As Sirat al-Mustaqim - Unofficial Translation

Unofficial Translation

اط تقرميالصر امل س

The Straight Path

Shaykh Muhaddith Âbdullah Ibn Muhammad al-Harariyy al-Habashiyy

It might be said: Unofficial Translation

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املستقيمالصراط

The Straight Path Al-Muhaddith Ash-Shaykh Âbdullah Ibn Muhammad

Al-Harariyy Al-Habashiyy

First Draft, 2012


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Contents Author’s Biography ......................................................................... 8

Introduction .................................................................................. 17

The Straight Path........................................................................... 17

The Greatest of Allah’s Rights over His Slaves .............................. 18

The Meaning of the Two Testifications of Faith ........................... 21

The Obligation of Every Accountable Person ............................... 25

No Religion is Correct Except Islam .............................................. 25

The Judgment of the One who Claims Islam Verbally but Nullifies

Islam in Meaning ........................................................................... 28

Clarification of the Divisions of Blasphemy .................................. 31

What is Exempted from the Blasphemous Expressions ........... 38

Important Benefit ......................................................................... 52

A Return to the Classification of Blasphemy for the Additional

Benefit ........................................................................................... 55

Benefit ........................................................................................... 58

Protection from Hell ..................................................................... 60

The First Creation .......................................................................... 60

The Eternality of Allah is not Related to Time .......................... 63

Clearing Allah of a Place, and the Mental Validity of His Existence

Without a Place ............................................................................. 65

The Thirteen Attributes of Allah ................................................... 87

Existence ................................................................................... 87

Eternality ................................................................................... 88

Everlastingness.......................................................................... 89

Hearing ...................................................................................... 90


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Sight .......................................................................................... 90

Speech ....................................................................................... 91

Will ............................................................................................ 94

Power ........................................................................................ 96

Knowledge ................................................................................ 98

Life ............................................................................................. 99

Oneness................................................................................... 100

Independence of Others ......................................................... 101

Dissimilarity to the Creation ................................................... 102

All of the Attributes of Allah Are Perfect .................................... 104

The Reason for the Revelation of Surah Al-Ikhlas....................... 108

The Decisive and Ambiguous Verses .......................................... 110

The Decisive Verses ................................................................. 111

The Ambiguous Verses ............................................................ 111

Interpretation of His Saying ﴿روحنامن﴾ and His Saying ﴿روحىمن﴾ ................................................................................................ 122

Interpretation of the Verse ﴾است وىالعرشعلىالرمحن ﴿ ....................... 124

The Interpretation of the Maîyyah (معية) of Allah that is

Mentioned in the Qur’an ........................................................ 131

The Explanation of the Saying of Allah ﴿اللوجه ف ثم﴾ ................. 134

The Explanation of the Verse ﴾واألرضالسماواتن ور الل ﴿ ................... 135

The Meaning of Destiny and Believing in It ................................ 138

Guidance Is of Two Facets ...................................................... 154

The Destining of Allah Does Not Change ................................ 157

Dividing the Matters into Four Categories.............................. 160


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The Tawhid of Allah in the Doings .......................................... 161

The Intellectual Evidence for the Invalidity of the Saying of the

Mu^tazilah that the Slave Creates his Deeds ......................... 165

Confirmation that the Normal Reasons Do Not Affect in Reality

and that the Only One Who Affects in Reality is Allah ........... 166

Important Notice ........................................................................ 179

Prophethood ............................................................................... 181

The Difference between the Prophets and the Messengers .. 181

What is Necessary for the Prophets and What is Impossible for

Them ....................................................................................... 182

The Miracle ............................................................................. 183

Miracles That Took Place for Those Who Came before Our

Master Muhammad 184 ................................................... ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

Some of the Miracles of the Prophet 185 ......................... ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

The Miracle’s Substantiation of the Truthfulness of the

Prophet ............................................................................... 192

The Way to Know the Miracle by Definitiveness and Certainty

............................................................................................ 193

Belief in the Torture of the Grave and its Enjoyment and

Questioning ............................................................................. 194

The Judgment of the One who Denies the Torture of the

Grave ................................................................................... 200

The Resurrection ..................................................................... 201

The Gathering ......................................................................... 201

The Questioning of Allah......................................................... 202

The Scale ................................................................................. 202

Reward and Punishment ......................................................... 203


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The Bridge ............................................................................... 204

The Basin ................................................................................. 205

The Description of Paradise .................................................... 206

The Description of Hell ............................................................ 207

The Intercession ...................................................................... 208

The Soul ................................................................................... 208

Clarification that the Mercy of Allah is Inclusive of the Believers

and the Blasphemers in the Present Life and Specific to the

Believers in the Afterlife ............................................................. 210

The Innovation [Bidâh].............................................................. 212

Confirmation that Tawassul by the Prophets and the Waliyys is

Permissible, and not Shirk as Said by the Wahhabiyys ............... 216

Seeking Blessings from the Traces of the Prophet 227 ............. ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

Ijtihad and Imitation ................................................................... 233

Epilogue....................................................................................... 239

The Epilogue of the Epilogue ...................................................... 242


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Author’s Biography

He was the great Islamic scholar, Imam, Muhaddith, the pious

worshipper, Ash-Shaykh Abu Âbdir-Rahman, Âbdullah Ibn

Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Âbdillah Ibn Jami^, Al-Harariyy, Ash-

Shaybiyy, Al-Âbdariyy, the Mufti of Somalia. He is Al-Harariyy

because he is from the city of Harar. In 1887, Somalia was

occupied and divided into five parts, and the western province of

Harar was given to Ethiopia. He is Ash-Shaybiyy because he

belongs to Banu Shaybah, a clan of Quraysh; they are the people

in charge of the Ka^bah. He is Al-Âbdariyy because he also

belongs to Âbdud-Dar, a clan of Qusayy Ibn Kilab, the fourth

grandfather of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص.

He was born in Harar around 1339 A.H., or 1920. He grew up in a

humble house loving Islamic knowledge and its people. He

memorized Al-Qur’an by heart with tajwid rules when he was

seven years old. He continued to scoop from the sea of

knowledge. He memorized numerous books in various Islamic

sciences. He gave the knowledge of hadith a great amount of

attention. He memorized the six books of Hadith (Al-Bukhariyy,

Muslim, at-Tirmidhiyy, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, an-Nasa’iyy) and

other books of Hadith with their chains of narration. He was

authorized by scholars to give religious judgments and to relate

hadith when he was less than eighteen years old.


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He was not satisfied with taking knowledge only from the scholars

of his own city. He went to many places in Ethiopia and Somalia

seeking knowledge and its people. He had many trips with

hardships and difficulties, but he did not care about them;

whenever he heard about a scholar he went to him, which is the

habit of the righteous Salaf.

His intelligence and wonderful memory helped him gain a vast

amount of knowledge in the school of Imam Ash-Shafiîyy, as well

as the Malikiyy, Hanafiyy, and Hambaliyy schools. To the point

that he became a person at who fingers point; people would come

to him from different places in Ethiopia and Somalia. He became

the Mufti of Somalia at the age of eighteen.

He took the Fiqh of the School of Ash-Shafiîyy, its Usul and Arabic

Grammar from Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Âbdus-Salam Al-

Harariyy, Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Ûmar Jami^ Al-Harariyy, Ash-

Shaykh Muhammad Rashad Al-Habashiyy, Ash-Shaykh Ibrahim

Abil-Ghayth Al-Harariyy, Ash-Shaykh Yunus Al-Habashiyy, and Al-

Hafidh Muhammad Siraj Al-Jabartiyy. From those Islamic scholars

he took many main texts such as Alfiyyah Az-Zubad, At-Tambih,

Al-Minhaj, Alfiyyah Ibn Malik, Al-Luma^ by Ash-Shiraziyy and other

main texts.

He took the sciences of the Arabic Language, especially from the

righteous Shaykh Ahmad Al-Basir and Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Ibn

Muhammad Al-Habashiyy and others. He read the Fiqh of the


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other three schools and their Usul under Ash-Shaykh Muhammad

Al-Ârabiyy Al-Fasiyy, and Ash-Shaykh Âbdur-Rahman Al-

Habashiyy. He took at-Tafsir from Ash-Shaykh Sharif Al-Habashiyy

in his town, Jimmah.

He took the Hadith and its sciences from many teachers, notably

from Al-Hafidh Ash-Shaykh Abu Bakr Muhammad Siraj Al-

Jabartiyy, the Mufti of Ethiopia, Ash-Shaykh Âbdur-Rahman

Âbdullah Al-Habashiyy, and others.

He met with the righteous Shaykh, Muhaddith, Qari’ Hajj Ahmad

Al-Kabir, the Head of the Reciters in Al-Masjidul-Haram in Makkah

(he was appointed as the Imam and Shaykh of Al-Masjidul-Haram

by as-Sultan Âbdul-Hamid II, the last Ottoman Khalifah), from

him he took the 14 ways of reciting Al-Qur’an, as well as the

Science of Hadith. He also met Shaykh, Qari’, Dawud Al-Jabartiyy.

He started giving classes at a young age for the students who may

have been older than him; so he was both learning and teaching.

He was superior in both Ethiopia and Somalia to his peers in

knowing the biographies of the people of Hadith and their ranks,

memorizing the texts, and getting in depth in the sciences of

Hadith, language, Tafsir, and other than that.

He did not leave any known Islamic science without mastering it.

He may talk about some knowledge or science and a person may

think that he specialized in that only. You would see him humbly


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listening to a Hadith with his ear and his heart, although he knows

better about it than the speaker himself.

He went to Makkah and met its scholars such as Ash-Shaykh, as-

Sayyid, Âlawiyy Al-Malikiyy, Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Yasin Al-

Fadaniyy and Ash-Shaykh Amin Al-Kutubiyy. He attended circles by

Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Al-Ârabiyy at-Tabban. He contacted

Ash-Shaykh Âbdul-Ghafur Al-Afghaniyy an-Naqshabandiyy and

took at-Tariqah an-Naqshabandiyyah from him.

Afterwards, he went to Al-Madinah and contacted its scholars. He

took hadith from Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Âliyy as-Siddiqiyy

Al-Bakriyy. He met with Muhaddith Ibrahim Al-Khutniyy, the

student of Muhaddith Âbdul-Qadir Shalbiyy. He stayed by and in

^Ārif Hikmat and Al-Mahmudiyyah libraries going through the

manuscripts. He stayed in Al-Madinah close to the Prophet’s ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

Mosque for about a year while receiving ijazah from many

scholars.

He then went to Jerusalem in the 1940’s, then to Damascus,

where he was welcomed by its people, especially after the death

of its Muhaddith, Badrud-Din Al-Hasaniyy. He went to Damascus,

Beirut, Hims, Hamah, Halab, and other cities. He then lived in

Jamiûl-Qatat, and his fame spread in the area. Consequently, the

scholars and students of Ash-Sham came seeking him, and he got

to know some of its scholars. They benefited from him and


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acknowledged his knowledge, and he was called “the Successor of

Ash-Shaykh Badrud-Din Al-Hasaniyy”. He was also known as “the

Muhaddith of Ash-Sham”. A great number of the scholars of Ash-

Sham praised him such as Ash-Shaykh Îzzud-Din Ibn Ahmad Al-

Khaznawiyy, Ash-Shafiîyy, an-Naqshabandiyy from Al-Jazirah in

the north of Syria, Ash-Shaykh Âbdur-Razzaq Al-Halabiyy, the

Director of Al-Masjidul-‘Umawiyy in Damascus, Ash-Shaykh Abu

Sulayman Suhayl Az-Zabibiyy, Ash-Shaykh Mulla Ramadan Al-

Butiyy, Ash-Shaykh Abul-Yusr ^Ābidin, the Mufti of Syria, Ash-

Shaykh Âbdul-Karim Ar-Rifaîyy, Ash-Shaykh Naji Nur from

Jordan, Ash-Shaykh Saîd Tanatirah, Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Al-

Husariyy, the Director of the Islamic school of Maârratu-n-

Nu^man, Ash-Shaykh Âbdullah Siraj Al-Halabiyy, Ash-Shaykh

Muhammad Murad Al-Halabiyy, Ash-Shaykh Suhayb Ar-Rumiyy,

the Amin of Al-Fatwa in Halab, Ash-Shaykh Âbdul-Âziz Ûyunus-

Sud, the Head of the Qurra’ of Hims, Ash-Shaykh Abus-Suûd Al-

Himsiyy, Ash-Shaykh Fayiz ad-Dayr Âtaniyy, Ash-Shaykh Âbdul-

Wahhab Dibs wa Zayt of Damascus, Dr. Halawaniyy, the Shaykh of

reciters in Syria, Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Al-Harun of Damascus, the

righteous Waliyy, Ash-Shaykh Tahir Al-Kayyaliyy from Hims, Ash-

Shaykh Salih Kaywan ad-Dimashqiyy, Ash-Shaykh Âbbas Al-

Juwayjatiyy ad-Dimashqiyy, Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Thabit Al-

Kayyaliyy Ash-Shaykh Muhammad As-Sayyid Ahmad, Ash-Shaykh

Nuh Al-Qadah Al-Urdunniyy and others, may Allah benefit us from

them.


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He was also praised by Ash-Shaykh Ûthman Sirajud-Din, the

descendant of Ash-Shaykh Âla’ud-Din, the Shaykh of an-

Naqshabandiyyah in his time, and they had brotherly and

scholarly correspondences between them. He was praised also by

Ash-Shaykh Âbdul-Karim Al-Bayyariyy, the teacher in Jamiîl-

Hadrah Al-Kilaniyyah in Baghdad, Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Az-Zahid Al-

Islambuliyy, Ash-Shaykh Mahmud (Efendi) Al-Hanafiyy, who is one

of the famous and active Turkish scholars, Ash-Shaykh Âbdullah

Al-Ghumariyy, the Muhaddith of Morocco, and Ash-Shaykh

Habibur-Rahman Al-‘A^dhamiyy, the Muhaddith of the Indian

Peninsula, whom he met with many times and stayed as his guest

for some time.

He took permission for At-Tariqah Ar-Rifaîyyah from Ash-Shaykh

Âbdur-Rahman as-Sibsibiyy, Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Âliyy Al-

Haririyy, and Ash-Shaykh Tahir Al-Kayyaliyy. He took permission in

At-Tariqah Al-Qadiriyyah from Ash-Shaykh At-Tayyib Ad-

Dimashqiyy, Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Al-Îrbiniyy, Ash-Shaykh Al-

Muâmmar Âliyy Murtada ad-Dayrawiyy Al-Bakistaniyy and Ash-

Shaykh Ahmad Al-Badawiyy as-Sudaniyy Al-Mukashifiyy, may

Allah have Mercy upon them. He took At-Tariqah Ash-

Shadhiliyyah from Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Al-Basir. He took the

Tariqahs of Al-Chistiyyah and As- Suhrawardiyyah as well.

Ash-Shaykh Âbdullah went to Beirut in 1950 and he was the

guest of the famous shaykhs like Qadi Muhyid-Din Al-Âjuz,


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Shaykh Al-Mustashar Muhammad Ash-Sharif, Shaykh Âbdul-

Wahhab Al-Butariyy, the Imam of Jami^ Al-Basta Al-Fawqa, and

Shaykh Ahmad Iskandaraniyy, the Imam and Mu’adhdhin in Jami^

Burj Abi Haydar, and they learned and benefited from him. Then

he met with Shaykh Tawfiq Al-Hibriyy, may Allah have Mercy on

him, and at his residence he used to meet the important people in

Beirut. He also met with Shaykh Âbdur-Rahman Al-Majdhub and

Shaykh Muhammad Al-Butariyy. He met with Shaykh Mukhtar Al-

Âlayiliyy, may Allah have Mercy upon him, who was the Amin of

Al-Fatwa who acknowledged his honor and breadth of his

knowledge, and prepared for his residence in Beirut to teach in

different mosques. The Department of Al-Fatwa paid the

expenses of his residence during that period. In 1969, upon the

request of the Director of Al-Azhar in Lebanon, he lectured in at-

Tawhid to the students there.

Shaykh Âbdullah’s primary goal was to spread the correct belief

of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaâh, a task which has been occupying

most of his time. He fought the atheists and the people of bidâh

to extinguish their misguidance.

Shaykh Âbdullah Al-Harariyy was very pious, humble, and a

worshipful Muslim. He spent his time teaching and performing

dhikr at the same time. He did not care about acquiring worldly

things. He had a good and pure heart. He did not waste a moment

without teaching, performing dhikr, reciting, admonishing, or


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guiding. He had the correct belief in Allah and held on to Al-

Qur’an and As-Sunnah. He had a good memory and powerful,

brilliant proofs. He was wise, managing things at the right time

and place. He refused and renounced disobeying Allah very much.

He had a high effort in bidding Al-Ma^ruf and forbidding Al-

Munkar until the people of misguidance and prohibited

innovations feared and envied him. This did not lessen his efforts

to fight them, because Allah Supports and Defends the people

who believe in Him.

Ash-Shaykh Âbdullah Al-Harariyy conveyed the knowledge of the

Religion with continuous chains back to Prophet Muhammad

Among them is: from Muhammad Ibn Âliyy Âdham .ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

Husayn as-Siddiqiyy Al-Khayradadiyy Al-Madiniyy from Muhaddith

Abul-Maâli Muhammad Badru-d-Din Ibn Yusuf Al-Baybaniyy Al-

Hasaniyy Al-Maghribiyy from Muhaddith as-Sayyid Yusuf Ibn

Badru-d-Din Al-Maghribiyy from Shaykh Abdullah Ibn Hijaziyy Ash-

Sharqawiyy [Shaykhil-Jamiîl-Azhar] from Shaykh Muhammad Ibn

Salim Al-Hifniyy from Shaykh Îd an-Namrisiyy from Âbdullah Ibn

Salim Al-Basriyy from Shaykh Âliyy Zaynul-^Ābidin Ibn Âbdul-

Qadir at-Tabariyy Al-Makkiyy from Âbdul-Qadir Ibn Muhammad

at-Tabariyy Al-Makkiyy from Imam Yahya Ibn Mukrim at-Tabariyy

Al-Makkiyy from Hafidh As-Sakhawiyy from Shihabu-d-Din Ahmad

Ibn Hajar Al-Âsqalaniyy from Ustadh Ibrahim Ibn Ahmad at-

Tanukhiyy from Abu-l-Âbbas Ahmad Ibn Abi Talib Al-Hajjar from

Abi Âbdillah Al-Husayn Ibn Mubarak Az-Zabidiyy from Abu-l-


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Waqt Âbdul-Awwal Ibn Îsa Ibn Shuâyb as-Sijziyy Al-Harawiyy

from Abil-Hasan Âbdur-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Mudhaffar

Ibn Dawud ad-Dawudiyy Al-Bushinjiyy from Abi Muhammad

Âbdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Hammuyah as-Sarakhsiyy from Abi

Âbdillah Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Matar Ibn Salih Ibn Bishr Al-

Farabriyy from Imam Abi Âbdillah Muhammad Ibn Ismaîl Al-

Bukhariyy Al-Juâfiyy from Imam Abi Âbdillah Ahmad Ibn Hambal

Ash-Shaybaniyy from Imam Abi Âbdillah Muhammad Ibn Idris

Ash-Shafiîyy Al-Muttalibiyy from Imam Abi Âbdillah Malik Ibn

Anas Al-Asbahiyy from Nafi^ Ibn Âbdir-Rahman from Âbdillah

Ibn Ûmar Ibnil-Khattab from the Messenger of Allah.

He (may Allah have Mercy upon him) departed this life the dawn

of Tuesday, the 2nd of Ramadan, 1429 AH - September 2, 2008.


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Introduction

لرحيم ٱن لرحم ٱهلل ٱبسم

The Shaykh and Muhaddith Âbdullah Ibn Muhammad Al-

Harariyy Al-Habashiyy, may Allah have Mercy upon him, said:

The Straight Path

Excellent praise and gratitude are due to Allah. May Allah increase

the rank and honor of Prophet Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص and protect his

[Muslim] Nation from what he feared for it.

Allah the Exalted Said1:

ولتنظ رنفسماقدمتلغد ٱت ق واٱلذينءامن واٱأي هاي ﴿ ﴾لل

[which means] “O you who believed, fear Allah, and let each self

look at that which it has prepared for tomorrow.”

Âliyy [Ibn Abi Talib], may Allah accept his good deeds and honor

his face, said, “Today is the work and tomorrow is the Reckoning.”

This was narrated by Al-Bukhariyy in the Chapter of Ar-Riqaq.

1 Surat Al-Hashr, ayah 18.


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The Greatest of Allah’s Rights over His Slaves

Know that the greatest of the rights of Allah the Exalted over His

slaves is [confirming] His Oneness and that nothing would be

associated with Him. This is because associating partners with

Allah is the biggest sin committed by the slave. It is the sin that He

does not Forgive [after death], and He Forgives whatever is less

than that for whomever He Wills.

Allah the Exalted Said2:

ماد ونذلكل منيشآء ٱإن﴿ أني شركبهويغفر ليغفر ﴾لل[which means] “Surely, Allah does not forgive the association of

partners with Him, and He forgives whatever is less than that for

whomever He Wills.”

Likewise, all types of blasphemy are not Forgiven by Allah [after

death]. This is due to the Saying of Allah the Exalted3:

كفر واوصدواعنسبيلٱإن﴿ مات واوه مك فارف لنٱلذين للث ل مٱيغفر ﴾لل

2 Surat an-Nisa’, ayah 48.

3 Surat Muĥammad, ayah 34.


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[which means] “Surely Allah will not Forgive those who

blasphemed and those who blocked others from the path of

Allah4, and then died while being blasphemers.”

The Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said:

ه د باعد مم ن،وأه ليكرلشه دحومنشهدأنلإلهإلالل وحر ،ويرىلماإاهقلأه ت ملكوه ول س رواللد بىعيسعنوأه ول س روكىملعةنالالل ه لخد،أق حارالنوق حةنالوه نم لمالعنمانا

[which means] “Whoever testifies that no one is God except

Allah alone without a partner, that Muhammad is His slave and

His Messenger, that Îsa (Jesus) is the slave of Allah and His

Messenger, and the good news given to Mary, and a soul from

Allah, that Paradise is true, and Hellfire is true, Allah will admit

him to Paradise no matter what he did.” This hadith was narrated

by Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim.

In another hadith:

حرمعلىالنارمنقاللإلهإل ي بتغيبذلكوجهفإنالل اللالل [which means] “Surely Allah Made forbidden for Hell5 whoever

said no one is God except Allah sincerely for the sake of Allah.”

This hadith was narrated by Al-Bukhariyy.

4 This means blocking others from embracing Islam.


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It is obligatory to associate the belief in the Message of

Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص with the testimony that no one is God except

Allah. That is the least by which safety from the everlasting stay in

Hell would take place.

5 Meaning to stay in Hell forever, not a negation of a believer entering it.


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The Meaning of the Two Testifications of Faith

In general, the meaning of the Testification that “no one is God

except Allah” is: I confess with my tongue and I hold as a

conviction and submit to it in my heart that the only rightfully

worshipped One is Allah the Exalted.

The meaning of the Testification that “Muhammad is the

Messenger of Allah” is: I confess with my tongue and I accept with

my heart that our Master Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is sent from Allah to

all of the humans and jinn. Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص was truthful in

everything he conveyed from Allah the Exalted, therefore the

people must believe in his Laws and follow him.

What is meant by the two Testifications of Faith is the negation of

Godhood for other than Allah and confirming it for Allah the

Exalted, along with the confession of the Message of our Master

Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص. Allah the Exalted Said6:

﴾فرينسعري اللورس ولهفإنآأعتدناللك ٱومنل مي ؤمنب﴿[which means] “Whoever does not believe in Allah and His

Messenger, then he is a blasphemer, and We have Prepared Hell

for the blasphemers.” This verse is explicit in charging whoever

does not believe in Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص with blasphemy, and

6 Surat Al-Fath, ayah 13.


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whoever argues with this point would be objecting to the Qur’an,

and whoever objects to the Qur’an blasphemes.

The Islamic scholars have agreed on charging whoever practices a

religion other than Islam with blasphemy, as well as whoever does

not charge him with blasphemy, or doubts, or remains neutral

[about his blasphemy]; like for one to say “I do not say he is a

blasphemer and I do not say he is not a blasphemer.”

Know with certainty that Iman (faith) and Islam would not be

valid, nor would the good deeds be accepted, without the two

Testifications of Faith, i.e., by the expression: “I testify that no one

is God except Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger

of Allah,” or by whatever carries the meaning of these two

statements, even if it were expressed in other than the Arabic

language. It is enough for the validity of one’s Islam to utter it

once in a lifetime. After that, the obligation of saying the

Testification of Faith remains for the validity of every prayer. This

is in reference to the one who was following a religion other than

Islam, then he wanted to enter Islam. In reference to the one who

was raised as a Muslim and he believed in the two Testifications of

Faith, uttering them is not a condition. Rather, he is a Muslim even

if he does not utter.

The Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said:


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تعاىل:ومات قربإىلعبديبشىء قال الل إىل عليه أحب مااف ت رضت

[which means] “Allah Said, ‘My slave does not come closer to Me

(i.e. he does not gain a higher status from Me) by doing anything

more acceptable to Me than what I have Made obligatory upon

him’.” This is a Qudsiyy hadith narrated by Al-Bukhariyy.

Moreover, the best and first obligation is the belief in Allah and

His Messenger.

The Creed that no one is God except Allah alone is not enough if it

is not associated with the Creed that Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is the

Messenger of Allah. Allah the Exalted Said7:

وٱق لأطيع وا﴿ ٱلرس ولفإنت ولوافإنٱلل ب لي ﴾فرينلك ٱلل[which means] “(O Muhammad,) say, ‘Obey Allah and the

Messenger,’ and if they turn away (from believing in Allah and His

Messenger) then Allah does not Accept the blasphemers.” This

means that because of his blasphemy, Allah does not Accept the

one who turned away from believing in Allah and His Messenger,

and what is meant by “obeying Allah and His Messenger” in this

verse is “believing in them.”

7 Surat Al Îmran, ayah 32.


24

This is evidence that whoever does not believe in Allah and His

Messenger, Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص, is a blasphemer, and Allah does not

Accept him because of his blasphemy. Whoever says that Allah

loves the believers and the blasphemers because He Created all of

them has contradicted the Qur’an. So it is said to him, “Allah

Created all of them, but He does not Accept all of them.”


25

The Obligation of Every Accountable Person

Know that uttering the two Testifications of Faith after puberty

once in a lifetime, with the intention of fulfilling the obligation, is

obligatory on every accountable person according to the

Malikiyyah. This is because they do not consider the Tashahhud

obligatory in the prayer; they only consider it to be

recommended. According to the Shafiîyyah and the Hanabilah, it

is obligatory to utter in every prayer for the validity of the prayer.

No Religion is Correct Except Islam

The true religion to Allah is Islam. Allah the Exalted Said8:

ألخرةمنٱمدين اف لني قبلمنه وه وفإلسل ٱومنيبتغغري﴿ ﴾سرينخل ٱ

[which means] “Whoever seeks other than Islam as a religion, it

will not be accepted from him, and he will be among the losers

in the Hereafter.” Also, Allah the Exalted Said9:

ينعندٱإن﴿ ﴾إلسلم ٱللٱلد 8 Sūrat Āl Îmrān, āyah 85.

9 Sūrat Āl Îmrān, āyah 19.


26

[which means] “The (acceptable) religion to Allah is Islam.”

Therefore, all of the Prophets were Muslims. Whoever was a

follower of Musa [Moses] was a “Mosaic Muslim” and whoever

was a follower of Îsa [Jesus] was a “Jesusite Muslim”. It is valid to

say about someone who follows Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص that he is a

“Muhammadan Muslim”. Islam is the Religion that Allah Accepts

for His slaves and Ordered us to follow. Allah is not called a

“Muslim” as mentioned by some ignorant people.

In ancient times, mankind altogether was on one religion, which

was Islam. Associating partners with Allah and blasphemy took

place only after Prophet Idris [Enoch]. Nuh [Noah] was the first

Prophet sent to the blasphemers, calling to the worship of Allah,

the One Who has no partners. Allah warned all of the Messengers

[i.e., so that they would warn their people] after Nuh from

associating partners with Allah. Our Master Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

came with the renewal of the Call to Islam after it was cut off

among the humans on Earth. He was supported with Miracles

that prove his Prophethood. Some people embraced Islam, and

the people of misguidance rejected his Prophethood. Some of

them were pagans, like a faction of Jews who worshiped Ûzayr

(Ezra), adding blasphemy to their blasphemy. Some of the People

of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, believed in him, like

Âbdullah Ibn Salam, the scholar of the Jews in Madinah, and

Ashamah An-Najashi, the king of Ethiopia; he was a Christian.

Then he followed the Messenger in a perfect way and died during


27

the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص. The Messenger

prayed the funeral prayer for the absent on the day he died; Allah

revealed his death to the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص. Then light was seen on his

grave during the nights, and this is evidence that he became a

perfect Muslim who was a Waliyy among the Awliya’ of Allah, may

Allah Accept his deeds.

The Islamic basis which unites all the people of Islam is the

worship of Allah alone.


28

The Judgment of the One who Claims Islam

Verbally but Nullifies Islam in Meaning

There are many factions that have contradicted Islam in meaning,

even if they are attributed to Islam because of their saying the

two Shahadahs, “I testify that no one is God except Allah and I

testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, and their

praying and their fasting, because they have contradicted the two

Testifications of Faith by believing what negates them. They have

surely gone out of Tawhid by worshipping other than Allah, so

they are blasphemers, they are not Muslims; like those who

believe in the godhood of Âliyy Ibn Abi Talib, or Al-Khadir, or Al-

Hakim Bi-Amri-llah, and others. Likewise is anything that has the

judgment of that, whether a saying or doing.

The judgment of the one who rejects the two Testifications of

Faith is that he is definitely charged with blasphemy. His

destination will be Hell. He will be in it forever and ever. The

everlasting torture in the Hereafter will not be cut off from him,

and he will not be the one who gets out of Hell.

Whoever performs the greatest of the rights of Allah by

confirming His Oneness, the Exalted, i.e. leaving out associating

anything with Him, and having faith in His Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص, will

not dwell in Hellfire forever, even if he does enter Hell because of

his sins. His fate in the end, no matter what the situation, is exiting


29

Hell and entering Paradise after receiving the torture that he

deserves, if Allah does not Forgive him. The Messenger of Allah

:said ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

ي ميان نإمة رذن زوهبلوفق لالل إلهلإالقنمنالنارمر[which means] “Whoever says “There is no God except Allah” will

come out Hell as long as he has a particle’s weight of faith in his

heart.” This was narrated by Al-Bukhariyy.

As for the one who adhered to the Tawhid of Allah, the Exalted,

and he refrained from disobeying Allah and fulfilled His Orders, he

will enter Paradise without torture, where the everlasting and

ongoing luxuries are. This is proven by the Qudsiyy hadith

conveyed by Abu Hurayrah in which he said, The Messenger of

Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص Said:

لعبديالصاحلنيم وجل:أعددت عز العنيرأتولقالالل أ ذنسعتولخطرعلىق لببشر

[which means] “Allah the Mighty and Great Said: I have prepared

for my pious slaves what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and

what never occurred to the heart of any human.” Abu Hurayrah


30

continued to say: “Recite, if you want, the Saying of Allah the

Exalted10:

كان وا﴿ فلتعلم نفسماأ خفىل ممنق رةأ عني جزآءب ما ﴾يعمل ون

[which means] “No soul knows what is hidden for them of

pleasurable things as compensation for what they used to do.”

Al-Bukhariyy narrated that in his Sahih.

10

Sūrat as-Sajdah, āyah 17.


31

Clarification of the Divisions of Blasphemy

Know, O my Muslim brother, that there are creeds, doings and

sayings that invalidate the two Testifications of Faith and make

one fall into blasphemy. Blasphemy is of three types: the

blasphemous creed, the blasphemous act and the blasphemous

expression.

This is by the Consensus of the [scholars of the] Four Schools, like

an-Nawawiyy and Ibnu-l-Muqri of the Shafiîyyah, Ibn Âbidin of

the Hanafiyyah, Al-Buhutiyy of the Hanabilah, Shaykh Muhammad

Îllaysh of the Malikiyyah, and others. So whoever wants, let him

go look in the books of the scholars. Similarly, other than the

scholars of the Four Schools among the past mujtahids, like Al-

Awzaîyy, mentioned that. He was a mujtahid; he had a school

that was practiced, after which his followers died out.

The place of the blasphemous creed is the heart. Examples are

denying an Attribute among the Attributes of Allah the Exalted

that are necessary for Him by consensus, such as His Existence, His

Being Powerful, Hearing, and Seeing. [It is also blasphemy to]

believe that He is an illumination or a soul. Shaykh Âbdul-

Ghaniyy an-Nabulusiyy said: “Whoever believes that Allah filled

the Heavens and Earth, or that He is a body sitting above the

Ârsh, then he is a blasphemer even if he claimed that he was a

Muslim.”


32

An example of the blasphemous act is throwing a book of the

Qur’an in the trash. Ibn Âbidin said, “Even if he did not intend to

belittle the Qur’an, because his doing itself is an indication of

belittlement.” [It is also blasphemy to] throw religious papers in

the trash or any paper that has a Name among the Names of Allah

the Exalted, while that person knows that Name is on it.

Furthermore, whoever hangs the signs of blasphemy on himself

without a necessity, if it were with the intention of seeking

blessings, glorification, or out of legitimating it, would be an

apostate.

The blasphemous saying is like insulting Allah, the Exalted—we

seek refuge with Allah from blasphemy—by saying “O daughter of

your Lord,” or “O son of Allah.” Blasphemy will take place in this

case even if the person did not believe that Allah has a daughter

or a son.

If a Muslim calls another Muslim by saying “O blasphemer,”

without any ta’wil11, he blasphemes, because he has named Islam

blasphemy. Whoever says to the Muslim, “O Jew,” or the like, with

the intention that he is not a Muslim, blasphemes, unless he

intended that he resembles the Jews; then he does not

blaspheme.

11

An explanation of the statement that saves him from falling into blasphemy. Such as meaning by the saying “O kafir,” “You act like a blasphemer,” or that this Muslim committed an enormous sin which the speaker thought was blasphemy.


33

If a person said to his wife, “You are more beloved to me than

Allah,” he blasphemes. If he said to her, “I worship you,” while

understanding from that the worship which is specific to Allah the

Exalted, he blasphemes.

If a person said to another, “May Allah be unjust to you as you

have been unjust to me,” he blasphemes, because he attributed

injustice to Allah the Exalted. However, if he understood from the

meaning of “May He be unjust to you,” “May He avenge me,” we

do not charge him with blasphemy, but we forbid him from

[saying] that.

If a person said to another person “Damn your Lord,” he

blasphemes. Likewise blasphemes the one who said to a Muslim,

“Damn your Din.” Some of the scholars said that if he meant by

the word ‘Din’ that person’s own behavior he does not

blaspheme. Some Hanafiyy scholars said that he blasphemes if he

generalizes, that is, if he did not intend that person’s own

behavior, and he did not intend the Religion of Islam.

Likewise blasphemes whoever says, “So-and-so moved my Lord,”

because this has the attribution of movement and place to Allah.

Likewise blasphemes the one who says—and we seek refuge with

Allah—“The likeness of Allah,” he means someone resembles

Allah.

Likewise blasphemes whoever attributes to Allah an organ, like

the saying of some stupid people, “O penis of Allah.” This is an


34

explicit statement of blasphemy, and there is no way to explain it

other than the apparent meaning. Likewise blasphemes the one

who says, “I am the Lord of whoever does such-and-such.”12

Likewise blasphemes the one who says—and we seek refuge with

Allah—“My Lord went crazy,” or the one who says to a

blasphemer, “May Allah honor you,” with the intention that Allah

would give them a high status, because Allah does not give honor

to the blasphemers, as Allah the Exalted Said13:

ٱفإنت ولوافإن﴿ ب لي ﴾فرينلك ٱلل[which means] “If they turn away from that, then Allah does not

Accept the blasphemers.”

Likewise, to say to a blasphemer, “May Allah Forgive you,” if he

intended that Allah would Forgive him while he is on his state of

blasphemy until he dies. Likewise blasphemes whoever says about

the one who died as a blasphemer, “May Allah have Mercy upon

him,” with the intention that Allah would relieve him of his torture

in the grave, not with the intention of Allah lightening his torture

12

This judgment does not pertain to the one who says, “I am the lord of

the land (landlord),” for example. It refers to the one who says, “I am the

lord of carpenters,” for example. This is blasphemy because Allah is their

Lord.

13 Sūrat Āl Îmrān, āyah 32.


35

without him getting complete relief. If he says that with that

intention then it is possible that he does not blaspheme.

Whoever uses the word “create” in reference to the people in a

context in which it means “to bring into existence from non-

existence” blasphemes, like for someone to say, “Create for me

such and such like Allah Created you.”

Whoever insults Âzra’il14, peace be upon him, blasphemes, as

mentioned by Ibn Farhun in the book Tabsirah Al-Hukkam, or

cursing any angel, peace be upon them.

Likewise [blasphemes] whoever says, “I hate Allah.” Whoever says

“Allah does not tolerate so-and-so,” blasphemes, if his

understanding is that Allah is attributed with inability or that Allah

is annoyed by him. However, if he understands from this that

Allah grants that one a low status he does not blaspheme.

Whoever says, “Damn the sky of your Lord,” blasphemes because

he belittled Allah the Exalted by that.

Likewise, whoever calls the religious places of the blasphemers

“Houses of Allah” blasphemes. As for the Saying of Allah the

Exalted15:

14

The Angel of Death 15

Sūrat Al-Hajj, verse 40.


36

ل دمتٱللٱولولدفع ﴿ مع وبيعصو لناسبعضه مببعض ﴾جد تومس وصلو

[which means] “Had it not been for Allah protecting the people

by others, then Sawami^, Biya^, Salawat, and Masjids would

have been demolished,” what is meant by what is in this verse is

the places of the followers of Moses and Jesus when they were

Muslims, because those places are like the masjids of the Nation

of Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص. Each one of those different types was built

for the Oneness of Allah and His glorification, not for worshipping

other than Allah. Allah has named the Aqsa Mosque a masjid, and

it is not among the buildings of Muhammad’s Nation. So let a

person fear Allah and let him beware of naming what was built for

shirk “houses of Allah,” and whoever does not fear Allah says

whatever he wants.

Likewise whoever tells a lie, while knowing that it is a lie, and says,

“Allah is a witness to what I say,” intending, “Allah Knows the

issue as I said,” attributes ignorance to Allah, because Allah Knows

he is a liar.

Likewise it is not permissible to say, “Everyone is on his [own]

religion, Allah empowers him,” with the intention of making

supplication for everyone who is on [his own] religion.

Likewise blasphemes whoever generalizes his speech and says

“The dog is better than the children of Adam,” or the one who


37

says “Arabs are scabies.”16 If he qualifies his speech or the context

of the situation qualifies his talk, such as saying “Today, the Arabs

are corrupt,” then saying “The Arabs are scabies,” in this case he

does not blaspheme.

Whoever calls the Devil, “Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim,”

blasphemes, but not if he merely mentioned the basmalah with

the intention of seeking refuge with Allah from the evil of the

Devil.

There are some poets and writers who write blasphemous words,

like one who wrote, “Allah fled.” This is among the bad manners

towards Allah that drop one into blasphemy. Qadi Îyad [Al-

Malikiyy] said: “There is no difference among the Muslims that the

one who insults Allah is a blasphemer.”

Whoever deems these sayings and expressions good blasphemes,

and how widespread they are in many authored works. The bad

manners that people show towards the Messenger by making fun

of any of his situations, or making fun of any of his deeds, are

blasphemy.

Belittling what has some Qur’an written in it, the Prophets, peace

be upon them, the signs of Islam, or belittling a law revealed by

Allah is definite blasphemy. Likewise, deeming blasphemy good

16

This statement about the Arabs is blasphemy because some of the

Prophets were Arabs. Likewise if someone says “all men are dogs”, he

blasphemes because the Prophets are men.


38

from others is blasphemy because accepting blasphemy is

blasphemy.

The one who conveys another person’s blasphemy does not

blaspheme, if he did that without deeming it good, by saying “so-

and-so said such-and-such.” If someone delays the words “he

said”, to the end of the statement, it is a condition that he had the

intention to say it before he said the statement.

What is Exempted from the Blasphemous

Expressions

The slip of the tongue is exempted from the blasphemous

expressions. That is, to say anything of that type without will;

rather, it ran on one’s tongue and he did not intend to say it at all.

The case of the absence of mind: The lack of a conscious mind

[exempts one from being charged with blasphemy]17.

The case of compulsion: The one who utters blasphemy with his

tongue under the threat of death or the like, while his heart is

tranquil with faith, does not blaspheme. Allah the Exalted Said18:

17

The one who says a blasphemous statement out of anger is not

covered under this rule, thus they are not exempted from the charge of

blasphemy.

18 Sūrat an-Nahl, āyah 106.


39

كفرب﴿ منأ كرهوقلب ه م طمئنبللمنبعدإمي ٱمن نإلمي ٱنهإلا﴾للٱفرصدر اف عليهمغضبمنلك ٱكنمنشرحبول

[which means] “…except for the one who was compelled while

his heart was firm with belief. However, whoever blasphemes in

Allah after belief, and his heart was delighted with blasphemy,

he deserves the Punishment of Allah.”

The case of conveying another’s blasphemy: The one who conveys

the blasphemy of another without accepting it does not

blaspheme. Our reference for excluding the case of conveying

another’s blasphemy is the Saying of Allah the Exalted19:

﴾للٱبن ٱيح ملسٱىر صلنٱتالقوللٱبن ٱيززع لي ه ود ٱوقالت﴿[which means] “The Jews said ‘Ezra is the son of Allah’ and the

Christians said ‘the Masih (Jesus) is the son of Allah’.”

[Also20:]

﴾مغل ولةللٱلي ه ود يد ٱوقالت﴿[which means] “The Jews said ‘Allah is stingy’.”

Furthermore, the citation that protects the narrator from

blasphemy would either be at the beginning of the statement that

19

Sūrat at-Tawbah, āyah 30.

20 Sūrat Al-Mā’idah, āyah 64.


40

he cites or after his mentioning that blasphemous word, while

intending beforehand to say the citation. So if he said, “‘The Masih

(Jesus) is the son of Allah’ is the saying of the Christians,” or, “the

Christians said that,” it is a citation that prevents blasphemy from

the citer.

The case of a person who has a misunderstanding of the Religious

Law while trying to arrive at the truth: The one with a

misunderstanding does not blaspheme unless his

misunderstanding was in reference to the definite matters – in

this he is not excused. Like the misconception of those who said

that the world is beginningless, such as Ibn Taymiyah.

An example of those who do not blaspheme is those who

misconceived and withheld the Zakah during the era of Abu Bakr,

claiming that Zakah was obligatory only during the lifetime of the

Messenger. They said that this is because his supplication for

them due to the paid Zakah would be mercy and tranquility for

them, and that was cut off by his death. The Companions did not

charge them with blasphemy for that because those people

understood from the Saying of Allah the Exalted21:

لمصدقة ت طهر ه موت زكيهمباوصلعليهمإنخ ذمنأمو ﴿ ﴾تكسكنل مصلو

21

Sūrat at-Tawbah, āyah 103.


41

[which means] “Take a charity from their money that purifies

them, and make supplication for them; surely your supplication

is a mercy for them.” The meaning of this verse [according to

their understanding] is “O Muhammad, take their Zakah from

them so that when they pay it, it would be mercy for them.” Then

they said that his supplication would not happen after his death,

so it is not obligatory on them to pay it because he died and he

was the one ordered to take it from them. They did not

understand that the ruling was general during his life and after his

death.

The only reason Abu Bakr fought them like he fought the

apostates who followed Musaylimah Al-Kadhdhab in his claim of

prophethood was because he was unable to take the Zakah from

them except by fighting them. They were a mobilized force, so he

was forced to fight them.

Likewise those who interpreted the Saying of Allah the Exalted22:

﴾ف هلأن ت ممنت ه ون﴿[which means] “Are you going to stop?!” to be giving a choice

rather than as a prohibition of drinking wine, so they drank it.

Ûmar [Ibnu-l-Khattab] did not judge them as blasphemers, rather

he said, “Whip them eighty times each, and if they return [to

22

Sūrat Al-Mā’idah, āyah 91.


42

deeming] it [lawful] then execute them.” This is narrated by Ibn

Abi Shaybah.

They only charged with blasphemy those who apostatized from

Islam by believing in Musaylimah Al-Kadhdhab, the one who

claimed prophethood. So fighting those who misinterpreted and

withheld the Zakah in this way was for taking the obligatory right

on their money. This case is like fighting the rebels; they are not

fought for blasphemy, rather they are fought to bring them back

to the obedience of the Caliph. This is like those whom our master

Âliyy fought in the three conflicts: the conflict of Al-Jamal, the

conflict of Siffin with Muâwiyah, and the conflict of An-

Nahrawan with the Khawarij, although among the Khawarij there

is a group that are actually blasphemers, and they have their own

judgment.

Hafidh Abu Zurâh Al-Îraqiyy said in his book, An-Nukat:

Our Shaykh Al-Bulqiniyy said, [that] it is necessary to say

‘without an acceptable excuse (that saves them from

blasphemy)’ in order to exclude the rebels and the

Khawarij who legitimized the People of Justice’s blood and

money, while believing in the prohibition of their own

blood being lawful for the People of Justice, as well as

those who denied the obligation of the Zakah on them

after the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص are excused. This is


43

the judgment because the Companions (may Allah Accept

their deeds) did not charge them with blasphemy.

This is a reference from the documents of the School concerning

the case of misinterpreting the text.

Among the documents of the School about the case of

misunderstanding the religious text and the case of citing another

person’s blasphemy is the saying of Shamsu-d-Din Ar-Ramliyy in

his explanation of Minhaj at-Talibin, in the beginning of the Book

of Apostasy, in his explanation of the saying of an-Nawawiyy:

“Apostasy is cutting off Islam with an intention or saying of

blasphemy,” “So there is no affect from the slip of the tongue,

compulsion, misunderstanding, and citing another person’s

blasphemy.”

And the saying of the commentator, that is, the author of the

Commentary of the Explanation [of Minhaj at-Talibin], Nuru-d-Din

Âliyy Ash-Shabramallisiyy (1087 A.H.), concerning Ar-Ramliyy’s

statement, “and misunderstanding”: “That is, not absolutely, as is

clear from what will be presented about the likes the blasphemy

of those who say that the world is eternal, despite that it is based

on deduction and inference.”

The other commentator on the explanation of Ar-Ramliyy, Ahmad

Ibn Âbdir-Razzaq who is famous as “Al-Maghribiyy Ar-Rashidiyy”

(1096 A.H.): “When he said, ‘misunderstanding’, that is in

reference to what does not have definitive evidence [against his


44

misunderstanding], as proven by the blasphemy of the likes of

those who say ‘the world is eternal,’ even though it was by

inference.”

From here, it is known that not every person who has a

misunderstanding is saved from blasphemy by his

misunderstanding. So let the student of knowledge always

remember the aforementioned saying of Ar-Rashidiyy when he

said, “in reference to what does not have definitive evidence.”

This means one should always recall this statement in his heart,

because it is important. Misunderstanding in the face of definitive

evidence does not prevent the charge of blasphemy against the

one who misunderstood.

What we said about the Khawarij, excluding some of them from

being among those who were charged with blasphemy, is because

of the confirmation of what dictates charging some of them with

blasphemy, as supported by the saying of some Companions who

narrated the hadiths about the Khawarij.

As for what was narrated from our master Âliyy, that he said,

“Our brothers have rebelled against us,” there is no evidence in it

to judge all of them with Islam because its chain of narration was

not confirmed from Âliyy, and the Hafidh and Mujtahid Ibn Jarir

at-Tabariyy and others were certain about the blasphemy of all of

them. This should be taken to be in reference to the different


45

cases of the Khawarij; that some of them reached the level of

blasphemy and others did not.

This case has been expressed by some as “ijtihad” and some have

expressed it as “ta’wil”. Among those who used the term “ta’wil”

is the Hafidh, Faqih, and Shafiîyy, Siraju-d-Din Al-Bulqiniyy, the

one the author of Al-Qamus referred to as “The Savant of the

World”. Some of the explainers of Minhaj at-Talibin have

expressed it as “ijtihad,” and both expressions must be properly

restricted.

From here it is known that not everyone who misunderstands is

protected from blasphemy by his misunderstanding. So let no one

think that is absolute, because generalizing in that is a disbanding

of and exiting from the Religion.

Do not you see that many of those who are attributed to Islam

who busied themselves with philosophy went out of the Religion

for their belief that the world is eternal, out of their “ijtihad”?

Despite that, the Muslims have agreed on their blasphemy, as

mentioned by the Muhaddith and Faqih Badru-d-Din Az-

Zarkashiyy in the explanation of Jamû-l-Jawami^. He said after

mentioning the two groups [of the philosophers]; those who

claimed that the world in its entirety is eternal, and those who

claimed that the world is eternal by its kind only and not its

elements, “The Muslims have agreed on their misguidance and

their blasphemy.”


46

Likewise the Murji’ah, those who said sins are not harmful while

having belief, just like good deeds are not beneficial while having

blasphemy; they only said that out of “ijtihad” and “ta’wil” of

some texts outside of their contexts, and they were not excused.

Moreover, groups other than them became misguided and they

are attributed to Islam; their deviance was through “ijtihad” and

“ta’wil”.

Rule: The expression that has two meanings, one of which is a

type of blasphemy and the other is not blasphemy, and the

meaning that was blasphemy was the apparent meaning,

however, it was not explicit, the one who said it is not charged

with blasphemy until it is known which of the two meanings he

intended. So if he said, “I intended the blasphemous meaning,” he

is judged with blasphemy, and the rules of apostasy are applied to

him, or else he is not charged with blasphemy. Likewise, if the

expression has many meanings, and all of its meanings were

blasphemy except one, he is not charged with blasphemy until the

intent of the blasphemous meaning is known from him. This is

what was mentioned by some Hanafiyy scholars in their books.

As for what some people say, that if the statement has ninety-nine

opinions confirming a charge of blasphemy and one opinion not

confirming a charge of blasphemy, then we take by leaving out the

charge of blasphemy, it is meaningless. It is not valid to attribute

that to Malik or to Abu Hanifah as Sayyid Sabiq attributed the likes


47

of to Imam Malik. This is widespread on the tongues of some

contemporaries, so let them fear Allah.

The scholars said that the explicit blasphemy is that statement

which only has one meaning; it necessitates the charge of

blasphemy. Therefore, the one who says it is charged with

blasphemy, like to say, “I am Allah.” Even if this [type of]

expression came from a Waliyy while his mind was absent, he will

be punished, despite that he was not accountable at that time;

that was said by Îzzud-Din Ibn Âbdis-Salam. This is because

punishment affects the one whose mind is absent, just like it

affects the one with a clear mind and just like it affects the

animals. For surely had the beast been defiant and then was hit, it

stops its defiance even though it does not have a mind. Likewise

the Waliyy; if he utters blasphemy while his mind is absent, then

was hit or shouted at, he would refrain because of the natural

affect of being reprimanded.

Keep in mind that blasphemy does not come from a Waliyy while

his mind is present. It would only occur if his tongue slips or he

loses his mind, because the Waliyy is protected from blasphemy.

This is different from the major or minor sin, because it is possible

for a Waliyy to commit it. However, he will not insist on that sin,

rather, he would repent immediately. It could be that a Waliyy

commits a major sin shortly before his death; however, he will not

die unless he repents, like Talhah Ibn Ûbaydillah and Az-Zubayr

Ibn Âwwam, may Allah accept their deeds. Both of them went


48

against the Prince of the Believers, Âliyy, may Allah Accept his

deeds, by standing with those who fought against him in Basrah.

So Âliyy reminded both of them about a hadith. As for Az-Zubayr,

he said to him, “Did the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص not say to you:

إنكلتقاتلنعلياوأنتظاملله[which means] ‘Surely you will certainly fight Âliyy while you

are unjust to him’?” So he said, “I forgot.” Then he left the

battlefield without fighting, and a man from the army of Âliyy

followed him and killed him. So he repented by Âliyy’s reminder

and he did not die without repentance.

As for Talhah, he said to him, “Did the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

not say:

موله فعلي موله منكنت [which means] ‘Whomever I was his supporter, then Âliyy is his

supporter’?” So he left, abandoning the battle, then Marwan

Ibnu-l-Hakam hit him and killed him. He also repented and

regretted upon Âliyy mentioning this hadith to him. Each one of

them did not die without repentance. Both of these hadiths are

authentic; in fact, the second is mutawatir.

Imam Abul-Hasan Al-Ashâriyy mentioned that Talhah and Az-

Zubayr are forgiven by virtue of the good news that was given to


49

them by the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص with eight others in one

session. This is a confirmation from Imam Abul-Hasan Al-

Ashâriyy that they commited a sin. He said the same about

Â’ishah because she also received the good news of going to

Paradise. She regretted severely that she stood with those who

fought Âliyy, to the extent that whenever she would remember

her travel to Basrah and her standing with those who fought

Âliyy she would cry strongly; her scarf would become wet from

her tears. This is also mutawatir. And he said about other than

those two [Talhah and Az-Zubayr] among the people of the

incident of Al-Jamal and the people of Siffin—those who fought

Âliyy with Muâwiyah—“Their forgiveness and pardon is

possible,” as conveyed by Imam Abu Bakr Ibn Furak from Abul-

Hasan Al-Ashâriyy in his book Mujarrad Maqalat Al-Ashâriyy.

Ibn Furak is the student of the student of Abul-Hasan Al-

Ashâriyy, and that student is Abul-Hasan Al-Bahiliyy, may Allah

accept their deeds.

What some ignorant people believe, that a Waliyy does not fall

into a sin, is abominable ignorance. For those three, Talhah, Az-

Zubayr and Â’ishah are among the greatest Awliya’.

Imam Al-Haramayn Al-Juwayniyy said, “The scholars of the

Fundamentals of the Religion agreed that whoever says a word of

apostasy (i.e., blasphemy) and claims that he intended some far-

fetched meaning is charged as a blasphemer inwardly and


50

outwardly,” and he agreed with them. This means that the far-

fetched explanation does not benefit him, like the one who says,

“Damn the Messenger of Allah,” then he says, “What I meant by

the Messenger of Allah is the lightning.”

Numerous scholars, like the Hanafiyy faqih, Badru-r-Rashid, and

he was close to the eighth Hijriyy century, listed many

[blasphemous] things. So it is a must that one would be aware of

that, for surely the one who does not know evil will fall in to it, so

let him beware. It is confirmed from one of the Companions that

he took hold of his tongue and addressed it by saying, “O tongue,

say good and reap the goodness. Be silent from evil and be safe

before you regret. Surely I heard the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

saying23:

خطاياابنءادممنلسانه أكثر [which means] ‘Most of the sins of the son of Adam are from his

tongue.’” Among those sins are blasphemy and major sins.

In another hadith of the Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص:

يبافالنارأب عدماوهاي يهي تبني فالمةمالكم بلكتيدلبالعإنغربواملاملشر نيب

23

Narrated by Abul-Qāsim Sulaymān Ibn Aĥmad at-Tabarāniyy with a

authentic chain from the route of Âbdullāh Ibn Mas^ūd.


51

[which means] “Surely the slave would certainly speak with the

word. He does not distinguish it [i.e., he does not contemplate on

its meaning], and because of it he would fall into Hell a distance

greater than what is between the east and the west.” That is

narrated by Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim from the route of Abu

Hurayrah.


52

Important Benefit

The judgment of the one who commits any one of these types of

blasphemy is that he loses his good deeds entirely, so not one

particle of good deeds that he did previously will be counted for

him, whether charity, Hajj, fasting, praying, etc. The only good

deeds that will be counted for him are the new good deeds that

he did after renewing his belief. The Exalted Said24:

﴾نف قدحبطعمل ه إلمي ٱومنيكف رب﴿[which means] “Whoever blasphemes after belief has lost his

deeds.”

If one says, “I seek the forgiveness of Allah,” before renewing his

belief by saying, “I testify that no one is God except Allah and I

testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” while he is on

this state [of blasphemy], for him to say “I seek the forgiveness of

Allah” will not increase him in anything but sin and blasphemy.

This is because he is contradicting the Saying of Allah the

Exalted25:

24

Sūrat Al-Mā’idah, āyah 5.

25 Sūrat Muĥammad, āyah 34.


53

كفر واوصدواعنسبيلٱإن﴿ مات واوه مك فارف لٱلذين نللث ل مٱي غفر ﴾لل

[which means] “Surely those who blaspheme and those who

blocked others from embracing Islam, then they died while they

are blasphemers, Allah will not Forgive them.” And this is also

because of the Saying of Allah the Exalted26:

هدي ه مي للموه لرفغي للل ٱنك وامليم لظواور فكينذلٱنإ﴿طريقجهنمخ طريق ا اإل ﴾لدينفيهآأبد

[which means] “Surely, those who blasphemed and did injustice,

Allah will not Forgive them nor guide them to a path except the

path of Hell, to dwell in it forever.”

Ibn Hibban narrated from Îmran Ibn Husayn that a man came to

the Messenger of Allah and said, “O Muhammad, Âbdul-Muttalib

is better to his people than you. He used to feed them liver and

camel hump, and you kill them.” So the Messenger of Allah said

whatever Allah Willed.27 Then when the man wanted to leave he

said, “What should I say?” The Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said:

ن فسيواعزملعلىأرشدأمري قلاللهمقنشر

26

Sūrat an-Nisā’, āyah 168-169.

27 Meaning he responded to him.


54

[which means] “Say, ‘O Allah, save me from the evil of myself

and make me firm on that which is the best guidance for me.’”

Then the man left and he did not embrace Islam. Then he said to

the Messenger of Allah [at a later date], “I came to you and said to

you ‘Teach me.’ So you said, ‘Say, “O Allah, save me from the evil

of myself and make me firm on that which is the best guidance

for me”.’ So what should I say now that I have embraced Islam?”

The Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said:

نفسيواعزملعلىأرشدأمري اللهمااغفرلقلاللهمقنشروماجهلت وماأخطأت وماعمدت وماأعلنت ماأسررت

[which means] “Say, ‘O Allah, save me from the evil of myself

and keep me firm on that which is the best guidance for me. O

Allah, Forgive me for what I have done secretly and what I have

done openly, what I have done purposely and what I have done

mistakenly, and what I have done ignorantly.’”

Among the judgments of apostasy is that the apostate corrupts his

fasting, his tayammum, and his marriage before consummation.

He likewise corrupts it after consummation if he does not return

to Islam within the îddah. His marriage contract would not be

valid with a Muslim or a blasphemer, even if she were an apostate

like him.28

28

The judgments related to the validity of the marriage contract are the same whether the man or the woman apostatizes.


55

A Return to the Classification of Blasphemy

for the Additional Benefit

Know that blasphemy is of three categories. It will be either

likening, contradicting, or denying.

The first of them is likening Allah to the creation. [Examples are]

for one to attribute to Allah a beginning for His Existence or going

out of existence, or a body, color, shape, or quantity [i.e., a size or

a volume].

As for what came in the hadith:

يل ج إنالل[which translates literally as] “Surely Allah is Beautiful,” it does not

mean a beautiful appearance, rather it means that He has the

Attributes of Perfection, or it means He is Generous.

The second of those is contradicting the Religious Law. That is

contradicting what came in the Honorable Qur’an or what the

Messenger came with, i.e., what was confirmed from the

Messenger, while what was contradicted was commonly known

and immediately recognized by the Muslims to be of the Religion.

For example, for someone to believe that Paradise or Hell will end,

or to believe that Paradise’s pleasure is not physical, or that the

torture of Hell is allegorical, or to deny the Resurrection of the

bodies and souls together, or denying the obligation of prayer,


56

fasting, or Zakah, believing that divorce is [absolutely] haram,

believing that wine is lawful, and other matters which have been

confirmed by definite religious evidence and are spread among

the Muslims and became famous.

This is different, for example, from the one who believes the

prayer is obligatory upon him, however, he does not pray. He

would be a sinner, not a blasphemer like the one who believes the

prayer is not obligatory upon him.

The third type is denial, meaning negating the Existence of Allah,

and that is the worst of blasphemy29.

The judgment of the one who likens Allah to His creation is

definite blasphemy. The way to avoid likening Allah to the

creation is following this decisive rule: “Whatever you imagine in

your mind, Allah is different from that.” This rule is agreed upon

among the People of Truth and it is taken from the Saying of Allah:

كمثلهشىء﴿ ﴾ليس[which means] “Nothing resembles Him in any way whatsoever.”

Also, it is by observing what was narrated from [Abu Bakr] As-

Siddiq, and that is a line of poetry in a meter called Al-Basit:

29

Also in this category is the belief of hulul (believing that Allah dwells in

creations) and ittihad (believing that Allah and the world are united as

one). All of these are considered the worst type of blasphemy.


57

عندركاإلدراكإدراك ك فروإشراك العجز عنذاته والبحث [which means] “The inability of realizing His Reality is in itself a

correct realization, and searching for the Reality of His Self is

blasphemy and shirk.” It is also by the saying of some: “No one

knows the Reality of Allah except Allah the Exalted.”

Our knowledge about Allah is not an encompassing knowledge;

rather, it is knowing what is necessary to ascribe to Allah, such as

the necessity of His Existence with no beginning, and clearing Him

from what is impossible to ascribe to Him, such as the

impossibility of a partner for Him, and [knowing] what is

permissible to say about Him, such as the Creating of something

or not Creating it.

Imam Ar-Rifaîyy30 said: “The extent that one can know about

Allah is the certitude in His Existence, the Exalted, without a how

and without a place”.

30

AHmad ibn Abil-Hasan 3aliyy Ar-Rifaa3iyy.


58

Benefit

Al-Ghazaliyy31 said in Ihya’ Ûlumi-d-Din:

Surely He (Allah) is Eternal, His Existence does not have a

beginning and His Existence does not have an end, and

surely He is not an entity that is contained. Rather, He is

Exalted and Glorified from whatever is the attribute of the

occurrences. Surely He is not a body that is composed of

particles, and had it been valid to believe that the Maker

of the world is a body, it would have been valid to believe

in the godhood of the sun and the moon or any other

thing among the different types of bodies. So He does not

resemble anything, and nothing resembles Him, rather He

is the Living, the Qayyum32 who does not resemble

anything. How would the creation resemble its Creator,

and the limited thing resemble the One who Limited it,

and the image resemble the One who Gave it the image?

This Kalam is not the Kalam that the scholars dispraised. The

Salaf have only dispraised the Kalam of the innovators in the

creed, like those who liken Allah to the creation, the Mu^tazilah,

the Khawarij, and the other deviant factions, those factions that

31

Abū Ĥāmid Muĥammad Ibn Muĥammad Ibn Muĥammad Ibn Aĥmad

ať-Ťūsiyy Ash-Shāfiîyy Al-Ghazāliyy (450 – 505 AH).

32 The One who does not need anything, or the One Whose Existence

does not end, or the One with confirmed Existence.


59

have deviated from what the Messenger and his Companions

were upon, those who have divided into 72 factions, just as the

Messenger informed about in the authentic, confirmed hadith. Ibn

Hibban narrated with his chain of narration back to Abu Hurayrah

that he said that the Messenger of Allah said:

وافرتقت اليهود افرتقت فرقة وسبعني إحدى على النصارى علىكلهمفىلثلثوسبعنيفرقةإتفرت أميتسثنتنيوسبعنيفرقةا

الماعةهيواحدةوالنارإل[which means] “The Jews have divided into 71 factions, the

Christians have divided into 72 factions, and my Nation will

divide into 73 factions. All of them will be in Hell except one, and

that is the Jamaâh,” i.e., the vast majority.

As for the knowledge of Kalam that Ahlus-Sunnah busied

themselves with, it was practiced before Al-Ashâriyy and Al-

Maturidiyy by the likes of Abu Hanifah, for he has five treatises on

the subject, and Imam Ash-Shafiîyy mastered it to the extent that

he said, “We mastered that before this,” i.e., we mastered the

science of Kalam before Fiqh.


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Protection from Hell

Allah the Exalted said:

ياأي هاالذينآمن واق واأنف سك موأهليك منار اوق ود هاالناس ﴿ها ي عص وناللهماأمره مواحلجارة علي ملئكةغلظشدادل

﴾وي فعل ونماي ؤمر ون[which means] “O you who believed, protect yourselves and your

families from a fire; its fuel is people and stones. In it are Angels

who are merciless and powerful, they do not disobey Allah in

what He Ordered them, and they do what they are ordered to

do.”

It came in the interpretation of this verse that Allah Orders the

believers to protect themselves and their families from Hell,

whose fuel is people and stones, by learning the religious matters

and teaching their families that, meaning knowing what Allah

Made obligatory to do and to avoid (i.e., the obligations and the

prohibitions). This is so that one would not fall into likening Allah

to the creation, blasphemy and misguidance; for the worship of

the one who likens Allah to anything would not be valid, because

he worshipped something he imagined in his imagination, and by

his delusion he was deluded. Abu Hamid Al-Ghazaliyy said, “The

worship is not valid except after knowing the Worshipped.”

The First Creation


61

The Messenger of Allah said, upon being asked about the

beginning of creation:

ومليك نشىءغري ه وكانعرش ه علىاملاء،وكتبف كانالل ك ل خلقالسماواتواألرضالذكر شىء ،ث

[which means] “Allah Existed and nothing else existed. His Ârsh

was over the water, He ordered for everything to be written in

the Guarded Tablet, then He created the Heavens and the

Earth.” This is narrated by Al-Bukhariyy. The Messenger

responded to this question by saying that Allah has no beginning

for His Existence, meaning He is Eternal and there is no eternal

one other than Him. In other words, in Eternity, nothing existed

except Allah, and Allah Created everything, meaning He is the One

who Brought it from non-existence to existence. The meaning of

“He Created everything” is that He Brought all existing things from

non-existence into existence. Allah the Exalted is Alive and does

not die, because He has no end for His Existence, meaning He is

Everlasting. Therefore, non-existence does not occur to Him,

because had He existed after non-existence, Eternity would be

impossible for Him.

The judgment of the one who says, “Allah created the creation,

but who created Allah?” is a definite charge of blasphemy,

because he has attributed to Allah non-existence before

existence, and this is not said except about events, meaning the


62

creations. Hence Allah the Exalted has the Necessary Existence,

i.e., His non-existence is inconceivable to the mind; His Existence

is not like our eventual existence, because our existence is by His

Creating, and everything other than Allah has a possible existence.

This means that it is mentally possible that it could exist after non-

existence, and that it could go out of existence after existence.

This is the judgment of the mind [regarding the possible matter] in

and of itself.

Know that there are three categories of existence. The first is

Eternal and Everlasting, and that pertains to Allah only, meaning

there is no beginning and no end for His Existence. The judgment

of the one who says that there is something eternal other than

Allah is definitely a charge of blasphemy. For this reason the

philosophers blasphemed by their foolish creed that the world is

eternal and beginningless, because Eternity is only valid for Allah

the Exalted.

The second is everlasting and not eternal, that is, it has a

beginning and it has no end. This is in reference to Paradise and

Hell; both of them are created, meaning they both have a

beginning, however, they have no end, meaning they are

everlasting. So destruction does not happen to them, nor non-

existence, because Allah Willed for their everlastingness. In and of

themselves, it is mentally possible that they would go out of

existence.


63

The third is neither eternal nor everlasting, meaning it has a

beginning and it has an end, and that is everything in this present

life from the seven Skies to the Earth. Therefore, there is no

escape from their ceasing to exist, their annihilation, and the

annihilation of what is in them, whether humans, jinn or angels.

Know that it is the habit of the scholars to mention that the

mental judgment is divided into three categories: the necessary,

the possible and the impossible. The necessary is what is not

conceived to be nonexistent, and that is in reference to Allah and

His Attributes. The impossible is that which its existence is not

conceived by the mind, and they sometimes express it as the

prevented existence. The possible is that which its existence and

nonexistence are conceived by the mind, and this why they

ascribe to Allah the Necessary Existence.

The Eternality of Allah is not Related to Time

Allah the Exalted Existed Eternally without time or place and

before darkness and light. Thus He is not of the tangible type

within the world such as earth, stone, the stars, plants, and the

human. Furthermore, He is not of the intangible type within the

world, such as light, souls, air, jinn, and angels, because of His

dissimilarity to the events, i.e., His Difference from all the

creation.


64

If it were said, “Isn’t one of His Names Al-Latif?” The answer is

that the meaning of Al-Latif, which is a Name of Allah, is the One

Who is Merciful to His slaves, or the One Who is not reached by

delusions, so they do not realize Him. Therefore, there is no

resemblance for Him, the Exalted; there is no likeness for Him;

and there is none similar to Him in His Self, or in His Attributes, or

in His Doing. Had He been similar to the creation in one way or the

other, such as by size, motion, stillness, and the like, then He

would not have been the Creator of those things. Therefore, Allah

the Exalted is Glorified from the attributes of the events, and

likewise the Attributes of Allah are Eternal; that is, they are

without beginning. Because of the importance of this subject,

Imam Abu Hanifah said, “Whoever said that the Attributes of

Allah are events, or he doubts, or he is neutral about that, then he

is a blasphemer.” He mentioned that in the book Al-Wasiyyah.

Additionally, At-Tahawiyy said, “And whoever attributes to Allah

attributes of the human has blasphemed.”


65

Clearing Allah of a Place, and the Mental

Validity of His Existence Without a Place

Allah the Exalted is Free of needing the creation, meaning

Eternally and Everlastingly He does not need anything other than

Him. He does not need a place in which He would be contained, or

something in which He would dwell, or a direction, because He is

not like any of the different types of things. He is not a tangible

body or an intangible body. The tangible body and intangible body

are contained in direction and place.

Allah the Exalted Said:

وه والذيخلقالليلوالن هاروالشمسوالقمر﴿يسبح ون ﴾ك ل فف لك

[which means] “He is the One who created the night, the day, the

sun, and the moon; and each of them is in an orbit, moving.”

Allah has Confirmed for each one of those four containment in its

space, which is its pathway.

The Saying of Allah,

كمثلهشىء﴿ ﴾ليس[which means] “Nothing is like Him in any way,” is enough to

clear Allah from place, containment, and direction, because had


66

He had a place then He would have similarities and dimensions;

length, width, and depth, and whoever is like that is an event in

need of the one who specified Him with this length, width, and

depth. This is the evidence from the Qur’an.

As for the evidence from the hadith, it is what was narrated with

an authentic chain of narration by Al-Bukhariyy, Ibnul-Jarud, and

Al-Bayhaqiyy that the Messenger of Allah said,

كاناللومليكنشىءغريه[which means] “Allah Existed and nothing else existed.” Its

meaning is that Allah never ceased to Exist Eternally. There was

none other than Him with Him; no water, air, Earth, Sky, Kursiyy,

Ârsh, human, jinn, angel, time, place, or direction. So He, the

Exalted, Existed before the place without a place, and He is the

One who Created the place, so He is not in need of it. This is

among what is derived from this aforementioned hadith.

Al-Bayhaqiyy said in his book Al-Asma’ was-Sifat: “Some among

our colleagues have used as evidence for negating a place for Him

the saying of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص,

[which means] ‘O Allah, You are Adh-Dhahir and there is nothing

above You, and You are Al-Batin and there is nothing below

You.’ If there is nothing above Him and nothing below Him He is

not in a place.” This hadith also has the refutation for those who

ascribe a direction to Allah. Âliyy said: “Allah Existed and there


67

was no place, and He Is now as He Existed.” This was narrated by

Abu Mansur Al-Baghdadiyy.

The foundation of the Creed is not based on delusion; rather, it is

based on what is dictated by the sound mind, which is a witness

for [the validity of the truthfulness of] the Religious Law. The

sound mind judges that what is limited is in need of whoever

limited it with that limit, so it would not be God.

Just as Allah’s Existence without a place is valid before He Created

places and directions, His Existence after Creating the places is

valid without a place or a direction. This would not be a negation

of Allah’s Existence, as claimed by the Likeners and the

Wahhabiyys, the callers to ascribing a body to Allah in this time.

The judgment of whoever says that Allah the Exalted is

everywhere, or in all places, is a charge of blasphemy if one

understands from this expression that Allah by His Self is spread

or dwelling in all places. However, if one understood from this

expression that Allah has control over everything and that He is

knowledgeable about everything, then he does not blaspheme;

this is the intent of many who are fond of these two expressions.

In any case, it is obligatory to forbid them from saying it, because

these statements are not originally from the Salaf; rather, they

originally came from the Mu^tazilah, then the ignorant lay people

started to use them.


68

We raise our hands in duâ’ to the sky because it is the place from

which the mercy and blessings descend; it is not because the Self

of Allah exists in the sky. Similarly, we direct ourselves to the

honorable Ka^bah in the prayer because Allah Ordered us with

that; it is not because the Ka^bah has some merit or specification

of Allah living in it. The one who believes that Allah is contained

blasphemes, or if he believes that Allah is something like the air or

the light that fills a place, room or masjid.

Those who believe that Allah is contained in the direction of

above say that we raise our hands to the sky while making duâ’

because He is in the direction of above. They are refuted by what

is confirmed from the Messenger of Allah, that he sought rain and

he put his palms toward the ground and the back of his hands up

to the sky [when he made duâ’], and that the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

forbade the one who is praying from lifting his head to the sky.

Had Allah been contained in the direction of above as the Likeners

think, then he would not have prohibited us from lifting our vision

up to the sky while praying. Further proof is that the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

used to lift his pointer finger while praying when he said “illallah”

in the Tashahhud, and he would bend it slightly. Had the issue

been as the Likeners said, he would not have bent his finger;

rather, he would have lifted it to the sky. All of this is confirmed in

authentic hadiths according to the scholars of hadith; what then

would the Likeners and the Wahhabiyys do?


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We call the masjids, “the Houses of Allah,” not because Allah lives

there, rather because they are places that are prepared and

dedicated for the remembrance of Allah and His worship.

It is said about the Ârsh that it is an entity that Allah has

prepared for the Angels, around which they make tawaf just as

the believers on Earth make tawaf around the Ka^bah.

Likewise blasphemes whoever said Allah lives or resides in the

hearts of His Awliya’, if he understands from it the belief of those

who believe that Allah dwells in His slaves.

It is not intended by the Ascension [Mi^raj] up to the skies that

the Messenger would reach a place in which Allah exists, and

whoever believes that blasphemes. The only intent of the

Ascension is to honor the Messenger by making him aware of the

amazing upper world, glorifying his status, and letting him see the

Holy Self of Allah with his heart, not his eyes, without the Self of

Allah being in a place. Rather, the place is for the Messenger.

What is meant by the Saying of Allah:

أوأدن﴿﴾دناف تدىلث﴿ ﴾فكانقابق وسني[which means] “Then he drew close and dangled, and he was as

close as two cubits or closer,” is Jibril when the Messenger saw

him in Makkah in a place that is called Ajyad. He has six hundred

wings, and his enormous size filled the horizon. This is just as the


70

Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص saw him a second time by Sidratul-Muntaha33, as

Allah said in the Qur’an:

﴾عندسدرةاملنت هى﴿﴾ولقدرءاه ن زلة أ خرى﴿[which means] “He saw him a second time at Sidratul-Muntaha.”

There are two reasons why what is in Sahih Muslim is not

authentic, which is that a man came to the Messenger of Allah

and asked him about a slave woman of his; the man said, “I said,

‘O Messenger of Allah, should I free her?’ He said ‘Bring her to

me’, so he brought her to him. Then he said to her, ‘Aynallah?’

She said, ‘Fis-sama’.’ He said, ‘Who am I?’ She said, ‘You are the

Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Free her, for she is a believer.’”

[The first is] because of inconsistency [idtirab], since it was

narrated with this expression and also with the expression: “‘Who

is your Lord?’ She said, ‘Allah,’” and with the expression

“‘Aynallah’, and she pointed to the sky,’” and with the expression,

“‘Do you testify that no one is God except Allah?’ she said ‘Yes,’ he

said, ‘Do you testify that I am the Messenger of Allah?’ She said,

‘Yes’.

The second issue is that the narration of “Aynallah” is against the

known Rules of the Religion, because among the basic Rules of the

Religion is that a person is not judged with Islam because he said,

“Allah is in the sky,” for this saying is shared by Jews, Christians

33

A huge tree rooted in the sixth Heaven that grows to the seventh.


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and others. Rather, the known rule in the Religion of Allah is what

came in the mutawatir hadith:

أنأ قاتل أ مرت رس ول وأنا الل الناسحىتيشهد واأنلإلهإلاالل

[which means] “I was ordered to fight the people until they

testified that no one is God except Allah, and that I am the

Messenger of Allah,” and the expression of Imam Malik in which

he asked the girl, “Do you testify that no one is God but Allah?” is

in compliance with the known Rules of the Religion.

If it were said, “How would the narration of Muslim, ‘“Aynallah?”

She said, “Fis-sama’,”’ until the end of the hadith, be rejected,

despite that Muslim narrated this hadith in his book, and

everything that is narrated by Muslim is described with

authenticity?”, the answer is that there is a number of hadith in

Muslim that have been rejected by the scholars of hadith, and

they mention them in their books. An example is the hadith that

the Messenger said to a man, “My father and your father are in

hell.”34 Also rejected is the hadith that every Muslim on Judgment

Day will be given a sacrifice among the Jews and the Christians.

Likewise is the hadith of Anas, “I prayed behind the Messenger of

34

As-Siyutiyy rejected this hadith, because either the Prophet’s ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

parents were believers or they were not accountable. This hadith is

against the known rules; that the ones who died before the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

received the Message are not accountable.


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Allah, and Abu Bakr and Ûmar, and they used to not mention

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.” The first hadith was weakened by

Hafidh As-Siyutiyy, the second hadith was rejected by Al-

Bukhariyy, and the third hadith was weakened by Ash-Shafiîyy

and a number of Hafidhs.

The apparent meaning of this [narration of the] hadith [of the

slave girl] is invalid because it is in conflict with the

aforementioned mutawatir hadith, and anything that opposes

what is narrated by tawatur is invalid if it does not accept a

ta’wil35. The scholars of hadith and Usul have agreed upon that.

However, some scholars have made a ta’wil for the hadith of the

slave girl, which is that they said the meaning of “aynallah” is a

question about her glorification of Allah, and when she said “fis-

sama’,” she meant “He has a very high status.” As for taking it by

its literal meaning, to say that Allah lives in the sky, this is invalid

and rejected. It is confirmed in the knowledge of hadith

terminology that whatever goes against what is narrated by

tawatur is invalid if it does not accept a ta’wil, and certainly the

apparent meaning of [this narration of the] hadith of the slave girl

is corrupt because the apparent meaning of this hadith is if the

blasphemer says Allah is in the sky, he is judged with belief.

The Likeners have taken the narration of Muslim by its apparent

meaning and were then misguided, and what they say does not

35

In this context, explaining a text by other than its apparent meaning.


73

save them from misguidance. They say, “We interpret the

statement, ‘fis-sama’,’ in the hadith as ‘fawqal-Ârsh,’ [above the

Ârsh].” [This does not protect them from misguidance] because

by that they have confirmed a similar for Allah, which is the book

in which Allah Ordered to be written:

إنارمحيتسب قتغضيب[which means] “Certainly My Mercy overcomes My Punishment.”

That book is above the Ârsh, so they would be confirming

similarity between Allah and that book, because they confirm

both Allah and that book dwelling above the Ârsh. By that, they

would have contradicted the Saying of Allah:

كمثلهشىء﴿ ﴾ليس[which means] “Nothing is like Him in any way.”

This hadith about the book is narrated by Ibn Hibban according to

the expression:

فو العرشمرفوع [which means] “Raised above the Ârsh.” As for the narration of

Al-Bukhariyy, the expression is:

موضوعفو العرش[which means] “Put above the Ârsh.”


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Some people have explained the term “fawq” in this hadith, which

means “above”, as “below”, and that is rejected by the narration

of Ibn Hibban, “Raised above the Ârsh.” In this narration it would

not be valid to interpret “fawq” as “taht.” Furthermore, according

to this creed of theirs, it would be necessary that Allah would be

parallel to the Ârsh, either having its size or being bigger or

smaller than it, and everything that has a measure is an event and

is in need of the one who gave it that measure. There is no

similarity between the Ârsh and Allah, just as there is no

similarity between Him and any of His creation.

Furthermore, Allah is not granted an honor by any of His creation

and He does not benefit from any of His creation. For the Likeners

to say that Allah sits on the Ârsh is insulting Him, because sitting

is the attribute of humans, animals, jinn, and vermin. Every

attribute of the creation, if attributed to Allah, is insulting Him.

The Hafidh, Faqih, and Linguist, Murtada Az-Zabidiyy said,

“Whoever makes Allah limited by a measure has blasphemed.”

That is because he made Him someone with a quantity and

volume. Volume and quantity are among the things that

necessitate eventuality. 36 Mentally, did we know that the sun is a

created event by other than its having a volume? Had Allah had a

volume, He would have been similar to the sun in respects to

having a volume. Had He been like that, He would not deserve

Godhood, just as the sun does not deserve Godhood. Had the sun

36

Being an event, i.e., something with a beginning, a creation.


75

worshipper sought mental evidence from those Likeners that

Allah deserves Godhood and that the sun does not deserve

Godhood, those Likeners would have no evidence. The most that

they would be able to say is that Allah Said,

ك لاشىء ﴿ ﴾اللخالق [which means] “Allah is the Creator of everything.” If they said

that to the sun worshipper, the sun worshipper would say to

them, “I do not believe in your book. Give me mental evidence

that the sun does not deserve worship.” Here they would be

silenced.

There is nothing alive above the Ârsh. There is only a book above

the Ârsh. Written in it is:

إنارمحيتسب قتغضيب[which means] “Surely My Mercy overcomes My Punishment.” It

means that the signs of Mercy are more than the signs of torture.

The Angels are among the signs of Mercy, and they are more

numerous than the drops of rain and the leaves of the trees.

Paradise is also among the signs of Mercy, and it is thousands of

times bigger than Hell.

That book being above the Ârsh is confirmed. Al-Bukhariyy and

an-Nasa’iyy narrated that hadith. An-Nasa’iyy narrated that in his


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book As-Sunanul-Kubra, and others have narrated this hadith. The

expression of Ibn Hibban’s narration is:

يكتب ه علىنفسهوهومرفوع كتبفكتاب ملاخلقاللاخللقغضيبلفو العرشإنرمحيتت غ ب

[which means] “When Allah Created the creation He had a book

written and Promised37 that He would Adhere to that book, and

that book is elevated above the Ârsh. Written in it is, ‘Certainly

my Mercy overcomes my Punishment’.”

If someone tries to interpret “fawq” to mean “below,” it is said to

him, “Explaining the texts by other than their apparent meanings

is not permissible except with confirmed textual evidence or

definitive mental evidence.” They do not have either one. There is

no evidence that one must adhere to giving this hadith a ta’wil.

How would it be necessary when some of the scholars said that

the Guarded Tablet is above the Ârsh? There is no explicit text

that documents that it is above the Ârsh or below the Ârsh. So it

is an issue of possibility i.e.,it is possible that the Guarded Tablet is

above the Ârsh and it is possible that it is below the Ârsh.

According to the saying that it is above the Ârsh, that Likener

would have made Allah similar to the Guarded Tablet, i.e.,

according to them Allah would be parallel to part of the Ârsh,

37 The Promise of Allah is not like the promise of the creation because It is fulfilled and It never changes.


77

and the Guarded Tablet would also be parallel to part of the

Ârsh. This is resembling Allah to His creation, because being

parallel is of the attributes of the creation.

Among what proves that that book is above the Ârsh in reality,

with a real aboveness that cannot be explained in a way which is

different than its apparent meaning, is the hadith narrated by an-

Nasa’iyy in his book “As-Sunanul-Kubra”:

فهوسنة يبألفإنااللكتبكتاب اقبلأنيل قالساماواتواألرضعنده علىالعرشوإنهأنزلمنذلكالكتابءايتنيختمبما

البقرةسورة[which means] “Certainly Allah had a book written before He

Created the heavens and the earth by 2,000 years. Allah

certainly sent down from that book two verses by which He has

ended the chapter of Al-Baqarah.” According to an expression

narrated by Muslim,

فهوموضوععنده [which translates literally as] “It is put with Him [îndahu].” This is

explicit in saying that the book is above the Ârsh with a real

aboveness that cannot be explained in a way that is different from

the apparent meaning.


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The term “înda [with]” is for honor and is not to confirm that

Allah is contained above the Ârsh, because the word “înda” is

used for other than a place. Allah, the Exalted said:

﴾كبردنعة موسم*ود ض نميل جنسمة ارجاحهي لاعنرطمأو﴿[which means] “Allah made stones of sijjil mamdud rain upon

them. Those stones are known to [înda] your Lord.” The term

“înda” here refers to that [issue] being by the Knowledge of

Allah, and it does not mean that Allah has a vicinity in which those

stones are. So whoever used the mere word “înda” to confirm a

place for Allah and to confirm closeness between Allah and His

creation is of the most ignorant of the ignorant. Would a sane

person say that those stones that Allah descended upon those

blasphemers came down from the Ârsh to them, and that those

stones were dwelling in a place next to Allah above the Ârsh,

according to their claim?

Al-Bukhariyy narrated that the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said:

كانأحدكمفصلتهفإناهيناجيربهفليبصقنافقبلتهول إذا عنميينهفإنربهبينهوبنيقبلته

[which translates literally as] “If one of you were in his prayer,

then surely he is addressing his Lord. So let him not spit in the

direction of his Qiblah or to his right, for certainly His Lord is


79

between him and his Qiblah.”38 This hadith has a stronger chain

of narration than the hadith of the female slave.

Al-Bukhariyy also narrated from the route of Abu Musa Al-

Ashâriyy that the Messenger of Allah said:

اربعواعلىأنفسكمفإنكملتدعونأصمولغائبا،إنكمتدعونسيعاقريبا،والذيتدونهأقربإىلأحدكممنعنقراحلةأحدكم[which translates literally as] “Take it easy on yourselves, for

certainly you are not calling on someone who is deaf, nor are

you calling upon someone who is absent. You are calling on

Someone Who Hears and He is Close. The One that you are

calling is Closer to one of you then the neck of an animal that

you are riding.”

So it is said to the one who opposes, “If you took the hadith of the

female slave by its apparent meaning, and these two hadiths by

their apparent meanings, then your claim that Allah is in the sky is

invalidated. Then, if you explain these two hadiths of Al-Bukhariyy

by other than their apparent meanings, and you do not explain

38

The real meaning of this hadith is that when the person is praying, he

is facing his Qiblah. This Qiblah is an honorable direction, and the person

is also addressing his Lord while he is praying, so let him not spit in front

of him, because it is not the befitting manner for the status of his prayer,

for the status of addressing his Lord, and for the status of this direction

that he is facing. Also, let him not spit to his right side.


80

the hadith of the slave girl by other than its apparent meaning,

then this is being arbitrary; a saying without evidence. Then what

Allah said about the Jews in the Qur’an would be applicable to

you:

﴾أف ت ؤمن ونبب عضالكتابوتكف ر ونبب عض ﴿[which means] “Do you believe in some of the Book and

disbelieve in some of it?” Likewise, what do you, O Likeners, say

about the Saying of Allah:

﴾اللفأي نمات ولواف ثموجه ﴿[which translates literally as] “Wherever you turn yourself is the

face of Allah.” If you explain this verse by other than its apparent

meaning, why do you not explain the hadith of the female slave by

other than its apparent meaning? It came in the tafsir from

Mujahid, the student of Ibn Âbbas, that this means the Qiblah of

Allah. So he explained the term “wajh” [which literally means

face] of Allah as “Qiblah” of Allah; this means that this verse is

revealed in reference to the optional prayer while traveling on an

animal.

As for the hadith that was narrated by At-Tirmidhiyy:

منفالرامحونيرمحهمالرمحنارمحوامنفاألرضيرمحكمالساماء


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[which means] “Those who are merciful, Ar-Rahman is Merciful

to them. Be merciful to whoever is on Earth and whoever is in

the Sky will be merciful to you.” According to another narration,

the hadith is:

يرمحكمأهلالسماء[which means] “…the People of the Sky will be merciful to you.”

This narration explains the first narration. That is because the best

thing by which the narrated hadith is explained is another

narrated hadith, just as said by Hafidh Al-Îraqiyy in his millennial

poem:

وخريمافسرتهبالوارد[which means] “The best thing by which you have explained a

hadith is another narrated hadith.”

Furthermore, what is meant by “The People of the Sky” is the

Angels. That was mentioned by Hafidh Al-Îraqiyy in his dictation

sessions after he mentioned this hadith. His exact statement is “By

the Prophet’s ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص saying, ‘The People of the Sky’, it is proven

that what is meant by the Saying of Allah in the verse:

﴾أأمنت ممنفالسماء﴿[which means] “Do you feel secure from who is in the sky?” is the

Angels.” That is because Allah is not referred to as “The People of


82

the Sky.” The word من [man; “who”] is used for the singular and

the plural. Therefore, there is no evidence in this verse for that.

The same is said about the verse that comes after that verse:

﴿أمأمنت ممنفالسماءأني رسلعليك محاصب ا﴾[which literally means] “Or do you feel secure from who is in the

sky from sending stones upon you?” So “man” [who] in this verse

is also “The People of the Sky” and not “the one in the sky.”

Certainly Allah sends Angels to the blasphemers if He willed to

punish them in the present life, just like in the Hereafter; they are

the ones appointed with inflicting the punishment on the

blasphemers, because they are the caretakers of Hell, and they

pull a section of Hell to the place of Judgment so that the

blasphemers will be terrified by seeing it.

The expression of that narration narrated by Hafidh Al-Îraqiyy in

his dictation session is:

ماءالرامحونيرمحهمالرحيمارمحواأهلاألرضيرمحكمأهلالسا[which means] “Those who are merciful, Ar-Rahim is Merciful to

them. Be merciful to the people of the earth and the people of

the sky will be merciful to you.”


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Furthermore, had Allah been residing in the sky like some people

claimed, He would be crowding the Angels. This is impossible

because of the hadith which has been confirmed:

مافالسمواتموضعأربعأصابعإلوفيهملكقائمأوراكعأو ساجد

[which means] “There is not a four-fingered space in the sky,”

and in a narration “a handspan”, “except that it has an angel in

the standing position, or the bowing position, or prostration.”

Likewise the hadith which is narrated by Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim

from the route of Abu Saîd Al-Khudriyy that the Messenger of

Allah said:

أمنيمنفالسماءيأتينخربمنفالسماءألتأمنونوأنامساءصباح

[which means] “Do you not deem me as trustworthy while I am

deemed trustworthy by who is in the sky? The news of who is in

the sky comes to me day and night.” What is meant by this is also

the Angels, and if Allah is meant by the hadith, then it means the

One Who Has a very high Status.

As for the hadith of Zaynab Bint Jahsh, the wife of the Prophet

that she used to say to the wives of the Messenger, “Your ,ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

families gave you in marriage, and Allah gave me in marriage from

above seven Skies,” it means that the Prophet’s marriage to her


84

was recorded in the Guarded Tablet. So this is a marriage contract

that is specific to Zaynab; it is not the ordinary marriage contract.

The normal marriage contract is for all of the people, and every

marriage that takes place until the end of the world is recorded on

the Tablet, which is above the Seven Skies.

As for the hadith, which in it is:

والذينفسيبيدهمامنرجليدعوامرأتهإىلفراشهفتأىبعليهالسماءساخطاعليها...إلكانالذيف

[which means] “By the One Who Controls my soul, there is no

man who calls his wife to his bed and she refuses except that the

one who is in the sky would be angry with her,” until the end of

the hadith. This is also taken to be in reference to the Angels. The

proof for that is the second authentic narration, which is even

more famous than the previous one:

لعنتهاامللئكةحىتتصبح[which means] “The Angels will damn her until the dawn.” This

hadith was narrated by Ibn Hibban and others.

As for the hadith of Abu-d-Darda’ that the Messenger of Allah

said:

ربناالذيفالسماءتقداساسك


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[which means] “O our Lord, the One in the sky, Your Name is

Holy,” it is not an authentic hadith; rather, it is weak, as judged by

Hafidh Ibnul-Jawziyy. Had it been authentic, then its case would

be like what passed in the hadith of the slave girl [i.e., it would

mean the One with a high Status and not the one in the sky].

As for the hadith of Jubayr ibn Mutîm, from the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص:

القبةعرشهفو سواته،وسواتهفو أراضيهمثلإنااللعلى[which means] “Certainly, Allah is on His Ârsh above His Skies

and His Skies are over His Earths like a dome,” Al-Bukhariyy did

not narrate this hadith in his book of sahih, so there is no evidence

in it. In its chain of narration is a weak narrator, and what he

narrates is not taken as evidence. That was mentioned by Ibnul-

Jawziyy and others.

Likewise, Al-Bukhariyy narrated in his book, “Khalq Afâl Al-Îbad”

from the route of Ibn Âbbas that the Messenger of Allah said:

كلماللموسىكاننداؤهفالسماءوكاناللفالسماء ملا[which means] “When Allah Spoke to Musa, His Call was in the sky

and Allah was in the sky.” This hadith is not confirmed, so it is not

taken as evidence.

As for the saying that is attributed to Imam Malik:


86

اللفالسماءوعلمهفكلمكانليلومنهشىء[which means] “Allah is in the sky and His Knowledge is

everywhere and nothing is devoid of Him,” it is also not confirmed

from Malik. It does not have a continuous chain of narration. Abu

Dawud did not narrate that from Imam Malik with a sahih chain of

narration, instead, he narrated it in his book Al-Masa’il, and the

mere narration of something is not a confirmation [of its validity].


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The Thirteen Attributes of Allah

It was the norm of the later scholars who authored works in the

Creed to say that the personal obligation on every accountable

person (meaning the pubescent, sane person) is to know the

Thirteen Attributes among the Attributes of Allah: Existence,

Eternality, Dissimilarity to the creation, Oneness, Independence of

others, Everlastingness, Power, Will, Life, Knowledge, Speech,

Hearing, and Sight; and whatever negates these Attributes is

impossible to ascribe to Allah.

Since these Attributes were mentioned frequently in the religious

texts, the scholars said that knowing them is obligatory as a

personal obligation, meaning on every individual accountable

person. Some of them said it is obligatory to know 20 Attributes,

and so they added seven Attributes called Ma^nawiyyah

Attributes. They said, “…and His being Powerful, Willful, Alive,

Knowledgeable, Speaking, Hearing, and Sightful.” The first method

is the weightful method.39

Existence

Know, may Allah have Mercy upon you, that Allah the Exalted is

Existing Eternally and Everlastingly, so His Existence is not by the

creating of a creator.

39

His being Powerful is known by the confirmation of His Attribute of Power, and likewise is the rest.


88

Some people have considered the statement “Allah [is] Mawjud

[Existent]” to be objectionable because the pattern of the word

“mawjud” is the pattern dedicated for what receives the action

[mafûl]. The response is that pattern “mafûl” may be used in

reference to what did not receive the action of another, just as we

say, “Allah [is] ‘Ma^bud’ [Worshipped].” Those who said that

thought about themselves that they have a share in the

knowledge of the language, and they are not as they thought they

were.

The great linguist and explainer of Al-Qamus, Az-Zabidiyy, said in

the explanation of Al-Ihya’, “The Creator, the Exalted is “Mawjud,”

thus it is valid that He would be seen.”

Al-Fayyumiyy, the linguist and author of Al-Misbah, said, “Al-

mawjud is different from the non-existent.”

Eternality

Eternality is necessary for Allah, meaning having no beginning.

When referring to Allah [the term] Qidam does not mean a long

period of time that lapsed. The expressions Qadim and Azaliyy, if

used in reference to Allah, mean that Allah has no beginning for

His Existence. Thus it is said that Allah is Azaliyy and Allah is

Qadim. If they were used in reference to the creation, then they

would have the meaning of an extended lapse of time. Allah the

Exalted Said about the moon:


89

كالع رج ونالقدي﴿ عاد ﴾حىت[which means] “…until it returns back to the stage that resembles

the old [qadim] palm branch.”

The author of Al-Qamus, Al-Fayruz’abadiyy, said, “The Pyramids

are two ancient [Azaliyy] buildings in Egypt.”

The evidence of His Eternality, the Exalted, is that had He not been

Eternal, it would be necessary that He have a beginning. Then He

would be in need of someone to give Him a beginning, and had He

been in need of someone to give Him a beginning, that would lead

to circular causation or to the claim of [a chain of] beginningless

events, and both are impossible. It is confirmed that it is

impossible for Allah to have a beginning, hence His Eternality is

confirmed.

Everlastingness

Everlastingness is necessary for Allah, meaning that non-existence

does not follow His Existence, because once it was confirmed

mentally that Allah is Eternal, it was necessary that He would be

Everlasting. This is because had it been possible that His Existence

would be followed by non-existence, Eternity would not be

applicable to Him. Therefore He is the One Who is Everlasting by

Himself, there is none Everlasting by himself except for Him. As for

Paradise and Hell, their everlastingness is not intrinsic, rather it is

because Allah Willed for them to be everlasting. Hence, it is valid


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that Paradise, in and of itself, would go out of existence. Likewise

Hell; in reference to itself it is valid that it would go out of

existence.

Hearing

It is an Eternal Attribute that is confirmed for the Self of Allah. He

hears the sounds with an Eternal and Everlasting Hearing. It is not

like our hearing; it is not with an ear or ear canal. And so, nothing

escapes His Hearing, Exalted is He, meaning no heard thing is

absent from His Hearing, even if it were unclear for us or far [from

us], just as He Knows without a heart.

The mental evidence for the necessity of the Hearing is that had

He not been Attributed with Hearing, He would be attributed with

deafness; that is deficiency for Allah, and deficiency is impossible

for Him. Whoever says that He hears with an ear is a blasphemer.

Sight

Sight is mentally necessary to attribute to Allah. He Sees all seen

things with an Eternal and Everlasting Sight, and He Sees Himself

without a pupil or organ because senses [which are related to

organs] are among the attributes of the creation.

The mental evidence for the confirmation of His Sight is that had

He not been Attributed with Sight then He would have been blind,

and blindness, i.e., lack of sight, is deficiency for Allah, and

deficiency is impossible for Him.


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The textual evidence for Hearing and Sight is verses and hadiths,

like the Saying of Allah,

﴾وه والسميع البصري ﴿[which means] “And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing,” and

the Prophet’s ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص saying when counting the Perfect Names of

Allah:

السميع البصري [which means] “The All-Hearing, the All-Seeing,” which is in a

hadith narrated by at-Tirmidhiyy; Ibn Hibban authenticated it.

Speech

Speech is an Eternal and Everlasting Attribute. He is a Speaker by

this Attribute; a Commander, Forbidder, Promiser, and

Threatener. It is not like the speech of another, rather it is Eternal

by the Eternality of the Self. It does not resemble the speech of

the creation. It is neither a sound that takes place by the passage

of air or the collision of bodies nor a letter that is cut off by closing

the lips or by the motion of the tongue.

We believe that Musa heard the Eternal Speech of Allah without it

being a letter or sound, just as the believers will see the Self of


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Allah in the Hereafter without the Self being a mass40 or a

characteristic, because the mind does not deem hearing

something that is not a letter or sound as impossible.

The Speech of His Self, Exalted is He, is not successive letters like

our speech. If the reciter recites the Speech of Allah [i.e. the

Revealed Qur’an, not the Attribute], then this recitation is of a

letter and a sound; it is not eternal.

These details were conveyed by Abu Hanifah, and he is from the

Salaf. He was alive during part of the first century, then he died in

year 150 after the Hijrah. He said, “Allah Speaks without an

instrument and without a letter, and we speak with an instrument

and a letter.” So let that be understood. The issue is not as the

Likeners have said, that the Salaf did not say that Allah is a

Speaker with a Speech that is not of a letter, and that this is only

the innovation of the Ashâriyys. This talk from Abu Hanifah is

confirmed; he mentioned it in one of his five treatises.

The word Qur’an has two usages. It is used in reference to the

expression revealed to Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص, and in reference to the

Speech which is the Eternal Attribute; that Speech which is not a

letter or a sound, neither is it Arabic language nor any other

language. If what is intended by it [i.e., the word Al-Qur’an] is the

Speech of the Self, then it is Eternal; it is not a letter or a sound. If

40

I.e., a body or jawhar (indivisible particle).


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what is meant by it and by the rest of the Heavenly Books is the

Revealed Expression, then among them is what is Hebrew, and

among it is what is Suriyaniyy. These languages as well as the

other languages were not existent, then Allah the Exalted Created

them and they became existent. Allah the Exalted was Existing

before everything, and He was a Speaker before those languages

existed, and He never ceased to be a Speaker; and His Speech,

which is His Attribute, is Eternal and Everlasting, and it is One

Speech. All of the Revealed Books are expressions of the Eternal

and Everlasting Speech of the Self.

It is not necessary for the expression to be created that the

expressed be created. Had we written on a board or on a wall

“Allah” and then it was said, “This is Allah,” does that mean those

scripted letters are the Self of Allah? No intelligent person is

deluded about that; no one thinks that is the case. Rather, it is

only understood from that that these letters are an expression

referring to God, the One Who is Existing and worshipped and is

the Creator of everything.

Despite that, it is not said, “The Qur’an is created.” Rather it is

clarified, when teaching, that the Revealed Expression is not

confirmed as an Attribute of the Self of Allah. Rather, it is Created

by Allah, because the Revealed Expression is made of letters.

Some of those letters precede other letters, and whatever is like

that is definitely a created event; however, it is not the authoring

of an Angel or a human. Therefore, it is an expression of the


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Speech of the Self, that Speech which is not described as being

Arabic or Hebrew or Suriyaniyy. All of those Revealed Expressions

are called the Speech of Allah. That is, the Attribute of Speech

which is confirmed for the Self of Allah is called the Speech of

Allah, and the Revealed Expression, which is an expression of that

Eternal Speech, is also called the Speech of Allah.

Both usages for “Al-Qur’an” are literal usages, because literal

usage will either be linguistic, religious or normal. Using the word

“Al-Qur’an” for the Revealed Expression is a religious literal usage,

so let that be known. What clarifies that is that the Majestic

Expression, “Allah,” is an expression that refers to the Eternal and

Everlasting Self. So if we said, “We worship Allah,” then that Self is

the One that is intended by our statement; and if this expression

were written, and it was said, “What is this?”, it would be said

“Allah”, meaning that these letters refer to that Eternal

Everlasting Self, not with the meaning that those letters are the

Self that we worship.

Will

Know that Will (Al-Iradah or Al-Mashi’ah) is necessary to attribute

to Allah. It is an Eternal and Everlasting Attribute; by it, Allah

specifies the mentally possible with existence instead of non-

existence, and with an attribute over another, and with a time

instead of another. The evidence for the necessity of Allah’s

Attribute of Will is that had He not been Willful, then nothing of


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this world would exist, because the world is a mental possibility;

mentally, its existence is not inherently necessary. The world is

existent, so we know that it only existed by the Specification of He

who Specified its existence and Made the side of existence

weightful over the side of non-existence. Therefore, it is

confirmed that Allah is Willful.

Furthermore, the Will, according to the People of the Truth, is

inclusive of the deeds of the slaves entirely; the good and the bad.

So all of what came into existence of the bad deeds, good deeds,

blasphemy, sins, and obedience took place by the Will of Allah.

This is perfection in reference to Allah the Exalted, because the

inclusivity of the Power and Will is befitting for the Greatness of

Allah. Had something in His Dominion taken place without His

Will, that would have been evidence of weakness, and weakness is

impossible for Allah. The Will follows the Knowledge, i.e.,

whatever Allah Knew would occur, He Willed for it to occur, and

whatever He Knew would not be, He did not Will for it to be.

The Will does not follow the Order, as proven by the fact that

Allah ordered Ibrahim to slaughter his son, Ismaîl, and He did not

Will that for him. If it were said, “How would Allah Order for

something that He did not Will to happen?”, the answer is that He

could Order what He did not Will, just like He Knew that the slave

would do something when He Ordered him not to do it.


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Power

It is necessary that Allah would have Power over everything. What

is meant by “everything” here is the mental possibility. Thus, the

mental impossibility is excluded from that, because it does not

accept existence, so it is not suitable to be related to the Power of

Allah.

Ibn Hazm opposed that. He said, “Allah the Mighty and Great has

the power to take a child for Himself. If He did not have the power

to do it He would be weak.” However, what he said is not

necessary, because taking a child for Himself is impossible to be

attributed to Allah. The mentally impossible is not a subject of the

Power.

Power not being related to something could be because of

deficiency, and that is in reference to the creation, and sometimes

it would be because that thing does not accept entrance into

existence, meaning to occur, because it is mentally impossible, or

because it does not accept non-existence because of it being

mentally necessary. The inability is the first one, which is negated

from the Power of Allah the Exalted; not the second one, it is

neither permissible to say that Allah has power over that, nor that

He is weak. Some said, “Just like you do not say about the stone

[that it is] knowledgeable or ignorant.”

Likewise is the response to the saying of some atheists, “Is Allah

able to create one like Himself?” In that there is deeming


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permissible that which is mentally impossible. The clarification for

that is that Allah is Eternal, and had He had a similar it would have

been eternal, and the eternal would not be created because it is

already existent. So how would the existing thing be created?

As for the mentally impossible, its non-acceptance of entering into

existence is clear. As for the mental necessity, it does not accept

an eventual existence because its existence is eternal. There is a

difference between existence and entering into existence.

Existence includes the eternal existence and the eventual

existence; both are called existence. As for entering into

existence, that is the eventual existence.

The mental necessity41 refers to Allah and His Attributes. Allah’s

Existence is a mental necessity. His Existence is Eternal and His

Attributes are Eternal. It is not said about Allah or His Attributes

that they came into existence, because the Existence of Allah and

His Attributes is Eternal. When we said, “The mental necessity

does not accept entry into existence,” that is correct. However,

the understanding of some of the beginners in the Creed is

deficient in this. As for the one who is experienced in that, the

intended meaning is clear.

41

In reference to existence.


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Knowledge

Know that the Knowledge of Allah is Eternal, Beginningless, just as

His Self is Eternal. So He never ceased to be Knowledgeable about

His Self, Attributes, and what He Brings into existence of His

creations. So He is not attributed with an eventual knowledge,

because had it been permissible for Him to be attributed with

eventual attributes, Eternality would be negated from Him,

because whatever is a vessel for events must then be an event.

Whatever gives a false impression of the renewal of Allah’s

Knowledge, Exalted is He, of the Qur’anic verses like the Saying of

the Exalted:

عنك موعلمأنفيك مضعف االئ ﴿ ﴾نخففالل [which means] “Now Allah has lightened [the ruling of jihad] for

you, and He Knew about weakness in you,” it does not mean

that. His Saying:

﴾وعلم﴿ [which means] “He knew…” does not refer back to:

﴾نالئ ﴿ [which means] “Now…”


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Instead, the meaning is that Allah the Exalted has lightened the

ruling for you now.

And likewise His Saying:

نعلمالم ج ﴿ ﴾ربينهدينمنك موالص ولنبل ونك محىت[which translates literally as] “And We will test you so that We

would Know the one who strives among you and those who are

patient.” It means “We would test you so that We would

differentiate, i.e., make apparent for the creation between you

who strives and who is patient and others. Allah was already

Knowledgeable about that, as copied by Al-Bukhariyy from Abu

Ûbaydah Ma^mar Ibni-l-Muthanna. This is similar to the Saying

of Allah:

اخلبيثمنالطيب﴿ ﴾ليميزالل [which means] “So that Allah would distinguish [for the slaves]

between the wicked and the good.”

Life

Life is necessary to attribute to Allah the Exalted. So He is Living

unlike those who are alive. Since His Life is Eternal and Everlasting,

it is not by soul and blood. The evidence for the necessity of His

Life is the existence of this world, because had He not been Living,


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then nothing of this world would exist. However, the existence of

the world is confirmed by the senses and necessity without doubt.

Oneness

The meaning of Oneness is that He is not a Self composed of

pieces. So there is no self like His Self, and no one other than Him

has an attribute like His Attribute, or a doing like His Doing. The

oneness of number is not meant by His Oneness. The one who is

one by number has a half, and parts as well. Instead, the meaning

is that He has no similar.

The proof for His Oneness is that it is necessary that the Maker

would be Living, Powerful, Knowledgeable, Willful, and Choosing.

So if the Attribute of the Maker is confirmed as we have

mentioned, then we say that had the world had two makers, it

would be necessary for each of them to be alive, powerful,

knowledgeable, willing, and choosing. If there are two choosers,

then it is valid that they would differ in the choice, because each

of them is not forced to comply with the other in his choice; or

else both of them would be forced, and the one who is forced

would not be God.

If this is valid, then if one of them willed for what opposes the will

of the other in something—like for one of them to will a person to

be alive, and for the other to will his death—then it must be that

either both of their wills are fulfilled, or neither of their wills is

fulfilled, or one of their wills is fulfilled and the other’s is not. It is


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impossible that both wills would be fulfilled, because of their

opposition. That is, if one of them willed a person’s life and the

other willed his death, it is impossible that this person would be

alive and dead at the same time. If both of their wills are

unfulfilled, they are both weak; the one who is weak would not be

God. If the will of one of them were fulfilled and the will of the

other were not, then surely the one whose will was unfulfilled is

weak, and the weak one would not be God and would not be

Eternal. This evidence is known to those who believe in the

Oneness; it is called the proof of mutual exclusivity.


كانفيهماءالةإلا﴿ لفسدتالو ﴾لل [which means] “Had there been for the Heavens and Earth gods

other than Allah, they would have been in ruins.”

Independence of Others

Know that the meaning of His Independence of the creation is His

not being in need of everything that is other than Himself. So He

does not need someone to specify Him with existence, because

being in need of another negates His Eternality and the necessity

of His Eternality and Everlastingness has been confirmed.


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Dissimilarity to the Creation

It is necessary that Allah the Exalted would be Different from the

events. This means that He does not resemble anything of His

creation. Therefore, He is not a volume that occupies a space and

He is not an attribute. The volume is what has containment and an

independent standing, such as bodies. The quality is what does

not have an independent standing. It only stands through other

than itself. Examples are motion, stillness, contact, disconnection,

colors, flavors, and smells. For that reason Imam Abu Hanifah said

in some of his works, “The Creator does not resemble His

creation.” It means that it is not mentally or textually valid that

the Creator would resemble His creation.

Abu Sulayman Al-Khattabiyy said, “Certainly, what is obligatory

upon us and every Muslim to know is that our Lord is not

someone with an image or a shape. For certainly, the image

dictates a manner of being, and that is negated from Allah and His

Attributes.” Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated that from him in his book Al-

Asma’ was-Sifat.

The word “kayfiyyah” [manner of being] could be used to mean

“the reality”, just like what some said:

ي درك هامرءليسالكيفية ال كيفيةالبارفالقدممرء فكيف[which means] “The how of man is not encompassed by man, so

how about the Reality of Al-Jabbar Who Exists Eternally?”


103

What this person meant was “the reality.” This line of poetry was

narrated by Az-Zarkashiyy, Ibnul-Jawziyy, and others.

Abu Ja^far At-Tahawiyy said, “Whoever attributes to Allah an

attribute of the humans has blasphemed.” Abu Ja^far is among

the people of the 3rd century, so he is included in the hadith:

الذيني ل ون ه م الذيني ل ون ه مث الق ر ونق رنث خي ر [which means] “The best of centuries is my century, then those

who come after them, then those who come after them.” This is

narrated by at-Tirmidhiyy. The Arabic term “qarn” in the hadith

means “century”, as said by Hafidh Abul-Qasim Ibn Âsakir in his

book Tabyin Kadhib Al-Muftari, which he wrote in defending Abul-

Hasan Al-Ashâriyy, may Allah Accept his deeds.


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All of the Attributes of Allah Are Perfect

The Attributes of Allah are Eternal and Everlasting, because the

Self is Eternal. Therefore He would not acquire an attribute He did

not have in Eternity. As for the attributes of the creation, they are

events. They accept development from perfection to what is more

perfect. Hence, the Knowledge of Allah is not renewed. Allah

Created everything in accordance with His Eternal Knowledge, His

Eternal Power, and His Eternal Will. Allah has encompassed the

past, present and future with His Eternal Knowledge.

The Saying of Allah the Exalted:

ن علمالم جاهدينمنك موالصابرين﴿ ل ونك محىت ﴾ولنب [which translates literally as “And We test you so that We would

know the mujahids among you and those who are patient,”] does

not mean that He will become knowledgeable of the mujahids by

testing them after He was not knowledgeable about them. This is

impossible to be ascribed to Allah. Instead, the meaning of the

verse is, “So We would make apparent for the slaves the mujahids

among you and the patient ones among you from others.”

Whoever says that Allah the Exalted acquires new knowledge

blasphemes.

All the Attributes of Allah are perfect. Allah the Exalted Said:


105

احلسن﴿ ﴾وللاألساء [which means] “Allah has the Perfect Names.” And Allah the

Exalted Said:

﴾األعلىل ثمالللو﴿[which means] “Allah has Attributes of Perfection,” therefore

every deficiency is impossible to be an attribute of His. As for the

Saying of Allah the Exalted:

الماكرين﴿ خي ر والل ﴾ومكر واومكرالل [which translates literally as “They have harmed others by

committing acts of makr, and Allah has harmed them with makr.”]

Makr as an attribute of the slaves is wickedness and deceit by

making harm reach another through means of trickery. When

attributed to Allah, it is that Allah would Compensate the people

of makr with punishment in a way that they do not expect. In

other words, Allah is Greater in making harm reach the

practitioners of makr, as compensation for them for their makr.

Makr with meaning of trickery is impossible to attribute to Allah.

Likewise the Saying of the Exalted:

يست هزئ بم﴿ ﴾الل


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[which translates literally as “Allah belittles them,”] it means that

Allah will Compensate them for the belittling that they do.

Know that the scholars say, “We believe in the confirmation of

what came in the Qur’an and the authentic hadith, like Al-Wajh,

Al-Yad, Al-Âyn, Ar-Rida, Al-Ghadab, and other than that. We

believe in them as Attributes that Allah Knows about, not as

organs and emotions like our hands, faces, eyes and anger. For

certainly, organs are impossible to be attributed to Allah because

of the Saying of Allah:

كمثلهشىء﴿ ﴾ليس[which means] “Nothing resembles Him whatsoever,” and His

Saying:

ك ف و اأح﴿ ﴾دومليك نله [which means] “There was never a similar for Him.”

They said that had Allah had a âyn with the meaning of an organ

and a body, then He would have [many] similars, let alone one,

and whatever would be applicable to the creation would be

applicable to Him, such as death, annihilation, change, and

development. That would be abandoning what is dictated by the

mental evidence about the impossibility of change and

development from one situation to another being attributed to

Allah.


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It is not valid to negate the intellect, because the Religious Law

does not come with anything except what is permitted by the

mind; that is, it does not come with anything other than what is

accepted by the mind, because the mind is the witness for the

validity of the Religion. The mind dictates that the body and the

bodily characteristics, i.e., the transient situations that occur to

the body, are all events, and there is no doubt about that and that

they are in need of one to make them occur. Accordingly, it is

necessary that whoever is attributed with that would be in need

of someone to make him occur, and Godhood is not valid for

someone who is in need of someone else.42

42

The mental evidence that the world is an event is the occurrence of attributes that it did not have previously and changing from one situation to another.


108

The Reason for the Revelation of Surah Al-

Ikhlas

The Jews said to the Messenger, “Describe your Lord for us.” Their

question was out of stubbornness, not out of the love of

knowledge and seeking to be guided by it. For that reason Allah

revealed Surah Al-Ikhlas:

أحد﴿ ﴾ق له والل [which means] “[O Muhammad,] say Allah is One,” meaning the

One Who does not accept multiplicity, or to be many. Also, He

does not have a partner in the Self or the Attributes or the Doings,

and no one has an attribute like His Attributes. Instead, His Power

is One Power, with it He has Power over everything, and His

Knowledge is One; with it He Knows everything.

The Saying of Allah:

الصمد ﴿ ﴾الل [which means] “Allah is As-Samad,” means the One to whom all

the creations are in need, while He is Free from being in need of

anything that exists. It also contains the meaning that He is the

One Who is sought in times of hardship with all of its different

types. Allah does not obtain benefit for himself by His creation,

and He does not repel harm from Himself by them.


109

The Saying of Allah:

﴾وملي ولدمليلد﴿[which means] “He did not give birth and He was not born,” is a

negation of being made of physical matter and being a vessel for

containment.

What came in the book Mawlid Al-Ârus, [the false claim] that

Allah took a handful of the light of His face and said, “Be

Muhammad,” and it became Muhammad, is among the invalid

fabricated perversions. The judgment of whoever believes that

Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is a part of Allah the Exalted is a definite charge

of blasphemy, and likewise for the one who believes that Îsa

[Jesus] is a part of Allah. This book is not authored by Ibnul-

Jawziyy, and no one attributed this book to him except for the

orientalist Brockelmann.43


ك ف و اأحد﴿ ﴾ومليك نله [which means] “There was never a similar for Him.” This means

that nothing resembles Him, meaning He has no similar for Him in

any way whatsoever.

43

Carl Brockelmann (1868–1956).


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The Decisive and Ambiguous Verses

To understand this topic as it should be understood, it is necessary

to know that the Qur’an has within it decisive (muhkam) verses

and ambiguous (mutashabih) verses. Allah the Exalted Said:

ه والذيأنزلعليكالكتابمنه آياتمكماته نأ م﴿م تشاباتال فأماالذينفق ل وبمزيغف يتبع ونماكتابوأ خر

نةوابتغاءتأويلهتشابهمنه ابتغاءالف الل وماي علت م تأويله إلك ل منعندرب ناوالراسخ ونفالعلمي ق ول ونآمنا ومايبه إل ذكر ﴾بابأ ول واألل

[which means] “He is the one who revealed the Book to you, (O

Muhammad). Within it are decisive verses; they are the

reference of the book, and others are ambiguous. As for those

who have deviance in their hearts, they follow what is

ambiguous from it with the purpose of fitnah [tribulation], and

seeking its ta’wil44. No one knows its ta’wil except Allah and

those who are deeply rooted in the knowledge. They say, ‘We

believe in it. All of it is from our Lord. No one is admonished by it

except those of sound mind.’”

44

Ta’wil has a number of meanings which vary depending on the recitation of the verse, as will be explained.


111

The Decisive Verses

The decisive verses are those which do not accept more than one

meaning as an explanation as far as the rules of the language are

concerned, or [according to another definition] that which its

intended meaning is known with clarity. Like the Saying of Allah:

كمثلهشىء﴿ ﴾ليس[which means] “Nothing is like Him in any way,” and His Saying:

ك ف و اأحد﴿ ﴾ومليك نله [which means] “And there was never a similar for Him,” and His

saying:

﴾هلت علم له سيا﴿[which means] “Do you know of a similar for Him?”

The Ambiguous Verses

The ambiguous verse is that which what it refers to is not clear, or

it could possibly have several facets in meaning and is in need of

contemplation to interpret it in accordance with the proper

meaning, like the Saying of Allah the Exalted:

﴾علىالعرشاست وىالرمحن ﴿And the Saying of Allah the Exalted:


112

والعمل الصالح ي رف ع ه ﴿ ﴾إليهيصعد الكلم الطيب which means the good words like “La ilaha illallah” ascend up to

the place that Allah honored, which is the sky, and the good deed

is raised by it, i.e., the good word raises the good deed. This is

harmonious with and in compliance with the decisive verse:


Consequently it is necessary to refer the interpretation of the

ambiguous verses back to the decisive verses. This is in reference

to the ambiguous matters that are valid for the scholars to know.

As for the ambiguous matter that is meant by the Saying of Allah:

الل ﴾وماي عل﴿ م تأويله إل[which means] “No one knows its ta’wil except Allah,” according

to the recitation of stopping at the Majestic Expression [the Name

Allah], it refers to what is like the occurrence of Judgment Day and

the precise time that ad-Dajjal would appear. That is not the same

type [of ambiguity] as in the verse of Istiwa’.

It was narrated from the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص:

هه ابشتم وابن ءاموهمكحم وابل ماع


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[which means] “Apply its decisive and believe its ambiguous.”

This hadith is slightly weak.

The linguist, Muhaddith and Hanafiyy scholar, Murtada Az-

Zabidiyy said in his book Ithaf as-Sadatil-Muttaqin, conveying

from the book At-Tadhkirah Ash-Sharqiyyah by Abu Nasr Al-

Qushayriyy45:

As for the Saying of Allah:

الل ﴾وماي عل﴿ م تأويله إل[which means] “No one knows its ta’wil except Allah,” He

only means by that the exact time of the Hour [the Day of

Judgment]. The pagans asked the Prophet about the Hour,

“When will it happen?” Therefore, the ambiguous is a sign

of the knowledge of the unseen; no one knows the

outcome of the matters except Allah the Mighty and

Great. For that reason He Said:

تأويله يوميأتى﴿ ﴾تأويل ه هلي نظ ر ونإل[which means] “Are they awaiting anything other than its

ta’wil? The day when its ta’wil comes…” Meaning, are

45 Abu Nasr Al-Qushayriyy is the one who Hafidh Âbdur-Razzaq At-

Tabsiyy described as the Imam of the Imams, as narrated by Hafidh Ibn Âsakir in his book Tabyin Kadhib Al-Muftari.


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they awaiting anything other than the occurrence of the

Hour?

How would it be valid for someone to say about the Book

of Allah the Exalted that there is something in it for which

there is no way for a creation to know what it means, and

no one knows its meaning except Allah? Is this not among

the greatest discreditors of the Prophethood, that the

Prophet did not know the meaning of what came about

the Attributes of Allah the Exalted, and called the creation

to know what cannot be known? Does Allah not Say:

م بني ﴿ عرب ي ﴾بلسان [which means] “[The Qur’an was revealed] in a clear

Arabic tongue”? Then according to their claim it is

necessary to say that Allah lied when He said that the

Qur’an is revealed in a clear Arabic tongue, since it was

not known to them [i.e., the Arabs]. Or else where is the

clarity? If this were in the Arabic language, how would he

claim that this is something that the Arabs do not know,

while that speech was Arabic? So what kind of saying is

this doctrine when it leads to contradicting Allah the

Glorified?

Furthermore, the Prophet used to call the people to the

worship of Allah the Exalted, so had there been in what he


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conveyed to his Nation something which no one knows its

meaning except Allah the Exalted, the people would have

been able to say, “First clarify for us the one you are

calling us to and what are you saying.” For sure, believing

in something which cannot be known is unachievable in

itself, and attributing to the Prophet that he called to a

Lord who is attributed with attributes that are

inconceivable [i.e., that cannot be known]is a serious

matter; no Muslim accepts that.

Ignorance of the attribute leads to ignorance of the

attributed. The goal is for the one who has some bit of a

mind to clarify that the saying of he who says, “His Istiwa’

is an attribute of His Self and its meaning is inconceivable,

and His Yad is an attribute of His Self and its meaning is

inconceivable, and His Qadam is an attribute of His Self

and its meaning is inconceivable,” is a distortion of facts

within which is ascribing a manner of being to Allah,

likening Him to the creation, and a call to ignorance. And

the truth has become clear for the one who has sound

mind.

I wish I knew, this one who denies ta’wil, does he apply

this denial to everything and every verse, or is he content

with abandoning ta’wil in reference to the Attributes of

Allah the Exalted?


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If he prevents ta’wil in all cases, he has invalidated the

Religious Law and the different branches of knowledge,

because there is no verse46 or hadith except that it is in

need of ta’wil and treatment.47 48 For there are things that

there is no escape from ta’wil for them. There is no

difference among the sane people about that except for

the atheist whose intent is to invalidate the Religious

Laws. Furthermore, this creed [of denying ta’wil] leads to

invalidating what he claims to be adhering to of the

Religion.

If he said “Ta’wil is valid in general49, excluding what is in

reference to Allah and His Attributes, for there is no ta’wil

in that,” this claim of his implies that what pertains to

other than Allah should be known, and what pertains to

the Maker and His Attributes should be avoided, and this

is something that no Muslim accepts.

The secret of the issue is that those who prevent ta’wil

really believe in the reality of likening Allah to the

creation, except that they use trickery. They say, “He has a

46

Among the verses that there is difference in opinion about their meaning. 47

i.e., looking into it and explaining it in some way. 48 Except for the decisive verse like the Saying of Allah: ﴾عليم شىء بكل وهو ﴿ [which

means] “He is Knowledgeable of everything,” in reference to what came about the Attributes of Allah, and His Saying: ﴿مت م الـميتة عليكم حر ﴾الخنزير ولحم والد [which means] “Dead meat, blood, and pork have been made forbidden for you…,” in reference to what came in the rules. 49

i.e., sometimes.


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hand not like the hands and a foot unlike the feet and an

istiwa’ of the Self that is not like what we conceive among

ourselves.” So let the precise one say, “This is talk that

must be clarified. For you to say, ‘We take the issue by the

apparent meaning, and we cannot conceive its meaning,’

is a contradiction.If you take the apparent meaning, then

what appears from the Saying of the Exalted:

عنسا ﴿ ﴾يومي كشف [which means] “The Day when the ‘saq’ will be exposed,”

is the organ composed of skin, muscle, bone, nerves, and

marrow. If one took by this apparent meaning, adhered to

it, and confirmed these organs, then this is blasphemy.

And if you are unable to take by that, then where is taking

by the apparent meaning? Did you not abandon the

apparent meanings and know that the Holy Lord was

Exalted from that to which the apparent meanings

delude? Then how would that be taking the apparent

meaning? And if the opponent says that these apparent

meanings are meaningless in themselves, then that is

judging them nullified; that there was no benefit in them

being conveyed to us and that they are a waste, and this is

impossible.

In the language of the Arabs there is whatever one wants

of figurative usage and vastness [of meaning] in speech,


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and they used to know the different contexts, and they

understood the intentions. So backing away from ta’wil is

because of one’s puny understanding of Arabic, whereas

by encompassing the different facets of the Arabic

language, realizing the true meanings is easy.

It was Said:

الل وماي عل﴿ ﴾والراسخ ونفالعلمم تأويله إل[which means] “No one knows its ta’wil except Allah and

those who are deeply rooted in the knowledge.” It is as if

He Said, “Those who are deeply rooted in the knowledge

also know it.”

Belief in something is only conceived after knowledge. As

for that which is unknown, believing in it is unachievable,

and because of this, Ibn Âbbas said, “I am among those

who are deeply rooted in the knowledge.”

This is the end of the quote of Hafidh Az-Zabidiyy in reference to

what he conveyed from Abu-n-Nasr Al-Qushayriyy, may Allah have

Mercy upon him.

Here there are two methods; both are correct. The first is the

method of most of the Salaf, and those are the people of the first

three centuries; they interpret the [ambiguous] verses by other

than their apparent meanings, but in a general way. That is by


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believing in them and having conviction that those are not the

attributes of a body, rather, that they have a meaning that befits

the Majesty of Allah and His Greatness, without specification;

instead, they referred those verses back to the decisive verses,

like the Saying of Allah in the Qur’an:


The matter is as Imam Ash-Shafiîyy said, “I believe in what came

from Allah according to the meaning that Allah Willed, and what

came from the Messenger of Allah according to the meaning that

the Messenger of Allah meant,” may Allah accept his deeds. He

means that the meanings of those verses are not according to

what the delusions and thoughts of the people might go to in

reference to the physical, bodily meanings, those meanings that

are not permissible to be attributed to Allah.

Furthermore, denying that the Salaf made detailed interpretation

different from the apparent meaning, like some have claimed, is

rejected by what is in Sahih Al-Bukhariyy, in the Book of

Interpretation of the Qur’an, and Al-Bukhariyy’s expression there:

“Surah Al-Qasas:

وجهه ﴿ ﴾ك لشىء هالكإل


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[which means] ‘Except for His Wajh;’ [which means] except for His

Dominion50, and it is said [about the meaning of this verse], ‘That

which is done to seek a higher status from Allah’.” As for the

Dominion, it is an Eternal Attribute of Allah, it is not like the

dominion that He Gives to his creations. And in the book of Al-

Bukhariyy is more than this case, like explaining the “ كحض

(Dahik)” 51 in the hadith as Mercy.

Also, the detailed interpretation of a verse according to other than

its apparent meaning is confirmed from Imam Ahmad, and he is

from the Salaf. It is confirmed from him that he said about the

verse of the Qur’an:

﴾وجاءربك﴿[which translates literally as ‘Your Lord comes’], that it means

“The traces of His Power become apparent.” The chain for this

narration by Imam Ahmad was authenticated by Hafidh Al-

Bayhaqiyy, the one about whom Hafidh Salahud-Din Al-Âla’iyy

said, “No one came after Al-Bayhaqiyy and Ad-Daraqutniyy like

them, or even close to them.” As for the saying of Al-Bayhaqiyy, it

is in his book called Manaqib Ahmad. As for the saying of Hafidh

Abu Saîd Al-Âla’iyy about Al-Bayhaqiyy and Ad-Daraqutniyy,

that is in his book called Al-Washyul-Mu^lam; and as for Hafidh

Abu Saîd himself, he is the one about whom Hafidh Ibn Hajar

50

Supreme Ownership 51

Which could literally translated as ‘smiling’ or ‘laughing’


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said, “The shaykh of our shaykhs.” He was from the people of the

eighth Hijriyy century.

There is a great number of scholars who mentioned in their

written works that Ahmad explained verses by other than their

apparent meanings. Among them is Hafidh Âbdur-Rahman Ibnul-

Jawziyy, who is one of the sultans of the Hambaliyy School

because of his great knowledge of the texts of the Hambaliyy

School and the situations of Ahmad.

The second is the method of the Khalaf. They interpreted with

detailed meanings that are dictated by the language of the Arabs,

and like the Salaf, they do not carry those verses by their apparent

meanings. There is no problem taking this method, especially as

protection from likening Allah to the creation when fearing for

one to take a corrupted creed.

[An example of the method of the Khalaf is their explanation of]

the Saying of Allah in scolding Iblis:

بيدي﴿ ﴾مامن عكأنتسج دل ماخلقت [which means] “What prevented you from prostrating to what I

have Created with My Yadayn52?” It is valid to be said that what is

meant by “Yadayn” is Care and Preservation.

52

Which literally translates as ‘two hands’.


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Interpretation of His Saying ﴿روحنا من﴾ and His

Saying ﴿ من روحى﴾

Let it be known that Allah the Exalted is the Creator of the soul

and the body, so He is not a soul or a body. Despite that, Allah

attributed to Himself the soul of Îsa [Jesus] with the meaning of

ownership and honor, not with the meaning of [the soul] being a

part of [Him] in His Saying:

﴾منروحنا﴿[which means] “…from Our soul.” Likewise, in reference to Adam,

is the Saying of Allah the Exalted:

﴾منروحى﴿[which means] “…from My soul.”

So the meaning of the Saying of Allah:

﴾ف ن فخنافيهمنروحنا﴿[which literally translates as] “We blew Our soul into him,” is “We

ordered Jibril to blow into Mary the soul which is owned by and

honorable to Us.” This is because the souls are of two divisions,

honorable souls and wicked souls. The souls of the Prophets are

from the first category, and attributing the soul of Jesus and the

soul of Adam to Himself is an attribution of ownership and honor.


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Whoever believes that Allah the Exalted is a soul blasphemes. The

soul is created; Allah is Exalted from that.

[This is] like the Saying of Allah the Exalted in reference to the

Ka^bah:

﴾بييت﴿[which means] “My House.” It is an attribution of ownership

because of honor. It is not an Attribute of Allah or relation

between Allah and that thing, because of the impossibility of

touching or contact between Allah and the Ka^bah.

Likewise is the Saying of Allah:

العرش﴿ ﴾رب[which means] “The Lord of the Ârsh.” It is not for other than

proving that Allah is the Creator of the Ârsh, which is the largest

of creations. It is not that the Ârsh has a relation to Allah by Him

sitting upon it or being parallel to it without sitting on it. It does

not mean that Allah is sitting on His Ârsh with contact and it does

not mean Allah is parallel to the Ârsh with the existence of space

between Allah and the Ârsh, whether that space was estimated

as vast or little. All of that is impossible to attribute to Allah.

The merit of the Ârsh is that it is the Ka^bah for the Angels, who

circle it, just as the Ka^bah itself is meritorious by the believers


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circling it. Also among the special merits of the Ârsh is that Allah

was never disobeyed there, because those who surround the

Ârsh are all honorable slaves. They do not disobey Allah for a

blink of an eye.

Whoever believed that Allah Created the Ârsh to sit on it, he has

likened Allah to the kings who make big seats to sit upon, and

whoever believes that does not know Allah. Whoever believes

that Allah is attributed with contact has blasphemed, because this

is impossible to be an Attribute of Allah the Exalted.

Interpretation of the Verse ﴾الرحمن على العرش است وى﴿

It is necessary that the interpretation of this verse be other than

dwelling, sitting, and the likes of that, and whoever believes that

blasphemes. It is obligatory to leave out carrying this verse by its

apparent meaning; instead, it is carried by a meaning that is

acceptable to the intellect. Therefore, the expression istiwa’ is

taken to mean subjugation. In the Arabic language it is said:

كالممىاللعلنف ىوت سا[which means] “So-and-so had istawa over the kingdoms,” if he

possessed the keys of rulership and had dominion over the

people. That is like the saying of the poet:

م هرا قداست وىبشرعلىالعرا ودم منغريسيف


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[which means] “Bishr conquered [istawa] Îraq without a sword or

bloodshed.”

The benefit of specifically mentioning the Ârsh is that it is the

greatest creation of Allah the Exalted in size, therefore the

inclusion of what is less than that is more so known. Imam Âliyy

said, “Certainly Allah the Exalted created the Ârsh as a

demonstration of His Power, and He did not take it as a place for

Himself.” This was narrated by the Imam, Muhaddith, Faqih and

Linguist, Abu Mansur At-Tamimiyy in his book At-Tabsirah. Or it is

said that He Istawa with an Istiwa’ that He Knows, and He is

Exalted from the istiwa’ of the creations, like sitting and dwelling.

Know that it is obligatory to warn against those who validate Allah

sitting upon the Ârsh or dwelling upon it by interpreting the

Saying of Allah the Exalted,

﴾الرمحن علىالعرشاست وى﴿

as sitting or being parallel from above, claiming that no existing

thing is conceived unless it is in a place. Their evidence is invalid.

They also claim that the saying of the Salaf, “Istiwa’ without a

how,” is in agreement with that. They did not know that the Salaf

were negating sitting, dwelling, containment in a place, being

parallel, and all created attributes, such as motion, stillness, and

emotions.

Al-Qushayriyy said:


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What invalidates their fallacy is that it would be said to

them, “Before creating the world, was He Existing or not?”

By the necessity of the mind, they would say, “Indeed.”

Hence, one of two matters is imposed on them: either to

say that the place, the Ârsh, and the world are eternal, or

else to say that the Lord is an event, and this is the result

of the saying the ignorant speakers of nonsense. The

Eternal is not an event and the event is not eternal.

Al-Qushayriyy also said in his book At-Tadhkirah Ash-Sharqiyyah:

“If it were said, ‘Does Allah not Say:

﴾علىالعرشاست وىالرمحن ﴿while it is obligatory to take the apparent meaning?’, we say to

them, ‘Allah also Says :

ك نت م﴿ ﴾وه ومعك مأينما

[which translates literally as “He is with you wherever you are,”]

and the Exalted Says:

يطأآلإنه ﴿ ﴾بك لشىء م[which translates literally as “Is it not true that Allah encompasses

everything”]? Then, according to you, it would also be necessary

to take these verses by the apparent meaning, so that all at once


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He would be on the Ârsh, and with us, and encompassing the

world, surrounding it by Himself.’”

Al-Qushayriyy said, “It is impossible that the One Who is

Indivisible would be, at one time, in every place by himself.” Al-

Qushayriyy [also] said, “They said: ‘His Saying,

﴾معك موه و﴿

means “by Knowledge” and

يط﴿ ﴾بك لشىء مit means, “Encompassment by Knowledge.”’”

He means that they have made ta’wil for these verses and did not

carry them by their apparent meanings, so how would they blame

others for making ta’wil for the verse of al-istiwa by explaining it

as subjugation? What is this capriciousness?

Al-Qushayriyy [also] said:

Had what we said given the impression that He was

overcome, then the Saying of Allah:

فو عباده﴿ ﴾وه والقاهر [which means] “He is the Subduer over His slaves,” would

also give that impression; that reasoning implies that He


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was subdued before the creation of the slaves—how

preposterous!—since the slaves had no existence before

He created them. In fact, had the issue been as the

ignorant people imagine, that His Istiwa’ is by the Self,

that would imply change and previous deficiency that

existed before the time of that istiwa’; for certainly the

Creator, the Exalted, was Existing before the Ârsh, and

the one who is honest knows that saying that change

occurred to the Ârsh because of the Lord is more

appropriate than saying that change occurred to the Lord

because of the Ârsh. The Lord is attributed with high

Status and Greatness and He is cleared from connection

or disconnection and moving or stillness. He is clear from

being in a place or being parallel to things.

Al-Qushayriyy, may Allah have Mercy upon him, [also] said:

A group of ruffians showed up, and had it not been that

they present to the lay people what rushes to their

imaginations I would have exalted this book from staining

it by mentioning them. They say, “We take by the

apparent meaning; we take the verses that suggest

resemblance and the hadiths that give the illusion of Allah

having an organ according to the apparent meaning.” And

they say, “It is not permissible for us to make ta’wil for

any of that.” According to their claim, they are holding

fast to the Saying of Allah,


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الل ﴾م تأويله وماي عل﴿ إل[which means] “No one knows the ta’wil except Allah.”

Those people, I swear by the One Who Controls our souls,

are more dangerous to Islam than the Jews, Christians,

Majus, and idol-worshippers, because the misguidance of

the blasphemers is apparent; the Muslim refrains from

that. Those people come to the laymen from a path by

which the weak people would be deluded. Those people

who propagated misguidance and conveyed those

innovations in the creed to others, in their hearts they

have legitimated ascribing the Glorified, Worshipped One

with organs and body parts, and riding, and descending

and leaning, and sitting or dwelling in a place by His Self,

and going back and forth in the different directions.

Whoever gives consideration to the apparent meanings,

physical matters rush to his imagination. Then he would

hold the ugly, shameful matters as a creed, i.e., likening

Allah to the creation. Then the current would sweep him

away without him realizing it.

So it became clear that the saying of those who say that

interpreting the text by other than the apparent meanings is not

permissible is a mistake, and is ignorance; and it is disproven by

the saying of the Prophet about Ibn Âbbas:


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علامه احلكمةوتأويلالكتابالله م[which means] “O Allah, teach him the Wisdom [i.e., the Sunnah]

and the Ta’wil of the Book.” This hadith was narrated by Al-

Bukhariyy, Ibn Majah, and others, with varying expressions.

Hafidh Ibnul-Jawziyy said in his book Al-Majalis, “And there is no

doubt that Allah answered this supplication of the Messenger.”

Ibnul-Jawziyy was very stringent against those who denied

interpreting those verses by other than their apparent meanings,

and he spoke about that at length, so whoever wants additional

certainty then let him read that.

The meaning of the Saying of Allah the Exalted:

﴾ياف ونرب ه ممنف وقهم﴿[which translates literally as “They fear their Lord from above

them,”] refers to the highness of subjugation and not the highness

of place or direction.

The meaning of the Saying of Allah,

صف اصف ا﴿ ﴾وجاءربكوال ملك [which translates literally as: “And your Lord will come and the

angels will be row after row,”] is not a “coming” of motion,

transfer, or moving and emptying one place and filling up another

in reference to Allah, and whoever believes that blasphemes.


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Allah the Exalted created motion and stillness, and everything that

is an attribute of the created things. Therefore, Allah would not be

attributed with motion or stillness.

What is meant by the Saying of Allah:

﴾وجاءربك﴿[which translates literally as “Your Lord comes,”] is “the Order of

your Lord comes.” This means that a trace among the traces of His

Power becomes apparent. It is confirmed from Imam Ahmad that

he said about the Saying of Allah,

﴾وجاءربك﴿[which translates literally as “Your Lord comes,”] that it means

“His Power came.” This means that the traces of Allah’s Power will

become apparent. This is related by Al-Bayhaqiyy in his book

Manaqib Ahmad.

The Interpretation of the Maîyyah (معية)53 of

Allah that is Mentioned in the Qur’an

The meaning of the Saying of Allah,

ك نت م﴿ ﴾وه ومعك مأينما

53 Maîyyah comes from the word ma^ (مع)which means ‘with’.


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[which translates literally as: “He is with you wherever you are,”]

is the encompassment by Knowledge. Also, maîyyah comes with

the meaning of support, like in the Saying of Allah the Exalted,

معالذينات قوا﴿ ﴾إنالل[which translates literally as: “Allah is with those who have piety.”]

Dwelling in something or being connected to something is not

meant by this maîyyah. Whoever believes like that has

blasphemed, because He, the Glorified and Exalted, is clear of

connection and disconnection by distance. So it is not said that He

is connected to the world, nor is it said that He is disconnected

from the world [which would be] by a distance, because these

issues are attributes of the volume, i.e., the thing that takes up

space. The mass and volume are the things which accept these

two issues, i.e., connection and disconnection, and Allah is not an

event. He negated that from Himself by His saying,

كمثلهشىء﴿ ﴾ليس[which means] “Nothing is like Him in any way.” Allah the Exalted

is not described with being big in size or small, nor is He described

with being tall or short, because He is different from the creation.

And it is obligatory to reject every thought which comes to mind

that leads to limiting Allah.


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The Jews attributed tiredness to Allah. They said, “After creating

the heavens and the earth He rested, and so He lay on His back.”

This saying of theirs is blasphemy. Allah the Exalted is cleared

from that, and He is cleared from feelings, like tiredness, pain and

pleasure; he is cleared from all of that. It is necessary that

whoever has these situations would be a created event subject to

change, and this is impossible to be attributed to Allah the

Exalted.


وما﴿ولقدخلقنا ن ه مافستةأيام السماواتواألرضوماب ي ﴾ مسنامنلغ وب

[which means] “Allah Created the Heavens and the Earth and

what is between them in six days and was not touched by

tiredness.” The only one who gets tired is the one who works with

organs, and Allah the Exalted and Glorified is cleared from the

organ. Allah the Exalted Said,

﴾ه والسميع البصري إنالل﴿[which means] “Certainly Allah is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”

Allah the Exalted is Hearing and Seeing without a manner of being.

So Hearing and Sight are two attributes which are eternal and

without organs, i.e., without an ear or a pupil, and without the

condition of being close or far, and without the condition of a


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direction, and without light rays reaching the eye, and without

airwaves.

Whoever says that Allah has an ear has blasphemed, even if he

said Allah has an ear that is not like our ears. This is different from

the one who says, “He has an Âyn that is not like our eyes, and a

Yad that is not like our hands,” with the meaning of the Attribute

[and not an organ]. This is certainly permissible, because the

expression of Al-Âyn and Al-Yad came in the Qur’an; the

expression of Al-Udhun [ear] did not come in the Qur’an.

The Explanation of the Saying of Allah

﴿ف ثم وجه اهلل﴾

Allah Said:

ولل﴿ والمغرب ﴾اللوجه ف ثمت ولوافأي نماالمشر [which means] “To Allah belongs the east and the west, so

wherever you turn yourselves, there is the Wajh of Allah.” The

meaning is that wherever you have directed yourselves in the

optional prayer, while traveling, then there is the Qiblah of Allah,

i.e., that direction to which you have faced is a Qiblah for you. The

organ is not meant by the word “wajh.”

The judgment of the one who believes in an organ for Allah is that

he is charged with blasphemy, because had Allah had an organ


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then He would have been like us, and then what is valid for us,

such as annihilation, would have been valid for Him.

Among what could be meant by the word “wajh” is “jihah”

[direction; directing oneself]. What is meant by that direction is

what one does for the sake of Allah, like for someone to say, “I did

such and such for the ‘wajh’ of Allah.” The meaning of that is “I

did such and such out of obedience to the Order of Allah.”

It is forbidden to say like what has become spread from the

ignorant people, “Open the window so we can see the face of

Allah.” It is forbidden to say that because Allah said to Musa,

﴾لنت ران﴿[which means] “You will not see Me [in this life].” Even if the

people say that they did not mean that they are really going to see

Allah Himself, it is forbidden [to say this statement].

The Explanation of the Verse﴾اهلل نور السماوات واألرض﴿

The meaning of this verse is “Allah the Exalted is the guide of the

people of the skies and the people of the earth to the light of

belief.”54 Al-Bayhaqiyy related that from Âbdullah Ibn Âbbas,

may Allah Accept his and his father’s deeds. So Allah the Exalted is

54

The verse translates literally as: “Allah is the light of the heavens and earth.”


136

not a light with the meaning of an illumination; rather, He is the

One who Created the light. Allah said:

﴾وجعلالظل ماتوالنور﴿

[which means] “And He Made the darkness and the light.” This

means that He Created the darkness and the light, so how would it

be that He would be a light like His creation? Allah is Exalted from

that with a great Exaltation.

The judgment of whoever believes that Allah is a light, meaning an

illumination, is that he is definitely charged with blasphemy. The

verse:

﴿احلمد للالذيخلقالسماواتواألرضوجعلالظل مات والنور﴾

[which means] “Praise is due to Allah, the One who Created the

Heavens and the Earth and Made the darkness and the light,” is

the most explicit evidence that Allah is not a tangible entity like

the skies and the earth or an intangible entity like darkness and

light.55

So whoever believes that Allah is a volume that is tangible or

intangible has likened Allah to His creation, and the verse is a

witness for that. Most of the people who liken Allah to the

55

Because it explicitly mentions both types of bodies and that He is their Creator, therefore He would not be of either type.


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creation believe that Allah is a tangible body, and some of them

believe that He is an intangible body; they said, “He is a shining

light.” This verse alone is sufficient to refute both groups.

There are many blasphemous convictions, like the conviction that

Allah is someone with a color or a shape. So let the person be

aware of that with his utmost effort in every situation.


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The Meaning of Destiny and Believing in It

Some scholars said, “Al-Qadar [the Destining] is Allah’s

Management of things in a way that complies with His Eternal

Knowledge and His Eternal Will.” He Brings the thing into

existence at the time that He Knew it would exist; included in that

is the voluntary deed of the slave, whether good or evil. What

proves that the Qadar is confirmed is the saying of the Messenger

of Allah to Jibril when Jibril asked him about Iman:

ؤمناإلميان أنت ؤمنباللوملئكتهوك ت بهور س لهواليوماآلخروت بالقدرخريهوشراه

[which means] “Iman is to believe in Allah, and His Angels, and

His Books, and His Messengers, and the Last Day; and to believe

in the Qadar, its good and its evil.”56 Narrated by Muslim.

Allah has Ordained the creations, and among them are the good

and the evil. All of them exist by the Eternal Destining of Allah. As

for the Destining of Allah which is the Attribute of His Self, it is not

described as being evil. Instead, Allah’s Destining of evil kufr, and

sins, and His Destining of belief and obedience is good from Allah.

The Will of Allah is fulfilled in all of the subjects of His Will and in

accordance with His Knowledge of them. So whatever He Knew

would exist, He Willed for it to exist at the time that He Knew it

56

Narrated by Muslim.


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would exist; and what He Knew would not exist, He did not Will

for it to exist.

Therefore, nothing takes place in the world except by His Will, and

nothing will hit the slave, whether good or evil, health or sickness,

poverty or richness, or other than that, except by the Will of Allah,

and nothing that Allah Willed to hit the slave will miss him. It

came that the Prophet taught one of his daughters to say:

ماشاءالل كانومامليشأمليك ن[which means] “Whatever Allah Willed to be shall be, and

whatever Allah did not Will to be shall not be.” This is narrated

by Abu Dawud in his book As-Sunan. Then it became tawatur from

there and spread abundantly among the individuals of the nation.

Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated from our master Âliyy that he said:

“Certainly, the iman will not be pure in the heart of one of you

until he is absolutely certain that whatever hit him was not going

to miss him, and whatever missed him was not going to hit him,

and he confesses about the Qadar completely.” This means it is

not permissible to believe in some of the Qadar and to disbelieve

in some of it.

Al-Bayhaqiyy also narrated with an authentic chain of narration

that Ûmar Ibnul-Khattab was in Al-Jabiyah, which is an area in

Ash-Sham, when he stood to give a speech. He praised Allah and

then said, “Whomever Allah Guided, then there will be no one to


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misguide him, and whomever Allah Misguided, then there will be

no one to guide him.” In the audience was a non-Arab

blasphemer, i.e., he was among the people of adh-dhimmah.57 He

said in his own language, “Certainly Allah does not misguide

anyone.” Then Ûmar said to the translator, “What is he saying?”

The translator said, “He is saying that Allah does not misguide

anyone.” Then Ûmar said, “You lied, O enemy of Allah. And had it

not been that you are among the people of adh-dhimmah I would

have beheaded you. He is the one who Misguided you and He is

the One who will Put you in Hell if He willed.”

Hafidh Abu Nuâym narrated from the nephew of Az-Zuhriyy, who

narrated from his uncle, that Ûmar Ibnul-Khattab used to love

the poem of Labid Ibn Rabiâh which has these verses:

لجثيوعياللرإذنبولفن ري اخنوىرب اقت نإ علفاءماشاخلري هيدبي له دلناللفد أمح

لأضاءشنومالالبمناعدىاهتريخ اللب س داه نهم[which means] “Certainly the obedience of our Lord is the best

nafl [that which is given without obligation], and by the Will of

Allah is my slowness and my swiftness. I praise Allah for there is

no similarity for Him and He Owns and Creates the good, and

whatever He Willed He Does. Whomever He Guided to the paths

57

A non-Muslim subject of the Muslim state.


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of goodness is guided and has a relaxed mind, and whomever He

Willed He Misguides.”

The meaning of what Labid said:

لفن ري اخنوىرب اقت نإis that the taqwa to our Lord is certainly the best nafl that the

human being has been granted.

The meaning of his statement:

لجثيوعياللرإذنبوis that no slow person goes slow and no fast person goes fast

except by the Will of Allah and His Permission.

When he said:

له دلناللفد أمحit means there is no similar to Him.

And when he said:

اخلري هيدبيwhat was meant by that is the good and the evil, and not just the

good. He only settled with mentioning the good because there is


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something in the Arabic language called al-iktifa’ [sufficiency]. An

example of that is the Saying of Allah:

﴾سرابيلتقيك م ال حر﴿[which means] “Allah Created clothing for you that protects you

from the heat.” This also means “and the cold,” because the

clothing protects from both matters, not only the heat.

When the poet said:

علفاءماشit means whatever Allah Willed to take place must take place and

whatever He did not Will to take place will not take place.

And when he said:

دىاهتريخ اللب س داه نهمthis means that whomever Allah Willed to be on the straight,

correct path is guided.

When he said:

الالبمناعit means his mind is tranquil.

When he said:


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لأضاءشنومit means whomever Allah Willed to be misguided, then Allah

Misguides him.

Al-Bayhaqiyy narrates from Ash-Shafiîyy that he said when he

was asked about destiny:

ش أشوإنملأكانئتاشم توما مل إن يشئت مل نك أعلىنسم والىتجيريالفففيالعلم تلمعلىماعبادالعقتلخ

أ تلذوهذاختنذامن ت عنتوهذا مل نعوذانسوهذاحوهذاقبيح عيدومنهمسقي مشنه فم

[which means] “O Allah, whatever You Willed was [i.e., You Made

it come into existence] even if I did not will; and whatever I willed,

if You did not Will then it will not be. You Created the slaves

according to what You Knew, and according to that Knowledge the

young person and the old person will run [i.e., act]. And You have

Endowed upon this one and that one you have Forsaken, and You

have Empowered this one and that one You did not Empower. So

among them are those who will die as blasphemers and among

them are those who will die as believers, and this one is ugly and

this one is beautiful.”

So from this it becomes clear that the pronoun in the Saying of

Allah:


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وي هدىمنيشآء ﴿ ﴾ي ضلمنيشآء [which means] “He misguides whomever He Willed and He

guides whomever He Willed,” goes back to Allah; it does not go

back to the slave as was claimed by the deniers of the Qadar. This

is proven by the Saying of Allah the Exalted, informing about what

our Master Musa said:

وت ه﴿ نت كت ضلب هامنتشآء فت ﴾آء شتنىمدإنهىإل[which means] “Certainly that issue is the fitnah that was created

by You, O Allah. You misguide by that fitnah whomever You

Willed and You Guide whomever You Will.”

Likewise said a faction that is attributed to Amin Shaykhu, those

whom their leader today is Âbdul-Hadi Al-Baniyy, the one who is

in Damascus. They claimed that the Will of Allah follows the will of

the slave, so the meaning of the ayah according to them is that if

the slave willed the guidance then Allah Willed the guidance for

him, and if the slave willed to go astray, then Allah will Misguide

him. So they have belied the verse:

﴾الل آءشينألإونآء شاتمو﴿[which means] “You do not will unless Allah Wills.” If some of

them try to use a verse in the Qur’an to prove the opposite of this

meaning, it is said to them that all the verses in the Qur’an verify

each other and do not contradict. There is no verse in the Qur’an


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contradictory to another verse, and this is not an issue of

abrogation, because abrogation does not apply to the convictions.

Also, abrogation does not dictate contradiction, and abrogation

does not apply to information; rather, it applies to the order and

prohibition. Abrogation is only the clarification of the expiration of

the judgment of a previously revealed verse by the judgment of a

subsequently revealed verse. Beyond that, this group does not

believe in abrogation.

Among their strange stupidity is their interpretation of the Saying

of Allah the Exalted:

ك لها﴿ ﴾وعلمءادماألسآء[which means] “Allah Taught Adam the names of all the things.”

They said this means that Allah Taught Adam the Perfect Names

of Allah. Had it been said to them that had these names been the

Perfect Names of Allah, Allah would not have Said after that:

﴾مهآئسأمبه أبن أآف لم﴿[which means] “…so when he informed them of their names,”

and instead He would have Said, “When he informed them of My

Names,” they would be silenced. Despite that, they will insist on

their ignorance and their perversion of the Qur’an.

Al-Hakim, may Allah the Exalted have Mercy on him, narrated that

Âliyy Ar-Rida, the son of Musa Al-Kadhim, was sitting in the


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Rawdah [of the Masjid of the Prophet] wrapped in wool, and he

was a young man; the people were asking him while the shaykhs

of the scholars were in the Masjid. He was asked about the Qadar,

and so he said that Allah Said:

على النارفي سحب وني وم*وس ع ر ضلل فالم جرمنيإن﴿ ﴾بقدر خلقناه شيء ك لإنا*سقرمسذ وق واو ج وههم

[which means] “Certainly the criminals [i.e., blasphemers] are in a

state of misguidance and destruction. The day when they will be

dragged in Hellfire on their faces, [it is said to them] “Taste of

the touch of Hell.” Certainly We Created everything by Qadar.”

Then Ar-Rida said, “My father used to mention from the route of

his father that the Prince of the Believers, Âliyy, used to say:

‘Certainly Allah Created everything by Qadar, even stupidity and

intelligence. And to Him is the all-inclusive Will, and from Him is

the ability to do the good deeds or refrain from the bad deeds.’”

So the slaves are driven to do what occurs from them by their

choice, not by compulsion and coercion like a feather stuck in the

wind, the wind taking it left and right, as said by the Jabriyyah.58

Had Allah not Created the sins of the sinners, the blasphemy of

the blasphemers, the belief of the believers and the obedience of

the obedient, He would not have Created Paradise and Hell.

58

A deviant faction that denied that the slave has a will.


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Whoever attributes to Allah the creation of good, and not the

creation of evil, has attributed inability to Allah; had it been like

that, this world would have two managers, a manager of good and

a manager of evil, and this is blasphemy and shirk. This foolish

opinion, from another point of view, makes Allah the Exalted

overcome in His Dominion; according to this conviction, Allah the

Exalted only Willed the good, so the evil would have taken place

by Iblis and his assistant blasphemers despite whatever Allah

Willed. Whoever believes in this opinion blasphemes, because of

its opposition to the Saying of Allah the Exalted:

والله غالب على أمره

[which means] “Allah is Dominant over whatever He Created.”

This means no one prevents the fulfillment of His Will.

The judgment of the one who attributes to Allah the good and

attributes to the slave the evil out of good manners is that there is

no harm on him. However, if he believed that Allah Created the

good but not the evil he is charged with blasphemy.

Know, may Allah have Mercy upon you, that if Allah tortured the

sinner, that is by His Justice without any injustice; and if He gave

reward to the obedient, that is from His Generosity with no

obligation upon Him, because injustice is only conceived to occur

from someone who has a commander and a prohibitor. Allah has

no commander and no prohibitor, so He Does in His dominion as


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He Willed, because He is the Creator of the things and their

Owner.

It came in the Sahih Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad in his

Musnad and Abu Dawud in his Sunan and Ibn Hibban from the

route of Ibn Ad-Daylamiyy that he said,

“I came to Ubayy Ibn Ka^b and I said, ‘O Aba-l-Mundhir,

something in myself has taken place in reference to the

Qadar; so talk to me, perhaps Allah will Benefit me.’ He

said:

‘Certainly Allah, had He tortured the people of His earth

and His skies, He would have tortured them without being

unjust to them; and had He had Mercy upon them, His

Mercy would have been Generosity, not due to them

because of their good deeds. And had you given in charity

the likes of Mount Uhud in gold, Allah will not Accept it

from you until you believe in the Qadar and know that

whatever hit you would not have missed you, and

whatever missed you was not going to hit you; and if you

die on other than this, you have entered Hell.’

Then I went to Âbdullah Ibn Masûd and he told me the

same, then I went to Hudhayfah Ibn Al-Yaman and he told

me the same, then I went to Zayd Ibn Thabit and he told

me the same from the Prophet.”


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Muslim narrated in his Sahih and Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated in Kitab

Al-Qadar from the route of Abu Aswad Ad-Du’aliyy:

“Îmran Ibnu Husayn said to me: ‘Do you see what the

people are doing today, and that in which they are

laboring? Is it something predestined for them that has

come to pass on them, or among what they encounter

[without destiny]? [Answer] with that with which their

Prophet came to them, and by it the Evidence was

established against them.’ I said, ‘It is something that has

been destined for them and came to pass on them.’ Then

Îmran said, ‘Would that not have been injustice?’ I was

very repelled by this question, and I said, ‘Everything is His

creation and His ownership, He is not asked about what

He Does, rather, they are the ones who will be asked.’ He

said, ‘May Allah have Mercy on you, I did not mean

anything by my question except to test your intellect.

Certainly two men from the tribe of Muzaynah came to

the Messenger of Allah and they said to him, “O

Messenger of Allah, do you see what the people are doing

today, and that in which they are laboring? Is it something

predestined for them that has come to pass on them, or

among what they encounter [without destiny]? [Answer]

with that with which their Prophet came to them, and by

it the Evidence was established against them.” He said, “In

fact, it is something that has been ordained for them and


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came to pass on them, and what proves the truthfulness

of that is the Saying of Allah:

﴿ هاوماون فس ها*سوى ﴾فألمهاف ج ورهاوت قوى [which means] ‘And I swear by the soul and what Created

it [Allah], He is the one who inspired it with its

wickedness and its piety.’”’”

And there is also the sahih hadith,

إلنذلكفليلومغريوجداللومنفليحمدي ر اخوجدفمنهنفس

[which means] “Whoever found goodness, then let him praise

Allah, and whoever found other than that, let him blame noone

but himself,” narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Abu Dharr

from the Prophet from Allah. As for the first, and that is the one

who found goodness, then he praises Allah because Allah is the

one who is Generous to him by Creating and Giving him the

success without any obligation on Him. So let the slave praise his

Lord for His Generosity upon him. As for the second one, and he is

the one who found evil, it is because Allah Made the evil

inclination of the slave become clear by His Power. And so

whomever Allah Misguided, that was by His Justice, and

whomever He Guided, that was by His Generosity.


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Had Allah Created the creation and Put a group of them in

Paradise and a group of them in Hell based on His prior

Knowledge, then the situation of the tortured among them would

have been as Allah Described in the Qur’an when He Said:

منق بلهلقال وارولوأنا﴿ ناب نالولأرأهلكناه مبعذاب سلتإلي ونزى ر ف نتبعآياتكمنق بلأننذل ﴾س ول

(which means) “Had We Devastated them with a preemptive

torture before they did anything, they would have said, ‘O our

Lord! Had You only Sent to us a messenger, so that we would

follow Your signs before we were degraded.”

So Allah Sent the Messengers as givers of good tidings and

warners, so by the Sending of the Messengers Allah would make

clear what was the readiness of the slave, whether obedience or

refusal; thus, the one who is tortured would be tortured with

evidence, and the one who lives in luxury would live in luxury with

evidence. He Informed us that the fate of a portion of His creation

is Hell because of the deeds they did by their choice, and He, the

Exalted, was Knowledgeable with His Eternal Knowledge that they

would not believe.

The Exalted Said:


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ألملن﴿ من القول ه داهاول كنحق ك لن فس نا ناآلت ي ولوشئ ﴾أجعنيجهنممنالنةوالناس

[which means] “And had We Willed, We would have Given every

soul its guidance; however, what I have Eternally Said will come

into existence: ‘Certainly I will surely fill Hell with jinn and

humans.’” In this verse Allah Informed that He Eternally Said,

“Certainly I will surely fill Hell with jinn and humans,” and the

saying of Allah is truth; He does not go back on His Word, because

going back His Word, i.e., changing, would be lying in reference to

Allah, and lying is impossible in reference to Him.


﴾ق لفلل هاحل جة البالغة ف لوشاءلداك مأجعني﴿ [which means] “[O Muhammad] say, Allah has the ultimate

Evidence, and had He Willed He would have Guided all of you,”

i.e., “He did not Will the guidance of all of you,” since that is not

what He Knew would occur; and so the slaves are driven to do the

deeds that occur from them by their choice, not by compulsion or

coercion.

Know that what we have mentioned about the issue of the Qadar

is not delving into the issue in the inappropriate way that the

Prophet forbade when he said,


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مسك وافأدر القذ كرإذا [which means] “If Destiny is mentioned, then hold back,” as

narrated by At-Tabaraniyy, because this is the explanation of the

Qadar with which the religious text came. As for what is

prohibited, that is delving to reach its secret.

Ash-Shafiîyy and Ibn Âsakir narrated from the route of Âliyy

that he said to the one who was asking about the Qadar, “It is the

secret of Allah, do not delve into it,” but the man insisted. Âliyy

said to him, “Then if you refused to stop, know that certainly it is a

matter between two matters; it is not compulsion and it is not

unrestricted free will.”

Also know that the Messenger of Allah dispraised the deniers of

the Qadar, and they are of factions. Among them are those who

said that the slave is in charge of all of his voluntary deeds, and

among them are those who said that he is the creator of evil, not

the good, and both factions are blasphemers. The Messenger of

Allah said,

األ مةهذهم وس القدرية [which means] “The Qadariyyah are the Majus of this nation,”

and in one narration of this hadith,

قدرلي ق ولونالذيناأل مةهذهوم وس م س،أمة لك لا


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[which means] “Every nation had its Majus, and the Majus of this

nation are those who say ‘There is no destiny.’” Narrated by Abu

Dawud from the route of Hudhayfah from the Prophet.

In the book of Al-Qadar by Al-Bayhaqiyy, and in the book

Tahdhibul-Athar by Imam Ibn Jarir At-Tabariyy, may Allah have

Mercy upon both of them, [it is narrated] from the route of

Âbdullah Ibn Ûmar that the Messenger of Allah said,

واملرجئة القدرية اإلسلمفنصيبل ماليسأ ميتمنصن فان [which means] “Two factions from my nation have no share in

Islam: the Qadariyyah [those who deny the Qadar] and the

Murji’ah [those who deny that believers will be punished].” The

Mu^tazilah are the Qadariyyah because they made Allah and the

slave equal by negating the Power of Allah over what the slave has

power over. As if they are confirming [many] creators in reality,

just like the Majus have confirmed two creators, a creator for

good, who according to them is the light, and a creator for evil,

who according to them is the darkness.

Guidance Is of Two Facets

Guidance is of two types. The first of them is clarifying the truth

and calling to it, and establishing the evidence for it. According to

this meaning, it is valid to attribute guidance to the Messengers

and to everyone who calls to the Religion of Allah, like in the

Saying of Allah about His Messenger, Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص:


155

صر﴿ مستقيم وإنكلت هديإىل ﴾اط [which means] “Certainly you surely guide to a straight path,”

and also the Saying of Allah:

علىال دى ﴿ ﴾وأماث ود ف هدي ناه مفاستحبواالعمى [which means] “As for Thamud, We guided them [i.e., sent a

Prophet to them], but they preferred blindness over guidance.”

The second type of guidance is Allah’s Guidance of His slaves, i.e.,

Creating the guidance within their hearts, like in the Saying of

Allah:

للسلمومني رحصدردالل ه أني هديه يشرفمني ر﴿ دأنه ضي ق احري ضله جيعلصدر لكه كذ ايصعد فالسماء كأن ا ج

﴾جسعلىالذينلي ؤمن ونجيعل الل ه الر [which means] “Whomever Allah Willed to Guide, He Expands his

chest to Islam; and whomever Allah Willed to Misguide, He

Makes his chest tight.” Misguiding is Creating the misguidance in

the hearts of the misguided people.

The slave’s will follows the Will of Allah. Allah the Exalted Said:

أنيشاءالل ه ﴿ ﴾وماتشاء ونإل


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[which means] “You do not will unless Allah Wills.” This verse is

among the clearest evidence of the misguidance of the group of

Amin Shaykhu because they say that if the slave wills to be guided,

then Allah will Guide him, and the if the slave wills to be

misguided then Allah will Misguide him. What would they say

about this verse [which means]: “Whomever Allah Willed to

Guide, He Expands his chest towards Islam,”? It is explicit in

showing that the Will of Allah has precedence over the will of the

slave. In this verse Allah attributed the Will to Himself and he did

not ascribe it to the slave. As if those people are saying, “Whoever

the slave willed that his chest would be expanded to Islam, then

Allah will expand his chest.” Furthermore, when He Says [what

means], “Whomever Allah Willed to Misguide, then Allah Makes

his chest tight,” there is no way to return the pronoun in “He

Wills” back to the slave, because this would make the expression

in the Qur’an weak, and the Qur’an is the pinnacle of eloquence;

there is no eloquence above the eloquence of the Qur’an.

By this their deep ignorance and strong stupidity becomes clear,

and according to the implications of their talk, the meaning of the

verse [which means]: “Whomever Allah Willed to Guide, He

Expands his chest to Islam,” would be that the slave who wills

that Allah would Guide him, then Allah would Expand his chest to

the guidance, and this is opposite of the expression that Allah

Revealed. This is the necessary conclusion of what their creed


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dictates: that if Allah and the slave willed that Allah misguides

him, then Allah Makes his chest tight, and this is not correct.

This a perversion of the Qur’an, because it takes the Qur’an out of

the proper modes of the Arabic language, those modes of the

Arabic language according to which it was Revealed. The

Companions understood the Qur’an according to the rules of the

Arabic language, and the proof that the they understand the

Qur’an differently than this group understands it is the unanimous

agreement of the Muslims, their Salaf and the Khalaf, about

saying, “Whatever Allah Willed to be shall be, and whatever Allah

did not Will to be shall not be.”

The Destining of Allah Does Not Change

Know that Allah’s Eternal Predestining is not changed by anything;

neither the supplication of the one who supplicates, nor the

charity of the one who gives charity, nor the prayer of the one

who prays, nor anything else among the good deeds. Instead

there is no escape from the creation existing according to what

Allah had Predestined for them Eternally without this changing at

all.

As for the Saying of Allah:

وعنده أ مالكتاب﴿ وي ثبت ﴾ميح والل ه مايشاء


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[which means] “Allah Erases whatever He Willed, and He

Confirms whatever He Willed, and to Him belongs the Guarded

Tablet,” this does not mean the erasing and the confirmation is

related to the Preordainment of Allah. Instead, the meaning of

this is that Allah, Whose praises are exalted, Ordered to be

written what would inflict the slave among His slaves, such as

hardship, prevention from goodness, death, and other than that;

and if the slave were to make duâ’, or he were to obey Allah by

staying in touch with his [Muslim] relative or other than that, this

hardship would not be inflicted upon that Muslim, or Allah will

give him lots of provision instead, or make his life long.

He had written in the Guarded Tablet what will actually happen

between those two matters. So the erasing and the confirmation

goes back to one of the books of the angels in which this

conditional destiny is written, just as Ibn Âbbas signaled to. Al-

Bayhaqiyy narrated from Ibn Âbbas that he said about the verse

of the Qur’an [which means]: “Allah Erases whatever He Willed,

and He Confirms whatever He Willed, and to Him belongs the

Guarded Tablet,” “Allah Erases whatever He Willed from the two

books of the Angels. There are two books; Allah Erases whatever

He Willed from one of them, and He Confirms the other one, and

to Him belongs the Guarded Tablet [that contains all of it].”

Also, this erasing does not pertain to dying on the state of kufr

[shaqawah] or dying on the state of Islam [saâdah] . Al-


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Bayhaqiyy narrates from the route of Mujahid that he said about

the interpretation of the Saying of Allah:

ك لأمر فيهاي فر﴿ ﴾حكيم [which means] “On that night, every definitive matter is

distinguished,” “On the night of Qadr what would take place in

the coming year would be clarified, such as provision or hardship.

As for the confirmation of dying on a state of blasphemy or a state

of belief, this is confirmed and it will not change.”

For this reason, the duâ’ that some people say in the month of

Sha^ban is not authentic from the Prophet, which has in it: “O

Allah, if you had written me in the Guarded Tablet as someone

who will die as a blasphemer, then erase from me the name of

being miserable and confirm for me the state of bliss [dying as a

believer]; and if You wrote for me in the Guarded Tablet that I

would be prevented from goodness and that my provision would

be cut off, then erase for me that prevention from goodness and

the cutting off of my provision, and confirm for me bliss and

success in goodness. For certainly You said in Your Book [what

means]: ‘Allah Erases whatever He Willed and He Confirms

whatever He Willed and to Him belongs the Guarded Tablet.’”

Nor is any other hadith of this sort confirmed from the Prophet,

nor from Ûmar, nor from Mujahid, nor from anyone else from

the Salaf, as is known from the book of Al-Qadar by Al-Bayhaqiyy.


160

Let it be known that the Will of Allah and His Destining do not

change, because changing is impossible to attribute to Allah. As

for the hadith:

الدعاءإلالقدريردل [which means] “Nothing deflects the Qadar except duâ’,” it

refers back to the conditional destiny, not the definitive.

Dividing the Matters into Four Categories

All of the matters are of four categories. The first is something

that Allah Willed and Ordered for it to be done, and that is the

belief of the believers and the obedience of the obedient. The

second is something that Allah Willed but did not Order for it to

be done, and that is the sin of the sinners and the blasphemy of

the blasphemers. However, Allah does not Accept blasphemy;

even though He Created it by His Will, He does not Accept it from

His slaves. Allah the Exalted Said:

لعبادهالك فرولي ر﴿ ﴾ضى [which means] “He does not Accept blasphemy for His slaves.”

The third category is a matter Allah did not Will for, but He did

Order for it to be done, such as belief in reference to the

blasphemers that Allah Knew would die on blasphemy. They were

ordered with belief, but He did not Will that for them. The fourth


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is a matter that He did not Will and He did not Order, such as

blasphemy in reference to the Prophets and the Angels.

So whoever is a believer in the Honorable Qur’an, then let him

stop at the Saying of Allah:

ع﴿ ﴾ماي فعل وه مي سأل ونلي سأل [which means] “He is not asked about what He does, they are

asked.” So it is not said, “How could Allah torture the sinners in

the Hereafter for their sins that He Willed for them to fall into?”

The Tawhid of Allah in the Doings59

It was narrated from Imam Al-Junayd, the Imam of the true

Sufiyys, that when he was asked about Tawhid he said,

“Certainty.” Then he was asked for clarification, so he said,

“Certainly, there is no one who gives being to anything among the

things, whether entities or deeds, and no creator for them other

than Allah.”


﴾والل ه خلقك مومات عمل ون﴿ [which means] “Allah Created you and your deeds,” and the

Messenger of Allah said:

59

Allah being exclusively Attributed with Creating.


162

عتهصانع ك لاصانع اللإن وصن [which means] “Certainly Allah is the Maker of every maker and

his making,” as narrated by Al-Hakim, Al-Bayhaqiyy, and Ibn

Hibban from the hadith of Hudhayfah. Since the slaves do not

create anything of their deeds, and instead they acquire them,

Allah certainly Said:

ك لشيء ﴿ ﴾الل ه خالق [which means] “Allah is the Creator of everything.” Allah is

praised by this, because it is something specific to him, and that

dictates absolute inclusivity of all entities, deeds, movements and

stillnesses.


العالمنيق لإنصلتون س كيوميايوماتلل هر﴿ ل*بلكأ مرشر الم سلمنييكله وبذ وأناأول ﴾ت

[which means] “[O Muhammad,] say: ‘Certainly my prayer and

my nusuk,60 and my life and my death, are all owned by Allah; He

has no partners. With this I was Commanded, and I am the first

of the Muslims among this nation.” Allah Mentioned the prayer,

nusuk, life and death all in one context, and He made all of that

His Ownership. So just as Allah is the Creator of life and death, and

60

The worships of Hajj, or slaughter.


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likewise He is the Creator of the voluntary deeds, like the prayer,

and the nusuk, the involuntary deeds are even more obviously

Created by Allah.

What is special about the voluntary deeds, meaning the deeds to

which we have an inclination, is that they are the deeds related to

acquisition. Therefore accountability is related to those voluntary

deeds. Acquisition, which is the deed of the slave, for which he is

either rewarded or punished in the Hereafter, is for the slave to

direct his intention and his will towards a deed; meaning he

spends his power in that. Then Allah will Create it for him upon

that. So the slave is an acquirer of his deed, and Allah is the

Creator of the deed of this slave, which is his acquisition, and this

is among the most ambiguous matters in this Science.


هامااكتسبت﴿ كسبتوعلي ﴾لاما [which means] “For every soul is what it acquired, and against it

is what it acquired.” Therefore the human being is not compelled,

nor is he forced to act, because compulsion negates

accountability. This is the true way; it is different from [the belief

of] compulsion and it is different from denying the Qadar. It is

different from the schools of the Jabriyyah and the Qadariyyah.

Whoever says that the slave creates his own deeds, like the

Mu^tazilah, blasphemes; as Ibn Âbbas said, may Allah Accept his


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deeds, “The talk of the Qadariyyah is blasphemy,” and the

Qadariyyah are the Mu^tazilah. Abu Yusuf said, “The Mu^tazilah

are not people of religion,” and Abu Mansur At-Tamimiyy in his

book Al-Farqu Bayna-l-Firaq described them as mushriks. Abu

Mansur is the one that Ibn Hajar Al-Haytamiyy said about him,

“The great Imam, the Imam of our colleagues, Abu Mansur Al-

Baghdadiyy said…” and he is among those from whom Al-

Bayhaqiyy copied hadith.

Do not be enticed by the lack of charging them with blasphemy

from the later scholars. Ustadh Abu Mansur At-Tamimiyy

conveyed the Imams’ charge of blasphemy against them in his

books Usulu-d-Din and Tafsiru-l-Asma’u wa-s-Sifat. He said in his

book, Tafsiru-l-Asma’u wa-s-Sifat: “Our colleagues have a

consensus about charging the Mu^tazilah with blasphemy,

meaning those who say the slave creates his voluntary deeds, and

likewise those who say that it is obligatory on Allah to do what is

most beneficial for the slave.”

He means by his saying, “Our colleagues,” the Ashâriyys and the

Shafiîyys, because he is an Ashâriyy and a Shafiîyy; in fact, he is

a prominent leader among the Shafiîyys, as said by Ibn Hajar, and

he is a forerunning Imam in the conveyance of documents. He is

known for that among the scholars of fiqh, the scholars of usul,

and the historians who have authored works about the factions;

so whoever wants more certainty, let him read these books of his.


165

His conveyance is not discredited by the talk of Al-Bajuriyy and his

likes who came before him or after him.

As for the talk of some of the early scholars in reference to

abandoning charging the Mu^tazilah with blasphemy, that is in

likes to Bishr Al-Marisiyy and Al-Ma’mun Al-Âbbasiyy because

Bishr agreed with them in saying that the Qur’an is created61, and

he charged them with blasphemy for saying that the slaves create

their own deeds. So know that not everyone who is ascribed to

the school of the Mu^tazilah is judged with the same judgment,

but every single individual among them is judged as being

misguided.

The Intellectual Evidence for the Invalidity of the

Saying of the Mu^tazilah that the Slave Creates his

Deeds

The people of the truth say that the slave’s creation of his own

deeds is invalid because of the absolute inclusivity of the Power,

Will, and Knowledge of Allah. The clarification of that is that the

Power of Allah is all-inclusive, and His Knowledge is all-inclusive,

and His Will is all-inclusive. The relation of all these Attributes to

the possible occurrences is one relation, because the existence of

the mentally possible is in need of the Powerful One in reference

to its possibility and its occurrence.

61

This statement is not explicit blasphemy, because by it it may be meant that the Revealed Expressions are created.


166

If these Attributes of His were specific to only some of the

possible matters, that would dictate Allah’s attribution with the

opposites of these Attributes, such as ignorance and inability; that

is imperfection, and imperfection in reference to Allah is

impossible. Furthermore, the specification of those attributes

would have dictated a specifier, and then [the specification of]

that specifier would be related to the One with necessary

Existence and His Attributes, and this is impossible. Therefore the

absolute inclusivity of His Attributes is confirmed.

If Allah the Exalted Willed for the creation of an occurrence, and

the slave willed for what is different from that, and the will of the

slave took place instead of the Will of Allah, that would validate

the impossible claim of two gods and for there to be numerous

gods. The multiplicity of God is impossible by the known evidence,

and whatever leads to an impossibility is impossible.

Confirmation that the Normal Reasons Do Not

Affect in Reality and that the Only One Who

Affects in Reality is Allah

Al-Hakim, the author of Al-Mustadrak, mentioned in his book

Tarikh Naysabur:

I heard Zakariyyah Yahya Ibn Muhammad Al-Ânbariyy

saying, “I heard Abu Îsa Ibn Muhammad Ibn Îsa At-

Tahmaniyy Al-Marwaziyy saying: ‘Certainly Allah Makes


167

apparent whatever He Willed, if He Willed, of signs and

lessons of His creations. Then by those signs Islam would

be increased in honor and power, and it supports the

Guidance that was Revealed and the Evidence that was

Revealed, and it spreads the Signs of Prophethood, and it

clarifies the indications of the Messenger.

‘As Generosity from Him, those signs and lessons would

more firmly establish the reality of iman for His Waliyys;

and it gives them more evidence and proof against those

who refused to obey Allah and left out His Religion. Then

whoever was tortured would be tortured with evidence,

and whoever was rewarded would be rewarded with

evidence.

‘So to Him is the praise, no one is God but He, the One

with the Ultimate Evidence, the One with the Dominating

Might, the Extremely Powerful One; and may the Salah of

Allah be upon our Master Muhammad, the Prophet of

Mercy and the Messenger of Guidance, and upon his pure

Al is the salam and Mercy of Allah and His Blessings.

‘Among what he have seen with our own eyes and

witnessed in our time, and known about it with certainty,

and as a result our certainty about our Religion increased,

and our faith in what our Prophet came with and the truth

to which he called was increased, and it encouraged the


168

practice of jihad because of the status of the martyrs; and

it increased our faith in what he conveyed from Allah the

Mighty and Honored about the martyrs, which is that He,

may His praises be glorified, Says in the Qur’an:

الذينق تل وافسبيلالل هأموات ابلأحياءعندر﴿ مولتسب ب ﴾حنيفر*زق وني ر

[which means] “Do not consider those who were killed

fighting for the sake of Allah as dead; in fact, they are

alive to their Lord, and they are provided for, happy,” is

that I came in the year 238 to a city of Khuwarizm. It is

west of the valley of Jayhun, and from that city to the

largest there is a distance of half a day. I was informed

that there was a woman among the wives of the martyrs,

she saw a dream as if she was fed something in it, and she

does not eat anything or drink anything since the time of

Abul-Âbbas Ibn Tahir, the Governor of Khurasan; and

before that he had died by eight years, may Allah Accept

his deeds.

‘Then I passed by that city in the year 242, and I saw her,

and she told me her story, but I did not take good care to

document all of what she told me because of my youth.

Then I returned to Khuwarizm at the end of the year 252,

and I found her still alive, and her story was widespread.


169

This city is in a place where the caravans passed by, and

many of those who settled there, if her story reached

them, they would love to go look at her. So they would

not ask any man, woman or child except that they would

know her and give the indication to where she was.

‘When I reached the area, I sought her and found her

outside of the town by many farsakhs. So I went after her

by following her traces from village to village, and caught

up with her between two villages. She walked in a strong

fashion, and she was a middle-aged woman with a good

stature and high breast; the blood was apparent in her,

her cheeks were rosy, and her heart was intelligent. She

walked while I rode; I offered her a ride and she did not

take it, and she started walking with me strongly.

‘Among the people who were traveling with me in the

session were some traders and landlords, and among

them was a scholar who is called Muhammad Ibn

Hamdawayh Al-Harithiyy—and Musa Ibn Harun Al-Bazzar

took from him in Makkah—a middle-aged man who was

worshipful and narrated hadith. Also there was a nice

young man named Âbdullah Ibn Âbdur-Rahman, and he

used show the people of his area who had cases how to

swear in front of the judge. I asked him about her, and

they praised her greatly and said good about her. They


170

said, “Her situation is clear to us. There is not any one

among us who differs about her.”

‘The one who is named Âbdullah Ibn Âbdur-Rahman

said, “I heard her story since I was young. I was growing

up, and the people were talking about her story all the

time; I dedicated attention to her situation and busied

myself with researching it. I did not see except that she

was a good, chaste woman, I did not some across any lie

in her claim, and I did not find any trickery or any

deception.”

‘He mentioned some of the people who work for the

governors around Khuwarizm; in the past they used to

summon her, and they would put her in a house for a

month, two months, or more and lock her in it. They

would appoint someone to observe her, and they would

not see her eating or drinking nor find any trace of urine

or feces. Then they would set her free, and they would

give her clothing and let her go. So when the people of

the area had all agreed to her truthfulness, I asked her her

story, and her name, and I asked her all about her

situation.

‘She mentioned that her name was Rahmah Bintu

Ibrahim, and that she had a husband who was a poor

carpenter. His livelihood was by the work of his hands,


171

and his provision came to him day by day. What he earned

was never more than what he needed for feeding his

family. She had given birth to a number of children for

him.

‘Al-Aqta^, the king of the Turks62, came to the town. [She

said] “When the river froze, he crossed the valley and

came over to us with three thousand horsemen. The

people of Khuwarizm call him Kasra.”63 Abul-Âbbas said

that this Al-Aqta^ was an extremely unjust blasphemer

with a strong enmity towards the Muslims. He had been

troublesome to the people on the borders, and insisted on

capturing people of Khuwarizm and killing and raiding

them. The governors of Khurasan used to appease him

and his likes among the leaders of the non-Arab

[blasphemers] to minimize their harm on the citizens and

their bloodshed of the Muslims. They would send each

one of them money, lots of trinkets, and different types of

fine clothing.

‘One year this blasphemer was disrespectful to the ruler,

and I do not know why that was. Were the gifts late? Or

did he consider that what was sent to him was inferior to

what was sent to the other kings? He came with his army

and blocked the roads. He killed and maimed and

62

They were blasphemers at that time. 63

The title of the old Persian kings.


172

committed corruptions and atrocities. The horsemen of

Khuwarizm were unable to defeat him. The news of his

attack reached Abul-Âbbas Âbdullah Ibn Tahir, may

Allah have Mercy upon him, so he dispatched four

commanders: Tahir Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Mudrik, Ya^qub Ibn

Mansur Ibn Talhah, Mikal Mawla Tahir and Harun Al-

Ârid. He loaded the town with soldiers and weapons and

arranged them into four segments of the region. Each

commander took a quarter. They protected the women by

the Will of Allah.

‘Furthermore, the valley of Jayhun at the highest point of

the river of Balkh froze over when the cold intensified. It is

a great river, it is very treacherous and destructive to the

crops. When the river expands its width would be about a

farsakh, and if it would freeze it would become a level

surface, and nothing beneath it can be reached unless a

hole is dug into it like digging wells out of boulders. I have

seen the thickness of the ice ten handspans, and I was

informed that in the past it would exceed twenty

handspans. When it would freeze it would serve as a

bridge for the people of the area; the soldiers, the pack

animals, and the caravans would pass over it, and so what

is between the two banks would become arranged.

Sometimes it would remain frozen for one hundred


173

twenty days. If in a year the cold would be less, it would

remain for seventy days to about three months.

‘The woman said that the blasphemer crossed over with

his horsemen to the door of the fortress. The people

sought refuge in the fortress and gathered their

belongings there. So they attacked the Muslims in the

morning and harmed them, and so the people of the town

were detained inside. They wanted to go out, but the

magistrate prevented them until the soldiers of the Sultan

and the volunteer fighters arrived, and so some young

men strapped up and went close to the wall of the

fortress with whatever weapons they could carry.

‘They attacked the blasphemers, so the blasphemers

faked a retreat and pulled them away from between the

buildings and walls. When they got outside, the

blasphemers returned to them, and the Muslims wound

up in something like the forest. They sought cover and

took a structure to fight from behind it; they were

separated from the fortress, and help was far from them.

They battled the most severe battling; they stayed firm

until their bowstrings popped and their bows snapped,

the tiredness reached them, and they were touched by

hunger and thirst. Most of them were killed and the rest

were inflicted with severe injuries. When the night came,

both factions fell back.


174

‘The woman said that the fires were lit on the

mountaintops the hour the blasphemer crossed over. The

signal reached Jurjaniyyah, which is a large city on the

outskirts of Khuwarizm, where Mikal Mawla Tahir was

with his army, so he rushed to respond out of reverence

for the Amir, Abul-Âbbas Âbdullah Ibn Tahir, may Allah

have Mercy upon him. He ran to Hazarasb in a day and a

night, forty Khuwariziyy farsakhs, and those were much

bigger than the Khurasaniyy farsakhs.

‘The blasphemer decided to wipe out the band the next

day. When that was in progress the black flags showed up,

and they heard the sounds of the drums, so they

retreated from the people, and Mikal reached the

battlefield. He buried the dead and carried the wounded.

‘The woman said, “That evening we had four hundred

funerals in the fortress; there was no house except that

there was a dead person carried to it. It was a widespread

tragedy, and the whole region shook with crying.” She

said, “My husband was placed in front of me dead. So I

was overcome with extreme sadness and crying, as a

young woman would cry over her husband, the father of

her children, and we had dependents. The women of my

family and neighbors gathered to help me through the

crying. The children came, and they were babies; they had

no concept of the issue. They asked for bread, and I did


175

not have any, and my chest was tightened by my

situation. Then I heard the adhan of Maghrib, so I went to

resort to the prayer. I prayed what my Lord Ordained for

me, then I prostrated, supplicating; and I was beseeching

Allah the Exalted, asking Him for patience and for Him to

Mend the orphanage of my children.

“Then sleep took me away in my prostration. I saw myself

in my dream as if I was in a beautiful land with many

stones. I was seeking my husband. A man called me,

‘Where are you going, O free woman?’ I said, ‘I am

seeking my husband.’ He said, ‘Go to the right.’ I saw a

level land; it was fragrant and had plenty of greenery, and

behold, there were palaces and buildings that I am unable

to describe, and the likes of which I have never seen, and

there were rivers flowing on the face of the earth without

banks.

“I ended up at some people who were sitting circle by

circle. They were wearing green clothing and they were

engulfed in light, and behold, they were the people who

were killed in the battle, eating from food laid out for

them. I started going between them and examining their

faces so that I would meet my husband. However, he saw

me, and so he called me: ‘O Rahmah!’ So I followed the

voice and behold, he was in the same situation in which I

saw the other martyrs. His face was like the full moon. He


176

was eating with his companions that were killed with him

that day.

“He said to his companions, ‘This poor woman has been

hungry all day. Do you permit me to give her something to

eat?’ They permitted him, so he gave me a piece of

bread.” She said “I knew at that time that it was bread,

but I do not know how it was made. It was whiter than

snow and milk, sweeter than honey and sugar, and softer

than butter and fat. I ate it, and when it settled in my

belly, he said: ‘Go. Allah has Given you sufficient food and

drink for the rest of your life in the dunya.’ I woke from

my sleep satiated and quenched. I needed neither food

nor drink, and I have not tasted them since then until this

day of mine, nor anything the people eat.”

‘Abul-Âbbas said, “She used to sit with us. We used to

eat and she would gag, and take hold of her nose,

claiming that she is harmed by the smell of the food.”

‘So I asked her, “Do you seek nutrition from anything, or

drink anything other than water?” She said “No.” I asked

her, does gas and waste come out of her like other

people? She said: “I have not experienced waste since

that time.” I said, “And menstruation?” I think that she

said, “It stopped when the eating stopped.” I said, “Do you

have the women’s need for men?” She said, “And you are


177

not shy of me to ask me the likes of this?” I said, “It is so I

could tell the people about you, and it is necessary that I

would be thorough.” She said, “I do not need it.” I said,

“Do you sleep?” She said, “Yes, the sweetest of sleep.” I

said, “What do you see in your dreams?” She said, “Like

you see.” I said, “Do you experience weakness because of

the lack of food?” She said, “I have not felt hunger since I

was fed that food.”

‘She used to accept charity. I said to her, “What do you do

with it?” She said, “I clothe myself and my children.” I said

to her, “Do you feel the cold, and are you harmed by

heat?” She said, “Yes.” I said, “Do you become tired when

you walk?” She said, “Yes, am I not a human?” I said, “Do

you make wudu’ for salah?” She said, “Yes.” I said,

“Why?” She said, “The scholars ordered me with that.” I

say: They have given her this fatwa from the hadith that

wudu’ is not obligatory except for impurity or sleep.

‘She mentioned to me that her stomach is stuck to her

back, so I ordered a woman who was with us, and she

looked (i.e., without looking at her âwrah), and her

stomach was as she described. She took a bag, stuffed it

with cotton, and tied it to her stomach so that her back

would not snap when she walked. I never ceased to visit

Hazarasb every two or three years, and she would meet

with me and I would repeat the questions. She would not


178

add anything or omit anything. I presented her talk to

Âbdullah Ibn Âbdur-Rahman the faqih; he said, “I have

heard this talk since I was raised, and I have never found

anyone who denies it, or claims that he heard that she

eats or drinks or defecates.”’”

This story proves that there is no necessary intellectual relation

between the lack of food and sickness, the loss of health, and

degeneration of the body. Likewise, it is mentally valid that the

rest of the normal reasons would be devoid of their results.

Furthermore, it proves that things are by the Will of Allah the

Exalted, and that the martyrs have a life in the graves. Glory be to

the One Who has Power over everything.


179

Important Notice

The ignorant person is not excused from what we mentioned of

the basics of the Creed, and he is not excused if he falls into

blasphemy because of his lack of care about the Religion. Had

ignorance excused one from punishment, then ignorance would

have been better than knowledge, and this is against the Saying of

Allah the Exalted:

اي تذكر ﴿ أ ول وق لهليستويالذيني علم ونوالذينلي علم ونإن﴾األلباب

[which means] “[O Muhammad,] are the people who know equal

to the people who do not know?”

However, whoever was new to Islam, or similar to him, does not

blaspheme for denying the obligation of the prayer, the

prohibition of wine, and the like, if he never heard that this is the

Religion of Islam.

The first obligation in reference to the family is teaching them the

fundamentals of the Creed so that they would not fall into

blasphemy by their ignorance of it. For instance, had they believed

that Allah was a white, illuminated body, and reached puberty

believing in that, and then died believing it, they will dwell in Hell

as a result of their corrupted convictions. Al-Fudayl Ibn Îyad said:


180

“Do not be enticed by the numbers of the doomed.” Is this

ignorance of the Creed the result of one’s love for his children?


لي عب د ون﴿ نسإل واإل الن ﴾وماخلقت [which means] “I have not Created the jinn and the humans

except to worship Me.” The interpretation of the verse came as,

“Allah did not Create the jinn and humans except to Order them

to worship Him.” After the guidance came to us, which is the

Messenger, and the evidence was established against us by him,

we have no excuse. The Exalted Said:

ن ب عثر﴿ بنيحىت ك نام عذ ﴾س ول وما [which means] “We do not Punish until sending a Messenger.”


181

Prophethood

Nubuwwah [Prophethood] is derived from naba’ [news], because

Prophethood includes informing from Allah; or it is derived from

nabwah [highness]. According to the first possibility, the word

Nabiyy has the pattern of faîl with the meaning of the doer,

because he informs from Allah about what was Revealed to him.

Or it could be with the meaning of the receiver; then it would

mean he is informed from Allah, meaning that the Angel informs

him from Allah.

Prophethood is intellectually possible, not impossible. Certainly

Allah the Exalted sent the Prophets as a Mercy to the slaves,

because the intellect does not have what frees the people from

the need for the Prophets. The mind does not independently

know the things that save one in the Hereafter, so in sending the

Prophets there is a necessary welfare for the slave, because of

their need for that. So Allah is Generous by making Prophethood

for His slaves. It is the embassy between Allah and His slaves.

The Difference between the Prophets and the

Messengers

Know that the Prophet and the Messenger both share in the

reception of Revelation. Allah Revealed a Law to both of them to

work according to and to convey to the people, except that the

Messenger comes with the abrogation of the Law of the


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Messenger before him, or he comes with a new Law. It is Revealed

to the Prophet who is not a Messenger to follow the Law of the

Messenger before him and to convey it. For that reason the

scholars said, “Every Messenger is a Prophet, but not every

Prophet is a Messenger.” Furthermore, there is also a difference

between Prophets and Messengers in that the Angel would be

ascribed with being a Messenger and Prophethood would only be

for the human.

What is Necessary for the Prophets and What is

Impossible for Them

Truthfulness is necessary for the Prophets, and lying is impossible

for them; and intelligence is necessary for them, and dullness and

stupidity is impossible for them; and trustworthiness is necessary

for them; and so the prophets are clear of blasphemy, major sins,

and demeaning small sins. This is the necessary impeccability for

them, and treachery is impossible to be an attribute of theirs. The

Protection is necessary for them; despicability, foolishness and

cowardice are impossible for them, and they are clear of

everything that repels the people from accepting the Call from

them. Likewise, it is impossible that they would be attributed with

any repulsive sickness. So anyone who attributes to them lying,

treachery, despicability, foolishness, cowardice, or the likes of

that, has blasphemed.


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The Miracle

Know that the way to know the Prophets is the Miracle; it is a

supernatural matter, it happens in compliance with the claim of

the one who claims Prophethood, and it is clear of being

discredited by something similar. Any matter that is strange but

does not oppose nature is not a Miracle. Likewise, whatever does

oppose nature but is not accompanied with the claim of

Prophethood is not called a Miracle, like the supernatural matters

that happen to the Waliyys, those who follow the Prophets. That

is not a Miracle, rather it is called a Karamah. Likewise whatever

is possibly opposed by its likes is not a miracle, like magic, for

magic is opposed by magic of its likes.

The Miracle is of two categories: a category that takes place after

the people’s challenge to the one who claims Prophethood, and a

category which happens without any challenge. The first is like

the camel of Salih, the one that came out of the boulder. His

people challenged him with that. They said, “If you are a Prophet

sent to us for us to believe in you, then bring a camel for us out of

this boulder, and its calf,” so he brought a camel out of the

boulder for them with its calf. They were amazed, so they

believed in him; because had he been a liar in saying that Allah

sent him, then he would not have performed this strange

supernatural matter which no one among the people was able to

oppose with its likes.


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Therefore the evidence was established against them, and they

had no valid option except acceptance in the heart and faith in

him, because the intellect dictates the truthfulness of the one who

performs such a matter. Those who oppose a Miracle are unable

to perform something like it to discredit it, so anyone who does

not accept it in his heart and stubbornly opposes it is considered

someone who deems the value of intellectual evidence as

nothing.

Miracles That Took Place for Those Who Came before Our

Master Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

Among the examples of Miracles that took place for those who

came before Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is the great fire’s lack of effect on

Ibrahim [Abraham], in such a way that it did not burn him or his

clothing. Among them is the transformation of Musa’s [Moses’]

staff into a real serpent, then it returning to its original state after

the magicians that Pharaoh prepared for opposing Musa

confessed, accepted in their hearts, and believed in Allah and

disbelieved in the Pharoah, and confessed about Musa that he

was truthful in what he came with.

Also among them is what took place for Îsa [Jesus], such as

reviving the dead. That is something that cannot be opposed with

its likes. So the Jews, who were cursed for belying Îsa, and were

diligent to fabricate about him, were unable to oppose what he

did with its likes. He also performed another great strange


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matter, which was curing the one born blind, and no one from his

time was able to oppose that with its likes, despite the proficiency

in medicine at that era. So that is evidence of his truthfulness in

everything that he informed about, such as the obligation of

worshipping the Creator alone, without any association of

partners with Him, and the obligation of them following him in the

deeds he ordered them to perform.

Some of the Miracles of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

As for Muhammad, may the Salah of Allah be upon him and all of

his brotherly Prophets, among his Miracles is the moaning tree

stump. The Prophet used to lean against a stump of a palm tree

when he would give the speech in his Masjid, before the pulpit

was made for him. Then when the pulpit was made for him, he

ascended on it and he started with the speech while he was

standing on it. Then the tree stump moaned to the extent that

everyone in the Masjid heard its moaning, so he came down and

embraced it until it was silent.

Also among his Miracles is the speaking of those who do not

speak, i.e., the animals. Imam Ahmad and Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated

from Ya^la Ibn Murrah Ath-Thaqafiyy with an authentic chain of

narration that he said:

We were walking with the Prophet when a camel that was

made to carry loads passed by. When the camel saw the

Prophet it made a strange noise and lowered its neck, and


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so the Prophet stopped at it for a moment. Then he said,

“Where is the owner of this camel?” So the owner came,

and the Prophet said, “Sell it to me.” He said, “In fact, we

would give it to you, O Messenger of Allah, however, it is

for my family and we have no other means of making

livelihood.” So the Prophet said, “If you insisted on

keeping it, this camel has complained about excessive

work and too little fodder, so treat it well.”

Ibn Shahin narrated in his book Dala’ilu-n-Nubuwwah from the

route of Âbdullah Ibn Ja^far that he said,

“The Prophet let me ride with him that day behind him.

He entered a garden of a man among the Ansar and there

was a camel there. When it saw the Prophet it moaned

and cried until the Prophet came to it and he rubbed the

bases of its ears, and so it stopped. He said, ‘Who is the

owner of this camel?’ Then a young man from the Ansar

came and said, ‘It is mine.’ The Prophet said: ‘Why do you

not fear Allah in reference to this animal that Allah

Enabled you to own? For certainly it has complained to

me that you starve it and overwork it.’”

This is an authentic hadith, just as said by Muhaddith Murtada Az-

Zabidiyy in the explanation of Ihya’ Ûlumi-d-Din.

Among them is the springing of water from between his fingers,

which was witnessed in several incidents in great battles that


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were narrated through many routes. The sum of those narrations

promotes definitive knowledge, which is what the hadith that is

mutawatir by its meaning promotes. This did not happen for

anyone other than our Prophet; it happened in such a way that

the water sprang from his bones, nerves, flesh and blood, and this

is more amazing than water springing from the stone that was hit

by Musa. For water to come out of a stone is known, which is

different than water coming from between flesh and blood. This

was narrated through the route of Jabir, Anas, Ibn Masûd, Ibn

Âbbas, Abu Layla Al-Ansariyy and Abu Rafi^.

The two Shaykhs [Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim] narrated from the

hadith of Anas: “I saw the Messenger of Allah and Âsr came in,

and he sought the water for wudu’ but he did not find it. Then the

Messenger was approached with water for wudu’. He put his hand

in that container and then ordered the people to make wudu’, and

I saw the water springing from between his fingers, and the

people made wudu’ until the last one of them.” In a narration of

Al-Bukhariyy, the narrator said to Anas, “How many of you were

there?” He said, “Three hundred.”

Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim also narrated from the hadith of Jabir:

“The people were thirsty on the day of Al-Hudaybiyah and the

Messenger of Allah had a bucket in front of him from which he

was making wudu’. Then the people gathered, and he said, “What

is wrong with you?” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, we do not

have that by which we would make wudu’ and we do not have


188

anything to drink except what is between your hands.” So the

Prophet put his hands in the bucket and the water started to pour

forth from between his fingers like springs. So we began to drink

and to make wudu’.” Then it was asked, “How many of you were

there?” He said, “Had there been one hundred thousand of us it

would have been enough. We were fifteen hundred.”

What is precise is that the water was springing from the flesh

between the Prophet’s fingers itself. That is what An-Nawawiyy

said explicitly in the explanation of Muslim, and it is supported by

the saying of Jabir, “I saw the water coming out,” and in another

narration, “It was springing from between his fingers.”

Among his Miracles is replacing Qatadah’s eye after it was

knocked out. Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated in his book Dala’ilun-

Nubuwwah from the route of Qatadah ibn Nu^man that his eye

was hit on the day of Badr and his eyeball dangled on his

cheekbone. They wanted to cut it, so they asked the Messenger of

Allah. He said, “No.” He called him and he buried his eye back into

the socket with his palm. After that Qatadah did not know which

one of his eyes was hit.

In reference to these two miracles, some of the people praised

the Prophet in the meter of poetry known as Al-Basit. They said:

ليسمعن الكفاففإنحجر مناألسباطسقىم وسىكانإناحلجرف


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بصرمنردقدبراحتهفكمبدعوتهاألعمىب راعيسىكانإن [which means] “If Musa watered the Asbat64 from a stone, then

certainly in the palm is a meaning that does not exist in a stone.

And if Îsa cured the blind with his duâ’, then how many by his

palm did he return their vision?”

Also among the Prophet’s Miracles is the food saying

“subhanallah” in his hand. Al-Bukhariyy narrated the hadith of Ibn

Masûd that he said, “We used to eat the food with the Prophet

and we would hear the food saying ‘Subhanallah.’” These three

miracles were more astonishing than reviving the dead, which was

one of the Miracles of Îsa.

Al-Isra’ and Al-Mi^raj

Among his Miracles are Al-Isra’ and Al-Mi^raj. Isra’, which was the

Night Journey, is confirmed by the explicit documentation of the

Qur’an and the authentic hadith, so it is obligatory to believe that

Allah Made him take a night journey from Makkah to Al-Masjidu-l-

Aqsa. As for the Ascension into the sky, it was confirmed by the

explicit hadiths. As for the Qur’an, it was not documented therein

with an explicit documentation that does not accept any other

explanation. However, it came in the Qur’an that which is virtually

an explicit documentation, i.e., it is practically explicit.

The Saying of Allah came in reference to al-Isra’:

64

The Tribes of Israel.


190

منالمسجداحلرذيأسرس بحانال﴿ بعبدهليل امإىلى ﴾يه منآياتناكناحوله لن رالمسجداألقصىالذيبار

[which means] “Glory be to Allah, Who is Clear of resemblance,

the One who Made His slave take a night journey at night from

Al-Masjidu-l-Haram to Al-Masjidu-l-Aqsa, which We have

Blessed its surroundings, so that We would Show him of Our

amazing signs.”

If it were said that the Saying of Allah,

﴾ى آه ن زلة أ خرولقدر﴿ [which means] “He saw him a second time,” is possible to be a

dream, we say, this is interpreting the verse according to other

than its apparent meaning, and it is not permissible to make ta’wil

from the religious texts without any definitive mental evidence or

confirmed transmitted evidence, as said by Ar-Raziyy in his book

Al-Mahsul and others among the scholars of Al-Usul.

Muslim narrated from Anas Ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah

said:

ا أ تيت يضع الب غلود وناحلمارفو طويلأبيض دابةوهوبالرب فربطت ه املقدسبيتأتيت حىتافركبت هطرفه،منت هىعندحافره

فيهفصليت املسجددخلت ثاألنبياء ،بايربط اليتباحللقة


191

وإناء خر منبإناء السلمعليهجربيل فجاءنخرجت ث ركعتني،اخت رت:))السلم عليهجربيل قالفاللاب،فاخرتت لب من

ثا((الفطرة ....السماءإىلبناعر [which means] “I was approached with Al-Buraq, a white,

long animal, taller than a donkey and shorter than a

mule. He puts his hoof wherever his sight falls.,, So I rode

it until I reached Jerusalem, and so I tied him to the ring

by which the Prophets tie their animals. Then I entered

the masjid and I prayed two rakâhs in it. Then I went

out and then Jibril came to me with a container of wine

and a container of milk, so I chose the milk. Then Jibril

said, ‘You have adhered to the Religion.’ Then we went

up into the sky…”

In the hadith is the evidence that Al-Isra’ and Al-Mi^raj

took place in one night by both his body and soul while

being awake, since no one said that he reached Jerusalem

and then went to sleep.

The Messenger Seeing his Lord with his Heart and Not with his

Eyes on that Night

As for the Prophet seeing his Lord on the night of Al-Mi^raj, At-

Tabaraniyy narrated in Al-Mu^jamul-Awsat with a strong chain, as

said by Hafidh Ibn Hajar, from the route of Ibn Âbbas, may Allah

Accept his and his father’s deeds, “Muhammad saw his Lord


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twice.” Also, Ibn Khuzaymah narrated with a strong chain that

Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص saw his Lord.

What is meant is that he saw Him with his heart, as proven by the

hadith of Muslim from the route of Abu-l-Âliyah from the route

of Ibn Âbbas about the Saying of Allah the Exalted,

كذبالف ﴿ ن زلة آه رولقدى ي رماعلى ونه أف ت مار أى رماؤاد ما﴾ى أ خر

[which means] “The heart did not lie about what it saw. Do you

debate with him about what he sees? And he saw Him a second

time.” Ibn Âbbas said, “He saw his Lord with his heart twice.”

Notice: Al-Ghazaliyy said in Ihya’u-Ûlumi-d-Din, “What is correct

is that the Prophet did not see his Lord on the night of the

Ascension.” What he means is that the Prophet did not see Allah

with his eyes, because it is not confirmed that the Prophet said, “I

saw Him with my eyes.” Nor is it confirmed from any of the

Companions, their followers, or the followers of their followers

that the Prophet said, “I saw him with the eyes in my head.”

The Miracle’s Substantiation of the Truthfulness of the

Prophet

The supernatural matter that occurs for the one who claims

Prophethood when challenged, without any possible opposition

by something similar to it, is as if Allah Said, “My slave is truthful


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in everything that he conveyed from Me.” This means that had it

not been that he was truthful in his claim, then Allah would not

have Made this Miracle appear for him. So it is as if Allah Said,

“This slave of mine is truthful in his claim of Prophethood because

I have made this Miracle appear from him,” because the one who

deems the liar truthful is a liar, and it is impossible that Allah

would be a liar. So that proves that Allah only Created the Miracle

for deeming his Prophets as truthful, because every sane person

knows that reviving the dead, and transforming a stick into a

serpent, and bringing a she-camel out of a solid boulder, are not

normal.

The Way to Know the Miracle by Definitiveness and

Certainty

The knowledge of the occurrence of the Miracles takes place by

observation, in reference to those who witnessed it, and by way of

tawatur in reference to whoever did not witness it. This is like our

knowledge of the far-off lands and the confirmed historical events

that took place to the people before us among the kings and the

nations. The information that is narrated by tawatur replaces

witnessing. So, mentally, it is a necessity to accept, in the heart,

the one who came with the miracle, just as it is religiously

necessary.


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Belief in the Torture of the Grave and its

Enjoyment and Questioning

Allah the Exalted Said,

هاض وني عرالنار ﴿ آلأدخل واالساعة ت ق وم وي وموعشياغ د واعلي ﴾العذابأشدعونفر

[which means] “Hell will be presented to them morning and

evening, and on the day when the Hour takes place, insert the

aristocracy of Pharaoh into the most severe torture.” Allah also

Said,

امعيشة له فإنيعنذكرضومنأعر﴿ ﴾ضنك [which means] “Whoever turns away from my remembrance [i.e.

believing in Me], then he will have a hard life.” These two verses

came in reference to the torture of the grave for the blasphemers.

As for the sinful Muslims among the major sinners who died

before repentance, they are of two groups. Allah will Pardon one

group from the torture of the grave; the other group will be

tortured by Allah and then their torture will stop. Then Allah will

delay the remainder of their torture until the Hereafter.

Al-Bukhariyy, Muslim, At-Tirmidhiyy, Abu Dawud, and An-Nasa’iyy

narrated from the route of Ibn Âbbas: “The Messenger of Allah

passed by two graves. He said, ‘Certainly they are being tortured.


195

And would they be tortured for a major sin? Indeed. As for one of

them, he used to walk with instigation [namimah]. As for the

other, he used to not protect himself from urine.’ Then he called

for a moist palm branch, and broke it in half, and he submersed

one half into one grave and the other into the other grave. Then

he said, ‘So that it would be lightened for them.’”

Know that the return of the soul to the body in the grave was

confirmed in the authentic narrations, like the hadith of Al-Bara’

Ibn Âzib which was narrated by Al-Bayhaqiyy, Al-Hakim, and Abu

Ûwanah, and more than one person deemed it as authentic, and

the hadith of Ibn Âbbas which is elevated up to the Prophet:

نيافي عرفه كاناملؤمنأخيهبقربمي رأحد منما عليهف ي سلام الدالسلمعليهوردإلعرفه

[which means], “There is not one of you that passes by the grave

of his fellow believer that he knew in the dunya except that he

[i.e., the dead one] would know him and return his salam.” This

hadith was narrated by Ibn Âbdul-Barr and Âbdul-Haqq Al-

Ishbiliyy, and he deemed it as authentic.

This dictates that the soul would return to the body entirely, or to

some of the body, and this is the apparent meaning of the hadith,

and the return of life to the body in the grave is prominently

emphasized in reference to the Prophets. It was narrated in the

hadith of Anas from the Prophet,


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ي صلونقبورهمفأحياءاألنبياء [which means] “The Prophets are alive in their graves praying.”

Al-Bayhaqiyy deemed it as authentic and the Hafidh [Ibn Hajar Al-

Asqalaniyy] agreed with him.

Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim narrated from the route of Anas from

the Prophet that he said:

ق رعليسمع وإنهأصحابه عنه وت وىلق ربهفو ضعإذاالعبدإنفت ق ول كنتما:فيفولنفي قعدانهملكانأتاه انصرف واإذانعالمأنهأشهد :فيقول –الكامل أي-املؤمن فأماممد ؟الرج لهذااللأبدلكالنارمنمقعدكإىلانظ ر:له ف ي قال ورس ول ه ،اللعبد ابه االنةمنمقعد ل:في ق ولاملنافق أوالكافر وأما.جيع افرياه

ت ليت،ولدريتل:في قال فيه،الناس يقول ماأقول كنت أدريمنيسمع هاصيحة فيصيح أذ ن يهبنيحديد منمبطرقة ي ضرب ثا

الث قلنيإليليه [which means] “Certainly the slave, if he is put in his

grave, and his companions turn away from him, he will

surely hear the steps of their sandals as they leave. Two

angels will come to him. They sit him up and say, ‘What

did you used to say about this man Muhammad?’ As for

the (perfect) believer, he will say, ‘I testify that he is the

slave of Allah and His Messenger.’ Then it will be said to


197

him, ‘Look at your seat from Hell, Allah has Replaced it

with a seat from Paradise,’ and then he will see both of

them. As for the blasphemer or the hypocrite, he will

say, ‘I do not know. I used to say what the people say

about him.’ Then it will be said to him, ‘You do not know

and you do not know’ [i.e., he is chastised]. Then he

would be hit with an iron mallet between his ears, and

he will scream with a scream heard by everyone close to

him except for the humans and jinn.”

From the route of Âbdullah Ibn Âmr, the Messenger of Allah

mentioned the two who come with the fitnah of the grave [i.e.,

the questioning of the grave]. Then Ûmar Ibnul-Khattab said,

“Will our minds be returned to us, O Messenger of Allah?” He

said, “Yes, like you are now.” Âbdullah Ibn Âmr said, “Then he

had a stone in his mouth,” [i.e., he could not respond].

[It was narrated] from the route of Abu Hurayrah that the

Messenger of Allah said:

ألحدهاي قال أزرقانأسودانملكانأتاه اإلنسان أوامليات ق ربإذاالرج لهذافتق ول كنتما:له فيقولننكريولآلخرم نكراللعبد ه و:قالمؤمن اكانفإن.يق ول كانماقائلفهوممد ؟

اأنوأشهد اللإلإلهلأنأشهد ورس ول ه ورسول هعبد ه ممد ق ربهفله ي فسح ثذلك،لت ق ول أنكلن علم كناإن:له في ق ولن


198

فينام ن،:له ف ي قال فيه،له وي ن ور ذراع اسبعنيفذراع اسبعنيمناللي بعثه حىتأهلهأحبإلي وقظ هلالذيالعر وسكنوم

الناسأسع كنت أدري،ل:قالم نافق اكانفإن.ذلكمضجعهت ق ول أناكلنعلم كناإن:له في ق ولنأقول ه ،فكنت شيئ ايقولون

فلأضلع ه تتلفحىتعليهفت لتئم التئميللرضي قال ث ذلك،ب اي زال .ذلكمضجعهمنتعاىلالليبعثه حىتام عذ

[which means] “If the dead were put in his grave, two

blue-black angels will come to him. One of them is called

Munkar and the other is called Nakir. They say to him,

‘What did you used to say about this man Muhammad?’,

and then he will say what he used to say. So if he were a

believer he would say, ‘He is the slave of Allah and His

Messenger. I testify that no one is God but Allah and I

testify that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.’

Then the angels will say to him, ‘Certainly, we knew that

you would say that.’ Then his grave would be expanded

for him seventy cubits by seventy cubits, and it will be

illuminated for him, and it will be said to him, “Sleep.”

Then he will sleep like the sleep of a newlywed who is

not awakened except by his most beloved wife, until

Allah Resurrects him from that bed of his.

“If he were a hypocrite, he says, ‘I don’t know. I used to

hear the people saying something, so I used to say it.’


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Then they will say to him, ‘Certainly we knew you would

say that.’ Then it would be said to the earth, ‘Close.’

Then it will close on him until his ribs cross, and he will

not cease to be tortured until Allah Resurrects him from

that bed of his.”

Those two hadiths were narrated by Ibn Hibban, and he deemed

them as authentic. In the first of them is the confirmation of the

return of the soul to the body in the grave and the return of the

feelings. In the second is the confirmation of the soul remaining in

the grave and the confirmation of sleep, and that will be the case

as long as the body has not decayed. This enjoyment is for the

strong believer, and he is the one who fulfills the obligations and

refrains from the sins. He is the one that the Messenger of Allah

said about him:

نيا نيافار فإذاوسنت ه املؤمنسجن الد والسنةالساجنفار الد [which means] “The dunya is the believer’s prison and his

drought. If he departed the dunya then he departed the prison

and the drought.” This is an authentic hadith narrated by Ibn

Hibban, and what he meant is the perfect believer.

If the body had decayed entirely, and nothing was left except the

piece of the tailbone, the soul of the pious believer will be in

Paradise. The souls of the sinful believers, i.e., the people of the

major sins who died without repentance, will be between the sky


200

and the earth after the decay of the body, and some of them will

be in the first sky. The souls of the blasphemers will be in Sijjin

after the decay of the body, and that is a place in the lowest earth.

As for the martyrs, their souls ascend immediately into Paradise.

Notice: Excluded from the questioning of the two angels are the

Prophets and the battlefield martyrs, and likewise the children

who died before pubescence.

If it were said, “How would a big number of people be

questioned?” The answer is what Al-Halimiyy said, “What is most

likely is that the angels of questioning are a large group. Some of

them are named Munkar and some of them are named Nakir; two

of them will be sent to each dead person.”

The Judgment of the One who Denies the Torture of the

Grave

The one who denies the torture of the grave blasphemes because

of [his opposition to] the Saying of Allah:

هاغ د واوعشياوي ومت ق وم الساعة أدخل واآلي عرالنار ﴿ ض ونعلي العذابفر ﴾عونأشد

[which means] “Hell will be presented to them morning and

evening, and on the day when the Hour takes place, insert the

entourage of Pharaoh into the most severe torture.”


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This is different from the one who denies the questioning of the

grave. He would not be judged as a blasphemer unless he denied

that out of stubbornness.65

The Resurrection

The Resurrection is true. It is the exiting of the dead from the

graves after the reconstruction of their bodies that had been

eaten by the soil, if they were among the bodies eaten by the soil.

Those are the bodies of other than the Prophets, the martyrs of

the battlefield, and some of the Waliyys, because of what was

narrated by tawatur of witnessing some of the Waliyys. The first

for whom the grave would split open is our Master Muhammad

and the people of Makkah, Madinah and At-Ta’if are among ,ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

the first who will be resurrected.

The Gathering

The Gathering is true. It is for the people to be gathered after

Resurrection in a place, and that would be on the transformed

earth, a leveled earth which is completely flat; it is like a stretched

skin, with neither mountains nor valleys in it. It is bigger and

wider than this earth of ours, and it is white like silver.

The gathering will be of three categories. One category are people

who will be fed, clothed, and riding on female camels with golden

saddles, and those would be the pious people; and another

65

i.e., he knows what Muslims believe and he denied it anyway.


202

category will be barefoot and naked, and those would be the

Muslims who are major sinners; and another category will be

gathered and dragged on their faces, and they are the

blasphemers.

The Questioning of Allah

It is the presentation of the slave’s deeds to them by Allah

Speaking to the slaves in their entirety. They will understand from

the Speech of Allah the Questioning about what they did with the

endowments that Allah Gave them. So the pious believer will be

pleased, and the blasphemer will not be pleased, because he will

not have any good deeds in the afterlife. Instead, he would be

practically about to die from the despair.

It came in the authentic hadith:

منأحد إلسي كلام هربه يومالقيامةليسبينه وبينه مامنكمان ت رج

[which means] “There is not one of you except that his Lord will

Speak to him on Judgment Day, and there will be no interpreter

between them.” Narrated by Ahmad and At-Tirmidhiyy

The Scale

The Scale is true. It is like the scale of this life; it has a pole and a

beam and two pans; a pan for the good deeds and a pan for the


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bad deeds. The deeds will be weighed on it on Judgment Day, and

Jibril and Mika’il are in charge of weighing the deeds. What is

weighed is the pages upon which the good and bad deeds were

written.

The one whose good deeds outweigh his bad deeds will be among

the saved people, and the one whose good deeds and bad deeds

are equal is also among the saved people, however, his status is

lower than the first level and higher than the third. The one whose

bad deeds outweigh his good deeds is under the Will of Allah. If

Allah Willed, he will torture him, and if He Willed, He will Forgive

him. As for the blasphemer, his pan of bad deeds will be

weightful, and there will be no other situation, because he will not

have any good deeds in the Hereafter because he had been fed

for his good deeds in the present life.

Reward and Punishment

Reward, according to the people of truth, is not a right of the

obedient that is obligatory on Allah, it is only Generosity from

Him. It is the compensation by which Allah Compensates the

believer with what pleases him in the Hereafter. The torture also

is not obligatory on Allah to inflict upon the sinners; it is only

Justice from Him, and it is what displeases the slave on Judgment

Day. It is of two types, the greater torture and the lesser torture.

The greater torture is entering Hell, and the lesser torture is

everything other than that; like the harm of the heat of the sun on


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Judgment Day, for the sun will be unleashed on the blasphemers.

They will drown until the sweat of one of them reaches his mouth,

and the sweat of one person will not mix with another person’s,

rather, it will be restricted to him. The blasphemer will even say

from the severity of what he suffers from it, “O my Lord, relieve

me, even if that were by entering Hell.”

The pious believers will be under the shade of the Ârsh. This is

the meaning of the hadith,

سبعةي ظلهم اللفظلاه[which means] “There are seven types of people whom Allah will

shade with His shade,” i.e., in the shade of His Ârsh.

The Bridge

The Bridge is true. It is a wide, extended bridge over Hell. All of

the creations will come to it. Among them are those who will

come to it and enter Hell, and those are the blasphemers and

some of the sinful Muslims; they slip from the Bridge and fall into

Hell. Also among them [the creations] are those who will come to

it by passing over it in its air. Among them are those who pass by

it with the speed of a lightning bolt, and among them are those

who pass by it with the speed of a blink of an eye, and all of this is

taken by its apparent meaning with no other explanation.


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One of its edges is at the transformed earth, and the other is at

what is close to Paradise. It is narrated about its description that

it is slippery, and among what was narrated about it is that it is

sharper than a sword and thinner than a hair, like what Muslim

narrated from Abu Saîd Al-Khudriyy. He said, “It reached me that

it is thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword.” That did not

come as a hadith elevated up to the Prophet, and the apparent

meaning of this is not intended; instead, it is wide. It is only meant

by that that its danger is great, for the ease of passing it or its

difficulty is measured by the obedience and the sins, and no one

knows the limits of that except Allah. It came in the authentic

hadith that their deeds will make them run over the bridge; it

means that their deeds will be the power of their stride.

The Basin

The Basin is true. It is a place in which Allah has Prepared a drink

for the people of Paradise; they drink from it before entering

Paradise and after passing the Bridge. For our Prophet there is a

Basin to which his nation comes exclusively; no other nation will

come to it. Its length is a walking distance of a month, and its

width is similar; its containers are like the number of the stars in

the sky; its drink is whiter than milk, sweeter than honey, and

more fragrant then the smell of musk. Allah has Prepared for

every Prophet a Basin, and the biggest of those Basins is the Basin

of our Prophet.


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The Description of Paradise

Paradise is true. It is obligatory to believe in it and that it is

presently created, just as is understood from the Qur’an and the

authentic hadith. It is presently above the seventh sky and not

connected to it. Its ceiling is the Ârsh of Ar-Rahman.

Its people have the appearance of their father Adam, sixty cubits

tall by seven cubits wide. They have a beautiful appearance; they

have no facial hair and no body hair. They would be thirty-three

years old. They will remain in it forever, and they never exit from

it. The hadith was authenticated that the people of Paradise have

the image of their father Adam: sixty cubits in the sky, seven

cubits wide.

The Messenger of Allah said about its description:

،وقصرمشيدونرم طرد،هيورب وريانةتت ز الكعبةن وريتلأل كثريةفم قام جيلة،وح لل كثريةنضيجة،وزوجةحسناء وفاكهة

رة ونضرة أبديافحب [which means] “I swear by the Lord of the Ka^bah, it is brilliant

lights and fragrant musk, and firmly structured castles and

continually flowing rivers, and lots of ripe fruit and beautiful,

lovely wives, and lots of endowments in an everlasting abode

that is a luxurious life.” Narrated by Ibn Hibban.


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The Description of Hell

Hell is true. It is obligatory to believe in it and that it is presently

created, as is understood by the verses of the Qur’an and the

authentic hadith. It is a place Allah has Prepared for the torture of

the blasphemers that never ceases, and it is also prepared for

some of the sinful Muslims. Its place is below the seventh earth

without being connected to it.

Allah will increase the size of the blasphemer in Hell so that he

would be increased in torture, to the extent that his molar would

be as large as Mount Uhud, and he will dwell in Hell forever and

ever; he will not die in it and he will not live.66 They will not have

food it except from the plant of dari^, and their drink will be from

hot water that has reached the extremity of heat.

As for Paradise being above the seventh sky, that is confirmed in

the authenticated hadith, and that is the saying of the Prophet

when he said:

الرمحن وفوقهعرش [which means] “Above it (Firdaws) is the Ârsh of Ar-Rahman.”

As for Hell being below the seventh earth, Al-Hakim said in Al-

Mustadrak that authentic narrations came in reference to that.

66

i.e., comfortably.


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The Intercession

The Intercession is true. It is to ask for the good from another for

another; and so the Prophet and the practicing scholars and the

martyrs and the angels will intercede. Our Prophet will intercede

for the major sinners of his nation, and it came in the authentic

hadith,

شفاعيتألهلالكبائرمنأميت[which means] “My intercession is for the major sinners of my

nation,” narrated by Ibn Hibban; meaning that other than the

major sinners are not in need of intercession.

For some of them it would be before they enter Hell, and for some

of them it would be after they enter Hell, but before the time that

they deserve to be tortured passes. There will be no intercession

for the blasphemers. Allah the Exalted Said,

لمنار﴿ ﴾تضى وليشفع ونإل [which means] “They will not intercede for anyone except those

who are accepted by Allah.” The first one to intercede is the

Prophet.

The Soul

It is obligatory to believe in the soul. It is a subtle body; no one

knows its reality except Allah. Allah Made the norm that life is


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sustained in the bodies of angels, humans, jinn and animals as

long as that subtle body is with them, and life will depart them if it

departed those bodies.

It is created; it is not eternal. Whoever says it is eternal and not

created has blasphemed, and likewise whoever says the animals

have no souls, like what was said by Muhammad Mutawalli Ash-

Sha^rawiyy in his two books; one of them is a book of tafsir and

the other is a book of fatwas. That is contradicting the Qur’an and

is objection to what is witnessed.67 Allah the Exalted Said,

ح شر﴿ ﴾توإذاالو ح وش [which means] “…and on the Day of Judgment, when the beasts

will be gathered…” and the Messenger of Allah said:

ي قادللشاةاللحاءمن إىلأهلهايومالقيامةحىتا لت ؤدناحل قو الشاةالقرناء

[which means] “Certainly the rights will be given to those who

deserve them on Judgment Day, to the extent that it would be

granted to the hornless sheep over the horned sheep that butted

him.”

67

i.e., the difference between the dead and the living.


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Clarification that the Mercy of Allah is

Inclusive of the Believers and the

Blasphemers in the Present Life and Specific

to the Believers in the Afterlife

Allah the Exalted has Mercy on the believers and the blasphemers

in the present life; His Mercy has encompassed all of them. As for

the afterlife, His Mercy will be specific to the believers. Allah the

Exalted Said:

ك لشيء فسأكت ب هاللذيني ت ق ونوي ؤت ونالزكاةور﴿ محيتوسعت﴾والذينه مبآياتناي ؤمن ون

[which means] “My Mercy encompasses everything [in this life],

and I will reserve it for those who have taqwa [in the next life],”

meaning that in the present life His Mercy has encompassed every

believer and blasphemer. He Says, “I will reserve it for those who

have taqwa,” meaning, “I will specify it for those who feared shirk

and all the other types of blasphemy.”

Also, Allah the Exalted Said:

النار﴿ أصحاب نامنالماءونادى أصحابالنةأنأفيض واعلي ﴾ينمه ماعلىالكافر هحرزقك م الل ه قال واإناللأومار

[which means] “The people of Hell will call out to the people of

Paradise, “Pour some water on us, or something from what Allah


211

has Provided you.” They will say, “Certainly Allah has Made both

of them forbidden for the blasphemers,” meaning Allah Makes

forbidden for the blasphemers that beneficial sustenance and the

quenching water in the Afterlife. That is because they neglected

the greatest of the Rights of Allah, which has no replacement, and

that is believing in Allah and His Messenger.

Furthermore, Allah Made entering Islam, which is the greatest

endowment from Allah, easy; and this by uttering the two

Shahadahs after knowing about Allah and His Messenger. He also

made blasphemy easy; one word that is an indication of belittling

Allah or His Religion would take the speaker out of belief and

throw him into blasphemy, which is the worst situation. It is such

a bad state that he would be to Allah more insignificant than the

vermin and the beast. It does not matter whether he spoke that

word seriously, jokingly or angrily. This has been explained in the

books of fiqh and the reliable madhhabs, and they have judged

that the one who utters such a word blasphemes.


كفر إنشر﴿ عندالل هالذين ﴾واف ه ملي ؤمن ونالدواب [which means] “Certainly the worst of the beasts to Allah that

walk the face of the earth are those who blaspheme; they are

not believers.”


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The Innovation [Bidâh]

Linguistically, the innovation [bidâh] is what was invented

without a previous example. Religiously, it is the new thing that

was not documented in the Qur’an or the hadith. It is divided into

two categories, as understood from the hadith of Â’ishah, may

Allah Accept her deeds, that she said: “The Messenger of Allah

said:

منأحدثفأمرناهذاماليسمنه ف ه ورد [which means] ‘Whoever innovates into this affair of ours that

which does not comply with it is rejected.’”

The first category is the good innovation. It is called “the good

sunnah.” It is the innovation that complies with the Qur’an and

the Sunnah. The second category is the evil innovation, and it is

called “the evil sunnah.” It is the innovation that opposes the

Qur’an and the hadith. This categorization is also understood from

the hadith of Jarir Ibn Âbdullah Al-Bajaliyy, may Allah Accept his

deeds, that he said: “The Messenger of Allah said:

منعملبابعده منسنفاإلسلمس نة حسنة ف له أجر هاوأجر منغريأني ن ق صمنأج ورهمشىء،ومنسنفاإلسلمس نة منعملبامنب عدهمنغريأني ن ق ص كانعليهوزر هاووزر

منأوزارهمشىء


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[which means] ‘Whoever starts a good sunnah in Islam has its

reward and the reward of whoever practiced it after him, without

diminishing any of their rewards. And whoever starts an evil

sunnah in Islam, then upon him is its sin and the sin of whoever

practiced it after him, without diminishing any of their sins.”

Narrated by Muslim.

From the first category is celebrating the birth of the Prophet in

the month of Rabi^ Al-Awwal. The first to innovate it was King Al-

Mudhaffar, the King of Irbil, in the 7th Hijriyy century.

Also, Yahya Ibn Ya^mar, the high-ranking follower of the

Companions, dotting the book of the Qur’an (mushaf); he was

among the people of knowledge and piety. This was approved by

the scholars, hadith scholars and otherwise; they considered it

good. It was not dotted when the Messenger dictated it to the

scribes of the Revelation, likewise when Ûthman Ibn Âffan had

the five or six mushafs written; they were not dotted. Since that

dotting, the Muslims never ceased to be upon that until today.

Would it be said about this that it is an innovation of misguidance

because the Messenger did not do it? If this is the case, then let

them abandon these dotted books of the Qur’an, or let them

erase these dots from them so that they would return to being

devoid of dots, as they were at the time of Ûthman. Abu Bakr Ibn

Abi Dawud—[the son of Abu Dawud,] the author of As-Sunan—in

his book Al-Masahif, said, “The first to dot the books of the Qur’an

was Yahya Ibn Ya^mar.” [Yahya Ibn Ya^mar] is among the scholars


214

of the Followers of the Companions. He narrated through the

route of Âbdullah Ibn Ûmar and others.

Among the second category are the innovations in the Creed, such

as the innovations of the Mu^tazilah, Khawarij, and others who

abandoned what the Companions, may Allah Accept their deeds,

were upon in the matters of the Creed. Also [among them is]

writing “ص”, or “68”صلعم after the name of the Prophet instead of

The scholars of hadith have documented in the books of .ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

hadith terminology that merely writing the “ص” is disliked.

Despite that, they did not prohibit it; in fact, [some of them] did it.

So how do these troublemakers say that observing the Mawlid is a

forbidden innovation, and that making salah on the Prophet aloud

after the adhan is a forbidden innovation, claiming that the

Messenger did not do it, and the Companions did not do it?

Another example is perverting the name of Allah to “Ah” and the

like, as done by many who are ascribed to the tariqahs, for this is

an example of the forbidden innovations.

Imam Ash-Shafiîyy, may Allah Accept his deeds, said: “The

innovated matters are of two types. The first of them is what was

innovated and opposes something from the Book, the Sunnah, the

Consensus, or the Athar.69 This is the innovation of misguidance.

The second was the good thing that was innovated; it does not

oppose anything from the Book, the Sunnah, or the consensus.

68

Or in English, “S” or “SAW”. 69

The narrations of the Companions and their students.


215

This is an innovation that is not blameworthy.” This was narrated

by Al-Bayhaqiyy with an authentic chain of narration in his book

Manaqibu-sh-Shafiîyy.


216

Confirmation that Tawassul by the Prophets

and the Waliyys is Permissible, and not Shirk

as Said by the Wahhabiyys

Know that there is no true evidence proving the lack of

permissibility of tawassul by the Prophets and awliya’ in their

absence or after their deaths, claiming that this is worship of

other than Allah, because merely calling on one who is alive or

dead is not worship of other than Allah. Nor is mere glorification

of someone, nor merely seeking the help of other than Allah, nor

merely seeking the grave of a Waliyy with the purpose of seeking

blessings, nor merely seeking what is not usually sought from

people, nor the mere expression of seeking help from other than

Allah the Exalted.

This means that none of that is shirk, because that is not

applicable to the definition of îbadah [worship] according to the

linguists; for worship, according to them, is the obedience with

the humility. Al-Azhariyy, who is one of the elite linguists, said in

his book Tahdhibul-Lughah, copying from Az-Zajjaj, who is among

their most famous, “Îbadah in the language of the Arabs is the

obedience with the humility.” Al-Farra’ said similar, as mentioned

in Lisanul-Ârab by Ibn Mandhur. Some said, “The ultimate extent

of fear and humility,” and others said, “The extent of humility,” as

understood from the explainer of Al-Qamus, Murtada Az-Zabidiyy,

the Seal of the Linguists.


217

This is what is correct, linguistically and normally. Mere humility is

not worship of other than Allah, or else everyone who lowers

themselves to the kings and high-ranking people would

blaspheme. It was confirmed that when Muâdh Ibn Jabal came

from Ash-Sham, he prostrated to the Messenger of Allah, and so

the Messenger said, “What is this?” He said, “O Messenger of

Allah, surely I have seen the people of Ash-Sham prostrating to

their generals and their priests, and you are more deserving of

that.” He said, “Do not do that. Had I ordered anyone to prostrate

to anyone, I would have ordered the woman to prostrate to her

husband.” Ibn Hibban, Ibn Majah, and others have narrated that.

The Messenger of Allah did not say to him, “You have

blasphemed,” and he did not say to him, “You have committed

shirk,” despite that his prostration to the Prophet is a great sign of

humility.

Those who charge a person with blasphemy because he sought

out the grave of the Messenger or other than him among the

Waliyys for seeking blessings are ignorant about the meaning of

îbadah. They have opposed what the Muslims are upon, because

the Muslims of the Salaf and the Khalaf never ceased to visit the

grave of the Prophet for seeking blessings. Traveling to seek

blessings does not mean the Prophet creates the blessing for

them. Rather the meaning is that they hope that Allah Creates the

blessing for them by their visiting his grave.


218

The evidence for that is what Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated with an

authentic chain of narration from Malik Ad-Dar, who was Ûmar’s

treasurer, that he said:

The people were inflicted with a drought during the time

of Ûmar, so a man came to the grave of the Prophet and

said “O Messenger of Allah, seek the rain for your nation,

for surely they are perishing.” So the man was approached

in his dream [by the Prophet]. It was said to him, “Convey

the salam to Ûmar, and inform them that they will be

watered, and say to him, ‘Endeavor, endeavor.’” The man

came to Ûmar and informed him, so Ûmar cried and

said, “O my Lord, I do not fall short except in what I am

unable.”

The identity of this man came as Bilal Ibnul-Harith Al-Muzaniyy,

the Companion. This Companion sought the grave of the

Messenger for blessings. Ûmar did not object to him, nor did

anyone else. Therefore, Ibn Taymiyah’s claim that this is a travel

of shirk is invalidated.

Hafidh Waliyyu-d-Din Al-Îraqiyy said about the hadith of Abu

Hurayrah that Musa said, “O my Lord, draw me as near to the

Holy Land as the throw of a stone,” and that the Prophet said,

ره إىلجنبالطريقعندالكثيب والللوأنعنده ألري ت كمق ب األمحر


219

[which means] “By Allah, had I been there, I surely would have

shown you his grave on the side of the road at the red hill,” “In

this hadith is evidence of the recommendation of knowing the

graves of the pious for visiting them and doing what is rightfully

done there.”

Hafidh Ad-Diya’ said:

Salim At-Tall told me: “I have not seen the supplication

answered faster than a supplication made at this grave.

And Shaykh Âbdullah Ibn Yunus, who is known as Al-

Armaniyy, told me that he visited this grave and that he

slept, and in his dream he saw a dome there, and in it

there was a man with a tawny complexion [asmar]. So he

gave him salam and he said to him, ‘You are Musa, the

one to whom Allah Spoke,’ or he said, ‘The Prophet of

Allah.’ So he said ‘Yes.’ So [he said] ‘I said, “Say something

to me.” So he signaled to me with four fingers and

described their length. Then I woke up and I did not know

what he said. So I informed Shaykh Dhayyal about that

and he said, “Four children will be born for you.” I said, “I

have married a woman and I have not approached her.”

He said, “She will be other than this one.” And so I

married another one, and she gave birth to four children

for me.’”


220

Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad with a hasan chain of

narration, as said by Hafidh Ibn Hajar, that Al-Harith Ibn Hassan

Al-Bakriyy said to the Messenger of Allah, “…I seek refuge with

Allah and His Messenger from being like the delegate of Âd…”

This hadith in its entirety is evidence that invalidates the saying of

the Wahhabiyys that seeking refuge with other than Allah is shirk.

It is narrated from Ibn Âbbas that the Messenger of Allah said:

إنللملئكة فاألرضسوىاحلفظةيكت بونمايسق ط منور ن واعبادالل فلة فلي نادأعي الشجرفإذاأصابأحدك معرجةبأرض [which means] “Certainly Allah Has angels who roam the earth

other than the recorders. They write the leaves that fall to the

ground. So if any of you are inflicted with a hardship in a open

land, then let him call out, “Help, O slaves of Allah.” Narrated by

At-Tabaraniyy, and Hafidh Al-Haythamiyy said its narrators are

trustworthy.

Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah said:

لك م،ووفات رلك موماتخي رلك مت دث ونوي دث حياتخي منخري مح أعمال ك مفمارأيت علي اللخريلك مت عرض دت

لك م است غفرت منشرا عليهومارأيت [which means] “My life is good for you and my death is good for

you. You do things, and so the Revelation occurs for you [i.e.,


221

comes in reference to what you have done], and my death is good

for you; your deeds will be presented to me. So any goodness

that I saw, I praised Allah for it, and any evil that I saw, then I

have sought forgiveness for you.” This is narrated by Al-Bazzar

and the narrators of the chain are authentic narrators.

At-Tabaraniyy narrates in his big and small Mu^jams from the

route of Ûthman Ibn Hunayf that a man used to go back and

forth to Ûthman Ibn Âffan, and Ûthman did not turn to him

[i.e., pay him attention, because he was busy] and he would not

look into the man’s need. So this man met Ûthman Ibn Hunayf

and complained about that to him, so he said: “Go to the place of

wudu’ and make wudu’, then pray two rakâhs, then say: ‘O Allah,

certainly I ask you, and I direct myself to you by our Prophet

Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, certainly I

direct myself by you to my Lord in my need, so that it would be

fulfilled for me.’ Then come to me, so that I will go with you.”

So the man left and did what Ûthman [Ibn Hunayf] told him to

do, then he came to Ûthman [Ibn Âffan]’s door. Then the

doorman came and took him by the hand, and he took him in to

Ûthman Ibn Âffan, and he sat him on his carpet. So Ûthman

said, “What do you need?” He mentioned his need to him, then

Ûthman fulfilled his need, and he said “I did not remember your

need until this moment.” He left Ûthman Ibn Âffan and then he

met Ûthman Ibn Hunayf and he said: “May Allah Compensate


222

you with goodness. He would not look into my need, and he

would not turn to me until you spoke to him about me.”

Ûthman Ibn Hunayf said, “I swear by Allah, I did not speak to

him. However, I witnessed the Messenger of Allah when a blind

man came to him and complained to him about the loss of his

sight. The Prophet said, “If you want, you will be patient; and if

you want, I will make duâ’ for you.” So he said to the Messenger

of Allah, “Certainly the loss of my sight is a hardship upon me, and

certainly I do not have a guide.” So the Prophet said to him, “Go to

the place of wudu’ and make wudu’ and pray two rakâhs and

then say these words.” So the man did what he said, and Ûthman

Ibn Hunayf said “I swear by Allah, we had not dispersed, and the

session had not been long, when the man returned to us while he

was sightful as if he was never blind.”

At-Tabaraniyy said, “The hadith is sahih.” At-Tabaraniyy’s habit is

that he does not verify hadith, despite the vastness of his book Al-

Mu^jamu-l-Kabir. He did not say about any hadith that he

narrated, even if it were authentic, “The hadith is authentic,”

except for this hadith.

In this hadith is evidence that the blind man made tawassul by the

Prophet in his absence, which is proven by the saying of Ûthman

Ibn Hunayf, “Until the man returned to us.” Also in this hadith is

evidence that it is permissible to make tawassul by the Prophet in

his life and after his death. So the saying of Ibn Taymiyah that it is


223

not permissible to make tawassul, except by the present and

living, is invalidated; and every condition that is not in the Book of

Allah is invalid, even if it were a hundred conditions.

As for this claim of Ibn Taymiyah’s, to which some Wahhabiyys

hold fast, which is At-Tirmidhiyy’s narration of the hadith, which

has in it,

اللهمشفعه فوشفعنفنفسي[which means] “O Allah, Cure him by me and Cure me by myself,”

this hadith does not prove that there is no seeking of blessings

from the self of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص, rather, seeking the blessing

from the self of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is a matter of consensus. No one

opposed that except Ibn Taymiyah, and the Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is the

one about whom someone said:

وأبيض يستسقى الغمام بوجهه ثمال اليتامى عصمة لألرامل

[which means] “He was fair in complexion. Rain would be sought

from the clouds by the self of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص; the aid of the

orphans and widows.”

As for Ûmar’s tawassul by Al-Âbbas after the Prophet’s ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

death, it was not because the Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص had died; instead,

that was for the purpose of observing the right of his relation to

the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص, as proven by the saying of Al-Âbbas when

Ûmar sent him forward to do the supplication: “Oh Allah,


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certainly the people have directed themselves by me to You

because of my place to Your Prophet.” So the invalidity of Ibn

Taymiyah’s opinions and those of those who follow him becomes

clear. This athar was narrated by Zubayr Ibn Bakkar, as said by

Hafidh Ibn Hajar.

What clarifies this further is what Al-Hakim narrated in Al-

Mustadrak, that Ûmar delivered a speech to the people and said:

“O people, certainly the Messenger of Allah used to treat Al-

Âbbas like the child treats his father; he would glorify him and

give him high rank, and he would fulfill his swear. So, O people,

follow the Messenger of Allah in reference to his uncle Al-Âbbas,

and take him as a means to Allah in reference to what you are

inflicted with.” This clarifies the reason for Ûmar’s tawassul by

Al-Âbbas.

After this, there is no consideration given to the claim of some of

those demagogues that in the chain of the aforementioned hadith

[of the blind man] is Abu Ja^far and he is an unknown man. The

case is not as they have claimed; in fact, Abu Ja^far is Abu Ja^far

Al-Khitmiyy, and he is trustworthy. Likewise, no attention is given

to the claim of some of them, which is specifically Nasiru-d-Din Al-

Albaniyy, that what At-Tabaraniyy meant when he said the hadith

was sound is the original amount of the hadith, which is only what

the blind man did during the life of the Messenger of Allah, and he

did not mean to include what the man did during the days of

Ûthman Ibn Âffan after the death of the Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص.


225

This is rejected because the scholars of hadith terminology said

that the word hadith is used in reference to what is elevated up to

the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص and what is stopped at the Companions. This

means that the speech of the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is called a

hadith and the saying of the Companion is called a hadith, and the

expression “hadith” is not limited to the speech of the Prophet in

their terminology. The talk of this camouflager does not comply

with what is confirmed in the knowledge of hadith terminology, so

whoever wants, let him look into the book Tadribu Rawiyy and Al-

Ifsah70 and other books of hadith terminology; for surely nothing

dragged Al-Albaniyy to this claim except for his strong partisanship

making him adhere to his desire, and his lack of concern for

opposing the scholars, similar to his predecessor Ibn Taymiyah.

As for the hadith of Ibn Âbbas that was narrated by At-

Tirmidhiyy, that the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said to him:

إذاسألتفاسألاللوإذااست عنتفاستعنبالل[which means] “If you ask, then ask Allah, and if you sought help,

then seek help from Allah,” this hadith also does not contain

evidence for the prohibition of tawassul by the Prophets and the

Waliyys, because the hadith means that the most deserving to be

asked and for help to be sought from him is Allah the Exalted. The

70

By As-Siyutiyy and Ibn Daqiq Al-Îd, respectively.


226

hadith does not mean, “Do not ask other than Allah and do not

seek help from other than Allah.”

What is similar to that is the Prophet’s saying ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص ,

لت صاحبإلم ؤمن اوليأك لطعامكإلتقي [which means] “Do not accompany except the believer, and no

one eats your food except a pious person.” Just like it is not

understood from this hadith the impermissibility of accompanying

someone other than a believer, or feeding someone other than a

pious believer, and what is understood from it is only that the best

for companionship is the believer, and that the best for feeding is

the pious, likewise the hadith of Ibn Âbbas; nothing is

understood from it except what is preferred. The prohibition that

they are claiming is not in this hadith.

There is no difference between seeking the means and seeking

help, because seeking the means [tawassul] is called seeking help

[istighathah], just as it came in the hadith of Al-Bukhariyy that the

Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said:

ل غ ي ب نماإنالشمستدن ويومالقيامةحىتا نصفاأل ذ نفب ي العر مب حمد م وسىث كذلكاستغاث وابآدمث ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص ه م

[which means] “Certainly the sun will draw near on Judgment

Day until the sweat reaches the mid-ear; and so when they are


227

at that point, they seek help from Adam, then Musa, then

Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص.” This is Âbdullah Ibn Ûmar’s narration of the

hadith of the intercession of Judgment Day, and in the narration

of Anas, the hadith is narrated with the expression, “They seek the

intercession.” Both of those narrations are in books of Sahih. So

this proves that “seeking intercession” and “seeking help” have

the same meaning. So the Messenger named this seeking

intercession from Adam with his Lord, “seeking help

[istighathah].”

Furthermore, the Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص called the rain “the one who

comes with help.” Abu Dawud and others narrated with an

authentic chain of narration that the Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said:

غريءاجل عاجل اللهماسقناغيث امريع انافع اغريضارا[which means] “O Allah, water us with the help, the helper, the

quencher, the benefitter, without it being harmful, soon and not

delayed.” So the Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص called the rain “helper,”

because it saves one from the hard situation by the Will of Allah,

and likewise the Prophet and the Waliyy save one from the hard

situation by the Will of Allah the Exalted.

Seeking Blessings from the Traces of the

Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص


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Know that the Companions, may Allah Accept their deeds, used to

seek blessings from the traces of the Prophet during his life and

after his death, and the Muslims have never ceased to be upon

that until this day of ours. The permissibility of this matter is

known from the doing of the Prophet, which is that he distributed

his hair when he shaved for the Farewell Hajj and distributed his

nails.

As for the distribution of his hair, Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim have

narrated that from the route of Anas. According to the expression

of Muslim, when he threw the stones at the station, and

slaughtered his sacrifices, and shaved, he directed the barber to

his right side and had him shave. Then the Prophet called Abu

Talhah Al-Ansariyy and gave him that hair. Then he made the

barber go to his left side, and he said “Shave.” So he shaved, and

he gave it to Abu Talhah and he told him to distribute it among

the people.

In another narration of Imam Muslim he started with the right

side, and he distributed a hair or two among the people. Then he

said, “The left side,” and so he did the same. Then he said, “Here,

Abu Talhah,” and he gave the hair to Abu Talhah. In another

narration, also by Imam Muslim, he said to the barber, “Ha’” and

he signaled with his hand to the right side, and then he distributed

his hair to whoever was by him. Then he directed the barber to

his left side, and so he shaved it, and he gave the hair to Umm

Sulaym. The meaning of the hadith is that he personally


229

distributed the hair to the people who were close to him, and he

gave some to Abu Talhah so that he would distribute it among the

rest of the people, and he gave some to Umm Sulaym; therein is

seeking blessings from the traces of the Messenger.

He distributed his hair so that they would seek the blessing by it,

and seek intercession with Allah by that which is from the

Prophet, and seek a higher status from Allah for that. He

distributed that hair among them so it would be a remaining

blessing among them and a reminder for them. Then whoever

Allah endowed to follow the Companions in their footsteps did so

in seeking the blessings from his traces, and the latter-day

Muslims took that from the Salaf.

As for the distribution of his nails, Imam Ahmad narrated in his

Musnad that the Prophet clipped his nails and distributed them

among the people. It is known that that was not so that they

would eat it, rather, it was so they would seek the blessing by it.

As for his cloak, Imam Muslim narrated in the Sahih from the

servant of Asma’ Bintu Abi Bakr that he said, “She brought out to

us a cloak which is Tayyaalisa and Kisrayaniyyah and Farjaahu

Makfufaan. She said, ‘This is the cloak of the Messenger of Allah.

Â’ishah had it, and when she died I took it. The Prophet used to

wear it, and we wash it for the sick people to seek cure by it.’” In

another narration it is said, “We wash it for the sick among us.”


230

[It came] from the route of Handhalah Ibn Hadhyam that he said,

“I came with my grandfather Hadhyam to the Messenger of Allah,

so my grandfather said, ‘Oh Messenger of Allah, I have sons who

have beards and other than them, and this is the youngest of

them.’ So the Messenger of Allah brought me close and he wiped

my head, and he said ‘May Allah Bless you.’” Adh-Dhayyal said “I

saw Handhalah approached with a man with a swollen face or a

sheep with a swollen udder, so he would say ‘Bismillah’ on the

spot where the Messenger of Allah wiped, then he would wipe it

and the swelling would go away.” At-Tabaraniyy narrated this in

Al-Mu^jamu-l-Awsat and Al-Mu^jamu-l-Kabir with the likes of this

expression, and Imam Ahmad also narrated it in a long hadith, and

Ahmad’s narrators are trustworthy.

It was narrated from the route of Thabit that he said, “I used to

come to Anas, and when I came he would be informed about my

arrival, and so I would enter in on him and take him by his hands,

and I would kiss them and say, ‘By my father, these two hands

that have touched the Messenger of Allah!’, and I would kiss his

two eyes and say, ‘By my father, these two eyes that have seen

the Messenger of Allah!’” Abu Ya^la narrated this, and the

narrators are narrators of sahih except for Âbdullah Ibn Abi Bakr

Al-Maqdimiyy, and he is still trustworthy.

It was narrated from the route of Dawud Ibn Abi Salih that he said,

“One day Marwan [Ibnu-l-Hakam] came and found a man putting

his face on the Prophet’s grave ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص. He said, “Do you know what


231

you are doing?” So he approached him, and behold, it was Abu

Ayyub [Al-Ansariyy], who said, “Yes. I came for the Messenger of

Allah, and I did not come for a stone. I heard the Messenger of

Allah saying, “Do not cry for the Religion if it is under the

supervision of those who are qualified, rather, cry for it if it is

under the supervision of those who are not qualified.” This is

narrated by Ahmad and At-Tabaraniyy who narrated that in the

Kabir and the Awsat.

Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated in his book Dala’ilu-n-Nubuwwah, and Al-

Hakim narrated in his Mustadrak, and others have narrated in a

chain of narration, that Khalid Ibnu-l-Walid lost his qalansuwah on

the day of the battle of Al-Yarmuk. So he said, “Seek it,” but they

did not find it; then they searched for it again and they found it.

Then Khalid said, “The Messenger of Allah made Ûmrah and he

shaved his head, and the people rushed to get the hair from the

sides of his head, and I beat them to his forelock and put it in this

qalansuwah. And I did not attend any battle with this qalansuwah

except that I was provided with victory.” This story is authentic, as

mentioned by Shaykh Habibu-r-Rahman Al-A^dhamiyy in his

commentary of the book Al-Matalibu-l-Âliyah. He said, “Al-

Busiriyy said, ‘Abu Ya^la narrated this story with an authentic

chain of narration.’” Also, Al-Haythamiyy said that At-Tabaraniyy

and Abu Ya^la narrated this story by the likes of these words, and

both of their narrators are men of authentic narration. So there is


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no consideration after this given to the claim of those who reject

seeking blessings from his honorable traces ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص.


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Ijtihad and Imitation

Al-Ijtihad is extraction of judgments for which there is no explicit

text that can only have one meaning. The mujtahid is the one who

is qualified to do that by having memorized the verses related to

judgments, and the hadiths related to judgments, and the

knowledge of their chains of narration, and of the situations of the

narrators of the chain, and the abrogating and the abrogated, the

general and the specific, the absolute and the restricted. Likewise

he will have mastered the Arabic language in a way that he

memorized what the expression of those texts refer to, i.e., he

knows what those texts are in reference to according to the

language in which the Qur’an was revealed. He would also know

what the mujtahids have agreed upon, because if he does not

know that, we do not feel safe that he will not breach the

consensus, i.e., the consensus of those who were before him.

Above that is a great condition in ijtihad, and that is fiqhun-nafs,

i.e., great strength of understanding and realization.

Trustworthiness is conditional, which is being clear of major sins

and being clear of persisting in doing small sins in a way that they

overcome his good deeds in number. As for the imitator, he is the

one who has not reached this level.

The evidence that the Muslims are of these two levels is that the

Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said:


234

س لنضراللامرأ م ب لغ كماسعها،فر ب عمقاليتف وعاهافأداها فقهعنده

[which means] “May Allah Enlighten the face of the person who

heard my saying, understood it, and conveyed it as he heard it,

for how many conveyors there are who have no fiqh.” Narrated

by At-Tirmidhiyy and Ibn Hibban. The evidence in the hadith is his

saying, “…how many conveyors there are who have no fiqh.” In a

narration,

م ب لغأوعىمنسامع ور ب[which means] “How many a person received the conveyance

and they understood better than the one who heard.” In this

hadith is evidence that among the Followers are those who were

more knowledgeable than the Companions themselves. This

hadith makes us understand that among those who heard the

hadith from the Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص are those whose share is only to

narrate what he heard to someone else, and his understanding

would be less than the understanding of the one to whom he

conveys, [whereas] the one to whom he conveys is able, from the

strength of his genius, to extract rulings and cases from that

hadith. This is called istimbat [derivation; extraction]. The one

who heard does not have this strong genius; he only understands

the meaning that is close to the expression. From here it is known

that some of the Companions would have less understanding than


235

the one who heard the hadith of the Messenger of Allah from

them.

[It came] in another expression for this hadith,

حاملفقه إىلمنهوأفقه منه فر ب[which means] “How many a carrier of fiqh there is who carries it

to he who has more fiqh than him.” These two narrations are in

At-Tirmidhiyy and Ibn Hibban.

This mujtahid is the subject of the Prophet’s saying ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص,

إذااجتهداحلاكم فأصابفله أجرانوإذااجتهدفأخطأفلهأجر[which means] “If the ruler makes ijtihad and he is correct, then

he has two rewards; and if he makes ijtihad and he is mistaken,

then he has one reward,” narrated by Al-Bukhariyy. The

Messenger of Allah only specified the ruler in this hadith because

he is more in need of ijtihad than others. In the past, there have

been mujtahids from the salaf who, along with being mujtahids,

were also rulers, like the six khalifahs: Abu Bakr, Ûmar Ibnu-l-

Khattab, Ûthman, Âliyy, Al-Hasan Ibn Âliyy, and Judge Shurayh.

The scholars of hadith who authored works of hadith terminology

counted the muftis among the Companions as less than ten. It was

also said that they were about six, and some scholars said about

two hundred of them reached the level of ijtihad, and this saying


236

is the most correct. So if the issue is like this in reference to the

Companions, then how would it be valid for every Muslim who is

able to read the Qur’an and to read in some of the books to say,

“They were men and we are men. So we do not have to follow

them”? It is confirmed that most of the Salaf were not mujtahids;

rather, they were imitators of the mujtahids among them.

It was mentioned in Sahih Bukhariyy that a man was an employee

of another man and he fornicated with his employer’s wife. So his

father asked, and it was said to him, “It is obligatory on your son

to pay one hundred shah71 and a slave woman.” Then he asked

the people of knowledge. They said, “What is obligatory on your

son is one hundred lashes and exile for one year.” So the father

came to the Messenger with the husband of the woman and said,

“O Messenger of Allah, this son of mine was an employee for this

person, and then he fornicated with his wife. People said to me,

‘Your son is to be stoned.’ So I gave one hundred ghanam and a

slave woman on my son’s behalf. Then I asked the people of

knowledge and they said, ‘The only thing that is on your son is one

hundred lashes and exile for a year.’” The Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

said, “By God, I will surely judge between you by the Book of

Allah. As for the slave woman and the ghanam, they should be

returned, and on your son is one hundred lashes and a year’s

exile.”

71

Shah and ghanam are both words that refer to sheep and goats as one category.


237

So this man, despite that he was a Companion, asked some people

who were also among the Companions, and they made a mistake;

then he asked scholars among them. Then the Messenger of Allah

gave him the religious judgment, which is what complied with

what those scholars said. So if the Messenger made us understand

that some of those who heard the hadith from him have no fiqh,

this is that they do not have the ability to extract judgments from

his hadith; and their only share is to narrate from him what they

heard, despite that they understand the eloquent classical Arabic

language. So what about those rabble-rousers, those people who

dare to say, “Those are men and we are men”? They mean by

“they are men” the mujtahids, like the four Imams.

In the same meaning is what was narrated by Abu Dawud about

the story of the man who had his head split, then had a wet dream

on a cold night, so he sought the religious judgment from the

people with him. They said to him, “Take a ghusl,” so he took a

ghusl and died. The Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص was informed about

this. He said, “They killed him, may Allah Kill them. Why did they

not ask if they did not know? The cure for ignorance is the

question.” This means the cure for ignorance is asking the people

of knowledge. He also said, “It would have been enough for him to

make tayammum and squeeze a rag over his wound, then wipe

over it and wash the rest of his body.” This hadith was narrated by

Abu Dawud and others.


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So, had ijtihad been valid from the Muslims without restriction,

the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص would not have dispraised those who

gave that man the religious judgment without being among the

people of fatwa. Furthermore, the function of the mujtahid that

is specific to him is comparative analogy, that is, for him to

consider what has no narrated text according to what does have a

narrated text, because of a resemblance between them. So be

warned and be warned again from those who encourage their

followers to make ijtihad, despite that they and their followers are

far from this rank. These people cause destruction, and they call

their followers to make destruction in the matters of the Religion.

What is similar to them are some people who got used to

distributing the tafsir of an ayah or a hadith in their sessions,

despite that they did not previously have reliable transmission

from the mouths of the scholars. So those claimers, they deviated

from the scholars of Usul, because the scholars of Usul said that

comparative analogy is the function of the mujtahid, and they also

oppose the scholars of hadith.


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Epilogue

The synopsis of the different subjects that have passed is that

whoever knows Allah and His Messenger and uttered the

shahadah even once in his life, and he accepted that with

conviction, is a believing Muslim. Whoever knew that and uttered

that, but he did not have conviction, is not a Muslim and not a

believer to Allah. As for us, he is a Muslim, because his inner

situation is hidden from us. If he only shows Islam outwardly and

he dislikes Islam inwardly, or is doubtful in his heart whether Islam

is correct or not, then he is a hypocrite blasphemer and he is

included in the Saying of Allah the Exalted,

﴾اولنتدل منصري كاألسفلمنالنارإنالم نافقنيفالدر﴿ [which means] “Certainly the hypocrites will be in the very

bottom of Hell.” So he and the damned blasphemer will both be

forever and ever in Hell. What some have said, that the faith of

the blasphemer is valid without utterance72, while able, is an

invalid saying. Some said, whoever was raised among Muslim

parents, it is enough for him to know and have the conviction

about the validity of his Islam and Iman even if he did not utter it

once. Furthermore, whoever had a valid Iman and Islam is safe

from staying in Hell forever, even if he did not perform any of the

obligatory acts, like the five prayers and the fasting of Ramadan,

72

i.e., of the Shahadah.


240

and he did not avoid the sins, and he died in this situation before

repentance. Allah will Pardon a portion of those and Make them

enter Paradise without torture, and He will torture a portion of

them, then Make them come out of Hell and admit them into

Paradise, and Allah Knows best about whom He will Pardon and

whom He will not pardon. As for the one who died after

repentance, and he fulfilled all of what Allah Made obligatory

upon him, and he avoided the forbidden matters, then it is as if he

did not sin, because of what the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said,

كمنلذنبله نب منالذ التائب [which means] “The one who repents from the sin is like the one

who has no sin.” This is an authentic hadith narrated by Ibn

Majah from the route of Ibn Masûd.

It is narrated in Sahih Al-Bukhariyy that a man said, “Oh

Messenger of Allah, should I embrace Islam or should I fight?” He

said, “Embrace Islam, then fight.” So he embraced Islam, he

fought, and he was killed. The Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said, “He

did little and was rewarded a lot,” meaning that he reached the

status of a martyr after Islam eradicated every sin that he did

previously. So the great merit is for Islam, because had he not

embraced Islam, no deed that he did would have benefited him.

This man was among the fighters because his people, who were

Muslims, went out to fight, but he had not embraced Islam. Then


241

Allah inspired him to ask the Messenger, so he asked, and so the

Messenger guided him to embrace Islam and then to fight.


242

The Epilogue of the Epilogue

Let the intelligent person think about the Saying of Allah,

لديهرما﴿ إل ﴾قيبعتيدي لفظ منق ول [which means] “No saying is uttered except that it would be

recorded by Raqib and Âtid,” for certainly whoever thought

about that knows that whatever he speaks about, whether

seriously or jokingly, while pleased or angry, is recorded by the

two angels. So would it please the intelligent person to see these

wicked words in his book when it is presented to him on Judgment

Day? In fact, that would disturb him and sadden him at a time

when regret will have no benefit. So let him take care to preserve

his tongue from the talk that disturbs him if presented to him in

the Hereafter. The Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said,

الصمتخصلتانماإنتملاخللئق مبثلهماح سن اخلل قو طول [which means] “There are two attributes that, if only the creation

would beautify themselves with the likes of those two: good

manners and lengthy silence.” This was narrated by Âbdullah

Ibn Muhammad Abu Bakr Ibn Abi-d-Dunya Al-Qurashiyy in Kitabu-

s-Samt.

The End


243

Glory be to Allah, and Praise and Thanks are due to Him,

The Lord of the Humans and Jinn,

And may the Salah of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad,

the Trustworthy

And upon his Pure Family and Companions.

As Sirat al-Mustaqim - Unofficial Translation

Spiritual

saying of allah

unofficial translation

attributes of allah

eternality of allah

tawhid of allah

iyyah of allah

clearing allah

destining of allah