Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-Adhkar - Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr - (1/122)

Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-AdhkarAbd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr

—the Manifest, who alone deserves worship—and so that they may infer from them that He has power over all things, knows all things, is severe in punishment, is All-Forgiving and Most Merciful, is the Almighty and All-Wise, does whatever He wills, and encompasses all things in mercy and knowledge. All His actions are governed by wisdom, mercy, justice, and benefit; none of them ever departs from these principles. When the servant reflects upon this, it undoubtedly increases him in certainty, strengthens his faith, and perfects his reliance upon Allah.

These, then, are five great reasons1 that demonstrate the virtue of knowing Allah’s names and attributes and the servants’ pressing need for this knowledge. Indeed, there is no need greater than their need to know their Lord, Creator, Sovereign, the One who governs their affairs and apportions their provision. They cannot do without Him for even the blink of an eye—or for anything less than that—and they can attain neither righteousness nor purity except by knowing Him, worshiping Him, and believing in Him alone, Glorified is He.

Thus, the servant’s share of righteousness and the extent to which he deserves praise and commendation are commensurate with his knowledge of his Lord, Glorified is He, [and his acting accordingly]. This is attained by reflecting upon His Most Beautiful Names and sublime attributes revealed in His Book and in the sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, and by understanding them correctly and soundly, without denying any of them, distorting any of them from its intended meaning and import, or likening any of them to the attributes of created beings. Exalted is Allah far above that; utterly transcendent and holy is He.

Allah, Majestic and Exalted is He, says: “There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”2 All praise belongs to Him for His Most Beautiful Names, His magnificent attributes, and His immense blessings. His is all excellent praise. We cannot enumerate His praise; He is as He has praised Himself.

(1) See *Tafsīr Ibn Saʿdī*, 1/10, and its abridgment, p. 15. (2) Surat al-Shūrā, verse 11.

المبين، الذي لا تنبغي العبادةُ إلا له، ويستدلوا بها على أنَّه على كلِّ شيء قدير، وأنَّه بكلِّ شيء عليم، وأنَّه شديد العقاب، وأنَّه غفور رحيم، وأنَّه العزيز الحكيم، وأنَّه الفعّال لما يريد، وأنَّه الذي وسع كلَّ شيء رحمةً وعلماً، وأنَّ أفعالَه كلَّها دائرةٌ بين الحكمة والرحمة والعدل والمصلحة، لا يخرج شيءٌ منها عن ذلك، فإذا تدبّر العبدُ ذلك أورثه ولا ريب زيادةً في اليقين، وقوّةً في الإيمان، وتماماً في التوكّل. فهذه خمسةُ أسبابٍ عظيمةٍ١ تدلُّ على فضل العلم بأسماء الله وصفاته وشدّة حاجة العباد إليه، بل ليس هناك حاجةٌ أعظمَ من حاجة العباد إلى معرفة ربِّهم وخالقهم ومليكهم ومُدبِّر شئونهم ومُقدِّر أرزاقهم، الذي لا غنى لهم عنه طرفة عين، ولا أقَلّ من ذلك، ولا صلاح لهم ولا زكاء إلا بمعرفته وعبادته والإيمان به وحده سبحانه، ولهذا فإنَّ حظَّ العبد من الصلاح واستحقاقه من المدْح والثناء إنَّما يكون بحسب معرفته بربه سبحانه [وعمله بذلك] ، وذلك بتدبُّر أسمائه الحسنى وصفاته العليا الواردة في كتابه وسنة رسوله ﷺ، وفهِمَها فهما صحيحاً سليماً دون أن يجحد شيئاً منها، أو يحرِّفه عن مراده ومدلوله، أو يُشبِّهه بشيءٍ من صفات الخلق تعالى الله عن ذلك وتنزَّه وتقدّس، فالله جلّ وعلا ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ﴾ ٢ فله الحمد كلُّه على أسمائه الحسنى وصفاته العظيمة وآلائه الجسيمة، وله الثناء الحسن لا نحصي ثناء عليه هو كما أثنى على نفسه.

١ انظر: تفسير ابن سعدي (١/١٠) ، وخلاصته (ص:١٥) . ٢ سورة الشورى، الآية: (١١) .