Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/266)

Al-FawāʾidIbn al-Qayyim

Ibn ʿAbbās said, “He veiled the Essence with the attributes, and He veiled the attributes with the actions. So what do you imagine of a beauty hidden behind descriptions of perfection and screened by the qualities of grandeur and majesty?!”

From this principle one gains a glimpse of the beauty of His Essence. The servant rises from knowledge of the actions to knowledge of the attributes, and from knowledge of the attributes to knowledge of the Essence. When he beholds some of the beauty displayed in the actions, he infers from it the beauty of the attributes, and from the beauty of the attributes he infers the beauty of the Essence.

Hence it becomes evident that to Him alone belongs all praise, that no creature can ever fully recount His commendation; rather, He is as He has praised Himself. He deserves to be worshiped for His own sake, loved for His own sake, and thanked for His own sake. Exalted is He—He loves Himself, extols Himself, and praises Himself, and His love for Himself, His praise of Himself, His commendation of Himself, and His affirmation of His own oneness are, in reality, the very essence of praise, commendation, love, and monotheism. He is exactly as He has praised Himself and far above what His creation can say of Him. Just as He loves His Essence, He loves His attributes and His actions; every one of His actions is good and beloved. Even though among the things He brings into existence there are matters that He hates and detests, none of His actions is itself blameworthy or disliked. In all existence, nothing is loved in and of itself or praised in and of itself except Him, glorified be He. Whatever else is loved—if that love is subordinate to the love of Him, so that it is loved for His sake—then the love is sound; otherwise it is a false love. This is the very reality of divinity: the true God is the One who is loved for His own sake and praised for His own sake. Then what must be said when, in addition, He bestows beneficence, generosity, forbearance, clemency, pardon, kindness, and mercy?

Therefore the servant must know that there is no deity but Allah, and on that basis love Him and praise Him for His Essence and His perfection, and must know that no one truly bestows the manifold visible and hidden blessings except

قال ابن عباس: حجب الذَّات بالصفات، وحجب الصفات بالأفعال؛ فما ظنك بجمال حُجِبَ بأوصاف الكمال، وسُتِرَ بنعوت العظمة والجلال؟! ومن هذا المعنى يُفهَم بعضُ معاني جمال ذاته؛ فإن العبد يترقى من معرفة الأفعال إلى معرفة الصفات، ومن معرفة الصفات إلى معرفة الذات؛ فإذا شاهد شيئًا من جمال الأفعال استدل به على جمال الصفات، ثم استدل بجمال الصفات على جمال الذات. ومن ها هنا يتبين أنه سبحانه له الحمد كله، وأن أحدًا من خلقه لا يحصي ثناءً عليه، بل هو كما أثنى على نفسه، وأنه يستحق أن يُعبَد لذاته ويُحَبّ لذاته ويُشكَر لذاته، وأنه سبحانه يُحِبّ نفسه ويُثني على نفسه ويحمد نفسه، وأن محبته لنفسه وحمده لنفسه وثناءه على نفسه وتوحيده لنفسه هو في الحقيقة الحمد والثناء والحب والتوحيد؛ فهو سبحانه كما أثنى على نفسه وفوق ما يثني به عليه خلقه، وهو سبحانه كما يحب ذاته يحب صفاته وأفعاله؛ فكل أفعاله حسن محبوب، وإن كان في مفعولاته ما يُبغضه ويكرهه؛ فليس في أفعاله ما هو مكروهٌ مسخوطٌ، وليس في الوجود ما يُحَب لذاته ويُحمَد لذاته إلا هو سبحانه، وكل ما يُحَبّ سواه؛ فإن كانت محبته تابعةً لمحبته سبحانه بحيث يحب لأجله فمحبته صحيحةٌ، وإلَّا فهي محبةٌ باطلةٌ، وهذا هو حقيقة الإلهية؛ فإن الإله الحق هو الذي يُحَبّ لذاته ويُحمَد لذاته؛ فكيف إذا انضاف إلى ذلك إحسانه وإنعامه وحلمه وتجاوزه وعفوه وبره ورحمته؟! فعلى العبد أن يعلم أنه لا إله إلا الله فيحبه ويحمده لذاته وكماله، وأن يعلم أنه لا مُحسِن على الحقيقة بأصناف النعم الظاهرة والباطنة إلا