What is the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted, "And We are closer to him than his jugular vein," and other verses indicating the nearness of Allah the Exalted?
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The questioner : The verse that says [Qaf 50:16] ... means that Allah is near and responsive, meaning when we call upon Him. There are many verses indicating that Allah is near to people, not far away. That is, Allah exists and is near, meaning ...?
The Shaykh : It has come in "Sahih al-Bukhari" and "Muslim" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey with his Companions, and whenever they ascended a high place—meaning a mountain—or descended into a valley, they would glorify Allah, say Allahu Akbar, and raise their voices. So he (peace be upon him) said: This is a point I want to draw attention to: mere faith in a general sense does not constitute saving faith. It must be faith in what came from Allah and His Messenger. We must not contradict, in what we believe, what came from Allah and His Messenger through a process of twisting and turning, which is figurative interpretation (ta'wil) of the words of Allah and the hadiths of the Messenger (peace be upon him).The questioner : ... The verses are ambiguous, the verses are ambiguous ... Perhaps some people, I mean, get misled, right?
The Shaykh : And they were indeed misled.
The questioner : ... A person does not want to admit to himself that his intellect is limited, and thus the attempt to imagine is what leads him to misguidance. If he believes that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is not like anything else ... then from there he finds peace and gives peace. But the attempt to interpret matters ... the narrowness of the sons of Adam ... is what causes him to fall into misguidance. For example, in this room there are acoustic stones present ... this is evidence ... Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), so how ... regarding His Essence, it is not possible ... .
The Shaykh : The truth is that faith in Allah and His Messenger is the most rational, the most knowledgeable, the safest, and the most comprehensive ... because it is the religion of the innate natural disposition (fitrah). As for Allah, He is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left. Allah is Greater. They describe their Lord as non-existence.
Another questioner: ... There is something we are looking for, meaning not on ... For example, he asks about his religion, he asks about the attributes of prayer, he asks about the recommended practices of ablution, we ask about our religion in the correct manner, meaning about all the matters that are hidden from us. No one should be shy to ask about them ... .
Another questioner: What is the difference between worldly innovation (bid'ah) and life innovation (bid'ah)? I mean, in the past period, there was a lot of discussion on this topic that people ... in the Night Journey and Ascension (al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj).
and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِThe Shaykh : It has come in "Sahih al-Bukhari" and "Muslim" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey with his Companions, and whenever they ascended a high place—meaning a mountain—or descended into a valley, they would glorify Allah, say Allahu Akbar, and raise their voices. So he (peace be upon him) said:
O people, restrain yourselves. Indeed, the one you are calling is not deaf nor absent. Rather, you are calling One who is Hearing and Seeing. Rather, you are calling One who is closer to any one of you than the neck of his mount.
يا أيها الناس اربعوا على أنفسكم إن من تدعونه ليس بأصم ولا غائبًا إنما تدعون سميعًا بصيرًا، إنما تدعون من هو أقرب إلى أحدكم من عنق راحلته إليهThe Shaykh : And they were indeed misled.
The questioner : ... A person does not want to admit to himself that his intellect is limited, and thus the attempt to imagine is what leads him to misguidance. If he believes that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is not like anything else ... then from there he finds peace and gives peace. But the attempt to interpret matters ... the narrowness of the sons of Adam ... is what causes him to fall into misguidance. For example, in this room there are acoustic stones present ... this is evidence ... Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), so how ... regarding His Essence, it is not possible ... .
The Shaykh : The truth is that faith in Allah and His Messenger is the most rational, the most knowledgeable, the safest, and the most comprehensive ... because it is the religion of the innate natural disposition (fitrah). As for Allah, He is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left. Allah is Greater. They describe their Lord as non-existence.
Another questioner: ... There is something we are looking for, meaning not on ... For example, he asks about his religion, he asks about the attributes of prayer, he asks about the recommended practices of ablution, we ask about our religion in the correct manner, meaning about all the matters that are hidden from us. No one should be shy to ask about them ... .
Another questioner: What is the difference between worldly innovation (bid'ah) and life innovation (bid'ah)? I mean, in the past period, there was a lot of discussion on this topic that people ... in the Night Journey and Ascension (al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj).