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 155 · “Created you from a single soul”
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 348, Damascus 1966, p. 349, Damascus 1966, p. 350, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 332, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 333, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 334 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيراً وَنِسَاءً⁽¹⁾»،
He, exalted is He, said: “O people, guard yourselves with regard to your Lord, who created you from a single soul, and created from it its mate, and spread from the two of them many men and women” (Q 4:1),
لَفْظُ النَّاسِ يَعُمُّ الْجِنَّ وَالْاِنْسَ، وَالْمُؤْمِنَ وَالْكَافِرَ،
The word “people” covers jinn and humans, the believer and the unbeliever;
وَالتَّقْوَى هُنَا عَلَى نَوْعَيْنِ: تَقْوًى لَهُ، وَتَقْوًى بِهِ،
and guarding here is of two kinds: guarding for Him, and guarding by Him.
أَمَرَ الْحَقُّ– تَعَالَى– النَّاسَ: أَنْ يَجْعَلُوا نُفُوسَهُمْ وِقَايَةً لِرَبِّهِمْ فِي مَوْطِنٍ وَحَالٍ، وَأَنْ يَجْعَلُوهُ– تَعَالَى– وِقَايَةً لَهُمْ فِي مَوْطِنٍ وَحَالٍ،
The Real, exalted is He, commanded people to make their selves a shield for their Lord in a certain setting and state, and to make Him, exalted is He, a shield for them in a certain setting and state.
وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ حَضْرَةَ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ مُشْتَمِلَةٌ عَلَى أَسْمَاءِ جَمَالٍ وَخَيْرٍ، وَمُلَائَمَةٍ لِمَنْ تَوَجَّهَتْ اِلَيْهِ• وَعَلَى أَسْمَاءِ جَلَالٍ وَشَرٍّ، وَعَدَمِ مُلَائَمَةٍ بِالنِّسْبَةِ اِلَى مَنْ تَوَجَّهَتْ عَلَيْهِ•
That is because the presence of Lordship comprises names of beauty and good, and of agreeableness to whomever they are turned towards, and names of majesty and evil, and of disagreeableness with respect to whomever they are turned against.
فَأُمِرُوا أَنْ يَنْسُبُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ كُلَّ طَاعَةٍ وَاِيمَانٍ وَخَيْرٍ، وَبِذَلِكَ يَكُونُ هُوَ وِقَايَتَهُمْ وَهُمْ مُتَّقُونَ بِهِ، كَمَا قَالَ: «مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ⁽²⁾».
So they were commanded to ascribe to their Lord every obedience, faith and good; thereby He is their shield and they guard themselves by Him, as He said: “Whatever good befalls you is from God” (Q 4:79).
وَكَمَا قَالَ وَكَمَا قَالَ:: «فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَنْ يَبْلُغَا أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسْتَخْرِجَا كَنْزَهُمَا⁽³⁾»،
And as he said: “So your Lord willed that they should reach their maturity and bring out their treasure” (Q 18:82),
نَسَبَ اِرَادَةَ فِعْلِ الْخَيْرِ اِلَى الرَّبِّ،
he ascribed the will to do good to the Lord.
وَأَنْ يَنْسُبُوا لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ كُلَّ كُفْرٍ وَمَعْصِيَةٍ وَفِعْلِ شَرٍّ، فَيَكُونُ وِقَايَةً لَهُ كَمَا قَالَ: «وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ⁽⁴⁾».
And [they were commanded] to ascribe to themselves every unbelief, disobedience and evil act, so that it becomes a shield for Him, as He said: “And whatever evil befalls you is from yourself” (Q 4:79).
وَقَالَ: «فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَعِيبَهَا⁽⁵⁾» اِذَا كَانَ ظَاهِرُ الْفِعْلِ شَرّاً، وَلَوْ كَانَ بَاطِنُهُ خَيْراً،
And he said: “So I wanted to damage it” (Q 18:79), when the outward of the act is evil, even if its inward is good.
وَبِذَلِكَ يَكُونُونَ عَبِيداً أُدَبَاءَ، وَاِنْ كَانَ فِي نَفْسِ الْأَمْرِ كَمَا قَالَ: «قُلْ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ»، «وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ»،
Thereby they are servants of proper courtesy, even though in the actual fact of the matter it is as He said: “Say: All is from God” (Q 4:78), “And God created you and what you do” (Q 37:96).
«خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ».
“Created you from a single soul” (Q 4:1).
حَقِيقَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ هِيَ الْحَقِيقَةُ الْمُحَمَّدِيَّةُ الْمُسَمَّاةُ بِالْعَقْلِ الْأَوَّلِ وَبِالْقَلَمِ الْأَعْلَى،
[It is] a single reality, which is the Muhammadan Reality, named the First Intellect and the Supreme Pen.
فَالْمَخْلُوقَاتُ كُلُّهَا مِنْهَا، اِلَى غَيْرِ نِهَايَةٍ، فَهِيَ الْأَصْلُ وَالْمَنْبَعُ،
So all created things are from it, without end; it is the root and the source.
فَهِيَ ذَرَّاتُ الْعَالَمِ، وَالْعَالَمُ جَمْعِيَّةُ الْحُرُوفِ الْمُسْتَخْرَجَةِ مِنْهَا، سَوَاءٌ الْمَخْلُوقَاتُ الرُّوحَانِيَّةُ وَالْجِسْمَانِيَّةُ الطَّبِيعَةُ وَالْعُنْصُرِيَّةُ.
It is the particles of the world, and the world is the aggregate of the letters drawn out from it, alike the spiritual creatures and the bodily, natural and elemental.
(وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا) الْوَاوُ لَاتُفِيدُ تَرْتِيباً.
“And created from it its mate” (Q 4:1): the “and” does not convey sequence,
فَاِنَّ خَلْقَ الزَّوْجَةِ مُقَدَّمٌ، وَهِيَ النَّفْسُ الْكُلِّيَّةُ الْمُسَمَّاةُ بِاللَّوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ، خَلَقَهَا مِنْهُ، كَمَا خَلَقَ حَوَّاءَ مِنْ آدَمَ- عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ-
for the creation of the mate comes first. She is the Universal Soul, named the Preserved Tablet; He created her from it, just as He created Eve from Adam, peace be upon him.
يَقُولُ الشَّيْخُ مُحْيِي الدِّينِ- رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ- «النَّفْسُ خَطْرَةٌ مِنْ خَطَرَاتِ الْعَقْلِ الْأَوَّلِ، وَهِيَ مَحَلُّ تَفْصِيلِ مَا أُجْمِلَ فِي الْعَقْلِ الْأَوَّلِ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ»:
Shaykh Muḥyī al-Dīn, may God be pleased with him, says: “The Soul is one of the passing thoughts of the First Intellect, and it is the locus where the sciences held in summary in the First Intellect are set out in detail”:
«وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيراً وَنِسَاءً».
“And from the two of them He spread abroad many men and women” (Q 4:1).
فَرَّقَ وَنَشَرَ فِي الْعَالَمِ الْعُلْوِيِّ وَالسُّفْلِيِّ مِنْهُمَا مِنَ النَّفْسِ الْوَاحِدَةِ وَزَوْجِهَا رِجَالاً كَثِيراً، أَرْوَاحاً كَثِيرَةً فَاعِلَةً، وَنِسَاءً، نُفُوساً جِسْمَانِيَّةً طَبِيعِيَّةً مُنْفَعِلَةً،
He dispersed and spread forth in the upper and the lower world, from the two of them, from the single soul and its mate, “many men”, that is, many active spirits, “and women”, that is, bodily, natural, receptive souls;
لَمَّا كَانَتِ الْأَرْوَا حُفَاعِلَةً سَمَّاهَا رِجَالاً؛ فَهِيَ آبَاؤُنَا الْعُلْوِيَّاتُ،
since the spirits are active, He called them “men”, so they are our upper fathers;
وَلَمَّا كَانَتِ النُّفُوسُ الْجِسْمَانِيَّةُ مُنْفَعِلَةً؛ سَمَّاهَا نِسَاءً، فَهِيَ أُمَّهَاتُنَا السُّفْلِيَّاتُ،
and since the bodily souls are receptive, He called them “women”, so they are our lower mothers.
فَكُلُّ رُوحٍ أَبٌ، وَكُلُّ جِسْمٍ أُمٌّ.
So every spirit is a father, and every body is a mother.
وَلَمَّا كَانَ الرُّوحُ الَّذِي هُوَ الْأَبُ، لَا يَتَعَيَّنُ مِنَ الرُّوحِ الْكُلِّيِّ الَّذِي هُوَ النَّفْسُ الْوَاحِدَةُ اِلاَّ بَعْدَ تَسْوِيَةِ الْجِسْمِ، الَّذِي هُوَ الْأُمُّ، وَتَعْدِيلِهِ كَمَا قَالَ: «فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِي».
And since the spirit, which is the father, is not individuated out of the universal Spirit, which is the single soul, except after the forming and proportioning of the body, which is the mother, as He said: “So when I have formed him and breathed into him of My Spirit” (Q 15:29),
صَحَّ أَنْ يُقَالَ الْجِسْمُ وَالِدٌ لِلرُّوحِ وَاِلَيْهِ يُشِيرُ الْحَلَّاجُ- رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ- بِقَوْلِهِ:
it is correct to say that the body is a parent of the spirit; and it is to this that al-Ḥallāj, may God be pleased with him, alludes in his words:
وَلَـدِي أُمِّي أَبَاهَـا اِنَّ ذَا مِنْ أَعْجَبَـاتٍ
My mother gave birth to her own father; truly this is among the greatest marvels,
وَأَبِي طِفْـلٌ صَغِـيرٌ فِي حُجُورِ الْمُرْضِعَاتِ
and my father is a little infant in the laps of the wet-nurses.
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