nature in hujjat allah al-balighah

498 Pages·2012·47.63 MB·English

THE CONCEPT OF NATURE IN HUJJAT ALLAH AL-BALIGHAH
~~
And
Its Relation to Shah Waliullah1s Doctrine of Fiqh
by
Sabih Ahmad Kamali
A thesis subrnitted to the Faculty of
Graduate Studies and Research in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Institute of Islamic Studies,
McGill University,
Montreal. April 1959
CONTENTS
PREFACE
CHAPTER I
THE MORAL AGENT
1. Elements of Character 1
A- The Intellect, the Heart and the
Soul
a- Preliminary Remarks
b- How are the Elements of Cha-
racter classified? 3
B- The Directions 16
a- Spirit and Mystery
b- the Angel and the Beast 26
c- the Veils 35
2. Moral Types 45
A- The First Scheme
a- Pre. Rem.
b- Sorne General Considerat ions 46
c- Between God's Two Fingers 51
B- The Second Scheme 62
a- General Rem.
b- the Details 63
c- the Development of Belief 67
3. Summary and Review 86
CHAPTER II
THE HISTORICAL AGGREGATE OF VIRTUE
1. The First Irtifaq 93
A- Intro.
a- Pre. Rem.
b- the Beginnings 94
B- The Satisfaction of the Primary
Needs 98
a- Definitions
b- Food and Clothes and Shelter lOO
c- Marriage 101
d- Language
e- Gen. Characteristics 103
2. The Second Irtifaq 105
A- Methods of Livelihood
a- Intro.
b- the Details 108
B- Management of the Family 112
a- the Husband and the Wife
b- the Master and the Slave 116
C- Contractual Dealings 122
a- Exchange, Collaboration
and w·ork for Gain
b- Emergent Imperatives 128
c- Concluding Rem. 129
3. The Third Irtifaq 133
A- The City
a- Pre. Rem.
b- the Consequences of Division 136
c- Politics -- High and Or-
dinary 144
d- tne Definition of Civic Or
ganization
B- The Imamat 149
a- Inauguration
b- Policy 151
c- Relations 155
C- The Political Offices 160
a- Pre. Rem.
b- the Judicial Process 162
c- the Police Force 170
d- the Mutawalli or the Naqib 171
e- the Defence of the City 173
f- Religious or Moral Instruction 177
4. The Fourth Irtifaq 181
A- Pre. Rem.
B- A Powerful and Irresistible Conqueror 182
C- the Khalifah al-Khulafa 184
D- the Supreme Caliph 185
E- Concluding Rem. 187
CHAPTER III
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY
A- Theoretical Foundations 189
a- Pre. Rem.
b- the Phenomenon of Spirit 191
c- Mechanism versus Meaning 200
The Historical Process 220
~
a- the Historica1 Event
b- Concluding Rem.
~2
CHAPTER IV
THE RATIONALE OF FIQH
1. History in Concreto 233
A- The Religious Communities
a- Pre. Rem.
b- the Pioneers and the Reformers 231.t
c- Millah al-Islam 253
B- The Islamic Sciences 306
a- Pre. Rem.
b- Kalam 307
c- Fiqh 312
d- Tasawwuf 369
2. The Shari'ah 38l.t
A- Methods of Inquiry
a- Pre. Rem.
b- the Place of the Shari'ah
c- Realization of Waliullah1s
Plan 390
B- Classification and Arrangement of
the Material 395
a- Pre. Rem.
b- the Many-dided Plain Man 396
c- the Inner Differentiation 397
C_ The Life of the Shari'ah 4o3
a- Pre. Rem.
b- the Reed and the Winds
CHAPTER V
üUTLINES OF THE WORLD OF UMM AL-KITAB
1. L"TatbiqJ
2. Religion and Morality l.r27
A- The First Irtifaq
a- a Pointer to the Beginner, a
Reminder to the Accomplished
b- the Emergent Obligations
c- Necessity l.r30
d- Source of Necessity l.r33
e- the Universal Teachings l.r37
f- Concluding Remarks l.rl.r2
B- The Second Irtifaq l.rl.r5
a- the Judgments upon Humanity
b- the Structure l.rl.r6
c- the Obligations 448
d- the Family l.r51
e- the Equlibrium of Obligations l.r52
f- Slavery l.r6o
C- Concluding Remarks l.r67
3. Law ~70
A- The General Theory
B- CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
P R E F A C E
This thesis represents an attempt to answer the
question: How full and real is the relationship between
Theory and Tradition in Waliullah's thoueht? In its actual
formulation, this question has been related to the
~ujjat;
for that work not only shows Waliullah1s tatbigat (synthe
ses)at their best, but also creates the proper atmosphere
in which any such endeavour could be made.
The study of the two principal elements of the
~ujjat has involved not only an extensive use of Waliullah1s
other writings, but also an analytical reconstruction of the
rational order of the Waliullahi system. The first chapter
in this work is devoted to Psychology, Ethics and Theo-
logy. The second presents Waliullah1s account of the
development of the social, legal and political institu-
tions. The third makes an attempt to translate Wali-
ullah1s Mystical cosmology into the language of Philosophy
--- i.e. the philosophy of History. The fourth summarizes
Waliullah's treatment of the historical development of
Prophecy, the Islamic sciences (Kalam, Hadith, Fiqh, Ta~aw­
~), and the Shari'ah. Finally, the fifth chapter is
largely devoted to the deduction of the principles of
1
Religion, Morali ty and Law from vlaliullah s theory of
the Irtifagat.
In concrete terms, this scheme includes (among
other things) such important topics of inquiry Cinto Wali
.
ullah1s system) as Wahdat al-WuJÜd and Wahdat al-ShuhUd
.
(IV), Khilafat (IV), Civilization (II), the Moral Types
( I) , and the <Al am al-Mi thal (III).
A reference can be made here to two unfulfilled pro
jects which even in their incompleteness have had a deci-
sive effect on the present work. First, it was my ori-
ginal intention to supplement this work with a takhrij
of the ahadith in the HuJjat. Later on, however, I came
• a
to the concusion that the material I had collected could
more properly be incorporated into a (foreseeable) study
of the text of the Secondly, I had started with
~ujjat.
1
the assumption that Ghazali s I~ya is the proto-type of
a work like the H. ujJat. But it was soon discovered that
the difference between the two great books is momentous
and far-reaching, and that the whole subject might be
discussed in its own right, or should not be introduced
at all. However, the notes and the ideas developed on
the two projects have found their way into the present
work.
My thanks are due to Prof. H. A. R. Gibb (Harvard)
whose personal copy of Dr. A.J. Halepota• s (incompletely
published) Philosophy of Shah Waliullah was made available
to me in March, 1959.
.....:.
Chapter I
1
THE MORAL. AGENT
(. 1 )
Elements of Character
A- The Intellect, the Heart and the Soul
(a) Preliminary Remarks
The chapter in the Hujjat
(II, 88ff.) which discusses the se three ("rare"·) things pre
sents an elaborate exposition of the author's psychological
doctrine. The rare triad is introduced there as a prolego-
menon to the problems of Character and Action. We must, there-
fore, make it clear that in the author's usage, the three rare
things are not elements of Character, but that whatever elements
of this kind may be discovered subsequently will always be
describable by reference to them.
One more clarification, before we begin this study.
1 Unless indicated otherwise, all the figures enclosed in round
brackets in the text of this chapter refer to Hujjat Allah •••
1
Ch.l -2-
If we say that certain elements are describable by reference
to the Intellect, the Heart and the Soul, does it not follow,
and would it not be more convenient to say that those elements
are intellectual or cardiac or psychic? Such an inference may
be defended, but we must also consider some other difficulties
which are bound to follow. Thus, as far as the word 'intel-
lectual' is concerned, we may retain it (and may also use the
1
forms which are derived from it, such as 1intellectualism
1 1
or 'intellectuality' or intellectualization )., because Wali
ullah1s understanding of the Intellect is not different from
the sense (or senses) this word has in the English language.
But when we come to •cardiac•, difficulties arise from Wali
ullah1 s distinction between the two senses of the word 'heart •·
--- viz. first, as one of the three Chief Organs; and secondly,
as one of the three rare things. We are going to use •·cardiac
t
as an adjective from the former, and 'cordial' from the lat
1
ter. Thus, on Waliullah 's principles, it would be accurate
to say that the heart is the seat of Cordiality, as the brain
is the seat of the Intellect. Finally, when we come to the
word 'psychic '·, we shall see that Waliullah •· s interpretations
are quite foreign to the modern English usage. For in a sin-
gle chapter (II, 88ff.), he has taken the following positions
2
in his explanation of the Soult
2 To these add the fact that once he has used a masculine
pronoun for al-Nafs (loc. cit.,))