Manuscript volume 20 · Page 157

إلا الإنسان فإنه يدعي الكبرياء والعزة والجبروت على الله تبارك وتعالى.

وأما الجن فتدعي ذٰلك على من دونها في زعمها من المخلوقين كاستكبار إبليس من حيث نشأته على آدم عليه السلام، ولذا قال: ﴿أَأَسْجُدُ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ طِيناً﴾ [الإسراء: ٦١]؛ لأنه رأى عنصر النار أشرف من عنصر التراب وقال: ﴿أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي من نارٍ وخَلَقْتَهُ من طِينٍ﴾ [الأعراف: ١٢]، فلم يتكبر على الله عز وجل؛ فاختص الإنسان وحده من سائر المخلوقات بهذه الصفة.

(ألفاظ المفاضلة والصورة الإنسانية)

فلما حصلت مثل هذه الدعوى في الوجود وتحققت من المدعي في نفسه وفيمن اعتقد ذٰلك فيه مثل فرعون ومن استخف من قومه، جعل الله في الوجود «أفعل من كذا» بمعنى المفاضلة كالمقرر لتلك الدعوى والمثبت لها فقال: «الله أكبر»، فأتى بلفظة أفعل، وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: «الله أعلى وأجل» فأتى بأفعل.

فكل «أفعل من كذا» المنعوت به جلال الله فسببه مشاركة الدعوى في تلك الصفة، لكن منها محمود ومذموم؛ فالمذموم (هو) ما ادعاه فرعون، والمحمود مثل قوله تعالى عن نفسه إنه ﴿أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ﴾ [الأعراف: ١٥١] و﴿أَحْسَنُ الْخالِقِينَ﴾ [المؤمنون: ١٤] فأتى بأفعل، وأثنى على الرحماء من عباده بأن جعل نفسه أرحم منهم بخلقه.

وأما تقريره العام فإن الرحمة منهم حقيقة أوجدها فيهم

except the human being, who claims greatness, might, and overpowering against God, blessed and exalted is He.

The jinn claim this over created beings beneath them in their supposition, like Iblis’s arrogance toward Adam, peace be upon him, in respect of his constitution. Hence he said, “Shall I prostrate to one You created as clay?” [al-Israʾ 17:61]. He saw the element fire as nobler than the element earth and said, “I am better than he: You created me from fire and created him from clay” [al-Aʿraf 7:12]. He was not arrogant toward God, mighty and majestic. Alone among all creatures, the human being is particular to this attribute.

(Expressions of Comparison and the Human Form)

When such a claim occurred in existence and was realized within its claimant and whoever believed it concerning him, like Pharaoh and those of his people he made light of, God placed “more such-and-such than” within existence as comparison, as though affirming and establishing that claim. He said, “God is greater,” using the afʿal form. He said, God bless him and grant him peace, “God is higher and more majestic,” using afʿal.

Every “more such-and-such than” describing God’s majesty arises because a claim shares in that attribute. Some of this is praised and some blamed. The blamed is what Pharaoh claimed; the praised is like His saying of Himself that He is “the Most Merciful of the merciful” [al-Aʿraf 7:151] and “the best of creators” [al-Muʾminun 23:14], using afʿal. He praised His merciful servants by making Himself more merciful to His creation than they.

As for His general affirmation, their mercy is a reality He brought into existence within them,