What is the meaning of Ibn al-Jawzi's statement: "The cause of a scholar's misguidance is analogizing the unseen with the observed"?
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what is the meaning of the words of Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him): "The cause of a scholar's misguidance is analogizing the unseen with the observed"? What does this statement mean?
Answer:
It is clear, yes. The one who analogizes the matters of this world with the matters of the Hereafter, or the matters of the Hereafter with the matters of this world, is engaging in rational analogizing, which is not permissible. The matters of the Hereafter have their own state,[As-Sajdah 32:17]. Even if some names exist in this world and in the Hereafter, such as pomegranates, palm trees, and grapes, the grapes, palm trees, and pomegranates in Paradise differ from those in this world. They do not share anything with them except in name. For this reason, Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said: "There is nothing in this world of what is in Paradise except the names, only the names. As for the realities, they differ." Take, for example, khamr (intoxicants). The khamr in this world is foul, is it not? It is among the abominations. But the drink of the people of Paradise is from clarified honey, [As-Saffat 37:47]. It differs from the khamr of this world. So what is in the Hereafter differs from what is in this world and cannot be analogized. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what is the meaning of the words of Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him): "The cause of a scholar's misguidance is analogizing the unseen with the observed"? What does this statement mean?
Answer:
It is clear, yes. The one who analogizes the matters of this world with the matters of the Hereafter, or the matters of the Hereafter with the matters of this world, is engaging in rational analogizing, which is not permissible. The matters of the Hereafter have their own state,
And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes as reward for what they used to do.
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَNo bad effect is there in it, nor from it will they be intoxicated.
لَا فِيهَا غَوْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ عَنْهَا يُنزَفُونَ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [697 /1350] ما معنى قول ابن الجوزي "إن سبب ضلال العالم هو قياس الغائبات بالمشاهدات" صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.