Hidāyat al-Ḥayārā - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/16)

Hidāyat al-ḤayārāIbn al-Qayyim

to be greater than all things; on the contrary, they uttered about Him such blasphemy that
“The heavens are almost torn apart, the earth split asunder, and the mountains collapse in ruin” (Maryam 19:90).

So say what you will about a sect whose fundamental creed is that God is the third of three, that Mary is His consort, that the Messiah is His son, and that He descended from the throne of His majesty to lodge in the womb of that consort, undergoing what He underwent until He was killed, died, and was buried. Their religion (1) is the worship of crosses and the supplication of the images painted in red and yellow upon the walls, saying in their prayers, “O Mother of God, provide for us, forgive us, and have mercy on us.”

Thus their religion is to drink wine, eat pork, abandon circumcision, devote themselves to impurities, and deem lawful every foul thing from the elephant down to the gnat. The lawful is whatever the priest (2) pronounces lawful, the unlawful whatever he forbids; religion is whatever he legislates, and he is the one who pardons their sins and rescues them from the torment of the Blaze.

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Such, then, is the condition of those who possess a scripture. As for those who have no scripture, they range between an idol-worshipper, a fire-worshipper (3), a devil-worshipper, and a bewildered Sabean. What unites them is polytheism, denial of the messengers, suspension of the revealed laws, and rejection of the Resurrection and the gathering of bodies. They acknowledge no religion owed to the Creator, do not worship Him alongside the worshippers, and do not affirm His oneness with the monotheists.

(1) Manuscript B reads: "fadiyatuhā" (its blood money). (2) Missing in manuscript Ṣ. The terms qass and qassis denote a Christian cleric and religious leader, today positioned between a bishop and a deacon; their plurals are qasāwisa, qasāqisa, and qassisūn. (3) Absent from manuscript G.

أكبر من كل شيء، بل قالوا فيه ما ﴿تَكَادُ السَّمَاوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنْشَقُّ الْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ الْجِبَالُ هَدًّا﴾ [مريم: ٩٠]. فقل ما شئت في طائفةٍ أصلُ عقيدتها أنَّ الله ثالث ثلاثة، وأنَّ مريم صاحبته، وأنَّ المسيح ابنُه، وأنَّه نزل عن كرسيِّ عظمته، والتحم ببطن الصَّاحبة، وجرى له ما جرى إلى أن قُتِلَ وماتَ ودُفِنَ؛ فدينُها (١) عبادةُ الصُّلْبَانِ، ودعاءُ الصور المنقوشة بالأحمر والأصفر في الحيطان، يقولون في دعائهم: يا والدة الإله ارزقينا، واغفري لنا وارحمينا. فدينُهم شُرْبُ الخمورِ وأكلُ الخنزير، وتَرْكُ الختان، والتَّعبُّدُ بالنجاسات، واستباحةُ كلِّ خبيثٍ من الفيل إلى البعوضة. والحلالُ ما حلَّله القَسُّ (٢) والحرام ما حرَّمه، والدِّينُ ما شرعه، وهو الذي يغفر لهم الذنوب، وينجِّيهم من عذاب السعير. فصل فهذا حال من له كتاب؛ وأمَّا مَنْ لا كتاب له: فهو بين عابد (أوثان، وعابد) (٣) نيران، وعابد شيطان، وصابئٍ حيران، يجمعهم الشِّركُ وتكذيبُ الرُّسل، وتعطيلُ الشَّرائع، وإنكارُ المعادِ وحشرِ الأجسادِ، لا يدينون للخالق بدين، ولا يعبدونه مع العابدين، ولا يوحِّدونه مع الموحِّدين.

(١) في "ب": "فَدِيَتُها". (٢) ساقط من "ص". والقَسّ والقسِّيس: عالم النصارى ورئيسهم في الدين، وهو الآن في مرتبة بين الأسقف والشمَّاس، وجمعه: قساوسة وقساقِسة وقسِّيسون. (٣) ساقط من "غ".