Edited and Slides by Omar K Neusser
19 The Mindful Acknowledgement of tawhīd
Notice, however, that the imitation discussed in jurisprudence pertains only to the Shariʿa – that is, the do’s and the don’ts that the jurists themselves have established on the basis of the scriptural sources.[18] Without such imitation people will not be able to perform Islamic rites and observe the law.
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But one cannot imitate the jurists or anyone else in the foundational article of faith – that is tawhīd, the assertion that God is one. In other words, if one believes in God’s unity in imitation of others, that is no better than not believing.
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As the theologians maintain, faith demands acknowledging the truth in the heart ( al-tasdîq bi’l-qalb ), not blind acceptance. The intellectual tradition takes this mindful acknowledgement of tawhîd as the first stage in recognizing the Real.
Related texts:
Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi; Presentation of Some 29 Texts
[18] The ‘do’s and the don’ts’ are the fiqh, the external rules, but Shari`a is way more than fiqh, it is ”also a set of values and framework for the religious life of Muslims,” (The Heart of Islam: S. H. Nasr) to rectify the inner & outer states for reaching the Divine.
