ghaflah, negligence or forgetfulness of God, which in Sufism is considered as the major impediment to spiritual realization and in Islam more generally speaking as the root of most sins.
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hadith qudsi, 'sacred tradition',' a small number of hadith in which God speaks in the first person through the Prophet. This collectionis of particular importance for Islamic esotericism.
Ideals and realities of Islam On page 194 January 5, 2013
The day-to-day practice of the Shari'ah isthe same in both worlds. Except for one or two points, such as the amount of inheritance of the female side or temporary marriages, the rulings of the Shari'ah are common to them
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Also, because the Imam is absent, the Shi'ites do not emphasize the Friday prayers to the same degree as the Sunnis and it lacks especially the political signi-ficance that it possesses in the Sunni world.
Ideals and realities of Islam On page 180 January 5, 2013
Sunni theology may be characterized as more concerned with 'rational' aspects of the faith and Shi'ite theology with the 'mystical', in the sense that Sunni theology does not concern itself as much with esoteric questions as does Shi'ite theology. But here again Sufi doctrine, which is often combined with theology in the Sunni world, does provide an esoteric dimen-sion even in the exoteric domain. Also, Shi'ite theology is more sympathetic to the arts and sciences and the 'intellectual sciences' (al-'ulum al-'aqliyah) than is Ash'arite theology
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The Isma'ili works speak of a large cycle of aeons sometimes mentioned as of 360,000 yearswithin which there are seven cycles of prophecy. Each cycle is commenced by a prophet (nabi) who has his esoteric representa-tive or imam who dominates over that cycle, the seventh bringing the cycle to an end. The prophets and their imams for the present cycle of humanity are mentioned usually as: Adam Noah Abraham Moses Seth Shem Ishmael Aaron
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Isma'ili doctrine thusjoins Sufi metaphysics and Oriental metaphysics in general by considering the Supreme Principle to be at once Being and above Being. Its primordial act brings into being the order of universal existence.
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It must be remembered that the Safavid movement itself, which represents the one instance of major political victory for Twelve-imam Shi'ism, did not begin as a purely Shi'ite movement in the restricted sense of the word. The Safavids were a Sufi orderwhich became so well organized and so powerful that it was able to exercise actual political authority and finally conquer all of Persia. Of course, then the Safavids made Shi'ism the state religion
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The twelve Imams are like the twelve constellations of the zodiac in the spiritual firmament. At their centre stands the Prophet, the sun whose light illumines these constellations.
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Even Abu Hanifah, the founder of one of the four Sunni schools of law, as well as several otherwell-known Sunni scholars studied with him. It is also with Imam Ja'far that Isma'ilism separated from Twelve-imam Shi'ism
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In fact only one of the many children of each Imam becomes himself the Imam, because only one carries the 'Prophetic Light' within himself. The relation between the Imams is not only a carnal one but, most of all, a spiritual connection based on the passingof this 'Light' from one Imam to another by virtue of which each becomes 'ma'sum' or 'pure' and gains authority as the sustainer and interpreter of the Divine Law.
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Twelve-imam Shi'ism emphasizes above all else the exoteric (zahir), and the esoteric (batin), aspects of religion and in thisas in many other instances, joins Sufism in its point of view. The zahir cannot exist without the batin for then there would be nothing to manifest it and give it objective existence. And the batin could never become objectivized and revealed without the zahir. In this relation there lies the secret of the necessity for the existence of the Imam. A prophet in a religion brings a law from heaven to guide the lives of men. After him the revelation ceases and men are left with a law which corresponds to the exoteric aspect of the revelation. There then must come those who can interpret the inner meaning of the law and the esoteric content of the revelation.
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Safavid renaissance. Shi'ite law and theology were revived leading finally to the composition of the immense religious encyclopedia, the Bihar al-anwar, composed by Muhammad Baqir Majlisi. Shi'ite religious and metaphysical doctrines found some of their most outstanding expositors in Mir Damad, Baha' al-Din al-'Amill, one of the many Shi'ites from Jabal 'Amil in Lebanon who had come to Persia, and Sadr al-Din Shirazi, usually known as Mulla Sadra. This last named, who is perhaps the greatest Islamic philosopher or more correctly theosopher (hakim), founded a new intellectual dimension in Islam, combining the teachings of Ibn 'Arabi, Suhrawardi, Ibn SIna and Nasir al-Din in the texture of Shi'ism.
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The second period may be considered as stretching from the time of occultation of the Mahdi to the Mongol invasion, not only because of the great changes brought about by this event, but also because this last date corresponds to the life of Khwajah Naslr al-DIn al-Tusi. With this remarkable genius, who was an outstanding mathematician, astronomer and philosopher, Shi'ite theology reaches its height. He may, in fact, be con-sidered in many ways as the greatest of the Shi'ite theologians. This period is marked by the appearance of authoritative collections of Hadith and religious doctrine which form the very substance of Shi'ite religious life. It begins with Kulaini, the author of the Usui al-kafi which is the most outstanding com-pilation of the traditions of the Shi'ite Imams. It is also the age of Ibn Babuyah, Shaikh Mufid and Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Tusi who are the authors of the main traditional sources of Shi'ite religious sciences. Also during this period Sayyid Sharif al-Radi compiled the sayings of 'All in the Nahj al-baldghah which after the Quran and prophetic Hadith is the mostimportant work in Shi'ism.
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The third period, stretching from the Mongol invasion to the establishment of the Safavids, is the most obscure because the sources of this period have not been well studied. Just as the political and social historyof this period is not well known,due tothe general turmoil of the age and the presence of so many local dynasties, so the details of the religious life of Shi'ism in this age are as yet unknown.
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Yet, once the Abbasids came topower, their opposition to the Shi'ah was hardly less severe than that of the Umayyads. Only at the beginning of the third Islamic century and especially during the reign of al-Ma'mun did Shi'ism have the opportunity to function relatively freely, in fact to the extent that the eighth Imam—'All al-Rida—was chosen as the successor of al-Ma'mun. But after the poisoning and later the death of al-Ma'mun the situation became difficult once again, to such a degree that the new caliph ordered the tomb of Imam Husain in Kerbala to be destroyed and turned into a field.
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The main body of Shi'ism, in both number and its centrality within the traditional religious spectrum, is Twelve-imam Shi'ism. Then there is Seven-imam Shi'ism or Isma'ilism and Five-imam Shi'ism or Zaidism. Twelve-imam Shi'ism is the official religion of Persia and the majority of the population belongs to this school.
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The earlier Sunni authorites conceived of the caliphate as the legitimate political institution of the Islamic community. Asthere is only one community (ummah) and one Divine Law or Shari'ah, so is there ideally one caliph who rules over the community and whose duty it is to protect the community and administer the Shari'ah in conformity with the view of the 'ulama'. Later, when the caliphate became weakened politically and powerful kings ruled over the Muslim world, this theory was somewhat revised to include the caliph, the sultan and the Divine Law. The caliph symbolized the unity of the community and the supremacy of the Divine Law, while the sultan held actual temporal, military and political power and was supposed to enforce and uphold the Law and protect the community. I
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But again it was in the third century that theology in the Sunni world became fully established with the Mu'tazilites who were dominant during the early Abbasid period. As is well known, the Mu'tazilites applied the use of reason to the understanding of the tenets of revelation and arrived at a conception of theDivine Attributes and the Quran which was opposed by the religious community at large so that within a few centuries they disappeared as an influential theological school.
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Opposed to the rationalistic tendency of the Mu'tazilites, Ash'arite theology believed in the subservience of reason to revelation but never-theless encouraged a rational understanding of the faith. The Maturidi school, which also developed about the same time as Ash'arism, chartered an intermediate course between the Mu'tazilites and Ash'arites and although never widespread has continued to have adherents to the present day.
Ideals and realities of Islam On page 156 January 5, 2013
Thescience of Hadith as a distinct discipline began in the second century with a written compilation of the first collection of prophetic sayings under the Umayyad caliph, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz. It also became a fully established discipline in the third/ninth century when the authoritative collections were assembled.
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From an external point of view the difference between Sunnism and Shi'ism concerns the problem of 'successor' to the Prophet as the leader of thecommunity after his death.
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But it must also be recalled that during the third/tenth and fourth/eleventh centuries the stronghold of Shi'ism was southern Syria and North Africa while Khurasan was the bastion of Sunnism. Such great champions of Sunni Islam as al-Ghazzali and Fakhr al-DIn al-Razi were Persians,and Ash'arite theology, which is often called 'orthodox' Sunni theology, had its early foundation and development, to a large extent, in the hands of Persians.
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In traditional Christianity one finds the Catholic and Orthodox churches, not to speak of the smaller eastern churches such as the Coptic and Maronite. And outside the Abrahamic family there is Buddhism with its two major schools of Mahayana and Theravada—and in addition the Tibetan form. Without the Mahayana, ornorthern school, it is doubtful whether this tradition could have become dominant in the Far East. Likewise, Hinduism which, like a vast sea, contains within itself numerous spiritual forms, is again divided into the Shaivite and Vaishnavite interpreta-tions to suit different spiritual temperaments.
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The cardinal spiritual virtues in Tasawwuf, which in fact characterize spiritual life as such, are humility, charity and truthfulness, which are in essence the same virtues that characterize the Prophet. Humility in Islam does not mean asentimental attitude of meekness which hides the pride of the ego. Nor does it mean the hatred of intelligence, as is so often seen in certain trends of Western religious thought today. T
Ideals and realities of Islam On page 144 January 5, 2013
Of course the Sufis are also called by many other names such as the 'people of the Way' (ahl al-tariqah), the 'people who learn through allusion' (ahl al-isharah), the 'people of the heart' (ahl-i dil in Persian) and many other appellations, each of which corresponds to a certain aspect of the reality of Sufism. The faqir is also called in Persian darvish (from which comes the English word dervish) and this term is used in general in other languages of the eastern lands of Islam. He is also called the murid (he who seeks or wills to follow the Tariqah). The spiritual master, whose presence is absolutely essential as the guide on the perilous journey towards spiritual realization, isalso known by several names such as shaikh (elder or master), murshid (he who guides), murad (he who is sought) and in Persian pir (meaning, again, elder). These are all technical terms belonging to the vocabulary of Sufism each of which denotes an aspect of the spiritual life.
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In every civilization a reaction comes always against an existing force or action. The Renaissance adoration of nature is a direct reaction to the dominant medieval Christian conception of nature as a domain of darkness and evil to be shunned.
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Islam is not technically speaking a theocracy but a nomocracy, that is a society ruled by a Divine Law.
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As far as the specific teachings of the Shari'ah are concerned the Sunni and Shi'ite schools are nearly the same except in the question of inheritance where, according to Shi'ite Law, in certain cases the female line inherits more than in Sunni law. Otherwise, there is little disagreement between them
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Sunni law, there grew students each of whom emphasized a certain aspect of the sources of the Shari'ah such as Ibn yanbal, who relied essentially on prophetic Hadith after the Quran and discounted ijma and qiyas, and Da'ud ibn Khalaf who believed that the external (zahiri) meaning of the Quran alone should be followed and founded the Zahirite school. The school of Ibn Hanbal became the fourth accepted school of Sunni law with its characteristic disdain of rationalist methods and complete reliance upon Hadith literature while the Zahirite school gradually disappeared.
Ideals and realities of Islam On page 109 January 5, 2013
