The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: << فكلا أخذنا بذنبه فمنهم من أرسلنا عليه حاصبا . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . >
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And His saying: [Al-'Ankabut: 40] Among the benefits of this verse is the perfection of Allah's power in sending these punishments, for they are all punishments that point to power.
Among them is the refutation of the claim of these atheists when such verses occur in the present time, and they say, "These are natural disasters; the earthquakes, which are the shaking, and they say, 'This is a natural matter.' And the great floods that destroy come, and they say, 'These are natural disasters.' They do not take heed from them, and they see them as a type of punishment that befell previous nations, as well as the severe winds. This is from the death of hearts, and I seek refuge in Allah, that a person turns away from reflecting and contemplating these verses and attributes them to natural matters, as if, in their claim, nature is the one who creates and acts without Allah.
Among the benefits of the verse is establishing the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), due to His saying: Whether we say that the *ba* indicates causality or correspondence.
Among them is establishing the causes, and everything that comes to you in the Qur'an with a *lam* for attribution or a *ba* for causality, it points to the establishment of causes and wisdoms.
Among them is the refutation of the Jabriyyah who deny the causes, and those who agree with them from the Asha'irah. We, the people of the Sunnah and the community, believe in the causes, but we do not say that these causes have an effect in themselves, but rather by the creation of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) in them, the effect occurs.
Among them is that the recompense is of the same kind as the deed. This is under either of the two possibilities for the *ba*: substitution or correspondence. The recompense is of the same kind as the deed, due to His saying:[Al-'Ankabut 29:40], and know that the recompense is of the same kind as the deed in the legal punishments and the cosmic punishments. The legal punishments, such as the hudud, are the fixed punishments determined by the Shari'ah. In reality, they are all punishments. Cutting off the hand for theft is undoubtedly in accordance with wisdom, because the hand is what takes. Cutting off the hands and feet of highway robbers is in accordance with wisdom, because highway robbers encroach upon people with their hands and feet. Stoning the adulterer with stones, rather than killing him with a sword, is also in accordance with wisdom. And so on, all legal and cosmic punishments are in accordance with wisdom. This is indicated by His saying: [Al-'Ankabut 29:40].
Among the benefits of the verse is also His saying: "Hāṣib" (hail), "Ṣayḥah" (a cry), "Khasf" (swallowing), and "Gharq" (drowning). The mention of these four types of punishments has a wisdom. Because His saying:[Al-'Ankabut 29:40] This is destruction that came from above. [Al-'Ankabut 29:40] From below. [Al-'Ankabut 29:40] This is destruction by word and voice. And His saying: Destruction by water. This is so that it becomes clear to people that punishments do not come from one type, but come from multiple types according to the state of the one being punished.
Among them is, but we have not reached His saying:[Al-'Ankabut 29:40] Have we not completed the verse?
The student: We completed it...
The Shaykh : We completed it? Good.
Among them is clarifying the perfection of Allah's justice, due to His saying:[Al-'Ankabut 29:40] And this attribute, I think, is from the negative or affirmative attributes?
The student: Negative?
The Shaykh : Negative. And it has passed us several times that negative attributes do not constitute praise unless they include affirmation. Mere negation is not praise until it includes affirmation. If Allah negates injustice from Himself, it does not mean that He simply does not wrong, but rather, due to the perfection of His justice, He does not wrong. And the meaning is not that He is incapable of injustice, but rather He is capable (Glorified and Exalted is He) of wronging, but due to the perfection of His justice, He does not wrong. And if He were incapable of injustice, the negation of injustice from Him would not be praise, is that not so? For this reason, they said regarding the saying of the poet:
Ubaylah, who do not betray a pledge, nor do they wrong people by a mustard seed.
The negation of injustice from this group is praise or blame? In this context, it is blame, meaning that due to their weakness, they do not wrong. And similarly, the saying of the poet:
But my people, even though they are of noble lineage, are not of evil in any way, even if they were despised.
Meaning they are not of evil in any way, and they do not do evil, and there is no evil in them ever. Rather, more eloquent than this is that they
They repay the injustice of the unjust with forgiveness, and the ill-treatment of the wicked with kindness.
If someone wronged them, they met them with forgiveness and pardon. Yes. And also, if someone did them ill, they did them good. The apparent meaning of this is that it is praise. Yes, as the brother Abdullah said: May Allah reward them with good. But in reality, it is blame, of the most eloquent blame, because he despises them and says that they are not able to avenge themselves or vindicate themselves. Rather, if they are done ill, they respond with kindness out of fear of greater ill-treatment. Yes. And if they are wronged, they forgive. And for this reason, the same poet said:
Would that I had a people like them, when they ride, they launch raids on horseback and on foot.
He wished that Allah would give him in their place. So the important point is that mere affirmation of negation does not indicate perfection until it includes praise and affirmation.
Among the benefits of the verse is that the person is the one who wrongs himself by committing sins, due to His saying:[Al-Baqarah 2:57] So, it is forbidden for you to commit sins because it is injustice to yourself. As for Allah the Exalted, He does not wrong. We have negation of attributes in general, which may include perfection, may include deficiency, or may be due to the lack of capacity. Which of the three is the one that applies to Allah?
The student: Perfection.
The Shaykh : It may be for perfection, like this verse, like His saying:[Qaf 50:38]. And it may be negation of deficiency, is that not so? Due to lack of capacity, like when you say: "This wall does not act," and "This wall does not wrong." Why? Due to lack of capacity. Is this praise for it? No, because it does not accept this description in the first place. And the negation may be for incapacity, like what we mentioned in the examples of the two verses:
But my people, even though they are of noble lineage, are not of evil in any way, even if they were despised.
And for Allah, none of these three categories applies except the first one, which includes perfection and praise. And for this reason, the scholars say: When Allah the Exalted negates an attribute from Himself, the intended meaning is two things: the negation of that attribute, and secondly, the affirmation of the perfection of its opposite.
So each We seized for his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones, and among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned
فَكُلًّا أَخَذْنَا بِذَنْبِهِ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ حَاصِبًا وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَخَذَتْهُ الصَّيْحَةُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الأَرْضَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَغْرَقْنَاAmong them is the refutation of the claim of these atheists when such verses occur in the present time, and they say, "These are natural disasters; the earthquakes, which are the shaking, and they say, 'This is a natural matter.' And the great floods that destroy come, and they say, 'These are natural disasters.' They do not take heed from them, and they see them as a type of punishment that befell previous nations, as well as the severe winds. This is from the death of hearts, and I seek refuge in Allah, that a person turns away from reflecting and contemplating these verses and attributes them to natural matters, as if, in their claim, nature is the one who creates and acts without Allah.
Among the benefits of the verse is establishing the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), due to His saying:
We took [them] by their sin.
أخذنا بذنبهAmong them is establishing the causes, and everything that comes to you in the Qur'an with a *lam* for attribution or a *ba* for causality, it points to the establishment of causes and wisdoms.
Among them is the refutation of the Jabriyyah who deny the causes, and those who agree with them from the Asha'irah. We, the people of the Sunnah and the community, believe in the causes, but we do not say that these causes have an effect in themselves, but rather by the creation of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) in them, the effect occurs.
Among them is that the recompense is of the same kind as the deed. This is under either of the two possibilities for the *ba*: substitution or correspondence. The recompense is of the same kind as the deed, due to His saying:
So each We seized for his sin
فكلا أخذنا بذنبهSo each We seized for his sin
فكـــلًّا أخــذنا بذنـــبِهAmong the benefits of the verse is also His saying: "Hāṣib" (hail), "Ṣayḥah" (a cry), "Khasf" (swallowing), and "Gharq" (drowning). The mention of these four types of punishments has a wisdom. Because His saying:
those upon whom We sent a storm of stones
مَن أرسلنا عليه حاصبًاthose whom We caused the earth to swallow
مَن خسفنا به الأرضthose who were seized by the blast
مَن أخذته الصيحةWhom We drowned
مَن أغرقْناAmong them is, but we have not reached His saying:
And Allah would not have wronged them
وما كان الله ليظلَمهمThe student: We completed it...
The Shaykh : We completed it? Good.
Among them is clarifying the perfection of Allah's justice, due to His saying:
And Allah would not have wronged them
وما كان الله ليظلِمَهمThe student: Negative?
The Shaykh : Negative. And it has passed us several times that negative attributes do not constitute praise unless they include affirmation. Mere negation is not praise until it includes affirmation. If Allah negates injustice from Himself, it does not mean that He simply does not wrong, but rather, due to the perfection of His justice, He does not wrong. And the meaning is not that He is incapable of injustice, but rather He is capable (Glorified and Exalted is He) of wronging, but due to the perfection of His justice, He does not wrong. And if He were incapable of injustice, the negation of injustice from Him would not be praise, is that not so? For this reason, they said regarding the saying of the poet:
Ubaylah, who do not betray a pledge, nor do they wrong people by a mustard seed.
The negation of injustice from this group is praise or blame? In this context, it is blame, meaning that due to their weakness, they do not wrong. And similarly, the saying of the poet:
But my people, even though they are of noble lineage, are not of evil in any way, even if they were despised.
Meaning they are not of evil in any way, and they do not do evil, and there is no evil in them ever. Rather, more eloquent than this is that they
They repay the injustice of the unjust with forgiveness, and the ill-treatment of the wicked with kindness.
If someone wronged them, they met them with forgiveness and pardon. Yes. And also, if someone did them ill, they did them good. The apparent meaning of this is that it is praise. Yes, as the brother Abdullah said: May Allah reward them with good. But in reality, it is blame, of the most eloquent blame, because he despises them and says that they are not able to avenge themselves or vindicate themselves. Rather, if they are done ill, they respond with kindness out of fear of greater ill-treatment. Yes. And if they are wronged, they forgive. And for this reason, the same poet said:
Would that I had a people like them, when they ride, they launch raids on horseback and on foot.
He wished that Allah would give him in their place. So the important point is that mere affirmation of negation does not indicate perfection until it includes praise and affirmation.
Among the benefits of the verse is that the person is the one who wrongs himself by committing sins, due to His saying:
but they were [only] wronging themselves.
ولكن كانوا أنفسهم يظلمونThe student: Perfection.
The Shaykh : It may be for perfection, like this verse, like His saying:
and there touched Us no weariness.
وما مسَّنَا مِن لُغُوبBut my people, even though they are of noble lineage, are not of evil in any way, even if they were despised.
And for Allah, none of these three categories applies except the first one, which includes perfection and praise. And for this reason, the scholars say: When Allah the Exalted negates an attribute from Himself, the intended meaning is two things: the negation of that attribute, and secondly, the affirmation of the perfection of its opposite.