Exegesis of Verse (4) of Surat al-Hadid.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is the two-hundred-and-ninth session of the Open Door sessions, which take place every Thursday. This Thursday is the third of the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, 1420. As is customary, we will speak about what Allah Mighty and Majestic facilitates in the way of exegesis of the verses. We have previously explained the saying of Allah the Exalted: Which surah is this?
The student: Al-Hadid.

The Shaykh : Surat al-Hadid, the first, meaning? Does it mean the meaning of the first?
The student: That before which there is nothing.

The Shaykh : And the last?
The student: That after which there is nothing.

The Shaykh : The apparent?
The student: That above which there is nothing.

The Shaykh : And what about the inner reality?
The student: That below which there is nothing.

The Shaykh : That below which there is nothing. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family and his Companions) explained it. It is well known that we do not return to the saying of anyone, whoever he may be among humans, after the explanation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family and his Companions).
That is, He is All-Knowing of what was and what will be, so He does not forget what has passed, nor is He ignorant of what is to come, as Allah the Exalted said on the tongue of Musa (peace be upon him and his family and his Companions) when Pharaoh asked him: He does not err, meaning what? He is not ignorant, because "err" is used to mean ignorance, as in the saying of Allah the Exalted to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): meaning ignorant. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family and his Companions) did not know anything of the Islamic Shari'ah before it was revealed to him, by the saying of Allah the Exalted: And His saying: Does this include the actions of the servants and the words of the servants?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, it includes this. Indeed, He knows, Glorified is He, what is in the heart of a person even if he does not reveal it, as He said the Exalted: So beware that you do not harbor something in your heart and Allah holds you accountable for it. But the whispers that occur in the heart, to which a person does not incline, but rather fights them and tries to distance himself from them as much as possible, do not harm him in any way. Rather, they are a sign of the soundness of his faith, because Satan only comes to the heart to cast whispers into it if it is a sound heart. But if the heart is not sound, Satan does not whisper to it because it has already ended.
He created the seven heavens, and likewise the earth is seven, by the saying of Allah the Exalted: Like them in what?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Huh? In number or in quality?
The student: In number.

The Shaykh : In number. And it is not fitting that it be in quality? The question is for you? Is it not fitting that it be in quality? What do you say?
The student: It is not fitting.

The Shaykh : It is not fitting, because there is a great difference between the heaven and the earth, so it is established that the meaning is like them in number. And this came explicitly in the Sunnah, as in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family and his Companions): And His saying: These days are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. If Allah had willed, He would have created them in an instant, as He said Mighty and Majestic: But He created them in six days for two wisdoms, and Allah knows best.
The first wisdom is that the created things are arranged one after another, and some originate from others, so they require a duration.
Second, the second wisdom is to accustom His servants to deliberation in matters, and that the lesson is in perfection, not in haste. And if there is another third, fourth, or fifth wisdom, then Allah knows best. The important thing is what has become clear to us, and we do not assert this with certainty, but we say Allah knows best.
And the meaning of "istawa" (rose) is "exalted," because "istawa" in the Arabic language, when it is transitive with "ala" (upon), means elevation. An example is the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He: meaning it rises above it And among that is His saying the Exalted about Noah: So His saying "when you are upon the ship" means? You were above it. So "istawa upon the Throne" means? He exalted above the Throne. And if you see someone saying "istawa upon the Throne" means "he took control of the Throne," he has lied about Allah, lied about Allah Mighty and Majestic, because Allah the Exalted revealed this great Qur'an in the Arabic language, and the Arabic language indicates that "istawa," when it is transitive with "ala," means elevation and nothing else. So the one who interprets it as "took control" is a liar about Allah Mighty and Majestic, one who has wronged the texts of the Book and distorted them.
And his wrongdoing against them is from two aspects:
The first aspect is diverting them from their apparent meaning.
And the second aspect is introducing a meaning that their apparent meaning does not indicate, so he is a liar about Allah and has wronged the text from two aspects:
The first is diverting it from its apparent meaning.
And the second is introducing a meaning that the apparent meaning does not indicate. And this is often found in the books of the Asha'irah, whether they are exegetes or not. But by Allah, and by Allah, they have gone astray in a clear error, we ask Allah for safety. And who took control of the Throne when the heavens and the earth were created, if Allah did not take control of it except after the creation of the heavens and the earth? Then it belongs to whom before? Yes, it necessitates that they say it belongs to other than Allah, or else they have erred. Meaning, their error is clear, and they are in error, and praise be to Allah, it is clear.
What enters the earth, meaning what enters into it from the bodies of the dead, and from the seeds that grow by the permission of Allah, and from the waters that Allah makes springs in the earth and then brings them out, and other insects and the like. The important thing is that Allah knows everything that enters the earth. And our question now is: Does He know the state of the ant when it enters its burrow?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Does He know or does He not know? It is not mentioned in the verse.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : We say "What" is a relative pronoun, and the relative pronoun implies generality, meaning everything that enters the earth. From plants, waters, minerals, and others.
From angels, rains, laws, and others.
Meaning to it, but "in" was used instead of "to" to benefit from two things:
The first benefit is ascending, meaning rising.
The second benefit is the preposition "in," because the verb that suits it is what? Entering; one enters a place. As for "ascends" and "ascend," the preposition that suits them is "to." However, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) departed from saying "ascends to them" and said instead: to convey what? The ascent—walk with us—and the entry, meaning that things do not reach the lower heaven and stop; they ascend in the lower heaven until they reach Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So, if a grammarian asked you why the preposition "in" was used instead of "to" in the Qur'an, which is eloquent?
So what is the answer? That we say "ya'ruju" was given the meaning of? Enters. And this inclusion of meaning exists in the Noble Qur'an and in the Arabic language. Allah the Exalted said: What is suitable for drinking is what? From, as He said the Exalted: meaning from it And here He said: What is the wisdom? The scholars said the wisdom is that "yashrabu" (drinks) here was given the meaning of "yurwa" (is quenched), is quenched by it. And it is well known that if you say "is quenched by it," it includes the meaning of "drinks" and more. And this inclusion of meaning is an important art in the field of rhetoric that a student of knowledge should study and verify so that he benefits from it when the particles differ with their factors and it does not cause him difficulty.
He: The pronoun refers to Allah Mighty and Majestic. With you: meaning accompanying you, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But is this companionship a companionship of place, meaning that if we are in a place, Allah is with us? By no means, absolutely not, this is impossible. And how can a rational person imagine that Allah is with us in our place, and His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth? This is impossible. The Footstool is the place of the feet, as it came from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). If that is so, is it conceivable that the Lord of the heavens and the earth, on the Day of Resurrection, the heavens will be folded up in His right hand and the earth in His grip, is it possible that He can be with us in our narrow or wide places? It is not possible. So "with you" means accompanying you, and the companion may be far from you. The Arabs say in their style: "We are still walking and the moon is with us," "We are still walking and the Pole Star is with us," "We are still walking and such-and-such a mountain is with us." Is he with them in their place? The brother?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : What did I say? Do you understand what I am saying?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Fine, it is well known that the moon is in the sky, and the star is in the sky, and a mountain may be a distance of days between you and it, and yet the Arabs use the term "presence" (mu'ayyah) despite the distance in place. Since we believe that Allah is with us, He is aware of us, is He not? Good, He hears our words, He sees our actions, He has power over us and authority, He manages our affairs, in every sense that presence implies. Know that among the misguided are those who say that Allah is with us in our places, may Allah protect us, and they deny that Allah is in the sky, elevated. So they have committed two great errors: denying the elevation of Allah, which is denying the elevation of Allah, and the second—go on—believing that He is on the earth. And glory to Allah, can a rational person, let alone a believer, believe that if he is in the bushes—in the toilet—Allah is with him? I seek refuge in Allah. I testify to Allah that the one who believes this is a disbeliever, because the greatest mockery of Allah and the greatest lowering of Allah's status is this. Then we say, if it were as they claim, that Allah is everywhere, meaning He is in the room, in the market, in the mosque, then who is with the people in the room and who is with the people in the street? Are they two gods? Answer me, people? No, and we cannot say that Allah is multiple. So if He is not two gods, is He divided, part of Him here and part of Him there? Then it means it is invalid to say He is with us by His essence in our places, because either He is multiple or He is divided, and both are invalid. I have established this because, as we have touched upon among those who come to Makkah, there are those who hold this belief. They say and this is a verse of , what do you say? We say that presence is companionship, and companionship does not necessitate proximity in place, meaning being stationary in a place does not necessitate this. And how can Allah the Exalted be with you in your place while He, Glorified and Exalted is He, has encompassed the heavens and the earth with His Kursi (Footstool)? But these who believe this have not given Allah His due right, nor have they magnified Him with His due magnification, nor have they known His greatness and majesty. Allah the Exalted said: What is it? So how can it be believed that Allah is with us in our place? Therefore, it is obligatory for a person to know the favor of Allah upon him by believing in the Qur'an as it is, on its apparent meaning, magnifying Allah with His due magnification. And His saying: means wherever you are, because "where" is an adverb of place. Allah the Exalted said: Yes, like "wherever you are," meaning He is All-Aware of all the deeds you do. Is the sight here sight of knowledge or sight of vision? It includes both. So He is All-Aware with sight of vision; He, Mighty and Majestic, sees us and we are not hidden from Him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said about his Lord: This is sight of vision. As for sight of knowledge, it is known that our deeds may be visible, like movements, or they may be audible, like words. The audible is not seen with the eye but is heard, so seeing the audible is knowledge. And on this basis we say, what does it include?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Knowledge and sight by vision. And we limit ourselves to this extent to free ourselves for the questions. We begin with the oath.