The Book of Stations
المواقف
Context: The Emir turns the charge of shirk inward: whoever grants creatures existence of their own is a veiled liar, including believers who place God only above the Throne. This is waḥdat al-wujūd, with the usual denial of ḥulūl and ittiḥād. Ibn Taymiyya and Salafis see Creator and creature confused and the Throne creed mocked; defenders find the denial sufficient for transcendence.AI
قَالَ تَعَالَى: «قُلْ أَرَءَيْتَكُمْ إِنْ أَتَاكُمْ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَتَتْكُمُ السَّاعَةُ أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَدْعُونَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ؟ بَلْ إِيَّاهُ تَدْعُونَ، فَيَكْشِفُ مَا تَدْعُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِنْ شَاءَ، وَتَنْسَوْنَ مَا تُشْرِكُونَ».
He, exalted is He, said: “Say: Have you considered? If the punishment of God came upon you, or the Hour came upon you, would you call upon other than God, if you are truthful? No, it is Him you would call upon, and He would remove that for which you call upon Him, if He willed, and you would forget what you associate [with Him]” (Q 6:40–41).
In briefAI
The Emir reads Q 6:40–41 on two levels. The exegetes take it as a refutation of polytheists who seek benefit from partners. For him and his path it refutes anyone who gives creatures an existence and attributes independent of God's. Those who call on God only in extremity, and on creatures otherwise, still imagine a God set apart from the world. Truthful speech matches reality: the knower knows that God alone is ever called upon, creatures being His loci of manifestation, without indwelling, union or mixing. The ignorant, imagining God far away, find Him far from answering.
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 179 ↗, Damascus 1966, p. 180 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 180 ↗, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 181 ↗ (archive.org)
هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ الْكَرِيمَةُ نَفْيٌ وَبُرْهَانٌ فِي الرَّدِّ عَلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ، الَّذِينَ جَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَنْدَاداً وَشُرَكَاءَ فِي الْأُلُوهِيَّةِ، وَالْتِمَاسِ النَّفْعِ مِنْهُمْ، عِنْدَ عَامَّةِ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ وَعِنْدَنَا وَعِنْدَ أَهْلِ طَرِيقِنَـا؛ هِيَ نَعْيٌ وَرَدٌّ عَلَى مَنْ جَعَلَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى شَرِيكاً مُطْلَقـاً فِي الْأُلُوهِيَّةِ وَفِي الْوُجُودِ وَالصِّفَاتِ،
According to the generality of the exegetes, this noble verse is a negation and a proof in refutation of the polytheists, who made for God rivals and partners in divinity, and [in refutation] of seeking benefit from them. According to us and to the people of our path, it is a censure and a refutation of whoever makes for God, exalted is He, a partner in the unrestricted sense: in divinity, in existence and in the attributes.
قُلْ يَا مُحَمَّدُ لِهَؤُلَاءِ الْمَحْجُوبِينَ، الَّذِينَ جَعَلُوا لِلْمَخْلُوقَاتِ وُجُوداً مُسْتَقِلّاً حَادِثاً أَوْ قَدِيماً، وَجَعَلُوا لَهَا صِفَاتٍ مُغَايِرَةً لِصِفَاتِ اللَّهِ– تَعَالَى–، مِنْ قُدْرَةٍ وَاِرَادَةٍ وَغَيْرِهِمَا،
Say, O Muḥammad, to these veiled ones, who have given created things an independent existence, whether originated or eternal, and have given them attributes other than the attributes of God, exalted is He, such as power, will and the rest,
فَأَدَّاهُمْ ذَلِكَ اِلَى أَنْ قَالُوا: اِنَّهُ اِذَا نَزَلَ بِنَا مَا لَايَقْدِرُ عَلَى دَفْعِهِ الْمَخْلُوقُ؛ فَاِنَّا نَدْعُو اللَّهَ اِلَيْهِ، وَاِذَا نَزَلَ بِنَا غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مُهِمَّاتِنَا وَمَصَالِحِنَا؛ فَاِنَّا نَدْعُو غَيْرَ اللَّهِ اِلَيْهِ مِنْ مَخْلُوقَاتِهِ،
and this led them to say: “When something befalls us that no created being is able to avert, we call upon God for it; and when anything else befalls us among our concerns and interests, we call upon other than God for it, from among His creatures.”
أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ أَخْبِرُونِي: اِنْ أَتَاكُمْ نَوْعٌ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ، الْخَارِجَةِ عَنْ طَوْقِ الْمَخْلُوقِ، كَالزَّلَازِلِ وَالْخَسْفِ وَالرِّيحِ الْعَاصِفَةِ، أَوْ أَتَتْكُمُ السَّاعَةُ، وَهِيَ الْقِيَامَةُ وَالْحَشْرُ لِلْحِسَابِ، أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَدْعُونَ؟
“Have you considered”, that is, tell me: if there came upon you one of the kinds of God's punishment that lie beyond the capacity of created beings, such as earthquakes, the swallowing up of the earth and the raging wind, “or the Hour came upon you” (the Hour being the Resurrection and the Gathering for the Reckoning), “would you call upon other than God?”
أَيْ: أَيَكُونُ لَكُمْ مَدْعُوٌّ مُغَايِرٌ لِلَّهِ– تَعَالَى– فِي هَاتَيْنِ الْحَالَتَيْنِ، وَفِي هَذَيْنِ الْوَقْتَيْنِ؟
That is: would you have anyone called upon who is other than God, exalted is He, in these two states and at these two times?
أَمْ تَدْعُونَ اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَخَيَّلْتُمُوهُ مُبَايِناً لِلْعَالَمِ وَمُغَـايِراً لَهُ، وَتَنْسَـوْنَ مَا تُشْرِكُونَ، أَيْ تَنْسَوْنَ شِرْكَكُمْ، وَهُوَ جَعْلُكُمْ لِلْمَخْلُوقَاتِ وُجُوداً مُسْتَقِلّاً مُغَايِراً لِلْوُجُودِ الْحَقِّ؟!
Or would you call upon God, whom you imagined to be separate from the world and other than it, and forget what you associate, that is, forget your associating, which is your granting created things an independent existence other than the Real existence?!
فَلَا شَكَّ أَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ مَا هُوَ مُعْتَقَدُهُمْ، مِنْ مُغَايَرَةِ وُجُودِ الْحَقِّ لِوُجُودِ الْخَلْقِ، اِذِ الْحَقُّ– تَعَالَى– عِنْدَهُمْ؛ لَا يَظْهَرُ فِي مَظْهَرٍ، وَلَا يَتَعَيَّنُ بِتَعَيُّنٍ
There is no doubt, then, that they would say what they believe: that the existence of the Real is other than the existence of creation. For in their view the Real, exalted is He, does not appear in any locus of manifestation, nor become determined by any determination.
«اِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ»، «اِنْ» بِمَعْنَى «لَوْ» أَيْ لَوْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ لَعَلِمْتُمْ وَقُلْتُمْ: اِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْعُونَ اِلَّا اللَّهَ ـ تَعَالَى ـ فِي جَمِيعِ الْأَحْوَالِ وَالْأَوْقَاتِ•
“If you are truthful” (Q 6:40): “in” here has the sense of “law”, that is: were you truthful, you would have known and said that you call upon none but God, exalted is He, in all states and at all times.
فَاِنَّ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ مِنْ جِنٍّ وَاِنْسٍ وَمَلَكٍ وَغَيْرِهِمْ، مَظَاهِرُهُ هُوَ الظَّاهِرُ لَا غَيْرُ،
For created things, whether jinn, humans, angels or others, are His loci of manifestation; He is the Manifest, and nothing other.
وَالصِّدْقُ مُطَابَقَةُ الْخَبَرِ لِلْوَاقِعِ•
Truthfulness is the agreement of a report with what is actually the case.
وَالْكَذِبُ ضِدُّهُ،
And lying is its opposite.
فَالصَّادِقُ؛ هُوَ الْعَارِفُ الَّذِي يَقُولُ: الْمَدْعُوُّ لِكُلِّ أَمْرٍ، وَفِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ وَحَالٍ؛ هُوَ اللَّهُ ـ تَعَالَى ـ وَالْمَخْلُوقَاتُ مَظَاهِرُهُ، مِنْ غَيْرِ حُلُولٍ وَلَا اتِّحَادٍ وَلَا امْتِزَاجٍ، كَمَا قَالَ:
So the truthful one is the knower who says: the One called upon for every matter, at every time and in every state, is God, exalted is He, and created things are His loci of manifestation, without indwelling, without union and without mixing; as He said:
«يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ اِلَى اللَّهِ»
“O people, you are the ones in need of God” (Q 35:15).
وَنَحْنُ افْتِقَارُنَا اِلَى بَعْضِنَا، فَافْتِقَارُنَا لَيْسَ اِلاَّ اِلَيْهِ، وَبَعْضُنَا مَظَاهِرُهُ وَتَعَيُّنَاتُهُ لَا غَيْرُ
As for us, our need is towards one another; yet our need is towards none but Him, for our “one another” is His loci of manifestation and His determinations, and nothing else.
وَالْكَاذِبُ؛ هُوَ الْجَاهِلُ الَّذِي يَقُولُ: الْمَدْعُوُّ فِي حَالٍ وَوَقْتٍ هُوَ اللَّهُ• وَالْمَدْعُوُّ فِي حَالٍ وَوَقْتٍ؛ غَيْرُهُ•
And the liar is the ignorant one who says: the one called upon in one state and time is God, and the one called upon in another state and time is other than Him.
بَلْ اِيَّاهُ تَدْعُونَ• اِبْطَالٌ لِمَا تَخَيَّلُوهُ، وَاِضْرَابٌ عَلَى مَاتَوَهَّمُوهُ، وَحَصْرٌ لِدُعَائِهِمْ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ وَحَالٍ، فِي اللَّهِ ـ تَعَالَى ـ
“Nay, it is Him you call upon” (Q 6:41): an annulment of what they imagined, a turning away from what they fancied, and a restriction of their calling, at every time and in every state, to God (exalted is He).
فَيَكْشِفُ مَاتَدْعُونَ اِلَيْهِ مِمَّا قَلَّ أَوْ جَلَّ اِنْ شَاءَ•
“and He removes that for which you call upon Him”, whether small or great, “if He wills” (Q 6:41).
فَاِنَّهُ لَا مُكْرِهَ لَهُ ـ تَعَالَى ـ•
Quotes a hadith: al-Bukhārī 6339, part of it · in a Ṣaḥīḥ, no separate grade · sunnah.com ↗
For there is none who compels Him (exalted is He).
وَلِأَنَّ الْغَالِبَ عَلَى مَنْ كَانَتْ حَالَتُهُ الْجَهْلَ بِاللَّهِ؛ عَدَمُ اِجَابَةِ دُعَائِهِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ تَخَيَّلَ اللَّهَ ـ تَعَالَى ـ بَعِيداً عَنْهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَوْ فَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ لَا غَيْرُ•
And because what generally befalls one whose state is ignorance of God is that his calling goes unanswered, since he imagined God (exalted is He) to be far from him, in the sky or above the Throne and nowhere else.
فَيَكُونُ اللَّهُ ـ تَعَالَى ـ بَعِيداً عَنْ اِجَابَةِ دُعَائِهِ، جَزَاءً وِفَاقاً؛ لِأَنَّهُ عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِهِ بِهِ•
Quotes a hadith: al-Bukhārī 7405 (a divine saying), an allusion · in a Ṣaḥīḥ, no separate grade · sunnah.com ↗
So God (exalted is He) is far from answering his calling, a fitting recompense (Q 78:26), for He is at His servant's opinion of Him.
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.