Allah the Exalted said: << إن الله يعلم ما يدعون من دونه من شيئ وهو العزيز الحكيم >

The Exalted said: [Al-Ankabut: 42] The author says: "meaning 'that which'", so it becomes a relative pronoun. This is the grammatical analysis the author adopted, and it is the most apparent meaning of the verse. Some grammarians say: it is an interrogative particle, and the pause is on the phrase: "Indeed, Allah knows what they invoke besides Him of anything. Do they benefit?" But this is far from the wording, so the author's grammatical analysis is the correct one. Given the author's grammatical analysis, we must ask: Where is the relative pronoun? What is the referent of the relative pronoun?
The student: The pronoun "ha" (it).

The Shaykh : Where?
The student: Besides Him...

The Shaykh : This pronoun "ha" refers back to Allah. What does it refer back to? ?
The student: It is omitted.

The Shaykh : It is omitted. The omission of the relative pronoun is a consistent rule. So the intended meaning is: "Indeed, Allah knows what they invoke of anything." And regarding His saying: He said: "they worship". Here, "invocation" (du'a) is invocation as worship. Just as invocation can be invocation as worship, it is also invocation as a request... Invocation as a request and invocation as worship. As for invocation as a request, it is in the saying of the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah: 186]. You say: "My Lord, forgive me," "My Lord, have mercy on me," and the like. Invocation as worship, what does it mean? It means you worship Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) with what He has commanded you. It is called invocation because the true state of the worshipper is seeking Allah's forgiveness and mercy. So in reality, he is invoking implicitly. The evidence for this is His saying: [Ghafir: 60]. And His saying: "they worship." "We should make the invocation here comprehensive, covering both worship and invocation as a request. Do they not invoke these idols as a request?"
The student: They invoke them.

The Shaykh : They invoke these idols as a request as well; they ask them. A clear example of this is those who associate partners with Allah through the prophets and the awliya (close friends of Allah), for they invoke them as a request, saying: "O Messenger of Allah, forgive me," and "O Messenger of Allah, ease my affairs," and the like. And regarding his saying: " with the yaa and the taa ," how is it with the yaa and the taa? It means "they invoke" and "you invoke"; these are two of the seven canonical readings.

other than Him

من دونه

"other than Him"

of anything

مِن شَيْء

" This is an explanation of , meaning what they invoke. For Allah the Exalted is aware of it. Now, what does His knowledge of it mean? It means He knows the state of the one being invoked and worshipped. This serves as a reason for His saying: , which confirms that this parable corresponds to reality because it proceeds from knowledge. So when He mentioned that they are in the spider's web, He clarified that this is from the knowledge of Allah. And that this thing which is invoked does not benefit. And His saying: "in His dominion" "in His creation." "If someone were to say: The appropriate thing is to say

and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing

وهو السميع العليم

, because he says:

knows

يعلَم

, so the apparent implication is that the verse should end with 'knowledge'? We say: This is true with respect to the apparent wording. But upon reflection, you will find that ending it with 'Mighty' and 'Wise' is more eloquent. For they seek support from these idols, seeking victory and dominance. The greatest evidence for this is the saying of Abu Sufyan on the day of Uhud, where he said: " 'Exalted be Hubal!'" Their pride in these idols is countered by the Might of the One who cannot be overcome, who is Allah. For this reason, He said: "The Victor over these idols and the worshippers of these idols. Is that clear? So the appropriateness of is more eloquent than the appropriateness of , because these people seek support from their idols and want them to prevail and dominate. So Allah clarified that He is the Owner of Might. It has been established for us that al-Aziz (the Mighty) is among the names of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that it encompasses Might in three aspects: the Might of Magnitude, the Might of Subjugation, and the Might of Self-Sufficiency. As for the Might of Magnitude, it means (Glorified and Exalted is He) that no one resembles Him in His greatness, majesty, and magnitude. As for the Might of Subjugation, it means that no one resembles Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His subjugation, authority, and dominion. And as for the Might of Self-Sufficiency, it means that He (Glorified and Exalted is He) is free from every deficiency and every flaw. So He is Mighty in that He is not subject to any flaw or deficiency. And His saying: Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) always pairs Might with Wisdom. Do you know why? Because some of the mighty among creation are driven by their might to rashness, lack of caution, and failing to place things in their proper positions. And remember the saying of Allah the Exalted: And is the fact that might leads one to sin a wisdom or not?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : It is not wisdom; it is the opposite of wisdom. For this reason, Allah the Exalted always pairs al-Aziz (the Mighty) with al-Hakim (the Wise), indicating that His Might (Blessed and Exalted is He) is accompanied by Wisdom. So although He is Mighty, Victorious, and Subjugating with complete authority, He (Glorified and Exalted is He) does not manage affairs except with perfect wisdom. Then, in our previous explanation, al-Hakim is the One who possesses judgment and wisdom. It is very clear that His Might is accompanied by His judgment, and that He has absolute judgment over His servants (Glorified and Exalted is He). For this reason, this name is always paired with this name. Know that the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) have meanings when they are isolated, and when they are paired with others, a new meaning is composed from this pairing, in addition to the isolated meaning of each name. Reflect on this issue. For example, al-Aziz has a meaning when isolated, and al-Hakim has a meaning when isolated, but when they are paired together, a third meaning is derived from them, in addition to the isolated meaning. This is the complete meaning that results from the combination of these two names. It has been established for us that al-Hakim is the One who possesses judgment and wisdom, and that judgment is divided into cosmic and legislative. We gave an example of the cosmic in His saying: , and of the legislative in His saying in Surat al-Mumtahanah: , and of what encompasses both in and the like. As for wisdom, it is established for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it means placing things in their proper positions. It exists in cosmic judgment and legislative judgment in terms of its place. It is also purposive wisdom and formal wisdom. Formal wisdom means that the fact that a thing is in this specific form is in accordance with wisdom, and then its purpose is also wisdom. So it is wisdom in the purpose and in the form in which this matter was established. This encompasses all the judgments of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), both cosmic and legislative. He said: