Mukhtasar al-Uluww lil-Ali al-Azim - A-Dhahabi - (242)

Mukhtasar al-Uluww lil-Ali al-AzimA-Dhahabi

self-sufficient, there is no deity but Him; that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger; that Paradise and Hell are real; that the Hour is coming without a doubt; that Allah will resurrect those who lie in the graves; that Allah, exalted is He, is established over His Throne, just as He said: “The Most Merciful rose over the Throne” (Q 20:5); that He has a Face, as He said: “And there will remain the Face of your Lord” (Q 55:27); that He has two Hands, as He said: “Rather, both His Hands are outstretched” (Q 5:64); that He has two Eyes, without asking how, as He said: “sailing under Our eyes” (Q 54:14). Whoever claims that Allah’s name is other than Allah is misguided. We hold that Allah will be seen with the eyes on the Day of Resurrection just as the full moon is seen on a clear night, seen by the believers—until he said:

We also hold that He turns the hearts, that the hearts are between two of His fingers, and that He will place the heavens and the earth upon a finger, as is mentioned in the ḥadith—until he said:

and that He draws near to His creation as He wills, as He said: “We are closer to him than his jugular vein” (Q 50:16) and as He said: “Then He drew near and came down, until He was two bow-lengths away or even nearer” (Q 53:8-9).¹

We deem it obligatory to part company with every caller to innovation and to avoid the people of vain desires. We shall cite evidence for the points we have set forth and for what remains, chapter by chapter, issue by issue.”

Ibn ʿAsākir then said:

“Reflect—may Allah have mercy on you—on how clear and manifest this creed is, and acknowledge the merit of the imam who explained and clarified it.”

276 – In al-Tabyīn, p. 152, the wording is: “his creed.”

277 – Al-Tabyīn, pp. 152-163. The author—may Allah have mercy on him—has quoted it here in a highly abridged form; it appears in al-Ibānah from the beginning on p. 13.

294 – The ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir also said: The imam Abū al-Ḥasan stated in the book he entitled al-ʿUmd fī al-Ruʾyah:

“We have compiled a large work on the attributes in which we addressed the various factions of the Muʿtazilah and the Jahmiyyah. It contains many sections on the attributes, establishing the affirmation of the face and the two hands, and of His rising over the Throne.” 278

(1) The expression al-dunu (drawing near) in the verse refers to Gabriel; see my commentary on al-Ibanah, pp. 12–35.

صمد لا إله غيره، وأن محمداً عبده ورسوله، وأن الجنة والنار حق، وأن الساعة آتية لا ريب فيها، وأن الله يبعث من في القبور، وأن الله تعالى مستو على عرشه كما قال: ﴿الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى﴾ وأن له وجهاً كما قال: ﴿وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّك﴾ وأن له يدين كما قال: ﴿بَلْ يَدَاهُ مَبْسُوطَتَان﴾ وأن له عينين بلا كيف كما قال: ﴿تَجْرِي بِأَعْيُنِنَا﴾ وأن من زعم أن أسلم الله غيره كان ضالاً، وندين أن الله يرى بالأبصار يوم القيامة كما يرى القمر ليلة البدر، يراه المؤمنون -إلى أن قال:- وندين بأنه يقلب القلوب، وأن القلوب بين إصبعين من أصابعه، وأنه يضع السموات والأرض على أصبع، كما جاء في الحديث، -إلى أن قال:- وأنه يقرب من خلقه كيف شاء كما قال: ﴿وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيد﴾ وكما قال: ﴿ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى، فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَى﴾ ١ ونرى مفارفة كل داعية إلى بدعة، ومجانبة أهل الأهواء، وسنحتج لما ذكرناه من قولنا وما بقي "منه" باباً باباً، وشيئاً شيئاً، ثم قال ابن عساكر: فتأملوا رحمكم الله هذا الاعتقاد ما أوضحه وأبينه، واعترفوا بفضل هذا الإمام الذي شرحه وبينه. ٢٧٦- في "التبيين" "ص١٥٢": "معتقده". ٢٧٧- التبيين "ص١٥٢-١٦٣" نقله المصنف رحمه الله تعالى بتلخيص كثير، وهو في "الإبانة" من أوله "ص١٣". ٢٩٤- وقال الحافظ ابن عساكر: وقال الإمام أبو الحسن في كتابه الذي سماه "العمد في الرؤية": "ألفنا كتاباً كبيراً في الصفات تكلمنا فيه على أصناف المعتزلة والجهمية، فيه فنون كثيرة من الصفات في إثبات الوجه واليدين، وفي استوائه على العرش" ٢٧٨

١ "الدنو" في الآية لجبريل ﵇، انظر تعليقي على الإبانة" "ص١٢-٣٥".