Bassam Zawadi has responded to our most recent article, entitled Bassam Zawadi vs Sulṭān al ʿUmay... more Bassam Zawadi has responded to our most recent article, entitled Bassam Zawadi vs Sulṭān al ʿUmayrī (accessible here), with a piece that can be found here. We believe it would be useful to summarise what has happened so far for the readers' benefit, so that those who have not read our articles and Zawadi's responses can still gauge the implications of what is now being said. SUMMARY OF EVENTS SO FAR Our Presentation of the Concept of ʿibāda Depicted in Sh. ʿUmayrī's Book In our last couple of articles we tried to depict the concept of ʿibāda that transpires from Sh. ʿUmayrī's book Taḥqīq al ifāda as coherently as allowed by the contents of the book itself. 1 To reiterate, Sh.ʿUmayrī explained, in the book, that ʿibāda by its nature is driven by utmost humility/submission in the heart. Indeed, "any external action that does not emanate from a feeling of utmost humility and ultimate submission is not ʿibāda" as stated in the book. Sh. ʿUmayrī further said that external actions of ʿibāda are to be perceived of, within the framework delineated by his definition, as "springing from the utmost submission and ultimate humility found in the heart". He also emphasized the importance of that level of humility/submission by characterizing it as "one of the essential components (of ʿibāda) in the heart", and stating that "the union of those two things (humility/submission in the heart and external actions) is necessary for every individual instance (of ʿibāda)". In fact, utmost humility/submission in the heart is not only important in his concept of ʿibāda, it is a crucial component "without which the reality [of ʿibāda] cannot obtain". 2 As for Sh. ʿUmayrī's definition of ʿibāda, he worded it in the book as:
Bassam Zawadi has responded to our most recent article, entitled Bassam Zawadi vs Sulṭān al ʿUmay... more Bassam Zawadi has responded to our most recent article, entitled Bassam Zawadi vs Sulṭān al ʿUmayrī (accessible here), with a piece that can be found here. We believe it would be useful to summarise what has happened so far for the readers' benefit, so that those who have not read our articles and Zawadi's responses can still gauge the implications of what is now being said. SUMMARY OF EVENTS SO FAR Our Presentation of the Concept of ʿibāda Depicted in Sh. ʿUmayrī's Book In our last couple of articles we tried to depict the concept of ʿibāda that transpires from Sh. ʿUmayrī's book Taḥqīq al ifāda as coherently as allowed by the contents of the book itself. 1 To reiterate, Sh.ʿUmayrī explained, in the book, that ʿibāda by its nature is driven by utmost humility/submission in the heart. Indeed, "any external action that does not emanate from a feeling of utmost humility and ultimate submission is not ʿibāda" as stated in the book. Sh. ʿUmayrī further said that external actions of ʿibāda are to be perceived of, within the framework delineated by his definition, as "springing from the utmost submission and ultimate humility found in the heart". He also emphasized the importance of that level of humility/submission by characterizing it as "one of the essential components (of ʿibāda) in the heart", and stating that "the union of those two things (humility/submission in the heart and external actions) is necessary for every individual instance (of ʿibāda)". In fact, utmost humility/submission in the heart is not only important in his concept of ʿibāda, it is a crucial component "without which the reality [of ʿibāda] cannot obtain". 2 As for Sh. ʿUmayrī's definition of ʿibāda, he worded it in the book as:
Bassam Zawadi has responded to our second article, 1 which deals with Sh. ʿUmayrī's conceptualisa... more Bassam Zawadi has responded to our second article, 1 which deals with Sh. ʿUmayrī's conceptualisation and definition of ʿibāda. We do not think a page by page refutation from us is merited. We would like to draw attention however to an important point. It is clear by now that there are fundamental and irreconcilable differences between the concept and definition of ʿibada laid out in Sh. ʿUmayrī's book and the English rendition of them by Zawadi. In the following, citations from Zawadi are in green, and from Sh. ʿUmayrī in purple, with emphasis in red from us. LOCATING THE ESSENCE OF ʿIBĀDA Zawadi's view seems to be that ʿibāda can be dissociated from internal feelings of utmost humility/submission in the heart, although they are "typically" present in most cases. This means that for Zawadi, the operative factor in an act, which determines whether the act is (or has become) ʿibāda, is no longer the threshold of utmost humility/submission in the heart. However, this conceptualisation of ʿibāda is Note that he makes no differentiation here between one category of ʿibāda and another. And while explaining the different clauses of his first definition, Sh. ʿUmayrī says: 4 Taḥqīq al Ifāda, p. 36 (translation adapted from Bassam Zawadi's). 5 Idem, p. 49. 6 This is probably why Zawadi referred to "utmost humility and ultimate submission" as "feelings" in his own translation of the definition, i.e. because of their relation to the heart: It is that intentional state which combines feelings of utmost humility and submission with an ultimate feeling of love which stirs the individual to cling unto his object of Ibadah, submit to its will, stay in continuous connection with it, and perform actions to please it. 7 Idem, p. 14
Pipe Dreams (2): Sh. ʿUmayrī’s Definition of ʿIbāda, 2022
Sh. ʿUmayrī’s conception of shirk and its underpinning typology are the subject of separate artic... more Sh. ʿUmayrī’s conception of shirk and its underpinning typology are the subject of separate articles. This article is aimed at engaging his definition of worship (ʿibāda) in a more direct manner.
Bassam Zawadi has responded to our most recent article, entitled Bassam Zawadi vs Sulṭān al ʿUmay... more Bassam Zawadi has responded to our most recent article, entitled Bassam Zawadi vs Sulṭān al ʿUmayrī (accessible here), with a piece that can be found here. We believe it would be useful to summarise what has happened so far for the readers' benefit, so that those who have not read our articles and Zawadi's responses can still gauge the implications of what is now being said. SUMMARY OF EVENTS SO FAR Our Presentation of the Concept of ʿibāda Depicted in Sh. ʿUmayrī's Book In our last couple of articles we tried to depict the concept of ʿibāda that transpires from Sh. ʿUmayrī's book Taḥqīq al ifāda as coherently as allowed by the contents of the book itself. 1 To reiterate, Sh.ʿUmayrī explained, in the book, that ʿibāda by its nature is driven by utmost humility/submission in the heart. Indeed, "any external action that does not emanate from a feeling of utmost humility and ultimate submission is not ʿibāda" as stated in the book. Sh. ʿUmayrī further said that external actions of ʿibāda are to be perceived of, within the framework delineated by his definition, as "springing from the utmost submission and ultimate humility found in the heart". He also emphasized the importance of that level of humility/submission by characterizing it as "one of the essential components (of ʿibāda) in the heart", and stating that "the union of those two things (humility/submission in the heart and external actions) is necessary for every individual instance (of ʿibāda)". In fact, utmost humility/submission in the heart is not only important in his concept of ʿibāda, it is a crucial component "without which the reality [of ʿibāda] cannot obtain". 2 As for Sh. ʿUmayrī's definition of ʿibāda, he worded it in the book as:
Bassam Zawadi has responded to our most recent article, entitled Bassam Zawadi vs Sulṭān al ʿUmay... more Bassam Zawadi has responded to our most recent article, entitled Bassam Zawadi vs Sulṭān al ʿUmayrī (accessible here), with a piece that can be found here. We believe it would be useful to summarise what has happened so far for the readers' benefit, so that those who have not read our articles and Zawadi's responses can still gauge the implications of what is now being said. SUMMARY OF EVENTS SO FAR Our Presentation of the Concept of ʿibāda Depicted in Sh. ʿUmayrī's Book In our last couple of articles we tried to depict the concept of ʿibāda that transpires from Sh. ʿUmayrī's book Taḥqīq al ifāda as coherently as allowed by the contents of the book itself. 1 To reiterate, Sh.ʿUmayrī explained, in the book, that ʿibāda by its nature is driven by utmost humility/submission in the heart. Indeed, "any external action that does not emanate from a feeling of utmost humility and ultimate submission is not ʿibāda" as stated in the book. Sh. ʿUmayrī further said that external actions of ʿibāda are to be perceived of, within the framework delineated by his definition, as "springing from the utmost submission and ultimate humility found in the heart". He also emphasized the importance of that level of humility/submission by characterizing it as "one of the essential components (of ʿibāda) in the heart", and stating that "the union of those two things (humility/submission in the heart and external actions) is necessary for every individual instance (of ʿibāda)". In fact, utmost humility/submission in the heart is not only important in his concept of ʿibāda, it is a crucial component "without which the reality [of ʿibāda] cannot obtain". 2 As for Sh. ʿUmayrī's definition of ʿibāda, he worded it in the book as:
Bassam Zawadi has responded to our second article, 1 which deals with Sh. ʿUmayrī's conceptualisa... more Bassam Zawadi has responded to our second article, 1 which deals with Sh. ʿUmayrī's conceptualisation and definition of ʿibāda. We do not think a page by page refutation from us is merited. We would like to draw attention however to an important point. It is clear by now that there are fundamental and irreconcilable differences between the concept and definition of ʿibada laid out in Sh. ʿUmayrī's book and the English rendition of them by Zawadi. In the following, citations from Zawadi are in green, and from Sh. ʿUmayrī in purple, with emphasis in red from us. LOCATING THE ESSENCE OF ʿIBĀDA Zawadi's view seems to be that ʿibāda can be dissociated from internal feelings of utmost humility/submission in the heart, although they are "typically" present in most cases. This means that for Zawadi, the operative factor in an act, which determines whether the act is (or has become) ʿibāda, is no longer the threshold of utmost humility/submission in the heart. However, this conceptualisation of ʿibāda is Note that he makes no differentiation here between one category of ʿibāda and another. And while explaining the different clauses of his first definition, Sh. ʿUmayrī says: 4 Taḥqīq al Ifāda, p. 36 (translation adapted from Bassam Zawadi's). 5 Idem, p. 49. 6 This is probably why Zawadi referred to "utmost humility and ultimate submission" as "feelings" in his own translation of the definition, i.e. because of their relation to the heart: It is that intentional state which combines feelings of utmost humility and submission with an ultimate feeling of love which stirs the individual to cling unto his object of Ibadah, submit to its will, stay in continuous connection with it, and perform actions to please it. 7 Idem, p. 14
Pipe Dreams (2): Sh. ʿUmayrī’s Definition of ʿIbāda, 2022
Sh. ʿUmayrī’s conception of shirk and its underpinning typology are the subject of separate artic... more Sh. ʿUmayrī’s conception of shirk and its underpinning typology are the subject of separate articles. This article is aimed at engaging his definition of worship (ʿibāda) in a more direct manner.
Uploads
Papers by Tawhid Essays