Explanation of the author's statement: "… And a man said to Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): 'O Abu 'Abd Allah, (The Most Merciful rose above the Throne) — how did He rise above it?'"
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The Shaykh :"And a man said to Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): 'O Abu 'Abd Allah, (The Most Merciful rose above the Throne) — how did He rise above it?'" The phrase "how did He rise above it" could be a question about the manner while affirming the rising above, or it could be a question of denial, meaning "how did He rise above the Throne?" This is not possible, is it? So the interrogative form here could be a question about the manner while affirming the essence of the rising above, or it could be a denial of the rising above, meaning he is saying "how can Allah rise above the Throne when He is the Creator of the Throne?!" Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) "lowered his head until sweat covered him, then he said: 'The rising above is not unknown'" And what does "not unknown" mean?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It means the meaning is not unknown, so it is known in meaning. "And the how is not comprehensible" means that our minds do not grasp the manner. It does not mean that there is no manner to Allah's rising above His Throne, contrary to those who claimed that. For if we said the meaning is that there is no manner to the rising above, that would mean denying the rising above. Denying the rising above, because everything that exists must have a manner, is it not? So if you say there is no manner to Allah's rising above His Throne, the meaning becomes denying the rising above. But what the Salaf intended by saying "the how is not comprehensible" is that we do not comprehend this manner, whereas He has a manner that no one knows except Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
"And belief in it is obligatory", belief in what? In the rising above, it is obligatory. "And asking about it is an innovation", asking about the manner, not about the rising above, is an innovation. "And I do not think you are anything but an innovator, then he ordered that he be taken out", meaning I do not think you are anything but an innovator… "I see you" (ara'aka) with a dammah on the hamzah, and it is also valid to say "I do not know you" (ma a'lamuka), right? Is it valid to say "I do not know you except as an innovator"? In this construction, it is not valid, because Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) does not know with certainty that this man is an innovator. And our acceptance of this from Rabi'ah ibn Abi 'Abd al-Rahman, Malik's teacher,
"And his statement 'The rising above is not unknown' means that its meaning is not unknown in the language, for its meaning is rising and settling. And his statement 'The how is not comprehensible' means that we do not grasp the manner of Allah's rising above the Throne with our minds, rather the path to that is hearing (revelation). And since revelation did not come mentioning the manner, and both the rational and revealed proofs are negated regarding it, it remains unknown, and it is obligatory to refrain from it"
I think the meaning is clear? He says that the how is not comprehensible; we do not comprehend it or grasp it with our minds. If we do not grasp it with our minds, to what do we refer? To the Book and the Sunnah, to hearing (revelation). Did revelation come mentioning the manner? No. So the manner remains unknown because both the rational and revealed proofs are negated regarding it.
For this reason, some of the scholars of knowledge said: "If the Jahmi says to you, 'Allah descends to the sky, so how does He descend?' Say to him, 'Allah informed us that He descends, but He did not inform us how He descends, so we do not go beyond what Allah informed us about Himself.'" Is that clear? And another said: "If the Jahmi says to you, 'Allah descends to the lowest sky, so how does He descend?' Say to him, 'Inform me how His Essence is.' He will say to you, 'The manner of the Essence is unknown.' Say to him, 'The attributes are a branch of the Essence. So if you do not know the manner of the Essence, you do not know the manner of the attributes.'" So the matter is clear, praise be to Allah. Yes.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It means the meaning is not unknown, so it is known in meaning. "And the how is not comprehensible" means that our minds do not grasp the manner. It does not mean that there is no manner to Allah's rising above His Throne, contrary to those who claimed that. For if we said the meaning is that there is no manner to the rising above, that would mean denying the rising above. Denying the rising above, because everything that exists must have a manner, is it not? So if you say there is no manner to Allah's rising above His Throne, the meaning becomes denying the rising above. But what the Salaf intended by saying "the how is not comprehensible" is that we do not comprehend this manner, whereas He has a manner that no one knows except Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
"And belief in it is obligatory", belief in what? In the rising above, it is obligatory. "And asking about it is an innovation", asking about the manner, not about the rising above, is an innovation. "And I do not think you are anything but an innovator, then he ordered that he be taken out", meaning I do not think you are anything but an innovator… "I see you" (ara'aka) with a dammah on the hamzah, and it is also valid to say "I do not know you" (ma a'lamuka), right? Is it valid to say "I do not know you except as an innovator"? In this construction, it is not valid, because Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) does not know with certainty that this man is an innovator. And our acceptance of this from Rabi'ah ibn Abi 'Abd al-Rahman, Malik's teacher,
"And his statement 'The rising above is not unknown' means that its meaning is not unknown in the language, for its meaning is rising and settling. And his statement 'The how is not comprehensible' means that we do not grasp the manner of Allah's rising above the Throne with our minds, rather the path to that is hearing (revelation). And since revelation did not come mentioning the manner, and both the rational and revealed proofs are negated regarding it, it remains unknown, and it is obligatory to refrain from it"
I think the meaning is clear? He says that the how is not comprehensible; we do not comprehend it or grasp it with our minds. If we do not grasp it with our minds, to what do we refer? To the Book and the Sunnah, to hearing (revelation). Did revelation come mentioning the manner? No. So the manner remains unknown because both the rational and revealed proofs are negated regarding it.
For this reason, some of the scholars of knowledge said: "If the Jahmi says to you, 'Allah descends to the sky, so how does He descend?' Say to him, 'Allah informed us that He descends, but He did not inform us how He descends, so we do not go beyond what Allah informed us about Himself.'" Is that clear? And another said: "If the Jahmi says to you, 'Allah descends to the lowest sky, so how does He descend?' Say to him, 'Inform me how His Essence is.' He will say to you, 'The manner of the Essence is unknown.' Say to him, 'The attributes are a branch of the Essence. So if you do not know the manner of the Essence, you do not know the manner of the attributes.'" So the matter is clear, praise be to Allah. Yes.