Chapte R Eight

The Perfection of Servitude As for the second example, it has been put forth by Allah regarding Himself in contrast to what is worshipped besides Him - the idols that they worship besides Him are at the station of a dumb n1ute ,vho neither understands nor speaks - in fact he is "mute'' in the heart and the tongue; incapable of manifesting thoughts or expressing words. In addition to this he is helpless and incapable of anything at all; and also wherever you send him he docs not bring you any benefit and does not fulfil any need. In contrast, Allah is the Living, All-Capable Who speaks and Commands justice and to Him leads the Straight Path, and this description fo r Him is most perfect and full of praise; His Command is just and He is the Truth, implying that He has complete knowledge o f him (i.e. n1an) and is teaching him and is pleased with him, instructing His slaves with it Gustice) and l~ves those who apply justice. He only Commands justice and in fact refrains from anything contrary to it; such as oppression, injustice, impudence and falsehood. His command and His Law are all just and the people o f justice 51 arc His allies and His beloYed, and they are those who will be near Him, to His right on pulpits of light.

His Command to act justly incorporates both the commandments of the religion that constitute His Law, and His Decrees in the natural world (i.e. existence). Both of these are just ,,~thout any deviation or injustice whatsoe,·er, as has been narrated in the authentic }:ladith, r ~~ ,.!l~ '-!~ :C 4 .~1::f ~I , .!l~~;_ ~I , !l'~ J! ,fo, ,!ljt~i ~ . J~ ' ~ ~. , "O Allah, I am Your slaYe and the son of Your male sla\·e, the so n Your female-slave, i\ly forehead is in Your Hand, Yo ur Judgments upon me is assured and Your Decree concerning me is justare just... " Reported by Ahmad His D ecrees are his Commands in the natural world - His Command is such that if I-Ie intends a matter, He only has to say to it "Be!" and it is. Thus, He does not command except what is truthful and just, and His Judgment and Predestination are all truthful and just.

He then informs (us) that He is on the Straight Path, this is like Shu'ayb's ('alayhis-Saltim) statement, l;~;_;j;~,~~)~t C. - .,, -:'.""'~ j/' ~ / ~~~.)0~~ :, J;. ----: ,t< -(/1.,:- , >~,~t . yb !> ~ . ~ "Verily, I have put my trust in Al1ah, my Lord and your Lord. There is not a beast (living creature) but He has grasp of it by the fo relock! Verily my Lo rd is on a 52 Srmight Path. H .? \ His statement: "... 110/ a beast h11t He bas ,grasp of ii 0' the.forelock!" corresponds to the phrase "J\t!y_forelock is i11 Yom· Hand" - and His saying "II()' Lord is 011 a straight palb" corresponds to the phrase "Yo11rderree isj11sl". The first is His dominion and the second is His praise, for I-Iim, Exalted is He, is the dominion and all the praise, and His being on the straight path necessitates that He says nothing except the truth and Command nothing except what is just, and that He does nothing except that has benefit, wisdom and justice.

For indeed He is Truthful in His statements and actions, so He does not take a person into account for an action that was decreed upon him but did not take place, and does not hold him accountable for sins he did not commit or did not act as a factor in, and (He) does not do anything at all that is not praiseworthy or commendable even if they lead to praiseworthy ends and desirable objectives, for His being on the straight path negates all this. Tafsirof ibnJarir al-TabarI on the Meaning of Sirci! (Path) I\1u}:iammad ibn Jarir al-TabarI said, "His statement, 'Jlt[J, Lord is 011 the ,igblpath'; be (Shu'ayb) says: A{J1 Lord is 011 the Jlla_J' of. the tnllh, he recompenses the good doerjrofll His creation 1vilh good a11d the evil doer 1vith evili I-le does not do i'!Justice to anyone at all, and does accept fro111 them accept lslafll a11d lv1ti11 (tr11e faith)." He th~n narrated from Mujahid by way of Sha'bI from Ibn AbI Nujayh - 'My Lord is on the right path', meaning the truth, and sitnilarly ibn Jura)~ has been narrated from him. Some people (of kno\vledge) said, this is like His statement "]~! Your Lord is co11sla11tfy obsen,ing the deeds of His slaves I ltid (1 t ): 56 53 lo re111ard themfor what they do." 24 - And this is just a different form of expression since His being in this state is for paying back the good doer for his good action and the evil doer for his evil.

Another group said, the statement has a meaning which is implicit (i.e. even though the words have not been explicitly mentioned) that is, my Lord urges you and encourages you to the straight path, and those people, if they intended by their statement that this was the only meaning intended by the t!Jah, then ,vhat they claimed is not true and there are no evidences for their appraisal of the implied meaning, particularly when Allah has distinguished between His Commanding justice and His being on the straight path. If they intended that His urging (His slaves) to the straight path is from the overall meaning of His saying "on the straight path" then they are correct. Another group said the meaning of His being on the 'straight path' is that the return of the slaves and all matter is to Allah, nothing passes by him. If this group meant by this saying, that this was the m<!aning of the qytih then that is not the case, but if they meant that this was from the necessary implications and consequences of His being on the straight path, then that is correct. Another group said the meaning is that everything is under His power and subjugation, and of His dominion and His grasp.

And this - even though it is true - it is not the meaning of the a_)'tih; Shu'ayb ('alqyhis-Saltim) made a distinction between his saying "There is not a heasl (living creature) but H e has grc1sp of it l!J theforelock." and his saying ''A{y urd is on the right p{llh", so these two statements have meanings independent of each other, therefore the correct intepretation is that of Mujahid and that is the statement of the major Tqftirscholars (exegetes of the Qur'an), and the Arabic Ian24 al-Fa. Jr (89): 14 54 guage does not support a different meaning without strain. Ibn Jarir said (while) praising 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-'Aziz, 'The commander of the believer is on a path .... that even if the routes haYe become crooked - is straight. And Allah said, ''Allah sends a.sfrdJ' w/Jo!II H e 1vil/s and H e guides 011 the Straight Path 1vhon1 He wills." 25 Thus, since Allah, the Most High, is the One \vho has put the Messengers (peace be upon them all) and their followers on the straight path in their speech and actions, then He, Exalted is He, is more befitted to be on the straight path in His Speech and Actions. If the path 'Which is follo\ved by the 1'fessengers and their followers is in accordance with His Command, then the path on which He, E xalted is He, necessitates His praise,vorthiness, His perfection and His Majesty and Glory, by means of true speech and action.

And with Allah lies success. Regarding the t!Jdh, there is a second opinion as in the case of the first t!Jdh; that it is an example dra,ving a comparison of the believer and the non-believer - the details of this opinion has been previously mentioned, and with Allah lies success. al-A 11'1i111 (6): 39 55 The Likeness of the One who Turns Away from Allah's Speech and From Reflecting upon It 1\nd from among these examples is Allah's statement drawing a likeness o f the one who turns away from His Speech and from reflecting upon it, ~ ,,.,, .. . . ,,,, ~ ~,, . . >,,, > •>-;~" A cyr!.J_,_i~~_:..; ~J-1 o_; ~ ·i...:.Ar>~ ~~ " \Xlhy do they turn away from the Admo nishment. as if they were (frightened) donkeys fleeing from a lion?"26 He compares them, in their turning away and fleeing from the Qur'an with donkeys that see a lion or a hunter and flee from it. And this is a marvellous example of an analogical exemplification 2(, al-M11ddt1ththir (74): 49-5 1 56 The Like11e.rs of the One 1vbo T11r11s A11'qy fro/JI Alla/ls Speech... because those people in their ignorance of \vhat Allah has sent Hi~ J\lessengers with, are like donkeys that do not comprehend ~nything. And when they hear the sound of a lion or a hunter, they run away from it most vehemently. And this is (from) the utmost form of censure of these people because they run a,vay from guidance - that contains happiness and life for them - the way in which a donkey runs a\vay from something that ,vas going to kill it or hamstring it.

The meaning resulting from the employment of the word t ~-; -~(fleeing) is more far-reaching than the word "naafirah" because it indicates the forcefulness of their fleeing is such, that they drive a,vay one another and induces others to run away. The ,vord-pattern used, contains additional meaning that indicates seeking to perform the action compared to the basic root - as if they ,vere encouraging each other to run or had conspired to do it together. And when the word is ,vith a fatpa on the letter (fa), as per one of the ways it is recited, the meaning is that the lion caused it to flee due to its severity and power. 57 The Likeness of Those who carried the Book but Did Not Implement It From these tf)'dt is Allah's staternent, "The likeness of those who are entrusted with the Torah (Law of Moses), yet apply it not, is as the likeness of the donkey carrying books (but understands nothing from them). Wretched is the likeness of the people who deny the Revelations of Allah. And Allah guides not the wrongdoing people." 27 Allah makes an analogy of the one who carries His Book and 27 al:fumm 'tih (62): 5 58 T/)(' J_jke11ess of Those 111ho carried the Book b111 Did Nol ln,plel!lenl fl believes in it, ponders over it, works according to it and calls to it, but instead he acted contrary to that and did not carry it except in his memory - meaning his recitation was without reflection or understanding or following its commands or using its judgement in all affairs nor did he act accorcling to its requirements.

His example is that of a donkey that carries on its back provisions of a journey and is unaware of \Vhat is contained in it. Its share of it is only the burden of carrying it upon its back and nothing else; similarly the share of such a person from Allah's Book is the share of this donkey of the books that are on his back. And this example, even though it was put fo rth regarding the Jews, in its meaning (it) includes the one ,vho carries the Qur'an (in his memory) but leaves off acting upon it, neither fulfilling its right nor giving it the due right. 59 The Example of One who Abandons the Signs of Allah J\nd from among these aydt is His statement, "And recite unto them the tale of him to whom \Y/c gave ( )ur Revelations, but he threw them away, so Satan overtook him and he became of those who went astray. And had We wiUcd \Y/c could have raised hiin by their means, but he clung to the earth and followed his own desires. Therefore his likeness is as the Hkencss 60 ,,t' , \i, ,~: ,f , , ,u ,m.,~h hi,n. hl· p;un:-. with his 1nnp,,1l' ,,nt, ~,nd if .,·,,u k·:w"· him ht· (~till) p:uHs with hi~ ton~1 <.: . ,,ut. ~\l( h b the likl·tw:-s l)f the, pcnpk whn deny ( )ur R<.'\'d ,uiuns.

N ~u ·1'.\t\' rnltn tht·m the :--turil·s (of the p:tst), pcrh~,ps tlwy nuy t~1kc tlh m~h1:•:s .\ ll:ih in thi~ •[r,1h likens the ont· to whon1 I le gavt· I lis Book and r.w~ht hin1 knowledgl.' th~,t He excluded others fron1 having, but thi~ r ·c~ o n g.l\' l.' it up ~,nd chose to fnllow his v:1in desires - choosin~ .\ ll:ih'~ \Yr.uh o,·er Hi~ Pk:1~urc. and the ,vorldly life over the l-krc~tfrc:r. :-tnd the cn:at ed beings over the C reator - with the dog \,·hich is fro tn ~1n1ong th<.: wo n-t of anin1:1ls, and the lowest in value; '- ll1t'.1tling in tenns o f its self - its desire docs not surpass its bel1y - :111d < 5~) the n1o st keen in safeguarding its own selfish interests. .-\n e.., ~n1ple of this is that it does not ,valk except ,vith its snout t.1n the ground, sn1elling and sniffing - and keeps on sniffing its re.ir end fro n1 among all the parts of its body. If you toss a stone Jt it, it runs after it, to bite it, ,vith its teeth due to its extreme Yor3ciry; ir is fron1 among the n1ost despicable of animals, the most tolerant in bearing degradation, and the most content ,vith low things. It prefers stinking putrid carcass to fresh meat and 61th to pleasant food; if it comes in possession of a dead anin1al thlt would suffice a hundred dogs, it ,vould still not allo,v a single dog to partake of it, growling at it, due to its greed and selfishness. And fro n1 amongst its strange behaYiour is that if it sees someone o f a shabby appearance and clothes and poor condition, it barks at him and attacks him as if perceiving him to be a contender in its power - \vhile if it sees someone with a good appear- :ince and beautiful attire and a commanding presence, it puts its -· 61 snout down submissively on the ground to him, not even raising its head. And in Allah's likening of the one who prefers the worldly life and its hastened pleasures over the final abode - despite his abundant knowledge - to a dog in the intensity of its yearning (for low things), there is a marvellous subtlety (here): this person, whose condition as Allah has mentioned in regard to his withdrawing from the signs of Allah and choosing to follow his vain desires, it is only due to his extren1e yearning for worldly desires and due to his heart being cut off from Allah and the final abode.

He resembles in this respect the dog in its constant panting, whether it is provoked or left alone. The words ''lahj' (yearning) and "/ahth" (panting) are siblings in word construction and meaning. Ibn Jurayj sajd: "The dog is insensate (cut off from emotion and feeling) whether you attack it or leave it alone it simply pants, which is the condition of the one who leaves guidance because he lacks a heart." I say: the meaning of its heart being insensate is that it does not have the soundness of heart and mind to be tranquil and leave off its panting; this is the condition of the one who withdraws himself from Allah's Signs, he does not have left in him the soundness of heart that lets him be patient to help him resist ,vorldly desires and his yearning for them. He yearns for the world due to his lacking patience, just as the dog pants for water, since the dog is the least patient of animals when it comes to water; if it gets thirsty it even starts eating the soil (in an attempt to quell his thirst) - although he is more patient when it comes to hunger - but nevertheless, of alJ the animals it is the most intense in its panting, doing it continuously whether standing sitting or walking. This is due to the severity of its yearning and keenness, the feverish in· 62 n e E xample ef On~ 11 1JtJ .'4bando,v I~ Sigr,1 if Allah tensity in its lfrer (of this keenness) and yearning necessit2tes its constant panting and in a corresponding manner~ the 5e\-ere zcaJ and fc\·erish Jus ting in his heart (i.e. the person described in the example) causes him to be in a state of constant yearning.

If you approach him \\ith exhortation and ad";ce he still contiI1ues to yearn , and if ,you lea,·e him and do not admonish him, he still \·earns. ~fujahjd said, "And this is the likeness of the one "·ho is ~-eo the Book but docs not act acco rding to it." fbn 'Abbas said, "If yo u charge him \\-;th ~;sdom he does not accep t it and if you Iea,·e him, he is not guided to goodness just as a dog that pants \\·hether sitting on its paws or \\'hether it is drh·en awa\·." ,\I-Hasan al-B~ ri sajd, "It is the hypocrite who does not remain firm o n the truth, whether he is called to it or not, admonished or not, ]jke the dog \\·ho pants whether it is dri,·en away or left. .. it barks whether \·ou attack it or not." :\bu ..\1ulµmmad ibn Qutaybah said, "EYery creature that pants does it due to weariness or of thirst except for a dog, ·w hjch does it in al1 co nditio ns: fatigue, rest, good health, illness and whether thirsty o r not. Therefore Allah has made it an example for the one \\'ho belies the signs of Allah." He also said, "Even if you advise him, he remains astray, and if you leave him alo ne he still remains ~~tray, just Jjke a dog. If you drive it away or rebuke it, it pants and if you leave it to its condition it still pants. The complement of thjs likeness is in Allah's statem ent ''A11d if)'OU call them lo the G11idal-/1'raj (7): 193 63 anre, thcJ fa/1011 1)'OIi 110/. fl7helher_yo11 rail the111 or are silent is all one lo the111. •,i<1 Reflect on what lies in this example of wisdom and meaning, from among these are Allah's saying, "lo 1JJbo1n ir?e gat'e Our R evelations" - Allah informs us that He ,vas the One who gave and besto,ved him ,vith His Revelations as a blessing from Him, therefore Allah attributed it (i.e. this act of besto,ving) to Himself, and then said "but he cast them off' i.e. he ,vithdre,v himself from them just as a snake draws its body out of its skin (by shedding it). He departs from the Revelations of Allah just like the skin of a snake is left aside fro m its flesh.

He did not say, "U7e caused hilll lo 1vithdra1v from them" because he (i.e. man) himself was responsible in causing his departure from Allah's a_)'a! by his act of pursuing his vain desires. Fro m among these signs to be reflected are His saying, "so Shay/an ol'e1took hi111" i.e. he (Shaytan) pursued him and caught up \.Vith him , as Allah said (using the same word) about the people of Pharaoh wh en he and his people chased ~loses and his followers at the time o f sunrise. Thus, he had been preserved and safeguarded by the sign of Allah, his flanks protected from Shayrful w ho co uld not get anything out of him except in the case of som e brief inattentiveness. However as soon he withdrew from the Revelations of Allah, Shaytan was able to get an upper hand o n him just as the lion corners his prey and he became from among the misled ones, who do deeds contrary to their kno,vledge - those who know the truth but still act contrarily to it, such as scholars o f evil. And fro n1 a1nong these subtleties is His saying, "A nd had IPi lf/ illed We could have raised him 01 their means'' - Allah, Exalted is He, 64 The [;-.xa11,ple of O,u ,,.ho, . 1hm1do11.r !hr Sig11s qf A/1,ih info rms that elevation of rank ,vith Allah is not merely by knowlc:d< Te - for tl1is man was from amongst those ,vith knowledge; b rather it con1es ,vith following the truth and preferring it and scckinob Allah's Pleasure.

This man was fro1n the n1ost knowledgeable of his generation, but still Al1ah did not elevate him due to his knowledge alone, and did rlOt benefit him \Vith it - SO WC Seek AJlah's refuge from kno,vlcdgc that docs not bring benefit. Allah informs us that it is He who raises the slave, if He so \vills, with what He has bestowed upon hin1 of knowledge, and if He docs not raise him then he remains abase, no one can raise his head high because the One ,vho lo,vers and raises is Allah, Exalted is He (who abased hin1 and did not raise hin1). And the meaning of this phrase is: 'had \Xie wished we would have preferred him and hono ured hin1 and raised his value and position with the signs and Revelations \Y/e had grant.e d him'. lbn 'Abbas said (regarding the 1neaning) , "Had UVe JJJished, 111e 111011/d have raised hin, d11e to his k11ou'1edge of these signs. '' A group said that the pronoun in His statement: "we ,vould have raised "him" points back to disbelief, i.e. had We wished we would have lifted disbelief off of him because of what was \vith him of Our Revelations." Mujahid and cAta' sajd the meaning was: "\Y/e would have raised away from hitn disbelief and replaced it with belief and would have safeguarded him." And this meaning is correct; although the first meaning is the true intent of the ayah, the latter n1eaning is fron1 among the consequences of the intent of the ayah. And it has previously been discussed that the Sa/ef(pious predecessors) sometimes bring to our attention the conse,1uenccs of the meanings of the qyiil, which son1e people might conjecture to 1nean that this consequence is the con1p1ete intended meaning of the l!)'(lh.

And regarding His statement, "He inclined lo the earth!, life", 65 S:1 id ibn Jubayr s:1id, "He leaned towards the earthly life." 1 ~1ujahid said, "He sought to dwell in the earth." Muqatil said, "He was content with the earthly life." Abu Ubavdah said "He adhered to the earth and desired to . ' linger." And the (Arabic word used in the a_)'ab) "1JJ11khlid" means a person who tarries and lingers in his walk (and) when it is used for animals, it means the riding anin1als whose medial incisors remain until its lateral incisors emerge. A]-Zujjaj said the origin of Khalada and akhlada is from kh11/,id whkh means perpetuation and remainder. And the phrase 'akhlada /11/iimm hi/111akd11' indicates the act of staying or establishing oneself in a place. I say: An example of the usage of the word is in the a_J'ah, "There J11i!I be bqys made immortal to serve the!JJ.

"30 - In that they have been created for eternity, neither changing nor gro\ving older, all of the same age. It was also said: they are those wearing (rings) in their ears and bracelets on their hands; the group taking this opinion have interpreted the word by some of the consequences, i.e. according to them, these are manifestations of takhlid (perpetually) at the age, so there is no contradiction between the two optruons. And regarding His statement, "He followed his vain desires", al-KalbI said, "He pursued lowly matters and left aside lofty ones." ·'" al-U'/ciqi'ah (56): 17 66 ... ( ,d l11111do11.r /hr J.::, ·,1111/>lr )11r 11,/J() __ - - --- ·--- ?f / 1//,ih _... .\~J!/ll ;\hi"1 R:tWlJ s:tid, ··t·lc chose thi s world over the 1-fcrc~,ftcr." 'At:1' s;1id, "I le desired the world anJ obeyed his devil." lbn Zayd said, "His desire conforrncd to his people, meaning thn~c who wag ed war ngainst (Prophet) Musa and his nation." Y:unan said, "He folJowcd his wife, who urged him to do what he did." If it is said, the wo rd '/akin' (but) is "remedial", i.e. it requires establishing the negation of the dausc before it, or conversely the negatio n o f the clause established befo re it, as in yo ur saying: "if I \vished 1 would have given him but I did no t give hi1n" o r " if I wjshed I would have d o ne so but I did not do so.'' Here (i.e. in J\llah's statement), it requires 'I-lad We wished We 111011/d hr111e raised his 1llith them', [but we did not wish it or did not raise him] , so how is it that the remedial clause has come as "He inclined to the emth", after His statement, "Had We wished, JJJe wo11ld've raised hi111 111ith them"? In response to trus, it has been said: This is a statement in which the meaning is observed without abiding by the actual words (as meanings are noted and expressed), and that is because the meaning contained in His statement, ''And had We Willed We could have raised him by their means" is that he did not partake of the factors that would cause his status to be raised through Allah's Revelations, i.e. choosing Allah's Pleasure over his own vain desires, instead he preferred the worldly life, inclining towards earthly desires and following his whims.

Al-Zamakhshari said, "The meaning is that, if he remained steadfast o n acting upon Allah's Revelation and did not abandon them, We would have raised rum due to them - and that is because the 67 Will of Allah to raise him was a consequence to hls holding fast to the1n - so the Wish and the \X'ill of Allah,vas a consequence of it (i.e. his following of vain desires and abandoning the signs of Allah), as if it had been said, "had he heldfast to them 1pe 1vould have raised his status /?_Y thefll." He (Zamakhshari) goes on to say: "Do you not see His saying "bttt he i11cli11ed to the earth", so the will of Allah was modified by the person's desire to remain in the world, which was his own action that necessitates the statement "had We wished" in meaning to be equivalent to his action. And if the apparent meaning of the statement had been 1neant, it would have been said: "Had we \vished, we \-vould have raised him, but we did not wish it". (Ibn al-Qayyim says), and this is just noise made from alZamakhshari, which v.re know has been said by a Qadari who denies qadr (predestination) and seeks to take words far away from their true meaning, trying to make Allah's Words fit the Mu'tazili doctrine. Where is the statement of Allah "had We 1vished" from his (Zamakhshari's statement) f'had he held fast to them", let alone the saying that holding fast to the Revelations of Allah is dependent on the Will of Allah, which is the correct truthful vie,v, the origin of his statement will be falsified. Furthermore, AlZa1nakhshari's statement that Allah's Will comes after (the man's) holding fast to Allah's Revelations, is indeed from the worst and most false of statements because the actual truth is that his holding fast to the Revelations, follows the Will of Allah, as Allah's WilJ is followed and does not follow - it is a causing agent not a result of other causes, and a requisite not a consequence. Whatever Allah Wills is required to exist, and what He does not Will docs not. 68