Chapter: Warning Against the Doctrines of Those Who Profess Divine Indwelling

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

All praise belongs to Allah, by whose grace righteous deeds are brought to completion, and all praise belongs to Allah in every circumstance. May Allah bless Muhammad and his family and grant them peace.

To proceed: I warn my believing brothers against the doctrine of those who profess divine indwelling. Satan has made sport of them, and through their corrupt doctrine they have departed from the path of the people of knowledge. Their beliefs are vile and are found only in one who is beguiled and doomed. They claim that Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—dwells within everything. Their corrupt doctrine ultimately led them to speak about Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—in ways repudiated by learned and rational people. Their assertions accord with neither the Book, the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions, nor the statements of the Muslim imams.

Indeed, I recoil from even mentioning their vile deeds, out of reverence for the majesty and greatness of Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He. As Ibn al-Mubārak—may Allah have mercy on him—said, “We are able to recount the words of the Jews and Christians, but we are unable to recount the words of the Jahmiyya.”

Then, when their corrupt doctrine is denounced, they say, “We have proof from the Book of Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He.” When they are asked, “What is your proof?” they reply that Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—said:

“No secret conversation takes place among three without Him being their fourth, nor among five without Him being their sixth, nor among fewer or more without Him being with them, wherever they may be.” [al-Mujādila: 7]

They also cite His words—Glorious and Exalted is He:

“He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden.” [al-Hadīd: 3]

—through to His words:

“He is with you wherever you may be.” [al-Hadīd: 4]

Through their interpretation, they thus mislead those who listen to them. They interpret the Quran according to their own desires, so they go astray and lead others astray. Anyone without knowledge who hears them assumes that the matter is as they claim, but among the people of knowledge it is not as they have interpreted it.

The position held by the people of knowledge is that Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—far above all imperfection, is upon His Throne above His heavens, while His knowledge encompasses everything. His knowledge encompasses all that He created in the lofty heavens, all that exists in the seven earths, all that lies between them, and all that lies beneath the soil. He knows the secret and what is yet more hidden. He knows the furtive glance and what the breasts conceal. He knows every fleeting thought and firm resolve, and He knows what souls whisper within themselves. He hears and sees. Not even an atom’s weight in the heavens, the earths, or anything between them escapes Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—without His knowledge encompassing it.

He is upon His Throne—glory be to Him—the All-High, the Most High. The deeds of His servants are raised to Him, and He knows them better than the angels who raise them to Him by night and day.

If someone asks, “What, then, is the meaning of His words, ‘No secret conversation takes place among three without Him being their fourth, nor among five without Him being their sixth’ [al-Mujādila: 7]—the verse they cite as evidence?”

He is told: It refers to His knowledge—Glorious and Exalted is He. Allah is upon His Throne, while His knowledge encompasses them and everything else among His creation. This is how the people of knowledge explained it. The beginning and end of the verse show that it refers to knowledge.

If someone asks, “How so?”

He is told that Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—said:

“Do you not see that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth? No secret conversation takes place among three without Him being their fourth”—through to the end of the verse—“Then, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. Surely Allah has full knowledge of all things.” [al-Mujādila: 7]

Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—began the verse with knowledge and concluded it with knowledge. His knowledge—Glorious and Exalted is He—encompasses all His creation, while He is upon His Throne. This is the position of the Muslims.