Racial Traits and Spiritual Elevation

There  is no such thing as spiritual superiority on the basis of racial traits. Racial traits are neutral in their essence; they can be used both for the good or for the bad. There is no single human trait which can be used for the good only or for the bad only. Human traits may be superior or inferior in terms of attaining worldly achievements, but they cannot be superior or inferior in terms of spiritual achievements. All human traits may be used  to attain equal but distinct spiritual elevation or spiritual degradation. No doubt Allah determines every thing to be faced by human beings;  Allah  determines spiritual elevation/degradation on the basis of human deeds or Allah's will but not on the basis of races.

We know that human being is granted with various kinds of traits/emotions- pleasures and sorrows, liking and disliking, excitements and shocks, sadness and happiness, love and hate, affection and aversion, hope and frustration, trust and distrust, self-respect and lack of self-respect, courage and cowardliness, patience and impatience, resilience  and lack of resilience, meanness and charity, mercy and cruelty, anger and joy, shallowness and profoundness etc. Out of these traits, every individual is granted by Allah with a fixed   composition/set of traits in terms of kind and magnitude/degree, which may vary from person to person. This fixed composition of traits/emotions is called ‘shakilah’. 

 Allah says: "Everyone acts according to his own disposition/ ‘shaakilah’: But your Lord knows best who it is that is best guided on the Way" (Isra-84).

 Once granted to human being, fixed composition of traits is never changed. (plz see my article ' Determined Psyche of Human Being'). Every person acts in his/her life according to this composition of traits he/she is bestowed upon. Actually traits are the basic tool through which a person is judged by Allah in this worldly life.  These human traits are neither good nor bad in their essence; it is the human choice of the situations, and kind and magnitude of these traits to manifest in those situations, which makes a human deed good or bad. A human deed based on each kind of traits (e.g. love or hate, anger or lack of anger, lust or lack of lust, courage or cowardliness etc) may be either good or bad, depending upon the situation chosen and the magnitude of trait to display in such situation. For instance lack of anger shown in a situation which requires anger to be shown would be a bad act; similarly showing anger in a situation which requires lack of anger to be shown would be a bad act. Similarly lesser degree of charity shown in a situation which requires greater degree of charity to be displayed would be a bad act; similarly greater degree of charity in a situation which requires lesser degree of charity to be shown would be a bad deed. (e.g. a Muslim cannot bequeath more than one third of his property through his will). 

Whatever is presented to an individual in his/her life by Allah is actually to test how he/she utilizes his/her traits, capabilities, knowledge and environment. Because a person is granted with fixed set of traits in terms of kind and magnitude/degree, it means person is liable to utilize his/her traits only to the extent he/she is granted with them. In other words, no person is liable to utilize a trait he/she is not granted with; similarly no person is liable to utilize a trait with a degree greater than he/she is granted with. That is why every human attains distinct achievements. This is what has been mentioned in Quran: “No person is charged with more than his capacity” (al-baqra-233).   In other words every person is liable to choose the degree of traits to be utilized  upto the extent of degree he/she is granted with such traits.  It means determined human psyche does not mean human personality cannot grow and develop; human personality can grow and develop positively depending upon how much natural traits are tamed positively to be displayed rightly in kind and magnitude in the right situation, and how much knowledge, skills and conducive environment have been provided and utilized positively.

One implication of foregoing is that spiritual elevation is not linked with specific racial traits. Because each trait/emotion can be used for the good or the bad, no set/composition of racial traits/emotions  can be considered as better than any other set/composition of racial traits for the purpose of spiritual elevation. However it may be noted that  spiritual elevations attained by different persons may be equal but such spiritual elevations have to be distinct because no two persons can be similar in traits composition. Two persons may possess equal levels of spiritual elevation, but such spiritual elevation has to be distinct; for instance two persons may be 'saleheen' of equal levels, but they will not be similar in terms of  their apparent and hidden virtues on the basis of which they have attained equal levels of 'saleheen'- one may have excelled in one apparent or hidden virtue, and the other one in another apparent or hidden virtue, but making equal the total scores obtained by the both. (for details plz see my articles" Patterns of Spiritual Elevations" ; " Concept of Muslim", and " Rebuttal of Qadyaniat")

,

In other words, likelihood and capability of spiritual elevation is not linked with specific genetic set up of a human race; every man/human race is equally capable to achieve equal spiritual elevation likely to be achieved by any other man/human race though spiritual elevation attained by every man/race is distinct from that one attained by any other man/race.  There is no such thing as hereditary spiritual capability; spiritual capability is not something to be inherited by any individual/human race. The human traits are neither good nor bad in their essence; it is the human choice of the situation, and kind and magnitude of the traits to manifest in the situation, which makes a human deed good or bad. A human deed based on each kind of traits (e.g. love or hate, anger or lack of anger, lust or lack of lust, courage or cowardliness etc) may be either good or bad, depending upon the situation chosen and the magnitude of trait to display in such situation. Spiritual elevation of an individual/human race, in terms of level, does not depend upon specific  racial traits he/she inherits; rather it depends upon the  choice of that individual/human race to choose right kind and magnitude of trait (out of traits he/she is inherited with) to manifest in the right situation.

Allah says: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted” (al-hujurat-13). " O you who have believed, let not a nation/tribe ridicule [another] nation/tribe; perhaps they may be better than them......" (al-hujurat-11).

From these verses it is inferred that various nations and tribes have been made to know about each other; otherwise there is no spiritual preference assigned to any nation/tribe.  Spiritual elevation all depends upon the righteous deeds. 

It does not mean that all human races have been bestowed with equally good traits for worldly achievements; definitely some individuals/races are blessed with better traits than the other individuals/races. But such superiority of racial traits impacts only worldly achievements; it has nothing to do with level of spiritual elevations. As long as spiritual elevations are concerned, equal but distinct spiritual elevations may be achieved on the basis of every set of racial traits/emotions (every individual is distinct in his/her spiritual achievements because every individual is bestowed with distinct traits/emotions which provide the basis for spiritual elevation). All kinds of traits/emotions (whether superior/inferior for worldly achievements) can be used to do the good or the bad deeds. There is no single human trait/emotion which can be used only for the good or only for the bad deed. 

Therefore we may conclude that human traits may be superior or inferior in terms of worldly achievements, but such superiority or inferiority has nothing to do with superior or inferior capability of spiritual elevation. All kinds/sets of human traits bestowed upon various individuals/races may lead to equal but distinct spiritual elevations or spiritual degradations. Therefore there are no such racial traits which may lead  any person/nation to such higher spiritual elevations which cannot be achieved by any other person/nation. Allah determines every thing to be faced by human beings; spiritual elevation/degradation is also determined on the basis of Allah's Will or  human deeds, but NOT on the basis of races. If spiritual elevation had been determined on the basis of races, such racial traits would never be used for the bad deeds. As there exists no human trait which cannot be used for bad deeds, spiritual elevation on the basis of races is a false idea, having no basis at all.

            

Al-haque and Mansoor Hallaj

                   

In Quranic terminology, word ‘al-haque’ is used for Allah’s Person or Allah’s deeds; whereas, as compared to 'al-haque', word ‘haque’ is used (in addition to other connotations) with reference to human deeds .  To know about ‘al-haque’/ Allah’s Person/ Allah’s deeds is called knowledge; whereas to know about ‘haque’/ creation’s/ human deeds is called information/ ‘khabr’/ ‘naba’. Word ‘naba’ is used to inform before time or inform about past news; whereas ‘khabr’ is used to inform about future news. 

In Quran, word ‘al-haque’ is always used to describe Allah’s Person or Allah’s deeds.

Quran says: “ This is so, because Allah is the Reality/ ‘al-haque’: it is He Who gives life to the dead, and it is He Who has power over all things” (al-hajj-6).

In this above verse, word ‘al-haque’ has been used to describe Allah’s Person. Similarly Quran states: “

“And from whatsoever place you come forth, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; and surely it is the very truth/ ‘al-haque’ from your Lord, and Allah is not at all heedless of what you do” (al-baqra-149).

In the above verse, word ‘al-haque’ has been used to describe Allah’s deed. There are dozens of verses in Quran where this word ‘al-haque’ has been used to describe Allah’s deeds; for instance al-baqra-147 states: “The truth/ ‘al-haque’ is from your Lord, so never be among the doubters”.

Similarly, as compared to 'al-haque' , word ‘haque’ is used with reference to man’s/ creature’s deeds.

“Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly (beghair haque) only because they said:….”.(al-hajj-40).

In this verse, word ‘haque’ has been used to describe human deeds.

From the above discussion it is clear that word ‘ al-haque’ in Quran is used to describe Allah’s Person or Allah’s deeds. Mansoor Hallaj’s statement ‘ana-l-haque’ may be better appreciated keeping in mind that all creatures have been created by Allah and as such are deeds of Allah; ‘ana-l-haque’ may mean I am  Allah’s creation/Allah’s deed’.

Wahdatul wajood

                                 

Wahdadul wajood is the most complicated and controversial theory which is discussed and opined about in almost all shades of Islamic schools of thoughts particularly in various sufi ideologies. Simply speaking, theory of wahdatul wajood has two connotations. According to Ibne Arbi’s theory, existence is only one i.e. the Creator who is present everywhere in this universe, and there is no room for any other existence in this universe because two entities cannot exist at the same place. Therefore he concludes this universe exists within  the Creator’s existence. The Creator is infinite/ undetermined but universe is finite/ determined. Where the Creator’s existence becomes finite/ determined, it no longer remains the Creator’s infinite/undetermined existence, rather it becomes creation. In other words, in one way this universe is the Creator’s reflection/existence; but, in other way, this universe is creation. 

There is another connotation of wahdatul wajood, which is based on sufis’ spiritual experiences. ‘Sufis’ during meditation/ ‘mushahda-e- zaat’, experience only one existence i.e. the Creator. Therefore many ‘sufis’ believe in only one existence i.e. the Creator; all the rest is either deception/unreal (in view of many ‘sufis’) or finite/determined forms of the Creator’s single existence (in view of many other ‘sufis’).

In the succeeding lines we will analyze these various connotations of Theory of Wahdatul wajood in the light of Quran and sunnah.

Quran says about this universe:

“And We did not create unreal the heaven and the earth and all that is between them. That is the opinion of those who disbelieve. And woe unto those who disbelieve, from the Fire” (sad-27). 

 This verse negates the concept that universe is a deception and unreal. It clearly states this universe has been created real. It means existence of this universe is a real; it is not vanity. Similar view has been stated in al-anaam-73 which states that: “And it is He who created the heavens and earth in truth. And the day He says, "Be," and it is, His word is the truth…….”. This verse also describes this universe has been created in truth; in other words, it is not superficial, vanity or something unreal. Therefore many sufis’ view that universe is a deception, vanity or unreal is not tenable in the light of these verses.

The other connotation of ‘wahdatul wajood’ implies this universe is finite forms of the Creator’s infinite single existence; this connotation actually is based on the belief that because the Creator’s existence is single and spread everywhere, there is no room for any other existence because two entities cannot exist at the same place. Actually the opinion that two entities cannot exist at the same place is not scientifically a valid opinion. It is our common observation that x-rays pass through a person’s body and make a reflection of that person’s body, which we see on screen. X-rays and the person are two separate entities. When x-rays pass through the person’s body, actually two entities i.e. x-rays and the person exist at the same place. In other words, two forms of matter can exist at the same place, if one form is thin enough to penetrate through the other form. If one form of matter can penetrate through the other form, why not Allah the Creator can penetrate through this universe? One of Allah’s qualitative name is ‘al-lateef’ which means the most thin, refined and sophisticated. Allah is the most thinnest entity of this universe and can penetrate through the whole universe; in other words, Allah exists at every bit of this universal space which is occupied by created entities.

One argument in favor of theory of wahdatul wajood is given on the basis of  al-hadid-3 which states: “ He is the First and the Last, and the Outward and the Inward; and He is Knower of all things”.  The believers of  wahdatul wajood argue that if Allah is the most apparent and the most hidden, it concludes existence is one and that is Allah the Creator. Actually this conclusion is not correct. No doubt Allah is the most apparent/ outward and the most hidden/inward but it does not mean existence is one. Actually it means that because Allah is the most thinnest and spreads everywhere in space, and because space covers everything, it means Allah covers everything; the outer most part of everything is covered by Allah; there is nothing upper most/ more outward/ more apparent than Allah. Similarly there is nothing innermost/ more inward than Allah because space exists at the bottom of everything, and Allah spreads everywhere in space, it means Allah exists at the bottom of everything. These meanings of ‘al-zahir’ and ‘al-batin’ have been clarified by our Nabi (saw) himself in a hadith. In short, it is misconception to infer theory of ‘wahdatul wajood’ from this Quranic verse.

Now we dwell on the issue why sufis experience one existence  during meditation/ ‘ mushahida-e-zaat’.

Before creation of this universe, everything contained in this universe existed and still exists in Allah’s mind. Then Allah created His creations which will be destroyed/ annihilated after people would have gotten reward/punishment of their deeds. When the whole creations (including paradise and hell) will be undone/ annihilated, only one existence will be left and that is Allah.  

We have seen in the article “contraction of time in single moment” that events happening in 211.22 days on earth can happen in one second in seventh sky; from the same analogy it seems possible that all events happening from beginning to end of this world can happen in a single moment in such a frame of Time and Space which exists separately from the frames of time and space of seven skies. Allah is not bound to operate keeping within ambits of Time and Space in seven skies. Quran says about process of creation: “For to anything which We have willed, We but say the word, "Be", and it is” (al-nahl-40).  From this verse it is evident that anything which is willed by Allah happens forthwith. It is possible only in such frame of Time and Space which exists separately from the frames of time and space of seven skies.

We can conclude that Time and space may be expanded/contracted to such a point  where all events happening from beginning to end of this world may happen in a single moment of time. This testifies our Messenger's (saw) saying that Allah is done with process of creation and its allied matters. It means Allah even at the present moment is alone; even at the present moment, He is ‘ahad’. Even at the present moment, Allah has such a frame of space and time where all the creations have already been annihilated; that is why He is alone and 'Ahad' even at present moment. That is why our sufis experience only one existence during meditation/ ‘mushahda-e-zaat’. But it does not mean that the created and the Creator are one; it only means that we experience one existence in such a frame of space and time when the creations have already been annihilated and Allah is already done with business of creations.