Ibn Majah

Commentary:

➊
In this hadith, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has described some of the attributes of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. It is necessary to have faith in them.

➋
Matters of creed are very important; therefore, they should be explained clearly. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned them in his sermon due to their significance, so that as many people as possible could hear and understand.

➌
Sleep and rest are needs of the created beings, so that the fatigue and weakness that result from work may be remedied. Allah, the Exalted, is al-Hayy (the Ever-Living) and al-Qayyum (the Sustainer of all), Who maintains all creation; therefore, neither does Allah become fatigued, nor does He have any need for rest or sleep. In the Noble Qur’an, Allah the Exalted has said:

“Indeed, We created the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in six days, and fatigue did not touch Us.”
In this way, the Noble Qur’an corrected the error found in the Bible. In the Old Testament, Book of Exodus, chapter 20, verse 11, the words are:
“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

➍
The meaning of the scale (mizan) being lowered and raised has been explained as follows: according to His wisdom, He gives some people less provision and others more. Another meaning is that deeds are raised up to Him, and provision descends from Him, just as the pans of a scale move up and down when weighing.

➎
Deeds are presented only before Allah, not before anyone else; therefore, when acting, one should keep His pleasure in mind.

➏
The presentation of deeds occurs at different intervals according to different considerations. As mentioned in this hadith, deeds are presented twice in twenty-four hours. In another hadith, it is stated that the deeds of the servants are presented before Allah on Mondays and Thursdays. (: Sahih Muslim, al-Birr wa al-Silah wa al-Adab, Chapter: Prohibition of Malice and Severing Ties, Hadith: 2565)
And Allah knows best.

➐
A servant cannot behold Allah, the Exalted, with this mortal body. The veil of light is a barrier between Him and the creation. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was asked, “Did you see Allah, the Exalted?” He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) replied:
“He is light; how could I see Him?” In another hadith, he said:
“I saw a light.” (: Sahih Muslim, al-Iman, Chapter: On his (alayhi salam) statement: ‘Light, how could I see Him?’ and his statement: ‘I saw a light,’ Hadith: 178)
That is, only the veil of light was seen, not the vision of the Most Exalted Essence. However, in Paradise, the believers will behold Allah, the Exalted, as has been mentioned in previous ahadith.

➑
Nothing in this mortal universe can bear the manifestation (tajalli) of Allah. When Allah, the Exalted, manifested Himself to Mount Tur, even the mountain could not bear it. The statement of the Exalted Lord is:

“When his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust.”

Hadith Footnote:

Benefits and Issues:
➊ The deeds of the day are presented at the beginning of the night, when the night envelops it.
➋ The deeds of the night are presented at the beginning of the day, before the day fully rises.
➌ Therefore, there is no contradiction between the two hadiths.

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:

(1)
لَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَنَامَ:
It is impossible for Him to sleep,
because sleep
is a sign of heedlessness, unawareness, and need,
and consciousness and awareness do not remain during sleep,
and all these things are impossible (impossible) for Allah.

(2)
يَخْفِضُ الْقِسْطَ:
He lowers the scale,
the original meaning of "qist" is "justice and fairness," and the scale is an instrument of justice,
therefore, it is also called "qist."

(3)
With the qist (mizan, scale),
the deeds that ascend and the sustenance that descends
are weighed.

(4)
حِجَابُهُ النُّورُ:
A veil of light is a barrier to His vision and seeing,
His gaze reaches all of creation,
if He were to remove His veil, nothing could withstand the radiance of His blessed Face.

(5)
سُبُحَات:
The plural of subhah.
And by this is meant the light and majesty of the Face,
to interpret His light,
Face, or sight,
or to negate them by way of ta‘til (denial), or to liken or compare them to any created being, is wrong.
Just as His Essence is without likeness,
so too the words for His attributes and limbs that have come for Him
are also without likeness,
it is not possible to describe their modality or reality.

Benefits and Issues:
(1)
There is a scale for weighing deeds and sustenance,
it is not possible to know the modality of the scale.

(2)
The deeds of the night, good and bad,
are taken up before the coming of the day, and the deeds of the day before the coming of the night,
from which it is established that Allah, exalted is He, is above,
therefore, denial of Allah’s elevation and His highness,
through various tricks,
excuses, or interpretations, is not correct.

Commentary:
(1)
This was not the fire of this world, rather it was the light (nur) of Allah, as is mentioned in Sahih Muslim: "His veil is light or fire" (hijabuhu al-nur), that His veil is light or fire.

(2)
And those who are around it.
That is, Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) and the angels. (Tafsir Ibn Jarir: 11/165)

Takhrij:
[صحيح مسلم 445]

Fiqh al-Hadith:
➊ Allah’s sight encompasses the entire universe. Nothing is outside His sight, knowledge, or power.
➋ Allah grants the ability to do good to whomever He wills, and leaves whomever He wills wandering in misguidance. Everything happens according to His decree.
➌ It is not possible to see Allah in this world, but from other evidences it is established that in the Hereafter the believers will behold their Lord. This also refutes the claim of those who say that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) saw Allah in a wakeful state in this world.
➍ The Scale (Mizan) is true, and the deeds of the servants will be weighed.
➎ Sleep is not befitting to Allah, rather, drowsiness does not even overtake Him. «سبحان الله»