Part 43

are clear and unequivocal, and accepting on belief those words in it which are obscure to them.” Others have said that recitation here means “carrying out” or “following,” as in the verse: “And by the Moon as it follows it [the sun]” (91:2). Hence, it includes those who have not read the Book. Still others have stated that for someone to undertake a perfect reading or recitation [of the Book], he must understand its meaning and conduct himself on that basis. As Abu ‘Abd alRahman al-Sulam?’ said: “Those who used to teach us the Qur’an related to us that <Uthmin Ibn ‘Affan, ‘Abd Allah Ibn Mas‘id, and others, whenever the Prophet (pbuh) taught them ten verses of the Quran, would not go on to any other verses until they had mastered both their meanings and their applications. Hence they used to say: “We have memorized the Qur’dn, gained understanding of its meaning, and learned how to put it into practice.”

In the verse quoted above, in which Allah says: “Those to whom We gave the Book recite it as it should be recited . . .” (2:121), the word “Book” has been interpreted by some to mean the Qur?4n, and by others to refer to the Torah [i.c., the Jewish scriptures]. Muhammad Ibn Nasr related through a reliable chain of authority that according to Ibn ‘Abbis, the phrase “they recite it as it should be recited” means that they follow it perfectly. Another interpretation of the same phrase, also attributed to Ibn ‘Abbas, is that they permitted what it [the Book] allows, they forbade what it disallows, and they did not distort its meanings. According to the view attributed to Qatadah, its meaning is that they believed in it; those who believed in it were Muhammad’s Companions, who believed in Allah’s Book, permitting what it allows, forbidding what it disallows, and practicing what it teaches. It has been mentioned to us that Ibn Mas‘td said: “Its correct recitation means that one permits what it allows, forbids what it disallows, recites it in the way in which it was revealed by Allah, and does not distort its meaning.” According to the view attributed to al-Hassan [al-Basri]: “they recited it with a true recitation” means that they obeyed all its teachings whose meanings are clear and accepted, on belief, those teachings that are of likeness to each other, entrusting all those parts whose meanings are unclear to them to the One who has complete knowledge. And according to the view attributed to Mujahid, it means that they followed it perfectly and also, according to him, practiced it fully.

2 Aba ‘Abd al-Rahmén al-Sulami (?-74 A.H.) was born during the Prophet's lifetime and studied the Qur’4n from the Caliphs ‘Uthman and ‘Ali. He was also a scholar of hadith. [Al-Fihrist, vol. 2, page 1104 and Kitab al-Iman MZ, page 162.]

THE MEANING OF CONDITIONED IMAN 179

The term “recitation” may also be used in context with other words as well, as may be seen in the following verse. Allah says: ““Recite [Oh, Muhammad] what has been revealed to you of the Book, and offer prayers. Indeed, prayer prevents abomination and wicked deeds . . .” (29:45). According to Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and others, “recitation of the Book” means practicing complete obedience to Allah, besides which specific mention is made of prayer, as Allah says: “And as to those who hold fast to the Book and offer prayers perfectly . . .” (7:170); and“... So worship Me, and offer prayers perfectly for My remembrance” (20:14). Similarly, the phrase ittiba‘u ma anzala Allah, following what Allah has revealed, encompasses all acts of obedience, as in the following verses. Allah says: “Follow what has been sent down unto to you from your Lord, and follow not any protectors who order you to associate partners besides Him . . .” (7:3); and“. . . Then whoever follows My guidance shall neither go astray nor fall into misery” (20:123); and “And indeed, this is My Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not other paths for they will separate you away from His Path. . .” (6:153). This term [recitation] may also be used in context with other, related words, as in the verses that read: “And this is a blessed Book which We have sent down, so follow it and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy” (6:155); and “Follow what has been inspiring to you [Oh, Muhammad] from your Lord; no god is worthy to be worshiped except Him and turn aside those who join others and worship with Him” (6:106); and “And [Oh, Muhammad], follow the inspiration sent you, and be patient until Allah gives judgement. And He is the best of judges” (10:109).

Similar to this is the term al-Abrar, the Righteous Ones, which if used in an absolute sense implies everyone who fears Allah, whether he follows a middle course or is among the foremost. Allah says: “As for the Righteous Ones, they will be blessed; and the wicked ones, they will be in the Fire” (82:13~14). But it is no longer the case if the term “Righteous Ones” is joined to “those nearest [to Allah].” Allah says: “. . . Indeed the record of the Righteous Ones is [preserved] in ‘Illiyyin. And what will make you know what ’Illiyyiin is? {There is] a register [fully] inscribed, to which bear witness those nearest [to Allah]” (82:18-21).

To best understand the denotations and connotations of the words of the Book and the Sunnah, one has to take into consideration their conditioned and absolute usages as well as the general and specific usage of their meanings. For in this way, many controversies will be resolved, one of which is the issue of Islam and Iman. This was the first controversial question over which people differed in the

interpretation of the Book and the Sunnah, to the point where they accused each other of being unbelievers. And they fought with each other, as has been explained elsewhere. What we aim at is explaining the words of Allah and His Messenger in a way that indicates that guidance is received from the words of Allah and His Messenger. This can be accomplished by citing only the sayings that are based on the Words of Allah and on the authoritative sayings of His Messenger [excluding those with weak attestation].

An illustration of this point is the interpretation of the pious ancestors and Muslim jurists of the Sunnah of the word Iman. At one time they said that Iman is: “a saying and work;” at another time, “a saying, a work, and an intent;” and at still another time, “a saying, a work, an intent, and a following of the Sunnah;” and also, “a saying with the tongue, a belief in the heart, and an act by the parts of the body.” Indeed, all these interpretations are correct. For if they said: “Iman means saying and work,” then an act of speech, if used freely, implies the action of both heart and tongue; and works imply both overt and covert deeds. With regard to what is referred to by the terms kalam, speech, and qawl, saying, when used in an absolute sense, four positions have been taken. The position adopted by the pious ancestors, scholars of Islamic jurisprudence, and the majority of other people is that such terms refer to both a saying itself and the meaning it bears, just as the term al-ins4n, person, refers to both the spirit and the body. Others, however, have held that what these terms refer to is nothing but the saying alone, whereas the meaning does not form part of the referent. Rather, the meaning is the signification that the referent bears or conveys, rather than being part of the referent itself. This second view was held by many scholastic theologians among the Mu‘tazilites and others, as well as some Orthodox Muslims. It is also the view adopted by grammarians, whose profession concerns itself with words [and matters relating to them]. According to the third view, these terms refer only to the meaning. Moreover, when one uses the term kalam, speech, in an absolute manner to refer to the utterance itself, one is using it figuratively. It is also the view held by Ibn Kullab and his followers. As for the fourth view, it holds that the terms kalam, speech, and qawl, saying, refer to the utterance and the meaning [i.e., after the manner of a single word that simultaneously bears more than one meaning]. This final view was the one held by later followers of Ibn Kullab. Moreover, in addition to the third and fourth views cited here, the followers of Ibn Kullab proposed a third position (related on the authority of Abu al-Hassan [al-Ash‘ari]), according

THE MEANING OF CONDITIONED IMAN 181

to which such terms are figurative when used to refer to Allah’s words, and literal when used to refer to human words. This is because the words uttered by human beings inhere in them in such a way that speech may not exist apart from the speaker, whereas this is not the case with regard to the words of the Qur’4n, which do not inhere to Allah as to be considered His speech. (This matter is discussed elsewhere.)