Document Type : Scientific extension
Authors
1
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Islamic Theology, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith Studies, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3
M.A. Student in Philosophy and Islamic Theology, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Among the aḥādīth (Arabic: أحادیث, singular: ḥadīth, meaning traditions and narrations, Arabic: رِوایات, romanized: riwayāt), there are those attributed to the Prophet ṣallā llāhu ʿalayhī wa-ʾālihī wa-sallam and Ahl al-Bayt (Arabic: أَهْل ٱلْبَیْت) ʿalayhim al-ṣalātu wal-salām that address doctrinal, philosophical, and mystical themes. These narrations have been cited in various forms across jurisprudential, narrative, exegetical, mystical, philosophical, theological, and ethical works. Among these is the narration “I spend the night with my Lord, and He feeds and drinks me” (Arabic: أبیتُ عند ربّی یُطعِمُنی ویَسْقینی, romanized: “Abītu ʿinda Rabbī yuṭʿimunī wa yasqīnī”). The research question is: What is meant by the status of “being near” (Arabic: عِندیَّة, romanized: ʿindīyya) and passing and spending the night with the Lord (Arabic: بَیْتوتَة, romanized: Baytūta), and the relation (object) of “eating and drinking” in the ḥadīth? This article employs a descriptive-analytical method to examine the authenticity, implications, and content of the mentioned ḥadīth. It clarifies that, based on rational and traditional evidence from credible narrations, this ḥadīth is rooted in rational principles and legal foundations, and is aligned with logical and consistent usages without the need for interpretation or hesitation. Although various opinions based on differing juridical interpretations have emerged, it can be concluded, in accordance with the principle of the spirit of meaning and the stipulation (position) of words to general meanings, that the ḥadīth conveys a profound mystical and philosophical understanding: that food and drink possess different material and spiritual levels. Whenever a person frees from worldly attachments and attains the Divine nearness (nearness to God) and “being near” (Arabic: عِندیَّة, romanized: ʿindīyya) to the Lord, their food and drink at that level become light and knowledge, rendering them independent of worldly sustenance.
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