Hence, it is necessary that the common people should be told that those
things which are exoteric, and yet cannot be understood easily, the
interpretations of which it is impossible for them to understand, are
parabolical, and that no one knows the interpretation thereof except
God. We should stop at the following words of God: “None knoweth the
interpretation thereof except God.”[18] This is also the answer to the
question about some of those abstruse problems which the common people
cannot understand: “They will ask thee concerning the spirit: answer:
The spirit was created at the command of my Lord, but ye have no
knowledge given to you, except a little.”[19] Again, one who interprets
these to persons not fit to receive them is an infidel, because he
leads others to infidelity, which is quite in opposition to the purpose
of the Law. This is especially the case when corrupt interpretations
are put on the principles of the Law, as some men of our own times
do. We have known many people who think they are philosophers and
hence claim to find out strange things through philosophy, which are
in every way contrary to religion, and they do not admit of any other
interpretation. They think they must disclose these things to the
common people. But by the disclosure of wrong notions they lead them to
eternal destruction.
The difference between their aim and that of the jurists can be made
clear by the following example. Since it is not possible to make every
one an expert physician a certain physician laid down some principles
for the preservation of health and the prevention of diseases, and he
allowed the use of some things but prohibited others. Now a man comes
and tells the people that the principles laid down by that physician
are not correct and declares them to be false, and they become
discredited in the eyes of the people; or says that they are capable
of interpretations which they cannot understand and cannot verify by
practice. Do you think that people in these circumstances will ever
act upon those things which are useful for their health and for the
prevention of diseases or that the man himself will ever be capable of
acting on them? No, he will be quite incapable of doing so and thus
will lead them all to destruction.
This is the case when those interpretations which they cannot
understand are correct, to say nothing of those that are wrong. For
they will not believe in health to be preserved, nor disease to be
prevented, to say nothing of the things which preserve health or
prevent disease. This is the condition of that man who discloses
interpretations of the Law to the common people and those not fit to
receive them. And hence he is an unbeliever.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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