Читать книгу Disagreements of the Jurists - al-Qadi al-Nu'man - Страница 10

الباب الخامس

ذكر أصحاب التقليد والردّ عليهم في انتحالهم إيّاه

Chapter Five

Against Arbitrary Submission to Authority

٤٦46

قد تلونا فيما تقدّم من أبواب هذا الكتاب من قول الله جلّ ذكره في الأمر^١ باتّباع كتابه وسنّة رسوله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله والردّ إلى أولي الأمر وسؤال أهل الذكر ما إن كرّرناه في هذا الباب وفيما بعده من الأبواب ما يحتاج فيها إلى الاحتجاج به طال^٢ بذلك الكتاب ، وفيما تقدّم ذكره من ذلك حجّة وبلاغ لذوي الألباب .

١ ساقطة في ل: في الأمر. ٢ ل: لطال.

In the preceding chapters of this book, we have already cited the word of God in the Qurʾan conveying His command to follow His Book and the Practice of His Messenger, and to refer to the Ones in Authority and to consult the People of Knowledge. If we were to repeat the quotations of the Qurʾan in this and the following chapters whenever there is need to cite such evidence as an argument, the book would grow too long, so let what has been mentioned above concerning this point suffice as effective proof and delivery of the message for readers endowed with perception.

٤٧47

فلم يأمر الله بتقليد أحد بعد رسوله والأخذ عنه فيما جهله من جهله غير أولي الأمر الذين أقامهم بعد الرسول في السمع والطاعة في مقامه ونصبهم لبيان^١ ما أشكل علی الأمّة من فرائض دينه وأحكامه واحدًا بعد واحد في كلّ زمان وعصر قائم منهم وشاهد. فمن ردّ إلى من لم يأمر الله عزّ وجلّ بالردّ إليه و قلّد من لم يأذن بتقليده فاتّبعه وقال بقوله وتديّن به وزعم أنّه الحقّ الذي أمر الله عزّ وجلّ به ولم يأمر الله به فقد اتّخذ إلهًا من دونه وأشرك به . قال الله تعالى {ٱتَّخَذُوٓا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَٰنَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ ٱللهِ} وهم يروون أنّ عديّ بن حاتم قال أتيت النبيّ صلّى الله عليه لمّا أسلمت فرأى في عنقي صليبًا من ذهب ، فقال لي ألقِ هذا الوثن من عنقك. ثمّ افتتح^٢ بسورة براءة حتّى إذا انتهى إلى قوله {ٱتَّخَذُوٓا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَٰنَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ ٱللهِ} فقلت يا رسول الله ما كنّا نعبدهم. فقال أليس كانوا يحلّلون لكم ويحرّمون عليكم فتستحلّون ما أحلّوه وتحرّمون ما حرّموه ؟ فقلت بلى. فقال فتلك عبادتهم. وتلا هذه الآية جعفر بن محمّد صلوات الله عليه ثمّ قال إنّهم ما صلّوا إليهم ولا صاموا لهم ولكنّهم أحلّوا لهم حرامًا فاستحلّوه وحرّموا عليهم حلالًا فحرّموه فكانوا لهم بذلك أربابًا. ومن هذا ونحوه قول النبيّ صلّى الله عليه وعلی آله لتسلكنّ سبل الأمم قبلكم حذو النعل بالنعل والقذّة بالقذّة حتّى لو دخلوا جحر^٣ ضبّ لدخلتموه. وروي عن عليّ صلوات الله عليه أنّه قال أدنى ما يكون به المرء مشركًا أن يتديّن بشيء يزعم أنّ الله أمر به ولم يأمر به الله عزّ وجلّ وإنّما أمر به من دونه، ويعبد من زعم أنّه أمر بذلك وهو غير الله عزّ وجلّ فيشرك به. ثمّ قال عليه السلام إنّ من الشرك ما هو أخفى من الذرّة السوداء على المسح الأسود في الليلة الظلماء^٤. وتلا قول الله عزّ وجلّ {وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِٱللهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ}.

١ ل: لتبيان. ٢ ل: افتح. ٣ ز، ل: حجر. ٤ ل: المظلمة.

God commanded that, after the passing of His Messenger, no one be regarded as an ultimate authority or accepted as a point of reference by the ignorant with regard to their ignorance except the Ones in Authority, whom He established after the Messenger to be heeded and obeyed in his place, and whom He appointed, one after the other, in every age and epoch, to explain the obligations and rulings of His faith that perplex the members of the nation, to undertake their leadership, and to act as a witness among them. Whoever refers matters to someone whom God did not command be consulted as a reference, and whoever accepts as an authority someone whom God did not permit to be accepted as such, following him, professing his opinions, holding that to be part of his faith, and claiming that it is the truth which God commanded, has adopted a god other than Him and attributed a partner to God the Exalted. For God said, «They adopted their rabbis and their monks as lords instead of God!»⁸⁴ They have related that ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim recounted, “When I converted to Islam, I came before the Prophet, God bless him, and he saw a cross of gold on my neck. He said to me, ‘Cast off that idol from your neck.’ Then he began reciting the Sūrah of the Ultimatum⁸⁵ and continued until he reached God’s word, «They adopted their rabbis and their monks as lords instead of God.»⁸⁶ I broke in, ‘O Messenger of God, we did not worship them.’ He posed the question, ‘Did they not declare things permitted for you or forbidden to you, and did you not consider what they had permitted or forbidden to be so?’ ‘Yes, certainly,’ I responded. ‘So that was worshiping them,’ he said.”⁸⁷ Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad, God’s blessings be upon him, recited this verse, then said, “The Jews and Christians did not pray to them, nor did they fast for them, but the rabbis and monks made forbidden things lawful for them, and they considered them lawful, and made lawful things forbidden for them, and they considered them forbidden, so that, in this way, they became their lords.” Among such reports, and similar to them, is the statement of the Prophet, “Indeed you will tread the path of the nations before you, as much as one sandal resembles its mate, or an arrow-feather its match. Even if they entered a lizard’s lair, likewise you too would enter it.” It has been related from ʿAlī, God’s blessings upon him, that he said, “The least thing by which a man may be a polytheist is that he adopt something as his faith and claim that God commanded it, when God did not command it, but rather another besides God commanded it. He would then be worshiping the one who claims that God commanded this, who is other than God and thus would be attributing a partner to God.” Then ʿAlī, peace be upon him, said, “Polytheism can be even harder to see than a black speck on a black surface on a dark night,” and he recited God’s word, «Most of them do not believe in God without attributing partners to Him.»⁸⁸

٤٨48

وقد أبان عن ذمّ التقليد في غير موضع من كتابه وعلى لسان رسوله لغير من افترض طاعته وأمر بالأخذ عنه والقبول منه. فقال جلّ من قائل {وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا إِلَىٰ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللهُ وَإِلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ قَالُوا حَسْبُنَا مَا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ ءَابَآءَنَآ} وقال {مَّنِ ٱهْتَدَىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِى لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا ۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ.} وقال {وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ ٱلظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَٰلَيْتَنِى ٱتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ ٱلرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا يَٰوَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِى لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ ٱلذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَنِى.} وقال {إِذْ تَبَرَّأَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتُّبِعُوا مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوا وَرَأَوُا ٱلْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ ٱلْأَسْبَابُ وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوا لَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تَبَرَّءُوا مِنَّا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُرِيهِمُ ٱللهُ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ حَسَرَٰتٍ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ وَمَا هُم بِخَٰرِجِينَ مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ}. وقال عزّ وجلّ مخبرًا عن المقلّدين {وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَآ إِنَّآ أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَآءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا ٱلسَّبِيلَا۠} في آي كثيرة يذمّ فيها عزّ وجلّ من قلّد من لم يؤمر بتقليده ويأمر باتّباع من أمر الله عزّ وجلّ باتّباعه .

In more than one passage of His Book and utterance of His Messenger, God explicitly condemned the adoption as an authority of anyone other than those to whom He imposed obedience, commanding that their rulings be adopted and their opinions be accepted. God said, «When they are told: Come to what God revealed and to the Messenger, they say, “Enough for us are the ways we found our forefathers following”»;⁸⁹ «He who is guided is guided for his own soul, and he who goes astray goes astray on account of his own soul. No soul may bear another’s burden»;⁹⁰ «On a day when the oppressor will bite his hand and say, “Would that I had followed the path with the Messenger. Woe is me! Would that I had not adopted So-and-so as a companion. He led me astray from the Message after it came to me”»;⁹¹ and «When those who were followed disavow those who followed them and see the torment, and the ties between them are severed, those who followed them will say, “If only we could return once again! We would then disavow them, just as they have disavowed us.” Thus will God show them their deeds as anguish for them, and they will not emerge from the Fire.»⁹² Quoting the speech of those who adopted others as authorities, God said, «They said, “Our Lord! We obeyed our masters and our leaders, but they led us astray from the right path.”»⁹³ And there are many other such verses in which He censures those who adopt as authorities those whom He did not command to be so adopted and commands that one follow those whom He did command be followed.

٤٩49

وقد رووا عن ابن عمر أنّه قال سمعت رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله يقول العلم في ثلاثة: آية محكمة و فريضة عادلة و سنّة قائمة، وما سوى ذلك فهو ضلال. وقال تركت فيكم أمرين لن تضلّوا ما إن تمسّكتم بهما كتاب الله وسنّتي. وإنّي أخاف على أمّتي من بعدي من أعمال ثلاثة من حكم جائر وزلّة عالم وهوى متّبع. فهذه روايتهم وفيها أكبر الحجّة على من قلّد أسلافهم منهم .

They have related from Ibn ʿUmar that he said, “I heard the Messenger of God say, ‘Knowledge lies in three things: an unequivocal verse, a just obligation, and a practice upheld. Everything but these is miscreance.’”⁹⁴ The Messenger also stated, “I have left among you two things which, if you hold fast to them, you will not go astray: the Book of God and my Practice”; and “I fear three things that may afflict my nation when I am gone: the rule of a tyrant, the slip of a scholar, and the whim of a leader with followers.”⁹⁵ These are examples of the reports they have related that contain the most substantial argument against those among them who have accepted the authority of their predecessors.

٥٠50

فأمّا الثابت من الرواية الصحيحة أنّه قال النبيّ صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله تركت فيكم أمرين^١ ما إن تمسّكتم بهما لن تضلّوا من بعدي كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي وإنّهما لن يفترقا حتّى يردا على الحوض كهاتين، وجمع بين المسبّحتين من يديه جميعًا وساوى بينهما وقال ولا أقول كهاتين. وجمع بين المسبّحة والوسطى من يده اليمنى إحداهما تسبق الأخرى. وهما الثقلان فلن تزالوا بخير ما تمسّكتم بهما. ورووا عن رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله أنّه قال بئس مطيّة الرجل زعم. في أخبار كثيرة . وفيما ذكرناه منها مع نصّ الكتاب بلاغ لذوي الألباب.

١ ز: الثقلين.

It is established as soundly transmitted that the Prophet stated, “I have left among you two things which, as long as you hold fast to them, you will not go astray after me: the Book of God and my progeny, the People of my House. They will not separate until they come to the Heavenly Pool, like these two”—and he held the index fingers of his two hands together, even with each other. He continued, “I do not say like these two”—and he held the index finger and middle finger from his right hand together, with one sticking out farther than the other. “These are the two weighty matters. You will remain in a good state as long as you hold fast to them.” They have related from the Messenger of God that he said, “What an unsturdy mount for man is mere assertion!” along with many other similar reports. Perspicacious readers will find a sufficient communication of the point in those reports that we have cited, together with the unequivocal text of the Book.

٥١51

وقد ذكرنا فيما تقدّم قولهم^١ في تقليد الصحابة وترك الخروج عن قولهم إلى غيره وإنكار بعضهم تقليدهم عليهم ممّا يتعاظمه عامّتهم ويرونه كالخروج عن^٢ الملّة عندهم جهلًا منهم حتّى أنّ بعض من يأبى من التقليد منهم لم يصرّح بالردّ في إنكار تقليدهم عليهم إلّا بإشارات وكنايات ولو عقلوا لكان في تقليدهم من لم يأمر الله عزّ وجلّ بتقليده أعظم النكير عليهم ولكنّهم همج ما سبق^٣ إليهم وعظم في صدورهم قام مقام الحقّ عندهم .

١ ز: أقوالهم. ٢ خ: عن، وفي ز، ل: من. ٣ ز: سيق.

We have mentioned above the Sunnis’ doctrine concerning submission to the authority of the Companions and avoidance of abandoning their opinions in favor of others, and the fact that a certain Sunni denounced them for their adoption of the Companions as authorities, which the common people among them, out of their ignorance, consider a tremendous matter and see as tantamount to leaving the Muslim nation, as they conceive of it. This is true to such an extent that one of them who rejected submission to such illegitimate authorities did not explicitly state his refutation and denunciation of their adoption of their predecessors as authorities, but did so only by means of allusion and indirect references. If his statements were but understood, they would constitute the gravest denunciation of them in their submission to authorities whom God did not command to be followed. They, however, are an ignorant rabble: what they first became accustomed to has grown great in their hearts and has taken the place of the truth with them.

٥٢52

وأكثر ما احتجّوا في تقليدهم بحديث رووه بزعمهم عن رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله قال أصحابي كالنجوم بأيّهم اقتديتم اهتديتم. فزعموا أنّ كلّ من صحب رسول الله يقتدى به في كلّ ما يقوله^١ ويفعله ويأمر به وينهى عنه. وأوجبوا بذلك تقليد جميعهم والأخذ عنهم ما أتوا به ممّا ليس في كتاب الله عزّ وجلّ بزعمهم ولا في سنّة نبيّهم . وقد أصبنا هؤلاء الذين زعموا أنّهم أصحاب رسول الله قد تفرّقوا واختلفوا من بعده وتحاجزوا واقتتلوا وقتل بعضهم بعضـًا. والحديث الذي احتجّوا به يمنع نصّه من ذلك فيما بينهم ويبيح قتلهم لغيرهم ويهدر دماءهم لهم ويتفاحش إن حُملت عليه أحكامهم.

١ ل: يقول له.

The strongest proof they have cited for their submission to the authority of the Companions is an oral report which they claim to have transmitted from the Messenger of God, in which he said, “My Companions are like the stars. No matter which of them you follow, you will be led aright.”⁹⁶ They claimed that everyone who accompanied the Messenger of God should be emulated in everything which he said and did, commanded and forbade. Thus, they made it obligatory to follow all the Companions and to adopt the positions they espoused regarding what they claim is not addressed in the Book of God or in the Practice of their Prophet. Yet we have found that those who they claimed were the Companions of the Messenger of God devolved into factions and differed among themselves after his demise, disputing, fighting, and even killing each other. The text of the Prophetic report that they cited as proof expressly denies that they would do this to each other, and yet declares it permissible to them to kill others and spill their blood. It would be an enormity if Islamic legal rulings were based on the logical implications of this report.

٥٣53

فأمّا ما يمنع من ذلك^١ اختلافهم مع ما ذكرناه من ذمّ الله عزّ وجلّ الاختلاف وأهله ممّا أثبتناه فيما قدّمنا ذكره فإنّه لم يكن ينبغي لمن فعل فعلًا منهم أن يخالفه فيه غيره منهم ولا من غيرهم إذ كان رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله قد أمر بالاقتداء^٢ به فخالفوا في هذا أمر رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله ولو ذهبنا^٣ أن نذكر اختلافهم^٤ وما اختلفوا فيه لخرج عن^٥ حدّ الكتاب لكثرته واتّساع القول فيه . منها اختلافهم أوّلًا في الإمامة وأنّ الأنصار أوّل من قام بها وأرادوا عقدها لبعضهم وأنّ المهاجرين أبوا ذلك عليهم وخاصموهم . وكان ينبغي لهم على ظاهر الحديث أن لا يخالفوهم وأن يقتدوا بهم لا سيّما أنّ اختلافهم هذا كان في أصل عظيم من أصول الدين والقول في اختلافهم فيه يطول .

١ ساقطة في ل. ٢ ز: بافتداء خ: باقتدائه، ل: باقتداء. ٣ كذا في ز، خ، ل، ولعلّ الصواب: رأينا أو أردنا. ٤ ز: اختلافاتهم. ٥ ل: نخرج من.

What prohibits them from disagreeing—together with God’s censure of disagreement and its proponents that we have cited and quoted in the course of our discussion above—is the principle that when one Companion performs an act, someone else, whether a Companion or otherwise, must not contradict him in that, since the Messenger of God commanded that one emulate each Companion’s behavior. So, in their disunity they violated the command of the Messenger of God. If we set out to discuss all their disagreements and disputes, we would exceed the bounds of this book, because of their great number and the lengthy narratives required to explain them. One example of their disagreements was their first, over the Imamate: the Allies at first sought to assume it for themselves, desiring to appoint one of their own number to the position, but the Emigrants opposed them and refused to allow them this privilege.⁹⁷ It should have been obligatory for the Emigrants, on the grounds of the plain meaning of the Prophetic report, not to oppose the Allies, but rather to emulate them, especially since this disagreement of theirs was over a tremendous and fundamental principle of the faith. A full discussion of their disagreement over this matter would take too long.

٥٤54

ومن ذلك ما اختلفوا فيه من الأحكام والحلال والحرام فأحلّ بعضهم ما حرّمه الآخرون منهم وكان الواجب على ظاهر الحديث أن لا يخالفوهم وأن يقتدوا بمن سبق في ذلك إلى قول منهم فلم يفعلوا بل تمادوا على اختلافهم وذلك كثير يطول ذكره ومعلوم لا يدفعه المخالف ولا ينكره^١. ومن ذلك ما أنكر بعضهم على بعض فمنهم من رجع إلى قول من أنكر عليه ومنهم من تمادى على أمره ولم يرجع عنه نظير ما روي عن عمر أنّه قال لأبي بكر لمّا أراد قتال أهل اليمامة ليس لك ذلك. إنّي سمعت رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله يقول أمرت أن أقاتل الناس حتّى يقولوا لا إله إلّا الله ، فإذا قالوها فقد عصموا منّي دماءهم وأموالهم إلّا بحقّها وحسابهم على الله. قال له أبو بكر من حقّها الزكاة وقد منعوها. وتمادى على قتالهم، فلا عمر اقتدى بأبي بكر أوّلاً فترك الاعتراض عليه ولا أبو بكر اقتدى بعمر فيما ذكر له وأشار به عليه .

١ ل: ينكر.

Other instances are the rulings concerning lawful and unlawful matters over which the Companions disagreed. Some of them declared lawful what others of them declared unlawful, when it should have been necessary, according to the plain meaning of the Prophetic report, that they forgo contradicting each other and rather emulate those Companions who had expressed an opinion on that matter before they did. Yet they did not do this and instead persisted in their disagreement. This was a frequent occurrence, a description of which would be excessively long, and a well-known fact that no opponent may reject or deny. These include rulings that one of them denounced another for making. In some cases, one Companion changed his opinion to that of the one who denounced him, but in others, he stuck to his original opinion and did not abandon his view. An example of this is what has been transmitted on the authority of ʿUmar, to the effect that he told Abū Bakr, when he was planning to go to war against the inhabitants of al-Yamāmah: “You have no right to do this, for I heard the Messenger of God say: ‘I have been commanded to fight people until they say, “There is no god but God.” Once they say that, they have safeguarded their lives and their property from me, except by right, and their reckoning is incumbent on God alone.’” Abū Bakr responded, “One right against their lives is the alms tax, which they have refused to pay,” and he proceeded to do battle with them. Neither did ʿUmar at first emulate Abū Bakr, leaving off raising an objection to him, nor did Abū Bakr switch to the view that ʿUmar stated and pointed out to him.

٥٥55

وأمر عمر برجم حامل اعترفت بالزنا فخلّصها عليّ عليه السلام من يد رسله وقال له ليس لك سبيل على ما في بطنها. ولم يقتد به عليّ فيما أمره وفعله .

In another example, ʿUmar commanded that a pregnant woman who had confessed to adultery be stoned, but ʿAlī, blessings of God be upon him, rescued her from the hands of his bailiffs. He told ʿUmar, “You have no right to proceed against what is in her belly,” and he did not follow ʿUmar’s view or his course of action.

٥٦56

ورووا أنّ عبد الله بن مسعود قال يومًا لا يقولنّ أحدكم إنّي مؤمن ، فإنّه إن قال إنّي مؤمن قال إنّه في الجنّة ، وإذا قال إنّه في الجنّة فهو في النار. فقال له يزيد بن عمرو^١ من مثلك حذرنا معاذ. قال ابن مسعود وما قال معاذ؟ قال قال إنّ الشيطان ليلقي الكلمة على لسان الحكيم فيتكلّم بها فلا تحملها فإيّاك وزيغة الحكيم . قال قلت فكيف لي بعلم ذلك ؟ قال إنّ على الحقّ لنورًا. فلم يجبه عبد الله بن مسعود وكان بعد ذلك إذا^٢ أتاه أكرمه . فلم يكن على ظاهر الحديث ينبغي ليزيد أن يردّ على ابن مسعود، بل كان يجب عليه أن يقتدي به . وروي عن عبد الله بن مسعود أنّه قال لا يقلّدنّ أحدٌ^٣ أحدًا إن آمن آمن وإن كفر كفر.

١ خ: عمير. ٢ ل: إذ. ٣ ل: أحدًا.

They transmitted that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd said one day, “Let no one among you declare ‘I am a believer,’ for if he declares that he is a believer, he declares that he will enter Paradise, and whoever claims that he will enter Paradise will enter Hell.” Then Yazīd ibn ʿAmr remarked, “Muʿādh warned us about such as you.” Ibn Masʿūd asked, “What did Muʿādh say?” Yazīd replied, “He said, ‘Satan will put a word in the utterances of a wise man, and he will speak it, but do not convey it to others. Beware of the slip of the wise man.’” Yazīd added, “I asked Muʿādh, ‘How am I to know when that occurs?’ Muʿādh replied, ‘The truth is illuminated by a light.’” ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd did not answer him and, subsequently, would treat Yazīd with honor whenever he visited.⁹⁸ According to the plain meaning of the oral report, however, it ought not to have been necessary for Yazīd to refute Ibn Masʿūd; rather, he ought to have followed his opinion. It has been transmitted from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd that he said, “Let no one arbitrarily submit to the authority of another in matters of religion. If someone is a believer, he is a believer, and if he is an unbeliever, he is an unbeliever.”⁹⁹

٥٧57

وروي عن عبد الله بن مسعود أنّه قال أغد عالمًا أو متعلّمًا ولا تغد إمّعة بين ذلك والإمّعة منكم محقّب دينه^١ الرجال .

١ ل: دين.

It has also been transmitted from Ibn Masʿūd that he said, “Become a teacher or a student, but do not become a spineless half-wit between the two, for the half-wit among you will make his faith ride on the backs of other men’s saddles.”¹⁰⁰

٥٨58

وروي عن عبد الله بن عبّاس أنّه قال أما تخافون أن يخسف الله بكم الأرض ؟ أقول لكم^١ قال رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلّم وتقولون^٢ قال أبو بكر وعمر؟

١ ل تزيد هنا: ما. ٢ ل تزيد هنا: ما.

It has been transmitted from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās that he said, “Do you not fear that God will bury you so far underground that no trace of you will remain on the surface? I tell you what the Messenger of God said, and you tell me what Abū Bakr and ʿUmar said?!”¹⁰¹

٥٩59

وهؤلاء الصحابة ينكرون التقليد ، فكيف يجوز لأحد أن يقلّدهم وهم ينكرون ذلك ؟ ولو كان تقليدهم يجب لقلّد^١ بعضهم بعضًا ، وقد نراهم^٢ يردّ بعضهم على بعض ويخالف بعضهم بعضًا. ولو كان الاقتداء بهم هدًى كما جاء في ظاهر الحديث لوجب^٣ أن يكون قتالهم وقتلهم هدىً لأنّهم قد حارب بعضهم بعضًا وقتل بعضهم بعضًا بعد رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وامتازوا وتحاجزوا وصاروا أحزابًا . فكان يجوز على ظاهر الحديث أنّ من اقتدى بحزب واحد منهم فقتل الآخرين وقاتلهم كان^٤ على هدىً ، وكذلك من اقتدى بحزب^٥ الآخر ففعل مثل ذلك كان كذلك على هدىً. وهو التضادّ والتغاير الذي لا شبهة فيه ولا ستر عليه . وتكون دماؤهم على هذا حلالًا مباحة^٦ إذا^٧ كان من قتلهم على هدىً من الله فيكون الحقّ في الشيء وخلافه والأمر وضدّه ويستوي القاتل والمقتول وتستحلّ دماء أصحاب رسول الله صلّى االه عليه وعلى آله.

١ ل: تقلّد. ٢ كذا في خ، ل، و في ز: تراهم. ٣ ل: يوجب. ٤ ز، خ، ل: أنّه. ٥ ز، خ: الحزب. ٦ ز: مباحًا. ٧ ل: اذ.

Those Companions denounced submission to the authority of others, so how could it be permissible for anyone to submit to their authority, when they themselves denounced doing so? If it were obligatory to submit to their authority, then they would have submitted to each other’s authority, but we see instead that they sometimes opposed and contradicted each other. If it were right guidance to submit to their authority, as has been transmitted in the plain meaning of the Prophetic report, then their killing of, and doing battle with, each other would necessarily have been right guidance, because they did battle against one another and killed one another after the passing of the Messenger of God, and because they took sides against one another, thwarted one another’s plans, and formed factions. Thus, whoever followed one faction among them, killing the others and doing battle with them, could be considered guided aright, according to the plain meaning of the Prophetic report, and whoever followed the opposing faction, acting accordingly, would also be guided aright. This is a contradiction and an incongruity that cannot be disputed or concealed. In this fashion, then, the Companions’ lives would be forfeit and could be taken lawfully, since whoever killed them would be following God’s guidance, so that the truth would lie in one thing and in its opposite, in one matter and its contrary. The murderer and the victim would be equal, and it would be lawful to shed the blood of the Companions of the Messenger of God.

٦٠60

وكذلك ما اختلفوا فيه فحرّمه بعضهم وحلّله بعضهم . إن اقتُدِيَ بهم فيه كلّهم وكان المقتدي بهم على هدىً من الله كما جاء في ظاهر الحديث صار الحلال حرامًا والحرام حلالاً، وكان للمقتدي^١ بالواحد منهم أن يحرّم ما حرّمه فيكون ذلك الشيء حرامًا عند الله لأنّ الذي حرّمه على هدىً ثمّ يبدو له فيستحلّ بتحليل الآخر فيكون حلالاً عند الله لأنّ الذي أحلّه^٢ على هدىً من الله. ولو جهد المشركون على أن يدخلوا مثل هذا النقص على دين الإسلام لما قدروا عليه، فكيف بمن ينتحله ويذهب إليه ؟ وسوف أستقصيه^٣ بما يحضرني من الحجج في هذا المعنى في باب الاجتهاد إن شاء الله .

١ ل: المقتدي. ٢ حذا في خ، وفي ز: لأنّ الذي أحلّه بمستحلّه، وفي ل: لأنّ مستحلّه. ٣ خ، ل: استقصى ما.

Similarly, if they differed over a matter, with some Companions declaring it forbidden and others declaring it lawful, and if one followed all of them regarding this matter, and if whoever emulated them were following the guidance of God, as is stated explicitly in the Prophetic report, then permissible matters would be forbidden, and forbidden matters permissible. Whoever followed the views of one Companion would declare forbidden what that Companion had declared forbidden, and thus it would be forbidden in the view of God because the Companion who declared it forbidden was guided aright. Then, he might change his mind and consider the same matter permissible on account of another Companion’s declaration that it was permissible, and thus it would also be permissible in God’s view, because the Companion who considered it permissible was guided by God as well. Had the polytheists expended great efforts to foist such a terrible defect as this onto the faith of Islam, they would have been unable to do so. Then how could someone who adopts this religion espouse it?! I will address this topic exhaustively in the chapter on legal interpretation, God willing, along with the proofs that I am able to provide.

٦١61

فإن كان الحديث أصحابي كالنجوم بأيّهم اقتديتم اهتديتم. ثابتًا عن رسول الله فقد غلط فيه أهل التأويل بأن جعلوا أصحاب النبيّ ههنا كلّ من صحبه، وقد يصحب البرّ الفاجر والمؤمن الكافر وقد ذكر الله في كتابه عزّ وجلّ في صاحبين أحدهما مؤمن والآخر كافر {وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلًا رَّجُلَيْنِ جَعَلْنَا لِأَحَدِهِمَا جَنَّتَيْنِ مِنْ أَعْنَٰبٍ وَحَفَفْنَٰهُمَا بِنَخْلٍ} إلى قوله في الكافر {وَدَخَلَ جَنَّتَهُۥ وَهُوَ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِۦ قَالَ مَآ أَظُنُّ أَن تَبِيدَ هَٰذِهِۦٓ أَبَدًا وَمَآ أَظُنُّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ قَآئِمَةً وَلَئِن رُّدِدتُّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّى لَأَجِدَنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهَا مُنقَلَبًا قَالَ لَهُۥ صَاحِبُهُۥ وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُۥٓ أَكَفَرْتَ بِٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكَ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ سَوَّىٰكَ رَجُلًا لَّٰكِنَّا۠ هُوَ ٱللهُ رَبِّى وَلَآ أُشْرِكُ بِرَبِّىٓ أَحَدًا.} سمّاه صاحبه وهو على خلاف دينه. فليس كلّ من صحب أحدًا نسب إليه في دينه ومذهبه وحاله وطبقته وطويّته وطريقته. ومن هذا قول رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله لبعض نسائه إنّكنّ صويحبات يوسف. يعني النساء اللاتي كان من أمرهنّ وأمره ما قصّه الله عزّ وجلّ في كتابه ولم يكنّ ممّن صحبن يوسف عليه السلام ولكن ممّن كنّ على أمرهنّ^١.

١ ز، خ، ل: أمره.

Even if the Prophetic report, “My Companions are like the stars. No matter which of them you follow, you will be led aright,” is established as having come from the Messenger of God, the scholars have erred in interpreting the Companions of the Prophet here as all those who accompanied him, for the pious may associate with the immoral, and the believer with the unbeliever. God stated in His Book concerning two companions, one of whom was a believer and the other, an unbeliever: «Coin for them as a parable two men, for one of whom we have made two gardens of grapes and edged them with date-palms,» continuing until He said about the unbeliever, «He entered his garden while he was doing wrong to himself. He said, “I do not think that this will ever come to naught. I do not think that the Hour is coming, and if I return to my Lord, then I will certainly find a resting place better than it.” His believing companion said to him, in conversation, “Have you become ungrateful to Him Who created you from dust, then from a drop, then formed you as a man? But He is God, my Lord, and I do not take anyone as partner of my Lord.”»¹⁰² God called the believer “the companion” of the unbeliever, despite the fact that the unbeliever followed the contrary of the believer’s faith. Not everyone who associates with someone accords with him in religion, opinion, condition, class, intention, and comportment. An example of this is the statement of the Messenger of God to several of his wives: “You are the little companions of Joseph,” meaning the women whose story with Joseph God told in His Book.¹⁰³ The Prophet’s wives were not among those who actually associated with Joseph, peace be upon him, but rather among those who shared the situation of the women in that story.

٦٢62

وفي ظاهر القول ما يدلّ على أنّ الصاحب قد يكون على غير المذهب الذي عليه صاحبه ويكون ممّن يصحبه ببدنه كصحبة المتصاحبين في السفر وغيره . وقد قال الله عزّ وجلّ {وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلًا أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ إِذْ جَآءَهَا ٱلْمُرْسَلُونَ} وقال {أَصْحَٰبِ مَدْيَنَ} و{أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلسَّفِينَةِ} و{أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلرَّسِّ} يعني أهل ذلك المكان وسكّانه^١. وإن كان الصاحب مشتقّـًا من الصحبة في السفر وأشباهه فقد يقال لكلّ من لازم شيئـًا أو ملكه أو ألّفه صاحبه ، كما يقال صاحب العبد وصاحب الدار وصاحب الأرض وصاحب الأمر وفلان صاحب سنّة وفلان صاحب بدعة و فلان صاحب حقّ وفلان صاحب باطل وصاحب مال أي ذو مال يكون الصاحب في ذلك نعتًا ويجري مجرى الاسم.

١ ز: ومكانه.

The plain meaning of the quotations above allows that one companion profess a doctrine at variance with what the other companion espouses and yet be among those who associate with him physically, as do travel companions and so on. God said: «Cite for them as a parable the companions of the city, when those sent by God came to them»;¹⁰⁴ «the companions of Midian»;¹⁰⁵ «the companions of the Ark»;¹⁰⁶ and «the companions of Rass»;¹⁰⁷ meaning the inhabitants or residents of those places, or passengers of the Ark. If the term “companion,” ṣāḥib, derives from “companionship,” ṣuḥbah, in travel or other such things, then one might call anyone who adheres to something, possesses it, or associates with it its companion, just as in Arabic one uses the term “companion” to mean the owner of a slave, the owner of a house, the owner of land, or the owner or possessor of authority; or So-and-So is the owner of, i.e., the one who set, an established precedent, So-and-So is the owner, i.e. the originator, of a heresy, So-and-So is the owner of a right, that is, in the right, So-and-So is owner of a fault, that is, in the wrong, or So-and-So is the owner of property, that is, wealthy. The word ṣāḥib “owning” in all these cases would be an adjective treated as a noun.

٦٣63

فيكون على هذا قوله أصحابي كالنجوم بأيّهم اقتديتم اهتديتم. يعني بهم الأئمّة من أهل بيته صلوات الله عليه وعليهم فهم القدوة الذين يهتدي بهم المهتدون والذين أخبر عنهم بأنّهم وكتاب الله الثقلان لن يفترقا حتّى يردا على الحوض. والذين صحّت لهم الشهادة من الرسول أحقّ بالهداية والتفضيل . وقال صلّی الله عليه وعلى آله ناصرهما لي ناصر وخاذلهم لي خاذل ووليّهما لي وليّ وعدوّهما لي عدوّ. وقد قال الله تعالى لرسوله محمّد صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله {قُلْ هَٰذِهِۦ سَبِيلِىٓ أَدْعُوٓا إِلَى ٱللهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا۠ وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَنِى} يعني على أمر الله ونهيه والاقتداء به صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله واعتقاد النيّة في ذلك. ولم يقل ومن صحبني لأنّ الاتّباع لا يكون إلّا عن نيّة وقد يكون أكثر^١ الصحبة على المجاز كما بيّنّا آنفًا.

١ ساقطة في ل.

Consequently, when the Prophet stated, “My Companions are like the stars. No matter which of them you follow, you will be led aright,” he meant thereby the Imams among his descendants, for they are the ones who should be adopted as authorities and the ones by whom those seeking guidance may be guided aright. It was reported about them that they and the Book of God are the two weighty matters which will not part until they arrive at the Heavenly Pool,¹⁰⁸ and testimony of the Messenger has been soundly established that they are more properly considered superior and capable of guidance. He said, “The ally of those two is my ally, and he who deserts them has deserted me. Their ally is my ally, and their enemy is my enemy.” God stated to His Messenger Muḥammad: «Say: This is my path. I call to God out of sure insight, I and whoever follows me»¹⁰⁹ meaning that the Prophet was obeying the commands and prohibitions of God and that the believers were following the Prophet, as a guide, with firm resolve. He did not say, “and whoever accompanies me as a companion,” because following is a consequence of intention, and the idea of “companionship” is mostly used in a loose, figurative sense, as we have just explained.

٦٤64

وكذلك^١ في قصّة نوح وابنه ونفيه إيّاه أن يكون من أهله ما دلّ به عزّ وجلّ على حاجة العباد إلى مختار من قبله يؤيّدهم ويرشدهم ويبيّن لهم معالم دينهم. ولو كان ذلك يمكن أن يكون في جميع الصحابة لأمكن أن يكون في كافّة آل محمّد وعامّتهم أوجد منه في الصحابة. ولكنّا لا نجد ذلك منهم إلّا في الواحد بعد الواحد في الزمن بعد الزمن بنصّ من أولياء الله المختارين بعضهم على بعض. ولو كان ذلك مصروفًا إلى اختيار الناس واجتهادهم كما زعم من قال بذلك لجرت الحال فيه على ما جرت مع طواغيت بني أميّة وبني العبّاس^٢ ومن أسّس ذلك لهم ولاندرست معالم الدين فهلك كافّة المؤمنين ولكنّ الله أرحم بخلقه وأعلم بحيث^٣ يجعل رسالته . فأمّا المختلفون بعد الرسول ممّن صحبه ومن غيرهم^٤ فقد ذكرنا فساد الاقتداء بهم لاختلافهم .

١ خ، ل تزيدان هنا: قوله. ٢ ز، خ، ل: وآل عباس. ٣ ز، خ، ل: حيث. ٤ ل: غيره.

Similarly, in His word in the story of Noah and his son, denying that the son belonged to Noah’s family, God indicated that the worshipers needed Him to provide a chosen one to support and guide them and to set forth for them the guideposts of their faith.¹¹⁰ If it were possible for such an attribute to reside in all the Companions, then it would be even more likely to be present in the entirety of the family of Muḥammad than in them. However, we do not find such an attribute among the family of the Messenger, except in successive individuals in successive time periods, by the explicit designation on the part of God’s chosen Wards one to another. If such matters were left up to the choice of the people and their own determination, as those who profess such a view claim, then the situation would have occurred as it did with the tyrants of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties and those who founded their regimes for them: The signposts of religion would have been effaced, and all the believers would have perished in Hellfire. God, however, is merciful to His creatures and knows best where He should put His message. With regard to the Messenger’s Companions and others who disagreed after his demise, we have shown that it is invalid to emulate them because they disagreed with each other.

٦٥65

وهذه جملة من القول ذكرناها في إبطال تقليد الصحابة غير من أوجب الكتاب تقليده منهم. وكلّ من ذهب من العامّة إلى إبطال التقليد فبذلك يقول وإن لم يصرّح مثل هذا التصريح لاتّقائه شناعة الجهّال له والعوامّ والطغام. ذلك وخوفهم إيّاهم على أنفسهم في دول من قدّمنا ذكرهم^١ من الذين لمّا طلبوا حطام الدنيا فأدركوه أسلموا الدين لمن أسلم الدنيا لهم ورفضوه واسترضوه بذلك العوامّ وضعف الدين وغُيّرت الأحكام وكثر الجهّال واستطال الطغام . وقلنا بحمد الله ما قلناه من الحقّ آمنين لمّا أظهر الله عزّ وجلّ الحقّ وأقام مناهج الدين على أيدي أوليائه المهديّين صلوات الله عليهم. ولم نقصد بما ذكرناه نقص أصحاب رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله ولا الزراية عليهم إذ فيهم أهل الفضل والسابقة والدين والثقة والعدالة وإن كان فيمن صحب النبيّ صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وأظهر الإسلام في عصره وبعد عصره منافقون كما وصف الله عزّ وجلّ في كتابه ولكنّا إنّما قصدنا إلى الردّ على من قلّدهم وهم ينهون عن التقليد كما بيّنّا عنهم .

١ ز، خ، ل: ذكره.

We have presented this summary statement of our opinion in order to demonstrate that submission to the authority of the Companions, except for those to whom the Book requires that one submit, is invalid. All Sunnis who profess the invalidity of submission to the authority of predecessors hold this same view, even though they avoided voicing it in such an explicit manner because they were wary of being vilified by ignoramuses and the common rabble. In addition, that rabble made them fear for their lives under the above-mentioned regimes,¹¹¹ who, when they had sought and attained the trappings of this world, rejected the faith, relinquishing it to those who relinquished earthly power to them, thereby gaining the approval of the common riffraff. The religion became weak, legal rulings were changed, the ignorant multiplied, and the rabble became overbearing. We, thanks be to God, have spoken these truths, secure since God has now revealed the truth and established the customary ways of religion at the hands of His Wards, the well-guided Imams, peace be upon them.¹¹² In what we have presented, we do not aim to detract from the Companions of the Messenger of God or to insult them, since their number includes worthy individuals characterized by excellence, precedence, faith, trust, and probity, even though some among those who accompanied the Prophet and outwardly professed Islam during his age were hypocrites, as God states in His Book. We intended by this only to refute those who adopt them as authorities, when they actually forbade other people to submit to their authority, an opinion we have shown them to have held.

٦٦66

ثمّ نقول لمن قلّد من بعدهم من التابعين واللاحقين ولمتفقّهين في الدين كمثل ما قلناه لمن قلّد الأوّلين ونحتجّ له في اختلافهم عليهم بما احتججنا به في اختلاف^١ من تقدّمهم إذا القول في هؤلاء آكد^٢ في الحجّة عليهم لتقصيرهم بهم عمّن تقدّمهم. وإن كان القول عندنا واحدًا في جميعهم فيما استنبطوه لأنفسهم واخترعوه من^٣ آرائهم بغير نصّ من كتاب الله جلّ ذكره ولا رواية عن رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله مع أنّ أكثر من قلّدوه في ذلك وأخذوا عنه قد شهد لهم على نفسه بما ينفي عنه تقليدهم إيّاه فأشهر من قلّدوه وقالوا برأيه واستحسانه وقياسه واجتهاده ونظره مثل النعمان بن الثابت الكوفي ومالك بن أنس المدني ومحمّد بن إدريس الشافعي . فعلى هؤلاء الثلاثة مدار أكثر القوم ومن أخذ عنهم وجرى مجراهم من أصحابهم .

١ ل: اختلافهم. ٢ ل: أكدّ. ٣ ز، ل: عن.