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 180 · “Return to your Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing”
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 399, Damascus 1966, p. 400, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 377, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 378 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ، ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً، فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي، وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي⁽⁴⁾».
God Most High said: “O soul at peace, return to your Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing; then enter among My servants, and enter My Garden” (Q 89:27–30).
اعْلَمْ أَنَّ النَّفْسَ لَايُنَادِيهَا رَبُّهَا بِهَذَا النِّدَاءِ، وَيَصِفُهَا بِكَوْنِهَا مُطْمَئِنَّةً رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً، وَيَأْمُرُهَا أَمْرَ اِبَاحَةٍ وَاِذْنٍ وَتَشْرِيفٍ بِالدُّخُولِ فِي جُمْلَةِ عِبَادِهِ الْمُضَافِينَ لَهُ، الْمَخْصُوصِينَ بِهِ
Know that the soul is not called by its Lord with this call, nor described by Him as being at peace, well-pleased and well-pleasing, nor commanded by Him (with a command of permission, leave and honouring) to enter among the company of His servants who are attributed to Him and singled out for Him,
وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ عَرَفُوا نِسْبَتَهُمْ مِنَ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَالرُّبُوبِيَّةِ، فَعَلِمُوا أَنَّ مُسَمَّى الْعَبْدِ اِنَّمَا هُوَ عِبَارَةٌ عَنْ ظُهُورِ الرَّبِّ، مُتَعَيِّناً بِأَحْوَالِ الْعَبْدِ،
and they are those who have known their relation to servanthood and lordship, and so have known that what is named “the servant” is only an expression for the manifestation of the Lord, determined by the states of the servant;
فَالْحَقِيقَةُ رَبٌّ وَالصُّورَةُ عَبْدٌ، فَكَانَ الْعَبْدُ رَبّاً فِي صُورَةِ عَبْدٍ، يَعْبُدُ نَفْسَهُ فِي صُورَةِ الْعَبِيدِ،
so the Reality is lord and the form is servant; thus the servant was a lord in the form of a servant, worshipping himself in the form of the servants;
وَبِالدُّخُولِ فِي جَنَّتِهِ بِمَعْنَى سِتْرِهِ مِنَ الِأجْتِنَانِ، وَهِيَ ذَاتُهُ الَّتِي يَسْتَجِنُّ بِهَا• مَنْ وَصَلَ اِلَيْهَا بِقَطْعِ حُجُبِ الْأَكْوَانِ وَالْأَسْمَاءِ الْأِلَٰهِيَّةِ،
and [nor commanded] to enter His Garden in the sense of His covering, from ijtinān, “taking cover”: it is His Essence, in which whoever reaches it, by cutting through the veils of the engendered beings and of the divine Names, takes cover;
وَذَلِكَ عِبَارَةٌ عَنِ الْحُصُولِ وَالْوُصُولِ اِلَى فَنَاءِ التَّعَيُّنَاتِ الْخَلْقِيَّةِ الْخَيَالِيَّةِ الَّتِي لَا عَيْنَ لَهَا اِلاَّ فِي الْمَدَارِكِ الْحِسِّيَّةِ،
and that is an expression for the attainment of, and arrival at, the annihilation of the created, imaginal determinations, which have no entity except in the sensory faculties of perception;
وَلَوْلَا هَذِهِ الْمَدَارِكُ مَا كَانَ اِلاَّ الْوُجُودُ الْمُجَرَّدُ الْمَحْضُ،
were it not for these faculties of perception, there would be nothing but pure, unqualified Being.
وَحِيئِذٍ تَنْتَفِى هُوِيَّةُ الْخَلْقِ حُكْماً لَا عَيْناً، حَيْثُ لَبِسَتِ الْحَقَّ، بِخِلَافِ هُوِيَّةِ الْحَقِّ اِذَا لَبِسَتِ الْخَلْقَ؛ فَاِنَّهَا ثَابِتَةٌ عَلَى نَزَاهَتِهَا، لَا يَلْحَقُهَا تَغَيُّرٌ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ؛
Then the ipseity of creation is negated in status, not in entity, since it has put on the Real; unlike the ipseity of the Real when it puts on creation, for that remains fixed in its transcendence, no change overtaking it in any case;
اِلَّا بَعْدَ مُجَاوَزَةِ الْعِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ اِلَى حَقِّ الْيَقِينِ، بِالذَّوْقِ الصَّحِيحِ، وَالْكَشْفِ الصَّرِيحِ، بِشَيْئَيْنِ:
[the soul is not so called] except after passing beyond certain knowledge to the truth of certainty, through sound tasting and clear unveiling, by two things:
أَحَدُهُمَا: أَنَّ الْحَقَّ– تَعَالَى– فَاعِلٌ مُخْتَارٌ، يَفْعَلُ بِعِلْمٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ مَا يَنْبَغِي كَمَا يَنْبَغِي بِالْقَدْرِ الَّذِي يَنْبَغِي، فِي الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي يَنْبَغِي،
The first of them: that the Real, exalted is He, is a choosing Agent, who does with knowledge and wisdom what is fitting, as is fitting, in the measure that is fitting, at the time that is fitting,
بِحَيْثُ أَنْ لَايَكُونَ فِي الْاِمْكَانِ أَبْدَعُ وَأَحْكَمُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْفِعْلِ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْوُجُوهِ وَالِاعْتِبَارَاتِ، وَبِحَيْثُ لَوِ اطَّلَعَ الْعَبْدُ عَلَى تِلْكَ الْحِكَمِ وَالْمَصَالِحِ لَمَا اخْتَارَ سِوَى ذَلِكَ الْفِعْلِ.
such that there could not be, within possibility, anything more marvellous or more wisely wrought than that act in every respect and consideration; and such that, were the servant to become acquainted with those wise purposes and benefits, he would choose nothing other than that act.
وَحِينَئِذٍ يَحْصُلُ عَلَى مَقَامِ الرِّضَى عَنِ اللَّهِ، فَيَكُونُ مُطْمَئِنّاً ثَابِتاً سَاكِناً تَحْتَ مَجَارِي الْأَقْدَارِ.
Then he attains the station of contentment with God, and so is at peace, firm and still beneath the courses of the decrees.
ثَانِيهِمَا: أَنْ يَذُوقَ كَشْفاً، أَنَّ الْحَقَّ– تَعَالَى– هُوَ الْفَاعِلُ الْمُنْفَرِدُ بِفِعْلِ كُلِّ مَا يَصْدُرُ مِنْ كُلِّ مَخْلُوقٍ اِلَى آخِرِ مَخْلُوقٍ كَانَ، ذَلِكَ الْمَخْلُوقُ الْمَنْسُوبُ اِلَيْهِ ذَلِكَ الْفِعْلُ سَبَباً أَوْ شَرْطاً أَوْ مَانِعاً،
The second of them: that he taste, by unveiling, that the Real, exalted is He, is the Agent who alone does everything that issues from every creature down to the last creature, be that creature to which the act is attributed a cause, a condition or an impediment;
وَاِنَّمَا الْحَقُّ– تَعَالَى– يَتَنَزَّلُ مِنْ مَرْتَبَةِ اِطْلَاقِهِ مَعَ اِطْلَاقِهِ حِينَئِذٍ، اِلَى صُورَةِ الشَّرْطِ أَوِ السَّبَبِ أَوِ الْمَانِعِ، فَيَفْعَلُ مَا يَفْعَلُ بِتِلْكَ الصُّورَةِ، مَعَ غِنَاهُ عَنْ تِلْكَ الصُّورَةِ، لَوْ أَرَادَ الْفِعْلَ بِدُونِهَا، وَلَكِنَّ الِاخْتِيَارَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ هَكَذَا،
rather, the Real, exalted is He, descends from the rank of His absoluteness, while still absolute even then, into the form of the condition, the cause or the impediment, and does what He does through that form, though He has no need of that form, were He to will the act without it; but such is the choice and the wisdom.
فَيُنْسَبُ الْفِعْلُ فِي بَادِىءِ الرَّأْيِ اِلَى الصُّورَةِ، وَلَيْسَ الْفِعْلُ اِلاَّ لَهُ– تَعَالَى– وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ.
So at first sight the act is attributed to the form, while the act belongs to none but Him, exalted is He, alone, without partner.
وَحِينَئِذٍ يَكُونُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ مَرْضِيّاً، لِأَنَّهُ لَافِعْلَ لَهُ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ عَنْ كَوْنِهِ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ مَرْضِيّاً،
Then he is well-pleasing in his Lord's sight, for he has no act by which he could depart from being well-pleasing in his Lord's sight,
اِذِ الرِّضَى وَالْمَحَبَّةُ مِنَ الْحَقِّ– تَعَالَى– لِمَخْلُوقَاتِهِ هِيَ الْأَصْلُ، وَبِهَا أَوْجَدَهُمْ، فَهِيَ السَّبَبُ الْأَوَّلُ فِي الْاِيجَادِ،
since the good-pleasure and love of the Real, exalted is He, for His creatures are the root; by them He brought them into existence, and they are the first cause of the bringing into existence;
فَمَنْ عَلِمَ أَنْ لَا وُجُودَ لَهُ وَلَا فِعْلَ فَهُوَ عَلَى الْأَصْلِ مِنَ الرِّضَى وَالْمَحَبَّةِ،
So whoever knows that he has no existence and no act remains upon the root, which is good-pleasure and love.
جَعَلَنَا اللَّهُ وَاِخْوَانَنَا مِمَّنْ شَمِلَهُ خِطَابُ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ، بِمَنِّهِ وَكَرَمِهِ آمِينَ.
May God place us and our brethren among those whom the address of this verse includes, by His favour and generosity. Amen.
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