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Midad al-'ulama' afdal min dima' al-shuhada

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Nasta'liq calligraphy of the phrase "The ink of scholars is superior to the blood of martyrs", by Alireza Mohebbali Tafreshi.

Midād al-ʿulamāʾ afḍal min dimāʾ al-shuhadāʾ (Arabic: مِدادُ العُلماءِ أفضَلُ مِن دِماءِ الشُّهداءِ; lit. "The ink of scholars is superior to the blood of martyrs") is a famous sentence. This sentence does not appear in early Shi'a hadith books; however, it is mentioned as a narration in the exegesis Manhaj al-sadiqin, written in the 10th/16th century.

Ali Akbar Ghaffari, a Shi'a hadith scholar, did not consider this sentence a hadith and stated that it is an incorrect interpretation of another narration that al-Shaykh al-Saduq narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a). According to him, the meaning is not that the scholar's ink is superior to the martyr's blood; rather, it means that the divine invitation has been carried out more through the pen, ink, reasoning, and demonstration than through martyrdom and sacrificing lives. Thus, the narration does not imply a qualitative superiority and virtue of the scholar's ink over the martyr's blood.

In contrast, scholars such as al-Allama al-Majlisi and Ibn Fahd al-Hilli, citing the hadith narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a), believe that the ink of the scholar's pen is superior to the blood of the martyr; with the arguments that the scholar's pen perfects the reality of religion, while the martyr's blood brings the apparent aspect of religion to perfection. Also, the scholar's pen remains beneficial even after their death, whereas the martyr's blood is not so.

Regarding the conflict of this narration with another narration which states that "above every good deed there is a good deed, except martyrdom in the way of God," it has been said that in hadiths related to the superiority of martyrdom, the action itself is not the focus; rather, the doer of it, i.e., the martyr, is the focus; but in the sentence "Midad al-'ulama'...", the action itself and its efficacy in society are discussed.

Status

The sentence "Midad al-'ulama' afḍal min dima' al-shuhada'" is a famous sentence that has been narrated as a hadith in some late Shi'a exegetical sources. For example, Mulla Fath Allah Kashani (d. 988/1580), in the exegesis Manhaj al-sadiqin, cited this phrase among several hadiths.[1] In the exegesis Atyab al-bayan written by Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Tayyib (1272–1370 Sh), it is also narrated as a hadith.[2] Discussions have arisen among Shi'a scholars about whether this sentence is a hadith and its interpretations.[3]

Discussions on the Authenticity

The first books that narrated the sentence "Midad al-'ulama' afḍal min dima' al-shuhada'" did not discuss its chain of transmission (sanad) and only mentioned it as a hadith.[4] In the words of several scholars, it has also been referred to as a hadith; but no argument or scientific discussion about it has been presented. For example, in a quote from Ayatollah Borujerdi, it is stated that he considered this sentence a hadith.[5] On the other hand, Morteza Motahhari in the book Hamasa-yi Husayni referred to this phrase as a "sentence".[6]

In a study, it is stated that Ali Akbar Ghaffari, a Shi'a hadith scholar, is the first person who examined this phrase precisely in terms of chain of transmission and content.[7] According to Ghaffari, the phrase "Midad al-'ulama' afḍal min dima' al-shuhada" is not a hadith; rather, it is an incorrect interpretation of another narration found in books such as Man la yahduruhu al-faqih and al-Amālī by al-Shaykh al-Saduq.[8] The narration that Ghaffari quotes from al-Shaykh al-Saduq from Imam al-Sadiq (a) is as follows: "When the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, will gather people on a single plain and scales will be set up. Then the blood of martyrs will be weighed against the ink of scholars, and the ink of scholars will outweigh the blood of martyrs."[9]

Is the Scholar's Ink Superior to the Martyr's Blood?

There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding whether the ink of scholars is superior to the blood of martyrs or not:

Opponents

Morteza Motahhari did not accept the superiority of the scholar's ink over the martyr's blood and objected to why the value of the martyr and martyrdom has been lowered by relying on this sentence.[10] Ali Akbar Ghaffari said that this sentence is taken from a narration by al-Shaykh al-Saduq which does not state that the blood of martyrs has virtue over the ink of scholars. In Ghaffari's view, "the heaviness of the scholars' ink over the martyrs' blood" means that in terms of volume and weight, the scholars' ink is more and heavier than the martyrs' blood. The meaning is that the divine invitation has been carried out more through the pen, ink, reasoning, and demonstration than through martyrdom and sacrificing lives. Thus, the narration does not imply a qualitative superiority and virtue of the scholar's ink over the martyr's blood.[11]

Proponents

Among the proponents of the superiority of the scholar's ink over the martyr's blood, al-Allama al-Majlisi said that the scholar's pen perfects the reality of religion; but the martyr's blood brings the apparent aspect of religion to perfection.[12] Ibn Fahd al-Hilli also wrote that the scholar's pen remains beneficial and eternal after his death; but the martyr's blood is not so.[13] Al-Fayd al-Kashani also believes that the scholar's pen protects religion from deviations that cause a person to go to hell and be eternally deprived of divine blessings; but the martyr's blood is a means of protecting bodies and properties from the invasion of aliens in this very world.[14]

Incompatibility with Other Narrations

It has been asked that in narrations it is stated that "above every good deed there is a good deed, except martyrdom in the way of God,"[15] while the sentence "Midad al-'ulama'" considers the scholar's pen superior to martyrdom. In response, it has been said that in hadiths related to martyrdom, the action itself is not the focus; rather, the doer of it, i.e., the martyr, is the focus. From this aspect, the act of the martyr is superior to any other act; but in the sentence "Midad al-'ulama", the action itself and its result in society are discussed, and its meaning is that in terms of impact on society, guiding individuals, and consolidating the foundations of religion, the ink of scholars is more effective than the blood of martyrs.[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, 1336 Sh, vol. 9, p. 206.
  2. ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, 1378 Sh, vol. 14, p. 302.
  3. ↑ For example, see: Muṭahharī, Ḥamāsa-yi Ḥusaynī, 1390 Sh, vol. 2, p. 226; Ghaffārī, Talkhīṣ Miqbās al-hidāya, 1360 Sh, pp. 247-248.
  4. ↑ See: Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, 1336 Sh, vol. 9, p. 206; Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, 1378 Sh, vol. 14, p. 302.
  5. ↑ Ḥusaynī Ṭihrānī, Maṭlaʿ anvār, 1431 AH, vol. 3, p. 396.
  6. ↑ Muṭahharī, Ḥamāsa-yi Ḥusaynī, 1390 Sh, vol. 2, p. 226.
  7. ↑ Jaddī, "Iʿtibār-sanjī-yi sanadī wa dalālī-yi ḥadīth...", p. 199.
  8. ↑ See: Ghaffārī, Talkhīṣ Miqbās al-hidāya, 1360 Sh, p. 247.
  9. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruhu al-faqīh, 1404 AH, vol. 4, p. 398; Ṣadūq, Al-Amālī, 1376 Sh, p. 168.
  10. ↑ Muṭahharī, Ḥamāsa-yi Ḥusaynī, 1390 Sh, vol. 2, p. 226.
  11. ↑ See: Ghaffārī, Talkhīṣ Miqbās al-hidāya, 1360 Sh, p. 247; Fattāḥī-zāda, Mabānī wa rawish-hā-yi naqd-i ḥadīth, 1389 Sh, p. 52.
  12. ↑ Majlisī, Rawḍat al-muttaqīn, 1406 AH, vol. 13, p. 108.
  13. ↑ Ibn Fahd Ḥillī, ʿUddat al-dāʿī, 1407 AH, p. 77.
  14. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Al-Wāfī, 1406 AH, vol. 1, p. 145.
  15. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1363 Sh, vol. 2, p. 349.
  16. ↑ "Pāsukh bi nāmahā", Majalla-yi Pāsdār-i Islām, p. 62.

References

  • Balāghī, Ṣadr al-Dīn, Ali Akbar Ghaffari, & Muḥammad Javād Ghaffārī (trans.). Tarjuma wa matn-i Man lā yaḥḍuruhu al-faqīh. Tehran: Nashr-i Ṣadūq, 1367 Sh.
  • Fattāḥī-zāda, Fatḥiyya. Mabānī wa rawish-hā-yi naqd-i ḥadīth dar kutub-i arbaʿa. Qom: Dānishgāh-i Qom, 1389 Sh.
  • Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Al-Wāfī. Isfahan: Kitābkhāna-yi Imām Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī (a), 1406 AH.
  • Ghaffārī, ʿAlī Akbar. Talkhīṣ Miqbās al-hidāya. Tehran: Nashr-i Ṣadūq, 1360 Sh.
  • Ibn Fahd Ḥillī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. ʿUddat al-dāʿī wa najāḥ al-sāʿī. n.p.: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1407 AH.
  • Jaddī, Ḥusayn, et al. "Iʿtibār-sanjī-yi sanadī wa dalālī-yi ḥadīth: (Yarjaḥu midād al-ʿulamāʾ ʿalā dimāʾ al-shuhadāʾ) az manābiʿ-i farīqayn". Majalla-yi Ḥadīth wa Andīsha, no. 29, 1399 Sh.
  • Kāshānī, Fatḥ Allāh. Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn fī ilzām al-mukhālifīn. Tehran: Kitābfurūshī-yi Muḥammad Ḥasan ʿIlmī, 1336 Sh.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1363 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Taqī. Rawḍat al-muttaqīn fī sharḥ Man lā yaḥḍuruhu al-faqīh. Qom: Muʾassisa-yi Farhangī-yi Islāmī-yi Kūshānpūr, 1406 AH.
  • Muṭahharī, Murtaḍā. Ḥamāsa-yi Ḥusaynī. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Ṣadrā, 1390 Sh.
  • "Pāsukh bi nāmahā". Majalla-yi Pāsdār-i Islām, no. 49. Posted: 1 Dey 1364 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Amālī. Tehran: Kitābfurūshī-yi Islāmiyya, 6th ed., 1376 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruhu al-faqīh. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1404 AH.
  • Ṭayyib, Sayyid ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Aṭyab al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Islām, 1378 Sh.
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