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 303 · “Call upon God, certain of the answer”
In briefAI
Starting from the ḥadīth in al-Tirmidhī, “Call upon God while you are certain of the answer”, the Emir says its outward sense is unintended: it forbids the opposite, asking for what you would be distressed to receive. The servant is ignorant of what is good for him (Q 2:216), so he must consign the choice to God, which cannot coexist with certainty of the answer. The people of God know that preparednesses ask and are answered, and supplication manifests abasement and need.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 984, Damascus 1966, p. 985, Damascus 1966, p. 986 (archive.org)
وَرَدَ فِي سُنَنِ التِّرْمِذِيِّ عَنْهُ– صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ– أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَاَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالْاِجَابَةِ».
It is related in the Sunan of al-Tirmidhī from him (God bless him and give him peace) that he said: “Call upon God while you are certain of the answer.”
فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ الْمُرَادُ مِنَ الْحَدِيثِ ظَاهِرَهُ، وَاِنَّمَا هُوَ مِنْ بَابِ الْأَمْرِ بِالشَّيْءِ؛ [?] نَهْيٌ عَنْ ضِدِّهِ.
Know, then, that what is meant by the ḥadīth is not its outward sense; rather it belongs to the category of commanding a thing, [which is] a prohibition of its opposite.
بِمَعْنَى لَاتَدْعُوا اللَّهَ بِشَيْءٍ لَاتُحِبُّونَ الْاِجَابَةَ فِيهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ لَوْ [?] أَجَابَكُمْ.
Meaning: do not call upon God for anything in which you would not love an answer from God, were He to answer you.
وَذَلِكَ كَأَنْ يَدْعُوَ الْاِنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ أَوْ وَلَدِهِ أَوْ مَالِهِ، وَهُوَ لَايُرِيدُ [?] الْاِجَابَةَ فِي ذَلِكَ.
That is like a person calling down [harm] upon himself, his child or his property, while he does not want it answered.
بَلْ لَوْ أَجَابَ الْحَقُّ دَعْوَتَهُ سَاءَهُ ذَلِكَ وَغَمَّهُ.
Rather, if the Real answered his prayer, that would distress and grieve him.
وَهَذَا يَصْدُرُ [?] كَثِيراً مِنْ سَيِّءِ الْأَخْلَاقِ ضَيِّقِ الْعَطَنِ، كَمَا قَالَ: «وَلَوْ يُعَجِّلُ ٱللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ ٱلشَّرَّ ٱسْتِعْجَالَهُمْ بِٱلْخَيْرِ لَقُضِيَ [?] إِلَيْهِمْ أَجَلُهُمْ».
This often comes from someone of bad character and narrow patience, as He said: “If God were to hasten evil for people as they seek to hasten good, their term would have been brought to its end for them” (Q 10:11).
وَقَدْ عَلَّمَنَا تَعَالَى فَقَالَ: «وَادْعُوهُ خَوْفاً وَطَمَعاً»⁽¹⁾.
He, exalted is He, has taught us, saying: “And call upon Him in fear and in longing” (Q 7:56).
بِمَعْنَى: ادْعُوهُ لِخَوْفِ مَكْرُوهٍ نَزَلَ، أَوْ يَنْزِلُ بِكُمْ، فَيَدْفَعَهُ عَنْكُمْ.
Meaning: call upon Him out of fear of something hateful that has befallen you or will befall you, so that He may avert it from you.
أَوْ لِنَيْلِ مَرْغُوبٍ تَطْمَعُونَ فِي حُصُولِهِ لَكُمْ.
Or to obtain something desired that you long to have.
وَمَعَ هَذَا فَلَابُدَّ مِنَ التَّفْوِيضِ لَهُ فِي الْخِيَرَةِ.
Even so, there must be consigning of the choice to Him.
فَاِنَّ الدَّاعِيَ جَاهِلٌ بِمَصَالِحِهِ، رُبَّمَّا سَأَلَ أَمْراً يَظُنُّهُ خَيْراً لَهُ، وَهُوَ شَرٌّ فِي نَفْسِ الْأَمْرِ،
For the one who calls is ignorant of what is good for him: he may well ask for a thing he thinks good for him, while in reality it is evil.
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئاً وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئاً وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ»⁽²⁾.
He, exalted is He, said: “It may be that you hate a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is bad for you” (Q 2:216).
فَكُلُّ دَاعٍ غَيْرِ مُفَوِّضٍ فَهُوَ مُسْتَدْرَجٌ.
So everyone who calls without consigning [the matter to God] is being drawn on by degrees.
وَلِذَا قَالَ سَادَةُ الْقَوْمِ- رِضْوَانُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمْ-: «الْفَقِيرُ لَيْسَتْ لَهُ اِلَى اللَّهِ حَاجَةٌ»،
For that reason the masters of the folk (God's good pleasure be upon them) said: “The poor one has no request to make of God,”
يُرِيدُونَ: لَيْسَتْ لَهُ حَاجَةٌ عَلَى التَّعَيُّنِ، وَاِنَّمَّا يَسْأَلُ الْخَيْرَ مِنْ حَيْثُ يَعْلَمُهُ اللَّهُ خَيْراً، وَيَسْتَعِيذُ مِنَ الشَّرِّ مِنْ حَيْثُ يَعْلَمُهُ اللَّهُ شَرّاً.
They mean: he has no need for anything specific; he asks only for good in so far as God knows it to be good, and seeks refuge from evil in so far as God knows it to be evil.
فَكَيْفَ يَأْمُرُ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- بِالتَّيَقُّنِ بِالْاِجَابَةِ، مَعَ هَذِهِ الْعَوَارِضِ، وَهُوَ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- أَنْصَحُ النُّصَحَاءِ؟!
How then could he (God bless him and give him peace) command certainty of the answer, given these contingencies, when he (God bless him and give him peace) is the most sincere of counsellors?!
وَلَا يَصِحُّ حَمْلُ الْحَدِيثِ عَلَى حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- كَمَا قِيلَ- فَاِنَّ الْعَبْدَ كَمَا قُلْنَا: جَاهِلٌ بِمَصَالِحِهِ فَلَا يُنَاسِبُهُ اِلَّا تَفْوِيضُ الْخِيَرَةِ لِلْعَالِمِ بِبَوَاطِنِ الْاُمُورِ وَعَوَاقِبِهَا.
Nor is it sound to interpret the ḥadīth as thinking well of God, exalted is He, as has been said; for the servant, as we said, is ignorant of what is good for him, so nothing befits him but consigning the choice to the One who knows the inner sides of things and their outcomes.
وَلَا تَفْوِيضَ مَعَ تَيَقُّنِ الْاِجَابَةِ، لَاسِيَّمَا أَهْلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ أَطْلَعَهُمْ وَأَعْلَمَهُمْ بِسِرِّ الْقَدَرِ.
And there is no consigning together with certainty of the answer, especially for the people of God, whom He has let see and made to know the secret of destiny.
فَعَلِمُوا أَنَّ الِاسْتِعْدَادَاتِ الْكُلِّيَّةَ هِيَ الطَّالِبَةُ الْمُجَابَةُ.
So they knew that it is the universal preparednesses that are the ones asking and the ones answered.
وَأَمَّا الِاسْتِعْدَادُ الْجُزْئِيُّ لِلطَّلَبِ، اِذَا مَا كَانَ عَنِ اسْتِعْدَادٍ ذَاتِيٍّ لَا أَثَرَ لَهُ فِي الْاِجَابَةِ فَلَا يُعْطِيكَ اِلَّا أَنْتَ، وَهُوَ اسْتِعْدَادُكَ.
As for the particular preparedness for asking: if it does not arise from an essential preparedness, it has no effect on the answering; so none gives to you but you, and that is your preparedness.
وَلَا يَمْنَعُكَ اِلَّا أَنْتَ، وَهُوَ عَدَمُ قَبُولِكَ.
And none withholds from you but you, and that is your lack of receptivity.
وَلَيْسَ لِلْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- اِلَّا اِعْطَاءُ الْوُجُودِ، لِمَا أَنْتَ مُسْتَعِدٌّ لَهُ.
And the Real, exalted is He, has nothing but the giving of existence to that for which you are prepared.
فَهُوَ الْجَوَادُ الَّذِي لَا يَبْخَلُ، الْحَكِيمُ الَّذِي لَايَجْهَلُ، يَضَعُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ مَوْضِعَهُ اللَّائِقَ بِهِ.
For He is the Generous who is not miserly, the Wise who is not ignorant; He puts each thing in its place fitting to it.
وَمَعَ هَذَا كُلُّهُ؟ فَمَشْرُوعِيَّةُ الدُّعَاءِ، وَكَوْنُهَا مُخُّ الْعِبَادَةِ؟ اِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ لِاِظْهَارِ الذِّلَّةِ وَالْفَاقَةِ وَالْعُبُودَةِ الَّتِي هِيَ صِفَاتٌ ذَاتِيَّةٌ لِكُلِّ مَخْلُوقٍ، لَا لِقَضَاءِ الْحَوَائِجِ وَنَيْلِ الرَّغَائِبِ•
And with all this: the lawfulness of supplication, and its being the marrow of worship, is only for the manifesting of abasement, need and servanthood, which are essential attributes of every created being, not for the fulfilling of needs and the attaining of desires.
هَيْهَاتَ هَيْهَاتَ•
Far, far from it!
كَيْفَ يَكُونُ دُعَاؤُكَ اللَّاحِقُ سَبَباً فِي الْقَضَاءِ السَّابِقِ؟!
How could your later supplication be a cause in the prior decree?!
جَلَّ حُكْمُ الْأَزَلِ أَنْ يُضَافَ اِلَى الْأَسْبَابِ وَالْعِلَلِ•
The judgment of pre-eternity is far too exalted to be ascribed to causes and reasons.
وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ.
And praise belongs to God.

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