The student’s recitation of the hadith of Abu Razin in its entirety, and an explanation of its tracing and virtue

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated in his *Musnad* from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: .

The Shaykh : No, no, that is not it. The hadith of Abu Razin appears to be in Ibn Isa's commentary; give it to Sulayman.
The reader: "The hadith of Abu Razin was transmitted by al-Dhahabi in *Kitab al-'Uluw* (The Book of the Height), where he said: 'We heard this hadith from Ahmad ibn Hibat Allah and a group of others from Muhammad ibn al-Abd al-Wahhab, who told us: Isma'il ibn Ali informed us: Muhammad ibn Ali al-Nahwi informed us: Abu Bakr ibn al-Muqri told us: 'Abdan ibn Ahmad told us: 'Amr ibn Musa told us: Hammad ibn Salama from Ya'la ibn 'Ata from Waki' ibn Hadis from Abu Razin al-'Aqili, who said:

I said: "O Messenger of Allah, where was our Lord before He created the heavens and the earth?" He said: "He was in a darkness (ama'), with air above it and air below it. Then He created the Throne, and then He rose above it."

قلت يا رسول الله أين كان ربنا قبل أن يخلق السماوات والأرض ؟ قال : كان في عماء ما فوقه هواء وما تحته هواء ثم خلق العرش ثم استوى عليه

Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah narrated it, and its chain is good.'"
Shu'ba and others narrated it from Ya'la, and they said "Adas" instead of "Hadis." Also, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh narrated it from 'Abd al-Samad ibn al-'Abd al-Warith from Hammad, and in his version it says: "Then the Throne was, and He rose above His Throne." And Harb narrated from Ibn Rahawayh: "Below it is air and above it is air," meaning the clouds.
And Abu 'Ubayd said: "Al-'Ama' is the cloud."
And al-Hasan ibn 'Imran al-Hanzali al-Harawi said: "I heard Abu al-Haytham Khalid ibn Yazid al-Razi say: Abu 'Ubayd made a mistake; 'al-'ama' is short, and it is not known where the Lord was, meaning before the creation of the Throne." And a long hadith is narrated from Abu Razin with two chains from the people of Madinah in this chapter, but it is weak. This is the end of al-Dhahabi's words.
I said: This is al-Dhahabi's statement, and the compiler transmitted it in full in *Kitab al-Huday* (The Book of Guidance), saying: "This is a great and noble hadith; its grandeur, magnificence, and greatness proclaim that it has emerged from the fountainhead of Prophethood." He then said: "No one has criticized it or any of its narrators." Among those who narrated it is the Imam, the Imam's son, Abu 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, in his father's *Musnad* and in his book *Kitab al-Sunnah*.
And among them is the noble Hafiz, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn 'Amr ibn Abi 'Asim al-Nabil, in his book *Kitab al-Sunnah*.
And among them is the Hafiz, Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ghasal, in his book *Kitab al-Ma'rifah*.
And the Hafiz of his time and the Muhaddith of his era, Abu al-Qasim Sulayman ibn Ahmad ibn Ayyub al-Tabarani, and the Hafiz, Abu Muhammad 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Hayyan, Abu al-Shaykh al-Isfahani, in his book *Kitab al-Sunnah*.
And the Hafiz of his era, Abu Nu'aym Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Ishaq al-Isfahani, and a group of Hafizs whose mention would be lengthy.
Ibn Manda said: "Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-San'ani, 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others narrated this hadith. It was narrated in Iraq at the gathering of scholars."

The Shaykh : In summary, therefore, one should refer to *Zad al-Ma'ad* (Provision for the Hereafter), because he mentioned it at length. Yes.