Mishkat al-Masabih

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»

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:

(1)
Hawariyyun:
Plural of hawariyy, meaning sincere and chosen people who are free from all kinds of defects, or helpers, or those who strive (mujahidun), or those eligible for succession (khilafah) after the Messenger.

(2)
Khuluf:
Plural of khalaf (with sukun on the letter lam), meaning evil successors, as in the Noble Qur’an:
﴿فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ﴾ (Maryam)
"Then there succeeded after them evil successors."
Istatba‘a: He demanded to accompany me or told me to accompany (him).

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)

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.”