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Bada

From Imam Khomeini Wiki

Bada' means appearance and manifestation. The origin of bada' is not from the Divine Essence; rather, its origin is the fixed entities in the Divine Presence of Knowledge (Hadrat 'Ilmiyya).

Importance and Position of Bada'

Bada' in theological terminology means the appearance of a matter from God that was not expected to appear, and it is a kind of change in particular destinies.[1] Bada' holds a special position in Shi'a beliefs, and most Shi'a theological books have discussed bada'.[2] Some Shi'a theologians consider the difference regarding bada' with other Islamic sects to be a verbal difference, such that if this issue is pondered and delved into, no dispute remains.[3]

Imam Khomeini has also interpreted and analyzed the discussion of bada' in his works with two theological and mystical approaches, and has criticized the views of some divine sages.[4]

Thematic Interpretation of Bada'

Some people of hadith have misleading and baseless statements regarding bada'.[5] Imam Khomeini has criticized the words of some hadith scholars and theologians who believe that a thousand years before creation, only God existed and nothing was with Him, and then bada' occurred for God so that He would create. He believes that, in reality, the statement of this group is a denial of God's existence; because they believe in renewal and change in the Essence of God, and the finding of renewal in God is synonymous with denying Him.[6]

In expressing the justifications given regarding the attribution of hesitation to the Almighty, as well as regarding bada' and testing by the Almighty, Imam Khomeini believes that each has justifications and interpretations according to their own path. Among them is Shaykh al-Baha'i, who has brought several aspects, including: that there is an ellipsis (iḍmār) in the speech; and that since people are hesitant in harming those they respect and are not hesitant in harming others, it is permissible to mention hesitation metaphorically instead of respect; and that the Almighty manifests blessings and glad tidings for the believing servant at the time of death; and similar justifications. Imam Khomeini considers the best justification and interpretation to be the mystical justification, which is that all beings are absolute connection and pure indigence, and all are subjected to the command of the Truth and obedient to His divine commands.[7]

Origin of Bada'

There is a great deal of disagreement among Islamic thinkers regarding the origin and locus of bada'. The difficulty of this issue is to the extent that some have proceeded to deny bada'. A serious discussion in resolving the origin of bada' took shape from the time of Mir Damad. Later, Mulla Sadra presented a scheme that was also accepted by his student Fayd Kashani. Mulla Sadra believes that bada' occurs in the locus of the "world of souls" and the "Tablet of Effacement and Affirmation" (Lawh al-Mahw wa l-Ithbat). That is, bada' does not find a way into the Essence of the Truth; rather, it is a change in the Tablet of Effacement and Affirmation and the souls of the seven heavens.[8]

Fayd Kashani also does not consider bada' to be from God and believes that the forms of the beings of the world exist in the "Mother of the Book" (Umm al-Kitab) and the "Preserved Tablet" (Lawh al-Mahfuz), which is interpreted as the first creation, as well as in the Tablet of Effacement and Affirmation, which is interpreted as the second creation. In his belief, bada' is not in the level of the first creation, but rather in the level of the second creation and the station of the Tablet of Effacement and Affirmation; because other than this, it would necessitate that ignorance finds a way into the Essence of the Truth.[9]

Imam Khomeini, based on the detailed locus of the Divine Presence of Knowledge (Hadrat 'Ilmiyya) and the fixed entities and the destinies and capacities of the fixed entities, and with regard to the narrations transmitted in this field, has explained a precise solution for the origin of bada'. Imam Khomeini applies the hidden stored knowledge of the Truth, which bada' is considered to be from in the narrations, to the fixed entities. He believes that such knowledge is the unseen knowledge of the Almighty in which the rulings of bada' are also determined in that locus, and God has been aware of them since eternity. Based on this, bada' is one of the requirements of the destinies of things in that unseen locus in which the hidden stored knowledge exists; meaning bada' is also part of the destinies of things.

This is the exclusive knowledge of God; because the locus of this knowledge is the hidden stored realm (suq' maknun makhzun) and the divine knowledge, which is the second entification (ta'ayyun thani) and the Divine Presence of Knowledge.[10] Imam Khomeini does not approve of the explanation of Mulla Sadra and Fayd Kashani regarding bada' and believes that the bada' explained by Mulla Sadra is according to the objective realm (nash'a 'ayniyya) which is in the Presence of the Realm of Dominion (Hadrat Malakut) and the world of souls, but the main origin of this very bada' is the Divine Presence of Knowledge and the second entification. Thus, what Mulla Sadra and Fayd Kashani have posited in order to avoid the entry of ignorance into the Absolute Knower and also change and alteration in the knowledge of the Truth, is not complete and perfect; rather, the origin of bada' is the Divine Presence of Knowledge and the locus of Oneness (Wahidiyya).[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Majlisī, Mirʾāt al-ʿuqūl, vol. 2, p. 147; Mufīd, Taṣḥīḥ iʿtiqādāt al-Imāmiyya, pp. 65-66.
  2. ↑ Subḥānī, al-Badāʾ ʿalā ḍawʾ al-Kitāb wa l-Sunna, pp. 9-10; Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-Shīʿa, vol. 3, pp. 53-57.
  3. ↑ Mufīd, Awāʾil al-maqālāt, p. 80; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 1, pp. 381-384.
  4. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Sharḥ-i chihil ḥadīth, pp. 580-586; Taqrīrāt-i falsafa, vol. 2, p. 399; Tanqīḥ al-uṣūl, vol. 3, p. 350; Jawāhir al-uṣūl, vol. 4, p. 359; Miṣbāḥ al-hidāya, pp. 31-32; Taʿlīqāt ʿalā sharḥ Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam wa Miṣbāḥ al-uns, pp. 119-120.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Yaksad u hashtād purshish wa pāsukh, p. 107.
  6. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Taqrīrāt-i falsafa, vol. 2, p. 399.
  7. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Sharḥ-i chihil ḥadīth, pp. 585-586.
  8. ↑ Mullā Ṣadrā, Sharḥ Uṣūl al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 147; vol. 4, pp. 191-192 & 378; Mīr Dāmād, Nibrās al-ḍiyāʾ, p. 56.
  9. ↑ Fayḍ Kāshānī, al-Wāfī, vol. 1, p. 512.
  10. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Miṣbāḥ al-hidāya, p. 31; Taʿlīqāt ʿalā sharḥ Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam wa Miṣbāḥ al-uns, pp. 119-120; Ṣāḥibī, Ḥikmat-i maʿnawī, Miṣbāḥ al-uns, p. 516.
  11. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Miṣbāḥ al-hidāya, p. 32; Ṣāḥibī, Awj-i maʿrifat, pp. 298-299.

References

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