THE CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT

FROM GOD
Shah Wali Allah of Delhi's
Hujjat Allah al-Baligha

TRANSLATED BY

MARCIA Κ. HERMANSEN

New Delhi-1 10002

 CONTENTS

Acknowledgments xiii
Translator's Introduction xv

The Conclusive Argument from God. Hujjat Allah al-Bàligha

VOLUME I
The General Principles from Which Are Derived the
Beneficial Purposes Considered in the Rulings of
the Divine Law

Shah Wali Allah's Preface 3

Shah Wali Allah's Introduction 11
BOOK I The First Investigation: The Causes of
Religious Obligations and Requital 31
1. Absolute Origination, Creation of the Material World
and Divine Management 33
2. The World of Images (Warn al-Mithal) 37
3. The Highest Council 43
4. God's Customary Way of Acting
(Sunna) 49
5. The True Nature of the Spirit (Ruh) 53
6. The Inner Dimension of the Imposition of Religious
Obligations 57
7. How Religious Obligation is Derived from What
is Divinely Decreed 60
8. Why Religious Obligation Necessitates Requital 69
9. The Variations in the Natural Dispositions of People.. 73
10. The Causes of the Thoughts Which Motivate
Actions 78
11. The Adhering of Acts to the Soul and Its Being Held
Accountable for Them 80
12. The Connection of Actions to Psychological
Attitudes 84
13. The Causes for Requital 87
viii CONTENTS

BOOK II The Second Investigation: The Manner of

Requital during Life and after Death 91
14. Punishment for Acts in This Life 93
15. The True Nature of Death 97
16. The Variation of the States of People in the
Intermediary World 101
17. Concerning Some of the Secrets of the Events
of the Day of Assembly 106
BOOK III The Third Investigation: The Supports of
Civilization (The lrtifaqat) 113
18. The Manner of Discovering the Irtifaqat 115
19. The First Irtifaq 119
20. The Art of the Proper Manner of Livelihood
(The Second Irtifaq) 121
21. The Management of the Household 123
22. The Art of Economic Transactions (Mu'amalat) 127
23. The Governing of the City-State (the Third Irtifaq)..,.. 129
24. The Conduct of Kings 132
25. The Policy towards Assistants . 134
26. The Fourth Irtifaq (the Caliphate) 137
27. The Agreement of People on the Principles of
the Irtifaqat 140
28. The Conventions Current Among People 142
BOOK IV The Fourth Investigation:
Human Felicity 145
29. Concerning the True Nature of Felicity 147
30. The Differences among People in Felicity 151
31. The Divisions among People in their Manner of
Obtaining This Felicity 153
32. The Principles to Which the Attainment of the
Second Way Goes Back 156
33. The Way of Acquiring These, Qualities 161
34. The Veils Preventing the Manifestation of the Sound
Original Nature (Fitra) 165
35. The Way of Removing These Veils 168
 CONTENTS ix

BOOK V The Fifth Investigation:

Piety and Sin 171
36. Preface: Concerning the True Nature of Piety
and Sin 173
37. The Unity of God (Tauhid) 175
38. Concerning the True Nature of Associationism (Shirk) 179
39. The Categories of Associationism (Shirk) 184
40. Belief in the Divine Attributes 190
41. Belief in Predestination 197
42. Belief that Worship is the Right of God, May
He be Exalted 203
43. Honoring the Emblems of Allah, May
He be Exalted 210
44. The Inner Meanings of the Ablution and Full Bath 214
45. The Inner Dimensions of Prayer 218
46. The Inner Meanings of the Zakat 221
47. The Inner Dimensions of the Fast 224
48. The Inner Dimensions of the Pilgrimage 227
49. The Inner Meanings of Various Types of
Pious Actions 229
50. The Ranks of Sin 232
51. The Harmful Influences of Sins 236
52. The Acts of Disobedience of a Person which
Have an Impact on Himself 238
53. The Sins which are Between a Person and
Other People 241
BOOK VI The Sixth Investigation:
The Regulation of Religion 245
54. The Need for the Guides to the Paths and the
Founders of Religions 247
55. The True Nature of Prophecy and Its
Characteristics 250
56. The Explanation of the Fact that the Basis of
Religion (Din) is One and the Religious Laws
(Shara'i') and Codes (Manahij) Vary 257
57. The Causes of the Revelation of the Divine Laws
Relating to One Age Rather than Another, and to
One People Rather than Another 262
 CONTENTS xi

76. The Difference Between the Beneficial Purposes

(Masalih) and the Religious Laws 376
77. The Way the Community Received the Divine
Law from the Prophet 383
78. The Ranks of the Books on Hadith 387
79. The Manner of Understanding What is Meant by the
Utterance (Kalam) 396
80. The Manner of Understanding the Legal (Shar'ï)
Meanings From the Qur'an and the Sunna 400
81. Judging Among Divergent Hadiths 405
82. The Causes of the Disagreement of the Companions
and the Successors Concerning Applied
Jurisprudence 414
83. The Causes for Disagreement Among the Schools
of the Jurists 427
84. The Difference Between the People of the Hadith
and Those Who Exercise Personal Opinion 437
85. An Account of the Condition of People Before the
Fourth Century and After 451

Bibliography 479

Indices 483

Qur'anic Citations 483

Hadith Citations-English 488

Subjects and Terms 496

Proper Names 503

χ CONTENTS

58. The Causes for Being Held Accountable for the

Codes (Manahij) - 271
59. The Secrets of the Ruling (Hukm) and the Reason
for Legislation ('Illα) 275
60. The Beneficial Interests (Masalih) which Require
the Obligatory Religious Acts, the Pillars, the Proper
Behaviors, and Their Like.... 280
61. The Inner Meanings of the (Appointed) Times 287
62. The Inner Meanings of the Numbers and the Fixed
Quantities 292
63. The Inner Meanings of Making Up (Qada)
(for Missed Religious Obligations) or Receiving
Dispensations (Rukhsa) (to Diminish Them) 299
64. The Establishment of the Supports of Civilization
(Irtifaqat) and the Reformation of Conventions 303
65. Rules which Bring into Effect Other Rules 310
66. Rendering the Ambiguous Precise, Solving the
Problematic, and Deriving Rulings from All-Embracing
Principles and So On 316
67. The Facilitation (of Religious Duties - Taisir) 322
68. The Inner Meanings of Encouragement
(to Righteousness) and Deterrence (from Sin) 327
69. The Ranks of the Community with Regard to
Arriving at the Desired Perfection or Its Opposite 334
70. The Need for a Religion which Abrogates the
Other Religions 340
71. Fortifying the Religion Against Distortion 346
72. The Causes for the Differing of the Religion of
Our Prophet, from the Religion of the Jews
and Christians 353
73. The Causes of Abrogation 357
74. The Explanation of What Had Been the Condition
of the People of the Jahiliyya which the Prophet
Reformed 361
BOOK VII The Seventh Investigation:
The Derivation of the Shari'a Laws from the
Reports of the Prophet 371
75. The Explanation of the Categories of the Prophet's
Knowledge 373