al-Amīr ʿAbd al-Qādir b. Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Jazāʾirī · Kitāb al-Mawāqif fī baʿḍ ishārāt al-Qurʾān ilā al-asrār wa-l-maʿārif
المواقف
The Book of Stations
Mawqif 11 · “He has prescribed mercy for Himself”
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 44, Damascus 1966, p. 45, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 56, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 57 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى:- «كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ»
He, exalted is He, has said: "Your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself" (Q 6:54).
وَقَالَ: «وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ»
And He has said: "And helping the believers has ever been a right due from Us" (Q 30:47).
وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «اِنَّ حَقًّا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَارَفَعَ شَيْئًا فِي الدُّنْيَا اِلَاّ وَضَعَهُ».
And he (God bless him and grant him peace) said: "Truly it is a right upon God that He has not raised anything in this world without lowering it."
وَنَحْوُ هَذَا مِنَ الْآيِ وَالْأَخْبَارِ، الدَّالَّةِ عَلَى وُجُوبِ أَشْيَاءَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- فَلَا يُفْهَمُ مِنْ هَذَا الْحَقِيقَةُ الْمَعْرُوفَةُ فِي الْعُرْفِ، الْوُجُوبُ، الَّذِي يَسْتَحِقُّ فَاعِلُهُ الْمَدْحَ وَتَارِكُهُ الذَّمَّ، حَتَّى يَكُونَ الْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى- دَاخِلاً تَحْتَ الْحَجْرِ وَالْحَصْرِ، تَعَالَى عَنْ ذَلِكَ،
As for this and the like among the verses and reports that indicate that certain things are obligatory upon the Real (exalted is He): one is not to understand from it the literal sense known in common usage, namely obligation, whose doer deserves praise and whose omitter deserves blame, so that the Real (exalted is He) would fall under restriction and confinement. He is exalted above that.
وَاِنَّمَا الْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى- أَخْبَرَنَا، وَرَسُولُهُ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- بِأَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءَ وَأَمْثَالَهَا؛ اقْتَضَتْهَا مَرْتَبَتُهُ الْأُلُوهِيَّةُ اقْتِضَاءً ذَاتِيّاً لَهَا، لَا مُقْتَضِىَ لَهَا غَيْرُهَا،
Rather, the Real (exalted is He), and His Messenger (God bless him and grant him peace), have informed us that these things and their like are required by His rank, divinity, with a requirement essential to it; there is nothing that requires them other than it.
اِذْ لَا يَصْدُرُ مِنَ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- شَيْءٌ؛ اِلَاّ وَلِذَلِكَ الشَّيْءِ اسْمٌ اِلَهِيءٌ اقْتَضَى صُدُورَ ذَلِكَ الشَّيْءِ كَائِناً مَا كَانَ.
For nothing issues from the Real (exalted is He) unless that thing has a divine Name that required the issuing of that thing, whatever it may be.
فَالْأُلُوهِيَّةُ نِسْبَةٌ وَمَرْتَبَةٌ، لَهَا أَحْكَامٌ وَخُصُوصِيَّاتٌ، لَا بُدَّ مِنْهَا لِتَحْقِيقِ الْمَرْتَبَةِ،
Divinity is a relation and a rank, having determinations and particularities that are indispensable for the rank to be realised;
وَالْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى- مُخْتَارٌ فِي كُلِّ فِعْلٍ وَتَرْكٍ، لَا مُكْرِهَ لَهُ، وَلَا مُقْتَضِىَ، الْأُلُوهِيَّةُ مِنْ أُلُوهِيَّتِهِ، أَعْنِي مَرْتَبَتَهُ،
and the Real (exalted is He) chooses freely in every act and every omission: there is none who compels Him and none who requires [anything of Him]; divinity [comes] from His own divinity, I mean His rank;
كَأَنْ يَفْعَلَ الْمَلِكُ مَثَلاً أَشْيَاءَ مِنْ لَوَازِمِ الْمَمْلَكَةِ وَمُقْتَضَيَاتِهَا، فَيَرَى السُّوقَةُ أَنَّ الْمَلِكَ تَكَلَّفَهَا وَأَلْزَمَ نَفْسَهُ مَا لَيْسَ بِلَازِمٍ عَلَيْهِ،
as when a king, for example, does things that are among the necessary concomitants and requirements of kingship, and the common people suppose that the king has burdened himself with them and bound himself to what is not binding upon him;
وَمَا يَدْرِي السُّوقَةُ أَنَّ رُتْبَةَ الْمَمْلَكَةِ أقْتَضَتْ ذَلِكَ الْفِعْلَ لِذَاتِهَا، لَا لِمُقْتَضٍ آخَرَ خَارِجٍ عَنْهَا،
and the common people do not know that the rank of kingship required that act by its very essence, not because of some other requirer outside it.
وَلَوْ تَرَكَ الْمَلِكُ ذَلِكَ الْفِعْلَ، الَّذِي اقْتَضَتْهُ رُتْبَةُ الْمَمْلَكَةِ؛ لَمَا أَكْرَهَهُ غَيْرُهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَكِنْ مَا تَصِحُّ لَهُ رُتْبَةُ الْمَمْلَكَةِ بِالْحَقِيقَةِ؛ فَاِنَّ الْمَرْتَبَةَ تَعْزِلُهُ فِي نَفْسِ الْأَمْرِ لِنَقْصِ شَيْءٍ مِنْ مُقْتَضَيَاتِهَا وَخُصُوصِيَّتِهَا.
Were the king to omit that act which the rank of kingship required, no one else would compel him to it; but the rank of kingship would not truly hold good for him, for the rank deposes him in actual fact because something of its requirements and its particularity is lacking.
وَرُتْبَةُ الْأُلُوهِيَّةِ ثَابِتَةٌ لِلَّهِ- تَعَالَى- عَقْلاً وَنَقْلاً، ظَاهِراً وَبَاطِناً،
The rank of divinity is established for God (exalted is He) by reason and by transmission, outwardly and inwardly,
فَهُوَ يَفْعَلُ مَا تَقْتَضِيهِ أُلُوهِيَّتُهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ اعْتِبَارِ شَيْءٍ زَايِدٍ عَلَى ذَلِكَ،
so He does what His divinity requires, without regard to anything additional to that.
وَقَدْ تَكَلَّمَ اِمَامُنَا مُحْيِ الدِّينِ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ بِغَيْرِ هَذَا،
Our imam Muḥyī al-Dīn has spoken on this question in other terms than these,
وَالْكُلُّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- كُلاًّ؛ نُمِدُّ هَٰؤُلَاءِ وَهَٰؤُلَاءِ مِنْ عَطَاءِ رَبِّكَ.
and all is from God (exalted is He): "Each We supply, these and those, from the bounty of your Lord" (Q 17:20).
وَمَا كَانَ عَطَاءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُوراً.
"And the bounty of your Lord has never been withheld" (Q 17:20).
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