Bensalem Himmich - The Polymath

“Now, when it comes to those obscurantist legal authorities who strive to outsmart us or other obsessive manipulators who insist on arguing with us, proclaiming for all the world to hear that the solution to the problem is right in front of our noses, we have every right to stand in opposition to their opinions, and for three reasons. Firstly, every single Islamic government — Arabs, Persians, Turks, Berbers, Mamluks, and Mongols — has claimed to be protecting the basic essence of Islam and to being directed by its guiding light. Even so, such claims have utterly failed to prevent a mounting sequence of crises and errors. Secondly, true Islam has only come to grief when it has found itself tossed back and forth within the corridors of power or as part of professionalized politics. It is there that we find the clash of wills, desires, and lusts, all working in opposition to each other. It was that very clash that led to the murder of all the Rightly-Guided Caliphs of the earliest days of Islam, with the exception of the very first one, Abu Bakr, who died in his own bed. Thirdly, the fire of pure Islam can only be kept burning among the people themselves. They are the ones who need to make full use of its dicta in order to remonstrate with those authority figures who make decisions and maintain control over the chancery, the army, and the treasury. They will have to rely on its strength when it comes to arousing people’s consciences and reinforcing humanity’s awareness of the Islamic religion’s values and truths.

“Politics, Hammu, is a matter of trust and delegation; there is no way of avoiding the processes of accountability and explanation. No one has the right to utilize political methods solely for the purpose of converting the recorder into some kind of authority figure or else in the name of some notion of divine succession. If that were the case, then history would find itself confronted only with accounts of authority and political power, something that is completely contrary to the laws of tradition and reason. That’s how I look at our current era. Our Lord, You know that which we hide and that which we proclaim .

“I wonder, have I managed to discuss this sensitive topic with sufficient clarity and detail? It’s certainly one where people regularly toss brickbats at each other and accuse each other of heresy. On this particular topic there’s more to be said. .

The Night at the End of Jumada al-Akhira

Right at the beginning of this session, al-Hihi suddenly came to realize that ‘Abd al-Rahman was a particularly cerebral being, someone who was continually thinking and debating with himself. His brain cells were permanently busy, a process of engagement that only sleep could interrupt. For that very reason, al-Hihi decided to try to steer the conversation toward lighter topics — life’s trivialities and minor issues, things that would not require so much thought and concentration. Actually, he had a question on the tip of his tongue about the quest for change in history, something that he was proposing to attribute falsely to his wife, Umm al-Banin. But the whole plan had to remain poised in the air, because he found himself greeted by the following words from his interlocutor:

“Well, Hammu, I suspect that what I had to say earlier about the lessons of history and the processes of change did not satisfy your thirst. Isn’t that so? With your dear, innocent wife’s comments as corroboration, you may well comment that, since history seems to be a corpus in which the lessons of the past neither illuminate matters nor play a useful or significant role, then what is the function of variables and transformations in different periods and phases? By God, that is a very tricky question, one that has preoccupied my mind for a very long time. It’s one that I cannot put aside, and neither the passage of time nor the course of events can offer me any help in resolving it.”

Al-Hihi thought that this might be the appropriate moment to distract the master with some pleasantries, by relating to him some of the latest jokes he had heard from Umm al-Banin. He therefore suggested that ‘Abd al-Rahman relax for a bit and listen to some diverting samples of humor. But ‘Abd al-Rahman gave his amanuensis a piercing stare.

“Jokes have a short lifespan, Hammu,” he said gloomily, “but the problems of history stay with us. The number of people who think seriously about fate and the future is minute, so it’s not right for me to leave them high and dry, particularly when I watch today’s rulers, those devotees of rampant egotism, exerting no restraining influence on anything and scoffing at the mayhem they’re causing. I have no choice but to investigate matters persistently and in depth. I must train my mind to be patient and obdurate, the supposition being that there will indeed be light at the end of the tunnel. Day and night I will make myself repeat, ‘Our Lord, You did not create all this for nothing, nor did You create us in vain.’ But before we start supposing and hoping, Hammu, make a note of the way things really are, along with all their unpromising characteristics. Write it down, remembering all the while that knowledge of such issues is a solemn obligation of any genuine reformer. I’ve confronted the mass of detail on this subject in my books and pursued it as far as I can. But now that I’ve reached this stage of my life, all I can do is to stand by the outlets and take stock of things. My dear Hammu, how beset and fragmented everything seems! How many signs there are that point to a lack of aspirations and precipitous decline.

“Even though there may be a difference in degree, the basic features of plunder and decay are always the same: a ruler who behaves tyrannically or contemptuously. Soldiers and scribes alike surround him, and his universe is one enveloped by the interests of real estate, commodities, and livestock. This is the way matters proceed from one dynasty to the next and for as long as the instincts of group solidarity remain in place, like some phoenix rising up from its own ashes, bringing in its wake the same tribulations and sequences. Meanwhile the suffering populace. . oh, dear! They have to suffer through gruesome times and the abuses of uncontrolled armies. In trying to exercise their own humanity the only discretion they have requires that they follow the dictates of reckless officials and the untrammeled tyranny of their overlords. In spite of the odd, fleeting glimmer of change, the internal structure is in ruins. How, then, how can I possibly be anything else but scared to death when I think of attacks from Christians in the west and Mongol hordes in the east?

“My expectations — and a pox be on them! — give me little cause for optimism. How could it be otherwise? As I keep an eye on events and gather information, everything presages dire consequences — and for the long term at that! I watch as our ports become subject to foreign monopolies and our vital regions fall prey to European penetration. Gangsterism is rife in our midst, and a general impotence is the order of the day. When I see all this, my heart breaks and I turn to God Almighty for deliverance.

“So, Hammu, that’s the general situation as I see it. Even so, I’ve only provided a summary. If I were to go into detail at this stage, I might find myself indulging in predictions even more far-reaching than the one I recorded previously, when I said ‘The past is more like the future than water is to water.’ But whenever I make predictions — God will reward you well for making this much clear — He makes me (may He be exalted) feel vigorous rather than weak. I feel myself being propelled forward rather than backward. So, in spite of all the handicaps involved, I remain deeply concerned about the question. So, Hammu, remind me once again about the precise nature of the issue so that I can address it properly.”