Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (6/74)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

accept from a servant anything except what is sincerely devoted to Him. What, then, do you think of the reward(1) awaiting you with Allah, in the provision He grants without delay and the treasures of His mercy?”(2).

Ibn Batta related through Abū Ya‘lā al-Nājī: al-Utbī narrated to us, from his father, who said:

Umar ibn al-Khattāb delivered an address on the Day of Arafah in the year allegiance was pledged to him. He said(3): “Praise be to Allah, who has tested me through you and tested you through me, and who has kept me among you after my companion. Whoever among you is present, we shall deal with him directly; and whoever is absent, we shall entrust his affairs to capable men among us. If such a man does well, we shall grant him more; but if he does wrong, we shall not indulge him. O subjects, your governors have rights over you, and you have rights over them. Know(4) that no forbearance(5) is dearer to Allah or more beneficial than a ruler’s forbearance(6) and justice, and no ignorance is more hateful to Allah—Exalted is He—than a governor’s ignorance and rashness. Whoever secures freedom from harm from those under his authority, Allah will grant him freedom from harm from those above him.”

I say: This is well known from the report of al-Ahnaf, from Umar, who said: “When a governor seeks freedom from harm from those beneath him, Allah grants him freedom from harm from those above him.”

It has also been related in the report of Wakī‘, from al-Thawrī, from Habīb ibn Abī Thābit, from

(1) MSS H and B read: “the reward” rather than “a reward.” (2) *Al-Riyād al-Nadira* reads: “What, then, do you think of Allah’s reward—Mighty and Majestic is He—His immediate provision, and the treasures of His mercy? Peace be upon you.” *Akhbār Umar* reads: “What, then, do you think of a reward with Allah—Mighty and Majestic is He—in His immediate provision and the treasures of His mercy? Peace.” At the end of the letter, al-Muhibb al-Tabarī states: “Al-Dāraqutnī transmitted it.” (3) Ibn Sa‘d cites part of this sermon in *al-Tabaqāt*, vol. 3, p. 275. Portions of it also appear in *Akhbār Umar*, p. 74, and *al-Riyād al-Nadira*, vol. 2, p. 88. (4) MSS H and B have the plural imperative, “Know”; all other manuscripts have the singular. (5) MSS H, R, and Y read: “judgment.” (6) MSS H, R, and Y read: “a ruler’s judgment.”

يَقْبَلُ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ إِلَّا مَا كَانَ لَهُ خَالِصًا، فَمَا ظَنُّكَ بِثَوَابٍ (١) عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فِي عَاجِلِ رِزْقِهِ وَخَزَائِنِ رَحْمَتِهِ " (٢) . وَرَوَى ابْنُ بَطَّةَ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِي يَعْلَى النَّاجِيِّ، حَدَّثَنَا الْعُتْبِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: خَطَبَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ يَوْمَ عَرَفَةَ يَوْمَ بُويِعَ لَهُ فَقَالَ (٣) : " الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي ابْتَلَانِي بِكُمْ، وَابْتَلَاكُمْ بِي، وَأَبْقَانِي فِيكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ صَاحِبِي، مَنْ كَانَ مِنْكُمْ شَاهِدًا بَاشَرْنَاهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ غَائِبًا وَلَيَّنَا أَمْرَهُ أَهْلَ الْقُوَّةِ عِنْدَنَا، فَإِنْ أَحْسَنَ زِدْنَاهُ، وَإِنْ أَسَاءَ لَمْ نُنَاظِرْهُ، أَيَّتُهَا الرَّعِيَّةُ إِنَّ لِلْوُلَاةِ عَلَيْكُمْ حَقًّا، وَإِنَّ لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ حَقًّا، وَاعْلَمُوا (٤) أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ حُلْمٌ (٥) أَحَبَّ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَأَعْظَمَ نَفْعًا مِنْ حِلْمِ (٦) إِمَامٍ وَعَدْلِهِ، وَلَيْسَ جَهْلٌ أَبْغَضَ إِلَى اللَّهِ - تَعَالَى - مِنْ جَهْلِ وَالٍ وَخَرْقِهِ، وَأَنَّهُ مَنْ يَأْخُذُ الْعَافِيَةَ مِمَّنْ تَحْتَ يَدِهِ يُعْطِهِ اللَّهُ الْعَافِيَةَ مِمَّنْ هُوَ فَوْقَهُ ". قُلْتُ: وَهُوَ مَعْرُوفٌ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الْأَحْنَفِ عَنْ عُمَرَ، قَالَ: الْوَالِي إِذَا طَلَبَ الْعَافِيَةَ مِمَّنْ هُوَ دُونَهُ أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ الْعَافِيَةَ مِمَّنْ هُوَ فَوْقَهُ. وَرُوِيَ مِنْ حَدِيثِ وَكِيعٍ، عَنِ الثَّوْرِيِّ، عَنْ حَبِيبِ بْنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ

(١) ح، ب: بِالثَّوَابِ. (٢) الرِّيَاضَ: فَمَا ظَنُّكَ بِثَوَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَعَاجِلِ رِزْقِهِ وَخَزَائِنِ رَحْمَتِهِ، وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ، أَخْبَارَ: فَمَا ظَنُّكَ بِثَوَابٍ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي عَاجِلِ رِزْقِهِ وَخَزَائِنِ رَحْمَتِهِ وَالسَّلَامُ، وَقَالَ الْمُحِبُّ الطَّبَرِيُّ فِي آخِرِ الرِّسَالَةِ: خَرَّجَهُ الدَّارَقُطْنِيُّ. (٣) ذَكَرَ بَعْضَ هَذِهِ الْخُطْبَةِ ابْنُ سَعْدٍ فِي الطَّبَقَاتِ ٣/٢٧٥ وَجَاءَ بَعْضُهَا فِي أَخْبَارِ عُمَرَ ص ٧٤، الرِّيَاضَ النَّضِرَةَ ٢/٨٨. (٤) وَاعْلَمُوا كَذَا فِي (ح) ، (ب) وَفِي سَائِرِ النُّسَخِ: وَاعْلَمْ. (٥) ح، ر، ي: حُكْمٌ. (٦) ح، ر، ي: حُكْمِ.