Wahdat ul-Wujud Explained

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

اَلۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

‌السَّلَامُ ‌عَلَيْكَ ‌أَيُّهَا ‌النَّبِيُّ ‌وَرَحْمَةُ ‌اللهِ ‌وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds

Peace be upon you, you who are the Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessing

The controversy over the doctrine of wahdat ul-wujud, or “oneness of existence”, rages in large part due to a misunderstanding among ordinary people and those who lack delicate understanding. The latter imagine the doctrine of wahdat ul-wujud is pantheism and hulul, whereas pantheism and hulul (that God incarnates or dwells within His creation) are manifest heresy and kufr. The belief that the essence of God is synonymous with the cosmos is called pantheism, which Islam clearly rejects. Likewise, any belief in which the distinction between the Creator and His creation is blurred is utterly heretical. The doctrine of wahdat al-wujud, however, teaches that only God is truly real and existent, and nothing else exists in reality. Mufti Taqi Usmani has explained this matter in some detail:

وقد استدل بعض الناس بشعر لبيد رضى الله عنه على صحة نظرية وحدة الوجود

Some people adduce the poem of Labid (Allah be pleased with him) as proof that the doctrine of the Oneness of Being (wahdat al-wujud) is correct (Takmilah Fath ul-Mulhim, Dar al-Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, v.4, p.373)

Labid’s verse of poetry, declared as true by the Holy Prophet, sall Allahu alayhi wasallam, is:

أَلاَ كُلُّ شَىْءٍ مَا خَلاَ اللهَ بَاطِلٌ

Everything except Allah is false

The apparent meaning of this verse of poetry accords exactly to the doctrine of wahdat al-wujud, namely, that only Allah’s existence is true and nothing else truly exists other than Him. However, as the nature of this statement is poetic, it is probably not meant to be interpreted literally.

I agree with Mufti Taqi Usmani when he says,

وهذه النظرية مع ما يقابلها من نظرية وحدة الشهود ليست من النظريات التي يجب في الدين معرفتها او الاعتقاد بحقيتها او بطلانها بل الاحسن ترك التشاغل بها والخوض فيها لانها مسالة خطيرة ربما ادى الخوض فيها الى الزندقة والالحاد

This doctrine along with its corresponding doctrine of the Oneness of Perception (wahdat al-shuhud) is not among the doctrines that are necessary in the Religion to know or to believe in their validity or invalidity. Rather it is best not to be preoccupied with it and not to discuss it, because it is a dangerous subject, discussion of which may lead to heresy (zandaqah) and deviation (ilhad) (ibid)

Mufti Taqi Usmani now briefly explains four different views among the Muslims with regard to the reality of existence:

فذهب جمهور علماء الشريعة الى ان وجود المخلوقات الممكنات وجود حقيقي مكتسب بمعنى انه متوقف على ارادة الله تعالى وخلقه وابداعه

The majority of the Ulama of the Shari’ah took the position that the existence of possible creatures is a real existence that is acquired, in the sense that it is dependent on the will of Allah Most High, His creation and His origination (ibid)

As Mufti Taqi Usmani says, this is the view of the majority of the Ulama of the Shari’ah, though not necessarily the majority of the Sufis, mystics and theologians, especially in our time. In support of this view consider the following glorification of Allah by the Holy Prophet, sall Allahu alayhi wasallam:

أَنْتَ الْحَقُّ وَوَعْدُكَ حَقٌّ وَقَوْلُكَ حَقٌّ وَلِقَاؤُكَ حَقٌّ وَالْجَنَّةُ حَقٌّ وَالنَّارُ حَقٌّ وَالسَّاعَةُ حَقٌّ وَالنَّبِيُّونَ حَقٌّ وَمُحَمَّدٌ حَقٌّ

You are the Truth, Your promise is true, Your speech is true, Your meeting is true, Paradise is true, the Hellfire is true, the Hour is true, the Prophets are true and Muhammad is true

The Prophet Muhammad, sall Allahu alayhi wasallam, declared that Paradise, Hell, the Hour or Apocalypse, the Prophets and himself are all true and real, despite being Allah’s creation. Therefore, the majority view of the Ulama of Shari’ah, that the creation has a true and real existence, is basically my belief also, and Allah and His Apostle know best!

Mufti Taqi Usmani then summarizes the view of those who subscribe to the doctrines of wahdat ul-wujud and wahdat ul-shuhud:

وقال اصحاب نظرية وحدة الوجود ومن مقدمتهم الشيخ ابن عربي رحمه الله ان وجودها خيالي محض

وقال اصحاب نظرية وحدة الشهود ومن مقدمتهم مجدد الالف الثاني رحمه الله ان وجودها وجود ظلي

The adherents of the doctrine of the Oneness of Being, and the foremost of them is Shaykh Ibn Arabi (Allah have mercy on him), expressed the view that their existence is purely imaginary (khayali).

The adherents of the doctrine of the Oneness of Perception, and the foremost of them is Mujaddid al-Alf al-Thani (Allah have mercy on him), expressed the view that their existence is a shadow existence (wujud zilli) (ibid)

The burning question to be posed to those who subscribe to the doctrine of wahdat ul-wujud and who say that the existence of the creation is imaginary is that does not Allah possess the power to create something that is not imaginary, having a true and real existence? I therefore don’t agree with the so-called Wujudi camp who argue that true monotheism is to negate the real existence of everything besides Allah. Allah is the Creator, and how can one be described as creator, with creative ability, if he is only able to create imaginary things that have no being?

Mufti Taqi Usmani further elucidated the meaning of wahdat ul-wujud through a parable in which a glass is placed before the Sun:

ان قرص الشمس يترآى في الزجاج كانه حال فيه ولكن الواقع ان صورة الشمس التي تترآى في الزجاج ليس لها وجود حقيقي فانها ليست عين الشمس كما هو ظاهر ولا شبحها ومثالها بل هو محض وهم وخيال وليست حقيقته الا ان الشعاع البصري حينما يقع على الزجاج فانه ينقلب الى الشمس فترآى الشمس في ذلك الشعاع البصري فصورة الشمس المنعكسة في الزجاج صورة وهمية انما نشات بالشعاع البصري فلو اغمض احد عينه لا يبقى في الزجاج شيء من صورة الشمس فلو كان لها وجود حقيقي في الزجاج لما زال ذلك الوجود باغماض العين فهذا مثال للوجود الخيالي

The glass facing the sun is that the disc of the sun appears in the glass as though it is located in it. However, the reality is that the image of the sun which appears in the glass does not have a real existence since it is not the same as the sun, as is clear, or an apparition of it or a replication of it, rather it is purely fantasy and imaginary. Its reality is nothing except that the visual rays, when it descends on the glass, it turns to the sun, so the sun appears in those visual rays. Thus the image of the sun reflected in the glass is an imaginary image, generated only by visual rays. Hence, if one were to close his eye, the image of the sun will no longer remain in the glass. If, therefore, it had an actual existence in the glass, that existence would not disappear upon closing the eye. This is an illustration of imaginary existence (ibid, pp.374-375)

The doctrine of wahdat ul-shuhud, taught by Mujaddid Alf Thani, Imam Rabbani, Ahmad Sirhindi, rahmatullah alayh, is slightly different than the doctrine of wahdat ul-wujud but certainly superior to it and more in line with Islamic orthodoxy. Mufti Taqi Usmani presents its parable:

ان ظل الزجاج يقع على الارض وان هذا الظل ليس له وجود حقيقي وانما هو ظلام اصلي احاط به النور فتكون بهذه الاحاطة صورة في الخارج تسمى ظلا فهذا امثال الوجود الظلي

In the glass facing the sun is that the shadow of the glass falls on the earth. This shadow does not have a real existence. It is but an original darkness encompassed by light, and by this encompassment it becomes an image from the outside called a shadow. This is an illustration of shadow existence (ibid, p.375)

In other words, the existence of creation, according to the Shuhudi camp of Mujaddid Alf Thani, is neither a true, real existence nor an imaginary existence, but lies somewhere in between the two. This is why it is called a shadow existence, for a shadow is from one perspective not real and from another something real. And the profoundness of wahdat ul-shuhud is from it we understand that the creation is indicative of the real, independent existence of the Creator, Allah. So while the doctrine of wahdat ul-wujud is not kufr, though the ignorance mischaracterize it as pantheism or hulul, it is nonetheless a doctrine that is not firmly established in the Wahi to my master the Holy Prophet, sall Allahu alayhi wasallam. Rather, it may be said that its realization was through a kashf to Shaykh Ibn Arabi, may Allah have mercy upon him, and some of the other mystics, and likewise, the understanding of wahdat ul-shuhud was given to Mujaddid Alf Thani Ahmad Sirhindi, may Allah have mercy upon him, through a kashf. Muslims should avoid arguing over this controversy and unite on the basic elements of our creed, that Allah alone is As-Samad, having an eternal existence independent of everything, while the existence of the creation is dependent upon Allah, subject to change and annihilation by His will and power.