Al-Uqud al-Durriyya - Ibn Abd al-Hadi - (الكتاب/131)

Al-Uqud al-DurriyyaIbn Abd al-Hadi

—“But no, by your Lord! They will never truly believe until they make you the judge in all that is disputed between them, then find within themselves no discomfort regarding your judgment, and submit with full submission” [al-Nisāʾ 65]; and—“Humanity was once a single community; then Allah sent the prophets as bearers of glad tidings and warners, and He sent down with them the Book in truth so that it might judge between people concerning that over which they differed. None differed over it except those who had been given it, after clear proofs had come to them, out of sheer envy among themselves; then Allah, by His grace, guided those who believed to the truth about which they had differed” (1) [al-Baqarah 213].

The inescapable consequence of their doctrine is that the Book is no longer a guidance for mankind, nor a clarification, nor a healing for what lies within the breasts, nor a light, nor the final court of appeal when disagreement arises. For we know ⦗34⦘ with absolute certainty that what these contrived theologians declare to be the “truth that must be believed” is supported neither by the Book nor by the Sunnah—neither in explicit wording nor even by apparent implication. At most, the cleverest (2) among them attempts to infer it from His words: “There is none comparable to Him” [al-Ikhlāṣ 4] and “Do you know of anyone who shares His Name?” [Maryam 65].

Yet every rational person necessarily realises that someone who uses the verse “Do you know of anyone who shares His Name?” to convince people that Allah is not above the Throne, not above the heavens, and similar claims, has journeyed far afield. Such a person is either speaking in riddles or practising deception, for he has not addressed them in clear, eloquent Arabic.

A further corollary of their doctrine is that leaving people without any message at all would be better for them in the fundamentals of their religion, because their point of reference before and after revelation would then be identical, while the sending of the message has done nothing but increase them in blindness.

(1) Manuscript F continues the rest of the verse. (2) Manuscripts F, K, Kh, and T read: “al-mutahadhliq.” The term al-mutahadhdiq refers to someone who merely affects expertise and pretends to it.

﴿فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا﴾ [النساء: ٦٥]، ﴿كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ وَأَنْزَلَ مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ فَهَدَى اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِ﴾ (١) [البقرة: ٢١٣]. ولازم هذه المقالة: أن لا يكون الكتابُ هدىً للناس، ولا بيانًا ولا شفاءً لما في الصدور، ولا نورًا ولا مردًّا عند التنازع؛ لأنّا نعلم [ق ٣٤] بالاضطرار أن ما يقوله هؤلاء المتكلِّفون أنه الحقّ الذي يجب اعتقاده= لم يدلّ عليه الكتابُ ولا السنةُ لا نصًّا ولا ظاهرًا، وإنما غاية المُتَحَذّق (٢) منهم أن يستنتج هذا من قوله تعالى: ﴿وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ﴾ [الإخلاص: ٤]، ﴿هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا﴾ [مريم: ٦٥]. وبالاضطرار يعلمُ كلُّ عاقل أنَّ من دلَّ الخلقَ على أنَّ الله ليس فوق العرش، ولا فوق السموات، ونحو ذلك بقوله: ﴿هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا﴾ لقد أبعد النُّجْعة، وهو إمَّا مُلْغز وإما مدلِّس، لم يخاطبهم بلسانٍ عربّي مبين. ولازم هذه المقالة: أن يكون ترك الناس بلا رسالة خيرًا لهم في أصل دينهم؛ لأن مرَدَّهم قبل الرسالة وبعدها واحد، وإنما الرسالة زادتهم عَمًى

(١) أكملَ الآيةَ في (ف). (٢) (ف، ك، خ، ط): «المتحذلق». والمتحذّق: الذي يتظاهر بالحذق ويتكلّفه.