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 5 · Two kinds of divine will and command
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 36, Damascus 1966, p. 37, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 49, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 50 (archive.org)
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا لِشَيْءٍ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَنْ نَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ»
He, exalted is He, said: “Our only word to a thing, when We will it, is that We say to it ‘Be!’, and it is” (Q 16:40).
اعْلَمْ أَنَّ لِلْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- اِرَادَةً وَاحِدَةً لَهَا نَوْعَانِ مِنَ التَّعَلُّقِ، نَوْعٌ مُطْلَقٌ غَيْرُ مُقَيَّدٍ، وَلَا وَاسِطَةَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْمُرَادِ، وَأَمْرٌ كَذَلِكَ.
Know that the Real, exalted is He, has a single will which has two kinds of attachment: one kind absolute, not restricted, with no intermediary between it and what is willed; and a command likewise.
وَهَذَانِ نَافِذَانِ وَلَابُدَّ، أَعْنِي الْاِرَادَةَ الْمُطْلَقَةَ، وَالْأَمْرَ الْمُطْلَقَ،
These two are carried out without fail, I mean the absolute will and the absolute command:
يُرِيدُ تَعَالَى الشَّيْءَ الْمَعْدُومَ، فَيَأْمُرُهُ بِالْكَوْنِ فَيَكُونُ، ذَلِكَ الشَّيْءُ الْمَأْمُورُ بِالْكَوْنِ، سَوَاءٌ كَانَ مِمَّا يُنْسَبُ لِمَخْلُوقٍ أَمْ لَا،
He, exalted is He, wills the non-existent thing and commands it to be, and it is, that thing commanded to be, whether it is among what is attributed to a creature or not.
وَلِلْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- اِرَادَةٌ مُقَيَّدَةٌ بِوَاسِطَةٍ وَأَمْرٌ، كَذَلِكَ.
And the Real, exalted is He, has a will restricted by an intermediary, and a command likewise.
كَأَنْ يُرِيدَ الْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى- مِنْ مَخْلُوقٍ فِعْلاً يَفْعَلُهُ ذَلِكَ الْمَخْلُوقُ، أَوْ يَأْمُرَهُ بِشَيْءٍ يَفْعَلُهُ•
As when the Real, exalted is He, wills from a creature an act that that creature is to do, or commands him to do something.
فَهَذِهِ الْاِرَادَةُ وَالْأَمْرُ لَايَنْفُذَانِ، لِأَنَّهُ أَرَادَ الْمَخْلُوقَ يَفْعَلُ، وَأَمَرَ الْمَخْلُوقَ يَفْعَلُ، وَمَا أَمَرَ الشَّيْءَ بِالْكَوْنِ فِي ذَلِكَ الْمَخْلُوقِ•
This will and this command are not carried out, because He willed that the creature act, and commanded the creature to act, and did not command the thing to be in that creature.
وَمِنَ الْبَيِّنِ الْمَعْلُومِ؛ أَنَّ مُرَادَ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- مِنْ عِبَادِهِ جَمِيعاً الْاِيمَانُ وَالطَّاعَةُ، وَأَمَرَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ•
It is plain and known that what the Real, exalted is He, wills of all His servants is faith and obedience, and He commanded them to that.
فَلَوْ تَعَلَّقَتْ اِرَادَتُهُ الْمُطْلَقَةُ وَأَمْرُهُ الْمُطْلَقُ، بِوُجُودِ الْاِيمَانِ وَالطَّاعَةِ فِي الْجَمِيعِ، لَكَانَ ذَلِكَ مَوْجُوداً، لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ: «إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا لِشَيْءٍ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَنْ نَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ»
Had His absolute will and His absolute command attached to the existence of faith and obedience in all of them, that would exist, since He said: “Our only word to a thing, when We will it, is that We say to it ‘Be!’, and it is” (Q 16:40).
وَلَمَّا كَانَ الْأَمْرُ وَالْاِرَادَةُ مُتَوَجِّهَيْنِ لِلْجَمِيعِ، وَمَا حَصَلَ مُتَعَلَّقُ الْاِرَادَةِ وَالْاَمْرِ مِنَ الْجَمِيعِ، بَلْ مِنَ الْبَعْضِ؛ عَلِمْنَا أَنَّ بَيْنَ الْاِرَادَتَيْنِ وَالْأَمْرَيْنِ فُرْقَاناً،
Since the command and the will are directed to all, yet the object of the will and the command did not come about from all, but only from some, we know that there is a distinction between the two wills and the two commands,
وَأَنَّ مَا أَرَادَ كَوْنَهُ فِينَا مِنَ الْاَفْعَالِ وَالْاِيمَانِ وَالطَّاعَةِ، وَأَمَرَهُ بِالْكَوْنِ فِينَا؛ كَانَ، شِئْنَا أَوْ أَبَيْنَا•
and that what He willed to be in us, of acts, faith and obedience, and commanded to be in us, came to be, whether we wished it or refused.
وَمَا أَرَادَ كَوْنَهُ مِنَّا، أَوْ أَمَرَنَا نَحْنُ نَفْعَلُهُ؛ وَكَلَهُ اِلَيْنَا لَا غَيْرُ، فَهَذَا لَا يَكُونُ
And what He willed to be from us, or commanded us ourselves to do, He entrusted to us and no other; and this does not come to be.
مِثْلُ اِيمَانِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ- رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ- أَرَادَ الْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى- كَوْنَهُ فِي أَبِي بَكْرٍ، وَأَمَرَ الْاِيمَانَ بِالْكَوْنِ فِي أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَلِذَلِكَ مَا تَخَلَّفَ، وَاِيمَانِ أَبِي جَهْلٍ أَرَادَ الْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى- فِي أَبِي جَهْلٍ تَكْوِينَهُ، وَأَمَرَ أَبَا جَهْلٍ بِتَكْوِينِهِ، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ،
For example, the faith of Abū Bakr, God be pleased with him: the Real, exalted is He, willed it to be in Abū Bakr, and commanded faith to be in Abū Bakr, and for that reason it did not fail to occur; and the faith of Abū Jahl: the Real, exalted is He, willed its being brought about in Abū Jahl, and commanded Abū Jahl to bring it about, and it did not come to be.
فَبَيْنَ: أَرَادَ بِهِ، وَأَرَادَ مِنْهُ، وَأَمَرَ بِهِ، وَأَمَرَهُ؛ فُرْقَانٌ•
So between “He willed it” (arāda bihi) and “He willed [it] of him” (arāda minhu), and between “He commanded it” (amara bihi) and “He commanded him” (amarahu), there is a distinction.
وَالْحَاصِلُ: أَنَّ الْأَمْرَ أَمْرَانِ: أَمْرُ الشَّيْءِ الْمَطْلُوبِ كَوْنُهُ بِالْكَوْنِ، فَهَذَا لَابُدَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ•
The upshot is that the command is of two kinds: the command to the thing whose being is sought, that it be, and this must come to be;
وَأَمْرُ الْمُكَلَّفِ بِتَكْوِينِ الْفِعْلِ مِنْهُ، فَهَذَا لَايَكُونُ•
and the command to the one under obligation to bring the act about from himself, and this does not come to be.
كَمَا أَنَّ الْاِرَادَةَ نَوْعَانِ: اِرَادَةٌ مُتَعَلِّقَةٌ بِالْفِعْلِ نَفْسِهِ، فَهَذِهِ نَافِذَةُ الْوُقُوعِ، وَاِرَادَةٌ مُتَعَلِّقَةٌ بِالْفَاعِلِ أَنْ يَفْعَلَ، فَهَذِهِ غَيْرُ نَافِذَةِ التَّعَلُّقِ؛ اِلَّا اِذَا جَامَعَتْهَا الْاِرَادَةُ الْأُخْرَى•
Just as the will is of two kinds: a will attached to the act itself, and this is effective in its occurrence; and a will attached to the agent, that he act, and this is not effective in its attachment unless the other will is joined to it.
وَلَمَّا غَفَلَ الْمُعْتَزِلَةُ عَنْ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ، وَمَا انْكَشَفَ لَهُمْ هَذَا السِّرُّ؛ جَعَلُوا لِلْاِرَادَةِ تَعَلُّقاً وَاحِداً، وَلِلْأَمْرِ كَذَلِكَ•
Since the Muʿtazila were heedless of this matter, and this secret was not unveiled to them, they gave the will a single attachment, and the command likewise.
وَقَالُوا: لَا يَأْمُرُ الْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى- اِلاَّ بِمَا يُرِيدُ كَوْنَهُ وَاِيجَادَهُ•
They said: The Real, exalted is He, commands only what He wills to be and to bring into existence.
وَقَالُوا: اِيمَانُ أَبِي جَهْلٍ مَأْمُورٌ بِهِ مُرَادُ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- فَلَزِمَهُمْ تَخَلَّفُ مُرَادِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، بَلْ وُقُوعُ مَا لَا يُرِيدُهُ- تَعَالَى- فِي مُلْكِهِ،
And they said: The faith of Abū Jahl is commanded and willed by God, exalted is He; so they were bound to accept that what God, exalted is He, wills fails to occur, and indeed that what He, exalted is He, does not will occurs in His dominion.
وَأَمَّا رَدُّ الْأَشَاعِرَةِ عَلَى الْمُعْتَزِلَةِ: بِأَنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ فِي الشَّاهِدِ، قَدْ يَأْمُرُ بِمَا لَايُرِيدُ وُقُوعَهُ، فَهُوَ أَعْلَى مَا وَصَلَتْ عُقُولُهُمْ اِلَيْهِ،
As for the Ashʿarīs' reply to the Muʿtazila, that a human being, in the visible world, may command what he does not will to occur, that is the highest point their intellects reached;
وَمَنْ قُدِرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقُهُ، فَلْيُنْفِقْ مِمَّا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ•
“and whoever has his provision straitened, let him spend from what God has given him” (Q 65:7).
عَلَى أَنَّ الْمُحَقِّقِينَ مِنَ الْأَشَاعِرَةِ؛ ضَعَّفُوا قِيَاسَ الْغَايِبِ عَلَى الشَّاهِدِ•
Moreover, the verifiers among the Ashʿarīs judged weak the analogy of the unseen to the visible.
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