The Impact of Imam Malik on the Issue of Istiwa'
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : And listen to a story that happened with one of the Imams of the Muslims, Imam Malik, the Imam of the City of Migration (may Allah have mercy on him). He was in his session when a man stood up and said: "O Abu 'Abdullah, [Taha 20:5] how did He rise up?" How? He did not ask what the meaning of "rising up" is; he asked, "How did He rise up?" He asked about the manner.
The student: About the manner.
The Shaykh : Regarding the manner, Malik was ashamed of this question and felt shy before the Lord to ask about the manner of His attributes, so he lowered his head like this until sweat covered him; sweat means perspiration, and it began to pour from him due to the severity of what the question caused in his heart. Then he raised his head and said his famous statement, which deserves to be written in gold ink with the tips of fingers, not with the quills of pens: "The Istiwa' is not unknown, the manner is not conceivable, faith in it is obligatory, and asking about it is a religious innovation. I do not see you as anything but an innovator. Go out." So he was ordered to be taken out of the mosque. "The Istiwa' is not unknown" means? It is known in the Arabic language; "He Istawa over such-and-such" means He rose and elevated Himself above it. "The manner is not conceivable" means we do not control it with our minds, there is no scriptural evidence for it, and it cannot be defined. And "faith in it"? With what?
The student: In the rising up.
The Shaykh : In the rising up. It is obligatory because Allah informed us of it about Himself.
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرحمن على العرش استوىThe student: About the manner.
The Shaykh : Regarding the manner, Malik was ashamed of this question and felt shy before the Lord to ask about the manner of His attributes, so he lowered his head like this until sweat covered him; sweat means perspiration, and it began to pour from him due to the severity of what the question caused in his heart. Then he raised his head and said his famous statement, which deserves to be written in gold ink with the tips of fingers, not with the quills of pens: "The Istiwa' is not unknown, the manner is not conceivable, faith in it is obligatory, and asking about it is a religious innovation. I do not see you as anything but an innovator. Go out." So he was ordered to be taken out of the mosque. "The Istiwa' is not unknown" means? It is known in the Arabic language; "He Istawa over such-and-such" means He rose and elevated Himself above it. "The manner is not conceivable" means we do not control it with our minds, there is no scriptural evidence for it, and it cannot be defined. And "faith in it"? With what?
The student: In the rising up.
The Shaykh : In the rising up. It is obligatory because Allah informed us of it about Himself.