The Meaning of the Poet's Statement: If There Is No Lord Above the Creatures, Then This Is the Statement on the Scale
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The Shaykh : [If He is] a created being, then the universe is Allah. We ask Allah for safety. It has been mentioned to us before that they said the sky is Allah, the earth is Allah, the human is Allah, and the camel is Allah. Yes.
"… This universe is not for other than Him, nor is it separate from the universes"
If he says it is not separate from the universes, meaning it is not distinct from the Creator, then it must be that He is the creation.
"No, and He is not also distant from them, so He is *** the existence itself, manifestly"
The Shaykh : Ibn al-Qayyim said
"If there is no Lord above the creatures, *** then this is the statement on the scale"
This means that if one does not say that Allah is above everything, then this statement becomes the correct statement on the scale. Its meaning is that if we do not say that Allah is above everything, it necessitates that we say He is the very essence of everything. Yes, because if we say that Allah is not above the heavens, not above the creation, not to the right, not to the left, not below, not in front, not behind, or anywhere, what is the consequence? That He is the very essence of the creation. So if we say He is above the Throne, we are safe from this. Thus, the statement of the Jahmiyyah who deny the attributes returns completely to the statement of the Unitarians, the people of the Oneness of Existence, because they say that Allah is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not separate, not connected, and not disconnected. So what is He?
The student: Non-existence...
The Shaykh : It is non-existence. So it is the universe... these are the created beings. That is why he said
"If there is no Lord above the creatures, *** then this is the statement on the scale"
Yes
"… This universe is not for other than Him, nor is it separate from the universes"
If he says it is not separate from the universes, meaning it is not distinct from the Creator, then it must be that He is the creation.
"No, and He is not also distant from them, so He is *** the existence itself, manifestly"
The Shaykh : Ibn al-Qayyim said
"If there is no Lord above the creatures, *** then this is the statement on the scale"
This means that if one does not say that Allah is above everything, then this statement becomes the correct statement on the scale. Its meaning is that if we do not say that Allah is above everything, it necessitates that we say He is the very essence of everything. Yes, because if we say that Allah is not above the heavens, not above the creation, not to the right, not to the left, not below, not in front, not behind, or anywhere, what is the consequence? That He is the very essence of the creation. So if we say He is above the Throne, we are safe from this. Thus, the statement of the Jahmiyyah who deny the attributes returns completely to the statement of the Unitarians, the people of the Oneness of Existence, because they say that Allah is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not separate, not connected, and not disconnected. So what is He?
The student: Non-existence...
The Shaykh : It is non-existence. So it is the universe... these are the created beings. That is why he said
"If there is no Lord above the creatures, *** then this is the statement on the scale"
Yes