The Book of Stations

1. Mawqif 120 · The staff that became a serpent

   See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 262, Damascus 1966, p. 263, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 258, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 259, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 260 (archive.org)

   قَالَ تَعَالَى: «فَأَلْقَى عَصَاهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ ثُعْبَانٌ مُبِينٌ⁽²⁾».

   He, exalted is He, said: “So he cast down his staff, and behold, it was a manifest serpent” (Q 7:107; Q 26:32).✦

   ¶ 1017

2. اعْلَمْ: أَنَّ قَوْلَ الْحُكَمَاءِ وَبَعْضِ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ، انْقِلَابُ الْحَقَائِقِ مُحَالٌ، وَالْأَعْيَانُ لَاتَنْقَلِبُ، وَنَحْوَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عِبَارَاتِهِمْ، يُرِيدُونَ: أَنَّ الْجَمَادَ لَا يَنْقَلِبُ حَيَوَاناً مَثَلاً، لِكَوْنِ الْجَمَادِ لَهُ حَقِيقَةٌ بِهَا هُوَ هُوَ، تُغَايِرُ حَقِيقَةَ الْحَيَوَانِ الَّتِي بِهَا هُوَ هُوَ، لَايَصِحُّ•

   Know that the saying of the philosophers and of some of the theologians, “the transformation of realities is impossible” and “the entities do not transform”, and similar expressions of theirs, is not sound. By it they mean that an inanimate thing does not, for example, transform into an animal, because the inanimate thing has a reality by which it is what it is, and this differs from the reality of the animal by which it is what it is.✦

   ¶ 1018

3. وَكَذَا تَقْسِيمُهُمُ الْعَالَمَ اِلَى جَوَاهِرَ وَأَعْرَاضٍ• وَزَادَ الْحُكَمَاءُ الْمُجَرَّدَاتِ لَايَصِحُّ.

   Likewise their division of the world into substances and accidents (the philosophers add the separate beings) is not sound.✦

   ¶ 1019

4. اِذْ مِنَ الْمَعْلُومِ أَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الشَّيْءِ مَا بِهِ هُوَ هُوَ، وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ فِي الْعَالَمِ أَجْنَاسُهُ وَأَنْوَاعُهُ وَأَشْخَاصُهُ؛ اِنَّمَا هُوَ هُوَ بِحَقِيقَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ لَاتَتَعَدَّدُ، وَلَا تَتَجَزَّأُ وَلَا تَتَبَعَّضُ،

   For it is known that the reality of a thing is that by which it is what it is. Everything in the world, its genera, its species and its individuals, is what it is only by a single reality, which is not multiplied, nor divided into parts, nor split into portions.✦

   ¶ 1020

5. وَهَذِهِ الْحَقِيقَةُ مَعَ وَحْدَتِهَا؛ هِيَ الْمُقَوِّمَةُ لِجَمِيعِ أَجْنَاسِ الْعَالَمِ وَأَنْوَاعِهِ وَأَشْخَاصِهِ وَجُزْئِيَّاتِهِ، وَالْعَالَمُ قَائِمٌ بِهَا،

   This reality, for all its oneness, is what constitutes all the genera of the world, its species, its individuals and its particulars, and the world subsists through it.✦

   ¶ 1021

6. وَلَا يَصِحُّ انْقِلَابُ الْوَاحِدِ بِالْوَحْدَةِ الْحَقِيقِيَّةِ، لِأَنَّهُ لَوِ انْقَلَبَ انْقَلَبَ اِلَى غَيْرِهِ، وَلَا غَيْرَ• أَوْ يَنْقَلِبُ اِلَى لَا شَيْءٍ، وَذَلِكَ لَايُعْقَلُ•

   The transformation of what is one with true oneness is not possible. Were it to transform, it would transform into something other than itself, and there is no other; or it would transform into nothing, and that is inconceivable.✦

   ¶ 1022

7. فَلَوْ كَانَ لِكُلِّ فَرْدٍ مِنْ أَفْرَادِ الْعَالَمِ حَقِيقَةٌ تَخُصُّهُ، وَهُوَ مُرَكَّبٌ مِنَ الْحَقِيقَةِ الَّتِي تَخُصُّهُ، وَالْعَرَضِ؛ لَمَا صَحَّ انْقِلَابُ الْعَصَا ثُعْبَاناً مُبِيناً، وَلَا نَحْوُ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مُعْجِزَاتِ الرُّسُلِ ـ عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ ـ كَانْقِلَابِ النَّارِ بَرْداً وَسَلَاماً.

   If each individual in the world had a reality proper to it, and were composed of the reality proper to it and the accident, then the transformation of the staff into a manifest serpent would not be possible. Nor would anything like it among the miracles of the messengers, upon them be blessing and peace, be possible, such as the transformation of the fire into coolness and safety.✦

   ¶ 1023

8. وَلَاصَحَّ قَوْلُ الْحُكَمَاءِ بِالشَّكْلِ الْغَرِيبِ،

   Nor would the philosophers' doctrine of the strange figure be sound.✦

   ¶ 1024

9. فَثَبَتَ أَنَّ الْعَرْشَ وَمَا حَوَى، مِمَّا قَسَّمُوهُ اِلَى جَوَاهِرَ وَأَعْرَاضٍ، وَمُجَرَّدَاتٍ؛ كُلُّهُ أَعْرَاضٌ، وَحَقِيقَتُهُ الَّتِي بِهَا هُوَ هُوَ، وَاحِدَةٌ.

   So it is established that the Throne and all it contains, which they divided into substances, accidents and separate beings, is all of it accidents, and that its reality, by which it is what it is, is one.✦

   ¶ 1025

10. وَهِيَ الْمُقَوِّمَةُ لَهُ، وَهِيَ لَاتُدْرَكُ عَلَى حِدَتِهَا بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْحَوَاسِّ.

    It is what constitutes it, and it is not perceived on its own by any of the senses.✦

    ¶ 1026

11. فَوُجُودُهَا فِي الْخَارِجِ؛ هُوَ وُجُودُ الصُّورَةِ، وَلَا هِيَ دَاخِلَةٌ فِي الْعَالَمِ وَلَا خَارِجَةٌ عَنْهُ.

    Its existence in the external world is the existence of the form, and it is neither inside the world nor outside it.✦

    ¶ 1027

12. وَاَنَّهَذِهِ الْحَقِيقَةَ تَلْبَسُ أَعْرَاضاً وَتَخْلَعُهَا، وَتَلْبَسُ أَعْرَاضاً، وَهَكَذَا عَلَى الدَّوَامِ، كَمَا لَبِسَتِ الْأَعْرَاضَ الَّتِي تَخُصُّ الْعَصَا ثُمَّ خَلَعَتْهَا، وَلَبِسَتِ الْأَعْرَاضَ الَّتِي تَخُصُّ الثُّعْبَانَ ثُمَّ خَلَعَتْهَا، وَهَكَذَا.

    And it is established that this reality puts on accidents and takes them off, then puts on accidents again, and so on perpetually. Thus it put on the accidents proper to the staff and then took them off, and put on the accidents proper to the serpent and then took them off, and so on.✦

    ¶ 1028

13. وَهِيَ فِي حَدِّ ذَاتِهَا لَا تَبَدَّلُ وَلَا تَتَغَيَّرُ عَنْ حَقِيقَتِهَا، فَهِيَ هِيَ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ،

    In itself it does not alter and does not change from its reality; it remains what it is in every state.✦

    ¶ 1029

14. وَهِيَ حَقِيقَةُ النَّارِ الَّتِي صَارَتْ بَرْداً وَسَلَاماً،

    It is the reality of the fire that became coolness and safety.✦

    ¶ 1030

15. فَالنَّارُ تُحْرِقُ بِصُورَتِهَا لَا بِحَقِيقَتِهَا ، قَبِلَتْ تِلْكَ الْحَقِيقَةُ الْبَرْدَ ، الَّذِي هُوَ عَرَضٌ ، كَمَا قَبِلَتِ الْحَرَارَةَ وَالْاِحْرَاقَ الَّذِي هُوَ عَرَضٌ .
    ¶ 1031

16. فَالْحَرَارَةُ لَا تَنْقَلِبُ بُرُودَةً ، وَلَكِنَّ الْحَقِيقَةَ الَّتِي قَامَتْ بِهَا الْحَرَارَةُ ، لَمَّا انْعَدَمَتِ الْحَرَارَةُ ؛ قَبِلَتْ قِيَامَ الْبُرُودَةِ بِهَا ، وَهَكَذَا فِي جَمِيعِ الْأَعْرَاضِ .
    ¶ 1032

17. فَالْعَالَمُ وَاحِدٌ بِحَقِيقَتِهِ الَّتِي بِهَا هُوَ هُوَ ، مُخْتَلِفٌ بِأَعْرَاضِهِ .
    ¶ 1033

18. وَلَا يُمْكِنُ حَمْلُ قَوْلِهِمْ « انْقِلَابُ الْحَقَائِقِ مُحَالٌ » عَلَى الْأَعْيَانِ الثَّابِتَةِ ، الَّتِي هِيَ حَقَائِقُ الْأَشْيَاءِ فِي الْعِلْمِ ، فَاِنَّهَا مَا خَرَجَتْ عَنِ الْعِلْمِ اِلَى الْعَيْنِ ؛ حَتَّى يُتَصَوَّرَ فِيهَا الِانْقِلَابُ
    ¶ 1034

19. وَلَا أَنَّهُمْ أَرَادُوا بِالْحَقَائِقِ أَحْكَامَ الِاسْتِعْدَادَاتِ ، الَّتِي ظَهَرَتْ بِهَا هَذِهِ الْحَقِيقَةُ الْكُلِّيَّةُ الْمُشْتَرَكَةُ بَيْنَ أَفْرَادِ الْعَالَمِ جَمِيعِهِ ، فَاِنَّ هَذَا لَيْسَ مِنْ عُلُومِهِمُ الْعَقْلِيَّةِ
    ¶ 1035

20. وَكَذَا قَوْلُهُمْ بِالِاسْتِحَالَةِ أَعْنِي قَوْلَهُمْ : اسْتَحَالَ الْمَاءُ هَوَاءً ، وَالْهَوَاءُ نَاراً ، وَنَحْوَ ذَلِكَ ؛ لَايَصِحُّ ، بَلْ هُوَ مِنْ نَمَطِ مَا ذَكَرْنَا ، مِنْ خَلْعِ الْحَقِيقَةِ الْكُلِّيَّةِ عَرَضاً وَلُبْسِهَا آخَرَ مِثْلَهُ ، أَوْ ضِدَّهُ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ،
    ¶ 1036

21. فَاِذَا عَرَفْتَ هَذَا؛عَرَفْتَ مَايُزَ َّهِّدُكَ فِي عُلُومِ الْعُقَلَاءِ مِنَ الْحُكَمَاءِ وَالْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ ، وَيُرَغِّبُكَ فِي عِلْمِ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللَّهِ ـ تَعَالَى ـ،
    ¶ 1037

22. وَهَذِهِ الْمَسْأَلَةُ ، وَمَا شَاكَلَهَا ؛ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِيَّاتِ الضَّرُورِيَّاتِ عِنْدَ الْقَوْمِ ـ رِضْوَانُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمْ ـ
    ¶ 1038

23. وَقَدْ خَطَرَ لِي اِنْ كَانَ فِي الْعُمْرِ سَعَةٌ تَأْلِيفُ كِتَابٍ أَجْمَعُ فِيهِ مَا وَصَلَ اِلَيْهِ عِلْمِي مِنْ غَلَطَاتِ الْحُكَمَاءِ وَالْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ ، اُسَمِّيهِ « الْاِعْلَامَ بِأَغَالِيطِ الْأَعْلَامِ » اِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى .
    ¶ 1039

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