Chapter 5: Appreciating The Secrets Of Wudhu’ - On Washing The Left Hand
On Washing The Left Hand (Ghasl Al-Yad Al-Yusra)
Amir al-Mu’minin (‘a) teaches his son Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyah to recite the following supplication while washing the left hand in Wudhu’:
اَللَّهُمَّ لاَ تُعْطِنِيْ كِتَابِيْ بِشِمَالِيْ وَلاَ مِنْ وَرَاءِ ظَهْرِيْ وَلاَ تَجْعَلْهَا مَغْلُوْلَةً إِلى عُنُقِيْ وَاَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْ مُقَطَّعَاتِ النِّيْرَانِ
O Allah do not give my book of deeds in my left hand, nor from behind my back, nor chain it to my neck, and I seek refuge in You from the clothes of the Hell-Fire.
A Word On Shimal
It should be noted that although the shimal mentioned in the above supplication literally means left hand, it denotes a higher meaning than that, and in reality, it does not mean one’s left hand. This is because both the hands of a believer are yamin (always prosperous). The Holy Prophet (S) is reported to have said about Allah that:
وكِلْتَا يَدَيْهِ يَمِيْنٌ
And both His [Allah’s] hands are yamin [prosperous].1
This dictum is also true with regard to one who reflects the attributes of Allah, i.e. a true faithful believer. Therefore, we say:
وكِلْتَا يَدَيْ الْمُؤْمِنِ يَمِيْنٌ
Both of the hands of a believer are yamin [prosperous].
An Allusion To The Kernel Of Yamin
Some gnostics2 however say that the spiritual yamin (right hand) is the practical intellect (al-‘aql al-‘amali), which is referred to in the following well-known tradition of Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) as follows:
مَا عُبِدَ بِهِ الرَّحْمَانُ وَاكْتُسِبَ بِهِ الْجِنَانُ
That by which the All-Beneficent is obeyed and stations of Paradise are attained.3
To understand the practical intellect, consider the following exposition:
According to one opinion, the intellect (the faculty of comprehension) is classified in terms of the purpose of comprehension into two categories:
Theoretical intellect (al-‘aql al-nazari): This is when the purpose of comprehension is knowledge and not action, such as comprehending the realities of existence.
Practical intellect (al-‘aql al-‘amali): This is when the purpose of comprehension is action, such as knowledge of the beauty of justice and the ugliness of oppression, the beauty of patience and the ugliness of impatience, etc.
Authoritative scholars like Avicenna (d. 428/1037), however, define the two kinds of intellect in a different way:
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Theoretical intellect (al-‘aql al-nazari): This is the faculty of comprehension of realities, irrespective of whether the purpose of comprehension is knowledge or action.
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Practical intellect (al-‘aql al-‘amali): This is the faculty of motivations and not comprehensions.
Ayatullah Muhammadi Rayshahri (b. 1946) in his al-‘Aql wa al- Jahl fi al- Kitab wa al-Sunnah says:
أقول: النظرية الأولى أقرب إلى معنى كلمة العقل، والأصح هو تفسير العقل العملي بمبدأ الإدراك والحفز وذلك لأن الشعور الذي يتعاطى مع القيم الأخلاقية والعملية هو مبدأ الإدراك، وهو في الوقت ذاته مبدأ للدفع والحفز
In my view the first opinion is closer to the meaning of the word ‘aql. However, the most correct opinion is the interpretation of practical intellect (al-‘aql al-‘amali) as [both] the source of comprehension as well as motivation. This is because the perception that is in harmony with ethical and practical values is the source of comprehension and at the same time the source of motivation.4
An Allusion To The Kernel Of Shimal
The spiritual shimal (left hand), however, is the human tab‘(material nature). Mulla Hadi Sabzawari in his Nibras al-Huda says:
شِمَالُكَ الطَّبْعُ وَهَذَا مَشْأَمَة
Your left hand is the material self, and this is mash’amah.5
Those who have developed attachment to the material world and have contented themselves with it and do not aspire for higher levels of existence are the ashab al-shimal (companions of the left hand).
Hence, in order for us not to be among the ashab al-shimal, we should try to free ourselves from worldly attachments and elevate our spirits to the higher levels of human existence.
The Holy Qur’an informs:
وَأَصْحَابُ الشِّمَالِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الشِّمَالِ
And the people of the left hand what are the people of the left hand? (56:41)
فِي سَمُومٍ وَحَمِيمٍ
Amid infernal miasma and boiling water (56:42)
وَظِلٍّ مِّن يَحْمُومٍ
And the shadow of a dense black smoke (56:43)
لَّا بَارِدٍ وَلَا كَرِيمٍ
Neither cool nor beneficial (56:44)
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَبْلَ ذَٰلِكَ مُتْرَفِينَ
Indeed, they had been plentifully indulgent in the blessings of this world before this (56:45)
وَكَانُوا يُصِرُّونَ عَلَى الْحِنثِ الْعَظِيمِ
And they used to persist in the great sin. (56:46)
وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ
And they used to say, ‘What! When we are dead and become dust and bones, shall we be resurrected? (56:47)
أَوَآبَاؤُنَا الْأَوَّلُونَ
And our forefathers too?’ (56:48)
In brief, the reasons that led a group of people to end up being the ashab al-shimal are as follows:
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They were mutrafin: Lisan al-‘Arab translates al-mutraf as:
المُتْرَفُ: المُتَنَعِّمُ المُتَوَسِّعُ في مَلاذِّ الدنيا وشَهواتِهَا
Al-mutraf: one who enjoys in plenty the pleasures of the world and its desires.
والمُتْرَفُ: الذي قد أبْطَرَتْه النعمةُ وسِعَةُ العَيْشِ
And al-mutraf is one whom blessings and plentifulness and easiness of life have led to exult and behave unthankfully.
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They persisted in great sin.
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They rejected the Day of Resurrection
All these are elements that darken the heart and lead one to the abyss of spiritual wretchedness.
In a lengthy tradition narrated from Imam al-Baqir (‘a), the following conversation is mentioned between Prophet Musa (‘a) and Almighty Allah:
إِلهِي فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُفْ عَنْ مَعَاصِيْكَ؟ قَالَ يَا مُوْسى اُعْطِيْهِ كِتَابَهُ بِشِمَالِهِ مِنْ وَرَاءِ ظَهْرِهِ
O Allah, and what is the recompense of one who does not refrain from sins? He said: O Musa, I would give him his book in his left hand, from behind his back.6
In another tradition Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) is reported to have said:
وَالْكِتَابُ اَلاِمَامُ، فَمَنْ نَبَذَهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ كَانَ كَمَا قَالَ (فَنَبَذُوْهُ وَرَاءَ ظُهُوْرِهِمْ) وَمَنْ اَنْكَرَهُ كَانَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الشِّمَالِ الَّذِيْنَ قَالَ اللهُ: (مَا اَصْحاَبُ الشِّمَالِ فِيْ سَمُوْمٍ وَحَمِيْمٍ وَظِلٍّ مِنْ يَحْمُوْم)…
The Book is the Imam; then whosoever throws it behind his back he is as Allah says: ‘…they cast it behind their backs.’ (3:187). And whosoever rejects him is from the companions of the left hand, about whom Allah says: ‘…what are the people of the left hand? Amid infernal miasma and boiling water and the shadow of a dense black smoke…’ (56:41-43)7
This tradition highlights the importance of the infallible leader who ensures that one’s beliefs and actions are according to the truth. Those who intentionally desert the Imam would certainly end up being amongst the ashab al-shimal.
What does Muqatta‘at al-Niran Signify?
The Holy Qur’an says:
هَٰذَانِ خَصْمَانِ اخْتَصَمُوا فِي رَبِّهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا قُطِّعَتْ لَهُمْ ثِيَابٌ مِّن نَّارٍ يُصَبُّ مِن فَوْقِ رُءُوسِهِمُ الْحَمِيمُ…
These two contenders contend concerning their Lord. As for those who are faithless, cloths of fire will be cut out for them, and boiling water will be poured over their heads… (Surah al-Hajj, 22:19)
Explaining this verse, Ibn ‘Abbas translated the phrase muqatta‘at al-niran as al-thiyab al-qisar (short clothes) of Hell- Fire.8
Amin al-Islam Shaykh al-Tabarsi (d. 548/1153) in his Tafsir Jawami‘ al- Jami‘ explaining the phrase ‘wa qutti‘at lahum thiyabun min nar’ says:
أي ألبسوا مقطّعات النّيران، وهي الثّياب القصار، كأنه - سبحانه - يقدّر لهم نيرانا على مقادير جثثهم كما يقطّع الثّياب الملبوسة
It means that they will be made to wear muqatta‘at al-niran which are short pieces of clothes. It is as if He - the Glorified - apportions for them fire in proportion to their bodies, the way garments are normally cut [to be worn].9
Shaykh Abu Ja‘far al-Tusi (d. 460/1068) in his Tafsir al-Tibyan explaining the same verse, says:
قُطِّعَتْ لَهُمْ ثِيابٌ مِنْ نارٍ ومعناه إن النار تحيط بهم كاحاطة الثياب التي يلبسونها
Cloths of fire will be cut out for them: It means that fire will encompass them in the way the clothes that they wear cover them.10
Therefore, for those who reject Allah’s lordship will be cut out clothes of fire. It is from this very situation that we seek refuge when we pray ‘…And I seek refuge in You from the clothes of the Hell- Fire.’
In a tradition from Imam al-Baqir (‘a),11 we are told that the disbelievers in the phrase ‘…fa alladhina kafaru (As for those who disbelieve)’ (22:19) refer to those who disbelieve in the guardianship of Imam ‘Ali (‘a). Hence in order to practically be emancipated from garments of fire one must adhere to the wilayah of Amir al-Mu’minin (‘a), which in reality is the intact transfer of the religion of Islam and that which Allah is pleased with.
- 1. Al-Barqi, al-Mahasin, v.1, p. 280.
- 2. Mulla Hadi Sabzawari in his Nibras al-Huda while explaining the secrets of Wudhu’ says: ‘Your spiritual “right” is the intellect, and what is meant by it is the practical intellect (yaminuka alma‘nawi huwa al-‘aql wa al-murad bihi al-‘aql al-‘amali).’ [Mulla Hadi Sabzawari, Nibras al-Huda, p. 92]
- 3. Shaykh Huwayzi, Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, v.5, p. 382.
- 4. Ayatullah Muhammadi Rayshahri, al-‘Aql wa al-Jahl fi al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah, p. 25
- 5. Mulla Hadi Sabzawari, Nibras al-Huda, p. 92. The word mash’amah is an allusion to verse 56:9 where Allah says: ‘And the people of evil omen (ashab al-mash’amah) and what are the people of evil omen’ or verse 90:19 where Allah says: ‘But those who defy Our signs, they are the people of evil omen (ashab al-mash’amah).’
- 6. Shaykh Saduq, Fada’il al-Ashhur al-Thalathah, p. 87
- 7. Al-‘Ayyashi, Tafsir al-‘Ayyashi, v.2, p. 302.
- 8. Allamah Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v.8, p. 252.
- 9. Tabarsi, Tafsir Jawami‘ al-Jami‘, v.3, p. 42.
- 10. Shaykh Tusi, Tafsir al-Tibyan, v.7, p. 302.
- 11. Al-Mashhadi, Tafsir Kanz al-Daqa’iq wa Bahr al-Ghara’ib, v.9, p. 60.