The Meccan Revelations

Manuscript volume 14 · Page 54

Konya manuscript

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Arabic

مع الأمر والنهي، عامل بما أمر به أو نهى عنه من الأعمال، قائم بالحكم المشروع عليه.

(الإبقاء والإفناء بحسب الحال)

فمن أسرار التوكل ترك التوكل، فإن ترك التوكل يبقي الأغيار، والتوكل ينفي الأغيار، وعند أكثر القوم أن الأعلى ما ينفي، لا ما يبقى، وعندنا وعند شيخنا أبي السعود بن الشبل، وأبي عبد الله الهواري بتنس من بلاد المغرب، وأبي عبد الله الغزال بالمرية ببلاد الأندلس، وأبي عمران موسى بن عمران الميرتلي بإشبيلية، وغيرهم، إن الأعلى ما يفنى ما ينبغي ويبقى ما ينبغي، في الحال التي تنبغي، والوقت الذي ينبغي، وبه كان يقول عبد القادر الجيلي ببغداد.

فإن الله تعالى أفنى وأبقى، يقول تعالى: ﴿ما عِنْدَكُمْ يَنْفَدُ﴾، فلا تعتمد عليه ﴿وما عِنْدَ الله باقٍ﴾ [النحل: 96]، فتعتمد على الله في بقائه، فأفنى وأبقى، والإفناء حال أبي مدين في وقت إمامته، ولا أدري هل انتقل عنه بعد ذٰلك أم لا، لأنه انتقل عن الإمامة قبل أن يموت بساعة أو ساعتين، الشك مني لبعد الوقت.

وصاحب ترك التوكل ما له دعوى، وهو غير مسئول، لأنه أمر عدمي، فجرى مجرى الأصل في قوله تعالى: ﴿هَلْ أَتى عَلَى الْإِنْسانِ حِينٌ من الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئاً مَذْكُوراً﴾ [الإنسان: 1]، يريد عدمه في عينه، لأنه كان مذكورا لله تعالى، والدهر اسم من أسماء الله

English

with command and prohibition, performing what he is commanded and refraining from what he is forbidden, upholding the prescribed ruling upon him.

(Preserving and Annihilating According to the State)

Among trust's mysteries is leaving trust. Leaving trust preserves others, while trust negates others. Most of the people hold that what negates is higher than what preserves. For us, our master Abū al-Suʿūd ibn al-Shibl, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Hawwārī at Tanas in the Maghrib, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ghazzāl at al-Mariyya in al-Andalus, Abū ʿImrān Mūsā ibn ʿImrān al-Mīrtalī at Ishbīliyya, and others, what is higher annihilates what ought to be annihilated and preserves what ought to be preserved, in the appropriate state and time. ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlī in Baghdad maintained this too.

God, exalted is He, annihilates and preserves. He says, “What is with you runs out”—so do not rely upon it—“and what is with God endures” [16:96], so rely upon God for its endurance. He thus annihilates and preserves. Annihilation was Abū Madyan's state during his imamate. I do not know whether he moved from it afterward, for he left the imamate an hour or two before he died. The uncertainty is mine, because of the time elapsed.

The possessor of leaving trust has no claim and is not questioned, for it is a nonexistent matter. It thus follows the original condition in His saying, “Has there come upon the human being a span of duration when he was not a thing mentioned?” [76:1]. This means his nonexistence in his entity, for he was mentioned to God, exalted is He. Duration, al-Dahr, is one of God's names,

Notes

Translator’s note TN4116-1: The author contrasts merely negating others with annihilating and preserving as appropriate to state and time. He expressly leaves uncertain whether Abū Madyan moved beyond the state described, and whether his withdrawal from the imamate preceded death by one or two hours. The personal and place names follow the supplied forms.

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Cairo source reference

Ibn al-Arabi, The Meccan Revelations — Manuscript volume 14 · Page 54 — https://www.futmak.com/english/konya/pages.php?id=4116&text=both