What is the ruling on saying that Allah is present with us
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Now, the last question, Shaykh. What is the ruling on some people saying that Allah is present with us in this gathering, that He hears our words, and that He is a witness to what we say?
The Shaykh : If one says that Allah is with us and that He is in the sky, that is correct, for Allah the Exalted is with His creation and He is in the sky. But if he means that He is in the same place, that is forbidden. In fact, it is disbelief if a person believes it. Because Allah being with us on earth contradicts what is established in the Book, the Sunnah, the consensus of the Salaf, reason, and intellect, namely that Allah the Exalted is above everything. Furthermore, it necessitates consequences that are decisive in any case. A person must say that Allah the Exalted is with us in the sense that He encompasses us with His knowledge, hearing, sight, power, and authority, and other meanings of His lordship. As for Him being in places, no, by Allah.
The questioner : And, Shaykh, the one who said this is a righteous man, meaning, but he used the phrase "present with us." The phrase, I mean.
The Shaykh : In any case, it reaches the point of being impermissible, and it is not necessary for a righteous man to be knowledgeable. How many righteous people are ignorant, and how many scholars are not righteous? So you must inform this brother and say, do not utter such a statement.
The questioner : I mean, the phrase is not correct, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : It is not correct.
The questioner : And what is correct, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The correct thing is to say that Allah the Exalted is with us and He is on His Throne.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is known that Allah said in the Noble Qur'an:[Al-Mujadila 58:7] wherever they may be. But the meaning is not that He is in the same place. No, by Allah, He is on His Throne, above all His creation.
The questioner : It is not permissible, Shaykh, to say this, even if his intention is that Allah is present and means by His knowledge. I mean, it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : He has no need to say this.
The questioner : He has no need to say "with us" only, or.
The Shaykh : Without the word "present."
The questioner : Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And you as well.
The Shaykh : If one says that Allah is with us and that He is in the sky, that is correct, for Allah the Exalted is with His creation and He is in the sky. But if he means that He is in the same place, that is forbidden. In fact, it is disbelief if a person believes it. Because Allah being with us on earth contradicts what is established in the Book, the Sunnah, the consensus of the Salaf, reason, and intellect, namely that Allah the Exalted is above everything. Furthermore, it necessitates consequences that are decisive in any case. A person must say that Allah the Exalted is with us in the sense that He encompasses us with His knowledge, hearing, sight, power, and authority, and other meanings of His lordship. As for Him being in places, no, by Allah.
The questioner : And, Shaykh, the one who said this is a righteous man, meaning, but he used the phrase "present with us." The phrase, I mean.
The Shaykh : In any case, it reaches the point of being impermissible, and it is not necessary for a righteous man to be knowledgeable. How many righteous people are ignorant, and how many scholars are not righteous? So you must inform this brother and say, do not utter such a statement.
The questioner : I mean, the phrase is not correct, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : It is not correct.
The questioner : And what is correct, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The correct thing is to say that Allah the Exalted is with us and He is on His Throne.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is known that Allah said in the Noble Qur'an:
There is in no private conversation three but that He is the fourth of them, nor are there five but that He is the sixth of them - and no less than that and no more except that He is with them
مَا يَكُونُ مِن نَّجْوَىٰ ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلَا أَدْنَىٰ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَا أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْThe questioner : It is not permissible, Shaykh, to say this, even if his intention is that Allah is present and means by His knowledge. I mean, it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : He has no need to say this.
The questioner : He has no need to say "with us" only, or.
The Shaykh : Without the word "present."
The questioner : Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And you as well.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 12- ما حكم قول ان الله حاضر معنا #العقيدة #ابن_عثيمين #سؤال_على_الهاتف — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.