The Special, General, and Spiritual and Physical Superiority of Allah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This questioner asks: What is the upper presence?
Answer:
What is the difference between the superiority of being above, the special presence, and the general presence? Is there a superiority that is not being above? What is the meaning of being above?
The spiritual superiority and the physical superiority. Yes, the superiority is not the same as the presence. The physical superiority is that Allah is above the Throne, and the spiritual superiority is that Allah is above all creation. Being above all creation means that He is the highest attribute; He is better than generosity and higher than generosity. So He has both spiritual and physical superiority. The spiritual superiority is that He is higher than His creation, better and more noble than His creation. The physical superiority is that the creation is thirsty, and the creation has come to this creation. As for the presence, it is said to be special, and a special presence with His awliya (close friends of Allah), His prophets, and those who obey Him is called special. It is not correct to say that Allah is with us, that Allah is with the believers, or that Allah is with the patient ones; this is a special presence. He says, "I am with you, I hear you, and I see you." And the general presence is that He is with you wherever you are. And it is not as if His knowledge is with them by His knowledge and encompassing them, and with His awliya (close friends of Allah) His knowledge and encompassing them is like a cloak for them and a success for them, Blessed and Exalted is He. Yes.
This questioner asks: What is the upper presence?
Answer:
What is the difference between the superiority of being above, the special presence, and the general presence? Is there a superiority that is not being above? What is the meaning of being above?
The spiritual superiority and the physical superiority. Yes, the superiority is not the same as the presence. The physical superiority is that Allah is above the Throne, and the spiritual superiority is that Allah is above all creation. Being above all creation means that He is the highest attribute; He is better than generosity and higher than generosity. So He has both spiritual and physical superiority. The spiritual superiority is that He is higher than His creation, better and more noble than His creation. The physical superiority is that the creation is thirsty, and the creation has come to this creation. As for the presence, it is said to be special, and a special presence with His awliya (close friends of Allah), His prophets, and those who obey Him is called special. It is not correct to say that Allah is with us, that Allah is with the believers, or that Allah is with the patient ones; this is a special presence. He says, "I am with you, I hear you, and I see you." And the general presence is that He is with you wherever you are. And it is not as if His knowledge is with them by His knowledge and encompassing them, and with His awliya (close friends of Allah) His knowledge and encompassing them is like a cloak for them and a success for them, Blessed and Exalted is He. Yes.
Source
فتاوى الحج ١٤١٠ هـ - ١٦ — archive.org (1:35)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
