The Benefits of the Verse of the Throne.

The reciter:

The Shaykh : Yes, we were discussing this great verse, which is the greatest verse in the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked Ubayy ibn Ka'b, "Which is the greatest verse in the Book of Allah?" He said, "The Verse of the Throne." He struck his chest and said, I think we have reached the end of
The student: The benefits.

The Shaykh : The benefits. All right, in the name of Allah.
One of the benefits of this noble verse is the exclusivity of Allah the Exalted in divinity, as He said, This exclusivity was witnessed by Allah, witnessed by the angels, witnessed by the prophets, and witnessed by the scholars. Allah the Exalted said, The people of knowledge include the prophets by way of the first, because knowledge is inherited from them (may Allah have mercy on them). All right, did the fitrah (the innate natural disposition) also witness to it?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, the fitrah witnessed to it. The fitrah testifies to that.
And one of the benefits of this noble verse is the affirmation of life for Allah in His saying, Life is the opposite of death. And Allah the Exalted combined the affirmation of life and the negation of death in His saying,
One of the benefits of this noble verse is that the life of Allah is complete. The life of Allah is complete because it was mentioned in the context of praise, and there is no praise for life unless it is complete. And the Arab poet spoke the truth when he said:
"There is no sweetness in life as long as it is spoiled *** In its essence by the remembrance of death and old age"
Meaning, there is no good in life if its pleasure is spoiled by the remembrance of death and the remembrance of old age. For a person either grows old, or he grows old, or he dies before growing old. And look at one who has reached old age; what is his condition in the weakness of his sight, his hearing, his strength, and his memory, and in being a burden on his family? Yes. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said,
The student: Do not say to them

The Shaykh : Because when they reach old age, they become a burden on others. So in this state, do not be annoyed with them. Thus, in this is the affirmation of the complete life of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
And one of the benefits of this noble verse is the affirmation of self-subsistence for Allah. He is self-subsistent in Himself and self-subsistent over others, as He said, If someone asks, "Where is the mention of life and where is the mention of self-subsistence?" We say that the Living is derived from life, and the Self-Subsistent is derived from self-subsistence. Know that every name of Allah includes an attribute, and not the reverse. Every name of Allah includes an attribute, and not the reverse. Is that correct?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : The explanation is that Allah the Exalted described His names as the best names. They are not best unless they include meanings. As for static names, there is no beauty in them; they are merely a label. Therefore, every name of Allah includes an attribute, and not the reverse. For this reason, we do not call Allah the Exalted "the Creator," "the Willer," "the Speaker," "the Mocking," or "the Plotting," because the affirmation of the attribute necessitates the affirmation of the name.
The scholars said, "An important rule: Faith in a name of Allah, any of the names of Allah, is not complete except with three conditions, or with two conditions. Three conditions if it is transitive, and two conditions if it is intransitive." My brother, do you have the book? Do you have the book? Why don't you... Do you have the book? What do you say about a man who enters the battlefield in fighting and has no weapon? Does he benefit or not?
The student: He does not benefit.

The Shaykh : He does not benefit. Pay attention, take the books or a notebook to write down what is said. The scholars said, "Faith in the name is not complete except with three conditions if it is transitive, and two conditions if it is intransitive." If it is transitive, faith in it is not complete unless you believe in the name, the attribute, and the effect that follows from this attribute, or if you wish, the ruling that follows from this attribute. "The All-Hearing" is one of the names of Allah, is it not?
The student : Yes

The Shaykh : If you say... We say, "We believe that Allah is All-Hearing," or "That Allah is All-Hearing," but I do not believe that He has hearing. Did you believe in the name?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : No. All right, I believe that He is All-Hearing, possessing hearing, but He does not hear. Did you believe in the name?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : No. So it is necessary that you believe that He is All-Hearing, meaning you believe in "The All-Hearing" as a name for Allah, in hearing as an attribute for Him, and that He hears as an effect or ruling. And if the name is intransitive, there are two conditions for faith in it: the first is affirming the name, and the second is affirming the attribute. "The Living" is one of the names of Allah. You believe that He is The Living and that He has life, and that is all.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: All, all.

The Shaykh : You do not believe in a third thing. Why? Because it is necessarily intransitive. How can it have something to which it extends? All right, this rule is useful.
Look at the Mu'tazilah. The Mu'tazilah say, "We believe in the names of Allah, but we do not believe in His attributes. We believe that He is All-Hearing without hearing, All-Seeing without sight." May Allah blind you who see you! How can He be All-Seeing without sight? Is it conceivable that someone be described with a description without possessing it? Is it said to the deaf, "You are All-Hearing"? Never. But we ask Allah for safety. This is the realization of His saying, When they strayed, Allah caused their hearts to stray.
All right, among the benefits derived from these verses, from this verse, is that Allah the Exalted is free from slumber and sleep. He is free from slumber and sleep, as He said,
If someone asks, "Negation is non-existence, and non-existence is nothing. And you say that the attributes of Allah the Exalted are exalted, meaning they are gathered in the most perfect descriptions. Negation is non-existence, and is non-existence." It is said that this negation is not absolute negation, but it is a negation of what it implies of the perfection of life and self-subsistence. For this reason, there is no pure negation in the attributes of Allah, ever. Rather, the negation includes an affirmation. Every negation in the attributes of Allah includes an affirmation. With you, 'Aqil, every negation in the attributes of Allah includes an affirmation. There is no pure negation. The negation of slumber and sleep: what does it include of affirmation? The perfection of life and self-subsistence. The perfection of life and self-subsistence, because if life is complete, there is no sleep. Look at the people of Paradise, may Allah make me and you among them. They do not sleep. Why? Because of the perfection of their life. No fatigue and no weariness. This requires sleep. Therefore, because of the perfection of their life, they do not sleep. Just as they also do not die. All right, no... This is a negation.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Is it a pure negation? No. Because pure negation has no perfection; rather, it is non-existence. But "no injustice" is for the perfection of His justice. For the perfection of His justice, there is no injustice in His attributes at all. All right, so includes the negation of slumber and sleep from Allah, along with the affirmation of the perfection of what? Life and self-subsistence.
All right, one of the benefits of the noble verse is the comprehensiveness of the dominion of Allah the Exalted, as He said,
And one of its benefits is His exclusivity in that, and that no one owns anything in the heavens or on the earth except Allah. The indication of exclusivity, brother...
The student: ...

The Shaykh : No, where is the one that exists?
The student: ...
The student: ...

The Shaykh : The indication of exclusivity.
The student: The news was brought forward.

The Shaykh : The news was brought forward, and the rule is that bringing forward what is due to be delayed indicates
The student: Restriction.

The Shaykh : restriction. That is, affirming the ruling for the mentioned thing and negating it for everything else. So the dominion of the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah alone.
If it is said that Allah affirmed dominion for us, saying, How do you reconcile this with your saying that dominion is exclusive to Allah? We say, our dominion is not like the dominion of Allah the Exalted. Our dominion is limited in areas of work and limited in the work itself. First, my dominion is limited, for example, to what is in my hands and does not include what is under your hands. You, is that not so?
The student : Yes

The Shaykh : All right, also, my dominion over what is in my hands is limited in the work. I do not have the option to do with it whatever I wish. For this reason, if I wanted to burn my wealth, that would be forbidden for me. But Allah the Exalted does what He wills. He may burn His dominion with thunderbolts and other types of destruction. All right, one of the benefits of this noble verse is that "the heavens" is a plural of more than one. And "the earth." In the Qur'an, "the heavens" comes as singular and as plural. Allah the Exalted said, And it comes as plural often as well, And here He said, So the noble verse indicates that the heavens are plural. What is the extent of this plural? Seven.
The student:

The Shaykh : O 'Abdullah ibn 'Uwaid, you kept us occupied today with sleep. You don't let anyone walk with you to perform wudu'.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : And we don't answer with us...
The student: ...

The Shaykh : They glorify Him. Yes. So the heavens are seven. How many are the earths? Seven. The evidence is the saying of Allah the Exalted, So is the similarity here in strength? Answer.
The student: No.

The Shaykh : No, in number. It is not possible for the heavens and the earth to be united except by number. So it necessitates that the similarity here is that they are like them, that the earths are like the heavens in number, as that came explicitly in the Sunnah in the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him),
The student: Seven earths.

The Shaykh :
All right, one of the benefits of the noble verse is the strength of the authority of Allah the Exalted. The strength of His authority, meaning He is the possessor of strong authority. Where is it taken from? From His saying, Meaning, no one intercedes with Allah except by His permission. A created being, however great his authority, intercedes with Him without permission. Perhaps the king's wife intercedes in the most dangerous matters, or not?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : It is not possible.
The student: It is possible

The Shaykh : A young man might intercede without permission, but Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because of the strength of His authority, no one intercedes except by Allah’s permission, and indeed, no one speaks except by Allah’s permission. What is it? Because of the strength of His authority, Exalted and Majestic is He. That is why you find that the awe-inspiring king, no one ever speaks in the council, they remain silent, except when he speaks. And the poet said:
"We lower our eyes out of modesty, and [others] lower theirs out of awe of him, *** So he does not speak except when he smiles."
This indicates what? The perfection of awe. He lowers his eyes out of modesty; he is modest, so he lowers his eyes as much as he can from looking at people, and [others] lower their eyes out of awe of him. Do you see the difference? He lowers his eyes out of modesty, while others lower theirs out of awe of him.
The student: Awe.

The Shaykh : Awe. So he does not speak except when he smiles. As long as he is silent, no one speaks. When he smiles, they speak; the door opens. Now, our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, no one intercedes except by His permission. Do the idols intercede?
The student: They do not intercede.

The Shaykh : No, they do not intercede. Do the prophets intercede? They do not intercede except by Allah’s permission. But Allah, Mighty and Majestic, grants permission to whom He wills and is pleased with. He grants permission to whom He wills and is pleased with. For this reason, the scholars said that the conditions of intercession are three. The conditions of intercession are three. Who knows them, my brothers, the visitors? Yes, I say, my brothers, the visitors, if you wish, those who roared, and if you wish, those who visited.
The student: Pleasure with the intercessor and the one for whom intercession is sought.

The Shaykh : Pleasure with the intercessor and pleasure with the one for whom intercession is sought.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : And permission for the intercessor to intercede. Correct.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the affirmation of permission for Allah. Those who said that Allah speaks have used this as evidence, saying that permission is speech; "He gave permission" means He said, "Intercede." This is due to His saying:
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the invalidation of the polytheists’ attachment to their idols, because they say, "These are our intercessors with Allah." So He says to them: Then they do not intercede, because Allah is not pleased with them, so He is not pleased that they intercede. And Allah, the Exalted, invalidated the polytheists’ attachment to their gods from every angle. He said, the Exalted and Sublime: From every angle: they do not possess anything, they do not share, they do not assist, and they do not intercede. These idols do not possess anything independently, and they do not possess anything by way of sharing. Correct.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : And they do not assist Allah with anything. And if their ownership is negated, they do not assist Allah with anything, in His saying: The fourth, what is it? And they do not intercede. So in the noble verse that is with us, in the Verse of the Throne, the attachment of the polytheists to their gods is cut off, due to His saying:
Among the benefits of this noble verse is the comprehensiveness of Allah’s knowledge, due to His saying: Because we said that this includes the past, the present, and the future. The past is in His saying: And the present and the future:
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the greatness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, due to His saying: And it is like His saying, the Exalted: And among them is the deficiency of human knowledge, where one does not encompass anything except what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has taught him.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the affirmation of the Footstool, due to His saying: And it has been mentioned to us previously that the Footstool is not the Throne, nor is it knowledge.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the greatness of this created thing, which is the Footstool. And we move from this to a second benefit, which is the greatness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The aspect of this is that the greatness of the created thing indicates the greatness of the Creator.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the affirmation of the strength of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, due to His saying: Meaning it does not weigh upon Him. And the affirmation of knowledge, because the Preserver needs knowledge. And the affirmation of strength and ability to preserve. So this phrase includes three attributes. Now, is this phrase among the negated attributes or the affirmed ones?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes. It is as if you are walking on thorns, are you certain or in doubt? It is negated. Why? It does not weary Him to preserve them, because of the perfection of His knowledge and power, Mighty and Majestic is He.
Now, In the noble verse, it affirms elevation and affirms greatness. It affirms elevation and affirms greatness. The elevation is in His saying: And the greatness is in His saying: Now, is this elevation elevation of status and honor, so it would be a conceptual elevation, or is it elevation of status and honor and elevation of His Essence?
The student: The second.
Another student: The second.

The Shaykh : The second one.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Be careful, my brother. Attribute to Allah what is due to Him. The Most High: is the meaning elevation of status and honor, or elevation of the Essence along with elevation of status and honor?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Meaning the second, and what about the first?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : The second. So if someone says, "Glory be to Allah, how do you say that Allah is High by His Essence?"
The student: ...

The Shaykh : How do you say He is High by His Essence, while Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is not encompassed by any of His creations? And oh... come on...
The student: The question

The Shaykh : The question is: if someone says, "How do you say that Allah is High by His Essence, while He, Glorified and Exalted is He, encompasses everything?" Now, Yahya, listen, Dhiya.
The student: Because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has informed us of that.

The Shaykh : Now, He has informed us of that. So we say He is High by His Essence, Exalted and Majestic is He, above everything. And it is not necessary for the affirmation of elevation that He be limited and encompassed by creations. Because elevation is above creations. There is nothing above them until it is said that Allah has been encompassed by something of His creations. Meaning, if we suppose, and to Allah belongs the highest analogy, if we suppose that all creations are like an egg, an egg suspended in the air. What is above it?
The student: Air.

The Shaykh : Is it encompassing what is above it? Is it encompassing what is above it? Yes. There is no god but Allah. Be certain, everyone.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : You, come on, walk, come on. It is as if he is walking on thorns. This one, for example, is now something being inflated with the boys. Something being inflated with the boys, and... in the air, floating in the air. You saw it.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Now, is it said that this is encompassing what is above it?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : Absolutely not. What is above the heavens and the earth and the creations is nothingness. So the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, is not encompassed by anything, because what is above the creations is nothingness. There is nothing to encompass Allah. For this reason, we say that Allah is above everything by His Essence. And it does not follow from this statement that something is encompassing Him, Exalted and Majestic is He. And this is a clear and apparent injustice. And for this reason, when the woman of Jahm ibn Safwan, I think she was brought to Baghdad, I forgot to which place, and it was said to her, "Allah has risen above the Throne," she said, "I seek refuge in Allah. A limited thing upon a limited thing. A limited thing upon a limited thing." How? Meaning, it follows from His rising above the Throne that the Throne is limited, because the Throne is known to be limited, having pillars as came in the hadith. But the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, is not encompassed by anything. So He is the Most High by His Essence, truly.
And know that the Book, the Sunnah, consensus, reason, and fitrah have indicated His elevation by His Essence. Meaning, all the evidences agree on the elevation of Allah by His Essence. Sa'd, where did you go?
The student: Here.

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: On the elevation of Allah.

The Shaykh : And what is the elevation of Allah, the Exalted? You went on the elevation of Allah, here.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, it is known that we are talking, but what did we say?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : ... Let us grasp the time. May Allah guide you, may Allah guide us and you. The last thing we said is that the elevation was indicated by what?
The student: Five types.

The Shaykh : Five types of evidence: the Book, the Sunnah, consensus, reason, and fitrah. Did you understand? Be careful. May Allah bless you. As for the Qur'an, its indication of the elevation of Allah varied. Sometimes it says: And He is the Most High, the Magnificent. And sometimes it says: And sometimes it says: And sometimes it says: With different types of expressions, all of which indicate decisively that Allah, the Exalted, is above everything by His Essence. The Sunnah is also so. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his saying, his doing, and his approval. As for his saying, he used to say in his prostration: And he also said:
And as for his doing, when he said at 'Arafah: He returns them to them.
And as for his approval, he said to the slave girl: Is this approval or not?
The student: Approval.

The Shaykh : For this reason, he said: So he asked "Where," which indicates a question about place. And it does not follow from affirming that Allah is in a place that the place is what?
The student: Encompassing Him.

The Shaykh : Encompassing Him. Absolutely not, it is not necessary. And we know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most knowledgeable of people in the Arabic language, and he said: And those who deny the elevation of Allah by His Essence say "Where" meaning "From." There is no power nor strength except in Allah. "Where" meaning "From." From where is Allah? That is, from Allah? Then, does the answer match the question if we say "Where" means "From"? It does not match, because the answer to "From Allah" is to say, for example, "Allah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth." In any case, we say that this hadith contains the approval of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the elevation of Allah.
The evidence for the consensus that Allah is above all things by His essence is that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the Tabi'un all agreed that Allah the Exalted is above everything by His essence. What is the evidence for their consensus? The evidence for their consensus is from a subtle angle, but a student of knowledge should know it for the benefit it contains. For example, the texts of the Book and the Sunnah indicate elevation by essence, do they not? Has a single statement come from the Companions interpreting these texts contrary to their apparent meaning? If not, they are in consensus on their meaning. They are in consensus on their meaning. Therefore, if the Book or the Sunnah indicates something and nothing comes from the Companions contradicting it, that means they are in consensus on it. This method for establishing consensus may be hidden from many people. Is it not clear? Is it not clear?
The student: Clear.

The Shaykh : It is clear, my brothers. So we say: The Companions are in consensus that Allah the Exalted is above His heavens, above His creation, by His essence. The evidence for the consensus is that the texts of the Book and the Sunnah are mass-transmitted regarding this, and not a single letter has come from the Companions indicating a contradiction to them. This indicates that they are in consensus on them.
Now, does reason indicate that Allah is above by His essence? Yes. Now we ask: Any person of reason, is elevation an attribute of perfection or an attribute of deficiency?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : It is perfection, no doubt. Or Abdullah... doubt? What did we say?
The student: Reason indicates that elevation is an attribute of perfection.

The Shaykh : Elevation is an attribute of perfection. Every person of reason, if you ask him, is elevation an attribute of perfection or deficiency? He says: Absolutely, it is an attribute of perfection. And it is established for Allah the Exalted every attribute of perfection, as Allah the Exalted said: Now, lowness is a deficiency, and Allah is free from deficiency. So that indicates that reason points to the elevation of Allah from two angles: the first is the establishment of attributes of perfection for Allah, and the second is the negation of the attribute of deficiency from Him.
Now, fitrah. Every person is created with the fitrah that Allah is in the sky. Even the disbelievers; if a disbeliever were to call upon his Lord in a moment of distress, you would see his heart rise toward the sky. Every person who wants to make du'a and says, "Oh, no, not the one in front of you..."
The student: ...

The Shaykh : No, brother, yes. If you call upon Allah, where does your heart rise? To the sky. His heart rises to the sky. "Oh my Lord." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands to the sky: It is clear, my brothers. What indicated this?
The student: Fitrah.

The Shaykh : Fitrah. And a group of people gathered, those who say, and I seek refuge in Allah, that Allah is in every place by His essence. This was on the Day of Sacrifice in Mina. I said to them yesterday: Were you at 'Arafah? They said: Yes. I said: How do you call upon Allah? Do you say "Oh my Lord" with your hands to the ground? Or "Oh my Lord" to the right? Or to the left? They said: No, we say "Oh my Lord." I said: So you raised your hands to whom? To whom are you calling "Oh my Lord"? They said: We only raise our hands to the sky. Look how Satan has deluded them. The sky is the qiblah of the one making du'a. The sky is the qiblah of the one making du'a. Glory be to Allah. You are now facing the qiblah, and when you make du'a, where is your qiblah?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : The Ka'bah is not the qiblah of the one making du'a, but you raise your hands to the one being called upon, without doubt, and you do not need to distort the meaning. So, the conceptual elevation is agreed upon by the Ummah, and the essential elevation is the point of disagreement, because people divided into two sides and a middle. Pay attention, because this is important. We do not want to cut it off... some of it is inside some of it. Into two sides and a middle. One side said: Allah the Exalted is in every place. In every place. If you come to the mosque, where is Allah? Allah is in the market. Allah is in the desert. Allah is in the sea. Allah is in the air. I seek refuge in Allah, in filthy places. Allah is in the belly of animals, donkeys and dogs. Allah is in every place. We ask Allah for safety. This is disbelief, there is no doubt in it.
If you described any of the created beings with these descriptions, you would be lashed more than eighty lashes. Yes. How can Allah Mighty and Majestic be described thus? But they made their evil deeds seem beautiful to them. These people said: Allah is in every place. Another group opposed them and said: Fear Allah. Allah the Exalted is not above the universe, nor below the universe, nor connected to the universe, nor separate from the universe, nor distinct from the universe, nor interpenetrating it. Yes. Then they listed many negations, and the reality of their statement is...
The student: Non-existence.

The Shaykh : Non-existence. The reality of their statement is non-existence. For this reason, Mahmud ibn Subuktakin (may Allah have mercy on him) said to Muhammad ibn Furok when he described Allah thus: "Show us the difference between a God you worship and a God that does not exist. What is the difference?"
The student: ...

The Shaykh : There is no difference. For this reason, some scholars said: If you were told to describe non-existence, you would not find a description more precise than this description. These people erred, and those people erred. The people of the Sunnah and the community said: Allah is above everything, and nothing of His creation encompasses Him. Absolutely, He is not in every place. He is above everything, but He is not in every place. Does it harm if we say that Allah is above everything without being encompassed by it? Does it harm Allah in any way? Absolutely not, and there is no deficiency in it. For this reason, we say that the elevation of Allah Mighty and Majestic by His essence is indicated by the Book, the Sunnah, consensus, reason, and fitrah. It is clear, and praise be to Allah, and there is no doubt in it except for one whom Allah has blinded in his insight.
If someone says: Allah says: And He said: This indicates that He has no place. If these created things, which are His creations, are in this vastness and greatness, then He also has no place. We say: Yes, if you say He has no place that encompasses Him like this, that is correct. If you say He has no place, meaning that He is not above everything, that is false.
Now, those who said "no place" cited a verse as evidence, which is the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted: And in the other verse: We say: If you affirm essential presence, you negate the evidence for elevation by that. Because His being above everything prevents Him from being with everything in its place, is that not so? So you took some of the texts and left some. And if you say He is with us while being above us, what is the result?
The student: Correct.

The Shaykh : It becomes nothing. This is what corresponds to the verses: He is with us while being above us. And presence does not prevent elevation at all. And from the known speech of the Arabs: "We have not ceased..."