regarding the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “O assembly of jinn and mankind, if you are able to penetrate the quarters of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate them.”
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The student: The meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Ar-Rahman 55:33] ...
The Shaykh : Yes,[Ar-Rahman 55:33] this verse is by way of challenge: if you are able, then penetrate and flee from the decree of Allah, flee from the punishment of Allah, but you are not able. This means you have no authority, and here “authority” means power and strength, because the context is one of challenge, and what corresponds to it is strength. The meaning is that you have no authority. Accordingly, the verse is for the purpose of challenge, and this will occur on the Day of Resurrection. It is not as people claimed when the Russians launched the first space vehicle and exited the atmosphere; those who want to make the Qur'an a scientific book began to say: this is what the Qur'an indicated, [Ar-Rahman 55:33] meaning except with knowledge, and we have learned and penetrated. This is forbidden; interpreting the Qur'an in this manner is forbidden and speaking about Allah without knowledge. Because if the context is one of challenge, what is the authority by which we can do it?
The student: Power.
The Shaykh : Power, without a doubt. Then He said in the verse that follows:[Ar-Rahman 55:35] Was it sent upon these? Then He says: [Ar-Rahman 55:33] Therefore, these people—may Allah protect us—who interpreted the verse based on what happened, spoke about Allah without knowledge. And whoever speaks about Allah without knowledge in the Qur'an with his opinion, let him take his seat in the Fire. Similarly, whoever says that the earth revolves based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Naml 27:88] He said: this is in this world, because his saying: this is an assumption, and assumption does not occur in the Hereafter, because the Hereafter is certainty. It is said: this is an error. Does not Allah say: [Al-Hajj 22:1-2] You think them drunk from the intensity of the daze and distress, but they are not drunk, . So the important point is that some of the later scholars, may Allah guide them, interpret the Qur'an with reality, even though it does not indicate it. And we say: thank Allah that the Qur'an does not indicate the opposite of it. As for you saying that it indicates it, that is an error. Yes.
O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah].
يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَنْ تَنفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ فَانفُذُوا لا تَنفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَانٍThe Shaykh : Yes,
O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass
يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَنْ تَنفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ فَانفُذُواYou will not penetrate them except with authority.
لا تنفُذُون إلا بسلطانYou will not pass except by authority [from Allah].
لا تنفذون إلا بسلطانThe student: Power.
The Shaykh : Power, without a doubt. Then He said in the verse that follows: