Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (5/374)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

But He—glory be to Him—sends down (1) to His prophets whatever He sends down (2) of His knowledge and speech, just as He sent down the Quran (3)—which is His speech—upon the Seal of the Messengers.

He—glory be to Him—said:

“Allah bears witness that there is no god but Him, as do the angels and those endowed with knowledge. He upholds justice. There is no god but Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” [Surah Āl Imrān: 18]

Thus He—glory be to Him—bears witness to His own oneness; the angels bear witness, and those of His servants who possess knowledge bear witness. These testimonies correspond and agree with one another.

It may be said: This testimony is the same as that testimony, meaning that it is of the same kind. The very attribute of a created being, however, is not the very attribute of the Creator. Yet Allah’s speech, which He sent down upon His Messenger, is the Quran recited by the Muslims, and it remains His speech—glory be to Him—when heard from those who convey it. The servants’ recitation of it and their hearing it from one another are not equivalent to Moses hearing it from Allah without an intermediary. Moses heard the Lord’s very speech, just as one hears a speaker’s words directly from him and just as the Companions heard the Messenger’s words directly from him. All other people, however, heard it as conveyed from Allah, just as (4) the Successors and those after them hear the words of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—as conveyed from him.

For this reason, He said to His Messenger:

“Convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord.” [Surah al-Māidah: 67]

And He said:

“So that He may know that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord.” [Surah al-Jinn: 28]

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Convey from me [even if only one verse].” (5)

And he said:

(1) (W) reads: *nazzala* (“sent down”). (2) (W) and (M) read: *mā anzala* (“what He sent down”); (W) also reads: *mā nazzalahu* (“what He sent down”). (3) (M) reads: *al-Furqān* (the Criterion). (4) (W) reads: “just as he heard.” (5) “Even if only one verse” is an addition found only in (W). The full text of the hadith is: “Convey from me, even if only one verse. Narrate from the Children of Israel, and there is no harm in doing so. Whoever deliberately lies about me, let him take his seat in the Fire.” It is narrated from Abd Allah ibn Amr—may Allah be pleased with them both—in *al-Bukhārī*, 4:170 (Book of the Prophets, chapter “What Has Been Related about the Children of Israel”); *Sunan al-Tirmidhī*, 4:147 (Book of Knowledge, chapter “What Has Been Related concerning Narration from the Children of Israel”); and *al-Musnad* (al-Maarif ed.), 9:250–51; 11:127, 207.

وَلَكِنْ هُوَ - سُبْحَانَهُ - يُنَزِّلُ (١) عَلَى أَنْبِيَائِهِ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ وَكَلَامِهِ مَا أَنْزَلَهُ (٢) ، كَمَا أَنْزَلَ الْقُرْآنَ (٣) ، وَهُوَ كَلَامُهُ، عَلَى خَاتَمِ الرُّسُلِ. وَقَدْ قَالَ - سُبْحَانَهُ -: {شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَأُولُو الْعِلْمِ قَائِمًا بِالْقِسْطِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ} [سُورَةُ آلِ عِمْرَانَ: ١٨] ، فَهُوَ سُبْحَانَهُ يَشْهَدُ لِنَفْسِهِ بِالْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ، وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَشْهَدُونَ، وَأُولُو الْعِلْمِ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ يَشْهَدُونَ، وَالشَّهَادَاتُ مُتَطَابِقَةٌ مُتَوَافِقَةٌ. وَقَدْ يُقَالُ: هَذِهِ الشَّهَادَةُ هِيَ هَذِهِ، بِمَعْنَى أَنَّهَا نَوْعُهَا، وَلَيْسَ نَفْسُ صِفَةِ الْمَخْلُوقِ هِيَ نَفْسُ صِفَةِ الْخَالِقِ، وَلَكِنَّ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ هُوَ الْقُرْآنُ الَّذِي يَقْرَؤُهُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ، وَهُوَ كَلَامُهُ - سُبْحَانَهُ - مَسْمُوعًا مِنَ الْمُبَلِّغِينَ لَهُ، لَيْسَ تِلَاوَةُ الْعِبَادِ لَهُ وَسَمَاعُ بَعْضِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ، بِمَنْزِلَةِ سَمْعِ مُوسَى لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ بِلَا وَاسِطَةٍ، فَإِنَّ مُوسَى سَمِعَ نَفْسَ كَلَامِ الرَّبِّ، كَمَا يَسْمَعُ كَلَامَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِ مِنْهُ، كَمَا يَسْمَعُ الصَّحَابَةُ كَلَامَ الرَّسُولِ مِنْهُ، وَأَمَّا سَائِرُ النَّاسِ فَسَمِعُوهُ مُبَلِّغًا عَنِ اللَّهِ، كَمَا يَسْمَعُ (٤) التَّابِعُونَ وَمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ كَلَامَ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - مُبَلَّغًا عَنْهُ. وَلِهَذَا قَالَ لِرَسُولِهِ: {بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ} [سُورَةُ الْمَائِدَةِ: ٦٧] ، وَقَالَ: {لِيَعْلَمَ أَنْ قَدْ أَبْلَغُوا رِسَالَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ} [سُورَةُ الْجِنِّ: ٢٨] . وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -: " «بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي [وَلَوْ آيَةً] » " (٥) . وَقَالَ:

(١) و: نَزَّلَ. (٢) و، م: مَا أَنْزَلَ، و: مَا نَزَّلَهُ. (٣) م: الْفُرْقَانِ. (٤) و: كَمَا سَمِعَ. (٥) وَلَوْ آيَةً: زِيَادَةٌ فِي (و) فَقَطْ، وَنَصُّ الْحَدِيثِ " بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي وَلَوْ آيَةً، وَحَدِّثُوا عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلَا حَرَجَ، وَمَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَيَّ مُتَعَمِّدًا فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ "، وَهُوَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا - فِي: الْبُخَارِيِّ ٤/١٧٠، (كِتَابُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ بَابُ مَا ذُكِرَ عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ) ، سُنَنِ التِّرْمِذِيِّ ٤/١٤٧ (كِتَابُ الْعِلْمِ، بَابُ مَا جَاءَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ) ، الْمُسْنَدِ (ط. الْمَعَارِفِ) ٩/٢٥٠ - ٢٥١، ١١/١٢٧، ٢٠٧