answered, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Hear ye! I heard the Messenger of God say, “A time of discord will certainly occur.” I asked, “What will be the way out of it, O Messenger of God?” He answered, “The Book of God. In it is an account of those who came before you and a report of those who will come after you, and judgment between your disputing parties. It is decisive speech, and not frivolity. Whatever tyrant forsakes it, God will batter down. Whoever seeks guidance in any other source, God will lead astray. It is God’s sturdy cable, the wise message, and the straight path. People do not tire of hearing it and so turn their attention elsewhere, nor do their tongues falter in reciting it. Scholars never get their fill of it. It is not worn out by repetition, and its wonders never cease. When the genies heard it, they soon declared, «We have heard a wondrous Qurʾan, which guides to righteousness, so we have accepted belief in it.»66 He who speaks thereby will speak the truth, and he who practices thereby will be rewarded, he who judges thereby will be just, he who calls thereto will guide to the straight path, and he who seeks protection in it will be safe.” Take this to heart, O Aʿwar.’”67
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فأخبر رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلّم أنّ في القرآن نبأ من مضى ومن يأتي والحكم والهدى والفصل والقضاء. ولذلك سمّاه١ الله تعالى حكمًا وتبيانًا وهدًى وشفاءً . وأخبر رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله أنّه من ابتغى٢ الهدى في غيره أضلّه الله. فكيف يزعم هؤلاء الجاهلون أنّ شيئًا تعبّد الله سبحانه به خلقه لم ينزله في كتابه ولا بعث به رسوله؟ وإذا كان ذلك كذلك فكيف تعبّد الله الخلق به ؟ ومن ذا الذي علّمهم علم ذلك إذا لم يكن في كتاب الله ولا جاء على لسان رسوله ؟
١ ز: سمّى. ٢ ل: اتّبع.
The Messenger of God reported that the Qurʾan contains accounts of past and future generations, wisdom, guidance, decisive pronouncements, and legal rulings. In addition, God called the Qurʾan wisdom, an explanation, guidance, and a cure. The Messenger of God reported that if anyone seeks guidance in any other source besides it, God will lead him astray. How can these ignorant people claim that God chose to impose as faith on his people something which He did not reveal in His Book and which He did not convey through His Messenger? This being the case, how could God impose such a thing on creation, and who could teach it to them, when such knowledge is not to be found in the Book of God, nor has it come down to us in the utterances of His Messenger?
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وهو صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله لم يعلّم إلّا ما علّمه الله عزّ وجلّ ولم يتّبع إلّا ما أتاه من عنده. قال الله جلّ ذكره {قُلْ إِنَّمَآ أَتَّبِعُ مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ مِن رَّبِّى} وقال تعالى {وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُن تَعْلَمُ ۚ وَكَانَ فَضْلُ ٱللهِ عَلَيْكَ عَظِيمًا} وقالت الملائكة له جلّ ذكره {سُبْحَٰنَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ}. فادّعى هؤلاء الجهّال بزعمهم أنّهم يستنبطون من الأحكام والحلال والحرام ما ليس في كتاب الله ولا في سنّة رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلّم منزلة فوق منزلة١ الأنبياء والملائكة، وصدفوا عن أمر الله وخالفوا كتابه وادّعوا أنّهم ينزلون من الأحكام مثل ما أنزله جرأةً على الله واستخفافًا بدينه٢ واستكبارًا على أوليائه واستنكافًا عن٣ الردّ إلى من أمرهم جلّ ذكره بردّ ما لا يعلمونه إليه وسؤال من أمر بسؤاله من أهل الذكر من عباده. فردّوا إلى أنفسهم ما جهلوه وسألوها عمّا لم يعلموه ردًّا لقول الله عزّ وجلّ وخلافًا عليه.
١ خ: منازل. ٢ ل: لدينه. ٣ خ، ل: من.
The Messenger taught only what God taught him, and followed only that which came to him from God. God said, «Say: I follow only that which is inspired in me from my Lord»68 and «He taught you that which you did not know. God’s bounty toward you has been immense.»69 The angels addressed God: «Glory be to You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. You are indeed the Knowing and Wise!»70 By claiming that they derive rulings concerning lawful and unlawful things which are not found in the Book of God or the Practice of the Messenger of God, these ignorant people have asserted for themselves a status above that of the prophets and the angels. They have turned away from the command of God, contradicted His Book, and claimed to reveal legal rulings just as God did, insolently affronting Him, looking with contempt on His religion, arrogantly defying His chosen wards,71 disdaining to refer what they do not know to those to whom He commanded them to refer, and declining to consult the People of Knowledge among His worshipers whom He commanded them to consult.72 So they instead referred that about which they were ignorant to themselves and consulted themselves regarding what they did not know, rejecting and violating the word of God.
الباب الرابع
ذكر مذهب أهل الحقّ فيما لم يُعلم وجه الحقّ فيه
Chapter Four
The Method of the Adherents of the Truth When the Correct Ruling on an Issue Is Not Known
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أثبتُ ما أعتمد عليه في هذا الباب وأصحُّ ما أحتجّ به لما قصدت إليه في هذا الكتاب بعد كتاب الله وسنّة نبيّه محمّد صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلّم ما عهده إليّ الإمام المعزّ لدين الله أمير المؤمنين صلوات الله عليه وعلى آبائه الطاهرين الهداة الرّاشدين في كتاب
