The First Section:
The Meaning of 'Al-Hadd'
The people of knowledge have discussed the meaning of al-hadd (the limit/boundary), and among those discussions are the following:
Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated in his book, al-ʿAyn (175): "Hadd: The separation between any two things is the limit (hadd) between them, and the terminus (muntaha) of everything is its limit."
Ibn Faris (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated in Maqayis al-Lughah (3/2): "(H-D): The letters Ha and Dal constitute two roots: the first is prevention (al-manʿ), and the second is the edge (taraf) of a thing. Thus, the limit (al-hadd) is the barrier between two things."
Abu al-Qasim al-Taymi al-Asbahani (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated: "The limit (hadd) of everything is the point of its separation (baynunah) from others. Every existent being has a limit at which it terminates and which distinguishes it from others in its attribute (sifah) and measure (qadr)." [This will be mentioned later under no. 4].
Al-Darimi (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated in al-Naqd (p. 57): "All of creation has known that there is nothing to which the name 'thing' (shay’) is applied except that it has a limit (hadd), a terminus (ghayah), and an attribute (sifah); and that 'nothingness' is that which has no limit, no terminus, and no attribute. Therefore, a thing is inevitably described, and nothing is described without a limit and a terminus. Your statement, 'It has no limit,' effectively means that it is nothing."
المبحث الأول:
معنى «الحد»
تكلَّمَ أهل العلم عن معنى الحد، ومن ذلك:
- قال الخليل بن أحمد رحمه الله في كتابه [«العين» (١٧٥)]:
حد: فصلُ ما بين كل شيئين حدٌّ بينهما، ومنتهى كل شيء حده.
- وقال ابن فارس رحمه الله في [«مقاييس اللغة» (٣/٢)]:
(حد): الحاء والدال أصلان: الأول المنع، والثاني طرف الشيء، فالحدُّ: الحاجز بين الشيئين. اهـ
- وقال أبو القاسم التيمي الأصبهاني رحمه الله: حدُّ كل شيء موضع بينونته عن غيره، فكل موجود له حد ينتهي إليه، ويُميِّزه عن غيره في صفته وقدره. [سيأتي برقم: (٤)]
- وقال الدارمي رحمه الله [«النقض» (ص ٥٧)]: الخلق كلهم علموا أنه ليس شيء يقع عليه اسم الشيء إلا وله: حدٌّ، وغاية، وصفة، وأن لا شيء: ليس له حدٌّ، ولا غاية، ولا صفة.
فالشيءُ أبدًا موصوفٌ لا محالة، ولا شيء يوصف بلا حدٍّ، ولا غاية، وقولك: (لا حدَّ له): يعني أنه لا شيء. اهـ
