This letter was written by Sayyid Abdulhakīm Arwāsī, rahmatullāhi aleyh, who was a treasure of karāmats, virtues, and a paragon by whom to visualize how great the Sahāba and the Islamic scholars must have been. He bewildered specialists of every branch with his profound knowledge, manners, and words.
Sir! The jewels of knowledge which you placed in your letter have pleased those who have read it, very much. For it is the most pleasing task and a nutriment for the soul of this faqīr, me, to solve such religious problems and thereby clear away the confusions in the thoughts.
Solving your questions and thus illuminating minds is possible by one of the (following) three ways: by knowledge, by dhawq, or by mind.
Answering them with knowledge requires basing them on the science of īmān, so it is necessary to know the words used in the science of kalām with their meanings pertaining to this science.
[Many words have different meanings in different branches of knowledge, (for different registers.). For example, the word zālim (cruel) means disbeliever in the science of tafsīr[1]. In the science of fiqh it means a person who trespasses upon others property. And in tasawwuf it has another meaning. Then, to read and understand a book in a branch of knowledge it is necessary first to know the words with their meanings peculiar to that branch. Otherwise, the situation will be as exemplified by the incorrect and harmful translations and interpretations done by those who have learned slang Arabic after staying in Egypt or in Baghdad for a few years and by those new so-called religious scholars who, taking a pocket dictionary in their hands, attempt to translate the Qurān and hadīths in order to earn money. Also, wrong and harmful are the words
and writings of those men of tarīqat who teach Mathnawī and attempt to translate books of tasawwuf without ripening, maturing, taking great pains, and wearing the elbows out for years in the presence of a savant of tasawwuf].
What do qadā, qadar, halāl rizq (permitted sustenance), harām rizq (forbidden sustenance), and the infinitude of the knowledge of Allāhu taālā mean? What are halāl, harām, and the compassion of Allāhu taālā? What are justice and injustice, the justice of Allāhu taālā, and wisdom? What are parts of wisdom, aql-i selīm, aql-i saqīm, and how is Allah? Is anything above Allah necessary? Does Allah have to make things useful and suitable for creatures?
Comprehension of these branches of knowledge by dhawq is not possible in terms of explaining them at great length or by explaining them or writing about them in detail. It is possible by means of a beautiful way that is full of faydh, i.e. by trusting and having a good opinion of someone who can solve the problems and by being together with him for a long time, which varies according to the high or low degrees of understanding. This way does not require any proof or document or knowing the meanings of words. One will have an indispensable knowledge developing within oneself. One will have a certain and conscientious belief. One will not need to prove them through the ulūm-i naqliyya, that is, through āyats and hadīths, or through the ulūm-i aqliyya (scientific knowledge). In fact, one
will find the proofs and documents that are pointed out as proofs far-fetched and foreign to the purpose. Without these conditions every document, every
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[1] Science dealing with explanation of the Qurān al-kerīm.
proof will be insufficient. The doubts, the erroneous thoughts that occur to the minds of the clever cannot be removed. On the contrary, they will increase, and undermine their īmān. Examples of this are the semi-scientists.
Learning experimental knowledge well, that is, the applied sciences, which is the second division of Islamic knowledge, helps and facilitates to understand easily and clearly those branches of religious knowledge that are deep and delicate.
As for understanding them with mind; doing this requires first learning the ulūm-i aqliyya, that is, the knowledge which is based upon the mind. What is this knowledge? How many divisions does it have? Which of them are related to matters of belief? Which of them are not connected to or do not depend on them? What are experimental physics, mathematical physics, metaphysics? Learning mathematical physics solidifies religious knowledge. It does not shock or contradict religious knowledge. Astronomy, arithmetic and geometry are sciences that help the religion. Everything in experimental physics, with the exception of a few theories and hypotheses,-which do not conform with the ones that have been experimented and proven- conforms with the religion and consolidates īmān. Of the learnings
of metaphysics, the ones that are unsound and corrupt do not conform with the religion. When these sciences are learned, those parts of religious knowledge that conform with mental knowledge and those that cannot be solved through mental knowledge, together with the reasons, will come to be known, and it will also be understood that those matters that do not seem to conform with mind and those which mind cannot grasp cannot be denied.
At the end of your valuable letter you say, Doesnt it seem to be incompatible with justice? Sir, justice and its antonym, injustice have two definitions each:
1- Justice means to act within the limits of laws and regulations established by someone predominant or a ruler in order to govern a country. And injustice means to go beyond these laws, these limits, this circle.
Allāhu taālā, our owner who created the universes out of nothing, is the ruler of rulers, the true owner and the only creator of everything. He does not have a commander, a ruler or an owner above Him to compel Him to act within some limits, to
remain within a circle of rules, or to hold Him liable to some laws. He does not have a vizier, a counsellor or an assistant to warn Him, to guide Him to distinguish good from bad. For this reason, Allāhu taālā does not have anything to do with this definition of justice. Let alone the fact that the word injustice could not approach Him, it would not be suitable to say that He is just in the sense of this definition. The statement, He is just, would remind us of injustice. Referring to Allāhu taālā, it is not permissible to remember justice, let alone injustice, in accordance with this definition. A name of Allāhu taālās is al-Adl (Just). It is certain that He is just. This name of His, like His other names, is interpreted; it is adapted to a suitable meaning. That is, what is meant by justice is the purpose of justice. For example, ar-Rahmān and ar-Rahīm are names of Allāhu taālā, too. They mean merciful and compassionate. The hearts being inclined towards something is called rahm. But Allāhu taālā does not have a heart to be inclined towards any direction. The heart exists in a creature. Then, rahm means the purpose of rahm, that is, it means to bestow favours. And the purpose, the conclusion of the name Adl means He who does favours, He who gives the things that taste sweet to the nafs.
Allāhu taālā does not have to render justice. If He had to administer justice He would not be absolute; that is, He would not have a will. He who does not have a will has to act under compulsion.
On the basis of this definition one cannot say, Such and such a thing is not compatible with justice. Allāhu taālā cannot be said to be just in this sense, nor does He have to dispense such justice.
2- A higher definition of justice is: To use what is ones own property. And injustice means to trespass on others property or possessions. This is the definition of justice in our religion.
All classes of beings, low, high, material, symptomatic, anatomical, spiritual, angelic, human beings, genies, animals, plants, lifeless beings, skies, stars, big and small objects, the Arsh and the Kursī, elements and minerals, material and immaterial worlds, all and all are the incapable, needy creatures and the possessions of Allāhu taālā; He is their one and only Creator, their independent Owner. He is perfect in every case, in every respect. Why should it be necessary to complete Him while He has no imperfection? Everything other than He, is His property and creature. As the possessions, the creatures cannot be partners
with the Owner, the Creator in possessing and creating, so they do not own anything.
In accordance with both of the definitions, there is nothing incompatible with justice concerning the deeds of Allāhu taālā. To think so would mean to liken the Creator to the things which He has created, in some respects. And this, in its turn, would be the very injustice. The Creator does not resemble His creatures in any respect.
[Question: Muslim children who are born in Muslim countries become Muslims by seeing and learning from their parents, neighbors, teachers. But non-Muslim children, who are in other countries, are brought up as disbelievers, thus being deprived of Islam. If they also were brought up with an Islamic education they would become Muslims and would enter Paradise. Isnt it injustice to put those who are brought up in such a manner into Hell?
Answer: We should not confuse justice with favour. Allāhu taālā has done more than due justice to His slaves brought up in every country. That is, He will not put those non-Muslim children who died before the age of puberty into Hell. Nor will He torment those disbelievers who, though having reached the age of puberty, died without having heard of Hadrat Muhammads religion. If they, after hearing of the Islamic religion, of Paradise and Hell, do not want to learn it, or if they are too perverse to believe it, then they will be tormented. Those who have reached puberty will not be influenced by the former effects of their parents and environments. If they would,
hundreds of thousands of Muslim children, who had been brought up under an Islamic education in Muslim countries, would not have become irreligious renegades and even enemies of Islam being deceived by the lies and slanders of Islams enemies. These people go out of the religion and even become enemies of the religion, and even take the lead in hostility against the religion after reaching the age of puberty, even after forty years of age, and even after having become a khodja or hāfiz. They mock their parents, neighbors and relatives by calling them fanatical, retrogressive, reactionary people, upholders of Religious Law, and extreme rightists. These very dismal examples clearly display the fact that the effects of a family education are not permanent. It is for this reason that today apostating from the religion
has become a nuisance, a grievous pandemic prevalent over the entire world. Young or old, there are few people left who have not been seized by this disaster. On the other hand, we see many disbelievers, men of
knowledge and science being converted to Islam[1]. It is a fact that there are those who have not changed their faith-though they are very few-, which shows that family education may be permanent sometimes. Yet, a childs being a Muslim and being brought up with a Muslim education is a favour from Allāhu taālā, and He does not do this favour to disbelievers children. He does not have to do favours to anybody. It is not injustice not to do favours. For example, if we buy a pound of rice at the grocers it will be justice for the grocer to weigh it and give us exactly a pound of it. If he gives less, it will be injustice. If he gives a little more, it will be a favour. No one has the right to demand this favour. Likewise, it is a great favour from Allāhu taālā that He brings (some people) up with an Islamic education. He bestows
it upon whomever He likes. It is not injustice for Him not to do this favour to non-Muslim children. If those who have been blessed with this become disbelievers, their punishment, torment will be very much greater. Imām-i Rabbānī rahmatullāhi taālā aleyh states as follows in his two hundred and fifty-ninth letter: According to this faqīr,-Hadrat Imām-i Rabbānī means himself- those polytheists who grew up in the mountains and who worship idols because they have not heard of any heavenly religions will not enter Paradise or Hell; after the settling of accounts they will suffer as much torment as they deserve for their wrongdoings, (if any). Then they will be annihilated like animals. The same applies to disbelievers small children if they die under the age of discretion and those people who are unaware of prophets.]
Wisdom is a Quwwa-i darrāka, that is, a comprehensive power. It has been created so as to distinguish right from wrong, good from bad, useful from harmful. Therefore, wisdom (aql) has been created in human beings, genies and angels, who may mistake right for wrong. There cannot be confusion of right and wrong with each other in the person of Allāhu taālā or in the knowledge pertaining to Him. Therefore, in that knowledge, wisdom, alone, cannot be a means for documentation by itself. Since it is possible to confuse right and wrong with each other in the knowledge of creatures, it is appropriate for wisdom to interfere with the
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[1] Please see the book Why Did They Become Muslims, available from Hakīkat Kitābevi, Istanbul.
knowledge among slaves. Since mistaking right and wrong for each other is out of place in the knowledge pertaining to Allāhu taālā, wisdom cannot walk on that road of knowledge. Creativeness has to be one in every respect. There cannot be difference there. For this reason, wisdom has no business there.
Wisdom is a gauge. There cannot be a qiyās [comparison] in the knowledge pertaining to Allāhu taālā. But there is a comparison in the knowledge about creatures; therefore, a correct comparison will deserve thawāb, while an incorrect comparison will be rewarded with forgiveness. If there were comparison in the knowledge pertaining to Allāhu taālā, it would be necessary to try to infer what is unknown by comparing it to what is known, which would mean to try to liken what is incomprehensible to that which is known. All wise and learned people say in consensus that it would be an unsound way to try to understand the unknown by comparing it to the known. Only in proving the existence of Allāhu taālā does wisdom have some function. This knowledge is profound and difficult. First, let
us see if wisdom is musheqqiq or mutawātī.
What does mutawātī mean? Mutawātī means an attribute which exists in equal amounts in all the individuals of the same species, like the attributes of humanity or animality. Humanity is equal in the highest and the lowest of human beings. For example, the humanity of a Prophet is equal to that of a disbeliever. Humanity is not more or greater in a Prophet. There is no difference between the humanity of a Prophet and that of a disbeliever. The humanity of such a great emperor as Jamshid[1] is the same as the humanity of a village shepherd. That is, the humanity of Jamshid is no more than that of a shepherd. With respect to being human, both are the same.
Musheqqiq is an attribute which does not exist in equal amounts in all the individuals of the same species; like knowledge. Knowledge exists in smaller amounts in some savants than it does in other savants. The knowledge of an Islamic savant who is at the same time a great scientist is certainly more, vaster and brighter than that of a village khodja. Then, which savants information is more dependable in religious knowledge? Certainly more dependable is the information of that savant who is greater and who has more knowledge and who has studied and done experiments in various branches of science. Any savant superior
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[1] Fourth King of the Persian Pishdadiyan dynasty, called also Jam.
to him would certainly be even more reliable.
Is wisdom mutawātī like humanity, or is it musheqqiq like knowledge? For certain it is musheqqiq. That is, it does not exist equally in the individuals of the same species. Then, there are thousands of grades between the highest wisdom and the lowest wisdom. Then, how can the expression, The one that wisdom will admit, be appropriate? And whose wisdom is meant; that of the person who is the wisest, or that of anybody who is said to be wise?
There are two principal kinds of wisdom: Aql-i selīm, Aql-i saqīm. Both of these are forms of wisdom. The wisdom which is selīm never goes wrong and never errs. It never does anything to necessitate repentance. It does not make mistakes in the things it considers. It always follows the course of actions that are good and that turn out good. It thinks properly, and finds the right way. Its deeds are always correct. This wisdom existed in Prophets only. They were successful in every activity they had started. They would not do anything that would make them repent or that would harm them. The one which is close to theirs is the wisdom of the Sahāba, of the Tābiūn, of the Taba-i tābiūn, and of the religious imāms. Theirs was a wisdom that was suitable for the rules of the Sharīat. For this reason, Islam spread far and wide in their
times; the number of Muslims increased. He who knows history well will see this fact very clearly.
The wisdom that is saqīm is quite the opposite. It errs in its acts and thoughts, which always incur sorrow, repentance, harm and trouble.
Between these two kinds of wisdom there are numerous grades. It should not go without saying that as Believers have religious wisdom and worldly wisdom, unbelievers also have religious wisdom and worldly wisdom. As an unbelievers worldly wisdom is superior to his religious wisdom, so a Believers wisdom to comprehend matters pertaining to the Hereafter is superior to his wisdom to comprehend worldly affairs. But this state is not perpetual. The world is transient. The wisdom which is useful in transient affairs could not be more valuable than the wisdom which is useful in continuous, everlasting matters.
[Wisdom and intelligence should not be mistaken for each other. It is an act of intelligence to understand the relationships, the resemblances and the differences between cause and effect. Claparede, a Swiss, defined intelligence as Minds best ability to adjust itself to new requirements and circumstances. That is, it is
a power that helps us adapt ourselves to our surroundings. Single-celled animals are affected by their surroundings and change their states by adjusting themselves to those effects. In arthropoda, which are more developed, instincts join those effects. In vertebrates, these two forces are joined by habits. And in the most developed animals and human beings a new activity, a new attitude for adjusting themselves to their surroundings appears: this is the intelligence. Bergson says, Of the early people, and of the people of every century, the stranded ones made tools in order to adjust themselves to nature, to establish communications between themselves and animals. Those tools were made owing to intellect. As it is seen, making tools, making technical progress, is a symbol of intelligence,
not of wisdom. William Stern, a German psychologist and pedagogue, says, Intelligence means to adjust the thoughts to new conditions of life. That is, it is the power of solving problems, matters. And Terman, an American, says, Intelligence means to think with concrete thoughts. All these definitions show that intelligence is a state of mind which is above instincts and below wisdom. The intellect, which is the executant of wisdom, is developed before wisdom. Owners of wisdom put forward theoretical methods and rules. An intelligent person practises, executes them. But if he is not wise enough, he only uses what he has learned from the owners of wisdom, and cannot reach the necessary and universal principles by himself. In other words, his mind does not function well, and he cannot deduce correctly. The intellect
is the power of thinking. But wisdom is necessary for the thoughts to be correct. An intelligent person needs a number of principles for having correct thoughts. It is wisdom that formulates these principles. Then, it would be incorrect to think that every intelligent person is wise too. An intelligent person can become a great commander. By adapting the methods which he has learned from the wise to new situations of war, he can conquer continents. But, if he has little wisdom, one error may turn his accomplishments into disasters. Obvious examples of this are Napoleons intellectually brilliant military plans and victories, but, on the other hand, there are disasters that were the results of his lack of wisdom. It is written on the pages of history how Napoleon fled from Syria after the defeat he had suffered against
Muslim armies in the era of Sultan Selīm Khan III. If the lions intellect were as strong as the human intellect it would be ten thousand times as dreadful as it is now. Likewise, the more power and intellect an unwise and irreligious
person has the greater will be his danger to society].
Reading these statements with attention will show clearly that wisdom cannot be relied on in every matter, particularly in religious matters, which cannot be measured with wisdom.
Religious matters cannot be built upon wisdom. For, wisdom does not remain in the same state. Every person does not have the same wisdom, and, while a mans wisdom which is not selīm finds what is right occasionally, it errs more often than not. Let alone religious matters, a person who is said to be the wisest makes many mistakes even in the worldly affairs in which he has an expertise. How can wisdom, which is so prone to err, be relied on? How can wisdom be followed in the matters pertaining to the next world, which are continuous and everlasting?
As mens figures and habits are different from one another, so are their wisdoms, natures and knowledge. Something that seems suitable to the wisdom of someone may seem not suitable at all to the wisdom of someone else. Something which is compatible with the nature of one person may not be compatible with the nature of another. Therefore, in religious matters, wisdom cannot be a precise scale or a sound judge. Only, wisdom and the Sharīat together can make up a precise and sound scale and witness. For this reason, Islamic savants said:
Do not commit your faith and īmān to the deductions of human thoughts, and do not adapt them to the conclusions reached by reasoning!
Yes, wisdom is a judge, and shows the right way. But, it is only the wisdom which is selīm, not every wisdom.
In conclusion, since the wisdom which is not selīm errs so often, its denying a fact or finding it unsuitable is of no value. The wisdom which is selīm, which is the wisdom of Prophets, sees clearly that all the religious rules are very suitable and correct. Every word of the Sharīat is very obvious and extremely clear to this wisdom. It does not need any documents or proofs, nor even being warned or advised.
Everything was created by Allāhu taālā. He is the owner of everything. Things which He has permitted us to use are halāl, and things which He has forbidden are harām. For example, He has made it halāl for a man to marry one of two (or more) sisters.
He has made it harām to marry the second one, too[1]. Harām means something which Allāhu taālā, who is the owner, the possessor, has forbidden us to use. And halāl means to untie the knot of prohibition.
Something may be halāl for someone while it is harām for someone else.
A person who commits a harām in the world will be deprived of it in the next world. Those who use the things that are halāl here will be blessed with the originals of these things there. For example, if a man wears silk, which is harām (for men) to wear in this world, he will be deprived of wearing silk in the next world. Silk is an attirement for Paradise. Then, it comes to mean that he cannot enter Paradise unless he is purified of this sin. And a person who does not enter Paradise will enter Hell. For, there is no place besides these two in the next world.
Matters of the next world are not like earthly affairs in any respect. This world was created to be annihilated. And it will be annihilated. The next world was created to remain eternally and in such a manner as to be eternal. There is as much difference between this world and the next with respect to their matters and constitutions as there must be between something that will remain eternally and something else which will be annihilated soon. Only their names and descriptions are similar. For instance, the word Jannat (Paradise) means garden in the world, while in the next world it means the place which is called Jannat and where infinite blessings exist. Jahannam (Hell) means a deep well of fire here, while there, it is a place which is full of torment.
Sir! At the beginning of your letter you say, The īmān which is perfect... When īmān comes into being it is perfect already. For, there cannot be paucity in īmān. Īmān itself cannot be great or small. What is great or small is īmāns brightness, clearness. Īmān itself is:
Without consulting mind, experience or philosophy, to confirm, to believe the facts which hadrat Muhammad, the master of both worlds, communicated as the Prophet. If one confirms them because they are reasonable, one has confirmed mind and
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[1] It goes without saying that this prohibition remains valid as long as the person concerned remains married to one of these girls.
the Messenger together, in which case the Prophet has not been trusted completely. When confidence is incomplete, there is not īmān. For īmān cannot be broken. If a mind finds what the Messenger brought as reasonable, it will be understood that this mind is selīm, perfect.
If, concerning a fact which is to be believed, one consults experimental knowledge and believes it when it is suitable with experiments but disbelieves or doubts it when one cannot prove it through experiments, one has believed experiments, not the Messenger. Such īmān, let alone being perfect, is not īmān itself. For īmān cannot be broken. It cannot be great or small.
If one attempts to measure religious knowledge with philosophy, one has believed the philosopher, not the Prophet. [Yes, mind, philosophical and experimental knowledge are of great help in realizing that Allāhu taālā exists and that Muhammad alaihissalām is Allahs Prophet. But, after believing the Prophet with their help, it is not right to consult mind, philosophy, or experimental knowledge about any of the facts communicated by him. For, as shown by some examples appearing in literature, many of the facts acquired through mind, philosophy and experimentation change in the process of time, and when new ones are found old ones are discarded.] Then:
Īmān is to trust and believe all the commandments which our master Rasūlullah sallallāhu alaihi wa sallam, as the Prophet, brought and conveyed to all people from Allāhu taālā. It is kufr to disbelieve or doubt any of these commandments and teachings. For, to disbelieve or distrust the Messenger means to say that He is a liar. Lying is a fault. A faulty person cannot be a Prophet.
[Īmān means to believe all the facts that are communicated clearly in the Nass, i.e. in Qurān al-kerīm and in the hadīths that are known through ijmā and believed indispensably. Here, Ijma means the consensus of the Sahāba. If something has not been communicated with consensus by the Sahāba, the consensus of the Tābiūn becomes ijmā for that thing. If it has not been explained with consensus by the Tābiūn, either, the consensus of the Taba-i tābiūn becomes ijmā for it. For, the savants and mujtahids of those three centuries are praised in a hadīth-i sherīf. They are called the Salaf-i sālihīn. It is written in the chapter dealing with becoming a Qādī in Ibni Ābidīn that the Sahāba and the Tābiūn and the Taba-i tābiūn are called the Salaf-i sālihīn. It is stated unanimously by the succeeding scholars that hundreds of thousands of hadīths in Bukhārī and Muslīm and in the other four
of six books called the Kutub-i sitta are sahīh. (See Kinds of Hadīth-i sherīfs in the sixth chapter). To be known commonly means to be widespread information that has been heard by the majority of Muslims in every century. Not knowing it is not excusable.
It is written on the hundred and eleventh page of Hadīqa, It is not permissible to do ijtihād in those religious fields that have been communicated through ijmā and which are indispensably believed and practiced. For, those who deny any of them will become a non-Muslim (kāfir). Those who believe them are called Mumin or Muslim. They become the Ummat of Muhammad alaihissalām. The Ummat of Muhammad alaihissalām parted into seventy-three groups. It is permissible to do ijtihād in those fields that are to be believed and practiced and yet which have not been communicated clearly in Qurān al-kerīm or in hadīth-i sherīfs, as well as in those clear ones whose meanings have not been understood through ijmā and indispensably[1]. Of them, to do wrong ijtihād in those matters that are to be believed is a grave sin, though it is not kufr. Seventy-two of the seventy-three groups of Muslims have thus gone wrong, dissented from the right way, and have become holders of bidat. They will go to Hell as a punishment for their faulty credo. But since they are Muslims, they will not remain in Hell eternally, and will be taken out after some torment. The group with correct īmān who do not do wrong ijtihād in those tenets of belief that have not been explained overtly (in Qurān al-kerīm or hadīth-i-sherīfs), are called Ahl as-sunnat. It is not sinful to do wrong ijtihād while finding out whether those acts are halāl or harām which have not been communicated through ijmā or commonly; it is thawāb. In this way the four right Madhhabs parted from one another with respect to acts; these Madhhabs make up (the group called) the Ahl as-sunnat and hold the same
tenets of belief.
It is written in the 36th letter of second volume of Maktūbāt that it is a must to believe an ijmā which is common in the ijtihāds of the four Madhhabs; and those who disbelieve such an ijmā become kāfirs.
Muslims who are in the way of the Salaf-i sālihin rahmatullāhi taālā alaihim ajmaīn are called Ahl as-sunnat. Those heretical
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[1] By indispensable, (darūrī is the word used in the original text), we mean, a tenet of belief or practice which is so obvious that it is believed and practiced commonly by Muslims.
people who are not Sunnī, who reject the learnings that are not clearly communicated in the Nass but which contain the rules deduced by the Sunnī savants, and who claim their own understanding, which they obtain by misinterpreting the Nass, to be the way of the Salaf-i sālihīn, are called Silfiyya or Salafiyya. The bidat termed Silfiyya was first invented by the notorious heretic named Ibni Taymiyya and advocated by Wahhabis. These people maintain that they are in the way of the Sahāba. Deriving wrong and depraved meanings from Qurān al-kerīm and hadīth-i sherīfs, they slander the true Sunnite Muslims. (Please see chap. 36.)
It is declared in a hadīth-i sherīf, Do not say kāfir about the people of Lā ilā-ha il-lal-lah! He who calls them kāfirs becomes a kāfir himself. This hadīth-i sherīf means that when a person of lā ilā-ha il-lal-lah, that is, a person of the qibla, dissents from the right way of Ahl as-sunnat by misinterpreting the unclear Nass in those matters to be believed that have not been communicated through ijmā or commonly, or when he commits another grave sin, he does not become a kāfir. Yet, if a person has dissented from the Ahl as-sunnat and disbelieves one of those religious tenets that are learned commonly through tawātur (consensus), he is not called person of Lā ilā-ha il-lal-lah. Such a person becomes a kāfir. This fact is also written on the three hundred and seventy-seventh page of Ibni Ābidīn. It is written at the end of its second part, He who holds Hadrat Alī superior to the other three Khalīfas is called Shiī. He who curses the Sahāba is called Rāfidī. The Shiī is a person of qibla. But the Rāfidī has become a kāfir. Today, Rāfidīs are also called Kżzżlbash (in Turkey). Shiīs call themselves Jaferī today.
As it is seen, a person of Lā ilā-ha il-lal-lah or a person of the qibla means a person who believes all those religious matters that are known through tawātur (consensus) and is a person who is a Muslim. Such a person does not become a kāfir because of his aberrant belief.
It is written on its hundred and fifty-fourth page, It is not necessary to believe a hadīth-i sherīf communicated by one person, but if its meaning has been communicated through tawātur (consensus), it is necessary to believe the ijmā.
It is written on the sixty-ninth page of the translation of the book Milel-Nihal, Al-imām al-azam Abū Hanīfa and al-imām-ush-Shāfiī said that a person of the qibla cannot be called a kāfir. This statement means that the person of qibla does not become a
kāfir by committing sins. Savants of the seventy-two groups and their followers are Ahl-ul-qibla. Since they erred in the interpretation of the unclear documents in which ijtihād is permissible, they cannot be called disbelievers. Yet, because ijtihād is not permissible in those religious learnings that are indispensable and which have been communicated through tawātur (consensus), he who disbelieves such learnings becomes a kāfir according to the consensus (of savants). For, he who disbelieves them has disbelieved Rasūlullah. Īmān means to believe those commonly known learnings which Rasūlullah brought from Allāhu taālā. It is kufr to disbelieve even one of these learnings. Every word, every action signifying disbelief, even if it is done in a jocular manner or unwillingly, is kufr. If it is done under duress or inadvertently, it is not kufr.
It is written in the preface of the first part of Ibni Ābidīn that philosophy is a Greek word. Formerly its meaning used to be to tell ones thoughts which one accepts as facts, to make them believable through falsely-adorned and exciting words. They are words which are right outwardly; but most of them are wrong. Personal thoughts that are not based upon experimentation or calculation are called philosophy. An example of them is to say that beings were not created from nothing, or that this is the way it has come and so will it go, or that it is retrogression to believe in things to be believed or in those that are halāl or harām. It is written in
Ihyā-ul-ulūm, Ancient Greek Philosophy is not a principal branch of knowledge. There were many mathematicians,-especially those who studied geometry and logic,- biologists and doctors, who had lapsed into philosophy. They spoke according to their own minds and points of view on theology, that is, on Allāhu taālā, on His attributes, on His commandments and prohibitions. However, it is mubāh (permitted) to learn arithmetics, geometry, biology, physics, chemistry and medicine. It is useful to specialize in them. They are necessary for strengthening īmān, for national progress, for ease and comfort, for jihād, and for spreading Islam. They are all Islamic sciences.
But it is philosophy to make these a means for ones corrupt thoughts and to use them in order to deceive youngsters. As it is seen, it is useful, it is thawāb to learn scientific knowledge for serving humanity. It is philosophy, it is harām to learn it for disturbing or troubling people, for annihilating human rights, for exploiting people, for deranging their īmān and morals. In short, it is thawāb to use scientific knowledge for meliorative purposes.
It is sinful to use it as a means of subversion. Sciences that are necessary to learn and those that are prohibited are written in detail in al-Hadīqa. It is appended to the Arabic book Khulāsat-ut-tahqīq fī hukm-it-taqlīd wat-talfīq, which was published in Istanbul.
It is written on the three hundred and seventy-seventh page of the fifth volume of Fatāwā-i Hindiyya that it is fard for everybody to learn the tenets of belief, the tenets to be practised and those to be avoided, and the knowledge of the profession in which he earns his living. To learn more than this is not fard, yet it is good, it is thawāb. He will not be sinful if he does not learn more. Also, it is thawāb to learn the branches of knowledge such as astronomy, which are auxiliary to the branches that are fard. It is harām to learn what is not useful, or to learn for subversive purposes. A person who learns only (the knowledge of) hadīth without learning fiqh goes bankrupt. It is not permissible to learn the knowledge of kalām, that is, the knowledge of īmān, in order to become famous or to obtain a post. It causes the spreading of bidat and fitna. Sadrul-Islām Abul-Yusr says, I have
seen some philosophical information in some books of kalām and tawhīd. Such are the books of Ishāq Kindī Baghdādī and those of Istiqrārī. These people are heretics who have deviated from the true way guided by Islam. [Like todays Wahhabis, they wrote the corrupt thoughts that occurred to their minds in the name of religious knowledge, thus misleading thousands of young people and drifting them to perdition.] They are heretical people who have deviated from the right way shown by Islam. It is not permissible to read such heretical books [before learning the knowledge of Ahl as-sunnat.] Also, books written by votaries of the heretical sect of Mutazila, such as Abdul-Jabbār Rādī, Abū Alī Jubbāī, Kābī, Nezzām Ibrāhīm bin Yesār Basrī and his student Amr Jāhiz Mutazilī teem with the corrupt thoughts of ancient Greek philosophers. Reading such books will be harmful to young people. So are the books of the votaries of the sect called Mujassima, such as Muhammad bin Hīsūm. They are the worst of the groups of bidat. Also, formerly Abul-Hasan-i Asharī wrote many books to spread the belief of Mutazila. After Allāhu taālā guided him to the right way, he spread his books censuring his former ideas. Reading these books will not be harmful to those who can see his errors. The savants of Shāfiī Madhhab derived their knowledge of īmān from the books of Abul Hasan-i Asharī. Abū Muhammad Abdullah bin Saīds
works explaining these books are quite harmless. In short, youngsters should not be allowed to read books written by ancient philosophers. It will be permissible for them to read them after having learned the belief of Ahl as-sunnat. So is the case with the revolutionary writings of Hasan al-Bannā, an Egyptian lā-madhhabī, the founder of the group called Ikhwān-ul-muslimīn, who was killed in 1368 [1949 A.D.], the book Fīzilāl-il-Qurān, which is a misleading interpretation of the Qurān by Sayyid Qutb, and his other works, some books by Muhammad Siddīq Khān, a Wahhābī in India, and books written by Mawdūdī and Hamīdullah, as well as those by Algerian Ibni Bādis, who died in 1359 [1940 A.D.]; these books are all in this same corrupt category. Those who want to learn Islam should not read these heretical books.]
A person who feels uncertain about something conveyed by our religion must say, I believe whatever Allāhu taālā and His Prophet mean by this. He must immediately begin searching for a religious savant to dispel his doubt. He must look for and find an exalted person who is dependable as to his knowledge and loyalty to his faith, who is intelligent and ārif, who avoids the harāms, knows the subtleties within religious knowledge, and is able to solve problems. When the answer he gets from him removes his doubt, he must believe in the way shown. It is fard to look for such an exalted person. One should not leave it to chance, but should begin looking for him as soon as possible. If one cannot find him, or if one cannot get rid of ones doubt though one finds him, one should say, I
believe as Allāhu taālā and His Messenger would like me to believe and should pray, entreat to Allāhu taālā for the resolution of ones doubt. For this reason, it is fard-i kifāya for there to be an exalted person who can solve problems in every city. There has to be a religious savant who can answer philosophers slanders with scientific and philosophical facts, who can tackle the objections raised by sham scientists with scientific methods, who can refute the wrong statements of disbelievers with holy books by disproving the unsound parts of their books, who can extinguish the fire of mischief caused by heretical people such as Shiites, Rāfidīs, Mutazilas and Wahhabis, and who has learned worlds history well, who has strong mathematical knowledge, and who has reached the depths of Islamic knowledge. Islamic
countries used to educate such savants. If there is not one such religious savant, Islam will become a plaything in the hands of the enemies of
religion. They will write religious books as they wish, and thus cause the youth to be brought up irreligiously. The establishment of Islam in a country, and the nations remaining in the right way, depends first of all upon educating religious savants. If there are no religious savants, enemies of Islam will mask themselves as religious men, publish books and magazines, make orations, speeches, preaches, khutbas and lectures, and thus steal away the faith and īmān of the people. Without anyone noticing anything, they will demolish Islam easily and rapidly.
It is stated as follows in the chapter Kerāhiyyat of the book Bezzāziyya: If a person who constantly performs his prayers worries that his belief may be undermined and thinks that he has many sins and that his prayers will not rescue him, this comes to mean that he has a strong belief. Anybody who has doubts about the continuation of his belief becomes a kāfir. If he does not want to fall in such doubts, and dislikes it, this means that he is a Believer. [Ibni Ābidīn, in section Murtad, says: There are five groups of kāfirs: Dahriyya, Sanawiyya, Felāsifa, Wasaniyya and Ahl-i kitāb (People of the Book). The first four kāfirs are without any heavenly books. That is, they do not have any holy book to follow. Brahmins, who are
widespread in India today, and votaries of Buddhism, which was founded by Buddha Gautama (d. 542 B.C.) and was based on a modified Brahminical cult, worship wasanī, that is, idols. In these religions, it has been observed that there is some highly valuable information adapted from the books and statements of some ancient prophet who had lived there. Brahmanism and Buddhism, like Christianity, are corrupted and changed forms of the correct religions communicated by ancient prophets alaihimussalām. Mazhār-i Jān-i Jānān quddisa sirruh states in his forteenth letter: Allāhu taālā, when He created man, sent a book named Bīd and Vidā to India through an angel named Birmīhā [or Brahma]. The book consisted of four sections. Scholars of that time derived six Madhhabs out of this book, and divided people into four groups,
called Jūqs. They all believed that Allāhu taālā is one, that He created man, in the rising day, in heaven and hell and in sufism. Years later, other prophets were sent. We do not have information about those prophets in our books. In the course of time, people subverted their religion. In memory of their prophets, souls of Awliyā and angels, they made sculptures, icons. To benefit from them, they prostrated themselves (made sajda) before those idols. [Yet they are not polytheists. They are Ahl-i-kitāb, that is, disbelievers with a
heavenly book]. The idolaters in Saudī Arabia [and Christians] are unlike them. They believe in idols as the creator. They make sajda to idols and call them their God. [This makes them polytheists]. But Brahmins are doing so only with the intention of showing their respect and gratitude. Thus, corrupt Brahmins who lived before Muhammad alaihi s-salām cannot be called kafīrs. But, today everybody living in any place on earth has to believe in Muhammad alaihi s-salām and become a Muslim. Today, anybody who is not a Muslim is called a kāfir. [Sikhs, in India, are disbelievers adherent to a sect founded by a Hindu named Baba Nanek (d. 400 [A.D. 1539]) by mixing Islam and Brahminism with each other. Sayyid Sherīf-i Jurjānī says in the third chapter of the final part of Sharh-i mawāqif: A person who disbelieves the fact that Muhammad alaihissalām is the Prophet of Allah becomes a kāfir. Of such people, Jews, Christians, Brahmins and Buddhists believe in different Prophets, salawātullāhi taālā wa taslīmātuhu alaihim ajmaīn. They read the heavenly books that were revealed to those prophets and which were interpolated in process of time. Hence these disbelievers are to be called Ahl-i-kitāb. Those who do not believe other prophets, either, are polytheists, even if they believe the existence of a creator. As for the Dahriyya (materialists); they do not believe in Allāhu taālā, either. They say that everything comes into existence through natural forces, and that there is no creator, and that things change themselves in process of dahr (time). Magians are among the Sanawiyya (mentioned above). They believe in two gods, and polytheists and idolaters believe in many gods. All of them are disbelievers without a heavenly book. For, they do not believe in any of the Prophets, and they do not read any heavenly books. Communists and Masons are irreligious, godless
unbelievers and they are grouped with the Dahriyya. Brahmins, Buddhists, Jews and Christians, who are theoretically among the People of the Book (Ahl-i-kitāb), become polytheists (mushriks) with time. Today the earth carries only one unchanged, true religion: Islam, which was brought by Muhammad alaihissalām. Allāhu taālā has promised that this religion shall remain pristine and true until the end of the world.
Respecting, honouring or cherishing a human picture or statue means putting it at a high place, standing towards it, bowing before it, prostrating oneself before it, lauding it, or supplicating it. And this, in its turn, may be done for two reasons:
1 - You may be respecting a picture because you believe that it
belongs to your father or teacher or commander or a prophet or a Walī or someone who has served your religion or nation. In this case you do not divinize the owner of the picture; in other words, you do not believe that he possesses one of the attributes belonging to Allāhu taālā. You know him as a creature. Imitating others, you respect the picture to show your love for the owner of the picture or to please him. A person who shows this kind of respect does not become a disbeliever. Only, he has committed a harām. However, he who denies the fact that it is harām becomes a disbeliever. On the other hand, paying respect to a disbelievers picture is kufr (disbelief).
2 - It is kufr to respect an icon or a cross or a star or the sun or a cow by deifying it or the person it represents, that is, believing that it is capable of creating whatever it likes and doing whatever it chooses, and curing, for instance, any kind of disease. It is polytheism, and a person who holds this belief becomes a polytheist. His respecting becomes worshipping. And the picture or the icon or whatsoever he respects becomes a pagan deity. Christians become polytheists because they say that Jesus is the son of God and angels are His daughters and worship icons and statues of boys and girls. Adherents of Barnabass sect and Arians, who do not hold this heretical belief, are not polytheists. They are among the Ahl-i-kitāb. However, since they deny Muhammad alaihis-salām they
are disbelievers.]
The fifth of the six fundamentals of īmān is to believe in qadā and qadar. Qadā and qadar is the knowledge about which the intelligent are confused the most. These confusions arise from not comprehending qadā and qadar well. If what qadar means is comprehended well, no intelligent person will doubt it any more, and will have a firm īmān.
The Creator of all classes of beings knows all the things which He has created and will create, from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, all from motes to the Arsh, material and immaterial ones alike. He knows them altogether and at the same time. He knew all of them before creating them. Everything has two kinds of existence. One of them is its existence in knowledge; and the other is its material existence in the outside. Al-imām al-Ghazālī explains this with the following example: A civil engineer first plans in his mind the shape and all the particulars of the
building he is going to construct. Then he draws this plan on paper, and gives the project to the foremen. They construct the building according to the plan. The plan on paper is the buildings existence in knowledge, and has the shape and form as envisaged before. This is called (existence in knowledge, or in mind, or in imagination). And the building which is made of lumber, stones, mortar and bricks is its existence in the outside. The shape which the architect forms in his mind, that is, his knowledge about its shape, is his qadar of the building.
Because the knowledge of qadā and qadar is intricate, reading about it may evoke some wrong ideas, delusions and fancies. For this reason, our superiors explained qadā and qadar in several ways. Thus, those who read or listen will utilize one of the definitions according to the course and manner of the words, and will be secure against doubt.
Qadar is Allāhu taālās knowing in the eternal past the things that will be created afterwards.
Allāhu taālā creates everything with His power and knowledge. This knowledge is qadar.
Qadar is the relationship between Allāhu taālās attribute knowledge and creatures before anything was created. The thirteenth letter by Mazhār-i Jān-i Jānān explains the knowledge of qadā and qadar very well. See the final paragraph of the thirty-fifth (35) chapter in the third fascicle of Endless Bliss!
The Ahl as-sunnat wal-jamāat believed in qadar, and said that it is a principle of īmān. In other words, they said that he who disbelieves in qadar is not a Believer.
Qadar is always from Allāhu taālā, whether it is good or bad, sweet or dismal. For, qadar means to create what one knows.
[The words qadar and qadā are used interchangeably. Qadā is used instead of qadar].
Great savant Al-imām-ul-Baghawī says, The knowledge of qadā and qadar is one of the secrets which Allāhu taālā has hidden from His slaves. He has not disclosed this knowledge to the closest angels, nor even to Prophets alaihimussalām who are owners of Sharīats! This knowledge is a great ocean. No one is permitted to dive into this ocean, or to talk about qadar. We must know thus far: Allāhu taālā creates human beings. Some of them are shaqī, and will remain in Hell. Others are saīd, and will enter Paradise. When a person asked hadrat Alī radiyallāhu anh about qadar, he said, It is a dark way. Do not walk on this way! When
he was asked again, he said, It is a deep sea. He was asked again. This time he said: Qadar is Allāhu taālās secret. He has hidden this knowledge from you.