The Book of Stations

1. Mawqif 179 · “You alone we worship”: the verse as a prayer

   See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 397, Damascus 1966, p. 398, Damascus 1966, p. 399, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 376, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 377 (archive.org)

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   قَالَ تَعَالَى: «إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ».

   He, exalted is He, said: “You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help” (Q 1:5).

   ✦AI
   ›About the vowels: added by AI; uncertain words are underlined

   The source of this text, a printed edition or a manuscript, has few or no vowel marks, as is usual for such texts. The vowels shown were added by AI and checked against an independent grammatical analyser; the few words where the two disagree are underlined as uncertain. Choose “Unvowelled” under Aa to read the letters alone.

2. ¶288
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   خَبَرٌ بِمَعْنَى الْأَمْرِ، فَهُوَ تَعْلِيمٌ لَنَا وَأَمْرٌ لَنَا، أَنْ نَدْعُوَهُ بِهَذَا الدُّعَاءِ.

   It is a statement with the sense of a command: it is instruction to us, and a command to us, that we call upon Him with this prayer.

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3. ¶289
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   فَلَيْسَ الْمُرَادُ الْاِخْبَارَ بِذَلِكَ فَحَسْبُ، فَلَا نَمُرُّ بِالْآيَةِ مُرُورَ الْحَاكِي لِكَلَامِ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- عَنْ غَيْرِ قَصْدِ الدُّعَاءِ، بِالْحُصُولِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ، بَلْ نَقْصِدُ الْاِنْشَاءَ وَالطَّلَبَ.

   So what is meant is not merely to inform of that. We do not pass over the verse the way one passes who recounts the speech of God, exalted is He, without intending the prayer for the attainment of that. Rather, we intend the performative utterance and the request.

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4. ¶290
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   كَمَا أَنَّ جُمْلَةَ الْحَمْدِ، أَوَّلَ السُّورَةِ؛ خَبَرِيَّةٌ لَفْظاً، اِنْشَائِيَّةٌ مَعْنًى.

   Just so, the sentence of praise at the beginning of the sūra is a statement in its wording and a performative in its meaning.

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5. ¶291
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   وَاِلَاّ فَلَا يُسَمَّى الْقَائِلُ «الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ» حَامِداً.

   Otherwise, the one who says “Praise belongs to God” would not be called one who praises.

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6. ¶292
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   وَالْعِبَادَةُ لُغَةً: الْخُضُوعُ وَالْاِنْقِيَادُ وَالْوُقُوفُ عِنْدَ الْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ.

   Worship, in its lexical sense, is submission, compliance, and halting at the command and the prohibition.

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7. ¶293
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   قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَلَؤُهُ: «أَنُؤْمِنُ لِبَشَرَيْنِ مِثْلِنَا وَقَوْمُهُمَا لَنَا عَابِدُونَ».

   Pharaoh and his chiefs said: “Shall we believe two mortals like ourselves, when their people are in servitude to us?” (Q 23:47)

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8. ¶294
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   فَأُمِرَ الْعَبْدُ الْمُؤْمِنُ بِسُؤَالِ رَبِّهِ أَنْ يَجْعَلَهُ مُشَاهِداً لَهُ فِي كُلِّ مَظْهَرٍ يَحْصُلُ مِنْهُ لَهُ تَذَلُّلٌ وَخُضُوعٌ وَاِنْقِيَادٌ، بِحَيْثُ تَكُونُ عِبَادَتُهُ بِمَعْنَى تَذَلُّلِهِ وَخُضُوعِهِ وَاِنْقِيَادِهِ لِلظَّاهِرِ، تَعَالَى بِذَلِكَ الْمَظْهَرِ الْخَلْقِيِّ، أَيَّ مَظْهَرٍ كَانَ.

   So the believing servant has been commanded to ask his Lord to make him one who beholds Him in every locus of manifestation towards which abasement, submission and compliance arise from him. His worship then means his abasement, submission and compliance to the Manifest, exalted is He, in that created locus, whatever locus it may be.

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9. ¶295
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   وَلِهَذِهِ النُّكْتَةِ جِيءَ بِالْمَعْمُولِ مُقَدَّماً لِاِفَادَةِ الْحَصْرِ، فَاِنَّا أُمِرْنَا أَنْ نَشْهَدَ الْحَقَّ- تَعَالَى- فِي كُلِّ مَظْهَرٍ، وَنُعَامِلَهُ بِحَسَبِ ذَلِكَ الظُّهُورِ، كَمَا أَمَرَ- تَعَالَى-.

   It is for this subtle point that the governed word was brought forward, to convey restriction. For we have been commanded to behold the Real, exalted is He, in every locus, and to deal with Him according to that manifestation, as He, exalted is He, has commanded.

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10. ¶296
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    وَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ بِرِيَاءٍ.

    And that is not ostentation.

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11. ¶297
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    فَاِنَّ الرِّيَاءَ لَا يَكُونُ اِلَاّ مَعَ رُؤْيَةِ الْغَيْرِ، وَأَمَّا رُؤْيَةُ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- وَشُهُودُهُ فِي ظُهُورَاتِهِ وَتَعَيُّنَاتِهِ فَلَا رِيَاءَ وَلَا سُمْعَةَ.

    For ostentation exists only where one sees another. As for seeing the Real, exalted is He, and beholding Him in His manifestations and determinations, in that there is neither ostentation nor seeking of repute.

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12. ¶298
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    وَالْحَاصِلُ: اِنَّنَا أُمِرْنَا بِطَلَبِ الْخَلَاصِ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ، وَاِفْرَادِ الْخُضُوعِ وَالْاِنْقِيَادِ لِلَّهِ- تَعَالَى-، وَلَا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ اِلَاّ بِرُؤْيَةِ وَجْهِ الْحَقِّ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ.

    In sum: we have been commanded to seek deliverance from association and to devote submission and compliance to God, exalted is He, alone. That comes about only by seeing the face of the Real in every thing.

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13. ¶299
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    وَوَجْهُهُ ذَاتُهُ الْمُتَعَيِّنَةُ بِبَعْضِ الْأَسْمَاءِ،

    And His face is His essence as determined by some of the names;

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14. ¶300
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    فَالتَّذَلُّلُ وَالْخُضُوعُ وَالْاِنْقِيَادُ لِشَيْءٍ، لَيْسَ هُوَ الْحَقَّ فِي شُهُودِ الْخَاضِعِ الْمُتَذَلِّلِ؛ شِرْكٌ،

    so abasement, submission and compliance to a thing that, in the beholding of the one who submits and abases himself, is not the Real, is association;

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15. ¶301
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    فَالْعَارِفُ، خُضُوعُهُ وَتَذَلُّلُهُ وَاِنْقِيَادُهُ لَايَكُونُ اِلَاّ لِذَلِكَ الْوَجْهِ الظَّاهِرِ الْمُتَعَيِّنِ، كَمَا قَالَ: «وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ».

    so the knower: his submission, abasement and compliance are only to that manifest, determined face, as He said: “And they were commanded only to worship God, making the religion sincerely His” (Q 98:5).

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16. ¶302
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    بِمَعْنَى تَوْحِيدِ الطَّاعَةِ وَتَخْلِيصِ الْاِنْقِيَادِ، وَلَا يَكُونُ اِلَاّ بِهَذَا الشُّهُودِ.

    That is, in the sense of making obedience one and purifying compliance, and this comes about only through this beholding.

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17. ¶303
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    فَاِنَّهُ لَابُدَّ لِكُلِّ مَخْلُوقٍ مِنَ الْخُضُوعِ وَالْاِنْقِيَادِ لِمَخْلُوقٍ آخَرَ، فَعَلَّمَنَا- تَعَالَى- الْخَلَاصَ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ.

    For every created being cannot avoid submitting and complying to another created being; so He, exalted is He, taught us deliverance from association.

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18. ¶304
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    وَبِمِثْلِ مَا تَقَدَّمَ أُمِرْنَا فِي الْاِسْتِعَانَةِ، فَنَشْهَدُ الْحَقَّ- تَعَالَى- فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، نَسْتَعِينُ بِهِ فِي الْاَسْبَابِ وَالْوَسَائِطِ، وَسَوَاءٌ فِي ذَلِكَ مَا أُمِرْنَا بِالْاِسْتِعَانَةِ بِهِ، أَوْ أُبِيحَ لَنَا كَقَوْلِهِ:

    In the same way as what preceded, we have been commanded regarding seeking help: we behold the Real, exalted is He, in every thing, seeking His help in the means and intermediaries. In this it is all the same whether it is something we have been commanded to seek help through, or something permitted to us, as in His saying:

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19. ¶305
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    «وَٱسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ».

    “And seek help through patience and prayer” (Q 2:45).

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20. ¶306
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    أَوْ غَيْرِهَا مِنْ اِنْسٍ وَجِنٍّ، وَمَلَكٍ وَحَيَوَانٍ وَجَمَادٍ، اِذْ لَابُدَّ لِكُلِّ اِنْسَانٍ مِنَ الْخُضُوعِ، لِمَنْ تَكُونُ حَاجَتُهُ عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ، وَمِنَ الِاسْتِعَانَةِ بِالْمَخْلُوقَاتِ،

    or other than these, from among humans and jinn, angels, animals and inanimate things; for every human being cannot avoid humbling himself before whichever creature holds what he needs, nor seeking help from creatures.

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21. ¶307
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    فَاِذَا رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ– تَعَالَى–، بِمَعْرِفَتِهِ وَشُهُودِ وَجْهِهِ• فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ تَخَلَّصَ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ•

    Then, when God (exalted is He) has mercy on him through knowledge of Him and the beholding of His face in everything, he is freed from associating others with God.

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22. ¶308
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    فَكَانَ لَا يَعْبُدُ اِلاَّ اللّٰهَ، وَلَا يَسْتَعِينُ اِلاَّ بِهِ•

    and so he worships none but God, and seeks help from none but Him.

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23. ¶309
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    «ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ اللّٰهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ».

    “That is the bounty of God; He gives it to whom He wills” (Q 57:21; 62:4).

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24. ¶310
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    «وَاللّٰهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ».

    “And God is the possessor of immense bounty” (Q 57:21; 62:4).

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25. ¶311
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    وَالسَّلَامُ•

    And peace.

    ✦AI

Translations, word glosses and term notes are AI-generated (Claude) and marked as such; no published translation is reproduced.Word analysis is automatic (CAMeL Tools), guided by the text's vowelling. How this text was established.