Is the companionship real?
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The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, the second one.
The questioner : ... For some people, those who do not understand it, it falls under the ambiguous verses (mutashabih), so they believe in what is mentioned in the Qur'an, and for them it is among the ambiguous verses. And for the scholar, intellectually...
The Shaykh : Yes, in any case, as I said, the thing that your mind does not reach, the thing that your mind does not reach, there is no harm in you imagining it in a manner befitting Allah. However, when a person reflects on this issue, it becomes very clear to him, clear as the sun, that it is a real companionship, but it does not imply mixing. Rather, it is not permissible for it to indicate mixing with regard to Allah, meaning it does not necessitate mixing with regard to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For Allah is above, the Exalted, above everything, and nothing of His creations encompasses Him. He is One, not divided and not fragmented.
The questioner : Do we say that this is among the ambiguous verses?
The Shaykh : By Allah, in my opinion it is not ambiguous, and according to the Shaykh al-Islam it is also not ambiguous, and his statement regarding it is clear. Yes.
The questioner : How is it that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) addresses the Muslims with something, and He does not intend that thing? I mean, He addresses them with companionship, and then He interprets it. He addresses them with companionship, and then we say, do not tell the general public, do not say it is a real companionship, say it is knowledge?
The Shaykh : No, the reason is that the general public understand something, meaning their minds do not grasp this meaning. That is why I am with you to complete... tonight we will repeat this meaning.
The questioner : How, O Shaykh? I mean, did it come from the Companions and the Salaf that they said there is no interpretation for the real companionship, but its implication is knowledge?
The Shaykh : Never, never. But because, as I told you at the beginning, the rule is: if nothing comes from the Salaf, they leave the matter as it is, on its apparent meaning. They know that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is with us and that He is established over the Throne, and there is no contradiction for them in that.
The questioner : Did not an interpretation by knowledge come from some of the Salaf, from some of the Companions?
The Shaykh : It came from the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions) frequently.
The questioner : And from the Companions.
The Shaykh : And from the Companions, it is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, I think. But Ibn Mas'ud said: "He is with them, and His knowledge is everywhere." This is his wording. And I think it came from Ibn Abbas in the collection of Ibn Mardawayh: "He is with them by His knowledge, with them by His knowledge."
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : It does not indicate this, because, as the Shaykh al-Islam said in places of his speech, as the Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim said, interpreting it by its implication does not indicate that this is the meaning they believe in it. Rather, the companionship is broader than knowledge.
The questioner : Why did they not interpret it with its known meaning?
The Shaykh : What is the need? Because they did not need to. The issue of mixing companionship did not appear until after...
The questioner : No...
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Knowledge-based companionship.
The Shaykh : Look, when we investigate this issue, "He is with them by His knowledge," what does that mean?
The questioner : The beginning of the verse is knowledge and the end of the verse is knowledge.
The Shaykh : It does not contradict. Interpret for me: "He is with them by His knowledge."
The questioner : With them.
The Shaykh : So that is it, it did not remain. But when the Salaf... and may Allah protect us from that, the saying that He is with them by His essence, meaning with them mixed in the place, became widespread, they started interpreting it by its implication, which is knowledge, to ward off the false suspicion. And I mentioned to you that Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned it in *Jama'at al-Juyush al-Islamiyyah* from Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, one of his wordings: He said, "We do not say He is here on the earth as the Jahmiyyah say, 'He is here.' So he denied that He is with us on the earth. And in any case, the issue, in my opinion, is not very problematic. If a person reflects on it, he finds it clear.
The questioner : The Companions.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : I say... the Companions and the Salaf.
The Shaykh : Never. The Companions, if this came from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), then he interpreted it by its implication. And Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) frequently interprets the Qur'an.
The questioner : Why?
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Why did he interpret it by its implication?
The Shaykh : He interpreted it because this is among its implications. Because this is among its implications. Yes.
The questioner : Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes, Sami.
The questioner : Proximity and companionship, what is the difference?
The Shaykh : Proximity and companionship. Proximity is more specific. That is why proximity did not come in a general form as companionship did. Companship came in a general form, and proximity did not come in a general form. And it will come, if Allah wills, at the end of the chapter. So proximity, the Shaykh al-Islam says, does not occur except for the worshipper or the supplicant. It does not occur for everyone. So we cannot say Allah is close to the disbeliever. But companionship is more comprehensive and broader.
The questioner : Restricted.
The Shaykh : Restricted to the supplicant or the worshipper.[Al-Baqarah 2:186] This supplicant, the worshipper. Sunan Abi Dawud 875Sahih (Al-Albani) Sahih Muslim 2675h Yes.
The questioner : I say, our saying "real" at the beginning means that it is not left out absolutely. For example, if it becomes between students of knowledge, it is said "by His essence," which is not prohibited.
The Shaykh : By Allah, the prohibited thing, as I told you, is if you say "by His essence," you... this is a research that has no need.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, the second one.
The questioner : ... For some people, those who do not understand it, it falls under the ambiguous verses (mutashabih), so they believe in what is mentioned in the Qur'an, and for them it is among the ambiguous verses. And for the scholar, intellectually...
The Shaykh : Yes, in any case, as I said, the thing that your mind does not reach, the thing that your mind does not reach, there is no harm in you imagining it in a manner befitting Allah. However, when a person reflects on this issue, it becomes very clear to him, clear as the sun, that it is a real companionship, but it does not imply mixing. Rather, it is not permissible for it to indicate mixing with regard to Allah, meaning it does not necessitate mixing with regard to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For Allah is above, the Exalted, above everything, and nothing of His creations encompasses Him. He is One, not divided and not fragmented.
The questioner : Do we say that this is among the ambiguous verses?
The Shaykh : By Allah, in my opinion it is not ambiguous, and according to the Shaykh al-Islam it is also not ambiguous, and his statement regarding it is clear. Yes.
The questioner : How is it that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) addresses the Muslims with something, and He does not intend that thing? I mean, He addresses them with companionship, and then He interprets it. He addresses them with companionship, and then we say, do not tell the general public, do not say it is a real companionship, say it is knowledge?
The Shaykh : No, the reason is that the general public understand something, meaning their minds do not grasp this meaning. That is why I am with you to complete... tonight we will repeat this meaning.
The questioner : How, O Shaykh? I mean, did it come from the Companions and the Salaf that they said there is no interpretation for the real companionship, but its implication is knowledge?
The Shaykh : Never, never. But because, as I told you at the beginning, the rule is: if nothing comes from the Salaf, they leave the matter as it is, on its apparent meaning. They know that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is with us and that He is established over the Throne, and there is no contradiction for them in that.
The questioner : Did not an interpretation by knowledge come from some of the Salaf, from some of the Companions?
The Shaykh : It came from the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions) frequently.
The questioner : And from the Companions.
The Shaykh : And from the Companions, it is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, I think. But Ibn Mas'ud said: "He is with them, and His knowledge is everywhere." This is his wording. And I think it came from Ibn Abbas in the collection of Ibn Mardawayh: "He is with them by His knowledge, with them by His knowledge."
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : It does not indicate this, because, as the Shaykh al-Islam said in places of his speech, as the Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim said, interpreting it by its implication does not indicate that this is the meaning they believe in it. Rather, the companionship is broader than knowledge.
The questioner : Why did they not interpret it with its known meaning?
The Shaykh : What is the need? Because they did not need to. The issue of mixing companionship did not appear until after...
The questioner : No...
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Knowledge-based companionship.
The Shaykh : Look, when we investigate this issue, "He is with them by His knowledge," what does that mean?
The questioner : The beginning of the verse is knowledge and the end of the verse is knowledge.
The Shaykh : It does not contradict. Interpret for me: "He is with them by His knowledge."
The questioner : With them.
The Shaykh : So that is it, it did not remain. But when the Salaf... and may Allah protect us from that, the saying that He is with them by His essence, meaning with them mixed in the place, became widespread, they started interpreting it by its implication, which is knowledge, to ward off the false suspicion. And I mentioned to you that Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned it in *Jama'at al-Juyush al-Islamiyyah* from Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, one of his wordings: He said, "We do not say He is here on the earth as the Jahmiyyah say, 'He is here.' So he denied that He is with us on the earth. And in any case, the issue, in my opinion, is not very problematic. If a person reflects on it, he finds it clear.
The questioner : The Companions.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : I say... the Companions and the Salaf.
The Shaykh : Never. The Companions, if this came from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), then he interpreted it by its implication. And Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) frequently interprets the Qur'an.
The questioner : Why?
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Why did he interpret it by its implication?
The Shaykh : He interpreted it because this is among its implications. Because this is among its implications. Yes.
The questioner : Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes, Sami.
The questioner : Proximity and companionship, what is the difference?
The Shaykh : Proximity and companionship. Proximity is more specific. That is why proximity did not come in a general form as companionship did. Companship came in a general form, and proximity did not come in a general form. And it will come, if Allah wills, at the end of the chapter. So proximity, the Shaykh al-Islam says, does not occur except for the worshipper or the supplicant. It does not occur for everyone. So we cannot say Allah is close to the disbeliever. But companionship is more comprehensive and broader.
The questioner : Restricted.
The Shaykh : Restricted to the supplicant or the worshipper.
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me
وإذا سألك عبادي عني فإني قريب أجيب دعوة الداع إذا دعانThe nearest a servant come to his Lord is when he is prostrating himself
أقرب ما يكون العبد من ربه وهو ساجدWhen he draws near Me by the span of his hand. I draw near him by the length of a cubit
من تقرب إلي شبرا تقربت إليه ذراعاThe questioner : I say, our saying "real" at the beginning means that it is not left out absolutely. For example, if it becomes between students of knowledge, it is said "by His essence," which is not prohibited.
The Shaykh : By Allah, the prohibited thing, as I told you, is if you say "by His essence," you... this is a research that has no need.