16
73 – Ahmad said: My father narrated to us (1); Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ʿUmar narrated to us; Abu Bakr ibn ʿUbayd narrated to us; Abu ʿAli al-Madaʼini told me; Ibrahim ibn al-Hasan narrated, from an elder of Quraysh known as Abu Jaʿfar, from Malik ibn Dinar, who said: “I read in some of the earlier scriptures that Allah, exalted is He, says: ‘O child of Adam, My goodness continually descends upon you (2) while your wickedness rises up to Me. I woo you with blessings, yet you estrange yourself from Me through sins. Never does a noble angel ascend from you to Me except that he brings up some ugly deed.’ (3)”
74 – Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (4) said: Sunaid reported from Muqatil ibn Hibban, from al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim regarding His words, “There is no private conversation of three but that He is their fourth, nor of five but that He is their sixth…” (5) — the rest of the verse (6). He said: “He is above His Throne, while His knowledge is with them wherever they may be.” (7)
(1) In manuscripts h and r: “akhbarana muhammad, anba'a hamd, anba'a abi.” However, in r the verb thana appears instead of anba'a. In m the phrase “thana abi” does not occur; it reads: “akhbarana muhammad, anba'a hamd, thana ahmad ibn muhammad ibn 'umar.”
(2) In h and r: “ilayka.”
(3) It was transmitted by Abu Nu'aym in al-Hilya with this isnad (vol. 2, p. 377), and it is also recorded by Ibn al-Qayyim in Ijtima' al-Juyush al-Islamiyya (p. 75) and by al-Dhahabi in al-'Uluww (p. 97), who declared its isnad to be obscure.
(4) Ibn 'Abd al-Barr stated: “It is not found in the other manuscripts.”
(5) The verse is from Sūrat al-Mujādila (58:7).
(6) In the original text, only the first part of the verse was included.
(7) This concept of divine accompaniment (ma'iyya) as affirmed by the Salaf holds that God, by His essence, is established on the Throne in the heaven. His knowledge encompasses His creatures; nothing is hidden from Him—He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts conceal. In this verse He speaks of the comprehensiveness of His knowledge of creation, His awareness of them, His hearing of their speech, and His seeing their whereabouts wherever they may be. He begins and concludes the verse with reference to His knowledge:
“Have you not seen that Allah knows what is in the heavens and what is on earth? There is no secret counsel of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of fewer or more but He is with them wherever they are. Then He will inform them of what they did on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, Allah is, of all things, Knowing.” (al-Mujādila 58:7).
Ibn Kathir comments: “For this reason more than one has reported the consensus that this verse refers to the accompanied knowledge of Allah, and there is no doubt in that. Yet His hearing, along with His knowledge, encompasses them, and His sight penetrates them. Thus, He is, exalted, fully aware of His creation; none of their affairs is hidden from Him.” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir 8/67). Previously we refuted those who claimed that Allah by His essence is everywhere, citing such verses as proof.
٧٣- قَالَ أَحْمَدُ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي (١) ، ثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عُمَرَ، ثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو عَلِيٍّ الْمَدَائِنِيُّ، ثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ، عَنْ شَيْخٍ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ يُكَنَّى أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ، عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ، قَالَ: قَرَأْتُ فِي بَعْضِ الْكُتُبِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ ﷿ يَقُولُ: يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ، خَيْرِي يَنْزِلُ عَلَيْكَ (٢) وَشَرُّكَ يَصْعَدُ إِلَيَّ، وَأَتَحَبَّبُ إِلَيْكَ بِالنِّعَمِ، وَتَتَبَغَّضُ إِلَيَّ بِالْمَعَاصِي، وَلَا يَزَالُ مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ قَدْ عَرَجَ مِنْكَ إِلَيَّ بِعَمَلٍ قَبِيحٍ (٣) .
٧٤- قَالَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ الْبَرِّ (٤) : وَذَكَرَ سُنَيْدٌ عَنْ مُقَاتِلِ بْنِ حِبَّانَ، عَنِ الضَّحَّاكِ بْنِ مُزَاحِمٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ: ﴿مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ نَجْوَى ثَلاثَةٍ (إِلا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلا خَمْسَةٍ إِلا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ﴾ (٥) الآيَةَ) (٦) .
قَالَ: هُوَ عَلَى عَرْشِهِ وَعِلْمُهُ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَمَا كَانُوا (٧) .
(١) في (هـ) ، و (ر) أخبرنا محمد أنبأ حمد أنبأ أبي. إلا أن في (ر) ثنا بدل أنبأ. وفي (م) لا وجود للفظ "ثنا أبي" فقيها: "أخبرنا محمد، أنبأ حمد، ثنا أحمد بن محمد بن عمر".
(٢) في (هـ) ، و (ر) : "إليك".
(٣) أخرجه أبو نعيم في الحلية بهذا الإسناد ٢/٣٧٧، وأورده ابن القيم في اجتماع الجيوش الإسلامية ص ٧٥، والذهبي في العلو ص ٩٧، وقال: إسناده مظلم.
(٤) قال ابن عبد البر: لا يوجد في النسخ الأخرى.
(٥) الآية من سورة المجادلة آية/٧.
(٦) في الأصل: الجزء الأول من الآية فقط.
(٧) هذه المعية التي يقول بها السلف، لأن الله تعالى بذاته في السماء مستو على العرش، وعلمه مع مخلوقاته لا يخفى عليه شيء يعلم خائنة الأعين وما تخفي الصدور، فهو سبحانه يخبر في هذه الآية عن إحاطة علمه بخلقه، واطلاعه عليهم، وسماعه كلامهم، ورؤيته مكانهم حيث كانوا وأين كانوا، فبدأ الآية بالعلم واختتمها بالعلم، فقال تعالى: ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ نَجْوَى ثَلاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلا أَدْنَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَلا أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا عَمِلُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ﴾ (المجادلة: ٧) .
يقول ابن كثير ﵀ ولهذا حكى غير واحد الإجماع على أن المراد بهذه الآية معية علم الله تعالى، ولا شك في إرادة ذلك، ولكن سمعه أيضا مع علمه محيط بهم، وبصره نافذ فيهم، فهو سبحانه مطلع على خلقه، لا يغيب عنه من أمورهم شيء. تفسير ابن كثير ٨/٦٧، وقد تقدم بيان زيف من قال بأن الله بذاته في كل مكان مستدلا بمثل هذه الآية.