An Introduction To 'ilm Al-kalam

NOTES:

[^1]. See Murtada Mutahhari, Sayri dar Nahj al-balaghah, pp.69-76, where the author has discussed the difference between the approach of the Nahj al-balaghah to the problems of theology and metaphysics and the approach of Muslim mutakallimun and philosophers to such problems. (Translator)

[^2]. "Zanadiqah" (sing. zindiq), a term applied heterogeneously and relatively, is used to describe any heretic group whose belief deviates radically from the Islamic doctrines. The author, probably, refers by it to one or more of such sects as the Mu'attilah, who denied the creation and the Creator, reducing the world to an unstable mixture of the four elements, the Manawiyyah (Manichaeans); and Mazdakiyyah, who were dualists, etc. (Translator)

[^3]. See Murtada Mutahhari, Insan wa sarnewisht (Man and Destiny).

[^4]. See Murtada Mutahhari, 'Adl-e ilahi (Divine Justice), "the Introduction," pp. 7-[^43]:

[^5]. Translator's Note: There are at least seventy-five places where the various derivatives of the root kalimah occur in the Qur'an. In three places the phrase kalam Allah is used in reference to the Qur'an (2:75, 9:6, 48:15). The word kalimah (word, statement), or the plural kalimat, with reference to God occurs at least thirty times in the Qur'an, twice with reference to Jesus (A) who is called a "kalimah" of God. The Gospel of John designates Jesus Christ (A) as the "Eternal Word of God." The Qur'an also speaks of Jesus as a Word of God, while according to John's Gospel he is the Word, eternal and uncreated: "Before the world was created, the Word already existed; he was with God, and he was the same as God." We are further told: "Through him God made all things, not one thing in all creation was made without him. The Word was the source of life the Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son."

Probably the Christian belief in Jesus as the uncreated kalimat Allah (Word of God), some kind of a demiurge - a belief which probably emerged as a result of Manichaean influence on early Christianity - had prompted the early Muslims, engaged in polemics with Christians on the nature of Jesus Christ, to consider in their turn, the Qur'an, the Kalam Allah, as uncreated and eternal.

[^6]. 'Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, Usul-e falsafah wa rawishe riyalism ("The Principles and Method of Realism"), vol. V (chapter XIV), the introduction by Murtada Mutahhari, who has written very elaborate footnotes on the text of 'Allamah Tabataba'is book.

[^7]. 'Abd al-Rahman al-Badawi, Madhahib al- 'Islamiyyin, vol. I, p. [^34]: Apparently, the author does not consider the Tahawiyyah, the Maturidiyyah and the Zahiriyyah as among the major schools of kalam, or not important enough to be included in this brief survey. (Translator)

[^8]. Translator's Note: Both theology and metaphysics are referred to by the common term al-'ilahiyyat (lit. theology). Whenever only theology proper is meant, the phrase "bil-ma'na al-'akhass" (lit. in its special sense) is added. Metaphysics, which deals with general problems, is termed "al-'umur al-'ammah" (lit. the general issues).

[^9]. Translator's Note: Some of these reasons are following: (1) Every human being is aware that his daily acts, such as going to the market or having a walk, for instance, depend on his will; he is free to do them if, he likes, and to abstain if he wills. (2) If all our acts are imposed upon us, there would be no difference between a virtuous act and a wicked one; whereas even a child makes a difference between a kind and a cruel act. He likes the first and detests the second. If all our acts are determined by God, they would be all alike; that is, there would be no difference between good and evil, between virtue and vice. (3) If God creates all our acts, it is pointless for Him to command some things and forbid others, and consequently to reward and punish accordingly. (4) If we are not free in our acts, it is unjust of God to create sins in creatures and then punish them on their account.

[^10]. Translator's Note: The notion of motion in leaps (tafrah) was first suggested by al-Nazzam. It means that a body undergoes discrete leaps during motion. The modern parallel of this idea of motion is one employed by quantum mechanics. Max Planck, in 1900, put forward the hypothesis that the charged particle - usually called the oscillator, or vibrator - which is the source of monochromatic light, absorbs and emits energy only in discrete quanta. It changes its energy not continuously, as supposed in the classical theory of radiation, but by sudden jumps (tafrah). In 1913 Niels Bohr, applying the quantum theory to subatomic phenomena, published the quantum theory of the atom. Since then quantum mechanics has become an important part of atomic physics.

[^11]. Translator's Note: The verses 57:22 and 4:78 seem to convey a meaning contradictory to that of 4:79 and 18:[^29]: While the former imply total predestination, the latter explicitly support the idea of freedom. The Asha'irah attach basic importance to the former and the Mu'tazilah to the latter kind. The Shi'ah reconcile the two sets of verses and take an intermediary position. The following traditions from al-Shaykh al-Saduq's al-Tawhid, pp.360-362 (Jami'at al-mudarrisin fi al-Hawzat al-'Ilmiyyah, Qum), explain the Shi'ah position:

...Al-Imam al-Baqir (A) and al-Imam al-Sadiq (A) said: "Indeed God is of greater mercy than that He should coerce His creatures into sin and then punish them for that; and God is of greater might than that He should will something and it should fail to happen." They were asked, "Is there any third position between absolute predestination (jabr) and absolute freedom (qadar)?" They said: "Yes, vaster than the space between the heaven and the earth."

...Muhammad ibn 'Ajun says: "I asked Abu 'Abd Allah (A), 'Has God left men free [to do what they may like]?' He replied, 'God is nobler than that He should leave it upto them [to do whatever they may like].' I said, 'Then God has imposed their deeds upon them?' He said, 'God is more just than that He should coerce a creature into committing some act and then punish him on its account.'

Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Washsha' says, "I asked al-Imam al-Rida (A) whether God has given men total freedom in their acts. He said, 'God is mightier than that.' I said, 'Then, has He coerced them into sins?' He replied, 'God is more just and wiser than that He should do such a thing.' Then he added, 'God, the Almighty, has said, "O son of Adam! I deserve more credit in your virtues than yourself, and you deserve more discredit for your sins than I; you commit sins with the power I have given you."'''

...Al-Mufaddal ibn 'Umar reports that al-Imam Abu 'Abd Allah (al-Sadiq) (A) said, "Neither total predetermination (jabr), nor total freedom (tafwid), but a position intermediate between the two (amr bayna amrayn)." I said, "What is amr bayna amrayn?" He replied, "It is as if you see someone committing a sin. You stop him, but he does not desist. So you leave him alone. Then if he commits that sin, it does not mean that since he did not heed you and you left him alone, you asked him to commit it."."

See also Murtada Mutahhari, Insan wa sarnewisht (Man and Destiny), for an elaborate discussion of this point.

[^12]. Translator's Note: Some historians have advanced the theory of a connection between Mu'tazilite theology and the 'Abbasid movement. H.S. Nyberg, in his article on the Mu'tazilah in the Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam, after remarking that "Wasil adopted a somewhat ambiguous attitude regarding 'Uthman and his murderers and that he left undecided the question of knowing who had the superior claim to caliphate, Abu Bakr, 'Umar, or 'Ali,"says that, "All these apparently dissimilar lines converge on a common centre: the 'Abbasid movement. It is precisely Wasil's attitude which we must regard as characteristic of the partisans of the 'Abbasids...Every thing leads us to believe that the theology of Wasil and the early Mu'tazilah represents the official theology of the 'Abbasid movement. This gives us an unforced explanation of the fact that it was the official doctrine of the 'Abbasid court for at least a century. It seems even probable that Wasil and his disciples took part in the 'Abbasid propaganda...." Although Nyberg's conjecture is not sufficient to establish this hypothesis, further research may bring into light some conclusive evidence in the matter.

[^13]. Translator's Note: Akhbarism is a movement which started within the Shi'i world about four hundred years ago. Its originator was Mulla Muhammad Amin ibn Muhammad Sharif al-'Astarabadi (d. 1033/1623-24). He openly attacked the Shi'ah mujtahidun in his work al-Fawa'id al-madaniyyah, vehemently contesting the Usuliyyun's claim that reason is one of the sources of fiqh. The Uuliyyun hold the Qur'an, the Sunnah, reason, and ijma' (consensus) as valid sources for deduction of the rules of the Shari'ah. The Akhbaris

accepted the validity only of the Sunnah and rejected the rest. Understanding the Qur'an, they claimed, is beyond the capacity of a commoner, being restricted exclusively to the Ahl al-Bayt (A).

Regarding ijma', they said that it was an innovation (bid'ah) of the Ahl al-Sunnah. Reason, they held, is only valid in empirical sciences. Its applicability cannot be extended to the realm of the Shari'ah. Accordingly, they rejected ijtihad, considering the taqlid (following the authority, imitation in legal matters) of a non-Ma'sum as forbidden. However, they considered the reliability of all the ahadith of the four books, viz. al-Kafi, al-Tahdhib, al-'Istibsar, and Man Ia yahduruhu al-faqih as being authentic and undisputable. They held that it was the duty of the people to directly refer to the hadith texts in order to discover the commands of the Shari'ah. There was no need of the mujtahid as an intermediary. The Usuliyyun, and in particular such scholars as Aqa Muhammad Baqir al-Bahbahani (1118/1706-1205/1788) and Shaykh Murtada al-Ansari (d 1281/1865-66) refuted the Akhbari position and effectively repulsed the threat posed by them to the Shi'i institution of ijtihad. Some prominent Akhbaris among Shi'ah scholars were Sayyid Ni'mat Allah al-Jaza'iri (d.1050/1640) Muhammad ibn Murtada Mulla Muhsin Fayd al-Kashani (d 1091/1680) Shaykh Yusuf ibn Ahmad al Bahrani al Ha'iri (1107/1695-1186/1772) and Sadr al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad Baqir al-Hamadani (d. after 1151/1738-39)

[^14]. This treatise has been published as an appendix to his al-Lum'ah, and 'Abd al-Rahman al-Badawi has included it in the first volume of Madhahib al-'Islamiyyin, pp.15-[^26]:

[^15]. See Muhammad Abu Zuhrah, Ibn Taymiyyah.

[^16]. Murtada Mutahhari, Ashna'i bi 'ulum-e Islami (An Introduction to the Islamic Sciences), see the section on philosophy, the fourth lecture entitled "Rawishha-ye fikri-ye Islami".

[^17]. Al-Qur'an, 2:[^285]:

[^18]. This is the stand on sifat which is usually attributed to the Mu'tazilah. Hajji Sabzawari (in Manzumah, his philosophical poem) says:

al-Ash'ari bizdiyadin qa'iluhu

wa qala binniyabati'lMu'tazilahu

However some Mu'tazilah, such as al-Hudhayl, have held a position exactly similar to the Shi'ah position.

[^19]. Murtada Mutahhari, 'Adle Ilahi (Divine Justice).

[^20]. Ibid., the discussion on shafa'ah.