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and His saying, “He is with you wherever you may be” (1) (2), and His saying, “No private conversation of three takes place without Him being their fourth …” up to His words, “except that He is with them wherever they may be” (3) (4), and other passages of this sort from the ambiguous verses of the Quran (5) (6)—then say: What is meant by all of this is His knowledge. For Allah—blessed and Exalted is He—is upon the Throne above the seventh, highest heaven; He knows all of that while remaining distinct from His creation. No place is devoid of His knowledge.
- Allah—Mighty and Majestic (9)—has a Throne, and the Throne has bearers who carry it.
- And He has a limit; Allah knows best the nature of that limit (10).
(1) Qur’an, Surah al-Hadid (57:4).
(2) Omitted in manuscript H.
(3) Qur’an, Surah al-Mujadilah (58:7).
(4) Manuscripts H and T read: “illa huwa ma‘ahum ayna ma kanu” (“except that He is with them wherever they are”).
(5) Manuscripts T and H add: “and the like of this.”
(6) The term al-mutashabih (ambiguous) is “what cannot be understood from its wording alone. It is of two kinds: (a) that whose meaning is known once referred back to the muhkam (unequivocal) texts, and (b) that whose reality can never be known. Whoever pursues it is seeking fitna (sedition), for he will hardly reach anything that sets his heart at ease.” Al-Nihaya fi gharib al-hadith, 2/1085.
(7) Not found in manuscript T; manuscript H adds the phrase “azza wa jall” (Mighty and Majestic).
(8) Manuscript T reads: “and He knows.”
(9) From manuscripts T and H.
(10) The word “al-hadd” (limit) is an ambiguous term that appears neither affirmatively nor negatively in the revealed texts. Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘a therefore neither affirm nor deny such terms until … (passage incomplete).
[
{وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ}
(١)
]
(٢)
وبقوله:
{مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ نَجْوَى ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ}
[إلى قوله:
{إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا}
(٣)
]
(٤)
ونحو ذلك
(٥)
من متشابه القران
(٦)
،
فقل:
إنما يعني بذلك العلم، لأن الله
[تبارك و]
(٧)
تعالى على العرش فوق السماء السابعة العليا، يعلم
(٨)
ذلك كله، وهو بائن من خلقه، لا يخلو من علمه مكان.
* ولله
[عَزَّ وَجَلَّ]
(٩)
عرش، وللعرش حَمَلَةٌ يحملونه.
* وله حد، الله أعلم بحده
(١٠)
.
(١) سورة الحديد: الآية ٤.
(٢) لا توجد في (ح).
(٣) سورة المجادلة الآية: ٧.
(٤) من (ح) وفي (ط): {إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا}.
(٥) في (ط) و (ح): ونحو هذا.
(٦) المُتَشَابه: "ما لم يُتَلَق معناه من لَفْظِه. وهو على ضربين: أحدُهُما: إذا رُدَّ إلى المُحْكَم عُرِف معناه والآخر ما لا سبيل إلى معرفة حقيقته. فالمُتَتَبِّع به مُبْتَغ لِلْفتنَة لأنه لا يكادُ ينتهي إلى شيء تسكن نَفْسُه إليه". النهاية في غريب الحديث (٢/ ١٠٨٥).
(٧) لا توجد في (ط)، وفي (ح): -عَزَّ وَجَلَّ-.
(٨) في (ط): ويعلمُ.
(٩) من (ط) و (ح).
(١٠) لفظ (الحد) من الألفاظ المجملة التي لم ترد في النصوص الشرعية نفيًا ولا إثباتًا. وموقف أهل السنة والجماعة من هذه الألفاظ المجملة: أنهم لا يثبتونها ولا ينفونها حتى=