Tafsir al-Ishari of the Sufis

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

Salutations and peace upon you, my master, Apostle of Allah

The eminent theologian Abu Hafs Umar al-Nasafi (d. 537 H), to whom we owe the remarkable text of creed titled al-Aqa'id al-Nasafiyyah, has mentioned as one of its points:

وَالنُّصُوْصُ تُحْمَلُ عَلى ظَوَاهِرَهَا وَالعُدُولُ عَنْهَا إلى مَعَانٍ يَدَّعِيْهَا أَهْلُ البَاطِنِ إِلْحَادٌ

"The sacred texts [al-nusus] are to be interpreted according to their apparent meanings, and to turn aside from them to meanings which the people of esotericism [ahl al-batin] claim is deviation [ilhad]."

The Batiniyyah or esotericists mentioned here are primarily the Isma'ilis and some other antinomian sects who reject the Shari'ah and thereby commit Ilhad. For instance, they reject the apparent or understood meanings of Salah, Zakah, Sawm and Hajj, which are the five daily worship, the required alms of one-fortieth of one's wealth, fasting sunrise to sunset in Ramadan and making pilgrimage to the Sacred Mosque in Mecca once in a lifetime. The Batiniyyah take an esoteric meaning of these Islamic terms which is in opposition to the meaning understood and agreed upon by the Ummah. The Isma'ilis reject the understood meaning of Qiyamah, which is bodily resurrection at the end of the world, and instead replace it with their fabricated esoteric meaning first put forward by one of their imams, Hasan II, the 23rd Nizari Imam, at Alamut in 1164 CE, that the Qiyamah had just occurred and now they were no longer required to observe the Shari'ah. According to these Isma'ilis, the esoteric meaning of Salah which replaces its exoteric meaning is calling the people to their Imam. Likewise, they say that the esoteric meaning of Sawm is to perform taqiyyah, or conceal the knowledge and refrain from revealing the tenets of the Isma'ili call to their enemies! For them, the Hajj is to visit and be in the presence of the Imam who is the "spiritual Ka'bah". In summary, the Isma'ilis and other Batinis cease observing the Pillars of Islam and the laws of the Shari'ah by means of re-interpreting those pillars and laws with an esoteric meaning which according to them abrogates the apparent or understood meaning. It is this heresy that al-Nasafi has repudiated by saying that the sacred texts are to be understood with their apparent meaning and not the meanings of the the Batiniyyah.

The best explanation of al-Aqa'id al-Nasafiyyah is the one by Allamah Sa'd al-Din Mas'ud al-Taftazani (d. 792 H). In his explanation of this point in al-Nasafiyyah, Allamah al-Taftazani has removed a doubt of some of the literalists and opponents of Sufism who argue that the Sufis are also heretical like the Batinis because they have unveiled esoteric meanings for some of the sacred texts:

وَأمَّا مَا ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهِ بَعْضُ الْمُحَقِّقِيْنَ مِنْ أنَّ النُّصُوْص مَصْرُوْفَة عَلى ظَوَاهِرِهَا وَمَعَ ذَلِكَ فِيْهَا إشَارَاتٌ خَفِيَّةٌ إلى دَقَائِق تَنْكَشِف عَلى أَرْبَاب السُّلُوك يُمْكِنُ التَّطْبِيق بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ الظَّوَاهِر المُرَادة فَهُوَ مِن كَمَال الإيْمَان وَمَحْض العِرْفَان

"As for the view held by some researchers [al-Muhaqqiqin] that the texts are to be taken literally, yet contain subtle allusions to subtle points that are revealed to those on the spiritual path [al-suluk], and that these can be reconciled with the intended meanings, this is a sign of perfect faith and pure gnosis." (Sharh al-Aqa'id al-Nasafiyyah, Idara as-Siddiq, Dabhel, Gujarat, p.502)

This view is substantiated by the Hadith:

لِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مِنْهَا ظَهْرٌ وَبَطْنٌ

"For every Ayah in it is an apparent [meaning] and an inner [meaning]." (Sahih Ibn Hibban)

Likewise, Dr. Abd ul-Malik al-Sa'di (b. 1937), in his explanation of this point in al-Nasafiyyah, gives the example of the Ayah:

لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ

None touch it (the Quran) except the purified

(Surah 56, Ayah 79)

فيها إشارة إلى أن القلب النجس لا يدرك معاني القرآن ولطائفه الدقيقة ولا يمسها كما أن الجسم غير الطاهر لا يمس القرآن الظاهري المادي

"This indicates that a defiled heart cannot comprehend or grasp the meanings and subtle nuances of the Quran, just as an impure body cannot touch the physical, outward form of the Quran." (Sharh al-Nasafiyyah, p.233)

This is known as tafsir al-ishari, which Dr. Abd ul-Malik al-Sa'di has explained:

وهو التفسير الإشاري الذي يفسر به السادة الصوفية والذي يحمل شيئاً من الدقائق اللطيفة مع الاعتراف بتفسير الآية الظاهر وعدم تعارضه معه فهو جائز ومقبول

"It is the tafsir al-ishari used by Sufi masters, which contains subtle nuances while acknowledging the apparent meaning of the verse and its lack of contradiction with it; therefore, it is permissible and acceptable." (Ibid, p.232)