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Thursday, January 05, 2012

A clarification on the meaning of the words ‘Shadow of Allah’ that which has been promised to the believers


By Shaykh Rabee’ bin Haadee bin Umayr al-Mudkhali
 [25/7/1427]
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

All praise is due to Allah and may Allaah’s Peace and Blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions and all those who follow his guidance

To proceed:

There has arisen a need to explain the meaning of the hadeeth “Seven those whom Allah will shade with His shadow” as many questions have been asked to me about its meaning. So I saw necessary for me to explain the meaning behind the statement of the Prophet, reconciled with other narrations from him and from principles that have been sent within the Shariah that have been derived from the Quran and the Sunnah. 

I ask Allah to make it beneficial for me and my Muslim brothers.

The text of the narration:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah [May Allaah be Pleased with him] that the Messenger of Allah [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “Seven Allah will shade in his shade on a day when there will be no shade except His: a just ruler, and a young man who grew up worshipping Allah, and a man whose heart is connected to the masjid, a two mean who love each other for the sake of Allah and they meet and separate for His sake, and a man who is called by a woman who has status and beauty and the man says, ‘Verily, I fear Allah’, and a man who gives in charity hiding it to the extent that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand has given, and a man who remembers Allah in privacy until he cries or weeps”

Narrated by Bukhari: Chapter of giving Athaan: who sits in the masjid waiting for the congregational prayer (660) and (1423) and (6806); Muslim: Chapter of Zakah: the virtue of giving Zakah in private (1031); Timidhi: Chapter of asceticism: to love for the sake of Allah (2391); Ahmad (9665) and others

So what is meant by the meaning of the statement: “Seven Allah will shade in his shade on a day when there will be no shade except His…”?

The Answer: The shadow mentioned in the hadeeth is talking about the shadow of the throne and the name of Allah has been connected to this shade for the purpose of honour, as it occurs with other nouns from the creation of Allah, for example:

The statement of Allah, the Most High:

“That is the she-camel of Allah!”  [Ash-Shams 91:13]

The statement of Allah, the Most High:

“…that they should purify My House (the Ka'bah at Makkah)” [Al-Baqarah 2: 125]

The statement of Allah, the Most High:

“Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the Messenger of Allah…” [Al-Fath 48: 29]

The statement of Allah, the Most High: 

“Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him] Who took His slave” [Al-Isra 17:1]

So here the she-camel, the house or the Ka’bah, the Messenger [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him], and all of those things that have been mentioned in the Quran that have been connected to the name of Allah from His creation are all connected to His name to bring about honour for those mentioned things.

Here I must point out some important principles which are compulsory to understand if someone wants to understand the statements of Allah or His Messenger [Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him]:

From them is the principle that has been mentioned by Shaykh al-Islaam ibn Taymiyyah in pointing out the understanding of those things that have been connected to the name of Allah. It is necessary for the one who wants to understand these things whilst affirming Tawheed and whatever is connected to it, because by doing this one will understand it properly and the one who doesn’t do this will fall into mistakes in regards to his knowledge and understanding.

The shaykh (May Allah have mercy on him) said: “…The Messenger of Allah said [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, ‘A wind from the wind of Allaah’[1] , meaning from the wind that Allah has created.

So here the wind has been connected to the name of Allaah to illustrate the dominion of Allah, not to attribute it to Allaah Himself or His Attributes, because something that can stand by itself can’t be attributed to Allah. So in this instance the wind is part of the dominion that belongs to Allah, had this been an attribute that is not able to stand by itself then it would be an Attribute of Allah.

For example the saying of Allah:

“That is the she-camel of Allah!”  [Ash-Shams 91:13]

And His saying:

“…then We sent to her Our Ruh…” [Maryam 19: 17]

And His saying:

“And Maryam (Mary), the daughter of 'Imran who guarded her chastity. And We breathed into (the sleeve of her shirt or her garment) through Our Ruh [i.e. Jibril (Gabriel) ]….” [Tahreem 66:12]
I say:

These things that have been mentioned in the ayaat above are examples of things that are nouns and are able to stand for themselves so they have been attributed to Allah for the illustration of His dominion. Or it can be said that they have been attributed to Allah for the purpose of honour for these things but it is definitely not an attribute that is being attributed to the description of Allah.

Secondly:

And statements that we often hear people say such as: ‘The Knowledge of Allah’, ‘The Speech of Allah’, ‘The Power of Allah’, ‘The Command of Allah’ etc. These are attributes, Exalted and Sublime, which are part of the description of Allah. So these are attributes that we attribute to Allah.

But, it has to be pointed out, that these are from the actions of Allah, for example:

“The Event (the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islamic laws or commandments) ordained by Allah will come to pass…” [Al-Nahl 16:1]

And as it occurs in the hadith where Allah says to Jannah, ‘You are my Mercy, I will have Mercy by you whomever I Wish from My slave’ and He said to Hellfire, ‘You are my Punishment, I will Punish by you whomever I wish from My slaves…’ [2]

I say:

Here the attribution in the above examples of attribution from the creation to the Creator, Exalted and Sublime He is, for example His Saying:

 “The Event (the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islamic laws or commandments) ordained by Allah will come to pass…” [Al-Nahl 16:1]

Meaning, Allah will Command it. And His Saying to Heaven that it is from His Mercy and Hell being from His Punishment.

All these examples, and more, are all attributes that are created but are not from the Attributes of Allah.”

[Majmoo’ al-Fataawa’ 9/290-291]

And Shaykh al-Islam also said in another place, where he mentioned the principle above:

“Attribution to Allah in The Book and The Sunnah is of three types:

1) That which is Attributed to Allah, for example the saying:

“And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills” [Al-Baqarah 2: 255]

This is an attribute which is Attributed to Allah, similarly Allah is Attributed to be the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong, Knower of the Unseen etc.

2) That which is created being attributed to Allah, for example the saying:

“That is the she-camel of Allah!”  [Ash-Shams 91:13]

And

“…that they should purify My House (the Ka'bah at Makkah)” [Al-Baqarah 2: 125]

And

“Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the Messenger of Allah…” [Al-Fath 48: 29]

And others include attributing words like slave, throne, footstool etc. to Allah. There is no difference of opinion in this type that these are from the creation that have been attributed to Allah.

Ahl al-Sunnah are all agreed that the first type are not created.”  

[Majmoo’ al-Fataawa’ 6/144-1451]

Shaykh Abd Ar-Rahmaan bin Hasan [May Allah have mercy on him] extended on this principle in Fath al Majeed [p.39-40], where he said:

“...and from the principles that are incumbent for us to understand when trying to understand the Words of Allah and the explanation of the sayings of the Messenger [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] is: the explanatory evidences are given precedence to the unclear evidences, the unlimited are explained and specified by the restricted.

If you don’t understand this and actualise it then you will fall into speaking about Allah without knowledge.

And from the principles that exist within the topic of Tawheed is to affirm the Attributes for Allah; meaning attributing what He has Attributed for Himself or what His Messenger [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] have attributed, without asking how, without making comparisons to other things, without changing its wording or meaning and without denying it, this principle it taken from the aayah:

“There is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer” [Ash-Shura 42:11]”

With this established we can move on to the topic of research and look into the meaning of the ‘Shade of Allah’ and prove that the meaning is referring to the Throne and not an Attribute of Allah.

From the evidences:

1) Hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah [May Allah be Pleased with him]

Imam at-Tirmidhi narrated in his Jaami’ [2/575 hadeeth 1306]:

From Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “Whoever makes something easy for someone who is a state of difficulty or help to reduce it, Allah will shade him on the Day of Resurrection under the shade of His Throne, a day when there will be no shade except His”

Imam at-Tirmidhi said: “This hadith is Hasan Saheeh Ghareeb”; it also has other routes as well via Ibn Mas’ood and Jaabir [May Allah be Pleased with them] reinforcing it.

It was also narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad (2/359).

2) and 3) Hadeeth of Mu’aath bin Jabal and ‘Ubaadah bin Saamit [May Allah be Pleased with them]:

Imaam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad [5/236-237]:

On the authority of Mu’aath bin Jabal who said, the Messenger of Allah [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said “Those who love each other for the sake of Allaah will be on a platform made from light under the shade of the Throne, a day when there will be no shade except His.”

The sub-narrator, Abee Muslim al-Kawlaani said, “I went out and met ‘Ubaadah bin Saamit and told him what Mu’aath bin Jabal said to me. He said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah related on behalf of His Lord, May He be Exalted and Glorified: My Love becomes incumbent on those who love for My Sake, My Love becomes incumbent on those who give for My Sake, My Love becomes incumbent on those who visit one another for My Sake, and those who love for My Sake will be on a platform made from light under the shade of the Throne, on a day when there will be no shade except His ’”

This hadith is hasan and is strengthened in its authenticity by the previous hadith of Abu Hurayrah.

There are also similar narrations with various other chains with the same meaning of this hadeeth reported by: Abu Ya’laa in his Musnad and Ibn Hibbaan (2/338)

Imaam al-Bagawi said:

“The meaning of the term shadow or shade of the Throne means that these people will be under the Mercy and Protection of Allah. It is also said that the meaning of shadow and shade is talking about the shadow or shade of the Throne and that these people will be underneath it.” [Sharh al-Sunnah 2:354-355]

Imaam al-Bayhaqi mentioned in his book, al-Asmaa’ wa Sifaat:

“The meaning of those under the shade or in the shadow is that they will be under the Mercy and Protection of Allah….It is also said that it means that the shade or shadow will be provided by the Throne…” [p. 371]

I say:

To say that this shade/shadow is referring to the Mercy and Protection of Allah is incorrect, because it is from the statements of the people of philosophy, the very same people change the meaning of the affirmed Attributed of Allah.

The true meaning of the term shade/shadow here means: the shade/shadow from the Throne, as this is what has been affirmed in the authentic texts.

It has also been narrated that Abu Hurayrah said, which is correctly attributed to the Messenger [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] “…underneath the Throne of Allah”.

This narration is an addition to the previous narration and has been narrated by Bayhaqi in Shu’bah al-Eeman, Khateeb in his Tareekh (9/253-254) and Ibn Hajar said it is Hasan in Fath (2/147) and by Al-Albaani in Ath-thamr al-Mustataab fee al-Fiqh as-Sunnah wal Kitaab (2/631-632).

4) Hadeeth of ‘Irbaad bin Saariyah [May Allah be Pleased with him]:

Imaam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad (4/128):

On the authority of ‘Irbaad bin Saariyah [May Allah be Pleased with him], that the Messenger of Allaah [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said in relating to what His Lord said:

“Those who love by My Exaltedness will be under the shade of my Throne, a day when there will be no shade except my shade.”

This hadeeth is Saheeh as it has been strengthen by other chains. Al-Albaani classed the chain as being Hasan in Mukhtasar ‘Uluw (p. 106) and then said that it was also narrated by Ahmad (4/128) and Munthari (4/48) with a good isnaad.

5) Hadeeth of Abee Qataadah [May Allah be Pleased with him]:

Imaam Ahmad narrated in his musnad (5/300 and 5/308):

Abee Qataadah [May Allah be Pleased with him] said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] say:

“Whoever has patience or gives finishes with someone who quarrels with him, he will be in the shade of the Throne on the Day of Resurrection”.

Also narrated by Daarimi (2/176) and Abee Shaybah (7/552); this narration is Saheeh in its isnaad as it has other chains strengthening it from several other companions [May Allah be Pleased with them all]. 

Al-Bagahwi said that the narration of Daarimi is Hasan (Sharh as-Sunnah 8/199) and Al-Albaani classed it as Saheeh in Jaami’ Sagheer (6452).

7) Hadeeth Salmaan [May Allah be Pleased with him]:

Imaam al-Bayhaqi said:

The meaning of shadow/shade is referring to the shade/shadow of the Throne of Allah, and shade/shadow has been attributed to Allah in illustrating His Dominion…

He went on to narrate as proof for this:

On the authority of Salmaan [May Allah be Pleased with him] who said in attributing it to the Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him], “The trader who is truthful will be those seven who will be under the shadow of the Throne of Allah the Most High on the Day of Resurrection”.

Narrated in Al-Asmaa’ wa Sifaat (p. 371) and Ibn Hajar classed it Hasan in Fath al-Baari (2/144).

Therefore, Imam Bayhaqi has clearly explained the meaning of this hadith and the hadith of the seven under the shade of Allah, referring to the shade/shadow of the Throne of Allah.

Added to this, the narrations above clearly show the meaning of the word shade/shadow in that it refers to the Throne of Allah. It may be said, and Allaah knows best, that some of the scholars when bringing this narration don’t highlight these aforementioned narrations. However, the only way to understand this issue is by understanding with what we have mentioned above. [3]

The statement s of the scholars affirming the shadow for the Throne

1) Imaam ibn Hibbaan:

He mentions that the hadith of the seven is referring to the shade/shadow of the Throne. He said [May Allah have mercy on him]:

“The recompense for those who do these actions will be that Allah will shade them on the Day of Resurrection under His Throne….

And this meaning and explanation of the shade/shadow can only be meant to be the shade/shadow of the Throne of Allah, taken from the hadith of the seven and this is clearly what is meant from the hadith.”

[Al-Ihsaan 2/332]

2) Imaam Muhammad ibn Ishaaq ibn  Mundah [May Allah have mercy on him]:

“It is clearly proven that the Throne will shadow and provide shade for all those whom Allah wills from His slaves”

Then he mentioned the hadeeth:

“Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Where are those who loved each other by my Exaltedness, today I Will shade them under the shade of My Throne, a day when there is no shade except My Shade”

Narrated in Kitaab at-Tawheed of Ibn Mundah [3/190-191]

So what is clear from the statement of Imam Ibn Mundah is that he explained the hadith above and the hadith of the seven as being to mean that those believers will be under the shade of the Throne.

3) Imam Abu Ja’far Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Salaamah at-Tahaawi [May Allah have mercy on him]

He said in Sharh Mushkil al-Aathaar [15/73] after mentioning the hadith of Abu Hurayrah of the seven:

What is meant by this hadith?... Its meaning is that Allah will shade them under His Throne.

4) Imaam Abu ‘Umar Yusuf ibn Abd al-Barr [May Allah have mercy on him]:

He said in his book al-Tamheed Sharh Muwatta’ [17/431] in explaining the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said:

“Verily Allah, The Exalted, The High, will say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Where are those who loved by my Exaltedness, today I will shade them in My Shade, a day where there is no shade except my shade’”

He said: “In regards to the shade/shadow of Allah, the meaning –And Allah Knows best- is referring to the shade/shadow of the Throne. It could also mean that the shade/shadow is referring to the Mercy of Allah as He says in the ayah:

“Verily, the Muttaqun shall be amidst shades and springs” [Al-Mursalaat 77: 41]

Meaning they will be given from the Mercy and Blessings of Allah. ”

What is apparent is that Ibn Abd al-Barr said that there the first opinion is the most correct one.

5) Imaam al-Bayhaqi [May Allah have mercy on him]:

As it has already proceeded is his statement, “the meaning and intent behind shade/shadow is the shade/shadow of the Throne”.

6) Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim, Shams ad-Deen Muhammad ibn Abee Bakr [May Allah have mercy on him] when describing the beneficial type of love, i.e. loving for the sake of Allaah:

“…the beneficial type of love will cause the person who has this to be underneath the Throne on the Day of Resurrection….”

[Tareeq al-Hijrahtayn p. 293]

It is obvious to see here that this Imaam has explained the shade/shadow to mean the shade/shadow of the Throne that will cover those who love each other for the sake of Allaah.

He also said [May Allah have mercy on him] in explaining the meaning of the hadeeth of the seven under the shade of Allah:

“…those who are just in this world will be those whom Ar-Rahmaan will shade under the Throne on the Day of Resurrection, with a shade that is an appropriate portion for him”.

[Tareeq al-Hijrahtayn  p. 354]

He also said [May Allah have mercy on him] when encouraging others to help their brothers and help ease their burdens:

“…and whoever helps someone out of a difficulty or helps to reduce it, Allah the Most High will shade under the shade of His Throne…”
[Waabil As-Sayyib p.54-55]

7) Ibn Qutaybah [May Allah have Mercy on him]:

“The people of Hellfire will have shades from the smoke that the fire brings it will be outspread and cause terror due to its greatness. As the people will be waiting in anguish it will be said to them ‘wait for your accountability’. Likewise the friends of Allah will be under the shade of His Throne or have a shadow that Allah Wills for them to have and then the people will be eventually sent to Heaven or Hell”

[Zaad al-Maysar by Ibn Jawzi 8/450]

8) Haafidh ‘Imaad al-deen Ismaa’eel ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathir [May Allah have mercy on him]:

In explaining the ayah in his tafseer:

“Verily, those who fear their Lord unseen (i.e. they do not see Him, nor His punishment in the Hereafter), theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise)” [al-Mulk 67:12]

He said: “the Most High informs us about those who fear standing in front of Him. As a result when they are in privacy they prevent themselves from doing sins and exchange it with acts of obedience knowing that no one knows it except Allah, as His forgiveness and reward are both great. This means that their sins will be erased and their good deeds will be rewarded with a great reward, as it occurs in the two Saheehs: ‘…seven Allah will shade under His Throne on a day there will be no shade except His…’[4] so Allah mentions in this hadeeth a man who is called by a woman to have illegal sexual intercourse but he says instead ‘Verily, I fear Allah’ and the ‘man who gives in charity in such a secrecy, that his left hand doesn’t know what the right hand has given”.

[Tafseer Ibn Kathir 14/47]

9) Abu Abd Allaah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ansaari al-Qurtubi [May Allah have mercy on him] in explaining the hadeeth of the ‘seven under the shade of Allah’:

“…the meaning of this hadeeth of the seven is clear; the shade/shadow is the shade/shadow of the Throne of Ar-Rahmaan”

[The treatise concerning the state of the people who have passed away and events of the hereafter p.264]

10) Imaam Ibn Rajab Qurtubi [May Allah have mercy on him] after mentioning the hadeet of the ‘seven under the shade of Allah’ said:

“Imam Ahmad as well as Imaam Tirmidhi authenticated and narrated from Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon] that he said: ‘Whoever has patience or gives finishes with someone who quarrels with him, he will be in the shade of the Throne on the Day of Resurrection’. This is clear evidence to prove that the meaning of Allaah’s shade is referring to His Throne.”

[Fath al-Baari 6/51]

11) Haafidh Ahmad ibn Alee ibn Hajar al-Asqalaanee [May Allah have mercy on him] said in explaining the hadeeth of the ‘seven under the shade of Allah’:

“‘His Shade’, Ayaad said: the attribution of the shade to Allah is to attribute the dominion to Allaah as all the shades and shadows are under His dominion. It can also be said that it is attributed to Allah for the purpose of honour as it belongs to none other than Him, for example one may say; ‘the Ka’bah is the house of Allah’ and like wise all the masaajids are houses for Allah as they are all under His dominion.

It has also been said the meaning is the shade of His Throne, and the evidence for this is the hadeeth of Salmaan with a good chain, that: ‘seven Allah will shade under the shade of his Throne’. If this is the correct meaning then it will mean that Allah will protect and will leave those whom He doesn’t protect, and this is the correct view. Others who have mentioned this include Qurtubi and this has been supported by the description given of the Day of Resurrection by Ibn Mubaarak in a narration narrating from ‘Ubayd-Allah ibn ‘Umar and that has been narrated in the Book of Legal Punishments.

Therefore the view that some people say, that the meaning of the shade/shadow means the shadow of Tooba[5] or the shadow of Paradise is a weak view as these things the people will benefit by after entering Paradise. So the correct view is that the meaning of shade/shadow is referring to the Throne.”  

[Fath al-Baari 2/143-144]

12) Haafidh Jalaal al-Deen Abd Ar-Rahmaan Al-Suyuti [May Allah have mercy on him]

The Shaykh in his book, Tameeh al-Farsh fee al-Khisaal al-Mawjibbah li thil al-Arsh [p. 132] explained in detail the same meaning of explanation to use of shade/shadow in the texts.

13) Al-Allaamah Muhammad Abd Ar-Rahmaan al-Mubaarakfoori [May Allah have mercy on him]:

He said in explaining the hadeeth:

“Whoever makes something easy for someone who is a state of difficulty or help to reduce it, Allah will shade him on the Day of Resurrection under the shade of His Throne, a day when there will be no shade except His”

“‘Allah will shade him on the Day of Resurrection under the shade of His Throne’, meaning he will stand under the shade of the throne”

[Tuhfah al-‘Awathi 4/534]

14) Al-Allaamah Abd Ar-Rahmaan ibn Naasir al-Sa’dee [May Allah have mercy on him]:

The shaykh said in his tafseer [p. 409] in mentioning the benefits that we may gain from the story of Yoosuf [May Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him]:

“He was called by a woman and he left her for the sake of Allah, to seek to gain closeness to Allaah. This is because he had to fight his own desires, however he exchanged it with the love of Allaah and fearing His Punishment, this is what helped him leave him following his own desires. It has been reported that there will be seven types of people under the Throne of Allah being shaded by it, on a day that there will be no shade except His, and one of those men is the one who was called to have illegal sexual intercourse with a woman who had status and beauty but he said ‘Verily, I fear Allah’…”

15) Al-Allaamah Muhammad Naasir ad-Deen al-Albaanee [May Allah have mercy on him]:

He said in Mukhtasar ‘Uluw [p. 105] in explaining the hadeeth of Abu Hurayah, ‘seven under the shade of Allah’:

 “The narrations regarding the shade being underneath the throne have reaches Tawaatur[6]

Conclusion

After studying the sayings of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him] that have reached and looking at the principles of shariah that have been set by the scholars, its becomes certain that the meaning of the ‘Shade/Shadow of Allah’ mentioned in the text, can only be referred and meant to mean the shade/shadow of the Throne of Allaah, the Exalted and Glorified.

This is what Allah has made easy for me to present from the research into to this topic, I hope that Allah, the Pardoner, the Merciful, make it beneficialy for me and make me of those whom He shades, under the shade of His Throne, on a day there will be no shade except His shade.

“The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]"”

[Ash-Shura 26: 88-89]

May the Peace and Blessings be sent upon our Messenger Muhammad, his brothers in from the Messenger and Prophets, his family and all his companions.



[1] Narrated by Abu Dawood (5097), Ibn Majah (3727), Ahmad (7619); classed as Hasan by Imam an-Nawawi (Al-Athkaar 232) and Ibn Hajar (Al-Fatoohaat al-Rabaaniyyah 4/272) and Classed as Saheeh by Al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Abu Dawood

[2] Saheeh al-Bukhaari from the Hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (4850)

[3] Al-Allaamah Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen said: “I would like to point out an issue regarding this hadith [The hadith of the seven under the shade of Allah] that many have been led astray due to their ignorance. This is in regards to people thinking that Allah will shade them by Himself from the sun on that day, this is undoubtedly incorrect and detested. Some have said that the methodology of Ahl Al-Sunnah is to take the texts in its literal meaning, but we say what is the literal meaning here? What it there literal understanding here; that the sun is above Allaah and He shading them from it?! Because if one believes that Allaah will shade him then the sun must be above Allaah, the Exalted, the Glorified. This is undoubtedly a detested thing to suggest and none from Ahl Al-Sunnah would say such a thing. But the problem is, especially in this day and age, people often think they understand something, however they don’t know its reality, yet they think they know everything. Thus, it is obligatory on the person that if he wants to understand something, especially in when attributing things to Allah or talking about His Attributes, that one does it with knowledge from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger [May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] and the statements of the scholars. The meaning of the shade of Allaah means Allaah will shade him on this day where there will be nothing else to shade him from, no trees, no buildings, no stones nothing like that. This is the meaning and it is not permissible to ascribe this to Allah or explain it in any other way.”  [Sharh Riyaadh al-Saliheen, Chapter: Virtue of Loving for the sake of Allah and its encouragement to do so 2/376]

[4] This is the wording of the narration narrated by Abee Qataadah [May Allah be Pleased with him] and Abee Yasar al-Ansaari [May Allah be Pleased with him] in Saheeh Muslim: chapter of helping the one who is in difficulty

[5]The Messenger of Allah [Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him] said: “Toobaa is a tree in Paradise, its distance around it is one hundred years and it acts as a reward for the People of Jannah as they will eat from its fruits” [Narrated by Ahmad 3/71, Ibn Hibban 2625 and Al-Albaani classed it as Saheeh in Silsillah as-Saheehah 4/639]

[6] Tawaatur is a reference used in the Sciences of Hadeeth to mean a narration that has been narrated by a group of people, which is a minimum of four people, where it was impossible for them all to have agreed upon a lie. Others added that it must be am actual piece of information and not a conjecture. See Tadreeb al-Raawi fee Sharh Taqreeb al-Nawawi by Suyuti (2/176) and Nuzhah al-Nathr Sharh Nukhbatul Fikr by Ibn Hajar (p. 58-62)

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