Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (3/290)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

the oneness of Lordship (1), while itself consisting in worshipping Allah alone and associating nothing with Him (2), so that all religion is devoted to Allah; none is feared but Allah, none is invoked (3) but Allah, and Allah is dearer to the servant (4) than all else. Thus, they love and hate for Allah’s sake, worship Allah, and place their trust in Him (5).

Worship combines the utmost love with the utmost humility (6). They therefore love Allah with the most perfect love and humble themselves before Him (7) with the most complete humility. They equate nothing with Him, set up no rivals to Him, and take no protectors or intercessors besides Him.

The Quran has explained this tawhīd in many places. It is the axle of the Quran’s millstone, around which [the Quran] revolves (8). It encompasses tawhīd in knowledge and speech, and tawhīd in will and action.

The first is exemplified by the words of the Most High:

“Say: He is Allah, the One;
Allah, the Self-Sufficient;
He neither begets nor was He begotten;
and there is none comparable to Him.”

[Surah al-Ikhlās]

This is why this surah is equivalent to one-third of the Quran: it is a description of the Most Merciful.

One-third of the Quran concerns tawhīd, one-third consists of narratives, and one-third consists of commands and prohibitions. This is because it is the Speech of Allah, and speech consists either of prescriptions or reports, while reports concern either the Creator or—

(1) Manuscripts (A) and (B): “tawhīd.” (2) Manuscripts (A) and (B): “that they worship Allah and associate nothing with Him”; manuscript (ʿ): “that Allah alone be worshipped and nothing be associated with Him.” (3) Manuscripts (A), (B), and (M): “and they do not invoke.” (4) Manuscripts (N) and (M): “dearer to them.” (5) Manuscript (ʿ): “in Allah.” (6) Manuscripts (A) and (B): “and that which entails humility.” This is a corrupt reading. (7) “To Him” is omitted only from manuscript (B). (8) Manuscripts (N) and (M): “the millstone of the animal that circles around it.”

لِتَوْحِيدِ (١) الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ، بِأَنْ يُعْبَدَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِهِ شَيْئًا، (٢) فَيَكُونُ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ لِلَّهِ، وَلَا يُخَافُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَلَا يُدْعَى (٣) إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَيَكُونُ اللَّهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَى الْعَبْدِ (٤) مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَيُحِبُّونَ لِلَّهِ، وَيُبْغِضُونَ لِلَّهِ، وَيَعْبُدُونَ اللَّهَ وَيَتَوَكَّلُونَ عَلَيْهِ (٥) . وَالْعِبَادَةُ تَجْمَعُ غَايَةَ الْحُبِّ وَغَايَةَ الذُّلِّ، (٦) فَيُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ بِأَكْمَلِ مَحَبَّةٍ، وَيَذِلُّونَ لَهُ (٧) أَكْمَلَ ذُلٍّ، وَلَا يَعْدِلُونَ بِهِ، وَلَا يَجْعَلُونَ لَهُ أَنْدَادًا، وَلَا يَتَّخِذُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ وَلَا شُفَعَاءَ. كَمَا قَدْ بَيَّنَ الْقُرْآنُ هَذَا التَّوْحِيدَ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْضِعٍ، وَهُوَ قُطْبُ رَحَى الْقُرْآنِ الَّذِي يَدُورُ عَلَيْهِ [الْقُرْآنُ] (٨) وَهُوَ يَتَضَمَّنُ التَّوْحِيدَ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْقَوْلِ، وَالتَّوْحِيدَ فِي الْإِرَادَةِ وَالْعَمَلِ. فَالْأَوَّلُ كَمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ - اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ - لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ - وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ} [سُورَةُ الْإِخْلَاصِ] . وَلِهَذَا كَانَتْ هَذِهِ السُّورَةُ تَعْدِلُ ثُلُثَ الْقُرْآنِ؛ لِأَنَّهَا صِفَةُ الرَّحْمَنِ. وَالْقُرْآنُ ثُلُثُهُ تَوْحِيدٌ، وَثُلُثُهُ قَصَصٌ، وَثُلُثُهُ أَمْرٌ وَنَهْيٌ؛ لِأَنَّهُ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ، وَالْكَلَامُ إِمَّا إِنْشَاءٌ وَإِمَّا إِخْبَارٌ، وَالْإِخْبَارُ إِمَّا عَنِ الْخَالِقِ وَإِمَّا عَنِ

(١) أ، ب: تَوْحِيدَ. (٢) أ، ب: بِأَنْ يَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا يُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا، ع: بِأَنْ يُعْبَدَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا يُشْرَكُ بِهِ شَيْءٌ. (٣) أ، ب، م: وَلَا يَدْعُوا. (٤) ن، م: أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِمْ. (٥) ع: عَلَى اللَّهِ. (٦) أ، ب: وَمَا بِهِ الذُّلُّ، وَهُوَ تَحْرِيفٌ. (٧) لَهُ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ب) فَقَطْ. (٨) ن، م: رَحَى الْحَيَوَانِ الَّذِي يَدُورُ عَلَيْهِ.