Al-Ṣawāʿiq al-Murṣala - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/11)

Al-Ṣawāʿiq al-MurṣalaIbn al-Qayyim

—whatever you deem to be rational, we possess its counterpart—equal to it, stronger, or weaker.

The remainder of this discussion will appear later, when we show the utter inability of those who indulge in figurative interpretation to distinguish between what may legitimately be interpreted and what may not. (1)

The point is that Allah, exalted be He, has announced that through him—peace and blessings be upon him—and through his community He perfected their religion and completed His favor upon them. Given that, it is impossible to imagine that He would leave in obscurity and confusion the very matter for which creation was made, for which messengers were sent, revelations descended, the qibla was set up, and the religion was established—namely, the gateway to believing in Him, knowing Him, and knowing His Names, Attributes, and acts—so that its truth would be mixed with falsehood; that He would not speak therein the truth, but rather speak in words whose outward sense is falsehood, while the truth supposedly lies only in stripping them of their literal meaning. (2)

How could it be that the best of messengers and the noblest of books should fail to present this matter in the most perfect way, explaining it with complete clarity and utter lucidity, when souls are in dire need of knowing it and when it represents the finest treasure a soul can gain and the loftiest attainment a heart can secure? [ق 2 ب]

It is plainly impossible that the best of messengers taught his nation the etiquettes of relieving oneself—before, during, and after—, the etiquettes of marital intimacy, and the etiquettes of eating and drinking, yet left them untaught as to what their tongues should utter and their hearts believe about their Lord and object of worship—whose knowledge is the summit of all knowledge, reaching Him the highest of aspirations, and worshipping Him alone with no partner the nearest of means—only to tell them things whose outward sense is falsehood and deviation, and then refer them, for understanding what he had conveyed to them,

ما تقولون إنه معقول فمعنا نظيرُه أو أقوى منه أو دونه. وسيأتي تمامُ هذا في بيان عجز المتأوِّلين عن الفرق بين ما يسوغ تأويله وما لا يسوغ (١). والمقصود أنَّ الله سبحانه قد أخبر أنه أكملَ له ولأُمَّتِه به دينَهم، وأتمَّ عليهم به نعمته، ومحالٌ مع هذا أن يَدَع أهم ما خُلِق له الخَلْق، وأُرْسِلَت به الرُّسل، وأُنْزِلَت به الكتب، ونُصِبَت عليه القِبلة، وأُسِّست (٢) عليه المِلَّة ـ وهو باب الإيمان به ومعرفته ومعرفة أسمائه وصفاته وأفعاله ـ ملتبسًا مشتبهًا حقُّه بباطله، لم يتكلم فيه بما هو الحق، بل تكلم بما ظاهرُه الباطل، والحق في إخراجه عن ظاهره. وكيف يكون أفضلُ الرُّسل وأجلُّ الكتب غيرَ وافٍ بتعريف ذلك على أتمِّ [ق ٢ ب] الوجوه، مبيِّنٍ له بأكمل البيان، موضِّحٍ له غاية الإيضاح، مع شدة حاجة النفوس إلى معرفته، ومع كونه أفضل ما اكتسبته النفوس، وأجلَّ ما حصَّلته القلوب. ومن أبْينِ المُحَال أن يكون أفضلُ الرُّسل قد علَّم أُمَّتَه آدابَ البول قبله وبعده ومعه، وآدابَ الوطء، وآدابَ الطعام والشراب، ويترك أن يعلِّمهم ما يقولونه بألسنتهم وتعتقده قلوبهم في ربهم ومعبودهم الذي معرفتُه غايةُ المعارف، والوصول إليه أجلُّ المطالب، وعبادته وحده لا شريك له أقربُ الوسائل؛ ويخبرهم فيه بما ظاهره باطلٌ وإلحاد، ويحيلهم في فَهْم ما أخبرهم

(١) وهو الفصل السادس. (٢) «ح»: «وانتصبت».