What is the ruling on the hadith narrated by Muslim from Anas that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)

'Ayd 'Abassi: What is the ruling on the hadith narrated by Muslim from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to uncover his shoulders when it rained until the rain touched him, and he would say knowing that the clouds, the source of the rain, are close to the earth and are in the lowest heaven?

The Shaykh : This hadith, it seems the questioner is distinguishing between near height and far height. There is a difference in this regarding the attribute of the Most High, the Supreme.
The rain is validly descending from the clouds, but the clouds are from the sky. Not everything that is above you is the sky. So it descends from a place described as height. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was seen and the rain had descended, he went out to receive it with his chest. Some of his Companions were surprised by this and asked him about the reason. He said, "It is newly separated from its Lord." In this is an indication that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has the attribute of height. But as we always say, the height of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is an attribute like any other attribute, and the sum of His attributes is like His essence. Just as His essence does not resemble any of the essences, so His attributes do not resemble any of the attributes. If the Book and the Sunnah are coming in many, many verses and hadiths affirming the attribute of height for the Most High, the Forgiver, then this hadith is among those hadiths that indicate the attribute of height. But the hadith does not mean that Allah is in the clouds; rather, it means that this rain descended from the direction of height.

The questioner : Come forward, my brothers.

The Shaykh : Which is one of the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But height, as an attribute of Allah, means He is High above all His creations (Blessed and Exalted is He). We are merely to conceive of this attribute without any asking how, because the matter is as the scholars say: "Whatever comes to your mind, Allah is other than that". But merely conceiving that He is High above all His creations is enough for us to be satisfied that this attribute does not resemble the attribute of any creation. Any creation that is above all creations? Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the One who has this absolute attribute of being High above all His creations. So the rain descending from the sky, and our Prophet receiving it with his chest, and his saying "It is newly separated from its Lord" means newly separated from the direction that shares in the attribute of height. And we always and forever say that creations share with Allah in attributes in name only, not in reality. So we read the Verse of the Throne: We are alive, we are not dead, but we will say the life of Allah is not like our life. That is it, the problem is solved. This is the rule, and rest from the philosophy of the science of theology.
Every attribute established in the Book and the Sunnah, carry it according to the verse of transcendence and affirmation: The Messenger in this hadith said: meaning his separation from the upper direction and the direction... But is this attribute like this attribute? Yes.