Studying Islam

Post Reply

Username

Invalid Username or Password

Password

Format

Message Icon

Message

- Forum Code is ON
- HTML is OFF

Smilies

[quote]Summary of the explanation of Wahdat al-Wujood by Maulana Zafar Ahmad Usmani in the Introduction of his Urdu book "Al-Qawlul Mansur fi Ibn al-Mansur"

Allah Ta'ala has many qualities, one of them is wujood (existence). The wujood of Allah is compulsory (Allah is 'wajib al-Wujood'). The wujood of Allah has no beginning and no end. The wujood of the creation of Allah is 'hadis' (of recent occurrence) and dependent upon Allah Ta'ala in all its aspects.

Regarding the wujood of the creation, the Ulama-e-Zahir say that the wujood of the creation is 'mustaqil' (confirmed), meaning that it is not a shadow of the existence of Allah but entirely dependent upon Allah in all its aspects. The soofia-e-kiram say that the wujood of the creation is 'ghair-mustaqil' (unconfirmed). Indeed, the wujood of the creation is 'khayali' (speculative). The real wujood is that of Allah alone. The entire creation is a testimony of the wujood of Allah. In other words, the existence of the creation is totally different than the existence of Allah. One can not make 'qiyas' (analogical deduction) of Allah's wujood with that of the creation. The existence of Allah is real and independent. Therefore, wahdat al-wujood means that Allah is one in His existence as He is one in His 'zaat' (self/identity). It is a much deeper notion of 'tawheed' (oneness of Allah). 'Wahdat as-shuhood' means that the mere speculative existence of the creation testifies the independent existence of Allah.

'Wujood-e-khayali' (the speculative existence of the creation) is of two types:

1. 'Waqi'ee' (occurring)

2. 'Ghair waqi'ee (non-occurring)

The soofia say that the creation is 'waqi'ee' (occurring) but its occurrence is limited in terms of 'makaan' (place) and 'zamaan' (time) and dependent upon Allah. It would be wrong to call the creation non-occurring and say that everything one sees is Allah, this is against the 'aqaa'id' (beliefs) of the Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaah. This is where all the misunderstanding arises. In reality, the beliefs held by the 'soofia-e-kiram' in regards to the oneness of Allah are in exact accordance with Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaah and much deeper and firm-rooted than those of the 'ulama-e-zahir'. Once a person believes that the creation is only speculative then he will not think and believe that the benefits and harms being displayed by the creation are its creation but all harm and benefit is the creation of Allah. The creation only displays the orders of Allah. The 'hikmah' (wisdom) of 'wahdat al-wujood' and 'wahdat as-shuhood' is to ingrain a deep 'yaqin' (conviction) of Allah in the depths of the hearts. If a person has a hard time understanding this, he should stick to the basic beliefs and tenets of Islam as described by the 'ulama-e-zahir' because these are proven from the Quran with clarity. However, one does not have the right to criticize the 'soofia' for their beliefs just because one is unable to understand the reality of their views.

One should also understand that the views of the 'soofia' regarding 'wahdat al-wujood' are not from the fundamentals of 'tassawwuf' and understanding it is not a condition for a 'saalik' (seeker of truth). Those who speak ill of the 'soofia' should fear Allah and contemplate over the following hadith of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi WaSallam):

"Speaking what is good is better than silence and silence is better than talking evil." (Reported by al-Bayhaqi)[/quote]

Mode

Check here to be notified by email whenever someone replies to your topic

Show Preview