Part 23

! Salman al-Farisi (?-32 A.H.) was a Companion of the Prophet and transmitted some hadith. [M. M. Azami, p. 55.]

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said that hypocrisy is those who befriended the unbelievers and revealed to them the secrets of the believers. But Abu al-‘Aliyah and Mugatil said that it is practicing mischief. This last opinion is general in nature and agrees with the first two opinions.

Indeed, their [the hypocrites’] saying: “. .. We only want to do good. . .” (2:11) has two [true] interpretations as recorded by Ibn ‘Abbas: One is that they deny what they are accused of. In this case, it is as if they are saying: “We are doing what the Messenger orders us to do.” The other interpretation is that they are saying: “We are only doing the righteous [deeds] and by it we intend to do good ” In fact, they mention the former interpretation for one who does not know their inner intentions, and they mention the latter for themselves and others who know their inner intentions. It follows that the latter interpretation implies the former. For their [the hypocrites’] observed behavior is the reverse of their inner intentions; and they view this act as right [in the world]. Hence, if authority is in the hands of the Prophet (pbuh), then they feel secure in following him, and if authority is in the hands of the unbelievers, then they feel secure through their friendship with them. Thus Allah says: “They are the corrupt ones, but they realize [it] not” (2:12). That is, they realize that what they have done is a mischievous act, not a right act. It may also mean that they do not realize that Allah has acquainted His Messenger with their corruption. The second statement is inclusive in the first. This is what is intended as illustrated in the following Qur?anic verse. Allah says: “Indeed My Protector is Allah, Who has revealed the Book, and He protects the righteous ones” (7:196). He also says: “. . . Moses said: ‘What you have brought is sorcery; Allah will surely make it of no effect. Indeed, Allah does not set right the work of the corrupt ones” (10:81). Yiisuf [Joseph] said. Allah says: “... Cause me to die as a Muslim and join me with the righteous ones” (12:101).

A more general expression may be joined to a more specific one, as indicated in the following verse. Allah says: “When he turns his back, his aim everywhere is to spread corruption throughout the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But Allah loves not corruption.” (2:205). In this verse it is said that the phrase “to spread corruption throughout the earth,” implies unbelief as well as wrong [wherein both interpretations are true]. Allah says: “That Home of the Hereafter [ Paradise], We shall assign to those who rebel not against the truth nor spread corruption with pride and oppression in the land . . .” (28:83); and “Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and divided its people into sects, weakening each group among

them, killing their sons and letting their females live. Indeed, he was one of the most corrupt ones” (28:4). Allah also says: “On this account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone slew a person—unless it be for murder or for spreading corruption in the land—it would be as if he slew the whole people . . .” (5:32). Thus, slaying a person is implied in corruption. The right to take revenge for the slain person is for the guardian of the victim. Yet during the time of the Wars of Apostasy, fighting, and fornication the right to take revenge was for all the people. For this reason it was said that this right is for Allah, and for this reason no one is to be excused because it spread corruption at large. Allah says: “The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and spread corruption through the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off on the opposite sides . . .” (5:33). It is said that the reason for the revelation of this verse is because the ‘Araniytn’ are those who apostatized, rebelled, killed, and took property back from the Muslims [at the time of the first Caliph, Abu Bakr]. Some say that the cause of the revelation of this verse was that some people made a covenant, then they broke it and started to fight back. Others say that this verse was revealed because of the polytheists, since it is connected with the people of the apostasy and those who broke their covenant and started to fight back. However, the majority of the pious ancestors and the later Muslims believe that this verse dealt with highway robbers from among the Muslims. In fact, this verse refers to all of the above.

Similarly, in many verses of the Qur’an, the terms salah, righteousness, and islah, doing good, are associated with the term Iman. For example, Allah says: “Indeed, those who believe and do deeds of righteousness . . .” (2:277); and“. .. Those who believe and do good upon them shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve” (6:48). It is well known that Iman is the most righteous deed and the best deed of righteousness. This is indicated by the saying of the Prophet [recorded in a/-Sahih] by those who asked him: “Oh, Messenger of Allah, which of all deeds is the best?” The Messenger replied: “Belief in Allah is the best deed.” Allah says: “And indeed, I am Forgiving to him who repents, believes and does righteous deeds, and then remains constant in doing so” (20:82); and “Accepts those who repent and believe and work righteousness. Such will enter Paradise . . .” (19:60); and “Accepts those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds, for such persons,

> These people are attributed to the tribe of ‘Araynah. This tribe embraced Islam after the death of the Prophet (pbuh), then they rejected Islam and joined the Apostates.

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Allah will change their sins into good deeds . . ..” (25:70). And concerning qadhf, false accusation, Allah says: “Accept those who repent after that and do righteous deeds. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful” (3:89). And concerning the thief, Allah says: “But whosoever repents after his wrong and does righteous deeds then indeed, Allah will pardon him . . .” (5:39); and “And the two persons [a man and a woman] among you who commit sexual intercourse [illegally], punish them both. And if they repent and do righteous good deeds, leave them alone . . .” (4:16). The legal Muslim scholars, in one of their verdicts, stipulated a condition in accepting of the testimony of the one who has made false accusation that he has to show good conduct for approximately one year. This is in accordance with the case that ‘Umar [Ibn al-Khattab] applied on Subayyigh Ibn ‘Asal, whom he made wait fora year before restoring his status of good conduct. Following what ‘Umar {Ibn al-Khattab] did with Subayyigh Ibn ‘Asal, Ahmad [Ibn Hanbal] used the same analogy with the case of the one who is calling for bid‘ah, innovation, that he must also wait for a year to restore his status of good conduct.

Literal Meaning and Figurative Meaning

It has been said that the various semantic forms of a word are clear, straightforward, and indisputable, whether used in an absolute sense or a conditioned sense, in the speech of Allah and His Prophet or in the speech of anyone else. But we say that the meaning of the word Iman, belief, when applied to works, is used in a majaz, figurative sense. For the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Belief consists of over sixty or seventy odd branches. The highest branch is: ‘There is no god but Allah’ and the lowest is: ‘Removal of harm from the road.”” This is a figurative use of speech. He [the Prophet] also said: “Belief is for you to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers” to the end of this saying. This is a haqiqah, literal' usage, and it is the foundation for the claims of the Murji’ites, the Jahmites, the Karramites and everyone who does not include works within the term Iman.”

To this controversy we offer two replies. First, there is general speech related to the terms haqiqah and majaz, literal and figurative; and second, there is speech that pertains specifically to the topic at hand. Considering that one of the two uses: of speech may be figurative, then how is one to determine which uses of speech

Inhis scholarly article “On the Genesis of the Haqiqa-Majaz Dichotomy,” Studia Islamica 59, 1984, pp. 111-40, Wolfhart Heinrichs presents the following sets of terms for the dichotomy of majaz versus hagiqah (figurative versus proper or topical vs. veridical). He also stated that the term majaz is a technical marked term and has an older history before it became associated with hagiqah. Haqiqah is translated here as literal and majaiz as figurative.

We would like to thank Dr. Awad al-Jemaey who teaches Arabic rhetoric at the University of Umm al-Qura at Makkah for reading this chapter and making some useful comments. We also would like to thank an anonymous reviewer who made valuable comments on this chapter and other chapters throughout the book.

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are literal and which are figurative? Is literal speech that which is applied in an absolute manner, or that which is used in a conditioned sense? Or, if both of these usages are literal, if applied in an absolute sense, then how may one know what the term “belief” refers to?

First it may be said that if the terms “literal” and “figurative” are used either with respect to the meaning of words or the way in which their meanings are signified, then the division of words and their various meanings into literal and figurative may be said to fall within the claims made by later thinkers. But the most widespread view is that both literal and figurative usages are min ‘awarid al-alfaz, among the accident aspects of words. In any case, this division is an istilah hadith, arecent convention, that was not agreed upon until three centuries after the advent of Islam. It was never mentioned by the Companions of the Prophet or their Successors nor by any of the well-known religious scholars, such as Malik, alThawti,’ al-Awza‘l, Abu Hanifah, or al-Shafi‘i. In fact, it was not even mentioned by philologists and grammarians, such as al-Khalil, Sibawayh,* Abu ‘Amr Ibn al- ‘Ala’, and others. The first person known to have spoken of the use of figurative speech was Abu ‘Ubaydah Mu‘ammar Ibn al-Muthanna, who mentioned it in his book.* However, by ‘figurative’ he did not mean that which is a counterpart of ‘literal.’ Rather, what he meant by the figurative sense of the Quranic verse, maja al-ayah, was that through which the meaning of the verse is expressed. For this reason, religious scholars such as Abu al-Husayn al-Basri and others have said that we may distinguish literal from figurative meaning in various ways. Among these is the method employed by philologists, who declare that this is literal, and that is figurative. In relying on such a method one speaks without knowledge. For he assumes that the philologists made such a distinction, whereas in fact, none of them ever said such a thing. Nor had the pious ancestors or scholars of Islam. Rather, it is a recent convention, introduced much later, and was most likely first adopted by the Mu‘tazilites and other scholastic theologians. For such discussions