Title al-DURRAH al-FAKHIRAH fi KASHF 'ULUM al-AKHIRAH Hijri Date: Rabi' II 1093 Gregorian Author Abu Hamid Muhammad

ibn Muhammad al-Ghazzali al-Tusi (d. 505/1111) Copyist Date: 1682

Manuscript (741) Physical description

Call

Number

(741) : fol . 1b-33b, 19.5 x 14 / 15 x 9 cm. , 21 lin.-- Laid paper, watermark : crown-starcrescent.-- Neat Naskhi hand.-- Black and red ink.-- Damaged half-leather binding. Badly wormed and water-stained.

Incipit

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Quranic Studies is part of the Institutes Department of Academic Research and Publications. The IIS embarked on Quranic studies in 2000 with a view to promoting scholarship on the plurality of traditions inspired by the Holy Quran and developed throughout Muslim history, up to the present time. By conducting research into and teaching about these interpretive traditions, the Institute aims to advance knowledge about the entire spectrum of traditional sources and a general understanding of the plurality of interpretations that have been produced by Muslims throughout history as well as of the various contexts, and types of methodology that have shaped those interpretations.

Qur'anic Studies: Publications

The Institute, through the Qur'anic Studies Unit, publishes the Quranic Studies Series in association with Oxford University Press. The Holy Quran has been an inexhaustible source of intellectual and spiritual reflection throughout Islamic history, giving rise to ever-proliferating commentaries and interpretations. Many of these have remained accessible only to specialists due to their intellectually demanding nature. Others, more widely read, remain un-translated from the primary language of their composition. This series aims to make some of these materials from a broad chronological range available to a wider readership through translation and publication in English.

The series contains a range of publications including:

An Anthology of Quranic Commentaries Translations and editions of classical texts with accompanying contextual introductions Monographs and studies of particular authors or themes Regional Approaches to the Holy Quran, each volume consisting of a series of edited contributions focusing on the different aspects of the use and interpretation of the Holy Quran in given regions of the Muslim world.

Throughout this series, the aims are to allow the materials to speak for themselves and to place on record the rich diversity and plurality of approaches and opinions which have been applied to the Holy Quran throughout history. The breadth of this range is instructive in itself. Much is to be gained by a simple appreciation of the enormous wealth of intellectual effort that has been devoted to the Holy Quran from the earliest times. It is hoped that, through this objective, this series will prove of use to scholars and students in Quranic studies as well as other allied and relevant fields.

If you wish to access a reading list compiled by the Qur'anic Studies Unit, please click here. List Keys to the of Arcana by Toby Publications: Mayer

An Anthology of Quranic Commentaries by Feras Hamza and Sajjad Rizvi with Farhana Mayer Word Sufi Approaches to of God, Art of Man by Fahmida Annabel Contemporary Indonesia by Abdullah Suleman (ed.) Keeler Saeed

Hermeneutics by the Quran in

Modern Muslim Intellectuals and the Qur'an by Suha Taji-Farouki

Sufi Hermeneutics: The Quran Commentary of Rashid al-Din Maybudi Dr Annabel Keeler

Quranic Studies Series. Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2006. ISBN (Hardback): ISBN 978-0-19-921478-5 ISBN (Softback):

This is the first major study in a Western language of Rashid al-Din Maybudis Persian commentary on the Noble Quran, Kashf al-asrar wa uddat al-abrar(Unveiling of Mysteries and Provision of the Righteous). The book explores how hermeneutics and doctrine interact in the writing of a Sufi commentary on the Quran and introduces an important Persian tafsir to new audiences. Previously little known outside the Persian-speaking world, Maybudis Kashf al-asrar is today recognised as a work of considerable significance not only for an understanding of the development of Sufi hermeneutics, but also as a treasury of Sufi lore; the extensive esoteric sections of the commentary, which cover over a thousand pages, contain countless sayings and anecdotes of important figures in Islamic mysticism as well as detailed expositions of the doctrines of Sufism. Commenced in 520/1126 CE during one of the most exciting periods in Sufisms history, the Kashf al-asrar is based on, and probably embodies, the only surviving text of an earlier Quran commentary by the famous Hanbali mystic, Abd Allah al-Ansari (d. 481/1089 CE). Extant in over fifty manuscripts, the Kashf al-asrar may be counted among the most popular

Persian tafsirs. Moreover, the emerging doctrines and poetic language of lovemysticism manifested in the text were to become essential elements in later Persian Sufi literature, influencing the style and content of Kamal al-Din Waiz Kashifis (d. 910/1504 CE) Mawahib Aliyya in Persian and Ismail Haqqi Burusawis (d. 1137/1724 CE) Ruh al-bayan in Arabic. In her detailed analysis of the Kashf al-asrar, Annabel Keeler explores the way in which hermeneutics and doctrine interact in a Sufi commentary on the Quran. Like earlier works in the field of Sufi exegesis, such as those by Louis Massignon, Henri Corbin, Paul Nwyia, Gerhard Bwering and Pierre Lory, her study pays close attention to the relationship between Quranic word, mystical experience and the language of interpretation. It views language with regard not only to the evolving terminologies for the exposition of mystical experience, but also to the context of an emerging literary language which, in the early twelfth century, was becoming indispensable to the expression of the doctrines of mystical love. Thus, the study considers the way in which Sufi exegesis may reflect a particular spiritual ethos as well as the mystical experience of the commentator. The study begins with a general introduction to the Kashf al-asrar, its author and the intellectual climate out of which it emerged (chapter one). The main body of the book is divided into three parts. The first part (chapters two and three) offers an analysis of the hermeneutics of the Kashf al-asrar, taking hermeneutics to mean the theory, criteria, aims and method of Quran interpretation. Chapter two examines the overall hermeneutics of the Kashf al-asrar, on the basis of Maybudis own statements and the text itself, and considers in particular his reasons for combining exoteric and esoteric interpretations in one work and writing his commentary in Persian. Chapter three explores the mystical hermeneutics of theKashf al-asrar, beginning with a discussion of theories of levels of meaning in the Quran and their possible connection to other traditions of scriptural interpretation. It takes advantage of Maybudis juxtaposition of exoteric and esoteric interpretations in the Kashf al-asrar, and, by contrasting his Nawbat II and Nawbat III commentaries on a particular passage of the Quran, attempts to define more precisely the hermeneutics of mystical interpretation. The chapter ends with an examination of the method and procedure of mystical interpretation, drawing examples from Qushayris Lataif al-isharat as well as from the Kashf al-asraritself.

The second part of the study (chapters four to seven) examines the mystical doctrines in the Kashf al-asrar. Chapter four provides a general background to Sufism in Maybudis time, focusing in particular on the development of love-mysticism. It then presents an overview of the principal mystical teachings of theKashf al-asrar and discusses their relationship with the doctrines of Abd Allah al-Ansari. Chapter five looks at what might be called Maybudis ontology and cosmology, i.e., his discussion of God and creation, the Muhammadan Light, the creation of Adam, his fall and the Covenant of Alast. Chapter six explores various aspects of spiritual guidance presented in the Kashf al-asrar, including Maybudis spiritual psychology, his teachings on the inner constitution of the human being, spiritual states and stations, spiritual hierarchies and different approaches to the mystical path. Chapter seven looks more closely at the mystical theology of theKashf al-asrar and its integration with the doctrines of the mystical way of love. The third part of the study (chapters eight to ten) shows how Maybudi conveys these teachings through his mystical interpretations of the stories of the prophets Abraham, Moses and Joseph, whose stories have always held particular interest for Sufis. These examples enable the reader to see how Maybudi portrays the prophets as prototypes of the spiritual wayfarer and interprets events in their lives as states and stations on the Sufi path. Throughout the book, the subtleties and complexities of Sufi hermeneutics and doctrine are clearly explained with reference to other relevant Sufi literature and illustrated with appropriate material from the Kashf al-asrar. With the numerous passages selected and translated from Maybudis vast commentary for the first time, readers can not only become acquainted with the spirit of this important work of Sufi exegesis, they can also gain a deeper insight into the doctrines and language of later Sufi literature.
Dr Annabel Keeler is a Resident Senior Member of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge, where she works in the field of Islamic mysticism with a particular interest in Sufi Qur'an interpretation. She is currently preparing monographs on the life and thought of the ninth-century mystic, Bayazid Bistami, and the comparative study of Sufi commentaries on Surat Yusuf.

Me

Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem

Was-salaat was-salaam `ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa `ala aalihi wasahibihi ajma`een. On the blessed occasion of the Birthday of our master, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, we are pleased to announce again the Haqqani Fellowship websitehttp://www.haqqanifellowship.co m as a social network for the benefit of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani members who are the followers, mureeds, around the world of Mawlana Sultan al-Awliya, all around the world. This network was established for the purpose of knowing each other as Allah has ordered in Suratul-Hujurat:

O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is allknowing, all-aware. [49:13] I asked Mawlana Shaykh about the website and he is very happy with this website and has endorsed it. Therefore we are asking all mureeds and muhibeen to become members and participate in this website with their whole enthusiasm, join in its forums, blogs, posting videos, photos and audio files suitable to the tariqah and following its good conduct (adab). On the occcasion of Mawlana Shaykh's birthday, we pray that Alalh make this site and social network a beacon for all those lost in the storms

and tempests of this dunya life, bringing them to the shore of safety in Mawlana Shaykh's harbor of tranquility and peace. Sincerely, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani laila haillallah (no god but Allah) billah (with Allah) minallah (from Allah) illallah (except Allah) lahauwala quwata illah billah (there is no power and no strength save with Allah) kullumin indallah (all is from Allah) and he is forever seeking to see His face wheresoever he turns as in 'liwajhillah'? - at the same time a sufi is surely one who commit himself towards Allah with each breath for he is continuously circumbulating the kaabah of his heart with Allah as the only occupant of his
ssage fr

heart? - so how can Allah be far away from a sufi when He is the closest to him for a true sufi devotes his life to be taqarrub (close) to Him and by Allah's grace so many of the sufis we know are regarded as muqarabbins (the near ones)? O son, be careful when you hear these false allegations towards a sufi for many do not understand what sufism or tasawuf really is and per chance they are envious of the name sufi whereas a sufi by any other name is a sufi, and a sufi will not care if anyone calls him that or not, for one cannot detach the fragrance of rose from the rose. The quotation below is from "Classical Islam: A Sourcebook of Religious Literature" By Norman Calder, Jawid

Ahmad Mojaddedi, Andrew Rippin. Published by Routledge, 2003 om Sheikh Hisha Al-Ghazali: The Path of the Sufis On al-Ghazali (d 505/1111) and the book from which this passage is taken "alMunqidh min al-dalal" (Deliverance from Error). As was suggested above the entire treatise is probably better understood as a work of epistemology. The aim is to show that the right knowledge will deliver one from error. Here he speaks autobiographically about the knowledge of the Sufis, the last group whom he describes on his quest for knowledge. It is therefore with the Sufis that al-Ghazali finds his thirst for certain knowledge of the truth satisfied. He describes the practical steps necessary for purifying one's heart, and the importance of direct experience or 'taste' for mystical knowledge. Al-Ghazali discovers that the path of the Sufi saints bestow on the seeker direct experiences

that are comparable with the experiences of prophets, in this way providing irrefutable proofs of the truths of religion. Following the discussion provided here, he is able to argue for the reality of prophecy in general, through a faculty of perception grounded in the soul, which can be verified by non-prophets through taste i.e. direct experience on the path of the Sufis. Al-Ghazali's own words: "When I had done with these sciences, I turned my efforts to the Sufi way. I came to know that their way became complete only through both knowledge and practice. The sum of their sciences is the removal of soul's deficiencies, and cleansing it off its reprehesible and vicious qualities, so as to achieve a heart empty of all save God and adorned with the constant remembrance of God." m Kabbani

O Allah, How do I implore my conditions to You when my conditions are not hidden from You. How do I translate them to You into words when my words originate from You and go back to You. How could You forsake my ambition when my ambition is walking towards You. How could You not improve my position when my position is to stand with You and return to You. *** Bismillah (In Allah's Name) wabillah (with Allah) waminallah (from Allah) wa illallah (to Allah) wa 'alallah (by Allah's Will) wa fillah (in Allah's protection) wala haula wala quwata illa billahil 'aliyil 'azim. Bismillah. O son, let me tell you a story about this wonderful salawat, a story on how it landed in my heart. Surely we acquire knowledge from books, listening to our guru or observing the surroundings but know that in reality it is Allah the Murobbi who inspires, teaches and plants the seed of knowledge in our hearts. I have learned to cherish this salawat because of the way it was inspired to me. After my father Ismail passed away in 1995, I fell into a state of severe depression and chaos. Lights of healing gradually appeared two years later when my mother and I went for umrah. I went there as someone who was very ignorant about religion hoping for guidance from Allah s.w.t. Due to inadequate understanding of pilgrimage rites and ibadah in general, the quality of my umrah in my opinion was way below acceptable and Allah knows best of the poor state of my soul. The only simple zikr I knew and recited was: 'Ya Halimu, Ya Aleemu, Ya Aleeyu, Ya Azeem'. I would sit on the staircase facing Baitullah and lost myself in deep sadness for my inadequacies. Coming back from umrah I was, sadly, still in the state of ignorant as there were no traces of hidayah outwardly. But somehow, inwardly I became attached to a little du'a book, a book which had been in my possession for many years (though hardly touched). It went on for several days that each time I flipped the book, I saw Salawat

Tafrijiyah. Although it appeared to be difficult at first, I felt a strong urge to read and by the grace of God, eventually memorized it, Alhamdulillah. This was an important achievement for a faqir like me because it was not merely my first salawat but a much needed consolation for the umrah tarnished by ignorance. To this day I look back with humility at how badly lacking I was and I pray that if there were any benefits I could reap from my first pilgrimage, let it be my being istiqamah in reciting Salawat Tafrijiyah. Ameen ameen Ya Allah. And I seek solace in the words of one venerable woman saint Rabiatul Adawiyah who says, 'the best of all karamah is in being istiqamah.' O son, please, please learn this salawat and be istiqamah with it. 'O Allah, send complete salutation and send perfect peace upon Sayyidina Muhammad, with whom ceases all that binds, and ends all sadness, and fulfills all wishes, and attains all desires, and ends with goodness, and causes the pouring of rain, by his generous countenance, and upon his family and his companions, as much as glance of an eye and every breath that is made that is in Your Knowledge.'

Bismillah. O Son, in addition to Kitab al-Ahadiyyah (The One Alone) by Ibn al-Arabi, this is the second most important posting I would like you to read and contemplate. Have patience, ponder over them and

ponder over your own state, see in which city you presently belong to and move on until you know when you have arrived at the One Alone, bi-iznillah. Ariftu Robbi bi Robbi - I know my Lord by my Lord. Overview: 'After passing through the outer domains of the nafs, Ammara, the Imperious City of Freedom and Pleasure, and Lawwama, the City of Self Reproach, he at last reaches Mulhima, the four districts of the inner City of Love and Inspiration. Here a guide appears who will lead him on to Self-Annihilation...he reaches faqr, the total emptiness required for the soul's Return.' - and ultimately reaching the Castle of Mutma'ina and hearing the Lord's invitation - Irji'ee. 'Ya ayyatuhan nafsul mutmainnah, irji'ee ila robbiki rodiyatan

mardiyyah, fadkhuli fi 'ibadi, wadkhuli jannati.' 'O, (you) soul, in complete rest and satisfaction! Come back you to your Lord, well-pleased (yourself) and wellpleasing unto Him! Enter you, then, among My devotees! And enter you My Paradise.' (Al-Qurn 89: 27-30) _________________________________ ______________________ City of Ammara: As I was wandering in this temporal world, Allah led me to a straight path. Walking on it in a state between sleep and awakening, as if in a dream, I reached a city which was enveloped in darkness. It was so vast, I could neither see nor conceive of its limits. This city contained everything which was created. There were people from all nations and races. So crowded were the streets that one could hardly walk, so noisy was it that one could hardly hear oneself or others. All the ugly actions of all the

creatures, all the sins known and unknown to me, surrounded me. In awe and amazement I watched the strange scene. Far in the distance, in the apparent center of this city, there was yet another city, with high walls, huge in size. What I observed all around me led me to think that never since the beginning of time, had a ray of light from the sun of truth fallen upon this city. Not only were the sky and the roads and houses of this city in total darkness, but its citizens, who were like bats, had minds and hearts as dark as night. Their nature and their behavior were like those of wild dogs growling and fighting with each other for a mouthful of food, obsessed by lust and anger, they killed and tore each other apart. Their only pleasure was in drinking and in shameless sex, without discrimination of male and female, wives

and husbands or others. Lying, cheating, gossiping, slander, stealing was their custom, with total absence of concern for others, conscience or fear of Allah. Many among them called themselves Muslims. In fact, some were considered by them to be wise men - shaykhs, teachers, men of knowledge, and preachers. Some among them who became aware of Allahs commandments, of that which is right and lawful in the eyes of Allah and men, and of that which Allah forbids, tried to act upon these and found satisfaction in it and could no longer associate with the people of the city. Neither could the people of the city tolerate them. I heard they took refuge in the walled city I had seen in the center of this realm. I stayed in this outer city for a while. At length I found someone who could hear me and understand what I said. I asked

him the name of the place. He told me that it was Ammara, the imperious city, the city of freedom where everyone did what he pleased. I inquired about their state. He said that it was the city of joy, which derived from carelessness and heedlessness. In the beautiful darkness that surrounded it, each one thought that he was the only one. I asked him the name of their ruler. He informed me that he was called Aql al-Maash, His Highness Cleverness, and that he was an astrologer, a sorcerer, an engineer who engineered things, a doctor who gave life to the ones who otherwise would die, an intelligent learned king who had no equal in this world. His advisers and ministers were called Logic, his judges depended on the ancient Law of Common Sense, his stewards were called Imagination and Daydreaming. He said that all the citizens were totally loyal to their ruler, not only respecting and

appreciating him and his government but loving him, for they all felt an affinity to him in their nature, in their customs, in their behavior. I, possessing the same intelligence, and with it knowing that indeed the king of this city was the perfect master of all the sciences of this world, wished to learn these sciences in order to be rich and famous. I stayed for a while in the kings service and learned from him many clever things. I learned commerce, politics, military sciences, manufacturing arms, the law of man, and arts to glorify man. I became worldrenowned. As men pointed me out with their fingers and talked about me, my ego rejoiced. Since all the parts of my being were totally under the influence of my worldly intelligence, they all found energy in the rejoicing of my ego and rushed to spend that energy in worldly delights and the pleasures of the flesh, without any consideration of whether all

this hurt others, or even myself. Something inside of me at times saw that all this was wrong, but I had no strength nor ability to prevent it. That part of me which saw was pained, and wished to get out of the darkness of this city. One such day, when the pain was most acute, I went to my master the king, His Highness Cleverness, and daringly asked, How is it that the men of knowledge of your realm never act upon their knowledge and fear Allah? How is it that none in this city fear the punishment of Allah, while they fear your punishment? How is it that there is no light here, nor outside, nor in your peoples hearts? How is that your subjects appear as human beings, yet their nature is like that of wild animals and worse still? He answered, I the one who can figure out how to derive personal benefit from this world, even if my benefit is their loss am their ideal. I have an agent in each of them.

They are my servants and the servants of my agents in them, but I also have a master who guides me, and that is the Devil. No one here is able to change his way, and all are content and think of themselves as better than others. None will to change, and therefore they will not change. When I heard that, I wished to leave that city, and intended to escape. But knowing the kings strength and control over everything, I asked his permission to leave. O my absolute ruler, I said, You have done so much for this humble servant of yours and have given me all I have. What a joyful life I have led under your rule! You clothed me with rich furs, gave me companions for fun and games. Neither drunkenness nor gambling have you forbidden. I have tasted all the pleasures, and I feel I have had my share. Did you know that I came to this city as a traveler? Permit me now to go

to that big castle that I see in the middle of your city. The king answered me, saying, I rule over that castle also. That district is called Lawwama, Self-Reproach, but its people are not the same as we are here. In this imperious city of ours, our idol is the Devil. Neither he nor I blame anyone for what they do. Therefore, none regret what they have done for we live in imagination. In the city of Self-Reproach, imagination does not have total power. They also do what is called sin they commit adultery, they satisfy their lust with men and women alike, they drink and gamble, steal and murder, gossip and slander as we do but often they see what they have done, and, regret and repent. City of Lawwama: As soon as I finished talking with my master, Cleverness, I rushed to the gates

of the City of Self-Reproach. Over the gates was written at taibu min adh dhanbi ka-man la adhnaba, The one who has repented is like the one who has never committed a sin. I gave the password by repenting for my sins, and entered the city. I saw that this city was considerably less crowded than the City of Darkness from which I had come. I would say that its population was half of the city I had left. After I had stayed there for a while, I found out that there was a man of knowledge who knew the Holy Quran and expounded upon it. I went to him and saluted him. He returned my salutation and wished Allahs peace and blessings upon me. Although I had been told by the ruler of the City of Darkness that he ruled here also, I checked with my teacher, asking him the same of their ruler. He confirmed that they were under the jurisdiction of His Highness Cleverness,

but that they had their own administrators, whose name were Arrogance, Hypocrisy, Bigotry and Fanaticism. Among the population were many men of knowledge, many men who appeared to be virtuous, devout, pious and righteous. I made friend with these men and found them to be afflicted with arrogance, egotism, envy, ambition, bigotry, and in their friendship, insincerity. They were hostile to each other setting traps for each other. What I can say for the best of them is that they prayed and tried to follow Allahs commandments because they feared Allahs punishment and Hell, and hoped for an eternal pleasurable life in Paradise. I asked one of them about the City of Darkness outside the walls, and complained about the people there. He agreed with my complaints, and said that the population of that city consisted of

corrupt, seditious, murderous nonbelievers. They had no faith, nor did they ever pray. He said they were totally unconscious and heedless. But from time to time, by some mysterious guidance, they were led to the City of SelfReproach. Then they realize what they had done and regretted, repented, and asked for forgiveness. In their city, he said, they did not know what they were doing, so it never occurred to them to regret or to ask for forgiveness. Therefore, they did not help each other, and no one interceded for them. City of Mulhima: When I had first come to the City of SelfReproach, I had seen that in its center there was yet another castle. I asked the learned inhabitant about it. He said that it was called Mulhima, the City of Love and Inspiration. I asked about its ruler, and was told that he was called Aql al

Maad, His Highness Wisdom, Knower of Allah. This king, said my informant, had a prime minister whose name was Love. If ever any one of us enters the City of Love and Inspiration, he went on, we dont accept him back to our city. For anyone who goes there becomes like the rest of the citys population totally attached to that prime minister. He falls in love with him, and is ready to give up anything all that he has, his possessions, his family and children even his life for the sake of that prime minister called Love. Our sultan, His Highness Cleverness, finds this attributes absolutely unacceptable. He fears the influence of those who have this quality, for both their loyalty and actions seem to be illogical and are not understandable by common sense. We hear that the people of that city call upon Allah chanting and singing, even with the accompaniment of reed flute and

tambourines and drums, and that doing so they lose their senses and go into ecstasy. Our religious leaders and theologians find this unacceptable according to our orthodox rules. Therefore, none of them even dreams of setting foot in the City of Love and Inspiration. When I heard that, I felt a terrible distaste for the City of SelfReproach, and ran to the gates of the blessed City of Love and Inspiration. I read over the door bab ul-jannati maktub: la ilaha illa Llah. I recited aloud the sacred phrase: la ilaha illa Llah There is no god but Allah prostrated myself, and offered my sincere thankfulness. At this, the gates opened and I entered. Soon I found a dervish lodge, where I saw the high and the lowly, the rich and the poor together, as if one single being. I saw them loving and respecting each other, serving each other with regard, reverence, and

deference, in a continuous state of pure joy. They were talking, singing their songs and their talk captivating, beautiful, always about Allah and the Hereafter, spiritual; removed from all anxiety and pain, as if living in Paradise. I did not hear or see anything that resembled dispute or quarrel, anything harmful or damaging. There was no intrigue or malice, envy or gossip. I felt immediately a peace, comfort, and joy among them. I saw a beautiful old man, consciousness and wisdom shining through him. I was attracted to him and went over and addressed him: O my dearest, I am a poor traveler and a sick one at that, seeking a remedy for my sickness of darkness and consciousness. Is there a doctor in this City of Love and Inspiration to cure me? He stayed silent for a while. I asked his name. He told me his name was Hidaya, Guidance. Then he said, My nickname is Truthfulness. Since

time immemorial not a single untruth passed from these lips. My duty and my charge are to show the way to the ones who sincerely seek union with the Beloved. And to you I say, And serve thy Lord until there comes to thee that which is certain. (Hijr, 99). And remember the name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with complete devotion. (Muzammil, 8). You are also a sincere lover: listen to me with the ear of your heart. There are four districts in this city of Love and Inspiration (City of Mulhima) to which you have come. These four districts are one within the other. The outer one is called Muqallid, the district of the imitators. The skillful doctor you seek to cure your ills is not within that district. Neither is the pharmacy that has medicine for the sickness of heedlessness, darkness of the heart, and

hidden polytheism. Although you will find many who advertise themselves as doctors of the heart appearing as such, dressing in robes, and wearing great turbans; declaring themselves to be wise men while trying to hide their ignorance, their depravity, their lack of character; unable to prove what they claim to be; seeking fame and ambitious for the world they themselves are sick with the sickness of themselves. They assign partners to Allah, and are masters of only of imitation. They hide their intrigue, duplicity, and malice well. They are intelligent, perceptive, jolly and humorous, bon vivant. Although their tongues appear to be pronouncing the prayers and the name of Allah and you find them often in the circles of dervishes, their minds, which guide them, do not lead them to see the influence and benefit of their prayers. Therefore you will not find with them

the balm to soothe the pains of unconsciousness and forgetfulness. You may as well leave this district of imitators and take refuge in the district of Mujahid, the district of warriors. I followed his advice and went on to the district of the warriors. The people I met there were weak and thin; gentle, thoughtful, thankful; devoted to praying, obeying, fasting, contemplating, and meditating. Their strength lay in living in accordance with that which they knew. I became close to them, and saw that they had left all the failures of character produced by egoism and egotism and the shadow of unconsciousness. They had formed a talent for being servants, pleased with their Lord and content with their state. I stayed in the district of the gentle warriors for many years. I acted as they acted and lived as they lived, seeing how I acted and how I lived, not

letting a moment pass in heedlessness. I learned and showed patience and forbearance, and learned to be content and satisfied with my lot, and I was content and satisfied. I fought hard, day and night, with my ego but still I was left with the polytheism of many mes and Is fighting amongst themselves, even though they faced one Allah. This, my sickness of shirk khafi setting up many Is as partners to Allah cast heavy shadows over my heart, hid the truth, and kept me in heedlessness. I asked the doctors of the district, I begged them. I told them of my sickness, the hidden polytheism, the awful heedlessness, the darkness of the heart, and asked for help. They told me, Even in this place of those who battle their egos there is no cure for your ills, for He is with you wherever you are. (Hadid, 4) Then they advised me to travel in the

direction of the castle of Mutmaina, the City of Peace and Tranquility. Near that city lay a district called Munajat wa Muraqaba supplication and meditation. Perchance there, they said, there would be a doctor to cure me. When I came to the district of meditation I saw its inhabitants, quiet and peaceful, remembering Allah inwardly, reciting His Beautiful Names. To each and every one of them a son of the heart had been born. They stood, heads bowed in the presence of their Lord, silent, melancholic, sad, in deep humility and veneration. Although their exteriors seemed annihilated, ruinous, their hearts shone and flourished. Their ways were gentle and courteous. They barely spoke with each other for fear of distracting each others attention from the One in Whose presence they felt themselves to be, preventing each other from deep meditation. Light as feathers

they were, yet they feared most to be a burden and a load on others. I spent many years in the district of meditation and contemplation. I did as they did, and indeed I thought I was finally cured of heedlessness, polytheism, and unconsciousness. But I was not cured of the hidden dualism of I and He that still cast heavy shadows upon my heart. My tears ran in torrents. Wretched and in total awe I fell into a strange state where an ocean of sadness surrounded me. I wished to drown in that sea. I found no other solution but to die. But I could not do anything, I had no will, not even to die. As I stood there helpless, sad, in ecstasy, there appeared the beautiful teacher whom I had first met in these strange lands, the one who was called Hidaya, the Guide. He looked upon me with compassionate eyes. O poor slave of himself, in exile in this foreign land! O

wanderer away from home! O poor wretched one, you cannot find your cure in this state of spirit. Leave this place. Go to that district yonder, just next to the gate of the castle of Mutmaina. The name of that quarter is Fana self annihilation. There you will find doctors who have annihilated their selves, who have no being, who know the secret of fa-afnu thumma afnu thumma afnu faabku thumma abku thumma abku Be nought, be nought, be nought, so that you will be, so that you will be, so that you will be forever. Without delay, I went to the district of annihilation. I saw its population mute, speechless, as if dead, with no strength in them to utter a word. They had left the hope of any benefit from talk and were ready to give up their souls to the angel of death. They were totally unconcerned whether I was there or not.

I saw no action among them except their performing their prayers five times a day. They had lost the concept of separation between this world and the Hereafter, forgotten it. Pain and joy were equal to them. They had no taste for either material or spiritual things. No thought preoccupied them. They did not remember anything, nor did they look forward to anything. All need and desire was strange to them. They had even stopped asking Allah for what they wanted. I stayed with them for many years. I did what they did. I did not appear other than they, but I did not know their inner state, so I could not do what they did inwardly. Even in that place, among them, I felt great pain. Yet when I wished to describe the symptoms of my ill, I couldnt find a body nor any existence, so as to say This is my body, or This is me. Then I knew that which was me, turned into the owner

of me. Then I knew that to say That being is mine is a lie, and to lie is a sin for everyone. Then I knew that to ask the real owner for what was mine was the hidden polytheism of which I had wished to rid myself. What, then, was to be done? In awe, I saw that I was free of all my wishes, I cried and cried. In my despair, if I were to call upon Him and say, O Lord, then there would be two I and He, me and the One from Whom I seek help, the will and the Willed, the desire and the Desired, the lover and the Beloved, oh so many. I knew not the remedy. The woeful wailing attracted the pity of the angel of inspiration whom His Lord had charged to teach the lovers. With the permission of his Lord, he read to me from the book of divine inspiration: First, annihilate your actions. He gave that to me as gift. As I stretched my hand to receive it, I saw that there

was no hand. It was a composition of water and earth and ether and fire. I had no hand to take with. I had no power to act. There is only One Who has power, the All-Powerful. Whatever action occurs through me, it belongs to the Absolute Actor. All power, all acts, I referred to Him, and I left all that had happened to me and through me in this world. I knew, as I had been taught by the angel of inspiration, what the annihilation of ones action is. And all praise is due to Allah. The proof of the necessity of disowning ones actions in the path to truth is in the verse in the Holy Quran: "Qul kullun min indilla-hi", Say, all (action) is from Allah. (An-Nisaa, 78) I am unlettered and have not been taught, yet Allah Most High in His manifestation of the Ultimate Truth has graced me with the ability and power to teach. As what is related here are occurrences that happened to me,

experiences that brought a state of mind and spirit, and as it is said, "al halu la yurafu bil-qal" the states cannot be told by words and it is not possible to express such states so that others can appreciate or even imagine them. Then I wished, with the permission of Allah and with the help of the angel of inspiration, to leave my attributes those qualities which makes ones personality. When I looked, what I saw was not mine. Neither was the content mine. Totally helpless, I was cut off from all the attributes, visible and invisible, that distinguished me, from all qualities exterior and interior that had made me me. With all my being and feeling and spirit, I supposed myself a pure essence. Then I sensed that even this was duality. What do I have to do, what relation do I have, with something that does not belong to me? I was helpless again. Then even my essence was taken away from me. Still I

wished and longed for Him. I felt the meaning of "wa talibu ayni abdi" - The one who longs for Me is My true servant. Woe to this me in me, I know not what to do. Helpless, I hope for union. Wa Llahu bi kulli shayin muhit, Allah Who encompass all things, huwal-awwalu wal-akhiru waz-zahiru wal-batinu wa huwa bi kulli shayin alim, Who is before the before, and after the after, and all that is evident and all that is hidden, and He is the knower of all things became manifest in the secret of my heart. Even then I wished that the secret of "mutu qabla an tamutu", to die before dying be actualized in me. O woe, again this hidden duality of I and the One I long for. This, too, cannot be the truth. What ill is this that give pangs of pain when I move, when I wish, when I long, when I ask for help, when I pray and beg? What strange state have I fallen

into, difficult to resolve? Castle of Mutmai'na: Helpless, I gave all these to their Owner and waited at the gate of acquiescence in agony of death, senseless, without thought or feeling, as if dead, expecting death to take me at every breath. I stayed in that state I know not how long. Following the advice "istafid qalbaka" Ask your heart, I told my heart to instruct me. It said, As long as there is a trace of you in you, you cannot hear your Lords call irjiee Come to Me! If a cat fell into a salt pit and drowned, and in time its body became salt, if a single hair were left, could that salt be used as food? How often and how long do theologians debate and discuss such matters! Some say that in spite of the single hair the salt is clean, that the corpse of the cat is now the salt; and some say that the single hair is as much

as the cat as was the whole body. Thus the salt is dirty and unlawful to eat. I felt the truth of it and wished that trace of me in me would die. I immersed that trace in divine beatitude. An ecstasy came, from me, to me, over which that was mine, covering it all, the taste of which is impossible to describe. Without ear, without words, without letters I heard the invitation: Irjiee - Come. I tried to think, What is this state? My thought could not think it. I was made to know that thought cannot think about the sacred secret. Even that knowledge was taken away from me as fast as it came to me. _________________________________ ________________________ O seeker, what has been said here is not intended to show that I know. Therefore it will only be made known to you after I am gone from among you. It is for the benefit of the seekers of truth, for the

lovers who long for the Beloved, so that it may help them to know themselves, so that they may find in which of the cities I traveled through they themselves are, and which of its citizens they befriend. When and if in sincerity they know their place, they will act accordingly, and know the direction of the gate of Allahs pleasure, and be thankful. Perchance they will remember this faqir, the writer of these words, with a little prayer. Allahs peace and blessings be upon Shaykh Muhammad Sadiq Naqshabandi Erzinjani, the original writer of these words, and the ones who read them. Al-Fatihah. From: Suhrawardi, The Shape of Light: Hayakal Al-Nur By Yahya ibn Habash al-Suhrawardi, Tosun Bayrak

Published by Fons Vitae, 1998 ISBN 0188752056, 9780188752052 Bismillah. O son, I will say this again to you and I will repeat it a thousand times if need be, that the blessings one get when learning from habaib is simply incredible. You will know this is so when whatever 'ilm (knowledge) they transmit to you just stick with you in your heart.

Not too long ago I had the opportunity to sit before Sheikh Habib Yusuf Bakhour alHassani at Ijtima Ulama organized by alJenderami. It was my first experience being in the presence of a habib whose aura simply overwhelmed me. The beauty of his face and his charming persona would remind a discerning heart of Nabi Yusuf a.s.

One lesson I learned from Habib Yusuf was the story of Sahl al-Tustari (Abu Muhammad Sahl Bin Abdullah Al Tustari: 818 -896 CE) how a young Sahl learned a simple wirid from his uncle, but profound enough that it had transformed Sahl into a great sufi.

Sahl would often wake up in the middle of the night only to see his devout uncle engrossed in his prayers. So he asked his uncle if he could be like him, to which his uncle, Muhammad ibn al-Sawwar replied, "You are still young, suffice that every night you remember Allah in your heart by repeating these words 3 times without moving your tongue. When you are strengthened by it, increase it to 7 times. This will be benificial for you for if you know Allah is witnessing you, Allah is looking at you and Allah is with you, surely you will not do anything that would displease Him."

So say: Allahu shahidi Allahu naziri Allahu ma'i Allah is watching me. Allah is looking at me. Allah is with me.

Sahl grew up to be, as al-Dhahabi described, "the master of knowers (Shaykh al-`rifn), the ascetic sufi (al-Suuf al-zhid) who has a firm foothold in the path." It was narrated that Sahl had said to one of his disciples: "Try to say continuously for one day Allah, Allah, Allah and do the the same the next day, the day after, until it becomes a habit." Then he told him to repeat it at night also, until it became so familiar that the disciple repeated it even during his sleep. Then Sahl

said "Do not consciously repeat the Name anymore, but let your whole faculties be engrossed in remembering Him!" The disciple did this until he became absorbed in the thought of God. One day a piece of wood fell on his head and broke it. The drops of blood that dripped to the ground bore the legend Allah, Allah, Allah.

It is also worth mentioning that one of Sahl's famous disciples was Mansur al-Hallaj (858922 CE) - the Persian sufi mystic who was executed for proclaiming 'Anal Haqq' (I am the Truth). 'Many if not most of the Ulema consider him one of the Friends (awliy) of Allah, such as Ibn Khafif who visited him in jail, Abu al-Qasim al-Nasir Abadi, alQushayri, Ibn Ata Allah..' 'Among his sayings: Take care of your ego; if you do not make it busy, it shall make you busy and Whoever points to Him is an aspirant-Sufi

whereas whoever points on His behalf is a Sufi. Sahl's rare works have only recently been made available by a favorite publisher of mine Fons Vitae: TAFSIR AL TUSTARI "The earliest surviving Sufi commentary on the Qur'an, this record is not only one of the few authenticated works in Tustari's name but is also a key source for understanding the mystical thought and teachings of this important and influential Sufi. In addition to insights into the spiritual significance of almost 1,000 verses of the Qur'an, this commentary, presented in complete English translation for the first time, includes numerous references to traditions of the Prophet, explanations of the ethical and mystical dimensions of the religious life, stories of the prophets, and anecdotes about earlier mystics. Generously augmented with explanatory footnotes throughout, the book will provide readers with an invaluable

introduction to the Sufi tradition of Qur'anic interpretation and acquaint them with spiritual doctrines fundamental to the later development of Sufism."

Tafsir Al-Tustari By Sahl ibn 'Abd Allah al-Tustari, Annabel Keeler, Ali Keeler, Yousef Meri Translated by Annabel Keeler, Ali Keeler Edition: illustrated Published by Fons Vitae, 2009 ISBN 1891785192, 9781891785191 310 pages May Allah Kareem Wills that this valuable and priceless book makes its way to my hands soon and most importantly may Allah makes us practise what Sahl al-Tustari had practised: Allahu shahidi, Allahu naziri, Allahu ma'i. O son, may you learn the morals exemplified by the Ashabul Kahf and

know that Allah will protect you if your himma (determination) to defend your faith surpass what may have been more desirable for a youth. This is a story of seven young men who fled into a cave for fear of losing their iman, a compelling story mentioned in Surah No 18 of the Qur'an, a surah named after these young devout royals. Like most believers I fell for them the first instant I read their story but hearing from Habib Ali Zainal Abidinspoke about these gentlemen has made me adore them even more. In Surah al-Kahf, apart from the fable of the seven sleepers, it also comprise two other major subjects, namely a lesson on ruh as given in the story of Khidr and Musa; and about Zulkarnain the great traveler. These parables are major lessons in their own right. Khidr, Musa and Zulkarnain are prominent

characters, yet, the Ashabul Kahf was chosen to be the surah's title. That says a lot about these men who lived between the time of the prophethood of Nabi Musa a.s. and Nabi Muhammad s.a.w and who were followers of Isawi teachings. Allah in His mercy made the sun rise and set in such a way that the Ashabul Kahf would not be affected by its rays. "And you might have seen the sun when it rose, declining to the right from their Cave and when it set, turning away from them to the left, while they lay in the midst of the cave. That is the proof of Allah. He whom Allah guides he is the rightly-guided but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him" (Al Kahf:17) According to Habib Ali Zainal Abidin, Allah could have placed a rock or any covering at the mouth of the cave so as

to protect the Ashabul Kahf, but Allah wanted to grant His bounties by instructing the sun to be of service to them. Allah also made them "turn on their right and on their left sides, and their dog stretching forth his two forelegs at the entrance." If God had not made them twist and turn they would have been consumed by the earth for that is the sunnah of Allah for it. What is more amazing is that Allah even made a dog affectionate towards them - the solehin -'yuhibbu solehin'. So who are we not to love the solehin? Imagine a dog getting mentioned in the holy Book. It was narrated that as the dog was tailing the men while they were taking refuge, Allah made the dog speak to them saying that he knew they were fleeing for Allah's sake and that he wanted to follow and guard them! This story of Ashabul Kahf is loaded with

precious lessons especially for the young people who are often easily distracted and whose iman is vulnerable. It is not only a parable which fascinates our mind but Allah promises that reciting its verses would bring us tremendous benefits as follows: 1. Those who memorize the first 10 and/or the last 10 verses will be protected from fitnah Dajjal. 2. Hussain Ibn Hudair while reciting this verse had made his horse neighed for it saw clouds descending onto his home. The clouds were visible manifestation of sakinah that Allah promised to those who recite the Qur'an. Even if there was no physical evidence, the hearts are able to feel the serenity and blessings. 3. For houses in which the Qur'an are being recited, the angels will see them shine like stars just as we human see the stars shining as a guiding light in the

night skies. Likewise, if we were to recite any verses such as Al-Fatihah or Yaasin before a corpse or burial place, the recipients will benefit from the light of the Qur'an in the same manner. 4. Anyone who recites Surah al-Kahf on a friday, will be granted protection from all kinds of fitnah and his sins pardoned until the next friday. 5. Allah will grant those who recite the Qur'an, a bright light shining forth from his feet to the highest skies and Allah will reserve these for him during the darkest hours in the hereafter. 6. Whoever recites the last 5 verses of al-Kahf before bedtime, he shall wake up at whatever time he wants. 7. A house in which Surah al-Kahf is recited will be protected from shayatin and certainly the best protection is from Allah the Most High. O son, I hope you will feel encouraged to

amal Surah al-Kahf as much as I was motivated hearing this tausiyah (lesson) from Habib Ali Zainal Abidin. Although I have already known some of the virtues of Surah al-Kahf listed above, hearing it from Habib Ali has left a lasting impression in my heart, bi-iznillah. Certainly, the barakah that one gets from learning directly from a guru cannot be over emphasized. May Allah increase us in knowledge and make us steadfast in our amal. Allahumma Ameen
O Son, as promised this is it, this is the one piece of document I wish you would read and contemplate. These were the words of Sheikhul al-Akbar Sheikh Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi (1165 1240). He who knows himself, knows his Lord. All praise and thanks to Allah, Almighty, the First with no other before Him. He is the only First, and there is no last but His oneness. The end is with Him alone, and he is the end. He is All-Existing: with Him there is no end. Neither is there nearness or farness; nor is there a will or wish, or time, or above, or below, or place; neither is there a universe. Allah is now as He was before. He is eternal. He is One without oneness and Alone without loneliness. He is not named with a name, for it is He whose name is He, the self-named one. There is no name other than He, and none other than He is named. He is the First without anything before Him. He is the Last without anything after Him. He is Visible in all that is seen. He is Known, clearly, in all that is hidden. He is in all forms and images without any relation to any appearance. He is the secret and the appearance of the first letter announcing the beginning of existence. He is the presence of all the letters that belong to the First and all the letters

that belong to the Last and is the presence in all the letters that are visible and all the letters that are hidden. Therefore He is the First and the Last and the Visible and the Hidden. He is the First and the Last and the Visible and the Hidden. All the letters that form the words, from the first to the last of realms seen or unseen, are without any relation to His Being and are without any effect on His Being. Do not fall into the blasphemous error of the sect called Hululiyyah, who believe that another soul, even another being, can be infused into them and that they may have God materially existing in them. Know that He is never in anything, nor is anything in Him. He is neither inside nor outside of anything. None can see Him, whether with the eye of the head or with an inner eye; nor can any conceive Him through the senses, the mind, intelligence, knowledge, or imagination. Only He can see Himself; only He can conceive Himself. None can know Him; only He can know Himself. He sees Himself by Himself; He knows Himself by Himself; He conceives Himself by Himself, He knows Himself by Himself, None other than He can see Him. None other than He can know Him. That which hides Him is His Oneness. None but Himself can hide Him. The veil that hides Him is His own being. He hides His being with nothing other than His Being the Only One; therefore, none other than He can see Him. Neither a prophet whom He has sent to humanity, nor a saint, a perfect man, nor an angel close to Him can see Him, for they are not apart from Him. His prophets, His messengers, His perfect men, are none other than He, for He has sent Himself, from Himself, for Himself, without any other cause or means besides Himself. He sent His essence, from His essence, by His essence, to His essence. There is no difference between the One who sent and His messengers who were sent. The letters of His being are the being of His messengers. There is no other being than He. Neither does He become another; nor does His name become anothers name; nor is there any other named by His name. That is why our Master, the Light of the Universe, the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said: I know my Lord by my Lord. He also said: He who knows himself know his Lord. By this it is meant that surely you are not you, and you without being you are He. He is not within you; nor are you in Him. He does not exclude you; nor are you excluded from Him. When you are addressed as you, do not think that you exist, with an essence and qualities and attributes for you never existed, nor do exist, nor will ever exist. You have not entered into Him, nor He into you. Without being, your essence is with Him and in Him. You were not; nor are you temporal. Without having any identity, you are Him and He is you. If you know yourself as nothing, then you truly know your Lord. Otherwise, you know Him not. You cannot know your Lord by making yourself nothing. Many a wise man claims that in order to know ones Lord one must denude oneself of the signs of ones existence, efface ones identity, finally rid oneself of ones self. This is a mistake. How could a thing that does not exist try to get rid of its existence? For none of

matter exists. How could a thing that is not, become nothing? A thing can only become nothing after it has been something. Therefore, if you know yourself without being, not trying to become nothing, you will know your Lord. If you think that to know Allah depends on your ridding yourself of yourself, then you are guilty of attributing partners to Him the only unforgivable sin because you are claiming that there is another existence besides Him, the All-Existent: that there is you and a He. Our Master, the Prophet s.a.w said: He who knows himself knows His Lord. He did not say: He who eliminates himself knows His Lord! The proof of the existence of something is that when it is presumed nonexistent, its opposite appears. As there is none other than Allah, proving His existence does not depend on the disappearance of some existence other than His. And as you do not exist, you cannot cease to exist, nor be transformed into anything else. Your being is neither temporal nor eternal, for you have no being. Our Master, the Messenger of Allah said, Actually you do not exist, as you did not exist before you were created. Allah has no partners and there is none like unto Him. Allah Most High is the meaning of before the before and after the after; without Him, before and after have no meaning. Were this not so, He is alone. 'He has no partners', would have no meaning. It must be so; otherwise something other than He would have to exist on its own and not depend on Him for its existence. Such a partner would not need Allah for its existence and so would be a second god and that is an impossibility. Allah Most High cannot have partners, and there cannot be any like unto Him. If one believes that things exist in Allah from Him or with Him and that these things depend upon Allah for their existence, even so, such things are appearing to one as lords. Though their lordship may depend on Allah, still one who believes in them is guilty of recognizing some other lord as a partner of our Lord. It would be a grave error to consider any other existences as valid alongside of Allah the Self-Existent, even if the thing is seen as dependent on Allah for its existence. A being that has given up its existence and has become naught after having given up its existence, is still far from a breath of knowledge. If one contemplates oneself as such a being, one is far from knowing oneself. If someone thinks of himself as existing among other beings and things that disappear as he does, whose nothingness becomes naught in nothing if such a person believes that there are no others who exist beside Allah, he is nothing indeed, and his nothingness will go on as long as he thinks he exists. He will be guilty of the unforgivable sin of attributing partners to Allah, while he may think that he knows his Lord, since he knows himself. The way of knowing oneself and knowing ones Lord. Then how is one to know oneself in order to know ones Lord? The answer to this question is: Allah Most high exists and none other exists with Him. He is now as He has always been. If one sees oneself as other than the only existence which is Him, or if one does not see oneself as a

part of Him, then the answer came from the Messenger of Allah when he said, He who knows himself, knows his Lord. He did not mean by self ones ego that self which favors the pleasures of the flesh and its lowly desires and which tries to command all of one; nor did he mean the self that first deceives making one believe that the dirt and the ugliness is proper, then flagellates itself for the wrong it has done and forgets and does it again; nor did he mean the self-satisfied self. He meant ones truth, ones reality. When the Prophet s.a.w prayed and said: O my Lord, show me the reality of things, what he meant by things was those things that appear to be other than Allah. He meant, Teach me those things other than You. What is all this around me? Let me know. These things are they You, or are they other than You? Did they exist before or did they come to be? Are they here forever or are they going to pass away? And Allah showed him that the things had no being and He showed them to be Him, and it was seen that all appeared as other than Allah was His being. He was shown things without a name, without time, without quality, as the essence of Allah. The name of a thing is suggested by the thing to the one who names it, and by him is given to others. Thus, in a thing, the existence of the thing and the existence of its self are equivalent. Therefore, when the thing is known, the self is known and when the self is known the Lord I known. You presume others to be other than Allah. There is nothing other than He, but you do not know this. While you are looking at Him you do not recognize him. When the secrets open to you, you will know that you are none other than He. Then you will also know that you are the one whom He wished (but you need not disappear), and that you are forever and will not disappear with time, for there is no passing of time. Your attributes are His. Without doubt, your appearance is His appearance. What is in you is in Him. Your before is His before; your after is His after; your essence is His essence without Him entering you or you entering in Him, for Everything is perishing but His Face. (Al-Qasas, 88). That which exists and is visible is He. There is nothing but He, so how could nothing cease to be? There is only Him, His essence, which always will be. Therefore, if one knows that a thing exists that cannot cease to be, then the doubt and the ignorance about that thing will cease to be. That being is eternal, without changing into another being. When one who is sure of an existence joins with one who denies that existence, they do not unite. At best the doubt about that existence disappears. Therefore, do not think anymore that you need to become nothing, that you need to annihilate yourself in Him. If you thought so, then you would be His veil, while a veil over Allah is other than He. How could you be a veil that hides Him? What hides him is His being the One Alone. That is why the utterance became permissible for Mansur al-Hallaj, when the words "I am the Truth" came from his lips, and for Abu Yazid Bistami when he cried: "Praise be to Me, the essence, absolved of all defect!" for they were both united with Truth. These are not people who have annihilated themselves in Allah; nor have they come to be in Allah, nor

did they exist before, becoming naught afterwards. They are those who see their attributes as Allahs attributes, their essence as Allahs essence, without their attributes and essence being either in Allah or out of Him. Their selves are only Allahs being. These are the ones who have reached Allah. They are eternal. They never ceased to be, for they never were, since there is only Allahs self, Allahs essence. Neither is there any existence. There is only the existence of Allah. Our Master, the Messenger of Allah, said: 'Do not curse Time, for Allah is Time' pointing out that Allahs being is free from likeness or equals or partners, but is manifest in eternal time. The only existence is the existence of Allah. Allah Most High speaking through His Messenger said to Moses: "O my servant, I was ill and you didnt come to visit me; I was hungry and you didnt feed me". Allah Most High clearly declares that the being of the one who is sick is His being, and that the one who is hungry and in need is also He. If the sick and the needy are He, then your being also is His being. In the same way, everything made out of elements and events is also He. When the secret of a single atom out of all the atoms from which the elements are made becomes known, the secrets of the whole universe visible and invisible will be revealed. Then you will not see anything but Allah either in this world or in the Hereafter. You will see all the existences in this world and in the Hereafter, all the names and the things named with those names and their being, as His Being alone. You will see Allah creating nothing forever. You may see His revealing, His being, and His attributes in another kind of image, without qualities and references as He reveals himself: "Every moment He manifests Himself in another glorious state." (ar-Rahman, 29) Then you will see that all the things you thought He made, He did not make. Their appearance is a reflection of Allahs revealing His essence and His attributes, every moment, in a different form and shape. He is the Before, for He is self-existence. He is the After, for He is endless. He is the Visible because He is the Only One. He is the Invisible, for He is the One Alone. He is the First because only He exists. He is the Last, for there is no end after Him. He is the first letter and all of the letters until the last letter. He is the letters seen and the letters unseen. He is the name and He is the named. His being is the only necessity; therefore it is also a necessity that there On be Dying no existence Before but His. Dying

He who thinks of himself as other than Allah is certainly not other than He, because Allah Most High is free of all existence except His Divine Essence. All, visible and invisible, that exists in Him, with Him, apart from Him, is not other than He, for the other itself is He. Whoever sees himself thus and is endowed with these qualities has neither bounds nor end. One dies when, by Allahs will, ones borrowed time ends. Ones materials being which is called life ending at an appointed hour, loses all its character and qualities both good and bad. One who dies a spiritual death while his material life continues also loses his

characteristics whether good or bad, and nothing of him remains. In their place Allah comes to be. His self becomes Allahs self; his attributes become Allahs attributes. That is what our Master, Prophet of Allah s.a.w meant when he said: 'Die before dying' meaning, Know yourself before you die. Allah, speaking through His Prophet, said: My servant comes close to Me with the worship of good works until I love him; and when I love him, I become the hearing in his ears; I become the sight in his eyes; I become the words on his tongue; I become the hands with which he holds; I become the strength of every part of his being. With these divine words the Messenger of Allah indicates that the one who dies before dying realizes his whole being as Allahs being and sees no difference between himself and Allah, between his attributes and Allahs, nor does he see any necessity for nor possibility of any change in his state. For if his being were not already Allah, he could not even know himself. Thus when you know yourself, your self and selfishness will leave you, and you will know that there is nothing in existence but Allah. The condition for self-knowledge is to know that if you had a being of your own, independent of other being, then you would neither have needed to annihilate yourself in Allah nor to know yourself. You would have been, yourself, a god self-existent and without any other existence but you while it is Allah Most High who is free from the existence of any other god but Himself. And when you come to know yourself, you will be sure that you neither exist nor do not exist, whether now, or before, or in the future. Then the meaning of la ilaha illa Llah There is no god but Allah there is not being but His, nor any other except Him, and He is the Only One will become clear to you. Do you think it possible to interfere with the sovereignty of the Lord? How could the Absolute Sovereign over all and everything be constrained? He has ruled forever. He is God. He is the Ruler, not the ruled. He is the Eternal Creator, not the created, and is now as He ever was. He does not need His creation to be Creator; nor does He need the ones He rules to be Lord. He possessed all the attributes before He manifested them in the universe He created, and as He was, He is. The manifestation of His essence does not differ in any way from His being as it was before. The manifestation of His oneness requires His having been the First. He is hidden in being Visible; His secret is manifested in what is seen. His Before is His After, and His After is His Before. His multiplicity is in His Oneness, and His Oneness is in the multiplicity. He is One, and all is One. His quality is His appearance at every moment in a different form and a different state. In His Blessed Quran, in the chapter Ar-Rahman, The Beneficent, He says: "All those who are in heaven and on earth ask of Him. He manifests Himself at every moment in another glorious state. (Ar-Rahman, 29). Nothing existed nor does anything exist; yet at every moment He manifests Himself in another glorious state. There was no first; nor was there a before; there is no more manifestation now. In truth, there is no being other than Him: for what only appears to exist, existence and nonexistence are the same. If one

conceives it otherwise, one must conceive that a thing may appear from nothing, which negates the oneness of Allah, and that is a defect while His oneness is free of and above all defects. The only existence is Allahs existence. If you know this and do not consider yourself to be the same as, or other than, or together with, Him then truly you know yourself. That is why our Master the Messenger of Allah s.a.w said, "He who knows himself, knows His Lord" and not, "He who annihilates himself knows his Lord" - for he saw and he knew that there is nothing but Allah. And that is how he knew himself. Know yourself; know your being. Certainly you are not you, yet you do not know. Know that this existence is neither you nor other than you. You do not exist, yet you are also nonexistence. Your existence is not someone else, nor does your existence make you someone else. Without being and without not-being, your existence is Allah's being, because it is certain that the being of the truth is the same as your being and your not-being, and at the same time the truth is you and notyou. Then when you see what is around you as not other than you, and all and everything as the existence of the One - when you do not see anything else with Him or in Him, but see Him in everything as yourself and at the same time as the non-existence of yourself - then what you see is the truth. Then indeed, truly, you see yourself and you know yourself. When you know yourself with these qualities. you know your Lord without being in Him, with Him or united to Him. The knower and the known and the one who joined are one. Someone might ask, "How then is one to be with Allah, when there is none other than He? One cannot be united with oneself!" The answer is that there is no union or being with Him, because to be with someone or to be united with him is only possible when there are two entities. As there are not two, there is only one, there is neither being with Him nor uniting with Him. Unification may occur between two things which are neither the same as or different from each other. If the two are not the same, then they are the opposite of each other. Allah Most High is exempt from having another the same as. different from, or opposite to Him. In the oneness with Allah which we describe, coming close has no nearness and being far has no distance, for there is no space or time. Someone might ask, "What is being close without nearness and being far without distance?" The answer is: in one's state of closeness or farness one must realize that there is nothing but Allah. Yet you do not know yourself, because you do not know that you are naught but Him. You are He without yourself. It is only when you are He without the letters and the words of knowledge that you know yourself, that you know that you are the Truth. You were not aware that you were the Truth, that there was nothing else but the Truth, and that the Truth was you. When the knowledge comes, through the understanding of the One and Only, then you will know Allah by Allah, not by yourself. To give an example: suppose that your name is Mahmud; yet you do not know that, and you think that you are called Mehmed. One day you learn that you are Mahmud. You continue being what

you were; yet when you learn that you are Mahmud, the name Mehmed is taken away from you. Your realization that you are not Mehmed has not made you cease to be Mehmed (because you never were Mehmed); the disappearance of a thing requires its pre-existence. The one who knows and the thing known, the one who joins and the thing joined, the one who sees and the thing seen - are all one. The Knower is His attribute; the Known is His essence. The Joiner is His attribute; the Joined is His essence. The Seer is His attribute, the Seen is His essence. The one who assumes the attribute is the same as the attribute. That is what is meant by the words of our Master the Messenger of Allah: He who knows himself knows his Lord. When one understands this, then one knows that there is neither union nor separation. He is the one who knows; He is the one who is known. He is the one who sees; He is the one who is seen. He is the one who joins; He is the one joined. Nothing unites with Him but Him. Someone who is aware of this is free of the unforgivable sin of attributing partners to Allah. Otherwise he has not breathed a breath that will save him from that sin. For whoever believes that anything other than Allah exists is attributing partners to Him. When Mahmud finds that he is not Mehmed, nothing is substracted from him. Mehmed is not annihilated in Mahmud; nor does he become a part of him, nor does he become other than he; nor does Mahmud enter into Mehmed. Mahmud simply knows himself as Mahmud. Thus he knows himself by himself, not by the name Mehmed for the name Mehmed never existed. How could one know something by means of something that never existed? Many of those who think they know themselves and their Lord and have freed themselves from the delusion of their own existences say that the only way to the true path is through nothingness and the nohingness of nothingness, and that to know God is only possible for one who annihilates himself. They have fallen into error because they have not truly understood the Prophet's words: "He who knows himself knows his Lord." He said about them: Their delusion is their belief that by annihilating themselves they have annihilated his attributing of partners to Allah. First, they believe that it is necessary for them to efface their own being in order to avoid setting themselves up as partners to Allah. Scond, they feel they must annihilate even the concept of annihilation, so as to achieve th otal extinction of all other existence. However, all these activities are nothing but polytheism, the attributing of partners to Allah! For one must fundamentally believe in the possibility of other existences if one believes their annihilation to be necessary. Wthout doubt, doing this is trying to affirm that there is another god besides Allah and is thus attributing partners at the core. May Allah guide and lead such people and ourselves to the true path. If someone asks, "You have demonstrated that if one knew oneself, one would know one's Lord. Yet the one who knows himself is other than Allah. So how can someone other than Allah know Allah? Our answer is: The one who knows his Lord through the knowledge of himself knows that his being exists neither by its own existence of

anything other than himself. Perhaps his existence is the existence of Allah without his being either within or without, either together with, or from, Allah. But his being is as it always was: nothing - without annihilation or extinction. For a thing to annihilate itself and become nothing presupposes its existing by its own power, not even having been created by the power of Allah, and that is an impossibility. So the knowledge of oneself is nothing other than Allah's knowledge of Himself, for the self of such a knower is nothing other than the truth. When the Prophet s.a.w said, He who knows himself by word self he meant ones being and whoever reaches that level does not exist either outwardly or inwardly except by the existence of Allah. His being is Allahs being; his word is Allahs word; his action is Allahs action; his knowledge of himself is Allahs knowledge of Himself. Yet you see Him as other than Allah, for you see yourself as other than Allah. The believer is the mirror of the believer (hadith). The Truth is both eyes and the mirror and the vision in the mirror. For the eyes of the believer are the eyes of Allah and the vision he sees is He, within the mirror of truth. For He is not that which that reflects in your eye, nor a knowledge in your mind, nor in your thoughts, nor a figment of your imagination, nor a feeling within you. But He is your eye, your knowledge, your vision. If someone says, I am the Truth, do not hear these words from some man, from someone other than He, but hear it from Him, from Allah. For only Allah says, I am Allah. You have not attained that which came to the one who uttered these words. If you had reached the state that reached him, you would understand what he means, you would see what he saw, and you would say what he said. For the existence of all and everything is not its own existence but His, without its existing at all.After all that has been said, beware of falling into doubt and imagining that Allah is created like you and everything else. Know that the one who sees and that which is seen, the believer and that in which he believes, the one who knows and that which is known, the one who understands and that which he understands, the creator and the created are all one. Without seeing, without knowing, without understanding, without words and without letters, without even His own being, the Lord knows Himself by Himself. Know that Allahs existence and His knowledge of His existence are without any quantity, quality, seeing, thought, knowledge, or other condition. When one looks into a mirror one sees oneself. Whatever appears on you appears on the image in the mirror. When you look upon your image in the mirror, your image is looking upon you. Naturally the eye that looks at you from the mirror is your eye. Then, when the image in the mirror looks at you, is it not true that you are looking at yourself with your own eyes? If the name of the one who is looking in the mirror is Ahmad, and if the image in the mirror could speak and say, I am Ahmad, it would be telling the truth. Yet, as the image is reflected so would be the words. It would not be the image that calls itself Ahmad, but the one who is looking into the mirror. So if someone says, I am the Truth, do not hear

it from any other than from the Truth Himself, for it is not a man who says it; it is the word of Allah. That man who utters these words is nothing but an image reflected upon the empty mirror, one of the infinite attributes of Allah. The reflection is the same as that which is being reflected, and the words of the image are the reflected, and the words of the image are the reflected words of the Real One. The void is a mirror, the creation is the image in it. Man is as the eye of the image reflected in the mirror; the One who is reflected in the image is hidden in the pupil of that eye, thus He sees Himself. Then: 'He is the One who sees: He is the eye. He is the One who is seen. (Shaikh Mahmud Shabustari, Gulsheni-Raz). Only the one who has the eyes of his heart open will understand these words. Is one not to discriminate between the appearance of the beautiful and the ugly, of the good and the bad? Is one to consider a decaying corpse or excrement as God? Allah Most High is beyond and free from such associations. We address those who do not see a corpse as a corpse or excrement as excrement. Our words are for those whose eyes of the heart are not blind, whose ears of the heart are not deaf, and whose tongue of truth is not tied. For the one who does know himself is blind, deaf and tongue tied. The one who is blind and whose tongue is tied can neither see nor understand when the meanings of things are made manifest. These words are for those who are with Allah, not for those who are blind and tongue-tied in believing that things exist without Allah. The ones who understand are the ones who have resolved to find themselves and to know Allah by knowing themselves and who spend all effort, for they have the divine light of the love and the wish for Allah in their hearts. These are the ones who will know that there is no existence other than He. The one who has neither the wish nor the intention for this will not understand. Allah Most High says in the Holy Quran: The eyes cannot see Him, but He sees all eyes. (Anam, 104) In other words, no sight can reach Him, while He is in all that sees. The truth of the matter is in this verse. No eyes can see Him, so no one can perceive Him. He is the only existence, and if no one can see Him, then there is no one besides Him. If there were other existences besides Allah, they should have been able to see Him. So the meaning of The eyes cannot see Him is that there is no existence other than His. The Truth can only be conceived of by Itself, which has no other identity except the Truth: Allah sees Himself by Himself and by none other than Himself. His Essence sees His Essence. The eyes cannot see Him because the eyes are created. They came to be after the One who is before the before and after the after. That which is created and temporal and after cannot perceive the Creator who is before the before permanent and after the after eternal. There are no eyes; there are no things; there is only the One, the Truth. The one who does not reach this conclusion cannot possibly come to know himself. Allah sees Himself by Himself, without any form or quality or eyes or sight. There is nothing except Allah; all else is nothing. There is only He. Then what are all these things that we see around us?

Nothing that is seen is other then He. The one who sees anything other than He cannot see Him, for one does not see other than what he sees. The one who does not know himself, who sees himself as other than He, cannot see Allah. Every cup shows what is in it. No words suffice to describe a thing to the blind. The blind man does not see; the one who does not understand does not understand. The one who sees, sees; the one who understands, understands. These are the signs of the ones who know Allah. Those who do not know Him will not see Him, whether by teaching or by learning or by thinking. The one who knows only knows through service to a perfect guide. That one will be enlightened by his light and find the path to truth, find oneness and unityif it be the will of Allah. May Allah Most High lead us in the straight path by words and deeds and wisdom and enlightenment which please Him and to realms and states with which He is pleased. Amin and you are the Most Merciful of the Merciful. May Allahs peace and blessing be upon our Master Muhammad and upon his family and Companions. Peace be unto the Messengers. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

Sheikh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti (Istanbul: 1926) is an author, translator and Sufi. He served as a government official in Ankara, Honorary Consul of Turkey in Morocco and is the Sheikh of the Jerrahi-Halveti Order in America. [1]

From: Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom At-tadbirat al-ilahiyyah fi islah al-mamlakat al-insaniyyah By Ibn Arabi Interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al Jerrahi al-Halveti Publisher: Fons Vitae, 1997

Sheikh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti (Istanbul: 1926) is an author, translator and Sufi. He served as a government official in Ankara, Honorary Consul of Turkey in Morocco and is the Sheikh of the Jerrahi-Halveti Order in America. [1]

Contents
[hide]

1 Education 2 Artist 3 Sufi 4 Translator 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

[edit]Education He studied Biological Sciences at Robert College, Istanbul; Art, Architecture, and Art History in the Studios of Bernard Leger and Andre Lhote in Paris; Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley; and History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. He received a Masters in Fine Arts from Rutgers University. [edit]Artist A retired professor of art and art history from Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, he has exhibited widely in the United States[2] and is also a Guggenheim fellow.[3] He retired from the art world in the 1970s and devoted his life to the study and teaching of Islam and Sufism.

Both my wife and I were artists, and we felt very strongly that it was feeding our egos. Art, art exhibitions, and the consequences of being accepted and successful are incredible food for your ego, which is the Sufi's enemy. The final straw was when we went to Rome to visit a friend, a sculptor, and there was a very pretty young girl there whom my friend

introduced me to. And she was so adoring to me. She said, "Ohhh, I know you. I love your art." She was completely praising me, and I saw the ego suddenly rise up and say, "Aha! This beautiful, spiritual girl is telling you that you are a great artist." So I said, "Oh, my God! That's it. It's over." I hit the ego on the head and decided I was finished with it all.[4] [edit]Sufi In 1970 Bayrak met Muzaffer Ozak Ashki al-Jerrahi who became his teacher. Bayrak is now a Sheikh of the Helveti-Jerrahi order residing near the Jerrahi Order of America mosque inSpring Valley, New York.[5] He has been spiritual guide of the Jerrahi Order of the Americas, (the primary Western branch of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order of Dervishes) since 1977.[6]

Service should be from the moment you are born until the moment you give your last breath, but you have to find out in what way. That's what's most important. We have to find out in what manner we are supposed to serve. [7]

[edit]Translator Sheikh Tosun Bayrak has translated dozens of books on Islamic spirituality, but he is particularly known for his efforts on the works of the Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi. His translations of classic works of Sufism include Secret of Secrets (Islamic Texts Society, 1992), Inspirations (Threshold Books), The Book of Sufi Chivalry (Inner Traditions, 1991), Suhrawardi: The Shape of Light (Fons Vitae, 1998), The Name and the Named: Divine Attributes of God (Fons Vitae, 2000), and The Path of Muhammad (World Wisdom, 2005).

Jane I. Smith
Professor of Islamic Studies and Co-Director B.D. (Hartford Seminary Foundation); Ph.D. (Harvard University); Specialization: Islamic Studies, Christian-Muslim Relations, Comparative Religion Contact Info: email: jismith@hartsem.edu phone: (860) 509-9532 fax: (860) 509-9539 Most important throughout my career have been the works of Wilfred Cantwell Smith, my graduate school mentor. His many insights into the study and understanding of religion culminated in his Toward A World Theology, in which he insists that a Christian thinker who works in the context of the history of religion, meaning all religions, is not called on to neglect or forsake the Christian faith. He or she must, however, understand and articulate that faith in the broadest possible context, one that is willing to take into serious account what we are now coming to know about the beliefs of other peoples and other cultures with whom we share this world. Professor Smith has done extensive work on Muslim communities in America, Christian theology in relation to Islam, historical relations between Christians and Muslims, Islamic conceptions of death and afterlife, and the role and status of women in Islam. Currently, Dr. Smith is co-editor of The Muslim World, a journal dedicated to the study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. She is editor of the Islam section of the new Encyclopedia of Women in World Religions, convener of the North American Regional Research Team for the Pew Program on Christian Theological Education in Muslim Contexts, participant in an interfaith study project of the World Council of Churchs Ecumenical Institute, and a member of the Commission on Interfaith Relations of the National Council of Churches. She travels frequently to various parts of the Muslim world, and speaks to academic and community groups about recent developments in Islam and its relationship to the West. Having served on the Executive Committee and Globalization Task Force for the Association of Theological Schools, and as the Associations Vice President, she is now chair of the ATSs Commission on Accrediting. She participates regularly in local, national and international Christian-Muslim dialogue sessions, and was a Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology for 199798. Among Dr. Smiths recent publications are Islam in America (Columbia Press, 1999); Islam and Christendom in The Oxford History of Islam (Oxford University Press, 1999); Chr istian Missionary Views of Islam in the 19th-20th Centuries in Islam and Muslim-Christian Religions, 1998; Muslim Communities in America (State University of New York Press, 1994); Mission to America: Five Islamic Communities in the United States (University Presses of Florida, 1993).

Courses Taught: Islam in America and Western Europe view the Winter/Spring 2007 syllabus Major Themes in the Bible and Qur'an view the Fall 2006 syllabus Understanding Islam: Rumor and Reality view the Summer 2006 syllabus Christian-Muslim Relations: The Theological Dimesion view the Winter/Spring 2006 syllabus Introduction to World Religions view the Fall 2005 syllabus The Practice of Christian-Muslim Dialogue in North America view the Fall 2003 syllabus

On Will
Man, in fact all and everything, has three aspects: essence, attributes, and actions. If we wish to describe a person (or a thing) we might start with its shape and form and physical characteristics, describing a man as tall, thin, blond, blue-eyed, etc. Next we might describe him by his actions or capabilities: strong, intelligent, farsighted, kind, generous, etc. These are his actions, or possibilities of actualizing things. Both the attributes and the actions and functions of a person may change. The tall may get taller, the young become old, the thin become fat, and blondes go gray. Actions also change. The strong may become weak; the generous may become poor and be unable to give. When the shape and character and actions of men or things change, if there is something constant left, that is the essence of that person or that thing. Allah Most High blew from His own soul into this body of flesh and bone of a hundred or two hundred pounds. The body is weighable, measurable, changeable, temporal, subject to decay, while the soul is immeasurable, invisible, immortal, coming from another realm. When the soul enters the body, it is as if an act of marriage takes place. The flesh, the mother, world-bound, joins with the soul, the father, heaven-bound. From this marriage two children are born. One is called the heart, resembling the father, yearning for the fatherland, attached to and under the guidance of the father. The other child is called the ego, having the character of the mother, attached to the motherland and loving this world. In this family of your being, your actions, your character, your behavior, your beauty or your ugliness are either from the heart or from the ego. They are changeable. When they are from the heart, they correspond and are is in harmony with your father, the eternal soul. When they are from the ego they relate to your mother the flesh and her country, the world. Your shape, your form, your physical appearance, your behavior your actions are first manifested in your wants and wishes. The ego wants what the flesh wants. The heart wants what Allah wants. These wants are manifest in ones will. Will is wanting to have something or to do something, and to think that you, yourself, are able to get what you wish to have and to think that you are able to do what you wish to do. Will is a unique gift which Allah Most High has given only

to man. It enables man to choose the right from the wrong, that which is good for one from that which is bad for one. Yet man does not know what is good for him. Therefore Allah has given to His chosen servants a perfected religion in which He has completed all His blessings upon them and is pleased. That is Islam. When man listens to his heart and is in accordance with its wishes and chooses to submit that most valuable gift of Allah, his will, to Allahs greater willthat is Islam. Then the divine light, an-nur al-Muhammadi, the beauty of the beloved of Allah, will be his physical appearance and he will receive ihsan and will be in the presence of his Lord forever. There was once a shaykh of great wisdom who had been given marlfetullah. The sultan of his nation was surrounded by advisors whose knowledge was the sciences of this world, the knowledge of the ego. They misguided the sultan and the world suffered. The true wise man wished to warn the sultan, but the advisors prevented him. So he thought of a scheme. He declared publicly that there was no such thing as mans will. Such a declaration is heresy (just as it is also heretical to say man is the creator of his own actions). The advisors of the sultan saw this as an occasion to condemn the wise man and reported him to the sultan. The sultan asked that the wise man be brought to his presence in order that he judge him. He asked, "Is it true that you claim that man has no will, while Allah says that it is His gift to mankind?" The wise man said, "Yes, I claim that man has no will. I also confirm that he does have will. But what do you say, my sultan? For instance, do you believe that I have will? " "Certainly," said the sultan. "Do you also believe that f have the ability to actualize what I will?" "Of course," said the sultan. The wise man said, "In that case, I will that all that you have in your treasuries be distributed among the people!" The sultan turned to his advisors and said, "Answer him." They could only mumble, protesting, "He is doing this for the sake of intellectual argument. it is not serious!" "Then destroy his argument with your knowledge," the sultan insisted. The advisors fell silent. The wise man said, "Let me explain my own argument, my sultan. "In your presence, in your palace, the only will is yours, and I have none. When I return home, however, I can tell my wife, my children, and my servants what I wish, and they will do it. There I have a will. "But even here there is a Sultan above all sultans, the Owner and the Lord of all and everything, All-powerful, Ever-living, known by His attributes, seen by His actions, ever-present, all and everywhere. The ones who know Him and know that they are in His presence at all timesfor those people of the heart and of the essence there is only one will, the divine will of Allah. They say nothing but from Him, they see nothing but of Him, they do nothing but by Him.

"Then there are those who are heedless of Him and of what is His, who feel that they are at home in this world, which is theirs~ These are the ones who have will and think they can do. "Perchance they will think that their freedom extends to where others freedom begins. Society as men know it depends on that sense of responsibility. That is why mans will is a gift to humanity. "But these heedless ones know that what they will seldom happens, while they see that the ones who have given up their will for the greater will of Allah are satisfied, at peace, and pleased, for whatever happens to them is for the best. They are envious and critical of those who have given up will, and are aggressive toward them. Yet they are bound to fail. "All praise is due to Allah."
Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti

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The following are some resources for the study of Ibn Arabi and theoretical gnosis, both primary texts in translation and secondary texts:

The Selections

Ibn from the

Arabi Futht

Society (See al-Makkiyya translated

the Articles section) by Aisha Bewley

Theoretical Gnosis and Doctrinal Sufism and Their Significance Today by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

The site of the Ibn Arabi Society appears to be the primary resource for translations and studies of Ibn Arabi's work online. Please share any other significant resources that wa-salaam Ibn al-Batul _________________ "Surely, the religion of Allah is not known by the people, it is recognized by the sign of Truth. Know the Truth, and you shall know its people." -Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib you may be familiar with.

Tafsir Al-Jalalayn
The Great Commentaries of the Holy Quran Series Volume I
Translated by Dr. Feras Hamza General Editor: Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought & Fons Vitae Publishing Paperback 702 pp. ISBN: 9781891785160 Up until now, the fundamental texts of the Islamic faith, apart from the notable exception of the Hadith of the Prophet, have remained out of reach of many Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Among the most important sources for understanding the Qur'an are the tafsir works, commentaries on the Qur'an, which help to properly explain and contextualise the Revelation. Tafsir al-Jalalayn, presented here in complete English translation for the first time ever, is the first work inThe Great

Commentaries on the Holy Quran series. The series aims to make widely available the leading exegetical works in translation for study and research in unabridged form, which are faithful to the letter and meaning of the Arabic. Tafsir Al-Jalalayn is one of the most significant tafsirs, or commentaries, for the study of the Quran. Composed by two "Jalals"- Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (d. 1459CE) and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 1505CE), Tafsir Al-Jalalayn is generally regarded as one of the most easily accessible works of Quranic exegesis beacause of its simple style and one volume length. For the first time ever Tafsir al-Jalalayn is completely translated into an unabridged, highly accurate and readable annotated English translation by Feras Hamza. This Qur'anic commentary is one of the most popular Tafasir in the Islamic world, perhaps even THE most popular Tafsir. Copies of it are available in almost every bookshop and library in the Arab and Muslim world. It is by far the shortest and easiest to understand. Consequently, it is invariably read as an introduction to Classical Tafsirs by millions of students and adults who never go further into the subject. It is thus an immensely successful and influential work not just as the classic introduction to Tafsir, but also as the standard reference work for the language of Qur'an. Al-Jalalayn's two author's deliberately summarized, streamlined or simplified the material in order to stay focused on their one overriding aim: to make the LITERAL meaning of the Holy Qur'an completely intelligible in the simplest possible way. Dr Feras Hamza received his M. Phil and D. Phil in Islamic history from the University of Oxford. He has worked as a research assistant in Islamic history at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and is currently a Research Associate with the Quranic Studies Project at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. He is a specialist on early Islam and teaches courses in Islamic History, Quran and Tafsir. Dr. Hamza is presently at work on a translation of Al-Baydawis Tafsir and a monograph on the Birth of the Muslim Afterlife. H.R.H. Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad is Personal Envoy and Special Advisor to H.M. King Abdullah II, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Royal Aal alBayt Institute for Islamic Thought.

The Immense Ocean

Al-Bahr al-Madid
A Thirteenth/Eighteenth Century Quranic Commentary on the Chapters: 'The All-Merciful', 'The Event', and 'Iron' Ahmad ibn 'Ajiba
Translated by Mohamed Fouad Aresmouk and Michael Abdurrahman Fitzgerald Introduction: Kenneth Honerkamp Forweword: Kristin Zahra Sands
204 pages ISBN: 9781891785283

I have been requested by Shaykh, Sidi Muhammad al-Buzidi al-Hasani, as well has his Shaykh, the Qutb, Mulay al-Arabi al-Darqawi al-Hasani, to set down in writing a commentary that would combine both exoteric explanation and esoteric allusion, and I have responded to their requestin hopes that this work will benefit many and be a joy to the heart as well as to the ear. The 18th century Moroccan mystic and scholar, Ahmad ibn Ajiba, virtually unknown in the west before the 1967 publication of Jean-Louis Michons Le Soufi Marocain Ibn Ajiba et son Miraj, spent six year towards the end of his life working intermittently on his single greatest work, The Immense Ocean (al-Bahr al-Madid), a complete commentary on the Holy Quran. The finished work would differ from all other previous Quranic commentaries (tafasir) by the fact that in addition to presenting the exoteric explanation for every verse, it also included esoteric commentary (ishara) which related each verse to the mystic path of Islam, Sufism. The present translation is of one section--- the fifty-fourth hizb (or part) containing the Chapters of The All-Merciful, The Event, and Iron---from this unique and monumental work. Its intention is to provide the Anglophone reader with access not only to how the generality of educated Muslims have understood the dominant themes of these Chapters since the earliest days of Islam, but also how traditional Sufic sources have viewed these same themes in respect to the microcosm of the soul and the journey towards God. To this latter dimension, Ibn Ajiba adds insights arising from his own spiritual quest, that of a man who, in his early 40s, having lived the life of a scholar from a noble Tetouani family, turned away from all the rank and respect he had previously enjoyed in order to become the disciple of two of the greatest Sufic teachers of his day, Mulay

al-Arabi al-Darqawi and Muhammad al-Buzidi, and immerse himself in the rigorous spiritual training and practice that characterized their way, al-Tariqa al-Shadhiliyya alDarqawiyya. This translation, then presents both an example of Islamic scholarship based on traditional formal sources as well as insight into Ibn Ajibas own personal journey of discovery. In the course of this work, the reader will find commentary, both exoteric and esoteric, on verses concerning the interrelation between Divine benevolence and human gratitude; the blessings of Heaven and the place of faithful men and women there; the relationship between practice, grace, and salvation; the role and meaning of the invocation and remembrance of God (dhikr Allah); the ephemeral nature of this world; the essential traits of Christians; the meaning of earthy tribulations; and the benefits of charity. In addition the reader will discover the depths at which Quranic discourse has been understood by the mystics of Islam over the centuries (and up to the present day), a depth at which formal differences between traditions become less and less distinct and the similarities in the human quest for knowledge of the Divine ever more inspiring. Al-Bahr al-Madid, is the only traditional Quranic commentary in existence which gives both exoteric exegesis and mystical spiritual allusion for each verse of the Sacred Book. Only one other work by the prolific 13th/18th century Moroccan mystic and scholar, Ahmad ibn Ajiba, has so far been translated into English.

Tafsir Ibn Abbas

The Great Commentaries on the Holy Quran Series
Volume II

Translated by Mokrane Guezzou General Editor: Yousef Meri Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought & Fons Vitae Publishing
Paperback 931 pages ISBN: 9781891785177

Tafsir Ibn Abbas, presented here in complete English translation for the first time ever, is the second work in the Great Commentaries on the Holy Qur'an series. The series aims to make widely available leading exegetical works in translation for study and research in unabridged form, which are faithful to the letter and meaning of the Arabic.

Attributed variously to the Companion Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas (d.687CE) and to Ibn Ya'qub al-Firuzabadi (d.1414CE), Tafsir Ibn Abbas is one of the pivotal works for understanding the environment which influenced the development of Quranic exegesis. Despite its uncertain authorship and its reliance on controversial Israelite

stories, Tafsir Ibn Abbas nevertheless offers valuable insight into the circulation and exchange of popular ideas between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity during the formative phase of Islamic exegesis.

This commentary is unabridged and uncensored, like the other works in the Great Commentaries on the Holy Quran series. The traditions attributed to Ibn Abbas that are at the core of this work render it as a seminal work of exegesis. Tafsir Ibn Abbas is unencumbered with isnads, or chains of transmission, and does not contain elaborate theological or philosophical explanations or technical grammatical explanations, thus making the work accessible to the non-specialist. Muslim scholarship considers the author Ibn Abbas as the real father of the science of Tafsir. The reports related from Ibn Abbas regarding the interpretation of the Quran are quite abundant. In fact, there is almost no interpretation of a Quranic verse for which one cannot find an interpretation to Ibn Abbas.

Dr. Mokrane Guezzou is a British-Algerian translator of major Islamic works. His translation of Al-Wahidis Asbab Al-Nuzul also appears in the Great Commentaries on the Holy Quran series. He is also presently at work on a translation and study of Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandaris Al-Qasd al-Mujarrad fi Marifat al-Ism al-Mufrad (Fons Vitae).

Dr. Yousef Waleed Meri is a leading specialist in Islam of the pre-modern period, Islamic cultural and social history and interfaith relations. He received a B.A. (Magna cum laude) from University of California, Berkeley in 1992, an M.A. from the State University of New York Binghamton in 1995 and a D.Phil. from Wolfson College, Oxford University in 1999. Currently, he is a Fellow and Special Scholar in Residence at the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (Amman, Jordan), which is under the patronage of Abdallah II, King of Jordan. He has published numerous articles and books dealing with various aspects of Islamic history, civilization and ritual practice.

Al-Wahidis Asbab Al-Nuzul

The Great Commentaries of the Holy Quran
Volume III
Translated by Mokrane Guezzou

General Editor: Yousef Meri Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought & Fons Vitae Publishing
Paperback 304 pp. ISBN 9781891785184

Up until now, the fundamental texts of the Islamic faith, apart from the notable exception of the Hadith of the Prophet, have remained out of reach of many Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Among the most important sources for understanding the Qur'an are the tafsir works, commentaries on the Qur'an, which help to properly explain and contextualise the Revelation.Al-Wahidi's Asbab Al-Nuzul, presented here in complete English translation for the first time ever, is the third work in The Great Commentaries on the Holy Qur'an series. The series aims to make widely available leading exegetical works in translation for study and research in unabridged form, which are faithful to the letter and meaning of the Arabic. The Qur'an is the highest code for Muslims in everything relating to their spiritual, religious, ethical, social, and legal matters. One of the sciences of the Qur'an is the "Asbab al-Nuzul"- the occasions, reasons, or causes of revelation. Muslim scholars agree that the revelations of the Qur'an can be divided into two broad types. One type includes passages from the Qur'an which were revealed in response to specific events, incidents or questions put forward to the Prophet. The second type includes passages which were not a direct response to any historical or social development in the life of the Muslim community. A thorough understanding and full appreciation of the scope of the first type of passages, therefore, depend on knowing the circumstances, facts and details of the events which occasioned them. Such knowledge is an invaluable tool for grasping the meaning of this type of Qur'anic verse. Written by Imam al-Wahidi (d. 468/1075), Al-Wahidis Asbab al-Nuzul is the earliest, best-known representative and extant work of this genre. In the introduction to his Asbab al-Nuzul, Al-Wahidi, who was hailed as the greatest Qur'anic commentator of his time, wrote, "We have ended up benefiting the beginners in the sciences of the Book by expounding the occasions for which it was revealed. It is not possible to know the interpretation of a given verse or the meaning it alludes to without knowing its story and the occasion of its revelation." This title is not only the work that has insured Al-Wahidi a prominent place in the field of Qur'anic study, but it is also the standard upon which all subsequent works on the occasions of the revelation were modeled.

Dr. Mokrane Guezzou is a British-Algerian translator of major Islamic works. His translation of Al-Wahidis Asbab Al-Nuzul also appears in the Great Commentaries on the Holy Quran series. He is also presently at work on a translation and study of Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandaris Al-Qasd al-Mujarrad fi Marifat al-Ism al-Mufrad (Fons Vitae). Dr. Yousef Waleed Meri is a leading specialist in Islam of the pre-modern period, Islamic cultural and social history and interfaith relations. He received a B.A. (Magna cum laude) from University of California, Berkeley in 1992, an M.A. from the State University of New York Binghamton in 1995 and a D.Phil. from Wolfson College, Oxford University in 1999. Currently, he is a Fellow and Special Scholar in Residence at the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (Amman, Jordan), which is under the patronage of Abdallah II, King of Jordan. He has published numerous articles and books dealing with various aspects of Islamic history, civilization and ritual practice.

Me & Rumi
The Autobiography of Shams-i Tabrizi
Introduced, Translated, and Annotated by William Chittick Preface by Annemarie Schimmel "Imagine that you could go somewhere each morning, say to a corner of the sugar merchants' caravanserai, and hear Shams Tabriz talk about the veiling of the heart, the nature of exertion, or how to move beyond the agitated state of question and answer. This book gives entry into that astonishing presence. Go there for an hour a day, however long it takes. Then read Rumi's poetry and feel their opening Friendship in you. Bless William Chittick." - Coleman Barks The astounding autobiography of the man who transformed Rumi from a learned religious teacher into the worlds greatest poet of mystical love. "William Chitticks masterful translation of the Maqalat of Shamsi Tabrizi moves Rumis beloved mentor from the shadows into the light, and restores Shams to the central position of prominence that he so richly deserves. This work immediately joins the indispensable short list of scholarly works on Rumi and his community.

Highly recommended for all scholars and students of Sufism, Islamic Philosophy, Persian literature, and of course for all the legions of Rumi fans." Annemarie Schimmel Now that Rumi has become one of the best-selling poets in North America, interest in his life and times has increased dramatically. Practically every collection of his poetry provides a thumbnail biography, highlighting his encounter with Shams-i Tabrizi, the wandering mystic who became Rumis beloved companion. Rumi had been a sober scholar, teaching law and theology to a small circle of students, but the coming of Shams turned him into a devotee of music, dance, and poetry. Three years after Shamss appearance out of nowhere, he abruptly vanished, never to be seen again. It was Rumis longing for the lost Shams that transformed him into one of the worlds greatest poets. Rumi immortalized Shamss name by constantly celebrating him in his poetry as the embodiment of the divine beloved. Very little is known about the historical Shamsindeed, some have even doubted that he was a real person. Everyone interested in Rumis poetry has been curious about him, and beginning with Rumis own son and other hagiographers, a great deal of legend was built up. Over the centuries Shams became a trope of Persian, Turkish, and Urdu literatures. Modern scholarship has made little headway in explaining who Shams was or how he was able to play such a decisive role in Rumis life, though a good number of theories have been advanced. Me and Rumi represents a true milestone in the study of this enigmatic figure. It makes available for the first time in any European language first-hand accounts of Shams that have never been studied by Western scholars. When Rumi and Shams sat and talked, one or more members of the circle took notes. These were never put into final form, but they were preserved and sometimes copied by later generations, ending up in various libraries scattered around Turkey. Fifteen years ago an Iranian scholar completed the long process of collating and editing the manuscripts. The book that he published, called Maqalat-i Shams-i Tabrizi, The Discourses of Shams-i Tabrizi, provides us with an extraordinary picture of an awe-inspiring personality. In Me and Rumi William C. Chittick has translated about two-thirds of the Discourses into English and arranged them in a manner that clarifies their meaning and context. He provides notes and a glossary, which will go a long way toward helping readers decipher the more obscure passages. The net result is an exciting and readable book that brings Shams to life. For the first time in Western sources we are given access to him without the intermediary of Rumi and the myth-makers. Shams appears as raucous and sober, outspoken and subtle, harsh and gentle, learned and irreverent, and above all as an embodiment of the living presence of God. The book

destroys the stereotypes that have been set up by the secondary literature, and it gives access to a far more fascinating and vivid personality than we have any right to expect from what hagiographers and scholars have written. 1 February 2005 News - Me & Rumi has recently received the World Prize for the Book of the Year in Iran and has been selected as the best work in the field of Iranian studies.

Seal of the Saints

Prophethood and Sainthood In the Doctrine of Ibn Arabi
Michel Chodkiewicz Translated by Liadain Sherrard
The Islamic Texts Society
Paperback 192 pp. ISBN 0946621403

Ibn Arabiborn in 1165 in Andalusia and died in 1240 in Damascuswas recognised in his lifetime as al-Shaykh al-Akbar, the supreme spiritual Master. Over a period of eight centuries he has exerted a profound influence on Islamic mysticism. In recent years a number of important studies have helped acquaint the Western reader with Ibn Arabis metaphysics and this process is now greatly enhanced by the present volume in which Michael Chodkiewicz explores for the first time, the Masters hagiology or teaching on sainthood. Founded on a careful analysis of the relevant texts, Chodkiewiczs work examines this essential aspect of Ibn Arabis doctrine of sainthood, defining the nature and function of sainthood, while also specifying the criteria for a typology of saints based on the notion of prophetic inheritance.

The book concludes with a detailed description of the two phases of the initiatory journey, the ascent to God, followed by the descent to created beings which, once accomplished, makes a saint the necessary mediator between Heaven and Earth. Michel Chodkiewicz is Director of Studies at lEcole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris. This is by far the best available explanation of the central importance of sanctity for understanding both the practical and the theoretical teachings of Sufism. - William Chittick An extraordinarily good book about an extremely difficult thinker...Chodkiewicz not only knows the texts remarkably well, but also avoids and rejects certain errors of perspective common among other scholars. - TLS Excerpt: For a saint, to be the heir of one of the prophets is always to be the heir of Muhammad. Indeed, the prophets were his deputies in the created world when he [i.e. Muhammad] was pure spirit, aware of being so, prior to the appearance of his body or flesh. When he was asked, When were you a prophet?, he replied, I was a prophet when Adam was between water and clay, meaning: when Adam had not yet come into existence. And this was so until the appearance of his most pure body. At that moment the authority of his deputies came to an end the authority, that is to say, of the other messengers and prophets. As we will see later, other texts by Ibn Arabi define more clearly the nature and function of this primordial Muhammadan Reality (haqiqa muhammadiyya), of which every prophet since Adam, the first prophet, is but a partial refraction at a particular moment of human history. What is the real meaning of the word haqiqa, which we have translated as Reality? According to the Lisan al-arab, it signifies the true meaning of a thing as opposed to its metaphorical meaning (majazi); it also signifies the heart of a thing or matter, its true nature, its essence, and thus the inviolable inmost self of a being, its hurma. The concept of a Muhammadan reality which is not only fully constituted and active before the appearance in this world of the person named Muhammad, but is also situated prior to history, has been the subject of heated debate in Islam. Ibn Taymiyya and several other writers, in accordance with their usual practice, attempted to prove its innovative and aberrant nature (bida) by challenging the main scriptural reference

for it, which is the hadith quoted above where Muhammad says, I was a prophet when Adam was between water and clay. For the Hanbalite polemicist, this hadith is a forgery and the only permissible version of it is the one quoted by Ibn Hanbal and Tirmidhi, where the Prophet apparently says, I was a prophet when Adam was between spirit and flesh (baynal-ruh wal-jasad). Without stressing the fact that the differences in phraseology between these two concurrently existing forms of the same statement seem to us, ultimately, to be minor, we should point out that the criteria by which traditionists judge the authenticity of a hadith are purely external and have reference essentially to the reliability of the chain of transmission. Yet Ibn Arabi, who, even when an old man, never ceased to study the hadith in the usual ways and knew everything there was to know about the traditions, says on several occasions that an unveiling (kashf) is the only sure way of judging the validity of a particular remark attributed to the Prophet, and in so saying he challenges the doctrinal authority of the doctors of the Law. On the other hand, even though the phrase haqiqa muhammadiyya made its appearance late and in this sense is indeed a bida or innovation, the concept that it represents in abstract terms is one of the most traditional in Islam, where it is clearly symbolized as the Muhammadan light (nur muhammadi, nur Muhammad). Moreover, the association of the Prophet with a symbolism of light is not, in Islamic terms, a human invention, but is based on the actual words of God. In the Quran (33:46), Muhammad is called a torch which illumines (sirajan muniran); another verse (5:15) says that a light has come to you from God, which is interpreted by the commentators as a reference to the Prophet. For Muslims, this light is not simply a metaphor. Ibn Ishaq, who was born only seventy years after the Prophets death, reports that the Prophets father Abdallah, just before his marriage with Amina, met a woman who tried in vain to seduce him. When he saw her again on the day after his wedding, and the Prophet had already been conceived, this same woman turned away from him, and on being asked why, said, The light which was upon you yesterday has left you. Ibn Ishaq explains that his own father told him that this woman had seen between Abdallahs two eyes a radiant white mark, which disappeared when the Prophet was conceived. According to a slightly different version of this story, as related by Ibn Ishaq, the woman speaking to Abdallah was no other than the sister of Waraqa ibn Nawfalthe Christian from Mecca who, when questioned by the Prophet after the first visit of the angel Gabriel, assured him of the authenticity of the Revelationand had been warned by her brother of the imminent coming of a prophet. What she had perceived in the face of Abdallah was the light of prophethood of which he was the transmitter. This story was taken up by later historians such as Tabari (died 310/923) and widely diffused by all the writers who wrote histories of the prophets. The interpretation of

it very soon introduced the explicit theme of the verus propheta, based, among other things, on a hadith quoted by Bukhari in which the Prophet, borne century after century and generation upon generation (qarnan fa-qarnan), appears to be travelling through time towards the point where his physical nature becomes manifest. Is this journeying of the prophetic Seed to its final birth to be understood as taking place in the loins of his ancestors, of his carnal lineage, or as a series of stopping-places in the persons of the successive bearers of the Revelation, the one hundred and twentyfour thousand prophets of whom he is both the forefather and the final Seal? Ibn Abbas (died 68/687), the tarjuman al-quran or interpreter par excellence of the Quran, commenting on verse 26:219, seems to favour the second meaning: according to him, Muhammad goes from prophet to prophet (min nabiyyin ila nabiyyin) until the moment when God causes him to emerge (akhraja) as a prophet in his turn. Ibn Sad, who cites this, also refers to a hadith which Tabari likewise mentions, and in which Muhammad says, I am the first man to have been created and the last to have been sent [i.e. as a prophet]. The truth is that both these themes are bound up with each other, for the traditional genealogy of Muhammad also includes a series of prophets, among whom are Abraham and Ishmael. However, another hadith, which is absent from the canonical collections, and in which explicit reference is made to Nur muhammadi, was destined to play a major part in the meditation on the Prophets primordiality. It is mentioned by one of the Companions, Jabir ibn Abdallah, and runs as follows: O Jabir, God created the light of your Prophet out of His Light before he created things.

This book was originally written in French by Michel Chodkiewicz under the title Le Sceau des Saints and was published in 1986. It is the most important book on the concept of sainthood in the writings of Ibn al-Arabi. Chodkiewicz begins the book with a brief survey of the history of Ibn al-Arabi studies in Western scholarship and then devotes a good deal of time to discussing the idea of sainthood in Islam before Ibn al-Arabi. Here he shows how devotion to the saints in classical Islam was not simply a manifestation of popular piety. On the contrary, it seems to have been a natural consequence of Islamic practice. Michel Chodkiewiczs depth of knowledge on the subject matter is particularly noteworthy. Bringing over forty years of knowledge of the works of Ibn al-Arabi to this study, he draws on the many texts written by the Shaykh and presents his ideas in as coherent a fashion as possible. But he also takes into account what members of the school of Ibn al-Arabi had to say about their masters ideas, how thinkers in the later Islamic tradition responded to his notion of the Seal of Muhammadan Saints, as well as the severe criticisms leveled against Ibn al-Arabi and members of his school by,

for example, Ibn al-Taymiyyah. Chodkiewicz does an especially good job in this book of showing how the Haqiqah Muhammadiyyah (The Muhammadan Reality) is at once the beginning of all sainthood in Islam and the end, as it were, and how this reality is percolated throughout the generation of Prophets and Messengers sent by God. His discussion of how the cosmic hierarchy, with the Qutb, Awtad, Imams, Hawariyun etc. (who are all Afrad at the same time) are a physical Refraction of the Muhammadan light (Nur Muhammadi) was particularly appreciated; and especially how he was able to tie this in with the fact that the many generations of saints who belong to similar cosmic hierarchies are themselves in turn reflections of the refractions of Muhammadan light. The vast spiritual anthropology of the Sufi cosmic landscape is often overwhelming and this book certainly makes it much easier to understand the basic ideas upon which these complex hierarchies are based. At the same time, although it does seem like not enough was said about the connection between the Insan al-Kamil (the Perfect Man) and the role of the Qutb and the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood, Chodkiewicz did successfully manage to explain how it is that there could be other people after Ibn alArabi who also claimed to be Seals of Sainthood without fundamentally challenging the Shaykhs exclusive claim to being the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood. Furthermore, something must be said about the replies Michel Chodkiewicz offers to several of the interpretations of Ibn al-Arabi by the great Iranologist, Henry Corbin. Chodkiewicz seems to fundamentally disagree with any Shii interpretation of Ibn alArabi insofar as such interpretations would make Ibn al-Arabi out to be a Shii. The cause for alarm is justifiable, since it would be, in Chodkiewiczs own words, difficult to uncover a clandestine Shiite in the writings of a self-confessed Sunni (p. 5). At the same time, Corbins work on Ibn al-Arabi cannot be dismissed in just a few footnotes, not that this is what Chodkiewicz was trying to do. But it appears as though he could have referred to some of the instances where he does agree with Corbin, or offered some explanations as to why it is that he and Corbin are coming up with such different readings of the Shaykh al-Akbars work. Seal of the Saints appears to be a rather un-intimidating book. But it is certainly a very heavy read: each of its almost two hundred pages requires the utmost attention. This is undoubtedly due to the complexity of Ibn al-Arabis ideas on Sainthood, but part of it also has to do with the fact that Chodkiewicz does not waste any of his words. Because of his range of scholarship and his gifted ability to synthesize and explain the Shaykhs ideas, one must read each page several times in order to follow his arguments. A missed point on one page may cost the reader two chapters later. Thus, while the book is a very enjoyable read, it is also quite tedious work getting through a single chapter, especially since the discussions in the footnotes for each chapter are

often just as dense as the text itself. Some may feel that the absence of diagrams in the book make understanding Ibn al-Arabis doctrine of sainthood an even harder task. But it can be argued that this also forces readers to think about Ibn al-Arabis doctrine of Sainthood in non-pictorial and thus relatively unsystematic terms. And this is precisely where the unity in Ibn al-Arabis doctrine of Sainthood paradoxically lies: it is, like Wujud (Being) itself, formless and traceless, placeless and nameless. -Mohammed Rustom, Deenport.com

The Meccan Revelations

Volume 1 - Futuhat al-Makkiya

Muhyidin Ibn al- Arabi Edited by Michael Chodkiewicz

Translated by William C. Chittick & James W. Morris

Paperback 384 pp.

The luminous writings of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi weave a vast mystic theology emerging from his own consummate spiritual realization. Because of the advanced nature of his teachings he has been known for 800 years as the Sheikh al-Akbar, or the Greatest Master.

Even in recent years however, access to Ibn Arabi has been difficult and translation daunting. Previously only short extracts of this text were available in English.

The present volume, translated and edited by some of the most esteemed and popular English speaking experts on Ibn Arabi, contains 22 key chapters of this Sufi summa mystica.

These essays reveal spiritual secrets regarding subjects such as the Divine Names, the nature of spiritual experience, the end of time, the resurrection and the stages of the path that lead to sanctity. Even as it plumbs the depths Islamic philosophy, this great book soars beyond time, culture and any particular form of religion.

Describing what is fundamental to our humanity, it is astonishingly universal. Finally readers in the West have an entre into one of the most important and profound works of world literature.

Introduction:

In assembling this volume, my colleagues and I intended each section to be relatively self-contained and accessible, together with its introductory matter and notes, to readers without previous contact with Ibn 'Arab's works. In particular, we have chosen passages that are long enough, in most cases, to give readers some taste of the inseparable connection between Ibn 'Arab's utterly unique style and forms of writing and the process and purposes of realization for which they were designed. For those who are encountering Ibn 'Arab for the first time, or who would like to pursue their study of his work and teachings, this Introduction will provide helpful background information on the following areas:

1.

Ibn

'Arab's

life

and

posterity;

2. the origin and distinctive characteristics of his Meccan Revelations (al-Futuhat alMakkiya), in relation to his other works, including both the better known Bezels of

Wisdom (Fusus al-Hikam) and the complex Islamic philosophical and po etic traditions that developed from it, as well as the poetic, allusive and highly symbolic works of his Andalusian and North African youth;

3. a summary outline of key assumptions common to all of his writings, which are essential for situating these translated chapters from the Futuhat; and of the pedagogical, rhetorical relations between the distinctive style and structure of The Meccan Revelations and Ibn 'Arab's intended audiences, as he himself explains those points in his Introduction to that work;

4. the overall structure of the Futuhat and the place of these translated selections as well as the French translations to appear in a separate companion volume - within that larger structure;

5. and finally, a selection of further English readings in different areas related to Ibn 'Arab, his works and teachings, and their ongoing influences and inspiration.

However, every reader should pay attention to one absolutely essential point: the notes to these translations - as indeed to any accurate and intelligible translation of Ibn 'Arab - are an integral and indispensable part of the translation. Since the notes

were not published as footnotes, it is necessary to read these translations with a bookmark at the corresponding notes, constantly moving back and forth, and also keeping in mind the ongoing technical sense of terms that are explained only once in a given translation, in a note at their first occurrence. The profusion of notes are necessary here, as with any of Ibn 'Arab's writings, for the following basic reasons. First, he constantly uses what might otherwise be taken as "normal" Arabic terms, particularly ones drawn from the Islamic scriptural background of the Qur'an and hadith (traditions related from the Prophet, in specifically technical, personal senses (often profoundly based in the etymological roots of the underlying Arabic) that were already unfamiliar, and sometimes intentionally provocative, even to his original readers. To take one recurrent and fundamental example, in most of his writing, the expression Muhammadan carries the profound meaning of "spiritually universal" or "spiritually all-inclusive." Shar' (which he typically uses instead of the more reified shar'a) refers in many contexts to the universal, ongoing process of spiritual "inspiration" and unveiling that is at the existential core of every human being's uniquely individuated spiritual life, as well as at the ontological Source [1] of the revealed religions. In either of these key cases, modern-day presuppositions (shared by Muslim and non-Muslim readers alike) are likely to suggest diametrically opposite meanings to readers who have not studied the corresponding notes of explanation or otherwise assimilated Ibn 'Arab's technical terminology.

Second, Ibn 'Arab - whether in his poetry or prose - constantly plays with the multiple, often very different meanings and registers of key Arabic terms (especially from the Qur'an), which in his writings are normally closer in their polyvalence to musical chords or the symbols of the I Ching than to the prosaic "equivalents" of any possible English translation. That semantic reality is what explains the translators' frequent interpolation of transliterations of the underlying Arabic terms, useful at least to those with some familiarity with Sufi and Qur'anic Arabic terminology.

Third, Ibn 'Arab's usual procedure throughout TheMeccan Revelations is to shift constantly between multiple registers and references to the terminology, structures and intellectual assumptions of a host of fields of traditional learning that are often unfamiliar to most modern readers. [2]

Finally, TheMeccan Revelations are replete with allusive cross-references to other writings or discussions of related topics elsewhere in the same book, which are absolutely indispensable to understanding the particular passage, symbol or allusion in question. [3] This fundamental structural and stylistic feature is another key reason - as translators are particularly aware - that we still have so few complete translations of any larger sections of this intentionally "sealed" and mysterious work.

And at the very least, explanatory notes are essential in such cases to help readers begin to reconstruct the experience of what it would be like to read through the Futht from the very beginning.

IBN

'ARAB'S

LIFE

AND

POSTERITY

An abundance of excellent books intended to introduce Ibn 'Arab's life, historical context and basic teachings to general audiences have appeared in recent years. [4] Here it may suffice to recall that he was born in present-day Murcia, in Andalusia, in 1165/560; was raised in the great cultural centers of Islamic Spain, where his extraordinary spiritual gifts were already apparent by his adolescence; traveled and encountered innumerable spiritual teachers and "Friends of God" throughout Spain and North Africa in his youth; and left that area definitively for the Hajj, which brought him to Mecca - and the incidents that gave rise to TheMeccan Revelations in 1202/598. His years of maturity were spent in travel and teaching (usually privately, and with none of the public charisma and mass following of the more celebrated saints of his day) throughout the narrowing confines of the Islamic East, which was caught between the inroads of the Crusaders and the ongoing conquests of the Mongol hordes. Eventually he settled for a time in Konya (in present-day Turkey) and then in Damascus, where he died on November 9, 1240/638. His place of

burial there has been a famous pilgrimage site since Ottoman times.

While all of Ibn 'Arab's writings - and most especially the Futuhat - are replete with autobiographical discussions of his extraordinary inner visionary life and spiritual experiences, everything that is known about him from external sources indicates that in his later years he rigorously lived up to his own ideal of the hidden, "solitary" Friends of God (the afrd or malmya) as the highest of the spiritual ranks, "invisible" in their outward conformity to the normative practices of the revelation and the ethical and social obligations common to all - carefully avoiding the public, visible "spiritual gifts" (karamt) popularly associated with many shaykhs and the then-nascent forms of institutionalized Sufism. Although he was accompanied by a small group of friends and close disciples, who became the eventual vehicles for his later wider influence, Ibn 'Arab seems to have been best known in his own day as a religious scholar and student of hadith, an impression that could only have been encouraged by his phenomenally prolific literary output of hundreds of works, of which the Futuhat was apparently by far the longest and most comprehensive. [5]

Even Ibn 'Arab's most skeptical biographers have been compelled to note the remarkable way subsequent history has come to confirm his self-conception of his destined role as the "Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood", [6] whose voluminous

writings - and more important, the underlying spiritual "Reality" that they are meant to reveal and convey - were specially intended to open up the inner spiritual meanings at the heart of all preceding prophetic revelations (and especially the Qur'an and hadith). At the time of his death, Ibn 'Arab himself was virtually unknown, in any wider public sense, in that Mongol/Crusader period when Islamic public authority almost vanished for some decades from all but a handful of Arab cities (and permanently from most of his native Andalusia).

Moreover, all of his "books" discussed here existed only in a handful of manuscript copies, left behind in the Maghreb or restricted to the assiduous students and future transmitters of his teachings during his final years in Damascus. Yet within a few centuries, through one of those mysterious developments so familiar to the historian of religions, his writings - foremost among them the Bezels of Wisdom (Fuss alHikam) and these Meccan Revelations - had come to constitute the constantly cited source of inspiration, and justification (and, as a result, a frequent polemic target) for that vast movement of religious, cultural, social, and literary creativity that brought into being the institutions and masterworks of the Islamic humanities. It was through those creative developments, in a wide gamut of languages, cultures and new institutions, that Islam became a true world religion, with its new cultural and political centers stretching from Southern and Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan

Africa across to Central Asia, India and Southeast Asia. [7] Despite the historically quite recent ideological responses to colonialism, the transformations of modernity and the new demands of the nation-state, most Muslims throughout the world have lived for the past six or seven centuries in cultural, spiritual and religious worlds [8] whose accomplished forms would be unimaginable without the profound impact of ideas rooted in and expressed by Ibn 'Arab. Even his later honorific title, "the greatest Master" (al-Shaykh al-Akbar), does not really begin to suggest the full extent of those influences.

A second, equally mysterious stage in Ibn 'Arab's ongoing influence has been the ways his writings and concepts have served, over the past century, to inspire contemporary intellectuals and students of religion and spirituality outside traditionally Islamic cultures. Faced with a cosmopolitan, multireligious world not unlike the great Muslim empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Moguls, these thinkers have increasingly relied on Ibn 'Arab's works and ideas for the task of creating the common language and subtle conceptual structure required to communicate universal spiritual realities in an increasingly global civilization. [9]

THE ORIGINS OF THE MECCAN REVELATIONS AND THEIR CONTRAST WITH OTHER WRITINGS OF IBN 'ARAB

The inspirations that gave rise to The Meccan Revelations - as its title suggests [10] took place in the course of Ibn 'Arab's first pilgrimage in 1202/598. He describes those experiences in a famous passage at the beginning of the book, which has been translated and discussed by each of his recent biographers. As he explains there (I 10), "The essence of what is included in this work comes from what God inspired in me while I was fulfilling my circumambulations of His Temple [the Ka'ba, bayt Allh], or while I was contemplating it while seated in its holy precincts." However, the actual composition of his first complete version of this immense work, composed during a time of constant travels and the simultaneous production of dozens of other works, lasted until 1231/629. And a few years later, in 1233/632, Ibn 'Arab began a revision and expansion of the text, which he finished in 1238/636, shortly before his death; the complete autograph manuscript of that final version, preserved by his famous disciple Qnaw, survives. [11]

Ibn 'Arab's assertion of a kind of divine inspiration for this work - a point on which his frequent discussions later served as a justification and inspiration for generations of later Muslim poets and creators - in fact extended to virtually all of his writings. As he has noted in another passage at the beginning of the Futuhat (I 59), "Neither this book nor my other books have been composed in the manner of ordinary books, and

I do not write in the way authors normally do." Instead, he affirms more explicitly in a famous later passage (II 456), "I swear by God, I have not written a single letter of this book that was not in accordance with a divine 'dictation' [iml' ilh], a spiritual inbreathing and a 'casting by God' [ilq' rabbn] in my heart!" Perhaps just as important, Ibn 'Arab's remarks suggest the powerful and essentially unique and inimitable ways in which his distinctive language and rhetoric in this work so closely parallels the deeper structures of the Qur'an. [12] Despite the multitude of his later learned and artistic followers and interpreters, no one has really attempted any sort of detailed imitation of that distinctive Arabic literary style, which remains as unique, in its own way, as the equally inimitable Qur'an-inspired structures of Rumi and Hafez.

If the experience and practice of centuries of assiduous and admiring readers lends a certain external "authority" to Ibn 'Arab's assertions in this domain, this does not at all mean that his books closely resemble each other. In particular, readers approaching the Meccan Revelations after having studied Ibn 'Arab's Bezels of Wisdom (Fuss al-Hikam) and the many traditions of later Islamic (and more recent Western) commentary on them, as we once did, will immediately feel that they are discovering a new continent. The essential guiding ideas are of course the same, but here they are expressed with a constant careful, vivid and enthralling attention to

the "living" phenomenology and experiential roots - including, above all, a constant reference to the words and practices of Islamic revelation - underlying the typically ontological and metaphysical formulae of the Fuss tradition. What is often "abstract" or schematic in the highly compressed language of the Bezels of Wisdom is expressed here with a profusion of immediate, compelling experiential illustrations: from Ibn 'Arab's own spiritual life, the experiences of his friends and associates, of earlier Sufis, and the Prophet and Companions. All of these facets highlight the focus of the Futuhat on the living process and ends of spiritual realization, which is equally evident in the specific character of its language and structure, discussed in the following sections.

Those distinctive facets of TheMeccan Revelations, in contrast with the Fuss and its interpreters, help to explain certain of the criteria that guided the selection of chapters and topics for this anthology. Ample treatment is given to illustrations of the auto biographical dimensions of the Futht, its elaborate phenomenology of spiritual experience and realization, and its constant reference to the inspiration of the equally indispensable metaphysical and practical dimensions of Islamic revelation. A final distinctive characteristic of the Futht, in the context of Ibn 'Arab's own writings, is the relatively discursive and comprehensible explanatory prose of most of the chapters - a quality that is only apparent, one must admit, when

compared with the extremely allusive, poetic and mysteriously symbolic discourse that is more typical of the earlier writings from his North African and Andalusian period. [13]

ASSUMPTIONS, INTENTIONS AND THE RHETORIC OF SPIRITUAL PEDAGOGY IN THE MECCAN REVELATIONS

This is not the proper place to attempt to summarize the basic teachings of Ibn 'Arab, a task that has been undertaken, for various audiences, in many recent publications cited or discussed later in this Introduction. Indeed, the single most useful contribution of these (and other) translations from the Futuhat may be pre cisely to undermine and call into question - in a particularly constructive and indispensable fashion - many of the notional "doctrines," slogans and ostensible teachings so often connected with the name of Ibn 'Arab. Whether in later Islamic polemical contexts or Western scholarship, those stereotypes usually reflect the profound influence of his very short and complex later work, the Bezels of Wisdom (Fuss al-Hikam), [14] the study and interpretation of which has over the centuries both inspired and sometimes antagonized many Islamic philosophic and theological traditions.

The inevitable result of such primarily intellectual (or heresiographical) efforts at "summarizing" Ibn 'Arab - where he is somehow identified uniquely with a few paradoxical formulae supposedly drawn from the Fuss - is quite similar to what has happened repeatedly over several millenia, in Hellenistic and later Western thought, with attempts to summarize Plato's ostensible "teachings." In both cases, what is lost by neglecting the indispensable role of the unique dialectical, dramatic rhetorical forms and underlying intentions of the author is what is in fact most essential to both: the actual transformation of each reader - a process necessarily engaging every dimension of the individual reader's being and particular concrete existence through an active, lifelong process of "spiritual intelligence" (tahqq, discussed below) that both authors understand to be at the very essence of those educational dramas (or "tests," in the language of the Qur'an) that define our life on earth.

In order to appreciate this guiding intention of all of Ibn 'Arab's writing - which he summarizes or alludes to again and again in a few outwardly simple stories and formulae (usually famous "divine sayings") drawn from the canonical Sunni collections of hadith [15] - one has only to keep in mind what we might call a few "working assumptions." These are not the same as beliefs or teachings that one has to agree with in order to understand and appreciate what is being said. They are on the order of "orientations," or existential possibilities, that each reader needs to be

aware of in order to begin to make the indispensable connections between the Shaykh's symbolic language and the universal, experiential realities (themselves in no way dependent on any particular set of beliefs or historical-cultural programming) to which those symbols correspond. Indeed, the necessary effort to rediscover the essential inner connections between those "revealed" symbolic languages and their real existential counterparts is often far more difficult for readers deeply imbued with culturally conditioned, inadequate conceptions of the reference points of those symbols.

On an initial, static or schematic level, the first of those fundamental working assumptions, is the profound concordance or correspondence, rooted in the deepest sources of reality, between the three "books" of being [16] or creation; of "revelation" (again, with meanings and domains that go far beyond the usual historicist notions that the word might suggest); and of the human soul. [17] Since each individual soul and its actual surrounding existence are concretely present and unique to that particular person at that unique moment - thanks to what Ibn 'Arab, following the Qur'an, calls their ever-renewed situation of "constant re-creation" (tajdd al-khalq) - his writings, for all their initial difficulty, are carefully designed to awaken the particular spiritual insights and meanings accessible to individual readers in their specific situation and stage of spiritual development.

As the reader of any of his works quickly discovers, Ibn 'Arab's distinctive language and rhetoric of "allusion" (ishra) - with its repeatedly jarring sudden shifts of perspective, tone, irony, paradox, mystery and (momentary) piety - is marvelously constructed, like its constant model in the Qur'an, to break through each reader's particular unconscious structures of belief and levels of habitual programming in order to make possible an immediate, unitive perception (at once spiritual and intellectual) of "things as they really are," [18] of immediately inspired "knowing" ('ilm, in its Qur'anic sense). Needless to say, this effect presupposes a particular kind of focused, meditative study that resembles prayer or meditation more than what "reading" usually suggests today. What counts, at every stage, is each reader's active intention and willingness to seek and perceive the inner connection between Ibn 'Arab's words and his or her own corresponding experience and realization.

That ultimate human goal of "immediate knowing" ('ilm; or of 'aql, "divine intelligence"), as Ibn 'Arab never ceases to remind us, is always a divine gift, the combined outcome of our spiritual intention, preceding experience and very limited efforts of divine "service" ('ibda) with the much larger intangible mysteries of grace, destiny and each soul's intrinsic "preparedness" (isti'dd) and spiritual maturity. The actual practice of spiritual intelligence, in all its equally essential stages and facets, is

beautifully summarized in the remarkable Arabic word tahqq, expressing the same process in more dynamic, existential terms: at once the active seeking of what is truly real (that Reality, al-haqq, which is the truly divine), the inner process of "realization," and the wider, ongoing ethical and social process of "actualizing" those ethical imperatives [19] that can only be truly and creatively, responsibly grasped in the light of that same spiritual intelligence.

In addition to giving a central role to the scriptural symbolic language of the Qur'an and hadith, Ibn 'Arab uses a number of different tech nical "languages" and bodies of symbolism to refer to both of his other working hypotheses: i.e., the plane of "being," or ontology, and the plane of individual spiritual realization, or spiritual epistemol ogy. His most common and all-encompassing symbolic languages in both domains are also drawn from the Qur'an and hadith: i.e., the scriptural discussions and allusions to cosmology and cosmo genesis, including the complex theological language of the divine Names [20]; and the rich, psychologically acute and precise symbolism of eschatology, which is particularly well illustrated in the selections translated below.

Moreover, as is true throughout pre-modern Islamic culture and literatures, Ibn 'Arab's actual use and understanding of those scriptural languages is inseparable

from the elaborate corresponding terminologies of Islamic philosophy, science and theology, on the ontological side; and from the equally complex languages of Islamic ritual and devotional practices and the nascent Sufi tradition, on the side of spiritual realization.

The profusion and initial unfamiliarity of these symbolic languages for most modern readers is a serious obstacle to both the translation and the understanding of Ibn 'Arab's work, especially since most accessible Western writing on Ibn 'Arab, until quite recently, has focused on the abstract ontological language and insights associated with his later Bezels of Wisdom. What makes this volume of selections from TheMeccan Revelations still the best available introduction to Ibn 'Arab's work is precisely the fact that most selections here are intentionally taken from passages that are directly connected with "the language of the soul" and its familiar, immediately apparent realm of experience and transformation: i.e., the Sufi language of spiritual states, stations and inspirations; and the rich spiritual symbolism of Islamic eschatology (as that was developed through earlier centuries of Sufi writers and mystics). Eventually, as each reader becomes more familiar with the actual existential referents - the "realities" (haq'iq) - underlying Ibn 'Arab's ontological and cosmological discussions, it will be come clear that those discussions are also equally phenomenological descriptions of the stages and settings of the

larger process of realization. [21] But unprepared readers, with rare exceptions, should find the readings here (together with their notes) far more accessible than many other translations of Ibn 'Arab's works. [22]

Teaching Ibn 'Arab's works for decades to a wide range of audiences, almost all without any serious background in Arabic or traditional Islamic learning, has amply confirmed the essential practical reality that Ibn 'Arab boldly and openly states in his own Introduction to this work: what really counts, in approaching and learning from these 'Meccan Illuminations' - as, no doubt, from their Qur'anic model and inspiration - is each reader's singular aptitude and concentrated intention. What he says there is indispensable in appreciating the different audiences for whom he has written this work, as much today as in his own time:

INTRODUCTION

TO

THE

BOOK

(OF

THE

MECCAN

REVELATIONS)

[23]

We said: From time to time it occurred to me that I should place at the very beginning of this book a chapter concerning (theological) creeds, supported by definitive arguments and salient proofs. But then I realized that that would distract the person who is properly prepared and seeking an increase (in spiritual knowledge), who is receptive to the fragrant breaths of (divine) Bounty through the

secrets of being. For if the properly prepared person persists in dhikr ('remembering' God) and spiritual retreat, emptying the place (of the heart) from thinking, and sitting like a poor beggar who has nothing at the doorstep of their Lord - then God will bestow upon them and give them some of that knowing of Him, of those divine secrets and supernal understandings, which He granted to His servant al-Khadir. [24] For He said (of al-Khadir): a servant among Our servants to whom We have brought Mercy from Us and to whom We have given Knowledge from what is with Us [18:65]. And He said: So be mindful of God, and God will teach you [2:282]; and If you are aware of God, He will give you a Criterion (of spiritual discernment); and He will give you a light by which you will walk [57:28]. [25]

'Ab Yazd (al-Bastm) said: 'You all took your knowledge like a dead person (receiving it) from another dead person. But we took our knowing from the Living One who never dies [25:58]!' So the person with concentrated spiritual intention (himma) during their retreat with God may realize through Him - how exalted are His gifts and how prodigious His grace! - (forms of spiritual) knowing that are concealed from every theologian on the face of the earth, and indeed from anyone relying on (purely intellectual) inquiry and proofs, but who lacks that spiritual state. For such knowing is beyond (the grasp of) inquiry with the intellect.

Ibn 'Arab then goes on to explain more carefully the essential differences between that inspired spiritual "knowing" ('ilm, in the Qur'anic sense) and the theoretical "knowledge" of the theologians, scientists, etc., which is acquired and supported by intellectual argument. [26] Having done so, he then offers (in his final version of the Futuhat) three successive "creeds," which in fact suggest three different potential audiences who will find these Meccan Revelations either incomprehensible, not really needed, or of only limited utility. In particular, these remarks help explain why anyone who approaches the Futuhat (as it was actually written, of course, and not through extracts and short selections) without the necessary aptitudes and proper motivating intention will very quickly set it down. First, he explains that he has begun with the creed of the uneducated ('awmm) among the people of outward submission and unthinking compliance (taqld), and the people of (purely intellectual) inquiry (nazar). Next I shall follow it, God willing, with the creed 'in which I've alluded to the sources of the (theological) proofs for this religious community.' I've named it 'The Treatise Concerning What is Well-Known Among the Beliefs of the People of External Forms (ahl al-rusm).' Then I shall follow that with the creed of the elite among the people of God, the 'verifiers' (muhaqqiqn) among the people of the path of God, the people of (spiritual) unveiling and finding.'And that completes the Introduction to this book.

In fact, however, that is not the end of Ibn 'Arab's Introduction. For he then goes on to add two essential allusions to the under lying structure and deeper intentions of the work - essential "keys" given to his ideal audience, as it were - which have never ceased to fascinate his serious interpreters:

But as for presenting the credo of the quintessence (of the spiritual elite), I have not given it in detail in any one place, because of the profundities it contains. Instead I have given it scattered throughout the chapters of this book, exhaustively and clearly explained - but in different places, as we've mentioned. So those on whom God has bestowed the understanding of these things will recognize them and distinguish them from other matters. For this is the True Knowing and the Veridical Saying, and there is no goal beyond It. 'The blind and the truly seeing are alike' in Its regard: [27] It brings together things most far and most near, and conjoins the most high and most low.'And in his final version of TheMeccan Revelations, completed shortly before his death, he set down this new "last word," which adds one key explanation as to why the full understanding of his writing is so challenging:

Now this was the credo of the elite among the people of God. But as for the credo of the quintessence of the elite concerning God, that is a matter beyond this one, which we have scattered throughout this book because most intellects, being veiled by

their thoughts, fall short of perceiving it due to their lack of spiritual purification.

The Introduction to this book is finished. God speaks the Truth, and He guides on the right Way.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE MECCAN REVELATIONS AND THE PLACE OF THESE SELECTIONS

There is every indication that the architectonic structure and detailed outline of the 560 chapters of TheMeccan Revelations, which is given in full detail (sixty-two pages in the new critical edition) in the elaborate Table of Contents (fihris) that precedes Ibn 'Arab's Introduction, dates from the initial inspiration of this book during the author's first hajj in 1202/598. In reading the following selections - and indeed the many other short passages from the Futuhat that are gradually becoming available in Western languages - it is clearly important to have a general idea of the overall structure and the location of particular chapters within it, since each of the six main sections normally has its own distinctive type of writing and organizing substructures, with chapters of radically varying length (some are a few pages long, while others would take several volumes to translate into English). In particular, even a quick glance over the names of the sections should make it clear how central the

forms, stages and wider process of spiritual "realization/verification" (tahqq) actually are to the contents and intentions of this work. At the end of a brief discussion of each of the six sections we have indicated the original location of the chapters in this anthology (both the English and the forthcoming translations from the French), as well as the "Part" number (I, II, etc.) and original translator, to facilitate reference from these translations to their original contexts in the Futht. The following six sections of TheMeccan Revelations, with a total of 560 chapters, are preceded not only by Ibn 'Arab's Introduction and Table of Contents, as already mentioned, but also by two more poetic and highly symbolic shorter passages: Ibn 'Arab's "Opening Address" (khutbat al-kitb), [28] which has been translated and studied in a number of places, and his introductory "Letter" (risla) to his longtime Tunisian Sufi friend, al-Mahdaw, and other Sufi companions in Tunisia with whom he spent I. several on fruitful the 1 months fields of on his way toward Mecca. [29]

Section

[inspired] -

knowing 73

(fasl

al-ma'rif): [30]

Chapters

This opening section contains chapters of very different lengths introducing, often in abbreviated and initially mysterious form, all the major themes found throughout the rest of the book. For example, the first thirteen chapters develop in a variety of symbolic languages (especially through the symbolic meanings and scriptural

correspondences of the letters of the Arabic alphabet) the cosmological "map" of creation and its mirroring in the noetic reality of the "Complete Human Being" (alinsn al-kmil). Then Ibn 'Arab turns to a long series of fascinating and eminently readable discussions of the different spiritual types of perfection and realization and the various "Friends of God" who epitomize them, interspersed with further epistemological and cosmological elaborations. Chapters 59 - 65 (and scattered earlier passages) introduce the scriptural symbols of eschatology in a way that clearly highlights their role as a detailed symbolic map of the process of spiritual realization, [31] while chapters 66-72 - one of the most fascinating and potentially valuable sections of the entire Al-Futht - offer what is almost certainly the most detailed and exacting phenomenology of spiritual experience in the Islamic tradition, presented in terms of an irenic reconciliation of contrasting legal interpretations of the basic ritual practices of Islam (purification, prayer, fasting, etc.). And the lengthy chapter 73 (numerous parts of which are translated in this volume) includes both an elaborate discussion of the types of spiritually realized "saints" (awliy') and Ibn 'Arab's famous responses to Hakm Tirmidh's marvelous "spiritual questionnaire," or inventory of symbolic expressions that can only be understood by purely spiritual inspiration. [32]

In this anthology: chapters 6 ("Divine Names and Theophanies", Chittick) and 73

(sections in "Divine Names and Theophanies", and "Lesser and Greater Resurrection", Morris); in the French sections of Sindbad edition: chapters 2 (Part VIII, II. Section Gril) on and (proper) 73 modes of (Part action (fasl VI, Gril).

al-mu'malt): 74-189

Chapters

Although the title of this section initially (and no doubt intentionally) evokes the usual second half of Islamic books of hadith and fiqh (normally following the purely individual "acts of devotion," 'ibdt), which deals with all of the ethical dimensions of social life (marriage, inheritance, proper behavior, trade, etc.), Ibn 'Arab turns his attention here to the very different "interactions" between each soul and its Source, framed in terms of the spiritual "sta tions" (maqm) that traditionally constitute the essential stages of the spiritual path of realization. Many of the 116 chapters in this section appear in pairs of short chapters - well illustrated by the two sets translated in "Towards Sainthood" in this volume - briefly describing each station and then a further stage of "advancement" that goes beyond the initial dualistic distinction of "servant" and "Lord." Indeed, the whole section can be seen as centered around Ibn 'Arab's most characteristic spiritual ideal of 'ubdiyya: the necessity of becoming a "pure servant" whose will has become entirely identified with God's, in an active life of spontaneous, purely voluntary divine service. Each spiritual virtue introduced briefly here is dealt with in increasingly elaborate and subtle ways throughout the

rest

of

the

Futht.

In this anthology: chapters 130 131, and 140-141 ("Towards Sainthood", Chittick); in the French sections of the Sindbad edition: chapters 88, (IV, C. Chodkiewicz); and 161 (VI, III. Chapters Section on spiritual states (fasl Gril). al-ahwl): 190-269

The eighty chapters of this section take up the classical Sufi distinctions of these passing spiritual states, but typically with an approach - well illustrated in the selections translated here - quite distinctive to Ibn 'Arab. As in much of the Futuhat and his other writings, what he tries to do here can appear as a sort "ontological commentary" on the vast earlier literature and practical traditions of Sufi spiritual commentary, which he usually assumes to be quite familiar to his readers. Each earlier "phenomenological" expression or category - often poetic, vague and even potentially dangerous in its original formulation - is presented and analyzed in its wider contexts (both ontological and epistemol ogical), highlighting its particular role, and simultaneous limits and dangers, in the larger process of spiritual realization.

In this anthology: chapters 195, 205, 222 ("Towards Sainthood", Chittick); 198 ("Divine IV. Section Names on spiritual and "points of Theophanies", descent" (fasl Chittick). al-manzil): 270-383

Chapters

Many of the most celebrated and lastingly influential passages of the Futht, including chapters 366, 377 and others partially trans lated here, are to be found in this section. The familiar Sufi term for the spiritual pilgrim's "waystation" (manzil: taken from pre-Islamic Arabic poetry) here has a very specific and uniquely "Akbarian" meaning: "The place in which God descends to you, or where you descend upon Him" (II 577). The 114 dense and often lengthy chapters of this section correspond, in inverse order, to the inner meanings of each Sura of the Qur'an, and each manzil is explicitly (albeit mysteriously) related as well to one or more of the spiritual "Realities" of Muhammad, Jesus and Moses. Finally, and even more mysteriously, each chapter concludes with a long but highly enigmatic catalogue of the various spiritual gifts and insights that are "given" in connection with this divine encounter, often connected with particular details of the corresponding Sura. Without exaggeration, an adequate explanation and translation of many of these individual chapters would require a small book. [33] In this anthology: chapters 302, 351, 369 ("Lesser and Greater Resurrection", Morris); 366 ("At the End of Time",

Morris); 367 ("Ibn 'Arab's Spiritual Ascension", Morris); 311 and 372 ("Towards Sainthood", Chittick). In the French sections of the Sindbad edition, chapters 318 and 344 V. (of Chapters Section Lord on (IV, spiritual and C. "mutual servant) points (fasl of Chodkiewicz). encounter al-munzalt): 384-461

The seventy-eight chapters of this section are truly "Illuminations," complex series of reflections and flashes of insight ("commentary" is far too pedestrian a term!) initially connected with a single key passage or symbolic phrase from the Qur'an or other divine sayings.

In the French sections of the Sindbad edition: chapters 420 (VI, Gril); 437 (IV, C. Chodkiewicz). VI. Chapters Section on spiritual stations (fasl al-maqmt): 462-560

Apart from the final three chapters of The Meccan Revelations, most of the ninetynine chapters [34] in this vast section (itself a quarter of the entire Al-Futht) are devoted to Ibn 'Arab's personal identification [35] of a long series of spiritual "Poles"

(here in the wider sense of the emblematic "chief" of a particular spiritual type, station or mode of realization) and the profound inner spiritual realization of a particular spiritual "motto" (hijjr: often familiar Qur'anic verses, divine Names or other traditional formulas of dhikr and invocation) that becomes fully "illuminated" for those participating in that spiritual station. As with the preceding section, these chapters are usually too rich and complex in their contents to be summarized in any meaningful fashion.

Each of the final three chapters of this section is a long "recapitulation," in different domains, of the contents of the book as a whole. Thus chapter 558 (partly translated in this anthology) is an immense discussion of the influences and underlying realities of each of the ninety-nine divine Names. Chapter 559 is devoted to an enigmatic summary of the divine "secrets" concealed in each of the preceding chapters. And the vast concluding chapter of "spiritual advice," frequently copied and reprinted as a separate volume, brings together a host of selections of practical ethical and spiritual advice, drawn from scriptural sources, earlier prophets, Companions and saints, and other (not specifically religious) ethical writers. What lends it all its power and lasting importance is the way all the preceding "illuminations" will have radically transformed, for readers who have faithfully followed Ibn 'Arab up to this point, their inner awareness and appreciation of the actual, unimaginable complex of meanings, intentions and spiritual realizations which are in fact encapsulated and

briefly expressed in each of those particular bits of spiritual advice. In the larger context of the classical schemas of spiritual "journeys," it is also an eloquent reminder of Ibn 'Arab's characteristic insistence that the final, unending journey, for the fully realized soul, is always the "Return": "from and with God, to the creatures." It is an elaborate reminder of the ultimate finality and responsibilities of spiritual realization, which are never far from Ibn 'Arab's sight and intention. In this anthology: chapters 470 ("Toward Sainthood", Chittick) and 558 ("Divine Names and Theophanies", Chittick).

SUGGESTIONS

FOR

FURTHER

READING

The relative profusion of translations, biographies and studies of Ibn 'Arab and his writings in recent years has created something of a fortunate dilemma for those readers, new to his work, who might want to explore the perspectives opened up by this anthology. In addition to works already mentioned in earlier notes, the following suggestions, for those without any prior background in Ibn 'Arab or the Islamic spiritual and philosophic traditions, are limited to English language books (partly because many of the most important recent French studies have been well translated into English). However, readers at home in Spanish will now find a number of important recent translations by Pablo Beneito, Victor Palleja and others, a happy

sign of increasing interest in this native son who (like his near-contemporary Moses de Leon) must surely be counted among the enduring contributors to world civilization and religious understanding.

For Ibn 'Arab's life, immediate historical context and a basic summary of his central teachings, one can now readily recommend S. Hirtenstein's The Unlimited Mercifier: The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn 'Arab (Oxford, Anqa/White Cloud Press, 1999), which is the first volume explicitly designed to introduce these points to a general, nonacademic English-speaking audience. The numerous photographs of the cities and sites where Ibn 'Arab lived, taught and prayed are especially helpful for anyone unfamiliar with these cultural centers of the Islamic world. C. Addas's Quest for the Red Sulphur: The Life of Ibn 'Arab (Cambridge, Islamic Texts Society, 1993), ably translated into English, is a longer, slightly more academic introduction to the same subjects, giving greater detail on Ibn 'Arab's own teachers and cultural roots in different fields of medieval Islamic scholarship. Her Ibn 'Arab: The Voyage of No Return (Cambridge, Islamic Texts Society, 2000) is a shorter, more accessible introduction to Ibn 'Arab's life and teachings. For Ibn 'Arab's own vivid depiction of his earliest Spanish and North African teachers, companions and friends on the Sufi path, R. Austin's Sufis of Andalusia (London, Allen & Unwin, 1971) remains an indispensable and endlessly fascinating source. [36] Finally, William Chittick's The

Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-'Arab's Metaphysics of the Imagination (Albany, SUNY, 1989), offers a voluminously illustrated, detailed, and clearly structured introduction (based on hundreds of shorter translations from the Futuhat) to virtually all the key facets of Ibn 'Arab's teaching.

For the Bezels of Wisdom (Fuss al-Hikam) and the subsequent Islamic traditions of commentary, probably the most readable (and certainly the most comprehensible and clearly explained) introduction remains T. Izutsu's pioneering A Comparative Study of the Key Philosophical Concepts in Sufism and Taoism: Ibn 'Arab and LaoTzu, Chuang-Tzu (Tokyo, Keio Institute, 1966), [37] despite its reliance on the more Avicennan philosophic commentary tradition of al-Kshn. For the novice in this field, the English translation of T. Burckhardt's original French version of a few key selected chapters of the Fuss, The Wisdom of the Prophets (Oxford, Beshara, 1975) is considerably more approachable than R. Austin's complete translation, Ibn al 'Arab: The Bezels of Wisdom (New York, Paulist Press, 1980) which has long, helpful prefaces to each chapter.

An ever-increasing number of recent studies have elaborated the far-reaching influences of this work and its commentators throughout later Islamic culture and religious life, from the Balkans to China and Indonesia. See, among others, the

voluminous anthology of related texts from many key figures in the later Islamic humanities (though the subtitle might suggest something quite different) included in S. Murata's The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought (Albany, SUNY, 1992); the four-volume version of later Turkish commentaries on the Fuss, translated as Ismail Hakki Bursevi's translation of and commentary on Fuss al-Hikam' (Oxford, MIAS, 1986); and perhaps most fascinating, S. Murata's recent far-reaching study of several Neo-Confucian Chinese Muslim thinkers profoundly influenced by Ibn 'Arab, Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light'(Albany, SUNY, 2000).

On a more widely accessible level, M. Sells's Stations of Desire: Love Elegies From Ibn 'Arab' (Jerusalem, Ibis, 2000) should now replace R. Nicholson's frequently cited versions (The Tarjuman al-Ashwaq: A Collection of Mystical Odes) as a superb introduction to the central poetic dimension of Ibn 'Arab's work, which is of course quite evident in the "keynote" poems that introduce virtually every chapter of TheMeccan Revelations. The even more recent translations of Ibn 'Arab's prayers by S. Hirtenstein and P. Beneito, The Seven Days of the Heart (Oxford, Anqa, 2001) suggest something of the profound spiritual and devotional practice underlying and always assumed in Ibn 'Arab's writings; the translators' introduction is especially helpful in that regard. And our forthcoming volume of Ibn 'Arab's powerful shorter

writings on practical spirituality, Spiritual Practice and Discernment, should make this central dimension of Ibn 'Arab's work more widely accessible.

A more demanding, but absolutely fundamental and groundbreaking work on Ibn 'Arab's understanding of "Sainthood" (walya) - a study that has become indispensable for understanding the spiritual and conceptual underpinnings of this central feature of popular Islamic devotion and piety in every corner of the Islamic world, even today - is M. Chodkiewicz's The Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the doctrine of Ibn 'Arab (Cambridge, Islamic Texts Society, 1993), ably translated but still to be studied in the original if at all possible. Finally, G. Elmore's recent study and translation of Ibn 'Arab's early 'Anq' Mughrib, Islamic Sainthood in the Fulness of Time: Ibn al-'Arab's "Book of the Fabulous Gryphon" (Leiden, Brill, 2000) illustrates the many challenges of deciphering, much less translating, the extraordinarily cryptic poetic and symbolic writings from Andalusia and North Africa that preceded the composition of TheMeccan Revelations.

The most extensive translations of the Futuhat to appear since the original publication of this anthology are certainly William Chittick's two massive volumes, the above-mentioned The Sufi Path of Knowledge and The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-'Arab's Cosmology (Albany, SUNY, 1998); they are to be followed

by an equally long volume of translations on related areas of cosmogony and ontology. Complementary to those translations - in that they focus on the humanly immediate, active dimensions of eschatology, spiritual realization and Ibn 'Arab's phenomenology of spiritual life - are a series of volumes on the Futht, including many translations and studies originally delivered (and sometimes published) as public lectures and conference papers over the past decade, which we plan to publish in book form in the near future. These include the translations of the eschatological chapters 59 - 65 and 271 (plus related passages from other chapters), already promised in the original notes to this book (Ibn 'Arab's "Divine Comedy": An Introduction to Islamic Eschatology); The Traveler and the Way: "Wandering" and the Spiritual Journey (a translation and commentary on the Rislat al-Isfr, plus several chapters on the same theme from the Futuhat); and at least two volumes of thematic explorations of Ibn 'Arab's treatment of spiritual topics in the Futht, accompanied by full translations of key corresponding chapters. Indeed the level of scholarly understanding and worldwide interest in the Futuhat has approached the point where the possibility of a serious, collective effort to begin to translate at least the opening Fasl (more than a quarter of the entire work) is now being seriously considered. Such a task should be realizable within the next decades.

Anyone wishing to keep up with translations and studies of Ibn 'Arab, and more

particularly with the dramatic unfolding of worldwide academic research into his profound influences in all aspects of later Islamic religion and the Islamic humanities, should refer to past and present issues of the Journal of the Muhyiddn Ibn 'Arab Society (Oxford, now in its third decade). With contributions that have often been delivered first by world-renowned scholars, increasingly from all regions of the Islamic world, at the two international symposia sponsored by the Ibn 'Arab Society each year (at Oxford and Berkeley), the journal has helped to create an active worldwide network of scholars, students and translators whose impact is increasingly evident in, among other fields, the number of international conferences now devoted to the "Greatest Master" and his later Muslim interpreters each year. This worldwide collective effort to rediscover the profound influences of Ibn 'Arab and his teachings on central dimensions of Islamic culture from West Africa to China and Indonesia is not just an academic project of historical archeology: those involved, in each country and region concerned, are well aware of the contemporary and future significance of Ibn 'Arab's understanding of the roots of Islamic spirituality and tradition for any lasting effort of renewal and revivification within a global civilization.

Finally, the truly great books in this field, as in any other, do not age, but only become more apparent with the passage of time. The following two classic volumes -

both originally published in French, although fortunately available in reliable English translations [38] - were certainly not intended for beginners, in the sense we introduced earlier. Both are the mature, richly evocative and moving fruits of an intensely personal, life-long reflection on the central issues and perspectives of all of Ibn 'Arab's accessible writings, with visions and emphases that are radically different, yet ultimately astonishingly complementary. The first is Henry Corbin's Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn 'Arab; [39] the second is Michel Chodkiewicz's An Ocean Without Shore: Ibn 'Arab, the Book and the Law (Albany, SUNY, 1993). One could readily apply to both of these remarkable works what Ibn 'Arab says of TheMeccan Revelations and his ideal readers in his Introduction, quoted above: the "preparedness" such works require is not simply, or even essentially, academic. Reading them gives some sense of how diverse, yet powerfully transforming, the influences of Ibn 'Arab have been and will continue to be.

James University of Exeter

Winston

Morris

The Meccan Revelations Volume 2

Futuhat al-Makkiya
Muhyidin Ibn al- Arabi Edited by Michael Chodkiewicz Translated by William C. Chittick and James W. Morris
Paperback 384 pp.

The luminous writings of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi weave a vast mystic theology emerging from his own consummate spiritual realization. Because of the advanced nature of his teachings he has been known for 800 years as the Sheikh al-Akbar, or the Greatest Master. Even in recent years however, access to Ibn Arabi has been difficult and translation daunting. Previously only short extracts of this text were available in English. The present volume, translated and edited by some of the most esteemed and popular English speaking experts on Ibn Arabi, contains 22 key chapters of this Sufi summa mystica. These essays reveal spiritual secrets regarding subjects such as the Divine Names, the nature of spiritual experience, the end of time, the resurrection and the stages of the path that lead to sanctity. Even as it plumbs the depths Islamic philosophy, this great book soars beyond time, culture and any particular form of religion. Describing what is fundamental to our humanity, it is astonishingly universal. Finally readers in the West have an entre into one of the most important and profound works of world literature. -James Morris In assembling this volume, my colleagues and I intended each section to be relatively self-contained and accessible, together with its introductory matter and notes, to readers without previous contact with Ibn 'Arab's works. In particular, we have chosen passages that are long enough, in most cases, to give readers some taste of the inseparable connection between Ibn 'Arab's utterly unique style and forms of writing and the process and purposes of realization for which they were designed. For those who are encountering Ibn 'Arab for the first time, or who would like to pursue their study of his work and teachings, this Introduction will provide helpful background information on the following areas:

1. Ibn 'Arab's life and posterity; 2. the origin and distinctive characteristics of his Meccan Revelations (al-Futuhat alMakkiya), in relation to his other works, including both the better known Bezels of Wisdom (Fusus al-Hikam) and the complex Islamic philosophical and po etic traditions that developed from it, as well as the poetic, allusive and highly symbolic works of his Andalusian and North African youth; 3. a summary outline of key assumptions common to all of his writings, which are essential for situating these translated chapters from the Futuhat; and of the pedagogical, rhetorical relations between the distinctive style and structure of The Meccan Revelations and Ibn 'Arab's intended audiences, as he himself explains those points in his Introduction to that work; 4. the overall structure of the Futuhat and the place of these translated selections - as well as the French translations to appear in a separate companion volume - within that larger structure; 5. and finally, a selection of further English readings in different areas related to Ibn 'Arab, his works and teachings, and their ongoing influences and inspiration. However, every reader should pay attention to one absolutely essential point: the notes to these translations - as indeed to any accurate and intelligible translation of Ibn 'Arab - are an integral and indispensable part of the translation. -James Winston Morris, University of Exeter

(U.K) RT.Hon .Sir Rowland George Allanson- Lord Headley AL-Farooq (Shaikh Rahmatullah AL-Farooq)- Born in 1855, Lord Headley Al-Farooq was leading British Peer who embraced Islam in 1913,after being educated at Cambridge University and serving in the British Army as Captain and later as Lieutenant Colonel. He was the author of several books, including "A Western Awakening To Islam"

(U.K) Dr. Arthur (Abdulla) He was and eminent Biologist, Electrical Engineer, and Professor at the University of London and the University of Oxford.

(South Africa) Shunmugan Appaduray (Abdul-Aziz)- Former Sunday School Teacher and Bible Student of the Pentecostal Church.

(Japan)

Ahmad

Ariga-

Trader

and

Muslim

missionary

of

the

1930's.

(U.K)

Abdulla

Battersbey-

Major

of

the

British

Army.

(Germany) Erwin Bauer- Editor of the "Al-Fadjr" Islamic magazine in Hamburg.

(France) Dr. Ali Selman Benoist Doctor of Medicine.

H.

Rap

Brown

(1967)

(USA) "RAP" Brown (Jamil AL-Amin) AFRO American who was the Chairman of the (Student Non-Violent Coordination Committee) of the Civil rights era. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

(U.K) Sir Lauder (Jalaluddin) Brunton was and Oxford educated statesman and baronet, and public man of wide repute.

Dr.

Maurice

Bucaille

(France) Dr. Maurice Bucaille- A surgeon who has taken great interest in the scientific aspects of the Quran. He learnt Arabic and managed to study the Quran in its original text. He was amazed with its precise scientific data. As a result of his study. Dr. Bucaille embraced Islam.he has since written The Bible, The Quran And Science And What Is The Origin Of Man? He is a personal friend of Captain Jacques Cousteau.

Muhammad

Ali

(USA) Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) Former three time world famous heavy- weight boxing champion. He is an Afro-American who is founder of the Muhammad Ali Islamic Foundation in Chicago, Illionis.

(USA) Bob Crane Ex- Economic Advisor to President Nixon.

Ahmad von Denffer

(Germany)

Ahmed

Von

Denffer

Author

of

Islamic

books

(Austria) Dr. Rolf Freitherr Von Ehrenfeels (Dr. Umar Rolf Baron Ehrenfeels) Born as the only son of the late Baron Christian Ehrenfels, (founder of Austria's modern structural (Gestalt, psychology). Dr. Ehrenfels accepted Islam in 1927, and later became a Professor of Anthropology and authored numerous scientific and Islamic publications.

(UK) Colin (Ismail) Evans- Author of Islamic books in the international language of Esperanto.

(France) Roger (Raja'a) Garaud Served fourteen years as a member of the Politburo of the French Communist Party, and was vice president of French Parliament. He is now President of the Geneva based Institute for the Dialogue of Cultures, and has set up the Calahorra Exhibition in Cordoba. Spain, a center showing the great Muslim heritage of Spain.

Formerly known as Julius Germanus (Hungary) Dr. Abdul Karim Germanus Head of the Dept. and Professor and Scholar of Oriental and Islamic Studies at the Budapest University.

(USA) Alfred GriffinAfro -American Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, court- martialed in 1983 for refusing to fight against fellow Muslim brothers in Beiruth.

(France) Rens Guenon (Sheikh Abdul-Wahed Yahya)- Philosopher and author of metaphysics and Islamic books.

(Japan) Arai HakusekiI A famous Japanese scholar of the early 1700's. He was the first commentator on Islam in Japan.

(USA) Roger Halvorson (Muhammad Rasheed) Vice President (Medical Division) of El-Seif Development, Saudi Arabia. Former Catholic who embraced Islam in the late '80's.

Joseph Gunon (Abd al-Wahid Yahya) A 1925 studio photo portrait (age 38). (U.K.) Sir Charles Edward Archibald Watkins Amilton (Sir Abdullah Archibald Hamilton art) Born in 1876, he was a well-known statesman ,Baronet, and Lieutenant in the Royal Defence Corps. He embraced Islam in 1923.

Ibrahim

Hewitt

(U.K.) Ibrahim Hewitt Journalist. Ibrahim Hewitt is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the charity Interpal, non-political, non-profit making British charity that focuses solely on the provision of relief and development aid to the poor and

needy of Palestine. Ibrahim is also the Head Teacher of Al-Aqsa Primary School, an independent Muslim school in Leicester.

(Germany) Muhammad Aman Hobohn Diplomat, Missionary and Social Worker.

(U.K) Muhtar Holland Linguist, translator, lecturer and senior research fellow in the Islamic Foundation of England.

(New Zealand) Alan (Adil) Ireland Journalist for the Evening Standard newspaper in New Zealand.

(Canada) Dr. Thomas B.Thomas B. Irving (Ta'lim Ali) Professor at University of Tennessee, and author of Islamic books.

(USA) Germanine Jackson Afro American from Gary, Indiana. Formerly of the Jackson Five family pop singing group. Brother to Michael Jackson. (U.K) Denys Johnson Davies (Abdul Wadoud) Translator. (USA) Muhammad Jamal Owner of the American Islamic Bookstore in Newark, New Jersey. (Known for feeding the homeless). (USA) Jimmy-JonesAfro-American Professor at Springfield College in Massachusetts and a volunteer Muslim chaplain in the Connecticut prison system. (Canada) Abu- Bilal Mustafa AL- Kanadi This Islamic author embraced Islam in Vancouver, B.C., Canada in 1974. He was a BA holder of English literature, and studied at the Language Institute of Umm Al- Qura Univ. in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Upon graduation he then entered the College of Shariah ( Islamic Law) and Islamic Studies. He graduated with honors in 1983 and in1989 completed his Masters Degree in Quranic Sciences he has written a number of treatises on various topics, as well as "The Islamic Ruling Regarding Women's Dress According to The Quran And Sunnah".

(Iran) David Bengamni Keldani, B.D. (Professor Abdul Ahd Dawud, BD) -- was formerly a Christian Reverend before embracing Islam.

(Korea) Abu- Bakr KimIslamic author. (Poland) Aataullah Kopanski Professor and former communist who worked closely with Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement. (Japan)Hisham Kuroda Islamic author. (Philippines) Luis Lacer Islamic author. (U.K.) Professor Haroon Musthapha Leon, M.A., Ph.D., L.L.D., F.S.P., -- accepted Islam in 1882. He was an active and honorary member of many learned societies in Europe and America. Dr. Leon was also a learned etymologist (a branch of linguistics), geologist, lecturer and author.

(U.S.A) Malcolm x (EL-Hajj Malik EL Shabazz)was a world famous Afro American speaker and author of the civil rights era, from Harlem, New York.

(USA) Dr. Khalid Abdullah Tariq Al-Mansour Afro American Supreme Court Lawyer, businessman, religious activist, author and Islamic speaker. (Germany) Dr. Hamid MarcusScientist, author, journalist and former editor of "Moslemische Revue" Berlin. (U.K.) Mustafa Yusuf Mcdermott Author of Islamic books. (Holland) R.L. MellemaAnthropologist, scholar and writer of Islamic books. (Japan) Hajji Umar MitaA well-known Japanese economist, social worker and preacher. Born in 1892, he embraced Islam in 1941. He performed the Hajj in 1958 and was elected President of the Japan Muslim Assoc. in 1960. He translated the meanings of the Holy Quran into Japanese in 1972. (France) Vincent Monteil Specialist on Islam in Africa. (Japan) Ali Muhammad Mori Social worker and preacher. (South Africa) Adam Ncanywa Former Christian actor who starred in such movies as 'My adventures in Africa', embraced Islam in 1989. (USA) Umar Abdur-Rahim Ocasio Puerto-Rican American who is an Islamic author. (Holland) Fauzuddin Ahmed Overing Preacher and social worker. (Switzerland) Roger (Abdul Karim) Du Pasquier well- known journalist and author. (Sri Lanka) Father Athony Perera, O.M.I. (Noor Qasim)- Born in a Catholic family, he received training in a seminary in central Sri Lanka from 1962 1971. He served as a parish priest in his native village of Mutuwal. He is now an associate of the Sri

Lanka Islamic Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka. (U.K) Willam Burchell (Bashyr) Pickard, B.A (Cantab), L.D. (London) is an author, poet and novelist of wide repute.

(American Born Canadian) Bilal PhilipsTeacher, author and speaker.

(U.K) Marmaduke (Muhammad) Pickthall well known translator and Muslim scholar.

(U.K) David Mark(Daud Musa) Pidcock- Leader of the Islamic party of Britain. David Pidcock became a Muslim in 1975. He is a founder member and since its inception

the leader of the Islamic Party of Britain. He is also an honorary member of the Economic Research Council and a director of theInstitute for Rational Economics. He is a co-founder of the National Association for Victims of Fraud and Banking Malpractice .

(Thailand) Surin Pitsuwan, Ph.D Islamic author and social scientist.

(U.K) Abdulla Quilliam Lawyer in Liverpool, England in the 1800's and 1890's who inaugurated Britain's first Islamic community. (Japan) Abdul-Khalil T. Ramada He was the first known Japanese Muslim. He embraced Islam in 1893. (U.K) Haji Saleem RobertsonA military man who served in the Leicestershire

Regiment in 1928. He embraced Islam while serving in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

(USA) COL.Donald S.Rockwell Poet, critic and author. (U.K) Hussain Rofe Social reformer who was raised by parents representing the Jewish and Catholic faiths. He later embraced Islam. (Japan) Abdul Karim Saithoth Islamic author. (Germany) Muhammad Siddiq In charge of the House of Islam in Lutzelbach, Germany.

(U.K) Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) Former world renowned pop singer. Founder of Islamic School London . widely travelled speaker. (Japan) Muhammed Suleiman TakeuchiAssociate, Japanese Society of Ethnology.

(USA) Imam Siraj Wahaj Afro- American Islamic speaker.

(USA) Alexander (Muhammad) Russel Webb (1846-1916) -- was born in Hudson, N.Y. As an adult he became an essayist, short story writer, journalist and editor of two newspapers. In 1887 he was appointed United States Counsul in Manila, Philippines. It was during this assignment that he studied Islam. After becoming Muslim, he toured various Islamic countries and devoted the rest of his life to Islamic missionary work. He also became the Head of the Islamic Propaganda Mission in the USA. Mr. Webb is considered to be the first "Anglo" to embrace Islam in North America.

(U.K) John (Muhammad) Webster President of the English Muslim Mission.

(Austria- Poland) Leopold Weiss (Muhammad Asad) Was born in Livow, Austria in 1900, (which later became a part of Poland). As a young Jewish man, he became an outstanding foreign corespondent for the "FRANKFURTER ZEITUNG", and after

embracing Islam, he travelled throughout the Muslim world. After years of devoted study, he became one of the foremost Muslim scholars of our age, and has written numerous Islamic books. Mr. Asad has also served in the past at the United Nations as Pakistan's Alternate Representative. (USA) Claude (Ahmed) WintersAfro American anthropologist and writer of Islamic books, from Chicago. (Poland) Wieslaw (Ismail) Zejierski Sociologist, reformer and social worker, was born in Kraskow, Poland in 1900 to a Roman Catholic family, which belongs to the polish nobility. He embraced Islam around 1950.

(Japan) Kotaro AL- Hajj Omar .M. Yamaoka He was the first Japanese Muslim to perform the Hajj. The year was 1909.

Description
Schuons articles on the relationship between Christianity and Islam have profound implications for inter-faith dialogue. Several thought-provoking chapters shed light, from an inward dimension, upon the apparent outward contradictions between these two religions, notably in the field of moral divergences. This new edition is a fully revised translation of the original French edition and contains an extensive new Appendix with previously unpublished selections from his letters and other private writings.

JANE IDLEMAN SMITH

pRESENT POSITION:

Professor of Islamic Studies and Co-Director Duncan Black Macdonald Center for Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary, (Hartford, CT) PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Vice President and Dean, Iliff School of Theology (Denver, CO), 1987-95; Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), 1980-86 PUBLICATIONS:

1. Books:

Muslims, Christians, and the Challenge of Interfaith Dialogue. NY: Oxford University Press, 2007. Muslim Women in America: The Challenge of Islamic Identity Today, with Yvonne Haddad and Kathleen Moore. NY: Oxford University Press, 2006. Islam and the West Post 9/11. Edited with Ron Geaves, Theodore Gabriel, Yvonne Haddad; Concludion. Great Britain: Ashgate, 2005. Becoming American: Immigration and Religious Life in the United States , edited with Yvonne Haddad and John Esposito. Altamira Press, 2003. Muslim Communities in the West: Visible and Invisible, edited with Y.Y. Haddad. Altamira Press, 2002. Islam in America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999) Muslim Communities in America, edited with Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994). [Translated into Arabic, French and Urdu] Mission to America: Five Islamic Sectarian Movements in the United States , with Yvonne Y. Haddad (Gainesville: The University Presses of Florida, 1993). The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection, with Yvonne Y. Haddad (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981). Women in Contemporary Muslim Society, editor (Lewistown, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press, 1980). The Precious Pearl, a translation with notes of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali's al-Durra al-Fakhira ("Studies in World Religions," Scholars Press, 1979). The Concept Islam in the History of Quranic Exegesis (Harvard Dissertations in Religion Series, Scholars Press, 1975). Introduction to Religions of the East: Reader, edited with Charles Prebish (Kendall/Hunt Publ. Co, 1974). II. Articles and Book Chapters: (since 1985) Diaspora Islam in Europe and North America. The Worlds Religions: Community And Transformations. Ed. Peter Clark and Peter Beyer. Routledge, 2008. Foreward to Sohaib Sultans The Quran and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad. Skylight Paths, 2007. Islam and the Family in North America, in Don S. Browning and David A. Clairmont, eds., American Religions and the Family. How Faith Traditions Cope with Modernization and Democracy. NY: Columbia University Press, 2006, pp. 211- 224.

American Islamic Communities, in The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions, ed. Mark Jurgensmeyer. Oxford University Press, 2006. 507-15. Does Islam Encourage Pluralism? American Muslims Engage the Debate, in Muslims in the United States. Identity, Influence, Innovation, ed. PHilippa Strum. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2005, 165-80. Religion and Feminist Thought, with Maria Jose Rosado Nunes, in Julio de Santa Ana, ed., Religions Today. Their Challenge to the Ecumenical Movement. Geneva, WCC Publications, 2005, 130-48. Islam and Christianity, in Christianity: A Complete Guide, ed. John Bowden. SCM Press, 2005. Dawa in the West: Islamic Mission in American Form, in Mixed Messages. Materiality, Textuality, Missions, eds. Jamie S. Scott and Gareth Griffiths. NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, pp. 137-54. Womens Issues in American Islam, Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America. Indiana University Press, 2004; USQR Festschrift for Rosemary Skinner Keller 57/3 (2003):197-216 Islam and the Family in North America, American Religions a nd the Family, ed. Don Browning, University of Chicago Press/Columbia University Press, 2004. Muslims as Partners in Interfaith Encounter, in Muslims Place in the American Public Square. Hopes, Fears, and Aspirations, eds. Zahid Bukhari and Sulayman Nyang. Altimara Press, 2004. Balancing Divergence and Convergence, or is God The Author of Confusion? A Faithful Presence: Essays for Kenneth Cragg. Lambeth: Melisende, 2003. Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the Muslim-Christian Encounter, in Mohammad H. Faghfoory, editor, Proceedings of the Conference in Honor of Professor Seyyed Nasr . Fons Vitae, 2003. Adjusting the Ties that Bind: Challenges Facing Muslim Women in America, with Yvonne Haddad, in Muslim Women in the United Kingdom and Beyond, eds. Haifaa Jawad and Tansin Benn. Leiden: Brill, 2003, 39-64. Women in Islam: New Images and Interpretations. Christian Century (March 20-February 6, 2002). Thinking Globally about Islam, Global Religions, ed. Mark Juergensmeyer. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Patterns of Muslim Immigration, in Muslim Life in America. U.S. State Department: Office of International Information Programs, 2002, 14-19. Faith and Afterlife, Encyclopedia of the Quran, ed. Jane McAuliffe. Leiden: Brill, 2002.

Barriers and Heights: Sunni Islam and Mulla Sadra on Barzakh and Araf.Proceedings of the Mulla Sadra World Conference, 2000 . Tehran: Sadra Islamic Philosophy Institute (SIPRn), 2002. Introduction, Muslim Minorities in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens , ed. John Esposito and Yvonne Haddad. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Wilfred Cantwell Smith: Understanding Worlds of Faith, in A Great Commission: Christian Hope and Religious Diversity, edited by Martin Forward, Spring 2000. Islam and Christendom, The Oxford History of Islam, ed. John Esposito (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) Protestant Theology and the Conundrum of Islam, The Papers of the Henry Luce III Fellows in Theology, vol. 4 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999). Christian Missionary Views of Islam in the 19th-20th Centuries, Islam and MuslimChristian Relations 9/3 (Oct. 1998):357-73. Christian-Muslim-Jewish Dialogue in Denver, Colorado, in Darroll Bryant and S.A. Ali, eds., Muslim-Christian Dialogue: Promise and Problems (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1998), 253-62. Christians and the Islamic Experience of Prayer, Prayer: The Global Experience, ed. F.A. Eigo (Proceedings of the Theology Institute of Villanova Universitiy, 1997): 145-81. Joining the Debate. Muslim Women Participate in Building a Vital Islamic Society for the Next Century, The World and I (Sept. 1997): 60-67. Some Contemporary Protestant Theological Reflections on Pluralism: Implications for Christian- Muslim Understanding, Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations 8/1 (March 1997): 67-83. Old Paradigms and New Possibilities: Muslim Women Taking Charge of their Future, Listening. Journal of Religion and Culture 31/3 (Fall 1996): 206-18. "Women in Islam: The Mother of all Battles," with Y. Y. Haddad in Arab Women: Between Defiance and Restraint, ed. Suha Sabbagh (New York: Olive Branch Press, 1996): 137-50. French Christian Narratives Concerning Muhammad and the Religion of Islam from the 15th to the 18th Centuries," Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations 7/1 (1996): 47-61. "American Muslim Women in Inter-Cultural Perspective," with Y. Y. Haddad, inGender among American Muslims: Issues Facing Middle Eastern Immigrants and their Descendants , eds. Barbara Aswad and Barbara Bilge (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996): 1940. "Academic Leadership," Theological Education 33 (Supplement Spring 1996): 1-12. "Jerusalem, The Sacred City: Perspectives from Judaism and Islam," with David J. Zucker, Journal of Ecumenical Studies 32/2 (Spring, 1995): 227-256.

"Old French Travel Accounts of Muslim Beliefs Concerning the Afterlife, Christian-Muslim Encounters, Yvonne Y. Haddad and Wadi Z. Haddad, eds. (Gainesville: University Press of Florida 1995): 221-41. "What is the Character of the Institutional Resources Needed for the Good Theological School," with James H. Evans, Jr. Theological Education 30/2 (Spring, 1994): 45-60. "Understanding and Witnessing to Christians in a Pluralistic World," Current Dialogue (June 1994): 34-42. "Toward a Positive World View of Islam," in Islam and its World View: An American Perspective (Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia, 1994). "Women in Islam," Todays Woman in World Religions, eds. Arvind Sharma and Katherine Young (SUNY, 1993): 303-327. "Globalization as Ecumenical/Interfaith Dialogue," Globalization of Theological Education, eds. Alice and Bob Evans, David Roozen, (Orbis, Fall 1993): 90-104. "The Druze in America," with Y. Haddad. Journal of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, 13/1 (January 1992): 136-55. "The Terminology of Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue in Theological Education," Ecumenical and Interreligious Perspectives: Globalization in Theological Education, ed. Russell E. Richey, (Nashville: UMBHEM, 1992): 69-80. "Seyyed Hossein Nasr: Defender of the Sacred and Islamic Traditionalism", The Muslims of America ed. Y.Y. Haddad (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991): 80-95. "Islamic Revival and the Implications of Interfaith Dialogue." World Faiths Insight(February 1991): 35-40. "Trends in the Study of the Religion of Islam: Recent Works in English," Jusur 6 (1990): 4167. Review Article on Richard J. Antoun's Muslim Preacher in the Modern World: A Jordanian Case Study in Comparative Perspective (1989), Harvard Divinity Bulletin XX/2 (Summer 1990): 15-20. "Islamic Revival and the Implications for Interfaith Dialogue," Religion: Journal of the Kansas School of Religion 27/3 (August, 1990): 1-5. "The Afterlife," Death, Afterlife, and the Soul, ed. L.E. Sullivan. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989): 81-96. "Survival Beliefs and Practices: Islamic," Robert Kastenbaum and Beatric Kastenbaum, eds., Encyclopedia of Death , (Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press, 1989): 254-57. "The Virgin Mary in Islamic Tradition and Commentary" (with Yvonne Y. Haddad), The Muslim World 79/3 & 4 (July-October, 1989): 161-87.

"Religion and Education: Approaches to the Study and Teaching of Islam in Christian Theological Education, " The Challenge of Pluralism. Report of the Christian-Muslim Colloquium of the World Council of Churches, New Windsor, Maryland, March 17-21, 1988, 39-47. "Response to Joseph C. Hough's 'The Dean's Responsibility for Faculty Research'," Theological Education XXIV, no. 1 (Autumn, 1987). "A Learned Ministry and a Ministry of Learning," The Iliff Review XLIV, no. 3 (Fall 1987). "Islam," in Arvind Sharma, ed., Women in World Religions ( State University of New York Press, 1987). Guest Editor, Special Issue of The Muslim World, "Christianity and World Religions: The Dialogue with Islam," April 1987. "Islamic Faith," in Christopher J. Johnson and Marsha McGee, eds., Encounters with Eternity, Philosophical Library, 1986. "Women, Religion and Social Change in Early Islam," Y. Y. Haddad and E. B. Findly, eds., Women, Religion and Social Change (State University of New York Press, 1985). "Islam and Iman" and "Afterlife: Overview," in Mircea Eliade, ed., The Encyclopedia of Religion, 1984. "The Experience of Muslim Women: Considerations of Power and Authority," Islamic Impact. Syracuse University Press, 1984. "Religious Practices of Egyptian Muslim Women," Spencer J. Palmer, ed., Mormons and Muslims: Spiritual Foundations and Modern Manifestations . Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983. "Eve: Islamic Image of Women" (with Yvonne Haddad), Azizah Al-Hibri, ed.,Women and Islam. Pergamon Press, 1982. "Muslims: One and Many," Christianity and Crisis 42 (18), November 15, 1982. "Concourse Between the Living and the Dead in Islamic Eschatological Literature," History of Religions, February, 1980. "The Understanding of nafs and ruh in Contemporary Muslim Considerations of the Nature of Sleep and Death," The Muslim World, July, 1979. "Women in Islam: Equity, Equality, and the Search for Natural Order," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, December, 1979. "Afterlife Themes in Modern Qur'an Commentary" (with Yvonne Haddad), Journal of the American Academy of Religion Supplement, December, 1979. "Saints and Shrines in Modern Egypt," Bulletin of the CSWR, Winter, 1978.

"The Mufti al-'Am of Syria" (with Yvonne Haddad), Islam Canada, September, 1977. "Reflections on Aspects of Immortality in Islam," Harvard Theological Review, DecemberMarch, 1977. "Self-Denial and Self-Fulfillment in the Tradition of Islam," Insight, Summer, 1976. "Women in the Afterlife: The Islamic View as Seen from Qur'an and Tradition" (with Yvonne Haddad), Journal of the American Academy of Religion, March, 1975. "The Meaning of 'Islam' in Hadith Literature," Islamic Culture, July, 1974. "Early Muslim Accounts of Buddhism in India," Studies in Islam, January-April, 1973. "Public Education and the Teaching of Islam in the Arab Republic of Egypt," Annual of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 1973. "Continuity and Change in the Understanding of Islam," The Islamic Quarterly, JulyDecember 1972 and Islam and the Modern Age, May, 1973.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES: Co-Editor, The Muslim World Journal, 1996Advisory Board, Life Events and Rites of Passage. Helene Henderson, ed., 2007Board of Editors, The Cambridge History of Religions in America Chair, Annual Meeting of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, October 28-29, 2006. Member of the Editorial Board of Harvard Universitys The Encyclopedia of Islam in America, Greenwood Press. Member of the Appeals Panel of the Commission on Accrediting, Association of Theological Schools, July 1, 2006-June 30, 2008. Member of Paper Review Panel, National Board of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Chair of the Board of Directors, The Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding, Inc., 2005-2007. Member Multilateralism Project, National Council of Churches National Council of Churches Interfaith Relations Commission, 1996Recipient, Lilly Theological Research grant for work on Christian-Muslim Relations in North America, 2004-2005. Islam and American Working Group, Social Science Research Council, New York, 2004 Chair, Committee on Membership, Association of Theological Schools, 2004 Member Board of The Spears Endowment for Spiritual and Moral Education, ChoateRosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT, 2002-2004 Advisor to Listening to Islam project www.ListeningToIslam.org Faith and Values Media, Spring-Fall 2003 U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant to participate in digital video conference (DVC) between State Department and Public Affairs Section of the American Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan Participant, United Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ Interfaith Consultation, 2002-

International Consultant, Aurora University Center for Faith and Action, 2001Associate Editor, Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, Lilly Foundation, 1999- . Consultant, Muslims in the American Public Square, Pew/Georgetown University, 1999- . Co-chair, Consultation on Religious Freedom, sponsored by The World Council of Churchs unit on Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary, October 14-18, 1999. Regional Editor, Encyclopedia of Women in Islamic Cultures, Koniklijke Brill N.V., 1999- . Bossey Research Group on The Situation of Religious Life Today and its Challenges to the Ecumenical Movement, Ecumenical Institute, Bossey, Switzerland, 1998Islam Editor, Encyclopedia of Women and World Religions, Macmillan, 1995-99. Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology, 1997-98. Recipient of U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant for international seminar on Wes tern Perceptions of Muslims: Muslim Perspectives on the West, USIS Islamabad, Georgetown Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University, October 4-6, 1997. Participant, World Council of Churches sponsored Colloquium on Mutual Views and Changing Relations between Christians and Muslims, University of Balamond, Balamond, Lebanon, August 27-28, 1997. Editorial Board, Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations, 1996Association of Theological Schools Commission on Accrediting, 1994-2000, chair 1999-2000. Theological Consultant for ATS Incarnating Globalization Project, 1996 -98. Convener, North America Regional Research Team, for Pew Charitable Trust Religion Program, Christian Theological Education in Muslim Societies, 1996-2001. Participant, workshop on "Muslim Perceptions of Christianity; Christian Perceptions of Islam: the Historical Record," Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, Amman, Jordan, August 21-24, 1995. Participant, consultation on "Confessing Christian Faith in a Pluralistic Society, "Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, Collegeville, Minnesota, June 14-19, 1995. Joseph J. Malone Fellow for the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, May 14-31, 1995. Participant, "Seminar in Israel for Theological Seminary Deans and Presidents," January 5-13, 1995. Participant, "Jordan's Democratic Process: Contemporary Realities and Future Prospects," al-Urdun al-Jadid Research Center in Amman, Jordan, May 30-June 1, 1994. Fulbright Lecturer, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 1993. Editorial Board, The Annual Review of Women in World Religions, 1990- . Consultant-Evaluator, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges, 1990-97. Editorial Board, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 1990-97. Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada: Executive Committee 1986-92; Vice-President 1988-90; Council on Theological Scholarship and Research, 1992-94. American Academy of Religion, Long-Range Planning Committee, 1986-90. Committee on Christian-Muslim Relations of the National Council of Churches. Religion Indexes Selection Committee, American Theological Library Association. Area Editor, Religious Studies Review, 1985-86. Advisory Committee, Muslim Women's Institute, 1980-86.

Participant, The Rama Mehta Colloquia on "The Muslim Woman: International Perspectives," Radcliffe College, April 11-12, 1985. Participant, Symposium on Orthodox Christians and Muslims, Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, March 17-19, 1985. Advisory Board, The Temple of Understanding, New York, New York. President of the New England Region of the American Academy of Religion, 1985-86.

PROFESSIONAL PAPERS: (since 1985) The Child in American Islam. Consultation on the Family, Emory University, April 30, 2006. Muslims and American Secularism, conference on Muslims in Europe and the United States: A Transatlantic Comparison, Harvard University, December 15 -16, 2006. Does Islam Encourage Pluralism? American Muslims Engage the Debate. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars conference on The Influence of American Islamic Thinkers on Islamic Thought Abroad. May 11, 2005. Muslim and Christian Youth Converse: Is the Devil in the Dialogue? Muslim Student Association, Syracuse University, March 28, 2005. What Do Young Muslims and Christians Have to Talk About? Muslim Student Association, Syracuse University, March 28, 2005. Christian-Muslim Dialogue in North America, Lilly Conference on Theological Research, Pittsburgh PA, February 25-27, 2005. Theologian in Residence, St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Williamsburg, VA, February 18-20, 2005. In Crisis Mode: Muslims and Christians After 9-11, Who Are Our Muslim Neighbors? Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Are We Up to the Task? Compelled to Relationship: The Theological Challenge of Islam. Places of Worship and Meditation as Sacred Spaces, for Denver Universitys Sacred Spaces: A Passport to Colorados Religious Sites project. January 31, 2005. Training Muslims for Chaplaincy at Hartford Seminary, Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting, November 19, 2004. Islam and the Family in North America, American Religions and the Family Consultation, Emory University Atlanta, Georgia, March 25-27, 2003 Islam in America and Women in Islam, presentation for Dialogue with Muslims Post 9/11 at the Aurora University Center for Faith and Action, Aurora, IL, September 24, 2002 Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the Muslim-Christian Encounter, Conference in Honor of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, American University, Washington D.C. November 2001. Islam in America, May 28, 1998, and Outside Influences on American Islam, January 7, 1999, and Religious Tolerance, Chateau de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland.

Contemporary Protestant Theology and Islam, The University of Edinburgh, May 21 -23, 1998. Christian Missionary Views of Islam in the 19th-20th Centuries, Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University of Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan, October 5, 1997. American Protestantism and the Presence of Islam, University of Balamond, Balamond, Lebanon, August 27, 1997. "Some Contemporary Protestant Theological Reflections on Pluralism: Implications for Christian-Muslim Understanding," Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, "Muslim-Christian Relations: Prospects for the 21st Century", April 5-6, 1995. "French Christian Narratives Concerning Muhammad and the Religion of Islam from the 15th to the 18th Centuries," conference on "Christian Perceptions of Islam; Muslim Perceptions of Christianity, the Historical Record," Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, Amman, Jordan, August 14-21, 1995. "Towards a Positive Worldview of Islam," International Seminar on "Islam and its Worldview: An American Perception," Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 19-20, 1993. "Witness to Christ in a Religiously Plural Context," World Council of Churches Unit II meeting, Zug, Switzerland, September 3-7, 1993. "The Diverse Arab Communities of America," Keynote Address for "Arab-Americans: A Diverse Community in Transition," Dearborn, Michigan, February 21, 1993. "Muslim Family Values and the Challenges of American Culture," Council for the World's Religious Dialogue for Muslim-Christian Friendship and Understanding, Istanbul, Turkey, September 25, 1991. "Old French Travel Accounts of Muslim Beliefs Concerning the Afterlife," Rocky Mountain Great Plains Region, American Academy of Religion, Regional Meeting, April 28, 1990. "Recent Trends in the Study of the Religion of Islam," Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, D. C., May 6, 1988. "A General Theory of Women in World Religions," American Academy of Religion, November 20, 1988. "Spiritual Awareness and the Formation of Character," 1987 Association of Theological Schools Issues Summer Seminar, Wayzata, Minnesota, July 16-19, 1987. "Women and the Formation of Religious Tradition," Conference on Women, Religion and Social Change, Hartford, Connecticut, October 21, 1983. "Family Life in the Muslim World," Study Conference on Islam Past and Present, Hartford, Connecticut, June 13, 1983. "The Experience of Muslim Women: Consideration of Power and Authority," World of Islam 1982 Series, Hartford, Connecticut, March 11, 1982.

"Eve: Islamic Image of Woman," International Association of History of Religions, Winnipeg, Canada, August 19, 1980. "Islamic Understanding of the Afterlife: Methodological Considerations," Symposium on Islam and the History of Religions, Arizona State University, January 24-27, 1980. "The Figure of Eve in Qur'an and Tradition," American Academy of Religion, New York, New York, November 16, 1979. "The Qur'anic Concept of Intercession (shafa'a) as Analyzed in Contemporary Tafsir," American Oriental Society, St. Louis, Missouri, April, 1979. "The Understanding of nafs and ruh in Contemporary Muslim Considerations of the Nature of Sleep and Death, " The American Academy of Religion, November 19, 1978. "Concourse Between the Living and the Dead in Islamic Eschatological Literature," The American Oriental Society, April 13, 1978. "Afterlife Themes in Modern Qur'an Commentary," The American Oriental Society, April 27, 1977. "Prophets and Saints as Agents of Intercession in Islam," American Academy of Religion, St. Louis, Missouri, October 31, 1976. "The Role of Women in Muslim Conceptions of the Afterlife," American Academy of Religion, New York, New York, October 25, 1974. SELECTED LECTURES: On Muslims Becoming Americans and Evolving American Perceptions of Muslims, Faith and Community Project, Institute for Training and Development, Amherst MA, June 14, 2007. Workshop on Understanding Islam, Roman Catholic Deacon Directors, Genesis Spiritual Life Center, Springfield MA, May 14, 2007. Islam: A Truly American Religion? Scott Series on Immigration, Dartmouth College, April 29, 2007. Christian-Muslim Relations: Can We Talk to Each Other? Suffield Interfaith Council, Suffield, CT, April 20, 2006. Understanding the Faith of Islam, University of Connecticut, April 10, 2006. Muslims in America, Trinity College Islamic Awareness Week, April 4, 2006. Can We Share the World? Hope for the Christian-Muslim Dialogue. Spaulding Lecture at the University of Iowa, October 24, 2005. What Do Young Muslims and Christians Have to Talk About? Muslim Student Association, Syracuse University, March 28, 2005.

Theologian in Residence, St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Williamsburg, VA, February 18- 20, 2005. In Crisis Mode: Muslims and Christians After 9-11, Who Are Our Muslim Neighbors? Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Are We Up to the Task? Compelled to Relationship: The Theological Challenge of Islam. Places of Worship and Meditation as Sacred Spaces, for Denver Universitys Sacred Spaces: A Passport to Colorados Religious Sites project. January 31, 2005. Inter-religious Understanding: what does it mean, what are its challenges, and how do we achieve it? CCIU, Hartford, May 20, 2004 Compelled to Relationship, National Council of Churches, Washington DC, February 2004. Interfaith Relations: State of the Art, Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, May 6, 2004 Christian-Muslim Dialogue and the University Campus, Syracuse University, April 8, 2004. Muslim Women and the Challenge of American Society, Georgetown University conference Unveiling the Myths: Muslim Women in the U.S., October 30, 2003 American Islamic Women: Crafting Their Own History, Union Theological Seminary, September 22, 2003. Vying for Righteousness: American Christians and the Challenge of Islam. Shannon Weatherly Lecture, Iliff School of Theology, January 29, 2003. Caught in the Crunch: Issues Facing Muslims in America, The Michaelsen Endowed Visiting Scholar Lectureship at the University of California, Santa Barbara, November 13, 2002. The Fundamentals of Islam, New England Consultation of Church Leaders, Franciscan Center, Andover MA, October 15, 2002 In Crisis Mode: Christians and the Challenge of Islam. Clergy section on Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations. Depauw University Mendenhall Lectures, November 4, 2002. November 4, 2002. Political, Religious, and Social Issues in Islam, Hartford Town and Country Club, October 29, 2002. The Fundamentals of Islam, New England Consultation of Church Leades (NECCL), Franciscan Center, Andover MA, October 15, 2002. Daughters of Abraham: Muslim, Christian and Jewish Womens Reflections on September 22, Hartford Capital Region Conference of Churches, September 10, 2002. The Many Faces of America: the Religion of Islam, State of Con necticut Department of Social and Revenue Services, Hartford CT, December 6, 2001.

Islam and the Judeo-Christian Tradition, panel presentation for the annual meeting of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, Washington DC, May 16, 2002 Enjoying your Luce Fellowship Year, Fall meeting of the 2001 -2002 class of Luce Fellows in Theology, The Henry Luce Foundation, New York, November 9, 2001. Islam in America, United Church of Christ CT Annual Meeting, Danielson CT, October 21, 2001. In Crisis Mode: American Muslims and the Challenge of Extremism, Washington & Lee University, October 18, 2001. Who are our Muslim Neighbors? New York Society for Ethical Culture, City Church, New York, May 26, 2001. Islam in America: Who Are Our Muslim Neighbors? Tuohy Lecture Series, John Carroll University, June 20, 2000. Health Care Issues for a Changing American Immigrant Population, Catholic Medical Centers, Fresh Meadows, NY, May 22, 2000. Islam in America and Women in Islam, Workshop on Islam for Christians, The Cleveland Institute for Religious Studies, April 27-28, 2000. Islam in America, lecture and workshop, Communiversity 2000 Lecture Series, Bath, Maine. The Great Cover-Up: Do Muslims Fear the Female Body? Wesleyan University series on Women, Religion and the Body, April 3, 2000. Islamic, Jewish and Christian Relations, Faith & Order Department of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, February 1, 2000. Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism, Iliff School of Theology, Janu ary 26, 2000. American Muslims and the International Islamic Community, Howard University, January 18, 2000. Windows and Doors: Issues of Reflection and Response, Keynote Lecture for the 5th Annual Helen Barrett Montgomery Institute, Women of Faith in the United States. A Dialogue about Diversity, Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Nov. 4-6, 1999. Concerns of American Muslims in the Workplace, University of New Haven, March 9, 1999. Fundamentalism: The Islamic Case, Brown University, February 23, 1999. Islam: Its Unity and its Diversity, Maryknoll Seminary, New York, July 12 -17, 1998. Islam in America, May 28, 1998, and Outside Influences on American Islam, January 7, 1999, and Religious Tolerance, Chateau de Bossey, Celigny Switzerland

The Crisis of Change: Dominant Issues and Major Tensions in Islam, and Christian Muslim Dialogue, National Student Conference on Islam, Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, May 17-31, 1997. Christian-Muslim Relations: Developing a Foundation for Mutual Relations, Elms College, Springfield, MA, April 21, 1997. "Sacred Texts: What, How and by Whose Authority?" and "Scripture(s) in the Faith Traditions of Abraham," Montana Association of Churches Annual Assembly, Great Falls, Montana, October 17, 1995. "A View of Modern Islam," The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University, December 7, 1994, in honor of Abdelhamid Benzine, editor of Alger Republicain and recipient of the 1994 Louis M. Lyons Award in journalism. "Muslims in America: Who ARE Our Neighbors?" and "Muslims in America: Surviving in an Alien Environment," Ohio Wesleyan University, April 11-12, 1995. "Beyond Tolerance: Toward a Theology of Religious Pluralism," The Greater Detroit Interfaith Round Table of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, Inc., April 23, 1994. "Dimensions of Witness and Dialogue: The World Council of Churches Struggles," Annual Conference of the ELCA of Montana, Pray, Montana, April 8, 1994. "The Role of the Feminine in Islam," The C.G. Jung Society of Denver, October 15, 1993. "Islam and the Future of Christian-Muslim Dialogue," Faith and Life Lecture through Pacific School of Religion, San Francisco, March 8, 1992. "Should Trousers be Singular or Plural? Reflections on Pluralism and the Common Good," Keynote address for "E Pluribus Unum" Conference at the School of Theology at Claremont, February 27, 1992. "Women in Islam," Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, February 13, 1992. "Islam and the West," Day-long workshop for the Western Civilization Program at the University of Kansas, February 1, 1992. "The Middle East and the Muslim Mind," Cincinnati Rotary Club, December 12, 1991. "Women in Islam: Feminism, Fundamentalism, Frustration..." at the Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, New York, August 6, 1991. "The Christian Faith and Religious Pluralism", Founder's Day address for the "Symposium on Faith and Learning" at Agnes Scott College, February 19-20, 1991. "The Middle East and the Muslim Mind," Denver Rotary Club, December 13, 1990.

"Old French Travel Accounts of Muslim Beliefs Concerning the Afterlife," Christian-Muslim Encounter, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut, June 7, 1990. "Islamic Revival and the Implications for Interfaith Dialogue," Kansas School of Religion at the University of Kansas, April 3, 1990. "Globalization of Theological Education: Implications for Ecumenicity and Dialogue," Consultation on Ecumenical Perspectives and Interreligious Dialogue in Theological Education, The United Methodist Church Board of Higher Education and Ministry, Madison, Wisconsin, March 24, 1990. "Theological Education From a Wider Perspective," Meadville-Lombard School of Theology, Chicago, Illinois, May 5, 1989. "On Islam," Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas, April 6, 1989. "Islamic Heritage and Modernity in the Writings of Seyyed Hossein Nasr," The Muslims of America Conference, University of Massachusetts, April 15, 1988. "Multiplicity and Particularities: Christian Faith and the Study of World Religions" and "Islam: Religion of Peace or Menacing Jihad?" St. Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Missouri, March 29-30, 1988. "Religion and Education: Approaches to the Study and Teaching of Islam in Christian Theological Education," Colloquium on Christian-Muslim Relations, World Council of Churches, New Windsor, Maryland, March 20, 1988. "The Promise of Life Eternal: Reflections from the Islamic Side," Iliff Week of Graduate Lectures, Denver, Colorado, January 27, 1988. "Theme Speaker, Meadville/Lombard Winter Institute, Madison, Wisconsin, February 9- 12, 1987. Six lectures on Islam. "Women as Participants in the Early Community of Islam," McGill University Institute of Islamic Studies series: "The Status of Women in Muslim Societies," October 28, 1986. "The Dunya wa-Akhirah: Themes of Life, Death and Afterlife in Islam," Georgetown University, October 15, 1985. "Islam and the Special Role of Women," Wesleyan University, April 10, 1985. "Historical Roots of Islamic Fundamentalism," University of Texas at El Paso series on International Conflicts in the Third World, April 1, 1985. "Resurgent Islam," Tufts University, March 25, 1985. "Women in Islam and the Islam of Women," for Women's History Week, Harvard University, March 4, 1985.

Ucapan Sasterawan Negara Datuk A. Samad Said dalam "Wacana Ilmu" di Perpustakaan Pulau Pinang pada 14 November 2009 KECEMERLANGAN BAHASA DAN SASTERA DALAM PEMBANGUNAN INSAN (1011292) Saya sebenarnya tergamam kerana judul khusus bagi saya berubah dua tiga kali. Tapi, judul terakhir tetap sesuai dan sebati bagi saya. Cuma, munculnya lewat, dan saya sudahpun berfikir yang lain. Saya coba merasionalkannya di sini. Pasti saja umum mengetahui kecintaan dan keterlibatan saya terhadap bahasa Melayu.Tanpa meminta, saya telah disanjungi sebagai Pejuang Sastera (kepada Pemerintah) dan Pejuang Bahasa (kepada Parti PAS). Di antaranya, saya dianugerahkan Sasterawan Negara. Antaranya, saya percaya saya dihurmati kerana sumbangan saya membangun dan melestarikan bahasa demi pembangunan bangsa saya. Hingga sekarangpun saya masih memperjuangkan kedudukan bahasa Ibunda senyawa dengan keluhuran Akta Bahasa. Dan saya masih terus percaya bahawa Pemerintah kita masih melanggaratau tidak meluhuriAkta Bahasa. Terakhir, menurut Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Dato Seri Muhyiddin, bahasa Melayu akan sepenuhnya dihurmati dengan memansuhkan PPSMI pada tahun 2011 (InsyaAllah). Dan sementara itu, kini sudahpun terdengar suara keras dan yakin dari MCA dan MIC tidak serasi dengan Pendidikan

Negara dengan satu bahasaMelayu. Bererti mereka secara simbolis menolak 1Malaysiaatau idaman 1Malaysia. Tapi, di sini bukan khususnya hal itu yang ingin saya bincangkan. Saya ingin mengaitkan soal bahasa dan sastera ini secara lebih peribadi, melibatkan perjuangan saya tentangnya. Pemerintah mempunyai masalah besar untuk menangani soal pendidikan negara, khususnya kalau dengan bahasa Melayu. Antara yang menarik saya ialah bagaimana sejauh lebih 50 tahun ini saya sempat hidup dengan Bahasa Melayu. Awal sekali ingin saya menjelaskan bahawa dengan bekalan bahasanya, penulis seperti saya juga masih memerlukan mata pencarian menerusinya. Saya akui bahawa terkadangkadang ia sangat memeritkan, tapi terpaksa terus bersabar dan waspada. Apakah 65 buah karya dalam Bahasa Melayu tidak memungkinkan saya hidup menyarai diri dan keluarga? Yang sudah-sudah, Alhamdulillah. Seniman perlu bersikap, dan saya tidak menafikan bahawa penulis perlu carmacari makan. Sumber kehidupan ini biasanya menstabilkan kehidupan dan melandaskan arah perjuangan seseorang penulis. Dan penulis wajar mengimbangkan sikapnya antara di tengah-tengah karyanya. Secara jenakatapi benarsaya dengan amat berat hati mengistilahkan atau membahagikansumber kehidupan harian saya melalui karya carma: tulis atau baca puisi untuk sesuatu majlis tanpa ideologi. Untuk ini saya mempunyai tiga sumber: karya sastera, karya lukisan dan

seni persembahandeklamasi. Puisi Menara Kembar, misalnya, adalah puisi carma; begitu juga puisi Taman Idaman. Sebuah puisi itu dapat membiayai kehidupan saya selama setahun. Dan, dengan begitu, saya tidak henti-henti mengerjakan pula tugas seni yang lebih tulen. Puisi-puisi carmayang sebenarnya sangat jarang tempahannyasaya lakukan dengan penegasan sikap saya sendiri. Saya yang menentukan arahnya walaupun subjeknya diberikan oleh pihak penganjur. Disetujui, saya terima; jika tidak saya tolak permintaan atau tempahan itu. (Memang ada tempahan saya tolak daripada awal lagi kerana kurang selesa dengan arahan atau subjeknya). Tiga empat kali saya menolaknya, bererti saya menolak pendapatan tiga atau empat tahun. Memang ada puisi carma yang saya tolak sejak rundingan awal lagi. Terkeluar daripada sastera carma ini (benar-benar cari makan maksudnya; tidak seperti ketika menulis Salina, Cinta Fansuri atau Al-Amin yang ditulis dengan penuh ibadah seni), saya coba mematuhi seluhurnya cita-cita atau idealisme saya tentang pembangunan bangsa. Sejauh ini, saya memang tidak lari dari landasan berupaya merakamkan hatinurani bangsa dari dekad ke dekad. Memang ada rungutan bahawa saya seolah cenderung dengan kehidupan immoralcontoh yang sering ditimbulkan: Salina, Lantai T. Pinkie dan Sungai Mengalir Lesu. Saya dikatakan gemar menjadi perakam kehidupan immoral. Tapi, ramai yang terlupaatau seolah-olah tidak tahu bahawa penulis tulen biasanya mengangkat intipati kehidupan zamannya, dekadnya. Siapa yang tekun mengikuti urutan karya-karya saya akan terkesan atau terlihat aliran

pertukaran kehidupan dekad-dekad tertentu, dimulai dengan (walaupun ketika menlisnya tidak menurut hirarki zaman) Di Hadapan Pulau. Rakaman dekad ini terkadang mengiringi perobahan hatinurani dan usia saya sendiri. Contohnya, tidakkah waras saya merakamkan Al-Amin sebagai tanda perubahan hatinurani dan spirituil saya? (2) Walaupun sudah lebih 50 tahun berkarya, saya masih terus bertanya bathin: Apakah tugas penulis hanya sekedar merakamkan peristiwa? Apakah para seniman sekedar menjadi pencatat alam dan peristiwa supaya sejarah mengingat peristiwa tertentu? Di sini bolehlah kita mengerling kepada karya-karya kontemporer Dinsman yang merakam alam dan peristiwa itu. Dunia sangat kejamnya (manusianya yang dimaksudkan) dan kekejaman itu wajar mendorong manusiakhususnya mereka yang masih sedia berfikirmembaca semula hatinuraninya. Sudah dua kali kita alami perang dunia. Tidak lagi kita gunakan senjata yang bersempadan kesannya. Kemusnahan merebakdan cepat merebak. Yang musnah alam, tapi yang terkorban dan langsung terdera adalah manusia. Atomik bom yang menggerun dan tak tersangkakan digunakan itu sudah mengingatkan bahawa manusia cepat menjadi hewan. Dan ada tanda-tanda (contohnya ledakan bom manusia di Pakistan dan di Afghanistan) bahawa kekejaman bakal berterusan dalam bentuk dan jumlahnya yang lebih melebar lagi. Dan penulis sebagai perakam peristiwa yang sangat menggerunkan itu merakamnya untuk menginsaf dan menyedarkan tentang kemungkinan kita terus menjadi

hewan yang bertindak mengikut stimulus rasa, dan tidak langsung bersedia menggunakan akal sihat. Bagaimanakah penulis yang sedar ini melakukan tanggungjawab insaninya? Kita ambil contoh daripada tanah air sendiri, dan kita ambil yang kontemporer. Kita tumpu kepada Menunggu Kata Dari Tuhan. (Dan sebelum itu Dinsmanpenulisnyasudahpun menulis Tamu Dari Medan Perang. Kenapa perlu Menunggu Kata Dari Tuhan, juga kenapa mesti temui Tamu Dari Medan Perang? Kedua-dua isi daripada karya Dinsman itu adalah gambaran gementar kita tentang manusia yang semakin cepat menjadi hewan. Mereka tamaki wilayahnya sendiri, dan lebih buruk, mereka tamaki wilayah orang juga. Sehingga ke hari ini Palestina menjadi tajuk perbincangan yang tidak haus, dan sehingga ke hari ini Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu tidak berdaya menyelesaikan masalah maruah sebuah bangsa berhak yang telah diperhina oleh sebuah bangsa yang tidak berhak. Itulah sebenarnya yang coba dirakamkan oleh Dinsman, pertama melalui Tamu Dari Medan Perang dan kedua melalui Menunggu Kata Dari Tuhan. Queen dalam Tamu memberi dialog yang agak panjang. Pada satu peringkat darurat, kata Queen: Saudara-saudara kita di Palestina, di Iraq, di Afghanistan, dibunuh setiap hari. Dan pembunuhan secara terang-terangan itu tidak ada siapapun kata mereka itu pengganas...Dan kita pun masih menghurmati orangorang seperti itu. Orang bunuh adik kita, orang bunuh emak kita, orang bunuh anak kitadan kita masih terus hurmati mereka. KENAPA KITA MENJADI SEHINA INI? Dan dalam Menunggu Kata Dari Tuhan terlihat upaya

manusiamenurut harapan Dinsmanuntuk menjadi insan yang waras, mendengar bisik tulus dari hati yang qudus. Kata Kaab (Kaab bin Malek): Mengapa pula orang ini bertanya pasal diriku? Seorang petani datang menghulurkan sepucuk surat dari Raja Ghassan kepadanya: Kaab bin Malek. Antara isinya: Allah tidak akan membiarkan kamu terhina dan menjadi orang buangan [h:2930]. Dan dalam hening suasana Kaab menjadi orang yang sangat warassangat berdoa. Katanya: Aku tetap beriman dengan Allah...Aku tidak menyalahkan sesiapa. AKU YANG TERSILAP WAKTU ITU. AKU MENYESAL DAN AKU BERTAUBAT. 40 hari selepas itu tidak turun wahyu. Apakah kesalahan umumkhususnya kelompok Kaab bin Malek waktu itu? Kesalahan kami, kata Kaab ...tidak ikut berjihad ke medan perang Tabuk. Begitulah seorang seniman yang sedar dan fahami masyarakat dan tanggungjawab seni menghantar karya seninya. Seniman, biasanya dengan secara cantik, merakam sesebuah kisah kehidupan harian untuk membijaksana dan menginsankan manusia. Seperti Dinsman, begitulah saya menggunakan bahasa dan sastera untuk melestarikan kisah kehidupan awam yang boleh menjadi cermin banding, serentak menjadi bayang panduan dan landasan hidup lebih murni. Kita terlontar ke dunia sebagai khalifah yang bertugas. Kita antara insan yang terpilih, dan wajarlah kita membijaksanakan diri demi kesejahteraan ummah dengan pertama-tama menginsafi peranan tulus kita sebagai abdi kepada Allah Yang Maha Kuasaibadah kita sepenuhnya kepada Allah dari awal kelahiran kita masing-masing.

Masing-masing datang dengan pilihan kerjanya sendiri, tapi setiap pekerjaan kita mempunyai erti dan mertabat yang tinggi, termasuklah kitasayasebagai sasterawan. Kita khusyuki kerja kita, kita warnakan kerja itu seindahnya dengan amalan dan kebajikan kepada ummah.A. SAMAD SAID.
Freedom and Democracy Dim Prospects and Daunting Challenge
Acceptance speech by Anwar Ibrahim, Opposition leader of the Malaysian Parliament, on being awarded the IAPC Democracy Medal, Shah Alam, December 21, 2009 Ladies and gentleman: I am greatly humbled by this award. I accept it with a profound sense of humility with the full knowledge that this award is not really about me but, as indeed it should be, a resounding appreciation for the hard work and sacrifices of family, friends and colleagues. Together we have championed the cause of freedom and democracy and, by the grace of God, we shall continue to do so. They say that freedom and democracy are nice catchphrases hewn from philosophical cogitation or mere abstract doctrine divorced from reality. Or that democracy is overrated. Whats there to talk about or to lose sleep over? Just conduct elections every four or five years and let the people to decide who should be in power. Why should think-tanks and NGOs waste so much time and resources dissecting and debating these issues in academic halls, intellectual colloquiums and political forums? I think the answer is as clear as daylight. As Walt Whitman, the great poet of democracy, once said: Did you, too, O friend, suppose democracy was only for elections, for politics, and for a party name? I say democ=racy is only of use there that it may pass on and come to its flower and fruit in manners, in the highest forms of interaction between people, and their beliefs in religion, literature, colleges and schools democracy in all public and private life.1 Indeed, freedom and democracy is part and parcel of the self-evident truths that would distinguish mankind from the rest of Gods creatures, as dear to us as the blood that sustains our hearts and keeps us alive. Closer to home, the ever redeeming words of the great Malayan hero Jose Rizal continue to remind us that humanity will not be redeemed while reason is not free. Even though that was written more than a century ago, it is no less significant today, as democracy and freedom are once again under attack. Today, and perhaps more than in the

past, we witness the clash between the institutions of civil society bent on preserving freedom and democracy and the powers that be with their increasing tendency to rob us of our liberties and undermine our constitutional foundations. The resulting report card on the state of democracy and freedom here is dismal and damning. The prospects are dim and the challenges daunting. At the root of these issues is the question of accountability, governance and transparency in the exercise of the powers of state. Contrary to what the opponents of freedom and democracy say, accountability does not lead to weakness; nor would an independent judiciary lead to the death of the Parliamentary process; ensuring the rule of law to protect the constitutional freedoms of free speech, of assembly and of religion would not cause dissension and confrontation. Denying these fundamental liberties and eroding the democratic space would. It would also be a gross affront on the dignity of man. Indeed, to paraphrase Emerson, a nations strength is not forged in gold but only men and women can make a people great and strong; Men and women who for truth and honors sake stand fast and suffer long. We have heard the famous line by Thomas Jefferson that a democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other fortynine. But this was certainly not his ideal of democracy. Indeed what he was really talking about was in fact what was to be later referred to as the despotism of the majority2 where governments abuse power or develop dictatorial tendencies on account of numerical strength in the legislatures. This concentration of power invariably leads to abuse of the legislative process. The UMNO-led ruling coalition, having since the nations independence controlled the Federal Parliament with a two-thirds majority, remains unrepentant in their arrogant display of power. Intolerant of criticism, dissent or anything seen as a stumbling block to their vested interests, they ride rough shod over the aspirations of the people by bull-dozing through oppressive laws and the Federal budget. The political landscape has changed since the March 2008 elections when the Opposition created the biggest upset to the status quo at the Federal Parliament as well as gained control of five states in the peninsula. One would have thought that they would have learnt some lessons from this defeat but it would appear that a leopard cannot change its spots. Motions for a full parliamentary debate on crucial social and financial issues are invariably disallowed on grounds that they are not urgent matters. Just less than a year on, a desperate attempt was made at wresting control of the state of Perak by the foulest of means in violation of ethical, political and constitutional principles. And even more tragically, this is being done hand in glove with the judiciary. If democracy is about giving dignity to the human spirit, then we can rest assured that this dignity can never be realized as long as the institutions of power such as the judiciary, the police, the public prosecutor and the anti-corruption agency continue to be employed by the Executive to further their own ends. Democracy will not see the light of day when dissenting views are not allowed expression and a healthy vibrant opposition is considered a threat to national security. Democratic governments cannot use the state apparatus to silence political opposition. The existence of a vibrant opposition is essential as the bulwark against the tyranny of absolute power. Opposition must not be just merely tolerated but must be allowed to flourish as the

peoples conscience. Its paramount role is to hold the powers that be to account when they go astray and to remind them that power is trust, not might. Once again, we call for a concerted effort to restore the judiciary to its pristine position. Judicial independence must mean protecting the people from governmental arbitrariness and political despotism. The judiciary is not just the bulwark of our fundamental liberties. It is the final arbiter of our constitutional and political disputes and the anvil on which the rule of law of the nation is to be forged. If judges are to be independent of political authority, attempts to muzzle them must not be allowed. If in their deliberations they make statements apparently critical of the executive or in their judgments, decide against it, they should not be threatened with reprisals, or transferred into less important positions or jurisdictions or worse still, forced into early retirement. To put it bluntly, judges must be freed from the stranglehold of the ruling elite, tyrants, dictators or the rich and the powerful. We cannot have a government which continues to use the judicial system for its own ends and at the same time call it a democracy. This recognition therefore comes at an auspicious moment. We have just witnessed the historic Pakatan Rakyat convention. The gathering on Saturday marked the first ever national convening of Malaysias first viable political movement that is multi-racial not only in composition but also in its fundamental aims. The coalitions aims and objectives have been spelled out in a document unrivalled in its articulation of the coalitions commitment to Constitutional provisions and a reform agenda. They will say that the proof is going to be in the pudding and not until this coalition takes power will the weight of its promises be felt. On the contrary a taste of what is to come is clearly evident in the four opposition states that have demonstrated a commitment to transparency, multi-racialism and good governance. Progress has been made despite the subversive actions of a Federal government hell bent on recapturing power by any means necessary. But in the cause of freedom, there shall be no room for despair. Let us endeavor to draw from misfortune new hope and new strength. Therefore, let us not recoil in our resolve to fight for what we believe in. Soldier on we must, and soldier on we shall. As freedom and democracy is our birth right, we must never forsake it or allow anyone to take it away from us. Thank you.

BERNYANYILAH DARI HATINURANI Malam ini saya rasa seniman coba mengimbangi kuasawan. Kita lebih melakukannya dengan kata-kata berbeda dengan kuasawan yang selalu melakukannya melalui dana. Kata-kata selalunya mengkhayalkan sementara dana memungkinkan. Biar apapun peranannya, malam ini, peranan seniman mungkin lebih untuk sekedar menyedarkan. Terlalu ramai kuasawan yang terlupa, khususnya kuasawan yang sedang benar-benar berkuasa.

Tema utama kita tampaknya ialah Dari Rakyat ke Rakyat. Tapi, sebenarnya kita ingin berdialog dengan pemimpinkita bercakap saja sesama sendiri, sesama rakyat. Sebenarnya, kita menyanyi. Dipercayai atau tidak sebuah lagu biasanya sebuah suara batinsuara dari batinkejujuran dari batin. Dan malam ini, kejujuran dari batin coba menghantar reslitas masakini melalui lagu atau melodi yang lama terganggu. Ia penuh dengan rintih dan jerit; bisik dan raong. Tapi, isinya berlegar seputar ketidakadilan yang sedang berterusankepincangan masalalu (Fatehah Memali) dan ketimpangan masakini (Ikut Suka AkuISA). Lagu-lagu sebondong ini terkadang tidak begitu melodiuslirik lebih nyaring daripada musik. Tapi, itulah kehidupan sebenarreal dan kasarrealitas yang sentiasa tidak melodius; yang melodius selalunya adalah khayalan. Sebanyak 10 lagu terhimpun dalam album pedih ini, tapi kelahirannya memang petanda jujur bahawa masih terus ada duri siksa dalam masyarakat kita. Seniman membantah kepincangan ini. Tentu saja akan ada setengah kuasawan yang menganggap bahawa album ini adalah serpihan propaganda. Benar jugaia propaganda, tapi suara yang tulen. Ada propaganda melalui cogankata yang mendadakcogankata (tahu-tahulah sendiri) yang sangat nyaring (atau memang dinyaringkan) kerana semua media utama (yang citak, yang letronik)patuh (terkadang melampau) menjeritkan propaganda itu. Ada bedanya antara propaganda institusi gergasi dengan propaganda jerit insan kecil. Yang pertama sangat berazam diguruhkan; yang kedua sekedar berharap suaranya terdengar. Di sinilah terletaknya album Dari Rakyat ke Rakyat oleh Meor Yusof Azidin (pada tempat-tempat tertentu disokong Black dan Rahmat Haron). Lagu-lagu dalam album ini adalah pesanan jujur (atau setingginya jeritan jujur) dari batin seniman yang sedang terderatersiksa oleh realitas hidup yang mendendangkan suara-suara bombas yang terlalu berat sebelah. Dan ingat, pelampau memang perlu diwaraskan. Keras yang buas perlu dilembuti tangan yang berhemah. Lagu Ikut Suka AkuISA ini memang dengan mudah diselar sebagai propaganda politik kontemporer; sebaliknya, ia sebenarnya adalah jeritan masakini yang memang masih terus mendera. Begitu juga lagu Fatehah Memali mudah diselar sebag ai propaganda berhasrat. Padahal ia adalah jeritan semula masalalu yang tertimbusatau ditimbus oleh kuasa lalu yang sangat gamam. Pemangsaan tidak pernah tidur nyenak; ia

terpaksa bangun mewaraskan pemangsaannya. Makanya, lagu Fatehah Memali membangunkan yang tidur supaya dapat sama-sama mencari kejernihan, bukan meneruskan kekeruhan. Sangat lama, malah sedang terus, kita didesak percaya bahawa insan Memali gila, kerajaannya yang waras ketika tercetusnya peristiwa. Jentera propaganda Kerajaan terlalu menekan dan menghukum ketika itu. Tapi, sekarang ini, generasi mudanya mula berupaya melahirkan iklim baruyang salah wajar diperiksa. Mereka mencari kejernihan, bukan meneruskan kekeruhan. Memangpun pada malam ini secara berdikit dan jujur, generasi muda ini ingin meluhurkan semula perjuangan. Masakini bukan lagi sepenuhnya hak generasi lalu; masakini adalah lebih hak generasi kini. Sokonglah Dari Rakyat ke Rakyat. Bernyanyilah dari hatinurani; bukan dari keangkuhan diri.A. SAMAD SAID"Hijrah bukan pada diri sendiri sahaja tapi dengan
masyarakat & selepas itu ke negara" keynote address by Anwar Ibrahim at IKD Symposium on 21 November 2009. It is a great honour to stand before you to talk about what can be described as a revolution in the collective consciousness of this nation. Last March, by the stroke of the pen, the people of Malaysia shattered all of the preconceived notions that denied the possibility of political change. In place of these old assumptions a new memory of our nations heritage and the self-image of its people has emerged. Until now many of our elected representatives have failed to uphold the mantle of public office. Their interest has been an exercise in greed and avarice and not what Vaclav Havel described as a heightened responsibility for the moral state of society, and to seek out the best in that society and to develop and strengthen it. For it is only with leaders of such caliber that we can expect a government that is fair and abides by the Rules of Law, outlined in a Constitution that grants legitimacy to the very existence of that government. Anything short of this would be an injustice that approaches tyranny. We had been weaned for many years on the notion that submissiveness and frailty were a prerequisite for the stability of the nation. Our diverse ethnic makeup, rather than an asset, was treated as a powder keg that could be ignited by the slightest spark. Economic development was not compatible with the freedoms that have been established in other democratic nations. On the contrary Malaysian democracy would be circumscribed by profoundly un-democratic rules. There was a freedom of speech but only on certain subjects. The freedom to associate was granted, but only with approved license. Due process, a fair and an impartial judiciary were granted only insofar as they did not encroach upon the vested interests of the rich and powerful. These measures were taken unscrupulously in the name of security and peace.

of democracy, there is no monopoly on the principles of political freedom and liberty. The tradition of public discussion can be found across the world such that Tocqueville in his observations on American political culture said that democracy can be seen as part of the most continuous, ancient and permanent tendency known to history. What Locke said in the 18th century we can find explicit precursors in the Muslim tradition. Consider the Prophet Muhammads Last Sermon in which he asserts the importance of property rights and the sanctity of contracts, womens rights and racial equality. Remember this was 1400 years ago! The narrative does not stop there. al-Shatibi, the Andalusian legal scholar, articulated more completely the maqasid al-Sharia, the Higher Objectives of the Islamic Law, which sanctify the preservation of religion, life, intellect, family, and wealth; objectives that bear striking resemblance to Enlightenment ideals that would be expounded centuries later. This is of course all theoretical. Even the Malaysian Constitution talks about equal protection under the law and proposed a system of checks and balances on power. Yet 52 years later, and after nearly 700 amendments to the original text of that document, few would argue that the original spirit of the Constitution remains intact. The upshot is that Malaysias experience as a pseudo democracy has been a utter disaster. A nation blessed with vast wealth and a people with the ability to learn and excel has been left in the lurch by decades of failed policies. Hope in a brighter future has been snuffed out by the blunt instrument of state power and the cancer of corruption. Certainly the thin veneer of success has been made our country appealing to the eye. As far as developing countries go we are far ahead of the pack. But when we look under the hood, as Malaysian citizens must do on a daily basis, we are confronted with myriad contradictions a crumbling education system, second rate health care, massive shortcomings in public transportation and crime rates which are perpetually on the rise. It is no surprise when we see recent figures citing nearly 800,000 Malaysians professionals now working abroad. The idea of a two party system has been talked about ad infinitum since the Spring of last year. The excitement many have expressed over the advent of this new dimension in Malaysian politics might suggest that the mere existence of a viable second party is itself the holy grail of a democratic state. Some might even draw the conclusion that once in power this alternative voice would swiftly rectify the monumental ills that have been heaped upon Malaysian society by the Barisan Nasional. A vibrant opposition is of course synonymous with democracy itself. Yale based political scientist Ian Shapiro has contended that democracy is an ideology of opposition as much as it is one of government. Yet we would be in a state of self-deception, however if we pinned the hopes for healthy democracies on just one of its attributes. The same mistake has already been made with elections. The mere happening of elections says little about the condition of democracy unless we know that they are conducted fairly and freely and there is a level playing field on which all political views can compete.

In Malaysia multiple parties have existed for many years and the opposition has held seats in Parliament since the very first days of the Federation. We cannot say that the two party system was borne on March 8th for its existence coincides with the birth of the nation itself. The two party system that we recognize today is something different from the style of political participation that is already in place. The difference, simply stated, is greater space that is afforded to public deliberation, the exchange of ideas and the possibility of new choices and alternatives. In this light, our fundamental concern is not with political parties but rather with accountability. A society, according to ibn Khaldun, must be able to combat the corrosive effects of unmitigated power, corruption and moral decadence. Otherwise it may succumb to what Thomas Jefferson time and again warned, that the abuse of unlimited powers by elected despots would lead to a time when corruption in this, as in the country from which we derive our origin, will have seized the heads of government, and be spread by them through the body of the people; when they will purchase the voices of the people, and make them pay the price. To understand these concepts better it may be wise to map out the province of liberal democracy and reiterate the role of the opposition, lest we place the cart before the horse. The main pillars on which democratic societies are built are liberty, social pluralism and political constitutionalism. The intent of these values and the institutions that mediate the relationship between the citizen and government is to guard against the exercise of tyranny. Lord Acton was right when he spoke of the corrupting influence of power. When bestowing upon a political entity the power to make laws and to coerce citizens to obey those laws, safeguards must be put in place. Herein we look at Constitutions to delineate the extent of the governments power to impose laws, and also at the edifice built around the exercise of that power so that there is adequate protection from its abuse. Constitutions define for us the Rule of Law and the parameters within which government can operate. Dicey stipulates that it is the Rule of Law which would ensure that powers of officials, and official bodies of persons entrusted with government, are not exceeded and are not abused, and that the rights of citizens are determined in accordance with the law enacted and unenacted. The Rule of Law is therefore a two way street defining for us the limitations of government and the rights of the citizen. With these fundamentals in place we would then look at the branches of government which are created not only to carry out the business of the state but also to act as further restraints on its power. In the case of the Executive, we are all well acquainted with the phenomenon of power run amok. Countries that masquerade as democracies often pay lip service to freedom and justice, while power is consolidated in the hands of a few elites who plunder the countrys wealth at the expense of the masses. They are able to quash opposition by invoking draconian laws and have made frequent use of preventative detentions to muzzle dissident voices. Herein lies a pivotal role of the opposition in a liberal democracy which is to be the voice of public reason and ensure that the exercise of public political power is fully proper and it can only be so if and

when it is exercised in accordance with a constitution the principles and ideals of which are endorsed by common human reason. A strong legislature is a sword that can cut both ways as well. It was Tocqueville who said, the concentration of power [in the legislature] is at once very prejudicial to a well conducted administration and favorable to the despotism of the majority. Once again Malaysia offers sundry examples of a legislature which, despite allowing for some semblance of multi-party participation, acts as a rubber stamp on legislation presented by the majority. Despite the rules and traditions of the Westminster system, common sense and precedent dictate that even with a clear majority in the legislature there should be a meaningful debate on issues. The Parliament should be used effectively as a constant critique of policy, executive power and the institutions of governance. Where the legislature may exceed its bounds in passing into law edicts that transgress the bounds of the constitution, it is the role of the judiciary to interpret redress mistakes that may have been made by legislators. For this to happen the judiciary must be independent of influence from the other branches and from vested interests in the society at large. In resolving disputes between the people and the government, judges must act impartially. They must administer justice according to law, not according to the dictates of political masters. A strong opposition must demand these prerequisites from the executive and legislative branches until such time as they are implemented. Another crucial criterion for constitutional government is that the discretion of law enforcement agencies must not be allowed to pervert the cause of justice. The office of the Public Prosecutor, the police and the anti-corruption agency, all these bodies, play essential roles in the preservation of the rule of law, failing which they are easily used to pervert the law. As absolute power corrupts absolutely, the arrogance of power left unchecked renders these agencies absolutely impermeable to public opinion and criticism. While there has been a sea change in the political landscape, Malaysia has not changed overnight. Despite the euphoria of last March, and the clear progress that is being made in the Pakatan states, we still face a federal government mired in corruption. The media is shackled and unfree incapable of fulfilling the sacred and solemn mandate bestowed upon the noble profession of journalism. The work is clearly unfinished. For the two party system to survive, let alone thrive, certain constraints must be lifted such as the limited access granted to the information held tightly by government ministries. We know that under the guise of national security many a scandal and abuse has gone unreported and this is contrary to the spirit of public disclosure and accountability. The institutions are in desperate need of reform so that they serve the common good and not the parochial interests of political and corporate elites. The renewal in consciousness that has given hope to generations both old and new must be made a reality through action. At a very fundamental level this would require fuller and more profound political participation. Voting, as it turns out, does matter. The millions of currently

unregistered voters in this country, by most estimations, will play a key role in the next general election. But, they can only do so if they exercise that right. There is space now for the governments in power in the Pakatan states to carry forward this spirit renewal and renovation. Our governments must adhere strictly to the Rule of Law. We should strive to exceed the daily routine of dispute resolution and the issuance of licenses but govern with enlightenment. Our policies must emphasise good governance, the sanctity of the family, tolerance towards diversity, compassion for the weak and the unfortunate and the safeguarding of our environment and natural resources. In between elections the new consciousness that has emerged must be nurtured. Civil society has space to grow and new associations can form and take part in the process of educating and empowering the public. In these states we must demonstrate that the pursuit of excellence and the cultivation of innovation and creativity across all sectors will yield enormous benefit for the society. And for this to happen we must retrieve, revive and reinvigorate the spirit of liberty, individualism, humanism and tolerance. Thank you.

Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan

KITAB-KITAB SYARAH KUTUB ALSITTAH Mohd Akil Muhamed Ali Tengku Intan Zarina Tengku Puji Sakinah Saptu Nurul Syuhada Mohd Muzni Nurulhuda Ahmad PENDAHULUAN Al-Qur'an dan Hadith merupakan dua sumber penting pensyariatan Islam. Rasulullah s.a.w diutuskan oleh Allah s.w.t kepada umat manusia seluruhnya untuk menjelaskan perkara-perkara yang dibicarakan di dalam al-Quran. Justeru, adalah penting bagi setiap Muslim untuk memahami dan menghayati setiap pengajaran dan hukum-hakam yang terdapat di dalam hadith di samping memastikan bahawa hadith-hadith tersebut terpelihara daripada sebarang pemalsuan atau rekaan yang boleh menyebabkan kesahihannya dipersoalkan oleh golongan-golongan yang cuba memesongkan dan merosakkan akidah umat Islam. Para ulama' terdahulu sehinggalah sekarang sentiasa menyumbang kearah mempertahankan kesahihan dan ketulenan hadith-hadith yang diriwayatkan oleh Baginda Rasulullah s.a.w. Antara usaha-usaha yang dilakukan ialah membukukan hadith-hadith yang diyakini kesahihannya dan mengarang kitab-kitab syarah yang boleh membantu umat Islam bagi memahami dan menghayati hukumhakam serta pengajaran yang terdapat di dalam setiap hadith Nabi s.a.w sekaligus menerapkannya di dalam kehidupan seharian. Kitab Hadith yang masyhur ialah Kutub al-Sittah iaitu enam buah kitab hadith yang dihasilkan oleh enam orang ahli hadith yang terkenal. Mula dipelopori oleh Imam al-Bukhari dan kemudiannya diikuti pula oleh ahli hadith yang lain seperti Imam Muslim, Imam al-Tirmidhi, Imam Abu

Dawud, Imam al-Nasai dan Imam Ibnu Majah. Setiap Kitab Hadith ini mempunyai kitab syarahnya yang tersendiri yang dikarang dan disusun dalam pelbagai gaya dan mempunyai keistimewaannya yang tersendiri. Kertas kerja ini cuba memperkenalkan kepada pencinta ilmu khususnya umat Islam berkenaan keenam-enam kitab hadith tersebut serta diikuti dengan sebahagian kitab-kitab syarah utama yang berkaitan dengannya. Mudah-mudahan ianya dapat mempertingkatkan tahap keintelektualan dan iman kita semua. IMAM AL-BUKHARI Nama penuh Imam al-Bukhari ialah Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin al-Mughirah bin Bardizbah al-Jufi al-Bukhari. Dilahirkan di Bukhara pada hari Jumaat, 13 Syawal tahun 194H bersamaan 21 Julai 810M. Beliau terkenal dengan panggilan alBukhari kerana dinisbahkan kepada daerah tempat kelahirannya. Beliau meninggal dunia pada 30 Ramadhan 256H. Bapa Imam Bukhari merupakan seorang M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad ahli hadith yang telah mempelajari hadith daripada ulama yang terkenal seperti Malik Ibn Anas dan Ibn al-Mubarak. Bapanya meninggal dunia sewaktu usia Imam Bukhari masih kanak-kanak. Beliau telah mula mempelajari hadith ketika berusia 11 tahun serta telah menghabiskan masa selama 5 tahun di Basrah untuk mempelajari ilmu hadith dan ilmu lain. Ketika berusia 16 tahun beliau juga telah berjaya menghafal kitab yang dikarang oleh Ibn al-Mubarak dan al-Waqi. Pada usia tersebut juga beliau telah berhijrah ke Makkah, Madinah, Hijaz, Mesir dan Kufah untuk mempelajari untuk mempelajari ilmu hadith dengan mendalam. KITAB SAHIH AL-BUKHARI Nama kitab Sahih Al-Bukhari sebenarnya adalah ringkasan bagi judul asal karangan Imam al-Bukhari iaitu: Al-Jami al-Sahih Li Musnad Min Hadith Rasulullah Wa Ayyamuhu. Kitab ini mengandungi tidak kurang daripada 9082 hadith sahih termasuk hadith-hadith yang berulang-ulang. Ini tidak termasuk hadith-hadith yang bertaraf mauquf dan maqtu iaitu hadith yang bersumberkan sahabat dan tabiin. Imam alBukhari mengambil masa lebih kurang 16 tahun bermula di Makkah kemudian disambung di Madinah dan diakhiri di tempatnya iaitu Bukhara. Hadith-hadith yang dimuatkan dalam sahihnya itu diambil daripada 600,000 hadith yang dihafaznya. Daripada jumlah hadith yang sedemikian banyak, beliau hanya memasukkan sebanyak 9000 lebih sahaja ke dalam sahihnya setelah beliau melakukan sembahyang hajat bagi memastikan sesuatu hadith itu benar-benar sahih. Selain itu Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan

beliau juga hanya memasukkan hadith yang diriwayatkan oleh golongan pertama sahaja dan meninggalkan riwayat golongan lain. Kitab Sahih al-Bukhari yang masyhur ini mengandungi 97 kitab atau tajuk yang membahaskan tentang berbagai-bagai perkara antaranya iman, ibadat, wasiat, hutang, nafkah, jihad dan banyak lagi. KITAB SYARAH SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 1. Fath al-Bariy Bisyarh Sahih al-Bukhari Penulis kitab ini ialah al-Imam al-Hafiz Ahmad bin Ali bin Hajar al-Asqalaniy (773H852H). Kitab syarah ini telah ditahqiq oleh al-Syaikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz. Kitab ini adalah cetakan Dar al-Fikr, Beirut, Lubnan pada tahun 1996M. Ia mempunyai 15 juzuk. Manakala kulit bukunya berwarna hitam. Kitab ini pada juzuk pertama dimulakan dengan pengenalan penerbit, kata-kata aluan bagi kitab al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar dan sanad-sanad Ibn Hajar ke sahih Al-Bukhari. Berikutnya barulah dimulakan syarahnya dengan dimulakan dengan basmalah, kitab bab dan syarah. 2. Umdat al-Qari Syarh Sahih al-Bukhari M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad Kitab ini dihasilkan oleh al-Syaikh al-Imam al-'Allamah Badr al-Din Abi Muhammad Mahmud Ibn Ahmad al-'Aini. Kitab ini dicetak pada tahun 1998M. Ia mengandungi sebanyak 25 juzuk. Kulit hadapan kitab ini berwarna hitam dan tulisannya berwarna emas. Buku ini dimulai dengan basmalah, nama kitab serta syarahnya, nama bab beserta syarahnya dan hadith bersama syarahnya. Setiap juzuk ada isi kandungan. Bagi juzuk yang terakhir terdapat kata-kata penutup. 3. Sahih Abi Abdullah al-Bukhari Bisyarh alKirmaniy Kitab ini dihasilkan oleh al-Syaikh Syams al-Din Muhammad Ibn Yusof Ibn Ali alKirmaniy adalah cetakan dari Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabiy, Beirut. Ia juga merupakan cetakan yang kedua iaitu pada tahun 1981M bersamaan 1401H. Ia mengandungi sebanyak 16 juzuk. Kulit hadapan kitab ini berwarna coklat muda dan tulisannya berwarna kuning emas. Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Buku ini dimulakan dengan Basmalah pada setiap kitab, barulah diikuti dengan bab dan hadith. Syarahnya pula terletak pada nota kaki. Manakala di belakang sekali terdapat isi kandungan buku. 4. Syarh Sahih al-Bukhari Li Ibn Battal Kitab ini dikarang oleh Abu alHasan Ali bin Khalaf bin Abdul Malik yang lebih dikenali sebagai Ibn Battal. Ia didhabit nasnya dan diulas oleh Abu Tamim Yasir bin Ibrahim. Ia dicetak oleh Maktabah alRusyd, al-Riyadh. Ia merupakan cetakan yang pertama iaitu pada tahun 2000M dan mempunyai 10 juzuk.

M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad Kitab ini dimulai dengan tajuk kitab dan hadis. Seterusnya barulah diberi keterangan tentang sesuatu hadith dan dibawakan pendapat ulama. Ia juga mempunyai nota kaki bagi menjelaskan makna sesuatu kalimat. Selain itu pada nota kaki juga diletakkan nama ayat dan surah bagi sesuatu ayat al-Quran yang didatangkan. Di hujung kitab terdapat indeks untuk mengetahui halaman bagi sesuatu hadith. 5. Al-Tausyih Bisyarh al-Jami al-Sahih Kitab ini dihasilkan oleh Imam al-Hafiz Abi alFadl Jalaluddin Abdurrahman al-Suyuti. Kemudian ditahqiq oleh Ridhwan Jami Ridhwan. Kitab ini adalah cetakan Maktabah al-Rusyd, al-Riyadh. Ia merupakan cetakan yang pertama pada tahun 1998M. Buku ini mempunyai sebanyak 5 juzuk. Pada juzuk yang pertama ia dimulai dengan pendahuluan daripada pentahqiq serta pendahuluan daripada penulis kitab ini. Kemudian diikuti dengan bab dalam menerangkan syarat-syarat al-Bukhari berserta tajuk-tajuknya. Nota kaki yang terdapat dalam buku ini merupakan takhrij hadith, athar dan juga penerangan kalimat-kalimat yang gharib. Kitab ini juga mengandungi indeks berkenaan tajuk-tajuk yang terdapat dalam buku ini. Di dalam kitab indeks tersebut, terdapat thabit al-Maraji, thabit alasyaar al-Waridatu fi al-Tausyih, thabit al-kutub al-waridah fi al-Tausyih, indeks hadith dan athar, indeks ayat, dan indeks hadith dan athar dalam al-Sahih. 6. Alam al-Hadith Fi Syarh Sahih al-Bukhari Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Kitab ini ditahqiq dan dikaji oleh Dr Muhammad bin Said bin Abdurrahman Aali Suud. Kitab ini telah dicetak oleh al-Turath al-Islamiy. Buku ini berwarna hijau putih dan bertulisan hitam. Buku ini dimulakan dengan tajuk kitab, hadis dan syarah. Terdapat nota kaki bagi keterangan sesuatu berserta dengan takhrij hadithnya. Kitab ini mempunyai banyak indeks iaitu sebanyak 14 indeks yang mempunyai fungsi-fungsinya yang tertentu seperti indeks amthal dan kata-kata masyhur, masalah fiqh, tajuk-tajuk kajian, syair, rujukan dan lain-lain lagi. IMAM MUSLIM Nama sebenar Imam Muslim ialah Abu al-Husain Muslim Ibn al-Hajjaj Ibn Muslim Ibn alWarid Ibn Kusyaz al-Qusyairi al-Naisaburi. Dilahirkan di Naisabur pada tahun 204H bersamaan 820M. Beliau meninggal dunia di Kota Nasr Abad, Naisabur pada 261H bersamaan 875M dalam usia 57 tahun. Imam Muslim berasal daripada keturunan yang mulia dan terhormat. Beliau terdidik dalam suasana dan keluarga yang berilmu. Imam Muslim juga adalah seorang yang kuat beribadat, bertaqwa, warak, berani dan

tawaduk. Pada peringkat awalnya Imam Muslim mempelajari hadith di Naisabur. Selepas itu beliau meneruskan pengajiannya dalam bidang tersebut dengan ulama terkemuka khususnya di Makkah, Madinah, Iraq, Syam dan Mesir. Beliau memberi penumpuan yang penuh untuk mempelajari dan mendalami hadith ketika berusia 15 tahun. Antara tempat yang dikunjunginya untuk mempelajari ilmu hadis ialah Makkah, Iraq, Hijaz, Syria, Khurasan juga Mesir. Pada tahun 259 Hijrah M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad beliau telah mengunjungi Baghdad dan mendalami ilmu hadith dan agama daripada ulama di situ. Beliau juga telah banyak mempelajari ilmu hadith dengan Imam Bukhari. KITAB SAHIH MUSLIM Kitab sahih Muslim ini diakui oleh ulama hadith sebagai kitab yang kedua selepas sahih al-Bukhari. Kedua-dua kitab ini merupakan kitab yang paling sahih. Kedudukan Sahih Muslim yang kedua selepas Sahih al-Bukhari kerana dari segi syarat yang ditetapkan oleh Imam Muslim adalah lebih ringan daripada Imam al-Bukhari. Sahih Muslim mengandungi 4000 hadith tidak termasuk hadith yang disebut secara berulang. Sekiranya dikira semua hadith yang disebut secara berulang ia berjumlah sebanyak 12,000 hadith. Hadith sahih tersebut juga merupakan hasil kajian dan pengumpulan hadith yang dibuat oleh beliau daripada jumlah asalnya sebanyak 30,000 hadith. KITAB SYARAH SAHIH MUSLIM 1. Sahih Muslim Bi Syarh al-Nawawi Kitab ini adalah dikarang oleh al-Imam Muhyiddin Abi Zakaria Ibn Syaraf al-Nawawi. Al-Nawawi dinisbahkan kepada tempat asalnya iaitu al-Nuwa, di Hawran, Syiria. Kulit kitab ini berwarna hijau tua dan tulisannya pula berwarna emas. Ianya dicetak pada tahun 1990M dan mempunyai 18 juzuk. Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Bagi syarah kitab ini ia bermula dengan basmalah kemudian hadith berserta syarahnya. Di atas muka surat, diletakkan nama kitab dan nombor bab bagi memudahkan pencarian hadith. Pada setiap juzuk diletakkan isi kandungan. Kitab ini juga mempunyai satu buku khusus bagi indeks. Indeks ini meliputi: tajuk, kitab dan bab, hadith-hadith qawliyah mengikut abjad, nama-nama perawi daripada kalangan sahabat dan penerangan hadithhadith setiap daripada mereka dan indeks-indeks khusus seperti ayat-ayat al-Quran dan sebagainya. 2. Syarh Sahih Muslim Lil Qadiy Iyadh al-Musamma Ikmal al-Mulim Bifawaidi Muslim Kitab ini adalah hasil karangan al-Imam al-Hafiz Abi al-Fadhil Iyadh bin Musa bin Iyadh al-Yahsabiy dan ditahqiq oleh Dr. Yahya Ismail. Ia merupakan cetakan pertama yang

diterbitkan oleh Dar al-Wafa pada tahun 1998M bersamaan 1419H dan mempunyai sebanyak 9 juzuk. Kulit kitab ini berwarna hitam dan tulisannya berwarna emas. M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad Ia juga mempunyai nota kaki bagi memberikan keterangan terperinci dan keterangan mengenai perawi, surah al-Qur'an dan takhrij hadith. Di akhir kitab diletakkan isi kandungan mengikut kitab dan tajuk. 3. Fath Munim Syarh Sahih Muslim Kitab syarah ini yang mempunyai sebanyak 10 juzuk telah dihasilkan oleh Profesor Dr. Musa Syahin Lasyin. Ia dicetak di Dar al-Syuruq dan merupakan cetakan yang pertama iaitu pada tahun 2002M bersamaan 1423H. Ciri-ciri fizikal buku ialah kulit hadapannya berwarna hitam dan bertulisan emas. 10 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Pada permulaan buku ini iaitu pada juzuk 1 dimulai dengan Muqaddimah cetakan kedua beserta manhajnya kemudian Muqaddimah cetakan pertama. Berikutnya buku ini menyenaraikan kandungan bagi kitab. Kemudian dimulakan dengan bab, hadis, syarahnya yang disebut dengan makna umum, Pembahasan arab dan kefahaman hadith. Buku ini juga mempunyai nota kaki bagi setiap sanad dengan menyenaraikannya dengan lengkap. Di belakang sekali diletakkan kandungan. 4. AlMufhim Lima Asykala Min Talkhis Kitab Muslim Kitab ini adalah hasil karya al-Imam aHafiz Abi al-Abbas Ahmad bin Imran bin Ibrahim al-Qurtubi.Ia ditahqiq oleh empat orang pentahqiq dan diterbitkan oleh Dar Ibn Kathir dan Dar al-Kalim al-Tayyib. Bagi kandungan buku ini pula, ia dimulakan dengan kitab, bab, hadis berserta syarahnya. Ia juga meletakkan nota kaki bagi takhrij hadith. Buku ini mempunyai indeks mengikut abjad dan di akhir kitab diletakkan isi kandungan buku. 5. Ikmal Ikmal al-Muallim Syarah Sahih Muslim Kitab Ikmal Ikmal al-Muallim adalah hasil karya al-Imam Muhammad bin Khalifah alWasytani. Disertakan juga syarah kepada kitab syarah ini yang dinamakan Mukammil Ikmal al-Ikmal oleh Imam Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Yusuf al-Sanusi al-Hasani. 11 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad Didhabitkan dan disahihkan oleh Muhammmad Salim Hasyim. Ia merupakan cetakan dari Dar al-Kitab al-Ilmiyah bagi cetakan pertamanya iaitu pada tahun 1994M

bersamaan 1415H. Kitab ini berwarna hitam dan bertulisan emas. Ia mempunyai 9 juzuk. 6. Al-Siraj al-Wahhaj fi Kasyf Matalib Muslim Ibn al-Hajjaj Kitab ini adalah syarah daripada ringkasan sahih Muslim oleh Hafiz al-Munziri. Penulisnya adalah Abi al-Tayyib Muhammad Siddiq Khan bin Hasan bin Ali. Takhrij hadith dan ulasan oleh Ahmad Farid al-Madhidiy. 12 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Ia merupakan cetakan pertama yang diterbitkan Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiah pada tahun 2004M. Kulit hadapannya berwarna hitam dan ditulis dengan tulisan emas. Kitab ini turut mempunyai nota kaki bagi takhrij hadith dan senarai kandungan buku. IMAM AL-TIRMIDHI Nama penuh beliau ialah Abu Isa Muhammad bin Isa bin Saurah bin Musa bin alDhahhak al-Sulami al-Bughi al-Tirmidhi. Beliau dilahirkan pada tahun 209H pada zaman pemerintahan Abu Jaafar al-Makmun. Ibn al-Dhiba al-Shaibani dalam muqaddimah Taisir al-Wusul mengatakan bahawa al-Tirmidhi lahir pada tahun 200H. Beliau lahir di sebuah tempat yang bernama Tirmidh yang berhampiran dengan Sungai Jaijun di bahagian utara Iran. Maka nama al-Tirmidhi itu dinisbahkan kepada tempat kelahirannya iaitu Tirmiz. Diantara guru-guru Imam al-Tirmidhi ialah imam al-Bukhari (265H), Muhammad bin Bashar (252H), Kutaibah bin Saad al-Madini (240H), Ishaq bih Rahawih (238H), Ismail bin Musa al-Ghazari (246H), Ali bin Hajr (244H) dan Muslim bin alHajjaj(261H). Sebagai seorang imam dalam pengajian hadith, sifat-sifat terpuji yang ada pada Rasulullah s.a.w itu berkesan kepada al-Tirmidhi. Beliau terkenal sebagai seorang yang warak, zuhud, thiqah dan lain-lain sifat yang terpuji. Al-Hafiz Umar bin Alaq berkata sebagaimana yang dipetik oleh al-Dhahabi yang bermaksud : Setelah Imam al-Bukhari 13 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad meninggal tidak terdapat ulama di Khurasan seperti Abu Isa (al-Tirmidhi) dalam bidang ilmu, banyak menghafaz hadith, warak, dan zuhud serta banyak menangis hingga matanya buta selama beberapa tahun. Imam al-Tirmidhi juga terkenal sebagai orang yang amat kuat ingatan sehingga dijadikan perbandingan bagi orang yang kuat ingatan. Abu Yala al-Kahlili berkata mengenai keperibadian Imam al-Tirmidhi: " " Imam al-Tirmidhi meninggal dunia pada hari Isnin 13 Rejab tahun 279H/892M di Tirmiz. Ada juga pendapat yang

menyatakan bahawa beliau meninggal dunia di satu tempat bernama Bugh ketika berumur 70 tahun. KITAB JAMI' AL-TIRMIDHI Kitab sunan al-Tirmidhi merupakan sebuah kitab hadith yang masyhur, salah satu daripada sunan empat iaitu sunan al-Tirmidhi, sunan Abu Dawud, sunan al-Nasai dan sunan Ibn Majah. Pada umumnya hadith-hadith yang terdapat di dalam sunan alTirmidhi diterima untuk dijadikan hujah. Daripada penjelasan al-Tirmidhi dan al-Hafiz Muhammad binTahir al-Maqdisi, dapat disimpulkan bahawa Sunan al-Tirmidhi mengandungi: 14 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Hadith sahih yang sangat tinggi nilainyta kesahihannya daripada hadith yang pertama iaitu hadith yang telah diittifakkan oleh al-Bukhari. Hadith yang kurang martabat kesahihannya daripada hadith yang pertama iaitu hadith yang menurut syarat Abi Dawud dan al-Nasai. Hadith yang diriwayatkan kerana hadith itu menjadi dalil dalam masalah yang terdapat khilaf (dalam masalah fiqih, al-Tirmidhi mendatangkan hadith bagi mazhab yang rajih, kemudian didatangkan juga hadith yang lain yang menjadi pegangan mazhab yang tidak rajih, kemudian al-Tirmidhi memberi penilaian mengenai hadith-hadith itu dan menerangkan kecacatan (illah) yang terdapat padanya. Hadithhadith yang telah diamalkan oleh para fuqaha sama ada hadith itu sahih atau tidak. Selaras dengan penjelasan diatas dan berpandukan kajian-kajian yang dibuat terhadap Sunan al-Tirmidhi didapati ia mengandungi hadith sahih, hasan, dhaif, gharib, mursal, munqati, mudtarik, muallal, syaz, mahfuz, munkar, maaruf, mudallas, mursal, khafi, mauquf dan maqtu. KITAB SYARAH SUNAN AL-TIRMIDHI 1. Tuhfah al-Ahwadhi Bi Syarh Jami al-Tirmidhi Kitab syarah sebanyak 10 Jilid ini yang diterbitkan oleh Dar al-kutub al-Ilmiah, Beirut adalah hasil karya Imam Hafiz Abi al-Ulaa Muhammad Abd Rahman Ibn Abd al-Rahim al-Mubarakfuri. Ia merupakan kitab cetakan yang terbaru berbeza dengan kitab Tuhfah al-Ahwadhi cetakan India dan Mesir. Di dalam kitab ini disertakan bersama lampiran khas hadith-hadith yang telah diperbetulkan daripada Jami al-Tirmidhi. Ia mengandungi syarah yang panjang dan meletakkan hukum untuk hadith-hadith di dalamnya. Kitab ini berwarna hijau, dan ada juga sedikit warna merah dan tulisannya berwarna kuning keemasan.

15 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad Di akhir jilid yang ke 10, ia melampirkan bersama hadith-hadith yang dimuatkan dalam naskhah Ahmad Syakir daripada Jami al-Sahih dan hadith-hadith yang tidak disenaraikan di dalam kitab Tuhfah al-Ahwadhi yang diterbitkan oleh penerbit kitab ini (Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiah), terbitan al-Hindiah al-Asliah dan terbitan al-Maktabah alSalafiyah. 2. 'Aridah al-Ahwadhi Bi Syarh Sahih Al-Tirmidhi Kitab syarah ini adalah kitab cetakan pertama pada tahun 1997M yang diterbitkan oleh Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiah, Beirut. Ia adalah hasil penulisan Imam al-Hafiz Abi Bakr Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abdullah yang dikenali sebagai Ibn alArabi al-Maliki (543H). Ia juga merupakan kitab Aridah al-Ahwadhi cetakan yang terbaru yang mana telah diletakkan nombor pada kitab-kitabnya, bab-babnya, hadithhadithnya dan disusun mengikut nombor yang terdapat di dalam Mujam al-Mufahras Li alfaz al-Hadith al-Nabawi dan Tuhfah al-Asyraf oleh al-Hafiz al-Mizzi. Ia mempunyai 12 jilid dan kulit bukunya berwarna hitam, terdapat sedikit warna hijau dan tulisannya seperti kitab-kitab yang lain iaitu berwarna kuning keemasan. 16 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Kitab ini kelihatan lebih menarik kerana tajuk kitab, tajuk bab dan nombor halaman berwarna merah. Setiap hadith diterangkan sanadnya. Nota kaki lebih membahaskan hadith dari sudut masalah fiqh dan tauhid. Manakala jilid yang ke 12 adalah kitab khas yang memuatkan indeks. Ia mengandungi indeks fiqh, indeks ayat al-Quran, indeks hadith dan athar al-Tabien, indeks nama-nama tempat dan negara dan indeks syair. 4. Al-Jami al-Sahih Wa Huwa Sunan al-Tirmidhi Kitab ini telah ditahqiq dan disyarahkan oleh Ahmad Muhammad Syakir. Kitab yang diterbitkan oleh Dar al-Hadith ini mempunyai 5 jilid. Tetapi untuk jilid yang ketiga hingga kelima ia ditahqiq oleh Mustafa Muhammad Hussin al-Dhahabi. Kulit hadapan kitab ini berwana hitam, dihiasi sedikit warna merah dan tulisannya warna emas. 17 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad

5. Mukhtasar Sahih al-Tirmidhi Wa Syarhuh Bi Lughah al-Jawi al-Malayu al-Musamma Bahr al-Madhi Kitab ini merupakan kitab ringkasan bagi Sahih al-Tirmidhi yang mana kemudiannya di syarahkan di dalam bahasa jawi oleh Muhammad Idris Abd Rauf alMarbawi al-Azhari. Kulit hadapannya berwarna merah dan hitam dan telah diterbitkan oleh Dar al-Fikr. 18 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Setiap hadith diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa jawi. Terjemahan tersebut diletakkan di bawah setiap kalimah hadith, seolah-olah ia menterjemah secara harfiyyah. Kitab ini menghuraikan setiap permasalahan fiqh yang terdapat di dalam hadith. Setiap jilid diletakkan isi kandungannya. Apa yang menariknya setiap jilid akan dimulakan dengan sebuah hadith syarif: IMAM ABU DAWUD Nama penuhnya ialah Sulaiman bin al-Ashath bin Syadad bin Amru Ibn Umar. Ada juga pendapat yang mengatakan bahawa nama penuh beliau ialah Sulaiman bin alAshath bin Ishak bin Basyir bin Syadad. Manakala Abu Bakr al-Khatib di dalam kitab Tarikhnya menambah: Ibn Amru bin Imran, al-Azadi. Al-Sijistani. Beliau dilahirkan pada tahun 202 H. Imam Abu Dawud boleh dipercayai, jujur dan tepat dalam periwayatan hadithnya. Beliau bukan sahaja seorang periwayat hadith, pengumpul dan penyusun hadith yang baik, tetapi juga seorang ahli hukum dan pengkritik. Para ulama memujinya dan mensifatkannya sebagai hafiz, memiliki keluasan ilmu dan dan kefahaman dalam ilmuilmu hadith. Beliau juga seorang yang warak. Ahmad bin Muhammad binYasin keperibadian Abu Dawud dengan berkata: memberikan pandangannya mengenai 19 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad , , . , , Imam Abu Dawud meninggal dunia pada 6 Syawal 275H di Basrah pada usia 73 tahun. KITAB SUNAN ABU DAWUD Imam Abu Dawud mengarang kitab sunannya sewaktu beliau tinggal di Tarsus selama 20 tahun. Beliau memilih kira-kira 4800 hadith sahaja daripada 50,000 hadith untuk tujuan ini. Tidak semua hadith yang dicatit oleh Imam Abu Dawud dalam kitab ini adalah sahih. Imam Abu Dawud sendiri menunjukkan beberapa banyak hadith yang lemah dan ada hadith yang tidak disebutkan olehnya sebagai lemah.

KITAB SYARAH SUNAN ABU DAWUD 20 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan 1. Maalim al-Sunan Pengarang kitab ini ialah Abu Sulaiman Hamad bin Muhammad al-Khitabi al-Busti. Beliau telah meninggal dunia pada tahun 388H. Kitab ini merupakan kitab cetakan pertama pada tahun 1933 M. Kitab yang penulis temui adalah kitab yang telah difotokopi semula oleh pihak PTSL (Perpusatakaan Tun Seri Lanang). Oleh itu, penulis tidak dapat mengenal pasti bagaimana warna dan corak asal kitab tersebut. Di dalam Kitab Sunan Abu Dawud pada muqaddimah tahqiq menyatakan bahawa kitab ini merupakan gabungan antara fiqih dan hadith. Kitab ini menjelaskan tempat-tempat yang diistinbatkan daripadanya hukum fiqh kemudian menyebut pendapat-pendapat daripada fuqaha. Berikut merupakan contoh muka depan kitab Maalim al -Sunan. 2. 'Aun al-Mabud Kitab 'Aun al-Mabud yang ditemui penulis mempunyai kulit buku yang paling menarik dan unik. Tajuk kitabnya berwarna keemasan dan warna kulitnya adalah merah tua. Kitab cetakan kali pertama ini yang dikeluarkan pada tahun 2000M merupakan ringkasan bagi kitab Ghayatul Maqsud Fi Halli Sunan Abi Dawud yang mana keduaduanya adalah kitab yang telah ditulis oleh Abi Abd al-Rahman Syaraf alHaq 21 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad Muhammad Asyraf al-Sadiqi al-Azim Abadi. Kitab 'Aun al-Mabud ini merupakan cetakan terbaru yang telah diperincikan, disahihkan dan di letakkan nombor pada hadithnya. Buku ini telah disunting oleh Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Uthman dan telah diterbitkan oleh Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. Kitab syarah ini meletakkan hadith berserta sanad-sanadnya kemudian mensyarahkan perkataan-perkataan hadith dan selalunya ia memberitahu apa yang dimaksudkan oleh hadith. Ia juga menyebut takhrij hadithnya dengan ringkas dengan menyertakan rujukannya sahaja. Kitab ini mempunyai 14 jilid. Jilid 13 dan 14 diletakkan dalam satu kitab. 3. Badhl al-Majhud Fi Hall Abi Dawud Pengarang kitab ini ialah Shaikh Khalil Ahmad Sahanfuri. Ia diterbitkan oleh Dar alKutub al-Ilmiah, Beirut. Kitab ini telah diulas oleh Muhmmad Zakaria bin Yahya alKandahlawi. Kulit kitab ini berwarna coklat dan

tulisannya berwarna kuning emas. Di dalam Kitab Sunan Abu Dawud pada muqaddimah al-Tahqiq menyatakan bahawa: , , , ...." . ": Kitab yang telah diterbitkan pada tahun 1973M ini, mempunyai sebanyak 20 jilid. 22 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Di akhir setiap jilid disertakan isi kandungan kitab tersebut. Menerusi bentuk cetakan dan susun atur kitab ini, jelas ia menunjukkan bahawa ia merupakan kitab yang agak lama. Hadith-hadith ditaip dengan menggunakan font size yang lebih besar dari syarahnya. Daripada pengamatan penulis, font yang digunakan ialah font yang bersize 20. 4. Sunan Abi Dawud Kitab syarah ini boleh dikatakan kitab syarah yang terbaru. Ia diterbitkan pada tahun 1999M oleh Dar al-Hadith di Kaherah. Kitab ini telah disyarahkan dan ditahqiq oleh Abd Qadir Abd al-Khair, Sayyid Muhammad Sayyid dan Sayyid Ibrahim. Warna kulit kitab ini ialah hijau dan tulisannya pula berwarna kuning keemasan. Ia mempunyai sebanyak 5 jilid. Jilid yang kelima adalah kitab khusus yang mengandungi indeks alQur'an, indeks hadith dan athar, indeks kitab mengikut tertib pengarang, indeks kitab mengikut tertib huruf mujam, indeks bab -bab dan indeks perawi. 23 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad IMAM AL-NASAI Beliau adalah al-Hafiz al-Imam Syeikh al-Islam Abu Abdul Rahman Ahmad bin Syuaib bin Ali bin Sunan bin al-Khurasani. Dilahirkan pada tahun 215H di Nasa sebuah desa yang terkenal di Khurasan. Kunyahnya ialah Abu Abd Rahman. Manakala al-Nasai adalah nisbah kepada Nasa tempat beliau dilahirkan. Beliau telah mempelajari tentang hadith begitu mendalam sehingga dengan sanadnya sekali. Antara guru yang mengajar hadith kepada beliau ialah: Qutaibah bin Said, Ishak bin Rahawaih, Isyam bin Ammar, Isa bin Rughbah dan banyak lagi. Imam Nasai disifatkan sebagai seorang yang tampan dan mukanya berseri-seri. Beliau sentiasa memelihara dirinya terutama di dalam pemakanan, pemakaian, serta keseronokan. Mustafa al-Sibai telah menyatakan di dalam kitabnya al-Sunnah Wa Makanatuha Fi al-Tasyri mengenai sifat Imam al-Nasai dengan menulis bahawa: "... " , Muhammad

Ajjaj al-Khatib pula menulis: " " , , , 24 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Imam al-Nasai meninggal dunia pada hari Isnin, tahun 303 M di kota al-Ramalah, Palestin dan dikebumikan di Baitul Maqdis. KITAB AL-SUNAN AL-NASAI Kitab al-Sunan al-Nasai pada mulanya dikenali sebagai Sunan al-Nasai al-Kubra yang mengandungi hadith sahih, hasan dan daif. Apabila beliau disuruh untuk mengumpulkan hadith sahih sahaja oleh seorang penguasa, maka beliau telah mengumpulkan hadith sahih tersebut di dalam sebuah kitab iaitu al-Sunan al-Sughra atau al-Mujtaba min alSunan. Walaubagaimanapun masih terdapat di dalam Sunan alSughra ini sedikit hadithhadith daif. Kitab sunan ini disusun mengikut bab-bab fiqh sepertimana sunan yang lain. KITAB SYARAH SUNAN AL-NASAI 25 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad 1. Sunan al-Nasai Bisyarh al-Hafiz Jalaluddin al-Suyuti Wa Hasyiah al-Imam al-Sindi Kitab syarah ini merupakan terbitan daripada Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lubnan pada tahun 1995M. Kulit buku ini berwarna hitam dan bertulisan emas. Kandungan buku ini dimulakan dengan Basmalah, nama kitab, hadis kemudian syarahnya. Di atas sekali dicatatkan nombor halaman, tajuk dan bab. Setiap jilid mempunyai isi kandungannya. Manakala pada akhir muka surat mempunyai penutup. Kitab ini disyarahkan oleh al-Hafiz Jalaluddin al-Suyuti dan bersama dengan kitab ini ialah Hasyiah al-Imam al-Sindi. 2. Sunan al-Nasai Bisyarh al-Imamayn al-Suyuti Wa al-Sindi Kitab syarah ini merupakan hasil usaha Imam al-Suyuti dan al-Sindi. Ia telah ditahqiq oleh tiga orang pentahqiq iaitu Dr. al-Sayyid Mohd Sayyid, Al-Ustaz Sayyid Imran dan Ustaz AliMuhammad Ali. Manakala didhabitkan usulnya oleh Dr Mustafa Muhammad al-Husin al-Zahabiy. Buku ini adalah terbitan Dar al-Hadith, Kaherah. Ia merupakan cetakannya yang pertama iaitu pada tahun 1999M. Kulit buku ini berwarna hitam dan bertulisan emas dan sedikit merah pada tajuknya. Buku ini mempunyai 5 juzuk.

26 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Bagi syarah kitab ini ia dimulakan dengan Basmalah, nombor kitab, nombor bab dan diikuti dengan hadith. Syarah dan takhrijnya diletakkan pada nota kaki. Ia juga mempunyai indeks kandungan kitab iaitu pada juzuk kelima. Indeks-indeks tersebut adalah: Indeks Kitab-kitab Sunan al-Nasaie mengikut susunan penulis Indeks Kitabkitab Sunan al-Nasaie mengikut huruf mujam Indeks ayat-ayat al-Quran Indeks hadith-hadith dan athar Indeks bab-bab sunan al-Nasaie 3. Al-Faid al-Samai ala Sunan al-Nasai Buku ini ditahqiq oleh Muhammad Aqil Mudarrisul, seorang guru hadith di Mazahir Ulum. Buku ini adalah terbitan Maktabah alKhaliliyah al-Waqiah Bi Jawar Mazahir Ulum Sahanfur, Bombay, India. Ciri-ciri fizikal bagi kulit buku ini ialah ia berwarna hitam dan bertulisan perak. 27 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad Tulisan di dalam buku ini sukar untuk dibaca memandangkan ia dicetak bukan dengan font yang mudah untuk dibaca atau font yang biasa digunakan untuk buku-buku ilmiah. 4. Al-Mujtaba al-Maruf Bi Sunan al-Nasai Maa Syarhihi Zahr al-Zubaa Wa al-Sindi Kitab Syarah ini mempunyai kulit buku yang menarik dan sukar untuk dibaca tajuk dan keterangan. Penulis yakin ia merupakan kitab syarah yang diterbitkan di India kerana jenis penulisannya (font) adalah sama dengan kitab Al-Faid al-Samai ala Sunan alNasai. Tidak keterlaluan jika penulis mengatakan bahawa kitab ini ditulis dengan menggunakan tulisan tangan memandangkan garisan-garisan yang terdapat di buku ini tidak lurus dan seolah-olah ia menggunakan pembaris. 28 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Kitab ini dibahagikan kepada beberapa bahagian. Sebenarnya sukar untuk penulis memberikan gambaran mengenai kitab ini. Maka dibawah ini, penulis lampirkan bersama contoh kandungan kitab yang terlalu unik ini. Ruangan yang dibuat untuk syarah al-Sindi Ruangan ini adalah untuk syarah Zahr al-Zuba 29

M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad IMAM IBN MAJAH Nama penuh beliau ialah Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Yazid bin Majah, al-Rabiei alQazwiny, seorang hafiz yang terkenal dan pengarang kitab al-sunan dalam bidang hadith. Beliau dinisbahkan kepada golongan al-Rabiah, yang terdiri daripada beberapa puak kabilah, dan tinggal di Qazwin berdekatan dengan Negara Iran. Suatu kota yang sangat terkenal banyak mengeluarkan para ulama. Ibn Kathir telah memberikan pendapatnya mengenai Imam Ibn Majah berdasarkan penulisan kitab sunannya dengan berkata: " " Muhammad Ajjaj al-Khatib di dalam kitabnya Usul al-Hadith Ulumuhu Wa Mustalahuhu pula telah menulis, al-Khalili telah berkata: , , , Tambah al-Khatib lagi dalam menjelaskan keperibadian Imam Ibn Majah: , Pengembaraan ilmu beliau dengan menjejaki beberapa ulama ke beberapa buah negara seperti Iraq, Basrah, Syam, Baghdad, Makkah, Mesir, dan Rayy. Beliau dilahirkan pada tahun 209H dan meninggal pada hari Isnin dan dikebumikan pada hari Selasa pada bulan Ramadhan, tahun 273H. 30 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan KITAB SUNAN IBN MAJAH Para ulama mutaakhirin bersependapat menetapkan bahawa kitab hadith utama yang lima adalah: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawud, Sunan al-Nasai, Jami al-Tirmidhi. Kemudian ulama mutaakhirin memasukkan sebuah kitab hadith yang utama sehingga terkenal dengan nama al-kutub al-sittah. Ia adalah sunan Ibn Majah yang merupakan sebuah kitab hadith yang masyhur. Ia adalah sebuah kitab sunan yang menyusun hadith mengikut susunan bab fiqh sepertimana yang telah disusun di dalam Sahih Bukhari dan Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawud, Sunan al-Nasai dan Sunan alTirmidhi. Di dalam kitab sunan ini bukan sahaja memuatkan hadith-hadith yang sahih, tetapi ia turut mengumpulkan di antara yang sahih, hasan dan daif. Atas sebab itu, kebanyakan ulama tidak memasukkan kitabnya ini di dalam senarai kutub al-sittah sebelum kurun ke enam. Adapun orang pertama yang menambahkan sunan Ibn Majah ini di dalam al-Kutub al-Khamsah ialah Abu al-Fadl Muhammad bin Tahir al-Muqaddisi (448-507 H) di dalam kitabnya Atraf al-Kutub al-Sittah. Dengan itu, jadilah kitab-kitab hadith muktamad sebagai enam kitab. KITAB SYARAH SUNAN IBN MAJAH

31 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad 1. Misbah al-Zujajah Fi Zawaid Ibn Majah Kitab syarah Misbah al-Zujajah Fi Zawaid. Ibn Majah yang disemak oleh penulis merupakan kitab cetakan pertama yang diterbitkan oleh Dar al-Jinan pada tahun 1986M. Pengarangnya ialah al-Hafiz Syihab al-Din Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Kinani al-Busiri (840H). Warna kulit kitab ialah merah dan hitam manakala tulisannya berwarna kuning keemasan. Kitab ini mempunyai tiga jilid dan ia disyarahkan secara ringkas. Kitab ini mempunyai nota kaki dan diakhir setiap jilid disertakan isi kandungan kitab. 2. Sunan Ibn Majah Bisyarh al-Imam Abi al-Hasan al-Hanafi al-Maruf Bi al-Sindi Kitab ini telah disyarah oleh Imam Abi al-Hasan al-Hanafi al-Maruf Bi al-Sindi (1138H). Ia juga mengandungi hasyiyah dan ulasan kitab Misbah al-Zujajah Fi Zawaidi Ibn Majah karangan Imam al-Busiri. Kitab cetakan ketiga oleh Dar al-Marifah ini mempunyai 4 jilid. Jilid yang ke empat merupakan kitab yang memuatkan indeks-indeks bagi memudahkan pembaca dan pengkaji untuk merujuk hadith-hadith yang terdapat di dalam kitab tersebut. Indeks ini telah disusun oleh al-Shaikh Khalil Mamun Syiha. Jilid pertama dimulakan dengan 32 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan kitab al-Sunnah yang membahaskan hadith-hadith berkenaan (( . Setiap kitab dimulakan dengan basmalah. Kesemua nama kitab, nama bab, nombor dicetak dengan warna merah. Setiap muka surat selalunya terbahagi kepada empat bahagian. Pertama sekali ia akan dimulakan dengan hadith, di ikuti dengan takhrij hadith, seterusnya syarah hadith, kemudian rujukan bagi ayat al-Qur'an atau untuk menyatakan penerangan-penerangan lain. 3. Sunan Ibn Majah Terbitan Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiah Kitab sunan Ibn Majah yang telah ditahqiq oleh Mahmud Muhammad Mahmud Hasan Nassar ini, merupakan diantara kitab cetakan yang terbaru. Ia diterbitkan oleh Dar alKutub al-Ilmiah pada tahun 1998 bertempat di Beirut. Kulit buku ini berwarna hitam dan ada sedikit warna merah, manakala tulisannya berwarna kuning keemasan. 33 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad

Kitab sunan ini telah dibukukan sebanyak 5 jilid. Jilid yang kelima merupakan sebuah kitab yang tebal mengandungi 8 indeks. Antaranya ialah indeks al-Quran, indeks hadith dan athar, indeks kalimat al-Lughawiy, dan indeks perawi dan sanad. Apa yang menarik mengenai kitab ini ialah, nombor halaman, nombor bab, nombor hadith, tajuk kitab, tajuk bab, tajuk hadith dan kedudukan hadithnya ditaip dengan warna merah. 4. Sunan Ibn Majah Terbitan Dar al-Hadith Kitab cetakan pertama ini diterbitkan oleh Dar al-Hadith pada tahun 1998 di Kaherah. Ia diterbitkan pada tahun yang sama dengan Sunan Ibn Majah terbitan Dar Kutub alIlmiah. Kitab ini berwarna coklat, ada juga warna hitam dan tulisannya seperti kitabkitab yang lain iaitu kuning keemasan. Kitab ini telah ditahqiq oleh Muhammad Fuad Abd al-Baqi dan telah ditakhrijkan hadithnya dan disusun indeksnya oleh Mustafa Muhammad Hussin al-Dhahabi. 34 Seminar al-Sunnah Dan Isu-isu Semasa Peringkat Kebangsaan Kitab ini mempunyai 4 jilid. Jilid keempat adalah kitab khas untuk indeks. Kitab pada jilid pertama telah dimulakan dengan kitab al-Muqaddimah. Setiap hadith di dalam kitab ini ditakhrijkan dan ada juga hadith yang di syarahkan kalimah mufradatnya dan dikemukakan pendapat ulama dalam mensyarahkan kalimah-kalimah tersebut. PENUTUP Usaha yang dilakukan oleh ulama terdahulu untuk mensyarahkan hadith hadith dan membukukannya di dalam satu manuskrip kemudian dicetak semula ke dalam naskhah yang mudah untuk dijadikan sebagai rujukan merupakan suatu sumbangan yang besar kepada umat Islam. Ia banyak membantu generasi masa kini dan akan datang dari segi pembelajaran dan pemahaman. Demi menghargai sumbangan ini, maka kita seharusnya membaca dan memahami serta menghayati isi kandungan kitab-kitab syarah ini. Walaupun kitab-kitab ini ditulis menggunakan gaya penulisan yang pelbagai, namun tujuan utama pembukuan kitab ini masih lagi sama iaitu membantu pembaca untuk menambahkan ilmu pengetahuan mereka tentang intipati yang terdapat di dalam hadithhadith yang diriwayatkan oleh Rasulullah s.a.w. sendiri, para sahabat dan tabiin sekaligus menggalakkan mereka untuk mengaplikasikannya samada di dalam bidang ilmu mahupun didalam menjalani kehidupan seharian. 35 M. Akil M. Ali, Tg Intan Zarina Tg Puji, Sakinah Saptu, N. Syuhada M.Muzni & Nurulhuda Ahmad RUJUKAN

Abu Khalil, Syauqi. 2003. Atlas al-Hadith al-Nabawi Min al- Kutub al-sihhah al-Sittah. Beirut. Dar Fikr al-Maasir. Al-Baqi, Muhammad Fuad Abd. 1998. Sunan Ibn Majah. Jld 1. Kaherah. Dar al-Baz Mustafa Ahmad, 1994. Al-Musnad al-Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal, Jil 1.Makkah, Maktabah al-Tijariah Hadith. Al-Khatib, Muhammad Ajjaj. 1989. Usul alHadith Ulumuhu Wa Mustalahuhu.Damsyik. Dar-Fikr. Abd Qadir Abd Khair, Said Muhd Said & Said Ibrahim. 1999. Sunan Abi Daud. Jld 1. Kaherah. Dar al-Hadith. Al-Khalidi, Muhmmad al-Aziz. 1996. Sunan Abi Daud. Jild 1. Beirut. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiah. AlSibai Mustafa. 2003 Al-Sunnatu Wa makanatuha Fi al-Tasyri al-Islami. Beirut. Dar alWarraq. Ariffin bin Omar & H.M Yusuf Sinaga. 2005. Biografi Ulamak-Ulamak Hadith. Johor Bharu .Perniagaan Jahabersa. Budah@Udah Muhsin, 1995, Ulum al-Hadith, Kuala Lumpur, Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka. Muhammad Abu al-Laith al-Khayr Abadi. 2003. 'Ulum al-Hadith Asiluha wa Mu'asiruha, Bandar Baru Bangi, Dar al-Syakir. Rosmawati Ali. 1997. Pengantar Ulum Hadis. Kuala Lumpur. Ilham Abati Enterprise. 36

Investigating Distortions in Islamic Texts

Tahrif

Al-Islam.org Subject Index

The Sahih of al-Tirmidhi and the hadith, "I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate".
Synopsis: The well-known and reliable hadith of the Prophet - "I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate" is not present in the current editions of the Sahih (alternatively called Jami` or Sunan) of alTirmidhi (d. 279 AH). This book is one of theSihah Sittah or Six Authentic hadith books for the Ahl alSunnah. This case study will investigate the allegation that this hadith was included by al-Tirmidhi and used to be in his Sahih till it mysteriously disappeared at some stage in history. Important: The purpose of this discussion is not to prove the reliability of the hadith. That has already been shown in several detailed works. For example, see the three volumes 10, 11 and 12 of Nafahat al-

Azhar fi Khulasat 'Abaqat al-Anwar dedicated to this hadith that show its tawatur. Therefore, for the purpose of this discussion, adverse comments on the strength of the hadith by some of the scholars below will be ignored.
Click on below to see full scanned image of page and links to biographical information about author In addition to the libraries indicated, try the Guide to Online Libraries to locate these texts elsewhere in the world

Source of the Allegation [Nafahat al-Azhar fi Khulasat 'Abaqat al-'Anwar, Sayyid Hamid Husayn Lakhnawi, translated into Arabic by Sayyid 'Ali al-Husayni al-Milani, Qum, vol. 12, p. 124]

The Evidence Al-Tirmidhi lived between the years 209 AH and 279 AH. Several authors of books of hadith, sirah, history and kalamwho came after him acknowledged that he has quoted this hadith - in the exact wording stated above - in his Sahih. However, the current editions of the Sahih only have the hadith 'I am the house of wisdom and 'Ali is its door'. Thishadith can be seen in the extract below:

Sahih (or Jami` or Sunan), al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH), p. 141

[Harvard] [London]

Those who say al-Tirmidhi had quoted the 'city of knowledge' hadith Please note that the following list is only some of those sources of the Ahl al-Sunnah that quote the "city of knowledge"hadith mentioning al-Tirmidhi as one of its narrators. It does not include the multitude of other sources that narrate thishadith without mentioning al-Tirmidhi's name.

Ta'rikh al-Khulafa', Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH), p. 170

[Harvard]

[London]

"... al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim has quoted on the authority of 'Ali who said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'..." This hadith is indeed present with the exact stated wording in al-Hakim's Mustadrak `ala alSahihayn, vol. 3, pp. 126-7.

Al-Durar al-muntatharah fi al-ahadith al-mushtahirah, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH), p. 23
[London] [Harvard] [Ohio state University]

And similarly:

Jawahir al-`Iqdayn, Nur al-Din 'Ali al-Samhudi (d. 911 AH), manuscript Al-Tirmidhi has narrated from 'Ali with a raised chain of narration: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'.

Al-La'ali al-Masnu`ah, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH), vol. 1, p. 332
[Cambridge] [Oxford]

and

Al-Nukat al-badi`at `ala al-mawdu`at, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH), manuscript "Hadith 'Taa' 'Kaaf': 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate', it is mentioned from the hadith of 'Ali and Ibn 'Abbas. I say: The hadith from 'Ali has been narrated from alTirmidhi and al-Hakim, whereas thehadith of Ibn 'Abbas has been quoted by al-Hakim and alTabarani..."

Nawaqid al-Rawafid, Mirza Makhdum `Abbas b. Mu`in al-Din al-Jurjani (d. 988 AH), manuscript [I.O., Delhi Arabic MS. 972] "The Messenger of God, peace and blessing on him, said: I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate. Al-Tirmidhi has narrated it."

Al-Lama`at fi Sharh al-Mishkat, Shaykh `Abd al-Haqq al-Dihlawi (d. 1052 AH), chapter of the merits of 'Ali
[California] [Yale]

"Know that the famous version of the hadith in this meaning is: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'. The critics have spoken about it, and its origin is from Abu al-Salt [al-Harawi] who was a Shi'i and he has been spoken about (i.e. criticised). This hadith has been considered sahih by al-Hakim, and al-Tirmidhi has considered it hasan..."

Taysir al-Matalib al-Saniyyah (on margin of al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyyah, Nur al-Din alShabramalasi (d. unknown),manuscript [while mentioning names of the Prophet i.e. madinatul 'ilm] "... al-Tirmidhi and others have narrated with a raised chain of narration: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate..."

Al-Nibras li kashf al-'iltibas al-waqi` fi al-'asas, Ibrahim b. Hasan al-Kurdi al-Kawrani alShafi`i (d. 1101 AH),manuscript ".. and he was the gate of the city of his [i.e. Prophet's] knowledge according to the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'. It was narrated by al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani in al-'Awsat on the authority of Jabir b. 'Abd Allah, and al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim on the authority of 'Ali."

Sharh al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyyah, Muhammad b. `Abd al-Baqi al-'Azhari al-Zurqani alMaliki (d. 1122 AH), vol. 3, p. 143 [while explaining names of Prophet i.e. madinat al-'ilm]
[Chicago] [California] [Oxford]

"Madinat al-'ilm: as in what the Messenger of God, peace and blessings on him and his progeny, said: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'. It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim and he considered itsahih as did others [transmitting] on the authority of 'Ali."

Dhakhirat al-Ma'al fi Sharh `Aqd Jawahir al-La'al, Shihab al-Din Ahmad b. `Abd al-Qadir al`Ujayli al-Shafi`i (d. 13th century AH), manuscript "Al-Tirmidhi narrated that he, peace and blessing on him, said: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate...'"

Minhaj al-Sunnah, Ibn Taymiyyah al-Harrani (d. 652 AH), vol. 4, p. 138
[London] [Cambridge]

Although Ibn Taymiyyah does not consider the hadith reliable - and his view is thoroughly refuted in Nafahat al-'Azhar(vol. 12, p. 132) - he is still aware that al-Tirmidhi has narrated it in the words of "city of knowledge". If he believed that this hadith was absent from the Sahih then he would not have lost the opportunity to say so to strengthen the position of his argument.

Al-Sirah (Subul al-huda wa al-rashad), Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Salihi al-Shami (d. 942 AH), v. 1, p. 631
[Penn] [London]

The modern editor of Subul al-Huda, Dr. Mustafa `Abd al-Wahid, explains in a footnote that the text of this hadith in al-Tirmidhi is "I am the house of wisdom....". Ibn al-'Athir can also be seen ascribing the 'city of knowledge' version to al-Tirmidhi:

Jami` al-'usul fi ahaditrh al-Rasul, Ibn al-'Athir (d. 606 AH), vol. 9, p.473
[Library of Congress] [London] [Harvard] [Cambridge]

As in the case of Subul al-Huda above, the modern editor of Ibn al-'Athir's book, `Abd al-Qadir al-'Arna'ut, in a footnote to this entry says that the wording of this hadith according to alTirmidhi was "I am the house of wisdom (dar al-hikmah) and 'Ali is its door." This implies that a leading scholar such as Ibn al-'Athir either considered the two ahadith to be identical, or mistakenly attributed the wrong version to al-Tirmidhi. It could also mean that alTirmidhi quoted this hadith in some other work of his, other than his Sahih (also called Jami`). A more likely possibility is that Ibn al-'Athir knew the "city of knowledge" version to be in alTirmidhi's Sahih but al-'Arna'ut had to offer the explanation because he could not locate the hadith in it. Could these authors not have considered the 'city of knowledge' to be the same as the 'house of wisdom' version?

Firstly, the traditionists (muhaddithun) are well-known for their precision when dealing with ahadith with similar but unidentical texts (mutun). Indeed, the classical scholars considered even identical traditions with different chains of narration to be unique. Secondly, there is clear evidence that both the 'city of knowledge' and 'house of wisdom' versions were existent in al-Tirmidhi's work.

Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqa, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki (d. 974 AH), p. 122 (p. 73, older editions)
[Yale] [London ]

"... al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim on the authority of 'Ali who said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'.... and in another [narration] recorded by al-Tirmidhi on the authority of 'Ali, 'I am the house of wisdom and 'Ali is its door'..."

'Is`af al-Raghibin (margin of Nur al-'Absar), Muhammad b. `Ali al-Sabban al-Misri (d. 1206 AH), p. 156
[London]

"... al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim on the authority of 'Ali who said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'.... and in another [narration] recorded by al-Tirmidhi on the authority of 'Ali, 'I am the house of wisdom and 'Ali is its door'..."

Al-`Iqd al-Nabawi wa al-sirr al-Mustafawi, Shaykh b. `Abdallah al-`Idrus al-Yamani (d. 990 AH), manuscript "Al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani in his al-Awsat have quoted on the authority of Jabir b. 'Abdallah, and al-Tabarani, al-Hakim, and al-'Uqayli in his al-Du'afa, and Ibn 'Adi on the authority of Ibn 'Umar, and al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim on the authority of 'Ali: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings upon him, said: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'. And in a narration: 'so who desires knowledge should come through the gate'. In another [narration] from al-Tirmidhi on the authority of 'Ali: 'I am the house of wisdom and 'Ali is its gate'." Could Ibn al-'Athir or the other authors not be quoting from another work by alTirmidhi? This is not possible for two reasons: Ibn al-'Athir's Jami' al-'usul is based on the ahadith in only six texts, the Muwatta' of Malik, Sahih of al-Bukhari, Sahihof Muslim, Jami` of al-Tirmidhi, Sunan of al-Nasa'i, and Sunan of Abu Dawud. (See Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature, M. M. Azami, p. 112). There are other quotations that prove that al-Tirmidhi had the 'city of knowledge' hadith in

his Sahih/Jami` (see below).

Al-Mirqat fi Sharh al-Mishkat, `Ali al-Qari (d. 1014 AH), vol. 5, p. 571
[Harvard] [Chicago] [California]

"Hadith of 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate' was narrated by al-Hakim in [the chapter of] "al-Manaqib" in his al-Mustadrak from Ibn 'Abbas. He [i.e. al-Hakim] said: Sahih. He was followed by al-Dhahabi ..... al-Daraqutni said: Proven (thabit), and al-Tirmidhi narrated it in [the chapter of] "al-Manaqib" in his al-Jami'....

Matalib al-Sa'ul, Muhammad b. Talha al-Shafi`i (d. 652 AH), p. 35 and p. 61

[Chicago] [Cambridge]

".. The Messenger of God , peace and blessings upon him, said for him [i.e. 'Ali] as al-Tirmidhi has reported in his Sahih with a chain of narration to him: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'."

Anza` al-batin, Muhammad b. Talha al-Shafi`i (d. 652 AH), part 4 and part 6 "...the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said, in the [wording] of what al-Tirmidhi has quoted in hisSahih with his chain to him (the Prophet): 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'."

Ibtal Nahj al-batil, Fadl Allah Ibn Ruzbahan al-Khunji al-Shirazi al-Shafi`i (d. 924 AH), manuscript [I.O., Delhi Arabic MS. 792] This book was written as a response to Kashf al-Haqq wa Nahj al-Sidq by Allamah al-Hilli (d. 726 AH), a famous Shi'a scholar. This response was itself fully refuted by another Shi'ah scholar Qadi Nur Allah Shustari (d. 1019 AH) in hisIhqaq al-Haqq (Tehran, 1273AH/18567CE). Ibn Ruzbahan writes: "With regards to what the author [i.e. al-Hilli] has mentioned pertaining to the knowledge of

Amir al-Mu'minin, there is no doubt that he was one of the scholars of the ummah, and the people are dependent towards him for this, and how could it not be so? He was the executor (wasiyy) of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in the communication of sciences and the wonderful truths of knowledge, so no one disputes this. And as to what has been mentioned from the Sahih of al-Tirmidhi, it is sahih. It is interesting to note that Ibn Ruzbahan was responding to the following passage from Allamah al-Hilli's book: "Nineteen: In the Musnad of Ahmad b. Hanbal and the Sahih of Muslim: 'There was not one Companion of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings upon him, who said "Ask me" except 'Ali b. Abi Talib'. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings upon him, said: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'. If Ibn Ruzbahan believed that the hadith had been incorrectly attributed to al-Tirmidhi by Allamah al-Hilli, there is no doubt that he would have grasped the opportunity to score a polemical goal over his opponent by making this fact known. On the contrary he clearly acknowledges its presence in al-Tirmidhi's Sahih and even mentions his own opinion regarding the strength of the narration as being of the sahih category. Al-Fawatih - Sharh Diwan `Ali, Kamal al-Din Husayn b. Mu`in al-Din al-Yazdi al-Maybudi (d. unknown), p. 3
[Harvard]

He verified the hadith of "city of knowldge" where he mentioned it on the authority of the Sahih of al-Tirmidhi with the words: 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate'.

The Conclusion All the examples given above clearly prove that the 'city of knowledge' hadith used to co-exist with the 'house of wisdom' one in the Sahih/Jami`/Sunan of al-Tirmidhi and that many notable Sunni scholars mentioned above are a witness to this fact. Your contributions and feedback are welcome ! Kindly send any comments or suggestions about this site, or any relevant factual data with full references to be included in it, to the Shi'a Encyclopedia team of the Ahlul Bayt DILP

Pembukuan Kitab-kitab Sanad dan Thabat bagi Kitab-kitab Turath Islami

Pembukuan Kitab-kitab Sanad dan Thabat bagi Kitab-kitab Turath Islami Imam Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar r.a. merupakan antara ulama yang paling berperanan dalam menghimpunkan sanad-sanad bagi kitab-kitab Turath islami dalam rangka untuk menghidupkan semula budaya sanad dalam tradisi ilmu Islam. Antara kitab-kitab yang menghimpunkan sanad-sanad Turath Islami adalah: 1. Al-Wajiz fi Zikr Al-Mujaz wa Al-Mujiz oleh Sheikh Abi Thohir As-Silafi 2. Al-Majma Al-Muassas oleh Imam Ibn Hajar 3. Al-Mujam Al-Fahras juga oleh Imam Ibn Hajar 4. Al-Burqah Al-Masiwah fi Asanid At-Toriqah oleh Sheikh Habib Ali bin Abi Bakr As-Sakran (895 H) 5. Al-Juz Al-Latif fi At-Tahkim As-Syarif oleh Al-Habib Abi Al-Adni bin Abi Bakr Al-Aidarus (914 H) 6. At-Thiraz Al-Muallim oleh Al-Habib Sheikh bin Abdillah Al-Aidarus (m: 990 H) 7. Mujam As-Syilli oleh As-Sayyid Muhammad As-Syili 8. Uqud Al-Lali fi Al-Asanid Al-Awali oleh Sheikh Umar ibn Abidin 9. Al-Minah Al-Badiyyah fi Al-Asanid Al-Aliyah oleh Al-Musnid Ibu Mahdi Isa nin Muhammad At-Thaalabi (m: 1080 H) 10. Muntakhob Al-Asanid oleh Al-Musnid Ibu Mahdi Isa nin Muhammad AtThaalabi 11. Kanzul Riwayah oleh Al-Musnid Ibu Mahdi Isa nin Muhammad At-Thaalabi

12. Al-Imdad bi Marifati Uluwi Al-Isnad oleh Imam Abdullah bin Salim AlBashri (m: 1134 H) 13. Al-Umam li Iqazh Al-Himam oleh Sheikh Abu Thohir Ibrahim bin Hasan AlKurani (m: 1101 H) 14. Sillatu Al-Kholaf bi Mausul As-Salaf oleh Al-Muhaddith Sheikh Muhammad bin Sulaiman Al-Rudani (1094 H) 15. Kifayah Al-Muttholie oleh Sheikh Hasani bin Ali Al-Ujaimi Al-Makki 16. Al-Muqtathif min Ittihaf Al-Akabir bi Asanid Al-Mufti Abdil Qadir oleh Muhammad Hasyim As-Sindi (m:1174 H) 17. Kanz Al-Barahin Al-Jasbiyyah wa Al-Asrar Al-Ghaibiyyah li sadaat Masyaikh At-Thoriqah Al-Haddadiyyah Al-Alawiyah oleh Al-Habib Sheikh bin Muhammad Al-Jufri 18. Miftah Al-Asrar fi Tanazuli Al-Asrar wa Ijazah Al-Akhyar oleh Al-Habib Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah bin Ahmad Bal Faqih 19. Syifa As-Saqim bi Idhoh Al-Asnad oleh Al-Habib Abdullah bin Husein Bal Faqih 20.Bazl Al-Nahlah oleh Al-Habib Abdullah bin Husein Bal Faqih 21. Uqud Al-Aal fi Asanid Ar-Rijal oleh Al-Habib Al-Musnid Aidarus bin Umar Al-Habsyi 22. Al-Nafas Al-Yamani oleh Sheikh Al-Habib Abdul Rahman bin Sulaiman AlAhdal (m:1250 H) 23. Minhah Al-Fattah Al-Fathir fi Asanid As-Saadah Al-Akabir oleh Al-Habib Aidarus bin Umar Al-Habsyi juga. 24. Aqd Al-Yawaqit Al-Jauhariyyah wa Samth Al-Ain Az-Zahabiyyah oleh AlHabib Aidarus bin Umar Al-Habsyi juga.

25. Al-Uqud Al-Luluah fi Asanid At-Thoriqah Al-Alawiyyah oleh Al-Habib Abi Bakr bin Syihab 26. Thabat Al-Habib As-Sirri oleh Al-Habib Al-Musnid Muhammad bin Salim AsSirri 27. Thabat Al-Allamah Al-Habib Abdullah bin HAdi Al-Haddar oleh muridnya Al-Jabib Abdullah bin Ahmad Al-Haddar 28. Tuhfah Al-Mustafid fi man akhoza anhum Muhammad bin Hasan Aidid oleh Al-Habib Muhammad bin Hasan Aidid 29. Minhah Al-Ilah fi Al-Ittisol bi badhi Auliya oleh Al-Habib Salim bin Hafiz Aal Sheikh Abi Bakr bin Salim 30. Awail Al-Watri wa musalsalatihi oleh Sheikh Ali bin Zhohir Al-Watri AlMadani (m: 1322 H) 31. Khulasoh Al-Syafiyah fi Al-Asanid Al-Aliyyah oleh Al-Habib Alawi bin Thohir Al-Haddad (m:1382 H), bekas Mufti Negeri Johor 32. Mujam Al-Khulasoh Al-Kafiyyah oleh Al-Habib Salim bin Ahmad bin Jindan 33. Fath Al-Qawiy (thabat Al-Habib Abi Bakr bin Ahmad Al-Habsyi) 34. Thabat Al-Habib Uthman bin Abdillah bin Aqil bin Yahya (1333H) 35. Thabat Al-Habib Alawi bin Saqqaf Al-Jufri 36. Al-Aqd Al-Farid fi Marifah Ulu Al-Asanid oleh Sheikh Sayyid Ahmad bin Sulaiman Al-Arwadi 37. Al-Irsyad ila Muhimmat Ilm Al-Isnad oleh Sheikh Waliyullah Ad-Dahlawi 38. An-Nasj wa Al-Khaith li Badhi Asanid Al-Allamah bin Semait 39. Ittihaf Al-Akabir bi Isnad Ad-Dafatir oleh Imam As-Syaukani

40. Al-Jawahir Al-Ghowali fi Bayan Al-Asanid Al-Awali oleh Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Muhammad Al-Budairi Al-Husaini As-Syami 41. Fihras Al-Faharis oleh Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Hayy Al-Kattani 42. Ittihaf Al-Ikhwan bi Asanid Saidina wa Maulana Fadhl Ar-Rahman oleh Sheikh Ahmad bin Uthman 43. Al-Manhal Al-Rawi Ar-Raif fi Asanid Al-Ulum wa Usul At-Thoroif oleh Imam Muhammad Ali As-Sanusi (m: 1276 H) 44. Qathf As-Samar fi Rafie Asanid Al-Musannafat fi Al-funun wa Al-Athar oleh Imam Al-Fullani (1218 H) 45. Sadd Al-Arab min Ulum Al-Isnad wal Adab oleh Sheikh Muhammad Al-Amir Al-Kabir Al-Misri (1232 H) 46. Al-Durar Al-Saniyyah li ma Ala Min Al-Asanid As-Syanwaniyyah oleh Sheikh Muhammad bin Ali As-Syanwani (m: 1233 H) 47. Al-Jamie Al-Hawi fi Marwiyaat As-Syarqowi oleh Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hijazi Al-Syarqowi (1227 H) 48. Ajla Masanid Ula Ar-Rahman ala Asanid Ali bin Sulaiman oleh AlBajmaawi 49. Ad-Durr Al-Farid Al-Jamie li Mutafarriqat Al-Asanid oleh Imam Abdul Wasie Al-Wasiie 50. Minah Al-Minnah fi Silsilah Badhi Kutubi As-Sunnah oleh Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Hayy Al-Kattani 51. Al-Yanie Al-Janiy fi Asanid Sheikh Abdul Ghani oleh muridnya Sheikh Muhammad Yahya. 52. Nashr Al-Ghowali min Al-Asanid Al-Awali oleh Sheikh Muhammad Abdil Baqi Al-Anshori

53. Al-Wajiazah fi Al-Ijazah li Syam Al-Haq Abadi oleh Faisal Abad 54. Al-Irsyad bi zikr badhi ma lai min Al-Ijazah wa Al-Isnad oleh Sheikh Hassan Al-Masyath (1306 H) 55. Maslakul Jali (thabat Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Maliki oleh Sheikh Yasiin AlFadani) 56. Al-Isad bil Isnad oleh Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Baqi Al-Anshori (m:1364 H) 57. Kifayah Al-Mustafid li ma Ala min Al-Asanid oleh Sheikh Mahfuz At-Turmasi 58. Al-Asanid Al-Makkiyah li Kutub Al-Hadith wa Siyar wa As-Syamail AlMuhammadiyah oleh Sheikh Yasiin Al-Fadani 59. Ittihaf Al-Mustafid bi Gharrar Al-Asanid oleh Sheikh Muhammad Yasiin AlFadani 60. Al-Faidh Al-Rahmani bi Ijazah Fadhilah As-Sheikh Muhammad Taqi AlUthmani oleh Sheikh Muhammad Yasiin Al-Fadani 61. Ittihaf Al-Ikhwan (thabat Sheikh Umar Hamdan) oleh Sheikh Muhammad Yasiin Al-Fadani 62. Al-Qaul Al-Jamil bi Ijazah Samahah As-Sayyid Ibrahim bin Umar Ba Aqil oleh Sheikh Al-Fadani 63. Al-Ujalah oleh Sheikh Muhammad Yasiin Al-Fadani 64. At-Tholie As-Said oleh Sheikh As-Sayyid Muhammad bin As-Sayyid Alawi Al-Maliki 65. Al-Aqd Al-Farid oleh Sheikh As-Sayyid Muhammad bin As-Sayyid Alawi AlMaliki juga 66. Fathul Aziz fi Asanid As-Sayyid Abdul Aziz oleh Sheikh Mahmud Said Mamduh Dan banyak lagi

Renungan: Dengan banyaknya karya-karya ulama Islam dalam menghimpunkan sanadsanad kitab-kitab turath Islami ini menunjukkan akan kepentingan sanad dalam sistem pembelajaran tradisi Islami itu sendiri. Namun, di akhir zaman ini, ramai penuntut ilmu yang mengambil ilmu agama bukan daripada manhaj pembelajaran Islam yang murni iaitu secara bertalaqqi dan bersanad, malah mereka lebih gemar berguru semata-mata daripada buku-buku dan orang-orang yang tidak ada keahlian dan sanad ilmu. Ini melahirkan generasi penuntut ilmu yang jauh daripada kefahaman sebenar ilmu-ilmu Islam dan kepincangan dalam berinteraksi dengan kitab-kitab turath Islami sehingga menyebabkan mereka akhirnya memahami sesuatu isi kandungan kitab dengan kefahaman yang bercanggah dari maksud asal penulis kitab itu sendiri. Oleh kerana itu, seseorang penuntut ilmu agama perlulah mencari guru yang benar-benar mempunyai keahlian dalam ilmu agama, yang mana mereka mewarisi ilmu-ilmu Islam dan hadith-hadith Nabawi secara bersanad dan pernah melalui proses bertalaqqi sebelum itu. Manhaj ini jika tidak dipelihara akan melahirkan generasi pewaris ilmu agama yang cacat kefahamannya tentang agama itu sendiri, akhirnya mewujudkan kesesatan dalam masyarakat Islam itu sendiri. Benarlah kata sebahagian salafus-soleh bahawasanya, ilmu agama itu akan lenyap sekiranya budaya meriwayatkan ilmu secara bersanad dan bertalaqqi mula pupus. Fenomena yang buruk akan wujud disebabkan generasi penutut ilmu tidak mengambil ilmu daripada sumber asalnya secara manhaj islami. Antara fenomena buruk yang timbul akibat kelalaian penuntut ilmu agama khususnya dalam mengambil ilmu agama secara bertalaqqi dan bersanad adalah, kewujudan kelompok yang bersungguh-sungguh menentang para ulama generasi terdahulu dengan menggelarkan ulama terdahulu sebagai kaum tua dan sebagainya, akhirnya merasakan mereka lebih memahami ilmu agama berbanding para ulama terdahulu.

Lebih malang daripada itu, timbul golongan yang mengaku bahawasanya mereka lebih memahami salaf berbanding para ulama Islam sebelum mereka. Akhirnya, mereka menyebarkan fitnah dalam lapangan ilmu agama sehingga membawa kepada pertembungan dengan golongan as-sawadh al-azhom yang mewarisi krangka kefahaman ilmu agama yang diwarisi dari generasi ke generasi secara sahih. Mana mungkin urusan agama diserahkan kepada golongan yang mengambil ilmu agama daripada buku-buku semata-mata, bahkan ada yang sekadar mengambilnya daripada buku-buku versi terjemahan semata-mata. Ini suatu kepincangan dalam tradisi ilmuan Islam itu sendiri. Seruan ke arah kembali kepada sistem talaqqi secara bersanad amat diperlukan kerana itulah budaya pembelajaran para salafus-soleh terdahulu. Institusiinstitusi yang meneruskan tradisi ini harus dibela dalam rangka menyaingi suatu sistem pembelajaran versi sekular yang tidak lagi mementingkan sanad ilmu, tetapi sekadar mementingkan sijil semata-mata. Semoga Allah s.w.t. menjaga umat Islam dalam mengharungi fitnah duniawi akhir zaman ini. Amin Al-Faqir ila Rabbihi Al-Qawiy Al-Jalil Raja Ahmad Mukhlis bin Raja Jamaludin Al-Azhari AmalahuLlahu bi Altofihi Al-Khafiyyah Sumber : Mukhlis101
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Vol. 5 [Mei 2007 / Rabi'ulawwal 1428] AL-BAYAN Journal of Al-Quran & al-Hadith ISSN : 1394-3723 (page : 153-176) Department of Al-Quran and al-Hadith Academy of Islamic Studies University of Malaya

TASAHUL IMAM AL-TIRMIDHi TERHADAP

HUKUM HADITH: ANALISIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

Oleh: Faisal bin Ahmad Shah Abstract
The article examines and allalyzes the opillioll oj scholars relared to criticism on tolerance oj al-Tirmidhl ill determining the degree oj hadit" in his well knolVlI book al-Himi', The crilicism 011 al-Tirmidhl had beell debated alld discllssed by scholars particularly when the allegalion is cOllsidered extreme or came Jrom Ihe experts ill lilis Jield. The article aLso discusses Ihe credibililY oj hadilh ill his book alld ils reliability.

Pengenalan Tulisan ini cuba untuk mengumpulkan seterusnya menganalisis pendapat ulama mengenai sejauhmanakah kebenaran pendekatan rasiihlll yang dinisbahkan kepada Imam al-Tirmidhi. Persoalan wajarkah seorang ulama lIlulaqaddimlll yang juga merupakan anak murid kepada tokoh besar hadith iaitu Imam al-Bukhari dilabelkan sebagai lasiihul dalam penta$Ql!,an dan penlaQslllan hadith ? Penulis akan memulakan perbahasan dengan mengemukakan maksud rasahlll dan ulama-ulama yang pernah dilabelkan sebagai lasah,,1 dan diakhiri dengan ana!isis pendapat ulama yang men yo kong dan menolak label lasiihlll tersebut. Definisi rasa/wi dan Vlama Yang Dilabelkan Sebagai Tasahul Menurut al-Fayriiz Abiidi. tasa/1II1 diambil daripada perkataan do ..... iaitu ')",,4 yang bermaksud bermudah-mudah. AI-Iasiihul juga seerti

Faisal bin Ahmad Shah adalah Pensyarah Kanan di labatan al-Qur'an

dan al-Hadith. Akademi Pengajian Islam, Universiti Malaya.

153
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ALBAVAN (BI L 5)

dengan aL-lascI/IlLl!1. I Daripada definisi ini boleh dirumuskan bahawa rasti/IlIL membawa erti bermudah-mudah, mengambil ringan atau memberi kelonggaran, Lawan kepada perkataan rasiihLl! ialah rasyaddlld iaitu tegas dan keras dalam menentukan sesuatu keputusan. Amara ulama-ulama yang dilabelkan sebagai IIlllrasiihillli ialah Abu al- I~asan Al)mad bin 'Abd Allah al-'Ajal; (m.261 H), Abu 'Isa alTinnidhi (m.279H), Ibn Hibban (m.354H), al-Daraqu\n; (m.385H) dalam beberapa keadaan, Abu 'Abd Allah aI-Hakim (mA05H) dan Abu Bakar al-Bayhaqi (mA58H).'

Selain ulama-ulama yang disebutkan di atas terdapat beberapa ulama II/Llriiakilirlll lain yang pernah dilabelkan sebagai rasCih,,! antaranya Imam al-Suyu\i dalam kitabnya a!-Jami ' a!-$aghlr, Ibn alJawzi dalam kitabnya al-Mawqii 'ar. Malah tokoh IIlIl!Ulddirh IIlLl'tisir Syeikh Mul)ammad Na~ir aI-Din al-Albani (1419H) juga pernah dilabelkan sebagai rasa"LI! oleh Dr 'Abd al-Ral)man 'Abd aI-Karim 31Zayd dalam artikelnya yang berjudul Fa lVii id jl Malltihij aLMLllaqaddillllnjl aL-Ta'QIIlIl!lIla'a a!-SlIlIllah ra-1!,[!wll IVa raq'ifallJ

Persoalan yang timbul adakah terdapat kriteria-kriteria tertentu sebelum seseorang ulama itu boleh dianggap at au dilabelkan sebagai rasii/III! dan apakah kesannya terhadap hadith-hadith yang dihukumkan oleh mereka at au kitab-kitab yang dihasilkan? Dalam mengupas persoalan ini penulis akan cuba melihat seem'a sepilltas lalu faktor atau sebab beberapa ulama dilabel atau dianggap sebagai tasa/lIIl . Antm'a ulama yang pernah dilabelkan sebagai rasa/III! adalah seperti berikut:
Majd ai-Din Mulpmmad bin Ya'qiib al-Fayriiz Abadi ( 1998), alQiimiis al-MuMr, Bayrut: Muassasah al-Risalah. h, 1017, Mubammad bin Ai)mad bin 'Uthman al-Dhahabi ( 1980). al-Mli'li.ah

fi 'I/m MII.Hala/1 al./fadirh. tab'li'l 'Abd al-Fattab Abu Ghuddah, h.

83. Lihat juga Abmad bin 'Ali bin Hajar al-'Asqalani (1982). a/Nllkat 'ala kitub Ibn ai-Soia/I, tab'liq Rabi' bin Hadi MadkhaJi. Madinah: al-Majlis al-'l1m!. j. I. h. 482.
Lihat 'Abd al-Rai)man 'Abd ai-Karim al-Zayd (2003), Pawu'id

fi

Manti/llj al-MlIlaqaddimJ" J/ al-To'tim"! mO'(I al-Slll/l/nil Ta.y~ti~1{/1I wa To(J'Jja/1. Kertas kerja yang dibentangkan dalam Seminar 'Ulum alHadith di Kuliyyah Dir.sat . I-Islamiyyah wa al-'Arabiyy.h Dubai,

h. 16.

154
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,
TASAI1UL AL-TIRMI OUJ TERUADAP HUKUM 11ADITH; ANALI$IS PENDAI'AT ULAMA

a) Abu al-!:Iasan Ai)mad bin 'Abd Allah al-'AjaJi (m.26IH) Beliau dianggap rasalzul kerana bermudah-mudah dalam memberi hukum rhiqalz (tawrldq) kepada perawi. Malah hukum rawrldq beliau terhadap perawi menyamai rGlvrldq Ibn Hibban terhadap perawi4 b) Abu al-I:liitim Mui)ammad bin Hibban al-Busti (m.354H) Beliau dianggap rasahlll disebabkan kaedah yang dipegang oleh beliau iaitu "perawi yang adil ialah perawi yang tidak mempunyai rekod ai-jar!, (kritikan).' Apa yang dimaksudkan dengan kaedah

ini ialah selagi mana tiada rekod atau maklumat bahawa seseorang perawi itu pernah dikritik maka perawi tersebut akan dianggap sebagai adil. Kaedah yang dipegang oleh beliau ini akan menyebabkan ramai perawi yang dihukumkan sebagai I/lojhfi/ alIJat' akan diberikan status rhiqalz. Ini terbukti apabila Ibn !:Iibban banyak memberikan hukum rlziqalz kepada perawi-perawi yang dikategorikan sebagai lIlojaidt atau perawi-perawi yang para ulama seperti Abu !:Iatim mengambil sikap berdiam diri terhadap status mereka. c) Abu 'Abd Allah al-!:Iiikim (m.405H) Beliau dianggap rasalzlll kerana bermudah-mudah di dalam menta.y!dbkan hadith-hadith yang terdapal di dalam kitabnya alMllstadrak sebagaimana dijelaskan oleh Ibn al-Salal) (m.643H) dan 'Abd Allah bin Yiisuf al-Zayla'i.' Beliau dengan mudah akan
'Abd al-Ra~man bin Ya~ya al-Mu'allimi (1985). alAIIWll,. alKll,,),iJah lima jl Kitiib A (/wii ' 'ala al-Sullllall mi" al-?iliil wa al- TlullUw{l afMllj(izaJah. AI-Maktab al-Islami, h. 72. MlI~ammad bin I:Iibban ai-Bust! (1973). al-Tlliq(ir. Hydrabad: Dairah al-Ma'arif al-Uthmaniyyah. j. 1. h. 13. Maj "ii! a/-Hill ialah perawi yang diriwayatkan daripadanya dua

orang perawi atau lebih tetapi tidak diberikan status '''iqa''_ Sila lihat
'Abd al-'Aziz bin Mul)ammad bin Ibrahim al-'Abd al-La!if (1992), Omviibi/ al-Jar{l IVa al-Tn'fiU, Madinah: Universiti Islam Madinah. h. 13. 'Uthman bin 'Abd a l-R a ~ma n al-Syahraziiri Ibn al-~ala~ (1974). 'Ullim aHiad;'h. Ma!ba'ah Dar al-Kutub, h. 22. Lihal juga 'Abd Allah bin Yiisuf al-Hanafl al-Zayla'i (1.1), Na.yb al-Rciyah Takhrij Ablldirh al-Hidci)'ah. AI-Maktabah al-Islamiyyah, j. I, h. 462-463.

155 Page 4
AL- I3AVAN (U1L 5)

menghukumkan sesuatu hadith sebagai sahih jika perawiperawinya merupakan perawi-perawi yang terdapat di dalam Sa"i" BI/k"ari dan Sa"i" MIISlilll. Tasti""1 al-J:lakim dalam kitabnya al-Mustadrak lelah menyebabkan sebilangan ulama menolak dan tidak bergantung dengan penta.1!zi!l3nnya. d) Ibn al-Jawzi (m.597H) Beliau dianggap tasa""1 kerana memasukkan hadith-hadith yang sahih dan hasan dalam kitabnya al-MalV,lii'at.' e) Jalal ai-Din al-Suyii\; (m.911 H) Beliau dianggap rasa/lIIl kerana memasukkan hadith-hadith yang diriwayatkan oleh perawi yang kazzab dalam kilabnya al-Jami' al-$aghlr. Ini bertenlangan dengan kenyalaan beliau dalam mukadimah kitab bahawa kitabnya lerpelihara daripada riwayat-

riwayat sedemikian9 f) Syeikh Muhammad Nasir ai-Din al-Albani (m.1419H) Beliau merupakan anlara tokoh hadith /III/ 'ti$ir yang pernah dianggap sebagai /III/rasa"i/. Sebilangan ulama menganggapnya tasa"ul kerana mensahihkan beberapa hadith yang daif dan mendaifkan beberapa hadith yang sahih dalam beberapa kilabnya. Terdapat beberapa buah buku yang dikarang dengan tujuan membelulkan kesilapan tersebut antaranya buku yang berjudul Tanbl" al-Qari ' Ii tat/'if lila qawwa"" al-Alballl dOl! Tanbl" alQari' 'ala taqwlyyah ilia da'a/ahu al-AIMnl oleh Syeikh 'Abd Allah bin Mui)ammad bin Al)mad al-Duwaisy. Daripada contoh-contoh di alas jelas menunjukkan bahawa beberapa ulama terkenal dilabelkan sebagai rasa/lIIl kerana bermudahmudah dari aspek hukum perawi, metode penrashi"an hadith yang tidak boleh diterima, memasukkan hadilh-hadith tidak berautoriti dalam kitab mereka dan mensahihkan hadith yang daif dan

,
Jalal alDin al-Suyfi!i (1979), Tadrlb al-RaIV! fl Syar/l Taqrlb alNaIVaIV!, Bayrfil: Dar al-Kutub al-'lImiyyah, j. I. h. 278-279. 'Abd al-RaOf al-Munawi, Fay(l ai-Qadir dan lihat juga kitab alMlIgllir 'ala al-Ahadilh al-MaIV<hl'ah fl al-1<;m;' al-SagMr o leh Mubammad al-Siddiq al-Ghumari.

156
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T/t.SAHUL AL.TIRMIDHT TERHADAP IWKUM I-IADITH: ANALISIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

mendaifkan hadilh yang sahih. Apa yang pasti ialah label lasa/l11/ lersebul tidak sarna di anlara seorang ulama dengan ulama yang lain. Dakwaan Tasiihlll Terhadap Imam al-Tirmidhl Kedudukan Imam al-Tirmidhi sebagai salah seorang lokoh ulama hadilh mUlaqaddilllill dan slalusnya sebagai anak murid Imam alBukhari selain popularili kitabnya al-Jami' menjadikan beliau sebagai lokoh yang sentiasa menjadi sebulan dan rujukan dalam bidang ilmu hadith. Namun anggapan alau label /asa/wl yang dinisbahkan kepada beliau menimbulkan kekeliruan dan kekalulan di kalangan pencinla ilmu. Apa yang menambahkan kecelaruan ialah apabila hukum-hukum hadilh yang diletakkan di dalam kilabnya al-Jami' dianggap tidak boleh diperlanggungjawabkan. Persoalannya wajarkah seorang tokoh ulama IIIl1laqaddillllll seperli beliau dianggap sebagai mlltasahil? Anlara ulama yang menghukumkan beliau sebagai /asa/1lI1 ialah

Imam al-Dhahabi (m.748H) dalam kilabnya Zikr Mall Yll'/alllad Qaulllhu jl al-Jar~ IVa al-Ta 'II/. Imam al-Dhahabi menyifatkan Imam al-Tirmidhi sebagai mulasahil kelika mengulas mengenai pendapal ulama al-Jar!1 lOa al-Ta'dll yang boleh dilerima sarna ada dari kalangan IIIl1lasyaddidlll ataupun IIIl11os<ihi/lll: Kalanya: Satu golongan keras dari sudul menlajrih dan sederhana dari sudUI al-Ia 'dU. Manakala satu golongan lagi ialah ulama mutasiJhihill antaranya Abu 'Isa al-Tirmidhi. ai-Hakim dan alBayhaqiW Golongan mlllasahillll seperli al-Tirmidhi, al-Hiikim dan alDaraqu!ni dalam beberapa keadaan." Dalam kitabnya Siyar A 'Iam al-Nubala ' pula, beliau mengeluarkan kenyataan seperli berikul:
10

"
Mui)amm.d bin Ai)mad bin 'Uthm.n al-Dhahabi (1.1), Zikr mllll YII'lamad qawlllllll Ii al-jari) wa al-Ia dil. lai)qlq . Abd al-Fatliii) Abft Ghuddah, h. 158-159. Lihat juga Mui)ammad bin Ai)mad bin Ulhman al-Dhahabi (1382H), al-Mllqi,a" Ii 'ilm MII.Hala/i al-/fadit", la/lq;" 'Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah, Halb: Maktab al-Ma\bu'ah alIslamiyyah, h. 83

Ibid.

157
Page 6
AL-BAVAN (IlILS)

Kilabnya al-Jomi' iailu j(imi' al-Tirmidhl membuklikan kewibawaannya sebagai imam, hafazannya dan fiqhnya lelapi bermudah-mudah dari sudul penerimaan hadilh dan lidak syadld dalam penratf'ifan "." Begilu juga dalam kitabnya al-Mholl ketika menlerjemahkan Kalhir bin 'Abd Allah bin 'Amri bin 'Awf al-Muzani. Selepas menukilkan pandangan ulama mengenai kedaifan Kalhir, Imam alOhahabi menjelaskan bahawa Imam al-Tirmidhi meriwayatkan hadith Kalhir bin ' Abd Allah iaitu hadith .;,..WI"" f!.>:- ~I dan menghukumkannya sebagai sahih. Disebabkan hukum ini para ulama lidak berganlung kepada penta$!,J!lan Imam al-Tirmidhi." Krilikan yang sama dilontarkan oleh al-Dhahabi kepada Imam alTirmidhi ketika beliau menterjemahkan Mul)ammad bin Hasan bin Abu Yazid al-Hamzani dalam kitabnya al-Mholl dan menghukumkannya sebagai daif. Beliau kemudiannya menjelaskan bahawa an lara hadithhadilh yang diriwayalkan oleh perawi lersebut ialah hadith:

~11.o J-;oii * i J "Is.) .;I- u T}l1 i.l} .;r-}'I. .. :J1 AI-Ohahabi seterusnya menyatakan bahawa hadilh ini lelah di!lOsallkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi dan lidak belu!''' Oalam lerjemahan yang lain pula beliau menyatakan bahawa Imam al-Tirmidhi lelah menra!,slnkan sebuah hadith sedangkan terdapat tiga orang perawi yang daif di dalamnya. Oalam hal ini beliau memberikan respon seperti berikul: "tidak dikira tabslll Imam al-Tirmidhi kerana selepas dikaji kebanyakan hukumnya adalah daif." Kesimpulan yang dapat diambil daripada kritikan Imam alOhahabi di alas ialah:

JL..

.u...:. .".

" "
Mui)ammad bin AI)mad bin 'Ulhman al-Dhahabi (1982), Siyar A 'iom al-NllbaW', Bayrut: Muassasah al-Risalah, j. 13, h. 276. Mui)ammad bin AI)mad bin 'Uthman al-Dhahabi (1382H), Mizon QIi'lid,i/ fi Naqd al-Rijiil, la/lqiq 'Ali Mul)ammad al-Bajawi, Bayrut: Dar al-Fikr, j. 2, h. 354-355 Al.Syarif H~ilim bin 'Arif al'Awnl (Lt), Mascitiir al-Sul/llail Hla Mafl(ihij M//, allllifl"a, h, 19,

158
Page 7
TA SA I/ UL AL-TiRMIDHl TERHADAP HUKUM tlADITH: ANALISIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

a) Dakwaan Imam al-Dhahabl bahawa ulama tidak bergantung sepenuhnya kepada pellla.1izliwlI Imam al-Tirmidhl. b) Kebanyakan hadith-hadith yang dihukumkan hasan oleh alTirmidhi sebenarnya daif Ulama-ulama Yang Menyokong Pendapat Imam al-Dhahabl Anlara ulama-ulama yang menyokong pendapat Imam al-Dhahabl ialah seperti berikut:
"
16

I) Syams ai-Din Abu 'Abd Allah Mu~ammad bin Abu Bakr Ibn al-Qayylm al-Jawzlyyah. Ibn al-Qayylm menegaskan dalam kitabnya al-Fal1lslyyah seperti berikut: "AI-Tirmidh; menla$&l&kan hadilh-hadith yang penla$iliilannya tidak disokong oleh ulama lain, bahkan beliau menla$i,[ilkan hadith-hadith yang didaifkan dan diingkari oleh ulama lain."" 2) Ibn Di~yah Pendapat ini ditegaskan oleh Ibn Dihyah melalui nukilan al-Zayla'l

dalam kitabnya Na$b al-Rayah seperti berikut: "Berapa banyak al-Tirmidhl menghasankan hadith-hadith di dalam kitabnya daripada hadith-hadith palsu dan isnad-isnad yang wiild,"16 3) Syeikh Mu~ammad Na~ir ai-Din ai-Alban; Antara ulama-ulama yang menyokong pendapat Imam al-Dhahabl ialah Syeikh Mu~ammad Na~ir ai-Din al-Albanl. Kenyataannya ketika menlailqlq kitab Jallli' al-Tirlllidhl jelas membuktikan sokongan tersebul. Kenyataannya adalah seperti berikut: "Telah diketahui oleh para penuntut ilmu dari kalangan ulama mengenai Slman a/-Tirmidhl bahawa gaya penulisannya banyak berbeza dengan keseluruhan kutub a/-Sillah. Behau meletakkan
Syams at-Din Abu 'Abd Allah MUhammad bin Abu Bakr Ibn alQayyim, al-Farusiyyah, up: h. 243. 'Abd Allah bin Yusuf al-I:lanaf! al-Zayla" (t.t) , Na.yb al-Rayal, Ii A/liidith al-Hidoyah, Kaherah: Dar al-I:ladith. j. 2. h. 2t7.

159
Page 8
AL-OAYAN (OIL S)

hukum dan darjat hadith pada kebanyakan hadi!hnya sarna ada sahih, hasan dan daif. Ini adalah kebaikan yang ada pada kitab ini. Jika bukan disebabkan rasiihlll beliau dari sudllt penlG$iliilan yang memang diketahui oleh 1Iiama I1l1qqiid dari kalangan ulama hadith dan aku telah jelaskan perkara ini dalam banyak bukuku. Oleh yang dernikian aku tidak akan mengikuti caranya dalam hal ini tetapi aku akan menghukum berdasarkan kajian aku dan kritikanku. Justeru dengan pertolongan Allah SWT aku berjaya menyelamatkan banyak hadith-hadith yang didaifkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi atau dita'lilkan dengan sebab irsiil, atau icJfiriib dan menaikkan sifat hadilh lersebut kepada hadith sahih alau hasan seperti hadith-hadith bernombor 14, 17,55,86,113,118,126, 135, 139. Kesemua hadith-hadith lersebut terdapat di dalam kitab al-Tah.rah sahaja dalam Sunan al-Tirmidhi. ... " " ... tetapi selain hadith-hadith terse but terdapat hadith-hadith lain yang dikuatkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi sedangkan mengikut kritikanku lemah sanadnya dan tidak boleh diperkualkan bahkan ada di antaranya palsu. Tidak salah untuk aku mengisyaratkan di sini dengan nombor hadith-hadith terse but dalam kitab al-Taharah dan al-Solal) sahaja iaitu nombor 123,145,146,155,171 (hadith palsu) .... "" Antara contoh hadith-hadith tersebut ialah: a) Hadilh yang didaifkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi letapi dinaikkan

tarafnya oleh Syeikh al-Albani menjadi sahih. Contoh hadilhnya adalah seperti berikut:

"

:; ~) ~4 :; ~j! ~) ~
:; ~
8~ j!~ 8~

i: _: l ..;.f::f r)UI ~::f ~;j- ,:; ;~ 8~ ')Ii;G1 4' - J: Ii : i-~- .:li ..s.J' r-J -..r- ..r; of
ilil i-,

' ~It '. - i-'" f '. - , . ':" ~il

J'.r I/; of ~'T

Js J;f ~ ~ Jll ~tS- :,f u.;; J if;1 :,f ~~

:i'~- ...:i&. ilil i-,

r-J -..rMulJammad Nasir ai-Din al-Albani (1997). S""all al-Tirmidhi.

Riyadh: Maklabah al-Ma'arif. h. 8. Liha! juga dalam ki!ab beliau Oa' ,y Sunall aL-TirmidhI, h. 9.

160
Page 9
TASAH U~ AL.TIRMIDIIT

TERUADAP HUKUM HADlTH: ANALISIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

Jika diperhalikan kepada leks di atas, jelas menunjukkan bahawa Imam al-Tirmidhi mendaifkan hadith di atas berdasarkan kepada pandangan gurunya Imam al-Bukhari yang turut mendaifkan hadith lersebut. b) Hadith yang dihukumkan hasan sahih oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi tetapi ditolak oleh Syeikh ai-Alban; dengan hukum daif

"
"
.y. ~ W-I.>- :JIi ~~I 4-- .y. ilIl 4 4-- y.i W-I.>-

.:r J.) <J i .y.1) ~~ I W-I.>- : W .u\? .y. l.# ) ..!.I\,t. .;... 11 J J-') "IS" : JIi .js- .:r w... .y. ill I 4 .:r i.r' .y.
)P'

~-I.>- . Y:- ,fo, f l. Jl>- JS' Js- " T}ll W,A ~) .y... ilIl ~I .)Ai ,y -I.>-I) ;J- JIi '!) . ~ ~ .!..;-I.>- l.i..o .jsJ>;)I i,A :1}1i ,~WI) ~) .y... ilIl .;... ~I y!.>.,.pi ,y
'!)

.J"11> J") "i! ~I"; t,A "i) .~);J- Js- "T}ll

" .; ........ !) -U"i) ""';\..!JI) c.,? )fll "I,.<i... J"..

Muhammad Nasir ai-Din al-Albfini (1997). SUllan al-Tirmidhi, Kilab al-Ta"ara", Bub M(i Ja'aIi Kara"iya" Ilyall alHaid, no hadilh t35. Ibid., kilab al-Ta"ara", Bab Fi al-Rajul Yaqra' al-Qurall 'ala kulli hal ma lam yakll'l ju""ban, no hadilh 146. 161 Page 10
AL-BAVAN (HILS)

Namun harus diingat bahawa terdapat beberapa buah hadith yang dihukumkan oleh Syeikh ai-Alban; dipertikaikan oleh ulama lain terulamanya jika hukum lersebul bertenlangan dengan hukum Imam al-Tirmidhi. Sebagai contoh Syeikh 'Abd Allah bin Mul)ammad bin Al)mad al-Duwaisy pernah menolak hukum yang dilelakkan oleh alAlban! sebagaimana conloh-conloh berikul: Conloh I:

.J' ~ ' ~II '. '\ . ' ..:l1Oi1 !'::..li .J' ~ ill;. f

'.'

. -r; ~ ...r' ~ , -,
<1;1 . <I;

.:r

~ JS' .j ~ ~\i:...i :J ~\S'J ~I :J ~~J ~ ? "':G;.~I ~! ~ ~~ ~l>.i) ~ ~\S'J .;:; ~I yj- ~ ~~ l.u : Jli J <,?.l.. .rJI
01))

Ketika mentakhrijkan kitab al-Misykiit, Syeikh ai-Alban! menghukumkan hadith ini sebagai daif kerana irsiilnya. Namun hukum beliau lidak dipersetujui oleh Syeikh 'Abdullah al-Duwaisy dengan kalanya: Tidak benar hukum ai-Alban! bahkan hadith tersebut hasan sebagaimana dihukumkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidh! dan asalnya terdapat dalam sahih.'" Contoh 2: Syeikh al-Albani menghukumkan isnad hadith ini sebagai daif dan

matannya munkar. Namun menurut Syeikh Abdullah al-Duwaisy hadith tersebut has an sebagaimana hukum al-Tirmidh! atau sahih malah hadilh tersebut mempunyai syawahidnya"
10 21

'Abd Allah bin MUhammad bin Ahmad al-Duwaisy. Tallh,Ii al-Quri' liraqwiyah lila da 'a/aIm al-Albani WlI yali"; rallbih al-Qari' Ii la(l'i/ ma qawwa"u al-Albanl, h 15. (http.www.sultan.org).

Ibid. , h. 14.

162
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TASifllUL AL-TIRMIOHT TERHADAI' HUKUM HADITH: ANALISIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

4) Dr Bassam Faraj Perkara ini ditegaskan oleh Dr Bassiim dalam bukunya Naqd a!Fikr "inda Ibn Taym/yya". Sokongan beliau tersebut dinyatakan ketika mengkritik Dr Niir ai-Din 'ltr yang mempertahankan Imam al-Tirmidhi. Sesungguhnya Dr Niir ai-Din 'Itr telah mempertahankan Imam al-Tirmidhi dalam tesis PhDnya dengan tidak sepatutnya. Beliau mendakwa bahawa Imam al-Tirmidhi seperti Imam al-Bukhiiri dan Muslim dari sudut melakukan kesilapan. Kesilapan al-Bukhari dan Muslim tidak merendahkan martamat keilmuan mereka begitu juga sama sekali tidak merendahkan martabat al-Tirmidhi. Kita tidak bersetuju dengan pandangannya dari aspek ini. Ini adalah kerana rasa"u! al-Tirmidhi masyhur di kalangan ulama sebagaimana yang dijelaskan oleh al-Dhahabi. Berbeza dengan kesilapan al-Bukhiiri dan Muslim kerana kesilapan kedua-duanya sedikit sahaja berbanding dengan ulama hadith yang lain ....... " Ulama-ulama Yang Tidak Bersetuju Nisbab Tasa""l Kepada

Imam al-Tirmidbl
Antara ulama yang tidak bersetuju nisbah !aSa",,! kepada Imam alTirmidhi ialah seperti berikut:
I) Niir aI-DIn 'ltr

Sokongan ini dinyatakan dalam tesis Phdnya yang berjudul alImalll a!-Tirlllidhl IVa a!-MuIVazonah baylla Jami'iili wa bayna al$a!d&ayn. Antara hujah yang dikemukakan oleh Dr Niir ai-Din Itr ialah seperti berikut:"
22
lJ

a) Pendapat al-Dhahabi bertentangan dengan faktor kewibawaan dan kepakaran Imam al-Tirmidhi dalam bidang Uliim al!:Iadith. Beliau menambah lagi kesilapan yang dilakukan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi hanya sedikit dan sesuai dengan sifat manusia yang sentiasa melakukan kesilapan.

Lihat http://wwwibnamin.com/manhajltirmizi.htm. 271712007.

Nur ai-Din 'Itr (1988). al-If1/clm al-Tirmidhi wa al-Muwiiza1lah baYlla Jiim;'i"i wa baYlla al-$ablbaYII, Bayrul: Muassasah al-Risalah. h. 24 t.

163
Page 12
24 AL-BAYAN (BIL5)

b) Tidak ada seorang ulama pun yang mempertikaikan kehebatan dan kepakaran Imam al-Tirmidhi dalam bidang 'Ulum al-!:Iadith. Bahkan Imam al-Tirmidhi sendiri menegaskan bahawa beberapa maklumat dalam kitabnya a/]iilll; ' diperolehi daripada gurunya Imam al-Bukhari. Antara kenyataannya ialah seperti berikut: "Apa yang terdapat dalam kitab a/-Jiilll;' dari sudut 'ital yang terdapat pada hadith, mengenai perawi dan tiirJkh kesemuanya itu aku keluarkan daripada kitab-kitab TiirJkh dan kebanyakannya adalah hasil perbincanganku dengan Muhammad bin Ismail al-Bukhari dan di antaranya perbincanganku dengan 'Abd Allah bin 'Abd al-Ral,lman (alDarimi) dan Abu Zur'ah. Kebanyakan maklumatku daripada Muhammad bin Ismail dan sedikit sahaja daripada 'Abd Allah dan Abu Zur'ah." Justeru dakwaan al-Dhahabi bahawa IG$!';!I dan ta~sJn Imam aJ-Tirmidhi dipertikaikan tidak boleh diterima. c) Ibn al-Salal;! dan ulama-ulama dalam bidang d;nlyah yang lain telah menjadikan ta$~J!1 Imam al-Tirmidhi di dalam kitab a/Jiim; ' sebagai sumber hadilh-hadilh sahih yang boleh dipertanggungjawabkan. d) Kilab-kilab hadith banyak bergantung dan menukilkan pendapat Imam al-Tirmidhi mengenai hukum sesuatu hadilh malah berhujah dengan pent{/~'!d!1Q1I dan pentabsJIIGnnya. Imam al-Munziri kelika meringkaskan kilab S lIlIall Abu Dawiid menukilkan hukum dan darjal hadith yang diletakkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi terutamanya hadith yang mempunyai persamaan dengan Sunan al-Tirmidhi dan Sunan Abu Dawud. e) Pendapat al-Dhahabi tidak dipersetujui oleh al-'Iraqi. AI-'Iraqi menolak pandangan al-Dhahabi dengan katanya: hApa yang dinukilkan oleh al-Dhahabi daripada para ulama bahawa mereka tidak bergantung dengan penta.1!,J!wlI alTirmidhi sebenamya tidak tepat. Ulama masih lagi bergantung dengan penta$~J!wlInya."24
Ib id., h. 24 1.

164
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TASA fl UL AL-TIRMIDH I TERH ADA P HUKUM HAD ITH : ANA LI SIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

Dr Nur ai-Din al-'Itr kemudian merumuskan faktor yang membawa kepada dakwaan tasa/1lI1 tersebut: i) Perbezaan naskah kitab al-Jami' Antara perbezaan yang ketara antara

lIlakh{ii!at-lIlakh!ll(iit
(tulisan tangan) bagi kitab al-Jami' ialah dari sudut hukumhukum hadith yang terdapat di dalamnya. Perkara ini dijelaskan oleh Dr Akram Oiyii' al-'Umar! dalam kitabnya

TlIrath al-Tirmidhl al- '/I/ld."

Dr Nur ai-Din 'Itr juga mengemukakan beberapa eontoh lain bagi membuktikan pendapat beliau.'6 ii) Salah faham terhadap maksud istilah Imam al-Tirmidhl Faktor kedua yang membawa kepada kritikan terhadap Imam al-Tirmidhi ialah salah faham terhadap maksud istilah yang digunakan dalam kitabnya al-Himi '. Kebiasaannya Imam alTirmidhl akan menghasankan hadith daif kerana terdapatnya riwayat lain yang menyokongnya. Begitu juga kadangkala beliau menghukumkan sesebuah hadith sebagai hasan sahih walaupun riwayat tersebut tidak meneapai darjat sahih kerana datangnya riwayat sahih lain yang menyokongnya. iii) Perbezaan ijtihad terhadap hukum perawi-perawi da n kedudukan mereka Perbezaan ijtihad adalah punea para ulama mengkritik antara satu sama lain, sarna ada dalam bidang hadith, fiqh, tafsir atau dalam bidang-bidang yang lain.

"
'6

Akram al-Oiya' al-'Umari dalam kitabnya

Turat" al-Tirmidhi al-'Jlm

menyatakan bahawa terdapat perbezaan yang ketara pada hukum hadith antara alJiimi ' al-Sa ~d~l. TII~fflh al-Asyrafoleh al-Mizzi dan nas yang dirujuk oleh al-Mubarakfurl dalam kitabnya
TuUaii alAhwadhi

dan apa yang dinukilkan

a l -Tu ~ i

dalam
""""~' ..,t.r~t .,.

... .i.?'", ,,,r"-" Ibn Hajar (m.852H) sendiri telah

mengisyaralkan perbezaan Makh{ll(li( Makh{ll{ii{ Jiin,;' al-Tirmidld

dari sudut hukum-hukum ke atas hadis sebagaimana yang terdapat dalam Taqrlb dan gugurnya beberapa hadis daripada naskah-naskah yang dicetak. Lihat Akram Oiya' al-'Umar, (1992),
Tum,II al-TirlllidlIi al- '//lIIi. Mad,nah al-Munawwarah: Maktabah ai-Dar, h. 47. Sita lihat Nur ai-Din 'ltr (1988), "I'.cit., h. 242-243.

165
Page 14
ALBAYAN (BIL 5)

Jawapan Dr Nur aI-Din Itr terhadap kritikan al-Dhahabl; "Pendapat al-Dhahabl yang mengatakan bahawa para ulama tidak bergantung dengan ta$!dil al-Tirmidhl adalah merupakan respon beliau terhadap hadith yang diriwayalkan oleh perawi yang bemama Kathlr bin Abd Allah al-Muzan!' Hadilh Kathir bin Abd Allah al-Muzani adaJah seperti berikut;

.;r. ~

w ..... ~J..4.l1 r\s. y.i u ..... J')\!>. I Js- .:r. .:rJ-I U .....
.\., I

J J-") "i '-!>:- d' .." i d' i,l). I ,j Y .:r. J.rs- .:r. .1. I J.,s.
.:,.:..WI ~

r f I..>..l..o ~I
J .y..
.1.1 ~

j~ ~I J\i ~

r f u, r ~! ~
Jr Js- "~IJ \.olf ~i Ji ~"
Z7

~.:r-.:., .....

I-i.o> ~

y.i ;J\i .\.olf ~I Ji~"

Antara jawapan Dr Nur aI-Din Itr ialah seperti berikut: "Hadith yang diriwayalkan oleh Kathir bin Abd Allah alMuzanl sebagaimana yang lerdapal dalam kitab al-Jami' disokong oleh hadilh riwayat Abu Hurayrah yang terdapal dalam Sunan Abu Dawud. Begitu juga hadith dengan makna yang sarna dikeluarkan oleh al-Diiraqu\nl melalui (arl(j Affan telah menceritakan kepada kami Hammiid bin Zayd daripada Thabil daripada Abu Riifi' daripada Abu Hurayrah. Imam alDiiraqu\nl menghukumkan hadilh ini sebagai haza $aidil aliSlliid. AI-Hakim menghukumkan sanad hadith ini sebagai Saidil 'ala Syar{ihimii. Menurul AI-Hafi~ al-'Iraql kebiasaannya Imam aJ-Tirmidhl akan menaikkan darjat hadith has an kepada sahih jika hadith tersebut diriwayatkan melalui jalan yang lain. Atas faklor hadith sokongan ini maka Imam al-Tirmidhl

mensahihkan hadith riwayat Kathlr bin 'Abd Allah al-Muzanl." Kritikan al-Dhahabl yang menyalakan bahawa tidak perlu bergantung dengan pentailSlllan al-Tirmidhl kerana kajian
27

Muhammad bin 'Isa bin Sawrah al-Tirmidhi (t.t), aJ-Jami' aJ-Sa!';!,

wahuwa SUlIali al-Tirmidltl. Kitab al-A~, kfjm. Bab Ma Zukira 'an

Rasulillah S.a,w fi al-$ull) bayna al-Nas, no hadith 1352.

166
Page 15
TASAII UL ALT1RMIDHI TERUADAP HUKUM HADITH: ANALISIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

menunjukkan kebanyakannya daif adalah berdasarkan respon beliau kepada hadilh yang diriwayalkan oleh YaI)ya bin al-Yaman seperti di bawah ini. AI-Dhahabi menjelaskan bahawa Imam al-Tirmidhi telah menghasankan hadilh ini sedangkan lerdapat tiga orang perawi yang

daif.
Hadilh Ya~ya bin al-Yaman adalah seperti berikut: V! ,.sf. WJ.>- 'iii JI.,..JI Jrs- V! J.J J ...,..~ y,i WJ.>V!I

us- <~ us- iU,) V! c ~I us- ~ V! J~I us- ':"L..,II

~I .:..i ",,\,s-

.u cr\; ')\,l Ip.-i J>'~ ~

J ~ .iol ~
<"j.J \.0 I J

'i ~

.:.. l .io I .!.l.?-) : J Ii J 4.l,.iJ I J,j .:I' .;... \; C I r.

~J.>- ",,\,So V!I ~J.>- :~ y,i JIi . ~} ~ ~J .:..i.,All Jawapan Dr Nur ai-Din 'ltr adalah seperti berikut: Menurut Dr Nur ai-Din 'ltr hadith di atas disokong oleh hadith Jiibir sebagaimana yang terdapat di dalam Sunan Abu Dawud dengan lafaznya:

~
.iol J.,...) 1.\\1 \.0 y\; i pill.,! I)U ""WI ..,i) :JIi .Ib:-

us-

C!;!. .:..IS" <,?.lJI Y' l.\iJ ~L.> \)Y JU J~ ~

J ~ .iol 2'I.f.lJ4'; Y

Abu Diiwud dan al-Mundhiri tidak mengulas mengenai hukum hadith ini. Hadith di alas juga disokong oleh hadilh yang diriwayalkan oleh Tbn 'Abbas di dalam $ahihaYIl seperli berikut:
18

Mubammad bin 'isa bin Sawrah al-Tirmidhi (Ll), af-lam;' of-$abJb wa IllIwa Swum al.TirmidhI, Kitab al-Janaiz. Bab Ma la'a fl al-Dafni
bi al-Layl, no hadith 1057.

Sulayman bin al-AsY'ath al-Sajistani (t.t), SIlUll" AbJ Diiwud. Kitab

al-Janiiiz, Biib fi Darni billayl.

167 Page 16
Al-BAYAN (Oil S)

-.Is ;'1 ~ ;'1 J,.. J .;\5' .;W! ,:,,\.> : J\! ..r~ cr.1 .:r
t.

JIAi J?i ~11...li ')\.,l yj.u J,lll oJ' .:..W .~ J"!. ~

J
.;..:..; .;1 WJ; ..:..;\5' J ~ fj J,lll .;\5' :1)15 Y(,l~ .;i ~

-.Is ~ pi .... -i! ~

Hadith tersebut menjadi hasan disebabkan sokongan daripada riwayat lain. 2) Mal)mfid Sa'ld Mamdfil) Sokongan beliau kepada Imam al-Tirmidhi dikemukakan dalam kitabnya al-Ta 'rlj bi Awham lIIan qassallla al-Sunan i/a Sablb wa alOa'lj. Buku ini sebenarnya ditulis untuk mendedahkan kesilapan Syeikh ai-Alban; dari sudut hukum hadith, Antara hujah-hujah beliau dalam mempertahankan Imam al-Tirmidhi boleh dirumuskan seperti berikut:30
30

a) Dakwaan (asa/wl oleh al-Dhahabi terhadap Imam al-Tirmidhi tidak bermaksud mengabaikan hukum-hukum hadis yang diletakkan oleh al-Tirmidhi secara keseluruhannya. b) Ramai ulama tidak menyokong dakwaan al-Dhahabi antaranya al-'Iraql. Pendapat yang sama juga telah dikemukakan oleh Dr Nur ai-Din 'Itr. c) Berband ing (asiiilul, al-Tirmidh; juga wajar dianggap IIIl1fasyaddid kerana beberapa sebab iaitu: i. Imam al-Tirmidhi telah menghasankan hadith-hadith dalam kitabnya yang juga diriwayatkan oleh al-Bukhari dan Muslim
II.

Imam al-Tirmidhi telah menghasankan hadith-hadith yang sepatutnya diberikan status sahih iii. Imam al-Tirmidhi telah mendaifkan hadith-hadith yang dihasankan oleh guru-gurunya.
Mai)mud Sa' id Mamduh (1997), al-Ta 'rlf hi AIV/Ilim Mall Qa.mlllw a/SUI/ali ita. Sabr~l IVa Oa ' if, Dubai: Dar alBul)iith Ii alDirasat alIslamiyyah wa Ii)yii' al-Turath, h. 445-451.

168 Page 17
TASA Il UL AL-TIRMIDHT TERHADAP HUKUM HADITH: ANAIJSIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

Sokongan Syeikh al-Albani terhadap kerasiihllian Imam 31Tirmidhi men gun dang kritikan keras daripada Syeikh Mal)mud Sa'id Mamdul). Kritikan beliau boleh dirumuskan seperti berikut: a) AI-Albiini sendiri mensahihkan dan menghasankan beberapa hadis yang didaifkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhl. Ini jelas menunjukkan bahawa Imam al-Tirmidhi bukan seoranll yang IIllllasahil tetapi 1Il1irasyaddid. b) AI-Alban! mendakwa bahawa jumlah hadis-hadis daif yang terdapat dalam a/-Jalll;' berjumlah hampir seribu sedangkan jumlah hadis-hadis yang terdapat dalam kitab Da 'if al-Tirlllidhi oleh al-Albani hanya berjumlah 832 buah hadith sahaja dan hampir keseillruhannya daif dari hukum Imam al-Tirmidhi sendiri. c) Kedaifan perawi tidak bermaksud kedaifan matan hadis d) Kedaifan hadis di sisi al-Tirmidh! tidak bermaksud hadis tersebut tidak boleh diamalkan. Berbeza dengan ai-Alban! yang menganggap daif perlu ditinggalkan dan tidak boleh beramal dengannya. e) Kewibawaan dan kepakaran al-Tinnidhi lebih daripada alDhahab! f) Hadis-hadis al-Tirmidh! yang didaifkan oleh ai-Alban! terdapat dalam Sahih al-Bukhari dan Muslim g) AI-Alban! tidak mengelahui banyak \uruq al-I)ad!th. AITinnidh! menganggap al-Mawqufiit boleh memperkuatkan ai-Marfa 'at. h) AI-Alban! berbeza pendapat dengan Imam al-Tinnidh! dari slldut rijal al-iwdirh. i) AI-Alban! ban yak melakukan kesilapan dari sudllt perawi yang lIlL/dallis dan lIlL/khralir. j) AI-Alban! tergesa-gesa dalam memberikan hukum hadith k) Salah faham ai-Alban! terhadap istilah-istilah yang di g unakan oleh Imam al-Tirmidh! iaitu is tilah
( '" ;1 I.L. '" ..,.,~ ) (",;1 I.L. '" ~! .u

r" ~ ..,.,~ )

Syeikh Mal)mud Sa'id Mamdul) juga mengkritik Dr Basyiir 'Awwad kerana pandangannya bahawa Imam al-Tinnidh! memberikan 169 Page 18
Al-BAYAN (Bll5)

hukum rhiqalz kepada al-majahil sedangkan Dr Basyiir tidak mengetahui bahawa ra$!,[!l merupakan talVlhiq. 3) Dr aI-Syarlf l;Iatim bin 'Arif aI-'Awnl Antara hujah yang dikemukakan oleh Dr al-Syarif l;Iatim bin 'Arif al-' Awnl dapat dirumuskan seperti berikut:"

"
a) Nisbah rasa/wi at au rasyaddlld kepada ulama-ulama tertentu tidak bermaksud mengabaikan hukum ra lVlhlq atau ta$!,[~ ulama yang IIlllla sah i/. Ia juga tidak bermaksud menolak hukum daif ulama yang IIllllasyaddid. b) Kenyataan al-Dhahabi sendiri menunjukkan bahawa beliau berhujjah dengan hukum sahih yang diletakkan oleh Imam alTirmidhi walaupun beliau sendiri mengkritiknya. AI-Dhahabi me neg ask an bahawa jika seseorang perawi itu tidak mempunyai rekod al-jar& atau al-la 'di! tetapi riwayatnya terdapat di dalam Sahih al-Bukhiiri dan Muslim maka perawi tersebut dihukumkan thiqah. Jika perawi terse but disahihkan oleh al-Tirmidhi dan Ibn Huzaymah maka baik juga ... c) Kemungkinan ulama yang IIllllasyaddid melakukan lasa/llI! begitu juga ulama yang IIllllasahi! menjadi syadid. Pendapat ini beliau nukilkan daripada Syeikh al-Mu'allimi. Apa yang beliau maksudkan ialah tidak mungkin ulama IIllllasahil itu selama-lamanya lasahlll atau sentiasa lasahul daIam menentukan hukum hadith. Begitu juga ulama 11l1llasyaddid tidak selamanya syadid atau sentiasa syadid daIam menentukan hukum. d) Terdapat bukti bahawa Imam al-Tirmidhi kadangkala syadid dalam hukumnya di mana beliau mendaifkan hadith atau menghasankan hadith sedangkan hadith-hadith tersebut terdapat dalam SahihaYIi atau salah saru daripada keduanya. Situasi yang sarna juga berlaku kepada Yahya bin Ma'in. Beliau dianggap sebagai seorang yang mllrasyaddid tetapi kadangkala rasahlll dari sudut memberikan hukum rhiqah kepada perawi-perawi yang didaifkan oleh ramai ulama. AI-Syarif I:Hitim bin 'Arif al-'Awnl, Ma.)'l"idir a/-SlIIlIlah wa Malliihij
Mlisallllijilla, h. 19-23 (hup. www.suitan.org.)

170 Page 19
TASA II UL ALTIRMIDHT TERHADAP HUKUM I-iADITH: ANAU SIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

e) Klasifikasi ulama kepada IIllltasyaddid atau lIIL1tasiIhil antaranya oleh al-Dhahabi bukan bertujuan untuk meletakkan satu kaedah menerima pendapat ulama tertentu dan menolnk pendapat ulama yang lain. Namun ia menjadi satu keperluan ketika berlakunya penentangan untuk memutuskan pendapat mana yang lebih rajih. Sebagai contoh jika Imam al-Bukhari mendaifkan hadith manakala aI-Hakim mensahihkannya maka dalam hal ini pendapat Imam al-Bukhari didahulukan kerann Imam al-Bukhari dari kalangan ai-lIlll/lsif berbeza dengan al-

Hakim yang dianggap lIlucasiIltil. Begitu juga jika Ibn l;Iibban memberikan hukum thiqah kepada perawi sedangkan ulama lain mendaifkannya maka didahulukan pendapat ulama lain yang mendaifkannya kerana Ibn Hibbiin dikenali sebagai seorang yang IIIL1tasiiitil. f) Ulama masih bergantung dengan penta~!t1!tan al-Tirmidhi antaranya Ibn al-:)alal). Pendapat yang sama juga telah dikemukakan oleh Dr Nur aI-Din 'Itr g) AI-Dhahabi sendiri pernah memberikan pujian kepada Imam al-Tirmidhi dengan katanya: Kitab-kitab karangan Imam alTirmidhi menunjukkan kewibawaan dan kepakarannya dalam bidang hadith, fiqh, lughah dan sebagainya. Pujian beliau ini bertentangan dengan anggapan bahawa Imam al-Tirmidhi seorang yang tasii /lIIi . Bagaimana seorang yang dianggap berwibawa atau al-lllliilllalt tidak dirujuk penta$M!lannya. h) Anggapan terhadap Imam al-Tirmidhi sebagai tasiiltul disebabkan salah faham dalam memahami istilah yang digunakan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi. i) Anggapan terhadap Imam al-Tirmidhi sebagai IIlLltasaitil juga disebabkan salah faham terhadap konsep ai-Jar!l wa aiTa'dll. Proses memberi hukum dan status kepada perawi merupakan suatu proses ijtihad yang memungkinkan pendapat seseorang ulama itu betul atau salah. Kadang-kala seseorang perawi itu dihukumkan has an atau sahih oleh segolongan ulama tetapi dihukurnkan daif oleh ulama yang lain. Sebagai contoh Yal)ya bin Ma'in memberikan hukum tltiqalt kepada seorang perawi tetapi dihukumkan daif oleh ulama lain sedangkan jika dikaji hukum daif yang lebih tepal. Ibn Ma'in 171
Page 20
AL-BAVAN (BIL 5)

merupakan salah seorang ulama a/-Jar!' IVa al-Ta 'dll dan dianggap sebagai salah seorang ulama IIltltasyaddidlll. Dalam hal ini bolehkah Ibn Ma'in dianggap sebagai seorang yang IIlllrasahil? j) Penta,ill!,an hadith perawi yang bernama Kathir bin ' Abd Allah al-Muzani oleh al-Tirmidhi adalah berdasarkan pertanyaan beliau terhadap Lmam al-Bukhari sendiri. Jawapan Imam al-Bukhliri ialah hadithnya hasan dan perawinya Mllqiirib al-iwdlth.J2 Dalam hal ini adakah Imam al-Bukhari juga boleh dianggap sebagai rasahlll kerana menerima riwayat perawi tersebut sedangkan pendapat yang lebih tepat ialah

perawi tersebut daif dan riwayatnya tidak boleh dibuat hujah. Ini secara jelas menunjukkan penghukuman perawi merupakan proses ijtihad yang sudah pasti akan berlaku perselisihan dan perbezaan pendapat di kalangan ulama. k) Persoalan yang lain pula ialah jika Imam al-Tirmidhi dianggap sebagai seorang yang tasahul kerana menrabslnkan perawi, bagaimana pula pentad'ifan al-Tirmidhi terhadap perawiperawi yang dita$idbkan oleh ulama lain. Perkara ini juga telah disentuh oleh Syeikh Mal)miid Sa'id Mamdiii) 4) Dr Mu~ammad 13hir al-Jawwabi Walaupun tidak mempertahankan Imam al-Tirmidhi seeara lansung namun ulasan beJiau terhadap maksud rasiihul dalam bukunya al-Jarb wa al-Ta'dl/ bayJ/a al-MurasyadidlJ/ wa al-Murasiihillll jelas menggambarkan pendirian beliau. Antara pandangan beliau adalah seperti berikut:33
32
J]

Kita tidak boleh menghukum seorang ulama itu sebagai IIJllfasyaddid atau mllfasahil melainkan setelah kita melihat
Muqarib al-/:fad,," bermaksud hadith yang yang diriwayatkan oleh perawi ini hampir menyamai hadith yang diriwayalkan oleh perawi yang I"iqa". Lihat Mu~ammad bin 'Abd al-Ra~man al-Sakhawi, Fat" al-Mug"il" bi Syarb alj'iyya" al-/:fadirh, Madinah: al-Maktabah al'IImiyyah, j. I, h. 366. Mu~ammad rahir al-Jawwiibi (1997), ai-Jar!, 1V1I al-Ta'dit bayna alMutasyaddidIIl wa aJ-Mlltasci"ilIIl, up: Dar al-Arabiyyah Ii al-Kilab,

h. 450-455.

172
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TASANUL AL.TIRMIDHI TERHADAP HUKUM UADITH: ANALISIS PENDAPAT ULAMA

pendirian mereka terhadap keseluruhan ilmu dalam bidang hadith seperti pendirian mereka terhadap af-riwayar bi aflIIaklla, perbezaan antara hadith-hadith hukum dan fac;lail, syarat-syarat perawi dan pembahagiannya, ta~alllllllll dan alada '. asbab af-jar~ yang berkaitan dengan akidah at au akhlak yang menjejaskan keadilan perawi, hafazan yang menjejaskan kedabitan perawi dan sebagainya. Menurut beliau lagi jika kita telah mengetahui pendapat ulama nuqqad terhadap semua perkara ini maka barulah kita dapat menentukan seseorang ulama itu 1II11rasyaddid atau IIllltasahii. Beliau menambah lagi adalah sukar untuk menentukan seseorang ulama sebagai lIlurasyaddid atau lIIutasahif. Dalam erti kata yang lain seseorang ulama itu tidak mungkin menggunakan pendekatan yang sarna dalam semua ilmu dalam bidang hadith sarna ada sentiasa

Illl1tasahil atau sentiasa IIIl1tasyaddid. Ini adalah kerana jika seseorang ulama itu lIIurasahil dalam semua kategori ilmu hadith maka sudah tentu menjejaskan kredibilitinya sebagai 1I11qqad. Begitu juga sebaliknya. jika seseorang ulama itu sentiasa IIIl1rasyaddid dalam

semua perkara maka pendapatnya sudah tentu tidak boleh diambilkira. Apa yang jelas seseorang ulama itu dianggap IIIl1tasahil kerana kajian menunjukkan kebiasaannya beliau rasa/wl dalam perkara tersebut, begitu juga seseorang ulama dianggap IIItirasyaddid jika kebiasaannya beliau syadld dalam perkara tersebut. Hukum perawi menurut beliau adalah merupakan perkara ijtihad." Dalam soal ijtihad sudah tentu berlaku perbezaan dikalangan ulama. Namun perbezaan ijtihad ini tidak berlaku dalam semua perkara. Kebanyakan perselisihan mereka melibatkan soal cjabi! dan sedikit sahaja yang melibatkan soal adalah.

Fakta-rakta Lain Dalam Mempertahankan Imam al-Tirmidhl

Selain daripada hujah-hujah yang dikemukakan oleh para ulama yang mempertahankan Imam al-Tirmidhi, terdapat beberapa hujjah lain terutamanya yang melibatkan perbezaan anlara manhaj ulama lIIt1raqaddilllln dan manhaj ulama lIluraakhirlll. Ini adalah kerana
34

Perkara ini juga !elah dibincangkan oteh Dr Nur ai-Din 'Itr.

173
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AL-BAYAN (BIL 5)

Imam al-Tirmidhi daripada kalangan ulama IIllltaqaddillllll. Justeru kemungkinan perbezaan hukum hadith yang berlaku antara Imam alTirrnidhi dan ulama IIIlItiiak"irln berpunca daripada perbezaan dalam manhaj mereka. Dalam hal ini kebanyakan ulama mendahulukan pendapat ulama I1llltaqaddimlll berbanding pendapat ulama lIIl/taakhirlll. Perkara ini ditegaskan antaranya oleh Ibn Rajab al/:lanbali," al-Dhahabi," Ibn Kathir," Ibn J:lajar," al-Sakhawi," Mul)ammad Anwar Syah al-Kasymin 40 dan Dr Basyar 'Awwact." Menurut Dr Bassyar 'Awwad, "kita tidak boleh menyamakan hukum para ulama 1Il1llaqaddimill seperti Ibn al-Madini, Ibn Ma'in, Imam Al)mad, al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Zur'ah, Abu /:latim, alTirmidhi, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i dan selain mereka dengan hukum para ulama IIlLl/iiak"irl/!. Perbezaan antara metode ulama lIll/taqaddimln dan IIlll/iiak"irlll boleh dirumuskan seperti berikut:
36 37 38 .19

"

a) Ulama 1Ill/laqaddimln hidup sezaman dengan para perawi, mengenali mereka dan mengetahui riwayat mereka. Ulama lIIl/taqaddillllll juga akan melakukan perbandingan sebelum menentukan hukum sesuatu hadith, membandingkan sesuatu riwayat dengan hafazan mereka yang terdiri daripada beribu'Abd al-Rabman bin Abmad al-l:Ianbali Ibn Rajab al-l:Ianbali (1407H), Syar!1 '/lnl al-Tirmidili. ta!I"I" Hammfim 'Abd ai-Rahim Sa'id, j. I, h. 346 Mui)ammad bin AI.lmad bin Uthmiin al-Dhahabi (1382H), al-Mllqi.all

Ii 'ilm MII.Halab al/:fadltll, ta!lqlq . Abd al-Falliii) Abu Ghuddah.

h. 20 I. Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir al-Qurasyi Ibn Kathir (1399H), Ikllti~ar 'Ulill1l aJ-/fadith. Ai)mad bin 'Ali bin 1:lajar (1984), al-Nllkat 'ala Ibn al-sala!l, ta/I'Ilq Rabi' bin Hadi Madkhali, Madinah: al-Majlis al-'I1mi, j. 2, h. 726. Mui)ammad bin ' Abd al-Rabman al-Sakhawi, Fatll al-Mllgllitll bi Syar!1 Alliyyall al-/:fndltll. Madinah: al-Maktabah al-'I1miyyah, j. I, h. 237. Mul)ammad Anwar Syiih al.Kasymiri (1352H), Fay" al-Barl 'ala sa/';!I al-Bllkllarl, t.pt: Matba'ah Dar al-Ma'mun. j. 4. h. 414-415. Basyyar 'Awwad Ma'ruf (t.t), al-Jrlllli' al-Kablr Ii al-Imlim al-Ifrif;;

Aba 'isa MII(lammad bill "sa al-Tirmidld, Dar al-Gharb al-lslami.

174
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TASAHUL ALTIRMIDliT TERHADAP HUKUM HADITH: ANALISIS I'ENDAPAT ULAMA

ribu san ad dan matan sehingga meneapai kepUlusan yang dikehendaki. Berbanding ulama lIIutaakhirill yang hanya bergantung kepada usaha ulama III1i1aqaddimIII dan bergantung kepada maklumat yang telah direkodkan. b) Tidak semua hadith yang diriwayatkan oleh perawi yang Ihiqalz sahih di sisi ulama III1t1aqaddiIllIII. Begitu juga tidak semua hadith yang diriwayatkan perawi yang daif. daif di sisi mereka. e) Ulama lIIulaqaddilllIII kadangkala menolak hadith seseorang perawi disebabkan bersendiriannya perawi tersebut walaupun hadith yang diriwayatkannya tidak bertentangan dengan riwayat yang lain. Ini adalah kerana lafarrud al-riiwI (bersendirian) di sisi II1l11aqaddilllIII dianggap suatu syubhalz yang memungkinkan perawi tersebut melakukan kesilapan dalam hadithnya walaupun perawi tersebutlhiqah. d) Terdapat banyak istilah yang digunakan oleh ulama lIlulaqaddilllIII berbeza dengan istilah yang digunakan ulama
IIIl1tiiakhi rill

e) Perbezaan juga berlaku dari sudut kefahaman terhadap

maksud perawi yang m aj Iz 1/1 , riwayat ahli bid'ah dan sebagainya Bagaimana Kita Berinteraksi Dengan Hukum dan Darjat Radith Yang Diletakkan Oleb Imam al-Tirmidhi? Walaupun darjat dan status sesebuah hadith yang diletakkan oleh ulama adalah hasil daripada ijtihad mereka yang mungkin benar atau salah namun sebagai penuntut ilmu kita seharusnya berusaha untuk meneari dan memilih pendapat yang paling baik. Justeru dalum hal ini penulis mencadangkan beberapa langkah dalam berinteraksi dengan darjat dan status hadith-hadith dalam kitab a/-Jallli': a) Memahami terlebih dahulu istilah-istilah hukum hadith yang digunakan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhl b) Jika hukum yang diletakkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhl bertentangan dengan pandangan ulama IIIlItaaklzirIIl maka didahulukan pandangan Imam al-Tirmidhl terutamanya jika

175
Page 24
AL-BAYAN (l3ILS)

pendapatnya disokong oleh majoriti ulama I1Il11aqaddimln yang lain. c) Jika pendapat Imam al-Tirmidhi bertentangan dengan majoriti pendapat ulama mlllaqaddimlll yang lain maka pendapat ulama 1II111aqaddillllll yang lain didahulukan. d) Membandingkan hukum hadith yang diletakkan oleh Syeikh ai-Alban" Dr Bassyar 'Awwad, Syeikh AI)mad Syakir, Syeikh 'Abd Allah Duwaisy dan Mai)mGd Sa'id MamdGh. Dalam erti kata yang lain kita boleh berpada dan bergantung dengan hukum yang diletakkan oleh Syeikh al-Albani jika hukum tersebut tidak bertentangan dengan hukum yang diletakkan oleh Imam al-Tirmidhi. Jika hukum tersebut bertentangan dengan hukum Imam al-Tirmidhi maka kita seharusnya melihat pandangan ulama mil 'a$ir yang lain seperti Syeikh 'Abd Allah Duwaisy dan Mai)mGd Sa'id MamdGi). Penutup Pendekatan lasalllli yang dinisbahkan kepada Imam al-Tirmidhi tidak bermaksud pengabaian kepada hukum-hukum hadith yang diletakkan oleh beliau. Kedudukan beliau sebagai salah seorang ulama tersohor Illltlaqaddimlll menuntut kita supaya berhati-hati terhadap kritikan yang dilemparkan kepada beliau. Ini di tambah lagi dengan pujian ulama terhadap kitabnya al-Jami'. Namun setiap manusia tidak dapat lari daripada melakukan kesalahan dan kesilapan apatah lagi jika penentuan hukum hadith ini melibatkan soal ijtihad. Dalam hal ini kita

perlu mengambil kira semua pandangan ulama terutamanya pandangan ulama I1Il1taqaddimln
HIJRAH DAN HUKUMNYA MASIH BERJALAN

[SN199] Musim haji baru sahaja meninggalkan kita dan sudah pasti meninggalkan seribu satu kisah dan kenangan kepada jemaah yang baru sahaja kembali. Di kesempatan ini, Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia ingin mengucapkan selamat kembali kepada para jemaah dan semoga beroleh haji yang mabrur. Kami juga mengharapkan agar nuansa iman dan takwa tatkala berada di Makkah al-Mukarramah dan Madinah Al-Munawwarah akan terus berkekalan pada diri setiap jemaah. Bagi mereka yang memiliki ruhiyah yang tinggi, perasaan sedih dan pilu tidak dapat digambarkan apabila kaki melangkah keluar dari kedua-dua tanah suci tersebut. Memang sepatutnyalah perasaan seumpama itu menyelimuti hati setiap insan yang beriman. Namun, perasaan semata-mata tanpa dipandu oleh pemikiran yang benar, tentunya tidak akan menghasilkan sebuah kesedaran akan hakikat di sebalik kedua-dua tanah suci itu.

Umat Islam seharusnya sedar bahawa Mekahlah tempat di mana Rasulullah SAW telah memulakan perjuangan untuk menyeru manusia supaya beriman kepada Allah. Di tanah haram inilah Rasulullah dan para sahabat telah berjuang bermati-matian untuk menegakkan agama Allah sehingga mereka ditangkap, diseksa, dipulau dan dibunuh. Mereka berhadapan dengan kafir Quraisy yang kejam di mana nyawa mereka telah menjadi taruhan, namun mereka sedikit pun tidak gentar dan segala penderitaan dihadapi dengan penuh keimanan. Akhirnya mereka keluar meninggalkan Mekah atas perintah Allah, menuju ke Yathrib (Madinah), sebuah negara baru yang akan menjadikan Islam sebagai deen dan nidzam (sistem), yang mengatur kehidupan mereka sepenuhnya. Inilah hakikat hijrah Nabi SAW dan para sahabat di mana

mereka

telah

keluar

dari

sebuah

dar

(negara)

al-kufur

menuju

dar

al-Islam.

Kini, setelah 1431 tahun berlalu, sebahagian kaum Muslimin sudah tidak lagi mengerti akan hakikat hijrah Nabi SAW. Di Malaysia saban tahun, hijrah disambut dengan perarakan di sana sini. Dan saban tahun juga kita menyaksikan adanya anugerah tokoh Maal Hijrah sama ada di peringkat pusat mahupun negeri. Makna dan hakikat hijrah sudah berubah sedemikian rupa sehingga umat Islam sudah tidak lagi memahami pengertiannya yang sebenarnya. Apa yang diperbesarkan oleh pemerintah dan ulama mereka adalah pengertian hijrah dari aspek bahasa. Hijrah sering dimaknakan sebagai perpindahan dari satu keadaan kepada keadaan yang lebih baik. Jika seseorang itu gagal dalam hidupnya dan kemudian berjaya, ini dikatakan hijrah. Jika kehidupan seseorang itu miskin, kemudian berubah menjadi kaya, ini dikatakan hijrah. Jika seseorang naik pangkat dalam pekerjaannya, naik jawatan atau gelaran dalam profesionnya atau jika ada seseorang yang berjaya mendidik kesemua anaknya hingga ke menara gading, maka kesemua ini dikatakan hijrah. Malah golongan inilah yang layak untuk dicalonkan sebagai tokoh Maal Hijrah! Pendek kata, inilah makna hijrah yang telah diindoktrinisasikan oleh pemerintah sekular ke dalam masyarakat, sehingga pengertian sebenar hijrah (yakni) perpindahan Rasulullah dan para sahabat dari darul kufur menuju darul Islam, sudah dihilangkan dari pemikiran umat. Sesungguhnya darul Islam adalah Daulah Khilafah, dan ia sudah tidak lagi wujud di dunia ini semenjak kejatuhannya pada 28 Rajab 1342H yang lalu. Sejak itu hingga kini, umat Islam kesemuanya tinggal di darul kufur dan diperintah oleh undang-undang dan sistem kufur. Dan sesungguhnya perjuangan untuk menegakkan semula Daulah Khilafah ini amat terkait rapat dengan persoalan hijrah. Justeru, hakikat dan hukum hijrah hendaklah difahami dengan benar agar bila tertegaknya Khilafah sedikit masa lagi, umat Islam di seluruh dunia tidak akan terkeliru dalam usaha mereka untuk berhijrah menuju darul

Islam

(Khilafah)

yang

baru

muncul

ini.

Hijrah

Masih

Berterusan

Hijrah bermaksud keluar dari negeri kufur ke negeri Islam. Pengertian ini diambil dari lafaz hijrah dan lafaz Muhajirin yang disebut dalam Al-Quran itu sendiri dan juga hadis-hadis. Antaranya firman Allah,

Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang diambil nyawanya oleh malaikat semasa mereka sedang menganiaya diri sendiri (kerana enggan berhijrah untuk membela Islam dan rela ditindas oleh kaum kafir musyrik), mereka ditanya oleh malaikat dengan berkata, Apakah yang kamu telah lakukan mengenai agama kamu? Mereka menjawab, Kami dahulu adalah orang-orang yang tertindas di bumi. Malaikat bertanya lagi, Tidakkah bumi Allah itu luas, yang membolehkan kamu berhijrah dengan bebas padanya? Maka orang-orang yang sedemikian itu keadaannya, tempat akhir mereka ialah neraka jahanam, dan neraka jahanam itu adalah seburuk-buruk tempat kembali. Kecuali orang-orang yang lemah (lagi uzur) dari kaum lelaki dan perempuan serta kanak-kanak, yang tidak berdaya upaya mencari helah (untuk melepaskan diri) dan tidak pula mengetahui sesuatu jalan (untuk berhijrah). Maka mereka (yang demikian sifatnya), mudah-mudahan Allah maafkan mereka. Dan (ingatlah), Allah Maha Pemaaf, lagi Maha Pengampun. [TMQ an-Nisa (4):97-99].

Di samping salah faham makna hijrah, ramai cendekiawan Islam terkeliru mengatakan bahawa hukum hijrah sudah tidak lagi berlaku. Walhal sesungguhnya hijrah dari negeri kufur ke negeri Islam adalah kekal, tidak pernah terputus. Mengenai apa yang diriwayatkan oleh Bukhari dari

sabda

Rasullulah

SAW

yang

menyatakan,

Tidak

ada

lagi

hijrah

selepas

penaklukan

kota

Mekah,

juga

sabda

baginda,

Tidak

ada

lagi

hijrah

selepas

terjadinya

fathu

(penaklukan),

juga

sabda

baginda,

Sesungguhnya

hijrah

telah

berhenti,

tetapi

jihad

dan

niat

(tetap

berterusan)

dan juga apa yang diriwayatkan oleh Sufyan bin Ummayyah, ketika telah memeluk Islam dan dikatakan kepadanya,

Tidak sempurna agama seseorang yang tidak berhijrah, lalu beliau pun datang (berhijrah) ke Madinah. Selepas itu, Nabi SAW bertanya kepadanya, Gerangan apakah yang membawa kamu ke sini wahai Abu Wahab? Beliau menjawab, Katanya, tidak sempurna agama bagi sesiapa yang tidak berhijrah. Baginda kemudian menjelaskan, Kembalilah wahai Abu Wahab ke tengah-tengah Mekah. Tetaplah tinggal di rumah-rumah kamu. Sesungguhnya hijrah telah berhenti, tetapi jihad dan niat (tetap berterusan). Jika kamu diminta berperang, maka berperanglah,

memang benar kesemua hadis di atas menafikan adanya hijrah selepas penaklukan Mekah.

Akan tetapi, mesti difahami bahawa penafian ini disertai dengan illat (punca pensyariatan hukum) yang diistinbat (digali) dari hadis-hadis itu sendiri. Apabila Rasulullah bersabda, selepas penaklukan Mekah ia berupa ungkapan yang mengandungi illat-malul (sebab-akibat), sebagaimana sabda Nabi SAW,

Janganlah kamu campuradukkan tamar dan anggur semuanya agar menjadi khamar [HR Ibn Hibban].

Perkataan jamian (semuanya) dinyatakan dalam bentuk yang mengandungi illat-malul (sebabakibat), maka ia merupakan illat (punca pensyariatan) larangan membuat khamar, bukannya larangan mencapuradukkan tamar dan anggur itu sendiri. Ini membawa makna bahawa penaklukkan Mekah merupakan illat penafian hijrah yang bererti bahawa illat ini akan berputar bersama malulnya (yakni) ada dan tidaknya, dan tidak dikhususkan untuk Mekah sahaja, tetapi meliputi penaklukan mana-mana negeri sekalipun.

Dalilnya

terdapat

dalam

riwayat

lain,

Tiada

hijrah

selepas

terjadinya

penaklukan.

Ia dikuatkan oleh hadis yang diriwayatkan oleh al-Bukhari dari Aisyah, apabila beliau ditanya mengenai hijrah, beliau berkata,

Hari ini tidak ada lagi hijrah. Orang Mukmin sememangnya pernah berhijrah untuk melindungi agamanya menuju kepada Allah dan RasulNya, kerana takutkan fitnah (ujian). Adapun ketika

ini, Allah benar-benar telah memenangkan Islam, di mana orang mukmin boleh menyembah Tuhannya dengan senang hati.

Ini adalah antara hadis yang menerangkan bahawa hijrah orang Islam adalah (berlaku) sebelum terjadinya penaklukan untuk menyelamatkan agamanya kerana takutkan fitnah, dan kemudiannya dinafikan (tidak adanya hijrah) setelah terjadinya penaklukan, kerana orang Islam telah menjadi berkemampuan untuk menzahirkan agamanya dan melaksanakan hukum-hukum Islam. Oleh itu, penaklukan yang membawa akibat kepada semua perkara di atas tadi merupakan illat penafian hijrah, dan bukan hanya penaklukan Mekah sahaja. Oleh yang demikian, yang dimaksudkan dengan hadis di atas adalah tidak ada hijrah setelah terjadinya penaklukan (yakni) tidak berlaku penghijrahan dari suatu negeri yang telah ditakluki (dibuka). Adapun mengenai sabda Rasulullah SAW kepada Sufyan bahawa hijrah telah berakhir (hijrah dari Mekah selepas ia ditakluki), ia bermakud bahawa apabila sesebuah negeri telah ditakluki, maka negeri tersebut telah (bertukar) menjadi darul Islam, maka negeri kaum kuffar dan darul kufur tadi sudah tidak ada lagi. Oleh itu, tidak ada lagi hijrah. Demikianlah halnya dengan tiaptiap negeri yang telah ditakluki, maka tidak ada lagi hijrah dari sana kerana ia telah (bertukar) menjadi darul Islam. Ini dikuatkan lagi oleh hadis yang diriwayatkan oleh Ahmad melalui Muawiyah, ia berkata,

Saya mendengar Rasulullah SAW bersabda, Hijrah tidak akan berakhir selama taubat masih lagi diterima, dan taubat masih terus diterima sehingga matahari terbit dari Barat.

Ahmad

juga

telah

meriwayatkan

bahawa

Nabi

SAW

bersabda,

Hijrah

itu

tidak

akan

berakhir,

selama

masih

lagi

ada

jihad.

Dalam

riwayat

yang

lain,

Hijrah

itu

tidak

akan

berakhir,

selama

orang

kafir

masih

lagi

wajib

diperangi.

Kesemua hadis ini menunjukkan pengertian bahawa hijrah dari negeri kufur ke negeri Islam adalah kekal dan hukumnya masih lagi berjalan.

Hukum

Berhijrah

Hukum mengenai hijrah boleh dilihat dalam dua situasi yakni ke atas orang yang mampu dan yang tidak mampu:-

(i) Bagi orang yang tidak mampu untuk melakukannya, Allah mengampunkan mereka daripada kewajipan hijrah dan orang tersebut tidak dituntut untuk melakukannya. Ini adalah kerana kelemahannya untuk melakukan hijrah, sama ada kerana sakit, atau dipaksa untuk menetap atau dhaif (lemah) seperti kaum wanita dan anak-anak dan yang seumpama mereka. Ini adalah seperti yang dinyatakan di akhir ayat tentang hijrah (An-Nisa ayat 97-99).

(ii) Bagi mereka yang mampu untuk berhijrah dan tidak mampu menzahirkan agamanya serta melaksanakan hukum-hakam Islam yang dituntut darinya (di darul kufur tersebut), maka hukum berhijrah ke atasnya adalah wajib, sebagaimana yang dinyatakan dalam ayat hijrah Surah an-Nisa ayat 97-99 di atas. Kalimat ikhbar (berita) dalam ayat ini bermakna perintah,

iaitu merupakan sighah al-talab (bentuk tuntutan), seakan-akan Allah berfirman, hajiru fiha (berhijrahlah padanya). Tuntutan dalam ayat ini disertai dengan takid (penekanan) dan disertai juga dengan ancaman yang besar jika meninggalkan hijrah sehingga ia menjadi thalab jazm (tuntutan yang tegas). Ini menunjukkan bahawa hijrah dalam keadaan ini hukumnya fardhu ke atas kaum Muslimin, dan berdosa apabila tidak berhijrah.

(iii) Adapun bagi orang yang mampu untuk berhijrah dan dalam masa yang sama dia masih mampu menzahirkan agamanya serta melaksanakan hukum syarak yang dituntut darinya (di darul kufur tersebut), maka hukum hijrah dalam keadaan seperti ini adalah sunat dan bukan fardhu. Hukum sunat ini diambil dari hakikat bahawa Rasulullah SAW telah mendorong kaum Muslimin agar berhijrah dari Mekah sebelum terjadinya penaklukan, ketika ia masih lagi berstatus negeri kufur. Banyak ayat yang secara tegas menyatakan perkara tersebut. Allah SWT berfirman,

Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang beriman, dan orang-orang yang berhijrah serta berjuang pada jalan Allah (untuk menegakkan agama Islam), mereka itulah orang-orang yang mengharapkan rahmat Allah. Dan (ingatlah), Allah Maha Pengampun, lagi Maha Mengasihani. [TMQ al-Baqarah (2):218].

Allah

juga

berfirman,

Dan orang-orang yang beriman yang belum berhijrah, maka kamu tidak bertanggungjawab sedikitpun untuk membela mereka sehingga mereka berhijrah. Dan jika mereka meminta pertolongan kepada kamu dalam perkara (menentang musuh untuk membela) agama, maka

wajiblah kamu menolongnya, kecuali terhadap kaum yang ada perjanjian setia di antara kamu dengan mereka. [TMQ al-Anfal (8):82]. [Lihat juga at-Taubah (9):20, dan al-Anfal (8):75].

Kesemua ayat di atas dengan jelas memerintahkan kaum Muslimin agar berhijrah. Namun begitu, hijrah menjadi tidak wajib kerana Rasulullah telah mendiamkan orang Islam yang tetap tinggal di Mekah. Telah diriwayatkan bahawa ketika Nuaim al-Nuhham hendak berhijrah, beliau didatangi oleh kaumnya, Bani Adi, dan kemudian mereka berkata kepadanya,

Tetaplah tinggal bersama kami, dan kamu bebas memeluk agamamu. Kami juga akan melindungi kamu daripada orang-orang yang hendak menyakiti kamu. Kami akan memenuhi (keperluan) kamu, selama kamu memenuhi (keperluan) kami. Beliau kemudiannya tetap tinggal di Mekah menguruskan anak-anak yatim Bani Adi dan janda-janda mereka untuk beberapa masa, setelah itu barulah beliau berhijrah. Rasulullah SAW bersabda kepadanya, Kaum kamu lebih baik terhadapmu berbanding kaumku terhadapku. Kaumku telah menghalau aku dan hendak membunuhku, sedangkan kaummu menjaga dan melindungimu. Nuaim menjawab, Wahai Rasulullah, tetapi kaummu mengusirmu kepada mentaati Allah dan memerangi musuhNya, sedangkan kaumku menahan aku dari berhijrah dan mentaati Allah.

(iv) Bagi orang yang mampu untuk menzahirkan agamanya serta mampu melaksanakan hukum syarak yang dituntut darinya dan sekiranya dia mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengubah darul kufur yang didiaminya menjadi darul Islam, seterusnya menggabungkannya ke dalam Daulah Islam (sama ada mempunyai kemampuan kerana kekuatannya sendiri ataupun kerana bergabung dalam kumpulan kaum Muslimin yang ada di darul kufur tersebut, atau dengan bekerjasama dengan Daulah Islam, atau dengan sarana lainnya) maka dia wajib berusaha

untuk menjadikan (menukar) darul kufur tadi menjadi darul Islam, dan haram baginya pada ketika itu untuk berhijrah dari sana. Ini berdasarkan dalil bahawa adalah wajib bagi kaum Muslimin (yang diperintah oleh orang kafir atau oleh hukum-hukum kufur) untuk mendakwah penduduknya kepada Islam. Malah dalam keadaan di mana usaha dakwah telah dijalankan, namun pemerintah di negeri tersebut masih berdegil menerapkan hukum kufur, maka adalah menjadi kewajiban bagi kaum Muslimin di negeri tersebut untuk memerangi penguasanya sehingga mereka memerintah dengan hukum Islam. Namun perlu diingat di sini bahawa hukum ini hanya berlaku ketika Daulah Khilafah sudahpun wujud dan Muslim tersebut masih tinggal di darul kufur di mana sistem kufur dilaksanakan ke atasnya dan dia berkemampuan untuk merubahnya. Dalam keadaan seperti ini, hijrahnya seseorang dari darul kufur yang menerapkan hukum kufur dianggap sebagai melarikan diri dari jihad di satu tempat yang diwajibkan kepadanya, ataupun melarikan diri daripada memerangi orang yang memerintah dengan kekufuran yang nyata. Kedua-duanya adalah merupakan dosa besar di sisi Allah. Oleh kerana itu, tidak dibenarkan bagi orang yang berkemampuan untuk mengubah darul kufur kepada darul Islam, untuk berhijrah dari sana, selagi dia mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengubahnya menjadi darul Islam.

Khatimah

Wahai kaum Muslimin! Kita hendaklah sedar bahawa negeri-negeri yang kita berada di dalamnya saat ini adalah darul kufur. Berdasarkan nas yang jelas, kita wajib menukarnya kepada darul Islam yakni menukarnya menjadi Daulah Khilafah melalui jalan yang ditunjukkan oleh Rasulullah SAW. Hukum hijrah yang diterangkan oleh Allah dan RasulNya tidak akan dapat dirasai selagi mana Daulah Khilafah masih belum berdiri. Bagaimanapun, kita hendaklah

bersedia dan hendaklah memahami hukum hijrah dengan benar kerana dengan izin Allah, Daulah Khilafah yang kita dambakan ini akan segera terwujud dalam masa terdekat. Ayuhlah wahai saudaraku semua, kita berhijrah dengan menukar darul kufur yang kita diami ini kepada darul Islam (Khilafah) kerana hanya dengan cara inilah kita akan dapat menikmati kemanisan iman dan merasai hakikat sebenar hijrah sebagaimana yang telah dirasai oleh Rasulullah SAW dan para sahabatnya dengan penuh kemuliaan dan keredhaan dari Allah Azza wa Jalla. UCAPAN KONVENSYEN PAKATAN RAKYAT 19HB DISEMBER 2009 AUDITORIUM MBSA. I. KEYAKINAN KEPADA RAKYAT Kita mengadakan konvensyen ini sebagai menyambut suara rakyat. Rakyat telah bersuara pada 8hb Mac 2008. Dan suara rakyat semakin lantang. Rakyat telah memberikan kita sedikit kepercayaan. Tsunami politik 2008 memcerminkan rakyat telah muak dengan kerenah rasuah, politik perkauman dan taktik jelek adu domba Umno-BN. Mereka marah dengan skandal V K Lingam, dan tatkala harga petrol melabung mereka tidak yakin BN bersungguh-sungguh untuk membantu rakyat. Maka rakyat memberikan dokongan kepada gagasan Keadilan, DAP dan Pas. Jika kita lihat persiapan jentera pilihanraya, kerjasama antara parti-parti kita yang masih longgar, dan kita melihat pula jaganath pilihanraya Umno-Bn, dengan propaganda licik dan penuh fitnah, semua merasa mustahil kita mampu memperoleh kemenangan yang begitu besar. Tidak ada pendita politik yang mempercayainya, dan sebahagian besar kita sendiri tidak mempercayainya. Tetapi rakyat memberikan kita kepercayaan. Maka kita harus insaf dan bersifat tawadhu. Kita memperoleh kemenangan tersebut bukan kerana kekuatan kita atau jentera parti. Kita di Dewan Rakyat, di tampuk pemerintahan negeri kerana rakyat memberikan kita sedikit keyakinan. Kita jangan sekali jadi seperti kaduk naik junjung. Rakyat mahu mencuba kita, rakyat mahu menguji kita. Maka kita jangan mengkhianati kepercayaan tersebut. Kita perlu yakin dengan kebijaksanaan rakyat. Meskipun mereka dihujani dengan propaganda murahan, dan mereka disekat dengan pelbagai instrumen pemerintahan, tetapi bila tiba saatnya, rakyat akan membuat pilihan dan penentuan yang benar dan adil. Maka kita mengadakan konvensyen ini bukan untuk mencerca dan mengkritik BN dan Umno. Pemerintahan yang ada sekarang sudah kehilangan keabsahan moral, legitimasi moral mereka sudah terhapus. Kita berada di sini untuk mengungkapkan dasar dan kebijakan Pakatan Rakyat, bukan sekadar sebagai gabungan parti-parti politik, tetapi juga sebagai gerakan politik. Pakatan Rakyat is not merely a political alliance, it is first and foremost a political movement.

Perjuangan yang kita bawa ini bukan milik parti-parti politik semata-mata. Agenda perubahan, agenda reformasi yang kita bawa turut menjadi milik lembaga swadaya masyarakat (NGO), blogger, pemikir, penyair dan seniman. Dengan kepercayaan rakyat yang kita perolehi kita kini berada di persimpangan zaman. Kita tidak berjuang sekadar untuk mengganti satu kekuasaan dengan kekuasaan yang lain. Kita tidak berjuang untuk membuat perubahan runcit-runcitan. Kita berjuang untuk membuat perubahan besar, big change, fundamental change. Semangat dan hati nurani rakyat menuntut ini dan mendorong kita membuat lompatan yang jauh. Maka kita perlu ada keberanian kebenaran, the courage of truth, keyakinan terhadap semangat rakyat, faith in the power of the spirit of the people. II. FALSAFAH KEBANGSAAN Apa yang hendak kita lakukan adalah tidak lain dari membina semula sebuah bangsa dan sebuah Malaysia yang berteraskan kekuatan moral rakyat. Dan kekuatan moral rakyat adalah berteraskan prinsip karamah insaniah, kemuliaan darjat insaninya walakad karamna bani

Adam. Prinsip ini turut diungkapkan oleh seorang pejuang kemanusiaan dan rakyat; Martin Luther King, A nation where its people will not be measured by the color of their skin but by the content of thier character. Rakyat sudah merdeka 50 tahun, dan rakyat mahu
keluar dari kepompong perkauman yang dibikin oleh ahli-ahli politik yang berfikiran kecil dan sempit. Maka yang mendasari segala dasar dan kebijakan yang kita bentangkan hari ini adalah prinsip moral sejagat. Ini bukan gimik politik. Kita yakin perjuangan yang tidak dipandu oleh prinsip moral sejagat akan menemui jalan buntu, tidak akan membawa keadilan dan kesejahteraan untuk semua. Kita berpegang kepada prinsip moral kerana rakyat mahu ahli-ahli politik meleburkan kerangka pemikiran usang dan jumud. Inilah falsafah kebangsaan yang kita maksudkan, satu kebangsaan yang inklusif, adil, tanpa diskriminasi. Surah al Hujurat ayat 13 jelas menganjurkan agar kita meninggalkan perkauman sempit ini: Wahai umat manusia! Sesungguhnya Kami telah menciptakan kamu dari lelaki dan perempuan, dan Kami telah menjadikan kamu berbagai bangsa dan bersuku puak, supaya kamu berkenalkenalan (dan beramah mesra antara satu dengan yang lain). Sesungguhnya semulia-mulia kamu di sisi Allah ialah orang yang lebih taqwanya di antara kamu, (bukan yang lebih keturunan atau bangsanya). Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui, lagi Maha Mendalam PengetahuanNya (akan keadaan dan amalan kamu). Prinsip karamah insaniah dan litaarafu inilah yang menggembeling keyakinan baru di kalangan umat Melayu dan bumiputera untuk membanteras sikap perkauman dan membantah sebarang dasar yang meminggirkan golongan lain atas pertimbangan ras. Justeru itu jangan ada yang mahu menggantikan satu bentuk rasisme dengan rasisme yang baru, dengan membidas perkauman Umno semata-mata dari perspektif kepentingan kaum tertentu. Kepada kaum Cina,

India, Kadazan, Iban dan Melayu, ingin saya jelaskan di sini perkauman sempit tidak boleh ditewaskan dengan perjuangan serta tuntutan perkauman sempit juga. Jika ini berlaku, maka tidak akan ada kemajuan dalam perjuangan melawan perkauman. Perjuangan melawan perkauman hanya akan berjaya jika didorong oleh keadilan sejagat dan kesederhanaan sikap. Rakyat Malaysia dari pelbagai kaum mempunyai moral resources, khazanah akhlak, yang kaya untuk memerangi fikiran sempit dan perkauman, dan menggantikannya dengan keadilan sejagat untuk semua, menghapuskan prasangka dan menyemai benih persaudaraan insaniah. Inilah yang dituntut oleh Saidina Ali Karamallahu Wajhah apabila ditanya mengenai persaudaraan sesama insan:

Akhukum fil Insaniah(Persaudaraan sesama insan) yang mana turut bergema dalam tradisi tamil: ontre kulam oruvane thevan( satu jiwa kerana kemanusiaan) dan juga dalam tradisi cina yang diungkapkan oleh mahaguru Kung dalam kitab Lun Yu,si hai zhi nie jie xiong di yang membawa maksud (empat lautan terbentang luas, semua manusia bersaudara)
III. MENJANA MUAFAKAT Saya menghargai keringat dan buah fikiran rakan-rakan dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang terdiri dari pelbagai kaum dan agama yang sanggup berbincang secara terbuka dan ikhlas. Ini belum pernah berlaku dalam sejarah Malaysia. Maka hari ini kita mencipta sejarah. Bukan mudah untuk sampai kepada suatu muafakat yang boleh disebut sebagai overlapping consensus sepertimana yang diungkapkan oleh filasuf John Rawls. Proses perbincangan yang intense dan rancak dari kalangan yang berbeza latar, fahaman dan kepercayaan. Kita menghormati falsafah perjuangan parti-parti masing, yang punya sejarah gemilang dan getir melawan kerakusan kuasa dan mengalami pelbagai bentuk penindasan. Kita berbincang secara terbuka dan ikhlas. Perkara-perkara yang selama ini dianggap sensitif kepada parti masing-masing dan kaum-kaum tertentu. Kerana ada kejujuran maka kita berjaya mencapai muafakat. Dengan muafakat yang kita perolehi, bangsa Malaysia boleh berrgerak ke hadapan mengharungi abad ke 21 dengan penuh keyakinan, bangsa Melayu punyai keyakinan, bangsa Cina perolehi keyakinan, bangsa India perolehi keyakinan, bangsa Iban perolehi keyakinan dan bangsa Kadazan perolehi keyakinan. Kita tidak membina satu muafakat dengan rasa ketakutan atau rasa tidak selamat. IV. EKONOMI Cabaran terbesar yang dihadapi oleh negara adalah dalam sektor ekonomi. Jika ekonomi lembap, kesejahteraan rakyat akan terhakis, ramai rakyat akan hilang pekerjaan. Dasar-dasar yang ada sekarang menyebabkan negara kita jauh ketinggalan dengan negara-negara di rantau ini seperti Singapura, Korea Selatan dan Taiwan. Pakatan Rakyat ingin merangka satu dasar yang akan mengembalikan Malaysia di barisan pertama dengan negara-negara termaju di rantau ini. Kita mesti melakukan satu reformasi ekonomi yang mampu meransang daya saing, kecekapan dan produktiviti.

Dan unsur bersepadu daam reformasi tersebut adalah menjaga kepentingan rakyat melalui satu kerangka keadilan sosial. Kita perlu memastikan pengagihan yang saksama dan menumpukan pertolongan kepada anggota masayarakat yang paling lemah, tanpa mengira kaum atau kumpulan. Kita akan mengadakan kerangka-kerangka dan kebijakan-kebijakan untuk menarik pelabur asing demi meransang pelaburan tempatan. Kita akan mesra dengan usahawan dan memastikan penyertaan bumiputera di dalam ekonomi. Saya menegaskan di sini sebagai satu Pakatan Rakyat, hati nurani tidak boleh membiarkan sesiapapun di kalangan rakyat tidak memperolehi taraf kehidupan yang manusiawi, seperti rumah, pendidikan, pengangkutan dan lain-lain perkara asas. Malaysia adalah sebuah negeri yang kaya, usahawan kita berdaya saing dan produktif. Pekerja-pekerja rajin dan tekun dan kita mempunyai penjawat-penjawat awam yang berdisiplin. Dengan gabungan kesemua ini tidak mustahil dalam masa 15 tahun, Malaysia akan kembali ke barisan pertama negara-negara maju di rantau ini. V. WANITA September yang lalu telah terbit kajian yang berjudul The Female Economy dalam makalah Harvard Business Review. Menurut kajian makalah tersebut, ketakjuban ekonomi terkini bukanlah ekonomi China ataupun India, ataupun ekonomi kedua-duanya digabungkan. Ketakjuban ekonomi itu ialah ekonomi kaum hawa. Pendapatan kaum hawa seluruh dunia untuk tahun 2009 sahaja berjumlah USD 13 trillion, lebih besar dari gabungan KDNK China dan India untuk tahun ini; masing-masing sekitar USD 4.4 trillion dan USD 1.2 trillion. Pada masa 5 tahun akan datang jumlah jumlah pendapatan kaum hawa dijangka mencecah USD 18 trillion, manakala gabungan KDNK India dan China hanya pada angka sekitar USD 8.4 trillion. Maka seperti gejala globalisasi, kebangkitan ekonomi hawa adalah satu gejala yang tidak boleh dihentikan atau diterbalikkan(unstoppable dan irreversible). Oleh itu dalam dokumen Dasar Pakatan Rakyat, terdapat khusus satu bab mengenai wanita. VI. GOLONGAN MUDA Golongan muda seharusnya mempunyai serta memperlihatkan keyakinan yang tinggi untuk melakukan perubahan. Pakatan Rakyat sedar bahawa golongan muda memainkan peranan penting demi memastikan kejayaan pilihanraya umum yang lepas. Pakatan Rakyat menyedari untuk mengeratkan lagi hubungan antara generasi dan demi merapatkan jurang tersebut, perlu ada satu keputusan berani, bertanggungjawab dan meyakinkan. Kini kita lihat ramai pemimpin muda yang muncul, samada sebagai ahli parlimen mahupun sebagai adun. Namun ini tidak seharusnya menjadikan anak-anak muda khususnya yang bersama Pakatan Rakyat cepat berpuas hati. Kita mempunyai agenda yang lebih penting, iaitu menterjemahkan janji-janji serta dasar-dasar yang kita ungkapkan. Oleh demikian pemimpin muda Pakatan, di semua peringkat, perteguhkan tekad, kefahaman serta gerak kerja berdasarkan garis besar perjuangan Pakatan Rakyat. Kita mesti meyakinkan golongan muda betapa Perubahan merupakan perkara asasi, fundamental, bukan sahaja untuk generasi sekarang, juga untuk generasi masa depan. VII. ALAM SEKITAR Tatkala kita merumuskan dasar Pakatan Rakyat ini, sedang berlangsung Persidangan

Perubahan Iklim Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu di Copenhagen. Persidangan yang lebih dikenali sebagai COP 15 itu sungguh mustahak bagi mendapatkan persetujuan serta kesanggupan masyarakat antarabangsa untuk memastikan kelangsungan bumi yang kita diami ini. Kita akui pembangunan sememangnya penting namun ini tidak bermakna kerusakan yang berlaku terhadap alam harus diiyakan sahaja. Makanya kebelakangan ini, laporan seumpama Stern Review, berupaya menjadi garis panduan melakar dasar nasional yang mengembalikan hala tuju pembangunan ke landasan yang tepat di samping memastikan agenda alam sekitar dan kelangsungan bumi tidak terabai. Pakatan Rakyat bersama dengan masyarakat antarabangsa yang prihatin menyatakan iltizam serta tekad untuk menangani isu perubahan iklim dan berusaha untuk mengurangkan pengeluaran karbon. VIII. KEBUDAYAAN Bangsa Malaysia yang kita gagaskan bukanlah satu bangsa yang eka dimensi-one dimensional nation. Kita tidak mahu Malaysia menjadi sekadar bangsa ekonomi, meskipun ekonomi itu amat penting untuk kesejahteraan. Kita mahu bangsa Malaysia itu satu bangsa yang syumul, bangsa yang mempunyai ketinggian akal budi dan segar lagi kreatif dalam pengucapan kebudayaan. Justeru itu antara unsur penting dalam Dasar Pakatan Rakyat adalah Muafakat Kebudayaan Baru. Ia tidak lain sejajar dengan semangat kemerdekaan negara yang kemudiannya perlu digilap lanjutan dari Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan (1971). IX. PENUTUP Hari ini kita mencipta sejarah. Tetapi ini hanyalah titik permulaan. Dasar Pakatan yang akan dimeterai sebentar lagi adalah garis besar perjuangan rakyat. Dasar-dasar ini adalah moral compass dalam perjungan politik kita. Pakatan Rakyat akan berlayar jauh, maka kita perlu ada kesatuan fikrah, kesatuan pemikiran dan sentiasa berada di garis tengah. Kita perlu mematuhi ethics of coalition, Etika Pakatan. Setiap kumpulan punya tuntutannya sendiri dan mempunyai legitimasi dan keabsahannya. Tetapi kita juga perlu melihat urutan keutamaan kerana tidak semua tuntutan boleh ditangani dengan sekaligus. Maka kita tidak boleh melihat tuntutan political constituency masing-masing tanpa melihat dan mempertimbangkan political constituency rakan-rakan kita. Perlu ada sikap empathy, keprihatinan terhadap pelbagai sektor dan constituency rakan rakan kita. Justeru menjayakan agenda Pakatan Rakyat adalah menjadi prasyarat untuk mendapat dokongan penuh dan keyakinan rakyat. Hanya dengan keyakinan rakyat , bahawa rakyat yakin kita bersatu hati, kita akan memperolehi kemenangan. InsyaAllah.

kisah Hijrar segar;perjuangan jemaah

The Board of Trustees of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Foundation has awarded their Distinguished Pathfinders Award to Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail of Malaysia. The DISTINGUISHED PATHFINDERS AWARD was established by the Foundation to honor distinguished contemporary leaders and global institutions, in all fields, whose life or mission

resembles the path followed by the great Islamic Pathfinder, the second Caliph Omar Ibn Al Khattab.

Bismillah alrrahman alrrahim, Assalamualaikum Warahmatullihi wa barakatuhu, Al hamdulillah wabihi nastain wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah wa ala aalihi wa sahbihi ajmain
I would like to offer my profound thanks to the Board of Trustees and the Founder and elder of Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation Hajji Mohamed Dakhil, Resident scholar and elder Professor Dr. Fathi Osman, distinguished guests, academicians, and community and interfaith leaders. I am deeply honoured by your invitation to be here tonight. I was initially reluctant to receive this award as I believe we are all pursuing justice in our own way, but when Mr Mahmud and Mr Dafer Dakhil invited me again as part of dakwah for the sake of correcting misconceptions of the supposedly downtrodden Muslim woman I humbly accepted the invitation. Ladies and gentleman, In dispatching and receiving justice though, individuals who make up a society require wise and just leaders. Justice, intertwined with wisdom beckons sound judgment, as illustrated by the poignant story of Sulaiman(as) or Solomon, the judicious prophet and ruler of men and jinns. The account of two mothers who came before Sulaiman to resolve a quarrel about who was the true mother of a baby. Two women came up to Sulaiman to settle the dispute. The two women claims to be the mother of a baby, as one of the two womens baby died in the night and each claims the surviving child as hers. Upon hearing the account of both women, who pleaded with equal vigour, Sulaiman, endowed by Allah with wisdom delivered a judgment that enabled true justice to be served. As both womens claim can neither be proven true or otherwise, (as DNA evidence of course is a recent discovery) the prophet proposed to divide the living child in two, so that both women would have an equal one half share of the baby. Upon hearing this judgment, one of the women, still overcome with grief, declared that the child belongs to the other women, and that she would give up her right to the child. Upon hearing this, Solomon declares this woman, who showed genuine compassion and willingness to give up the baby as the true mother, and gives the baby back to her. As many of you already know, my husband was imprisoned for 6 years on trumped up charges and the charges were later overturned. He was the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; he was arrested in a dramatic style with special squad police,masked and armed with submachine guns attacking our house after we just finished isha prayers. and I became an accidental politician. I am an opthalmologist by training, I do not envisage getting involved in politics, but we plan and Allah plans and Allah is the Best of Planners.

Once catapulted into politics, in a matter of 9 months, I had to stand for the countrys elections (and won!)in three general elections. It was at this period that I fully realized Allahs Bounty and Mercy in the people He has sent to help me. Allah does not test an individual more than he or she can bear, and He ensures us that after hardship comes ease. I would like to thank those people all over the world who Allah sent me to give me strength and support to endure those six difficult years and have given our movement a measure of success in recent years. In the March 2008 general elections with my husbands release from incarceration, the political climate of Malaysia changed and our party won the most number of seats among the Opposition coalition and I became the first woman Opposition Leader. When Anwar was in prison my party forged a partnership with the other two opposition parties (Islamic Party and the Action Democratic Party) working together towards a common agenda for reform and justice. We have our inherent differences and in the face of the government media propaganda and the diverse population makeup it is a delicate process to make our coalition a formidable force to be reckoned with. And at the same time I had to hold my family together with the glimmering hope that our continued sacrifice and our struggle for justice would not only lead to my husbands freedom, but also to freedom for the entire nation we love so much. I was asked to lead a fledgling movement against a behemoth that had never lost power in what is now five consecutive decades of rule. In this time the ruling party had grown more decadent and corrupt. It views the countrys coffers as its own. In fact, recently the Deputy Finance Minister has admitted that 28 billion Ringgit(equivalent to 9 billion USD, or nearly 20 percent of Malaysias GDP) a year is lost on account of corruption. The courts have been made to enforce not the Rule of Law but the Rule of their laws, which means protection for the elites at the expense of the masses. Even today while our coalition controls four of Malaysias states and over 1/3 of the seats in Parliament(meaning the Federal government) the Ruling Party continues to wield its power to undermine and destabilize our governments and elected officials. Projects have been cancelled and money destined to alleviate the plight of the poor and marginalized has been frozen. One poor young man-a witness- died while under a Gestapo style interrogation trawling for evidence of corruption amounting to a paltry USD 700 allegedly committed by an opposition state assemblyman- and there is an ongoing enquiry whether it was a murder., The numerous police reports made by us the opposition against members of the ruling elite are covered up. This abuse of power is no more glaring than in the renewed campaign against Anwar. Once again the police, media and judiciary are being used once again to humiliate and defame my husbands reputation and character. It reminds me of the quote from Macbeth Fair is foul and foul is fair to describe the latest onslaught on Anwar. which means he may be sent once

again to prison as a desperate attempt to thwart the movement for change and reform that he is spearheading. A successful government in my opinion means to end this constant abuse of power which degrades the nation. It is commonly said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Given the tendency for those in the corridors of power to become intoxicated and lose their moral compass, institutions must be in place to ensure accountability. This means more than just elections, although when they happen there must be a standard of legitimacy and credibility. But it also means a free and independent judiciary, the separation of powers, free media and a vibrant civil society. Call it democracy. Call it shura. We are not so concerned with the terminology as we are with the underlying principles which is that a just Muslim society must uphold the high objectives of the sharia, the maqasid, namely the preservation of faith, life, lineage, intellect and property. Fighting for justice has a way of bringing people from diverse backgrounds together. We have made great strides in bridging the gap between muslims and non-muslims. I believe that Islam is in a position to work with non-muslims, and that upholding the maqasid of the sharia and dispensing of justice applies to muslims and non-muslims alike. In multiethnic Malaysia with 60 percent of Malay muslims the conviventhia or working and living together between the diverse ethnic groups I believe, will develop the future. Sharing though, is not enough to receive trust. The key to this cooperation is the belief that justice must be dispensed against transgressors, whether they are muslims or non muslims alike. The current ruling party promotes race based politics, and they themselves are race based people. Each major party in the ruling coalition consists of one race, Malay, Chinese, Indian. Instead of viewing the different races as distinct social and political groups, we fought for the idea of one race-the human race. Islams egalitarian approach on justice became a unifying social and political force, that protects and promotes the human race. We champion Islam that is colour blind, and unites Malaysians of all races to fight against greed and fitnah. This approach I would like to share with you and for you to share with our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. If muslims clearly trangressed against muslims or non-muslims, we must vigorously take up the challenge to protect those oppressed, irrespective of their affiliation, skin colour or beliefs. Peace Equality and Justice in the name of freedom, human rights, gender equality, and democracy can only be significant if filled with virtues in their pursuit and implementation. All human institutions must function in concert to bring about the desired results. From government, to family, to individual, every part of the social structure must work to ensure virtue becomes the heart of these institutions. A good family nurtures the individual to become a good person, but without good government policies and actions one cannot fully achieve our desire for a civilized society.

Likewise, the government may introduce good policies but without the family institution to instill love,respect and trust between the young and old, it will not work. We need the individual, the family and the government to deliver the goods( AL KHAIRAT) Hence, strengthening the family institution is one of the most important task for us, Divinely inspired and ordained, a relationship permeated with tranquility,love, and mercy RAHMAH, MAWADDAH and SAKINAH. It provides for the production and procreation based on protection and preservation of a healthy and vibrant UMMAH, a Guardian of Morals of the individual and society. In our ummah today we definitely need more of our mothers mercy and we need families which are strong and stable. To be merciful and forgiving with one another will only come when we have brothers and sisters in positions of leadership who are willing to extend the olive branch more readily. We must remember that while the companions of the Prophet were the forefathers of our religion they were also human and applied the teachings of the Prophet in different ways. Omar, as a great champion of our religion, also at times struggled to apply the elevated status and rights that Islam granted to the women of his time. He once said: By God in jahiliyya we did not consider women The impression we have from the hadith and historical record is that Omar was very harsh with both friend and foe. Yet we cannot forget there was another side of him a side which was prepared to moderate his position and admit mistakes. In one famous sermon he said he believed that the women of his time were asking for extravagant dowries so he tried to limit the amount they could request from their prospective spouses. When he said this, an elderly woman in the audience raised protest, reminding him that the Prophet himself never set a limit on the value of a dowry. Omar replied, This woman is right and Umar is wrong. This is the Omar we must remember. We must also remember the compassionate Omar who gave generous state pensions to the Mothers of the Believers and the wise Omar who consulted Aisha in his political affairs, acknowledging that she had special knowledge of Muhammads(SAW) ways, sayings, and character. To end I would like thank the foundation once again and to dedicate this award to Muslim women around the world are brave enough to speak truth to power, just as the old lady confronting Omar did, and with a doa tha Allah SWT Grant us wisdom to make the right decisions in life. Jazakallah and Thank you. Wassalamualaimkum warahmatullahiwabarakatuhu

USUL MENANGGUHKAN MESYUARAT DI BAWAH PERATURAN 18(1)

Saya, YB Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim [Permatang Pauh] akan mencadangkan.

Bahawa Dewan ini hendaklah ditangguhkan bagi membolehkan Dewan ini membincangkan Laporan Kewangan Petronas separuh tahun pertama 2009 yang menunjukkan kejatuhan ketara pendapatan Petronas sebanyak RM58 billion atau 37.5% berbanding masa yang sama tahun lepas yang diumumkan semalam yang menjejas kedudukan ekonomi, kewangan dan bajet 2010 Negara yang sedang dipertimbangkan oleh Dewan yang Mulia ini sekarang.
Petronas telah mengumumkan laporan kewangan setengah tahun pertama tahun 2009 (1 April 2009 hingga 30 September 2009) semalam, 9 Disember 2009. Daripada intipati laporan ini pendapatan Petronas telah jatuh dengan begitu ketara, RM58 billion atau 37.5% berbanding masa yang sama tahun lepas. Dalam belanjawan 2010 yang sedang dipertimbangkan oleh Dewan yang Mulia ini kerajaan bergantung lebih daripada 40% hasil pendapatannya daripada cukai dan dividen Petronas. Laporan Kewangan Petronas yang diumumkan semalam menyebabkan bajet 2010 yang sedang dipertimbangkan sekarang tidak lagi sesuai dan perlu diubahsuai untuk mengambil kira kedudukan kewangan semasa Petronas. Oleh kerana kerajaan bergantung lebih daripada 40% hasil pendaptannya daripada cukai dan dividen Petronas, maka bajet 2010 yang sedang dipertimbangkan oleh Dewan yang Mulia ini melibatkan seluruh rakyat Malaysia. Ia melibatkan perbelanjaan dan perbekalan oleh kerajaan melalui pelbagai kementerian dan agensi kerajaan. Ia juga menjejas warga peniaga yang berurusan dengan Petronas dan pengguna hasil keluaran Petronas. Laporan kewangan Petronas ini mencemaskan kedudukan ekonomi, kewangan dan bajet 2010 negara yang perlu dibahas dengan segera. Ia bukan sahaja melibatkan kejatuhan pendapatan tetapi juga cukai, dividen, pelaburan semasa dan masa depan, kedudukan rezab carbon baik dalam dan luar Negara, dan strategi kerajaan dalam mengolah masa depan ekonomi. Kerajaan perlu mengambil kira pendapat dan pandangan semua pihak baik penyokong maupun pembangkang dalam menangani krisis ini. ANWAR IBRAHIM KETUA PEMBANGKANG DEWAN RAKYAT MALAYSIA RANG UNDANG UNDANG

bernama

Suatu Akta untuk meminda Akta Pembangunan Petroleum 1974. DIPERBUAT oleh Parlimen Malaysia seperti berikut: Tajuk ringkas dan permulaan kuat kuasa 1. (1) Akta ini bolehlah dinamakan Akta Pembangunan Petroleum (Pindaan) 2009. (2) Akta ini mula berkuat kuasa pada tarikh yang ditetapkan oleh Menteri melalui pemberitahuan dalam Warta. Pindaan seksyen 10 2. Seksyen 10 Akta ibu dipinda dengan memotong tanda noktah pada penghujung seksyen tersebut dan memasukkan perkataan-perkataan berikut: dan perkataan di luar pantai bermaksud sebahagian kawasan di tengah laut terbuka di luar pesisir pantai yang berada di dalam had Zon Ekonomi Ekslusif bagi Persekutuan dan diukur menurut undang-undang yang diterima pakai oleh Persekutuan pada masa berkaitan. HURAIAN Rang Undang-Undang ini bertujuan untuk meminda Akta Pembangunan Petroleum 1974 (Akta 144). Pindaan ini memperjelaskan perkataan di luar pantai (offshore) agar ia mencerminkan maksud dan semangat sebenar semasa Akta tersebut digubal dengan pemahaman yang sama di antara Negeri-Negeri dan Kerajaan Persekutuan apabila bersetuju menyerahkan hak negerinegeri keatas sumber hydrocarbon. Pindaan ini juga bertujuan mengelak kekaburan di masa hadapan agar suatu regim fiskal yang jelas dapat ditentukan dalam industri minyak dan gas pertikaian masa kini di antara Kerajaan Persekutuan dan Negeri-Ngeri khususnya Kelantan dan Terengganu memberi isyarat negatif kepada pelabur dalam sektor minyak dan gas di masa hadapan. Salah satu ciri yang diambilkira oleh pelabur dalam industri minyak dan gas ini ialah kejelasan, kestabilan, dan kepercayaan kepada sistem perundangan berhubung hakmilik sumber hydrocarbon. Tindakan Kerajaan masa kini yang mengeksploitasi segala kelopongan perundangan bercanggah dengan maksud dan semangat sebenar Akta tersebut dan memberi isyarat negatif kepada industri ini yang mesti dirumuskan dengan segera IMPLIKASI KEWANGAN Rang Undang-Undang ini tidak akan melibatkan Kerajaan dalam apa-apa perbelanjaan wang tambahan. Kami menyambut baik usaha PETRONAS yang mengumumkan prestasi separuh tahun bagi tahun kewangan yang akan berakhir pada 31hb Mac 2010. Tatkala kami hargai sumbangan PETRONAS untuk meningkatkan pendapatan Negara, berjumlah 48.6% dari jumlah keseluruhan pendapatan, kami juga merasa bimbang dengan merudumnya keuntungan syarikat tersebut kerana ianya bersangkutan langsung dengan kedudukan ekonomi Negara.

Pendapatan PETRONAS berdasarkan laporan yang dikeluarkan, mencatatkan kejatuhan berjumlah RM 59 billion, bermakna cukai yang sepatutnya diperolehi oleh Negara berkurangan sekitar 57%. Sepanjang 5 tahun ini, PETRONAS adalah entiti yang memberi sumbangan terbesar kepada pendapatan Negara. Untuk tahun kewangan 2008 sahaja, sumbangan PETRONAS merupakan 44.9% dari pendapatan Negara. Kebergantungan terhadap PETRONAS ini mengaburi kita dari kedudukan sebenar ekonomi akibat dari dasar kerajaan yang terus menerus bergantung kepada syarikat tersebut untuk menampung kegagalan mereka untuk memulihkan kewangan Negara semenjak terkesan dari krisis kewangan Asia 1997/1998. Sepanjang 5 tahun ini, penggunaan sumber dan dana dari PETRONAS oleh kerajaan telah membengkak sekitar 21% setiap tahun. Ini bermakna setiap tahun, peratusan penggunaan sumber PETRONAS oleh kerajaan bertambah sebanyak 21% dari apa yang digunakan pada tahun sebelumnya. Ini juga bermaksud sepanjang 5 tahun ini, wang yang disedut oleh kerajaan telah meningkat lebih dari dua kali ganda. Misalnya pada tahun 2005, petronas menyumbang sebanyak RM31.2 billion dari jumlah keseluruhan belanjawan Negara. Namun pada tahun 2008, jumlah wang PETRONAS yang membentuk belanjawan Negara adalah sebanyak RM 74 billionpeningkatan sebanyak 130% sepanjang 5 tahun ini. Akibat dari ketagihan menggunakan sumber PETRONAS, syarikat ini tidak lagi mampu menampung ketirisan serta perbelanjaan boros oleh kerajaan pusat. Sedangkan pengunaan oleh kerajaan bertambah 21% setiap tahun, keupayaan PETRONAS hanya berkembang pada tahap sekitar 16% setiap tahun. Jelasnya kerajaaan barisan nasional memerah lebih dari apa yang termampu dilakukan oleh PETRONAS. Tambah memburukkan keadaan kerajaan pusat membentangkan belanjawan yang berjumlah RM 208billion untuk tahun 2009 dan pakej ransangan yang berjumlah RM 60 billion, ketika unjuran pendapatan tahun 2009 berasaskan harga minyak mentah bulan September 2008. Saya sewaktu membahaskan belanjawan 2009 telahpun menggesa kerajaan supaya menyemak semula belanjawan yang dibentangkan kerana perubahan mendadak serta keadaan tidak menentu harga petroleum ketika itu. Walaupun begitu saranan saya dan rakan-rakan ditolak oleh kerajaan umno-barisan nasional. Selepas hampir 1 tahun berlalu, kita berdepan dengan keadaan sukar kerana kerajaan sememangnya tidak mempunyai dana yang mencukupi bagi menunaikan janji-jani yang dibuat, kerana keuntungan PETRONAS berkurangan sebanyak 50%. Ini bermakna pendapatan kerajaan untuk perbelanjaan dan pakej ransangan akan berkurangan separuh dari jumlah yang dijanjikan. Perkembangan ini menjejaskan kedudukan ekonomi Negara. Anggaran kami menunjukkan sasaran pertumbuhan kerajaan terlalu optimistik kerana kekurangan dana untuk dibelanjakan. Makanya sasaran untuk mengurangkan defisit belanjawan Negara pada tahun hadapan juga perlu disemak semula berdasarkan pendapatan Negara yang semakin berkurangan ini. Kami menyeru kerajaan barisan nasional agar memastikan ketelusan dan menjelaskan kepada rakyat Malaysia berhubung kesan dari merudumnya keuntungan PETRONAS terhadap prestasi ekonomi Negara. Kami berpendirian adalah baik untuk kepentingan Negara sekiranya YAB Menteri Kewangan menjelaskan secara terperinci kepada Dewan Rakyat, semakan semula

unjuran pendapatan Negara untuk tahun 2010 serta dampaknya kepada perbelanjaan untuk tahun 2010. Sudah tiba masanya kerajaan memberi perhatian kepada beberapa mustahak yang menyangkuti kepentingan umum: 1)Memastikan ekonomi Negara tidak lagi bergantung kepada sumber petroleum dan gas semata-mata. Industri pembuatan yang bernilai serta berdaya tinggi dan perkhidmatan perlu dijadikan sector utama memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi. 2)Memastikan penggunaan dana PETRONAS telus untuk penelitian umum agar pembaziran serta ketagihan yang sama tidak berulang sepertimana yang berlaku dari tahun 2005-2009. 3)Menstrukturkan semula subsidi gas dan pembayaran royalti agar tidak ada lagi ketirisan. Subsidi gas hanya menguntungkan sesegelintir berikutan perjanjian IPP yang berat sebelah seperti sekarang mengakibatkan ketirisan dan korupsi. 4)Kerajaan Malaysia mesti bertindak untuk menjadi pemudah cara/fasilitator kepada PETRONAS untuk mendapatkan kawasan baru di luar Negara untuk menampung keperluan tempatan yang meningkat ANWAR IBRAHIM KETUA PEMBANGKANG DEWAN RAKYAT

10TH DECEMBER 2009 PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PETRONAS HALF YEAR RESULT: A WAKE UP CALL TO RESTRUCTURE THE ECONOMY We welcome the release of PETRONAS half year results for the financial year ending 31 March 2010. While we congratulate PETRONAS on its efforts to grow the international revenue which has grown to 48.6% of the overall revenue, We are alarmed by drastic decrease of the revenue and profitability. PETRONAS revenue for the first half of the financial year drops by RM59 billion which amounts to an even bigger drop of 57% in taxes paid. In the past 5 years, PETRONAS has contributed as high as 44.9% of the national revenue for the calendar year of 2008. This dependency on PETRONAS revenue and income from oil & gas sector has skewed the overall picture of our economy, as the government continues to draw more from PETRONAS to cover for its inability to resuscitate the economy since the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. As a result, over the last 5 years the governments drawing from PETRONAS resources has been growing at an annual compound growth rate of 21%. In 2005, PETRONAS contributed RM32.1

billion to the national budget and by 2008 this has become RM74 billion a whopping increase of 130% within 5 years.Unfortunately, even a corporation like PETRONAS cannot cope with the governments excessive spending and wastages. BN government tabled a budget of RM208 billion for 2009 in October 2008 and additionally another mini budget of RM60 billion to spent in 2009 and 2010 was tabled in March 2009 when the projection of income for 2009 was made based on the bull crude oil price leading up to September 2008. In the past, we has insisted that the government revisit the 2009 budget in light of the severe changes in the international crude oil market when the crude oil price plunged in the last quarter of 2008. This sensible and responsible call was ignored, reflective of the arrogance of the Barisan Nasional government. One year later, we are faced with a situation where it is very clear that the government will not have enough money to pay for all the expenses committed and announced so far as PETRONAS results so far indicated nearly a 50% drop of profits. By extension, the government income to pay for 2009 and stimulus packages announced so far will also be halved. This has a big repercussion to our economy. Our estimate shows that the governments growth rate target for 2010 is too optimistic, given that there is not enough money to be pumped into the national economy as promised and announced previously. Likewise, the reduction of budget deficit target for actual spending of 2009 and budget of 2010 will have to be revised to take into account the indicative governments income for next year. In light of this, we calls for Barisan Nasional government to be more transparent and come clean with the people of Malaysia on the overall impact of the drop in PETRONAS profitability to the country. The YAB Finance Minister himself should come to Dewan Rakyat to explain in details what is the revised projection of government revenue for 2010 and correspondingly, how the reduction in government revenue will impact the annual spending for 2010. There is also the bigger question of the direction of the national economy that the government must come clean with the country. The high dependence of domestic oil & gas sector and PETRONAS revenue is not sustainable and unhealthy in the long run. Our estimate shows that the crude oil and natural gas reserves in Malaysia can only last for another 23 years and 43 years respectively if PETRONAS and other operators do not make new discovery, at the rate we are producing. Similarly, PETRONAS equity reserves of its international operations can only last another 23 years and 37 years for the crude oil and natural gas reserves respectively. We believe it is high time that the whole structure of the national economy is re-looked in light of the anticipated much lower revenue coming from PETRONAS in the future. In particular, the following areas require urgent attention and action:

1. Putting in place a clear, actionable and result-oriented national plan to shift to services and higher value manufacturing sectors to drive the growth of the economy, instead of continuing the dependency on oil & gas industry as main income contributor to the government 2. The institutionalisation of a transparent policy that the Government of the day extracts revenue from PETRONAS and the manner the revenue has been spent, to avoid another round of joyride spending similar to the one carried out by Barisan Nasional government in period 2005 to 2009 3. The restructuring of the gas subsidy system and royalty payments to avoid wastages and to obtain the best economic returns for the country. Currently, the gas subsidy has benefited a few quarters due to the lopsidedness of the IPP agreements and the administering of royalty payments camouflaged as wang ehsan takes away accountability and diluted economic planning, causing a widespread wastage and corruption 4. The role and effectiveness of Malaysian Government as enabler and facilitator for PETRONAS to obtain new overseas/foreign oil & gas acreages as PETRONAS relies more and more on international reserves to supplement the dwindling domestic reserves We will continue to highlight this issue and engage the relevant party to effect a shift in the national economic make-up, because the joyride spending behaviour of the current government in extracting vast amount of PETRONAS financial resources was not only irresponsible, but catastrophic to the national economy presently and in the future. ANWAR IBRAHIM LEADER OF OPPOSTION DEWAN RAKYAT

Anwar Ibrahim Berhasrat Meminda Akta Pembangunan Petroleum 1974

RANG UNDANG UNDANG bernama

Suatu Akta untuk meminda Akta Pembangunan Petroleum 1974. DIPERBUAT oleh Parlimen Malaysia seperti berikut: Tajuk ringkas dan permulaan kuat kuasa 1. (1) Akta ini bolehlah dinamakan Akta Pembangunan Petroleum (Pindaan) 2009. (2) Akta ini mula berkuat kuasa pada tarikh yang ditetapkan oleh Menteri melalui pemberitahuan dalam Warta. Pindaan penghujung seksyen tersebut seksyen dan memasukkan 10 perkataan-perkataan 2. Seksyen 10 Akta ibu dipinda dengan memotong tanda noktah pada berikut: dan perkataan di luar pantai bermaksud sebahagian kawasan di tengah laut terbuka di luar pesisir pantai yang berada di dalam had Zon Ekonomi Ekslusif bagi Persekutuan dan diukur menurut undang-undang yang diterima pakai oleh Persekutuan pada masa berkaitan. HURAIAN Rang Undang-Undang ini bertujuan untuk meminda Akta Pembangunan Petroleum 1974 (Akta 144). Pindaan ini memperjelaskan perkataan di luar pantai (offshore) agar ia mencerminkan maksud dan semangat sebenar semasa Akta tersebut digubal dengan pemahaman yang sama di antara Negeri-Negeri dan Kerajaan Persekutuan apabila bersetuju menyerahkan hak negeri-negeri keatas sumber hydrocarbon. Pindaan ini juga bertujuan mengelak kekaburan di masa hadapan agar suatu regim fiskal yang jelas dapat ditentukan dalam industri minyak dan gas pertikaian masa kini di antara Kerajaan Persekutuan dan Negeri-Ngeri khususnya Kelantan dan Terengganu memberi isyarat negatif kepada pelabur dalam sektor minyak dan gas di masa hadapan. Salah satu ciri yang diambilkira oleh pelabur dalam industri minyak dan gas ini ialah kejelasan, kestabilan, dan kepercayaan kepada sistem perundangan berhubung

hakmilik

sumber

hydrocarbon. segala

Tindakan

Kerajaan

masa

kini

yang

mengeksploitasi

kelopongan

perundangan

bercanggah

dengan

maksud dan semangat sebenar Akta tersebut dan memberi isyarat negatif kepada industri ini yang mesti dirumuskan dengan segera IMPLIKASI KEWANGAN Rang Undang-Undang ini tidak akan melibatkan Kerajaan dalam apa-apa perbelanjaan wang tambahan.

Usul

Berkenaan

Kejatuhan

Ketara

Pendapatan Petronas
USUL MENANGGUHKAN MESYUARAT DI BAWAH PERATURAN 18(1) Saya, YB Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim [Permatang Pauh] akan mencadangkan. Bahawa Dewan ini hendaklah ditangguhkan bagi membolehkan Dewan ini membincangkan Laporan Kewangan Petronas separuh tahun pertama 2009 yang menunjukkan kejatuhan ketara pendapatan Petronas sebanyak RM58 billion atau 37.5% berbanding masa yang sama tahun lepas yang diumumkan semalam yang menjejas kedudukan ekonomi, kewangan dan bajet 2010 Negara yang sedang dipertimbangkan oleh Dewan yang Mulia ini sekarang. Petronas telah mengumumkan laporan kewangan setengah tahun pertama tahun 2009 (1 April 2009 hingga 30 September 2009) semalam, 9 Disember 2009. Daripada intipati laporan ini pendapatan Petronas telah jatuh dengan begitu ketara, RM58 billion atau 37.5% berbanding masa yang sama tahun lepas.

Dalam belanjawan 2010 yang sedang dipertimbangkan oleh Dewan yang Mulia ini kerajaan bergantung lebih daripada 40% hasil pendapatannya daripada cukai dan dividen Petronas. Laporan Kewangan Petronas yang diumumkan semalam menyebabkan bajet 2010 yang sedang dipertimbangkan sekarang tidak lagi sesuai dan perlu diubahsuai untuk mengambil kira kedudukan kewangan semasa Petronas. Oleh kerana kerajaan bergantung lebih daripada 40% hasil pendaptannya daripada cukai dan dividen Petronas, maka bajet 2010 yang sedang dipertimbangkan oleh Dewan yang Mulia ini melibatkan seluruh rakyat Malaysia. Ia melibatkan perbelanjaan dan perbekalan oleh kerajaan melalui pelbagai kementerian dan agensi kerajaan. Ia juga menjejas warga peniaga yang berurusan dengan Petronas dan pengguna hasil keluaran Petronas. Laporan kewangan Petronas ini mencemaskan kedudukan ekonomi,

kewangan dan bajet 2010 negara yang perlu dibahas dengan segera. Ia bukan sahaja melibatkan kejatuhan pendapatan tetapi juga cukai, dividen, pelaburan semasa dan masa depan, kedudukan rezab carbon baik dalam dan luar Negara, dan strategi kerajaan dalam mengolah masa depan ekonomi. Kerajaan perlu mengambil kira pendapat dan pandangan semua pihak baik penyokong maupun pembangkang dalam menangani krisis ini. ANWAR IBRAHIM

God, Life and Cosmos: Theistic Perspectives

November 6-9, 2000 Islamabad, Pakistan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Venue Authors Panelists Program

Abstracts Papers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conference Abstracts
Alparslan Acikgenc Naumana Amjad William C. Chittick Philip Clayton Audrey R. Chapman

Ahmad S. Dallal

Mehdi Golshani

Bruno Guiderdoni

Syed Nomanul Haq

Muzaffar Iqbal

Ibrahim Kalim

Hashim Kamali

Yamine Bouguenaya Mermer

Mustansir Mir Ebrahim Moosa

Nancey Murphy

Ayub K. Ommaya

Ted Peters

Roshdi Rashed

Mark Worthing

The Manifestation of Scientific Conceptions

A Case Study of Islamic Scientific Conception

Alparslan Aikgen

#
he term scientific conception is used here as an epistemological tool to express the way science is perceived as a whole in a scientific environment, and as such it expresses a mentality that comprises not only ones understanding of science but his/her attitude concerning any scientific activity. The development of this conception in a science education is important not only with respect to a creative scientific career but also for the moral attitude of the scientist. In our age, particularly, moral and religious problems in relation to science keep coming to the fore; this is primarily because the contemporary scientific conception utilized in our scientific learning does not include schemes that accommodate the moral and religious spheres. Our paper will attempt to show how this can be done. In order to exhibit this mentality and its role in our scientific activities, we shall try to give examples from the Islamic scientific tradition.

A mentality is grounded in our worldview as a structure. We need to show the manifestation of a structure in order to illustrate what kind of a moral conception would be dominant in certain scientific activities. Each structure in a worldview is based on a conceptual foundation that gives it its ethical aspiration. Hence, our paper will attempt for

the first time to decipher the manifestation of a mental foundation within a worldview as a process until it ends at a specific activity that is morally determined by that foundation in the ultimate sense, by that structure in an indirect sense, and by the scientific conceptual scheme in an immediate sense.

Bibliography
A?kgen, Alparslan. Islamic Science: Towards A Definition. Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1996. _____. Scientific Thought in Islam: An Essay in the History and Philosophy of Islamic Science, in the press (to be published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, Kuala Lumpur, May 2000). _____ . Transcendent Rationality, Ibn Rushd and Kant: A Critical Synthesis, Alif, vol.16, 1996. Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Prolegomena to the Islamic Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of Islam. Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1995. Bakar, Osman. Tawhid and Science: Essays on the History and Philosophy of Islamic Science. Kuala Lumpur, Penang: Secretariat for Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1991. Barber, Bernard. The Sociology of Science, Encyclopedia of Social Sciences. Braybrooke, David. Philosophy of Social Science. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1987. Dampier, William C. A History of Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Dhanani, Alnoor. The Physical Theory of Kal#m: Atoms, Space, and Void in Basrian Mutazil3 Cosmology. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994. Giere, Ronald N. Explaining Science: A Cognitive Approach. Chicago, London: The University of Chicago Press, 1990. Greene, John C. Science, Ideology and World View: Essays in the History of Evolutionary Ideas. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981. Haskins, Charles Homer. Studies in the History of Mediaeval Science. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1960. Holton, Gerald. The Advancement of Science, and its Burdens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Horwich, Paul, ed. World Changes: Thomas Kuhn and the Nature of Science. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1993. Hourani, George F., ed. Essays on Islamic Philosphy and Science. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975. Kraemer, Joel L. Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam. Leiden, New York, K?ln: E. J. Brill, 1992. Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1970. Longino, Helen E. Science as Social Knowledge. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1990. McGinn, Robert E. Science, Technology, and Society. Englewood Cliffs:Prentice Hall, 1991. Merton, Robert K. The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations, ed. Norman W. Storer. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1978. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Science and Civilization in Islam. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Pustaka Fajar, 1984. Olson, Richard. Science Deified & Science Defied: The Historical Significance of Science in Western Culture , vol. 1.: From the Bronze Age to the Beginnings of the Modern Era ca. 3500 B.C. to ca. A.D. 1640. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982. Peukert, Helmut. Science, Action, and Fundamental Theology: Toward a Theology of Communicative Action , trans. by James Bohman. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1986.

Stenberg, Leif. The Islamization of Science: Four Muslim Positions Developing an Islamic Modernity. Lund: Lund Studies in History of Religions, 1996. Waheed, Khwaja Abdul. Islam and the Origins of Modern Science. Lahore: Islamic Publications Ltd., 1978.

Watt,

Montgomery. The

Formative

Period

of

Islamic

Thought. Edinburgh:

The

University

Press,

1973.

back to top

Consciousness: Revealed Wisdom and Human Investigation

Naumana Amjad

his paper is an effort to identify the crucial questions about the nature of human consciousness and place them in two perspectives; traditional wisdom and modern neuroscience.

According to the author, the most fundamental divide between Muslim theorists and neuroscience is one of methodology and concordance over the legitimate subject matter. Even a cursory review of Muslim philosopherscientists reveals that their language and conceptual vocabulary is inaccessible to scientific investigation. What can be their contribution to neuroscience and its quest into the neural basis of behavior? Before suggesting her own framework for addressing this question, the author presents the dominant stance of neuroscience on religious sources of knowledge. Prominent viewpoints in western neuroscience are summarized (Ramachandran, Pinker, Eccles and Crick). The author holds that enigma of consciousness is approached equipped with fragmented evidence and here neuroscience is superior to social psychology only in the hard-core experimental approach of laboratory investigations. Leading sources in traditional theories of consciousness are examined and summarized as well. Thereafter the author presents her model of collaboration.

Bibliography
Murata, Sachicko. Tao of Islam. New York: State University of New York Press, 1992. Smith, Huston. Beyond the Postmodern Mind. New York: Crossroads, 1989. Churchland, Paul M. The Engine of Reason, The Seat of Soul. Boston: MIT Press, 1996. Asbrook, James B. and Carol Rausch Albright. The Humanizing Brain: Where Religion and Neuroscience Meet. New York :The Pilgrim Press,1997. Steven Pinker. How the Mind Works. New York: Norton , 1997. Quranic Concepts of Psyche; An anthology of essays. Islamabad: Islamic Institute of Research, 1992. V.S.Ramachandran. The Phantoms in the Brain, London: Clays Ltd, 1999. Ashbrook,James B. and Carol Rausch Albright. The Humanizing Brain: Where Religion and Neuroscience Meet. The Pilgrim Press,1997. Martin Skinner and John Pickering. From Sentience to Symbols. London: Harvester Wheattsheaf, 1990. Huston Smith, Forgotten Truth, Lahore: Suhail Academy, 1981. McCarthy, R. J. Freedom and Fulfillment: An annotated translation of Al-Ghazalis al-Munqidh min al-Dalal. Boston: Wayne, 1980. Nasr and Leaman (ed). A History of Muslim Philosophy. New York: State University of New York Press, 1987. Rizwi, Azhar Ali. Muslim Contributions to Psychotherapy. Lahore: University of Punjab Press, 1987.

back to top The Anthropocosmic Vision in Islamic Thought

William C. Chittick

#
uslim scholars considered cosmology or the study of the world of external appearances as one of the "intellectual" sciences, which is to say that they distinguished it clearly from the "transmitted" sciences, which are based on teachings specific to the Qu'ranic revelation. The fundamental principle of cosmology was that human intelligence is a universal, ahistorical reality that has the capacity to know all things as they are in themselves.

For the cosmologists, the study of the cosmos was always two-sided. They aimed to grasp the reality of the world of appearances, but they also strove to plumb the depths of the knower of the appearances. The great masters of the discipline recognized that it is impossible to understand the nature of things without understanding the nature of the self that knows.

In order to investigate the reality of the self, it is necessary to lay bare the nature of life and consciousness, and these embrace all the internal, invisible domains that begin to appear with plants and continue to unfold in the souls of animals, humans, and angels. The cosmologists always recognized that the universal reality of intelligence is not only that which grasps and comprehends the nature of things, but also that which gives birth to things in the first place. The goal of knowing the outer and the inner worlds was for intelligence to achieve its full actualization, and this was understood as a return to the pure and everlasting intelligence from which the human self arose at its origin. The "anthropocosmic" vision of the cosmologists allowed for no separation between the anthropos that knows and the cosmos that is known, because the self and the cosmos were seen as a single, two-sided reality. The structure and goals of the discipline precluded losing the balance between the inside and the outside, or the ontological link between knower and known. It was never forgotten that only this balance allows for the preservation of both our humanity and the health of the natural world. Nor was it lost to sight that upsetting the balance leads to epistemological, ecological, and social chaos. For the Islamic intellectual tradition, to forget the reality of the knower allows knowledge to be employed as an instrument for short-sighted and illusory ends, and to forget the reality of the known allows the world to be turned into an object to be manipulated for every goal cut off from true human nature.

Bibliography
Chittick, William C. The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-`Arabi's Cosmology. New York: State University of New York Press, 1998. _____. The Heart of Islamic Philosophy. Oxford University Press (in production).

back to top The Impossible Possibility: Divine Causes in the World of Nature
Philip Clayton

#
t has often been noted that physical science appears to leave no place for divine action. Modern science presupposes that the universe is a closed physical system, that interactions are regular and lawlike, that all causal histories can be traced, and that anomalies will ultimately have physical explanations. Assertions of divine action in the world conflict with all four of these conditions. In addition, one must worry about equivocation: the word "cause" used of a falling rock and of God's upholding the universe appears to diverge so widely that no shared meaning unites the two cases. Only if some broader account can be given of what it is that rocks and providence share in common can sense be made of Christian and Muslim claims for divine action in the world.

This paper attempts to offer that broader account. The argument divides into three main parts. I first argue that the threat of equivocation can indeed not be overcome as long as one's theory of causality includes only physical and divine causes; the gap is just too wide. Only if we find evidence within the natural world of vastly different types of causes can we (perhaps) extend the line to include super-natural causal influences as well. But in fact study of the natural world does reveal radically different types of causal action, from classical Newtonian causality to gravity as causal force to the influence of quantum fields to the "holistic constraints" of integrated systems - and on to the

pervasive role of mental causes in human life, as in your comprehension of the sentence, "Please stop reading this piece of paper!" The objection immediately arises: Are not all these causal forces ultimately explainable in terms of the laws of the underlying physical reality - unlike alleged divine causes, which are said to issue from a transcendent and free source? In the next section I develop a theory of causality that stretches beyond physical causality, since (as the medieval Islamic philosophers saw) the genus "cause" includes types of influences other than mechanistic ones. The last section then draws together the results of the first two sections in the direction of a systematic theory of divine action. Emergent causal levels, reflecting the hierarchical structure of the natural world, help to elucidate the nature of divine action, though they are not identical to it. The differences between natural and super-natural causation that remain do represent a continuing burden to Muslim and Christian thinkers in an age of science. Given an adequately broad theory of causation, however, the burden is bearable.

Bibliography
Clayton, Philip. Explanation from Physics to Theology: An Essay in Rationality and Religion. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989. _____. "Inference to the Best Explanation," Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science. 1997, vol. 32 (September). pp. 377-91.

_____. God and Contemporary Science.

Edinburgh and Grand Rapids:

Edinburgh University Press and Eerdmans, 1998.

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_____. The

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Grand

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Murphy,

Nancey. Theology

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Peacocke, Arthur. Theology for a Scientific Age: Being and BecomingNatural, Divine, and Human. enlarged ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993.

Plantinga,

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Richardson, Mark; and Wesley Wildman, eds. Religion and Science: History, Method, Dialogue Part II. London: Routledge, 1996.

Russell, Robert John; Nancey Murphy; Theo C. Meyering; and Micahel Arbib, eds. Neuroscience and the Person: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action. Vatican City State: Vatican Observatory Publications, 1999.

Hefner,

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back to top

The Contributions and Limitations of Christian Perspectives on the Genetics Revolution

Audrey R. Chapman

#
he genetic revolution offers both a challenge and an opportunity to the religious community: a challenge to apply religious values and frameworks to new and unprecedented issues and an opportunity to help interpret and illuminate significant ethical choices before their members and the broader society. Many, perhaps most, of the new breakthroughs in understanding genetics and controlling life processes pose fundamental ethical and religious issues. The ability to alter nature, and possibly human nature as well, raises questions about the appropriate role and limits of human intervention into the creation. Findings from genetic research have implications for understanding what it means to be human and the nature of human freedom and responsibility. To make decisions about genetic applications requires judgments about human moral agency and responsibility to God, to other people, to future generations, and to the created order.

While religious perspectives can potentially make an important contribution to societal efforts to grapple with the choices and dilemmas arising from the genetics revolution, religious thinkers have to surmount several limitations to be able to address these issues. Few religious thinkers are trained in genetics, and many lack basic scientific literacy. Foundational religious texts rarely, if ever, directly address the types of issues raised by genetic advances. It is quite difficult to apply abstract philosophical, ethical, and theological concepts to the interpretation and analysis of scientific developments. Christian ethicists in the United States early realized the importance of genetic developments. A few theologians began to address issues related to genetics and genetic engineering in the 1960s. During the past twenty years, religious thinkers and bodies, both denomination and ecumenical, have contributed a relatively extensive literature on issues related to genetics, cloning and genetic patenting. This paper will survey and evaluate this literature to identify the contributions and limitations of these works. The focus will be on the relevance and implications of these efforts for Muslim initiatives to assess the theological implications of genetic developments and to offer ethical guidelines on various issues. The paper will consider the following topics: (1) How do Christian thinkers generally assess the genetics revolution, what is the range of views about the genetic developments in these works, and what are the factors shaping these assessments? (2) Which issues related to genetic engineering have been addressed and which have been given the greatest emphasis? (3) What are some of the salient differences between secular and religious ethicists works on genetics? (4) How relevant have traditional confessional orientations and differences been for Christian theologians and ethicists working on issues related to genetic developments?

(5) How have Christian thinkers applied traditional religious metaphors, concepts, and principles to genetics? (6) What types of methodology are relevant for undertaking religious ethics at the frontiers of genetic science and achieving some kind of meaningful interface between science and faith? 7) What are the most significant contributions and limitations of the literature on genetics written by Christian thinkers?

Bibliography
Audrey R. Chapman. Perspective on Genetic Patenting: Religion, Science, and Industry in Dialogue. AAAS, 1999. _____. Unprecedented Decisions: Religious Ethics at the Frontiers of Genetic Science. Fortress Press, 1999.

back to top Islamic Paradigms for the Relationship Between Science and Religion
Ahmad Dallal

#
odern studies in the history of science show that productive, original scientific research persisted into the sixteenth century A.D. in the Muslim World. Yet, histories of Islamic civilization consistently repeat and expand an influential theory that maintains that the consolidation of an Islamic worldview already in the eleventh century caused the rational sciences to stagnate. This theory even posits an essential contradiction between science and Islam, part of a larger belief that opposes science and religion in general in post-medieval civilizations. Thus, according to various accounts based on this theory, scientific activities in Muslim societies were consistently opposed (ostensibly by religious authorities or Islam,) and they survived despite, and not as a result of, Islamic culture. Yet, in addition to its apparent counter-intuitiveness, this theory fails to explain the growing body of evidence, which confirms the rise, rather than decline, of science in the Muslim world after the eleventh century. Further evidence suggests that scientific activity was integrated with, rather than marginal to mainstream intellectual life in Muslim societies. A different approach to the study of the relationship between science and religion in Islam is clearly needed, one that examines both the cultural environment, and the interaction among different cultural dynamics at work.

To study the Islamic paradigms of the relationship between science and religion, I propose to focus in my paper on the scientific traditions of revising and reforming Ptolemaic astronomy. This tradition started in the tenth century, reached its zenith in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and continued through the sixteenth century. Diverse strategies for reforming Greek astronomy produced alternative astronomical models that describe the physical world, and at the same time, purport to resolve the philosophical contradictions inherent in the received models. A comparison of the different ways in which Muslim astronomers handled the Greek astronomical legacy, reassessed its cultural and philosophical implications, and proposed to modify it, reveals a marked distinction between two trends of astronomical reform: the first -mostly belonging to the Eastern part of the Muslim world- gave priority to mathematical considerations. In contrast, the second trend -mostly belonging to the Western part of the Muslim world- was backward looking, and gave priority to philosophical considerations. The difference between these two schools suggests a distinction in the way the connection between science and philosophy was conceived. In turn, these different conceptions produced different views regarding the relationship between science and religion. By examining these particular scientific traditions of astronomical reform, as well as related religious discourse about

astronomy, I will try to outline elements of a specifically Islamic understanding of science and its relationship to religion.

back to top Creation in the Islamic Outlook and in Modern Cosmology Mehdi Golshani

#
he Noble Quran frequently refers to the creation of Heaven and Earth and attributes the creation of everything to God. But, while there are assertions, in the Quran, about some stages in the creation of certain things, nothing is said about the absolute beginning of the cosmos.

The early Muslim theologians believed in a temporal beginning to the world. In their view, an eternal world would not require a creator. The early Muslim philosophers (e.g. al-Farabi and Ibn-Sina) believed in the essential createdness of the world, meaning an ontological dependence of the world on God rather than a temporal beginning. From their point of view, temporal createdness would require a change in the Divine Nature and would imply a limitation in His Creativity. According to some Muslim theologians, one cannot infer from the Quran and the Islamic tradition either the temporality of the world or its eternality. Only the ontological dependence of the world on God can be inferred from these sources. Furthermore, some Muslim philosophers and theologians have considered the arguments for the temporal createdness of the world or its eternality as dialectical arguments, rather than conclusive proofs. Some Muslim mystics (Sufis) introduced the doctrine of the recreation of the world at every instant. Mulla Sadra introduced the doctrine of trans-substantial motion according to which the essence of every existent being undergoes a continuous change. Time is the measure of this trans-substantial motion. The natural world is recreated at every instant, and what is present now was non-existent before. Thus, one can talk of the creatio ex nihilo, while admitting the continuous effusion of God. Since the mid 1960s, the Big Bang model of the universe has become the accepted view among cosmologists. Some cosmologists have interpreted this model as an indication of the temporal createdness of the world, implying the existence of the Creator. On the other hand, some prominent cosmologists have used various mechanisms for the self-creation of the universe or have tried to eliminate the initial singularity from which the idea of the Creator was inferred. The idea of interpreting a universe with a temporal beginning as a created universe is shared between the early Muslim theologians and some modern cosmologists (e. g. Hawking). In fact, many of the old Islamic cosmological doctrines are shared by some of the modern cosmologists. In our view, the use of the Big Bang cosmology or any other cosmology for the deduction of theological conclusions deserves a multifaceted analysis involving physics, philosophy and theology. One has to be cautious about imposing theological doctrines on cosmological theories or vice versa, because they could refer to different things.

Bibliography Arabic- Persian

Lahiji, Abdul Razzaq, Gawhar-e Murad. Tehran: Sazman-e Chap va Intesharat, 1373. Sadr al-Din Shirazi, Muhammad, al-Hikmat al-Mutaaliyah fi al-Asfar al-Aqliyyah al-Arbaah, Vols. 2, 3 and 7. Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath alArabi, 1981. _____,Resalah fi al-Hudooth-I al-Alam,Musavian, S.H.,ed. Tehran: Mulla Sadra Fdtn, 1999. Suhrawardi, Shahab al-Din, Hikmat al-Ishraq. Tehran:Intesharat-eDaneshgah-e Tehran, 1361. Razi, Fakh al-Din, al-Matalib al-Aliyah min al-Ilm al-Ilahi. Beirut: Dar al- Kitab al-Arabi, 1987, Vol. 4, pp. 19-40. Muttahari, Mortaza, Tawheed. Qum: Intesharat-e Sadra , 1373. Avicenna, Isharat va Tanbihat. Beirut: Moassesah al-Numaniyyah, 1993.

English
Al-Ghazali, Abu-Hamed Muhammad. The Incoherence of the Philosophers, translated from Arabic by M.E. Marmura. Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1997. Barbour, Ian. Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues. San Francisco: Harper, 1997. Barrow, John D. The World within the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Craig, W. L. and Smith, Q, Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology. Oxford: OUP, 1995. _____, The Uncaused Beginning of the Universe. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 1993, vol. 44, p. 629. Davies, P., God and the New Physics. Great Britain: Penguin Books, 1983. _____, The Mind of God. London: Simon& Schuster, 1992. Drees, W. B. Beyond the Big Bang. La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1990. Halliwell, J. J. 1991, Quantum Cosmology and the Creation of the Universe, Scientific American. Dec. 1990, pp.76-85. Hawking, S. A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. London: Bantam Press, 1988. Jaki, S., The Relevance of Physics. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1992. Lightman, A. and Boawer, R., eds. The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990. Margenau, H. & Varghese, R. A., eds. Cosmos, Bios, Theos. La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1992. Morris, James, W. The Wisdom of the Throne: an introduction to the philosophy of Mulla Sadra. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981. Parker, B. Creation. New York: Plenum Press, 1989 Parker, B. Did Big Bang Have a Cause?. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 1994, vol. 45, pp. 649-68.

Russell, R. J., Murphy, N., and Isham, C. J., ed. Quantum Cosmology and the Laws of Nature. Vatican City State: Vatican Observatory, 1993. Russell, R. J. Cosmology from Alpha to Omega. Zygon, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 557-577. Russell, R. J., Stoeger, W. R. & Coyne, G., Physics, Philosophy and Theology: A Common Quest for Understanding. Vatican City State: Vatican Observatory, 1988 . Sharif, M. M., ed. A History of Muslim Philosophy. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1963. Smith, Q., The Uncaused Beginning of the Universe. Philosophy of Science.1988, vol. 55, pp. 39-57. Wilkinson, D. God, the Big Bang and Stephen Hawking. Tunbridge: Monarch, 1933.

back to top The Exploration of the Cosmos: An Endless Quest? Bruno Guiderdoni

#
he Islamic doctrine provides us with a broad metaphysical background that can help us give meaning to some of the discoveries of modern cosmology. I will emphasize three points of these teachings, that inform us both on the nature of the cosmos and of knowledge. First, the existence of the laws of physics. It is well known that Islamic theology casts doubt on the existence of secondary causes, while emphasizing the mathematical aspect of regularities that we see in the cosmos. Second, the origin of the emergence of structures. According to Islamic mysticism, the cosmos is one of the loci of God's self-disclosure, and new phenomena are continuously poured' into existence. Third, the growth of knowledge. It can be reached either by affirmation or by negation (the so-called cataphatic and apophatic ways to knowledge), in science as well as in religion. As consequences of these points, the appearance of new phenomena in the cosmos, and the quest for knowledge are endless.

Modern cosmology is exploring the universe with increasing success. Several of its spectacular breakthroughs have some significance with respect to the meaning of the human presence in the cosmos: (1) the discovery of exoplanets around nearby stars; (2) the description of structure formation from primeval fluctuations to the formation of galaxies and stars, and (3) the physics of the early universe, and the attempts of quantum cosmology to describe the beginning. Various observational projects in the next twelve years will help us answer some of the questions that are still unsolved about these issues. I will try to explain how the above-mentioned metaphysical tenets are relevant to give possible interpretations of these discoveries. Finally, I will emphasize the significance of bewilde rment, and perplexity, as fundamental attitudes in the quest for knowledge. These attitudes should lead scientists to an increasing sense of responsibility in the technological applications of modern science.

Bibliography
Guiderdoni, Bruno. la Recherche du Savoir: Raison et Revelation en Islam. Cahiers de l'Institut des Hautes Etudes Islamiques. 1996 (in French)

_____ , Dibattiti sull'Origine del Mondo nel Medioevo Islamico: al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, Ibn `Arabi in Proceedings of the Conference Scienza,

Filosofia e Teologia di fronte alla Nascita dell'Universo, P. Eligio et al. (eds), New Press Publishers, 1997 (in Italian)

_____ , Dieu laisse-t-Il Sa Place au Hasard ? in Question de Sciences et Conscience', #118. Albin Michel Publisher, 1999 (in French)

_____ , Modern Cosmology and the Islamic Worldview in Proceedings of the Workshop Science and the Spiritual Quest , R.J. Russell et al. (eds),
2000, in press.

back to top Moments in the Islamic Recasting of the Greek Legacy:

Exploring the Question of Science and Theism

S. Nomanul Haq

#
he story of what we call Arabic or Islamic science is largely, though neither exclusively nor simply, the story of the Islamic career of Hellenism. To be sure, there exists pressing evidence that many currents other than the Greek were flowing into the reservoir of the Islamic culture in its heyday; and yet it is also true that the metaphysical and cosmological framework of Arabic science in general arose out of a process of a uniquely Islamic appropriation of the received Greek legacy in which Neoplatonism loomed large. In the hands of the scientists of Islam, a large number of whom were also philosophers in the sense of philosophy proper, this legacy underwent such fundamental transformations as to transcend itself. Indeed, the growth of science from the European Middle Ages down to what we call the Scientific Revolution cannot be explained if the history of these fateful transformations is absent from our perspective.

In the centuries before the historic rise of Islam, both Greek and Latin Christians had accepted Greek philosophy. For them, it provided a theory of the divine as revealed in the nature of reality and as accessible to human reasonin other words, it provided a natural as against a revealed theology. The Neoplatonic philosopher John Philoponus (d. c. 570s), a monophysite Christian known to Islam as Yahya al-Nahw, was one of the pioneers who attempted to harmonize Aristotelian philosophy and Christian theology, defending formatio mundi against Aristotle, and studying the relation between faith and reason. In the same spirit, Greek philosophy was cultivated by Muslims for whom, like their Hellenistic predecessors, it constituted a search for the universal in contrast to the mere transient particular; it was a search at once requiring and generating a purification of the soul ( nafs) which made rational inquiry possible. But more, the way of philosophy was the way, or a necessary precondition to be admitted upon the way, that is bestowed by God for us to recognize Him, His messengers, and His design. By the time Islam emerged on the world scene, the Platonic distinction between the realms of the intelligible and the sensible had become a Neoplatonic philosophical orthodoxy. Reality was conceived as a timeless hierarchical emantion from the supreme hypostasis of the One creation eternally. His metaphysics of emanation and hypostases was accepted by Christian Neoplatonists for whom it was not a far cry from here to identify the One with the Godhead of their monotheistic religion. And, with varying details and with significantly different and often fundamental transformations, this type of metaphysics is common to all Islamic philosophers, all of whom by the

nature of their very trade were involved in the sciences. These philosophers ( falasifa, sing. faylasaf) typically espoused Aristotles theory of the four causes and ten categories, remained committed to his Organon, andas it was an integral part of the falasifas creed in generaltook over the Neoplatonic doctrine of hypostases and emantion. But what is profoundly interesting, both philosophically and historically, is the radical Islamic recasting of the complex Greek legacy carried out by these personagesa highly sophisticated recasting that throws Islams revelationary data into a new perspective, promising even to make these data amenable to logical demonstration of the Aristotelian kind. One can, in this vein and ironically, say that these Hellenized falasifa have given us a new rational Islamic theology. The paper explores in philosophical detail this rationalistic theology of Islam's enduring scientific legacy.

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back to top

Biological Origins: Traditional and Contemporary Perspectives

Muzaffar Iqbal

t the heart of the contemporary science-religion discourse is the question of Origins. How and when did the universe begin? When, where and how have humans made their first appearance on earth? How old is the planet earth? How are they born and how do they live? Is there any teleology in creation?

These are perennial questions but they seem to have gained a special importance during the twentieth century both in sciences as well as in the science-religion discourse. This can be gleaned from the thrust of fundamental research in natural sciences as well as from the number of books which continue to appear on the subject with astonishing rapidity. This paper explores traditional and contemporary perspectives on biological origins. By Traditional, we mean the worldview held in the ancient religious traditions which take the presence of a Creator God as their point of departure; by contemporary, we mean the secular worldview, based upon scientism. This is not to negate the presence of millions of human beings who hold the Traditional worldview in the contemporary era. But by definition, these are not contemporary worldviews for the perennial wisdom does not lend itself to temporal divisions. The paper gives a summary of Christian responses to certain current theories of biological origins (which go back to the nineteenth century theory of evolution), reconstructs the historical foundations of the current scientific theories of biological origins and then focuses on its main thesis: the question of biological from a Traditional point of view. Taken in this sense, the question of Origin cannot be decided on the basis of biological sciences because in its essence, it is a metaphysical question, intimately bound with cosmology. This thesis is then defended by examining the limits of scientific data on biological origins within the epistemology of scientific investigation. More specifically, the paper traces the historic rise of Darwinism, explores responses to Darwinism in the Catholic as well as the Protestant faiths, examines the scientific data on which the case for and against Darwinism rests and mention those links between biological and cosmic origins that are integral to an understanding of the biological origins.

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I Primary Sources _____, Ibn cArabi, Fusus al-Hikam (The Wisdom of the Prophets), tr. Titus Burckhardt/Angela Culme-Seymour, London: Concord Grove Press, 1983

_____, al-Ghazzali, Abu Hamid, Mishkat al-Anwar (The Niche for Lights), Tr. By W.H.T. Gairdner, London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1924 _____, Al-Durra al-Fakhira (The Precious Pearl), tr. Jane Idleman Smith, Missoula: Scholars Press, 1979 _____, Ihya cUlum al-Din, 4 vols. Cairo, Urdu tr. Nannawtawi, Muhammad Ahsan, Lahore: Maktaba Rahmania, 1283 H Hujwiri, cAli b. cUthman al-Jullabi (al-), Kashf al-Mahjub, ed. And annotated ver by Dr. Muhammad Hussain Tasbihi, Islambad: Intisharat Markaz Tahqiqat-e Farsi Iran wa Pakistan, English version: Kashf al-Mahjub: The oldest Persian Treatise on Sufism. Tr. Nicholson, Reymond A.,Gibb Memorial Series, number 17, 1911, Revised edition (1936), reprinted in Karachi: Darul Ishaat, 1990
c

Iraqi, Fakhruddin, Divine Flashes, tr. & introduction by William Chittick, New York, Paulist Press, 1982

al-Jami, Nur al-Din cAbd al-Rahman Ibn Ahmad, Al-Durrah al-Fakhirah (The Precious Pearl), tr. Nicholas Heer, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1979 Qashairi, Abul Qasim, cAbdul Karim bin Hawazan, Rasala Qashairiah, Urdu tr. Hasan, Dr. Pir Muhammad, Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 2nd ed. 1988 II Secondary Sources B?wering, Gerhard, The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam, Berlin: Walter De Gruyter, 1980 Chittick, William, The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn Al-cArabisMetaphysics of Imagination, New York, State University of New York Press, 1989 Corey, M. A., God and the New Cosmology: The Anthropic Design Argument, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1993 Craig, William Lane & Smith, Quentin, Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993 Craig, William Lane, The Kalam Cosmological Argument, London: The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1979 _____, The Cosmological Argument from Plato to Leibniz, London: The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1980 Gai Eaton, Islam and the Destiny of Man, London: G.Allen & Unwin, 1985 Frank, Richard M., The Metaphysics of Created Being According to Abul Hudhayl al-cAllaf, Istanbul: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Institute in Het Nabije Oosten, 1966 Izutsu, Toshihiko, God and Man in the Koran: Semantics of the Koranic Weltanschauung, Tokyo: The Keio Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, 1964 Lings, Martin, The Book of Certainty, Lahore: Suhail Academy, 1999 _____ ,The Eleventh Hour, Chicago: Kazi Publications Inc. 1996 Murata, Sachiko & Chittick, William, The Vision of Islam, State University of New York, 1995 Massignon, Louis, The Passion of al-Hallaj, 4 Vols. Tr. Herbert Mason, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982 Meynell, Hugo A., The Intelligible Universe: A Cosmological Argument, London: The Macmillan Press Ltd. 1982 Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Islamic Life and Thought, reprint. Lahore: Suhail Academy, 1999 Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines, Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1964 Northbourne, Lord, Looking Back on Progress, reprint. Lahore: Suhail Academy, 1999 Ormsby, Eric L, Theodicy in Islamic Thought, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984

Piamenta, M. Leiden: The Muslim Conception of God and Human Welfare, E.J. Brill, 1983 Rahbar, Daud, God of Justice: A Study in the Ethical Doctrine of the Quran, Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1960 Rahman, Fazlur, Islam, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1966 Raschid, M. S., Iqbals Concept of God, London: Kegan Paul International, 1981 Rescher, Nicholas, Studies in Arabic Philosophy, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1966 Schuon, Frithjof, Understanding Islam, London, Allen & Unwin, 1963 , Dimensions of Islam, tr. P.N. Townsend, London: Allen & Unwin, 1966 Shehadi, Fadlou, Metaphysics in Islamic Philosophy, New York: Caravan Books, 1982 Ullah, Mohammad Zia, Islamic Concept of God, London, Kegan Paul International, 1984

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Three Views of Science: A Critical Evaluation with Particular Reference to the Islamic World Ibrahim Kalin.

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ne of the unique aspects of the contemporary Islamic world is its long-standing engagement with the question of science. Considering the place of scientific tradition in Islamic civilization and its relation to the Islamic world-view, the interest of the Muslim world in science can hardly be confined to such practical concerns as transfer of technology or scientific education. Since every scientific activity operates within a philosophical framework that determines its context of justification, a number of intellectual and metaphysical considerations are bound to be part of any discussion of science, be it traditional or modern. In addition to this, the question of science presupposes always a larger framework of social and civilizational structure within which any given scientific activity is carried out.

The philosophical agenda of the contemporary Islamic world displays three main positions on science. The first position, which I call the ethical-puritanical view of science, takes science as essentially a value-free enterprise. The question of worldview or philosophical presuppositions as a determinant factor of scientific activity does not arise in this view, and the scientist is seen as a free agent operating on the world of nature with an objective eye, objectivity being defined as the absence of individual beliefs, ideas, interests, values, assumptions, and so on. In this view, science is nothing more than science, and such problems as environmental crisis or scientism should be conceived as ethical questions that need to be addressed within an exclusively ethical, and consequently subjective, context. By

placing the hazards of scientific activity within a moral context, the ethical-puritanical view denies science any philosophical or metaphysical foundation, and reduces its philosophical discourse to social ethics. The end result of this view of science can be described as ethically sound and even puritanical but intellectually positivistic conception of science. An important result of this view is its concept of the history of science which, according to the puritanical view, evolves through a single trajectory of progress, transmitted from one civilization to another without there being any fundamental change in its philosophical framework. The conflicting worldviews within which various scientific activities are carried out do not determine the linear progress of science. The second view of science, which I call the epistemological position, concentrates on the epistemic and operational validity of scientific enterprise. Although the ethics of science is incorporated as a problem, the main focus of this view is the truth-claim of natural sciences, an issue that lies at the heart of all contemporary philosophy of science. The roots of this position can be traced back to the distinction that Dilthey had made between Geisteswissenschaften and Naturwissenschaften at the turn of the last century with the aim of securing a legitimate ground for the humanities over against the absolutist claims of natural sciences. The main thrust of the epistemological position is to resist the claim of the natural sciences as the only valid methodology for veritable knowledge, natural or human, by constructing it as a value-laden and ideologically determined enterprise. As a corollary of this radical rejection, the epistemological position considers the history and sociology of science as an essential part of any concept of science. Science, whether natural or human, is always socially constructed, the proponent of this view claims, and its history is marked by discontinuities and paradigm shifts. In sharp contrast to the puritanical position, what we see in the history of science is not a single trajectory of scientific progress and technological advancement but multiple histories of science with ruptures, revolutions and reconstructions. Finally, the epistemological view tends to take an anti-realist stance on science, depriving science of its claim to picture physical reality as it is. The third view of science, which may be called the metaphysical or ontological position, incorporates many elements of the two previous positions, with some fundamental differences. According to the proponents of this view, science as the study of natural phenomena is embedded in a Weltanschauung that supplies science, or any intellectual activity for that matter, with a matrix within which to operate. This world-view can be religious or secular as the two examples of traditional and modern-secular sciences illustrate. Therefore the metaphysical view purports to go beyond the confines of the first two positions, making an interesting transition from philosophy of science to metaphysics of science. In any case, scientific activity is determined by a set of conditions, the most important of which is the worldview within which that particular science is produced and practiced. The fact that this embeddedness may be explicitly acknowledged, as in the case of traditional sciences, or implicitly embodied, as in the case of modern sciences, is established clearly by the history of science. Furthermore, the history of science, in this view, does not lend support to the progressivist and evolutionist interpretation of history. It is also to be noted that the metaphysical view does not consider science as merely a quantitative study of natural phenomena. In line with its conception of the history of science, it sees the rise of modern science as an outcome of a very fundamental change in man's perception of himself and the universe. The received dogma of the current history of science that modern science developed due to a number of scientific and methodological advancements is totally rejected, and the emphasis is put on the priority of metaphysical and philosophical assumptions over scientific activity both at the level of justification and operation. These three views of science have their followers both in the Islamic and the Western world. My analysis will include a critical evaluation of these positions with a view towards showing their philosophical underpinnings. In addition to this, all three positions have a number of policy implications on how science is to be practiced, taught and funded on the one hand, and on such crucial issues as environmental crisis and bio-ethics. To illustrate the above points, I will draw from Islamic as well as Western sources with special emphasis on the former.

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Causality and Divine Action:

The Islamic Perspective Hashim Kamali

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his essay looks into origins of the debate over causality and Divine Action and raises the question whether God's Action, as well as the act and conduct of man, are dependant or independent of causation. Questions will also be raised over the extent of man's ability to determine his own course of conduct in conjunction with the belief that man merely follows a pre-determined programme in this life and the next.

The early expositions of these issues in the scholastic discourse of the Mu'tazi/Qadariyya, Ash'ariyya/Jabriyya, the Murji'a and the Maturidiyya, as well as contributions and responses by scholars and ulema of various orientations, including the Shi'ah, will be discussed and evaluated with a view to identify imbalances, if any, in their formulations. To what extent were the scholastic positions over these issues revised and adjusted by their own proponents and representatives? Having explored the history of ideas, this enquiry attempts to evaluate the scholastic tendencies in the light of the Qur'anic evidence and develops a perspective over issues that would combine what is found to be acceptable and in harmony with the Qur'an, and then identifies and isolates what seems to be decidedly misleading. The conclusions that are drawn will have to be those that find clear support, not just from the reading of isolated passages of the text, but the overall reading of the Qur'an that is also supported by the authentic teachings of the Sunna.

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The God of Revelation: The Ever-Present God

Yamine Bouguenaya Mermer

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erhaps the most striking characteristic of modern civilization is its concentration on this worldly life as though it were eternal, and as if there were no more to the world than meets the eye. Modern man does not wonder at the astonishing and unceasing activity in the universe. He does not ask

why these fleeting beings continuously die and leave while others take their place. He considers beings as purely

entities that have no meaning or purpose other than those connected with benefits for mankind. His primary aim is to investigate the functioning of the world in order to exploit it and dominate beings.

For this reason, he does not take heed of the purpose and meaning of the order and art prevailing in the universe. He is unable to conceive any reality beyond physical becoming. Impelled by heedlessness, he is bound to attribute beings to contingent and blind causes and to imagine that causes produce the effects.

However, the reality is different. When man considers the universe under the guidance of Revelation, he sees that all beings are so interrelated that one who cannot subjugate the whole cosmos, nor can one manage even a single particle. Therefore, it is impossible to attribute anything, however small it is, to causes because whatever is responsible for one thing must be responsible for everything. All things are being made. Like the effect, the apparent cause is also created.

The fact that causes are very common and the effects attributed to them are so full of art dismisses causes from the ability to create. Also, the results and benefits attached to effects discharge ignorant and lifeless causes, and hand them over to a Wise and Compassionate Maker. In addition, the adornment and skill on the effects indicate a Wise Maker Who wants to make Himself known and loved.

All cause - effect relations, all events, all things are each a sign witnessing to the unity of their Maker and reciting His Names and Attributes with their very mode of being; they are like windows opening onto knowledge of God. The knowledge of God thus obtained affords a constant sense of the Divine Presence.

Causation arbitrarily divides up God's creation among causes and opens the way to associating partners with Him on a vast scale. Moreover, when unity dissolves and beings are viewed as independent and alien to each other, the production of the tiniest effect becomes impossible. Since this vision involves endless difficulties and pains, it is certainly impossible and contains no truth. While since there is endless ease and facility in affirming Divine Unity, that way is surely necessary and true. Indeed, it is only through recognizing the Unity of the Creator and knowing Him with all His Names that man's spirit and heart find rest and are delivered from the distress and confusion arising from unbelief and associating partners with God.

Revelation invites man to contemplate the universe, and urges the mind to ponder over the relations between causes and effects in order to uncover the veil of causes and witness the Divine Names they point to, obtain knowledge of God and enter His Presence.

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Christian Perspectives on Religion and Science and Their Significance for Modern Muslim Thought Mustansir Mir

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generally held Muslim view is that the history of the conflict between religion and science is the history of a conflict between a particular religion -Christianity- and science. The implication drawn is that no such conflict exists between Islam and science. It is true, theoretically, that the Quran invites human beings to view and admire the wonders of creation and reflect on the structure of the heavens and the earth, thus encouraging study of nature and fostering a positive attitude toward scientific investigation of the physical universe. Historically, too, Muslim scholars and thinkers have not had to defend certain religious views against certain scientific views.

But neither theory nor history should be understood to mean that science poses no challenge to Islam. The European debates between creationists and evolutionists at the turn of the twentieth century were a fault line representing a fundamental divergence of worldviews. At stake was not only a particular issuethe age of the world or the span of human life on earth, for examplebut the nature and meaning of existence itself. The battle, essentially, was between theistic and atheistic worldviews, as later developments were to show clearly, and to this battle Islam, obviously, cannot remain indifferent. It is in this context that a study of Christian perspectives on religion and science can be helpful to Muslim thinkers in the modern age. I will inquire, with reference to three issues, whether and to what extent those perspectives can be employed or drawn on by Muslims as the latter respond to the challenge of science to religion. The issues are: (1) Gods activity in the physical world. Does science render meaningless the belief in Gods involvement in the world? Is the notion of Gods providence reconcilable with the seeming autocracy of nature? Is natural theology possible in Islam? What is the role of a personal God in a structured universe? (2) Evolution. While Islam does not stake out a position on the birth of humanity at a certain time in the past, the Quranic prophetic history is strikingly similar to the Biblical, with Noah, for example, following Adam and being followed by Abraham. If, fro m the Quranic point of view as well, these religious figures lived in close

historical proximity to one another, then does this commit Islam to a view of the life of human beings on earth that is similar to the Christian creationist view? (3) Matter, Spirit, and Life. Are spirit and life reducible to matter or do they exist independently of, if interactively with, matter? Following John Haughts methodology, I will examine each of these issues from the four different viewpoints of conflict, contrast, contact, and conversation. I will also look at the possibility of making an Islamic contribution to the subject of the relationship between religion and science.

Bibliography
Barbour, Ian G. Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues. Revised and expanded version of Religion in an Age of Science. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.

Haught, John F. Science and Religion: From Conflict to Conversation. New York: Paulist Press, 1995. Hooykaas, Reijer. Religion and the Rise of Modern Science. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1972. Hummel, Charles E. The Galileo Connection: Resolving Conflicts Between Science and the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1986. Kaiser, Christopher. Creation and the History of Science. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991. Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. Mackay, Donald M. The Clockwork Image: A Christian Perspective on Science . London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1974. Peters, Ted, ed. Science and Theology: The New Consonance. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998. Polkinghorne, John. Belief in God in an Age of Science. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988. Ramm, Bernard. The Christian View of Science and Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1954. Van Till, Howard. The Fourth Day. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986.

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The Body in Muslim Ethics: The Dissonance of the Gaze(s)

Ebrahim Moosa

uslim ethical discussions on issues related to biomedical ethics show sharp contrasts and disagreements. Some schools of thought permit organ transplantation while other schools of thought declare it impermissible. The same is true in their views about brain-death. Opposing viewpoints refer to the same set of texts and canonical arguments to deliver different conclusions. While this does relate to issues of hermeneutics and interpretation of sources, it may also point toward some more fundamental issues about the way in which the body is perceived within different Muslim contexts. In other words, does the body have a different salience in different Muslim contexts? Can these be related to broader philosophical issues and conceptions of bodily cosmology? More crucially I tentatively explore how Islamic jurisprudence encounters scientific reality in the modern period.

The paper explores the topic of the body in contemporary juridical literature. Several fatwas and rulings on organ transplantation issued by different Muslim authorities are examined. One is a ruling issued by Mufti Muhammad Shafi of Pakistan and the other a fatwa by the Dar al-Ifta in Cairo. An opinion on brain death issued by the Academy of Islamic Jurisprudence of the Organisation of Islamic Conference is also examined. I will try and trace possible linkages between the variant juridical conceptions of the body and established narratives of bodily cosmology in the medieval period. I look at the views of Ibn Sina and Abu Hamid Ghazali as representatives of two contrasting opinions in order to see how they constructed the perception of the body and how it continues to inform our perceptions of the body. Bibliography: Arberry, Arthur J., Avicenna on Theology, (London: Jouhn Murray, 1951) Brown, Peter, The Body and Society (Columbia University Press, 1988) Ghazali, Abu Hamid, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Halaby, 1967). Ibn Sina, Avicennas Psychology: an English Translation of Kitab al-Najat, Book II, Chatper IV, trans. & commentary by Fazlur Rahman (London: Oxford University Press, 1952), Moosa, Ebrahim. Languages of Change in Islamic Law: Redefining Death in Modernity, Islamic Studies, 38:3 Autumn 1999.

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Neuroscience and Human Nature: A Christian Perspective Nancey Murphy

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y paper will begin with a brief overview of theories of human nature in the Christian tradition, including a few notes about important points of intersection with Islamic scholarship. This will provide background for the thesis of the paper: current developments in neuroscience provide powerful grounds for rejection of dualist (and trichotomist) accounts of human nature in favor of physical monism (physicalism). To illustrate this point, I shall focus on a conception of the soul shared by Thomas Aquinas and Ibn Sina, and more particularly on what they called "interior senses." This is a particularly interesting point where neuroscience is making progress in showing how these capacities "of the soul" are in fact dependent on the brain.

I shall argue for a nonreductive form of physicalism, which maintains that the human being consists ontologically of nothing more than a physical body, yet does not deny the existence or significance of higher human capacities such as reason, self- consciousness, morality, religious awareness. Nonreductive physicalism (or at least, accounts that intend not to be reductive) is a widely held position in cognitive neuroscience and philosophy of mind. For the theistic scholar this development calls for two projects. The first is retrospective. Given that Christian thought (and Islamic, as well, I believe) has assumed a dualist account through most of its history, scholars need to mine their traditions for minority, non- dualist voices in order to see what light these may shed on cur- rent debates (an important example here is the recovery of the doctrine of the resurrection of the body). However, I shall not pursue this further than the hints in my opening historical sketch. The second project is prospective. There are a number of philosophical and theological problems that need attention in order to reconcile physicalism with our theological traditions. Some of the philosophical problems are receiving wide attention from secular philosophers, and I will report on the current status of those arguments. Three outstanding issues are (1) an explanation of consciousness--how it arises from a physical system, (2) the problem of mental causation--that is, how can reason be defended against neurobiological determinism, and (3) the problem of free will. I shall report on my own current efforts with regard to the second and third of these issues. Among theological issues, I believe the most pressing is an understanding of divine action that allows for an account of how God relates to humans, if not via the intermediary of a spiritual soul. I shall not pursue this issue here, although I suspect the problem of divine action will surface in other papers for this conference.

Bibliography
Warren S. Brown, N. Murphpy and H.N. Malony, eds. Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998. Coppleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy, vol. 2. Doubleday, 1950. Deacon, Terrence. The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution for Language and the Brain. Norton, 1997. Heil, John and Alfred Mele, eds. Mental Causation. Clarendon, 1995.

MacKay, Donald. Behind the Eye. Blackwell, 1991. Russell, Robert J. et al, eds. Neuroscience and the Person: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action. Vatican City: Vatican Observatory, 1999. Searle, John. The Rediscovery of the Mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1992. Ward, Keith. Religion and Human Nature. Clarendon, 1998.

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Regeneration of Injured Nervous Systems and the Evolution of Human Consciousness

Ayub K. Ommaya

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his report describes two front-line research programs in the field of Neuroscience. Scientific methods of each program are disparate but the ethical dilemmas that may arise are similar.

Our first program is directed at regeneration of damaged brains and injured spinal cords. This work requires experiments using new methods utilizing growth factors, tissue grafts and stem cell transplantation. Stem cells are pluri-potent cells which can be obtained from ethically neutral sources such as bone-marrow transplants, although current work is relying primarily on the use of embryonic stem cells. Extensive work on animal models and in some patients are ongoing and preliminary results show that it is possible that we may be able to ameliorate paralysis in paraplegic humans and restore some of their brain functions. Our long-term second research program is on the mechanisms of disintegration and re-integration of consciousness in humans suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and for prevention and treatment. Within the last decade, research on the nature of human and animal consciousness has burgeoned and research is interdisciplinary. Computational Neuroscience and mobile robotics engineering have dominated the field while neurological investigations have obtained less support. Our clinical, experimental and neuro-biological investigations have obtained less support. Our clinical, experimental and neuro-biological data on TBI has also been supported by recent data on the neuropathology of autistic children. These data provide clues to the dominant role of emotion in consciousness for behavior and creativity. The neuropsychological and neurological works of Le Doux and of Damasio on emotion mechanisms have also been contributory. The computational approach to stimulate human consciousness has encouraged experts in their field to publish claims that intelligent robots will be created in this decade and shortly at the end of the next two decades robots will exceed the intelligence and capacities of humans. Redundancy of the human race and downloading of human minds into robots is currently considered as plausible.

My critique of these dual fields of scientific endeavor will be based on the terminology used by Seyyed Hussein Nasr. Our goals for our program are to achieve a balance between our sapienta and our sciencta in a manner that will avoid scientism and preserve our transcendental beliefs.

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Metaphysics and Mathematics in Classical Islamic Culture: Avicenna and his Successors
Roshdi Rashed

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olving problems of metaphysics with the assistance of mathematics is a path that certain Islamic Philosophers have not hesitated to follow. One of these problems is the Avicennas doctrine of the

emanation from the One. This problem occupied a central position in Islamic metaphysics at least since Avicenna.

This doctrine raised a main question, ontological and neotical at the same time: how from a unique and single Being did emanate a multiplicity of Beings which is at the same time a complexity? This ontological and neotical duality raised a metaphysical as well as a logical difficulty. Avicenna himself tried to solve this difficulty in his alRis?la al-Nayr?ziyya. His successor Na?r al-Dn al-?s submitted this problem to a mathematical treatment. The contribution of al-?? brings in both the evidence of metaphysics and that of mathematics. The endeavour of al?s does not have importance only for the research on metaphysics which it was able to instigate, but also for the development in mathematics which it stimulated. It has, in fact, a fundamental role in the development of combinatories.

In this talk, the main purpose is to examine the solutions of Avicenna himself, of al-?s and of al-Ialab another philosopher from late 16th century , to show how Islamic philosophers used logical and particularly mathematical arguments to elaborate metaphysical systems, and how metaphysics was helpful to mathematical invention.

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Science and Faith: Friend or Foe?

Ted Peters

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ust we think of science and faith on terms of warfare? Does the warfare model accurately describe the history of science and faith within Islam? Within Christianity?

This paper will suggest that the warfare model is inadequate and perhaps misleading. What both Islam and Christianity share with natural science at its best is the search for the truth; and the eyes of faith can see the glory of God shining through in the natural world. This paper will suggest alternative models leading to a more productive interaction between scientific research and belief in God as creator and redeemer. What is being learned about the interaction in contemporary Christian theology may have some transfer value to Muslim thinking. The inter-disciplinary interaction will follow the outline of Christian systematic theology. Implications of new knowledge of physical cosmology (origin and destiny of the universe) will be drawn into a discussion of God's work in creation. Evolutionary biology and genetics will suggest advances in our understanding of human nature, of Christian anthropology, especially our understanding of human freedom and related matters. When it comes to Christology and Pneumatology, very little connection can be seen at this point. Eschatology will be examined, and initial comparisons will show dissonance between physical cosmology and divine promises for a renewed creation. Even though this paper will search for possible consonance between what is becoming known through the natural sciences and our theological understanding of reality, where consonance is lacking it will be acknowledged and formulated as a future agenda. Bibliography
John Hedley Brooke. Science and Religion: Some Historyical Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Ted Peters. God The Worlds Future. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2nd edition, 2000. Ted Peters. Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom. London and New York: Routledge, 1997. Ted Peters, ed. Science and Theology: The New Consonance. Boulder: Westview Press, 1998. John F. Haught. God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000. Robert John Russell, William R. Stoeger, and George V. Coyne, editors, Physics, Philosophy, and Theology. Vatican City: Vatican Observatory; and Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1988.

back to top Modern Cosmology and the Christian Doctrine of God Mark Worthing

rom the earliest Christian centuries, efforts to relate the Christian understanding of God to contemporary cosmologies have been a fertile area of theological reflection.

In some cases the operative cosmological model or models seem to have played a determinative role in the conceptualisation of God (e.g. Origen). In other cases within the history of Christian thought the Christian view of God has been allowed to play a determinative role in the formulation of cosmological understandings, as for instance in J. Kepler. Today, most Christian thinkers would agree that the integrity of both the theological tradition as well as of the various cosmologies arising out of modern science must be respected. Yet some level of mutual influence between our view of God and our view of the universe created by God will occur. To that end we will focus on two questions in this paper. Firstly, what influence have the dominant cosmologies within Western thought had upon the Christian conception of God. And more significantly, what influence has the Christian Trinitarian conception of God had upon our understanding of cosmology. The view taken is that Christian thought has a great deal in common with other monotheistic traditions with regard to the interpretation of modern cosmological views. At the same time, however, the distinctively Christian view of God as a trinity of persons significantly informs the Christian view of cosmology. How this occurs will be examined in the example of some of the current issues in dialogue between Christian thought and modern cosmology.

Bibliography

McMullen, Ernan. How Should Cosmology Relate to Theology? In: The Sciences and Theology in the Twentieth Century, ed. A. Peacocke. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981. Peters, Ted, ed. Cosmos as Creation: Theology and Science in Consonance. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989. [see particularly articles by P. Hefner, T. Peters, and R. Russell] Worthing, Mark. God, Creation and Contemporary Physics. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996.

Description
This, the first book in English from an authority on Sufism, ric Geoffroy, introduces Sufism from many angles and from its origins up to the present day. Geoffroy sees Sufism as a unique lens through which we can view the spirituality that lies behind the forms of Islam. Having its source in the Koran and in the prophetic Tradition, Sufisms goal is to deliver practitioners from the negative human passions, and the illusions, that beset them. This book covers the history of Sufism from its earliest days up until our own times, touching on the many significant people, practices, ideas, and controversies that have shaped it. It also highlights Sufisms universal aspects, which are a powerful antidote to various

fundamentalisms. Geoffroys special treatment of the subject balances the voices of long ago (e.g. Ibn Arab, Rm, Hallj, and Ghazzl) with many contemporary voices to cover a remarkable scope of topics essential to a full understanding of authentic Sufism. The work concludes with the prospects for contemporary Sufism and with its increasing role in the West.

Detailed Description of "Introduction to Sufism"

This, the first book in English from an authority on Sufism, ric Geoffroy, introduces Sufism from many angles and from its origins up to the present day. Geoffroy sees Sufism as a unique lens through which we can view the spirituality that lies behind the forms of Islam. It is, essentially, a kind of spiritual energy which has passed from master to disciple, through initiation and subsequent spiritual practices, since the days of the Prophet Muhammad up to initiates in our own times. Having its source in the Koran and in the prophetic Tradition, Sufisms goal is to deliver practitioners from the negative human passions, and the illusions, that beset them. Sufis can then find an inner space in which they can contemplate the realities of the spirit. This book covers the history of Sufism from its earliest days up until our own times, touching on the many significant people, practices, ideas, and controversies that have shaped it. It also highlights Sufisms universal aspects, which are a powerful antidote to various fundamentalisms. Geoffroys special treatment of the subject balances the voices of long ago (e.g. Ibn Arab, Rm, Hallj, and Ghazzl) with many contemporary voices to cover a remarkable scope of topics essential to a full understanding of authentic Sufism. The work concludes with the prospects for contemporary Sufism and with its increasing role in Introduction to Sufism: the The Inner Path of West. Islam features:

 A comprehensive introduction to the movements and figures of historical Sufism A broad survey of Sufisms origins, doctrines, practices, personalities, and terminology 2 maps Select of important bibliographies places for in medieval further Sufism reading A glossary and index of technical terms and an index of proper names ric Geoffroy is a scholar, translator, educator, and writer who is Professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Strasbourg, France. He also teaches at the Open University of Catalonia, at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), and at the International Institute of Islamic Thought (Paris). Dr. Geoffroy specializes in Islam and its mystical dimension, Sufism, often focusing on aspects of sainthood. Among others areas, his research also extends to comparative mysticism, and to issues of spirituality in the contemporary world (e.g. spirituality and globalization; spirituality and ecology, etc.).

To date, ric Geoffroy has had seven books published. He has published numerous articles in journals on Islamic studies but also in some magazines such as Le Monde des Religions, Le Point Hors Srie, and La Vie. He has contributed some fifteen articles to the Encyclopedia of Islam (2nd and 3rd editions), and others to key reference books such as Les voies dAllah, Dictionnaire critique de lsotrisme, Dictionnaire du Coran, and others. Dr. Geoffroy is the official consultant on Islam for the French dictionary Le Petit Larousse.

In 2010 World Wisdom is publishing the first full book in English to appear by Dr. Eric Geoffroy. Introduction to Sufism: The Inner Path of Islam, is a translation of his French book Initiation au soufisme. An excerpt from that book was also included in the World Wisdom collection Sufism: Love and Wisdom .

Roger Gaetani is an editor, educator, and student of world religions who lives in Bloomington, Indiana. He has co-edited, with Jean-Louis Michon , the World Wisdom anthology on Sufism, Sufism: Love and Wisdom . He directed and produced the DVD compilation of highlights of the 2006 conference on Traditionalism, Tradition in the Modern World: Sacred Web 2006 Conference , and has edited the book A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of Tierno Bokar .

Reviews of Introduction to Sufism: The Inner Path of Islam

Both seekers and scholars will find that this book, besides being wide -ranging and well researched, has a rare attribute: by articulating so well the disputes between the scholars of the letter of the divine Law and Sufis, and then between different currents within Sufism itself, Dr. Geoffroy has given us a book that lends itself like few others to discussion and debate. We can easily imagine lively conversations, whether in college classrooms or in readers living rooms, framed by the contents of Foreword this volume. Roger Gaetani, co-editor of Sufism: Love and Wisdom, from the Translators

ontents of "Introduction to Sufism""

Translators Foreword Note on Transliteration Preface CHAPTER 1: Fundamentals DEFINITIONS AND OBJECTIVES A Mysticism? Knowledge and Love

Who is the Sufi? A Reality without a Name The Science of Spiritual States The Initiatory Path Goals of the Sufi Purifying the Soul Knowing God Union with God, or Extinguishing Oneself in Him? Dying to Oneself, and Living Again Through Him DIVERSITY IN SUFISM A Rich Pallet of Spiritual Types Sufi Literature Inward Alchemy SUFISM AND SHIISM Doctrinal Affinities Two Rival Esoterisms THE ROLE OF THE FEMININE IN SUFISM The Eternal Feminine in Islamic Mysticism The Effects of the Male Ambience SOME PREJUDICES REGARDING SUFISM Sufism is a Kind of Quietism, and is the Egotistical Search for Individual Salvation Sufism is a Popular Religion, Conceived as a Reaction to the Legalism of Orthodox Islam CHAPTER 2: Sufism and Islam TWO NAMES FOR A SINGLE REALITY The Fundamentally Koranic Character of Sufism THE KORANIC MODEL To Combine Ones Flesh and Blood with the Koran

The Sufi Travels His Path Through the Book A Multitude of Meanings: Sufi Exegesis The Hadh Quds, or Divine Utterance THE MODEL OF MUHAMMAD Sufis are Those Who Follow the Path of the Messenger of God and Strive to Acquire His Noble Virtues The Prophet as Primordial Light The Reality of Muhammad, Mediator between the Divine and Human Realms The Inner Sunna Sufism and Prophetic Tradition (Hadth) The Master of Masters Devotion to the Prophet THE ISLAM OF EXCELLENCE Islam, mn, Ihsn Sufism Illuminates the Five Pillars Sufism, or Plenary Islam THE LAW (SHARA), THE WAY(TARQA), AND THE REALITY (HAQQA) A Law for Sufis Only? The Science of Unveiling, the Science of Shara A Living Law CHAPTER 3: Sufism in Islamic Culture: Historical Perspective THE PATH OF THE PIONEERS A Foundational Attitude: The Ascetic Renunciation of the World The Path of Blame (Malma): From Concealment to Provocation From Asceticism to Mysticism Bistm, the Epitome of Intoxication The Baghdad School of Sufism (Ninth-Tenth Centuries) Hakim Tirmidh: Between Prophecy and Sainthood Persecutions

Successors of Junayd and Hallj The Four Founders of the Legal Schools and Sufism THE CENTURIES OF MATURATION (Tenth-Twelfth Centuries) Legal Scholars, Traditionnists, Sufis: Assertion of Identities Radiance from Khurasan (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries) Sufism and Shafi ism Manuals of Sufism Ghazzl: The Supremacy of Spiritual Intuition over Reason The Persistence of the Mysticism of Intoxication POETRY AND METAPHYSICS Iranian Mystical Poetry (Twelfth-Fifteenth Centuries): Attr, Rm, and Others Rm: Music and Dance Turkish Mystical Poetry: Ynus Emre Arabic Mystical Poetry: Ibn Arab and Ibn al-Frid The Necessity of Interpreting Mystical Poetry Sufi Terminology Ibn Arab and the Metaphysics of Being Ibn Sabn, or Oneness Without Compromise CREATING A STRUCTURE FOR SUFISM (Twelfth-Fifteenth Centuries) The Formation of the Initiatory Paths (Tarqa) Iraq Central Asia and Iran India Muslim Spain and the Maghreb Egypt and Syria Anatolia The Caucasus INTEGRATION AND EXPANSION: SUFISM, THE HEART OF ISLAM

Recognition of Sufism by the Ulama Sufism is Prominent as the Spirituality of Sunni Islam Hanbalism and Sufism Places of Sufi Social Interactions The Cult of Saints The Esoteric Governance of the World SUFISM AND REFORMISM (Eighteenth-Twentieth Centuries) A Decline of Sufism? The Search for Original Purity (Eighteenth-Nineteenth Centuries): Sufism and Wahhabism The Muhammadian Path Renewed Paths and New Paths Lesser Jihd and Greater Jihd The Sudanese Mahd Emir Abd al-Qdir Sufi Reformism at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: Amadou Bamba and the Shaykh al-Alaw Sufism: A Fertile Ground for Salaf Reformism Sufism and Islamicism in the Twentieth Century: Politicization Sufi Scholars in Contemporary Times CHAPTER 4: Sufism As It Is Lived MASTER AND DISCIPLE A Necessary Relationship An Excessive Veneration? A Reciprocal Code of Conduct A Single Master A Second Birth Sufi Psychology, or the Science of the Soul Succession and Delegation of Authority

METHODS AND RITES OF AFFILIATION Initiatory Rites The Investiture of the Cloak (Khirqa) Making the Pact (Ahd, Baya) The Secret Teaching of Formulas of Invocation (Talqn) From True Aspirant to Simple Associate A Fluid World: Multiple Affiliations Uwaysi Initiation CODES OF CONDUCT Correct Inner Attitudes Food Clothing Sleep Travel Between Brothers A Rule for Community Life INITIATORY METHODS The Invocation (Dhikr) The Highest Form of Worship Formulas of the Invocation From the Dhikr of the Tongue to that of Inner Consciousness The Invocation of the Tongue (Dhikr al-Lisn) The Invocation of the Heart (Dhikr al-Qalb) The Invocation of the Inner Consciousness (Dhikr al-Sirr) Aloud, or in Silence? Group Sessions of Dhikr SPIRITUAL POETRY AND MUSIC: SAM The Echo of the Divine Word Subtlety and Ambiguity of Sam

 A Joyful and Widespread Practice Litanies and Prayers The Retreat (Khalwa) Rules of the Retreat Not to Stop at Supernatural Phenomena The Retreat in the Midst of the Crowd CHAPTER 5: Sufism and Interreligious Openness Religious Pluralism in Islam The Transcendent Unity of Religions The Legacy of Prophetic Pluralism The Hidden Idolatry of Common Believers The Temptation of Syncretism The Pressures of Exoterism and History Conclusion: Sufism Yesterday, Sufism Today The Degeneration of Time The Illness of Brotherhoodism Adapting to Cyclical Conditions Towards a Restructuring of the Roles of Sufism The Messianic Adventure Sufism in the West Maps Index of Technical Terms (Islamic and Sufi) Index of Proper Names (Major People, Groups, Ethnic Groups, and Dynasties) Biographical Notes About the Translator
Muhtar Holland was born in 1935, in the ancient city of Durham in the North East of England. This statement may be considered anachronistic, however, since he did not bear the name Muhtar until

1969, when he was moved-by powerful experiences in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud-to embrace the religion of Islam. At the age of four, according to an entry in his father's diary, he said to a man who asked his name: "I'm a stranger to myself." During his years at school, he was drawn most strongly to the study of languages, which seemed to offer signposts to guide the stranger on his "Journey Home," apart from their practical usefulness to one who loved to spend his vacations traveling-at first on a bicyclethrough foreign lands. Serious courses in Latin, Greek, French, Spanish and Danish, with additional smatterings of Anglo-Saxon, Italian, German and Dutch. Travels in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Denmark. Then a State Scholarship and up to Balliol College, Oxford, for a degree course centered on the study of Arabic and Turkish. Travels in Turkey and Syria. Then National Service in the Royal Navy, with most of the two years spent on an intensive course in the Russian language. In the years since graduation from Oxford and Her Majesty's Senior Service, Mr. Holland has held academic posts at the University of Toronto, Canada; at the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London, England (with a five-month leave to study Islamic Law in Cairo, Egypt); and at the Universiti Kebangsaan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (followed by a six-month sojourn in Indonesia). He also worked as Senior Research Fellow at the Islamic Foundation in Leicester, England, and as Director of the Nur al-Islam Translation Center in Valley Cottage, New York. His freelance activities have mostly been devoted to writing and translating in various parts of the world, including Scotland and California. He made his Pilgrimage [Hajj] to Mecca in 1980. Published works include the following: Al-Ghazali. On the Duties of Brotherhood. Translated from the Classical Arabic by Muhtar Holland. London: Latimer New Dimensions, 1975. New York: Overlook Press, 1977. Repr. 1980 and 1993.

Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi. The Unveiling of Love. Translated from the Turkish by Muhtar Holland. New York: Inner Traditions, 1981. Westport, Ct.: Pir Publications, 1990. Ibn Taymiya. Public Duties in Islam. Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Leicester, England: Islamic Foundation, 1982. Hasan Shushud. Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia. Translated from the Turkish by Muhtar Holland. Ellingstring, England: Coombe Springs Press, 1983. Al-Ghazali. Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship. Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Leicester, England: Islamic Foundation, 1983. Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi. Irshad. Translated [from the Turkish] with an Introduction by Muhtar Holland. Warwick, New York: Amity House, 1988. Westport, Ct.: Pir Publications, 1990. Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi. Blessed Virgin Mary. Translation from the original Turkish by Muhtar Holland. Westport, Ct.: Pir Publications, 1991. Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi. The Garden of Dervishes. Translation from the original Turkish by Muhtar Holland. Westport, Ct.: Pir Publications, 1991. Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi. Adornment of Hearts. Translation from the original Turkish by Muhtar Holland and Sixtina Friedrich. Westport, Ct.: Pir Publications, 1991. Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi. Ashki's Divan. Translation from the Original Turkish by Muhtar Holland and Sixtina Friedrich. Westport, Ct.: Pir Publications, 1991. Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. Revelations of the Unseen (Futuh alGhaib). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Houston, Texas: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1992. Second edition, Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1998.

Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. The Sublime Revelation (al-Fath arRabbani). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Houston, Texas: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1992. Second edition, Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1998. Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. Utterances (Malfuzat). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Houston, Texas: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1992. Second edition, Fort Lauderdale, Florida: AlBaz Publishing, Inc., 1998. Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. The Removal of Cares (Jala' alKhawatir). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1997. Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truth (Al-Ghunya li-Talibi Tariq al-Haqq). Translated from the Arabic (in 5 vols.) by Muhtar Holland. Hollywood, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1997. Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. Fifteen Letters (Khamsata 'Ashara Maktuban). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Hollywood, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1997. Shaikh Wali Raslan ad-Dimashqi. Concerning the Affirmation of Divine Oneness (Risala fi't-Tawhid). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Hollywood, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1997. Al-Ghazali. The Proper Conduct of Marriage in Islam (Adab anNikah). (Book twelve of Ihya' 'Ulum ad-Din). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Hollywood, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1998. Shaikh Muhammad ibn Yahya at-Tadifi. Necklaces of Gems (Qala'id al-Jawahir). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1998. Shaikh Ahmad Fathu'llah Jami. The Call to the Believers in the Clear Qur'an (Nida' al-Mu'minin fi 'l-Qur'an al-Mubin). Translated from the

Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1999. Isma'il Muhammad Sa'id al-Qadiri. Emanations of Lordly Grace (AlFuyudat ar-Rabbaniyya ). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 2000. Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. The Book of the Secret of Secrets (Kitab Sirr al-Asrar wa Mazhar al-Anwar). Translated from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 2000. Mawlana 'Ali ibn Husain Safi. Beads of Dew from the Source of Life (Rashahat 'Ain al-Hayat). Translated from the Turkish by Muhtar Holland. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 2001.

T he Select ed Work s of J ames W. M orris

Articles

An Arab Machiavelli? : Rhetoric, Philosophy and Politics in Ibn Khalduns Critique of Sufism Second Readings: Ibn Arabs Futht and the Renewal of Islamic Thought., To appear in Proceedings of Ibn Arabi Colloquium, Cordoba, 2008. The Mysteries of Ihsn: Natural Contemplation and the Spiritual Virtues in the Quran, To appear (in Persian) in Kmiy, 2008 The "Instruments of Divine Compassion": Between the Path and the Real in Ibn 'Arabi's Meccan Illuminations Ostad Elahi on Spirituality in Everyday Life Freedoms and Responsibilities: Ibn Arab and the Political Dimensions of Spiritual Realisation, Journal of the Muhyiddn Ibn Arab Society, Part II, vol. XXXIX (2006), pp. 85-11

Freedoms and Responsibilities: Ibn Arab and the Political Dimensions of Spiritual Realisation, Journal of the Muhyiddn Ibn Arab Society, Part I, vol. XXXVIII (2005), pp. 1-21

Civilization as Dialogue: Spirituality and Philosophy in Mull Sadr and Today, In Mulla Sadras School and Western Philosophies: Papers Presented at the Second World Congress on Mulla Sadra, vol. I, ed. A. N. Bagershahi, Tehran, SIPRin, 2005, pp. 261-272

Surrender and Realisation: Imam Ali on the Conditions for True Religious Understanding, Rh al-Dn: Islam and the Religio Perennis, I:1 (2005), pp. 113

Ibn Arabs Rhetoric of Realisation: Keys to Reading and Translating theMeccan Illuminations, Journal of the Muhyiddn Ibn Arab Society, (Part I), vol. XXXIII (2003), pp. 54-99

Ibn Arabs Rhetoric of Realisation: Keys to Reading and Translating theMeccan Illuminations, Journal of the Muhyiddn Ibn Arab Society, (Part II), vol. XXXIV (2003), pp. 103-145

Ibn 'Arab in the "Far West": Visible and Invisible Influences, Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, XXIX (2001), pp. 87-122 Introducing Ibn Arabs Book of Spiritual Advice, Journal of the Muhyiddn Ibn Arab Society, vol. XXVIII, pp. 1-18, 2000 Quran Translation and the Challenge of Communication: Toward a Literal (Study) Version of the Quran, Journal of Quranic Studies, vol. 2:2 (2000), pp. 53-68

Remembrance and Repetition: The Spiritual Foundations of Islamic Aesthetics, Sufi Magazine, no. 47 (2000), pp. 15-19 Except His Face...: The Political and Aesthetic Dimensions of Ibn Arabis Legacy, Journal of the Muhyiddn Ibn Arab Society, vol. XXIII (1998), pp. 1931

Spiritual Imagination and the Liminal World: Ibn Arab on the Barzakh, POSTDATA (Madrid), vol. 15, no. 2 (1995), pp. 104-109 La Imaginacin Divina Y El Mundo Intermedio: Ibn 'Arab Y El Barzaj, POSTDATA (Madrid), vol. 15, no. 2 (1995), pp. 42-49 Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph: An Introduction to the Islamic Humanities, In Annemarie Schimmel Festschrift, special issue of Journal of Turkish Studies (Harvard), vol. 18 (1994), pp. 201-224

How to Study the Futht: Ibn 'Arabs Own Advice, In Muhyiddin Ibn Arab: 750th Anniversary Commemoration Volume, ed. S. Hirtenstein and M. Tiernan, Shaftesbury/ Rockport, Element Books, 1993, pp. 73-89

Ibn Arab's Esotericism: The Problem of Spiritual Authority, Studia Islamica, LXXI (1990), pp. 37-64 The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn Arab and the Mirj, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 108 (1988), pp. 63-77 The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn Arab and the Mirj, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 107 (1987), pp. 629-652

"He who speaks does not know...": Some Remarks by Ghazl, Studies in Mystical Literature, Vol. 5 (1985/appeared in 1987), pp. 1-20 Ibn Arab and His Interpreters, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 106 (1986), pp. 539-551 and pp. 733-756, and vol. 107 (1987), pp. 101-119

Books

From Ethics and Devotion to Spiritual Realisation: Ibn Arab on What Is Indispensable For the Spiritual Seeker, Monograph, pp. viii + 37. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaysia, Centre for Cilisational Dialogue, 2007.

The Wisdom of the Throne: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra, by James W. Morris. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1981. (Revised reedition in preparation with Archetype and White Cloud Press.)

Ibn Masarra: A Reconsideration of the Primary Sources, (ms. of original Harvard study, 1973)

Contributions to Books
Mulla Sadrs Conception of the Barzakh and the Emerging Science of Spirituality: The Process of Realization (tahqq)., In Islam-West Philosophical Dialogue (Papers Presented at the First World Congress on Mulla Sadra), Tehran, SIPRI Institute, 2005, vol. X, pp. 93-103.

Religion After Religions ? : Henry Corbin and the Future of the Study of Religion., In Philosophies et Sagesses des Religions du Livre, ed. P. Lory and M. Amir-Moezzi, Tournhout, Brpols Publishers, 2005, pp. 21-32.

(Draft) Preface and Introduction, volume of translations from the Futht (with W. Chittick), Ibn Arab: The Meccan Revelations, Volume I. New York, Pir Press, 2002

La Pense dOstd Elahi, In Le Spirituel: Pluralit et Unit, Cahiers dAnthropologie Religieuse (ed. M. Meslin), tome 5, Paris, Presses de lUniversit, 1996. pp. 137-147

Theophany or "Pantheism"?: the Importance of Balyns Rislat al-Ahadya, and la description de ab abdallh balyn par jm., In Horizons Maghrbins (Toulouse), special festschrift issue for Michel Chodkiewicz, no. 30 (1995), pp. 43-50 and 51-54

Situating Islamic Mysticism: Between Written Traditions and Popular Spirituality, In Mystics of the Book: Themes, Topics and Typologies, ed. R. Herrera, New York/Berlin, Peter Lang, 1993, pp. 293-334.

The Philosopher-Prophet in Avicenna's Political Philosophy, Chapter 4 of The Political Aspects of Islamic Philosophy, ed. C. Butterworth, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1992, pp. 142-188

Reading Attr's Conference of the Birds, In Approaches to the Asian Classics, ed. Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom. N.Y., Columbia University Press, 1990, pp. 77-85

Book Reviews
Revelation, Intellectual Intuition and Reason in the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra, by Zailan Moris, London, Routledge Curzon, 2003. In Journal of Islamic Studies, vol. (2006), pp. 360-362.

Sufism and Deconstruction: A comparative study of Derrida and Ibn Arabi, by Ian Almond, London, Routledge, London, 2004. In International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. (2006), pp. 164-165.

Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and Polemics, ed. F.de Jong and B. Radtke. Leiden, Brill, 1999. In Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, vol. 13.2 (2002), pp. 237-239.

A Brief Introduction to Islamic Philosophy, by Oliver Leaman. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999. In Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, vol. 65.2 (2002), pp. 388-399.

The Unlimited Mercifier: The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn Arab, by Stephen Hirtenstein, Oxford, Anqa Publishers/White Cloud Press, 1999. In The Expository Times, vol. 111, no. 2 (August 2000), page 395.

Ethical Theories in Islam, by Majid Fakhry, Leiden, Brill, 1991. In Middle East Journal, vol. 47 (1993), pp. 234-235. The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn Arab's Metaphysics of the Imagination, by William Chittick, Albany, 1989. In Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 111.3 (1991), pp. 601-602.

Mirror of the Intellect: Essays on Traditional Science and Sacred Art, by T. Burckhardt, tr. and ed. W. Stoddart, Albany, 1987. In Critical Review of Books in Religion-1989 (annual supplement to the JAAR/SBL), pp. 470-472.

The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam: Religion, Political Order, and Societal Change in Shi'ite Iran from the Beginning to 1980, by S. A. Arjomand, Chicago, 1984. In History of Religions, vol. 29, no. 2 (1989), p. 192.

La destine de l'homme selon Avicenne: Le retour Dieu (ma'd) et l'imagination, by Jean Michot, Louvain, 1987. In the Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 107 (1987), no. 4, pp. 815-817.

Quest for the Red Sulphur

The Life of Ibn Arabi

Claude Addas

The Islamic Text Society

ISBN 0946621454

Quest for the Red Sulphur: The Life of Ibn Arabi is undoubtedly a landmark in Ibn Arabi studies. Until the publication of this book, anyone who wanted to learn about the life of Ibn Arabi has had little choice of material to work from. This major study by Claude Addas is based on a detailed analysis of a whole range of Ibn Arabis own writings as well as a vast amount of secondary literature in both Arabic and Persian. The result is the first-ever attempt to reconstruct what proves to have been a double itinerary: on the one hand, the journey that took Ibn Arabi from his native Andalusia to Damascus - and on the other hand, the Night Journey which carried him along the paths of asceticism and prayer to the ultimate stage of revelation of his mystic quest. I read it like a novel, a novel written in captivating style and with a seeming infinite love for its hero - a novel distinguished by its meticulous care for details and full of trustworthy information taken from manuscripts and printed sources...It is more than a translation: with the authors help some additions have been made, some points clarified. -Annemarie Schimmel (Journal of Islamic Studies) The first serious biography of the most influential figure in the history of Islamic mysticism. It is based on an enormous amount of documentary evidence...In his voluminous writings Ibn `Arabi recounted his visionary experiences, his journeys, real and imaginary, and his meetings with other mystics, both alive and dead. -TLS Excerpt from 'Quest for The Red Sulphur': The Masters of Seville After Abu Madyan, the teacher whom Ibn Arabi probably mentions most frequently in the Futuhat is Abu l-Abbas al-Uryabi. Clearly the times he spent in the company of this illiterate peasant from Ulya in the Algarve had a profound effect upon him. It is also significant that among the

recommendations (wasaya) of Ibn Arabi which Ismail b. Sawdakin transcribed in his Kitab wasail al-sail, several derive from Abu l-Abbas al-Uryabi. So, for example, the following prayer which Ibn Arabi was to make his own: Oh Lord, nourish me not with love but with the desire for love (Rabbi urzuqni shahwat al-hubb la l-hubb). This influencewhich is especially evident in Ibn Arabis initial attachment to the practice of dhikr using the divine Name Allah aloneis hardly surprising. For a start, Uryabi was his murshid al-awwal, his first teacher: a relationship which is always of special significance in Sufism. Secondlyand this is probably the most decisive factor of allUryabi was governed by the state of ubudiyya, or total servitude. My master Abu l-Abbas al-Uryabi, who was the first teacher whom I served and received graces from, had one foot planted firmly in this domainthe domain of servitude. Now in Ibn Arabis eyes the state of ubudiyya surpasses all others. It is the state every disciple must aspire to and the goal of spiritual realisation, because it represents the return to the original state: to the ontological nothingness of the creature or created being. Whoever has realised ubudiyya or servitude has stripped himself of rububiyya, of the Lordship which really belongs to God alone but which ordinary men in their arrogance claim for themselves. According to Ibn Arabi the state of such a person is comparable to a stone that falls where it is thrown; he is literally abd Allah, the slave of God. In a sense it can be said that Ibn Arabis entire teaching as embodied in his writings has as its sole aim to guide his spiritual children (we will see in due course why the term children, rather than sons, has to be used) towards that state of servitude to which Uryabi had guided him. Be a pure servant! (kun abdan mahdan) That is what I was advised by my shaikh and master Abu Abbas al-Uryabi. It will emerge later that the only people who realise the state of ubadiyya fully are the malamiyya, the People of Blame. Finally, there is the fact that Shaikh Uryabi was in a sense responsible for the first meeting between Ibn Arabi and Khadir, that mysterious interlocutor of Moses: the master of the masterless, he who is the supreme possessor of the ilm laduni, the knowledge inherent in God. This initial meeting took place in Seville when Ibn Arabi was still a youth, and it was to be the first in a series of interventions by Khadir in his spiritual destiny which would culminate in his double investiture with the khirqa khadiriyya, the initiatic mantle transmitting the baraka of Khadir: firstly at Seville in 592 and then at Mosul in 601. Before telling the story of this first encounter with Khadir, it is worth pointing out that Muhyi l-Din was only around twenty years old when he met Uryabi. The following episode occurred at the start of this companionship, as he

himself says (fi bidayati amri). His youthfulness excusesor at least explainsthe lack of adab or propriety which, on his own admission, he showed. He still had a great deal to learn about the rules of proper behaviour which normally govern the relationship between disciple and master. A difference of opinion arose between me and my master Abu l-Abbas al-Uryabi, regarding the identity of a person whose coming the Prophet had announced. He [Shaikh Uryabi] said to me, The reference is to so-and-so, son of so-andso, and he mentioned someone whom I knew by name: I had never seen the person but I had met his cousin. I expressed scepticism and refused to accept what the shaikh said about this individual, because I had an infallible perception (basira) regarding the man in question. As it happens, there can be no doubting the fact that later the shaikh changed his opinion. But he suffered inwardly [as a result of my attitude], although I was unaware of this because at the time I was only in my early stages. I left him to return home. On the way I was accosted by someone whom I did not know. First of all this person greeted me, with a great deal of love and affection in his gesture. Then he said to me: Accept what Shaikh Abu l-Abbas says about so-and-so! I understood what he was asking. I immediately returned to the shaikh to let him know what had happened to me. When I appeared before him he said to me: Oh Abu Abd Allah, is it going to be necessary for Khadir to come to you every time you hesitate to admit what I say, and tell you: Accept what so-and-so says? And how is that going to happen each time you refuse to accept my opinion? I replied: The door of repentance is open. He said: The repentance is accepted. Table of Contents 1. Home Land. 2. Vocation. 3. Election. 4. Ibn Arabi and the Savants of Andalusia. 5. Gods Vast Earth. 6. Fez. 7. Farewells. 8. The Great Pilgrimage. 9. Counsel My Servants 10. Damascus, Refuge of the Prophets. Appendix I: Chronological Table of Ibn Arabis life. Appendix II: Ibn Arabi and his Links with the Various Sufi Currents in the Muslim West. Appendix III: The Teachers in Traditional Religious Discipline Frequented by Ibn Arabi in the Muslim West. Appendix IV: The Men of Letters Frequented by Ibn Arabi in the Muslim West.

Appendix V: The Four silsilas of the khirqa akbariyya.