Introduction
بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم الحمد للّه الّذي اخرج من مكنونات عنايته ما ادرج فى القلم و ابرز الى قضاء الوجود ما اخفى فى العدم و فتق ما رتق واظهر ما كتم وعلم بالقلم اللوح المحفوظ ما لم يكن يعلم. وفتح بالهباء الموسوم بالهيولى والعنقاء صورة العالم وجعلها مظهرا لإسمه الأعظم. والصلاة على الكلمات التامات والإنيات الفاضلات محمد وآله أولي الفضائل والحكم ذوي المعالي والكرم.
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise belongs to the Almighty who took out from the concealed care what He wrote with the pen and made it manifest in the space of existence what He had hidden in non-existence. And He made apparent what He concealed and taught with the preserved tablet what was not known. He opened the image of the world with the dust, called hyle (ḥayūlā), and made it a manifestation of His greatest name.
May blessings be upon the complete and virtuous words, Muḥammad (saw) and his progeny (as). The Holy Prophet and his progeny are those of virtue and wisdom and possessors of elevation and magnanimity.[1]
To proceed after the praise of God and salutations upon the Prophet and his family, I present the lowly person[2], Sayyid Ḥashmat ʿAlī son of al-Ḥājj Sayyid Jamāʿat ʿAlī Khayrullāhpūrī, who is one of the religious and spiritual friends and is well-versed in the current sciences of mathematics and contemporary philosophy. Sometimes, this person of little (worldly) goods is inquired about certain Quranic verses and aḥādīth that might be difficult to understand at first glance and whose content opposes the true beliefs of the Imāmīyyah school of thought as well as the intellect.
And this lowly person, according to his capacity and knowledge, gives an answer that is satisfactory. One day, in the populous city of Lahore, during a discussion and dialogue, the aforementioned Sayyid (Khādim ʿAlī Wazīrābādī) inquired about the ḥadīth of the clay (al-ṭīnah). Since the issue of the clay is one of depth and subtlety, and the ḥadīth of the clay is of those whose content is difficult to understand, it caused many to slip and misunderstand. The commentators of al-Kāfī by al-Kulaynī were unable to reply to the objection of the opponents satisfactorily and their response drifted away from the core issue.
This humble person was ill with the symptoms of fever and a weak and frail body, which made it difficult to give a prompt reply and I halted his request till I would be healthy and have the chance (to respond). Since I considered the reply to that Sayyid[3], of repute and good lineage, necessary and required, I decided to make manifest that which was hidden and bring to light what was concealed and take out what was stored and reveal the meanings of the ḥadīth of the clay which would lead to sufficient satisfaction. In addition to solving the meanings of the ḥadīth, the people of virtue and excellence will gain benefits from this short treatise and should remember this lowly person in their prayers. My success is through none except Allāh.
[1] Majmūʿah al-Rasāʾil al-Tisʿah, p. 148.
[2] It is common in Persian and Urdu literature for a person to speak of themselves in the third person and to present themselves with humility.
[3] On the cover page, it mentions that this work was written at the request of Sayyid Khādim ʿAlī Wazīrābādī.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله الذي اخرج من مکنونات عنايته ما ادرج في القلم و ابرز الى فضاء الوجود ما اخفى في العدم و اظهر ما کتم و علّم باللوح المحفوظ ما لم يکن يعلم و فتح بالهباء الموسوم بالهيولي و العنقاء صورة العالم و جعلها مظهر الاسمه الاعظم و الصلوة على الکلمات التامات و الانيات الفاضلات محمد و آله اولى الفضائل و الحکم ذوي المعالي و الکرم
امّا بعد از حمد و صلواة بنده حقير سيد حشمت علي ابن الحاج سيد جماعت علي خير الله پوري عرض مي نمايد که يکي از احباب متدينين و اخلاء روحانيين که در علوم مروّجه رياضه و فلسفه جديده صاحب فضل و کمال است احيانا آيات قرآن و احاديث مشکله و مسائل معضّله که در بادي النظر مفاهيم شان مخالف عقائد حقه اماميه و مخالف عقل اند، از اين قليل البضاعت استفسار و استفاده مي فرمود. و بنده احقر بقدر وسع و مبلغ علم خود جوابيکه موجب اطمينان خاطر عاطر باشد مي دادم. روزي در بلده مشهوره لاهور در اثناي مکالمه و محاوره رسميه سيد مسدد و مهذب مذکور حديث طينه را استفسار و استفاده فرمودند. و چون مسئله طينه بعيدة الغور و دقيقة المسلک است. و حديث طينة از جمله احاديث مشکله مزال اقدام و مزالق افهام است . چنانچه شارحين کافي کليني از برداشتن اعتراض مخالفين از اين حديث کما هو حقه عاجز اند و از اصل مطلب دور افتاده اند. و طبع اين مسکين بعارضه تپ عليل و بدن من ضعيف و نحيف بود. از جواب فوري اعراض نموده ملتمس آنرا بروقت صحت و فرصت موقوف گذاشتم. و چون اجابت ملتمس سيد نسيب و حسيب و اسعاف مقتبس آن شريف و نجيب لازم و متحتم گرديد لهذا بر اظهار مکتوم و ابراز مکنون و اخراج مخزون و انکشاف معاني حديث طينه که موجب اطمينان خاطر عاطر باشد اقدام مي نمايم. بطوريکه علاوه برحل معاني حديث اهل فضل و کمال فوائد ديگر هم از اين مختصر حاصل نمايند مسکين را بدعاي خير ياد فرمايند و ما توفيقي الا بالله.