Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (5/148)

Majmu' al-FatawaIbn Taimiya

of it; still less the Companions, and still less Allah and His Messenger. If the words of the Quran and Sunnah conveyed one meaning to us while another was intended, that would involve concealment and deception. Allah forbid that this should be so! It must therefore be agreed that this poet’s use of the word in this sense is not literal; rather, its literal meaning is something else. Were this also its literal meaning, it would entail figurative polysemy. If it was a figurative usage transmitted from some Arabs, or one invented by someone after him, should the language in which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, addresses his community be abandoned?

(Eleventh: This word occurs repeatedly in the Quran and Sunnah, and both ordinary circumstances and religious concerns give scholars and laypeople ample reason to understand its meaning. If a newly composed line of poetry is made the means of understanding it, an objectionable consequence follows. Interpreting it according to the meaning of that line would require declaring mistaken those leading scholars who wrote works refuting this interpretation. It would also lead to falsely attributing statements to Allah, His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Companions, and the leading scholars. It would further imply that Allah tested His servants by requiring them to understand one meaning rather than another, despite what was firmly established in their minds and what the texts of the Quran and Sunnah conveyed. Yet Allah, glorified be He, does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. Such a thing is impossible with respect to Allah, His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Companions, and the leading scholars.

(Twelfth: The meaning of istiwā is clearly known among the Companions, their Successors, and those who followed them. An interpretation introduced after them is therefore certainly false. This is the statement of Yazīd ibn Hārūn al-Wāsitī, for he said:

“Whoever says, concerning the words:

‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne’

عَنْهُ؛ فَضْلًا عَنْ الصَّحَابَةِ؛ فَضْلًا عَنْ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ؛ فَلَوْ كَانَ الْكَلَامُ فِي الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ كَلَامًا نَفْهَمُ مِنْهُ مَعْنًى وَيُرِيدُونَ بِهِ آخَرَ لَكَانَ فِي ذَلِكَ تَدْلِيسٌ وَتَلْبِيسٌ وَمَعَاذَ اللَّهِ أَنْ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ فَيَجِبُ أَنْ يَكُونَ اسْتِعْمَالُ هَذَا الشَّاعِرِ هَذَا اللَّفْظَ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى لَيْسَ حَقِيقَةً بِالِاتِّفَاقِ؛ بَلْ حَقِيقَةً فِي غَيْرِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ حَقِيقَةً فِيهِ لَلَزِمَ الِاشْتِرَاكُ الْمَجَازِيُّ فِيهِ وَإِذَا كَانَ مَجَازًا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْعَرَبِ أَوْ مَجَازًا اخْتَرَعَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَفَتُتْرَكُ اللُّغَةُ الَّتِي يُخَاطِبُ بِهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أُمَّتَهُ. (الْحَادِيَ عَشَرَ: أَنَّ هَذَا اللَّفْظَ - الَّذِي تَكَرَّرَ فِي الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَالدَّوَاعِي مُتَوَفِّرَةٌ عَلَى فَهْمِ مَعْنَاهُ مِنْ الْخَاصَّةِ وَالْعَامَّةِ عَادَةً وَدِينًا - إنْ جَعَلَ الطَّرِيقَ إلَى فَهْمِهِ بَيْتَ شِعْرٍ أَحْدَثَ فَيُؤَدِّي إلَى مَحْذُورٍ؛ فَلَوْ حُمِلَ عَلَى مَعْنَى هَذَا الْبَيْتِ لَلَزِمَ تَخْطِئَةُ الْأَئِمَّةِ الَّذِينَ لَهُمْ مُصَنَّفَاتٌ فِي الرَّدِّ عَلَى مَنْ تَأَوَّلَ ذَلِكَ؛ وَلَكَانَ يُؤَدِّي إلَى الْكَذِبِ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَالصَّحَابَةِ وَالْأَئِمَّةِ وَلَلَزِمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ امْتَحَنَ عِبَادَهُ بِفَهْمِ هَذَا دُونَ هَذَا مَعَ مَا تَقَرَّرَ فِي نُفُوسِهِمْ وَمَا وَرَدَ بِهِ نَصُّ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ؛ وَاَللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ لَا يُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إلَّا وُسْعَهَا وَهَذَا مُسْتَحِيلٌ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَالصَّحَابَةِ وَالْأَئِمَّةِ. (الثَّانِيَ عَشَرَ: أَنَّ مَعْنَى الِاسْتِوَاءِ مَعْلُومٌ عِلْمًا ظَاهِرًا بَيْنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِيهِمْ فَيَكُونُ التَّفْسِيرُ الْمُحْدَثُ بَعْدَهُ بَاطِلًا قَطْعًا وَهَذَا قَوْلُ يَزِيدَ بْنِ هَارُونَ الواسطي؛ فَإِنَّهُ قَالَ: إنَّ مَنْ قَالَ: {الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى}