The Seven Doctrinal Treatises
The Seven Doctrinal Treatises
Bibliographic Information
- Author: Mohammad Reza Nekounam (b. 1948)
- Title: The Seven Doctrinal Treatises / Mohammad Reza Nekounam
- Publication: Eslamshahr: Sobhe Farda Publications, 2014 (1393 SH)
- Physical Description: 48 pages; 9.5 × 19 cm
- ISBN: 978-600-7347-27-0
- Cataloguing Status: FIPA
- Language: Arabic
- Subject: Shi‘ism – Doctrines
- Library of Congress Classification: BP211.5/N75r5 2014
- Dewey Decimal Classification: 297.4172
- National Bibliography Number: 3503972
Introduction
This collection consists of seven treatises structured as follows:
First Treatise: On the Curse of Bahlooli, composed in the year 1345 AH (solar calendar). It includes a copy of what I wrote in the presence of scholars to substantiate the authenticity of my scholarly experience as witnessed by them.
Second Treatise: The Sole Discourse on Monotheism. This asserts that every being in the universe is capable of attaining monotheism, indeed it inherently possesses it and exists within it. However, knowledge of it requires conceptualisation and comprehension; otherwise, its affirmation is self-evident.
Third Treatise: This addresses the efficacy of the Truth (God), asserting that God acts through divine love, embodying a purely personal love essence. It argues that God’s action is not dependent on comprehensive or detailed knowledge and examines the irrelevance of philosophical possibility or experiential poverty. All that manifests from God is the clear revelation of divine truth through love; the ultimate creation is God Himself.
Fourth Treatise: The Matter Between Two Matters, considered one of the most crucial rational discussions. It delineates the limits of choice for both Lord and servant, connecting this enquiry to the domain of judgement via prophetic tradition.
Fifth Treatise: Investigates prevalent illusions among theologians, such as the classification of existence into sensory and non-sensory, sentient or otherwise, and the dichotomy of compulsion and free will. The treatise concludes with an exploration of the true meaning of death.
Sixth Treatise: Outlines a general index of rational and transmitted sciences, divided into their respective branches, and explores the nature of immediate knowledge and Shi‘ite gnosis.
Seventh Treatise: Demonstrates that propriety (adab) is innate to human nature and comprises two categories: theoretical propriety and mental acquisition, the latter further subdivided into scientific propriety and national ethics—encompassing customs, states, and virtuous or vicious traditions.
On the Curse of Bahlooli
“O God, curse him vehemently and punish him severely. May God damn him, scatter his fellowship, sever his dominion, cut off his progeny, unite what he has dispersed, disperse what he has united, curse him with every innovation he has introduced, every tradition he has altered, every truth he has obliterated, and every falsehood he has perpetuated.”
This is a copy of what I wrote in the presence of scholars to obtain their verification.
In the Honoured City of Qom:
In the name of God, praise be to Him.
To proceed: I request from you affirmation of the understanding of the scholarly presence I have attained from the distant past to the present day, until by God’s grace what has appeared from me becomes evident. You owe me a debt for the sciences of the People of the House of Revelation and Scripture, peace be upon them.
Year 1345 AH (solar calendar).
Second Treatise
The Sole Discourse on Monotheism
God is purely existent; He is the pure existence itself, unlike any other thing, though He encompasses all things and wills them into being. Nothing resembles Him, though He is the being of everything, the All-Hearing and All-Seeing, indeed the hearing and sight of every hearer and seer.
No entity similar to Him can be conceived, neither externally nor in the mind or imagination. Affirming Him is negating Him; negation is affirmation; both are caused by Him and He is their cause.
Anyone with reason and perception can grasp this without need for proof; they find it prior to proof and find proof through it. Nothing else exists, even though things appear to exist.
Denial of this truth is only possible through arrogance and stubbornness, and even then, such denial admits divine lordship by its very argument. A denier is like one who accompanies a companion without recognition, despite their proximity.
We say: every being in the universe, known as Adam, can reach monotheism, indeed it is inherent and actualised within him. But knowledge requires conceptualisation and cognition and is contingent upon abandoning illusions and falsehoods. This is the full neglect of deniers and atheists—they do not conceive it, not in denial nor affirmation, for denial arises from failure to conceive it in reality. Affirmation, on the other hand, is self-evident.
Hence, every rational and just human must strive to conceive and comprehend, rather than oppose and deny through repeated argument.
Subsequently, it becomes evident that God is true, eternal, and does not require proof or affirmation, for proof and evidence are contingent and created; God is their creator through intermediaries.
Third Treatise
The Efficacy of the Truth
This is a highly precise discussion; many ideas and claims are far removed from its essence. The author advocates an excessive intentionality, as in some stages of the human soul. The wise do not accept it; rather, they propose acceptance, care, or the comprehensive manifestation in detailed revelation.
This treatise aims to perfect the prior notions by correcting their defects.
God’s Action Through Love
The truth about God’s action is that He acts through love; His activity is love. This is the fruit of the heart and the ultimate hope of the knower and the attracted (majdhub). Terms like care, acceptance, or manifestation are titles of God, but do not suit His purely personal and loving essence.
God’s knowledge is His love, and His love is His knowledge of His creatures. His activity through love needs no differentiation into general or particular, as these are incidental attributes that imply limitation, which does not apply to His activity.
He is love, lover, and beloved in His personal unity; active in the creature, which is pure essence without multiplicity or duality in Creator and created or actor and acted upon.
His essence, with overwhelming power beyond human knowledge, is a revealing existence in unity of essence, attributes, and actions, all aspects of one reality, although infinite in aspects beyond rational comprehension.
His knowledge is love, which is His essence and that of His creatures. This is His personal action for the attracted to God, in God. There is no difference in His action or His creatures before or after existence; the eyes are one, knowledge is one, without mediation or augmentation, except through high illusions.
His knowledge is His self-action, His action is love in manifestations from eye to eye.
This is called essential necessity and divine love without need for care or acceptance or differentiation in manifestation; it is knowledge, eye, love, appearance, action, inner and outer revealed in love.
The Nature of Possible Being
True possibility is divine love possibility: all that exists is existence, and existence is necessary being. Possible being is necessary in essence and actualised by divine creative movement.
Creation is love and manifestation, divine essence and all His attributes are love and creation. The difference between necessary and possible is solely this, a wondrous distinction.
Thus, philosophical possibility or experiential poverty do not exist in reality; all is self-sufficiency in knowledge and reality.
The Ultimate Goal: Love for Himself
In terms of love in actor and possibility, the ultimate goal of creation is God’s love for Himself; He loves Himself by Himself. This is the necessary implication of existence and creation from atom to atom. All are beloved and lovers, visible and present.
What is said of the world’s purpose in perfection, trial, or blessing is poetic and empty for the rational mind, as perfection and trial imply deficiency and ignorance, which do not apply to Creator or created.
The ultimate in creation, existence, and action is God’s love; nothing exists beyond divine possibility and purpose. This is the meaning of servitude as divine lordship and the meaning of the Qur’anic verse “I created jinn and humans only to worship Me.” No distinction exists between servitude and servitors, creation and servants; all are subsumed under the speaker’s pronoun—the existence of “Be!” is the reality and end of divine love. Nothing exceeds this, even if it surpasses verbal expression; direct experience suffices.
Fourth Treatise
The Matter Between Two Matters
This is among the most important rational and doctrinal topics, underpinning many other discussions and strengthening all rational inquiries and empirical occasions.
The crucial point is that the discussion must be framed philosophically; theological dialectics are insufficient.
The correct exposition of the matter concerns two directions:
- Not depriving the servant of power.
- Not depriving the Lord of power.
Though the action is one and the servant one, and the Lord is one, these are conventional distinctions without real multiplicity.
We must state essential premises and precise meanings briefly.
Legislative and Creative Will
Legislative will in religious terminology refers to the will generating universal rules and stable laws for action.
Creative will is the act of the willing—necessary or possible—resulting from knowledge and decisiveness. There is no difference between knowledge and creative will in necessary and possible, except that in the latter it is conditioned by power and absence of obstacle, while in the necessary it is unconditioned, subject only to knowledge and will; obstacles are inconceivable.
Knowledge as Cause of Creation
Knowledge itself is the reality; existence and manifestation accompany knowledge before and after creation in the necessary being. This is precisely His creative will, which cannot fail. Legislative will is a consequence and manifestation of its effects.
Active knowledge and creative will are identical and lack distinction, existing equally in essence and attributes.
The cause of creation in God is His intrinsic will and knowledge, which cause creation; no multiplicity exists though they differ in discourse and concept.
Distinction Between Knowledge and Will
Indeed, the absolute cause of the universe is divine compulsion (al-jabr al-‘ulya) in an absolute manner. The entire universe is the actual effect of this compulsion, and there is no fear of it. The confusion in inquiry arises primarily from the failure to distinguish between divine compulsion as a cause and the actual volitional action, which are two distinct things. In reality, the investigation should be concerned with the latter, not the former, as the latter lies beyond divine compulsion, knowledge, and intrinsic will. Everything, according to this view, either exists in reality or is non-existent in actuality, whether by capacity, knowledge, or actuality.
There is no compulsion in knowledge, even if knowledge is a cause. Knowledge is the actualisation of will and its actual effect. Everything is created through instinct (al-jabalah) or choice (al-ikhtiyar) in all its levels. The true cause of a thing’s reality is its will, which is something beyond knowledge. The distinction between knowledge and will is subtle and precise, and a correct understanding of this is noble; for will is the cause of individuation (tashkhis), whereas knowledge is mere revelation and not a cause of individuation. There is no other way for us to discern knowledge and the ultimate cause of a thing except after occurrence, never before it. Thus, there is no way for us to ascertain the presence or absence of a cause or the capacity to perform prior to the event.
Divine and Human Choice
Instinct and choice coexist in the actual existence of the servant (human), alongside the presence of divine compulsion. The human’s choice derives from their essential nature and constitution; thus, there is neither compulsion nor delegation. Compulsion relates to the origin of choice, while delegation stems from God’s sovereignty and control.
Intrinsic will accompanies and aligns with both practical compulsion and knowledge alongside effective will. The cause and creation lie in divine will, not in active knowledge. There is a clear distinction between active knowledge and intrinsic will.
Human choice differs in kind from divine choice. The former is temporal and limited; the latter transcends all and is absolute, having no equal or subordinate. Human choice is particular to humans and does not imply compulsion despite its existence. Nor is delegation present despite choice being granted by God.
Choice itself is evidence of choice and is the middle ground between compulsion and freedom, as stated by the Imams (peace be upon them). Choice is not absolute in its essence, nor is compulsion absolute in the determination of a person’s actions. This is the truth regarding choice in relation to humans.
Choice and Accountability
After establishing the origin and nature of choice, the subsequent inquiry concerns its extent and quantity. We argue that choice is intrinsic to moral responsibility and accountability by the Master (Mawla). Reward and punishment apply only to voluntary acts, and accountability is measured by choice. Accountability exists for all actions, voluntary or otherwise, with the condition that the moral law be present, and nothing more or less than this.
Accountability determines the measure of choice. Punishment in cases of compulsion is not considered just by the Wise One (al-Hakim). Compulsory matters and those unknown at the time of action do not result in accountability. Slaves (servants) are responsible within the scope of their choice.
We do not know the precise extent of choice in particular cases, only generally. The principle underlies divine forgiveness and mercy, ensuring that servants are not despairing or deprived. Everyone is responsible to everyone in a general sense because humans do not know the exact state of their choice or the extremities of matters. Responsibility is collective and individual simultaneously.
Choice in a collective context is a great matter and cannot be dealt with lightly. Events are not prevented by individual effort nor is protection guaranteed in solitude. All must answer collectively.
Illusory Discussions and Speakers
The majority of confused scientific debates among Muslims have originated from speculative theologians, especially those of the common folk in various sciences, notably in rational and transmitted studies.
Classification of Beings: Living and Other
One of the common illusions is the widespread classification of beings in theological and philosophical sciences into general categories such as living and non-living, conscious and unconscious, chosen and compelled. All these classifications are erroneous from their roots because beings are fundamentally one type by a universal criterion: absolute life. There is no intermediary between life and death. Beings and things are all alive, death is non-existence, pure non-existence.
Existence is either living or non-existent. No entity is non-conscious because all beings are alive and possess consciousness appropriate to their intrinsic reality and latent nature. Non-living and non-conscious entities are neither existent nor real. All things are alive and possess consciousness and perception at different levels and ranks.
Differences exist not in ranks or states but in “affairs” (shunun), which cannot differ, as the intrinsic reality of each thing is unique yet encompasses multiplicity without contradiction.
Choice and Compulsion Among Beings
Existence does not divide between chosen and compelled after acknowledging all beings’ perception and the impossibility of non-existence for inanimate objects. The universal relation between cause and effect is necessary, with the cause being chosen in its cause, and the effect also chosen. All beings exist by instinct and love.
Therefore, no absolute compulsion exists because of the principle of congruity between cause and effect. God is the pure choice, choice itself, and absolute necessity, not the ordinary or conceptual choice.
How then could compulsion exist? It is an imperfection and negation in the realm of existence. Compulsion is tantamount to lack of will and choice, whereas will and choice are lights and existence, a perfection of existence for all things. Compulsion would mean dependency on a cause other than God, which is impossible. No cause can be compelled in itself, for every effect necessitates a cause, and only God is the uncaused cause.
On Death
After these profound investigations, it is possible and appropriate to ask about the meaning of death, necessary for humans, animals, and all things in reality, whether material or immaterial.
The answer is that the same thing can have multiple realities simultaneously. Death and annihilation can occur in one aspect or phase of a thing’s lowly aspects relative to its attainment of higher perfections. Death does not affect the true essence or higher attributes but is a removal of need or dependence on the material body, connecting instead to immaterial beings and higher angels.
Death of a human is the severing of the connection between the soul and the material body. The soul itself is alive, and so is the body, but the union between them is cut off. The body, composed of many material parts, soon disperses.
Thus, death is disconnection between the soul and body, a negative accident. Life remains present in all parts of the soul and body; death is merely a separation, not annihilation.
Summary
All beings are living, conscious, and endowed with will, love, and desire. There is no compulsion or coercion in existence. The natural disposition, feeling, love, and satisfaction govern all existence, which is the action of God alone. The world is ordered and governed by a system which cannot exist without consciousness and perception. There is no place for compulsion in the true sense.
The erroneous concepts of compulsion, coercion, inanimation, and death are products of inadequate understanding and false terminologies arising from naive speculation, lacking proof and deep insight.
On Causality, Will, and Existence
Creation and existence necessarily require a cause, yet the Truth cannot be the agent of coercion or compulsion, due to the impossibility and imperfection of coercion and compulsion being attributed to Him, in addition to the absence of similarity between them. There is no cause but Him, exalted above any comparison; thus, there is no compulsion or coercion in the world, nor in man, nor in creation, nor in the Truth itself.
Rather, all things are naturally endowed with consciousness. Existence is willed intrinsically without imposition, and all existents are perpetually willed, perfectly constituted, and pure perfections. Each is simultaneously lover and beloved, and love is the cause of manifestation and creation. Creation is an unveiling, and manifestation is the essence of the inner reality. The ultimate purpose of creation is existence itself, an eternal, fixed existence, an eternal essence.
Accidental attributes are transient without a permanent stage of manifestation, and quiddities (essences) are fixed without the permanence of their individual manifestations. All things perish without true annihilation in the universal sense. Therefore, the Absolute Truth is as stated herein, and all else is mere illusions propagated by the masses.
On Human Nature and Divine Law
After clarifying this state through the speaker’s words, it is stated that man is naturally constituted (makhluq takwiniyan) and willed both legislatively (tashri‘an) and constitutively (takwiniyan) in certain respects and aspects. Nature and choice are combined in man.
Both matters — nature and free will — share a phase within the unity of multiplicity. Religion is twofold: a religion of creation (takwin) and a religion of legislation (tashri‘). The latter is derived from the former, and the former is perfected by the latter. Both are one and the same, and the One is the True Reality, the eternal matter and the secret of divine destiny (qadar), known only to the sincere among the witnesses and the struggling among the knowers.
This is the ultimate hope of the mystics, the essence of the obedient, the secret of the existence of sinners, the reality of the believers’ obedience, the goal of the journey of the beings, and the fruit of the meeting with the hidden in the realm of the Most Hidden, without any obscuration of its determination.
A General Index of Sciences
Knowledge is either acquired (husuli) or present (huduri). The former is either rational or transmitted. Transmitted knowledge splits into two types: the literary sciences and others.
Literary Sciences
The literary sciences number thirteen in total, all aiming to prevent the rhetorician from errors in speech — in word, meaning, and writing.
These literary sciences relate either solely to words, to both word and meaning, or to neither. Regarding words alone, they are either poetic or prose. The poetic branch includes three sciences: prosody (arud), rhyme (qafiyah), and poetry composition.
Concerning words in general, not restricted to poetry, there are five disciplines: morphology (sarf), grammar (nahw), language (lugha), derivation (ishtiqaq), and rhetoric (insha’).
Concerning both word and meaning, three sciences exist: semantics (ma‘ani), rhetoric or eloquence (bayan), and embellishment (badi‘).
Those that concern neither word nor meaning include calligraphy and the history of Arabic literature.
Each of these sciences and arts branches into numerous others, commensurate with the breadth and perfection of human literature.
Rational Sciences
The rational sciences divide into two sections: the sciences of the religious people and the human sciences, each taking various forms and branching into numerous other sciences and topics without end, owing to the vastness of human aptitude, which is naturally bestowed by God.
From every science and branch, important principles and true and conventional laws are derived from logic, natural philosophy, mathematics, and medicine, applied in the form of documented propositions across all categories of religion, each comprising multiple branches according to human capacity and diversity.
Present Knowledge and Shi‘ite Mysticism
The aforementioned are the acquired sciences in all their forms. Present knowledge (huduri), which is the external reality and the actual connection, alone deserves to be called knowledge. It is the path of mystical and spiritual gnosis, which appears in various forms and flavours. All aim at spiritual ascent, metaphysical connection, real union, and actual arrival at the Principle of the world and the God of creation.
The most perfect of these paths is the divine Shi‘ite mystical gnosis, whose foundation is solely the revelation, and whose principles are found only in the words of the infallible Imams, the guided and rightly led. They are the eminent ones of this truth and the gates of this sacred realm.
Those who attain this truth are few, indeed fewer than few. They are those singled out by God’s grace, acceptance, and election among His sincere servants.
Overview of the Sciences from Beginning to End
This is a general journey through the sciences, from their beginnings to their culmination, though the journey applies equally to all; not everyone is the same.
On Adab (Refinement/Education) in Man
Adab is innate in human nature, a divine endowment from God. It has been an indispensable aspect of human life from the earliest times until now, across all nations and religions. It is also one of the realities present in the world, undeniable by anyone. It is a widely known science and an array of various human arts in all their conceived forms throughout the ages and centuries, with varying degrees of importance.
The Two Types of Adab
Every group and nation has its own adab, known only to those who have acquired it or are cultivated by it. It is of two general types:
- First, theoretical adab: intellectual acquisition aimed at fully conveying meanings through complete speech, language, and all related fundamentals and rules necessary for the eloquent speaker in delivering the intended meaning.
- Second, practical adab: including both the communal ethics and morality arising from habits, states, and good or bad customs.
It is necessary here to examine these two types briefly and precisely in essential areas, viewing all historical periods as necessary with respect to their relevant matters and required issues in a general explanatory manner.
