Taqrib al-Tadmuriyyah - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (21)

Taqrib al-TadmuriyyahIbn al-'Uthaymin

a drop of mixed fluids, putting him to the test; so We made him hearing and seeing’ (Q. 76:2).

He also negated any notion that the All-Hearing could be like one who merely hears, or that the All-Seeing could be like one who merely sees, saying: ‘There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing’ (Q. 42:11).

Likewise, He affirmed knowledge for Himself and knowledge for humankind. Concerning Himself He said, ‘Allah has known that you will make mention of them’ (Q. 2:235), while concerning human beings He said, ‘If you come to know them to be believing women, then do not return them to the unbelievers—they are not lawful for them, nor are the unbelievers lawful for them’ (Q. 60:10). Yet human knowledge is not like the knowledge of Allah, for Allah has declared of His own knowledge, ‘[He] has encompassed all things in knowledge’ (Q. 6:80), and, ‘Nothing whatsoever is hidden from Allah on earth or in heaven’ (Q. 3:5). As for human knowledge, He said, ‘You have been given of knowledge only a little’ (Q. 17:85).

• As for reason (al-ʿaql): it is rationally evident that meanings and attributes are conditioned and distinguished by the entity to which they are ascribed. Just as things differ in their essences, they likewise differ in their qualities and in the meanings attached to them; each attribute fits its subject, and from that attribute one does not infer anything inferior to—or exceeding—the subject itself. Thus we may describe a human being as “soft,” and molten iron as “soft,” yet we readily understand that the softness varies in meaning according to the object to which it is applied.

• As for sense perception (al-hiss): we observe that an elephant has a body, a leg, and strength, and that a mosquito also has a body, a leg, and strength; yet we clearly perceive the difference between their bodies, their legs, and their strengths.

If, then, it is known that created things can share a name or an attribute without thereby being identical in reality—while every one of them remains a contingent creature—the absence of such equivalence between the Creator and the creature is all the more obvious and certain. Indeed, likeness between the Creator and His creation is utterly impossible.

نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعاً بَصِيراً﴾ [الإنسان:٢] . ونفي أن يكون السميع كالسميع والبصير كالبصير فقال: ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾ [الشورى:١١] . وأثبت لنفسه علماً وللإنسان علماً، فقال عن نفسه: ﴿عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ سَتَذْكُرُونَهُنّ﴾ [البقرة: ٢٣٥] وقال عن الإنسان: ﴿فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ فَلا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ لا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَهُمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنّ﴾ [الممتحنة: ١٠] . وليس علم الإنسان كعلم الله تعالى، فقد قال الله عن علمه: ﴿وَسِعَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عِلْماً﴾ [الأنعام: ٨٠] . وقال: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلا فِي السَّمَاءِ﴾ [آل عمران:٥] . وقال عن علم الإنسان: ﴿وَمَا أُوتِيتُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً﴾ [الإسراء: ٨٥] . * وأما العقل: فمن المعلوم بالعقل أن المعاني والأوصاف تتقيد وتتميز بحسب ما تضاف إليه، فكما أن الأشياء مختلفة في ذواتها فإنها كذلك مختلفة في صفاتها وفي المعاني المضافة إليها، فإن صفة كل موصوف تناسبه لا يفهم منها ما يقصر عن موصوفها أو يتجاوزه. ولهذا نصف الإنسان باللين، والحديد المنصهر باللين، ونعلم أن اللين متفاوت المعنى بحسب ما أضيف إليه. * وأما الحس: فإننا نشاهد للفيل جسماً وقدماً وقوة، وللبعوضة جسماً وقدماً وقوة، ونعلم الفرق بين جسميهما، وقدميهما، وقوتيهما. فإذا علم أن الاشتراك في الاسم والصفة في المخلوقات لا يستلزم التماثل في الحقيقة مع كون كل منها مخلوقاً ممكناً، فانتفاء التلازم في ذلك بين الخالق والمخلوق أولى وأجلى، بل التماثل في ذلك بين الخالق والمخلوق ممتنع غاية الامتناع.