For Muslims all around the world the Ka'abah holds a deeply reverential hold in their hearts. Considered to be the "House of Allah" it acts as a qibla - a physical marker - towards which our faces - and hearts - turn to pray. Despite our diversity of races, languages, thoughts and views, and physical locations, it acts as a metaphysical unifier towards which all hearts gravitate. However, the "House" is not believed to be a place of "residence", or a container of the Divine Presence. Nor is it considered to be a physical representation of the Divine. In fact, it is the antithesis of any kind of depiction or manifest representation. Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad in a podcast interview on Hajj eloquently explains why the Ka'abah is the perfect representation of monotheism, where he states:
"The Ka'abah is of course veiled, [...] it's non-representational, and it's mysterious. Everybody has a sense of the mysterium tremendum, the immense jalali mystery of the Divine when approaching the Ka'abah. [...] You have the enormous crowds circling it with the maximal differentiation of human beings, and then you have the complete Unicity of that symbol, [...] which is ultimately a representation [...] of the unknowable Eternity, the Immutability of the Divine."1
Thus, the "House" stands as a symbol of Allah's Unicity and Ineffability, a representation - essentially - of non-representation in line with the demand of monotheism: the belief in one God, which is the principle of tawhid in Islam. But any manifest representation creates a dichotomy that negates the monotheistic essence.
In another lecture Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad expounds on this further:
"What the Ka'abah seems to represent, and what the heart, the beating heart of every reverent [...] Muslim feels as he or she walks around it with his heart nearest to the Ka'abah, represents the Infinity of God, the mystery, the dark shrouded form of Allah's ancient House. In many ways the strangest building on Earth. Hardly a building. Hardly architecture. It has no form. It has no features. No decorative anything. Just the outward black matte fabric which may be decorated by the various dynasties, but that is not the point of it. It is to do with the Divine tanzih - the Divine Otherness."2
The featurelessness of the Ka'abah is symbolic of this non-representation, and an affirmation of the monotheistic creed. And particular to Islam, its veiled-ness symbolizes the unknowability, the ineffability, and hence the inability to represent or depict Allah. It is not just that we should not depict Allah, but that we simply cannot, even if we tried. In order to understand the wisdom behind this, let's try a thought experiment.
Imagine a tree.
What comes to mind?
Perhaps the image of a fir tree.
Or a eucalyptus tree.
A weeping willow, or perhaps even a palm tree.
Whatever image that comes up for you depends primarily on your context: where you grew up or live, for our perception is dictated primarily by the experiences we have. It also will be unlikely that you would imagine multiple trees; the image of one being enough to capture the essence of the word. That is how language functions: words act as logical abstractions to simplify our experience of a world filled by a plethora of stimuli and information. The word in itself does not capture the variety of trees - other words (nouns and adjectives) come to aid us - yet it is enough to relay what is being referred to, and thus the plurality is assumed in the singular.
If we take this psycholinguistic experience and in our bravado attempt to capture the essence of something beyond our comprehension or imagination, what do you feel would entail? Does language have the capacity to abstract that which in itself is abstract? In other words can rational thought truly comprehend, and encapsulate in words, that which is ineffable? This inherent limitation of language, and of imagination, becomes apparent when we try to represent the most ineffable of all: God. What is God? Who is God? These answers vary depending on whom you ask, which in turn is dependent on their cultural and theological upbringing, and personal experiences. Which is why when people come up with their thoughts on God, their thoughts are dictated by what they think or believe God to be, but not what actually God is.
A quote attributed to the 3rd century Hijri/9th century CE Sufi Dhu’l-Nun of Egypt apprises this quite lucidly:
"Whatever you imagine God to be, He is different from that."3
Therefore any depiction of the Divine would arise from an imagination and experience which is inherently finite. This by its very nature is a fallacy as any attempts to capture or conceptualize Infinite and Ultimate Reality, by a finite perspective, is destined to finitize what is infinite. Extending this same logic, we can also reason how a person contemplating upon the Divine or Divine Commandments - such as through Scripture - would also have a limited perspective of it, which is why the tradition of scholarship and commentaries exists within the Islamic intellectual discourse, and must also necessarily continue due to that very limitation of the human intellect.
As Allah says in the Qur'an:
"No vision can take Him in, but He takes in all vision. He is the All Subtle, the All Aware" - Qur'an (6:103)
The Qur’an on the Ineffability of Allah
Appearing towards the end of the Qur'an, Surah Ikhlas provides a reminder to the believer of the complete Unity and Ineffability of the Divine:
"Say, 'He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal. He begot no one, nor was He begotten. No one is comparable to Him.'" - Qur'an (112:1-4)
Revealed as a response to a question raised by pagan Arabs - or according to some traditions by the Jews - of the lineage of Allah, the response is a negation of their thoughts and claims: Allah is beyond temporality (is Eternal), is beyond causation (has no children nor is born), and is beyond comprehension (as there is nothing to compare with). All of this cogently ties to the principle of tawheed (the Unity of Allah). The tahlil 'La illaha illAllah' - 'There is no god, but Allah' - is hence both a bearing witness, and a reminder of the fundamental principle of tawheed.
"Yet they made the jinn partners with God, though He created them, and without any true knowledge they attribute sons and daughters to Him. Glory be to Him! He is far higher than what they ascribe to Him, the Creator of the heavens and earth! How could He have children when He has no spouse, when He created all things, and has full knowledge of all things. This is God, your Lord, there is no God but Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him; He is in charge of everything." - Qur'an (6:100-102)
The Fallacy of Depiction
In the Qur'an, the story of the golden calf highlights this conundrum. After the exodus, having escaped the tyrannical clutches of the Pharoah and crossed the Red Sea, the Jews settle down in safety and peace. Prophet Musa/Moses (A) is summoned by God so he leaves his brother Harun/Aaron (A) in charge of the community. On his return he is dismayed and enraged at finding the community having cast a golden calf which they had started to worship.
"We appointed forty nights for Moses [on Mount Sinai] and then, while he was away, you took to worshipping the calf- a terrible wrong." - Qur'an (2:51)
"In his absence, Moses' people took to worshipping a mere shape that made sounds like a cow- a calf made from their jewellery. Could they not see that it did not speak to them or guide them in any way? Yet they took it for worship: they were evildoers." - Qur'an (7:148)
"They said, 'We did not break our word to you deliberately. We were burdened with the weight of people’s jewellery, so we threw it [into the fire], and the Samiri did the same,’ but he [used the molten jewellery to] produce an image of a calf which made a lowing sound, and they said, ‘This is your god and Moses’ god, but he has forgotten.' Did they not see that [the calf] gave them no answer, that it had no power to harm or benefit them. Aaron did say to them, 'My people, this calf is a test for you. Your true Lord is the Lord of Mercy, so follow me and obey my orders,' but they replied, 'We shall not give up our devotion to it until Moses returns to us.' [...]
"Moses said, 'And what was the matter with you, Samiri?'
"He replied, 'I saw something they did not; I took in some of the teachings of the Messenger but tossed them aside: my soul prompted me to do what I did.'
"Moses said, 'Get away from here! Your lot in this life is to say, “Do not touch me,” but you have an appointment from which there is no escape. Look at your god which you have kept on worshipping - we shall grind it down and scatter it into the sea. [People], your true god is the One God - there is no god but Him - whose knowledge embraces everything.'" - Qur'an (20:87-91,95-98)
What the golden calf represented was this very fallacy: it finitizes - and thus limits - the comprehension of what is in essence Infinite and Ineffable, and from an ontological standpoint severs the concept of Unicity by creating a contradiction of the Singularity of the Divine.
Prior to the time of Muhammad ﷺ, the Ka’abah had not always been filled with idols. It was constructed - according to the Qur’anic perspective - by Prophet Adam (A), and then Prophet Ibrahim (A) and his son Ismail (A) upon the commandment of Allah. Pilgrimage rites were also established then and for some time the followers of the Only God who resided in the valley of Becca (now Mecca), Canaan, and neighboring regions used to come to perform pilgrimage, similar to how Muslims currently do so. But as the population of the region grew people began to move further out, and in the process took stones from around the Ka’abah as memorials and began performing rites in honor of them (possibly viewing them as extensions of the sacred precinct). Over time the influence of pagan tribes, who interacted with these dispersed peoples, prompted the addition of idols to the stones. And when these people would return to the Ka’abah as pilgrims they began to bring these idols with them, setting them up around the Ka’abah. It was then that Jews, realizing people had strayed from monotheism, stopped visiting the Ka’abah.4
Similar to the story of the golden calf, this elucidates the straying from the essence of the Singularity of Divinity due to a loss of context. The stones might have been seen purely as symbolic of the Ka’abah; the people wishing to take with them some of that mysterium tremendum - to quote Shaikh Abdal Hakim Murad. However, with the passage of time the same people who took the stones, and most definitely subsequent generations, likely ended up with a skewed understanding of what the stones meant to them. Perhaps they began to assume the stones and the idols from their paganistic neighbors were similar, which would likely explain how they also mutated into idols.
"He who assigns to Him (different) conditions does not believe in His Oneness, nor does he who likens Him (to something) grasp His reality. He who illustrates Him does not signify Him. He who points at Him and imagines Him does not mean Him."5 - Hz. Ali (R.A)
And as posited earlier, such a representation of the Divine comes with necessary limitations, which opens the field for the sprouting of even more 'gods' in order to comprehend the multitudinous aspects of Divinity and Reality. These depiction allow for relatability, such as the human-like gods of Greece/Rome, or the fantastical yet natural-based depictions of Hindu gods, who express very anthropomorphic qualities such as jealousy, lust, wrath, treachery, trickery, to name a few. However Allah is quite expressive about this when He says:
"If there had been in the heavens or earth any gods but Him, both heavens and earth would be in ruins: God, Lord of the Throne, is far above the things they say." - Qur'an (21:22)
Due to the flawed premise we are led towards an erroneous understanding of the nature and reality of Allah, which paves the way for further deviations in how we relate to the world and live.
Morality and the Divine
As the conquest of Mecca was unfolding, one of the first actions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was to return the Ka’abah from the falsity that pagan Arabs had adorned it with to its pristine intention and form. The interior walls were cleansed of any representations and idols that resided in and around it were broken. The act was a fulfilment of the interior reality embodied by the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions, as well as an indication to all else that the paradigm had changed. The shift was not merely theological. It had ramifications on the socioeconomic dynamics of society as well, and it is this what we now turn towards.
Islam blossomed in the arid desert of Arabia as a response to the theological deviations and social injustices that had become ingrained within the fabric of Arabian tribal society, and the need to rectify the falsities that were prevalent in society. This period, before the advent of Islam, is referred to as the Jahilliya - the times of Ignorance - because an ignorance or forgetfulness veiled the hearts of people from Divine Reality, and thus also from righteousness and justice. This doesn't imply everyone had fallen from the path of Truth - there are examples of righteous people such as the Prophet ﷺ himself, his grandfather Abd' al-Mutallib, or his uncle Abu Talib - but, as a society, a malaise had set in that became normative practice.
War was endemic amongst the various tribes, where clashes erupted in order to secure resources such as food and water, giving rise to bloodshed and vendettas which lasted decades. Justice was anathema in an environment where tribal loyalty superseded truth and righteousness. Decadence among the wealthy was commonplace, with excessive drinking of wine and flaunting of wealth through large festivities. Gambling was common practice - being seen as a social obligation - and had gone to such extremes that a person could lose their entire wealth and would be compelled to pledge his own family as a last desperate attempt to clutch at straws. This practice often would be the cause of blood feuds to arise as well, when things went sour for losing parties.6
The basis of the religion of Islam can be ascertained by going no further than the meaning of the word itself: Islam means “to submit (to God)”. From that understanding we can reflect how social injustices and evils manifest due to the non-submission towards God. It is a forgetfulness of the Creator and the Law that He has ordained upon us that leads people to stray and do wrong in their actions. Therefore, an ontological straying causes a deviation in theological foundations, which subsequently leads to the moral degradation of society, the reminders of which are present throughout the Qur'an:
"[Prophet], do you not see those who, in exchange for God’s favor, offer only ingratitude [...]. They set up [false deities] as God’s equals to lead people astray from His path. Say, ‘Take your pleasure now, for your destination is the Fire.’" - Qur'an (14:28,30)
"You who believe! Be mindful of God, and let every soul consider carefully what it sends ahead for tomorrow; be mindful of God, for God is well aware of everything you do. Do not be like those who forget God, so God causes them to forget their own souls: they are the rebellious ones." -
Qur'an (59:18-19)
The ontological basis of Islam, Allah, is from which everything else sprouts: creation, the laws that govern creation, and the laws that humanity must govern itself with in order to remain in harmony with the rest of creation. That is where morality arises. Good, virtuous behavior that Allah enjoins us to carry out is not part of some 'spiritual calculus' that opens the gates to Paradise for the one committing the actions. The actions deemed good by Allah have, by their very nature, an inherent disposition towards social harmony, equity, justice, while also having an intrinsic quality of spiritual cultivation that tames the nafs/ego of the individual to allow for transcending the shackles of materiality.
"Those who believe and do righteous deeds: joy awaits these, and their final homecoming will be excellent.’" - Qur'an (13:29)
This is why Islam is referred to as 'a way of life': it elaborates not only on what one must believe in, but also how one must act and behave in order to live in accordance to that belief. Which is why we find in the Qur'an injunctions on maintaining rituals, while also how to conduct one's conduct in life.
On praying, or giving zakat:
"Keep up the prayer, pay the prescribed alms, and bow your heads [in worship] with those who bow theirs." - Qur'an (2:43)
On being fair to orphans:
"Stay well away from the property of orphans, except with the best [intentions], until they come of age; give full measure and weight, according to justice’[...]" - Qur'an (6:152)
On being just:
"You who believe, uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives[...]" - Qur'an (4:135)
On being charitable:
"None of you [believers] will attain true piety unless you give out of what you cherish: whatever you give, God knows about it very well." - Qur'an (3:92)
On the rights of women in marriage:
"If any of you die and leave widows, make a bequest for them: a year’s maintenance and no expulsion from their homes [for that time]. [...]Divorced women shall also have such maintenance as is considered fair: this is a duty for those who are mindful of God." - Qur'an (2:240-241)
On specifying bounds and integrity within warfare:
"Some seek refuge with people with whom you are bound by a treaty, or they come over to you because their consciences forbid them to go to war against you or against their own people. [...]So if they withdraw and do not fight you, and offer you peace, God does not allow you to harm them." - Qur'an (4:90)
In his last sermon, at Mount Arafat, the Prophet ﷺ captures this interplay between ritual and the foundations of righteousness, equity, and justice in society, stressing on how both are necessary for upholding the 'path of righteousness', as he proclaimed:
"O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, perform your five daily prayers (salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford it.
An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.
Remember, one day, you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.",7
(Arriving at) Gnosis Through Contemplative Action
Therefore both ritual and action are necessary in order to know Allah. But how can one begin to know Allah, if Allah is, in the end Ineffable?
Islam does not leave us in the lurch of not even attempting to comprehend Allah. We are repeatedly encouraged to reflect and ponder - through creation - about Allah:
"It is He who sends down water for you from the sky, from which comes a drink for you, and the shrubs that you feed to your animals. With it He grows for you grain, olives, palms, vines, and all kinds of other crops. There truly is a sign in this for those who reflect." - Qu'ran (16:10-11)
"By His command He has made the night and day, the sun, moon, and stars all of benefit to you. There truly are signs in this for those who use their reason." - Qur'an (16:12)
It is through such reflection and contemplation that we can begin to witness the Infinite Grandness and Expansiveness of Allah. Behind the various forms of creation we begin to see the harmony that entwines each, molded and breathed life into from the One Source.
"The East and the West belong to God: wherever you turn, there is His Face. God is All Pervading and All Knowing." - Qu'ran (2:115)
The Asma ul Husna – the Beautiful Names (of Allah) – are the 99 Divine Attributes that are a means for us to reflect on and comprehend the Infinity of the Allah. He is the Most Compassionate (Ar-Rahman), the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahim), the All-Hearing (As-Sami), the All-Seeing (Al-Basir), the Majestic (Al-Jalil), the Most Loving (Al-Wadud), the Giver of Life (Al-Muhyi), the Bringer of Death, the Destroyer (Al-Mumit), the First (Al-Awwal), the Last (Al-Akhir), the Ever Living (Al-Hayy), the Manifest (Az-Zahir), and the Hidden (Al-Batin). He expresses all of these attributes, and at any given moment in time our understanding may be able to grasp at the essence of it. But as the wisdom of Hz. Ali (R.A) goes, our comprehension reaches its limits with truly realizing the Divine Attributes as well:
"His names are expressions. His deeds are means of understanding. His essence is a truth. His quintessence distinguishes Him from the creatures. Thus, whoever states a description for Allah ignores Him, and whoever states a like for Him misses Him, and whoever states an essence for Him passes Him up. To ask, “Where is Allah?” is to state a definite place for Him, and to ask, “In which substance is He?” is to include Him to another thing, and to ask, “Since when is He?” is to define an end for Him, and to ask, “For what is He existent?” is to state a reason for Him, and to ask, “How is He?” is to liken Him to other things, and to ask, “When is He?” is to state a definite time for Him, and to ask, “Till when is He?” is to state a definite deadline to Him. To state a definite deadline to Allah is to part Him. To part Him means to describe Him, and to describe Him leads to disbelieving in Him. He whoever divides Him is going away from Him."8
For in the end, words act as veils, their definitions based on our perception rather than Reality. Hz. Mevlana Rumi speaks about the capability, and limitations, of words in his discourses, captured in Fihi ma Fihi:
"The usefulness of words is to cause you to seek and to excite you, but the object of your search will not be attained through words. If it were so, there would be no need for strife and self-annihilation. Words are like something moving at a distance: you run toward it in order to see the thing itself, not in order to see it through its movement. Human rational speech is inwardly the same. It excites you to search for the concept, although you cannot see it in actuality."9
In other words, rationality will not lead to truth. It will lead one to the threshold of knowing beyond which one needs to cast it aside in order to truly experience Reality, as the words - and the associated ideas around the words - themselves then begin to obscure Reality. The means to cross that threshold and moving beyond the subjectivity of words and ideas is through the process of 'strife and self-annihilation' that Hz. Mevlana Rumi refers to. It has to do with negating all biases and subjective realities that arise due to our perception, in order to see through to Reality. It is an activity that must continually arise during the moment of perception, as only repeated reflection can allow for the weakening and dissolving of the nafs/ego. By 'run[ning]' toward it in order to see the thing itself' he is suggesting that the leap into gnosis has to inevitably come through an experience of the reality of the concept, rather than fixating at the conceptual and illusory - on the 'movement' - aspect of it: the words that is.
To come back to the example of the tree, one can continue to imagine a tree, look at a picture or drawing of it, yet none of those things actually embody the tree, nor truly capture its reality. It is only by actually experiencing a tree, being in the presence of it, learning about it through experiencing it, can we then claim to have arrived at (some) true knowledge of it.
The story of the Prophet Ibrahim/Abraham (A) is a testament of this arrival through contemplation of creation (and existence).
"Remember when Abraham said to his father, Azar, ‘How can you take idols as gods? I see that you and your people have clearly gone astray.’ In this way We showed Abraham [God’s] mighty dominion over the heavens and the earth, so that he might be a firm believer. When the night grew dark over him he saw a star and said, ‘This is my Lord,’ but when it set, he said, ‘I do not like things that set.’ And when he saw the moon rising he said, ‘This is my Lord,’ but when it too set, he said, ‘If my Lord does not guide me, I shall be one of those who go astray.’ Then he saw the sun rising and cried, ‘This is my Lord! This is greater.’ But when the sun set, he said, ‘My people, I disown all that you worship beside God. I have turned my face as a true believer towards Him who created the heavens and the earth. I am not one of the polytheists.’" - Qur'an (6:74-79)
His soul yearned to know Reality but his perception was muddled and obscured by the noise of words, i.e. the practices of his community. Having rejected the idols that his father and community worshipped - recognizing their hollowness and emptiness - he 'raced' towards knowing Reality through observing the world around him. Yet regardless he look upon a star, the moon, or even the dazzling sun, his yearning was not sated. In the rising and setting he perceived a variability and ephemerality, which did not satisfy his innate sense of a Creator that would be beyond inconstancy.
He sensed something greater beyond the movement of these majestic celestial objects. And it is when the sun also sets that his restlessness was finally assuaged. His thirst for knowing was quenched with the realization that what he sought was not the objects that rose and set, that appeared and disappeared, that were ephemeral, but the One that has Dominion over those and, by matter of extension, over all of creation. The One who is Ever Present and Ever Lasting.
What we may also observe in this story is the use of the intellect to observe creation, to contemplate on creation, but that there is a movement within the person after that which requires stepping out of the purely rational, and moving towards faith. In order to comprehend the Ineffable, the rational will take us only so far. The way exists beyond the intellect.
May Allah bless us with wisdom and clarity so that we may perceive and feel His Presence and know Him. May He give us the yearning to submit to Him, and to follow what He has commanded. And may He give us the courage to embark on the journey to recognize the limits of our own intellect, and to be brave to set sail on the sea of gnosis.
Undoubtedly, Allah knows Best.
RefeRences
Thackston Jr., W. M., Signs of the Unseen, xvii
Lings, Martin. Muhammad, Page 4
Khan, Ayaz, Human Ignorance (Jahiliyyah): Past and Present, 352-355. https://www.qurtuba.edu.pk/thedialogue/The%20Dialogue/8_4/Dialogue_October_December2013_346-359.pdf
https://thepilgrim.co/farewell-sermon-of-prophet-muhammad-pbuh/
https://www.al-islam.org/tuhaf-al-uqul-ibn-shuba-al-harrani/narrations-imam-ali
Thackston Jr., W. M., Signs of the Unseen, 203
Further References
Related Posts
The featurelessness of the Ka'abah is symbolic of this non-representation, and an affirmation of the monotheistic creed. And particular to Islam, its veiled-ness symbolizes the unknowability, the ineffability, and hence the inability to represent or depict Allah.