Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (2/85)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

nor strength except through Allah,” is prescribed when one is undertaking something; it is a statement of seeking help, not a statement of returning oneself to Allah.

The answer is that when the caller to prayer says, “Come to prayer,” he is inviting you to attend it. You therefore seek Allah’s help, by renouncing reliance upon your own ability and strength in favor of the One who possesses all ability and strength, exalted is He. Thus, you seek His help and say, “There is no power nor strength except through Allah.” This is a form of seeking nearness to Allah by mentioning the condition of the one who calls upon Him and the perfection of the One invoked.

If it is asked: What is meant by power, and what is meant by strength?

The scholars have said: Power means transition—that is, there is no transition from one state to another except through Allah, exalted is He. Strength is more specific than capability. It is as though you were saying: I am neither able nor strong enough to move from one state to another except with Allah’s help. Hence, we say that the preposition “by” in the phrase, “except through Allah,” denotes seeking help. No one can move from one state to another—whether from disobedience to obedience, or from one act of obedience to one better than it—except through Allah, exalted is He.

His saying, “Come to success,” after saying, “Come to prayer,” is a general statement after a particular one; or it is an invitation to the result and reward after the invitation to prayer. It is as though he were saying: Come to prayer, and if you pray, you will attain success.

Repeating after the caller to prayer is evidence of Allah’s mercy, exalted is He, and the vastness of His bounty. Since the callers to prayer attain the reward they attain for the call to prayer, it has been prescribed for one who is not a caller to prayer to repeat after him, so that he too may attain a reward just as the caller to prayer attains a reward. There are similar cases: the pilgrims sacrifice their sacrificial animals on the Day of Sacrifice, while those who have not performed pilgrimage are prescribed to offer their sacrificial animals. Likewise, when the pilgrims

ولا قوة إلا بالله» فهي مشروعة عند التحمُّل، وهي كلمة استعانة، وليست كلمة استرجاع. فالجواب: أن المؤذِّنَ لما قال: «حيَّ على الصلاة»، فإنما دعاك إلى حضورها؛ فاستعنت بالله، وذلك حيثُ تبرَّأت من حولك وقوَّتك إلى ذي الحَول والقوَّة ﷿ فاستعنت به، وقلت: لا حَول ولا قوَّة إلا بالله، وهذا من باب التوسُّل بذكر حال الدَّاعي وكمال المدعو. فإن قيل: ما هو الحَول؛ وما هي القوَّة؟ فقد قال العلماء: الحَول بمعنى التحوُّل، أي: لا تحوّل من حال إلى حال إلا بالله ﷿. والقوَّة أخصُّ من القدرة، فكأنَّك قلت: لا أستطيع ولا أقوى على التَّحوُّل إلا بمعونة الله، ولهذا نقول: إن «الباء» في قوله: «إلا بالله» للاستعانة، فكلُّ إنسان لا يستطيع أن يتحوَّل من حال إلى حال، سواء من معصية إلى طاعة، أو من طاعة إلى أفضل منها إلا بالله ﷿. وقوله: «حيَّ على الفلاح» بعد قوله: «حيَّ على الصّلاة» تعميمٌ بعد تخصيص، أو دعاء إلى النتيجة والثَّواب بعد الدُّعاء إلى الصَّلاة، كأنه قال: أقبل إلى الصَّلاة، فإذا صليت نِلْتَ الفلاح. وفي متابعة المؤذِّنِ دليلٌ على رحمة الله ﷿، وسِعة فضله؛ لأن المؤذِّنين لما نالوا ما نالوه من أجر الأذان شُرع لغير المؤذِّن أن يتابعه؛ لينال أجراً كما نال المؤذِّن أجراً، ولهذا نظائر، فمن ذلك أنَّ الحُجَّاج يذبحون الهدايا يوم النَّحر، وغيرهم ممن لم يحجَّ شُرِع لهم ذبح الأضاحي، وكذلك الحجَّاج إذا