Islamic Intellectual Tradition CC5 Mod V - B

CC5
V. RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS
b. ISLAMIC INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS
In the history of philosophy there are many schools formed by different understanding of
knowledge. Reason, experience and intuition being different aspects of knowledge constitute
rationalism, experimentalism and institutionalism. Sufi may be considered a representative of
intuitionalist sight. According to this approach solemn measure of our actions guided by
intuition. This kind of knowledge has a transcendental feature. It is gifted not acquired. But if we
go to the early primitive period of the school of Sufism, we see also priority of reason and value
of rational knowledge. As a case study, we will shed light on Al-Hujwiri (Data Ganj Baksh). Al-
H established a moderate link between the revealed law (Shariah) and the truth (Haqiqa) and
argued that the revealed law without the truth is a sanctimony while the truth without the
revealed law is hypocrisy. He tried to reconcile circumstances with truth and fight against fake
Sufis. He derived his strength in the struggle from his allegiance to the decisive informational
authority of the Quran and the Sunna. Hujwiri has underlined before Ibn Rushd the Quranic
verses that encouraged thinking and reasoning. Contemplating about God’s act and wise
purposes behind them gives an intellectual competence to a person.
Mysticism within Islam has a proper name – ‘Tasawwuf’. Sufism is a process of self-
actualizing, attuning and listening to oneself to sustain spiritual necessity, to emancipate the soul
from the effect of the body. The Muslim world was riffed with chaos, strife and conflict in
political, academic areas during the time of Al-Hujwiri (Data Ganj Baksh) in the 5 th century.
there were endless disputes among Abassid Caliphate in Baghdad and the Sultanate which were
connected to them only in appearance. The contention among the Islamic sects as well as internal
rivalries of Sunni sects were breeding further debates. As reaction to these rivalries, Sufism
emerged and enjoyed widespread adoption by large masses. Political crisis and intellectual chaos
of disorder led to the general public being divided into two camps of diverse religious views,
each group sided for fanatism. Sufism’s rise to popularity triggered the emergence of fake Sufis.
One important Sufi work of Al-Hujwiri is Kashf Al-Makhjoob. He wrote in Persian,
establishing a moderate link between revealed law and the truth. He tried to revert the Sufi
movement to its original state by cleansing it from the distorted practices. His work KAM is the
first comprehensive book in Persian language on Sufism. According to Carl W. Ernest, “Kashf
Al-Makhjoob is not simply a literary production, however, for it is an exposition of practical
Sufism summarizing a wide tradition of centuries of reflection; the author wrote it as a request of
a fellow Sufi from his hometown of Hujwiri. Kashf Al-Makhjoob is still one of the best
descriptions of the Sufi path. It has been said that those who seek a guide in Sufism should do
three things – pray for guidance, visit the tombs of great shaikhs and read Kashf Al-Makhjoob”.
Thus, Hujwiri attempted to ground true Sufism on the Quran and Hadis from the theoretical and
practical perspective.
Hujwiri had a broad religious knowledge and was proficient in Arabic and Persian. He
referred to 236 verses from the Quran in his work. He mentioned and explained 138 hadiths in
his book that also included 500 quotes from Sufis. In his system of knowledge, external or
apparent (Zahir) is in harmony with the inner or hidden. In the final chapter of his book, he not
only describes the detailed rules and procedure concerning prayers, prescribed purifying alms,
fasting, pilgrimage and other forms of worship from the perspective of Islamic jurisprudence but
also explains in a concise way, their external aspects. His correct use of Arabic and Persian
poems in Kashf Al-Makhjoob implies that he had a good literary education. Although he was a
Sufi, Hujwiri would still make explanations based on reason and logic, which is largely
attributable to the fact that he was a follower of the Iraqi school of Islamic jurisprudence. Hanafi
scholars who attach importance to reason and analogical reasoning such as Kalabazi and Huzuri
managed to avoid romantic Sufism and could assert their hold on realistic approach. To
demonstrate the value of knowledge, huzuri makes the following verses from Quran –
“It is only those who have knowledge among his slaves that fear Allah”.
He draws attention to the following hadith –
“It is obligatory for all men and women to seek knowledge”
For Hujwiri, human life is short but sciences are too numerous to learn. Thus, ordinary
people do not need to learn all sciences. Most sciences facilitate an organized religious life such
as astrology, astronomy, medicine, math and finance. Medicine facilitates diets while maths
simplifies inheritance transaction. For H, the practical value of knowledge stems from its ability
to regulate or organize religious life. He stresses the importance of knowledge, saying “it should
be noted that it is possible to perform a lot of work even with a small bit of knowledge.
Knowledge must accompany one’s deed.” Hujwiri does not approve either considering
knowledge as superior as deeds or treating deeds as preferable over knowledge. He classifies
knowledge into two parts – as divine knowledge and human. Divine knowledge constitutes the
attributes of God, which is limitless where as human knowledge is limited. For h, human
knowledge should be suitable for knowing God. He points out the verses of Quran which urges
humans to ‘reason, think, see or consider’, emphasizes the importance of observing and
contemplating the divine acts. He criticizes the sophists who doubt that knowledge can be
obtained. According to him, “is the knowledge that ‘any knowledge about anything is not true’
true? If they say yes, then they accept the existence of knowledge. If they say no, then it is
impossible to oppose or deny what is not true or right. One cannot reasonably argue with such a
person”. Hujwiri indicates the value of knowledge with the following passage –
“Knowledge is an attribute with which all sorts of ignorance are eliminated. Anyone who
does not know science and exist on ignorance will become a polytheist. No one should be
distracted from learning science. This demand should be perfectly stated and sort. You need to
learn a lot in order to realize you know so little.”
In this way a Sufi seeks access to the path of God. A true Sufi follows a method. On the
other hand, a false Sufi commands unnecessary things. In this regard he says “those who object
to Sufism argue that the word Sufi or Sufism are not referred in the Quran, there is nothing
strange about it. That is true. However, if they deny the spirit or morality of Sufism, then this
means denial of the religion introduced by the Prophet”. Hujwiri resorts to a remarkable simile in
explaining his views about ‘fanah’ and permanence or subsistence in a way to eliminate all
misconceptions –
“When a chunk of iron is placed into fire, the fire will destroy iron’s quality of coldness
and blackness, giving it its qualities of warmth and redness. Looking at the furnace, one cannot
distinguish between fire and iron. But the essences of the fire and the iron do not change. The
fire is the same old fire and the iron is the same old iron. Likewise, when love for God invades a
human being, it will destroy his qualities, giving him its own qualities. In this sense, as iron
becomes feverish and flaming, man becomes divine and transcendental. This is the core of fana’
and baqa in Sufism.”22

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CC5

V. RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS

b. ISLAMIC INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS

He draws attention to the following hadith –

“It is obligatory for all men and women to seek knowledge”

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