Part 44

> Al-Tustari, Abi Muhammad Sahl Ibn ‘Abd Allah Ibn Yanus (?-896 A.D.), was a Sifi who used allegorical interpretations of the Qur’an and was famous for his austerity. [Al-Fihrist, vol. 2,

Association of Words and Phrases

The association of one word or phrase with another by means of a conjunction such as the word “and,” whether in the Qur’an or any other form of speech, requires that there be some sort of dissimilarity or contrast between the first term mentioned and the one conjoined to it, while at the same time the two terms must share jointly in the meaning attributed to a larger statement of which they are a part. There are varying levels of dissimilarity that may exist between two such terms, the highest being that they are entirely dissimilar such that neither of the two is synonymous with the other, neither of them makes up any part of the other, nor does either of them bear a logically necessary connection to the other. An example of this situation may be seen in the following verses. Allah says: “He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six days . . .” (25:59); and“... Gabriel and Michael . . .” (2:98); and “. .. And He sent down the Torah and the Gospel, before this, as a guidance to mankind, and He sent down the Criterion . . .” (3:3-4). This is the most common type of occurrence. The next level of contrast is seen when there is a type of luziim, necessary link, between the two terms, as in the command, Allah says: “And mix not truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth . . .” (2:42); and “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger [Muhammad] after the right path had been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believer’s way . . .” (4:115); and “. . . And whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers . . .” (4:136). For whoever has disbelieved in Allah has likewise disbelieved in all these other things as well (i.e., Allah’s Angels, His Books, and His Messengers). Hence, the second term bears an essential link to the term with which it is conjoined. In the verse preceding this, the first term necessarily includes the second term associated with it; that is, whoever sets himself against the Messenger, even after the path of right

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guidance has been made clear to him, has thereby followed a path other than that of the believers. However, concerning this second type of linkage there is some disagreement. Allah says: “And mix not truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth ...” (2:42). In this verse, the first and second phrases are necessarily linked; for whoever confuses the truth with falsehood has thereby rendered the truth obscure such that falsehood becomes manifest while truth is hidden. Moreover, whoever conceals the truth must put falsehood in its place; and in this sense he confuses, or “clothes” truth with falsehood, as it were. For this reason, any of the People of the Book (i.e., Jews or Christians) who conceal what Allah reveals must by necessity bring falsehood to the fore.

Similarly, in the case of heretical sects, you will not find anyone who has abandoned some aspect of the teachings of the Sunnah that must be believed in and acted on but that he has fallen into some sort of heresy. And conversely, you will not find anyone professing a heretical belief but that he has rejected some part of the Sunnah. As is stated in the tradition related by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal: “No community has devised a heretical teaching but that they have rejected some corresponding aspect of the Sunnah.” Allah says: “. .. But they forget a good part of the Message that was sent to them. So we planted among them enmity and hatred . . .” (5:14). When they forgot part of that which they had been reminded of, they replaced it with something else, with the result that enmity and hatred sprang up among them. Allah also says: “And whosoever tums away from the remembrance of the Beneficent, We appoint for him a Satan to be a close companion to him” (43:36). The dhikr, remembrance, mentioned here refers to the message that had been sent down by the Most Beneficent One. Allah says: “. . . Then whoever follows My guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into misery. But whosoever turns away from My Reminder, indeed for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection” (20:123~24); and “Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord, and follow not any protectors beside Him. Little do you remember” (7:3). Hence, Allah commands that we follow what He sends down and forbids us to do whatever is contrary to this, one aspect of which is following awliya’, protectors, other than Him. For whoever does not follow one of the two must necessarily be following the other. For this reason Allah says: “. .. And follows other than the believers’ way .. .” (4:115). According to Islamic scholars, whoever is not following the path of the believers must necessarily be following some other path; from this they concluded

that following the path of the believers is a duty. Moreover, no one is permitted to depart from those tenets on which such Islamic authorities have unanimously agreed,

Similarly it may be said that whoever has not done what is commanded has thereby done some of what is forbidden, just as whoever has done what is forbidden has not done all that is commanded. For it is not possible for someone to do all of what has been commanded while also doing some of what is forbidden, nor is it possible for someone to abandon all of what has been forbidden while also neglecting some of what has been commanded. For abandoning that which is forbidden is part of what has been commanded, and is thus itself commanded; and part of what is forbidden is the neglect of what has been commanded. Hence also, everything that distracts someone from doing his duty is forbidden, and everything without which one cannot undertake one’s duties must therefore be done. It is for this reason that the term “command,” when used in an absolute manner, includes prohibition, and if it is used in a conditional sense with prohibition, then this prohibition is similar to what has been mentioned above. Thus, Allah says, concerning the angels: “... . Those who did not disobey Allah of what He commands them to do . . .” (66:6), this includes the notion that if He forbids them to do something, they will avoid it. And as for the what He [Allah] says: “... They do what they are commanded” (66:6), it has been interpreted to mean that they do not go beyond what they have been commanded to do. Another interpretation of this statement is that they do what they are commanded at the proper time; that is, they do it neither earlier nor later than they are commanded to do so.

It might be said that Allah did not say that they do nothing but what they are commanded. Allah says: “They speak not until He has spoken, and they act on His command” (21:27). It has been said that this means that they do not disobey the commands He has given them in the past, and they do what they have been commanded to do in the future. It might [also] be said that this verse is a statement of fact concerning what will be in the future. What they have been commanded to do here does not apply to the past; rather, it all pertains to the future. Allah says: “|. Protect yourselves and your families from the Fire . . .” (66:6), where that with which they protect themselves applies to the future. It might also be said that one may neglect what He has been commanded to do either as a result of disobeying a command, or due to an inability to perform it. Hence, if one is both able and willing, then there must exist that which is both commanded and

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practicable. For the clause “they do not disobey” means that they do not refrain from obeying; and Allah’s saying: “. .. They do what they are commanded” (66:6) means that they are capable of doing what is commanded, and are not unable to do any of it; in fact, they perform all of it without exception, which necessitates the existence of everything they have been commanded [to do]. Implied in this may be the understanding that they do nothing but that which is commanded. One might say, for example, “I do what I was commanded,” that is, “I do it without going beyond it either by way of addition or omission.”

Allah says: “. .. Those who did not disobey Allah in what He commanded them to do . . .” (66:6), if Allah forbids them to perform some action, then this prohibition would be part of His command, Moreover, if He does not forbid them to do such a thing, they would not be considered blameworthy for doing what they had not been forbidden to do.

The point being made here is that the term al-amr, command, if used in an absolute sense, implies some prohibition. This may be seen in the following command. Allah says: “. .. Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and those of you who are in authority . . . (4:59). Those referred to here as iliy al-amr, people of authority, are those with the authority to issue commands, and anyone with the authority to issue commands likewise has the authority to issue prohibitions, and must be obeyed in his prohibitions no less than in his commands. Moses said to al-Khidr, Allah says: “He [Moses] said, if Allah wills, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey your command. He {al-Khidr] said, then, if you follow me, ask me not about anything until I, myself, mention it to you” (18:69-70). He [Moses] is forbidden to ask al-Khidr any questions until he mentions it to him. However, when al-Khidr pierces the ship, Moses says to him, Allah says: “. . . Have you scuttled it [the ship] in order to drown its people? Indeed, you have done a dreadful thing” (18:71), thus asking him a question before al-Khidr mentions it to him. This is the case also when al-Khidr kills the young man and Moses says, Allah says: “. . . Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Indeed, you have done a prohibited thing” (18:74). When al-Khidr builds the wall, Moses says to him, Allah says: “. . . If you had wished, surely, you could have taken wages for it” (18:77). This statement of Moses bears the sense of a question, since both questions and requests may be stated in the form of a conditional statement. One might say, for example, “if you stayed with us, you would honor us” or “if you spent the night with us, you would be doing us a favor.” This form of expression