( Do you know how far it is between the heavens and the earth? We said: Allah and His Messenger know best.

The Shaykh : (peace and blessings be upon him), it is said: al-Abbas, and it is said: al-Abbas. The article "al" here does not indicate definiteness because "Abbas" is a proper noun, but it is used for the sake of allusion to the origin. The origin of the allusion means its meaning is to hint at the origin, just as you say "al-Fadl" to hint at his generosity, and "al-Abbas" is likewise, yes, to his frowning at the enemies and the like. Yes, and Ibn Malik alluded to this in his Alfiyyah, and he said:
The student: And some of the proper names...

The Shaykh :" And some of the proper names have entered *** for the sake of allusion to what has been transmitted from them " Yes. " al-Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Do you know how much is between the sky and the earth?

هل تدرون كم بين السماء والأرض

Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 25:677

" And this is for the interrogative that intends two things: excitement and alertness, like His saying: This is an alert and excitement regarding some of the cosmic signs of Allah. This is also an alert and excitement regarding the legislative signs and faith and righteous deeds. This is an alert and warning, an alert and warning: Shall I inform you of [those] worse than that? Likewise, excitement and warning at the same time. So here the Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) says: Do you know? To alert them and excite them to what he will convey to them. "How much" here is an interrogative, meaning: What is the distance between them? And the reason it is said "Allah and His Messenger" is that the Messenger's knowledge is from Allah's knowledge, so He is the one who informs him about these matters that humans cannot comprehend. Therefore, it is permissible to use the conjunction "wa" (and). This is not like the saying "What Allah wills and you will," because that is in the realm of power and will, and it is not possible to make the Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) a partner with Allah. We said "Allah and His Messenger know best." Now, if a question were directed to us... about something, would we say "Allah and His Messenger know best"?
The student: There is a distinction.

The Shaykh : There is a distinction. If it is regarding legal matters, then "Allah and His Messenger know best" without doubt. But if it is regarding cosmic matters, we do not say "Allah and His Messenger know best." If I said, "Will Zayd come tomorrow?"
The student : Allah knows best

The Shaykh : You say "Allah knows best," you do not say "and His Messenger." But if I said, "Is this lawful?" then "Allah and His Messenger know best." And from this we know the error and ignorance of those who write on some works Now, Allah sees, but does His Messenger see? Ha?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : If we build a palace or the like, or a project from the projects, we write on it Did the Messenger come for this and see it? Ha?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : This is a lie, a clear lie, except according to the opinion of those who say that the presence of the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) comes and attends, yes, like the superstitious. That is a different matter. But those who write it do not intend any of that at all, and they are the furthest people from superstition. But they want to adorn themselves with something that is not an adornment regarding what they wrote on it. Then this verse was revealed about whom? About the hypocrites. Two verses. The important point is that this is not permissible to write because it is a lie about the Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) that he saw it. Yes. "Five hundred" is written with an alif, but the mim is kasrah (short i). So this alif is like a support only, and the difference between the hamzah and the taa, otherwise it is not pronounced, and the hamzah is not opened for its sake. Many readers err by saying: I have a hundred (ma'ah) sheep, and some say I have a hundred (ma'ah) more than this, a hundred (ma'ah) sheep. Yes, in the Qur'an we all read: Mi'ah means... this hundred,
He said: Or How much? Five hundred years. "

And Allah the Exalted is above that, and nothing of the deeds of the children of Adam is hidden from Him.

والله تعالى فوق ذلك وليس يخفى عليه شيء من أعمال بني آدم

Narrated by Abu Dawud and others " And this is evidence of the great elevation of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is above everything, and nothing of His creations ever encompasses Him, not the heavens or anything else. Is that clear? And on this basis, Allah the Exalted is not described as being in a direction that encompasses Him, because what is above the heavens and the Throne is non-existence, there is nothing in it, so it cannot be said that Allah the Exalted is encompassed by something of His creations. And affirming a direction for Allah is prohibited. For this reason, you will find in the books of some of the people of theology (kalam) that it is not permissible to describe Allah the Exalted as being in a direction absolutely, and they deny elevation, thinking that affirming a direction necessitates confinement. But that is not the case, because we know that what is above the Throne is non-existence, there is nothing in it, there are no creations above the Throne, there are no creations there except Allah the Glorious and Exalted, and nothing of His creations ever encompasses Him. And when that is the case, if you asked me: Do you affirm a direction for Allah?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : There is a distinction in it:
First, I say: As for using the term absolutely, whether in negation or affirmation, I do not say it. Why? Because it has not been transmitted that Allah is in a direction, nor that He is not in a direction. But when detailing, I must say that Allah the Exalted is in the direction of elevation, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the girl: And "where" is an interrogative about the direction, about the place. So she said: "In the sky," affirming that. So he said: And this is clear that the interrogative "where" is not an interrogative about the essence. And it is strange that the people of distortion say that "where" means "who," "Who is Allah?" She said: "In the sky," meaning he is the one in the sky. Then they deny elevation. And Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) refuted them in his books, including the book al-Nuniyyah. He refuted them and said: This is a fallacy. The Arabic language never uses "where" to mean "who." There is a difference between "who" and "where." So we say: Allah the Exalted is in a direction, but it is not a direction of below, because elevation is obligatory for Him by reason, by revelation, and by fitrah. And it is not a direction of elevation that encompasses Him, is it?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Because Allah the Exalted, His Kursi (Footstool) encompasses the heavens and the earth, and it is the place of His feet. So how can something of His creations encompass Allah the Exalted? So it is a direction of elevation, ha? A direction of elevation that does not encompass Him. A direction of elevation that does not encompass Him, and it cannot be said that something encompasses Him, because we say that what is above the Throne, ha? is non-existence, there is nothing in it except Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. And when that is the case, nothing of His creations ever encompasses Him. For this reason, he said: ... above that.
And with this, despite His elevation, Glorious and Exalted is He, this great elevation, nothing of the deeds of the children of Adam is hidden from Him. Know that the word "deeds," if it is coupled with "words," becomes deeds of the limbs. And if it is used alone, it includes deeds of the limbs, words of the tongue, and deeds of the hearts. So his saying: includes what pertains to the heart, the tongue, and the limbs. All of it is called deeds, all of it is called deeds. Rather, greater than that, nothing is hidden from Him of what will be for the children of Adam in the future, let alone what has occurred from them. Rather, He, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows what will be for His servants in the future of their conditions. Yes, the evidence is His saying: Everything they will face in the future, Everything that has passed them, He is aware of them. Glorified and Exalted is He, nothing of them is hidden from Him. For this reason, Pharaoh said to Moses: What is their matter? Preserved and recorded. He does not ignore what has passed, He does not ignore what has passed, and He does not ignore what is to come, Glorified and Exalted is He. So Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, nothing of the deeds of the children of Adam is hidden from Him. Why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) establish this matter and measure it with the word "hal" (do you know), which indicates excitement and alertness? In order to establish a great creed: that Allah the Exalted is above everything by His essence, and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, encompasses everything in His knowledge, as He said: So if we know that, it obligates us to magnify Him and be cautious of disobeying Him. If we know that He is above us, Glorified and Exalted is He, and whoever is above you is aware of you, he is elevated. So if the command comes to you from above, you cannot be able to be encompassed by it. And with that, we are cautious of the fact that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows our deeds and nothing of them is hidden from Him. If you said in the hadith, there are two attributes for Allah the Glorious and Exalted, an affirmative and a negative, what is the affirmative one? Ha?
The student: Affirming the above-ness.

The Shaykh : The attribute of Highness: affirming it is from us, but Highness is His attribute. Affirming Highness is what is correct; Highness is His attribute, and the affirmation is from us, we believe. Now, what about the negative attributes?
The student: Nothing is hidden from Him.

The Shaykh : This is a negative attribute, and it has passed us by many times that there is no purely negative attribute in the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). His negative attributes, meaning the negations, include a complete meaning. That is, something is negated from Him because of the perfection of His knowledge. Because of the perfection of His knowledge, weariness is negated from Him. Because of the perfection of His strength, weakness is negated from Him. Because of the perfection of
The student: His power

The Shaykh : His power, thus. That nothing is hidden from Him in the earth or in the sky is negated because of the perfection of His knowledge. Is that clear? In that case, the absence of these attributes from Him is not because He is inherently incapable of them, or because of reason, meaning it is possible for weakness to be attached to these attributes. But because they are attributed to the Creator, no power, insofar as it is power, can be free from weakness, but because of its attribution to the Creator, it is not possible, neither by reason nor by revelation, for any deficiency to be attached to it. Therefore, when Allah negates something from Himself, the intended meaning is the absence of that attribute from Him because of the perfection of its opposite. Because of the perfection of its opposite. Slumber and deep sleep. Why?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Because of the perfection of His life and His sustaining of all things. Yes, because of the perfection of His life and His sustaining of all things. Because if He were deficient in life, He would need sleep. And if He slept, He would not be the Sustainer of His creation, because the one who sleeps means that the subjects under him do as they please, or not? If we suppose that there is a supervisor here in the mosque... regarding the review, if you leave the review, I will punish you. And he puts his head on a pillow and sleeps. Can you leave the review or not?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Why?
The student: He slept.

The Shaykh : Because our friend slept, his supervision over us is not good. So, because of the perfection of the life and the sustaining of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. And for this reason, the people of Paradise do not sleep in Paradise because of the perfection of their life, and because sleep in Paradise would waste your time without joy, without happiness, and without pleasure, and happiness there is permanent. Therefore, there is no sleep in it, and because sleep is the brother of death, indeed it is the minor death, and there is no death in Paradise. The result is that every attribute of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that is negated, the intended meaning is the affirmation of the perfection of its opposite, or the intended meaning is for the establishment of the perfection of its opposite. Now, is there no pure negation in the attributes of Allah? Why? Because pure negation is what? Non-existence, non-existence, and there is no praise in it, and there is no perfection in it, because pure negation and non-existence is nothing, let alone being a perfection. Yes, and because negation sometimes occurs because the subject is not capable of it, as if I said that this wall does not see or does not oppress. Why did you negate oppression and sight from it?
The student: It is not capable.

The Shaykh : Because it is not capable, can it be said that it sees?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : Now, if you put eyes on it?
The student: It does not see.

The Shaykh : It does not see, like if you put eyes on it... Now, does the wall oppress? Never. Now, a man leaned against a wall and the wall fell on him.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: He deserves...

The Shaykh : how
The student: He deserves what happened to him.

The Shaykh : He deserves it.
The student: The wall did not...

The Shaykh : The point is, it does not oppress. When you negate oppression from the wall, or deafness, or blindness, it is not because of its perfection, but because it is not capable of that, not capable of being hearing or seeing or oppressive. Is that clear or not? Now, negation may be for blame. Negation may be for blame, meaning you negate from a person an attribute of blame, and you blame him thereby. Is that possible? It is possible. And upon this, the poet said:
"A tribe that does not betray a pledge *** Nor do they oppress people by a mustard seed"
Is he praising them or blaming them?
The student: Blaming them.

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Blaming them.

The Shaykh : Your tastes tonight are questionable. He says: "Does not betray a pledge" "Does not betray a pledge" The one who does not betray a covenant, is he praised or blamed?
The student: ...

The Shaykh :"Nor do they oppress people by a mustard seed"
The student: Because of their weakness.

The Shaykh : Because of their weakness, then is this praise or blame? Blame.
The student: A diminished tribe.

The Shaykh : how
The student: Tribe.

The Shaykh : Tribe, it may be for beauty. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, he said: as a diminutive for beauty. And Ibn al-Qayyim, while describing the hearing of the people of Paradise, said:
"Oh, that hearing *** And I did not say 'that' as a diminutive with my tongue"
Yes. Then another man comes and says:
"But my people, though they are of noble lineage *** Are not of evil in any way, though they are lowly"
The student: Praise.

The Shaykh : Is he blaming them or praising them?
The student: Praising them.

The Shaykh : ... Praise.
They are rewarded with forgiveness for the evil of the people of evil.
"They are rewarded with forgiveness for the oppression of the people of oppression *** And with goodness for the ill-treatment of the people of evil"
The student: Out of fear, this is weakness.

The Shaykh : Because of their weakness.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Now, then, it is not possible for there to be a pure negation in the attributes of Allah. Why? Because pure negation is pure non-existence, which is nothing. And because negation may be intended for blame. And because negation may be due to the incapacity of the thing for it, so it is not praise. Is that clear? Now, His saying, the Exalted: He, the Exalted, said in the Qudsi Hadith:
The student: Because of the perfection of His justice.

The Shaykh : This is because of the perfection of His justice, otherwise He is capable of oppressing if He willed. He would punish the disobedient.
The student: No...

The Shaykh : If He willed, He would punish.
The student: The obedient.

The Shaykh : The obedient. But He, Blessed and Exalted is He, does not do that because of the perfection of His justice. And for this reason, He said: And the prohibition of a thing indicates its possibility, were it not that He, Blessed and Exalted is He, prohibited it for Himself.
Now, the important thing, pay attention to this rule: that there is no pure negation in the attributes of Allah, what? For the three reasons we mentioned, because pure negation is pure non-existence, and because negation may be for blame, and because negation may be due to the incapacity of the subject for it. Is that clear?
Now, in the issues.