This excerpt is taken from the book Where is Allah? authored by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amunpūrī.
وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ ۖ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ
“Allah is the One (Worshipped) in the heavens and in the earth; He knows what you conceal and what you make apparent, and He knows what you earn.”
اختلف مفسروا هذه الآية على أقوال، بعد الإنفاق على تخطئة قول الجهمية الأول القائلين بأنه، تعالى عن قولهم علوا كبيرا، في كل مكان، وهذا إختبار ابن جرير.
“In the explanation of this verse, the mufassirūn have several views, but they are agreed upon refuting the first statement of the Jahmiyyah who claimed—exalted is Allah far above their statement—that He is in every place. This is what Ibn Jarīr preferred.”
إذا كان أحدكم يصلي فلا يبصن قبل وجهه، فإن الله قبل وجهه إذا صلى.
“When one of you is praying, he must not spit in front of his face, for indeed Allah is in front of his face when he prays.”
قد نزع بهذا الحديث بعض من ذهب مذهب المعتزلة في أن الله عز وجل في كل مكان، وليس على العرش، وهذا جهل من قائله، لأن في الحديث الذي جاء فيه النهي عن المزاق في القبلة أنه يبزق تحت قدمه وعن يساره، وهذا ينقض ما أصلوه في أنه في كل مكان.
“Some who inclined to the view of the Muʿtazilah argued from this ḥadīth that Allah عز وجل is in every place and not upon the Throne. This is ignorance from the one who says it, because in the very ḥadīth that forbids spitting toward the qiblah, permission is also mentioned for the worshipper to spit beneath his foot and to his left. This nullifies what they established as proof for their claim that He is in every place.”
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (728 AH) said:
حق على ظاهره وهو سبحانه فوق العرش وهو قبل وجه المصلي، بل هذا الوصف يثبت للمخلوقات، فإن الإنسان لو أنه يناجي السماء أو يناجي الشمس والقمر لكانت السماء والشمس والقمر فوقه وكانت أيضا قبل وجهه.
“This ḥadīth is true upon its apparent meaning: He سبحانه is above the Throne, and He is in front of the face of the one praying. Rather, this description is affirmed even for created things: if a person were to converse with the sky, or converse with the sun and the moon, then the sky, sun, and moon would be above him and also in front of his face.”
He رحمه الله further said:
جماع الأمر في ذلك: أن الكتاب والسنة يحصل منهما كمال الهدى والنور لمن تدبر كتاب الله وسنة نبيه... وهذا معنى قول السلف: إنه معهم بعلمه وهذا ظاهر الخطاب وحقيقته.
“The sum of the matter is that the Book and the Sunnah provide complete guidance and perfect light for the one who reflects upon the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet… Let none imagine that any of it contradicts any other—such as claiming that what is in the Book and Sunnah about Allah being above the Throne contradicts the apparent meaning of His statement: (وهو معكم اين ما كنتم), and the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: إذا قام أحدكم إلى الصلاة فإن الله قبل وجهه and the like. This is mistaken, because Allah is truly with us, and He is truly above the Throne—just as Allah combined both in His statement:
هو الذي خلق السموت والأرض في ستة ايام ثم استوى على العرش يعلم ما يلج في الأرض وما يخرج منها وما ينزل من السماء وما يعرج فيها وهو معكم أين ما كنتم والله بما تعملون بصيره
… And this is the meaning of the saying of the Salaf: that He is with them by His knowledge; and this is the apparent meaning and reality of the address.”
Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn رحمه الله (1421 AH) said:
إن الله سبحانه وتعالى قبل وجه المصلي، ولا يلزم من المقابلة أن يكون بينه وبين الجدار أو السترة التي يصلي إليها...
“Allah سبحانه وتعالى is in front of the face of the one praying. This being in front does not necessitate that He is between the worshipper and the wall or the sutrah he is praying toward. Allah is in front of his face even though He is upon His Throne. An example of this is the sun when it is on the horizon at sunrise or sunset: it can be in front of your face while it is at a height.”
وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ ۚ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ
“And to Allah belong the east and the west; so wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah.”
Two meanings have been mentioned for “Wajhullāh”:
◈ ① Qiblatullāh (the Qiblah of Allah).
This is the tafsīr of Imām Mujāhid ibn Jabr رحمه الله and Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله.
◈ ② The real Face of Allah is meant.
This is the tafsīr of most of the Imāms, and it is the prevalent and correct view. Imām al-A’immah Ibn Khuzaymah (311 AH) wrote:
أثبت الله لنفسه وجها وصفه بالجلال والإكرام...
“Allah affirmed for Himself a Face which He described with majesty and honor, judged that His Face remains, and negated destruction from it… Our madhhab—and that of all our scholars from the Ḥijāz, Tihāmah, Yemen, Iraq, Shām, and Miṣr—is that we affirm for Allah what Allah affirmed for Himself, acknowledging it with our tongues and believing it with our hearts, without likening the Face of our Creator to the face of any created being… Allah is exalted above what the Jahmiyyah say—those who deny the attributes of our Creator which He described Himself with in His decisive Revelation and upon the tongue of His Prophet.”
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
“And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.”
And He says:
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ
“And We are nearer to him than you are.”
Basing on these verses, to claim that Allah’s Essence is nearer to a person than his jugular vein is not correct. The Salaf explained their meaning as follows:
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (774 AH) wrote:
قوله: (ونحن أقرب إليه من حبل الوريد) ، يعني ملائكته تعالى أقرب إلى الإنسان...
“His statement: (وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ) means: His angels are nearer to a person than his jugular vein… And whoever interpreted it as knowledge only did so to avoid the implication of ḥulūl or ittiḥād—both of which are negated by consensus… The wording does not necessitate that, because He did not say: ‘I am nearer…’ rather He said: ‘We are nearer…’—meaning His angels… Just as He said regarding the dying person: (ونحن أقرب إليه منكم ولكن لا تبصرون), meaning His angels…”
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (728 AH) said:
هذه الآية لا تخلو، إما أن يراد بها قربه سبحانه، أو قرب ملائكته...
“This verse must be one of two: either nearness of Allah سبحانه, or nearness of His angels… If nearness of the angels is intended, then His statement: (إذ يتلقى المتلقين عن اليمين وعن الشمال قعيده) explains that… and the context indicates that the intended meaning is the angels… And as for the one who thinks that it means nearness of the Essence of the Lord to the jugular vein, or that His Essence is nearer to the dying person than his family—this is extremely weak… The context of both verses indicates that what is meant is the angels…”
ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (751 AH) said:
قيل: هذه الآية فيها قولان للناس... والقول الثاني: أنه قربه من العبد بملائكته... اختاره شيخنا.
“It is said that there are two views regarding this verse: one is that it is His nearness by His knowledge… The second is that His nearness to the servant is by His angels who reach his heart… and our Shaykh (Ibn Taymiyyah) chose this view.”
وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَٰهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَٰهٌ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ
“And He is the One who is God in the heaven and God in the earth; and He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.”
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله (463 AH) wrote:
وجب حمل هذه الآيات على المعنى الصحيح المجتمع عليه...
“It is necessary to interpret these verses upon the correct agreed-upon meaning: that He is a God worshipped by the inhabitants of the heaven, and a God worshipped by the inhabitants of the earth. This is how the scholars of tafsīr have stated it.”
Imām Abū Bakr al-Ājurrī رحمه الله (360 AH) said:
مما يلبسون به على من لا علم معه احتجوا بقوله عز وجل...
“Among the things by which they deceive those who have no knowledge is their use of His statement: (وهو الله في السموات و في الأرض) and (وهو الذى في السماء الله و فى الأرض اله)… The people of truth among the people of knowledge say: Allah عز وجل is upon His Throne, and His knowledge encompasses all His creation… And His statement: (وهو الذي في السماء اله و في الأرض اله) means that He is the God of those in the heavens and the God of those in the earth—worshipped in the heavens and worshipped in the earth. This is how the scholars have explained it.”
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (774 AH), under the verse:
وهو الله في السموت و في الأرض يعلم سركم وجهركم ويعلم ما تكسبون
wrote:
اختلف مفسرو هذه الآية على أقوال، بعد اتفاقهم على تخطئة قول الجهمية...
“The mufassirūn have several views, but they agree in declaring false the statement of the Jahmiyyah—exalted is Allah far above what they say—that He is in every place… The most correct view is that He is the One called Allah in the heavens and in the earth; meaning, He is worshipped, singled out in tawḥīd, and acknowledged as God by those in the heavens and the earth… Another view is that the meaning is: He is Allah who knows what is in the heavens and the earth of hidden and open matters…”
أيها الناس اربعوا على أنفسكم، فإنكم لا تدعون أصم ولا غائبا، إنه معكم، إنه سميع قريب.
“O people! Be gentle with yourselves; you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent. Indeed, He is with you; indeed, He is All-Hearing, Near.”
In Sunan al-Tirmidhī it occurs:
إن ربكم ليس بأصم ولا غائب، هو بينكم وبين رؤوس رحالكم.
معنى قوله: بينكم وبين رؤوس رحالكم، إنما يعني علمه وقدرته.
“The meaning of his statement: ‘between you and the necks of your mounts’ is: His knowledge and His power.”
والذي نفس محمد بيلم لو أنكم دليتم رجلا بحبل إلى الأرض السفلى لهبط على الله.
“By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Muḥammad! If you were to lower a man by a rope to the lowest earth, he would descend upon Allah.”
Its chain is weak, because:
◈ Imām al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله is a mudallis, and explicit hearing is not established.
◈ According to the majority, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī’s hearing from Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه is not established.
Imām al-Tirmidhī wrote after mentioning it:
فسر بعض أهل العلم هذا الحديث، فقالوا: إنما هبط على علم الله وقدرته وسلطانه، وعلم الله وقدرته وسلطانه في كل مكان، وهو على العرش كما وصف في كتابه.
“Some of the people of knowledge interpreted this ḥadīth and said: he would descend upon the knowledge of Allah, His power, and His authority. And the knowledge of Allah, His power, and His authority are in every place—while He Himself is upon the Throne as He described in His Book.”
Removal of Doubts
① “He is the Lord in the earth and the heaven”
Allah the Exalted says:وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ ۖ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ
Reference: Al-Anʿām: 3
“Allah is the One (Worshipped) in the heavens and in the earth; He knows what you conceal and what you make apparent, and He knows what you earn.”
What is its meaning?
Some people interpret it as meaning that Allah is everywhere. This inference is not correct. Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (774 AH) wrote:اختلف مفسروا هذه الآية على أقوال، بعد الإنفاق على تخطئة قول الجهمية الأول القائلين بأنه، تعالى عن قولهم علوا كبيرا، في كل مكان، وهذا إختبار ابن جرير.
“In the explanation of this verse, the mufassirūn have several views, but they are agreed upon refuting the first statement of the Jahmiyyah who claimed—exalted is Allah far above their statement—that He is in every place. This is what Ibn Jarīr preferred.”
Reference: Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-ʿAẓīm: 3/240
Allah Being in Front of the Worshipper During Prayer
The statement of the Prophet ﷺ is:إذا كان أحدكم يصلي فلا يبصن قبل وجهه، فإن الله قبل وجهه إذا صلى.
“When one of you is praying, he must not spit in front of his face, for indeed Allah is in front of his face when he prays.”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 406 – Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 547
Statements of the Salaf of the Ummah
Imām Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله (463 AH) said:قد نزع بهذا الحديث بعض من ذهب مذهب المعتزلة في أن الله عز وجل في كل مكان، وليس على العرش، وهذا جهل من قائله، لأن في الحديث الذي جاء فيه النهي عن المزاق في القبلة أنه يبزق تحت قدمه وعن يساره، وهذا ينقض ما أصلوه في أنه في كل مكان.
“Some who inclined to the view of the Muʿtazilah argued from this ḥadīth that Allah عز وجل is in every place and not upon the Throne. This is ignorance from the one who says it, because in the very ḥadīth that forbids spitting toward the qiblah, permission is also mentioned for the worshipper to spit beneath his foot and to his left. This nullifies what they established as proof for their claim that He is in every place.”
Reference: al-Tamhīd: 14/157
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (728 AH) said:
حق على ظاهره وهو سبحانه فوق العرش وهو قبل وجه المصلي، بل هذا الوصف يثبت للمخلوقات، فإن الإنسان لو أنه يناجي السماء أو يناجي الشمس والقمر لكانت السماء والشمس والقمر فوقه وكانت أيضا قبل وجهه.
“This ḥadīth is true upon its apparent meaning: He سبحانه is above the Throne, and He is in front of the face of the one praying. Rather, this description is affirmed even for created things: if a person were to converse with the sky, or converse with the sun and the moon, then the sky, sun, and moon would be above him and also in front of his face.”
Reference: al-Fatāwā al-Ḥamawiyyah al-Kubrā: 2/118 – Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 5/107
He رحمه الله further said:
جماع الأمر في ذلك: أن الكتاب والسنة يحصل منهما كمال الهدى والنور لمن تدبر كتاب الله وسنة نبيه... وهذا معنى قول السلف: إنه معهم بعلمه وهذا ظاهر الخطاب وحقيقته.
“The sum of the matter is that the Book and the Sunnah provide complete guidance and perfect light for the one who reflects upon the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet… Let none imagine that any of it contradicts any other—such as claiming that what is in the Book and Sunnah about Allah being above the Throne contradicts the apparent meaning of His statement: (وهو معكم اين ما كنتم), and the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: إذا قام أحدكم إلى الصلاة فإن الله قبل وجهه and the like. This is mistaken, because Allah is truly with us, and He is truly above the Throne—just as Allah combined both in His statement:
هو الذي خلق السموت والأرض في ستة ايام ثم استوى على العرش يعلم ما يلج في الأرض وما يخرج منها وما ينزل من السماء وما يعرج فيها وهو معكم أين ما كنتم والله بما تعملون بصيره
… And this is the meaning of the saying of the Salaf: that He is with them by His knowledge; and this is the apparent meaning and reality of the address.”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 5/102
Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn رحمه الله (1421 AH) said:
إن الله سبحانه وتعالى قبل وجه المصلي، ولا يلزم من المقابلة أن يكون بينه وبين الجدار أو السترة التي يصلي إليها...
“Allah سبحانه وتعالى is in front of the face of the one praying. This being in front does not necessitate that He is between the worshipper and the wall or the sutrah he is praying toward. Allah is in front of his face even though He is upon His Throne. An example of this is the sun when it is on the horizon at sunrise or sunset: it can be in front of your face while it is at a height.”
Reference: al-Qawl al-Mufīd: 2/6
“Whichever Direction You Turn, There is the Face of Allah”
From the discussion above, understanding the noble verse becomes easier:وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ ۚ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ
Reference: Al-Baqarah: 115
“And to Allah belong the east and the west; so wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah.”
Two meanings have been mentioned for “Wajhullāh”:
◈ ① Qiblatullāh (the Qiblah of Allah).
This is the tafsīr of Imām Mujāhid ibn Jabr رحمه الله and Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله.
Reference: al-Asmā’ wa al-Ṣifāt (al-Bayhaqī): 2/107 – Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī: 2/834 – Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 6/14–17
◈ ② The real Face of Allah is meant.
This is the tafsīr of most of the Imāms, and it is the prevalent and correct view. Imām al-A’immah Ibn Khuzaymah (311 AH) wrote:
أثبت الله لنفسه وجها وصفه بالجلال والإكرام...
“Allah affirmed for Himself a Face which He described with majesty and honor, judged that His Face remains, and negated destruction from it… Our madhhab—and that of all our scholars from the Ḥijāz, Tihāmah, Yemen, Iraq, Shām, and Miṣr—is that we affirm for Allah what Allah affirmed for Himself, acknowledging it with our tongues and believing it with our hearts, without likening the Face of our Creator to the face of any created being… Allah is exalted above what the Jahmiyyah say—those who deny the attributes of our Creator which He described Himself with in His decisive Revelation and upon the tongue of His Prophet.”
Reference: Kitāb al-Tawḥīd (Ibn Khuzaymah): 1/25–26
The Nearness of Allah and Jahmī Arguments
① Verses Used as Proof
Allah the Exalted says:وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
Reference: Qāf: 16
“And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.”
And He says:
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ
Reference: Al-Wāqiʿah: 85
“And We are nearer to him than you are.”
Basing on these verses, to claim that Allah’s Essence is nearer to a person than his jugular vein is not correct. The Salaf explained their meaning as follows:
Fahm of the Salaf Regarding These Two Verses
The righteous Salaf and the Imāms of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah held two views in the explanation of these verses: some said it refers to the angels, and some said it refers to Allah’s knowledge.Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (774 AH) wrote:
قوله: (ونحن أقرب إليه من حبل الوريد) ، يعني ملائكته تعالى أقرب إلى الإنسان...
“His statement: (وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ) means: His angels are nearer to a person than his jugular vein… And whoever interpreted it as knowledge only did so to avoid the implication of ḥulūl or ittiḥād—both of which are negated by consensus… The wording does not necessitate that, because He did not say: ‘I am nearer…’ rather He said: ‘We are nearer…’—meaning His angels… Just as He said regarding the dying person: (ونحن أقرب إليه منكم ولكن لا تبصرون), meaning His angels…”
Reference: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 7/398
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (728 AH) said:
هذه الآية لا تخلو، إما أن يراد بها قربه سبحانه، أو قرب ملائكته...
“This verse must be one of two: either nearness of Allah سبحانه, or nearness of His angels… If nearness of the angels is intended, then His statement: (إذ يتلقى المتلقين عن اليمين وعن الشمال قعيده) explains that… and the context indicates that the intended meaning is the angels… And as for the one who thinks that it means nearness of the Essence of the Lord to the jugular vein, or that His Essence is nearer to the dying person than his family—this is extremely weak… The context of both verses indicates that what is meant is the angels…”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 6/2019 – 5/507
ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (751 AH) said:
قيل: هذه الآية فيها قولان للناس... والقول الثاني: أنه قربه من العبد بملائكته... اختاره شيخنا.
“It is said that there are two views regarding this verse: one is that it is His nearness by His knowledge… The second is that His nearness to the servant is by His angels who reach his heart… and our Shaykh (Ibn Taymiyyah) chose this view.”
Reference: Madārij al-Sālikīn: p. 290
“He is the One Who is God in the heaven and God in the earth”
The Jahmiyyah also cite Allah’s statement:وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَٰهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَٰهٌ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ
Reference: Az-Zukhruf: 84
“And He is the One who is God in the heaven and God in the earth; and He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.”
Understanding of the Salaf
Meaning: He is the Allah who is worshipped as God in the heavens and the earth.Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله (463 AH) wrote:
وجب حمل هذه الآيات على المعنى الصحيح المجتمع عليه...
“It is necessary to interpret these verses upon the correct agreed-upon meaning: that He is a God worshipped by the inhabitants of the heaven, and a God worshipped by the inhabitants of the earth. This is how the scholars of tafsīr have stated it.”
Reference: al-Tamhīd: 7/134
Imām Abū Bakr al-Ājurrī رحمه الله (360 AH) said:
مما يلبسون به على من لا علم معه احتجوا بقوله عز وجل...
“Among the things by which they deceive those who have no knowledge is their use of His statement: (وهو الله في السموات و في الأرض) and (وهو الذى في السماء الله و فى الأرض اله)… The people of truth among the people of knowledge say: Allah عز وجل is upon His Throne, and His knowledge encompasses all His creation… And His statement: (وهو الذي في السماء اله و في الأرض اله) means that He is the God of those in the heavens and the God of those in the earth—worshipped in the heavens and worshipped in the earth. This is how the scholars have explained it.”
Reference: Kitāb al-Sharīʿah: 3/1102
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (774 AH), under the verse:
وهو الله في السموت و في الأرض يعلم سركم وجهركم ويعلم ما تكسبون
Reference: Al-Anʿām: 3
wrote:
اختلف مفسرو هذه الآية على أقوال، بعد اتفاقهم على تخطئة قول الجهمية...
“The mufassirūn have several views, but they agree in declaring false the statement of the Jahmiyyah—exalted is Allah far above what they say—that He is in every place… The most correct view is that He is the One called Allah in the heavens and in the earth; meaning, He is worshipped, singled out in tawḥīd, and acknowledged as God by those in the heavens and the earth… Another view is that the meaning is: He is Allah who knows what is in the heavens and the earth of hidden and open matters…”
Reference: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 3/240
Some Aḥādīth and Jahmī Arguments
Ḥadīth No. ①
Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه said: When we would ascend a height, we would raise our voices saying “Allāhu Akbar,” so the Prophet ﷺ said:أيها الناس اربعوا على أنفسكم، فإنكم لا تدعون أصم ولا غائبا، إنه معكم، إنه سميع قريب.
“O people! Be gentle with yourselves; you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent. Indeed, He is with you; indeed, He is All-Hearing, Near.”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2992 – Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2704
In Sunan al-Tirmidhī it occurs:
إن ربكم ليس بأصم ولا غائب، هو بينكم وبين رؤوس رحالكم.
Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 3374 (Ṣaḥīḥ sanad)
Its Meaning According to the Salaf
Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله said after narrating this ḥadīth:معنى قوله: بينكم وبين رؤوس رحالكم، إنما يعني علمه وقدرته.
“The meaning of his statement: ‘between you and the necks of your mounts’ is: His knowledge and His power.”
Ḥadīth No. ③
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:والذي نفس محمد بيلم لو أنكم دليتم رجلا بحبل إلى الأرض السفلى لهبط على الله.
“By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Muḥammad! If you were to lower a man by a rope to the lowest earth, he would descend upon Allah.”
Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 3298
Its chain is weak, because:
◈ Imām al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله is a mudallis, and explicit hearing is not established.
◈ According to the majority, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī’s hearing from Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه is not established.
Reference: ʿUmdat al-Qārī (al-ʿAynī): 1/271
Imām al-Tirmidhī wrote after mentioning it:
فسر بعض أهل العلم هذا الحديث، فقالوا: إنما هبط على علم الله وقدرته وسلطانه، وعلم الله وقدرته وسلطانه في كل مكان، وهو على العرش كما وصف في كتابه.
“Some of the people of knowledge interpreted this ḥadīth and said: he would descend upon the knowledge of Allah, His power, and His authority. And the knowledge of Allah, His power, and His authority are in every place—while He Himself is upon the Throne as He described in His Book.”
Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth: 2398
