The Obligation of Believing in the Unseen Without Knowledge of the How
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His Eminence the Shaykh: Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh: And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. We have often pointed out that when a questioner asks, he does not need to offer the greeting first; because he is sitting with us, and the greeting is for the one who arrives.
Question: Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: [Al-Imran: 133] So if Paradise is as wide as the heavens and the earth, where will the Fire be?
First of all, this question is not appropriate, my brother! Only a Jew posed this to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and a Muslim does not pose this question.When a Muslim is informed by Allah of a report, he says: We believe and we affirm, and we do not object.
(Its width is the heavens and the earth) Is this now, or in the future? And if it is now, the space above the heavens is vast, and no one knows the extent of its vastness except Allah the Mighty and Majestic.
First: It is obligatory upon us—O brothers— that regarding the matters of the unseen which Allah has informed us of, we say: We believe and we affirm, and we do not raise objections; because the matter is beyond the level of our minds. And this is a rule regarding matters of the unseen related to Allah the Mighty and Majestic or to His creations. Are the people on the Day of Resurrection on a single plain? Yes.
On a single plain, some of them are restrained by sweat until it reaches their mouths, and some of them until it reaches their ankles, and they are in one place,Does anyone say: How does this become so?Or does he say: We believe and we affirm?He says: We believe and we affirm. So the matters of the unseen are broader than our minds—O man—it is not correct to raise such an objection regarding matters of the unseen. When matters of the unseen are established in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, our position regarding them is nothing but listening, believing, and affirming.
As for that Jew who posed this to the Messenger, he said to him: (Where is the night when the day goes?) So he refuted his argument with a tangible matter.
In any case: The advice is greater than this question, and it is that matters of the unseen cannot be subjected to the word (why) at all,And not the word: (how) because the matter is beyond our minds. And what are you, O human being? Have you counted the knowledge of everything? No. If only this issue remained for you from the sciences, at that hour we would toil and search for an exit. And for this reason, when they asked the Messenger about the soul, what did Allah say to them?He said: [Al-Isra: 85] A matter you cannot grasp, [Al-Isra: 85] Glory be to Allah! Meaning: Have you found all the sciences except the knowledge of the soul?! Most of the sciences have escaped you [Al-Isra: 85] And this is amazing! Your soul which is between your two sides, and without which you have no stability, you do not know what it is?! We do not know of the soul except what the texts in the Qur'an and the Sunnah have brought, and otherwise we do not know.
The Shaykh: And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. We have often pointed out that when a questioner asks, he does not need to offer the greeting first; because he is sitting with us, and the greeting is for the one who arrives.
Question: Allah the Mighty and Majestic says:
And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth
وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُFirst of all, this question is not appropriate, my brother! Only a Jew posed this to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and a Muslim does not pose this question.When a Muslim is informed by Allah of a report, he says: We believe and we affirm, and we do not object.
(Its width is the heavens and the earth) Is this now, or in the future? And if it is now, the space above the heavens is vast, and no one knows the extent of its vastness except Allah the Mighty and Majestic.
First: It is obligatory upon us—O brothers— that regarding the matters of the unseen which Allah has informed us of, we say: We believe and we affirm, and we do not raise objections; because the matter is beyond the level of our minds. And this is a rule regarding matters of the unseen related to Allah the Mighty and Majestic or to His creations. Are the people on the Day of Resurrection on a single plain? Yes.
On a single plain, some of them are restrained by sweat until it reaches their mouths, and some of them until it reaches their ankles, and they are in one place,Does anyone say: How does this become so?Or does he say: We believe and we affirm?He says: We believe and we affirm. So the matters of the unseen are broader than our minds—O man—it is not correct to raise such an objection regarding matters of the unseen. When matters of the unseen are established in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, our position regarding them is nothing but listening, believing, and affirming.
As for that Jew who posed this to the Messenger, he said to him: (Where is the night when the day goes?) So he refuted his argument with a tangible matter.
In any case: The advice is greater than this question, and it is that matters of the unseen cannot be subjected to the word (why) at all,And not the word: (how) because the matter is beyond our minds. And what are you, O human being? Have you counted the knowledge of everything? No. If only this issue remained for you from the sciences, at that hour we would toil and search for an exit. And for this reason, when they asked the Messenger about the soul, what did Allah say to them?He said: