There is a book containing a response to you regarding the issue of al-Mu'ayyah (companionship) being intrinsic. We request elaboration on this. Is the book to be read or not?
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The questioner : May Allah guide you to what He loves and is pleased with.
The Shaykh : And whoever heard the amen
The questioner : I took a book from the school library in which its author states that he is responding to your eminence on an old, published issue. He says that you state that Allah’s companionship with His creation is intrinsic companionship. I hope for clarification on this issue, and whether this book should be read or not.
The Shaykh : Yes, we spoke about the issue of al-Mu'ayyah (companionship) and said that the companionship is a real companionship; that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is Himself with His creation, but not on the earth. We mentioned evidence for this, including the context of the noble verses, such as:[Al-Hadid 57:4] These pronouns all refer to what? To whom? To Allah. So it is He, meaning Allah. But this does not mean what the Jahmiyyah went to, who say that Allah is on the earth. We see this as misguidance and disbelief, and whoever believes this about his Lord is a disbeliever. But we say He is with us and He is in the sky. He is with us in reality and He is in the sky, and there is no contradiction. If someone asks how He can be with us while He is in the sky, our answer to this is from several angles.
The first angle: Allah said and He said . As long as He said He is with us and He is in the sky, we believe in this and that. It is not possible for Allah to inform of something and then inform of its opposite that contradicts it, ever. Clear? And the unseen matters, especially those related to the essence of Allah, it is not permissible for a person to ask how or why, because no matter what, it is not possible to comprehend this, no matter what.
Second: There is no contradiction between elevation and companionship. That is, a thing can be with you while it is far from you. For this reason, we say that among the speech of the Arabs was that they would say, "We are still traveling and the moon is with us," or "We are still traveling and the Pole Star is with us," and the like. It is known to everyone that the position of the moon and the position of the Pole Star is in the sky, and the Arabs use the expression "with us" for it, and they do not see this as contradictory to that. If there is no contradiction between elevation and companionship regarding the created, then regarding the Creator it is even more so.
Third: Assuming that this cannot be conceived for the created, that it is far from you and you say it is with you—assuming that, which is a non-realistic assumption—we say that assuming that does not occur regarding the created, it does occur regarding the Creator. Because Allah the Exalted encompasses everything. The seven heavens and the seven earths are in His hand, Mighty and Majestic, like a mustard seed, which is nothing on the Day of Resurrection. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, folds the sky like the folding of a record for books. The record, the writer, if he folds the page, it is easy for him; it is not difficult. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:[Az-Zumar 39:67] The entire earth, with what is in it of seas, rivers, trees, and others, [Az-Zumar 39:67] The entire seven heavens, whose measure no one knows except Allah, Mighty and Majestic, are folded in His right hand. So Allah the Exalted encompasses everything. But to say, as the Jahmiyyah said, that He is with us on the earth, this is false speech, false speech. We say that Allah is with us in reality, as others have said, such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and other scholars. But we do not say that He is with us here on the earth. We say that whoever says that is misguided and a disbeliever. But some people understood this with a wrong understanding, and we are innocent of it, and praise be to Allah, from the beginning of our creed until we meet Allah, Mighty and Majestic, that we say Allah is on the earth, with us on the earth. We do not say this at all. So some people understood this understanding. And if they understood this, there is no doubt that this is an abomination that must be refuted. If their intention is good, they are not blamed for this. And if it is bad, Allah takes charge of the secrets.
The questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh
The Shaykh : Precise with the stories
The Shaykh : And whoever heard the amen
The questioner : I took a book from the school library in which its author states that he is responding to your eminence on an old, published issue. He says that you state that Allah’s companionship with His creation is intrinsic companionship. I hope for clarification on this issue, and whether this book should be read or not.
The Shaykh : Yes, we spoke about the issue of al-Mu'ayyah (companionship) and said that the companionship is a real companionship; that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is Himself with His creation, but not on the earth. We mentioned evidence for this, including the context of the noble verses, such as:
It is He who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth and what emerges from it and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein; and He is with you wherever you are. And Allah, of what you do, is Seeing.
هو الذي خلق السماوات والأرض في ستة أيام ثم استوى على العرش يعلم ما يلج في الأرض وما يخرج منها وما ينزل من السماء وما يعرج فيها وهو معكم أين ما كنتم والله بما تعملون بصيرThe first angle: Allah said
And He is with you
وهو معكمHe is in the sky
هو في السماءSecond: There is no contradiction between elevation and companionship. That is, a thing can be with you while it is far from you. For this reason, we say that among the speech of the Arabs was that they would say, "We are still traveling and the moon is with us," or "We are still traveling and the Pole Star is with us," and the like. It is known to everyone that the position of the moon and the position of the Pole Star is in the sky, and the Arabs use the expression "with us" for it, and they do not see this as contradictory to that. If there is no contradiction between elevation and companionship regarding the created, then regarding the Creator it is even more so.
Third: Assuming that this cannot be conceived for the created, that it is far from you and you say it is with you—assuming that, which is a non-realistic assumption—we say that assuming that does not occur regarding the created, it does occur regarding the Creator. Because Allah the Exalted encompasses everything. The seven heavens and the seven earths are in His hand, Mighty and Majestic, like a mustard seed, which is nothing on the Day of Resurrection. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, folds the sky like the folding of a record for books. The record, the writer, if he folds the page, it is easy for him; it is not difficult. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely
وما قدروا الله حق قدره والأرض جميعاًthe earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right hand
الأرض جميعا قبضته يوم القيامة والسماوات مطويات بيمينهThe questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh
The Shaykh : Precise with the stories