Theory of Hulool: What is Hulool?
((الْحُلُولُ الْجَوَارِى عِبَارَةٌ عَنْ كَوْنِ أَحَدِ الْحِسْمَيْنِ طَرُفًا لِلْآخَرِ كَحُلُولِ الْمَاءِ فِي الْكُوزِ .))
“Hulool means that two bodies become one in such a way that they become the place and container of each other, just as water dissolves in a pitcher.”
(( الْحُلُولُ السَّريَانِي عِبَارَةٌ عَنْ إِلْحَادِ الْحِسْمَيْنِ بِحَيْثُ تَكُونُ الْإِشَارَةُ إِلَى أَحَدِهِمَا إِشَارَةٌ إِلَى الْآخَرِ كَحُلُولٍ مَاءِ الْوَرْدِ فِي الْوَرْدِ فَيُسَمَّى السَّارِى حَالًا ، وَالْمَسْرِي فِيْهِ مَحَلَّا ))
“The Syriac meaning of Hulool is that two bodies become one in this respect (two molds of one body) such that when one is pointed to, it automatically points to the other, just as the water of a flower dissolves in the water of the flower. So when that water moves and enters the other water, the one moving is called the ‘Haal’ (the one who dissolves), and the one in which it enters is called the ‘Mahal’ (the place), which is called the place of Hulool.”
History of the Belief of Hulool:
It is difficult to definitively and conclusively state the history of this belief; however, it can be said that this belief is an important part of the Jews, Christians, and Hindu beliefs.
Yes, however, it is certain that the first person to propagate this belief among Muslims was Abdullah ibn Saba, a Jew (who hypocritically accepted Islam during the caliphate of Uthman رضي الله عنه).
He claimed that Allah had incarnated (entered) into Ali رضي الله عنه.
After that, many people claimed regarding their respective leaders that Allah had entered into them, and some said that Allah Himself had entered into us.
Then Haji Bektashi (1281 CE / 680 AH to 1337 CE / 638 AH) propagated it as a sect.
And then some people claimed that Allah enters every beautiful body and they began to prostrate to them.
And some claimed about certain women that Allah has indwelt in them. The statements and names of people holding this belief have been detailed by Afqi Ahmad Nadwi in his book “Tasawwuf Ko Pehchaniye” on pages 25 to 58.
Then some people claimed that Allah has indwelt in everything in the universe (معاذ اللہ). For example, Hassan Rizwan, who died in 1310 AH, writes these verses in his Diwan “Rawz al-Quloob”:
فَلَيْسَ فِي الْوُجُودِ شَيْءٌ يُشْهَدُ
سوَاهُ فَالْأَشْيَاء بِهِ تَوَخَدَ
“There is nothing in existence that can be witnessed except that Divine Essence is inherent in all things (i.e., has indwelt them).”
For more such beliefs, study pages 62 to A of the mentioned book.
When does indwelling occur?
People who hold this belief think that if a person attains purification of the self and spiritual elevation through extraordinary austerities, or if someone inherits these qualities, then the Divine Essence descends into them—that is, the divine becomes incarnate in the human, and the Creator enters the created. For this reason, Hindu Rishis and Buddhist monks and saints retreat to forests and mountains to live in seclusion and perform severe austerities.
This is also the belief of the Christians, and their extraordinary austerities have become a part of history. Those who practiced austerities would tie their bodies to a pillar with ropes and try to remain in the same position, so much so that as the days passed, the rope would cut into their flesh and penetrate inside, causing wounds that would become infested with worms. Yet these people would not end their austerities; rather, they would constantly strive to increase them. If any worm fell off from the wound, they would pick it up and place it back on the wound, saying, “Eat what your Lord has given you.” (For details, please refer to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s Tafseer Tarjuman Surah Kahf.)
This is the situation even today; you can observe it in some forests and mountains of Pakistan.
Islamic Shariah and the Doctrine of Hulool:
Islamic Shariah strictly rejects this belief. The pious predecessors were displeased with it, and we express our disassociation from it.
The reason for this was that Allah had incarnated in Adam.
Satan misled Adam in this way:
((مَا نَهٰىكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ اِلَّاۤ اَنْ تَكُوْنَا مَلَكَیْنِ اَوْ تَكُوْنَا مِنَ الْخٰلِدِیْنَ(20)وَ قَاسَمَهُمَاۤ اِنِّیْ لَكُمَا لَمِنَ النّٰصِحِیْنَ(21) فَدَلَّاهُمَا بِغُرُورٍ ۚ فَلَمَّا ذَاقَا الشَّجَرَةَ))
“(And Satan said to them) Your Lord has forbidden you this tree so that you do not become angels or become immortals in Paradise. And he swore by them sincerely, ‘I am indeed your sincere well-wisher.’ So he deceived them and trapped them in his net. Then when both of them tasted the tree…”
Argument:
It is established that they ate from this tree because they wanted to become angels or attain immortality. If Allah Himself (معاذ اللہ) was present inside Adam, then they would never have had such a desire, because who is so foolish that despite Allah’s presence within him, he would desire such a lowly trait as wanting to become an angel or something else.
Refutation of the claim that Allah incarnated in the Prophet ﷺ.
( وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبُ )
“And prostrate yourself before your Lord and seek His closeness.”
Reasoning:
➊ If Allah was inside you ﷺ, then who gave this command and how?
➋ If Allah was inside you ﷺ, then the Prophet ﷺ would not have called that woman a believer, to whom you ﷺ asked:
(( أينَ اللهُ؟ قَالَتْ فِي السَّمَاءِ. قَالَ مَنْ آنَا ؟ قَالَك أَنتَ رَسُولُ اللهِ. قَالَ اعْتِقُهَا فَإِنَّهَا مُؤْمِنَةٌ ))
Where is Allah? The woman said, “In the sky.” He asked, “Who am I?” She said, “You ﷺ are the Messenger of Allah.” Then you ﷺ said, “Set her free; she is a believer.”
If this statement of hers was wrong and Allah (معاذ اللہ) was present in you ﷺ, then you ﷺ would have said she is not a believer, rather Allah is present inside me and you say He is in the sky. (تعالی اللہ عنہ ذلک و تقدس )
When Allah cannot be inside you ﷺ, then He certainly is not inside Ali رضي الله عنه and other humans.
➌ Is Allah in the form of every human?
This belief is also completely wrong, because it is mentioned in the hadith:
(( إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَجْرِى مِنَ الْإِنْسَانِ مجرى الدم. ))
“That Satan runs in the veins of the son of Adam like blood.”
And even more than this is the statement of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
(( ذَكَرَ عِندَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَجُلٌ فَقِيلَ مَا زَالَ نَائِمًا حَتَّى أَصْبَحَ مَا قَامَ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَقَالَ بَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ فِي أُذُنِهِ . ))
The summary of the hadith of the Messenger ﷺ is that when a person sleeps without praying, Satan urinates in his ear.
If Allah is in every person, then (معاذ اللہ) in whom Allah is, and Satan also runs in him and urinates in his ear.
((تَعَالَى اللهُ عَن ذَلِكَ ، نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَنُقَدِ سُهُ .))
Is Allah in everything?
Among beliefs, this belief is the worst belief, and among ideologies, it is the worst ideology, and those who believe in it are among the worst of people. The command of the Almighty Allah is:
( اَلرَّحْمٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوٰى )
“The Most Merciful is established on the Throne.”
And the command of the Almighty Allah is:
(لَیْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَیْءٌۚ-وَ هُوَ السَّمِیْعُ الْبَصِیْرُ)
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”
The attributes of our Lord have been explained through His beautiful names.
The God of the Hululiyyah:
According to the belief of the Hululiyyah, their God is also a child, sometimes a husband, sometimes a wife, and sometimes he gets beaten by the children of the street, and sometimes the children throw stones at him.
(فَاعْتَبِرُوْا یٰۤاُولِی الْاَبْصَارِ)
Fatwas and Opinions Regarding This Belief:
➊ Allama Ibn Hazm Andalusi, who passed away in 456 AH, states:
((وَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ إِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وجَلَّ هُوَ فُلَانٌ لَا نِسَانٌ بِعَيْنِهِ أَوْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَحِلُّ فِى جِسْمِ مِنْ أَجْسَامٍ خَلْقِهِ أَوْ أَنَّ بَعْدَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَمَ نَبِيًّا غَيْرَ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَخْتَلِفُ اثْنَانَ فِي تكفيره.))
“Whoever holds the belief that Allah Almighty is a particular human being or that Allah Almighty has incarnated into the body of one of His creation, there has never been a disagreement between two people on this matter until today.”
➋ Syed Muhammad Naeemuddin Muradabadi writes:
This refutes the Christians who say that God cannot need food, so whoever eats food and has a body, digestion occurs in that body. The food becomes its substitute; how can he be God then?
➌ Mufti Abdul Qayyum Khan Hazari answers regarding Fanafi Allah and Fanafi Rasul, writing:
These words can have another meaning as well, which is that the essence of Allah Almighty descends into the servant and brings him down to the level of creation, or raises the creation above its rightful position and elevates it to a divine status. Then, there is a belief in the union and indwelling between the two, sometimes calling God the Messenger and sometimes calling the Messenger God. This belief is purely disbelief and polytheism.
“Saying that by annihilating oneself in Allah, the servant becomes equal to God is pure polytheism. Such an ignorant person must be immediately refuted; otherwise, keep your relationship with him as that between a Muslim and a polytheist.”
