An explanation of where
Allaah is, from the Bukhaaree of the West, Imaam
Ibn ’Abdul-Barr.
So the Messenger (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam)
tested her asking her, 'where is Allaah?' So she
pointed to the heaven. Then he asked, 'who am
I?' So she said, 'you are the Messenger of
Allaah'. So he said, 'set her free for she is a
believer.'
The 'Bukhaari of the west', the Imaam, the
haafidh, ibn Abdul Barr (d.423), the Imaam of
the Sunnah of his time said in his work at-Tamheed
under the commentary of the 8th hadeeth:
"From Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (sallallaahu
’alayhi wa sallam) said, 'Our Lord descends
every night to the lowest heaven when the last
third of the night remains and says: "who is
there calling upon Me that I may answer? Who is
there asking of Me that I may give him?"'
"This hadeeth is established from the point of
view of transmission having an authentic isnaad,
the Ahlul Hadeeth do not differ as to it's
authenticity...
...and in this is an evidence that Allaah is
over (fee) the heaven, over (alaa) Throne, above
(fawqa) the seven heavens, as is said by the
Jama'ah, and this is their proof against the
Mu'tazila and the Jahmiyyah in their saying that
Allaah is in every place, not over the Throne.
And the evidence for what the People of truth
say on that is His saying:
•
'The Most Merciful rose over the Throne'(20:5)
•
'the He rose over the Throne...' (32:4)
•
'Then He rose over the heaven when it was smoke'
(41:11)
•
'Then they would surely have sought out a way to
(ilaa) the Lord of the Throne' (17:42)
•
'To Him ascend all goodly words...'(35:10)
•
'So when His Lord appeared to the mountain, He
made it to collapse to dust' (7:143)
•
'Do you feel secure that he who is over (fee)
the heaven will not cause the earth to sink on
you?' (67:16)
•
'Glorify the name of your Lord Most High' (87:1)
And this is from al-Uluww and likewise his
saying:
•
'The Most High, the Most Great' (2:255)
•
'The Most Great, The Most High' (13:9)
•
'Owner of High ranks, owner of the Throne.'
(40:15)
•
'They fear their Lord from above them' (16:50)
And the Jahmi says he is lower (then them)
•
'He arranges every affair from the heavens to
the earth, then it (affair) will go up to him.'
(32:5)
•
'O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to
Myself' (3:55)
•
'Rather, Allaah raised him to Himself.' (4:158)
•
'From Allaah, the Lord of the ways of ascent.
The Angels and the Spirit ascend to Him.'
(70:2-3)
As for His saying, 'do you feel secure that he
who is "fee" the heaven', then the meaning is
'who is over ('alaa) the Heaven' i.e. over the
Throne. And the word fee is being used with the
meaning 'alaa. Do you not see His saying, 'so
travel freely fee the land' (9:2) meaning 'upon
('alaa) the land', and His saying, 'and I will
surely crucify you on (fee) the trunks of the
palm trees' (20:71) and all of this (i.e.
interpretation of fee) is supported by His
saying, 'the angels and the spirit ascend to
Him'
And what we have recited and the like of it from
the verses to do with this topic are clear in
their denial of the saying of the Mu'tazila
(i.e. Allaah is everywhere). And as for their
taking istawaa metaphorically, and in ta'wil to
mean istawlaa (conquering) then this is not a
meaning of it because it is not clear (ghayru
dhaahir) in the language. And the meaning of
istawlaa in the language is
conquering/overcoming, and Allaah the Exalted
does not (need to) overcome or overwhelm anyone.
And He is the One, the Eternal.
And from the right of the Words (of Allaah ) is
that they be taken upon their literal meanings
('alaa haqeeqatihi), until the ummah is agreed
that what is meant is the metaphorical meaning,
when there is no way to follow what is revealed
to us from our Lord except in that way. And the
speech of Allaah is directed towards it's most
famous and obvious meanings if that (i.e taking
it upon its most famous meanings) is not stopped
by something we have to submit to. And if all
the claims of metaphors were allowed for every
claimant then nothing would be established from
the actions of worship. And it befits Allaah
that he speaks only with that which the Arab
understands according to the constraints of the
speech (i.e. everyday language) from what is the
correctly understood by the listener. And
istawaa is known in the language and understood
to be: Highness (uluww) and rising above
something and establishing (at-tamkinu) and
settling in it (istiqraar feehee).
Abu Ubaid said about His saying, 'the Most
Merciful Istawaa upon the Throne' - 'Above ('alaa)...'And
others said, Istawaa meaning istaqarra
(settling) and they seek support in His saying,
'and when he attained his full strength and was
perfect (istawaa)' (28:14) i.e. completed his
youth and grew settled and there was not any
increase in his youth.
Ibn Abdul Barr said, and istawaa is istiqraar in
highness (uluww) [i.e. He has settled in being
high], and this is what Allaah informs us, 'In
order that you may mount firmly (tastu) on their
backs, and then may remember the favours of your
Lord when you mount (istawaytum) thereon...'
(43:13), and Allaah said, 'and it rested (wastawat)
on Mount Judi' (11:44), and He the Exalted said,
'so when you embark (istawayta) and those with
you on the ship' (23:28). [i.e. all the examples
show itiwaa to mean coming to rest in an
elevated position]
....and as for their using as proof the
narration of Ibn Abbaas about the saying of
Allaah, 'The Most Merciful istawaa upon the
Throne' -'He conquered/overcame (istawlaa) all
His opponents and He is everywhere.'
Then the answer is that this hadeeth is munkar
to Ibn Abbaas (RA) and is transmitted by unknown
and weak narrators ....(takhreej ommitted)....
and they (i.e Mu'tazila who narrated this
hadeeth) do not accept the individually narrated
tradition so how can they permit depending upon
the likes of this hadeeth, if they had sense and
were just? As for what they hear Allaah say,
'And Pharaoh said, "O Haman! Build me a tower
that I may arrive at the ways - the ways of the
heavens, and I may look upon the God of Moses
but verily I think him to be a liar."'
(40:36-37) then this lends evidence to the fact
that Moses (AS) used to say that verily my God
is above the Heaven and Pharaoh thought he was a
liar.
And also from the proofs that Allaah is over the
Throne , above the seven heavens is that the
Believers in Tawheed (muwahhideen), all of them,
arabs and non-arabs, when a matter concerns
them, or a difficulty befalls them, they raise
their faces to the heaven, and direct their
raised hands to the heaven, seeking succour from
Allaah, their Lord. And this is common amongst
the general masses as well as the elite
(khaasa)....And the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi
wa sallam) said to the slave girl whose master
wished to free her if she was a believer, so the
Messenger (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) tested
her asking her, 'where is Allaah?' So she
pointed to the heaven. Then he asked, 'who am
I?' So she said, 'you are the Messenger of
Allaah'. So he said, 'set her free for she is a
believer.' So it sufficed the Messenger of
Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) from her,
her raising her face to the heaven and was
content with that, not requiring anything else.
And as for their seeking support in the saying
of Allaah, 'their is no secret discourse of
three except that he is the fourth' then this is
not a proof for them according to the literal
sense of this verse. Because the scholars from
the companions and taabi'een from whom the
explanation of the Qur'aan is taken from, said
in explanation of this verse: He is over the
Throne, and His Knowledge is in every place, and
no one from amongst them, whose saying is
depended on, differed on this. Ad-Dahhaak said
about His saying, 'their is no secret discourse
of three except that He is the fourth...' - 'He
is over His Throne, and His Knowledge is with
them, wheresoever they may be.' And it has
reached me that Sufyaan ath-Thauri said
something similar. Ibn Mas'ud (RA) said, 'Allaah
is over the Throne, and nothing is hidden from
Him of your actions'" (Tahdheeb 7:103-105)
