|
|
|
August 10, 2003
Review: The paradox in man
BEFORE writing anything about Shah Wali Allah’s book, Hajjat Allah al-Baligha, or rather its translation, The Conclusive Argument from God, it would be most appropriate to know a little about the author’s life, his family background and how he got interested in writing about Islamic sciences.
Shah Wali Allah was a savant of 18th century Islam in India. His father, Shah Abd al-Rahim, was an extremely learned man and a practising mystic of the Naqshbandiyya, the Chistiyya and Qadiriyya orders. His mother also possessed exceptional religious devotion and mystical insight.
In addition to religious subjects, Shah Wali’s studies included Astronomy, Mathematics, Arabic, Persian, and medical science (tibb) from which many theories and concepts influence his work.
In April 1731, he went for Haj and stayed for about 14 months in Makkah and Madina. During his stay in the holy cities, Shah Wali Allah had many mystical experiences, dreams and visions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in which his queries were answered and he was instructed to carry out a mission of teaching. He ardently began his writing career after returning from Haj.
Though Shah Wali Allah of Delhi has written many books, it is Hajjat Allah al-Baligha which is considered to be his magnum opus. The book, which was originally written in Arabic, is still studied by many contemporary Islamic thinkers.
In his preface Shah Wali cites the Quranic verse, “Indeed the conclusive argument is from God,” (Quran 6: 149), from which the title of this work is derived. The first volume lays out the theoretical functions for the interpretation and application of the corpus of prophetic sayings, the Hadith, against the background of human purposefulness.
The tome lays out the moral, metaphysical, psychological, and sociological basis of his system. A central dimension of Shah Wali Allah’s moral and psychological framework is the idea that human beings are both composed of a higher and lower side, which he terms the angelic and animalistic components. Each individual also exhibits an intrinsic nature depending on the relative strength of each component and the way in which the two combine.
Each of the components, the angelic and the animalistic, have various mixtures as a result of which infinite divisions arise.
The four types are as follows:(a) A high angelic with a strong animalistic (b) A high angelic with a weak animalistic (c) A lower angelic with a strong animalistic (d) A lower angelic with a weak animalistic.
Writing about the condition of the people in the Jahaliyya period, Shah Wali said, “They continued to forbid marriage within the forbidden degrees such as those with daughters, mothers, sisters, and others; they had deterrents against crimes such as retaliatory punishment, blood money, and oaths, and they had punitive measures against adultery and theft. From the Khusraus and Caesars there entered among them the branches of knowledge of the third and fourth stages of the supports of civilization, but along with them entered excesses and the oppressions of taking prisoners and plundering, the spread of fornication, improper marriages, and usury. The people had abandoned the prayer and the recitation of the name of God, and discarded them, so the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, was sent among them when their condition had reached this point.”
The book is beautifully and lucidly translated by Marcia Hermansen who has undertaken painstaking research to provide several explanatory footnotes. The bibliography testifies to the arduous work put in by the translator.
It is a pity therefore that the book should abound in grammatical and proof reading errors. Some mistakes are difficult to understand. Thus on page 366, Quss ibn Saida and Zaid ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufail are described in the footnote as pre-Islamic poet who used to pray, and the Archbishop of Najran, respectively. Then on page 367, Quss ibn Saida al-Iyadi is referred to as the Archbishop of Najran, with no explanation being given for this discrepancy.
These errors could have been avoided with careful proof-reading. Hopefully, all these will be taken care of in the next edition of the book.
The book is invaluable, especially for theology students and anybody interested in Islamic studies.
The Conclusive Argument from God
By Shah Wali Allah
Translated by Marcia K. Hermansen
Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, P.O. Box 1035, Islamabad
Email: smaiqbal@apollo.net.pk
ISBN 969-408-233-1
506pp. Rs550
|
|
|
|
