Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (1/328)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

They are told:

This is conceivable if (1) the receptacles came into being from something other than Him, as in the case of a ray proceeding from the sun and as they maintain regarding the Active Intellect. But if He is the agent that brings about both the receptacle and what is received, and both the condition and what depends upon it, and He is a complete, eternal cause of whatever proceeds from Him (2), then His entire effect must accompany Him, and nothing may lag behind Him. For it is impossible that He should become an agent after not having been one without bringing something into being; yet His bringing something into being (3) while being (4) a complete, eternal cause is impossible. It is likewise impossible for Him to be the cause of temporal events as a class while no act that subsists in Him comes into being.

Moreover, it is impossible for the world to proceed from two agents, whether they jointly produced all of it or one produced part of it and the other another part, as has been explained at length elsewhere (5). This is undisputed, for no rational person has maintained that the world proceeded from two beings equal in attributes and actions.

Nor has any rational person said, “The eternal foundations of the world proceeded from one, while its temporal events proceeded from another.” For the world is never devoid of temporal events (6), and it is impossible to produce that which has a necessary concomitant without its concomitant. If someone else were the agent that produced its necessary concomitants, neither agent’s act could be completed without the other. This would entail circular dependence between the two agents: each [one] (7) of the two lords would become a lord only through the other, become powerful only through the other, and become an agent only through the other. Thus, neither

(1) “If”: omitted from A and B. (2) N and M: “from it.” (3) The expression “and His bringing something into being” is omitted from A and B. (4) B alone: “despite the fact that His being.” (5) N and M: “as has been explained at length in its proper place.” (6) N and M: “is not devoid of temporal origination.” (7) “One”: an addition in A and B.

قِيلَ لَهُمْ: هَذَا يُعْقَلُ فِيمَا إِذَا (١) كَانَ حُدُوثُ الْقَوَابِلِ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ، كَمَا فِي حُدُوثِ الشُّعَاعِ عَنِ الشَّمْسِ، وَكَمَا يَقُولُونَهُ فِي الْعَقْلِ الْفَعَّالِ. وَأَمَّا إِذَا كَانَ هُوَ الْفَاعِلُ لِلْقَابِلِ وَالْمَقْبُولِ، وَالشَّرْطِ وَالْمَشْرُوطِ، وَهُوَ عِلَّةٌ تَامَّةٌ أَزَلِيَّةٌ لِمَا يَصْدُرُ عَنْهُ (٢) وَجَبَ مُقَارَنَةُ مَعْلُولِهِ كُلِّهِ لَهُ، وَلَمْ يَجُزْ أَنْ يَتَأَخَّرَ عَنْهُ شَيْءٌ، فَإِنَّهُ يُمْتَنَعُ أَنْ يَصِيرَ فَاعِلًا بَعْدَ أَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ غَيْرِ إِحْدَاثِهِ لِشَيْءٍ، وَإِحْدَاثُهُ لِشَيْءٍ (٣) مَعَ كَوْنِهِ (٤) عِلَّةً تَامَّةً أَزَلِيَّةً مُمْتَنَعٌ، وَكَوْنَهُ عِلَّةً لِنَوْعِ الْحَوَادِثِ مَعَ عَدَمِ حُدُوثِ فِعْلٍ يَقُومُ بِهِ مُمْتَنَعٌ. وَلِأَنَّ صُدُورَ الْعَالَمِ عَنْ فَاعِلَيْنِ مُمْتَنَعٌ، سَوَاءٌ كَانَا مُشْتَرِكَيْنِ فِي جَمِيعِهِ، أَوْ كَانَ هَذَا فَاعِلًا لِبَعْضِهِ وَهَذَا فَاعِلًا لِبَعْضِهِ، كَمَا قَدْ بُسِطَ فِي غَيْرِ هَذَا الْمَوْضِعِ (٥) وَهَذَا مِمَّا لَا نِزَاعَ فِيهِ، فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يُثْبِتْ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْعُقَلَاءِ أَنَّ الْعَالَمَ صَدَرَ عَنِ اثْنَيْنِ مُتَكَافِئَيْنِ فِي الصِّفَاتِ وَالْأَفْعَالِ، وَلَا قَالَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْعُقَلَاءِ: إِنَّ أُصُولَ الْعَالَمِ الْقَدِيمَةِ صَدَرَتْ عَنْ وَاحِدٍ، وَحَوَادِثَهُ صَدَرَتْ عَنْ آخَرَ، فَإِنَّ الْعَالَمَ لَا يَخْلُو مِنَ الْحَوَادِثِ (٦) ، وَفِعْلُ الْمَلْزُومِ بِدُونِ لَازِمِهِ مُمْتَنَعٌ، وَلَوْ كَانَ الْفَاعِلُ لِلَوَازِمِهِ غَيْرَهُ لَزِمَ أَنْ لَا يَتِمَّ فِعْلٌ وَاحِدٌ مِنْهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْآخَرِ، فَيَلْزَمُ الدَّوْرُ فِي الْفَاعِلَيْنِ، وَكَوْنُ كُلِّ [وَاحِدٍ] (٧) مِنَ الرَّبَّيْنِ لَا يَصِيرُ رَبًّا إِلَّا بِالْآخَرِ، وَلَا يَصِيرُ قَادِرًا إِلَّا بِالْآخَرِ، وَلَا يَصِيرُ فَاعِلًا إِلَّا بِالْآخَرِ، فَلَا

(١) إِذَا: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ا) ، (ب) . (٢) ن، م: عَنْهَا. (٣) عِبَارَةُ " وَإِحْدَاثُهُ لِشَيْءٍ ": سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ا) ، (ب) . (٤) ب (فَقَطْ) : مَعَ أَنَّ كَوْنَهُ. (٥) ن، م: كَمَا قَدْ بُسِطَ فِي مَوْضِعِهِ. (٦) ن، م: لَا يَخْلُو عَنِ الْحُدُوثِ. (٧) وَاحِدٍ: زِيَادَةٌ فِي (ا) ، (ب) .