And no person of sound mind who knows Allah and His true worth can say
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The Shaykh : He said: "And no person of sound mind who knows Allah and His true worth can say: 'That Allah the Exalted is with His creation on earth'". By "person of sound mind," he means, a fortiori, a believer, because a person of sound mind is strictly prevented from believing that Allah the Exalted is with His creation on earth. "The reason for this is what has preceded regarding the proof of reason for the exaltation of Allah. If the exaltation of Allah is established by reason, then His existence on earth must be impossible. And his saying 'who knows Allah and His true worth' means who magnifies Him with true magnification. It is from the word 'qadr' in the sense of magnification. That he should say that Allah is with His creation on earth. I have continued, and I continue, to deny this statement in every gathering of mine in which it is mentioned", meaning the mention of His presence. And I ask Allah to keep me and my Muslim brothers firm with the firm word in this worldly life and in the Hereafter.
"After that, I wrote an article published in the magazine Al-Da'wah, which is issued in Riyadh, on Monday, the fourth of Muharram, 1404 AH, issue number 911. In it, I affirmed what the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) affirmed, namely that the presence of Allah the Exalted with His creation is a truth in its reality, so it is a true presence in its reality". It is not possible for us to interpret it contrary to its apparent meaning, because those people of the denialist school (Mu'tazilah), when they saw the Salaf interpreting it by knowledge and the like, they raised a commotion against us and said, "You deny figurative interpretation (ta'wil) yet you interpret. Why is interpretation forbidden for us and lawful for you?" We say: We believe that the presence is a truth and there is no figurative interpretation in it. And those who interpreted it by knowledge, what did they interpret it with? With its implications, or with some of its implications. Their aim was to refute what had become famous in their time and spread among people, namely that Allah the Mighty and Majestic is in every place. One who reviews the books of the Sunnah written on this topic knows their aim. As they also said that Allah descends with His essence to the lowest heaven, even though the phrase "with His essence" is unnecessary, because descent, when attributed to Him, refers to Himself. But they add the phrase "with His essence" in response to those who said that what descends is His command, or His mercy, or an angel from His angels, or the like.
He says: "And that this does not necessitate indwelling or mixing with creation, let alone imply it". Because there is a difference between what is necessary (lazim) and what is permissible (ja'iz).
So here are three things, three relationships: impossible, permissible, and necessary. The necessary is impossible; there is no doubt that it is impossible for Him to be on earth. The permissible is also impossible. And what remains? Yes, the impossible. It means it is impossible for Him to be on earth. So it is neither obligatory nor permissible, but it is impossible for Him, Glorified and Exalted is He, to be on earth. But when some of the brothers had a problem with the phrase "essential presence" (ma'iyyah dhatiyyah), this matter became difficult for them.
He says: "And I considered it obligatory to avoid the word" "essential" (dhatiyyah) "and I clarified the ways of reconciling the exaltation of Allah the Exalted with the reality of His presence".
I considered it obligatory for two reasons:
The first reason: to defend the honor of the person, because it is obligatory for a person to defend his honor as much as he is able.
The second: so that no one imagines that this implies indwelling, and so that the indwelling theorists (Hululiyyah) do not use it as an argument.
"So in it are two matters. I considered it obligatory, I considered it obligatory to delete it for two reasons:
The first reason: to defend the person's honor, and it is obligatory for a person to defend his honor because his soul is a trust with him.
The second point is that no one should argue by saying, "Look, you say that Allah is in His essence in every place, and this is a serious issue."
It is known that this second point is not possible with our statement that the one who believes in that is a disbeliever. But with this, the people of falsehood cling to everything.
He says: "And I clarified the ways of reconciling the exaltation of Allah the Exalted with the reality of His presence".
"After that, I wrote an article published in the magazine Al-Da'wah, which is issued in Riyadh, on Monday, the fourth of Muharram, 1404 AH, issue number 911. In it, I affirmed what the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) affirmed, namely that the presence of Allah the Exalted with His creation is a truth in its reality, so it is a true presence in its reality". It is not possible for us to interpret it contrary to its apparent meaning, because those people of the denialist school (Mu'tazilah), when they saw the Salaf interpreting it by knowledge and the like, they raised a commotion against us and said, "You deny figurative interpretation (ta'wil) yet you interpret. Why is interpretation forbidden for us and lawful for you?" We say: We believe that the presence is a truth and there is no figurative interpretation in it. And those who interpreted it by knowledge, what did they interpret it with? With its implications, or with some of its implications. Their aim was to refute what had become famous in their time and spread among people, namely that Allah the Mighty and Majestic is in every place. One who reviews the books of the Sunnah written on this topic knows their aim. As they also said that Allah descends with His essence to the lowest heaven, even though the phrase "with His essence" is unnecessary, because descent, when attributed to Him, refers to Himself. But they add the phrase "with His essence" in response to those who said that what descends is His command, or His mercy, or an angel from His angels, or the like.
He says: "And that this does not necessitate indwelling or mixing with creation, let alone imply it". Because there is a difference between what is necessary (lazim) and what is permissible (ja'iz).
So here are three things, three relationships: impossible, permissible, and necessary. The necessary is impossible; there is no doubt that it is impossible for Him to be on earth. The permissible is also impossible. And what remains? Yes, the impossible. It means it is impossible for Him to be on earth. So it is neither obligatory nor permissible, but it is impossible for Him, Glorified and Exalted is He, to be on earth. But when some of the brothers had a problem with the phrase "essential presence" (ma'iyyah dhatiyyah), this matter became difficult for them.
He says: "And I considered it obligatory to avoid the word" "essential" (dhatiyyah) "and I clarified the ways of reconciling the exaltation of Allah the Exalted with the reality of His presence".
I considered it obligatory for two reasons:
The first reason: to defend the honor of the person, because it is obligatory for a person to defend his honor as much as he is able.
The second: so that no one imagines that this implies indwelling, and so that the indwelling theorists (Hululiyyah) do not use it as an argument.
"So in it are two matters. I considered it obligatory, I considered it obligatory to delete it for two reasons:
The first reason: to defend the person's honor, and it is obligatory for a person to defend his honor because his soul is a trust with him.
The second point is that no one should argue by saying, "Look, you say that Allah is in His essence in every place, and this is a serious issue."
It is known that this second point is not possible with our statement that the one who believes in that is a disbeliever. But with this, the people of falsehood cling to everything.
He says: "And I clarified the ways of reconciling the exaltation of Allah the Exalted with the reality of His presence".