Explanation of the author's statement: And included in what we have mentioned regarding faith in Allah is faith in what He has informed us of in His Book, what has been transmitted in a mass-transmitted manner from His Messenger, and upon which the Salaf of the Ummah have reached consensus.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And included in what we have mentioned regarding faith is faith in what He has informed us of in His Book, what has been transmitted in a mass-transmitted manner from His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and upon which the Salaf of the Ummah have reached consensus" How many proofs is this?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : Three, and a fourth and fifth proof passed by us: reason and the innate natural disposition.
"In what Allah has informed us of in His Book, what has been transmitted in a mass-transmitted manner from His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and upon which the Salaf of the Ummah have reached consensus, namely that He, the Exalted, is above His heavens, upon His Throne" And what comes after that?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : In my opinion, it is "above His creation" only.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : All right, "above His creation" and in one version it is "distinct from His creation". It has been established for us that the elevation of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is an elevation of attribute, and what comes after that? And an elevation of essence. And that the elevation of essence is indicated by the Book, the Sunnah, consensus, reason, and the innate natural disposition. The Book is full of this, sometimes by explicit mention of being above, sometimes by explicit mention of elevation, sometimes by explicit mention that He is in the sky, sometimes by the descent of things from Him, and sometimes by their ascent to Him. It is clear, and the discussion on this has preceded. The Sunnah came with speech, action, and approval. The speech is like his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 3892Da'if (Al-Albani) And his saying: And his saying: Sahih al-Bukhari 4351 As for the action, it is like his pointing to the sky while he was delivering the sermon to the people at 'Arafah, bearing witness to Allah, the Exalted, to the approval of his Ummah that he had conveyed the message. As for the approval, Mishkat al-Masabih 3303 As for consensus, the Salaf have reached consensus on that, and the way of knowing their consensus is...
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: The non-transmission of the opposite.
The Shaykh : Yes, the non-transmission of the opposite of what came in the Book and the Sunnah. The fact that they did not interpret figuratively and did not distort is proof that they said what is the apparent meaning of the Book and the Sunnah.
And as for reason, it is from two angles:
The first angle: That elevation is an attribute of perfection, and there is no doubt in that. And Allah, the Exalted, it is established for Him, what? All attributes of perfection. So it is obligatory that elevation be established for Him.
The second: That we say if He is not elevated, then either He is below or equal, and this is an attribute of deficiency because it necessitates that things be above Him. So it is necessary that elevation be established for Him. As for the innate natural disposition, no one denies it except one whose innate natural disposition has deviated. Every person says "O Allah" and directs himself...
The student: To the sky
The Shaykh : to the heaven
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : Three, and a fourth and fifth proof passed by us: reason and the innate natural disposition.
"In what Allah has informed us of in His Book, what has been transmitted in a mass-transmitted manner from His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and upon which the Salaf of the Ummah have reached consensus, namely that He, the Exalted, is above His heavens, upon His Throne" And what comes after that?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : In my opinion, it is "above His creation" only.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : All right, "above His creation" and in one version it is "distinct from His creation". It has been established for us that the elevation of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is an elevation of attribute, and what comes after that? And an elevation of essence. And that the elevation of essence is indicated by the Book, the Sunnah, consensus, reason, and the innate natural disposition. The Book is full of this, sometimes by explicit mention of being above, sometimes by explicit mention of elevation, sometimes by explicit mention that He is in the sky, sometimes by the descent of things from Him, and sometimes by their ascent to Him. It is clear, and the discussion on this has preceded. The Sunnah came with speech, action, and approval. The speech is like his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Our Lord is Allah Who is in the heaven
ربنا الله الذي في السماءThe Throne is above the water, and Allah is above the Throne.
والعرش فوق الماء والله فوق العرشDon't you trust me though I am the truth worthy man of the One in the Heavens
ألا تأمنوني وأنا أمين من في السماءhe asked her where God was and she replied that He was in heaven. He asked her who he was and she replied that he was God’s Messenger. He then told me to set her free, for she was a believer.
فقال للجارية : أين الله ؟ قالت: في السماء قال: أعتقها فإنها مؤمنةThe student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: The non-transmission of the opposite.
The Shaykh : Yes, the non-transmission of the opposite of what came in the Book and the Sunnah. The fact that they did not interpret figuratively and did not distort is proof that they said what is the apparent meaning of the Book and the Sunnah.
And as for reason, it is from two angles:
The first angle: That elevation is an attribute of perfection, and there is no doubt in that. And Allah, the Exalted, it is established for Him, what? All attributes of perfection. So it is obligatory that elevation be established for Him.
The second: That we say if He is not elevated, then either He is below or equal, and this is an attribute of deficiency because it necessitates that things be above Him. So it is necessary that elevation be established for Him. As for the innate natural disposition, no one denies it except one whose innate natural disposition has deviated. Every person says "O Allah" and directs himself...
The student: To the sky
The Shaykh : to the heaven