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 210 · “Know that there is no god but God”
In briefAI
Starting from Q 47:19, “Know that there is no god but God”, and Q 3:28, “God warns you of Himself”, the Emir distinguishes the rank of divinity, which is commanded to be known, from the Essence, which is warned against. The Essence is beheld and cannot be known, since knowledge requires encompassing; ignorance of it is its knowledge. The intellect that flies there returns with broken wings, and is told the warning was kindness, so it should take another road.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 469, Damascus 1966, p. 470, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 437, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 438 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ».
He, exalted is He, said: “Know, then, that there is no god but God” (Q 47:19).
مُتَعَلَّقُ الْأَمْرِ بِالْعِلْمِ اِنَّمَا هُوَ الْمَرْتَبَةُ الْأُلُوهِيَّةُ، فَاِنَّهَا كَالْخِلَافَةِ لِلْخَلِيفَةِ، فَهِيَ الَّتِي تُعْلَمُ وَلَا تُشْهَدُ مِنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ.
What the command to know bears on is only the rank of divinity, for it is like the caliphate for the caliph: it is what is known and is not beheld from every aspect.
وَالْعِلْمُ الْمَأْمُورُ بِهِ، الْعِلْمُ الزَّائِدُ عَلَى مَا فِي الْفِطْرَةِ، لِأَنَّ الْأَمْرَ بِتَحْصِيلِ الْحَاصِلِ مُحَالٌ.
The knowledge that is commanded is knowledge over and above what lies in the innate disposition, for a command to obtain what is already obtained is impossible.
اِذْ مَا جَهِلَهَا أَحَدٌ مِنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ،
since no one has been ignorant of it in every respect.
وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ».
And He, exalted is He, said: “God warns you of Himself” (Q 3:28).
مُتَعَلَّقُ النَّهْيِ وَالتَّحْذِيرِ، اِنَّمَا هُوَ الذَّاتُ.
What the prohibition and the warning bear on is only the Essence.
فَاِنَّهَا الَّتِي لَاتُعْلَمُ وَلَكِنْ تُشْهَدُ، فَاِذَا عَلِمْتَ فَلَا تَقُلْ اِنَّكَ شَهِدْتَ.
For it is what is not known but is beheld; so when you have known, do not say that you have beheld.
فَمَا كُلُّ مَعْلُومٍ يُشْهَدُ، وَاِذَا شَهِدْتَ فَلَا تَقُلْ اِنَّكَ عَلِمْتَ، اِذِ الْعِلْمُ يَقْتَضِي الْاِحَاطَةَ، وَالْاِحَاطَةُ مُحَالٌ، فَالْعِلْمُ مُحَالٌ،
For not everything known is beheld; and when you have beheld, do not say that you have known, since knowledge requires encompassing, and encompassing is impossible; so knowledge is impossible.
وَكُلُّ حَقِيقَةٍ، الْعِلْمُ بِهَا غَيْرُ الْجَهْلِ بِهَا، اِلاَّ هَذِهِ، فَاِنَّ الْجَهْلَ بِهَا عَيْنُ الْعِلْمِ بِهَا،
And every reality: knowledge of it is other than ignorance of it, except this one, for ignorance of it is the very knowledge of it.
فَهِيَ النَّكِرَةُ الَّتِي لَا تَتَعَرَّفُ، وَالْمَعْرِفَةُ الَّتِي لَا تَتَخَلَّفُ،
It is the indefinite that does not become definite, and the definite that never falls away.
اِنَّمَا تُنْكَرُ لَوْ كَانَ هُنَاكَ شَيْءٌ سِوَاهَا وَلَا يَكُونُ•
It would be unknown only if there were something other than it, and there is not.
وَاِنَّمَا تُعْرَفُ لَوْ عُرِفَ مَبْدَأُهَا وَمُنْتَهَاهَا وَلَا يَكُونُ•
And it would be known only if its beginning and its end were known, and that is not so.
يَا لَلْحَيْرَةِ الْعَمْيَاءِ، وَالدَّاهِيَةِ الدَّهْيَاءِ، وَالْمَهْلَكَةِ الْفَيْحَاءِ!!
O for the blind bewilderment, the calamity of calamities, the wide wasteland of perdition!!
الصِّفَاتُ هِيَ الْمُدْرَكَةُ لِأَنَّهَا الظَّاهِرَةُ بِآثَارِهَا، فَلَيْسَ الْمُدْرَكُ الْمَشْهُودُ اِلاَّ الصِّفَاتِ لَا الذَّاتَ،
The attributes are what is perceived, for they are what is manifest through their traces; so what is perceived and beheld is nothing but the attributes, not the Essence;
بَلِ الذَّاتُ هِيَ الْمُدْرَكَةُ الْمَشْهُودَةُ لَا الصِّفَاتُ، اِذِ الذَّاتُ هُوَ الْمُقَوِّمَةُ لِلصِّفَاتِ•
nay, the Essence is what is perceived and beheld, not the attributes, since the Essence is what constitutes the attributes.
عِنْدَمَا أَرَادَ الْعَقْلُ أَنْ يَطِيرَ فِي هَذَا الْفَضَاءِ الْوَاسِعِ الْمُظْلِمِ، قِيلَ لَهُ: الْزَمْ مَكَانَكَ وَاعْرِفْ مَقَامَكَ، فَاِنَّهُ لَارَسْمَ ثَمَّةَ وَلَا أَثَرَ، وَلَا حَدِيثَ وَلَا خَبَرَ،
When the intellect wished to fly in this wide, dark space, it was told: “Keep to your place and know your station, for there is no mark there and no trace, no report and no tidings.”
فَعَصَى وَطَارَ فَمَا وَجَدَ أَثَراً وَلَا عَيْنَ، وَلَا مِـنْ وَلَا اِلَى وَلَا أَيْنَ،
But it disobeyed and flew, and found neither trace nor entity, no “from”, no “to”, and no “where”;
فَرَجَعَ مَكْسُورَ الْجَنَاحَيْنِ، مَكْفُوفَ الْعَيْنَيْنِ، بِخُفَّيٍّ حُنَيْنٍ،
so it returned with both wings broken, both eyes blinded, with the shoes of Ḥunayn,
فَقِيلَ لَهُ: قَدْ قِيلَ لَكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ: «وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ وَاللَّهُ رَؤُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ».
Then it was told: It was said to you before: “God warns you of Himself, and God is kind to the servants” (Q 3:30).
فَمَا حَذَّرَكَ اِلاَّ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً بِكَ، فَعَصَيْتَ وَأَبَيْتَ، وَزَعَمْتَ وَتَمَنَّيْتَ،
He warned you only out of kindness and mercy towards you; but you disobeyed and refused, you made claims and indulged in wishes.
فَارْجِعْ اِلَى طَرِيقٍ غَيْرِ طَرِيقِكَ، وَأَصْحِبْ فَرِيقاً غَيْرَ فَرِيقِكَ،
So go back to a road other than your road, and keep company with a party other than your party;
فَمَا كُلُّ بَيْضَـاءَ شَحْمَةً، وَلَا كُلُّ سَوْدَاءَ تَمْرَةً•
for not every white thing is a piece of fat, nor every black thing a date.

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