(Explaining the Reality of the Soul) This, and the bellies of green birds *** are their dwelling place with the Gardens and Pleasure. Whoever does not carry this intellect, do not *** wrong him, and excuse him for his denial.
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The Shaykh :"This, and the bellies of green birds *** are their dwelling place with the Gardens and Pleasure"
Oh Allah, by Your favor, the souls of the believers are in the bellies of green birds, and they are the martyrs in the sight of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, in these bellies as a favor for them.
"Whoever does not carry this intellect, do not *** wrong him, and excuse him for his denial"
It is true that man is the enemy of what he does not know; man is the enemy of what he does not know. So if the minds of these people cannot bear these meanings and they are unable to reconcile this with that, do not wrong him and excuse him for his denial. The author, may Allah have mercy on him, intended by this to belittle the status of these people and diminish their worth, meaning that they are not worthy of understanding the reconciliation of these texts; rather, they are foolish. So excuse them for their foolishness. It is not intended that they have an excuse for not believing in the texts. No, they are not excused. But if they are foolish and unable to reconcile what has been transmitted, then they are excused, just as a child is excused.
"The soul has a status other than that of bodies; do not *** neglect it. The status of the soul is the most wondrous of all.
It is that which has baffled the people, and none *** has known it except the One in the ages"
Who knows it? The One in the ages is the one who affirmed what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) brought regarding the souls, because he knew it through the correct path, the path of revelation, for there is no entry for minds into this matter.
"This, and a matter above this, if I were to say it, *** you would hasten to denial and aggression.
So I held the reins, and if I saw *** that companion, I would run in the arena"
... Our teacher, may Allah have mercy on him, says there is something above what I mentioned. Yes, if I were to say it, you would hasten to denial because it is above your level. And he says, if...
"So I held the reins, and if I saw *** that companion"
Meaning, if I saw someone who would be a companion to me in understanding what I say, I would run in the arena. But he does not see anyone who matches him in what he understood from the texts. So he held back, held back from delving and speaking, because he sees that the minds of these people do not reach it. And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Because if his mind does not bear it, he hastens to what? To denial, and this would be a fitnah (trial).
"This, and my saying that it is created ***" This, and my saying that it is...
... and that it is? "That it" with an open alif (fathah) is required, it is required, because "that it" is the news (khabar) of the statement, and it is not the quoted speech (maqul al-qawl). "Inna" is only broken (kasrah) if it is the quoted speech. Here it is the news, meaning, this, and I say that it is created. This is the meaning of the speech.
"And my saying that it is created" Meaning, its being created is my statement which I affirm and by which I worship Allah.
"And its occurrence is known by proof" Meaning, that the souls are created and originated. When are they created? It appears, and Allah knows best, that they are created when Allah, Glorified and Exalted, wills to blow them into the body, because we do not know a state for them before that, as came in the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud that when it reaches forty and forty, Allah sends to it an angel who blows the soul into it. So it appears that the souls are created when? At the blowing of the soul into the body, because before that there is no mention of it.[Al-Insan 76:1] So they are originated and created, contrary to those who said in their pre-existence. And his saying:
"This, and my saying that it is not as *** the people of slander and falsehood have said"
"It is not inside us" Meaning, and I also say it is not as the... it is not as the people of slander and falsehood said.
"It is not inside us, nor is it outside *** of us, as they said regarding the Divine"
Glory be to Allah! He says the soul is not inside the world nor outside the world, just as Allah is not inside the world nor outside it. Where does it go, and where does the soul go? If the soul is not inside the world nor outside it, where does it go? The non-existence of the Most Merciful is not inside the world nor outside it; He is also non-existent. So he said: "By Allah, you have not affirmed the Most Merciful, nor *** your souls" Why did they not affirm the Most Merciful? Because they say that Allah is not inside the world nor outside it. And they did not affirm their souls because they say it is not inside the world nor outside the world. Glory be to Allah!
"O you who claim gnosis" How eloquent this mockery of them is! Severe mockery. "O you who claim gnosis" This is as some scholars said regarding His saying, the Exalted:[Ad-Dukhan 44:49] This is from the category of mockery intended for complete humiliation. Now, is the one who says, "By Allah, my soul is not inside the world nor outside it," well, is it in your body now? You are not inside the world nor outside it. So you now do not know Allah and do not know yourself, and yet you claim that you are the owner of philosophy, the owner of wisdom, the owner of intellect, and the owner of contemplation. For this reason, they call themselves the "Nudhar" (contemplators). "Nudhar" is the plural of "Nadhir" (contemplator), meaning that they are the people of contemplation and knowledge, and this is the limit of their minds.
"You have denied the bodies of their souls, *** and the Throne of the Most Merciful"
We ask Allah for pardon. They denied the bodies of their souls, because if the soul of man is not inside nor outside the world, it means his body does not have a soul, correct? And if the Most Merciful is not inside the world nor outside it, it means there is no Most Merciful on the Throne, yes.
The questioner : Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book *The Soul*, mentioned attributes of the soul; he mentioned many attributes... from the apparent texts. But is this considered a statement of the people of the Sunnah that it is not permissible to contradict, or is it said that in this first matter, one should suspend judgment, and whoever has an opinion or view derived from the Book and the Sunnah may take it?
The Shaykh : It is obligatory that whoever sees something from the Book and the Sunnah must believe in it. As for spreading it among the people, this is looked at in terms of public benefit. It may be in the public benefit to keep the people on what they are upon of their fitrah (innate disposition) and leave this delving and details in this matter. And it may be in the public benefit to clarify. So if we are among people who have already engaged in research into the soul, its reality, its modality, and the like, then it is obligatory to clarify these things. But if it is among people who have not known except what they were created with in a general sense, then there may be fitnah (trial) in the details. Yes.
The questioner : ... they delve into the soul.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : People delve into the soul.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : We do not say, "If not," as He, the Exalted, said:[Al-Isra 17:85] ... this?
The Shaykh : Yes, but sometimes a person is compelled to speak. If you see, for example, that people are speaking about it with falsehood, do you remain silent? You must speak. Yes, Ahmad.
The questioner : ...[Al-Isra 17:85]
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Is this the intended meaning, "Do not speak about the soul"...?
The Shaykh : Yes, meaning it means do not speak about anything regarding the soul except what came from Allah. This is the meaning. And for this reason he said:[Al-Isra 17:85] Meaning, what remains for you of the sciences is only the matter of the soul until you research it. Yes.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : In any case, whatever does not have a basis from the Book and the Sunnah is not acceptable. It is not acceptable. Yes, Ya Shakir.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : ... but ... in order to be an heir in his grave so that he hears the greeting.
The Shaykh : Dead.
The questioner : Yes, a dead person...
The Shaykh : comes... to the living.
The questioner : No, the living comes to the dead in his grave and greets him.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He greets him...
The Shaykh : Yes, yes. By Allah, this needs to be stopped. And I do not think this is the case. It appears that the dead are not permitted except to return the greeting only, and nothing else is permitted. If this matter were true, everyone would be... at the graveyards. This is strange, this, Ya Shakir.
The questioner : Well, the greeting...
The Shaykh : No, the greeting is not the greeting that came in the Sunnah.
The questioner : I say in it comfort.
The Shaykh : Yes, there is no doubt that there is a sense of companionship; Allah knows best, there is a sense of companionship. But when we go and sit with them, we forget them and talk to them, saying, "Today such and such happened in so-and-so town, there were floods, there were disturbances." Yes, I do not think anyone would say this.
The questioner : There are people who do
The Shaykh : do
The questioner : Yes, that is right.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, I also think that this should be restricted to what the Sunnah has brought; it should be restricted to what the Sunnah has brought. And frequenting the dead often may affect a person mentally, because with the frequency of visiting, one may feel or one's emotions may be stirred until it is as if one is in the world of the dead, and one is affected by it. Then, did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) visit the cemetery every day? If he did visit it, then it is upon our eyes and heads. Yes, we have taken three. Yes.
Oh Allah, by Your favor, the souls of the believers are in the bellies of green birds, and they are the martyrs in the sight of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, in these bellies as a favor for them.
"Whoever does not carry this intellect, do not *** wrong him, and excuse him for his denial"
It is true that man is the enemy of what he does not know; man is the enemy of what he does not know. So if the minds of these people cannot bear these meanings and they are unable to reconcile this with that, do not wrong him and excuse him for his denial. The author, may Allah have mercy on him, intended by this to belittle the status of these people and diminish their worth, meaning that they are not worthy of understanding the reconciliation of these texts; rather, they are foolish. So excuse them for their foolishness. It is not intended that they have an excuse for not believing in the texts. No, they are not excused. But if they are foolish and unable to reconcile what has been transmitted, then they are excused, just as a child is excused.
"The soul has a status other than that of bodies; do not *** neglect it. The status of the soul is the most wondrous of all.
It is that which has baffled the people, and none *** has known it except the One in the ages"
Who knows it? The One in the ages is the one who affirmed what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) brought regarding the souls, because he knew it through the correct path, the path of revelation, for there is no entry for minds into this matter.
"This, and a matter above this, if I were to say it, *** you would hasten to denial and aggression.
So I held the reins, and if I saw *** that companion, I would run in the arena"
... Our teacher, may Allah have mercy on him, says there is something above what I mentioned. Yes, if I were to say it, you would hasten to denial because it is above your level. And he says, if...
"So I held the reins, and if I saw *** that companion"
Meaning, if I saw someone who would be a companion to me in understanding what I say, I would run in the arena. But he does not see anyone who matches him in what he understood from the texts. So he held back, held back from delving and speaking, because he sees that the minds of these people do not reach it. And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
You will not tell a people a story that their minds cannot grasp except that it will be a trial for some of them.
إنك لن تحدث قوما حديثا لا تبلغه عقولهم إلا كان لبعضهم فتنة"This, and my saying that it is created ***" This, and my saying that it is...
... and that it is? "That it" with an open alif (fathah) is required, it is required, because "that it" is the news (khabar) of the statement, and it is not the quoted speech (maqul al-qawl). "Inna" is only broken (kasrah) if it is the quoted speech. Here it is the news, meaning, this, and I say that it is created. This is the meaning of the speech.
"And my saying that it is created" Meaning, its being created is my statement which I affirm and by which I worship Allah.
"And its occurrence is known by proof" Meaning, that the souls are created and originated. When are they created? It appears, and Allah knows best, that they are created when Allah, Glorified and Exalted, wills to blow them into the body, because we do not know a state for them before that, as came in the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud that when it reaches forty and forty, Allah sends to it an angel who blows the soul into it. So it appears that the souls are created when? At the blowing of the soul into the body, because before that there is no mention of it.
Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?
هل أتى على الإنسان حينٌ من الدهر لم يكن شيئاً مذكوراً"This, and my saying that it is not as *** the people of slander and falsehood have said"
"It is not inside us" Meaning, and I also say it is not as the... it is not as the people of slander and falsehood said.
"It is not inside us, nor is it outside *** of us, as they said regarding the Divine"
Glory be to Allah! He says the soul is not inside the world nor outside the world, just as Allah is not inside the world nor outside it. Where does it go, and where does the soul go? If the soul is not inside the world nor outside it, where does it go? The non-existence of the Most Merciful is not inside the world nor outside it; He is also non-existent. So he said: "By Allah, you have not affirmed the Most Merciful, nor *** your souls" Why did they not affirm the Most Merciful? Because they say that Allah is not inside the world nor outside it. And they did not affirm their souls because they say it is not inside the world nor outside the world. Glory be to Allah!
"O you who claim gnosis" How eloquent this mockery of them is! Severe mockery. "O you who claim gnosis" This is as some scholars said regarding His saying, the Exalted:
[It will be said], "Taste! Indeed, you are the honored, the noble!
ذُق إنك أنت العزيز الكريم"You have denied the bodies of their souls, *** and the Throne of the Most Merciful"
We ask Allah for pardon. They denied the bodies of their souls, because if the soul of man is not inside nor outside the world, it means his body does not have a soul, correct? And if the Most Merciful is not inside the world nor outside it, it means there is no Most Merciful on the Throne, yes.
The questioner : Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book *The Soul*, mentioned attributes of the soul; he mentioned many attributes... from the apparent texts. But is this considered a statement of the people of the Sunnah that it is not permissible to contradict, or is it said that in this first matter, one should suspend judgment, and whoever has an opinion or view derived from the Book and the Sunnah may take it?
The Shaykh : It is obligatory that whoever sees something from the Book and the Sunnah must believe in it. As for spreading it among the people, this is looked at in terms of public benefit. It may be in the public benefit to keep the people on what they are upon of their fitrah (innate disposition) and leave this delving and details in this matter. And it may be in the public benefit to clarify. So if we are among people who have already engaged in research into the soul, its reality, its modality, and the like, then it is obligatory to clarify these things. But if it is among people who have not known except what they were created with in a general sense, then there may be fitnah (trial) in the details. Yes.
The questioner : ... they delve into the soul.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : People delve into the soul.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : We do not say, "If not," as He, the Exalted, said:
Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord
قل الروح من أمر ربيThe Shaykh : Yes, but sometimes a person is compelled to speak. If you see, for example, that people are speaking about it with falsehood, do you remain silent? You must speak. Yes, Ahmad.
The questioner : ...
Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord
قل الروح من أمر ربيThe Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Is this the intended meaning, "Do not speak about the soul"...?
The Shaykh : Yes, meaning it means do not speak about anything regarding the soul except what came from Allah. This is the meaning. And for this reason he said:
And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little."
وما أوتيتم من العلم إلا قليلاThe questioner : ...
The Shaykh : In any case, whatever does not have a basis from the Book and the Sunnah is not acceptable. It is not acceptable. Yes, Ya Shakir.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : ... but ... in order to be an heir in his grave so that he hears the greeting.
The Shaykh : Dead.
The questioner : Yes, a dead person...
The Shaykh : comes... to the living.
The questioner : No, the living comes to the dead in his grave and greets him.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He greets him...
The Shaykh : Yes, yes. By Allah, this needs to be stopped. And I do not think this is the case. It appears that the dead are not permitted except to return the greeting only, and nothing else is permitted. If this matter were true, everyone would be... at the graveyards. This is strange, this, Ya Shakir.
The questioner : Well, the greeting...
The Shaykh : No, the greeting is not the greeting that came in the Sunnah.
The questioner : I say in it comfort.
The Shaykh : Yes, there is no doubt that there is a sense of companionship; Allah knows best, there is a sense of companionship. But when we go and sit with them, we forget them and talk to them, saying, "Today such and such happened in so-and-so town, there were floods, there were disturbances." Yes, I do not think anyone would say this.
The questioner : There are people who do
The Shaykh : do
The questioner : Yes, that is right.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, I also think that this should be restricted to what the Sunnah has brought; it should be restricted to what the Sunnah has brought. And frequenting the dead often may affect a person mentally, because with the frequency of visiting, one may feel or one's emotions may be stirred until it is as if one is in the world of the dead, and one is affected by it. Then, did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) visit the cemetery every day? If he did visit it, then it is upon our eyes and heads. Yes, we have taken three. Yes.