The Book of Stations

1. Mawqif 321 · “No soul speaks except by His leave”

   In brief✦AI

   Starting from Q 11:105, “no soul shall speak except by His leave”, the Emir takes these to be the souls of the bodily members, which God allows to speak and dispute with the rational soul that ruled them in this world. On the Night Journey ḥadīth of Adam's dark figures, he says they are either the spirits already in the isthmus or likenesses God sets up. Spirits before their forms are like letters undifferentiated in the inkwell, and each knows itself only in the form it governs.

   See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 1043, Damascus 1966, p. 1044 (archive.org)

   قَالَ تَعَالَى: يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لَاتُكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ فَمِنْهُمْ شَقِيٌّ وَسَعِيدٌ

   He, exalted is He, said: “The day it comes, no soul shall speak except by His leave; and among them are the wretched and the blissful” (Q 11:105).✦

   ¶ 3837

2. يَوْمَ يَأْتِي، يَحْضُرُ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ، لَا تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ اِلَّا بِاِذْنِهِ تَعَالَى لَهَا بِالْكَلَامِ،

   “The day it comes”: that is, the Day of Resurrection is present. “No soul speaks except by His leave”: His leave, exalted is He, to it to speak.✦

   ¶ 3838

3. وَهِيَ أَنْفُسُ الْجَوَارِحِ، يَأْذَنُ لَهَا تَعَالَى فِي الْكَلَامِ، وَيُنْطِقُهَا الَّذِي أَنْطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ،

   And these are the souls of the bodily members: He, exalted is He, gives them leave to speak, and He who gave speech to all things (cf. Q 41:21) makes them speak.✦

   ¶ 3839

4. فَاِنَّ كُلَّ جَارِحَةٍ مِنَ الْاِنْسَانِ لَهَا نَفْسٌ، فَتَدْفَعُ عَنْ أَنْفُسِهَا يَوْمَ تَأْتِي كُلُّ نَفْسٍ تُجَادِلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهَا،

   For every member of the human being has a soul, and they defend themselves on “the day when every soul comes pleading for itself” (Q 16:111).✦

   ¶ 3840

5. فَهَذِهِ مُقَيَّدَةٌ بِتِلْكَ، فَلَا يَتَكَلَّمُ اِلاَّ مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ،

   This [verse] is restricted by that one: none speaks except one to whom the All-Merciful gives leave (cf. Q 78:38).✦

   ¶ 3841

6. فَتُجَادِلُ أَنْفُسُ الْجَوَارِحِ، النَّفْسَ النَّاطِقَةَ، الَّتِي كَانَتْ حَاكِمَةً عَلَيْهَا فِي دَارِ التَّكْلِيفِ، الدَّارِ الدُّنْيَا.

   So the souls of the bodily members dispute with the rational soul, which had held authority over them in the abode of legal obligation, the abode of this world.✦

   ¶ 3842

7. وَرَدَ فِي الصَّحِيحِ، فِي قِصَّةِ الْاِسْرَاءِ؛ أَنَّهُ– صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ– رَأَى آدَمَ– عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ– وَعَنْ يَمِينِهِ أَسْوِدَةٌ، وَعَنْ يَسَارِهِ أَسْوِدَةٌ، فَاِذَا نَظَرَ قِبَلَ يَمِينِهِ ضَحِكَ، وَاِذَا نَظَرَ قِبَلَ يَسَارِهِ بَكَى، فَسَأَلَ جِبْرِيلَ فَقَالَ: هَذَا آدَمُ، وَهَذِهِ نَسَمُ بَنِيهِ السُّعَدَاءِ وَالْأَشْقِيَاءِ.

   It is related in the Ṣaḥīḥ, in the account of the Night Journey, that he (God bless him and grant him peace) saw Adam (peace be upon him) with dark figures on his right and dark figures on his left. When he looked towards his right he laughed, and when he looked towards his left he wept. He asked Gabriel, who said: “This is Adam, and these are the souls of his sons, the blissful and the wretched.”✦

   ¶ 3843

8. فَاِذَا كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْاَسْوِدَةُ أَرْوَاحَ بَنِي آدَمَ، وَمَنْ وُجِدَ مِنْهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَانْتَقَلَ بِالْمَوْتِ اِلَى الْبَرْزَخِ؛ فَآدَمُ يَرَاهُمْ حَقِيقَةً،

   If these dark figures are the spirits of the sons of Adam, those of them who came into existence in this world and passed by death into the isthmus, then Adam sees them in reality.✦

   ¶ 3844

9. وَاِنْ كَانَ الْمُرَادُ نَسَمَ بَنِيهِ اِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ؛ فَهِيَ أَمْثِلَةٌ نَصَبَهَا اللَّهُ– تَعَالَى– لِأَنَّ كُلَّ مَا يُكَاشَفُ بِهِ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ وَالْأَوْلِيَاءُ– عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ– مِمَّا لَمْ يَكُنْ وَسَيَكُونُ اِنَّمَا هِيَ أَمْثِلَةٌ يَنْصِبُهَا تَعَالَى لَهُمْ، لِيُعْلِمَهُمْ بِالْأَمْرِ عَلَى مَا سَيَكُونُ.

   And if what is meant is the souls of his sons until the Day of Resurrection, then they are likenesses that God (exalted is He) set up. For everything unveiled to the prophets and the saints (upon them be blessing and peace) of what has not yet come to be and will be is only likenesses that He, exalted is He, sets up for them, to inform them of the matter as it will be.✦

   ¶ 3845

10. وَأَرْوَاحُ مَنْ لَمْ يُوجَدْ غَيْرُ مُتَمَيِّزَةٍ مِنْ بَعْضِهَا بَعْضاً اِلاَّ لَهُ تَعَالَى، فَاِنَّ الْأَرْوَاحَ قَبْلَ اِيجَادِ صُوَرِهَا كَالْحُرُوفِ مُجْمَلَةً فِي الدَّوَاةِ.

    The spirits of those who have not yet come into existence are not distinct from one another except to Him, exalted is He. For the spirits, before their forms are brought into existence, are like letters held undifferentiated in the inkwell.✦

    ¶ 3846

11. فَاِذَا كَتَبَ الْكَاتِبُ بِالْحِبْرِ تَمَيَّزَتِ الْحُرُوفُ الَّتِي كَانَتْ مُجْمَلَةً فِي الْحِبْرِ.

    When the writer writes with the ink, the letters that were undifferentiated in the ink become distinct.✦

    ¶ 3847

12. وَالْأَرْوَاحُ قَبْلَ خَلْقِ صُوَرِهَا، الَّتِي جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهَا تَدْبِيرَهَا لَا تَعْرِفُ نَفْسَهَا•

    And the spirits, before the creation of their forms (the forms whose governance God has assigned to them), do not know themselves.✦

    ¶ 3848

13. فَلَا تَعْرِفُ نَفْسَهَا اِلاَّ فِي صُورَةِ تَدَبُّرِهَا•

    So it knows itself only in the form of its governing.✦

    ¶ 3849

14. ثُمَّ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، لَا تَرْجِعُ اِلَى اِجْمَالِهَا، فَاِنَّ تَجَرُّدَهَا الْكُلِّيَّ مُحَالٌ،

    Then after that it does not return to its undifferentiated state, for its total disengagement [from form] is impossible.✦

    ¶ 3850

15. فَلَا تَزَالُ مُدَبِّرَةً لِصُورَةٍ، اِمَّا عُنْصُرِيَّةٍ طَبِيعِيَّةٍ، وَاِمَّا طَبِيعِيَّةٍ، وَاِمَّا بَرْزَخِيَّةٍ، وَاِمَّا صُورَةٍ

    So it never ceases to govern a form: either an elemental, natural one, or a natural one, or an isthmian one, or a form …✦

    ¶ 3851

16. يُنْشِئُهَا اللَّهُ– تَعَالَى– لَهَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ عِنْدَ الْبَعْثِ، لَاتَعْلَمُهَا الْآنَ•

    which God (exalted is He) will bring into being for it in the hereafter, at the resurrection; it does not know it now.✦

    ¶ 3852

17. فَاِنَّهُ قَالَ: وَنُنْشِئَكُمْ فِيمَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ، وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ النَّشْأَةَ الْأُولَى

    For He has said: "and bring you into being in what you do not know. And you have certainly known the first coming-into-being" (Q 56:61–62).✦

    ¶ 3853

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.