The Meccan Revelations

Manuscript volume 7 · Page 166

Konya manuscript

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Arabic

من النهار المشروع للصائم الإمساك فيه، ولم يعتبر ذٰلك في المغرب، وسماه ليلا، لقوله: ﴿ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ﴾ [البقرة: ١٨٧].

وللشرع أن يعتبر المعنى الواحد باعتبارين في وقتين، أو من وجهين، له ذٰلك.

وقد قيل في تفسير قوله: ﴿وفارَ التَّنُّورُ﴾ [هود: ٤٠]، يريد ضوء الفجر، وهو المعلوم من لسان العرب، فإذا فار التنور، وظهر، انبغي للعبد أن يكون في صلاة ركعتي الفجر، كما قال تعالى: ﴿وخَشَعَتِ الْأَصْواتُ لِلرَّحْمنِ فَلا تَسْمَعُ إِلَّا هَمْساً﴾ [طه: ١٠٨].

(الظهور الرحماني والجهر والإسرار)

وطلوع الفجر تجل رحماني للمعاش، كطلوع الليل للسكون، يقول تعالى: ﴿ومن رَحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ والنَّهارَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ ولِتَبْتَغُوا من فَضْلِهِ﴾ [القصص: ٧٣]، لما يتضمنه النهار غالبا من الحركات في المعاش، وقوام النفوس، ومصالح الخلق، وتنفيذ الأوامر، وإظهار الصنائع، وإقامة المصنوعات في نشأتها، وتحسين هيأتها، فهو تجل إلهي رحماني بهٰذا العالم.

فلهٰذا استحببنا الأسرار، بحيث، أن يسمع نفسه ﴿فَلا تَسْمَعُ إِلَّا هَمْساً﴾، أي صوتا خفيا، خشوعا لله تعالى، وخضوعا، وأدبا مع الحق.

وإنما شرع الجهر في الصبح، عند هٰذا التجلي، لأنه مأمور أمر فرض واجب بالكلام من الله، فهو يتكلم عن أمر إلهي، يعصى بتركه، إذا قصده على حسب

English

as part of the day in which the Law requires the person fasting to abstain. They did not apply this consideration to sunset, but called it night because of His saying, “Then complete the fast until night” [al-Baqarah 2:187].

The Law may consider one meaning in two different ways at two different times or from two different aspects. It has that authority.

One interpretation of His saying, “The oven boiled over” [Hud 11:40], is that it means the light of dawn, a sense known in the Arabic language. When the oven boils over and the light appears, the servant should be praying the two units of the dawn Sunnah, as He, exalted is He, says, “Voices will be humbled before the All-Merciful, and you will hear only a whisper” [Ta Ha 20:108].

(The All-Merciful’s Manifestation and Audible and Quiet Recitation)

Dawn’s appearance is a self-disclosure of the All-Merciful for earning a livelihood, as night’s appearance is for repose. He, exalted is He, says, “Out of His mercy He has made for you night and day, so that you may rest in it and seek of His bounty” [al-Qasas 28:73]. Day generally contains the movements of earning a livelihood, sustaining souls, serving the interests of creatures, carrying out commands, displaying crafts, bringing crafted things into being, and making their forms beautiful. This is a divine self-disclosure of the All-Merciful to this world.

This is why we recommend quiet recitation in which one hears oneself. “You will hear only a whisper,” a subdued sound, in humility before God, exalted is He, submission, and proper conduct with the Real.

Audible recitation was prescribed in the obligatory dawn prayer at this self-disclosure because the worshipper has received a binding command from God to speak. He therefore speaks by a divine command, and omitting it is disobedience when he intends it in accordance with

Notes

Translator’s note TN2060-1: The oven, tannūr, occurs in the Quranic account of Noah. The author adopts a lexical interpretation connecting its overflowing to dawn. The final clause leaves the object of “intends it” implicit.

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Cairo source reference

Ibn al-Arabi, The Meccan Revelations — Manuscript volume 7 · Page 166 — https://www.futmak.com/english/konya/pages.php?id=2060&text=both