The Stages and the Degrees of the Act
The Glorious Qur'an ascribes the world to Allah, the Exalted in the form of some concepts which conform with the attributes and the stages of act. The noble narratives state a certain system for those concepts. For example, some narratives say that the happening of everything in this world depends on four things: knowledge, will, measurement and decree. Some other narratives count them to be five or seven.
These, however, are sporadically stated in the Qur'an. But there is not a single ayah to count all the four, five or seven of them. The origins, the stages or the degrees of the act are the same as that named as to be the origin of, and the prelude to, our acts. The mind, after abstracting and purifying these concepts, ascribes them to Allah. We may not forget that, in respect to Allah, time is of no concern, and it does not appear in the Essence of Allah as an accidental event. Actually, they are concepts which the mind abstracts them from the connection between Allah and the world.
Allah's Knowledge
Knowledge is one of the said concepts. Talking about the Divine Attributes, we said that one of the essential attributes is knowledge, and, whether there is a world or not, the Holy Essence of Allah, the Exalted, is the very Knowledge itself. Allah is aware of His own Essence, because His Divine Existence is such that He cannot be unaware of Himself. This awareness, in a sense, awareness of all other things, as is explained in its place.
Besides the essential knowledge, the Qur'an ascribes other kinds of knowledge to Allah. In some ayahs we read about a knowledge which is registered in a book, such as: "He said: The Knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a Book; my Lord neither errs nor forgets,"
or "And with Him are the keys of the unseen, no one knows them but He," up to "neither anything green nor dry is but in a clear Book."
These ayahs say that Allah is aware of everything. No leaf of a tree falls down unless Allah is aware of it. No event happens unless Allah knows it. The ayah ends with "...neither anything green nor dry is but in a clear Book". It is quite clear from these ayahs that the divine knowledge, or a part of it, is registered in a book.
A number of scholars wrote analysis about this Book. They expanded on the meaning of the "Book" so much that it may include Allah Himself. We do not support such disposals of linguistic concepts. It is true that some concepts can be generalized by ommitting their particularities so as to enlarge their capacities and widen their limits, but only to a commonly acceptable extent. Otherwise all the concepts would be amalgamated into each other. The ayah says that the knowledge of all things is in a Book. This expression does not fit in with saying that the Book is Allah Himself, and it is not commonly agreeable. This Book must naturally be one of Allah's creatures, as it is referred to in other instances as "The Preserved Tablet".
So, based upon the ayahs which mention the Book or the Preserved Tablet, we may ascribe to Allah knowledge other than the Essential Knowledge. It is a knowledge as a created being, i.e. Allah has created a being which reflects, like a mirror, what He will create afterwards. The one who can get knowledge of this being, supervises and looks at it, will be able to see the events and be aware of the past, present and future happenings. This is a divine knowledge demonstrated in a creature.
An ayah says: "But it is a Glorious Qur'an, in a Preserved Tablet,"
and another says: "Surely it is an honourable Qur'an, in a guarded Book, no one touches it except the purified ones."
Those "ones", according to the Qur'an, are Ahlul Bayt (A.S.) [the progeny of the Prophet], because it says: "Allah only wants to keep away the uncleanness from you, O Ahlul Bayt and to purify you thoroughly."
These two ayahs, taken together, give us to understand that only Ahlul Bayt ( A.S.) are apt to get in touch with the truth of the Preserved Tablet. This is a God-given knowledge to a being whose truth we are unable to understand. We only know that the Qur'an speaks of a being by the name: a Guarded Book, a Preserved Tablet or a Clear Book, in which everything is quite clear, and, if anyone could reach it and get in touch with it, he would understand the truths of things. So, here is a knowledge ascribed to Allah in respect to this creature: "He said: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a Book"
The Factual Knowledge
There is another knowledge which is ascribed to Allah by the Qur'an. It is of a lower degree. It covers the parts of any act that happens. We are inclined to name it: The Factual Knowledge. As a matter of fact, the Factual Knowledge is expressed in many terms: in philosophy it counters the emotional knowledge. In another instance it counters the essential knowledge, like the factual will and the essential will. Our intended Factual Knowledge is that which is not essential, which is ascribed to Allah in respect to the happening of any part of an act.
Taking this into consideration, many of the allagorical ayahs of the Qur'an concerning knowledge can be solved. On one side, we know that Allah is never ignorant of anything, but, on the other side, we encounter ayahs which say that Allah knew that at a certain time or will know. The way of coordinating these ayahs is to know that Allah's knowledge, which is His very Essence, is unchangeable, is not temporal, never transposeable and is unlimited, while the knowledge, which is in practice, is a concept abstracted by the mind through observing the act and the one who performs it.
It had already been said that the abstract concepts follow the abstracting side and the origin of abstraction. As the origin of abstraction, here, is two things: one is essential and divine, the other is created, and, being ascribed to the created, it can be temporal. But as the Essence of Allah is not temporal and outside time, the latter, being ascribed to Allah, is void of time.
For example, the concept of creation, is taken from its relation to the created, it is temporal. So, when we say that Allah had created this creature at so-and-so time, this time is not referred to Allah, but to the world. But this concept of creation, being an annexed concept, and since one side of the annexation is a temporal being, it is possible to regard it temporal. Similarly, the knowledge which is abstracted from the position of action, can also be temporal, with a view to its annexation, not with the view of the Divine Essence.
By the way of throwing light on this subject, we may better change it from the concept of knowledge to the concept of seeing, hearing, or the like. It happens that somebody is unable to see, but in a time he is, or sometimes he is able to see, but there is nothing to be seen before him. So, despite the fact that his eyes are open and there is light, but because there is nothing to reflect the light, he sees nothing. At night you can see nothing in the lighted sky, but you can see the bird flying in it, in which case you realize the sky is lighted. You could see only because of certain conditions, that is, the seen object appeared in the required time.
Concerning the Factual Knowledge, the same thing is applicable. so, when we say that Allah knew at this time, is because the known thing appeared only at that time, not that Allah was ignorant and then He Knew. Therefore, there is a knowledge related to the act, such as the ayah: "Now has Allah lightened your burden, for He knew that there is weakness in you,"
that is, the weakness appeared in them at that time, and belonged to Allah's Knowledge: "And certainly We will try you until We know those of you who strive hard and the forbearer.
That is, till striving and forbearing blossom in you and become manifest, not that Allah was ignorant and He knew only when you showed striving and forbearance! In short, we ascribe three kinds of knowledge to Allah: first, the Essential Knowledge, which is the very Essence of Allah, second, the knowledge which is preserved in the Book or the Tablet, and which the others can be acquainted with, but only for a few whom Allah had purified, and third, the knowledge that belongs to act, i.e. it is the very act itself, and which is abstracted by the mind.
We must add that by Factual Knowledge we do not mean that when Allah had created the world and performed some acts. He got a new knowledge, or He had an Essential Knowledge and then He got a new Factual Knowledge. If we say that He got something which He lacked, it would mean deficiency and change in the Divine Essence. The Factual Knowledge is a concept which the mind abstracts, by way of comparison with the Divine Essence. It is not an actual reality added to the Divine Essence. In the Divine Essence there is nothing but the Essential Knowledge. That which appears is related to the created. Ascribing it to the Divine Essence is in the shape of annexed abstract concept.
The Divine Permission
One of the points related to acts is Allah's permission to do things, followed by the Divine Decree. Permission, conventionally, denotes the case of somebody, who has no legal right to dispose of something, but somebody else, who has the legal right, permits him to do so. For example, no one has the right to enter another's house unless the owner of the house gives him permission to enter it. The Qur'an, referring to good behaviour and the rules of good companionship and sociability, presents a number of ayahs concerning getting permission: asking the Prophet's permission, the children asking their parent's permission before entering their room and asking the permission of the owner of a house before entering it, etc.
Permission, in this sense, is a legal concept, i.e. when we say that one cannot enter a house without its owner's permission, the term "cannot" is not a genetic matter, because he can enter per force. It is, in fact, a legal prohibition, which is a relative, not corporeal, matter. The wise people decided, for certain reasons, that nobody should enter a house without its owner's permission, as otherwise the people's comfort and the society's order would be disturbed. On this basis, we say that this is a conventional, legislative or legal permission. But its usage in the Qur'an is not only confined to the legislative, legal or conventional use, as there is also the genetic permission.
In some instances the Qur'an refers to the natural factors as to be functioning by Allah's permission, and that no phenomenon appears without Allah's permission.
Legislative and Genetic Permissions
Consequently, we may divide permissions, according to the Qur'an, into two divisions: Genetic and Legislative Permissions. The Qur'an claims that all which happen in the world of reality, no matter who the doers are or the way they are done, are done by Allah's general permission. There is a general permission covering them all, otherwise nothing could have taken place. Besides this permission, the Qur'an refers to another connection for the appearance of the world's phenomena, namely: taqdir (divine decree). There is a third connection called: qada' (fate). There is further another connection named: knowledge. We may also refer to another connection by the name: "the written", i.e. Allah has written everything on a "Tablet", and it seems that the expression: "what is written on the forehead", denoting destiny or fate, is not irrelevant. That is, the teachings of the Divine Books tell that Allah has written down the events before their taking place.
The ayahs Related to "Permission"
There are many ayahs concerning the legislative permission, such as: "And We did not send any messenger but that he should be obeyed, by Allah's permission,
or that which denotes the legislation of jihad for the first time: "Permission (to fight) is given to those who are being fought because they have been wrong, and surely Allah is able to give them victory."
This was when the Muslims had no reasonable defending power. They, of course, wished to be able to fight the infidels and the polytheists. Especially when they were persecuted and tortured, they used to ask the Prophet (S.A.) to permit them to fight their enemies, but they were told: "Withhold your hands, and keep up the Salat",
until the Muslims migrated from Mecca to al-Madinah, where they established their headquarters and mustered their defending power. At that time the above ayah was revealed, which seems to be the first ayah permitting the holy war, jihad, for defence. This was a legislative permission, which told the Muslims: so far you were not permitted to fight, but from now on you are permitted to.
Regarding the genetic permission, the Qur'an says: "And as for the good land, its vegetation comes forth by permission of its Lord".
The point here is the growing of the plants out from the earth. The Qur'an says that this happens by Allah's permission. That is, the natural elements which cause the growing of the plant such as the seeds, the earth, the water etc., do their job by Allah's permission. If Allah had not permitted the land to cleave, the clouds to rain and the seeds to grow there would have been no vegetation. This permission is not a legal one, because the earth, the sun, the rain etc. have no sense so that a law can be coined for them. This permission, therefore, is a genetic one.
Here is another example about witchcraft. What is certain about it is its effect on one's perception. That is, there are people who believe that witchcraft has certain effects upon the world. Even if these effects were imagined and fancied, the very believing in them is an effect stirring one's imagination. As regards the magic of the Pharaohs, the Qur'an says: "...their cords and their sticks-he imagined them, by their magic, as if they were moving".
In another story, the Quran tells about Harut and Marut who taught witchcraft, and says: "...and they cannot hurt with it any one except with Allah's permission.".
That is, no witchcraft can be effective without Allah's permission. What kind of permission is that: legal or genetic? Undoubtedly, legality is irrelevant here, as witchcraft is inanimate and cannot understand and obey. The permission, therefore, is genetic. There are ayahs which say that man appears and dies by Allah's permission: "No soul can ever die except by Allah's permission".
Even more than that. There are ayahs which confirm that even man's voluntary actions would not take place without Allah's permission. In the Qur'an we read: "And it is not for any soul to believe except by Allah's permission".
This is a genetic permission, too, as otherwise, the legislative permission is for all, even the infidels.
Conclusions
From the specimens of the above mentioned ayahs - of which there are much more - we gather that Allah wants to inform us, through these expressions, that no action and reaction can be out of Allah's control and will. Allah, who created the world, has in His control all its phenomena and effects. It is His power and will that appear in the world. No one can overcome Allah's will or wage war against Him to do anything contrary to His will. Those who rose against the prophets and the straight path are not considered to have risen against Allah, unlike what is stated in the current Torah that victory is sometimes Allah's and sometimes His servants'.
As a matter of course, in the original Torah there are no such allegations. These are the distortions which had been inserted in it later. The Qur'an stands quite against such blasphemous ideas , and asserts that nothing is out of Allah's control "And the jews say The hands of Allah are tied up".
The polytheists also used to say that the management of the affairs is in the hands of Allah's associates and the lords.
The Qur'an takes a firm stand against such allegations and stresses, in different manners, that Allah's power and will cover everything, and whatever happens anywhere, happens under the management of Allah. It further wants to guide man to understand Allah's unity of actions. It wants to educate and bring up the believer to realize that all effects are from Allah independently, and to recognize Allah's divine hand in all beings and their affairs. This is a reality to which a believing man should attain.
But how a man, who thinks himself and nature to be independent, can attain to that stage? We believe ourselves to be independent and do not feel being in need of Allah: it is we who say, it is we who hear, etc. In none of these we feel to be in need of Allah, and even it is we who turn the world upside down, it is we who fight, conquer the stars, roam through the space, without feeling any need of Allah in our activities.
Thus, man takes himself and the natural elements to be independent in their effectiveness. But the Qur'an wants to educate the believer in such a way, and to make him so aware, that he recognizes the hand of Allah in everything, or even to see the hands of the others under the light of His hand. That is why the Qur'an pays a special attention to its expressions and methods of declarations. It ascribes all acts to Allah in different forms, the simplest of which is to say that all events happen by Allah's permission. This is the least to be said in respect to His unity of actions.
So, when a believing man wants to become elevated in monotheism, he must begin with acquiring the belief that whatever happens is not without Allah's permission, and that He can stop it if He wills so. When He allows a number of people to do whatsoever they like for a short period, it does not mean that they had escaped from His control and that He can no longer curb them. This is, in fact, a sort of management. He wants them to feel as if they were the masters of the situation, and that they were free to do whatever they desired, so as to let them expose themselves and their deeds, but not that He has been overcome.
We are not to think that when the tyrants could dominate the people, they could overcome Allah, too. It was Allah Himself Who allowed them, in order to both try them and the society as well. This was by Allah's permission, and He could stop them any time, as He did when He destroyed Namrud by a gnat.
So, concerning these grace periods given to some groups, we should not think that these denote Allah's defeat, such as the Jews used to think that Jacob had defeated Allah and threw Him to the ground, and asked Him blessings and favours, but Allah told him that the day will break and His servant would come and see Him defeated, but Jacob told Him that He must give him first the blessings which He had given to Ibraham and Isaac. Thus, Jacob could get those blessings per force. Such is their description of Allah, whereas the Qur'an says that the entire world belongs to Him and that nothing happens without His permission. That is, whatever happens everywhere in the world, in any form, quantity and details, happens by His permission.
Allah has given the fire the permission to burn, the sun to shine, the clouds to rain, the plants to grow and the earth to cleave. Had it not been for His permission, none of these would have happened. This was the first step of the monotheistic knowledge concerning action, i.e. believing that everything is by Allah's permission, which covers the lifeless nature, as well as the living creatures, including the human beings, even their voluntary acts come under His genetic permission. This is, even the servant who commits disobedience, his disobedience is covered by this genetic permission, though not covered by the legislative permission, i.e. Allah has not legally permitted us to disobey Him, but genetically, He has. That is, He has created man with a free will, giving him the power to choose to disobey or obey.
There is difference between the genetic and the legislative permissions, between genetic and legislative wish, and between genetic and legislative will. Everything happens according to divine permission, wish and will, but this is true of the genetic kind only. That is, Allah has given the power of being effective to man and to other factors, so as to be able to show out their effects. This is the very genetic divine permission. In some instances He has given the legislative permission, too: "...all good things are made lawful for you".
This is a legislative permission. In some instances there is only a genetic, no legislative permission. Something is legally forbidden. Similar division is true in respect to "wish" and "will".
Everything happens by the divine genetic will and wish, but not everything happens by Allah's legislative will and wish. Only those things, which are in accordance with the divine laws, happen by Allah's legislative will and wish. But there is nothing in the world to happen contrary to Allah's genetic permission, wish and will.
Teaching the Divine Unity of Actions
Actually, this kind of teaching, on which the Qur'an insists, saying that everything happens by Allah's permission, is a method of teaching Allah's unity of actions, which gradually brings man nearer to the truth of Tawhid, monotheism. First it says that things happen by permission, then it says they happen by will. It then says: Beware not say: "I will do such-and-such tomorrow", unless you add "by Allah's Will". The custom of using the phrase: insha'allah - by Allah's Will - common among the Muslims, is not a mere polite ceremony. Allah tells His Messenger: "And do not say of anything: I shall do it tomorrow, unless Allah wills".
How do we know what would happen tomorrow?
It maybe that Allah willed something else. You may decide to travel to somewhere the next day. You reach the airport in time and wait in the waiting saloon. Suddenly they announce that your flight has been postponed for two hours. You wait for two hours. Then they announce again that the delay will be twelve hours. Your decision to travel was determined, but does everything happen in accordance with your desire? We have no control over all the factors of an act. Are our lives under our control? Is there anybody who knows that he will be alive the next hour that he may plan for this next hour? The one who believes in the Oneness of Allah and recognizes His hand in everything and that His management is apparent everywhere, will not allow himself to decide for the future. This is a question related to Tawhid, and it goes .far beyond self-reliance known to psychology.
In psychology the question is whether man should rely upon himself or upon others. The answer is that man should depend upon himself. What does that mean? It means that he must rely on himself, be brave in acting, and expect no help from the others. Those who have no such merits will linger behind in life.
In other words, man in his life should shoulder his own luggage, expecting no body to carry it for him. But depending on Allah and on His help is above all these things, it is a different chapter. A believer neither depends on others, nor on himself. He always depends upon Allah, the power which is above him and above all mankind, nature and the whole world. This dependence creates a stronger power in man. Much as I try to depend on my own self, I know my power to be so limited, and I may reach a blind point where I can do nothing more. Even if I depended on others, their total human abilities would, afterall, be limited, too. But the one who depends upon the limitless divine power, will never feel being defeated, because no power can ever stand against His.
The monotheist is made up in such a model that he says: by Allah, I am afraid of nothing. Had he depended on his own power, he would have felt afraid even at the very first step. No one can allege this, unless he is depending on the divine power. He always says: "Allah did it", never says" I did it". This viewpoint, this spiritual dependence, makes man undefeatable. But the one who depends on himself, to whatever extent, will finally be defeated. How much power can an individual have?
Therefore, relying upon Allah is something much higher than the self-reliance taught to us. The monotheist believes that a great and complete management is governing the whole world, in which the human beings are but a small pieces in this huge system of divine management. Can such a small piece depend on himself? Having known Allah, he will always fix his eyes on Him. He decides, thinks, acts, but he still says: "insha'allah", by Allah's Will: "And you will not, unless Allah Wills."
Your own will depends on Allah's. Allah wants you to will. Had He not willed, He would not have given you the power to will, to want, to think and act freely. This very free will which you have and your freedom to choose depend on Allah's Will.
When you decide on doing something, take all the needed steps, but your heart should be directed to Allah. It is He who causes you to succeed in your work and to be victorious. Should this frame of mind appear in man he would not be defeated, if not, he would be like a straw in the wind, or a hay in the hands of roaring torrents and universal factors. When man connects himself to Allah's Will, and places it under the rays of His Will, he would never be defeated, nor would he feel worried and disturbed. To proceed towards this monotheistic knowledge, man will have to pass through many stages, the first of which is to believe that nothing can happen without Allah's permission. The next stage is to note the divine decree and fate, the subject we will handle presently.
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Author: Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi
