Al-Radd ʿalā al-Jahmiyyah - Ibn Qutayba - (26)

Al-Radd ʿalā al-JahmiyyahIbn Qutayba

Likewise, when someone says, “Had I wished, I would have performed the pilgrimage,” he means he did not wish to perform it; and when he says, “Had I wished, I would have married,” he likewise means he did not desire marriage. The same reasoning must be applied to the Almighty’s words: “Had your Lord so willed, everyone on earth would have believed” (Yūnus 10:99)—namely, that He did not will it. The same holds for His sayings, “If Allah had so willed, He would have guided all people” (al-Raʿd 13:31) and “Had We willed, We would have endowed every soul with its guidance” (al-Sajdah 32:13).

Should someone object, “He only meant that, had He willed, He would have forced them to believe, but He did not will to coerce them,” we answer: in either case He did not will it, so phrase it however you like.

They further claim: “Allah always does with His servants what is most beneficial for them.” Then which of the two alternatives was more beneficial: that He compel them to believe so that they believe, or that He leave them to themselves so that they disbelieve? This is the question.

From the standpoint of language, moreover, idhn (“permission”) cannot be taken to mean mere knowledge, for idhn is idhn. Consider: were someone to say to you, “I have given you notice of the emir’s departure,” meaning, “I have informed you of his departure,” your natural reply would be, “I have received notice,” that is, “I have heard and therefore know.” The noun iʾdhān, derived from udhun (ear), simply denotes causing information to reach the ear; the ear’s role is to hear and thereby understand.

Adi ibn Zayd said:
O heart, find distraction with Dadan—for all my concern lies in hearing, in the ear.

From the same root comes the adhān that announces the prayer: it is merely to make people hear the call so that they know. Likewise, Allah’s words, “and a proclamation (adhān) from Allah and His Messenger” (al-Tawbah 9:3), mean an audible announcement. Idhn concerning a matter also means that you desire it and allow it; one says, “I permitted him to leave—idhnan.” None of this is obscure to anyone who has studied and understood the language.

They also commented on His words: “Whomever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam; and whomever He wills to lead astray, He makes his breast constricted and tight …” (al-Anʿām 6:125).

الحج ولو شئت لتزوجت أنه لم يشأ الزواج فكذلك يلزم في: ﴿لو شاء ربك لأمن من في الأرض﴾ أنه لم يشأ ذلك ومثله: ﴿أن لو يشاء الله لهدى الناس جميعاً﴾ و: ﴿ولو شئنا لآتينا كل نفس هداها﴾ فإن قال أراد لو شاء لآمنوا إجباراً ولكنه لم يشأ أن يجبرهم على ذلك قيل له لم يشأه على حال فاجعله بأي وجه شئت. وقيل: والله يفعل بعباده ما هو أصلح لهم في كل حال عندهم فأي الأمرين كان أصلح لهم؟ أن يجبرهم على الإيمان فيؤمنوا أو يخليهم وشأنهم فيكفروا؟ فهذا النظر. وأما اللغة: فإنه لا يجوز فيها أن يجعل الأذن العلم لأنه الأذن، ألا ترى أن قائلاً لو قال لك قد آذنتك بخروج الأمير إيذاناً أي أعلمتك خروجه إعلاماً أن جوابك كان يكون له قد آذنت لقولك أذناً: أي سمعته فعلمته، والإيذان المأخوذ من الأذن إنما هو إيقاع الخبر في الأذن. والأذن استماعه وعلمه. قال عدي بن زيد: أيُّها القلب تَعلَّلْ بدَدَنْ ... إنَّ همي في سماع وأذن ومنه أذان الصلاة إنما هو إسماع الناس ذكرها حتى يعلموا وقول الله – Exalté soit-Il –: ﴿وأذان من الله ورسوله﴾ أي إسماع إعلام والأذن في الشيء أن تشاءه وتطلقه تقول: (أذنت له في الخروج إذناً) هذا ما ليس به خفاء على من نظر في اللغة وفهمها. وقالوا في قوله – Exalté soit-Il –: ﴿فمن يرد الله أن يهديه يشرح صدره للإسلام ومن يرد أن يضله يجعل صدره ضيقاً حرجاً﴾