Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/335)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

It is well known that had this practice been divinely prescribed and recommended—one for which Allah grants reward—the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would have been the most knowledgeable of people about it (1). He would have taught it to his Companions, who in turn would have been more versed in it and more eager for it than anyone who came after them. Since they paid no attention to any such thing, it is evident that these are newly introduced innovations which they never regarded as acts of worship, devotion, or obedience. Whoever now treats them as worship, devotion, and obedience has departed from their path and introduced into the religion that for which Allah has given no authorization.

If this is the ruling concerning our Prophet’s own station at places such as the cave of Ḥirāʾ—where revelation and his commissioning first began (2) and where the Qur’an was sent down to him, a site in which he used to worship even before Islam—and concerning the cave mentioned in the Qur’an in which Allah sent down His tranquility upon him (3),

then it follows all the more clearly that the sites associated with other prophets are even less deserving of being singled out or journeyed to for prayer, supplication, or the like, even when their authenticity is firmly established. How much more so when the attribution is known to be false or its authenticity is uncertain?

The same principle is borne out by the unanimously accepted fact (4) that when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, performed pilgrimage to the House, he touched none of its corners except the two Yemeni ones. He did not touch the two northern (Shāmī) corners, nor any other side of the Kaʿbah, nor the Station of Abraham, nor any of the other sacred landmarks. As for kissing, he kissed nothing except the Black Stone.

There is, however, a difference of opinion regarding the Yemeni Corner itself. Some say it should be kissed; others maintain that one should only touch it and then kiss one’s hand; yet others hold that it should neither be kissed nor should the hand be kissed. All three opinions are well known in the school of Aḥmad and others.

The correct view is that one neither kisses it nor kisses one’s hand after touching it, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did none of that, and

(1) The printed edition adds: “and the quickest among them toward him.” (2) MSS B, J, and D read: “and the message.” (3) MS Aṭ reads: “even though he was.” (4) MS Ṭ reads: “as has been established.”

ومعلوم أنه لو كان هذا مشروعا مستحبا يثيب الله عليه؛ لكان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أعلم الناس بذلك (١) ولكان يعلم أصحابه ذلك، وكان أصحابه أعلم بذلك وأرغب فيه ممن بعدهم، فلما لم يكونوا يلتفتون إلى شيء من ذلك؛ علم أنه من البدع المحدثة، التي لم يكونوا يعدونها عبادة وقربة وطاعة، فمن جعلها عبادة وقربة وطاعة فقد اتبع غير سبيلهم، وشرع من الدين ما لم يأذن به الله. وإذا كان حكم مقام نبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم في مثل غار حراء الذي ابتدي فيه بالإنباء (٢) والإرسال، وأنزل عليه فيه القرآن، مع أنه (٣) كان قبل الإسلام يتعبد فيه. وفي مثل الغار المذكور في القرآن الذي أنزل الله فيه سكينته عليه. فمن المعلوم أن مقامات غيره من الأنبياء أبعد عن أن يشرع قصدها والسفر إليها لصلاة أو دعاء أو نحو ذلك، إذا كانت صحيحة ثابتة. فكيف إذا علم أنها كذب، أو لم يعلم صحتها؟ وهذا كما أنه (٤) قد ثبت باتفاق أهل العلم أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لما حج البيت لم يستلم من الأركان إلا الركنين اليمانيين، فلم يستلم الركنين الشاميين ولا غيرهما من جوانب البيت، ولا مقام إبراهيم ولا غيره من المشاعر، وأما التقبيل فلم يقبل إلا الحجر الأسود. وقد اختلف في الركن اليماني: فقيل: يقبله. وقيل: يستلمه ويقبل يده، وقيل: لا يقبله ولا يقبل يده. والأقوال الثلاثة مشهورة في مذهب أحمد وغيره. والصواب: أنه لا يقبله ولا يقبل يده، فإن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يفعل هذا ولا

(١) في المطبوعة زاد: وأسرعهم إليه. (٢) في (ب ج د) : والرسالة. (٣) في (أط) : مع كونه كان. (٤) في (ط) : كما قد ثبت.