THE EPISTLE OF IMAM BAJURI IN MONOTHEISM

 

Sheikh al-Islam Grand Sheikh of the Azhar

 

Imam Ibrahim al-Bajuri

(d. 1277 AH)

 

Translated by Mostafa Azzam

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

 

Praise Allah, Lord of the Worlds; and favor and salutation to Allah’s Messenger (Allah favor and salute him).

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Now then, says the needy of the mercy of his Lord, the Aware, the Seeing, Ibrahim al-Bajuri, the deficient:

 

One of the brothers (may Allah perfect my and their state and affair) has requested of me that I write a fine booklet comprising the Master’s attributes and their opposites and what is possible regarding Him (how high is He!), and [comprising] what is necessary regarding the messengers, what is impossible regarding them, and what is possible.  So I have responded to him in that and said (and through Allah is success):

 

 

MATTERS OF DIVINITY

 

It is necessary for everyone accountable to know what is necessary regarding Him (how high is He!), what is impossible, and what is possible.

 

 

The Necessary & Impossible

 

Existence

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is existence.  Its opposite is non-existence.  The evidence for that is the existence of these creatures.

 

Ancientness

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is ancientness, meaning that He (how high is He!) has no beginning.   Its opposite is origination.   The evidence for that is that were He originated, He would have needed an originator, which is impossible.

 

Permanence

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is permanence, meaning that He (how high is He!) has no end.  Its opposite is transience.  The evidence for that is that were He transient, He would have been originated, which is impossible.

 

Difference

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is difference from originated things, meaning that He (how high is He!) is not like originated things.  Thus, he has no hand, no eye, no ear, nor anything else of the attributes of originated things.   Its opposite is likeness.  The evidence for that is that were He like originated things, He would have been originated, which is impossible.

 

Self-Subsistence

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is self-subsistence, meaning that He (how high is He!) does not need a site or determinant.  Its opposite is requiring a site or determinant.  The evidence for that is that were He to require a site, He would have been an attribute, and His being an attribute is impossible; and were He to require to a determinant, He would have been originated, and His being originated is impossible.

 

Oneness

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is oneness in entity, in attributes, and in acts.  The meaning of oneness in entity is that it is not composed of multiple parts; the meaning of oneness in attributes is that He does not have two or more attributes of one kind, such as two abilities, etc., and that no other has any attributes resembling His attribute (how high is He!); the meaning of oneness in acts is that no other has any act.  Its opposite is multiplicity.  The evidence for that is that were He multiple, nothing of these creatures would have existed.

 

Ability

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is ability, which is an ancient attribute subsisting through His entity (how high is He!) with which He brings into and takes out of existence.  Its opposite is inability.  The evidence for that is that were He unable, nothing of these creatures would have existed.

 

Will

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is will, which is an ancient attribute subsisting through His entity (how high is He!) with which He determines for a potential existence or non-existence, independence or dependence, knowledge or ignorance, etc.  Its opposite is unwillingness.  The evidence for that is that were He unwilling, He would have been unable, and His being unable is impossible.

 

Knowledge

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is knowledge, which is an ancient attribute subsisting through His entity (how high is He!) with which He knows [all] things.  Its opposite is ignorance.  The evidence for that is that were He ignorant, He would not have been willing, which is impossible.

 

Life

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is life, which is an ancient attribute subsisting through His entity (how high is He!) which validates that He be attributed with knowledge and the other attributes.  Its opposite is death.  The evidence for that is that were He dead, He would not have been able, willing, or knowledgeable, which is impossible.

 

Hearing & Sight

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) are hearing and sight, which are two ancient attributes subsisting through His entity (how high is He!) with which the existent is disclosed.  Their opposites are deafness and blindness.  The evidence for that is His statement (how high is He!), "And He is the Hearing, the Seeing" (17:1; 40:20,56; 42:11).

 

Speech

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is speech, which is an ancient attribute subsisting through His entity (how high is He!) that is not letter or sound.  Its opposite is muteness, i.e. dumbness.  The evidence for that is His statement (how high is He!), "And Allah spoke to Musa such a speech" (4:164).

 

His Being Able

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is His being able.  Its opposite is His being unable.  The evidence for that is the evidence of ability.

 

His Being Willing

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is His being willing.  Its opposite is His being unwilling.  The evidence for that is the evidence of will.

 

His Being Knowledgeable

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is His being knowledgeable.  Its opposite is His being ignorant.  The evidence for that is the evidence of knowledge.

 

His Being Living

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is His being living.  Its opposite is His being dead.  The evidence for that is the evidence of life.

 

His Being Hearing & Seeing

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is His being hearing and seeing.  Their opposites are His being deaf and His being blind.  The evidence for that is the evidence of hearing and the evidence of sight.

 

His Being Speaking

Necessary regarding Him (how high is He!) is His being speaking.  Its opposite is His being mute.  The evidence for that is the evidence of speech.

 

 

The Possible

 

Doing Any Potential

The possible regarding Him (how high is He!) is doing or leaving any potential.  The evidence for that is that were doing something or leaving it necessary upon Him (how sublime and high is He!), it would become necessary or impossible, which is impossible.

 

 

MATTERS OF PROPHETHOOD

 

The Necessary & Impossible

 

Truthfulness

Necessary regarding the messengers (to them favor and salutation) is truthfulness.  Its opposite is lying.  The evidence for that is that were they to lie, Allah's report (how sublime and high is He!) would have been lying, which is impossible.

 

Loyalty

Necessary regarding them (to them favor and salutation) is loyalty.  Its opposite is treachery.  The evidence for that is that were they to betray by doing a forbidden or detestable act, we would have been ordered the like, and it is not valid that we be ordered something forbidden or detestable.

 

Conveying

Necessary regarding them (to them favor and salutation) is conveying what they were ordered to convey to creation.  Its opposite is concealing that.  The evidence for that is that were they to conceal anything of what they were ordered to convey, we would have been ordered to conceal knowledge, and it is not valid that we be ordered to do so, because the concealer of knowledge is cursed.

 

Astuteness

Necessary regarding them (to them favor and salutation) is astuteness.  Its opposite is stupidity.  The evidence for that is that were astuteness absent from them, they would not have been able to establish a proof against the opponent, which is impossible, because the Qur'an has indicated in many places their establishing the proof against the opponent.

 

 

The Possible

 

Human Conditions

Possible regarding them (to them favor and salutation) are human conditions that do not entail a deficiency in their high ranks, such as illness and the like.  The evidence for that is their being witnessed in them (to them favor and salutation).

 

 

CONCLUSION:

VARIOUS MATTERS

 

The Prophet's Lineage (Allah Favor and Salute Him)

It is necessary for an individual to know his lineage (Allah favor and salute him) from his father’s side and from his mother’s side.

            As for his lineage from his father’s side, he is our master Muhammad son of `Abd Allah, son of `Abd al-Muttalib, son of Hashim, son of `Abd Manaf, son of Qusayy, son of Kilab, son of Murrah, son of Ka`b, son of Lu’ayy, son of Ghalib, son of Fihr, son of Malik, son of al-Nadr, son of Kinanah, son of Khuzaymah, son of Mudrikah, son of Ilyas, son of Mudar, son of Nizar, son of Ma`add, son of `Adnan.  And beyond him to Adam (to him favor and salutation) there is no sound route from what is narrated.

            As for his lineage (Allah favor and salute him) from his mother’s side, he is our master Muhammad son of Aminah, daughter of Wahb, son of `Abd Manaf, son of Zuhrah, son of Kilab.  Then she joins him (Allah favor and salute him) at his forefather Kilab.

 

Some Matters of the Afterlife

Also of what is necessary to know is that for him is a pond and that he (Allah favor and salute him) intercedes in the deciding judgment, this intercession being unique to him (Allah favor and salute him).

 

Messengers Necessary to Know

Also of what is necessary to know in particular are the messengers mentioned in the Qur'an; as for the others, it is necessary for one to know them in general.  Someone has versified the prophets necessary to know in particular:

 

With Adam they start, then Idris, and Nuh and Hud;

Along with Salih, Ibrahim do they include

The Prophets Lut and Isma`il, Ishaq, Ya`qub,

Then Yusuf, beautiful, unwavering Ayyub,

Shu`ayb, Harun and then Musa, who are brothers,

Al-Yasa`, Dhu l-Kifl, Dawud, Sulayman others,

Ilyas, and Yunus, Zakariyya, then the rest

Are Yahya, `Isa, then Muhammad, who is best.[1]

 

The Best Generations

Also of what is necessary to believe is that his generation is the best generation, then the following one, then the following one.

 

The Prophet's Children (Allah Favor and Salute Him and His Family)

An individual ought to know his children (Allah favor and salute him).  They are seven (according to the correct position): our master Qasim, our lady Zaynab, our lady Ruqayyah, our lady Fatimah, our lady Umm Kulthum, our master `Abd Allah, known as the Good and Pure, and our master Ibrahim.  All of them are from our lady Khadijah the Great, except our master Ibrahim, who is from Mariyah the Coptic.

 

This is the end of what Allah (how high is He!) has facilitated through His bounty and generosity.

 

Praise Allah, Lord of the worlds; and Allah favor and salute our master Muhammad, his family, and his companions.

[1] The translator has here made adjustments to the wording of the original Arabic so as to allow versification of the English.