Softest of Tongues

Riding the micro bus at 6:40am from the village to the city:

the bus is half full of somewhat gruff looking men on their way to all-day blue collar labor.

on the stereo, the driver plays children’s anasheed.

in syria, it isn’t paradoxical that rough, very tough men like to listen to what in canada would be the equivalent of little kids’ songs on their way to work.  (this could inspire some serious reflections on what machismo meant in traditional muslim soceities, and which is still reflected in some places).

i contrast this with my neighbour in edmonton, who on his way to a similar job (at 7am) would have hard rock blaring from his pickup.

i love syria.

We’ve been studying the shar7 (explanation) of Imam Ta7awi’s text on aqeeda, or creed, and I’ve wanted to post some summaries of my lessons not only to stimulate interest in the topic and share my studies but also as a means of reviewing.

Before one can get into Ta7awi, however, one needs some basics – hence, I’m going to put up a few intro summaries taken from a short text called “al Ma’rifa” (The Book of Knowledge), which is the first text I was taught in creed.It’s a small gem – succinct, but every line is beneficial.

Bismillah ~

Part 1: What is Aqeeda?

The fundamentals of any discipline can be summarized in ten matters. Thus:

إن لكل فن عشرة                   الحد والموضوع ثم اثمرة
و فضله و نسبة و الواضع              والاسم الستمداد حكم الشارع
مسائل والبعض بالبعض إكتفى             و من درى الجميع حاز الشرفا

Definition: Aqeeda means “creed”. Linguistically speaking it comes from the same root as “to knot”; thus it is the tie that binds one to a given matter, in this case to Allah the Exalted.

It is also called ‘Ilm at-Taw7eed (The Science of Taw7eed).* Taw7eed, linguistically, is the knowledge that something is one unity. Islamically, it refers to singling out the One worthy of worship for all acts of servitude, while believing with certitude that He is a unique unity, in terms of essence, action, and characteristics.

In terms of the Islamic science, aqeeda or ‘ilm at-taw7eed refers to the discipline outlined to solidify religious creed through explanation of clear proofs and logical arguments.

Its Subject Matter: Allah’s Essence (dhat), in terms of those things with which He has obliged Himself and also what is inconceivable for Him, as well as the realm of His action and ability; moreover, the nature and function of Prophets and Messengers, and certain matters related to the Unseen realm.

Its Goal: To gain knowledge of Allah the Exalted through clear proofs, and thereby  achieve His pleasure and enter the Garden of Eternal Bliss.

Its Merit: It is the most meritorious of all branches of knowledge because of its focus on Allah the Exalted, His Prophets and Messengers, and what derives from these sources.

Its Roots: It is the root (asl) of all Islamic disciplines, and all other sciences are considered branches (furu’).

Its Codifiers: Abu’l Hasan al Ash3ri and Abu Mansur al Maturidi, and their respective successors.**

Its Names: Aqeeda, ‘Ilm at-Taw7eed, ‘Ilm al Kalam [Meaning 'words', but better translated as "The Discipline of Talk". Apparently this name is the result of the extensive discourse and debate that took place in the field, to the extent that people began describing the discipline as a 'lot of talk', so to speak.]

Its Sources: Logical and textual proofs.

Rulings: It is a fard ‘ayn (personally obligatory matter) upon every mukallif (Muslim of sound mind who has reached the age of puberty), male or female. [Here meaning that to have sound creed is obligatory - not necessarily to go through the texts of the science, or learn proofs, etc. However, since having sound creed does require study, it is obligatory to learn about it - especially given our situation in the West, in which one may otherwise have a very difficult time separating what is acceptable from that which is not in the realm of ideas and practice].

Its Domain: Research into that nature of what is possible, necessary, and impossible.

*I use the 7 as a hard h.
** Ali ibn Ismael, d 324H; Muhammad ibn Muhammad, d 333H, respectively.

~~~~~~~

More to come regarding explanation of certain matters in this summary, insha’Allah. Any questions in the comments box, please.

[entrance to Shaykh Nuh's Zawiya, Amman]

One of our neighbours/relatives – may Allah bless her – brought us cherries from her orchard last night. Huge, delicious cherries. Mmm. This was breakfast (low ISO, unfortunately, since I was eating just after dawn).

We’re studying a book of hadith science called “Irshad Tullab al Haqa’iq…” (Guidance for Seekers of Truth (to Knowledge of the Best of Creation, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam)) by Imam an Nawawi. Its a book regarding the various levels of hadith, how they are established, their various qualities, etc.

Hadith science is very hard. Short text, but its insufficient to just be familiar with the information – to be competent, one has to memorize everything. It’s much like studying biology or medicine.

The edition of the text we’re using was composed from the sources and edited by Dr. Nur ad-Din ‘Itr, a brilliant Damascene scholar, and he prefaced the book with a biography of the author.

Some selections I had been reading a few nights back:

“Imam Shams ad-Din al Hanbali said of him (Imam Nawawi): He was intense in his piety and ascetisism – he abstained from all food save what his father would bring him of dry bread and figs… and he didn’t eat fruit at all”

Now, leaving the tasty foods of Damascus is no small feat. Leaving the tasty fruits of Damascus is even more difficult. Just writing about the tasty foods and fruits of Damascus is making me hungry…

The reason he didn’t eat the fruits, btw, is because at the time there had been a policy of land acclaimation by the government, which had seized much land unjustly and redistributed it, and as such he forbid himself to partake of anything produced by that land. There is a famous story (it may be in this book, but I haven’t read the whole biography. If it’s here I’ll write it out in full later) in which the Amir of Damascus called him for an interview, and asked him why he didn’t eat fruit. He replied frankly that it was because of the Amir’s unjust seizing of the land. When Imam Nawawi left, the Amir asked that his salary be cut off. “He doesn’t take a government salary” came the response. “How does he live?” asked the Amir. “His father brings him some bread and figs when he comes from the country.” remarked an advisor. After reviewing all the options, the frustrated and exasperated Amir found he couldn’t do anything about Imam Nawawi.

Imam Adh-Dhahabi noted that “Our shaykh remarked to us that Imam Nawawi possessed three qualities in such excellence that, were any one of them present to the same extent in any other man, people would have travelled from afar to visit and study with him: firstly, his knowledge, second, his ascetisism, and third, his enjoining of good and forbidding evil.”

***

After reading the first part, I became hungry for the fruits of Damascus, and went out and ate some cherries. I suppose it says something for Imam Nawawi (just as it says something for me) that just reading about his ascetisism makes me hungry.