Semantics, characteristics and cases of " ḥujub wa surādiqāt" in the Shi a traditions

One of the complicated teachings in hadith about which countless understandings and facts have been expressed in numerous accounts, is the discussion of “ḥujub wa surādiqāt” dealt with by certain Muslim thinkers in different branches of knowledge including fiqh al-ḥadīth (hadith comprehension) ‘irfān (mysticism) and hikmat (philosophy) as a minor topic among other matters and not as an independent discussion. By investigating and analyzing the Shi„a traditions this article has traditionally explained the concepts, specifications, characteristics and cases of “ḥujub wa surādiqāt” and has concluded that the logical proportion between them is generality and peculiarity, in such a way that the ḥujub denoting “obstacles between the Lord, Exalted is He, and the creatures” encompasses all the ranks of creation, even the material world; but the surādiqāt denoting “the encompassing”, includes just the immaterial obstacles and is merely designated to the immaterial ranks of creation.