Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (5/395)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

obedience to him nor worship of him. Whoever loves obedience and worship only for some created recompense loves nothing but that recompense, and it cannot be said that such a person loves Allah.

Do you not see that an unbeliever, a wrongdoer, or someone whom the believer hates may hire a believer to perform some work? The believer performs it for the sake of that recompense, yet he does not love the unbeliever or the wrongdoer merely because he works for him in return for recompense, since his only objective is the recompense. Likewise, whoever wants nothing from Allah except recompense for his deeds does not [ever] (1) love Him except in the same way that a worker loves the one who hires him (2) and gives him recompense [for his work] (3).

Everything that is loved is loved either for its own sake or for the sake of something else. When something is loved for the sake of something else, it is that other thing which is truly loved; the former is loved only because it is a means of attaining what is loved. A means may even be intensely disliked, yet a person endures it (4) to attain his objective, just as a sick person swallows unpleasant medicine because he loves good health. It cannot be said that he loves that unpleasant medicine.

Thus, if the Lord—Glorified is He—is loved only for the blessings He creates, then He is not loved. Allah Most High says:

“Yet among the people are those who take others besides Allah as rivals, loving them as they love Allah. But those who believe have a stronger love for Allah.”

[Surah al-Baqara: 165]

He states that the believers have greater love for Allah than the polytheists have, and that the polytheists love their rivals as they love Allah.

(1) The word “ever” is omitted from manuscripts *nūn* and *mīm*. (2) Manuscript *wāw* reads: “hired him.” (3) The phrase “for his work” is added in manuscripts *hāʾ* and *bāʾ*. (4) Manuscripts *nūn*, *mīm*, *wāw*, and (*yāʾ*) read: “he bears it.”

طَاعَتَهُ وَلَا عِبَادَتَهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ إِنَّمَا يُحِبُّ الطَّاعَةَ وَالْعِبَادَةَ لِلْعِوَضِ الْمَخْلُوقِ، فَهُوَ لَا يُحِبُّ إِلَّا ذَلِكَ الْعِوَضَ، وَلَا يُقَالُ: إِنَّ هَذَا يُحِبُّ اللَّهَ. أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ الْكَافِرَ وَالظَّالِمَ وَمَنْ يُبْغِضُهُ الْمُؤْمِنُ قَدْ يَسْتَأْجِرُ الْمُؤْمِنَ عَلَى عَمَلٍ يَعْمَلُهُ، فَيَعْمَلُ الْمُؤْمِنُ لِأَجْلِ ذَلِكَ الْعِوَضِ، وَلَا يَكُونُ الْمُؤْمِنُ مُحِبًّا لِلْكَافِرِ وَلَا لِلظَّالِمِ إِذَا عَمِلَ لَهُ بِعِوَضٍ ; لِأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مَقْصُودُهُ إِلَّا الْعِوَضَ. فَمَنْ كَانَ لَا يُرِيدُ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْعِوَضَ عَلَى عَمَلِهِ، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّهُ [قَطُّ] (١) إِلَّا كَمَا يُحِبُّ الْفَاعِلُ لِمَنْ يَسْتَأْجِرُهُ (٢) وَيُعْطِيهِ الْعِوَضَ [عَلَى عَمَلِهِ] (٣) ، فَإِنَّ كُلَّ مَحْبُوبٍ، إِمَّا أَنْ يُحَبَّ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يُحَبَّ لِغَيْرِهِ، فَمَا أُحِبَّ لِغَيْرِهِ فَالْمَحْبُوبُ فِي نَفْسِ الْأَمْرِ هُوَ ذَلِكَ الْغَيْرُ، وَأَمَّا هَذَا فَإِنَّمَا أُحِبَّ لِكَوْنِهِ وَسِيلَةً إِلَى الْمَحْبُوبِ، وَالْوَسِيلَةُ قَدْ تَكُونُ مَكْرُوهَةً غَايَةَ الْكَرَاهَةِ، لَكِنْ يَتَحَمَّلُهَا (٤) الْإِنْسَانُ لِأَجْلِ الْمَقْصُودِ، كَمَا يَتَجَرَّعُ الْمَرِيضُ الدَّوَاءَ الْكَرِيهَ لِأَجْلِ مَحَبَّتِهِ لِلْعَافِيَةِ، وَلَا يُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ يُحِبُّ ذَلِكَ الدَّوَاءَ الْكَرِيهَ. فَإِنْ كَانَ الرَّبُّ سُبْحَانَهُ لَا يُحَبُّ إِلَّا لِمَا يَخْلُقُهُ مِنَ النِّعَمِ، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يُحَبُّ، وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى: {وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَتَّخِذُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنْدَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ} [سُورَةُ الْبَقَرَةِ: ١٦٥] ، فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ، وَأَنَّ الْمُشْرِكِينَ يُحِبُّونَ الْأَنْدَادَ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ.

(١) قَطُّ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . (٢) وَ: اسْتَأْجَرَهُ. (٣) عَلَى عَمَلِهِ: زِيَادَةٌ فِي (ح) ، (ب) . (٤) ن، م، و، (ي) : يَحْتَمِلُهَا.