Cemil Hakyemez

This article examines the sense and significance of bada. I investigate when and who devised this concept, discuss its use as a proof in debates among the Shi`ahs concerning the Imamate after going through several transformations, and analyze the Shi`i theologians’ efforts to interpret it in line with the doctrine of naskh (abrogation) in order to demonstrate that bada is not one of the bases upon which Shi`i belief is grounded.

Introduction

The notion of bada, defined as “God’s changing of His mind” or “God’s abrogation of His earlier decision,” has been widely debated byMuslim theologians and within the Shi`i branch of Islam, in which it was elaborated upon the most. Due to the debates revolving around the Shi`i doctrine of Imamate (supreme leadership), bada assumed different meanings at different times. However, the scholars who studied it tended to limit themselves to citing its literal sense as a term and its emergence as a principle. Yet this issue begs an in-depth discussion in the context of the notion-history relationship. 1 Hence, this study investigates its religio-political background, when and how it arose, what kinds of processes of justification and transformation it underwent, which meanings it assumed at different times, and the real nature of the ongoing debates within the Shi`i tradition.

The Arabic word shi`ah is a collective name for those Muslim groups who believe that the Prophet appointed `Ali ibn Abi Talib as caliph, with a sacred text and divine designation, and that the Imamate belongs exclusively to `Ali’s progeny via his wife Fatimah (the Prophet’s daughter).2 Viewed by the Shi`ahs as one of Islam’s most important pillars, the doctrine of Imamate depends upon the image of a divinely designated and infallible Imam to whom Allah gave the revealed knowledge of everything needed by the Muslim community. In other words, the principle of a divinely designated Imam is a sine qua non of the Imamate theory.

I argue that bada is a result of this doctrine. If the notion of God’s predesignation of the Imams did not exist, the Shi`ah would not have paid any attention to the idea that “God changed His mind.” In addition, they would not have been shocked by the unexpected death of an Imam whom they believed to be divinely appointed, nor would they have claimed that God had changed His mind and appointed another Imam. Perhaps they would have considered the subject within the exclusive context of naskh (abrogation). Thus, we can safely say that bada has a relationship with the doctrine of the “God’s pre-designation of the Imam.”

The word bada literally means “becoming manifest and clear, appearance, the arising of knowledge after being absent, the dawn of an idea in the mind.”3 As a technical term, it is defined as the happening of an incident that God had willed to take place in a certain way, in contrast to the way in which it actually occurred as a result of God changing His mind. In short, the term indicates possible changes in God’s attributes of omniscience, will, and creation.4

The term naskh, which literally means removing an earlier edict by a later sacred text, is often used as a synonym for bada.5 In the case of bada, the subject matter is the coming-true of the opposite of what a report revealed by God states. In the former case, God establishes an edict but then replaces it with another one. However, bada involves changing God’s mind as reflected in His reports regarding His servants. Therefore, al-Shahristani attributes different meanings to bada. The first one relates to knowledge (`ilm), meaning the occurrence of something in contradiction to the way God had willed. The second one signifies that God first makes a judgment but then finds it mistaken and rectifies it. The third (and final) one is related with “injunction” (amr), indicating that God commands something first and later commands the opposite. When discussing this last meaning, al-Shahristani criticizes those groups “who discard abrogation and hold out the notion that discrepant divine commands abolish each other in different times, i.e., bada.”6

Although the debates on bada focus on its terminological sense, there are some reflections on its literal meaning. In particular, some important theologians of the Ithna `Ashariyyah7 (Twelver Shi`ahs) prefer to interpret it as “appearance.” This inclination also has some reasons, and we will touch on them in their proper context.

Originating from the esoteric interpretation of Islam, bada, besides being associated with these debates on the Imamate, also has a dimension of divine will.8 Due to the sensitivities involved, bada long remained at the center of severe disputations among Muslim scholars.As clarified by Shi`i theologian Ibn al-Rawandi (d. 298/910),9 the exponents of bada rely on the following verse: “Allah blots out or confirms what He pleases: with Him is the Mother of the Book” (Qur’an 13:39). The scholars of hadith grounded their belief on the following narrations: “Visitation of relatives prolongs the lifespan. Charity fends off the inevitable trouble.” `Umar prayed that: “O my God! If you have written me among the wretched, please erase my name from there and write it among the felicitous.”10

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