Divine Unity and‬‬ Negation of Anthropomorphism

Al-Tawḥīd|Volume 1|Book 2|Chapter 2

Al-Tawḥīd

Book 2, Chapter 2

Divine Unity and‬‬ Negation of Anthropomorphism

Hadith #18

18 - حدثنا علي بن أحمد بن محمد بن عمران الدقاق رحمه الله، قال: حدثنا محمد بن أبي عبد الله الكوفي، قال: حدثنا محمد بن إسماعيل البرمكي، قال: حدثنا الحسين بن الحسن بن بردة ، قال: حدثني العباس بن عمرو الفقيمي، عن أبي القاسم إبراهيم بن محمد العلوي، عن الفتح بن يزيد الجرجاني، قال: لقيته عليه السلام على الطريق عند منصرفي من مكة إلى خراسان وهو سائر إلى العراق فسمعته يقول: من اتقى الله يتقى، ومن أطاع الله يطاع. فتلطفت في الوصول إليه فوصلت فسلمت فرد علي السلام ثم قال: يا فتح من أرضى الخالق لم يبال بسخط المخلوق، ومن أسخط الخالق فقمن أن يسلط عليه سخط المخلوق، وإن الخالق لا يوصف إلا بما وصف به نفسه وأنى يوصف الذي تعجز الحواس أن تدركه، والأوهام أن تناله، والخطرات أن تحده، والأبصار عن الإحاطة به؟ جل عما وصفه الواصفون، وتعالى عما ينعته الناعتون، نأى في قربه، وقرب في نأيه، فهو في بعده قريب، وفي قربه بعيد، كيف الكيف فلا يقال له: كيف وأين الأين فلا يقال له أين، إذ هو مبدع الكيفوفية والأينونية يا فتح كل جسم مغذي بغذاء إلا الخالق الرزاق، فإنه جسم الأجسام، وهو ليس بجسم ولا صورة، لم يتجزأ، ولم يتناه، ولم يتزايد، ولم يتناقص، مبرء من ذات ما ركب في ذات من جسمه وهو اللطيف الخبير السميع البصير الواحد الأحد الصمد، لم يلد ولم يولد، ولم يكن له كفوا أحد، منشئ الأشياء ومجسم الأجسام، و مصور الصور، لو كان كما يقول المشبهة لم يعرف الخالق من المخلوق، ولا الرازق من المرزوق، ولا المنشئ من المنشأ لكنه المنشئ، فرق بين من جسمه وصوره و شيئه وبينه إذ كان لا يشبهه شئ. قلت: فالله واحد والإنسان واحد، فليس قد تشابهت الوحدانية؟ فقال: أحلت ثبتك الله إنما التشبيه في المعاني فأما في الأسماء فهي واحدة وهي دلالة على المسمى وذلك أن الإنسان وإن قيل واحد فإنه يخبر أنه جثة واحدة وليس باثنين، والإنسان نفسه ليس بواحد، لأن أعضاءه مختلفة، وألوانه مختلفة غير واحدة، وهو أجزاء مجزأة ليس سواء دمه غير لحمه، ولحمه غير دمه، وعصبه غير عروقه، وشعره غير بشره. وسواده غير بياضه، وكذلك سائر جميع الخلق، فالإنسان واحد في الاسم، لا واحد في المعنى والله جل جلاله واحد لا واحد غيره، ولا اختلاف فيه، ولا تفاوت، ولا زيادة، ولا نقصان، فأما الإنسان المخلوق المصنوع المؤلف فمن أجزاء مختلفة وجواهر شتى غير أنه بالاجتماع شئ واحد. قلت: فقولك: اللطيف فسره لي، فإني أعلم أن لطفه خلاف لطف غيره للفصل، غير أني أحب أن تشرح لي، فقال: يا فتح إنما قلت: اللطيف للخلق اللطيف ولعلمه بالشئ اللطيف، ألا ترى إلى أثر صنعه في النبات اللطيف وغير اللطيف، وفي الخلق اللطيف من أجسام الحيوان من الجرجس والبعوض وما هو أصغر منهما مما لا يكاد تستبينه العيون، بل لا يكاد يستبان لصغره الذكر من الأنثى، والمولود من القديم، فلما رأينا صغر ذلك في لطفه واهتدائه للسفاد والهرب من الموت والجمع لما يصلحه بما في لجج البحار (١) وما في لحاء الأشجار والمفاوز والقفار و إفهام بعضها عن بعض منطقها (٢) وما تفهم به أولادها عنها، ونقلها الغذاء إليها، ثم تأليف ألوانها حمرة مع صفرة وبياض مع حمرة علمنا أن خالق هذا الخلق لطيف، وأن كل صانع شئ فمن شئ صنع (٣) والله الخالق اللطيف الجليل خلق وصنع لا من شئ. قلت: جعلت فداك وغير الخالق الجليل خالق؟ قال: إن الله تبارك وتعالى يقول: ﴿تبارك الله أحسن الخالقين﴾ فقد أخبر أن في عباده خالقين منهم عيسى ابن مريم، خلق من الطين كهيئة الطير بإذن الله فنفخ فيه فصار طائرا بإذن الله، والسامري خلق لهم عجلا جسدا له خوار، قلت: إن عيسى خلق من الطين طيرا دليلا على نبوته، والسامري خلق عجلا جسدا لنقض نبوة موسى عليه السلام، وشاء الله أن يكون ذلك كذلك؟ إن هذا لهو العجب، فقال: ويحك يا فتح إن لله إرادتين ومشيتين إرادة حتم وإرادة عزم ينهى وهو يشاء، ويأمر وهو لا يشاء، أوما رأيت أنه نهى آدم وزوجته عن أن يأكلا من الشجرة وهو شاء ذلك، ولو لم يشأ لم يأكلا ولو أكلا لغلبت مشيتهما مشية الله وأمر إبراهيم بذبح ابنه إسماعيل عليهما السلام، و شاء أن لا يذبحه، ولو لم يشأ أن لا يذبحه لغلبت مشية إبراهيم مشيئة الله عز وجل قلت: فرجت عني فرج الله عنك، غير أنك قلت: السميع البصير، سميع بالأذن وبصير بالعين؟ فقال: إنه يسمع بما يبصر، ويرى بما يسمع، بصير لا بعين مثل عين المخلوقين، وسميع لا بمثل سمع السامعين، لكن لما لم يخف عليه خافية من أثر الذرة السوداء على الصخرة الصماء في الليلة الظلماء تحت الثرى والبحار قلنا: بصير، لا بمثل عين المخلوقين، ولما لم يشتبه عليه ضروب اللغات ولم يشغله سمع عن سمع قلنا: سميع، لا مثل سمع السامعين. قلت: جعلت فداك قد بقيت مسألة، قال: هات لله أبوك. قلت: يعلم القديم الشئ الذي لم يكن أن لو كان كيف كان يكون؟ (١) قال: ويحك إن مسائلك لصعبة، أما سمعت الله يقول: ﴿لو كان فيهما آلهة إلا الله لفسدتا﴾ (٢) وقوله: ﴿ولعلا بعضهم على بعض﴾ (٣) وقال يحكي قول أهل النار: ﴿أخرجنا نعمل صالحا غير الذي كنا نعمل﴾ (٤) وقال: ﴿ولو ردوا لعادوا لما نهوا عنه﴾ فقد علم الشئ الذي لم يكن أن لو كان كيف كان يكون. فقمت لا قبل يده ورجله، فأدنى رأسه فقبلت وجهه ورأسه، وخرجت و بي من السرور والفرح ما أعجز عن وصفه لما تبينت من الخير والحظ. قال مصنف هذا الكتاب رضي الله عنه: إن الله تبارك وتعالى نهى آدم وزوجته عن أن يأكلا من الشجرة، وقد علم أنهما يأكلان منها، لكنه عز وجل شاء أن لا يحول بينهما وبين الأكل منها بالجبر والقدرة كما منعهما من الأكل منها بالنهي والزجر، فهذا معنى مشيته فيهما، ولو شاء عز وجل منعهما من الأكل بالجبر ثم أكلا منها لكانت مشيتهما قد غلبت مشيته كما قال العالم عليه السلام، تعالى الله عن العجز علوا كبيرا.

18. `Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Imran al-Daqqaq (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Muhammad ibn Abu `Abd Allah al-Kufi said: Muhammad ibn `Isma`il al-Barmaki said: alHusayn ibn al-Hasan ibn Burdah said: al- `Abbas ibn `Amr al-Fuqami said on the authority of Abu al-Qasim Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al- `Alawi, on the authority of al-Fath ibn Yazid alJurjani that I met him on my return from Mecca to Khurasan and he was going to Iraq. I heard him say that “Whoever fears Allah is feared, and whoever obeys Allah is obeyed.” So I politely went over to him and greeted him. Hence, he returned my greetings and then added: O Fath, he who pleases the Creator does not consider the displeasure of the creation. And he who displeases the Creator deserves that that displeasure of creation overpowers him. Verily, the Creator can only be described by means of the attributes He has given Himself. And how could He be described when he made the senses incapable of conceiving Him, the concepts incapable of describing Him, and the eyes incapable of perceiving Him? He is far above the attributes of the attributers and the descriptions of the describers. He is distant in His Closeness and close in His Distance. Thus, He is near in His Farness and Far in His Nearness. Since He created conditions, the question `how’ cannot apply to Him. He ionized space; therefore, the question `where’ cannot apply to Him. IN doing so He is the Inventor [Mubdi’] of conditions and space. O Fath! Everybody is nourished with food except the Creator, the Sustainer. Verily, He created bodies, yet He has neither body nor image. He does not have parts, not does He have an end. He does not increase or decrease. He is not composed of any substance that would be found in a body. He is the Subtle, the All-Knowing, the All-Listening, and the All-Hearing. He is the One, the Unique, and the Needless. He begets not, nor is He begotten, and there is nothing equal unto Him. He is the Producer of All things. He gave shape to all bodies and made all images. IF it were as the anthropomorphist say, then the Creator could not be distinguished from the created, the Sustainer from the sustained, or the Originator from the originated. However, He is the Producer. He differs from created bodies, images and things in that He resembles nothing. I asked: “if Allah is One and humankind is one, do they not resemble each other in oneness?” Hence, he replied: You have said something impossible. May Allah secure you! Verily, the resemblance is limited to meaning. Names are one, and they indicate what is named. When it is said that the human being is one, it means that he is one as opposed to two. But, in fact, the human being is not truly one because his body parts are different and his colors are different. He is composed of many parts which are not the same. His blood is other than his flesh. His flesh is other than his blood. His nerves are other than his veins. His hair is other than his skin. His darkness is other than his paleness. Likewise is the rest of creation. Thus, the human being in only “one” in name but not “one” in meaning. Allah, Exalted be His Majesty, is One and there is none other than Him. There is no variation, contrast, increase, or decrease in Him. As for the human being, he is created from different parts and different substances. He is only “one” in combination. I enquired: As for your statement regarding “the Subtle,” kindly explain it to me, I know, of course, that His Subtlety differs from that of others. However, I would appreciate it if you could explain it to me in greater detail. Therefore, he answered: O Fath! I said: He is Subtle in subtleness of His Creation and in His Knowledge of microscopic matter. Do you not see His Stamp on the various types of plants, both soft and rough? And do you not contemplate the subtle creation of creatures like the gnat and the mosquito and those insects which are even smaller than these two and are almost invisible to the naked eye? In fact, they are almost invisible due to their tiny size, making it virtually impossible to differentiate the male from the female, and the young from the old. Thus, when we see the smallness of creatures in their refinement, their instinct to reproduce, and their fear of death; when we see the creatures that exist in the depths of the oceans, and in the branches of trees; when we see what exists in deserts and wastelands, and that each species has a means of communication through which they are understood by their offspring; when we see how creatures feed their offspring, and how creatures are distinguished by color, red with yellow, and white with red; then, and only then do we come to appreciate the subtlety of the Creator. Verily, everything has a precursor. Allah, the Creator, the Subtle, and the Sublime created everything out of nothing. I asked: “May I be your ransom! Is there a creator other than the Sublime Creator?” He replied: Verily, Allah, the Blessed and High says: Blessed be Allah, the best of creators.1 He has certainly acknowledged that there are creators among His Servants, including Jesus, the son of Mary [Isa ibn Maryam] . He created from clay a figure of a bird by the will of Allah. Then he breathed into it, and it became a bird, by the will of Allah. And Samiri made for them the body of a calf that mooed. I enquired: “Undoubtedly `Isa created from clay a bird as a proof of his Prophethood, while Samiri made the body of calf to refute Musa’s Prophethood. Was that Allah’s will? Certainly this is astonishing.” He answered: Woe unto you, O Fath! Verily, Allah has two intents or two wills; the definite [hatm] intent, and the determined [`azm] intent. He forbids with desire, and orders without desire. Have you not seen that He banned Adam and his wife from eating from the tree while He wanted them to. Had he not willed it, they would not have eaten it, and if they had not eaten it, they would have defied Allah’s will. He ordered Ibrahim to slaughter his son Isma`il and desired him not to slaughter him. If He did not will for him to slaughter him, then Ibrahim would have defied Allah’s will, the Mighty and High. I said: “You have relieved me. May Allah relieve you! Except that you asked: `The All-Hearing and the All-Seeing, does He hear with an ear and see with an eye?” Consequently, He replied: Most certainly He hears what He sees and sees what He hears. He sees, but not with an eye like the eyes of the created. He hears, but not like the listeners listen. He hears in the sense that nothing is hidden from Him, not even the movement of a black particle on a hard rock in the dark of the night, in the depth of the Earth or in the depth of the oceans. We say: He is Seeing but not like the created. And when He comprehends all languages, and does not confuse one from another. We say: He hear, but not like others hear. I commented: “May I be your ransom! I still have one last question.” He said: “Proceed for the sake of Allah, for the good deeds of your father!” I asked: “Would He know the things that He has not made; that if He did make them, how would they be?” He answered: Woe to you! Your questions are defiantly difficult. Have you not heard Allah say? If there had been in them any gods except Allah, they would both have certainly been in a state of disorder. And His Word: And some of them would certainly have overpowered others. And He said relating an account of the people of Hell: Take us out; we will do good deeds other than those which we used to do.4 And He said: And if they were sent back, they would certainly go back to that which they are forbidden. He certainly knew what would have happened if other things had happened. I then got up to kiss his hand and feet, but he brought his head nearer: hence I kissed his face and head. I left with so much contentment and joy that I am incapable of describing what was clarified for me of virtue and fortune. The Compiler (may Allah be pleased with him) of this book says: Verily, Allah, the Blessed, the High, forbade Adam and his wife from eating from the tree while knowing that they would both eat from it. However He, the Mighty and High, decided that He would not prevent them fro eating from the tree through determination [jabr] and power [qudrah], in the same fashion that He had prohibited them from eating by order and rebuke [zajr]. Thus, this is the meaning of His Will in these two case. If He, the Mighty and High, prohibited fthem from eating by determination, and thenthey ate from it, they would have defied His will, as al- ‘Alim1 (the Learned has said. “Exalted is Allah, the Most High, from inability.