Muqaddima — The Preface
مقدمہ
Fresh translation from the Urdu (printed pages 1–57), October 2026 — AI-assisted translation pending scholarly review.
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Bismi'llāhi'r-raḥmāni'r-raḥīm — "In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."
كَذٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الْاٰيٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَّتَفَكَّرُوْنَ
Kadhālika nufaṣṣilu'l-āyāti li-qawmin yatafakkarūn — "Thus do We set out the signs in detail for a people who reflect." (Yūnus 10:24)
Preamble — Tamhīd
Before I write anything about Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī or about the principles of tafsīr [Qurʾānic exegesis], I shall first write down the names and the work of those noble persons who served the Quran Sharīf; but I shall set this out by way of an allegory, as a tafsīr of Sūrat Alam Nashraḥ [al-Sharḥ, Sūra 94].
In describing the sharḥ-e-ṣadr-e-Muḥammadī [the opening of the breast of the Prophet Muḥammad], an image is appearing, visible and distinct, in the mind of the faqīr Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qadīr Ṣiddīqī: from the treasure-house of maʿārif [divine gnosis] that is the breast of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ a mighty and powerful waterfall is pouring forth. In one place this waterfall becomes a voice and comes out of the throats of the reciters in the form of the Quran; in another it becomes lightning and falls upon the hearts of the lovers; in another it becomes heat and sets their hearts burning, and is also the cause of their sighs and weeping; in another it becomes motion and appears in the strength and power of those who lay down their lives for Muḥammad, rousing them to daring self-sacrifice and making arduous deeds easy for them; and in another it becomes the most graceful movement and action, voice and beloved bearing, heart-winning charm and a lover-like allure, and captivates people's hearts. This same waterfall appears as light and illumines the hearts of the people of knowledge; in another place it becomes the water of everlasting life and makes bāqī bi'llāh [those who subsist through Allāh] individuals live for ever; in another it becomes the coolness of certainty, the light of sakīna [divine tranquillity] and contentment of heart, and is a cause of solace for the special servants [of Allāh]; and in another it is a store of purity and refinement for the generality of Muslims. The water of this waterfall gathers in a lake or a sea. On one side of it a dam has been built, in which there are many doors or gateways that will never be closed until the Day of Resurrection. On every door or gateway inscriptions are written.
On one gateway is this inscription:
اِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَاِنَّا لَهٗ لَحٰفِظُوْنَ
Innā naḥnu nazzalna'dh-dhikra wa-innā lahu la-ḥāfiẓūn — "Indeed it is We who have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We are its guardians." (al-Ḥijr 15:9)
and, in a somewhat finer script, there is also the inscription اِقْرَءُوا الْقُرْاٰنَ بِلُحُوْنِ الْعَرَبِ iqraʾu'l-Qurʾāna bi-luḥūni'l-ʿArab, "Recite the Quran in the tones of the Arabs." This is the gateway of the Quran. Near it many thrones are set out, some large, some small. On one throne is seated, in splendour, the Compiler of the Quran, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq (may Allāh be pleased with him), who in his time gathered together in one place all the written portions of the Quran, taking them from all the Companions. On another throne sits the second compiler, Ḥaḍrat ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allāh be pleased with him); he had the ṣaḥīfa [collected manuscript] compiled by Ṣiddīq-e-Akbar (may Allāh be pleased with him) written out in the form of maṣāḥif [bound copies] and sent them to seven cities. On another throne sits Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allāh be pleased with him), on one ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allāh be pleased with him), on one Ḥaḍrat Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allāh be pleased with him), and on one Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allāh be pleased with him). Close by, other small thrones are set out: on one of them sits ʿĀṣim al-Kūfī with his two pupils Shuʿba and Ḥafṣ; on one Nāfiʿ al-Madanī with his two pupils Qālūn and Warsh; on one Abū ʿAmr al-Baṣrī with his two pupils al-Dūrī al-Baṣrī and al-Sūsī; on one Ibn Kathīr al-Makkī with his two pupils al-Bazzī and Qunbul; on one Ibn ʿĀmir al-Shāmī with his two pupils Hishām and Ibn Dhakwān; on one Ḥamza al-Kūfī with his two pupils Khalaf and Khallād; and on one ʿAlī al-Kisāʾī al-Kūfī with his two pupils Abu'l-Ḥārith al-Layth and al-Dūrī.
It is established from the aḥādīth of the Prophet that Ḥaḍrat Jibrīl the Trustworthy (upon him be peace), especially in the month of Ramaḍān, would recite the whole Quran to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and hear it from him ﷺ. It is possible that Jibrīl (upon him be peace) recited the Quran at different times in different ways, according to the idioms of different tribes, and that he ﷺ heard it so: for example, sometimes riḍwān and sometimes ruḍwān; sometimes anna was read and sometimes inna; sometimes saddan and sometimes suddan. Once one Companion recited one word and another Companion recited another word; the two Companions, disputing, came to the court of Prophethood, and he ﷺ confirmed both, and said: اُنْزِلَ الْقُرْاٰنُ عَلٰى سَبْعَةِ اَحْرُفٍ unzila'l-Qurʾānu ʿalā sabʿati aḥruf, "The Quran was sent down in seven modes." Each according to his own idiom, one read with zabar [the vowel a], another with pēsh [the vowel u], as when one read saddan and another suddan. In short, it became easy for the people of every tribe to read the Quran according to their own tongue.
On another gateway the following inscription is engraved:
اُدْعُوْنِيْٓ اَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
Udʿūnī astajib lakum — "Call upon Me; I will answer you." (Ghāfir 40:60)
and, in a hidden script, there is also the inscription اَلدُّعَاءُ مُخُّ الْعِبَادَةِ al-duʿāʾu mukhkhu'l-ʿibāda, "Supplication is the marrow of worship." This gateway belongs to those who make duʿāʾ [supplication]. What supplication is there that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ did not make for his umma?
Reflect upon the Quran and the aḥādīth: tawḥīd [the affirmation of Divine Oneness] is in them; the supplications for tahdhīb-e-nafs [the refinement of the self] are in them; in short, material concerning every single matter is found in the aḥādīth of the Prophet. Ḥaḍrat al-Jazarī (may Allāh have mercy on him) gathered the supplications of the aḥādīth of the Prophet together in one place in Ḥiṣn-e-Ḥaṣīn. In Ḥiṣn-e-Ḥaṣīn the supplications for every time, every task and every need are written separately. Ḥaḍrat al-Jazarī (may Allāh have mercy on him) is seated on a small throne with his Ḥiṣn-e-Ḥaṣīn. Another collection of the Prophetic supplications was compiled by Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (may Allāh have mercy on him), named Ḥizb-e-Aʿẓam; in it are the supplications of the Quran Sharīf, those of the ḥadīth sharīf as well, and durūd [blessings upon the Prophet] is also in it. ʿAlī ibn Sulṭān Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (may Allāh have mercy on him) is seated on a small throne with Ḥizb-e-Aʿẓam.
On another small throne is Imām al-Jazūlī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt, in which there are ṣalāt and salām [blessings and greetings upon the Prophet] and important supplications. Near these small thrones there are also a few large thrones. On one of them is seated Ḥaḍrat Imām ʿAlī ibn Ḥusayn Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (may Allāh be pleased with him), and in his blessed hand is al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Kāmila, which he is reciting in a most heart-melting voice. On another throne is seated Ḥaḍrat Sayyidī Muḥyi'l-Dīn ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, and in his blessed hand is Fuyūḍāt-e-Qādiriyya. On another throne is established Shaykh Muḥyi'l-Dīn Ibn ʿArabī (may Allāh have mercy on him); in his blessed hand is a collection of many supplications and of ṣalāt and salām. On another throne is Sayyidī Abu'l-Ḥasan ʿAlī al-Shādhilī (may Allāh have mercy on him); in his blessed hand is al-Anwār al-Qudsiyya, in which are Ḥizb al-Baḥr, Ḥizb al-Naṣr and other aḥzāb [litanies].
On another gateway is this inscription:
اَعُوْذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ ۔ وَاِمَّا يَنْزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطٰنِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّٰهِ اِنَّهٗ سَمِيْعٌ عَلِيْمٌ
Aʿūdhu bi-rabbi'l-falaqi min sharri mā khalaq. Wa-immā yanzaghannaka mina'sh-shayṭāni nazghun fa'staʿidh bi'llāhi innahu samīʿun ʿalīm — "I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak from the evil of what He has created." "And if an incitement from Satan should provoke you, then seek refuge in Allāh; indeed He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing." (cf. al-Falaq 113:1–2; al-Aʿrāf 7:200)
On this gateway this is [also] engraved: كَالَّذِيْ يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطٰنُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ka'lladhī yatakhabbaṭuhu'sh-shayṭānu mina'l-mass, "like one whom Satan has confounded by his touch" (al-Baqara 2:275). This is the gateway of istiʿādha [seeking refuge in Allāh]. Near it, on one throne Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allāh be pleased with him) and on another Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allāh be pleased with him) are seated, and on another is Ḥaḍrat Abu'l-Ḥasan ʿAlī al-Shādhilī (may Allāh have mercy on him), in whose hand is Ḥizb al-Baḥr and others.
Further on there is another gateway, and on it is this inscription:
وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهٖ عِلْمٌ ۔ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَاْوِيْلَهٗٓ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ ۔ وَالرّٰسِخُوْنَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُوْلُوْنَ اٰمَنَّا بِهٖ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ اِلَّآ اُولُوا الْاَلْبَابِ ۔ اِنَّآ اَنْزَلْنٰهُ قُرْءٰنًا عَرَبِيًّا
Wa-lā taqfu mā laysa laka bihi ʿilm. Wa-mā yaʿlamu taʾwīlahu illa'llāh. Wa'r-rāsikhūna fi'l-ʿilmi yaqūlūna āmannā bihi kullun min ʿindi rabbinā wa-mā yadhdhakkaru illā ulu'l-albāb. Innā anzalnāhu qurʾānan ʿarabiyyā — "And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge." "And none knows its interpretation except Allāh. And those firmly rooted in knowledge say, 'We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.' And none takes heed except those of understanding." "Indeed We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran." (al-Isrāʾ 17:36; Āl ʿImrān 3:7; Yūsuf 12:2)
This is the gateway of the mufassirīn [exegetes of the Quran]. Near this gateway, on a large throne, is seated Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allāh be pleased with them both). On one is ʿAllāma Maḥmūd al-Zamakhsharī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Tafsīr-e-Kashshāf. On one is Imām Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and with him is Tafsīr-e-Kabīr; and on one is ʿAllāma al-Ālūsī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and with him is Rūḥ al-Maʿānī. On one is Qāḍī Nāṣir al-Dīn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar al-Bayḍāwī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Anwār al-Tanzīl; and on one is Muḥyi'l-Sunna Rukn al-Dīn ibn Masʿūd al-Baghawī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Maʿālim. On another throne is Ḥaḍrat Ḥāfiẓ al-Dīn al-Nasafī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Tafsīr-e-Madārik. On one throne is ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad, known as al-Khāzin (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Lubāb al-Taʾwīl. On one is Imām Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (may Allāh have mercy on him), beside whom is placed a large tafsīr, Durr-e-Manthūr, in which everything is ḥadīth; in his hand there is also a small tafsīr, about which there is the debate whether it contains more words of the Quran or of tafsīr; its name is Tafsīr-e-Jalālayn. Right here, at one edge, stands a faqīr who, in view of the demands of the age, has written in Urdu a tafsīr easy for ordinary people to understand, Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī, and is praying to Allāh that He grant it the honour of acceptance; and he is hopeful that he too will be given a small stool close to those seated on the thrones of these tafāsīr.
Close to this gateway there is another gateway, and on it is this inscription:
مَآ اٰتٰىكُمُ الرَّسُوْلُ فَخُذُوْهُ وَمَا نَهٰىكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوْا ۔ اِذَا جَآءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَاٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوْٓا
Mā ātākumu'r-rasūlu fa-khudhūhu wa-mā nahākum ʿanhu fa'ntahū. Idhā jāʾakum fāsiqun bi-nabaʾin fa-tabayyanū — "Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it." "When a wrongdoer brings you news, verify it." (al-Ḥashr 59:7; al-Ḥujurāt 49:6)
This is the gateway of the muḥaddithīn [scholars of ḥadīth]. Here hundreds and thousands of thrones, small and large, are set out; the names of a few of those seated on them are these:
On one throne is Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allāh be pleased with them both); on one is Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allāh be pleased with them both), who had already begun collecting aḥādīth in the very lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ. On one is Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allāh be pleased with him); and there is a chamber over which a curtain hangs, and in it is Ḥaḍrat ʿĀʾisha Ṣiddīqa (may Allāh be pleased with her). On one throne is Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allāh be pleased with him); on one is Imām Mālik ibn Anas (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is the Muwaṭṭaʾ Sharīf. On one throne is Imām Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is his Muwaṭṭaʾ. On one is seated Ḥaḍrat Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (may Allāh have mercy on him); in his hand is the Musnad Aḥmad. On one is Imām Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (may Allāh have mercy on him), who selected the ṣaḥīḥ [sound] aḥādīth and gathered them in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. With him also is the Tārīkh-e-Bukhārī, in which he has gathered the accounts of all the narrators of ḥadīth. On one throne is Imām Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is his Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. On one is Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Sunan Ibn Mājah. On one is Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Aḥmad al-Nasāʾī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Sunan al-Nasāʾī; and on one throne is Imām Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Tirmidhī Sharīf. On one is Sulaymān ibn al-Ashʿath Abū Dāwūd (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is Sunan Abī Dāwūd. On one throne is Sayyidunā Shihāb al-Dīn (may Allāh have mercy on him), with whom is al-Mawāhib al-Ladunniyya, in which are the aḥādīth on the life and sīra of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. And on a small throne is Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī Taqī [tentative reading — please confirm] (may Allāh have mercy on him), and with him is his book Kanz al-ʿUmmāl, which stands as an encyclopaedia of the aḥādīth of the Prophet. There, to one side, sits Aḥmad ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and with him is Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, which contains the names of the narrators [asmāʾ al-rijāl]. On one throne is Shams al-Dīn al-Dhahabī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and with him is Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ, which gives an account of the ḥuffāẓ of ḥadīth. Let it be clear that the muḥaddithīn call a person a ḥāfiẓ who has at least one hundred thousand aḥādīth by heart.
On another gateway is this inscription:
فَاسْئَلُوْٓا اَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ ۔ فَاعْتَبِرُوْا يٰٓاُولِي الْاَبْصَارِ ۔ وَالَّذِيْنَ جَاهَدُوْا فِيْنَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا
Fa's'alū ahla'dh-dhikri in kuntum lā taʿlamūn. Fa'ʿtabirū yā ulī'l-abṣār. Wa'lladhīna jāhadū fīnā la-nahdiyannahum subulanā — "So ask the people of the Reminder, if you do not know." "So take heed, O you who have eyes to see." "And those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them to Our ways." (al-Naḥl 16:43; al-Ḥashr 59:2; al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69)
This is the gateway of the fuqahāʾ [jurists]. Of the thrones near this gateway, on one throne is seated Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq (may Allāh be pleased with him), and on a throne each Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allāh be pleased with him), Ḥaḍrat ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allāh be pleased with him) and Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allāh be pleased with him); and in a chamber is Ḥaḍrat Umm al-Muʾminīn ʿĀʾisha Ṣiddīqa (may Allāh be pleased with her). On one throne is Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allāh be pleased with him), on one Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allāh be pleased with them both), and on one Ḥaḍrat Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allāh be pleased with him). Right beside these thrones is seated Imām-e-Aʿẓam Abū Ḥanīfa Nuʿmān ibn Thābit al-Kūfī (may Allāh have mercy on him); he derived the rulings [istinbāṭ-e-masāʾil] from the Quran and ḥadīth. In the majlis [assembly] of jurists of Imām Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allāh have mercy on him), Imām Abū Yūsuf (may Allāh have mercy on him), Imām Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan (may Allāh have mercy on him) and others — forty muḥaddiths and faqīhs — are seated around a round table.
With Imām Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan (may Allāh have mercy on him) is a heap of books of fiqh [jurisprudence], al-Siyar al-Kabīr and others. On a separate throne is seated Imām Mālik ibn Anas (may Allāh have mercy on him) with the Muwaṭṭaʾ. The Muwaṭṭaʾ is the mother of all the books of ḥadīth. On another throne is Imām Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī (may Allāh have mercy on him); with him is Kitāb al-Umm. From the mutual debates and discussions of Imām Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan (may Allāh have mercy on him) and Imām Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī (may Allāh have mercy on him) the foundation of uṣūl al-fiqh [the principles of jurisprudence] and uṣūl al-ḥadīth [the principles of ḥadīth] was laid. That was a time when no one knew even the name or trace of Roman law. Remember that the Quran and ḥadīth alone are the sources of Islamic fiqh. A person who holds personal opinions without a source in the Quran and ḥadīth can never be a faqīh; whoever gave a ruling without a source is rejected, and [the fuqahāʾ] are exceedingly severe against him. On one throne is Ḥaḍrat Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (may Allāh have mercy on him), with whom is the Musnad Aḥmad; it is a great treasury of ḥadīth sharīf. Imām Aḥmad (may Allāh have mercy on him) does not make use of qiyās [analogical reasoning] against a weak ḥadīth. On other chairs are seated the mujtahid fi'l-madhhab, the aṣḥāb al-tarjīḥ and the mujtahid fi'l-masʾala [the ranks of jurists who exercise independent reasoning within a school, who weigh between its opinions, and who reason on particular questions], who in every age derive rulings from the Quran and ḥadīth in accordance with the demands of that age. In every age a few individuals do attain the chair of deriving rulings.
On another gateway is this inscription:
اُدْعُ اِلٰى سَبِيْلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِيْ هِيَ اَحْسَنُ
Udʿu ilā sabīli rabbika bi'l-ḥikmati wa'l-mawʿiẓati'l-ḥasanati wa-jādilhum bi'llatī hiya aḥsan — "Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the way that is best." (al-Naḥl 16:125)
This is the gateway of the mutakallimīn [scholars of kalām, dialectical theology]. Near this gateway too many thrones are set out. On one of them is Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allāh be pleased with them both); at the command of Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him) he debated the Khawārij, for in that time the Khawārij and the Rawāfiḍ had already arisen. In that era the sword gave an immediate verdict on religious differences. Remember this: some people revere the elders [buzurgs], and some do not acknowledge them at all; those who stay on the middle path are very few. The extreme of those who revere the elders is personality-worship and idol-worship, and the extreme of the self-opinionated is materialism [dahriyyat] and irreligion. On one throne is Ḥaḍrat Imām Abū Ḥanīfa Nuʿmān ibn Thābit al-Kūfī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is al-Fiqh al-Akbar. The Imām-e-Aʿẓam (may Allāh have mercy on him) had to debate the Khawārij constantly. On another throne is Ḥaḍrat Abu'l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (may Allāh have mercy on him), who is active in refuting the Muʿtazilīs. According to the Muʿtazila there is nothing in Islam contrary to their reason. In reality they are caught in an error: that whatever I do not know, or what is not proven to me, does not exist at all. On one throne is seated Imām Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand are Tahāfut al-Falāsifa and other books of ʿilm al-kalām. Before the time of Imām al-Ghazālī (may Allāh have mercy on him) the books of various philosophers had already been translated into Arabic. From his books benefit is gained in all of these: beliefs [ʿaqāʾid], taṣawwuf, the refinement of character [tahdhīb-e-akhlāq] and so on. The Caliph al-Mahdī and Hārūn al-Rashīd were very much at the forefront in having the books of philosophy prepared.
On another throne is Imām Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (may Allāh have mercy on him), who blew the old philosophy to pieces; in his hand are scores of books of ʿilm al-kalām, al-Mabāḥith al-Mashriqiyya, Maʿālim and others. On another throne is also seated Qāḍī ʿAḍud al-Milla wa'l-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Aḥmad (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand is al-Mawāqif. Through the fine teaching of this Qāḍī, hundreds of thousands of people of Chingīz Khān's line were honoured with Islam. And on other chairs and stools are established thousands of servants of the religion who have always been active and ready in refuting the opponents of Islam.
On another gateway is this inscription:
مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ وَالَّذِيْنَ مَعَهٗٓ اَشِدَّآءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَآءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۔ فَقَاتِلُوْٓا اَوْلِيَآءَ الشَّيْطٰنِ اِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطٰنِ كَانَ ضَعِيْفًا ۔ وَقَاتِلُوْهُمْ حَتّٰى لَا تَكُوْنَ فِتْنَةٌ
Muḥammadun rasūlu'llāhi wa'lladhīna maʿahu ashiddāʾu ʿala'l-kuffāri ruḥamāʾu baynahum. Fa-qātilū awliyāʾa'sh-shayṭāni inna kayda'sh-shayṭāni kāna ḍaʿīfā. Wa-qātilūhum ḥattā lā takūna fitna — "Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allāh, and those with him are firm against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves." "So fight the allies of Satan; indeed the scheming of Satan is ever weak." "And fight them until there is no more fitna [persecution]." (al-Fatḥ 48:29; al-Nisāʾ 4:76; al-Baqara 2:193)
This gateway belongs to those who lay down their lives for Muḥammad, the mujāhidīn fī sabīli'llāh [those who strive in the path of Allāh]. Near it, on one throne, is seated Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq (may Allāh be pleased with him), who fought the apostates and compelled those who withheld zakāt to pay zakāt; in this way he protected the centre of Islam. And on one throne is seated Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allāh be pleased with him), in whose time Bayt al-Maqdis, Syria and Iran were conquered. On another throne is seated Ḥaḍrat ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allāh be pleased with him), in whose time the borders of the Islamic state had reached far and wide. On another throne is established Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allāh be pleased with him), the conqueror of Khaybar; his sword did its work, and his spiritual power did its work too.
On another throne is Ḥaḍrat Abū ʿUbayda ibn al-Jarrāḥ, conqueror of Syria; on one throne Ḥaḍrat Ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, conqueror of Iran and Iraq; and on one there is also Ḥaḍrat ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, conqueror of Egypt; and in the midst of these thrones is the throne of Ḥaḍrat Sayf Allāh, the greatest mujāhid, Khālid ibn al-Walīd. Close by, on a throne, sits the Umayyad Caliph al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, and around him on other thrones are seated Muḥammad ibn Qāsim, conqueror of Sindh and Hind; Mūsā ibn Nuṣayr and his servant Ṭāriq, conqueror of Andalus; and Qutayba ibn Muslim, conqueror of Turkistān. On another throne are Nūr al-Dīn Zangī and Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn the Great, al-Ayyūbī, who performed outstanding feats in the Crusades, for which friend and foe alike gave them praise. And on one throne is Sulṭān Muḥammad Khān the Turk, conqueror of Constantinople. On one throne is Sulṭān Maḥmūd Ghaznawī, conqueror of Hind, and on one Shihāb al-Dīn Ghūrī. On one throne sits Jalāl al-Dīn Khaljī, who inflicted a great defeat on the armies of Chingīz, and when he released a hundred thousand captured prisoners they all became Muslims. On one part of his throne there is also ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Khaljī. On one is established Aḥmad Shāh Abdālī, who with a small army inflicted a great defeat on the Marāṭhās.
On another gateway is this inscription:
وَاعْتَصِمُوْا بِحَبْلِ اللّٰهِ جَمِيْعًا وَّلَا تَفَرَّقُوْا ۔ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيْحُكُمْ
Waʿtaṣimū bi-ḥabli'llāhi jamīʿan wa-lā tafarraqū. Wa-tadhhaba rīḥukum — "And hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allāh, and do not be divided." "… and your strength departs." (Āl ʿImrān 3:103; al-Anfāl 8:46)
And in a somewhat finer script there is also this: اَلْمُسْلِمُوْنَ كَالْبُنْيَانِ يَشُدُّ بَعْضُهٗ بَعْضًا al-muslimūna ka'l-bunyāni yashuddu baʿḍuhu baʿḍā, "The Muslims are like a building, each part of which strengthens the other." This is the gateway of worldly affairs [dunyawiyyāt]: of reform and progress, civilisation, the keeping of peace and the protection of supreme authority. Near it is a large throne on which Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq (may Allāh be pleased with him) is seated in splendour, who fought those who withheld zakāt and the apostates, and by this jihād saved the order of Islam from falling apart; the victory of Ajnādayn too belongs to his time. The ʿulamāʾ have said of him: وَلَقَدْ قَامَ مَقَامَ نَبِيٍّ wa-laqad qāma maqāma nabiyy, "He indeed stood in the station of a prophet." Ḥaḍrat Ṣiddīq-e-Akbar (may Allāh be pleased with him) gathered together in one place all the written portions of the Quran, taking them from all the Companions, and in this way protected ḥabl Allāh [the rope of Allāh]. Close by is another throne on which Ḥaḍrat Fārūq-e-Aʿẓam (may Allāh be pleased with him) is seated, in whose time not only were extraordinary conquests achieved, but the land was surveyed, the muqṭaʿs [land-grants] were organised, various laws were enforced as need required, and various kinds of revenue were levied on the subjects. On another throne is the best of the Tābiʿīn, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (may Allāh have mercy on him), who strove to transform an unrestrained [āzād] civilisation into an Islamic civilisation, and gave his life in it. On another throne is Hārūn al-Rashīd, the pupil of Imām Mālik, in whose time peace and security, and learning and wealth, were both at their highest peak.
On a small throne is Jalāl al-Dīn Khaljī, in one corner of which ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Khaljī is also seated, in whose time there were conquests and also the progress of civilisation. On a small throne there is also Shēr Shāh Sūrī, in whose time there was every kind of arrangement for the organisation of the cities, the upkeep of roads, convenience for travellers and the land revenue. On one side of this gateway the scholars of civic affairs [ʿulamāʾ-e-madaniyyāt] are established on their thrones. On one throne is Ḥaḍrat Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (may Allāh have mercy on him), beside whom his lofty and numerous works are placed; in his Iḥyāʾ al-ʿUlūm Islamic civilisation is discussed at considerable length. On one throne is Ḥaḍrat Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Aḥad Fārūqī (may Allāh have mercy on him). He was a contemporary of Akbar and Jahāngīr; in their time taṣawwuf had been turned into heresy [ilḥād], and self-worship and king-worship held sway. Allāh Most High brought forth Ḥaḍrat Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and this memorial of Fārūq-e-Aʿẓam (may Allāh be pleased with him) stood firm with the greatest steadfastness in defence of the religion. Through the grace of his spiritual training hundreds of thousands of people are still being watered to this day. Beside him are placed the three volumes of the Maktūbāt Sharīf. On a small throne is Ibn Khaldūn, with whom are placed the Tārīkh-e-Islām and the Muqaddima. In the Muqaddima there is considerable discussion of the principles of civilisation and the philosophy of history. And on a small throne is seated Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, known as Shāh Walī Allāh Dihlawī (may Allāh have mercy on him), beside whom is placed Ḥujjat Allāh al-Bāligha. This book is full of the philosophy of Islam. With him there is also Izālat al-Khafāʾ ʿan Aḥwāl al-Khulafāʾ, which is indeed history, but which also throws much light on the civilisation of Islam.
Further on, on another gateway, this inscription is engraved:
اَنَّ اللّٰهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ ۔ وَمَنْ يَّعْشُ عَنْ ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهٗ شَيْطٰنًا ۔ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِيْنَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِيْنَ ۔ وَالَّذِيْنَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُوْنَ ۔ اِعْلَمُوْٓا اَنَّمَا الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَّلَهْوٌ وَّزِيْنَةٌ وَّتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِي الْاَمْوَالِ وَالْاَوْلَادِ
Inna'llāha yuḥibbu'l-muḥsinīn. Wa-man yaʿshu ʿan dhikri'r-raḥmāni nuqayyiḍ lahu shayṭānā. Inna'llāha yuḥibbu't-tawwābīna wa-yuḥibbu'l-mutaṭahhirīn. Wa'lladhīna hum ʿani'l-laghwi muʿriḍūn. Iʿlamū annama'l-ḥayātu'd-dunyā laʿibun wa-lahwun wa-zīnatun wa-tafākhurun baynakum wa-takāthurun fi'l-amwāli wa'l-awlād — "Indeed Allāh loves those who do good." "And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil." "Indeed Allāh loves those who turn to Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves." "And those who turn away from idle talk." "Know that the life of this world is but play and amusement and adornment and boasting among you and rivalry in wealth and children." (al-Baqara 2:195; al-Zukhruf 43:36; al-Baqara 2:222; al-Muʾminūn 23:3; al-Ḥadīd 57:20)
In a somewhat finer script this inscription is also present:
اِنَّمَا الْاَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ ۔ مِنْ حُسْنِ اِسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهٗ مَا لَا يَعْنِيْهِ ۔ بُعِثْتُ لِاُتَمِّمَ مَكَارِمَ الْاَخْلَاقِ ۔ تَخَلَّقُوْا بِاَخْلَاقِ اللّٰهِ
Innama'l-aʿmālu bi'n-niyyāt. Min ḥusni islāmi'l-marʾi tarkuhu mā lā yaʿnīh. Buʿithtu li-utammima makārima'l-akhlāq. Takhallaqū bi-akhlāqi'llāh — "Actions are only by intentions." "Part of the excellence of a person's Islam is his leaving what does not concern him." "I was sent to perfect noble character." "Take on the character of Allāh."
This is the gateway of tahdhīb-e-nafs [the refinement of the self]. Near it, on one throne, is seated Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿUmar [tentative reading — please confirm], and on one Ḥaḍrat Imām Ḥasan al-Mujtabā (may Allāh be pleased with him). There are indeed many personages worthy of reverence near this gateway, but the names of a few noble persons in particular are set out.
On one throne is Imām Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (may Allāh have mercy on him); with him are Iḥyāʾ al-ʿUlūm, Kīmiyā-e-Saʿādat and other numerous works. Iḥyāʾ al-ʿUlūm has four volumes: in one are beliefs and gnosis [ʿaqāʾid o maʿārif]; in one volume is civic governance [siyāsat-e-mudun] and the refinement of the self; in one volume are the munjiyāt [the things that save]; and in one volume the muhlikāt [the things that destroy]. On another throne is seated Ḥaḍrat Ghawth-e-Aʿẓam Sayyidī ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and in his hand are Futūḥ al-Ghayb and al-Fatḥ al-Rabbānī. On a chair is Jalāl al-Dīn al-Dawwānī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and with him is Akhlāq-e-Jalālī. It has three parts: in one is civic governance, in one the governance and management of the household, and in one the refinement of the self. Al-Dawwānī has also written considerable discussions on the philosophy of Islam and ʿilm al-kalām in ʿAqāʾid-e-Jalālī and other books. And on many chairs there are many teachers of the refinement of the self.
There is another gateway, on which is the following inscription:
قُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ ۔ اَللّٰهُ الصَّمَدُ ۔ وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ اَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ ۔ اَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوْا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللّٰهِ ۔ وَفِيْٓ اَنْفُسِكُمْ اَفَلَا تُبْصِرُوْنَ ۔ سَنُرِيْهِمْ اٰيٰتِنَا فِي الْاٰفَاقِ وَفِيْٓ اَنْفُسِهِمْ حَتّٰى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ اَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ
Qul huwa'llāhu aḥad. Allāhu'ṣ-ṣamad. Wa-huwa maʿakum ayna mā kuntum. Aynamā tuwallū fa-thamma wajhu'llāh. Wa-fī anfusikum a-fa-lā tubṣirūn. Sanurīhim āyātinā fi'l-āfāqi wa-fī anfusihim ḥattā yatabayyana lahum annahu'l-ḥaqq — "Say: He is Allāh, the One. Allāh, the Self-Sufficient." "And He is with you wherever you are." "Wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allāh." "And in your own selves — do you not then see?" "We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth." (al-Ikhlāṣ 112:1–2; al-Ḥadīd 57:4; al-Baqara 2:115; al-Dhāriyāt 51:21; Fuṣṣilat 41:53)
In a somewhat finer script there is also this:
اَصْدَقُ كَلِمَةٍ قَالَتْهَا الْعَرَبُ قَوْلُ لَبِيْدٍ "اَلَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَا خَلَا اللّٰهَ بَاطِلٌ"
Aṣdaqu kalimatin qālatha'l-ʿArabu qawlu Labīd: "alā kullu shayʾin mā khala'llāha bāṭil" — "The truest word the Arabs have spoken is the saying of Labīd: 'Lo! everything apart from Allāh is unreal.'"
This is the gateway of the muwaḥḥidīn [those who affirm and realise Divine Oneness]. Those present here are of several kinds: some teach tawḥīd with great force and fervour; some noble ones are also the authors of magnificent books; and through the grace of the spiritual training and the excellent company [ṣuḥbat] of some, people become muwaḥḥids.
Here, on a large throne, is seated Ḥaḍrat Ṣiddīq-e-Akbar (may Allāh be pleased with him), and from his blessed tongue is coming forth: مَا رَاَيْتُ شَيْئًا اِلَّا وَرَاَيْتُ اللّٰهَ قَبْلَهٗ mā raʾaytu shayʾan illā wa-raʾaytu'llāha qablah ("I did not see anything but that I saw God before the thing"). Concerning him the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "If you wish to see a dead man walking about, look at Abū Bakr." This too was said: "With that by which God opened my breast, I have also opened the breast of Abū Bakr."
Around his throne are the thrones of the Qādiriyya, the Naqshbandiyya and the Shaṭṭāriyya.
On another throne Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allāh be pleased with him) is seated in splendour, and he says: سَلُوْنِيْ اُجِبْكُمْ salūnī ujibkum ("Ask of me and I shall give"). About him the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "My flesh is the flesh of ʿAlī, and my blood is the blood of ʿAlī."
Around him are the thrones of the Qādiriyya, the Chishtiyya, the Rifāʿiyya, the Akbariyya, the Suhrawardiyya, the Shādhiliyya and the Badawiyya. Near these thrones there are also the thrones of other revered personages, such as Ḥaḍrat Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Ḥaḍrat Maʿrūf al-Karkhī, Ḥaḍrat Junayd al-Baghdādī, Ḥaḍrat Bāyazīd al-Basṭāmī, Ḥaḍrat Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī, Ḥaḍrat Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Tustarī, Ḥaḍrat Kumayl ibn Ziyād, Ḥaḍrat Dhu'l-Nūn al-Miṣrī and Ḥaḍrat Abu'l-Qāsim al-Qushayrī. These are the people in whose time the books of foreign authors had not been translated; solely through their lofty spiritual attention [tawajjuh] and power of heart, hundreds of thousands — indeed tens of millions — of people drank their fill from the pure water of tawḥīd. Especially worthy of mention near these thrones is Shaykh Muḥyi'l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (may Allāh have mercy on him), with whom are al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam and other books. On one throne sits Mawlānā Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī (may Allāh have mercy on him), and beside him is placed the Mathnawī Sharīf.
On another gateway is this inscription:
يُحِبُّوْنَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللّٰهِ وَالَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْٓا اَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلّٰهِ ۔ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّوْنَهٗ ۔ يَخِرُّوْنَ لِلْاَذْقَانِ يَبْكُوْنَ وَيَزِيْدُهُمْ خُشُوْعًا ۔ فَلَمَّا تَجَلّٰى رَبُّهٗ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهٗ دَكًّا وَّخَرَّ مُوْسٰى صَعِقًا ۔ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُوْدُ الَّذِيْنَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِيْنُ جُلُوْدُهُمْ وَقُلُوْبُهُمْ اِلٰى ذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ
Yuḥibbūnahum ka-ḥubbi'llāhi wa'lladhīna āmanū ashaddu ḥubban li'llāh. Yuḥibbuhum wa-yuḥibbūnah. Yakhirrūna li'l-adhqāni yabkūna wa-yazīduhum khushūʿā. Fa-lammā tajallā rabbuhu li'l-jabali jaʿalahu dakkan wa-kharra Mūsā ṣaʿiqā. Taqshaʿirru minhu julūdu'lladhīna yakhshawna rabbahum thumma talīnu julūduhum wa-qulūbuhum ilā dhikri'llāh — "They love them as they should love Allāh; but those who believe are more intense in love for Allāh." "He loves them and they love Him." "They fall upon their faces weeping, and it increases them in humility." "And when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust, and Mūsā (upon him be peace) fell down senseless." "The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it; then their skins and their hearts soften to the remembrance of Allāh." (al-Baqara 2:165; al-Māʾida 5:54; al-Isrāʾ 17:109; al-Aʿrāf 7:143; al-Zumar 39:23)
In a somewhat hidden script this too is engraved: اَلْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ اَحَبَّ وَاَنْتَ مَعَ مَنْ اَحْبَبْتَ al-marʾu maʿa man aḥabba wa-anta maʿa man aḥbabt, "A person is with the one he loves, and you are with the one you have loved." This is the gateway of ʿishq o maḥabbat [passionate love and love]. Of the water coming from this gateway, even to drink a single sip makes the drinker mast-e-Alast [intoxicated with the wine of the primordial covenant, "Am I not your Lord?"]. Of those who drink its water, some are called lovers [ʿāshiq] and some beloveds [maʿshūq]; some are lovers [muḥibb] and some are loved [maḥbūb]. One loves, and another is loved. In short, from the verse يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّوْنَهٗ yuḥibbuhum wa-yuḥibbūnah it is known that the lover of God is also the beloved of God, and the beloved of God is also the lover of God; but the distinction between the two is only this: the one who cried out and lamented was called the lover, and the one who held himself in check and sat in patience and calm, the beloved.
Near this gateway is a throne on which Ḥaḍrat Ṣiddīq-e-Akbar (may Allāh be pleased with him) is seated; on the second throne Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar Fārūq (may Allāh be pleased with him), on the third Ḥaḍrat ʿUthmān Ghanī (may Allāh be pleased with him), and on the fourth Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him) are seated in splendour. On another throne is Imām Ḥasan al-Mujtabā (may Allāh be pleased with him), and on one Ḥaḍrat Imām Ḥusayn (may Allāh be pleased with him); on one throne there is also Ḥaḍrat Uways al-Qaranī. On one throne sits Ḥaḍrat Bilāl al-Ḥabashī (may Allāh be pleased with him), crying out "Aḥad, Aḥad" [One, One]. Near this gateway hundreds of thrones are set out, and this chain will continue, in shāʾ Allāh, until the Day of Resurrection; nevertheless, the names of a few of those seated on the thrones of wilāyat [sainthood] are set out:
Sayyidī ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, Sayyidī Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn ʿUmar Suhrawardī, Sayyidī Khwāja Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan Sanjarī Chishtī, Sayyid Aḥmad al-Kabīr al-Rifāʿī, Sayyidī Abu'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad Badawī, Sayyidī Bahāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Naqshband, Sayyidī Abu'l-Ḥasan ʿAlī Shādhilī, Sayyidī Jalāl al-Dīn Mawlānā Rūm, Sayyidī Muḥyi'l-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī Ibn al-ʿArabī, Sayyidī Badīʿ al-Dīn Shāh Quṭb al-Madār, Sayyidī ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ʿAlī Ṣābir, Sayyidī Niẓām al-Dīn Maḥbūb-e-Ilāhī, and Sayyidī Khwāja Muḥammad Ṣiddīq Maḥbūb Allāh (may Allāh have mercy on them).
Close by it is another gateway, on which this verse is engraved:
يٰٓاَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ارْجِعِيْٓ اِلٰى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً فَادْخُلِيْ فِيْ عِبٰدِيْ وَادْخُلِيْ جَنَّتِيْ
Yā ayyatuha'n-nafsu'l-muṭmaʾinnatu'rjiʿī ilā rabbiki rāḍiyatan marḍiyya. Fa'dkhulī fī ʿibādī. Wa'dkhulī jannatī — "O soul at rest, return to your Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing. So enter among My servants, and enter My Paradise." (al-Fajr 89:27–30)
In a somewhat finer script this too is written:
وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ اِلَيَّ عَبْدِيْ بِشَيْءٍ اَحَبَّ اِلَيَّ مِنْ اَدَآءِ مَا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِيْ يَتَقَرَّبُ اِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتّٰى اُحِبَّهٗ فَاِذَا اَحْبَبْتُهٗ كُنْتُ سَمْعَهُ الَّذِيْ يَسْمَعُ بِهٖ وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِيْ يُبْصِرُ بِهٖ وَيَدَهُ الَّتِيْ يَبْطِشُ بِهَا وَرِجْلَهُ الَّتِيْ يَمْشِيْ بِهَا وَاِنْ سَاَلَنِيْ اَعْطَيْتُهٗ وَاِنِ اسْتَعَاذَنِيْ اَعَذْتُهٗ
Wa-mā taqarraba ilayya ʿabdī bi-shayʾin aḥabba ilayya min adāʾi ma'ftaraḍtu ʿalayh, wa-lā yazālu ʿabdī yataqarrabu ilayya bi'n-nawāfili ḥattā uḥibbah, fa-idhā aḥbabtuhu kuntu samʿahu'lladhī yasmaʿu bih, wa-baṣarahu'lladhī yubṣiru bih, wa-yadahu'llatī yabṭishu bihā, wa-rijlahu'llatī yamshī bihā, wa-in saʾalanī aʿṭaytuh, wa-ini'staʿādhanī aʿadhtuh — "My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the performance of what I have made obligatory upon him; and My servant keeps drawing near to Me through supererogatory deeds [nawāfil] until I love him; and when I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks; and if he asks of Me, I give him; and if he seeks refuge in Me, I grant him refuge."
This is the gateway of ʿabdiyyat [servanthood]. The people of this gateway are distinguished by servanthood and are possessors of qurb-e-farāʾiḍ [the nearness attained through the obligatory acts]. They live without a will of their own; they remain alive as a corpse in the hands of the living [murda ba-dast-e-zinda]. When God is to give, He gives by their hand; when some work is to be done, He has it done by their hands. To give every person and every thing its due is their work. To act according to the demand of the moment is their way. Remaining under the [divine] command is always before their eyes. Such people mix with ordinary folk in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish them from others; they eat and drink, marry, laugh and talk. On the tongue of such people is this couplet:
My heart attached itself to no one; I kept my hands shaken free of all — / All my life I remained free of the prison of attachment. (Ḥasrat Ṣiddīqī)
On reflection it appears that those who drink their fill from this door are lovers, and beloved too, and servants as well; yet they are held to be distinguished by a certain particular quality of servanthood [bandagī].
Beside this door several thrones are set out. On one throne is the Khalīfa of the Messenger of Allāh, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq (may Allāh be pleased with him); on one, Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar Fārūq (may Allāh be pleased with him); on one, Ḥaḍrat ʿUthmān (may Allāh be pleased with him); on one, Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him); on one, Ḥaḍrat Imām Ḥasan (may Allāh be pleased with him); and on one, Ḥaḍrat Imām Ḥusayn (may Allāh be pleased with him) are seated. Close by, on one throne, is Ḥaḍrat Sayyidī ʿAbd al-Qādir Jīlānī, and on many other thrones all those noble ones are also gracing the assembly whose illustrious names have already passed in the account of tawḥīd and of ʿishq and maḥabba [passionate love and love].
In short, the Muḥammadan breast is vast indeed. Whatever is in it — tell of it until the Day of Resurrection; you tell of it, let the whole world tell of it — yet it has never come to an end, nor ever will. You will come to an end, and the world will come to an end.
The Inimitability of the Quran — Iʿjāz al-Qurʾān
Muʿjiza [miracle]. Human reason falls short of understanding what pleases and what displeases Allāh Most High; therefore Allāh Most High sends down His commands and prohibitions upon a human being of lofty capacity and extraordinary nature, who is called a rasūl [messenger] or paighambar [prophet]. His fundamental teaching, his noble character, his reform of Allāh's servants, his selflessness, his human sympathy and his straight dealing are the best proofs of his truthfulness; but for further confirmation, and for the sake of [people's] assent and certainty, Allāh Most High supports the prophets with miracles [muʿjizāt].
A miracle suited to the community [muʿjiza munāsib-e-ummat]. In the time of the prophets, whatever craft the community was skilled in, a miracle resembling that very craft was granted, because through their skill in the craft they were able to tell human work apart from the work of God. In a craft in which someone has no skill, and with whose principles and fundamentals he is not acquainted, his opinion remains unreliable and untrustworthy.
In the time of Mūsā (upon him be peace) sorcerers and soothsayers held sway, so he was granted the staff and the White Hand. In the contest, Firʿawn [Pharaoh] and his courtiers found it hard to tell sorcery from the miracle of Mūsā, but the sorcerers, who were masters of that craft, cried out at once: اٰمَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ رَبِّ مُوْسٰى وَهَارُوْنَ āmannā bi-rabbi l-ʿālamīn, rabbi Mūsā wa-Hārūn — "We believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Mūsā and Hārūn" (al-Aʿrāf 7:121–122). In the same way, in the time of Ḥaḍrat ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) physicians held sway, so Ḥaḍrat ʿĪsā was granted [this] miracle: healing the leper [judhāmī, koṛhī], bringing the dead to life, and making birds of clay, breathing the breath of ʿĪsā into them, bringing them to life and setting them flying.
An everlasting religion and an everlasting miracle [dīn-e-abadī wa muʿjiza-e-abadī]. Since the prophets of past ages were sent to particular peoples and for limited times, their miracles too were for a time. Ḥaḍrat Muḥammad Muṣṭafā ﷺ has been sent to all mankind [kāffatan li-l-nās]; his religion is to remain until the Day of Resurrection; so, besides thousands upon thousands of miracles — manifold breaches of the ordinary course of things [khawāriq-e-ʿādāt] whose transmission reaches the level of tawātur [mass transmission] — he was granted the Quran Sharīf, an abiding miracle that will go on confirming this abiding religion.
The ground of the Quran's inimitability [wajh-e-iʿjāz-e-Qurʾān]. In what respect is the Quran Sharīf a miracle? On this the scholars differ.
Ṣarfa [divine "turning away"]. Naẓẓām, who is a great man of letters and a philosopher too, says that Allāh Most High had taken away from the people of the Ḥaḍrat's ﷺ age the power to answer the Quran. In his view, producing the like of the Quran Sharīf was possible, but since that very power had been taken from all people, how could an answer be given? His view is entirely wrong, because in that case the Quran Majīd would not be the miracle; rather, Allāh Most High's taking away from the eloquent and the masters of rhetoric [fuṣaḥāʾ wa bulaghāʾ] the power to answer would be the miracle. Alas that the reality of the Quran did not open to so great a man of letters; otherwise he would have nodded in rapture and given himself over at every single sūra and every single āya of the Quran. Probably, taking the Quran Sharīf to be sahl-e-mumtaniʿ [easy in appearance, impossible in imitation], he is floundering in the whirlpool [of thinking] that the like of the Quran is possible. But this possibility never comes into actuality.
We have stated that whatever craft a prophet's community was expert in, a miracle of that same kind was given to the prophets. Ḥaḍrat Risālat-maʾāb [the Seat of Messengership] ﷺ was born among a people who made great claims to eloquence and rhetoric [faṣāḥat wa balāghat]. They called themselves ʿArab, that is, "the eloquent", and others ʿAjam, that is, "the dumb"; therefore the eloquence and rhetoric of the Quran Sharīf were made the miracle.
Without doubt we regard the Quran Majīd as miraculous and plainly inimitable in eloquence and rhetoric; but along with that we also know that the Quran Majīd is a caller to the truth [dāʿī ila l-ḥaqq] for the whole world. Whoever is master of any art and reflects on the Quran with a cool heart, the Quran will shine forth as a miracle in that very respect. This faqīr has set a few of the grounds of the Quran's inimitability into verse in "Tuḥfa-e-Faqīr", which are a gift to the readers. A detailed discussion of them will follow.
What pleases God and what displeases Him — messengership makes it plain; / The religion of Muḥammad is tawḥīd — a call to the whole world.
That all should worship the one God — this is the secret of the seal of prophethood; / The ground of the Quran's inimitability — is the Ḥaḍrat's being unlettered [ummiyyat].
Tidings of the past and the future — brimful of truth; / Not a zer or a zabar of difference — such is the Quran's preservation!
All incantations became worthless — what power there is in its effect! / Melody and flowing words — and the perfection of eloquence besides;
Lessening, adding and altering — impossible: such is its rhetoric; / There is no low and high in it — its state is ever one and the same.
The style of the Quran is one thing — and the state of ḥadīth another; / Whoever has looked upon the Quran — he is lost in wonder.
Divine majesty is manifest — what grandeur there is in its tone! / The Quran has left no worth in all [other] religions;
Those who reform [their] dharma [religion] — are those in whom there is something of the Quran; / It brought the whole world under — what power, what grandeur!
(Ḥasrat Ṣiddīqī)
The unlettered state of the Noble Messenger [ummiyyat-e-Rasūl-e-Karīm ﷺ]. In the Ḥaḍrat's ﷺ time the practice of education, and acquaintance with reading and writing, were scant indeed. There were neither madrasas nor schools [makātib]; only here and there did some religious leader know how to read and write. Some of those whose trade was commerce, or chiefs of the tribe, were somewhat acquainted with writing. Then, Ḥaḍrat Muḥammad Muṣṭafā ﷺ was still in his mother's womb when the Ḥaḍrat's honoured father ʿAbdullāh passed away; he was six years old when his honoured mother Bībī Āmina also passed away; then he was eight years old when his illustrious grandfather ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib also passed away. Who, then, was there to educate and train him? But no — Allāh was his Protector and Nurturer, and it was He who was to honour him with ʿilm-e-ladunnī [knowledge directly from the divine presence]. Let anyone reflect with a cool heart: a man whom no one has taught, who has no one to train him, whose surroundings are dark, with ignorance doing brisk trade on every side — that man comes forth holding the torch of guidance in his hand, transforms the whole world, and makes the darkness of shirk and kufr [associating partners with Allāh, and unbelief] vanish. He makes the great religions and creeds on the face of the earth into an old calendar [i.e. obsolete]. He throws the laws of great states and empires into the wastepaper basket, and has those mighty empires themselves trampled under the hooves of horses. Is this not a miracle? Unless the hand of God is at his back, is there anyone who can do so undeniable a work? Can the history of the world show a single example of it? No, never!
وَمَا كُنْتَ تَتْلُوْ مِنْ قَبْلِهٖ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَّلَا تَخُطُّهٗ بِيَمِيْنِكَ اِذَالْاَرْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُوْنَ
wa-mā kunta tatlū min qablihī min kitābin wa-lā takhuṭṭuhū bi-yamīnika idhan la-rtāba l-mubṭilūn — "And you did not recite any book before it, nor did you write one with your right hand; [had you done so,] then those who follow falsehood would have doubted." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:48)
فَاْتُوْا بِسُوْرَةٍ مِّنْ مِّثْلِهٖ وَادْعُوْا شُهَدَآءَكُمْ مِّنْ دُوْنِ اللّٰهِ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ صٰدِقِيْنَ
fa-ʾtū bi-sūratin min mithlihī wa-dʿū shuhadāʾakum min dūni llāhi in kuntum ṣādiqīn — "Then bring a sūra like it, and call your witnesses besides Allāh, if you are truthful." (al-Baqara 2:23)
The preservation of the Quran [ḥifāẓat-e-Qurʾān]. There is no book in the world, religious or non-religious, whose preservation has been carried out on a par with the Quran Majīd. The Vedas of the Hindus, the Zend or the Dasātīr of the Parsis — indeed even the Tawrāt [Torah] and the Injīl [Gospel] — cannot be established even by solitary reports [khabar-e-āḥād], let alone by tawātur. The state of the Quran Sharīf is that from the age of prophethood until now its transmitters, its ḥāfiẓs [memorisers] and its qāriʾs [reciters] have kept coming in their hundreds of thousands. Let alone a city, there is not a single small town in which there are not a few excellent ḥāfiẓs. What chance has any ḥāfiẓ, in Tarāwīḥ, of reciting one word in place of another, or making a mistake even of a zer or a zabar [a vowel mark], without the listener prompting him? These are glaring errors; the qāriʾ criticises even [lapses in] the qualities of the letters [ṣifāt-e-ḥurūf]. When does he let it pass if someone fails to observe qalqala or hams, or cannot distinguish between the long, the medium and the natural madd, or gives a letter tafkhīm [heavy articulation] or tarqīq [light articulation] out of place, or puts iẓhār or idghām where ikhfāʾ belongs — when does he allow it? How many alifs there are in the Quran Sharīf, how many bāʾs and tāʾs — all have been counted. In short, God made the promise of the preservation of the Quran Sharīf, and in what an undeniable way He proved it! If Islam is the religion that is to remain in the world, then its source, its holy heavenly Book, must also hold this much importance. On what footing could a thing be propagated that has not even been preserved, whose soundness is unknown, whose transmission is not even unbroken? اِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَاِنَّا لَهٗ لَحٰفِظُوْنَ innā naḥnu nazzalnā l-dhikra wa-innā lahū la-ḥāfiẓūn — "Indeed it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed We are its guardians" (al-Ḥijr 15:9).
The Quran's telling of the unseen [Qurʾān kī ghaib-goʾī]. It is plain that a man has knowledge neither of the past nor of the future; he knows only what comes before his eyes — that is, his knowledge is confined to what he observes. Moreover, he turns those very observations over and draws some inference from them. Giving news of the unseen [ikhbār bi-l-ghaib] is not the work of a material human being; unless the hand of God is in it, this work cannot be done. In the Quran Sharīf those stories too are told with which the Ḥaḍrat's ﷺ whole family was unacquainted, and there are also such prophecies as have come true, correct and exact, to this day.
Qiṣaṣ [stories]. Ḥaḍrat Ādam (upon him be peace), Mother Ḥawwā and the story of Iblīs; the episode of Hābīl and Qābīl; the stories of Ḥaḍrat Nūḥ (upon him be peace), Ḥaḍrat Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace), Ismāʿīl, Lūṭ, Isḥāq, Yaʿqūb and Yūsuf (upon them be peace); Ḥaḍrat Ṣāliḥ (upon him be peace) and the people of Thamūd; Ḥaḍrat Shuʿayb (upon him be peace) and the people of Madyan and Ayka; Ḥaḍrat Dāwūd and Sulaymān (upon them be peace); Ḥaḍrat Mūsā and Hārūn (upon them be peace), and Firʿawn and Hāmān, the Banū Isrāʾīl and Qārūn; and the accounts of other prophets — Dhu'l-Qarnayn, the people of Sabaʾ, the People of the Trench [Aṣḥāb al-Ukhdūd], [the People of] the Cave and al-Raqīm, and the People of al-Rass: their stories and circumstances are told in detail, and even the opponents among the people of the Ḥaḍrat's time acknowledged them.
Pēshgōʾī [prophecy]. There are many prophecies in the Quran Sharīf; a few are mentioned here as examples:
قُلْ لِّلْمُخَلَّفِيْنَ مِنَ الْاَعْرَابِ سَتُدْعَوْنَ اِلٰى قَوْمٍ اُولِىْ بَاْسٍ شَدِيْدٍ تُقَاتِلُوْنَهُمْ اَوْيُسْلِمُوْنَ
qul li-l-mukhallafīna mina l-aʿrābi sa-tudʿawna ilā qawmin ulī baʾsin shadīdin tuqātilūnahum aw yuslimūn — (al-Fatḥ 48:16)
"(O Prophet,) say to the Bedouin Arabs who stayed behind (from the journey to Ḥudaybiya): You will be called to face people who are great fighters (that is, Persia and Rome); you will go on fighting them until they become Muslims."
The wars with Rome and Persia took place in the caliphate of Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq and ʿUmar Fārūq (may Allāh be pleased with them both); so this is glad tidings of the caliphate of the Shaykhayn [the two Shaykhs].
الٓمّٓ ۔ غُلِبَتِ الرُّوْمُ فِىْٓ اَدْنَى الْاَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِّنْۢ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُوْنَ فِىْ بِضْعِ سِنِيْنَ
alif lām mīm. ghulibati l-Rūmu fī adna l-arḍi wa-hum min baʿdi ghalabihim sa-yaghlibūna fī biḍʿi sinīn — (al-Rūm 30:1–3)
"In the nearby land (that is, Persia) the Romans (who are Christians) have been overcome (by the people of Persia, who are fire-worshippers); but after being overcome, these people will soon, within a few years, (again) prevail (over the people of Persia)."
And so it came to pass; and this event is a mighty miracle in the history of prophecy. Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq (may Allāh be pleased with him), trusting in the truth of this divine promise, made a wager with a chief of Quraysh. The divine promise came true, and Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq (may Allāh be pleased with him) was successful.
سَيُهْزَمُ الْجَمْعُ وَيُوَلُّوْنَ الدُّبُرَ
sa-yuhzamu l-jamʿu wa-yuwallūna l-dubur — "Soon this host will be routed, and they will turn their backs and run." This was the prophecy of the defeat of [the enemy at] Badr, which Allāh fulfilled. (al-Qamar 54:45)
لَقَدْ صَدَقَ اللّٰهُ رَسُوْلَهُ الرُّؤْيَا بِالْحَقِّ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ اِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ اٰمِنِيْنَ مُحَلِّقِيْنَ رُءُوْسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِيْنَ لَا تَخَافُوْنَ
la-qad ṣadaqa llāhu rasūlahu l-ruʾyā bi-l-ḥaqqi la-tadkhulunna l-masjida l-ḥarāma in shāʾa llāhu āminīna muḥalliqīna ruʾūsakum wa-muqaṣṣirīna lā takhāfūn — (al-Fatḥ 48:27)
"Assuredly Allāh showed His Messenger a dream that was in truth wholly true: that, if Allāh wills, you (Muslims) will enter the Masjid al-Ḥarām without fear or danger, (in complete peace of mind); (once there,) (some of) you will have your heads shaved and (some) your hair cut short." This āya is a prophecy of the conquest of Makka, which Allāh fulfilled.
Faṣāḥat wa balāghat [eloquence and rhetoric]. First of all, reflect on the musicality and smoothness [salāsat] of the Quran Sharīf. The words of the Quran Sharīf are composed of letters with such fine points of articulation [makhārij], and there is such smoothness and flow in the Quran Sharīf, that they weigh neither on the reader's tongue nor on the listener's ear. So voluminous a book, so great a bulk — and not a single word in it is heavy or jarring. Where is this to be found in the speech of other poets and orators? I have an experience, and I think others too will have had it, or will have it after reflection: some people who stammer when speaking in their mother tongue find, when they recite the Quran Sharīf, that their tongue meets no obstruction at all; rather, in reciting the Quran their tongue runs faster even than that of people with clear speech. I have seen this in several of my friends; my own tongue has a knot [ʿuqda], but when I recite the Quran Sharīf my tongue runs clearly. This is sufficient proof of the smoothness of the Quran Sharīf and the beauty of its points of articulation.
Some completely unlettered people have been seen who, on hearing the Quran Sharīf and other supplications [adʿiya] being recited, said of the Quran Sharīf that its recitation sounds very fine. Some unlettered people were such that they could tell the Quran apart not only from other texts but even from the Ḥadīth Sharīf. An unlettered Bedouin woman saw [someone] reciting the Quran Sharīf, came and sat close by, and began to listen, all ears. Someone asked: "What kind of speech is this?" She said: "I am unlettered; what can I say? But this much I will certainly say: it seems like a platter in which there is ḥalwā, with honey beneath and butter on top."
Who can perceive the Quran's being inimitable? Let it be clear that the Quran Sharīf is inimitable in several respects. Some of these respects are such that anyone can understand them — such as the melody of the words of the Quran Sharīf and its charm; the Ḥaḍrat, the Accepted Messenger ﷺ, being unlettered [ummī], and then his bringing so matchless, wondrous and extraordinary a Book, which is a lamp of guidance in matters of every kind, of religion and of the world; or the reports in the Quran Sharīf of the past and the future, that is, the disclosure of things unseen [iẓhār-e-mughayyabāt], and so on. There remains the Quran Sharīf's being inimitable in respect of eloquence and rhetoric: to experts and native speakers of sound taste this is known self-evidently, and for others it is possible through reflection, thought and reasoning, through comparison with the speech of others, and through acquaintance with the principles of maʿānī, bayān and badīʿ [the three branches of Arabic rhetoric] and with the styles of speech.
How much of the Quran is inimitable? Some say that a whole sūra of the Quran is inimitable; one or two āyas do not reach the limit of inimitability. Some people say that the measure of Sūra اِنَّآ اَعْطَيْنٰكَ Innā aʿṭaynāka [al-Kawthar], or its equal, that is, three āyas, is also inimitable.
Uslūb [style]. If two or four lines of verse by different people who are of the same rank as Imraʾ al-Qays were put into his Dīwān, that is possible; but more than two or four consecutive lines can by no means be blended in. Someone said to Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ: "Why do you not compose long qaṣīdas?" He said: "Keeping up the colouring of the Jāhiliyya is extremely difficult."
Let anyone put the Quran Sharīf and the Ḥadīth Sharīf side by side and look: the style of the ḥadīth by no means matches the style of the Quran. Those who are acquainted with the styles of speech say at once: this verse is by Imraʾ al-Qays or by Zuhayr; it belongs to the Jāhiliyya, or to those who lived through both Islam and the Jāhiliyya; or that this poet is of the period of the Banū Umayya, or of the Banū ʿAbbās, or of quite recent times. Further, that this poet is from Baghdad or from Syria, from the Ḥijāz or from Egypt, an Arab or a non-Arab. If full knowledge cannot be had from one verse, then after two or four verses the distinction is certainly made. Even those who know Urdu can tell whether a verse is by Saudā or by Mīr, by Dhauq or by Ghālib, by Dāgh or by Amīr. The critics of poetry in every language distinguish between the speech of poets and versifiers; they separate high poetry from low. Compound ignorance [jahl-e-murakkab], obstinacy and unwarranted opposition are another matter; those who lack sound taste are not party to this discussion. A man of taste hears lofty speech and relishes it for hours, indeed for days. To such men of taste — Arabs, and indeed non-Arabs too — the inimitability of the Quran is beyond doubt evident in respect of eloquence and rhetoric as well. What can be said of the perfect eloquence and rhetoric of the noble ḥadīths, which are ascribed to that best and most honoured being whose saying is: اُوْتِيْتُ جَوَامِعَ الْكَلِمِ اَنَا اَفْصَحُ الْعَرَبِ وَالْعَجَمِ ūtītu jawāmiʿa l-kalim, ana afṣaḥu l-ʿarabi wa-l-ʿajam — "I have been given comprehensive words; I am the most eloquent of the Arabs and the non-Arabs." Yet the Quran Sharīf is something else altogether. From this it is plainly known that the Quran Sharīf is not the speech of Ḥaḍrat, the Accepted Messenger ﷺ; it is the speech of Allāh Most High.
In short, before us are the sermons of Ṣiddīq-e-Akbar (may Allāh be pleased with him), Fārūq-e-Aʿẓam (may Allāh be pleased with him) and Maẓhar al-ʿAjāʾib [the Manifestation of Wonders, i.e. Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī] (may Allāh be pleased with him). The difference that lies between Allāh and the servant is the very difference between the Quran and their words. The sermons of Ibn Nubāta, the Maqāmāt of Badīʿ [al-Zamān] or of al-Ḥarīrī, and the speech of others — what reality do they have at all? An ignorant man says that al-Ḥarīrī too possesses eloquence of the highest degree; in truth he has never even seen the speech of the truly eloquent. He cannot tell a thing that has been cast from a thing that has been worked with the file; he sees no difference between the living and the dead. The speech of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā ranks higher than al-Ḥarīrī's. Before the fine phrases of Badīʿ [al-Zamān], the whole of al-Ḥarīrī is left lying idle.
Fiṭrat Allāh [the making of Allāh]. The components of milk have become known: water, fat, sugar, salt and what not. Just combine them and make milk — impossible. Seventy-two or seventy-three elements have been discovered. What now? Everything has become known. Just join these elements together and make the wing of a butterfly — impossible. Just make a single petal of a rose — impossible. Leave aside creating matter and elements; just make one of the forms God has given — impossible. Your work is "artificial", manufactured; God's work is "natural", innate. You have already tested the helplessness of your power in matter and material things. Now just take the very words you speak, and make from them the like of one sūra of the Quran. Impossible, beyond [your] power. Even if you make something, it will be the same "artificial" thing, manufactured and deficient. Where is a picture, and where is the one pictured? Where is the dead, and where the living?
اَلْفِيْلُ مَا الْفِيْلُ وَمَا اَدْرٰىكَ مَا الْفِيْلُ لَهٗ خُرْطُوْمٌ طَوِيْلٌ وَّذَنَبٌ وَّبِيْلٌ
al-fīlu mā l-fīl, wa-mā adrāka mā l-fīl, lahū khurṭūmun ṭawīlun wa-dhanabun wabīl — "The elephant! What is the elephant? And what will make you know what the elephant is? It has a long trunk and a stout tail."
Is this an answer to "اَلْقَارِعَةُ al-qāriʿa" [al-Qāriʿa 101:1]? اَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ الْعَظِيْمَ astaghfiru llāha l-ʿaẓīm [I seek forgiveness from Allāh the Mighty]. You wretch ruined by heedlessness! Why do you make yourself a clown? Why do you make people laugh at you? Just as God's act is inimitable, so too His word is inimitable. If you cannot deceive a sparrow by making a picture or a statue, will you deceive us with these nonsensical, absurd fables? اَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰهِ aʿūdhu bi-llāh [I seek refuge in Allāh] — never! These are all meaningless words; this is a lifeless body, a carcass; go and bury it in the dust. God's work is entirely separate from the servant's work. It is utterly distinct; it is a miracle!
The divine tone [khudāʾī lahja]. Whatever rank a poet or prose-writer is of, his speech is of that same rank. Grief will show in the speech of a grieving man; courage will drip from the speech of a soldier. Al-Mutanabbī used himself to take part in battle alongside Sayf al-Dawla, so the force of his qaṣīda is something quite apart. In the verses of the poets of the Jāhiliyya there is spontaneity, simplicity and truthfulness; in the speech of the urbane poets there are artifices and ornaments [ṣanāʾiʿ wa badāʾiʿ], in which contrivance and affectation are prominent. The tone and the force of God's speech are something apart. In the same way, the speech of a prophet and of the elders of religion is distinct, and the speech of men of letters and of showy people is different again. A man of insight [firāsat] and sound reason recognises that this speech is beyond the speech of man: مَا هٰذَا مِنْ كَلَامِ الْبَشَرِ mā hādhā min kalāmi l-bashar — "This is not of the speech of man."
Yaksānī [uniformity]. Some people say that in every language there arises one great poet whose like the future cannot produce. Will he too, then, become the speech of Allāh? In Arabic, Imraʾ al-Qays; in Persian, Firdawsī; in Urdu, Mīr Taqī Mīr — or, with today's Ghālib-worshippers, Ghālib, or with some, Mīr Anīs; or in Greek, Homer, and in English, Shakespeare.
Such a person should understand that the praise being given to these poets is taken as a whole; their praise is not on such a scale that no one can produce even the equal of three of their verses. If you want to see the weaknesses of Imraʾ al-Qays, look at Iʿjāz al-Qurʾān [tentative reading — please confirm whether a book title is meant]. Sift the whole Dīwān of Ghālib, and only a few verses of the very top rank will come out of it. From the speech of Saudā, Dāgh and Mīr too only a few fine verses can be drawn. In the speech of Mirzā Dabīr there are some stanzas, indeed some elegies [marāthī], that are better than some of Mīr Anīs's elegies and stanzas. Firdawsī, Niẓāmī, Saʿdī, Khusraw, Jāmī, Maulānā Rūm — in their speech there are verses of the highest rank, and of middling rank, and ordinary ones too; none of them has such precedence over another that a few verses of the other do not turn out equal or superior to his.
I do not know English, but I hear that Shakespeare's sources are history and the plays of others. Only two plays are his own, and in them he has lost his way. Moreover, where is there uniformity in his work? With advancing age and changing times, change kept coming into his plays; and then, through the appraisals of the critics of letters, the poor man has been torn to shreds. Milton's sonnets are in no way inferior to his sonnets. In terms of pure eloquence, Bacon too is an acknowledged master; who says that Bacon's prose is less than Shakespeare's verse? In any case, if Shakespeare is good, then Bacon and Milton are good too. Ben Jonson too is his match. It is not that all are worthless before Shakespeare. Labīd, who is one of the seven poets of the Muʿallaqāt, on becoming a Muslim kept reciting the Quran alone, nodding in rapture over it, and gave up composing poetry.
Concerning Jonson [tentative reading — please confirm: "Jān-san"] and Homer, some scholars have written that in places Homer has written well, and in places Jonson. Among all the poets and orators of the world there is none who has such superiority over the others that a part of someone else's work is not equal to some part of his, and whose whole perfection of speech is on one level, or in two of whose sayings there is no contradiction, or in whose speech change is not possible. The state of the Quran Sharīf is that not one letter can be taken out of it or added to it; no sentence can be changed, nor can even a synonym be put in place of a single word.
The effect of the Quran Sharīf [Qurʾān Sharīf kī tāthīr]. Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar (may Allāh be pleased with him) had set out to fight the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. On the way he arrived at his sister's house. With great insistence he asked for the Quran so that he might look at it; he read Sūra Ṭā Hā, and it sank into his heart. He had set out to support falsehood; he came out as Fārūq-e-Aʿẓam. ʿUtba was a great chief of Quraysh; when the Ḥaḍrat recited the Quran to him, he leaned back on both hands and began to sway and shed tears. When al-Walīd heard it, he said: اِنَّ عَلَيْهَا طَلَاوَةً وَّفِيْهَا حَلَاوَةً inna ʿalayhā ṭalāwatan wa-fīhā ḥalāwa — "Upon it there is freshness, and within it there is sweetness." Abū Jahl asked: "So great a chief as you, and you have fallen for the talk of a child and even begun to praise it? Your praise will have a great effect on the Arabs; you ought to satirise the Quran and raise objections against it." What did al-Walīd say? اِنَّهٗ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ innahū fakkara wa-qaddar — he thought, and ran his guesses. فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ fa-qutila kayfa qaddar — God's curse on him, how he ran his guesses! ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ thumma qutila kayfa qaddar — again, God's curse on him, how he ran his guesses; nothing came to his understanding. ثُمَّ نَظَرَ ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ thumma naẓara thumma ʿabasa wa-basar — then he reflected (but nothing satisfied his heart); then he frowned and made a sour face. ثُمَّ اَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ thumma adbara wa-stakbar — then he turned his back (and did not think it fitting for himself to refrain from objecting) and was seized by pride. فَقَالَ اِنْ هٰذَآ اِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُّؤْثَرُ fa-qāla in hādhā illā siḥrun yuʾthar — then he began to say: "This is nothing but magic that will go on being handed down; it does not look as if it will stop anywhere." (al-Muddaththir 74:18–24)
Let anyone reflect on his answer: as a master of the language, eloquent and articulate, what objection did he make to the eloquence and rhetoric of the Quran? None at all; he simply called it passing magic. It is evident that when a man sees something beyond human power, he says, "This is magic." So he did at least admit that it is beyond human power; only, instead of "miracle" he said "magic". Was he a sorcerer? Was he acquainted with the reality of magic? Not at all. In the craft in which he was expert, he admitted that the like of the Quran is beyond human power: magic is that which speaks out over one's head [i.e. compels acknowledgement].
Of its thousand effects, one effect is this: that at the present time, through the effect of the teaching of the Quran Sharīf, thirty to thirty-two crore [300–320 million] people are within the fold of Islam.
It is due to the heedlessness of the Muslims that there is no proper arrangement for the propagation [tablīgh] of the Quran; otherwise the Quran enters the eyes as light, and dwells in the heart and mind as spirit. With me, the supreme purpose of the Quran and its embodied miracle is [its] teaching. The aim of sending the messengers is teaching itself. All else is secondary; yet even the secondary things of the Quran's purpose are, compared with the purposes of others, miracles indeed.
The Points of Articulation of the Letters — Makhārij-e-Ḥurūf
By memorising these verses of Imām al-Jazarī one can distinguish the points of articulation [makhārij] and the qualities of the letters [ṣifāt-e-ḥurūf].
مَخَارِجُ الْحُرُوْفِ سَبْعَةَ عَشَرَ عَلَى الَّذِيْ يَخْتَارُهٗ مَنِ اخْتَبَرَ
makhāriju l-ḥurūfi sabʿata ʿashar / ʿala lladhī yakhtāruhū mani khtabar — "The points of articulation of the letters are seventeen, according to what is chosen by one who has tested [the matter]."
The points of articulation of the letters are seventeen, according to the view of those who are experienced and who favour it. Remember this: two sounds cannot come from one point of articulation, nor one sound from two different points of articulation. What Imām al-Jazarī has said is approximately this:
فَاَلِفُ الْجَوْفِ وَاُخْتَاهَا وَهِيْ حُرُوْفُ مَدٍّ لِّلْهَوَآءِ تَنْتَهِيْ
fa-alifu l-jawfi wa-ukhtāhā wa-hiya / ḥurūfu maddin li-l-hawāʾi tantahī — "So alif is of the hollow [jawf], and its two sisters; and they are letters of prolongation [madd] that end with the air."
Alif and its two sisters — that is, wāw preceded by a ḍamma and yāʾ preceded by a kasra — come from the jawf, that is, the empty space that runs from the navel to the lips, and they end on the air.
ثُمَّ لِاَقْصَى الْحَلْقِ هَمْزٌ هَاءُ ثُمَّ لِوَسْطِهٖ فَعَيْنٌ حَاءُ
thumma li-aqṣa l-ḥalqi hamzun hāʾ / thumma li-wasṭihī fa-ʿaynun ḥāʾ — "Then for the farthest part of the throat, hamza and hāʾ; then for its middle, ʿayn and ḥāʾ."
The throat has been divided into three parts. Aqṣā ḥalq, that is, the farthest part, towards the navel: from here two letters come, "hamza" and "hāʾ"; and from the middle of the throat "ʿayn" and "ḥāʾ" come.
اَدْنَاهُ غَيْنٌ خَاؤُهَا وَالْقَافُ اَقْصَى اللِّسَانِ فَوْقُ ثُمَّ الْكَافُ
اَسْفَلُ وَالْوَسْطُ فَجِيْمُ الشِّيْنُ يَا وَالضَّادُ مِنْ حَافَتِهٖ اِذْ وَلِيَا
اَلْاَضْرَاسَ مِنْ اَيْسَرَ اَوْ يُمْنَاهَا وَاللَّامُ اَدْنَاهَا لِمُنْتَهَاهَا
adnāhu ghaynun khāʾuhā, wa-l-qāfu / aqṣa l-lisāni fawqu, thumma l-kāfu // asfalu, wa-l-wasṭu fa-jīmu l-shīnu yā / wa-l-ḍādu min ḥāfatihī idh waliyā // al-aḍrāsa min aysara aw yumnāhā / wa-l-lāmu adnāhā li-muntahāhā — "Its nearest part: ghayn and khāʾ; and qāf: the farthest part of the tongue, above; then kāf, lower; and the middle: jīm, shīn, yāʾ; and ḍād from its edge, where it adjoins the molars, on the left or the right; and lām from its nearest part to its end."
From the side [of the throat] nearest the mouth "ghayn" and "khāʾ" come; and "qāf" comes from the farthest part of the tongue, that is, the place near the throat, and from the upper part of the tongue; and kāf from below the point of articulation of qāf, that is, somewhat higher. Compared with "qāf", "kāf" comes from a little further in. From the wasṭ of the tongue, that is, its middle part, "jīm", "shīn" and "yāʾ" preceded by a fatḥa come; and "ḍād" comes from the ḥāfa of the tongue, that is, its edge, when it is touching the molars, whether on the right side or the left — that is, if the edge of the tongue is placed against the molars, "ḍād" comes out, whether placed on the right side or the left, but the left side is easier. And "lām" [comes] from the inner part of the tongue to its end; that is, "lām" comes from the tip of the tongue and the gums of the upper molars.
وَالنُّوْنُ مِنْ طَرَفِهٖ تَحْتُ اجْعَلُوْا وَالرَّاءُ يُدَانِيْهِ لِظَهْرٍ اَدْخَلُ
wa-l-nūnu min ṭarafihī taḥtu jʿalū / wa-l-rāʾu yudānīhi li-ẓahrin adkhalu — "And nūn: place it at its tip, below [lām]; and rāʾ is close to it, further in towards the back [of the tongue]."
The point of articulation of "nūn" is further in than the point of articulation of "lām", and rāʾ is near to it. In short, "lām", "nūn" and "rāʾ" all come from the tip of the tongue and the gums of the upper teeth.
وَالطَّاءُ وَالدَّالُ وَتَا مِنْهُ وَمِنْ عُلْيَا الثَّنَايَا وَالصَّفِيْرُ مُسْتَكِنْ
فِي السِّيْنِ وَالصَّادِ كَذَا مِنْ حَرْفِ زَا مِنْهُ وَمِنْ فَوْقِ الثَّنَايَا السُّفْلٰى
wa-l-ṭāʾu wa-l-dālu wa-tā minhu wa-min / ʿulya l-thanāyā, wa-l-ṣafīru mustakin // fi l-sīni wa-l-ṣādi, kadhā min ḥarfi zā / minhu wa-min fawqi l-thanāya l-suflā — "And ṭāʾ, dāl and tāʾ from it [the tip] and from the upper front teeth; and the whistle is lodged in sīn and ṣād, and likewise in the letter zāy — from it and from above the lower front teeth."
Ṭāʾ, dāl and tāʾ [come] from the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth; and the ṣafīr, that is, the whistle, is hidden in sīn, ṣād and zāy, which come from the tip of the tongue and from above the lower front teeth.
وَالظَّاءُ وَالذَّالُ وَثَا لِلْعُلْيَا بِالْجِدِّ مِنَّا تَسْتَوِيْ فِيْهَا الْاَدَا
wa-l-ẓāʾu wa-l-dhālu wa-thā li-l-ʿulyā / bi-l-jiddi minnā tastawī fīha l-adā — "And ẓāʾ, dhāl and thāʾ are for the upper [front teeth]; with earnest effort on our part their delivery becomes even."
And ẓāʾ, dhāl and thāʾ come from the thanāyā ʿulyā, that is, the four upper teeth.
مِنْ طَرَفَيْهِمَا وَمِنْ بَطْنِ الشَّفَهْ فَالفَامَعَ الحُرُفِ الثَّنَايَا الْمُشْرِفَهْ
min ṭarafayhimā wa-min baṭni l-shafah / fa-l-fā maʿa [aṭrāfi] l-thanāya l-mushrifah — "From the tips of the two; and from the inside of the lip, fāʾ, together with [the edges of] the upper front teeth."
And fāʾ, from both sides of them: the inside of the lip together with the edges of the teeth.
لِلشَّفَتَيْنِ وَاوُ بَا وَمِيْمُ وَغُنَّةٌ مَخْرَجُهَا الْخَيْشُوْمُ
li-l-shafatayni wāwu bā wa mīmu / wa ghunnatun makhrajuhā al-khayshūmu — "To the two lips belong wāw, bā and mīm; and ghunna — its point of articulation is the nasal cavity."
Wāw, bā and mīm come out from the two lips, and the makhraj (point of articulation) of ghunna (nasalisation) is the khayshūm, that is, inside the nose.
The Characteristics of the Letters — Ṣifāt-e-Ḥurūf
صِفَاتُهَا جَهْرٌ وَّرِخْوٌ مُّسْتَفِلْ مُنْفَتِحٌ مُّصْمَتَةٌ وَّالضِّدَّ قُلْ
ṣifātuhā jahrun wa rikhwun mustafil / munfatiḥun muṣmatatun wa-l-ḍidda qul — "Its characteristics are: voiced, soft, lowered, open, closed — and state their opposites."
The ṣifāt (characteristics) of the letters are as follows:
(1) Mahmūsa (whispered): in its articulation the breath keeps flowing, and a faint sound like that of a muted hāʾ is heard. Its opposite is (2) majhūra (voiced): in its articulation the breath stops. (3) Shadīda (strong): it is articulated with force; its opposite is (4) rikhwa (soft): there is softness in its articulation. (5) Mustaʿliya (raised): in its articulation the tongue rises toward the palate; its opposite is (6) mustafila (lowered): in its articulation the tongue stays low. (7) Muṭbaqa (closed): in it the tongue comes very close to the palate. (8) Munfatiḥa (open) is its opposite: in it the tongue stays a little away from the palate. (9) Mudhlaqa (fluent): when these letters are articulated, the letters are pronounced with ease and speed.
We have set out both the principal characteristics and their opposites. Now we wish to tell which letters these are.
مَهْمُوْسُهَا فَحَثَّهُ شَخْصٌ سَكَتْ شَدِيْدُهَا لَفْظُ اَجِدْ قَطٍ بَكَتْ
mahmūsuhā fa-ḥaththahu shakhṣun sakat / shadīduhā lafẓu ajid qaṭin bakat — "Its whispered letters: fa-ḥaththahu shakhṣun sakat; its strong letters are the words ajid qaṭin bakat."
The mahmūsa letters are gathered in these letters: (فحثه، شخص، سكت fḥthh, shkhṣ, skt). The words of the shadīda are (اجد قط بكت ajd qṭ bkt).
وَبَيْنَ رِخْوٍ وَّشَدِيْدٍ لِنْ عُمَرْ وَسَبْعُ عُلْوٍ خُصَّ ضَغْطٍ قِظْ حَصَرْ
wa bayna rikhwin wa shadīdin lin ʿumar / wa sabʿu ʿulwin khuṣṣa ḍaghṭin qiẓ ḥaṣar — "Between soft and strong: lin ʿumar; and the seven raised letters are confined in khuṣṣa ḍaghṭin qiẓ."
Between the rikhwa and the shadīda, the intermediate (mutawassiṭa) letters are gathered in (لن عمر ln ʿmr); and there are seven mustaʿliya letters, which are gathered in (خص ضغط قظ khṣ ḍghṭ qẓ).
وَصَادُ ضَادٌ طَاءُ ظَاءٌ مُطْبَقَهْ وَفَرَّ مِنْ لُبِّ الْحُرُوْفُ الْمُذْلَقَهْ
wa ṣādu ḍādun ṭāʾu ẓāʾun muṭbaqah / wa farra min lubbi al-ḥurūfu al-mudhlaqah — "Ṣād, ḍād, ṭāʾ and ẓāʾ are closed; and farra min lubb are the fluent letters."
Ṣād, ḍād and ṭāʾ are muṭbaqa, and (فر من لب fr mn lb) is the collection of the mudhlaqa letters.
صَفِيْرُهَا صَادٌ وَّزَاءٌ سِيْنُ قَلْقَلَةٌ قُطْبُ جَدٍّ وَّاللِّيْنُ
ṣafīruhā ṣādun wa zāʾun sīnu / qalqalatun quṭbu jaddin wa-l-līnu — "Its whistling letters are ṣād, zāʾ and sīn; the echoing letters are quṭbu jaddin; and the soft letters …"
In ṣād, sīn and zāʾ — these three letters — there is ṣafīr, that is, a whistle. The collection of the qalqala (echoing) letters is (قطب جد qṭb jd). In their articulation the tongue receives a jolt and the breath stops. The reciter should learn the articulation of these letters from a teacher, and try to articulate every letter from its makhraj and with its particular characteristics — especially when the final letter is doubled (mushaddad), as in فَبٌّ [tentative reading — please confirm]. People are careless about this and make no difference between a doubled letter and a single letter.
وَاوٌ وَّيَاءٌ سُكِّنَا وَانْفَتَحَا قَبْلَهُمَا وَالْاِنْحِرَافُ صُحِّحَا
wāwun wa yāʾun sukkinā wa-nfataḥā / qablahumā wa-l-inḥirāfu ṣuḥḥiḥā — "[…are] wāw and yāʾ made quiescent with a fatḥa before them; and deviation is established …"
The letters of līn (softness) are wāw and yāʾ that are quiescent (sākin) with a fatḥa on the letter before them, as in سَوْءٌ sawʾun, سَيْفٌ sayfun.
فِي اللَّامِ وَالرَّاءِ بِتَكْرِيْرٍ جُعِلْ لِلتَّفَشِّي الشِّيْنُ ضَادُ اسْتَطِلْ
fī al-lāmi wa-l-rāʾi bi-takrīrin juʿil / li-l-tafashshī al-shīnu ḍāda-sṭaṭil — "… in the lām; and to the rāʾ repetition has been assigned; for spreading, the shīn; and the ḍād — lengthen it."
And inḥirāf (deviation) is in the lām, that is, in articulating l the tongue turns somewhat in the makhraj; and in the rāʾ there is takrīr (repetition), but the tongue moves a great deal and this should be held back. And in the shīn there is tafashshī (spreading), that is, sh spreads widely over the tongue. And the makhraj of ḍ is very long, because it is articulated from the edge of the whole tongue and the molars of one entire side.
(1)
ا ـ با ـ تا ـ ثا ـ جا ـ حا ـ خا ـ دا ـ ذا ـ را ـ زا ـ سا ـ شا ـ صا ـ ضا ـ طا ـ ظا ـ عا ـ غا ـ فا ـ قا ـ كا ـ لا ـ ما ـ نا ـ وا ـ ها ـ ءا ـ يا ـ
(2)
ا ـ اب ـ ات ـ اث ـ اج ـ اح ـ اخ ـ اد ـ اذ ـ ار ـ از ـ اس ـ اش ـ اص ـ اض ـ اط ـ اظ ـ اع ـ اغ ـ اف ـ اق ـ اك ـ ال ـ ام ـ ان ـ او ـ اه ـ اى ـ
[In the print, a small ق is set over b, j, d, ṭ and q in this row, and a small ھ over t, th, ḥ, kh, s, sh, ṣ, f, k and h.]
(3)
مَنْ ا ـ مَنْ با ـ مَنْ تا ـ مَنْ ثا ـ مَنْ جا ـ مَنْ حا ـ مَنْ خا ـ مَنْ دا ـ مَنْ ذا ـ مَنْ رّا ـ مَنْ زا ـ مَنْ سا ـ مَنْ شا ـ مَنْ صا ـ مَنْ ضا ـ مَنْ طا ـ مَنْ ظا ـ مَنْ عا ـ مَنْ غا ـ مَنْ فا ـ مَنْ قا ـ مَنْ كا ـ مَنْ لّا ـ مَنْ مّا ـ مَنْ نّا ـ مَنْ وّا ـ مَنْ ها ـ مَنْ ءا ـ مَنْ يّا ـ
[In the print, a small ظ is set over the nūn before alif, ḥ, kh, ʿ, gh, h and hamza; a small م before b; بغ before r and l; غ before m, n, w and y; and a small خ before all the remaining letters.]
Friends! A gentleman asked me in which period the zēr and zabar [the vowel marks] were put into the Quran. I said: in the time of Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf. He said: If the zēr and zabar were put in wrongly, would the meanings not change? I said: The reading of the Quran does not depend on writing. From the time of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ until now it depends on hearing عَنْ فُلَانِ بْنِ فُلَانٍ ʿan fulān ibn fulān ["from so-and-so son of so-and-so"]. In your view the Quran arrives through the eyes, and in ours through the ears. Besides the transmission (riwāyat), pronunciation, the points of articulation and the characteristics of the letters — all of this depends on hearing from the teacher alone.
I have my students master three drill-boards (paṭṭiyāṅ) as set out above. The first board, a – bā – tā and so on: through it the points of articulation of the letters become thoroughly clear.
The second board, a – ab – at and so on: from it there is great benefit in articulating the characteristics of the letters.
The third board, man a – man bā – man tā and so on, through which practice in iẓhār (clear pronunciation), idghām (merging) and ikhfāʾ (concealment) is gained. In it I put the following signs: "[blank in the print; in the drill it is a small خ]" is the sign of ikhfāʾ; the tashdīd "ّ" is the sign of idghām; a quiescent nūn before bā changes to mīm, which is called qalb; "غ" is the sign of ghunna; "بغ" is the sign of idghām bilā ghunna (merging without nasalisation); "ظ" is the sign of iẓhār. For rā, "ر" is the sign of tarqīq (light pronunciation) and "فخ" the sign of tafkhīm (heavy pronunciation). For madd mutawassiṭ (medium prolongation) I give the numeral two, and for madd ṭawīl (long prolongation) the numeral three/٣.
As a habit I first listen to the students from اَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ alam tara kayfa (Sūrat al-Fīl) to the end for several days. When they begin to read well, I listen to them from وَالضُّحٰى wa-l-ḍuḥā to the end for some days. Then I listen to Pāra ʿAmma for several days. In this period the student begins to read well and gains sufficient practice. Then I listen to the Quran Majīd from beginning to end.
Friends! If before the word Allāh there is a fatḥa or a ḍamma, the l should be read full, that is, heavy or mufakhkham, as in قَالَ اللّٰهُ qāla Allāhu, يَقُوْلُ اللّٰهُ yaqūlu Allāhu. If before the word Allāh there is a zēr or kasra, it should be read thin, muraqqaq, as in لِلّٰهِ lillāhi, بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ bismillāhi.
Friends! If rā has a zabar or pēsh, it should be read full, that is, heavy, as in رَسُوْلُ rasūlu, رُسُلُ rusulu. If rā is quiescent and the letter before it has a zabar or pēsh, it too should be read full or heavy, for example اَرْسَلَ arsala. If rā is quiescent and the letter before it is also quiescent, then the letter before that should be looked at; these two quiescent letters occur in the state of pause (waqf), as in نَارْ nār, نُوْرْ nūr. When rā has a zēr and the letter before it has a zabar or pēsh, that rā will be read heavy in pause, as in شَرِّ sharri, بُرِّ burri [tentative reading — please confirm], and in the state of joining (waṣl) it will be read thin, in consideration of its own vowel. If rā is quiescent and the letter before it has a zēr, and the letter after it is a mustaʿliya or muṭbaqa — that is, any one of the letters of وَسَبْعُ عُلْوٍ wa sabʿu ʿulwin, and of the muṭbaqa, that is, any one of ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, ẓ — then the rā should be read heavy, as in فِرْقَةٍ firqatin, مِرْصَادِ mirṣādi, قِرْطَاسٍ qirṭāsin. If one of the mustaʿliya letters is in another word, the rā should be read thin, as in لَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ lā tuṣaʿʿir khaddaka. In the word فِرْقٍ firqin, that is, when q has a zēr, reading it heavy is permissible and thin as well.
If rā is quiescent and the letter before it is also quiescent, and the letter before that has a zēr, it should be read thin, as in سِحْرْ siḥr, حِجْرْ ḥijr. If rā has an incidental kasra (kasra ʿāriḍī), the rā should be read heavy. When rā has a pēsh or zēr and before it there is a quiescent yāʾ, it will be read heavy when joining and thin in the state of pause, as in خَيْرٌ khayrun, خَيْرِ khayri.
Tajwīd Signs on the Text of the Quran — Qurʾān ke Matn par ʿAlāmāt-e-Tajwīd
The following tajwīd signs have been placed on the text of the Quran; they help in reading the Quran correctly and in accordance with the rules of tajwīd:
(خ) Sign of ikhfāʾ: the quiescent nūn is drawn out so that it becomes concealed in the following letter, as in مَنْ قَالَ man qāla.
(ظ) Sign of iẓhār: the quiescent nūn is articulated so clearly and briefly that not even a trace of the following letter comes in, for example مِنْ عِلْمٍ min ʿilmin. This sign is given before the six throat letters (ḥurūf-e-ḥalqī), that is, ء – ه – ع – ح – غ – خ. Sometimes this sign is also given on letters other than the quiescent nūn; the purpose is that the letter be read distinctly and not be merged by mistake into the following letter, as in لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ laqad jāʾakum, which people mistakenly read لَقَجَّاءَكُمْ laqajjāʾakum — which is wrong.
(غ) Sign of ghunna: before the letters of "يرملون" yarmalūn, the quiescent nūn is merged into the following letter and ghunna is also made — except for the letters l and r. Likewise ghunna is made on a quiescent mīm before bā. But what is ghunna? It is bringing out the sound from the nose while articulating a letter, as in مَنْ يَّقُوْلُ man yaqūlu, مِنْ يَّوْمٍ min yawmin.
(بغ) Sign of idghām bilā ghunna: this occurs with the letters l and r, for example وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَّهٗ wa lam yakun lahu, مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ Muḥammadun rasūlu Allāhi.
(م) Sign of qalb: the quiescent nūn before bā is changed into mīm, for example اَنْبِيَاءَ anbiyāʾa.
(٣) Sign of madd ṭawīl: this is given because people do not distinguish between madd ṭawīl and madd mutawassiṭ, as in الٓمّٓ alif-lām-mīm. Madd ṭawīl is equal to three alifs, and madd mutawassiṭ equal to two alifs.
(×) Sign of the chalīpā [the cross]: sometimes an alif or hamza is not read at all, for example the alif in لَاْ اِلَى اللّٰهِ تُحْشَرُوْنَ la-ilā Allāhi tuḥsharūna, and the wāw in اُوْلُوا ulū and اُوْلٰٓئِكَ ulāʾika.
( ) Sign of hamzat al-waṣl (the connecting hamza) [the sign is blank in the print]: this hamza drops out in joining and is read at the beginning, as in وَاْتُوْنِيْ wa-ʾtūnī, which will be اِيْتُوْنِيْ iʾtūnī, and وَاْتُمِنَ wa-ʾtumina, which will be اُوْتُمِنَ uʾtumina.
(٥) Sign of the bayḍa [the oval]: sometimes the alif is read in pause and not read in the state of joining, as in اَنَا anā, where in pause the alif will be read and in joining only the fatḥa. In the same way in سَلٰسِلَا salāsilā and وَاَغْلٰلًا wa aghlālan, in the state of pause the alif will be read, and in the state of joining only the fatḥa will remain and the alif will not be read, as in سَلٰسِلَ salāsila and اَنَ ana.
(ّ) Tashdīd: in one place in the Quran there is يَلْهَثْ ذّٰلِكَ yalhath dhālika; that is, in the state of pause the th remains, and in the case of joining the th is merged into the dhāl; therefore a tashdīd (ّ) is given on the dhāl. Likewise in one place, in اَلَمْ نَخْلُقْكُّمْ alam nakhluqkum, a tashdīd is given on the k and the q is not read.
(شم) Sign of ishmām: in one place in the Quran ishmām is obligatory, for example مَا لَكَ لَا تَاْمَنَّا mā laka lā taʾmannā. In articulating this word, ishmām of the ḍamma on the "n" is necessary. Its sign is "شم".
(ے) Sign of imāla: in which the sound of yāʾ-e-majhūl [the vowel ē] comes out, for example بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ مَجْرٖىهَا وَمُرْسٰىهَا bismillāhi majrēhā wa mursāhā.
The Transmission and Preservation of the Quran — Qurʾān kī Riwāyat wa Ḥifāẓat
Now we will speak about the transmission of the Quran and its preservation. It was the custom of the Messenger of God ﷺ that, besides free people, even those prisoners of war who knew how to read and write he would set free and appoint in various places to teach the common people reading and writing — and especially to give instruction in the Quran Sharīf, which is the most important of all. In this way the Quran Sharīf became widespread and current among ordinary Muslims. In the time of the Ḥaḍrat ﷺ himself there were hundreds of ḥāfiẓs of the Quran. There were transmitters of the Quran Sharīf of the seven qirāʾāt (readings) and the ten qirāʾāt, and there are still, and this chain continues without a break. Those who claim that there is deficiency or addition in the Quran are, without investigation, repeating the ideas of hypocrites and enemies of Islam. Allāh Most High says:
اِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَاِنَّا لَهٗ لَحٰفِظُوْنَ
innā naḥnu nazzalnā al-dhikra wa innā lahu la-ḥāfiẓūn — "We sent down the Quran, and We Ourselves are its guardians." (al-Ḥijr 15:9)
Those who fabricate false narrations do not in fact believe in the Quran's وَاِنَّا لَهٗ لَحٰفِظُوْنَ wa innā lahu la-ḥāfiẓūn. Those who hold the religious books of the world cannot establish even one narration of theirs by a khabar-e-āḥād (solitary report) — let alone by tawātur (mass transmission). The Torah and the Injīl were burnt on numerous occasions, in the times of tyrant kings — for example in the time of Bukht Naṣr [Nebuchadnezzar]. Whatever someone happened to remember, he wrote down. Look at these heavenly books: what would one find of the original book, and what proof of it would they give? Look also at these translations: in different ages, after every short interval, they are revised. What unacceptable narrations there are in these books! How much falsehood has been fastened upon the sinless prophets! For instance: Lūṭ (upon him be peace) had no male offspring, so his daughters made him drink wine and obtained offspring unlawfully. Astaghfiru'llāh! [I seek Allāh's forgiveness!]
Look at the Quran: from the beginning until now there has not been a decrease or an addition of a single word. Further preservation was carried out in this way: the Quran Sharīf is recited in tarāwīḥ, and if even a slight error occurs, the listener gives the luqma [the prompt], saying that the correct reading is this. If you want the transmission of the Seven and the Ten, obtain it from my friends Qārī Kalīmullāh Ḥusaynī and Qārī Raushan ʿAlī Ṣāḥib. I am mentioning Hyderabad Deccan only. On the face of the earth there are thousands — nay, hundreds of thousands — of ḥāfiẓs and qurrāʾ who are transmitting and preserving the Quran Sharīf. To this faqīr, ʿAbd al-Qadīr, the Quran Sharīf has come down from Ḥaḍrat ʿUthmān, Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī, Zayd ibn Thābit, ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd and Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allāh be pleased with them), whose chain of transmission exists; and for fifty years people have been reading the Quran Sharīf with me and transmitting it. The preservation of the Quran Sharīf has been carried out in such a way that, let alone zēr and zabar, not even an error of pronunciation or of the points of articulation remains.
Well then, the difference that exists among the Seven and the Ten — how is that?
The matter is that in the time of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ there were various tribes of the Arabs, and there still are. There was a slight difference in the reading of each tribe; each tribesman read according to his own tongue, and the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ kept his reading in that way permissible. But remember: with all these readings no change comes into the meaning. Moreover, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to go over the Quran Sharīf with Jibrīl (upon him be peace) every Ramaḍān. For this reason the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: اُنْزِلَ الْقُرْاٰنُ عَلٰى سَبْعَةِ اَحْرُفٍ unzila al-Qurʾānu ʿalā sabʿati aḥruf — "The Quran was sent down upon seven aḥruf [modes]."
Friends! The word sabʿ in the Arabic language is in the sense of "many" and "numerous". Those gentlemen who have fixed rigidly on the word sabʿ have arrived at different opinions in explaining it, the number of which is more than forty.
In the Quran Sharīf there is سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ sabʿa sanābila, and سَبْعَةُ اَبْحُرٍ sabʿatu abḥurin, سَبْعَةِ اَيَّامٍ sabʿati ayyāmin; there is also سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ sabʿa layālin. If the meaning of sabʿ is taken as "numerous" and "many", there is no difficulty or hardship in carrying it through.
What is the reason that the transmission of Ḥafṣ (may Allāh have mercy on him) became more famous than the other readings and transmissions? The reason is that in the reading of Ḥafṣ (may Allāh have mercy on him) there is very little difference from the language of Quraysh, which is the most eloquent language.
Friends! If the Quran Sharīf is not pronounced correctly, the meanings become something else entirely. For example, if instead of اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ al-ḥamdu lillāhi it is read اَلْهَمْدُ al-hamdu, with the hāʾ-e-hawwaz [the soft h], the meaning will be: "Putting out a fire is for Allāh." If عَالَمِيْنَ ʿālamīna is read اٰلَمِيْنَ ālamīna, that is, with hamza instead of ʿayn, its meaning will be one of grief and pain. رَهْمَان rahmān and رَهِيْم rahīm are meaningless. If نَعْبُدُ naʿbudu is read نَابُدُ nābudu, the meaning will be one of running away and loathing. If نَسْتَعِيْنُ nastaʿīnu is read نَسْتَائِنُ nastāʾinu, its meaning will be one of grief and trouble. If ضَآلِّيْنَ ḍāllīna is read with d, the meaning is: "those who guide" — that is, "not the path of those who guide."
My friend Professor Ilyās Barnī has explained this matter in great detail.
Principles of Interpretation — Uṣūl-e-Taʾwīl
Let it be clear that in some matters the meanings follow the words, and in some the meanings are what is intended in themselves (maqṣūd bi-l-dhāt). In the naqliyyāt (transmitted disciplines) — that is, in the Quran, Ḥadīth and law — the word takes precedence: whatever meanings come out of the words, those are what is meant. In philosophy the meanings take precedence. In the naqliyyāt it is necessary to know the four divisions (taqsīmāt-e-arbaʿa).
Divisions (Taqsīmāt). With regard to words and meanings, the naqliyyāt have four divisions:
(1) With regard to linguistic coinage (waḍʿ-e-lughat): khāṣṣ (specific), ʿāmm (general), mushtarak (homonymous), muʾawwal (interpreted).
(2) With regard to usage, in the coined meaning and other than the coined meaning: ḥaqīqa (literal), majāz (figurative), ṣarīḥ (explicit), kināya (allusive).
(3) With regard to the clarity and hiddenness of the meaning, which are called the mutaqābilāt (corresponding opposites):
With regard to clarity: ẓāhir, naṣṣ, mufassar, muḥkam.
With regard to hiddenness: khafī, mushkil, mujmal, mutashābih.
(4) With regard to the manner of indication (kayfiyyat-e-dalālat): ʿibārat al-naṣṣ, ishārat al-naṣṣ, dalālat al-naṣṣ, iqtiḍāʾ al-naṣṣ.
Khāṣṣ. A word that has been coined for a single meaning.
Khāṣṣ has three kinds: (1) khāṣṣ-e-shakhṣ (2) khāṣṣ-e-nawʿ (3) khāṣṣ-e-jins.
(1) Khāṣṣ-e-shakhṣ (specific to an individual): that which does not apply to many individuals, as in "Zayd". The logicians call this juzʾī ḥaqīqī (the true particular).
(2) Khāṣṣ-e-nawʿ (specific to a species): a universal (kullī) that applies to individuals with the same purposes, as in "man", "woman". With the logicians, nawʿ is the name for one reality and quiddity (māhiyyat), as in "human being" (insān).
(3) Khāṣṣ-e-jins (specific to a genus): a universal that applies to individuals with differing purposes, as in "human being". With the logicians, jins is the universal that applies to differing quiddities, as in "animal" (ḥayawān).
Ruling of the Khāṣṣ. Acting upon a khāṣṣ word of the Quran is necessary. The khāṣṣ has no need of any kind of explanation (bayān-e-tafsīr); it is itself evident and clear. If a khāṣṣ of the Quran is contradicted by a khabar-e-wāḥid (solitary report) or by qiyās (analogy), and reconciling them brings no change into the ruling of the khāṣṣ, then both will be acted upon; otherwise the khāṣṣ of the Quran — which is mass-transmitted and certain — will be acted upon.
For example, in the Quran there is فَاقْرَءُوْا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْاٰنِ fa-qraʾū mā tayassara mina al-Qurʾān ["So recite what is easy of the Quran" (al-Muzzammil 73:20)], and in a khabar-e-wāḥid لَا صَلٰوةَ اِلَّا بِفَاتِحَةِ الْكِتَابِ lā ṣalāta illā bi-fātiḥati al-kitāb ["There is no prayer except with the Opening of the Book"]. So recitation as such will be farḍ, and the recitation of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa will be wājib, not farḍ.
ʿĀmm. That which is coined by a single coinage for more than one thing and is unlimited, as in مُشْرِكُوْنَ mushrikūna or مُسْلِمُوْنَ muslimūna, and مَنْ man, مَا mā (whoever, whatever), and كُلٌّ kull and the like.
ʿĀmm is of two kinds: (1) ghayr makhṣūṣ (unparticularised) (2) makhṣūṣ (particularised).
(1) ʿĀmm ghayr makhṣūṣ: that from which nothing has been particularised.
Ruling of the ʿāmm ghayr makhṣūṣ: such an ʿāmm is definitive (qaṭʿī) like the khāṣṣ; acting upon it is obligatory. Particularisation (takhṣīṣ) of an ʿāmm of the Quran by a khabar-e-wāḥid or by qiyās is not valid. In the generality of every kind of address, the Ḥaḍrat ﷺ is also included. If the address is made with يٰٓاَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu, يٰٓاَيُّهَا الرَّسُوْلُ yā ayyuhā al-rasūlu, the umma is also included in it.
If the Prophet addresses one member of the umma, then with the Ḥanafīs it will not be ʿāmm; with the other imāms it is ʿāmm. If a plural is annexed to a plural, the first plural is not set against each one of the individuals of the second plural [tentative reading — please confirm]: for example اَمْوَالِهِمْ amwālihim — its meaning is not [that each of them has] property of every kind. If an ʿāmm contains praise or blame, then with the Ḥanafīs it covers all the individuals, as in اِنَّ الْاَبْرَارَ لَفِيْ نَعِيْمٍ inna al-abrāra la-fī naʿīm ["Truly the righteous are in bliss" (al-Infiṭār 82:13)]. If the Lawgiver makes a ruling dependent on an ʿilla (effective cause) — for example, gives intoxication as the ʿilla of wine — it will be understood as an analogical generality (ʿumūm-e-qiyāsī) for what is specified.
(2) ʿĀmm makhṣūṣ: that ʿāmm from whose ruling some individuals are separated; that which particularises is called the mukhaṣṣiṣ of the ʿāmm. As in فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ fa-qtulū al-mushrikīna ["then slay the idolaters" (al-Tawba 9:5)] — from its ruling, by وَاِنْ اَحَدٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَاَجِرْهُ wa in aḥadun mina al-mushrikīna istajāraka fa-ajirhu ["And if any of the idolaters seeks your protection, grant him protection" (al-Tawba 9:6)]; so fa-qtulū al-mushrikīna is an ʿāmm makhṣūṣ. The mukhaṣṣiṣ is sometimes mujmal (unelaborated) or unknown, as in اَحَلَّ اللّٰهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبٰوا aḥalla Allāhu al-bayʿa wa ḥarrama al-ribā ["Allāh has made trade lawful and forbidden usury" (al-Baqara 2:275)]: ribā is mujmal; in the Ḥadīth there is a certain amount of detail about it.
Let it be clear that if the Quran is mujmal, its detail comes from the Ḥadīth; and if the Ḥadīth is mujmal, its detail comes through qiyās.
The mukhaṣṣiṣ, in respect of not being included in the ʿāmm, is like an exception (istithnāʾ), and in respect of being independent and separate, is like an abrogating text (nāsikh).
The ʿāmm makhṣūṣ, whether [its mukhaṣṣiṣ] is known or not, is ẓannī (probable) but wājib al-ʿamal (obligatory to act upon).
An ʿāmm, even after particularisation, is ḥaqīqa (literal) for the remaining individuals.
Particularisation of an ʿāmm makhṣūṣ of the Quran can be made by a khabar-e-āḥād and by qiyās.
If the form of the ʿāmm is a plural form or an ism-e-jamʿ (collective noun), particularisation can be made until three individuals remain; an ʿāmm whose form is not a plural or an ism-e-jamʿ can be particularised until one individual remains. If three individuals do not remain in a plural, or not even one individual remains in an ism-e-jins (generic noun), this will be abrogation (naskh), not particularisation.
Mushtarak. A word that has been coined by different coinages for several meanings.
ʿUmūm al-majāz (the generality of the figurative) is permissible, and ʿumūm al-mushtarak (the generality of the homonym) is not permissible.
Several meanings cannot be taken from a mushtarak word at one time; if one meaning is fixed, then the other meaning cannot be taken.
Sometimes, from a mushtarak word, a figurative meaning is taken which also applies to the literal [meaning]; this is called "ʿumūm al-majāz", which is permissible, because in that case only the figurative is intended.
ʿUmūm al-mushtarak means that several literal meanings cannot be intended from a mushtarak.
Muʾawwal. If, out of the several meanings of a mushtarak word, one meaning becomes determined by the preponderant opinion of a mujtahid, it is muʾawwal.
Ruling of the muʾawwal: it is ẓannī but wājib al-ʿamal.
Before the definition and rulings of ḥaqīqa and majāz, we set out the kinds of dalāla (indication).
Dalālat-e-muṭābaqī. The word's indicating the whole of its coined meaning (maʿnā-e-mawḍūʿ lahu).
Dalālat-e-taḍammunī. The understanding, from the word, of a part contained within the whole coined meaning is dalālat-e-taḍammunī (indication by inclusion).
Dalālat-e-iltizāmī. The understanding of a meaning that is outside the word but necessarily concomitant with it (lāzim) is dalālat-e-iltizāmī (indication by entailment).
Ḥaqīqa. The word's being used in its coined meaning.
Majāz. The word's being used in a meaning other than its coined meaning, by virtue of some indicator (qarīna) and relation (ʿalāqa).
The relation of majāz is resemblance (mushābahat) and contiguity (mujāwarat). That in which the relation is resemblance is istiʿāra (metaphor); that in which the relation is contiguity is majāz-e-mursal (metonymy).
In istiʿāra there are three things: wajh-e-shabah, mustaʿār, mustaʿār lahu.
Mustaʿār lahu, or mushabbah bihi: that with which the comparison is made, as in asad (lion).
Mustaʿār, or mushabbah: that which is compared, as in Zayd, who is brave.
Wajh-e-shabah: the quality that is found in the mushabbah and the mushabbah bihi, as in bravery.
This terminology is that of the scholars of bayān (rhetoric). With the scholars of uṣūl, istiʿāra and majāz are synonymous.
With the scholars of uṣūl, the relation of comparison is called ittiṣāl-e-maʿnawī (connection in meaning), and majāz-e-mursal is called ittiṣāl-e-ṣūrī (connection in form).
Ittiṣāl-e-ṣūrī occurs in cause and effect (sabab and musabbab), effective cause and its effect (ʿilla and maʿlūl), part and whole, and the like.
Between ʿilla and maʿlūl there is mutual entailment (talāzum); therefore by saying the ʿilla one may mean the maʿlūl, and by saying the maʿlūl one may mean the ʿilla. As with purchase (shirāʾ) and ownership (milk): purchase is the ʿilla and ownership the maʿlūl. So by saying "purchase" one may mean ownership, and by saying "ownership" one may mean purchase.
Sabab. The sabab is what the musabbab stands in need of; the musabbab is not what the sabab stands in need of. Therefore by saying the sabab one may mean the musabbab; by saying the musabbab one may not mean the sabab — as with ṭalāq (divorce) and freeing. So by "freeing" one may mean ṭalāq; by ṭalāq one may not mean freeing. Thus if someone says to his wife, "I have freed you", and means ṭalāq, it can be so; and if he says to a slave-girl, "I have divorced you", and means freeing, it is not valid.
Ruling of Ḥaqīqa and Majāz. Ḥaqīqa needs no qarīna. Majāz needs a qarīna. The literal and the figurative meanings cannot both be intended by one word in one usage.
Ḥaqīqa has three kinds: (1) mutaʿadhdhir (2) matrūk (3) mustaʿmal.
(1) Mutaʿadhdhir: that which is difficult to understand. (2) Matrūk: that which has been abandoned in idiomatic usage.
(3) Mustaʿmal: that which is in idiomatic usage.
If the literal meaning is mutaʿadhdhir or matrūk, the figurative meaning will be taken. If ḥaqīqa and majāz are both in use, or the ḥaqīqa is frequent in use, the ḥaqīqa is preferable. If the ḥaqīqa is in use but the majāz is mutaʿāraf, that is, frequent in use, then with the Imām [Abū Ḥanīfa] the ḥaqīqa is preferable, and with the Ṣāḥibayn [his two companions] the well-known majāz is preferable. For the validity of majāz it is a condition that the literal meaning be possible; if the ḥaqīqa is not possible, the speech is void (laghw).
Indicators of Majāz (Qarāʾin-e-Majāz). (1) The literal meaning is abandoned by custom.
(2) The context of the speech refuses and rejects the literal meaning as what is intended.
(3) The intent and purpose of the speech indicate the abandonment of the ḥaqīqa.
(4) The subject (maḥall) of the speech refuses and rejects the literal meaning.
Ṣarīḥ and Kināya. Ṣarīḥ: the clear meaning that the word indicates without a qarīna. Ruling of the ṣarīḥ: intention (niyya) is not necessary for it.
Kināya: the unclear meaning for whose understanding a qarīna is needed. An abandoned ḥaqīqa (mahjūra) is included in kināya. A well-known majāz is included in ṣarīḥ.
Ruling of the kināya: the kināya needs intention or the indication of the circumstances (dalālat-e-ḥāl).
Mutaqābilāt (The Corresponding Opposites).
Ẓāhir, Naṣṣ, Mufassar, Muḥkam. Speech whose intended meaning is evident will either be open to taʾwīl (interpretation) or not. If it is not open to taʾwīl and its evidence comes from the words alone, it is ẓāhir.
If the evidence of the word's meaning is also supported by the context of the passage, it is naṣṣ.
Speech that is open to taʾwīl will either be not open to abrogation or open to abrogation. If it is open to abrogation, it is mufassar; if it is not open to abrogation, it is muḥkam.
Khafī, Mushkil, Mujmal, Mutashābih. Speech whose intended meaning is hidden, where the cause of the hiddenness is not the word itself but some incidental cause other than the word, is khafī. If the hiddenness of the intended meaning comes from the word itself, then either the hiddenness can be removed by reflection and consideration of the indicators, or it cannot. If the hiddenness can be removed by reflection and consideration, it is mushkil. If the hiddenness cannot be removed by our reflection, then either there will be hope of an explanation (tafsīr) or there will not. If there is hope of an explanation, it is mujmal; and if there is no hope of an explanation, it is mutashābih.
Ruling of the Ẓāhir. Knowledge of and action upon the ẓāhir is definitively obligatory.
Every ruling's being open to the figurative without reason or ground is merely a rational possibility, which is not taken into account; hence the mere possibility of the figurative cannot affect the definitiveness and obligatoriness of the ẓāhir.
Ruling of the Naṣṣ. Knowledge of and action upon the naṣṣ is obligatory; but rationally, [if it is] ʿāmm it is open to particularisation, and [if it is] ḥaqīqa it is open to the figurative. But since this possibility too does not arise from a proof, it has no effect on the definitiveness of the naṣṣ.
Ruling of the Mufassar. Knowledge of and action upon the mufassar is definitively obligatory. In the mufassar there is a rational possibility of abrogation.
Ruling of the Muḥkam. The muḥkam is wājib al-yaqīn (obligatory to be held as certain) and wājib al-ʿamal: اِنَّ اللّٰهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيْمٌ inna Allāha bi-kulli shayʾin ʿalīm ["Truly Allāh has knowledge of all things" (al-Anfāl 8:75)].
Preference at the Time of Conflict. In the case of a conflict, preference will be given to the naṣṣ over the ẓāhir, to the mufassar over the naṣṣ, and to the muḥkam over the mufassar.
The ruling of the khafī. For the khafī (the "hidden" expression, whose intended meaning is obscured by something outside the wording itself) one must inquire into its meaning [to determine] whether this obscurity and non-manifestness comes from an excess of meaning or from a deficiency of meaning. Thus in the ṭarrār (the pickpocket, kīsa-bur) there is an excess of the meaning of theft; or [it comes] from a deficiency of meaning, as in the nabbāsh, i.e. the shroud-thief, in whom there is a deficiency of the meaning of theft because of the absence of safekeeping. So in the case of an excess of meaning the ruling will attach, and in the case of a deficiency the ruling will not attach.
The ruling of the mushkil. [For the mushkil, the "difficult" expression,] one holds belief in the murād (intended meaning) of the speaker, that is, the intent of God and the Messenger; then one reflects sufficiently upon the siyāq-o-sabāq (what precedes and what follows), the qarāʾin (contextual indicators) and the like, so that the meaning becomes manifest.
The ruling of the mujmal. [For the mujmal, the "summary" expression,] one should have faith in Allāh’s intent and seek the bayān (explanation) from the speech of the Shāriʿ (the Lawgiver). The bayān of the mujmal is to a degree detailed, as for example the explanation (tafsīr) of the word ṣalāh. Sometimes the bayān of the mujmal remains in some measure mujmal, and search and reflection are needed for the detail.
The ruling of the mutashābih. [For the mutashābih, the "ambiguous" expression,] one should have faith in Allāh’s intent — and in this: that Ḥaḍrat ﷺ knew the meanings of the mutashābihāt, and that they will become known to us too on the Day of Resurrection. This was the way of the early elders. When [they] had to deal with innovators such as the Muʿtazila and the Mujassima (the anthropomorphists), the later scholars (mutaʾakhkhirīn) too began a fitting taʾwīl (interpretation) of the mutashābihāt.
Bayān. The mubham (vague), the mujmal and the mushkil speech remain in need of bayān.
Bayān is the name for making the intended purpose manifest. Sometimes bayān is the name given to that speech by which the intended purpose is made manifest.
The modes of bayān are five: tafsīr (explanation), taqrīr (confirmation), taghyīr (alteration), ḍarūrat (necessity) and tabdīl (replacement).
Some people call bayān-e-tabdīl naskh (abrogation). Some people call istithnāʾ (exception) bayān-e-taghyīr and sharṭ (condition) bayān-e-tabdīl, and do not include naskh among the kinds of bayān.
The bayān-e-tafsīr and taqrīr of the Quran is permissible by a khabar-e-wāḥid (a solitary report), but taghyīr is not permissible by a khabar-e-wāḥid, because a khabar-e-wāḥid is lesser in strength than the Quran; therefore a ruling of the Quran cannot be altered by a khabar-e-wāḥid.
Delaying the bayān beyond the time of need and of action is not permissible. Yes, delaying the bayān-e-taqrīr and tafsīr beyond the time of address is permissible.
Bayān-e-tafsīr. Sometimes the intent of speech is not clear because the speech is mujmal, mushtarak (of shared, multiple meaning), khafī or mushkil. Its clarification is called tafsīr.
Bayān-e-taqrīr. Sometimes the meanings of a word or of speech are manifest, but there remains in them the possibility of majāz (figurative usage) or khuṣūṣ (specification). So by the bayān-e-taqrīr such emphasis is given that the possibility of the other [meaning] is removed.
Bayān-e-taghyīr. That by which a change comes into the apparent meaning of the word is bayān-e-taghyīr.
In bayān-e-taghyīr it is necessary that the mughayyir (that which alters [the meaning]) be connected [to the speech], and that it be speech not independent [in itself] [tentative reading — please confirm].
Bayān-e-taghyīr has several kinds:
sharṭ (condition), istithnāʾ (exception), ṣifat (qualifying attribute), ghāyat (limit), qarīna (contextual indicator), majāz (figurative usage).
Istithnāʾ. What is intended to be stated is whatever remains after the quantity of the mustathnā (the thing excepted) is taken out of the mustathnā minhu (that from which it is excepted).
Sharṭ. In lexical usage it means mawqūf ʿalayh (that upon which something depends).
Sharṭ is of two kinds: (1) an external matter upon which a thing depends, but upon which the ruling is not consequent;
(2) that thing upon which the ruling is consequent.
By the first meaning, [the absence of the condition brings] the absence of the conditioned (mashrūṭ). By the second meaning, the absence of the conditioned upon the absence of the condition is not necessary, because it is possible that [the conditioned] be found conditioned by some other condition.
Sharṭ is of two types: (1) ʿaqlī (rational), (2) sharʿī (legal).
(1) Sharṭ ʿaqlī: that whose being a condition has been judged by reason, as the existence of a jawhar (substance) is a condition for the existence of an ʿaraḍ (accident).
(2) Sharṭ sharʿī: that which the Sharʿ (the revealed Law) has made a condition, as wuḍūʾ for prayer.
Sharṭ too is among the mukhaṣṣiṣāt-e-muttaṣila (connected specifiers). A thing that is suspended upon a condition does not become the sabab (cause) of the ruling until the condition is found. So the existence of that which is suspended upon a condition (al-muʿallaq bi’l-sharṭ) will become a cause at the time of the condition; it will not become one before that time. As long as the condition is not present, the muʿallaq bi’l-sharṭ remains non-existent by reason of its ʿadam-e-aṣlī (original non-existence), not because of the absence of the condition. Taʿlīq (suspension upon a condition) is bound up with ownership (milk) or with the cause of ownership.
Alteration of the ruling by an attribute. The ṣifat (attribute) is of two kinds:
(1) that which is a restriction (qayd) of the essence;
(2) that which is incidental (ittifāqī). So the ruling is altered by an attribute as well.
The attribute has three degrees: adnā (lowest), awsaṭ (middle), aʿlā (highest).
Adnā. An attribute that is an incidental restriction and to which no purpose is attached, as in رَبَآئِبُكُمُ الّٰتِىْ فِىْ حُجُوْرِكُمْ (rabāʾibukumu’llātī fī ḥujūrikum, "your stepdaughters who are in your care", al-Nisāʾ 4:23), "فِىْ حُجُوْرِكُمْ" (fī ḥujūrikum, "in your care") is an incidental restriction.
Awsaṭ. An attribute that carries the sense of a condition, as in مِنْ فَتَيَاتِكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ (min fatayātikumu’l-muʾmināt, "from among your believing maidservants", al-Nisāʾ 4:25), "مُؤْمِنَات" (muʾmināt, "believing") stands by way of a condition.
Aʿlā. An attribute that carries the sense of an ʿilla (effective cause), as in السَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ (al-sāriqu wa’l-sāriqatu, "the male thief and the female thief", al-Māʾida 5:38). According to the people of uṣūl, the absence of the maʿlūl (effect) is not necessary upon the absence of the ʿilla, because it is possible that the effect be found with another cause. When this is the case with the highest [degree], how will the absence of the effect follow from the absence of the other attributes?
Alteration by a limit. The ghāyat (limit) is of two kinds:
(1) that it indicates the act ending at some thing or some place, and that thing or place lies outside that portion;
(2) that that thing or place does not lie outside that portion.
If the ghāyat (i.e. the furthest bound) stands separate, by itself, from the mughayyā (i.e. that thing whose end it marks), and does not depend upon the existence of the meaning, it will not enter into the meaning. For example, "the house is from this wall to that wall" — then both walls will be excluded.
If the ghāyat does not stand by itself, there are two cases:
(1) If the ṣadr-e-kalām (i.e. the opening part of the speech) includes the ghāyat, then that ghāyat will enter into the ruling of the mughayyā, and its effect will be to exclude what lies beyond it, as in اِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ (ila’l-marāfiq, "up to the elbows", al-Māʾida 5:6): the elbows will be included in the washing of the hands.
(2) If the ṣadr-e-kalām does not include the ghāyat, or there is doubt about its inclusion, then the ghāyat will not enter into the mughayyā, and the ruling will remain extended up to that bound: "اَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ اِلَى الَّيْلِ" (atimmu’l-ṣiyāma ila’l-layl, "complete the fast until the night", al-Baqara 2:187) — so the night will not enter into the fast.
Bayān-e-ḍarūrat. Although there is no word indicating the bayān-e-ḍarūrat, that bayān is obtained from the necessity of what the speech requires (muqtaḍā-e-kalām). The bayān-e-ḍarūrat has four kinds, in which silence itself indicates the intent.
(1) The bayān is so clear that it is like speech; for example, only "came" in answer to "Did Zayd come?".
(2) The state of the speaker indicates the intended meaning; for example, a virgin’s silence upon being informed of a nikāḥ has the status of permission.
(3) For warding off deception; for example, the silence of the shafīʿ (the holder of the right of pre-emption) upon being informed of a sale has the status of permission.
(4) For avoiding lengthiness of speech; for example, "five hundred [and] two rupees" stands for five hundred rupees and two rupees.
Bayān-e-tabdīl, or naskh. If at one time a ruling was given as the requirement of maṣlaḥa (the good served), and at another time, because the maṣlaḥa changed, a second ruling was given, then the first ruling is mansūkh (abrogated) and the second is nāsikh (abrogating). The locus of abrogation is that which reason holds possible; so a ruling that is rationally necessary in itself (wājib li-dhātihi), like īmān, or impossible in itself (mumtaniʿ li-dhātihi), like kufr, is not abrogated, [nor is a ruling] that indicates taʾbīd (perpetuity) and dawām (permanence), such as prayer, fasting, ḥajj and zakāh.
Now no ruling can be abrogated, because the Noble Messenger ﷺ , who would have stated the abrogating [ruling], has passed away.
Permanence is established by explicit wording or by indication (dalālat).
If a ruling was given for a particular time and that ruling was lifted after the time had passed, this is not called naskh. A ruling can be abrogated even before it is acted upon. The weak cannot abrogate the strong; hence qiyās (analogy) cannot abrogate ijmāʿ (consensus), nor ijmāʿ the khabar-e-āḥād (solitary reports), nor can that [khabar-e-āḥād] abrogate the khabar-e-mutawātir (mass-transmitted report) or the Quran.
Most hold that abrogation of the Quran by a khabar-e-mutawātir is permissible.
The lapse of some attribute of a naṣṣ (text) is also a kind of naskh; for example, the lapse of the ʿumūm (generality) or iṭlāq (unrestrictedness) of some naṣṣ is also naskh.
Addition to the Quran Majīd by aḥādīth-e-mashhūra (well-known ḥadīths) is permissible. Apart from the khabar-e-mutawātir and mashhūr, addition by anything else is not permissible — neither by a khabar-e-wāḥid nor by qiyās.
The abrogation of a ruling without a badal (replacement) is also permissible.
The abrogation of one ruling by another ruling that is lesser than, equal to, or even harsher than the first is also permissible.
Construing the muṭlaq upon the muqayyad. There are five cases in which a naṣṣ occurs as muṭlaq (unrestricted) and muqayyad (restricted):
(1) They occur in something other than the ruling, for example in causes and conditions; then the muṭlaq will not be construed upon the muqayyad.
(2) One and the same ruling occurs in one and the same incident; then the muṭlaq is construed upon the muqayyad.
(3) The muṭlaq and the muqayyad occur in one and the same ruling and the incidents are two; then according to the Ḥanafīs the muṭlaq will not be construed upon the muqayyad.
(4) The incident is one and the rulings are two; then according to the Ḥanafīs the muṭlaq will not be construed upon the muqayyad.
(5) Two rulings occur in two incidents; then by agreement the muṭlaq will not be construed upon the muqayyad.
Mafhūm. According to Imām al-Shāfiʿī (may Allāh have mercy on him), what is signified by muṭābaqa (full correspondence) and by taḍammun (inclusion) is called manṭūq (the expressed), and what is signified by iltizām (entailment) is called mafhūm (the implied).
Mafhūm has two kinds.
(1) Mafhūm-e-muwāfiq (concordant implication): the maskūt ʿanhu (that about which the text is silent) falls, in negation and affirmation, under the ruling of the manṭūq.
(2) Mafhūm-e-mukhālif (contrary implication): the maskūt ʿanhu is contrary to the manṭūq in that ruling.
The condition for the mafhūm-e-mukhālif is that:
(1) the manṭūq is not mentioned by way of custom;
(2) the mafhūm-e-mukhālif is not more fitting than the manṭūq, or equal to it;
(3) the manṭūq is not in answer to some question;
(4) it is not on account of some incident;
(5) nor is it so that an uninformed listener becomes informed of that ruling.
The kinds of mafhūm-e-mukhālif. (1) mafhūm-e-laqab (of a name), (2) mafhūm-e-ʿadad (of a number), (3) mafhūm-e-waṣf (of a description), (4) mafhūm-e-sharṭ (of a condition).
According to the Ḥanafīs, the mention of one thing does not entail the negation of another. The strongest things are condition and cause, yet it may be that if one cause or condition is not found, the effect and the conditioned are found with another cause or condition.
Mutaʿalliqāt-e-nuṣūṣ. [These are] that by which the manner in which words indicate meaning is known. The mutaʿalliqāt-e-nuṣūṣ (the modes of textual indication) are four:
(1) ʿibārat al-naṣṣ, (2) ishārat al-naṣṣ, (3) dalālat al-naṣṣ, (4) iqtiḍāʾ al-naṣṣ.
ʿIbārat al-naṣṣ. [The explicit expression of the text:] that ruling which is established by the meaning of the wording, by the context, and by the purpose of the speech.
Ishārat al-naṣṣ. [The allusion of the text:] that ruling which is established from the words of the speech without addition, but the context is not [directed] to it. Since in ishāra the context gives no help, therefore, compared with ʿibāra, some khafāʾ (obscurity) is meant in ishāra. ʿIbāra and ishāra are both established from the wording; hence in them there is ʿumūm and also khuṣūṣ. If there is a conflict between ʿibāra and ishāra, ʿibāra takes precedence over ishāra.
Dalālat al-naṣṣ. [The indication of the text:] a ruling emerges from the words. Its ʿilla is so clear that every speaker of the language understands it. No juristic qiyās or ijtihād is needed. Moreover, juristic qiyās is ẓannī (probable) while dalālat al-naṣṣ is qaṭʿī (definitive). By it even ḥudūd (fixed penalties) and kaffārāt (expiations) are established. An example of dalālat al-naṣṣ is وَلَا تَقُلْ لَّهُمَآ اُفٍّ (wa-lā taqul lahumā uffin, "and do not say to them ‘uff’", al-Isrāʾ 17:23): the taʾfīf, i.e. the ʿilla of [forbidding] saying "uff", is causing hurt.
Dalāla is established without an intermediary, and ishāra by the intermediary of the ʿilla; dalāla is not intended and ishāra is intended.
If there is a conflict between dalāla and ishārat al-naṣṣ, some say that the stronger takes precedence, and according to some, ishāra takes precedence in general.
Iqtiḍāʾ al-naṣṣ. [The requirement of the text:] it is the taqdīr (the understood, supplied element) that is supplied for the soundness of the naṣṣ, because without the iqtiḍāʾ the meaning of the naṣṣ cannot be realised.
Ishārat al-naṣṣ too is qaṭʿī. At the time of conflict, ishāra takes precedence over iqtiḍāʾ. Iqtiḍāʾ al-naṣṣ has no ʿumūm, because it is not wording; iqtiḍāʾ al-naṣṣ will be accepted only to the extent of necessity.
Taʾwīl-e-wujūdī. [Interpretation according to the levels of existence:] most people disagree with one another; one person accepts one kind of wujūd (existence) and another accepts another kind. Not to accept any kind of existence at all is outright denial. As long as the higher kind of existence is not proven impossible, to accept the lower kind of existence is not denial, but it is certainly a kind of ignorance and transgression.
Imām Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (may Allāh have mercy on him) has pronounced takfīr (a judgement of unbelief) upon one who holds to the lower degree of existence when the higher existence is not impossible.
Existence has several kinds:
(1) wujūd-e-khārijī (external existence), or ʿaynī (concrete), or shuhūdī (witnessed), or dhātī (essential);
(2) wujūd-e-khayālī (imaginal existence) or ḥissī (sensory);
(3) wujūd-e-ʿaqlī (rational existence);
(4) wujūd-e-shibhī (existence by resemblance);
(5) wujūd-e-majāzī (figurative existence).
Wujūd-e-majāzī has two kinds:
(1) majāz-e-ʿaqlī (rational figuration);
(2) majāz-e-lughawī (linguistic figuration).
Wujūd-e-khārijī. The existence of a thing’s essence outside our mind, senses and intellect — for example Zayd — that is, it exists outside by its own essence. Seeing the person of Zayd, we have perceived him as mawjūd fi’l-khārij (existing in the outside world).
Wujūd-e-khārijī or dhātī is also of two kinds:
(1) One is li-dhātihi (by its own essence), that is, not mustafād (derived) from another, but of itself, without intermediary; for example, God Most High exists.
(2) The second is bi-wāsiṭa (through an intermediary): the existence of contingent things and created beings is not li-dhātihi; rather they exist by divine power, creation and command. For example, Zayd exists, that is, by God’s creating [him]; or, for example, the light of the sun is, that is, by itself, and the moon [tentative reading — please confirm] is illumined, that is, derived from the light of the sun. That which is li’l-dhāt and bi’l-dhāt (by essence and through essence) is confined to the Essence of the Real (Ḥaqq).
Wujūd-e-khayālī or ḥissī. That is, seeing Zayd outside, we bring his photograph and form into our sense faculty.
The point is that, from the five external senses, all forms gather in the ḥiss-e-mushtarak (the common sense), which is a special faculty, and we see and perceive them. However, when attention moves away from the common sense, these forms are stored and gathered in its treasury, which is called khayāl (imagination). Then, when we attend again, they come back into the common sense and appear again. For example, after a long time we thought of Zayd, and his form came from the khayāl into the common sense and appeared.
Khayāl is of two kinds: (1) khayāl-e-muttaṣil (connected imagination), our own imagination;
(2) khayāl-e-munfaṣil (detached imagination), the imagination of the cosmos, which is called ʿālam-e-mithāl (the World of Images).
Our imagination is under our control — we see whenever we wish — whereas the World of Images is not under our control. In dreams imaginal forms appear. If these imaginal forms are produced from ourselves, then the dream is aḍghāth-e-aḥlām, that is, a muddled, worthless dream; if the forms appear from the World of Images, then it is "رُؤْيَاءِ صَادِقَة" (ruʾyā-e-ṣādiqa, a true dream).
Sometimes our own imagining, growing strong, appears not only to us but to others as well. Our personal imagination has a link with the World of Images. When our personal imagination becomes fixed upon one point, the World of Images is soon unveiled. For an inquiry into this question, see our article "ʿĀlam-e-Mithāl" in the journal "Ḥikmat-e-Islāmiyya".
Wujūd-e-ʿaqlī. The existence of a universal, absolute and abstract meaning, abstracted from forms, imagination and particularities, is called wujūd-e-ʿaqlī or wujūd-e-mujarrad (abstract existence). For example, ghaḍab (anger) is a faculty by which one repels enemies and gains mastery over them. In our anger, at the time this faculty is displayed, the blood of the heart boils with the aim of revenge and the face turns red. In universal anger the boiling of the heart’s blood has no part. So in the ghaḍab of Allāh there is no boiling of the heart’s blood; rather it is its reality, which is free of the concomitants of the human body, and for which there is not imaginal existence but rational existence.
Wujūd-e-shibhī. To mean by a thing its likeness; or understand it thus: that a thing appears in the form of its likeness and similitude. For example, Ḥaḍrat ﷺ saw knowledge in the form of milk; or, for example, someone saw wrath in the form of fire; or anger in the form of a lion, or plague in the form of an elephant; or the divine Names and Attributes in certain representational forms. So the shibhī existence of God’s wrath is fire. To find the way from the shibhī existence to its reality, and to interpret a representational dream or kashf (unveiling), is the work of competence. If someone said that divine wrath takes the tamaththul (representation) of fire at the Resurrection, that is entirely correct; or if someone called divine wrath fire, or explained the reality of fire as divine wrath, that too is entirely correct. Or if someone explains the meaning of the Black Stone being yamīn Allāh (the right hand of Allāh) thus: that just as a hand is kissed for the sake of veneration, so the Black Stone is kissed for the sake of venerating the shaʿāʾir Allāh (the emblems of Allāh), and therefore calling the Black Stone yamīn Allāh is correct. In short, in wujūd-e-shibhī there is a kind of istiʿāra (metaphor). Those who are aware understand well that whatever is in the world, and whatever is taking place, is all nothing but the resemblances and representations of the ʿayn-e-thābit (the fixed archetype).
Wujūd-e-majāzī. By reason of some ʿalāqa (relation), what is connected with a thing is meant by that thing. For example, someone said that it rained so hard that the spouts were flowing; then the attribution of flowing to the spout is because of its mujāwir (i.e. the thing next to it, the water). So, because of this figurative attribution, we do not deny that the spouts flowed. See: in "يٰهَامٰنُ ابْنِ لِىْ صَرْحًا" (yā Hāmānu’bni lī ṣarḥan, "O Hāmān, build me a tower", Ghāfir 40:36) the building is attributed to Hāmān, because he was the one giving the order; in "وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْنَ جٰهَدُوْا مِنْكُمْ" (wa-lammā yaʿlami’llāhu’lladhīna jāhadū minkum, "while Allāh has not yet known those of you who have striven", Āl ʿImrān 3:142) not-knowing is attributed to Allāh, whereas it is the attribute of Ḥaḍrat ﷺ , by the relation that Ḥaḍrat ﷺ is the khalīfa (vicegerent) of Allāh and [His] Messenger. I cannot set out all these discussions in detail here in this brief Muqaddima. In sum, as long as existence of the higher degree is possible, existence of the lower kind should not be taken. Just as denial out of one’s ignorance and unawareness is not right, so too a far-fetched taʾwīl is far from the truth.
Let it be clear that the amr (command) of the Quran Sharīf indicates wujūb (obligation) and farḍiyya (being obligatory). Against this, a qarīna is needed for ibāḥa (permissibility), as in "اِذَا حَلَلْتُمْ فَاصْطَادُوْا" (idhā ḥalaltum fa-ṣṭādū, al-Māʾida 5:2), that is, when you have come out of iḥrām you may hunt, and there no longer remains any prohibition on hunting. Likewise the nahy (prohibition), that is, a prohibitive ruling, is for ḥurma (unlawfulness); for karāha (disapproval) a qarīna is needed.
The Question of the Non-Abrogation of the Quran — Masʾala-e-ʿAdam-e-Naskh-e-Qurʾān
Now some clarifications are given concerning the question of the non-abrogation of the Quran. نَسَخَ الشَّيْءَ يَنْسَخُهُ نَسْخًا: اَزَالَهُ (nasakha’l-shayʾa yansakhuhū naskhan: azālahū): he removed that thing. يُقَالُ نَسَخَتِ الشَّمْسُ الظِّلَّ وَالشَّيْبُ الشَّبَابَ اَىْ اَزَالَهُ (yuqālu nasakhati’l-shamsu’l-ẓilla wa’l-shaybu’l-shabāba ay azālahū): the sunshine removed the shade, and old age removed youth. وَنَسَخَتِ الرِّيْحُ اٰثَارَ الدَّارِ وَغَيَّرَتْهَا (wa-nasakhati’l-rīḥu āthāra’l-dāri wa-ghayyarathā): the wind turned the traces of the house into ruins and changed them. وَفُلَانٌ الشَّيْءَ اَبْطَلَهُ (wa-fulānun al-shayʾa abṭalahū): and so-and-so nullified that thing, وَاَقَامَ شَيْئًا اٰخَرَ مَقَامَهُ (wa-aqāma shayʾan ākhara maqāmahū): and set another thing in its place.
There is disagreement about verses and rulings of the Quran Sharīf being abrogated. As to the Quran Sharīf being the abrogator of all the religions and creeds, and of the customs, habits and rulings of the ignorant nations, and as to its bringing change into them, neither we nor anyone else has any disagreement. The result of the disagreements of the mufassirīn (exegetes) was that, according to some, half of the āyāt-e-aḥkām (verses of legal rulings) are abrogating and abrogated; accordingly, very large books have been written on this subject. Ibn al-ʿArabī reduced this number. Ḥaḍrat Imām Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (may Allāh have mercy on him) accepted the number of abrogated verses as up to 21. Ḥaḍrat Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm Shāh Walī Allāh (may Allāh have mercy on him) accepted only up to (4–5).
In my view, no ruling of the Quran, no verse, is abrogated. The answers that Shāh Ṣāḥib gave concerning the abrogation of these (21) verses — I have written their detailed commentary in a separate treatise. On this occasion I shall only state briefly the causes of misunderstanding, and I shall also extract from the dispute over naskh those five verses which Shāh Ṣāḥib too was compelled to accept as abrogated. In this way one person from his scholarly family will bring his aim to the stage of completion. وَلِلّٰهِ الْحَمْدُ (wa-li’llāhi’l-ḥamd, and to Allāh belongs all praise).
In early times naskh was taken to mean change. When they saw some change in the ruling of an earlier verse, they would say: this verse is the abrogator of that verse. In uṣūl al-fiqh, naskh is to nullify the ruling of an earlier verse and to establish another ruling in its place, and at the present time the common people take this meaning of naskh. After this, let it be made clear: what were the causes of the mufassirīn accepting so great a number of verses as abrogated?
(1) If by the Quran Sharīf the customs and habits of the age of Jāhiliyya or the rulings of earlier religions were suspended, or change was made in them, then the earlier [scholars] say that this verse is nāsikh. But reflect: is this verse the abrogator of any verse or Qurʾānic ruling as well? Certainly not. What is under discussion for us is the abrogation of verses and Qurʾānic rulings, not the abrogation of earlier customs, habits and rulings.
(2) At times a general ruling is given, and a specific ruling is given for specific circumstances. If the specific ruling comes together with the general ruling, it is called istithnāʾ; and if the specific ruling is given on some other occasion, it is called takhṣīṣ (specification). To call istithnāʾ and takhṣīṣ the abrogator of the general ruling is not right. In the commentaries on the Penal Codes (Taʿzīrāt) of India and the Deccan, general exceptions are set out; so will one then have to accept that all the Taʿzīrāt have been abrogated at a stroke? Certainly not.
وَالْعَصْرِ اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ لَفِىْ خُسْرٍ اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا (wa’l-ʿaṣr, inna’l-insāna la-fī khusr, illa’lladhīna āmanū, "By the declining day! Man is indeed in loss, except those who believe", al-ʿAṣr 103:1–3) — has the ruling of اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ لَفِىْ خُسْرٍ been abrogated by اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا? Certainly not.
(3) Laws are also mukhtaṣṣ al-maqām (particular to a place) and mukhtaṣṣ al-waqt (particular to a time). After the time has passed, that temporary ruling does not remain, because that ruling was given only for that much time — not that the ruling was abrogated. For example, a curfew order was issued for four days; after the period had passed, that ruling no longer remained. In this case, to say that the ruling was abrogated is not right; rather, because the period ended, that ruling no longer remained. Now, on non-abrogation, I present an important verse which will throw great light upon this question. Allāh Most High says:
وَاِذْ اَخَذَ اللّٰهُ مِيْثَاقَ النَّبِيّٖنَ لَمَآ اٰتَيْتُكُمْ مِّنْ كِتٰبٍ وَّحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُوْلٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهٖ وَلَتَنْصُرُنَّهٗ قَالَ ءَاَقْرَرْتُمْ وَاَخَذْتُمْ عَلٰى ذٰلِكُمْ اِصْرِىْ قَالُوْٓا اَقْرَرْنَا
wa-idh akhadha’llāhu mīthāqa’l-nabiyyīna lamā ātaytukum min kitābin wa-ḥikmatin thumma jāʾakum rasūlun muṣaddiqun limā maʿakum la-tuʾminunna bihī wa-la-tanṣurunnahū; qāla a-aqrartum wa-akhadhtum ʿalā dhālikum iṣrī; qālū aqrarnā — "And remember when We took a covenant from all the prophets: We have granted you the Book and Wisdom; then a Messenger will come to you who confirms the Book that is with you — you shall surely believe in him and give him succour and help. Then the divine word came: Have you affirmed this and taken upon yourselves the responsibility for it? All submitted: Indeed, we have affirmed." (Āl ʿImrān 3:81)
Just reflect upon this verse: from it, it is clearly known that the religions of the other prophets were temporary; when the Seal of the Prophets ﷺ was sent, their time came to an end. On this inquiry, the religions of all the prophets too are not abrogated; rather their time no longer remained, and therefore those rulings too no longer remained.
(4) Sometimes the aim is to give a permanent ruling, but in practice or in abstention the strictness is increased gradually, until people acquire the capacity to act upon the intended ruling. This is the perfection of good teaching and training. In our view these initial stages should not be called abrogated; rather they should be regarded as a preface and preparation for the real ruling. The real intended ruling will be considered that which is given for all time. For example, wine was not made unlawful all at once. First it was said لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَاَنْتُمْ سُكٰرٰى (lā taqrabu’l-ṣalāta wa-antum sukārā, al-Nisāʾ 4:43), that is, do not go near prayer while drunk; then, after several stages, wine was made unlawful. So the ruling of لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلٰوةَ was not abrogated; rather it was a preface and preparation for the unlawfulness of wine. It is a historical event that the Russians were idol-worshippers; when their delegation reached Constantinople to investigate religion, the religion of Islam pleased them. Among its prohibitions was the drinking of wine as well. The Russian delegation said: "We are people who live in a cold country; we cannot be at ease without wine." The ʿulamāʾ insisted most emphatically on giving up wine, and the result was that the Russians became Christians. Had [the ʿulamāʾ] kept silent about intoxication as against kufr, adopting the lesser evil as against the greater evil, so great a nation would not have slipped from the hands of Islam. Had Allāh Most High wished, He could have made wine unlawful all at once, but no — He made it unlawful gradually, by stages.
The ʿulamāʾ of Islam too should first teach new Muslims tawḥīd, then the other important pillars; then gradually make them bound to each ruling, one by one. The poor man has only just become a Muslim, and they had him circumcised as well; along with the obligatory prayers they insisted on the sunnas too; along with the fasts they imposed tarāwīḥ as well. Adherence to all these things should be brought about slowly, gradually. The sunan and nawāfil should not be given importance equal to the farḍ. May Allāh have mercy on the poor new Muslim.
(5) The command of a Prophet is sometimes farḍ (obligatory), and permission is also given for what is mubāḥ (merely permissible). Why should a command be taken as farḍ in the first place, so that afterwards one is forced to accept that it has been abrogated? Or understand it in this way: some commands are legal and some commands are moral. Why should a moral command be taken as legal at all, so that its abrogation becomes necessary? The law does not take hold of anyone for the violation of a moral command.
(6) Sometimes a single sentence has two meanings. The speaker has one intention, and people understand a different meaning from it. The speaker then states his intention again in plain words, and people think that the first command has been abrogated, whereas the first and the second command are both one and the same; the mistake lies in people’s understanding.
(7) Sometimes a command is given concerning a particular incident, and a circumstantial restriction (qayd ittifāqī) remains attached to it. In another sentence that circumstantial restriction is no longer there; rather, the general command remains, which is the purpose and the pivot of the command, and people think that the restricted command has been abrogated.
(8) Sometimes a command is given concerning a particular matter, and people, drawing an analogy (qiyās) from that matter to other matters, extend the command to them, whereas the first matter has particular features on the basis of which the command was given, and that command cannot be extended to others. Therefore a command is given contrary to the analogies being drawn from the first matter. In this way their analogies are shown to be wrong and to be qiyās maʿa al-fāriq [analogy in spite of a distinguishing difference], and people think that the first command has been abrogated.
(9) People think that the Makkan verses were abrogated by the Madinan verses, which were revealed in the period of Islam’s ascendancy. Let someone just reflect: the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ is Khātam al-Nabiyyīn (the Seal of the Prophets); his religion is not for a particular period of time; it is to remain until the Day of Resurrection. Have the Muslims always remained dominant, or are they dominant [now]? Is the condition of the Muslims of all countries one and the same? Certainly not, certainly not! The Turks and the Afghans are in a Madinan condition; the people of ʿIrāq, Syria and Palestine are in another; and now even Iran is in a Makkan condition. For each of them there is a verse and a command of the Quran suited to it. When the condition changed, the command changed too. So the Makkan verses are not abrogated either; rather, they do not suit the condition of the people of Madina. When the Verse of the Sword (āyat al-sayf) was revealed in Madina, did the people of Makka act upon it? Were they all sinners for not acting upon this verse? Certainly not! Time keeps turning. Acting upon some Madinan verses [in certain conditions] goes against the foundational verses وَلَا تُلْقُوْا بِاَيْدِيْكُمْ اِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ wa-lā tulqū bi-aydīkum ilā al-tahluka, "and do not cast yourselves with your own hands into destruction" (al-Baqara 2:195), and لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللّٰهُ نَفْسًا اِلَّا وُسْعَهَا lā yukallifu Allāhu nafsan illā wusʿahā, "Allāh does not burden any soul beyond its capacity" (al-Baqara 2:286). So the Makkan verses remain valid in their own place, and the Madinan in theirs.
Now I wish first to discuss those two important verses from which there will be benefit in understanding the question of nāsikh and mansūkh (the abrogating and the abrogated).
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ اٰيَةٍ اَوْ نُنْسِهَا نَاْتِ بِخَيْرٍ مِّنْهَآ اَوْ مِثْلِهَا
Qāla Allāhu taʿālā: mā nansakh min āyatin aw nunsihā naʾti bi-khayrin minhā aw mithlihā — "Allāh Most High said: Whatever āya We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or like it." (al-Baqara 2:106)
The word āya means a sign or a mark, and it is also a phrase of the Word of Allāh. People take the meaning of this noble verse to be: We do not abrogate any Qurʾānic verse or cause it to be forgotten but that We bring a Qurʾānic verse better than it or like it.
The point to reflect upon is this: the Quran is preserved by the promise اِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَاِنَّا لَهٗ لَحٰفِظُوْنَ innā naḥnu nazzalnā al-dhikra wa-innā lahu la-ḥāfiẓūn, "It is We who have sent down the Reminder, and it is We who are its guardians" (al-Ḥijr 15:9). From the beginning until now, hundreds of thousands of ḥuffāẓ (those who know the Quran by heart) have been coming; then when, and which, verse was forgotten? To take it as meaning that a different verse better than one verse of the noble Quran is brought is also entirely inappropriate. Therefore, in our view, its correct meaning is this: if We remove or alter Our traces of power (āthār-e-qudrat), Our signs, or cause them to be forgotten through the length of time, then We bring other signs better than them or equal to them. See how the series of ever-fresh manifestations of the traces of [divine] power has existed always and will remain always. No dust [of objection] settles upon this translation. This verse is the root, the very soul, of the question of nāsikh and mansūkh. Look at the noble Quran: it is filled with āya in the sense of traces of power and sign: لِنُرِيَهٗ مِنْ اٰيٰتِنَا li-nuriyahu min āyātinā, "that We might show him some of Our signs" (al-Isrāʾ 17:1); سَنُرِيْهِمْ اٰيٰتِنَا sa-nurīhim āyātinā, "We shall show them Our signs" (Fuṣṣilat 41:53); فَاْتِ بِاٰيَةٍ fa-ʾti bi-āyatin, "so bring a sign" (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:154); اِنَّ فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ inna fī al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi la-āyātin li-l-muʾminīn, "truly in the heavens and the earth are signs for the believers" (al-Jāthiya 45:3); وَفِي الْاَرْضِ اٰيٰتٌ لِّلْمُوْقِنِيْنَ wa-fī al-arḍi āyātun li-l-mūqinīn, "and in the earth are signs for those of certain faith" (al-Dhāriyāt 51:20).
Ibn Ḥazm al-Ẓāhirī states, in [discussing] the establishment of naskh (abrogation), that Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him) passed by a qāḍī (judge). He asked the qāḍī: "Do you distinguish the abrogating from the abrogated, and do you understand it?" The qāḍī said: "No, sir." Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him) said: "You yourself are ruined, and you have ruined others as well." I submit that in the old usage naskh meant change (taghayyur), as has been explained. So the meaning of the saying of Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him) is: Do you know those verses by which some general verse is particularised (takhṣīṣ), or from which some people are excepted?
The second verse is in the Sūra "al-Kāfirūn": لَكُمْ دِيْنُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِيْنِ lakum dīnukum wa-liya dīn.
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ ـ قُلْ يٰٓاَيُّهَا الْكٰفِرُوْنَ لَآ اَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُوْنَ وَلَآ اَنْتُمْ عٰبِدُوْنَ مَآ اَعْبُدُ وَلَآ اَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدْتُّمْ وَلَآ اَنْتُمْ عٰبِدُوْنَ مَآ اَعْبُدُ ـ لَكُمْ دِيْنُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِيْنِ
Bismi Allāhi al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm. Qul yā-ayyuhā al-kāfirūn, lā aʿbudu mā taʿbudūn, wa-lā antum ʿābidūna mā aʿbud, wa-lā ana ʿābidun mā ʿabadtum, wa-lā antum ʿābidūna mā aʿbud, lakum dīnukum wa-liya dīn (al-Kāfirūn 109:1–6)
The meaning given to this is: "Your religion be blessed to you, and our religion to us; neither do you preach to us, nor do we preach to you" — ʿĪsā ba-dīn-e-khud, Mūsā ba-dīn-e-khud ["Jesus to his own religion, Moses to his own religion"]. And then they say that this verse is abrogated by the Verse of the Sword. I do not understand this, for Islam has always been a preaching religion and will remain so. In Islam there is بَلِّغْ مَآ اُنْزِلَ اِلَيْكَ balligh mā unzila ilayk, "convey what has been sent down to you" (al-Māʾida 5:67), and there is يٰٓاَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ قُمْ فَاَنْذِرْ yā-ayyuhā al-muddaththir, qum fa-andhir, "O you wrapped in your cloak, arise and warn" (al-Muddaththir 74:1–2). In Islam a command not to preach has never been given.
See: if dīn is taken to mean recompense (jazāʾ), then no difficulty arises at all. مٰلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ Māliki yawmi al-dīn means "Master of the Day of Recompense". Therefore لَكُمْ دِيْنُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِيْنِ lakum dīnukum wa-liya dīn means: you will get the recompense of your deeds, and we will certainly get the recompense of our deeds. This command has never been abrogated, nor will it ever be abrogated. The meaning of the whole sūra is:
"O Prophet! Say: O deniers, I do not worship what you worship, and you do not worship the One whom I worship. My way of worship is distinct; your way of worship is separate. You will certainly get the punishment of your deeds, and I will certainly get the recompense of my deeds."
Now I discuss those verses which even Ḥaḍrat Shāh Walī Allāh felt compelled to accept as abrogated.
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمْ اِذَا حَضَرَ اَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ اِنْ تَرَكَ خَيْرَا ۨ الْوَصِيَّةُ لِلْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْاَقْرَبِيْنَ بِالْمَعْرُوْفِ حَقًّا عَلَى الْمُتَّقِيْنَ
Kutiba ʿalaykum idhā ḥaḍara aḥadakumu al-mawtu in taraka khayrani al-waṣiyyatu li-l-wālidayni wa-al-aqrabīna bi-al-maʿrūfi ḥaqqan ʿalā al-muttaqīn — "It has been made obligatory upon you, when death approaches one of you, if he leaves some wealth, to make a bequest for parents and relatives in a fitting manner; this command is binding upon the God-fearing." (al-Baqara 2:180)
People say that this verse is abrogated by the ḥadīth لَا وَصِيَّةَ لِوَارِثٍ lā waṣiyyata li-wārith, "there is no bequest for an heir". I submit: how could a verse of the noble Quran be abrogated by this khabar al-āḥād (a report transmitted by a limited number of narrators)? Therefore Ḥaḍrat Shāh Walī Allāh Ṣāḥib says: no; this verse is abrogated by يُوْصِيْكُمُ اللّٰهُ فِيْٓ اَوْلَادِكُمْ yūṣīkumu Allāhu fī awlādikum ("Allāh enjoins you concerning your children", al-Nisāʾ 4:11), and the ḥadīth lā waṣiyyata li-wārith describes this abrogation. I submit that the reality is this: among different peoples there are different rules and practices regarding inheritance. Among some, whatever bequest the dying person makes for anyone is enforceable. Among some, only the eldest son is the heir. Among some, women get no share at all in the inheritance. In the first verse Allāh Most High says about the parents, who bore these hardships in giving birth and raising [the child], and about other relatives, that they cannot be totally deprived; some bequest must be made concerning them. It is as if this verse is a preliminary to the verse of inheritance. Then God Most High fixes the shares of all. Non-heirs who are relatives — for example, a grandson whose father has died, who is excluded while there are sons, or a daughter’s son or daughter whose mother has died, who is excluded while there is a daughter — for them and for other good causes a father too can make a bequest from one third of the wealth. But for those whose shares Allāh has fixed, those for whom Allāh has made the bequest, there is no need for the dying to make a bequest. What question of nāsikh and mansūkh is there in this at all? In one verse the importance of certain relatives has been pointed out, and in the other verse Allāh Most High Himself has specified their shares.
(2)
اِنْ يَّكُنْ مِّنْكُمْ عِشْرُوْنَ صٰبِرُوْنَ يَغْلِبُوْا مِائَتَيْنِ وَاِنْ يَّكُنْ مِّنْكُمْ مِّائَةٌ يَّغْلِبُوْٓا اَلْفًا مِّنَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا
In yakun minkum ʿishrūna ṣābirūna yaghlibū miʾatayn, wa-in yakun minkum miʾatun yaghlibū alfan mina alladhīna kafarū — "If there are twenty steadfast soldiers among you, they will overcome ten times their number of disbelievers; if there are a hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand disbelievers." (al-Anfāl 8:65)
Shāh Ṣāḥib says that this verse is abrogated by the verse after it. The following verse is this:
اَلْاٰنَ خَفَّفَ اللّٰهُ عَنْكُمْ وَعَلِمَ اَنَّ فِيْكُمْ ضَعْفًا فَاِنْ يَّكُنْ مِّنْكُمْ مِّائَةٌ صَابِرَةٌ يَّغْلِبُوْا مِائَتَيْنِ وَاِنْ يَّكُنْ مِّنْكُمْ اَلْفٌ يَّغْلِبُوْٓا اَلْفَيْنِ بِاِذْنِ اللّٰهِ وَاللّٰهُ مَعَ الصّٰبِرِيْنَ
Al-āna khaffafa Allāhu ʿankum wa-ʿalima anna fīkum ḍaʿfā, fa-in yakun minkum miʾatun ṣābiratun yaghlibū miʾatayn, wa-in yakun minkum alfun yaghlibū alfayni bi-idhni Allāh, wa-Allāhu maʿa al-ṣābirīn — "Now Allāh has lightened [the burden] for you and has known that there is weakness in you; so now, if there are a hundred steadfast among you, they will overcome two hundred, and if there are a thousand, they will overcome two thousand." (al-Anfāl 8:66)
In my view, those addressed by the first verse were people who were masters of the art of soldiering. They were distinguished in personal courage; there was the fervour of faith in their hearts and trust in God. In this way they had every kind of strength. And those addressed by the second verse were the people who came later. Where, among the later people, was the faith of the forerunners (sābiqīn), their courage, their soldiering? Therefore, instead of ten (10) times, the command was given to fight against twice [their number]. The whole basis of the verse is weakness and strength. If even now ten Muslims are armed with machine-guns and rifles, and a hundred enemies are attacking them with swords and cudgels in order to fight them, then in this situation the Muslims are strong, and they must never turn their faces away from fighting a hundred enemies. The command is changing because the underlying cause (ʿilla) is changing. When there is no superior strength, one should not flee from an enemy of double [one’s number] with less than ten (10) times the strength. So where does the question of nāsikh and mansūkh remain at all?
(3) اِنْفِرُوْا خِفَافًا وَّثِقَالًا infirū khifāfan wa-thiqālan (al-Tawba 9:41): set out for battle, whether lightly equipped or heavily laden. People say that this verse is abrogated by the verse لَيْسَ عَلَى الْاَعْمٰى حَرَجٌ laysa ʿalā al-aʿmā ḥaraj, "there is no blame upon the blind" (al-Fatḥ 48:17; al-Nūr 24:61), and by لَيْسَ عَلَى الضُّعَفَآءِ laysa ʿalā al-ḍuʿafāʾ, "there is no [blame] upon the weak" (al-Tawba 9:91).
Shāh Ṣāḥib says that by khifāfan is meant that the requirements of jihād — for example mounts, servants, and the provision of food and drink — are present in the smallest quantity, and by thiqālan is meant that these things are abundant; [on this reading] there is now no abrogation. I submit that those addressed by infirū are general; the excused are excepted from them, and an exception (istithnāʾ) cannot be abrogation.
(4)
اَلزَّانِيْ لَا يَنْكِحُ اِلَّا زَانِيَةً اَوْ مُشْرِكَةً وَّالزَّانِيَةُ لَا يَنْكِحُهَآ اِلَّا زَانٍ اَوْ مُشْرِكٌ وَحُرِّمَ ذٰلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ
Al-zānī lā yankiḥu illā zāniyatan aw mushrikah, wa-al-zāniyatu lā yankiḥuhā illā zānin aw mushrik, wa-ḥurrima dhālika ʿalā al-muʾminīn — "The fornicator does not marry except a fornicatress or an idolatress, and the fornicatress—none marries her except a fornicator or an idolater; and this is forbidden to the believers." (al-Nūr 24:3)
The view of the exegetes (mufassirīn) is that this verse is abrogated by the verse وَاَنْكِحُوا الْاَيَامٰى مِنْكُمْ wa-ankiḥū al-ayāmā minkum ("marry off the unmarried women among you", al-Nūr 24:32). Shāh Ṣāḥib says: Imām Aḥmad (may Allāh have mercy on him) gave his ruling according to its apparent meaning, that is, the marriage of a God-fearing man with an adulterous woman is forbidden; rather, a fornicator or an idolater may marry her. I submit that a Muslim woman, even if she is a fornicatress, cannot be married by an idolater. Shāh Ṣāḥib (may Allāh have mercy on him) says that according to the other imāms its meaning is that one who commits the grave sin [of fornication] can be the kufw (suitable match) only of a fornicatress; that is, an adulterous man cannot be the kufw of a God-fearing woman. If a woman marries someone who is not her kufw, the relatives have the right to have the marriage annulled, because it brings disgrace upon the family. And he says that marrying a fornicator is not mustaḥabb (recommended). To give ḥurrima the meaning "is not recommended" does not quite sit well with the heart. Shāh Ṣāḥib says that dhālika refers to fornication and idolatry, not to marriage. On this interpretation marriage does not remain under discussion at all. In this faqīr’s view, no command at all is given by this verse; rather, it is stated that by nature an immoral man turns only towards an immoral woman. If it were a prohibitive command, it would be in the form of a prohibition (nahy), and lā yankiḥ would have a jazm (quiescent ending) at the end. But in the noble Quran lā yankiḥu has a ḍamma at the end. Moreover, a woman who repents enters into [the ḥadīth] كَمَنْ لَّا ذَنْبَ لَهٗ ka-man lā dhanba lah, "[she is] like one who has no sin", and goes out of the scope of this verse. Yes, marriage to a woman who does not want to give up this profession is never correct, because such a marriage would be one of qaltabānī [a cuckold’s complicity] — we seek refuge in Allāh. Or take the lexical meaning of nikāḥ, that is, intercourse. Then the meaning will be that an immoral man or an idolater may keep illicit relations with an immoral woman, [but] for the people of faith immorality is forbidden; in that case dhālika will refer to fornication.
(5)
يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْٓا اِذَا نَاجَيْتُمُ الرَّسُوْلَ فَقَدِّمُوْا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوٰىكُمْ صَدَقَةً ذٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَاَطْهَرُ فَاِنْ لَّمْ تَجِدُوْا فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِيْمٌ
Yā-ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū idhā nājaytumu al-rasūla fa-qaddimū bayna yaday najwākum ṣadaqah, dhālika khayrun lakum wa-aṭhar, fa-in lam tajidū fa-inna Allāha ghafūrun raḥīm — "O you who believe! When you wish to confer privately with the Messenger, then before that private conference give some financial help to the Muslims, give in charity. This is better for you and purer. If you are destitute and find nothing to give, then Allāh is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (al-Mujādila 58:12)
Shāh Ṣāḥib (may Allāh have mercy on him) says that this verse is abrogated by the verse after it. I submit: where does the obligatoriness of charity follow from this verse? In it there is only khayrun lakum wa-aṭhar ("better for you and purer"). The goodness and the purity of charity cannot be abrogated. There is also in it that if you are destitute, then Allāh is All-Forgiving and Most Merciful. In the time of the Prophet ﷺ some ignorant people used to confer privately [with him] in order to establish their own honour and importance, while the matter was of no real importance. So the command was given: first prove yourselves well-wishers of the Muslims by giving financial help to them, then intend to confer privately with the Prophet. Money does not leave the hand [easily], yet [they make] the claim of telling secret matters to the Prophet! In the following verse it is [said] that if you do not give money in charity, then prove that you are righteous through good works such as prayer and zakāt, and then confer privately with the Prophet.
Friends! Allāh Most High said to Mūsā (upon him be peace) and Hārūn (upon him be peace) regarding preaching to Pharaoh: فَقُوْلَا لَهٗ قَوْلًا لَّيِّنًا fa-qūlā lahu qawlan layyinan (Ṭā Hā 20:44), that is, speak to Pharaoh gently. In the same way He said to the Beloved of God, Muḥammad Muṣṭafā ﷺ : وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِيْ هِيَ اَحْسَنُ wa-jādilhum bi-allatī hiya aḥsan (al-Naḥl 16:125), that is, debate with the deniers in the best manner and make them understand. According to those exegetes, this verse and such verses as indicate consideration and courteous speech towards enemies are all abrogated by the Verse of the Sword. They ought to consider that the time of war is one thing, and the time of preaching and teaching is another. The command of courteous speech and good conduct can never be abrogated. Fighting is not contrary to nobility, but abusive speech is certainly contrary to civility. Do not bring disrepute upon Islam; do not attach a blemish to its civility.
Those exegetes have another [opinion], more unjust than this. They say that some verses were [once] in the Quran, but now there is no command to recite them, and they call such a verse thābit al-ḥukm wa-mansūkh al-tilāwa (its ruling established, its recitation abrogated). For example: اَلشَّيْخُ وَالشَّيْخَةُ اِذَا زَنَيَا فَارْجُمُوْهُمَا al-shaykhu wa-al-shaykhatu idhā zanayā fa-rjumūhumā, that is, "when an old man and an old woman commit fornication, stone them". The command of stoning the muḥṣan and the muḥṣana, that is, the married man and woman, was in the previous religions; Islam retained it and gave no fresh command. But for the unmarried it gave the command of jald, that is, of flogging. In اَلزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِيْ al-zāniyatu wa-al-zānī (al-Nūr 24:2) the alif-lām is ʿahdī (the definite article referring to something already known); by it are meant the man and woman who are not muḥṣan and muḥṣana. The accusation that the Quran is not preserved comes from the intrigues of the Jews and the sons of the Jews. Some simple-hearted scholars fall into this trap. Just consider this too: does shaykh mean an old man or a married man? A young man too can be married, and an old man too can be unmarried. So to take shaykh to mean a married man is forcing it. Very well: is the feminine of shaykh عَجُوْزٌ ʿajūz or شَيْخَةٌ shaykha? [The Quran says:] اِنِّيْ عَجُوْزٌ وَّهٰذَا بَعْلِيْ شَيْخًا innī ʿajūzun wa-hādhā baʿlī shaykhan, "I am an old woman, and this husband of mine is an old man" (Hūd 11:72). The word shaykha is not found in any poem or in any book. I regard this as an injustice to the noble Quran. The noble Quran is mutawātir (transmitted by so many in every generation that error or forgery is inconceivable). Not one word is more than it, not one word less. The Quran Majīd reached this faqīr by the mutawātir transmission of [the reading of] ʿĀṣim al-Kūfī, from Ḥaḍrat ʿUthmān, Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī, Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, Ḥaḍrat Zayd ibn Thābit and Ḥaḍrat Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allāh be pleased with them), all of whom were ḥuffāẓ. Against this reliable and mutawātir transmission, this faqīr does not wish to hear even one word that is not mutawātir [but] āḥād. The hypocrites have created these mischiefs in order to make the noble Quran unreliable. But let someone ask them to authenticate even a single narration. Leave aside a mutawātir [report]: even by a khabar al-āḥād it is not possible to establish a single ruling that goes against the Quran. The noble Quran is preserved. From the beginning until now the ḥuffāẓ and the qurrāʾ (reciters) have been guarding its tawātur; against this mutawātir [transmission], any narration or any claim is unworthy of attention. What God guards, no one has the power to tamper with in any way.
May Allāh Most High save the Muslims from these intrigues and these insinuations. Āmīn.
The Mutual Relationship of the Quran and Ḥadīth — Qurʾān aur Ḥadīth kā bāhamī taʿalluq
Friends! The noble Quran has reached us in a mutawātir manner. To open one’s mouth against it is to deny اِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَاِنَّا لَهٗ لَحٰفِظُوْنَ innā naḥnu nazzalnā al-dhikra wa-innā lahu la-ḥāfiẓūn (al-Ḥijr 15:9). Such people are not worth paying attention to at all. No Muslim holds any doubt or suspicion about the noble Quran. Friends! Whoever says, "I do not accept ḥadīth," this is equivalent to [saying] "I do not accept مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ Muḥammadun rasūlu Allāh [Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allāh]". What argument can there be with such a person, and what attention can be paid to him? But remember! Ḥadīths are of three kinds:
(1) Mutawātir; (2) Mustafīḍ; (3) Āḥād.
(1) Ḥadīth mutawātir: that ḥadīth which so many people narrate that sound reason would not accept that they could all have agreed upon a lie. Therefore a mutawātir report yields certainty, and any narration contrary to it is munkar (rejected); it is unacceptable and is to be refused.
The mutawātir also has two kinds:
(a) That whose words are narrated without any addition or omission is called mutawātir bi-al-lafẓ (mutawātir in wording). For example: اِنَّمَا الْاَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ innamā al-aʿmālu bi-al-niyyāt, "actions are only by intentions", and مَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَيَّ مُتَعَمِّدًا فَلْيَتَبَوَّاْ مَقْعَدَهٗ مِنَ النَّارِ man kadhaba ʿalayya mutaʿammidan fa-l-yatabawwaʾ maqʿadahu mina al-nār, "whoever deliberately lies about me, let him take his seat in the Fire".
(b) Mutawātir bi-al-maʿnā (mutawātir in meaning): that ḥadīth in the wording of whose various narrations there is some omission or addition, but one and the same meaning emerges from all of them; it is called mutawātir bi-al-maʿnā. This too yields certainty. To deny these aḥādīth is to deny the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ .
(2) Mustafīḍ: that ḥadīth which is established by several narrations but does not reach the limit of tawātur. If such a ḥadīth does not yield certainty, it certainly produces ẓann-e-ghālib (preponderant probability).
(3) Khabar al-āḥād: that ḥadīth whose narrations have not reached the limit of the mustafīḍ; rather, one or two persons have narrated it.
All the disputes arise only over khabar al-āḥād. Thus someone said to Ḥaḍrat Imām-e-Aʿẓam (may Allāh have mercy on him) that in some ḥadīths it is [stated] that Ḥaḍrat Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) told three lies. The Imām said: "No. The narrator told a lie. A Prophet is maʿṣūm (protected from sin); he cannot tell a lie." That is, the dispute is with the narrator, not with the Prophet. But this too should be remembered: some khabar al-āḥād being proved wrong cannot make all aḥādīth unreliable. Such sensational novelties are let loose by those who have no need of prayer, fasting, ḥajj and zakāt.
A certain gentleman becomes furious on hearing aḥādīth called waḥy ghayr matlūw (unrecited revelation). Probably he denies even مَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوٰىٓ اِنْ هُوَ اِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُّوْحٰى mā yanṭiqu ʿani al-hawā, in huwa illā waḥyun yūḥā, "nor does he speak from [his own] desire; it is nothing but revelation revealed" (al-Najm 53:3–4). He has collected a few objections from the books of the opponents of Islam. He does take the name of the Ṣiḥāḥ Sitta (the six authentic collections of ḥadīth), but he does not take the trouble to look at their commentaries, for example Fatḥ al-Bārī, ʿUmdat al-Qārī, Qasṭallānī, Nawawī and Badhl al-Majhūd and so on; otherwise there would be no room in his heart for these insinuations. Before you, many people made great efforts against Islam and [tried to] make both the noble Quran and ḥadīth unreliable, but what happened? The truth remained the truth, and the false remained false. All the efforts were wasted, fruitless. They should know that the noble Quran is, beyond doubt, like the Indian Penal Code (Taʿzīrāt-e-Hind), and the noble ḥadīth is like the Code of Criminal Procedure (Ḍābiṭa-e-Faujdārī). How to act upon the Quran is learned from ḥadīth. We have just stated that those who do not accept ḥadīth know neither the method of prayer nor of ḥajj. It is only by virtue of ḥadīth that one learns to act upon the Quran. Remember: the one who passed the Indian Penal Code is the same one who passed the Code of Criminal Procedure.
مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ Muḥammadun rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam is the speaking Quran (Qurʾān-e-nāṭiq): كَانَ خُلُقُهُ الْقُرْاٰنَ kāna khuluquhu al-Qurʾān, "his character was the Quran". After proving the Code of Criminal Procedure wrong, how long does it take to prove the Indian Penal Code wrong? I am not saying that you should accept every ḍaʿīf (weak) and mawḍūʿ (fabricated) ḥadīth too. I have written before this that, because a few aḥādīth are wrong or fabricated, no objection can be made against ḥadīth as such. The critics of ḥadīth (may Allāh have mercy on them) have rendered great service to ḥadīth. This lamp will not be put out by your blowing: وَيَاْبَى اللّٰهُ اِلَّآ اَنْ يُّتِمَّ نُوْرَهٗ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكٰفِرُوْنَ wa-yaʾbā Allāhu illā an yutimma nūrahu wa-law kariha al-kāfirūn, "but Allāh refuses except to perfect His light, even though the disbelievers dislike it" (al-Tawba 9:32). I submit to the gentleman mentioned: why do you not climb one more step? The dispute would then be finished altogether: neither Quran would remain nor ḥadīth, and you would attain your heart’s desire.
Some deniers of the miracles of prophethood, captives of the dark house of materialism, put forward that ḥadīth [which relates] that because the pollination of the date-palms (taʾbīr-e-nakhl) was not done, fewer dates grew. I ask: you did not accept even the mutawātir aḥādīth; then how did you come to believe in this khabar al-āḥād? Has that ḥadīth also passed before your eyes, that a Companion (Ḥaḍrat Abū Rāfiʿ, may Allāh be pleased with him) cooked the meat of a goat? The Prophet ﷺ said: "Give [me] a foreleg." He gave it. Then he said: "Give [me] a foreleg." He gave it. Then he said: "Give [me] a foreleg." He submitted: "A goat has two forelegs, and I have given them." The Prophet ﷺ said: "Had you gone on giving, forelegs would have kept coming out." I submit: why did you not believe in this ḥadīth? As that one is a ḥadīth, so this too is a ḥadīth.
These gentlemen should know that the miracles of prophethood are true. The unawareness of the date cultivators did not allow the miracle to become manifest. Well! Some people say: in the span of thirteen hundred years the world has become something else. I say that Allāh honoured His Messenger ﷺ with jawāmiʿ al-kalim (comprehensive words, brief in expression and vast in meaning). To apply these jawāmiʿ al-kalim to the present age, a penetrating intellect is needed. It is my faith that the Quran and ḥadīth are so all-embracing that they are sufficient and complete for resolving the changes and difficulties of every age.
فَمَنْ شَآءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ وَّمَنْ شَآءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ ـ وَمَا عَلَيْنَآ اِلَّا الْبَلٰغُ
Fa-man shāʾa fa-l-yuʾmin wa-man shāʾa fa-l-yakfur. Wa-mā ʿalaynā illā al-balāgh — "So whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve" (al-Kahf 18:29). "And upon us is nothing but the conveying [of the message]" (Yā Sīn 36:17).
The Differences of the Imāms — Ikhtilāf-e-aʾimma
Allāh Most High says:
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَالَّذِيْنَ جَاهَدُوْا فِيْنَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا
Wa-alladhīna jāhadū fīnā la-nahdiyannahum subulanā — "And those who strive concerning Us (concerning Our commands and the understanding of them), We shall certainly give them guidance and direction to Our paths." (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69)
وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهٖ عِلْمٌ اِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ اُولٰٓئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُوْلًا
Wa-lā taqfu mā laysa laka bihi ʿilm, inna al-samʿa wa-al-baṣara wa-al-fuʾāda kullu ulāʾika kāna ʿanhu masʾūlā — "And do not ever follow that of which you have no knowledge; truly hearing, sight and the heart—each of these will be questioned about it." (Banī Isrāʾīl [al-Isrāʾ] 17:36)
فَسْئَلُوْٓا اَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ
Fa-sʾalū ahla al-dhikri in kuntum lā taʿlamūn — "So if you do not know, ask the people of remembrance (and knowledge)." (al-Naḥl 16:43)
فَاعْتَبِرُوْا يٰٓاُولِي الْاَبْصَارِ
Fa-ʿtabirū yā ulī al-abṣār — "O you who possess discerning hearts and seeing eyes, take heed!" (Go from the words to the meaning; reach from the figurative to the real; derive rulings from their sources; proceed from the concise to the detailed; derive the branch from the root; find the ruling of the particular from the universal.) (al-Ḥashr 59:2)
وَلَوْ رَدُّوْهُ اِلَى الرَّسُوْلِ وَاِلٰٓى اُولِي الْاَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِيْنَ يَسْتَنْبِطُوْنَهٗ مِنْهُمْ
Wa-law raddūhu ilā al-rasūli wa-ilā ulī al-amri minhum la-ʿalimahu alladhīna yastanbiṭūnahu minhum — "And if they had referred it to the Messenger and to those in authority among them, then those among them who are able to deduce the rulings (istinbāṭ-e-masāʾil) (who can make sound qiyās) would certainly have known it." (al-Nisāʾ 4:83)
اِنْ جَآءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَاٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوْا
In jāʾakum fāsiqun bi-nabaʾin fa-tabayyanū — "If some fāsiq (transgressor) brings you some news, then investigate it (do not believe what he says without investigation)." (al-Ḥujurāt 49:6)
عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ، قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "اَلَا سَئَلُوْا اِذَا لَمْ يَعْلَمُوْا فَاِنَّمَا شِفَاءُ الْعِيِّ السُّؤَالُ"
ʿAn Jābirin qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam: "a-lā saʾalū idhā lam yaʿlamū, fa-innamā shifāʾu al-ʿiyyi al-suʾāl" — It is narrated from Jābir (may Allāh be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "Why did they not ask, when they did not know? The cure for lack of knowledge is only asking." (Narrated by Abū Dāwūd and Ibn Mājah; Mishkāt, p. 55)
عَنْ اَبِيْ سَعِيْدِ الْخُدْرِيِّ قَالَ خَرَجَ رَجُلَانِ فِيْ سَفَرٍ فَحَضَرَتِ الصَّلٰوةُ وَلَيْسَ مَعَهُمَا مَاءٌ فَتَيَمَّمَا صَعِيْدًا طَيِّبًا فَصَلَّيَا ثُمَّ وَجَدَا الْمَاءَ فِي الْوَقْتِ فَاَعَادَ اَحَدُهُمَا الصَّلٰوةَ بِوُضُوْءٍ وَلَمْ يُعِدِ الْاٰخَرُ ثُمَّ اَتَيَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَذَكَرَا ذَالِكَ فَقَالَ لِلَّذِيْ لَمْ يُعِدْ "اَصَبْتَ السُّنَّةَ وَاَجْزَاَتْكَ صَلٰوتُكَ" وَقَالَ لِلَّذِيْ تَوَضَّاَ وَاَعَادَ "لَكَ الْاَجْرُ مَرَّتَيْنِ"
ʿAn Abī Saʿīd al-Khudriyyi qāla: kharaja rajulāni fī safarin fa-ḥaḍarati al-ṣalātu wa-laysa maʿahumā māʾun, fa-tayammamā ṣaʿīdan ṭayyiban fa-ṣallayā, thumma wajadā al-māʾa fī al-waqti, fa-aʿāda aḥaduhumā al-ṣalāta bi-wuḍūʾin wa-lam yuʿidi al-ākhar, thumma atayā rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam fa-dhakarā dhālika, fa-qāla li-lladhī lam yuʿid: "aṣabta al-sunnata wa-ajzaʾatka ṣalātuk", wa-qāla li-lladhī tawaḍḍaʾa wa-aʿād: "laka al-ajru marratayn" — It is narrated from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allāh be pleased with him) that two men set out on a journey; then the time of prayer came and they had no water with them. So they performed tayammum (dry ablution) with good clean earth and prayed. The time [of that prayer] still remained when they found water. One of them made wuḍūʾ and prayed again, and the other did not. Then they both came into the presence of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and related what had happened. To the one who had not prayed again he said: "You acted in accordance with the Sunna, and your prayer is sufficient for you"; and to the one who made wuḍūʾ and prayed again he said: "You have received the reward twice." (Narrated by Abū Dāwūd, al-Dārimī and al-Nasāʾī)
عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ اَنَّهٗ سَمِعَ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُوْلُ: اِذَا حَكَمَ الْحَاكِمُ فَاجْتَهَدَ ثُمَّ اَصَابَ فَلَهٗ اَجْرَانِ وَاِنْ حَكَمَ فَاجْتَهَدَ ثُمَّ اَخْطَاَ فَلَهٗ اَجْرٌ
ʿAn ʿAmri ibni al-ʿĀṣi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu annahu samiʿa rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam yaqūl: idhā ḥakama al-ḥākimu fa-jtahada thumma aṣāba fa-lahu ajrān, wa-in ḥakama fa-jtahada thumma akhṭaʾa fa-lahu ajr — It is narrated from ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allāh be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ say: "When a judge gives some ruling after ijtihād (independent juristic reasoning) and the utmost effort, if he has given a correct ruling, there are two rewards for him (one for the effort and the other for reaching the truth); and if, even after effort, he errs, there is one reward for him (that is, for the ijtihād and the effort)." (Narrated by al-Bukhārī; Tajrīd, vol. 2, p. 103)
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَنَا لَمَّا رَجَعَ مِنَ الْاَحْزَابِ "لَا يُصَلِّيَنَّ اَحَدٌ ۨ الْعَصْرَ اِلَّا فِيْ بَنِيْ قُرَيْظَةَ" ـ "فَاَدْرَكَ بَعْضَهُمُ الْعَصْرُ فِي الطَّرِيْقِ فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لَا نُصَلِّيْ حَتّٰى نَاْتِيَهَا وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَلْ نُصَلِّيْ لَمْ يُرِدْ مِنَّا ذَالِكَ فَذَكَرُوْا ذَالِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَمْ يُعَنِّفْ اَحَدًا مِّنْهُمْ
ʿAn ʿAbdi Allāhi ibni ʿUmara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā qāla: qāla al-Nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam lanā lammā rajaʿa mina al-Aḥzāb: "lā yuṣalliyanna aḥadun al-ʿaṣra illā fī Banī Qurayẓa." Fa-adraka baʿḍahumu al-ʿaṣru fī al-ṭarīq, fa-qāla baʿḍuhum: lā nuṣallī ḥattā naʾtiyahā, wa-qāla baʿḍuhum: bal nuṣallī, lam yurid minnā dhālika. Fa-dhakarū dhālika li-l-Nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam fa-lam yuʿannif aḥadan minhum — It is narrated from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allāh be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said to us, when he was returning from the Battle of the Confederates (al-Aḥzāb): "Let no one pray the ʿaṣr prayer before reaching Banū Qurayẓa." The time of ʿaṣr came upon some of the Companions while still on the way. Then some of them said: "We will not pray before reaching there," and some said: "We will pray, for this is not what the Prophet meant" (rather, the purpose was to arrive quickly). When this incident was submitted to the Prophet ﷺ , he did not rebuke (or blame) any of them. (Narrated by al-Bukhārī; Tajrīd, p. 223)
عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "لَا تَقَلَّبُوْا فِي الدِّيْنِ فَاِنَّ الدِّيْنَ لَا يُقَاسُ وَاَوَّلُ مَنْ قَاسَ اِبْلِيْسُ"
ʿAn ʿAliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam: "lā taqallabū [tentative reading — please confirm] fī al-dīn, fa-inna al-dīna lā yuqāsu, wa-awwalu man qāsa Iblīs" — It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "Do not indulge in fanciful analogising (qiyās-ārāʾī) in religion, for in religion baseless analogy does not hold; and the first to wield analogy was Iblīs." (Narrated by al-Daylamī from ʿAlī, may Allāh be pleased with him)
عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ـ "نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ الْفَقِيْهُ فِي الدِّيْنِ اِنِ احْتِيْجَ اِلَيْهِ نَفَعَ وَاِنِ اسْتُغْنِيَ عَنْهُ اَغْنٰى نَفْسَهٗ
ʿAn ʿAliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam: "niʿma al-rajulu al-faqīhu fī al-dīn, ini ḥtīja ilayhi nafaʿa, wa-ini stughniya ʿanhu aghnā nafsah" — It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "An excellent man is the faqīh fī al-dīn (that is, the person who has attained deep understanding and reflection in religious matters). If people come to him in need (that is, ask him), he will benefit them (explain the rulings to them); if people are indifferent to him, he will benefit himself" (that is, he will gain benefit by acting according to his knowledge). (Narrated by Razīn; Mishkāt, p. 36)
عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ـ "مَنْ يُّرِدِ اللّٰهُ بِهٖ خَيْرًا يُّفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّيْنِ وَاِنَّمَا اَنَا قَاسِمٌ وَّاللّٰهُ يُعْطِيْ"
ʿAn Muʿāwiyata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam: "man yuridi Allāhu bihi khayran yufaqqihhu fī al-dīn, wa-innamā ana qāsimun wa-Allāhu yuʿṭī" — It is narrated from Janāb Muʿāwiya (may Allāh be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "Whomever Allāh wishes good and well-being for, He makes him a faqīh of the religion (that is, He grants him the ability to reflect and ponder on religious matters); and I am only the one who distributes, and it is Allāh alone who gives." (Muttafaq ʿalayh [agreed upon by al-Bukhārī and Muslim])
Reflect on these verses and aḥādīth: what questions become known from them? And how, through a difference of temperament and taste, a difference arises in the deduction of rulings? And [how] a difference appears in accepting a ḥadīth that yields [only] probability (ḥadīth ẓannī)?
It is a fact that the learned and the ignorant are not equal. The learned man has a great rank. It is the task of the ignorant to ask the learned about whatever they do not know, to put their questions to them, to rely on them, and to act on their fatwās (legal opinions). Nothing is acceptable without investigation. The scholars must investigate and examine minutely, whether it be the verses of the Quran or the aḥādīth of the Messenger ﷺ .
If, in carrying out matters that are ambiguous (mubham) and concise (mujmal), some form [of compliance] is adopted, it is not wrong. A matter was left to discretion and discernment, and different people carried it out according to their own discretion and discernment; then all of them will be in the right. It is not that one is in the right and all the rest in falsehood. Let it be remembered that one will be in the right and all the rest in falsehood only when an opinion is based on facts, because a matter that corresponds to the facts is "true" (ṣādiq), and that which does not correspond to the facts is "false" (kādhib). When an ambiguous matter that depends on discretion and discernment has no fact or thing reported about it [to correspond to], where then is there room for "corresponding" and "not corresponding", "true" and "false"? Therefore all of them can be correct and right in their own respect.
The sources (mākhadh) of some analogies are the Quran and aḥādīth; those are correct and right. The source of some narrators is neither the Quran nor even a ḥadīth; that is not right. Sometimes certain imāms deduce some ruling from the Quran and ḥadīth. People of little understanding remain incapable of grasping it. They think that this is mere opinion and has no source, whereas the sight of those people is not so penetrating.
It is a natural thing that every person is better acquainted with the circumstances of his own teachers, his own family and the people of his own city, and places greater trust in them alone; he is neither acquainted with the detailed circumstances of others nor does he place trust in them.
This point too is worth considering: that one person gains certainty or strong presumption (ẓann) from the abundance of transmission (kathrat-e-riwāyat), while another regards as important the narrators’ being trustworthy (thiqa) and jurists (faqīh).
Imām Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allāh have mercy on him) regards the general (ʿāmm) and the unqualified (muṭlaq) [wording] of the Quran as certain (yaqīnī) with respect to its individual instances, and does not make either specification (taʿyīn) or qualification (taqyīd) of the Quran by a ḥadīth that is not mutawātir [mass-transmitted], because in his view the contradictory of a universal affirmative (mūjiba kulliyya) is a particular negative (sāliba juzʾiyya). Acting on the contradictory [of a ruling], against the general and unqualified [wording] of the Quran, they regard as [amounting to] denial of the Quran; [they do not] specify and qualify the Quran [by such reports], and they do not consider this a contravention of ḥadīth. Those who do not specify and qualify the Quran [in this way] are regarded [by others] as ahl al-raʾy (the people of opinion) and opponents of ḥadīth. وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ wa li-kullin wijhatun — "and each has a direction [to which he turns]" (al-Baqara 2:148).
Many of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ — for example Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (may Allāh be pleased with him) — would narrate if they had memorised the very words of the Prophet, and otherwise would not; that is, they did not consider narration by meaning (riwāyat bi’l-maʿnā) proper, while many other Companions considered narration by meaning permissible.
The Mālikīs, if a man of another city narrated [a report] against the general practice (taʿāmul-e-ʿāmm) of the people of Madīna, would think that he had, as it were, deemed all the Rightly-Guided Caliphs (khulafāʾ-e-rāshidīn) and the centre of prophethood — that is, Madīna and those who lived there — ignorant. Those of the other schools consider it possible that the people of Madīna remained unaware and the people of another city received the information.
Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar (may Allāh be pleased with him) and others would ask, for every ruling, for proof in accordance with the quorum of testimony (niṣāb-e-shahādat); that is, without the narration of two men, or of one man and two women, they did not consider any ruling established.
When some ruling of the Prophet was related before Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him) and the quorum of testimony was not complete, he would administer an oath and regard the oath as completing the testimony.
The common people would come to the early imāms and ask them what the ruling is in such-and-such a matter. They had so much trust in the imāms that they asked for neither Quran nor ḥadīth; whatever ruling the imām gave, they acted upon it. Some imāms would answer every question with "Allāh said" and "the Messenger said" (qāla’llāh wa qāla’l-rasūl): besides the relevant verses they would recite the text (matn) of the ḥadīth and not state its chain of transmission (sanad). Such aḥādīth are called "mursal". In the Ḥanafī school a mursal ḥadīth is acceptable as evidence even if its chain has not been stated, provided the narrator or the imām is one who is relied upon and trustworthy. The muḥaddithūn [ḥadīth scholars] do not accept mursal aḥādīth; yet in Bukhārī Sharīf there are maqṭūʿāt [reports given without their chain] in abundance. Imām al-Bukhārī writes a fragment of a ḥadīth in one place, but in some other place states the full ḥadīth with its chain. Imām al-Bukhārī (may Allāh have mercy on him) considers a meeting between teacher and pupil necessary, otherwise he does not accept the ḥadīth; Imām Muslim (may Allāh have mercy on him) considers it sufficient that both were contemporaries. Some authorities accept only the ṣaḥīḥ [sound] ḥadīth; if another ḥadīth is found in its support, they call it ṣaḥīḥ li-ghayrihi [sound by virtue of another].
Some regard even a ḍaʿīf [weak] ḥadīth as fit to be acted upon in recommended matters (mustaḥabbāt). In the same way the imāms have differing tastes (madhāq); each accepts ḥadīth according to his own taste. There is no imām who, without investigation and without conditions, is ready to act upon it merely on hearing the name of ḥadīth; rather, acting upon فَتَبَيَّنُوا fa-tabayyanū — "then verify" (al-Ḥujurāt 49:6), they accept ḥadīth in accordance with conditions. It does not follow from this that they act against ḥadīth. The fact is that between the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and us there are narrators of various kinds, and scrutiny of them is necessary. How could any Muslim turn away from the command of the Messenger ﷺ? To regard the imāms as opponents of ḥadīth is mere insolence of tongue.
The Ṣiḥāḥ Sitta [the Six Sound Collections] and other books of aḥādīth are published and widely available. Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī, Mālikī — all are before everyone. Scholars have written commentaries on these books of aḥādīth in their following. To level against them the accusation that, despite studying the aḥādīth, they cling stubbornly to their own imām’s school is grave suspicion. اِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ اِثْمٌ inna baʿḍa’l-ẓanni ithmun — "Indeed, some suspicion is sin" (al-Ḥujurāt 49:12).
Now consider this as well: is personal taqlīd (taqlīd-e-shakhṣī, adherence to a single imām) of these four imāms what is practised, or are these four madhāhib four schools of thought and schools in which questions continue to be investigated as the time requires? Because of the establishment of a sound ḥadīth, changes in custom (ʿurf) and the arising of new circumstances, there is disagreement with the imām. Look at the books of fiqh and uṣūl al-fiqh of every school: there is disagreement with the imām not only in the branches (furūʿ) but in the principles (uṣūl) as well. Nevertheless, within one school there is found a greater closeness and affinity among its members than with another school. For example, there is disagreement in principles between Imām Abū Ḥanīfa and his students Imām Abū Yūsuf, Imām Muḥammad, Imām Zufar and Imām Ḥasan ibn Ziyād as well. The scholars and verifying authorities (muḥaqqiqīn) give fatwā sometimes on the view of Imām [Abū] Yūsuf, sometimes on the view of Imām Muḥammad, and sometimes on the view of Imām Zufar. To regard [this] investigation as mere personal taqlīd, and to think of any imām that he does not accept sound aḥādīth, is to give proof of one’s own ignorance.
Consider this too: how many kinds of scholars are there who resolve the questions of the Sharīʿa, and what kind of knowledge does each kind of scholar need? Arabic literature is needed in any case; for Arabic, acquaintance with lexicon (lugha), idioms, syntax (naḥw), morphology (ṣarf), maʿānī and bayān [the sciences of rhetoric] is needed; [then] the Quran, and for it tafsīr and uṣūl al-tafsīr are required; ḥadīth, and for it uṣūl al-ḥadīth and the science of asmāʾ al-rijāl [the biographies of narrators] are indispensable; fiqh, and for it uṣūl al-fiqh; logic (manṭiq); there is no escape from understanding the questions of consensus (ijmāʿ) and the disagreement of the imāms; acquaintance with the new questions of the age, the secrets and objectives of the religion, custom (ʿurf), ʿumūm al-balwā [widespread hardship] — in short, only after knowing scores of matters can a single ruling of the Sharīʿa be determined.
Among the scholars some are mujtahidīn muṭlaq [absolute mujtahids]: they are independent holders of opinion; they have a particular taste of their own, a particular ijtihād [independent juristic reasoning] and a particular manner of reasoning (istidlāl).
Some are mujtahid fi’l-madhhab [mujtahids within a school]: their teacher has a great influence upon them; here and there they also hold disagreements in principles with the teacher, and in the branches they keep to their own ijtihād. The mujtahid fi’l-masʾala [mujtahid on particular questions]: if some new situation arises, they can give an answer to it. They reflect upon the aḥādīth; if some sound ḥadīth is established, they give fatwā upon it even against their own teachers, and they guide toward correct practice.
The aṣḥāb al-istinbāṭ [people of derivation] cannot themselves investigate directly from the Quran and aḥādīth, but they derive subsidiary rulings (tafrīʿāt) from the universal principles (kulliyyāt) of their school, and draw out the ruling for particular cases (juzʾiyyāt). The aṣḥāb al-tarjīḥ [people of preference], in whom the power of discernment is less, give preference to one view from among different views.
Some are called muftī: they draw out particular cases from the books of fiqh. These people are in fact transmitters (nāqil); their own effort amounts only to searching in the books and drawing out the answer to the question. In their view the door of investigation and derivation (istinbāṭ) has been closed, and they regard every new thing as impermissible and ḥarām. These are found among the Shāfiʿīs too, among the Mālikīs too, among the Ḥanbalīs too, and among the Ḥanafīs too.
In the time of the Companions (may Allāh be pleased with them) there was difference of opinion, but they did not regard one another as false or irreligious. The imāms, despite their mutual disagreements, used to pray behind one another.
Alas! What a time has come! Those who say āmīn aloud (āmīn bi’l-jahr) and those who raise the hands [in prayer] (rafʿ al-yadayn) have a separate mosque, and the Ḥanafī and the Shāfiʿī each a separate mosque. They refuse to pray behind one another; they take each other to court, and whatever decision non-Muslim rulers make, they accept it.
Once, in Baghdad Sharīf, this faqīr prayed the maghrib prayer in the Masjid-e-Ghawthiyya. Two congregations, of Ḥanafīs and of Ḥanbalīs, were praying at the same time, their rows side by side. On hearing the sound of Allāhu akbar a person becomes bewildered whether this is the voice of our imām or of the other imām. [King] ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Saʿūdī has appointed a Ḥanafī imām for one prayer, a Shāfiʿī for one prayer, a Ḥanbalī for one and a Mālikī for one, and the followers of all the schools have to pray behind that same imām.
It is a natural thing that the unknowing asks the wise, the ignorant asks the learned, and relies on what he says; and the command too is this: فَاسْئَلُوْٓا اَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ fa’s’alū ahla’l-dhikri in kuntum lā taʿlamūn — "Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know" (al-Naḥl 16:43; al-Anbiyāʾ 21:7). Look! "is’alū" [ask] is an imperative, which indicates obligation (wujūb). The Ḥaḍrat ﷺ says: اَلَا سَئَلُوْا اِذَا لَمْ يَعْلَمُوْا فَاِنَّمَا شِفَاءُ الْعَيِّ السُّؤَالُ alā sa’alū idhā lam yaʿlamū fa-innamā shifāʾu’l-ʿiyyi’l-suʾāl — "Why did they not ask, when they did not know? For the cure of helplessness [in ignorance] is only asking." The cure of the helpless and the uninformed is asking itself. See, throughout the whole world this is what happens: people rely on experts. So long as one does not have skill oneself, one follows (taqlīd) others. Difficulties arise and one finds oneself helpless, and then one has to follow [another] at once. Lack of knowledge, and on top of that self-will, is a cause of ruin. Look at arithmetic: it is an ordinary art, yet one remains for a time under the instruction of some teacher, and he keeps pointing out the mistakes in one’s answers, and only then is one granted to write the correct answer. Of the necessary sciences, and the sciences on which [this] depends, one has nothing at all — and yet freedom and the claim to personal opinion! This is not the work of a good man. They cannot read four lines of Arabic correctly, and they have become ahl-e-ḥadīth! Some deficient person said, "It has come in the ḥadīth like this," and they simply relied on it — no investigation, no scrutiny. After all, what is taqlīd the name of? Relying upon another is precisely taqlīd.
In any case, for a mujtahid it is necessary to be acquainted with literature, syntax, morphology, Quran, tafsīr, ḥadīth and fiqh; for ḥadīth, with asmāʾ al-rijāl, the sīra of the Prophet, history and uṣūl al-ḥadīth; for fiqh, with uṣūl al-fiqh, the idioms, habits and custom of the time, and the secrets and wisdoms of the religion. Someone has looked at one or two translated books of ḥadīth — not acquainted with the state of the narrators, not knowing the abrogating and the abrogated (nāsikh wa mansūkh), not acquainted with the other aḥādīth, not possessing any kind of power of reconciliation (taṭbīq) or derivation — and he begins to regard himself as a mujtahid! One has to answer to God. To act upon فَاسْئَلُوْٓا اَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ fa’s’alū ahla’l-dhikr ["ask the people of knowledge"] and sit with a cool heart is the cause of safety. Many misunderstandings are occurring at this point. Can there be no mujtahid now? That would be to limit the grace, generosity and mercy of Allāh Most High and the outpouring of knowledge (fayḍān-e-ʿilm). But because of distance from the age of prophethood, lack of zeal and scarcity of means, [the mujtahid] is rare. Just think, too, how many kinds and ranks of mujtahid there are.
First: the mujtahid muṭlaq, the founder of principles (ṣāḥib-e-uṣūl). His method of derivation and reasoning is distinct — such as Imām Abū Ḥanīfa Nuʿmān ibn Thābit (may Allāh have mercy on him).
Second: the mujtahid fi’l-madhhab. His principles of derivation are the same as those of his shaykh, but in [particular] questions he also differs from his shaykh. People commonly regard the students of the Imām as mujtahid fi’l-madhhab, but one acquainted with the science of uṣūl al-fiqh knows that the Ṣāḥibayn [the two companions] — that is, Imām Abū Yūsuf (may Allāh have mercy on him) and Imām Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan (may Allāh have mercy on him) — also hold disagreements in principles in particular, though this is little; in most principles they agree with the Imām.
Third: the mujtahid fi’l-masʾala. He is a master of investigation in some particular question, or, if some new event arises, he derives the ruling and gives the answer to that question. The existence of the mujtahid fi’l-masāʾil in every age is necessary; otherwise the work of the religion would come to a stop.
Fourth: the ṣāḥib-e-tarjīḥ. He gives preference to one from among the various views of the earlier mujtahids. Last of all comes the rank of the muftī: he cannot exercise ijtihād; turning the books over, he brings out the view of one [scholar] or another. Scholars are generally found to be of this kind.
Another misunderstanding too is widespread: [that] Ḥanafīs, Shāfiʿīs, Mālikīs and Ḥanbalīs practise personal taqlīd. This is entirely wrong. These are four families or schools; the taste for derivation of each family is distinct, and investigations go on from time to time. The students of the Imām, after investigation, opposed [him] even in principles, and in the branches there is disagreement in abundance. After investigation, scholars opposed the Imām and the Ṣāḥibayn and gave separate fatwās. All these investigations are gathered in one place and are called "fatāwā".
The state of the other three schools is the same. In them too there are mujtahids of every kind and their investigations; each has its own taste. The fear of Allāh is in them all; all strive to reach the truth. War and wrangling over disputed questions is not the work of the people of knowledge. لِكُلٍّ وِّجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيْهَا فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ li-kullin wijhatun huwa muwallīhā fa’stabiqu’l-khayrāt (translation: "For each there is a direction toward which he turns; so race toward good deeds") (al-Baqara 2:148). There remains now talfīq [combining schools], that is, taking one thing from one imām without investigation and another thing from another imām. Such a person’s act is false by the agreement of all the imāms, that is, its falsity is by the consensus of [those who] differ — because it accords with no one’s principles. His example is that of a person who takes one medicine of a doctor, one medicine of homoeopathy, one medicine of Greek medicine (ṭibb-e-yūnānī) and one medicine of Vaidik [Āyurveda], and swallows them mixed together. It is obvious that the compound of these medicines is correct neither with the doctor nor with the ṭabīb. Each has his own method of treatment, and this compound is against the principles of them all. This ignorant man is a slave of self-interest, a slave of his own desires; in reality he takes the name of the imāms only for the sake of a name.
Sufism — Taṣawwuf
Now consider what taṣawwuf [the inward discipline of Sufism] is. In which sciences are the Essence (dhāt) of God, His attributes (ṣifāt), and His connection with His servants set out? The mutakallim, that is, one who knows ʿilm al-kalām [dialectical theology], reflects on these things with sound reason. The Sufi too discusses these very things, but by spiritual power. The Essence of God Most High and [His] names and attributes are all eternal (qadīm). The people of reason and the people of unveiling (kashf) and illumination (ishrāq) all reflect upon them. The real thing remains eternal, but those who describe it fix terms; by these terms being new, the real thing does not become new. Every person makes terms according to his own manner and outlook. Concerning Allāh and His attributes, all the prophets say almost the same thing — just as whoever sees the Chār Mīnār says the same thing, because it has stood exactly as it is for hundreds of years. Let a Hindu see it, a Parsi see it, an Englishman see it: whoever sees it, the account of all of them stays alike. But the power of sight of all is not of one degree; each understands according to his own capacity. Ask the mutakallim and he says: God is One and His attributes are eternal. The Sufi too says that God and His attributes are eternal. Take one verse by way of example: "هُوَ الْاَوَّلُ وَالْاٰخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ" huwa’l-awwalu wa’l-ākhiru wa’l-ẓāhiru wa’l-bāṭin — "He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden" (al-Ḥadīd 57:3). The mutakallim said concerning Allāh Most High: He was before all; His existence is by His own essence (bi’l-dhāt); all besides Him are originated (ḥādith); He is eternal with respect to His Essence; He is First, and Manifest with respect to His attributes; He is Last, and He is Hidden with respect to His Essence, and Manifest with respect to His effects (āthār). The Sufi says that by huwa [He] is meant "the One Essence" (dhāt-e-wāḥid); First and Last, Manifest and Hidden — these are all degrees of His existence. The Sufi calls this "absolute oneness" (waḥdat-e-muṭlaqa), and he calls the "Essence" without regard to the attributes "aḥadiyyat" [exclusive unity], and with regard to the attributes "wāḥidiyyat" [inclusive unity].
With the Sufi the essential attributes are seven: Life (ḥayāt), Knowledge (ʿilm), Hearing (samāʿat), Sight (baṣārat), Power (qudrat), Will (irāda), Speech (kalām). The mutakallim is unable to know the connection between God and the servant; the Sufi says: in reality the Essence of God is by itself (bi’l-dhāt), so all these are things by accident (bi’l-ʿaraḍ), and they are not other than Him; nothing by accident can exist without that which is by itself. He says plainly:
All these forms are Yours; You are the one of many guises — / In every colour You remain, yet are apart from all. (Ḥasrat Ṣiddīqī)
Does not this very meaning come out of the verse هُوَ الْاَوَّلُ وَالْاٰخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ huwa’l-awwalu wa’l-ākhiru wa’l-ẓāhiru wa’l-bāṭin? The Sufi remembers Allāh night and day, and he comes to the experience and the perception that there is no one existing by himself (mawjūd bi’l-dhāt) other than God. After all, what else is taṣawwuf?
The learning of other nations was indeed translated in the time of "Hādī [and] Mahdī" and "Hārūn Rashīd". Was the Quran too written in that same time? Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā bi’llāh [there is no might and no power except through Allāh]!
In any case, from the beginning of time the Sufi and the mutakallim have been understanding God and His attributes from the Quran, but —
Each person’s thought is according to the measure of his aspiration.
Have the Muslims taken taṣawwuf from the Greeks, or from the Hindus, or from the Parsis? This is all wrong. God Most High is eternal, and those who understand Him too have always existed. What comes of people speaking without investigation?
We have just stated that all the prophets knew the Essence and attributes of God, and the Muslims too have always known [them]. Is taṣawwuf anything other than knowing the Essence and attributes of God Most High? Not at all. At present I have only given a few indications. I have several treatises on taṣawwuf, and, in shāʾ Allāh, as long as I live I shall keep writing on it in detail. Let it be remembered that the name of Allāh, with all its particular features, has not been translated into any language; then what sense is there in taking taṣawwuf from others? This is the religion of the Seal of the Prophets (Khātam al-Nabiyyīn). This is the gift of "اَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِيْ" atmamtu ʿalaykum niʿmatī — "I have completed My favour upon you" (al-Māʾida 5:3). There is no one who knows God more than the Muslims. Some worship idols, some worship light and brightness; some hold to act and passivity (fiʿl wa infiʿāl), to Father and Son and Holy Spirit, to matter and form, to jīv and khalū [tentative reading — please confirm]. Tawḥīd [the affirmation of Divine Oneness] is the portion of the Muslims alone.
Whoever needs further investigations, let him see the following books of mine:
(1) Mirʾāt al-Ḥaqāʾiq (2) Ḥikmat-e-Islāmiyya (3) Sharḥ wa Tarjuma-e-Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam (4) Makātīb-e-ʿIrfān.
The Vocabulary of the Quran — Lughāt-e-Qurʾānī
Concerning the vocabulary (lughāt) of the Quran Sharīf, too, there is disagreement among other authorities:
Friends! At the time of translating, I reflect on what the meaning of each word is: what its meanings are in origin with respect to its root (mādda), and what meanings are generally taken. I take several meanings of each single word — with respect to derivation (ishtiqāq) and with respect to common understanding. Sometimes a single Urdu word cannot convey the meaning of an Arabic word; for this reason I write several words, so that from their combination the meaning of the Quran may be understood. I also try [to show] which words are in use in Urdu close to that Arabic word, so that readers of the Quran may know that we are already acquainted with the word of the same meaning. In translating I take, from the idioms of the Arabic language, such meanings as are free from the objection of the opponents of Islam and from which no weakness or evil attaches to Islam. For example, "تَبَّتْ يَدَآ اَبِيْ لَهَبٍ" tabbat yadā abī lahab: people give its meaning as, "May the hands of Abū Lahab break, and may he die." The Arabs say: "مَالِيْ يَدَانِ فِيْ هٰذَا الْاَمْرِ" mā lī yadāni fī hādha’l-amr [I have no two hands in this matter], that is, I have neither the power to attack nor to defend. In Urdu they say, "I am without hand and foot (be-dast-o-pā)," that is, without means: both my hands — my two powers, that is, of attack and of defence — are useless. Therefore I gave the meaning of "تَبَّتْ يَدَآ اَبِيْ لَهَبٍ وَّتَبَّ" tabbat yadā abī lahabin wa tabb (al-Masad 111:1) as: "All the efforts Abū Lahab made against Islam all failed; Abū Lahab’s powers of attack and defence became useless, and in the end he himself too was ruined." حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ ḥammālata’l-ḥaṭab (al-Masad 111:4) means a stirrer-up of mischief, one who throws firewood into the burning fire; and the meaning of فِيْ جِيْدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّنْ مَّسَدٍ fī jīdihā ḥablun min masad (al-Masad 111:5) is that her mischief became the necklace of her own neck.
Throughout the translation I have kept in view that meanings should be adopted in accordance with the idiom of the Arabs. In this translation and tafsīr the faqīr has tried as far as possible to answer the objections of the opponents of Islam. This is the work of ʿilm al-kalām. The times have changed; the objectors of the earlier age no longer remain; the opponents of this age make quite different objections, and the answers to them too should be worthy of them. Where there are such objections as are neither necessary [to answer] nor whose objectors still remain, I by no means make an explanation of them. The outward enemies are on one side; the inward enemies have raised their heads a great deal. I have given answers to them in Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī, especially in the tafsīr of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa. I have thoroughly refuted the inward opponents. Once the inward opponents prepared a petition (maḥḍar) and presented it before Grigson Ṣāḥib [tentative reading — please confirm] (who was the Ṣadr al-Mahām [minister] for Police and General Affairs of the Government of Hyderabad). The said gentleman asked, "Has he written some pamphlet?" They answered, "No." [He asked,] "Then where is this writing of which you are complaining?" It was said that it is in Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī. Grigson Ṣāḥib said: "If he does not state his own views and his own school in [his] tafsīr, then where will he state them? Why do these people read his tafsīr at all?" Then he said that such pointless petitions should by no means be presented before him. And Allāh saved me from the evil of the opponents.
In this tafsīr I have resolved many important questions, for example jizya: I regard it as a payment for protection; I regard polygamy (taʿaddud-e-azwāj) as based on necessity; and slaves [I regard] as prisoners of war. All these discussions are worth seeing. Here and there I have set out these questions with as much investigation as I could.
Friends! I have one thought, which is that time is revolving. Upon the Muslims there is sometimes the Meccan condition and sometimes the Medinan; as the condition, so the command. In this age we are in the Meccan condition; at this time the command "فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُّمُوْهُمْ" fa’qtulu’l-mushrikīna ḥaythu wajadtumūhum — "then slay the polytheists wherever you find them" (al-Tawba 9:5) cannot be given; rather the command وَلَا تُلْقُوْا بِاَيْدِيْكُمْ اِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ wa lā tulqū bi-aydīkum ila’l-tahluka — "and do not cast yourselves with your own hands into destruction" (al-Baqara 2:195) should be given.
The Occasion of Revelation — Shān-e-Nuzūl
In Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī the faqīr has stated the occasions of revelation (asbāb-e-nuzūl) in very few places. I regard the Quran Sharīf as "mubīn" [clear]; understanding it does not depend upon stories and tales. The Quran Sharīf is not a book of history. No event is related [in it for its own sake]; rather its purpose is admonition, counsel, and restraining from evil things. The work of the Quran Sharīf is enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong (amr bi’l-maʿrūf wa nahy ʿani’l-munkar). People turn a tafsīr into many volumes with stories from here and there.
The Connection of the Verses — Rabṭ-e-Āyāt
My great effort is the connection of the verses (rabṭ-e-āyāt): linking one rukūʿ [section] with another rukūʿ, and joining the narratives with the narratives. In reality they are not stories at all; they are events that yield a lesson. For this reason, because of the connection of the verses, in some places something is omitted (ḥadhf) and something is understood (muqaddar). With respect to the Arabic language, it is necessary to bring out the connection between them. Such omission is one of the requisites of the Qurʾānic style. Just as the Arabs used to omit [words], so it has been done in the Quran too. The relish of this omission and supplying (ḥadhf wa taqdīr) is found only by one who
is acquainted with the Arabs’ manner of expression and style. Where [something] has been omitted, if the omitted [word] were stated, that sentence would become altogether clumsy, and its elegance and beauty would not remain.
The Narratives of the Quran — Qiṣaṣ-e-Qurʾān
In the Quran Sharīf the narratives of Ādam (upon him be peace) and Shayṭān, and of Mūsā (upon him be peace) and Firʿawn, have been related again and again. The reason for this is that by the narrative of Ādam (upon him be peace) the manifestation of superiority in knowledge is intended, and also that a human being, however great he may be, can slip. Shayṭān’s arrogance — regarding others as contemptible because of his own imagined superiority, and then not even accepting God’s command, and thinking that God too makes mistakes and, while the higher is present, gives rule and honour to the lower — since this is what keeps happening in the world from morning to evening, God Most High therefore gives human beings a lesson through the narrative of Ādam (upon him be peace).
A great deal of lesson can be taken from the narrative of Mūsā (upon him be peace). That the mother of Mūsā (upon him be peace) was a recipient of inspiration (ṣāḥib-e-ilhām) gives women courage that they too, if they strive and remember God, can become recipients of inspiration. How great was the certainty and trust in Allāh of the mother of Mūsā (upon him be peace), that she placed her only son in a chest and set it floating in the river! That chest reached the house of Firʿawn; Firʿawn’s wife took the child out. Those who rely on God — God does not let their children be lost. In the house of a rebellious king like Firʿawn, his wife Āsiya turned out so righteous and good! In the narrative of Mūsā (upon him be peace) there is counsel and lesson at every step. For this reason Allāh Most High has related his narrative too in several places.
The Benefit of the Repetition of Verses — Takrār-e-Āyāt kā Fāʾida
In some places one and the same verse has been repeated several times. Its delight is found by those who have a sound taste for Arabic. For example, take only this one verse of Sūrat al-Raḥmān: "فَبِاَيِّ اٰلَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ" fa-bi-ayyi ālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibān — "Then which of the favours of your Lord will you two deny?" (al-Raḥmān 55:13). An ignorant man set about making a summary of the Quran and removed the repeated verses and the narratives. What was the result? Neither the style of the Quran remained nor its beauty. The state of the Quran is such that if one puts a synonym in place of a word, it is not right. In the wording of the Quran every single word is set in its place as a gem is set in a ring; one cannot put another gem in the place of one gem. Where there are verb and subject, they cannot be made into subject and predicate (mubtadaʾ and khabar). To relate one and the same narrative in several places and to produce a new delight in each place — this is the work of the most eloquent and articulate of the highest degree.
The Oaths of the Quran — Qurʾānī Qasmeṅ
In the Quran Sharīf there are oaths here and there. There is no oath in the Quran from which some particular benefit is not gained. Some commentators, in the tafsīr of "وَالتِّيْنِ وَالزَّيْتُوْنِ وَطُوْرِ سِيْنِيْنَ وَهٰذَا الْبَلَدِ الْاَمِيْنِ" wa’l-tīni wa’l-zaytūni wa ṭūri sīnīna wa hādha’l-baladi’l-amīn — "By the fig and the olive, and by Mount Sinai, and by this secure city" (al-Tīn 95:1–3), began to set out the properties and benefits of the fig,
began to set out the properties of the olive, and began to praise Mount Ṭūr. Is this a book of medicine, that the properties and benefits of medicines should be set out [in it]? The garden of figs (Bāgh-e-Tīn) is in Damascus; the Mount of Olives (Jabal-e-Zaytūn) is in Bayt al-Maqdis; Mount Ṭūr is the name of the place of divine self-disclosure (tajallī-gāh) for Mūsā (upon him be peace). The fact is that wāw and bāʾ [the particles of oath] have the meaning of "and" and "with". Allāh Most High is presenting testimony. What is an oath? It is testimony. An Urdu poet says:
"God is witness, God is witness" — why do you say this upon your promises?
People say, "Allāh is witness." This too is an oath. In the same way God Most High presents in testimony that land where the garden of figs is, where the graves of Hābīl and Qābīl are, where the noble tomb of Yaḥyā (upon him be peace) is — and in a later age the grave of Yazīd too is there. Around the Mount of Olives are the blessed tombs of Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace), Isḥāq (upon him be peace), Sulaymān (upon him be peace) and Yaʿqūb (upon him be peace), all of them. Ṭūr Sīnīn too is the place of the self-disclosures (tajalliyāt) of Allāh for a prophet (Mūsā, upon him be peace). In Makka Sharīf these places are connected with Ādam (upon him be peace), Ismāʿīl (upon him be peace) and the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. The upshot is that these places, and those living in them who have a connection with the prophets, will bear witness to this: "لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْاِنْسَانَ فِيْٓ اَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيْمٍ ثُمَّ رَدَدْنٰهُ اَسْفَلَ سٰفِلِيْنَ اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا" laqad khalaqna’l-insāna fī aḥsani taqwīm, thumma radadnāhu asfala sāfilīn, illa’lladhīna āmanū (al-Tīn 95:4–6). In short, these places and those living in them who have gained knowledge from the prophets will bear witness to this, that "We created the human being good, and created him in the best manner; but by doing evil deeds he reached the ‘lowest of the low’ (asfal al-sāfilīn) — yet from this only those people are excepted who have faith and do righteous deeds." I have shown the reason for all the oaths and their connection with the main discourse.
The Special Features of the Tafsīr — Khuṣūṣiyyāt-e-Tafsīr
The special features of this tafsīr are as follows:
(1) The rules of tajwīd [correct recitation], in brief, with special signs, are shown alongside the verses, by means of which the principles of tajwīd can be observed at the time of recitation.
(2) This tafsīr is written in extremely easy-to-understand, fluent Urdu, and in it particular care has been taken that [readers] may understand the Quran from the Arabic itself; for this reason the separate meanings of each word are stated. In the translation care is taken [to show] from what root this word is in origin derived. For example, the meaning of اِتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ ittaqu’llāh is: save yourselves from the wrath of God — because "اِتَّقُوْا" ittaqū is from وَقٰى يَقِيْ، وِقَايَةً waqā, yaqī, wiqāyatan, whose meaning is "to save". Further, if some word from this root is in use in Urdu, that too is stated; for instance, for the meaning of "اِتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ" ittaqu’llāh, "fear God" and taqwā and parhezgārī [God-fearing abstinence] are also written. Further, if several words from this root are in use in Urdu, those too are stated: for instance, together with اِتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ ittaqu’llāh, وَقٰى يَقِيْ وِقَايَةً waqā yaqī wiqāyatan and muttaqī are also written.
(3) In this tafsīr, here and there, besides the literal (ḥaqīqī) meaning, the derived (iʿtibārī) and figurative (majāzī) meanings are also stated. Let it be clear that when the attribution of some matter is made to its real [agent], it is called isnād-e-ḥaqīqī [literal attribution], and attributing it to something connected with a thing is called isnād-e-majāzī [figurative attribution]; for figurative attribution an indicator (qarīna) is needed. For example, جَرَى الْمِيْزَابُ jara’l-mīzāb, that is, "the spout flowed": attributing the flowing to the water is literal attribution, and attributing it to the spout is figurative attribution. So in وَاِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّيْنِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ بِاِذْنِيْ فَتَنْفُخُ فِيْهَا فَتَكُوْنُ طَيْرًا بِاِذْنِيْ wa idh takhluqu mina’l-ṭīni ka-hayʾati’l-ṭayri bi-idhnī fa-tanfukhu fīhā fa-takūnu ṭayran bi-idhnī — "and when you fashioned from clay the likeness of a bird, by My leave, and breathed into it, and it became a bird by My leave" (al-Māʾida 5:110), the attribution of تَخْلُقُ takhluqu [you create] to Ḥaḍrat ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) is figurative, and the attribution to God Most High is literal attribution; and the indicator is the word بِاِذْنِيْ bi-idhnī [by My leave], as well as Jenāb ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) being a muwaḥḥid [one who affirms Divine Oneness]. Jibrīl (upon him be peace) said to Ḥaḍrat Maryam (upon her be peace): لِاَهَبَ لَكِ غُلٰمًا زَكِيًّا li-ahaba laki ghulāman zakiyyā — "that I may give you a pure son" (Maryam 19:19). The attribution of giving a son to Jibrīl (upon him be peace) is a figurative attribution, because, besides being an angel and a muwaḥḥid, he is one commanded by Allāh (maʾmūr min Allāh), and [it is Allāh who] grants the son. In any case, where there is an indicator turning [the expression] away from the literal meaning, that will be a figurative attribution. The whole matter of unbelief and Islam [printed: ism; see notes] turns on understanding this very question; therefore it has been stated here and there, and its explanation has also been given.
(4) In this tafsīr, wherever there is mushākala [rhetorical correspondence of wording], that too has been shown. For example, in وَمَكَرُوْا وَمَكَرَ اللّٰهُ وَاللّٰهُ خَيْرُ الْمٰكِرِيْنَ wa makarū wa makara’llāh, wa’llāhu khayru’l-mākirīn (Āl ʿImrān 3:54) there is mushākala. The meaning is that they plotted, and Allāh gives the punishment of their plotting, and Allāh is the best of those who give the punishment of plotting. In the same way, the meaning of "اِنَّهُمْ يَكِيْدُوْنَ كَيْدًا وَّاَكِيْدُ كَيْدًا" innahum yakīdūna kaydan wa akīdu kaydā (al-Ṭāriq 86:15–16) is that they plot, and We give the punishment of their plotting; in this too there is mushākala and a figurative meaning.
(5) In this tafsīr, if at any place a student has some difficulty in understanding grammatical (naḥwī) questions, that too has been resolved.
(6) In Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī it has been proved that all the books of taṣawwuf and the schools of the imāms are all taken from the Quran, and that the imāms did not take a single step against the Quran. The sayings of the imāms are the detailed exposition of the Quran’s concise [statements], and the source of them all is the Quran alone. The imāms neither brought out any question from their own hearts nor took anything from the followers of another religion. Not only the imāms — the point of reference of every Muslim is the Quran. Our purpose in this is that people should understand that whatever we have received, we have received from the Quran alone. The Quran alone is a certain and definitive (qaṭʿī) thing.
(7) In this tafsīr answers have been given, as far as possible, to all the objections of the opponents of Islam. For example, the meanings of jizya have been shown to be "the due for protection" (ḥaqq-e-ḥifāẓat) and "war fund".
(8) In Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī, instead of refuting [other] religions, an investigation of the essential questions has been made, by which the objections of other religions have no effect whatsoever on the reader’s heart — because it is possible that a wrong objection becomes lodged in the heart and will not come out though one tries a hundred thousand times.
(9) One special feature of this tafsīr is also that the objections of various objectors are set out in such a manner that no one’s personal name is disclosed, and the question is investigated.
(10) In this tafsīr the questions of taṣawwuf and of the science of ethics (ʿilm-e-akhlāq) have been set out in the easiest manner. Further, an attempt has been made that all questions should become known within [the treatment of] the Quran; for instance, interest (sūd), dār al-ḥarb [the abode of war], capitalism, socialism, slavery and so on have also been investigated.
(11) In this tafsīr great endeavour has been made in one matter: that whatever connection one verse has with another verse should be stated. The omitted and understood [words] (maḥdhūfāt wa muqaddarāt) have also been made explicit. Further, this point has been particularly kept in view: that understanding the Quran does not depend on anything other than the Quran, because it is itself mubīn [clear].
(12) Another special feature of this tafsīr is "the question of the inimitability of the Quran" (masʾala-e-iʿjāz-e-Qurʾān), which has been set out in great detail, and it has been shown that the Quran is not only inimitable in eloquence (balāgha) but is inimitable in every respect. If a man of any art studies the Quran, the Quran itself will appear as a miracle in his art.
(13) In Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī it has been proved in particular that no verse of the Quran is abrogated (mansūkh); further, the question of abrogation (naskh) has also been investigated. Such meanings of the verse are given that the mind does not even move toward abrogation. The whole Quran is in this same order, just as it was revealed to Ḥuḍūr, the Noble Prophet ﷺ.
(14) Wherever in the Quran God Most High has sworn an oath, it has been shown in this tafsīr that it is in reality testimony, and in every place an attempt has been made to state what the ground of the testimony is.
(15) A rare excellence of this tafsīr is that here and there, by applying the Qurʾānic commands to present-day conditions, their form has been shown to the Muslims in the mirror of science and civilisation, so that it may become clear to them how, in the present era, the Muslims have moved away, and are moving away, from the Qurʾānic commands.
(16) In short, the manner of expression of this tafsīr is extremely easy and pleasing, and its explanation is very much impressed upon the mind. From it one not only comes to know the Arabic language but also becomes acquainted with Urdu literature; the objectives and principles of the Qurʾānic questions come to be understood; Islam and its reality become manifest. And since the manner of expression is attractive, the reader’s heart does not grow weary; rather a kind of liveliness and discovery arises from it.
"Musk is that which gives out its own scent, not that which the perfumer praises."
In closing, I hope for acceptance from Allāh Most High, and I pray that Allāh Most High may make this tafsīr dear to every heart, and that people — indeed I myself too — may gain benefit from it.
اَللّٰهُمَّ اَرِنِيْ حَقَائِقَ الْاَشْيَآءِ كَمَا هِيَ ۔ تَوَفَّنِيْ مُسْلِمًا وَّ الْحِقْنِيْ بِالصّٰلِحِيْنَ ۔ اَللّٰهُمَّ اَرِنِيْ الْحَقَّ حَقًّا وَّ ارْزُقْنِيْ اتِّبَاعَهٗ وَاَرِنِي الْبَاطِلَ بَاطِلًا وَّ ارْزُقْنِيْ اجْتِنَابَهٗ ۔
Allāhumma arinī ḥaqāʾiqa’l-ashyāʾi kamā hiya. Tawaffanī musliman wa alḥiqnī bi’l-ṣāliḥīn. Allāhumma ariniya’l-ḥaqqa ḥaqqan wa’rzuqnī’ttibāʿahu, wa ariniya’l-bāṭila bāṭilan wa’rzuqnī’jtinābah — "O Allāh, show me the realities of things as they are. Take me [in death] as a Muslim and join me with the righteous. O Allāh, show me the truth as truth and grant me to follow it, and show me falsehood as falsehood and grant me to avoid it."
اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلِ الْقُرْاٰنَ رَبِيْعَ قَلْبِيْ وَجِلَآءَ حُزْنِيْ وَغَمِّيْ ۔ اَللّٰهُمَّ ارْزُقْنِيْ حِفْظَ الْقُرْاٰنِ وَفَهْمَهٗ وَالْعَمَلَ بِهٖ وَالتَّعْلِيْمَ لِلنَّاسِ اِلٰهَ الْحَقِّ اٰمِيْنَ ۔
Allāhumma’jʿali’l-Qurʾāna rabīʿa qalbī wa jalāʾa ḥuznī wa ghammī. Allāhumma’rzuqnī ḥifẓa’l-Qurʾāni wa fahmahu wa’l-ʿamala bihi wa’l-taʿlīma li’l-nās, ilāha’l-ḥaqq. Āmīn — "O Allāh, make the Quran the spring of my heart and the removal of my sorrow and my grief. O Allāh, grant me the memorising of the Quran, its understanding, acting upon it and teaching it to people, O God of truth. Āmīn."
Khādim-e-Qurʾān [Servant of the Quran]
Faqīr Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qadīr Ṣiddīqī Qādirī