Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (4/36)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

—blinding the inner sight of certain people; consequently, they denied Allah’s being above all creation and said, “It is impossible for Allah to be above in His Essence…” In their view, anyone who says that Allah is, in His Essence, above all things is a disbeliever, because he has assigned limits to Allah.

But does one who says that Allah is above thereby assign limits to Him? Never. He is above, yet nothing encompasses Him. Rather, the one who assigns limits to Allah is the one who says that Allah is in every place: if you are in the mosque, then Allah is in the mosque; and if you are in the marketplace, then Allah is in the marketplace; and so on.

As for the statement of Ahl al-Sunnah that Allah is in the heaven and that nothing from among His creatures encompasses Him, this is the very height of declaring Allah free of all imperfection.

As for the loftiness of His attributes, its proof is His saying, Exalted is He: “And to Allah belongs the highest attribute.” [16:60] That is, the most perfect description. This is textual evidence.

As for reason, it decisively affirms that the Lord must possess perfect attributes.

“O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your pardon from Your punishment…”

His statement, “I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath,” is an appeal through Allah’s pleasure, asking Him to grant you refuge from His wrath. Here, you have sought refuge from something through its opposite, making His pleasure the means by which you escape His wrath.

His statement, “and in Your pardon from Your punishment”: the wording of the hadith is, “and in Your granting of well-being from Your punishment.” (1)

(1) Narrated by Muslim, Book of Prayer, chapter on what is said during bowing and prostration, no. 486 (222), from A'ishah. Its wording is: “One night I found the Messenger of Allah missing from the bed, so I looked for him. My hand fell upon the soles of his feet while he was in the mosque, with them raised upright, and he was saying: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, in Your pardon from Your punishment, and in You from You. I cannot enumerate praise of You; You are as You have praised Yourself.’”

بصائرَ قومٍ؛ فأنكروا عُلوَّ الله، وقالوا: لا يمكن عُلوُّ الله بذاته … فأيُّ إنسانٍ يقول: إنَّ اللهَ بذاتِهِ فوق كلِّ شيءٍ فهو كافرٌ عندهم! لأنه حَدَّدَ الله. والذي يقول: إن اللهَ فوقُ، هل هو محدِّدٌ لله؟ أبداً؛ فهو فوقُ ولم يُحطْ به شيءٌ، والذي يُحدِّد الله هو الذي يقول: إنَّ الله في كلِّ مكان، إنْ كنت في المسجد فاللهُ في المسجد، وإن كنت في السُّوق فاللهُ في السُّوق، وهكذا. أما قولُ أهلِ السُّنَّة: إنَّ الله في السَّماء؛ لا يُحيطُ به شيء مِن مخلوقاته. فهذا غايةُ التَّنزيه. أمَّا عُلوُّ الصِّفة فدليلُه قوله تعالى: ﴿وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الأَعْلَى﴾ [النحل: ٦٠] أي: الوصف الأكمل، وهذا دليل سمعيٌّ. وأما العقل: فلأن العقل يقطع بأن الرَّبَّ لا بُدَّ أن يكون كاملَ الصِّفات. اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ مِنْ سَخَطِكَ، وَبِعَفْوِكَ مِنْ عُقُوبَتِكَ .......... قوله: «أعوذ برضاك مِن سَخَطك» هذا من باب التَّوسُّل برضاء الله أنْ يُعيذك مِن سَخَطِهِ، فأنت الآن استجرت مِن الشَّيء بضدِّه، فجعلت الرِّضاءَ وسيلةً تتخلَّصُ به من السُّخط. قوله: «وبعفوك مِن عقوبتك» الحديث: «وبمعافاتك من عقوبتك» (١).

(١) أخرجه مسلم، كتاب الصلاة، باب ما يقال في الرُّكوع والسجود (٤٨٦) (٢٢٢) من حديث عائشة ﵂ ولفظه: «فقدت رسول الله ﷺ ليلة من الفراش فالتمسته، فوقعت يدي على بطن قدمه وهو في المسجد، وهما منصوبتان، وهو يقول: اللهم إني أعوذ برضاك من سخطك، وبمعافاتك من عقوبتك، وأعوذ بك منك، لا أحصي ثناءً عليك، أنت كما أثنيت على نفسك».