Mansur Hallaj And Allama Iqbal Believe, the Whole Esoteric World Is Confined to One and Only One ‘Fana Fir Rasool’ - Concluding Part
By
Ameen Fayaz
June 27,
2020
And Ibless
has got a very important role to play in this process of becoming. According to
Hallaj, Iblees knows the God well; and according to Iqbal, he knows His
creations well. Hallaj writes that “Ma kana fissamayimuwahidunillaibless” (Ta
Seen ul Azal). That is to say that “there is no monotheist in the sky save for
Iblees”. He goes on to say that “Iblees said there is not in the two worlds
anybody who knows you and I have a will in you and you have a will in me”, an idea which has been expressed
by Iqbal in these words: “ Mujh say baddkarfitrat e aadam ka wo muhrimnahi /
sadadilbandun main jo mashhoorhaiparwardigar”.
And while
pointing to this will of Iblees with reference to the will of God, Iqbal has
made the following point with a positive manner of thinking:
Jihanaz
khud barunaawurdakeest?/ jamalishjalwahayi parda keest /muragoyikiaz shaitan
guzarkun /bagubamankiouparwardakeest?
At another
place, he says “muziandarjahanaykurzoqay / kiyazdandaradwa shaitan nadarad”.
And through
Shaitan he reminds the reader:
And the
fact of the matter is in the words of Ab Salam Nadwi that Allama Iqbal was of
the opinion that “If Adam would have remained in the centre of good (paradise)
only, he would not have been able to explore the Nature, nor would have his
self-consciousness evolved. Iblees refused to bow before him because of this
incompleteness/want in the self. However, when man in this world
completes/perfects his self, then Iblees too bows before him” as “Bazmba dew
astaadamrazawal /razmba dew astaadamrajamal.”
Hallaj, in
comparison with Iqbal, uses a provocative kind of symbolism for saying the same
thing, for example, he says:
“I had a
debate with Iblees and Pharaoh regarding the meaning of
courage/self-consciousness. Iblees said, “If I would have bowed before Adam,
then I would fallen from the heights of self-consciousness”. Pharaoh said, “Had
I believed in messenger, Moses, then I would have fallen from the heights of
self-consciousness. “And I said, “If I would take a U-turn from what I say /do,
then I would fall from the very capacity of self-consciousness” as the
spiritual guide ,Rumi ,has ,while going through the same stage ,asserted :
“Pesh e Deen nuroubemaniistiqrar /hay waqayimchunkhuda khud rashumar.”
Good and
evil are both creations, not exactly the external forms of the Aharman
according Zorastrian belief. One of the reasons for throwing Adam out of the
Eden could be that there was/is no possibility of differentiating good from
evil.
Mard azaday ki danad khubd zusht/
mi nagunjadru heou andar bihisht
And in this
world of water and clay these two opposite forces do appear in the form of
light and darkness and play the role of a catalyst in the evolution of the soul.
Hallaj has represented these two forces through Pharaoah and Moses; while as
Allama Iqbal has represented them through Mohammad (PBUH) and Abu Lahab. He
says: “Sateezakarrahahaiazal say ta imroz /charag e mustafwi say hai sharer e
bulahbi.”
But Hallaj
has declared Kaleem Ullah insufficient as a symbol and says: “‘fa lama
qazamusaalajal’ taraka al ahlaheenasaralilhaqeeqatahal,
razabikhabardunannazarliyakoonafarqanbainahuwabainakhairilbashar.”
(Translation:So, when Moses completed his tenure, he left his family. When he
became eligible for the station of prophethood, he was satisfied with the news
only and not the sight so that there remains a difference between him and the
best of all the creations). In this way, he presents a sealing argument in
favour of the eternal innocence of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). More explanation of
this argument has been presented in the Ta Seen un Nuqta of his book where he
says “And it is because of this fact that Prophet Mohammad has been named as
Harmi (one who lives in /around Kaaba) because he never came out of this sacred
place though he was/is beyond it always. “While writing “he is beyond/above it”
Hallaj spontaneously cries out “Ah” and when Iqbal too became aware of the same
,he said “ Maqmishabdahuaamadwaleikin/jahan e shoqraparwardigarast.”
Man is the
crown of all creations and his self-realization and Ana has the potential of
exploring the whole Universe as long as he is bound to the destination of
Goodness. Iqbal says “ sabaqmillahaimeraj e mustafwi say mujhay /kiaalam e
bashariyatkizadd main haigardun”; “aroj e aadam khaki say unjumsehmaijatayhain
/ki yeh tutahuwa tar amah e kamilnabannjaye.”
In other
words, when the soul is drunk with love and not with mere reason as reason is
the base of love and not the destination of consciousness, then only it
recognizes itself and its value in this world. It is in the same context that
in the Dayira e Nuqta Hallaj says “The man caught in the web of this world
called me Zindeeq; and, in the second circle, the man of the world of intuition
called me the scholar of divine connection”; and Iqbal has the following verse
to say in the same context : “Agar ho ishq to kufr bhihaimusalmani /na ho to
mard e musalmanbhi kafir wa zindeeq”.
It is
because of this thinking/style of thought that the two were called philosophers
and men drunk with the love of God.
The fact of
the matter is that when man lives in the prison of the literal understanding of
the Universe, he cannot enjoy the taste of intuition: “farog e Danish ma az
qiyas ast /qiyase ma zitaqdeerhawasast”.
And as soon
as the consciousness attains the capacity of the intuitional understanding of
the Universe, the traveller on the path is blessed with a new system of senses:
“Chu hesdeegarshudienaalamdigarna /sakoonwa ser wakeifwakamdigarna”.
And a
revolution is caused in the very concept of time and space in the mind of the
man: “ Buda andarjihan e chahar so /harkigunjadaromewaddarad”,or “ Teri khodayi
say haimerayjinun ko gila/apnayliyelamakanmerayliyechahar so” and “isirozwashabmaiulajj
key narehja/kiteray zaman wamakanaurbhihain!”
Allama
Iqbal has time and again repeated this experience, while as Hallaj has without
any division of Reason and Love explained the difference through the conditions
of soul: “Ayuhazzann la tahsibuinni anal aann aw yakoon aw kana” (Translation:
Oh, you who assumes! Don’t assume that I am at this time “I” or I will become
“I” or that I was “I” (Ta Seen ul Fahm)”. Here, Hallaj has negated all the
three times (Present, Past and Future) and created a new world for himself. In
Love, on the one hand, the world of reason finds its boundaries getting shrunk;
on the other hand, the light of heart becomes aware of new dimensions of time
and space. However, there has been a very visible difference between the experience
of the two: Hallaj found an eternal abode in the world of love and Iqbal could
not say goodbye to the earthly abode as he says “gahmerinigahetez cheer
gayidilewajood!/gahulaj kay rehgayi meray tawahumat main”; and ,in his
experiential condition, Allama cried out: “Iqbal bhi Iqbal say aagahnahihai /
kuch is main wallah tam ask hurnahihai.”
Both of
them agree on this point that while graduating through different stations of
spiritual evolution the human soul suffers from different faults which can be
avoided if the traveler is on the path believes in Prophethood. Hallaj has in
many of his Tawaseen attempted a Sufistic explanation of this concept. He
describes Prophet Mohammad (SAW) as the Sirr ul Asrar (Secret of all Secrets),
while as Allama Iqbal thinks of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) as the Maula e Kul
without whose following one cannot think of self-realization as he says “muqam
e khuwesh agar khawhidareen der/ bahaqdil band warahe Mustafa raw.”
It is
important to remind here that the gradations like fana fi sheikh, fana fir
rasool, fana fil Allah and baqabil Allah have been for centuries in vogue in
Tasawwuf (Mysticism). However, Hallaj and Iqbal have distinction of this belief
that the whole esoteric world is confined to one and only one fana fir rasool; even
the two insist on this fact that no traveller can claim that his/her
consciousness went beyond it. Iqbal says, “Tumi guyirahebathagiriftem /
digarnajuztumaramanzilayneest”.
According
to Hallaj, “ anyone who says that he
really recognized the Prophet, he/she made his/her existence bigger than the
existence/being of goodness; reason being that anybody who claims to have
recognized any existence/being ,he/she becomes at the times of his/her own
recognition stronger than the Maroof (goodness)” (Bustan ul Maarifat).
That means
man boasts of having more of Irfan (gnosis) than Prophet Mohammad (SAW) upon
making such a claim.
Despite a
difference/distance of more than one thousand years, the two have the similar
kind of belief in Allah, the creator of all life, Prophet Mohammad (SAW), for
whose birth and manifestation the whole process of evolution started, is the
only ideal personality who is to be followed. That is why Hallaj says: “Huwalawwal
fil wuslat, huwalaakhir fin nubawat ,huwalbatinbilhaqeeqat
,huwazzahirbilmarifat.”
And Iqbal
believes: “Nigah e ishqwamasti main wahiawwalwahiaakhir /
wahiquranwahifurqanwahiyaseenwahi taha”; or “Jalwaouqudsiyanraseenasoz / bud
andaraabwagilaadamhunuz!”
Here the
intuitional view of time and space has been declared the first step of the
consciousness and Prophet Mohammad (SAW) the reason/cause of the whole
universe: “ abduhudaharastwadaharazabduhu / ma hamarangeemwaaan bay rang wabu”;
or ,in the words of Hallaj : “ Azman
kulluhasaatun min dahrihi”.
Hallaj, on
the one hand, describes Prophet Mohammad (SAW) as the Sirr ul Asrar (secret of
all secrets): “He is the one who informed of the end and the ends and ends of
all the ends”; and, on the other hand, Allama puts the following verse in the
mouth of Hallaj: “ Kasszi sir abduhuaagahneest /abduhujuz sir illalahneest.”
In this
verse, Allama actually sees an exceptional example presented by Hallaj: “ma
absarahualattehqeeqillassiddiqliannhuwafaqahu summa rafaqahu” (No body actually
knew the Prophet except Abu Bakr because he knew him and then became his
friend).
It is with
Abu Bakr Siddiq that the Aalam e Wilayat starts and passes on its blessings
through Hallaj to Iqbal. Iqbal says “Dar jihanmarabulandaawazakard /bahadoos e
maqadamsheerazakard.”
In this
context, it would be in place to remind you that both Hallaj and Iqbal believed
that in spiritual evolution/progress there is for eternity the manifestation of
Mustafwiyat (the spirit of Prophet Mohammad – PBUH) only. Hallaj says: “kana
mashhooranqablalhawadiswalkawayinwalakwan.wakanalmazkoorqablalqabalwabadd al
badd” ( Prophet Mohammad (SAW) was famous(in the will of Allah) before all this
process of creation and beings of all kinds. He was being mentioned before
“before” and after “after”.
Allama has
thus translated this belief of Hallaj in his own words: “abduhubaibtida bay
intihaast/abduhurasubhwa sham ma kujast.”
“With
beginning” as Allama was also writing with a philosophical argument and
“without beginning” as both of them were presenting the same idea/point/inkling
with the vision of a “lost one”, so ,by beginning of the time ,the highest
objective of the will of Allah may also be the meaning.Allama says : “shola hay
ou sad Ibrahim sokht /ta charag yak Mohammad bar farokht.”That is why the two
believed that all the positive developments in the whole process of
creation/evolution were possible because of the light of Mohammad and every
creation “yazinur e Mustafa our a bahast” or “yahunuzandartalash e Mustafa
ast”.
This
interpretation of the Love of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) was felt in the similar
manner in the third century after Hijra also as it is being felt in the
twentieth century; therefore, for both Hallaj and Iqbal, the ultimate test of
differentiating Islam from Kufr is the Love of Prophet:
“Kashodam
parda raazroyetaqdeer /mashunaumeed rah Mustafa geer! /agar
bawarnadariaanchagoyam /zideenbagurezwamargkafiraymeer”.
If the
whole of Allama’s thoughts and ideas are studied in juxtaposition with the contents/thought
of KitabbutTawaseen, it becomes quite evident that both of them consider
following the Sunnah of the Prophet as the only way of attaining the blessing
of self-realization as Iqbal says: “Ki Mohammad say wafatu nay to ham
terayhain/ yeh jahancheezkya hail oh waqalamterayhain” which makes the traveler
on the path capable of witnessing the Aalam e Akbar ,the Macrocosm where he
(traveller) intuitionally feels/realizes :
Aanchadaraadambagunjadaalamsat
aanchadaraalamnagunjadaadam
sat”
Part One
and Part Two of the article:
Allama Iqbal And Mansur Hallaj Communicated the Same
Message - Part One
Note:
This paper was published by Professor Mohiud Din Hajini in the Sheeraza
(Special upshot on Iqbal titled Mehfil e Iqbal) of the J&K Cultural Academy
in 1978 in Urdu.
Original
Headline: Part III | Iqbal and Hallaj: Strikingly Similar
Source: The Greater Kashmir
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