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 271 · “Seek a way between”: prayer aloud and silent
Context: the Emir gives an inner reason for the rulings on reciting aloud and silently. He calls the abandonment of the Law perdition; the saying that acts of disobedience come from the Essence is one he qualifies at once, and it permits nothing.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 815, Damascus 1966, p. 816 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا وَابْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلاً»
He, exalted is He, said: "Do not be loud in your prayer, nor be hushed in it, but seek a way between that" (Q 17:110).
أَيْ لَاتَجْهَرْ بِقِرَاءَتِكَ فِي صَلَاتِكَ كُلِّهَا، وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِقِرَاءَتِكَ فِي صَلَاتِكَ كُلِّهَا، وَابْتَغِ، اطْلُبْ بَيْنَ الْجَهْرِ بِالْقِرَاءَةِ مُطْلَقاً، وَالْاِسْرَارِ مُطْلَقاً، سَـبِيلاً، طَرِيقاً، وَهُوَ أَنْ تُسِرَّ بِقِرَاءَتِكَ فِي بَعْضِ صَلَاتِكَ، وَتَجْهَرَ فِي بَعْضِهَا.
That is: do not recite aloud through the whole of your prayer, and do not recite under your breath through the whole of your prayer; and "seek", that is, look for, between reciting aloud without exception and reciting silently without exception, "a way", that is, a path: namely, that you recite silently in part of your prayer and aloud in part of it.
وَهُوَ مَا وَرَدَ بَيَانُهُ فِي السُّنَّةِ،
This is what is set out in the Sunna.
وَكُنْتُ سُئِلْتُ عَنِ السِّرِّ فِي ذَلِكَ عَلَى طَرِيقَةِ الْقَوْمِ، وَمَا كَانَ لِي عِلْمٌ بِذَلِكَ، فَأَجَبْتُ بِنِصْفِ الْعِلْمِ: لَا أَدْرِي،
I had once been asked about the secret of this according to the way of the Folk, and I had no knowledge of it, so I answered with half of knowledge: "I do not know."
ثُمَّ أُلْقِيَ عَلَيَّ أَنَّ السِّرَّ فِي ذَلِكَ؛ هُوَ أَنَّهُ لَمَّا كَانَ الْأَمْرُ بُطُوناً ذَاتِيّاً وَظُهُوراً أَسْمَائِيّاً؛ كَانَ مُتَعَيِّناً عَـلَى الْعَبْـدِ أَنْ يَكُونَ دَائِماً بَيْنَ هَـذَيْنِ الشُّهُودَيْنِ: الْبُطُونِ الذَّاتِيِّ وَالظُّهُـورِ الْأَسْمَائِيِّ.
Then it was cast upon me that the secret in this is that, since the matter is an inwardness of the Essence and a manifestation of the Names, it is incumbent on the servant to be always between these two beholdings: the inwardness of the Essence and the manifestation of the Names.
وَلِذَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْعَبْدِ عَيْنَيْنِ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً، يَنْظُرُ الْبَاطِنَ بِالْبَاطِنَةِ، وَالظَّاهِرَ بِالظَّاهِرَةِ، فَيَكُونُ كَالْبَرْزَخِ بَيْنَ الشُّهُودَيْنِ، فَلَا يُسْتَهْلَكُ فِي أَحَدِهِمَا دُونَ الْآخَرِ، فَيَكُونَ أَعْوَرَ،
For this reason God gave the servant two eyes, an outward and an inward. He looks at the inward with the inward eye and at the outward with the outward eye, and so he is like the isthmus between the two beholdings. He is not consumed in one of them to the exclusion of the other, so as to be one-eyed.
وَلَمَّا كَانَ اللَّيْلُ شَبِيهاً بِظُلْمَةِ الذَّاتِ، الَّتِي هِيَ بَحْرُ الظُّلُمَاتِ، مَنْ تَوَسَّطَهُ هَلَكَ بِلَا رَيْبٍ وَلَا شَكٍّ.
And since the night resembles the darkness of the Essence, which is the sea of darknesses (whoever goes into its midst perishes, without doubt or uncertainty),
وَالْجَهْرُ بِالْقِرَاءَةِ ظُهُورٌ، شُرِعَتِ الْقِرَاءَةُ جَهْراً لِلْمُصَلِّى لَيْلاً، حَتَّى لَاتَغْلِبَ عَلَيْهِ ظُلْمَةُ الْبُطُونِ، وَيَبْقَى لَهُ ارْتِبَاطٌ مَا بِالظُّهُورِ، فَلَمْ يُفَارِقِ الظُّهُورَ مِـنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ.
and loud recitation is manifestation, recitation aloud was prescribed for the one praying at night, so that the darkness of inwardness would not overpower him and some connection with manifestation would remain for him, and so he has not parted from manifestation in every respect.
وَلَوْلَا هَذَا؛ اسْتَوْلَتْ عَلَيْهِ ظُلْمَةُ الْبُطُونِ، فَذَهَبَ فِي الذَّاهِبِينَ الَّذِينَ غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الظُّلْمَةُ الذَّاتِيَّةُ ذَوْقاً فَارْتَفَعَ عَنْهُمُ التَّكْلِيفُ، لِفَقْدِهِمُ النُّورَ الْأَسْمَائِيَّ وَالتَّمَيُّزَ الْعَقْلِيَّ، الَّذِي هُوَ مَنُوطُ التَّكْلِيفِ،
Were it not for this, the darkness of inwardness would take hold of him, and he would go off among those who have gone off: those whom the darkness of the Essence overpowered by tasting, so that obligation was lifted from them, because they lost the light of the Names and rational discernment, which is what obligation hangs upon;
وَهَلَكَ فِي الْهَالِكِينَ الَّذِينَ غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْوَحْدَةُ الذَّاتِيَّةُ، عِلْماً مَعَ بَقَاءِ الْعَقْلِ الَّذِي بِهِ كَانَتِ التَّكَالِيفُ الشَّرْعِيَّةُ، فَصَارُوا اِبَاحِيَّةً فَهَلَكُوا،
and he would perish among those who have perished: those whom the oneness of the Essence overpowered as knowledge, while the intellect, through which the obligations of the Law hold, remained to them; so they became antinomians and perished.
نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الْحَوْرِ بَعْدَ الْكَوْرِ.
We seek refuge with God from unravelling after being wound together.
قِيلَ لِي فِي الْوَاقِعَةِ: الْمَعَاصِي وَالْمُخَالَفَاتُ كُلُّهَـا مِنَ الذَّاتِ، وَهَذَا لَهُ وَجْهَانِ،
It was said to me in a visionary event: "Acts of disobedience and contraventions all come from the Essence." This has two aspects,
وَالَّذِي يَتَعَلَّقُ بِغَرَضِنَا هُنَا؟ هُوَ أَنَّ مَنْ غَلَبَهُ شُهُودُ الذَّاتِ الْأَحَدِيَّةِ، الْغَنِيَّةِ عَنِ الْأَسْمَاءِ وَعَنْ آثَارِهَا، مَعَ الْعَمَاءِ عَنْ شُهُودِ مَرْتَبَتِهَا الَّتِي مِنْهَا أُرْسِلَتِ الرُّسُـلُ بِالْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ، وَنَزَلَتِ الْكُتُبُ وَشُرِعَتِ الْأَحْكَامُ؟ كَانَ مَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُخَالَفَاتِ فِي حَقِّ أَقْوَامٍ،
and the one that concerns our purpose here is this: whoever is overcome by the beholding of the One Essence, which is independent of the Names and of their effects, while blind to the beholding of its level, from which the messengers were sent with the lawful and the unlawful, the Books came down and the rulings were laid down, then, in the case of certain peoples, there came about whatever contraventions came about.
وَكَذَلِكَ النَّهَارُ شَبِيهٌ بِمَرْتَبَةِ الظُّهُورِ الْأَسْمَائِيِّ ، وَهِيَ أَضْوَاءٌ وَنُجُومٌ وَشُمُوسٌ وَأَقْمَارٌ ، وَالْاِسْرَارُ بُطُونٌ .
فَشُرِعَتِ الْقِرَاءَةُ سـِرّاً لِلْمُصَلِّي نَهَاراً ، لِيَبْقَى لَهُ ارْتِبَاطٌ مَا بِمَرْتَبَةِ الْبُطُونِ الذَّاتِيِّ ، فَلَمْ يُفَارِقْهَا مِنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ .
فَاِنَّ مَنِ اسْتُهْلِكَ فِي الْكَثْرَةِ النِّسْبِيَّةِ ، وَهِيَ الْأَسْمَاءُ ؟ وَقَفَ مَعَ آثَارِهَا ، وَهِيَ الْكَثْرَةُ الْحَقِيقِيَّةُ .
فَكَانَ أَعْوَرَ ، أُعْطِيَ الْاِسْرَارُ الَّذِي هُوَ بُطُونٌ لِلنَّهَارِ الَّذِي هُوَ ظُهُورٌ ، وَأُعْطِيَ الْجَهْرُ الَّذِي هُوَ ظُهُورٌ لِلَّيْلِ ، الَّذِي هُوَ بُطُونٌ .
وَلَمَّا كَانَتْ صَلَاةُ الْمَغْرِبِ وَالْعِشَاءِ كَالْبَرْزَخِ حُكْماً ، بَيْنَ اللَّيْلِ الَّذِي قُلْنَا لَهُ شَبَهٌ بِالْبُطُونِ الذَّاتِيِّ ، لِخَفَاءِ الْأَشْيَاءِ بِظُهُورِهِ ، وَبَيْنَ النَّهَارِالَّذِي لَهُ شَبَهٌ بِالظُّهُورِ الْأَسْمَائِيِّ ؟ كَانَ فِيهَا الْجَمْعُ بَيْنَ الْجَهْرِ وَالْاِسْرَارِ ، لِأَنَّ الْبَرْزَخَ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَ مَاهُوَ بَرْزَخٌ بَيْنَهُمَا ، فَفِيهِ اِلَى كُلٍّ وَاحِدٍ وَجْهٌ .
وَكَانَ الْجَهْرُ مُقَدَّماً عَلَىالْاِسْرَارِ فِيهِمَا ، لِأَنَّ الْمُصَلِّيَ بِصَدَدِ اسْتِقْبَالِ اللَّيْلِ ، الَّذِي قُلْنَا اِنَّهُ شَبِيهٌ بِالْبُطُونِ الذَّاتِيِّ .
وَالذَّاتُ أَصْلٌ لِمَرْتَبَةِ الظُّهُورِ ، وَمَرْتَبَةُ الظُّهُورِ لَهَا سَطْوَةٌ ، فَأُمِرَ الْمُصَلِّي أَنْ يَسْتَقْبِلَ تِلْكَ السَّطْوَةَ بِالضِّـدِّ ، وَذَلِكَ بِقِرَاءَةٍ جَهْراً فِي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ الْأُولَيَيْنِ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ وَالْعِشَاءِ ، وَالْاِسْرَارِ فِي الْأَوَاخِرِ .
بِخِلَافِ صَلَاةِ الصُّبْحِ ، كَانَتْ جَهْرِيَّةً كُلُّهَا ، لِأَنَّهَا تَأْتِي النَّاسَ وَقَدْ كَانَ اللَّيْلُ غَشِيَهُمْ بِسُكُوتِهِ وَبُطُونِهِ وَغَيْبَتِهِ ؟
فَاحْتَاجُوا اِلَى مَا يَرُدُّهُمْ مِنَ الْغَيْبِ ، وَيُظْهِرُهُمْ مِنَ الْبُطُونِ ، وَيُحَرِّكُهُمْ مِنَ السُّكُونِ ؟ فَكَانَتْ جَهْرِيَّةً كُلُّهَا ، وَشُرِعَ فِيهَا تَطْوِيلُ الْقِرَاءَةِ لِذَلِكَ .
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