Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/376)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

The Exalted said:

“They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords apart from Allah—and also the Messiah, son of Mary—although they were commanded to worship but One God. There is no god but He; exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.” (al-Tawbah 9:31)

Part of their associating others with Him was that their scholars made the unlawful lawful and they obeyed them, and they made the lawful unlawful and they obeyed them.

Allah, Most High, also said:

“Fight those from among the People of the Book who neither believe in Allah nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and who do not follow the religion of truth, until they pay the jizyah with their own hands in willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” (al-Tawbah 9:29)

Thus, alongside their failure to believe in Allah and the Last Day, He coupled their unbelief with the fact that they do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden and do not adhere to the religion of truth.

The believers, however, held the Messenger—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—to be truthful in everything he conveyed from Allah and about the Last Day. They believed in Allah and the Last Day and obeyed him in whatever he commanded and forbade, and in whatever he declared lawful and unlawful. They therefore prohibited what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited and embraced the religion of truth. For Allah sent the Messenger to command them to what is right and forbid them what is wrong, to make lawful for them what is wholesome and declare unlawful for them what is foul. He commanded them to every good, forbade them every evil, made lawful for them every pure thing, and made unlawful for them every impure thing.

The very word “Islam” encompasses both surrender and compliance, and it also carries the sense of exclusive devotion

(1) Qurʾan, Surah al-Tawbah, 9:31. (2) In manuscript T the wording is: fa-adalluhum ("so they led them astray"); in manuscript A: fa-akhlohu, which is a copyists’ corruption. (3) Qurʾan, Surah al-Tawbah, 9:29. (4) In manuscripts A and T the reading is: wa-bi-l-yawm ("and in the Day"). (5) In manuscript A: ma harramahu al-rasul ("whatever the Messenger has forbidden"); in manuscript T: ma harramahu Allah wa-l-rasul ("whatever Allah and the Messenger have forbidden"). (6) The passage between the present numeral and the next is missing from manuscripts J and D; in its place they have: "in the chapter on belief in Allah and the Last Day." (7) Likewise, the text between the two numerals is absent from J and D and replaced with: "in the chapter on belief in Allah and the Last Day." (8) Printed edition: “taken from His — exalted is He — saying.”

تعالى: {اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ} [التوبة: ٣١] (١) وكان من إشراكهم بهم: أنهم أحلوا لهم الحرام فأطاعوهم (٢) وحرموا عليهم الحلال فأطاعوهم. وقد قال تعالى: {قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حَتَّى يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَنْ يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ} [التوبة: ٢٩] (٣) فقرن بعدم إيمانهم بالله واليوم (٤) الآخر: أنهم لا يحرمون ما حرمه الله (٥) ورسوله، ولا يدينون دين الحق. والمؤمنون صدقوا الرسول صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم فيما أخبر به (٦) عن الله، وعن اليوم الآخر، فآمنوا بالله واليوم الآخر (٧) وأطاعوه فيما أمر ونهى، وحلل وحرم، فحرموا ما حرم الله ورسوله، ودانوا دين الحق، فإن الله بعث الرسول يأمرهم بالمعروف وينهاهم عن المنكر، ويحل لهم الطيبات ويحرم عليهم الخبائث، فأمرهم بكل معروف، ونهاهم عن كل منكر، وأحل لهم كل طيب، وحرم عليهم كل خبيث. ولفظ الإسلام: يتضمن الاستسلام والانقياد، ويتضمن الإخلاص، (٨) من

(١) سورة التوبة: الآية ٣١. (٢) في (ط) : فأضلوهم، وفي (أ) : فأخلوه، وهو تحريف من النساخ. (٣) سورة التوبة: الآية ٢٩. (٤) في (أط) : وباليوم. (٥) في (أ) : ما حرمه الرسول، وفي (ط) : ما حرمه الله والرسول. (٦) ما بين الرقمين ساقط من (ج د) ، ووضع بدله: في باب الإيمان بالله واليوم الآخر. (٧) ما بين الرقمين ساقط من (ج د) ، ووضع بدله: في باب الإيمان بالله واليوم الآخر. (٨) في المطبوعة: مأخوذ من قوله تعالى.