Page 14 - Chapter One:
"Islamic anthropology pictures human beings as the only creatures who have freely
chosen God over the world, the Real over the unreal, the East over the west. In the Koran,
this free choosing of God is called the ‘Trust.’ ‘We offered the Trust to
the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and were afraid
of it; and human beings carried it.’ But, the verse concludes, they are ‘very
ignorant, great wrongdoers’ (33:72). This suggests that they have failed to live up
to their freely chosen responsibilities.
"Many would object
that they have never made any such choice. The Sufis typically respond that the objection
is contradictory. Every time we undertake the slightest volitional act, we have freely
accepted our human condition as a given."
Commentary: The
author appears to miss the obvious. The "free choosing of God" is not
the ‘Trust’, although, certainly, the capacity for choice is associated with the
‘Trust’.
"The heavens and the
earth and the mountains" were all offered the Trust, "but they refused to carry
it". Obviously, ‘the heavens and the earth and the mountains’ had some
capacity for choice, or else the offer of the ‘Trust’ would not have been made
to them as an issue of choice which they could refuse. Only beings capable of choice - in
however limited a manner - could refuse an offer.
Whatever the
‘Trust’ was, the heavens, the earth, and the mountains were afraid of carrying
its burden, and if the ‘Trust’ had been choice, then, they would have been
afraid of doing exactly what they did - bearing the burden of choosing ... in their case,
to refuse the offer being made.
The author has, himself,
indicated in the foregoing quote, that whenever even the slightest degree of volition is
exercised, then, the one exercising that choice has freely accepted one’s existential
condition. ‘Refusal’ constitutes a choice with lasting ramifications, and these
ramifications would have to be carried throughout the existence of the one making this
choice - namely, the heavens, the earth, and the mountains.
Moreover, the
‘Trust’ cannot be a matter of having "freely chosen God over the
world", for, in refusing the ‘Trust’, the heavens, the earth, and the
mountains were not choosing the world over God. They would remain the servants of Divinity
despite their refusal.
The refusal was not an
act of rebellion or defiance. It was motivated by fear concerning the nature of the
‘Trust’.
The heavens, earth, and
mountains chose refusal of the ‘Trust’. This choice did not entail exhibiting a
preference for the world over Divinity, or a preference for the unreal over the
‘Real’- in fact, they all proceeded to busy themselves with glorifying God - a
‘glorification’ which, according to the Qur’an, we do not understand.
The author uses the term
"Islamic anthropology" and goes on to stipulate that this alleged field of study
"pictures human beings as the only creatures who have freely chosen God over the
world, the Real over the unreal". The foregoing term (i.e., Islamic anthropology) is
an invention of the author because Islam is a matter of what God has given, while
anthropology is a purely conceptual creation of human beings. Consequently, to speak of an
"Islamic anthropology" is a contradiction in terms.
Furthermore, the author
is not only mistaken in the way noted above with respect to humans being "the only
creatures who have freely chosen God over the world", but the author is also mistaken
in another way in relation to the same issue. More specifically, ‘jinn’ are a
category of beings who, like humans, also have been given the capacity to freely choose
God over the world, and the Real over the unreal.
The Qur’an describes
‘jinn’ (one of whom became known as ‘Iblis’ after his fall from Grace)
with a nature of, and origin in, "smokeless fire" (15:27), whereas human beings
were derived from clay (7:12). Both jinn and humans have been given a capacity to develop
spiritually, although the Qur’an indicates that human beings have been given a
capacity for spiritual development which, in various ways, has the potential for exceeding
the spiritual capacity of jinn.
In fact, this very
dimension of spirituality which sets humanity - at least, potentially - apart from jinn
and the rest of Creation, is the dimension to which Iblis refused to bow. However, rather
than taking on this issue directly, he focused on superficial, rather than essential,
potential and, in the process, spoke of purely physical matters rather than spiritual
matters.
The Qur’an relates
how God addressed the angels at the ‘time’ of the creation of the human form
(and, by the Grace of God, the spiritual condition of Iblis had been elevated to a point
where the latter was permitted to not only associate with the angels but to teach them as
well, and therefore, Iblis was among those who were addressed by Divinity). God indicated
to those who were gathered that "I am about to create human kind from potters clay,
and that when I have made him and shaped him and breathed into him of My spirit, then,
fall ye down in prostration." (38:71-72)
The spirit being breathed
into the human form, and with respect to which the gathered assembly was being commanded
by Divinity to fall prostrate, was not the ordinary breath of existence which animates the
bodies of human kind or which animates the being of other created things. Rather, the
spirit being blown into the form of human kind constituted a special spiritual potential
that was at the heart of the Divine Plan.
Divinity had loved for
the ‘Hidden Treasure’ to be known, and to this end, Creation had been brought
forth. Although all created things have been fashioned with a capacity for knowing the
‘Hidden Treasure’ according to modalities appropriate to each created thing, the
zenith of the potentials for knowing the ‘Hidden Treasure’ had been breathed
into the human form.
This potential is the
‘Trust’. Moreover, the challenge which accompanies this ‘Trust’ is as
follows - not only must the ‘Trust’ be returned to its Owner, as is stipulated
in the Qur’an (4:58), but this ‘Trust’ must be returned to its Owner in a
spiritually realized form so that the potential of that ‘Trust’ has been
fulfilled vis-a-vis the purpose of Creation.
The heavens, the earth,
and the mountains did not wish to carry the burden of the responsibilities entailed by the
challenge which accompanied the offering of the ‘Trust’. They exercised their
choice and refused the offer, while human kind exercised its choice and accepted the offer
along with the latter’s challenge. Unfortunately, as the Qur’an points out,
human beings, all too frequently, have proven themselves to be both "ignorant and
great wrongdoers" with respect to the responsibilities inherent in the
‘Trust’ (33:72).
Free will, to the extent
we have it, is a tool that can be used to either: (1) ignore or remain ignorant of the
nature of the ‘Trust’ which lies within us and, consequently, doing nothing
concerning its realization - thereby, committing great wrongdoing; or, (2) strive, with
God’s help, toward fulfilling the spiritual potential of the ‘Trust’ and
returning it to Divinity in this condition - thereby, fulfilling the purpose for which
human beings have been brought into existence.
In short, free will or
choice can serve as an obstacle to the spiritual realization of the ‘Trust’ or
free will can be used to seek the spiritual realization of that ‘Trust’.
However, free will is not to be confused with the nature of the ‘Trust’ itself.
According to the author
of Sufism - A Short Introduction, when Sufis are confronted by those who
argue they don’t recall being given an option concerning free will, the Sufis respond
along the following lines - namely: "every time we undertake the slightest volitional
act, we have freely accepted our human condition as a given." In truth, the matter
goes deeper than what the author indicates.
From the ‘time’
in pre-eternity when human spirits were given some degree of minimal awareness, the
spirits of those who were destined to become human beings had been calling out to Divinity
to show mercy and grant, among other things, choice. Divinity granted this wish, so it is
we who asked for free will, and free will was not something which had been thrust upon us
without our wishing for this to be so.
From the beginning, our
‘fitra’ was inclined toward free will. Divinity merely granted that toward which
our ‘fitra’ was inclined. In other words, we have free will because we have a
primordial capacity for it and also because we cried out for this capacity to be
actualized.
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