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 302 · The five books: two divine, two cosmic
In briefAI
Starting from Q 6:155, “this is a Book We have sent down”, the Emir counts five universal books. Two are divine: the Qurʾān and Furqān (summary and detail), and the Sunna of Muḥammad, which clarifies the first and may come with or without an angel. Two are cosmic: the whole world, the detailed book of Q 52:2-3, and the perfect human being, the summarised book of Q 6:38. The fifth is “That is the Book” (Q 2:2), whose alif, standing for the Essence, comprehends the lām (Names) and mīm (Acts).
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 982, Damascus 1966, p. 983, Damascus 1966, p. 984 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَهَٰذَا كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ مُبَارَكٌ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ».
The Exalted has said: "And this is a Book We have sent down, blessed; so follow it" (Q 6:155).
اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْكُتُبَ الْكُلِّيَّةَ الْجَامِعَةَ؛ خَمْسَةٌ: كِتَابَانِ اِلَٰهِيَّانِ، وَكِتَابَانِ كَوْنِيَّانِ، وَكِتَابٌ جَامِعٌ لِلْكُتُبِ كُلِّهَا.
Know that the universal, all-comprehending books are five: two divine books, two cosmic books, and one book that comprehends all the books.
فَالْكِتَابَانِ الْاِلَٰهِيَّانِ؛ أَحَدُهُمَا تَفْصِيلٌ فِي اِجْمَالٍ،
As for the two divine books: one of them is a detailing within a summary.
فَاِجْمَالُهُ هُوَ الْمُشَارُ اِلَيْهِ بِقَوْلِهِ: «طه، مَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَىٰ».
Its summary is what is pointed to by His words: "Ṭā Hā. We have not sent down the Qurʾān upon you that you should be distressed" (Q 20:1–2).
وَتَفْصِيلُهُ؛ هُوَ الْمُشَارُ اِلَيْهِ بِقَوْلِهِ: «تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا»
And its detail is what is pointed to by His words: "Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His servant, that he might be a warner to the worlds" (Q 25:1).
وَالْكِتَابُ الْاِلَٰهِيُّ الثَّانِي سَمَّاهُ تَعَالَى كِتَاباً، وَسَمَّاهُ ذِكْراً قَالَ: «وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ».
The second divine book the Exalted has called a Book, and He has called it a Remembrance. He said: "And We have sent down to you the Remembrance, that you may make clear to people what has been sent down to them" (Q 16:44).
أَيْ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ الْاِلَٰهِيِّ الْأَوَّلِ.
That is, from the first divine book.
وَقَالَ: «وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ».
And He said: "And We have sent down upon you the Book as a clarification of every thing" (Q 16:89).
أَيْ شَيْءٍ أُجْمِلَ وَأُبْهِمَ فِي الْكِتَابِ الْاِلَٰهِيِّ الْأَوَّلِ،
That is, of every thing that was summarised and left obscure in the first divine book.
وَالْمُرَادُ بِذَٰلِكَ: سُنَّةُ مُحَمَّدٍ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- أَقْوَالُهُ وَأَفْعَالُهُ وَأَحْوَالُهُ•
What is meant by this is the Sunna of Muḥammad (God bless him and give him peace): his sayings, his acts and his states.
وَلِهَٰذَا كَانَتِ السُّنَّةُ قَاضِيَةً عَلَى الْقُرْآنِ، فَاِنَّهُ: «وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى، إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ وَحْيٌ يُوحَى»⁽¹⁾.
For this reason the Sunna is decisive over the Qurʾān, for he "does not speak from desire; it is nothing but a revelation revealed" (Q 53:3–4).
وَاِنَّمَا خَصَّ الْكِتَابَ الْأَوَّلَ بِاسْمٍ اِلَٰهِيٍّ دُونَ الثَّانِي؛ لِأَنَّ الْأَوَّلَ مَخْصُوصٌ بِمَا يَأْتِي بِهِ الْمَلَكُ مَشْهُوداً، فَيُلْقِيهِ عَلَى قَلْبِ الرَّسُولِ أَوْ سَمْعِهِ•
He singled out the first book with the name "divine", and not the second, only because the first is restricted to what the angel brings while beheld, casting it upon the Messenger's heart or his hearing.
وَهَٰـــذَا الثَّانِي أَعَمُّ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ بِوَاسِطَةِ مَلَكٍ مَشْهُودٍ أَوْ بِوَاسِطَةِ مَلَكٍ غَـيْرِ مَشْـــهُودٍ، أَوْ بِلَا وَاسِطَةٍ أَصْلاً، وَهُوَ مَا يَكُونُ لِلرَّسُولِ مِنَ الْوَجْهِ الْخَاصِّ•
This second one is wider: it may come through the intermediary of an angel who is beheld, or through the intermediary of an angel who is not beheld, or with no intermediary at all, and this last is what comes to the Messenger from the specific face.
وَأَمَّا الْكِتَابَانِ الْكَوْنِيَّانِ؛ فَكَذَٰلِكَ أَحَدُهُمَا مُفَصَّلٌ، وَالْآخَرُ مُجْمَلٌ•
As for the two cosmic books, likewise one of them is detailed and the other summarised.
فَأَمَّا الْكِتَابُ الْمُفَصَّلُ فَهُوَ الْمُشَارُ اِلَيْهِ بِقَوْلِهِ: «وَكِتَابٍ مَسْطُورٍ، فِي رَقٍّ مَنْشُورٍ»⁽²⁾.
The detailed book is the one pointed to by His words: "By a Book inscribed, on parchment unrolled" (Q 52:2–3).
فَهَٰذَا الْكِتَابُ هُوَ الْعَالَمُ كُلُّهُ•
This book is the whole world.
فَهُوَ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ الْمَسْطُورَةُ فِي الرَّقِّ الْمَنْشُورِ، وَهُوَ الْوُجُودُ الْمُقَيَّدُ•
It is God's words inscribed on the unrolled parchment, and it is delimited existence.
وَأَمَّا الْكِتَابُ الثَّانِي الْمُجْمَلُ فَهُوَ الْاِنْسَانُ الْكَامِلُ، الْمُشَارُ اِلَيْهِ بِقَوْلِهِ: «مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ»⁽³⁾.
The second, summarised book is the perfect human being, the one pointed to by His words: "We have neglected nothing in the Book" (Q 6:38).
أَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ مَا فَرَّطَ وَلَا تَرَكَ شَيْئاً، أَيْ مَا يُطْلَقُ عَلَيْهِ اسْمُ شَيْءٍ، وَهُوَ كُلُّ مَا يَصِحُّ أَنْ يُعْلَمَ وَيُخْبَرَ عَنْهُ، اِلاَّ جَمَعَهُ فِي الْكِتَابِ الْمُجْمَلِ الْمُخْتَصَرِ، وَهُوَ الْاِنْسَانُ الْكَامِلُ، بَعْدَمَا أَخْبَرَ تَعَالَى:
He reported that He neglected and left out no thing (that is, nothing to which the name "thing" applies, which is everything that can properly be known and reported about) without gathering it into the summarised, abridged book, which is the perfect human being. This He reported after the Exalted had reported:
«مَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلاَ طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلاَّ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ»⁽⁴⁾.
"There is no creature on the earth, nor bird flying with its two wings, but they are communities like you" (Q 6:38).
وَرُبَّمَا يُتَوَهَّمُ مِنَ الْمُمَاثَلَةِ الْمُسَاوَاةُ مِنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ، فَأَزَالَ هَذَا الْوَهْمَ بِأَنَّهُ جَعَلَ الْاِنْسَانَ الْكَامِلَ كِتَاباً جَامِعاً لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ الْآلَهِيَّةِ وَالْكَوْنِيَّةِ.
It might be imagined from the likeness that there is equality in every respect, so He removed this illusion by making the Perfect Man a book comprehending every thing among the divine and the cosmic things.
فَهُوَ الْكَلِمَةُ الْكُلِّيَّةُ وَالْحَضْرَةُ الْجَامِعَةُ.
He is the universal Word and the comprehensive Presence.
وَأَمَّا الْكِتَابُ الْخَامِسُ الْجَامِعُ لِلْكُتُبِ الْمُفَصَّلَةِ وَالْمُجْمَلَةِ وَالْمُطَوَّلَةِ وَالْمُخْتَصَرَةِ، فَهُوَ الْمُشَارُ اِلَيْهِ بِقَوْلِهِ: «آلم، ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَابُ لَارَيْبَ فِيهِ».
As for the fifth book, which comprehends the detailed and the summary books, the lengthy and the abridged, it is the one alluded to by His words: "Alif Lām Mīm. That is the Book, there is no doubt in it" (Q 2:1–2).
فَالْأَلِفُ اِشَارَةٌ اِلَى حَضْرَةِ الذَّاتِ الْوُجُودِ الْمُطْلَقِ الْجَامِعِ لِجَمِيعِ الْحَضَرَاتِ، فَقَوْلُهُ «ذَٰلِكَ» اِشَارَةٌ اِلَى الْأَلِفِ.
The alif is an allusion to the Presence of the Essence, the absolute Being that comprehends all the Presences; so His word "That" is an allusion to the alif.
فَاِنَّ اللَّامَ، الَّذِي هُوَ كِنَايَةٌ عَنْ حَضْرَةِ الْأَسْمَاءِ، وَالْمِيمَ الَّذِي هُوَ كِنَايَةٌ عَنْ حَضْرَةِ الْأَفْعَالِ؛ كُلُّهَا دَاخِلَةٌ تَحْتَ الْأَلِفِ.
For the lām, which stands for the Presence of the Names, and the mīm, which stands for the Presence of the Acts, are all included under the alif.
فَهُوَ الْكِتَابُ الْجَامِعُ لِلْكُتُبِ كُلِّهَا.
So it is the Book that comprehends all the books.
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