al-Kalam ala Qawlihi Taala Innama yakhsha Allah min ibadihi al-ulama
- Author died
- 795 AH
- Editions
- الفاروق الحديثة للطباعة والنشر
al-Kalam ‘ala Qawlihi Ta‘ala Innama Yakhsha Allah min ‘Ibadihi al-‘Ulama’ (Treatise on the Words of the Exalted: "Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge") is an exegetical, legal-theoretical, and ethical treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (736–795 AH / 1335–1393 CE) . The work presents an exposition of verse 28 of Surat Fatir ( إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ), examining its linguistic construction, legal-theoretical implications of restriction (hasr), and the spiritual relationship between religious knowledge and the fear of God (khashya) .
Linguistic and Legal-Theoretical Analysis
Ibn Rajab opens the treatise by identifying three primary premises established by the verse: the unanimous affirmation of fear (khashya) for scholars, the negation of true fear from non-scholars according to the sounder opinion, and the negation of true knowledge (‘ilm) from those who lack fear .
He analyzes the restrictive particle innama, composed of the emphatic inna and the preventative ma (al-kaffah) . He discusses the disagreement among legal theorists (usuliyyun) and grammarians over whether innama conveys restriction through the explicit text (manṭūq)—analogous to an exception clause, a view held by scholars such as al-Qadi Abu Ya'la in one opinion, Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudamah, and al-Ghazali—or via implicit understanding (mafhūm) . He refutes the claim that ma acts as a negative particle, showing instead that restriction can operate through established linguistic convention (ḥaqīqa ‘urfiyya) and context, drawing upon the analysis of Ibn Taymiyyah . Ibn Rajab concludes that the verse entails bidirectional restriction (ḥaṣr min al-ṭarafayn): every true scholar fears God, and anyone possessing genuine fear of God is a scholar .
The Connection Between Knowledge and Fear
Ibn Rajab outlines multiple reasons explaining why authentic knowledge inherently generates reverent fear, while sin stems from heedlessness and ignorance (jahala):
- Knowledge of God's majesty, divine names, and attributes compels veneration and awe, in accordance with the interpretation transmitted from Ibn Abbas .
- Detailed knowledge of divine commands, prohibitions, rewards, and punishments, accompanied by conviction in God’s continuous watchfulness, deters disobedience .
- True inner recognition of what is feared prompts flight from it, just as vivid conception of what is loved prompts seeking it; weakness in action reflects deficiency or fluctuations in faith .
- Transgressions occur when an actor underestimates the gravity of a sin or succumbs to delusions of fleeting worldly benefit, which he compares to consuming pleasant-tasting poison .
- Disobedience strips the heart of inner tranquility, producing constriction in living (ma‘īsha ḍanka), spiritual darkness, and intense shame (ḥayā’) before God on the Day of Resurrection, even if the sinner is ultimately pardoned .
Typology of Scholars and Transmission
Ibn Rajab incorporates early traditions dividing scholars into three categories: those knowledgeable of God and His commands (who unite inner awe with mastery of legal boundaries, such as Hammad ibn Salama); those knowledgeable of God but lacking detailed legal mastery (devout worshipers like Abu al-Hajj); and those knowledgeable of legal rulings who lack knowledge and fear of God . He emphasizes that the highest status belongs to those who combine both realms, exemplified by the prophets .
He concludes that when the expected fruit of knowledge—obedience and fear—is absent, the designation of "knowledge" is legitimately stripped from an individual in scriptural usage, just as heedless disbelievers are described as deaf, mute, and blind .
A surviving manuscript colophon records that the text was collated against Ibn Rajab's original autograph by the jurist Abu al-Khayr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn al-Hajjar al-Madani al-Hanbali outside Damascus in the month of Rajab 785 AH, where Ibn Rajab granted him formal transmission authorization (ijāza) .
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