Al-afkaar And Al-mafaahem (thoughts And Concepts):
Thoughts are an expression about a specific sensed reality that is external or a reality that is envisioned in the mind. Being present externally means that it is a judgment upon a specific reality that expresses it by any means from amongst the means of expression. So if he comprehends or realises the meaning of this thought, in other words he comprehends the reality that has been judged upon and the judgement has been applied upon it perfectly and affirmation has resulted via the application of the thought upon its reality, then this thought would become the regulator of the behaviour that is linked to that reality. In other words the comprehension of the thought has occurred and it has been affirmed (in application) and as such the thought would have become a concept. However if he was not to comprehend its meaning or affirmation (Tasdeeq) does not occur then this thought or this expression of the thought remains merely as information that is stored in the brain. The human may then require this (information) when a certain reality for it comes into being or opposes it. However if the expression or wording does not have a reality or cannot be conceived to have a reality, or it is not possible to envisage a reality for it, then this expression would represent no more than fiction, illusions and myths.
The following represents in summary the collections of knowledge that the human possesses:
a) Knowledge that he has comprehended its reality in a true manner and it has been affirmed and believed in, by the application of that knowledge upon its reality, in a decisive way. In other words certainty has been attained in relation to the application of that knowledge (Ma’rifah) upon its reality which has been built upon rational (intellectual) evidence (Daleel ‘Aqli) i.e. the judgement of the human mind that has occurred by the inevitable application of this knowledge upon its reality. This can occur either by a direct judgement from the mind (intellect) like the judgment that is made upon sensed and tangible matters in regards to their existence.
Fundamental Aqeedah thoughts fall into this category like the belief in Allah, that the Qur’aan is the speech of Allah, the belief that Muhammad (saw) is the Prophet of Allah (swt) and the belief in Al-Qadaa Wa-l-Qadr, or thoughts that are related to sensed and tangible things that we interact with which exist.
Or it can be a rational or intellectual judgement that is derived from a Daleel Naqli (Transmitted evidence) which has been confirmed in origin by the ‘Aql (mind/intellect) like the thoughts of the Aqeedah that do not fall under the senses such as the belief in angels, the resurrection, Jannah, the fire and the Day of account amongst other beliefs or information that the mind decisively has certainty in and is impossible to falsify or deny like the Mutawaatir informative (Khabariy) texts.
b) There is a secondary level of knowledge which is the knowledge which has been affirmed and believed in and its reality has been comprehended. However this belief contains some doubt and has not reached the level of Yaqeen (certainty). So the ‘Aql (mind/intellect) is not decisively certain about that which has been transmitted to it and as such it is not able to deny the possibility of error, forgetfulness or that what has been transmitted to him can hold more than one possible meaning. Therefore he suffices by outweighing one of its meanings that the text allows and this applies to the concepts (Mafaaheem) of the Shar’iyah, knowledge of the Aqeedah that is derived from Aahaad (single line) narrations, the Shar’iyah rulings that are derived from the detailed evidences or knowledge related to history, linguistics and other areas in which the correct understanding is outweighed.
c) A type of Knowledge where its reality has not been fully comprehended or the extent of its application upon the reality has not been fully conceived or comprehended. This means that the mind is able to envisage that it has a reality and can apply it upon this reality. It is therefore a Fikrah (thought) i.e. a judgment upon a particular or specific reality however the Tasdeeq (affirmation/belief) does not occur in regards to it which means that the affirmation has not occurred in relation to its application upon that reality. These types of thoughts occur very numerously throughout the course of the history of human life in general and knowledge related to Geography and Astronomy are equal in terms of affirmation and belief and not believing and the like of this type of knowledge represents thoughts. This means they are judgements upon a particular reality and every aspect of knowledge within them transforms into a Mafhoom (concept) when evidence is obtained that confirms the correctness of these thoughts and their application upon their realities. This is whether the evidence is ‘Aqliy like witnessing or seeing a thing or matter, or if it is Naqliy (transmitted) when we trust the truthfulness of the one who has transmitted the knowledge of a matter to us.
d) A type of knowledge where its reality is not fully comprehended or it does not apply upon the reality that it is describing and this type of knowledge remains stored in the mind as information alone. Therefore they do not lead to elevation because they have become thoughts or concepts that the human may need in specific circumstances like to confirm their falsity or reveal their error. This is like knowledge about the capitalist ideology, freedom, democracy or communism amongst others which merely represent information.
So for example the reality that communism discusses in relation to thinking has a comprehended and perceived reality however the judgment upon this reality when stating that it is the reflection of matter upon the brain is an incorrect judgment that does not apply to the reality of thinking.
The same applies in respect to the reality that capitalism discusses in relation to democracy when it states that it is the rule of the people and by the people. Despite this reality being comprehended the judgment upon it however is that it is incorrect because the rule of the people by the people is not (in actual fact) realised. This is because the people do not lay down their constitution or their laws but rather it is only a specific group from amongst the people that do this.
e) A type of knowledge that does not have a reality and it is not possible to envisage and see a reality for it. In addition it is not possible to study and look into it in terms of its application or non applicability upon a reality. These are the illusions, myths and imaginary fictions which include the like of goblins, phoenixes and science fiction amongst other matters that are imaginary and mythical.
The above is the reality of the collection of different types of knowledge that a human can gain in his life and whether these were gained through experimentation or imitation or by acquisition and derivation or by reading it in a book or hearing it from another person or through any other means. However when he acquires any knowledge then the origin is that he receives it as a thought so that it becomes part of his knowledge bank and even if the source was other than him. What we mean by receiving it as a thought or intellectually, is that he understands the meanings of the worded expressions and sentences that he is reading or hears or sees. He then attempts to envisage for that a sensed reality and then he attempts to apply what he has read or heard upon that envisaged reality or what it is expressed upon. If it applies upon it then it is viable to be correct or it is correct and as such it would become part of his concepts that affect his conduct and control his behaviours when he proceeds to satisfy his hungers or fulfil his wants.
If however he is unable to envisage a reality for it or is unable to apply it upon an envisaged reality then he will deny it and it would remain in his mind as mere information that has been confirmed to be false or has been unable to confirm its correctness. In addition Tasdeeq (affirmation/confirmation) has not occurred in respect to it and as such will not be a Mafhoom (concept) for him and will not have an impact or effect upon his conduct and behaviours.
The reason behind presenting the meanings of these types of human knowledge and distinguishing between them is so that the effect of the concepts upon the conduct of the human and his behaviour can be understood. This is the same whether these concepts include those concepts that are about things or they are concepts about life. The behaviour of the human and his behaviour in relation to satisfying his hungers and fulfilling his wants is the sign that indicates his elevation or his low level and decline. He can either rise to a high level and be better than the angels or he can fall down and become more astray than the animals.
They are not except live-stock, rather indeed they are even further astray from the path (Al-Furqaan 44).
For this reason it is essential to know the thoughts and the concepts in a manner that makes us capable of distinguishing the sound correct thoughts from those that are incorrect and to know the elevated thoughts and distinguish them from the declined thoughts, and to distinguish between the shallow thought, the deep thought and the enlightened thought. All of this is so that the concepts of the human and his thoughts are elevated correct concepts that he has taken with awareness and in an enlightened manner so that he can be elevated by them to the level that Allah has wanted for him to ascend to. In other words that he is elevated to the level of a human being.
A close examination to distinguish between the thoughts and concepts in regards to being elevated or declined requires for there to be a principle or principles to act as a basis by which these thoughts and concepts can be judged. Built upon this principle or principles the thoughts can be classified and in order to distinguish between the wheat and the chaff (i.e. good from the waste) and the correct from the incorrect. So we must utilise the precise criteria when making judgement in relation to understanding every thought and every concept. Otherwise the colours will become blurred and the vision will become fuzzy and the human will be puzzled between the righteous and wicked, the good and the bad, and the pretty and ugly. So what then is this principle, criteria and measurement that we are required to use to pass judgement and which will then be used to establish that which is elevated and what is declined?
The answer is as follows:
Our subject area is the human being who lives in this existence in this life and who seeks revival, elevation and to proceed on the path of completeness. Will he be able to achieve this without knowing the meaning of his existence in life and the meaning of this temporal life that he must spend time in? This is particularly the case as he can see himself as just one individual from amongst the humans who lives with a collection of people along with other living creatures upon this earth which lies within a vast universe!! There is a vast difference between the human looking at himself as being Zaid or ‘Amr and between looking at himself as a human. This vast difference would be revealed with absolute clarity if we were to follow some of the steps in regards to it. As such the furthest point of decline is represented in his adoption of that individualistic self-centred view, that view which is a reaction to the survival instinct and the manifestations of the survival instinct are indeed many. His individualistic view could expand and widen a little and expand beyond himself so that he sees that he is the son of so and so and that he has brothers and sisters, and that he is member of a family that he loves. And he likes to be the master of it which is another manifestation of the survival instinct which means that he is still behaving according to the instinctive reaction. This view could then extend further to include his wider family, tribe, village or town that he lives in and the result of this can be seen very clearly amongst those who link the name of their town or village to a certain name like Zaid Al-Khaleeli or ‘Amr Al-Baghdaadi. This view could widen even further to become nationalistic (Wataniyan) belonging to the soil and earth so he is then called Misry (Egyptian), or Shaami (From the Levant), or Hindi (Indian) amongst other namings. His horizons and vision could widen even more to include the Qawm (a people i.e. Arabs) that he belongs to and as such he becomes Qawmi (A wider Nationalist). Despite all of this expansion he did not elevate to arrive to the level of the human being. Allah had honoured him and created him in the best of moulds and yet he did not see himself as a human being who lives amongst others from amongst mankind.
From this fundamental view towards existence, life and the human we are able to distinguish between the elevated thought and the declined or low level thought. So if we were to draw an explanatory line we would place the lowest level of the human being at zero. This zero would guide towards the view of the human in terms of him being a human being. As for that which is less than this point then this would represent the beginning point of decline like from Qawmiyyah (nationalism related to a people) to regionalism to the wider family network until it reaches the end (of the chain) i.e. the self-centred individual. As for elevation then this begins from adopting the view of the human in terms of him being a human being until he is able to reach the highest level based on this view. This is when he fully comprehends that he is the slave of Allah and as such adopting the view of the human as a human represents elevated thought or the beginnings of intellectual elevation whilst anything less than this view represents a declined thought or a low level one. As for climbing the stairs of elevation and attempting to revive this human, then this is represented in the answer to the other question, which attaining knowledge about the meaning of the human’s existence in life. And any study or thought in regards to defining the meaning of life and the meaning of the human being within it represents and elevated study irrespective of the results that are reached. It is the type of thought that leads to revival irrespective of whether this revival is correct or incorrect.
From this perspective the first criteria in relation to a thought being elevated or declined is comprehensiveness. So if the thought is comprehensive in encompassing the reality that is being investigated and not restricted to one area, case or circumstance then this thought would possess the attribute from amongst the attributes of the elevated thought which is the attribute of being comprehensive. As such if the thought is not comprehensive then it will not be elevated.
As for the second attribute from amongst the attributes of the elevated thought, it is the depth in the study or investigation and to begin from the beginning, where the fundamental true reality of the matter that is being studied is reached. So this happens when he examines the universe, life or the human being and he does not just take one of its aspects or manifestations but rather it is necessary for his view to be deep so that he knows the basis from which this reality that he is investigating arose from. So when for example he examines the human being, it is necessary for his view to encompass the type of this human from the very beginning which necessitates knowing whether this human is Azaly (eternal) or a creation of a creator. From there he moves on to knowing what this human is made up of and what distinguishes him from the other living creatures. He then moves on to knowing or understanding the drives and motives that lead him into motion and action and whether he is compelled to undertake these actions or acts according to his choice. He studies this amongst other matters that would make it a deep fundamental thought about this human being. And when he undertakes this study he does not do so merely to increase his intellectual wealth, to develop a philosophical opinion or just to increase his knowledge and information. Rather he undertakes it because he is a human who lives in this life within this wide existence (universe) and this is because he wants to know the meaning of his existence within life. He will not be able to arrive at this knowledge unless he knows and understands the beginning of this existence that he is living within and the direction that it is heading to. And built upon his answer to that (whether it is correct or incorrect) he defines his conduct and regulates his behaviours. This depth in the study is the second characteristic or attribute of the elevated thought and by establishing that we have established its true reality. This is that the elevated thought is the thought that is characterised by comprehensiveness and depth. This is the thought that is fitting for the human as a human being and it is the thought that leads to Nahdah (revival). It is the thought that is viable and sound for the human if he wants to tread the path of revival and elevation. Otherwise he would decline falling to the depths of animals, indeed animals would be better than him.
They are not except live-stock, rather indeed they are even further astray from the path (Al-Furqaan 44).
It is for this reason that we find the Lord of the worlds and all creation directing us towards this type of thinking in hundreds of Aayaat like His (swt)’s speech:
Have they not looked at the heaven above them - how We structured it and adorned it and [how] it has no rifts?
And the earth - We spread it out and cast therein firmly set mountains and made grow therein [something] of every beautiful kind.
Giving insight and a reminder for every servant who turns [to Allah].
And We have sent down blessed rain from the sky and made grow thereby gardens and grain from the harvest And lofty palm trees having fruit arranged in layers.
As provision for the servants, and We have given life thereby to a dead land. Thus is the resurrection.
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding.
Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
And a sign for them is the dead earth. We have brought it to life and brought forth from it grain, and from it they eat.
(Ya Seen 33).
O people, an example is presented, so listen to it. Indeed, those you invoke besides Allah will never create [as much as] a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose. And if the fly should steal away from them a [tiny] thing, they could not recover it from him. Weak are the pursuer and pursued.
(Al-Hajj 73).
Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]?
(At-Tur 35).
And have you seen the water that you drink?
Is it you who brought it down from the clouds, or is it We who bring it down?
O mankind, what has deceived you concerning your Lord, the Generous.
Who created you, proportioned you, and balanced you?
O mankind, indeed you are labouring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.
The above selection represents just some from amongst a great number of Aayaat which address the faculty of the human mind. They address him as a human and bring his attention to that which is around him in terms of life and impresses upon him the need to pay attention to this vast universe that he lives in.
Similarly the Aayaat bring his attention to focus upon the thing or matter in respect to its source:
Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]?
(At-Tur 35).
And we have made everything from water. Will they not (then) believe (Al-Anbiyaa 30).
This is in terms of the elevation and decline in the thinking. As for distinguishing between the shallow thought, the deep thought and the enlightened thought then there are different criteria for this and principles that are used to determine the level of this thought. It is worth noting however that is still considered a thought and a judgment upon a reality and whatever the level of shallowness that is reached it is still considered to be a thought. It is distinguished from the instinctive reaction and is distinguished from imitation and simulation, and its possessor is raised to the level of a human and it represents viewing the human as a human being. It is the product of the human mind and the fruit of an intellectual effort otherwise it would not be fitting for revival or to proceed towards the path of completeness, or to transfer an individual or society to a better state and condition.
The shallow thought means to judge upon the most basic or simple aspects or appearances of things and their realities without knowing that thing or reality and understanding it well, like knowing what it is or the basis that it has emanated from, or the circumstances that surround it, or without possessing significant information about it and without attempting to obtain the information that explains that reality. Or the one who accepts information that has been explained to him whilst this thought is distinguished by shallowness or naivety. It is very easy to deceive people who are characterised by this thinking which is done through deceptive displays or appearances, sweet speech and false promises. In addition a society in which the like of these shallow thoughts dominate remains in the hands of its leaders and rulers. These people are led by resounding charismatic speeches, moved by the stirring of emotions and are satisfied with the least of gains or outcomes. And how truthful were the words of the one who described these people with the words: ‘They are gathered by the drum and they are dispersed by the stick’. And how great the number of examples there are in our society which reflect this shallowness and how often do the people hasten towards thoughts which on the outside appear to be merciful whilst their inside (and true reality) bring suffering. This is so that the leaders and rulers are capable of taming the people and of bringing them down to the level of despair and despondency whilst leading them to accept any solution that the leader or ruler chooses for them. The most vivid example of the shallowness of the people is reflected in how easy it is to lead them by utilising deceptive mirages and fake appearances, and this state of affairs repeats itself time and time again. The best example of this is the issue of Palestine and the situations that is has passed through since its beginning until this hour. Room and possibilities have still been left available for the leaders and rulers to take Palestine as a means to achieve their aims or implement their desires or those of their masters by bringing the Ummah to a condition and state of despair, hopelessness and surrender despite its reality not differing much from the remaining Muslim lands. There (real) issue is the same issue and it does not differ except from the angle of the appearance that has been cast upon it. This is because all of the Muslim lands suffer from the same reality Palestine suffers from and the process of taming the Muslims is one single process even if its manifestations are many. So Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi and Yemen are all the same in relation to the desire to tame the people and make them accept the rulings of Kufr (disbelief).
The shallow thought as we have stated is the judgement upon the most simple manifestation of a specific reality without paying attention to the truth of this reality and without expending effort to understand this true reality by knowing its causes and effects or to understand the basis that it has emanated from or what is built upon it. This in addition to not knowing or understanding its circumstances, conditions and what is related to it. For example: When we here a commotion outside in the street we go out to see a mass of people raising banners and shouting slogans. It would in this case be shallow or superficial to find it enough to state that what has been witnessed is merely a demonstration. It is higher and more elevated to expend effort to know and understand what lies behind it and which parties or groups are leading it. And it would be even more elevated to know the real goals and motives that are hidden behind this demonstration and what the circumstances, conditions and realities are that has driven this party to organise a protest. It would also be necessary to make effort to understand if there is behind this party leading the protest any other influence or direction that has pushed this party in the direction of demonstrating in order to achieve a specific aim or objective.
All of this is necessary so that when we issue our judgment upon the reality it is correct or near to being correct. It is sufficient for our judgement to have been deep and not merely restricted to one manifested reality from amongst the manifestations related to that reality. Rather we would have expended effort to understand the reality according to its true reality and we would have examined the factors, objectives, circumstances and conditions that relate to this incident and after that we would have issued a judgement.
Another example: A young man wishes to marry; he sees a beautiful girl and then judges from her appearance that she is suitable to be his wife. This is a shallow and superficial judgement. It would be more elevated to know whether she is already married or not? Is she healthy or sick? Is she able to speak or is she mute? Is she fertile or barren? And even more elevated than that would be for him to know her family from her father? And what house she is living in? And even more elevated than this would be to understand her viewpoint towards life and what her beliefs are? What thought does she carry? If he fulfils this study and gains an understanding of this reality then his judgement upon this reality would become elevated and close to what is correct.
Another example: When we listen to a text that is read out or we read a subject. If our reading or listening to that text was for the sake of killing time or self-amusement or if it was absent in terms of vision and depth in regards to comprehending its meanings or we were unable to do that, then we would pass a superficial or shallow judgement upon this text. However when we examine its literary form and make effort to know its conformity to the rules of the language, then in this case we can make a judgment from a literary angle and aspect. However when we try to contemplate its meanings and understand the reality upon which it applies, to know the one who has compiled the text and the occasion or circumstances in which it was made, then we would have taken from this text or this study an intellectual taking which is far from superficiality or shallowness. Our judgement upon it would then be a deep judgement that is far away from shallowness and superficiality as a result.
As for the deep thought, it is also a judgment upon a reality however it requires the knowledge of the reality and is not restricted to one manifestation from amongst its manifestations or one particularity from amongst its particularities.
Knowing and understanding matters and things requires knowledge of its partialities and specificities so that there minute composition can be arrived at. As for understanding the realities and events then it is necessary to know and understand the sides involved in the dispute and the matter being disputed over, in addition to the circumstance or conditions that the dispute is occurring upon and the direct causes and indirect causes for it if they exist. As for understanding the legislative text then this requires another matter as it requires wide knowledge needed to interpret the text and understand it, in addition to expending effort to distinguish between the legislative text and the literary text or algebraic text and so on. It also requires wide knowledge needed to understand the indications of the worded expressions whether they are literal or metaphorical and to comprehend the meanings of the sentences and compositional structures. If all of this knowledge is present and we have expended effort to judge upon the text or understand it, we would have then judged upon it or understood it correctly or close to that which is correct. This is the deep thought.
However it still remains incomplete and falls short in fulfilling all that the study requires. This is because things, matters and realities have circumstances and conditions that have an effect upon them and they have related matters that it is necessary to comprehend whilst these circumstances, conditions and related matters are not part of the things, matters, realities or events. So studying a poem does not mean that the poet is known, or the circumstance in which it was said or written are known, just as understanding a destructive explosion does not mean that the one who is behind it is known or the aim behind it or who ordered it to be done are known. Depth in the study does not lead to the arrival of these matters because the depth in the study is restricted to the partialities of a matter, its structured composition and its laws. As for what lies around it and what is related to it then this lies outside of the deep study and rather it requires during the study shedding light upon that which surrounds the studied matter to know what surrounds it and what is related to it because it is not (actually) part of it.