Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (17/78)

Majmu' al-FatawaIbn Taimiya

He said:

“The people of the Sunnah have unanimously agreed that the Quran is one of Allah’s attributes, not an attribute of His creation.”

He said:

“What led them to adopt this interpretation was His saying, Most High:

‘We bring one better than it or like it.’

“This can mean only one of two things: either the abrogating verse is intrinsically better than the abrogated verse, or it is better for those who observe it. According to the position of the people of the Sunnah and uprightness, it is impossible for parts of the Quran to differ intrinsically in excellence, since all of it is from Allah. For the noble Quran is an attribute of Allah, and Allah’s names and attributes all possess perfection in full and attain the utmost completeness; none of them can be deficient in any respect.

“Since it is impossible for one verse to be intrinsically better than another, we know that ‘better than it’ means better for those who observe it. He did not move His servants from an easier obligation to a more burdensome one. Rather, through abrogation, He moved them from prohibition to permission, from obligation to choice, and from purification to purification. Our supporting evidence is His saying:

‘Allah wishes to lighten your burdens, for man was created weak.’”

The reply is as follows: As for the statement, “Were it not for the excuse of ignorance, anyone who affirmed differences in excellence would be judged a disbeliever,” his opponents counter him with the same claim, and their argument is stronger. This is because disbelief is a judgment established by revelation and can only be established through revealed evidence. Someone who denies something that revelation does not establish, but which is known through reason alone, is not thereby a disbeliever. Rather, only someone who denies what the Messenger brought is a disbeliever. It is well known that neither the Book nor the Sunnah contains any text precluding some of Allah’s speech from being superior to other parts, or even precluding differences in excellence among His attributes

قَالَ: وَقَدْ أَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ عَلَى أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ صِفَةٌ مِنْ صِفَاتِ اللَّهِ لَا مِنْ صِفَةِ خَلْقِهِ. قَالَ: وَإِنَّمَا أَوْقَعَهُمْ فِي تَأْوِيلِ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: {نَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ مِنْهَا أَوْ مِثْلِهَا} وَلَا يَخْلُو مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ مِنْ أَحَدِ وَجْهَيْنِ: إمَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ النَّاسِخَةُ خَيْرًا مِنْ الْمَنْسُوخَةِ فِي ذَاتِهَا وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ خَيْرًا مِنْهَا لِمَنْ تَعَبَّدَ بِهَا إذْ مُحَالٌ أَنْ يَتَفَاضَلَ الْقُرْآنُ فِي ذَاتِهِ عَلَى مَا ذَهَبَ إلَيْهِ أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ وَالِاسْتِقَامَةِ؛ إذْ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ الْعَزِيزَ صِفَةُ اللَّهِ وَأَسْمَاءُ اللَّهِ وَصِفَاتُهُ كُلُّهَا مُتَوَافِرَةٌ فِي الْكَمَالِ مُتَنَاهِيَةٌ إلَى غَايَةِ التَّمَامِ لَا يَلْحَقُ شَيْئًا مِنْهَا نَقْصٌ بِحَالِ. فَلَمَّا اسْتَحَالَ أَنْ تَكُونَ آيَةٌ خَيْرًا مِنْ آيَةٍ فِي ذَاتِهَا عَلِمْنَا أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِخَيْرِ مِنْهَا إنَّمَا هُوَ لِلْمُتَعَبِّدِينَ بِهَا لَمْ يَنْقُلْ عِبَادَهُ مِنْ تَخْفِيفٍ إلَى تَثْقِيلٍ وَلَكِنَّهُ نَقَلَهُمْ بِالنَّسْخِ مِنْ تَحْرِيمٍ إلَى تَحْلِيلٍ وَمِنْ إيجَابٍ إلَى تَخْيِيرٍ وَمِنْ تَطْهِيرٍ إلَى تَطْهِيرٍ وَالشَّاهِدُ لَنَا قَوْلُهُ: {يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ ضَعِيفًا} . فَيُقَالُ: أَمَّا قَوْلُ الْقَائِلِ: " لَوْلَا عُذْرُ الْجَهَالَةِ لَحُكِمَ عَلَى مُثْبِتِ الْمُفَاضَلَةِ بِالْكُفْرِ " فَهُمْ يُقَابِلُونَهُ بِمِثْلِ ذَلِكَ وَحُجَّتُهُمْ أَقْوَى. وَذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْكُفْرَ حُكْمٌ شَرْعِيٌّ وَإِنَّمَا يَثْبُتُ بِالْأَدِلَّةِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ وَمَنْ أَنْكَرَ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَدُلَّ عَلَيْهِ الشَّرْعُ بَلْ عُلِمَ بِمُجَرَّدِ الْعَقْلِ لَمْ يَكُنْ كَافِرًا وَإِنَّمَا الْكَافِرُ مَنْ أَنْكَرَ مَا جَاءَ بِهِ الرَّسُولُ وَمَعْلُومٌ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِي الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ نَصٌّ يَمْنَعُ تَفْضِيلَ بَعْضِ كَلَامِ اللَّهِ عَلَى بَعْضٍ بَلْ وَلَا يَمْنَعُ تَفَاضُلَ صِفَاتِهِ