Hadith 3109

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مَنِيعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَارُونَ، أَخْبَرَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ يَعْلَى بْنِ عَطَاءٍ، عَنْ وَكِيعِ بْنِ حُدُسٍ، عَنْ عَمِّهِ أَبِي رَزِينٍ، قَالَ : قُلْتُ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، أَيْنَ كَانَ رَبُّنَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ خَلْقَهُ ؟ قَالَ : " كَانَ فِي عَمَاءٍ مَا تَحْتَهُ هَوَاءٌ وَمَا فَوْقَهُ هَوَاءٌ وَخَلَقَ عَرْشَهُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ " ، قَالَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مَنِيعٍ ، قَالَ يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَارُونَ الْعَمَاءُ : أَيْ لَيْسَ مَعَهُ شَيْءٌ ، قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى : هَكَذَا رَوَى حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ ، وَكِيعُ بْنُ حُدُسٍ ، وَيَقُولُ شُعْبَةُ ، وَأَبُو عَوَانَةَ ، وَهُشَيْمٌ : وَكِيعُ بْنُ عُدُسٍ وَهُوَ أَصَحُّ ، وَأَبُو رَزِينٍ اسْمُهُ لَقِيطُ بْنُ عَامِرٍ ، قَالَ : وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ .
´Narrated Waki' bin Hudus:` from his uncle Abu Razin who said: "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Where was our Lord before He created His creation?' He said: 'He was (above) the clouds - no air was under him, no air was above him, and He created His Throne upon the water.'" Ahmad [bin Mani'] said: "Yazid bin Harun said (regarding) the air - 'It means there was nothing with him."
Hadith Reference سنن ترمذي / كتاب تفسير القرآن عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم / 3109
Hadith Grading الألبانی: ضعيف، ابن ماجة (281) // {كذا} وهو في " ضعيف سنن ابن ماجة " برقم (32 - 182) ، مختصر العلو (193 و 250) ، السنة (612)
Hadith Takhrij «سنن ابن ماجہ/المقدمة 13 (181) ( تحفة الأشراف : 11176) (ضعیف)»
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Dr. Abdur Rahman Freywai
Explanation:
1:
‘Ama’:
If pronounced with a long vowel (mad), its meaning is “thin cloud (mist).”
And if pronounced with a short vowel (qasr), its meaning is “nothingness.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi – Majlis ‘Ilmi Dar al-Da‘wah, New Delhi Edition, Page: 3109
Maulana Ataullah Sajid
Commentary: (1) (مَا تَحْتَهُ هَوَاءٌ، وَمَا فَوْقَهُ هَوَاءٌ,)

Some scholars have translated it as: "There was air beneath it, and air above it."
In this case, "ma" would be a relative pronoun (ma mawsula).
However, Muhammad Fuad al-Baqi rahimahullah has written in the footnotes of Sunan Ibn Majah that "ma" is a negating particle (ma nafiyah), not a relative pronoun.
We have rendered the translation according to this opinion.

(2)
كَانَ فِي عَمَاءٍ (Allah ta'ala was in 'ama’)

One meaning of this is "cloud."
Another meaning given is that it refers to something beyond human comprehension, i.e., the answer to this question is beyond intellect.
In any case, such explanations and interpretations are only needed when the hadith is suitable for use as evidence.
As our researcher has declared the chain of this hadith to be hasan (good),
but due to the weakness of this hadith—as Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah has declared it weak—there is no need for interpretation in this case.
Source: Commentary on Sunan Ibn Mājah by Mawlānā ‘Atā’ullāh Sājid, Page: 182