Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/17)

Zād al-MaʿādIbn al-Qayyim

Sixth: This verse comes immediately after (1) His words:

“On the Day He calls to them and says, ‘What answer did you give the messengers?’ (65) That Day, all answers will elude them, and they will not question one another. (66) But whoever repents, believes, and does righteous deeds may be among the successful. (67) And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses.” [al-Qasas: 65–68]

Just as He alone—glorified be He—created them, He chose from among them those who repented, believed, and did righteous deeds. Thus they became His chosen servants, the elect of His creation. This choice rested upon His wisdom and His knowledge—glorified be He—of who (2) was worthy of it, not upon the choice of these polytheists or their presumptuous demands. Glory be to Allah, and exalted is He above what they associate with Him.

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If you reflect on the state of creation (3), you will see that this choosing and singling out within it points to His lordship, His oneness, and the perfection of His wisdom, knowledge, and power, and shows that He is Allah, besides whom there is no deity. He has no partner who creates as He creates, chooses as He chooses, or governs as He governs. This choosing and singling out, whose effects are witnessed in this world, are among the greatest signs of His lordship and the strongest testimonies to His oneness, His perfect attributes, and the truthfulness of His messengers (4). We shall therefore mention a few examples to draw attention (5) to what lies beyond them and point to other instances.

Allah created seven heavens, then chose the highest of them and made it the abode of those brought near

(1) ص, ج: “ʿaqiba” (immediately after). (2) In ص, the original reading was “thumma” (then), subsequently corrected. In ج, “thumma” (then) appears above the line in small handwriting. In ك, the reading is “thumma bi-man” (then of whom); its copyist apparently combined the erroneous reading with its correction. (3) ع, ك: “hādhā al-khalq” (this creation). (4) ع, ق, ك: “rasūlihi” (His messenger). (5) ع, ك: “tanbīhan” (to draw attention).

السادس: أن هذه الآية مذكورة عقيب (١) قوله: ﴿وَيَوْمَ يُنَادِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَا أَجَبْتُمُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ (٦٥) فَعَمِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَنْبَاءُ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَهُمْ لَا يَتَسَاءَلُونَ (٦٦) فَأَمَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَعَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُفْلِحِينَ (٦٧) وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَارُ﴾ [القصص: ٦٥ ــ ٦٨] فكما خلقهم وحده سبحانه، اختار منهم من تاب وآمن وعمل صالحًا، فكانوا صفوته من عباده، وخيرته من خلقه. وكان هذا الاختيار راجعًا إلى حكمته، وعلمه سبحانه بمن (٢) هو أهل له، لا إلى اختيار هؤلاء المشركين واقتراحهم، فسبحان الله وتعالى عما يشركون. فصل وإذا تأملت أحوال الخلق (٣)، رأيت هذا الاختيار والتخصيص فيه دالًّا على ربوبيته تعالى ووحدانيته وكمال حكمته وعلمه وقدرته، وأنه الله الذي لا إله إلا هو؛ فلا شريك له يخلق كخلقه، ويختار كاختياره، ويدبِّر كتدبيره. فهذا الاختيارُ والتخصيصُ المشهود أثرُه في هذا العالم من أعظم آيات ربوبيته، وأكبر شواهد وحدانيته، وصفات كماله، وصدق رسله (٤). فنشير فيه إلى شيء يسير يكون منبهًا (٥) على ما وراءه، دالًّا على ما سواه. فخلق الله السماوات سبعًا، فاختار العليا منها، فجعلها مستقرَّ المقرَّبين

(١) ص، ج: «عقب». (٢) كان في ص: «ثم»، ثم أصلحه. وفي ج: «ثم» فوق السطر بخط صغير. وفي ك: «ثم بمن»، والظاهر أن ناسخها جمع بين الخطأ وصوابه. (٣) ع، ك: «هذا الخلق». (٤) ع، ق، ك: «رسوله». (٥) ع، ك: «تنبيهًا».