Explanation of the author's statement: And in Sahih al-Bukhari, it was said: Ali said: (Inform the people of what they know. Do you wish that Allah and His Messenger be lied about?)
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The Shaykh : And in Sahih al-Bukhari, it was said: The meaning of the hadith is speech, meaning, speak to them with sermons and other than sermons with what they are capable of knowing and what their minds can grasp. The meaning is not what they already know beforehand, because informing them of what they already know beforehand is a waste of time with no benefit. Rather, the meaning of "what they know" is what they are capable of knowing and what their minds can grasp, so that they do not become confused. For this reason, it was reported from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): And this is correct. If you inform someone of something his mind cannot grasp suddenly like this, he may be repelled, lie, and dislike it. For this reason, among the wisdom in calling to Allah the Exalted and Majestic is that one does not ambush people with what they cannot grasp, but rather brings it to them gradually until their minds are prepared to receive it. For this reason, he said: meaning, with what they are capable of knowing so that they accept it.
Then he said: The interrogative here is for negation, meaning, do you wish that if you inform people of what they do not know, they will lie about Allah and His Messenger? How is that? Because if you say to them, "Allah said such and such," and it is something their minds cannot grasp, what will they say? They will say, "This is a lie. It is not possible that Allah says such and such. It is not possible that the Messenger said such and such." So, anything that minds cannot grasp, if you inform them of it, it is possible that they will lie about Allah and His Messenger. They are not lying about Allah because they did not know that Allah said it, but they are lying to you regarding a report you attribute to Allah and His Messenger. Thus, by doing so, they are lying about Allah and His Messenger, not directly, but through you.
If someone were to say: Then do we not inform people except of what their minds can grasp, and we leave the reporting of what their minds cannot grasp?
We say: Yes, we leave the reporting of it except through a path that their minds can grasp, such that we move them gradually until they are reassured and they are able to accept this hadith. We do not leave the hadiths that the minds of the common people cannot grasp. We do not say, "By Allah, this is something we find objectionable, so we will not say it," or something like this. Also, acting upon the Sunnah is an act that is found objectionable, and we are not acting upon it. No, we do not leave the Sunnah, nor do we leave the report from Allah and His Messenger. But we do not ambush people with something they do not know and they reject, so that it becomes a trial for some of them. Rather, we move them little by little.
And it is derived from this report: the importance of wisdom in calling to Allah the Exalted and Majestic, and that it is obligatory for the caller to look at the minds of those being called, and to place each person in his proper station. Sometimes we inform some of the students of knowledge; we inform them with a hadith that the mind of the student of knowledge knows. If you say to the common person next to you, "What do you say?" You bring another hadith, you bring another hadith that his mind can grasp. Because if I were to inform him with the hadith I informed the student of knowledge with, which he grasps and understands, it would be a harm to him. It would be a harm to him and a trial for him. So, among the duties of the caller to Allah the Exalted and Majestic is that he should be aware of the conditions of people, and how they can be informed with this hadith or how they cannot. Yes?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : This is yes. This is if you did this thing, then as soon as you do it, you alert him.
The questioner : They may lie to you...
The Shaykh : Because this is, in truth, something that the mind does not grasp. It is not that it is difficult for the mind to understand. This is a description of an action of moving from one place to another. They find it objectionable and say, "It is not authentic from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." It is not because their minds do not grasp it. Their minds grasp it. So you say to them, "This is a matter established by the text. And if you wish, ask the people of knowledge." Yes, indeed.
Now, the relevance of this chapter to the chapter of attributes: this report is relevant to the chapter of attributes, and its relevance is apparent, because some attributes are not accepted by the understanding of the common people. It is possible that if you inform them of them, it will have a bad effect on them. For example, the hadith of the descent to the lowest heaven, along with the establishment of the Highness. If you inform the common people that He descends with His essence to the lowest heaven, along with His Highness above His Throne, and you say, "This is established and true in both," the common person may not understand except that when He descends, the heavens become above Him, and the Throne becomes empty of Him. And at that time, you say that Allah the Exalted descends to the lowest heaven, and he says... And the common person is satisfied with imagining the absolute meaning, and imagining that the intent of this is to explain the favor of Allah the Exalted and Majestic in this hour of the night, and to explain that He the Exalted and Majestic...
Inform the people
حدثوا الناسOf what they know.
بما يعرفونYou will not tell a people a story that their minds cannot grasp except that it will be a trial for some of them.
إنك لن تحدث قوما حديثا لا تبلغه عقولهم إلا كان لبعضهم فتنةInform the people of what they know.
حدثوا الناس بما يعرفونThen he said:
Do you want to make Allah and His Messenger a lie?
أتريدون أن يكذب الله ورسولهIf someone were to say: Then do we not inform people except of what their minds can grasp, and we leave the reporting of what their minds cannot grasp?
We say: Yes, we leave the reporting of it except through a path that their minds can grasp, such that we move them gradually until they are reassured and they are able to accept this hadith. We do not leave the hadiths that the minds of the common people cannot grasp. We do not say, "By Allah, this is something we find objectionable, so we will not say it," or something like this. Also, acting upon the Sunnah is an act that is found objectionable, and we are not acting upon it. No, we do not leave the Sunnah, nor do we leave the report from Allah and His Messenger. But we do not ambush people with something they do not know and they reject, so that it becomes a trial for some of them. Rather, we move them little by little.
And it is derived from this report: the importance of wisdom in calling to Allah the Exalted and Majestic, and that it is obligatory for the caller to look at the minds of those being called, and to place each person in his proper station. Sometimes we inform some of the students of knowledge; we inform them with a hadith that the mind of the student of knowledge knows. If you say to the common person next to you, "What do you say?" You bring another hadith, you bring another hadith that his mind can grasp. Because if I were to inform him with the hadith I informed the student of knowledge with, which he grasps and understands, it would be a harm to him. It would be a harm to him and a trial for him. So, among the duties of the caller to Allah the Exalted and Majestic is that he should be aware of the conditions of people, and how they can be informed with this hadith or how they cannot. Yes?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : This is yes. This is if you did this thing, then as soon as you do it, you alert him.
The questioner : They may lie to you...
The Shaykh : Because this is, in truth, something that the mind does not grasp. It is not that it is difficult for the mind to understand. This is a description of an action of moving from one place to another. They find it objectionable and say, "It is not authentic from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." It is not because their minds do not grasp it. Their minds grasp it. So you say to them, "This is a matter established by the text. And if you wish, ask the people of knowledge." Yes, indeed.
Now, the relevance of this chapter to the chapter of attributes: this report is relevant to the chapter of attributes, and its relevance is apparent, because some attributes are not accepted by the understanding of the common people. It is possible that if you inform them of them, it will have a bad effect on them. For example, the hadith of the descent to the lowest heaven, along with the establishment of the Highness. If you inform the common people that He descends with His essence to the lowest heaven, along with His Highness above His Throne, and you say, "This is established and true in both," the common person may not understand except that when He descends, the heavens become above Him, and the Throne becomes empty of Him. And at that time, you say that Allah the Exalted descends to the lowest heaven, and he says... And the common person is satisfied with imagining the absolute meaning, and imagining that the intent of this is to explain the favor of Allah the Exalted and Majestic in this hour of the night, and to explain that He the Exalted and Majestic...