Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (12/235)

Majmu' al-FatawaIbn Taimiya

He—may Allah sanctify his soul—was also asked: (*)

To explain, in the clearest and most explicit terms, what a person must believe and thereby become a Muslim: Is what is contained in the written copies of the Quran Allah’s eternal speech, or is it an expression of His speech rather than His speech itself? Is it newly originated or eternal? Does Allah’s speech consist of letters and sound, or is His speech an attribute subsisting in Him that never departs from Him?

And are His words, Exalted is He,

“The Most Merciful established Himself above the Throne,”

to be understood literally or not? If a person accepts the Quran according to its apparent meaning, without interpreting any of it figuratively, and says, “I believe (1) in it as it was revealed,” is that sufficient in matters of belief, or must he interpret it figuratively?

He replied:

What a person must believe concerning these and other matters is what is established by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and agreed upon by the early generations of believers. Allah Most High praised them and those who follow them, and condemned those who follow a path other than theirs.

This is that the Quran which Allah sent down to His servant and Messenger is the speech of Allah Most High; that it was sent down and is uncreated; that it originated from Him and to Him it will return; that it is “a noble Quran, in a well-guarded Book, which none touch except the purified”; and that it is

(*) Shaykh Nāsir ibn Hamad al-Fahd stated (p. 107): The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—entitled this fatwa Jawāb al-Futyā al-Misriyya (Response to the Egyptian Fatwa). It appears in al-Tis‘īniyya (12:529–544). Two parts of the answer to the question were not included in the Majmū‘: the discussion of “istiwā’ (establishing Himself above the Throne) and whether it is literal, and understanding the Quran according to its apparent meaning without figurative interpretation.” These appear in al-Tis‘īniyya (2:544–547). It appears that the complete text of the Egyptian Fatwa is the one found in al-Fatāwā, because the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—quoted it in al-Tis‘īniyya in this wording, concluding: “This is the wording of the answer in the Egyptian Fatwa.” He then added: “I said: As for the questioner’s inquiry concerning His words, Mighty and Majestic, ‘The Most Merciful established Himself above the Throne’…” It therefore seems that he supplied the remainder of the answer later. Allah Most High knows best. (1) The original reads aw min (“or from”). (Siyānat Majmū‘ al-Fatāwā min al-Saqt wa-l-Tashīf, p. 106, note 2.)

وَسُئِلَ - قَدَّسَ اللَّهُ رُوحَهُ -: (*) عَنْ بَيَانِ مَا يَجِبُ عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ أَنْ يَعْتَقِدَهُ وَيَصِيرُ بِهِ مُسْلِمًا؛ بِأَوْضَحِ عِبَارَةٍ وَأَبْيَنِهَا مِنْ أَنَّ مَا فِي الْمَصَاحِفِ هَلْ هُوَ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ الْقَدِيمُ؟ أَمْ هُوَ عِبَارَةٌ عَنْهُ لَا نَفْسُهُ وَأَنَّهُ حَادِثٌ أَوْ قَدِيمٌ وَأَنَّ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ حَرْفٌ وَصَوْتٌ؟ أَمْ كَلَامُهُ صِفَةٌ قَائِمَةٌ بِهِ لَا تُفَارِقُهُ؟ وَأَنَّ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: {الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى} حَقِيقَةٌ أَمْ لَا؟ وَأَنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ إذَا أَجْرَى الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى ظَاهِرِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَتَأَوَّلَ شَيْئًا مِنْهُ وَيَقُولُ أُؤمِنُ (١) بِهِ كَمَا أُنْزِلَ هَلْ يَكْفِيهِ ذَلِكَ فِي الِاعْتِقَادِ أَمْ يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ التَّأْوِيلُ؟ فَأَجَابَ: الَّذِي يَجِبُ عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ اعْتِقَادُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ وَغَيْرِهِ مَا دَلَّ عَلَيْهِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَسُنَّةُ رَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَاتَّفَقَ عَلَيْهِ سَلَفُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ أَثْنَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِمْ وَعَلَى مَنْ اتَّبَعَهُمْ وَذَمَّ مَنْ اتَّبَعَ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِهِمْ وَهُوَ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ وَرَسُولِهِ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَنَّهُ مُنَزَّلٌ غَيْرُ مَخْلُوقٍ مِنْهُ بَدَأَ وَإِلَيْهِ يَعُودُ وَأَنَّهُ قُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ. فِي كِتَابٍ مَكْنُونٍ. لَا يَمَسُّهُ إلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ وَأَنَّهُ

(*) قال الشيخ ناصر بن حمد الفهد (ص ١٠٧): هذه الفتيا سماها الشيخ رحمه الله: (جواب الفتيا المصرية)، وهي مذكورة في (التسعينية) (١٢/ ٥٢٩ - ٥٤٤). وقد بقي جزاءان من إجابة السؤال لم تذكر في المجموع وأعني الكلام على (الاستواء وهل هو حقيقة، وإجراء القرآن على ظاهره بلا تأويل)، وهي مذكورة في (التسعينية) ٢/ ٥٤٤ - ٥٤٧. ويظهر أن نص الفتيا المصرية الكامل هو الموجود في (الفتاوى)؛ لأن الشيخ رحمه الله ذكرها في (التسعينية) بهذا اللفظ، ثم قال في نهايتها (هذا لفظ الجواب في الفتيا المصرية)، ثم قال بعد ذلك: قلت: وأما سؤال السائل عن قوله عز وجل: (الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى). . . الخ فيبدو أنه استدرك باقي الاجابة فيما بعد، والله تعالى أعلم. (١) في الأصل (أو من). (صيانة مجموع الفتاوى من السقط والتصحيف - ص ١٠٦: هامش ٢)