The Book of Stations
المواقف
Context: The Emir places denial of shirk at the level of existence: whoever affirms creatures their own existence leaves Abraham's creed, the hidden association only the knower escapes. Ashʿarī and Māturīdī theologians affirm a real originated existence, and Ibn Taymiyya calls the denial heresy. The fire reading is ishārī, beside the miracle; it means the fire of nature and soul, not hellfire.AI
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدَاً وَسَلَاماً عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ».
He (exalted is He) said: “We said: O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham” (Q 21:69).
In briefAI
The Emir reads the fire of Q 21:69 as the fire of nature and of the animal soul's demands. Abraham, he argues, is in reality a universal individual, as Adam is for the human reality; hence "Abraham was a community" (Q 16:120). Whoever follows his creed is Abraham, and the fire is commanded to be harmless to him. Muhammad is root even of Adam's and Abraham's fatherhood. Abraham's creed is to deny the Real any partner in existence. Whoever affirms an existence other than the Real, originated or eternal, is not Abraham, and the fire is not commanded to spare him.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 404 ↗, Damascus 1966, p. 405 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 381 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 382 ↗ (archive.org)
النَّارُ نَارُ الطَّبِيعَةِ وَمُقْتَضَيَاتِ النَّفْسِ الْحَيَوَانِيَّةِ، وَهِيَ مَأْمُورَةٌ بِأَنْ تَكُونَ بَرْداً وَسَلَاماً عَلَى اِبْرَاهِيمَ،
The fire is the fire of nature and of the demands of the animal soul, and it is commanded to be coolness and safety upon Abraham;
وَاِبْرَاهِيمُ مَا هُوَ شَخْصٌ جُزْئِيٌّ حَقِيقَةً، بَلْ هُوَ شَخْصٌ كُلِّيٌّ،
and Abraham is not, in reality, a particular individual; rather he is a universal individual.
فَاِنَّ لِكُلِّ حَقِيقَةٍ كُلِّيَّةٍ شَخْصاً كُلِّيّاً، كَآدَمَ لِلْحَقِيقَةِ الْكُلِّيَّةِ الْاِنْسَانِيَّةِ وَنَحْوِهِ،
For every universal reality has a universal individual, as Adam is for the universal human reality, and the like.
وَلِذَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: «إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً».
That is why He (exalted is He) said: “Abraham was a community” (Q 16:120).
فَاِبْرَاهِيمُ؛ مَجْمُوعُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ مِلَّتَهُ،
So Abraham is the sum of all who follow his creed;
فَهُوَ أَصْلٌ وَأَبٌ لِكُلٍّ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ مِلَّتَهُ، وَهُوَ تَجْرِيدُ التَّوْحِيدِ وَاِفْرَادُ الْوِجْهَةِ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ،
he is root and father of everyone who follows his creed, and that creed is the stripping bare of tawḥīd and the making of one's direction for the Lord of the worlds alone.
كَمَا أَنَّ آدَمَ أَصْلٌ وَأَبٌ لِكُلِّ اِنْسَانٍ، وَهُوَ مَنْ كَانَ حَيَوَاناً نَاطِقاً،
just as Adam is root and father of every human being, that is, of whoever is a rational animal;
وَمُحَمَّدٌ ـ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ـ أَبٌ وَأَصْلٌ لِاِبْرَاهِيمَ وَلِآدَمَ، فِيمَا كَانَا فِيهِ أَبَوَيْنِ.
And Muhammad (God bless him and grant him peace) is father and root of Abraham and of Adam in that respect in which the two of them were fathers.
فَكُلُّ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ اِبْرَاهِيمَ فَهُوَ اِبْرَاهِيمُ،
So everyone who follows the creed of Abraham is Abraham,
وَالنَّارُ مَأْمُورَةٌ بِأَنْ تَكُونَ بَرْداً وَسَلَاماً عَلَى اِبْرَاهِيمَ،
and the fire is commanded to be coolness and safety upon Abraham.
وَمِلَّةُ اِبْرَاهِيمَ، هِيَ قَوْلُهُ: «يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ، إِنِّي وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ حَنِيفاً وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ».
The creed of Abraham is his saying: “O my people, I am quit of what you associate [with God]. I have turned my face towards Him who brought forth the heavens and the earth, as a ḥanīf, and I am not one of those who associate” (Q 6:78–79).
وَقَوْلُهُ: «وَأَعْتَزِلُكُمْ وَمَا تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ».
And his saying: “And I withdraw from you and from what you call upon apart from God” (Q 19:48).
وَقَدْ أَمَرَ الْحَقُّ ـ تَعَالَى ـ بِاتِّبَاعِ مِلَّةِ اِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ: «فَٱتَّبِعُوا مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفاً وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ».
The Real (exalted is He) has commanded following the creed of Abraham. He said: “So follow the creed of Abraham, a ḥanīf; he was not one of those who associate” (Q 3:95).
«وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِيناً مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَٱتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفاً».
“And who is better in religion than one who submits his face to God, doing what is beautiful, and follows the creed of Abraham, a ḥanīf?” (Q 4:125).
فَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لِلْحَقِّ– تَعَالَى– شَرِيكاً فِي الْوُجُودِ، وَتَوَابِعِ الْوُجُودِ.
So he did not make for the Real (exalted is He) any partner in existence, or in the concomitants of existence.
وَكُلُّ مَنْ أَثْبَتَ لِغَيْرِهِ– تَعَالَى– وُجُوداً حَادِثاً، أَوْ قَدِيماً مُغَايِراً الْحَقَّ؛ فَمَا هُوَ مِمَّنِ اتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ اِبْرَاهِيمَ، فَمَا هُوَ اِبْرَاهِيمُ،
Everyone who affirms for other than Him (exalted is He) an existence, whether originated or eternal, that is other than the Real, is not among those who follow the creed of Abraham; so he is not Abraham,
فَلَيْسَتِ النَّارُ مَأْمُورَةً بِأَنْ تَكُونَ بَرْداً وَسَلَاماً عَلَيْهِ.
and the fire is not commanded to be coolness and safety upon him.
بَلْ هُوَ مِمَّنْ رَغِبَ عَنْ مِلَّةِ اِبْرَاهِيمَ، وَخَسِرَ نَفْسَهُ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَمَنْ يَرْغَبُ عَنْ مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِلاَّ مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ نَفْسَهُ؟!»
Rather, he is among those who turn away from the creed of Abraham and lose themselves, as He (exalted is He) said: “And who turns away from the creed of Abraham except one who makes a fool of himself?” (Q 2:130).
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.