I am writing this to share my personal opinions on mystics and philosophers. It is true, the act of writing this article itself is making me into a philosopher. I fear Allah as I write this. I will try to take a middle road. My main goal in writing this would be to help provide a different way of thinking for those out there that are inclined to belief in that Allah’s message to us included a possible objective and then path for mystical growth.
My thesis is that the Allah’s message, as relayed through the Quran and the authentic hadiths (to the extent those authentically exist), does NOT offer any prescribed path for spiritual growth.
I will argue this with a few points. First, the quranic stories and lessons. Second, the authentic hadiths of the prophet Muhammed and the holy Ahlul Bayt (I will personally vet these hadiths, however I could be mistaken, so take all hadiths with a grain of salt and do your own vetting). Thirdly, I will make a logical argument from my own personal view and the personal views of respected mara’ja such as Ayatollah Sistani and Ayatollah Khamenei.
Firstly, let us examine the story of Adam in the holy Quran. Here there are two specific stories I want to highlight. First, is the origin story of the devil, Iblis. Allah indicates in the holy Quran the following:
Behold! We said to the angels, “Bow down to Adam”: They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!
18:50: (see also 2:30-39; and 7:11-7:25)
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِءَادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِۦٓ ۗ أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُۥ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُۥٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِى وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّۢ ۚ بِئْسَ لِلظَّٰلِمِينَ بَدَلًا
Allah told all of the angels to bow to Adam. This is a command from Allah. Why, who, what, when? Does not matter. You have a command. All of the angels obeyed. Iblis (the devil), either was an angel or a Jinn. What exactly he was is irrelevant and does not matter to the story. If it mattered, Allah would have specified. Iblis, for all we know, was a devoted servant of Allah, just like the other Angels. All of the angels obeyed Allah, and bowed to Adam (saws). One did not obey Allah swt, and he refused to bow to Adam. Up until this point, Iblis was a loving servant of Allah. He loved Allah so much, however did he obey Allah? Are we meant to love Allah or obey Allah? Can anyone argue that Iblis did not love Allah(swt)? But we know for sure, his love to Allah (swt), did not save him, he was still damned. Similarly, in our lives, when mystics say, well I’m only doing what I’m doing for my love for Allah (swt). I would reply, so what? Your love for Allah takes a back seat to your service to Allah. Islam means to submit, or in other words, to give up your desires for Allah’s desires and commands. Islam does not mean love. The Quran came with commandments, warning, and good tidings, it did not come with rituals to show our love for Allah. This story shows us that our love for Allah will not save us, if we disobey Allah. As far as I can tell, our love for Allah is meaningless unless we follow the commands of Allah.
The second Quran story I want to emphasize and repeat here is a continuation of the same story. Allah (swt) allowed Iblis to try to sway humankind from obeying Allah. So, Allah placed Adam and his wife in paradise. The story unfolds as follows:
“O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.”
Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: “Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever.”
7:20-21:
فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لِيُبْدِىَ لَهُمَا مَا وُۥرِىَ عَنْهُمَا مِن سَوْءَٰتِهِمَا وَقَالَ مَا نَهَىٰكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰلِدِينَ ٢٠
وَقَاسَمَهُمَآ إِنِّى لَكُمَا لَمِنَ ٱلنَّـٰصِحِينَ ٢١
Allah made one command to our forefather, Adam (saws). He told him, do whatever you like, just do not eat from this one tree. He did not teach Adam prayers, rituals, or anything. Rather, he gave Adam freedom, but only gave one command. The devil’s job was to try to have Adam break that one command. So the devil went to work. He could have said to Adam and Eve that God does not really care that much if you eat from that tree. He could have said that Allah swt only told you not to eat from that tree because it would lead you to become angels or immortals. Perhaps Adam and his spouse thought long and hard about this. They thought to themselves, well, maybe God (swt) wants to give us the option to eat from the tree, so that we can ascend to become higher beings. Now the reasoning or mental gymnastics used by Adam and his spouse to rationalize eating from the tree is left vague for a reason. It’s meant to embody any reason that us humans can use to rationalize doing something forbidden. One speculation could be that they somehow deluded themselves into the idea that they can become closer to Allah if they eat from the tree (though this is just one of millions of speculations). So Adam and his spouse ate from the tree, thanks to the deception of the devil. This story is an allegory for all humanity. What deception will you believe to disobey Allah (swt)?
The mystics believe that the first and simple layer of religion is for the common folk. This first layer provides for certain rules such as – don’t steal, kill, rape, eat forbidden foods, and so on. They view this as the first step to open your heart and its for the common folk. Mystics believe that there are higher levels that can be reached if you continue into different rituals to show your love and devotion to the creator. They believe if they do more of these ‘actions’ they can raise their soul to such higher levels that they too can accompany the prophets in receiving divine inspiration and capabilities. Now the question comes, will these recommended acts lead someone to do haram or neglect their religiously prescribed duties? I think it will for us all, including myself. One cannot favor the recommended actions that we speculate are recommended, over the required actions and rituals our prophet (saw) and Allah (swt) actually taught us.
The Quran actually asks the reader an important question as to what they will subsequently believe in:
Do they see nothing in the government of the heavens and the earth and all that Allah hath created? (Do they not see) that it may well be that their terms is nigh drawing to an end? In what hadith after this will they then believe?
7:185 – أَوَلَمْ يَنظُرُوا۟ فِى مَلَكُوتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ مِن شَىْءٍۢ وَأَنْ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونَ قَدِ ٱقْتَرَبَ أَجَلُهُمْ ۖ فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍۭ بَعْدَهُۥ يُؤْمِنُونَ ١٨٥
Here Allah reminds the reader to ponder the wonders of the earth and universe, and ask themselves if they think how long they have left in their life or existence. In other words, Allah seems to be asking us to consider how wondrous this universe is, and that we can deduce its creator would have to be more wondrous. Secondly, we are seemingly asked to wonder at our own mortality and fragility when faced with the unknown variables of this universe, our own existence, and time. Knowing that Allah is great, and knowing that we may not have any time left to live, Allah swt then asks us, what hadiths after this Quran will we believe in instead? Anything not found in the Quran, it seems, we are taking a big risk in believing in.
Continued in Part II.
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