ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Discursive Theology Volume 1 Lesson 28: The Mandatoriness of Obligation One of the issues put forth by theologians concerning the justice of God is the issue of taklīf (obligation or duty). The definition of taklīf and its types, the philosophy of taklīf and its mandatoriness, and the conditions and salient features of taklīf are among the topics discussed in this regard. This question has direct connection to the doctrine called “necessity of religion”.

That is to say that taklīf means to dispatch and command someone who is primarily obligatory to obey to do something coupled with heaviness and hardship.[^1] Given the adverb ibtidā’an (primarily), the dispatch and command of a prophet, Imām or other individuals who are obligatory to obey according to the command of God are not included. Taklīf , then, is exclusive only to the dispatch and command of God.

The attachment of taklīf to hardship means that making it obligatory according to a religious command is coupled with the said attribute (hardship), although the said action may be pleasant and desirable to the person.

One example is the eating of some meat of an offered sacrificial animal by the one who performs hajj al-tamattu‘ .[^2] Taklīf is attached sometimes to a belief and at other times to a practice, and a belief may be purely rational, purely textual, or rational ( ‘aqlī ) and textual ( naqlī ). Examples of purely rational belief are the beliefs in the existence of God, His knowledge, power, and wisdom; that is, beliefs on which the religious proof depends.

Such beliefs cannot be proved except through the intellect and what exists in the religious texts concerning them that are instructive ( irshādī ) and confirmatory ( ta’yīdī ) in nature. Purely textual beliefs are beliefs which cannot be proved by the intellect; Examples are those pertaining to the questioning in the grave, the Scale ( mīzān ), the Path ( ṣirāṭ ) and the like. Meanwhile, an example of the belief which is textual as well as rational is the belief in the Divine Unity ( tawḥīd ).