Al-Qawl al-Mufid ala Kitab al-Tawhid — Volume 1 (القول المفيد على كتاب التوحيد) — Page 14

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

فَنَقُولُ : هَذَا الصَّرْفُ إِنْ دَلَّ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلٌ صَحِيحٌ فَلَيْسَ تَأْوِيلًا بِالْمَعْنَى الَّذِي تُرِيدُونَ لَكِنَّهُ تَفْسِيرٌ.

We say: if this shift in meaning is supported by sound evidence, it is not interpretation in the sense you intend, but rather an explanation.

وَإِنْ لَمْ يَدُلَّ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلٌ فَهُوَ تَحْرِيفٌ، وَتَغْيِيرٌ لِلْكَلِمِ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ.

If it lacks such evidence, it is a distortion and a displacement of words from their proper context.

فَهَؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ ضَلُّوا بِهَذِهِ الطَّرِيقَةِ فَصَارُوا يُثْبِتُونَ الصِّفَاتِ لَكِنْ بِتَحْرِيفٍ قَدْ ضَلُّوا وَصَارُوا فِي مُقَابَلَةِ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ.

Those who strayed by using this method—affirming attributes only through distortion—have lost their way and placed themselves in opposition to the People of the Sunnah and the Community.

وَعَلَيْهِ لَا يُمْكِنُ أَنْ يُوصَفُوا بِأَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْإِضَافَةَ تَقْتَضِي النِّسْبَةَ، فَأَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ مُنْتَسِبُونَ لِلسُّنَّةِ؛ لِأَنَّهُمْ مُتَمَسِّكُونَ بِهَا، وَهَؤُلَاءِ لَيْسُوا مُتَمَسِّكِينَ بِالسُّنَّةِ فِيمَا ذَهَبُوا إِلَيْهِ مِنَ التَّحْرِيفِ.

Consequently, they cannot be described as the People of the Sunnah and the Community, for such a title implies a genuine affiliation. The People of the Sunnah are so named because they hold fast to the Sunnah, whereas these people have abandoned it by resorting to distortion.

وَأَيْضًا الْجَمَاعَةُ فِي الْأَصْلِ : الِاجْتِمَاعُ، وَهُمْ غَيْرُ مُجْتَمِعِينَ فِي آرَائِهِمْ فَفِي كُتُبِهِمُ التَّدَاخُلُ وَالتَّنَاقُضُ، وَالِاضْطِرَابُ حَتَّى إِنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ يُضَلِّلُ بَعْضًا، وَيَتَنَاقَضُ هُوَ بِنَفْسِهِ.

Furthermore, the term 'Community' implies unity, yet they are far from united in their views. Their books are riddled with overlap, contradiction, and confusion, to the point where they declare one another astray and contradict themselves.

وَقَدْ نَقَلَ شَارِحُ الطَّحَاوِيَّةِ عَنِ الْغَزَالِيِّ، وَهُوَ مِمَّنْ بَلَغَ ذِرْوَةَ عِلْمِ الْكَلَامِ كَلَامًا إِذَا قَرَأَهُ الْإِنْسَانُ تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ مَا عَلَيْهِ أَهْلُ الْكَلَامِ مِنَ الْخَطَأِ وَالزَّلَلِ، وَالْخَطَلِ، وَأَنَّهُمْ لَيْسُوا عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ.

The commentator of Al-Tahawiyyah quotes Al-Ghazali—a man who reached the pinnacle of theology—saying something that, once read, makes clear the error, slips, and absurdity of the theologians, showing they lack any firm foundation for their claims.

وَقَالَ الرَّازِيُّ وَهُوَ مِنْ رُؤَسَائِهِمْ: نِهَايَةُ إِقْدَامِ الْعُقُولِ عِقَالُ وَأَكْثَرُ سَعْيِ الْعَالَمِينَ ضَلَالُ وَأَرْوَاحُنَا فِي وَحْشَةٍ مِنْ جُسُومِنَا وَغَايَةُ دُنْيَانَا أَذًى وَوَبَالُ وَلَمْ نَسْتَفِدْ مِنْ بَحْثِنَا طُولَ عُمْرِنَا سِوَى أَنَّ جَمْعَنَا فِيهِ قِيلَ وَقَالُوا.

Al-Razi, one of their own leaders, wrote: The furthest reach of the intellect is but a shackle, and most human striving is misguidance. Our souls are lonely within our bodies, and our worldly end is only harm and calamity. We have gained nothing from our lifelong research, save for collecting tales of 'he said' and 'they said'.

ثُمَّ قَالَ: لَقَدْ تَأَمَّلْتُ الطُّرُقَ الْكَلَامِيَّةَ، وَالْمَنَاهِجَ الْفَلْسَفِيَّةَ فَمَا.

He then added: I have contemplated the theological paths and the philosophical methodologies, and found nothing.

Vocabulary · المفردات (22 verbs · 59 nouns)

• قَالَ — to say
• دَلَّ — to indicate
• أَرَاد — to want
• ضَلَّ — to go astray
• صَار — to become
• أَثْبَت — to prove
• أَمْكَن — to be possible
• وَصَف — to describe
• اِقْتَضَى — to require
• تَمَسَّك — to hold fast
• ذَهَب — to adopt a view
• اِجْتَمَع — to gather
• ضَلَّل — to lead astray
• تَنَاقَض — to contradict
• نَقَل — to transmit
• بَلَغ — to reach
• قَرَأ — to read
• تَبَيَّن — to become clear
• أَقْدَم — to advance
• اِسْتَفَاد — to benefit
• جَمَع — to collect
• تَأَمَّل — to contemplate
• صَرْف — reinterpretation
• دَلِيل — evidence
• تَأْوِيل — interpretation
• مَعْنَى — meaning
• تَفْسِير — explanation
• تَحْرِيف — distortion
• تَغْيِير — change
• كَلِم — words
• مَوْضِع — place
• طَرِيقَة — method
• صِفَة — attribute
• مُقَابَلَة — opposition
• أَهْل — people
• سُنَّة — tradition
• جَمَاعَة — group
• إِضَافَة — attribution
• نِسْبَة — relation
• مُنْتَسِب — affiliated
• أَصْل — origin
• اِجْتِمَاع — gathering
• رَأْي — opinion
• كِتَاب — book
• تَدَاخُل — overlap
• تَنَاقُض — contradiction
• اِضْطِرَاب — confusion
• بَعْض — some
• نَفْس — self
• شَارِح — commentator
• ذِرْوَة — peak
• عِلْم — knowledge
• كَلَام — theology
• إِنْسَان — human
• خَطَأ — error
• زَلَل — slip
• خَطَل — absurdity
• بَيِّنَة — proof
• أَمْر — matter
• رَئِيس — leader
• نِهَايَة — end
• إِقْدَام — daring
• عَقْل — intellect
• عِقَال — fetter
• أَكْثَر — most
• سَعْي — effort
• عَالِم — scholar
• ضَلَال — misguidance
• رُوح — soul
• وَحْشَة — loneliness
• جِسْم — body
• غَايَة — goal
• دُنْيَا — world
• أَذًى — harm
• وَبَال — calamity
• بَحْث — research
• طُول — length
• عُمْر — lifespan
• جَمْع — collection
• طَرِيق — path
• مَنْهَج — methodology