Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (1/104)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

The hypocrite men and women are all of one kind: they command what is evil, forbid what is good, and close their hands. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. Truly, the hypocrites are the defiantly disobedient.

Allah has promised the hypocrite men and women, and the disbelievers, the Fire of Hell; they shall abide therein. That is enough for them. Allah has cursed them, and for them is a lasting punishment.

[You are] like those who came before you: they were mightier than you in strength and greater in wealth and children. They enjoyed their allotted share, and you enjoy your share just as those before you enjoyed theirs; and you plunge into idle talk as they plunged. Their deeds have come to nothing in this world and the Hereafter, and it is they who are the losers.

Has not the news reached them of those before them—the people of Noah, ʿĀd, Thamūd, the people of Abraham, the companions of Midian, and the overturned cities? Their messengers came to them with clear proofs, yet Allah did not wrong them; rather, they wronged themselves.

The believing men and believing women are allies of one another: they command what is right, forbid what is wrong, establish the prayer, give zakāh, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those—Allah will show them mercy; surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide therein, and pleasant dwellings in Gardens of perpetual residence. Yet greater than all that is Allah’s good pleasure—that is the supreme triumph.

O Prophet, strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be stern with them; their abode is Hell—how wretched an end!

(1) In these verses Allah, Exalted is He, has set forth the character and attributes of the hypocrites and of the believers, though both groups outwardly profess Islam. He has promised the hypocrites who display Islam while possessing these traits, together with those who openly disbelieve, the Fire of Hell, and He has commanded His Prophet (2) to wage jihād against both parties.

Ever since Allah (3) sent Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and he emigrated to Madinah, people (4) have fallen into three categories:

(1) Qur’an, Surah al-Tawba, verses 67–73. (2) Manuscript B reads: “and He commanded His Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace.” (3) The printed edition adds: “His servant and messenger.” (4) That is, in relation to Islam.

{الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمُنْكَرِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَقْبِضُونَ أَيْدِيَهُمْ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ - وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْكُفَّارَ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا هِيَ حَسْبُهُمْ وَلَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُقِيمٌ - كَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ كَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنْكُمْ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرَ أَمْوَالًا وَأَوْلَادًا فَاسْتَمْتَعُوا بِخَلَاقِهِمْ فَاسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِخَلَاقِكُمْ كَمَا اسْتَمْتَعَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ بِخَلَاقِهِمْ وَخُضْتُمْ كَالَّذِي خَاضُوا أُولَئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ - أَلَمْ يَأْتِهِمْ نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ وَقَوْمِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَأَصْحَابِ مَدْيَنَ وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتِ أَتَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَكِنْ كَانُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ - وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُولَئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ - وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَمَسَاكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِي جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ وَرِضْوَانٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ - يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ} [التوبة: ٦٧ - ٧٣] (١) بين الله سبحانه وتعالى - في هذه الآيات - أخلاق المنافقين وصفاتهم، وأخلاق المؤمنين وصفاتهم - وكلا الفريقين مُظهِر للإسلام ووعد المنافقين المظهرين للإسلام مع هذه الأخلاق، والكافرين المظهرين للكفر نار جهنم، وأمر نبيه (٢) بجهاد الطائفتين. ومنذ بعث الله (٣) محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم، وهاجر إلى المدينة، صار الناس (٤) ثلاثة أصناف:

(١) سورة التوبة: الآيات ٦٧ - ٧٣. (٢) في (ب) : وأمر نبيه صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم. (٣) في المطبوعة زيادة: عبده ورسوله. (٤) أي إزاء الإسلام.