Clarification of some matters in which the people of truth and the people of misguidance among the Muslims differ, and in which it is necessary to clarify the misguidance of those who hold them.
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The Shaykh : If you were asked, for example, about a point in the matters of belief related to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), if you were asked: Where is Allah?
You would hear two contradictory and divergent answers, which represents the difference you referred to earlier. Some of them, who are the people of the Sunnah, say what the early imams said, following the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him), following the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. They would answer this question, "Where is Allah?"
Allah is in the sky, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in the Qur'an:[Al-Mulk 67:16-17].
You will find another statement saying: Allah is everywhere, Allah is present in all existence, and among the places are latrines, dirty sewers, and huts, and the like. These are places where they have brought their true object of worship into places some of which they do not enter at all, and some of which they enter only under compulsion. Is it permissible to believe in the Lord of the worlds in this way?!
What is your position, O enthusiastic young man, who calls people to ignore this difference that exists between them? With which group are you? Whether you are with these or with those, can you combine the two opposites in your mind and say:
The one who says that Allah is in the sky, as the maidservant answered the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he asked her, "Where is Allah?" by saying, "In the sky," is correct. And those who say that Allah is everywhere, and among those places are places of filth as we mentioned, if you say that both are correct, you have contradicted the clear text of the Qur'an, namely His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He):[Yunus 10:32]. If the statement of the first group, that Allah is in the sky, is true—and it is true because it is the statement of the Lord of the worlds, as you have heard, in addition to other verses and hadiths—then the statement contradicting them is false by the text of the Qur'an.
And if you say the opposite, meaning that the statement of the other group is correct, then it must follow that the statement of the first group is false. So how do you combine two contradictory and divergent statements in your mind, and then ask all these scholars—and you are certainly not one of them—because the one who says this has not known Islam, has not read this verse, and if he read it, he did not understand it:[Yunus 10:32]. And there is his saying (peace be upon him): Mishkat al-Masabih 3732.
So, if there are two divergent statements in a matter, there is no doubt that one is correct and the other is wrong. I wonder how these Muslim enthusiastic young people live? Why? For a name called Islam, but if you ask him what Islam is.
We ask Him (the Exalted) to teach us the Sunnah of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), which includes that he used to supplicate in some of the supplications for opening the prayer at night:Sahih Muslim 770.
You would hear two contradictory and divergent answers, which represents the difference you referred to earlier. Some of them, who are the people of the Sunnah, say what the early imams said, following the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him), following the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. They would answer this question, "Where is Allah?"
Allah is in the sky, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in the Qur'an:
(16) Do you feel secure that He who [holds authority] in the heaven would not cause the earth to swallow you and suddenly it would sway? (17) Or do you feel secure that He who [holds authority] in the heaven would not send against you a storm of stones? Then you would know how [severe] was My warning.
أأمنتم مَن في السماء أن يخسف بكم الأرض فإذا هي تمور * أم أمنتم مَن في السماء أن يرسل عليكم حاصبًا فستعلمون كيف نذيرYou will find another statement saying: Allah is everywhere, Allah is present in all existence, and among the places are latrines, dirty sewers, and huts, and the like. These are places where they have brought their true object of worship into places some of which they do not enter at all, and some of which they enter only under compulsion. Is it permissible to believe in the Lord of the worlds in this way?!
What is your position, O enthusiastic young man, who calls people to ignore this difference that exists between them? With which group are you? Whether you are with these or with those, can you combine the two opposites in your mind and say:
The one who says that Allah is in the sky, as the maidservant answered the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he asked her, "Where is Allah?" by saying, "In the sky," is correct. And those who say that Allah is everywhere, and among those places are places of filth as we mentioned, if you say that both are correct, you have contradicted the clear text of the Qur'an, namely His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He):
And what can be beyond truth except error?
فماذا بعد الحقِّ إلا الضلالAnd if you say the opposite, meaning that the statement of the other group is correct, then it must follow that the statement of the first group is false. So how do you combine two contradictory and divergent statements in your mind, and then ask all these scholars—and you are certainly not one of them—because the one who says this has not known Islam, has not read this verse, and if he read it, he did not understand it:
And what can be beyond truth except error?
فماذا بعد الحق إلا الضلالWhen a judge gives a decision having tried his best to decide correctly and is right, he will have a double reward; and when he gives a decision having tried his best to decide correctly and is wrong, he will have a single reward.
إذا حكم الحاكم فاجتهد فأصاب فله أجران ، وإن أخطأ فله أجر واحدSo, if there are two divergent statements in a matter, there is no doubt that one is correct and the other is wrong. I wonder how these Muslim enthusiastic young people live? Why? For a name called Islam, but if you ask him what Islam is.
We ask Him (the Exalted) to teach us the Sunnah of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), which includes that he used to supplicate in some of the supplications for opening the prayer at night: