Universal Dimensions of Islam Part 10

31 See eric Geoffroy, Introduction to Sufism: The Inner Path of Islam, p. 183 ff.

32 See Koran 57:20 where the term kuffar may be translated by "farmers" or, by semantic derivation by "those who have buried the seed of faith".

33 M. Boisard, L'humanisme de l'islam (Paris, 1979), p. 199.

"Neither of the East nor of the West":

Universality in Islam

M. Ali Lakhani G.o.d is the Light of the heavens and the earth.

The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche,

And within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Gla.s.s,

The Gla.s.s as it were a glittering star,

Lit from a Blessed Tree,

An Olive, neither of the East nor of the West,

Whose oil is nigh luminous, though no fire has touched it:

Light upon Light! G.o.d guides to His Light whom He wills.

And G.o.d strikes similitudes for men, and G.o.d has knowledge of everything.1

The idea of universality has an intrinsic metaphysical appeal. It corresponds to an aesthetic sensibility that perceives an underlying order and harmony in the midst of chaos, and to an ethical sensibility that is premised on an inner impulse of peace and goodness. As this paper will attempt to show, it is precisely these sensibilities of Beauty and Virtue that lie at the heart of the message of Islam and that impress it with its ambience and ethos of universality.

But if the idea of universality has an intrinsic metaphysical appeal, in practice it belies a tension that is also metaphysically rooted. This is the tension between the divine archetypes of Rigor and Mercy, between the need to impose universality as outward conformity to rigid laws, and the need to achieve it by accommodation. The former can lead to a h.o.m.ogeneity that sacrifices diversity in the name of universality, while the latter can lead to an outlook of "laissez faire" that sacrifices principles for the sake of peace. As this paper will argue, both these approaches are flawed. Instead, as we will attempt to show, Islam advocates a principled pluralism that springs from the very substance of reality, of the "Hidden Treasure" of the Divine Heart that is the ontological foundation and the Illuminating Lamp of both Beauty and Virtue.

When we speak of the "message" of Islam, this begs the question: where should we look to discern its message? As with all faith traditions, Islam was brought into the world by a messenger, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who first received the divine Word from G.o.d through the Archangel Gabriel, and thereafter through a series of intermittent "revelations" that spanned the rest of his life. At one level, therefore, the message can be equated with the codified "revelations" of the Qur'an, which is itself a compendium of the ayat or "signs" of G.o.d2 and which describes itself as a "Manifest Light"3. In another sense, the Holy Prophet is himself "an Illuminating Lamp"4, bearing the message that lights the world, and so is also a sign of G.o.d. It is noteworthy that both the Messenger (the "Lamp") and the Message (the "Light") are described using the symbol of luminosity and diffusion, which carries the metaphysical connotations of spirituality and universality. But in a broader sense, the "revelation" can be understood in terms of the ever-renewing theophany5 that is continually destroyed6 and re-created by the divine fiat7 in each moment of its existence. Each and every aspect of creation, including oneself, is a translucent "sign" of G.o.d, and so humankind is exhorted to discern these signs with "eyes of faith": And in the earth are signs for those whose faith is profound-and in yourselves: can you not see?8 What we are exhorted to discern is the nature of our existential reality and our existential purpose-those divine messages that are imprinted in the "signs" which are found in "the utmost horizons" and within ourselves9. The essence of these messages is contained in the two testimonial declarations or shahadat that const.i.tute the basic creed of Muslims, La ilaha illa' Llah and Muhammadun Rasulu 'Llah: "There is no G.o.d but G.o.d" and "Muhammad is the messenger of G.o.d". The first declaration sums up the doctrine of tawhid (the integral Unity of Reality), while the second pertains to the doctrines of nabuwwah (Prophecy) and ma'ad (the Return to G.o.d) and speaks to the salvation and perfectability of man, of the possibilities of Union and Realization. Referring to these two declarations, Frithjof Schuon has commented as follows: The first of these certainties is that "G.o.d alone is" and the second that "all things are attached to G.o.d.". . . All metaphysical truths are comprised in the first of these Testimonies and all eschatological truths in the second.10 "G.o.d alone is": this metaphysical truth is the key to a Muslim's discernment of reality. Cognitively, this formula engages the understanding that at its core unity embraces universality, but, more importantly, it signifies a mode of "seeing" in which everything is metaphysically transparent to transcendence. If "G.o.d alone is", then "Wherever you turn, there is the Face of G.o.d."11 This central doctrine of universality is much more than theoretical in a merely conceptual sense. In the deeper sense, where theoria denotes "seeing", the doctrine has hermeneutical and phenomenological implications that are rooted in a particular cosmological understanding of creation, which, as we shall see, is itself founded upon the metaphysical structures of Beauty and Compa.s.sion.

According to Islamic cosmology, all creaturely qualities and attributes are derived from their divine archetypes residing within the "treasure-house" of G.o.d, and are thence deployed within creation in an aggregated measure. Thus, the Qur'an states, "There is nothing whose treasuries are not with Us, and We send it down only with a known measure."12 All existential qualities are therefore attenuations of the divine archetypes of perfection. These archetypes are attributes (sifat) of the Divine Essence, that is, of that quintessential substance of Reality that const.i.tutes its quiddity (or dhat). As such, they are aspects of metaphysical Beauty-which is the radiance of the Divine Essence-and so are termed "The Most Beautiful Names."13 Conventionally known as "The Ninety-Nine Names of Allah", they are to be understood as the limitless archetypal aggregations of existential reality whose source is the divine treasury and, ultimately, the Divine Essence which is the "Hidden Treasure" of the celebrated Hadith Qudsi of Creation, "I was a Hidden Treasure and My loving nature impelled Me to be known, and so I created the world in order to be known."14 The archetypal qualities and attributes derived from the Divine Essence have both a hierarchy and complementarity. The hierarchy relates to His Essence, Attributes and Acts, while the complementarity pertains to the masculine and feminine polarities inherent in creation, which are themselves archetypally rooted in the hypostases of masculine Absoluteness and feminine Infinitude that pertain to the transcendence and immanence, respectively, of Reality. Thus, "masculine" qualities such as Rigor, Majesty, and Hiddenness, are complemented by "feminine" qualities such as Mercy, Beauty, and Manifestness. All creatures are compounded of these qualities in a divine "measure", and are therefore aspects of the theophany.

Of all the creatures, it is man alone who is graced with knowledge of the Divine Names. In other words, it is man alone who is privileged to know G.o.d. The Qur'an discloses that G.o.d "taught Adam the names of all things."15 The Arabic term ism ("name") is to be understood here as referring to the Divine Names, that is, to the theophanic attributes of created things. The ability to recognize the attributes and natures of things is a key component of the Adamic heritage of mankind. But, more significantly, the Qur'an also discloses that Adam, exemplifying humanity, was created in the divine form, "proportioned"16 out of clay, and enlivened with the ruh or divine spirit, which was blown into him by G.o.d.17 Spiritualized man is thus a microcosm of reality. The Divine Names are ontologically imprinted within him, as they are within the macrocosm that he reflects. There is nothing in creation that does not bear the imprint of its Maker-though it is man alone who is privileged among the creatures to recognize this imprint and thereby to perceive the divine theophany.

We noted earlier that all creation is the existential manifestation of "The Most Beautiful Names", and so everything is an aspect of metaphysical Beauty. There is nothing in creation that cannot be seen, if rightly perceived, as an aspect of Divine Beauty. The Qur'an states, "It is G.o.d who made beautiful everything that He created."18 Creation therefore expresses the divine nature, hence the Hadith, "G.o.d is beautiful, and He loves Beauty." Inasmuch as Beauty is the radiance of the divine, the recognition of G.o.d is the discernment of G.o.d through His Beauty-in other words, through His theophanic Presence in all things. Muslim doctrine is thereby in accord with the Scholastic precept that "beauty relates to the cognitive faculty"19, but as its cause, because the ability to recognize Beauty extrinsically relates to the intrinsic source of that recognition, which is the presence of inner Beauty, or Virtue. Thus the Arabic root, hsn, refers to "Goodness", both intrinsically, as Virtue, and outwardly as its divine radiance, or Beauty. Intrinsic Beauty, or Virtue, is the very substance of the Intellect and so the cause of knowledge. It is the beauty within us, operating through the intelligence of our aesthetic sensibility, which enables us to discern the sacred radiance of the divine. It is through "the eyes of faith", located in the Heart20-that is, through the faculty of the transcendent Intellect functioning cognitively as the active intelligence in the receptive mode21-that man is able to recognize the Beauty of the "Face of G.o.d"22 in all its primordial manifestations, in Nature and the Self, and in all other earthly reflections of supernatural beauty, such as sacred Art.

The aesthetic sensibility corresponds to the sense of the sacred, to the perception of hierarchical order and harmonious symmetry, and engages the synthesis of being and knowing, and of love and knowledge. It perceives universality as an aspect of unity, as radiance-that is, as a radial effulgence from the Heart-Center. It is this radial connection that engages our perception of things in the profoundly integrative and ontological sense. The aesthetic sensibility also corresponds to the "symbolist spirit", that is, the recognition of the metaphysical transparency of creation-which sees the "signs" of G.o.d as pointing to the reality that "G.o.d alone is", that principial unity is reflected in the world of manifestation, that Heaven is reflected on Earth, that Adam is a symbolic reflection of G.o.d. But these correspondences are more than conceptual-they are more even than ways of "seeing": they are ontological, that is to say, they involve a mode of knowledge that is profoundly transformative. This is the effective purpose of prayer and ritual: to be ontologically transformed by our remembrance of, and our ritual partic.i.p.ation with, the Presence of G.o.d. It is in this sense that dhikr (the invocation of G.o.d through His Divine Names, and the remembrance that "G.o.d alone is"23) and the prescribed rituals that are enactments of our intrinsic poverty and our subsistence in G.o.d, can be efficacious modes of Self-realization.

We have described how Islamic cosmology relates to Beauty and to universality in the sense of the divine manifestation and resplendence that is the ever-renewing theophany of the "Face of G.o.d." But there is a more profound aspect that we need to explore, which relates to another aspect of the divine substance. If Beauty is the effulgent radiance of the Divine Essence through His creation, the intrinsic nature of the Divine Substance is Compa.s.sion. As Adam-or Universal Man-is the microcosm and the reflection of G.o.d, so the intrinsic substance of G.o.d is reflected in the human soul as Virtue. The realization of this is the metier of man: the enactment of the truth of the second shahadah: that "all things are attached to G.o.d." And to enact and achieve this realization, man must engage in the task of "self-beautification" which is the essence of ihsan or Virtue. This truth provides a metaphysical foundation for an objective ethics grounded in the ontological reality of man, and is another aspect of the universality of Islam.

We can cite three ill.u.s.trations of the Muslim doctrine of the Compa.s.sionate nature of G.o.d. The first is the Qur'anic pa.s.sage in which G.o.d states, "My Compa.s.sion embraces everything."24 This statement of the primacy of G.o.d's Compa.s.sion is linked to its Qur'anic prescription as a Law binding upon G.o.d. In a remarkable pa.s.sage that appears twice in the Qur'an25, G.o.d is described as having "willed upon Himself the Law of Compa.s.sion" (kataba 'ala nafsi-hir-Rahmah). No other divine attribute or quality is described or treated in the same way. Compa.s.sion (Rahmah) is therefore clearly singled out as intrinsically pertaining to the divine nature.

The second example of G.o.d's Compa.s.sionate nature is the well-authenticated Hadith Qudsi, cited by both Bukhari and Muslim, in which G.o.d states, "Verily, My Compa.s.sion outstrips My Wrath."26 As we will see later, this Hadith indicates that while the created universe manifests a variety of divine attributes, corresponding to the complementary masculine and feminine polarities described earlier, there is a quintessential quality that transcends all existential polarities and const.i.tutes the very nature and intrinsic substance of G.o.d. The closest human approximation of this quintessential divine quality is Compa.s.sion-but it is a supreme quality of such grace and perfection, that it pertains to the Divine Essence and Spirit alone and is unknowable in any purely human sense.

The third example of G.o.d's Compa.s.sionate nature pertains to the Hadith of the Hidden Treasure, cited earlier, according to which G.o.d was impelled by "love"27 to create the world. According to the great Muslim metaphysician, Ibn 'Arabi, Divine "love" is a form of G.o.d's Compa.s.sion (Rahmah), pertaining to His innermost nature, the Divine Essence, the innermost consciousness or secret Heart (sirr) of Reality. Creation springs forth from and returns into the Divine Womb (rahm) through a projection and reintegration that is likened to the divine act of breathing. This metaphoric process is termed the Breath of Compa.s.sion (nafas al-Rahman): Rahman is G.o.d's ontological "all-embracing" and illuminating Compa.s.sion, while Rahim is His reintegrating Mercy. It is also noteworthy that it is precisely these two qualities of G.o.d-Rahman and Rahim-that are singled out in the Basmallah28 that begins all Muslim prayers and commences all Surahs, except one, of the Qur'an.

Ibn 'Arabi has elaborated on the meaning of the Hadith of the Hidden Treasure to explain the concept of wujud. The term is usually translated as "being" or "existence", which refers to the Sole Reality or Being of G.o.d. But insofar as G.o.d is also present in His theophany, there is also a sense in which existence has wujud, though-because "G.o.d alone is"-this is in reality only the wujud of G.o.d. In this theophanic sense, the term can also mean the mazhar or Presence of nur or Light. By virtue of this metaphor, wujud is also Light "for it is manifest in itself and makes other things manifest."29 According to Chittick, "Ibn 'Arabi is saying that the Hidden Treasure is both beautiful and luminous,"30 because the divine love that impels creation is the Beauty and the Light of His wujud-that is, the ontological contents of His Self-disclosure within creation. Ibn 'Arabi explains, "the cause of love is Beauty"31-again pointing to the intrinsic Beauty or Compa.s.sion of G.o.d, which radiates like Light into the creation it thereby causes to "be" by the grace of his wujud.

The image of creation as illumination embeds within it the idea of diffusion, and so of universality. G.o.d is Light by His very nature, and is thereby a Self-illuminating Lamp. It is in the very nature of Light to radiate: the Good is not there to illuminate itself. Creation is the self-disclosure (tajalli) of G.o.d. It is the illumination of the Divine Spirit-of Goodness, Virtue, or transcendent Compa.s.sion-that radiates outwardly as Beauty. But it is only the eyes of Beauty that can perceive Beauty. The task of man is therefore "to make oneself beautiful" (ihsan) by prayer and by spiritual disciplines of detachment. By invoking and remembering G.o.d constantly, and by practicing detachment from contingency, one is led to the realization of one's intrinsic poverty and nothingness. This realization of emptiness (fana) is also a realization that our innermost self is nothing but the wujud of G.o.d32-hence, its plenitude (baqa). This realization const.i.tutes the self-unveiling of the primordial nature (fitra)-the Heart of man. It is only from the vantage of this beatific Center that order and harmony can be "seen". And it is only by opening the Heart to its innate Compa.s.sion that one's partic.i.p.ative connection with all of creation can be "felt." Self-realization thereby engages a cardial, sympathetic vision-the fusion of knowledge and love, of knowing and being-which is the basis of the reality of "attachment to G.o.d". This has profound ethical implications: for all relations.h.i.+ps, though outwardly diverse and self-referential, are inwardly experienced as relations.h.i.+ps with the Sole Subsisting Self-G.o.d.

Islam teaches that the diversity within creation springs from a single Source, which is its origin and to which it will return.33 The Qur'an states that mankind was created "from One Soul"34. "G.o.d gave everything its creation"35 and "all things go back to G.o.d"36. This essential relations.h.i.+p of divine origination and return, rooted in a common spiritual paternity-among humanity, and between humanity and all creatures-is the foundation of the universal ethos of Islam. The One Soul (Nafsin-waahidatin) or universal Adamic spirit of humanity is the primordial nature or fitra of man. Thus, according to a famous Hadith: "Every child is born according to fitra. Thereafter its parents make it into a Christian, a Jew, or a Magian." The soul's fitra is its innate disposition to Goodness, its intrinsic Virtue that gives it the ability to radiate Beauty, and is also its innate disposition to Beauty that is the cause of its attraction to Beauty, both within itself and in the world. The fitra is the spiritual presence of G.o.d in man, his spiritual predisposition, which derives from the Compa.s.sionate Light of G.o.d. It is the source of his spiritual orientation, and is the basis of his perception of the divine theophanies. It is fitra that is the foundation of humanity's sympathy for the rights of others. It is this Heart-centered disposition to Goodness and Beauty that const.i.tutes the core of human intelligence, evident in its ability to recognize the higher Self, and in its aesthetic and ethical sensibilities.

In the Qur'anic episode of the Primordial Covenant37, G.o.d asks the pre-existential soul of man-the Adamic fitra-to bear witness to its divine patrimony. In doing so, the soul fulfills the primordial covenant of man to bear witness in existence to the two metaphysical truths of Reality that are encapsulated in the shahadat: the ontological reality of Beauty (the truth that "G.o.d alone is"-corresponding to the soul's aesthetic sensibility), and the ontological reality of Virtue ("all things are connected to G.o.d"-corresponding to its ethical sensibility)-and that together represent the universal truths of Islam. Each created thing has a "right" (haqq) according to its hierarchical ranking, which is discernible by the intelligence of the soul. Each "right" is owed a corresponding "courtesy" (adab). This is the foundation for Muslim ethics. The fiduciary responsibilities (amanat) of mankind are rooted in the faith (iman) of man-in his ability to fulfill his primordial covenant by "realizing the Real". It is by becoming mirrors of the Beautiful Light of wujud and by expressing its quintessential quality of Compa.s.sion, that we can be true to ourselves and fulfill our fiduciary obligations. This is the heart of the universal message of Islam.

Yet, as we stated at the outset, there lies a metaphysical tension that underlies the quest for universality. This is the tension between the need to impose outer conformity and the need to accommodate diversity. Within Islam, these needs are expressed as conservative religious fundamentalism, and as liberal syncretism, respectively. Both approaches are flawed from the perspective we have delineated above. What we have termed "fundamentalism"38 expresses itself by an excessive formalism (reducing the "spirit" to the "letter" of the Law) and an exclusivism that is marked by a strong rejection of pluralism. The reasons for these tendencies are evident: they are compensations for the lack of a Center that can embrace both outer forms and inner substance, or multiple expressions of Truth. Lacking the metaphysical foundation for such a Center, universal order is therefore imposed from the outside and judged in terms of outward conformity. By contrast, what we have termed "syncretism" expresses itself in an indiscriminate embracing of diversity that minimizes all formal differences in the name of "ec.u.menical" tolerance. Once more, this approach is grounded in the lack of a metaphysical Center, and results in the dilution of standards and the privileging of procedural pluralism over principled pluralism, and of accommodation over substance and form.

The doctrine of tawhid which lies at the heart of Islam is founded on the mystery and intimacy of Reality. G.o.d is both transcendent and incomparable (tanzih) and immanent and the source of similarity (tashbih). It is therefore as misguided to emphasize only His mystery by devaluing His Manifestness (zahir) in the formal world, as it is to emphasize only His intimacy by devaluing His Hiddenness (batin) in His Essence.39 To overvalue formalism in the name of religion (the error of "fundamentalism") is to commit s.h.i.+rk (blindness toward G.o.d) by despiritualizing G.o.d and His creation. Similarly, to essentialize all forms of religious expression (the error of "syncretism") is also to commit s.h.i.+rk by denying the formal significance of His theophany and of His Beauty. The Straight Path of Islam requires us to embrace Reality fully, and thereby to perceive Truth as Presence.

In several key pa.s.sages, the Qur'an states: All mankind was once one single community; [then they began to differ], and G.o.d sent them Messengers40 as bearers of good tidings and as warners, and revealed to them the Scriptures with the Truth, to judge between people with regard to their divergent views. And those to whom [the Scripture] was given, after clear proofs had come unto them, did not differ except through mutual jealousy. And G.o.d by His Grace guided the true believers unto the Truth, from whence they differed: for G.o.d guides unto the Straight Way him that wills to be guided.41 And We never sent a messenger before you, save that We revealed to him, saying, "There is no deity but I, so wors.h.i.+p Me."42 And unto you [O Prophet] have We entrusted this Message, setting forth the Truth, confirming what is true of the prior revelations, as a Guardian of it. . . . For each We have prescribed a Law and a Way. And had G.o.d willed, He could have made you one single community. But [He made you as you are] so that He might test you by means of what he has entrusted to you. So vie with each other in Virtue. Unto G.o.d you will all return, and He will clarify your understanding about your differences.43 The clear implication of these verses is twofold: it demonstrates, on the one hand, the falsity of a fundamentalist's rejection of pluralism (for G.o.d has willed diversity, prescribing for each community a separate "Law" and "Way"), and on the other, the falsity of the syncretist's compromise of substantive pluralism (for the "Law" is the Truth: "There is no deity but I, so wors.h.i.+p Me"; while the "Way" is Virtue: "So vie with each other in Virtue").

While Islam rejects fundamentalism and respects the various faith traditions-each with their unique articulations of the underlying Truth-it does not extend this pluralistic embrace of other faith traditions to the level of a syncretic accommodation. Each community has its own prescribed "Law" and "Way", but only as aspects and diverse expressions of Truth and Virtue. Forms are the revelation of the Divine Essence and are metaphysically important. Further, as the Qur'an states44: "piety does not consist in your entering houses from the rear, [as it were,] but truly pious is he who is conscious of G.o.d. Hence, enter houses through their doors, and remain conscious of G.o.d, so that you might attain to a happy state." One interpretation of this pa.s.sage is that forms, while subservient to purpose, are nevertheless important. Except by the Grace of G.o.d, in this world the Law cannot be essentialized to the point where its forms cease to matter.

The metaphysical tension between the "Rigor" of the fundamentalist and the "Mercy" of the syncretist is not resolved except by recourse to one's natural disposition or fitra. Islam is the final articulation to mankind of G.o.d's primordial message. That is why it is also regarded as the "primordial religion" (din al-fitra). It emphasizes that the disciplines of the Law and Way are to open the Heart's inner capacity for Compa.s.sion-that is, the quintessential quality of Compa.s.sion that transcends all metaphysical polarities. The Qur'an repeatedly states45 that salvation is attained, by the Divine Grace, through "G.o.d-consciousness"46-which has two aspects: first, faith (iman) which manifests in self-surrender (islam) to Truth; and second, the a.s.sumption of Beauty and Virtue (ihsan) through piety and good works: If any human being, man or woman, is virtuous and has faith, that person will enter paradise and shall not be wronged by as much as the dint of a date-stone. And who could be more faithful than he who surrenders his whole being to G.o.d, and does good works, and follows the creed of Abraham?47 The elements of Truth (expressed as faith and self-surrender) and Virtue (expressed in piety and good works) are the Law and the Way of the "primordial religion." Their particular and diverse articulations in each faith tradition are revealed to each community in its own idiom48 as a manifestation of the Compa.s.sion that has impelled the creation of the world and that sustains it in each moment. This Compa.s.sion is Beauty-the Hidden Treasure of the Heart. It is the wujud whose mazhar is the Lamp of the transcendent Heart. Man can only perceive universality to the extent that he embodies it within himself as its microcosm. He can only embrace it to the extent he transcends himself. He can only perceive its radiance to the extent he illuminates it. Its luminosity signifies the true meaning of "Revelation". Only through our self-emptying can we be filled by its radiance, and only through our stillness can its flowing be felt-the flowing of the Sacred Light whose source is "neither of the East nor of the West" and whose Center is everywhere.

Hinduism - a spiritual world

That contains everything, and s.h.i.+mmers in all colors;

It offers us Vedanta, the doctrine of the great Shankara:

And also G.o.ds without number,

In whose cult our heart has no interest.

Islam wants first and foremost to be Unity,

And life-wisdom. It also knows the wine

Of the heart, that turns the soul inwards.

Islam is revelation's last sanctuary.

In whichever language one honors truth:

G.o.d is Reality - the world is appearance.

Frithjof Schuon

Footnotes

1 Surah an-Nur, 24:35. The author's interpretations of the various Qur'anic ayats cited in this article are based on his readings of Qur'anic commentaries, and particularly the texts and translations of Muhammad Asad (The Message of the Qur'an [Gibraltar: Dar-al-Andalus, 1980]) and Abdullah Yusuf Ali (The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary [McGregor & Werner, 1946]).

2 Surah Yunus, 10:1, "These are the ayats of the Book of Wisdom."

3 Surah an-Nisa', 4:174.