Does the descent of Allah the Exalted necessitate that the Throne be empty of Him?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, once I stayed in Madinah...
The Shaykh : You stayed in Madinah, what?
The student: He debated...
The Shaykh : He debated you in which city?
The questioner : In Madinah...
The Shaykh : Which city?
The questioner : Al-Munawwarah
The questioner : Madinah al-Munawwarah
The Shaykh : No, no.
The questioner : The Prophet's city.
The Shaykh : Madinah al-Nabawiyyah, exactly.
The questioner : He said, "You say that Allah is above everything, meaning He rose above His Throne, above all things, and you say that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, descends in the last third of the night to the lowest heaven. So, does He, Glorified and Exalted is He, descend from the Throne?"
The Shaykh : Hmm, the Throne is above.
The questioner : He said to me, "If the Throne remains above, how can Allah be upon it and descend?"
The Shaykh : No, no, we do not discuss the issue of whether He remains upon the Throne or whether the Throne becomes empty of Him. This is a matter we do not investigate, because the Messenger said, and because Allah said in His Book that Allah rose above the Throne, and the Messenger said So how does He descend? We do not speak, we do not speak about whether the Throne becomes empty of Him or not. Do you understand? Although the correct view is that the Throne does not become empty of Him while He is descending, because Allah informed us that He rose above the Throne and did not exclude any state from the states, and the Messenger informed us that He descends to the lowest heaven and did not say that the Throne becomes empty of Him. For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in the 'Ara'ishiyah letter that the scholars of the Salaf differed on this in three opinions: some said it becomes empty, some said it does not become empty, and some said we remain silent, we remain silent. Do you understand? And I hold that remaining silent is safer. But if we must say something, we say that Allah informed us that He rose above the Throne and did not exclude any state from the states, and the Messenger informed us that He descends. It is possible to reconcile the rising above the Throne and the descent, except that Allah is not like anything else. These people who argue about such matters have only harmed themselves by judging with reason in matters concerning the attributes of Allah. Otherwise, if they had submitted to the transmitted texts, they would have been saved from the hardship. But they became entangled and made reason the basis for affirmation and negation, until the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said about them: "They agreed, they agreed, that what the intellect affirms for Allah must be affirmed, whether it exists in the Qur'an and Sunnah or not" See? "And they agreed to negate what the intellect necessitates negating, even if it exists in the Qur'an" Do you understand? Then they differed regarding what the intellect does not necessitate affirming or negating. Some of them said: "It must be negated because the intellect has not affirmed it" And some of them said: "We must suspend judgment because the intellect neither affirms it nor negates it" So now, the basis for affirming the attributes with them is the intellect: what the intellect affirms must be affirmed. All right, 'Abd al-Qadir.
The student: What the intellect affirms must be affirmed.
The Shaykh : It must be affirmed, even if it is not found in the Qur'an and Sunnah. And what the intellect negates must be what?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What the intellect negates must be what?
The student: Negated.
The Shaykh : Even if it is found in the Book and the Sunnah. And as for what the intellect does not necessitate affirming or negating, most of them negated it and said: "We must negate it because the intellect has not affirmed it" And some of them suspended judgment and said: "We have no right to affirm it because the intellect has not affirmed it, and we have no right to negate it because the intellect has not negated it"
This is the method, the method of the theologians, from the Mu'tazilah, the Asha'irah, and others. Do you know it? Good.
The student: The time, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : You stayed in Madinah, what?
The student: He debated...
The Shaykh : He debated you in which city?
The questioner : In Madinah...
The Shaykh : Which city?
The questioner : Al-Munawwarah
The questioner : Madinah al-Munawwarah
The Shaykh : No, no.
The questioner : The Prophet's city.
The Shaykh : Madinah al-Nabawiyyah, exactly.
The questioner : He said, "You say that Allah is above everything, meaning He rose above His Throne, above all things, and you say that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, descends in the last third of the night to the lowest heaven. So, does He, Glorified and Exalted is He, descend from the Throne?"
The Shaykh : Hmm, the Throne is above.
The questioner : He said to me, "If the Throne remains above, how can Allah be upon it and descend?"
The Shaykh : No, no, we do not discuss the issue of whether He remains upon the Throne or whether the Throne becomes empty of Him. This is a matter we do not investigate, because the Messenger said, and because Allah said in His Book that Allah rose above the Throne, and the Messenger said
Indeed, Allah descends
إن الله ينزلThe student: What the intellect affirms must be affirmed.
The Shaykh : It must be affirmed, even if it is not found in the Qur'an and Sunnah. And what the intellect negates must be what?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What the intellect negates must be what?
The student: Negated.
The Shaykh : Even if it is found in the Book and the Sunnah. And as for what the intellect does not necessitate affirming or negating, most of them negated it and said: "We must negate it because the intellect has not affirmed it" And some of them suspended judgment and said: "We have no right to affirm it because the intellect has not affirmed it, and we have no right to negate it because the intellect has not negated it"
This is the method, the method of the theologians, from the Mu'tazilah, the Asha'irah, and others. Do you know it? Good.
The student: The time, O Shaykh.