Al-Qawl al-Mufid ala Kitab al-Tawhid — Volume 1 (القول المفيد على كتاب التوحيد) — Page 16

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

وَيُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ.

Allah intends to make things clear to you.

يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا.

He clarifies them so you do not go astray.

وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ.

We have sent down the Book to you as a clear explanation of everything.

فَهَذِهِ الْآيَاتُ وَغَيْرُهَا تَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَيِّنُ لِلْخَلْقِ غَايَةَ الْبَيَانِ الطَّرِيقَ الَّتِي تُوصِلُهُمْ إِلَيْهِ،

These verses and others demonstrate that Allah explains to His creation, with the utmost clarity, the path that leads to Him.

وَأَعْظَمُ مَا يَحْتَاجُ الْخَلْقُ إِلَى بَيَانِهِ مَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِأَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ وَصِفَاتِهِ حَتَّى يَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ؛

The most important thing for creation to understand is what pertains to Allah's names and attributes, so they may worship Him with true insight.

لِأَنَّ عِبَادَةَ مَنْ لَمْ نَعْلَمْ صِفَاتِهِ، أَوْ مَنْ لَيْسَ لَهُ صِفَةٌ أَمْرٌ لَا يَتَحَقَّقُ أَبَدًا،

Worshipping someone whose attributes are unknown, or someone who possesses no attributes at all, is impossible to realize.

فَلَابُدَّ أَنْ تَعْلَمَ مِنْ صِفَاتِ الْمَعْبُودِ مَا تَجْعَلُكَ تَلْتَجِىءُ إِلَيْهِ، وَتَعْبُدُهُ حَقًّا.

You must know enough about the attributes of the Worshipped One to drive you to seek refuge in Him and worship Him sincerely.

وَلَا يَتَجَاوَزُ الْإِنْسَانُ حَدَّهُ إِلَى التَّكْيِيفِ؛

One should not overstep his bounds by trying to define the nature of these attributes.

لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا كَانَ عَاجِزًا عَنْ تَصَوُّرِ نَفْسِهِ الَّتِي بَيْنَ جَنْبَيْهِ فَمِنْ بَابٍ أَوْلَى أَنْ يَكُونَ عَاجِزًا عَنْ تَصَوُّرِ حَقَائِقِ مَا وَصَفَ اللَّهُ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ،

If a person is incapable of fully grasping his own self, he is even less capable of grasping the realities of how Allah has described Himself.

وَلِهَذَا يَجِبُ عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ أَنْ يَمْنَعَ نَفْسَهُ عَنِ السُّؤَالِ بِـ (لِمَ) وَ(كَيْفَ) فِيمَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِأَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ وَصِفَاتِهِ.

For this reason, one must restrain himself from asking 'why' or 'how' regarding Allah's names and attributes.

وَكَذَا يَمْنَعُ نَفْسَهُ مِنَ التَّفْكِيرِ بِالْكَيْفِيَّةِ.

Likewise, he should avoid speculating about their nature.

وَهَذَا الطَّرِيقُ إِذَا سَلَكَهُ الْإِنْسَانُ اسْتَرَاحَ كَثِيرًا،

Following this path brings a person great peace of mind.

وَهَذِهِ حَالُ السَّلَفِ رَحِمَهُمُ اللَّهُ،

This was the way of the predecessors, may Allah have mercy on them.

وَلِهَذَا لَمَّا جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى مَالِكِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ قَالَ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى كَيْفَ اسْتَوَى؟

When a man once came to Malik ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, and asked, 'O Abu Abdullah, the Most Merciful ascended the Throne; how did He ascend?'

أَطْرَقَ بِرَأْسِهِ وَقَالَ: «الِاسْتِوَاءُ غَيْرُ مَجْهُولٍ وَالْكَيْفُ غَيْرُ مَعْقُولٍ، وَالْإِيمَانُ بِهِ وَاجِبٌ وَالسُّؤَالُ عَنْهُ بِدْعَةٌ، وَمَا أَرَاكَ إِلَّا مُبْتَدِعًا».

Malik lowered his head and replied, 'The ascension is known, its nature is beyond human reason, belief in it is mandatory, and questioning it is an innovation. I see you as nothing but an innovator.'

أَمَّا فِي عَصْرِنَا الْحَاضِرِ فَنَجِدُ مَنْ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَنْزِلُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ.

In our own time, however, we find people who claim, 'Allah descends to the sky.'

Vocabulary · المفردات (27 verbs · 45 nouns)

• أَرَادَ — to want
• بَيَّنَ — to clarify
• ضَلَّ — to go astray
• نَزَّلَ — to send down
• دَلَّ — to indicate
• وَصَلَ — to reach
• احْتَاجَ — to need
• تَعَلَّقَ — to relate
• عَبَدَ — to worship
• عَلِمَ — to know
• تَحَقَّقَ — to be realized
• جَعَلَ — to make
• الْتَجَأَ — to seek refuge
• تَجَاوَزَ — to exceed
• تَصَوَّرَ — to imagine
• كَانَ — to be
• وَصَفَ — to describe
• وَجَبَ — to be necessary
• مَنَعَ — to prevent
• سَلَكَ — to follow
• اسْتَرَاحَ — to rest
• رَحِمَ — to have mercy
• جَاءَ — to come
• قَالَ — to say
• اسْتَوَى — to ascend
• أَطْرَقَ — to lower one's head
• وَجَدَ — to find
• كِتَابٌ — book
• تِبْيَانٌ — clarification
• شَيْءٌ — thing
• آيَةٌ — verse
• خَلْقٌ — creation
• غَايَةٌ — utmost
• بَيَانٌ — clarity
• طَرِيقٌ — path
• اسْمٌ — name
• صِفَةٌ — attribute
• بَصِيرَةٌ — insight
• عِبَادَةٌ — worship
• أَمْرٌ — matter
• أَبَدٌ — eternity
• مَعْبُودٌ — worshipped one
• حَقٌّ — truth
• إِنْسَانٌ — human
• حَدٌّ — limit
• تَكْيِيفٌ — modalization
• عَاجِزٌ — incapable one
• تَصَوُّرٌ — imagination
• نَفْسٌ — self
• جَنْبٌ — side
• بَابٌ — door
• حَقِيقَةٌ — reality
• سُؤَالٌ — question
• تَفْكِيرٌ — thinking
• كَيْفِيَّةٌ — modality
• كَثِيرٌ — much
• حَالٌ — state
• سَلَفٌ — predecessor
• رَجُلٌ — man
• عَرْشٌ — throne
• رَأْسٌ — head
• اسْتِوَاءٌ — ascension
• مَجْهُولٌ — unknown
• كَيْفٌ — modality
• مَعْقُولٌ — rational
• إِيمَانٌ — faith
• وَاجِبٌ — obligatory
• بِدْعَةٌ — innovation
• مُبْتَدِعٌ — innovator
• عَصْرٌ — era
• حَاضِرٌ — present
• سَمَاءٌ — sky