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As for darkness, they advance two theories: some hold that it is eternal, without beginning, while others claim that it was later produced from the light. A further report about them states that the light entertained a wicked thought, and from it darkness came into being. They thus set darkness up as a partner with Allah in the creation of the universe, and it is transmitted from them that darkness, in their eyes, is Satan—namely Iblis—so they have made Iblis a partner with Allah in creation. That applies to those who say darkness is originated; the other view is that it is eternal and without beginning—and that is an even greater act of polytheism. (1)
(1) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says in al-Jawab al-Sahih, 1/351: “The reason is that the mushrikin (polytheists) of every nation never claimed that created things have two separate creators who share identical attributes; no well-known group of the children of Adam has ever said such a thing. Rather, the dualists (thaniyya) among the majus (Zoroastrians) and the like maintain that the world issues from two sources: light and darkness. For them, light is the praiseworthy god of goodness, whereas darkness is the blameworthy evil god; some of them say that darkness is the devil. By this they seek to attribute the evil found in the world to …"
وَلهُمْ فِي الظُّلْمَةِ قَولَانِ:
قِيلَ: قَدِيمَةٌ أَزَلِيَّةٌ.
وَقِيلَ: بَلْ مُحْدَثَةٌ عَنِ النُّورِ.
وَقِيلَ عَنْهُمْ: إِنَّ النُّورَ فَكَّرَ فِكْرَةً رَدِيَّةً، فَحَدَثَتِ الظُّلْمَةُ.
وَهُمْ يَجْعَلُون الظُّلْمَةَ شَرِيكًا للهِ فِي خَلْقِ العَالَم، فَقَدْ نَقَلُوا عَنْهُمْ: أَنَّ الظُّلْمَةَ عِنْدَهُمْ هِي الشَّيطَان إِبْلِيس، فَجَعَلُوا إِبْلِيسَ شَرِيَكًا للهِ فِي الخَلْقِ، هَذَا عَلَى قَولِ مَنْ يَقُولُ: الظُّلْمَةُ مُحْدَثَةٌ، وَالقَولُ الآَخَرُ: إِنَّهَا قَدِيمَةٌ أَزَلِيَّةٌ، فَهَذَا أَعْظُمْ شِرَكًا (١).
(١) قال شيخ الإسلام في الجواب الصحيح (١/ ٣٥١): (وذلك أن المشركين من جميع الأمم لم يكن أحد منهم يقول: إن للمخلوقات خالقين منفصلين متماثلين في الصفات، فإن هذا لم يقله طائفة معروفة من بني آدم؛ ولكن الثنوية من المجوس ونحوهم يقولون: إن العالم صادر عن أصلين: النور والظلمة، والنور عندهم هو: إله الخير المحمود، والظلمة هي: الإله الشرير المذموم، وبعضهم يقول: إن الظلمة هي الشيطان، وهذا ليجعلوا ما في العالم من الشر صادرًا عن =