The Book of Stations
المواقف
Context: The Emir defends the ecstatic 'I am God' of Abū Yazīd and al-Ḥallāj as God speaking through an effaced saint, condemning the same words from Pharaoh or the Dajjāl; this is the Sufi position. Jurists and Ibn Taymiyya call such speech unbelief regardless of state. His report that al-Ḥallāj's shaykhs joined the fatwa is later legend: al-Junayd died in 298/910.AI
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَإِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ لَعَالٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ».
He, exalted is He, said: “And truly Pharaoh was lofty in the land, and truly he was among those who go beyond bounds” (Q 10:83).
In briefAI
Reading Q 10:83, the Emir says Pharaoh's loftiness and his claim to lordship belonged to the 'earth of the souls'. Every soul inwardly makes that claim, but Pharaoh dared to show it. When realised ones like Abū Yazīd say 'I am God', the Real speaks through them, as He spoke from Moses' tree, and they are not punished. Pharaoh and the Dajjāl speak as themselves and are punished. Al-Ḥallāj, a saint without doubt, still went to excess, since not every truth may be spoken. Every servant's lordly relation must be veiled in this world.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 400 ↗, Damascus 1966, p. 401 ↗, Damascus 1966, p. 402 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 379 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 380 ↗ (archive.org)
أَخْبَرَ– تَعَالَى– مُؤَكِّداً اِخْبَارَهُ «بِأَنَّ وَاللَّامِ» حَيْثُ كَانَ الْاِخْبَارُ مُتَوَجِّهاً اِلَى الشَّاكِّينَ فِي دَعْوَاهُ، وَالْقَاطِعِينَ بِصِحَّتِهَا،
He, exalted is He, gave this report and stressed His report “with inna and the lām”, since the report was aimed at those who doubted his claim and at those who were certain of its truth;
فَلَيْسَ الْاِخْبَارُ مُتَوَجِّهاً اِلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اِلَّاّ فِي ضِمْنِ غَيْرِهِمْ. فَاِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ مُتَحَقِّقٌ بِكَذِبِ هَذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ،
so the report is aimed at the believers only as included among the others. For the believer is certain that this claim is a lie;
بَلْ عُلُوُّهُ، وَدَعْوَاهُ الرُّبُوبِيَّةَ وَالْأُلُوهِيَّةَ اِنَّمَا كَانَ فِي أَرْضِ النُّفُوسِ، عَالَمِ الطَّبِيعَةِ،
rather, his loftiness, and his claim to lordship and divinity, took place only in the earth of the souls, the world of nature;
وَكُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَهَا هَذِهِ الدَّعْوَةُ، غَيْرَ أَنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ تَجَرَّأَ عَلَى اِظْهَارِهَا، وَغَيْرُهُ مَا تَجَرَّأَ.
and every soul has this claim, except that Pharaoh dared to make it manifest, while others did not dare.
وَلَيْسَ فِي الْمَرَاتِبِ الْحَاكِمَةِ أَعْلَى مِنَ الْأُلُوهِيَّةِ، اِذِ الْاِلَهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ عَنْ كُلِّ مَا سِوَاهُ، الْمُفْتَقِرُ اِلَيْهِ كُلُّ مَا عَدَاهُ.
And among the governing ranks there is none higher than divinity, since the god is the One who has no need of anything other than Him, on whom everything besides Him depends.
فَلَهُ الضُّرُّ وَالنَّفْعُ، وَالْعَطَاءُ وَالْمَنْعُ، وَالْخَفْضُ وَالرَّفْعُ، فَلَيْسَتْ دَعْوَى فِرْعَوْنَ وَعُلُوُّهُ فِي سَمَاءِ الْأَرْوَاحِ حَيْثُ يَكُونُ النَّاطِقُ الْقَائِلُ حَقّاً،
To Him belong harm and benefit, giving and withholding, lowering and raising; so Pharaoh's claim and his loftiness were not in the heaven of the spirits, where the one speaking, the one who says it, is the Real,
فَاِنَّ الْأَرْوَاحَ لَا تَنْطِقُ اِلَّاّ بِالْحَقِّ، فَالْحَقُّ هُوَ الْقَائِلُ اِذاً، كَأَبِي يَزِيدَ وَأَمْثَالِهِ– رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ–
for the spirits speak only by the Real, so the Real is then the speaker, as with Abū Yazīd and those like him, God be pleased with them.
فَاِنَّ الْقَائِلَ مِنْهُمْ: اَنَا اللهُ هُوَ الْحَقُّ– تَعَالَى– الظَّاهِرُ بِصُوَرِهِمْ، النَّاطِقُ بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ،
for the one among them who says “I am God” is the Real, exalted is He, manifest in their forms, speaking with their tongues,
كَمَا وَرَدَ فِي الصَّحِيحِ، اَنَّ اللهَ قَالَ عَلَى لِسَانِ عَبْدِهِ: «سَمِعَ اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ».
Quotes a hadith: Abū Dāwūd 972, in other words · graded al-Albānī: sahih; Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: sahih; Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ: sahih; Zubayr ʿAlī Zaʾī: sahih muslim (404) (hadith-api open data) (grades ↗) · sunnah.com ↗
as has come down in the Ṣaḥīḥ: that God said on the tongue of His servant, “God hears whoever praises Him.”
فَتَكُونُ صُورَةُ الْمُحَقِّقِ الْقَائِلِ أَنَا اللهُ، كَصُورَةِ شَجَرَةِ مُوسَى– عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ– حَيْثُ يَقُولُ تَعَالَى: «فَلَمَّا آتَاهَا نُودِيَ مِنْ شَاطِىءِ الْوَادِ الْأَيْمَنِ فِي الْبُقْعَةِ الْمُبَارَكَةِ مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ أَنْ يَامُوسَىٰ إِنِّي أَنَا اللهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ».
So the form of the realised one who says “I am God” is like the form of the tree of Moses, peace be upon him, where He, exalted is He, says: “And when he came to it, he was called from the right bank of the valley, in the blessed spot, from the tree: ‘O Moses, truly I am God, Lord of the worlds’” (Q 28:30).
وَقَدْ ذَمَّ– تَعَالَى– مَنْ يَتَكَبَّرُّ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ؟ اِلَّاّ مَنْ يَتَكَبَّرُ بِالْحَقِّ.
And He, exalted is He, has condemned whoever magnifies himself in the land without right (bi-ghayri l-ḥaqq), not whoever magnifies himself by the Real (bi-l-ḥaqq).
فَاِنَّ الْمُتَكَبِّرَ حِينَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ– تَعَالَى–، وَالْكِبْرِيَاءُ لَهُ– تَعَالَى–،
for the one who magnifies himself is then the Real, exalted is He, and grandeur belongs to Him, exalted is He;
وَهَؤُلَاءِ لَا عُقُوبَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا، فَاِنَّهُمْ يَمْنَعُونَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ بِحَالِهِمُ الصَّادِقِ مِنْ تَصَرُّفِ الْخَلْقِ فِيهِمْ، وَلَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ.
and these have no punishment upon them in this world (for by their truthful state they protect themselves from the creatures' acting upon them), nor in the next.
وَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ: أَنَّهُ اللهُ بِنَفْسِهِ وَحُضُورِ عَقْلِهِ، كَفِرْعَوْنَ وَالدَّجَّالِ وَأَمْثَالِهِمَا؟ فَلَيْسَ النَّاطِقُ مِنْهُمُ الْحَقَّ،
But as for whoever has said that he is God, of himself and with his intellect present, like Pharaoh, the Dajjāl and those like them, the speaker among them is not the Real;
وَلِذَا نَفَذَتْ فِيهِمُ الْعُقُوبَةُ فَعُوقِبَ فِرْعَوْنُ بِالْغَرَقِ، وَسَيُعَاقَبُ الدَّجَّالُ بِالْقَتْلِ،
and for this reason the punishment was carried out on them: Pharaoh was punished by drowning, and the Dajjāl will be punished by being killed;
وَكَذَا كُلُّ مَنْ قَالَهَا مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَكُونَ النَّاطِقُ الْحَقَّ، وَاِنْ بَرَقَتْ لَهُمْ بَارِقَةٌ فَهِيَ بَرْقٌ خُلَّبٌ،
and so too everyone who has said it without the speaker being the Real; and if a flash has shone for them, it is lightning that brings no rain,
اِذِ الْأَحْوَالُ تَحُولُ، وَالْعَوَارِضُ تَزُولُ ، فَتَطْلُبُ الصِّفَةُ مَوْصُوفَهَا ، وَيَبْقَى الْمُدَّعِي عَارِياً مِنْهَا ،
فَيُنَفَّذُ فِيهِ حُكْمُ اللهِ – تَعَالَى – وَتَتَنَاوَلُهُ سُيُوفُ الشَّرِيعَةِ ، كَمَا نَالَتِ الْحُسَيْنَ بْنَ مَنْصُورٍ
الْحَلَّاجَ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - فَاِنَّهُ قُتِلَ بِفَتْوَى أَهْلِ الشَّرِيعَةِ ، وَأَهْلِ الْحَقِيقَةِ • حَتَّى مَشَايِخِهِ ، لِأَنَّهُ الْتَبَسَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَالُهُ ، وَمَا تَحَقَّقَتْ عِنْدَهُمْ غَلَبَةُ سُكْرِهِ ،
وَهُوَ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءِ اللَّهِ - تَعَالَى - بِلَا شَكُّ ، وَاِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ الْمُتَجَاوِزِينَ الْحُدُودَ الَّتِي جَاءَتْ بِهَا الشَّرَائِعُ ،
فَمَا كُلُّ حَقٍّ يُقَالُ ، اِلَّاّ مَا أَذِنَ فِيهِ الشَّارِعُ فِي دَعْوَى الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ ، حَيْثُ يَقُولُ : « مَاعَلِمْتُ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرِي » .
ثُمَّ نَقَضَ عِلْمَهُ بِالظَّنِّ وَقَالَ ، وَاِنِّي لَأَظُنُّهُ ، يَعْنِي مُوسَى ، مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ ،
وَكُلُّ عَبْدٍ لَهُ نِسْبَةٌ اِلَى الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَنِسْبَةٌ اِلَى الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ ، وَهِيَ أَحَقُّ نِسْبَتَيْهِ ،وَلَكِنَّهُ مَأْمُورٌ بِسَتْرِهَا فِي هَذِهِ الدَّارِ ، الَّتِي هِيَ دَارُ الْحَصْرِ وَالْحَجْرِ ،
فَلَا يَدَّعِيهَا عَاقِلٌ يَتَصَرَّفُ بِعَقْلِهِ وَيَنْطِقُ بِنَفْسِهِ ، كَيْفَ وَهُوَ يَرَى نَفْسَهُ ذَوْقاً تَحْتَ الْقَهْرِ الْاِلَهِيِّ ، وَالتَّصْرِيفِ الرَّبَّانِيِّ ، لَايَقْدِرُ أَنْ يَمْتَنِعَ عَنْ قَرْصَةِ بُرْغُوثٍ ، وَاِبْرَةِ بَعُوضٍ : « وَإِنْ يَسْلُبْهُمُ الذُّبَابُ شَيْئاً لاَ يَسْتَنْقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ، ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ » .
وَهَذَا الْغَوْثُ الْجَامِعُ الْخَلِيفَةُ الَّذِي جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ التَّصَرُّفَ فِي الْعَوَالِمِ كُلِّهَا أَرْضِيَّةً وَسَمَاوِيَّةً ، يَرَى نَفْسَهُ مِثْلَ الشَّيْءِ الْمُلْقَى فِي الْحَقَارَةِ وَالذِّلَّةِ وَالْعَجْزِ •
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