Reading from the author's words with commentary and collation of manuscripts: "In summary: knowledge that this was the cause, or part of the cause,
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim*: "In summary: knowledge that this was the cause, or part of the cause, or a condition of the cause, in this occurring matter, may be known in many cases, may be presumed in many cases, and may be imagined in many cases as an imagination that has no valid basis".
The Shaykh : An imagination.
The reader: An imagination "and may be imagined in many cases as an imagination that has no valid basis except the weakness of the intellect. It suffices you that everything presumed to be a cause for attaining desires, from what the Shari'ah has forbidden, whether supplication or otherwise, must fall under one of two things: Either it is not a valid cause, such as supplicating to one who does not hear or see, and does not benefit you in any way".
The Shaykh : In my view, it is "what," I say in my view it is "what," and so it is in the Qur'an: What? [Maryam 19:42] Do you have "what"?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Good, correct it.
The reader: "Either it is not a valid cause, such as supplicating to one who does not hear or see".
The Shaykh : What does not hear.
The reader: Yes.
The Shaykh : You said "one."
The reader: After the correction?
The Shaykh : After the correction, is that not so?
The reader: "Either it is not a valid cause, such as supplicating to what does not hear or see and does not benefit you in any way, or its harm is greater than its benefit. As for what is a valid cause whose benefit is greater than its harm".
The Shaykh : Greater.
The reader: "As for what is a valid cause whose benefit is greater than its harm, the Shari'ah does not prohibit it in any case. And everything that is not prescribed from acts of worship, while the motive for doing it exists without any preventer, is of the kind that is prohibited. As mentioned previously".
The Shaykh : Matters are, in reality, of five types:
Pure benefit, pure harm, predominant benefit, predominant harm, and equality between the two.
Pure benefit is not prohibited by the Shari'ah; rather, it commands it. Pure harm is not commanded by the Shari'ah; rather, it prohibits it. Predominant benefit is commanded by the Shari'ah, predominant harm is prohibited by the Shari'ah, and equality between the two is prohibited by the Shari'ah, because averting harms is more important than seeking benefits.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim*: "In summary: knowledge that this was the cause, or part of the cause, or a condition of the cause, in this occurring matter, may be known in many cases, may be presumed in many cases, and may be imagined in many cases as an imagination that has no valid basis".
The Shaykh : An imagination.
The reader: An imagination "and may be imagined in many cases as an imagination that has no valid basis except the weakness of the intellect. It suffices you that everything presumed to be a cause for attaining desires, from what the Shari'ah has forbidden, whether supplication or otherwise, must fall under one of two things: Either it is not a valid cause, such as supplicating to one who does not hear or see, and does not benefit you in any way".
The Shaykh : In my view, it is "what," I say in my view it is "what," and so it is in the Qur'an:
O my father, why do you worship that which
يا أبت لم تعبد ماthat which does not hear and does not see and will not benefit you at all?
ما لا يسمع ولا يعقل ولا يغني عنك شيئاًThe student: ...
The Shaykh : Good, correct it.
The reader: "Either it is not a valid cause, such as supplicating to one who does not hear or see".
The Shaykh : What does not hear.
The reader: Yes.
The Shaykh : You said "one."
The reader: After the correction?
The Shaykh : After the correction, is that not so?
The reader: "Either it is not a valid cause, such as supplicating to what does not hear or see and does not benefit you in any way, or its harm is greater than its benefit. As for what is a valid cause whose benefit is greater than its harm".
The Shaykh : Greater.
The reader: "As for what is a valid cause whose benefit is greater than its harm, the Shari'ah does not prohibit it in any case. And everything that is not prescribed from acts of worship, while the motive for doing it exists without any preventer, is of the kind that is prohibited. As mentioned previously".
The Shaykh : Matters are, in reality, of five types:
Pure benefit, pure harm, predominant benefit, predominant harm, and equality between the two.
Pure benefit is not prohibited by the Shari'ah; rather, it commands it. Pure harm is not commanded by the Shari'ah; rather, it prohibits it. Predominant benefit is commanded by the Shari'ah, predominant harm is prohibited by the Shari'ah, and equality between the two is prohibited by the Shari'ah, because averting harms is more important than seeking benefits.