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Surrender and realisation: Imam Alion the conditions for true religiousunderstanding

Author: James Winston Morris

Surrender and Realisation: Imam A l i on the Conditions for True Religious Understanding

James Morris

D o not seek to know the Truth (al-Haqq) according to other people. Rather first come to know the Truth—and only then will you recognise Its people.1

One o f the most s t r ik ing characteristics about those su rv iv ing oral

t radit ions that have c o m e d o w n to us f r o m the earliest periods o f each

o f the wor ld- re l ig ions—as w i t h the Gospe l s , the earliest Buddhis t

teachings, or the Prophet ic had i th—is the d is t inc t ive directness,

s imp l i c i t y , and ex t reme conc is ion o f those original oral teachings. It is as

though everyth ing else that fo l lows is only a k i n d o f endlessly ex tended

commen ta ry on those few s imple words . Ce r t a in ly this is true o f many

o f the surv iv ing sayings a t t r ibuted to ' A l i i bn A b i T a l i b (d. 4 0 / 6 6 0 ) —

inc lud ing the short, bu t highly memorab le passage that is the focus o f

this study, w h i c h has inspi red repeated commentar ies and elaborate

theological and even dramat ic interpretat ions d o w n th rough the

centuries.

T h e w i d e r significance o f this par t icular passage is that it i l lustrates

so perfectly A l i ' s emblema t i c role as the founta inhead o f v i r tua l ly all

the esoteric t radit ions o f Islamic spi r i tual i ty , b o t h among the many

1 A well-known saying commonly attributed to Ali , here as cited by al-Ghazali at the beginning of his famous spiritual autobiography, the Munqidh min al-Daial. 2 Many of these same points were later developed by the famous religious author Ghazali (Abu Hamid al-Ghazali) in the influential closing chapter of his Mazan al-'Amal ('The Scale of |Right| Action'), translated in our forthcoming volume Openings: From the Quran to the Islamic Humanities, from which this essay has also been adapted. And already a century before the actual collection of Nahj al-Balagha, this same story of Ali and Kumayl provided the architectonic framework for a highly creative dramatic reworking of these spiritual lessons in Ja'far ibn Mansar's Kitab al-'Alim wa'l-ghulam (see our translation and Arabic edition, The Master and the Disciple: An Early Islamic Spiritual Dialogue, London, I. B. Tauris, 2001).

branches o f Shi i te Islam ( w h i c h revere h i m as their first Imam) and throughout the even more numerous Sufi paths, where his name is almost always i nc luded as the ini t ia l t ransmit ter o f the Prophet ic baraka i n each order ' s chain o f transmission. T h a t central in i t ia t ic role is beaut i ful ly summar i sed in the famous Prophet ic saying: 'I am the c i ty o f (d iv ine) K n o w i n g , and A l i is its doorway . ' A n d perhaps the most impor tan t l i terary vehic le in the w i d e r t ransmission o f A l i ' s teachings, since it has been equal ly revered by bo th Sunn i and Shi i te audiences d o w n to ou r o w n t ime , is the Nahj al-Balagha ( 'Pa thway o f E loquence ' ) , a wide-ranging co l l ec t ion o f various sermons, letters, and wise sayings a t t r ibuted to A l i , that was assembled several centuries later by the famous scholar and poet al-Sharif a l -Radi (d. 4 0 6 / 1 0 1 6 ) . 3

T h e famous saying o f A l i p laced as the epigraph for this study, w i t h w h i c h a l - G h a z a l i begins his o w n spir i tual autobiography, highlights the ind ispensable—if somewha t paradoxical—star t ing po in t for any w e l l -g rounded discussion o f religious and spi r i tua l understanding. Fo r all p rob lems o f inter-rel igious unders tanding—and perhaps even more impor tan t , o f that in i t ia l " in t ra- re l ig ious" understanding on w h i c h all further dialogue depends—necessari ly c o m e back to this fundamental quest ion o f wha t is the u l t imate d iv ine Real i ty (al-Haqq), and h o w we can come to k n o w and proper ly c o n f o r m to wha t It requires o f us ("the R igh t , " w h i c h in A r a b i c is also an inseparable d imens ion of the d iv ine Haqq)? A l m o s t al l the extensive sermons and teachings o f the Nahj al-Balagha are devo ted to one or another o f the equal ly essential d imensions o f this ques t ion—to that ongoing interact ion be tween our pur i f ied actions and intent ions ( 'amal), and ou r matur ing spir i tual understanding ('ilm), w h i c h together const i tute each person's uniquely i nd iv idua l , spiral l ing process o f spir i tual realisation (tahqiq).

To give some idea of the ongoing popular importance and relative familiarity of that text even today, I have seen beautifully calligraphed Arabic proverbs and epigrams drawn from the Nahj at Balagha on the walls of homes in every part of the Muslim world, framed for sale in suqs and bazaars, and even being sold as postcards. Even more tellingly, the owners (or sellers) of that calligraphy would often explain that this or that saying was simply "a hadith."

N o w one o f the most impor tan t keys to approaching this p r imord i a l

quest ion in the Nahj al-Balagha is the famous passage (translated i n fu l l

in the A p p e n d i x at the end o f this study) descr ib ing A l i ' s in t imate

advice to one o f his closest compan ions and disciples, K u m a y l i bn Z i y a d

a l - N a k h a ' i . 4 T h e di f f icul ty and intr insic dangers o f that un ique lesson

are emphas ized already in its dramat ic setting. K u m a y l , w h o recounts

the story, stresses the great pains that A l i takes to assure his pr ivacy and

sol i tude, leading his disciple out to the cemetery b e y o n d the c i ty w a l l o f

Kufa : that is, to the symbol i c h o m e o f those w h o — l i k e those rare true

K n o w e r s o f G o d descr ibed in the rest o f A l i ' s saying—are spi r i tual ly

already at once 'a lone w i t h G o d ' and 'dead to this w o r l d . ' In addi t ion ,

the w i d e r his tor ical setting at that par t icular m o m e n t in t i m e — s o fu l l o f

religious intrigues, c la ims, betrayals, and pro longed b l o o d y c i v i l wars

among the t r i umphan t A r a b s — o n l y highlights the p ro found wea l th o f

concrete earthly exper ience w h i c h underlies A l i ' s conclus ions and

in t imate teachings summar i sed in this saying.

N o o ther t ex t o f the Nahj al-Balagha is so po in ted ly set i n the same

k i n d o f strictest pr ivacy and in t imacy. A s a result, this famous testament

to K u m a y l consti tutes the indispensable l i nk b e t w e e n the more p u b l i c ,

relat ively exoter ic teachings o f the Nahj al-Balagha and the wea l th o f

more in t imate , often esoteric spi r i tua l teachings o f I m a m A l i that were

eventual ly preserved—at first oral ly , and eventual ly often in w r i t i n g — i n

bo th Shiite and Sufi Islamic traditions.

T h e contents o f A l i ' s lesson to K u m a y l are all presented as a

clar i f icat ion o f his opening statement that:

There arc three sorts of people (with regard to Religion, al-Din). A divinely inspired Knower ('alim rabbani); the person who is seeking (that true spiritual) Knowing (muta'allim) along the path of salvation; and the riffraff and rabble, the followers of every screaming voice, those who bend with every wind, who have not sought to be illuminated by the Light of (divine) Knowing and who have not had recourse to a solid support.

Saying number 147 in the final section of short maxims, corresponding to pages 600-601 in the complete English translation by Sayed Ali Reza (Peak of Eloquence, N Y , 1978). Details on the Arabic text in the Appendix below.

In the remainder of his lesson, A l i goes o n to exp l a in some of the basic condi t ions for these three radically different levels o f (and potentials for) true religious understanding. Each o f his points here—as throughout the Nahj al-Balagha—is o f course profoundly rooted in the central teachings of the Q u r ' a n . H o w e v e r here w e can only summarise his most essential observations in the s implest possible terms.

First , and most impor tan t ly , it is h u m a n Hearts (the Q u r ' a n i c qalb al-insan) that are the locus o f true spir i tual " K n o w i n g " ( 'ilm) and o f our awareness o f G o d and T r u t h : that is, it is not s imp ly ou r m i n d or intel lect or passion. H e n c e the decisive pract ical impor tance , th roughout the Nahj al-Balagha, o f A l i ' s constant stress on the pur i f ica t ion o f ou r hearts, through inner surrender to the d iv ine W i l l (taslim), as the under ly ing spiritual purpose o f the many d iv ine commandmen t s . D i v i n e , inspired " K n o w i n g , " h o w e v e r it is ou tward ly acquired, can only be perce ived as such by the Hear t that has been " p o l i s h e d , " e m p t i e d o f this w o r l d ' s distractions and attachments, and thereby opened up to the fu l l significance and reality o f the d iv ine W o r d — a n d to the further rights and obligations (another d imens ion o f the A r a b i c al-Haqq) f l o w i n g f rom that opening.

Second, the pract ical ly indispensable key to this h u m a n potent ial for religious K n o w i n g is the real existence and efforts of a l i m i t e d n u m b e r of d iv ine ly guided indiv iduals—again , not o f par t icular books , rituals, doctr ines or w o r l d l y inst i tut ions, none o f w h i c h arc even men t ioned in this in t imate , highly personal lesson. A l i refers here to those very special h u m a n doorways to true religious understanding by several profoundly significant Q u r ' a n i c expressions: the "d iv ine K n o w e r s " ; the "Fr iends o f G o d " (awliya' Allah); G o d ' s "Proofs" o r " C l e a r Signs" on Ear th (hujja, bayyina); G o d ' s " T r u e Servants" {'ibad Allah); and finally as G o d ' s true earthly "stand-ins" or "S tewards" (khalifat Allah).

T h e I m a m tells us several o ther very impor tan t things in his descr ip t ion o f these true "Fr iends o f G o d " :

• T h e y are always present on earth, "whe the r openly or in secret." 5

5 It is perhaps important to note that this last qualification (sirran, "secretly") can be understood to refer not simply to the outward modesty and relative social and historical "invisibility" of the vast majority of the true "Friends of God"—a point also strongly

• T h e y are d i rec t ly inspired by the d iv ine Spi r i t o f Cer ta in ty (ruh al yaqin).

• Therefore they pre-eminent ly possess true spi r i tua l Insight (haqiqat al-basara) in to the deeper spir i tual realities under ly ing earthly events and experiences, into the actual meanings o f the infinite d iv ine "signs" const i tu t ing our existence.

• T h e i r spir i tual task and miss ion on earth is to pass on this d iv ine

K n o w i n g to those proper ly qual i f ied souls w h o are t ru ly ready for

and recept ive to their d iv ine ly inspi red teachings.

In contrast to these part icular points o f ' A l i ' s teaching here, it is surely essential to recall all those man i fo ld d imensions o f what w e ordinar i ly , un th inkingly cal l or presume to be " r e l i g i o n " w h i c h in fact are not central to the part icular d iv ine mission o f these inspi red indiv iduals as it is descr ibed in this lesson.

T h i r d , A l i describes the d iv ine " K n o w i n g " that can be conveyed uniquely by these specially miss ioned indiv iduals as having the f o l l o w i n g qualities:

• It is the ' D i n (true R e l i g i o n / t r u e Justice) by w h i c h G o d is t ru ly w o r s h i p p e d and served. '

• It is the indispensable key to realising wha t the Q u r ' a n constantly describes as our u l t imate h u m a n purpose: i.e., to t ransforming the mor ta l b i p e d or " h u m a n - a n i m a l " (basilar) in to the t heomorph ic , t ru ly h u m a n being (insan), w h o alone can freely f o l l o w and t ru ly obey G o d (the inner state of ita'a), eventual ly b e c o m i n g a pure manifestation o f the d iv ine W i l l .

• T h e i r d iv ine ly inspired K n o w i n g is the true "Judge" or C r i t e r i o n for r ightly perceiving and e m p l o y i n g all the i l lusory possessions (mal) o f this w o r l d .

Four th , the "true Seekers" (muta 'allimun) o f that d iv ine K n o w i n g have at least the f o l l o w i n g basic pre-requisites, each o f w h i c h

emphasised in the famous Prophetic hadith about the qualities of the wali—but also to their ongoing spiritual presence, actions and effects, even more visible and widespread long after their bodily sojourn on earth, which is of course central to the manifest spiritual role of the prophets and "Friends" (awliya' Allah) throughout every authentic religious tradition.

distinguishes t h e m f r o m the large majority o f ordinary souls (al-nas). O n e might therefore say that each o f these f o l l o w i n g five points

men t ioned by A l i here is in i tself an essential p re -cond i t ion for acquir ing true religious understanding:

• Those true religious Seekers have a rare natural spi r i tua l capacity to recognise, absorb, and actualise the inspired teachings o f the Friends o f G o d .

• T h e y k n o w that they need the indispensable guidance o f G o d ' s

Friends (the awliya'), and therefore act ively seek it out. Tha t is to say, they actually realise that they are spir i tual ly ' ignorant ' and needy.

• T h e y are w i l l i n g and able to s u b m i t to the guidance o f those d iv ine

K n o w e r s and Bearers o f T r u t h , especially w i t h regard to acknowledg ing the true, u l t imate aims o f this inspi red spi r i tua l K n o w i n g . In other words , they have the indispensable h u m i l i t y to recognise the i r inner ignorance and to ove rcome the central spir i tual obstacle o f pride.

• T h e y have the pract ical insight and active spi r i tua l perspicaci ty (basara) to "see t h o u g h " the ongoing d iv ine "pr iva te lessons," the most essential d iv ine "signs" (ayat) o f each soul ' s life. (Th i s par t icular po in t is one that A l i especially stresses throughout all the sermons and teachings of the Nahj al-Balagha.)

• T h e y are not secretly governed by their desires for p o w e r and domina t i on , qualit ies w h i c h A l i stresses (along w i t h pr ide) as the part icular psychic passions most l ike ly to t r ip up the o therwise apt potent ia l sp i r i tua l seekers o f this group.

F ina l ly , the rest o f h u m a n i t y are c l ea r ly—indeed even v e h e m e n t l y — said to lack, for the t i m e being, the above-ment ioned prerequisites for realised spir i tual learning and i l l u m i n a t i o n , because o f the current d o m i n a t i o n o f their hearts by their psychic passions o f the nafs: for power , pleasure, possessions, and the attractions ' this l o w e r w o r l d ' (al-dunya) in general. In this par t icular context , A l i does not open ly clarify whe the r or not " p u r i f i c a t i o n " o f our hearts f rom such w o r l d l y passions is in itself the only obstacle to deeper spi r i tua l and religious realisation, or whe the r some indiv iduals are s i m p l y b o r n w i t h dramat ical ly greater, relat ively unique spi r i tua l capacities and potential . H o w e v e r , his

recurrent and insistent pract ical stress on the e thical ly pur i fy ing dimensions o f Islamic r i tual and devo t iona l pract ice th roughout m u c h o f the rest o f the Nahj al-Balagha is a strong ind ica t ion that revealed prescript ions for religious teaching and pract ice can and shou ld be unders tood as w e l l as an indispensable preparatory d isc ip l ine that can be used to m o v e at least some indiv iduals t o w a r d the recept ive inner state o f these true "seekers."

N o w the pract ical consequences o f all o f A l i ' s observations brief ly enumera ted here are qui te vis ible in the par t icular s tructure and emphases o f almost all his longer sermons and discourses th roughout the Nahj al-Balagha. T o pu t it in the s implest possible f o r m , each longer tex t in that w o r k typ ica l ly stresses the dua l religious d imensions o f b o t h taslim ( ' surrender ' ) and tahqiq ("real isat ion"). 6 T h a t is, almost al l o f I m a m A l i ' s teachings are d i rec ted at the same t i m e t o w a r d b o t h (1) the essential pur i f ica t ion o f our o w n w i l l — i . e . , the discovery and gradual d is t i l la t ion o f the true h u m a n / d i v i n e irada f r om the endless p rompt ings o f ou r domineer ing ego-self or nafs—through true inner confo rmi ty and surrender (taslim) to the authentic d iv ine commandmen t s ; and (2) the subsequent stage o f more active "real isa t ion" (tahqiq) o f the d iv ine ly inspi red teachings that can only c o m e about w h e n an ind iv idua l has deve loped enough h u m i l i t y and inner awareness o f the i r spir i tual ignorance to recognise their unavoidable need for a d iv ine G u i d e and K n o w e r , along w i t h the many other essential quali t ies o f the 'seeker on the path o f salvat ion ' that have just been summar i sed above. F r o m this perspect ive, al l o f the Nahj al-Balagha consti tutes an ex tended , l i fe long example o f the sort o f essential sp i r i tua l teaching and guidance (ta'lim) a l luded to here in A l i ' s private advice to his close disciple .

In conc lus ion , we cannot help bu t notice that A l i ' s remarks to K u m a y l i bn Z i y a d here prov ide a radical contrast to many prevai l ing modern-day assumptions about "rel igious unders tanding" and religious teaching, whe ther our focus happens to be on inter- or intra-rel igious concerns. H e r e I can m e n t i o n only a few o f the most salient points o f contrast

3 See the more adequate discussion of this key polyvalent term in our Introduction to Orientations: Islamic Thought in a World Civilization, London: Archetype, 2004.

be tween popu la r con temporary concept ions o f inter-rel igious understanding and I m a m A l i ' s o w n teachings on this subject, w i t h o u t entering into a more deta i led discussion o f the deeper ph i losophic underpinnings and presupposi t ions o n ei ther side.

T o begin w i t h , the pr imary focus o f most modern at tempts at inter-religious understanding is e i ther intel lectual and theological , where formal doctr ines and religious symbols are concerned; or else o n "social e th ics ," where certain his tor ical ly accumula ted external pract ical precepts and rituals o f t w o religious tradit ions are being compared . In ei ther case, the part icular compar i son (or "understanding") o f the religious tradit ions concerned is typ ica l ly carr ied out in an external , reduct ive social , h is tor ical or po l i t i ca l way that supposedly reveals the " rea l , " c o m m o n meanings and funct ions o f the religious phenomena in quest ion. In this widespread approach , the aims o f those par t icular pract ical o r theological d imensions o f a given rel igion are usually reduced, e x p l i c i t l y or i m p l i c i t l y , to a given, presumably famil iar and universal ly accessible set o f his tor ical , t h i s -wor ld ly (dunyawa) social , po l i t i ca l , or even psychic ends.

W h a t is key in each such case, o f course, is the reduct ive , socio-po l i t i ca l emphasis and assumptions shared by vi r tua l ly all such modern approaches. N o w no rational observer w o u l d deny that every his torical rel igion does indeed ' f u n c t i o n ' in such ways in this w o r l d — i n ways that are in fact so poignantly i l lustrated by the endless " re l ig ious" po lemics , strife, and o p e n c i v i l warfare o f early Islamic history dur ing A l i ' s o w n l i fe t ime, seminal events that are recorded in such thorough detai l th roughout the Nahj al-Balagha. But modern wri ters unfortunately too often tend to ignore the equally obv ious l imi t s o f such reduct ive forms o f in terpreta t ion and understanding: what is it , one might ask all the same, that also differentiates, for example , a genuine Sufi tariqa f r o m a social c l u b , real spi r i tua l guidance f rom psychiatry, or t ransformative spi r i tua l music (dhikr and sama' in the i r p r i m o r d i a l sense) f rom any other concer t performance?

In dramat ic contrast to such popu la r con temporary approaches to "rel igious understanding," A l i ' s remarks in this passage focus o n radically different, spi r i tual ly d is t inct ive and di f f icul t ly a t ta inable—but nonetheless fundamental—aspects o f religious life and understanding, whatever the part icular his tor ical t radit ions in question:

First , for I m a m A l i , t rue inter-rel igious understanding—at any o f the three levels he distinguishes here—is always between individuals, growing out of each soul ' s i nd iv idua l encounter w i t h the "o the r" and their c o m m o n spir i tual reality and relat ionship w i t h al-Haqq ( G o d , Real i ty , and T ru th ) . F r o m this perspect ive, therefore, true religious understanding is always the u l t imate fruit o f a sort o f "tri-alogue"—not a w o r l d l y d i a logue—in w h i c h b o t h the h u m a n parties, the K n o w e r and the proper ly prepared disc ip le , share and gradually d iscover the i r c o m m o n d iv ine G r o u n d o f reality and true being.

Secondly , the possibil i t ies o f religious understanding (again whe the r inter- or intra-religious) are essentially l i m i t e d above all by the intr insic barrier o f the specific spir i tual capacities, shor tcomings and leve l o f realisation of each ind iv idua l . A s in the famil iar imagery o f so many hadi th and later Islamic wri t ings , souls here are indeed revealed as mirrors, w h o can only see in the " o t h e r " — w h e t h e r that be a religious ph e n o menon or anything else—their o w n reflection. Therefore the basharic " r abb le" o f w h o m A l i speaks so painful ly he re—whatever the i r par t icular rel igion or his tor ical s i tuat ion—are necessarily and unavoidably in the pos i t ion so aptly descr ibed in R u m i ' s famous tale o f the b l i n d men and the elephant.

T h i r d l y , for A l i , even the first beginnings o f ou r approach to a true, immedia te awareness o f G o d and the d iv ine Re l ig ion (din) are necessarily grounded above all in h u m i l i t y , in an awareness o f one 's o w n essential spir i tual ignorance and l im i t a t i ons—and therefore not in the acquis i t ion o f some further external f o r m o f knowledge , r i tual , o r belief. In other words , the greatest, p r i m o r d i a l obstacle to any serious religious understanding—as Socrates and so many other insp i red teachers have repeatedly r eminded us d o w n th rough the ages—is ou r o w n " c o m p o u n d ignorance" (jahl murakkab), ou r o w n i l lus ion that we t ru ly " k n o w " so m u c h that w e in fact on ly bel ieve or imagine.

F ina l ly , i f A l i teaches us—as this story i tself so dramat ica l ly i l lustrates—that the keys to the deepest and most p ro found forms o f religious understanding are to be found in seeking out G o d ' s t rue " K n o w e r s " and G u i d e s and our o w n in t imate spir i tual relat ion to t h e m , then the corresponding area o f h u m a n religious life and exper ience most l ike ly to lead to genuine inter-rel igious understanding is that o f ou r par t icular i nd iv idua l devot iona l life and prayer, o f each soul ' s unique , ongoing inner relat ionship w i t h its G u i d e and source o f Light , i n what

has t radi t ional ly been t e rmed "pract ica l sp i r i tua l i ty" ('irfan-i 'amala). N o t surprisingly, this d o m a i n o f ou r personal spir i tual exper ience and pract ice, where G o d is so obv ious ly and unavoidably the u l t imate " A c t o r " and Crea tor , in reality exhib i t s an extraordinary phenomenolog ica l s imi lar i ty across all external his tor ical and credal boundaries and soc io-po l i t i ca l d iv i s ions . . . .

These br ie f reflections o n some o f the central teachings o f the Nahj al-Balagha cannot he lp bu t r e m i n d us o f one o f the most remarkable Q u r ' a n i c verses on the subject o f h u m a n k i n d ' s recurrent religious misunderstandings and the i r u l t imate resolut ion in and by the T r u l y Real (al-Haqq). N o t surprisingly, this verse also serves w e l l as a remarkable symbo l i c a l lusion to the strife-torn his tor ical events and confl ic ts among the early M u s l i m s , those c r i t i ca l , paradigmatic "tests" (fitan) that are so v i v i d l y i l lustrated and e v o k e d throughout the remainder o f the Nahj al-Balagha—and w h i c h cont inue to recur, w i t h such poignancy, in our o w n and every age.

T h e verse in quest ion (al-Baqara, 213) begins w i t h the reminder that 'all people were one religious community,' bu t then:

G o d sent prophets bearing good news and warning, and He revealed through them the Scripture with Truth (Haqq), so that He might judge among the people concerning that about which they differed. A n d only those differed concerning It to whom (the Scripture) was brought, after the Clear Proofs came to them, out of strife and rebellion among themselves. But then G o d guided those who had faith to the Truth about which they had differed, through His permission. For G o d guides whoever He wishes to a Straight Path!

A p p e n d i x : A l i ' s Speech to K u m a y l i bn Z i y a d a l - N a k h a ' i

K u m a y l i b n Z i y a d said: T h e C o m m a n d e r o f the Fa i thfu l—Peace be

u p o n h i m ! — t o o k m y hand and brought me out to the cemetery

(beyond the c i ty walls) . So w h e n he had entered the desert he let ou t a

great sigh, and then he said:

O Kumayl ibn Ziyad, these Hearts are containers: the best of them

is the one that holds the most. So remember well what I am going

to say to you!

The people are (divided into) three groups: a lordly (divinely

inspired) Knower 8 ; one seeking Knowing along the path of

salvation; and the riffraff and rabble, the followers of every

screaming voice, those who bend with every wind, who have not

sought to be illuminated by the Light of Knowing and who have

not had recourse to a solid Support.

O Kumayl , Knowing is better than possessions: Knowing protects

you, but you must guard possessions. Possessions are diminished as

they're spent, but Knowing multiplies (or "purifies") as it is shared.

But whoever makes the possessions disappears as they do!

O Kumayl ibn Ziyad, the awareness/recognition (ma'rifa) of

Knowing is a Religion (din) by which (God) is worshipped and

served: through it the truly human being (insan) acquires willing

obedience (to God) during their life (here), and a beautiful,

wonderful state after their passing away. For Knowing is the Judge,

and possessions are what is adjudged!

7 This particular well-known passage from Nahj al-Balagha, the famous later compilation (by al-Sharif al-Radi, 359/970-406/1016) of the many letters, teachings, sermons and proverbs attributed to Ali ibn Abu Talib, is also included in almost identical form in a number of earlier extant Shiite works, in both the Imami and the Ismaili traditions The text translated here is from a popular Beirut edition of Nahj al-Balagha (Dar al-Andalus, 1980), pp. 593-595, numbered 147 in the long later section of 'Wise Sayings' (hikam). The setting of this particular lesson is apparently outside the new Arab settlement of Kufa (on the edge of the desert in southern Iraq), during one of the drawn-out, bloody civil wars that divided the nascent Muslim community throughout the period of Ali's Imamate.

*'Alim rabbani. "Knower" here is used in the strong and inclusive Qur'anic sense, to refer to profound, God-given spiritual Knowing ('Urn). The qualifier recalls the Qur'anic term rabbaniyun and apparently is related both to the Arabic root referring to God as "Lord" (rabb, hence "divine" or "god-like"), and to another Arabic root referring to spiritual teaching and education in the very broadest sense (r-b-y). The latter meaning is emphasized at Qur'an 3:79, which probably underlies the special usage here: ...Be rabbaniyun through your teaching the Book and through your studying (It).

O Kumayl , those who accumulate possessions have perished, even

while they are still alive. But the Knowers endure for all eternity:

their particular-instances9 are lost, but their likenesses are found in

the Hearts. O what Knowledge abounding there is right here!—and

he pointed with his hand to his breast 1 0 —if only I could reach those

who are its (rightful) bearers.

True, I've reached a quick-learner who couldn't be trusted with It,

who would seek to use the instrument of Religion for this world—

who would try to use God's blessings to dominate His (true)

servants and His proofs to overcome His Friends.11 O r someone

submissive to the bearers of the divine Truth (al-Haqq), but

without any true Insight (basara) into Its twists and curves, whose

Heart is consumed by doubt at the first onset of some difficulty.

But alas, neither this one nor that (can truly bear the Truth)! O r

someone greedy for pleasures, easily led by their passions? O r

someone engrossed in acquiring and accumulating (worldly

possessions)? Those two are not among the guardians 1 2 of Religion

in any respect—the closest semblance to that sort are the grazing

cattle! Thus Knowing dies with the death of those who bear it.

Yet indeed, O my G o d , the world is never without one upholding

the Evidence for G o d , either outwardly and known to all, or

secretly and in obscurity, 1 4 so that God's Evidences and His

illuminating-manifestations may not come to nought. But how

many are these, and where are they!?

9A yan (pl. of 'ayn). that is, their individual, temporal earthly manifestation, as opposed to their "images" or "likenesses" (amthal, or "symbols") in the Hearts of other human individuals after them. Here we can see how Ali's perspective parallels—and at the same time embodies—the Qur'anic understanding of the relationship between the archetypal divine "Names" (which ultimately constitute this Knowing) and their infinitely re-created individual manifestations. 10 Here, as in the Qur'an, the term "breast" or "chest" (sadr) is virtually synonymous with the "Heart" (qalb) as the locus of all true perception, selfhood, etc. 1lAwliya' Allah: see the Qur'anic use of this key term (10:62). 1 2 O r "shepherds," "pastors": ru'at. 13 Or "Proof (al-Hujja)—but in the sense of the indisputable living human Manifestation, not any sort of logical or rhetorical "argument"; this is another central Qur'anic concept (4:165, 6:149) frequently alluded to in other teachings of Imam 'Ali in the Nahj al-Bahagha. The Qur'anic expression bayyinat ("Illuminating-manifestations") used several times in the immediately following passage seems to refer to the same key spiritual figures in this context.

Literally, "in fear" (used in the Qur'an, for example, of the young Moses fleeing Egypt for Midian) and "submerged" (by the power of earthly tyranny)

By G o d , these (true Knowers) are the fewest in number, but the

greatest of all in their rank with G o d ! Through them G o d preserves

His Evidences and His Illuminating-manifestations, so that these

(Knowers) may entrust them to their (true) peers and sow them in

the Hearts of those like them. Through (those Knowers) Knowing

penetrates to the inner reality of true Insight (haqiqat al-basara).

They are in touch with the Spirit of Certainty (ruh al-yaqin). They

make clear what the lovers of comfort had obscured. They are at

home with what distresses the ignorant. A n d their bodies keep

company with this world, while their spirits are connected to the

Loftiest Station.

Those are the ones who are (truly) God's Stewards on the earth,

who are calling (the people) to His Religion. O h , how I long to see

them! G o on now, Kumayl , if you want.

1 5 This famous Qur'anic phrase (khalifat Allah) is variously applied to prophets (Adam, at 2:30; David, at 38:27) and to "you-all" (= all of humanity), at 6:165, 10:14 and 73; 35:39, 27:62; etc. Within a short time after the death of the Prophet—and certainly by the time of this story—it had taken on a highly charged and disputed political significance in the long and violent decades of protracted civil wars over the worldly leadership of the nascent Arab-Muslim political community.