Darʾ Taʿâroud al-ʿAql wa-n-Naql - Ibn Taimiya - (2/5)

Darʾ Taʿâroud al-ʿAql wa-n-NaqlIbn Taimiya

Thus, Allah’s statement:

“He is the One who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then rose over the Throne”

(al-Hadīd: 4)

contains two verbs: the first is transitive and takes a direct object, while the second is intransitive. If the second—His statement, “then rose over”—is a verb connected to its agent, then “created” is likewise connected to its agent, without any disagreement among speakers of Arabic.

If someone were to say that “created” is not connected to its agent but instead directly puts the object in the accusative case, he would be ignorant. Rather, “created” contains an implicit pronoun referring to the agent, just as “rose over” does.

As for reason, anyone who allows that an intransitive act, such as coming or rising over the Throne, may subsist in Allah Himself cannot deny that an act relating to created beings may subsist in Him, such as creating, resurrecting, causing death, or giving life.

Likewise, anyone who allows that an attribute unrelated to anything else, such as life, may subsist in Him cannot deny that attributes relating to other things, such as knowledge, power, hearing, and sight, may subsist in Him. For this reason, no rational person has affirmed one of these two kinds while denying the other. Indeed, someone who disputes intransitive acts, such as coming and arrival, may nevertheless affirm transitive acts that subsist in Him, such as creating. As for the reverse, I know of no one who holds that position.

Since this is so, the coming into existence of the creatures Allah brings into being follows from the acts He performs by His will, which subsist in Him. These acts are the cause of their coming into existence. Allah Most High is Ever-Living, All-Sustaining, and has always been characterized by speaking whatever He wills. He does whatever He wills.

This has been stated by the foremost scholars of the Sunnah and hadith, who transmitted it from the early generations and the imams. It is also the position of many groups of scholastic theologians and philosophers, both earlier and later. Indeed, it is the position of the majority of the earlier philosophers.

فقوله تعالى: {هو الذي خلق السماوات والأرض في ستة أيام ثم استوى على العرش} (الحديد: ٤) تضمن فعلين: أولهما متعد إلى المفعول به، والثاني مقتصر لا يتعدى، فإذا كان الثاني - وهو قوله تعالى: {ثم استوى} - فعلاً متعلقاً بالفاعل، فقوله (خلق) كذلك بلا نزاع بين أهل العربية. ولو قال قائل: (خلق) لم يتعلق بالفاعل، بل نصب المفعول به ابتداء، لكان جاهلاً، بل في (خلق) ضمير يعود إلى الفاعل كما في (استوى) . وأما من جهة العقل: فمن جوز ان يقوم بذات الله تعالى فعل لازم به، كالمجيء والاستواء، ونحو ذلك، لم يمكنه أن يمنع قيام فعل يتعلق بالمخلوق كالخلق والبعث والإماتة والإحياء. كما أن من جوز أن تقوم به صفة لا تتعلق بالغير كالحياة لم يمكنه أن يمنع قيام الصفات المتعلقة بالغير، كالعلم والقدرة والسمع والبصر، ولهذا لم يقل أحد من العقلاء بإثبات أحد الضربين دون الآخر، بل قد يثبت الأفعال المتعدية القائمة به كالتخليق من ينازع في الأفعال اللازمة. كالمجيء والإتيان. وأما العكس فما علمت به قائلاً. وإذا كان كذلك كان حدوث ما يحدثه الله تعالى من المخلوقات تابعاً لما يفعله من أفعاله الاختيارية القائمة بنفسه، وهذه سبب الحدوث، والله تعالى حي قيوم لم يزل موصوفاً بأنه يتكلم بما يشاء. فعال لما يشاء. وهذا قد قاله العلماء الأكابر من أهل السنة والحديث. ونقلوه عن السلف والأئمة، وهو قول طوائف كثيرة من أهل الكلام والفلسفة المتقدمين والمتأخرين، بل هو قول جمهور المتقدمين من الفلاسفة.