This passage, may Allah have mercy on him, intended with it, or this chapter intended with it, a refutation of the Jahmiyyah who deny the divine attributes, who say: It is not that Allah is above the Throne.
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The Shaykh : This passage, may Allah have mercy on him, intended with it, or this chapter intended with it, a refutation of the Jahmiyyah who deny the divine attributes, who say: It is not that Allah is above the Throne, it is not that Allah is above the Throne. So he intended, may Allah have mercy on him, to compel them to accept one of three matters. He says: "So ask the one who denies the attributes," yes.
"And Allah was, and there was nothing other than Him *** And He created the creation, which is of recent origin"
This is correct. Allah was, and there was nothing other than Him, meaning He was and there was nothing with Him or before Him, (Glorified and Exalted is He).
"And He created the creation" means He created it. "Al-Bariyyah" is a form meaning "the created thing."
"So ask the one who denies the attributes: Did He create it outside *** of His Self, or did it dwell within Him?"
Say to him: Did He create the creation outside of His Self, or did He create the creation within His Self? He says: "Those two
It must be one of the two" What are those two?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What is being referred to? That it is outside of Him or within His Self; it must be one of the two.
"Or that it *** is His very Self" This is the third possibility.
"There are not two existing things
There is no created thing and its Creator, and nothing *** is distinct from these entities
It must be one of three, and there is no fourth for it"
What are the three? That we say: The created things are the very Self of the Creator, or we say: He created them within His Self, or He created them outside His Self. This is a logical division; you cannot find a fourth division. For this reason, he said:
"Leave off the evasion"
When the people of the Unity of Existence saw that this division was exhaustive, he said:
"And for this reason, the most discerning of the people, who *** raised the foundations and claimed to be the knower of gnosis
He is the very essence of this universe"
Meaning he said: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the very essence of this universe. There is no Creator and no created thing; the universe is the Creator, the universe is the Creator and the created thing. So the universe is Allah. We ask Allah for safety. And it has been mentioned to us before that they said: The sky is Allah, the earth is Allah, the human is Allah, the camel is Allah, and so on. Yes.
"He is the very essence of this universe, not other than it *** nor is He separate from the universes"
If he says He is not separate from the universes, meaning He is not distinct from the creation, it necessitates that He is the creation.
"No, nor is He distant from them either *** He is existence itself and its manifestation"
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"If there is no Lord above His creation *** then this is the saying in the balance"
Meaning, if we do not say that Allah is above everything, then this saying becomes the saying, meaning it is the stronger position in the balance. Meaning: If we do not say that Allah is above everything, it necessitates that we say He is the very Self 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, and not behind, what is necessitated?
"And Allah was, and there was nothing other than Him *** And He created the creation, which is of recent origin"
This is correct. Allah was, and there was nothing other than Him, meaning He was and there was nothing with Him or before Him, (Glorified and Exalted is He).
"And He created the creation" means He created it. "Al-Bariyyah" is a form meaning "the created thing."
"So ask the one who denies the attributes: Did He create it outside *** of His Self, or did it dwell within Him?"
Say to him: Did He create the creation outside of His Self, or did He create the creation within His Self? He says: "Those two
It must be one of the two" What are those two?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What is being referred to? That it is outside of Him or within His Self; it must be one of the two.
"Or that it *** is His very Self" This is the third possibility.
"There are not two existing things
There is no created thing and its Creator, and nothing *** is distinct from these entities
It must be one of three, and there is no fourth for it"
What are the three? That we say: The created things are the very Self of the Creator, or we say: He created them within His Self, or He created them outside His Self. This is a logical division; you cannot find a fourth division. For this reason, he said:
"Leave off the evasion"
When the people of the Unity of Existence saw that this division was exhaustive, he said:
"And for this reason, the most discerning of the people, who *** raised the foundations and claimed to be the knower of gnosis
He is the very essence of this universe"
Meaning he said: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the very essence of this universe. There is no Creator and no created thing; the universe is the Creator, the universe is the Creator and the created thing. So the universe is Allah. We ask Allah for safety. And it has been mentioned to us before that they said: The sky is Allah, the earth is Allah, the human is Allah, the camel is Allah, and so on. Yes.
"He is the very essence of this universe, not other than it *** nor is He separate from the universes"
If he says He is not separate from the universes, meaning He is not distinct from the creation, it necessitates that He is the creation.
"No, nor is He distant from them either *** He is existence itself and its manifestation"
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"If there is no Lord above His creation *** then this is the saying in the balance"
Meaning, if we do not say that Allah is above everything, then this saying becomes the saying, meaning it is the stronger position in the balance. Meaning: If we do not say that Allah is above everything, it necessitates that we say He is the very Self 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, and not behind, what is necessitated?