December 2012 | pp.

195-220

The Early Isma l -Sh Notion of the World-Maker: The Intellect, the Soul, and the Lord of Creation and Revelation
Shin Nomoto
This paper discusses how the early Neoplatonist Isml thinkers in the fourth A.H. /tenth century C.E. interpreted the Lord of Creation and revelation in the Islamic teaching within the framework of their negative theology, according to which no human being can directly recognize the Mubdi (the Originator), that is, the real God. For this purpose we use the texts by Muh ammad al-Nasaf (d. 332/943), Ab H tim al-Rz (d. 322/934), and Ab Yaqb al-Sijistn (d. after 361/971), who had a great role in introducing Neoplatonism into Ismlism. Based on analysis of these texts and achievements of recent scholarship, this paper suggests that the two highest hypostasesthe Universal Intellect (al-Aql al-Kull, or the Intellect) and the Universal Soul (al-Nafs al-Kullyah, or the Soul)take the roles of the Lord of Creation (that is, the Demiurge or world-maker) and the Lord of Revelation.

I. Introduction
To begin with, I would like to situate our common theme for this issue of Horizons, Demiurge: The World-Maker in the Platonic Tradition, in the Abrahamic monotheist context of Islamic thought. Thus I will contrast the Greek concept of the divine being(s) who forms the cosmos by the arrangement of its materials with the Islamic concept of the One and Only God as the Creator (Khliq, Bri) of the Heavens and the Earth, that is, the God who can be interpreted as being the Creator of the Cosmos ex nihilo

2012 by the Institute of Humanities, Seoul National University

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(from nothing).1 These two concepts of God can be connected to a broader issue in Islamic history, namely, whether or not it is possible to have the harmonious coexistence of Greek knowledge and Islamic knowledge. With respect to knowledge about God, this issue was hotly debated between mutakallimn (sg. mutakallim), or theologians (one of whose most influential representatives is Ab mid al-Ghazl, 450505 A.H./1058 1111 C.E.),2 and falsifah (sg. faylasf), or philosophers, especially on the eternity of the cosmos/world and Gods volitional creation.3 Many studies have already been written on the debate on the concept of God in relation to the createdness and the eternity of the world.4 This paper will instead pay attention to another issue concerning God, namely, His transcendence above His created beings. The presence of a strong tradition of apophatism, or negative theologythat is, the speculation on Gods absolute transcendencecan be observed in various intellectual trends in Islam, among which we can cite the example of Isml-Sh Muslims.5 As will be seen below, the Ismls adopted Neoplatonist cosmology with other elements of Greek thought in the fourth/tenth century, thus
1

Here and throughout, the Islamic (Hirji) calendar date is given first, followed by its Common Era equivalent; hereafter the abbreviations A.H. and C.E. are omitted.
2

For a survey of Islamic concepts and ideas of God, see Gardet, Allh. Specifically for a survey of Islamic ideas of creation, see Arnaldez, Khal; Burrell, Creation; and Peterson, Creation; also see other words for creator in these articles. Mentioning khliq, the agent of khalq (creation), and baryah, that of bri, Arnaldez points out that bri and khalq are synonymous with each other, and cites other related words from the Qurn, such as al- Muawwir (the Maker) (Q 59:24), (Khal, 98081), al-ni (Artisan), al-Bad (Inventor), etc. Also cf. Burrells translation of some of these words: al-Bri as the Producer; al-Bad as the Absolute Cause; and al- Muawwir as the Fashioner. For the reception of Platos Timaeus into Islamic thought, see Rowson, A Muslim Philosopher, especially 25361; Walker, Platonism in Islamic Philosphy, 610; and Walzer, Afln.

4 On this issue with special reference to al-Ghazl, whose discussion is one of the most influential examples of it, recent works include Frank, Creation and the Cosmic System; Griffel, Al-Ghazls Philosophical Theology; and Marmura, Translators Introduction. 5

3 A most famous case of the debate as such is al-Ghazls Tahfut al-Falsifah (Incoherence of the Philosophers). As one of the most problematic doctrines of disbelief ascribed to the philosophers, Al-Ghazl cited and refuted the doctrine of the eternity of the world, which is closely related to the issue of Gods creation. See al-Ghazl, The Incoherence/Tahfut. For the relation of al-Ghazls thought to Muslim Peripatetic philosophy, see Griffel, Al-Ghazls Philosophical Theology, an excellent recent study on the subject.

For a survey of the development of negative theology in the history of Muslim Neoplatonism and mystical philosophy, see Netton, Allh Transcendent.

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systematizing their theology, which is thought to have already had an inclination toward a via negativa approach to the issue of God. Thereafter they developed the radical doctrine of negative theology that denies any possibility of human recognition of God and totally detaches Him from any attributes of the beings created by Him. This sort of theology requires us to solve the problem of how to explain the phenomenon of revelation, that is, the communication between the unknowable God and humankind.6 Also we can ask the question: Do any of the hypostatic beings in Neoplatonist Isml cosmology play the role of Demiurge? This paper will attempt to answer this by basing itself on the accomplishments of a number of scholars who have recently published work on Isml studies.7 Thus I will offer the general overview of early Neoplatonist Isml negative theology that is accepted in recent scholarship, with special reference to Gods and the higher beings relation to humankind. For this purpose I will focus on texts by the following thinkers who played a great role in introducing Neoplatonism into Ismlism: Muammad al-Nasaf (d. 332/943), Ab tim al-Rz (d. 322/934), and Ab Yaqb al-Sijistn (d. after 361/971).8

To determine the death years of the Isml thinkers in this paper, I follow Daftary, Ismaili Literature, and Poonawala, Biobibliography. The idea of the world-maker or Demiurge in Ismlism has already been discussed by De Smet (La quitude, 26470, and 31177) and Halm (Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 7590). De Smets main focus is on the development of cosmology by amd al-Dn al-Kirmn (d. after 411/1022). As discussed below, al-Kirmn saw the cosmological paradigm differently from Isml Neoplatonism in its early phase. Halm sees the development of the Gnostic idea of the hubris of the Demiurge extending from the earliest phase of Ismlism and al-Kirmn to postKirmnian cosmogony in the Yaman and the Druzes, another offshoot from the Ismls. However, he also sees that, in early Isml Neoplatonists, the hubris went into hiding behind the scenes (Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 135). Therefore an independent study is needed on the idea of the world-maker among the early Neoplatonist Isml thinkers discussed below.
8

7 These leading distinguished scholars in contemporary Isml studies include F. Daftary, H. Halm, A. Hamdani, T. Kikuchi, H. Landolt, I. K. Poonawala, D. De Smet, W. Madelung, P. E. Walker, etc.

For the viewpoint with respect to revelation as the communication between God and human beings, I owe much to Ess, Verbal Inspiration?; Izutsu, Gengo Gensh; and Madigan, Revelation and Inspiration.
6

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II. Background: Who Were (Are) the Isma l -Sh s?

A. The Isma l s in Islamic Middle East History
The origin of the Isml-Shs is thought to have been a group in the eighth century C.E. who supported the succession of Isml, one of the sons of an influential imm, Jafar al-diq (80 or 83-148/699-700 or 7023-765), from the line of al-usayn, the second son of Al b. Ab lib, in the dispute on the imamate.9 Consequently, they split from their original group, the then main branch of the usayn-Shs, some of whom later developed into the Twelver- or Ithnashar-Shs, who now constitute the overwhelming majority of the Sh population among Muslims. The next hundred years or so of the Isml movement can be regarded as the dark age of their history because of the paucity of records of their activities during this period. However, in the second half of the third/ninth century they suddenly made their appearance on the stage of Islamic history as a radical Shah sectarian group who predicted the imminent advent of the Messiah, titled the Mahd (Rightly Guided One) or the Qim (One Who Rises). The Isml movement bore its greatest fruit with the foundation of the Fimid Imamate-Caliphate (297567/9091174), which claimed the sole legitimate leadership of the Islamic community in present-day Tunisia, and with its conquest of Egypt and the extension of power to Syria and al-Hijz. The Qarmas, also an Isml subgroup faithful to the original Isml messianism, founded their state in the eastern coastal area of the Persian Gulf. Thus, along with the Buwayhids (320-454/932-1062), who followed other form(s) of Shism (i.e. Zaidism originally and later supported Ithnaasharism), these Isml activities contributed to the rise of Sh political powers and intellectual movement in the fourth/tenth century.10
For a survey of the history of the Ismls, see Daftary, The Ismls. Specifically for the early phase of the Isml movement, see Halm, Das Reich (English trans. as The Empire). Also cf. Brett, The Rise of the Fatimids. For an overview of Islamic history from the second/eighth to fourth/tenth centuries, see, for example, Berkey, The Formation of Islam, 11173.
9 10

For the Ismls flourishing intellectual and political activities, this century has been called the Sh century of the history of the Islamic Middle East. However, M. G. S. Hodgson, while recognizing the ascendance of the Shs in this century, urges us not

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Both the Fimids and the Qarmas aimed at replacing the Islam of the Sunn establishment, represented by the Abbsid Caliphate (132656/749 1258).11 Thus each of the Ismls advocated for its own version of Islaman alternative Islam, so to speak. As later historical development shows, their ambitious project did not gain success. However, their intellectual influence remained, and seems to have survived their political catastrophes, such as the abolition of the Fimid Caliphate in 567/1171 at the hands of the Sunn military wazr, the first Ayyubid ruler in Egypt, al al-Dn, or Saladdin (r. 56498/116993), and the fall of the castles in the mountains of Iran into the hands of the Mongols in the second half of the 650s/1250s.12

B. The Early Isma l Neoplatonist School

From the third/ninth to the fourth/tenth centuries, there flourished the translation movement centered in Baghdd. Under the patronage of almost the entire elite class, the Greek and Syriac scientific works were translated into Arabic. Philosophical works were the last of those which were translated.13 In this age, the circle of Ab Ysuf Yaqb al-Kind (ca. 185-252/ca. 801-66) contributed to popularization of some Neoplatonist works, the most famous (or infamous) of which is Uthlujiya Arisls (The theology of Aristotle), which is actually a paraphrased and abridged version of Books IVVI of Plotinus Enneades. Also there is a part of Proclus
to take this expression as meaning their dominance of the Middle East in that period. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. 2, 3642.

Claiming to be the Alid Imms from the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of the Prophet), the Fimids made an attempt to found the sole legitimate rule of the Islamic community. In contrast, being faithful to the original Isml messianism, the Qarmaians propagated the imminent appearance of the Messianic Qim. This led them to the pillage of Makkah (Mecca) in 317/930 and to the declaration of a young Ifahn as the Mahd in 319/931, which resulted in a complete failure. See Daftary, The Ismls, 11626, 147 54; Madelung, Fatimiden und Bahraynqarmaten; idem, Das Imamat, 6586; idem, Religious Trends, 9597; Halm, Das Reich, 6467, 22536 (6266, 25064 in English translation).
11 12

13

On the possibility of Isml influence on some thinkers from different intellectual trends, see note 17 below.

For an overview of this translation movement, see Gutas, Greek Thought; for the social background of the movement, especially its patronage, see ibid., chapter 6 (Patrons, Translators, Translations), 12150.

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Elements of Theology in an Arabic paraphrased version, under the title Kalm f Mad al-Khayr (A discourse on the pure good; translated into Latin as Liber de causis). Some Neoplatonist thought can also be found in a very popular book called Kitb Ammuniys f r al-Falsifah bi-Ikhtilf alAqwl f al-Mabdi (On the opinions of the philosophers on the difference of the speeches with respect to the principles; or The doxography of Pseudo-Ammonius, for short). These texts, written anonymously or under pseudonyms, contributed (though it is not only they that contributed) to the diffusion of Neoplatonism among Muslim intellectuals.14 The influence of Neoplatonism reached the Ismls in the first half of the fourth/tenth century. Thus there appeared thinkers who were under Neoplatonist influence, such as Muammad al-Nasaf, Ab tim al-Rz, and Ab Yaqb al-Sijistn. Being under the non-Fimid, Qarmaian leadership, they operated as missionary activists (dut, sg. d) in the Persian-speaking area and its surroundings. Because of the area of their activities, they are called die persische Schule (the Persian school).15 Also in this century there were other trends among Isml thinkerssuch as al-Q al-Numn (d. 363/974) and Jafar b. Manr al-Yaman (d. ca. 346/957), who worked for the Fimid courtthat fall beyond the scope of this paper. The above-mentioned Isml thinkers who were influenced by Neoplatonism adopted from Plotinus his cosmological model of the three hypostases, or three principal beingsthat is, the One, the Intellect, and the Soulwhich constitute its highest part. With respect to cosmology, a revolutionary change was introduced by amd al-Dn al-Kirmn. That is to say, he introduced the model of the cosmos the formation of which is based on the ten Intellects, which indicates a paradigm different from the model of the three principal beings.16 It has been argued that alKirmn developed this cosmological model under the strong influence of Ab Nar al-Frb (ca. 257339/ca. 870950), because of his models
14

On this naming, see Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 16; Madelung, Das Imamat, 10114.
15 16

On this cultural milieu of Muslims reception of Neoplatonism, see, for example, Adamson, The Arabic Plotinus; idem, Al-Kind; DAncona, Greek into Arabic; and Rudolph, Doxographie.

For an overview of the thought of amd al-Dn al-Kirmn, see the following excellent monographs: De Smet, La quietude; Kikuchi, Isml-ha.

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close resemblance to al-Frbs model, which has the scheme of the ten intellects, the nine spheres, and the fixed stars and the seven planets. After the fall of the Fimid Imamate-Caliphate (567/1171), al-Kirmns cosmological model was preserved in Yemen by the ayyibs, that is, the Isml subsect that remained faithful to the Fimid tradition, whereas the Ismls in the Persian-speaking area inherited the three hypostases model from the early phase of their Neoplatonist thought. The Ismls were not influenced only by other intellectual trends, as described above. It has also been argued several times that Ismlism exerted influence on particular thinkers outside its followers, such as Ab mid al-Ghazl, Shihb al-Dn al-Suhraward (549587/115491), Fard al-Dn Ar (540618/1145-461221), and Nar al-Dn al-s (597672/120174).17 Examination of each such case of possible Isml influence remains an important task given to our scholarship.

III. God in Early Isma lism

A. God in the Qura n and Islamic Orthodoxy
How should we comprehend God? The youngest of the Abrahamic monotheist religions, Islam inherited the speculation, discussion, and debate over this question. In the Qurn, Allh (i.e., God) is the absolutely one and unique God. With respect to the formation of the cosmos, God is its sole causethat is, the sole Creator of every being and of the entire cosmos at every moment; and God is the Creator and Guide of all human acts.18 As for the idea of creatio ex nihilo (creation from nothing), no
17

18

Cf. the Qurnic Creator Paradigm proposed by I. R. Netton as follows: (1) Gods creative activity is His leitmotiv par excellence . . . (2) Creation . . . also inaugurates

On the possibility of Isml influence on various thinkers, Hermann Landolt has contributed many studies, such as Ghazl and Religionswissenschaft, Khwja Nar alDn al-s, Suhraward, and Ar, Sufism and Ismailism. On this issue, see also Madelung, Introduction, and Meier, Ismailiten und Mystik. As counter-argument to these discussions, cf. Griffels criticism of Landolts suggestion of Isml influence on al-Ghazls cosmology: Griffel, Al-Ghazls Philosophical Theology, 26063. On Isml influence we can also cite Ibn Sns (Avicennas) interesting account, in his autobiography, of his own rejection of Ismlism. Ibn Sn himself reports that he could not accept the Isml doctrine of the Intellect and Soul that his father and younger brother enthusiastically discussed together. Ibn Sn, Srat al-Shaykh al-Ras, 1821.

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Qurnic verse can be directly related to it except Qurn 19:9 (I created you, though you were nothing before).19 The doctrine of creatio ex nihilo was gradually established in Muslim theological circles, and even philosophical circles, through the second/ eighth to fourth/tenth centuries. This idea is presumably closely related to the transcendence and omnipotence of God.20 Also seeking support in Qurnic verses, the mainstream Muslim theologians developed the doctrine that God created all the beings and acts in this world, including all human acts, thus insisting on the omnipotence of God against the theory of human free will held by the Mutazilah, a rationalist theological school that flourished from the second half of the eighth to the eleventh century. From the viewpoint of the mainstream theology, al-Ghazl criticized and tried to refute Muslim philosophers cosmological ideas such as determinism (which implies God as the One who determines the laws of the cosmos); emanation; intermediary beings who rule the world in accordance with laws set up by God; and the eternity of the world.21 Some of these ideas, such as emanation and the intermediary beings, were also shared by the early Ismls, as shown below.

19

Gods activity within historical time. (3) Gods guiding activity should be clear, in part at least, from the foregoing. (4) . . . God may be known indirectly in some way, or known about, according to the data of the Qurn (Netton, Allh Transcendent, 2434). Netton also proposes describing the development of negative theology among Muslim philosophers, theologians, and mystic thinkers as a process of their alienation from the Qurnic Creator Paradigm; see 1141, especially 2731. The existence of the notion of creatio ex nihilo in the Qurn is dubious, as pointed out by Arnaldez, Khal, and Peterson, Creation.

For the gradual formation of the doctrinal idea of creatio ex nihilo through the second/ eighth to fourth/tenth centuries, see Ess, Theologie und Gesellschaft, vol. 4, 44559; Ess cites the example of the influential f-theologian al-Musibs (d. 243/857) mention of the idea of creatio ex nihilo. Also, in Arnaldez, Khal, and Peterson, Creation, it is pointed out that there are numerous verses saying Be! And it is that were later used as theological arguments for creatio ex nihilo (Quran 2:117, 3:47, 6:73, 9:35, 16:40). The translations of the Qurnic verses in this paper are by Abdel Haleem in The Quran (Oxford, 2004).
20 21

See the four introductions to al-Ghazl, The Incoherence/Tahfut, 411. Frank Griffel offers us an excellent overview of the development of cosmological discussion up to alGhazls Tahfut, as well as of the discussion in the text itself. Griffel, Al-Ghazls Philosophical Theology, 123234.

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B. God in Early Isma l Theology

Isml apophatism, or negative theology, stresses the absolute transcendence of God. It is possible that even in its pre-Neoplatonic phase Ismlism already taught negative theology, as seen in an untitled treatise of Ab s al-Murshid (fl. second half of the fourth/tenth century).22 The Isml thinkers were not satisfied with the negation of all the attributes from God, which they called tal, that is, negation of anything from God. According to the Ismls, we need to negate even such a negation to establish the real tawd, or oneness of God. Thus they maintain that God is not predicated by any attribute, but God is also not-not predicated by any attribute such as being complete (tamm).23 This statement reflects, so to speak, the logic of double negation, that is, l-l, or not-not. How did this absolutely transcendent God create our cosmos? He uttered the command of Creation, Kun (Be) or Fiat, or kalimat Allh (the word of God).24 This is Gods act of Ibd (the Origination) of the entire cosmos.25 Therefore God is called al-Mubdi (the Originator). Al-Rz describes this Origination as follows: [T]he Creator (al-Bri) originated all the existent beings (al-aysyat kulla-h) in a moment (dafatan).26 This
This text by Ab s al-Murshid was discovered and edited by S. M. Stern and posthumously published in 1983 as an article, The Earliest Cosmological Doctrines. Stern introduced this treatise as a text that contains the older elements before Neoplatonist influence. In this text, the unknowable God entrusted the creation of the cosmos to the Kn (the singular feminine of the imperative Kun! or Be!), the highest cosmic hypostasis created by God Himself. Ab s al-Murshid in Stern, The Earliest Cosmological Doctrines, 78. Also see Halms description of this text in his Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 7580. Thus there is the possibility that Ismlism already had negative theology in its pre-Neoplatonist phase, and the idea of the world-maker, the Demiurge.
22

See, for example, al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 36 (72 in English translation); al-Sijistn, Kashf al-Majb, 14 (44 in French translation; English translation of this passage is not available).
23 24

P. E. Walker points out that the Ibd (Origination; I follow the translation by Walker of the Ibd and Mubdi) is the term in Islamic philosophy that means Gods act of creatio ex nihilo, and that it was used by al-Kind and in other Neoplatonic works, such as Theology of Aristotle, Pseudo-Ammonius, and Kalm f Mad al-Khayr. See Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism, 8283.
25 26

See, for example, al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Yanb, 83 (101 in English and 107 in French translation).

Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 2425 (59 in English translation). All the translations of the

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passage suggests a tendency toward the idea of creatio ex nihilo. However, in Ismlism, the formation or manifestation of the cosmos was actualized by other hypostases, such as the Intellect and the Soul: God the Originator is transcendent above the whole process of the formation of the cosmos.27

IV. T  he Formation of the Cosmos according to Early Isma l Neoplatonist Thinkers (al-Nasaf , al-Ra z , and al-Sijista n )
A. T  he Universal Intellect and Universal Soul vis--vis the Formation of the Cosmos
Being originated by God, the Universal Intellect (al-Aql al-Kull) is called the First Originated Being (al-Mubda al-Awwal ).28 It is the completely perfect being and contains all beings within Itself, as described by al-Sijistn as follows:
Since the Origination did not leave anything out of the First Originated Being [i.e., the Intellect], the natural world is [entirely] contained within It, without any elimination, any change, any touching of fatigue, any hardship, or any damage.29

The First Originated Being is also called the majma al-aysyt (summation of the existent beings).30 In addition, the following passage by al-Sijistn can be interpreted as describing the Universal Intellect as the Unmoved Mover of Aristotle:
passages quoted in this paper are mine. If the translations are available in my publications, I slightly revised them in this paper.

See also Madelung, Aspects of Isml Theology. Cf. Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 178. Al-Sijistn points out that the creative command Kun (or Fiat) was not addressed to the beings of the natural world like us, but only to the Universal Intellect. Al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Yanb, 24 (5556 in English and 4344 in French translation). This means that the creation of humankind and other beings is not the result of the direct act of God.
27 28

29

See, for example, al-Sijisn, Kitb al-Yanb, 2224 (5456 in English and 4244 in French translation). Al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Yanb, 21 (54 in English and 41 in French translation). Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 25 (60 in English translation).

30

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It is only because of something unmoved (shay skin) that the motion of anything movable appears. . . . Since nothing precedes the Intellect, It is motionless and unmoved in order that Its motionlessness grasps the motion of any movable thing, natural and spiritual.31

Therefore the Universal Intellect is the origin of all the created beings, without which the formation of the cosmos could not be possible. Furthermore, al-Sijistn compares the Intellect to a ann (craftsman) working for the world (which reminds us of the original meaning of Demiurge).32 However, although the Intellect is indispensable for the formation of the world, the actual role of world-making is played by the Universal Soul. From the Intellect, the Universal Soul (al-Nafs al-Kullyah) proceeded (inbaatha). The verbal noun inbaatha (inbith means the procession and gushing out of a lively, moving being, such as spring water from its source) is from the root-verb baatha (to bestow the life, to resurrect, to revive). Thus, with some distinct nuance or connotation of gaining life, the inbith has a meaning similar to fay (emanation).33 The Universal Soul is directly responsible for the formation of the natural world. Therefore, She plays the actual role of the Demiurge in early Isml cosmology. Al-Rz describes Her role as follows:
The Second Being [i.e., the Universal Soul] manifested it [i.e., hayl, the matter], with the act coming from Itself and with the potency acquired from the First Being [the Universal Intellect]. Then, It [the Universal Soul] manifested the form (al-rah): This is nature (al-abah), that is, the substance of the middle world which the sages called the spheres and those contained in them.34

According to al-Sijistn, nature gushed out (inbajasa) from the Universal

31 32

For the translation of inbith, I follow P. E. Walker. On the translation and the concept of inbith, see Walker, The Ismaili Vocabulary of Creation, 82f; idem, Early Philosophical Shiism, 82f. Also see Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 172 n. 4.
33 34

Al-Sijisn, Kashf al-Majb, 22 (92 in English and 54 in French translation). S. Kamada interprets the Originator as being the Deus absconditus, and the Intellect as the Deus revelatus. See his The First Being, 18.

Al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Yanb, 27 (58 in English and 48 in French translation).

Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 30 (64 in English translation).

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Soul,35 and under Her influence the existent beings of the natural world emerged. They are the matter and form, celestial spheres, four natures (alabi), four elements, and finally there emerged the three products, or realms, of minerals, vegetables, and animals.36 The following passage suggests that the Universal Soul is responsible for the maintenance of the order of the cosmos as well as its formation. AlSijistn points out that She has the subordinate soul of the World as Her agent for the maintenance of the order of the world:
Through37 the soul of the world (nafs al-lam), the Universal Soul (al-Nafs al-Kullyah) performed various acts such as formation, shaping (al-tawrt wa-al-tashkrt), and invention of the pure arts and all the natural powers for bringing about utility at some times and for chasing out the damage at other times.38

B. T  he Two Views of the Universal Soul: Her Nature and Relation to Human Souls
However, with respect to the nature of the Universal Soul, disagreement appears in the early Isml Neoplatonist school. One example is concerned with the imperfectness of the Soul. Proceeding from the Intellect, the Soul inevitably gains nature inferior to It, Her origin. Thus She becomes imperfect compared to the Intellect. Then, how imperfect is She? To what extent is She imperfect? There is disagreement among early Isml thinkers on this point. Al-Nasaf and al-Sijistn emphasize the Souls imperfectness and dependency on the Intellect. The following is a passage by al-Nasaf: Since the Soul was not perfect (ghayr tmmah), She came to need the benefits from the Intellect in order to become perfect someday

35

37 This is f in the text. I follow the translation by P. E. Walker. Walker, Wellsprings of Wisdom, 72. 38

This description is based on Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism, 1023. Also see alSijistn, Kitb al-Yanb, 4951 (7476 in English translation), which partially describes the process of the cosmogony down to the formation of the three realms of minerals, vegetables, and animals.
36

Al-Sijistn, Ithbt al-Nubt, 44. I base my interpretation of this important passage on Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism, 103.

Al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Yanb, 46 (72 in English and 67 in French translation).

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through the Intellect.39 However, al-Rz asserts that the Soul is perfect in Her essence:
The Soul is perfect in Her essence, since She proceeded (inbaathat) in a perfect state . . . because the First Intellect [i.e., the Universal Intellect] is in a perfect state. . . . The being in need of the perfect being is the actual state of the Soul, . . . because Her actual state does not become complete except within time (bi-al-zamn), and because the procession (inbith) of the Soul takes place along with time (maa al-zamn).40

In other words, the Universal Soul is imperfect only within time, in which She needs to be complete. This disagreement leads to another disagreement, namely, on the emergence of motion. According to al-Nasaf, motion (arakah) emerged from the movement of the imperfect Soul, who sought the benefits of the Intellect, and:
[In order to become perfect,] She [the Universal Soul] moves around, longing for the benefits [of the Intellect]. Consequently, motion (arakah) emerged as a result of Her moving around. When She gains nutrition, She becomes still.41

In opposition to the above statement, al-Rz holds that motion and rest (sukn) emerged and manifested themselves in the process of the Origination and the procession of the Soul:
Both motion and rest (sukn) are two traces (atharn) united with the First and Second Beings [i.e., the Universal Intellect and Soul], because when the First Being was originated, It went into unity with the Origination, thus having two traces in Itself in potentia because of this unity. . . . These two traces [i.e., motion and rest] are in the First Being [the Universal Intellect] in potentia. Then the Second Being [the Universal Soul] proceeded from the First Being. Consequently, in this procession (inbith), two traces are [left] in the Second Being in actu.42
39 Al-Nasaf, Kitb al-Mal; quoted by al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 23 (5758 in English translation). 40 41

Al-Nasaf, Kitb al-Mal; quoted by al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 2324 (5758 in English translation).
42

Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 24 (58 in English translation).

Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 2627 (61 in English translation).

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This disagreement can be related to the nature of the Universal Soul, since al-Nasaf ascribes the emergence of motion to the imperfectness of the Soul, whereas according to al-Rz both the Intellect and the Soul are responsible for the coming-into-being of motion and rest, as seen above: These two traces [i.e., motion and rest] are in the First Being in potentia . . . two traces are [left] in the Second Being in actu. What relation does the human soul have to the Universal Soul in the cosmos? With respect to this issue, the Neoplatonists in late antiquity presented two opposing theses: (1) the human soul does not fall in her entirety into the body but leaves a part of her in the Universal Soul (Plotinus); or (2) the human soul in its entirety does fall down into the body. Under Neoplatonist influence, early Isml thinkers raised the following two conflicting different theses: (a) the human soul is a juz (part) of the Universal Soul; or (b) the human soul is a mere athar (trace) of Her.43 Al-Nasaf and al-Sijistn followed the former thesis, as seen in these passages by each of them:
The parts inside us are the parts of the first substance [of the Universal Intellect and Soul]; Our unity with those parts is like the unity of that substance with the divine Word [of the Creation]. (al-Nasaf)44 Also the trace does not intend to understand its cause, that is, the effect left by its agent, let alone understanding its agent itself. . . . However, when we find that with his partial soul (bi-nafsi-hi al-juzyah) the human being intends to recognize the knowledge of his Whole Being (kullyata-hu), we know and feel certain that the soul within him is a part of Universal Soul. (al-Sijistn)45

In an attempt to refute this thesis, al-Rz states: We do not say as such. Nevertheless, we say that the parts inside us are thr (traces) of the first
Walker points out the background of this debate, namely, Plotinus view and Proclus view of the human soul. See Walker, The Universal Soul, and idem, Early Philosophical Shiism. We can also add Iamblichus (ca. 240325 C.E.) as precursor for the latter view. See Steel, The Changing Self, 3451. Also cf. Nomoto, Ab tim al-Rz on the Soul, 14849. For the years of Iamblichus birth and death, I follow Dillon, Iamblichus of Chalcis.
43 44 Al-Nasaf, Kitb al-Mal, quoted by al-Rz in his Kitb al-Il, 32 (67 in English translation). 45

Al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Yanb, 46 (72 in English and 6768 in French translation).

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substance, not the parts of it. This is because our unity is with the traces of the first substance, not with its parts.46 In this context the first substance can be interpreted as being the Universal Soul. Holding that the human soul is a trace of the Universal Soul, al-Rz emphasizes the human souls remoteness from, or weaker relation to, the Universal Soul. In another passage, he contrasts the al-nr wa-al-ahrah wa-al-quds (light, purity, and sacredness) of the two highest hypostases with the kudrah ulmnyah (dark turbidity) of this natural world, which is composed of al-hayl wa-al-rah (matter and form).47 Consequently, al-Rzs theory of the soul leads to denial of the direct recognition of the highest spiritual beings represented by the Universal Intellect and Soul. This is also antithetical to al-Nasafs theory of prophecynamely, that the prophets can directly perceive the two highest hypostaseswhich is based on his theory of the human soul. This theoretical difference, we can suggest, constitutes the background of the early Isml Neoplatonist theory of prophecy presented below.48

46 47 48

For example, to al-Sijistn, because of the human souls being a part of the Universal Soul, the prophets can gain revelation with their access to the upper spiritual world of the Intellect and the Soul. Additionally, presumably criticizing al-Rz, he states that if their souls were mere traces of the Universal Soul, the prophets would be able neither to understand the revelation nor to be aware of the spiritual essences (al-ayn alrnyah), namely, the parts of the Universal Soul. Al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Nurah, quoted by al-Kirmn in his Kitb al-Riy, 124; the English translation of the entire passage is available in Nomoto, Ab tim al-Rz on the Soul, 155. Also al-Nasaf asserts the possibility of the prophets direct recognition of the Universal Soul and the Universal Intellect. This is rejected by al-Rz, who holds that the prophets can have only indirect recognition of those two highest hypostases through the intermediation of the lower angelic beings. See al-Nasaf, Kitb al-Mal, quoted in al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 18384 (German translation available in Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 7071), and al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 18586 (partially translated in Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 22728), 18991 (no English translation available). For studies of this debate, see Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 22436; idem, Ab tim al-Rz on the Soul, 15254. On the importance of this debate between al-Nasaf and al-Rz, see the following precursory study: Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 7071.

Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 30 (65 in English translation).

Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 32 (67 in English translation).

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V.  Al-Sijista n , al-Nasaf , and al-Ra z on the Isma l Notion of Prophecy: The Prophets and Their Relation to the Universal Intellect and to the Soul as the Lord
A. Revelation and Prophecy in Isma lism
The Islamic teaching of the prophecy contains an indirect aspect,49 as seen in a passage of the Qurn: It is not granted to any mortal that God should address him except by revelation, or from behind a veil or by sending a messenger to reveal by His command what He will (Qurn 42: 51). In many cases it is God who sends down (nazzala, which means to reveal as well; tanzl in verbal noun form) the message through the intermediacy of an angel (malak; pl. malika), the Angel Gabriel (Jabrl, Jibrl) in many cases.50 The early Isml thinkers maintained that, besides the cosmogonical order we just looked at, there is another hierarchical order through which revelation is transmitted from the spiritual realm to the prophets. This hierarchy is comprised of the five spiritual/angelic beings: the Intellect, the Soul, the Jadd (fortune), the Fat (opening), and the Khayl (imagination).51 Revelation is sent down through this hierarchy. The three lower angelic beings, below the Intellect and the Soul, are actually spiritual faculties granted to the prophets; they transmit the divine messages to the prophets and are compared to three archangels, such as Gabriel, Michael (Mkl), and Serafiel (Isrfl).52 Corresponding to this spiritual hierarchy is an earthly hierarchy comprised of the five ranks of human religious dignitaries and missionaries whose role is to transmit and propagate the revelatory message to humankind. The earthly hierarchy is as follows: the enunciator-prophet (niq), the fundament (ass, the heir of the prophet), the imm, the lieutenant (liq), and the missionary (d). Every prophet has to climb
49

50 51 52

The following two subsections of this paper (A. and B.) are based on Nomoto, Ismlha no Yogensha-ron, 98101, with extensive revision. Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 6774; Walker, Cosmic Hierarchies, 2428. On these three angelic beings, see al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Iftikhr, 11622. See, for example, Izutsu, Gengo Gensh; Madigan, Revelation and Inspiration.

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this hierarchy one rank after the next to reach the rank of enunciatorprophethood.53 However, the earthly hierarchy does not transmit a revelatory message in its original state through a prophet directly to muminn (the faithful). Rather, the message has to be translated, so to speak, by a prophet into the natural language of his people (Arabic for the Prophet Muammad, etc.) and codified into a scripture or sacred law; this translating and codifying act is called talf (composition).54

B. The Universal Soul as the Lord of Revelation in Isma lism

How should we comprehend the Lord of the revelation depicted in the Qurn if the real God cannot be grasped with any attribute? One of the answers given by these Isml thinkers is that He is the Universal Soul, although there is disagreement among them on Her nature, as seen above. Al-Rz interprets the Lord whom Moses encounters on Mt. Sinai in Qurn 7:143 as being the Universal Soul:
[A]nd when his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble (Qurn 7:143). That is to say, when the Follower [i.e., the Universal Soul] appeared to it [Mt. Sinai] in Its own way [of manifestation], it broke into fragments and could not be sustained in that situation.55

Al-Rz also compares the Universal Soul to the Lord of the East and the West who is mentioned in Qurn 73:9:
He is the Lord of the East and the West, there is no god but Him, so take Him as your Protector (Qurn 73:9). The East and the West means the two fundaments (assn, the prophet and his successor). . . . The Lord of those two means the Follower (al-Tl, another name for the Universal Soul) who instructs them (al-murabb la-hum). Therefore he ordered him
See, for example, Feki, Les ides religieuse et philosophique, 22327; Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 21533.
53

55 Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 186 (English translation in Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 22728). Also see Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 71; Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 22628.

54 For this idea of prophecy, see al-Sijistn, Ithbt al-Nubt, 56 and 118. I owe this information to Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism, 12021, 185 n. 59 and n. 60.

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[i.e., Muammad] to take refuge in their instructor who appointed them in charge of restorating the doctrine of the unity of the Creator (tawd alBri).56

This passage contains an intriguing sentence: Therefore he ordered him [i.e., Muammad] to take refuge in their instructor [i.e., the Universal Soul]. Who is the he who ordered the Prophet to go to the Universal Soul? This he could be either the instructor himself, one of the abovementioned three lower angelic beings, or the Universal Intellect. The text itself does not specify any of them. The next quotation is al-Sijistns interpretation of the famous verse of the miraculous night journey (isr) of the Prophet Muammad from Makkah to Jerusalem (Qurn 17:1):
Glory (subna) to Him who made His servant travel by night from the sacred place of worship to the furthest place of worship whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs . . . (Qurn 17:1). He meant by this: When the Follower (al-Tl, another name for the Universal Soul) intended to manifest the lordly glory (subnyah) of the Originator who is transcendent above the attributes of His slaves in the corporeal world, by virtue of the benefit of the Preceder (al-Sbiq, another name for the Universal Intellect)57 to him, It made MuammadMay God bless him and his householdtravel by night from the rank of imamate (immyah) to that of enunciator-prophethood (niqyah) in order that he would recognize the spiritual substances secretly introduced to him and his community so that he could explain His lordly glory in the language of his people.58

In the above interpretation, al-Sijistn depicts the verse of the night journey as the account that Muammad was guided to climbing the hierarchy from the imamate to the enunciator-prophethood. He also identifies the glorified One (i.e., God) with the Universal Soul. Also according to al-Sijistn, thanks to the benefit of the Universal Intellect, the Universal Soul intended to manifest the glory of the real God, the
56 57

For the meanings of the Follower (al-Tl) and the Preceder (al-Sbiq), see Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 5354, 56, 59, 6263; Walker, Cosmic Hierarchies, 1920; I follow the translation of al-Tl and al-Sbiq by Walker.
58

Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 13839 (no English translation of this passage available).

Al-Sijistn, Ithbt al-Nubt, 44.

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Originator (intended to manifest the lordly glory of the Originator) who is transcendent above the attributes of corporeal creatures. In other words, the highest hypostases, such as the Universal Soul, can reveal glorious aspect(s) of the Originator to the prophets, thus playing the role of the revealed God in the Qurn.

C. The Universal Intellect and the Soul in Revelation

It is not only through the Universal Soul that the revelation is sent down to the prophets. Rather, the Universal Intellect is another source of the divine inspiration (tayd, spiritual support) of the prophetsthat is, of the divine inspiration granted only to a prophet, his successor, and the imms. The following two passages are from al-Sijistn:
The prophecy is the movement of the descending (nuzl) of spiritual support (tayd) [granted] by the simple world from the Preceder [the Intellect] and the Follower [the Soul] onto the hearts of the enunciatorprophet and the fundament [i.e., the successor of the prophet].59 Just as the appearance of various [forms] of time, shorter or longer, comes only from the sun and the moon, with the exclusion of other stars, so the appearance of the prophecy comes from the Follower [the Universal Soul] and the Preceder [the Universal Intellect], with the latter of which there comes much [of prophetic relavelation].60

It is through his conjunction with the Universal Intellect (with the assistance of the Jadd, a lower angelic/spiritual faculty) that a prophetcandidate can reach the rank of prophethood. In the passage below, al-Rz interprets the verse of the night journey of the Prophet Muammad differently from al-Sijistns interpretation described above:
Glory (subna) to Him who made His servant travel by night from the sacred place of worship to the furthest place of worship (Qurn 17:1). That is to say, he was elevated from the conjunction with the Follower [the Universal Soul] to the conjunction with the Preceder [the Universal
59 60

Ibid., 106.

Al-Sijistn, Ithbt al-Nubt, 98.

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Intellect] and gained the rank of enunciation (martabat al-nuq). . . . Then he mounted the ladder (al-mirj), thus ascending to heaven. That is to say, the Jadd joined him to the Preceder [the Universal Intellect] until he rose to the rank of enunciation.61

According to al-Rz, the Jadd initiated Muammad into the rank of enunciation, that is, enunciator-prophethood, by joining him to the Universal Intellect. Al-Sijistns describes the key role of the Jadd in making a prophet ascend to the rank of enunciator-prophethood. He represents the Jadd as the spiritual faculty privileged to a prophet, granted to him even at the time of his birth. We can list the roles of the Jadd as follows: it makes the prophet a lord of his people; it is his vehicle (markab) to the divine realm;62 and it helps him in compiling the revelation in the form of clear instruction.63 We might think that this implies the Jadds role to lead (as a vehicle to the divine realm) the prophet to the Universal Intellect, which is the same direction of thought as al-Rz.64 As for this connection between the Intellect and the enunciator-prophet, al-Sijistn describes it as follows: the mission or message (rislah) of the latter is established by the former; and the sacred law (sharah) brought by an enunciator-prophet is an intellect embodied (aql mujassam), the physical embodiment of the Intellect on earth.65 These passages suggest that the Universal Intellect is the original source of the prophecy.

61 Al-Rz, Kitb al-Il, 120 (Partially translated in Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 223).

Al-Sijistn, Kitb al-Iftikhr, 11622. Also see Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 215 16.
63 64

62 This expression vehicle is compared by P. E. Walker to the okhema of Proclus; Walker, The Wellsprings of Wisdom, 14849.

65

Al-Sijistn, Ithbt al-Nubt, 125; also see Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism, 121, where he interprets this sacred law (sharah) as the Qurn. However, al-Sijistn may use the word sharah in this context in the more general meaning of the result of revelation.

See Nomoto, Early Isml Thought, 22324. Cf. Al-Sijistn, Ithbt al-Nubt, 44. Also see Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism, 119.

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VI. Concluding Remarks

As seen in the above presentation of passages from the texts, in early Neoplatonist Ismlism, the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul are the Lords of Creation and Divine Guides who grant revelation to the prophets, through whom humankind are led to their salvation.66 However, in the process of revelation, as far as the passages quoted above are concerned, the role of the personified God, or Lord, is given to the Soul who actively contacts the prophets, whereas the Intellect takes the role of the final initiator for the prophet to attain the rank of prophethood in the process of the revelation, since the prophet-candidates become prophets through their conjunction with the Intellect. This suggests the possibility that both the Universal Soul and the Universal Intellect were regarded as the Lords of the revelation in early Neoplatonist Ismlism, as far as is seen in the texts of al-Nasaf, al-Rz and al-Sijitn. However, here we should remind ourselves that the role of the personified Lord in the Qurn is assigned to the Soul in the examples quoted above of the Isml Neoplatonist exegesis of those three thinkers. This suggests the difference between the Soul and the Intellect in terms of distance from humankind, or human souls. For further consideration of these issues of negative theology, our future task is to locate all of them in the context of the development of Isml thought in the fourth/tenth to the fifth/eleventh centuries, including Fimid and non-Fimid, and Neoplatonist and non-Neoplatonist, trends.67

67 On other Isml trends with respect to these issues, see, for example, Hollenbergs excellent study of Jafar b. Manr al-Yaman, a Fimid thinker with Neoplatonist inclinations: Hollenberg, Interpretation after the End of Days, especially 143210, 23965.

The theological assignment of the two roles to the Intellect and the Soul could date back to the old, pre-Neoplatonic model presented by Ab s al-Murshid: according to that model, the Kn and the Qadar (the Predestination) share the roles of the formation of the spiritual beings other than themselves. See the Arabic text on p. 9 and explanation by Stern in his The Earliest Cosmological Doctrines, 1920. Also see Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 5366, 7590. The names of the Kn and the Qadar are given to the Intellect and Soul respectively even in early Neoplatonist Ismlism. See Halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre, 53-66; Walker, Early Philosohpocal Shiism, 4749.
66

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Keio University, Tokyo
KEYWORDS | creatio ex nihilo, negative theology, the Origination, the Originator, revelation, prophecy, the (Universal) Intellect, the (Universal) Soul, the Lord(s)

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