حکمت آفرینش انسان از گل خشکیده از لجن متعفن چیست؟

The human being is created in the most excellent form. Yet the human trial begins at the lowest level and leads toward the highest—not in order to become base, but to raise what is base to the highest degree. It is like a beautiful, pure seed buried in the heart of rotting soil: not so that the seed itself becomes low and putrid, but so that it may transform that rotting soil into beautiful blossoms, delicate flowers and petals, fragrance and nectar, and sweet, colorful, wholesome fruit.

Without «حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ», there would be no meaning to the trial, nor any possibility of sin. In fact, «حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ» مادّةُ » is the raw material for sin and what is reprehensible—not something to be acted upon, but something that, despite the possibility of sin and reprehensible acts, can be transformed into the very substance of goodness, beauty and noble virtue. In this way, the art of servitude is brought to fruition.

Al-Hijr: 26 وَ لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسانَ مِنْ صَلْصالٍ مِنْ حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ
We created man from dried clay, like pottery, formed from dark, foul-smelling mud.

ُّ عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ الْقُمِّيِّ قَالَ دَخَلْتُ عَلَى أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ الْبَاقِرِ ع فَقُلْتُ لَهُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِ يَزْنِي قَالَ لَا قُلْتُ فَيَلُوطُ قَالَ لَا قُلْتُ فَيَشْرَبُ الْمُسْكِرَ قَالَ لَا قُلْتُ فَيُذْنِبُ قَالَ نَعَمْ قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ لَا يَزْنِي وَ لَا يَلُوطُ وَ لَا يَرْتَكِبُ السَّيِّئَاتِ فَأَيُّ شَيْ‏ءٍ ذَنْبُهُ فَقَالَ يَا إِسْحَاقُ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى الَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَ الْفَواحِشَ إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ وَ قَدْ يُلِمُّ الْمُؤْمِنُ بِالشَّيْ‏ءِ الَّذِي لَيْسَ فِيهِ مُرَادٌ قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ النَّاصِبِ لَكُمْ يَطْهُرُ بِشَيْ‏ءٍ أَبَداً قَالَ لَا قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ قَدْ أَرَى الْمُؤْمِنَ الْمُوَحِّدَ الَّذِي يَقُولُ بِقَوْلِي وَ يَدِينُ بِوَلَايَتِكُمْ وَ لَيْسَ بَيْنِي وَ بَيْنَهُ خِلَافٌ يَشْرَبُ الْمُسْكِرَ وَ يَزْنِي وَ يَلُوطُ وَ آتِيهِ فِي حَاجَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ فَأُصِيبُهُ مُعَبِّسَ الْوَجْهِ كَالِحَ اللَّوْنِ ثَقِيلًا فِي حَاجَتِي بَطِيئاً فِيهَا وَ قَدْ أَرَى النَّاصِبَ الْمُخَالِفَ لِمَا آتِي عَلَيْهِ وَ يَعْرِفُنِي بِذَلِكَ فَآتِيهِ فِي حَاجَةٍ فَأُصِيبُهُ طَلِقَ الْوَجْهِ حَسَنَ الْبِشْرِ مُتَسَرِّعاً فِي حَاجَتِي فَرِحاً بِهَا يُحِبُّ قَضَاءَهَا كَثِيرَ الصَّلَاةِ كَثِيرَ الصَّوْمِ كَثِيرَ الصَّدَقَةِ يُؤَدِّي الزَّكَاةَ وَ يُسْتَوْدَعُ فَيُؤَدِّي الْأَمَانَةَ قَالَ يَا إِسْحَاقُ لَيْسَ تَدْرُونَ مِنْ أَيْنَ أُوتِيتُمْ قُلْتُ لَا وَ اللَّهِ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ إِلَّا أَنْ تُخْبِرَنِي فَقَالَ يَا إِسْحَاقُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمَّا كَانَ مُتَفَرِّداً بِالْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ ابْتَدَأَ الْأَشْيَاءَ لَا مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَأَجْرَى الْمَاءَ الْعَذْبَ عَلَى أَرْضٍ طَيِّبَةٍ طَاهِرَةٍ سَبْعَةَ أَيَّامٍ بِلَيَالِيهَا ثُمَّ نَضَبَ الْمَاءَ عَنْهَا فَقَبَضَ قَبْضَةً مِنْ صَفْوَةِ ذَلِكَ الطِّينِ وَ هِيَ طِينَةُ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ ثُمَّ قَبَضَ قَبْضَةً مِنْ أَسْفَلِ ذَلِكَ الطِّينِ وَ هِيَ طِينَةُ شِيعَتِنَا ثُمَّ اصْطَفَانَا لِنَفْسِهِ فَلَوْ أَنَّ طِينَةَ شِيعَتِنَا تُرِكَتْ كَمَا تُرِكَتْ طِينَتُنَا لَمَا زَنَى أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ وَ لَا سَرَقَ وَ لَا لَاطَ وَ لَا شَرِبَ الْمُسْكِرَ وَ لَا اكْتَسَبَ شَيْئاً مِمَّا ذَكَرْتَ وَ لَكِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَجْرَى الْمَاءَ الْمَالِحَ عَلَى أَرْضٍ مَلْعُونَةٍ سَبْعَةَ أَيَّامٍ وَ لَيَالِيَهَا ثُمَّ نَضَبَ الْمَاءَ عَنْهَا ثُمَّ قَبَضَ قَبْضَةً وَ هِيَ طِينَةٌ مَلْعُونَةٌ مِنْ حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ وَ هِيَ طِينَةُ خَبَالٍ وَ هِيَ طِينَةُ أَعْدَائِنَا فَلَوْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ تَرَكَ طِينَتَهُمْ كَمَا أَخَذَهَا لَمْ تَرَوْهُمْ فِي خَلْقِ الْآدَمِيِّينَ وَ لَمْ يُقِرُّوا بِالشَّهَادَتَيْنِ وَ لَمْ يَصُومُوا وَ لَمْ يُصَلُّوا وَ لَمْ يُزَكُّوا وَ لَمْ يَحُجُّوا الْبَيْتَ وَ لَمْ تَرَوْا أَحَداً مِنْهُمْ بِحُسْنِ خُلُقٍ وَ لَكِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى جَمَعَ الطِّينَتَيْنِ طِينَتَكُمْ‏ وَ طِينَتَهُمْ فَخَلَطَهَا وَ عَرَكَهَا عَرْكَ الْأَدِيمِ وَ مَزَجَهَا بِالْمَاءَيْنِ فَمَا رَأَيْتَ مِنْ أَخِيكَ الْمُؤْمِنِ مِنْ شَرِّ لَفْظٍ أَوْ زِنًا أَوْ شَيْ‏ءٍ مِمَّا ذَكَرْتَ مِنْ شُرْبِ مُسْكِرٍ أَوْ غَيْرِهِ فَلَيْسَ مِنْ جَوْهَرِيَّتِهِ وَ لَا مِنْ إِيمَانِهِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ بِمَسْحَةِ النَّاصِبِ اجْتَرَحَ هَذِهِ السَّيِّئَاتِ الَّتِي ذَكَرْتَ

وَ مَا رَأَيْتَ مِنَ النَّاصِبِ مِنْ حُسْنِ وَجْهٍ وَ حُسْنِ خُلُقٍ أَوْ صَوْمٍ أَوْ صَلَاةٍ أَوْ حَجِّ بَيْتٍ أَوْ صَدَقَةٍ أَوْ مَعْرُوفٍ فَلَيْسَ مِنْ جَوْهَرِيَّتِهِ إِنَّمَا تِلْكَ الْأَفَاعِيلُ مِنْ مَسْحَةِ الْإِيمَانِ اكْتَسَبَهَا وَ هُوَ اكْتِسَابُ مَسْحَةِ الْإِيمَانِ قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ فَإِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ فَمَهْ قَالَ لِي يَا إِسْحَاقُ أَ يَجْمَعُ اللَّهُ الْخَيْرَ وَ الشَّرَّ فِي مَوْضِعٍ وَاحِدٍ إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ نَزَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَسْحَةَ الْإِيمَانِ مِنْهُمْ فَرَدَّهَا إِلَى شِيعَتِنَا وَ نَزَعَ مَسْحَةَ النَّاصِبِ بِجَمِيعِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ فَرَدَّهَا إِلَى أَعْدَائِنَا وَ عَادَ كُلُّ شَيْ‏ءٍ إِلَى عُنْصُرِهِ الْأَوَّلِ الَّذِي مِنْهُ ابْتَدَأَ أَ مَا رَأَيْتَ الشَّمْسَ إِذَا هِيَ بَدَتْ أَ لَا تَرَى لَهَا شُعَاعاً زَاجِراً مُتَّصِلًا بِهَا أَوْ بَائِناً مِنْهَا قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ الشَّمْسُ إِذَا هِيَ غَرَبَتْ بَدَا إِلَيْهَا الشُّعَاعُ كَمَا بَدَا مِنْهَا وَ لَوْ كَانَ بَائِناً مِنْهَا لَمَا بَدَا إِلَيْهَا قَالَ نَعَمْ يَا إِسْحَاقُ كُلُّ شَيْ‏ءٍ يَعُودُ إِلَى جَوْهَرِهِ الَّذِي مِنْهُ بَدَا قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ تُؤْخَذُ حَسَنَاتُهُمْ فَتُرَدُّ إِلَيْنَا وَ تُؤْخَذُ سَيِّئَاتُنَا فَتُرَدُّ إِلَيْهِمْ قَالَ إِي وَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ أَجِدُهَا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قَالَ نَعَمْ يَا إِسْحَاقُ قُلْتُ أَيَّ مَكَانٍ قَالَ لِي يَا إِسْحَاقُ أَ مَا تَتْلُو هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ فَأُوْلئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئاتِهِمْ حَسَناتٍ وَ كانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَحِيماً فَلَمْ يُبَدِّلِ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ إِلَّا لَكُمْ وَ اللَّهُ يُبَدِّلُ لَكُم‏

عبد اللَّه بن محمّد al-Hamdani relates from Ishaq al-Qummi, who said: I went in to Abū Jaʿfar, Imam al-Bāqir, peace be upon him, and said to him:

“May I be your ransom, tell me: Does a believer commit adultery?”

He replied, “No.”

I asked, “Does he engage in sodomy?”

He replied, “No.”

I asked, “Does he drink intoxicants?”

He replied, “No.”

I asked, “Does he commit sins?”

He replied, “Yes.”

I said, “May I be your ransom, if he does not commit adultery or sodomy, nor engage in evil and wicked deeds, what sin does he commit?”

He replied, “O Ishaq, God, the Blessed and Exalted, has said: ‘Those who avoid grave sins and indecent acts, save for occasional lapses and minor sins.’ A believer may sometimes commit a minor sin without intending to.”

I said, “May I be your ransom, tell me: Can someone who openly opposes you and reviles the Household of the Prophethood be purified by anything?”

He replied, “No.”

I said, “May I be your ransom, sometimes I see a believer who professes God’s oneness and shares my beliefs, who remains devoted to the love and authority of your Household, and with whom I have no disagreement. Yet he drinks wine, commits adultery and engages in sodomy. When I go to him with a need and ask for his help, he greets me with a stern, sour expression, and I find him slow and reluctant to meet my need.

“By contrast, I sometimes see a nāṣibī whose beliefs differ from mine. When I go to him with a need, he knows that I disagree with him in matters of faith, yet greets me warmly and readily attends to my need. He does so eagerly and gladly, showing that he is pleased to help me. I see that he prays often, fasts frequently, gives abundant charity and zakāt, and does not betray a trust placed in his keeping, but returns it. What explains these two kinds of conduct?”

The Imam replied, “Do you not know where your sins and acts of disobedience come from, and why you commit them?”

I said, “No, by God, may I be your ransom—unless you enlighten me.”

The Imam said, “Since God, the Blessed and Exalted, was one and alone, He created all things—not from any pre-existing thing or matter. The account of their creation is this: He caused fresh water to flow over pure, wholesome earth for seven days and nights. Then He stopped its flow and took a handful of pure, clean earth that had become clay. This clay was the substance and clay of the Household of Purity. Then He took another handful from beneath it; this was the clay and substance of our Shīʿa. He then chose us for Himself. Had He left the clay of our Shīʿa as it was, just like our own clay, none of them would ever have committed adultery, theft, sodomy, drunk intoxicants, or performed the shameful acts you mentioned.

“But it did not happen that way. Rather, God, the Exalted, caused salt water to flow over accursed, impure earth for seven days and nights. Then He stopped its flow and took a handful of that clay—a cursed clay, changed by its long contact with the water and turned black in color, like mud.”

This handful of earth, tainted and corrupt, was the substance from which our enemies were formed. Had God, Mighty and Exalted, left their substance as it was, you would never have seen them among humankind. They would never have professed the two testimonies of faith, fasted, prayed, paid zakat or made pilgrimage to the House of God; nor would you ever have encountered them behaving with good character.

But the Blessed and Exalted Truth brought your substance and theirs together, mixed them, and kneaded them together as leather is kneaded, then blended them in water. Thus, whenever you see an unbecoming word, adultery, or some vile deed—such as drinking intoxicants or anything else—committed by your believing brother, it does not arise from his essence, his substance, or his faith. Rather, it is because a nasibi has come into contact with his substance that he undertakes and hastens to commit these sins and vile acts. Likewise, every good deed or fine quality—whether fasting, prayer, pilgrimage to the House of God, charity, or some other act of kindness—committed by a nasibi does not stem from his essence or substance. Rather, his contact with faith has led him to acquire these praiseworthy deeds and to perform them in the world.

I asked, “May I be your ransom. What will happen when the Resurrection comes?”

The Imam said to me, “O Ishaq, will God bring good and evil together in one place?”

When the Resurrection comes, the Exalted Truth will take from them whatever faith has touched their substance and caused them to perform good deeds, and return it to our Shiʿa. Conversely, He will take from you whatever of the nasibi’s impurity has mingled with your substance and caused vile deeds to issue from you, and return it to them. In the end, everything returns to its original element, the source from which it first came.

Have you not seen how, when the sun first rises, its life-giving rays are joined to it? Are they separate from the sun’s orb, or are they joined to it?

I replied, “May I be your ransom. When the sun sets, its rays return to it, just as they issued forth from it. This proves that the rays are not separate from the sun’s orb; otherwise, they would not return to it.”

The Imam said, “Yes. Everything returns to its own essence, from which it issued.”

I asked, “May I be your ransom. Are the good deeds of the nasibis taken and returned to us, while our vile and blameworthy deeds are returned to them?”

The Imam said, “Yes, by God, besides whom there is no deity. That is how it will be.”

I asked, “May I be your ransom. Can I find a verse in God’s Book that bears witness to this?”

The Imam said, “Yes.”

I asked, “Which verse conveys this meaning?”

He said, “Have you not recited this verse?”

فَأُوْلئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئاتِهِمْ حَسَناتٍ وَ كانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَحِيماً “Except for those who repent, believe in God, and do righteous deeds: for them, God will turn their evil deeds into good. Surely God is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful to His servants.”

God Most High turns only the evil deeds of you, who are our friends, into good deeds.

ʿIlal al-Shara’iʿ / translated by Zehni Tehrani, vol. 2, p. 569