Interesting! The Way of the Sufi: Travelling Without Movement

[faqir]

The Way of the Sufi: Travelling Without Movement

by Daoud Rosser-Owen

[This lecture was given during the Ar-Rum "Best of British Islam" Festival season in London, 1 May 2002/18 Safar 1423.]



A'oudhu Billahi min ash-shaytani-r Rajim. Bismillahi-r Rahmani-r Rahim. Wa-s salatu wa-s salam 'ala Rasouli-Llahi-l Karim, wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wa kulli man atba'a hudahi ila Yawmi-d Din. Amin. Wa-s salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatu-Llahi Ta'ala wa barakatuh. Amma ba'd:

I became a Muslim in November 1964 in Sabah, east Malaysia, and adopted the Shafi'i madh'hab. Then, two years later in 1966, I came into contact with the Naqshbandi Tariqah in Selangor State in west Malaysia, and I have been a follower of the Naqshbandi Way since then. I met Shaykh Mehmet Efendi from Haydar Pasha Mosque in Istanbul, and two or three other shaykhs in Istanbul associated with him. Later, in the early 1970s, I became associated with Shaykh Abdullah Daghistani and Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Qubrusi. So that, in a sense, puts me in a context.

This talk, I understand, is entitled "The Way of the Sufi: Travelling without Movement" - or words to that effect. I might actually skip the last part of that title. The reason, I think, why the title was chosen like that is that it's very common for Sufis to refer to themselves as "travellers on the Way", or as Sulouku fi-t Tariqah.

The word "Sufi" itself is something of a problem. It doesn't exist, by and large, in early Islamic literature. There's no word for it in the Quran. It arose in the Middle Ages as a nick-name. As with many nick-names, it was such a useful term that it came to be adopted fairly generally, even by the followers themselves. However, the term we're familiar with - "Sufism" - is actually a creation of 19th Century German Orientalism.

The phrase der Sufismus was used, or coined by - I think - Goldziher to translate the Islamic or Arabic term, "tasawwuf". Tasawwuf is a verbal noun from the word "sufi", and "sufi" it seems comes from a word meaning "wool". The origins of the term, apparently, are supposed to be because they wore wool.

This in itself may be a correspondance, because there is an alternative definition that does the rounds, which is an Arabic word tasfiyyah, meaning "purification". This very often happens, where the one term gets used for the other. To illustrate this, the word "rosary" which people are familiar with in the Christian world comes from the Arabic al wardiyyah, from ward - "a rose" - which in itself derives from a term wirdiyyah, meaning the thing you use for doing your wird, or daily recitations. Because the way they're written is identical, the vowelling of the one can be substituted for the vowelling of the other. By this correspondance, from "wirdiyyah" you get "rosary".

It's important, I think, to define terms at the outset. I was taught this in Sociology in university and I've never really managed to get away from it. There are some terms, of which "tariqah", which is used for the "Sufi Orders", is one. This is interesting because it links up with other terms that are also familiar - "Shari'ah", "Madh'hab", "Sunnah". All four terms mean, in one way or another, "a way", or "path", but they have slight differences.

"Shari'ah" is a static concept in a sense. It means a beaten track, like a main road or a street, leading to a watering hole. Whereas the other two terms, "Tariqah" and "Madh'hab" are dynamic - almost vehicular. The word tariqah can be used to mean a path followed across a swamp or boggy ground; or the track that you yourself follow across damp grass and leave a trail of footprints behind you. So it is a moving concept as opposed to simply a static one like Shari'ah. It can also mean, "the path that you follow down the street"; if the street were dusty it would leave a trail of footprints. I presume with something like a thermal imaging device you can actually see your path down the street with your footprints as they follow behind you.

The reason for making this point is that Tariqah and Shari'ah link up to a verse in the Qur'an, which has for centuries been used by the Sufis as referring to themselves. Where Allah Almighty says, "li kulli ja'alna minkum shir'atan wa minhaja" - "to each of you We have appointed a Code and a Way". For centuries this was understood that the "shir'ah" meant the madh'hab, and the "minhaj" meant the tariqah. Both concepts, as I mentioned, are dynamic and vehicular. So that one has a path in the outer, and a path in the inner.

The reason for this in Islamic terms becomes clear when, in the hadith (or Tradition), Abu Hurayrah said that he had received from the Prophet two cups of knowledge - one, the contents of which you know; and the other, the contents of which if you knew you would kill him. And this was taken to mean that there are an outer and an inner - an obvious and a hidden, a zahir and a batin - teaching right from the beginning with the Prophet himself (salla-Llahu 'alayhi wa sallam). This is taken by the followers of Sufism (the followers of Tariqah) to be where it actually begins - with Rasulu-Llah (SAW). Some traditions follow a transmission of teaching through 'Ali (ra), and others follow a transmission of teaching through Abu Bakr (ra) - but both take it back to the Prophet himself (SAW).

This is pace what is written in books by the Orientalists, where you will find that "Sufism" is a Neo-Platonic accretion into Islam adopted by the Muslims some time in the Middle Ages. Here they are in fact lighting upon the beginnings of what are now known as the "Sufi Orders", which appear around the time of the Mongol invasions. But the practice of "Sufism" itself is mainstream to Islam: it's part of the teachings that the Prophet himself (SAW) brought and taught and is in no way in contradiction to them. It is integral to the Message, in the sense that you have a body and a heart; you have a car and an engine. This is where Islam embraces Tasawwuf - Sufism - within it.

The teaching as it comes down through the Orientalists, however, skips all this and delivers us into, basically, Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and all these things, which you never find in the writings of the Sufis themselves. None of that appears. It is all to do with the Prophet (SAW) and his teachings; the meaning of the Qur'an; and the means of approach to Allah Almighty. This is the essence of Sufism, and that is how do we ourselves skip all the attractive things of this world, which tend to be distractions, and get to the main purpose and that is how to reach proximity to God Himself.

There is a tradition, it's not a Prophetic one, it's a saying mostly within the Naqshbandi Order, and that is that "There is no Tariqah outside the Shari'ah". Where one often comes across people saying that Sufism is in contradiction to Islam, or that the Sufis deviate from the practices of Islam, or words to that effect - this cannot be substantiated by examining any of the writings or teachings or practices of the Orders themselves. This idea derives from the practices of deviant people, who are a minority - a small number spread over the centuries. Nobody - no organisation, no group of people - would like to be defined by its "drop-outs". It's not really fair to use these as a means of categorising Sufism outside Islam.

The practices of the Sufis have varied between teacher and teacher, and from time and time. Where things have been necessary in one time, the followers of Tasawwuf have risen to the occasion and delivered what was necessary for that society, at that place, and in that time. In later times, something else may have been necessary, and so they have literally moved with the times. For example, during the Abbasid Period, that is from about the mid-9th Century onwards until the time of the Fourth Crusade - maybe later - the Muslim World seemed to have been characterised by decadence and dissoluteness in the outer life. In the early part of this period, the Sufi Orders were well-known for teaching asceticism, abstinence, or dissociation from the activities of the Court and the opulence of the things around them.

Then in the 1200s came the Mongol invasions, which brought in their train the effective collapse of civil society in the whole of what is eastern and central Europe, Syria, Iraq, Anatolia, and Persia. This had echoes throughout the southern part of the Levant into Egypt, and into western Europe. In fact, when, on 9 April 1241 the Teutonic knights were absolutely massacred by the Mongols at the Battle of Liegnitz and on the same day, the Hungarians were equally slaughtered at the Battle of Mohi, the whole of Western Europe was left exposed to conquest by the hordes as far as the Atlantic. They then disappeared. They turned round and went home again. The reason for this possibly is the defeat of the Mongols of Hulagu Khan by Baybars Bunduqdari and the Mamlouks from Egypt at the Battle of 'Ayn Jalout, but it is usually attributed to the death of the Khaqan and the need to choose a successor. However, during this period of complete social collapse was the beginning of the Sufi Orders. The reason for the orders was that people gathered together around their zawiyyas (basically, hospices or convents) that gave to a society in collapse a core of organisation around which it could reconstruct itself.

This is how Sufis tended to be identified, on the one hand with the creation of hospices and the Orders themselves; and on the other hand with the Craft Guilds (niqabah), because they gathered together craftsmen as well. If you have society in collapse you need an economy as well as you need government. These are two examples.

In more recent times you, particularly in the 18th and 19th Centuries, that prominent amongst scientific enquirers and especially in the Ottoman Empire are members of the Tariqahs. They have always been in the forefront of what is necessary for the society in its contemporary context. In modern times you'll find that where the need has been to resist colonialism, or the activities of the aggressors, the Sufi Orders - by now well-entrenched within the fabric of Islamic Society - have been prominent. For example, one thinks of Abdul Karim Ar-Rifi in Morocco or Abdul Qadir Al-Jaza'iri in Algeria during the 1920s; or 'Umar Al-Mukhtar As-Sanoussi in Libya in the 1930s; or even before that the Bantén Revolt in west Java in 1888 which was led by the Naqshbandi Order; the fighting against the Russians in the 19th Century and today in the Caucasus has been led by the Naqshbandi and Qadiri Orders; and in Bosnia the War to prevent the complete annihilation of the Muslims by the Serbs was on the orders of three Naqshbandi shaykhs. So that whatever is needed has been done.

What one can say then, is that the Way of the Sufi is, in fact, in our understanding from within, the Way of Muhammad (SAW). This is important to us because although our detractors will say that we are deviant, we don't accept this. However, what people do want to know is in what way do Sufis differ from the rest of the Muslim World? This is a modern problem because not so long ago - I won't put a time-limit on it as I haven't the faintest idea - people travelling in the Muslim World would see the way that simple Muslims, traditional Muslims, conducted themselves and they would write things - whether it was Margaret Smith in the 1890s, or others like Sir Richard Winstedt in South East Asia at about the same period. They would all note that on a Thursday night everybody disappeared to the mosque and they had circles of "dhikr". The whole of the society of the Islamic World from Morocco to China was steeped in these practices, which if we define them out from their social context we can see come from the Sufis themselves; that they were brought there by them and were adopted and became such a part of everyday life that they are inseparable from being, say, a village Malay or a person living in the Rif Mountains or the High Atlas, or wherever. It is only in modern times that people have come up with a "modernised" form of Islam, which removes these sort of practices from Islam and denies them to the average Muslim - certainly the average educated Muslim because in the villages it's still the same.

The sad thing is that the great teacher of the modern movement himself - Taqiyuddin ibn Taymiyyah, known for one reason or other as Shaykhu-l Islam by these people, was a follower of the Qadiriyyah Order and has written many things about it. Therefore their negative stance towards Sufis and Tasawwuf is rather problematical in my opinion. However, they are, to coin a Christian phrase, the cross we have to bear in the modern world.

The practices and elements that people commonly identify with Sufis includes this thing "dhikru-Llah". This isn't, of course, simply a Sufi practice - it is well enshrined within specific ayats of the Qur'an and specific hadiths. For example, an ayah says "ala illa bi dhikri-Llah tatma'inna-l quloub"; "is it not only with dhikrullah that the heart is tranquilised?". Another one states, "wa idha qadaytumu-s salaah..."; "when you have finished the prayer, remember God standing, sitting or lying down". It's such a clear ayah, that somebody who gets up from prayer and goes away without doing dhikr is in a sense defying this amru-Llah; he is not doing what he's told. So, this is not simply a Sufi practice, but dhikrs which contain specific formulae tend to be identified with them. Now within the Naqshbandis the formula we tend to have - and it varies from shaykh to shaykh, from area to area though the essential core is the same - starts with making Shahadah, you then say Astaghfiru-Llah a number of times, you then recite certain surahs in the Qur'an, or excerpts of surahs from the Qur'an, and then you finish with a prayer of supplication. This formula is, even to our detractors, wholly unobjectionable.

What people have raised questions about is the practice from other orders, notably among the Shadhiliyyah in West and North Africa, and in the Levant, where they do what some have categorised as a dance - the "Hadrah"; or "Raqs" (which is rejected by Imam Malik, the "founder" of the Maliki madh'hab, and by Imam al-Shadhili, the eponymus of the Order). I don't take a position on that because I am not a follower of their way, but this is typically done on a Thursday night. Thursday night is the beginning of Friday in the Islamic day and there is a verse in the Surah Ya Sin referring to Friday which says that when you finish with trading and so on, you should hurry to making mention of God. This is taken to mean that hurrying to make mention of God on Friday begins on Thursday night after Maghrib.

I suppose also that what is identified with Sufis are people wandering around in burnouses, or sitting down drinking mint tea, or some people one sees wandering around in turbans. The reason for all this in the present day is that there is a clear hadith that says that we must "enliven his Sunnah". This basically sums up what "Tasawwuf" is all about - it is giving life to the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW). The more sunnahs you can do the better. You will usually find Sufi men wearing shirts to their wrist, because that's the way the Prophet (SAW) always dressed; they usually have their heads covered one way of another, whether with this sort of hat or a turban or a base-ball cap; and they will usually have a beard, although I've seen somewhere in the Middle East they tend to just wear moustaches, but that's a cultural thing. People usually have the other instruments: a miswak, a tasbeeh, and so on. These are all accoutrements that come from the practice of the Prophet (SAW) and by adopting them one is giving life to them, and in our present time where so much is running in the opposite direction it's an important thing to do this. Perhaps if you swim against the stream you might actually slow it down.

I'd like to conclude what I am saying by quoting a hadith which relates to our present times:

He said, "The nations are on the verge of tumbling onto you like food tumbles into its bowl".
When somebody asked him (SAW) if that was because the Muslims would be few at that time, he said "No, rather you will be at that time many, but you will be scum like froth on a river in spate (walakinukum ghutha'un ka ghutha'a-s sayl). And Allah will have snatched awe of you from the breasts of your enemies and will have hurled into your hearts saplessness (wahn)".
And somebody said to him (SAW), "What is saplessness, O Messenger of Allah? (ma-l wahn, Ya Rasoula-Llah?)"
He said, "Love of the World and abhorrence of Death (hubbu-d dunya wa karahiyyatu-l mawt)". This seems to be the state we're in at the moment.

I will finish by quoting something else:

"If by setting one's heart right every morning and evening one is able to live as though his body were already dead he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling."

This final quote is actually not from an Islamic text at all: it is from the "Hagakure" - the Way of the Samurai. The interesting thing is that the Samurai were practitioners of a particular form of Zen Buddhism - and Zen Buddhism itself is a sort of precipitate from the interaction of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tariqahs of Islam, which met round about the Pamir Mountains, just above the Himalayas as the Turks were moving eastwards with their Islam - and largely they were Naqshbandis. It was also two Naqshbandi dervishes who had been instrumental in converting Hulagu Khan's grandson and the Mongols to Islam.

Wa-Llahu a'lam bi-s sawab. Aqoulu qawli hadha, wa-staghfiru-Llahi li wa lakum; wa-s salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatu-Llahi wa barakatuh


_____________________________

Questions from the audience:

"You said that the Sufi Orders came about because of the social collapse at the time of the Mongol Invasion, do you think that perhaps now, given the situation we're living in, they might have a lot to offer today?"

Yes, I think so; but maybe not quite in the way that people might think from the West, because here we tend to be prisoners of our conditioning and environment. I think there is a general problem within the Islamic World, and that is a sort of struggle for the soul of Islam that is going on between the Modernisers and the Traditionalists. The Traditionalists tend to be coallesced around the Sufi Orders, so I think this gives a certain strength and resilience to the Islamic World; and without this inner resilience there is no way it can help people outside the Islamic World.

One finds that people from the non-Muslim world do find that the Sufi angle on Islam tends to be more attractive than the rather more modern thing. In a sense people here in Britain have had plenty of religion, and particularly plenty of doctrinal religion, whether from the Church of England or the Church of Rome or one of the non-Conformist denominations. They are not really fascinated by the need for structure within the religion, what they're looking for is a spiritual content which tends to be absent in the Christian churches now. Even with the "Born Agains" or the Alpha movement in the Church of England, it gives you a buzz during the time you're in the Church but when you leave it, it evaporates. It doesn't hold you, it doesn't re-charge your batteries for the coming week.

It is interesting too that the respectability of Islam begins with Idris Shah back in the late-1960s with his book The Sufis. This made access to Islam possible in the West, by sidestepping the intellectual and emotional barrier thrown up for them by so much conditioning about "Islam" as a trigger-word. Therefore I think in two ways, that Sufism can give an access to the Islamic teachings free from barriers and prejudice; but also within the Muslim World I think we're seeing that these Sufi Orders are giving something that had been absent over the last 50 years, although they have been active there, and that is the ability to resist.

I mentioned that the War in Bosnia in April 1992 began because the Serbs had gone round the houses on one of those amnesties collecting any weapons that people had, and it was getting to the point where the Muslim population would have been totally disarmed and unable to defend itself - and they'd seen what had happened at Vukovar in Croatia and they knew that it was coming to them - so two shaykhs in Sarajevo and one in Mostar ordered them to fight. Similarly in Chechenya, the declaration of independence from the collapsing Soviet Union was done on the orders of the Sufi shaykhs, and of Dudayev, the general who was murdered and who was actually the follower of a Qadiri shaykh. It has happened elsewhere in modern times, and it will be interesting to see what happens in Palestine because the first Intifada that happened a couple of years ago was completely outside the control of the PLO - it was actually run by Hamas. The present intifada seems to be outside the control of even Hamas, and so who knows who is behind it, or if anybody at all is organising it, or nobody - maybe it's just happening? I know that quite a lot of Palestinians don't follow tariqahs, but we shall see because in that sort of environment people turn to spiritual things.

An American Padre in fact, during the Second World War, wrote, "there are no unbelievers in a fox hole"; that when you're in a situation like that you rapidly acquire belief, and quite a spiritual belief. Metaphysics is quite a common attitude within most of the Armed Services and so I imagine it's the same within the Palestinian resistance.

Hamas itself, which grew out of the Gaza branch of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has, therefore, a provenance that goes back to the Shadhili Tariqah because Imam Hasan Al-Banna As-Shaheed, the founder of the Ikhwanu-l Muslimeen was himself a shaykh of the Hasafiyyah branch of the Shadhiliyyah - so that it has always had a tariqah content. Maybe the thing is coming full circle. Certainly the Palestinians need something to give them strength in the forthcoming difficult period when people are trying to sell them down the river as fast as they can.



© Daoud Rosser-Owen, London, 2002.

['Abd al-Mustafa]

Even though Imam Hasan alBannah is the founder of that movement, the movement retains few of his real leanings of aims.

your brother in Islam

'Abd al-Mustafa

[ahl-e-bayt]

salam ... this was a well organized article. And i liked the section about jihad and the sufi involvment in it. Plus this article was not aggressive and did not use a harsh language agaisnt our brother wahabis

[someone]

Ihsan = Tasawwuf = Tazkiya = Sufism

Doing Tazkiya was the duty of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W as mentioned in the Quran. Anyone who accepted Islam and saw Prophet Muhammad S.A.W or if Prophet Muhammad S.A.W saw him then he was purified immediately and became Sahabi.

And about:

'Abd al-Mustafa

Ya Abu Bakar Madad
Ya Umar Madad
Ya Uthman Madad
Ya Ali Madad

You must know the definition of Shirk first. If you associate anyone with Allah in anyway then it becomes shirk. There is no one like Allah. If we say that someone has qualities or Siffat (sing = sift) like Allah then that's shirk.

When we ask for help from Ghaib (unseen) we can only ask Allah because only Allah is everywhere and only He knows everything. "Haazir and Naazir" is the sift of Allah. If we say that such and such person is Haazir and Naazir and can hear just like Allah then that's Shirk.

Only say: Ya Allah Madad

['Abd al-Mustafa]

jazakallah my friend, thankyou for the advice

[Ahle-Sunnah]

Ihsan = Tasawwuf = Tazkiya = Sufism

Doing Tazkiya was the duty of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W as mentioned in the Quran. Anyone who accepted Islam and saw Prophet Muhammad S.A.W or if Prophet Muhammad S.A.W saw him then he was purified immediately and became Sahabi.

And about:

'Abd al-Mustafa

Ya Abu Bakar Madad
Ya Umar Madad
Ya Uthman Madad
Ya Ali Madad

You must know the definition of Shirk first. If you associate anyone with Allah in anyway then it becomes shirk. There is no one like Allah. If we say that someone has qualities or Siffat (sing = sift) like Allah then that's shirk.

When we ask for help from Ghaib (unseen) we can only ask Allah because only Allah is everywhere and only He knows everything. "Haazir and Naazir" is the sift of Allah. If we say that such and such person is Haazir and Naazir and can hear just like Allah then that's Shirk.

Only say: Ya Allah Madad

1. Some people believe that Allah Ta'ala is "Omnipresent", that is, Allah Ta’ala is Present and Over-looking at every time and at every place. They believe Allah Ta’ala to be "Haazir" and "Naazir".

2. This is not true, as Allah Ta'ala is not bound by time and space. Allah Ta'ala is Present and Seeing from eternity without time and without space.

3. Allah Ta'ala's Attributes, namely, Life, Knowledge, Power and Speech, are without time and without place, so are Allah Ta’ala’s other attributes. Allah Ta'ala's Attributes always exists and will continue to exist till eternity.

4. There is a great difference between Allah Ta'ala being Present and the souls of His creation being present. No one is present like Allah Ta'ala being Present.

5. The Angels, the souls of Prophets, the souls of the Awliya Allah and the souls of pious Muslims are present at any place where they are called. They were non-existent, before being present. They will seize to exist after a while. The souls of the creation were absent before it became present there, and will be absent some time later. The presence of the souls is with time and with place.

6. Now that we have explained the concept of Allah Ta'ala being Present and clarified our position with regards to the station of the souls in this respect, we will explain the concept of Haazir (present) and Naazir (over-looking) of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).

7. It is the belief of the Ahle Sunnah Wal Jama’at that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is given power by Allah Ta'ala to be Haazir and Naazir.

8. Some persons say that the Ahle Sunnat Wa Jamaat believes that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is present like Allah Ta’ala is Present. This is totally false because the Ahle Sunnah Wal Jama'at does not have such a belief.

9. The Ulema have used the words "Haazir-o-Naazir" for Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).

10. Allah Ta'ala states in the Holy Quran: "How then if I brought from each people a Witness and brought you (O Muhammad) as a Witness against these people". (Sura al-Nisa: 41) This proves that each Prophet is a Witness for his Ummah, for those who accept Allah Ta'ala and those who reject Him. It also proves that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was present before each Ummah, witnessing their deeds. On the Day of Qiyamah, when they will be questioned about their deeds, they will deny it. Then, Allah Ta'ala will bring the Final Messenger (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) as a Witness and he will testify because he was present there when they were practising evil.

11. Imam Khaazin (radi Allahu anhu) states, "To be a witness means to be 'Haazir' or present." (Tafseer Khaazin)

12. Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhaddis Delwi (radi Allah anhu) writes: "Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is Haazir-o-Naazir on the deeds of his Ummah". (Haashiya Akhbarul Akhyaar)

13. Allah Ta'ala states in the Holy Quran: "O Prophet! Truly, We have sent you as a Witness, a Bearer of Glad Tidings, and a Warner". (Sura al-Ahzab: 45) Here Allah Ta'ala says that the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is a witness sent by Him concerning men's doings and how they receive Allah Ta'ala's Message. In order to give evidence, a witness has to be present and watching. Even in the Court of Law, a witness is asked, "Did you see the incident taking place?"

14. Allah Ta'ala states in the Holy Quran: "And the Apostle is a Witness over yourselves." (Sura al-Baqarah: 144) Commenting on this Ayah, Hazrat Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlwi (radi Allahu anhu) writes: "The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is observing everybody, knows their good and bad deeds, and knows the strength of Imaan of every individual Muslim and what has hindered his spiritual progress." (Tafsir Azizi)

15. Allah Ta'ala states in the Holy Quran: "And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His face and let not thine eyes pass beyond them." (Sura Kahaf: 28) In this verse Allah Ta'ala is asking Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) to keep a close watch on those people who seek Him. He is asked to observe them day and night. Note that no limitation has been imposed - "observe them during your life and after you assume a veil of departure". This is another proof that the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is watching us 24 hours a day!

16. Allah Ta'ala states in the Holy Quran: "The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is closer to the Believers than their own selves". (Sura al-Ahzab: 6) Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is with every Muslim. (N.B. Not every Muslim, but every "Mu'min" among the Muslims). That is the reason why the non-Mu'mins feel that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah - sallal laahu alaihi wasallam - is far from them. But it is they who are far from the beloved of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is closer to them than they are to their own selves, irrespective of time and place. He is witnessing their deeds. Allah Ta’ala gives this power to him.

17. It is reported by Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: "Indeed this entire world is in front of me so that I can observe everything in it. I can see everything in this world and everything that will take place till the Day of Qiyamah. I see the entire world as I see the palm of my hand". (Mawahib-e-Ladunnia) This Hadith Shareef substantiates the belief of the Ahle Sunnah that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is Haazir and Naazir.

18. Hazrat Qazi Abu Iyaaz (radi Allahu anhu) writes in his "Shifa" that Hazrat Amr bin Dinar (radi Allahu anhu), a Taba'in and Faqih of Makkatul Mukarramah, said: "If you enter a house and find that there is nobody there, say 'May Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam)'". Writing a commentary on this Hadith Shareef, Hazrat Mulla Ali Qari (radi Allahu anhu) says: "This is so because the soul of the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is present in every Muslim home".

19. Hazrat Ali Hameed Saaidi (radi Allahu anhu) has reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: "If any of you enters the Mosque, send Salaams to me, followed by this Du'a: 'O Allah! Open your Door of Blessing for me'". (Abu Dawud, Ibne Majah, Baihaqi) This Hadith proves that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is present in every Mosque of this world and according to Islam, the entire earth is a Mosque for the Muslims, as reported by Hazrat Jabir bin Abdullah (radi Allahu anhu) that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: "The entire earth has been made a Mosque for me". (Bukhari Shareef) Thus, the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is present everywhere on earth!

20. The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has stated, "Whosoever sees me in his dream then he will soon see me while awake." (Bukhari Shareef; Abu Dawood) Commentating on this Hadith, Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhadith Delhwi (radi Allahu anhu) says: "This is glad tidings for those who see the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) in their dreams that after arriving from the darkness of the Nafs and the completion of the desires of the body they have reached this stage that in reality, without any veil in the condition of awakeness they will have this opportunity of seeing him just like the Awliyah Allah who see him while awake. In this text, this Hadith proves that it is possible and proper to see the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) while awake." (Ash Atul Lam'aat)

21. The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, "I have been sent towards all the creation of Almighty Allah." (Sahih Muslim Shareef; Mishkaat Shareef) This Hadith Shareef proves that the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is being a witness for those towards whom he was sent as a Prophet.

22. It is written in an authentic Kitaab: "Even due to much objections and differences in the opinions of the Ulema, one does not have any doubt in this case that without any doubt and illusion, the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is continuosly alive and he is Haazir and Naazir in the A'mal of his Ummat and he gives his mercy towards those who turns towards him and he guides them." (Maktoobat Shareef bar Haashia Akhbaarul Akhyaar Shareef)

23. Hazrat Haji Imdaadullah Muhaajir Makki (radi Allahu anhu) writes: "Our Ulema fight in the issue of Meelad Shareef. The Ulema believed in its permissibility as well. When the side of permissibility exists, why then is there so much hardness on this issue? For us, it is sufficient to follow the people of Haramain (Makkah and Medina). At the time of Qiyaam one should not have the belief of Tawallud (that Rasoolullah - sallal laahu alaihi wasallam - is born now). The possibility of the arrival of Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) in the Meelad assembly is not wrong because the bodily world is restricted to time and place, but the spiritual world is free from both. So the arrival of Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is not far from being possible". (Shamaime Imdaadiya)

24. Imam Ahle Sunnat, Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Sa'eed Qazmi (radi Allahu anhu) states: "When the word Haazir-o-Naazir is used for Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), it does not mean that the physical body of Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is everywhere and that he is present in front of everybody. This in fact means that as the soul exists in every part of the body similarly the light filled reality of the Soul of both the worlds (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) exist in every atom of the worlds. Based on that Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) arrives with his spirituality and lightfulness in many places at one time. Many times, the Pious observe the beauty of Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) in a state of wakefulness with their physical eyes". (Taskeenul Khawatir fi Mas'alatil Haazir wan Naazir)

25. Thus we have learnt that Hazrat Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), through the Light (Noor) of his Prophethood, knows the faith of every faithful and the degree of his Imaan and also the obstacles which stand in the way of a faithful's spiritual advancement. The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) knows our sins, and our spiritual status, and our good and bad deeds, and our sincerity and hypocrisy. His witness is the most acceptable in favour of his Ummah.

26. The Soul of Hazrat Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) observes all the souls and living beings. The deeds of the Ummah are presented to Hazrat Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) every morning and every evening and the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) recognizes (each member) of his Ummah through their actions, and hence, he would be a witness for them. Hazrat Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is a witness for the Believers over their faith, for the non-Believers over their apostasy and for the hypocrites over their dual character.

27. There are some mislead individuals who feel it appropriate to believe that Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has been restricted to his Blessed Grave till the Day of Qiyamah and that it is out of his reach to travel wherever he pleases and to make himself present wherever he pleases.

28. Allah Ta'ala sent all the Prophets to our Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) on the Mi'raj night. He became the Imaam, and they performed two rak'ahs of Salaah. It is thus seen that all the Prophets (alaihimus salaam) made Haaziri (were present) in Musjid al-Aqsa to perform Salaah with our Noble Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) being the Imaam. If Prophets cannot leave their Blessed Graves then how is it that all of the Prophets (alaihimus salaam) were present in Musjid al-Aqsa, on the blessed night of Mi'raj an-Nabi which occured long after the Wisaal of the other Prophets.

29. Shaikh Abd al-Haqq Muhaddith Dehlwi (radi Allahu anhu) states: "Allah Ta'ala has given the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) the strength and power to go anywhere he likes, he can go with his own body or only in soul. On the earth, in the sky, in the grave and the Holy Prophet's (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) connection stays with his own shrine.'' (Madarijun Nabuwat)

30. Imam Jalaaluddeen as-Suyuti (radi Allahu anhu) says, "To keep watch of his own followers' work and to pray for their forgiveness; to pray for their abstention from bad deeds; to come and go in all parts of the world to give auspiciousness; if one pious person dies from his followers then to come and attend his Janazah (funeral), all this is done by the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam)". (Intibahul Azkiyya)

31. It is recorded that at the time of the call to prayer (Adhan) the Shaitaan runs thirty-six miles away and returns in an instant after the completion of the Adhan. (Mishkaat) How can it be, that Allah Ta'ala's Beloved, Huzoor-e-Aqdas Muhammad Mustafa (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is confined to his Blessed Grave while Shaitaan is freely running up and down, and that too, at high speeds!

32. Besides Shaitaan, even Angels have this ability. The Holy Qur'aan says: "...when death comes to any of you, Our Angels take his soul and they do not fail " (Surah al-Anaam: 61). Relating to this it is written that, "For the Angel of Death the whole of the Earth is like a tray, so that he may take the souls as he pleases. There is no difficulty for the Angel of Death to take souls, even though there are many and at many different places !" (Tafseer Kabir Khazeen; Ruh-ul-Bayaan)

33. The speed of Jibra'eel (alaihis salaam) is such that, when Nabi Yusuf (alaihis salaam) was thrown into the well, Jibra'eel (alaihis salaam) travelled from Sidratul Muntaha to the bottom of the well. When Nabi Ibraheem (alaihis salaam) was about to sacrifice Nabi Ismail (alaihis salaam) and had his knife on the neck of Nabi Ismail (alaihis salaam), Jibra'eel (alaihis salaam), travelled from Sidratul Muntaha to the earth with a Ram.

34. The above events relate to an Angel and it's abilities, but men of Allah (Awliya Allah) are also imbued with such powers. Asaf ibn Barkhiya's taking the throne of Bilqis (the Queen of Sheba) to Hazrat Sulaiman (alaihis salaam) is also reported in the Holy Quran, Surah Naml, Verses 39 and 40.

35. It is written in the book "Wahhabiyya": "Tayy al-masaafa, that is, traversing long distances in a moment, is a Karaama (miracle) bestowed upon Awliya'. It is Waajib to believe in this."

36. Ibn Hajar al-Haitami (radi Allahu anhu) wrote in his Fatawa: "The number of those who said that if a Wali (saint) goes to a very distant place in the West (in a short time) after he has performed the evening Salaat and if the sun has not set there yet, he need not perform the evening Salaat for the second time at that place, are many."

37. Concerning the questioning (of the dead person) in the grave, the third question that will be asked by the Angels of the grave is, "Ma kunta taqulu fi haqqi hazar rajul" (meaning : "What did you have to say about this person?" (i.e. the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) When this question is asked the veil is removed from the dead person's eyes so that he can see the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) who will be present (Haazir) in the grave. (Mishkaat Shareef; Bukhaari) From this Hadith we learn that the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is seen by the dead in person and not in some sort of mental thought, because the word "rajul" that is used in the question, in Arabic grammar refers to a real person made of flesh and bones.

38. So it is established that every person that dies sees the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) in his grave in person. Now, at any given time thousands of people around the world are buried and all these people see the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) at the same time and are asked the same question. This is ample proof that the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) by the Grace of Allah Ta'ala can present himself in many places at the same time. All the 'Ulama of Ahl as-Sunna agree with this.

[Ahle-Sunnah]

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, to Him belong the endowments and the befitting perfections and commendations. I ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and to protect his nation from that which he fears for it.

Thereafter:

The saying that Allah, ta^ala, exists without a place is the belief and the creed of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, the Companions and those who graciously followed them, and it shall be until the Day of Judgment. The proof of this precious statement is what Allah said in the Qur'an, in Surat ash-Shura, ayah 11:



which means: "There is nothing like Him and He has the attribute of Hearing and Seeing." This ayah absolutely and totally clears Allah of resembling the creation. It comprises that Allah, ta^ala, is different from the creations in the Self, Attributes, and Doings. Hence, it shows that Allah, ta^ala, exists without a place, because the one who exists in a place would, by nature, be composed of atoms, i.e., he would be a body, occupying a space, and Allah, ta^ala, is clear of occupying spaces.



Al-Bukhariyy, al-Bayhaqiyy and Ibn al*Jarud related that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said:



which means: "Allah existed eternally and there was nothing else." This hadith proves that Allah was alone in al-'azal, (the status of existence without a beginning,) i.e., before creating any of the creation. There was nothing with Him: no place, no space, no sky, no light, and no darkness. It is determined in the rules of the Religion and the judgments of the sound mind that Allah, the Exalted, does not change. Hence, it is impossible that after having been existing without a place, He would become in a place, because this is a development, and the development is a sign of needing others, and the one who needs others is not God.



Imam Abu Mansur al-Baghdadiyy related in his book, Al-Farqu Bayn al*Firaq, that Imam ^Aliyy, the fourth of the caliphs, may Allah reward his deeds, said:



which means: "Allah existed eternally and there was no place, and He now is as He was, i.e., without a place."



Imam Abu Hanifah, who is one of the authorities of as-Salaf, said in his book Al-Fiqh al*Absat: "Allah existed eternally and there was no place. He existed before creating the creation. He existed, and there was no place, creation, or thing; and He is the Creator of everything."



Imam al-Hafidh al-Bayhaqiyy said in his book, Al-Asma'u was-Sifat, on page 400: ".... What was mentioned towards the end of the hadith is an indication of denying Allah has a place and denying the slave is alike to Allah, wherever he was in proximity or remoteness. Allah, the Exalted, is adh*Dhahir--hence, it is valid to know about Him by proofs. Allah is al-Batin--hence, it is invalid that He would be in a place." He also said: "Some of our companions used as a proof to refute the place to Allah the saying of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam : 'You are adh-Dhahir and there is nothing above You, and You are al-Batin and there is nothing underneath You.' Therefore, if there is nothing above Him and nothing underneath Him, He is not in a place."



Imam Ahmad Ibn Salamah, Abu Ja^far at*Tahawiyy, who was born in the year 237 after Hijrah, wrote a book called Al-^Aqidah at*Tahawiyyah. He mentioned that the content of his book is an elucidation of the creed of Ahl as*Sunnah wal Jama^ah, which is the creed of Imam Abu Hanifah, who died in the year 150 after al*Hijrah, and his two companions, Imam Abu Yusuf al-Qadi and Imam Muhammad Ibn al*Hasan ash-Shaybaniyy and others. He said in his book: "Allah is supremely clear of all boundaries, extremes, sides, organs and instruments. The six directions do not contain Him--these are attributed to all created things." Such is the saying of Imam Abu Ja^far who is among the heads of as-Salaf. He explicitly stated that Allah is clear of being contained by the six directions. The six directions are above, below, in front of, behind, right, and left.



The linguist and scholar of hadith, Imam Muhammad Murtada az-Zabidiyy, narrated by a continuous chain from himself back to Imam Zayn al-^Abidin ^Aliyy Ibn al-Husayn Ibn ^Aliyy Ibn Abi Talib, (who was among the first of as-Salaf, who earned the title of as-Sajjad, i.e., the one who prays a lot), that Zayn al-^Abidin said in his treatise as*Sahifah as-Sajjadiyyah about Allah:



which means: "O Allah, You are clear of all imperfection. You are Allah, the One Who no place contains You." He also said:



which means: "O Allah, You are clear of all imperfection. You are Allah, the One Who is not in boundaries."



In the explanation of al-Bukhariyy in the chapter on Al-Jihad, Hafidh Ibn Hajar said: "The fact that the two directions above and below are impossible to be attributes of Allah, does not necessitate that Allah would not be attributed with aboveness, because attributing aboveness to Allah is a matter of status and the impossibility lies in it being physical."



The scholar Imam Zayn ad-Din Ibn Nujaym, the Hanafiyy, in his book Al-Bahr ar*Ra'iq, on page 129 said: "Whoever says it is possible that Allah would do a doing in which there is no wisdom commits blasphemy, and also he commits blasphemy by affirming a place to Allah, the Exalted."



Imam Ahmad ar-Rifa^iyy al-Kabir, who lived around the year 600 after al-Hijrah, said:



which means: "The ultimate knowledge about Allah is to be certain that Allah exists without a how or a place."



Imam Muhammad Ibn Hibah al-Makkiyy, in his book Hada'iq al-Fusul wa Jawahir al-^Uqul,--also called Al-^Aqidat-as-Salahiyyah because he gave it as a gift to Sultan Salah-ad-Din al-Ayyubiyy who ordered that this book be taught to the children in schools and broadcast from the top of minarets--said:



which means: "Allah existed eternally and there was no place, and the judgment about His existence now is that He is as He was, i.e., without a place."



Imam Ja^far as-Sadiq said: "He who claims that Allah is in something or on something or from something, commits ash-shirk. Because if He was in something, He would be contained, and if He was on something, He would be carried, and if He was from something, He would be a creature."



Shaykh ^Abdul-Ghaniyy an-Nabulsiyy said: "He who believes that Allah fills the heavens and earth or that He is a body sitting above al-^arsh (ceiling of Paradise; throne) is a kafir."



Imam Abul-Qasim ^Aliyy Ibnul-Hasan Ibn Hibatillah Ibn ^Asakir said in his ^Aqidah: "Allah existed before the creation. He does not have a before or an after, an above or a below, a right or a left, an in front of or a behind, a whole or a part. It must not be said when was He, where was He, or how was He. He exists without a place."



Imam Abu Sulayman al-Khattabiyy said: "What is obligatory upon us and upon every Muslim to know is that our Lord has no shape or form, because the shape has a 'how' and 'how' does not apply to Allah or His Attributes."



Know beyond doubt that the question 'how' does not apply to Allah, because this is a question about shapes, bodies, places, depths and dimensions; Allah is clear of all of that. Also be firm that it is invalid to say about Allah "... but we do not know how", because in essence, it falsely indicates that Allah has a color, shape, dimensions, body, place, but one is ignorant of the 'how' of it.



Imam al-Ghazaliyy said: " Allah, the Exalted, existed eternally and there was no place. He is not a body, jawhar (atom), or property, and He is not on a place or in a place."



All of these sayings show that attributing the sensuous physical aboveness and place to Allah is contrary to the Qur'an, the Hadith, the Ijma^, and the intellectual proof. The intellectual proof that Allah exists without a place lies in the fact that the one who is in a place would have an area, and the one who has an area is in need of it, and the one who needs others is not God. Moreover, as the mind determines that Allah existed without a place before creating places, the mind determines that after Allah created the places He still exists without a place.



The scholars like Imam Ahmad ar*Rifa^iyy determined that lifting the hands and the faces towards the sky when performing du^a (supplication) is because the heavens are the qiblah of du^a just as the Ka^bah is the qiblah of as*Salah. From the heavens, the mercies and blessings of Allah descend.



Hence, it is clear for the one who seeks the truth that the saying that Allah exists without a place is what complies with the Qur'an, the Hadith, the Ijma^, and the criteria of the sound intellect. Be firm and certain that before creating places, Allah Who created everything (places and others), existed without a place, and after creating places, He still exists without a place.



Since we have determined that the creed of the Muslims is that Allah exists without a place and that the question 'how' does not apply to Allah, it is clear to us that al-^arsh (the throne) which is the biggest of the creations of Allah and the ceiling of Paradise, is not a place for Allah, the Exalted.



Imam Abu Mansur al-Baghdadiyy related that Imam ^Aliyy Ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph, said:



which means: "Allah created al-^arsh as an indication of His Power and did not take it as a place for Himself."



Imam Abu Hanifah said in his book, al*Wasiyyah,: " ... and He is the Preserver of al*^arsh and other than al-^arsh, without needing it, for had He been in need, He would not have the power to create the world and to manage and preserve it. Moreover, had He been in a place needing to sit and rest**before creating al-^arsh, where was Allah?" That is, the question 'where was Allah' would have applied to Him, which is impossible.



Also, in his book, Al-Fiqh al-Absat, Imam Abu Hanifah said: "Allah existed eternally and there was no place; He existed before creating the creation. He existed and there was not a place, a creation or a thing; and He is the Creator of everything. He who says 'I do not know if my Lord is in the heavens or on the earth,' is a kafir. Also is a kafir whoever says that 'He is on al-^arsh, and I do not know whether al-^arsh is in the heaven or on the earth'."



Consequently, Imam Ahmad declared a kafir whomever says these last two phrases because they contain attributing a direction, boundary, and place to Allah. Everything which has a direction and boundary is by necessity in need of a Creator. Thus it is not the intention of Imam Abu Hanifah to prove that the heaven and al-^arsh are places for Allah, as those who liken Allah to the creation claim. This is by virtue of the aforementioned saying of the Imam: "Had He been in a place needing to sit and rest, then before creating al-^arsh where was Allah?", which is clear in negating that Allah has a direction or a place.



In his book, Ihya'u ^Ulum ad-Din, Imam al*Ghazaliyy said: "... places do not contain Him, nor do the directions, earth, or heavens. He is attributed with an istiwa' over al-^arsh as He said in the Qur'an--with the meaning that He willed--and not as what people may delude. It is an istiwa' which is clear of touching, resting, holding, moving and containment. Al-^arsh does not carry Him, but rather al-^arsh and those that carry al-^arsh are all carried by Allah with His Power and are subjugated to Him. He is above al-^arsh and above the heavens and above everything-- in status-- an aboveness that does not give Him proximity to al-^arsh or the heavens as it does not give Him farness from earth. He is higher in status than everything: higher in status than al-^arsh and the heavens, as He is higher in status than earth and the rest of the creation. "



Shaykh ^Abdul-Ghaniyy an-Nabulsiyy said: "He who believes that Allah filled the heavens and earth or that He is a body sitting above al-^arsh, is a kafir." Ayah 93 of Surat Maryam:



means: "All those in the heavens and earth must come to Allah as a slave." In his Tafsir (book of explaining the Qur'an), Imam ar-Raziyy said: "... and since it is affirmed by this ayah that everything that existed in the heavens and earth is a slave to Allah, and since it is obligatory that Allah is clear of being a slave, thus He is clear of being in a place or direction, or on al-^arsh or al-kursiyy."



Hence Surat Taha, ayah 5, in the Qur'an



clearly does not mean that Allah sits on the throne or that Allah is firmly established on the throne. In the Arabic language, the word istawa has fifteen (15) different meanings, among of which are to sit, to subjugate, to protect, to conquer, and to preserve. Based on what we have covered so far it is clear that it is blasphemous to apply the meaning 'to sit' to Allah. However the terms to preserve and to subjugate are in compliance with the Religion and the language.



Imam Hafidh Ibn Rajab al-Hanbaliyy explained the meaning of al-istiwa' by al-istila', which means subjugating. That is, Allah attributed Himself with subjugating al-^arsh in al-'azal (the status of existing without a beginning, that is, before creating the creation). Since al-^arsh, the largest creation of Allah, is subjugated to Allah, then everything else which is smaller than al*^arsh is under the control of Allah.



It was affirmed about Imam Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah reward his deeds, in what al*Bayhaqiyy related with a sound chain from the route of ^Abdullah Ibn Wahb, that "We were at Malik's when a man entered and said, 'O Aba ^Abdillah, (meaning Imam Malik), ar-Rahmanu ^alal-^arsh istawa, how did He istawa?' Malik looked down astonishingly and then lifted his head and said '^alal ^arsh istawa as He attributed to Himself. It is invalid to say how, and how does not apply to Him. I see that you are an innovator. Take him out'." Hence, the saying of Imam Malik, ' How does not apply to Him,' means that His istiwa' over His ^arsh is without a how, i.e., it is not with a body, place, shape, or form as sitting, touching, suspending above, and the like.



Hence, there is no basis for the saying of those who liken Allah to the creation, which they falsely attribute to Imam Malik, that al-istiwa' is known and the how of it is unknown. What they mean by that is that al-istiwa' is sitting but the how of that sitting is unknown. This saying of theirs is invalid, because sitting, no matter how it is would be by organs and parts that fold. Moreover, that term that they attribute to Imam Malik was not affirmed about him or others.



Imam al-Lalaka'iyy narrated about Umm Salamah and Rabi^ah Ibn Abi ^Abdar-Rahman:



which means: "The attribute of istiwa' is not unknown, because it is mentioned in the Qur'an. Al*kayf, that is, the how of it is inconceivable, because its applicability to Allah is impossible." Hence, the ahadith and the ayat that attribute aboveness to Allah, refer to the aboveness of status and not the aboveness of place, direction, touching or suspending.



In Surat al-An^am ayah 61, Allah said:



which means: "All the slaves are subjugated to Allah." Hence the aboveness used in this ayah is that of subjugation and not that of place or direction.



Beware of what appeared in the so-called Translation of the Qur'an by Yusuf Ali and the so-called revised version issued and printed by King Fahd Holy Qur'an Printing Complex in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, where on page 879, in interpreting ayah 5 in Surat Taha:



they say: "The Most Gracious is firmly established on the throne," and in the footnote they explicitly say: "Who encompasses all creation and sits on the throne."

Similarly, be aware of all the other parts of this book which liken Allah to His creation, like on page 1799 where in ayah 42 of Surat al-Qalam:



they attribute the shin to Allah. On page 1015 in interpreting Surat an-Nur, ayah 35:



they say "Allah is the light" and in the footnote they say explicitly: "We can only think of Allah in terms of our phenomenal experience."



Al-Mushabbihah are those who liken Allah to the creation; they believe Allah resembles the creation. They attribute to Allah places, directions, shapes, and bodies, and they try to camouflage it by saying: "However, we do not know how His place is, or how He is sitting, or how His face is, or how His shin is, or how his light is." All of that does not clear them of blasphemy.



Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds the One Who is clear of resembling the creation, all nonbefitting attributes, and all that which the blasphemers unrightfully say about Him.

And Allah knows best.

[analyzing]

Aham...... Hadhir and Nadhir.....

http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=5808

http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=8579

http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=6202

http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=734

http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=5596

This one is from Shariah Board:

http://www.shariahboard.com/fatwa/Hadith/1124.php

[analyzing]

Brother Ahle-Sunnah.... Are you a Brelwi ???

[faqir]

...snore