What is the response to the one who says that if we say He does what He wills, it necessitates that events occur in Him?
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Question : What? If he said to them: "If I speak first, I will surrender to you, but in the second part I will say it necessitates that events are a state of Allah the Exalted," what is the answer?
Answer : I am amazed by this. We have been veiled from this: even if it were necessitated that events occur in Him, what would be the result? That He does what He wills and causes what He wishes—yes, this is perfection. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When Ibn Mas'ud returned from the migration, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was praying and said the closing salam, but Ibn Mas'ud did not return the greeting. He said to himself: "Indeed, Allah brings about in His affairs what He wills, and among what He has brought about is that you do not speak during prayer," because Allah said:[Al-Baqarah 2:238] meaning silent from speech, [said by] the corrupt minds.
It is a defective analogy. They said: "The new event does not occur except in a new entity." Who said this? Only the defective analogy and the distance from the Book and the Sunnah harmed them.
If they had followed the Book and the Sunnah and left reason aside, yes, they would have been safe. Among that is what passed us two nights ago: that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I seek permission from my Lord in my house." We mentioned that some said it is Paradise, and some said it is the house of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). "I seek permission from my Lord in my house," but he used the pronoun "ha" (his) from the perspective of turning away (iltifat). This is a laughable distortion in reality: "I seek permission from my Lord in his house," meaning in my house. Then, on this assumption, the danger does not disappear, because it remains that Allah is in the house of whom? In the house of the Messenger? If He were in His own house, that would be better. But if we say "the house," we look: is there in the texts what necessitates that Allah has a house? We mentioned that perhaps the intended meaning is the veils with which He veiled Himself, and that they are in the position of a house. And we mentioned after that that it is the Throne. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I prostrate under the Throne."
If this assumption or that one is correct, then that is the goal. If it is not correct, we say: We say as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and as the Companions remained silent regarding it, and Allah knows best. What is this? And we are not burdened with more than we can bear. Is there anything in this? I do not think there is anything in this. We say that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) seeks permission from his Lord in the house of Allah, and we do not know what this is. We do not know what this house is, nor the nature of this house, nor where this house came from. If what came in the hadiths about the veils, and what came in the hadith that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrates under the Throne, if the intended meaning of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is this, then that is the intended meaning. And if it is not the intended meaning, we say it is the house of Allah, and He knows it best.
And if you follow this path in the verses of attributes and their hadiths that pass you, then you will follow. If you go to work your reason, desire will play with you, because the minds have no entry into the matters of the unseen.
Answer : I am amazed by this. We have been veiled from this: even if it were necessitated that events occur in Him, what would be the result? That He does what He wills and causes what He wishes—yes, this is perfection. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When Ibn Mas'ud returned from the migration, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was praying and said the closing salam, but Ibn Mas'ud did not return the greeting. He said to himself: "Indeed, Allah brings about in His affairs what He wills, and among what He has brought about is that you do not speak during prayer," because Allah said:
and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient.
وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَIt is a defective analogy. They said: "The new event does not occur except in a new entity." Who said this? Only the defective analogy and the distance from the Book and the Sunnah harmed them.
If they had followed the Book and the Sunnah and left reason aside, yes, they would have been safe. Among that is what passed us two nights ago: that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I seek permission from my Lord in my house." We mentioned that some said it is Paradise, and some said it is the house of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). "I seek permission from my Lord in my house," but he used the pronoun "ha" (his) from the perspective of turning away (iltifat). This is a laughable distortion in reality: "I seek permission from my Lord in his house," meaning in my house. Then, on this assumption, the danger does not disappear, because it remains that Allah is in the house of whom? In the house of the Messenger? If He were in His own house, that would be better. But if we say "the house," we look: is there in the texts what necessitates that Allah has a house? We mentioned that perhaps the intended meaning is the veils with which He veiled Himself, and that they are in the position of a house. And we mentioned after that that it is the Throne. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I prostrate under the Throne."
If this assumption or that one is correct, then that is the goal. If it is not correct, we say: We say as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and as the Companions remained silent regarding it, and Allah knows best. What is this? And we are not burdened with more than we can bear. Is there anything in this? I do not think there is anything in this. We say that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) seeks permission from his Lord in the house of Allah, and we do not know what this is. We do not know what this house is, nor the nature of this house, nor where this house came from. If what came in the hadiths about the veils, and what came in the hadith that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrates under the Throne, if the intended meaning of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is this, then that is the intended meaning. And if it is not the intended meaning, we say it is the house of Allah, and He knows it best.
And if you follow this path in the verses of attributes and their hadiths that pass you, then you will follow. If you go to work your reason, desire will play with you, because the minds have no entry into the matters of the unseen.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 4361 - 4600 ما الرد على من قال أنه إذا قلنا يفعل ما يريد لزم أن تقوم الحوادث به؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
