THE CONCEPT OF MAN IN WAH.ĪD AL-DĪN KHAN’S WORKS

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THE CONCEPT OF MAN IN WAH. ĪD AL-DĪN KHAN’S WORKS

By

* Muhammad Amin Abdul Samad

*

Dr. W. Haddad Nov. 28, 1978

God and Man in Contemporary Muslim

Thought (397-702D)

INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC STUDIES MCGILL UNIVERSITY

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INTRODUCTION This paper is an attempt to outline the concept of man as presented

by Wah.īd al-Dīn Khān in the following texts: a. al-Islām wa ’l-‘As.r alH.adīth, 1st ed. (Cairo: al-Mukhtār al-Islāmī, 1976), b. H.ikmat al-Dīn, 1st ed. (Cairo: al-Mukhtār al-Islāmī, 1973), and c. al-Islām Yatah.addā, 4th ed.

(Cairo: al-Mukhtār al-Islāmī, 1973). The writer presents man as God’s vicegerent on this earth, who is created to worship Him and to obey Him by applying the Sharī‘ah (Islamic law) This paper is divided into four chapters: 1. The objective study of man, 2. The purpose of man’s creation, 3. Man’s responsibility for his words and deeds, and 4. The law of God. Polemically by nature, Khān used to cite Qur’ānic verses as well as Prophetic traditions to support his view.

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I. THE OBJECTIVE STUDY OF MAN Khān has referred to a number of studies on man in which scholars reached what they called “objective answers,” for example: a. Man is a political animal. Politics is a dominant motive. Man’s private life, family or social existence is based on, directly or indirectly, political aspirations; b. Man is an economic animal. His attitude is molded by economic conditions; c. Man is a spiritual animal, and his existence can be completely refreshed by reviving and stimulating his spirit. For example, listening to music, or looking at a beautiful scene, etc., may enable one to perceive another world, the spiritual reality in which there is love and purity of soul, instead of envy and hatred.

The advocates of this school of philosophy which Khān allows to remain nameless asserted that spiritualism directs one’s feeling away from the material world to a spiritual realm inside oneself as broad as the material one.

Basically, Khān agreed with the advocates of this view that man consists of rūh (soul, spirit) and ‘aql (reason). Because soul delights feeling, Khān contends that the response of the call of soul should be exclusively based on feeling. The charm of the fine arts can create feeling.

That experience, however, cannot grasp the whole of human existence, and as a result, this feeling will disappear.

Man is in need of a clearly known and fixed point as the centre of his hopes and aspirations. Such a fixed point would become the goal of human journey. Lacking an inspiration of this kind his soul will be lifeless, and will wander without any refuge. Khān called it al-h.arakah alīmānīyah (the believing movement). Its centre is God and His Revealed Book.1

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Khān, . al-Islām wa ’l-‘As.r al-H.adīth, pp. 40-45.

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II. THE PURPOSE OF MAN’S CREATION a. ‘Ibādah (Worship) Khān cited the Qur’ānic verse in which Allah stated the purpose of man’s creation, namely, “I created the jinn and human kind only that they might worship Me.” (Q. 51:56).

Worship is total submission to God. This submission, according to Khān, has two levels: 1) the submission of man’s limbs and external works to Allah, and 2) the submission of man’s heart to Allah, and the participation of his internal world in His kingdom (malakūt Allāh).

These two levels of worship embody themselves in the Qur’ānic verse: “…Lo! Worship preserveth from lewdness and iniquity, but verily remembrance of Allah is more important…” (Q. 29:45). The writer asserted that the above verse also explains the two levels of benefit obtained from the prayer: 1) man becomes obedient to his Lord in his remembrance of Allah (dhikr Allāh). The latter is the highest level of achievement, because prayer does not merely manifest itself through external submission, but also penetrates into man’s heart. In this way, prayer becomes a spiritual link between man and his Lord.

In Khān’s view, these two levels of worship are also indicated into the following h.adīth: “Worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you are not able to [worship Him as you] see Him, then verily He sees you.” The higher level of worship is worshiping Allah as we see Him, while the lower level is worshiping and obeying Him with the strong belief that He sees us.

Achievement (al-fawz) in the Hereafter is also on two levels, depending on the level of worship one has performed on this earth. The higher level is what the Qur’ān called al-sābiqūn al-awwalūn (the first to lead the way), while the lower level was called as.h.āb al-yamīn (those on the right hand).

The former will receive a special blessing from God, while the latter will receive an ordinary one.2 2

Idem, H. ikmat al-Dīn, pp. 30-31.

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b. Muqtad.ayāt al-‘Ibādah (Requirements of Worship) Worship is the basic devotion. But it has requirements to be fulfilled by man as compliments of his devotion. However, both the worship and its requirements are necessary for Muslims. Khān mentioned four requirements of worship: 1) Obedience (al-t.ā‘ah) Obedience is a kind of worship dealing with the external affairs of man, namely, his daily life. There are two kinds of obedience: individual obedience (al-t.ā‘ah al-fardīyah) and social obedience (al-t.ā‘ah aljamā‘īyah).

Individual obedience requires that every Muslim should obey Allah in matters dealing with his life as a whole. This includes precepts dealing with ethics and social life. For example, obeying Allah in his eating and drinking. Muslims should obey Allah in their private lives. Khān cited the following Qur’ānic verse to support his view:

“And it becomes not a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His messenger have decided an affair (for them), that they should (after that) claim any say in their affair; and whoso is rebellious to Allah and His messenger, he verily goeth astray in error manifest.” (Q. 33:36) With regard to eating and drinking, Allah said:

“ O ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you, and render thanks to Allah if it is (indeed) He whom ye worship.” (Q. 2:172) Social obedience deals with the application of the Sharī‘ah (Islamic law) to the Muslim ummah (community). Khān asserted that the Sharī‘ah was revealed at Madīnah after the establishment of Muslim community in

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that city. Similarly, the laws to the children of Israel were revealed to them when they had established their community in Egypt 2) Testimony (al-Shahādah) What Khān meant by the shahādah here is the call to Islam to worship Allah alone. The Islamic call should reach every person so that there would be nobody who would claim in the Hereafter that no call to Islam had ever reached him. As evidence, Khān cited the following Qur’ānic verse:

“Messengers of good cheer and of warning, in order that mankind might have no argument against Allah after the messengers. Allah was every Mighty, Wise.” (Q. 4:165).

In Khān’s view, calling non-Muslims to Islam does not necessarily mean to explain Islam to them in detail, but rather starting with the fundamentals of the faith, for example: believing in Allah, the revelation, the Hereafter, etc.

3) Enjoining What is Good and Prohibiting What is Reprehensible (alAmr bi ’l-Ma‘rūf wa ’l-Nahy ‘an al-Munkar) A Muslim should not live for his own good alone, but also for the good of his community. Therefore, Khān divided the concept into two sections: individual and social. In the individual section, it is the work of an individual Muslim to give his advice to his Muslim brothers according to his ability. This is what the Prophet meant by “Religion is advice” ( ).

As for the social aspect, Khān asserted that if the Muslim community enjoys freedom and free choice, there should be leaders representing this community in carrying out laws imposed on their community. This had been done by Prophet Moses when he divided his people into twelve tribes with twelve leaders. But if the community does not enjoy full freedom of action, then teachers and propagators should be

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appointed. This had been done by the Prophet before the hijrah, when 75 people (among whom two women) attended the Second Pledge of ‘Aqabah. In this pledge 12 leaders (3 among the Aws tribe and 9 among the Khazraj) were appointed, to whom the Prophet said: “You are responsible for your own people.” This is also the case when Ja‘far was appointed as the leader of the Muslim refugees to Ethiopia. The case will be the same with Muslims living outside Muslim lands, where a leader should be appointed to arrange their affairs and to impose their religious duty in their community.

4) Defending Religion (Nas.rat al-Dīn) Defending religion is also called “raising the Word of Allah” (i‘lā’ kalimat Allāh). It has many aspects depending on the situation and the kind of danger. Khān mentioned some leading personalities in Islam in defending religion, among which were: ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, Ah.mad ibn H.anbal, al-Ghazālī, and S.alāh. al-Dīn.

A Muslim is not enjoined to go beyond his ability in defending religion. The ruler uses his power, while the scholars use their writings and speeches.3 III. MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS WORDS AND DEEDS The author tried to prove scientifically that whatever man said and did was recorded and he would be responsible for them in the Hereafter.

With regard to the words of man, Khān asserted that the moment man moves his tongue, it creates waves in the ether forever, and this can be heard again. But Khān admitted that science has not yet invented an instrument that can receive the sound waves of the words of people from the past. However, scientists believe in the possibility of inventing such an instrument in the future. We do not know who these scientists are, for the author did not give us any name or reference.

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Ibid., pp. 46-64.

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The main problem is not receiving this sound wave, but rather making distinctions among so many sounds, or in other words, selecting one sound, so that only one sound is heard. This is the problem of radio transmission where every radio station transmits in different wavelengths. Whenever man invents a receiver for the voices of people of the past, the idea of the existence of the Last Day would be acceptable by means of analogy. The writer gave the example of Dr. Mus.addiq’s case. Dr Mus.addiq (Mosaddek) was the former Prime Minister of Iran.

A tiny tape-recorder was put in his cell and recorded whatever he said.

This recording was later used against him in court.

Khān concluded that this finding was not contradictory to the idea of the existence of the invisible angels of God who record and print on “the pages of space” (s.afah.āt al-kawn) whatever we say. The Qur’ān said: “He uttereth no word but there is with him an observer ready.” (Q. 50:18).4 Regarding the deeds of man, Khān contended that all of our deeds, even in the dark, were imprinted in space as pictures. It has been proved by science that everything emanates heat permanently everywhere in every condition. This heat forms the shapes of things from which it comes. Man has invented an instrument called the evapograph which can receive heat waves. Unfortunately, this instrument can only produce a graph of something that occurred hours ago.5 Khān concluded that it is not far from reality to say; that our deeds are registered on the screen of the universe. Guilty people on the Last Day would say, as mentioned in the Qur’ān: “…Ah! Woe to us! What kind of a book is this that leaveth not a small thing nor a great thing but hath counted it!…” (Q. 18:49).6

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Idem, al-Islām Yatah.addā, pp. 80-81.

One example given by the author is that on one dark night an unidentified plane was flying over New York City. By using the evapograph to measure the atmosphere over the city, the plane was identified. Ibid., quoting Reader’s Digest (November, 1960).

6 Ibid., pp. 81-82.

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IV. THE LAW OF GOD Dealing with the problems of civilization the author discussed legislation and law. He asserted that the real legislator is God, Who created mankind. He denounced laws based on the will and the approval of people. The proscription against alcohol, American law does not prohibit drinking wine, because it accepts the right of man to freely choose his food and his drink, as long as he does not disturb people in his community. Adultery according to the law is not a crime as long as it is based on mutual consent. Britain was compelled to legalize many prohibited relations between man and woman in spite of the protest of scholars and jurists.

The author stressed the importance of ethics. According to him law, in order to stand firm must have an ethical basis. Some examples are: oaths given by the accused, the accuser or the witnesses are accepted; 7 criminals are considered guilty in court as well as in society. KhÄ n stressed the importance of belief in the Hereafter, that rather than the fear of the police and the court, it can prevent people from committing crime.

It is evident that the criminals could use experienced lawyers, or give false testimony, and thereby escape punishment.

Defending the Divine Law as the only legal and correct one, the author dealt with the question of equality between man and woman, a principle that has been advocated by many people. Scientists like Alexis Carrel, he contended, have agreed that woman is very different from man and therefore cannot be equal in everything. Carrel said: The differences existing between man and woman do not come from the particular form of the sexual organs, the presence of the uterus, from gestation, or from the mode of education. They are of a more fundamental nature. They are caused by the very structure of the tissues and by the impregnation of the entire organism with 7

A man at the court of Western Circuit (? ) gave false testimony and said: “If I am telling a lie, let God make me die here this moment.� He hardly finished speaking when he fell down and died. Ibid., p. 143, quoting Sir Alfred Denning, The Changing Law (N.p., 1953), p. 103.

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specific chemical substances secreted by the ovary. Ignorance of these fundamental facts has led promoters of feminism to believe that both sexes should have the same education, the same powers, and the same responsibilities. In reality, woman differs profoundly from man.

Every one of the cells of her body bears the mark of her sex. The same is true of her organs, and above all, of her nervous system.

Physiological laws are as inexorable as those of the sidereal world.

They cannot be replaced by human wishes. We are obliged to accept them just as they are. Women should develop their aptitudes in accordance with their own nature, without trying to imitate the males.

Their part in the progress of civilization is higher than that of men.

They should not abandon their specific functions.8 Polygamy is another example. Khān asserted that closing the door of polygamy opens the doors of immorality. Statistics issued by the United Nations in 1959 stated that the illegitimate children in the world had increased 60 %. In Panama itself, 3 out of 4 children were illegitimate. In Muslim countries, this number was close to zero. Egypt, the Muslim country most influenced by the West, had an illegitimacy rate of less than 1 %.

In the field of Islamic penal law, Khān mentioned the two purposes of the capital punishment: 1) the elimination of the seed of crime; 2) prohibiting retaliation when diyah (blood money) is paid. According to the author abolishing capital punishment would increase crimes. One example is that when Sri Lanka (Ceylon) abolished capital punishment in 1956 the number of crimes increased. The Prime Minister Bandaranaike himself was assassinated by an armed man who entered his house. After his burial the Parliament held a meeting which lasted for four hours, concluding with a new law on capital punishment.

In the matter of livelihood (al-ma‘īshah) Islam recognizes individual property. Khān observed that a country like the Soviet Union which applies collective ownership of land, has declined in land production and 8

See Alexis Carrel, Man, the Unknown, 2nd ed. (New York & London: Harper H& Brothers, 1939), pp. 89-90. Alexis Carrel was a French surgeon who was awarded the Noble Prize in 1912 for his success in suturing blood vessels and the transplanting of organs.

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cattle breeding. In 1962, 170 000 head of cattle died in one province due to lack of grass (pasture) and negligence in breeding. The Soviet Union was compelled to import millions of tons of wheat from Australia, Canada and the United States. Between 1941 and 1956 Soviet Union imported 1.25 million tons of wheat from the United States.9

EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION The author’s major goal in writing his books was to defend religion, namely, Islam, from materialistic secular influence by showing that science is in harmony with Islam. The author is a journalist, and the motto of this profession is, “A journalist should know everything under the sun.” He seemed to have studied the subjects related to his topic very thoroughly. However, he lacked certain details. He did not provide us further explanations in solving the problems he was raising in his writings.

In dealing with man, either as a political, economic, or spiritual animal, the author did mention any names of scholars who upheld these views. In fact, the writer in his work al-Islām wa ’l-‘As.r al-H.adīth gave us only two footnotes at the bottom of pages 43 and 52. Furthermore, the book has no bibliography, and for further study on man we must locate the author’s bibliography ourselves.

In dealing with the purpose of creation of man the author in his book H.ikmat al-Dīn mentioned only the Islamic point of view, namely, that man is created to worship God, but not the views of philosophers. He elaborated his point basing his argument on the Qur’ānic verses and the h.adīths. He referred to many books on the Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr alQur’ān), the h.adīths and fiqh (Islamic law).

With regard to man’s responsibility for his words and deeds, the writer did cite many Qr’ānic verses, but he did not give us details on the evapograph, the instrument invented to record heat waves. We do not 9

Khān, al-Islām Yatah.addā, pp. 146-152.

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know who invented it and when it was invented. The only reference given to us in his work al-Islām Yatah.addā is Reader’s Digest, November, 1960.

The author was propagating the application of Islamic law (Sharī‘ah) not only for Muslims, but also for non-Muslims. In his book al-Islām Yatah.addā he gave us many references on law. He tried to trace some shortcomings of laws which are not based on the Sharī‘ah. Indeed, the problems of law in this book were given in detail, but not in others.

Compared to the other two books, al-Islām Yatah.addā is the biggest one. It is also the earliest one to have been published. The fact that it was reprinted three times in 1973 (once in Kuwait and twice in Cairo) indicates its popularity among Arabic speaking readers.

However, the defects of this book as well as the other two, are that some Western authors’ names were written in Arabic characters only, although the titles of their works were written in Latin characters, for example: and . Those who will do further research have to know the right spellings of these names in Latin characters.

Another defect of Khān’s works is that he did not mention the names, places and dates of the publication of most of the books referred to in his writings. This makes it difficult for those who want to check the author’s reference. Different editions would sometimes make a reference to different pages. For example, the author referred to Alexis Carrel’s Man, the Unknown on page 93, while it is on pages 89-90 in the 1939 edition. He must have been using the first edition in 1935.

In spite of these shortcomings, Khān’s books are very valuable to Muslims. He himself is considered one of the great contemporary Muslim thinkers on the Indian sub-continent.