Bayān Talbīs al-Jahmiyya - Ibn Taimiya - (8/230)

Bayān Talbīs al-JahmiyyaIbn Taimiya

prevent disbelief when it distinguishes faith from disbelief and truth from falsehood. Speech can achieve this only when it can be understood and its meaning known, not when that is impossible.

The sixteenth is His saying, Most High:

“Alif Lām Mīm Sād (1). A Book has been sent down to you—so let there be no distress in your heart on its account—that you may warn through it, and as a reminder to the believers (2). Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord.” [al-A‘rāf 1–3]

And His saying, Most High:

“Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord.” [al-An‘ām 106]

It is well known that following the Book and wisdom, as Allah Most High has commanded them, is possible only after understanding it and grasping its meaning. Speech that no one can understand cannot be followed. Rather, someone hearing it would be like someone who hears nothing but calls and cries. It is the meanings of speech that are followed.

The seventeenth is His saying, Most High:

“Had We made it a Quran in a foreign language, they would have said, ‘Why have its verses not been made clear? A foreign-language Quran and an Arab messenger?’” [Fussilat 44]

The commentators explained that, had He made it a Quran in a foreign language, they would have objected and said, “Why were its verses not made clear in the language of the Arabs so that we could understand it? A foreign-language Quran and an Arab messenger?”

He, glorified and exalted is He, has thus made clear that, had He made it in a foreign language, they would have objected. He therefore made it Arabic so that its meaning could be understood and such an objection averted. It is well known that, had it been in a foreign language, they could have come to understand it through a translator: either the translator would hear it from the Messenger and translate it, or they themselves would memorize it in the foreign language and then have him translate it for them. Likewise, some non-Arabs memorize the Quran in Arabic without understanding it and have it translated for them. But if it is in Arabic and no one can make them understand it except the Messenger

تكون مانعة من الكفر إذا تبين بها الإيمان من الكفر والحق من الباطل وهذا إنما يكون بالكلام إذا كان مما يمكن فهمه ومعرفته دون ما يتعذر ذلك فيه السادس عشر قوله تعالى المص (١) كِتَابٌ أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ فَلَا يَكُنْ فِي صَدْرِكَ حَرَجٌ مِنْهُ لِتُنْذِرَ بِهِ وَذِكْرَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (٢) اتَّبِعُوا مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ [الأعراف ١-٣] وقوله تعالى اتَّبِعْ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ [الأنعام ١٠٦] ومعلوم أن اتباع ما أمرهم الله تعالى من الكتاب والحكمة إنما يمكن بعد فهمه وتصور معناه وما كان من الكلام لا يمكن أحداً فهمه لم يمكن اتباعه بل كان الذي يسمعه كالذي لا يسمع إلا دعاء ونداء وإنما الاتباع لمعاني الكلام السابع عشر قوله تعالى وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا أَعْجَمِيًّا لَقَالُوا لَوْلَا فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ وَعَرَبِيٌّ [فصلت ٤٤] قال المفسرون لو جعله قرآنا أعجميًّا لأنكروا ذلك وقالوا هلا بينت آياته بلغة العرب لنفهمه أقرآن عجمي ورسول عربي فقد بيّن سبحانه وتعالى أنه لو جعله أعجميًّا لأنكروه فجعله عربيًّا ليفهم معناه وليندفع مثل هذا القول ومعلوم أنه لو كان أعجميًّا لأمكنهم التوصل إلى فهمه بأن يترجم لهم مترجم إما أن يسمعه من الرسول ويترجمه أو يحفظوه هم أعجميًّا ثم يترجمه لهم كما أن من العجم من يحفظ القرآن عربيًّا ولا يفهم ويترجم له وأما إذا كان عربيًّا لا يمكن أحداً أن يفهمهم إلا الرسول