Al-Ṣawāʿiq al-Murṣala - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/119)

Al-Ṣawāʿiq al-MurṣalaIbn al-Qayyim

of them as we please, and to extract from them whatever rulings we desire. Thus they have the merit of jihad, renunciation, and scrupulous piety over us, whereas we, in their estimation, possess (1) the advantage of knowing the inner realities and of mastering interpretation. Even if they do not consciously profess this—Allah bears witness against them and knows what lurks in their breasts—it slips out on the tongues of those among them who have not openly declared it.

Among the self-styled “verifiers” of this faction are some who claim that the messengers themselves derive their knowledge of Allah through their path, receiving it from their own lamp, but that the messengers address people according to their limited understanding, therefore refraining from disclosing the truth to them or sincerely advising them with it.

Each one of these people has set up, besides Allah and His Messenger, a false idol (ṭāghūt) to which he clings and before which he pleads when judgment is sought. The words of that idol, in his eyes, are absolute: no interpretation is permissible and no departure from their apparent sense is tolerated. By contrast, the words of Allah and His Messenger—whenever they disagree with those statements—are deemed vague and ambiguous, in need of interpretation or at least open to it. Their sole criterion for interpretation, therefore, is whatever conflicts with those idols.

Whoever reflects on this point will profit immensely and be saved from the snares of misguidance. Among those who acknowledge the Prophet’s mission ﷺ and harbor some measure of faith in him are people who assign him a partner in obedience, just as the hypocrites obeyed ‘Abdullāh ibn Ubayy, the leader and chief of the hypocrites (2). Many whose hearts were diseased—though not outright hypocrites—would also obey him in many matters and accept his word, as Allah says: “And among you are attentive listeners to them” (Qur’an 9:47), meaning—according to the soundest of the two explanations—among you are those who respond to them and accept from them (3), just as Allah says: “Attentive listeners to falsehood” (Qur’an 5:43), that is:

فيها ونستنبط منها، فلهم علينا مَزيَّةُ الجهاد والزهد والورَع، ولنا عليهم (١) مزيةُ العلم بالحقائق والتأويل. وإن لم يعلموا هذا من قلوبهم ـ والله يشهد به عليهم ويعلمه كامنًا في صدورهم ـ يبدو على فَلتاتِ لسانِ مَن لم يصرِّح به منهم. ومِن محققي هؤلاء مَن يدعي أن الرُّسل يستفيدون العلمَ بالله من طريقهم، ويتلقَّوْنه من مِشْكَاتهم، ولكن يخاطبون الناس على قدر عقولهم، فلم يصرحوا لهم بالحق ولم ينصحوا لهم به. وكلٌّ من هؤلاء قد نصب دون الله ورسوله طاغوتًا يُعوِّل عليه، ويدعو عند التحاكُم إليه. فكلامه عنده محكمٌ لا يسوغ تأويله ولا يخالَفُ ظاهره، وكلام الله ورسوله إذا لم يوافقه فهو مجملٌ متشابهٌ يجب تأويله أو يسوغ. فضابط التأويل عندهم ما خالف تلك الطواغيت. ومَن تدبَّر هذا الموضع انتفع به غاية النفع، وتخلَّص به مِن أشراك الضلال. فإن الذين يقرُّون برسالة النبي ﷺ، وفيهم نوع إيمانٍ به، منهم مَن يجعل له شريكًا في الطاعة، كما كان المنافقون يطيعون عبد الله بن أُبَيٍّ رأس المنافقين وكبيرهم (٢)، وكان كثيرٌ ممَّن في قلبه نوع مرضٍ ـ وإن لم يكن منافقًا خالصًا ـ يطيعه في كثير من الأمور ويَقبَل منه، كما قال تعالى: ﴿وَفِيكُمْ سَمَّاعُونَ لَهُمْ﴾ [التوبة: ٤٧] والمعنى على أصحِّ القولين: وفيكم مستجيبون لهم قابلون منهم (٣). كما قال الله تعالى: ﴿سَمَّاعُونَ لِلْكَذِبِ﴾ [المائدة: ٤٣] أي:

(١) «ح»: «لهم». (٢) «ح»: «وكيدهم». (٣) وهو قول قتادة وابن إسحاق، رواه عنهما الطبري في «تفسيره» (١١/ ٤٨٦) والثعلبي في «الكشف والبيان» (١٣/ ٣٩٧). والقول الآخر هو قول مجاهد وابن زيد، رواه عنهما الطبري في «تفسيره» (١١/ ٤٨٦) والثعلبي في «الكشف والبيان» (١٣/ ٣٩٦).