Then we take the new lesson: he says: "From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then we take the new lesson: he says: "From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: Bulugh al-Maram 8:66 Agreed upon, and the wording is al-Bukhari's.
And Muslim has:Sahih Muslim 1436c " :
His saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 3237 :
"Dua" means to request; he requested that she come to the bed, and that is so that he may attain his pleasure from her through intercourse or what is less than that. The hadith is general.
And his saying "she refused to come," whether she refused by saying, "No," or by action by being reluctant, delaying, and backing away and not coming, and whether she conditioned her refusal on a condition or not, for example, she said, "I will not come unless you buy me a car like that one," or "unless you give me jewelry like so-and-so's jewelry," or "unless you bring me a servant or something similar." And his saying: : This is a condition, meaning if he is pleased and becomes patient and rational, and gives the woman according to her intellect and does not get angry, then that is good, and the angels do not incur the punishment that was mentioned.
If he spends the night angry, as is found with many husbands, who get angry if she refuses to come, not because her refusal deprives him of his desire, but because he feels that she looks down on him and that she wants to humiliate him. It may be from both sides; he is in need of what he wants, and she stands between him and his desire, so he gets angry.
And some people are quick to anger; they get angry for the slightest reason and do not think about matters and their consequences.
The important thing is that if he spends the night angry with her, then the punishment is:Sahih Muslim 1436a : "They cursed her," meaning: they called for a curse upon her, meaning they said, "O Allah, curse her." This is the apparent meaning. The curse does not mean that the angels insult her, because the word "curse" is used for insult, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said when Sahih Muslim 90a , and this is evidence that insult is a curse, because the one who insults drives away the one he insults and keeps him at a distance.
But his saying here: What appears to me, and knowledge is with Allah, is that the meaning is that they called for the curse of Allah upon her, meaning they said: "O Allah, curse her."
And the angels: the plural of malak, and the origin of malak is ma'luk from al-uluwwah, which is the message. The angels are messengers, as the Exalted said:[Fatir 35:1] , so there is a change by transposition (i'lal bil-qalb). Do you know what a change by transposition is?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : There is no power or strength except by Allah, a change by transposition, yes?
The student: It is changing the movement of a letter to another letter.
The Shaykh : No.
The student: Replacing a letter with a letter.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right. Did you read the transposed word in the hadith or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : This is close to it: the transposition is that it makes a letter replace a letter. For example, the angels (al-mala'ikah) is originally from malak, meaning the plural of malak, and the origin of malak is ma'luk, because it is derived from al-uluwwah, and the hamza is not before the lam.
So there is a change by transposition in it, meaning: making a letter in place of a letter. Did you understand?
And from that change by transposition are things that I think you read as not declined, so you say: "about things" (an shi'a), as Allah the Exalted said: .
And names that I think you read as declined, as the Exalted said:[An-Najm 53:23] , even though "names" (asma') and "things" (shi'a) have the same pattern. So why were "names" declined and "things" not declined?
The reason is the change by transposition. So the origin of "things" (shi'a) is shi'aa, shi'aa on the pattern fa'laa, so it has the elongated feminine alif.
But "names" (asma') is on the pattern af'ala, it does not have the feminine alif. So the second hamza in "names" is the lam of the word, and the second hamza in "things" is the hamza of the feminine, the elongated feminine alif. So if it is confusing for a student of knowledge, why do we say "about things" (an shi'a) and "about names" (an asma') when the pattern is the same?
We say: Because there is a change by transposition, meaning: that "things" has a transposition. Its beginning is not the hamza; its beginning is the shin, which is the fa' of the word, and the hamza is after it. The hamza is the 'ayn of the word, correct? Good.
The hamza in shi'aa: We said: It is the elongated feminine alif. So for this reason, it was prevented from declension. As for "names" (asma'), the hamza?
The student: It is original.
The Shaykh : No, it is not original, my brothers. It is extra, but in its place. It is extra, but it is in its place, so it is not the fa' of the word. The fa' of the word in "names" is the sin, its 'ayn is the mim, and the lam is the lam of the word. So it does not have the feminine alif.
So if someone asks you: What is the pattern of "names" (asma')?
You say: Its pattern is af'ala. What is the pattern of "things" (shi'a)? Fa'laa. Did you understand?
So it is obligatory for you to read morphology. Read morphology, because it is beneficial and benefits follow from it. We return and say: From where is the angels (al-mala'ikah) derived?
From al-uluwwah, which is the message. Because Allah says:[Fatir 35:1].
So from the angels whom we must believe in, and belief in them is one of the six pillars of faith.
The angels, the scholars say: "They are a hidden, unseen world, hidden from people. Allah the Mighty and Majestic created them from light to perform His worship. They are steadfast; they do not eat or drink, because they do not need food or drink. They have no intestines, no stomach, or anything, meaning they do not have cavities. They glorify Allah night and day and do what they are commanded. Allah the Exalted gave them strength and gave them hearing and obedience:[At-Tahrim 66:6] " . These angels may take the form of a human or represent themselves as a human. Jibril (peace be upon him) came once to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the form of a man with very white clothes and very black hair. No trace of travel was seen on him, and he was not from the people of the city. He was not known in the city and had no signs of travel. and he asked him.
And once he came in the form of Duhayyat al-Kalbi.
And an angel from the angels came once in the form of a leper, bald, traveler, in the form of a leper traveler, and once in the form of a bald traveler, and once in the form of a blind man. Three times, and he was an angel from the angels.
So they represent themselves as humans, but by the permission of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Otherwise, the original state is what we mentioned about them just now.
And there is no harm in saying: What are the functions of the angels?
The functions of the angels are multiple and many:
Among them is the one in charge of revelation, who is Jibril. And among them is the one in charge of rain and plants, who is Mikail. And among them is the one in charge of blowing the Trumpet, who is Israfil. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin his night prayer with:Mishkat al-Masabih 1212 .
Malik: The keeper of the Fire. The keeper of Paradise, it is said: His name is Ridwan, but it is not established. It is well known that the Angel of Death's name is Azrael, but that is not established. Rather, we say: The Angel of Death only, as Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:[As-Sajdah 32:11].
As for naming him, if it is not authentic from an infallible person, it is not permissible for us to name him.
Good. There are angels in charge of recording the deeds of the children of Adam:[Al-Infitar 82:10-12] , [Qaf 50:17] The scholars said: The one on the right has authority over the one on the left. If a person commits a sin, the one on the right says to the one on the left: "Wait, perhaps he will repent," and it is not written. And the one on the left has no authority over the one on the right. As soon as a person does a good deed, it is written. And this is from the mercy of Allah toward us, because He knows our condition and had mercy on us.
There are guardian angels called the Mu'aqqibat, because they follow one another:[Ar-Ra'd 13:11] . These take turns with us night and day. They gather in the Fajr prayer and in the 'Asr prayer. The angels of the day descend in the Fajr prayer, and the angels of the night depart in the Fajr prayer. The angels of the night descend in the 'Asr prayer, and the angels of the day depart in the 'Asr prayer. Do you see what this means? The care of Allah the Mighty and Majestic for us! He makes the angels descend upon us while we are praying, and depart from us while we are praying, as an honor to us and a display of our excellence in this prayer.
There are also traveling angels. They travel in the earth seeking circles of dhikr. If they find a circle of dhikr, they sit and listen to the dhikr:.
The important thing is that the angels (peace be upon them) have multiple and various functions. So we believe in the angels in general, and we believe in what we have learned of the details of their state in detail. And our faith is not complete except by that.
Man is surrounded by angels who protect him by the command of Allah, and he is surrounded by devils who come to him from every side. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said regarding the devil:[Al-A'raf 7:16-17]. So, my brother, be mindful that the angels protect you from these devils, so that you may gain strength and the loneliness may be removed from you. Do not submit, be humbled, or fear the devils as long as you feel that Allah has appointed for you angels following you from before you and behind you, protecting you by the command of Allah. Be strong with this protection. Be strong. Some people are overcome by the devils and forget the angels who protect them, so you find them in loneliness or in a vice. Perhaps the devil enters them through loneliness, causing their skin to shiver and them to be startled, and this becomes a cause for a jinn to enter them. When a person feels that he has angels protecting him by the command of Allah, he is reassured and says: Praise be to Allah, soldiers among the soldiers of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And the soldiers of the Most Merciful are stronger than the devils of the jinn, is that not so?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : When Sulayman said to those around him:[An-Naml 27:38-39], he was a powerful one of the jinn, not an ordinary jinn: [An-Naml 27:39], strong, I can bring him, trustworthy, he will not corrupt anything in it.
[An-Naml 27:40]: Which is more eloquent? The second is far more eloquent, even if he said: [An-Naml 27:39]
The important point is that the one who had knowledge from the Book said:[An-Naml 27:40], so the Kursi (Footstool) is with him, and the 'Arsh (Throne) is with him.
And for this reason he said:. The fa' indicates immediate succession.
[An-Naml 27:40]: Settled. He did not say: with him. Settled, as if it was placed for him for ten years, settled.
And for this reason the grammarians said: How do you say that it is the khabar (predicate) of the mubtada' (subject) or the object of the verb? How do you say: it must be that the related word is omitted, while this one is mentioned, settled with him?
They said: Because the settling here is not the general settling, this is a specific, fixed settling, as if it has years.
He said: So, the one who had knowledge from the Book, what made him bring it with this speed? The scholars said: Because he supplicated to Allah, so the angels carried it. The angels carried it, so the angels are stronger than the jinn and the devils of the jinn. If a person occupies himself with what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, informed us of in His saying:[Ar-Ra'd 13:11], he is reassured and says: I have more strength with me than the strength of the devils.
Now, we spoke about this because this is a topic, and although it does not relate much to the hadith, it is a topic that a person should be mindful of, because belief in the angels is one of the six pillars of faith.
He says:Sahih Muslim 1436a: meaning until the morning comes to her, and that is with the rising of the dawn. So, woe to her if she is in the nights of winter, the nights are long, and the angels curse her until she becomes morning.
" And Muslim:Sahih Muslim 1436c ": Who is pleased with her?
Her husband, because he spent the night angry, so his Lord, the Lord of the Worlds, Mighty and Majestic, is displeased with her until the husband is pleased with her.
And His saying:Sahih Muslim 1436c, it is Allah, there is no doubt in this, but He mentioned it in the sky as an exaggeration in magnification, because the sky is the height, and Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is in the absolute height, where nothing is above Him and nothing is level with Him, the absolute height, and He is above all creation. And what is above the creation is non-existence, except from Allah. What is above the creation is non-existence, because if all creation is under Allah, what would be with Him?
The student: Nothing.
The Shaykh : Nothing is with Him, it is all non-existence. And for this reason we say: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is in the sky, and nothing surrounds Him, because there is nothing there to surround Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. And this hadith and its like are among those that affirm that Allah is in the sky. The people of the Sunnah and the community—and we ask Allah to make us and you among them—believe that Allah is in the sky in reality, and that the sky is the height, the absolute height, and not the built sky. It is possible that the built sky is intended, but that does not indicate that the sky surrounds Him, or that He is in the sky directly, as He says:: so the height of Allah is over the sky, meaning that the sky is under Him, not meaning that He is settled upon it as He settled upon the Throne.
I say: The people of the Sunnah and the community say that Allah is in the sky in reality, meaning: in the absolute height where nothing is above Him and nothing is level with Him.
And this absolute height is non-existence, there is nothing in it, no sky, no earth, no Throne, no Footstool, there is only Allah, Mighty and Majestic, everything is under Him. This is the doctrine of the people of the Sunnah and the community.
And the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) said: Allah is not in the sky. Now:[Al-Mulk 67:16]?
He said: Yes, whoever is in the sky, His is the dominion and His is the power. It is said: This statement is false, because if we say whoever is in the sky, His is the dominion and His is the power, we need to assume a meaning, and the original rule is not to assume a meaning. And because it is not reasonable that His dominion and power be above Him. He must be above everything He owns and everything over which He has power.
Now, if someone says: If we make the fi' (in) for location, would there not be a problem?
The answer is: No, as long as we say that the sky here is the absolute height and not the built sky, there is no problem. Is that clear?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Now, the word sky is used in the Arabic language to mean height. The people of language said: Everything that is above you is a sky, even the ceiling that is now above us is called a sky, because it is from samaw (height) which is elevation. So if Allah is in the sky where the absolute height is, there remains no problem in making the fi' (in) for location. And if we make the intended meaning of the sky: the built sky, then they interpret the fi' (in) to mean 'ala (on), meaning: who is on the sky. And they cite as evidence for the occurrence of fi' (in) meaning 'ala (on) the saying of Allah, the Exalted, regarding Pharaoh:[Taha 20:71], meaning on it, he does not put them in the trunk, he crucifies them, he imprisons them with the rope on it.
And by His saying, the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:11], meaning: on it, and the meaning is not "travel in it," meaning dig a tunnel for yourselves to travel in, no, and this is a known thing.
The summary is: The people of the Sunnah and the community affirm the height of Allah and that He is above everything and that He is in the sky, meaning: in the absolute height, and that does not necessitate anything impossible for Allah.
And His saying: is in the accusative case as the khabar (predicate) of kana, because kana raises the name and makes the khabar (predicate) accusative.
And saakhath (displeasure) and ghadab (anger) have close meanings, and they are attributes of perfection when their cause exists, because they indicate the perfection of power, because the one who is displeased feels that he is capable of taking revenge, so it is an attribute of perfection, and so is the one who is angry.
And know that the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) who deny the occurrence of voluntary actions by Allah deny saakhath (displeasure) and ghadab (anger), and they say: Allah does not become displeased and does not become angry. Do they deny it by denial of truth or by denial of interpretation?
The student: Interpretation.
The Shaykh : Denial of interpretation, they do not deny the truth. If they denied the truth, they would be disbelievers. They say: He becomes displeased, but it means He takes revenge or He wants to take revenge. So the meaning of saakht (displeased) is: wanting to take revenge from her, or its meaning is taking revenge from her.
But there is no doubt that their interpretation is tahrif (distortion of a text's meaning), for it is an interpretation of the Qur'an by their opinion, not by the requirement of the language or the requirement of the Shari'ah. And the evidence for this is that Allah, the Exalted, said in His Book:[Az-Zukhruf 43:55]: so He made taking revenge other than grief, and grief is anger here. Asifuna: meaning we angered Him, we took revenge from them, so He made taking revenge other than anger, He made it consequent upon it, and what is consequent upon a thing is not the thing itself. And this refutes their distortion of the word from its place.
Why did they say that Allah does not become angry?
They said: Allah does not become angry because anger is the boiling of the blood of the heart for the sake of taking revenge. And for this reason you find the man when he becomes angry his face turns red because the blood vessels become congested due to the boiling of the blood. And for this reason the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said:: so you find his face turns red, and some people's eyes turn red, throwing sparks, and some people's hair also stands up until his face is like the face of a lion. Yes, so the result is that anger is a coal. So they say: anger is the boiling of the blood of the heart for the sake of taking revenge, and this is impossible for Allah.
What do we say to them?
We say: Allah is not like anything. So if this is the anger of the created being, then we affirm that the anger of the Creator is not like that, but it is an anger befitting Him.
And we say to them: And we are addressing the Asha'irah now, do you not affirm for Allah a will? So they will say?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : How? Yes?!
They will say: Yes, we affirm the will. So we say: Now, the will is that a person inclines to a thing, either to bring a benefit or to repel a harm, is that not so?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : All right, they say: "Will in this sense is the will of the created being." We say: "That is a sound answer." All right, what about the will of Allah?
They said: "The will of Allah is specific to Him and befitting of Him." What do we say? Say this about anger: say that the anger of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is befitting of Him. So, if we all know that the anger of the created being is the boiling of the blood in the heart seeking revenge, then we know that the anger of the Creator is not like that, because Allah says: [Ash-Shuraa 42:11] Is that clear, my brothers?
All right, so we believe that Allah becomes angry with true anger, but it does not resemble the anger of the created being. Look, the anger of the created being leads to, meaning, negative consequences:
Perhaps he tears up banknotes, right? Or perhaps he breaks money, breaks a vessel, yes. Sometimes he gets angry, and I have seen some of those who get angry take something up high and smash it on the ground. What happens from this?
It is a loss. Sometimes he divorces his wife. Sometimes he may free his slaves, yes. But the anger of the Creator can never involve any bad behavior, ever, because He takes revenge with wisdom (Mighty and Majestic), so His anger has good consequences, unlike the anger of the created being.
All right, have we finished?
The student: Questions?
The Shaykh : Yes, all right.
When a man calls his wife to come to his bed (for marital relations), and she refuses to come, and he spends the night in anger, the angels curse her till the morning.
إذا دعا الرجل امرأته إلى فراشه فأبت أن تجيء فبات غضبان، لعنتها الملائكة حتى تصبحAnd Muslim has:
the One Who is in the heaven is displeased with her until he (her husband) is pleased with her
كان الذي في السماء ساخطا عليها حتى يرضى عنهاHis saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
If a husband calls his wife to his bed
إذا دعا الرجل امرأته إلى فراشه"Dua" means to request; he requested that she come to the bed, and that is so that he may attain his pleasure from her through intercourse or what is less than that. The hadith is general.
And his saying
And she refuses.
فأبتAnd he spends the night angry with her.
فبات غضبان عليهاIf he spends the night angry, as is found with many husbands, who get angry if she refuses to come, not because her refusal deprives him of his desire, but because he feels that she looks down on him and that she wants to humiliate him. It may be from both sides; he is in need of what he wants, and she stands between him and his desire, so he gets angry.
And some people are quick to anger; they get angry for the slightest reason and do not think about matters and their consequences.
The important thing is that if he spends the night angry with her, then the punishment is:
the angels curse her until morning
لعنتها الملائكة حتى تصبحThey (the hearers) said: Messenger of Allah, does a man abuse his parents too? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Yes, one abuses the father of another man, who in turn abuses his father. One abuses his mother and he in turn abuses his (the former's) mother.
سُئل هل يلعن الرجل والديه ؟ قال : نعم يسب أبا الرجل فيسب أباه، ويسب أمه فيسب أمهBut his saying here:
The angels curse her.
لعنتها الملائكةAnd the angels: the plural of malak, and the origin of malak is ma'luk from al-uluwwah, which is the message. The angels are messengers, as the Exalted said:
[who] made the angels messengers
جاعل الملائكة رسلاThe student: No.
The Shaykh : There is no power or strength except by Allah, a change by transposition, yes?
The student: It is changing the movement of a letter to another letter.
The Shaykh : No.
The student: Replacing a letter with a letter.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right. Did you read the transposed word in the hadith or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : This is close to it: the transposition is that it makes a letter replace a letter. For example, the angels (al-mala'ikah) is originally from malak, meaning the plural of malak, and the origin of malak is ma'luk, because it is derived from al-uluwwah, and the hamza is not before the lam.
So there is a change by transposition in it, meaning: making a letter in place of a letter. Did you understand?
And from that change by transposition are things that I think you read as not declined, so you say: "about things" (an shi'a), as Allah the Exalted said:
Do not ask about things.
لا تسألوا عن أشياءَAnd names that I think you read as declined, as the Exalted said:
They are not but [mere] names you have named
إن هي إلا أسماءٌ سميتموهاThe reason is the change by transposition. So the origin of "things" (shi'a) is shi'aa, shi'aa on the pattern fa'laa, so it has the elongated feminine alif.
But "names" (asma') is on the pattern af'ala, it does not have the feminine alif. So the second hamza in "names" is the lam of the word, and the second hamza in "things" is the hamza of the feminine, the elongated feminine alif. So if it is confusing for a student of knowledge, why do we say "about things" (an shi'a) and "about names" (an asma') when the pattern is the same?
We say: Because there is a change by transposition, meaning: that "things" has a transposition. Its beginning is not the hamza; its beginning is the shin, which is the fa' of the word, and the hamza is after it. The hamza is the 'ayn of the word, correct? Good.
The hamza in shi'aa: We said: It is the elongated feminine alif. So for this reason, it was prevented from declension. As for "names" (asma'), the hamza?
The student: It is original.
The Shaykh : No, it is not original, my brothers. It is extra, but in its place. It is extra, but it is in its place, so it is not the fa' of the word. The fa' of the word in "names" is the sin, its 'ayn is the mim, and the lam is the lam of the word. So it does not have the feminine alif.
So if someone asks you: What is the pattern of "names" (asma')?
You say: Its pattern is af'ala. What is the pattern of "things" (shi'a)? Fa'laa. Did you understand?
So it is obligatory for you to read morphology. Read morphology, because it is beneficial and benefits follow from it. We return and say: From where is the angels (al-mala'ikah) derived?
From al-uluwwah, which is the message. Because Allah says:
[who] made the angels messengers
جاعل الملائكة رسلاSo from the angels whom we must believe in, and belief in them is one of the six pillars of faith.
The angels, the scholars say: "They are a hidden, unseen world, hidden from people. Allah the Mighty and Majestic created them from light to perform His worship. They are steadfast; they do not eat or drink, because they do not need food or drink. They have no intestines, no stomach, or anything, meaning they do not have cavities. They glorify Allah night and day and do what they are commanded. Allah the Exalted gave them strength and gave them hearing and obedience:
they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.
لا يعصون الله ما أمرهم ويفعلون ما يؤمرونThen he sat down with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and pressed his knees against his knees and placed his hands on his thighs and said: "O Muhammad."
ثم جلس إلى النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام وأسد ركبتيه إلى ركبتيه ووضع كفيه على فخذيه وقال : يا محمدAnd once he came in the form of Duhayyat al-Kalbi.
And an angel from the angels came once in the form of a leper, bald, traveler, in the form of a leper traveler, and once in the form of a bald traveler, and once in the form of a blind man. Three times, and he was an angel from the angels.
So they represent themselves as humans, but by the permission of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Otherwise, the original state is what we mentioned about them just now.
And there is no harm in saying: What are the functions of the angels?
The functions of the angels are multiple and many:
Among them is the one in charge of revelation, who is Jibril. And among them is the one in charge of rain and plants, who is Mikail. And among them is the one in charge of blowing the Trumpet, who is Israfil. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin his night prayer with:
O God, the Lord of Gabriel, Michael and Israfil, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who knowest the unseen and the seen, Thou decidest among Thy servants concerning their differences. Guide me on account of different opinions regarding the truth by Thy permission; verily Thou guidest whom Thou wilt to a straight path.
اللهم رب جبرائيل وميكائيل وإسرافيل فاطر السماوات والأرض، عالم الغيب والشهادة، أنت تحكم بين عبادك فيما كانوا فيه يختلفون، اهدني لما اختلف فيه من الحق بإذن إنك تهدي من تشاء إلى صراط مستقيمMalik: The keeper of the Fire. The keeper of Paradise, it is said: His name is Ridwan, but it is not established. It is well known that the Angel of Death's name is Azrael, but that is not established. Rather, we say: The Angel of Death only, as Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
Say, "The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you
قل يتوفاكم ملك الموت الذي وكل بكمAs for naming him, if it is not authentic from an infallible person, it is not permissible for us to name him.
Good. There are angels in charge of recording the deeds of the children of Adam:
(10) And indeed, [appointed] over you are keepers, (11) Noble and recording; (12) They know whatever you do.
وإن عليكم لحافظين * كراما كاتبين * يعلمون ما تفعلونon the right and on the left.
عن اليمين وعن الشمال قعيدThere are guardian angels called the Mu'aqqibat, because they follow one another:
For each one are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah.
له معقبات من بين يديه ومن خلفه يحفظونه من أمر اللهThere are also traveling angels. They travel in the earth seeking circles of dhikr. If they find a circle of dhikr, they sit and listen to the dhikr:
When you find the gardens of Paradise, graze in them. They said: "O Messenger of Allah, what are the gardens of Paradise?" He said: "The circles of dhikr."
إذا وجدتم رياض الجنة فارتعوا، قالوا: يا رسول الله ما رياض الجنة؟ قال: حِلق الذكرThe important thing is that the angels (peace be upon them) have multiple and various functions. So we believe in the angels in general, and we believe in what we have learned of the details of their state in detail. And our faith is not complete except by that.
Man is surrounded by angels who protect him by the command of Allah, and he is surrounded by devils who come to him from every side. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said regarding the devil:
Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path. (17) Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left
فبما أغويتني لأقعدن لهم صراط المستقيم ثم لأتينهم من بين أيديهم ومن خلفهم وعن أيمانهم وعن شمائلهمThe student: Yes.
The Shaykh : When Sulayman said to those around him:
which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?" (39) A powerful one from among the jinn
أيكم يأتيني بعرشها قبل أن يأتوني مسلمين قال عفريت من الجنA powerful one from among the jinn said, "I will bring it to you before you rise from your place, and indeed, I am for this [task] strong and trustworthy."
عفريت من الجن أنا آتيك به قبل أن تقوم من مقامك وإني عليه لقوي أمينSaid one who had knowledge from the Scripture, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you."
قال الذي عنده علم من الكتاب أنا آتيك به قبل أن يرتد إليك طرفكbefore you rise from your place
قبل أن تقوم من مقامكThe important point is that the one who had knowledge from the Book said:
I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you.
أنا آتيك به قبل أن يرتد إليك طرفكAnd for this reason he said:
When
فلمَّاAnd when [Solomon] saw it placed before him
فلما رآه مستقرًا عندهAnd for this reason the grammarians said: How do you say that it is the khabar (predicate) of the mubtada' (subject) or the object of the verb? How do you say: it must be that the related word is omitted, while this one is mentioned, settled with him?
They said: Because the settling here is not the general settling, this is a specific, fixed settling, as if it has years.
He said: So, the one who had knowledge from the Book, what made him bring it with this speed? The scholars said: Because he supplicated to Allah, so the angels carried it. The angels carried it, so the angels are stronger than the jinn and the devils of the jinn. If a person occupies himself with what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, informed us of in His saying:
For each one are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah.
له معقبات من بين يديه ومن خلفه يحفظونه من أمر اللهNow, we spoke about this because this is a topic, and although it does not relate much to the hadith, it is a topic that a person should be mindful of, because belief in the angels is one of the six pillars of faith.
He says:
the angels curse her until morning
لعنتها الملائكة حتى تصبح" And Muslim:
the One Who is in the heaven is displeased with her until he (her husband) is pleased with her
كان الذي في السماء ساخطًا عليها حتى يرضى عنهاHer husband, because he spent the night angry, so his Lord, the Lord of the Worlds, Mighty and Majestic, is displeased with her until the husband is pleased with her.
And His saying:
the One Who is in the heaven
كان الذي في السماءThe student: Nothing.
The Shaykh : Nothing is with Him, it is all non-existence. And for this reason we say: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is in the sky, and nothing surrounds Him, because there is nothing there to surround Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. And this hadith and its like are among those that affirm that Allah is in the sky. The people of the Sunnah and the community—and we ask Allah to make us and you among them—believe that Allah is in the sky in reality, and that the sky is the height, the absolute height, and not the built sky. It is possible that the built sky is intended, but that does not indicate that the sky surrounds Him, or that He is in the sky directly, as He says:
He settled upon the Throne
استوى على العرشI say: The people of the Sunnah and the community say that Allah is in the sky in reality, meaning: in the absolute height where nothing is above Him and nothing is level with Him.
And this absolute height is non-existence, there is nothing in it, no sky, no earth, no Throne, no Footstool, there is only Allah, Mighty and Majestic, everything is under Him. This is the doctrine of the people of the Sunnah and the community.
And the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) said: Allah is not in the sky. Now:
Do you feel secure that He who [holds authority] in the heaven
أأمنتم من في السماءHe said: Yes, whoever is in the sky, His is the dominion and His is the power. It is said: This statement is false, because if we say whoever is in the sky, His is the dominion and His is the power, we need to assume a meaning, and the original rule is not to assume a meaning. And because it is not reasonable that His dominion and power be above Him. He must be above everything He owns and everything over which He has power.
Now, if someone says: If we make the fi' (in) for location, would there not be a problem?
The answer is: No, as long as we say that the sky here is the absolute height and not the built sky, there is no problem. Is that clear?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Now, the word sky is used in the Arabic language to mean height. The people of language said: Everything that is above you is a sky, even the ceiling that is now above us is called a sky, because it is from samaw (height) which is elevation. So if Allah is in the sky where the absolute height is, there remains no problem in making the fi' (in) for location. And if we make the intended meaning of the sky: the built sky, then they interpret the fi' (in) to mean 'ala (on), meaning: who is on the sky. And they cite as evidence for the occurrence of fi' (in) meaning 'ala (on) the saying of Allah, the Exalted, regarding Pharaoh:
I will crucify you on the trunks of palm trees
ولأصلبنكم في جذوع النخلAnd by His saying, the Exalted:
Say, "Travel through the land
قل سيروا في الأرضThe summary is: The people of the Sunnah and the community affirm the height of Allah and that He is above everything and that He is in the sky, meaning: in the absolute height, and that does not necessitate anything impossible for Allah.
And His saying:
Displeased with her
ساخطًا عليهاAnd saakhath (displeasure) and ghadab (anger) have close meanings, and they are attributes of perfection when their cause exists, because they indicate the perfection of power, because the one who is displeased feels that he is capable of taking revenge, so it is an attribute of perfection, and so is the one who is angry.
And know that the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) who deny the occurrence of voluntary actions by Allah deny saakhath (displeasure) and ghadab (anger), and they say: Allah does not become displeased and does not become angry. Do they deny it by denial of truth or by denial of interpretation?
The student: Interpretation.
The Shaykh : Denial of interpretation, they do not deny the truth. If they denied the truth, they would be disbelievers. They say: He becomes displeased, but it means He takes revenge or He wants to take revenge. So the meaning of saakht (displeased) is: wanting to take revenge from her, or its meaning is taking revenge from her.
But there is no doubt that their interpretation is tahrif (distortion of a text's meaning), for it is an interpretation of the Qur'an by their opinion, not by the requirement of the language or the requirement of the Shari'ah. And the evidence for this is that Allah, the Exalted, said in His Book:
And when they angered Us, We took retribution from them
فلمَّا آسفونا انتقمنا منهمWhy did they say that Allah does not become angry?
They said: Allah does not become angry because anger is the boiling of the blood of the heart for the sake of taking revenge. And for this reason you find the man when he becomes angry his face turns red because the blood vessels become congested due to the boiling of the blood. And for this reason the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
It is a coal of anger that Satan throws into the heart of the son of Adam.
إنه جمرة -الغضب- يلقيها الشيطان في قلب ابن آدمWhat do we say to them?
We say: Allah is not like anything. So if this is the anger of the created being, then we affirm that the anger of the Creator is not like that, but it is an anger befitting Him.
And we say to them: And we are addressing the Asha'irah now, do you not affirm for Allah a will? So they will say?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : How? Yes?!
They will say: Yes, we affirm the will. So we say: Now, the will is that a person inclines to a thing, either to bring a benefit or to repel a harm, is that not so?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : All right, they say: "Will in this sense is the will of the created being." We say: "That is a sound answer." All right, what about the will of Allah?
They said: "The will of Allah is specific to Him and befitting of Him
And there is nothing like Him
وليس كمثله شيءThere is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
ليس كمثله شيء وهو السميع البصيرAll right, so we believe that Allah becomes angry with true anger, but it does not resemble the anger of the created being. Look, the anger of the created being leads to, meaning, negative consequences:
Perhaps he tears up banknotes, right? Or perhaps he breaks money, breaks a vessel, yes. Sometimes he gets angry, and I have seen some of those who get angry take something up high and smash it on the ground. What happens from this?
It is a loss. Sometimes he divorces his wife. Sometimes he may free his slaves, yes. But the anger of the Creator can never involve any bad behavior, ever, because He takes revenge with wisdom (Mighty and Majestic), so His anger has good consequences, unlike the anger of the created being.
All right, have we finished?
The student: Questions?
The Shaykh : Yes, all right.