The Conclusive Argument from God is the master work of Shah Wali Allah of Delhi (1762), considered to be the most important Muslim thinker of pre-modern South Asia. This work, originally written in Arabic, represents a synthesis of the Islamic intellectual disciplines authoritative in the eighteenth century.
In order to argue for the rational, ethical and spiritual basis for the implementation of the Hadith injunctions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Shah Wali Allah develops a cohesive scheme of the metaphysical, psychological, and social knowledge of his time.
This work provides an extensive and detailed picture of Muslim theology and interpretive strategies on the eve of the modern period and is still evoked by numerous contemporary Islamic thinkers.
Marcia K. Hermansen, Ph. D. (1982) in Islamic Studies, University of Chicago, is Professor at Theology Department, Loyola University, Chicago. She has published numerous articles on classical Islamic thought, mysticism, Islam in South Asia, Muslims in North America, and other topics.
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise be to God who created the human race with a predisposition to the religion of Islam and right-guidance, and formed them with a natural disposition for the clear, tolerant, easy, monotheistic (Hanifi)' religion. Then they became beclouded by ignorance and fell to the lowest of the low and suffering overtook them. Then God was merciful to them, gracious to them, and sent the prophets to them so that through them they would be brought out from the darkness to the light, and from the constricted place to the vast expanse, and He made obedience to Him conditional upon obedience to the prophets; how great an honor and exaltation! God made whomever He wished among their followers succeed in carrying on their teachings and in understanding the inner meanings of their laws, so that they became, through the blessing of God, possessors of their (the prophets ') secrets and winners of their lights, and there is no honor greater than that. Those counted among them were preferred over a thousand worshippers, and they ascended to Malakut" as great ones, and reached a level where the creatures of God pray for them, even the fish peep in the water. 0 God, grant blessings and peace upon them and their heirs as long as the earth and heavens remain. Among them may You accord our master, Muhammad, supported by the noble and clear signs, the best of blessings, the most noble of greetings, and the greatest felicity. May You shower upon his family and Companions the first rain of Your pleasure and reward them with the best of rewards.
This servant, who is in need of the mercy of God, who is the Most Generous One; Ahmad, called Wali Allah, the son of 'Abd al-Rahim, may God treat both him and his father with His great grace and make their descendants blessed and continuing, holds that the main topic in the fields of sciences of certainty ('ulum yaqiniyya) and their chief element, the basis of the religious disciplines and their foundation, is the discipline of the hadith reports.
In them is cited what proceeded from the greatest of the messengers, may God send peace and blessings upon him and on his all his family and Companions; whether (this is) a saying, or an action, or an acquiescence," for these are the lamps in the dark night and the signs of guidance and they are like the radiant full moon. The one who follows them and keeps them in mind is rightly- directed and guided and he is given great good.' The one who opposes them and turns away is misguided. He has fallen down and his soul only increases in ruin. For the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, forbade, commanded, warned, brought good tidings, coined similitudes and reminded them of God, and these are as extensive as the Qur'an or more SO.6 This discipline has ranks and its masters are at various degrees. It has outer shells, within them a kernel, and oysters in whose centers are pearls.
The learned scholars, may God have mercy on them, have sub- sumed under many headings the means for dealing with its elusive and problematic issues.
It may be thought that the rulings of the divine laws do not en- compass any aspect of the beneficial purposes (masalih) and that there is no relationship between human actions and that which Allah makes a requital for them, and that being obligated by the divine laws is like the case of a master who wants to test the obedience of his servant, so he orders him to lift a stone or to touch a tree something which has no use to it besides being a test, so that when he obeys or disobeys, he is requited for his action. This is a false idea which is refuted by the practice of the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, and the consensus of the generations whose goodness has been attested. The one who is incapable of recognizing that actions are considered in the light of the intentions and the psychological attitudes from which they emerge, only touches knowledge in the sense that a needle touches water when it is submerged in the ocean and then withdrawn. It is better that he should weep for himself rather than boast about his own ideas. The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, said, "Indeed, actions are judged according to the intentions, and God, may He be Exalted, said, "Their flesh and their blood will not reach Allah, but the devotion from you will reach Him.
Prayer was legislated in order to remember God and converse privately with Him, as God, may He be Exalted, said, "Undertake prayers in order to remember Me,4 and to be a preparation for the vision of God, may He be Exalted, and seeing Him in the next life, as the Messenger of God, may God's peace and blessings be upon him, said, "You will see the, Lord like you see this moon, and do not doubt that you will see Him, thus, if you are able to keep from being prevented from praying before sunrise and before sunset, perform the prayers. The alms tax (zakat) was legislated as a defense against the baseness of miserliness, and to suffice the needs of the poor people, as God, may He be Exalted, said about those who refused to pay zakat, "And let not those who hoard up that which Allah has bestowed on them of His bounty think that it is better for them. Rather, it is an evil for them. That which they hoard will be their collar on the day of Resurrection and as the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, said, "Inform them that God, may He be Exalted, has made charity a duty for them, taken from the rich among them and then given to their poor ones.
Fasting is ordained in order to subjugate the lower soul, as God the Exalted said, "That you might purify yourselves", and as the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, said, "The fast has the effect of curbing lust.
The pilgrimage was legislated to honor the emblems of God, as God, may He be Exalted, said, "Indeed the first sanctuary placed for people ... " He said, "As-Safa and al-Marwah are among the holy symbols of God." Retaliation (qisas) was legislated as a deterrent against killing, as God, may He be Exalted, said, "And there is life for you in retaliation, 0 men of understanding." The punishments (hudud) and the ways of atoning (kaffarat) were legislated as deterrents to disobedience, as God, may He be Exalted, said, "That he may taste the evil consequences of his act.'' The Jihad was legislated for promoting the word of God and making sedition cease, as God, may He be Exalted, said, "Then fight them until there is no sedition and religion is all for Allah." The rules of economic transactions (mu 'amalat) and marriage relationships were legislated to establish justice among them, and so forth with other issues indicated in the Qur'anic verses and the hadiths, and more than one of the scholars applied himself to this in every generation.
Therefore the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, on certain occasions explained the inner meanings of designating particular times, as he said about four (rak'ats) before the noon prayer, "This is an hour when the gates of heaven open, and I like that a righteous act from me ascends to heaven at that time." It is reported from him, may God's peace and blessings be upon him, about fasting on the day of 'Ashura," that the reason for its being legislated (originally) was the salvation of Moses and his people from Pharaoh on that day, and the reason for its being legislated among us is our following the practice of Moses, may peace be upon him.
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