Continuation of the Explanation of the Report of Imam Malik Regarding Istiwa'
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The Shaykh : ... Allah, who?
The student: The Companions.
The Shaykh : The Companions, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when the verse[Taha 20:5] was revealed, did they say, "O Messenger of Allah, how did He rise up?" What?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, so every question concerning the attributes of Allah, this is an important rule, "Every question concerning the attributes of Allah that the Companions did not ask about, asking about it is a religious innovation".
How does He descend? What do you say about this statement? Is it a religious innovation or a recommended practice?
The student: It is a religious innovation.
The Shaykh : A religious innovation? Why? Because the Companions did not ask about it.
He comes to judge between His servants[Al-Fajr 89:22] How does He come? One asks, "How does He come?" What do you say? Asking about it is a religious innovation; the predecessors, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), did not ask about it, and they were more eager for knowledge than we are and more mindful of Allah than we are. This is one point: asking about it is a religious innovation.
Also, asking about it is a religious innovation, because it is the habit of the people of innovation, the habit of the people of innovation. The people of innovation always ask about the modality of the attributes in order to put the people of the Sunnah, who affirm them, in a difficult position.
So his saying it is a religious innovation has two aspects. The first aspect is that he is an innovator who did not ask about it, and the second is that it is the habit of the people of innovation; they are the ones who ask about the modality of the attributes of Allah.
For this reason, some of the Salaf from the scholars of this Ummah said: If the Jahmi says to you—and the Jahmiyyah are those who deny the attributes—if the Jahmi says to you, "Allah descends to the lowest heaven, so how does He descend?" then say to him: "How is He in His essence? How is He in His essence?" The Jahmi cannot describe the modality; he will say, "I have no knowledge of the modality of His essence." Say to him, "I have no knowledge of the modality of His attributes, because knowledge of the modality of the attributes is a branch of knowledge of what? Of the modality of the essence. If we do not know the modality of His essence, it is not possible for us to know the modality of His attributes."
And another one from the scholars of the people of the Sunnah, the scholars of the Salaf, said: If the Jahmi says to you, "Allah descends to the heaven, so how does He descend?" then say to him: "The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that He descends, but He did not inform us how He descends."
A few words from the Salaf contain good and blessing. The first one used rational argumentation, and the second used textual argumentation. Do you know the difference between the textual and the rational?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, the first one who said, "Ask him how he is in his essence," used what? Rational argumentation to negate knowledge of the modality. He said: "One who does not know the modality of his essence cannot know the modality of his attributes rationally."
The second one used what? Textual argumentation by the explicit text. He said: "He informed us that He descends but did not inform us how He descends, so the absence of information about the modality of the descent means that it is not known and not conceivable for us. "Asking about it is a religious innovation, and I do not see you as anything but an innovator, so order him to be expelled".
The student: The Companions.
The Shaykh : The Companions, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when the verse
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرحمن على العرش استوىThe student: ...
The Shaykh : No, so every question concerning the attributes of Allah, this is an important rule, "Every question concerning the attributes of Allah that the Companions did not ask about, asking about it is a religious innovation".
Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven
ينزل ربنا إلى السماء الدنياThe student: It is a religious innovation.
The Shaykh : A religious innovation? Why? Because the Companions did not ask about it.
He comes to judge between His servants
And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank,
وجاء ربك والملك صفا صفاAlso, asking about it is a religious innovation, because it is the habit of the people of innovation, the habit of the people of innovation. The people of innovation always ask about the modality of the attributes in order to put the people of the Sunnah, who affirm them, in a difficult position.
So his saying it is a religious innovation has two aspects. The first aspect is that he is an innovator who did not ask about it, and the second is that it is the habit of the people of innovation; they are the ones who ask about the modality of the attributes of Allah.
For this reason, some of the Salaf from the scholars of this Ummah said: If the Jahmi says to you—and the Jahmiyyah are those who deny the attributes—if the Jahmi says to you, "Allah descends to the lowest heaven, so how does He descend?" then say to him: "How is He in His essence? How is He in His essence?" The Jahmi cannot describe the modality; he will say, "I have no knowledge of the modality of His essence." Say to him, "I have no knowledge of the modality of His attributes, because knowledge of the modality of the attributes is a branch of knowledge of what? Of the modality of the essence. If we do not know the modality of His essence, it is not possible for us to know the modality of His attributes."
And another one from the scholars of the people of the Sunnah, the scholars of the Salaf, said: If the Jahmi says to you, "Allah descends to the heaven, so how does He descend?" then say to him: "The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that He descends, but He did not inform us how He descends."
A few words from the Salaf contain good and blessing. The first one used rational argumentation, and the second used textual argumentation. Do you know the difference between the textual and the rational?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, the first one who said, "Ask him how he is in his essence," used what? Rational argumentation to negate knowledge of the modality. He said: "One who does not know the modality of his essence cannot know the modality of his attributes rationally."
The second one used what? Textual argumentation by the explicit text. He said: "He informed us that He descends but did not inform us how He descends, so the absence of information about the modality of the descent means that it is not known and not conceivable for us. "Asking about it is a religious innovation, and I do not see you as anything but an innovator, so order him to be expelled".