Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (2/277)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

And if it were possible for Him to be an agent in pre-eternity (1 and if it were possible for Him not to be one, it would not be impossible for Him to be an agent in pre-eternity 1) (1), then it would be possible (2) for temporal events to arise in pre-eternity. (3)

[If it is said, “Rather, He is an agent with respect to things other than temporal events and then brings temporal events into being thereafter”—as is held by those who maintain (4) the pre-eternity of the intellects and souls, and that bodies arose from certain conceptions and volitions that arose in the soul (5), and by those who maintain the pre-eternity of the Five Eternals (6)—this would be among the most corrupt of doctrines. For it entails that temporal events arise without a new cause necessitating their arising, since there would be nothing to require the renewed production of temporal events. Moreover, maintaining the soul’s pre-eternity entails the perpetual arising of temporal events, for the conceptions and volitions that arise in the soul are, in their view, temporal events occurring perpetually. If temporal events are said to arise without a new cause (7), there would be no basis for establishing the pre-eternity of anything in the world. Those who maintained the perpetual existence of a determinate effect proceeding from Him committed themselves to perpetual agency in order to avoid this difficulty. If this is incumbent upon them on either supposition, they have no need for that which the great majority of rational people deem impossible.

(1) The text marked 1–1 is absent from (b) and (a). (2) (b) only: “was possible.” (3) The entire passage following the opening square bracket is absent from (n) and (m). It is also absent from (b) and (a), except for this single sentence: “In sum, the possibility of His being an agent entails the arising of temporal events in pre-eternity.” (4) The original manuscript (ʿ) reads: “as is held by those who hold it.” (5) They are the Peripatetic philosophers, such as al-Fārābī and Ibn Sīnā. See this book, 1/224–235. (6) They are the Harranian Sabians, Democritus, and Abū Bakr al-Rāzī. See this book, 1/209–211. (7) In the original manuscript (ʿ), a mark above the word “cause” refers to the margin, where one letter of a word is visible, although the rest did not appear in the photographic reproduction. The context clearly indicates that the word is “new.”

وَإِنْ جَازَ أَنْ يَكُونَ فَاعِلًا فِي الْأَزَلِ (١ وَجَازَ أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ لَمْ يَمْتَنِعْ أَنْ يَكُونَ فَاعِلًا فِي الْأَزَلِ ١) (١) ، فَجَازَ (٢) حُدُوثُ الْحَوَادِثِ فِي الْأَزَلِ. (٣) [وَإِنْ قِيلَ: بَلْ يَكُونُ فَاعِلًا لِغَيْرِ الْحَوَادِثِ ثُمَّ يُحْدِثُ الْحَوَادِثَ فِيمَا لَا يَزَالُ ; كَمَا يَقُولُهُ مَنْ يَقُولُ (٤) بِقِدَمِ الْعُقُولِ وَالنُّفُوسِ، وَأَنَّ الْأَجْسَامَ حَدَثَتْ عَنْ بَعْضِ مَا حَدَثَ لِلنَّفْسِ مِنَ التَّصَوُّرَاتِ وَالْإِرَادَاتِ (٥) ، وَكَمَا يَقُولُهُ مَنْ يَقُولُ بِقِدَمِ الْقُدَمَاءِ الْخَمْسَةِ (٦) ، كَانَ هَذَا مِنْ أَفْسَدِ الْأَقْوَالِ ; لِأَنَّهُ يَسْتَلْزِمُ حُدُوثَ الْحَوَادِثِ بِلَا سَبَبٍ حَادِثٍ أَوْجَبَ حُدُوثَهَا إِذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ هُنَاكَ مَا يَقْتَضِي تَجَدُّدَ إِحْدَاثِ الْحَوَادِثِ، مَعَ أَنَّ قَوْلَ الْقَائِلِ بِقِدَمِ النَّفْسِ يَقْتَضِي دَوَامَ حُدُوثِ الْحَوَادِثِ، فَإِنَّ مَا يَحْدُثُ مِنْ تَصَوُّرَاتِ النَّفْسِ وَإِرَادَاتِهَا حَوَادِثُ دَائِمَةٌ عِنْدَهُمْ، وَإِذَا كَانَ الْقَوْلُ بِحُدُوثِ الْحَوَادِثِ بِلَا سَبَبٍ حَادِثٍ (٧) ، لَمْ يَكُنْ هُنَاكَ سَبَبٌ يَدُلُّ عَلَى قِدَمِ شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْعَالَمِ، وَالَّذِينَ قَالُوا بِدَوَامٍ مَعْلُولٍ مُعَيَّنٍ عَنْهُ الْتَزَمُوا دَوَامَ الْفَاعِلِيَّةِ فِرَارًا مِنْ هَذَا الْمَحْذُورِ، فَإِذَا كَانَ هَذَا لَازِمًا لَهُمْ عَلَى التَّقْدِيرَيْنِ، لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ حَاجَةٌ إِلَى ذَلِكَ الْمُمْتَنِعِ عِنْدَ جَمَاهِيرِ الْعُقَلَاءِ.

(١) : (١ - ١) سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (ب) ، (أ) . (٢) ب (فَقَطْ) : جَازَ. (٣) الْكَلَامُ التَّالِي بَعْدَ الْقَوْسِ الْمَعْقُوفِ سَاقِطٌ بِأَكْمَلِهِ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . وَسَاقِطٌ مِنْ (ب) ، (أ) مَا عَدَا جُمْلَةً وَاحِدَةً مِنْهُ هِيَ: " فَفِي الْجُمْلَةِ جَوَازُ كَوْنِهِ فَاعِلًا يَسْتَلْزِمُ حُدُوثَ الْحَوَادِثِ فِي الْأَزَلِ ". (٤) فِي الْأَصْلِ (ع) : يَقُولُهُ مَنْ يَقُولُهُ. (٥) وَهُمُ الْفَلَاسِفَةُ الْمَشَّاءُونَ مِثْلُ الْفَارَابِيِّ وَابْنِ سِينَا. وَانْظُرْ هَذَا الْكِتَابَ ١/٢٢٤ - ٢٣٥. (٦) وَهُمُ الصَّائِبَةُ الْحَرَّانِيُّونَ وَدِيمُوقْرَيْطِسْ وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ الرَّازِيُّ. وَانْظُرْ هَذَا الْكِتَابَ ١/٢٠٩ - ٢١١. (٧) فِي الْأَصْلِ (ع) تُوجَدُ فَوْقَ كَلِمَةِ " سَبَبٍ " إِشَارَةٌ إِلَى الْهَامِشِ حَيْثُ يُوجَدُ حَرْفٌ مِنْ كَلِمَةٍ لَمْ تَظْهَرْ فِي الْمُصَوَّرَةِ، وَظَاهِرٌ مِنْ سِيَاقِ الْكَلَامِ أَنَّ هَذِهِ هِيَ الْكَلِمَةُ " حَادِثٌ ".