Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (3/368)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

The Shia and Sunnis alike relate from Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—that when he passed by Karbala, he said:

“Remain steadfast, O Abū Abd Allāh! Remain steadfast, O Abū Abd Allāh!”

He was addressing al-Husayn because he knew that al-Husayn would be killed. This was before al-Husayn had arrived at Karbala and efforts were made to kill him.

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—spoke of the Dajjal and his emergence, saying:

“O servants of Allah, stand firm!” (1)

Yet those servants of Allah had not yet come into existence.

The Muslims say in their prayers:

“Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”

He is not present with them, but he is present in their hearts.

Allah Most High says:

“His command, when He wills something, is only to say to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.”

[Surah Yā Sīn: 82]

According to most scholars, this is an address directed (2) to something the Lord Most High knows within Himself, even though it does not yet exist. Whoever says that it is an expression for the manner of bringing things into being has contradicted the plain import of the address. Construing the verse in this way would require that such language of address actually be used with this meaning and that this usage belong to the language in which the Quran was revealed. Otherwise, no one may construe the discourse of Allah and His Messenger according to whatever notion happens to occur to him.

(1) This phrase is part of a lengthy hadith narrated by al-Nawwās ibn Samʿān al-Kilābī—may Allah be pleased with him—in *Sunan Ibn Mājah*, vol. 2, pp. 1356–59, Book of Tribulations, chapter “The Trial of the Dajjal.” It begins: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—mentioned the Dajjal one morning. He alternately minimized and magnified his threat, until we imagined that he was among a cluster of date palms. Later, when we went to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—he saw its effect upon us and asked, ‘What is the matter with you?’…” The hadith also states: “He will emerge upon a road between al-Sham and Iraq, spreading corruption to his right and left. O servants of Allah, stand firm.” The same phrase occurs in another hadith about the Dajjal, narrated by Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī—may Allah be pleased with him—in *Sunan Ibn Mājah*, vol. 2, pp. 1359–63, in the same book and chapter; the phrase occurs on p. 1360. (2) Manuscripts (N) and (M) read *takwīn* (bringing into being), which is a textual corruption.

وَالشِّيعَةُ وَالسُّنِّيَّةُ يَرْوُونَ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - أَنَّهُ لَمَّا مَرَّ بِكَرْبَلَاءَ قَالَ: صَبَرًا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، صَبْرًا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، يُخَاطِبُ الْحُسَيْنَ لِعِلْمِهِ بِأَنَّهُ سَيُقْتَلُ، وَهَذَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَحْضُرَ الْحُسَيْنُ بِكَرْبَلَاءَ وَيُطْلَبُ قَتْلُهُ. وَالنَّبِيُّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - ذَكَرَ الدَّجَّالَ وَخُرُوجَهُ وَأَنَّهُ قَالَ: " «يَا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ اثْبُتُوا» " (١) وَبَعْدُ لَمْ يُوجَدْ عِبَادُ اللَّهِ أُولَئِكَ. وَالْمُسْلِمُونَ يَقُولُونَ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ: " السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ " وَلَيْسَ هُوَ حَاضِرًا عِنْدَهُمْ وَلَكِنَّهُ حَاضِرٌ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ. وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى: {إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ} [سُورَةُ يس: ٨٢] وَهَذَا عِنْدَ أَكْثَرِ الْعُلَمَاءِ هُوَ خِطَابٌ يَكُونُ (٢) لِمَنْ يَعْلَمُهُ الرَّبُّ تَعَالَى فِي نَفْسِهِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يُوجَدْ بَعْدُ. وَمَنْ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ عِبَارَةٌ عَنْ شِرْعَةِ التَّكْوِينِ فَقَدْ خَالَفَ مَفْهُومَ الْخِطَابِ، وَحَمْلُ الْآيَةِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ يَسْتَدْعِي اسْتِعْمَالَ الْخِطَابِ فِي مِثْلِ هَذَا الْمَعْنَى، وَأَنَّ هَذَا مِنَ اللُّغَةِ الَّتِي نَزَلَ بِهَا الْقُرْآنُ، وَإِلَّا فَلَيْسَ لِأَحَدٍ أَنْ يَحْمِلَ خِطَابَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ عَلَى مَا يَخْطِرُ لَهُ.

(١) هَذِهِ الْعِبَارَةُ جُزْءٌ مِنْ حَدِيثٍ طَوِيلٍ عَنِ النَّوَّاسِ بْنِ سَمْعَانَ الْكِلَابِيِّ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - فِي: سُنَنِ ابْنِ مَاجَهْ ٢ - ١٣٥٦، ١٣٥٩ كِتَابَ الْفِتَنِ بَابَ فِتْنَةِ الدَّجَّالِ، وَأَوَّلُهُ: ذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - الدَّجَّالَ الْغَدَاةَ، فَخَفَّضَ فِيهِ وَرَفَّعَ حَتَّى ظَنَنَّا أَنَّهُ فِي طَائِفَةِ النَّخْلِ، فَلَمَّا رُحْنَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - عَرَفَ ذَلِكَ فِينَا، فَقَالَ: وَمَا شَأْنُكُمْ؟ . . . الْحَدِيثَ، وَفِيهِ: إِنَّهُ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خَلَّةٍ بَيْنَ الشَّامِ وَالْعِرَاقِ، فَعَاثَ يَمِينًا وَعَاثَ شِمَالًا، يَا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ اثْبُتُوا، وَوَرَدَتْ هَذِهِ الْعِبَارَةُ فِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ عَنِ الدَّجَّالِ عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ الْبَاهِلِيِّ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - فِي سُنَنِ ابْنِ مَاجَهْ ٢ - ١٣٥٩، ١٣٦٣ الْكِتَابُ وَالْبَابُ السَّابِقَانِ فِي ص ١٣٦٠. (٢) ن، م: تَكْوِينٍ، وَهُوَ تَحْرِيفٌ.