The Book of Stations
المواقف
Context: Following Ibn ʿArabī, kufr means 'covering': absolute tashbīh and absolute tanzīh, including theologians' taʾwīl, against the God 'transcendent in His likening'. He grades it 'kufr short of kufr' yet affirms punishment for each rank. The knower's bliss in 'every object of belief' the school reads as recognising God in every form; Ibn Taymiyya's line sees relativised truth.AI
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ، لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ...» اِلَخْ السُّورَةِ.
He, exalted is He, said: “Say: O unbelievers! I do not worship what you worship…” (Q 109:1–2), to the end of the sūra.
In briefAI
The Emir reads Sūrat al-Kāfirūn as addressed to a restricted class: those against whom God's word has come true, who do not turn back from unbelief according to its rank. Kufr means 'covering' and has degrees. He reads the sūra four ways: against associators, against absolute likeners, against absolute transcendentalists who deny or explain away God's self-disclosure and scriptural attributes, and against those who ascribe efficacy to causes or to the servant. Different verses address different groups, so nothing repeats. Recompense matches each unbelief. The knower, who worships the absolute God, enjoys the bliss of every belief.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 492 ↗, Damascus 1966, p. 493 ↗, Damascus 1966, p. 494 ↗, Damascus 1966, p. 495 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 456 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 457 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 458 ↗ (archive.org)
«أَلْ» فِي «الْكَافِرُونَ» لِلْجِنْسِ الْمَخْصُوصِ•
The «al-» in «al-kāfirūn» is for the restricted genus,
وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ، أَنَّهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ، أَيْ لَايَرْجِعُونَ عَنْ كُفْرِهِمْ بِحَسَبِ مَرْتَبَةِ كُفْرِهِمْ
namely those against whom the word of your Lord has come true, that they do not believe, that is, they do not turn back from their unbelief, according to the rank of their unbelief;
وَهُمُ الْمَعْنِيُّونَ بِقَوْلِهِ: «إِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ».
and they are the ones meant by His words: “God does not guide the unbelieving folk” (Q 5:67),
وَقَوْلِهِ: «إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنْذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنْذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ» اِلَخْ، الْآيَةَ.
and His words: “Those who disbelieve, it is the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them; they do not believe” (Q 2:6), and so on, the verse,
وَنَحْوِ هَٰذَا٠
and the like.
وَالْكُفْرُ: السَّتْرُ لُغَةً، فَكُلُّ مَنْ سَتَرَ شَيْئاً وَجَحَدَهُ فَهُوَ كَافِرٌ سَاتِرٌ بِالنِّسْبَةِ لِمَا سَتَرَهُ وَجَحَدَهُ،
Unbelief, in the language, is covering; so everyone who covers a thing and denies it is an unbeliever, a coverer, with respect to what he has covered and denied;
وَهُوَ أَنْوَاعٌ كَالشِّرْكِ، وَقَدْ يُطْلَقُ كُلٌّ مِنْهُمَا عَلَى الْآخَرِ،
and it is of kinds, as is associationism, and each of the two is sometimes applied to the other;
وَفِي صَحِيحِ الْبُخَارِيِّ: «كُفْرٌ دُونَ كُفْرٍ، وَظُلْمٌ دُونَ ظُلْمٍ»٠
and in the Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhārī: “Unbelief short of unbelief, and wrongdoing short of wrongdoing.”
وَكَمَا أَنَّ الْكُفْرَ أَنْوَاعٌ؛ فَالدَّاعُونَ اِلَى الْخُرُوجِ مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الْأَنْوَاعِ أَنْوَاعٌ، مِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَدْعُونَ اِلَى الْخُرُوجِ مِنَ الْكُفْرِ الْأَعْظَمِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَدْعُو اِلَى الْخُرُوجِ مِنَ الْكُفْرِ الْأَصْغَرِ اِلَى مَا بَيْنَهُمَا٠
And just as unbelief is of kinds, so those who call to leaving these kinds are of kinds: among them are those who call to leaving the greatest unbelief, and among them is he who calls to leaving the lesser unbelief, up to what lies between the two.
«قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْكَافِرُونَ».
“Say: O unbelievers!” (Q 109:1)
الْجَاحِدُونَ وَحْدَانِيَّةَ الْاِلَهِ ـ تَعَالَى ـ الدَّاعُونَ مَعَهُ اِلَهاً آخَرَ، اِمَّا اسْتِقْلَالاً كَالْقَائِلِينَ بِالِاثْنَيْنِ، وَاِمَّا تَقْرِيباً كَالْقَائِلِينَ: «مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلاَّ لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى»٠
those who deny the oneness of God, exalted is He, who call upon another god along with Him, either as independent, like those who hold that there are two, or as a means of nearness, like those who say: “We worship them only that they may bring us near to God in nearness” (Q 39:3).
«لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ». مِنَ الشُّرَكَاءِ
“I do not worship what you worship” (Q 109:2): of the partners.
«وَلاَ أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ». وَهُوَ الْاِلَهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْأَحَدُ لِمَا حَقَّتْ عَلَيْكُمْ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ،
“Nor are you worshippers of what I worship” (Q 109:3): and that is the God, the One, the Unique, because the word of punishment has come true against you,
وَمَا يُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَيْهِ تَعَالَى: «قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْكَافِرُونَ».
and the word is not changed with Him, exalted is He: “Say: O unbelievers!” (Q 109:1)
الْجَاحِدُونَ تَنْزِيهَالْحَقِّ ـ تَعَالَى ـ الْقَائِلُونَبِتَشْبِيهِهِ بِخَلْقِهِ مُطْلَقاً، كَالْمُجَسِّمَةِ وَالْحُلُولِيَّةِ وَالِاتِّحَادِيَّةِ الْمُنْكِرُونَ وَالْمُؤَوِّلُونَ بِقَوْلِهِ: «لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ».
those who deny the transcendence of the Real, exalted is He, who hold that He is likened to His creation absolutely, like the corporealists, the incarnationists and the unificationists, who deny and explain away His words: “There is nothing like His likeness” (Q 42:11).
«لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ، وَهُوَ الْآلِهَةُ الْمُشَبَّهَةُ بِمَخْلُوقَاتِهِ مُطْلَقاً،
“I do not worship what you worship” (Q 109:2): and that is the gods likened to His creatures absolutely,
فَاِنَّهُ اِلَهٌ مَخْلُوقٌ اخْتَرَعَهُ عَابِدُهُ فِي تَخَيُّلِهِ: «وَلاَ أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ».
for it is a created god that its worshipper has invented in his imagination: “Nor are you worshippers of what I worship” (Q 109:3).
وَهُوَ الْاِلَهُ الْمُنَزَّهُ فِي تَشْبِيهِهِ.
and that is the God who is transcendent in His very likening.
«قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ».
“Say: O unbelievers!” (Q 109:1)
الْجَاحِدُونَ تَشْبِيهَ الْحَقِّ تَعَالَى، الْقَائِلُونَ بِتَنْزِيهِهِ مُطْلَقاً فِي جَمِيعِ الْمَرَاتِبِ،
those who deny the likening of the Real, exalted is He, who hold that He is transcendent absolutely, at all levels,
الْمُنْكِرُونَ وَالْمُؤَوِّلُونَ لِمَا وَرَدَ فِي الْكُتُبِ وَسُنَنِ الرُّسُلِ، وَمِنْ تَجَلِّيهِ بِصُوَرِ مَخْلُوقَاتِهِ، مِنْ غَيْرِ حُلُولٍ وَلَا اتِّحَادٍ، وَنَعْتِهِ بِنُعُوتِ الْمُحْدَثَاتِ، كَالنُّزُولِ وَالْهَرْوَلَةِ، وَالْقَدَمِ وَالضَّحِكِ، وَالْوَجْهِ وَالْعَيْنِ، وَالْجَنْبِ وَالْجُوعِ وَالْعَطَشِ، وَنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ.
who deny and explain away what has come in the Books and the Sunnas of the messengers concerning His self-disclosure in the forms of His creatures, without indwelling or union, and His being described with the attributes of originated things, such as descending and running, the foot and laughing, the face and the eye, the side, hunger and thirst, and the like.
«لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ» .
وَهُوَ الْاِلَهُ الْمُنَزَّهُ مُطْلَقاً فِي جَمِيعِ الْمَرَاتِبِ ، الْمَحْكُومُ عَلَيْهِ بِأَنَّهُ عَلَى كَذَا ، وَلَابُدَّ وَلَا يَكُونُ عَلَى كَذَا ، الْمَحْجُورُ عَلَيْهِ بِالْعُقُولِ وَالْأَفْكَارِ .
« وَلاَ أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ » .
وَهُوَ الْاِلَهُ الْمُنَزَّهُ الْمُشَبَّهُ ، أَعْنِي مُنَزَّهٌ حَالَةَ تَشْبِيهِهِ .
« قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ » .
الْجَاحِدُونَ انْفِرَادَ الْحَقِّ – تَعَالَى – بِاِيجَادِ كُلِّ مَوْجُودٍ ، الْقَائِلُونَ بِتَأْثِيرِ الطَّبَائِعِ وَالْأَفْلَاكِ ، أَوِ الْأَسْبَابِ الْعَادِيَّةِ بِطَبْعِهَا ، أَوْ بِقُوَّةٍ أَوْدَعَهَا اللَّهُ – تَعَالَى – فِيهَا ، أَوْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ يَخْلُقُ أَفْعَالَهُ الِاخْتِيَارِيَّةَ كَمَا يَقُولُهُ الْمُعْتَزِلِيُّ .
«لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ» .
وَهُوَ الْاِلَهُ الَّذِي لَهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي فِعْلٍ مِنْ أَفْعَالِهِ ، أَوْ حُكْمٍ مِنْ أَحْكَامِهِ ،
فَقَوْلُهُ : «لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ» . مَا أَعْبُدُ . «وَلاَ أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ» . الْمَقْصُودُ بِهِ أَهْلُ الْكُفْرِ الْأَكْبَرِ ،
وَقَوْلُهُ : «وَلاَ أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَا عَبَدْتُمْ وَلاَ أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ» . الْمَقْصُودُ بِهِ مَا عَدَا أَهْلَ الْكُفْرِ الْأَكْبَرِ ، مِنْ سَائِرِ الطَّوَائِفِ وَالْمِلَلِ وَالنِّحَلِ ،
فَمَا فِي كَلَامِ الْحَقِّ - تَعَالَى - تَكْرَارٌ .
«لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ» .
الدِّينُ الْجَزَاءُ ، أَيْ لِكُلِّ طَائِفَةٍ مِنْكُمْ جَزَاءٌ بِحَسَبِ مَرْتَبَةِ كُفْرِهَا .
فَكَمَا أَنَّ الْكُفْرَ أَنْوَاعٌ فَالْجَزَاءُ أَنْوَاعٌ ، فَلِكُلِّ كُفْرٍ جَزَاءٌ .
«وَلِيَ دِينٌ» .
أَيْ لِي جَزَاءٌ عَامٌّ وَهُوَ التَّلَذُّذُ وَالتَّنَعُّمُ بِنَعِيمِ كُلِّ مُعْتَقَدٍ حَيْثُ كَانَ اِلَهِي وَمَعْبُودِي مُطْلَقاً ، لَا حُكْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا تَحْجِيرَ ،
وَالْعَابِدُ لِلْاِلَهِ الْمُطْلَقِ لَهُ النَّعِيمُ الْمُطْلَقُ .
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.