Al-Tisʿīniyya - Ibn Taimiya - (1/311)

Al-TisʿīniyyaIbn Taimiya

knew nothing until He created knowledge and thus became knowing; nor do we say that He (1) existed without power (2) until He created power (3) for Himself; nor do we say that He (4) existed without light until He created light for Himself; nor do we say that He existed without majesty (5) until He created majesty for Himself.

The Jahmiyya then said to us (6), once we had attributed these qualities to Allah (7): “If you claim, ‘Allah and His light,’ ‘Allah and His power,’ and ‘Allah and His majesty,’ you have adopted the doctrine of the Christians, for you allege (8) that Allah has always existed together with His light and has always existed together with His power.”

We replied (9): “We do not say that Allah has always existed together with His power and has always existed together with His light; rather, we say that He has never ceased to be—possessing His power and His light—without any ‘when’ attached to His power (10) and without any ‘how’ attached to His power.”

They responded (11): “You will never be true monotheists until you say, ‘Allah was and there was nothing.’”

We answered: “Indeed, we state that Allah (12) was and there was nothing; yet when we affirm that Allah has never ceased to exist with all of His attributes, are we not describing one God endowed with all His attributes? And we set forth…"

(1) The addition between the brackets is found in manuscripts S and T and in the Refutation of the Jahmites. (2) In the Refutation of the Jahmites: “wa-la qudrah lahu” (and he has no power). (3) In the Refutation of the Jahmites: “al-qudrah” (power). (4) The addition between the brackets appears in manuscripts S and T and in the Refutation of the Jahmites. (5) In the Refutation of the Jahmites: “qad kan wa-la azamah lahu” (He was, and he has no greatness). (6) “lana” (for us) is omitted in the Refutation of the Jahmites. (7) In the Refutation of the Jahmites: “lamma wasafna Allah bi-hadhihi al-sifat” (when we described God with these attributes). (8) In the Refutation of the Jahmites: “za’amu” (they claimed). (9) In the Refutation of the Jahmites: “qulna” (we said). (10) In the base text: “wa-qad” (and indeed). This is a scribal error; the correct reading is confirmed by manuscripts S and T and by the Refutation of the Jahmites. (11) In the base text: “taquluna” (you [pl.] say). In manuscript S: “taqul” (you say). The reading is confirmed by manuscript T and by the Refutation of the Jahmites, which also includes “qad kan.” (12) In the Refutation of the Jahmites: “qad kan” (He was).

كان لا يعلم حتى خلق علمًا فعلم، ولا نقول: إنه [قد] (١) كان ولا قدرة (٢) حتى خلق لنفسه قدرة (٣) ، ولا نقول: إنه [قد] (٤) كان ولا نور له حتى خلق لنفسه نورًا، ولا نقول: إنه كان ولا عظمة (٥) حتى خلق لنفسه عظمة. فقالت الجهمية لنا (٦) : لما وصفنا من الله هذه الصفات (٧) : إن زعمتم أن الله ونوره، والله وقدرته، والله وعظمته، فقد قلتم بقول النصارى حين زعمتم (٨) أن الله لم يزل ونوره، ولم يزل وقدرته. فقلنا (٩) : لا نقول: إن الله لم يزل وقدرته ولم يزل ونوره، ولكن نقول: لم يزل بقدرته ونوره لا متى قدر (١٠) ولا كيف قدر؟. فقالوا (١١) : لا تكونون موحدين أبدًا حتى تقولوا: كان الله ولا شيء. فقلنا: نحن نقول: كان (١٢) الله ولا شيء، ولكن إذا قلنا: إن الله لم يزل بصفاته كلها، أليس إنما نصف إلهًا واحدًا بجميع صفاته؟ وضربنا

(١) ما بين المعقوفتين زيادة من: س، ط، والرد على الجهمية. (٢) في الرد على الجهمية: ولا قدرة له. (٣) في الرد على الجهمية: القدرة. (٤) ما بين المعقوفتين زيادة من: س، ط، الرد على الجهمية. (٥) في الرد على الجهمية: قد كان ولا عظمة له. . . (٦) لنا: ساقطة من الرد على الجهمية. (٧) في الرد على الجهمية: لما وصفنا الله بهذه الصفات. (٨) في الرد على الجهمية "زعموا". (٩) في الرد على الجهمية: قلنا. (١٠) في الأصل: وقد. وهو تصحيف والمثبت من: س، ط، والرد على الجهمية. (١١) في الأصل: تقولون. وفي س: تقول. والمثبت من: ط، والرد على الجهمية. . وفيه: قد كان. (١٢) في الرد على الجهمية: قد كان.