What is the difference between the nearness of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and His presence (Glorified and Exalted is He)?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: He stated the meanings regarding the essence, and distinguished between presence and nearness in his explanation of the hadith of existence.
The Shaykh: What did he say?
The questioner: He distinguished between presence and nearness, and said: presence is by the attributes, and nearness is by Himself; meaning, I will not mention it, let it be, we say the phrase... Do you know, in another research he distinguished between nearness and presence; he said: by meaning, He is by His attributes, so he distinguished between presence.
The Shaykh: My brother, is the meaning in a general sense or in a specific sense? You are saying now: nearness.
The questioner: From after.
The Shaykh: Ah, nearness is by Himself.
The questioner: By Himself...
The Shaykh: That is the essential presence.
The questioner: ... in another place he distinguished between presence...
Another questioner: between specific and general presence.
The Shaykh: General presence, so you are the one who is... Ibn Taymiyyah is an argument against you.
The questioner : How?
The Shaykh: Meaning, you say that Ibn Taymiyyah distinguished; he said: nearness of my self; meaning, my essence, the nearness is the specific presence by which the believers are distinguished from the rest of the creation, the believers who are...
Another questioner: the perfect ones; meaning, those whom Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)...
The Shaykh: Meaning, from the standpoint of creed and from the standpoint of reason, there is no difference between nearness and descent; all of it requires faith and submission.
The questioner: I think Ibn al-Mubarak, when he said to one of the... regarding the issue of descent, that he denied saying: Our Lord descends. He said to him: Fine;[Al-Fajr 89:22], [Al-Baqarah 2:210]. The prince said to him: This is the Day of Resurrection. He said to him: What prevents the One who comes on the Day of Resurrection from coming now?
The Shaykh: What did he say?
The questioner: He distinguished between presence and nearness, and said: presence is by the attributes, and nearness is by Himself; meaning, I will not mention it, let it be, we say the phrase... Do you know, in another research he distinguished between nearness and presence; he said: by meaning, He is by His attributes, so he distinguished between presence.
The Shaykh: My brother, is the meaning in a general sense or in a specific sense? You are saying now: nearness.
The questioner: From after.
The Shaykh: Ah, nearness is by Himself.
The questioner: By Himself...
The Shaykh: That is the essential presence.
The questioner: ... in another place he distinguished between presence...
Another questioner: between specific and general presence.
The Shaykh: General presence, so you are the one who is... Ibn Taymiyyah is an argument against you.
The questioner : How?
The Shaykh: Meaning, you say that Ibn Taymiyyah distinguished; he said: nearness of my self; meaning, my essence, the nearness is the specific presence by which the believers are distinguished from the rest of the creation, the believers who are...
Another questioner: the perfect ones; meaning, those whom Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)...
The Shaykh: Meaning, from the standpoint of creed and from the standpoint of reason, there is no difference between nearness and descent; all of it requires faith and submission.
The questioner: I think Ibn al-Mubarak, when he said to one of the... regarding the issue of descent, that he denied saying: Our Lord descends. He said to him: Fine;
And your Lord has come and the angels, rank
وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّاDo they await but that Allah should come to them in covers of clouds and the angels
هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.