Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām - Abd Allah al-Bassam - (3/472)

Tawḍīḥ al-AḥkāmAbd Allah al-Bassam

Shaykh Taqi al-Din said: When the sky is completely overcast, certainty that the sun has set cannot be attained until a considerable portion of the night has passed, and by then the sunnah of hastening the iftar will have been lost. Accordingly, with heavy cloud cover it is not recommended to break the fast early; one should wait until he is sure the sun has set. He judged it disliked to break the fast while doubting whether sunset has occurred, yet he did not deem it disliked to take the suhur (pre-dawn meal) while doubting whether dawn has broken—except in the case of marital relations.

Eating and the like while uncertain whether dawn has arrived is permissible, whereas breaking the fast while uncertain whether the sun has set is impermissible. This rests on a major legal maxim: “The original state of a thing remains as it was.” Hence, at suhur the default assumption is that night continues, and at iftar the default is that day continues.
These texts establish, in a manner befitting His majesty, the real attribute of love for Allah Most High, and show that this divine love varies in degree: the most beloved of people to Him are those who most faithfully follow His law and comply with His commands. Allah says, “Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:31).

The sects regarding the divine attribute of love are three:
(a) The muʿaṭṭilah (negators): They claim that Allah cannot be loved at all; these are the deniers of the Lord’s attributes, exalted is He.
(b) The Ashʿarīs: They hold that Allah may be loved by His creation but that He Himself does not love, arguing that affirming love for Him would imply an inclination toward benefit or avoidance of harm, and Allah is transcendent above such notions. This view is false, for they first liken Allah to His creation and then strip Him of His attributes.
(c) Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah: They affirm that Allah both loves and is loved, exactly as the revealed texts state, yet His love for anything is a love befitting His majesty and is unlike the love of created beings: “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” (al-Shūrā 42:11).

قال الشيخ تقي الدين: ومع الغيم المطبِق لا يمكن اليقين إلاَّ بعد أن يذهب وقت طويل من الليل، ويفوت تعجيل الفطر، فعليه لا يستحب التعجيل مع الغيم إلى أن يتيقن الغروب، وكره الفطر مع الشك في غروب الشمس، ولا يكره السحور مع الشك في طلوع الفجر، إلاَّ الجماع. ٧ - الأكل ونحوه مع الشك في طلوع الفجر جائز، والإفطار مع الشك في الشمس لا يجوز، وهو مبني على قاعدة شرعية عظيمة هي أنَّ: "الأصل بقاء ما كان على ما كان"؛ ففي السحور الأصل بقاء الليل، وفي الفطر بالأصل بقاء النهار. ٨ - فيه إثبات صفة المحبة لله تعالى إثباتًا حقيقيًّا يليق بجلاله، وأنَّ هذه المحبة الربانية تتفاوت، فأحبهم إليه أكثرهم لشرعه اتباعًا، ولأمره امتثالاً، قال تعالى: ﴿قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ﴾ [آل عمران: ٣١]. الطوائف في المحبة ثلاث: (أ) المعطلة: يقولون: إنَّ الله لا يُحَبُّ، وهؤلاء نفاة صفات الرب جلَّ وعلا. (ب) الأشاعرة: يقولون: إنَّ الله يحبه خلقُه، ولكنه لا يُحب؛ لأنَّ إثبات المحبة له هو إثبات ميله إلى ما نفعه، أو عما يضره، والله منزَّه عن هذا، وهذا قول باطلٌ؛ لأنَّ هؤلاء شبهوا الله تعالى بخلقه، ثم عطلوه من صفاته. (ج) أهل السنة والجماعة: يقولون إنَّ الله يُحِب ويُحَب، كما جاءت النصوص بذلك، ولكن محبته لشىء من الأشياء هي محبة لائقة بجلاله، ليست كمحبة المخلوقين، ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ (١١)﴾ [الشورى].