Examples Five and Six: His saying, the Exalted, in Surat al-Hadid: {And He is with you wherever you are}.
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The Shaykh :"Examples Five and Six: His saying, the Exalted, in Surat al-Hadid: [Al-Hadid 57:4] And His saying in Surat al-Mujadilah, and they are two consecutive surahs. He said: [Al-Mujadila 58:7]" This was also reported from the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) that they said, 'He is with you with His knowledge,' so He is with you, meaning He knows you. So the people of figurative interpretation rejoiced with great joy. What did they say? They said, 'You have interpreted it, because companionship is broader than the intended meaning being knowledge. So He is with us with His knowledge, His hearing, His sight, His dominion, and other things. So the important thing is that they rejoiced and said: Praise be to Allah, you have interpreted the text, so you cannot deny our interpretation to us.'
"And the answer is: The speech regarding these two verses is true according to its reality and its apparent meaning, but what is its reality and its apparent meaning?" Because the verse is explicit that it is true, and it is from whom? Allah is with you, and every pronoun referring to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, whether in a verb or a name or otherwise, refers to Allah Himself in reality. We say it is true according to its reality and its apparent meaning, but what is its reality and its apparent meaning? "Is it said: Its apparent meaning and its reality is that Allah, the Exalted, is with His creation in a way that necessitates Him being mixed with them, or present in their places?
Or is it said: Its apparent meaning and its reality is that Allah is with His creation in a way that necessitates Him encompassing them: with knowledge and power, hearing and sight, management and dominion, and other meanings of His Lordship, along with His rising above His Throne above all His creation?".
Now we have two possibilities. The first possibility is that He is with them in reality, in a companionship that necessitates Him being mixed with them and present in their places.
The second is that the meaning is that He is with them in reality, in a companionship that necessitates the vastness of His knowledge, His power, His hearing, His sight, His dominion, and other things. So even though He is on His Throne, He is with us; nothing of His affairs is hidden from Him, and nothing of our conditions escapes Him. Which is more appropriate? The second, without a doubt. "There is no doubt that the first opinion is not required by the context, nor does it indicate it in any way. This is because the companionship here is attributed to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and He is too great and noble for anything of His creation to encompass Him. And because companionship in the Arabic language in which the Qur'an was revealed does not necessitate mixing or accompanying in place, but rather indicates absolute accompanying, and then it is interpreted in each place according to its context."
Yes, the first is not required by the context and does not indicate it. Why? Because the companionship here is attributed to whom? To Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And we believe that Allah, the Exalted, is not encompassed by anything of His creation, and it is not possible for anything of His creation to encompass Him. If we said that companionship necessitates mixing, it would follow that the creations encompass Him. And as we mentioned previously regarding His rising above, if we said He is with us on earth, one of two things must follow, and they are: either multiplicity or division, and both are invalid. So this is not the apparent meaning of the verse. And because companionship in the Arabic language means absolute accompanying, and it is interpreted in each thing according to its context. Do you not see that it is said of a man that his wife is with him? What is meant by accompanying here? That he has not divorced her, and the meaning is not that she is with him in the mosque, in the market, and in every place. Do you not see that the commander says to the soldiers, 'Go to the battlefield, and I am with you,' while he is sitting in the operations room? Does this necessitate that he is accompanying them in the field? No, it does not. So the companionship of each thing is according to its context. So the meaning of companionship in the Arabic language is absolute accompanying, and it is interpreted in each place according to its context.
and He is with you wherever you are
وهو معكم أين ما كنتمand no less than that and no more except that He is with them [in knowledge] wherever they are
ولا أدنى من ذلك ولا أكثر إلا هو معهم أين ما كانوا"And the answer is: The speech regarding these two verses is true according to its reality and its apparent meaning, but what is its reality and its apparent meaning?" Because the verse is explicit that it is true, and it is from whom? Allah is with you, and every pronoun referring to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, whether in a verb or a name or otherwise, refers to Allah Himself in reality. We say it is true according to its reality and its apparent meaning, but what is its reality and its apparent meaning? "Is it said: Its apparent meaning and its reality is that Allah, the Exalted, is with His creation in a way that necessitates Him being mixed with them, or present in their places?
Or is it said: Its apparent meaning and its reality is that Allah is with His creation in a way that necessitates Him encompassing them: with knowledge and power, hearing and sight, management and dominion, and other meanings of His Lordship, along with His rising above His Throne above all His creation?".
Now we have two possibilities. The first possibility is that He is with them in reality, in a companionship that necessitates Him being mixed with them and present in their places.
The second is that the meaning is that He is with them in reality, in a companionship that necessitates the vastness of His knowledge, His power, His hearing, His sight, His dominion, and other things. So even though He is on His Throne, He is with us; nothing of His affairs is hidden from Him, and nothing of our conditions escapes Him. Which is more appropriate? The second, without a doubt. "There is no doubt that the first opinion is not required by the context, nor does it indicate it in any way. This is because the companionship here is attributed to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and He is too great and noble for anything of His creation to encompass Him. And because companionship in the Arabic language in which the Qur'an was revealed does not necessitate mixing or accompanying in place, but rather indicates absolute accompanying, and then it is interpreted in each place according to its context."
Yes, the first is not required by the context and does not indicate it. Why? Because the companionship here is attributed to whom? To Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And we believe that Allah, the Exalted, is not encompassed by anything of His creation, and it is not possible for anything of His creation to encompass Him. If we said that companionship necessitates mixing, it would follow that the creations encompass Him. And as we mentioned previously regarding His rising above, if we said He is with us on earth, one of two things must follow, and they are: either multiplicity or division, and both are invalid. So this is not the apparent meaning of the verse. And because companionship in the Arabic language means absolute accompanying, and it is interpreted in each thing according to its context. Do you not see that it is said of a man that his wife is with him? What is meant by accompanying here? That he has not divorced her, and the meaning is not that she is with him in the mosque, in the market, and in every place. Do you not see that the commander says to the soldiers, 'Go to the battlefield, and I am with you,' while he is sitting in the operations room? Does this necessitate that he is accompanying them in the field? No, it does not. So the companionship of each thing is according to its context. So the meaning of companionship in the Arabic language is absolute accompanying, and it is interpreted in each place according to its context.