Introduction
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله الذي جعل جوهر النفس الإنسانية مستعدا لتحمل أماناته ورسالاته ومظهرا لعجائب أسرار مبدعاته وغرائب آثار مصنوعاته وحاملا لمصحف آياته وقارئا لكتابه المنزل محكماته ومشابهاته أشكره على سوابغ جوده وإنعامه ومواهب حكمه وإلهامه وشمول إحسانه و سطوع برهانه- وأصلي على محمد ص عبده المنذر المعلم ونبيه المبشر الذي أوتي جوامع الكلم بعثه بالحق بشيرا ونذيرا وجعله داعيا إلى الله بإذنه وسراجا منيرا- والصلاة على آله الطيبين الطاهرين الذين هم خزنة أسرار الوحي واليقين وحملة كتاب الحق المبين وأبواب الوصول إلى جوار رب العالمين.
In the name of Allāh, the most gracious, most merciful,
All praise is to the one who made the substance of the human soul capable of carrying his trusts and messages and made it a manifestation for the wonders of the secrets of his creations and the oddities of the effects of his works, and a carrier of the codex of his verses and a reciter of his revealed book with its foundational and ambiguous verses.[1] I thank him for all his grace and his bounty, and the gifts of his wisdoms and his inspiration and inclusion in his beneficence and the brightness of his proof. I send blessings upon Muḥammad (ṣ), his servant, the warner, the teacher, and his Prophet who gave glad tidings, the one who was given the most comprehensive speech and sent with the truth as a giver of glad tidings and a warner. He made him a called towards Allāh with His permission as well as an illuminating lamp. And may peace and blessings be upon his progeny, the pure and virtuous ones, the depositories of the secrets of the revelation and certainty, and the bearers of the book of evident truth, and the doors of reaching the Lord of the worlds.[2]
To proceed, this humble person Sayyid Ḥashmat ʿAlī, the son of al-Ḥājj Sayyid Jamāʿat ʿAlī Khayrullāhpūrī, writes on the tablet of memory of the people of knowledge and insight that the subject of reincarnation is one of the fundamental philosophical subjects and, it is something which has a precise way and is far from contemplation. Therefore, there has been great conflict amongst the previous philosophers and religious wise men regarding this issue. Most of the philosophers of Islam have humbly confessed to its invalidity. Hence, due to it being imperative to submit to the demands of most people, I have decided to write a new treatise on disproving reincarnation. Since this is based on the demonstration of the throne (ʿarsh), I have decided to name it the ʿArshīyyah, which shall have two chapters.
The first chapter is on the states of the rational soul from the aspect of its relation to the natural world, this has six sections. This first section is on the mode of the connection of the soul to the body. The second section is on investigating the origination (ḥudūth) of the soul with the origination of the body. The third section is on the statements of the philosophers and the views of people about the temporality and eternity (qidam) of the soul in the misrepresentation of their statements. The fourth section is on investigating the immortality of the soul after the decay (fasād) of the body, meaning the non-decay of the soul with the decay of the body. The fifth section is on the impossibility of the decay of the soul. The sixth section is that the rational soul is a matter that is separated rationally. The section chapter is on disproving the reincarnation of the selves and souls and refuting the beliefs and errors of the people who believe in reincarnation, this has three sections. The first section is on the disproving transmigration and reincarnation from the proof of the throne. The second section is on disproving reincarnation with its types and an exposition of the views of the people who believe in reincarnation and on disproving them. The third section is a supplement (tatimmah) to this chapter from the aspect of the mode of the relation of the soul to the body and an exposition of natural death and unnatural (ikhtirāmī) death, and my success is through none but Allāh.
[1] A reference to verse 3:7 in the Qurʾān where it states that the book has both foundational and ambiguous verses in it.
[2] Al-Asfār al-Arbaʿah, vol. 6, p. 3.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله الذي جعل جوهر النّفس الانسانية مستعد التحمل اماناته و رسالاته و مظهرا لعجائب اسرار مبدعاته و غرائب آثار مضوعاته و حاملا لمصحف آياته و قاريا لکتابه المنزل و محکماته و متشابهاته اشکره على سوابغ جوده و انعامه و مواهب حکمته و الهامه و اصلّي على رسوله محمد المنذر المعلم و نبيّه المبشر الذي اوتي جوامع الکلم بعثه بالحق بشيرا و نذيرا جعله داعيا الى الله باذنه و سراجا منيرا و الصلواة و السلام على آله الطيّبّين الطاهرين الذين هم خزنة اسرار الوحي و اليقين و حملة کتاب الحق المبين و ابواب الوصول الى جوار ربّ العالمين.
اما بعد بنده حقير سيد حشمت علي ابن الحاج سيد جماعت علي خير الله پوري بر لوح خاطر ارباب دانش و بينش نگارش مي نمايد که چون مسئله تناسخ از امهات مسايل حکميه است و في الواقع دقيقة المسلک و بعيدة الغور است لهذا ما بين فلاسفه سابقين و حکماء متقدمين در باب اين مسئله اختلاف کثيره واقع شده و اکثري از حکماي اسلام در ابطال آن اعتراف بعجز فرموده اند پس بفرمان واجب الاذعان اکثري از احباب بر تحرير رساله جديده در ابطال تناسخ اقدام نمودم و از جهة اشتمال آن بر برهان عرشي تسميه نمودم آنرا بعرشيه و مرتب نمودم آن را بر دو باب باب اول در احوال نفس ناطقه از حيثيت نسبت آن بعالم طبيعه و در آن شش فصل است فصل اول در کيفيت تعلق نفس ببدن فصل دوئم در تحقيق حدوث نفس بحدوث بدن فصل سيم در اقوال حکماء و متمسکات قوم در حدوث نفس و قدم نفس و تزئيف اقوال ايشان فصل چهارم در تحقيق بقاي نفس بعد فساد بدن يعني عدم فساد نفس بفساد بدن فصل پنجم در اينکه فساد بر نفس محال است فصل ششم در بيان اينکه سبب نفس ناطقه امر مفارق عقلي است باب دوئم در ابطال تناسخ النفوس و الارواح و دفع متمسکات و متشبثات اصحاب تناسخ و در آن سه فصل است فصل اول در ابطال نقل و تناسخ ببرهان عرشي فصل دويم در ابطال تناسخ باقسامه و بيان مذاهب اصحاب تناسخ و ابطال آنها فصل سيم در تتمه اين باب از جهة کيفيت نسبت النفس الى البدن و بيان موت طبعي و موت اخترامي و ما توفيقي الا بالله.