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 156 · “He has taken his caprice for his god”
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 350, Damascus 1966, p. 351, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 334, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 335 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ»
God Most High said: “Have you seen the one who has taken his caprice for his god, and God has sent him astray despite knowledge?” (Q 45:23)
الْهَوَى مَيْلُ النَّفْسِ اِلَى مَا يَضُرُّهَا أَوْ يُهْلِكُهَا رَأْساً، فِي الِاصْطِلَاحِ.
Caprice, in technical usage, is the soul's inclination towards what harms it or destroys it outright.
وَأَمَّا بِحَسَبِ الْوَضْعِ؛ فَهُوَ أَعَمُّ.
As for its sense by original coinage, it is more general.
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنِ اتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ بِغَيْرِ هُدًى مِنَ اللَّهِ».
God Most High said: “And who strays further than one who follows his caprice without guidance from God?” (Q 28:50)
وَهُوَ وَصْفٌ لِلنَّفْسِ وَهِيَ مَوْصُوفَةٌ بِهِ،
It is a description of the soul, and the soul is described by it;
وَحَيْثُ كَانَ الْهَوَى صِفَةً قَاهِرَةً، أَمْرُهَا نَافِذٌ، وَحُكْمُهَامُطَاعٌ؛ تُنُوسِيَتِ النَّفْسُ الْمَوْصُوفَةُ بِهِ، وَصَارَ الذِّكْرُ وَالْحُكْمُ لَهُ.
and since caprice is a dominating attribute whose command is carried out and whose rule is obeyed, the soul described by it came to be forgotten, and the naming and the rule passed to it.
(اتَّخَذَ اِلٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ)، أَيْ جَعَلَ مَا يَجِبُ عَلَى الْاِنْسَانِ وَيَلْزَمُهُ فِي حَقِّ اِلٰهِهِ وَخَالِقِهِ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ وَكَمَالِ الِانْقِيَادِ، وَامْتِثَالِ الْأَوَامِرِ لِهَوَاهُ.
“He has taken his caprice for his god” (Q 45:23): that is, he assigned to his caprice what is incumbent upon a human being and binding on him with regard to what is due to his God and Creator: obedience, complete submission and compliance with commands.
وَجَعَلَ مَا يَجِبُ أَنْ يُقَابَلَ بِهِ الْهَوَى مِنَ الْعِصْيَانِ وَعَدَمِ الِانْقِيَادِ وَالنُّفُورِ عَنْ سَمَاعِ الْأَمْرِ لِاِلٰهِهِ.
And he assigned to his God what caprice ought to be met with: disobedience, lack of submission and aversion to hearing the command.
فَعَكَسَ الْقَضِيَّةَ، فَعَظُمَتِ الرَّزِيَّةُ،
So he reversed the case, and the calamity became great.
فَعَلَى نَظْمِ الْآيَةِ؛ يَكُونُ الْمَفْعُولَانِ مِنْ بَابِ «كَسَا» وَعَلَى مَا قِيلَ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ يَكُونُ الْمَفْعُولَانِ مِنْ بَابِ «ظَنَّ» اِذْ يُقَالُ: الْهَوَى اِلٰهُهُ، مِنْ حَيْثُ أَنَّهُ مُطَاعٌ نَافِذُ الْأَمْرِ فِي الْاِنْسَانِ،
On the arrangement of the verse, the two objects are of the type of «kasā»; on what has been said about inversion, the two objects are of the type of «ẓanna», since one says: “Caprice is his god”, inasmuch as it is obeyed and its command is carried out in man.
وَلِذَا قِيلَ: مَا عُبِدَ شَيْءٌ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الْهَوَى.
Hence it has been said: nothing apart from God, exalted is He, has been worshipped that is greater than caprice.
وَهُوَ الثَّائِرُ عَلَى الرُّوحِ فِي مَمْلَكَتِهِ الْاِنْسَانِيَّةِ، فَيُفْسِدُهَا عَلَيْهِ دَائِماً،
It is the rebel against the spirit in its human kingdom, and it ruins that kingdom for it continually.
فَالْهَوَى كَالْهَوَاءِ، فَرَاغٌ.
For caprice is like air: emptiness.
مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهَوَى؛ حَصَلَ عَلَى الْهَوَاءِ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ.
Whoever follows caprice ends up with air, and God sends him astray despite knowledge.
وَالضَّلَالَيْنِ؛ الْعَالِمِ، عِنْدَ الْعُقَلَاءِ شَيْءٌ بَعِيدٌ.
And straying, on the part of the one who knows, is in the eyes of the rational something far-fetched.
وَأَمَّا مَنْ غَيْرُ الْعَالِمِ فَغَيْرُ بَعِيدٍ، بَلْ هُوَ كَثِيرٌ كَمَا قَالَ: «وَإِنَّ كَثِيراً لَيُضِلُّونَ بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ».
As for one who is not a knower, it is not far-fetched; rather it is frequent, as He said: “And indeed many lead astray through their caprices, without knowledge.” (Q 6:119)
وَهٰذَا السِّيَاقُ اِنَّمَا يُؤْتَى بِهِ فِي الْأُمُورِ الْمُسْتَبْعَدَةِ.
This construction is used only for matters deemed far-fetched.
أَيْ أَخْبِرْنِي عَمَّنْ عَصَى مَوْلَاهُ، وَأَطَاعَ هَوَاهُ، فَاتَّخَذَ اِلٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ، وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ ءَأَلَيْسَ هٰذَا بِشَيْءٍ غَرِيبٍ؟
That is: tell me about one who disobeyed his Master and obeyed his caprice, and so took his caprice for his god, and God sent him astray despite knowledge: is this not a strange thing?
وَأَمْرٍ عَجِيبٍ؟
And a wondrous affair?
وَذٰلِكَ لِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ، الَّذِي هُوَ وَصْفٌ لِلْعَالِمِ، كَمَا هُوَ عِنْدَ الْجُمْهُورِ غَيْرُ مُوجِبٍ لِلسَّعَادَةِ، وَلَا مُنْقِذٍ مِنَ الْغَوَايَةِ،
That is because knowledge which is an attribute of the one who knows, as it is held to be by the majority, does not necessitate felicity, nor does it rescue from error;
وَاِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ الْمُوجِبُ لِلسَّعَادَةِ قَطْعاً؛ هُوَ الْعِلْمُ الذَّاتِيُّ، الَّذِي يَجِدُ الْعَالِمُ بِهِ لِذَاتِهِ لَا صِفَتِهِ، فَافْهَمْ.
The knowledge that necessitates felicity with certainty is only essential knowledge, which the one who knows finds as belonging to his essence, not to his attribute; so understand.
وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ الَّذِي جَمَعَ الْأَشْيَاءَ كُلَّهَا فَاتَّحَدَتْ بِهِ، وَتَمَايَزَتْ بِتَعَيُّنَاتٍ عَدَمِيَّةٍ،
It is the knowledge that gathered all things together, so that they became one through it, while they became distinct through non-existent determinations;
فَبِحَسَبِ مَا يَحْصُلُ مِنَ الِاتِّحَادِ، بِزَوَالِ الْأُمُورِ الْخَارِجِيَّةِ عَنِ الْحَقِيقَةِ بَيْنَ الشَّيْئَيْنِ؛ يَكُونُ الْعِلْمُ قُوَّةً وَضَعْفاً، قِلَّةً وَكَثْرَةً،
so, according to the union that comes about through the removal of the matters external to the reality between the two things, knowledge is strong or weak, little or much;
فَمَادَامَ الْعَالِمُ يَعْلَمُ بِعِلْمٍ، هُوَ صِفَةٌ لَهُ عِنْدَهُ فَعِلْمُهُ غَيْرُ مُوجِبٍ لِسَعَادَتِهِ.
So as long as the one who knows knows by a knowledge that is, in his view, an attribute of his, his knowledge does not necessitate his felicity.
فَاِذَا عَرَفَ أَنَّ عِلْمَهُ عَيْنُ ذَاتِهِ الْعَالِمَةِ ذَوْقاً؛ فَحِينَئِذٍ يَكُونُ عِلْمُهُ مُوجِباً لِسَعَادَتِهِ.
But when he comes to know, by tasting, that his knowledge is the very same as his knowing essence, then his knowledge necessitates his felicity.
وَالنَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ اِنَّمَا يَعْلَمُونَ بِهٰذَا الْعِلْمِ، لِأَنَّهُ حَقِيقَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ غَيْرُ مُتَعَدِّدَةٍ،
All people know only by this knowledge, because it is a single reality, not multiple;
وَحَيْثُ جَهِلُوهُ؛ مَا نَفْهَمُ ذٰلِكَ:
and since they are ignorant of it, what we understand of that:
«وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ».
“And God knows, while you do not know” (Q 2:216; the same words also at 2:232, 3:66, 24:19).
فَافْهَمْ أَوْ سَلِّمْ، فَلَا يَفُتْكَ حِفْظُ رَأْسِ الْمَالِ اِنْ لَمْ تَرْبَحْ وَتَغْنَمْ.
So understand, or else submit; then let the safekeeping of the capital not escape you, if you do not make profit and gain.
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