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

About this text

Mawqif 143 · “Look at the traces of God’s mercy”
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 323, Damascus 1966, p. 324, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 311, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 312 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «فَانْظُرْ إِلَى ءَاثَارِ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْيِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْيِ الْمَوْتَى وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ»
He, exalted is He, said: "So look at the traces of God's mercy, how He gives life to the earth after its death; truly that One is the Giver of life to the dead, and He has power over all things" (Q 30:50).
الْمُخَاطَبُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- وَنَحْنُ الْمُرَادُونَ.
The one addressed is the Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace), and we are the ones meant.
أَمَرَ- تَعَالَى- أَنْ لَايُصَدَّقَ كُلُّ مُدَّعٍ وَلَا يُتَّبَعَ كُلُّ نَاعِقٍ، وَلَكِنْ يُنْظَرَ اِلَى وُجُودِ أَثَرِ الرَّحْمَةِ وَعَدَمِهِ، فَتُصَدَّقَ الدَّعْوَى أَوْ تُكَذَّبَ.
He, exalted is He, commanded that not every claimant be believed and not every crier be followed, but that one look to whether the trace of mercy is present or absent, and so the claim is either believed or declared false.
فَمَنِ ادَّعَى أَنَّ الْحَقَّ- تَعَالَى- اخْتَصَّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ، وَجَعَلَهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ حَضْرَتِهِ؛ يُنْظَرْ فِي دَعْوَاهُ.
So whoever claims that the Real, exalted is He, has singled him out for a mercy from Himself and made him one of the people of His Presence: his claim is to be examined.
فَاِنْ ظَهَرَ عَلَيْهِ أَثَرُ الرَّحْمَةِ وَهُوَ اِدْرَارُ الْعُلُومِ الرَّبَّانِيَّةِ الْوَهْبِيَّةِ، وَالْأَسْرَارِ الْعِرْفَانِيَّةِ الْغَيْبِيَّةِ، كَمَا قَالَ فِي الْخَضِرِ- عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ-: «آتَيْنَاهُ رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِنْ لَدُنَّا عِلْماً»
Then if the trace of mercy appears upon him, namely the abundant flow of lordly sciences that are bestowed as gifts, and of secrets of divine knowing from the Unseen, as He said of al-Khaḍir (peace be upon him): "We gave him a mercy from Us and taught him knowledge from Our presence" (Q 18:65)…
وَقَالَ نُوحٌ- عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ-: «وَءَاتَانِي رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِهِ فَعُمِّيَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ»
And Noah (peace be upon him) said: "and He gave me a mercy from Himself, but it has been obscured from you" (Q 11:28).
فَذَلِكَ الصَّادِقُ فِي دَعْوَاهُ فَلْيُلَبِّهِ مَنْ نَادَاهُ فَاِنَّهُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ.
…then that one is truthful in his claim; so let whoever he calls answer him, for he stands on clear evidence from his Lord.
وَتَلَاهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ.
And a witness from Him has followed him.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَظْهَرْ عَلَيْهِ أَثَرُ الرَّحْمَةِ الِاخْتِصَاصِيَّةِ، وَكَانَ بَعْدَ دَعْوَى رَحْمَةِ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- اِيَّاهُ كَمَا هُوَ قَبْلَهَا؛ فَهُوَ مُفْتَرٍ كَذَّابٌ.
But whoever shows no trace of the mercy of special election, and after claiming the Real's mercy upon him (exalted is He) remains just as he was before it, is a fabricator and a liar.
كَيْفَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا؟!
"How He gives life to the earth after its death"!
أَيْ حَالَةَ كَوْنِهِ- تَعَالَى- يُحْيِي أَرْضَ أَيِّ نَفْسٍ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ الرَّحْمَةِ الِاخْتِصَاصِيَّةِ بِالْعِلْمِ الْأِلَٰهِيِّ، مِنْ غَيْرِ وَاسِطَةِ مُعَلِّمٍ مَشْهُودٍ، وَبَعْدَ أَنْ كَانَتْ أَرْضُ نَفْسِهِ مَيِّتَةً بِالْجَهْلِ.
That is: in the state of His (exalted is He) giving life to the earth of any soul whatever, out of the mercy of the mercy of special election, through divine knowledge, without the mediation of a visible teacher, after the earth of that soul had been dead through ignorance.
فَحَيَاةُ أَرْضِ النُّفُوسِ لَيْسَتْ اِلَاّ بِالْعِلْمِ الرَّبَّانِيِّ، قَالَ اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ اِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ•
So the life of the earth of souls is only through lordly knowledge. He said: "Respond to God and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life" (Q 8:24).
وَلَا يُحْيِيهِمْ اِلَّا الْعِلْمُ،
And nothing gives them life but knowledge;
وَقَالَ أَوَ مَنْ كَانَ مَيْتاً بِالْجَهْلِ فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ بِالْعِلْمِ، وَهُوَ النُّورُ الَّذِي يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ،
and He said: "Is one who was dead" (through ignorance) "and whom We gave life" (through knowledge), which is the light "by which he walks among people",
فَحَيَاتُهُ نَفْسُ بِجَعْلِ النُّورِ لَهُ كَمَنْ مَثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ وَهِيَ ظُلُمَاتُ الْجَهَالَاتِ•
so his life is itself through the making of light for him: "like one whose likeness is in the darknesses", and these are the darknesses of ignorances?
فَمَا أَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَلَا جَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُوراً،
(one whom We have thus neither given life nor granted a light);
وَأَفْرَدَ– تَعَالَى– النُّورَ وَجَمَعَ الظُّلْمَةَ؛ لِأَنَّ النُّورَ الَّذِي هُوَ الْعِلْمُ يَهْدِي اِلَى صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ، وَهُوَ وَاحِدٌ، صِرَاطِ الْمُنْعَمِ عَلَيْهِمْ، أَهْلِ السَّعَادَةِ•
And He, exalted is He, put "light" in the singular and "darkness" in the plural, because the light, which is knowledge, guides to the straight path, and it is one: the path of those who have been blessed, the people of felicity.
وَالظُّلْمَةُ الَّتِي هِيَ الْجَهْلُ؛ مُتَعَدِّدَةٌ، لِأَنَّهَا تَهْدِي اِلَى سُبُلِ الْغَوَايَةِ•
And darkness, which is ignorance, is manifold, because it leads to the paths of error.
كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى:
As He, exalted is He, said:
«وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيماً فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ»،
“And that this is My path, straight, so follow it, and do not follow the [other] ways, lest they scatter you away from His way” (Q 6:153),
«إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْيِ الْمَوْتَى»
“That is truly the reviver of the dead” (Q 30:50).
الْاِشَارَةُ اِلَى مَنْ ظَهَرَ عَلَيْهِ أَثَرُ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ الِاخْتِصَاصِيَّةِ، وَأَحْيَاهُ اللَّهُ– تَعَالَى– بِالْعِلْمِ الرَّبَّانِيِّ، لَمُحْيِي بِالْعِلْمِ الْمَوْتَى بِالْجَهْلِ، بِمَا حَصَلَ لَهُ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ الَّتِي ظَهَرَ عَلَيْهِ أَثَرُهَا•
The allusion is to the one on whom the trace of God's special mercy has appeared, and whom God, exalted is He, has brought to life with lordly knowledge. He is truly a reviver, through knowledge, of those who are dead through ignorance, by virtue of the mercy that has come to him, whose trace has appeared upon him.
وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، بِقُدْرَةِ اللَّهِ– تَعَالَى– لِاتِّحَادِ اِرَادَتِهِ بِاِرَادَةِ الْحَقِّ– تَعَالَى– فَهُوَ يَفْعَلُ مَايُرِيدُ وَيُرِيدُ مَا يَعْلَمُ•
And he has power over all things, by the power of God, exalted is He, because his will is united with the will of the Real, exalted is He. So he does what he wills, and he wills what he knows.
فَأَمَّا مَا لَايَعْلَمُهُ فَلَا يُرِيدُهُ•
As for what he does not know, he does not will it.
وَهُوَ الْاِنْسَانُ الْحَقِيقِيُّ الْخَلِيفَةُ•
And he is the true human being, the vicegerent.

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