Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

While some later Imāmite sources denounce taṣawwuf (Ṣūfism) as outright heresy, it is noteworthy that other texts attribute sayings to the Imāms which appear to praise or legitimize it. One such Shīʿī source reports:

وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ: وَقَدْ سُئِلَ عَنْ مَعْنَى اَلتَّصَوُّفِ فَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ اَلتَّصَوُّفُ مُشْتَقٌّ مِنَ اَلصُّوفِ وَهُوَ ثَلاَثَةُ أَحْرُفٍ ص و ف فَالصَّادُ صَبْرٌ وَصِدْقٌ وَصَفَاءٌ وَاَلْوَاوُ وُدٌّ وَوِرْدٌ وَوَفَاءٌ وَاَلْفَاءُ فَقْرٌ وَفَرْدٌ وَفَنَاءٌ.

It is narrated from Imām ʿAlī (ʿas) that, when asked about the meaning of taṣawwuf, he replied: "Taṣawwuf is derived from the word ṣūf (wool), and it comprises three letters: Ṣād (ص), Wāw (و), and Fāʾ (ف). Ṣād stands for ṣabr (patience), ṣidq (truthfulness), and ṣafāʾ (purity); Wāw for wudd (love), wird (spiritual practice), and wafāʾ (loyalty); and Fāʾ for faqr (poverty), fard (singularity), and fanāʾ (annihilation)."

- ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī, 4/105

Although likely anachronistic, the attribution of taṣawwuf-friendly statements to the Imāms in later sources suggests a retrospective effort to harmonize Ṣūfī ideals with Shīʿī authority and reclaim the Imāms as being the spiritual ancestors of the Ṣūfīs. The letterism used in the report is of particular interest as it seems to encompass the totality of the teachings of taṣawwuf. Such reports may reflect an attempt to construct a shared spiritual heritage or to counterbalance polemical traditions that came to portray taṣawwuf as deviant or heretical.

[Abdullah Ansar @ShaykhIshraq]

The draft of my paper on the incursion into the House of Fatima by Caliphal authorities, including Caliph ʿUmar and his associates, is now available on my academia page.

Link: https://t.co/YJCd5JoaXd

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

@QuettaCafpk @SYED_A_L_I Or you can read this paper:

https://t.co/fI8Fob4e4J

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

@QuettaCafpk @SYED_A_L_I Wa ‘Alaykum Assalam, you may read the work “The Life and Legacy of Ja’far al-Sadiq At the Nexus of Islam” by
Matthew Pierce. Or his other work “Ja'far al-Sadiq: Teacher, Saint, and Imam”.

[SYED BAQIR ALI سید باقر علی @SYED_A_L_I]

Thread 🧵

Just because Safwan himself is sectarian (as demonstrated by his own posts in our earlier exchanges), he seems to view everyone else through the same lens.

BOP, and Sadrians more generally, have never been sectarian in their approach.

[SYED BAQIR ALI سید باقر علی @SYED_A_L_I]

“God created me from His light, Abu Bakr from my light, Umar from Abu Bakr’s light, and the light of my community from Umar’s light. Umar is a lamp for the inhabitants of Paradise.”

— Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, vol. 1, p. 66.

[SYED BAQIR ALI سید باقر علی @SYED_A_L_I]

“...It seems that, in the history of Islamic mysticism, the notion that the Perfect Man is a Divine Book 𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒉īʿī 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒖...”

[Brethren of Purity @brethrenfpurity]

Even in the most conservative estimates, Kitāb al-Maḥāsin predates these, let alone other earlier sources in the circle of Mufaddal. Sufi anachronisms obviously don't change history.

[Brethren of Purity @brethrenfpurity]

The relationship between early Shī'ism and Sufism is still understudied. From a historical perspective, some of our earliest attestations of the cosmological role of the Proof or the esoteric nature of religion are Shī'ī, not Sufi. Shī'ism predates Sufism by a century.

[Brethren of Purity @brethrenfpurity]

This is a good book but this just gets the conversation started. There is still a lot to be said about the Shī'ī origins of Sufism.

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad narrated from Ibn Maḥbūb, from al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Razīn, from Muḥammad ibn Muslim, from Abū Jaʿfar (Imam al-Bāqir), peace be upon him, who said:

"Whoever relieves himself upon a grave, or urinates while standing, or urinates while standing into water, or walks wearing only one shoe, or drinks while standing, or relieves himself alone in a house, or sleeps upon ghamar (a greasy or unclean bed or place), and is then afflicted by something from Satan, it will not leave him except if Allah wills.

The Devil is quickest to approach a person when he is in one of these states.

Indeed, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, once set out on a military expedition and came to the Valley of Majannah. He called out to his companions:

'Let every one of you take hold of his companion's hand. No man should enter alone, and no man should proceed alone.'

But one man went ahead by himself. They later came upon him, and he had been struck down (collapsed).

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, was informed of this. He took hold of the man's thumb and pressed it, then said:

'In the Name of Allah! Come out, O wicked one! I am the Messenger of Allah.'

The man then stood up."

وأيضا: الكافي، ج 6، ص 533: أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ اِبْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنِ اَلْعَلاَءِ بْنِ رَزِينٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ قَالَ: مَنْ تَخَلَّى عَلَى قَبْرٍ أَوْ بَالَ قَائِماً أَوْ بَالَ فِي مَاءٍ قَائِماً أَوْ مَشَى فِي حِذَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ أَوْ شَرِبَ قَائِماً أَوْ خَلاَ فِي بَيْتٍ وَحْدَهُ وَبَاتَ عَلَى غَمَرٍ فَأَصَابَهُ شَيْءٌ مِنَ اَلشَّيْطَانِ لَمْ يَدَعْهُ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشَاءَ اَللَّهُ وَأَسْرَعُ مَا يَكُونُ اَلشَّيْطَانُ إِلَى اَلْإِنْسَانِ وَهُوَ عَلَى بَعْضِ هَذِهِ اَلْحَالاَتِ فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اَللَّهِ صَلَّى اَللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ خَرَجَ فِي سَرِيَّةٍ فَأَتَى وَادِيَ مَجَنَّةَ فَنَادَى أَصْحَابَهُ أَلاَ لِيَأْخُذْ كُلُّ رَجُلٍ مِنْكُمْ بِيَدِ صَاحِبِهِ وَلاَ يَدْخُلَنَّ رَجُلٌ وَحْدَهُ وَلاَ يَمْضِي رَجُلٌ وَحْدَهُ قَالَ فَتَقَدَّمَ رَجُلٌ وَحْدَهُ فَانْتَهَى إِلَيْهِ وَقَدْ صُرِعَ فَأُخْبِرَ بِذَلِكَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ صَلَّى اَللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ فَأَخَذَ بِإِبْهَامِهِ فَغَمَزَهَا ثُمَّ قَالَ بِسْمِ اَللَّهِ اُخْرُجْ خَبِيثُ أَنَا رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ قَالَ فَقَامَ.

- Al-Kāfī, vol. 6, p. 533

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

Many Jinn possession reports can be found within the sources. Here's two of them:

Abū Jaʿfar (Imam al-Bāqir), peace be upon him, said:

"Abū Khālid al-Kābulī served ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (Imam Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn), peace be upon him, for a long period of his life. Then he wished to return to his family, so he came to ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, peace be upon him, and complained of the intensity of his longing for his parents.

The Imam said:

'O Abū Khālid, tomorrow a man from Syria will arrive. He is a person of rank and possesses great wealth. His daughter has been afflicted by one of the inhabitants of the earth (i.e., a jinn), and they will be looking for someone to treat her. When you hear of his arrival, go to him and say:

"I will cure her on the condition that my fee is ten thousand dirhams as her compensation (diyah)."

Do not hesitate with them; they will agree to whatever you ask.'

The next morning the man arrived with his companions. He was one of the great notables of Syria, possessing wealth and influence. It was announced:

'Is there anyone who can treat this man's daughter?'

Abū Khālid said:

'I will treat her for ten thousand dirhams. If you fulfill your promise, I will fulfill mine, on the condition that the affliction never returns to her.'

They agreed to give him ten thousand dirhams.

Abū Khālid then went to ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, peace be upon him, and informed him of what had happened.

The Imam said:

'I know that they will betray you and will not honor their promise. Go, O Abū Khālid, take hold of the girl's left ear and say:

"O wicked one! ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn commands you: Leave this girl and never return."

Abū Khālid did exactly as he had been instructed, whereupon the spirit departed from her and the girl regained consciousness.

Abū Khālid then asked them for the payment they had promised, but they refused to give it to him. He returned distressed and sorrowful.

ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, peace be upon him, said:

'Why do I see you so dejected, O Abū Khālid? Did I not tell you that they would betray you? Leave them, for they will come back to you. When they do, say:

"I will not treat her unless you first place the money in the hands of ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, for he is trusted by both me and you."

They accepted this and placed the money in the hands of ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn.

Abū Khālid then returned to the girl, took hold of her left ear, and said:

"O wicked one! ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn commands you: Leave this girl, and do not approach her again except in a good way. If you return, I shall burn you with the Fire of Allah, kindled, which rises over the hearts."

The spirit left her, and the money was then handed over to Abū Khālid. He departed for his homeland."

مناقب آل أبي طالب، ج 4، ص 157 – 158، بحار الأنوار، ج 60، ص 85 – 86: قال أبو جعفر عليه السلام: «خدم أبو خالد الكابلي عليّ بن الحسين دهراً من عمره، ثم إنه أراد أن ينصرف إلى أهله، فأتى عليّ بن الحسين عليه السلام وشكا إليه شدة شوقه إلى والديه فقال: يا أبا خالد يقدم غداً رجل من أهل الشام له قدر ومال كثير، وقد أصاب بنتاً له عارض من أهل الأرض ، ويريدون أن يطلبوا معالجاً يعالجها ، فإذا أنت سمعت قدومه فأته وقل له : أنا أعالجها لك على أن اشترط لك أني أعالجها على ديتها عشرة آلاف ، فلا تطمئنّ إليهم وسيعطونك ما تطلب منهم ، فلمّا أصبحوا قدم الرجل ومن معه، وكان من عظماء أهل الشام في المال والمقدرة ، فقال : أما من معالج يعالج بنت هذا الرجل فقال له أبو خالد، أنا أعالجها على عشرة آلاف درهم فإن أنتم وفيتم وفيت على أن لا يعود إليها أبداً ، فشرطوا أن يعطوه عشرة آلاف ، ثمّ فأقبل إلى عليّ بن الحسين عليه السلام فأخبره الخبر فقال : إني أعلم أنهم سيغدرون بك ولا يفون لك انطلق يا أبا خالد فخذ بأذن الجارية اليسرى ثم قل : يا خبيث يقول لك عليّ بن الحسين اخرج من هذه الجارية ولا تعد، ففعل أبو خالد ما أمره فخرج منها فأفاقت الجارية. وطلب أبو خالد الذي شرطوا له فلم يعطوه ، فرجع مغتماً كئيباً؛ فقال له عليّ بن الحسين عليه السلام: ما لي أراك كئيباً يا أبا خالد ألم أقل لك انهم يغدرون بك ؟ دعهم فإنهم سيعودون إليك، فإذا لقوك فقل: لست أعالجها حتى تضعوا المال على يدي عليّ بن الحسين، فإنه لي ولكم ثقة فرضوا ووضعوا المال على يدي عليّ بن الحسين فرجع أبو خالد إلى الجارية فأخذ بإذنها اليسرى ثم قال: يا خبيث يقول لك عليّ بن الحسين اخرج من هذه الجارية ولا تعرض لها إلّا بسبيل خير، فإنك إن عدت أحرقتك بنار الله الموقدة التي تطلع على الأفئدة ، فخرج منها ودفع المال إلى أبي خالد، فخرج إلى بلاده

- Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 4, pp. 157–158; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 60, pp. 85–86

[SYED BAQIR ALI سید باقر علی @SYED_A_L_I]

Sayyid Nizamuddin on mental illness and jinn possession :

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

@3bdal7ujjah @TahaNaqvi114 Not the only strange text in Qummī's (attributed) exegesis. Depends on your methodology whether you accept or reject it. If you ask me, this is obviously apocryphal for numerous reasons.

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

Taken together, these passages demonstrate that the ḥukamāʾ envisioned far more than an ideal political sovereign. Their philosopher-king is the Perfect Human (al-insān al-kāmil), God's vicegerent (Khalīfat Allāh), the supreme knower whose soul is united with the divine intellect and through whom the order of the cosmos is preserved. This conception closely mirrors both classical Shiʿi imamology and the highest doctrines of Sufi metaphysics concerning the Quṭb (Axis Mundi). In all three traditions, the world is never left without a singular perfected individual who serves as the locus of divine guidance, the recipient of heavenly effusion (fayḍ), and the metaphysical axis around which creation subsists. His authority is intrinsic rather than political, and his existence is necessary regardless of whether he is acknowledged, obeyed, or even publicly manifest.

Moreover, this office is not understood as belonging to a single historical individual alone, but as a perpetual succession of perfected souls. As each bearer of this rank departs, another succeeds him, ensuring the uninterrupted continuity of divine governance and cosmic mediation.

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

Commenting on Suhrawardī, Quṭb al-Dīn explains why the world can never be without such a divinely guided individual:

شرح حكمة الإشراق للشيرازي، ص 18 - 19: ولا تظنّ أنّ الحكمة فى هذه [المدّة]القربية [كانت]لا غير، بل العالم ما خلا قطّ عن الحكمة وعن شخص قائم بها عنده الحجج والبيّنات ، لأنّ العناية الإلهيّة كما اقتضت وجود هذا العالم فهى تقتضى صلاحه، وهو بالحكماء المتألّهين الشّارعين للشّرائع أو المؤسّسين للقواعد فوجب أن لا تخلو الأرض عن واحد أو جماعة منهم، يقومون بحجج اللّه ويؤدّونها إلى أهلها عند الاحتياج، بهم يدوم نظام العالم ويتّصل فيض البارى. ولو خلا زمان ما عنهم، لعظم الفساد وهلك النّاس بالهرج والمرج، والعناية الأزليّة تأباه. إذ من المعلوم أنّ الحاجة إلى شخص به يكمل نظام عموم النّاس، أشدّ من الحاجة إلى إنبات الشّعر على الأشفار وعلى الحاجبين، وإلى تقعير الأخمصين، وأشياء أخر من المنافع الّتي لا ضرورة إليها فى البقاء، بل هى نافعة فيه نفعا ما. وإذا أمكن وجود هذا الشّخص، فلا يجوز أن تكون العناية الإلهيّة تقتضى هذه المنافع، ولا تقتضى ما هو أكثر منفعة منها. هذا مع أنّ العقل السّليم يحكم به على سبيل الحدس. وهو خليفة اللّه فى أرضه ، لأنّه يخلفه فى العلم والرّئاسة وإصلاح العالم، إذ لا بدّ للبارى تعالى فى كلّ عالم من ذات يكون أقرب إليه من الباقى، يصل الفيض إليهم بتوسّطه. وكما أنّ حفّاظ الملك وصلاّحه على الملك خلفاؤه، فكذا حفّاظ العلوم الحقيقيّة والقائمون بحجج اللّه وبيّناته ومصلحو بريّته خلفاء اللّه فى أرضه على خلقه. وهكذا يكون للّه فى الأرض خليفة ما دامت السّماوات والأرض . لما سيظهر من دوام الأنواع العنصريّة بدوام السّماوات والأرض، ويلزم من دوام الأنواع مع العناية الإلهيّة دوام الخلافة والخليفة أيضا، وهو المطلوب.

"Do not imagine that wisdom existed only during that earlier period. The world has never been devoid of wisdom nor of a person who embodies it and possesses God's proofs and evidences. Divine Providence, just as it necessitates the existence of the world, also necessitates its proper order. This is secured through the divinely illuminated sages who establish revealed laws or foundational principles. Therefore, the earth can never be devoid of one or more such individuals who uphold God's proofs and convey them to those who require them. Through them the order of the world endures and the Divine effusion continues. Were an age to be deprived of them, corruption would become overwhelming, humanity would perish through chaos and civil strife, and Eternal Providence does not permit such a state.

Indeed, the need for such a person, through whom the order of all humanity is perfected, is greater than the need for eyelashes, eyebrows, the arches of the feet, and countless other bodily benefits that contribute to well-being but are not essential to survival. If Divine Providence ordains these lesser benefits, it cannot fail to ordain what is immeasurably more beneficial. He is God's vicegerent upon the earth because he succeeds Him in knowledge, authority, and the governance of creation. Just as earthly kings appoint deputies to preserve their dominion, so too those who preserve true knowledge, uphold God's proofs, and reform His creation are God's vicegerents among His servants. Thus, there will always be a vicegerent of God upon the earth for as long as the heavens and the earth endure."

- Sharḥ Ḥikmat al-Ishrāq, pp. 18–19.

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

Mullā Ṣadrā, a student of Mīr Dāmād, echoes Ibn Sīnā while further developing the doctrine of the Perfect Human or al-Insān al-Kāmil (likely drawing inspiration from Ibn ʿArabī and other thinkers):

يكون مع البشرية متميزا عن سائر الناس بأمور قدسية وكرامات إلهية فيكون ذا وجهين وجه إلى التقدس والألوهية ووجه إلى التجسم والبشرية فيكون إنسانا ربانيا أو ربا إنسانيا تكاد تحل عبادته بعد طاعة الله وهو خليفة الله في العالم الأرضي

"While remaining fully human, he is distinguished from all other people by sacred qualities and divine miracles. He possesses two aspects: one directed toward sanctity and divinity, and another toward corporeality and humanity. Thus he becomes a divine human (insān rabbānī), or rather, a human lord (rabb insānī), whose obedience nearly becomes obligatory after obedience to God. He is God's vicegerent in the terrestrial world."

- Sharḥ Uṣūl al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 394.

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

Although often regarded as a theological critic of philosophy, al-Rāzī likewise argues that every age must contain one individual who possesses the highest degree of perfection:

ثم إن هذا الصنف من الناس مختلفون أيضا في الكمال والنقصان، ولا شك أنه يحصل فيهم شخص واحد، هو أفضلهم وأكملهم في القوة النظرية والعملية. ثم إن الصوفية يسمونه بقطب العالم. ولقد صدقوا فيه، أنه لما كان الجزء الأشرف من سكان هذا العالم الأسفل هو الإنسان، الذي حصلت له القوة النظرية التي بها يستفيد الأنوار القدسية من عالم الملائكة، وحصلت له القوة العلمية التي يقدرها بها على تدبير هذا العالم الجسماني على الطريق الأصلح، والسبيل الأكمل.… هو القطب لهذا العالم العنصري، وما سواه فكالتبع له. وجماعة الشيعة الإمامية، يسمونه بالإمام المعصوم. وقد يسمونه بصاحب الزمان. ويقولون بأنه غائب. ولقد صدقوا في الوصفين أيضا. لأنه لما كان خاليا عن النقائص، التي هي حاصلة في غيره، كان معصوما من تلك النقائص. وهو أيضا صاحب الزمان، لأنا بينا: أن ذلك الشخص هو المقصود بالذات في ذلك الزمان، وما سواه فالكل أتباعه. وهو أيضا: غائب عن الخلق لأن الخلق لا يعلمون أن ذلك الشخص هو أفضل أهل هذا الدور… فثبت بهذا: أن كل دور لا بد وأن يحصل فيه شخص موصوف بصفات الكمال۔

"Among mankind there are varying degrees of perfection and deficiency. Undoubtedly there exists one individual who surpasses all others in both theoretical and practical perfection.

The Sufis call him the Quṭb of the World, and they are correct in doing so. Since the noblest inhabitant of this lower world is the human being who receives sacred lights from the angelic realm through his theoretical faculty and governs the corporeal world through his practical faculty according to the most perfect order, he is the Pole of this elemental world, while everyone else merely follows him. The Imāmī Shīʿa call him the Infallible Imām. They also refer to him as the Master of the Age (Ṣāḥib al-Zamān) and maintain that he is hidden. They are correct in both descriptions. Because he is free from the deficiencies found in others, he is infallible with respect to them. He is the Master of the Age because he is the one intended by God in that era, while all others are merely his followers. He is also hidden from creation because people do not recognize that he is the most excellent person of his age.

It is therefore established that every age must necessarily contain one person endowed with the attributes of perfection."

- al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah, vol. 8, pp. 105–106.

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

Suhrawardī identifies the true ruler with the divinely illuminated sage:

فالحكيم المتوغل في التأله عديم البحث، وهو خليفة الله. ولا يخلو الأرض عن متوغل في التأله. فإن المتوغل في التأله لا يخلو العالم عنه، وهو أحق من الباحث فحسب، إذ لا بد للخلافة من التلقي. ولست أعني بهذه الرئاسة التغلب، بل قد يكون الإمام المتأله مستوليا ظاهرا مكشوفا، وقد يكون خفيا، وهو الذي سماه الكافة القطب. فله الرئاسة وإن كان في غاية الخمول. وإذا كانت السياسة بيده، كان الزمان نوريا. وإذا خلا الزمان عن تدبير إلهي، كانت الظلمات غالبة۔

"The sage deeply immersed in divine illumination is God's vicegerent (Khalīfat Allāh). The earth is never devoid of one who has attained such illumination. Such a person has greater claim to authority than one who merely engages in discursive inquiry, for the vicegerency necessarily requires direct reception from the Divine. By this leadership I do not mean political domination. The illuminated Imām may be openly manifest and outwardly sovereign, or he may remain hidden. It is he whom the people call the Quṭb (Pole). Leadership belongs to him even if he lives in complete obscurity. When governance is entrusted to him, the age becomes filled with light; but when an age lacks divine governance, darkness prevails."

- Majmūʿat Muṣannafāt Shaykh al-Ishrāq, vol. 2, p. 12.

[Syed Ali Asdaq Naqvi @asdaq0]

Ibn Sīnā elevates the perfect sage who possesses prophetic qualities above all other human beings:

من اجتمعت له معها الحكمة النظرية فقد سعد، ومن فاز مع ذلك بالخواص النبوية كاد أن يصير ربا إنسانيا وكاد أن تحل‌ عبادته بعد الله تعالى‌، وهو سلطان‌ العالم الأرضي وخليفة الله فيه‌۔

"Whoever combines theoretical wisdom with these virtues has attained felicity. Whoever, in addition, possesses the prophetic characteristics nearly becomes a divine human (rabb insānī), so much so that his obedience almost becomes obligatory after obedience to God Most High. He is the sovereign of the earthly world and God's vicegerent within it."

- al-Shifāʾ, al-Ilāhiyyāt, p. 455.