Has Allah Almighty told anyone else besides Himself that He is Present and Observer?
Answer
Present means existing and Observer means the one who sees; this attribute is only of Allah Almighty, which means that Allah is present everywhere at all times and sees everything. Some Muslims think that this attribute also exists in other beings, so let us see what Allah the Exalted has said in this regard:
➊ “He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself on the Throne; He knows what enters the earth and what comes out of it, and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein; and He is with you wherever you are, and Allah sees what you do.”
➋ “And whatever state you are in or when you recite from the Qur’an or when you do any work, while you are engaged in it, We are before you. And not a thing is hidden from your Lord, neither in the earth nor in the heaven, nor is there anything smaller or greater than that but it is in a clear Book.”
➌ “Have you not seen that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and the earth? There is no consultation of three except that He is the fourth among them, nor of five except that He is the sixth among them, nor less nor more except that He is with them wherever they are. Then He will inform them of what they did on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things.”
➍ “And do not call anyone as a judge besides Allah; none is worthy of worship except Him. Everything will perish except His Face. His is the command, and to Him you will be returned.”
➎ “Everything on the earth will perish. And the Face of your Lord, full of Majesty and Honor, will remain forever.”
➏ “And to Allah belongs the east and the west, so wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.”
➐ “And We have not given anyone before you eternal life. So if you die, will they live forever? Every soul will taste death, and We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.”
➑ “And Muhammad is but a messenger; messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful.”
➒ “Indeed, you will die, and indeed, they will die.”
➓ “These are the news of the unseen which We send to you, and you were not with them when they decided their plan and began to deceive.”
⓫ “And you were not on the western side when We sent Moses the command, nor were you a witness, but We raised up generations, then a long period passed over them, and you were not among the people of Midian, reciting Our verses to them. But We have always sent messengers, and you were not at the mountain’s edge when We called out, and yet this is a seal from your Lord, that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you, perhaps they may be mindful.”
⓬ “The Day Allah will gather the messengers and ask them, ‘What was the response you received?’ They will say, ‘We have no knowledge; indeed, You are the Knower of the unseen.'”
Some Muslims
translate Shahid as present and witnessing. In Arabic, Shahid and Shaheed mean present and witness. If this verse is read together with
, the issue is resolved. In these verses, Allah Almighty says:
And when Allah will say, O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, “Take me and my mother as gods besides Allah?” He will say, Glory be to You! It is not for me to say what I have no right to. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is in my heart, and I do not know what is in Yours. Indeed, You are the Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what You commanded me—to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are, over all things, Witness.
From these verses, it is understood that as long as Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was among his people, Allah kept knowledge of their condition, and when he was no longer among his people, it was clearly stated that after that, O Allah, You alone kept knowledge of their condition because O Allah, You are All-Hearing and All-Knowing.
⓮ Now look at the Quranic verse
: “And thus We have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you.” In this verse, the plural form “witnesses” (shuhada) is used for the Ummah, and the singular “witness” (shaheed) is used for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. So, should this be taken to mean that all the Muslims who have died from the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ until today are present and witnessing, as some people interpret the meaning of “shaheed” as present and witnessing? Certainly, this is not the case.
From all the above verses, it is established that Allah Almighty has described only Himself as present and witnessing, and has not described anyone else as such.
For further evidence, read these verses and their correct translation from the Holy Quran with understanding.
Did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself say that he is present and observing?
➊ It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: When someone sends greetings of peace upon me, Allah returns my soul to my body so that I may respond to him.
➋ It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Allah’s angels walk on the earth and my Islam is conveyed to me.
➌ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Whoever comes to my grave and sends greetings of peace, I hear him. (Bayhaqi) The scholars of hadith have declared this narration weak.
4. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage:
“Beware, those who are present here should convey this to those who are not present, because many people who will receive my message will preserve it more securely than those who are listening now. You will be asked about me, so tell what you will say about me.” They said, “We testify that you ﷺ have fulfilled the trust, conveyed the message, and advised.” Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his finger towards the sky and leaned towards the people and said, “O Allah, be a witness, O Allah, be a speaker and creator, O Allah, be a witness.” From this it is understood that if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had said that he is present and observing, he would certainly have said that he will be present everywhere, so I will convey all the teachings myself and you will not need it. But you ﷺ said that those who are present here should convey this to those who are not present, because many people who will receive my message will preserve it more securely than those who are listening now. This proves that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not say that he is present and observing.
Did the Companions say that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is present and witnessing?
➊ At the time of the death of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said this.
“O Prophet of Allah, my father is sacrificed for you. Allah will not strike you twice; whatever death Allah has decreed for you has already occurred.” Abu Bakr came out and was talking to the people. Abu Bakr said, “Please sit down.” They did not agree. Then he said, “Sit down.” They still did not agree. Finally, Abu Bakr recited the Kalima Shahadat. Everyone bowed towards him except Umar. Abu Bakr said, “After this, whoever worshipped Muhammad ﷺ, Muhammad ﷺ has passed away, and whoever worships Allah Almighty, indeed Allah is alive and does not die.” Allah Almighty says, “And Muhammad is but a messenger; messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful.”
By Allah’s oath, it seemed as if people did not even know that Allah had revealed this verse until Abu Bakr recited it. At that time, people learned it, and thereafter whoever heard it recited this verse.
➋ Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said at the time of the burial of the Prophet ﷺ these words: “Patience is generally a good thing except for the grief of you ﷺ, and restlessness and anxiety are generally harmful except for the death of you ﷺ, and undoubtedly the shock of your ﷺ death is great, and every calamity before and after you ﷺ is insignificant.”
➌ The noble companion trained by the Prophet ﷺ, about whom it is mentioned in
that Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Allah, how they used to send salutations upon the Prophet ﷺ in the Tashahhud during prayer both in his lifetime and after his passing.
It is narrated from Abdullah bin Mas’ud that during the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ we used to send salutations upon him ﷺ in the Tashahhud in prayer like this:
(التَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ، وَالصَّلَوَاتُ، وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ، فَإِذَا قَالَهَا، أَصَابَتْ كُلَّ عَبْدٍ لِلَّهِ صَالِحٍ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَالأَرْضِ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ)
Translation:
“All acts of worship of the tongue are for Allah, and bodily acts of worship and financial acts of worship as well. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.” When you ﷺ passed away, we send salutations upon you ﷺ in Tashahhud in this manner السلام علی النبی ورحمۃ اللہ وبرکاتہ the word “Peace be upon the Prophet ﷺ, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”
4. If someone sends this greeting upon the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ during the Tashahhud in prayer السلام عليك أيها النبي ورحمة الله وبركاته, it is also correct. One should not assume from this that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is physically present and observing, rather this is the method of sending greetings that the Prophet ﷺ taught his companions, and exactly the same words have reached us which we also recite. Understand this with the example of the Holy Quran, where Allah Almighty addresses many people and other things with “O”, for example:
يا هُلَ الْكِتَبِ لِمَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِايَتِ اللهِ وَانْتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ
یز گرِيَّا إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلم
قَالَ أَرَا غِبْ أَنْتَ عَن الهَتِى يَا بُراهِيمُ
وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَأَيُّهَا الْمَلَا. ..فَا وَ قِدْ لِى يها من….
یصا حبی السجن
So, when we are reciting the Holy Quran, are all those creatures whom Allah Almighty addressed with “O” present with us and watching us, or when the Quran is being recited in different parts of the world, are all those things present at all those places at the same time? The answer is no. The reality is that thousands of years ago, the way Allah Almighty addressed various prophets, believers, disbelievers, ordinary people, many nations, and many things with “O” at a specific time, exactly those words have reached us Muslims through various means. This discussion proves that the Lord who created all the things in the universe is the only One who is present and observing. Besides Him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the Companions, and the Followers also considered only Allah to be present and observing. How good it would be if we follow those best people of the best times about whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that the best time is my time, then the time of those who saw me, and then the time of those who saw those who saw me.
