The commentators side by side

﴿فجاء المحمدي وعلم أن الدعوة إلى الله ما هي من حيث هويته وإنما هي من حيث أسماؤه فقال: «يوم نحشر المتقين إلى الرحمن وفدا» فجاء بحرف الغاية وقرنها بالاسم، فعرفنا أن العالم كان تحت حيطة اسم إلهي أوجب عليهم أن يكونوا متقين. فقالوا في مكرهم: «وقالوا لا تذرن آلهتكم ولا تذرن ودا ولا سواعا ولا يغوث ويعوق و نسرا»، فإنهم إذا تركوهم جهلوا من الحق على قدر ما تركوا من هؤلاء، فإن للحق في كل معبود وجها يعرفه من يعرفه ويجهله من جهله.﴾

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

فقوم نوح ما فهموا حقيقتها بل حسبوها مكر (فأجابوه

came and knew that the summons to God is not in respect of His He-ness (huwiyya), but only in respect of His Names. So he said: "The Day We gather the God-fearing to the All-Merciful as a delegation." He came with the particle of the terminus ('ilā', 'to') and coupled it with the Name, so we knew that the world was under the dominion of a divine Name that required them to be God-fearing. So they said in their scheming: "And they said: Do not abandon your gods, and do not abandon Wadd, nor Suwāʿ, nor Yaghūth, nor Yaʿūq, nor Nasr" — for had they abandoned them, they would have grown ignorant of the Real to the extent that they abandoned these [deities], since the Real has, in every object of worship, an aspect known by whoever knows it and unknown by whoever is ignorant of it.] But Noah's people did not understand its reality; rather, they took it for scheming, (so they answered him,

﴿" ومَكَرُوا مَكْراً كُبَّاراً " - لأن الدعوة إلى الله مكر بالمدعو لأنه ما عدم من البداية فيدعى إلى الغاية – " أَدْعُوا إِلَى الله " - فهذا عين المكر – " عَلى بَصِيرَةٍ " -﴾

معناه أن الدعوة إلى الله دعوة منه إليه لأن الله عين المدعو والداعي والبداية والغاية لكونه عين كل شيء فهو مكر بالمدعو لأن المدعو مع الله فكيف يدعى إلى الله فقابلوا مكر الداعي بمكر أعظم من مكره . فقالوا

called to the end — "I call to God" — this itself is the very essence of scheming — "upon clear insight (baṣīra)"] Its meaning is that the call to God is [in truth] a call from Him to Him, since God is identical with the one called, the caller, the beginning, and the end, He being identical with everything; so it is a scheming against the one called, for the one called is [already] with God — how then could he be called to God? So they met the scheming of the caller with a scheming greater than his scheming. They said:

﴿ومكروا مكرا كبارا، لأن الدعوة إلى الله مكر بالمدعو، لأنه ما عدم من البداية، فيدعى إلى الغاية "ادعوا إلى الله" فهذا عين المكر على بصيرة. فنبه أن الأمر له كله، فأجابوه مكرا كما دعاهم﴾

أي، لما مكر نوح عليه السلام معهم، مكروا مكرا كبارا في جوابه. وذلك لأن الدعوة إلى الله مكر من الداعي بالمدعو، لأن المدعو ما عدم الحق من البداية حتى يدعى إليه في الغاية، لأنه مظهر هويته في بعض مراتب وجوده، فالحق معه بل هو عينه. فالداعي إذا دعى، مظهرا ما يمكر به: فإنه يريد أن الحق ليس معه، وهو غيره، وهو عين المكر. لكن مثل هذا المكر من الأنبياء إنما هو على بصيرة كما قال

that the affair belongs entirely to Him, so they answered him with guile just as he had called them] That is, when Noah, peace be upon him, practiced guile against them, they devised in turn a great guile in their response to him. This is because the call to God is a guile by the caller against the one called, since the one called never lost the Real from the Beginning such that he should be called to Him at the End - for he is a locus of manifestation (maẓhar) of His identity (huwiyya) in some of the levels of his existence, so the Real is with him, indeed is his very self (ʿayn). So the caller, when he calls, manifests something by way of guile: for he wants [to convey] that the Real is not with him, and is other than him - and this is guile itself. But such guile on the part of the prophets is only upon insight (baṣīra), as He said

﴿22 سورة نوح. لأن الدعوة إلى الله تعالی مکر بالمدعو لأنه ما عدم من البداية فيدعى إلى الغاية .﴾

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

أدعوا إلى الله

he is called to the End.] 'I call to God' —

﴿"وَمَكَرُوا مَكْراً كُبَّاراً "[ 71 / 22 ] لأنّ الدعوة إلى الله مكر بالمدعوّ﴾

" حيث قال نوح : « ربّ إنّي دعوتهم » مطلقا ، ولا شكّ أنّ الحقّ عين المدعوّ والداعي والبداية والنهاية ، فالدعوة مكر بالمدعوّ ضرورة

to God is a deception (makr) practiced upon the one called] — inasmuch as Noah said, 'My Lord, I have called them,' unrestrictedly (muṭlaqan). And there is no doubt that the Real is identical with the one called, the one calling, the beginning, and the end; so the calling is necessarily a deception practiced upon the one called.

﴿«ومكروا مكرا كبارا»، لأن الدعوة إلى الله تعالى مكر بالمدعو لأنه ما عدم من البداية فيدعي إلى الغاية. «أدعوا إلى الله» فهذا عين المكر، «على بصيرة» فنبه أن الأمر له كله، فأجابوه مكرا كما دعاهم "مكرا ".﴾

الملك غير سيده لا يملك عبد. فإن العبد في كل حال يفصد سیده فلا يزال تصرف سيده بأحواله في جميع أموره، ولا معنى للملك إلا التصرف بالقهر والشدة ومهما لم يقم السيد بما يطالبه به العبد فقد زالت سيادته من ذلك الوجه. وأحوال العبد على قسمين : ذاتية وعرضية وهو بكل حال بتصرف فيه سيده والكل عبيد الله تعالى، فمن كان دوني الهمة قليل العلم كثيف الحجاب غليظ القف ترك الحق وتعبد عبید الحق ونازع الحق في ربوبيته فخرج من عبودينه . فهو وإن كان عبدا في نفس الأمر فليس هو عبد مصطنع ولا مختص، فإذا لم يتعبد أحد من عباد الله كان عبدا خالصا لله تعالی فتصرف فيه سيده بجميع أحواله فلا يزال الحق في شأن هذا العبد خلاق على الدوام بحسب انتقالاته في الأحوال. "" وقال الشيخ رضي الله عنه : (قال صلى الله عليه وسلم "خادم القوم سيدهم" لأنه القائم بأمورهم لأنهم عاجزون عن القيام بما تقتضيه أحوالهم. فمن عرف صورة التصريف عرف مرتبة السيد من مرتبة العبد . فيتصف العبد بامتثال أمر سيده والسيد بالقيام بضرورات عبده . فلا يتفرغ العبد مع ما قررناه من حاله مع حال سيده أن يقتني عبدا يتصرف فيه لأنه يشهد عيانا أن ذلك العبد الآخر يتصرف في سيده تصرفه . فيعلم أنه مثله عبد لله وإذا كان عبد الله لم يصح أن يتعبده هذا العبد فما ملك عبد إلا بحجاب.). "" وقال أيضا في هذا الباب: لقيت سليمان الديبلي فأجرني في مباسطة كانت بيني وبينه في العلم الإلهي .. فقلت له : أريد أن أسمع منك بعض ما كان بينك وبين الحق من المباسطة. فقال: باسطني يوما في سري في الملك فقال لي: إن ملكي عظيم، فقلت له : ملكي أعظم من ملكك، فقال : كيف تقول، فقلت : له مثلك في ملكي وليس مثلك في ملكك. فقال : صدقت قال رضي الله عنه : أشار إلى التصريف بالحال والأمر وهو ما قررناه وهذا قريب مما قاله أبو يزيد البسطامي قدس الله سره في مناجاته : "ملكي أعظم من ملكك" لكونك لي وأنا لك فأنا ملكك وأنت ملكي وأنت العظيم الأعظم وملكي أنت فأنت أعظم من ملكك وهو أنا . "" فقال الشيخ رضي الله عنه : فإذا علمت هذا علمت قدرك ومرتبتك ومعنى ربوبيتك وعلى من تكون ربا في عين عبد وهو بالعلم قريب وبالحال أقرب وألذ في الشهود والله يقول الحق وهو يهدي السبيل. "" ثم أشار رضي الله عنه إلى قوله تعالى حكاية عن شكاية نوح عليه السلام عن قومه

be summoned to the End. "I summon to God" — this is scheming itself. "Upon insight" — [thereby] alerting that the affair belongs entirely to Him. So they answered Him with scheming, just as He summoned them with 'scheming.'] The king other than his master does not possess a servant. For the servant, in every state, intends his master, so his master's disposal (taṣarruf) over his states continues in all his affairs; and ownership means nothing but disposal through subjugation and force. Whenever the master fails to provide what the servant demands of him, his mastery ceases in that respect. Now the servant's states are of two kinds: essential and accidental, and in every state his master disposes over him — and all are servants of God, Most High. So whoever is of low aspiration, little knowledge, dense veil, and coarse constitution abandons the Real and worships the servants of the Real, and disputes with the Real over His Lordship, thereby exiting his servanthood. Though he is in reality still a servant, he is not a fashioned or specially chosen servant. But when none of God's servants worships [anything else], he becomes a servant purely for God, Most High, and his master disposes over him in all his states, so that the Real, regarding this servant's affair, continuously creates anew according to his transitions among states. "" And the Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'The servant of the people is their master,' because he is the one who undertakes their affairs, since they are incapable of undertaking what their states require. So whoever knows the form of disposal knows the rank of the master relative to the rank of the servant. Thus the servant is characterized by compliance with his master's command, and the master by attending to his servant's necessities. So the servant, given what we have established of his state relative to his master's state, cannot find leisure to acquire a servant of his own over whom he disposes, because he witnesses directly that this other servant disposes over his own master in the same manner [his master disposes over him]. Thus he knows that this other is likewise a servant of God, and if he is a servant of God it is not valid for this [first] servant to make him worship him. So no one possesses a servant except through a veil. "" He also said in this chapter: I met Sulaymān al-Dībulī, and he permitted me a frank exchange (mubāsaṭa) that took place between him and me concerning divine knowledge... I said to him: I wish to hear from you something of what passed between you and the Real by way of frank exchange. He said: One day He addressed me frankly in my innermost secret (sirr) about kingship (mulk), and said to me: 'My kingdom is mighty.' I said to Him: 'My kingdom is mightier than Your kingdom.' He said: 'How do you say that?' I said: 'For You there is Your like in my kingdom, but in Your kingdom there is no like for You.' He said: 'You have spoken truly.' The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said: He alluded to disposal through the state and command, which is what we have established, and this is close to what Abū Yazīd al-Basṭāmī, may God sanctify his secret, said in his intimate discourse: 'My kingdom is mightier than Your kingdom,' because You are for me and I am for You — so I am Your kingdom and You are my kingdom; and You are the Mighty, the Mightier still, and my kingdom is You, so You are mightier than Your kingdom, which is I. "" The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said: When you know this, you know your measure and your rank, and the meaning of your lordship, and over whom you are a lord within the very entity of a servant. This is close through knowledge, closer still through state, and most delightful in witnessing (shuhūd). And God speaks the truth, and He guides to the way. "" Then he, may God be pleased with him, alluded to His saying, Most High, recounting Noah's (peace be upon him) complaint against his people:

﴿مكرا كبارا لأن الدعوة﴾

أي دعوة الأنبياء (إلى الله تعالی مكر بالمدعو) أي قومه

i.e., the call of the prophets ["to God Most High is a scheme against the one called (al-madʿūw)"] i.e., his people.

﴿، لأنّ الدعوة إلى الله مكر بالمدعوّ ، لأنّه ما عدم من البداية فيدعى إلى النهاية﴾

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

أَدْعُوا إِلَى الله

be called to the end] 'I call to God'

﴿لأن الدعوة إلى الله مكر بالمدعو﴾

وإمرار الأمر على غير ما هو عليه في نفسه (لأنه) ، أي المدعو

and the presenting of the matter otherwise than it is in itself — because (he), i.e., the one summoned,

﴿لأنّه ما عدم من البداية فيدعى إلى الغاية﴾

وأمّا محمّد فما أطلق في دعوته بل قال

be called to the end] — as for Muhammad, however, he did not leave his calling unrestricted, but rather said:

﴿ما عدم﴾

على البناء للفاعل يعني ما فقد الله سبحانه

— in the active voice, meaning: God, glory be to Him, never lost [anyone]

﴿ما عدم من البداية﴾

وهي ما يعبدون من الأصنام إذ لا ينكر أحد وجود الحق وربوبيته وإنما وقع الغلط في تعيينه وإضافة ربوبيته فبعضهم أضائها إلى أنفسهم وبعضهم إلى الأصنام أو غير ذلك والأنبياء يدعون قومهم من هؤلاء وهي البداية فلا عدم الحق من هؤلاء

— that is, the idols they worshipped, since no one denies the existence of the Real and His lordship; rather, the error occurred in specifying Him and in attributing lordship — some attributed it to themselves, others to idols, or otherwise. The prophets call their people away from these [false attributions], and this is the starting-point; so the Real is not absent from these [objects] either.

﴿من البداية فيدعى إلى الغاية﴾

فيجده فيها ، ولأنه أي الله سبحانه وتعالى ما عدم على البناء للمفعول من البداية فيدعي المدعو الى الغاية ليجده فيه بل هو عين المدعو منه والمدعو إليه كما هو عين المدعو والداعي . قوله : (أدعو إلى الله) ، يدل على فقدانه عن بعض هذه المراتب وهو غير ما هو الأمر عليه في نفسه

and find Him there; and because He, glory and exaltation be to Him — in the passive voice — was never absent from the Beginning, so the one summoned is summoned to the End in order to find Him there. Rather, He is Himself the One from whom the summons proceeds and the One to whom the summons is made, just as He is Himself the summoned and the summoner. His statement, 'I summon to God,' indicates his absence from some of these levels, which is other than how the matter is in itself.

﴿فيدعى إلى الغاية ادعو إلى الله﴾

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

وهو معبود بالحق (فهذا) أي الدعوة من البداية إلى الغاية ذكر الإشارة باعتبار القول

and He is worshipped in truth (bi-l-ḥaqq). ["So this"] i.e., the call from the starting-point to the end-point — he mentions the indication (ishāra) with regard to the discourse.

﴿ادعوا إلى الله على بصيرة أنا ومن اتبعني﴾

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

أي، يعلم النبي إنه مظهر هوية الحق، لكن يدعوه ليخلصه عن القيود وترتفع عنه الحجب الموجبة للضلالة، فيرى ذاته مظهرا للهوية، و يشاهد جميع الموجودات مظاهر الحق، ويعبده بجميع أسمائه وصفاته، كما عبده من حيث اسمه الخاص. وفاعل (نبه) ضمير يرجع إلى نوح، أو إلى الحق. أي، نبههم على أن الملك كله لله، ليس كما تخيلوا أنه لهم. (فجاء المحمدي، وعلم أن الدعوة إلى الله ما هي من حيث هويته، وإنما هي من حيث أسمائه، فقال

That is, the Prophet knows that he is a locus of manifestation of the identity of the Real, but he calls him in order to free him from constraints and to lift from him the veils that necessitate misguidance, so that he may see his own essence as a locus of manifestation of the Identity, and witness all existent things as loci of manifestation of the Real, and worship Him through all His Names and Attributes, just as he [previously] worshipped Him from the standpoint of his particular name. And the agent of "He alerted" is a pronoun referring to Noah, or to the Real - that is, He alerted them that possession belongs entirely to God, not as they had imagined that it belonged to them. (Then the Muhammadan came, and knew that the call to God is not from the standpoint of His identity, but from the standpoint of His Names, so he said

﴿" أَدْعُوا إِلَى الله " على بصيرة﴾

أي على وقوف وعلم بأنّه بحسب هويّته الجمعيّة عين الكلّ . لكن الدعوة إنّما هي بحسب أسمائه المهيمنة في وقتها

that is, with a firm standing and knowledge that He, in respect of His all-comprehensive identity (huwiyya jamʿiyya), is identical with the whole. But the calling is only in respect of His names that hold dominion (al-muhaymina) at their [particular] time.

﴿فهذا عين المكر﴾

عَلى بَصِيرَةٍ

'upon insight (baṣīra)'

﴿108 یوسف. فهذا عين المكر، على بصيرة فنبه أن الأمر له كله، فأجابوه مكرا كما دعاهم. قال رضي الله عنه :﴾

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

فجاء المحمدی وعلم أن الدعوة إلى الله ما هي من حيث هويته وإنما هي من حيث أسمائه. فقال

that the whole matter belongs to Him, and so they answered him with a scheme just as he had called them with one. He, may God be pleased with him, said:] Then the Muhammadan came and knew that the call to God is not with respect to His Ipseity (huwiyya), but rather with respect to His Names. So he said:

﴿فهذا عين المكر على بصيرة﴾

وحيث قيّد دعوته بالبصيرة علم أنّه إذا كان عين الكل يستدعي أن يكون الدعوة حقّا ، إذ هي عينه

upon clear insight] — and since he qualified his calling with 'clear insight,' it is known that, since he is identical with the whole, this necessitates that the calling be Real (ḥaqq), for it is identical with Him.

﴿فهذا عين المكر … على بصيرة﴾

أي على علم بأن الدعوة منه وإليه وهو الداعي والمدعو (فنبه) ، أي هذا القول أو الداعي أو الله سبحانه به

i.e., upon knowledge that the summons is from Him and to Him, and He is the summoner and the summoned. (Thereby alerting) — i.e., this statement, or the summoner, or God, glory be to Him, thereby alerting

﴿عين المكر على بصيرة﴾

لعلمهم ما يدعونه فكانت دعوة الأنبياء وإن كان مكرا لكونها على بصيرة حق واقع. (فنبه) يعني لما دعا نوح عليه السلام قومه من البداية إلى الغاية نبه

because of their knowledge of what they call to. Thus the call of the prophets, even though it is a scheme, is [a scheme] based on insight, and is a true reality (ḥaqq wāqiʿ). ["So he drew attention"] meaning: when Noah, peace be upon him, called his people from the starting-point to the end-point, he drew attention [to the fact]

﴿فنبه عليه السلام أن الأمر له كله﴾

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

وأنه يدعو بأمر الله والمدعو يجيبه بالفعل وأنه مطيع بما أمر به واقف مع ما خلق له وأريد منه تحت حكم قاهر وسلطنة أمر باهر . وهو معنى قوله

and that he calls by God's command, and the one called answers him in actuality, and that he is obedient in what he was commanded, standing firm with that for which he was created and that which was intended of him, under a subjugating decree and a manifest sovereign command. This is the meaning of his saying:

﴿فنبّه أنّ الأمر كلَّه له ، فأجابوه مكرا كما دعاهم مكرا﴾

قال العبد : حقيقة الدعوة تقتضي الفرقان والتمييز والبينونة والتحييز ،ولا تتحقّق إلَّا في البين بين اثنين . فيدخل « من » و « إلى » لبداية دعائه في الأين. وحقيقة المدعوّ عين الأمرين وعين الغاية والبداية في كل عين عين ، فالدعوة من عين أو أعيان مع كون الحقّ عين المدعوّ والمدعوّ عنه إلى الحق من كونه أيضا عينه كذلك مكر ، لكون المدعوّ إليه عين ما منه يدعو إلى عينه في نظر المكاشف وإلى غيره في عين غير المكاشف الواصف العارف ، فجاؤوا بأكبر نوع من المكر ، وهو إجابتهم للداعي لهم مكرا في صورة الردّ ، وإقرارهم بما يدعى الدعوة إليه ، في صور الإنكار والنكر والكفر . فقابلوا مكر الداعي بهم من حيث لا يشعرون ، فأجابوه بالفعل مكرا في كل ما دعاهم إلى الله كذلك من حيث يعلمون ولا يعلمون . والذي قال رضي الله عنه : « فنبّه أنّ الأمر كلَّه لله » . يعني سلام الله عليه : أنّ كلَّا من الداعي والمدعوّ ، مأمور بما هو به ظاهر ، ويحكم سلطنته له تحت أمر قاهر وباهر ، فالداعي مأمور بالدعوة والأمر ، والمدعوّ مأمور بما خلق له ، وكلّ ميسّر لما خلق الله . ولكنّ الله علم أنّ صلاح المستعدّين المستحيين في الدعوة بالإقلاع عن الانهماك في صور التفرقة والحجاب، وذلك أنّهم تناهوا في الخروج إلى أقاصي عوالم الإمكان والظهور، فلو تابوا إلى الله العالم بأحدية جمع الوحدة الباطنة في أعيان الكثرة. لحصل لهم الكمال الجمعي في ذلك التناهي بالعروج ، والانتهاء في الرجوع إلى الأصل الباطن الذي منه البروز والخروج والدروج ، ولكنّهما الأهواء عمت فأعمت فأصمّهم الله وأعمى أبصارهم ، وحبّك الشيء يعمي ويصمّ عن غيره ولو بالنسبة والإضافة . قال رضي الله عنه

that the matter is entirely His; so they answered him with scheming just as he called them with scheming] The servant says: The reality of the call (daʿwa) requires differentiation (furqān), distinction, separation, and localization, and it is not realized except in the between (bayn), between two things; thus 'from' (min) and 'to' (ilā) enter for the beginning of his call within the 'where' (al-ayn). And the reality of the one called is the very identity (ʿayn) of the two matters, and the very identity of the goal and the beginning, in every single entity (ʿayn). So the call — from an entity or entities, while the Real is the very identity of the one called and the one called from, [the call being] to the Real inasmuch as He is likewise its very identity — is thus scheming, since the one to whom the call is made is identical with that from which one calls to its very identity in the view of the one granted unveiling (mukāshif), while [it appears to be a call] to other-than-Him in the view of the one not granted unveiling, the describer, the knower (al-wāṣif al-ʿārif). So they came with the greatest type of scheming, which is their answering of the one who called them with scheming in the form of rejection, and their acknowledgment of that to which the call is made, in the forms of denial, repudiation, and disbelief. Thus they met the scheming of the one who called them with a corresponding scheme, without being aware of it, and they answered him in fact with scheming in everything to which he called them to God, likewise, from the standpoint both of what they know and what they do not know. As for what he said, may God be pleased with him — 'thus he alerted [us] that the matter is entirely God's' — he means, peace of God be upon him, that each of the caller and the one called is commanded with respect to that in which he is manifest, and his own sovereignty rules over him, [yet all this] under a compelling and overpowering command; so the caller is commanded to call and to command, and the one called is commanded with what he was created for, and everyone is facilitated toward that for which God created him. But God knew that the well-being of those endowed with preparedness (istiʿdād) and reticence, with regard to the call, lies in desisting from immersion in the forms of separation (tafriqa) and veiling — for they had reached their limit in going forth to the furthest reaches of the worlds of possibility and manifestation. Had they repented unto God, the Knower of the unity of the gathering of the nonmanifest oneness within the entities of multiplicity, they would have attained comprehensive perfection (kamāl jamʿī) in that very culmination, through ascent, and the terminus in returning to the nonmanifest origin from which came forth the emergence, the going-forth, and the gradual unfolding. But rather, [their] caprices (ahwāʾ) became overwhelming and so blinded [them], and God made them deaf and blinded their sights — for your love of a thing blinds and deafens you to other than it, even if only by relation (nisba) and attribution. He said, may God be pleased with him:

﴿فنبّه أنّ الأمر له كلَّه﴾

فليس للداعي دخل في الدعوة أصلا . وإذ ليس في الدعوة النوحيّة هذا التنبيه ، بل إجمال من القول ، أجمل قومه أيضا في الجواب

— so the one calling has no part whatsoever in the calling. And since this indication was not present in the Noahic calling, but rather a summary manner of speech, his people likewise responded in summary fashion.

﴿على أن الأمر له﴾

أي لله سبحانه (كله) فهو الموجود في البداية والمقصود في النهاية والداعي في مرتبة المدعو في أخرى، فحقيقة الدعوة أن يدعو اسم اسم من اسم إلى اسم آخر ، قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

i.e., to God, glory be to Him — (entirely), for He is the One existing at the Beginning and the One intended at the End, and the summoner is at the level of the summoned in another respect. Thus the reality of the summons is that a name summons from [the level of] a name to another name. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿أن الأمر له كله﴾

لكون دعوته يشير ذلك وهو

since his call indicates this, namely:

﴿فأجابوه مكرا كما دعاهم﴾

على ما ذكر آنفا لكنه يعلم أن صلاح المستعدين المجيبين في قبول الدعوة من حيث أنهم وقعوا في غاية التفرقة والحجاب وتعمقوا في أقاصى عالم الإمكان فلو أجابوا لخرجوا من التفرقة إلى الجمع ، وخلصوا من مهاوي الإمكان إلى ذرى الجمع ، وبلغوا كمالهم الجمعى الذي منه يبدأ الأمر وإليه عاد. ولهذا قال رضي الله عنه

as mentioned just before, but he [Noah] knows that the soundness of the prepared ones who respond consists in their accepting the call, inasmuch as they had fallen into the utmost separation (tafriqa) and veiling, and had plunged into the farthest reaches of the realm of possibility (imkān). Had they responded, they would have passed from separation to gathering (jamʿ), and been delivered from the pitfalls of possibility to the summits of gathering, and attained their gathered perfection (kamāl jamʿī) from which the Command begins and to which it returns. Hence he, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿فأجابوه مكرا ، كما دعاهم﴾

امتثالا لما أمرهم لسان الوقت وعملا بمقتضاه . ولما كان في الدعوة المحمّديّة ذلك التفصيل ، فهم قومه منه ذلك. قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

in compliance with what the tongue of the time (lisān al-waqt) commanded them, and in accordance with its requirement. And since that detailed distinction (tafṣīl) was present in the Muhammadan calling, his people understood that from it. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿فأجابوه مكرا كما دعاهم﴾

يعني لما نبه نوح عليه السلام في دعوته لقومه (مكرا) أجابوه مكرا كما دعاهم جزاء عن مكره . لأنه وإن دعاهم إلى الله من حيث أسمائه لكنه نبه في دعوته ثبوت الحق في كل موجود فكانت الدعوة من حيث الأسماء مختفية مستورة بهذا التنبيه . فلما علموا منه ذلك مكروا فقالوا: فالحق معنا ومع أصنامنا فنحن على دعوتك لم تركنا أصنامنا بل نعبد الحق في صورة أصنامنا . لكون الحق ظاهرة في أصنامنا فلم يعلموا دعوة النبي بسبب التنبيه فأجابوا مكرا. قال رضي الله عنه

That is, when Noah, peace be upon him, in his calling of his people, drew attention (through guile), they answered him with guile just as he had called them, as recompense for his guile. For although he called them to God from the standpoint of His Names, he nevertheless drew attention in his call to the establishment of the Real in every existent thing, so the call, from the standpoint of the Names, was concealed and veiled by this indication. When they perceived that from him, they schemed and said: 'The Real is with us and with our idols; we are upon your call — you have not left us our idols, rather we worship the Real in the form of our idols,' since the Real is manifest in our idols. Thus they did not understand the Prophet's call because of that indication, and so they answered with guile. He, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿كما دعاهم﴾

مكر (لهم) ومجيء جوابهم بعيد هذا . (فجاء) الداعي

with scheming (against them), and their answer's arrival came after this. (So there came) the summoner,

﴿فجاء المحمدي وعلم أن الدعوة إلى الله ما هي من حيث هويته﴾

لأن الهوية الأحدية مع الكل سواء

for the Unitary Ipseity (al-huwiyya al-aḥadiyya) is the same in relation to all

﴿فجاء المحمدي فعلم أنّ الدعوة إلى الله ما تكون من حيث هويّته﴾

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

, وإنّما هي من حيث أسمائه فقال

, but rather it occurs from the standpoint of His Names; so he said

﴿فجاء المحمّديّ وعلم أنّ الدعوة إلى الله﴾

لما كانت عبارة عن طلب الإقبال والتوجّه نحو الاسم المهيمن في وقته بالتزام مقتضياته والإعراض عمّا يقابل ذلك الاسم بالكفّ عمّا يستدعيه

— since it was an expression of seeking [others'] approach and turning toward the name that holds dominion (al-muhaymin) at its time, through adherence to its requirements and turning away from what opposes that name by refraining from what it calls for —

﴿المحمدي وأعلم أن الدعوة إلى الله سبحانه ما هي من حيث هويته﴾

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

السارية في الوجودات كلها حتى يرد أن يقال : ليست هي مفقودة من البداية فيدعى إليها في الغاية

, and made known that the summons to God, glory be to Him, is not in respect of His He-ness (huwiyya)] pervading all existent things — lest it be objected: it is not that He is absent from the Beginning such that one is summoned to Him at the End —

﴿فجاء المحمدي﴾

للدعوة والمراد محمد عليه السلام وإنما جاء بياء النسبي إشارة إلى أن الداعي هو الروح الظاهر في صورة الجسد المحمدي وهو الروح الجزئي المنسوب إلى الروح الكلي لا الروح الكلية المحمدية . (وعلم) هذا المحمدي قبل أن يؤمر بالدعوة

for the calling — meaning Muhammad, peace be upon him. He used the relative form (the 'ī' of nisba) to indicate that the caller is the spirit manifest in the form of the Muhammadan body — that is, the partial spirit attributed to the Universal Spirit, not the Universal Muhammadan Spirit itself. (And) this Muhammadan (knew), before being commanded to the calling,

﴿إن الدعوة إلى الله ما هي من حيث هويته وإنما هي من حيث أسمائه﴾

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

فصدقه الله فيما علم

So God confirmed him as true in what he knew.

﴿ما هي من حيث هويّته﴾

إذ نسبة الهويّة المطلقة مع الكلّ سواء ، ( وإنّما هي من حيث أسمائه ، فقال : "يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ الْمُتَّقِينَ إِلَى الرَّحْمنِ وَفْداً " [ 19 / 85 ]

in respect of His identity (huwiyya)] — since the relation of the absolute identity to the whole is equal [in all respects] — but rather it is in respect of His names. Thus He said: 'On the day We shall gather the God-fearing to the All-Merciful (al-Raḥmān) as a delegation' (19:85).

﴿وإنما هي من حيث أسماؤه﴾

فيدعون من الاسم الخافض إلى الرافع ومن اسم المنتقم إلى الرحيم ومن اسم المضل إلى الهادي

for they are called from the Name that lowers to the Name that raises, and from the Name the Avenger to the Merciful, and from the Name the Misleader to the Guide

﴿وإنما هي﴾

أي الدعوة (من حيث أسمائه) فيدعی من اسم إلى اسم آخر كما يدعي من الخافض إلى الرافع ومن المنتقم إلى الرحیم و من المضل إلى الهادي (فقال تعالى: "يوم نحشر") بأحدية جمع أسمائنا التي هي مرتبة الألوهية

i.e., the summons (in respect of His Names), so one is summoned from a Name to another Name, just as one is summoned from the Abaser to the Exalter, from the Avenger to the Merciful, and from the Misguider to the Guide. (So He, Most High, said: "The Day We gather") by the oneness of the totality of Our Names, which is the level of Divinity (ulūhiyya)

﴿فقال تعالى : " يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ الْمُتَّقِينَ إِلَى الرَّحْمنِ وَفْداً " فجاء بحرف الغاية وقرنها بالاسم﴾

ليعلم أن الرحمن اسم شامل لجميع الأسماء فيكون العالم تحت إحاطته ، إذ لا فرق بينه وبين اسم الله . كما قال : " قُلِ ادْعُوا الله أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمنَ أَيًّا ما تَدْعُوا فَلَه الأَسْماءُ الْحُسْنى " وكل طائفة من أهل العالم تحت ربوبية اسم من أسمائه ومن كان تحت ربوبية اسم كان عبدا لذلك الاسم ، فيدعوهم رسول الله من تفرقة تلك الأسماء إلى حضرة جمع اسم الرحمن أو اسم الله وهي الدعوة على بصيرة . لأنه تحصين من رق الآلهة المتشاكسة إلى عبودية الإله الواحد ، كما قال تعالى :" ضَرَبَ الله مَثَلًا رَجُلًا فِيه شُرَكاءُ مُتَشاكِسُونَ ورَجُلًا سَلَماً لِرَجُلٍ " واسم الرحمن يحكم على عباده بأن يكونوا متقين ويوجب عليهم التقوى ، وهو على معنى قوله

so that it be known that al-Raḥmān is a Name comprehending all the Names, so that the world is under its encompassment (iḥāṭa), since there is no difference between it and the Name Allāh, as He said: "Say: Call upon Allāh, or call upon al-Raḥmān; whichever you call upon, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names." Each group among the people of the world is under the lordship of one of His Names, and whoever is under the lordship of a Name is a servant of that Name. So the Messenger of God calls them from the separation of those Names to the presence of the gathering of the Name al-Raḥmān or the Name Allāh, and this is the call made with insight (baṣīra), for it is a safeguarding from the bondage of the mutually contending deities into the servitude of the One God, as the Exalted said: "God has struck a similitude: a man in whom are partners quarreling among themselves, and a man belonging wholly to one man." The Name al-Raḥmān ordains for His servants that they be God-fearing (muttaqīn) and imposes upon them God-fearingness (taqwā), which is according to the meaning of His saying:

﴿فقال يوم نحشر المتقين إلى الرحمن وفدا فجاء بحرف الغاية وقرنها بالأسم فعرفنا أن العالم كان نحت حيطة اسم إلهي أوجب﴾

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

ذلك الاسم (عليهم) أي على أهل العلم كله

that Name (upon them), that is, upon the people of all knowledge,

﴿يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ الْمُتَّقِينَ إِلَى الرَّحْمنِ وَفْداً﴾

فجاء بحرف الغاية وقرنها بالاسم ، فعلمنا أنّ العالم كان تحت حيطة اسم إلهيّ أوجب عليهم أن يكونوا متّقين " . قال العبد : المشرب المحمدي الجامع لجميع الدعوات النبوية والأحكام التشريعية التكليفية هو أنّ الدعوة من حضرة إلى حضرة ، ومن مقام إلهيّ اسمي إلى آخر ، والمدعوّ إليه الله في الجميع إلَّا أنّ التعيّنات العينية في ملابس الصور العينية المقتضية للتمييز ب « من » و « إلى » يتفاضل بعضها على بعض ، فالتجلَّي من حضرة أحديّة الجمع ليس كالتجلَّي في أحدية الفرق والصدع . والداعون صنفان : أحدهم يدعو إلى الله بأمر الله ، وهمّه في القيام بما أمر من الدعوة ، ولا يلزمه كشف الحقائق على ما يقتضيها عند الله في نفس الأمر . والثاني صنفان منهم : من كشف له الله حقائق ما أمر بتبليغه والدعوة ، ومنهم : من ليس له ذلك وإنّما هو إنباء وإخبار من الله بذلك وأمر ونهي لا غير . وهم أيضا على قسمين : قسم منهم من يكون إنباء الحق وإخباره له في الرؤيا والهاتف والوحي بواسطة الملائكة ، وهو غير مأمور بالتبليغ والرسالة . وصنف مأمور بالتبليغ والرسالة . وهم صنفان : أولو العزم الذين أمروا أن يبلغوا إلى الأمم رسالة الله ، فإن لم يجيبوا بالمعجز قاتلوهم . وصنف ما عليهم إلَّا البلاغ ، فإن آمنوا أمنوا من عذاب الله في الدنيا وفي الآخرة أو فيهما معا ، وإن لم يؤمنوا لم يأمنوا كذلك . والصنف الأوّل الأعلى هم الذين يدعون على بصيرة كمحمّد صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم والمحمديين من الأنبياء والأولياء عالمين بأنّ الحق موجود في البداية والغاية . وهو عين المدعوّ والداعي والمدعوّ إليه ، وهو على كشف وبصيرة أنّه مأمور بالدعوة والإبلاغ بأمر الله ومشيّته ، وأنّه تقع الإجابة ممّن شاء الله له ، وعنى منه الإجابة ظاهرا وباطنا ، وممّن لا يكون كذلك ، ولا تقع الإجابة إلى الداعي إلَّا في صورة الردّ والصدّ أو تكون الإجابة ظاهرا لا باطنا أو باطنا لا ظاهرا بالبعض أو بالكلّ ، ولا بدّ من ذلك . وهو يدعو على بصيرة إلى اسم كلَّي محيط بكلّ مركَّب وبسيط ، وهو الاسم « الله » أو الاسم " الرحمن " ، " قُلِ ادْعُوا الله أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمنَ أَيًّا ما تَدْعُوا فَلَه ُ الأَسْماءُ الْحُسْنى " . وأنّ مصير صور التفرقة والجمع إليه إنّما يكون على وجهين : أحدهما : يوم نحشر المتّقين الذين اتّخذوا الله وقاية لهم عن آثار الأفعال والأحكام والأوصاف والأخلاق الحميدة في الإضافة فأضافوها إلى الله ، ففازوا بشهود الحق قائما على كل نفس بما كسبت ، وأنّ نواصيهم بيده تعالى والله هو الفاعل بهم وفيهم جميع أفاعيلهم فكلَّها من أعمال الله بهم وفيهم ، كما ثمّ أيضا كذلك. " وَالله خَلَقَكُمْ وَما تَعْمَلُونَ " فأضافوا ما أتوا به من المحامد والمحاسن والفضائل وصالحات الأعمال كلَّها إلى الله ، فخلصوا من ورطات الرياء والسمعة والشرك الخفيّ والجليّ وغير ذلك من العقبات الموجبة للعقوبات ، وجعلوا أنفسهم أيضا وقاية لله في إضافة النقائص والقبائح والمذام من الأعمال والأفعال والأخلاق والنعوت والأوصاف ، فحازوا بذلك أسرار شهود " وَما أَصابَكَ من سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ " بكسر الميم . وقوله : « والشرّ ليس إلَّا إليك ، ومن وجد غير ذلك فلا يلومنّ إلَّا نفسه » فنسبوا كلّ ذلك إلى أنفسهم ولم ينسبوا إلى الله . ووقفوا وقاية عن إضافة النقائص من نقائص الكمالات التي اتّخذوا الله فيها وقاية ، فصار كل منهما وقاية لصاحبه مع أحدية العين في عين الفرق فبدّل الله سيّئاتهم حسنات ، لأنّه لا فاعل في الحقيقة إلَّا الله جمعا وفرقا ، حقّا وخلقا ، ففازوا بحمد الله بدرجة التحقيق وانتهجوا سواء الطريق ، والرحمن الذي وسعهم بحيطة بسط عليهم مضافا إلى ما بهم من النعم من بسطته . والثاني : من أضاف الأفعال كلَّها إلى نفسه ، وهم على صنفين : منهم من سعد بالأعمال الصالحة والعبادات والطاعات ، فنجا . ومنهم من شقي بأضداد أفعال أهل السعادة ، فهلك ولم يجد ملتجأ . والصنفان على أصناف لا يتدارك ولا يحصيها إلَّا الله ، وكلَّهم محجوبون ، ولأهل الكشف والحجب تماثيل وأمثله منصوبون ، وعند كشف الغطاء مطالبون ، فافهم والله الملهم . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

He employed the particle of the terminus (ghāya) and joined it to the Name, so we knew that the world was under the encompassing dominion of a divine Name that necessitated that they be God-fearing (muttaqīn). The servant [author] says: The Muhammadan wellspring (mashrab), which comprehends all the prophetic calls and the legislative, obligatory rulings, is that the call (daʿwa) proceeds from one presence (ḥaḍra) to another presence, and from one divine Name-station to another, while God is the One called to in every instance — except that the entitative determinations (taʿayyunāt ʿayniyya), clothed in the entitative forms that necessitate distinction by "from" and "to," are graded one above another. For the self-disclosure (tajallī) from the presence of the Oneness of All-Comprehensiveness (aḥadiyyat al-jamʿ) is not like the self-disclosure in the oneness of differentiation and division (aḥadiyyat al-farq wa'l-ṣadʿ). Those who call [to God] are of two kinds: one calls to God by God's command, his concern being simply to carry out what he has been commanded regarding the call, without its being necessary for him to unveil the realities as they are required to be with God in the matter itself. The second kind is of two sorts: one to whom God has unveiled the realities of what he was commanded to convey and call to; and one for whom this is not so, it being for him only an announcement and informing from God of that, and a command and prohibition, nothing more. These too are of two divisions: one whose announcement and informing from the Real comes by vision, audition (hātif), or revelation through the mediation of angels, and who is not commanded with conveyance (tablīgh) and messengerhood (risāla); and a sort commanded with conveyance and messengerhood. These are two sorts: the Possessors of Resolve (ulū al-ʿazm), who were commanded to convey God's message to the nations, so that if they did not respond to the miraculous sign they fought them; and a sort upon whom rests nothing but the conveyance — if [the people] believed, they were safe from God's punishment in this world and the next, or in both together, and if they did not believe, they were likewise not safe. The first and highest sort are those who call with insight (baṣīra), like Muḥammad — God bless him and grant him peace — and the Muhammadans among the prophets and saints, knowing that the Real exists at the beginning and the end, and that He is the very identity (ʿayn) of the one called, the caller, and the one called to. Such a one is upon unveiling and insight that he is commanded with the call and conveyance by God's command and will, and that the response occurs from whomever God has willed it for — intending by it the response outwardly and inwardly — and does not occur from whomever this is not so for, so that the response reaching the caller occurs only in the form of rejection and repulsion, or the response is outward without inward, or inward without outward, in part or in whole; and this must needs be. He calls with insight to a universal Name encompassing every composite and simple thing, namely the Name "Allah" or the Name "the Merciful" (al-Raḥmān): "Say: Call upon Allah, or call upon the Merciful; whichsoever you call upon, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names." And the destiny (maṣīr) of the forms of differentiation and All-Comprehensiveness toward Him occurs only in two ways: One of them: "the Day We shall gather the God-fearing" — those who took God as a shield (wiqāya) for themselves against the traces of acts, rulings, attributes, and praiseworthy character traits in ascription (iḍāfa), ascribing them to God, and thereby attained the witnessing of the Real as standing over every soul with what it has earned, and that their forelocks are in His — exalted is He — hand, and that God is the Doer in them and through them of all their deeds, so that all of these belong to God's acts in them and through them, just as it is likewise so in the converse case: "And God created you and what you do." So they ascribed all that they brought of praiseworthy qualities, virtues, excellences, and righteous deeds entirely to God, and were thereby delivered from the pitfalls of ostentation (riyāʾ), seeking-to-be-heard (samʿa), hidden and manifest associationism (shirk), and other obstacles that necessitate punishments; and they likewise made themselves a shield for God in the ascription of deficiencies, ugly things, and blameworthy matters among deeds, acts, character traits, epithets, and attributes — thereby securing the mysteries of the witnessing of "whatever evil befalls you is from yourself" (with the kasra on the mīm). And as it is said: "Evil is not ascribed to You, and whoever finds it otherwise, let him blame only himself" — so they ascribed all of that to themselves and did not ascribe it to God. And they stood as a shield against ascribing the deficiencies among the deficiencies of the very perfections in which they had taken God as a shield, so that each of the two became a shield for its counterpart, together with the oneness of identity within the very state of differentiation — whereupon God transformed their evil deeds into good deeds, since in reality there is no doer but God, in both All-Comprehensiveness and differentiation, in both the Real (ḥaqq) and creation (khalq). Thus, praise be to God, they attained the degree of Verification (taḥqīq) and followed the straight path, and the Merciful, who encompassed them with His all-embracing dominion, extended over them — in addition to the blessings already theirs — from His extending bounty. The second way: he who ascribes all acts to himself. These are of two sorts: one who attained felicity through righteous deeds, acts of worship, and obedience, and so was saved; and one who became wretched through the opposites of the deeds of the people of felicity, and so perished and found no refuge. And these two sorts are further subdivided into kinds that none can encompass or enumerate save God, and all of them are veiled; and for the people of unveiling and of veiling there are set-up images and likenesses, and when the covering is lifted they are called to account. So understand — and God is the Inspirer. The Shaykh — may God be pleased with him — said:

﴿يوم نحشر المتقين إلى الرحمن وفدا﴾

فجاء بحرف الغاية وقرنها بالاسم، فعرفنا أن العالم كان تحت حيطة اسم إلهي

So He used the particle of end-goal (ilā) and paired it with the Name, so we know that the world was under the encompassing of a divine Name

﴿يوم نحشر المتقين إلى الرحمن وفدا … . فجاء بحرف الغاية وقرنها بالاسم، فعرفنا أن العالم كان تحت حيطة اسم إلهي أوجب عليهم أن يكونوا متقین. فقالوا في مكرهم:﴾

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

لا تذرن آلهتكم ولا تذرن ودا ولا سواعا ولا يغوث ويعوق ونسرا

the day We shall gather the God-fearing (al-mutaqīn) unto the All-Merciful (al-Raḥmān) as a delegation...' Here He brought the particle of the end/goal (ḥarf al-ghāya) and joined it to the [divine] Name, thereby making known to us that the cosmos was under the encompassing sway of a divine Name that necessitated their being God-fearing. So they said, in their scheme:] 'Abandon not your gods, and abandon not Wadd, nor Suwāʿ, nor Yaghūth, nor Yaʿūq, nor Nasr' —

﴿"المتقين إلى الرحمن وفدا"﴾

[مريم: 85] فجاء بحرف الغاية) التي هي إلى

] (He came with the particle of the terminus) which is 'ilā ('to')

﴿فجاء بحرف الغاية﴾

وهو (إلى). و (قرنها بالاسم الرحماني). ليعلم أن العالم من حيث إنه أسماء إلهية، أي مظهر أسماء إلهية جزئية كانت أو كلية، تحت إحاطة اسم إلهي وهو (الله) و (الرحمن) أزلا. فأوجب ذلك الاسم على أهل العالم أن يكونوا متقين محترمين عن عبادة أسماء الجزئية دائما، ليعبدوا الله بجميع أسمائه، لأن العابد لله عابد لجميع الأسماء لأنها داخلة فيه، وأما عابد (المنعم) مثلا، ليس عابد (المنتقم) فما يعبد الله من حيث جميع أسمائه. لذلك قال: (أأرباب متفرقون خير أم الله الواحد القهار؟)

which is (ilā - "to"), (and paired it with the Merciful Name), so that it be known that the world, insofar as it consists of divine names - that is, is a locus of manifestation of divine names, whether particular or universal - is under the encompassing of a divine Name, namely (Allāh) and (al-Raḥmān), eternally. That Name thus obligated the people of the world to be God-fearing, to hold themselves in reverent restraint always from worshipping particular names, so that they might worship God through all His Names - for the worshipper of God is a worshipper of all the Names, since they are included within Him; whereas the worshipper of, say, (the Bestower of Grace) is not a worshipper of (the Avenger), so he does not worship God from the standpoint of all His Names. For this reason He said: ("Are separate lords better, or God, the One, the Overpowering?")

﴿فجاء بحرف الغاية وقرنها بالاسم﴾

الذي هو قهرمان الوقت ، وإن كان من الأسماء الكلَّية المحيطة بالكلّ ، لكن الاسم من حيث هو له طرف الظهور فالطرف الآخر يقابله ويوجب الأمر للمقبلين إليه أن يجتنبوا عن أحكام ذلك المقابل . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

which is the governing authority (qahramān) of the time — even though it be among the universal names encompassing the whole — for the Name, insofar as it has an aspect of manifestation, has another opposing aspect which confronts it, and this necessitates that those who approach it must avoid the rulings of that opposing aspect. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿وقرنها بالاسم﴾

الرحمن المحشور إليه بعدما عبر عن المحشورين إليه بالمتقين. (فعرفنا) بجميع ذلك

al-Raḥmān (the All-Merciful), to whom they are gathered, after having described those gathered to Him as the God-fearing. (So we knew) through all of this

﴿فعرفنا أن العالم كان تحت حيطة اسم إلهى أوجب عليهم أن يكونوا متقين﴾

وحقيقة التقوى أن يجتنب الإنسان من إضافة الخيرات والكمالات والصفات الحميدة إلى نفسه أو غيره إلا إلى الله ، ويتقى به من أفعاله وصفاته فإنها شرور من معدن الإمكان ، فيطلع على سر قوله : " وما أَصابَكَ من سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ " لأن الشرور أمور عدمية وأصله العدم ومنبعه الإمكان . قوله

The reality of God-fearingness (taqwā) is that man refrain from ascribing goods, perfections, and praiseworthy attributes to himself or to another except to God, and that he guard himself thereby against his own acts and attributes, for these are evils arising from the locus of possibility (imkān). Thus he comes to know the secret of His saying: "Whatever evil befalls you is from yourself," for evils are privative matters (umūr ʿadamiyya) whose root is nonexistence (ʿadam) and whose source is possibility (imkān). His saying:

﴿فعرفنا أنّ العالم كان تحت حيطة اسم إلهي﴾

هو قهرمان الوقت كالرحمن في زمان الخاتم ، فله السلطنة على العالمين

that is the governing authority (qahramān) of the time — like al-Raḥmān in the age of the Seal — for it holds sovereignty over the worlds.

﴿أن العالم كان﴾

قبل حشر المحشورين

before the gathering of those gathered

﴿تحت حيطة اسم إلهي أوجب … عليهم أن يكونوا متقين﴾

وهذا الإيجاب إما أن يكون الاتفاء فيهم أثر من آثار ذلك الاسم كالاسم الواقي والحفيظ مثلا. أو يكون أثر ذلك الاسم مما يتقي منه كالاسم المنتقم والقهار وغيرهما، وعلى كل تقدير فحشرهم إلى الاسم الرحمن إنما هو من ذلك الاسم. فكما أن الحشر لا يكون إلا من اسم إلى آخر فكذلك الدعوة إلى الله تعالى لا تكون إلا كذلك قوله

and this requirement is either such that God-fearing (ittiqāʾ) in them is an effect among the effects of that Name — like the Name the Protector (al-Wāqī) and the Guardian (al-Ḥafīẓ), for example — or the effect of that Name is something to be feared, like the Name the Avenger (al-Muntaqim) and the Overwhelming (al-Qahhār), and others. In either case, their being gathered to the Name al-Raḥmān is indeed from that Name. Just as the gathering can only be from one Name to another, so too the summons to God, Most High, can only be likewise. His statement:

﴿أوجب عليهم أن يكونوا متقين﴾

فجاء القلب المحمدي، أو الداعي المحمدي، وعلم أن الدعوة إلى الله ليست من حيث هوية الحق، لأنها موجود في كل موجود، وإنما هي من حيث أسمائه، أي، يدعوا الخلق من الأسماء الجزئية التي يعبدونها إلى الاسم الجامع الإلهي وهو (الله) و (الرحمن). كما قال تعالى

So the Muhammadan heart, or the Muhammadan caller, came and knew that the call to God is not from the standpoint of the identity of the Real, since this is existent in every existent thing, but rather is from the standpoint of His Names - that is, he calls creatures from the particular names which they worship to the all-comprehensive divine Name, which is (Allāh) and (al-Raḥmān), as He said, exalted is He

﴿أوجب عليهم أن يكونوا متّقين﴾

عن أن يقبلوا وجوه كماله نحو غيره ، وينسبوا الصفات الكماليّة والأحكام الوجوديّة إليه ، فإنّ المنتسب إلى غيره إنّما هو النقائص الإمكانيّة والأحكام العدميّة - لا غير ، كما سبق تحقيقه في بيان معنى التقوى . مكر قوم نوح ثمّ إنّ نوحا لما أطلق الدعوة والمكر بها إطلاق تفرقة بعدم تقييدها وبالغ في تلك التفرقة حيث قال : " لَيْلًا وَنَهاراً " [ 71 / 5 ] أجاب قومه بما يطابق ذلك في التفرقة والمكر ( فـ " قالُوا " في مكرهم " لا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلا سُواعاً وَلا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْراً " ) [ 71 / 23 ] فصرّحوا في صورة تفرقة الآلهة بالعدد الخمس الذي هو امّ التفرقة العدديّة كلَّها ،على ما سبق . هذا وجه الإجمال ، وأمّا وجه التفصيل منه ، فله مجالي على منصّات التأويل حسب مدارج الأفهام ودخلها في حقائق التنزيل ، وأجلاها أن يحمل على المجالي الخمسة . ولا يخفى وجه النسبة الدالَّة عليها بترتيبها من الأعلى إلى الأنزل ، فلا نوضحه أكثر من ذلك . فبهذه الوصيّة مكروا معه مكرا كبّارا ، لأنّهم إنّما تواصوا على عدم تركهم تلك الصور شيئا منها لئلَّا يفوتهم من الجمعيّة شيء. قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

against accepting the aspects of His perfection as directed toward other than Him, and against ascribing the perfections of attributes and the ontological rulings to other than Him. For what is ascribed to other than Him is only the possible imperfections and the privative rulings—nothing else, as was previously established in explaining the meaning of taqwā. The Scheming of Noah's People: Then when Noah made the call [to God] and the scheming against it unrestricted, by not qualifying it, and intensified that unrestrictedness by saying: "night and day" [71:5], his people answered him with something matching that in its differentiation and scheming (so "they said," in their scheming, "By no means abandon your gods, and by no means abandon Wadd, nor Suwāʿ, nor Yaghūth and Yaʿūq and Nasr") [71:23]. Thus they made explicit, in the form of differentiating the deities, the number five, which is the mother of all numerical differentiation, as previously explained. This is the aspect of summary; as for the aspect of elaboration, it has manifestations upon the platforms of interpretation according to the degrees of understanding and their entry into the realities of revelation, and the clearest of these is that it be interpreted in terms of the five loci of manifestation (majālī). The aspect of the relation indicating them, in their ordering from the highest to the lowest, is not hidden, so we shall not elaborate on it further. By this counsel they schemed against him a mighty scheming, for they had mutually enjoined not to abandon any of those forms whatsoever, lest something of the comprehensiveness (jamʿiyya) should escape them. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿أن يكونوا﴾

أي أهل العالم (متقين) أي حافظين محترزین عبادة غير هذا الاسم الإلهي من الأسماء التي تحت حيطة . فما مکر قوم محمد عليه السلام معه لانعدام موجب المكر وهو التنبيه في الدعوة إلى هوية الحق فدعا قومه إلى الله من حيث أسمائه بلا تنبيه إلى هويته. فما مكر في الدعوة حتى أجابوه مكرا بخلاف دعوة نوح عليه السلام ولو دعا قومه بمثل هذه الدعوة لأجابوه بلا مکر وكم بين الدعوتين . وما علم الدعوة مثل ما علم محمد عليه السلام فلا يدعو مثل ما دعاه محمد عليه السلام فكانت إجابة كل قوم بحسب دعوة نبيه (فقالوا) بعضهم لبعض

that is, the people of the world (God-fearing), that is, guarding and refraining from worshipping, besides this divine Name, any of the [other] Names that fall under its encompassment. Thus the people of Muhammad, peace be upon him, did not scheme against him, since the cause necessitating guile was absent — namely, drawing attention in the call to the ipseity of the Real. He called his people to God from the standpoint of His Names, without pointing to His ipseity. Thus he did not employ guile in the call, so that they did not answer him with guile — unlike the call of Noah, peace be upon him. Had he called his people with a call like that one, they would have answered him without guile. How great is the difference between the two calls! No one knew the [nature of the] call as Muhammad, peace be upon him, knew it; so none calls as Muhammad called. Thus the response of each people was in accordance with the call of their prophet. (They said) to one another,