Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Chapter on God-Consciousness", meaning: a person's God-consciousness of his Lord. This is comprehensive—as mentioned previously—comprehensive of two things: First, that you believe that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is watching over you, and nothing of your affairs is hidden from Him, neither in ease nor in hardship, nor in secret nor in public, in any state. Second: that you watch over your Lord such that you fulfill His obedience by implementing the commands and avoiding the prohibitions. To these two meanings points the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when Jibril asked him about ihsan (excellence in worship), where he said:Sahih al-Bukhari 50, and we have previously spoken about the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Ash-Shu'ara 26:218-219].
Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And His saying:[Al-Hadid 57:4]": The pronoun refers back to Allah, meaning that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is with His servants wherever they are, on land or sea or in the air, in darkness or in light, and in any state. He is with you wherever you are, in any place you are, whether on land, sea, air, or otherwise. This indicates the perfection of His (Mighty and Majestic) encompassing knowledge, the perfection of His encompassing us in knowledge, power, authority, management, and so on. It does not mean that He (Glorified and Exalted is He) is with us in the same place we are in, because Allah is above everything, as He the Exalted said: [Taha 20:5], and He said: [Al-An'am 6:18], and He the Exalted said: [Al-Mulk 67:16], and He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:255], and He said: [Al-A'la 87:1], and so on from the many verses indicating that He (Glorified and Exalted is He) is above everything. But He (Mighty and Majestic) is not like anything in all His attributes and descriptions. He is High in His nearness and near in His Highness (Exalted and Majestic is He), as He the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah 2:186]. But it must be known that He is not in the earth, because if we imagined this, it would negate the Highness of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Also, Allah the Exalted is not contained by any of His creations: . The Kursi (Footstool) encompasses all the heavens and the earth, and the Kursi is the place of the feet, the feet of the Most Merciful (Mighty and Majestic). The 'Arsh (Throne) is greater and greater, as came in the hadith: : What is the ring? The small ring of the helmet, thrown into a desert: in a vast place. The proportion of this ring to the desert land is nothing. He said: Sahih Ibn Hibban 6:55: Greater and greater, so what about the Creator (Exalted and Majestic is He)? The Creator (Glorified and Exalted is He) cannot be in the earth, because He (Glorified and Exalted is He) is too great to be encompassed by any of His creations. [Al-Hadid 57:4]: And know that the companionship (mu'ayyah) that Allah attributed to Himself is divided according to the context and circumstances: Sometimes its implication is encompassing the creation in knowledge, power, authority, management, and so on, like this verse: [Al-Hadid 57:4] and like His saying the Exalted: [Al-Mujadila 58:7].
Sometimes the intended meaning is threat and warning, as in His saying the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:108]. This is a threat and warning to them that they should not plot what He does not approve of in speech, concealing it from people, thinking that Allah does not know, while Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is All-Knowing of everything. Sometimes the intended meaning is victory, support, and steadfastness, and the like, like His saying the Exalted: [An-Nahl 16:128], and as in His saying the Exalted: [Muhammad 47:35]. The verses in this regard are many. This section, which is the third of the sections of companionship, is sometimes attributed to the created being by description, and sometimes attributed to the created being by specific identity. Sometimes it is attributed to the created being by description, and sometimes attributed to the created being by specific identity: meaning by His specific self. [An-Nahl 16:128]: This is attributed to the created being by what?
The student: By description.
The Shaykh : By description.[An-Nahl 16:128], meaning any person who is in that state, Allah is with him.
Sometimes it is attributed to the created being by specific identity, by the specific person, like His saying the Exalted:[At-Tawbah 9:40]: This is attributed to the specific person, the companionship of this is for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). They were in the cave. When Abu Bakr said to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): : Because Quraysh was seeking the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr with all effort. There was no mountain they did not climb, no valley they did not descend into, no desert they did not search. They offered two hundred camels to whoever brought the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr: one hundred for the Messenger and one hundred for Abu Bakr. The people were exhausted seeking them, but Allah was with them, until they stood at the cave. They stood at the cave. Abu Bakr said: : By Allah, we thought that no one could overcome them or be able to do anything to them. And indeed, this is what happened; they did not see them. They did not see them despite there being no obstacle. There was no obstacle. There was no nest as they say, nor a dove that landed on the cave, nor a tree that grew in the mouth of the cave. There was only the care of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), Allah was with them. And as in His saying the Exalted to Musa and Harun when Allah commanded Musa and sent him to Pharaoh, he and Harun: [Taha 20:45-46]. Allah is greater!! : If Allah was with them, could Pharaoh and his soldiers harm them? No, it is not possible. This is a special companionship restricted by what? By specific identity. [Taha 20:46] to the end of the verses.
The important thing is that it is obligatory for us to believe that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is with the creation, but He is above His Throne. But He is above His Throne, and no one is equal to Him in His attributes, and no one is comparable to Him in His attributes. It is not possible for you or anyone else to ask: How can Allah be with us while He is in the sky? We say: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not measured by His creation. Even though Highness and companionship do not contradict each other, even in the created being. If we asked a questioner: Where is the position of the moon? We would say: In the sky. In the sky:[Nuh 71:16] Where is the position of the star? In the sky. And the Arabic language, as speakers say: "We are still traveling and the moon is with us", "And we are still traveling and the star is with us", even though the moon is in the sky and the star is in the sky, but it is with us because it has not disappeared from us. So Allah the Exalted is with us while He is above His Throne (Glorified and Exalted is He) above all creation.
Now, what does this verse require regarding the practical methodological matter? This verse requires that if you believe that Allah is with you, then you fear Him and watch over Him, because His state is not hidden from Him (Mighty and Majestic). No matter who you are, it is not hidden from Him, even if you are in a dark house with no one in it, and no one around you, Allah the Exalted is with you. But not in the same place; rather, He (Mighty and Majestic) encompasses you. Nothing of your affairs is hidden from Him. So watch over Allah, fear Allah, fulfill His obedience, and leave His prohibitions. And Allah grants success.
The reader: He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "The Chapter on God-Consciousness: Allah the Exalted said:[Ash-Shu'ara 26:218-219], and Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Hadid 57:4], and He the Exalted said: [Ali 'Imran 3:5], and He the Exalted said: [Al-Fajr 89:14], and He the Exalted said: [Ghafir 40:19], and the verses in this chapter are many and known.
And as for the hadiths, the first is from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
وقال : يا محمد أخبرني عن الإسلام ؟ فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : الإسلام أن تشهد أن لا إله إلا الله ، وأن محمدا رسول الله ، وتقيم الصلاة ، وتؤتي الزكاة ، وتصوم رمضان ، وتحج البيت إن استطعت إليه سبيلا ".
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Chapter on God-Consciousness", meaning: a person's God-consciousness of his Lord. This is comprehensive—as mentioned previously—comprehensive of two things: First, that you believe that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is watching over you, and nothing of your affairs is hidden from Him, neither in ease nor in hardship, nor in secret nor in public, in any state. Second: that you watch over your Lord such that you fulfill His obedience by implementing the commands and avoiding the prohibitions. To these two meanings points the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when Jibril asked him about ihsan (excellence in worship), where he said:
To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you.
أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه فإن لم تكن تراه فإنه يراك(218) Who sees you when you arise (219) And your movement among those who prostrate.
الذي يراك حين تقوم وتقلبَكَ في الساجدينThen the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And His saying:
and He is with you wherever you are
وهو معكم أين ما كنتمThe Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرحمن على العرش استوىAnd He is the subjugator over His servants
وهو القاهر فوق عبادهDo you feel secure that He who [holds authority] in the heaven
أأمنتم من في السماءAnd He is the Most High, the Most Great.
وهو العلي العظيمExalt the name of your Lord, the Most High,
سبح اسم ربك الأعلىAnd 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
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِAnd His Kursi encompasses the heavens and the earth
وسع كرسيه السماوت والأرضThe seven heavens and the seven earths, in relation to the Footstool, are like a ring cast into a vast, open expanse of land.
أن السموات السبع والأرضين السبع بالنسبة للكرسي كحلقة ألقيت في فلاة من الأرضAnd the excess of the Throne over the Footstool is like the excess of the desert over this ring.
وإن فضل العرش على الكرسي كفضل الفلاة على هذه الحلقةand He is with you wherever you are
وهو معكم أين ما كنتمand He is with you wherever you are
وهو معكم أين ما كنتمThere is in no private conversation three but that He is the fourth of them, nor are there five but that He is the sixth of them - and no less than that and no more except that He is with them [in knowledge] wherever they are
مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ نَجْوَى ثَلاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلا أَدْنَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَلا أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أين ما كانواSometimes the intended meaning is threat and warning, as in His saying the Exalted:
They conceal [their evil intentions and deeds] from the people, but they cannot conceal [them] from Allah, and He is with them [in His knowledge] when they spend the night in such as He does not accept of speech. And ever is Allah, of what they do, encompassing.
يَسْتَخْفُونَ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَلا يَسْتَخْفُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَهُوَ مَعَهُمْ إِذْ يُبَيِّتُونَ مَا لا يَرْضَى مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطاًIndeed, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَSo do not weaken and call for peace while you are superior; and Allah is with you and will never deprive you of [the reward of] your deeds.
فَلا تَهِنُوا وَتَدْعُوا إِلَى السَّلْمِ وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ وَاللَّهُ مَعَكُمْ وَلَنْ يَتِرَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْIndeed, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَThe student: By description.
The Shaykh : By description.
with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good.
مع الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَSometimes it is attributed to the created being by specific identity, by the specific person, like His saying the Exalted:
If you do not aid the Prophet - Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us."
إِلاّ تَنْصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَاO Messenger of Allah, if any one of them had looked at their feet, they would have seen us.
يا رسول الله لو نظر أحدهم إلى قدميه لأبصرناIf any one of them had looked at their feet, they would have seen us. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) said to him, "Do not grieve; who do you think it is, two whose third is Allah?"
لو نظر أحدهم إلى قدميه لأبصرنا ، فيقول له الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام : لا تحزن إن الله معنا ، فما ظنك باثنين الله ثالثهما(45) They said, "Our Lord, indeed we are afraid that he will hasten [punishment] against us or that he will transgress." (46) [Allah] said, "Fear not. Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.
قَالا رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا نَخَافُ أَنْ يَفْرُطَ عَلَيْنَا أَوْ أَنْ يَطْغَى * قَالَ لا تَخَافَا إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَىIndeed, I am with you
إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَاIndeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.
إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَى فأتياهThe important thing is that it is obligatory for us to believe that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is with the creation, but He is above His Throne. But He is above His Throne, and no one is equal to Him in His attributes, and no one is comparable to Him in His attributes. It is not possible for you or anyone else to ask: How can Allah be with us while He is in the sky? We say: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not measured by His creation. Even though Highness and companionship do not contradict each other, even in the created being. If we asked a questioner: Where is the position of the moon? We would say: In the sky. In the sky:
And made the moon therein a [reflected] light
وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُوراًNow, what does this verse require regarding the practical methodological matter? This verse requires that if you believe that Allah is with you, then you fear Him and watch over Him, because His state is not hidden from Him (Mighty and Majestic). No matter who you are, it is not hidden from Him, even if you are in a dark house with no one in it, and no one around you, Allah the Exalted is with you. But not in the same place; rather, He (Mighty and Majestic) encompasses you. Nothing of your affairs is hidden from Him. So watch over Allah, fear Allah, fulfill His obedience, and leave His prohibitions. And Allah grants success.
The reader: He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "The Chapter on God-Consciousness: Allah the Exalted said:
(218) Who sees you when you arise (219) And your movement among those who prostrate.
الذي يراك حين تقوم وتقلبك في الساجدينand He is with you wherever you are
وهو معكم أين ما كنتمIndeed, from Allah nothing is hidden in the earth nor in the heaven.
إنَّ الله لا يخفى عليه شيء في الأرض ولا في السماءIndeed, your Lord is in observation.
إن ربك لبالمرصادHe knows that which deceives the eyes and what the breasts conceal.
يعلم خائنة الأعين وما تُخفي الصدورAnd as for the hadiths, the first is from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) one day, a man appeared to us, intensely white in his garments, intensely black in his hair, with no trace of travel on him, and none of us recognized him, until he sat down with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), leaning his knees against his knees and placing his hands on his thighs. He said: O Muhammad, inform me about Islam. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Islam is that you testify that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and that you establish the prayer, and give the zakah, and fast Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House if you are able to find a way to it
بينما نحن جلوس عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذاتَ يوم ، إذ طَلع علينا رجل شديد بياض الثياب ، شديد سواد الشعر ، لا يُرى عليه أثر السفر ، ولا يعرفه منا أحد حتى جلس إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فأسند ركبتيه إلى ركبتيه ووضع كفيه على فخذيه .وقال : يا محمد أخبرني عن الإسلام ؟ فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : الإسلام أن تشهد أن لا إله إلا الله ، وأن محمدا رسول الله ، وتقيم الصلاة ، وتؤتي الزكاة ، وتصوم رمضان ، وتحج البيت إن استطعت إليه سبيلا