The Response to Those Who Say: That Allah Is With Us by His Essence on Earth
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I took a book from the school library in which its author states: that he is responding to your eminence regarding an old, printed issue,He says: that you say: Allah’s presence with creation is a presence of essence. I hope you will clarify this issue, and whether this book should be read or not?
We spoke about the issue of presence and we said: That the presence is a real presence, that He, Blessed and Exalted is He, is Himself with His creation, but not on earth. We mentioned evidence for this, including the context of the noble verses,For example: [Al-Hadid: 4] .
These pronouns all refer back to Allah, so it is His essence, but that does not mean what the Jahmiyyah went to, who say: that Allah is on earth. We see this as misguidance and disbelief, and that whoever believes this about his Lord is a disbeliever,But we say: He is with us and He is in the sky, so He is truly with us and He is in the sky, and there is no contradiction.
If someone were to say: How can He be with us while He is in the sky? Our answer to this is from several angles.
The first angle: That Allah said: [Al-Hadid: 4] and He said: He is in the sky,And since he said: He is with us and He is in the sky; we believe in both this and that, and it is not possible that Allah informs of something and then informs of its opposite that contradicts it, ever. And matters of the unseen, especially those concerning the essence of Allah, it is not permissible for a person to ask how or why; because no matter what, he cannot comprehend this.
The second aspect: That there is no contradiction between elevation and presence; a thing may be with you while it is far from you,And for this reason, the Arabs had in their speech that they say: We are still traveling and the moon is with us, we are still traveling and the pole star is with us, and the like of that. It is known to everyone that the position of the moon and the position of the pole star are in the sky, and the Arabs say that it is with them, and they do not see this as contradicting that. And if there is no contradiction between elevation and presence regarding the created, then regarding the Creator it is even more so.
The third reason: Assuming that this is not conceivable regarding the created,That it is far from you and you say: that it is with you, assuming something that is not a reality,We say: Assuming that this does not occur regarding the created, it does occur regarding the Creator; because Allah the Exalted encompasses everything: the seven heavens and the seven earths are in His hand, Mighty and Majestic, like a mustard seed, which is nothing. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, folds the sky like the folding of a scroll for books. When the writer folds the paper, it is easy for him, it is not difficult,And He, Mighty and Majestic, says: [Az-Zumar: 67] all the earth with what is in it of seas, rivers, trees, and others [Az-Zumar: 67] all the seven heavens whose measure no one knows except Allah, Mighty and Majestic (folded in His right hand) So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, encompasses everything,But to say as the Jahmiyyah said: That He is with us on earth is a false statement,So we say: That Allah is truly with us, and as others have said, such as the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and other scholars, but we do not say: that He is with us here on earth,And we say: Whoever says that is misguided and a liar. But some people understood this incorrectly, and we are innocent of it, praise be to Allah, from the beginning of our creed until we meet Allah, Mighty and Majestic,That we say: That Allah is with us on earth; we do not say this at all. So some people understood this understanding, and if they understood this, there is no doubt that this is an abomination that must be refuted. So if his intention is good, he is not blamed for this, and if he is bad, Allah takes charge of the secrets.
We spoke about the issue of presence and we said: That the presence is a real presence, that He, Blessed and Exalted is He, is Himself with His creation, but not on earth. We mentioned evidence for this, including the context of the noble verses,For example:
It is He who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth and what emerges from it and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein; and He is with you wherever you are. And Allah, of what you do, is Seeing.
هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا وَمَا يَنْزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا يَعْرُجُ فِيهَا وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌThese pronouns all refer back to Allah, so it is His essence, but that does not mean what the Jahmiyyah went to, who say: that Allah is on earth. We see this as misguidance and disbelief, and that whoever believes this about his Lord is a disbeliever,But we say: He is with us and He is in the sky, so He is truly with us and He is in the sky, and there is no contradiction.
If someone were to say: How can He be with us while He is in the sky? Our answer to this is from several angles.
The first angle: That Allah said:
And He is with you
وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْThe second aspect: That there is no contradiction between elevation and presence; a thing may be with you while it is far from you,And for this reason, the Arabs had in their speech that they say: We are still traveling and the moon is with us, we are still traveling and the pole star is with us, and the like of that. It is known to everyone that the position of the moon and the position of the pole star are in the sky, and the Arabs say that it is with them, and they do not see this as contradicting that. And if there is no contradiction between elevation and presence regarding the created, then regarding the Creator it is even more so.
The third reason: Assuming that this is not conceivable regarding the created,That it is far from you and you say: that it is with you, assuming something that is not a reality,We say: Assuming that this does not occur regarding the created, it does occur regarding the Creator; because Allah the Exalted encompasses everything: the seven heavens and the seven earths are in His hand, Mighty and Majestic, like a mustard seed, which is nothing. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, folds the sky like the folding of a scroll for books. When the writer folds the paper, it is easy for him, it is not difficult,And He, Mighty and Majestic, says: