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Hadith Man 'arafa nafsahu fa-qad 'arafa rabbahu
Hadith Man 'arafa nafsahu, in Thuluth script, by Turkish calligrapher Hamid al-Amidi, 1972
Hadith Man 'arafa nafsahu, in Thuluth script, by Turkish calligrapher Hamid al-Amidi, 1972
SubjectKnowledge of the self and God
Issued byProphet of Islam (s) and Imam 'Ali (a)
Shi'a sourcesMisbah al-shari'a, Ghurar al-hikam wa durar al-kalim
Sunni sourcesMatlub kull talib


Hadith "Man ʿarafa nafsahu fa-qad ʿarafa rabbahu" (Arabic: مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَهُ فَقَدْ عَرَفَ رَبَّهُ) is a famous hadith in Islamic tradition emphasizing the possibility of knowing God through the knowledge of the self. This hadith has been narrated in various forms from the Prophet (s) and Imam 'Ali (a) in both Shi'a and Sunni sources, although it is not recorded in the Four Books of the Imamiyya or the Sihah al-Sitta. Sources such as Misbah al-shari'a, 'Awali al-la'ali, and Ghurar al-hikam are among the works that have narrated this hadith.

Muslim scholars have provided various interpretations of this hadith. Some consider it referring to the knowledge of divine attributes through human attributes; such that human poverty and need are a sign of the absolute wealth of God. Another group considers this hadith a confirmation of the Argument from design and believes that the wonderful order in human existence indicates the existence of a wise Designer. This hadith also holds a special position in Islamic mysticism and is presented as one of the keys to spiritual wayfaring and Self-knowledge.

Importance and Status

The hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu" is among the famous hadiths[1] in which knowledge of the self is introduced as a way to know God: "He who knows himself, certainly knows his Lord." This hadith has been narrated from both the Prophet (s)[2] and from Imam 'Ali (a).[3]

According to Mulla Sadra, based on narrations, the content of this hadith exists in all heavenly books.[4] Also, 'Allama al-Majlisi has narrated this hadith from the scriptures of Prophet Idris (a).[5] This hadith has long been of interest to sages and mystics.[6]

The content of the hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu" has appeared in other similar narrative sources as well. For example, in a hadith from the Prophet (s), it is narrated that a person named Mujashi' asked him: "O Messenger of God, what is the way to know God?" and the Prophet replied: "Knowledge of the self."[7] It is also narrated from Imam 'Ali (a) that he said: "I wonder at the one who is ignorant of his own self, how does he know his Lord?"[8] This content has appeared in various other sources, including Amali al-Murtada by al-Sayyid al-Murtada,[9] Misbah al-shari'a attributed to Imam al-Sadiq (a),[10] and Jami' al-akhbar by Taj al-Din Muhammad Shu'ayri.[11]

Documentation and Authenticity

The hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu" is not recorded in the Four Books of the Shi'a or the Sihah al-Sitta of the Sunnis, but it has been narrated in other reliable sources from both Islamic intellectual trends. This hadith is attributed to Imam al-Sadiq (a) in the book Misbah al-shari'a[12] and is narrated from the Prophet (s) in 'Awali al-la'ali by Ibn Abi Jumhur al-Ahsa'i.[13] Also, in Matlub kull talib by al-Jahiz, this hadith is attributed to Imam 'Ali (a).[14] Furthermore, it is narrated from Imam 'Ali (a) in ethical and sapiential works such as Ghurar al-hikam by Abu l-Fath al-Amidi[15] and ʿUyūn al-ḥikam wa l-mawāʿiẓ by al-Laythi al-Wasiti.[16]

Regarding the authenticity of "Man 'arafa nafsahu fa-qad 'arafa rabbahu", there is a disagreement between Shi'a and Sunni scholars. Many Shi'a hadith scholars have considered this hadith reliable and have narrated it in numerous sources.[17] 'Allama Tabataba'i and Jawadi Amuli also consider it among the famous hadiths.[18] However, the authors of Danishnama-yi 'aqayid-i Islami believe that this hadith does not have a connected chain to the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and is of the mursal type; but considering that its content appears in some Qur'anic verses, there is no need for chain analysis and one can rely on its thematic validity.[19] In contrast, some Sunni scholars such as al-Suyuti have not considered it authentic[20] and Ibn Taymiyya has considered it fabricated.[21]

Connection with Qur'anic Verses

A number of exegetes have considered the hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu" synonymous with or related to some Qur'anic verses. For example, 'Allama Tabataba'i considered some Qur'anic expressions referring to Knowledge of the self and in their exegesis, he has narrated the hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu". Including:

'Allama Tabataba'i has considered these verses as expressing the human capacity for knowing his existential truth and consequently knowing God.[25] In this regard, Mulla Sadra, 'Allama Tabataba'i, and Jawadi Amuli also under Qur'an 59:19 "they forgot Allah, so He made them forget their own souls"[26] have cited the hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu" and considered it a witness to the bond between forgetting God and neglecting oneself.[27]

Furthermore, Abu l-Hasan 'Ali al-Wahidi, a Sunni exegete of the 5th century AH, also under Qur'an 2:130 "And who turns away from the creed of Abraham except one who fools himself?"[28] has proposed the hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu" and considered it related to the content of the verse.[29]

Interpretations of the Hadith

Various meanings and interpretations have been expressed by Islamic thinkers for the hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu fa-qad 'arafa rabbahu".[30] Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli, the Shi'i thinker, has mentioned more than ninety meanings and interpretations for this hadith.[31] Mulla Sadra has also referred to this hadith as the proof of Knowledge of the self and considered it, after the Argument of the Truthful, the most valuable argument for proving the existence and knowledge of God.[32]

Some of the interpretations of this hadith are as follows:

Possibility of Knowing God's Attributes

Shi'a and Sunni scholars believe that human characteristics are in contrast with divine attributes. Therefore, knowing human attributes can be a way to know God; because by understanding human limitations, one can realize divine perfections. For example, by knowing the contingency, possibility, weakness, and neediness of man, one can realize that God is respectively eternal, Necessary Being, strong, and needless.[33]

However, Jawadi Amuli considered this type of interpretation of the hadith superficial or incorrect and believes that knowing God through knowing the self must be based on the human's existential truth and not merely the contrast of attributes.[34]

Indication of the Argument from Design

Makarim Shirazi believes that the hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu fa-qad 'arafa rabbahu" refers to the Argument from design; because knowing the wonders of the human soul and body leads us to the existence of God. In his view, this complex and amazing order cannot have originated from anything but a knowing and aware Origin.[35] Some researchers also, considering the related verses and hadiths, have considered this interpretation the clearest and most understandable meaning of the hadith.[36]

Inability to Completely Know God

A group of Shi'a and Sunni scholars in explaining the meaning of the hadith have proposed the possibility that the intent of the narration is: because man does not have the power to completely know his own truth, attaining complete knowledge of God's truth is also impossible for him.[37] 'Allama Tabataba'i considers this understanding in contrast to the verses and narrations that introduced self-knowledge as a preliminary to God-knowledge and emphasized the possibility of relative knowledge of God through knowing the self.[38]

Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi also after referring to this meaning, has considered it aligned with verses by Sanai Ghaznawi whose content indicates the human's inability to know his own truth and God.

O you who became helpless of your own nature
how would you ever know God
When you are weak in your own self
how would you be a knower of the Creator


Opening the Eye of the Heart through Suluk

Self-knowledge can be interpreted in two ways. Sometimes self-knowledge is in a conceptual and argumentative form and is obtained through rational analysis; in this state, man attains an acquired (husuli) understanding of God. Sometimes self-knowledge is in an existential and intuitive form which is obtained through mystical Suluk and leads to a presential (huduri) understanding of God. The hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu" can be considered referring to both meanings; but in Jawadi Amuli's opinion, the interpretation of the hadith based on the second meaning, i.e., existential and intuitive self-knowledge, is deeper and more precise than its conceptual interpretation.[39]

Proving the Incorporeity of the Soul

One of the branches based on the Principle of Causality is the principle of homogeneity (sinkhiyya). Based on this principle, every effect arises from a cause homogenous with itself. Therefore, since the human soul—as an effect—is incorporeal in its essence, the cause that produced it must also be an incorporeal and non-material thing. Based on this argument, one of the attributes of the Lord, which is being non-physical and incorporeal, is known. And because incorporeity is one of the characteristics of the divine essence, proving this attribute leads to proving the principle of God's existence as well. This is the very point that the hadith emphasizes: knowing the truth of the soul is a way to know God.[40]

Monograph

Independent works have been written in the explanation and exegesis of the hadith "Man 'arafa nafsahu".[41] Mahdi Mehrizi, the Shi'a hadith researcher, in addition to the explanations that appeared within different books, has listed 26 independent explanations for this hadith.[42] Among these works, the following can be mentioned:

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 6, p. 169; Javādī Āmulī, Tawḥīd dar Qur'ān, 1395 Sh, p. 181.
  2. ↑ Attributed to Ja'far b. Muḥammad (a), Miṣbāḥ al-sharī'a, 1400 AH, p. 13; Ibn Abī Jumhūr, ʿAwālī al-la'ālī, 1405 AH, vol. 4, p. 102; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 1, p. 91, vol. 9, p. 460, and vol. 30, p. 721.
  3. ↑ Jāḥiẓ, Maṭlūb kull ṭālib, 1374 Sh, p. 71; Tamīmī Āmidī, Ghurar al-ḥikam, 1410 AH, p. 588; Laythī Wāsiṭī, ʿUyūn al-ḥikam wa l-mawāʿiẓ, 1376 Sh, p. 430; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, 1404 AH, vol. 20, p. 292 (Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd narrated this hadith among the wisdoms attributed to Imam 'Ali (a)).
  4. ↑ See: Mullā Ṣadrā, Asrār al-āyāt, 1360 Sh, p. 133.
  5. ↑ 'Allāma al-Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 92, p. 456.
  6. ↑ Mihrīzī, "Sharḥ ḥadīth man ʿarafa nafsahu", p. 144.
  7. ↑ Ibn Abī Jumhūr, ʿAwālī al-la'ālī, 1405 AH, vol. 1, p. 246.
  8. ↑ Tamīmī Āmidī, Ghurar al-ḥikam, 1410 AH, p. 461; Laythī Wāsiṭī, ʿUyūn al-ḥikam wa l-mawāʿiẓ, 1376 Sh, p. 329.
  9. ↑ Al-Sayyid al-Murtaḍā, Amālī al-Murtaḍā, 1998, vol. 1, p. 274.
  10. ↑ Attributed to Ja'far b. Muḥammad (a), Miṣbāḥ al-sharī'a, 1400 AH, p. 13.
  11. ↑ Shu'ayrī, Jāmi' al-akhbār, p. 4.
  12. ↑ Miṣbāḥ al-sharī'a, 1400 AH, p. 13.
  13. ↑ Ibn Abī Jumhūr, ʿAwālī al-la'ālī, 1405 AH, vol. 4, p. 102.
  14. ↑ Jāḥiẓ, Maṭlūb kull ṭālib, 1374 Sh, p. 71; Ibn Maytham al-Baḥrānī, Sharḥ bar ṣad kalima-yi Amīr al-Mu'minīn, 1375 Sh, pp. 103 & 326.
  15. ↑ Tamīmī Āmidī, Ghurar al-ḥikam, 1410 AH, p. 588.
  16. ↑ Laythī Wāsiṭī, ʿUyūn al-ḥikam wa l-mawāʿiẓ, 1376 Sh, p. 430.
  17. ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī et al., Dānishnāma-yi ʿaqāyid-i Islāmī, 1386 Sh, vol. 4, pp. 149–150.
  18. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 6, p. 169; Javādī Āmulī, Tawḥīd dar Qur'ān, 1395 Sh, p. 181.
  19. ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī et al., Dānishnāma-yi ʿaqāyid-i Islāmī, 1386 Sh, vol. 4, pp. 149–150.
  20. ↑ Sam'ānī, Qawāṭi' al-adilla, 1418 AH, vol. 2, p. 60; Nawawī, Fatāwā al-Nawawī, 1417 AH, p. 248; Suyūṭī, Al-Ḥāwī li-l-fatāwā, 1424 AH, vol. 2, p. 288.
  21. ↑ Ibn Taymiyya, Majmū' al-fatāwā, 1416 AH, vol. 16, p. 349.
  22. ↑ Qur'an 5:105.
  23. ↑ Qur'an 41:53.
  24. ↑ Qur'an 51:20-21.
  25. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 6, pp. 165–170.
  26. ↑ Qur'an 59:19.
  27. ↑ Mullā Ṣadrā, Asrār al-āyāt, 1360 Sh, p. 163; Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 6, p. 165; Javādī Āmulī, Tawḥīd dar Qur'ān, 1395 Sh, pp. 145 & 181.
  28. ↑ Qur'an 2:130.
  29. ↑ Wāḥidī, Al-Wasīṭ, 1416 AH, vol. 1, p. 198.
  30. ↑ For example see: Majlisī, Lawāmi'-i ṣāḥib-qarānī, 1414 AH, vol. 1, pp. 115–119; Suyūṭī, Al-Ḥāwī li-l-fatāwā, 1424 AH, vol. 2, pp. 288–291.
  31. ↑ Ḥasanzāda Āmulī, Hazār wa yik kalima, 1381 Sh, vol. 3, pp. 200–216.
  32. ↑ Mullā Ṣadrā, Al-Shawāhid al-rubūbiyya, 1360 Sh, p. 46.
  33. ↑ Regarding Shi'a scholars see: Ibn Maytham al-Baḥrānī, Sharḥ bar ṣad kalima-yi Amīr al-Mu'minīn, 1375 Sh, pp. 326–327 (Sharh 'Abd al-Wahhab); Majlisī, Lawāmi'-i ṣāḥib-qarānī, 1414 AH, vol. 1, pp. 118–119; 'Allāma al-Majlisī, Mir'āt al-'uqūl, 1404 AH, vol. 9, p. 257; Māzandarānī, Sharḥ al-Kāfī, 1382 Sh, vol. 3, p. 30. Regarding Sunni scholars see: Wāḥidī, Al-Wasīṭ, 1416 AH, vol. 1, p. 198; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 1, p. 91 and vol. 9, p. 460; Ibn Taymiyya, Majmū' al-fatāwā, 1416 AH, vol. 9, p. 297; Nawawī, Fatāwā al-Nawawī, 1417 AH, p. 248; Suyūṭī, Al-Ḥāwī li-l-fatāwā, 1424 AH, vol. 2, p. 290.
  34. ↑ Javādī Āmulī, Tawḥīd dar Qur'ān, 1395 Sh, p. 147.
  35. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, 1377 Sh, vol. 1, p. 328.
  36. ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī et al., Dānishnāma-yi ʿaqāyid-i Islāmī, 1386 Sh, vol. 4, p. 155.
  37. ↑ Ibn Taymiyya, Majmū' al-fatāwā, 1416 AH, vol. 9, p. 298; Suyūṭī, Al-Ḥāwī li-l-fatāwā, 1424 AH, vol. 2, p. 290; Māzandarānī, Sharḥ al-Kāfī, 1382 Sh, vol. 4, pp. 153–154 and vol. 6, p. 61.
  38. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 6, pp. 169–170.
  39. ↑ Javādī Āmulī, Tawḥīd dar Qur'ān, 1395 Sh, pp. 145–150.
  40. ↑ Mullā Ṣadrā, Al-Ḥikma al-muta'āliya, 1981, vol. 8, p. 305; footnote by Mullā Hādī Sabzwārī.
  41. ↑ See: Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī et al., Dānishnāma-yi ʿaqāyid-i Islāmī, 1386 Sh, vol. 4, pp. 151–153.
  42. ↑ Mihrīzī, "Sharḥ ḥadīth man ʿarafa nafsahu", p. 144.
  43. ↑ Ḥasanzāda Āmulī, Hazār wa yik kalima, 1381 Sh, vol. 3, p. 197.
  44. ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī et al., Dānishnāma-yi ʿaqāyid-i Islāmī, 1386 Sh, vol. 4, p. 153.
  45. ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī et al., Dānishnāma-yi ʿaqāyid-i Islāmī, 1386 Sh, vol. 4, p. 152.

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