Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/322)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

“By my love for You I implore You—relieve me!” and Allah relieved him.

Likewise, the supplication of the emigrant woman whose child Allah brought back to life: she said, “O Allah, I have believed in You and in Your Messenger, and I have emigrated in Your cause,” and she asked Allah to revive her son. Allah granted her request—and others like it besides.

So too the believers have said:

“Our Lord, we have heard a caller summoning to faith—‘Believe in your Lord’—and we have believed. Our Lord, forgive us our sins, efface our misdeeds, and cause us to die among the righteous. Our Lord, grant us what You promised us through Your messengers, and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection; surely You never fail in Your promise.” (Āl ʿImrān 3:193–194)

Thus, petitioning Allah and seeking nearness to Him by carrying out His commands, avoiding His prohibitions, doing what He loves, and manifesting servitude and obedience, is of the same kind—done in hope of His mercy and fear of His punishment.

Likewise, calling upon Allah by His Names and Attributes—for example: “I ask You, for to You belongs all praise; You are Allah, the Bestower, the Originator of the heavens and the earth,” or, “By Your being Allah, the One, the Self-Sufficient, who neither begets nor is begotten, and to whom none is comparable”—is also a valid means. For His being the Praiseworthy, the Bestower, necessitates His favor and the beneficence for which He is praised.

And His being the One, the Self-Sufficient, who neither begets nor is begotten, entails His uniqueness in absolute sufficiency: He alone is the Sovereign to whom people turn for every need; He is free of all want, while everything other than He depends upon Him and can never do without Him. This is a cause

(1) In MSS A and B and in the printed edition the wording is lak ("for You"). (2) Abu Nuʿaym records it—with his chain of transmission—in Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ, 8:109. (3) Qadi ʿIyad transmits it from Anas in al-Shifaʾ, 1:268. (4) Quran, Surah Al ʿImran 3:193–194 (excerpt). (5) The hadith appeared earlier on p. 306 of this volume. (6) MS A alone reads wa-li-kawnihi ("and because He is"). (7) MSS A and the printed edition read yaqdi ("He decrees"). (8) MSS B, C, and D read samadaniyyatuhu ("His absolute self-sufficiency"). (9) MSS A and the printed edition have wa-kullu muftaqirin ilayhi ("and every creature is in need of Him").

بحبي (١) إياك إلا فرجت عني " ففرج عنه (٢) . وكذلك دعاء المرأة المهاجرة التي أحيا الله ابنها لما قالت: " اللهم إني آمنت بك وبرسولك، وهاجرت في سبيلك " (٣) وسألت الله أن يحيي ولدها. وأمثال ذلك. وهذا كما قال المؤمنون: {رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِي لِلْإِيمَانِ أَنْ آمِنُوا بِرَبِّكُمْ فَآمَنَّا رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّئَاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْأَبْرَارِ - رَبَّنَا وَآتِنَا مَا وَعَدْتَنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ وَلَا تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّكَ لَا تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ} [آل عمران: ١٩٣ - ١٩٤] (٤) . فسؤال الله والتوسل إليه بامتثال أمره، واجتناب نهيه، وفعل ما يحبه، والعبودية والطاعة، هو من جنس فعل ذلك؛ رجاء لرحمة الله، وخوفا من عذابه، وسؤال الله بأسمائه وصفاته كقوله: «أسألك بأن لك الحمد أنت الله المنان بديع السماوات والأرض» ، و «بأنك أنت الله الأحد الصمد، الذي لم يلد ولم يولد، ولم يكن له كفوا أحد» (٥) ونحو ذلك يكون من باب التسبب، فإن كون المحمود المنان يقتضي منته على عباده، وإحسانه الذي يحمده عليه. وكونه (٦) الأحد الصمد الذي لم يلد ولم يولد يقتضي (٧) توحده في صمديته (٨) فيكون هو السيد المقصود، الذي يصمد الناس إليه في كل حوائجهم، المستغني عما سواه، وكل ما سواه مفتقرون إليه (٩) لا غنى بهم عنه، وهذا سبب

(١) في (أب ط) : لك. (٢) ذكره أبو نعيم في (حلية الأولياء) بسنده (٨ / ١٠٩) . (٣) ذكره القاضي عياض في كتاب (الشفا) عن أنس (١ / ٢٦٨) . (٤) سورة آل عمران: من الآيتان ١٩٣، ١٩٤. (٥) الحديث مر (ص ٣٠٦) من هذا الجزء. (٦) في (أ) : ولكونه. (٧) في (أط) : يقضي. (٨) في (ب ج د) : صمدانيته. (٩) في (أط) : وكل مفتقرين إليه.