Azami 280

Imam Ahmad (2821), Abu Yaala (2517), Bazzar in Kashf Astar (54), and Tabarani in al-Kabir (11/451) all narrated it through various routes from Hammad bin Salama, from Ata bin Saaib, from Saeed bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, and he related it, with the wording given being Ahmad's.Darimi narrated it in Radd Ali Jahmiya (73), and Abu Yaala, with the second wording, which is, "My Lord and your Lord is the One who is in heaven." Dhahabi narrated it via Abu Yaala's route in Uluw and graded its isnad hasan. Its isnad is sahih. Ata bin Saaib is trustworthy, and the imams affirmed his reliability, though he became confused later in life, but Hammad bin Salama narrated from him before that confusion set in. Hakim graded it sahih (2/496) through this route.There is no harm in citing, in support of this chapter, the hadith of Jareer bin Abdullah as a marfu report, "Whoever does not show mercy to those on earth will not be shown mercy by the One in heaven." Tabarani narrated it in al-Kabir (2/406–407), and its isnad contains Abu Ishaq Sabi, who practiced tadlis and became confused later in life, and he did not clearly state that he heard it directly.There is also the hadith of Abdullah bin Masud as a marfu report, "Whoever does not show mercy to those on earth will not be shown mercy by the One in heaven." Tabarani narrated it in al-Kabir (10/183) and in al-Saghir (1/101), and Abu Yaala, and Darimi in Radd Ali Jahmiya (74), all through the route of Abu Ubayda, from his father Abdullah bin Masud. But Abu Ubayda did not hear from his father, so there is a break in the chain.Also relevant to this chapter is what was narrated from Abu Darda, who said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'Whoever among you suffers from something, or has a brother suffering from it, let him say, "Our Lord is Allah, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your command governs the heaven and the earth. Just as Your mercy is in heaven, place Your mercy on earth. Forgive us our sins and our errors. You are the Lord of the good and pure. Send down a mercy from Your mercy and a healing from Your healing upon this pain, so that it may be cured."'"Abu Dawud narrated it (3892), and Nasai in Amal al-Yawm wal-Layla (1037), and Ibn Adi in al-Kamil (3/1054), all from the report of Layth, from Ziyada bin Muhammad, from Muhammad bin Kaab, from Fadala bin Ubayd, from Abu Darda, who related it. Hakim also narrated it (1/342–344) through this route, and said, "The two sheikhs relied upon all the narrators of this hadith except Ziyada bin Muhammad, who was a sheikh from the people of Egypt with few hadiths." Dhahabi challenged this, noting that Bukhari and others said his hadith is denounced. For more, see the Book of Medicine, Chapter on Ruqya.What has been reported from the imams concerning the attribute of highness.Dhahabi said in Uluw (332), "It has reached us from Abu Mutee Hakam bin Abdullah Balkhi, author of al-Fiqh al-Akbar, who said, 'I asked Abu Hanifa about someone who says, "I do not know whether my Lord is in heaven or on earth." He replied, "He has disbelieved, because Allah says, "The Most Merciful, who is above the throne, established" [Taha 20:5], and His throne is above His heavens." I said to him, "But he says, I affirm that He is established above the throne, yet he also says it is not known whether the throne is in heaven or on earth." He said, "If he denies that He is in heaven, then he has disbelieved."'"He also said, "Allah, exalted is He, is called upon from above, not from below, because being below is in no way an attribute of lordship and divinity."Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "Allah is in heaven, and His knowledge is in every place, no place is devoid of it." Uluw (343).He, may Allah have mercy on him, was once asked, regarding "The Most Merciful, who is above the throne, established" [Taha 20:5], how did He establish Himself? Malik lowered his head, and sweat covered him, and the people waited to see what he would say. Then he raised his head and said, "Establishment is not unknown, the manner of it cannot be grasped by reason, believing in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation. I consider you a man of evil." And he ordered that the man be removed, so he was taken out.Ibn Qudama mentioned this in Ithbat Sifat al-Uluw (p. 28), and Bayhaqi in al-Itiqad (p. 116). Abu Uthman Sabuni (d. 449 AH) mentioned it in Kitab al-Itiqad with the wording, "Establishment is known, the manner is unknown, believing in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation. I think you are a heretic. Remove him from the masjid."Shafii, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "My statement regarding the sunnah that I follow, and which I have seen our companions among the people of hadith follow, those whom I have seen and from whom I have taken knowledge, is the affirmation of the testimony that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and that Allah, exalted is He, is above His throne in His heaven, drawing near to His creation however He wills, and that Allah, exalted is He, descends to the lowest heaven however He wills." Dhahabi mentioned it in Uluw (404), in this wording or something close to it.Hakim said, I heard Asamm say, I heard Rabi say, I heard Shafii, after he had narrated a hadith, when a man said to him, "Do you accept this, Abu Abdullah?" He said, "If I narrate a sahih hadith from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and do not act upon it, then bear witness that my mind has left me." Uluw (406).Abdullah bin Ahmad said, My father was asked, "Is our Lord above the seventh heaven, upon His throne, distinct from His creation, while His power and knowledge encompass every place?" He said, "Yes, nothing is devoid of His knowledge." Ijtimaa al-Juyush al-Islamiyyah by Ibn Qayyim (135).Based on these hadiths, the imams of the salaf stated that it is permissible to ask about Allah, exalted is He, using the word "where." And the one asked may say that He is in heaven, pointing toward Him with the fingers. As for the claim that the meaning of "being with" is that He is mixed with creation in His very essence, and that He is in every place in His essence, this is a false claim, held by the people of incarnationism and the extremists among the Sufis. They have wronged His sanctity and have not kept Him free from the vilest and filthiest of places. The righteous imams of the salaf undertook to refute them, such as Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafii, Ahmad, Ishaq bin Rahawayh, and others, and among the imams of guidance, such as Sheikh Islam bin Taymiya and his student Ibn Qayyim and others, and among the reforming imams, such as Sheikh Islam Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhab, may Allah have mercy on him, and among the contemporaries, such as Sheikh Islam bin Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, and the scholars of the Kingdom in general, and the scholars of the people of the sunnah in particular throughout the inhabited world.They interpreted the meaning of Allah's saying, "And He is with you wherever you are, and Allah is All-Seeing of what you do" [Hadid 57:4], and similar verses, as meaning that what is intended by "being with" is His knowledge, and that He, exalted is He, is above the heavens, established upon the throne, as stated in His noble Book.Ibn Abdul-Barr said, "The scholars among the companions and the successors, from whom interpretation has been transmitted, agreed in their interpretation of Allah's saying, "There is no private conversation among three but that He is their fourth" [Mujadalah 58:7], that He is upon the throne, and His knowledge is in every place, and no one whose opinion carries weight has differed with them on this."His Eminence Sheikh Ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "Among what has been established in the Quran and the sunnah, and upon which the salaf of this nation are agreed, is that Allah, exalted is He, is above His creation, distinct from them, established upon His throne with an establishment befitting His majesty, not resembling the establishment of His creatures. He, glorified is He, is with them through His knowledge, and nothing about them is hidden from Him. This is what the Quran indicates in its most eloquent and clearest expressions, and what the sunnah indicates through sahih, explicit hadiths." al-Aqidah al-Sahihah wa ma Yudadduha, p. 39.The statements of the salaf on this subject are too numerous to be counted.