The Book of Stations
المواقف
Context: The mawqif applies the Akbarian doctrine that each entity and its preparedness are eternal, unmade, fixed by the 'most holy effusion', so God gives each only what it asks; the school calls this justice. Ibn Taymiyya attacked it as near philosophical necessitarianism that restricts God's free giving and empties Q 2:186. The war reference is only an illustration.AI
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ»
He, exalted is He, said: “And when My servants ask you about Me, I am near; I answer the call of the caller when he calls Me” (Q 2:186).
In briefAI
Taking Q 2:186, “I answer the call of the caller”, the Emir argues that God grants a spoken request only when it matches what the asker's preparedness (istiʿdād) asks for. When the two differ, God gives what the preparedness asks. Pitch asking to turn white, or linen asking to turn black, would not be answered. A refusal is never miserliness. The verse, unrestricted in wording, is restricted by preparedness. The universal preparednesses are eternal and unmade, coming from the most holy effusion. God's wisdom is like a king who would not hand weapons to scholars or books to soldiers.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 78 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 87 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 88 ↗ (archive.org)
اعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْحَقَّ– تَعَالَى– لَايُعْطِي أَحَداً مَايَطْلُبُهُ بِلِسَانِ مَقَالِهِ؛ اِلَاّ اِذَا وَافَقَ طَلَبُ لِسَانِهِ طَلَبَ اسْتِعْدَادِهِ،
Know that the Real, exalted is He, does not give anyone what he asks for with the tongue of his speech unless the request of his tongue agrees with the request of his preparedness;
فَاِذَا خَالَفَ طَلَبُ الِاسْتِعْدَادِ طَلَبَ اللِّسَانِ؛ فَلَا يُعْطِي– تَعَالَى– اِلَاّ مَاطَلَبَهُ الِاسْتِعْدَادُ كَائِناً مَا كَانَ ذَلِكَ الطَّالِبُ وَذَلِكَ الْمَطْلُوبُ
and when the request of the preparedness differs from the request of the tongue, He, exalted is He, gives only what the preparedness asks for, whoever that seeker and whatever that thing sought may be.
فَلَوْ طَلَبَ الْقَارُ تَبْيِيضَ لَوْنِهِ!! مَا أَجَابَهُ الْحَقُّ، لِأَنَّ اسْتِعْدَادَهُ يَطْلُبُ خِلَافَهُ، وَهُوَ السَّوَادُ.
So if pitch asked for its colour to be made white, the Real would not answer it, because its preparedness asks for the opposite, which is blackness.
وَلَوْ طَلَبَتْ شُقَّةُ الْكَتَّانِ مَثَلاً تَسْوِيدَهَا: مَا أَجَابَ الْحَقُّ سُؤَالَهَا، لِأَنَّ اسْتِعْدَادَهَا يَطْلُبُ خِلَافَ ذَلِكَ، وَهُوَ تَبْيِيضُهَا،
And if a length of linen cloth, for example, asked to be made black, the Real would not answer its request, because its preparedness asks for the opposite of that, which is its being made white.
وَالْاِنْسَانُ قَدْ يَكُونُ لَهُ اسْتِعْدَادُ الطَّلَبِ بِاللِّسَانِ، وَمَا يَكُونُ لَهُ اسْتِعْدَادُ قَبُولِ الْمَطْلُوبِ.
A human being may have the preparedness to ask with the tongue without having the preparedness to receive what is asked for.
فَاِذَا سَأَلَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْحَقِّ– تَعَالَى– شَيْئاً. وَلَمْ يُعْطِهِ اِيَّاهُ؛ فَاِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ لِكَوْنِ اسْتِعْدَادِهِ طَلَبَ خِلَافَهُ، وَلَيْسَ لَهُ اسْتِعْدَادٌ لِقَبُولِ ذَلِكَ الْمَطْلُوبِ.
So when someone asks the Real, exalted is He, for something and He does not give it to him, that is only because his preparedness asked for its opposite and he has no preparedness to receive that thing asked for.
وَاِلَاّ فَتَعَالَى الْحَقُّ أَنْ يَمْنَعَ أَحَداً عَنْ بُخْلٍ.
Otherwise, exalted is the Real above withholding from anyone out of miserliness.
فَالْآيَةُ الْكَرِيمَةُ؛ وَاِنْ كَانَتْ مُطْلَقَةً فِي ظَاهِرِ اللَّفْظِ فَهِيَ مُقَيَّدَةٌ بِطَلَبِ الِاسْتِعْدَادِ وَسُؤَالِهِ.
So the noble verse, though unrestricted in the outward wording, is restricted by the request of the preparedness and its asking.
فَاِنَّ مَدَارَ الْأَمْرِ كُلَّهُ عَلَى الِاسْتِعْدَادِ لِلْقَبُولِ سَوَاءٌ طَلَبَ أَوْ لَمْ يَطْلُبْ.
For the whole matter turns on the preparedness to receive, whether one asks or does not ask.
وَالِاسْتِعْدَادَاتُ الْكُلِّيَّةُ قَدِيمَةٌ لَمْ يَتَعَلَّقْ بِهَا جَعْلٌ، وَاِنَّمَا حَصَلَتْ بِالْفَيْضِ الْأَقْدَسِ الذَّاتِيِّ،
The universal preparednesses are eternal; no making attaches to them; they came about only through the most holy, essential effusion;
فَالْحَقُّ– تَعَالَى– حَكِيمٌ لَايُعْطِي أَحَداً شَيْئاً هُوَ غَيْرُ طَالِبٍ لَهُ بِاسْتِعْدَادِهِ، فَيَكُونُ مُسْتَعِدّاً لِقَبُولِهِ.
so the Real, exalted is He, is wise: He does not give anyone a thing that he is not asking for with his preparedness, so as to be prepared to receive it.
فَلَوْ عَمَدَ الْمَلِكُ مَثَلاً اِلَى خَزَايِنِ السِّلَاحِ فَأَعْطَاهَا الْعُلَمَاءَ لِطَلَبِهِمْ اِيَّاهَا مِنْهُ، وَعَمَدَ اِلَى خَزَايِنِ الْكُتُبِ فَفَرَّقَهَا عَلَى الْجُنْدِ لِطَلَبِهِمْ اِيَّاهَا مِنْهُ؛ مَا كَانَ حَكِيماً.
If a king, for example, went to the stores of weapons and gave them to the scholars because they asked him for them, and went to the stores of books and distributed them among the soldiers because they asked him for them, he would not be wise.
لِأَنَّ الْعَالِمَ غَيْرُ مُسْتَعِدٍّ لِاسْتِعْمَالِ السِّلَاحِ وَالْحَرْبِ، وَلَوْ طَلَبَ السِّلَاحَ بِلِسَانِهِ، وَالْجُنْدِيَّ غَيْرُ مُسْتَعِدٍّ لِفَهْمِ الْكُتُبِ، وَلَوْ طَلَبَهَا بِلِسَانِهِ،
For the scholar is not prepared for the use of weapons and for war, even if he asks for weapons with his tongue, and the soldier is not prepared to understand books, even if he asks for them with his tongue;
وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ.
and God is Knowing, Wise.
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.