1 00:00:00,850 --> 00:00:04,799 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 2 00:00:04,799 --> 00:00:11,810 The life of the salaf between word and deed. 3 00:00:11,810 --> 00:00:18,089 The position of the salaf regarding the attributes of Istiwa’ (rising over the Throne) and the Exaltation of Allah. 4 00:00:18,089 --> 00:00:21,660 ‘Abbad Ibn al-‘Awwam, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 5 00:00:21,660 --> 00:00:27,660 Sharik al-Qadi al-Nakha‘i, may Allah have mercy on him, came to us in Wasit. 6 00:00:27,660 --> 00:00:29,190 We said to him: 7 00:00:29,190 --> 00:00:34,219 "We have people among us who deny these hadiths," 8 00:00:34,219 --> 00:00:38,719 "that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, descends to the lowest heaven." 9 00:00:38,719 --> 00:00:41,009 Sharik replied: 10 00:00:41,009 --> 00:00:44,509 "The one who brought us these hadiths," 11 00:00:44,509 --> 00:00:49,509 "is the same one who brought the Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him." 12 00:00:49,509 --> 00:00:54,009 "The prayer, the fasting, the zakat, and the hajj." 13 00:00:54,009 --> 00:00:59,490 "It is only through these hadiths that we have come to know Allah, the Almighty and Majestic." 14 00:00:59,490 --> 00:01:03,619 Imam Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 15 00:01:03,619 --> 00:01:06,620 "Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, is in the heaven," 16 00:01:06,620 --> 00:01:09,120 "and His knowledge is in every place." 17 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,620 "No place is devoid of His knowledge." 18 00:01:12,620 --> 00:01:15,120 And he recited this verse: 19 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:20,680 “Hast thou not seen that Allah knoweth all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth? There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be; and afterward, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. Lo! Allah is Knower of all things.” (58:7) 20 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,680 “Hast thou not seen that Allah knoweth all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth? There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be; and afterward, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. Lo! Allah is Knower of all things.” (58:7) 21 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:29,290 Sufyan Ibn ‘Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 22 00:01:29,290 --> 00:01:33,790 A man asked Imam Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, 23 00:01:33,790 --> 00:01:38,480 saying: "The Most Merciful rose over the Throne." 24 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,109 "How did He rise, O Abu ‘Abd Allah?" 25 00:01:42,109 --> 00:01:46,700 He replied: "The rising is known," 26 00:01:46,700 --> 00:01:49,700 "but the 'how' is inconceivable." 27 00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:52,700 "Asking about this is an innovation," 28 00:01:52,700 --> 00:01:55,700 "and belief in it is obligatory." 29 00:01:55,700 --> 00:01:58,680 Al-Walid Ibn Muslim said: 30 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,180 I asked Malik about these hadiths, 31 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,219 and he said: "Recite them as they have come." 32 00:02:06,219 --> 00:02:10,219 He disliked narrating them to the common people, 33 00:02:10,219 --> 00:02:12,719 who do not know their true meaning, 34 00:02:12,719 --> 00:02:15,219 and whose intellects cannot grasp them, 35 00:02:15,219 --> 00:02:20,099 lest they deny them or place them in an improper context. 36 00:02:20,099 --> 00:02:23,599 Regarding al-Dahhak Ibn Muzahim, may Allah have mercy on him: 37 00:02:23,599 --> 00:02:27,759 He said regarding the verse: ﴾There is no private conversation of three...﴿ 38 00:02:27,759 --> 00:02:30,360 ﴾...but He is the fourth of them.﴿ 39 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,860 He said: "He is over the Throne," 40 00:02:32,860 --> 00:02:35,610 "and His knowledge is with them." 41 00:02:35,610 --> 00:02:38,610 Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 42 00:02:38,610 --> 00:02:42,949 "This is the Sunnah." 43 00:02:42,949 --> 00:02:47,860 The position of the salaf regarding the attributes of Allah. 44 00:02:47,860 --> 00:02:51,949 Ibn Abi Mulaykah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 45 00:02:51,949 --> 00:02:55,449 Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked 46 00:02:55,449 --> 00:02:58,449 about a verse from the Book of Allah. 47 00:02:58,449 --> 00:03:02,949 He said: "What earth would carry me," 48 00:03:02,949 --> 00:03:05,949 "and what heaven would shade me," 49 00:03:05,949 --> 00:03:08,949 "and where would I go, or what would I do," 50 00:03:08,949 --> 00:03:12,949 "if I were to speak about a verse from the Book of Allah" 51 00:03:12,949 --> 00:03:17,030 "with a meaning other than what Allah intended by it?" 52 00:03:17,030 --> 00:03:22,530 And from Anas Ibn Malik, that ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with them both, 53 00:03:22,530 --> 00:03:24,530 read from the pulpit: 54 00:03:24,530 --> 00:03:27,590 ﴾And fruits and herbage (abba).﴿ 55 00:03:27,590 --> 00:03:29,090 He then said: 56 00:03:29,090 --> 00:03:32,090 "We have known this fruit," 57 00:03:32,090 --> 00:03:34,009 "but what is the 'abba'?" 58 00:03:34,009 --> 00:03:37,009 Then he checked himself and said: 59 00:03:37,009 --> 00:03:41,509 "By your life, O ‘Umar, this is indeed over-burdening yourself." 60 00:03:41,509 --> 00:03:45,550 Ibn Abi Ya‘la, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 61 00:03:45,550 --> 00:03:48,050 "It should suffice you that the two Imams of Islam," 62 00:03:48,050 --> 00:03:50,050 "the two leaders of guidance," 63 00:03:50,050 --> 00:03:54,550 "and the two successors of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him," 64 00:03:54,550 --> 00:03:57,050 "the rightly guided leaders," 65 00:03:57,050 --> 00:04:01,050 "refrained and held back from interpreting a verse" 66 00:04:01,050 --> 00:04:04,050 "from the Book of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic." 67 00:04:04,050 --> 00:04:07,050 "And they were the most knowledgeable of creation regarding Allah, the Almighty and Majestic," 68 00:04:07,050 --> 00:04:11,050 "after the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him," 69 00:04:11,050 --> 00:04:15,050 "and regarding His Messenger, His Book, and its interpretation." 70 00:04:15,050 --> 00:04:21,050 "So what can we say about the audacity of the Mu‘tazilah and the Ash‘ariyyah," 71 00:04:21,050 --> 00:04:27,050 "and the rest of the misguided theologians in their interpretation of the attributes of the Most Merciful, the Almighty and Majestic," 72 00:04:27,050 --> 00:04:30,050 "which the Qur’an has spoken of," 73 00:04:30,050 --> 00:04:35,310 "and which the firm Imams and reliable scholars have transmitted?" 74 00:04:35,310 --> 00:04:38,310 A man said to al-Zuhri, may Allah have mercy on him: 75 00:04:38,310 --> 00:04:40,310 "O Abu Bakr," 76 00:04:40,310 --> 00:04:44,310 "the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:" 77 00:04:44,310 --> 00:04:48,310 "'He is not of us who strikes the cheeks,'" 78 00:04:48,310 --> 00:04:52,310 "'and he is not of us who does not respect our elders,'" 79 00:04:52,310 --> 00:04:54,310 "and similar hadiths." 80 00:04:54,310 --> 00:04:56,600 He bowed his head for a while, 81 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,660 then raised his head and said: 82 00:04:59,660 --> 00:05:02,660 "From Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, comes the knowledge," 83 00:05:02,660 --> 00:05:06,660 "upon the Messenger, peace be upon him, is the delivery," 84 00:05:06,660 --> 00:05:10,110 "and upon us is the submission." 85 00:05:10,110 --> 00:05:13,110 Al-Walid Ibn Muslim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 86 00:05:13,110 --> 00:05:16,110 I asked al-Awza‘i, al-Thawri, 87 00:05:16,110 --> 00:05:20,110 Malik Ibn Anas, and al-Layth Ibn Sa‘d, 88 00:05:20,110 --> 00:05:22,110 may Allah the Exalted have mercy on them, 89 00:05:22,110 --> 00:05:26,110 about the hadiths containing the attributes. 90 00:05:26,110 --> 00:05:28,110 They all said: 91 00:05:28,110 --> 00:05:32,110 "Pass them on as they have come, without interpretation." 92 00:05:32,110 --> 00:05:36,589 A man came to Imam Malik Ibn Anas, 93 00:05:36,589 --> 00:05:38,589 may Allah have mercy on him, and said: 94 00:05:38,589 --> 00:05:40,589 "O Abu ‘Abd Allah," 95 00:05:40,589 --> 00:05:43,649 “The Beneficent One, Who is established on the Throne.” (20:5) 96 00:05:43,649 --> 00:05:45,649 "How did He rise?" 97 00:05:45,649 --> 00:05:47,839 He said: 98 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:49,839 "We have never seen Malik" 99 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,839 "as distressed by anything as he was by his question." 100 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:55,839 Sweat covered him, 101 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:57,839 he bowed his head, 102 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:02,040 and we waited to see what he would command regarding him. 103 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:03,040 He said: 104 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,040 Then the distress left Malik, 105 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:07,040 and he said: 106 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,040 "The 'how' is inconceivable," 107 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,040 "the rising is not unknown," 108 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,040 "belief in it is obligatory," 109 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,040 "and asking about it is an innovation." 110 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:22,040 "And I fear that you are a person of misguidance." 111 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,199 Then he ordered that he be removed. 112 00:06:25,199 --> 00:06:28,870 Al-Wazir Ibn Hubayrah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 113 00:06:28,870 --> 00:06:31,870 I reflected upon the reports concerning the attributes, 114 00:06:31,870 --> 00:06:34,870 and I saw that the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, 115 00:06:34,870 --> 00:06:37,870 and the Tabi‘un, may Allah have mercy on them, 116 00:06:37,870 --> 00:06:41,870 remained silent regarding their interpretation despite the depth of their knowledge. 117 00:06:41,870 --> 00:06:44,959 I looked for the reason for their silence, 118 00:06:44,959 --> 00:06:48,959 and it was the intensity of their awe for the One described. 119 00:06:48,959 --> 00:06:51,959 And because their interpretation cannot be achieved 120 00:06:51,959 --> 00:06:54,959 except by drawing comparisons for Allah. 121 00:06:54,959 --> 00:06:57,959 Yet He, the Almighty and Majestic, has said: 122 00:06:57,959 --> 00:07:00,959 ﴾So do not strike comparisons for Allah.﴿ 123 00:07:00,959 --> 00:07:09,300 The position of the salaf regarding declaring others disbelievers, innovators, or sinners. 124 00:07:09,300 --> 00:07:12,480 It was said to Abu Wa’il, 125 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,480 Shaqiq Ibn Salamah al-Asadi, may Allah have mercy on him: 126 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:18,480 "O Abu Wa’il," 127 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,480 "what do you testify regarding al-Hajjaj?" 128 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,480 "Do you testify that he is in the Fire?" 129 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:25,519 He replied: 130 00:07:25,519 --> 00:07:27,519 "Subhan Allah!" 131 00:07:27,519 --> 00:07:30,519 "Do you command me to pass judgment on Allah?" 132 00:07:30,519 --> 00:07:34,120 Al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 133 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:40,160 Our teacher, Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, used to say in his final days: 134 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,279 "I do not declare anyone from the Ummah a disbeliever." 135 00:07:44,279 --> 00:07:46,279 And he would say: 136 00:07:46,279 --> 00:07:49,279 "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:" 137 00:07:49,279 --> 00:07:53,279 "'None maintains wudu’ except a believer.'" 138 00:07:53,279 --> 00:07:56,410 "So whoever maintains prayers with wudu’," 139 00:07:56,410 --> 00:07:58,410 "he is a Muslim." 140 00:07:58,410 --> 00:08:01,800 He also said, may Allah have mercy on him: 141 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,800 "If everyone who erred in his ijtihad," 142 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,800 "while his faith is sound and he intends to follow the truth," 143 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,800 "were to be cast aside and labeled an innovator," 144 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,800 "few in the Ummah would remain safe with us." 145 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,800 May Allah have mercy on everyone through His grace and generosity. 146 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,689 The life of the salaf 147 00:08:22,689 --> 00:08:26,040 between word and deed.