Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Alhassanain (p) Network for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Seeking the Straight Path: Reflections of a New Muslim

Common challenges and issues faced byconverts,the reasoning behind conversion, analysis from a Western view of many controversial or misunderstood topics in Islam, and basic information needed by new converts. Spanish translation is also available.

Author(s): DianaMasooma Beatty

Publisher(s): World Islamic Network (WIN)

www.alhassanain.org/english

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

How Could Everyone I Have Ever Known Be Wrong? 5

Is It Good To Be A Muslim? 16

The One Who Sticks Around is a Blessing 22

How Can You Believe In That? 26

Marriage 26

Women in Marriage 26

Finding a Mate 27

Polygamy 29

Temporary Marriage 30

The Sexes 36

Islamic Modest Dress 37

Mixing of the Sexes 39

Treating Women Differently in the Law 41

Division Among Muslims 44

Jihad 50

Ritualism 51

Conclusion 53

A Brief Prayer 54

A Short Reading List 55

Appendix: If You Decide To Convert 56

Prayer 57

Fasting 60

Pilgrimage 60

Zakat and Khums 60

Jihad 61

Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil 61

Tawalla and Tabarra 61

A Brief Glossary 63

Introduction

It is a long time now that I have wanted to write regarding my conversion to Islam. My problem has been that I did not know what to write or how to write it. One of my main concerns now is that I want to write something that is of value to someone other than me.

I can remember a few times when I was asked to speak at amasjid and I was a little bit horrified, because I had come to learn from the people there and, in turn, they wanted to learn from me. What could I say that they didn’t already know or that would be of use to them? Whenever I’ve asked myself that, the answer has always been that I could speak only of my own experiences. Well, it seems arrogant to think that other people would want to listen to me talk about myself. But, perhaps there is some value in the tale of the experience of someone who chose to become Muslim.

In the past, I have written a few very brief accounts of how I came to be Muslim and I got tremendous feedback. People wrote to me who were investigating Islam and could relate to my story or wanted information. Other people who wrote to me were born Muslim and had found inspiration in the stories of converts. I have really enjoyed meeting so many people through those brief accounts. It made me realize that something in my story must be of value to other people, so that by telling my story I may be able to improve someone’s situation.

Therefore, I begin this work in the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful, and I ask His help in making this a work that has value and that will benefit others.

Diana (Masooma ) Beatty

Note: Throughout the text, “swt ” is written to meansubhanahu wa ta’aala , which in the way I have remembered means “Most Glorious Most High”, and is written whenever the name of God appears. Also, “saw” is written to mean “Peacebe upon him and his family”, and appears always after the mention of the Prophet of Islam. Lastly, “as” or “sa ” is written to mean “Peace be upon him/her/them”. To a non-Muslim reader this may seem strange, but it is not meant to be a mystical thing. It is something like Islamic etiquette to use them, and many Muslims believe it is obligatory. I use both the words God and Allah in this text. “Allah” is simply the Arabic word for the One God, and it is used by all Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews.

The translations of Qur’an used are byPickthall and Yusuf Ali, and the version of the Bible used is NIV.

I humbly dedicate whatever is good in this work to Imam-e-Zamana (as), may Allah (swt ) hasten his reappearance.

How Could Everyone I Have Ever Known Be Wrong?

As a child growing up in America, my education about Islam was very poor. There were one or two times when Islam was presented briefly in a history book at school. What I remember from those readings is that Muslims had a god called Allah and a warlike prophet named Muhammad and that they prayed and dressed strangely and, finally, that Islam was an Arab religion.

I guess that the rest of my education about Islam came from the media. Islam was exotic, backward and evil. Muslims were uneducated, led by tyrant rulers, and were cruel. Some of them thought it were good to blow up babies on airplanes and to beat women and treat them like property.

I did not understand that there was any relationship between Islam and Christianity or Judaism. As far as I knew, Christianity and Judaism were the only two religions that dealt with the One God, the God of Moses and Abraham (as). Islam was bunched with all the other religions like Buddhism and Hinduism.

There was not much out there to make me want to learn about Islam. I was sure that Christianity held the Truth, and had no inclination to look at other religions, especially not one that was so obviously evil. In those days, I could actually believe that an entire nation of people was evil at heart, and that we (meaning the West, or America) were surely the good guys. After all, how could everyone I had ever known be wrong?

An obvious question, then, is what made me finally look at Islam. In order to answer that fairly, it is necessary to first briefly explain my religious life prior to that point. Mostly everyone I knew believed in God and that Jesus (as) had died for our sins. Often, it didn’t go much beyond that. People I knew had religious belief and tried to be moral people, but they did not associate with a particular church or do anything outlandishly different in their lives that marked them as religious. Spirituality and religion were not the stuff of conversations. God was not talked about at home or at school. Religion was a private thing between the individual and God.

When I was little I was sent to a few Sunday Schools to gain a basic acquaintance with religion. My parents very rarely went to church but rather dropped my brother andI off at the Sunday School and then picked us up when it was over. By the time I was in second or third grade our religious training was over.

That was enough for me until I got to junior high school. Perhaps it was then that I began to realize that the world was not a fair place and question what was going on around me. I went through periods of depression and low self-esteem. During this time, I began to question religion. Where was the scientific proof of God? If He existed, why was He hidden from us? Why did He allow bad things to happen? What made somethingright, and another thing wrong? Did the universe and life on Earth come about as a course of purely random events without a Creator? Why did I exist?

For awhile I nearly convinced myself that God did not exist, but rather that He was a fantasy created by humans. However, when I got into high school I was searching for God again. I became very serious about Christianity. I joined the Fellowship for Christian Athletes and I read the Bible regularly. I found a magazine called The Plain Truth advertised on a religious TV show and published by the Worldwide Church of God, and I became interested in that particular church.

This group took the Bible literally. They did not celebrate Christmas because it was not in the Bible. They did not celebrate birthdays, they did not eat pork, and they observed the same holidays that Jesus (as) was recorded as observing in the Bible. They kept the Sabbath on Saturday based on what was written in the Bible. I was strongly attracted to this group because it took God seriously, and it took the Bible seriously. It did not regard religion as just a feel-good thing like so many groups seemed to be doing. They seemed more logical than other groups, and they were making religion a daily part of life instead of an occasional one. The idea of religion as a way of life appealed to me. I knew that God had something in mind when He made us, and I believed that there ought to be a best way, or a most-correct way of doing everything. So when I found this church, I was attracted. Yet, I never went to their meetings because I thought my family would not approve of me getting involved with such a radical group (one that I later learned is often considered a cult) especially while I was in high school. I put it in my mind that when I got older I would investigate the group more closely.

In my freshman year of college I joined a Bible study group sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ. And, I finally went to the Church of God after meeting someone at school who belonged to the church. They were very nice people and very welcoming. However, after one visit I knew that church was not what I was looking for. My host was telling me how the church was in a state of chaos because of a major division among the national leaders. It was splitting into two churches; one group cleaving off because they felt the original church had become corrupted. This man and his family were at odds to decide which side of the fence they were on. Which of the two factions held the Truth?

After hearing himspeak , I was disappointed. I felt this group was closer to the Truth that I was looking for, but probably neither of the two factions had it right. After all, they all were just humans and were not gifted with perfect judgment. I wanted whatever it was that God had originally sent and that was truly intended for us; not something concocted by men. Not even by men with good intentions. So, I never went back.

I had resigned myself to being one of those many religious people without a church because I was convinced that all churches were flawed. After all, they were all man-made. In my Bible study group, I often felt uncomfortable. The other members seemed to have much greater joy in their faith. When we would study a Bible verse, they had so many different interpretations and they always seemed to see the verses differently than me. I wondered what I was doing wrong and why things did not make sense to me like it did to everyone else, but I was still very devout. My friends talked about inviting Jesus (as) to live in theirhearts, and that when they did, he came in and their lives were changed forever. I had made that invitation many times, but my life never changed forever. I had done it when I had gone to church with friends, I had done it when I watched the preachers on TV, and I had done it on my own time. What did they mean by saying that he lived in their hearts? Were they really changed so much by the experience, and if so, why hadn’t I been? It wasn’t due to lack of sincerity, at least.

As I pondered these questions, my life began to change around me. That year, I met a Muslim. When I met him, I didn’t know he was Muslim or even that he was an Arab. In time, we became acquainted, and I learned that he was a Muslim; I didn’t really know what that meant but it made me worried about him because I had been taught that unless he believed Jesus (as) died for his sins, he would go to hell. At least that is what everyone in my Bible study said.

Could it be true that this guy would go to hell simply for not believing Jesus (as) died for his sins, when in every other way he was more pious and more humble before God than anyone I’d ever met? It did not seem right. I told him about my fears and he was very concerned for me instead of for himself. I even talked him into going to one of the Campus Crusade meetings with me. That amazes me more today than it did then because now I think of the name of the group – Campus Crusade – and realize how offensive it really is. However, the meetings were not so bad; we sang or listened to religious songs, had a guest speaker and met with my Bible study leader.

I was hoping to save my friend, and at the same time I wanted the Bible study leader to meet him because I really needed help to clear my confusion. I had questions after I’d picked up a translation of the Qur’an and was surprised by what I read. It talked about the very same God of the Bible, the Onewhose Truth I was seeking. It talked about the prophets (sa ) I already knew, but it did not describe them as adulterers and those who commit incest and other lewdness like the Bible did.

“We believe in Allah (the One True God) and that which is revealed unto us, and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them.” (Qur’an, 2:136)

The only major thing that really bothered me about the Qur’an was what it said about Jesus (as).But why? How did I know what I knew about him -- that Jesus was in a three-part God and that he died for our sins? I went back to the Bible and looked for those beliefs that were so important to Christianity. I knew I had read them a hundred times so they ought to have been easy to find, but they weren’t! I could find verses that seemed to say those things, but they weren’t very clear. And other verses seemed to say the opposite. Why, I pondered, if this belief that Jesus is God and that he died for our sins -- why if it is the most essential thing to believe, is it not absolutely clear?

I asked my Bible study friends, “Where does it say this?” They would direct me to a verse and I would read it and I found that most of the time it did not clearly say what I had asked for, but was open to interpretation. Mark 10:18 reads,“ Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered, “No one is good – except God alone.” That verse clearly seemed to indicate that Jesus was not God. Other verses were interpreted by my friends to indicate that he was God, although he never came right out and said, “I am God.”

Some Christians would say that while Jesus was on Earth, he lived as a man but was still God or a part or form thereof, yet being in the flesh made him fully human, facing all the trials and temptations of human life. I didn’t get it. I’d never really gotten it before, either, but I had taken for granted that it was true anyway. I could not explain to myself, nor could anyone else explain to me, how God could be a single God and yet have three independent parts or forms. I could not understand why the death of a sinless individual was necessary for forgiveness of sins. Is not God all-powerful?

Many Christians say that God is beyond our comprehension. He does not have to make sense. I ultimately decided that I couldn’t accept that, because then religion becomes purely a matter of faith without any room for reason. A book claiming to be the Word of God could say absolutely anything about Him, and no matter how ludicrous it was we could not reject it if God doesn’t have to make sense. No, I realized, in order for us to be able to tell right guidance from falsehood, God must make sense in terms of human reason.

I approached my Bible study leader to talk about my questions. I had learned that he had worked as a missionary to Muslims in Algeria. So, I figured he would be able to help me understand the Qur’an, the Bible and the fate of my Muslim friend. When I questioned him, he told me straight away that my friend would go to hell. He told me that the Qur’an was similar to the Bible because it was Satan’s trickery, and something which appears close to the Bible is a better trick! Then, when I tried to ask him a specific question about what the Qur’an said about Jesus (as), he told me he had never read the Qur’an because when he tried it made him ill. When he said that last thing, I was astounded, in tears, and got out of that room as fast as I could.

How could he sit there and tell me the Qur’an was Satan’s trickery when he himself had not read it? What kind of person does missionary work to Muslims and does not bother to read the book of the Muslims? A voice in my head screamed “He could not know! He cannot be trusted!” I believed that God would not deceive those who read the book of another religion, as long as they were seeking Truth. But he apparently believed differently than me. My Bible study leader was only repeating what he had been told, or else he was making it up as he went along. I was so angry then, at him, and at all the church leaders who had treated Islam as an absolute evil and yet they were more ignorant of Islam than a college girl who’d picked up a Qur’an translation at the corner bookstore.

And now I was deathly afraid. I was afraid because I could not trust those people anymore. It was up to me, and only me, to decide what I found to be true and what I found to be falsehood. No one could help me. I felt a tremendous burden on my shoulders. And I was terrified of making the wrong choice and spending eternity in hell because of it. I pleaded with God to be a God who does not misguide one who seeks the Truth, to be a God who could forgive one who has doubts and looks around for the answers, and to be a God who would protect me from making the wrong choice.

I didn’t know where to begin, so I began with the Bible and Qur’an, and a few books of early Christian history. I learned much in reading the early Christian history books and wondered why I’d never heard any of it before. The beginnings of the religion were anything but unified and clear. Some early Christians believed Jesus (as) was God, others did not. Their practices and beliefs varied much more greatly than those of Christians today.

The New Testament was not written until at least a generation after Jesus’ (as) apparent death, and was written by many people. Their stories often conflicted with each other, and there were hundreds of gospels out there. It was only at the Council of Nicaea, more than three centuries after the time of Christ that the New Testament as we know it today began to take shape. The Council picked four out of the hundreds of gospels that coincided with the Roman Emperor’s belief and made them the official belief. The others were burned and destroyed, and those who were found in possession of them were killed. Since then, most of the other gospels have disappeared and the four official gospels have modestly changed from time to time. Some versions of the gospels contain verses that others do not, and of course some Bibles have entire books that others do not. There is no “original” Bible in order to verify there have not been changes. There are old manuscripts, but no definitive “real” Bible.

To some people that is not a problem, but for me it was fast becoming a problem. The modern Christian belief seemed to me to be comprised of something of God’s message but also a lot of conjecture or interpretation of phrases that are not totally clear. And it seemed to be the conjecture parts that determined whether or not one went to hell! Where does clearly Jesus (as) say that he will die for our sins and that belief in that is compulsory? It is mere conjecture that the phrase “Son of God” that is used so often in the Bible attests to Jesus’ (as) divinity. In fact, the people who lived at the time of Jesus (as) did not take it to mean that at all. According to leading Biblical historians, the phrase “Son of God” did not mean something divine to the writers of the Bible or those who witnessed Jesus (as). It indicated a fully human being and was regularly used as a title for Jewish holy men.

King David is referred to as a son of God in 2 Samuel 7:14:

“I [God] will be his father and he [David] will be my son.”

Job 1:6 and 2:7 in the NIV version of the Bible mention angels, with a footnote that the Hebrew word translated as angels actually means “sons of God”.

“One day the angels [sons of God in footnote] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan [accuser in footnote] also came with them.”

“On another day the angels [sons of God] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him.”

In Hosea 11:1, God calls all of Israel His son

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”

The use of capitals when calling Jesus (as) by that title is a choice of the translators and is not indicated in the original Greek or Hebrew.

It is also conjecture that Jesus (as) was the only Messiah, or that the title “Messiah” has something to do with a return at the end time or status as a savior. Messiah and Christ both mean, “anointed one”. Anointed ones were the leaders of Israel, anointed in an ancient version of an inauguration ceremony. In 1 Samuel 10:1 it says,

“Then Samuel took a flask of oil and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed your leader over his inheritance?”

The Hebrew root for anointed here is the very same that is translated as Christ and Messiah in the New Testament.

In truth, Jesus (as) never asked or commanded people to pray to him or to worship him. He told people to pray to God and to worship God. Yet, how many Christians today pray to and worship God by name? It is far more common that their prayer begins, “Dear Jesus” than “Dear God”. A sincere Christian would do well to obey Jesus (as) and change his/her prayers to be directed at “God” rather than “Jesus”.

Some things that are commonplace in Christian belief and practice today do not have their origins in Jesus’ (as) teachings, but rather in a vote by church authorities or papal decree. This of course includes the celebrations of Christmas and Easter, as well as definition of the Trinity, and permission to pray to the Mother of Jesus, Mary. The word “trinity” does not exist in the Bible and yet it is an essential belief of Christians. The trinity concept was invented by church leaders to explain their beliefs; and even today the church leaders have votes and decrees over the natures and functions of the different parts of their Godhead. The faithful Christians trust that their leaders are God-inspired and that the authors of the Bible were as well.

Most of the faithful believe that if they find the Bible unclear it is because they, being human, possess limited understanding. God, they say again, does not need to make sense. Or, if they find an apparent contradiction in the Bible, it is because it is not the details that matter, but the overall message of what is written. There are thousands of examples of apparent contradiction within the Bible. Many of those involve records of how many people were at a place or who exactly was there. If one account of an event says that there were 100 men there, and another says that there was 1000, the faithful Christians say that this does not change the overall meaning of the passage. That may be true, but why do the passages not agree? God surely knows what happened, so why couldn’t the Bible get it right if it is indeed His book? Maybe a monk or priest when transcribing the Bible made a mistake that stuck. Or maybe he thought he was correcting a mistake that a previous transcriber had made. Or maybe he thought a larger number made a better story.

In my experience, many Christians believe that either these errors are not errors but only seem to be to our limited faculties, or else they are errors but are very minor and that God has protected the “important” part of His message in the Bible. However, I contend that any contradiction or error is important because it indicates the work of men rather than the work of God. When one mistake is found, how can we be confident that another mistake that does indeed change the meaning of the text has not occurred? For Christians, that is simply a matter of faith. But should it be?

As an example of what I’ve been talking about, I provide the NIV translation of the story of Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus (as), as it is recorded in three of the gospels:

Matthew 28:1-7

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. Butgo, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as I told you.’”

Luke 24:1-12

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee. ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

These are three accounts of the same event, obviously. This event is very important to the belief that Jesus (as) was crucified and raised to life after having died for the sins of all mankind. It establishes witnesses to the absence of Jesus’ (as) body after an appointed time, and holds testimony that he had come back to life as promised. But these accounts differ considerably in the details as to what actually happened. Take a minute to examine the three passages and try to answer the following questions: Who went to the tomb with Mary Magdalene? How many went altogether? Were the guards there or not? How many beings did the women encounter at the tomb, and were they men or angels? Did Peter go to the tomb or not? What did the being(s) say to the women? Did the women prostrate themselves before the being(s) or not? Where were the being(s), and did they come as the women watched or were they already there? Was the stone rolled away as they watched, or was it already rolled away when they arrived?

If these were from the unaltered Word of God, there should be no contradictions between these three accounts. One might leave out a detail that another has included, but there should be no disagreement as to who was there, what they saw, or what they heard. Eyewitness accounts can have conflicting results, as can stories told over and over and not written down until a generation or two later -- but not the Word of God. If we cannot accurately establish what happened, then what must one believe? It is not unlikely that something did happen that led to the existence of this story, but we simply do not have the means to determine what really happened. One of these accounts may be true while the others are false, or all may be false, and that is the full extent of what we can say about it.

I have given but one example of the difficulties in the Bible, but there are many, many more. The Bible is simply unclear and self-contradictory, and further it is in contradiction with established science. I do not wish to spend too much time on the Bible’s problems with science because they are rather commonly known and readily apparent even to a casual reader. For example it is well known that using evidence in the Bible, the Earth is less than 6000 years old. Staunch believers of the Bible hold this to be true even today and claim that scientific evidence dating human remains back at least ten thousand years and dating rock back at least 4.5 billion years is a deception of Satan.

For years, I had believed I could not understand the Bible because something was wrong with me or because it had just not been made understandable by God’swill . But after comparing it to the Qur’an, I understood that it is okay to expect logic and clarity in the Word of God. I realized that the Bible itself is flawed.

I could not satisfy myself with believing in something that relied on a flawed book. If I wanted to find God’s Truth from the Bible, how could I do it? How could I know which, if any, of the three accounts I related earlier are factual? If I could not determine which of those to trust, how could I decide about the rest of what those three authors wrote? How could I trust anything in the Bible at all when I could not determine what was man-made and what was God-made? And, now the big question, without the Bible to rely on, where does Christianity find itself?

But that is only half the story. I had concluded that Christianity was flawed, but I had not determined that Islam was not flawed also. I had to examine the Qur’an with the same scrutiny that I had applied to the Bible.

So, I asked, “Where does the Qur’an contradict itself? Where does it contradict known science?” After months of searching, I realized the answer to both questions is that it simply does not. It is superior to the Bible in this regard and thus presents itself as more trustworthy. Further, it contains scientific data that were completely unknown to man when it was revealed. The fact that bees’ honey comes from their stomachs is a modern scientific discovery, yet it is in the Qur’an (16:49) that was revealed in the 7th century CE. The manner in which a baby forms in the womb is a discovery of this century, and yet it is explained accurately in the Qur’an in several places (22:05, 23:14, 40:67, 75:38, and 96:02). I found in Qur’an the original, true religion that God sent to mankind and am to this day still wonderstruck at the Mercy and guidance of Allah (swt ).

“Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in faith, and bowed his will to God’s (which is Islam), and he joined not gods with God.” Qur’an 3:67

What objection could I have to following the religion of Abraham, the religion of submitting to the will of the One God - the God of the Jews, Christians, Muslims and Creator of the universe? I am certainly not the only Christian to have reached this conclusion. The Qur’an itself talks about Christians converting Islam with tears in their eyes upon recognizing its truth:

“And nearest among them in love to the Believers wilt thou find those who say, ‘We are Christians’ because amongst these are men devoted to learning and priests and monks, and they are not arrogant. And when they listen to the revelation received by the Apostle [Muhammad], thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth. They pray, ‘Our Lord! We believe; write us down among the witnesses.’” (Qur’an, 5:82-83)

There are many verses in Qur’an about Jesus (as):

Birth of Mary – (3:34-40, 19:2-15)

Status of Mary in Islam – (3:41-46)

Who Was Jesus – (2:87, 6:85-87, 3:83, 33:7-8, 42:13, 5:46 )

Birth of Jesus – (19:16-36)

Miracles of Jesus – (5:110-115)

Teachings of Jesus – (3:49-52, 43:57-59, 57:27, 43:57-63, 5:111)

Jesus sent for children of Israel – (3:48, 5:72,61:6 )

Is Jesus Son of God? – (3:58, 2:116-117, 21:26-29)

Is Jesus God? – (5:117, 5:72-75)

Was Jesus Crucified? – (4:157-158, 3:54-56)

Dialogue between God and Jesus – (5:116-118)

His Last Message – (61:6)

Message to Believers – (61:14)

This is what the Qur’an has to say on the matter of Jesus’ (as) crucifixion (4:157-158):

And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s messenger – They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! Those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain: But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah is ever Mighty, Wise.”

This saying does not deny that something happened that led to those stories we find in the Bible. It claims, however, that Christians were not given any proof that Jesus (as) was crucified, but rather made the conjecture that it had happened. In other words, Christians have based their religion upon something that is not fact, but is merely supposed.

The people who supposed it might have been well-intentioned individuals, but that is beside the point. Obviously, a Christian will be irked on reading that verse of Qur’an. My reaction on reading it the first time was to want to throw the book down. It did not agree with what I had been taught. If I believed what the Qur’an was saying, I would have to believe that my mother, my father, my teachers, my preachers, my neighbors, my political leaders, my friends, indeed, everyone I had ever known, had gotten it wrong. How could it be possible that so many people who were so sure in their belief and who seemed so favored by God living in the world’s most prosperouscountry, were wrong?

But then I had to ask myself, would not a girl living on the other side of the world immersed in another religion have a similar question? For one of us, at least, the answer indeed had to be that all that we had known was wrong. Truly, this was a terrifying concept. My whole world was crashing down around me and I was left with nothing that I could trust. I had no choice but to build my world up again, to examine everything I had ever believed all over again and create a new framework from which to view the world. In the end, the Qur’an convinced me. And the Bible convinced me, too, because I did not find in it the perfection I demanded from the Word of God. Although it is flawed, some truth remains in it and some good can be gained from reading the Bible if it is read with a critical eye. In fact, I benefited from discovering that the Bible contains likely prophecies of Muhammad’s (saw)prophethood , Deuteronomy 18:18 being among the more noted possibilities:

“I will raise up for them a prophet like you [Moses] from among their brothers; I will putMy words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”

Christians generally presume this verse refers to Jesus (as), but Muslims find it more likely that it refers to the Prophet Muhammad (saw). First, Muhammad (saw) is more like Moses (as) than Jesus (as). Like Moses, Muhammad (saw) married and had a divinely appointed successor in terms of leadership of the people (Aaron for Moses and ‘Ali for Muhammad (sa )). Moses and Muhammad (saw) were both born of both mother and father and came with new religious law. On the other hand, Jesus (sa ) was apparently unmarried, was born of mother only and did not bring new law. Secondly, the verse says that the prophet will come from “their brothers”, which in context refers to the brothers of the Israelites. Jesus (as) is directly descended from Abraham’s second-born son, Isaac (sa ), just like the Israelites, and thus is an Israelite himself and not the brother of the Israelites. Muhammad (saw) is the only one with a valid claim toprophethood who is descended from Abraham’s first-born son, Ishmael (sa ), making him a brother of the Israelites and not an Israelite himself. Finally, Muhammad (saw) fits the final portion of this verse exactly, and certainly better than Jesus (sa ), as testified to in the Qur’an:

“Nor doth he speak of (his own) desire. It is naught save an inspiration that is inspired….” (53:3-4)

Muhammad (saw) is the only prophet with a scriptural record that he speaks only that which Allah (swt ) has commanded or inspired, matching the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:18.

So, that is a small sample of my study before I converted to Islam. The Qur’an stands as a true testament to what it is and what it contains. All evidence indicated that it is what it claims to be:

“This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt,a guidance unto those who ward off (evil)….” (2:1)

“And this Qur’an is not such as could ever be invented despite of Allah [swt ]; but it is a confirmation of that which was before it and an exposition of that which is decreed for mankind – Therein is no doubt – from the Lord of the Worlds.” (10:37)

Question 9: Asking one’s need from other than Allah

Question: Is it not polytheistic to ask for one’s needs from anyone other than Allah (awj) such as the Prophet (ص) or the infallible Imams (ع) since it is Allah (awj) who is the Fulfiller of Needs?

Brief Answer

If one reveres, refers or takes recourse to, or seeks one’s needs from these personages with the intention that are separate from Allah (awj) and independent of Him in fulfilling our needs, such an intention and notion is polytheistic and contrary to tawhid af’ali (the Unity of actions-the independence of Allah (awj) from all else, and the dependence of all other beings on Him in their actions) and tawhid rububi (the Unity of Lordship-His being the sole Planner and sovereign Lord, with all others, whether angels, prophets, or the natural worlds, being Divine workers). Such an intention constitutes polytheism in one’s understanding of Divine actions or Lordship.

But if this same respect, reference, and recourse are with the intention of:

a. Obedience to a Divine command;

b. Repaying the debt we owe them by virtue of their being the conduit of Divine grace in the creational and legal realms;

c. Follow their example or benefit from their special attention, without viewing them as independent of Allah (awj);

then there is no contradiction with Unity of actions or Lordship or with the fact that Allah (awj) is the sole (independent) Fulfiller of needs, since the actions, planning, and fulfilment of people’s desires through these personages are subordinate to Allah’s (awj) action, Lordship, and His being the Fulfiller of needs. They are not independent of Him for it to be considered polytheism.

Thus, the criterion of polytheism in seeking one’s needs from someone other than Allah (awj) is the intention of the individual. If he maintains the Divinity or Lordship of whoever he takes recourse to, or views them as being free of need of Allah (awj), such recourse is considered polytheism because of that belief. But if it is in order to obey Allah (awj) and benefit from the honour and esteem those esteemed people enjoy before Him, so that they implore Allah (awj) for that person’s needs or fulfil them with Allah’s (awj) permission, such an action is not only not polytheistic, but the person taking recourse is also worthy of a reward for having acted in accordance with a Divine command.

Detailed Answer

The human being’s existence has two aspects, meaning that he is a combination of a celestial soul and a material body. His entire being consists of poverty and need [towards Allah (awj)]. Since he has two aspects, he must fulfil the needs of both aspects in a balanced manner free of the two extremes of excess or negligence in order to remain sound and preserve his existence, and in order to follow the path of advancement and attain the peak of true salvation (the station of Divine regency).

The Creator of the Universe, who in His infinite Wisdom had a specific purpose in the creation of humanity and is aware of the needs of all its existential dimensions, prepared the groundwork for the fulfilment of humanity’s various needs either before their creation or simultaneous to it.

Divine Will dictates that the human being ensures his physical and spiritual soundness and salvation naturally and through free will; otherwise, He could have created mankind in a perfect bodily form, so that he would have no need of development to perfection, just as the creation of the sky and the Earth is in that way.

And He could likewise have created him in a perfect spiritual form, so that he would have no deficiencies in terms of worship, obedience, and entering the sacred realm, just as He created the angels. But the distinction of humanity over all other beings lies in becoming superior to angels while possessing the physical and spiritual needs.

To attain one’s needs, the human being, possessed of free will, must make the best use of the abundant array of Divine blessings in the heavens and the Earth in order to be sound and remain alive. In order to attain one’s spiritual needs, one must make use of the Divine laws in order to connect one’s celestial soul with the malakut (celestial realm).

There is no denying the role of creational and material factors in fulfilling the physical needs of the human being or in the fact that he makes constant use of these factors. Since humanity is familiar with these factors from the moment of birth, or rather ever since humanity was created, the objection does not arise in the mind of most believers that benefiting from these means and effects in fulfilling one’s physical needs may be polytheism or improper conduct in Allah’s (awj) dominion.

For the fulfilment of humanity’s spiritual needs, Allah (awj), the Wise, has placed another form of sustenance at people’s disposal in the form of laws and religion, with sound nourishment in terms of belief, worship, morals, and training, conveyed by the prophets (ع). This is why they are called the “vessel of legislative grace.” This is while the divine prophets, too, are required to observe those limits and duties and to utilize them to meet their spiritual needs and become linked to the spiritual and celestial realm, which is beyond their senses and perception, and for at least some moments of every day they must connect to the sacred realm (through the daily acts of worship).

There are some people who, in availing themselves of this Divine legislative blessing, have excelled others and have linked themselves to that realm both quicker and more strongly than them, so that it is as if they have detached themselves from the natural world and have themselves become celestial. Even amongst these people there are some who have surpassed the rest and attained the station of Divine regent (khalifah), becoming the “‘ummal Allah” (workers of Allah). And in this way, they also become vessels of creational grace; that is, they become intermediaries between that realm and people who have fallen behind the caravan. Thus, these individuals who have fallen behind have no choice but to make use of these intermediaries to benefit from the spiritual realm and meet their needs.

This is where the misconception arises that taking recourse to or seeking one’s needs from these personages contradicts Unity of action or Unity of Lordship.

But just as utilizing material resources and fulfilling physical needs is not polytheism, since Allah (awj) Himself created these blessings, subjected them to mankind1 and gave him permission (in the manner of his creation) to use them in the correct way (which is explained by religious law)-and anyone who is a monotheist knows that they are His gifts, created by Him, and dependent on Him and does not consider them independent or necessary existents-in the same way, taking recourse to, respecting, and seeking one’s needs from those personages, too, presents no contradiction to the Unity of Action or Unity of Lordship and to the fact that only Allah (awj) is the (independent) Fulfiller of needs, since in this recourse or attention to these personages, they are not viewed as being parallel to or independent of Allah (awj).

Rather, those possessed with awareness view their efficacy and planning as being an extension of Allah’s (awj) planning and action, and consider their existence-like that of all other beings-to be nothing but their very needfulness of the Divine Essence, since without Divine providence and grace they have no being of their own, let alone for them to be able to perform actions or fulfil needs. Thus, the belief in their efficacy and their fulfilment of needs, since it is in extension of Allah’s (awj) action and being the Fulfiller of needs, does not entail polytheism.

As for why Allah (awj) referred us to these noble people and why we are in need of them to benefit from the spiritual and celestial realm, this is for several reasons:

1. These individuals are the “vessels of Divine grace” to people and a channel or conduit for the current of Divine mercy towards all beings of the universe, to the extent that if not for these Noble beings, the creation of the heavens and Earth and what is between them would not have been worthy of note. This is why Allah (awj) says in the well-known hadith qudsi [hadith in which both the words and the meaning belong to Allah (awj), as opposed to the prophet explaining the meaning in his own words]: “If not for you (the Prophet (ص)), I would not have created the universe, and if not for ‘Ali I would not have created you, and if not for Fatimah I would not have created the two of you [since the existence of the three of you, who complement each other, is the reason for creation].”2

Thus, to attain the source of the grace of being, one must make use of this channel so as not to be deprived of Divine providence. This is why we say in Du’a al-Nudbah: “Where is that Godly threshold through which they enter?”

2. Since these intimate personages in Allah’s (awj) court have adorned themselves with Divine attributes, attention to them is like attention to Allah (awj), since intimacy with them-even if in times of need-makes one attentive to Allah (awj) and reminds one of the Divine signs. This is why we recite in one of the supplications, “Where is that Godly countenance to which the friends of Allah turn?”

3. Since they are intimate in Allah’s (awj) court and vessels of grace, their prayers do not go unanswered and their intercession is accepted by Allah (awj). Thus, in the continuation of our supplication (an-Nudbah) we say, “Where is that distressed one whose prayers are always answered?” Also, since they are noble, they do not refuse the request of any supplicant. If it is in his best interest, they do not send him back empty-handed, and this has been experienced many times by their contemporaries and visitors to their shrines. This is why they are addressed with the words, “Your habit is kindness and your disposition is nobility. Your affair is truth, sincerity, and compassion.”3

4. A direct link with the unseen realm is not possible for people who have not attained the level of perfection, and thus they must make use of these means and paths. This is why Allah (awj) has commanded,

“O you who believe. Fear Allah and seek a means (of approach) to Him.”4

There are also many traditions in which the Ahlul Bayt (ع) are called the “means” and Divine “strong faith” that a believer must recognize and take hold of.5 Again, we recite in Du’a an-Nudbah, “Where is the one who is a means of connection between the earth and heavens?”

5. To know, refer, and take recourse to them produces familiarity with them and the fulfilment of needs and thus brings about love and intimacy. This love and intimacy with these noble personages becomes a source of instruction and guidance for the individual, although they themselves are free of need of people and their referral, since they have attained their goal through Divine attention.

6. The referral of people to the friends (awliya’) of Allah (awj) is a reward that they receive in return for their efforts, as Allah (awj) says to the Prophet (ص):

“And remain awake for a portion of the night, (involved in) supplication; perhaps you will attain a praiseworthy station (that of intercession in this world and the next).” 6

7. People’s referring and taking recourse to these noble personages on the one hand encourages others to follow their path, and on the other hand it does away with the arrogance and pride of worshippers, ascetics, “wayfarers,” and other claimants to a “journey to Allah” and to self-purification, and it prevents ostentatious and pretentious impostors from flourishing.

8. The station of the perfect human being is many degrees higher than that of the angels, since:

1. In this world and the next, the angels are at the service of Allah’s (awj) righteous servants;

2. The efficacy of the angels is predetermined and is therefore not considered a distinction for them;

3. On the night of the Ascension (mi’raj), the Prophet (ص) advanced farther than the angel Jibra`il (ع);

When the angels are entrusted with executing various affairs7 (in extension of Allah’s (awj) efficacy), why should not these personages, who have attained the greatest station of purity and nearness to Allah (awj), be the same?

The conduct of great personalities and wise people, when they see their subordinates are able to perform certain tasks, is to entrust those tasks to them so they can supervise those subordinates in responding to those who refer to them. In this way, those individuals can receive an exclusive training and be given a recompense for their efforts, and in addition others can get to know them and their station better and will find it easier to become familiar and intimate with them.

Also, it is the conduct of rational people when they want to contact some prominent personality to do so through intermediaries and people close to him if they themselves are not close to him, making use of the respect and honour in which those people are held to attain their needs. Of course, they do this with the full realization that this need to use intermediaries is because of their own inadequacy; the intermediaries are in no way equal or parallel to that prominent person, and they cannot do anything without his consent.

In short, to become connected to the unseen world, obey Divine commands, train and elevate the self, and fulfil our needs in this world and the next-both spiritual and physical-we are in need of recognizing, referring to, imploring, and loving the friends (awliya’) of Allah (awj). Taking recourse to them is to take recourse to (Divinely sanctioned) means, “the firm rope of Allah” and the intermediaries in Allah’s (awj) court - intermediaries who are dependent on Allah (awj) for their existence and all their existential attributes, and whose efficacy and fulfilment of people’s needs is in extension of that of Allah (awj).

Taking recourse in this manner is not polytheism, since the independent Fulfiller of needs is none but Allah (awj) alone.

Notes

1. Surat al-Jathiyah (45), Verses 12-13:

 اَللٌّهُ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْبَحْرَ لِتَجْرِيَ الْفُلْكُ فِيهِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ. وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمٌوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِنْهُ إِنَّ فِي ذٌلِكَ لآياتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

2. Majma’ al-Nurayn, pg. 14:

لَوْلاَکَ لَمَا خَلَقْتُ الأَفْلاَکَ، وَ لَوْ لاَ عَلِيُّ لَمَا خَلَقْتُکَ، وَ لَوْ لاَ فَاطِمَةُ لَمَا خَلَقْتُکُمَا.

3. Mafatih al-Jinan - Ziyarat Jami’ah:

عَادَتُكُمُ الإِحْسَانُ وَ سَجِيَّتُكُمُ الْكَرَمُ وَ شَأْنُكُمُ الْحَقُّ وَ الصِّدْقُ وَ الرِّفْقُ...

4. Surat al-Ma`idah (5), Verse 35:

 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللٌّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

5. Some of these traditions can be found in al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur`an, vol. 5 pg. 333.

6. Surat al-Isra’ (17), Verse 79:

 وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَكَ عَسَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا

7. Surat al-Nazi’at (79), Verse 5:

 فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْراً

Question 10: The Light of Heavens and the Earth

Question: What is the meaning of Allah (awj) being the light of the heavens and of the earth? Is He light in the physical sense? If not, what is intended?

Brief Answer

Without doubt, the “light” mentioned in the verse of Light (Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth...) is not a physical and sensible light. For, sensible light pertains to the accidental characteristics and qualities of material existents. Hence, the arguments that negate Allah’s (awj) corporeality preclude perceiving Allah (awj) as sensible and material light. Moreover, there are numerous Qur`anic verses that deny the possibility of a visual perception of Allah (awj), disaffirming any similarity between Him and His creatures.

Therefore, when Allah (awj) is referred to as “the light of the heavens and the earth” certainly sensible light is not meant.

Light by definition is that which is essentially manifest and makes other things manifest and visible as well; it is clear and it makes [other things] clear; it is apparent and it makes [other things] apparent. This definition applies both to sensory light-such as the light of the sun, the stars and of a lamp-and to super-sensory light-such as knowledge and faith. Of course, what comes to mind on hearing the word light initially is sensory light. But by analyzing the definition of light (i.e. what is essentially manifest and makes other things manifest), one finds it permissible to apply the word to spiritual matters, for they illuminate the spirit, the inward, and such application is also encountered in the Qur`an where it refers to faith as a light bestowed on the believer. In addition, gnostics employ the word to signify “love.”

As the Divine Essence is bright and manifest and is also the cause that brightens and makes other things manifest-for, He is the creator and existence-granter - employing the word light to denote Allah (awj) is correct. Rather, as the cause for a thing’s appearance to others is its existence, it must be concluded that the most fundamental instance of light is existence itself. Hence, Allah (awj), is the most perfect instance of light. He is the sole real essentially manifest being who makes other things manifest. Thus, it must be proclaimed that He is the light who illuminates the heavens and the earth.

Furthermore, it must be noted that “the heavens and the earth” is an allusion to the entirety of the world of being, to all the celestial and terrestrial creatures, to the hidden and apparent worlds, not merely the sky above us or the Earth we inhabit. Hence, the meaning of, “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth,” is that Allah (awj) is the light of the whole universe.

The reason why the word light is employed in lieu of creator is to point to the fact that just as light is manifest and as such does not need anything else to shed light on it, Allah (awj) is also manifest and obvious and there is no need for a mediating agent to illuminate Allah (awj). Hence, gnostics following the teachings of the prophets and Imams (ع), have expressed that

all creatures must be understood in the light of Allah (awj); we should not try to identify Allah (awj) through His creatures and effects [taken on their own level]. For the friends of Allah (awj), everything is manifest in the light of Allah (awj), and other than His light, nothing is to be seen. If not for the Divine light, everything would sink into the darkness of non-existence.

Therefore, the main point that is understood from this verse is that Allah (awj) is known to all His creatures, for the appearance of all things derives from His manifestness and illumination. Allah (awj) is not absent so as to be revealed through His creatures. He is manifest in all His Essence, and so His obscurity in the eyes of the intellectually impaired is due to the intensity of His light; “O You Who are obscured by the intensity of Your light, You Who are manifest but hidden in Your manifestness.”

Another point that is derived from this verse is the fact that Allah (awj) [in Islam] is referred to as “Light” not “the Greatest Light.” The Manichaean belief that Allah (awj) is the “Greatest Light” (i.e. a physical light similar to other lights but greater and more elevated) is not a correct belief. According to the Qur`an, Allah (awj) is “pure light” and is super-sensory. He is the sole light of the world of existence, and all else is “darkness.” In the words of some supplications, He is “the Light of Lights.” That is, He is the real light, and if there is any light at all, it is thanks to His existence and light.

Regarding the exposition, the reality underlying this verse, and its application there are numerous views and narrations that can be sought by referring to books of exegesis and the corpus of narrations.

Detailed Answer

Without doubt, by referring to Allah (awj) as light,

“Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth,” 1

the Qur`an does not intend to identify Him as a physical light. The sensible light is a creature among the creatures of Allah (awj), as is expressly stated in the first verse of Surat al-An’am,

“All praise belongs to Allah who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light.” 2

Muslim philosophers, theologians, and Qur`anic exegetes have all provided strong proofs in negating a corporeal aspect for Allah (awj).3 Hence, using the word light in reference to Allah (awj) does not denote sensory light, which is either a physical substance or a characteristic of matter.

Among the exegete-theologians, Fakhr Razi has probably treated this topic more thoroughly than any other. In his exposition of the Verse of Light, he has formulated six rational arguments why Allah (awj) cannot have a body and so consequently the light mentioned in the verse cannot be signifying sensible and material light.4

More importantly, there are numerous verses in the Qur`an that negate the coming-into-being (huduth) and corporeality of Allah (awj).

Moreover, the verse, “There is nothing like Him,” that recurs several times in the Qur`an denies the possibility of any likeness and resemblance of Allah (awj) to other existents. Hence, Allah’s (awj) being light cannot be

of the nature of the sensible light, for the latter has many instances [while Allah (awj) in no way resembles physical phenomena].

In analyzing the meaning of the word light, ’Allamah Tabataba`i explains: “The word light carries a popular meaning, and that is, the thing that lightens dark bodies so that we can see them, and so light is the thing by which all things become apparent and visible. Of course, light itself is essentially manifest and visible; there is nothing else that lightens it. Hence, light can be defined as that which is essentially manifest and makes other things manifest as well. This is the first meaning to which the word light was initially designated. Subsequently, the word was employed, by way of allegory or secondary designation (waz’ thanawi), to indicate whatever made sensible things visible. In a later stage, the word was also applied to super sensible realities. It is in this sense that intellect is defined as a light which reveals the intelligibles. All these various usages have stemmed from analyzing the initial meaning of light: “that which is essentially manifest and makes other things manifest as well.”5

Thus, what is initially understood by light is the sensible light that emanates from illuminant objects-such as, the sun, the stars, and man-made lamps-without which the world would be shrouded in darkness. Of course, the essence and definition of light from the standpoint of the physicists is a whole different issue. They might consider the reality of light as yet unravelled and they might have disagreements regarding it, but what is for certain is that in the material world there does exist something referred to as light that is radiated from illuminate objects, technically referred to as “sources of light.” The application of the word light, however, is not limited to sensible light. It can be applied to whatever is “manifest and makes manifest” or, put differently, to whatever is “apparent and makes apparent.” For instance, we often refer to knowledge as light, for it is in its essence clear and also sheds light on other realities.6

Regarding the believer, the Qur`an states,

“He who was lifeless, then We gave him life and provided him with a light by which he walks among the people…” 7

So in the Qur`anic terminology, faith is “light.” And as faith illuminates the heart of the believer, shows him the destination, and guides him to felicity, this application of light is correct. This is similar to the gnostics’ reference to love as “light.” Rumi says:

Love is victorious and I, conquered;

As the moon, I am illuminated with the light of Love.8

Using the word light in reference to Allah (awj) is correct, for such usage has occurred in the Qur`an and the narrations.9 But we must be careful to note in saying “Allah is light” that we do not intend material and sensible light; rather, that the Divine Essence is manifest and manifestant10 . The manifestness and clearness of everything is due to the emanation of His Essence. However, nothing illuminates Him. Thus, we can correctly say, Allah is light.

’Allamah Tabataba`i writes: “Since it is the existence of everything that is the cause of its manifestness to others, therefore the highest form of light is existence itself. Moreover, since the existence of contingent being

depends on the bestowal of existence by the Truth, the Supreme, He is the most complete instance of light. It is He Who is essentially manifest and also makes manifest all-other-than-him. All other existents become manifest and existent by virtue of Him. And this is the meaning of the verse, ‘Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.’”11

From the aforesaid explanations the meaning of the Verse of Light becomes clear that: Allah (awj) is the creator and the illuminator of the heavens and the earth. By the expression “the heavens and the earth” what is intended is the entirety of the world of existence; all the celestial and the terrestrial existents; the apparent and the hidden worlds.12 “The heavens and the earth” does not merely signify the sky above and the Earth that we inhabit. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that Allah (awj) is the light of the entire universe. The reason why the verse has employed this word in lieu of creator is to point to the fact that just as light is itself visible and does not need anything else to make it visible, rather it is light itself that illuminates all other things, Allah (awj), likewise has no creator and there is no other agent that could shed light on Him. He is a manifest, clear, and self-evident existent. There is no need for formulating reasoning to prove His existence. He is the creator of all the other existents of the world of being. In the words of Haji Sabzwari, “O You Who are obscured by the intensity of Your light.”13

Thus, as propounded by the gnostics in following the mystical teachings of the prophets and the Imams (ع), Allah (awj) is manifest to the highest degree; He is absolutely clear, and hence there is no need for the mediation of His creatures to reveal Him. In other words, in order to reason for the existence of Allah (awj), one should utilize the argument from cause rather than the argument from effect. We must first comprehend Allah (awj) and then through Him His creatures, not conversely.

It is to this truth that the following line from the ‘Arafah Supplication (related from Imam al-Husayn b. ‘Ali (ع)) refers: “O Allah! Being distracted by [Your] effects and creatures prevents me from seeing You.”

In Du’a Kumayl, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) expresses, “By the light of Your face from which all things are alight.” If not for the light of the Divine Visage and Essence, everything would be dark. That is, nothing will exist, and all things would recede back into the darkness of non-existence.

Without the light of the Divine Essence the shadow of non-existence would envelope all things; the resulting darkness would not be like that of the night [rather it would be the darkness of non-existence].

Hence, it must be said that Allah (awj), is absolute light. In comparison to Him, there is no other light. All other lights in comparison to Him are darkness. For, the only existent Who is by His essence manifest and manifesting is Allah (awj). All other things that are manifest and that illuminate other creatures are by their essences dark. It is Allah (awj) Who has bestowed on them that feature.

It is in this light that ‘Allamah Tabataba`i has made the following inference from that verse: “Hence, it can be inferred that Allah (awj), is not obscure for any existent, for the disclosure of all things, to themselves and to other things, derives from Allah’s (awj) illuminating. If Allah (awj) had not illuminated or brought into existence anything, nothing would have existed. Thus prior to all other things, Allah (awj) is the essential manifest being … Hence it can be concluded that light in the verse, ‘Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth,’ refers to that all-embracing Divine light which is the source of the universe, the light to which all things owe their manifestness, the light which is identical with the existence of everything. This is that all-embracing Divine mercy.”14

Thus, according to the Qur`an, Allah (awj), the Supreme, is not an absent or essentially obscure God that is revealed by His creatures. Such conception is defected and elementary. Real knowledge is to comprehend the world through Allah (awj), not conversely. And this verse asserts that Allah (awj) is at the height of conspicuousness, clarity, and obviousness.

Another point that can be inferred from this verse is that we refer to Allah as light, not as “the greatest light”, which implies that there are other lights as well, some more bright and others less bright, and that Allah (awj)is the greatest. According to the Qur`an, there is only one light and that is Allah, and everything else is dark and non-existent. It is true, however, that in comparing the creatures together, some are light and some are not-for instance, knowledge, faith, intellect, etc., are light. But the latter have derived their light from Allah (awj).

Thus, in comparison to Allah (awj), there is no other light, or in other words, He is “the Light of Lights.”15 That is, He is the light of all lights rather than being the greatest light. Therefore, the belief that Allah (awj) is the greatest light, that He is of the sensory lights but the brightest and the most intense-reputedly attributed to the Manicheans-is false.

In the end, we find it suitable to relate Imam ‘Ali b. Musa al-Rida’s (ع) reply to ‘Abbas ibn Hilal who had asked the Imam regarding the meaning of the Verse of Light: “He is the guide for the inhabitants of the heaven and the inhabitants of the earth.”16

Notes

1. Surat Nur (24), Verse 35:

 اَللٌّهُ نُورُ السَّمٌوَاتِ وَ الأَرْضِ

2. Surat al-An’am (6), Verse 1:

 وَ جَعَلَ الظُّلُمٌتِ وَ النُّورَ

3. These proofs can be found in Kashf al-Murad fi Sharh Tajrid al-I’tiqad pg. 287 and Nihayat al-Hikmah, pg. 275.

4. al-Tafsir al-Kabir, vol. 22, pg. 224

5. al-Mizan, vol. 15, pg. 122

6. Tafsir Surat al-Nur, by Murtada Muhahhari, pg. 101

7. Surat al-An’am (6), Verse 122:

أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتاً فَأَحْـيَينٌهُ وَ جَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُوراً يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ...

8. Mathnawi, Sixth Notebook

9. Nur (Light) is one of Allah’s (awj) names. Other than the Noble Qur`an, Allah (awj) has been addressed by this name in a number of traditions. Some examples are Kitab al-Tawhid ch. 29, pg. 194, no. 8 and pg. 195, no. 9 and pg. 219, no. 11; al-Khisal. In a number of supplications such as Du’a` al-Kumail and Du’a` Jawshan Kabir this name of Allah (awj) has been mentioned. It is considered one of Allah’s (awj) 99 names. Gnostics have prolonged discussions about these names which we cannot discuss here.

10. I did not find this word in the dictionary in the sense intended here. However, I think it is appropriate to use it since the suffix ­-ant­ denotes fa’iliyyah. (Tr.)

11. al-Mizan, vol. 15, pg. 122

12. Tafsir Surat Nur, by Murtada Muhahhari, pg. 98

13. Manzumah, Chapter Hikmah

14. al-Mizan, vol. 15, pg. 123

15. In Mafatih al-Jinan there is a supplication called “Nur” (light). In it we read:

 “يا نور النور”

 (O light of light)

16. al-Tawhid, ch. 14, no. 1

Question 11: Divine Tests

Question: If Allah (awj) is omniscient, why does He need to test mankind?

Brief Answer

As implied by the question, because Allah (awj) is omniscient, the purpose of His tests is not to unveil something hitherto unknown. Rather, the Qur`an and ahadith suggest that these tests serve two purposes. First, they comprise a Divine precedent (sunnah ilahiyyah1 ) that is in turn based on another Divine precedent that can be termed “universal guidance.”

In particular, Allah (awj) wishes that mankind, by obeying the divine law (shari’ah) and struggling through the various circumstances that he encounters in life, will blossom from potentiality to actuality, and will thereby attain the level of perfection that has been intended for him. One of the terms that is used for such tests in Islamic literature is fitnah (in this sense this term denotes a “crucible”).

Fitnah literally refers to the process of smelting by which gold is purified. In one hadith it is said that people are tested the way gold is tested. The mettle of man is gold ore that is purified in the crucible of Divine tests and guidance. It should be kept in mind though, that in the course of such tests, just as good qualities reach their perfection in the believers, bad qualities also develop to the utmost in disbelievers.

The second purpose that these tests serve is to awaken man from his sleep of heedlessness. The Qur`an explains that one of the purposes of tragedy and disaster is to test man and thereby jar him from his stupor of heedlessness. In a way, tragedy in man’s life serves the same purpose as the ridges that are embossed on some modern motorways and highways that are meant to wake drivers during the monotony of highway driving so they do not fall asleep at the wheel.

There are, in reality, two types of Divine will at play here. One is called the existential will (al-iradah al-takwiniyyah) and the other is called the legislative will (al-iradah al-tashri’iyyah). Allah’s (awj) existential will is that through Divine tests, both believers and disbelievers be able to actualize their good and bad potentials. On the other hand, his legislative will is that only good potentials be actualized.

Detailed Answer

Divine tests are not designed to unveil something hitherto unknown, since Allah (awj) is omniscient and needs no such unveiling. Rather, they comprise a Divine precedent, that is based on a second Divine precedent called “universal guidance.” By universal guidance, we mean Allah’s (awj) guidance of all creation (whether they be conscious or not), as it relates to man.

To clarify, we must first describe the three types of Divine guidance:

1. One type of guidance is intended only for the most pious people and has been negated from other groups in the following verses of the Qur`an:

“Allah does not guide the wrongdoing ones,”

and

“Allah does not guide the corrupt ones.”

The converse of this kind of guidance is misguidance.

2. Another type of guidance known as “legislative guidance” entails showing someone the path. This kind of guidance addresses both believers and disbelievers, but does not benefit inanimate beings. Examples of this kind of guidance are in the following verses: “We showed him the path while he is either grateful or ungrateful2 ,” and “As for (the people of) Thamud, we guided them, but they preferred blindness to guidance.”3

3. The third kind of guidance is universal both in terms of the beings who are guided and the resulting guidance and is also called existential guidance. This is the guidance referred to in the following verse:

“Our Sustainer is He who gave everything its existence, and then guided it.”4

This verse implies that Allah’s (awj) universal guidance includes all creation, whether conscious or inanimate. In another verse, the Qur`an states,

“who created and proportioned; who determined and guided.” 5

Here, the verb “to determine” (taqdir) entails the facilitation of the appropriate means of a given thing so that it is “guided” to fulfil the purpose for which it was created.

All of creation - whether conscious or inanimate - attains its intended purpose through this third type of existential guidance. However man, who is more than just a physical being living in this material world, requires more than the existential guidance afforded to all creation. He can only attain perfection by choosing his path according to his free will. For this reason, Allah must on the one hand, provide a set of positive and negative commands entailed in the shari’ah (divine law) so that man can choose to either obey or disobey.

On the other hand, Allah (awj) must create “problems” at the individual and societal levels (some of which are caused by human choice and some of which are caused by natural means such as natural disasters) so that man can choose a course of action with respect to these problems. By choosing a course of action with respect to divine law and the aforementioned problems, man actualizes the potential that is hidden within himself, and either proves himself to be worthy of eternal felicity or chastisement. It is for this reason that both the divine law and human tragedy are referred to in Islamic literature by the terms “trial,” “tribulation,” and “test.”

To put it simply, Allah (awj) is like a scientist examining each individual human being. The parameters on which his experiments are based are the shari’ah and human tragedy. Through these two variables, a person’s station with respect to the level of perfection that was intended for him is determined.6

To recapitulate, Divine tests are based on the Divine precedent called universal guidance. Through these tests every person comes to know which abode he will enter: the abode of reward or the abode of chastisement. The Qur`an describes the purpose of these tests in this way: “…so that Allah may purify those who have faith and that He may eradicate the faithless.”7

In the course of repeated tests, the superficial faith and deceitful good qualities of the faithless and the hypocrites are extirpated. Another meaning

of the “eradication of the faithless” is mentioned in the verse that says, “the (final) outcome will be in favour of the fear of Allah”8 and in the verse that reads,

“My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.” 9

We can recap the positive effects of divine tests in the following two points:

1. They serve to actualize hidden potentials. Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) says: “It is in extreme circumstances that a man’s true mettle shows itself.”10 It is narrated from Imam ‘Ali b. Musa al-Rida (ع) that “People are tested as gold is tested, and they are purified as gold is purified.”11 The word fitnah refers to the process of smelting gold ore. Gold ore is melted so that its impurities float to the surface and are removed. Likewise the essence of man is like gold that Allah (awj) wishes to purify. Meanwhile, the presence of animal-like qualities such as anger and lust pose a major obstacle to his purification. It is for this reason that Divine tests are considered a means for the perfection of mankind.

In the military, soldiers are required to perform strenuous activities to build their strength. Likewise, Divine tests are meant to strengthen man’s inner self. Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) says, “Although Allah knows man better than he knows himself, (He tests him) in order to make manifest those actions by which he earns his reward or punishment.”12

2. They also serve to awaken man from his sleep of heedlessness. Allah (awj) tests man both through tragedy and hardship and by showering him with an abundance of blessings such as power, health, and wealth. Often these blessing deceive a person so much that they threaten to lead to his downfall. Allah (awj) sends tragedy his way, in order to jar him from his stupor so that he can once again discern right from wrong, and so that he remembers that all existence and blessings issue from Allah (awj), whom one should never forget and against whom one should never sin.

Many verses in the Qur`an speak of this aspect of Divine tests13 . These verses generally use the terms tadhakkur (to remind), tadarru` (to show humility), and ruju’ (to return to the path). These concepts link together in the following way: to return to the path that leads to Allah (awj) one must first be reminded of Allah (awj); he must then humble himself before Allah (awj); only then can he truly return to Allah (awj) and better himself. Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) refers to this Qur`anic truth in the following way: “When Allah’s servants commit a sin, He tests them with hardship until they repent and cease committing sins and heed Allah’s admonishment.”14

If what we have said so far is true, then one might wonder why Allah’s (awj) prophets (ع), Imams (ع), and saints are tested? The answer to this question is found in a narration of Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) where he says: “The divine test is a form of discipline for the wrongdoer, a test for the believer, a means to increase one’s station for the prophets, and a means of ennoblement for the saints of Allah.”15

Question 9: Asking one’s need from other than Allah

Question: Is it not polytheistic to ask for one’s needs from anyone other than Allah (awj) such as the Prophet (ص) or the infallible Imams (ع) since it is Allah (awj) who is the Fulfiller of Needs?

Brief Answer

If one reveres, refers or takes recourse to, or seeks one’s needs from these personages with the intention that are separate from Allah (awj) and independent of Him in fulfilling our needs, such an intention and notion is polytheistic and contrary to tawhid af’ali (the Unity of actions-the independence of Allah (awj) from all else, and the dependence of all other beings on Him in their actions) and tawhid rububi (the Unity of Lordship-His being the sole Planner and sovereign Lord, with all others, whether angels, prophets, or the natural worlds, being Divine workers). Such an intention constitutes polytheism in one’s understanding of Divine actions or Lordship.

But if this same respect, reference, and recourse are with the intention of:

a. Obedience to a Divine command;

b. Repaying the debt we owe them by virtue of their being the conduit of Divine grace in the creational and legal realms;

c. Follow their example or benefit from their special attention, without viewing them as independent of Allah (awj);

then there is no contradiction with Unity of actions or Lordship or with the fact that Allah (awj) is the sole (independent) Fulfiller of needs, since the actions, planning, and fulfilment of people’s desires through these personages are subordinate to Allah’s (awj) action, Lordship, and His being the Fulfiller of needs. They are not independent of Him for it to be considered polytheism.

Thus, the criterion of polytheism in seeking one’s needs from someone other than Allah (awj) is the intention of the individual. If he maintains the Divinity or Lordship of whoever he takes recourse to, or views them as being free of need of Allah (awj), such recourse is considered polytheism because of that belief. But if it is in order to obey Allah (awj) and benefit from the honour and esteem those esteemed people enjoy before Him, so that they implore Allah (awj) for that person’s needs or fulfil them with Allah’s (awj) permission, such an action is not only not polytheistic, but the person taking recourse is also worthy of a reward for having acted in accordance with a Divine command.

Detailed Answer

The human being’s existence has two aspects, meaning that he is a combination of a celestial soul and a material body. His entire being consists of poverty and need [towards Allah (awj)]. Since he has two aspects, he must fulfil the needs of both aspects in a balanced manner free of the two extremes of excess or negligence in order to remain sound and preserve his existence, and in order to follow the path of advancement and attain the peak of true salvation (the station of Divine regency).

The Creator of the Universe, who in His infinite Wisdom had a specific purpose in the creation of humanity and is aware of the needs of all its existential dimensions, prepared the groundwork for the fulfilment of humanity’s various needs either before their creation or simultaneous to it.

Divine Will dictates that the human being ensures his physical and spiritual soundness and salvation naturally and through free will; otherwise, He could have created mankind in a perfect bodily form, so that he would have no need of development to perfection, just as the creation of the sky and the Earth is in that way.

And He could likewise have created him in a perfect spiritual form, so that he would have no deficiencies in terms of worship, obedience, and entering the sacred realm, just as He created the angels. But the distinction of humanity over all other beings lies in becoming superior to angels while possessing the physical and spiritual needs.

To attain one’s needs, the human being, possessed of free will, must make the best use of the abundant array of Divine blessings in the heavens and the Earth in order to be sound and remain alive. In order to attain one’s spiritual needs, one must make use of the Divine laws in order to connect one’s celestial soul with the malakut (celestial realm).

There is no denying the role of creational and material factors in fulfilling the physical needs of the human being or in the fact that he makes constant use of these factors. Since humanity is familiar with these factors from the moment of birth, or rather ever since humanity was created, the objection does not arise in the mind of most believers that benefiting from these means and effects in fulfilling one’s physical needs may be polytheism or improper conduct in Allah’s (awj) dominion.

For the fulfilment of humanity’s spiritual needs, Allah (awj), the Wise, has placed another form of sustenance at people’s disposal in the form of laws and religion, with sound nourishment in terms of belief, worship, morals, and training, conveyed by the prophets (ع). This is why they are called the “vessel of legislative grace.” This is while the divine prophets, too, are required to observe those limits and duties and to utilize them to meet their spiritual needs and become linked to the spiritual and celestial realm, which is beyond their senses and perception, and for at least some moments of every day they must connect to the sacred realm (through the daily acts of worship).

There are some people who, in availing themselves of this Divine legislative blessing, have excelled others and have linked themselves to that realm both quicker and more strongly than them, so that it is as if they have detached themselves from the natural world and have themselves become celestial. Even amongst these people there are some who have surpassed the rest and attained the station of Divine regent (khalifah), becoming the “‘ummal Allah” (workers of Allah). And in this way, they also become vessels of creational grace; that is, they become intermediaries between that realm and people who have fallen behind the caravan. Thus, these individuals who have fallen behind have no choice but to make use of these intermediaries to benefit from the spiritual realm and meet their needs.

This is where the misconception arises that taking recourse to or seeking one’s needs from these personages contradicts Unity of action or Unity of Lordship.

But just as utilizing material resources and fulfilling physical needs is not polytheism, since Allah (awj) Himself created these blessings, subjected them to mankind1 and gave him permission (in the manner of his creation) to use them in the correct way (which is explained by religious law)-and anyone who is a monotheist knows that they are His gifts, created by Him, and dependent on Him and does not consider them independent or necessary existents-in the same way, taking recourse to, respecting, and seeking one’s needs from those personages, too, presents no contradiction to the Unity of Action or Unity of Lordship and to the fact that only Allah (awj) is the (independent) Fulfiller of needs, since in this recourse or attention to these personages, they are not viewed as being parallel to or independent of Allah (awj).

Rather, those possessed with awareness view their efficacy and planning as being an extension of Allah’s (awj) planning and action, and consider their existence-like that of all other beings-to be nothing but their very needfulness of the Divine Essence, since without Divine providence and grace they have no being of their own, let alone for them to be able to perform actions or fulfil needs. Thus, the belief in their efficacy and their fulfilment of needs, since it is in extension of Allah’s (awj) action and being the Fulfiller of needs, does not entail polytheism.

As for why Allah (awj) referred us to these noble people and why we are in need of them to benefit from the spiritual and celestial realm, this is for several reasons:

1. These individuals are the “vessels of Divine grace” to people and a channel or conduit for the current of Divine mercy towards all beings of the universe, to the extent that if not for these Noble beings, the creation of the heavens and Earth and what is between them would not have been worthy of note. This is why Allah (awj) says in the well-known hadith qudsi [hadith in which both the words and the meaning belong to Allah (awj), as opposed to the prophet explaining the meaning in his own words]: “If not for you (the Prophet (ص)), I would not have created the universe, and if not for ‘Ali I would not have created you, and if not for Fatimah I would not have created the two of you [since the existence of the three of you, who complement each other, is the reason for creation].”2

Thus, to attain the source of the grace of being, one must make use of this channel so as not to be deprived of Divine providence. This is why we say in Du’a al-Nudbah: “Where is that Godly threshold through which they enter?”

2. Since these intimate personages in Allah’s (awj) court have adorned themselves with Divine attributes, attention to them is like attention to Allah (awj), since intimacy with them-even if in times of need-makes one attentive to Allah (awj) and reminds one of the Divine signs. This is why we recite in one of the supplications, “Where is that Godly countenance to which the friends of Allah turn?”

3. Since they are intimate in Allah’s (awj) court and vessels of grace, their prayers do not go unanswered and their intercession is accepted by Allah (awj). Thus, in the continuation of our supplication (an-Nudbah) we say, “Where is that distressed one whose prayers are always answered?” Also, since they are noble, they do not refuse the request of any supplicant. If it is in his best interest, they do not send him back empty-handed, and this has been experienced many times by their contemporaries and visitors to their shrines. This is why they are addressed with the words, “Your habit is kindness and your disposition is nobility. Your affair is truth, sincerity, and compassion.”3

4. A direct link with the unseen realm is not possible for people who have not attained the level of perfection, and thus they must make use of these means and paths. This is why Allah (awj) has commanded,

“O you who believe. Fear Allah and seek a means (of approach) to Him.”4

There are also many traditions in which the Ahlul Bayt (ع) are called the “means” and Divine “strong faith” that a believer must recognize and take hold of.5 Again, we recite in Du’a an-Nudbah, “Where is the one who is a means of connection between the earth and heavens?”

5. To know, refer, and take recourse to them produces familiarity with them and the fulfilment of needs and thus brings about love and intimacy. This love and intimacy with these noble personages becomes a source of instruction and guidance for the individual, although they themselves are free of need of people and their referral, since they have attained their goal through Divine attention.

6. The referral of people to the friends (awliya’) of Allah (awj) is a reward that they receive in return for their efforts, as Allah (awj) says to the Prophet (ص):

“And remain awake for a portion of the night, (involved in) supplication; perhaps you will attain a praiseworthy station (that of intercession in this world and the next).” 6

7. People’s referring and taking recourse to these noble personages on the one hand encourages others to follow their path, and on the other hand it does away with the arrogance and pride of worshippers, ascetics, “wayfarers,” and other claimants to a “journey to Allah” and to self-purification, and it prevents ostentatious and pretentious impostors from flourishing.

8. The station of the perfect human being is many degrees higher than that of the angels, since:

1. In this world and the next, the angels are at the service of Allah’s (awj) righteous servants;

2. The efficacy of the angels is predetermined and is therefore not considered a distinction for them;

3. On the night of the Ascension (mi’raj), the Prophet (ص) advanced farther than the angel Jibra`il (ع);

When the angels are entrusted with executing various affairs7 (in extension of Allah’s (awj) efficacy), why should not these personages, who have attained the greatest station of purity and nearness to Allah (awj), be the same?

The conduct of great personalities and wise people, when they see their subordinates are able to perform certain tasks, is to entrust those tasks to them so they can supervise those subordinates in responding to those who refer to them. In this way, those individuals can receive an exclusive training and be given a recompense for their efforts, and in addition others can get to know them and their station better and will find it easier to become familiar and intimate with them.

Also, it is the conduct of rational people when they want to contact some prominent personality to do so through intermediaries and people close to him if they themselves are not close to him, making use of the respect and honour in which those people are held to attain their needs. Of course, they do this with the full realization that this need to use intermediaries is because of their own inadequacy; the intermediaries are in no way equal or parallel to that prominent person, and they cannot do anything without his consent.

In short, to become connected to the unseen world, obey Divine commands, train and elevate the self, and fulfil our needs in this world and the next-both spiritual and physical-we are in need of recognizing, referring to, imploring, and loving the friends (awliya’) of Allah (awj). Taking recourse to them is to take recourse to (Divinely sanctioned) means, “the firm rope of Allah” and the intermediaries in Allah’s (awj) court - intermediaries who are dependent on Allah (awj) for their existence and all their existential attributes, and whose efficacy and fulfilment of people’s needs is in extension of that of Allah (awj).

Taking recourse in this manner is not polytheism, since the independent Fulfiller of needs is none but Allah (awj) alone.

Notes

1. Surat al-Jathiyah (45), Verses 12-13:

 اَللٌّهُ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْبَحْرَ لِتَجْرِيَ الْفُلْكُ فِيهِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ. وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمٌوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِنْهُ إِنَّ فِي ذٌلِكَ لآياتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

2. Majma’ al-Nurayn, pg. 14:

لَوْلاَکَ لَمَا خَلَقْتُ الأَفْلاَکَ، وَ لَوْ لاَ عَلِيُّ لَمَا خَلَقْتُکَ، وَ لَوْ لاَ فَاطِمَةُ لَمَا خَلَقْتُکُمَا.

3. Mafatih al-Jinan - Ziyarat Jami’ah:

عَادَتُكُمُ الإِحْسَانُ وَ سَجِيَّتُكُمُ الْكَرَمُ وَ شَأْنُكُمُ الْحَقُّ وَ الصِّدْقُ وَ الرِّفْقُ...

4. Surat al-Ma`idah (5), Verse 35:

 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللٌّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

5. Some of these traditions can be found in al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur`an, vol. 5 pg. 333.

6. Surat al-Isra’ (17), Verse 79:

 وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَكَ عَسَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا

7. Surat al-Nazi’at (79), Verse 5:

 فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْراً

Question 10: The Light of Heavens and the Earth

Question: What is the meaning of Allah (awj) being the light of the heavens and of the earth? Is He light in the physical sense? If not, what is intended?

Brief Answer

Without doubt, the “light” mentioned in the verse of Light (Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth...) is not a physical and sensible light. For, sensible light pertains to the accidental characteristics and qualities of material existents. Hence, the arguments that negate Allah’s (awj) corporeality preclude perceiving Allah (awj) as sensible and material light. Moreover, there are numerous Qur`anic verses that deny the possibility of a visual perception of Allah (awj), disaffirming any similarity between Him and His creatures.

Therefore, when Allah (awj) is referred to as “the light of the heavens and the earth” certainly sensible light is not meant.

Light by definition is that which is essentially manifest and makes other things manifest and visible as well; it is clear and it makes [other things] clear; it is apparent and it makes [other things] apparent. This definition applies both to sensory light-such as the light of the sun, the stars and of a lamp-and to super-sensory light-such as knowledge and faith. Of course, what comes to mind on hearing the word light initially is sensory light. But by analyzing the definition of light (i.e. what is essentially manifest and makes other things manifest), one finds it permissible to apply the word to spiritual matters, for they illuminate the spirit, the inward, and such application is also encountered in the Qur`an where it refers to faith as a light bestowed on the believer. In addition, gnostics employ the word to signify “love.”

As the Divine Essence is bright and manifest and is also the cause that brightens and makes other things manifest-for, He is the creator and existence-granter - employing the word light to denote Allah (awj) is correct. Rather, as the cause for a thing’s appearance to others is its existence, it must be concluded that the most fundamental instance of light is existence itself. Hence, Allah (awj), is the most perfect instance of light. He is the sole real essentially manifest being who makes other things manifest. Thus, it must be proclaimed that He is the light who illuminates the heavens and the earth.

Furthermore, it must be noted that “the heavens and the earth” is an allusion to the entirety of the world of being, to all the celestial and terrestrial creatures, to the hidden and apparent worlds, not merely the sky above us or the Earth we inhabit. Hence, the meaning of, “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth,” is that Allah (awj) is the light of the whole universe.

The reason why the word light is employed in lieu of creator is to point to the fact that just as light is manifest and as such does not need anything else to shed light on it, Allah (awj) is also manifest and obvious and there is no need for a mediating agent to illuminate Allah (awj). Hence, gnostics following the teachings of the prophets and Imams (ع), have expressed that

all creatures must be understood in the light of Allah (awj); we should not try to identify Allah (awj) through His creatures and effects [taken on their own level]. For the friends of Allah (awj), everything is manifest in the light of Allah (awj), and other than His light, nothing is to be seen. If not for the Divine light, everything would sink into the darkness of non-existence.

Therefore, the main point that is understood from this verse is that Allah (awj) is known to all His creatures, for the appearance of all things derives from His manifestness and illumination. Allah (awj) is not absent so as to be revealed through His creatures. He is manifest in all His Essence, and so His obscurity in the eyes of the intellectually impaired is due to the intensity of His light; “O You Who are obscured by the intensity of Your light, You Who are manifest but hidden in Your manifestness.”

Another point that is derived from this verse is the fact that Allah (awj) [in Islam] is referred to as “Light” not “the Greatest Light.” The Manichaean belief that Allah (awj) is the “Greatest Light” (i.e. a physical light similar to other lights but greater and more elevated) is not a correct belief. According to the Qur`an, Allah (awj) is “pure light” and is super-sensory. He is the sole light of the world of existence, and all else is “darkness.” In the words of some supplications, He is “the Light of Lights.” That is, He is the real light, and if there is any light at all, it is thanks to His existence and light.

Regarding the exposition, the reality underlying this verse, and its application there are numerous views and narrations that can be sought by referring to books of exegesis and the corpus of narrations.

Detailed Answer

Without doubt, by referring to Allah (awj) as light,

“Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth,” 1

the Qur`an does not intend to identify Him as a physical light. The sensible light is a creature among the creatures of Allah (awj), as is expressly stated in the first verse of Surat al-An’am,

“All praise belongs to Allah who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light.” 2

Muslim philosophers, theologians, and Qur`anic exegetes have all provided strong proofs in negating a corporeal aspect for Allah (awj).3 Hence, using the word light in reference to Allah (awj) does not denote sensory light, which is either a physical substance or a characteristic of matter.

Among the exegete-theologians, Fakhr Razi has probably treated this topic more thoroughly than any other. In his exposition of the Verse of Light, he has formulated six rational arguments why Allah (awj) cannot have a body and so consequently the light mentioned in the verse cannot be signifying sensible and material light.4

More importantly, there are numerous verses in the Qur`an that negate the coming-into-being (huduth) and corporeality of Allah (awj).

Moreover, the verse, “There is nothing like Him,” that recurs several times in the Qur`an denies the possibility of any likeness and resemblance of Allah (awj) to other existents. Hence, Allah’s (awj) being light cannot be

of the nature of the sensible light, for the latter has many instances [while Allah (awj) in no way resembles physical phenomena].

In analyzing the meaning of the word light, ’Allamah Tabataba`i explains: “The word light carries a popular meaning, and that is, the thing that lightens dark bodies so that we can see them, and so light is the thing by which all things become apparent and visible. Of course, light itself is essentially manifest and visible; there is nothing else that lightens it. Hence, light can be defined as that which is essentially manifest and makes other things manifest as well. This is the first meaning to which the word light was initially designated. Subsequently, the word was employed, by way of allegory or secondary designation (waz’ thanawi), to indicate whatever made sensible things visible. In a later stage, the word was also applied to super sensible realities. It is in this sense that intellect is defined as a light which reveals the intelligibles. All these various usages have stemmed from analyzing the initial meaning of light: “that which is essentially manifest and makes other things manifest as well.”5

Thus, what is initially understood by light is the sensible light that emanates from illuminant objects-such as, the sun, the stars, and man-made lamps-without which the world would be shrouded in darkness. Of course, the essence and definition of light from the standpoint of the physicists is a whole different issue. They might consider the reality of light as yet unravelled and they might have disagreements regarding it, but what is for certain is that in the material world there does exist something referred to as light that is radiated from illuminate objects, technically referred to as “sources of light.” The application of the word light, however, is not limited to sensible light. It can be applied to whatever is “manifest and makes manifest” or, put differently, to whatever is “apparent and makes apparent.” For instance, we often refer to knowledge as light, for it is in its essence clear and also sheds light on other realities.6

Regarding the believer, the Qur`an states,

“He who was lifeless, then We gave him life and provided him with a light by which he walks among the people…” 7

So in the Qur`anic terminology, faith is “light.” And as faith illuminates the heart of the believer, shows him the destination, and guides him to felicity, this application of light is correct. This is similar to the gnostics’ reference to love as “light.” Rumi says:

Love is victorious and I, conquered;

As the moon, I am illuminated with the light of Love.8

Using the word light in reference to Allah (awj) is correct, for such usage has occurred in the Qur`an and the narrations.9 But we must be careful to note in saying “Allah is light” that we do not intend material and sensible light; rather, that the Divine Essence is manifest and manifestant10 . The manifestness and clearness of everything is due to the emanation of His Essence. However, nothing illuminates Him. Thus, we can correctly say, Allah is light.

’Allamah Tabataba`i writes: “Since it is the existence of everything that is the cause of its manifestness to others, therefore the highest form of light is existence itself. Moreover, since the existence of contingent being

depends on the bestowal of existence by the Truth, the Supreme, He is the most complete instance of light. It is He Who is essentially manifest and also makes manifest all-other-than-him. All other existents become manifest and existent by virtue of Him. And this is the meaning of the verse, ‘Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.’”11

From the aforesaid explanations the meaning of the Verse of Light becomes clear that: Allah (awj) is the creator and the illuminator of the heavens and the earth. By the expression “the heavens and the earth” what is intended is the entirety of the world of existence; all the celestial and the terrestrial existents; the apparent and the hidden worlds.12 “The heavens and the earth” does not merely signify the sky above and the Earth that we inhabit. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that Allah (awj) is the light of the entire universe. The reason why the verse has employed this word in lieu of creator is to point to the fact that just as light is itself visible and does not need anything else to make it visible, rather it is light itself that illuminates all other things, Allah (awj), likewise has no creator and there is no other agent that could shed light on Him. He is a manifest, clear, and self-evident existent. There is no need for formulating reasoning to prove His existence. He is the creator of all the other existents of the world of being. In the words of Haji Sabzwari, “O You Who are obscured by the intensity of Your light.”13

Thus, as propounded by the gnostics in following the mystical teachings of the prophets and the Imams (ع), Allah (awj) is manifest to the highest degree; He is absolutely clear, and hence there is no need for the mediation of His creatures to reveal Him. In other words, in order to reason for the existence of Allah (awj), one should utilize the argument from cause rather than the argument from effect. We must first comprehend Allah (awj) and then through Him His creatures, not conversely.

It is to this truth that the following line from the ‘Arafah Supplication (related from Imam al-Husayn b. ‘Ali (ع)) refers: “O Allah! Being distracted by [Your] effects and creatures prevents me from seeing You.”

In Du’a Kumayl, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) expresses, “By the light of Your face from which all things are alight.” If not for the light of the Divine Visage and Essence, everything would be dark. That is, nothing will exist, and all things would recede back into the darkness of non-existence.

Without the light of the Divine Essence the shadow of non-existence would envelope all things; the resulting darkness would not be like that of the night [rather it would be the darkness of non-existence].

Hence, it must be said that Allah (awj), is absolute light. In comparison to Him, there is no other light. All other lights in comparison to Him are darkness. For, the only existent Who is by His essence manifest and manifesting is Allah (awj). All other things that are manifest and that illuminate other creatures are by their essences dark. It is Allah (awj) Who has bestowed on them that feature.

It is in this light that ‘Allamah Tabataba`i has made the following inference from that verse: “Hence, it can be inferred that Allah (awj), is not obscure for any existent, for the disclosure of all things, to themselves and to other things, derives from Allah’s (awj) illuminating. If Allah (awj) had not illuminated or brought into existence anything, nothing would have existed. Thus prior to all other things, Allah (awj) is the essential manifest being … Hence it can be concluded that light in the verse, ‘Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth,’ refers to that all-embracing Divine light which is the source of the universe, the light to which all things owe their manifestness, the light which is identical with the existence of everything. This is that all-embracing Divine mercy.”14

Thus, according to the Qur`an, Allah (awj), the Supreme, is not an absent or essentially obscure God that is revealed by His creatures. Such conception is defected and elementary. Real knowledge is to comprehend the world through Allah (awj), not conversely. And this verse asserts that Allah (awj) is at the height of conspicuousness, clarity, and obviousness.

Another point that can be inferred from this verse is that we refer to Allah as light, not as “the greatest light”, which implies that there are other lights as well, some more bright and others less bright, and that Allah (awj)is the greatest. According to the Qur`an, there is only one light and that is Allah, and everything else is dark and non-existent. It is true, however, that in comparing the creatures together, some are light and some are not-for instance, knowledge, faith, intellect, etc., are light. But the latter have derived their light from Allah (awj).

Thus, in comparison to Allah (awj), there is no other light, or in other words, He is “the Light of Lights.”15 That is, He is the light of all lights rather than being the greatest light. Therefore, the belief that Allah (awj) is the greatest light, that He is of the sensory lights but the brightest and the most intense-reputedly attributed to the Manicheans-is false.

In the end, we find it suitable to relate Imam ‘Ali b. Musa al-Rida’s (ع) reply to ‘Abbas ibn Hilal who had asked the Imam regarding the meaning of the Verse of Light: “He is the guide for the inhabitants of the heaven and the inhabitants of the earth.”16

Notes

1. Surat Nur (24), Verse 35:

 اَللٌّهُ نُورُ السَّمٌوَاتِ وَ الأَرْضِ

2. Surat al-An’am (6), Verse 1:

 وَ جَعَلَ الظُّلُمٌتِ وَ النُّورَ

3. These proofs can be found in Kashf al-Murad fi Sharh Tajrid al-I’tiqad pg. 287 and Nihayat al-Hikmah, pg. 275.

4. al-Tafsir al-Kabir, vol. 22, pg. 224

5. al-Mizan, vol. 15, pg. 122

6. Tafsir Surat al-Nur, by Murtada Muhahhari, pg. 101

7. Surat al-An’am (6), Verse 122:

أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتاً فَأَحْـيَينٌهُ وَ جَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُوراً يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ...

8. Mathnawi, Sixth Notebook

9. Nur (Light) is one of Allah’s (awj) names. Other than the Noble Qur`an, Allah (awj) has been addressed by this name in a number of traditions. Some examples are Kitab al-Tawhid ch. 29, pg. 194, no. 8 and pg. 195, no. 9 and pg. 219, no. 11; al-Khisal. In a number of supplications such as Du’a` al-Kumail and Du’a` Jawshan Kabir this name of Allah (awj) has been mentioned. It is considered one of Allah’s (awj) 99 names. Gnostics have prolonged discussions about these names which we cannot discuss here.

10. I did not find this word in the dictionary in the sense intended here. However, I think it is appropriate to use it since the suffix ­-ant­ denotes fa’iliyyah. (Tr.)

11. al-Mizan, vol. 15, pg. 122

12. Tafsir Surat Nur, by Murtada Muhahhari, pg. 98

13. Manzumah, Chapter Hikmah

14. al-Mizan, vol. 15, pg. 123

15. In Mafatih al-Jinan there is a supplication called “Nur” (light). In it we read:

 “يا نور النور”

 (O light of light)

16. al-Tawhid, ch. 14, no. 1

Question 11: Divine Tests

Question: If Allah (awj) is omniscient, why does He need to test mankind?

Brief Answer

As implied by the question, because Allah (awj) is omniscient, the purpose of His tests is not to unveil something hitherto unknown. Rather, the Qur`an and ahadith suggest that these tests serve two purposes. First, they comprise a Divine precedent (sunnah ilahiyyah1 ) that is in turn based on another Divine precedent that can be termed “universal guidance.”

In particular, Allah (awj) wishes that mankind, by obeying the divine law (shari’ah) and struggling through the various circumstances that he encounters in life, will blossom from potentiality to actuality, and will thereby attain the level of perfection that has been intended for him. One of the terms that is used for such tests in Islamic literature is fitnah (in this sense this term denotes a “crucible”).

Fitnah literally refers to the process of smelting by which gold is purified. In one hadith it is said that people are tested the way gold is tested. The mettle of man is gold ore that is purified in the crucible of Divine tests and guidance. It should be kept in mind though, that in the course of such tests, just as good qualities reach their perfection in the believers, bad qualities also develop to the utmost in disbelievers.

The second purpose that these tests serve is to awaken man from his sleep of heedlessness. The Qur`an explains that one of the purposes of tragedy and disaster is to test man and thereby jar him from his stupor of heedlessness. In a way, tragedy in man’s life serves the same purpose as the ridges that are embossed on some modern motorways and highways that are meant to wake drivers during the monotony of highway driving so they do not fall asleep at the wheel.

There are, in reality, two types of Divine will at play here. One is called the existential will (al-iradah al-takwiniyyah) and the other is called the legislative will (al-iradah al-tashri’iyyah). Allah’s (awj) existential will is that through Divine tests, both believers and disbelievers be able to actualize their good and bad potentials. On the other hand, his legislative will is that only good potentials be actualized.

Detailed Answer

Divine tests are not designed to unveil something hitherto unknown, since Allah (awj) is omniscient and needs no such unveiling. Rather, they comprise a Divine precedent, that is based on a second Divine precedent called “universal guidance.” By universal guidance, we mean Allah’s (awj) guidance of all creation (whether they be conscious or not), as it relates to man.

To clarify, we must first describe the three types of Divine guidance:

1. One type of guidance is intended only for the most pious people and has been negated from other groups in the following verses of the Qur`an:

“Allah does not guide the wrongdoing ones,”

and

“Allah does not guide the corrupt ones.”

The converse of this kind of guidance is misguidance.

2. Another type of guidance known as “legislative guidance” entails showing someone the path. This kind of guidance addresses both believers and disbelievers, but does not benefit inanimate beings. Examples of this kind of guidance are in the following verses: “We showed him the path while he is either grateful or ungrateful2 ,” and “As for (the people of) Thamud, we guided them, but they preferred blindness to guidance.”3

3. The third kind of guidance is universal both in terms of the beings who are guided and the resulting guidance and is also called existential guidance. This is the guidance referred to in the following verse:

“Our Sustainer is He who gave everything its existence, and then guided it.”4

This verse implies that Allah’s (awj) universal guidance includes all creation, whether conscious or inanimate. In another verse, the Qur`an states,

“who created and proportioned; who determined and guided.” 5

Here, the verb “to determine” (taqdir) entails the facilitation of the appropriate means of a given thing so that it is “guided” to fulfil the purpose for which it was created.

All of creation - whether conscious or inanimate - attains its intended purpose through this third type of existential guidance. However man, who is more than just a physical being living in this material world, requires more than the existential guidance afforded to all creation. He can only attain perfection by choosing his path according to his free will. For this reason, Allah must on the one hand, provide a set of positive and negative commands entailed in the shari’ah (divine law) so that man can choose to either obey or disobey.

On the other hand, Allah (awj) must create “problems” at the individual and societal levels (some of which are caused by human choice and some of which are caused by natural means such as natural disasters) so that man can choose a course of action with respect to these problems. By choosing a course of action with respect to divine law and the aforementioned problems, man actualizes the potential that is hidden within himself, and either proves himself to be worthy of eternal felicity or chastisement. It is for this reason that both the divine law and human tragedy are referred to in Islamic literature by the terms “trial,” “tribulation,” and “test.”

To put it simply, Allah (awj) is like a scientist examining each individual human being. The parameters on which his experiments are based are the shari’ah and human tragedy. Through these two variables, a person’s station with respect to the level of perfection that was intended for him is determined.6

To recapitulate, Divine tests are based on the Divine precedent called universal guidance. Through these tests every person comes to know which abode he will enter: the abode of reward or the abode of chastisement. The Qur`an describes the purpose of these tests in this way: “…so that Allah may purify those who have faith and that He may eradicate the faithless.”7

In the course of repeated tests, the superficial faith and deceitful good qualities of the faithless and the hypocrites are extirpated. Another meaning

of the “eradication of the faithless” is mentioned in the verse that says, “the (final) outcome will be in favour of the fear of Allah”8 and in the verse that reads,

“My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.” 9

We can recap the positive effects of divine tests in the following two points:

1. They serve to actualize hidden potentials. Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) says: “It is in extreme circumstances that a man’s true mettle shows itself.”10 It is narrated from Imam ‘Ali b. Musa al-Rida (ع) that “People are tested as gold is tested, and they are purified as gold is purified.”11 The word fitnah refers to the process of smelting gold ore. Gold ore is melted so that its impurities float to the surface and are removed. Likewise the essence of man is like gold that Allah (awj) wishes to purify. Meanwhile, the presence of animal-like qualities such as anger and lust pose a major obstacle to his purification. It is for this reason that Divine tests are considered a means for the perfection of mankind.

In the military, soldiers are required to perform strenuous activities to build their strength. Likewise, Divine tests are meant to strengthen man’s inner self. Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) says, “Although Allah knows man better than he knows himself, (He tests him) in order to make manifest those actions by which he earns his reward or punishment.”12

2. They also serve to awaken man from his sleep of heedlessness. Allah (awj) tests man both through tragedy and hardship and by showering him with an abundance of blessings such as power, health, and wealth. Often these blessing deceive a person so much that they threaten to lead to his downfall. Allah (awj) sends tragedy his way, in order to jar him from his stupor so that he can once again discern right from wrong, and so that he remembers that all existence and blessings issue from Allah (awj), whom one should never forget and against whom one should never sin.

Many verses in the Qur`an speak of this aspect of Divine tests13 . These verses generally use the terms tadhakkur (to remind), tadarru` (to show humility), and ruju’ (to return to the path). These concepts link together in the following way: to return to the path that leads to Allah (awj) one must first be reminded of Allah (awj); he must then humble himself before Allah (awj); only then can he truly return to Allah (awj) and better himself. Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) refers to this Qur`anic truth in the following way: “When Allah’s servants commit a sin, He tests them with hardship until they repent and cease committing sins and heed Allah’s admonishment.”14

If what we have said so far is true, then one might wonder why Allah’s (awj) prophets (ع), Imams (ع), and saints are tested? The answer to this question is found in a narration of Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) where he says: “The divine test is a form of discipline for the wrongdoer, a test for the believer, a means to increase one’s station for the prophets, and a means of ennoblement for the saints of Allah.”15