Al-Jawāb as-Sahīh li-man baddala dīn al-Masīh - Ibn Taimiya - (2/362)

Al-Jawāb as-Sahīh li-man baddala dīn al-MasīhIbn Taimiya

He—exalted is He—said:

“Alif-Lām-Rā. These are the verses of the Wise Book. Is it a matter of wonder to people that We have revealed to a man from among them, ‘Warn the people and give glad tidings to those who believe that they have a sure standing with their Lord’? Yet the disbelievers say, ‘This man is nothing but a manifest sorcerer.’” (Yūnus: 1)

He—exalted is He—also said:

“They say, ‘Why has an angel not been sent down to him?’ Had We sent down an angel, the matter would have been decided at once and they would have been granted no respite. And had We made him an angel, We would still have made him appear as a man, thereby confounding them with the very confusion they nurture.” (al-Anʿām: 8–9)

Thus, glory be to Him, He has made it plain that you are incapable of receiving revelation directly from an angel. If We had sent one, We would have had to place him in human form, and you would have thought him a mere man, leading to confusion on your part. For this reason Allah—exalted is He—commanded you to ask the People of the Scripture about those sent to them: were they human beings or angels? In this way the proof is established against anyone who objects to the sending of men as messengers. He—exalted is He—said:

“We sent before you only men to whom We revealed. So ask the people of the Reminder if you do not know. We did not make them bodies that do not eat food, nor were they immortal. Then We fulfilled the promise to them: We saved them and those We willed, and We destroyed the transgressors.” (al-Anbiyāʾ: 7–9)

The people of the Reminder are those who possess the very Reminder that Allah has sent down.

تَعَالَى {الر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ أَكَانَ لِلنَّاسِ عَجَبًا أَنْ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ أَنْ أَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنَّ لَهُمْ قَدَمَ صِدْقٍ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ قَالَ الْكَافِرُونَ إِنَّ هَذَا لَسَاحِرٌ مُبِينٌ} [يونس: ١] وَقَالَ - تَعَالَى -: {وَقَالُوا لَوْلَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ وَلَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا مَلَكًا لَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ ثُمَّ لَا يُنْظَرُونَ - وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ مَلَكًا لَجَعَلْنَاهُ رَجُلًا وَلَلَبَسْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَا يَلْبِسُونَ} [الأنعام: ٨ - ٩] . فَبَيَّنَ سُبْحَانَهُ أَنَّكُمْ لَا تُطِيقُونَ التَّلَقِّيَ عَنِ الْمَلَكِ فَلَوْ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ مَلَكًا لَجَعَلْنَاهُ فِي صُورَةِ بَشَرٍ وَحِينَئِذٍ كُنْتُمْ تَظُنُّونَهُ بَشَرًا فَيَحْصُلُ اللَّبْسُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِسُؤَالِ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ عَمَّنْ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَكَانَ بَشَرًا أَمْ كَانَ مَلَكًا لِيُقِيمَ الْحُجَّةَ بِذَلِكَ عَلَى مَنْ أَنْكَرَ إِرْسَالَ بَشَرٍ ; كَمَا قَالَ - تَعَالَى -: وَمَا {أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ - وَمَا جَعَلْنَاهُمْ جَسَدًا لَا يَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ وَمَا كَانُوا خَالِدِينَ - ثُمَّ صَدَقْنَاهُمُ الْوَعْدَ فَأَنْجَيْنَاهُمْ وَمَنْ نَشَاءُ وَأَهْلَكْنَا الْمُسْرِفِينَ} [الأنبياء: ٧ - ٩] وَأَهْلُ الذِّكْرِ هُمْ أَهْلُ الذِّكْرِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى.