Al-Qawl al-Sadid fi al-Radd ala Man Ankara Taqsim al-Tawhid - Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr - (81)

Al-Qawl al-Sadid fi al-Radd ala Man Ankara Taqsim al-TawhidAbd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr

And the Deity is the One worshipped with love, penitent devotion, reverence, and honour. When “Lord” is mentioned alone, it includes the meaning of “Deity”; likewise, when “Deity” occurs alone, it includes the meaning of “Lord.” When the two occur together, their meanings differ, each having its own particular meaning; when they occur separately, their meanings coincide.

Shaykh al-Islām said: “The purpose here is to explain the condition of the servant wholly devoted to Allah, who worships Him and seeks His help, acts for His sake and seeks His help, and fulfils His words: ‘You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help’—affirming His oneness in worship and His oneness in lordship. Although divinity includes lordship, and lordship entails divinity, the fact that either encompasses the other when mentioned alone does not prevent each from having its own specific meaning when they occur together. This is so in His words: ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind,’ and in His words: ‘All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.’ Thus the two names, ‘Deity’ and ‘Lord,’ are brought together. The Deity is the One worshipped who deserves to be worshipped, while the Lord is the One who nurtures His servant and governs his affairs.

This is why worship is associated with His name ‘Allah,’ and petition with His name ‘Lord.’ Worship is the end for which creation was brought into being, and divinity is the ultimate end. Lordship includes creating creatures and bringing them into existence, and thus encompasses the beginning of their existence. When the person praying says, ‘You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help,’ he places the intended end before the means that constitute the starting point. Worship is the intended end, and seeking help is a means to it: the former is the underlying purpose, and the latter is a cause leading to it”1.

Shaykh al-Islām Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Know, then, that lordship and divinity have both shared and distinct meanings, as in His words: ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind,’ and as in the expressions ‘Lord of the worlds’ and ‘Deity of the messengers.’ When either term is mentioned alone, their meanings coincide,

(1) Al-Fatāwā, vol. 10, pp. 283–284.

والإله هو الذي يؤله فيعبد محبةً وإنابةً وإجلالاً وإكراماً، والرب إذا ذكر وحده دخل فيه الإله، والإله إذا أفرد دخل فيه الرب، وإذا اجتمعا افترقا فصار لكل منهما معنى خاصٌ، وإذا افترقا اجتمعا. قال شيخ الإسلام: "المقصود هنا بيان حال العبد المحض لله الذي يعبده ويستعينه فيعمل له ويستعينه ويحقق قوله: ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ﴾ توحيد الإلهية وتوحيد الربوبية، وإن كانت الإلهية تتضمن الربوبية، والربوبية تستلزم الإلهية، فإنَّ أحدهما إذا تضمن الآخر عند الانفراد لم يمنع أن يختص بمعناه عند الاقتران كما في قوله ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ إِلَهِ النَّاسِ﴾ ، وفي قوله: ﴿الْحَمْدُ للهِ رَبِّ الْعَالِمِينَ﴾ ، فجمع بين الاسمين اسم الإله واسم الرب فإنَّ الإله هو المعبود الذي يستحق أن يعبد، والرب هو الذي يربي عبده فيدبره. ولهذا كانت العبادة متعلقةً باسمه الله، والسؤال متعلقاً باسمه الرب، فإنَّ العبادة هي الغاية التي لها خلق الخلق، والإلهية هي الغاية، والربوبية تتضمن خلق الخلق وإنشاءهم فهو متضمن ابتداء حالهم، والمصلي إذا قال: ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ﴾ فبدأ بالمقصود الذي هو الغاية على الوسيلة التي هي البداية، فالعبادة غاية مقصودة، والاستعانة وسيلة إليها، تلك حكمة وهذا سبب"١. وقال شيخ الإسلام محمد بن عبد الوهاب ﵀: "فاعلم أنَّ الربوبية والألوهية يجتمعان ويفترقان؛ كما في قوله: ﴿أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ إِلَهِ النَّاسِ﴾ ، وكما يقال رب العالمين، وإله المرسلين، وعند الإفراد يجتمعان،

١ الفتاوى (١٠/٢٨٣،٢٨٤) .