Mansoor al Hallaj
Question:
AoA
I would like to ask question about the claim made by Mansoor "Anal ul Haq" what are your thoughts on in. Is our soul going to either heaven or hell or is there anything beyond it
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh,
In a nutshell, the story of Mansur Hallaj has been narrated as follows:
He was a very devoted Sufi in 9th century. He became so much involved with mysticism that would often say statements that were apparently blasphemous. For instance it was heard that he said “I am the truth (i.e. the same attribute that is used when referring to God”, or “There is nothing in my cloak but God”.
These statements resulted in his arrest and eventually execution, especially as he did not deny his statements and insisted on them.
On the basis of the above story and assuming it is true, I would like to make three points here:
1. In my view, what Hallaj said was not blasphemous. In the Sufi school of thought that Hallaj belonged to, statements like “There is nothing in my cloak but God” do not mean that the person says He is god beside the real God, or that he is the real God. Many confuse Wahdah al-Wujud with Wahdah al-Mujud. While the first means “the only real being is God” the second means “every being is God”. The second statement is false and is close to Shirk. The first statement however is a stretched and a mystical interpretation of the concept of Tauwhid. Some may disagree with this interpretation but it is not equal to the concept of Shirk or any other blasphemous concepts. What Hallaj said was due to him becoming overwhelmed with the concept if Wahdah al-Wujud.
2. While I do not consider what Hallaj said to be blasphemous, and therefore do not consider his execution to be justified, I do consider what he said to be ‘inappropriate’. Sufies themselves call these sorts of statements ‘Shathiyat’, meaning utterances of Sufies when they are extremely overwhelmed with their mystic feelings. The problem with such statements is that they can easily lead people, in particular the followers or fans of the person who says these, to misguidance and exaggeration.
3. Obviously any spiritual experience of the greatest Sufies of any time will be ignorable and equal to dust, when comparing it with the spiritual experience of the prophets of God (pbut), including our prophet (pbuh). We have never seen such statements from any prophets of God or their devoted companions. This, in my view, indicates that the path of spiritual experience of the prophets was not exactly the same as the path of some Sufies. It seems to me that while the first (path of prophets) was heavily based on ‘real experience’, the second (path of Sufies) was sometimes heavily based on excitement and emotion (Shouq). This of course does not mean that I deny any real spiritual experience for Sufies or that I consider their path to be false. However I think for a Muslim it is preferable to follow the path of the prophet (pbuh).
As for your second question, if there is anything beyond heaven and hell:
In the Qur’an hell is associated with anger of God, and not being able to ‘see/meet’ Him (83:15), while heaven is associated with God’s satisfaction and being able to ‘see/meet’ Him (75:22, 23). Note verse 89:30, consider how the Almighty associates heaven to Himself. In my view, Hell and Heaven are more than just a place of punishment or rewards. They are in fact illustrations of being ‘apart’ from God (Hell) and being ‘close’ to Him (Heaven). Why would someone look for anything beyond that (being close to God) and does anything beyond that even exist?!
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March 2014
Farhad Shafti
AoA
I would like to ask question about the claim made by Mansoor "Anal ul Haq" what are your thoughts on in. Is our soul going to either heaven or hell or is there anything beyond it
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh,
In a nutshell, the story of Mansur Hallaj has been narrated as follows:
He was a very devoted Sufi in 9th century. He became so much involved with mysticism that would often say statements that were apparently blasphemous. For instance it was heard that he said “I am the truth (i.e. the same attribute that is used when referring to God”, or “There is nothing in my cloak but God”.
These statements resulted in his arrest and eventually execution, especially as he did not deny his statements and insisted on them.
On the basis of the above story and assuming it is true, I would like to make three points here:
1. In my view, what Hallaj said was not blasphemous. In the Sufi school of thought that Hallaj belonged to, statements like “There is nothing in my cloak but God” do not mean that the person says He is god beside the real God, or that he is the real God. Many confuse Wahdah al-Wujud with Wahdah al-Mujud. While the first means “the only real being is God” the second means “every being is God”. The second statement is false and is close to Shirk. The first statement however is a stretched and a mystical interpretation of the concept of Tauwhid. Some may disagree with this interpretation but it is not equal to the concept of Shirk or any other blasphemous concepts. What Hallaj said was due to him becoming overwhelmed with the concept if Wahdah al-Wujud.
2. While I do not consider what Hallaj said to be blasphemous, and therefore do not consider his execution to be justified, I do consider what he said to be ‘inappropriate’. Sufies themselves call these sorts of statements ‘Shathiyat’, meaning utterances of Sufies when they are extremely overwhelmed with their mystic feelings. The problem with such statements is that they can easily lead people, in particular the followers or fans of the person who says these, to misguidance and exaggeration.
3. Obviously any spiritual experience of the greatest Sufies of any time will be ignorable and equal to dust, when comparing it with the spiritual experience of the prophets of God (pbut), including our prophet (pbuh). We have never seen such statements from any prophets of God or their devoted companions. This, in my view, indicates that the path of spiritual experience of the prophets was not exactly the same as the path of some Sufies. It seems to me that while the first (path of prophets) was heavily based on ‘real experience’, the second (path of Sufies) was sometimes heavily based on excitement and emotion (Shouq). This of course does not mean that I deny any real spiritual experience for Sufies or that I consider their path to be false. However I think for a Muslim it is preferable to follow the path of the prophet (pbuh).
As for your second question, if there is anything beyond heaven and hell:
In the Qur’an hell is associated with anger of God, and not being able to ‘see/meet’ Him (83:15), while heaven is associated with God’s satisfaction and being able to ‘see/meet’ Him (75:22, 23). Note verse 89:30, consider how the Almighty associates heaven to Himself. In my view, Hell and Heaven are more than just a place of punishment or rewards. They are in fact illustrations of being ‘apart’ from God (Hell) and being ‘close’ to Him (Heaven). Why would someone look for anything beyond that (being close to God) and does anything beyond that even exist?!
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March 2014
Farhad Shafti
