What is the ruling on interpreting al-Mu'ayyah (Allah's presence) as knowledge alone?
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The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : If we say it means knowledge, we have interpreted it by its necessary implication and limited its meaning, because He is with them by His knowledge, His hearing, His sight, His power, and so on, as Ibn Kathir mentioned in his tafsir (may Allah have mercy on him). Ibn Rajab also mentioned this in Jami' al-'Ulum wa al-Hikam, meaning He is not with them by knowledge alone, but by everything that lordship entails, such as knowledge, hearing, sight, power, authority, and so on.
Second: al-Mu'ayyah (Allah's presence) is one thing, and knowledge is a necessary implication and a consequence of it, so it is more comprehensive in scope and meaning. However, they interpret it as knowledge in response to the statement of those people who say, "He is with us in the same place." The common person, when you tell him that al-Mu'ayyah has a meaning and that knowledge is its implication and necessary consequence, does not understand. There was a severe attack at that time, in the era of the imams, regarding the distortion of al-Mu'ayyah, so they came up with this easy meaning that a person can imagine in close proximity.
The Shaykh : If we say it means knowledge, we have interpreted it by its necessary implication and limited its meaning, because He is with them by His knowledge, His hearing, His sight, His power, and so on, as Ibn Kathir mentioned in his tafsir (may Allah have mercy on him). Ibn Rajab also mentioned this in Jami' al-'Ulum wa al-Hikam, meaning He is not with them by knowledge alone, but by everything that lordship entails, such as knowledge, hearing, sight, power, authority, and so on.
Second: al-Mu'ayyah (Allah's presence) is one thing, and knowledge is a necessary implication and a consequence of it, so it is more comprehensive in scope and meaning. However, they interpret it as knowledge in response to the statement of those people who say, "He is with us in the same place." The common person, when you tell him that al-Mu'ayyah has a meaning and that knowledge is its implication and necessary consequence, does not understand. There was a severe attack at that time, in the era of the imams, regarding the distortion of al-Mu'ayyah, so they came up with this easy meaning that a person can imagine in close proximity.