Taqrib al-Tadmuriyyah - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (122)

Taqrib al-TadmuriyyahIbn al-'Uthaymin

First: What they have posited was already affirmed by the idolaters whom the Prophet ﷺ fought, for they never ascribed a partner to Allah in His acts. The Most High says, “If you were to ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon?’ they would surely reply, ‘Allah.’ So how are they deluded?” (Quran 29:61); and, “If you were to ask them, ‘Who created you?’ they would surely say, ‘Allah’” (Quran 43:87). Even so, they were not considered monotheists but polytheists, as is established by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus that is necessarily known in Islam, because they denied the oneness of worship and said, “Has he made all the gods into one God? This is something astonishing indeed!” (Quran 38:5). For that reason the Prophet ﷺ fought them, lawfully shed their blood, seized their wealth, and took their children and women captive.

Second: Their interpretation of la ilaha illa Allah as “No one has the power to originate creation except Allah” implies that anyone who acknowledges that Allah alone brings things into existence has thereby borne witness to la ilaha illa Allah and secured the inviolability of his life and property.

It is well known that this understanding is false and contrary to what Muslims have always recognized. Its correct meaning is: “None is rightfully worshipped except Allah.” This is how Muslims—indeed even the polytheists—understand the phrase. Consider Allah’s words about them: “When it was said to them, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ they grew arrogant and said, ‘Shall we really abandon our gods for a mad poet?’” (Quran 37:35-36). They were never too proud to admit in their hearts and on their tongues that Allah alone is the Creator, nor did they claim that their deities created anything whatsoever. This shows that the idolaters had a clearer and deeper grasp of the meaning of la ilaha illa Allah than these theologians, and that the utmost these theologians establish is the oneness of lordship—a level of monotheism that neither frees a person from polytheism, nor renders his blood and wealth inviolable, nor saves him from eternal residence in the Fire.

Groups among the Sufis who claim gnosis, realization, and tawḥīd have taken the same path, so that the furthest reach of their monotheism is for a person to witness that Allah

الأول: أن هذا الذي قرروه قد أقر به المشركون الذين قاتلهم النبي ﷺ فإنهم لم يجعلوا لله شريكاً في أفعاله كما قال تعالى: ﴿وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ فَأَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ﴾ [العنكبوت: ٦١] . ﴿وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ﴾ [الزخرف: ٨٧] . ومع هذا لم يكونوا موحدين بل هم مشركون بدلالة الكتاب والسنة والإجماع المعلوم بالضرورة من دين الإسلام لكونهم أنكروا توحيد الألوهية وقالوا: ﴿أَجَعَلَ الْآلِهَةَ إِلَهاً وَاحِداً إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عُجَابٌ﴾ [صّ: ٥] ولهذا قاتلهم النبي ﷺ مستبيحاً دماءهم وأموالهم، وسبى ذراريهم ونساءهم. الثاني: أن تفسيرهم "لا إله إلا الله" بهذا التفسير الذي ذكروه أي أنه لا قادر على الاختراع إلا الله، يقتضي أن من أقر بأن الله وحده هو القادر على الاختراع دون غيره فقد شهد أن لا إله إلا الله وعصم دمه وماله. ومعلوم أن تفسيرها بهذا المعنى باطل مخالف لما عرفه المسلمون منها فإن تفسيرها الصحيح: أن لا معبود حق إلا الله، هذا هو الذي يعرفه المسلمون من معناها، بل والمشركون، ألا ترى إلى قول الله تعالى فيهم: ﴿إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ، وَيَقُولُونَ أَإِنَّا لَتَارِكُو آلِهَتِنَا لِشَاعِرٍ مَجْنُونٍ﴾ [الصافات: ٣٥ - ٣٦] . وكانوا لا يستكبرون عن الإقرار بقلوبهم وألسنتهم بأن الله هو الخالق وحده، ولا يدعون أن آلهتهم تخلق شيئاً، فتبين بذلك أن المشركين أعلم وأفقه بمعنى لا إله إلا الله من هؤلاء المتكلمين، وأن غاية ما يقرره هؤلاء المتكلمون من التوحيد توحيد الربوبية الذي لا يخلص الإنسان من الشرك، ولا يعصم به دمه وماله، ولا يسلم به من الخلود في النار. وقد سلك هذا المسلك طوائف من أهل التصوف المنتسبين إلى المعرفة والتحقيق والتوحيد، فكان غاية ما عندهم من التوحيد: أن يشهد المرء أن الله