I said, when I was told that he
Had an aim in what he desired of it:
What delayed its attainment
Was only a matter that arose incidentally.
(Decree and the State of the One Decreed Concerning)
Know that God, exalted is He, has made known that attributing decree to the judge is not sound until he judges, whether in qualification or actuality. This name is not sound for him until he judges. Nothing determines the decree but the state of the one decreed concerning. Decree is an intelligible matter having no existence except through what is decreed, and what is decreed is determined by the state of the one decreed concerning. Through this totality the name ‘judge’ is established.
If this totality were removed from the mind, the name ‘judge’ would be removed. If it were removed from existence, the name would likewise truly be removed. If then applied, it would be applied metaphorically. The reality of metaphor[5] and figurative usage is to attribute occurrence to what has not occurred.
An example: someone claims a debt against another person, and the defendant denies it. The claim determines the production of evidence, which is what is decreed concerning the claimant. The denial determines what is decreed concerning the denier, namely the oath, if no evidence is produced.
The name ‘judge’ truly originates for the one ruling that the defendant must swear an oath, when he denies the claim, and demanding
Notes
[5]
(The previous version read ‘majāz aw ḥaqīqat al-majāz’ [metaphor or the reality of metaphor]; this was corrected to ‘majāzan wa-ḥaqīqat al-majāz’ [metaphorically, and the reality of metaphor] by comparison with the new edition, vol. 10, p. 183.)
