Author: Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amnpuri
Allah is above the Throne. This is the unanimous and consensual belief of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah, as the renowned commentator Allama Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
"None of the righteous predecessors denied that Allah is above His Throne; however, they were ignorant of the manner of His being above."
(Tafsir Qurtubi: 7/219)
In contrast, the misguided Jahmiyyah claim that Allah is present everywhere. They use the verse:
"And indeed, We created man, and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein."
(Qaf: 16)
Sunni scholars like Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (Tafsir al-Tabari: 13/387) and Imam Ibn Kathir (Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 5/673) state that this refers to the angels who are with the person at the time of death, as mentioned in the next verse. Some scholars interpret this to mean Allah's knowledge or power.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
"This verse can be interpreted in two ways: either it refers to Allah's nearness or the nearness of His angels, as people have differed on this matter. If it refers to the nearness of the angels, then Allah is informing us of His knowledge about what the human soul whispers and that the noble recording angels are close to the person. The evidence for this is in the continuation of the verse: 'When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left.' Therefore, Allah is informing us of His knowledge through this nearness and the nearness of the noble recording angels. In any interpretation, Allah's knowledge and power are universally applicable, and Allah Himself is not confined to any particular time. This verse is similar to another verse
"Or do they think that We do not hear their secrets and their private conversations? Yes, We do, and Our messengers are with them recording."
(Surah Az-Zukhruf: 80)
Thus, the nearness mentioned is not metaphorical; the speech about Allah's closeness is either about His angels or His essence, but each nearness is appropriate for its context. The nearness of the angels is specific to that moment, while Allah's nearness in terms of knowledge and power is constant. If this verse is interpreted as referring to Allah's essence, then it points to the inherent and necessary closeness of Allah, which some theologians and Sufis affirm, while others interpret it as referring to Allah's knowledge."
(Majmu' al-Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah: 19/2-20)
Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah says:
"Allah is closer to us than our jugular vein through His knowledge. How can He not be, when He knows what our souls whisper, even more than we do? The jugular vein does not have this knowledge. Abu Amr al-Talmanki said: Those who inquire about Allah's statement: 'We are closer to him than his jugular vein,' should understand that it is in terms of knowledge and power. The evidence for this is the beginning of the verse: 'Indeed, We created man and We know what his soul whispers.' When Allah has this knowledge, He is closer to him than the jugular vein because the jugular vein does not know what the soul whispers. Therefore, the atheist who believes that his deity is mixed with human blood and flesh must acknowledge that his deity is a created being. The Muslims of Ahlus Sunnah unanimously agree that Allah is above His Throne, distinct from His creation, and exalted beyond what the unjust and heretical say about Him."
(Majmu' al-Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah: 5/501)
This also clarifies the meaning of Allah's statement:
"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me."
(Al-Baqarah: 186)
It means that this nearness refers to His knowledge and power.
The Jahmiyyah also present the verse:
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth. He is the Wise, the Knowing."
(Az-Zukhruf: 84)
This means that He is the God worshipped in the heavens and the earth.
Hafiz Ibn Abdul Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
"This verse should be interpreted according to the agreed-upon correct meaning, which is that He is in the heavens as the deity worshipped by the inhabitants of the heavens, and on the earth as the deity worshipped by the inhabitants of the earth, as the scholars of interpretation have said."
(Al-Tamhid Ibn Abdul Barr: 7/134)
Imam al-Ajuri (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
"One of the deceptive arguments used by the Jahmiyyah against those without knowledge is Allah's statement:
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth,"
and His statement:
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth. He knows what you conceal and what you reveal and knows what you earn,"
(Al-An'am: 3)intending thereby to cause discord, as Allah has said:
"So those in whose hearts is deviation follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation,"
(Al-Imran: 7).However, the people of knowledge from the people of truth interpret these verses to mean that Allah knows what you conceal and what you reveal, as has been clearly explained in the traditions, that Allah is above His Throne while His knowledge encompasses all His creation. He knows what you conceal and what you reveal. He knows the spoken word and what you hide. And the statement:
"And He is with you wherever you are,"
(Al-Hadid: 4) means that He is with you in terms of His knowledge, as this is the understanding from the context."
(Ash-Shariah al-Ajuri: 3/1104)
Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes under the explanation of Allah's statement:
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth. He knows what you conceal and what you reveal and knows what you earn,"
(Al-An'am: 3):
"The commentators have differed on this verse with various statements after unanimously rejecting the Jahmiyyah's interpretation that Allah is in every place, as they used this verse to support their belief. The most correct view is that this verse means that He is the One called upon as Allah in the heavens and the earth; He is worshipped and unified, and His divinity is recognized by those in the heavens and the earth. He is called Allah and invoked with fear and hope, except by those who disbelieve among jinn and mankind. This verse is similar to the verse:
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth,"
meaning He is the deity of those in the heavens and the deity of those on the earth. Therefore, the phrase
"He knows what you conceal and what you reveal"
is either a statement or a condition. The second opinion is that it means that Allah knows what is in the heavens and the earth, in terms of the secret and the open. The phrase يَعْلَمُ "He knows"
in this sense is related to the phrase
"in the heavens and on the earth,"
meaning He is Allah who knows your secrets and what you reveal in the heavens and the earth and knows what you earn."
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 3/7)
The misguided innovators also use a hadith narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: We used to raise our voices while climbing, saying 'Allahu Akbar,' and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"O people, be gentle with yourselves, for you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent. Indeed, He is with you, hearing and near."
(Sahih al-Bukhari: 2992; Sahih Muslim: 2704)
The words in Sunan at-Tirmidhi (3374, with a sound chain) are:
"Your Lord is not deaf or absent. He is between you and the heads of your mounts."
Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) says after narrating this hadith:
"The meaning of His statement:
"He is between you and the heads of your mounts,"
is that His knowledge and power are with you."
Allama Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
"The Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not understand from these texts anything other than the correct meaning intended by them. They derived from them the knowledge of Allah's greatness, majesty, His awareness of His servants, His encompassing them, His nearness to His worshippers, and His answering their prayers. They increased in fear, respect, awe, mindfulness, and modesty towards Allah. They worshipped Him as if they saw Him. Later, some people with weak piety, bad understanding, and corrupt intention arose, who lacked the majesty and awe of Allah in their hearts. They wanted to show people their special understanding and sharp intellect, so they claimed that these texts indicate that Allah is present everywhere in His essence, as it is narrated from some groups of Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah and those who agreed with them. Allah is exalted far above what they say. This was not understood by the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). These are the people who follow what is unclear in the Quran, seeking discord and its interpretation. The Prophet (peace be upon him) warned his ummah against them in the hadith narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in Bukhari and Muslim. They also attached their false understanding to some Quranic verses, such as Allah's statement:
"And He is with you wherever you are,"
(Al-Hadid: 4) and His statement:
"There is no private conversation among three but that He is the fourth,"
(Al-Mujadilah: 7). The scholars of the Salaf said at that time: It means that He is with them with His knowledge, refuting the claims of those who said otherwise, which were not said by anyone before them nor understood from the Quran before them."
(Fath al-Bari by Ibn Rajab: 2/331)
The Jahmiyyah also use the narration that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! If you were to lower a man with a rope to the lowest earth, he would come down upon Allah."
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 3298)
The chain of this narration is weak. Imam Hasan al-Basri is a "mudallis" and there is no clear evidence of his hearing it directly, making the chain weak. Additionally, the majority of scholars do not confirm Imam Hasan al-Basri's direct hearing from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).
(Umadat al-Qari by al-Ayni: 1/231)
Therefore, this narration is weak due to its discontinuity.
Thirdly, Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) comments after mentioning this narration:
"Some of the people of knowledge have interpreted this hadith, saying: The person would come down upon Allah's knowledge, power, and sovereignty. Allah's knowledge, power, and sovereignty are in every place, while He Himself is above His Throne as He described in His Book."
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, under Hadith: 2398)
Conclusion:
We, the Ahl al-Hadith, adhere to the belief of the Imams of Ahlus Sunnah. All the Imams of Ahlus Sunnah unanimously believed that Allah is above the Throne. We do not deviate from this belief, while in this era, the followers of Jahm bin Safwan believe that Allah is present everywhere, yet they do not hesitate to call themselves Ahlus Sunnah.
Allah is above the Throne. This is the unanimous and consensual belief of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah, as the renowned commentator Allama Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
"None of the righteous predecessors denied that Allah is above His Throne; however, they were ignorant of the manner of His being above."
(Tafsir Qurtubi: 7/219)
In contrast, the misguided Jahmiyyah claim that Allah is present everywhere. They use the verse:
وَ لَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا الۡاِنۡسَانَ وَ نَعۡلَمُ مَا تُوَسۡوِسُ بِہٖ نَفۡسُہٗ ۚۖ وَ نَحۡنُ اَقۡرَبُ اِلَیۡہِ مِنۡ حَبۡلِ الۡوَرِیۡدِ
"And indeed, We created man, and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein."
(Qaf: 16)
Sunni scholars like Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (Tafsir al-Tabari: 13/387) and Imam Ibn Kathir (Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 5/673) state that this refers to the angels who are with the person at the time of death, as mentioned in the next verse. Some scholars interpret this to mean Allah's knowledge or power.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
"This verse can be interpreted in two ways: either it refers to Allah's nearness or the nearness of His angels, as people have differed on this matter. If it refers to the nearness of the angels, then Allah is informing us of His knowledge about what the human soul whispers and that the noble recording angels are close to the person. The evidence for this is in the continuation of the verse: 'When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left.' Therefore, Allah is informing us of His knowledge through this nearness and the nearness of the noble recording angels. In any interpretation, Allah's knowledge and power are universally applicable, and Allah Himself is not confined to any particular time. This verse is similar to another verse
أَمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّا لَا نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ بَلَى وَرُسُلُنَا لَدَيْهِمْ يَكْتُبُونَ
"Or do they think that We do not hear their secrets and their private conversations? Yes, We do, and Our messengers are with them recording."
(Surah Az-Zukhruf: 80)
Thus, the nearness mentioned is not metaphorical; the speech about Allah's closeness is either about His angels or His essence, but each nearness is appropriate for its context. The nearness of the angels is specific to that moment, while Allah's nearness in terms of knowledge and power is constant. If this verse is interpreted as referring to Allah's essence, then it points to the inherent and necessary closeness of Allah, which some theologians and Sufis affirm, while others interpret it as referring to Allah's knowledge."
(Majmu' al-Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah: 19/2-20)
Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah says:
"Allah is closer to us than our jugular vein through His knowledge. How can He not be, when He knows what our souls whisper, even more than we do? The jugular vein does not have this knowledge. Abu Amr al-Talmanki said: Those who inquire about Allah's statement: 'We are closer to him than his jugular vein,' should understand that it is in terms of knowledge and power. The evidence for this is the beginning of the verse: 'Indeed, We created man and We know what his soul whispers.' When Allah has this knowledge, He is closer to him than the jugular vein because the jugular vein does not know what the soul whispers. Therefore, the atheist who believes that his deity is mixed with human blood and flesh must acknowledge that his deity is a created being. The Muslims of Ahlus Sunnah unanimously agree that Allah is above His Throne, distinct from His creation, and exalted beyond what the unjust and heretical say about Him."
(Majmu' al-Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah: 5/501)
This also clarifies the meaning of Allah's statement:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me."
(Al-Baqarah: 186)
It means that this nearness refers to His knowledge and power.
The Jahmiyyah also present the verse:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَٰهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَٰهٌ ۚ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth. He is the Wise, the Knowing."
(Az-Zukhruf: 84)
This means that He is the God worshipped in the heavens and the earth.
Hafiz Ibn Abdul Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
"This verse should be interpreted according to the agreed-upon correct meaning, which is that He is in the heavens as the deity worshipped by the inhabitants of the heavens, and on the earth as the deity worshipped by the inhabitants of the earth, as the scholars of interpretation have said."
(Al-Tamhid Ibn Abdul Barr: 7/134)
Imam al-Ajuri (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
"One of the deceptive arguments used by the Jahmiyyah against those without knowledge is Allah's statement:
وَهُوَ اللَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَٰهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَٰهٌ
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth,"
and His statement:
وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth. He knows what you conceal and what you reveal and knows what you earn,"
(Al-An'am: 3)intending thereby to cause discord, as Allah has said:
فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ
"So those in whose hearts is deviation follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation,"
(Al-Imran: 7).However, the people of knowledge from the people of truth interpret these verses to mean that Allah knows what you conceal and what you reveal, as has been clearly explained in the traditions, that Allah is above His Throne while His knowledge encompasses all His creation. He knows what you conceal and what you reveal. He knows the spoken word and what you hide. And the statement:
وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ
"And He is with you wherever you are,"
(Al-Hadid: 4) means that He is with you in terms of His knowledge, as this is the understanding from the context."
(Ash-Shariah al-Ajuri: 3/1104)
Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes under the explanation of Allah's statement:
وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth. He knows what you conceal and what you reveal and knows what you earn,"
(Al-An'am: 3):
"The commentators have differed on this verse with various statements after unanimously rejecting the Jahmiyyah's interpretation that Allah is in every place, as they used this verse to support their belief. The most correct view is that this verse means that He is the One called upon as Allah in the heavens and the earth; He is worshipped and unified, and His divinity is recognized by those in the heavens and the earth. He is called Allah and invoked with fear and hope, except by those who disbelieve among jinn and mankind. This verse is similar to the verse:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَٰهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَٰهٌ
"And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth,"
meaning He is the deity of those in the heavens and the deity of those on the earth. Therefore, the phrase
يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ
"He knows what you conceal and what you reveal"
is either a statement or a condition. The second opinion is that it means that Allah knows what is in the heavens and the earth, in terms of the secret and the open. The phrase يَعْلَمُ "He knows"
in this sense is related to the phrase
فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ
"in the heavens and on the earth,"
meaning He is Allah who knows your secrets and what you reveal in the heavens and the earth and knows what you earn."
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 3/7)
The misguided innovators also use a hadith narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: We used to raise our voices while climbing, saying 'Allahu Akbar,' and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ارْبَعُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ فَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبًا إِنَّهُ مَعَكُمْ إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ
"O people, be gentle with yourselves, for you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent. Indeed, He is with you, hearing and near."
(Sahih al-Bukhari: 2992; Sahih Muslim: 2704)
The words in Sunan at-Tirmidhi (3374, with a sound chain) are:
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَيْسَ بِأَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبٍ، إِنَّهُ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَ رُءُوسِ رِحَالِكُمْ
"Your Lord is not deaf or absent. He is between you and the heads of your mounts."
Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) says after narrating this hadith:
"The meaning of His statement:
إِنَّهُ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَ رُءُوسِ رِحَالِكُمْ
"He is between you and the heads of your mounts,"
is that His knowledge and power are with you."
Allama Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
"The Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not understand from these texts anything other than the correct meaning intended by them. They derived from them the knowledge of Allah's greatness, majesty, His awareness of His servants, His encompassing them, His nearness to His worshippers, and His answering their prayers. They increased in fear, respect, awe, mindfulness, and modesty towards Allah. They worshipped Him as if they saw Him. Later, some people with weak piety, bad understanding, and corrupt intention arose, who lacked the majesty and awe of Allah in their hearts. They wanted to show people their special understanding and sharp intellect, so they claimed that these texts indicate that Allah is present everywhere in His essence, as it is narrated from some groups of Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah and those who agreed with them. Allah is exalted far above what they say. This was not understood by the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). These are the people who follow what is unclear in the Quran, seeking discord and its interpretation. The Prophet (peace be upon him) warned his ummah against them in the hadith narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in Bukhari and Muslim. They also attached their false understanding to some Quranic verses, such as Allah's statement:
وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ
"And He is with you wherever you are,"
(Al-Hadid: 4) and His statement:
مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ نَجْوَىٰ ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ
"There is no private conversation among three but that He is the fourth,"
(Al-Mujadilah: 7). The scholars of the Salaf said at that time: It means that He is with them with His knowledge, refuting the claims of those who said otherwise, which were not said by anyone before them nor understood from the Quran before them."
(Fath al-Bari by Ibn Rajab: 2/331)
The Jahmiyyah also use the narration that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لَوْ أَنَّكُمْ دَلَّيْتُمْ رَجُلًا بِحَبْلٍ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ السُّفْلَى لَهَبَطَ عَلَى اللَّهِ
"By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! If you were to lower a man with a rope to the lowest earth, he would come down upon Allah."
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 3298)
The chain of this narration is weak. Imam Hasan al-Basri is a "mudallis" and there is no clear evidence of his hearing it directly, making the chain weak. Additionally, the majority of scholars do not confirm Imam Hasan al-Basri's direct hearing from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).
(Umadat al-Qari by al-Ayni: 1/231)
Therefore, this narration is weak due to its discontinuity.
Thirdly, Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) comments after mentioning this narration:
"Some of the people of knowledge have interpreted this hadith, saying: The person would come down upon Allah's knowledge, power, and sovereignty. Allah's knowledge, power, and sovereignty are in every place, while He Himself is above His Throne as He described in His Book."
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, under Hadith: 2398)
Conclusion:
We, the Ahl al-Hadith, adhere to the belief of the Imams of Ahlus Sunnah. All the Imams of Ahlus Sunnah unanimously believed that Allah is above the Throne. We do not deviate from this belief, while in this era, the followers of Jahm bin Safwan believe that Allah is present everywhere, yet they do not hesitate to call themselves Ahlus Sunnah.