What is the response to the doubt raised in the hadith: “And I do not hesitate about anything I am going to do as I hesitate about taking the soul of My believing servant; he hates death, and I hate to cause him distress”

The questioner : May the brothers excuse me, O Shaykh. I am an imam and khatib in Basra, and I was exposed to some questions. Among these questions is the hadith narrated by Imam al-Bukhari in his Sahih: “Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah the Exalted says: to the end of the hadith .” A person said to me: Hesitation indicates doubt, and doubt indicates a lack of knowledge; so how can the Lord of the Worlds hesitate?

The Shaykh : This question, may Allah bless you, stems from likening the Creator to the created. Such a question is not new regarding the attributes; it likens the Lord of the Worlds to the servants, as you mentioned just now. But Allah (Mighty and Majestic) — His attributes do not resemble the attributes of the servants in any way. The verses of the attributes and the hadiths of the attributes must not be treated as the attributes of the servants. We know by experience that a human being cannot understand two people speaking to him at the same moment and be able to answer both of them at once; this is impossible. But for the Lord of the Worlds, there is no difference between the small and the large; creating the heavens and the earth is easier for Him than creating a gnat. There is absolutely no difference for Him. So this analogy stems from this great misguidance, which is likening the Creator to the created. From this comes the doubt regarding the Divine Descent, which is reported in the mutawatir hadith: and so on. People now ask, after they have learned that the earth is spherical, and that every moment is in the night, every moment is in the day, every moment is in the rising of the sun, every moment is in the setting of the sun, and so on: How, then, does Allah descend every night, when there are many nights? This question stems from the same original misguidance, which is likening the Creator to the created. How can Allah (Mighty and Majestic) — I mean, all such questions — how can Allah (Mighty and Majestic) hear the supplications of those who supplicate? And fulfill the requestsThe student : and desires of those who desire, when they are in the thousands and millions, indeed millions? O people, fear Allah. All these questions stem from likening the Creator to the created. And as Muslims, we believe in the Book of Allah, and in it is His saying (Mighty and Majestic): . So this person is advised to keep in mind that there is nothing like Him. When that is the case, the hesitation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) does not mean doubt and ignorance, as is the case with the ignorant human being, but rather it is an attribute befitting His greatness (Blessed and Exalted is He) and His majesty. So this hesitation is not an intellectual hesitation, but rather a hesitation of response to the desire of the believer: will He treat him with this treatment or not? But in the end (Blessed and Exalted is He), He will carry out His will, in which He does not hesitate, once our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) resolves to carry out His will. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) has a good word, in fact, in answer to this question. I do not have it precisely in mind right now, but the answer revolves around this principle to which attention was drawn, and it is in fact sufficient for every Muslim. Because if he takes the answer regarding this hesitation, he will take the answer regarding the Divine Descent, and if he takes the answer regarding the Divine Descent, he will take the answer regarding, for example, the Exaltation of Allah above His Throne, except by the principle of . That is all I have.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The student : You mentioned it in al-Sahihah.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : I mean, a commentary on this hadith, the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. The brother can refer to it and refer to the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.

The Shaykh : You mention the number of the hadith.
The student : By Allah, my Shaykh, I do not remember it exactly right now. I think it is in the fourth volume, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh : The fourth volume.
The student: Yes.