Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/359)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

And the Exalted says:

“They worship, apart from Allah, things that can neither harm them nor benefit them, and they say, ‘These are our intercessors with Allah.’ Say, ‘Are you informing Allah of something He does not know in the heavens or on earth?’” (Yūnus 10:18) (1)

He also says, concerning the man in Sūrah Yā Sīn:

“Why should I not worship the One who created me, and to Him you will be returned? Shall I take deities other than Him? If the All-Merciful intends me any harm, their intercession will not help me in the least, nor can they rescue me. Truly, I would then be in manifest error. I have believed in your Lord, so listen to me.” (Yā Sīn 36:22–25) (2)

He, the Most High, says:

“You have come to Us one by one, just as We created you the first time, and you have left behind everything We bestowed upon you. Nor do We see with you your intercessors whom you claimed were partners with you; all ties between you are now severed, and what you used to claim has deserted you.” (al-Anʿām 6:94) (3)

And He says:

“You have, apart from Him, no protector and no intercessor.” (as-Sajdah 32:4) (4)

He further says:

“Warn with it those who fear being gathered to their Lord: they shall have, apart from Him, no protector and no intercessor—perhaps they will become mindful.” (al-Anʿām 6:51) (5)

On this matter people have split into three groups: two extremes and a middle course. The polytheists—and those who sided with them among the innovators of the People of the Book, such as the Christians—as well as the innovators within this ummah affirmed a kind of intercession that the Qur’an itself negates (6). The Khārijites and the Muʿtazilites, on the other hand, denied the intercession of our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, on behalf of those in his community who commit major sins (7).

(1) Quran, Surah Yunus (10): 18. (2) Quran, Surah Ya Sin (36): 22–25. (3) Quran, Surah al-Anam (6): 94. (4) Quran, Surah al-Sajdah (32): 4 (excerpt). (5) Quran, Surah al-Anam (6): 51. (6) In manuscripts B and D the reading is: “which Allah has refuted in the Quran.” (7) Manuscript A reads: “the People of the Two Scriptures,” an obvious copyist’s error.

وقال تعالى: {وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلَاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قُلْ أَتُنَبِّئُونَ اللَّهَ بِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ} [يونس: ١٨] (١) . وقال تعالى عن صاحب يس: {وَمَا لِيَ لَا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ - أَأَتَّخِذُ مِنْ دُونِهِ آلِهَةً إِنْ يُرِدْنِ الرَّحْمَنُ بِضُرٍّ لَا تُغْنِ عَنِّي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُنْقِذُونِ - إِنِّي إِذًا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ - إِنِّي آمَنْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَاسْمَعُونِ} [يس: ٢٢ - ٢٥] (٢) . وقال تعالى: {وَلَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا فُرَادَى كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَتَرَكْتُمْ مَا خَوَّلْنَاكُمْ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِكُمْ وَمَا نَرَى مَعَكُمْ شُفَعَاءَكُمُ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ أَنَّهُمْ فِيكُمْ شُرَكَاءُ لَقَدْ تَقَطَّعَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْكُمْ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ} [الأنعام: ٩٤] (٣) . وقال تعالى: {مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ} [السجدة: ٤] (٤) . وقال تعالى: {وَأَنْذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْ يُحْشَرُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ} [الأنعام: ٥١] (٥) . وهذا الموضع افترق الناس فيه ثلاث فرق: طرفان، ووسط: فالمشركون ومن وافقهم من مبتدعة أهل الكتاب، كالنصارى، ومبتدعة هذه الأمة: أثبتوا الشفاعة التي نفاها (٦) القرآن. والخوارج والمعتزلة: أنكروا شفاعة نبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم في أهل الكبائر (٧) من أمته،

(١) سورة يونس: الآية ١٨. (٢) سورة يس: الآيات٢٢-٢٥. (٣) سورة الأنعام: الآية ٩٤. (٤) سورة المسجدة: من الآية ٤. (٥) سورة الأنعام: الآية ٥١. (٦) في (ب د) : التي نفاها الله بالقرآن. (٧) في (أ) : أهل الكتابين. وهو تحريف من الناسخ.