SECTION I
The Method of Deducing Irtifäqat
1=
It should be known that man is similar to the other members of his
genus in his need to eat and drink, have sex, seek shelter from the sun
and rain, and in requiring warmth in winter, etc. It is a Divine favour
to man that God inspired him to derive benefit by the satisfaction of
these needs. This inspiration he naturally receives by virtue of his
formation as a human species, of which all the members are equial
in this characteristic except those who might suffer from abnormal
deficiency
2=
In the same manner, God inspired a bee how to partake of different
fruits and make a dwelling where members of its species could live
together and obey their drone, and then to make honey. Similarly
He inspired a sparrow how to collect grains, to reach water, to run
away from cats and hunters, and to fight those who might obstruct
the satisfaction of its needs and how its male should copulate with
female in the hour of lust and also how the two of them should make
a nest on the hills and cooperate with each other in the preservation
of eggs and in feeding their young ones. In the same way, every
other species has a prescribed course of life which is inspired to its
members by their very formation.
3=
In the same manner, God has inspired man to derive benefits in
the satisfaction of his needs. But in addition to this, man has been
endowed with three distinctive qualities by virtue of his higher for-
mation
4=
The first of these qualities is that man's propensity to something
stems from a universality of purpose, whereas a beast tends to
achieve an end grasped by its sense-perception or suggested by a
temptation instinctively emanating from its nature like hunger, thirst
and lust. Man, on the other hand, sometimes tends to achieve a ra-
tional purpose to which he may not be attracted instinctively. H
he endeavours to realize a good civic system, to
to civilize himself, to emancipate himself from the chastisement of
the Hereafter or to establish his prestige in the minds of People.
5=
The second distinctive trait of man, apart from these pursuits for
social development, is his aesthetic sense. While a beast seeks only
that which may quench its thirst and satisfy its instinctive needs,
man often requires contentment and pleasure beyond his instinctive
needs. For instance, he desires a beautiful spouse, delicious food
elegant dress, and lofty house, etc
6=
The third distinctive quality of man is that among the human species
there are people gifted with exceptional reason and perception who
discover, by employing their rational faculties, certain beneficial
stages of social development. Similarly, there are others among the
human species who feel an urge to achieve the same end, but they are
not capable of any innovations. But when such people come across
Some wise men and learn what they have discovered, they whole
heartedly adopt their ideas because they find them in conformity with
their own general understanding
7=
For instance, there is a man who feels hunger and thirst, but finds
nothing to eat or drink; he undergoes hardship until he finds food
and drink. Such a person strives to develop a method to satisfy these
needs, but fails to discover the means to do so. Perchance, he comes
across a wise man who, having encountered the same difficulty, dis-
covered methods of overcoming it. So he learnt from him about
seeds of food and understood methods of growing, weaving, reaping
threshing and refining them and then preserving the produce for the
hour of need. Similarly, that wise man explained to him the methods
of digging wells in lands which are far from springs and streams
making earthen water pots, skin bags and other big containers to
carry and preserve water. Thus he discovers a method of satisfying
his needs in an organised and intelligent manner. Then he attempts to
crack these seeds as they are with his teeth and to swallow raw fruit,
but they do not digest in his stomach. He then strives to overcome
these difficulties, but does not find the means. He then comes across
another wise man, who has already discovered methods of cooking,frying, grinding and baking. He learns from this wise man yet another means of satisfying his needs in an organised and intelligent manner.
8=
By analogy we can comprehend that in the same manner, man grad-
ually learns to satisfy his needs. A perceptive man observes, as we
mentioned, the evolution of many facilities and amenities in human
Societies from their very inception; then he further observes that
centuries pass over humanity being engaged in these practices until
a stage comes when a useful set of intuitional knowledge is developed
which is reinforced by human cultivation. Humanity becomes
attached to its application and lives and dies with it. The essential
intuitions of man are related to these three qualities, just like the
beating of pulse is related to human life; while their qualities are
comparable to the varying degrees of the longness or shortness of
the respiratory capacity
9=
These three qualities are not found equally in all human beings.
Therefore, it is either due to varying temperaments or differing
Degrees of intelligence that prompt them to be motivated by a Universality of purpose, aesthetic drive and an urge to discover the means
of social development, and to pursue them, or due to the variation
which exists in their devotion to reasoning and contemplation. These
and other causes of variation demand that social development should
have two levels
10=
The first level of social development is an essential characteristic of
small social groups, like those of the Bedouins and the dwellers on
mountain peaks and people of the areas which are distant from the
virtuous realms. This level of social development is what we call the
first stage of irtifäq
11=
The second stage of irtifäq is that which is possessed by people living
in urban areas and civilised cities belonging to those virtuous realms
hat raise men of excellent morals and wisdom. In such places human
social organisation tremendously expands, giving rise to increasing
needs and requirements of life. Hence their experience widens and
a large number of social practices are developed in the course of
their evolution. People living in such societies adopt these practices
and follow them consistently. The highest degree of the second stage
of irtifäq is that which is practiced by kings and rulers who possess
higher standards of comfort. They are visited by wise men of various communities from whom they acquire virtuous practices. This, we would call the second stage of Irtifäq
12=
When this second stage of social development is achieved, it lends to
the third stage. This stage is reached when various transaction’s take
place between human beings in the society, and elements of greed
jealousy procrastination, and denial of each other's rights crop up
giving rise to differences and dispute, In such a state of affairs, there
appear some individuals who are ruled by low passions and are dis
posed to commit murder and loot. We, there are some stages of
social development (Irtifäqat) of which the benefits are shared by all,
but no single individual among them is able or ready to achieve them
easily. Therefore, they are compelled to instal a ruler to resolve their
disputes and administer their affairs in a just manner, to deter those
who commit contravention, to confront all those who have criminal-
nal tendencies, and to collect necessary taxes from them, in order to
spend their revenues in the proper places
13. The third stage of social development (irtfaq) again leads to the next
stage, the fourth stage. It comes about when each ruler tends to be-
come independent in his domain, controls the collection of wealth
by way of taxes, etc, and secures the services of gallant men. At
this stage, elements of niggadliness, greed and hatred intervene and
People start quarrelling and fighting each other. In such a state of af
fairs, they are compelled to instal a khalifah (superior authority) and
to follow someone who can exercise the powers of al-khilafah al-
kubra (supreme authority) over them. By khalifah I mean someone
who acquires such power and prestige that it is almost impossible
for anyone to depose him except after many alignments involving
expenditure of huge amounts of wealth, which may not be possible
for anyone to undertake except once in a long stretch of time. Each
individual khalifah should be different, according to the habits and
character of his subjects. The communities whose temperaments are
stronger and sharper are always in greater need of rulers and khalifah [plural of khalifah] than those which are on a lesser degree of
greed and grudge. We would like to explain to the reader the principle of these Irtifäqat and the categories of their various stages as
perceived by the minds of virtuous communities, that possess high
standards of morals and have well-developed and well-established
practices which are unquestionable by anyone among them, whether
great or small. Now, therefore, listen carefully to what is being said.
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