Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (1/115)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

through knowledge of him—bring about either obedience or communal unity. Thus, he has not been known in a manner that brings a person out of [the state] (1) of pre-Islamic ignorance. Rather, those who affiliate themselves with him are the most steeped of all sects in pre-Islamic ignorance and bear the closest resemblance to it. If they do not submit to the authority of others—whether that of a disbeliever or (2) that of a Muslim whom they regard as one of the disbelievers or the Nawāsib (those hostile to Ali) (3)—their affairs cannot be set in good order, because of their extensive disagreement and division and their departure from obedience and communal unity (4).

This becomes clear (5) from the following aspect (6):

[The Ninth Aspect: The Command to Obey the Imams in Matters Not Involving Disobedience]

The ninth aspect is that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—commanded obedience to the existing (7) [known] (8) imams who possessed authority enabling them to govern people. He did not command obedience to someone nonexistent or unknown, nor to anyone possessing no authority or power (9) whatsoever. Likewise, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—commanded unity and concord and forbade division and disagreement. He did not command unconditional obedience to the imams; rather, he commanded that they be obeyed insofar as this constituted obedience to—

(1) “state” is omitted from B alone. (2) A and B read: “or.” (3) Lisān al-Arab states: “The Nawāsib are people who make hatred of Ali a religious commitment.” Abū al-Baqā al-Kafūrī’s al-Kulliyyāt (Būlāq ed.), p. [0–9] 61, states: “Nasb also denotes a doctrine consisting of hatred for Ali ibn Abī Tālib; it is the opposite extreme from rafd (Rāfidism).” (4) “and communal unity” is omitted from A and B. (5) B alone reads: “makes it clear.” (6) All manuscripts read: “the aspect.” The reading adopted in the text, “from the aspect,” makes the sentence coherent. (7) A and B read: “the muwahhidīn (those who affirm Allah’s oneness).” (8) “known” is omitted from N and M. (9) N and M read: “and power.”

يَحْصُلُ بِمَعْرِفَتِهِ طَاعَةٌ، وَلَا جَمَاعَةٌ، فَلَمْ يُعْرَفْ مَعْرِفَةً تُخْرِجُ الْإِنْسَانَ مَنْ [حَالِ] (١) الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، بَلِ الْمُنْتَسِبُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْظَمُ الطَّوَائِفِ جَاهِلِيَّةً، وَأَشْبَهُهُمْ بِالْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوا فِي طَاعَةِ غَيْرِهِمْ - إِمَّا طَاعَةِ كَافِرٍ، وَإِمَّا (٢) طَاعَةِ مُسْلِمٍ هُوَ عِنْدَهُمْ مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ، أَوِ النَّوَاصِبِ (٣) - لَمْ يَنْتَظِمْ لَهُمْ مَصْلَحَةٌ لِكَثْرَةِ اخْتِلَافِهِمْ، وَافْتِرَاقِهِمْ، وَخُرُوجِهِمْ عَنِ الطَّاعَةِ، وَالْجَمَاعَةِ (٤) . وَهَذَا يَتَبَيَّنُ (٥) . بِالْوَجْهِ (٦) [الوجه التاسع الأمر بطاعة الأئمة في غير المعصية] التَّاسِعِ: وَهُوَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - أَمَرَ بِطَاعَةِ الْأَئِمَّةِ الْمَوْجُودِينَ (٧) [الْمَعْلُومِينَ] (٨) الَّذِينَ لَهُمْ سُلْطَانٌ يَقْدِرُونَ بِهِ عَلَى سِيَاسَةِ النَّاسِ لَا بِطَاعَةِ مَعْدُومٍ وَلَا مَجْهُولٍ، وَلَا مَنْ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ، وَلَا قُدْرَةٌ (٩) عَلَى شَيْءٍ أَصْلًا، كَمَا أَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - بِالِاجْتِمَاعِ، وَالِائْتِلَافِ، وَنَهَى عَنِ الْفُرْقَةِ، وَالِاخْتِلَافِ، وَلَمْ يَأْمُرْ بِطَاعَةِ الْأَئِمَّةِ مُطْلَقًا، بَلْ أَمَرَ بِطَاعَتِهِمْ فِي طَاعَةِ

(١) حَالِ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ب) فَقَطْ. (٢) أ، ب: أَوْ. . (٣) فِي اللِّسَانِ: " النَّوَاصِبُ: قَوْمٌ يَتَدَيَّنُونَ بِبِغْضَةِ عَلِيٍّ ". وَفِي كُلِّيَّاتِ أَبِي الْبَقَاءِ الْكَفُورِيِّ (ط. بُولَاقَ) ص [٠ - ٩] ٦١: " وَالنَّصْبُ يُقَالُ أَيْضًا لِمَذْهَبٍ هُوَ بُغْضُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ وَهُوَ طَرَفُ النَّقِيضِ مِنَ الرَّفْضِ ". (٤) وَالْجَمَاعَةِ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (أ) ، (ب) . (٥) ب: " فَقَطْ ": يُبَيِّنُهُ. (٦) فِي جَمِيعِ النُّسَخِ: الْوَجْهُ. وَمَا أَثْبَتَّهُ يَسْتَقِيمُ بِهِ الْكَلَامُ. (٧) أ، ب: الْمُوَحِّدِينَ. (٨) الْمَعْلُومِينَ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . (٩) ن، م: وَقُدْرَةٌ.