What is your opinion of the one who says that Allah is in every place?

The Shaykh : O Abu 'Umar, now we are reminding you: is there anyone in our general Muslim society today who believes that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is present in every place? Inform me with knowledge.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : What do you think of this belief? Is this the belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community? We are waiting for the answer. What will Abu 'Umar say?

The questioner : No, it is not from the belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community. This is the unity of existence, and it is not from the belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community.

The Shaykh : Fine, but is there no one who adopts this belief among the Muslims who live with us, whom we marry and who marry us, and so on, and who are from the people of the Sunnah and the community? Say it plainly, O Abu 'Umar. Do not fear in Allah, and let not the blame of any blamer take you in Allah.

The questioner : We say: it is from the Ummah of response, but it is not the Sunnah that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) agreed upon.

The Shaykh : No, I am not asking you to define the Sunnah for me. Do not these Muslims with whom we intermarry believe in this belief?

The questioner : By Allah, I have not known of a Muslim who adheres to the Sunnah and says in the unity of existence.

Another questioner : O my master, they wrote it in the books of Islamic education and taught it to us in the primary stage... High-ranking officials in this country wrote it in the books of Islamic education and taught it to us: Allah is present in every place...

The questioner : The verse supports that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is with us by His knowledge.

The Shaykh : You make me feel with this speech that you have receded from what you said just now.

The questioner : Is it?

The Shaykh : And that it is not from Islam for a Muslim to say that Allah is present in every place, as if you have receded. Is that so?

The questioner : Allah (Mighty and Majestic) knows by His knowledge...

The Shaykh : Did you hear the word "knowledge" from me?

The questioner : No, I did not notice at all, but those who say that Allah...

The Shaykh : I am asking you: suppose that no one says it. What is your opinion if someone says that Allah is present in every place? Is this an Islamic belief, and is it permissible for a Muslim to say it?

Another questioner : It is permissible because the Sufis believe in things...

The Shaykh : Do you see how his translation has changed? O Abu Sami, what are you afraid of?! Is the earth inhabited?

Another questioner : The meaning is correct that Allah is with us by His knowledge.

The Shaykh : And by His essence?

Another questioner : And by His essence, He is exalted above being among us.

The Shaykh : Then why?

Another questioner : Because if we specify that it is by His knowledge, it is permissible to say...

The Shaykh : Just now you came out with a long and wide claim that when you spoke about the Shi'ah, people stood up and opposed you, and so on. And now you are standing before me with a very clear question that no Muslim can say: that Allah is in every place. And from these places: the sewers, the drains, the bars, the cinemas, and so on. It is expected of one like you to say "I seek refuge in Allah," and yet you soften the speech...

Another questioner : I soften it because the verse says: supports the opinion...

The Shaykh : This has its place. This is what every Muslim says: by His knowledge, and He is with you by His knowledge. And the question was not: Is Allah All-Knowing of everything? If a Muslim doubts that, he is a disbeliever. The question is: What is your opinion of the one who says that Allah is present in every place? I consider you now responsible before Allah. I consider you now

The questioner:...

The Shaykh : We have strayed far from your Shaykh, Ibn Baz. You have prolonged your patience. Instead of saying "May Allah increase your good," you reminded us. I say: it is not permissible to declare a specific Muslim a disbeliever because he belongs to a deviant Islamic sect. It is not permissible to declare him a disbeliever specifically unless you see, as I said just now, that he has fallen into disbelief, in which case. As for the Shi'ah, they are disbelievers; the Zaydiyyah are disbelievers; the Qadiyyaniyyah are disbelievers; the Baha'iyyah... Say: whoever believes such and such is a disbeliever. But takfir by the group, by the handful, by the general statement, this is not permissible, because you know the danger of declaring a Muslim a disbeliever This is correct, so I told you just now: you have not brought the book of the Shi'ah called Kitab al-Kulayni, and what it says that the Mushaf of Fatimah is our Mushaf, and this is a part of that Mushaf, and the rest is lost...

Another questioner : Based on this belief...

The Shaykh : Listen, O Shaykh, may Allah guide you...

Another questioner : Is it not permissible to declare them disbelievers?

The Shaykh : We want to return toThe Shaykh : Ibn Baz. May Allah be pleased with you. So the important thing is: this belief is disbelief, and whoever believes it is a disbeliever. But I am as certain as the great scholars of the Shi'ah who declared this statement disbelief. They declared this statement disbelief and considered these people as deviants and outside the Shi'ah madhhab. What can be said of the common people, O my brother, who testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and who pray, and so on? They do not have this information which is almost philosophy that misleads the Muslim and takes him out of the religion. And therefore, this takfir by the group, by the handful, is an error from the people of the Sunnah, so it is not permissible for a Muslim to fall into it. On this basis, I do not say that the Shi'ah are disbelievers. I say: whoever believes such and such, whoever says the Qur'an is incomplete, whoever says the People of the House are better with Allah than the prophets and messengers and angels, whoever says that Lady A'ishah, whom Allah (Mighty and Majestic) purified from what she was accused of, and so on, is as she was accused, they are disbelievers without doubt. But you cannot, nor can anyone else, come and say that every Shi'ite believes these false beliefs. This is not permissible. Based on this detail, you can say: is it permissible for a Muslim to marry a Shi'ite woman or not? Is it permissible for a Muslim to marry his daughter to a Shi'ite or not? On this detail, whoever you know...

Another questioner : We examine him first.

The Shaykh : Yes, whoever you know, you give him the ruling he deserves. But like this, it is not permissible.

Another questioner : The one who believes a false belief, the same statement applies to him, if so.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, O my brother, but there are some people, as he said at that time: it is not reasonable that the Shi'ah believe such and such. Well, is it reasonable that the Druze worship al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah? Is it reasonable? And we ask the question: is everything that is not reasonable not real? Question?

Another questioner : Much is not reasonable and is real.

The Shaykh : The reality is this: if someone says to you, "That is not reasonable," you tell him, "This phrase contains many things that are not reasonable, and they have actually happened." I remember clearly that I was once in a gathering at the Zahiriyyah Library when a young man came to ask me, "Is it true that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was taken up with his soul and his body to the heavens?" I told him, "Yes, it is true." He said, "That is not reasonable." When I heard this question and the answer he rejected, I realized that this man was one of the group, these young people who have no Islamic creed. I found myself compelled to speak with him using logic and reason. He said, "It is not reasonable." I said to him, "Is it true that everything that is not reasonable does not happen? Or are there things that have happened that are not reasonable and not customary?" He stood there confused, or perhaps he thought and considered, and he might have said the answer as we said, but he would know that the argument would be established against him. I gave him some examples. I said to him, "Is it reasonable that a person, like us, would have his heart on the right side instead of the left?" He said, "It is not reasonable." I said to him, "But anatomists have found that this thing exists." Then I expanded the question and said to him, "Is it reasonable for a person to have two hearts? One on the left as is customary, and the other on the right?" He said, "It is not reasonable." I said to him, "Is it reasonable according to surgeons? It is not reasonable according to us. So if not everything that is not reasonable is non-existent, what do you think? Is it reasonable for a peacock to have a tail that is several times, several times, several times its length?" He said, "It is not reasonable." I said to him, "I read an article in a magazine whose owner is a Christian, not a Muslim, in order to convince Muslims or atheists that the Night Journey occurred with the soul and the body. He published a picture of a peacock on a wall four meters high, and it is like a small chick, and its tail reaches the ground. Its beautiful, multi-colored tail reaches the ground." I said to him, "My brother, your knowledge is very limited, even in nature, as you claim. How then with the Shari'ah, the knowledge of the unseen and the witnessed? If He informs us of something we have not experienced and do not know, we come and say, 'This is not reasonable.' When was it reasonable that the voice of Bush, may Allah kill him, would resound in the Arab countries? And when was it possible that he would come and agree with an Islamic country against the Iraqi people? It is not reasonable, but it all happened. When was it reasonable that the Americans would occupy the beloved Saudi lands, preferred over other lands, without shedding blood? It is not reasonable, but it happened. So leave the matter of reasonable and not reasonable to us. Study matters: if they are from the Shari'ah perspective, within the limits of the Shari'ah evidence; and if they are not Shari'ah matters, study them within the limits of logic and reason. I want now, based on Abu Sami's hesitation earlier in answering the previous question, which is: Is it true to say that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is present in every place? We heard the answer sometimes as 'not reasonable and not true,' and sometimes with circumlocution and . Do you see if it is reasonable? I say 'reasonable' before I say 'prescribed.' Is it reasonable for one to ask, 'Where is Allah?' Is it reasonable? A question for Abu Sami. If he does not want to answer, he should refer it to someone else.

The questioner : The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) asked the Ummah, saying to them:

The Shaykh : Why are you making things difficult for yourself? What is my question?

The questioner : It is permissible.

The Shaykh : Yes, I asked you about the Messenger, and why are you making things difficult for yourself. I am asking a question briefly, and I hope the answer will be the same. Is this question reasonable or rejected?

The questioner : Reasonable.

The Shaykh : Good. Is it permissible by the Shari'ah or not permissible?

The questioner : It is permissible.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. What is the reasonable answer to this question? Pay attention, pay attention here.

The questioner : Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above His creation.

The Shaykh : Huh?

The questioner : Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above His creation. Or as the Ummah said, they said it this way.

The Shaykh : The answers have varied now. It appears that Abu 'Umar...

Another questioner : He is distinct from His creation.

The Shaykh : Okay, may Allah reward you with good.

Another questioner : This is the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community.

The Shaykh : But that is not my question. It appears that you are from the people of the step, one asks a question from here and jumps to the Throne. My brother, that is not the question.

Another questioner : Is it permissible by the Shari'ah to inquire into the Essence of Allah? We have finished the entire session.

The Shaykh : This is not an inquiry into the Essence of Allah, this is an inquiry into the attributes of Allah. No one said where He went or where He came from. You are now recording against yourself that you are actually adding things that no one said, 'where He went or where He came from.' Now Abu Sami rests a little, and I address you with the previous question: Is it reasonable for one to ask, 'Where is Allah?'

Another questioner : We do not speak about reasonableness, we speak in terms of Shari'ah status.

The Shaykh : I am asking a question and answer, reasonable...

Another questioner : Do not force me to answer your question as you want, because you will harm me in a matter you want. The question is: Is it permissible by the Shari'ah to ask this question? It is permissible because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) asked.

The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah, you are now, if I ask you a question, you force me to change it?

Another questioner: No.

The Shaykh : Allow me, may Allah guide you, my brother. The word 'no' does not need explanation, we said that at that time. Negatives do not need explanation. I am asking you a question now. If you ask a question, do I force you to change it, or are you free in your question? You ask as it seems to you.

Another questioner : You say that your session is Shari'ah-based, and the session is in an Islamic institute.

The Shaykh : A Shari'ah session. A question is posed to you. If a questioner asks in one way or another, is it permissible for this official to say to him, 'You do not need to direct this question,' and he says to him, 'Is this question permissible or not?' And does reason and the Shari'ah say to him, 'It is permissible or not permissible?' And the best speech is what is brief and significant. I am asking you a logical question now: Is this light on or off?

Another questioner : It is on.

The Shaykh : It needs a yes or no answer, and why do you ask? It does not need it. Because perhaps when I ask you this question, there is something behind the veil that I do not know. So if I ask you, is it permissible for a Muslim, excuse me, before 'is it permissible,' is it reasonable for a Muslim to ask, 'Where is Allah?' Then you, with your culture and knowledge and faith and character and religion, and so on, you say it is reasonable or not reasonable. You are free if so.

Another questioner : It is reasonable because it was asked.

The Shaykh : Now I am telling you...

Another questioner : It is reasonable, my master...

Another questioner : My master, may Allah be pleased with you. The benefit of knowledge is to provide reasons, to elaborate on the statement, and to bring the evidence...

The Shaykh : So you are saying now that everything American is not correct! Well, we learned in our country that what does not come with you, come with it. So we are not satisfied, Professor, that you answer a reasonable question: one asks.

Another questioner : Reasonable, reasonable.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good, but if this had been before that. Now, is it permissible by the Shari'ah for a Muslim to ask his Muslim brother, 'Where is Allah?'

Another questioner : It is permissible.

The Shaykh : And is it permissible to answer this question.

Another questioner : It is permissible.

The Shaykh : Why did you stop?

Another questioner : Do you mean it is reasonable to walk without evidence? It is permissible, and I am recalling the evidence, no more and no less.

The Shaykh : This is good speech, but not good.

Another questioner : Explain it, my master.

The Shaykh : Do you want me to tell you why?

Another questioner : Please, explain it.

The Shaykh : If I asked you, is the light on...