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 2 · “You alone we ask for help”
Context: the Emir cites verses about fighting (Q 9:14, 8:17) only as examples of how an act is ascribed both to God and to people. The station is not teaching about war.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 30, Damascus 1966, p. 31, Damascus 1966, p. 32, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 44, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 45 (archive.org)
قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ.
God (exalted is He) said: “And You alone do we ask for help” (Q 1:5).
ظَاهِرُهُ يُعْطِى أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ قَادِرٌ عَلَى بَعْضِ الْفِعْلِ، وَعَاجِزٌ عَنْ بَعْضِهِ، لِأَنَّ لِكُلٍّ مِنَ الْمُتَعَاوِنَيْنِ نِسْبَةً فِي الْفِعْلِ، أَيِ الْحَاصِلِ بِالْمَصْدَرِ،
Its outward sense implies that the servant is capable of part of the act and incapable of part of it, since each of the two who help one another has a share in the act, meaning the result produced by the doing.
فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مُخَاطَبَةَ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- لِعِبَادِهِ فِي كُتُبِهِ الْمُنَزَّلَةِ، وَعَلَى أَلْسِنَةِ رُسُلِهِ- عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ- اِنَّمَا جَاءَتْ عَلَي حَسَبِ مَبْلَغِ عِلْمِ عَامَّةِ الْعِبَادِ، وَمُنْتَهَى عُقُولِهِمْ وَمَا أَدَّتْ اِلَيْهِ بَدِيهَتُهُمْ،
Know, then, that the Real’s (exalted is He) addressing of His servants in His revealed Books, and on the tongues of His messengers (upon them be blessing and peace), came only according to the reach of the knowledge of the generality of the servants, the limit of their intellects, and what their immediate intuition led them to.
وَلَمَّا كَانَ عَامَّةُ الْعِبَادِ يَتَوَهَّمُونَ أَنَّ لَهُمْ وُجُوداً مُسْتَقِلّاً مُبَايِناً لِوُجُودِ الْحَقِّ، حَادِثاً أَوْ قَدِيماً، تَرَكَهُمُ الْحَقُّ عَلَى وَهْمِهِمْ لِأَنَّ حَالَتَهُمُ الَّتِي هُمْ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَحْتَمِلُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَلِحِكَمٍ هُوَ يَعْلَمُهَا،
Since the generality of the servants imagine that they have an independent existence, distinct from the existence of the Real, whether originated or eternal, the Real left them in their imagining, because the state they are in cannot bear more than that, and for wise purposes that He knows.
وَخَاطَبَهُمْ عَلَى أَنَّ لَهُمْ وُجُوداً كَمَا زَعَمُوا، وَأَضَافَ لَهُمُ الْأَفْعَالَ وَالتُّرُوكَ، وَالْقُدْرَةَ، وَالْمَشِيئَةَ، وَغَيْرَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى حَسَبِ دَعْوَاهُمْ
And He addressed them on the basis that they have an existence, as they claimed, and attributed to them acts and refrainings, power, will and other things, in accordance with their claim,
فَقَالَ لَهُمْ: افْعَلُوا وَاتْرُكُوا: «أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ، لَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَا، سَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ، وَلَنْ يَتِرَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ، مَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ، وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ وَنَحْوَ ذَلِكَ.
and He said to them: Do, and refrain: “Establish the prayer” (Q 2:43), “Do not approach fornication” (Q 17:32), “God will see your work, and His Messenger” (Q 9:94), “and He will never stint you of your works” (Q 47:35), “whoever will, let him believe, and whoever will, let him disbelieve” (Q 18:29), and the like.
وَمِنَ الْمَعْلُومِ الْبَيِّنِ أَنَّ الْقُدْرَةَ عَلَى الْفِعْلِ وَالتَّرْكِ وَالْمَشِيئَةَ وَسَائِرَ الْاِدْرَاكَاتِ؛ تَابِعَةٌ لِلْوُجُودِ.
It is known and evident that power over doing and refraining, will, and all the perceptions follow upon existence.
فَمَا لَا وُجُودَ لَهُ، لَافِعْلَ وَلَا تَرْكَ وَلَا اِدْرَاكَ لَهُ،
So what has no existence has no act, no refraining and no perception;
وَالْاِنْسَانُ وَكُلُّ مُمْكِنٍ؛ لَا وُجُودَ لَهُ، مُسْتَقِلّاً لَا قَدِيماً وَلَا حَادِثاً بُرْهَاناً وَكَشْفاً،
and the human being and every contingent thing has no independent existence, neither eternal nor originated, by demonstration and by unveiling.
أَمَّا الْكَشْفُ فَالْعَارِفُونَ مُجْمِعُونَ عَلَى هَذَا،
As for unveiling, the knowers are agreed on this;
وَأَمَّا الْبُرْهَانُ فَلِأَنَّهُ لَوْ كَانَ لِمُمْكِنٍ، أَيُّ مُمْكِنٍ كَانَ، وُجُودٌ مُسْتَقِلٌّ مُبَايِنٌ لِوُجُودِ الْحَقِّ تَعَالَى؛ فَوُجُودُهُ عَارِضٌ لِمَاهِيَّتِهِ،
As for demonstration, it is because, if a contingent thing, any contingent thing whatever, had an independent existence distinct from the existence of the Real (exalted is He), its existence would be accidental to its quiddity;
وَالْفِطْرَةُ السَّلِيمَةُ قَاضِيَةٌ بَدِيهَةً بِأَنَّ ثُبُوتَ كُلِّ صِفَةٍ لِمَوْصُوفٍ؛ فَرْعُ ثُبُوتِ الْمَوْصُوفِ فِي نَفْسِهِ،
and sound primordial nature judges self-evidently that the establishment of any attribute for a thing qualified is derivative of the establishment of the qualified thing in itself.
فَالْمُمْكِنُ- عَلَى هَذَا- مُمْتَنِعُ الْوُجُودِ اِذْ لَوْ وُجِدَ؛ لَكَانَ وُجُودُهُ عَارِضاً لِمَاهِيَّتِهِ، وَعُرُوضُ الْوُجُودِ لَهُ؛ مُتَفَرِّعٌ عَلَى وُجُودِهِ أَوَّلاً،
So the contingent thing, on this basis, is impossible of existence, since, if it existed, its existence would be accidental to its quiddity, and existence’s occurring to it is derivative of its existing first;
فَهَذَا الْوُجُودُ السَّابِقُ اِمَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ عَيْنَ اللَّاحِقِ، أَوْ غَيْرَهُ.
So this prior existence is either identical with the subsequent one or other than it.
وَالْأَوَّلُ مُسْتَحِيلٌ، ضَرُورَةَ تَقَدُّمِ الشَّيْءِ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ،
The first is impossible, since it would necessarily entail a thing’s preceding itself;
وَالثَّانِي مُسْتَحِيلٌ أَيْضاً، لِأَنَّنَا نُحَوِّلُ الْكَلَامَ اِلَى الْوُجُودِ السَّابِقِ، فَيَلْزَمُ الدَّوْرُ أَوِ التَّسَلْسُلُ وَكِلَاهُمَا مُحَالٌ.
And the second is also impossible, because we transfer the argument to the prior existence, and so circularity or infinite regress follows, and both are absurd.
وَلَمَّا كَانَ خِطَابُ الْحَقِّ عِبَادَهُ ؛ اِنَّمَا هُوَ عَلَى حَسَبِ تَخَيُّلِهِمْ ، وَتَمْشِيَةً لِدَعْوَاهُمْ، وَكَانَ الْأَمْرُ دَايِراً بَيْنَ مَاتَوَهَّمَتْهُ عَامَّةُ الْخَلْقِ ، وَبَيْنَ مَاهُوَ الْأَمْرُ عَلَيْهِ فِي نَفْسِهِ ، جَاءَتْ نِسْبَةُ الْأَفْعَالِ الصَّادِرَةِ مِنَ الْعِبَادِ فِي بَادِىءِ الرَّأْيِ وَنَظَرِ الْعَقْلِ ، مُتَنَوِّعَةً مُخْتَلِفَةً فِي الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ،
فَمَرَّةً جَاءَتْ مَنْسُوبَةً اِلَى اللَّهِ بِالْاِنْسَانِ، كَمَا فِي قَوْلِهِتَعَالَى: « قَاتِلُوهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمُ اللَّهُ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ
وَنَحْوِهِ ، وَمَرَّةً مَنْسُوبَةً اِلَى الْاِنْسَانِ بِاللَّهِ ، كَمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : « كَمْ مِنْ فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ » ،
وَنَحْوِهِ ، وَتَارَةً مَنْسُوبَةً اِلَى الْاِنْسَانِ وَحْدَهُ ، كَمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : « أَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ » ،
وَنَحْوِهِ تَارَةً نَفَاهَا عَنِ الْاِنْسَانِ صَرَاحَةً ، كَمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : « لَا يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا ، فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ ، وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ »
وَنَحْوِهِ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : « وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ » .
جَاءَ أَمْراً وَخِطَاباً عَلَى مَا تَوَهَّمَتْهُ الْعَامَّةُ ، لِأَنَّهُ لَوْلَا تَوَهُّمُ الْعَبْدِ أَنَّ لَهُ قُدْرَةً عَلَى بَعْضِ الْفِعْلِ ؟ مَا طَلَبَ الْعَوْنَ عَلَى الْبَعْضِ الْمَعْجُوزِ عَنْهُ ،
فَاِنْ قُلْتَ: قَالَ ـ تَعَالَى ـ « وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْأِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ » .
وَظَاهِرُ هَذَا ؟ يُنَافِي مَا قُلْتَ : مِنْ أَنَّ عِلَّةَ التَّكْلِيفِ هِيَ الدَّعْوَى ،
قُلْتُ : الْعِبَادَةُ الَّتِي خُلِقَ لَهَا الْجِنُّ وَالْاِنْسُ؟ هِيَ الْعِبَادَةُ الذَّاتِيَّةُ كَسَائِرِ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ ،
وَلَا شَكَّ أَنَّ لِلْجِنِّ وَالْاِنْسِ عِبَادَةً ذَاتِيَّةً ،
وَالْعِبَادَةُ الَّتِي قُلْنَا سَبَبُهَا الدَّعْوَى ، هِيَ الْعِبَادَةُ التَّكْلِيفِيَّةُ ، الَّتِي نَشَأَتْ مِنِ اجْتِمَاعِ النَّفْسِ النَّاطِقَةِ بِالْجِسْمِ الْعُنْصُرِيِّ ،
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.
Hear when new texts are published
Occasional news of a new text or a new layer. If there is a text you would like to read here, say so below.