Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (1/75)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

People were steeped in a most abject state of ignorance: doctrines they imagined to be knowledge were in fact sheer ignorance, and deeds they supposed to be righteous were nothing but corruption. The furthest an accomplished person among them could reach—both in learning and in practice—was to glean a few remnants of the knowledge inherited from the former prophets, whose truth had become confused with falsehood.

Another might busy himself with acts, a small portion of which was lawful while most were innovated, exerting almost no real effect on his rectitude; or he would labour with his intellect like the philosophers, until the very marrow of his soul melted away in the study of natural and mathematical sciences (1) and in attempts at moral reform. After an indescribable effort he would finally attain—if he ever did—nothing more than a scant, shaky morsel that neither quenches thirst nor heals (2)(3) of divine knowledge, in which falsehood outweighed truth many times over—if any truth remained at all. And how could he achieve otherwise, given the multitude of disagreements among its proponents, the confusion, and the absence of sound proofs and means?

Then Allah guided mankind—by the blessing of Muhammad’s Prophethood, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and through the clear evidences and guidance he brought—to a guidance beyond the power of any describer and surpassing the comprehension of those who know. Thus his believing community (4) in general, and its scholars in particular, came to possess beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, lofty character, and sound practices. Were the pure, uncontaminated wisdom of all other nations, in both theory and practice, to be gathered and compared with the wisdom with which he was sent, the disparity would be so vast that any attempt at measuring the ratio between them would fail. All praise, therefore, is due to Allah in the manner our Lord loves and is pleased with (5). The proofs (6) for this and their attestations are many, but this is not the place to detail them.

(1) In MS T: “and discipline.” (2) In MS A: “to light.” (3) In the printed edition: “it neither quenches thirst, nor heals the sick, nor contributes anything to divine knowledge.” (4) In the printed edition: “those who believe in Him.” (5) In MSS C and D: “as He loves and is pleased.” (6) In MS D: “and a proof.”

والناس في جاهلية جهلاء، من مقالات يظنونها علما وهي جهل، وأعمال يحسبونها صلاحا وهي فساد. وغاية البارع منهم علما وعملا، أن يحصل قليلا من العلم الموروث عن الأنبياء المتقدمين، قد اشتبه عليهم حقه بباطله. أو يشتغل بعمل القليل منه مشروع، وأكثره مبتدع لا يكاد يؤثر في صلاحه إلا قليلا، أو أن يكدح بنظره كدح المتفلسفة، فتذوب مهجته في الأمور الطبيعية والرياضية (١) وإصلاح الأخلاق، حتى يصل - إن وصل - بعد الجهد الذي لا يوصف، إلى نزر (٢) قليل مضطرب، لا يروي ولا يشفي (٣) من العلم الإلهي، باطله أضعاف حقه - إن حصل - وأنَّى له ذلك مع كثرة الاختلاف بين أهله، والاضطراب وتعذر الأدلة عليه، والأسباب؟ فهدى الله الناس ببركة نبوة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، وبما جاء به من البينات والهدى، هداية جلت عن وصف الواصفين، وفاقت معرفة العارفين، حتى حصل لأمته المؤمنين (٤) عموما، ولأولي العلم منهم خصوصا، من العلم النافع، والعمل الصالح، والأخلاق العظيمة، والسنن المستقيمة، ما لو جمعت حكمة سائر الأمم، علما وعملا، الخالصة من كل شوب، إلى الحكمة التي بعث بها، لتفاوتا تفاوتا يمنع معرفة قدر النسبة بينهما، فلله الحمد كما يحب ربنا ويرضى (٥) ودلائل (٦) هذا وشواهده ليس هذا موضعها.

(١) في (ط) : والرياضة. (٢) في (أ) : إلى نور. (٣) في المطبوعة: لا يروي غليلا، ولا يشفي عليلا، ولا يغني من العلم الإلهي شيئا. (٤) في المطبوعة: المؤمنين به. (٥) في (ج د) : كما يحب ويرضى. (٦) في (د) : ودليل.