Hawa
Definition
Hawa — passion or desire — is the primary danger that al-Ghazali associates with poorly conducted sama'. When music or poetry stirs sensual desire rather than divine longing, or when it feeds the ego's desire for beautiful experiences rather than pointing beyond itself toward Allah, it has become an instrument of hawa rather than a path to the divine. Al-Ghazali argues that the same melodies and words can stir different inner realities depending on the state of the heart receiving them — what speaks to the spiritually prepared heart of divine longing speaks to the unprepared heart of worldly desire. This is why the conditions for sama' matter so absolutely.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Hawa.
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"refers to Adam but it extends to humanity as a whole. The intention is not only to mention Adam and Hawa but to extend to the species. This is similar to God's words, and we created man from an extract of clay then we made him a sperm drop in a firm resting place and also and we have adorned the nearest heaven with stars and made them as missiles for the devils. Here the missiles for the devils are not the same as the stars but an extension from a particular type to the general kind. Regarding the hadith reported by Imam Ahmad, it is said that when Hawa gave birth Satan circled her and no child survived. He suggested naming the child Abd al-Harith, promising"
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
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"verses differently. If he had an authentic narration from Samarra he would not depart from it, God knows best. Furthermore, God created Adam and Hawa as the origin of humankind to multiply many men and women from them. It seems unlikely that Hawa couldn't rear a child as mentioned in the hadith. It is suspected, even certain, that elevating it to the prophet, peace be upon him, is a mistake and the correct opinion is that it ceases at the companion level, God knows best. We have elaborated on this in our commentary. Praise to God. Adam and Eve were more pious towards God than what is"
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
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"This narration contains Israeliyat and strange matters. Al-Baihaqi also narrated a hadith from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, where the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, Allah sent Jibreel to Adam and Hawa and instructed them to build a house. Jibreel marked it out, and Adam began to dig while Hawa carried the dirt until the water responded, saying, That is enough for you, O Adam."
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 2 — From the Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia
Appears in
1 book in the library
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