THE CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT FROM GOD Shah Wali Allah of Delhi's Hujjat Allah al-baligha TRANSLATED BY MARCIA Κ. HERMANSEN New Delhi-1 10002
CONTENTS Acknowledgments Translator's Introduction xiii xv The Conclusive Argument from God. Hujjat Allah al-bàligha VOLUME I The General Principles from Which Are Derived the Beneficial Purposes Considered in the Rulings of the Divine Law Shah Wali Allah's Preface 3 Shah Wali Allah's Introduction 11 BOOK I The First Investigation: The Causes of Religious Obligations and Requital 31 1. Absolute Origination, Creation of the Material World and Divine Management 33 2. The World of Images (Warn al-mithal) 37 3. The Highest Council 43 4. God's Customary Way of Acting (Sunna) 49 5. The True Nature of the Spirit (Ruh) 53 6. The Inner Dimension of the Imposition of Religious Obligations 57 7. How Religious Obligation is Derived from What is Divinely Decreed 60 8. Why Religious Obligation Necessitates Requital 69 9. The Variations in the Natural Dispositions of People.. 73 10. The Causes of the Thoughts Which Motivate Actions 78 11. The Adhering of Acts to the Soul and Its Being Held Accountable for Them 80 12. The Connection of Actions to Psychological Attitudes 84 13. The Causes for Requital 87
viii CONTENTS BOOK II The Second Investigation: The Manner of Requital during Life and after Death 91 14. Punishment for Acts in This Life 93 15. The True Nature of Death 97 16. The Variation of the States of People in the Intermediary World 101 17. Concerning Some of the Secrets of the Events of the Day of Assembly 106 BOOK III The Third Investigation: The Supports of Civilization (The lrtifaqat) 113 18. The Manner of Discovering the Irtifaqat 115 19. The First Irtifaq 119 20. The Art of the Proper Manner of Livelihood (The Second Irtifaq) 121 21. The Management of the Household 123 22. The Art of Economic Transactions (Mu'amalat) 127 23. The Governing of the City-State (the Third Irtifaq)..,.. 129 24. The Conduct of Kings 132 25. The Policy towards Assistants. 134 26. The Fourth Irtifaq (the Caliphate) 137 27. The Agreement of People on the Principles of the Irtifaqat 140 28. The Conventions Current Among People 142 BOOK IV The Fourth Investigation: Human Felicity 145 29. Concerning the True Nature of Felicity 147 30. The Differences among People in Felicity 151 31. The Divisions among People in their Manner of Obtaining This Felicity 153 32. The Principles to Which the Attainment of the Second Way Goes Back 156 33. The Way of Acquiring These, Qualities 161 34. The Veils Preventing the Manifestation of the Sound Original Nature (Fitra) 165 35. The Way of Removing These Veils 168
CONTENTS ix BOOK V The Fifth Investigation: Piety and Sin 171 36. Preface: Concerning the True Nature of Piety and Sin 173 37. The Unity of God (Tauhid) 175 38. Concerning the True Nature of Associationism (Shirk) 179 39. The Categories of Associationism (Shirk) 184 40. Belief in the Divine Attributes 190 41. Belief in Predestination 197 42. Belief that Worship is the Right of God, May He be Exalted 203 43. Honoring the Emblems of Allah, May He be Exalted 210 44. The Inner Meanings of the Ablution and Full Bath 214 45. The Inner Dimensions of Prayer 218 46. The Inner Meanings of the Zakat 221 47. The Inner Dimensions of the Fast 224 48. The Inner Dimensions of the Pilgrimage 227 49. The Inner Meanings of Various Types of Pious Actions 229 50. The Ranks of Sin 232 51. The Harmful Influences of Sins 236 52. The Acts of Disobedience of a Person which Have an Impact on Himself 238 53. The Sins which are Between a Person and Other People 241 BOOK VI The Sixth Investigation: The Regulation of Religion 245 54. The Need for the Guides to the Paths and the Founders of Religions 247 55. The True Nature of Prophecy and Its Characteristics 250 56. The Explanation of the Fact that the Basis of Religion (Din) is One and the Religious Laws (Shara'i') and Codes (Manahij) Vary 257 57. The Causes of the Revelation of the Divine Laws Relating to One Age Rather than Another, and to One People Rather than Another 262
CONTENTS xi 76. The Difference Between the Beneficial Purposes (Masalih) and the Religious Laws 376 77. The Way the Community Received the Divine Law from the Prophet 383 78. The Ranks of the Books on Hadith 387 79. The Manner of Understanding What is Meant by the Utterance (Kalam) 396 80. The Manner of Understanding the Legal (Shar'ï) Meanings From the Qur'an and the Sunna 400 81. Judging Among Divergent Hadiths 405 82. The Causes of the Disagreement of the Companions and the Successors Concerning Applied Jurisprudence 414 83. The Causes for Disagreement Among the Schools of the Jurists 427 84. The Difference Between the People of the Hadith and Those Who Exercise Personal Opinion 437 85. An Account of the Condition of People Before the Fourth Century and After 451 Bibliography 479 Indices 483 Qur'anic Citations 483 Hadith Citations-English 488 Subjects and Terms 496 Proper Names 503
χ CONTENTS 58. The Causes for Being Held Accountable for the Codes (Manahij) - 271 59. The Secrets of the Ruling (Hukm) and the Reason for Legislation ('Illα) 275 60. The Beneficial Interests (Masalih) which Require the Obligatory Religious Acts, the Pillars, the Proper Behaviors, and Their Like... 280 61. The Inner Meanings of the (Appointed) Times 287 62. The Inner Meanings of the Numbers and the Fixed Quantities 292 63. The Inner Meanings of Making Up (Qada) (for Missed Religious Obligations) or Receiving Dispensations (Rukhsa) (to Diminish Them) 299 64. The Establishment of the Supports of Civilization (Irtifaqat) and the Reformation of Conventions 303 65. Rules which Bring into Effect Other Rules 310 66. Rendering the Ambiguous Precise, Solving the Problematic, and Deriving Rulings from All-Embracing Principles and So On 316 67. The Facilitation (of Religious Duties - Taisir) 322 68. The Inner Meanings of Encouragement (to Righteousness) and Deterrence (from Sin) 327 69. The Ranks of the Community with Regard to Arriving at the Desired Perfection or Its Opposite 334 70. The Need for a Religion which Abrogates the Other Religions 340 71. Fortifying the Religion Against Distortion 346 72. The Causes for the Differing of the Religion of Our Prophet, from the Religion of the Jews and Christians 353 73. The Causes of Abrogation 357 74. The Explanation of What Had Been the Condition of the People of the Jahiliyya which the Prophet Reformed 361 BOOK VII The Seventh Investigation: The Derivation of the Shari'a Laws from the Reports of the Prophet 371 75. The Explanation of the Categories of the Prophet's Knowledge 373