A Question Concerning the Attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)
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Question:
From Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz to the honorable brother Dr. M. A. H., may Allah keep him safe.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I refer to your letter, in which you requested that your eminence clarify the meanings of the following noble verses: [Al-An'am:3], and the verse: [Al-Baqarah:255], and the verse: [Al-Zukhruf:84], and the verse: [Al-Mujadilah:7], and the hadith of the girl narrated by Muslim when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked her: ? She said: In the sky. He said to her: ? She said: You are the Messenger of Allah. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
We request clarification of the meanings of these noble verses and the meaning of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the girl.
Answer:
I inform you that the general meaning of the noble verses and the noble Prophetic hadith is the indication of the greatness of Allah and His exaltation above His creation, His divinity for all creation, and the comprehensiveness and inclusiveness of His knowledge of everything, whether large or small, secret or public, and the manifestation of His power over everything and the negation of incapacity from Him .
As for their specific meaning, His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah:255] indicates the greatness and vastness of the Footstool, and this also indicates the greatness of its Creator, the Exalted, and the perfection of His power. And His saying: [Al-Baqarah:255] means: The preservation of the heavens and the earth, and those within them and between them, does not burden Him or weigh Him down; rather, that is easy for Him and simple for Him. He is the One who stands over every soul with what it has earned, the Watcher over all things, so nothing is hidden from Him and nothing is concealed from Him. All things are humble before Him, submissive and abased, small in relation to Him, the Exalted, needy and poor toward Him. He is the Rich, the Praiseworthy, the Doer of what He wills, who is not questioned about what He does, but they are questioned. He is the Subjugator of all things, the Reckoner of all things, the High, the Great Watcher, there is no god but Him and no Lord besides Him.
And His saying, the Exalted: [Al-An'am:3] indicates that the One being called upon is Allah in the heavens and in the earth, and that those in the heavens and those in the earth worship Him and affirm His oneness and acknowledge His divinity, calling Him Allah, and invoking Him out of hope and fear, except for those among the jinn or humans who disbelieved.
It also indicates the vastness of the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, and His awareness of His servants, and His encompassing knowledge of what they do, whether it is secret or loud, for the secret and the loud are equal with Him , so He counts all the deeds of the servants, their good and their evil.
And His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Zukhruf:84] means: He, the Exalted, is the God of those in the sky and the God of those in the earth, and their people worship Him, and all of them are submissive to Him, abased before Him, except for those overcome by wretchedness who disbelieved in Allah and did not believe in Him. He is the Wise in His legislation and His decree, the All-Knowing of all the deeds of His servants, the Exalted.
And His saying : And the verse: [Al-Mujadilah:7] means: He, the Exalted, is aware of all His servants wherever they are, He hears their speech, their secrets, and their whispered conversations, and His messengers from the noble angels and the recording guardians also write down what they whisper, along with the knowledge of Allah of it and His hearing of it.
The intended meaning of the companionship mentioned in this verse, according to the people of the Sunnah and the community, is the companionship of His knowledge , so He is with them by His knowledge, but His hearing is also encompassing them along with His knowledge, and His sight penetrates them, so He is aware of His creation, and nothing of their affairs is hidden from Him, while He, the Exalted, is above all creation, having risen above His Throne in a manner befitting His majesty and greatness, and He does not resemble His creation in any of His attributes, as He said (peace and blessings be upon him) : [Ash-Shura:11].
Then He will inform them on the Day of Resurrection of all the deeds they did in this world; for He, the Exalted, is All-Knowing of every thing and All-Encompassing of every thing, the Knower of the unseen, and not a weight of an atom is hidden from His knowledge in the heavens or on the earth, or smaller than that or larger, except that it is in a clear Book.
As for the hadith of the girl whose master wanted to free her as expiation for what he had done in striking her, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: She said: In the sky. He said: ? She said: The Messenger of Allah. He said: In it is the indication of the exaltation of Allah above His creation, and that acknowledging this is evidence of faith.
This is the concise meaning of what you asked about, and it is obligatory for the Muslim to follow the path of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding these verses and the authentic hadiths in their meaning that indicate the names and attributes of Allah, which is to believe in them, and to hold the correctness of what they indicate and affirm it for Him, the Exalted, in the manner befitting Him, without distortion, denial, asking how, or likening Him to creation. This is the correct path that the righteous Salaf followed and agreed upon.
It is also obligatory for the Muslim who wants safety for himself and to avoid falling into what angers Allah to turn away from the path of the people of misguidance who interpret the attributes of Allah or deny them from Him , [which is] a great elevation from the wrongdoers. A fatwa has previously been issued by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta regarding affirming the exaltation of Allah, the Exalted, so we are attaching a copy of it for further benefit, as we are also attaching a copy of the Al-Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and its explanation by Shaykh Muhammad Khalil al-Haraz, which contains an extensive study on the topic you asked about.
And we ask Allah to grant everyone beneficial knowledge and to act upon it, and to guide everyone to what pleases Him, for He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The General President
To the Departments of Scientific Research, Ifta, Da'wah, and Guidance
From Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz to the honorable brother Dr. M. A. H., may Allah keep him safe.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I refer to your letter, in which you requested that your eminence clarify the meanings of the following noble verses:
And He is Allah, [the only deity] in the heavens and the earth. He knows your secret and what you make public, and He knows that which you earn.
وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَHis Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُAnd it is Allah who is [the only] deity in the heaven, and on the earth [the only] deity. And He is the Wise, the Knowing.
وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَهٌ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُThere 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. Then He will inform them of what they did, on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed Allah is, of all things, Knowing.
مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ نَجْوَى ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلَا أَدْنَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَلَا أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا عَمِلُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌWhere is Allah
أين اللهWho am I?
من أناSet her free, for she is a believer
أعتقها فإنها مؤمنةWe request clarification of the meanings of these noble verses and the meaning of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the girl.
Answer:
I inform you that the general meaning of the noble verses and the noble Prophetic hadith is the indication of the greatness of Allah and His exaltation above His creation, His divinity for all creation, and the comprehensiveness and inclusiveness of His knowledge of everything, whether large or small, secret or public, and the manifestation of His power over everything and the negation of incapacity from Him .
As for their specific meaning, His saying, the Exalted:
His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth
وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَand their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُAnd His saying, the Exalted:
And He is Allah, [the only deity] in the heavens and the earth. He knows your secret and what you make public, and He knows that which you earn.
وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَIt also indicates the vastness of the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, and His awareness of His servants, and His encompassing knowledge of what they do, whether it is secret or loud, for the secret and the loud are equal with Him , so He counts all the deeds of the servants, their good and their evil.
And His saying, the Exalted:
And it is Allah who is [the only] deity in the heaven, and on the earth [the only] deity. And He is the Wise, the Knowing.
وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَهٌ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُAnd His saying : And the verse:
Have you not considered that Allah knows what is in the heavens and what is on the earth? There 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. Then He will inform them of what they did, on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed Allah is, of all things, Knowing.
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ نَجْوَى ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلَا أَدْنَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَلَا أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا عَمِلُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌThe intended meaning of the companionship mentioned in this verse, according to the people of the Sunnah and the community, is the companionship of His knowledge , so He is with them by His knowledge, but His hearing is also encompassing them along with His knowledge, and His sight penetrates them, so He is aware of His creation, and nothing of their affairs is hidden from Him, while He, the Exalted, is above all creation, having risen above His Throne in a manner befitting His majesty and greatness, and He does not resemble His creation in any of His attributes, as He said (peace and blessings be upon him) :
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُThen He will inform them on the Day of Resurrection of all the deeds they did in this world; for He, the Exalted, is All-Knowing of every thing and All-Encompassing of every thing, the Knower of the unseen, and not a weight of an atom is hidden from His knowledge in the heavens or on the earth, or smaller than that or larger, except that it is in a clear Book.
As for the hadith of the girl whose master wanted to free her as expiation for what he had done in striking her, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her:
Where is Allah?
أين الله؟Who am I?
من أناSet her free, for she is a believer.
اعتقها فإنها مؤمنةThis is the concise meaning of what you asked about, and it is obligatory for the Muslim to follow the path of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding these verses and the authentic hadiths in their meaning that indicate the names and attributes of Allah, which is to believe in them, and to hold the correctness of what they indicate and affirm it for Him, the Exalted, in the manner befitting Him, without distortion, denial, asking how, or likening Him to creation. This is the correct path that the righteous Salaf followed and agreed upon.
It is also obligatory for the Muslim who wants safety for himself and to avoid falling into what angers Allah to turn away from the path of the people of misguidance who interpret the attributes of Allah or deny them from Him , [which is] a great elevation from the wrongdoers. A fatwa has previously been issued by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta regarding affirming the exaltation of Allah, the Exalted, so we are attaching a copy of it for further benefit, as we are also attaching a copy of the Al-Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and its explanation by Shaykh Muhammad Khalil al-Haraz, which contains an extensive study on the topic you asked about.
And we ask Allah to grant everyone beneficial knowledge and to act upon it, and to guide everyone to what pleases Him, for He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The General President
To the Departments of Scientific Research, Ifta, Da'wah, and Guidance
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.