الباب الموفي للثلاثين في القدم
On Eternity-without-beginning (al-Qidam)
editorial & collation note
Bāb 30, al-Qidam (Eternity-without-beginning, pre-existence), the fifteenth chapter; a 5-verse closing qaṣīda. Qidam = the rule of essential necessity (al-wujūb al-dhātī), which manifested the Name 'al-Qadīm': the necessary-by-essence is unpreceded by non-existence, hence eternal by rule, NOT by 'the long passing of time' (which God transcends). Qidam is the priority of the rule of God's existence over the creatures; ḥudūth (origination) is the creature's need for a giver-of-existence (mūjid). The chapter's doctrinal core is al-Jīlī's refinement of his predecessors on the fixed entities (al-aʿyān al-thābita): 'a question our imams neglected,' whose words 'give only the rule of the eternity of the fixed entities' -- whereas, from the aspect of their dependence, they are originated (muḥdath), not eternal. His resolution: the known-objects are 'eternal for Him' (annexed in the rule of qidam to the eternal divine Knowledge) yet 'originated for themselves in their own essences' -- so creation is annexed to the Real by a ḥukmī (rule-based) annexation, qidam being ḥukmī for creatures while ḥudūth is ʿaynī (concrete). It guards this with an epistemic humility (even the unveiled gnostic's sense of an 'essential' annexation is 'according to his capacity, not the matter God knows of Himself') and a defense of the Law (the sharīʿa is not 'the outer husk' but gathers 'the pith and the husk'; the Prophet 'delivered the trust'). It closes by distinguishing azal (before-ness) from qidam (the negation of being preceded by non-existence). Witness handling: poem line 52 'min āwan' is OCR-garbled, rendered to sense and flagged; several kāf-as-alif garbles restored.
القدم عبارة عن حكم الوجوب الذاتي.
Eternity-without-beginning (al-Qidam) is an expression for the rule of essential necessity (al-wujūb al-dhātī).
فالوجوب الذاتي هو الذي أظهر اسمه القديم للحق.
For essential necessity is that which manifested His Name 'al-Qadīm' (the Eternal) for the Real.
لأن من كان وجوده واجباً بذاته لم يكن مسبوقاً بالعدم.
because whoever's existence is necessary by his essence is not preceded by non-existence;
ومن كان غير مسبوق بالعدم، لزم أن يكون قديماً بالحكم.
and whoever is not preceded by non-existence, it follows that he is eternal (qadīm) by rule.
وإلا فتعالى عن القدم، لأن القدم تطاول مرور الزمان على المسمَّى به.
Else He is exalted above eternity [in the vulgar sense], because [that] eternity is the long passing of time over the one named by it.
تعالى الحق عن ذلك، فقدمه إنما هو الحكم اللازم للوجوب الذاتي، وإلا فليس بينه سبحانه وتعالى وبين خلقه زمنٌ ولا وقتٌ جامع.
Exalted is the Real above that; so His eternity is only the rule entailed by essential necessity; else there is, between Him, glory be to Him and Most High, and His creation, no time nor moment that gathers [them].
بل تقدُّم حكم وجوده على وجود المخلوقات هو المسمَّى بالقدم،
Rather, the priority of the rule of His existence over the existence of the creatures is what is named 'eternity' (qidam),
وطرز المخلوق لافتقاره إلى موجِد يوجده هو المسمَّى بالحدوث.
and the manner of the creature, for its need of a giver-of-existence (mūjid) to bring it into being, is what is named 'origination' (ḥudūth).
ولو كان للحدوث معنىً ثانٍ وهو ظهور وجوده بعد أن لم يكن شيئاً مذكوراً.
even though origination has a second meaning, namely the appearance of its existence after it was not a thing mentioned.
فإن الحدوث الشائع اللازم في حق المخلوق إنما هو افتقاره إلى موجِد يوجده.
For the common, entailed origination, in the regard of the creature, is only its need for a giver-of-existence to bring it into being.
فهذا الأمر هو الذي أوجب اسم الحدوث على المخلوق، فهو ولو كان موجوداً في علم الله فهو محدَث في نفس ذلك الوجود،
So this matter is what obliged the name 'origination' upon the creature; for it, even though it be existent in the knowledge of God, is yet originated (muḥdath) in that very existence,
لأنه فيه مفتقر إلى موجِد يوجده، فلا يصحّ على المخلوق اسم القديم،
because in it it is in need of a giver-of-existence to bring it into being; so the name 'eternal' (qadīm) is not valid for the creature,
ولو كان موجوداً في العلم الإلهي قبل بروزه، لأن من حكمه أن يكون موجوداً بغيره، فوجوده مرتَّب على وجود الحق.
even though it be existent in the divine knowledge before its emergence, because its rule is to be existent by another, so its existence is arranged upon the existence of the Real.
وهذا معنى الحدوث.
And this is the meaning of origination.
وإلا فالأعيان الثابتة في العلم الإلهي محدَثة لا قديمة بهذا الاعتبار ومن هذا الوجه. وهذه مسألة أغفلها أئمتنا،
Else the fixed entities (al-aʿyān al-thābita) in the divine knowledge are originated, not eternal, by this consideration and from this aspect. And this is a question our imams neglected;
فلا توجد في كلام واحد منهم إلا ما يعطي الحكم بقدم الأعيان الثابتة، وذلك وجهٌ ثانٍ لاعتبار ثانٍ،
for there is not found, in the words of a single one of them, anything but what gives the rule of the eternity of the fixed entities -- and that is a second aspect, by a second consideration.
وهنا أنا أوضحه لك،
and here I make it clear for you.
وهو أنه لما كان العلم الإلهي قديماً، أي محكوماً عليه بالقدم وهو الوجوب الذاتي، لأن صفاته ملحقة بذاته في كل ما يليق بجنابه من الأحكام الإلهية،
It is that, since the divine knowledge is eternal -- that is, ruled with eternity, which is essential necessity, because His attributes are annexed to His Essence in all that befits His side, of the divine rulings --
ولأن العلم لا يطلق عليه علم إلا بوجود معلومه، وإلا فيستحيل وجود علم ولا معلوم،
and because knowledge is not called 'knowledge' except by the existence of its known-object, else it would be impossible to have a knowledge with no known --
كما أنه يستحيل وجود كل منهما بعدم العالِم، كانت المعلومات وهي الأعيان الثابتة ملحقة في حكم القدم بالعلم.
just as it is impossible for either of them to exist with the non-existence of the Knower -- the known-objects, which are the fixed entities, came to be annexed, in the rule of eternity, to the Knowledge.
وكانت معلومات الحق قديمة له، محدثة لأنفسها في ذواتها.
And the known-objects of the Real came to be eternal for Him, originated for themselves in their own essences.
فالتحق الخلق بالحق لحوقاً حكمياً،
So creation became annexed to the Real by a rule-based (ḥukmī) annexation,
لأن رجوع الوجود الخارجي إلى الحق من حيث الأمر عينيٌّ، ومن حيث الذات حكميٌّ.
because the return of the external existence to the Real, from the aspect of the command, is concrete (ʿaynī), and from the aspect of the Essence, by rule (ḥukmī).
ولا يفهم ما قلناه إلا الأفراد الكامل،
And none understands what we have said but the Perfect Singular Ones (al-afrād al-kāmil),
فإن هذا النوع من الأذواق الإلهية مخصوص بالمحققين دون غيرهم من العارفين.
for this kind of the divine tastes is special to the verified (al-muḥaqqiqīn), and not to others of the gnostics.
ولما كان هذا القدم في حق المخلوقات أمراً حكمياً والحدوث أمراً عينياً،
And since this eternity, in the regard of the creatures, is a matter of rule (ḥukmī), and origination a concrete matter (ʿaynī),
قدَّمنا ما يستحقونه من حيث ذواتهم على ما ينسبون إليه من حيث الحكم، وهو تعلُّق العلم الإلهي بهم، فافهم.
we gave precedence to what they deserve in respect of their own essences over what they are ascribed to in respect of the rule, which is the attachment of the divine knowledge to them. So understand.
فقدم الحق أمر حكمي ذاتي وجوبي له، وحدث الخلق أمر حكمي ذاتي وجوبي للمخلوقات.
So the eternity of the Real is a rule-based, essential, necessary matter for Him, and the origination of creation is a rule-based, essential, necessary matter for the creatures.
فالمخلوقات من حيث هويتها لا يقال فيها إنها حق إلا من حيث الحكم، ليدلّ عليه.
So the creatures, in respect of their ipseity (huwiyya), are not said to be 'the Real' except in respect of the rule, [and only] to indicate Him.
وإلا فالحق في نفسه منزَّه أن تلحق به الأشياء من حيث ذاته،
Else the Real, in Himself, is transcendent (munazzah) above the things being annexed to Him in respect of His Essence;
فما لحقوا به إلا من حيث الحكم.
so they were not annexed to Him except in respect of the rule.
وهذا اللحوق ولو لاح للمكاشِف العارف أنه لحوق ذاتي،
And this annexation, even though it should appear to the unveiled gnostic (al-mukāshif al-ʿārif) to be an essential annexation,
فإن ذلك إنما هو على قدر قابلية المكاشِف، لا على الأمر الذي يعلمه الله من نفسه لنفسه.
that is only according to the capacity (qābiliyya) of the unveiled one, not according to the matter that God knows of Himself for Himself.
وما أتت ألسنة الشرائع إلا مصرِّحة بانفراد الحق بما هو له،
And the tongues of the Laws (al-sharāʾiʿ) came only declaring plainly the singularity (infirād) of the Real with what is His;
وهذا التشريع هو على ما هو الأمر عليه، لا كما يزعمه من ليس له معرفة بحقيقة الحقائق.
and this legislation is upon the matter as it [truly] is, not as the one who has no knowledge of the reality-of-realities claims.
فإنه يلوح له شيء ويعزب عنه أشياء، فيقول:
For something appears to him, and things escape him, so he says:
إن التشريع إنما هو القشر الظاهر.
that the legislation is only the outer husk (al-qishr al-ẓāhir).
ولم يعلم أنه جامع للبّ الأمر وقشره، فقد أدَّى الأمانة صلى الله عليه وسلم ونصح الأمة،
And he did not know that it gathers the pith of the matter and its husk; for he, God bless him and grant him peace, delivered the Trust (al-amāna) and counseled the Community,
ولم يترك هدىً إلا نبَّه عليه، ولا معرفة إلا هدى إليها، فنعم الأمين الكامل ونعم العالِم بالله العامل.
and left no guidance but he gave notice of it, nor any knowledge but he guided to it. So excellent is the trustworthy Perfect One, and excellent the knower-of-God who acts!
فالقدم أمر حكمي لذات واجب الوجود. والفرق بين الأزل والقدم أن الأزل عبارة عن معقولية القبلية لله تعالى،
So eternity-without-beginning is a rule-based matter belonging to the Essence of the Necessary-of-Existence. And the difference between pre-eternity (azal) and eternity-without-beginning (qidam) is that pre-eternity is an expression for the intelligibility of before-ness for God Most High,
والقدم عبارة عن انتفاء مسبوقية الله تعالى بالعدم.
and eternity-without-beginning is an expression for the negation of God's being preceded by non-existence.
فالأزل إنما يفيد أنه قبل الأشياء،
So pre-eternity indicates only that He is before the things,
والقدم إنما يفيد أنه غير مسبوق بالعدم في نفس قبليته على الأشياء.
and eternity-without-beginning indicates only that He is not preceded by non-existence in His very before-ness over the things.
فلا يكون الأزل والقدم بمعنىً واحد، فافهم.
So pre-eternity and eternity-without-beginning are not of one meaning. So understand.
إن القديمَ هو الوجودُ الواجبُ ... والحكمُ للباري بذلك واجبُ
The Eternal is the Necessary Existence; and the rule, for the Maker, of that is necessary.
لا تعتبرْ قِدَمَ الإلهِ بمدةٍ ... أو أزمنٍ معقولةٍ تتعاقبُ
Measure not the eternity of the God by a duration, or by conceivable times succeeding one another.
فانسبْ له القِدَمَ الذي هو شأنُه ... من دونِ ذلك حكمُ من هو واجبُ
So ascribe to Him the eternity that is His [own] affair; apart from that is the rule of Him who is the Necessary.
معناهُ أنَّ وجودَه لا مسبَقٌ ... بالانعدامِ ولا قطيعٌ ذاهبُ
Its meaning is that His existence is not preceded by annihilation, nor a severance that passes away;
بل إنَّه لغنائِه في ذاتِه ... يسمَّى قديماً وهو حكمٌ دائبُ
rather, for His richness in His Essence, He is named 'eternal,' and it is a constant rule.