Ma'rifah

Friday, February 10, 2012

I am now running three blogging sites devoted to information on Islam. You are reading Ma'rifah, which is devoted to knowledge and spirituality. The other two are Barahin which will be a collection of proofs for various aspects of Islam, and Difa'a which is a collection of debates and arguments in defense of Islam from popular attacks.

What hold do djinnat have over mankind?

This is a follow up post to this one,

http://maarifah0.blogspot.com/2012/02/adam-iblis-and-evolution.html

The above should be read first. One can also browse some of the quotes on various articles on djinn that come up when using Google, such as Wikipedia's article (though these are subject to change).

I've heard scholars limit what can be physically attributed to them and say they can merely make suggestions, even visual suggestions, in the form of dreamlike thoughts (or hallucinations). That when they physically appear to us, it's due to their inserting of a hallucination in our mind and not their actual physical appearance. Allah knows best. Most Muslims are predisposed to the simple understanding that they can do either or.

I have also heard it likened to the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation where a machine uses magnetic fields to induce weak electric currents which can alter the function of parts of the brain. The effects of this machine are known and documented.

How do the djinn do it? Pretty much the same way though without the need to use magnetic fields, they're beings of energy who can directly manipulate. The manifestation of this is, again, usually through thermal conduction, especially in the bloodstream. The Ma'ariful Qur'an commentary says,

He said, "Then give me respite until a day when all will be resurrected." He (Allah) said, "Respite is given to you." He said, "Then as You have made me go astray, I swear that I will sit for them (in ambush) on Your straight path. Then I will come upon them from in front of them and from behind them and from their right and from their left. And you will not find most of them grateful."(7:15-17)

What made Iblis speak the way he did before Allah?

The place where Iblis dared to speak was in the Most August conceivable Presence of the Master of all Honour where the awe and majesty of the occasion would not allow even angels and prophets and messengers to breathe. How did he do that? 'Ulama say that this was a sombre and highly cutting manifestation of the Divine wrath that, because of the rejection of Iblis, his view was so obstructed that he became blind to the grandeur and awe of Allah Ta'ala and irreverence came down to settle on him all over. (Abridged from Bayan al-Qur'an)

The Assault of Shaytan is Multi-Dimensional, not simply Four-Sided

In the present verse (17), Iblis is said to have identified four sides from which he planned to mislead the children of 'Adam, that is, the front, the rear and the right and the left. But, the purpose here is not to set up any limits. Instead, the sense is that this will be from all sides and directions. Therefore, the probability of his leading people astray from above and beneath the feet does not contradict it. Similarly, the saying of the Hadith that - Shaytan can enter the human body and move through the arteries and veins of blood and take command of the whole body - is also not contradictory to this.

The hadith in question says that Shaytan circulates in the human mind as blood circulates in it.

Other common manifestations of djinn "interference" (usually not the modus operandi of Shaytan though who is concerned with making people do evil, not disable them) include seizures which are defined as transient symptoms of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain" (Wikipedia). In other words, disruption across a large portion of the brain of its neuronal activity.

What defense do humans have from djinn? Allah Himself it seems though we do not know if this is by means of some hidden mechanisms or His direct action. The former is not unreasonable considering the creation of Allah is usually ordered in some logical manner. All we can do is invoke Allah (the best way of which would be reciting the Qur'an and referring to scholars with experience in the matter who can advise on how best to mount this defense).

Determined djinn, according to Islamic tradition, can be very dangerous and hard to stop. They can simply circumvent a person's recitations or depictions of Qur'anic verses because they can approach, as mentioned, in a multidimensional manner. A person might put up a prayer or verses of the Qur'an on a door to "ward off" djinns, and it works most of the time. But if one becomes inordinately determined (not common, not in their nature to care so much) it can simply come straight through the cracks or under the door or over it or around the sides even while physically manifesting itself in some way. This is, however, extremely rare (in regards to numerous paranoid superstitions where people believe the slightest medical problem is being caused by djinn).

More often the djinn, especially the Shayateen, see the world as a one big non-stop party. Whatever activities humans are engaging in for pleasure, a djinn would want to "ride along" to feel the thrill. Sexual intercourse is an important example of such a situation. Allah has guarded the sexual relations of a husband and wife who invoke Him (not during the act obviously when in an impure state but before beginning). As for the rest of the people, djinns can seamlessly jump in and out usually without leaving a trace albeit likely affecting the mind in some subtle manner. In a divinely sanctioned union (marriage) between two people there is a synchronization of spiritual meaning behind the act and the biological mechanism (neurotransmitter and hormone release) which manifests as psychological/emotional connectedness. This process can become upset or skewed in any number of ways.

Adam, Iblis, and Evolution

If one reads all the mention of Adam and Iblis in the Qur'an (and through the extensive commentary of the Ma'ariful Qur'an), one can gain some insight into the nature of the dispute which landed us in this mess (though it's Allah's intention to have us earn our way into Heaven so the story doesn't matter in a practical sense for a Muslim who might not care how we got here because we're here and were meant to be here, it possesses some insight of paramount importance to our stay here).

First let's go into the slightly tumultuous start of the relationship between mankind and angels.

The verses quote Allah as saying He is going to make a man out of, essentially, mud (clay, water, a mess that can make sounds... it's translated as "sound making clay"). Physical form.

Allah says,

"I am going to create a deputy on the earth!" (2:30)

The angels said,

"Will You create there one who will spread disorder on the earth and cause bloodsheds while we, along with your praises, proclaim Your purity and sanctify Your name?"

One thing to note, the angels mention that not just praise was due to God (which many people do acknowledge), but also the fact He has no partners. Allah responded,

"Certainly, I know what you do not know."

Then the Qur'an goes on to say,

And He taught Adam the names, all of them; then presented them before the angels, and said, 'Tell me their names, if you are right." They said, 'To You belongs all purity! We have no knowledge except what You have given us. Surely, You alone are the all-knowing, all-wise!' He said, "0 Adam, tell them the names of all these!' When he told them their names, Allah said, "Did I not tell you' that I know the secrets of the skies and of the earth, and that I know what you disclose and what you have been concealing.

The commentary on this,

In replying to them, Allah first adopted the mode of authority, and told the angels that they knew nothing about the nature and the needs of deputation on the earth, and that Allah alone was the one to know it fully. The second answer was in the mode of wisdom - Adam had been given preference over the angels on account of his superiority in the station of knowledge, because in order to function properly as a deputy on the earth one must know the names, the properties and the characteristics of the things to be found there, and the angels had no aptitude for this kind of knowledge.

[...]

Then, Allah demonstrated the truth to them in a vivid form. He gave to Adam a kind of knowledge for which he alone had been endowed with the proper aptitude, and not the angels. That is to say, He taught him the names, the properties and qualities of all the existents, animate or inanimate. Angelic nature is not capable of such awareness - for example, an angel cannot really experience the pain of hunger and thirst, the tumult of passions, the torment from the bite of a scorpion or a snake, or the exhilaration from an intoxicant. Only Adam had the capacity to learn such things, and he was taught to know them. Then, there is no indication in the Holy Qur'an to show that he was taught in privacy, apart from the angels. It may well be that the teaching in itself was open to the angels as well as to him; his nature allowed him to receive it, and he learnt the lesson, while, they were impeded by their own proper nature, and could not. Or, it may be that the teaching did not take an external form at all, but that the Adamic nature was made to carry this particular kind of knowledge within itself without the need of a formal education, just as an infant does not have to be taught how to suck the mother's milk, or a duckling how to swim. As to the question why Allah, being omnipotent, did not change the nature of the angels and make them learn these things, we shall say that the question, in fact, boils down to this: Why did not Allah change the angels into men? For, if their nature had been altered, they would no longer have remained angels, but become men.

[...]

Since they failed to name the things which Adam could, they came to see that purity and innocence is not the criterion in choosing a deputy or viceregent but the knowledge of the things which are to be found on the earth, of the ways of using them, and of the consequences which would follow from such a use.

Even, from a human perspective since the angels didn't seem to get it, it's kind of obvious that a creature made in the way Adam was, from the earth itself, was going to be suited for that environment.

Before I continue, let me paste the footnote (added by Mufti Taqi to the commentary written by Mufti Shafi),

Some Modernists have zealously taken to the habit of interpreting these verses as implying that man as a viceregent of Allah is required to make a 'progress' in 'Science' - that is, in the empirical study of physical phenomena; a so-called 'Muslim' translator of the Holy Qur'an has even had the temerity to translate the name 'Adam' by the English word 'Man', thus denying the existence and prophethood of Adam. In order to dispel such grave errors and distortions of word and meaning, let us point out that the 'names' which Allah taught to Adam do not refer merely to the chemical or biological or psychological properties of things and men, but to their essential qualities and aptitudes - we are using the word 'essential' in the technical and metaphysical sense of the word in which it was originally used in the West too.

In other words, yes, empirical (physical) knowledge is important but not more important than metaphysical (religion). The former is, in fact, a branch of the latter. That's the way science arose in the Muslim world.

We've established that angels, beings of divine or heavenly light who are "slave-willed" to Allah (and thus quite possibly the most "powerful" things Allah has created, even one could probably destroy the Earth if they were ordered) are distinct from the nature of man who's a bag of flesh and blood, an outgrowth of mud (this process is described in detail in the hadith).

Next we come to Iblis, who he was, what his nature was, what he did, and why he did what he did.

Iblis was a djinn. What is a djinn?

And We created man from a sound-giving clay made of decayed mud. And "the Ja(a)nn" (the first Jinn) We had created earlier from the fire of the hot wind. (15:27)

Djinn are created, it's related, from the smokeless and invisible tip of fire. This very obviously is referring to the convection currents you see when during a hot summer day there is shimmering above the pavement. The shimmering is from the light refracting as it passes through an altered medium, a mass of air which is not uniform in heat, and the shimmering takes the appearance of the patterns of heat dispersed in the air.

Just as our consciousness subsists in the firing of electrons, a mixture of chemical and electrical energy, within the closed system or mass of our brain, the djinn subsist on what we believe to be heat energy of an open system (not within a closed physical system). Thus their consciousness is disembodied and "floats" around, traveling on turbulent patterns of convection currents.

We don't know what their tolerance is to what temperatures but it's assumed that any amount of energy at all would do as a medium since it's assumed they (or at least some) can travel through the cold reaches of space. So it's not actually heat per say that distinguishes them from us, since energy can be converted from mechanical to chemical to heat, but the fact that "heat energy" is a more pure form of "unrestrained" energy. It's the simple movement of energy from "one body, region, set of components, or thermodynamic system to another in any way other than as work." (Wikipedia)

Whereas we must perform work (and toil, exerting great effort) to engage in manipulation of energy (i.e, transfer), the djinn's will is more directly connected to its mode of self expression which becomes comparatively effortless.

We do not know how limited the djinn is because in theory if a consciousness can subsist in that fashion it could also theoretically subsist in all manner of energy transfer, including electromagnetic or even gravitational energy. It's likely the djinn are limited to overt thermodynamic forms, however.

This is a concept that has been explored in science fiction. One hard science-fiction author, Stephen Baxter, wrote of such creatures in his works.

If you want to gain some idea of what it could possibly be like to be such a thing, here is the story of one of Baxter's characters:

http://maarifah0.blogspot.com/2005/02/story-of-paul-from-stephen-baxters.html

In the above story, the character is a human whose consciousness has been converted into this other form. He retains the "personality" and outlook of a human, no matter how much the author tries to deduce what the motivations of such a lifeform would be. The character reflects the obsession with naturalism and materialism of the modern scientific age (being a sci-fi work after all). His humanity in this new form is what makes it an interesting story.

Now imagine something which was never human to begin with. The djinn do not care about the physical world to the same degree, they do not care about the science behind ideas of work, power, energy. They are too busy engaged in experiencing the world to study it. What we spend so much time studying through hints and shadows they directly experience and aren't impressed by. In fact, they rather find us fascinating. They cluster around the presumably fascinating patterns of energy embodied in living physical creatures, longing for vicarious experience of our simpler physical senses. The perception of a djinn, though vaster in scope, cannot be as acute as our nervous system where everything is the nervous system (and not anything else) and entire sections of this closed network are activated in a synchronous symphony of sensation.

We're trapped in our subjective worlds, cut off from the objective reality (the Unseen and to an extent, the physical world too). We can retreat into our powerful imaginations where in each person's head is an assembled simulation of a world corresponding to their experiences filtered through their physical senses. This is sometimes likened to the experience of being a "god" (lowercase g) in that all we experience is the sheer seeming power of our will to create and destroy a world of thoughts. The activity in our brain is so frenetic we often cannot even control it. A djinn would be absolutely fascinated by this, our brain, one of the most complex organizations of energy contained in physical matter in which resides a consciousness. On the other hand, our experiences are deadened in our imaginations. A djinn's experience in the real world must be something like this thus they are lusting for richer experiences. A djinn in the real world is like an adult human in his imagination while awake (it's not that great). It certainly doesn't compare to real physical experience from our nervous systems. Would you rather eat an imaginary apple or a real one? So we are quite tailored to the nature of this universe and this world in particular.

And this is not unique to Islamic culture. This is the general story of how "ghosts" or "spirits" or "demons" behave, it's almost universal in human culture. Everyone describes these creatures doing the same thing, "possessing" people to experience what they experience or even attempt to exert some form of control. The human body can become like a vessel for them, they merely need to move their disembodied consciousness into an embodied form (our minds). It's a druglike euphoric experience for them according to popular belief (not just Islamic).

Iblis, however, is not so easily impressed. Iblis was, ironically, a magnificent personality among the djinn. He was, as the Ma'riful Qur'an describes to 2:34,

Iblis had attained such a high degree in science and knowledge that he was called Ta'us al-Mala'ikah: "The Peacock Among the Angels."

Iblis behaved a little more like we did, appreciative of the physical world, but he also was among the ranks of the angels. Whereas a typical "petty" djinn would be concerned with random plants and animals on a life harboring world, Iblis probably took great enjoyment in appreciating his nature. If a human were in that form, as the above story showed, they would forget the acute physical experiences (which are old hat for us) and just enjoy the sheer freedom and seeming power of being able to go anywhere and do anything.

To quote a character from the science fiction series Battlestar Galactica, a robot (a product of human science and thus obsessed with our idea of science, being even more intricately connected to the physical world) trapped in a human body who wanted something more (and hated humans),

I don't want to be human. I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear x-rays and I want to- I want to smell dark matter. I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws... and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. ... I'm a machine... and I can know much more.

In other words, make up for the lack of acuteness of physical perception with sheer grandeur of experience which can only be appreciated by having considerable knowledge. As the Ma'ariful Qur'an said, Iblis was an expert of knowledge, of 'ilm, what can be translated as both knowledge or science.

So that was Iblis. Who thought he was Allah's seeming "favorite", who was asked to bow before an infant consciousness encased in a bag of flesh and bones and given knowledge by Allah which he had not been privy to. He had just been upstaged by man (specifically Adam (as), more specifically Muhammad (saw) who is the most beloved of mankind to Allah and mankind is more beloved to Allah than the other creation).

It was jealousy and also pride. The jealousy is obvious, we'll focus on the pride. Iblis was able to appreciate the nature of his creation as a djinn so much so that he felt it was the best form. In so doing he lost sight of what was important to Allah, which is reflected in the Divine Names or Attributes, which could be properly reflected in any mode of being if the free willed entity so chose. And mankind chose it. The djinn, unlike man, were of a mischievous disposition, prone to chaos and evil. There are good believers among them but the majority are of this former fitra (disposition). This was also tied in to the nature of their being. It's easy to become drunk on power and forget that God alone is the true agency of power when your will is so directly connected to your means of self expression. Humans, walled off from the outside world by our subjective interpretation of limited physical experience, are more predisposed to appreciating their own utter lack of agency (and indeed the skepticism of causal agency is rife in all cultures now, both Islamic and Western).

Who would be more likely to say "wa la hawla wa la quwwata illah billah" (there is no power/change/initiative/capability except through Allah)... djinnat or insaan (man)? Man (the believers) is constantly uttering this.

Iblis, through his considerable knowledge, rose above all this and took his place in Heaven among the angels.

The faith of Iblis compared to the faith of a common man is like the example of a rationalist philosopher who believes in God because of the rational need for a necessarily existent self sustaining "cause" or more aptly put, "Creator". The faith of such a man is based in his firm and unshakeable conviction in this logical piece of knowledge (he knows it as surely as he knows 1 plus 1 equals 2). The common man, however, is the one who doesn't understand much of the world but utters "wa la hawla wa la quwwata illah billah" anyway because of his own personal experiences in his immediate environment during the course of his life (one might say due to this natural inclination to accept his own inadequate capability and powerless will).

And truth be told there has been no lack of knowledgeable philosophers who believed in God in the above manner but then were led astray by their intoxication with their own brilliance. They believed their iman is superior to the common man in the second example because he lacks understanding. And while this may actually be the case, it is not necessarily so, as God is the judge.

God doesn't want you to explain to Him how His own creation works. He knows. He created it. He wants your voluntary worship. He wants you to reflect the Divine Names/Attributes. He wants you to love Him and fear Him (worship), not try to lecture the already omniscient deity. Knowledge and understanding are then great in this context only, as amplifiers allowing us to reflect His glory to a larger degree.

So, Iblis refused to prostrate to Adam. He became arrogant in his high rank and station. He succumbed to his kind's nature. This is not to mean that no djinn can overcome their nature, plenty do and will be rewarded for it, just as the case is with man (and even most of humanity will choose evil over good).

All the angels obeyed but Satan refused. In his haughtiness he claimed that he was made of fire while Adam was made of clay, and fire being superior to clay, he could not be expected to prostrate to the latter.

And thus Iblis became Shaytan. It should be noted that according to the commentaries, "Shaytan", is not his actual name. It's a title of sorts or more like the genus or species (the philosophical terms, not biological). And Iblis is of those (the highest one). They're distinct from mankind and djinnat though their ranks are filled from djinns (predominantly) and men. It is a genus one joins or becomes.

The rest of the story is well known. Let's focus on the mode of Shaytan's deception of Adam and Eve.

It's general belief from the orthodox tradition that Adam was created in Heaven via a process akin to abiogenesis. He was created destined to be Allah's vice-regent on this earth, therefore he was created from the actual material of this earth (elements gathered from around the planet). Adam is not believed to have been born to anyone by the overwhelming majority of Muslim interpretation (i.e, the story is not a metaphor). It's believed Adam and Eve likely knew they were in Paradise temporarily (their purpose was the earth) or were warned of possible banishment by Allah (as stated in the Qur'an). So they had some trepidation of having to leave Paradise.

Then the Satan instigated him. He said, "0 'Adam, shall I guide you to the tree of eternity and to an empire that does not decay?" (20:120)

Then Satan whispered to them, so that he may uncover to them what was covered of their shame; and said, 'Your Lord has not prohibited this tree for you, but to avoid your becoming angels or your becoming eternal." And he swore on oaths, "I am one of your wellwishers." So he cast them down by deception. So, when they tasted (the fruit of) the tree, their shame became apparent to them, and they began to patch together upon themselves some leaves of Paradise, and their Lord called them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree, and did I not tell you that the Satan is an open enemy for you?" (7:20-22)

According to general Abrahamic tradition the tree is sometimes identified as the Tree of Knowledge or sometimes two trees are postulated, the one of knowledge and one of life (that Shaytan refers to). More probably Shaytan referred to the Tree of Knowledge as one which would grant eternal life in Paradise instead to trick Adam.

Adam and Eve, in their preoccupation with the possibilities, ate from that tree.

And since all this has been about knowledge, what knowledge was intentionally imparted to them by Shaytan via the mechanism of this forbidden fruit? "What was covered of their shame". In other words, they were snapped out of their "newborn" innocence (their "Paradise mode") and prematurely reverted to their "Earth mode" whereby they became cognizant of their animal nature (as mammals). It would be like suddenly going through puberty in a moment while being naked next to a member of the opposite sex who was also naked. Their instincts automatically kicked in and they scrambled to cover themselves.

Shaytan wanted to shame them, to humiliate them, to make them taste the (according to him) inferiority of their pathetic physical animal (mammalian) existence. To put them in their place and remind them of what they are, no more than what he would consider lowly animals. Now Shaytan knows the true nature and potential of humanity but he is jealous that it was given to a flesh and blood vessel and not to himself, so he knew they were superior to himself but wanted to bring them down out of spite and malevolence.

We don't know the exact mode of communication between Shaytan and the two humans. It could have been speech outright if he took the form of something (popularly depicted in Western tradition as a snake). Or he can whisper to them in a manner not unlike that depicted in the aforementioned science fiction novel and the character Paul.

This raises the issue of what power djinnat hold over us. I'll cover this in a different post.

The point thus far is to elaborate a bit upon Shaytan's motivations and view of humans. This leads to the controversial views of evolution among theists.

Where did evolution come in you ask? First, let's be clear about the view of evolution among Muslims.

The overwhelming majority of Muslims have firm conviction in the theory of evolution as expounded upon by Darwin and his successors albeit with some philosophical differences (regarding our occasionalist theology versus the idea of naturalism).

The overwhelming majority of Muslims do NOT accept the theory of the evolutionary origin of man because they accept the account of Adam and Eve in the Qur'an. Sure, when Adam/Eve were set down on Earth in their proper niche (time and place), they were subject to the laws of nature like everything else, such as evolution.

Now, it's been put forth by some (mostly Christians) that Darwin's theory of evolution (or rather, the theory of the evolutionary origin of man from predecessor species) is inspired by Satan himself. Sounds a little extreme, doesn't it? Easy to dismiss and I don't fault anyone for doing so.

However, one needs to simply think about it. What would make Shaytan the happiest? Tarnishing mankind and lowering their ranks. When mankind starts attributing themselves to mere animal descendants of previous generations of animals, everything Shaytan "believes in" (out of hate and spite) is vindicated. This is what he has been saying all along (not literally, as he witnessed their creation in Heaven, but in the manner that mankind is no better than inferior animals compared to himself) and now the humans are saying it themselves. He takes enjoyment in the idea that he rose to the highest ranks of creation (at the time) with his free will, knowledge and initially his love for God... while his "usurper", man, is rolling around in the mud with animals even denying his own status as vice-regent of the Creator in this world.

This current level, where a significant portion of mankind has shed any metaphysical aspirations and classifies themselves as animals, is the most Shaytan has ever had to be happy about thus far since the incident in Paradise with Adam.

Do I believe Satan somehow inspired Darwin or other evolutionary biologists? I don't. But I think this view of humanity's origins is one which makes him (in fact all of the Shayateen, whether from djinnat or man) very happy because we are inadvertently shaming ourselves worse than ever before.

"You have been created for a great purpose"
(Said by Azazil (Iblis) to Adam while the latter was being created)

Iblis' name before he disbelieved was Azazil. Let me conclude with this to shed some light on what Iblis thought of Adam before he was ordered to prostrate to him,

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: "Allah created Adam from dust after He mixed the clay and left him for some time until it became sticky mud, after which Allah shaped him. After that Allah left him till it became like potter's clay. Iblis used to go past him saying 'You have been created for a great purpose.' After that Allah breathed His spirit into him. The first thing into which the spirit passed was his eye and then his nose. He sneezed. Allah said: "May your Lord have mercy upon you, O Adam! Go to those angels and see what they would say.' So Adam went and greeted them. they replied saying: "Peace be upon you and the mercy and blessings of Allah." Allah said: "O Adam! This is your greeting and that of your offspring." (Sahih al Bukhari).

Iblis would pass by (and through) the figure of Adam so closely as to buffet it and the clay would make a sound like potter's clay. It's reported by Ahmad in his Musnad that while doing this he noticed the body had cavities in it and deduced the nature of this being (that it would survive on physical sustenance, food and water) and figured out it must be important. Still, the presence of Adam's form left he and the angels who passed by in trepidation.

Adam was created from the soil of the earth (gathered from all over the planet) and the water of Paradise and it is related that he had a swarthy complexion. Biologists of our day have postulated that clay was important as a substrate for the primordial soup (or methane/sulpher bubbles, or whichever theory you prefer) from which life first began on earth.

A number of hypotheses of modes of formation have been put forward. Early cell membranes could have formed spontaneously from proteinoids, protein-like molecules that are produced when amino acid solutions are heated–when present at the correct concentration in aqueous solution, these form microspheres which are observed to behave similarly to membrane-enclosed compartments. Other possibilities include systems of chemical reactions taking place within clay substrates or on the surface of pyrite rocks. (Wikipedia)

James Ferris's studies have shown that clay minerals of montmorillonite will catalyze the formation of RNA in aqueous solution, by joining activated mono RNA nucleotides to join together to form longer chains.[91] Although these chains have random sequences, the possibility that one sequence began to non-randomly increase its frequency by increasing the speed of its catalysis is possible to "kick start" biochemical evolution. (Wikipedia)

Clay hypothesis

A model for the origin of life based on clay was forwarded by A. Graham Cairns-Smith of the University of Glasgow in 1985 and explored as a plausible illustration by several scientists. Clay hypothesis postulates that complex organic molecules arose gradually on a pre-existing, non-organic replication platform—silicate crystals in solution. Complexity in companion molecules developed as a function of selection pressures on types of clay crystal is then exapted to serve the replication of organic molecules independently of their silicate "launch stage".

Their current problem with this hypothesis is figuring out how information stayed coherent because in experiments "mutations" in information overcome the amount of information preserved from generation to generation.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Levels of Jurists and How Fatawa are Made

Category: SOUND

Levels of Hanafi fuqaha and scholars.

1. Mujtahidin fil Shar'a – These are those who don't follow any other mujtahids and are the source of methods and principles to be followed by others.

These include the likes of Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik ibn Ans, Imam Muhammad bin Idris Shaf'i, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal [may Allah have mercy on them], etc.

2. Mujtahidin fil madhab – These are those who have the capability of deriving ruling (ijtihad) from the sources of Shari’a and even though they disagree with mujtahideen fil shara on certain matters but in principle (usool) they are in conformity with them.

These include the likes of Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad bin Hassan al-Shaybani [may Allah have mercy on them].

3. Mujtahidin fil Masail – These are those who derive ruling (ijtihad) in those issues (masail) regarding which there is no report from mujtahideen of the school.

These are the likes of Imam Kashaf, Imam Tawahi, Shams al-Ai’ma Abul Hassan Karkhi, Shams al-Ai’ma Halawai, Shams al-Ai’ma Sarakhsi, Imam Bazdawi, Imam Qadi Khan [may Allah have mercy on them], etc.

4. Ashab Takhrij – This group does not have authority for ijtihad. They just clarify what are not clear in their school books based on other texts of their imams .They very rarely draw some rulings from the nas, when there is none.

Example of this level would be Imam Bazzazi, Imam Abu Bakr al- Jassas and Abu Abd Allah al-Jurjani [may Allah have mercy on them].

5. Ashab Tarjih - This group distinguishes between different narrations within the madhab and decide on those opinions which are better and more accurate than the others among the opinions and reports made in their school.

Example of these would be Imam Marghinani [author of Hidaya], Imam Abul Hassan Ahmad Qudoori, Muhaqqiq mutlaq Imam bin Humam [may Allah have mercy on them], etc.

6. Ashab Tamyiz - This level of muqallid scholars are able to distinguish between strong and weak opinions within the school as well as Zahir al-Riwayah and Nawadir.

They include the likes of Imam Abul Fadl Abdullah bin Mahmud [author of Mukhtar], Taaj al-Sharia Mahmud Mahbubi al-Bukhari [author of Wiqaya], Imam Muzaffaruddin Ahmad bin Ali [author of Majma al-Bahrain], Imam Abul Barakaat al-Nasafi [author of Kanz], as well as Imam ibn Nujaym al-Hanafi [may Allah have mercy on them all].

7. Simply Muqallids - These are those who simply memorized the majority of the hukms and problems and their solutions in their schools of thought.

Many faqihs after 800 A.H. are in this group such as Allamah Ibn `Abidin [may Allah have mercy on him].

Taken from Majuma al-Fatawa of 'Allamah Abd al-Hayy Lakhnawi and Usul al-Fiqh of Dr. Yusuf Ziya Kavakci.

Some include Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad bin Hassan al-Shaybani among level 1 in the above. They just agreed with Imam Abu Hanifah.

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Shafi'i Classification:

Imam al-Nawawi, Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Ibn Hajar al-Makki [may Allah have mercy on them] and other Shafi`i scholars classified the faqihs in the following manner:

1. Mujtahid al-Mutlaq:

a. Mustaqil: He is a mujtahid in Shari`a.The leaders of the four madhabs belong to this classisfication and are experts in their fields.

b. Muntasib: He is free in the madhab. He follows the methodology of his School, but is free in al-furu' ( detailed issues of fiqh).

They include the likes of Imam al-Qaffalal-Saghir, Imam al- Haramain, Imam Ghazzali, Imam Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi, Imam Abu Ali al-Marwazi [may Allah have mercy on them].

2. Mujtahid al-Muqayyad:

a. Mujtahid in madhhab: They make ijtihad only in their madhabs.

b. Mujtahid fi 'l-Fatwa: This group of mujtahids are those who give fatwa by preferring one of the opinions expressed in their madhab. Shafites do not come down to accept the other levels of scholars as faqihs.

Excerpts from Usul al-Fiqh of Dr. Yusuf Ziya Kavakci.

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Al-Ifta' (Fatwa)

A concept which may also be related to ijtihad is al-Ifta' (to give Fatwa). Fatwa is the Shar`i answer to a question related with an Islamic issue. The plural is Fatawa, the person asking the question is mustafti, and the one who gives Fatwa is mufti.

Mufti must, in reality, be a faqih at the level of ijtihad. So according to the Usul al-Fiqh, real muftis are mujtahids and naming muftis the persons who are not at the level of mujtahids is nothing, but allegorical way (majazi). Muftis, if they are not at the level of mujtahids, are just naqils (narrators/reporter).

Fatwas are given by:

1. Ijtihad.
2. Takhrij.
3. Reporting the view of mujtahids.

Each school of thought has its own way of dealing with the ifta institute with some requirements.

Hanafis have three types of sources:

1. Zahir al-Riwayah: Ijtihads and opinions of Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad [may Allah have mercy on them]. This group is the strongest of its kind.

2. Nawadir: These are not as authentic as Zahir al-Riwayah.

3. Nawazil (al-Waqi`at, al-Fatawa): These are the opinions of imams other than Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad.

Mufti in each case must mention the mujtahids name he is referring to and the name of the book he is basing his fatwa on. Of course, there are some rules and regulations to be followed by muftis when he is to select one opinion from several opinions available on the subject in his madhhab.The enormous amount of literature already available in this area will help the mufti in his Fatwa.

[Excerpts from Usul al-Fiqh of Dr. Yusuf Ziya Kavakci].

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The steps a mufti must follow in finalizing their fatwa:

1. First, he must find unanimously accepted opinions of Faqihs.

2. Second, he must follow the opinion of Abu Hanifa [may Allah have mercyon him] if there is a conflict of ideas among the Ahnaf with the following exceptions:

a. Imam Abu Yusuf's [may Allah have mercy on him] opinions are to be preferred in Judicial Procedures and witnesses;

b. Imam Muhammad bin Hassan al-Shaybani's [may Allah have mercy on him] views are to be based on Zawi 'l-Arham group in Islamic Inharitance Law;

c. Abu Yusuf and Muhammad must be followed in traditionally changeable rules;

d. If there is any ijma` on these two imams, that must be followed;

e. If one of the opnions have been favoured by later faqihs, that opinion must be depended on;

f. Any rule based on istihsan technique is preferred to qiyas.

g. Any hukm of in which dalil and illah is mentioned is preferable to one which has none.

h. Zahir al-Riwayah comes first, then Nawadir.

3. Third, he will give fatwa based on Imam Abu Yusuf, then on Imam Muhammad if no Riwayah is available from Abu Hanifa. In case, there is none reported from these three imams, fatwa must be based on Imam Zufar, Hasan b. Ziad [may Allah have mercy on them], etc.

4. Then comes Imam Tahawi, Abu Hafs al-Kabir, Abu Ja`far and Abu 'l-Lays [may Alla have mercy on them], etc.

This is the prescribed way which must be followed by general levels of muftis and qadis in general.

[Excerpts from Usul al-Fiqh of Dr. Yusuf Ziya Kavakci].

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There was a thread on SunniForum discussing the complaints with a particular work of the scholar Ibn Abidin (ra) and the over reliance on it by Hanafi 'ulema, and someone suggested the "simple" task of making a new commentary on it, elaborating on each ruling. Here was Mufti Husain's (Ameer of SunniForum) reply:

While the solution might sound simple, it is far from it.

Nobody knows all the masa'il therein that are contrary to the mufta bihi [relied upon position of the madhab] and finding them all would be a mammoth task.

It would first require collecting all the sources used by Ibn Abidin, in addition to hundreds of Hanafi works which he didn't have acccess to.
This would take months, even if carried out by a group of specialists in manuscripts and would costs tens of thousand of dollars.
One folio ( 2 manuscript pages) from Turkey costs between $1-$4, so just one manuscript of 1000 pages would put you back a few thousand dollars!

Then a big group of specialists in Fiqh would be require to take every ruling in the Hashiyah and check up this ruling in all those hundreds or thousands of works.
It could take weeks just to check up one mas'alah!
Imagine the cost of such a project, as salaries would have to be paid to all these specialists, in addition to other costs.

Thereafter, it would have to be seen whether Ibn Abdin
- had quoted correctly from the various works
- had mentioned the various views on the issue correctly
- had relied upon the strongest view.

Wherever any shortfall is found, it would have to be corrected.

I have personally spent weeks researching certain issues, where I found Allamah Ibn Abidin relying upon a view that isn't the strongest in the madhab, due to being unaware of certain important quotes and also due to relying upon certain quotes which seem to be erroneous, then in turn I found nearly every single book of Fatwa after Ibn Abidin relying totally on this weaker view advocated by Ibn Abidin, due to them expecting him to have properly researched the issue!

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The Division of Hanafi Jurists by Era

ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Ḥayy al-Laknawī divided the Ḥanafīs into three distinct categories in accordance with the age in which they lived and the importance of their legal opinions:

1. Salaf/Mutaqaddimīn
2. Khalaf/Mutawassiṭīn
3. Mutaʾakhkhirīn

According to Laknawi, the Mutaqaddimīn begin with Imam Abū Ḥanīfah and ends with Imam Muḥammad. In other words, the Mutaqaddimīn are the first generation of Ḥanafī scholars.

The age of the Mutawassitīn begins after Imam Muḥammad and continues until the time of Shams al-Aʾimmah al-Ḥalwānī (d. 448AH, or 449AH, or 456AH).

The age of the Mutaʾakhkhirīn begins after Imam Shams al-Aʾimmah al-Ḥalwānī and ends with Ḥāfiẓ al-Dīn al-Bukhārī (d. 693AH), and includes the likes of Shams al-Aʾimmah al-Sarakhsī (d. 500AH), Marghīnānī (d. 593AH), and ʿAbdullāh ibn Maḥmūd, the author of al-Mukhtār (d. 683AH). (al-Fawāʾid al-Bahiyyah 241, Maṣādir al-Fiqh al-Ḥanafī of Ḥāmid Abū Ṭālib 17)

It should be noted, however, that the above categorization is not unanimously agreed upon, as some of the scholars considered the Mutaqaddimīn/Salaf to be those scholars who studied with the three Imams of the madhhab, namely Abū Ḥanīfah, Abū Yūsuf, and Muḥammad. Everyone else, according to them is considered amongst the Mutaʾakhkhirīn. This consideration takes into account the frequent usage of the term Mutaʾakhkhirīn by Ḥanafī scholars for those who followed Imam Ḥalwānī in age. The above division also doesn’t take into account the scholars who followed Imam Ḥāfiẓ al-Dīn al-Bukhārī and are considered amongst the preeminent scholars of the madhhab. (al-Madhhab ʿinda ʾl-Ḥanafiyyah 3, al-Fatḥ al-Mubīn 19)

From: http://www.ilmgate.org/?p=222

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Source: These were all from posts on SunniForum.com. Special mention to user 'Saad'

Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Theologus Autodidactus of Ibn al-Nafis

Category: SOUND

Otherwise known as al-Risala al-Kamiliyya fil-Sira al-Nabawiyya.

PDF Download Link

The English translation is literal in some parts, abbreviated in others. It was carried out by Meyerhof and Schacht. The Arabic is in the second half of the PDF.

Please download and reupload on other servers because I don't know how long that link will be valid.

Westerners call it one the earliest examples of a science-fiction novel or story.

It's a short story about a man who is spontaneously generated in a cave on a remote desert island and how he reasons out conclusions about the world around him. He's then picked up by another ship and taken to civilization where he continues his conclusions. He deduces most of the major points of 'aqeedah and Prophet Muhammad's (saw) history and mission (without the aid of Scripture), and then goes on to deduce future events that had not yet happened, including some of the major signs of the Day of Judgement (explaining them from a purely rational/scientific standpoint). He also covers some events of the time in which Ibn al-Nafis lived (the attack by the Mongols and the Mamelukes' defense).

So it starts off concerned with philosophy (including some "sci-fi" concerning the events which led to the protagonist's spontaneous generation), then after he's picked up by humans it turns towards theological issues. It ends with "science-fiction", an apocalyptic doomsday scenario (that concurs with Islamic theology/eschatology).

It's considered a Maturidi (well, Ash'ari but Ibn al-Nafis is working almost purely from the Maturidi view here) response to the earlier Philosophus Autodidactus (Hayy ibn Yaqdhan) by Ibn Tufail. That was a more popular work espousing some basic Mutazilah philosophy mixed with Ash'ari theology and Sufism (it was a "thought experiment" response to Al-Ghazali's Incoherence of the Philosophers). That work doesn't get into theology so much (because it was a popular opinion among those with Mutazilah reasoning that reason could not substantiate revelation), but it does cover some spiritual principles (strongly influenced by Sufism, so it's not like some sort of Mutazilah/Rationalist propaganda) as a sort of "replacement" for reason (but to those who don't believe in spirituality, mysticism is just another aspect of self-introspection and insight, and thus a part of the 'aql / Reason). Using his senses (hassi or hissi) and reason ('aql), the protagonist of Ibn Tufail's story discovers God, morality, and science. Regarding the latter, it mostly deals with the philosophy of empiricism (which is the basis for scientific inquiry and in which Ibn Sina, working from the philosophy of Aristotle, made a lot of developments... it's a philosophy that is most obviously shared by Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaat in case anyone's wondering).

What basically happened is that the Mutazilah emphasized reason and sensory experience (the individual) as a source of knowledge but also claimed that reason could not prove certain aspects of revelation. The debates between Al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd were basically regarding the primacy of reason versus revelation. The intention behind this from the perspective of the orthodox theologians was that reason is subject to error so it cannot be held equivalent to or higher than revelation. So, naturally, Al-Ghazali had to take a very skeptical stance towards all aspects of rationalism. However, this exercise in and of itself showed that reason and rationalism could back up revelation but was subject to the errors of the mind wielding them. In other words, the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools (especially the Maturidi) uphold the power and scope of human reason ('aql) and sensory experience (hissi) but just do not use it as a source of knowledge equivalent to revelation (or even other true narratives). This is a significant epistemological difference because it's basically a different view of humanity and emphasizes the social nature of humans as opposed to the individual, as the Mutazilah philosophy did. In fact, the philosophy of the Ash'ari/Maturidi thinkers in the natural sciences was superior to the Mutazilah and it was a natural evolution of thought. Just as how primitive Greek thought gave way to the first generations of Muslim thinkers. Imam Ash'ari himself symbolized this transfer of power by the fact of his Mutazilah upbringing, then deciding it wasn't cutting it anymore.

Ibn Sina thought that reason could not prove the idea of bodily resurrection.This work, based on Ibn al-Nafis' own considerable experience as a physician and scientist, showed otherwise. He showed that reason and empirical scientific inquiry could back up revelation. He himself made significant contributions to human knowledge of anatomy and physiology, specifically pulmonary circulation (no doubt because many people feel that the "ruh" is related to the blood's circulation... without the circulation, death occurs). He also covers topics resembling modern notions of abiogenesis (the spontaneous generation of the protagonist in the cave from clay and water) and his defense of "bodily resurrection" with science, though obviously based on the limited knowledge of the 13th century, was eventually borne out by modern scientific theories (it's possible to clone or "regrow" a body or any of its constituent parts from a piece of the original).

The deviancies of the Mutazilah actually arose more out of a faulty reasoning. That was compounded by the role they assigned to reason ('aql) over revelation. The Ash'aris had to basically not only put reason in its proper place, secondary to revelation, but also refute the faulty reasoning of the Mutazilah (their philosophy was wrong even without any theological considerations). This work is a part of the latter effort.

Philosophus Autodidactus ("Self-taught Philosopher")

Theologus Autodidactus ("Self-taught Theologian")

The differences between the sects/schools is apparent in the two works because at the end of Hayy ibn Yadqhan, Hayy realizes society basically sucks and takes a friend from the outside world back to the island where they live out the rest of their days in mystic contemplation. It suggests religious pluralism, as Mutazilah philosophy usually did, because they were unable to make effective arguments for Islam over other religions. It's no coincidence that other philosophers of that tradition (such as Ibn Rushd) actually kickstarted the "secular" tradition in Europe. Their works found an audience in Europe where those thinkers were already grappling with the glaring flaws in Christian theology. This was aided by the fact that Al-Andalus (Spain) was a hotbed of Mutazilah activity.

Philosophus Autodidactus had a profound impact on Europe. You can read about some of that at the Wikipedia page and also here.

Very few Europeans received later developments in the Muslim world because many of the Ash'ari and Maturidi theologians weren't in Spain but back in the Middle East. However, later developments did eventually reach Europe as well (Al-Ghazali's skepticism and Ash'arite doctrine of occasionalism did show up in Europe... occasionalism died out but the skepticism found a strong foothold in the works of George Berkeley and David Hume).

Such is the intellect of Ibn al-Nafis that some of his reasoning would be new even to today's Muslim "Rationalists" (of course it was, he was one of the major scientists of his era whereas today's rationalists' works are often worth less than the paper they are printed on). There is nothing fundamentally wrong with trying to scientifically analyze claims of religion (as the Ash'aris and Maturidis did, evidenced by this work) but the problem arises when one does not realize that this is error-prone subjective speculation and then changes the primacy of revelation over reason. When people do that, problems arise. For example, people who decide that Adam (as) had to have been evolved from other "near-humans" (that he had a mother and father). This is incorrect because the Scripture clearly states otherwise. But abiogenesis ("the study of how biological life arises from inorganic matter through natural processes") in and of itself isn't theologically incorrect at all. As for whether Adam was subject to it, we cannot say because we do not know if the "natural laws" or Allah's Customary Way (jary al-ada) of this world apply to Paradise, where Adam (as) was created but the process described in the hadith sounds very much like it.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The Life of Malcolm X by Imam Siraj Wahaj

Category: SOUND

Source

The Beauty Of Knowledge And How It Enlivens The Heart

Category: SOUND

By Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali (ra)

Acquire knowledge because doing so is good. Seeking it is worship. Reviewing it is glorifying Allah. Researching it is jihad. Teaching it to the ignorant is charity. Serving the scholars is a way of drawing near to Allah because knowledge is the path of ascension to the stations of Paradise. It is a companion in isolation and a comrade in distant lands. It speaks to you in solitude. It is a guide to prosperity and a shield against adversity. It beautifies one among friends and is a weapon against enemies.

With it Allah elevates people and makes them guides and bellwethers of good. The scholars are people whose words are sought and whose actions are imitated. The angels long for the scholar’s company and comfort them with their wings. Everything, the fish of the sea, the beasts of the earth, the predators of the land and sea, and the cattle pray that blessings come upon him.

This is because knowledge enlivens the heart against ignorance, illuminates the eyes against darkness, and strengthens the body. It transports the servants to the mansions of the select and the righteous and to the highest ranks in the world and in the Hereafter. Contemplating it is equivalent to fasting, and reviewing it is equivalent to the Night Prayer vigil. With it, kinship is united and the lawful is distinguished from the unlawful. Knowledge is an imam which leads to righteous actions. It is craved by the people destined for Paradise and shunned by people destined for Hell.

Source: Warathatu’l-Anbiya’; Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (ra)