Distinguishing between the Command and Creation, and the Conflation of the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah Between Them, and the Refutation of Both
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The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) composed this chapter to distinguish between Creation and the Command, and [to address] the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah who say that the speech of Allah is created, not distinguishing between Creation and the Command, even though Allah distinguished between them, saying (Mighty and Majestic): [Al-A'raf 7:54]. The Command is the Qur'an, or rather, it is the revelation, as He the Exalted said: [Ash-Shuraa 42:52] So Allah distinguished between Creation and the Command. Creation is making, and the Command is a request, or yes, it is a request for action in a manner of supremacy. There is a difference between them, a great difference. The difference between the Command and Creation also reveals the difference between the one commanded and the one created. The author says:
"And indeed, the distinction between Creation *** and the explicit Command has come"
The distinction here means the separation; it came with the Command.
"And that is in the Distinction" The intended meaning of the second "Distinction" is the Qur'an.
"And both are one with the disputants ***" Who are the disputants? Those who say that the speech of Allah is created. So the Command and Creation are the same with them. "And all is Creation" meaning all is created. "There are not two things here", and the people of the Sunnah and the community say there are two things here: Creation and the Command. The Command is the revelation, which is His attribute, and Creation is His created thing, which is His act. He said:
"And the conjunction with them is like the conjunction of an individual *** of a type to it"
The conjunction with them, with whom? With the disputants, is like the conjunction of an individual of a type to the type. So his saying: "Like the conjunction of an individual *** of a type to it"
The pronoun refers to the type. "And that is in the Qur'an" meaning: the conjunction of an individual to the type exists in the Qur'an, so the individual is not outside the type. An example of this is His saying (Mighty and Majestic):[Al-Qadr 97:4] The spirit is from the angels, it is not a specification of them. [Al-Baqarah 2:238] This is the conjunction of an individual to the type. They say [Al-A'raf 7:54] The Command is from Creation, but it is an individual of what? Of its individuals. An individual of its individuals. So the conjunction of the Command to Creation with these deniers of attributes is from the category of the conjunction of an individual of what? To the type, my brothers. Keep yourselves active. Like his saying [Al-Qadr 97:4] The spirit is an angel from the angels. The Command is a creation from the created things. Did you understand, my brothers? Good.
Their saying is defective. For this reason, the author said:
"It is said: This has an apparent impossibility *** In the verse of distinction, there is clarification"
The distinction means: between the Command and Creation.
"So Allah, after Creation, informed that they *** were made subservient by the Command for running"
We recite the verse so that it becomes clear:[Al-A'raf 7:54] The stars are conjoined to the heavens. [Al-A'raf 7:54] The stars are conjoined to the heavens, so are they created or not created? Created. "Subservient" is a state of the stars, "by His Command." So did the Command come after Creation, or did it become the Creation? Huh? It came after Creation. [Al-A'raf 7:54] If we have a prior Creation and a subsequent Command, is it possible to make the Command part of the Creation? It is not possible. They were created and finished, then directed, made subservient by the Command of Allah. This indicates that the Command is other than Creation. He said:
"So Allah, after Creation, informed that they *** were made subservient by the Command for running
And He made clear His subjugation of them, the Exalted, *** by commanding them after creating them, with clarification.
Is it clear, my brothers? Good. So we say: Making the Command part of the Creation is an error, because it occurred after it. So they were created and finished, then commanded with a new command of subjugation, made subservient by the Command of Allah.
Second, in refuting them, we say: What is the original rule in conjunction? Difference in essence, type, and genus. This is the original rule. And it is not possible to make the conjunction from the category of the conjunction of an individual to the type, or the specific to the general, except with the presence of evidence. Good. The author said:
"And the Command is either a source or was *** an object; they are equal in that"
[Al-A'raf 7:54] Is the Command here a source or a passive noun? Ibn al-Qayyim says: Make it a source or make it a noun. Both indicate that the Command is not the Creation.
The aspect of this is: If you make the Command a source, and it is one of the commands or one of the orders? One of the orders. If you make it a source, and it is more apparent that it is a source, it indicates that this Command occurred by speech, meaning: created then commanded. And if you make the Command mean a passive noun, and the source comes with the meaning of a passive noun, then there is no one commanded except that a what was directed at him? A command. So the necessity of the existence of the one commanded is the existence of the command, right? So the second interpretation, which is to make the Command a passive noun, returns to the first meaning, which is affirming the Command for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And the Command, as established for us now, is the Creation or other than it? Other than the Creation.
Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command
ألا له الخلق والأمرAnd thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command.
وكذلك أوحينا إليك روحا من أمرنا"And indeed, the distinction between Creation *** and the explicit Command has come"
The distinction here means the separation; it came with the Command.
"And that is in the Distinction" The intended meaning of the second "Distinction" is the Qur'an.
"And both are one with the disputants ***" Who are the disputants? Those who say that the speech of Allah is created. So the Command and Creation are the same with them. "And all is Creation" meaning all is created. "There are not two things here", and the people of the Sunnah and the community say there are two things here: Creation and the Command. The Command is the revelation, which is His attribute, and Creation is His created thing, which is His act. He said:
"And the conjunction with them is like the conjunction of an individual *** of a type to it"
The conjunction with them, with whom? With the disputants, is like the conjunction of an individual of a type to the type. So his saying: "Like the conjunction of an individual *** of a type to it"
The pronoun refers to the type. "And that is in the Qur'an" meaning: the conjunction of an individual to the type exists in the Qur'an, so the individual is not outside the type. An example of this is His saying (Mighty and Majestic):
The angels and the Spirit descend therein
تنزل الملائكة والروح فيهاMaintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer
حافظوا على الصلوات والصلاة الوسطىUnquestionably, His is the creation and the command
ألا له الخلق والأمرThe angels and the Spirit
تنزل الملائكة والروحTheir saying is defective. For this reason, the author said:
"It is said: This has an apparent impossibility *** In the verse of distinction, there is clarification"
The distinction means: between the Command and Creation.
"So Allah, after Creation, informed that they *** were made subservient by the Command for running"
We recite the verse so that it becomes clear:
Indeed, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He covers the night with the day, [another night] chasing it rapidly; and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, subjected by His command
إن ربكم الله الذي خلق السماوت والأرض في ستة أيام ثم استوى العرش يغشي الليل النهار يطلبه حثيثا والشمس والقمر والنجوم مسخرات بأمرهIndeed, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and earth
إن ربكم الله الذي خلق السماوات والأرضand the stars, subjected by His command
والنجوم مسخرات بأمره"So Allah, after Creation, informed that they *** were made subservient by the Command for running
And He made clear His subjugation of them, the Exalted, *** by commanding them after creating them, with clarification.
Is it clear, my brothers? Good. So we say: Making the Command part of the Creation is an error, because it occurred after it. So they were created and finished, then commanded with a new command of subjugation, made subservient by the Command of Allah.
Second, in refuting them, we say: What is the original rule in conjunction? Difference in essence, type, and genus. This is the original rule. And it is not possible to make the conjunction from the category of the conjunction of an individual to the type, or the specific to the general, except with the presence of evidence. Good. The author said:
"And the Command is either a source or was *** an object; they are equal in that"
Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command
ألا له الخلق والأمرThe aspect of this is: If you make the Command a source, and it is one of the commands or one of the orders? One of the orders. If you make it a source, and it is more apparent that it is a source, it indicates that this Command occurred by speech, meaning: created then commanded. And if you make the Command mean a passive noun, and the source comes with the meaning of a passive noun, then there is no one commanded except that a what was directed at him? A command. So the necessity of the existence of the one commanded is the existence of the command, right? So the second interpretation, which is to make the Command a passive noun, returns to the first meaning, which is affirming the Command for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And the Command, as established for us now, is the Creation or other than it? Other than the Creation.