Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (1/85)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

during his lifetime with [manifest](1), prevailing obedience until he had supporters who would fight to ensure obedience to his command.

The whole of religion consists in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and obedience to Allah and His Messenger constitutes the whole of religion. Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah. After his death, the religion of the Muslims consists in obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Their obedience to the ruler in matters in which they have been commanded to obey him is itself obedience to Allah and His Messenger. The ruler’s issuing of the commands that Allah has commanded him to issue to them, together with his apportionment and judgment, constitutes obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Thus, all the deeds of the imams and the Muslim community—during the Messenger’s lifetime and after his death—that Allah loves and approves are acts of obedience to Allah and His Messenger. This is why the foundation of the religion is the testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that(2) Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

If it is said:

“He was an imam,” and what is meant is an imamate distinct from messengership, an imamate requiring conditions that messengership does not require, or an imamate(3) in which obedience to him is considered independently of obedience(4) (* to the Messenger—then all of this is false. For(5) every basis upon which he is obeyed falls within his messengership, and in every matter in which he is obeyed, he is obeyed because he is the Messenger of Allah. Even if it were hypothetically assumed that he was merely an imam, he would not be obeyed unless obedience to him *) (6) fell within obedience to another messenger. Obedience is due only to Allah and His Messenger, and to those whom the messengers commanded people to obey.

If it is said:

“He was obeyed by virtue of his imamate, as an obedience falling within his messengership,” this makes no difference. His messengership alone is sufficient to make obedience to him obligatory, unlike an imam, for he only becomes—

(1) “Manifest” is omitted from N and M. (2) A and B read: “and the testimony that.” (3) N and M read: “and an imamate.” 11 (4) N and M read: “obedience to it is considered independently of obedience to.” (5) A and N read: “for indeed, in his case.” (6) The text between the two asterisks is omitted from M.

فِي حَيَاتِهِ طَاعَةً [ظَاهِرَةً] (١) غَالِبَةً حَتَّى صَارَ مَعَهُ مَنْ يُقَاتِلُ عَلَى طَاعَةِ أَمْرِهِ. فَالدِّينُ كُلُّهُ طَاعَةٌ لِلَّهِ، وَرَسُولِهِ، وَطَاعَةُ اللَّهِ، وَرَسُولِهِ هِيَ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ، فَمَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ، فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ، وَدِينُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ طَاعَةُ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَطَاعَتُهُمْ لِوَلِيِّ الْأَمْرِ فِيمَا أُمِرُوا بِطَاعَتِهِ فِيهِ هُوَ طَاعَةٌ لِلَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَأَمْرُ وَلِيِّ الْأَمْرِ الَّذِي أَمَرَهُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَأْمُرَهُمْ بِهِ، وَقَسْمُهُ وَحُكْمُهُ هُوَ طَاعَةٌ لِلَّهِ، وَرَسُولِهِ، فَأَعْمَالُ الْأَئِمَّةِ، وَالْأُمَّةِ فِي حَيَاتِهِ، وَمَمَاتِهِ الَّتِي يُحِبُّهَا اللَّهُ، وَيَرْضَاهَا كُلُّهَا طَاعَةٌ لِلَّهِ، وَرَسُولِهِ، وَلِهَذَا كَانَ أَصْلُ الدِّينِ شَهَادَةَ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَنَّ (٢) مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. فَإِذَا قِيلَ: هُوَ كَانَ إِمَامًا، وَأُرِيدَ بِذَلِكَ إِمَامَةٌ خَارِجَةٌ عَنِ الرِّسَالَةِ، أَوْ إِمَامَةٌ يُشْتَرَطُ فِيهَا مَا لَا يُشْتَرَطُ فِي الرِّسَالَةِ، أَوْ إِمَامَةٌ (٣) تُعْتَبَرُ فِيهَا طَاعَتُهُ بِدُونِ طَاعَةٍ (٤) (* الرَّسُولِ، فَهَذَا كُلُّهُ بَاطِلٌ، فَإِنَّ (٥) كُلَّ مَا يُطَاعُ بِهِ دَاخِلٌ فِي رِسَالَتِهِ، وَهُوَ فِي كُلِّ مَا يُطَاعُ فِيهِ يُطَاعُ بِأَنَّهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَلَوْ قُدِّرَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِمَامًا مُجَرَّدًا لَمْ يُطَعْ حَتَّى تَكُونَ طَاعَتُهُ *) (٦) دَاخِلَةً فِي طَاعَةِ رَسُولٍ آخَرَ، فَالطَّاعَةُ إِنَّمَا تَجِبُ لِلَّهِ، وَرَسُولِهِ، وَلِمَنْ أُمِرَتِ الرُّسُلُ بِطَاعَتِهِمْ. فَإِنْ قِيلَ: أُطِيعُ بِإِمَامَتِهِ طَاعَةً دَاخِلَةً فِي رِسَالَتِهِ كَانَ هَذَا عَدِيمَ التَّأْثِيرِ، فَإِنَّ مُجَرَّدَ رِسَالَتِهِ كَافِيَةٌ فِي وُجُوبِ طَاعَتِهِ بِخِلَافِ الْإِمَامِ، فَإِنَّهُ إِنَّمَا يَصِيرُ

(١) ظَاهِرَةً: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . (٢) أ، ب: وَشَهَادَةَ أَنَّ. (٣) ن، م: وَإِمَامَةٌ. ١١ (٤) ن، م: تُعْتَبَرُ طَاعَتُهَا بِدُونِ طَاعَةِ. (٥) أ، ن: فَإِنَّهُ. (٦) مَا بَيْنَ النَّجْمَتَيْنِ سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (م) .