![samarqandism's tweet photo. Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Khwājah-Zādah [d. 1488 CE] writes:
"If you say: If the relation of the will (irādah) to the two opposites is equal, just as the relation of power (qudrah) to them is equal, then its attaching itself to one rather than the other, if it does not require a determining factor (murajjiḥ), would amount to one of two equal alternatives becoming preponderant over the other without a determiner. This would undermine the proof for the existence of the Creator.
But if it does require a determining factor, then an infinite regress follows.
On the other hand, if the relation of the will to the two opposites is not equal, but rather its attachment to one of them belongs to it essentially (li-dhātihā), then it would be impossible for it to attach itself to the other, since what belongs to something essentially cannot cease to belong to it. Moreover, the will could not prefer both opposites together. Consequently, necessary emanation (ījāb) would follow.
I reply: We choose the position that the relation of the will to the two opposites is equal.
As for your statement: "If its attachment to one of them does not require a determining factor (murajjiḥ), then one of two equal alternatives has become preponderant over the other,"
this is denied.
Rather, what necessarily follows is that the capable agent (al-qādir) gives preference to one of two equal alternatives over the other without any motive (dāʿī) calling him to prefer and choose it.
This is not the same as preponderance without a determining factor (tarjīḥ bilā murajjiḥ), that is, without any efficient cause (muʾaththir) whatsoever. The distinction between the two is perfectly clear, and the former does not entail the latter.
Consequently, the way to proving the existence of the Creator is not blocked.
For knowledge of the existence of the Necessary Being (al-Wājib) is founded upon the impossibility of preponderance without a determining factor, that is, without any efficient cause, not upon the impossibility of a willing and capable agent preferring one of two equally possible objects of his power over the other by means of his will, without any motive prompting that will.
The fundamental argument is this:
There is no doubt that some existent exists.
If that existent is necessary in itself, then that is precisely what we seek to establish.
If it is contingent (mumkin), then it necessarily requires a producer (mūjid), because it is impossible for one of the two alternatives of a contingent thing to become preponderant over the other without a determining factor. The discussion is then transferred to its producer.
Either this proceeds in an infinite regress—and that is impossible—or it terminates in the Necessary Being, which is precisely what we sought to prove."
— Tahāfut al-Muḥākamah 1.65-66](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HODxi9TagAAZ504.png)
![samarqandism's tweet photo. al-Imām Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī [d. 1310 CE] says:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and blessings upon the master of the messengers, and upon his family and pure companions. To proceed: the most obscure branches of knowledge regarding the foundations of religion, and the most difficult of them, is knowledge of the judgment/decree (qaḍāʾ) of God Most High, His decree (qadar), and the manner in which His will relates to the acts of servants.
For this reason, doctrines and views on these two matters have differed, and the wise have been perplexed in verifying them; yet the majority hold a conviction on them, along with jabr and taklīf without capacity, and other doubts and uncertainties which we will mention, and to which the verifying scholars will respond regarding this belief.
God's decree, according to the belief of the majority, is: His eternal wisdom, which necessitates that whatever occurs is to its effect/cause — and this is far-fetched, since it would necessarily follow, from this, denial of compulsion; and by His greatness and majesty and mercy, He is exempt from moral obligation without capacity — the two things negated by both revealed transmission and reason (for reason does not obligate a soul beyond its capacity, and [holds a person accountable] only for what it has earned and acquired). And from denying injustice comes the specification whereby some servants are singled out for disbelief and others for faith; then the punishing of disbelievers in Hell forever; and the origination of evils and afflictions for prophets, righteous people, and others, for the wisdom of testing and trial; and from [this] comes the sending of messengers, the revealing of scriptures, commands, prohibitions, promise and threat, and the negation of power from the Creator over the created — for these things are necessary given the existence of created beings at that moment, and the like of these do not befit the most base of created beings, so how could they befit the Creator — the Wise, the Merciful, the Generous, the Just, rich beyond need, glorious and majestic, source of all bounty and grace?
God's decree, according to the view of the verifying scholars, is: His eternal wisdom that corresponds to what must occur from His acts, in accordance with wisdom, benefit, and the acts of servants — both the voluntary and the involuntary, like the movement of one trembling versus a correct/intentional movement. And this ruling is the declarative knowledge recognized among the people of knowledge.
Decree, in this sense, does not negate the servant's power and choice — rather, it confirms them both, because it is a judgment that [the servant] acts by his [own] power and choice. In that case, there is no barrier preventing disbelievers from faith in God Most High; rather, it is from themselves — through blind imitation, obstinacy, and failure to reflect and seek the truth. For this he deserves punishment, and thereupon the aforementioned doubts about decree collapse.
Then, God's will, being connected to the will of the servant, means: [God] wills that the servant do [an act] by his will and power, which God has granted him, just as the master wills, with respect to the acquisition granted to his servant, that [the servant] be entrusted. In that case, whatever the servant does by his will and power occurs by the will and power of God Most High, and this does not entail compulsion — because, in that case, the act occurs through his will and power. This is the verification of this matter for whoever seeks the truth, so let him reflect upon it. And God knows best and is most wise.
—Risālah fī al-Qaḍāʾ wa-l-Qadar](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOD12tvW0AAnN-K.png)
![samarqandism's tweet photo. [the meaning of the name: al-Wudūd]
Bahāʾ al-Dīn Zāde al-Bayrāmī [d. 1545 CE] states:
"Al-wadūd" is an intensive form from "wudd" ("love"), meaning "one who loves", and it may carry the sense of the active participle, or the passive participle — that is, He, glorified is He, loves His servants and His servants love Him, as He, Most High, said: "He loves them and they love Him" (al-Mā'idah).
and He, Most High, said: "God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him" (al-Mā'idah 5:119; also cf. al-Tawbah 9:100, al-Mujādilah 58:22, al-Bayyinah 98:8).
Part of His love for creation, Most High, is that He brought them into existence and created them with His two hands, and instilled His light upon them from His [own] existence, and provided for them, and made ready for them the means [of sustenance] before He created them — He said: "He created for you all that is in the heavens and the earth," then He guided them to the path, then sent down to them scriptures, and sent to them messengers — and it suffices as proof of His love for them that He attributed them to Himself and connected them to Him and to servitude toward Him. As for the elect among the believers, [He says] in His words: "O My servants, no fear shall be upon you today, nor shall you grieve" (al-Zukhruf 43:68); and as for [sinful] servants, in His words: "Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy" (al-Zumar 39:53); and as for the disbelievers — even though they are enemies of God insofar as they disbelieved — He still attributed them to Himself, "My servants," because they are created by His two hands, and manifestations of His names and attributes. He, glorified is He, said to them through the tongue of His prophet Jesus, peace be upon him: "If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, indeed You are the Almighty, the Wise" (al-Mā'idah 5:118).
It has been related — and the great Shaykh cited this in his Futūḥāt — the account: "Indeed, God's prophet David set about building the Holy House, but was not granted success in it, so God, Most High, revealed to him: 'It was decreed that this be at your hands — yet in your hands is the blood of many of My servants.' He [David] said: 'O Lord, was it not for the sake of implementing Your command, and exalting and proclaiming Your word, and striving against Your enemies?' God, Most High, said: 'Yes indeed — but are they not also My servants, having a connection to Me? Does this not suffice you in this matter?'"
It is established that the connection of the branch to the root is stronger than the reverse — the connection of the root to the branch — for the essence [of a thing] and its reception move toward its branch, in contrast to the branch. Were it not for His love for them, they would not have been given the capacity to love Him; and had they not been able to remember Him, love, and remembrance would not have occurred to them except as a grace/favor from Him. When He, glorified is He, loves a servant from among His servants, He turns His face and His heart toward him and casts His love into him — so it is inevitable that [the servant] remembers Him and loves Him. Then his [the servant's] love for Him grows, then He [God] loves him even more in his heart, as He said: "...and those who are guided, He increases them in guidance" (Muhammad 47:17) — until He draws him with the pulls of His care, and the mountains of His love, with increasing nearness to His presence.
It is said that divine love, at its beginning, is a subtle attraction, since it is weak and has not become strong or manifest — and for this reason the Messenger of God clarified its sign and made it known through his saying: "When light enters the heart of the believer, it expands and opens up," so they said, "O Messenger of God, is there a sign of this?" He said, "Yes: withdrawing from the abode of delusion, and turning in repentance toward the abode of everlasting joy" — then, when [that love] grows strong and becomes manifest, it becomes apparent from every outward sign, and cannot be inferred but is [itself] what allows inference, as it has been said:
"The sun came as proof of the sun itself — if you need proof of it, turn away from it."
Here we say: this is called "the manifest attraction", and arrival at the Presence is not possible except through it, even were the worshipper to worship for a thousand years, unless it be through it — [this being] a settled matter, that worship [alone], following the method of the shaykhs and their followers among the ordinary means, is a means God has made customary for him, toward reaching Him and connecting with Him. And regarding this meaning, our master, may God have mercy on him, said:
"The root of your attraction is bound up already, O friend — do not become one who is stopped, waiting for that attraction."
"The bird of attraction suddenly flies from the nest — just as you have seen the candle of morning, then draw it in."
From this it is known that the servant's love for his Lord is likewise present, since the servant is among the awliyah and the believers — as for the disbeliever, he too is not devoid of some love for God, even the polytheists included — for they worship nothing except that which they [believe] loves them and whom they love — except that the divinity so described with attributes of perfection, the ultimate purpose in this matter, they err in fully knowing, and thus do not truly know it, and do not distinguish between the manifest reality and outward appearances.
Then know: that love, for a human being, has degrees, the highest of which is love for one's own self and one's own continuance, and its opposite is hatred and aversion to one's own annihilation. This is why it is instinctive in human nature to hate death, imagining it to be [utter] non-existence — for this reason, believers, even though they do not believe in [bodily] resurrection [after physical dissolution to non-existence, contrary to Islamic doctrine] — [they nonetheless retain such an instinctive aversion] on account of this notion, even though such notions are [merely] conjectural (i.e., not necessarily reflecting truth). Then comes his love for what is indispensable to his livelihood/subsistence, from among the means; then his love for whoever provides him access to those means and bestows favor upon him through them. In these two kinds of love, there are countless degrees, on account of the varying strength of these means relative to how urgently they are needed, and the varying strength and weakness of the benefactors depending on the recipient's need for the one bestowing benefit upon him — [the recipient] being benefited according to either the abundance or scarcity of the blessing, or according to how directly the blessing issues from the essence [of the giver] itself, or through an intermediary. Then comes his love for beauty — whether that beauty be beauty of meaning or beauty of form, and it is the same whether the beauty of meaning consists in the beauty of doing good, or the beauty of some perfection other than doing good — so love ends up falling into three categories/degrees, even though each category contains within it further degrees too numerous to count, given the varying differences occurring between the two sides — the lover and the beloved.
As for a human being's love for what suits him and matches him, [it is] like the love every individual of a species has for its own kind, and the love every individual of a type has for its like — and human beings' encountered love varies according to the differing relationships/affinities among individuals, just as a young boy is inclined toward another young boy, and a youth toward a youth, and an elder toward an elder, and a foreigner/stranger toward a foreigner/stranger — this too, in my view, returns to a human being's love for his own self, even though it is deemed [by some] to be a different category for people, generally, only love a specific act because it resembles kindness and favor, so their love accepts change with the appearance of the opposite of what they loved — from acts such as harshness and vengeance. Whereas one who loves [God's] attributes — even if his love persists on account of the persistence of the beloved attribute — this does not extend to all the manifestations of the Essence across every attribute it may have. As for the lover of the Essence [itself], his love is general and constant, on account of the permanence of the Beloved and its encompassing all manifestations, regardless of what they may be.
Being characterized by this Name [al-Wadūd] may be understood either as the active-participle sense, made manifest through what appeared of it in the sense of "one who acts" — that is, it was made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who is acted upon"; or [alternatively], it may be understood in the sense of "one who is acted upon," made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who acts." For God, when He loves His servant, [it means] He draws him near, and he becomes beloved to his Lord and to all people — as the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "When God loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says: 'I love so-and-so, so love him.' Then Gabriel loves him, and then Gabriel calls out among the inhabitants of heaven, saying: 'God loves so-and-so, so love him' — then the inhabitants of heaven love him, and then acceptance is placed for him on earth." And when the servant loves his Lord, out of the perfection of his love, he becomes truly beloved [in return].
As for the realization [proper], it is that the love of the Essence for the Essence becomes fully realized through the Essence's self-disclosure (tajallī) from behind the veils of [divine] attributes, and its burning away the traces of the darknesses, and its purifying the absolute light from the taint of turbidities/impurities.
O God, grant us the realization of Your love in truth, and connect us to the subtleties of nearness to You.
—Sharḥ al-Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā, 1.103-107](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOD_yRuX0AASRg2.png)
![samarqandism's tweet photo. [the meaning of the name: al-Wudūd]
Bahāʾ al-Dīn Zāde al-Bayrāmī [d. 1545 CE] states:
"Al-wadūd" is an intensive form from "wudd" ("love"), meaning "one who loves", and it may carry the sense of the active participle, or the passive participle — that is, He, glorified is He, loves His servants and His servants love Him, as He, Most High, said: "He loves them and they love Him" (al-Mā'idah).
and He, Most High, said: "God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him" (al-Mā'idah 5:119; also cf. al-Tawbah 9:100, al-Mujādilah 58:22, al-Bayyinah 98:8).
Part of His love for creation, Most High, is that He brought them into existence and created them with His two hands, and instilled His light upon them from His [own] existence, and provided for them, and made ready for them the means [of sustenance] before He created them — He said: "He created for you all that is in the heavens and the earth," then He guided them to the path, then sent down to them scriptures, and sent to them messengers — and it suffices as proof of His love for them that He attributed them to Himself and connected them to Him and to servitude toward Him. As for the elect among the believers, [He says] in His words: "O My servants, no fear shall be upon you today, nor shall you grieve" (al-Zukhruf 43:68); and as for [sinful] servants, in His words: "Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy" (al-Zumar 39:53); and as for the disbelievers — even though they are enemies of God insofar as they disbelieved — He still attributed them to Himself, "My servants," because they are created by His two hands, and manifestations of His names and attributes. He, glorified is He, said to them through the tongue of His prophet Jesus, peace be upon him: "If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, indeed You are the Almighty, the Wise" (al-Mā'idah 5:118).
It has been related — and the great Shaykh cited this in his Futūḥāt — the account: "Indeed, God's prophet David set about building the Holy House, but was not granted success in it, so God, Most High, revealed to him: 'It was decreed that this be at your hands — yet in your hands is the blood of many of My servants.' He [David] said: 'O Lord, was it not for the sake of implementing Your command, and exalting and proclaiming Your word, and striving against Your enemies?' God, Most High, said: 'Yes indeed — but are they not also My servants, having a connection to Me? Does this not suffice you in this matter?'"
It is established that the connection of the branch to the root is stronger than the reverse — the connection of the root to the branch — for the essence [of a thing] and its reception move toward its branch, in contrast to the branch. Were it not for His love for them, they would not have been given the capacity to love Him; and had they not been able to remember Him, love, and remembrance would not have occurred to them except as a grace/favor from Him. When He, glorified is He, loves a servant from among His servants, He turns His face and His heart toward him and casts His love into him — so it is inevitable that [the servant] remembers Him and loves Him. Then his [the servant's] love for Him grows, then He [God] loves him even more in his heart, as He said: "...and those who are guided, He increases them in guidance" (Muhammad 47:17) — until He draws him with the pulls of His care, and the mountains of His love, with increasing nearness to His presence.
It is said that divine love, at its beginning, is a subtle attraction, since it is weak and has not become strong or manifest — and for this reason the Messenger of God clarified its sign and made it known through his saying: "When light enters the heart of the believer, it expands and opens up," so they said, "O Messenger of God, is there a sign of this?" He said, "Yes: withdrawing from the abode of delusion, and turning in repentance toward the abode of everlasting joy" — then, when [that love] grows strong and becomes manifest, it becomes apparent from every outward sign, and cannot be inferred but is [itself] what allows inference, as it has been said:
"The sun came as proof of the sun itself — if you need proof of it, turn away from it."
Here we say: this is called "the manifest attraction", and arrival at the Presence is not possible except through it, even were the worshipper to worship for a thousand years, unless it be through it — [this being] a settled matter, that worship [alone], following the method of the shaykhs and their followers among the ordinary means, is a means God has made customary for him, toward reaching Him and connecting with Him. And regarding this meaning, our master, may God have mercy on him, said:
"The root of your attraction is bound up already, O friend — do not become one who is stopped, waiting for that attraction."
"The bird of attraction suddenly flies from the nest — just as you have seen the candle of morning, then draw it in."
From this it is known that the servant's love for his Lord is likewise present, since the servant is among the awliyah and the believers — as for the disbeliever, he too is not devoid of some love for God, even the polytheists included — for they worship nothing except that which they [believe] loves them and whom they love — except that the divinity so described with attributes of perfection, the ultimate purpose in this matter, they err in fully knowing, and thus do not truly know it, and do not distinguish between the manifest reality and outward appearances.
Then know: that love, for a human being, has degrees, the highest of which is love for one's own self and one's own continuance, and its opposite is hatred and aversion to one's own annihilation. This is why it is instinctive in human nature to hate death, imagining it to be [utter] non-existence — for this reason, believers, even though they do not believe in [bodily] resurrection [after physical dissolution to non-existence, contrary to Islamic doctrine] — [they nonetheless retain such an instinctive aversion] on account of this notion, even though such notions are [merely] conjectural (i.e., not necessarily reflecting truth). Then comes his love for what is indispensable to his livelihood/subsistence, from among the means; then his love for whoever provides him access to those means and bestows favor upon him through them. In these two kinds of love, there are countless degrees, on account of the varying strength of these means relative to how urgently they are needed, and the varying strength and weakness of the benefactors depending on the recipient's need for the one bestowing benefit upon him — [the recipient] being benefited according to either the abundance or scarcity of the blessing, or according to how directly the blessing issues from the essence [of the giver] itself, or through an intermediary. Then comes his love for beauty — whether that beauty be beauty of meaning or beauty of form, and it is the same whether the beauty of meaning consists in the beauty of doing good, or the beauty of some perfection other than doing good — so love ends up falling into three categories/degrees, even though each category contains within it further degrees too numerous to count, given the varying differences occurring between the two sides — the lover and the beloved.
As for a human being's love for what suits him and matches him, [it is] like the love every individual of a species has for its own kind, and the love every individual of a type has for its like — and human beings' encountered love varies according to the differing relationships/affinities among individuals, just as a young boy is inclined toward another young boy, and a youth toward a youth, and an elder toward an elder, and a foreigner/stranger toward a foreigner/stranger — this too, in my view, returns to a human being's love for his own self, even though it is deemed [by some] to be a different category for people, generally, only love a specific act because it resembles kindness and favor, so their love accepts change with the appearance of the opposite of what they loved — from acts such as harshness and vengeance. Whereas one who loves [God's] attributes — even if his love persists on account of the persistence of the beloved attribute — this does not extend to all the manifestations of the Essence across every attribute it may have. As for the lover of the Essence [itself], his love is general and constant, on account of the permanence of the Beloved and its encompassing all manifestations, regardless of what they may be.
Being characterized by this Name [al-Wadūd] may be understood either as the active-participle sense, made manifest through what appeared of it in the sense of "one who acts" — that is, it was made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who is acted upon"; or [alternatively], it may be understood in the sense of "one who is acted upon," made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who acts." For God, when He loves His servant, [it means] He draws him near, and he becomes beloved to his Lord and to all people — as the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "When God loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says: 'I love so-and-so, so love him.' Then Gabriel loves him, and then Gabriel calls out among the inhabitants of heaven, saying: 'God loves so-and-so, so love him' — then the inhabitants of heaven love him, and then acceptance is placed for him on earth." And when the servant loves his Lord, out of the perfection of his love, he becomes truly beloved [in return].
As for the realization [proper], it is that the love of the Essence for the Essence becomes fully realized through the Essence's self-disclosure (tajallī) from behind the veils of [divine] attributes, and its burning away the traces of the darknesses, and its purifying the absolute light from the taint of turbidities/impurities.
O God, grant us the realization of Your love in truth, and connect us to the subtleties of nearness to You.
—Sharḥ al-Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā, 1.103-107](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOD_qQyWAAAXJ0L.png)
![samarqandism's tweet photo. [the meaning of the name: al-Wudūd]
Bahāʾ al-Dīn Zāde al-Bayrāmī [d. 1545 CE] states:
"Al-wadūd" is an intensive form from "wudd" ("love"), meaning "one who loves", and it may carry the sense of the active participle, or the passive participle — that is, He, glorified is He, loves His servants and His servants love Him, as He, Most High, said: "He loves them and they love Him" (al-Mā'idah).
and He, Most High, said: "God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him" (al-Mā'idah 5:119; also cf. al-Tawbah 9:100, al-Mujādilah 58:22, al-Bayyinah 98:8).
Part of His love for creation, Most High, is that He brought them into existence and created them with His two hands, and instilled His light upon them from His [own] existence, and provided for them, and made ready for them the means [of sustenance] before He created them — He said: "He created for you all that is in the heavens and the earth," then He guided them to the path, then sent down to them scriptures, and sent to them messengers — and it suffices as proof of His love for them that He attributed them to Himself and connected them to Him and to servitude toward Him. As for the elect among the believers, [He says] in His words: "O My servants, no fear shall be upon you today, nor shall you grieve" (al-Zukhruf 43:68); and as for [sinful] servants, in His words: "Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy" (al-Zumar 39:53); and as for the disbelievers — even though they are enemies of God insofar as they disbelieved — He still attributed them to Himself, "My servants," because they are created by His two hands, and manifestations of His names and attributes. He, glorified is He, said to them through the tongue of His prophet Jesus, peace be upon him: "If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, indeed You are the Almighty, the Wise" (al-Mā'idah 5:118).
It has been related — and the great Shaykh cited this in his Futūḥāt — the account: "Indeed, God's prophet David set about building the Holy House, but was not granted success in it, so God, Most High, revealed to him: 'It was decreed that this be at your hands — yet in your hands is the blood of many of My servants.' He [David] said: 'O Lord, was it not for the sake of implementing Your command, and exalting and proclaiming Your word, and striving against Your enemies?' God, Most High, said: 'Yes indeed — but are they not also My servants, having a connection to Me? Does this not suffice you in this matter?'"
It is established that the connection of the branch to the root is stronger than the reverse — the connection of the root to the branch — for the essence [of a thing] and its reception move toward its branch, in contrast to the branch. Were it not for His love for them, they would not have been given the capacity to love Him; and had they not been able to remember Him, love, and remembrance would not have occurred to them except as a grace/favor from Him. When He, glorified is He, loves a servant from among His servants, He turns His face and His heart toward him and casts His love into him — so it is inevitable that [the servant] remembers Him and loves Him. Then his [the servant's] love for Him grows, then He [God] loves him even more in his heart, as He said: "...and those who are guided, He increases them in guidance" (Muhammad 47:17) — until He draws him with the pulls of His care, and the mountains of His love, with increasing nearness to His presence.
It is said that divine love, at its beginning, is a subtle attraction, since it is weak and has not become strong or manifest — and for this reason the Messenger of God clarified its sign and made it known through his saying: "When light enters the heart of the believer, it expands and opens up," so they said, "O Messenger of God, is there a sign of this?" He said, "Yes: withdrawing from the abode of delusion, and turning in repentance toward the abode of everlasting joy" — then, when [that love] grows strong and becomes manifest, it becomes apparent from every outward sign, and cannot be inferred but is [itself] what allows inference, as it has been said:
"The sun came as proof of the sun itself — if you need proof of it, turn away from it."
Here we say: this is called "the manifest attraction", and arrival at the Presence is not possible except through it, even were the worshipper to worship for a thousand years, unless it be through it — [this being] a settled matter, that worship [alone], following the method of the shaykhs and their followers among the ordinary means, is a means God has made customary for him, toward reaching Him and connecting with Him. And regarding this meaning, our master, may God have mercy on him, said:
"The root of your attraction is bound up already, O friend — do not become one who is stopped, waiting for that attraction."
"The bird of attraction suddenly flies from the nest — just as you have seen the candle of morning, then draw it in."
From this it is known that the servant's love for his Lord is likewise present, since the servant is among the awliyah and the believers — as for the disbeliever, he too is not devoid of some love for God, even the polytheists included — for they worship nothing except that which they [believe] loves them and whom they love — except that the divinity so described with attributes of perfection, the ultimate purpose in this matter, they err in fully knowing, and thus do not truly know it, and do not distinguish between the manifest reality and outward appearances.
Then know: that love, for a human being, has degrees, the highest of which is love for one's own self and one's own continuance, and its opposite is hatred and aversion to one's own annihilation. This is why it is instinctive in human nature to hate death, imagining it to be [utter] non-existence — for this reason, believers, even though they do not believe in [bodily] resurrection [after physical dissolution to non-existence, contrary to Islamic doctrine] — [they nonetheless retain such an instinctive aversion] on account of this notion, even though such notions are [merely] conjectural (i.e., not necessarily reflecting truth). Then comes his love for what is indispensable to his livelihood/subsistence, from among the means; then his love for whoever provides him access to those means and bestows favor upon him through them. In these two kinds of love, there are countless degrees, on account of the varying strength of these means relative to how urgently they are needed, and the varying strength and weakness of the benefactors depending on the recipient's need for the one bestowing benefit upon him — [the recipient] being benefited according to either the abundance or scarcity of the blessing, or according to how directly the blessing issues from the essence [of the giver] itself, or through an intermediary. Then comes his love for beauty — whether that beauty be beauty of meaning or beauty of form, and it is the same whether the beauty of meaning consists in the beauty of doing good, or the beauty of some perfection other than doing good — so love ends up falling into three categories/degrees, even though each category contains within it further degrees too numerous to count, given the varying differences occurring between the two sides — the lover and the beloved.
As for a human being's love for what suits him and matches him, [it is] like the love every individual of a species has for its own kind, and the love every individual of a type has for its like — and human beings' encountered love varies according to the differing relationships/affinities among individuals, just as a young boy is inclined toward another young boy, and a youth toward a youth, and an elder toward an elder, and a foreigner/stranger toward a foreigner/stranger — this too, in my view, returns to a human being's love for his own self, even though it is deemed [by some] to be a different category for people, generally, only love a specific act because it resembles kindness and favor, so their love accepts change with the appearance of the opposite of what they loved — from acts such as harshness and vengeance. Whereas one who loves [God's] attributes — even if his love persists on account of the persistence of the beloved attribute — this does not extend to all the manifestations of the Essence across every attribute it may have. As for the lover of the Essence [itself], his love is general and constant, on account of the permanence of the Beloved and its encompassing all manifestations, regardless of what they may be.
Being characterized by this Name [al-Wadūd] may be understood either as the active-participle sense, made manifest through what appeared of it in the sense of "one who acts" — that is, it was made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who is acted upon"; or [alternatively], it may be understood in the sense of "one who is acted upon," made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who acts." For God, when He loves His servant, [it means] He draws him near, and he becomes beloved to his Lord and to all people — as the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "When God loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says: 'I love so-and-so, so love him.' Then Gabriel loves him, and then Gabriel calls out among the inhabitants of heaven, saying: 'God loves so-and-so, so love him' — then the inhabitants of heaven love him, and then acceptance is placed for him on earth." And when the servant loves his Lord, out of the perfection of his love, he becomes truly beloved [in return].
As for the realization [proper], it is that the love of the Essence for the Essence becomes fully realized through the Essence's self-disclosure (tajallī) from behind the veils of [divine] attributes, and its burning away the traces of the darknesses, and its purifying the absolute light from the taint of turbidities/impurities.
O God, grant us the realization of Your love in truth, and connect us to the subtleties of nearness to You.
—Sharḥ al-Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā, 1.103-107](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOD_oQ8WgAAMu7b.png)
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Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Khwājah-Zādah [d. 1488 CE] writes:
"If you say: If the relation of the will (irādah) to the two opposites is equal, just as the relation of power (qudrah) to them is equal, then its attaching itself to one rather than the other, if it does not require a determining factor (murajjiḥ), would amount to one of two equal alternatives becoming preponderant over the other without a determiner. This would undermine the proof for the existence of the Creator.
But if it does require a determining factor, then an infinite regress follows.
On the other hand, if the relation of the will to the two opposites is not equal, but rather its attachment to one of them belongs to it essentially (li-dhātihā), then it would be impossible for it to attach itself to the other, since what belongs to something essentially cannot cease to belong to it. Moreover, the will could not prefer both opposites together. Consequently, necessary emanation (ījāb) would follow.
I reply: We choose the position that the relation of the will to the two opposites is equal.
As for your statement: "If its attachment to one of them does not require a determining factor (murajjiḥ), then one of two equal alternatives has become preponderant over the other,"
this is denied.
Rather, what necessarily follows is that the capable agent (al-qādir) gives preference to one of two equal alternatives over the other without any motive (dāʿī) calling him to prefer and choose it.
This is not the same as preponderance without a determining factor (tarjīḥ bilā murajjiḥ), that is, without any efficient cause (muʾaththir) whatsoever. The distinction between the two is perfectly clear, and the former does not entail the latter.
Consequently, the way to proving the existence of the Creator is not blocked.
For knowledge of the existence of the Necessary Being (al-Wājib) is founded upon the impossibility of preponderance without a determining factor, that is, without any efficient cause, not upon the impossibility of a willing and capable agent preferring one of two equally possible objects of his power over the other by means of his will, without any motive prompting that will.
The fundamental argument is this:
There is no doubt that some existent exists.
If that existent is necessary in itself, then that is precisely what we seek to establish.
If it is contingent (mumkin), then it necessarily requires a producer (mūjid), because it is impossible for one of the two alternatives of a contingent thing to become preponderant over the other without a determining factor. The discussion is then transferred to its producer.
Either this proceeds in an infinite regress—and that is impossible—or it terminates in the Necessary Being, which is precisely what we sought to prove."
— Tahāfut al-Muḥākamah 1.65-66
![samarqandism's tweet photo. Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Khwājah-Zādah [d. 1488 CE] writes:
"If you say: If the relation of the will (irādah) to the two opposites is equal, just as the relation of power (qudrah) to them is equal, then its attaching itself to one rather than the other, if it does not require a determining factor (murajjiḥ), would amount to one of two equal alternatives becoming preponderant over the other without a determiner. This would undermine the proof for the existence of the Creator.
But if it does require a determining factor, then an infinite regress follows.
On the other hand, if the relation of the will to the two opposites is not equal, but rather its attachment to one of them belongs to it essentially (li-dhātihā), then it would be impossible for it to attach itself to the other, since what belongs to something essentially cannot cease to belong to it. Moreover, the will could not prefer both opposites together. Consequently, necessary emanation (ījāb) would follow.
I reply: We choose the position that the relation of the will to the two opposites is equal.
As for your statement: "If its attachment to one of them does not require a determining factor (murajjiḥ), then one of two equal alternatives has become preponderant over the other,"
this is denied.
Rather, what necessarily follows is that the capable agent (al-qādir) gives preference to one of two equal alternatives over the other without any motive (dāʿī) calling him to prefer and choose it.
This is not the same as preponderance without a determining factor (tarjīḥ bilā murajjiḥ), that is, without any efficient cause (muʾaththir) whatsoever. The distinction between the two is perfectly clear, and the former does not entail the latter.
Consequently, the way to proving the existence of the Creator is not blocked.
For knowledge of the existence of the Necessary Being (al-Wājib) is founded upon the impossibility of preponderance without a determining factor, that is, without any efficient cause, not upon the impossibility of a willing and capable agent preferring one of two equally possible objects of his power over the other by means of his will, without any motive prompting that will.
The fundamental argument is this:
There is no doubt that some existent exists.
If that existent is necessary in itself, then that is precisely what we seek to establish.
If it is contingent (mumkin), then it necessarily requires a producer (mūjid), because it is impossible for one of the two alternatives of a contingent thing to become preponderant over the other without a determining factor. The discussion is then transferred to its producer.
Either this proceeds in an infinite regress—and that is impossible—or it terminates in the Necessary Being, which is precisely what we sought to prove."
— Tahāfut al-Muḥākamah 1.65-66](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HODxk_Xa0AAhLCG.png)
Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd al-Muʿtazilī [d. 1258 CE] writes:
"If you say: "This amounts to saying that one of the two times is specified over the other without a specifier (murajjiḥ)."
We reply: You have spoken truly. However, we have already explained that this proposition is not as people imagine it to be, and that there is no impossibility in specification (tarjīḥ) without a specifier (murajjiḥ). The impossibility lies only in the issuance of an effect (athar) from something without an efficient cause (muʾaththir). There is an obvious difference between the two.
If you say: "Specification (tarjīḥ) is itself an effect. Therefore, specification without a specifier is equivalent to an effecting without an efficient cause."
We reply: We do not concede that specification (tarjīḥ) is an effect (athar). For by effect we mean nothing other than that which exists externally (al-amr al-mawjūd fī al-khārij).
Specification (tarjīḥ) is nothing but the specification of one of the two times, rather than the other, by virtue of the occurrence taking place in it.
This specification (ikhtiṣāṣ) is not something that exists externally. Rather, it is a relation (nisbah) between the effect and the time.
If it were an existing thing for which an efficient cause had to be sought, then the relation of that thing to the time would itself also require an efficient cause, and an infinite regress (tasalsul) would necessarily follow.
It is therefore established that specification (tarjīḥ) is not an existing thing. Rather, it is merely a certain specification or determination (ikhtiṣāṣ mā).
Nor do we concede that something of this sort requires an efficient cause.
And whoever claims that its requiring one is self-evident (ḍarūrī), we counter his claim with one exactly like it."
— Naqd al-Muḥaṣṣal li-Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī 1.148
![samarqandism's tweet photo. Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd al-Muʿtazilī [d. 1258 CE] writes:
"If you say: "This amounts to saying that one of the two times is specified over the other without a specifier (murajjiḥ)."
We reply: You have spoken truly. However, we have already explained that this proposition is not as people imagine it to be, and that there is no impossibility in specification (tarjīḥ) without a specifier (murajjiḥ). The impossibility lies only in the issuance of an effect (athar) from something without an efficient cause (muʾaththir). There is an obvious difference between the two.
If you say: "Specification (tarjīḥ) is itself an effect. Therefore, specification without a specifier is equivalent to an effecting without an efficient cause."
We reply: We do not concede that specification (tarjīḥ) is an effect (athar). For by effect we mean nothing other than that which exists externally (al-amr al-mawjūd fī al-khārij).
Specification (tarjīḥ) is nothing but the specification of one of the two times, rather than the other, by virtue of the occurrence taking place in it.
This specification (ikhtiṣāṣ) is not something that exists externally. Rather, it is a relation (nisbah) between the effect and the time.
If it were an existing thing for which an efficient cause had to be sought, then the relation of that thing to the time would itself also require an efficient cause, and an infinite regress (tasalsul) would necessarily follow.
It is therefore established that specification (tarjīḥ) is not an existing thing. Rather, it is merely a certain specification or determination (ikhtiṣāṣ mā).
Nor do we concede that something of this sort requires an efficient cause.
And whoever claims that its requiring one is self-evident (ḍarūrī), we counter his claim with one exactly like it."
— Naqd al-Muḥaṣṣal li-Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī 1.148](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOD1-aQa4AA7VfR.jpg)
al-Imām Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī [d. 1310 CE] says:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and blessings upon the master of the messengers, and upon his family and pure companions. To proceed: the most obscure branches of knowledge regarding the foundations of religion, and the most difficult of them, is knowledge of the judgment/decree (qaḍāʾ) of God Most High, His decree (qadar), and the manner in which His will relates to the acts of servants.
For this reason, doctrines and views on these two matters have differed, and the wise have been perplexed in verifying them; yet the majority hold a conviction on them, along with jabr and taklīf without capacity, and other doubts and uncertainties which we will mention, and to which the verifying scholars will respond regarding this belief.
God's decree, according to the belief of the majority, is: His eternal wisdom, which necessitates that whatever occurs is to its effect/cause — and this is far-fetched, since it would necessarily follow, from this, denial of compulsion; and by His greatness and majesty and mercy, He is exempt from moral obligation without capacity — the two things negated by both revealed transmission and reason (for reason does not obligate a soul beyond its capacity, and [holds a person accountable] only for what it has earned and acquired). And from denying injustice comes the specification whereby some servants are singled out for disbelief and others for faith; then the punishing of disbelievers in Hell forever; and the origination of evils and afflictions for prophets, righteous people, and others, for the wisdom of testing and trial; and from [this] comes the sending of messengers, the revealing of scriptures, commands, prohibitions, promise and threat, and the negation of power from the Creator over the created — for these things are necessary given the existence of created beings at that moment, and the like of these do not befit the most base of created beings, so how could they befit the Creator — the Wise, the Merciful, the Generous, the Just, rich beyond need, glorious and majestic, source of all bounty and grace?
God's decree, according to the view of the verifying scholars, is: His eternal wisdom that corresponds to what must occur from His acts, in accordance with wisdom, benefit, and the acts of servants — both the voluntary and the involuntary, like the movement of one trembling versus a correct/intentional movement. And this ruling is the declarative knowledge recognized among the people of knowledge.
Decree, in this sense, does not negate the servant's power and choice — rather, it confirms them both, because it is a judgment that [the servant] acts by his [own] power and choice. In that case, there is no barrier preventing disbelievers from faith in God Most High; rather, it is from themselves — through blind imitation, obstinacy, and failure to reflect and seek the truth. For this he deserves punishment, and thereupon the aforementioned doubts about decree collapse.
Then, God's will, being connected to the will of the servant, means: [God] wills that the servant do [an act] by his will and power, which God has granted him, just as the master wills, with respect to the acquisition granted to his servant, that [the servant] be entrusted. In that case, whatever the servant does by his will and power occurs by the will and power of God Most High, and this does not entail compulsion — because, in that case, the act occurs through his will and power. This is the verification of this matter for whoever seeks the truth, so let him reflect upon it. And God knows best and is most wise.
—Risālah fī al-Qaḍāʾ wa-l-Qadar
![samarqandism's tweet photo. al-Imām Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī [d. 1310 CE] says:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and blessings upon the master of the messengers, and upon his family and pure companions. To proceed: the most obscure branches of knowledge regarding the foundations of religion, and the most difficult of them, is knowledge of the judgment/decree (qaḍāʾ) of God Most High, His decree (qadar), and the manner in which His will relates to the acts of servants.
For this reason, doctrines and views on these two matters have differed, and the wise have been perplexed in verifying them; yet the majority hold a conviction on them, along with jabr and taklīf without capacity, and other doubts and uncertainties which we will mention, and to which the verifying scholars will respond regarding this belief.
God's decree, according to the belief of the majority, is: His eternal wisdom, which necessitates that whatever occurs is to its effect/cause — and this is far-fetched, since it would necessarily follow, from this, denial of compulsion; and by His greatness and majesty and mercy, He is exempt from moral obligation without capacity — the two things negated by both revealed transmission and reason (for reason does not obligate a soul beyond its capacity, and [holds a person accountable] only for what it has earned and acquired). And from denying injustice comes the specification whereby some servants are singled out for disbelief and others for faith; then the punishing of disbelievers in Hell forever; and the origination of evils and afflictions for prophets, righteous people, and others, for the wisdom of testing and trial; and from [this] comes the sending of messengers, the revealing of scriptures, commands, prohibitions, promise and threat, and the negation of power from the Creator over the created — for these things are necessary given the existence of created beings at that moment, and the like of these do not befit the most base of created beings, so how could they befit the Creator — the Wise, the Merciful, the Generous, the Just, rich beyond need, glorious and majestic, source of all bounty and grace?
God's decree, according to the view of the verifying scholars, is: His eternal wisdom that corresponds to what must occur from His acts, in accordance with wisdom, benefit, and the acts of servants — both the voluntary and the involuntary, like the movement of one trembling versus a correct/intentional movement. And this ruling is the declarative knowledge recognized among the people of knowledge.
Decree, in this sense, does not negate the servant's power and choice — rather, it confirms them both, because it is a judgment that [the servant] acts by his [own] power and choice. In that case, there is no barrier preventing disbelievers from faith in God Most High; rather, it is from themselves — through blind imitation, obstinacy, and failure to reflect and seek the truth. For this he deserves punishment, and thereupon the aforementioned doubts about decree collapse.
Then, God's will, being connected to the will of the servant, means: [God] wills that the servant do [an act] by his will and power, which God has granted him, just as the master wills, with respect to the acquisition granted to his servant, that [the servant] be entrusted. In that case, whatever the servant does by his will and power occurs by the will and power of God Most High, and this does not entail compulsion — because, in that case, the act occurs through his will and power. This is the verification of this matter for whoever seeks the truth, so let him reflect upon it. And God knows best and is most wise.
—Risālah fī al-Qaḍāʾ wa-l-Qadar](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOD14P2WMAAIYgD.png)
Imām Kemalpaşazade [d. 1534 CE] writes:
"As for the one who uses this excuse as a justification for persisting in future sins, taking comfort and delight in it, without grief or regret—as did ʿUmar Khayyām, who said:
I drink wine, and everyone who is truly like me
Knows that my drinking wine is my rightful due.
In His sight, my drinking wine is an easy matter;
For were I not to drink wine, God's knowledge would prove ignorance.
Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī replied to him with these verses:
You said, "In my view, this matter is easy:"
"God's eternal knowledge is the cause of committing sin."
No one truly qualified would utter such a claim;
To the intelligent, it is the height of ignorance."
— Risālat al-Qaḍāʾ wa'l-Qadar 1.34
![samarqandism's tweet photo. Imām Kemalpaşazade [d. 1534 CE] writes:
"As for the one who uses this excuse as a justification for persisting in future sins, taking comfort and delight in it, without grief or regret—as did ʿUmar Khayyām, who said:
I drink wine, and everyone who is truly like me
Knows that my drinking wine is my rightful due.
In His sight, my drinking wine is an easy matter;
For were I not to drink wine, God's knowledge would prove ignorance.
Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī replied to him with these verses:
You said, "In my view, this matter is easy:"
"God's eternal knowledge is the cause of committing sin."
No one truly qualified would utter such a claim;
To the intelligent, it is the height of ignorance."
— Risālat al-Qaḍāʾ wa'l-Qadar 1.34](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOD41oZasAAT-6p.png)
[the meaning of the name: al-Wudūd]
Bahāʾ al-Dīn Zāde al-Bayrāmī [d. 1545 CE] states:
"Al-wadūd" is an intensive form from "wudd" ("love"), meaning "one who loves", and it may carry the sense of the active participle, or the passive participle — that is, He, glorified is He, loves His servants and His servants love Him, as He, Most High, said: "He loves them and they love Him" (al-Mā'idah).
and He, Most High, said: "God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him" (al-Mā'idah 5:119; also cf. al-Tawbah 9:100, al-Mujādilah 58:22, al-Bayyinah 98:8).
Part of His love for creation, Most High, is that He brought them into existence and created them with His two hands, and instilled His light upon them from His [own] existence, and provided for them, and made ready for them the means [of sustenance] before He created them — He said: "He created for you all that is in the heavens and the earth," then He guided them to the path, then sent down to them scriptures, and sent to them messengers — and it suffices as proof of His love for them that He attributed them to Himself and connected them to Him and to servitude toward Him. As for the elect among the believers, [He says] in His words: "O My servants, no fear shall be upon you today, nor shall you grieve" (al-Zukhruf 43:68); and as for [sinful] servants, in His words: "Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy" (al-Zumar 39:53); and as for the disbelievers — even though they are enemies of God insofar as they disbelieved — He still attributed them to Himself, "My servants," because they are created by His two hands, and manifestations of His names and attributes. He, glorified is He, said to them through the tongue of His prophet Jesus, peace be upon him: "If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, indeed You are the Almighty, the Wise" (al-Mā'idah 5:118).
It has been related — and the great Shaykh cited this in his Futūḥāt — the account: "Indeed, God's prophet David set about building the Holy House, but was not granted success in it, so God, Most High, revealed to him: 'It was decreed that this be at your hands — yet in your hands is the blood of many of My servants.' He [David] said: 'O Lord, was it not for the sake of implementing Your command, and exalting and proclaiming Your word, and striving against Your enemies?' God, Most High, said: 'Yes indeed — but are they not also My servants, having a connection to Me? Does this not suffice you in this matter?'"
It is established that the connection of the branch to the root is stronger than the reverse — the connection of the root to the branch — for the essence [of a thing] and its reception move toward its branch, in contrast to the branch. Were it not for His love for them, they would not have been given the capacity to love Him; and had they not been able to remember Him, love, and remembrance would not have occurred to them except as a grace/favor from Him. When He, glorified is He, loves a servant from among His servants, He turns His face and His heart toward him and casts His love into him — so it is inevitable that [the servant] remembers Him and loves Him. Then his [the servant's] love for Him grows, then He [God] loves him even more in his heart, as He said: "...and those who are guided, He increases them in guidance" (Muhammad 47:17) — until He draws him with the pulls of His care, and the mountains of His love, with increasing nearness to His presence.
It is said that divine love, at its beginning, is a subtle attraction, since it is weak and has not become strong or manifest — and for this reason the Messenger of God clarified its sign and made it known through his saying: "When light enters the heart of the believer, it expands and opens up," so they said, "O Messenger of God, is there a sign of this?" He said, "Yes: withdrawing from the abode of delusion, and turning in repentance toward the abode of everlasting joy" — then, when [that love] grows strong and becomes manifest, it becomes apparent from every outward sign, and cannot be inferred but is [itself] what allows inference, as it has been said:
"The sun came as proof of the sun itself — if you need proof of it, turn away from it."
Here we say: this is called "the manifest attraction", and arrival at the Presence is not possible except through it, even were the worshipper to worship for a thousand years, unless it be through it — [this being] a settled matter, that worship [alone], following the method of the shaykhs and their followers among the ordinary means, is a means God has made customary for him, toward reaching Him and connecting with Him. And regarding this meaning, our master, may God have mercy on him, said:
"The root of your attraction is bound up already, O friend — do not become one who is stopped, waiting for that attraction."
"The bird of attraction suddenly flies from the nest — just as you have seen the candle of morning, then draw it in."
From this it is known that the servant's love for his Lord is likewise present, since the servant is among the awliyah and the believers — as for the disbeliever, he too is not devoid of some love for God, even the polytheists included — for they worship nothing except that which they [believe] loves them and whom they love — except that the divinity so described with attributes of perfection, the ultimate purpose in this matter, they err in fully knowing, and thus do not truly know it, and do not distinguish between the manifest reality and outward appearances.
Then know: that love, for a human being, has degrees, the highest of which is love for one's own self and one's own continuance, and its opposite is hatred and aversion to one's own annihilation. This is why it is instinctive in human nature to hate death, imagining it to be [utter] non-existence — for this reason, believers, even though they do not believe in [bodily] resurrection [after physical dissolution to non-existence, contrary to Islamic doctrine] — [they nonetheless retain such an instinctive aversion] on account of this notion, even though such notions are [merely] conjectural (i.e., not necessarily reflecting truth). Then comes his love for what is indispensable to his livelihood/subsistence, from among the means; then his love for whoever provides him access to those means and bestows favor upon him through them. In these two kinds of love, there are countless degrees, on account of the varying strength of these means relative to how urgently they are needed, and the varying strength and weakness of the benefactors depending on the recipient's need for the one bestowing benefit upon him — [the recipient] being benefited according to either the abundance or scarcity of the blessing, or according to how directly the blessing issues from the essence [of the giver] itself, or through an intermediary. Then comes his love for beauty — whether that beauty be beauty of meaning or beauty of form, and it is the same whether the beauty of meaning consists in the beauty of doing good, or the beauty of some perfection other than doing good — so love ends up falling into three categories/degrees, even though each category contains within it further degrees too numerous to count, given the varying differences occurring between the two sides — the lover and the beloved.
As for a human being's love for what suits him and matches him, [it is] like the love every individual of a species has for its own kind, and the love every individual of a type has for its like — and human beings' encountered love varies according to the differing relationships/affinities among individuals, just as a young boy is inclined toward another young boy, and a youth toward a youth, and an elder toward an elder, and a foreigner/stranger toward a foreigner/stranger — this too, in my view, returns to a human being's love for his own self, even though it is deemed [by some] to be a different category for people, generally, only love a specific act because it resembles kindness and favor, so their love accepts change with the appearance of the opposite of what they loved — from acts such as harshness and vengeance. Whereas one who loves [God's] attributes — even if his love persists on account of the persistence of the beloved attribute — this does not extend to all the manifestations of the Essence across every attribute it may have. As for the lover of the Essence [itself], his love is general and constant, on account of the permanence of the Beloved and its encompassing all manifestations, regardless of what they may be.
Being characterized by this Name [al-Wadūd] may be understood either as the active-participle sense, made manifest through what appeared of it in the sense of "one who acts" — that is, it was made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who is acted upon"; or [alternatively], it may be understood in the sense of "one who is acted upon," made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who acts." For God, when He loves His servant, [it means] He draws him near, and he becomes beloved to his Lord and to all people — as the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "When God loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says: 'I love so-and-so, so love him.' Then Gabriel loves him, and then Gabriel calls out among the inhabitants of heaven, saying: 'God loves so-and-so, so love him' — then the inhabitants of heaven love him, and then acceptance is placed for him on earth." And when the servant loves his Lord, out of the perfection of his love, he becomes truly beloved [in return].
As for the realization [proper], it is that the love of the Essence for the Essence becomes fully realized through the Essence's self-disclosure (tajallī) from behind the veils of [divine] attributes, and its burning away the traces of the darknesses, and its purifying the absolute light from the taint of turbidities/impurities.
O God, grant us the realization of Your love in truth, and connect us to the subtleties of nearness to You.
—Sharḥ al-Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā, 1.103-107
![samarqandism's tweet photo. [the meaning of the name: al-Wudūd]
Bahāʾ al-Dīn Zāde al-Bayrāmī [d. 1545 CE] states:
"Al-wadūd" is an intensive form from "wudd" ("love"), meaning "one who loves", and it may carry the sense of the active participle, or the passive participle — that is, He, glorified is He, loves His servants and His servants love Him, as He, Most High, said: "He loves them and they love Him" (al-Mā'idah).
and He, Most High, said: "God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him" (al-Mā'idah 5:119; also cf. al-Tawbah 9:100, al-Mujādilah 58:22, al-Bayyinah 98:8).
Part of His love for creation, Most High, is that He brought them into existence and created them with His two hands, and instilled His light upon them from His [own] existence, and provided for them, and made ready for them the means [of sustenance] before He created them — He said: "He created for you all that is in the heavens and the earth," then He guided them to the path, then sent down to them scriptures, and sent to them messengers — and it suffices as proof of His love for them that He attributed them to Himself and connected them to Him and to servitude toward Him. As for the elect among the believers, [He says] in His words: "O My servants, no fear shall be upon you today, nor shall you grieve" (al-Zukhruf 43:68); and as for [sinful] servants, in His words: "Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy" (al-Zumar 39:53); and as for the disbelievers — even though they are enemies of God insofar as they disbelieved — He still attributed them to Himself, "My servants," because they are created by His two hands, and manifestations of His names and attributes. He, glorified is He, said to them through the tongue of His prophet Jesus, peace be upon him: "If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, indeed You are the Almighty, the Wise" (al-Mā'idah 5:118).
It has been related — and the great Shaykh cited this in his Futūḥāt — the account: "Indeed, God's prophet David set about building the Holy House, but was not granted success in it, so God, Most High, revealed to him: 'It was decreed that this be at your hands — yet in your hands is the blood of many of My servants.' He [David] said: 'O Lord, was it not for the sake of implementing Your command, and exalting and proclaiming Your word, and striving against Your enemies?' God, Most High, said: 'Yes indeed — but are they not also My servants, having a connection to Me? Does this not suffice you in this matter?'"
It is established that the connection of the branch to the root is stronger than the reverse — the connection of the root to the branch — for the essence [of a thing] and its reception move toward its branch, in contrast to the branch. Were it not for His love for them, they would not have been given the capacity to love Him; and had they not been able to remember Him, love, and remembrance would not have occurred to them except as a grace/favor from Him. When He, glorified is He, loves a servant from among His servants, He turns His face and His heart toward him and casts His love into him — so it is inevitable that [the servant] remembers Him and loves Him. Then his [the servant's] love for Him grows, then He [God] loves him even more in his heart, as He said: "...and those who are guided, He increases them in guidance" (Muhammad 47:17) — until He draws him with the pulls of His care, and the mountains of His love, with increasing nearness to His presence.
It is said that divine love, at its beginning, is a subtle attraction, since it is weak and has not become strong or manifest — and for this reason the Messenger of God clarified its sign and made it known through his saying: "When light enters the heart of the believer, it expands and opens up," so they said, "O Messenger of God, is there a sign of this?" He said, "Yes: withdrawing from the abode of delusion, and turning in repentance toward the abode of everlasting joy" — then, when [that love] grows strong and becomes manifest, it becomes apparent from every outward sign, and cannot be inferred but is [itself] what allows inference, as it has been said:
"The sun came as proof of the sun itself — if you need proof of it, turn away from it."
Here we say: this is called "the manifest attraction", and arrival at the Presence is not possible except through it, even were the worshipper to worship for a thousand years, unless it be through it — [this being] a settled matter, that worship [alone], following the method of the shaykhs and their followers among the ordinary means, is a means God has made customary for him, toward reaching Him and connecting with Him. And regarding this meaning, our master, may God have mercy on him, said:
"The root of your attraction is bound up already, O friend — do not become one who is stopped, waiting for that attraction."
"The bird of attraction suddenly flies from the nest — just as you have seen the candle of morning, then draw it in."
From this it is known that the servant's love for his Lord is likewise present, since the servant is among the awliyah and the believers — as for the disbeliever, he too is not devoid of some love for God, even the polytheists included — for they worship nothing except that which they [believe] loves them and whom they love — except that the divinity so described with attributes of perfection, the ultimate purpose in this matter, they err in fully knowing, and thus do not truly know it, and do not distinguish between the manifest reality and outward appearances.
Then know: that love, for a human being, has degrees, the highest of which is love for one's own self and one's own continuance, and its opposite is hatred and aversion to one's own annihilation. This is why it is instinctive in human nature to hate death, imagining it to be [utter] non-existence — for this reason, believers, even though they do not believe in [bodily] resurrection [after physical dissolution to non-existence, contrary to Islamic doctrine] — [they nonetheless retain such an instinctive aversion] on account of this notion, even though such notions are [merely] conjectural (i.e., not necessarily reflecting truth). Then comes his love for what is indispensable to his livelihood/subsistence, from among the means; then his love for whoever provides him access to those means and bestows favor upon him through them. In these two kinds of love, there are countless degrees, on account of the varying strength of these means relative to how urgently they are needed, and the varying strength and weakness of the benefactors depending on the recipient's need for the one bestowing benefit upon him — [the recipient] being benefited according to either the abundance or scarcity of the blessing, or according to how directly the blessing issues from the essence [of the giver] itself, or through an intermediary. Then comes his love for beauty — whether that beauty be beauty of meaning or beauty of form, and it is the same whether the beauty of meaning consists in the beauty of doing good, or the beauty of some perfection other than doing good — so love ends up falling into three categories/degrees, even though each category contains within it further degrees too numerous to count, given the varying differences occurring between the two sides — the lover and the beloved.
As for a human being's love for what suits him and matches him, [it is] like the love every individual of a species has for its own kind, and the love every individual of a type has for its like — and human beings' encountered love varies according to the differing relationships/affinities among individuals, just as a young boy is inclined toward another young boy, and a youth toward a youth, and an elder toward an elder, and a foreigner/stranger toward a foreigner/stranger — this too, in my view, returns to a human being's love for his own self, even though it is deemed [by some] to be a different category for people, generally, only love a specific act because it resembles kindness and favor, so their love accepts change with the appearance of the opposite of what they loved — from acts such as harshness and vengeance. Whereas one who loves [God's] attributes — even if his love persists on account of the persistence of the beloved attribute — this does not extend to all the manifestations of the Essence across every attribute it may have. As for the lover of the Essence [itself], his love is general and constant, on account of the permanence of the Beloved and its encompassing all manifestations, regardless of what they may be.
Being characterized by this Name [al-Wadūd] may be understood either as the active-participle sense, made manifest through what appeared of it in the sense of "one who acts" — that is, it was made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who is acted upon"; or [alternatively], it may be understood in the sense of "one who is acted upon," made manifest through what appeared in the sense of "one who acts." For God, when He loves His servant, [it means] He draws him near, and he becomes beloved to his Lord and to all people — as the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "When God loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says: 'I love so-and-so, so love him.' Then Gabriel loves him, and then Gabriel calls out among the inhabitants of heaven, saying: 'God loves so-and-so, so love him' — then the inhabitants of heaven love him, and then acceptance is placed for him on earth." And when the servant loves his Lord, out of the perfection of his love, he becomes truly beloved [in return].
As for the realization [proper], it is that the love of the Essence for the Essence becomes fully realized through the Essence's self-disclosure (tajallī) from behind the veils of [divine] attributes, and its burning away the traces of the darknesses, and its purifying the absolute light from the taint of turbidities/impurities.
O God, grant us the realization of Your love in truth, and connect us to the subtleties of nearness to You.
—Sharḥ al-Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā, 1.103-107](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOD_0wAWkAADrIQ.png)
The Prophet ﷺ said: "You will see your Lord as you see this moon and have no doubts about seeing Him. If, therefore, you can keep from being prevented from prayer before the sun rises and before it sets, do so." He ﷺ then recited, "Celebrate the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting" [Ṭā Hā: 130].
And he ﷺ said: "The most honored before God is the one who looks upon His Face morning and evening," then he ﷺ recited: "Some faces, that Day, will be radiant, looking at their Lord" [al-Qiyāmah: 22–23].
Imām Quṭb al-Dīn al-Iznīqī said: it is possible that the vision of God, Exalted, varies with respect to individuals, such that each person sees Him according to the measure of his excellence, knowledge, and perfection. This is why he said: "The most honored before God is the one who looks upon His Face morning and evening", so it is possible that those brought near [to God] see Him morning and evening, while the common believers see Him once, at the interval of a Friday.
...
If you should say: the vision of God, Exalted, with the physical eye requires facing/confrontation and location, as well as the density of body and color, and its being clothed in light, and God, Exalted, is transcendent above all of that. So how, then, can His vision be attained for us, like the full moon?
We say: the requirement of these mentioned conditions for vision is by way of estimation and custom, not by way of reason and sound intelligence. For reason permits that every existent thing be seen, even if you should deny everything that runs contrary to estimation and custom, casting behind your back most of the eschatological and resurrectional rulings. Such as the questioning by al-Nakīr and al-Munkar, the deceased's experience of pleasure and pain, the speech of the earth and of the limbs, and the crossing of the Ṣirāṭ.
— Talfīqāt al-Maṣābīḥ, 1.315
![samarqandism's tweet photo. The Prophet ﷺ said: "You will see your Lord as you see this moon and have no doubts about seeing Him. If, therefore, you can keep from being prevented from prayer before the sun rises and before it sets, do so." He ﷺ then recited, "Celebrate the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting" [Ṭā Hā: 130].
And he ﷺ said: "The most honored before God is the one who looks upon His Face morning and evening," then he ﷺ recited: "Some faces, that Day, will be radiant, looking at their Lord" [al-Qiyāmah: 22–23].
Imām Quṭb al-Dīn al-Iznīqī said: it is possible that the vision of God, Exalted, varies with respect to individuals, such that each person sees Him according to the measure of his excellence, knowledge, and perfection. This is why he said: "The most honored before God is the one who looks upon His Face morning and evening", so it is possible that those brought near [to God] see Him morning and evening, while the common believers see Him once, at the interval of a Friday.
...
If you should say: the vision of God, Exalted, with the physical eye requires facing/confrontation and location, as well as the density of body and color, and its being clothed in light, and God, Exalted, is transcendent above all of that. So how, then, can His vision be attained for us, like the full moon?
We say: the requirement of these mentioned conditions for vision is by way of estimation and custom, not by way of reason and sound intelligence. For reason permits that every existent thing be seen, even if you should deny everything that runs contrary to estimation and custom, casting behind your back most of the eschatological and resurrectional rulings. Such as the questioning by al-Nakīr and al-Munkar, the deceased's experience of pleasure and pain, the speech of the earth and of the limbs, and the crossing of the Ṣirāṭ.
— Talfīqāt al-Maṣābīḥ, 1.315](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HM1jlCvWYAARNNo.png)
Imām Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī said:
He who denied that God, Exalted, is knowing of that which has no end argued: that knowledge multiplies according to the multiplicity of the object known; so it would necessarily follow that there exist infinitely many instances of knowledge. But the existence of infinitely many things is impossible, since every quantity admits of increase and decrease, and whatever is such is finite, this has already been established in the refutation of infinite regress.
The answer: The multiplicity lies in the relations [of knowledge to its objects], and these relations are merely mental considerations (iʿtibāriyya); hence multiplicity in extra-mental reality does not follow from it.
— Al-Maʿārif fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥāʾif al-Ilāhiyyah, 1.268
![samarqandism's tweet photo. Imām Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī said:
He who denied that God, Exalted, is knowing of that which has no end argued: that knowledge multiplies according to the multiplicity of the object known; so it would necessarily follow that there exist infinitely many instances of knowledge. But the existence of infinitely many things is impossible, since every quantity admits of increase and decrease, and whatever is such is finite, this has already been established in the refutation of infinite regress.
The answer: The multiplicity lies in the relations [of knowledge to its objects], and these relations are merely mental considerations (iʿtibāriyya); hence multiplicity in extra-mental reality does not follow from it.
— Al-Maʿārif fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥāʾif al-Ilāhiyyah, 1.268](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HMzf_QCWMAA4gi9.png)
From the simple, all-encompassing heaven, which stands at the very utmost of purity and solidity, of loftiness and firmness; standing without pillars, everlasting through the length of ages; adorned with radiant stars, above all by the two luminaries, the sun and the moon; and the earth, spread out and vast, possessing regions and territories of deserts and mountains, wildernesses and seas, and gardens of intertwined trees, with rivers coursing and springs and wells gushing forth; and whatever lies between the two of the wonders of craftsmanship and the marvels of what is stored within creation; and the alternation and succession of night and day, and the alternation of darkness and light; the intensifying of raging winds and the quickening of flashing lightning; the massing of clouds and the shooting of meteors; the surging of snow and rain and the billowing of floods and seas; the genera of created things — minerals and plants — and the species of animals differing in form, shape, and configuration; above all, culminating in the sum of gnostic perfections, I mean the all-comprehensive human reality; and whatever has been deposited within each of the things mentioned, of the wonders of instructive lesson and the marvels of the fiṭra; and whatever has been embedded within it of the benefits of wisdom and their attendant blessings — such that minds are incapable of grasping them — must needs have an Originator: freely-choosing, transcendent, differing in kind from what He fashions and brings into being by choice. For created things, even were they to gather together, would not be able to "𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐲, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐭" [Sūrat al-Ḥajj, 22:73]
— Al-Qawl al-Faṣl: Sharḥ al-Fiqh al-Akbar, li'l-Imām al-Aʿẓam Abī Ḥanīfa, Imām Muḥyī al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Bahāʾ al-Dīn, p 19
![samarqandism's tweet photo. From the simple, all-encompassing heaven, which stands at the very utmost of purity and solidity, of loftiness and firmness; standing without pillars, everlasting through the length of ages; adorned with radiant stars, above all by the two luminaries, the sun and the moon; and the earth, spread out and vast, possessing regions and territories of deserts and mountains, wildernesses and seas, and gardens of intertwined trees, with rivers coursing and springs and wells gushing forth; and whatever lies between the two of the wonders of craftsmanship and the marvels of what is stored within creation; and the alternation and succession of night and day, and the alternation of darkness and light; the intensifying of raging winds and the quickening of flashing lightning; the massing of clouds and the shooting of meteors; the surging of snow and rain and the billowing of floods and seas; the genera of created things — minerals and plants — and the species of animals differing in form, shape, and configuration; above all, culminating in the sum of gnostic perfections, I mean the all-comprehensive human reality; and whatever has been deposited within each of the things mentioned, of the wonders of instructive lesson and the marvels of the fiṭra; and whatever has been embedded within it of the benefits of wisdom and their attendant blessings — such that minds are incapable of grasping them — must needs have an Originator: freely-choosing, transcendent, differing in kind from what He fashions and brings into being by choice. For created things, even were they to gather together, would not be able to "𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐲, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐭" [Sūrat al-Ḥajj, 22:73]
— Al-Qawl al-Faṣl: Sharḥ al-Fiqh al-Akbar, li'l-Imām al-Aʿẓam Abī Ḥanīfa, Imām Muḥyī al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Bahāʾ al-Dīn, p 19](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HMw3V6NW8AA0PpD.png)
@YusufalAshari @Stillyourbhai yeah they are, but most later maturidi’s held the same beliefs. they just denied the entailments of the mu’tazilah.
@YusufalAshari @Stillyourbhai you dont have to be mu’tazili to affirm ta7sin 3aqlan or that the humans irada is not created
@S_otium @mooreanshifts @Absurd_Ruka if you say anything garbage and not worth the mention, you will not be responded to
@S_otium @mooreanshifts @Absurd_Ruka for 3, i meant they make an EXPLICIT p and not p statement, not implicit. typo.
@S_otium @mooreanshifts @Absurd_Ruka no. you objectively are unread on this whole topic, this is quite evident of your shitty “formulation” of the LPoE which didn’t even conclude a contradiction between the existence of evil and the existence of God.. which is the ENTIRE point of the argument😭😭
@S_otium @mooreanshifts @Absurd_Ruka i dont want to hear anything that isnt a relevant argument and i really want to hear what “fallacies” i’ve committed
also stop projecting the insults i give you back onto me
mine are justified and are actually representative of your intelligence while yours are just desperate
@S_otium @mooreanshifts @Absurd_Ruka also you seem horribly unread on the literature, plenty of athiests have ignored the gratuitous evils portion of the LPoE lol
@S_otium @mooreanshifts @Absurd_Ruka bad cope just say you cant track for shit and move on, now give the premise by premise argument
@S_otium @mooreanshifts @Absurd_Ruka no running, i dont want to read a retarded derranged tangent
just give the premises and let’s move on
@S_otium @mooreanshifts @Absurd_Ruka “you’ve misunderstood the logical PoE” YOU gave the premise about “ANY evil” you retard 😭😭😭 omg you cannot even track your own argument
now stop running and just lay out an argument/logical PoE premise by premise that way you can actually track your own arguments 😭😭😭😭
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