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

About this text

Mawqif 207 · “You are the poor in need of God”
In briefAI
Starting from Q 35:15, “you are the poor in need of God”, the Emir says “God” there names the rank of Divinity, the names and attributes, to which created things are bound as receiver to agent. The rank also seeks the world, so that the effects of the names become manifest, yet the two needs are vastly different, and the verse restricts true poverty to people. At the end of the verse “God” names the Essence, self-sufficient, beholding all the perfections of the names within itself.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 451, Damascus 1966, p. 452, Damascus 1966, p. 453, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 422, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 423 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ»
He, exalted is He, said: “O people, you are the poor in need of God, and God, He is the Rich, the Praiseworthy” (Q 35:15).
خَاطَبَ- تَعَالَى- النَّاسَ، وَيَدْخُلُ مَعَهُمْ سَائِرُ الْعَالَمِ بِالْأَحْرَى،
He, exalted is He, addressed people, and the rest of the world is included with them all the more.
أَخْبَرَهُمْ- تَعَالَى- أَنَّهُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ اِلَى اللَّهِ، أَيِ الطَّالِبُونَ مِنْهُ مَا أَنْتُمْ مُحْتَاجُونَ اِلَيْهِ، رَاغِبُونَ فِيهِ، فِي كُلِّ نَفَسٍ وَحَالٍ، حَالَ اِمْكَانِكُمْ وَعَدَمِكُمْ، وَفِي حَالِ اتِّصَافِكُمْ بِالْوُجُودِ.
He, exalted is He, informed them that they are the poor in need of God, that is, those who seek from Him what you need and desire, in every breath and state: in the state of your possibility and your non-existence, and in the state of your being qualified by existence.
فَتَطْلُبُونَ مِنْهُ حَالَةَ الْاِمْكَانِ وَالْعَدَمِ اِعْطَاءَ الْوُجُودِ لَكُمْ•
So in the state of possibility and non-existence you seek from Him that existence be given to you;
وَبَعْدَهُ طَلَبُكُمُ اسْتِمْرَارَ الْوُجُودِ، وَمَا بِهِ بَقَاءُ الْوُجُودِ عَلَيْكُمْ•
and after it, your seeking is for the continuance of existence, and for that through which existence remains upon you.
فَالِاسْمُ «اللَّهُ» فِي صَدْرِ الْآيَةِ؛ اسْمٌ لِلْمَرْتَبَةِ الَّتِي لَهُ- تَعَالَى- كَمَرْتَبَةِ الْخِلَافَةِ لِلْخَلِيفَةِ وَالْقَضَاءِ لِلْقَاضِي،
The name “God” in the first part of the verse is a name for the rank that belongs to Him, exalted is He, like the rank of the caliphate for the caliph and of judgeship for the judge.
فَهُوَ صِفَةٌ مُشْتَقٌّ، لَا اسْمُ الذَّاتِ، لِأَنَّ الَّذِي تَفْتَقِرُ اِلَيْهِ الْمُمْكِنَاتُ، وَتَطْلُبُ حَوَائِجَهَا مِنْهُ؛ اِنَّمَا هُوَ الْمَرْتَبَةُ الْمُسَمَّاةُ بِالْأُلُوهِيَّةِ، مَرْتَبَةُ الصِّفَاتِ وَالْأَسْمَاءِ، الَّتِي تُنْسَبُ وَتُسْنَدُ اِلَيْهَا جَمِيعاً الْآثَارُ،
So it is a derived attribute, not the name of the Essence, because what the possible things are in need of, and from which they seek their wants, is only the rank named Divinity, the rank of the attributes and the names, to which all effects are attributed and ascribed.
فَهِيَ مُرْتَبِطَةٌ بِالْمُمْكِنَاتِ، وَالْمُمْكِنَاتُ مُرْتَبِطَةٌ بِهَا ارْتِبَاطَ فَاعِلٍ بِقَابِلٍ، وَمُؤَثِّرٍ•
So it is bound to the possible things, and the possible things are bound to it with the binding of an agent to a receiver, and of an effecter.
فَالطَّلَبُ مِنَ الْجِهَتَيْنِ، وَالِارْتِبَاطُ فِي الْحَيْثِيَّتَيْنِ،
The seeking, then, is from both sides, and the binding is in both respects.
فَفِي الْآيَةِ حَذْفُ الْوَاوِ مَعَ مَعْطُوفِهَا لِلْعِلْمِ بِهِ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللَّهِ- تَعَالَى-،
In the verse, then, the wāw has been elided together with what it coordinates, because it is known to those who know God, exalted is He.
وَالنُّكْتَهُ فِي هَذَا الْحَذْفِ أَنَّهُ- تَعَالَى- عَبَّرَ بِالْفَقْرِ فِي حَقِّ النَّاسِ، فَعَلَّمَنَا الْأَدَبَ الْقَوْلِيَّ، كَمَا هُوَ وَاقِعٌ فِي آيَاتٍ كَثِيرَةٍ،
The subtle point in this elision is that He, exalted is He, used the expression “poverty” for people, and so taught us courtesy in speech, as occurs in many verses.
وَلِذَلِكَ فَسَّرْنَا نَحْنُ الْفَقْرَ بِالطَّلَبِ، حَتَّى لَايَنْفِرَ السَّامِعُ لِذَلِكَ فِي حَقِّهِ- تَعَالَى-، وَاِنْ كَانَ مَنْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ وَأَفْضَلُ وَأَكْثَرُ أَدَباً عَبَّرَ بِالِافْتِقَارِ فِي الْجِهَتَيْنِ، حَيْثُ يَقُولُ فِي الْفُصُوصِ:
That is why we ourselves have explained poverty as seeking, so that the hearer will not recoil from that being said of Him, exalted is He, even though one who is more knowing, more excellent and greater in courtesy expressed need on both sides, where he says in the Fuṣūṣ:
فَالْكُلُّ مُفْتَقِرٌ مَا الْكُلُّ مُسْتَغْنِي هَذَا هُوَ الْحَقُّ قَدْ قُلْنَاهُ فَلَاتَكْنِي
So the whole is in need; the whole is not free of need. This is the truth; we have said it, so do not speak by allusion.
فَالْكُلُّ بِالْكُلِّ مَرْبُوطٌ وَلَيْسَ لَهُ عَنْهُ انْفِصَالٌ، خُذُوا مَا قُلْتُهُ عَنِّي
So the whole is bound to the whole, and it has no separation from it; take from me what I have said.
غَيْرَ أَنَّ بَيْنَ الطَّلَبَيْنِ وَالِافْتِقَارَيْنِ بَوْناً بَعِيداً،
Yet between the two seekings and the two needs there is a vast distance.
فَلِذَا أُورِدَتِ الْآيَةُ بِصِيغَةِ الْحَصْرِ، أَيْ أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ الْفَقْرَ الْحَقِيقِيَّ، لَا الْأَسْمَاءُ الَّتِي تَطْلُبُكُمْ لِتَفْعَلَ وَتُؤَثِّرَ فِيكُمْ،
That is why the verse was cast in the form of restriction: that is, it is you who are the poor, with true poverty, not the names that seek you in order to act and exert effect in you.
لِأَنَّ مَعْنَى الطَّلَبِ مَرْتَبَةُ الْأُلُوهِيَّةِ لِلنَّاسِ وَغَيْرِهِمْ؟ اِنَّمَا هُوَ لِتَظْهَرَ آثَارُ الْأَسْمَاءِ بِظُهُورِ مُؤَثِّرَاتِهَا، فَاِنَّ ظُهُورَ الْأَثَرِ مُسْتَلْزِمٌ ظُهُورَ الْمُؤَثِّرِ ضَرُورَةً،
For the meaning of the rank of Divinity's seeking of people and others is only that the effects of the names may become manifest along with the manifestation of their effecters, since the manifestation of the effect necessarily entails the manifestation of the effecter.
وَاِنَّمَا كَانَتِ الْمَرْتَبَةُ طَالِبَةً لِلْعَالَمِ ؟ لِأَنَّ لِلْحَقِّ ــ تَعَالَى ــ كَمَالَيْنِ : كَمَالٌ ذَاتِيٌّ وَكَمَالٌ أَسْمَائِيٌّ •
فَالْكَمَالُ الْأَسْمَائِيُّ مَوْقُوفٌ ظُهُورُهُ عَلَى ظُهُورِ الْأَسْمَاءِ بِظُهُورِ آثَارِهَا ،
فَاِنَّ مُحْيِيَ وَمُمِيتَ ، وَقَادِرَ وَمُعْطِيَ ، وَخَالِقَ وَمُصَوِّرَ ، مِنْ غَيْرِ ظُهُورِ آثَارِهَا قُوَّةً وَصَلَاحِيَةً لَا فِعْلاً ،
فَهِيَ تَطْلُبُ الْخُرُوجَ مِنَ الْقُوَّةِ وَالصَّلَاحِيَةِ اِلَى الْفِعْلِ،
وَلَيْسَ الِارْتِبَاطُ بَيْنَ الْأَسْمَاءِ وَالْعَالَمِ وَالطَّلَبُ الْمَذْكُورُ مَوْقُوفاً عَلَى وُجُودِ الْعَالَمِ ، كَمَا قَدْ يُتَوَهَّمُ •
بَلِ النَّاسُ وَالْعَالَمُ جَمِيعُهُ مُفْتَقِرٌ اِلَى اللَّهِ ، أَعْنِي مَرْتَبَةَ أَسْمَاءِ الْأُلُوهِيَّةِ وُجُوداً وَتَقْدِيراً ، حَالَ الْعَدَمِ وَبَعْدَهُ أَزَلاً وَأَبَداً ،
وَلِهَذَا ؟ كَانَتْ أَسْمَاؤُهُ ــ تَعَالَى ــ قَدِيمَةً أَزَلِيَّةً :
« وَاللَّـهُ هُوَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْحَمِيدُ » .
لَفْظَةُ « هُوَ » تَأْكِيدٌ ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُنَا اسْمُ الذَّاتِ ، لَا بِاعْتِبَارِ مَرْتَبَةٍ ، فَهُوَ اسْمٌ جَامِدٌ غَيْرُ مُشْتَقٍّ ،
أَيِ الذَّاتُ الَّذِي هُوَ الْغَيْبُ الْمُطْلَقُ ، غَنِيٌّ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَعَنْ جَمِيعِ الْعَوَالِمِ ، وَعَنِ الْأَسْمَاءِ وَعَنِ الْوَصْفِ ، بِالْغِنَى وَالْحَمْدِ ، وَلَكِنْ لِضَرُورَةِ التَّفْهِيمِ وُصِفَ لَا بِالْأَصَالَةِ •
وَهَذَا هُوَ الْكَمَالُ الذَّاتِيُّ وَالْغِنَى الْمُطْلَقُ ،
وَهُوَ ــ تَعَالَى ــ فِي هَذَا الْكَمَالِ الذَّاتِيِّ ؟ يُشَاهِدُ جَمِيعَ كَمَالَاتِهِ الْأَسْمَائِيَّةِ شُهُوداً عِلْمِيّاً غَيْبِيّاً جَمْعِيّاً ،
فَهِيَ كَمَالَاتٌ مُسْتَهْلَكَةٌ فِي الذَّاتِ غَيْرُ مُتَمَيِّزَةٍ عَنْهَا ،يَشْهَدُهَا شُهُودَ مُفَصَّلٍ فِي مُجْمَلٍ ، كَشُهُودِ النَّخِيلِ الْكَثِيرِ وَالثِّمَارِ وَالْأَغْصَانِ فِي النَّوَاةِ الْوَاحِدَةِ :
« وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْمَثَلُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ » .
فَلَفْظَةُ « اللَّهِ » فِي صَدْرِ الْآيَةِ مِثْلُ لَفْظَةِ الْاِلٰهِ فِي الْكَلِمَةِ الْمُشَرَّفَةِ ، كَلِمَةِ الشَّهَادَةِ ،
وَلَفْظَةُ « اللَّهِ » فِي عَجُزِ الْآيَةِ مِثْلُ لَفْظَةِ اللَّهِ الْوَاقِعَةِ بَعْدَ أَدَاةِ الِاسْتِثْنَاءِ،
فَأَيْنَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ التَّغَايُرِ بَيْنَ لَفْظَتَيْ « اللَّهِ » فِي الْآيَةِ ، فَمَا ذَكَرَهُ الْمُتَكَلِّمُونَ فِي كَلِمَةِ الشَّهَادَةِ ، فِي الْكُلِّيَّةِ وَالْجُزْئِيَّةِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ ،
فَمَا أَبْرَدَ الْحَقَائِقَ عَلَى أَكْبَادِ الْقُلُوبِ الْمُنَّوَّرَةِ وَمَا أَلَذَّهَا !!

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