(The Meaning of the Ruling of an Attribute and the Explanation That Some Names Have No Ruling, Such as al-Hayy and al-Qawi) And the ruling is their attribution to their objects*** which necessitates their effects by explanation
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : He said: "And the ruling" means: What is the meaning of the ruling? He says:
"Their attribution to their objects*** which necessitates their effects by explanation"
This ruling is that they are attributed to their objects which necessitate effects. Accordingly, we may express it as rulings, and we may express it as effects.
"And sometimes it means informing about*** their effects"
Sometimes it means, by the ruling, informing about their effects. Yes.
"It means two things"
So the ruling sometimes means what indicates objects that necessitate its effects, and sometimes it means the effects themselves. The author’s statement says: Every name must have an attribute, and this attribute may necessitate effects, meaning it necessitates that it has an effect, and in that case it has a ruling. It may not necessitate that, and in that case it has no ruling. What is necessary (lazim) has no ruling, and what is transitive (muta'addi) has a ruling. This is the criterion. Al-Hayy (The Living) is necessary and does not extend to others, so it has no ruling. For this reason, we say its name is al-Hayy and its attribute is life, and we do not say its ruling is "He gives life," because "giving life" is an action of the One who gives life, the One who gives life and causes death, and it is not an action of the Living One. Al-Hayy is a necessary attribute. Now, what about al-Basir (The All-Seeing)?
The student: It is transitive.
The Shaykh : Al-Basir is transitive, so al-Basir includes an attribute that is transitive, which is that He sees. Al-'Azim (The Magnificent) is necessary, so it indicates the name and the attribute, and it has no ruling, and so on.
"Their attribution to their objects*** which necessitates their effects by explanation"
This ruling is that they are attributed to their objects which necessitate effects. Accordingly, we may express it as rulings, and we may express it as effects.
"And sometimes it means informing about*** their effects"
Sometimes it means, by the ruling, informing about their effects. Yes.
"It means two things"
So the ruling sometimes means what indicates objects that necessitate its effects, and sometimes it means the effects themselves. The author’s statement says: Every name must have an attribute, and this attribute may necessitate effects, meaning it necessitates that it has an effect, and in that case it has a ruling. It may not necessitate that, and in that case it has no ruling. What is necessary (lazim) has no ruling, and what is transitive (muta'addi) has a ruling. This is the criterion. Al-Hayy (The Living) is necessary and does not extend to others, so it has no ruling. For this reason, we say its name is al-Hayy and its attribute is life, and we do not say its ruling is "He gives life," because "giving life" is an action of the One who gives life, the One who gives life and causes death, and it is not an action of the Living One. Al-Hayy is a necessary attribute. Now, what about al-Basir (The All-Seeing)?
The student: It is transitive.
The Shaykh : Al-Basir is transitive, so al-Basir includes an attribute that is transitive, which is that He sees. Al-'Azim (The Magnificent) is necessary, so it indicates the name and the attribute, and it has no ruling, and so on.