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He also cited the verses: “He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth” (al-Anʿām 6:3); and, “Vision perceives Him not, yet He perceives all vision” (al-Anʿām 6:103).⦗1⦘
(1) Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, writes: The divine statement, “No vision can grasp Him” (al-Anam 6:103), points to His absolute greatness: He is vaster than everything, so mighty that nothing can encompass Him. Grasping (idrak) is more than merely seeing; it is to surround and fully contain a thing. Ibn Abbas explained, “No vision can grasp Him” means that eyes do not encompass Him. Qatadah said: He is too majestic to be encompassed by sight. Atiyyah commented: They will look at Allah, yet their eyes will not surround Him because of His grandeur, while His sight enfolds them; hence His words, “No vision can grasp Him, but He grasps all vision.” Thus the believers shall behold their Lord openly with their eyes, but their seeing will not encompass Him, for it is impossible that anything should surround Allah when He Himself surrounds all things. Likewise, He hears the speech of whomever He wills, yet they cannot encompass His speech; and creatures know only what He teaches them, without encompassing His knowledge.
In the same way, some people try to negate the attributes by citing, “Nothing is like Him” (al-Shura 42:11). Paradoxically, this verse is one of the strongest proofs for the abundance of His perfect attributes and majestic qualities: because they are so numerous and exalted, nothing resembles Him in them. Were the verse intended to deny attributes altogether, sheer non-existence would deserve that praise even more. All rational people understand that saying, “So-and-so has no equal or peer,” means he surpasses others through distinctive qualities; the more qualities, the further he is from resembling his peers. Therefore, “Nothing is like Him” proves the multitude of His attributes, and “No vision can grasp Him” proves that He is seen yet not encompassed.
Similarly, His words, “He it is who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He rose over the Throne; He knows what penetrates the earth, what emerges from it, what descends from the sky and what ascends therein; and He is with you wherever you are, and Allah sees what you do” (al-Hadid 57:4), are among the clearest proofs that the Lord is distinct from His creation. He did not create them within His own essence; He created them outside of Himself and then became separate from them by rising over His Throne while fully aware of their state. He sees them, His sight reaches them, and He encompasses them in knowledge, power, will, hearing and seeing. This is the meaning of His being “with” them wherever they may be. Observe, then, the elegance of this…
{وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَفِي الأَرْضِ}
[الأنعام: ٣]
.
{لا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الأَبْصَارَ}
[الأنعام: ١٠٣]
١.
١ قال ابن القيم رحمه الله: فقوله: {لا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ} يدل على غاية عظمته، وأنه أكبر من كل شيء، وأنه لعظمته لا يدرك بحيث يحاط به، فإن الإدراك هو الإحاطة بالشيء وهو قدر زائد على الرؤية. ثم قال:
قال ابن عباس: {لا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ} لا تحيط به الأبصار. قال قتادة: هو أعظم من أن تدركه الأبصار، وقال عطية: ينظرون إلى الله، ولا تحيط أبصارهم به من عظمته، وبصره يحيط بهم، فذلك قوله تعالى: {لا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الأَبْصَارَ} فالمؤمنون يرون ربهم -تبارك وتعالى- بأبصارهم عيانًا، ولا تدركه أبصارهم بمعنى: أنها لا تحيط به، إذ كان غير جائز أن يوصف الله -عز وجل- بأن شيئًا يحيط به وهو بكل شيء محيط، وهكذا يسمع كلام من يشاء من خلقه ولا يحيطون بكلامه، وهكذا يعلم الخلق ما علمهم ولا يحيطون بعلمه.
ونظير هذا استدلالهم على نفي الصفات بقوله تعالى: {لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ} وهذا من أعظم الأدلة على كثرة صفات كماله ونعوت جلاله، وأنها لكثرتها وعظمتها وسعتها لم يكن له مثل فيها، وإلا فلو أريد بها نفي الصفات لكان العدم المحض أولى بهذا المدح منه. مع أن جميع العقلاء إنما يفهمون من قول القائل: فلان لا مثيل له، وليس له نظير ولا شبيه ولا مثل إنه قد تميز عن الناس بأوصاف ونعوت لا يشاركونه فيها وكلما كثرت أوصافه ونعوته فاق أمثاله وبعد عن مشابهة أضرابه. فقوله: {لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ} من أدل شيء على كثرة نعوته وصفاته، وقوله: {لا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ} من أدل شيء على أنه يرى ولا يدرك. وقوله: {هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِي الأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا وَمَا يَنْزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا يَعْرُجُ فِيهَا وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ} [الحديد: ٤] من أدل شيء على مباينة الرب لخلقه، فإنه لم يخلقهم في ذاته، بل خلقهم خارجًا عن ذاته، ثم بان عنهم باستوائه على عرشه وهو يعلم ما هم عليه، فيراهم وينفذهم بصره، ويحيط بهم علمًا وقدرة وإرادة وسمعًا وبصرًا، فهذا معنى كونه سبحانه معهم أينما كانوا. وتأمل حسن هذه =