge of the belief of the 53 Siyar (J), 1:15; Siyar (R), 1:29. See also Nabih Faris, Book of knowledge, Osman Bakar, Classification of Knowledge in Islam, pp. 195 and Ibid. 56 Osman Bakar, Classification of Knowledge in Islam, p

23 heart (i tiqād) as well as actions that come out from the belief. In this-worldly science of jurisprudence (fiqh) it is not only concerned with the external form or how to perform the practical aspects of worship ( ibādāt) correctly but it also deals with knowledge of the meaning of the actions. 57 The basis between theoretical and practical is enhanced in the science of taṣawwuf whereby it includes an action-oriented knowledge that concerns the purification of the heart and a theoretical dimension that enters the unseen world of the heart. The heart which, in the tradition Abd al-ṣamad belongs, is a subtle domain beyond the physical eyes yet perceivable through experience and the spiritual eye or eye of the heart ( ayn al-qalb) resulting in intuitive understanding. 58 Revelation, Intellect and Reason Abd al-ṣamad s classification of knowledge following al-ghazzālī s reflects the hierarchy as well as the unity of the religious sciences which is also the goal of a classification scheme in Islam. In the Qur ān and Ḥadīth as stated by him earlier, science ( ilm) means knowledge which makes human beings aware of God, of the eternal truths, of the hereafter and the return to God. In this discussion it is important to understand the relationship between Revelation, intellect and reason within the Islamic tradition. Revelation is the reflection of the Universal Intellect (al- aql al-kullī) on the cosmic plane or in the macrocosm. It refers both to the Qur ān and the cosmos. The 57 Siyar (J), 1:19-20; Siyar (R), 1: Timothy J. Gianotti, Al-Ghazālī s Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul, (Leiden: Brill, 2001), p

24 human intellect (al-aql al-juz ī) is the reflection of the Universal intellect on the human plane or the microcosm and is the highest faculty and the primary means for human beings to be bound to God or to discover the Truth (al-ḥaqq). 59 In the language of the Qur ān and throughout Islamic intellectual history, the term al- aql which is related to the root meanings of to bind and to restrain denotes both intellect (intellectus or nous) and reason (ratio). 60 According to a prophetic ḥadīth, the first thing that God created was the Spirit (al-ruḥ). 61 The Spirit also referred to as the Holy Spirit (al-ruḥ al-quddus) is the Universal Intellect (al- aql al-kullī) which binds Allāh the absolute Reality in the direction of creation. It contains all of God s knowledge concerning creation. 62 It is the Intellect which is the instrument through which knowledge is obtained since it is both the source of Revelation and exists microcosmically within human beings. Revelation as the macrocosmic manifestation of the Universal Intellect (al- aql al-kulli), the Kalimah Allāh, provides a framework for the microcosmic manifestation of the Intellect in human beings and a Divine Law (sharī ah) which protects human beings from their own passions and makes it possible for the intellect to remain wholesome or salīm. The Intellect must not be mistaken for reason alone. The aql denotes both 59 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Sufi Essays, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1972), p Ibid, p In explaining the noble nature of the intellect al-ghazzālī mentions that God calls it light in connection with the Light verse. He wrote The knowledge derived therefrom was called a spirit, a revelation and a life. Said God, Thus have We sent the Spirit to thee with a revelation, by Our command. (Q: XLII:52) He also quotes the hadith The first thing which God created was the intellect. See Nabih Faris, Book of Knowledge, pp Ibid. 24

25 intellect and reason. It is both the supernal sun that shines within man and the reflection of this sun on the plane of the mind which we call reason. 63 Reason is the reflection of the Intellect upon the level of the psyche (al-nafs). It can be both an instrument for reaching the divine truths found in revelation and a veil which hides these same truths from human beings. If reason acts as a veil as a result of its dimming by passions then it becomes the means whereby human beings rebel against God and His revealed religion and which leads him astray. 64 Hence, according to the basis of Abd al-ṣamad s classification scheme, he takes into consideration both the domains of object and subject of knowledge. He puts knowledge of God or sapiential knowledge as the highest level of knowledge for human beings to attain and as for the subject of knowledge he puts Revelation as represented by the Qur ān and Ḥadīth as the highest source of knowledge followed by the intellect and reason. His discourse on the esoteric (bāṭin) dimension of the science of taṣawwuf involves direct knowledge (al- ilm al-mukāshafah) attained by the wholesome intellect (al- aql al-salīm) which he interspersed arbitrarily in the Siyar al-sālikīn. His insertion of the metaphysical doctrine of martabat tujuh is a good example of how he integrates attained knowledge with presential knowledge. As a Sufi he acknowledges the knower s illuminated intellect uncorrupted by vices to be the highest source of certain knowledge of God and the spiritual world. This is the mode of knowledge bestowed upon the 63 Nasr, Sufi Essays, p Ibid. 25

26 prophets and friends of God (awliyā ). He does not deny the use and place of reason which produces inferential knowledge especially in all the three sciences especially in fiqh and ilm al-kalām. However, he disagrees with the excessive use of reason in the latter science for example in the discussion of schisms on matters of faith because it brings argumentation and disputes and not truth. Abd al-ṣamad is well aware that the main aim of religious sciences is to reach salvation of the soul and knowledge of God. In reality there is only one truth since the human intellect and reason are both integrated in the highest source of knowledge which is Revelation that contains all knowledge of the Absolute Reality accessible to human beings Conclusion From the foregoing study of Abd al-ṣamad s classification of knowledge it can be concluded that his scheme represents an authentic Islamic conception and structure of knowledge since it is based on the principles of metaphysical and epistemological hierarchy and their inter-relatedness. In other words, it reflects the true nature of objective reality as well as the subjective world of human knowledge. The bases of his classification scheme as we showed namely, beneficial knowledge in terms of this world and the hereafter, individual and communal obligation in religious and social domains, modes of knowing and the aspects of theory and praxis in knowledge are derived from the Islamic Revelation as verified by the gnostics ( ārifūn, muḥaqqiqūn) of Islam. 26

27 As a scheme of classification of religious knowledge which characterizes authenticity and orthodoxy it can be used to evaluate the current education curriculum in Malaysian Islamic schools as well as help to develop an Islamic education curriculum which accommodates order and unity. Fulfilling the requirements of authenticity and orthodoxy I believe guarantees the curriculum its efficacy and effectiveness in producing knowledgeable students. Abd al-ṣamad s tripartite division of the religious sciences can be used as a model of an integrated religious education which nurtures and trains the body, mind and soul of students according to the sciences of jurisprudence, theology and Sufism respectively and whose priorities are founded on the immutable principles of the hierarchy of reality and human faculties. In terms of practicality it is suitable for the Malay-Muslims since it follows their affiliations in terms of law, belief and spirituality. In fact, the Siyar al-sālikīn has proven its benefit and usefulness since it is still being studied in many mosques and madrasahs in Malaysia until present times. To respond and refute modern ideologies and trends coming from the West Malay-Muslims need to have a clear conception of the Islamic worldview which includes epistemology. A holistic and integrative classification of knowledge will help provide an Islamic perspective and worldview to evaluate and counter all the modern ideologies intellectually and religiously as in Secular Humanism, the prevalent worldview or lifestance of the modern West, which stands on the principle of Good without God. 27

28 The Siyar al-sālikīn is an example of a text which Malay-Muslims can draw from their intellectual tradition to evaluate and verify the orthodoxy of doctrines and practices coming from Muslims such as Islamic State (IS) as how Abd al-ṣamad has done for the Wujūdiyyah School and its doctrine of martabat tujuh. I believe if we Muslims remain true to our intellectual tradition, faithful to our religious obligations and sincere in performing our actions we will be able to maintain our identity and achieve our agenda through intellectual and religious unity in the modern world. 28