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 135 · “His blessings, outward and inward”
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 299, Damascus 1966, p. 300, Damascus 1966, p. 301, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 293, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 294 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «أَلَمْ تَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمٰوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً».
God, exalted is He, says: “Have you not seen that God has made subservient to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and has lavished upon you His blessings, outward and inward?” (Q 31:20)
اعْلَمْ أَنَّ نِعَمَ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- عَلَى عِبَادِهِ عَامَّةٌ وَخَاصَّةٌ، وَخَاصَّةٌ بِالْخَاصَّةِ، فَهِيَ أَنْوَاعٌ ثَلَاثَةٌ دُنْيَاوِيَّةٌ مَحْضَةٌ، وَأُخْرَاوِيَّةٌ مَحْضَةٌ، وَمُمْتَزِجَةٌ.
Know that God's blessings, exalted is He, upon His servants are general, particular, and particular to the elect. They are thus of three kinds: purely worldly, purely otherworldly, and mixed.
فَالدُّنْيَوِيَّةُ هِيَ قَوْلُهُ: سَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمٰوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ مَلَكٍ وَفَلَكٍ وَرِيحٍ وَسَحَابٍ وَمَعْدِنٍ وَنَبَاتٍ وَحَيَوَانٍ•
The worldly blessing is His words, “He has made subservient to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth”: angels, spheres, wind, clouds, minerals, plants and animals.
فَالْعَرْشُ وَمَا حَوَى سَاعٍ فِيمَا يَتَنَعَّمُ بِهِ الْاِنْسَانُ فِي دُنْيَاهُ
For the Throne and all it encloses are at work in what man enjoys in his world.
وَهٰذِهِ عَامَّةٌ لِجَمِيعِ بَنِي آدَمَ مُؤْمِنِهِمْ وَكَافِرِهِمْ بَرِّهِمْ وَفَاجِرِهِمْ
This blessing is general to all the children of Adam, believer and unbeliever among them, righteous and wicked.
وَالْأُخْرَاوِيَّةُ• هِيَ قَوْلُهُ: «وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً».
The otherworldly blessing is His words: “and has lavished upon you His blessings, outward” (Q 31:20).
أَيْ جَعَلَ نِعَمَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ سَابِغَةً، وَافِرَةً ظَاهِرَةً، بِاِرْسَالِ الرُّسُلِ وَاِنْزَالِ الْوَحْيِ الْجِبْرَائِيلِيِّ بِالشَّرَائِعِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ،
That is, He has made His blessings upon you ample, abundant and outward, by sending the messengers and sending down the Gabrielic revelation with the Laws and the rulings,
الَّتِي هِيَ وَظَائِفُ الْأَعْضَاءِ وَالْقُوَى الظَّاهِرَةِ وَحِلْيَتُهَا الْمُوجِبَةُ لِلسَّعَادَةِ الدَّائِمَةِ، وَالنَّعِيمِ الْأَبَدِيِّ بِالتَّمَتُّعِ بِالْجِنَانِ وَبِمَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْقُصُورِ الْعَالِيَةِ، وَالْحُورِ الْغَالِيَةِ، وَكُلِّ مَا تَشْتَهِيهِ الْأَنْفُسُ وَتَلَذُّ الْأَعْيُنُ، ظَاهِرٌ لِظَاهِرٍ،
which are the duties of the outward limbs and faculties and their adornment, bringing about lasting happiness and everlasting bliss in the enjoyment of the Gardens and what is in them: lofty palaces, precious houris, and all that souls desire and eyes delight in, outward for outward.
وَهٰذِهِ النِّعْمَةُ خَاصَّةٌ بِاَتْبَاعِ الرُّسُلِ ـ عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ ـ وَهِيَ أُخْرَاوِيَّةٌ مَحْضَةٌ،
This blessing is particular to the followers of the messengers, upon them be blessing and peace, and it is purely otherworldly.
وَعَلَيْهِ؛ فَالْآيَةُ صَرِيحَةٌ فِي أَنَّهُ ـ تَعَالَى ـ لَايَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ اِرْسَالُ الرُّسُلِ وَلَا الصَّلاَّحُ، وَالْأَصْلَحُ كَمَا قَالَتِ الْمُعْتَزِلَةُ، بَلْ هُوَ مُتَفَضِّلٌ بِذٰلِكَ،
Accordingly, the verse is explicit that neither the sending of the messengers nor the good and the most beneficial is obligatory upon Him, exalted is He, as the Muʿtazila said; rather, He bestows it as a free favour,
اِذْ لَوْ وَجَبَ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ مَا أُمْتُنَّ بِهِ وَلَا تَمَدَّحَ بِهِ ـ تَعَالَى ـ لِأَنَّ أَدَاءَ الْوَاجِبِ؛ لَا امْتِنَانَ وَلَا تَمَدُّحَ بِهِ•
For if any of that were obligatory upon Him, no favour would have been claimed for it, nor would He, exalted is He, have praised Himself for it, since in discharging what is obligatory there is no favour and no self-praise.
«وَبَاطِنَةً»، فَهٰذِهِ هِيَ النِّعْمَةُ الْمُمْتَزِجَةُ بِالدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ،
“And inward” (Q 31:20): this is the blessing that is mixed of this world and the next,
وَهِيَ بِاِرْسَالِ رُسُلِ الْاِلْهَامِ بِالْعُلُومِ اللَّدُنِّيَّةِ، وَالْمَعَارِفِ الْكَشْفِيَّةِ، وَالْحَقَائِقِ الْغَيْبِيَّةِ، اِلَى قُلُوبِ وَرَثَةِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ،
and it comes by the sending of the messengers of inspiration, with the knowledges from His presence, the gnoses of unveiling and the realities of the unseen, to the hearts of the heirs of the prophets,
وَهُمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ الْعَارِفُونَ الْمُتَحَقِّقُونَ بِالِاقْتِدَاءِ بِالْأَنْبِيَاءِ، ـ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ـ فِي أَفْعَالِهِمْ وَأَحْوَالِهِمْ،
and they are the scholars, the knowers, who have attained realisation by following the example of the prophets, God's blessings and peace be upon them, in their acts and their states,
فَتَحَلَّى بِهَا أَرْوَاحُكُمْ، وَقُلُوبُكُمْ، وَنُفُوسُكُمْ، كَمَا تَزَيَّنَتْ ظَوَاهِرُكُمْ بِالْوَظَائِفِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ الظَّاهِرَةِ،
so that your spirits, your hearts and your souls are adorned with them, just as your outward parts have been adorned with the outward duties of the Law.
وَهٰذِهِ الْعُلُومُ وَالْمَعَارِفُ تُوجِبُ السَّعَادَةَ الرُّوحِيَّةَ وَالْقَلْبِيَّةَ، وَدَوَامَ التَّلَذُّذِ بِشُهُودِ الْجَمَالِ الْحَقِيقِيِّ وَالتَّمَتُّعِ بِشُهُودِ التَّجَلِّيَاتِ الْمُتَنَوِّعَةِ بَاطِنٌ لِبَاطِنٍ،
These knowledges and gnoses bring about the happiness of the spirit and of the heart, and lasting delight in beholding the true Beauty and enjoyment in beholding the manifold self-disclosures, inward for inward.
وَهٰذِهِ النِّعْمَةُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ لِمَنْ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِهَا، فَهِيَ نِعْمَةٌ خَاصَّةٌ بِخَوَاصِّ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ،
This blessing, in this world and the next, belongs to those on whom God has bestowed it; it is therefore a blessing particular to the elect among God's servants.
وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ ـ تَعَالَى ـ بَيْنَ ظَاهِرِ الْاِنْسَانِ وَبَاطِنِهِ اتِّصَالاً مَعْنَوِيّاً غَيْباً،
God, exalted is He, has set between man's outward and his inward a connection that is a matter of meaning and of the unseen.
فَاِذَا قَامَتِ الْأَعْضَاءُ الظَّاهِرَةُ بِمَا كُلِّفَتْ بِهِ مِنَ الطَّاعَاتِ عَلَى وَجْهِهَا الْمَشْرُوعِ، وَتَحَلَّتْ بِالْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَاتِ انْعَكَسَ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْأَعْمَالِ نُورٌ اِلَى الْقُوَى الْبَاطِنَةِ، فَتَقَوَّتْ أَنْوَارُ الْبَاطِنِ،
When the outward limbs carry out the acts of obedience imposed on them, in the manner the Law prescribes, and are adorned with righteous works, a light is reflected from those works onto the inward faculties, and the lights of the inward grow strong;
وَاِذَا قَامَتِ الْقُوَى الْبَاطِنَةُ بِوَظَائِفِهَا مِنَ الْمُرَاقَبَةِ وَالْحُضُورِ وَالْآدَابِ الْمَطْلُوبَةِ مِنْهَا؛ انْعَكَسَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ نُورٌ اِلَى الْأَعْضَاءِ الظَّاهِرَةِ فَاسْتَحَلَّتْ ظَوَاهِرَ الطَّاعَاتِ، وَاسْتَلَانَتْ
and when the inward faculties carry out their duties of watchfulness, presence and the courtesies required of them, a light is reflected from that onto the outward limbs, and they find the outward forms of obedience sweet, and find [them] easy …
مَشَقَّةَ الْعِبَادَاتِ، وَدَأَبَتْ عَلَى نَوَافِلِ الْخَيْرَاتِ،
… the hardship of the acts of worship, and [she/it] kept persistently to the supererogatory good works,
فَصَارَ كُلٌّ وَاحِدٌ مِنْهُمَا لِلْآخَرِ سَنَداً، وَعَضُداً مُمِدّاً•
so that each one of the two became for the other a support, and a sustaining aid.
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