Ar Razi Says Allah’s Nearness is A Nearness of Mercy
Ar Razi brings the verse “And We are closer to him than his jugular vein”, the Hadith Qudsi of “Whoever draws near to Me by a span, I draw near to him by a forearm length…”, and the hadith of the believer on the Day of Resurrection when al Jabbar places His kanf (nearness) upon him.
He then says that all of this nearness means only the nearness of Allah’s mercy coming close to the servant, not Allah Himself. He explains kanf as kindness, favour and protection, and says that the wording “katf” is a scribal mistake which must be corrected to “kanf”. If the wording “katf” were sound, he says it would still be interpreted as bringing the servant close by mercy and forgiveness. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/164 to 167).
Ibn Taymiyyah insists on authentic wording before any interpretation
Ibn Taymiyyah agrees that “katf” is a mistaken wording and that the agreed wording in the hadith is “kanf”, but he says that once a wording is known to be false it is not even lawful to narrate it or to interpret it. He quotes the hadith that whoever narrates from the Prophet ﷺ a hadith thinking it is a lie is one of the liars.
For him, taweel means to explain what the speaker really meant, not to invent any meaning that the language can carry. If we know the Prophet ﷺ never spoke a certain wording, it is impossible to claim that he intended a meaning through that wording.
Knowing which wordings are sound and which are invented is the task of the scholars of hadith and Sunnah. Ibn Taymiyyah refutes Ar Razi and others for mixing these two matters, so they may weaken hadith which hadith experts know to be sound and accept reports which the experts know to be false. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/164 to 167).
Ibn Taymiyyah explains two kinds of nearness between the servant and Allah
From the verse and the hadith, Ibn Taymiyyah says there are two types of nearness. The first is the nearness of the servant to his Lord, when he comes close to Him with worship and obedience. The second is the nearness of the Lord to His servant. The nearness of the Lord is also of two kinds.
One kind is a nearness that follows necessarily from the servant drawing near. When one thing moves towards another that is still, then as the moving thing becomes near, the still thing is also near to it without moving. In this sense Allah’s nearness is a relative relation that occurs because the servant has come close.
The second kind is nearness by an action from Allah Himself, like coming, arriving and descending which are mentioned in other texts, and Ibn Taymiyyah says he will speak about that when he reaches those passages. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/170 to 174).
Drawing near to Allah includes returning, meeting and standing before Him
Ibn Taymiyyah says that anyone who affirms that Allah is above the Throne affirms that it is possible to draw near to Him, and whoever denies that He is above the Throne ends up denying that nearness is possible.
He explains that drawing near to Allah is a general name that covers many types. Whoever affirms that actions, words, souls or angels ascend to Him, or that people are returned to Him, or stand before Him, or are gathered to Him, has affirmed nearness to Him.
He then recalls many verses about returning to Allah, meeting Him, being gathered to Him, being brought before Him, going to Him, coming to Him, and ascending up to Him. These include verses such as “And to Him you will return”, “And know that you will meet Him”, “To Him all matters are returned”, “You have certainly come to Us”, “And to Him they will be gathered”, “And to your Lord they run”, and “The angels and the Spirit ascend up to Him”, and many others. He says there are around five hundred or more verses like these which all show that it is correct to affirm drawing near to Allah. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/174 to 182).
Affirming nearness to Allah goes with affirming that He is above the Throne
From these verses, Ibn Taymiyyah concludes that whoever denies nearness to Allah also denies the true meeting with Him and interprets both meeting and nearness as meeting and nearness with a created thing.
In contrast, the people of Sunnah affirm that the servant truly returns to Allah, meets his Lord, stands before Him and is brought to Him. He points out that all Muslims, both scholars and common people, say in calamities “Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we return”, ask to be guided to their Lord, and speak of being gathered to Him and fleeing to Him.
This shared language and these verses show that nearness to Allah is real and that it fits with affirming His highness above the creation. Affirming that He is above the Throne supports the possibility of nearness to Him, and affirming nearness supports His highness. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/182 to 188).
Abu al Hasan al Ashari and the early imams affirm nearness as an attribute of action
Ibn Taymiyyah then quotes Abu al Hasan al Ashari and the earlier imams to show that nearness to Allah is an established belief of Ahl al Hadith and Ahl al Sunnah. Abu al Hasan uses verses of istiwa over the Throne, verses of coming and raising Isa peace be upon him to Allah, and verses of returning to Allah and standing before Him, as clear proofs that Allah is above His Throne and that the creation is not inside Him nor He inside the creation.
In Maqalat al Islamiyyin and Al Ibanah, Abu al Hasan also affirms that Allah will come on the Day of Resurrection and that Allah draws near to His servants however He wills.
Ibn Taymiyyah points out that saying “however He wills” shows that nearness is from the attributes of action which are linked to will and choice, unlike knowledge and power which are attributes of essence.
He mentions that Abu al Hasan took this from earlier imams of Basrah such as Zakariya al Sajji, and that the same meaning is reported from Hammad ibn Zayd, Sufyan al Thawri and Al Awzai. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/188 to 191).
The Early Hanbalis on Allah’s nearness and the meaning of Kanf
Through Al Khallal, Ibn Taymiyyah reports that Hammad ibn Zayd was asked about the hadith of Allah descending and moving from place to place, and he replied, “He is in a place and He draws near to His creation however He wills.”
Al Khallal also narrates that Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about the hadith, “Allah draws the servant near on the Day of Resurrection and places His kanf upon him,”
and Ahmad said, “He says just as it has come, He draws him near and places His kanf upon him, as He said,” then mentioned how Allah makes the servant acknowledge his sins.
Another Hanbali imam, Ibrahim al Harbi, explained kanf linguistically as protection, and he quoted Al Asmai and others who used the word for being in protection or nearness.
Ibn Taymiyyah uses this to show that the early imams accepted the hadith as it is, and only explained the wording in a way that fits with nearness, protection and honour, without denying the nearness itself. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/191 to 194).
The Shared Belief of the Muslims about Nearness To Allah
Ibn Taymiyyah stresses that the Muslims, both common people and scholars, by their natural disposition believe that Allah is above and that the servant can draw near to Him. They speak of muqarrabun (those brought near), and they agree that some servants are near to Allah and others are distant and cursed.
They call acts of obedience qurubat, meaning acts by which they seek nearness to Allah, and they raise their hands upwards when they supplicate. He says that no one by his natural sound nature rejects nearness to Allah or raising the hands upwards to Him, except someone whose nature has been changed by ideas of tajahhum and taatil that deny the attributes. Affirming nearness and affirming that Allah is above the Throne are two foundations which each support the other. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/194 to 196).
Ibn Taymiyyah Refutes Ar Razi’s claim that nearness only means mercy
After laying this foundation, Ibn Taymiyyah directly answers Ar Razi’s interpretation that nearness is only the nearness of mercy.
First, he says that this cannot be the meaning of the verse “And We are closer to him than his jugular vein”, because the verse includes the disbeliever and the believer, and the mercy of Allah does not draw near to the disbeliever in this way. At most, the verse can be explained by knowledge, as mentioned in its place.
Second, Ar Razi’s interpretation might be used for nearness of the Lord, but he wrongly applies it to the nearness of the servant, since one says that the servant draws near to mercy, not that the mercy itself comes near by the action of the servant.
Third, if both nearnesses in the Hadith Qudsi, “Whoever draws near to Me by a span, I draw near to him by a forearm length,” are taken as the nearness of mercy, that would mean the servant’s nearness by a span is the same nearness as Allah’s nearness by a forearm length, so the reward would simply be the very same action, which is false, especially when the second is said to be double the first.
Fourth, the nearness of mercy is an action from Allah, not from the servant, so it cannot explain the servant’s nearness. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/197 to 198).
Ibn Taymiyyah shows Ar Razi’s contradictions in explaining nearness
Fifth, Ibn Taymiyyah notes that Ar Razi himself had already explained the nearness in the verse “Prostrate and draw near” as nearness through obedience and worship. To then explain nearness elsewhere as only the nearness of mercy is a clear contradiction.
Sixth, Ar Razi claims to explain the hadith of kanf (nearness), but in reality he has confused the nearness of the servant and the nearness of the Lord, and he has not even used the usual interpretation of the Jahmiyyah who say that the meaning is nearness to mercy, reward, compassion and raising of status.
Ibn Taymiyyah says even that interpretation is false, but Ar Razi has not reached even that level of consistency. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/198).
Nearness to an attribute implies nearness to Allah in His essence
Seventh, Ibn Taymiyyah explains that what the servant draws near to, such as mercy and faith, is either an attribute that exists in Allah or a separate created entity. If it is an attribute in Allah, then the servant cannot draw near to that attribute without drawing near to Allah Himself, since there is no way to approach an attribute that exists in Him except by approaching Him. To say otherwise is clearly wrong, and no servant has ever spoken like this.
If instead they say the servant draws near to a separate being which exists by itself and is not Allah, then that being is a created thing. This would mean that when the texts say “The believer draws near to his Lord” and that “Allah draws him near and places His kanf (nearness) upon him, makes him acknowledge his sins and forgives him,” all of this would really be about a created lord besides Allah, which is clearly against the necessary meaning of the words. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/198).
Rejecting Nearness To a created “Lord” and the Link to The Shirk Philosophers Fell Into
Ibn Taymiyyah compares this to the saying of the Jahmiyyah who claim that Allah does not speak in Himself and that speech only exists in some of His creation, or that forgiveness is not truly from Allah but from a created thing.
He says that this path leads to what some Sabians and philosophers claim, that the servants never truly return to Allah, but their last end is to something like the Active Intellect which they treat as their real lord who manages the universe.
This is known by necessity to oppose what the messengers brought, and it is clear shirk, because it makes another being besides Allah the god and lord to whom the servants return. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/198 to 199).
Conclusion on drawing near to Allah in Ibn Taymiyyah’s view
From all of this, Ibn Taymiyyah concludes that the texts of the Quran and Sunnah, the understanding of the Salaf and the shared nature of the Muslims all show that the servant truly draws near to Allah and that Allah truly draws near to His servant.
There is a nearness that arises because the servant has come close, and there is a nearness which is an action of Allah Himself, from His attributes of action.
Interpreting nearness as only the nearness of mercy empties these texts of their real meaning, contradicts other places where nearness is explained as worship, and leads to denying the attributes and to giving the right of Allah to created beings. The correct way is to affirm what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have said about nearness, along with affirming that Allah is above His Throne, without likening Him to His creation and without denial. (Bayān Talbīs al Jahmiyyah 8/164 to 199).
Ar Razi (d.606 AH) said: Allah the Exalted said:
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
“And We are closer to him than his jugular vein.”
And Ibn Furak (d.406 AH) reported in his book Al Mutashabihat, from Ibn Umar that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The believer will draw near to his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until al Jabbar places His kanf upon him, then He will make him confess his sins, and He will say, ‘Do you recognise?’ three times, then He will say, ‘I concealed them for you in the worldly life and I forgive them for you today,’ and he will be given the scroll of his good deeds. As for the disbelievers and the hypocrites, they will be called out upon the heads of all creation, ‘These are the ones who lied against their Lord.’”
Then he said: You must know that what is meant by His nearness and His drawing close is the nearness of His mercy and its drawing close to the servant, and as for His saying “He places His kanf upon him,” this is also derived from the nearness of mercy. It is said, “I am in the kanf of so and so,” meaning in his kindness and favour. And as for what some of them narrated, “He places His katf upon him,” they all agreed that this is a scribal error, and the transmitters recorded it with a nun in kanf. Then, if that wording “katf” were authentic it would be interpreted as bringing him close by mercy and forgiveness. And Allah knows best.
He then said in summary of this:
As for the first report, it is in the two Sahihs from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ.
As for the second report, it is also among the most famous authentic hadith. Al Bukhari (d.256 AH) recorded it in his Sahih, and Muslim (d.261 AH) in his Sahih, from Safwan ibn Mahraz al Mazani (d.74 AH). Safwan said: While Ibn Umar was making tawaf, a man met him and said, “O Abu Abdur Rahman, or O Ibn Umar, how did you hear the Messenger of Allah ﷺ speak about the private conversation on the Day of Resurrection?”
He said, “I heard the Prophet ﷺ say, ‘The believer will draw near to his Lord, until He places His kanf upon him, and He makes him acknowledge his sins, “Do you recognise such and such sin? Do you recognise such and such sin?” He says, “I recognise, my Lord, I recognise, my Lord,” twice. Then He says, “I concealed it for you in the worldly life, and today I forgive it for you,” then he is given the scroll of his good deeds. As for the disbelievers and hypocrites, the witnesses say, “These are the ones who lied against their Lord, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.”’”
And in one wording, “Indeed Allah brings the believer near, and He places His kanf upon him, and conceals him, and says, ‘Do you recognise such and such sin, and do you recognise such and such sin?’ He says, ‘Yes, O my Lord,’ until, when He has made him acknowledge his sins and he thinks to himself that he is destroyed.
He says, ‘I concealed them for you in the worldly life and I forgive them for you today,’ then he is given the scroll of his good deeds. As for the disbeliever and the hypocrite, the witnesses say, ‘These are the ones who lied against their Lord, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.’” The wording of the hadith is with a nun, kanf.
As for what he mentioned, that some narrations say “His katf,” this is a scribal error by agreement of the people of knowledge, as he mentioned. And such a thing does not even need explanation.
As for when it is known that the wording is a lie against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then it is not lawful to narrate that from the Prophet ﷺ, because he ﷺ said: “Whoever narrates from me a hadith, thinking that it is a lie, then he is one of the liars.”
Nor is it allowed to interpret something that is known to be fabricated on the assumption that it is sound, especially in such topics. Because in that case you would be giving the lie a sound meaning and making it look right, and that assumed condition is not present, so what is built upon it is not present, which is affirming a sound meaning for it.
And we have already explained before that taweel (interpretation) is to explain what the speaker meant, and it is not simply to mention what the wording can carry in the language. When this is the case, it becomes impossible to say, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ meant by this wording such and such,” while we know he did not say that wording in the first place. For to affirm his intention with the knowledge that he did not say it is to join two opposites.
This is the case whether that meaning is linguistically possible or not.
Linguistic possibility does not make the Prophet ﷺ intend that meaning by a wording that we know he never uttered. Rather, the knowledge of which wordings are invented and which are sound and established is from the explanation given by the people of knowledge of hadith and Sunnah.
As for this author and those like him, they do not differentiate between these two matters, to the point that they may reject hadith that the experts in hadith know to be true, and they may affirm or allow the authenticity of reports that are known to be false.
Once this is known, these two hadith together with the verse contain two matters.
The first is the drawing near of the servant to his Lord and his coming close to Him.
The second is the drawing near of the Lord to His servant.
The drawing near of the Lord to His servant is of two types.
One type is what follows necessarily from the servant drawing near to Him. For it is known that whenever two things draw near, if one of them comes close to the other, it necessarily follows that the other has become close to it as well. Nearness is a relational matter from both sides, so it is impossible for one to be near the other without the other being near to it. But this does not require that the one who is being approached has performed any action by which He moves or draws near.
Rather, His nearness in this case is the nearness that occurs through the action of the one who is coming close, like something moving towards something that is still. The nearer the moving thing comes to the still thing, the nearer the still thing becomes to it, without any movement from the still thing.
This type of nearness of the Lord to His servant is therefore dependent on the servant’s nearness to Allah. Whoever affirms the nearness of Allah Himself to the servant in this sense has done so in this way.
As for the second type of the Lord’s drawing near to the servant, it is His drawing near by an action that occurs from Him Himself, just as the wording of coming, arriving, descending and the like has come in the texts. The discussion of this type of nearness will be delayed until those texts are mentioned.
We will speak here about the first nearness. Everyone who affirms that Allah is above the Throne affirms that it is possible to draw near to Him. As for those who say that He is not above the Throne, but that He is in every place by His essence, or that He is neither inside the universe nor outside it, then according to what they say it is impossible to draw near to Him.
Among such people are those who say that He is a body and those who say that He is not a body, as has previously been mentioned from them. Yet those who affirm drawing near to Him include those who affirm that He is above the heavens and say that He is not a body, and those who say that He is a body, and those who do not say either statement, neither affirming body nor denying it. It is clear therefore that affirming or denying drawing near to Him does not necessarily follow from saying that He is a body or not.
Among those who affirm the body and among those who deny it and among those who neither affirm nor deny are people who say that He can be drawn near to in His essence, and among them are people who deny that and say that He cannot be drawn near to in His essence.
Drawing near to Him is a general name that includes many types. Whoever affirms any type of these has affirmed some kind of drawing near to Him.
Likewise, whoever affirms that things ascend up to Him in Himself or that things rise up to Him, or that things go to Him in Himself, or that they come to Him in Himself, or that they stand before Him in Himself and the like has affirmed that it is possible to draw near to Him in some way.
Everyone who uses the texts of elevation to Him as evidence that He is above the Throne, such as His saying
إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ
“Up to Him ascends good speech” (Fatir 10)
and His saying
إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ
“Indeed I will take you fully and raise you to Myself” (Ali Imran 55)
and His saying
تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ
“The angels and the Spirit ascend up to Him” (Al Maaarij 4)
and other such verses, then such a person says that things draw near to Him.
Likewise, whoever affirms that something stands before Him in Himself, or that something comes to Him in Himself, or that His servant meets Him, or that there is a veil between Him and His creation and the like, then such a person affirms that it is possible to draw near to Him.
In the Quran there are many verses that mention that some things go to Him in Himself or ascend up to Him, or descend from Him, or the like. There are around five hundred verses or more that are like this, and all of them indicate that it is valid to affirm drawing near to Him.
He the Exalted said
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ
“And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah” (Al Baqarah 281).
And He the Exalted said
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُم تُلَاقُوهُ
“And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him” (Al Baqarah 223).
Many verses mentioning the meeting of the servant with his Lord have already been mentioned, and all of this necessitates drawing near to Him. Whoever denies one of these two has denied the other, and whoever affirms one of them has affirmed the other. Those who negate this interpret both the meeting and the drawing near as meeting with a created thing and drawing near to a created thing.
Allah the Exalted said
الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
“Those who, when calamity strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah and indeed to Him we will return’” (Al Baqarah 156).
And He the Exalted said
فَتُوبُوا إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ
“So turn in repentance to your Maker” (Al Baqarah 54).
And He the Exalted said
ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّكُم تُرْجَعُونَ
“Then to your Lord you will be returned” (Al Anam 164).
And He the Exalted said
وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ
“Allah warns you of Himself, and to Allah is the final destination” (Ali Imran 28).
And He the Exalted said
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
“And fear Allah to whom you will be gathered” (Al Maidah 96).
And He the Exalted said
ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّكُم مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ
“Then to your Lord is your return and He will inform you of that over which you used to differ” (Al Anam 164).
And He the Exalted said
إِلَى رَبِّكُم مَّرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“To your Lord is your return and He will inform you about what you used to do” (Az Zumar 7).
And He the Exalted said
وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُم بِاللَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُم بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيهِ لِيُقْضَى أَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“And He is the One who takes your souls by night, and He knows what you do by day, then He raises you up in it so that a specified term may be completed, then to Him is your return, then He will inform you about what you used to do” (Al Anam 60).
And He the Exalted said
وَلَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا فَرَادَى كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ
“And you have certainly come to Us alone just as We created you the first time” (Al Anam 94).
And He the Exalted said
كَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِم مَّرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
“Thus We have made attractive to every community their deeds, then to their Lord is their return, and He will inform them about what they used to do” (Al Anam 108).
And He the Exalted said
وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ حَفَظَةً حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ ثُمَّ رُدُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ مَوْلَاهُمُ الْحَقِّ
“And He is the Subjugator above His servants, and He sends over you guardian angels until, when death comes to one of you, Our messengers take him and they do not fall short. Then they are returned to Allah, their true Master” (Al Anam 61 to 62).
And He the Exalted said
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُوا عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ قَالَ أَلَيْسَ هَذَا بِالْحَقِّ قَالُوا بَلَى وَرَبِّنَا
“If only you could see when they are made to stand before their Lord. He will say, ‘Is this not the truth?’ They will say, ‘Yes indeed, by our Lord’” (Al Anam 30).
And He the Exalted said
وَأَنذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَن يُحْشَرُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ
“And warn with it those who fear that they will be gathered to their Lord” (Al Anam 51).
And He the Exalted said about the magicians
قَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ
“They said, ‘Indeed we are turning back to our Lord’” (Al Araf 125).
And He the Exalted said
وَظَنُّوا أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ
“And they realised that there is no refuge from Allah except to Him” (At Tawbah 118).
And Shuayb peace be upon him said
وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ
“My success is only by Allah. In Him I place my trust and to Him I turn in repentance” (Hud 88).
And He the Exalted said
وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ فَاعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ
“And to Him all matters are returned, so worship Him and place your trust in Him” (Hud 123).
And He the Exalted said
وَإِمَّا نُرِيَنَّكَ بَعْضَ الَّذِي نَعِدُهُمْ أَوْ نَتَوَفَّيَنَّكَ فَإِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُهُمْ ثُمَّ اللَّهُ شَهِيدٌ عَلَى مَا يَفْعَلُونَ
“And whether We show you some of what We promise them or We take you in death, to Us is their return, then Allah is Witness over what they do” (Yunus 46).
And He the Exalted said
إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ عَلَى أَنفُسِكُم مَّتَاعَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَنُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“Your wrongdoing is only against yourselves, an enjoyment of the life of this world, then to Us is your return and We will inform you of what you used to do” (Yunus 23).
And He the Exalted said
قُلْ هَذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
“Say, ‘This is my path, I call to Allah upon insight, I and those who follow me. Glory be to Allah, and I am not of the polytheists’” (Yusuf 108).
And He the Exalted said
وَكَذَلِكَ يَجْتَبِيكَ رَبُّكَ وَيُعَلِّمُكَ مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ
“And thus your Lord will choose you and teach you the interpretation of events” (Yusuf 6).
And He the Exalted said
وَاجْتَبَيْنَاهُمْ وَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
“And We chose them and guided them to a straight path” (Al Anam 87).
And He the Exalted said
وَهُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِالرَّحْمَنِ قُلْ هُوَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ مَتَابِ
“And they disbelieve in the Most Merciful. Say, ‘He is my Lord, there is no god but He, in Him I place my trust and to Him is my return in repentance’” (Ar Raad 30).
And He the Exalted said
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ وَلَا أُشْرِكَ بِهِ إِلَيْهِ أَدْعُوا وَإِلَيْهِ مَتَابِ
“Say, ‘I have only been commanded to worship Allah and not associate anything with Him. To Him I call, and to Him is my return in repentance’” (Ar Raad 36).
And He the Exalted said
وَعُرِضُوا عَلَى رَبِّكَ صَفًّا لَّقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ بَلْ زَعَمْتُمْ أَلَّن نَّجْعَلَ لَكُم مَّوْعِدًا
“And they will be presented before your Lord in ranks. He will say, ‘You have certainly come to Us just as We created you the first time, but you claimed that We would never appoint for you a meeting’” (Al Kahf 48).
And He the Exalted said
وَلَئِن رُّجِعْتُ إِلَى رَبِّي إِنَّ لِي عِندَهُ لَلْحُسْنَى
“And if I am indeed returned to my Lord, then surely for me with Him will be the best” (Fussilat 50).
And He the Exalted said
إِن كُلُّ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِلَّا آتِي الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدًا لَّقَدْ أَحْصَاهُمْ وَعَدَّهُمْ عَدًّا وَكُلُّهُمْ آتِيهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَرْدًا
“There is none in the heavens and the earth but that he will come to the Most Merciful as a servant. He has enumerated them and counted them precisely, and all of them will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection alone” (Maryam 93 to 95).
And He the Exalted said
وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَاجْتَبَيْنَا إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُ الرَّحْمَنِ خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَبُكِيًّا
“And among those We guided and chose, when the verses of the Most Merciful are recited to them, they fall in prostration and weeping” (Maryam 58).
And He the Exalted said
يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ الْمُتَّقِينَ إِلَى الرَّحْمَنِ وَفْدًا
“The Day We gather the people of taqwa (piety) to the Most Merciful as a delegation” (Maryam 85).
And He the Exalted said
وَهُوَ الَّذِي ذَرَأَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
“And He is the One who spread you throughout the earth, and to Him you will be gathered” (Al Muminoon 79).
And He the Exalted said
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ
“And those who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they are returning to their Lord” (Al Muminoon 60).
And He the Exalted said
وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ
“And he finds Allah with him, and He pays him in full his account” (An Nur 39).
And He the Exalted said
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“And all of you turn in repentance to Allah, O believers, so that you may be successful” (An Nur 31).
And He the Exalted said
فَإِنَّهُ يَتُوبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَتَابًا
“Then indeed he turns to Allah in true repentance” (Al Furqan 71).
And He the Exalted said
قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِلَّا مَن شَاءَ أَن يَتَّخِذَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا
“Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it, except that whoever wills may take a path to his Lord’” (Al Furqan 57).
And He the Exalted said about the magicians
قَالُوا لَا ضَيْرَ إِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ
“They said, ‘No harm, indeed we are turning back to our Lord’” (Ash Shuara 50).
And He the Exalted said
وَيَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ فَفَزِعَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَكُلٌّ أَتَوْهُ دَاخِرِينَ
“And on the Day when the horn is blown, whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will be terrified except whom Allah wills, and all will come to Him humbled” (An Naml 87).
And He the Exalted said
وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرِي فَأَوْقِدْ لِي يَا هَامَانُ عَلَى الطِّينِ فَاجْعَل لِّي صَرْحًا لَّعَلِّي أَطَّلِعُ إِلَى إِلَهِ مُوسَى وَإِنِّي لَأَظُنُّهُ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ هُوَ وَجُنُودُهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا يُرْجَعُونَ
“And Pharaoh said, ‘O council, I do not know for you any god other than me, so kindle for me, O Haman, a fire upon clay and make for me a tower so that I may look at the God of Musa, and indeed I think he is one of the liars.’ And he and his soldiers were arrogant in the land without right, and they thought that they would not be returned to Us” (Al Qasas 38 to 39).
And He the Exalted said
وَادْعُ إِلَى رَبِّكَ وَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
“And call to your Lord, and do not be of the polytheists”
until His saying
كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
“Everything will perish except His Face. His is the judgement, and to Him you will be returned” (Al Qasas 87 to 88).
And He the Exalted said
فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَيَّ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ
“So do not obey them, but accompany them in the world in a good way, and follow the path of the one who turns back to Me, then to Me is your return” (Luqman 15).
And He the Exalted said
فَابْتَغُوا عِندَ اللَّهِ الرِّزْقَ وَاعْبُدُوهُ وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
“So seek provision with Allah, worship Him and be grateful to Him; to Him you will be returned” (Al Ankabut 17).
And He the Exalted said
مُنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
“Turning back to Him, and fear Him, and establish prayer, and do not be among the polytheists” (Ar Rum 31).
And He the Exalted said
دَعْوَتَهُمْ مُّنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ
“Calling upon Him, turning back to Him” (Ar Rum 33).
And He the Exalted said
وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَيَّ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ
“And follow the path of the one who turns back to Me, then to Me is your return” (Luqman 15).
And He the Exalted said
وَمَن يُسْلِمْ وَجْهَهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى وَإِلَى اللَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ * وَمَن كَفَرَ فَلَا يَحْزُنكَ كُفْرُهُ إِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُهُمْ
“And whoever submits his face to Allah while he is a doer of good has grasped the firmest handhold, and to Allah is the outcome of all matters. And whoever disbelieves, let not his disbelief grieve you. To Us is their return” (Luqman 22 to 23).
And He the Exalted said
إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ
“To Him ascends good speech, and righteous work He raises it” (Fatir 10).
And He the Exalted said
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ مَوْقُوفُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يَرْجِعُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ الْقَوْلَ
“And if you could see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord, as they exchange words among themselves” (Saba 31).
And the believer said
وَمَا لِي لَا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
“And what is wrong with me that I should not worship the One who created me, and to Him you will be returned” (Yasin 22).
And He the Exalted said
وَإِن كُلٌّ لَّمَّا جَمِيعٌ لَّدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ
“And there is none but that all of them will be brought before Us” (Yasin 32).
And He the Exalted said
وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَإِذَا هُم مِّنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَنسِلُونَ
“And the horn will be blown, and at once they will run from their graves to their Lord” (Yasin 51).
And He the Exalted said about Ibrahim
إِذْ جَاءَ رَبَّهُ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
“When he came to his Lord with a sound heart” (As Saffat 84).
And He the Exalted said
وَقَالَ إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ
“And he said, ‘Indeed I am going to my Lord, He will guide me’” (As Saffat 99).
And He the Exalted said
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ
“And who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah” (Fussilat 33).
And He the Exalted said
فَاسْتَقِيمُوا إِلَيْهِ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ وَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُشْرِكِينَ
“So remain steadfast towards Him and seek His forgiveness, and woe to the polytheists” (Fussilat 6).
And He the Exalted said
وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ
“And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil, and he is for him a companion”
until His saying
حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَنَا قَالَ يَا لَيْتَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ بُعْدَ الْمَشْرِقَيْنِ فَبِئْسَ الْقَرِينُ
“Until, when he comes to Us, he says, ‘Oh, would that between me and you were the distance of the two easts, and what a wretched companion’” (Az Zukhruf 36 to 38).
And He the Exalted said
مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَسَاءَ فَعَلَيْهَا ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ
“Whoever does righteous deeds, it is for his own soul, and whoever does evil, it is against it, then to your Lord you will be returned” (Al Jathiyah 15).
And He the Exalted said
وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي إِنِّي تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
“Correct for me my offspring. Indeed I have turned to You in repentance, and indeed I am of the Muslims” (Al Ahqaf 15).
And He the Exalted said
لَا تَخْتَصِمُوا لَدَيَّ
“Do not dispute before Me” (Qaf 28).
And He the Exalted said
مَنْ خَشِيَ الرَّحْمَنَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَجَاءَ بِقَلْبٍ مُّنِيبٍ
“Whoever feared the Most Merciful in the unseen and came with a heart that turns back” (Qaf 33).
And He the Exalted said
فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ
“So flee to Allah” (Adh Dhariyat 50).
And He the Exalted said
وَأَنَّ إِلَى رَبِّكَ الْمُنتَهَى
“And that to your Lord is the end” (An Najm 42).
And He the Exalted said
وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ
“And as for the one who feared standing before his Lord” (An Naziat 40).
And He the Exalted said
رَبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ
“Our Lord, in You we place our trust, and to You we turn, and to You is the final return” (Al Mumtahanah 4).
And Masih Isa peace be upon him said
مَنْ أَنصَارِي إِلَى اللَّهِ
“Who are my helpers towards Allah” (As Saff 14).
And He the Exalted said
قُلْ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِي تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مُلَاقِيكُمْ ثُمَّ تُرَدُّونَ إِلَى عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“Say, ‘Indeed the death from which you flee, it will surely meet you, then you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will inform you of what you used to do’” (Al Jumuah 8).
And He the Exalted said
تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا
“Turn in sincere repentance to Allah” (At Tahrim 8).
And He the Exalted said
تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ
“The angels and the Spirit ascend up to Him” (Al Maaarij 4).
And He the Exalted said
وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا
“And devote yourself to Him with complete devotion” (Al Muzzammil 8).
And He the Exalted said
فَمَن شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا
“So whoever wills may take a path to his Lord” (Al Muzzammil 19).
And He the Exalted said
فَقُلْ هَل لَّكَ إِلَى أَن تَزَكَّى وَأَهْدِيَكَ إِلَى رَبِّكَ فَتَخْشَى
“So say, ‘Would you have the will to purify yourself, and that I guide you to your Lord so that you fear Him’” (An Naziat 18 to 19).
And He the Exalted said
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ
“O human being, you are striving towards your Lord with a striving, and you will meet Him” (Al Inshiqaq 6).
And He the Exalted said
إِنَّ إِلَيْنَا إِيَابَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا حِسَابَهُمْ
“Indeed to Us is their return, then indeed upon Us is their reckoning” (Al Ghashiyah 25 to 26).
And He the Exalted said
يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي
“O reassured soul, return to your Lord well pleased and pleasing, so enter among My servants and enter My Paradise” (Al Fajr 27 to 30).
And verses like this in the Book of Allah are many, and they cannot be fully counted except with great effort.
As for the wording of nearness to Allah the Exalted, He said
لَّن يَسْتَنكِفَ الْمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبْدًا لِّلَّهِ وَلَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ
“Masih will never disdain to be a servant to Allah, nor will the angels who are near” (An Nisa 172).
And He the Exalted said
فَأَمَّا إِن كَانَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ فَرَوْحٌ وَرَيْحَانٌ وَجَنَّةُ نَعِيمٍ
“So if he is one of those brought near, then for him is rest and fragrance and a Garden of bliss” (Al Waqiah 88 to 89).
And He the Exalted said
كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْأَبْرَارِ لَفِي عِلِّيِّينَ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ كِتَابٌ مَّرْقُومٌ يَشْهَدُهُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ
“No indeed, the record of the righteous is in Illiyyin. And what will make you know what Illiyyin is. A written record, witnessed by those brought near” (Al Mutaffifin 18 to 21).
And He the Exalted said
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“O you who believe, fear Allah and seek a means of nearness to Him, and strive in His path so that you may succeed” (Al Maidah 35).
And He the Exalted said
أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ
“Those whom they call upon themselves seek the means of nearness to their Lord, which of them is nearer” (Al Isra 57).
And He the Exalted said
وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبْ
“Prostrate and draw near” (Al Alaq 19).
And He the Exalted said
وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى
“And those who take protectors besides Him say, ‘We only worship them so that they may bring us closer to Allah in nearness’” (Az Zumar 3).
And He the Exalted said
وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِندَنَا لَزُلْفَى وَحُسْنَ مَآبٍ
“And indeed for him with Us is nearness and a good place of return” (Sad 25) in the story of Dawud and Sulayman peace be upon them.
And He the Exalted said
هُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِندَ اللَّهِ
“They are degrees with Allah” (Ali Imran 163).
As for the Prophetic hadith, they are many, and the speech of the Salaf and the imams and all the Muslims concerning nearness to Allah the Exalted and what brings near to Allah and the like is something that only Allah the Exalted can encompass.
When this is known, His saying in this hadith, “The believer draws near to his Lord,” or, “Allah brings the believer near,” or, “The believer is brought, then Allah brings him near to Him,” contains nothing but His bringing him near and drawing him close to Allah the Exalted.
And this has parallels too many to count. Some of them have already been mentioned, and some of them give necessary certain knowledge of the indication of the texts that the servant draws near to Allah the Exalted and comes close to Him.
The texts that indicate this are many times more than the texts that indicate that things ascend up to Allah the Exalted. Ascending up to Allah the Exalted is a type of nearness.
Just as the indication of the texts to this is among the greatest of widely transmitted matters, so too the knowledge of this is firmly settled in the innate nature of the Muslims, their common people and their scholars alike, just as it is settled in their nature that Allah is above.
All of them affirm that the servant can draw near to Allah and that among the servants are some who are muqarrab (brought near), whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic draws near to Him, and among them are those who are cursed and far from Him whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic drives away.
All of them call acts of obedience “qurubat” (acts of drawing near) and say, “We seek nearness to Allah by them.” There is none among them who by his natural disposition rejects drawing near to Allah except one whose nature has been changed by some form of tajahhum (Jahmi ideas) and taatil (denial of the attributes), just as there is none among them who by his natural disposition rejects raising the hands up towards Allah the Exalted except one whose natural disposition has been changed by some form of tajahhum and taatil.
Each one of these two foundations implies the other, for if He is above the Throne, then nearness to Him is possible, and His being above is an evidence of the possibility of drawing near to Him. If it is established that drawing near to Him is possible, then He is where nearness to Him is possible.
The two foundations are the affirmation of drawing near to Allah and the belief that Allah is in the highness above.
Because of this they use each of these two foundations as evidence for the other. Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Kullab (d. 240 AH) and his followers, and Abu al Hasan al Ashari (d. 324 AH) and the imams among his followers, do not dispute that Allah the Exalted is above the Throne and that it is possible to draw near to Him in His essence.
They use each of these matters as evidence for the other, even though they also say that He is not a body, and even though there is disagreement between them and others as to whether their saying is consistent or inconsistent.
For this reason many of the later ones among his followers denied that He is above the Throne and agreed with the Muatazilah in denying that, claiming that affirming it necessitates tajsim (affirming that He is a body).
Abu al Hasan al Ashari (d. 324 AH) said in the issue of the Throne: Part of what confirms for you that Allah is established upon His Throne above all things is what the people of transmission have reported, His saying, “Our Lord descends every night,” and he mentioned the wording, until he said: Allah the Exalted said
تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ
“The angels and the Spirit ascend up to Him” (Al Maaarij 4).
And He the Exalted said
يَخَافُونَ رَبَّهُم مِّن فَوْقِهِمْ
“They fear their Lord above them” (An Nahl 50).
And He the Exalted said
ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ
“Then He rose to the heaven” (Fussilat 11).
And He the Exalted said
ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ الرَّحْمَنُ فَاسْأَلْ بِهِ خَبِيرًا
“Then He rose over the Throne, the Most Merciful, so ask about Him one well informed” (Al Furqan 59).
And He the Exalted said
ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ مَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ
“Then He rose over the Throne. You have no protector or intercessor besides Him” (As Sajdah 4).
He then said: All of this indicates that He is in the heaven, established upon His Throne, and the heaven, by the agreement of the people, is not upon the earth. So it indicates that He the Exalted is alone in His oneness, established upon His Throne as He described Himself.
And He the Exalted said
وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا
“And your Lord will come, and the angels, rank after rank” (Al Fajr 22).
And He the Exalted said
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ
“Do they await except that Allah will come to them in shades of clouds” (Al Baqarah 210).
And He the Exalted said
ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَى فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَى مَا يَرَى وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنتَهَى لَقَدْ رَأَى مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَى
“Then he drew near and came down, and was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer, and He revealed to His servant what He revealed. The heart did not lie about what it saw. Will you then dispute with him about what he saw. And he certainly saw him in another descent, at the Lote Tree of the furthest boundary, indeed he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord” (An Najm 8 to 18).
Then he said: And He the Exalted said
يَا عِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ
“O Isa, indeed I will take you fully and raise you to Me” (Ali Imran 55).
And He the Exalted said
وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ
“They did not kill him nor crucify him” (An Nisa 157).
And He the Exalted said
وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا بَل رَّفَعَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ
“They certainly did not kill him, rather Allah raised him to Himself” (An Nisa 157 to 158).
He said: And the Ummah has agreed that Allah raised Isa peace be upon him to the heaven.
All of this is an explicit affirmation that the raising and the ascending are to Allah Himself.
He also said: And Allah the Exalted said
ثُمَّ رُدُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ مَوْلَاهُمُ الْحَقِّ
“Then they are returned to Allah, their true Master” (Al Anam 62).
And He said
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُوا عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ﴾
“And if only you could see when they are made to stand before their Lord” (Al Anam 30).
And He said
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُوا رُءُوسِهِمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ
“And if you could see when the criminals hang their heads before their Lord” (As Sajdah 12).
And He the Exalted said
وَعُرِضُوا عَلَى رَبِّكَ صَفًّا لَّقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ
“And they will be presented before your Lord in ranks. He will say, ‘You have certainly come to Us as We created you the first time’” (Al Kahf 48).
He said: All of this indicates that He is not in His creation and that His creation is not in Him, and that He the Exalted is established upon His Throne, exalted and majestic and far above what the wrongdoers say.
Exalted is He above what those say who do not affirm for Him in what they describe Him with any true reality, and they do not establish oneness for Him by what they mention of Him, because their speech leads to taatil, and all of their descriptions in the end point back to pure negation. They intend by this, as they claim, tanzih (declaring Him pure) and denial of tashbih (likening Him to creation). So we seek refuge in Allah from a tanzih that leads to negation and taatil. (This also is from the words of Abu al Hasan al Ashari in Al Ibanah an Usul ad Diyanah.)
He said: The scholars have narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that he said, “The servant’s feet will not move from before the Lord of the worlds until he is asked about three matters.”
And the scholars have narrated that a man came to the Prophet ﷺ with a slave woman who was black. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, I want to free her as an expiation. Will it be valid for me to free her?” The Prophet ﷺ said to her, “Where is Allah?” She said, “In the heaven,” and she gestured with her hand upwards. So the Prophet ﷺ said, “Free her, for she is a believer.” Then he said, “This indicates that Allah is upon His Throne above the heaven.” (The wording of the hadith is found in the Sunan of Abu Dawud (d.275 AH), the Jami of at Tirmidhi (d.279 AH), the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d.241 AH) and the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas (d.179 AH) from the story of Muawiyah ibn al Hakam. The scholars discussed its chains and concluded it is sound in meaning, even if some wording has difference between narrations.)
Abu al Hasan al Ashari also affirmed something even stronger than this regarding the nearness of Allah the Exalted to His creation and he related it as the saying of Ahl al Hadith and Ahl al Sunnah. He said in his book Maqalat al Islamiyyin while mentioning the belief of the people of hadith and Sunnah: Among what we quote from them is that they say what they agree upon, and he mentioned many points, including,
“And they affirm that Allah the Exalted will come on the Day of Resurrection, as He said, ‘And your Lord will come, and the angels rank after rank’ (Al Fajr 22),
and that Allah draws near to His creation however He wills, as He said, ‘And We are nearer to him than the jugular vein’ (Qaf 16). Then he said, ‘And with everything we have mentioned of their saying, we say.’” (This is the end of the quote from Maqalat al Islamiyyin of Abu al Hasan al Ashari.)
He said in Al Ibanah: The summary of our saying is that we affirm Allah the Blessed and Exalted, and he mentioned something similar to what he mentioned in Maqalat, until he said, “And we say that Allah will come on the Day of Resurrection as He said, ‘And your Lord will come, and the angels rank after rank’ (Al Fajr 22),
and that Allah the Exalted draws near to His servants however He wills, as He said, ‘And We are nearer to him than the jugular vein’ (Qaf 16),
and as He said, ‘Then he drew near and came down, and was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer’ (An Najm 8 to 9).”
He has other words besides this which clearly show that, in his view, the nearness of Allah to His creation is among the sifaat fi’liyyah (attributes of action), because he said, “however He wills.”
Nearness by knowledge and power cannot be linked to will and choice, because His knowledge and His power are from His attributes of essence. This is from the agreement of all those who affirm the attributes that there is nearness of the creation to Allah the Mighty and Majestic and a nearness of Allah to them.
What al Ashari said here and related from Ahl al Sunnah is something he took from Zakariya ibn Yahya as Saji (d.289 AH) and other imams of the scholars of Basrah.
This exact wording that he mentioned about nearness is preserved from Hammad ibn Zayd (d.179 AH), the imam of Ahl al Sunnah in the era of Malik, and from Sufyan ath Thawri (d.161 AH) and Al Awzai (d.157 AH).
Al Khallal (d.311 AH) said in his book As Sunnah: It was narrated to me by Jaafar ibn Muhammad al Firyabi (d.301 AH), who said, “Ahmad ibn Muhammad al Maqri narrated to us, saying, ‘Suleiman ibn Harb (d.224 AH) said, “Bishr ibn as Sari asked Hammad ibn Zayd and said, ‘O Abu Ismail, the hadith that has come, that Allah descends to the lowest heaven and that He moves from place to place?’ Hammad remained silent, then said, ‘He is in a place, and He draws near to His creation however He wills.’” (This chain contains weakness in Ahmad ibn Muhammad al Maqri, but the meaning is supported by many reports from the imams of the Sunnah.)
This will be mentioned in its place.
As for the hadith about Allah drawing the believer near and placing His kanf upon him, it is clearer than this, and none of the early scholars who affirm the attributes disputed this at all, just as they did not dispute that Allah the Exalted is above the Throne, and the imams explicitly affirmed it.
Al Khallal said in As Sunnah in the chapter “He places His kanf upon His servant Blessed and Exalted”: Muhammad ibn Abi Harun and Muhammad ibn Jaafar told us that Abu al Harith said, “I said to Abu Abdullah,” meaning Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d.241 AH), “What is the meaning of His saying, ‘Indeed Allah draws the servant near on the Day of Resurrection and places His kanf upon him’?”
He said, “He says just as it has come, ‘He draws him near and places His kanf upon him,’ as He said, and He says to him, ‘Do you recognise such and such sin?’”
Al Khallal said: Ibrahim al Harbi (d.285 AH) told us, “He said, ‘His saying, “He places His kanf upon him,” means His side or His protection.’” Ibrahim said, “Abu Nasr told me from Al Asmai (d.216 AH) that it is said, ‘I am in the kanf of Banu so and so,’ meaning in their side or their protection, and, ‘I am in your shade,’ meaning in your nearness.” Ibrahim said, “And Amr narrated to us from his father that ‘kanf’ means side.”
Then he recited, “And he found for him a wide kanf,” meaning a wide side or protection. (These explanations were recorded by Ibrahim al Harbi in his book Gharib al Hadith and similar works, and they show that kanf in the language can mean side, protection or care.)
Discussion of what he mentioned of interpretation comes in many ways.
The first way: He said, “Know that what is meant by His nearness and His drawing near is the nearness of His mercy and its coming near to the servant.”
It is said to him: This interpretation is not valid for His saying, “And We are nearer to him than the jugular vein,” because this includes the believer and the disbeliever. His mercy does not draw near to the disbeliever, so the verse cannot be interpreted in this way. Rather, it may be interpreted in terms of knowledge, as is mentioned in its proper place.
The second way: This interpretation only fits in the nearness of the Lord to the servant, like His saying, “Whoever draws near to Me by a span, I draw near to him by a forearm length.” As for the nearness of the servant, it is said, “the nearness of the servant to mercy,” and not, “the nearness of mercy and its drawing near to the servant.” So he has confused one nearness with the other, and this is not correct.
The third way: It is said to him: His saying, “Whoever draws near to Me by a span, I draw near to him by a forearm length,” either both kinds of nearness in this hadith are the nearness of mercy and its drawing near to the servant, or one of them has a different meaning. If both are the same, then the nearness of the servant “by a span” would be the same as the nearness of the Lord “by a forearm length,” which would mean that the reward for the action is the very same action itself, and this is false. There must therefore be a difference between the two kinds of nearness.
Also, He said, “Whoever draws near to Me by a span, I draw near to him by a forearm length.” He made the second double the first, so it is impossible for the second to be the very same as the first.
The fourth way: The nearness of mercy and its drawing near to the servant is not the servant’s action and is not in his power. It is from the action of Allah, so it is not correct to interpret by it the nearness of the servant. Rather, such nearness can only be used to interpret the nearness of Allah the Exalted.
The fifth way: He himself said earlier in this same chapter in the evidences of those who interpret, “The fifth evidence is His saying, ‘Prostrate and draw near’ (Al Alaq 19). This nearness can only be by obedience and worship.”
So he has already explained the nearness of the servant as obedience and servitude, and it is known that to explain it differently elsewhere is a contradiction.
The sixth way: He said, “The believer draws near to his Lord on the Day of Resurrection, so He places His kanf upon him.”
But he only said, “Know that what is meant by His nearness and His drawing near is the nearness of His mercy and its drawing near.” This does not actually explain the hadith, because he has made the two types of nearness one and the same, and this confusion has already been mentioned. In fact, he has not mentioned the interpretation that is well known among the Jahmiyyah.
They say, “We interpret it as Allah bringing him near to His mercy and His reward and His compassion and His gentleness. This is possible in the language, and what is meant is status and raising of rank.” This is the only possible interpretation that could be proposed for this hadith, even though it is false, whereas what he said is not even a correct interpretation of this kind.
We show the falseness of that known interpretation in another way.
The seventh way: That which the servant draws near to from mercy, faith and other things is either an entity that exists by itself or an attribute that exists in another. If it is an attribute, it is known that nearness to the attribute cannot occur without nearness to the One described by that attribute.
There is no way for a servant to draw near to the attribute of mercy or faith that exists in Allah except by drawing near to Allah Himself. As for drawing near to His attribute that is in Him without drawing near to Him, this is clearly corrupt and false, and for this reason none of the servants have ever said such a thing. Rather, the one who shifts nearness away from His essence makes it nearness to His attributes in the first place, if he even affirms attributes for Him.
If he intends that what the servant draws near to is some entity that exists by itself other than Allah the Mighty and Majestic, then that would be a creation from the creation of Allah the Exalted.
It is known that His saying, “The believer draws near to his Lord,” and, “Allah draws the believer near and places His kanf upon him, and makes him confess his sins, ‘Do you recognise such and such sin?’
He says, ‘I recognise, my Lord,’” and His saying, “Indeed Allah draws the believer near and places His kanf upon him,” and His saying, “Allah draws him near to Himself and places His kanf upon him,” all of these explicit wordings give necessary knowledge to anyone who hears them that the One who draws him near to Himself, places His kanf upon him, makes him confess his sins, and forgives them for him is Allah the Mighty and Majestic, not any of His creation.
So how can it be allowed to say that the servant does not draw near to his Lord at all, but only to some created thing among His creation. This is like saying that the one who makes him confess his sins is one of His creation, as the Jahmiyyah say that Allah the Mighty and Majestic does not speak in Himself and that speech exists only in some of His creation. This is like that. Both are like saying that Allah the Mighty and Majestic does not forgive him, rather one of His creation forgives him.
This leads to what some of the Sabians and philosophers and others say, that the servants do not return to Allah the Mighty and Majestic at all, and that their final end is to the Active Intellect and the like of those things that they claim are angels, so they make that entity the lord of the servants to whom they return, as they claim that it is their lord who manages this universe.
All of this is known necessarily to be contrary to what the messengers have informed of, and it is clear shirk in taking another besides Allah as a god and a lord.
Bayan Talbis Al Jahmiyyah (8/164-199)
