苏菲与文明:苏菲主义对文明和平的意义
日期:04-03
雷萨特· 厄尔仁
土耳其于斯屈达尔大学
摘要土耳其于斯屈达尔大学
大多数时候,我们无法洞悉周围不可预见的变化的原因。不过,类似王岱舆和刘智融合儒家和伊斯兰思想的研究,有一种综合的方法,有助于克服文明冲突的观念,转而导向文明的联合。我们的目的是强化关联性,建立沟通差异的桥梁,因为就像儒教国家一样,伊斯兰世界也存在着“和而不同”。王岱舆和刘智的著作融合了儒家哲学和伊斯兰教理,成为了理解中国的回教,搭建两种文明之间真正的桥梁的焦点。本文的目标是聚焦伊斯兰教理,考察苏菲主义培育的“潜在的德性”(erdem)如何促进了文明的和平。
SUFI AND CIVILIZATION: THE CONTRIBUTION OF SUFISM TO CIVILIZATIONAL PEACE
Reşat ÖNGÖREN
Üsküdar University
AbstractReşat ÖNGÖREN
Üsküdar University
It is said that “a butterfly fluttering its wings in China can cause a storm in the Atlantic Ocean.” In truth, most of the time we cannot fathom the reasons for unforeseen developments around us. Nevertheless, an integrative approach, much like Wang Daiyu and Liu Zhi’s work combining Confucian and Islamic thought, will be what helps us to overcome the idea of a clash of civilizations. As Confucius states, there exists “unity in diversity.” Merging Confucian philosophy with Islamic tradition, both Wang Daiyu and Liu Zhi composed works which became focal points for understanding Chinese Islam, a veritable bridge between two civilizations. The aim of this paper will be to focus on the Islamic aspect and examine how the hidden virtues (erdem) within humans that are brought forth by Sufism contribute to civilizational peace.
“It is said that a butterfly fluttering its wings in China can cause a storm in the Atlantic Ocean.”23 In truth, most of the time we cannot fathom the reasons for unforeseen developments around us. Nevertheless, an integrative approach, much like Wang Tai-Yu and Liu Zhi’s work combining Confucian and Islamic thought, will be what helps to overcome the idea of a clash of civilizations, and instead lead to that of an alliance of civilizations. Our purpose is to strengthen relationships and build more bridges between differences, because as Confucius states, there exists “unity in diversity.” Merging Confucian philosophy with Islamic propriety, both Wang Tai-Yü and Liu Chih (Liu Zhi) composed works which became the focal points for understanding Chinese Islam, constructing a veritable bridge between two civilizations. The aim of this paper will be to focus on the Islamic propriety aspect and examine how the hidden virtues (erdem) within humans that are brought forth by Sufism contribute to civilizational peace.
The human has been created differently from all other creation in terms of values and characteristics. As expressed in the Qur’an, the human was created as the best conformation (ahsan al-taqwim) (Q 95:4) and made revered/blessed (Q 17:70) with the divine spirit (nafhat al-ilahi) breathed into her/him during creation (Q 15:29,
38:72), with the first human Adam given the role of “vicegerent” (khilafa) on earth (Q 2:30) and imparted all names (Q 2:31). The human “belongs to God and to Him s/he will return” (Q 2:156). All that is in the heavens and the earth have been made subservient to the human (Q 45:13) and the human has taken up the “trust” (responsibility, amanah) (Q 33:72). God has let it be known that He has made friends of those who know the value of what has been granted them (Q 4:125, 29:45), and that some have been imparted with His knowledge (Q 18:65).
23“Foreword” by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, in Sachiko Murata, William C. Chittick, and Tu Weiming, The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009, p. v.
Sufis have emphasized the fact that the human – comprised of a body and a spirit whereby s/he is connected to the earth (world) and to God respectively – and the entirety of desires related to the world (such as the desire to remain forever on the world, to have a spouse and children, to gain properties and belongings, to have position, status, respect and fame) are in relation with the body. A similar distinction can be found in Liu Zhi, where he writes, “the body of human beings is turbid, but their nature is the most spiritual.” 24 There are various descriptions of the nafs given in the Qur’an; some examples include the nafs within the human which “incites him to do evil” (nafs al-ammara) (Q 12:53), “calls to witness the accusing voice of man’s own conscience,”(nafs al-lawwama) (Q 75:2), and which reaches “peace and serenity” (nafs al-mutmainna) (Q 89:27). Accordingly, just as the soul / nafs can make the human do much evil, it is also possible for it to be regretful, repent, and by way of limiting its desires and calling upon God’s name multiple times, achieve peace. The human running after her/his desires without any limitations, meaning becoming a slave to her/his weaknesses, means that they are the “nafs al-ammara” (commanding soul) level. At mthis state, the human has become a slave to her/his desires and distant from God. It should also be noted that the desires placed within the human by God (having a spouse and children, gaining property, status, and position) have not been counted as wrong –only their experiencing without obeying the limits of legitimacy (shari’a) and thus obstructing the spirit’s communication with God as well as distancing the servant from God. In a hadith (a statement by the Prophet Muhammad), it is emphasized that humans will be blessed insofar as they act to overcome their weaknesses (al-Muwatta, “Wasaya”,7).
On the other hand, the human was also blessed with God’s calling at the pre-
24Sachiko Murata, Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light, New York: SUNY Press, 2000, p. 143.
eternity (bazm al-alast) where upon getting asked “Am I not your Lord?” all of the souls replied “yes, You are” (Q 7:172). According to Sufis, the reason why all the souls replied positively to God’s call in the pre-eternity is because they had not yet entered the worldly desire-laden vessel of the body. When the soul that is in contact with God enters the body, the body’s worldly desires turn into obstructions between the spirit and God, preventing the soul’s communication with God and causing the loss of the soul’s status as God’s direct interlocutor. Sufis describe the human’s state in the pre-eternity with the Qur’anic concept of “the best conformation” (ahsan al-taqwim) (Q 95:4) and what it becomes following the taking up of the body as the “lowest of the low” (asfalal-safilin) (Q 95:5) and as a “loss” (husran) (Q 103:2). The human experiences“complete deceit” and “a fall to the lowest of the low” for as long as the body’s desires remain live, since the connection with God will be weakened or sometimes even fully break. The only salvation from this will be “faith and good works” (Q 95:6, 103:3) as mentioned in the Qur’an. Thus, the human will only be able to save her/himself from this situation by “having faith in God and by doing good works.”
The process of Sufi training allows for the removal of all desires that obstruct the human’s communication with God by way of faith and good works, thus bringing the servant to the presence of God as s/he was in the pre-eternity, to become God’s direct interlocutor once again and for the human to accept God as Lord (Rab). Referred to as the mutmainna (content) level, the servant is blessed with the direct call of God. In the Qur’an, God speaks directly to the nafs al-mutmainna, stating, “O you human being that has attained to inner peace! Return you unto your Sustainer, well-pleased and pleasing Him” (Q 89: 27-28). At this level, we encounter the spirit breathed into Adam(Q 38:72) which has achieved peace and the ego (nafs) that has turned towards God (Q89: 27-28) as the same thing, which also points to stepping up from the status of the“lowest of the low” to that of “the best conformation.” As Islam is a religion parallel to the natural disposition instilled by God in the human (Q 30:30), the state of resuming the “best conformation” through Sufi training is the human’s return to her/his initial natural state, an experience of realizing the human disposition. The human’s spiritual and ethical fall points to a distancing from this disposition.
On the other hand, the spiritual and mental capacity provided humans during creation facilitated the implementation and invention of various arts and techniques leaning towards both the beautiful and the useful. This is also a necessary result of the human having to live together with her/his fellow wo/men. Per Islamic understanding, the human is at a station where s/he carries certain responsibilities towards her/his creator, her/himself, and to all of humanity and nature starting from those around her/him and circling out, and has also been given the appropriate rights and authorities. The human, however, thinking that s/he will continue in this world without end,constantly concerns her/himself with their spouse and children in order to further their line, thinks to gain more power by gathering more properties, to garner more authority by increasing their station, and moves with unlimited ambition and desire in order to obtain repute and fame. With their selfishness having reached its zenith in this way, s/he becomes unable to fulfill her/his responsibility towards those around them whether near or far, and towards nature. Quite the contrary, s/he does not hesitate to harm them. Sufi training aids in the process of getting rid of the unlimited ambitions and desires –namely “weaknesses” – and helps the human in fulfilling her/his obligations.
Another important statement in the Qur’an about the human is that the human has been given the role of vicegerent on this world. The majority of commentaries read this as a role wherein the world is improved and reformed, and the human has been given the requisite capacities to fulfill this. As the dictionary definition indicates, the word for vicegerent in Arabic (khilafa) points to this responsibility and obligation continuing through the generations. This is why humans have been given the capacity to distinguish between and choose from good and evil, and why the human has the freedom to hold her/himself responsible. The human having this obligation, that s/he has taken up this important trust, is an expression of one of the fundamental reasons for why humanity is on this world.
The most important obstacle the human must surpass while attempting to fulfill her/his role as vicegerent is, again, the human. Alongside the weaknesses listed above, the human also has others such as a partiality for temporary pleasures, stinginess, ingratitude, hopelessness, forgetfulness, boastfulness, envy, impetuousness, resisting reality, denial, etc., and must learn to overcome these weaknesses during her/his Sufi training. When the human cannot surpass her/his weaknesses, it becomes impossible for her/him to avoid becoming the worst of the worst. Liu Zhi refers to this idea in his rendering of Jami’s Lawa’ih into Chinese, where he speaks of clearing the heart’s mirror in order to return to the “Tao heart” from the “human heart” and thus get back in touch with root nature – essentially to unclutter the communication lines with God. 25 Another factor that should not be forgotten is that the worldly life is temporary and that the smartest thing the human can do in front of the inevitability of death is to expend effort to successfully pass this worldly exam. Sufi training tries to create this type of awareness in the human.
The fundamental formula offered by Sufism to humans in order to defeat their weaknesses is the regular reminder of God within a specific program. In this way, the ego’s qualities begin to change, ascending from its worst form of “ammara”(commanding soul) and reaching the levels of lawwama (blaming soul), mulhimma(inspired soul), mutmainna (quiescent soul), radhiyya (contended soul), mardhiyya(soul for whom God is content), and zakiyya/kamila (perfected / pure soul) respectively.
25Sachiko Murata, Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light, New York: SUNY Press, 2000, p. 131.
Especially when the ego reaches the mulhimma level where the “eye of the heart” is opened, the human gains an important understanding into the truth of existence, and just as is mentioned in many verses in the Qur’an, notices that all creatures on the earth and in the heavens commemorate God (Q 59:1, 24; 61:1; 62:1; 64:1). With this level, the Sufi essentially becomes synchronized with the rhythm/dhikr of existence, because now, s/he has recognized that the commemoration of God is done not just with the tongue and the heart but with the entire body. Liu Zhi has a similar reference to the of becoming in sync with existence, where he writes, “[The man] clarifies that the levels of the ten thousand beings are all locations in which the Graceful Beauty flows perpetually, and that the ranks of all things are the places in which the Complete Power manifests and exposes itself. (…) His heart is transformed such that enjoying self is enjoying things, preserving self is preserving the Lord, and portraying self is portraying the Lord.” 26 While this type of dhikr where the human is in sync with the rhythm/path of existence awakens peace, quiet, and happiness (mutmainna), distancing from dhikr (recollection of God’s names) leads to a difficult life, where it feels as if one is rowing against the current (Q 20:124). In the more advanced stages of the training, the Sufi understands the meaning behind each of the following verses from the Qur’an as a particular state: “God encompasses everything” (Q 4:126), “and He is with you wherever you may be” (Q 57:4), “and wherever you turn, there is God’s countenance” (Q 2:115), “for We are closer to him than his jugular vein” (Q 50:16). This station,where one recognizes that all things – including oneself – exist through God, is that of baqa billah (subsistence through God). At this stage, the human fulfills her/his duties as if like a soul that sees God (ihsan) [virtue, sincerity, and beauty of character] (Buhari,“Iman”, 1). This in turn has been accepted as the hidden wisdoms within the human
26Murata, Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light, p. 145.
coming forth, meaning as an indicator of the “Completed / Perfected Human being”(insan al-kamil).It was the famous Sufi Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1240) who coined the term“insan al-kamil” (the Perfected Human) in Sufi literature for the person whose hidden wisdoms have been brought forth at the end of the Sufi training period. Additionally, a relationship was wrought between the human and the universe as per the ancient traditions, reflected back into philosophical history as the “small universe” (microcosm) and the “big universe” (macrocosm), with the general acceptance that at least some
characteristics from one would certainly be found in the other. In the sequence of thought from the pre-Socrates period until the Renaissance, the belief of the human as the microcosm has been expressed in myriad ways. If we are to go even further back, the idea and belief of humans carrying cosmological attributes can also be found in Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures. Similar ideas are encountered in Far Eastern cultures as well. The concept of purusa (consciousness) in Hindu thought and chenjen in Chinese thought demonstrate how ancient and universal the belief of microcosm- macrocosm is (Nasr, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines, p. 66). Alongside all of this, it should be noted that the form it takes in Islamic thought traditions, it is as the idea developed by Sufism within the insan al-kamil (the PerfectedHuman).
According to Sufi understanding, existence comes forth through the manifestation of God’s names and attributes, and the human (microcosm) as the small sample of the universe (macrocosm) appears as the total of God’s names and attributes. This is why the Prophet Muhammad stated, “God created Adam in His image” (Buhari, “Isti’zan”,1; Muslim, “Birr”, 115, “Cennet”, 28). He is the one favored with the name “Allah”which gathers all names and attributes, the goal of creation and the vicegerent of God. One of the fundamental features of the true perfected human being Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the perfected human beings that are his successors is that because they carry the beautiful conduct of God, they have ethical wisdom. To carry the beautiful conduct of God means to be blessed with His beautiful names (asma al-husna). Liu Zhi refers to this as well by writing that “All the completion and beauty that are seen in the ten thousand levels are results of the flow of the Complete Beauty’s surplus light.” 27 The name Wadud, which means “the one who loves and the one who is loved”, is used in the sense of “the one who loves goodness for all creation, who does good to them and who praises the good that they do” when it is connected to God. God is also loved by His servants. The famous scholar Muhammad Ghazali (d. 1111) explains the servant’s love for God as follows: “wishing for God’s other creations to also have the things that s/he wants for her/himself, and in fact preferring them.” The zenith of this love is for anger, hate and other states to not obstruct this love. In fact, during the Uhud Battle,
despite the Prophet Muhammad’s tooth breaking and his bloodied face, he never cursed the polytheists, and in fact asked for God to show him the right path (al-Maqsad al-asna, p. 132-133). The human blessed with the name wadud takes the example of God’s infinite mercy and love and fosters compassion for God and His servants, loves to do good for all of creation, and wishes good upon them.
Derived from the same root as “rahmat,” meaning “to be compassionate, to protect with love and tenderness,” another of God’s beautiful names is Rahman, meaning “the one who is compassionate and tender, who has mercy.” Together with the name Rahim,which is – according to many scholars – of the same meaning as Rahman, both names are mentioned along with “Allah” in the “basmala” that is repeated by Muslims: Allah,Rahman, and Rahim. In this material world, God blesses both His friends and His enemies with His grace and boons. As expressed by the aforementioned Imam Ghazali,
27Murata, Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light, p. 143.
the share that will come from the name Rahman is to tenderly and politely warn those servants whose heart’s eyes are curtained, to regard sinners not with insult but with compassion, and to accept all sins that are committed within the world as a problem and to work on removing it. In the Qur’an, it is written that divine compassion encompasses all things, and that God “has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy” (Q 7:156, 40:7, 6:12, 54). Wang Tai-Yü’s “Universal Compassion” expresses a similar conception of the ways of divine compassion, where the Real Lord “is the universal compassion of this world and the unique compassion of the afterworld. (…)Everything is different and each thing has its own place.” 28 Just as in a hadith al-qudsi it is said, “My mercy surpasses my wrath,” (Buhari, “Bed’u’l-halk,” 1, “Tevhid”, 55; Muslim, “Tevbe”, 14-16), another hadith related by both Buhari and Muslim (“Edeb”, 19; “Tevbe”, 17-19) informs us that the Prophet Muhammad stated that God had separated mercy into 100 parts and sent one of them towards the earth and that it is in this way all creation can display compassion and instinct, and that He left the remaining 99 parts for the hereafter. When the Prophet Muhammad said, “I am the prophet of mercy,” (Muslim, “Feza’il,” 126; Tirmizi, “Da’avat”, 118), he is actually referring to the verse “We sent you as grace towards all the worlds” in the Qur’an (21:107). There is no statement in the Qur’an that anyone, including non-believers, are not within Divine Mercy. Rauf (Kind), another of God’s names, expresses a feeling of compassion at an even further level than Rahman.
The meaning of Latif (Gracious) is “the one who acts kindly and softly.” Imam Ghazali records that the name Latif can inspire the human in the following way: to act with kindness towards God’s servants, to move with politeness and gentleness when inviting people to the happiness of God and the hereafter without falling into violence,
28Sachiko Murata, Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light, New York: SUNY Press, 2000, p. 49.
fanaticism, or argument. The best method to follow in this matter of calling people to the faith is for the one who is calling to display the best possible behaviors (al-Maqsad al-asna, p. 111). As a manifestation of God’s Halim (Gentle) name, God does not withhold His blessings and benevolence from His servants because of their sins; He gives the due of His obedient servant along with the rebellious one; the good and thebad are both allowed to live and are both protected from troubles and disasters (al-Minhaj, I, 200-201).
Because the perfected human being is blessed with the all-encompassing name“Allah,” it should be known that all of the names mentioned above make their respective appearance within her/him. This is why there is a parallel seen between the perfected human being’s look at creation and the “Divine glance,” and an emphasis onunity and togetherness comes forward rather than separation, division, otherization, and degradation. There are many examples of Perfected Human beings who have written and spoken like this within Sufi history. The words of one of the most famous of such humans, Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, clearly expresses our view:
We humans are the light of Haqq (the Truth), the mirror of Haqq.
So why are we continually quarreling with ourselves, amongst each other?
Why is one light running away like this from another light? It is as if all of us,
all humans, are gathered in a single body within the existence of a mature human.
But why are we so cross-eyed? If we are the extremities of the same body,
why are the rich looking down on the poor? Why does the right hand regard
disdainfully the left hand of the same body? All of us, all humans are actually
asingle gem. Our minds and heads are all one. Come, get rid of this selfishness.
Understand everyone, get along well with everyone. You are a seed, an atom
as long as you remain by yourself, but when you join with others and unite with them,
you become an ocean. The same spirit is within all humans. The bodies and skins
are hundreds of thousands. There are various languages and alphabets within the world,
but their meaning is all one…The separation, or dispute, among religions is in how it
proceeds and the way to pray. It is not in the truth of the path…Dichotomies such as
faith-blasphemy, good-bad are according to us, but from God’s view they are all one…
There is no religion without lasphemy, because religion is to leave behind blasphemy.
The Creator of all this is One. According to Him, getting rid of duality (true unity) is
through the servant shedding her/his own existence.
Another of the Perfected Human being’s fundamental characteristics is to be the heir of the Prophet Muhammad, described as the living Qur’an (see Muslim, Musafirin 39; Abu Davud, Tatavvu' 26; Nesai, Kıyam al-layl 2; Darimu, Salat 165; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Müsned, V, 54, 91, 163, 188, 216), and thus for each of them to be a “living Qur’an” as well. The following verses about people of different race, language and religion thus form the lifestyle of the Prophet Muhammad as well as the Perfected Human beings who are as his heirs: “O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all aware.” (Q 49:13)
“And thus it is: had thy Sustainer so willed, all those who live on earth would surely have attained to faith, all of them: do you, then, think that you could compel people to believe?” (Q 10:99)
“There shall be no coercion in matters of faith. Distinct has now become the right way from the way of error: hence, he who rejects the powers of evil and believes in God has indeed taken hold of a support most unfailing, which shall never give way: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.” (Q 2:256)
“…for, if God had not enabled people to defend themselves against one another, all monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques – in all of which God’s name is abundantly extolled – would surely have been destroyed before now. And God will most certainly succor him who succors His cause: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty.” (Q 22:40)
As the manifestation of these verses, according to Islam, there is no superiority among people except for in “taqwa,” meaning sincere religiosity and ethical sensitivity. Moreover, no permission has been given for compulsion in anything, including one’s choice of religion. People are all held to account based on what they have done according to their own free will. Religion is something that should be conducted by the person’s free will. The subject of religion is not about obligatory actions and behaviors, they are chosen actions and behaviors. The characteristic of religion is not to compel someone; on the contrary, it is to protect from such compulsion. The freedom of religion and conscience should not be limited by oppression and tyranny. Parallels can be drawn here with Wang Tai-Yü’s formulation of predetermination, where freedom and correlation are depicted as correlative realities of human existence, and “Establishing good and evil is predetermination, and making use of good and evil is freedom. (…) Were there no differences, perfection would not become manifest, and were there no crookedness, the ultimate justice would not become clear.” 29 Humans are offered both good and evil, and make the choice for themselves.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the view of Perfected Humans who have succeeded in bringing forth the hidden gem within themselves towards humans,
29Sachiko Murata, Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light: Wang Tai-yu’s Great Learning of the Pure and Real and Liu Chih’s Displaying the Concealment of the Real Realm, New York: State University of New York Press, 2000, p. 49.
creation, and different religions, cultures and civilizations is one shaped by the Qur’an and hadith. Throughout the ages, Sufi training has appeared as an educational method that earns the person this capacity. The person who has gone through Sufi training lives in peace with her/his surroundings and avoids behaviors that will harm others because they have succeeded in ridding themselves of weaknesses such as the desire for property, station, fame, addiction to passing pleasures, avarice, boasting, resisting reality, denial, ingratitude, hate, jealousy, etc. Additionally, because s/he comprehends that all of creation continually commemorates God, s/he protects and develops nature. S/he does not waste resources and only uses them according to her/his need. Knowing that s/he has been created by God, s/he loves all of creation; s/he takes loving the created because of the Creator as a fundamental rule. S/he constantly feels thankful for all s/he owns by knowing that it comes from God, and lives in gratitude for all those who are conduits towards such blessings and opportunities. As the requirements of God’s “Wadud, Rahman, Rahim, Rauf, Latif, Halim” (Loving, Merciful, Compassionate, Kind, Gracious, Gentle) names, s/he loves all of humanity without looking to differences in religion, language, race, ancestry; s/he feeds the hungry and protects the poor. S/he dedicates her/himself to the improvement of creation and humanity. As the requirement of related verses, s/he gets along well with those of different faiths, cultures, and civilizations. Like a compass, while standing firm on one foot in her/his own faith, s/he travels among those of other beliefs and develops good relations with them. While inviting them to Haqq / the Truth, s/he does not force them or belittle them and on the contrary is gentle and sweet-natured with them.
Therefore, if we could act according to the values of those honest people who brought peace to humanity in the past and present, and behave with beautiful conduct around the globe, we would be able to establish the much-yearned for alliance of civilizations. In this way, instead of the unknown results of a butterfly’s fluttering, we can have a world where it is possible to live in mutual understanding and coexist in peace.