Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (18/122)

Majmu' al-FatawaIbn Taimiya

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about the saying reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as relating that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:

“Neither My heaven nor My earth contains Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me.”

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. This is among the Israelite traditions they have related. It has no known chain of transmission (*) from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Its meaning is: “His heart contains love for Me and knowledge of Me.”

As for the reported saying:

“The heart is the house of the Lord,”

it is of the same kind as the first, for the heart is the dwelling place of faith in Allah Most High, knowledge of Him, and love for Him.

As for what they relate:

“I was an unknown treasure, and I wished to be known, so I created creatures and made Myself known to them; thus, through Me, they came to know Me,”

these are not the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I know of no chain of transmission for it, whether sound or weak.

As for what they relate from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Allah created the intellect and said to it, ‘Come forward,’ and it came forward. Then He said to it, ‘Turn back,’ and it turned back. Then He said, ‘By My might

(*) Shaykh Nāsir ibn Hamad al-Fahd stated (p. 52): On these pages, the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—mentioned a number of weak and fabricated hadiths. However, some textual corruption has occurred: in this fatwa, the expression wa-mā yarwūhu appears before each hadith, in twenty-five places. This is an obvious textual error that violates Arabic grammar. The correct wording is either wa-mā rawawhu (“and what they narrated”) or wa-mā yarwūnahu (“and what they narrate”), as is well known in Arabic. The latter is more likely correct, since this is the wording found in al-Kubrā, 2/231, which appears to be the source of this fatwa. And Allah Most High knows best.

سُئِلَ شَيْخُ الْإِسْلَامِ: عَمَّا يُرْوَى عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَالَ: {مَا وَسِعَنِي لَا سَمَائِي وَلَا أَرْضِي وَلَكِنْ وَسِعَنِي قَلْبُ عَبْدِي الْمُؤْمِنِ} فَأَجَابَ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، هَذَا مَا ذَكَرُوهُ فِي الإسرائيليات لَيْسَ لَهُ إسْنَادٌ مَعْرُوفٌ (*) عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَمَعْنَاهُ: وَسِعَ قَلْبُهُ مَحَبَّتِي وَمَعْرِفَتِي. وَمَا يُرْوَى: {الْقَلْبُ بَيْتُ الرَّبِّ} هَذَا مِنْ جِنْسِ الْأَوَّلِ فَإِنَّ الْقَلْبَ بَيْتُ الْإِيمَانِ بِاَللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَعْرِفَتِهِ وَمَحَبَّتِهِ. وَمَا يَرْوُونَهُ {كُنْت كَنْزًا لَا أُعْرَفَ فَأَحْبَبْت أَنْ أُعْرَفَ فَخَلَقْت خَلْقًا فَعَرَّفْتهمْ بِي فَبِي عَرَفُونِي} هَذَا لَيْسَ مِنْ كَلَامِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَا أَعْرِفُ لَهُ إسْنَادًا صَحِيحًا وَلَا ضَعِيفًا. وَمَا يَرْوُونَهُ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ {إنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ الْعَقْلَ فَقَالَ لَهُ: أَقْبِلْ فَأَقْبَلَ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ: أَدْبِرْ فَأَدْبَرَ فَقَالَ: وَعِزَّتِي

(*) قال الشيخ ناصر بن حمد الفهد (ص ٥٢): قد ذكر الشيخ رحمه الله في هذه الصفحات مجموعة من الأحاديث الضعيفة والموضوعة، ولكن وقع فيها بعض التصحيف، حيث ورد في هذه الفتوى قبل كل حديث لفظ (وما يرووه) في خمسة وعشرين موضعا ً، وهو تصحيف ظاهر مخالف للغة، وصوابه إما (وما رووه)، وإما (وما يروونه)، وكما هو المعروف في اللغة، والثاني أصوب، لأنه ورد كذلك في (الكبرى) ٢/ ٢٣١، وهي أصل الفتوى على ما يظهر، والله تعالى أعلم.