-The Jahmiyyah believe that Allaah is
everywhere. They deny the fact that Allaah, the Most High, is above His ‘Ursh, separate
from His Creation.
Their proof:
“Verily! He it is Who is
surrounding all things!” [al-Fussilat 41:54]
One of the names of Allaah is that He al-Muheet,
the all-Encompassing.
Response: He is not physically all-Encompassing
but is everywhere in His Knowledge. This way we refuse to believe Allaah is
within His Creation, and even worse, in places of sin and impurity.
-The Asharees have coined a term that “He Exists
without a place”.
Their proof:
“It is He (Allah) Who is
the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) in the heaven and the
only Ilah on the earth”
[az-Zukhruf 43:84]
Response: The meaning of this Aayah is that He
is the God that is worshipped in the Heavens by the people of the Heavens and
is the worthy god to be worshipped on the earth by the people of earth.
The Idea of Limiting Allaah and Resembling Him
to the Creation
The people of innovation all deny Istiwaa of
Allaah by claiming that affirming Allaah, the Most High, being above His ‘Ursh
would necessitate that Allaah is bound by direction, thus limiting Him, the
Most High.
Response: we say that Allaah is above and
separate from His Creation. Thus the idea that He is bound by direction or
confined in space or time is false, as space and time are both created.
The Proofs to Affirm that Allaah is above His
‘Ursh, the Most High, Above and Separate from His Creation – According to a
manner that Suits His Majesty.
1. “The Most Beneficent
(Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner
that suits His Majesty).” [Taa Haa 20:]
Here is clear proof that Allaah is Istiwaa Above
His ‘Ursh, in a manner that suits His Majesty.
2. Allaah, the Most High, Describes the Creation
of creation many times in the Quraan:
“Indeed your Lord is
Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, and then He Istawa(rose
over) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty)” [al-‘Araaf 7:54]
The same message is repeated in Surah Yoonus
(10:3), ar-R’ad (13:2), al-Furqaan (25:59), as-Sajdah (32:4) and al-Hadeed
(57:4)
3. “Allah said: "O
'Iesa (Jesus)! I will take you and raise you to Myself.” [aal ‘Imraan 3:55]
All Muslims believe that ‘Esaa (Peace be
upon him) was lifted to Allaah and will come down towards
the end of time.
4. Being in a lower place is a deficiency and
not praise:
“Verily, the hypocrites
will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for
them.” [an-Nisaa 4:145]
In fact, there Aare many proofs from the Quraan
but perhaps the above are sufficient.
Refutation for The Jahmiyyah Who Say Allaah is
Everywhere
-Allaah, the Most High, Created the creation
outside of Himself. So if we were to believe Allaah is everywhere, it would
mean that the creation was created within Himself. It would also mean that
Ibless, the hellfire, the Shirk that people do, and all sins and things that
are abhorrent happen within Allaah – may Allaah Protect us from such beliefs.
-Either Allaah is inside or outside of His
Creation, so if we say He is everywhere then where was He when He Created the
creation?
-The creation cannot be a part of Allaah, as
Allaah is Greater than the whole creation put together.
-Allaah is pure and He cannot be mixed with
impure substance. Believing Allaah is everywhere would necessitate such an
idea.
-The idea of Wahdah al-Wujood (that Allaah is
everything) and Hulool (that Allaah can become one with His Creation or a
person from His Creation) is an innovated belief. It wasn’t even present at the
time of the author of this book, Imaam Ahmad (3rd century after
Hijrah). In fact, Imaam Ahmad uses the argument of Wahdah al-Wujood being
something impossible and inconceivable for anyone to believe in in refuting the
Jahmees.
-Ahl as-Sunnah don’t believe that Allaah is
mixed with His Creation. There is a difference between the Creator and creation.
The ‘Ursh is the most upper part of His Creation and is known as the “roof of
creation”. Therefore, Allaah being Above His ‘Ursh means He is separate from
His Creation and not limited or bound by time or space (creation). The Jahmees
fail to understand this, they use their intellect (‘Aql) to try to understand
the texts, however there are numerable narrations (Mutawaatir) which affirm the
Ascension of Allaah above His ‘Ursh. They are also guilty of making an analogy
between the creator and creation when in limiting Allaah.
Linguistic Argument
In the Arabic language, the proposition in (في) and on (على)
can be used interchangeably. For example:
“(Fir’awn said) I will surely crucify
you on (في)
the trunks of date-palms” [Taa Haa 20:71]
Also, if the prepositions in (في), on (على), to (الى) are used with the word ascension (استوى) then it can only mean above.
The Difference Between ‘Uluww (Highness) and
Istiwaa (Ascension)
Istiwaa is specific, thus He is Istiwaa over the
‘Ursh.
As for ‘Uluww then this is broader:
-He is ‘Uluww over all creation, physically
above.
-He is ‘Uluww in His Status, as He is the Most
High, the Greatest.
-He is ‘Uluww in His Power, as nothing can overpower
Him
So the name of Allaah, al-‘Alee, has these three
meanings, thus proving also that Allaah is above His Creation in a manner that
suits His Majesty.
Next Post: the “Withness” (Ma’eeyah) of Allaah
Brother excellent article !! I had read many books and articles on it and this article is one of the best ! May Allah bless you with beneficial knowledge .
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your feedback, Akhi. May Allaah Preserve Shaykh Sa'd, have Mercy on Imaam Ahmad and that we keep benefiting from the scholars.
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