Mukhtasar al-Uluww lil-Ali al-Azim - A-Dhahabi - (283)

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

understood it from the Companions, who in turn learned from the Prophet ﷺ that God is “in the heaven,” meaning above and over it. For this reason Shaykh Abū Muḥammad said, “He is above His Throne.” He then clarified that His exaltedness over the Throne pertains to His very essence, for the Exalted is separate from all His creation without asking how. He is in every place by His knowledge, not by His essence, for 1 places do not contain Him—He is greater than they, and He existed when there was no place at all.

He continued at length until he said:

“When fair-minded people became certain that Scripture singles Him out for the attribute of rising over the Throne after creating His heavens and His earth, they understood that ‘rising’ here is not ‘subjugating’ or the like. They therefore affirmed His rising over the Throne as a reality, not as a metaphor, for He is truthful in what He says, and they refrained from probing its modality or likening it to anything, for ‘There is nothing like unto Him.’”

165 – The distinguished judge and scholar Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī (468–543 AH)

347 – Commenting on Sūrat al-Aḥzāb, on the verse, “Yet you hide within yourself…” (Q 33:37), he said: “This Muhammad ﷺ never disobeyed his Lord—neither in the Age of Ignorance nor afterwards—as an honor, a favor, and a mark of majesty from God, who placed him in the highest station so that he might be fit to sit with Him upon His Throne to judge between the creation 2 on the Day of Truth.”

He then added a long discussion. I know of no basis for his remark other than the statement of Mujāhid, and God knows best.

Ibn al-ʿArabī was one of the leading imams of al-Andalus. He traveled widely and studied under men such as Tarād al-Ladhīnabi and other great scholars, and his writings became renowned far and wide.

He died in 543 AH.

(1) This phrase was omitted from the printed editions; the manuscript reads “wala” (nor) in place of “an” (that). The wording we have adopted is likely the correct one. (2) The following passage is supplied from the tafsir Ahkam al-Quran by Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, vol. 3, p. 1530. The entire biographical notice was missing from the printed editions, so I have restored it from the manuscript.

فهموه عن الصحابة، مما فهموه عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أن الله في السماء، يعني فوقها وعليها، فلذلك قال الشيخ أبو محمد: "أنه فوق عرشه" ثم بين أن علوه فوق عرشه إنما هو بذاته لأنه تعالى بائن عن جميع خلقه بلا كيف وهو في كل مكان بعلمه لا بذاته. "إذ"١ لا تحويه الأماكن، لأنه أعظم منها، قد كان ولا مكان". ثم سرد كلاماً طويلاً إلى أن قال: "فلما أيقن المنصفون إفراد ذكره بالاستواء على عرشه بعد خلق سمواته وأرضه، وتخصيصه بصفة الاستواء، علموا أن الاستواء هنا غير الاستيلاء ونحوه، فأقروا بوصفه بالاستواء على عرشه، وأنه على الحقيقة لا علي المجاز، لأنه الصادق في قيله، ووقفوا عن تكييف ذلك وتمثيله، إذ ليس كمثله شيء". ١٦٥- "القاضي العلامة أبو بكر بن العربي ٤٦٨-٥٤٣" ٣٤٧- ذكر في تفسير سورة الأحزاب في قوله: ﴿وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِك﴾ قال: "فهذا مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ ما عصى ربه لا حال الجاهلية، ولا بعدها، تكرمة من الله وتفضيلا وجلالا، أحله به المحل الرفيع، ليصلح أن يقعد معه على كرسيه للفصل بين "الخلق في"٢ القضاء يوم الحق". وذكر فصلا طويلا، وما علمت للقاضي مستندا في قوله هذا سوى مجاهد والله أعلم. وابن العربي من كبار أئمة الأندلس، رحل ولحق مثل طراد الذينبي والكبار، وقد سارت بتصانيفه الركبان. توفي سنة بضع وأربعين وخمسائة.

١ سقطت من المطبوعات، وفي المخطوطة: "ولا" بدل "أن" ولعل الصواب ما أثبتنا. ٢ زيادة من تفسير: "أحكام القرآن" للقاضي أبي بكر بن العربي ج٣ ص١٥٣٠، والترجمة كلها سقطت من المطبوعات، فاستدركتها من المخطوطة.