DOCTRINE

OF
AL-HUSAYN IBN MANSUR AL-HALLAJ
FROM THE
CHAPTER ON THE EXPOSITION OF THE BELIEFS OF
THIS FOLD [THE SUFIS] ON QUESTIONS OF DOCTRINE
(Faslun fî bayân i‘tiqâd hâdhihi al-tâ’ifa fî masâ’il al-usûl)
FROM
AL-QUSHAYRI’S RISALA ILA AL-SUFIYYA
TRANSLATED WITH NOTES BY DR. G.F. HADDAD

[The numbering in brackets corresponds to our forthcoming translation of the paragraph chapters of al-
Qushayri’s entire Chapter on Doctrine from the beginning of his Risala (Eds. ‘Abd al-Halim Mahmud
and Mahmud ibn al-Sharif. Cairo: Rida Tawfiq ‘Afifi, 1974.)]

AL-HALLAJ is Abu Mughith al-Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj al-Baydawi al-Wasiti (d. 309) the
ascetic, he hailed from Persia and was raised in Iraq. He first accompanied al-Junayd, al-Nuri and
others then became known in 299. After accusations were raised to the ‘Abbasi Caliph al-Muqtadir
Billah he was jailed on charges of heresy, then tortured to death in unspeakable fashion. Many if not
most of the Ulema consider him one of the Friends (awliyâ’) of Allah, such as Ibn Khafif who visited
him in jail, Abu al-Qasim al-Nasir Abadi, al-Qushayri, Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah, Ibn al-Hajj, Ibn ‘Aqil – who
wrote Juz’ fi Nasr Karamat al-Hallaj(“Opuscule in Praise of al-Hallaj’s gifts”) –, Ibn Qudama, al-
Tufi, Ibn al-Mulaqqin, al-Munawi, al-Sha‘rani, etc. Among his sayings: “Take care of your ego; if you
do not make it busy, it shall make you busy” and “Whoever points to Him is an aspirant-Sufi whereas
whoever points on His behalf is a Sufi.”

AL-QUSHAYRI is Zayn al-Islam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Hawzan ibn ‘Abd al-Malik ibn
Talha ibn Muhammad al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi al-Istiwa’i al-Shafi‘i al-Ash‘ari (376-465), the
Teacher, “the absolute Imam, jurist, mutakallim, scholar of Principles, Qur’anic commentator, man of
letters, grammarian, writer, and poet, the spokesman of his time, leader among his contempo raries,
the secret of Allah in His creation, the Shaykh of shaykhs, the Teacher of the Congregation and most
advanced one of the Fold, the goal of those who tread the Path, the ensign of Truth, wellspring of Felic
ity, pole of Leadership, and grace personified. He never saw such as himself nor did any who saw him
ever see such as him in his perfection and brilliance. He gathered together the two sciences
of Sharî‘a and Haqîqaand explained in the best manner the principles of the Path” (‘Abd al-Ghafir al-
Farisi). He was also an expert in horse and swords manship. His Risala ila al-Sufiyyais the earliest
complete treatise of its kind and probably the most respected Sufi treatise in Islam.

DOCTRINE OF AL-HALLAJ ON THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES

AS NARRATED BY AL-QUSHAYRI

[16] Shaykh Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami – Allah have mercy on him! – told us: I heard
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ghalib say: I heard Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Sa‘id al-Isfanjani say: al-
Husayn ibn Mansur said: “You must categorically consider all to be contingent, for pre-existence
belongs to Him [alone].

[17] “All that appears through body is necessarily an accident (‘arad).

[18] “That whose assemblage comes about through cause-and-effect (al-adât) is held together through
its powers (quwâhâ).[1]

[19] “All that comes together at one time, goes into dispersion at another time.

[20] “All that something else causes to subsist is characterized by dependency.

[21] “All that imagination can possibly apprehend can be pictured.

[22] “All that is contained is subject to ‘where.’

[23] “And all that has a genus is the object of a modality.

[24] “No ‘above’ shades Him – Exalted is He! – nor does any ‘below’ carry Him.

[25] “No limit/direction faces Him (walâ yuqâbiluhu hadd) nor does any ‘at’ (‘ind) beset Him.

[26] “He is not confined by any ‘behind’ nor limited by any ‘before’.

[27] “No ‘before’ caused Him to appear nor did any ‘after’ cause Him to vanish.

[28] “No ‘all’ gathered Him.

[29] “No ‘He is’ brought Him into existence (lam yûjidhu kân).

[30] “No ‘He is not’ can cause Him to be missed (walam yufqidhu lays).

[31] “His description: He has none (wasfuhu lâ sifata lahu).[2]

[32] “His act has no cause (‘illa).

[33] “His being has no duration (amad).

[34] “He is transcendent beyond the states of His creatures: there is not for Him the least
deliberation (mizâj) in His creation, nor working (‘ilâj) in His acts.

[35] “He is clearly separate from them by His pre-existence (bâyanahum biqidamih) just as they are
clearly separate from Him by their contingent nature (kamâ bâyanûh bihudûthihim).[3]

[36] “If you ask ‘When?’ – His being is before Time.

[37] “Should you say, ‘HÛ’ – the letters hâ’ and wâw are but His creation.

[38] “And if you say, ‘Where?’ – His existence precedes Place.

 [39] “So letters are His Signs (fal-hurûfu âyâtuhu);[4]

[40] “His existence is the affirmation of Him (wujûduhu ithbâtuh);[5]

[41] “Gnosis of Him is the upholding of His Oneness (ma‘rifatuhu tawhîduh);[6]

[42] “and His Tawhîd is to distinguish Him clearly from His creatures.

[43] “Whatever you imagine in your imaginings, He is different from that (mâ tusawwiru fil-awhâmi
fahuwa bikhilâfih).

[44] “How can that which He Himself began analyze Him? (kayfa yahullu bihi mâ minhu bada’ahu).[7]

[45] “Or how can that be part of Him which He Himself gave rise to? (aw ya‘ûdu ilayhi mâ huwa
ansha’ahu).

[46] “The pupils of the eyes cannot see Him.

[47] “Nor can conjectures apprehend Him.

[49] “His nearness is His generosity (qurbuhu karâmatuhu).

[50] “His distance is His contempt (wabu‘duhu ihânatuhu).

[51] His elevation is without ascent (‘uluwwuhu min ghayri tawaqqul).[8]

[52] His coming is without displacement (wamajî’uhu min ghayri tanaqqul).[9]

[53] (He is the First and the Last and the Manifest and the Hidden) (57:3), the Near (al-qarîb), the
Far (al-ba‘îd),[10] (There is nothing what soever like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-
Seeing) (42:11).

[1]
“Such as life, death, poverty and wealth” (Sidi Mustafa Basir).
[2]
Al-Tabari narrates in his Tafsir on verses 39:67 and 114:1 from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, as well as Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn
Abi Hatim, Abu al-Shaykh in al-‘Azama, and al-Suyuti in al-Durr al-Manthur: “A group of Jews came to the
Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – and asked him: ‘O Muhammad! Now, Allah created creation, but who created
Him?’ At this the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – became angry so that his color changed and he upbraided
them on behalf of His Lord, whereupon Gibril – upon him peace – came and calmed him, saying: ‘Lower your wing
[of mercy], O Muhammad! for the answer came to me from Allah to what they are asking about. Allah says: [Say:
He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all! He begets not nor was begotten. And there is none
comparable unto Him] (112:1-4).’ When the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – recited it to them they
said, ‘Describe for us your Lord, what is His physical appearance, how are His arms and upper arms?’ At this the
Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – became even angrier than before and upbraided them again, whereupon Gibril
came again and told him the same thing as before, bringing him as the answer to what they had asked: (And they
esteem not Allah as He has the right to be esteemed. The whole earth is His handful on the Day of
Resurrection and the heavens are rolled in His right hand. Glorified is He and High Exalted from all that
they ascribe as partner (unto Him)) (39:67).”
[3]
“I.e. he completely differs from them because (There is nothing whatso ever like unto Him) (42:11)” (Sidi
Mustafa Basir).
[4]
“I.e. [letter are] the material of which are made His verses and evidences revealed to His Prophet Muhammad –
Allah bless and greet him –” (Mahmud and Sharif).
[5]
“I.e. It is not enough to believe He exists, but the evidence for its firm proof must be shown up and established”
(Mahmud and Sharif).
[6]
“I.e. Gnosis of Him with His Attributes is produced by upholding His Oneness” (Mahmud and Sharif). “Sidi ‘Abd
al-Salam ibn Mashish said: “O Allah, my Lord! Snatch me up from the quicksands of Tawhîd and drown me in the
wellspring of the ocean of your Unicity” (Allâhumma anshilnî min awhâli al-tawhîdi wa’aghriqnî fî ‘ayni bahri
wahdâniyyatik) (Sidi Mustafa Basir). Cf. Shaykh Nuh Keller, trans., Invocations of the Shadhili Order (p. 77-78):
“And pluck me from the mires of affirming unity, to the infinite space of singularizing the One, transcendently
beyond absoluteness or conditionedness; And drown me in the very sea of Oneness” (wanshulnî min awhâli al-
tawhîdi ilâ fadâ’i al-tafrîdi al-munazzahi ‘an al-itlâqi wal-taqyîdi wa’aghriqnî fî ‘ayni bahri al-wahda), cf. Awrad
al-Tariqa al-Shadhiliyya (p. 77-78).
[7]
“I.e. the mind” (Sidi Mustafa Basir).
[8]
“I.e. His elevation is over His slave and consists in majesty and greatness, not an elevation of place” (Mahmud and
Sharif).
[9]
“I.e. the coming of His favor and descent of His command is without [His] movement or displacement” (Mahmud
and Sharif).
[10]
“I.e. from the disbelievers as proven by the verse [Allah is the Protecting Friend of those who believe. He
brings them out of darkness into light. As for those who dis believe, their patrons are false deities. They bring
them out of light into dark ness] (2:257)” (Sidi Mustafa Basir). This is also in the sense of bâ’in as already stated.