The Quranic fism by Mir Valiuddin Review by: S. Vahiduddin Philosophy East and West, Vol. 32, No.

2 (Apr., 1982), pp. 219-221 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1398723 . Accessed: 30/08/2013 13:34
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Each of these Vedantic thinkers is presented in a manner which is clear and concise. Lott's orientation is sympathetic and cautious as is indicated by his rejection of De Smet's comparison of Thomas to Sankara. The author's own opinion is presented when he observes in the final chapter that Ramanuja's system seems to be the most consistent. However one may wonder if this slightly shifted the weight of his understanding of Sankara and Madhva. Also there is the additional problem of the differencesamong each of the various exponents of the teachings of Safikara, or Ramanuja, or Madhva. The book ignores this completely, and one could infer that the interpretations of these thinkers is without controversy. For example, should Safikara's teaching be understood as that taught by either the Vivarana or the Bhamati school or as something differentfrom either. This development may not be appropriate for the text, but it would have been proper for inclusion in the notes. Even considering both restrictions the book has much to recommend it. The author has presented an analysis of Vedanta which moves beyond any notion that Vedanta is equivalent only to Sankara. In addition we are presented with a clear account of Madhva's system which has, for the most part, been ignored in much writing for western audiences. I also agree with the author's insistence that all three forms of Vedanta must be understood from a soteriological perspective. Thus Vedanta is not just philosophy nor just theology but is a total vision that incorporates both areas of thought.
L. THOMASO'NEIL

Universityof Missouri-Columbia

The Quranic Sifism. By Mir Valiuddin.Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1977, Pp. 216. This is the second revised edition of the late Mir Valiuddin's well-known book on Sufism. He calls it Quranic Sufism to emphasize the fact that Sufism properly understood is not alien to Islam but is imbued with the spirit of the Qur'an, and that in its authentic manifestation there is nothing heretical about it. We wholeheartedly agree with the writer that the use of non-Qur'anic vocabulary in its later speculation and its alleged deviation from the strict monotheistic faith in a transcendent God does not in any way justify the attempt to deIslamize Sufism. However, Valiuddin goes farther and holds that the whole superstructureof speculation which later developed in the name of Sufism can be understood in terms of the Qur'dnand the authentic tradition. His book tries to present Sufism both in its emotional and doctrinal aspects in the language of the Muslim scripture. But the questions which once created heated controversies and which brought Sufism and the 'ulmd' (religious scholars) in open confrontation are not taken into account. No one can deny that Sufism is still suspect among the so-called fundamentalists. The writer with a doctorate in European philosophy pursued his professional career as a teacher of philosophy for decades in an Indian university. However, he soon realized that his interest lay elsewhere, and, consequently he devoted his whole life to the study and practice of the Sufi way of life. He claims that the account of Suifismwhich he presents has no precedentsand that every line of the book is supported by the Qur'dnand the Tradition and that never before has Sufism been treated with such lucidity and logical sequence, But

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220 Book Reviews

what is of interest is his frank confession that much of his mystic insight he owes to the oral explanations conveyed to him by his spiritual guide. The book is divided into seven chapters, and has as its themes worship in Islam: transcendenceand immanence, descents of the Absolute, self-determinism,good and evil, and divine presence. In the introductory chapter he tries to distinguish Sufism which is Quranic from the kind of Sufism which developed under the influence of peripatetic philosophy and Neoplatonism. The peripatetic influence worked most decisively among the Mu'tazilites, though the Asharites were also not free from it. Under the influence of Neoplatonism, the writer contends, the "otherness" of objects was questioned and the phenomenal world came to be identified with God. His treatment of Sufism is guided by his concern to cleanse Sufism from all that does not conform with the Quranic spirit. It is in the third chapter that we are led to the realm of mystic speculation. We know that the Islamic concept of God is generally decried by critics as absolutely transcendent without any room for immanence. But the Qur'dn also abounds in verses which affirm the omnipresence of God. How is this to be understood? It is here that Mir Valiuddin's presentation is greatly influenced by Ibn 'Arabi, though the depth and originality of the Andalusian Sufi nowhere comes into its own. In agreement with the mystic speculations which run on idealistic lines he affirmsthat everything is an idea of God, an object known by Him. The relation between the known and the knower is not that of identity but that of otherness. God is both transcendent and immanent. "The Absolute divine Being can never manifest Himself without a form. Manifestation is always possible in forms, modes and determinations only." But some disturbing questions here arise. When we say that everything is an 'idea' of God what do we really mean by 'idea', and when we talk of the 'mind' of God what do we understand by it? We understand these ideas only metaphysically, whereas, for the writer, they have a metaphysical substratum. A little semantic exercise is needed here to make clear what is really meant by a mystic oriented metaphysics. A chapter is devoted to tanazzuldtor the descents of the Absolute. Here as elsewhere the writeris mainly interested to show that the relation between the creation and the creator is that of 'otherness' and that a Sufi cannot disown the shar'ah or the Islamic law, however advanced he may be on the path. Here we are led to the famous Sufi doctrine of the reality of Muhammad. His comments no doubt help us greatly in understanding what the Sufis really mean by a doctrine which might have shocked the ultraorthodox. But, as the writer explains, the reality of Muhammad is not Muhammad as the concrete human being of history but the idea independent of its historical manifestation. To confuse the historical person with his metahistorical dimension leads to consequences incompatable with the strictly monotheistic spirit of Islam. No wonder if some Christian scholars have considered the idea of the preexistence of Muhammad as "Christianization of Islam" and have seen in it a surprising appropriation of the logos Christology in Sufic speculation. The writer's treatment of crucial theological doctrines from a mystic angle, especially the attempted 'solution' of the antinomy inherent in the freedom of will and the problem of evil, may not be philosophically convincing. What he offers as "the secret of creation" is not something startling either. Creation in the perspective which he endorses is not a coming into being from absolute nonbeing but only a manifestation of the divine ideas in concrete forms. Here, of course, the dividing line between creation and emanation

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becomes very thin. The concluding chapter brings out the emotional dimension of Sufism. The writer concludes that the gnosis of God is not possible without love or devotion. In the end it must be conceded that Mir Valiuddin's work, inspite of its limitations, has an enduring value. It gives information which is not available elsewhere. Both in style and content it is a good specimen of a form of Sufic thought which has found favor in the Indian subcontinent, even in circles which are wary of Sufism. In any case the mystic thought and devotional piety which Valiuddin represents is superior to easy secularism and legalistic fundamentalism.
S. VAHIDUDDIN

Indian Institute of Islamic Studies

Heart's Witness. Translated by Bernd Manuel Weischer and Peter Lamborn Wilson. Tehran: Imperial Iranian Academy, 1978, Pp. 178. Price not given. Sufism is a many splendored dome to which the best approach is through the poetry which it inspired and the anecdotes, no matter whether they are apocryphal or authentic, which have accumulated round the charismatic figure of the Master during his lifetime and continued to swell even after his death. Sufic experience formulated as a doctrine can be very misleading and may give rise to conflicting interpretations and controversies. The monumental work of Ibn 'Arabi illustrates it very eloquently. Fortunately we have in Awhaduddin Kirman, no theoretician of mysticism, a poet who has given expression to his ecstatic experience in quatrains or rubd'is,a form of poetic composition with which we have become familiar through Fitzgerald's all too free rendering of 'Omar Khayyam. Brevity is the soul of the quatrains and surprisingly enough a ruba'tcan transmit mystic experience with all its depth in a few verbal intimations. The difficulty with Kirmani, however, is that much that is attributed to him is not his, and many other quatrains are to be found in the works of other writers. Some of these nevertheless show the impact of his genius unmistakably. This seems to be specially true, as it is pointed out, of the quatrains which are given in the last section. Kirmani was deeply influenced by the monistic thought of Ibn 'Arabi. God does not reveal Himself unveiled but through the veil of creation. Human beauty serves as the best medium through which the divine may reveal itself. Though the hululi or incarnationist tendencies were imputed to him as to some other Sufis, Ibn 'Arabi did not believe in the incarnation of the divine in human form. It is only the reflection of the "Divine Essence" in creation which provokes ecstasy, and yet its poetic expression gave rise to misunderstandings. But although Awhaduddin Kirmani's preference for the "beardless youth" as the locus of divine revelation gave rise to stories which shocked his fellow Sufis, his poetic utterances as recorded in the collection before us have nothing shocking about them. The similarity with the Platonic vision of beauty is striking, and we cannot but agree with Ritter that "contemplation of God's beauty in a handsome youth or boy is in the semitic cultural context, a foreign body". Corbin's attempt to find the justification of this practice in an alleged saying of the prophet cannot stand close analysis.

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