Al-Radd ʿalā al-Manṭiqiyyīn - Ibn Taimiya - (306)

Al-Radd ʿalā al-ManṭiqiyyīnIbn Taimiya

No rational person would say such a thing. Rather, the worshipers of the sun, the moon, and the stars devote themselves to these bodies just as idolaters serve their images, just as some people venerate prophets and the righteous—together with their likenesses—and just as others worship the angels, while still others worship the jinn. They do so hoping to secure some benefit or repel some harm, not because they believe these beings created the universe.

Instead, they turn them into intercessors and mediators between themselves and the Lord of all worlds, as the Exalted says:

“They worship, apart from God, things that can neither harm nor benefit them, and they say, ‘These are our intercessors with God.’ Say: ‘Are you informing God of something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth?’” (Q 10:18)

and He says:

“Those who take protectors besides Him say, ‘We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to God.’” (Q 39:3)

and He says:

“Warn by it those who fear that they will be gathered to their Lord—they have no protector and no intercessor apart from Him.” (Q 6:51)

and He says:

“Lest a soul be held accountable for what it has earned, when it will have no protector and no intercessor besides God.” (Q 6:70)

and He says:

“God is the One who created the heavens and the earth and whatever lies between them in six days, then He rose over the Throne; you have no protector and no intercessor apart from Him.” (Q 32:4)

The intercession of which the messengers spoke is of a different kind: God grants permission to the intercessor, who then intercedes, so that the entire affair remains God’s alone. The Almighty says, “Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?” (Q 2:255), and He says, “They do not intercede except for those He approves.” (Q 21:28). This is utterly unlike the intercession claimed by the polytheists.

As for the philosophers who assert the world’s eternity, their concept of “intercession” is that an effusion flows from the intercessor to the petitioner without any intention or request on the intercessor’s part—just as the sun’s rays are reflected from a mirror onto a wall. Ibn Sīnā articulated this view, as did those who drew on him, such as the author of “The Books Concealed from Those Unworthy of Them,” and everyone who followed their lead.

ولا يقول هذا عاقل بل عباد الشمس والقمر والكواكب يعبدونها كما يعبد عباد الأصنام للأصنام وكما يعبد عباد الأنبياء والصالحين لهم ولتماثيلهم وكما يعبدون آخرون الملائكة وآخرون يعبدون الجن لما يرجون بعبادتها من جلب منفعة أو دفع مضرة لا لاعتقادهم أنها خلقت العالم. بل قد يجعلونها شفعاء ووسائط بينهم وبين رب العالمين كما قال تعالى: {وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قُلْ أَتُنَبِّئُونَ اللَّهَ بِمَا لا يَعْلَمُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلا فِي الأَرْضِ} وقال تعالى: {وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلاَّ لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى} وقال تعالى: {وَأَنْذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْ يُحْشَرُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلا شَفِيعٌ} وقال تعالى: {أَنْ تُبْسَلَ نَفْسٌ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلا شَفِيعٌ} وقال تعالى: {اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلا شَفِيعٍ} . والشفاعة التي أخبرت بها الرسل هي أن يأذن الله للشفيع فيشفع فيكون الأمر كله لله كما قال تعالى: {مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ} وقال: {وَلا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلاَّ لِمَنِ ارْتَضَى} وهذا بخلاف ما اتخذه المشركون من الشفعاء. وأما الفلاسفة القائلون بقدم العالم فالشفاعة عندهم أن يفيض على المستشفع من الشفيع ما يقصده من غير قصد الشفيع ولا سؤال منه كما ينعكس شعاع الشمس من المرآة على الحائط وقد ذكر ذلك ابن سينا ومن تلقى عنه كصاحب الكتب المضنون بها على غير أهلها ومن اخذ عنه.