The Meaning of “And by Your Ancient Authority” and Whether the Attribute of Antiquity Is Established
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Does the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the supplication for the mosque, “And by Your ancient authority,” not indicate the establishment of the attribute of antiquity? He says: Does the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the supplication for the mosque, “And by Your ancient authority,” not indicate the establishment of the attribute of antiquity?
Answer:
No, this is one thing and that is another. The authority is ancient, but it is not counted among the attributes of Allah. It is ancient, having no beginning, with nothing before it. However, it is not narrated that He is described as “good and ancient” in a way that implies a cause. It has the correct meaning: nothing is before Him, just as His authority is ancient (Exalted and Majestic is He). But the causes are textual, based on opinion and juristic preference.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
He says: Does the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the supplication for the mosque, “And by Your ancient authority,” not indicate the establishment of the attribute of antiquity? He says: Does the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the supplication for the mosque, “And by Your ancient authority,” not indicate the establishment of the attribute of antiquity?
Answer:
No, this is one thing and that is another. The authority is ancient, but it is not counted among the attributes of Allah. It is ancient, having no beginning, with nothing before it. However, it is not narrated that He is described as “good and ancient” in a way that implies a cause. It has the correct meaning: nothing is before Him, just as His authority is ancient (Exalted and Majestic is He). But the causes are textual, based on opinion and juristic preference.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
التعليق على الجواب الكافي لمن سأل عن الدواء الشافي [ الداء والدواء ]، المعاصي تنسي العبد نفسَه — islamhouse.com (32:10)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.