SHAJÂ'AH – شجاعة

Literally & Etymologically: Derived from the Arabic root sh-c-‘ (ش ج ع), signifying to be brave, courageous and resolute; metaphorically denoting the firmness of the heart rooted deeply like a sturdy tree against fears and perils.

As an Islamic term: The wasat degree of al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah (the power of anger). Employing al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah strictly within the bounds of as-sirât al-mustaqîm; giving freely of one’s rûh with passionate love and eagerness to protect the honour and dignity of Islam and uphold the Word of Tawhîd.

Excerpts from the Risale-i Nur that elucidates the meaning of this term:

الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ: Know that as-sirât al-mustaqîm is justice (‘adl), which is the summary and essence of hikmah, ‘iffah and shajâ'ah. These three represent the wasats — the middle degrees — for each of the three degrees belonging to man's three powers (quwwa).

To explain: When Allah 'Azza wa Jalla housed the rûh in the changing, needy body exposed to perils, He entrusted three powers (quwwa) to it to maintain its existence therein.

The First: Al-quwwa ash-shahawiyyah al-bahîmiyyah — the power of animal appetite that attracts benefits.

The Second: Al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah as-sabui’yyah — the predacious power of anger that repulses harmful and destructive things.

The Third: Al-quwwa al-aqliyyah al-malakiyyah — the intellectual power of the malâikah that distinguishes between benefit and harm.

However, in accordance with His hikmah that necessitates mankind achieving perfection through the mystery of competition, Allah did not determine limits on these powers in man’s fitrah as He did on the powers of animals. Rather, He determined limits on them through the Sharî'ah, which prohibits ifrât and tafrît and commands the wasat. This is what is declared by the âyah

فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَٓا اُمِرْتَ 1

And due to this lack of limitation in fitrah, three degrees arise in each: the degree of deficiency, which is tafrît; the degree of excess, which is ifrât; and the degree of wasat, which is justice (‘adl).

Thus, the degrees of al-quwwa al-aqliyyah:

1. Its tafrît is gabâwah and stupidity (or dullness).

2. Its ifrât is deceptive jarbaza2 and over-meticulousness in trivial matters.

3. Its wasat is hikmah.3

وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ اُو۫تِىَ خَيْرًا كَث۪يرًۜا 4

Know that just as these powers vary in these three degrees, so does each of their branches. For example, regarding the issue of the creation of actions5 , the wasat is the madhab of Ahl al-Sunnah6 between the Jabriyya7 and the Mu'tazila8 .9

And concerning belief: the madhab of Tawhîd is the wasat between ta'til (denying the attributes of Allah or stripping them from their haqiqah) and tashbîh (anthropomorphism). Other examples can be expanded according to this analogy.

Thus, the degrees of al-quwwa ash-shahawiyyah:

1. Its tafrît is khumud, which is a complete lack of desire for anything.

2. Its ifrât is fujûr, which is to desire whatever one encounters, whether halal or haram.

3. Its wasat is ‘iffah, which is desiring what is halal and shunning the haram.

Apply this analogy, comparing every branch of this power — such as eating, drinking, clothing, and the like — with its root.

Thus, the degrees of al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah:

1. Its tafrît is jabânah, which is fearing what should not be feared and having wahm.

2. Its ifrât is tahawwur10 , which is the father of despotism, arbitrary, domination and dhulm.

3. Its wasat is shajâ'ah, which is sacrificing one’s rûh with passionate love and eagerness to protect the honour and dignity (nâmûs11 ) of Islam and uphold the Word of Tawhîd.

Compare every branch of this power with its root.

Thus, these six ifrât degrees are dhulm, while the three wasat degrees are justice (‘adl), which is as-sirât al-mustaqîm — that is, acting in accordance with:

فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَٓا اُمِرْتَ 12

Whoever successfully crosses this bridge of as-sirât al-mustaqîm will likewise cross the bridge of sirât stretched over the fire of Jahannam.

The Sign of Miraculousness-52-55

(Please also refer to the Compilation on As-Sirât Al-Mustaqîm.)

The shajâ'ah of the Prophet (asm):

Leading authorities on hadith, foremost Imam al-Bukhari, report that one night, outside the Madina al-Munawwara, a grave alarm was spread that the enemy was attacking. Brave horsemen immediately rode out. On the way, they encountered someone coming toward them and realised that it was Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm. He had proclaimed, "There is nothing to fear." Having mounted the horse of Abu Talha, by the requirement of his sacred shajâ'ah, he had gone ahead of everyone else to investigate the situation and was already returning.

The Nineteenth Letter/The Fifteenth Sign/Fourth Incident

After the Qur’an, the greatest miracle of Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm is his own blessed person (dhât). That is, the sublime moral virtues gathered in him, regarding which both friend and foe agree that he is at the highest rank in every virtue. Indeed, the hero of shajâ'ah, Hazrat ‘Ali, repeatedly stated: 'When war grew fierce, we would seek shelter and take refuge behind Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm. And so on... He possessed the highest and unreachable degree in all praiseworthy moral virtues.

The Nineteenth Letter/The Seventeenth Sign

The shajâ'ah of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra):

It is necessary to consider Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) from two aspects. One is from the point of his personal perfection and rank. The second is from the point of his representing the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt. As for the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt, it displays a kind of essence of Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm.

Thus, regarding the first point, all the people of haqiqah, foremost Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), give precedence to Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra). They recognised their ranks as higher in the service to Islam and proximity (Qurbîyyah13 ) to Allah. Regarding the second point, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) defies comparison in respect of being the representative of the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt, since the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt represents a haqiqah of Muhammad (asm).

Thus, the extraordinary laudatory hadiths of the Prophet regarding Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) point toward this second point. There is a sahîh riwâyât corroborating this haqiqah that Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm decreed, “The descendants of all prophets were from themselves. My descendants are those of ‘Ali (ra).”

The mystery behind the widespread dissemination of laudatory hadiths concerning the person of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) — more so than for the other three khalîfah — is this: In response to the Umayyads and Kharijites unjustly attacking and disparaging him, the people of haqiqah, who are the Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, widely disseminated riwâyât concerning him. Since the other Rightly-Guided khalîfah were not subject to such criticism and denigration, no need was felt to spread hadiths about them.

Furthermore, with the eye of nubuwwah, he (asm) saw that, in the future, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) would be exposed to grievous events and internal fitnah, and in order to save him from despair and his ummah from suspicious misunderstandings about him, he consoled ‘Ali (ra) and guided his ummah with important hadiths like,

مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلاَهُ فَعَلِىٌّ مَوْلاَهُ14

The love of the walâyah Shi'a toward Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) at the degree of ifrât and their deeming him superior, which stems from tarîqah, do not hold them responsible to the same degree as the political Shi'a of khilâfah. Because the people of walâyah, by virtue of their path, look upon their guides (Murshid) with love. Love, in its very essence, tends toward ifrât; it desires to see the beloved higher than his actual rank and consequently sees him as such. Ahl al-hâl15 may be excused in their overflows of love. But they can only be excused on the condition that their deeming Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) superior — which arises from that love — does not go as far as the denigration and hostility towards the other Rightly-Guided khalîfah, and does not exceed the bounds of the fundamental principles of Islam.

As for the political Shi'a of khilâfah, since political grudges have been mixed into it, they inevitably fall into the grasp of those grudges and transgression, thereby losing their right to be excused. Just as — serving as a clear confirmation of the phrase,

لاَ لِحُبِّ عَلِىٍّ بَلْ لِبُغْضِ عُمَرَ16

— the Persian nation was wounded by the hand of Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) and thus disguised their vengeance under the guise of love for ‘Ali so too did the revolt of Amr ibn al-‘As against Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) and the tragic battle of ‘Umar ibn Sa‘d against Hazrat Husayn (ra) instill a fierce rancour and hostility toward the name of ‘Umar in the Shi‘a.

The walâyah Shi'a has no right to criticise Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah because the Sunnis do not diminish the value of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra); on the contrary, they love him sincerely. However, they refrain from that degree of ifrât in love which is stated to be dangerous in ḥadiths. The Prophet's praise of the Shi’a17 of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) in the hadiths belongs to the Sunnis. Because the Shi’a of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) who possess love in istiqâmah are Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, who are the people of haqq. Just as ifrât in love for Hazrat ‘Îsâ (as) is dangerous for the Christians (Nasara), it has been made clear in sahîh hadiths that such ifrât in love for Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) is also dangerous.

If the walâyah Shi'a say, “Once the extraordinary perfections of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) are accepted, it is not possible to prefer Hazrat Siddîq (ra) to him.”

The Answer: If the personal perfections of Hazrat Siddîq al-Akbar and Fâruq al-Â'zam (ra) together with their perfections arising from the duty of the inheritence of nubuwwah during the time of their khilâfah had been placed on the scale of the balance, and on the other scale, the extraordinary personal perfections of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) and the struggles of khilâfah — which arose from the grievous events he was compelled to enter internally during his khilâfah and were exposed to misconceptions — had been placed together, certainly the Sunnis saw that the scale of Hazrat Siddîq (ra), Fâruq (ra), or Dhi'l-Nurayn (ra) weighed heavier, and they preferred them to ‘Ali (ra).

Moreover, as is proved in the Twelfth and Twenty-Fourth Words, the degree of nubuwwah is so high in comparison to walâyah that even an iota of the manifestation of nubuwwah is preferable to the greatest manifestation of walâyah. From this point of view, the successes of Hazrat Siddîq al-Akbar (ra) and Fâruq al-Â'zam (ra) during the time of their khilâfah became evidence for Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah that their share in the inheritance of nubuwwah and the establishment of the laws of risalah had been abundantly bestowed on them by Allah. Since the personal perfections of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) cannot invalidate that abundant share arising from the inheritance of nubuwwah, during the time of the khilâfah of Shaykhayn al-Mukarramayn18 , Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) served as their Shaykh al-Islam and esteemed them. I wonder: how should the people of haqq and Sunnah, who love and esteem Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), not love and esteem the Shaykhayn, whom Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) loved and esteemed earnestly?

Let us explain this haqiqah with an example:

For example, from the inheritance of a very rich man, twenty kilos of silver and four kilos of gold are given to one of his children. Five kilos of silver and five kilos of gold are given to the other. If three kilos of silver and five kilos of gold are given to another, the latter two will surely receive less in quantity, but more in quality.

Thus, just like this example, the Shaykhayn's slightly larger share of the gold of the haqiqah of closeness (Aqrabîyyah19 ) to Allah — which manifests from the inheritance of nubuwwah and the establishment of the laws of risalah — prevails over the great amount of proximity (Qurbîyyah) to Allah and the perfections of walâyah deriving from the jewel of walâyah and personal perfections. These points should be considered when comparing them. However, if they are compared with one another from the perspective of personal shajâ'ah, ‘ilm and walâyah, haqiqah would alter.

Furthermore, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) cannot be compared with anyone regarding the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt that is embodied in his personage and the haqiqah of Muhammad (asm) that manifests in that ma’nawî personality from the aspect of absolute inheritance because the immense mystery of the Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm is there.

As for the political Shi'a of khilâfah, they have nothing against Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah other than a sense of shame; for while they claim an extraordinary love for Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), they belittle him, and their madhab necessitates attributing immorality to him. Because they say, “Although Hazrat Siddîq and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) were in the wrong, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) made concessions to them. He engaged in dissimulation according to the Shi'a terminology; that is, he was frightened of them and behaved hypocritically.” I wonder: is it love to see a person who was such a hero of Islam, won the title “Asadullah20 ” and was the commander and guide of the siddîqîn as a person tainted by riyâ, showing feigned affection out of fear for people he did not love, making concessions to the unjust under fear for more than twenty years and accepting to follow them? Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) would repudiate a love of that sort. Thus, the path of the people of haqq in no way belittles Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) or accuses him of immorality. They do not attribute cowardice to such a hero of shajâ'ah; they say, "Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) would not have acknowledged or obeyed the Rightly-Guided khalîfah for even a moment if he had not considered them to be rightful and in the path of haqq. It means that since he considered them to be rightful and superior, he dedicated his zeal and shajâ'ah to the path of devotion to the haqq.”

In Short: Ifrât or tafrît in anything are not good. Istiqâmah is the way of wasat, which Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah have chosen. But alas, to a certain extent, the ideas of Wahhabism and Kharijism have crept under the veil of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah; similarly, those infatuated with politics and some mulhids criticise Hazrat ‘Ali (ra). Hashâ! They say that since he lacked political acumen, he was not entirely worthy of the khilâfah and could not govern. And because of these unjust accusations of theirs, the Alawis21 harbour resentment against the Sunnis, whereas the principles of the Sunnis and the fundamentals of their madhab do not entail these ideas, but rather prove the exact opposite. The Sunnis cannot be condemned because of ideas propagated by the Kharijites and mulhids. Rather, the Sunnis are even more devoted followers of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) than the Alawis. They laud and honour Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) in all their khutbas and du’âs with the praise he deserves. Especially, the overwhelming majority of awliyâ and asfiyâ among Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, acknowledge him as their guide (Murshid) and Shah of walâyah.

The Alawis should turn away from the Kharijites and mulhids who have deserved the enmity of both the Alawis and the Sunnis, and should not take a stand against the people of haqq. Some Alawis even abandon the Sunnah out of spite for the Sunnis. However, we have said enough on this matter, because it has already been excessively discussed among the ‘ulamâ.

O Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, who are the people of haqq, and the Alawis, who adopt the love of the âl al-bayt as their path! Quickly put an end to this meaningless, baseless, unjust and harmful dispute between you. Otherwise, the current of zandaqa that currently holds a powerful sway will deploy one of you as a tool to crush the other, and after defeating the other one, it will break that tool as well. Since you are the people of tawhîd, and while there are hundreds of fundamental sacred bonds between you that command brotherhood (ukhuwwah) and unity, it is essential to abandon the minor issues that lead to division.