THE CONCEPT OF MA RIFAH IN ARABIC GRAMMAR IN AL-QUSHAYRI S NAḤW AL-QULŪB AL-KABĪR

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1 Man In India, 97 (22) : Serials Publications THE CONCEPT OF MA RIFAH IN ARABIC GRAMMAR IN AL-QUSHAYRI S NAḤW AL-QULŪB AL-KABĪR Omar * S.H.S. * Mahpol * S. Rahimah * E. Othman * M.S. Najihah * A.W. Omar * S.M.H. Fadzli Adam * and Abdullah M.S. * Abstract: There are some Salafi scholars who argue that the beginning of religious duty upon a servant is Ma rifatullah (gnosis) or knowing Allah. Ma rifah is the ultimate goal of a salik s spiritual journey through the efforts of mujahadah (struggle) and Riyāḍah (exercise). The debate on the concept of Ma rifatullah is usually found in the works discussing about tawhid (monotheism), but it is rarely discussed in depth in other Islamic disciplines such as Fiqh, Tafseer, Arabic language and others. Nevertheless, there was a famous Sufi in 5 th century of Hijra named Abd al-karim bin Hawazin al-qushayri who produced a work in Arabic grammar that is adapted with Sufism approach by infusing Islamic spiritual values and tawhid. The focus of this paper is the debate on the concept of Ma rifah and its comparison with several topics of Arabic grammar derived from his work entitled Naḥw Al-Qulūb Al-Kabīr. The method of textual content analysis was used to obtain necessary data. It has found that a way of achieving Ma rifahat the levels of Ayn al- Yaqin (vision of certainty) and Haqq al-yaqin (truth of certainty) is taken by the sālikīn (spiritual seekers or travellers),who underwent tazkiyah al-nafs (purification of soul) by pracising certain mujahadah (struggle) and Riyāḍah). Al-Qushayri is viewed to have successfully integrated the values of Sufism in the matter of Arabic Grammar which iscommonly discussed in the context of linguistics and consequently, this subject matter becomes more integrated and holistic. Keywords: Al-Qushayri, ma rifatullah, nahw al-qulub, tazkiyah al-nafs, arabic grammar. INTRODUCTION Sufism or Tasawwuf is a science that has its own methods and aims like other Islamic disciplines. The major aim of one sinvolvement in Sufism or spirituality is remembering Allah, seeking His pleasure and mercy. While the ultimeaimsare achieving ma rifah (gnosis) and unifying Allah. (Abdul Halim, n.d). Literally, Ma rifah can be defined as knowledge or gnosis (Ibn Manzu, n.d) while from the sufismviewpoint,it means someone s condition or nature who knows Allah in terms of substance, His attributes and names to the extent of knowing thedivine secrets at the end. The evidence of Ma rifah within a sālik (spiritual traveller)is total submission to Allah and always remember Him to the extent that he can not be deluded by the things that Allah does not permit (al-qushayri, 2010) This article attempts to examine the infusion of ma rifatullah in the disciplines of Arabic grammar which was propounded by a prominent Sufi during 5th century of Hijrah, Abd al-karim bin Hawazin and popularly known as al-qushayri. He pioneered a new approach by applying Sufism elements in his grammar work, which * Professor of Islamic Philosophy andcivilisation, Research Institute for Islamic Products and Malay Civilization, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu, Malaysia. sylutfi@unisza.edu.my, Corresponding Author

2 418 MAN IN INDIA is different from other scholars in producing their writings in the field of Arabic grammar. This research used content analysis method based on library research that focused on the analysis of al-qushayri s work called Naḥw Al-Qulub Al- Kabīr, which is about the infusion of spiritual values or Sufism in the discipline of Arabic grammar. In fact, it is a sourceof strength for individual s mastery in Arabic language. Furthermore, it was found that not many scholars who relate values derived from tassawuf to be infused into the discipline of Arabic grammar. Therefore, al- Qushayri s workwill to be examined briefly in this article in order to unearth his competencies and contributions in the disciplines of Arabic grammar and tassawuf. AL-QUSHAYRI S BIODATA His name is Abdul Karim bin Hawazin bin Abdul Malik bin Talha bin Muhammad Al-Qushayri, his teknonymwas Abu al-qasim and also called as Zayn al-islam (al-farisi, 2008:326). He was born in a place called Ustuwa (Ibn Khallikan, n.d., 3:208) in 376H and demised on Sunday, 16 Rabi al-awwal in the year 465H (al-baghdadi n.d., 11:83). Al-Qushayri s competency in Arabic language was unleashed during childhood when he was under the guidence of Abu al-qasim Ali bin al-hasan al-alyamāni, a proficient scholar in Arabic, to teach him the Arabic language and literature. Furthermore, he was also from a nativearabic descendant from his both parents (al-dawudi 1983, 1:436). He was also among the famous poets of the second tabaqat originated from Nisabur City (al-bakharzi 1969:322). In the field of Sufism, al-qusahyri studied with a famous Sufi Shaikh who was his own father in law namely Shaikh Abu Ali Al-Daqqaq (d.405h) (al-dhahabi n.d.., 13:550). According to al-qushayri s grandson named Abdul Ghafir, his grandfather inherited the chain of transmitters (sanad) of Tarīqahfrom his teacher al-daqqaq, while al-daqqaq transmitted it from Abu al-qasim al-nasrabadhi, al-nasrabadhi transmitted it from al-shibliy, al- Shibliy transmittedit from al-junaid, al-junaid transmitted it from Sari al-saqati, al-saqati transmitted it from Ma ruf al-karkhi, Ma ruf transmitted it from Dawud al-ta iy, Dawudinherited it from the successors (tabi in) ( Abd al-ghafir al-farisi, 2008, p.327). THE CONCEPT OF MA RIFAH IN NAḤW AL-QULŪB AL-KABĪR Al-Qushayri initiated his efforts to introduce a brief concept of Sufi Grammar by writing a small book consistedseveral pages and named it Naḥw al-qulub al-saghir. After he discovered that the debate needed to be explained in depth, he continued his efforts to write the second book with more detailed explanations and named it Al-Qulub Naḥw Al-Kabīr (Ibrahim Bisyuni & al-jundi 1994:14).

3 THE CONCEPT OF MA RIFAH IN ARABIC GRAMMAR IN This article only focuses on the debate about the concept ofma rifah discussed in his book Naḥw Al-Qulub Al-Kabīr and itscomparison with the topics consisted in the discipline of Arabic grammar. Al-Qushayri used the term physical grammarreferringto the debate on the grammar linguistically. On the other hand, the term of spiritual or symbolic (ishariy) grammar refers to various aspects of tawhid and spiritual internalization that contained in Sufism. Every terms of Arabic grammar which have similarities with the terms in the disciplines of Sufismwould be described by Al-Qushayri by making a comparison between them. Ma rifah: The Highest Level in the Spiritual Journey Some Salaf scholars view that the first duty of every servant in his religion is ma rifah Allah, or the gnosis of Allah (al-asbahani w.y., 1:122). The authentic and accepted Ma rifah isma rifah that is consistent with what is revealed by Allah and be presented with evidence and argument because without them, it cannot be regarded as ma rifah (al-sanusi, 2009:56). In other words,ma rifah should be based on a strong and established belief (al-yaqīn). Al-Qushayri has examined the concept of ma rifah in his work Naḥw al-qulūb al-kabīr while discussing the terms of al-ma rifah waal-nakirah. He had concisely divided the noun (ism) in Arabic grammar into two parts namelyma rifah (proper noun) and Nakirah (common noun). However, he did not clarify the definition of each part because hiswork emphasizes the discussion on the aspects of tassawuf applied into grammar rather than discussing on mere linguistic aspect. Furthermore, the linguistic discussion has been widely discussed in other Arabic grammar books (Ibrahim Bisyuni & al-jundi 1994:107). According to Al-Qushayri, in relation to the comparision made in the discussion on knowledge of Sufism or being termed as spiritual grammar, the sālikīn (spiritual travellers) who are under going Riyadah (training) in their spiritual journey can be divided into two groups; the first group is those who reach the level of ma rifah andis compared to the Proper Noun(al-ma rifah), while the second is those who have not yet reached the level of ma rifah is regarded as Common Noun (al-nakirah). One who has sound ma rifah will occupy a high level and position granted by Allah the Almighty as al-qushayri said: There is no highest dignity for a servant that could touch the level of ma rifah (Al-Qushayri 2005:12). There are some sālikīn who claim themselves already reached the ma rifah stage, but in fact, they have not yet reached its real stage in the Sufism perspective. That stage is known asma rifahat the level of ilm al-yaqin (knowledge of absolute certainty) which is the certainty based on knowledge obtained only through evidence, argument and logic. Ma rifah at this stage is already sufficient to verify the validity of one s faith.

4 420 MAN IN INDIA In the context of Sufism, the level of ma rifah is meant reaching the level of Ayn al-yaqin,the absolute certainty achieved through spiritual feelings(ruhaniyyah) with the unveiling secrets of the unseen world through insight (baṣīrah) such as the certainty on the sense of ma iyyah (togetherness), aqrabiyyah (closeness) with Allah and so on.with thefeeling of pure heart after undergoing the levels of takhliyah (emptying) and taḥliyah (embellishing), then a salik will be granted by Allahwith a senseof getting close to Him (Muhammad, 1992:46).This is described symbolically (isyarat) in many Quranic verses such as: And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein (Qaf, 50:16). The connotation of Allah is closer (aqrabiyyatullah) derived from the above verse is not understandable through the evidence and the ability of human reasoningonly as ma rifahis at the level of ilm al-yaqin. If the understanding of such meaning is merely based on evidence, proof and reasoning, it might be misleading and misconceptualizing because it willregard Allah s essence occupies a certain place. Such understanding is certainly going astray from the authentic faith that purifying Him from the similar attributes of His creations as mentioned in Surah al-syura 42:11: There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. In deed, Ma rifah at the level of Ayn al-yaqin can be advanced to a higher level of Haq al-yaqin which is fana (self-annihilation), annihilating the one self in ma rifah Allah and Mushāhadah (inner vision or intuitive perception), witnessing all divine and invisible secrets.in this context, al-qushayri explains that the closest state of Allah to His servant is when one s inner feelings being dominated by zikr remembering Allah and His greatness. Meanwhile the servant s awareness is only focused on Him. At this point, every matter isannihilated except Allah (al-aghyār). In the meantime, the servant will feel himself closely together with Him and nothing can be witnessed (shuhud) by him except Allah (al-qushayri 2007, 3:281). According to al-ghazali, this third level of ma rifah is the highest level that can be achieved by the Siddiqin and Muqarrabin after going through their mujahādah (struggle) and riyāḍah (spiritual training) (al-ghazali, 2005, 1:31). Practicing Shariah is a Basis of Achieving Ma rifah One of the features of a sālik who has reached the stage of ma rifah is genuinity and sincerity of his soul which is reflected into his visible practice. Al-Junaid views someone s claim of reaching ma rifah but at the meantime not practicing shariah is fake and not true. For him, a person who is practising shariah obligations but is still committing sins is better than the former because one of the al-arif billahcharacteristics is always obeying Allah s command, even though he knows that he still has a thousand years to live (al-qushayri 2010:170).

5 THE CONCEPT OF MA RIFAH IN ARABIC GRAMMAR IN Al-Qushayri has expounded the concept of performing the shariah obligations in his workk Naḥw al-qulūb al-kabīr when discussing the clause Na t (adjective) in the Arabic grammar. He views that Na t is a word that follows (tābi ) the noun before. If the following noun is nominative (marfū ) then na tis also nominative (marfū ) and so forth (al-qushayri 2005:26). An analogy that might be derived from the Sufi perspective is one sphysical appearance is reflected from his inner sincerity. In deed, visible deeds play role as reflection and manifestation of one s inner will either good or bad deeds. This also could be seen in the discipline of Arabic grammar because one of Na tfunctions is to explain (tawḍīḥ) the previous noun(ism) (al-ashmuni 1955, 2:393). In this case, al-qushayri has quoted al-junaid s answer when he was asked about the characteristics of al-ārif billah (gnostic). He answered by presenting an anology, The colour of water is in accordance to the colour of its container (al-qushayri 2005:26). His answer illustrates that if there is a strong ma rifah in a sālik s soul, all kindness and soundness will be manifested into his deeds and actions and vice versa. Ma rifah as the Core of Mental and Spirtual Strength In the phase Kaff Inna wa Akhawatiha an al- Amal, preventing particle of Inna and her sisters from functioning, al-qushayri discussed about the condition of a sālik who has reached the level ofma rifah will have well-established mental and spiritual state. In Arabic grammar, for al-qushayri, there are some particles (hurūf) such as (Annama, ka annamā, laytamā...and so on thatare placed beforea subject (mubtada ) and a predicate (khabar) but do not modify the meaning and case endingsin the sentence.these particles have lost their original function that is accusative (naṣb) for subject and nominative (raf ) for predicatebecause of being inserted with the additional (al-za idah)preventive particle ma (al-qushayri 2005:28). The symbolic of the Sufism that can be oberseved is the position of sālik who reaches the level of al-ārif billah and has a sound ma rifahis actually has a strong resistance in all aspects of physical, mental or spiritual. Thee sālik is not able to be influenced by external elements because he is always under the guardian and guidance of Allah. Only his body is with other people but in deed, his souland thoughts are focused on Allahalone. In terms of Sufism,this matter is called the iṣṭilam,adeep love of a servant to his Lord who makes him feel calm under His subjection and control (al-kashani, 1992:55). Al-Qushayri presents an interesting story happened to a man who visited a Sufi Shaikh named Abu Bakr al-quht who lived in an area which full of obsessive amusement. The man felt sympathy with al-quhti s condition with such kind of test, but he found that the Shaikh was not influenced with what was happening around him. When asked about his condition, he then said, It has been a long time since we have not been affected and impressed by anything (al-qushayri 2005:28).

6 422 MAN IN INDIA The Level of Ma rifah as the Key to Obtain Allah s Grace(Faḍl Allah) It is commonly known that all matters of a servant either in the form of privileges or guidance are granted by Allah the Almighty to His chosen servant. In the clause al-asma al-sittah (the six nouns), al-qushayri attempts to explain more about faḍl Allah (Allah s grace) for His servant,who has reached the level of ma rifah. For him, that grace is different from one to another depending on what kind of level of ma rifah achieved.in the context of Arabic grammar,al-qushayri highlights six nouns (al-asma al-sittah)namely abūka, akhūka, ḥamūka, hanūka, fūka and dhū mal whichare special because their marks of I rab (literally means making the word Arabic) not with case ending but letter. These nouns are nominative (marfū ) with the letter waw, accusative (manṣūb) with letter alif and genitive (majrūr) with letter yā(al-qushayri 2005:15). Ananalogy could be observed in the Sufiperspective is all sālikīn who have achieved the level of ma rifatullah are different in terms of their privileges bestowed by Allah, as the condition of nouns in the Arabic grammar context. There are somesālikīn who are granted with certain privileges by Allah but not to other sālikīn, even though, in deed, they are together undergoing riadhah and mujāhadah to get closer to Allah. A Sufi member mentions that: Not all men are at the same level as Bishr (al-qushayri 2005:16). Bishr was well-known Sufi with his asceticism (zuhud) and abstinence (wara ). He was originated from Merv and later moved to Baghdad and then passed away in 227H. He was also known as al-ḥāfi (barefoot) because he was willing to walk without wearing any shoes even for a very long journeyfor the sake of pursuing knowledge (Ibn Imad 1986, 3:122). Al-Qushayri highlights that Bishr s position could not be compared with other Sufis because he was bestowed with some advantages and privileges from Allah Ta aladue to his high level of ma rifah and his full devotion in worship. For each stage, the sālikīn actually have their own distinguished features and privileges. Thus, among the Sufis, there are several phrases which describe the difference between the stages as stated by Abu Said al-kharraz; Sins commited by those who are close to Allah (al-muqarrabin)are still considered as good deeds for the good people(al-abrar) (Ibn al-jawzi, 2009, 1:529). This expression means that the status of a salik who has reached the stage of al- ārif billah, has a high position besides Allah. For him, a moment of negligence from remembering Allah is a major sin even though it is not considered as a sin to those who are still at the stage of ilm al-yaqin. Dhu al-nun al-misri (d. 245H) has highlighted thata layman repents for sins committed, but the chosen one(al-khawas) repents due to his negligence of remembering Allah(al-Qushayri 2010:57). As a consequence, majority of Sufi scholars discuss about the stations(maqām)in Sufism which are divided relatively

7 THE CONCEPT OF MA RIFAH IN ARABIC GRAMMAR IN into three stages that reflect the level achieved by a sālik or murīd. The first level is the beginners (Mubtadi īn) sometimes is known as level of common people ( Awām); the second, is level of elite(khawāṣ) and the highest one is elite of the elite (Khawāṣ al-khawāṣ). The difference of a station from another station is assessed based on the perspective of Sufism that emphasise the spiritual truth (haqīqah)of a station rather than the physical evaluation. CONCLUSION The ways of achieving Ma rifah at the levels of Ayn al-yaqin and Haqq al-yaqin are the ways taken by the salikin who have undergone tazkiyah al-nafs through mujahadah and riyāḍah. The meaning of Ma rifah here is not based on a mere logic, but it is based on the experience of spiritual feelings that can lead to peace and conviction in the hearts. Therefore, the concept of ma rifah explored by Sufis is the best way to achieve the goal of knowing Allah with all His attributes of absoluteness and magnificience. Al-Qushayri is viewed to have successfully integrated the Islamic spiritual values and the concept of monotheism (tawhid) in the matter of Arabic grammar which is usually discussed in linguistic or language studies. Hence, this proves that al-quishayri s studyis more integrated between verbal fluency when communicating with the pureness of heart which persistently drives towards goodness. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This paper is founded by the research project of the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme FRGS/1/2015/SSI03/UNISZA. Special appreciation is owed to Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) for sponsoring and supporting this research. References Abdul Ghāfir al-fārisi (2008).Al-Siyaq li Tarikh Nisabur,Egypt: Maktabah al-thaqafah al- Ilmiyyah Al-Asbahani (n.d.).al-hujjah fi bayan al-mahajjah. Tahqiq Muhammad bin Rabi, Egypt:Dar al-rayah Al-Bākharzī (1969).Dumyah Al-Qasr wa Usrah Ahl Al- Asr, Cairo, Egypt: Dar al-fikr al- Arabi Al-Dawūdi (1983).Tabaqat Al-Mufassirin, Beirut, Labenon: Dar al-kutub al- ilmiyyah Al-Ghazali (2005).Iḥyā Ulūm al-dīn, Beirut, Labenon:Dar al-kitab al- Arabi Al-Qushayri ( n.d.). Naḥw Al-Qulūb, Beirut, Labenon : Dar al-kutub al- Ilmiyyah ( 2010 ).al-risālah al-qushayriyyah. Egypt: Sharikah al-quds lil-tijarah ( 2007 ).Latā if al-ishārāt. Beirut, Labenon: Dar al-kutub al- Ilmiyyah

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