Table Of ContentTHE ROLE OF AL-*AQL
IN EARLY ISLAMIC WISDOM
WITH REFERENCE TO IMAM JA*FAR AL-SADIQ
DOUGLAS S. CROW
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Dissertation Presented to
The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy.
INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC STUDIES
McGILL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL P.Q.
Februai-y 1996
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THE ROLE OF AL-*AQL
IN EARLY ISLAMIC WISDOM
WITH REFERENCE TO IMAM JA*FAR AL-SADIQ
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TCARTSBA
The Role Of al-<Aql In Early Islamic Jtfisdom,
With Reference To Imam Ja'rar al-Sadiq.
One major trajectory of early *ag2 traditions is scru¬
tinized: the Agbili AdbirJ creation narrative "lamraa Jchalaga
llahu l~*aqla When God had created the intelligence...". In
Part I early Sunni and Shi*i transmission and reception of
the varying texts dominates the discussion, with analysis of
chief motifs. Then successive transfornvations are traced,
with attention devoted to ideas of first creation'. The
original context of the Agbil/ reports is convincingly
explained within the thought forms of 1st & 2nd century
theological ideas of voluntarism or predestination, without
recourse to Goldziher's "neo-Platonic element". The late
neo-Platonising form "awvalu ma khalaga llahu l-'aqlu The
first (thing) God created is the intellect...", is shown to
be not earlier than the mid-3rd/9th century.
In a related class of narratives, ragl pre-exists in the
realm of the divine Throne. The focus is the notion of the
divinely provisioned innate trait of 'intelligence* or 'wis¬
dom' as a "light in the heart" inequitably apportioned among
humanity. Part II examines the creative manner in which the
sixth Shl'i imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (d.148/765) transforms the
Agbill tradition by integrating this heavenly sapiential
*aql with the 'Adam-Iblis* conflict into a binary listing of
the character traits (akhlag, khlsal). His myth of the
creation, empowerment, and opposition between fagl and 3ah2
(intelligence & ignorance, or wisdom & folly) propounds a
psycho-ethical scheme for the inner purgative struggle,
wherein 'agl operates as chief of the character traits.
Ja'far stresses the cognitive function (ma'rifah) in the
perfection of 'agl peculiar to the inner circles of humanity
(prophets, saints\Imams, the faithful). An assessment is
given of the repercussions of al-SSdiq's contribution for
continuing Shi'i and Sufi enrichments of the ragl creation
narratives (eg. with al-Haklm al-Tirmidhi).
THE ROr„E 0£ a1-‘AQL EARLY ISLAVIC WISDOM,
WITH REFERENCE TO IMAM JAfFAR AL-SADIQ.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface iii
Introduction: Spectrum of "al-*Agl" in Early Hadith ix
Abbreviations xxix
PART I THE CREATION OF al-(AQL.
Chapter 1. The Creation of al-‘Aql (Texts). 1
I. The Agbili Adbirl Reports 3
I.A. Sunni Transmission 6
I.B. Shi'I Transmission 28
Notes 38
Chapter 2. Salient Motifs. 86
0
I.A. The 'Setting' 86
I.B. The 'Testingi 87
I.C. The 'Encomium' 93
I.D. The 'Listingi 95
I.E. Summary 96
II. Qalam and 'First Creation' 98
II.A. The 'Pen' Against al-‘Aql 99
II.B. The Twins: First Qalam then ‘Aql 101
Notes 107
Chapter 3. fAgl as 'First Creation'. 125
I. Priority of Creation? 125
I.A. Sufis, Philosophers, & Mu'tazilah 128
II. First Creation: *Agl, Ruh, Nur Muhammad 135
III. Ibn Taymiyyah's Critique 139
Notes 143
i
Chapter 4. Light and al-'Agl. 164
I. The Throne and al-'Aql 165
II. JSulugh 'Maturity' and al-‘Agl 171
III. Summary of Part I 175
Notes 178
PART II THE POWERS OP al-‘AQL.
----
Chapter 5. The Seventy-Five Powers of *Agl and Jahl. 189
I.A. The Myth of the Troops of al-ÿAgl and al-Jahl 192
II. Analysis of al-Sadiq's Myth 199
11.A. The iSpirituals' and First-Born Wisdom 200
II.B. Spiritual Combat or Cosmic Warfare? 205
II.C. The Triumph Obtained by Ma'rifat al-'Agl 210
Notes 214
Chapter 6. The Heavenly Anthropic ‘Agl. 248
I. Seventy-Five Pairs & Tables of Virtues|Vices 248
I.A. A Likely Parallel: the Sacra Parallela 249
I.B. Later Parallels (al-Haklm al-Tirmidhi) 253
II. Light and Intercession 261
III. Empowerment by *Agl 267
Notes 273
Afterword. 292
fidc/e-ndoL 303tx
Bibliography: I. Arabic 304
II. Non-Arabic 330
***
§
ii
PREFACE
An explanation is necessary to understand how this dis¬
sertation assumed its present shape after fifteen years.
When working on the thought of Ja'far al-Sadiq in preparing
a Masters Thesis. I was struck by his report on the seventy-
five troops of ‘Aql and Jahl, sensing that it held one key
for unlocking a central aspect of his teaching. At the time
I was learning how to swim in the ocean of Shi‘i hadith iit-
erature, while studying Islamic theology and philosophy,
Sufism, Isma'ilism, as well as Gnosticism. Goldziher's 1908
article "Neoplatonic and Gnostic Elements in Hadith" turned
my attention to late Hellenistic thought and its reception
in Islam. I took up the topic of ‘aql in al-Sadiq's teach¬
ing as my focus of doctoral study.
As I collected and arranged Twelver Shi‘i reports con¬
cerning 'agl, I began to read more widely in Sunni collec-
tions. I found a surprisingly large common ground shared
between the two bodies of 'tradition when it came to the
*agl notions, particularly within the early corpus of non-
canonical Sunni reports and among certain Sufi authors.
However much I explored Neoplatonic thought, and the
theological and philosophical trends of Classical Islam, the
early hadith materials grew increasingly recalcitrant and
unintelligible. Everything I wrote missed the mark, and my
translations of key terms failed to convey real meaning.
Greek intellect* did not appear the best way to bring them
into focus. I broadened my range of inquiry to explore
iii
linkages or ruptures between pre-Islamic ideas, the Qur'an,
and the hadith; while refreshing my acguaintance with Rab¬
binic, Patristic, and Zoroastrian teachings relevant to the
Islamic ‘agl reports of the first two centuries AH (7th &
8th centuries CE).
This finally led me four years ago to a study of the
Wisdom speculations known from Biblical writings, the
pseudepigraphic literature of the inter-testamental period,
certain Hellenistic texts, and Pahlavi literature. At last
I could begin to comprehend my hadiths when re-reading and
re-translating them, and to draw connections and contrasts
between seemingly unrelated texts. Doubts assailed me;
critical secondary literature was almost devoid of any con¬
firmatory studies. 'How could this have escaped previous
critical attention?', I asked myself. This presented a
dilemma, since I was often mat by incomprehension when
pointing to the 'Wisdom dimension' of the 'agl notions. The
'Neoplatonic element' clouded the view.
I deepened my acquaintance with the complex sciences of
Muslim hadith criticism (isnad analysis, the rijal, & text
variants), in order to achieve a measure of precision in
assessing discrete reports. This threw much needed light on
the reasons for the Sunni Traditionalist rejection of *agl
reports, eg. their condemnation of the notorious Kitab a1-
*Aal bv the Iraqi Sufi Diwud b. al-Muhabbar (d.206/821).
Yet the literary evolution of wisdom sayings Into more com¬
plex genres did not easily lend themselves to such rigorous
iv
treatment. The philological hurdles were not any less of a
challenge when handling archaic sayings. I hoped that a
detailed presentation of the rise of Islamic Wisdom teach¬
ings placing fagl at its center, would clear the view and
establish beyond dispute the lost 'Wisdom dimension'.
My manuscript underwent pruning, re-writings and revi¬
sions, swelling to an ungainly fourteen chapters of ca.
900pp. including a long methodological introduction and a
lengthy appendix. It consisted of three closely interwoven
studies: 1) the unfolding end content of Islamic Wisdom
(Hifcmab) during the first two centuries AH; 2) the status of
tradition narratives treating the notion of in the con¬
text of early Muslim Hadlth transmission; and 3) a textual
survey of the employment of *agl attempting to clarify the
notions embraced by this term in Hadith. It provided objec-
tive documentation for the process of linguistic and con-
ceptual transformation of meanings in the employment of the
term <aql found in early Muslim tradition reports.
I had behaved foolishly in disregarding the prime direc¬
tive enunciated in Islamic Wisdom: to only say as much as
will help others understand your meaning, and to know when
not to say anything. Who in today's academic world has the
leisure or the inclination to read such a dense and complex
study? Therefore, I have chosen two chapters from the
original manuscript to stand alone, reformatting them with
endnotes and inserting appropriate minor additions to
replace previous cross-references. A terse summary of the
v
linguistic employment and range of meanings for the term
fagl in early hadith now forms the introduction.
**
If this work succeeds at all, then it is largely due to
the real help provided by family, friends, and colleagues
over many years. Special gratitude is due my advisor
Professor Hermann Landolt for his long standing support and
careful critique of this work. The same is true of the
staff at McGill's Institute of Islamic Studies and its
Director, Professor Uner Turgay. Warm thanks goes to Majd &
Fayÿal Abu *Izz al-Din, and to Kinza & Philip Schuyler, for
their encouragement, as well as Professor Mahmoud Ayoub.
Those who assisted in providing necessary materials include
Drs. Pierre Cachia, Jeanette Wakin, Azyumardi Azra, Matthew
Gordon, as well as Father Isaac Crow and Mulla 'Ali Asghar
(London\Najaf). I must thank Dr. George Atiyah (Library of
Congress, Washington D.C.) for his extraordinary interven¬
tion ensuring access to Ibn Abl l-Dunya's a1-*Aq1 wa Fadluh.
Thanks goes to those who read drafts of parts of my work
and offered criticism or linguistic aid, in particular
Professors Issa Boullata, Hind Nassif, Mohammed Sawaie, Wen
Chin Ouyang, William C. Chittick, A. Kevin Reinhart, Wadad
al-Qldi, as well as Drs. Basil Samara, Paul Hubers, and Mr.
Kamal Boullata. A special debt is owed to the kindness of
professors Etan Kohlberg (Hebrew University) and Josef van
Ess (Universitat Tubingen) for detailed critiques and com¬
ments which saved me from a number of errors.
vi
The system of transliteration of Arabic letters employed
is that of the Library of Congress, with modifications. The
ta' marbutah is written as soft -ah, or as hard -at in con-
struct. There is no regard for the tongue's elision of the
definite article. Nor is any distinction made between the
final alif mamdudah and alif magsurah (both -a). Eulogies
after the name of the Prophet Muhammad ("salla llahu ‘alayhi
wa sallanja") or a prophet and imam ("'alayhi l-salim") are
represented by S and a.s. respectively. In personal names,
ibn is normally written as "b.", save for instances where
the person is known by his agnate forbears (Yahya b. Ma‘In,
but Ahmad Ibn Hanbal), or when using a brief form (IÿTI al-
Mubarak). All quotations from the Qur*an are primarily
based on the translation by Malik Ghulam Farid, Qur'an
Ma1id\The Holy Qur1an [Lahore 1969], while verse numberings
are those of the Khedivial Cairo edition. Biblical cita¬
tions are taken from The New Enalish Bible [Oxford 1972], A
number of terms are accepted as Anglicisms, including place
names (eg. Mecca, Medinah) or words such as Caliph or imam.
When employed with a specific connotation relevant to con¬
text, certain terms are capitalized and\or bold-letter (eg.
Imam, rather than imam).
The signa employed are as follows: for translations
( ) = words intended in the text necessary for meaning;
t ] = reconstructions, or suggested meanings helpful for
comprehension, or to insert explanatory comments. A single
- vii
