Taqrib al-Tadmuriyyah - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (32)

Taqrib al-TadmuriyyahIbn al-'Uthaymin

• Their specious plea is that affirming the divine names and attributes necessarily entails likeness to the creation and plurality.

As regards the names, they argue that once God is called by a given name He must be characterized by the meaning carried by that name. Thus, when we affirm “the Living,” it follows—so they claim—that He must possess life, for the truth of the derivative (the name) presupposes the truth of its root (the attribute). This, in their view, means that attributes subsist in Him and therefore constitutes anthropomorphism.

As for the attributes themselves, they contend that to affirm multiple attributes, each distinct from the Essence, entails plurality and composition—something they deem impossible and contrary to pure monotheism.

• The reply to them proceeds along several lines:

First: In the very names and descriptions by which Allah has spoken of Himself, He combines both negation and affirmation—examples of which have already been cited. Whoever accepts the negations yet denies the affirmations has believed in part of the Book while disbelieving in the rest; and disbelief in part of the Book is, in effect, disbelief in the whole of it. Allah rebukes the Children of Israel, saying: “Do you then believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? The compensation of those among you who do that is nothing but disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be returned to the severest punishment. Allah is not unaware of what you do.” (Qur’an 2:85) Likewise, He says: “Indeed, those who deny Allah and His messengers and seek to make a distinction between Allah and His messengers, saying, ‘We believe in some and disbelieve in others,’ and who desire to adopt a position in between—those are the true disbelievers, and We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.” (Qur’an 4:150-151)

Second: The notion of “absolute existence on the condition of absoluteness” has no concrete reality outside the mind; it is nothing more than a mental construct with no true existence. Adopting this concept, therefore, amounts in practice to denying the real existence of Allah except as an idea, which is the very apex of negation and disbelief.

* وشبهتهم: أنهم اعتقدوا أن إثبات الأسماء والصفات يستلزم التشبيه والتعدد. ووجه ذلك في الأسماء: أنه إذا سمي بها لزم أن يكون متصفاً بمعنى الاسم. فإذا أثبتنا "الحي" مثلاً لزم أن يكون متصفاً بالحياة؛ لأن صدق المشتق يستلزم صدق المشتق منه، وذلك يقتضي قيام الصفات به وهو تشبيه. - وأما في الصفات فقالوا: إن إثبات صفات متغايرة مغايرة للموصوف يستلزم التعدد، وهو تركيب ممتنع مناقض للتوحيد. * والرد عليهم من وجوه: الأول: أن الله تعالى جمع فيما سمى ووصف به نفسه بين النفي والإثبات "وقد سبق أمثلة من ذلك" فمن اقر بالنفي وأنكر الإثبات فقد آمن ببعض الكتاب دون بعض، والكفر ببعض الكتاب كفر بالكتاب كله. قال الله تعالى منكراً على بني إسرائيل: ﴿أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَى أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾ [البقرة: ٨٥] . وقال تعالى: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَنَكْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيلاً * أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ حَقّاً وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَاباً مُهِيناً﴾ [النساء: ١٥٠ – ١٥١] . الثاني: أن الموجود المطلق بشرط الإطلاق لا وجود له في الخارج المحسوس، وإنما هو أمر يفرضه الذهن ولا وجود له في الحقيقة، فتكون حقيقة القول به نفي وجود الله تعالى إلا في الذهن، وهذا غاية التعطيل والكفر.