The Necessity of Ta wil and the role of the Hudud-i Din in comprehending the Divine Message

The Necessity of Ta wil and the role of the Hudud-i Din in comprehending the Divine Message According to the Ismailis and other Muslims with inclinations toward the esoteric, the very nature of scriptures demands the application of ta'wil or esoteric interpretation. The scriptures descend from the spiritual world, a world that is timeless and spaceless. When they enter the physical world, with all its temporal and spatial limitations, spiritual realities need to be expressed in the language of this world, and hence the scriptures are revealed in the language of physical allegories and parables. As human beings combine both the physical and spiritual worlds, God has established within them a system of mutual transformation in descending and ascending processes. In other words, He has made it possible for human beings to have a symbolic and notional view of the spiritual world through the physical allegories and parables contained in scriptures as the preliminary stage of humankind's spiritual journey. In so doing, He has also provided the means for seekers to have a clear and real view of the spiritual world by gradually removing the veils of allegories and parables in the final stage of their spiritual journey. The Qur anic terms for this process are tanzil and ta wil, both of which have been expounded upon in great detail in the literature of the Ismaili da'wat, the substance of which is summarised below. Tanzil literally means `sending down or `bringing down. It is the process by which intelligible spiritual realities are explained in the form of perceptible material parables and allegories. Ta wil literally means to take something back to its origin. It is the process by which the veils of these parables and allegories are gradually removed from the realities, and are explained in their pure, original, spiritual state. Tanzil is the transformation of the subtle (latif) into dense (kathif), and ta'wil is the reverse process. The former gives a physical form to spiritual realities while the latter gives spiritual meaning to physical parables and allegories. 1 Each requires the other for the fulfilment of its purpose. Describing this aspect of the Qur an, Nasir says in his Diwan: God's Word is the Ocean of Words 1 Imam al-mu`izz li-dini llah, Ta wil al-shari`a, Ms in my private collection, fols. 113-115; `Allamah Nasir Hunzai, Qurratu l-`ayn (Karachi, 1991) pp. 81-86. 1

Brimful with precious, lustrous pearls Its tanzil is like the ocean's brackish waters While its ta'wil is like pearls for the wise As the pearls lie scattered in the ocean's depths Why do you scamper along its shores? Seek a diver!" 2 There are numerous verses in the Qur an which, if taken literally, hamper a logical explanation of the holy book. For instance, And We have sent down to you the Book as an explanation of everything (16:89) and We have not left out anything in the Book (6:38). For every Muslim the Qur an is the word of God, containing absolute truth. Yet, from a literal, exoteric standpoint, none can claim it is an explanation of everything or that everything is contained in it. In addition, there are verses which, if taken at face value, appear self-contradictory. For example, some verses specify a period of time during which creation occurred, while others speak of creation as being instantaneous. About temporal creation, the Qur an says: Verily your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He established equality on the throne." (7:54); and about instantaneous creation: Verily, when We will a thing, the only word We say to it is: Be and it is (16:40). Similarly, about equality and differences in God's creation, the Qur an says: You do not see any difference in the creation of Rahman (67:3), whereas at another place this appears to be contradicting a statement concerning differences and ranks: We raised some of them over others in ranks, so that some of them may take others in servitude (43:32). The impulse to seek a deeper, esoteric meaning in the Qur an is further spurred by the holy book's own words, such as, Verily, We have struck for humankind in this Qur an every kind of parable (30:58); And those parables We strike for humankind so that they may reflect (59:21). Further, the holy Prophet had also said of the nature of the Qur an, Indeed, the Qur an has a zahir (exoteric form) and a batin (esoteric meaning), and every batin has seven batins 3 ; according to another version of this hadith, seventy batins 4. To the Ismailis and many other Muslims, such indications prove the necessity of the ta wil of the Qur an. In Shi`a Islam in particular, the Qur an itself emphasizes not only the necessity of 2 Nasir-i Khusraw, Gushayish wa rahayish, ed. and trans. F.M. Hunzai (London, 1998), p. 65. 3 Badi`u z-zaman Firuzanfar, Ahadith-i Mathnawi (Tehran, 1347 Sh.H.), p. 83. 4 Qadi Nu`man, Asas al-ta wil, ed. `A. Tamir (Beirut, 1960), p. 27. 2

ta'wil, but the incumbency of turning to those who are authorized to execute it, identified in verse 3:7 as the rasikhun fi'l-'ilm, those firmly grounded in knowledge. According to all Shi'a and many Sunni interpreters, this verse establishes that the ta'wil of the Quran is known only to Allah and the rasikhun fi'l-ilm. Other Sunni interpreters demur, stating that there should be a full stop after Allah, and that those firmly grounded in knowledge do not know the ta'wil. 5 Those who uphold the notion that the ta'wil is known to the rasikhun fi'l-'ilm point out that the Qur an itself is explicit that even the Prophet Yusuf and "One of the servants of God" (interpreted as Khidr), knew the ta'wil as they were taught it by God (12:6, 21, 100-101; 18:78, 82), let alone the final and the chief of the Prophets! Having recognized the necessity of the ta wil of the Qur an and the presence of the rasikhun fi l-`ilm, the question of their identity remains. It is true that their identity is not explicitly mentioned in the Qur an, however according to Shi`a Islam it has been made clearly explicit on several occasions by the Prophet, just as he elucidated the pillars of Islam, such as salat, zakat, sawm and hajj, etc., to which the Quran alludes, but does not explain in detail. In the eyes of the Shi'a, the first such occasion was when the Prophet was commanded by God to warn his nearest kinsmen, an incident known as Indharu l-`ashirati l-aqrabin (26:214), when only Imam `Ali accepted to be his wasi (executor), wazir (minister), warith (heir), akh (brother) and wali (plenipotentiary) 6. The last occasion was at Ghadir Khumm, where the Prophet said: O people! Know that c Ali is to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there will be no Prophet after me. He is your wali after me. Therefore, he whose Mawla (Master) I am, c Ali is his Mawla. 7 With particular reference to the knowledge of Imam `Ali, as pertaining to the concept of rasikhun fi l-`ilm, the Prophet said: I am the house of wisdom and `Ali is its door 8 ; I am the city of knowledge and `Ali is its gate. He who wishes to have knowledge, let 5 See my article Ta wil of the Qur an and the Shari`a according to Hakim Nasir-i Khusraw in Nasir-i Khusraw: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, ed. S. Niyozov& R. Nazariev (Khujand, 2005), pp. 165-71. 6 Qadi Nu c man, Da c a im al-islam, ed. A.A.Fyzee (Cairo, 1951), I, 15-16; hereafter Da c a im, I. 7 Da c a im, I, 16; See also Bukhari, Sahih (Riyadh, 1999), pp. 625, 749, hadith 3706, 4416; Muslim, Sahih (Riyadh, 1998), pp. 1059-60, hadith 6217, 6218, 6220. 8 F.M. Hunzai, The Holy Ahl al-bayt in the Prophetic Traditions (Karachi, 1999), p. 11; hereafter The Holy Ahl al-bayt. 3

him come through the gate 9, and particularly his statement: I am the custodian of tanzil (sahib al-tanzil) and you are the custodian of ta wil (sahib al-ta wil) 10. A variety of narrations also relate his assertion that `Ali would fight for the sake of ta wil as he himself had fought for the sake of tanzil. 11 The Shi'a believe that the mission of the Prophet and his legatee was continued in their progeny, citing the Prophetic statement, O people! I have left among you something, to which if you adhere, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and my progeny (`itrat), the people of my house. 12 On another occasion he said: I am leaving among you two weighty things (thaqalayn), the Book of Allah and my progeny, the people of my house. The two will never be separated until they arrive at the Pool. Indeed, the likeness of both is like Noah s ark. He who embarked on it was saved, while he who lagged behind was drowned. 13 Based on these premises, the Shi`a identified the rasikhun fi l-`ilm unambiguously as, first and foremost, the Prophet himself as the mu`allimu l-qur an (2:129, 150; 62:2), who used to teach the people the Book and the wisdom, as he himself was the city of knowledge and the house of wisdom. The door and gate to Prophetic knowledge and wisdom was Imam `Ali, and then the Imams from their descendants who inherited their knowledge and wisdom. When Imam al-baqir was asked the identity of the rasikhun fi l-`ilm mentioned in (3:7), he replied: The foremost of them is God s Messenger, for God taught him all that was revealed to him of the tanzil and the ta wil and he knew the ta'wil of everything that was revealed to him, with no exception. After him, the legatees are the rasikhun who know its ta wil in its entirety. 14 Thus, it is through the legatees or the Imams that the seven (or seventy or in the words of Imam al-sadiq, more than seventy) levels of ta wil or batin 15 continue to be revealed to the community till the time of the qa im, the lord of the resurrection, when the ta'wil will be given in its pure form, free from allegories and parables, and Allah s Book becomes an explanation for everything (16:89). 9 Ibid.,p. 11. 10 Ibid., p. 73 11 Hamid al-din Kirmani, Majmu c at rasà il, ed. M. Ghalib (Beirut, 19983), p. 65; The Holy Ahl al-bayt, p. 13. 12 The Holy Ahl al-bayt, p. 73. 13 Da c À im, I, 28. 14 Da c À im, I, 22-23. 15 Asas al-ta wil, p. 27. 4

Thus, through the ta wil of the rasikhun fi l-`ilm and the uli l-amr (4:59), who are the Imams, the Qur an becomes a perpetual source of guidance. Regarding this central role of the ulu lamr and ta wil, the 48 th Ismaili Imam, Sultan Muhammad Shah al-husayni (1877-1957), writes: By the institution of the ulu l-amr who can be interpreted as Imam and Caliph and by placing obedience to ulu l-amr immediately after that to God and Prophet, he ensured that the faith would ever remain living, extending, developing with science, knowledge, art and industry. 16 The present Ismaili Imam, Shah Karim al-husayni, re-affirms this position in the Preamble of The Constitution of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, where paragraph B reads: In accordance with Shia doctrine, tradition, and interpretation of history, the Holy Prophet (S.A.S.) designated and appointed his cousin and son-in-law Hazrat Mawlana Ali Amiru-l-Mu minin(`alayhi-s-salam), to be the first Imam to continue the Ta wil and Ta`lim of Allah s final message and to guide the murids, 17. In addition to the above rationale for the importance of ta'wil, there is yet another reason - the fact that the physical parables of certain aspects of the shari'at can, with the authority of the Imam, change over time. This is apparent in Discourse 32 of Wajh al-din on the zakāt of Fiṭr (Breaking of the Fast), in which Nasir alludes to the historical circumstances that made it incumbent for the physical form of this practice to be transformed. The new form had its own ta'wil, and superseded the previous form. We thus see how the physical forms and practices of the shari'at could evolve with time, much as human beings evolve with time. According to the Qur an, the religion and shari'at of Allah is based on His nature (fitrat, 30:30), the best example of which is humankind. In other words, humankind must be studied in order for God's nature and His religion to be understood. From birth through death, human beings pass through diverse phases, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, middle age and finally old age. Although people are the same, their physical forms differ in all these phases. Similarly, certain physical forms of God's religion may change at different stages. Another vivid example from nature is of a fruit, which also passes through different stages. For instance, when spring comes, fruit trees initially have buds, which gradually transform into flowers that shed their beautiful petals when the time of fruition approaches. In the 16 Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah al-husayni, Preface to Muhammad: A Mercy to All Nations, Q.A. Jairazbhoy (London, 1937), p.14; AsÀs al-ta wäl, p. 27. 17 The Constitution of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims (Lisbon, 1988), p.6. 5

beginning, the fruit is sour or bitter, but it gradually ripens into sweet fruit. In this process, the essence of the preceding stage merges with the following, and it is the final phase in which all the qualities of the tree are actualised and it becomes capable of producing another tree, whereas this was not possible in any of the preceding stages. These simple and meaningful examples, frequently alluded to in Ismaili texts, represent the nature of Allah s religion, which during the course of history also passes through different stages of teachings, such as shari`at, tariqat, haqiqat and ma`rifat. Both an human being and a fruit have two aspects, the essential and the accidental. The essential is permanent, whereas the accidental aspect is temporary and therefore subject to changes. In the same way, in religion there are essentials, called usul or roots, and there are accidentals, called furu` or branches. Thus, in Shi`a Islam, particularly in Ismaili Shi`ism, the shari`at has two aspects, the `aqli (intellectual) shari`at and the wad`i (positive) shari`at. The `aqli shari`at comprises those principles and rules without which human society cannot survive, such as the unlawful killing of another human being. Wad`i shari`at refers to practices in religion without which human society can survive, such as the forms of salat, sawm, etc. Thus, according to Ismaili Shi`ism, while change does not occur in the `aqli shari`at, this is possible in the wad`i shari`at according to the exigencies of time and space, as happened in the time of Nasir regarding the form of the zakat of Fitr. It was for this reason that the Prophet in his time said: You are certainly in an age in which whoever among you gives up one-tenth of what is ordered [to do], will perish. After this, a time will come when whoever among them will observe one-tenth of what is [now] ordered will be redeemed. 18 In this regard, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah al-husayni has written regarding the tanzil and shari'at, the words of the Qur an remain the same, every generation, every century, every period must have a new and different interpretation to that of the past, otherwise Islam will die and will not survive 19. The Imam further writes, Ismailism has survived because it has always been fluid. Rigidity is contrary to our whole way of life and outlook. There have really been no cut-and- 18 Tirmidhi, Jami` (Riyadh, 1999), p. 521, hadith, 2267. 19 Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah al-husayni, Talikas and Messages (Mombasa, 1955), p. 32. 6

dried rules, even the set of regulations known as the Holy Laws are directions as to method and procedure and not detailed orders about results to be obtained. 20 In Ismaili Shi`ism, change in the wad`i shari`at is possible in the light of the guidance of the ulu l-amr or the Imam, the `itrat of the holy Prophet who represents the latter in this world. It is only he who interprets the shari`at as the Prophet used to do in his time. Thus, according to Shi`a Islam, it is impossible to attain a true understanding of the Qur an through the tanzil alone without its ta wil. In fact, ta wil is compared to the soul and tanzil to the body, because the former is the object or the goal, whereas the latter is a means to reach that goal. The tanzil was confined to the Prophet s time, but as the Qur an (7:52-53) suggests, the ta wil continues to the time of the qa im, when all its allegories will be completely unravelled. The Role of Hudud-i Din: Once the necessity of ta'wil was established, the question remained of how it should be disseminated to humankind. Clearly, it was not possible for a natiq, asas or Imam to physically communicate it to all members of the ummat equally and simultaneously. The natiq therefore chooses certain individuals and trains them for this task. They, in turn, train their own chosen subordinates, and thus knowledge reaches all who accept the natiq's da`wat. This system of disseminating religious knowledge is called hudud-i din, a term derived from the Qur anic verse (65:1): And whosoever transgresses the "hudud" of Allah has done wrong to himself. The term hudud (sing. hadd) literally means limits or ranks. In Ismaili Shi`ism, the hudud are the grades in spiritual progress or elevation fixed by Allah. The concept reflects that of an educational system in which knowledge is imparted in various classes from the primary through doctoral levels, as it cannot be imparted to an individual all at once or to a group of different ages or levels simultaneously. Among the best examples of hudud-i din in the Qur an are the twelve naqibs or chiefs of the Prophet Musa (5:12) and the twelve hawaris or apostles of the Prophet `Isa (3:52). It thus followed that the sixth natiq had appointed twelve subordinates, as his predecessors had done. These were known as hujjats (proofs) or naqibs. After him, his wasi or asas and every Imam from his descendants continued to have 20 Idem, The Memoirs of Aga Khan (London, 1954), p. 185. 7

twelve hujjats, until the time of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah. The twelve hujjats appointed their own subordinates in successive levels, until the rank of the mustajib. The mustajibs are those who respond to the da`wat and need true knowledge for their spiritual elevation. If the mustajibs are industrious in acquiring the ta wil and also equipped with secular knowledge, they can rapidly climb the ladder of hudud and merge in the light of Imamat. We witness this progression in the life of Nasir himself. He responded to the da`wat as a mustajib and attained the highest rank in it after the Imam, that of the hujjat. He describes his sublime luminous experience with the Imam in his Diwan in the following words: When the light of the Imam shone upon my soul, even though I was black as night, I became the shining sun. The Supreme Name is the Imam of the time, through him Venus-like, I ascended to the heavens. 21 As mentioned at the beginning of the discussion concerning the necessity of ta wil, a natiq s mission covers both the spiritual and physical worlds. Therefore those who are charged with the task of conveying the message are of two kinds: the spiritual hudud and the physical hudud. These hudud are compared to many physical objects, such as a pure tree (14:24-25), the straight path (1:6), the ladder (70:3), etc. Among these, the example of the pure tree is particularly prevalent, and frequently used to explain the concept. Verses 14:24-25 of the Qur an state: Have you not seen how God has struck a parable? A good word is as a good tree, whose root is firm and its branch is in the heaven, it gives its fruit at every season by the permission of its Lord. So God strikes parables for humankind; haply they may remember. In this parable, the tree or word is considered the root of roots (asl al-usul). In the physical world, a tree grows simultaneously in two directions - the roots burrow deep into the earth while the branches reach toward the heavens. Similarly, the hudud emerge as roots and branches from the Divine word (kalima). Further, since the world of religion comprises the spiritual and physical worlds, the hudud are also divided into both spiritual and physical. Thus, from the Divine word, also known as the Divine command (amr-i bari) or the Universal command (amr-i kull), which is the root of roots, two spiritual roots emerge: the Universal Intellect (`aql-i kull) and the Universal Soul (nafs-i kull), and two physical roots 21 Diwan, p. 139. 8

also appear, the natiq and the asas. From these, three spiritual branches emerge, Jadd, Fath and Khayal, and three physical branches appear, Imam, hujjat and da`i. These and other hudud, discussed extensively in the Wajh al-din, are described briefly below. 22 Spiritual Hudud: In his Khwan al-ikhwan, Nasir reports the following tradition of the holy Prophet concerning the spiritual hudud: Between me and my lord there are five intermediaries (wasayit): Jibra il, Mika il, Israfil, the Tablet and the Pen. 23 1. The Pen or `Aql-i Kull (Universal Intellect): It is the first originated being from the Divine command. It is the first spiritual root, the source of all particular intellects and knowledge, and the first cause or the cause of causes. Everything else came into existence from it. It has many other names, such as the First, the Preceder, the Primordial Adam, the Divine Throne, the Divine Treasure, etc. 2. The Tablet or Nafs-i Kull (Universal Soul): It is the second spiritual root and originated from the Universal Intellect. The origin and return of all particular souls, it is also called the Second, the Follower, the Primordial Eve, the Pedestal (Kursi), etc. 3. Jadd (Glory, Majesty): It is the first spiritual branch and known by the name Israfil, the archangel, is the highest of the spiritual branches. The name is found in verse (72:3) of the Qur an: Exalted is the Jadd of our Lord; he has taken neither a wife nor a son. In Muslim tradition, Israfil is identified with the angel, mentioned in the Qur an (39.68), who blows the miraculous musical sur. With the first blow, all those in the heavens and the earth swoon away, and with the second they are revived. 4. Fath (Opening): It is the second spiritual branch, identified with the archangel Mika il (Michael). He is the distributor of sustenance, providing both physical victuals as well as spiritual nourishment in the form of wisdom and ta wil. 5. Khayal (Imagination): It is the name of the archangel Jibra il. He is the first among the five angels who bring the revelation to the natiqs. 22 A graphical representation of the hudud can be found in Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 2007) pp. 75, 160. 23 Khwan al-ikhwan, p. 199. 9

Physical Hudud: 1. Natiq: It literally means speaker, which technically refers to a messenger from God who brings a new Book and a new shari`at. God says about His messenger: And he does not speak (yantiqu) of [his own] desire (53:3). The revelation that descends on his heart is called the tanzil, which he conveys in the form of physical parables and allegories. The function of the natiq is to generally teach the tanzil or exoteric aspect of the Book and the shari`at. 2. Asas (Foundation): The word asas literally means foundation. Technically it means an Imam, appointed by the natiq as his wasi, who is responsible for the ta wil of the Qur an. The chain of the Imams of his cycle continues from him. In the cycle of the sixth natiq, the asas was Imam `Ali, peace be upon him. 3. Imam: It literally means a guide to whom, in the interpretation of Shi`i Islam, obedience is enjoined upon humankind. He gives the ta wil of the Qur an according to the exigencies of time and space. As the representative of the natiq, and in turn, that of God, he possesses the Divine Spirit, light and knowledge. The world cannot be devoid of such an Imam in any age. 4. Hujjat: It literally means proof or an argument. The term hujjat, meaning representative, is used for the natiq, the asas, the Imam and for the one whom the latter appoints as his representative. He receives ta yid (spiritual help) from the Imam, as an Ismaili poet says: Az dil-i hujjat ba-hadrat rah buwad; U ba-ta yid-i dilash agah buwad, From the heart of the hujjat to the Imam there is a path; the Imam is aware of sending ta yid to his heart. 24 In Ismaili terminology, the term is specifically used in the latter sense, that is, the representative of the Imam. In this sense, there are four categories of hujjats: (i) Hujjats of the day, who number twelve, dispersed among the twelve islands 25 ; (ii) 24`Allamah Nasir Hunzai, Silsila-yi nur-i Imamat (Karachi, 1957), p.49. 25 The hujjats are surrounded by the ocean of Imam s knowledge, as in ta wili language water symbolises knowledge, the source of which is the Imam of the time. 10

Hujjats of the night, who also number twelve and dwell one on each island; (iii) Hujjatan-i huduri, these are the four hujjats, two of the day and two of the night, who work in the presence of the Imam; (iv) Hujjat-i a`zam or bab, who is the supreme hujjat or the gate. He is the foremost of the four hujjatan-i huduri and is the son of the Imam of the time, who is going to succeed him. The hujjats of the Imam are endowed with so much spiritual knowledge that nobody can defeat them in a debate. 5. Da`i (summoner, inviter): Da`i in its wider sense includes even God Himself (8:24). Technically, it means someone who is appointed by a hujjat as his subordinate. Da`i is sometimes also called janah (wing) in the sense that he has the power of spiritual flight. There are altogether 360 da`is, with each of the twelve hujjats having 30 da`is. The office of the da`i is generally divided into da`i-yi mutlaq, i.e. the da`i with absolute power, and the da`i-yi mahdud, i.e. the da`i with limited power. 6. Ma dhun: It literally means the one who is granted permission (idhn) to do da`wat under the da`i. It is also divided into two ranks: the ma dhun-i mutlaq (or akbar), the ma dhun with absolute power, and ma dhun-i mahdud (or asghar), the ma dhun with limited power. Ma dhun-i mahdud is also called mukasir (breaker), in the sense that he destroys the idols of falsehood. That is, he demonstrates the logical inconsistency of the beliefs of those whom he invites to the true da`wat. 7. Mustajib: It literally means the respondent. Technically, it means the one who accepts the invitation to the true da`wat, as indicated in the Qur anic verse (8:24): O you who believe! Respond to God and the Messenger when they invite you to that which will revive you (in an higher life by imparting knowledge and wisdom) called hayatan tayyibah (16:97). 26 Thus, the knowledge that the Prophet and the Imam wish to impart to humankind is done in this systematic way according to the capacity and scope of the people. 26 Silsila-yi nur-i Imamat, pp. 24-56, 94-99, 135-36. 11