Al-Ṣafadiyyah - Ibn Taimiya - (1/216)

Al-ṢafadiyyahIbn Taimiya

They maintain that the intellects and the souls are generated from God through an ancient, eternal emanation inseparable from His Essence, and that the universe in turn is generated from them. Thus, in their view, the whole cosmos is produced from God by a primordial, everlasting generation intrinsic to His very Being. Although they avoid the word “child,” they freely speak of “effect” and “cause,” which is but a subtler form of the same claim; likewise they speak of “the necessitating agent” and “the necessitated.”

Everything Allah has revealed in His Book to refute the idea of offspring invalidates their doctrine both by reason and by revelation. He, Exalted be He, says,
“Yet they have fabricated for Him sons and daughters without any knowledge.” (Qur’an 6:100)

These philosophers liken the intellect to the male and the soul to the female. Allah, Most High, says,
“How could He have a child when He has no consort? He created all things, and He is, of everything, All-Knowing.” (Qur’an 6:101)

Generation, after all, can occur only from two parents; it cannot proceed from one alone. Hence it is impossible for Him to have a child without a consort, and He—glorified be His Majesty—has no equal whatsoever. Yet they declare Him to be “one” and then claim that the universe is His effect, insisting that “from the One only one can proceed.” This is false. From the utterly simple “one” they posit, nothing can issue by itself at all; indeed, the “one” they imagine exists only in the mind, not in external reality. In both the celestial and the terrestrial realms, no effect comes to be except through at least two causes. Fire, for instance, burns only when the material is receptive of its action; combustion thus results from two causes, not one. The same holds true for light and for every other phenomenon.

Allah, Exalted is He, says,
“And of everything We have created pairs, so that you may take heed.” (Qur’an 51:49)
Some scholars remarked, “So know that the Creator of the pairs is One.” He also says,
“Glory be to the One who created all pairs—of what the earth grows, of themselves, and of that which they do not know.” (Qur’an 36:36)

العقول والنفوس متولدة عن الله تولدا قديما أزليا لازما لذاته والعالم متولد عن ذلك فالعالم كله متولد عندهم عن الله تولدا قديما أزليا لازما لذاته وإن كانوا قد لا يعبرون بلفظ الولد فهم يعبرون بلفظ المعلول والعلة وهو أخص أنواع التولد ويعبرون بلفظ الموجب والموجب وما ذكره الله في كتابه من إبطال التولد يبطل قولهم عقلا وسمعا وذلك أنه قال تعالى {وَخَرَقُوا لَهُ بَنِينَ وَبَنَاتٍ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ} وهؤلاء المتفلسفة يجعلون العقل كالذكر والنفس كالأنثى قال سبحانه وتعالى {أَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ صَاحِبَةٌ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ} وذلك أن التولد لا يكون إلا عن أصلين لا يكون عن واحد فيمتنع أن يكون له ولد من غير صاحبة وهو سبحانه لم يكن له كفوا أحد وهؤلاء جعلوه واحدا وجعلوا العالم معلولا عنه وقالوا الواحد لا يصدر عنه إلا واحد وهذا باطل فإن الواحد البسيط لا يصدر عنه وحده شيء بل الواحد الذي قدروه إنما يوجد في الأذهان لا في الأعيان ولا يصدر في العالم العلوي والسفلي أثر إلا عن سببين فأكثر فالنار إذا أحرقت إنما تحرق بشرط قبول المحل لإحراقها فالاحتراق حاصل بسببين لا بسبب واحد وكذلك الشعاع وكذلك جميع الأمور قال الله تعالى {وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ} قال بعض العلماء تعلمون أن خالق الأزواج واحد وقال {سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنْبِتُ الْأَرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لا يَعْلَمُونَ}