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فَصُّ حِكْمَةٍ نَبَوِيَّةٍ فِي كَلِمَةٍ عِيسَوِيَّةٍ

←→Read ¶10 in the text

10 · 78 words · shading: how many commentators stop on each word

فَأَدَّىٰ بَعْضُهُمْ فِيهِ إِلَىٰ القَوْلِ بِالحُلُولِ وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ اللهُ بِمَا أَحْيَا بِهِ مِنَ المَوْتَىٰ وَلِذَلِكَ نُسِبُوا إِلَىٰ الكُفْرِ وَهُوَ السَّتْرِ لِأَنَّهُمْ سَتَرُوا اللهَ الَّذِي أَحْيَا المَوْتَىٰ بِصُورَةِ بَشَرَةِ عِيسَىٰ فَقَالَ تَعَالَىٰ لَّقَدْ كَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْمَسِيحُ ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ فَجَمَعُوا بَيْنَ الخَطَإِ وَالكُفْرِ فِي تَمَامِ الكَلَامِ كُلِّهِ لِأَنَّهُ لَا بِقَوْلِهِمْ هُوَ اللهُ وَلَا بِقَوْلِهِمْ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ فَعَدَلُوا بِالتَّضْمِينِ مِنَ اللهِ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَحْيَا المَوْتَىٰ إِلَىٰ الصُّورَةِ النَّاسُوتِيَّةِ البَشَرِيَّةِ بِقَوْلِهِمْ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَهُوَ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ بِلَا شَكٍّ

This led some of them, concerning him, to the doctrine of indwelling (ḥulūl), and to [saying] that he is God, by virtue of the dead he brought to life. For this reason they were charged with unbelief (kufr), which is covering, because they covered God, who brought the dead to life, with the human form of Jesus. So He, exalted is He, said: "They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'God is the Messiah, son of Mary'" [Q 5:17]. Thus they combined error and unbelief in the complete statement taken as a whole, for [their unbelief lies] neither in their saying 'He is God' [alone] nor in their saying 'son of Mary' [alone]. By enclosing [Him] (bi-l-taḍmīn: placing God within the form) they turned aside from God, insofar as He gave life to the dead, to the human form of nāsūt (humanity) by their saying 'son of Mary', and he is the son of Mary without doubt.

On the whole passage · 3 of 5

al-Qāshānī

﴿فعدلوا بالتضمين من الله من حيث أنه أحيا الموتى إلى الصورة الناسوتية البشرية بقولهم ابن مريم وهو ابن مريم بلا شك ، فتخيل السامع أنهم نسبوا الألوهية للصورة وجعلوها عين الصورة ، وما فعلوا بل جعلوا الهوية ابتداء في صورة بشرية هي ابن مريم ، ففصلوا بين الصورة والحكم لأنهم جعلوا الصورة عين الحكم﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

أي فعدلوا إلى الصورة الناسوتية البشرية من الله من جهة أنه أحيا الموتى بالتضمين : أي بأن جعلوه تعالى في ضمن الصورة الناسوتية وذلك عين الحلول بقولهم : أي فعدلوا بقولهم ابن مريم وهو كما قالوا ابن مريم ، لكن السامع تخيل أنهم نسبوا الألوهية إلى الصورة وجعلوها عين الصورة ، وهم لم يفعلوا ذلك بل حصروا الهوية الإلهية ابتداء في صورة بشرية هي ابن مريم ، ففصلوا بين الصورة المسيحية والحكم عليها بالإلهية بهو الذي الفصل ، فأفاد كلامهم الحصر لا أنهم جعلوا صورة المسيح عين الحكم عليها بالإلهية ، والظاهر أن الشيخ استعمل الحكم بمعنى المحكوم عليه ليطابق تفسيره الآية . فإن الله في الآية محكوم عليه والمسيح هو المحكوم به . وقد يستعمل الحكم كثيرا بمعنى المحكوم به فلا حرج أن يستعمل بمعنى المحكوم عليه للملابسة ، وأراد أنهم أرادوا حلول الحق في صورة عيسى فأخطئوا في العبارة المتوهمة للحصر فهم السامع أنهم يقولون إن الله هو صورة عيسى ، وهم يقولون بالفصل أي بالفرق ، وهو أن الله في صورة عيسى ، فمعناه حل الحق في عيسى ابن مريم فالحكم على هذا حلول الله . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

identity, from the outset, [confined] within a human form that is the son of Mary. Thus they separated between the form and the judgment (ḥukm), for they made the form identical with the judgment] — that is, they turned to the human natural form away from God, insofar as He gives life to the dead, by way of implication (taḍmīn): that is, by placing Him, exalted, within the human natural form, which is itself identical with indwelling (ḥulūl), through their saying — that is, they turned by their saying "son of Mary," and indeed, as they said, he is the son of Mary. But the hearer imagined that they ascribed divinity to the form and made it identical with the form, whereas they did not do that; rather, they confined the divine identity from the outset within a human form that is the son of Mary. Thus they separated between the Messianic form and the judgment of divinity upon it, by means of "He who" — the separating particle — so their statement conveyed confinement, not that they made the form of the Messiah identical with the judgment of divinity upon it. It appears that the Shaykh used "judgment" (ḥukm) in the sense of "that which is judged upon" (al-maḥkūm ʿalayhi), to match his interpretation of the verse. For "God" in the verse is that which is judged upon, while "the Messiah" is that which is judged by. "Judgment" is often used in the sense of "that which is judged by," so there is no harm in using it in the sense of "that which is judged upon" by contextual association. He means that they intended the indwelling of the Real in the form of Jesus, but erred in an expression that gave the impression of confinement, so the hearer understood them to be saying that God is identical with the form of Jesus, whereas what they meant was separation — that is, distinction — namely, that God is within the form of Jesus. Its meaning, then, is that the Real indwelt (ḥalla) in Jesus son of Mary; so the judgment here, according to this, is the indwelling of God. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

al-Jandī

﴿فعدلوا بالتضمين من الله من حيث أحيا الموتى إلى الصورة الناسوتيّة البشرية بقولهم : ابن مريم وهو ابن مريم بلا شكّ ، فتخيّل السامع أنّهم نسبوا الإلهية للصورة وجعلوها عين الصورة وما فعلوا ، بل جعلوا الهوية الإلهية ابتداء في صورة بشرية هي ابن مريم ، ففصلوا بين الصورة والحكم ، لا أنّهم جعلوا الصورة عين الحكم﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

يعني رضي الله عنه : أنّهم قالوا

, not that they made the form identical with the ruling] meaning, may God be pleased with him: that they said:

Jāmī

﴿فأدى بعضهم فيه إلى القول بالحلول، و أنه هو الله بما أحيا به من الموتى، و لذلك نسبوا إلى الكفر و هو الستر لأنهم ستروا الله الذي أحيا الموتى بصورة بشرية عيسى. فقال تعالى «لقد كفر الذين قالوا إن الله هو المسيح ابن مريم» فجمعوا بين الخطأ والكفر في تمام الكلام كله لأنه لا بقولهم هو الله، ولا بقولهم ابن مريم﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

الإحياء ههنا ( فأدى ) النظر

the human form of Jesus. So the Almighty said: 'They have indeed disbelieved who say that God is the Messiah son of Mary' (5:17), thereby combining error and unbelief in the totality of the statement as a whole, for it is not by their saying 'he is God,' nor by their saying 'son of Mary' [alone]] the giving-life here (was led thereby) the reflection

al-Jandī

﴿فأدّى بعضهم فيه﴾

أي عند إحيائه الموتى

i.e., at his giving life to the dead.

Ibn Turka

﴿فأدّى بعضهم فيه … إلى القول بالحلول﴾

لما هم عليه أبدا في أصل ذوقهم ومشربهم من ثنويّة العلَّة والمعلول ، فإنّهم ما خلعوا قطَّ نعلي تعدّد المتقابلين ، مع توجّههم وقصدهم على مطايا النيّات بلوغ طوى التنزيه المقدّس عن التثنّي والتغاير . ولذلك ذهبوا إلى القول بالحالّ والمحل

because of what they are perpetually upon in the root of their taste and school, namely the dualism of cause and effect, for they never cast off the two sandals of the multiplicity of the two correlatives, despite their orientation and intent, upon the mounts of their intentions, to attain the sanctified declaration of incomparability (tanzīh) that transcends duality and otherness. And that is why they went to the assertion of the indweller and the locus [of indwelling]

Jāmī

﴿بعضهم فيه﴾

اي في الشخص البشري المحيي للموتى

i.e., regarding the human individual who gives life to the dead

Bālī Zāde

﴿بعضهم فيه﴾

أي في حق عيسى عليه السلام

i.e., concerning Jesus, peace be upon him

al-Jandī

﴿إلى القول بالحلول﴾

يعني نسبوا الإحياء إلى الله حال حلوله في صورة عيسى

that is, they attributed the giving of life to God in the state of His indwelling in the form of Jesus.

Jāmī

﴿إلى القول بالحلول﴾

أي حلول اللّه في صورته البشرية ( وأنه ) ، أي وإلى القول بأنه

i.e., the indwelling of God in his human form, (and that) i.e., and to the saying that he

Bālī Zāde

﴿إلى القول بالحلول﴾

يعني قال بعضهم من النصارى أن اللّه تعالى حل عيسى عليه السلام فأحيا الموتى ( وأنه ) أي وبعد قولهم بالحلول قال ذلك البعض أن عيسى

meaning some of the Christians said that God Most High indwelt Jesus, peace be upon him, and thereby gave life to the dead (and that he), i.e., and after their assertion of indwelling, that group said that Jesus

al-Jandī

﴿وأنّه هو الله بما أحيا به الموتى ، ولذلك نسبوا إلى الكفر وهو الستر ، لأنّهم ستروا الله الذي أحيا الموتى بصورة بشرية عيسى ، فقال : "لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قالُوا إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ " فجمعوا بين الخطأ والكفر في تمام الكلام﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

بعد قولهم : إنّ الله هو . وقال

after their saying "God is He." And he said:

Ibn Turka

﴿وأنّه هو الله بما أحي الموتى ، ولذلك نسبوا إلى الكفر - وهو الستر - لأنّهم ستروا الله الذي أحيا الموتى بصورة بشريّة عيسى … لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قالُوا إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

[ 5 / 17 ]. قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

[5/17]. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

Jāmī

﴿هو اللّه سبحانه بما أحيا به من الموتى﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

يعني الحكم بإلهيته إنما هو باعتبار ما حل فيه لا باعتبار صورته . ( ولذلك ) القول بالحلول بأنه هو اللّه من حيث ما حل فيه

meaning that the judgment of his divinity is only by consideration of what indwelt in him, not by consideration of his form. (For that reason) the saying of indwelling, that he is God from the standpoint of what indwelt in him

Bālī Zāde

﴿هو اللّه بما﴾

أي بسبب الذي ( أحيا به الموتى ) وهو قوله : قمبِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ( ولذلك ) أي ولأجل أن بعضهم قالوا إن اللّه حل في صورة عيسى عليه السلام وأن عيسى عليه السلام هو اللّه

i.e., by reason of that by which (he gave life to the dead), which is His saying, "by God's leave" (and for that reason), i.e., because some of them said that God indwelt the form of Jesus, peace be upon him, and that Jesus, peace be upon him, is God

Jāmī

﴿نسبوا إلى الكفر﴾

والكفر مطلقا ( هو الستر ) والمذموم منه ستر الحق بالباطل ، وإنما صار قوله بالحلول سببا لنسبتهم إلى الكفر ( لأنهم ) لما ذهبوا إلى القول بالحلول

and unbelief absolutely (is concealment [satr]), and the blameworthy aspect of it is concealing the truth with falsehood. The saying of indwelling became a cause for their being attributed to unbelief (because) when they went to the saying of indwelling

Bālī Zāde

﴿نسبوا إلى الكفر وهو الستر لأنهم ستروا اللّه الذي أحيا الموتى﴾

قوله ( بصورة بشرية ) تنازع فيه ستروا وأحيا فأيهما عمل حذف مفعول الآخر ( عيسى ) عليه السلام بيان لصورة بشرية

His saying ("in a human form") involves a grammatical competition between "concealed" and "gave life," and whichever one operates, the object of the other is elided (Jesus), peace be upon him, being an explanation of "human form"

Jāmī

﴿ستروا اللّه الذي أحيا الموتى﴾

أي حكموا باستتاره . ( بصورة بشرية عيسى ) ، لأن الحال لا محالة مستتر بما حل فيه ولذلك كفرهم اللّه سبحانه

i.e., they judged Him to be concealed/hidden (by the human form of Jesus), for that which indwells is inevitably concealed by that in which it indwells, and for that reason God, exalted is He, declared them unbelievers

Jāmī

﴿فقال :لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَفجمعوا بين الخطأ والكفر في تمام الكلام كله﴾

لا في أجزائه . وإنما قلنا : الجمع بين الخطأ والكفر في تمام الكلام لا في أجزائه لأنه ، أي الجمع بينهم ( لا ) يتحقق ( بقولهم ) المسيح

not in its parts. And we said 'the combination of error and unbelief is in the totality of the statement, not in its parts,' because the combination between them is (not) realized (by their saying) 'the Messiah'

Bālī Zāde

﴿فقال تعالى :لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ *فجمعوا بين الخطأ﴾

وهو حصر الحق في الصورة العيسوية ( والكفر ) وهو ستر الحق فيهما

which is confining the Real to the Jesus-form (and disbelief), which is concealing the Real within it

al-Qāshānī

﴿" لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قالُوا إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ " - فجمعوا بين الخطأ والكفر في تمام الكلام كله لا بقولهم هو الله ولا بقولهم ابن مريم﴾

أي فأدى النظر الفكري إلى بقاء الناظر حائرا فأدى بعضهم في حق عيسى إلى القول بالحلول ، وأنه هو الله في صورة المسيح من حيث أحيا المسيح به الموتى ، فنسبوا في ذلك إلى الكفر لأنهم ستروا الله بصورة بشرة عيسى ، حيث توهموا أنه فيها فكفرهم الله تعالى بقوله –

by their saying "He is God" nor by their saying "[He is] son of Mary"] - that is: reflective consideration led the observer to remain in bewilderment, so it led some of them, regarding Jesus, to the assertion of indwelling (al-ḥulūl), namely that he is God in the form of the Messiah, insofar as the Messiah gave life to the dead through Him; so they were attributed [the charge of] unbelief in that, because they concealed God within the human form of Jesus, when they imagined that He was within it. So God, exalted, declared them unbelievers by His saying -

﴿لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قالُوا إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾

- لأنهم بين الخطأ والكفر في تمام الكلام لا في أجزائه لأنهم لم يكفروا بحمل هو على الله لأن الله هو . ولا بحمل الله عليه فيقولوا هو الله لأنه الله ، ولا بقولهم ابن مريم لأنه ابن مريم بل بحصر الحق في هوية المسيح ابن مريم وتوهمهم حلوله فيه ، والله ليس بمحصور في شيء بل هو المسيح وهو العالم كله ، فجمعوا بين الخطأ بالحصر وبين ستر الحق بصورة بشرة عيسى . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

- because they fall between error and disbelief in the totality of the statement, not in its parts. For they did not disbelieve by predicating "He" of God, since God is "He"; nor by predicating "God" of him, saying "He is God," since He is God; nor by their saying "son of Mary," since he is the son of Mary. Rather, [they disbelieved] by confining the Real to the identity (huwiyya) of the Messiah son of Mary and imagining His indwelling (ḥulūl) in him. God is not confined to anything; rather He is the Messiah and He is the entire world. Thus they combined error through confinement with concealment of the Real in the form of the human nature of Jesus. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

Bālī Zāde

﴿لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قالُوا إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾

يعنى قال بعضهم من النصارى : إن الله حل في عيسى فأحيا الموتى ، وبعضهم قال : إنه هو الله بما أحيا اهـ . بالى قوله ( بصورة بشرية ) تنازع فيه ستروا وأحيا فأيهما عمل حذف المفعول الآخر اه ( فجمعوا بين الخطأ ) وهو حصر الحق في الصورة العيسوية . ( والكفر ) وهو ستر الحق فيها ( في تمام الكلام كله ) فكفروا بقولهم هذا بالكفر الشرعي ( لا بقولهم هو الله ) لأنه هو الله من حيث تعينه بالصورة العيسوية وإحياؤه الموتى ، وليس الله هو من حيث تعينه بصورة أخرى ( ولا بقولهم ابن مريم )

meaning some of the Christians said that God indwelt Jesus and thereby gave life to the dead, while others said that he himself is God by virtue of what he gave life to—end. By his word ("in a human form") there is a grammatical competition between "concealed" and "gave life," and whichever one operates, the object of the other is elided—end (thus they combined error), which is confining the Real to the Jesus-form, (and disbelief), which is concealing the Real within it (in the whole completed statement), for they disbelieved by this statement of theirs with legal disbelief, (not by their saying "he is God"), for he is God insofar as his entification is in the Jesus-form and his giving life to the dead, but God is not, insofar as His entification, confined to another form (nor by their saying "son of Mary")

Bālī Zāde's gloss, printed inside al-Qāshānī's commentary in the ibnalarabi.com text (line 8171); moved here

al-Qāshānī

﴿إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾

فكفروا - أي ستروا وغابوا عن الحق المتعين فيهم وفي الكل من غير حصر ، وذلك الحجاب والستر كان غيبا. ( فذكرهم الله النبي قبل حضورهم ) الحق المتجلى في الفرقان يوم الجمع والفصل

- so they disbelieved - that is, they veiled [themselves] and were absent from the Real entified in them and in the whole without confinement, and that veil and covering was [itself] an absence (ghayb). (So God mentioned them to the Prophet before their presence) - [i.e.] the Real self-disclosed in the differentiation (furqān) on the Day of Gathering and Separation (yawm al-jamʿ wa-l-faṣl)

al-Jandī

﴿إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾

غلطا من جهة القائل المنحرف . فلو قالوا : هو الله ، لم يكن غلطا ، فإنّ هوية الصورة العيسوية المسيحية الروحية لله ، كما أنّه هوية الإنيّات كلَّها بلا حصر في شيء منها ، ولكنّهم ادّعوا الحصر ، فكفروا وجهلوا وغلطوا ، فافهم ، فإنّه بحث شريف لطيف عال غال ، حقّقنا الله وإيّاك بتحقّقه وتحقيقه بحسن توفيقه ، إنّه على ما يشاء قدير . قال رضي الله عنه

- an error on the part of the deviant speaker. But had they said: "He is God," it would not have been an error, for the identity (huwiyya) of the Jesus-Messianic spiritual form is God's, just as He is the identity of all the I-nesses (al-inniyyāt) without being confined to any one of them. But they claimed exclusive confinement, and so they disbelieved, were ignorant, and erred. So understand, for this is a noble, subtle, lofty, precious discussion - may God grant us and you realization (taḥqīq) of it and verification of it through His excellent assistance; indeed He is Powerful over what He wills. He, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾

ففصلوا بين الصورة المسيحية المريمية وبين الله بالهوية . ولم يقولوا : الله المسيح بن مريم ، فتخيّل السامع أنّهم نسبوا الألوهية القائمة بذات الله إلى الصورة المسيحية وما فعلوا ذلك ، بل فصلوا بالهوية بين الصورة العيسوية وبين الحكم بحمل اللاهوت على الهوية ، فاقتضت حصر الإلهية في عيسى بن مريم . قال رضي الله عنه : « بل جعلوا الهوية الإلهية ابتداء في صورة بشرية هي ابن مريم » . أي جعلوا الله بهويته موضوعا ، وحملوا الصورة عليه فحدّدوا الهوية الإلهية وجعلوها محصورة في صورة الناسوت المعيّنة وهي غير محصورة ، بل له هوية الكلّ ، فجمعوا بين الكفر بأنّ الله هو هذا . فستروا الهوية الإلهية في عيسى ، وبين الخطأ بأنّه ليس إلَّا فيه - أي هي هي هو لا غير ، وقد كان هو عين الكلّ - ولا في البعض ، بل مطلقا في ذاته عن كل قيد وإطلاق ، كما عرفت . قال رضي الله عنه : « كما كان جبرئيل في صورة البشر ولا نفخ ، ثم نفخ ، ففصل بين الصورة والنفخ ، وكان النفخ من الصورة ، فقد كانت الصورة ولا نفخ ، فما هو النفخ من حدّها الذاتي ». يشير رضي الله عنه : إلى أنّ هذا الاختلاف كما كان بين حقيقة الصورة البشرية ، لكون الصورة متحقّقة بلا وجود النفخ ، وليس النفخ من ذاتيات الصورة البشرية ، فكذلك كانت الهوية الإلهية موجودة متحقّقة بلا صورة عيسوية . وكانت الصورة العيسوية أيضا، قبل ظهور الإحياء الإلهية المنسوبة إليه، من حيث ذاك الإحياء ، فليست هذه الصورة من حدّ الألوهية ، ولا الألوهية وهويّته من حدّها ، فكذلك ولذلك وقع الاختلاف بالفصل في هذه الصورة . قال رضي الله عنه : « فوقع الخلاف بين أهل الملل في عيسى ما هو ؟ فمن ناظر فيه من حيث صورته البشرية ، فيقول : هو ابن مريم . ومن ناظر فيه من حيث الصورة المتمثّلة البشرية ، فينسبه لجبرئيل . ومن ناظر فيه من حيث ما ظهر عنه من إحياء الموتى ، فينسبه إلى الله بالروحية » . يعني رضي الله عنه : يقول من حيث إنّه أحيا الموتى : هو روح الله ، أو كلمة الله ، أو هو الله ، أو هو ابن الله على الخلاف المشهور بين المسيحيّين ، وأنّه ابن مريم من حيث الصورة الناسوتية ، ومنهم من ينسبه إلى الروح الأمين من كونه نافخا له في الصورة البشرية . قال رضي الله عنه

They thus distinguished, by identity (huwiyya), between the Christic Marian form and God. They did not say: "God, the Messiah son of Mary," lest the hearer imagine that they ascribed the divinity subsisting in the Essence of God to the Christic form—which they did not do. Rather, they distinguished by identity between the Jesusine form and the judgment of predicating divinity (lāhūt) of the identity, which would have required confining divinity to Jesus son of Mary. He (may God be pleased with him) said: "Rather, they made the Divine Identity, at the outset, [identical with] a human form, namely the son of Mary." That is, they made God, by His identity, the subject, and predicated the form of Him, thereby delimiting the Divine Identity and confining it to the specified form of humanity (nāsūt), whereas it is not confined—rather, He has the identity of the Whole. Thus they combined disbelief, in holding that God is this [particular being]—for they concealed the Divine Identity within Jesus—with error, in holding that He is not except in him—i.e., that it [the identity] is him and nothing else, whereas He is indeed the very identity of the Whole—and not in the part either, but rather absolute in His Essence, beyond every restriction and absoluteness, as you have come to know. He (may God be pleased with him) said: "Just as Gabriel was in human form without the breathing [having occurred], then he breathed—thus distinguishing between the form and the breathing, the breathing being [something that occurred] from the form; for the form existed without breathing, so breathing is not of its essential definition." He (may God be pleased with him) points to the fact that just as this distinction held between the reality of the human form—the form being realized without the occurrence of breathing, breathing not being among the essential constituents of the human form—so too the Divine Identity existed, realized, without the Jesusine form. And the Jesusine form, too, existed prior to the appearance of the divine quickening ascribed to it, in respect of that quickening; so this form is not of the定义 of divinity, nor is divinity and its identity of its definition. Thus, and for this reason, the disagreement occurred through this distinction in this form. He (may God be pleased with him) said: "Disagreement thus arose among the people of the [various] religions concerning Jesus—what is he? Whoever considers him in respect of his human form says: he is the son of Mary. Whoever considers him in respect of the imaginal human form [in which Gabriel appeared] ascribes him to Gabriel. And whoever considers him in respect of what appeared from him of the quickening of the dead ascribes him to God by spirituality (rūḥāniyya)." He (may God be pleased with him) means: in respect of his quickening the dead, one says: he is the Spirit of God, or the Word of God, or he is God, or he is the son of God—according to the well-known disagreement among Christians—and that he is the son of Mary in respect of the human (nāsūtī) form; and some of them ascribe him to the Faithful Spirit (Gabriel) insofar as he breathed into him in the human form. He (may God be pleased with him) said

﴿ولا بقولهم : المسيح ابن مريم﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

بل بما حصروا الله في هوية عيسى بن مريم ، ولم يكفروا بقولهم : إنّ الله هو حملا لهوية عيسى على الله ، إذ هوية عيسى مع هوية العالم كلَّه هو الله المتجلَّي بوجوده الحق في جميع العالم أبدا ، كما مرّ ، ولكن كفروا بوصفهم هوية الله في صورة ابن مريم على التعيين. قال رضي الله عنه

— rather by their confining God to the identity (huwiyya) of Jesus son of Mary. They did not disbelieve by their saying "God is He" through predicating the identity of Jesus of God, since the identity of Jesus, together with the identity of the whole world, is God self-disclosed (al-mutajallī) by His true existence in the whole world forever, as was mentioned before; but they disbelieved by their describing the identity of God as confined specifically (ʿalā al-taʿyīn) to the form of the son of Mary. He, may God be pleased with him, said:

Ibn Turka

﴿إِنَّ الله هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾

بحمل هو هو . وذلك إنما يقتضي الاتّحاد بين المحكوم عليه وبه ، لا تضمينه له

by predication of identity (ḥaml huwa huwa). And that necessarily implies union between the subject and the predicate, not the implication of the one within the other

Bālī Zāde

﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ﴾

ظاهر بين . وأما كفرهم فلا يدل ظاهر الآية عليه لأن ظاهر قولهم

is manifestly clear. As for their disbelief, the apparent sense of the verse does not indicate it, for the apparent sense of their statement

﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ﴾

لا يدل على العينية والكفر هو الستر والستر يقتضي المغايرة فلما نسبهم الحق في قولهم هذا إلى الكفر ارتفع تخيل السامع فظهر الحق بما قلناه من أنهم فصلوا بين الصورة والحكم ابتداء. ولو أنهم لم يفعلوا ما قلناه لم ينسبوا إلى الكفر ولم يقل الحق في حقهملَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ *[ المائدة : 17 ] الآية فكانت الهوية ولا عيسى عليه السلام ثم وجد لتحققها بدونه ( كما كان جبرائيل ) متمثلا

does not indicate identity, while disbelief is concealment, and concealment requires otherness. So when the Real attributed them, in this statement of theirs, to disbelief, the hearer's imagining was dispelled, and the truth became manifest as we have stated: that they separated, from the outset, between the form and the judgment. Had they not done what we have described, they would not have been attributed to disbelief, and the Real would not have said concerning them, "They have indeed disbelieved who say that God is..." [al-Māʾidah: 17], the verse. Thus the identity existed without Jesus, peace be upon him, then came to be, for its realization does not depend on him (just as Gabriel) was, in manifested form

Ibn Turka

﴿فجمعوا بين الخطأ والكفر في تمام الكلام كلَّه ، لأنّه﴾

- أي الكفر المنصوص عليه في الآية -

- i.e., the unbelief specified in the verse -

Words 46–49 · 1 of 5

فِي تَمَامِ الكَلَامِ كُلِّهِ

Only Bālī Zāde comments here.

Bālī Zāde

﴿في تمام الكلام كله﴾

فكفروا بقولهم هذا بالكفر الشرعي

for they disbelieved by this statement of theirs with legal disbelief

al-Jandī

﴿لا بقولهم هو الله﴾

يعني : لم يكفروا بقولهم : إن الله هو ، فإنّ الله هو لنفسه هو

— meaning: they did not disbelieve by their saying "God is He," for God is, for Himself, He.

Ibn Turka

﴿لا بقولهم : « هو الله »﴾

أي المسيح . لأنّ مؤدّى قولهم أنّ المسيح من حيث هويّته الله - وفي عبارته هذه إشارة إليه - ولا شكّ في صدقه

i.e., the Messiah. For the import of their statement is that the Messiah, from the standpoint of his identity (huwiyya), is God - and in this phrase of his there is an allusion to it - and there is no doubt as to its truthfulness

Bālī Zāde

﴿لا بقولهم هو اللّه﴾

لأنه هو اللّه من حيث تعينه بالصورة العيسوية وإحياء الموتى وخلق الطير فاللّه ليس هو من حيث تعينه بصورة أخرى فكان عيسى عليه السلام هو لا هو

for he is God insofar as his entification is in the Jesus-form and the giving of life to the dead and the creation of the bird, so God is not, insofar as His entification, confined to another form; thus Jesus, peace be upon him, was He yet not He

Words 53–54 · 1 of 5

هُوَ اللهُ

Only Jāmī comments here.

Jāmī

﴿هو اللّه﴾

أو اللّه هو المسيح فقط ، فإن حمل على أن هوية الحق سبحانه هي التي تعينت وظهرت بالصورة المسيحية كما ظهرت بصور العالم كلها من غير أن يلاحظ فيه معنى الحصر فهو صدق لا شك فيه . وإن لوحظ فيه معنى الحصر فهو كفر وستر لما هو الحق عليه من عموم سريانه في الموجودات كلها ، وإن حمل على أن الهوية الإلهية حالة في الصورة المسيحية فهو أيضا كفر إذ ظهورها في الأشياء ظهور المطلق في المقيد لا ظهور الحال في المحل فليس فيه إلا الكفر على بعض التقادير . ( و ) كذلك الجمع بينهم ( لا ) يتحقق

or 'God is the Messiah' alone—for if it is taken to mean that the identity (huwiyya) of the Real, exalted is He, is that which became entified and manifested in the Messianic form, just as it manifested in all the forms of the cosmos, without the meaning of exclusivity being considered in it, then it is truth about which there is no doubt. But if the meaning of exclusivity is considered in it, then it is unbelief and concealment of what the Real truly is in terms of the universality of His pervasion (surayān) in all existents. And if it is taken to mean that the divine identity indwells in the Messianic form, this too is unbelief, since its manifestation in things is the manifestation of the absolute in the determined, not the manifestation of an indweller in a locus—so there is nothing in it but unbelief on either supposition. (And) likewise the combination between them is (not) realized

Ibn Turka

﴿ولا بقولهم : " ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ "﴾

فإنّ المسيح من حيث الصورة ابن مريم بلا شكّ بل بالجمع بينهما ، فإنّهم به ستروا الله بصورة بشريّة عيسى . ثمّ إنّه لما بيّن أنهم جمعوا بين الخطأ والكفر في قولهم هذا ، وقد بيّن وجه كفرهم فيه ، شرع في تبيين خطأهم بقوله

for the Messiah, from the standpoint of form, is without doubt the son of Mary - rather, it lies in combining the two, for by it they concealed God with the human form of Jesus. Then, since he had explained that they combined error and unbelief in this statement of theirs, and had explained the aspect of their unbelief in it, he proceeded to explain their error, saying:

Jāmī

﴿بقولهم ابن مريم﴾

فقط ، لأنه ابن مريم بلا شك فليس فيه كفر ولا خطأ أصلا فالجمع بينهما أنه هو مجموع الكلام لأنهم ضمنوا المسيح الإلهية واعتقدوها في ضمنه على وجه الحلول ( فعدلوا ) حال كونهم متلبسين ( بالتضمين ) ، أي بجعل اللّه من حيث هو أحيا الموتى في ضمن المسيح ونسبة الإحياء إليه

alone, for he is the son of Mary without doubt, so there is no unbelief or error in this at all. So the combination between the two is in the sum total of the statement, because they implied divinity within the Messiah and believed in it as contained within him in the manner of indwelling, (so they deviated) while being clothed (in implication [tadmīn]), i.e., by making God, from the standpoint of His being the one who gave life to the dead, [contained] within the Messiah, and attributing the giving-life to him

Bālī Zāde

﴿ولا بقولهم ابن مريم﴾

أي لتصديق هذا القول

i.e., in confirmation of this statement

Words 57–58 · 1 of 5

ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ

Only Ibn Turka comments here.

Ibn Turka

﴿ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾

فإنّك قد عرفت في مطلع الفصّ هذا أنّ محل الروح عندهم يسمّى بالناسوت

for you have already come to know at the outset of this chapter that the locus of the spirit, according to them, is called "the humanal" (al-nāsūt)

Ibn Turka

﴿فعدلوا بالتضمين﴾

- أي بسبب جعلهم الحقّ في ضمن المسيح حالَّا فيه - ( من الله - من حيث أحيا الموتى إلى الصورة الناسوتيّة البشريّة بقولهم

- i.e., because of their making the Real indwelling within the Messiah by way of implication - (from God - from the standpoint that He gave life to the dead - to the human, humanal form by their saying

Bālī Zāde

﴿فعدلوا بالتضمين﴾

أي بأن جعلوا الحق في الصورة العيسوية وهو قولهم إن اللّه يحلّ في صورة عيسى عليه السلام . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

i.e., in that they made the Real to be in the Jesus-form, which is their saying that God indwells the form of Jesus, peace be upon him. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said

Words 61–62 · 2 of 5

مِنَ اللهِ

Jāmī

﴿من اللّه﴾

المضمن في صورة المسيح

the One implied within the Messianic form

Bālī Zāde

﴿من اللّه﴾

متعلق بعدلو

connected to "they deviated"

Jāmī

﴿من حيث … أحيا الموتى إلى الصورة الناسوتية البشرية﴾

المسيحية فانفهم منه أن اللّه تعالى من حيث أنه أحيا الموتى إنما هو الصورة المسيحية ، وذلك خلاف معتقدهم فهو خطأ منهم ما عمدوه ، ولكن لزم من كلامهم وذلك العدول إنما يظهر ( بقول ابن مريم ) حيث أجروه على المسيح المحمول على اللّه المحيي للموتى قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه : ( فعدلوا بالتضمين من الله من حيث إحياء الموتى إلى الصورة الناسوتية البشرية بقولهم ابن مريم وهو ابن مريم بلا شك. فتخيل السامع أنهم نسبوا الألوهية لصورة وجعلوها عين الصورة وما فعلوا، بل جعلوا الهوية الإلهية ابتداء في صورة بشرية هي ابن مريم، ففصلوا بين الصورة والحكم، لا أنهم جعلوا الصورة عين الحكم . كما كان جبريل في صورة البشر ولا نفخ، ثم نفخ، ففصل بين الصورة والنفخ وكان النفخ من الصورة، فقد كانت ولا نفخ، فما هو النفخ من حدها الذاتي. فعدلوا بالتضمين من الله من حيث إحياء الموتى إلى الصورة الناسوتية ( وهو ) من حيث صورته الناسوتية

Christic, so it is understood from this that God Most High, from the aspect that He brings the dead to life, is only [attributed to] the Christic form. That is contrary to their belief, so it is an error on their part, in what they intended; but it necessarily followed from their speech, and that deviation only appears (through the saying "son of Mary") where they applied it to the Messiah who is burdened with [attributing to him] God the Life-Giver of the dead. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said: (So they deviated, by way of implication (tadmīn), from God—from the aspect of the bringing-to-life of the dead—to the human natural form, by their saying "son of Mary," and he is the son of Mary without doubt. So the listener imagined that they attributed divinity to a form and made it identical with the form, but they did not do that; rather they made the divine identity (huwiyya) initially in a human form which is the son of Mary. Thus they separated between the form and the ruling [of divinity], not that they made the form identical with the ruling. Just as Gabriel was in human form and there was no blowing [yet], then he blew—so he separated between the form and the blowing, and the blowing came from the form; yet it [the form] existed without the blowing, so the blowing is not part of its essential delimitation. Thus they deviated, by way of implication, from God—from the aspect of bringing the dead to life—to the natural form (he) from the aspect of his natural human form

Words 65–68 · 1 of 5

أَحْيَا المَوْتَىٰ إِلَىٰ الصُّورَةِ

Only Bālī Zāde comments here.

Bālī Zāde

﴿أحيا الموتى … إلى الصورة الناسوتية البشرية﴾

متعلق بعدلوا

connected to "they deviated"

Bālī Zāde

﴿بقولهم ابن مريم وهو ابن مريم بلا شك﴾

وهو دليل عدولهم من اللّه إلى الصورة الناسوتية

which is evidence of their deviation from God to the creaturely form

Ibn Turka

﴿وهو ابن مريم بلا شكّ﴾

وإن ظهر من هذا أيضا كفرهم ، ولكن الغرض من هذا الكلام تبيين خطأهم . وذلك لأنّهم عبّروا عن تلك العقيدة بقوله

and although their unbelief appears from this as well, the purpose of this discourse is to explain their error. That is because they expressed that belief by His saying

Jāmī

﴿ابن مريم بلا شك﴾

لا من حيث ما أحيا به الموتى فيتبادر الفهم أنه من حيث صورته الناسوتية محمول على اللّه

not from the aspect of that by which he brought the dead to life, so understanding hastens to the notion that it is from the aspect of his natural human form that [divinity] is attributed to God

Sources: where each commentator's text comes from
ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī (d. 730/1330), Sharḥ Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam

Digital text: OpenITI barzakh, 0730CabdRazzaqKashani.SharhFususHikam.IAC00084-ara1 (commit 6b19bdc)

Print edition behind it: Not recorded by OpenITI: the barzakh file has no .yml metadata record, and the ibnalarabi.com page it was taken from names no printed edition.

Taken from: ibnalarabi.com/fusus/qashani.php. The OpenITI file's own header (#META# source) names this page: the text was copied from the Ibn ʿArabī website directed by Dr Mohamed Ali Haj Yousef. Every IAC-coded file used here names a page of that site in its header; barzakh is OpenITI's repository for texts awaiting integration into the corpus.

Licence: OpenITI distributes its texts under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; ibnalarabi.com states © 1999–2024. The commentary itself is a classical work in the public domain; the edition behind the digital text is unidentified.

Muʾayyad al-Dīn al-Jandī (d. c. 691/1291), Sharḥ Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam

Digital text: OpenITI barzakh, 0691MuayyadDinJanadi.SharhCalaFususHikam.IAC00080-ara1 (commit 6b19bdc)

Print edition behind it: Not recorded by OpenITI: the barzakh file has no .yml metadata record, and the ibnalarabi.com page it was taken from names no printed edition.

Taken from: ibnalarabi.com/fusus/jandi.php. The OpenITI file's own header (#META# source) names this page: the text was copied from the Ibn ʿArabī website directed by Dr Mohamed Ali Haj Yousef. Every IAC-coded file used here names a page of that site in its header; barzakh is OpenITI's repository for texts awaiting integration into the corpus.

Licence: OpenITI distributes its texts under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; ibnalarabi.com states © 1999–2024. The commentary itself is a classical work in the public domain; the edition behind the digital text is unidentified.

ʿAfīf al-Dīn al-Tilimsānī (d. 690/1291), Sharḥ Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam

Digital text: OpenITI barzakh, 0690CafifTilimsani.SharhFususHikam.IAC00081-ara1 (commit 6b19bdc)

Print edition behind it: Not recorded by OpenITI: the barzakh file has no .yml metadata record, and the ibnalarabi.com page it was taken from names no printed edition.

Taken from: ibnalarabi.com/fusus/tilmasani.php. The OpenITI file's own header (#META# source) names this page: the text was copied from the Ibn ʿArabī website directed by Dr Mohamed Ali Haj Yousef. Every IAC-coded file used here names a page of that site in its header; barzakh is OpenITI's repository for texts awaiting integration into the corpus.

Licence: OpenITI distributes its texts under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; ibnalarabi.com states © 1999–2024. The commentary itself is a classical work in the public domain; the edition behind the digital text is unidentified.

Ṣāʾin al-Dīn Ibn Turka (d. 835/1432), Sharḥ Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam

Digital text: OpenITI barzakh, 0835SainDinTaraka.SharhFususHikam.IAC00087-ara1 (commit 6b19bdc)

Print edition behind it: Not recorded by OpenITI: the barzakh file has no .yml metadata record, and the ibnalarabi.com page it was taken from names no printed edition.

Taken from: ibnalarabi.com/fusus/taraka.php. The OpenITI file's own header (#META# source) names this page: the text was copied from the Ibn ʿArabī website directed by Dr Mohamed Ali Haj Yousef. Every IAC-coded file used here names a page of that site in its header; barzakh is OpenITI's repository for texts awaiting integration into the corpus.

Licence: OpenITI distributes its texts under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; ibnalarabi.com states © 1999–2024. The commentary itself is a classical work in the public domain; the edition behind the digital text is unidentified.

Nūr al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), Sharḥ Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam

Digital text: OpenITI barzakh, 0898NurDinJami.SharhMatnFususHikam.IAC00088-ara1 (commit 6b19bdc)

Print edition behind it: Not recorded by OpenITI: the barzakh file has no .yml metadata record, and the ibnalarabi.com page it was taken from names no printed edition.

Taken from: ibnalarabi.com/fusus/jami_matn.php. The OpenITI file's own header (#META# source) names this page: the text was copied from the Ibn ʿArabī website directed by Dr Mohamed Ali Haj Yousef. Every IAC-coded file used here names a page of that site in its header; barzakh is OpenITI's repository for texts awaiting integration into the corpus.

Licence: OpenITI distributes its texts under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; ibnalarabi.com states © 1999–2024. The commentary itself is a classical work in the public domain; the edition behind the digital text is unidentified.

Muṣṭafā b. Sulaymān Bālī Zāde (d. 1073/1663), Sharḥ Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam

Digital text: OpenITI barzakh, 1073MustafaSulaymanBaliZadah.SharhFususHikam.IAC00082-ara1 (commit 6b19bdc)

Print edition behind it: Not recorded by OpenITI: the barzakh file has no .yml metadata record, and the ibnalarabi.com page it was taken from names no printed edition.

Taken from: ibnalarabi.com/fusus/bali.php. The OpenITI file's own header (#META# source) names this page: the text was copied from the Ibn ʿArabī website directed by Dr Mohamed Ali Haj Yousef. Every IAC-coded file used here names a page of that site in its header; barzakh is OpenITI's repository for texts awaiting integration into the corpus.

Licence: OpenITI distributes its texts under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; ibnalarabi.com states © 1999–2024. The commentary itself is a classical work in the public domain; the edition behind the digital text is unidentified.

Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274), al-Fukūk fī asrār mustanadāt ḥikam al-Fuṣūṣ

Digital text: OpenITI barzakh, 0673AbuMacaliQunawi.Fukuk.IAC00079-ara1 (commit 6b19bdc)

Print edition behind it: Not recorded by OpenITI: the barzakh file has no .yml metadata record, and the ibnalarabi.com page it was taken from names no printed edition.

Taken from: ibnalarabi.com/fusus/qunawi.php. The OpenITI file's own header (#META# source) names this page: the text was copied from the Ibn ʿArabī website directed by Dr Mohamed Ali Haj Yousef. Every IAC-coded file used here names a page of that site in its header; barzakh is OpenITI's repository for texts awaiting integration into the corpus.

Licence: OpenITI distributes its texts under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; ibnalarabi.com states © 1999–2024. The commentary itself is a classical work in the public domain; the edition behind the digital text is unidentified.

Missing here: Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī: no text for chapters 15–27. The OpenITI barzakh file (and the ibnalarabi.com pages it was copied from) repeats chapter 14 in their place; a usable copy of the print has not yet been found.

The ibnalarabi.com texts sometimes print other hands inside a commentary: Bālī Zāde's glosses inside al-Qāshānī («إضافة بالي زادة»), and notes by the modern editor (al-muḥaqqiq) or compiler (al-jāmiʿ). We cut these out of the commentator's own text and show them as separate entries, each labelled with its author and the line of the file it came from.

Arabic of the commentaries from the OpenITI digital texts (each comment links to its line); Bosnevî's Ottoman Turkish from our collation of two OCRs of the 1873 Istanbul print (each comment links to its page scan at HathiTrust); passages matched to the commentators' quotations automatically.English translations of the commentaries and of the passage are AI (Claude) and marked. Differences are computed by comparing the words each commentator quotes with our working text; they may reflect a different manuscript reading, a paraphrase, or an alignment error. About this text.