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a prohibition, an informative statement, an inquiry, and an address (1).
The first group say that this single, undifferentiated meaning is the meaning of every command Allah issues—whether it is a creative command, as in His word to a creature (2), “Be!” and it comes to be, or a legislative command, such as His directives in the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran, and whatever else the messengers have brought. It is likewise the meaning of every prohibition Allah has prohibited and every report Allah has conveyed.
The others maintain that the one command is the command to perform prayer, to give zakah, to make the pilgrimage, to fast, and the command concerning the Sabbath (3) that was given to the Jews—embracing both that which has been abrogated and that which abrogates, along with the verbal formulations.
= pp. 289–313.
Shaykh al-Islām (may God have mercy on him) will discuss them in this matter in the following pages.
(1) Al-Shahrastānī, at the end of al-Iqdām, p. 291, presents the two views and states: “The Ashʿarites said: It is reported from some of our early companions that he affirmed for God five words, which are five attributes: al-khabar (informing), al-istikhbār (inquiring), al-amr (command), al-nahy (prohibition), and al-nidāʾ (calling). If we follow this approach, the question is dispelled and the difficulty removed. But the prevalent view in the madhhab of Abu al-Hasan is that al-kalām (speech) is a single attribute with one specific characteristic, and its definition has its own boundary; its being a command, a prohibition, informing, and inquiring are properties or concomitants of that attribute.” The Ashʿarites adhere to this second view, that speech is a single attribute, as their works report from their imams. See: al-Irshād by al-Juwaynī, p. 136; Ghayat al-Marām in ʿilm al-kalām by al-Amīdī, pp. 112–118; al-Mawāqif by al-Ayjī, p. 295; al-Maḥṣūl by al-Rāzī, p. 185.
(2) In the Ṭ edition: al-makhūq. This is a typographical error.
(3) In the S edition: al-bat.
Saturday: It is the day known among the days of the week and the Jews’ festival day (ʿīd). God forbade them from fishing in the sea on it as a trial; they disobeyed, so He transformed them into apes, as He says:
{And you already know those among you who transgressed on the Sabbath; We said to them, “Be apes, despised.” And We made it a deterrent punishment for what came before and what came after, and an admonition for the God-fearing.} (Qur’an 2:65–66)
And He, exalted be He, said: {And ask them about the town that was by the sea when they transgressed on the Sabbath, when its fish would come to them…}
ونهي، وخبر، واستخبار، ونداء
(١)
.
فالأولون يقولون:
ذلك المعنى هو معنى كل أمر أمرَ الله به، سواء كان أمر تكوين كقوله للمخلوق
(٢)
: كن فيكون، أو كان أمر تشريع، كأمره في التوراة والإنجيل والقرآن، وغير ذلك مما جاءت به الرسل، وهو معنى كل نهي نهى الله عنه وكل خبر أخبر الله به.
والآخرون يقولون:
الأمر الواحد هو الأمر بالصلاة والزكاة والحج والصوم والسبت
(٣)
الذي لليهود هو الأمر المنسوخ وبالناسخ وبالأقوال
= ص: ٢٨٩ - ٣١٣.
وشيخ الإِسلام -رحمه الله- سوف يناقشهم في هذه القضية في الصفحات التالية.
(١) أشار إلى القولين الشهرستاني في نهاية الإقدام ص: ٢٩١ فقال: (. . قالت الأشعرية: حكي عن بعض متقدمي أصحابنا أنه أثبت لله خمس كلمات هي خمس صفات: الخبر والاستخبار والأمر والنهي والنداء، فإن سلكنا هذا المسلك اندفع السؤال وارتفع الإشكال.
لكن المشهور من مذهب أبي الحسن أن الكلام صفة واحدة لها خاصية واحدة، ولخصوص وصفها حد خاص، وكونه أمرًا ونهيا وخبرًا واستخبارًا خصائص أو لوازم تلك الصفة".
والأشعرية على القول الثاني وهو أن الكلام واحد كما تنقله كتبهم عن أئمتهم.
راجع: الإرشاد -للجويني- ص: ١٣٦. وغاية المرام في علم الكلام -للآمدي- ص: ١١٢ - ١١٨. والمواقف -للآيجي- ص: ٢٩٥. والمحصول -للرازي- ص: ١٨٥.
(٢) في ط: للمخوق. وهو تصحيف.
(٣) في س: البت.
السبت: هو اليوم المعروف من أيام الأسبوع وهو عيد اليهود، وقد حرم الله فيه صيد البحر عليهم اختبارًا وامتحانًا، فخالفوا أمره فمسخهم الله قردة، قال تعالى: {وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنْكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ (٦٥) فَجَعَلْنَاهَا نَكَالًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهَا وَمَا خَلْفَهَا وَمَوْعِظَةً لِلْمُتَّقِينَ} ٦٥، ٦٦ / البقرة. وقال سبحانه: {وَاسْأَلْهُمْ عَنِ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةَ الْبَحْرِ إِذْ يَعْدُونَ فِي السَّبْتِ إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ =