TO TURN TO ALLAH (swt) IS FREEDOM FROM THE CHAINS OF IGNORANCE.

PART TWO. 
 

A brief study by: Brother Ali Ja’afary. 
 

بِسمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَن الرَّحيم

“In the Name of ALLAH the Merciful, the Compassionate” 
 

INTRODUCTION: 

My breath is completely cut off when I think of how much time I wasted. For a large part of my life, I was preoccupied with the most idle and insignificant things. Somehow I always find myself at awe standing at the greatest of doorways, the one which leads to an eternity of wellbeing, happiness, felicity and joy, but above all, the one that leads to our Creator and Lord; ALLAH (swt). The fact is I truly want to leap forward into it and take its responsibilities and its trust, in order to be one of the “true believers”: “And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive and he is a believer; as for these, their striving shall surely be accepted”. (The Glorious Qur’an 17 Al-Isrā’-19), however, I find my wretchedness to overcome me,  I turn away from this most important step, my lack of faith fills my polluted heart with foolish fear and I continue to be a Muslim by theory only, far from  essence of the “true believer”.  

Nowadays the word “true believer” is being thrown around in all directions without any reflection, its pined on people like an emblem as if it were some sort of ID badge only, without any true meaning, in fact it is used so commonly that we have put aside and forgotten its high knowledgeable position and rank, its true essence of unshakable faith and its holy and divine essence. In fact I truly find myself very far from the doorway and far from entering it, I only strive and struggle with a breaking heart and tearful eyes, always holding on to the hope in my effort that I will one day be worthy of even a small part of such a great status, and the priceless privilege of entering that door. Hope is the fuel of faith, and a mercy given to all mankind from ALLAH (swt). 

“This is my hope of life, to hold Thee high to cherish; absent, it is my constant fear that I must perish” Hafiz. 

Today we display our so-called faith by the tongues only, and even at that, very often only in a very small way, our hearts have become cold and hard and our faith weak, we have substituted our deepest love for ALLAH Azz wa Jall for the temporary and cheap pleasures of this world, which we hold onto with all of our might and we defend our hypocritical position by claiming that this is our Jihad, when in reality we are the foolish and the blind, who are far from our Creator; ALLAH (swt). Our master Imam Hussayn (a-s) described our current position over 1360 years ago: “People are the servants of the world and they imagine the religion is something tasteful, as long as it is with a sensible taste, they keep it and if it is a matter that tests them, then there are few religious people”. (Bihar Al-Anwar 383.44 and 116.75 / Tuhaf Al-Uquul maxims of Imam Hussayn (a-s)). 

Oh! ALLAH! How I regret falling into the trap and being such a blind fool, my weakness is only an excuse for my laziness and my failure is caused only by my lack of true effort, my ignorance, and my most deadly of enemies is my “ego” (self/nafsi), which sours and hardens my heart, blinds my soul and pulls me away from YOUR Light. Oh, ALLAH help me! For it is only by YOUR Light that I can find my way out of the darkness of my own tyrannical self which deceives me and only by YOUR Mercy can I move forward to the felicitous and blessed eternity! 

“When I kept knocking on ALLAH’s (swt) door I waited mindfully, not distracted, until there appeared to the eye (eye of the soul) the glory of HIS (swt) Face (His presents as true faith in the heart) and a call to me, nothing else. I encompassed being in knowledge as: ‘nothing is in my heart but ALLAH (swt)’.” Ibn al-‘Arabi 

In the first part of this study, we investigated the inner man and his essence, which we discovered is his celestial link to the Creator of all existence; ALLAH (swt). Insha’ALLAH in this second part we will study the very important place of knowledge and the essential need for faith in order to make that great celestial link. May ALLAH Azz wa Jall guide me through this study in order to find the most precise, simple and correct answers to the questions that weigh heavy in my heart, while keeping this in an easy to read format which will retain its article size Insha’ALLAH. May ALLAH (swt) forgive me for my errors, slips of the pen and guide me and bless my small effort. 
 

QUESTION # 3

Does knowledge mean faith? 

In order to give a proper answer to this question, we must first understand each of its elements. We must have a certain understanding of knowledge as well as faith. So let us look at these subjects closer in order to find our answer, which will come from our research Insha’ALLAH. 

About knowledge in brief: 

“Oh people, you should know that the climax of religion is to acquire knowledge and act upon it. Verily, acquisition of knowledge is more incumbent on you than the acquisition of wealth and money, since wealth and money already stand distributed and guaranteed by ALLAH (swt). It has been so done by One Who is just. Wealth is destined to reach you, but the knowledge has been reserved only for those who are worthy of it. Hence you have been commanded by ALLAH (swt) to acquire knowledge from those who really possess it. Do acquire it from such people”. Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a-s) (Al-Kafi volume one) 

If we remove man’s knowledge and faith he is left with nothing more than desires as all other animals. Man’s inner spirit that strives to obtain knowledge and his freewill is what makes him distinct among all other creations. Man’s thirst for knowledge is so strong that even the ignorant want to obtain it, however, in the case of the ignorant it is often their arrogance that prevents them from doing so.  

If we take knowledge itself and examine it very carefully, we can understand that true knowledge can only be obtained by the Most Knowledgeable, for the roots of all knowledge will lead to the All Knowing Absolute Being; ALLAH (swt). When man claims that he invented something, the fact is he obtained the knowledge to put together the proper elements, in order to discover a new function of these elements, their existence was already there and so was their possibility to intertwine together changing their original conception, what in fact truly happened, man discovered the knowledge to put them together. For without this knowledge, man would not have progressed since his creation, this knowledge is what makes man have greater mental and spiritual power over all other creatures, also when man uses these faculties in a wrong way, it literally destroys him, and reduces him lower than the very lowest of beasts, that’s because his knowledge would be in this case actually deceit, trickery and falsehood. Therefore it is obvious and very evident that the ultimate, absolute, and necessary knowledge is to know ALLAH (swt). The miracle of the Glorious Qur’an is full of statements proving this very point: 

“And of men and beasts and cattle are various species of it likewise; only those of ALLAH’s servants having knowledge fear HIM.” (The Glorious Qur’an 35- Surat Fatir-28)

“ALLAH bears witness that there is no god but HE, and so do the angels and those possessed of knowledge, maintaining HIS creation with justice; there is no god but HE, the Mighty, the Wise”. (The glorious Qur’an 3 Surat Al-Imran-18) 

“And the blind and the seeing are not alike”. (The Glorious Qur’an Surat 35- Al-Fatir 19) 

In other words, we must understand that our knowledge is in fact linked to the ultimate knowledge, which is the knowledge of the Absolute Being: ALLAH (swt). The deeper most inner part of the human intellect, the intellectual faculties which we know as the human ‘soul’ is actually a separate part from the corporeal body, and as the human body reaches its peek between 30-35 years old, the progress and the growth of the soul is only starting and does not reach such a peak, therefore this proves without doubt the infinity of the human ‘soul’.  

Perhaps many think that as the human being becomes older, his spiritual and inner mental faculties become lesser as does his physical faculties, however, science has proved that it is only the physical faculties that are used to express to others these spiritual and mental faculties that decrease, when in reality the inner intellectual and spiritual faculties are forever growing and expanding, it is only man’s tired and aging body that has difficulty expressing them, so how does man retrieve this Divine knowledge for his infinite soul and by whom does this knowledge get taught to him until the day of his transit to the Hereafter? 

This is done by the revelation of ALLAH (swt) to HIS (swt) Messengers (Prophets) and divinely guided leaders (Prophets or Imams); it is by their teachings, actions, silences and their life styles, that the Human can obtain this knowledge, via the Holy Qur’an, and authentic Ahadith. Then the human being may begin his journey towards true knowledge, to know ALLAH (swt) which includes the knowledge of HIS (swt) creation. Once again as we proved in many of our discussions in the first part of this study (TO TURN TO ALLAH (swt) IS FREEDOM FROM THE CHAINS OF IGNORANCE PART ONE); mankind’s only true destination in existence is nearness and closeness to ALLAH (swt).  

Our guides: 

After the death of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (saww) who’s words, actions and lifestyle were pure revelation from ALLAH (swt) (“Your companion does not err, nor does he go astray; nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed”. (The Noble Qur’an 53-2 to 4)), the Muslim nation needed to have pure and infallible leaders (a-s) that would continue to spread the message and explain it (the Holy Qur’an) and to continue to teach the teachings, words, manners, wisdom, knowledge and lifestyle of our Holy Prophet (saww). And this was done by the Divinely Chosen Imams (a-s), who possess the perfect knowledge and pure infallibility to lead mankind until the day of Doom. There are many books proving this fact and I also wrote many articles about this subject, so for this study I will no elaborate any further about how they were chosen and by Whom, it suffices me to quote the following Surat from the Qur’an about them to understand Who (swt) chose them (a-s), and also the following authentic Hadith about this giant subject will be enough to confirm this fact, and again I encourage you all to research this subject from books and articles Insha’ALLAH. 

“ALLAH intendeth but to keep off from you (every kind of) uncleanness, O’ye the people of the house (Ahlul-Bayt) and purify you (with) a thorough purification”. (The Glorious Qur’an 33-Al-Ahzab-33).   

The Prophet (saw) said: “I am leaving for you a thing which if you will keep hold of, you will never go astray after me and those two things which are greater and higher than one another.  One of them is the Book of ALLAH which is a rope drawn from earth up to the sky and another one is my progeny who are my Ahlul Bayt (a-s).  These two will never separate from one another until they arrive to me on the Hauz of Kauthar.  So just think how you will act for me on their matter”. (Zaid bin Arqam – Sahih Tirmidhi). 

And as in the case of the Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (saww), ALLAH (swt) also used Miracles and great happenings to show and prove to the world the Imamate of the chosen Holy Imams (a-s), one only needs to look at the outstanding achievements, exceptional manners and behaviour and incredible knowledge of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a-s), Imam Hassan Al-Mujtaba (a-s), Imam Hussayn (a-s) and his son and 8 grandsons (a-s) to see and understand that this fact is irrefutable, their stories are full of proofs of their infallibility, two very small evidences among hundreds that I found until now are; how both Imam Jawad (a-s), Imam Hadi (a-s) were considered and accepted by the entire  
Islamic Ummah as the Imams, the most learned, knowledgeable, most pious and devout of their respected times, between the very tender ages of 6 and 8 years old, one can only conclude that their knowledge and understanding was not taught to them by any regular chain of human beings, but was truly indeed gifted as a divine blessing of Imamate to them from ALLAH (swt). The greatest scholars, scientists, religious clerics, theologians, etc… of that time went to them to be taught by them, to debate with them, and always left astonished at the perfect knowledge and faith of our Holy Imams (a-s). That fact was proved once again with the Imam (a-s) of our time Imam Muhammad Ibn Hassan Al-Qa’im al Mahdi (atfs) (a-s) who lost his father in infancy and became the Imam (a-s) for all of mankind and will be the leader (Imam) to the Islamic Ummah until the Day of Doom.  

Sublime wisdom: 

I will now, as promised, move away from the subject of Phophets (a-s) and Imams (a-s) and return to our main issue, many great scientists tried to put together many different methods, theories and teachings for us to learn, in order to understand our mission of seeking knowledge and to truly be aware and to fill our intellects and souls with this vital and essential knowledge which comes from ALLAH (swt). 

Sadr al-Din Muhammad Shirazi (Sadr al-Muta’allihin - Mulla Sadra) (r-a) actually put together a philosophical theory based on his research, both in Philosophy and ‘Irfan (Islamic mysticism) which has as it’s ultimate goal to achieve the necessary knowledge in order to obtain closeness and nearness to ALLAH (swt), and this is part of Mulla Sadra’s very impressive ‘sublime wisdom’ 

1^st: The journey from creation to ALLAH (swt): Here the wayfarer attempts to transcend nature as well as certain supernatural realms (worlds) in order to reach the Divine Essence, leaving no veil between himself and ALLAH (swt). 

2^nd: The journey by ALLAH (swt) in ALLAH (swt) / Man’s journey with ALLAH (swt) in ALLAH (swt) (Meaning knowing ALLAH (swt)): After the wayfarer attains proximate knowledge of ALLAH (swt), with HIS (swt) help the wayfarer journeys through HIS Phases, Perfections, Names and Attributes. 

3^rd: The journey from ALLAH (swt) to Creation by ALLAH (swt) / Man’s journey with ALLAH towards ALLAH‘s creatures: In this journey, the wayfarer returns to creation and rejoins people, but this return does not mean separation and remoteness from the Divine Essence. Rather, the wayfarer sees the Divine Essence with all things and in all things. 

4^th: The journey in Creation by ALLAH (swt) / Man’s journey with ALLAH (swt) among creatures for their salvation: In this journey, the wayfarer undertakes to guide the people and lead them to the truth. 

Our brilliant Professor; Shaheed Ayatullah Sheikh Murtada Mutahhari (r-a) said about the above theory of “Sublime Wisdom”: “Nothing can be said better than the above, as long as man is separated from ALLAH (swt) everything is wrong, but after communion with ALLAH (swt) and knowing and approaching HIM and feeling HIM with himself, he returns to HIS creatures in the company of ALLAH (swt), to help and salvage them and bring them near ALLAH (swt). If we say that man journeys from the people towards ALLAH (swt) he does not attain anything. And if we say he moves towards human beings without moving towards ALLAH (swt), he will be the same as the materialist human school of today, unable to do anything , because it is absolutely false. Only those who have delivered themselves first can deliver others from being enslaved by nature and other human beings. It means freedom from one’s carnal desires in the first place of domination of external nature and others in the second place. From the viewpoint of Islam, is a man someone who feels the pain of others, or feels for ALLAH (swt) and then feels the pain of HIS creatures?” (The perfect man: By Ayatullah Shaheed Murtada Mutahhari, p. 33).  

Mulla Sadra (r-a) used this very same 4 stations theory of wayfaring (which has many sub-stations within each one of them) and based all of the classification of philosophical questions on the above method of ‘Irfan: 

1^st: Topics that constitute a foundation or preliminary to the study of Tawheed. These (ordinary matter of philosophy) constitute our mental journey from Creation to ALLAH.

2^nd: Topics of Tawheed, theology, and divine attributes – Journey with ALLAH in ALLAH.

3^rd: Topics of the divine acts, the universal worlds of being – Journey with ALLAH (swt) from ALLAH (swt) to creation.

4^th: Topics of the soul and the destination (Ma’ad) – The journey in Creation with ALLAH (swt). 

Surely it now becomes very easy for us to see that Mulla Sadra (may ALLAH (swt) bless his soul), understood that all knowledge was linked to the Ultimate Knowledge, which belonged to the Absolute Being; ALLAH (swt). However, can we say that this method is really based on the teachings of the revelations from ALLAH (swt), found in the Holy Qur’an, and in the Sunnah of the Master of the Prophets; Prophet Muhammad (saww) and the Guided Imams (a-s), as well as other scientists who are specialized in this field? 

More about knowledge and sublime wisdom: 

Prophet Muhammad (saww) said: “The good of this world and the world to come is with knowledge”. (Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol.1 p.204) 

The great theologian and philosopher Nasir al-Din Tusi (r-a) said about knowledge: “The soul’s nobility lies in its knowledge, for we can see that as each soul becomes capable of acquiring a branch of knowledge, it becomes nobler than those souls who do not benefit from that knowledge. It is clear that by absorbing the excellence of knowledge, one soul excels others in strength until it attains the degree of the souls of the great hujjats (a-s) who, by purity of their essence, become capable of receiving the emanations of light of the Sublime World and become distinguished from other souls through divine instruction”. (Rawda-yi taslim). 

Imam As-Sadiq (a-s) said: “I have found the knowledge of all mankind in 4 things: The first of them is that you should know your Lord, the second is that you should know what HE has made for you, the third is that you should know what he wants from you, and the fourth is that you should know what takes you out of religion”. (Al-Khisa, by Shaykh Al-Suduq (r-a)) 

The master of ‘Irfan; Ibn ‘Arabi (r-a) says the following about knowledge: “The root of all knowledge derives from the knowledge of the divine things, since everything other than ALLAH derives from ALLAH”. “Everything in engendered existence must be supported by divine realities and comprised within knowledge of the divine things, from which all knowledge branches out”. (Muqaddima) 

“And he for whom ALLAH hath not appointed light, for him there is no light”. (The Glorious Qur’an 24-40) 

Imam Al-Rida (a-s) said: “The friend of any individual is his mind and his enemy is ignorance”. (Uyun Akhbar Al-Rida, vol 1, 26-15) 

Ibn ‘Arabi (r-a) also said: “The veil of darkness itself, which hides the unknown, contains infinite knowledge. It is the Knowledge of eternal divine logic. Men try to investigate and discover some things in it. The more they know, the more they realize that there is no end to it”. (At-Tadbirat al-ilahiyyah fi islah al-mamlakat al-insaniyyah) 

“Say: If the sea were ink to write the words of my lord, the sea would surely be exhausted before the words of my LORD were exhausted”. (The Glorious Qur’an; Kahf, 109)  

“And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea, with seven seas added to it, were ink, the words of ALLAH would not be exhausted” (The Glorious Qur’an; Luqman, 27) 

In the science of epistemology knowledge is the subject, and it looks deeply into the questions of knowledge, and pays a special attention to knowledge by presence, which is described as the infallible knowledge, and the knowledge which cannot be denied, ex; knowledge one has of him/herself. When studying this magnificent science and its many divisions, once again all of its discoveries lead to the ultimate knowledge and its One and Only possessor the Absolute Being; ALLAH (swt), confirming again that all knowledge is linked to HIM (swt). 

Imam Ja’afar Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq (a-s) said so beautifully in a magnificent discourse: “Knowledge is the basis of every sublime state and the culmination of every high station. That’s why the Holy Prophet (saww) said: “it is the duty of every Muslim, man and woman to seek knowledge”. That is the knowledge of precaution (Taqwa) and certainty. Imam Ali (a-s) said: “Seek knowledge, though it may be in China”. Meaning the knowledge of gnosis of the self, has contained within it knowledge of the Lord (swt). The Holy Prophet (saww) said: “Whoever knows his own self knows his lord; more over, you should acquire that knowledge, for without which no action is correct, and that is sincerity…We seek refuge from ALLAH (swt) from knowledge which has no benefit”. That means; from knowledge which is contrary to actions performed with sincerity”. (Masbah Al-Shariat, Section 2 Knowledge) 

Sadr ul-Muta’allihin Shirazi (Mulla Sadra) (r-a) says about the knowledge that is individually incumbent on man and must be learned for his subsistent existence: “This is certain knowledge of the encounter with ALLAH (swt), of HIS (swt) Unity, HIS (swt) Attributes, and HIS (swt) Acts, then knowledge of the human world and the manner of its first and second configurations. Anyone ignorant of these two sciences will fall short in the establishment of his existence and the perfection of his reality, even if he is proficient in the other sciences. He is like an infant, or like a sleeper who sees diverse forms in his sleeping and then, waking from his sleep, finds no trace of them. So also is the property of the forms that man sees with his outward senses in this world or that he imagines with his inward senses. All these are unreal affaires  and vanishing properties and dreams that have no subsistence in the wakefulness of the world of the Afterworld-except for the true sciences, which are afterworldly forms and have entities fixed at ALLAH (swt). “And what is with ALLAH is better for the pious”. (The Glorious Qur’an 3-198)”. (Iksir al-‘arifin, Chapter: 2) 

However, do all of this wisdom and all of this knowledge mean that the one, who now has obtained it, has now also obtained true and pure faith? Can we say that knowledge is faith, or is it that knowledge is a part of faith; can faith be obtained without knowledge?  

Our most beloved Prophet; Prophet Muhammad (saww) said: “Knowledge is the spirit of Islam and the pillar of faith, and ALLAH (swt) will give perfect reward to those who acquire some sort of knowledge, and if they happen to practice it, HE (swt) will let them know what they know not” (Nahj Al- Fasahah) 

Our most beloved prophet Muhammad (saww) clearly states and teaches us that knowledge is the spirit of Islam, and is a pillar of faith, not faith itself, but a pillar of faith; therefore, it is a matter that is needed, in order to obtain true faith. He (saww) then goes on to say: that those who use in practice their knowledge, ALLAH Azz wa Jall Will teach them what they know not, so we can understand by reflecting deeply on these words, all becomes clear to us, that by putting our knowledge into practice, that will purify and open our hearts which at that point would be ready to obtain faith, and then we can strive for the highest degree of knowledge and faith, this would be the greatest struggle and Jihad for any human being, and that is the Straight Path. 
 

About Faith in brief: 
 

“Faith consists of recognition by heart, acknowledgement by tongue and performance by deeds”.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saww) 

True faith and all of its stations and depth would be a great subject that would fill up volumes and volumes of pages, and still we would have only scratched the surface of this vast and great subject. So Insha’ALLAH I will base my short study on the above Hadith as my guide, which is from our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (saww), since it contains all of the fundamentals in order to give us an idea of what faith is, which is our objective for this study. We will elaborate on this subject in later parts of this series of studies, Insha’ALLAH. Once again I ask my readers to be patient with me and my many slips of the pen and my drifting away from the subject, of my many errors, and of my ignorance, Insha’ALLAH may ALLAH (swt) Guide me. 

The heart and faith: 

Far beyond knowledge itself, faith has a much deeper inner significance and greater celestial essence to the human being, for it is the love, hope, direction and true inner being of the ‘true believer’. Our history has traced out for us many great examples of truly faithful men and women who’s existence and all of their actions were not only based on their deep faith, but in fact it was their true and pure faith and knowledge that guided them, they were truly the people of Paradise and they indeed had their Lord and Creator; ALLAH (swt) in their hearts, so much so, that most of them sacrificed everything they had in order to taste the sweetness of nearness to ALLAH (swt). 

ALLAH (swt) says: “Neither the vastness of MY earth, nor that of MY heaven can contain ME. Indeed it is the heart of the faithful, which can contain ME”. (Al-Hadith al-Qudsi) 

Our great teacher, leader and mentor; Imam Khomeini (r-a) said this about faith: “Faith emerges from the depths of the heart, and in this matter mere abstract knowledge does not suffice. The Shaïton possesses the knowledge of all these things (knowledge of ALLAH (swt) attributes, the Angels (a-s), Holy Scriptures, the Prophets (a-s), the Day of Judgment, etc….) more than you and I or any other individual, but still he is an unbeliever. The faith is a yearning of the heart – an inner experience, which if not genuine, does not become faith”. (Taken from: Forty Hadiths by: Imam Khomeini, p. 59-60) 

When we contemplate on the meaning of heart, in the particular case of the above Hadith: “recognition by heart”, we immediately understand here that we are not speaking about the physical organ that is found in our chest and that pumps vital blood to flow throughout our entire body, no here we are talking of something even greater than all of that. What is meant by the heart in this case, is the deeper spiritual meaning of the word “heart” which is used to mean soul, meaning that recognition is done by the entire soul in its deepest depth and in every single part of it, and the meaning of faith consists of recognition of the Absolute Being; ALLAH (swt) by the entire and complete soul.  

In order to be capable of obtaining any kind of ‘recognition by the heart’, we must realize the vital and great importance of the heart (soul) and of its enormous size, vastness and capacity. To have a small understanding of the immensity of the human soul, I will turn to a great quotation from Allamah Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (r-a), that demonstrates in a perfect way this scientific fact; he said: “There is no creation in the universe larger in number than the Angels and their bodies too are larger than those of any other creatures except the souls (heart). Ibn Babawiya ‘sheikh Saduq (r-a)’ narrates through reliable sources that Imam Ali (a-s) was asked about the Omnipotence of ALLAH (swt). Imam Ali (a-s) after praising the Beneficent and Merciful ALLAH, said: “ALLAH (swt) has created an Angel who, when it descended on earth, would find the entire area of the planet insufficient for itself. Certain other Angels are so large that they occupy the entire space of the sky. There are also Angels that are so large that the sky comes to their waist. Some others are standing in the atmosphere and the earth is near their ankles”. (Ain Al-Hayat: Allamah Majlisi (r-a) Chapter 2 Fundamentals).  

By the above description, we now understand the great capacity, vastness and size of the human soul, since it is a known fact that it is greater in size than even the biggest of Angels, therefore when we turn once again to the infallible words of our holy Prophet Muhammad (saww) when he said: ““Faith consists of recognition by heart…” we truly understand the greatness and the depth of recognition by heart, and how great of a task it is to truly achieve recognition by heart.  

Hafiz said in a poem: “Once a young woman asked me, “How does it feel to be a man?” And I replied, “My dear, I am not sure. “Then she said, “Well, aren’t you a man? “And this time I replied, “I view gender as a beautiful animal that people often take for a walk on a leash and might enter in some odd contest to try to win strange prizes. My dear a better question for Hafiz would have been, ‘How does it feel to be a heart?’ For all I know is LOVE (ALLAH (swt)), and I find my heart Infinite and everywhere!” Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafiz (1320-1389A.C.) 

Certainly as we encounter with knowledge, faith also has different stations, levels, divisions and sub-divisions, I found many great philosophical and theological descriptions of them, and I found one in particular very interesting, in its great and simple approach to the great subject of faith, by the master theologian and philosopher Khawaj Nasir al-Din Tusi (r-a), he used as an example our knowledge of fire to compare to our faith in ALLAH (swt). After reflecting on and studying Nasir al-Din Tusi’s theory, we find that what he calls the 4^th stage and is undoubtedly a brief definition of a true faithful believer who has achieved the station of: “recognition by heart, acknowledgement by tongue and performance by deeds”, he says: “The fourth stage of understanding about fire is that a person dares to come in personal contact with the fire. This stage in Faith in ALLAH (swt) is when the pious believers whose dedication has reached such heights that they are ready to sacrifice themselves in the way of the Creator; ALLAH (swt). This stage is reached after achieving the highest degree of Devotion”. 

Recognition, devotion, Faith and at-Tawheed: 

The great scholar and brilliant philosopher Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi (may ALLAH (swt) give him long life and eternal blessings) says: “At-Tawheed is not just to profess by tongue and bear witness to the Oneness of ALLAH (swt) and the Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (saww), rather it is a reality in the heart and is a faith which develops in the heart”. (At-Tawheed p.38-39) 

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saww) to show all mankind’s inadequacy to truly know and understand the Immensity and Greatness of the Absolute and Necessary Being; ALLAH (swt), he (saww) would say: “We did not know YOU as YOU deserve to be known. We did not worship YOU as YOU deserve to be worshipped”. (Safinat al-Bihar) 

In fact, without the recognition by the heart of Tawheed (the Oneness, Uniqueness and the Absoluteness of ALLAH (swt)), a person cannot possibly be considered a true believer in any shape, way or form, and would then not be capable of fulfilling the other two obligations of faith in a true and sincere way; “acknowledgement by tongue and performance by deeds”, so we quickly understand that not only does “recognition by heart” contain a very important link to “acknowledgement by tongue and performance by deeds”, but is in fact the very foundation of them, which once all 3 of them are combined; they become the definition of one of the many stations of true faith.  

Therefore the true seed of faith is at-Tawheed (monotheism) and without at-Tawheed, the beautiful and brilliant flower of faith cannot grow. Without the firm belief in at-Tawheed, a sincere and true committed belief, conviction, great effort, true struggle, truthful speech, pure worship and true sacrifice of the entire being would be absolutely impossible; therefore without the firm belief in Tawheed, one could not be a ‘true believer’. The human being’s faith is a direct connection to Tawheed (monotheism: the belief of God being One) as the flower is to the seed. And that is the only possible link to the Absolute Being Who is the Creator of all existence, and the Lord of all creation; ALLAH (swt). 

Some of the greatest among the great philosophers wrote many treaties, books and studies on the Oneness and Uniqueness of ALLAH (swt), which proves the undeniable need for the great belief of at-Tawheed, here are only a few of the many: 

The master philosopher Ibn Sina (r-a) said about ALLAH (swt) being One: “The existence of the Necessary Existent (ALLAH (swt)) cannot at all be composite, deriving from multiplicity. The true nature of the Necessary Existent can in no manner be shared by another. From our verifying all this, it follows necessarily that the Necessary Existent is not dependant on relation, is neither changing nor multiple, and has nothing associated with HIS existence that is proper to Himself”. (Al-Shifa al-Ilahiyyat).   

“That the Necessary Existent has no cause is obvious. For if in His existence the Necessary Existent were to have a cause, His existence would be by that cause. But whatever exists by something (else), if considered in itself, apart from another, existence for it would not be necessary. And every thing for which existence is not found to be necessary-if the thing is considered in itself, apart from another-is not a necessary existent in itself. It is thus evident that if what is in itself a necessary existent were to have a cause, it would not be in itself a necessary existent. Thus, it becomes clear that the Necessary Existent has no cause”. (Al-Shifa al-Ilahiyyat).   

“The Necessary Existent (ALLAH (swt)) must be one entity. Otherwise, let us suppose the Necessary Existent were a multiplicity in which each number is a necessary existent. It would then follow that each, with respect to the meaning which is its true nature; either would not differ at all from any other member or would differ from it. If it does not differ from the other in the meaning that belongs to itself essentially, differing from the other only in not being it – and this is inescapably a difference – then it differs from it in something other than meaning”. (Al-Shifa al-Ilahiyyat).   

Our beloved teacher; the great philosopher Mulla Sadra (r-a) says about at-Tawheed (monotheism): “Nothing except HIS own Being determines HIS Identity…Nothing is a proof for HIS existence save HIS Essence. HIS Being is a proof of and a witness to HIS uniqueness, as it is said: “ALLAH is witness that there is no god save HIM” (The Glorious Qur’an 3-18). For HIS Unity is not like that of a number of a species, as we usually understand personal unity. It is also not generic of specific or relative unity. His Unity is unknowable. HIS unity is the root and basis of all forms of unity. HIS Unity is of a different kind that is grounded in HIS Sublime Essence in the same way as HIS Existence is necessitated by HIS Being, which is the source of all beings. Therefore there is no second to HIM…” (Arshiyal, p. 220-221). 

We find these theories irrefutable and in fact we find that they are based 100% on the revelations from ALLAH (swt) which are found in teachings of the Glorious Qur’an and the sayings of the pure infallibles; the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saww) and the Ahlul- Bayt (a-s): 

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saww) said: “The Creator cannot be described except with that which HE (swt) has described Himself with. How can the Creator be described, while the senses are feeble to attain HIM (swt), imaginations are feeble to get HIM, ideas are feeble to limit HIM, eyes are feeble to encompass HIM (swt). Far is HE (swt) from what they describe. HE (swt) is far in HIS nearness; HE is near in HIS farness. HE (swt) originated modal existence, but HE Himself is without modality. And HE (swt) originated space, but HE is spaceless. So, He (swt) is One and Self-dependant. HE (swt) has described Himself. The describers cannot encompass HIS attributes. ‘HE begets not, nor is HE begotten and none is like HIM’”. (Bihar al-Anwar)  

“Vision comprehends HIM not, and HE comprehends all vision”. (The Glorious Qur’an Al-An’am-104). 

Imam As-Sadiq (a-s) said: “ALLAH (swt) is neither body nor form. HE (swt) embodies all bodies and forms all forms. HE (swt) can neither be analyzed nor limited. HE (swt) grows not, nor does HE (swt) decay. If the fact was as they say (those who falsely claim a form or body to ALLAH (swt)) then there would be no difference between the Creator and the created, the Maker and the made. However HE (swt) is the Creator and the Maker, and HE Who makes distinction and differentiation between HIM and that to which HE (swt) has given body, form, and moulding, for nothing resembles HIM (swt) nor does HE resemble anything”. (Al-Kafi). 

Imam Al-Rida (a-s) said: “Whoever draws a comparison between the Sublime God and His creatures is an atheist. Whoever ascribes to ALLAH what ALLAH has admonished against is also an atheist”. (Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, 11-10) 

“Say; He, ALLAH, is One. ALLAH is He on whom all depend. He begets not, nor is HE begotten. And none is like him” (The Glorious Qur’an 112). 

Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a-s), said: “Praise is due to ALLAH whose worth cannot be described by speakers, whose bounties cannot be counted by calculators and whose claim (to obedience) cannot be satisfied by those who attempt to do so, whom the height of intellectual courage cannot appreciate, and the divings of understanding cannot reach; HE for whose description no limit has been laid down, no eulogy exists, no time is ordained and no duration is fixed. He (swt) brought forth creation, and made firm the shaking earth with rocks. 

The foremost in religion is acknowledgement of HIM (swt), the perfection of acknowledging HIM (swt) is to testify HIM, the perfection of testifying HIM is to believe in HIS Oneness, the perfection of believing in HIS Oneness is to regard HIM Pure, and the perfection of HIS Purity is to deny HIM attributes, because every attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute. Thus whoever attaches attributes to ALLAH (swt) recognizes HIS like, and who recognizes HIS like regards HIM two; and who regards HIM two recognizes parts for HIM; and who recognizes parts for HIM  mistook HIM; and who mistook HIM pointed at HIM; and who pointed at HIM admitted limitations for HIM; and who admitted limitations for HIM numbered HIM. 

Whoever said what is HE (swt), held that HE is contained; and whoever said on what is HE held HE is not on something else. HE (swt) is a Being but not through phenomenon of coming into being. HE exists but not from non-existence. HE (swt) is with everything but not in physical nearness. HE acts but without connotation of movements and instruments. HE (swt) sees when there is none to be looked at from among HIS creation. HE (swt) is only One, such that there is none with whom HE (swt) may keep company or whom HE may miss in his absence”. (Nahj al-Balaghah Sermon #1) 

“Whatever is in the heavens and the earth declares the glory of ALLAH, and HE is the Mighty, the Wise. HIS is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; HE gives life and causes death; and HE has power over all things. He is the First and the Last and the Ascendant over all and the Knower of the hidden things, and HE is Cognizant of all things. He is who created the heavens and the earth in six periods, and HE is firm in power; HE Knows that which goes deep down into the earth and that which comes forth out of it, and that which comes down from the heaven and that which goes up to it, and HE is with you wherever you are; ALLAH sees what you do. HIS is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and to ALLAH are all affaires returned. He causes the night to enter in upon the day, and causes the day to enter in upon the night, and HE is Cognizant of what is in the hearts”. (The Glorious Qur’an Al-Hadid, 1-6) 

How my heart tightens at the fact of recognizing my overwhelming insignificance when I read such great words and deep meanings as those noted above, and my realization of how I am so far from treading the true Path of Salvation, my wretchedness becomes very apparent to my blinded eyes in front of such eloquent words of divine masterpieces, which are either links to revelations or are revelations from ALLAH (swt), may ALLAH (swt) Protect, forgive and Guide us all.  

We can write volumes and volumes on this subject; however, this is enough to understand the vital and crucial importance of at-Tawheed, for only at-Tawheed can bring the human being towards true faith, reliance and trust in ALLAH (swt). However, as we can now conclude, this is much deeper and far beyond just a superficial belief and some empty words, for true faith is the deepest of conviction in the human being’s heart and soul, it becomes his pure language and his righteous deeds in all of his activities and actions, the ‘true believer’ is a light among the darkness, a seer among the blind, a hearer among the deaf, and a knower among the dumb. 

The great Scholar and Mujtahid Ayatullah al-‘Uzma Hajj Shaykh Nasir Makarim Shirazi (may ALLAH (swt) give him a long life and great eternal blessings) says: “We reach the point that however much the level of a person rises in the area of awareness (faith and knowledge), they are less likely to do evil or ugly deeds. Taking into consideration that if a person’s faith and awareness (knowledge) were to rise to a high point and have so much faith in ALLAH (swt) and HIS court of justice, so that everything that he (the true believer) sees is present before his eyes, such a person will be free of all sins and every ugly deed…” (Lessons, p.62) 
 

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, I came across, in one of my books about 3 years ago, a brilliant description that is simple, yet very, very deep, which describes Faith in a straight, easy to understand and truthful manner, I noted it down that day 3 years ago in hopes to be able to use it one day, Alhamdulillah that day has come! Please read it and reflect on it:  

Shaheed Sayeed Dr. Muhammad Husayni Beheshti (r-a) said: “ In my opinion once one out of conviction declares in his heart and tongue: “I believe firmly that so and so is a Prophet of God and what he proclaims is based on divine revelation, and he quotes the words of ALLAH (swt). I therefore believe in the sayings and teachings of this prophet, I affirm that all these are true”. The point that merits attention is that when a person accepts a religion (by faith), the basis of his conviction in that he regards the Prophet (saww) to be a true prophet and that his source is incontrovertible and certain (this is faith). He knows that the Prophet (saww) speaks the truth. No scientific reason is needed to substantiate the Prophet’s proclamation since the fact of his being a prophet is in itself sufficient reason. The Prophet’s being righteous or that someone believes in him may not be scientific reasons but support his being a prophet. If one should accept the words of a prophet on the basis of sufficient scientific reasoning, it is fine and there is no harm in it, however this is not faith and we cannot call this conviction”. (Background of the birth of Islam p.8) 

And this returns us to the purpose of this study, which is to answer the question: Does knowledge mean faith? Certainly now that we have found our answer contained in this very brief study about such a grand, great and deep subject, we have covered enough until now to understand, that knowledge and faith are indeed different, however, knowledge is a pillar and a foundation for faith. However we are now confronted with a series of new questions, which some of them are: 

Is faith possible without knowledge?

And if so can any kind of faith actually endure without knowledge?

How can one live his life and obtain true faith?

How can one journey his soul to the higher levels of faith?

What are the great enemies of faith and knowledge? 

Insha’ALLAH, these questions, as well as many others will be studied, investigated and reflected upon in future parts of this series of studies. May ALLAH (swt) Guide our poor and empty souls to the great Light of faith, and to closeness and nearness to HIM (swt). As-Salaam Alaykum wa Ramatullah wa Barakatuh.

Brother Ali Ja’afary