Continuation of the explanation of the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him): (… and the bearer of the Qur'an who is not excessive in it …).

The Shaykh : Then he continues with other benefits in this hadith, saying: Meaning: Among the ways of honoring Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and revering Him is for the Muslim to honor the bearer of the Qur'an, the memorizer of the Qur'an, whether he is young or old. In fact, if he is a bearer of the Qur'an and advanced in age, two reasons for honoring him converge in him: the first reason is that he memorizes the Qur'an, and the second reason is that he is an elderly shaykh. The first part of the hadith encourages honoring the elderly person regardless of other attributes. The second part encourages honoring the bearer of the Qur'an. "Bearer of the Qur'an" is a reference to the memorizer of the Qur'an. The intended meaning of "memorizer of the Qur'an" is not merely the one who recites it, but rather what is more specific and greater than that, namely the one who memorizes the Qur'an. However, does every memorizer of the Qur'an deserve this reverence and honor that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in this hadith, making this honor part of honoring Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and revering Him? Does every bearer of the Qur'an deserve such reverence and honor? The answer is no, and this is what he (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified by saying: : So these are two characteristics; if they are present in the bearer of the Qur'an, he deserves the reverence of the Muslims for his carrying and memorizing of the Qur'an. What are these two characteristics? The first characteristic is: : What does "excessive in it" and "neglectful of it" mean? "Excessive in it" is the one who attributes to the Qur'an meanings and rulings that it cannot bear. This is the practice of innovators, both past and present, especially in matters related to the science of theology (kalam), and particularly in what concerns the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). These people attribute to the Qur'anic verses related to many matters of the unseen, including the divine attributes, meanings that the verses cannot bear. This is excess (ghuluw), and it is a topic related to the oneness of Allah (tawhid), but there is no harm in giving an example of this. This example is related to the belief of the majority of Muslims today, who have deviated in it from the belief of the righteous predecessors (Salaf). The student of knowledge today hardly opens a book from the books of exegesis to look at the meaning of the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) in more than one verse: , , and the like. He hardly opens a book of exegesis to understand the meaning of this rising (istiwa') attributed to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), and then he finds that the majority of these books interpret "istawa" (He rose) to mean "istawla" (He took control), knowing that the Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) interpreted "istawa" to mean "istala" (He rose above), as mentioned by Imam al-Bukhari in his Sahih from some of them, and I believe it was Ata. Imam al-Dhahabi mentioned this in his specific treatise on this important issue, which he titled "The Height of the Exalted, the Forgiving" (Al-'Ulu li-Allahi al-Ghafar). This is a specific treatise that every student of knowledge who is eager to correct his beliefs in general and his understanding of this verse in particular should refer to: "The Height of the Exalted, the Forgiving" by al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi. Due to the importance of this treatise, I abridged it myself and added some useful comments, traced its hadiths to their sources, and rejected from it what is not authentically attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In this treatise and other Salafi treatises, we find that the scholars of the Salaf do not know "istawa" to mean "istawla" (took control), but rather "istawa" means "istala" (rose above). This interpretation, while correct, is the one that aligns with all the verses and all the hadiths, which all agree on affirming the attribute of height (uluw) for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). For example, I will mention one verse now, as it describes the servants of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), the Most Merciful, by saying: : If we look at the Islamic world today, we find that if there are those who fear and are anxious of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), they do not fear Him in the way Allah described His servants by saying: , but rather they fear Him while believing that He is in every place. We hear this in every place and at every time: Allah is present in every place, Allah is present in all existence, Allah is above all creations. This belief is the correct belief. As for the belief that Allah is in every place, and that He is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not inside the world, and not outside it, all these views are from excess (ghuluw) and deviation from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in interpreting His Book (Blessed and Exalted is He).