Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-Adhkar - Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr - (3/254)

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

phases until it becomes like an old, curved palm stalk. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. Each floats in its own orbit.”1

His words, “As for the moon, We have ordained for it phases,” mean that it passes through them, occupying one each night, until it becomes very slender and resembles an old palm stalk—that is, the stalk of a date cluster once it has aged, dried out, diminished in size, and bent. Then the new crescent appears at the beginning of the month and gradually grows until its light is complete and its radiance full. What a tremendous sign it is, and how clearly it points to the greatness of the Creator and the majesty of His attributes—glory be to Him!

There is no doubt that contemplating this sign and others which Allah, in His Book, has called His servants to ponder and reflect upon guides a servant to know his Lord—glorified is He—through His oneness, His perfect attributes, and His majestic qualities: His all-encompassing power, vast knowledge, perfect wisdom, and manifold goodness and beneficence. This, in turn, leads him to devote his religion sincerely to Allah and single Him out alone in humility, submission, love, turning to Him, fear, and hope. These are manifest signs and clear proofs that Allah alone possesses lordship, the right to be worshipped, greatness, and supreme majesty.

That is why, whenever the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—saw the crescent moon, he proclaimed Allah’s greatness, for it is a magnificent sign of the Lord’s greatness and majesty. To proclaim Allah’s greatness is to magnify Him and believe that He is greater than all things and that nothing is greater than Him. As the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said in the hadith of Adi—may Allah be pleased with him—“Is anything greater than Allah?”2

Indeed, proclaiming Allah’s greatness is prescribed upon seeing anything great or awe-inspiring, so that the heart remains occupied with nothing but declaring Allah’s greatness and magnifying Him. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “Proclaiming Allah’s greatness

(1) Surah Yā Sīn, verses 37–40. (2) Al-Musnad (4/378); Sahīh Ibn Hibbān (al-Ihsān) (no. 7206).

مَنَازِلَ حَتَّى عَادَ كَالْعُرْجُونِ الْقَدِيمِ لا الشَّمْسُ يَنْبَغِي لَهَا أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ﴾ ١. وقوله: ﴿وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَاهُ مَنَازِلَ﴾ أي: يَنْزِلُها، كلَّ ليلة ينْزل منها واحدة، إلى أن يصغر جدًّا فيكون كالعرجون القديم، أي: كعذقة النخل إذا قدم وجفَّ وصغر حجمه وانحنى، ثمَّ يُهلُّ في أول الشهر ويبدأ يزيد شيئاً فشيئاً حتَّى يتمَّ نورُه ويتسق ضياؤه، فما أعظمها من آية، وما أوضحها من دلالة على عظمة الخالق، وعظمة أوصافه سبحانه، ولا ريب أنَّ التَّأملَ في هذه الآية وغيرها مِمَّا دعا الله عباده في كتابه إلى التفكر فيها وتأمُّلها يهدي العبدَ إلى العلم بالربِّ سبحانه بوحدانيته وصفات كماله ونعوت جلاله من عموم قدرته وسعة علمه وكمال حكمته، وتعدد برِّه وإحسانه، ومن ثمَّ يُخلص الدِّينَ له ويُفردُه وحده بالذُّلِّ والخضوعِ والحبِّ والإنابة والخوف والرجاء، فهي دلائلُ ظاهرة وبراهينُ واضحة على تفرُّد الله بالربوبية والألوهية والعظمة والكبرياء. ولِهذا كان ﷺ إذا رأى الهلالَ كبَّر؛ لأنَّه آيةٌ عظيمة على عظمة الرَّبِّ وكبريائه، والتكبير تعظيم الله واعتقاد أنَّه أكبرُ من كلِّ شيء وأنَّه لا شيء أكبر منه، كما قال ﷺ في حديث عديٍّ ﵁: "فهَل من شيءٍ أكبَرُ من الله" ٢. بل إنَّ التكبيرَ مشروعٌ عند رؤية كلِّ كبير وعظيم ليبقى القلبُ ليس فيه اشتغال إلاَّ بتكبير الله وتعظيمه، قال شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية ﵀: "التكبيرُ

١ سورة: يس، الآيات (٣٧ ـ ٤٠) . ٢ المسند (٤/٣٧٨) ، وصحيح ابن حبان (الإحسان) (رقم:٧٢٠٦) .