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The Emendation of Shi‘ite Creed
This text is a translation of Tashihu-Itiqad of Abu ‘Abdillah, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Nu‘man, Known as ash-Shaykh al-Mufid (336/948 or 338/950 – 413/1022)
The Metaphorical Interpretation of the Baring of the Shank (Kashfus-Saq)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Praise be to Allah for His bounties, and peace be upon Muhammad and his family. This is the emendation of A Shi‘ite Creed of Abu Ja‘far Ibn Babawayh, may Allah have mercy upon him, compiled by ash-Shaykh al-Mufid Abu ‘Abdillah Muhammad ibn an-Nu‘man*, may Allah have mercy upon him.
The learned divine, Abu Ja‘far 1Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn al- Husayn Ibn Babawayh al-Qummi, died in 381 AH2, says, in the treaties of his (Shi‘ite) creed, on the meaning of His, the Exalted's Speech: On a day when a shank (saq) shall be bared, and they shall be summoned to prostrate themselves, but they cannot [68:42].
as-Saq (shank) here means the result, or consummation of the affair and its intensity.
Ash-Shaykh al-Mufid says: The meaning of the verse quoted above is intended for the Day of Resurrection on which an important, hard and intense matter will be disclosed, and that will be the reckoning and scrutinizing of (man's) actions; the recompensing for (good or bad) deeds, and the divulging of the heart secrets; the revealing of mysteries, and the appraisal of good and bad acts. Hence, He (Allah) designates by as saq the gravity of the matter; and by the same reasoning, the Arabs used to symbolize the violence and severity of war with their peculiar expression, "The war broke out [amongst us] (qamati 'l-harbu [bina] ‘ala saq)"3 .
And their poet, Sa‘d ibn Khalid, says: The war disclosed all its severety, and revealed its full calamity.
The eagle of death appeared, Bearing in its train the decreed fate.
Also, like this is their expression, "The fair is set up", (qad qamati 's-suq), denoting when the people crowd together, and buying and selling goes briskly with much effort and exertion.
1. N reads Muhammad ibn Muhammad, which is correct.
2. Not found in N.
3. See al-Maydani, Majma‘u 'l-amthal, vol.2, p.47; cf., az-Zamakhshari, al- Kashshaf, vol.3, p.210; ar-Razi, Tafsir, vol.8, p.203.
The Metaphorical Interpretation of "The Hand (Al-Yad)"
Abu Ja‘far, may Allah have mercy upon him, similarly explains "hand" in the sense of strength, and adduces, to support his view, the verse: And remember Our servant David, possessed of strength (ayd) [38:17].
And he says: dha'l-ayd, means possessed of strength (quwwah).
ash-Shaykh al-Mufid says: The word yad has another interpretation which denotes grace. The poet says: He has bestowed favours on me which I do not deny; For indeed denial of favours is but ingratitude.
So, it is possible that the saying of Allah, the Exalted, Dawuda dha 'l-ayd, means Dawud (David), a bountiful man. Similar, also, is the saying of Allah: Nay, but both His hands are outspread [5:64].
Here, by "The two hands", are meant the two favours of this life and the life hereafter.
The Breathing of the Spirit (into man) (Nafkhu 'l-Arwah)
Abu Ja‘far says, concerning the Spirit in the Speech of Allah, the Exalted: And I breathed into it of My Spirit [15:29],
that it is, in this context, a created Spirit (ruh). He attributes it to Himself in the same way as He attributes the House (Ka‘bah) to Himself, although it is created by Him. Ash-Shaykh al-Mufid says: The reason for attributing the Spirit or the House to Himself is not merely that they were created by Him; but, also, that they have been distinguished by His greatness and glory, and endued with His awfulness.
This indicates that this Spirit and this House are favored with His sublimity and glory, which have not been granted to any other spirit or house save them, thus to draw the attention of creation by this means – to believe in and exalt them.
Metonym and Metaphor (in the Qur’an)
Abu Ja‘far, may Allah have mercy upon him, has said, concerning the interpretation of the Speech of Allah, the Exalted: (O Iblis  What prevented thee from prostrating thyself before that I created with My two hands (yadayy)? [38:75].
(By 'two hands'), He means 'My strength and My power (qudrati wa quwwati).'
Abu ‘Abdillah (al-Mufid) says: This is not correct1, since it involves repetition in meaning and implies that Allah says: 'By My strength, by My strength', or 'By My power, by My power', because literally 'strength' is equivalent to 'power', and vice versa, and there is no meaning in such a statement.
The correct explanation is that advanced above concerning grace (lutf); consequently, the verse signifies, 'Allah's double grace in this world and the world hereafter'. In the same way, the ba in Allah's saying (bi yadayya), 'with My two hands', stands for (lam), as if Allah has said: "(Khalaqtu liyadayya), I have created for My hands", meaning by this, 'for My double grace', as He has said: And I have not created jinn and mankind except to worship Me [51:56],
since worship is a gift from Allah, and His grace upon them, for it leads them to His perpetual grace. A probable meaning of 'both My hands', is the double meaning of power and grace as though the Almighty said, "created with My own power and grace". Another explanation is that the attribution of the 'hands' to Allah was intended to stress the overwhelming power of Allah, and the act was accomplished by His sole will, irrespective of His strength or grace or anything else.
This interpretation is supported by the verse: That is for what thy hands have forwarded [22:10],
and it means 'what you have forwarded of your deeds'; and also by Allah's saying: Whatever misfortune may visit you is for what your own hands have earned [42:30],
which signifies 'what you have acquired'. The Arabs often used the proverb: "Thy hand hath tied, and thy mouth hath blown into it" (yadaka awkata wa fuka nafakh)2, in the sense that it was your doing and you carried it out and performed it though you did not use your actual hands (limbs) in it.
1. T, laysa hadha huwa 'l-wajh fi 't-tafsir: N, laysa huwa 'l-wajh.
2. See al-Maydani, op. cit., vol.2, p.248.
The Attribution of Scheming: beguiling and Mockery to Allah
Abu Ja‘far, may Allah have mercy upon him, maintained that the meaning of Allah's saying: (The hypocrites) seek to beguile Allah, but it is He Who beguileth them [4:142],
and: They have forgotten Allah, so He hath forgotten them [9:67],
and: And they devised, and Allah devised, and Allah is the best of devisers [3:54],
and: Allah shall mock them [2:15],
is that Allah will requite them for their base acts1.
Abu ‘Abdillah concurs, and adds that the interpretation advanced by Abu Ja‘far is sound, but he has not supplied the reason; for the reason for the interpretation given above is that the Arabs often called a thing by the name of the recompense it brought, because of the relation which exists, and the comparison which can be made between the name and the recompense, since acts which bring a certain requital can fittingly be called by its name2.
Allah says: Those who consume the property of orphans unjustly, they only consume fire in their belies [4:10].
Thus, He called the consumed property, though in itself good; fire, because the punishment for it is fire.
1. T, ‘an jazai 'l-af‘al: N, al-jaza’ ‘ala 'l-af‘al, which is correct.
2. T, falamma kanati 'l-mujaza: N, falamma kanati 'l-af‘ali 'l-mujaza, which is correct.
The Attribution of Forgetfulness to Allah
Abu Ja‘far cites: "Forgetfulness, like beguiling, can only be applied to Allah in the sense that with this He will requite the evil-doers."
Abu ‘Abdillah adds that the true interpretation is not what has been advanced, because forgetfulness literaly signifies both abandonment and postponement. Allah, the Exalted, says: Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or the like of it [2:106].
Now, here,'what We abrogate' means, 'We leave it in place or suspend it'. Hence, the Exalted, means by 'They forget Allah', that 'they departed from their obedience to Allah', and He meant by 'so He forgot them', that, 'He withdraws His mercy from them'. And He means by: So He makes them forget their own souls [59:19]
that 'He made them uneasy through His withdrawal, and that He obliged them to disregard their own good and not to care for their own interest'. This is a tenable interpretation of the verse, though the other one, advanced by Abu Ja‘far, is not refuted, and Allah, the Exalted, is the granter of success.
The Attributes of Allah (Sifat Allah)
Abu Ja‘far says: "Whenever we describe Allah, the Blessed, the Sublime, by the attributes of His essence,1 …..Abu ‘Abdillah, may Allah have mercy upon him, adds that the attributes of Allah are of two categories: the first are those relating to His essence and called, for this reason, the Attributes of Essence (sifatu 'dh-dhat); the second category are those relating to His acts and called the Attributes of Action (sifatu 'l- fi‘l).
The Attributes of Essence are those inherent in it, those of which the essence must necessarily be possessed, and hence cannot be separated from His essence. As for the Attributes of Action, they apply to Allah only at the time of the action and not before it. Moreover, the Attributes of Essence involve the description of Allah by epithets such as the Ever living (hayy), the Powerful (qadir), the Omniscient (‘alim), which Allah possesses eternally and forever, while the Attributes of Action, such as the Creator (khaliq), the Sustainer (raziq), the Giver of new life (muhyi, Revivifier), the Annihilator (mumit), the Originator (mubdi), the resurrector (mu‘id), are applicable only after the action and not before it.
The (second) distinction between the Attributes of Essence and those of Action is that, in the case of the Attributes of Essence, the opposite cannot be predicted of the One Who is in possession of them, and cannot be separated from them (i.e., these attributes), whilst in the case of the Attributes of Action, their opposites can be predicted to the Possessor, and He can be separated from them. You cannot say, for example, that He dies or is weak, or is ignorant, and you cannot describe Him as being anything other than Living, Knowing and Powerful, whilst you can say that Allah is not a Creator today, He is not the Giver of sustenance to Zayd, or that He is not the Giver of new life (Revivifier), or that He is not the Originator of something at this particular time, or He is not the Restorer of it.
Furthermore, Allah can be described by such antonyms as He gives and withholds, causes to live and causes to die, He originates and resurrects, He brings into existence and annihilates. This is the salient point2 which should be considered concerning the Attributes of Essence and Action; and the distinction between them.
1. N reads only: Faslun fi sifati 'dh-dhat wa sifati 'l-af‘al.
2. T, fathabatati 'l-‘ibrah: N, fathabatati 'l-ghayriyyah.
The Belief concerning the Origination of Human Actions
Ash-Shaykh Abu Ja‘far1, may Allah have mercy upon him, says: "Human actions are created (makhluqah), in the sense that Allah possesses fore-knowledge (khalq taqdir) [of them], and not in the sense that Allah compels mankind to act in a particular manner by creating a certain disposition (khalq takwin). The meaning of all this is that Allah never ceases to be aware of the potentialities (maqadir) of human beings."
Abu ‘Abdillah, may Allah have mercy upon him, says: The correct doctrine transmitted from the Family of the Prophet (Ahlu 'l-Bayt), may Allah bless him and his progeny, is that, "the actions of men are not created by Allah", and what is related by Abu Ja‘far is not a genuine traditions, and the authority for it not acceptable.
On the contrary, the genuine reports are diametrically opposed to it, so if this were so – as the un- scrupulous scholars maintained – then it could be said, for instance, that he who knew the Prophet 'created' him, or he who knew something about what the Almighty Allah has fashioned and proved it for himself (i.e., confirmed his belief in it) created this particular thing.
Thus the (rational) argument shows that this is a fallacy which even the rank and file of the Imams' following would not perpetrate, least of all the Imams themselves, peace be upon them. Predestination, however, linguistically implies creation, since to determine a thing involves action, while the knowledge, or conception, of a thing does not; yet in all circumstances Allah, the Exalted, is far removed from the creation of abominable or base deeds.
It has been related that Abu 'l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Musa ar-Rida, peace be upon them, was asked about human actions, whether they are created by Allah; he, peace be upon him, answered: "If He created their actions, He would not have dissociated Himself from them. Whereas He, the Exalted, stated that: Allah renounces the polytheists (as does also) His Messenger [9:3],
which signifies that He dissociates Himself from their polytheism and base actions, and not from their beings."Abu Hanifah asked Abu '1-Hasan Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon them both, about human actions, and from whom they proceed; he replied that there were three alternatives:-
i) that all actions are from Allah, the Sublime, or,
ii) that they proceed jointly from man and Allah, or iii) that they are from man alone.
Now, if they were all from Allah, the Sublime, then He alone deserves to be praised for their goodness or to be blamed for their baseness, and so praise or blame for them pertain to none save Him; if they are created jointly by Allah and His servant, then the praise or the blame would pertain to them both. Since these two alternatives are absurd, it is self-evident that human actions are all from men; it rests with Him; if He pleases, He has the right to punish them for their wickedness, or if He pleases He will pardon them, for the reward of piety and forgiveness is in His hands. And there are still further traditions and reports which can be adduced in support of this.
1. N, qala Abu Ja‘far .(without ash-Shaykh).
Concerning Human Actions (faslun fi af‘Ali 'l-khalq)
However, it is an established fact that the Book of Allah, the Exalted, takes precedence over the traditions and reports. Hence it should be the touchstone for determining the genuine reports and the fabrications. (If this fact is admitted), then whatever the Qur’an approves is absolutely true, and should be followed and that alone.
Now, the Almighty says: Who has created all things well, and He originated the creation of man out of clay [32:7].
So He declares that whatever He has created is good and far from being abominable; had He created abomin- able actions, He would never have characterized them as praise- worthy actions. Moreover, the affirmation that what Allah has created is good refutes the assumption of those who maintained that Allah is the Creator of base actions.
The Almighty also says: Thou seest not in the creation of the All-merciful any imperfection [67:3],
and since unbelief and falsehood are defects, so also is self-contradictory speech; how, then, can they attribute human actions to Allah, knowing that they are full of defects and contradictions, when Allah Himself denounced and rejected such attributions, and affirmed that: Thou seest not in the creation of the All-merciful any imperfection.
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