Sharh Muqaddimat al-Tafsir li-Ibn Taymiyyah - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (5)

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Introduction
My Lord, make it easy and assist by Your mercy.

All praise is for Allah; we seek His help and His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the consequences of our misdeeds. Whomever Allah guides none can mislead, and whomever He allows to stray none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May abundant peace and blessings be upon him.

Commentary
This sermon is called khutbat al-haajah (the “sermon of need”). A person delivers it whenever he wishes to speak about something he requires—whether marriage or any other matter related to his religious or worldly affairs—and for that reason it is known as the sermon of need. In what follows we will highlight several of its phrases.

His words, “Whomever Allah guides none can mislead,” mean that anyone for whom Allah has decreed guidance cannot be led astray by anyone, nor can anyone remove him from guidance once Allah has granted him the success-giving guidance.
His words, “and whomever He allows to stray none can guide,” mean that anyone for whom Allah has decreed misguidance cannot be guided by anyone, whether he is mired in error and someone tries to rescue him from it or not.
As for his statement “I bear witness,” even though the verbs before it employ the plural of majesty—“we praise,” “we seek His help,” “we ask His forgiveness”—the scholars say that shifting to the singular here is more fitting, for the declaration “and I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah” is an affirmation of pure monotheism. It is therefore most appropriate that this testimony be expressed in the singular, in keeping with the oneness of Allah.

﷽ المقدمة رب يسر وأعن برحمتك الحمد لله نستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهده الله فلا مضل له، ومن يضلل فلا هادي له. وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله ﷺ تسليماً. الشرح هذه الخطبة تسمي خطبة الحاجة، يخطبها الإنسان عندما يريد أن يتكلم عن حاجة يريدها، سواء كانت زواجاً أو أي شيء مما يحتاجه من أمور دينه ودنياه، ولهذا تسمي خطبة الحاجة، وهذه الخطبة ننبه على فقرات فيها. فقوله: (مَنْ يَهْدِه اللَّهُ فلا مضل له) أي من يقدر له الهداية فلا أحد يستطيع أن يضله، وكذلك لا أحد يستطيع أن يخرجه من الهداية إذا هدى هداية التوفيق. وقوله: (ومَنْ يُضْلِلِ فَلا هَادِيَ لَهُ) أي: من يقدر له الضلالة فلا أحد يهديه، سواء كان في الضلالة وأراد أحد أن ينتشله منها أم لا. وقوله: (أَشْهَدُ) مع أن الأفعال التي قبلها لضمير العظمة: (إن الحمد لله نستعينه ونسنغفره) قالوا: لأن الإفراد يناسب التوحيد (وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله) ، هذا توحيد لله ﷿، فالأنسب أن يوحد