Transcript

1. Unofficial Translation The Straight Path Shaykh Muhaddith ^Abdullah

Ibn Muhammad al-Harariyy al- Habashiyy
2. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 2
3. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 3 The Straight Path Al-Muhaddith
Ash-Shaykh ^Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Al-Harariyy Al-Habashiyy First Draft, 2012
4. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 4 Contents Authors
Biography ......................................................................... 8
Introduction .................................................................................. 17 The Straight
Path........................................................................... 17 The Greatest of Allahs Rights
over His Slaves.............................. 18 The Meaning of the Two Testifications of
Faith ........................... 21 The Obligation of Every Accountable
Person ............................... 25 No Religion is Correct Except
Islam .............................................. 25 The Judgment of the One who Claims Islam
Verbally but Nullifies Islam in Meaning........................................................................... 28
Clarification of the Divisions of Blasphemy .................................. 31 What is Exempted
from the Blasphemous Expressions ........... 38 Important
Benefit ......................................................................... 52 A Return to the Classification of
Blasphemy for the Additional
Benefit........................................................................................... 55
Benefit........................................................................................... 58 Protection from
Hell ..................................................................... 60 The First
Creation.......................................................................... 60 The Eternality of Allah is not
Related to Time .......................... 63 Clearing Allah of a Place, and the Mental Validity of
His Existence Without a Place............................................................................. 65 The
Thirteen Attributes of Allah ................................................... 87
Existence ................................................................................... 87
Eternality................................................................................... 88
Everlastingness.......................................................................... 89
Hearing...................................................................................... 90
5. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 5
Sight .......................................................................................... 90
Speech....................................................................................... 91
Will............................................................................................ 94
Power........................................................................................ 96
Knowledge ................................................................................ 98
Life............................................................................................. 99
Oneness................................................................................... 100 Independence of
Others......................................................... 101 Dissimilarity to the
Creation ................................................... 102 All of the Attributes of Allah Are
Perfect.................................... 104 The Reason for the Revelation of Surah AlIkhlas....................... 108 The Decisive and Ambiguous Verses ..........................................
110 The Decisive Verses................................................................. 111 The Ambiguous
Verses............................................................ 111 Interpretation of His Saying and
His Saying 122 ................................................................................................

Interpretation of the Verse 124 ....................... The Interpretation of the

Ma^iyyah ((of Allah that is Mentioned in the Quran........................................................
131 The Explanation of the Saying of Allah 134

................. The Explanation of the

Verse 135 ................... The Meaning of Destiny and Believing in
It ................................ 138 Guidance Is of Two Facets ......................................................
154 The Destining of Allah Does Not Change................................ 157 Dividing the
Matters into Four Categories.............................. 160
6. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 6 The Tawhid of Allah in the
Doings .......................................... 161 The Intellectual Evidence for the Invalidity of the
Saying of the Mu^tazilah that the Slave Creates his Deeds ......................... 165
Confirmation that the Normal Reasons Do Not Affect in Reality and that the Only One
Who Affects in Reality is Allah ........... 166 Important
Notice ........................................................................ 179
Prophethood............................................................................... 181 The Difference
between the Prophets and the Messengers.. 181 What is Necessary for the Prophets and
What is Impossible for Them ....................................................................................... 182
The Miracle ............................................................................. 183 Miracles That Took
Place for Those Who Came before Our Master Muhammad
184 ................................................... Some of the Miracles of the Prophet .........................
185 The Miracles Substantiation of the Truthfulness of the
Prophet ............................................................................... 192 The Way to Know the
Miracle by Definitiveness and
Certainty ............................................................................................ 193 Belief in the
Torture of the Grave and its Enjoyment and
Questioning............................................................................. 194 The Judgment of the
One who Denies the Torture of the
Grave................................................................................... 200 The
Resurrection..................................................................... 201 The
Gathering ......................................................................... 201 The Questioning of
Allah......................................................... 202 The
Scale ................................................................................. 202 Reward and
Punishment......................................................... 203
7. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 7 The
Bridge............................................................................... 204 The
Basin................................................................................. 205 The Description of
Paradise.................................................... 206 The Description of
Hell............................................................ 207 The
Intercession...................................................................... 208 The
Soul................................................................................... 208 Clarification that the Mercy
of Allah is Inclusive of the Believers and the Blasphemers in the Present Life and Specific
to the Believers in the Afterlife ............................................................. 210 The Innovation
[Bid^ah].............................................................. 212 Confirmation that Tawassul by the
Prophets and the Waliyys is Permissible, and not Shirk as Said by the
Wahhabiyys............... 216 Seeking Blessings from the Traces of the Prophet .............
227 Ijtihad and Imitation ................................................................... 233
Epilogue....................................................................................... 239 The Epilogue of the
Epilogue ...................................................... 242

8. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 8 Authors Biography He was the great Islamic
scholar, Imam, Muhaddith, the pious worshipper, Ash-Shaykh Abu ^Abdir-Rahman,
^Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ibn ^Abdillah Ibn Jami^, Al-Harariyy, Ash- Shaybiyy,
Al-^Abdariyy, the Mufti of Somalia. He is Al-Harariyy because he is from the city of Harar.
In 1887, Somalia was occupied and divided into five parts, and the western province of
Harar was given to Ethiopia. He is Ash-Shaybiyy because he belongs to Banu Shaybah, a
clan of Quraysh; they are the people in charge of the Ka^bah. He is Al-^Abdariyy because
he also belongs to ^Abdud-Dar, a clan of Qusayy Ibn Kilab, the fourth grandfather of the
Prophet . He was born in Harar around 1339 A.H., or 1920. He grew up in a humble
house loving Islamic knowledge and its people. He memorized Al-Quran by heart with
tajwid rules when he was seven years old. He continued to scoop from the sea of
knowledge. He memorized numerous books in various Islamic sciences. He gave the
knowledge of hadith a great amount of attention. He memorized the six books of Hadith
(Al-Bukhariyy, Muslim, at-Tirmidhiyy, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, an-Nasaiyy) and other
books of Hadith with their chains of narration. He was authorized by scholars to give
religious judgments and to relate hadith when he was less than eighteen years old.
9. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 9 He was not satisfied with taking knowledge
only from the scholars of his own city. He went to many places in Ethiopia and Somalia
seeking knowledge and its people. He had many trips with hardships and difficulties, but
he did not care about them; whenever he heard about a scholar he went to him, which is
the habit of the righteous Salaf. His intelligence and wonderful memory helped him gain a
vast amount of knowledge in the school of Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy, as well as the Malikiyy,
Hanafiyy, and Hambaliyy schools. To the point that he became a person at who fingers
point; people would come to him from different places in Ethiopia and Somalia. He
became the Mufti of Somalia at the age of eighteen. He took the Fiqh of the School of
Ash-Shafi^iyy, its Usul and Arabic Grammar from Ash-Shaykh Muhammad ^Abdus-Salam
Al- Harariyy, Ash-Shaykh Muhammad ^Umar Jami^ Al-Harariyy, Ash- Shaykh Muhammad
Rashad Al-Habashiyy, Ash-Shaykh Ibrahim Abil-Ghayth Al-Harariyy, Ash-Shaykh Yunus
Al-Habashiyy, and Al- Hafidh Muhammad Siraj Al-Jabartiyy. From those Islamic scholars
he took many main texts such as Alfiyyah Az-Zubad, At-Tambih, Al-Minhaj, Alfiyyah Ibn
Malik, Al-Luma^ by Ash-Shiraziyy and other main texts. He took the sciences of the
Arabic Language, especially from the righteous Shaykh Ahmad Al-Basir and Ash-Shaykh
Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Al-Habashiyy and others. He read the Fiqh of the
10. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 10 other three schools and their Usul under
Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Al-^Arabiyy Al-Fasiyy, and Ash-Shaykh ^Abdur-Rahman AlHabashiyy. He took at-Tafsir from Ash-Shaykh Sharif Al-Habashiyy in his town, Jimmah.
He took the Hadith and its sciences from many teachers, notably from Al-Hafidh AshShaykh Abu Bakr Muhammad Siraj Al- Jabartiyy, the Mufti of Ethiopia, Ash-Shaykh
^Abdur-Rahman ^Abdullah Al-Habashiyy, and others. He met with the righteous Shaykh,
Muhaddith, Qari Hajj Ahmad Al-Kabir, the Head of the Reciters in Al-Masjidul-Haram in
Makkah (he was appointed as the Imam and Shaykh of Al-Masjidul-Haram by as-Sultan
^Abdul-Hamid II, the last Ottoman Khalifah), from him he took the 14 ways of reciting AlQuran, as well as the Science of Hadith. He also met Shaykh, Qari, Dawud Al-Jabartiyy.
He started giving classes at a young age for the students who may have been older than
him; so he was both learning and teaching. He was superior in both Ethiopia and Somalia
to his peers in knowing the biographies of the people of Hadith and their ranks,
memorizing the texts, and getting in depth in the sciences of Hadith, language, Tafsir, and

other than that. He did not leave any known Islamic science without mastering it. He may
talk about some knowledge or science and a person may think that he specialized in that
only. You would see him humbly
11. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 11 listening to a Hadith with his ear and his
heart, although he knows better about it than the speaker himself. He went to Makkah and
met its scholars such as Ash-Shaykh, as- Sayyid, ^Alawiyy Al-Malikiyy, Ash-Shaykh
Muhammad Yasin Al- Fadaniyy and Ash-Shaykh Amin Al-Kutubiyy. He attended circles by
Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Al-^Arabiyy at-Tabban. He contacted Ash-Shaykh ^Abdul-Ghafur
Al-Afghaniyy an-Naqshabandiyy and took at-Tariqah an-Naqshabandiyyah from him.
Afterwards, he went to Al-Madinah and contacted its scholars. He took hadith from AshShaykh Muhammad Ibn ^Aliyy as-Siddiqiyy Al-Bakriyy. He met with Muhaddith Ibrahim AlKhutniyy, the student of Muhaddith ^Abdul-Qadir Shalbiyy. He stayed by and in ^rif
Hikmat and Al-Mahmudiyyah libraries going through the manuscripts. He stayed in AlMadinah close to the Prophets Mosque for about a year while receiving ijazah from
many scholars. He then went to Jerusalem in the 1940s, then to Damascus, where he
was welcomed by its people, especially after the death of its Muhaddith, Badrud-Din AlHasaniyy. He went to Damascus, Beirut, Hims, Hamah, Halab, and other cities. He then
lived in Jami^ul-Qatat, and his fame spread in the area. Consequently, the scholars and
students of Ash-Sham came seeking him, and he got to know some of its scholars. They
benefited from him and
12. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 12 acknowledged his knowledge, and he was
called the Successor of Ash-Shaykh Badrud-Din Al-Hasaniyy. He was also known as
the Muhaddith of Ash-Sham. A great number of the scholars of Ash- Sham praised him
such as Ash-Shaykh ^Izzud-Din Ibn Ahmad Al- Khaznawiyy, Ash-Shafi^iyy, anNaqshabandiyy from Al-Jazirah in the north of Syria, Ash-Shaykh ^Abdur-Razzaq AlHalabiyy, the Director of Al-Masjidul-Umawiyy in Damascus, Ash-Shaykh Abu Sulayman
Suhayl Az-Zabibiyy, Ash-Shaykh Mulla Ramadan Al- Butiyy, Ash-Shaykh Abul-Yusr
^bidin, the Mufti of Syria, Ash- Shaykh ^Abdul-Karim Ar-Rifa^iyy, Ash-Shaykh Naji Nur
from Jordan, Ash-Shaykh Sa^id Tanatirah, Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Al- Husariyy, the Director
of the Islamic school of Ma^arratu-n- Nu^man, Ash-Shaykh ^Abdullah Siraj Al-Halabiyy,
Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Murad Al-Halabiyy, Ash-Shaykh Suhayb Ar-Rumiyy, the Amin of
Al-Fatwa in Halab, Ash-Shaykh ^Abdul-^Aziz ^Uyunus- Sud, the Head of the Qurra of
Hims, Ash-Shaykh Abus-Su^ud Al- Himsiyy, Ash-Shaykh Fayiz ad-Dayr ^Ataniyy, AshShaykh ^Abdul- Wahhab Dibs wa Zayt of Damascus, Dr. Halawaniyy, the Shaykh of
reciters in Syria, Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Al-Harun of Damascus, the righteous Waliyy, AshShaykh Tahir Al-Kayyaliyy from Hims, Ash- Shaykh Salih Kaywan ad-Dimashqiyy, AshShaykh ^Abbas Al- Juwayjatiyy ad-Dimashqiyy, Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Thabit AlKayyaliyy Ash-Shaykh Muhammad As-Sayyid Ahmad, Ash-Shaykh Nuh Al-Qadah AlUrdunniyy and others, may Allah benefit us from them.
13. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 13 He was also praised by Ash-Shaykh
^Uthman Sirajud-Din, the descendant of Ash-Shaykh ^Alaud-Din, the Shaykh of anNaqshabandiyyah in his time, and they had brotherly and scholarly correspondences
between them. He was praised also by Ash-Shaykh ^Abdul-Karim Al-Bayyariyy, the
teacher in Jami^il- Hadrah Al-Kilaniyyah in Baghdad, Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Az-Zahid AlIslambuliyy, Ash-Shaykh Mahmud (Efendi) Al-Hanafiyy, who is one of the famous and
active Turkish scholars, Ash-Shaykh ^Abdullah Al-Ghumariyy, the Muhaddith of Morocco,
and Ash-Shaykh Habibur-Rahman Al-A^dhamiyy, the Muhaddith of the Indian Peninsula,

whom he met with many times and stayed as his guest for some time. He took permission
for At-Tariqah Ar-Rifa^iyyah from Ash-Shaykh ^Abdur-Rahman as-Sibsibiyy, Ash-Shaykh
Muhammad ^Aliyy Al- Haririyy, and Ash-Shaykh Tahir Al-Kayyaliyy. He took permission in
At-Tariqah Al-Qadiriyyah from Ash-Shaykh At-Tayyib Ad- Dimashqiyy, Ash-Shaykh Ahmad
Al-^Irbiniyy, Ash-Shaykh Al- Mu^ammar ^Aliyy Murtada ad-Dayrawiyy Al-Bakistaniyy and
Ash- Shaykh Ahmad Al-Badawiyy as-Sudaniyy Al-Mukashifiyy, may Allah have Mercy
upon them. He took At-Tariqah Ash- Shadhiliyyah from Ash-Shaykh Ahmad Al-Basir. He
took the Tariqahs of Al-Chistiyyah and As-Suhrawardiyyah as well. Ash-Shaykh ^Abdullah
went to Beirut in 1950 and he was the guest of the famous shaykhs like Qadi Muhyid-Din
Al-^Ajuz,
14. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 14 Shaykh Al-Mustashar Muhammad AshSharif, Shaykh ^Abdul- Wahhab Al-Butariyy, the Imam of Jami^ Al-Basta Al-Fawqa, and
Shaykh Ahmad Iskandaraniyy, the Imam and Muadhdhin in Jami^ Burj Abi Haydar, and
they learned and benefited from him. Then he met with Shaykh Tawfiq Al-Hibriyy, may
Allah have Mercy on him, and at his residence he used to meet the important people in
Beirut. He also met with Shaykh ^Abdur-Rahman Al-Majdhub and Shaykh Muhammad AlButariyy. He met with Shaykh Mukhtar Al- ^Alayiliyy, may Allah have Mercy upon him, who
was the Amin of Al-Fatwa who acknowledged his honor and breadth of his knowledge,
and prepared for his residence in Beirut to teach in different mosques. The Department of
Al-Fatwa paid the expenses of his residence during that period. In 1969, upon the request
of the Director of Al-Azhar in Lebanon, he lectured in at- Tawhid to the students there.
Shaykh ^Abdullahs primary goal was to spread the correct belief of Ahlus-Sunnah walJama^ah, a task which has been occupying most of his time. He fought the atheists and
the people of bid^ah to extinguish their misguidance. Shaykh ^Abdullah Al-Harariyy was
very pious, humble, and a worshipful Muslim. He spent his time teaching and performing
dhikr at the same time. He did not care about acquiring worldly things. He had a good and
pure heart. He did not waste a moment without teaching, performing dhikr, reciting,
admonishing, or
15. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 15 guiding. He had the correct belief in Allah
and held on to Al- Quran and As-Sunnah. He had a good memory and powerful, brilliant
proofs. He was wise, managing things at the right time and place. He refused and
renounced disobeying Allah very much. He had a high effort in bidding Al-Ma^ruf and
forbidding Al- Munkar until the people of misguidance and prohibited innovations feared
and envied him. This did not lessen his efforts to fight them, because Allah Supports and
Defends the people who believe in Him. Ash-Shaykh ^Abdullah Al-Harariyy conveyed the
knowledge of the Religion with continuous chains back to Prophet Muhammad . Among
them is: from Muhammad Ibn ^Aliyy ^Adham Husayn as-Siddiqiyy Al-Khayradadiyy AlMadiniyy from Muhaddith Abul-Ma^ali Muhammad Badru-d-Din Ibn Yusuf Al-Baybaniyy
Al- Hasaniyy Al-Maghribiyy from Muhaddith as-Sayyid Yusuf Ibn Badru-d-Din AlMaghribiyy from Shaykh Abdullah Ibn Hijaziyy Ash- Sharqawiyy [Shaykhil-Jami^il-Azhar]
from Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Salim Al-Hifniyy from Shaykh ^Id an-Namrisiyy from
^Abdullah Ibn Salim Al-Basriyy from Shaykh ^Aliyy Zaynul-^bidin Ibn ^Abdul- Qadir atTabariyy Al-Makkiyy from ^Abdul-Qadir Ibn Muhammad at-Tabariyy Al-Makkiyy from Imam
Yahya Ibn Mukrim at-Tabariyy Al-Makkiyy from Hafidh As-Sakhawiyy from Shihabu-d-Din
Ahmad Ibn Hajar Al-^Asqalaniyy from Ustadh Ibrahim Ibn Ahmad at- Tanukhiyy from Abul-^Abbas Ahmad Ibn Abi Talib Al-Hajjar from Abi ^Abdillah Al-Husayn Ibn Mubarak AzZabidiyy from Abu-l-

16. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 16 Waqt ^Abdul-Awwal Ibn ^Isa Ibn Shu^ayb
as-Sijziyy Al-Harawiyy from Abil-Hasan ^Abdur-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Mudhaffar
Ibn Dawud ad-Dawudiyy Al-Bushinjiyy from Abi Muhammad ^Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn
Hammuyah as-Sarakhsiyy from Abi ^Abdillah Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Matar Ibn Salih
Ibn Bishr Al- Farabriyy from Imam Abi ^Abdillah Muhammad Ibn Isma^il Al- Bukhariyy AlJu^afiyy from Imam Abi ^Abdillah Ahmad Ibn Hambal Ash-Shaybaniyy from Imam Abi
^Abdillah Muhammad Ibn Idris Ash-Shafi^iyy Al-Muttalibiyy from Imam Abi ^Abdillah Malik
Ibn Anas Al-Asbahiyy from Nafi^ Ibn ^Abdir-Rahman from ^Abdillah Ibn ^Umar IbnilKhattab from the Messenger of Allah. He (may Allah have Mercy upon him) departed this
life the dawn of Tuesday, the 2nd of Ramadan, 1429 AH - September 2, 2008.
17. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 17 Introduction The Shaykh
and Muhaddith ^Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Al- Harariyy Al-Habashiyy, may Allah have
Mercy upon him, said: The Straight Path Excellent praise and gratitude are due to Allah.
May Allah increase the rank and honor of Prophet Muhammad and protect his [Muslim]
Nation from what he feared for it. Allah the Exalted Said1 :
[ which means] O you who believed, fear Allah, and let
each self look at that which it has prepared for tomorrow. ^Aliyy [Ibn Abi Talib], may Allah
accept his good deeds and honor his face, said, Today is the work and tomorrow is the
Reckoning. This was narrated by Al-Bukhariyy in the Chapter of Ar-Riqaq. 1 Surat AlHashr, ayah 18.
18. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 18 The Greatest of Allahs Rights over His
Slaves Know that the greatest of the rights of Allah the Exalted over His slaves is
[confirming] His Oneness and that nothing would be associated with Him. This is because
associating partners with Allah is the biggest sin committed by the slave. It is the sin that
He does not Forgive [after death], and He Forgives whatever is less than that for
whomever He Wills. Allah the Exalted Said2 : [ which
means] Surely, Allah does not forgive the association of partners with Him, and He
forgives whatever is less than that for whomever He Wills. Likewise, all types of
blasphemy are not Forgiven by Allah [after death]. This is due to the Saying of Allah the
Exalted3 : 2 Surat an-Nisa, ayah 48. 3 Surat
Muammad, ayah 34.
19. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 19 [which means] Surely Allah will not Forgive
those who blasphemed and those who blocked others from the path of Allah4 , and then
died while being blasphemers. The Messenger of Allah said:


[which means] Whoever testifies that no one is God except Allah alone without a partner,
that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, that ^Isa (Jesus) is the slave of Allah
and His Messenger, and the good news given to Mary, and a soul from Allah, that
Paradise is true, and Hellfire is true, Allah will admit him to Paradise no matter what he
did. This hadith was narrated by Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim. In another hadith:
[ which means] Surely Allah Made forbidden for Hell5 whoever said
no one is God except Allah sincerely for the sake of Allah. This hadith was narrated by AlBukhariyy. 4 This means blocking others from embracing Islam.
20. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 20 It is obligatory to associate the belief in the
Message of Muhammad with the testimony that no one is God except Allah. That is the
least by which safety from the everlasting stay in Hell would take place. 5 Meaning to stay
in Hell forever, not a negation of a believer entering it.

21. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 21 The Meaning of the Two Testifications of
Faith In general, the meaning of the Testification that no one is God except Allah is: I
confess with my tongue and I hold as a conviction and submit to it in my heart that the
only rightfully worshipped One is Allah the Exalted. The meaning of the Testification that
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah is: I confess with my tongue and I accept with my
heart that our Master Muhammad is sent from Allah to all of the humans and jinn.
Muhammad was truthful in everything he conveyed from Allah the Exalted, therefore
the people must believe in his Laws and follow him. What is meant by the two
Testifications of Faith is the negation of Godhood for other than Allah and confirming it for
Allah the Exalted, along with the confession of the Message of our Master Muhammad .
Allah the Exalted Said6 : [ which means] Whoever does
not believe in Allah and His Messenger, then he is a blasphemer, and We have Prepared
Hell for the blasphemers. This verse is explicit in charging whoever does not believe in
Muhammad with blasphemy, and 6 Surat Al-Fath, ayah 13.
22. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 22 whoever argues with this point would be
objecting to the Quran, and whoever objects to the Quran blasphemes. The Islamic
scholars have agreed on charging whoever practices a religion other than Islam with
blasphemy, as well as whoever does not charge him with blasphemy, or doubts, or
remains neutral [about his blasphemy]; like for one to say I do not say he is a blasphemer
and I do not say he is not a blasphemer. Know with certainty that Iman (faith) and Islam
would not be valid, nor would the good deeds be accepted, without the two Testifications
of Faith, i.e., by the expression: I testify that no one is God except Allah and I testify that
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, or by whatever carries the meaning of these two
statements, even if it were expressed in other than the Arabic language. It is enough for
the validity of ones Islam to utter it once in a lifetime. After that, the obligation of saying
the Testification of Faith remains for the validity of every prayer. This is in reference to the
one who was following a religion other than Islam, then he wanted to enter Islam. In
reference to the one who was raised as a Muslim and he believed in the two Testifications
of Faith, uttering them is not a condition. Rather, he is a Muslim even if he does not utter.
The Messenger of Allah said:
23. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 23 :
[which means] Allah Said, My slave does not come closer to Me (i.e. he does not gain a
higher status from Me) by doing anything more acceptable to Me than what I have Made
obligatory upon him. This is a Qudsiyy hadith narrated by Al-Bukhariyy. Moreover, the
best and first obligation is the belief in Allah and His Messenger. The Creed that no one is
God except Allah alone is not enough if it is not associated with the Creed that
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Allah the Exalted Said7 :
[ which means] (O Muhammad,) say, Obey Allah
and the Messenger, and if they turn away (from believing in Allah and His Messenger)
then Allah does not Accept the blasphemers. This means that because of his blasphemy,
Allah does not Accept the one who turned away from believing in Allah and His
Messenger, and what is meant by obeying Allah and His Messenger in this verse is
believing in them. 7 Surat Al ^Imran, ayah 32.
24. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 24 This is evidence that whoever does not
believe in Allah and His Messenger, Muhammad , is a blasphemer, and Allah does not
Accept him because of his blasphemy. Whoever says that Allah loves the believers and

the blasphemers because He Created all of them has contradicted the Quran. So it is
said to him, Allah Created all of them, but He does not Accept all of them.
25. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 25 The Obligation of Every Accountable Person
Know that uttering the two Testifications of Faith after puberty once in a lifetime, with the
intention of fulfilling the obligation, is obligatory on every accountable person according to
the Malikiyyah. This is because they do not consider the Tashahhud obligatory in the
prayer; they only consider it to be recommended. According to the Shafi^iyyah and the
Hanabilah, it is obligatory to utter in every prayer for the validity of the prayer. No Religion
is Correct Except Islam The true religion to Allah is Islam. Allah the Exalted Said8 :
[ which means] Whoever seeks other than
Islam as a religion, it will not be accepted from him, and he will be among the losers in the
Hereafter. Also, Allah the Exalted Said9 : 8 Srat l ^Imrn, yah 85. 9
Srat l ^Imrn, yah 19.
26. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 26 [which means] The (acceptable) religion to
Allah is Islam. Therefore, all of the Prophets were Muslims. Whoever was a follower of
Musa [Moses] was a Mosaic Muslim and whoever was a follower of ^Isa [Jesus] was a
Jesusite Muslim. It is valid to say about someone who follows Muhammad that he is a
Muhammadan Muslim. Islam is the Religion that Allah Accepts for His slaves and
Ordered us to follow. Allah is not called a Muslim as mentioned by some ignorant
people. In ancient times, mankind altogether was on one religion, which was Islam.
Associating partners with Allah and blasphemy took place only after Prophet Idris
[Enoch]. Nuh [Noah] was the first Prophet sent to the blasphemers, calling to the worship
of Allah, the One Who has no partners. Allah warned all of the Messengers [i.e., so that
they would warn their people] after Nuh from associating partners with Allah. Our Master
Muhammad came with the renewal of the Call to Islam after it was cut off among the
humans on Earth. He was supported with Miracles that prove his Prophethood. Some
people embraced Islam, and the people of misguidance rejected his Prophethood. Some
of them were pagans, like a faction of Jews who worshiped ^Uzayr (Ezra), adding
blasphemy to their blasphemy. Some of the People of the Book, the Jews and the
Christians, believed in him, like ^Abdullah Ibn Salam, the scholar of the Jews in Madinah,
and Ashamah An-Najashi, the king of Ethiopia; he was a Christian. Then he followed the
Messenger in a perfect way and died during
27. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 27 the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah .
The Messenger prayed the funeral prayer for the absent on the day he died; Allah
revealed his death to the Prophet . Then light was seen on his grave during the nights,
and this is evidence that he became a perfect Muslim who was a Waliyy among the
Awliya of Allah, may Allah Accept his deeds. The Islamic basis which unites all the people
of Islam is the worship of Allah alone.
28. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 28 The Judgment of the One who Claims Islam
Verbally but Nullifies Islam in Meaning There are many factions that have contradicted
Islam in meaning, even if they are attributed to Islam because of their saying the two
Shahadahs, I testify that no one is God except Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah, and their praying and their fasting, because they have contradicted
the two Testifications of Faith by believing what negates them. They have surely gone out
of Tawhid by worshipping other than Allah, so they are blasphemers, they are not
Muslims; like those who believe in the godhood of ^Aliyy Ibn Abi Talib, or Al-Khadir, or AlHakim Bi-Amri-llah, and others. Likewise is anything that has the judgment of that,

whether a saying or doing. The judgment of the one who rejects the two Testifications of
Faith is that he is definitely charged with blasphemy. His destination will be Hell. He will be
in it forever and ever. The everlasting torture in the Hereafter will not be cut off from him,
and he will not be the one who gets out of Hell. Whoever performs the greatest of the
rights of Allah by confirming His Oneness, the Exalted, i.e. leaving out associating
anything with Him, and having faith in His Messenger , will not dwell in Hellfire forever,
even if he does enter Hell because of his sins. His fate in the end, no matter what the
situation, is exiting
29. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 29 Hell and entering Paradise after receiving
the torture that he deserves, if Allah does not Forgive him. The Messenger of Allah
said:[ which means] Whoever says There is no God
except Allah will come out Hell as long as he has a particles weight of faith in his heart.
This was narrated by Al-Bukhariyy. As for the one who adhered to the Tawhid of Allah, the
Exalted, and he refrained from disobeying Allah and fulfilled His Orders, he will enter
Paradise without torture, where the everlasting and ongoing luxuries are. This is proven
by the Qudsiyy hadith conveyed by Abu Hurayrah in which he said, The Messenger of
Allah Said: :[ which means] Allah
the Mighty and Great Said: I have prepared for my pious slaves what no eye has seen, no
ear has heard, and what never occurred to the heart of any human. Abu Hurayrah
30. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 30 continued to say: Recite, if you want, the
Saying of Allah the Exalted10 : [ which means] No
soul knows what is hidden for them of pleasurable things as compensation for what they
used to do. Al-Bukhariyy narrated that in his Sahih. 10 Srat as-Sajdah, yah 17.
31. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 31 Clarification of the Divisions of Blasphemy
Know, O my Muslim brother, that there are creeds, doings and sayings that invalidate the
two Testifications of Faith and make one fall into blasphemy. Blasphemy is of three types:
the blasphemous creed, the blasphemous act and the blasphemous expression. This is
by the Consensus of the [scholars of the] Four Schools, like an-Nawawiyy and Ibnu-lMuqri of the Shafi^iyyah, Ibn ^Abidin of the Hanafiyyah, Al-Buhutiyy of the Hanabilah,
Shaykh Muhammad ^Illaysh of the Malikiyyah, and others. So whoever wants, let him go
look in the books of the scholars. Similarly, other than the scholars of the Four Schools
among the past mujtahids, like Al- Awza^iyy, mentioned that. He was a mujtahid; he had a
school that was practiced, after which his followers died out. The place of the
blasphemous creed is the heart. Examples are denying an Attribute among the Attributes
of Allah the Exalted that are necessary for Him by consensus, such as His Existence, His
Being Powerful, Hearing, and Seeing. [It is also blasphemy to] believe that He is an
illumination or a soul. Shaykh ^Abdul- Ghaniyy an-Nabulusiyy said: Whoever believes
that Allah filled the Heavens and Earth, or that He is a body sitting above the ^Arsh, then
he is a blasphemer even if he claimed that he was a Muslim.
32. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 32 An example of the blasphemous act is
throwing a book of the Quran in the trash. Ibn ^Abidin said, Even if he did not intend to
belittle the Quran, because his doing itself is an indication of belittlement. [It is also
blasphemy to] throw religious papers in the trash or any paper that has a Name among
the Names of Allah the Exalted, while that person knows that Name is on it. Furthermore,
whoever hangs the signs of blasphemy on himself without a necessity, if it were with the
intention of seeking blessings, glorification, or out of legitimating it, would be an apostate.
The blasphemous saying is like insulting Allah, the Exaltedwe seek refuge with Allah

from blasphemyby saying O daughter of your Lord, or O son of Allah. Blasphemy will
take place in this case even if the person did not believe that Allah has a daughter or a
son. If a Muslim calls another Muslim by saying O blasphemer, without any tawil11 , he
blasphemes, because he has named Islam blasphemy. Whoever says to the Muslim, O
Jew, or the like, with the intention that he is not a Muslim, blasphemes, unless he
intended that he resembles the Jews; then he does not blaspheme. 11 An explanation of
the statement that saves him from falling into blasphemy. Such as meaning by the saying
O kafir, You act like a blasphemer, or that this Muslim committed an enormous sin
which the speaker thought was blasphemy.
33. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 33 If a person said to his wife, You are more
beloved to me than Allah, he blasphemes. If he said to her, I worship you, while
understanding from that the worship which is specific to Allah the Exalted, he
blasphemes. If a person said to another, May Allah be unjust to you as you have been
unjust to me, he blasphemes, because he attributed injustice to Allah the Exalted.
However, if he understood from the meaning of May He be unjust to you, May He
avenge me, we do not charge him with blasphemy, but we forbid him from [saying] that. If
a person said to another person Damn your Lord, he blasphemes. Likewise blasphemes
the one who said to a Muslim, Damn your Din. Some of the scholars said that if he
meant by the word Din that persons own behavior he does not blaspheme. Some
Hanafiyy scholars said that he blasphemes if he generalizes, that is, if he did not intend
that persons own behavior, and he did not intend the Religion of Islam. Likewise
blasphemes whoever says, So-and-so moved my Lord, because this has the attribution
of movement and place to Allah. Likewise blasphemes the one who saysand we seek
refuge with AllahThe likeness of Allah, he means someone resembles Allah. Likewise
blasphemes whoever attributes to Allah an organ, like the saying of some stupid people,
O penis of Allah. This is an
34. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 34 explicit statement of blasphemy, and there is
no way to explain it other than the apparent meaning. Likewise blasphemes the one who
says, I am the Lord of whoever does such-and-such.12 Likewise blasphemes the one
who saysand we seek refuge with AllahMy Lord went crazy, or the one who says to
a blasphemer, May Allah honor you, with the intention that Allah would give them a high
status, because Allah does not give honor to the blasphemers, as Allah the Exalted
Said13 : [ which means] If they turn away from that, then Allah
does not Accept the blasphemers. Likewise, to say to a blasphemer, May Allah Forgive
you, if he intended that Allah would Forgive him while he is on his state of blasphemy
until he dies. Likewise blasphemes whoever says about the one who died as a
blasphemer, May Allah have Mercy upon him, with the intention that Allah would relieve
him of his torture in the grave, not with the intention of Allah lightening his torture 12 This
judgment does not pertain to the one who says, I am the lord of the land (landlord), for
example. It refers to the one who says, I am the lord of carpenters, for example. This is
blasphemy because Allah is their Lord. 13 Srat l ^Imrn, yah 32.
35. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 35 without him getting complete relief. If he says
that with that intention then it is possible that he does not blaspheme. Whoever uses the
word create in reference to the people in a context in which it means to bring into
existence from non- existence blasphemes, like for someone to say, Create for me such
and such like Allah Created you. Whoever insults ^Azrail14 , peace be upon him,
blasphemes, as mentioned by Ibn Farhun in the book Tabsirah Al-Hukkam, or cursing any

angel, peace be upon them. Likewise [blasphemes] whoever says, I hate Allah. Whoever
says Allah does not tolerate so-and-so, blasphemes, if his understanding is that Allah is
attributed with inability or that Allah is annoyed by him. However, if he understands from
this that Allah grants that one a low status he does not blaspheme. Whoever says, Damn
the sky of your Lord, blasphemes because he belittled Allah the Exalted by that.
Likewise, whoever calls the religious places of the blasphemers Houses of Allah
blasphemes. As for the Saying of Allah the Exalted15 : 14 The Angel of Death 15 Srat
Al-Hajj, verse 40.
36. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 36
[ which means] Had it not been for Allah protecting the people by others, then
Sawami^, Biya^, Salawat, and Masjids would have been demolished, what is meant by
what is in this verse is the places of the followers of Moses and Jesus when they were
Muslims, because those places are like the masjids of the Nation of Muhammad . Each
one of those different types was built for the Oneness of Allah and His glorification, not for
worshipping other than Allah. Allah has named the Aqsa Mosque a masjid, and it is not
among the buildings of Muhammads Nation. So let a person fear Allah and let him
beware of naming what was built for shirk houses of Allah, and whoever does not fear
Allah says whatever he wants. Likewise whoever tells a lie, while knowing that it is a lie,
and says, Allah is a witness to what I say, intending, Allah Knows the issue as I said,
attributes ignorance to Allah, because Allah Knows he is a liar. Likewise it is not
permissible to say, Everyone is on his [own] religion, Allah empowers him, with the
intention of making supplication for everyone who is on [his own] religion. Likewise
blasphemes whoever generalizes his speech and says The dog is better than the
children of Adam, or the one who
37. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 37 says Arabs are scabies.16 If he qualifies
his speech or the context of the situation qualifies his talk, such as saying Today, the
Arabs are corrupt, then saying The Arabs are scabies, in this case he does not
blaspheme. Whoever calls the Devil, Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim, blasphemes, but not if
he merely mentioned the basmalah with the intention of seeking refuge with Allah from
the evil of the Devil. There are some poets and writers who write blasphemous words, like
one who wrote, Allah fled. This is among the bad manners towards Allah that drop one
into blasphemy. Qadi ^Iyad [Al- Malikiyy] said: There is no difference among the Muslims
that the one who insults Allah is a blasphemer. Whoever deems these sayings and
expressions good blasphemes, and how widespread they are in many authored works.
The bad manners that people show towards the Messenger by making fun of any of his
situations, or making fun of any of his deeds, are blasphemy. Belittling what has some
Quran written in it, the Prophets, peace be upon them, the signs of Islam, or belittling a
law revealed by Allah is definite blasphemy. Likewise, deeming blasphemy good 16 This
statement about the Arabs is blasphemy because some of the Prophets were Arabs.
Likewise if someone says all men are dogs, he blasphemes because the Prophets are
men.
38. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 38 from others is blasphemy because accepting
blasphemy is blasphemy. The one who conveys another persons blasphemy does not
blaspheme, if he did that without deeming it good, by saying so- and-so said such-andsuch. If someone delays the words he said, to the end of the statement, it is a condition
that he had the intention to say it before he said the statement. What is Exempted from
the Blasphemous Expressions The slip of the tongue is exempted from the blasphemous

expressions. That is, to say anything of that type without will; rather, it ran on ones tongue
and he did not intend to say it at all. The case of the absence of mind: The lack of a
conscious mind [exempts one from being charged with blasphemy]17 . The case of
compulsion: The one who utters blasphemy with his tongue under the threat of death or
the like, while his heart is tranquil with faith, does not blaspheme. Allah the Exalted
Said18 : 17 The one who says a blasphemous statement out of anger is not covered
under this rule, thus they are not exempted from the charge of blasphemy. 18 Srat anNahl, yah 106.
39. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 39
[ which means] except for the one who was compelled
while his heart was firm with belief. However, whoever blasphemes in Allah after belief,
and his heart was delighted with blasphemy, he deserves the Punishment of Allah. The
case of conveying anothers blasphemy: The one who conveys the blasphemy of another
without accepting it does not blaspheme. Our reference for excluding the case of
conveying anothers blasphemy is the Saying of Allah the Exalted19 :
[ which means] The Jews said Ezra is the son
of Allah and the Christians said the Masih (Jesus) is the son of Allah. [Also20 :]
[ which means] The Jews said Allah is stingy. Furthermore, the citation that
protects the narrator from blasphemy would either be at the beginning of the statement
that 19 Srat at-Tawbah, yah 30. 20 Srat Al-Midah, yah 64.
40. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 40 he cites or after his mentioning that
blasphemous word, while intending beforehand to say the citation. So if he said, The
Masih (Jesus) is the son of Allah is the saying of the Christians, or, the Christians said
that, it is a citation that prevents blasphemy from the citer. The case of a person who has
a misunderstanding of the Religious Law while trying to arrive at the truth: The one with a
misunderstanding does not blaspheme unless his misunderstanding was in reference to
the definite matters in this he is not excused. Like the misconception of those who said
that the world is beginningless, such as Ibn Taymiyah. An example of those who do not
blaspheme is those who misconceived and withheld the Zakah during the era of Abu
Bakr, claiming that Zakah was obligatory only during the lifetime of the Messenger. They
said that this is because his supplication for them due to the paid Zakah would be mercy
and tranquility for them, and that was cut off by his death. The Companions did not
charge them with blasphemy for that because those people understood from the Saying of
Allah the Exalted21 : 21 Srat at-Tawbah,
yah 103.
41. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 41 [which means] Take a charity from their
money that purifies them, and make supplication for them; surely your supplication is a
mercy for them. The meaning of this verse [according to their understanding] is O
Muhammad, take their Zakah from them so that when they pay it, it would be mercy for
them. Then they said that his supplication would not happen after his death, so it is not
obligatory on them to pay it because he died and he was the one ordered to take it from
them. They did not understand that the ruling was general during his life and after his
death. The only reason Abu Bakr fought them like he fought the apostates who followed
Musaylimah Al-Kadhdhab in his claim of prophethood was because he was unable to take
the Zakah from them except by fighting them. They were a mobilized force, so he was
forced to fight them. Likewise those who interpreted the Saying of Allah the Exalted22 :
[ which means] Are you going to stop?! to be giving a choice rather than as a

prohibition of drinking wine, so they drank it. ^Umar [Ibnu-l-Khattab] did not judge them as
blasphemers, rather he said, Whip them eighty times each, and if they return [to 22 Srat
Al-Midah, yah 91.
42. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 42 deeming] it [lawful] then execute them. This
is narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah. They only charged with blasphemy those who apostatized
from Islam by believing in Musaylimah Al-Kadhdhab, the one who claimed prophethood.
So fighting those who misinterpreted and withheld the Zakah in this way was for taking the
obligatory right on their money. This case is like fighting the rebels; they are not fought for
blasphemy, rather they are fought to bring them back to the obedience of the Caliph. This
is like those whom our master ^Aliyy fought in the three conflicts: the conflict of Al-Jamal,
the conflict of Siffin with Mu^awiyah, and the conflict of An- Nahrawan with the Khawarij,
although among the Khawarij there is a group that are actually blasphemers, and they
have their own judgment. Hafidh Abu Zur^ah Al-^Iraqiyy said in his book, An-Nukat: Our
Shaykh Al-Bulqiniyy said, [that] it is necessary to say without an acceptable excuse (that
saves them from blasphemy) in order to exclude the rebels and the Khawarij who
legitimized the People of Justices blood and money, while believing in the prohibition of
their own blood being lawful for the People of Justice, as well as those who denied the
obligation of the Zakah on them after the Messenger of Allah are excused. This is
43. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 43 the judgment because the Companions (may
Allah Accept their deeds) did not charge them with blasphemy. This is a reference from
the documents of the School concerning the case of misinterpreting the text. Among the
documents of the School about the case of misunderstanding the religious text and the
case of citing another persons blasphemy is the saying of Shamsu-d-Din Ar-Ramliyy in
his explanation of Minhaj at-Talibin, in the beginning of the Book of Apostasy, in his
explanation of the saying of an-Nawawiyy: Apostasy is cutting off Islam with an intention
or saying of blasphemy, So there is no affect from the slip of the tongue, compulsion,
misunderstanding, and citing another persons blasphemy. And the saying of the
commentator, that is, the author of the Commentary of the Explanation [of Minhaj atTalibin], Nuru-d-Din ^Aliyy Ash-Shabramallisiyy (1087 A.H.), concerning Ar-Ramliyys
statement, and misunderstanding: That is, not absolutely, as is clear from what will be
presented about the likes the blasphemy of those who say that the world is eternal,
despite that it is based on deduction and inference. The other commentator on the
explanation of Ar-Ramliyy, Ahmad Ibn ^Abdir-Razzaq who is famous as Al-Maghribiyy ArRashidiyy (1096 A.H.): When he said, misunderstanding, that is in reference to what
does not have definitive evidence [against his
44. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 44 misunderstanding], as proven by the
blasphemy of the likes of those who say the world is eternal, even though it was by
inference. From here, it is known that not every person who has a misunderstanding is
saved from blasphemy by his misunderstanding. So let the student of knowledge always
remember the aforementioned saying of Ar-Rashidiyy when he said, in reference to what
does not have definitive evidence. This means one should always recall this statement in
his heart, because it is important. Misunderstanding in the face of definitive evidence
does not prevent the charge of blasphemy against the one who misunderstood. What we
said about the Khawarij, excluding some of them from being among those who were
charged with blasphemy, is because of the confirmation of what dictates charging some of
them with blasphemy, as supported by the saying of some Companions who narrated the
hadiths about the Khawarij. As for what was narrated from our master ^Aliyy, that he said,

Our brothers have rebelled against us, there is no evidence in it to judge all of them with
Islam because its chain of narration was not confirmed from ^Aliyy, and the Hafidh and
Mujtahid Ibn Jarir at-Tabariyy and others were certain about the blasphemy of all of them.
This should be taken to be in reference to the different
45. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 45 cases of the Khawarij; that some of them
reached the level of blasphemy and others did not. This case has been expressed by
some as ijtihad and some have expressed it as tawil. Among those who used the term
tawil is the Hafidh, Faqih, and Shafi^iyy, Siraju-d-Din Al-Bulqiniyy, the one the author of
Al-Qamus referred to as The Savant of the World. Some of the explainers of Minhaj atTalibin have expressed it as ijtihad, and both expressions must be properly restricted.
From here it is known that not everyone who misunderstands is protected from blasphemy
by his misunderstanding. So let no one think that is absolute, because generalizing in that
is a disbanding of and exiting from the Religion. Do not you see that many of those who
are attributed to Islam who busied themselves with philosophy went out of the Religion for
their belief that the world is eternal, out of their ijtihad? Despite that, the Muslims have
agreed on their blasphemy, as mentioned by the Muhaddith and Faqih Badru-d-Din AzZarkashiyy in the explanation of Jam^u-l-Jawami^. He said after mentioning the two
groups [of the philosophers]; those who claimed that the world in its entirety is eternal,
and those who claimed that the world is eternal by its kind only and not its elements, The
Muslims have agreed on their misguidance and their blasphemy.
46. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 46 Likewise the Murjiah, those who said sins
are not harmful while having belief, just like good deeds are not beneficial while having
blasphemy; they only said that out of ijtihad and tawil of some texts outside of their
contexts, and they were not excused. Moreover, groups other than them became
misguided and they are attributed to Islam; their deviance was through ijtihad and
tawil. Rule: The expression that has two meanings, one of which is a type of blasphemy
and the other is not blasphemy, and the meaning that was blasphemy was the apparent
meaning, however, it was not explicit, the one who said it is not charged with blasphemy
until it is known which of the two meanings he intended. So if he said, I intended the
blasphemous meaning, he is judged with blasphemy, and the rules of apostasy are
applied to him, or else he is not charged with blasphemy. Likewise, if the expression has
many meanings, and all of its meanings were blasphemy except one, he is not charged
with blasphemy until the intent of the blasphemous meaning is known from him. This is
what was mentioned by some Hanafiyy scholars in their books. As for what some people
say, that if the statement has ninety-nine opinions confirming a charge of blasphemy and
one opinion not confirming a charge of blasphemy, then we take by leaving out the charge
of blasphemy, it is meaningless. It is not valid to attribute that to Malik or to Abu Hanifah
as Sayyid Sabiq attributed the likes
47. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 47 of to Imam Malik. This is widespread on the
tongues of some contemporaries, so let them fear Allah. The scholars said that the
explicit blasphemy is that statement which only has one meaning; it necessitates the
charge of blasphemy. Therefore, the one who says it is charged with blasphemy, like to
say, I am Allah. Even if this [type of] expression came from a Waliyy while his mind was
absent, he will be punished, despite that he was not accountable at that time; that was
said by ^Izzud-Din Ibn ^Abdis-Salam. This is because punishment affects the one whose
mind is absent, just like it affects the one with a clear mind and just like it affects the
animals. For surely had the beast been defiant and then was hit, it stops its defiance even

though it does not have a mind. Likewise the Waliyy; if he utters blasphemy while his mind
is absent, then was hit or shouted at, he would refrain because of the natural affect of
being reprimanded. Keep in mind that blasphemy does not come from a Waliyy while his
mind is present. It would only occur if his tongue slips or he loses his mind, because the
Waliyy is protected from blasphemy. This is different from the major or minor sin, because
it is possible for a Waliyy to commit it. However, he will not insist on that sin, rather, he
would repent immediately. It could be that a Waliyy commits a major sin shortly before his
death; however, he will not die unless he repents, like Talhah Ibn ^Ubaydillah and AzZubayr Ibn ^Awwam, may Allah accept their deeds. Both of them went
48. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 48 against the Prince of the Believers, ^Aliyy,
may Allah Accept his deeds, by standing with those who fought against him in Basrah. So
^Aliyy reminded both of them about a hadith. As for Az-Zubayr, he said to him, Did the
Messenger of Allah not say to you: [ which means] Surely you will
certainly fight ^Aliyy while you are unjust to him? So he said, I forgot. Then he left the
battlefield without fighting, and a man from the army of ^Aliyy followed him and killed him.
So he repented by ^Aliyys reminder and he did not die without repentance. As for Talhah,
he said to him, Did the Messenger of Allah not say: [ which means]
Whomever I was his supporter, then ^Aliyy is his supporter? So he left, abandoning the
battle, then Marwan Ibnu-l-Hakam hit him and killed him. He also repented and regretted
upon ^Aliyy mentioning this hadith to him. Each one of them did not die without
repentance. Both of these hadiths are authentic; in fact, the second is mutawatir. Imam
Abul-Hasan Al-Ash^ariyy mentioned that Talhah and Az- Zubayr are forgiven by virtue of
the good news that was given to
49. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 49 them by the Messenger of Allah with eight
others in one session. This is a confirmation from Imam Abul-Hasan Al- Ash^ariyy that
they commited a sin. He said the same about ^Aishah because she also received the
good news of going to Paradise. She regretted severely that she stood with those who
fought ^Aliyy, to the extent that whenever she would remember her travel to Basrah and
her standing with those who fought ^Aliyy she would cry strongly; her scarf would become
wet from her tears. This is also mutawatir. And he said about other than those two [Talhah
and Az-Zubayr] among the people of the incident of Al-Jamal and the people of Siffin
those who fought ^Aliyy with Mu^awiyahTheir forgiveness and pardon is possible, as
conveyed by Imam Abu Bakr Ibn Furak from Abul- Hasan Al-Ash^ariyy in his book
Mujarrad Maqalat Al-Ash^ariyy. Ibn Furak is the student of the student of Abul-Hasan AlAsh^ariyy, and that student is Abul-Hasan Al-Bahiliyy, may Allah accept their deeds. What
some ignorant people believe, that a Waliyy does not fall into a sin, is abominable
ignorance. For those three, Talhah, Az- Zubayr and ^Aishah are among the greatest
Awliya. Imam Al-Haramayn Al-Juwayniyy said, The scholars of the Fundamentals of the
Religion agreed that whoever says a word of apostasy (i.e., blasphemy) and claims that
he intended some far- fetched meaning is charged as a blasphemer inwardly and
50. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 50 outwardly, and he agreed with them. This
means that the far- fetched explanation does not benefit him, like the one who says,
Damn the Messenger of Allah, then he says, What I meant by the Messenger of Allah is
the lightning. Numerous scholars, like the Hanafiyy faqih, Badru-r-Rashid, and he was
close to the eighth Hijriyy century, listed many [blasphemous] things. So it is a must that
one would be aware of that, for surely the one who does not know evil will fall in to it, so
let him beware. It is confirmed from one of the Companions that he took hold of his

tongue and addressed it by saying, O tongue, say good and reap the goodness. Be silent
from evil and be safe before you regret. Surely I heard the Messenger of Allah
saying23 :[ which means] Most of the sins of the son of Adam are from
his tongue. Among those sins are blasphemy and major sins. In another hadith of the
Messenger 23
: Narrated by AbulQsim Sulaymn Ibn Amad at-Tabarniyy with a authentic chain from the route of
^Abdullh Ibn Mas^d.
51. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 51 [which means] Surely the slave would
certainly speak with the word. He does not distinguish it [i.e., he does not contemplate on
its meaning], and because of it he would fall into Hell a distance greater than what is
between the east and the west. That is narrated by Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim from the
route of Abu Hurayrah.
52. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 52 Important Benefit The judgment of the one
who commits any one of these types of blasphemy is that he loses his good deeds
entirely, so not one particle of good deeds that he did previously will be counted for him,
whether charity, Hajj, fasting, praying, etc. The only good deeds that will be counted for
him are the new good deeds that he did after renewing his belief. The Exalted Said24 :
[ which means] Whoever blasphemes after belief has lost his deeds.
If one says, I seek the forgiveness of Allah, before renewing his belief by saying, I testify
that no one is God except Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
while he is on this state [of blasphemy], for him to say I seek the forgiveness of Allah will
not increase him in anything but sin and blasphemy. This is because he is contradicting
the Saying of Allah the Exalted25 : 24 Srat Al-Midah, yah 5. 25 Srat Muammad,
yah 34.
53. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 53

[which means] Surely those who blaspheme and those who blocked others from
embracing Islam, then they died while they are blasphemers, Allah will not Forgive them.
And this is also because of the Saying of Allah the Exalted26 :
[ which means] Surely, those
who blasphemed and did injustice, Allah will not Forgive them nor guide them to a path
except the path of Hell, to dwell in it forever. Ibn Hibban narrated from ^Imran Ibn Husayn
that a man came to the Messenger of Allah and said, O Muhammad, ^Abdul-Muttalib is
better to his people than you. He used to feed them liver and camel hump, and you kill
them. So the Messenger of Allah said whatever Allah Willed.27 Then when the man
wanted to leave he said, What should I say? The Prophet said:
26 Srat an-Nis, yah 168-169. 27 Meaning he responded to him.
54. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 54 [which means] Say, O Allah, save me from
the evil of myself and make me firm on that which is the best guidance for me. Then the
man left and he did not embrace Islam. Then he said to the Messenger of Allah [at a later
date], I came to you and said to you Teach me. So you said, Say, O Allah, save me
from the evil of myself and make me firm on that which is the best guidance for me. So
what should I say now that I have embraced Islam? The Prophet said:
[ which means] Say, O
Allah, save me from the evil of myself and keep me firm on that which is the best
guidance for me. O Allah, Forgive me for what I have done secretly and what I have done
openly, what I have done purposely and what I have done mistakenly, and what I have
done ignorantly. Among the judgments of apostasy is that the apostate corrupts his

fasting, his tayammum, and his marriage before consummation. He likewise corrupts it
after consummation if he does not return to Islam within the ^iddah. His marriage contract
would not be valid with a Muslim or a blasphemer, even if she were an apostate like
him.28 28 The judgments related to the validity of the marriage contract are the same
whether the man or the woman apostatizes.
55. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 55 A Return to the Classification of Blasphemy
for the Additional Benefit Know that blasphemy is of three categories. It will be either
likening, contradicting, or denying. The first of them is likening Allah to the creation.
[Examples are] for one to attribute to Allah a beginning for His Existence or going out of
existence, or a body, color, shape, or quantity [i.e., a size or a volume]. As for what came
in the hadith:[ which translates literally as] Surely Allah is Beautiful, it does not
mean a beautiful appearance, rather it means that He has the Attributes of Perfection, or
it means He is Generous. The second of those is contradicting the Religious Law. That is
contradicting what came in the Honorable Quran or what the Messenger came with, i.e.,
what was confirmed from the Messenger, while what was contradicted was commonly
known and immediately recognized by the Muslims to be of the Religion. For example, for
someone to believe that Paradise or Hell will end, or to believe that Paradises pleasure is
not physical, or that the torture of Hell is allegorical, or to deny the Resurrection of the
bodies and souls together, or denying the obligation of prayer,
56. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 56 fasting, or Zakah, believing that divorce is
[absolutely] haram, believing that wine is lawful, and other matters which have been
confirmed by definite religious evidence and are spread among the Muslims and became
famous. This is different, for example, from the one who believes the prayer is obligatory
upon him, however, he does not pray. He would be a sinner, not a blasphemer like the one
who believes the prayer is not obligatory upon him. The third type is denial, meaning
negating the Existence of Allah, and that is the worst of blasphemy29 . The judgment of
the one who likens Allah to His creation is definite blasphemy. The way to avoid likening
Allah to the creation is following this decisive rule: Whatever you imagine in your mind,
Allah is different from that. This rule is agreed upon among the People of Truth and it is
taken from the Saying of Allah: [ which means] Nothing resembles Him in any
way whatsoever. Also, it is by observing what was narrated from [Abu Bakr] As- Siddiq,
and that is a line of poetry in a meter called Al-Basit: 29 Also in this category is the belief
of hulul (believing that Allah dwells in creations) and ittihad (believing that Allah and the
world are united as one). All of these are considered the worst type of blasphemy.
57. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 57 [ which
means] The inability of realizing His Reality is in itself a correct realization, and searching
for the Reality of His Self is blasphemy and shirk. It is also by the saying of some: No
one knows the Reality of Allah except Allah the Exalted. Our knowledge about Allah is
not an encompassing knowledge; rather, it is knowing what is necessary to ascribe to
Allah, such as the necessity of His Existence with no beginning, and clearing Him from
what is impossible to ascribe to Him, such as the impossibility of a partner for Him, and
[knowing] what is permissible to say about Him, such as the Creating of something or not
Creating it. Imam Ar-Rifa^iyy30 said: The extent that one can know about Allah is the
certitude in His Existence, the Exalted, without a how and without a place. 30 AHmad ibn
Abil-Hasan 3aliyy Ar-Rifaa3iyy.
58. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 58 Benefit Al-Ghazaliyy31 said in Ihya ^Ulumid-Din: Surely He (Allah) is Eternal, His Existence does not have a beginning and His

Existence does not have an end, and surely He is not an entity that is contained. Rather,
He is Exalted and Glorified from whatever is the attribute of the occurrences. Surely He is
not a body that is composed of particles, and had it been valid to believe that the Maker of
the world is a body, it would have been valid to believe in the godhood of the sun and the
moon or any other thing among the different types of bodies. So He does not resemble
anything, and nothing resembles Him, rather He is the Living, the Qayyum32 who does
not resemble anything. How would the creation resemble its Creator, and the limited thing
resemble the One who Limited it, and the image resemble the One who Gave it the
image? This Kalam is not the Kalam that the scholars dispraised. The Salaf have only
dispraised the Kalam of the innovators in the creed, like those who liken Allah to the
creation, the Mu^tazilah, the Khawarij, and the other deviant factions, those factions that
31 Ab mid Muammad Ibn Muammad Ibn Muammad Ibn Amad a-siyy AshShfi^iyy Al-Ghazliyy (450 505 AH). 32 The One who does not need anything, or the
One Whose Existence does not end, or the One with confirmed Existence.
59. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 59 have deviated from what the Messenger and
his Companions were upon, those who have divided into 72 factions, just as the
Messenger informed about in the authentic, confirmed hadith. Ibn Hibban narrated with
his chain of narration back to Abu Hurayrah that he said that the Messenger of Allah said:

[ which means] The Jews have divided into 71 factions, the Christians
have divided into 72 factions, and my Nation will divide into 73 factions. All of them will be
in Hell except one, and that is the Jama^ah, i.e., the vast majority. As for the knowledge
of Kalam that Ahlus-Sunnah busied themselves with, it was practiced before Al-Ash^ariyy
and Al- Maturidiyy by the likes of Abu Hanifah, for he has five treatises on the subject, and
Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy mastered it to the extent that he said, We mastered that before this,
i.e., we mastered the science of Kalam before Fiqh.
60. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 60 Protection from Hell Allah the Exalted said:
[ which
means] O you who believed, protect yourselves and your families from a fire; its fuel is
people and stones. In it are Angels who are merciless and powerful, they do not disobey
Allah in what He Ordered them, and they do what they are ordered to do. It came in the
interpretation of this verse that Allah Orders the believers to protect themselves and their
families from Hell, whose fuel is people and stones, by learning the religious matters and
teaching their families that, meaning knowing what Allah Made obligatory to do and to
avoid (i.e., the obligations and the prohibitions). This is so that one would not fall into
likening Allah to the creation, blasphemy and misguidance; for the worship of the one who
likens Allah to anything would not be valid, because he worshipped something he
imagined in his imagination, and by his delusion he was deluded. Abu Hamid AlGhazaliyy said, The worship is not valid except after knowing the Worshipped. The First
Creation
61. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 61 The Messenger of Allah said, upon being
asked about the beginning of creation:
[ which means] Allah Existed and nothing else existed. His ^Arsh was over
the water, He ordered for everything to be written in the Guarded Tablet, then He created
the Heavens and the Earth. This is narrated by Al-Bukhariyy. The Messenger responded
to this question by saying that Allah has no beginning for His Existence, meaning He is
Eternal and there is no eternal one other than Him. In other words, in Eternity, nothing

existed except Allah, and Allah Created everything, meaning He is the One who Brought it
from non-existence to existence. The meaning of He Created everything is that He
Brought all existing things from non-existence into existence. Allah the Exalted is Alive
and does not die, because He has no end for His Existence, meaning He is Everlasting.
Therefore, non-existence does not occur to Him, because had He existed after nonexistence, Eternity would be impossible for Him. The judgment of the one who says, Allah
created the creation, but who created Allah? is a definite charge of blasphemy, because
he has attributed to Allah non-existence before existence, and this is not said except
about events, meaning the
62. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 62 creations. Hence Allah the Exalted has the
Necessary Existence, i.e., His non-existence is inconceivable to the mind; His Existence
is not like our eventual existence, because our existence is by His Creating, and
everything other than Allah has a possible existence. This means that it is mentally
possible that it could exist after non- existence, and that it could go out of existence after
existence. This is the judgment of the mind [regarding the possible matter] in and of itself.
Know that there are three categories of existence. The first is Eternal and Everlasting, and
that pertains to Allah only, meaning there is no beginning and no end for His Existence.
The judgment of the one who says that there is something eternal other than Allah is
definitely a charge of blasphemy. For this reason the philosophers blasphemed by their
foolish creed that the world is eternal and beginningless, because Eternity is only valid for
Allah the Exalted. The second is everlasting and not eternal, that is, it has a beginning
and it has no end. This is in reference to Paradise and Hell; both of them are created,
meaning they both have a beginning, however, they have no end, meaning they are
everlasting. So destruction does not happen to them, nor non- existence, because Allah
Willed for their everlastingness. In and of themselves, it is mentally possible that they
would go out of existence.
63. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 63 The third is neither eternal nor everlasting,
meaning it has a beginning and it has an end, and that is everything in this present life
from the seven Skies to the Earth. Therefore, there is no escape from their ceasing to
exist, their annihilation, and the annihilation of what is in them, whether humans, jinn or
angels. Know that it is the habit of the scholars to mention that the mental judgment is
divided into three categories: the necessary, the possible and the impossible. The
necessary is what is not conceived to be nonexistent, and that is in reference to Allah and
His Attributes. The impossible is that which its existence is not conceived by the mind,
and they sometimes express it as the prevented existence. The possible is that which its
existence and nonexistence are conceived by the mind, and this why they ascribe to Allah
the Necessary Existence. The Eternality of Allah is not Related to Time Allah the Exalted
Existed Eternally without time or place and before darkness and light. Thus He is not of
the tangible type within the world such as earth, stone, the stars, plants, and the human.
Furthermore, He is not of the intangible type within the world, such as light, souls, air, jinn,
and angels, because of His dissimilarity to the events, i.e., His Difference from all the
creation.
64. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 64 If it were said, Isnt one of His Names AlLatif? The answer is that the meaning of Al-Latif, which is a Name of Allah, is the One
Who is Merciful to His slaves, or the One Who is not reached by delusions, so they do not
realize Him. Therefore, there is no resemblance for Him, the Exalted; there is no likeness
for Him; and there is none similar to Him in His Self, or in His Attributes, or in His Doing.

Had He been similar to the creation in one way or the other, such as by size, motion,
stillness, and the like, then He would not have been the Creator of those things.
Therefore, Allah the Exalted is Glorified from the attributes of the events, and likewise the
Attributes of Allah are Eternal; that is, they are without beginning. Because of the
importance of this subject, Imam Abu Hanifah said, Whoever said that the Attributes of
Allah are events, or he doubts, or he is neutral about that, then he is a blasphemer. He
mentioned that in the book Al-Wasiyyah. Additionally, At-Tahawiyy said, And whoever
attributes to Allah attributes of the human has blasphemed.
65. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 65 Clearing Allah of a Place, and the Mental
Validity of His Existence Without a Place Allah the Exalted is Free of needing the creation,
meaning Eternally and Everlastingly He does not need anything other than Him. He does
not need a place in which He would be contained, or something in which He would dwell,
or a direction, because He is not like any of the different types of things. He is not a
tangible body or an intangible body. The tangible body and intangible body are contained
in direction and place. Allah the Exalted Said:
[which means] He is the One who created the night, the day, the sun, and the moon; and
each of them is in an orbit, moving. Allah has Confirmed for each one of those four
containment in its space, which is its pathway. The Saying of Allah, [ which
means] Nothing is like Him in any way, is enough to clear Allah from place, containment,
and direction, because had
66. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 66 He had a place then He would have
similarities and dimensions; length, width, and depth, and whoever is like that is an event
in need of the one who specified Him with this length, width, and depth. This is the
evidence from the Quran. As for the evidence from the hadith, it is what was narrated with
an authentic chain of narration by Al-Bukhariyy, Ibnul-Jarud, and Al-Bayhaqiyy that the
Messenger of Allah said, [ which means] Allah Existed and nothing else
existed. Its meaning is that Allah never ceased to Exist Eternally. There was none other
than Him with Him; no water, air, Earth, Sky, Kursiyy, ^Arsh, human, jinn, angel, time,
place, or direction. So He, the Exalted, Existed before the place without a place, and He is
the One who Created the place, so He is not in need of it. This is among what is derived
from this aforementioned hadith. Al-Bayhaqiyy said in his book Al-Asma was-Sifat: Some
among our colleagues have used as evidence for negating a place for Him the saying of
the Prophet , [which means] O Allah, You are Adh-Dhahir and there is nothing above
You, and You are Al-Batin and there is nothing below You. If there is nothing above Him
and nothing below Him He is not in a place. This hadith also has the refutation for those
who ascribe a direction to Allah. ^Aliyy said: Allah Existed and there
67. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 67 was no place, and He Is now as He Existed.
This was narrated by Abu Mansur Al-Baghdadiyy. The foundation of the Creed is not
based on delusion; rather, it is based on what is dictated by the sound mind, which is a
witness for [the validity of the truthfulness of] the Religious Law. The sound mind judges
that what is limited is in need of whoever limited it with that limit, so it would not be God.
Just as Allahs Existence without a place is valid before He Created places and directions,
His Existence after Creating the places is valid without a place or a direction. This would
not be a negation of Allahs Existence, as claimed by the Likeners and the Wahhabiyys,
the callers to ascribing a body to Allah in this time. The judgment of whoever says that
Allah the Exalted is everywhere, or in all places, is a charge of blasphemy if one
understands from this expression that Allah by His Self is spread or dwelling in all places.

However, if one understood from this expression that Allah has control over everything
and that He is knowledgeable about everything, then he does not blaspheme; this is the
intent of many who are fond of these two expressions. In any case, it is obligatory to forbid
them from saying it, because these statements are not originally from the Salaf; rather,
they originally came from the Mu^tazilah, then the ignorant lay people started to use them.
68. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 68 We raise our hands in du^a to the sky
because it is the place from which the mercy and blessings descend; it is not because the
Self of Allah exists in the sky. Similarly, we direct ourselves to the honorable Ka^bah in the
prayer because Allah Ordered us with that; it is not because the Ka^bah has some merit
or specification of Allah living in it. The one who believes that Allah is contained
blasphemes, or if he believes that Allah is something like the air or the light that fills a
place, room or masjid. Those who believe that Allah is contained in the direction of above
say that we raise our hands to the sky while making du^a because He is in the direction
of above. They are refuted by what is confirmed from the Messenger of Allah, that he
sought rain and he put his palms toward the ground and the back of his hands up to the
sky [when he made du^a], and that the Prophet forbade the one who is praying from
lifting his head to the sky. Had Allah been contained in the direction of above as the
Likeners think, then he would not have prohibited us from lifting our vision up to the sky
while praying. Further proof is that the Prophet used to lift his pointer finger while
praying when he said illallah in the Tashahhud, and he would bend it slightly. Had the
issue been as the Likeners said, he would not have bent his finger; rather, he would have
lifted it to the sky. All of this is confirmed in authentic hadiths according to the scholars of
hadith; what then would the Likeners and the Wahhabiyys do?
69. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 69 We call the masjids, the Houses of Allah,
not because Allah lives there, rather because they are places that are prepared and
dedicated for the remembrance of Allah and His worship. It is said about the ^Arsh that it
is an entity that Allah has prepared for the Angels, around which they make tawaf just as
the believers on Earth make tawaf around the Ka^bah. Likewise blasphemes whoever
said Allah lives or resides in the hearts of His Awliya, if he understands from it the belief
of those who believe that Allah dwells in His slaves. It is not intended by the Ascension
[Mi^raj] up to the skies that the Messenger would reach a place in which Allah exists, and
whoever believes that blasphemes. The only intent of the Ascension is to honor the
Messenger by making him aware of the amazing upper world, glorifying his status, and
letting him see the Holy Self of Allah with his heart, not his eyes, without the Self of Allah
being in a place. Rather, the place is for the Messenger. What is meant by the Saying of
Allah: [ which means] Then he drew close and dangled, and he
was as close as two cubits or closer, is Jibril when the Messenger saw him in Makkah in
a place that is called Ajyad. He has six hundred wings, and his enormous size filled the
horizon. This is just as the
70. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 70 Prophet saw him a second time by
Sidratul-Muntaha33 , as Allah said in the Quran: [ which
means] He saw him a second time at Sidratul-Muntaha. There are two reasons why
what is in Sahih Muslim is not authentic, which is that a man came to the Messenger of
Allah and asked him about a slave woman of his; the man said, I said, O Messenger of
Allah, should I free her? He said Bring her to me, so he brought her to him. Then he said
to her, Aynallah? She said, Fis-sama. He said, Who am I? She said, You are the
Messenger of Allah. He said, Free her, for she is a believer. [The first is] because of

inconsistency [idtirab], since it was narrated with this expression and also with the
expression: Who is your Lord? She said, Allah, and with the expression Aynallah,
and she pointed to the sky, and with the expression, Do you testify that no one is God
except Allah? she said Yes, he said, Do you testify that I am the Messenger of Allah?
She said, Yes. The second issue is that the narration of Aynallah is against the known
Rules of the Religion, because among the basic Rules of the Religion is that a person is
not judged with Islam because he said, Allah is in the sky, for this saying is shared by
Jews, Christians 33 A huge tree rooted in the sixth Heaven that grows to the seventh.
71. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 71 and others. Rather, the known rule in the
Religion of Allah is what came in the mutawatir hadith:
[ which means] I was ordered to fight the people until they testified that no one is God
except Allah, and that I am the Messenger of Allah, and the expression of Imam Malik in
which he asked the girl, Do you testify that no one is God but Allah? is in compliance
with the known Rules of the Religion. If it were said, How would the narration of Muslim,
Aynallah? She said, Fis-sama, until the end of the hadith, be rejected, despite that
Muslim narrated this hadith in his book, and everything that is narrated by Muslim is
described with authenticity?, the answer is that there is a number of hadith in Muslim that
have been rejected by the scholars of hadith, and they mention them in their books. An
example is the hadith that the Messenger said to a man, My father and your father are in
hell.34 Also rejected is the hadith that every Muslim on Judgment Day will be given a
sacrifice among the Jews and the Christians. Likewise is the hadith of Anas, I prayed
behind the Messenger of 34 As-Siyutiyy rejected this hadith, because either the Prophets
parents were believers or they were not accountable. This hadith is against the known
rules; that the ones who died before the Prophet received the Message are not
accountable.
72. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 72 Allah, and Abu Bakr and ^Umar, and they
used to not mention Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. The first hadith was weakened by
Hafidh As-Siyutiyy, the second hadith was rejected by Al- Bukhariyy, and the third hadith
was weakened by Ash-Shafi^iyy and a number of Hafidhs. The apparent meaning of this
[narration of the] hadith [of the slave girl] is invalid because it is in conflict with the
aforementioned mutawatir hadith, and anything that opposes what is narrated by tawatur
is invalid if it does not accept a tawil35 . The scholars of hadith and Usul have agreed
upon that. However, some scholars have made a tawil for the hadith of the slave girl,
which is that they said the meaning of aynallah is a question about her glorification of
Allah, and when she said fis- sama, she meant He has a very high status. As for taking
it by its literal meaning, to say that Allah lives in the sky, this is invalid and rejected. It is
confirmed in the knowledge of hadith terminology that whatever goes against what is
narrated by tawatur is invalid if it does not accept a tawil, and certainly the apparent
meaning of [this narration of the] hadith of the slave girl is corrupt because the apparent
meaning of this hadith is if the blasphemer says Allah is in the sky, he is judged with
belief. The Likeners have taken the narration of Muslim by its apparent meaning and were
then misguided, and what they say does not 35 In this context, explaining a text by other
than its apparent meaning.
73. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 73 save them from misguidance. They say, We
interpret the statement, fis-sama, in the hadith as fawqal-^Arsh, [above the ^Arsh].
[This does not protect them from misguidance] because by that they have confirmed a
similar for Allah, which is the book in which Allah Ordered to be written:

[which means] Certainly My Mercy overcomes My Punishment. That book is above the
^Arsh, so they would be confirming similarity between Allah and that book, because they
confirm both Allah and that book dwelling above the ^Arsh. By that, they would have
contradicted the Saying of Allah: [ which means] Nothing is like Him in any
way. This hadith about the book is narrated by Ibn Hibban according to the expression:
[ which means] Raised above the ^Arsh. As for the narration of Al-Bukhariyy,
the expression is: [ which means] Put above the ^Arsh.
74. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 74 Some people have explained the term fawq
in this hadith, which means above, as below, and that is rejected by the narration of Ibn
Hibban, Raised above the ^Arsh. In this narration it would not be valid to interpret fawq
as taht. Furthermore, according to this creed of theirs, it would be necessary that Allah
would be parallel to the ^Arsh, either having its size or being bigger or smaller than it, and
everything that has a measure is an event and is in need of the one who gave it that
measure. There is no similarity between the ^Arsh and Allah, just as there is no similarity
between Him and any of His creation. Furthermore, Allah is not granted an honor by any
of His creation and He does not benefit from any of His creation. For the Likeners to say
that Allah sits on the ^Arsh is insulting Him, because sitting is the attribute of humans,
animals, jinn, and vermin. Every attribute of the creation, if attributed to Allah, is insulting
Him. The Hafidh, Faqih, and Linguist, Murtada Az-Zabidiyy said, Whoever makes Allah
limited by a measure has blasphemed. That is because he made Him someone with a
quantity and volume. Volume and quantity are among the things that necessitate
eventuality. 36 Mentally, did we know that the sun is a created event by other than its
having a volume? Had Allah had a volume, He would have been similar to the sun in
respects to having a volume. Had He been like that, He would not deserve Godhood, just
as the sun does not deserve Godhood. Had the sun 36 Being an event, i.e., something
with a beginning, a creation.
75. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 75 worshipper sought mental evidence from
those Likeners that Allah deserves Godhood and that the sun does not deserve Godhood,
those Likeners would have no evidence. The most that they would be able to say is that
Allah Said, [ which means] Allah is the Creator of everything. If they said that
to the sun worshipper, the sun worshipper would say to them, I do not believe in your
book. Give me mental evidence that the sun does not deserve worship. Here they would
be silenced. There is nothing alive above the ^Arsh. There is only a book above the ^Arsh.
Written in it is: [ which means] Surely My Mercy overcomes My Punishment.
It means that the signs of Mercy are more than the signs of torture. The Angels are
among the signs of Mercy, and they are more numerous than the drops of rain and the
leaves of the trees. Paradise is also among the signs of Mercy, and it is thousands of
times bigger than Hell. That book being above the ^Arsh is confirmed. Al-Bukhariyy and
an-Nasaiyy narrated that hadith. An-Nasaiyy narrated that in his
76. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 76 book As-Sunanul-Kubra, and others have
narrated this hadith. The expression of Ibn Hibbans narration is:
[ which means] When Allah
Created the creation He had a book written and Promised37 that He would Adhere to that
book, and that book is elevated above the ^Arsh. Written in it is, Certainly my Mercy
overcomes my Punishment. If someone tries to interpret fawq to mean below, it is said
to him, Explaining the texts by other than their apparent meanings is not permissible
except with confirmed textual evidence or definitive mental evidence. They do not have

either one. There is no evidence that one must adhere to giving this hadith a tawil. How
would it be necessary when some of the scholars said that the Guarded Tablet is above
the ^Arsh? There is no explicit text that documents that it is above the ^Arsh or below the
^Arsh. So it is an issue of possibility i.e.,it is possible that the Guarded Tablet is above the
^Arsh and it is possible that it is below the ^Arsh. According to the saying that it is above
the ^Arsh, that Likener would have made Allah similar to the Guarded Tablet, i.e.,
according to them Allah would be parallel to part of the ^Arsh, 37 The Promise of Allah is
not like the promise of the creation because It is fulfilled and It never changes.
77. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 77 and the Guarded Tablet would also be
parallel to part of the ^Arsh. This is resembling Allah to His creation, because being
parallel is of the attributes of the creation. Among what proves that that book is above the
^Arsh in reality, with a real aboveness that cannot be explained in a way which is different
than its apparent meaning, is the hadith narrated by an- Nasaiyy in his book As-SunanulKubra:
[which means] Certainly Allah had a book written before He Created the heavens and the
earth by 2,000 years. Allah certainly sent down from that book two verses by which He
has ended the chapter of Al-Baqarah. According to an expression narrated by Muslim,
[ which translates literally as] It is put with Him [^indahu]. This is explicit in
saying that the book is above the ^Arsh with a real aboveness that cannot be explained in
a way that is different from the apparent meaning.
78. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 78 The term ^inda [with] is for honor and is not
to confirm that Allah is contained above the ^Arsh, because the word ^inda is used for
other than a place. Allah, the Exalted said: [ *which
means] Allah made stones of sijjil mamdud rain upon them. Those stones are known to
[^inda] your Lord. The term ^inda here refers to that [issue] being by the Knowledge of
Allah, and it does not mean that Allah has a vicinity in which those stones are. So
whoever used the mere word ^inda to confirm a place for Allah and to confirm closeness
between Allah and His creation is of the most ignorant of the ignorant. Would a sane
person say that those stones that Allah descended upon those blasphemers came down
from the ^Arsh to them, and that those stones were dwelling in a place next to Allah above
the ^Arsh, according to their claim? Al-Bukhariyy narrated that the Prophet said:

[ which translates literally as] If one of
you were in his prayer, then surely he is addressing his Lord. So let him not spit in the
direction of his Qiblah or to his right, for certainly His Lord is
79. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 79 between him and his Qiblah.38 This hadith
has a stronger chain of narration than the hadith of the female slave. Al-Bukhariyy also
narrated from the route of Abu Musa Al- Ash^ariyy that the Messenger of Allah said:
[ which
translates literally as] Take it easy on yourselves, for certainly you are not calling on
someone who is deaf, nor are you calling upon someone who is absent. You are calling
on Someone Who Hears and He is Close. The One that you are calling is Closer to one of
you then the neck of an animal that you are riding. So it is said to the one who opposes,
If you took the hadith of the female slave by its apparent meaning, and these two hadiths
by their apparent meanings, then your claim that Allah is in the sky is invalidated. Then, if
you explain these two hadiths of Al-Bukhariyy by other than their apparent meanings, and
you do not explain 38 The real meaning of this hadith is that when the person is praying,
he is facing his Qiblah. This Qiblah is an honorable direction, and the person is also

addressing his Lord while he is praying, so let him not spit in front of him, because it is not
the befitting manner for the status of his prayer, for the status of addressing his Lord, and
for the status of this direction that he is facing. Also, let him not spit to his right side.
80. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 80 the hadith of the slave girl by other than its
apparent meaning, then this is being arbitrary; a saying without evidence. Then what Allah
said about the Jews in the Quran would be applicable to you:
[which means] Do you believe in some of the Book and disbelieve in some of it?
Likewise, what do you, O Likeners, say about the Saying of Allah: [ which
translates literally as] Wherever you turn yourself is the face of Allah. If you explain this
verse by other than its apparent meaning, why do you not explain the hadith of the female
slave by other than its apparent meaning? It came in the tafsir from Mujahid, the student
of Ibn ^Abbas, that this means the Qiblah of Allah. So he explained the term wajh [which
literally means face] of Allah as Qiblah of Allah; this means that this verse is revealed in
reference to the optional prayer while traveling on an animal. As for the hadith that was
narrated by At-Tirmidhiyy:
81. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 81 [which means] Those who are merciful, ArRahman is Merciful to them. Be merciful to whoever is on Earth and whoever is in the Sky
will be merciful to you. According to another narration, the hadith is: [ which
means] the People of the Sky will be merciful to you. This narration explains the first
narration. That is because the best thing by which the narrated hadith is explained is
another narrated hadith, just as said by Hafidh Al-^Iraqiyy in his millennial poem:
[ which means] The best thing by which you have explained a hadith is
another narrated hadith. Furthermore, what is meant by The People of the Sky is the
Angels. That was mentioned by Hafidh Al-^Iraqiyy in his dictation sessions after he
mentioned this hadith. His exact statement is By the Prophets saying, The People of
the Sky, it is proven that what is meant by the Saying of Allah in the verse:
[which means] Do you feel secure from who is in the sky? is the Angels. That is
because Allah is not referred to as The People of
82. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 82 the Sky. The word [ man; who] is used
for the singular and the plural. Therefore, there is no evidence in this verse for that. The
same is said about the verse that comes after that verse:
[which literally means] Or do you feel secure from who is in the sky from sending stones
upon you? So man [who] in this verse is also The People of the Sky and not the one
in the sky. Certainly Allah sends Angels to the blasphemers if He willed to punish them in
the present life, just like in the Hereafter; they are the ones appointed with inflicting the
punishment on the blasphemers, because they are the caretakers of Hell, and they pull a
section of Hell to the place of Judgment so that the blasphemers will be terrified by seeing
it. The expression of that narration narrated by Hafidh Al-^Iraqiyy in his dictation session
is: [ which means] Those who are merciful, ArRahim is Merciful to them. Be merciful to the people of the earth and the people of the sky
will be merciful to you.
83. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 83 Furthermore, had Allah been residing in the
sky like some people claimed, He would be crowding the Angels. This is impossible
because of the hadith which has been confirmed:
[which means] There is not a four-fingered space in the sky, and in a narration a
handspan, except that it has an angel in the standing position, or the bowing position, or
prostration. Likewise the hadith which is narrated by Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim from the

route of Abu Sa^id Al-Khudriyy that the Messenger of Allah said:

[ which means] Do you not deem me as trustworthy
while I am deemed trustworthy by who is in the sky? The news of who is in the sky comes
to me day and night. What is meant by this is also the Angels, and if Allah is meant by
the hadith, then it means the One Who Has a very high Status. As for the hadith of
Zaynab Bint Jahsh, the wife of the Prophet , that she used to say to the wives of the
Messenger, Your families gave you in marriage, and Allah gave me in marriage from
above seven Skies, it means that the Prophets marriage to her
84. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 84 was recorded in the Guarded Tablet. So this
is a marriage contract that is specific to Zaynab; it is not the ordinary marriage contract.
The normal marriage contract is for all of the people, and every marriage that takes place
until the end of the world is recorded on the Tablet, which is above the Seven Skies. As
for the hadith, which in it is: ...
[which means] By the One Who Controls my soul, there is no man who calls his wife to
his bed and she refuses except that the one who is in the sky would be angry with her,
until the end of the hadith. This is also taken to be in reference to the Angels. The proof
for that is the second authentic narration, which is even more famous than the previous
one: [ which means] The Angels will damn her until the dawn. This
hadith was narrated by Ibn Hibban and others. As for the hadith of Abu-d-Darda that the
Messenger of Allah said:
85. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 85 [which means] O our Lord, the One in the
sky, Your Name is Holy, it is not an authentic hadith; rather, it is weak, as judged by
Hafidh Ibnul-Jawziyy. Had it been authentic, then its case would be like what passed in
the hadith of the slave girl [i.e., it would mean the One with a high Status and not the one
in the sky]. As for the hadith of Jubayr ibn Mut^im, from the Prophet :
[ which means] Certainly, Allah is on His ^Arsh above His Skies and
His Skies are over His Earths like a dome, Al-Bukhariyy did not narrate this hadith in his
book of sahih, so there is no evidence in it. In its chain of narration is a weak narrator, and
what he narrates is not taken as evidence. That was mentioned by Ibnul- Jawziyy and
others. Likewise, Al-Bukhariyy narrated in his book, Khalq Af^al Al-^Ibad from the route
of Ibn ^Abbas that the Messenger of Allah said: [ which
means] When Allah Spoke to Musa, His Call was in the sky and Allah was in the sky.
This hadith is not confirmed, so it is not taken as evidence. As for the saying that is
attributed to Imam Malik:
86. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 86 [ which means]
Allah is in the sky and His Knowledge is everywhere and nothing is devoid of Him, it is
also not confirmed from Malik. It does not have a continuous chain of narration. Abu
Dawud did not narrate that from Imam Malik with a sahih chain of narration, instead, he
narrated it in his book Al-Masail, and the mere narration of something is not a
confirmation [of its validity].
87. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 87 The Thirteen Attributes of Allah It was the
norm of the later scholars who authored works in the Creed to say that the personal
obligation on every accountable person (meaning the pubescent, sane person) is to know
the Thirteen Attributes among the Attributes of Allah: Existence, Eternality, Dissimilarity to
the creation, Oneness, Independence of others, Everlastingness, Power, Will, Life,
Knowledge, Speech, Hearing, and Sight; and whatever negates these Attributes is
impossible to ascribe to Allah. Since these Attributes were mentioned frequently in the

religious texts, the scholars said that knowing them is obligatory as a personal obligation,
meaning on every individual accountable person. Some of them said it is obligatory to
know 20 Attributes, and so they added seven Attributes called Ma^nawiyyah Attributes.
They said, and His being Powerful, Willful, Alive, Knowledgeable, Speaking, Hearing,
and Sightful. The first method is the weightful method.39 Existence Know, may Allah
have Mercy upon you, that Allah the Exalted is Existing Eternally and Everlastingly, so His
Existence is not by the creating of a creator. 39 His being Powerful is known by the
confirmation of His Attribute of Power, and likewise is the rest.
88. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 88 Some people have considered the statement
Allah [is] Mawjud [Existent] to be objectionable because the pattern of the word
mawjud is the pattern dedicated for what receives the action [maf^ul]. The response is
that pattern maf^ul may be used in reference to what did not receive the action of
another, just as we say, Allah [is] Ma^bud [Worshipped]. Those who said that thought
about themselves that they have a share in the knowledge of the language, and they are
not as they thought they were. The great linguist and explainer of Al-Qamus, Az-Zabidiyy,
said in the explanation of Al-Ihya, The Creator, the Exalted is Mawjud, thus it is valid
that He would be seen. Al-Fayyumiyy, the linguist and author of Al-Misbah, said, Almawjud is different from the non-existent. Eternality Eternality is necessary for Allah,
meaning having no beginning. When referring to Allah [the term] Qidam does not mean a
long period of time that lapsed. The expressions Qadim and Azaliyy, if used in reference
to Allah, mean that Allah has no beginning for His Existence. Thus it is said that Allah is
Azaliyy and Allah is Qadim. If they were used in reference to the creation, then they would
have the meaning of an extended lapse of time. Allah the Exalted Said about the moon:
89. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 89 [ which means] until it
returns back to the stage that resembles the old [qadim] palm branch. The author of AlQamus, Al-Fayruzabadiyy, said, The Pyramids are two ancient [Azaliyy] buildings in
Egypt. The evidence of His Eternality, the Exalted, is that had He not been Eternal, it
would be necessary that He have a beginning. Then He would be in need of someone to
give Him a beginning, and had He been in need of someone to give Him a beginning, that
would lead to circular causation or to the claim of [a chain of] beginningless events, and
both are impossible. It is confirmed that it is impossible for Allah to have a beginning,
hence His Eternality is confirmed. Everlastingness Everlastingness is necessary for Allah,
meaning that non-existence does not follow His Existence, because once it was confirmed
mentally that Allah is Eternal, it was necessary that He would be Everlasting. This is
because had it been possible that His Existence would be followed by non-existence,
Eternity would not be applicable to Him. Therefore He is the One Who is Everlasting by
Himself, there is none Everlasting by himself except for Him. As for Paradise and Hell,
their everlastingness is not intrinsic, rather it is because Allah Willed for them to be
everlasting. Hence, it is valid
90. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 90 that Paradise, in and of itself, would go out
of existence. Likewise Hell; in reference to itself it is valid that it would go out of existence.
Hearing It is an Eternal Attribute that is confirmed for the Self of Allah. He hears the
sounds with an Eternal and Everlasting Hearing. It is not like our hearing; it is not with an
ear or ear canal. And so, nothing escapes His Hearing, Exalted is He, meaning no heard
thing is absent from His Hearing, even if it were unclear for us or far [from us], just as He
Knows without a heart. The mental evidence for the necessity of the Hearing is that had
He not been Attributed with Hearing, He would be attributed with deafness; that is

deficiency for Allah, and deficiency is impossible for Him. Whoever says that He hears
with an ear is a blasphemer. Sight Sight is mentally necessary to attribute to Allah. He
Sees all seen things with an Eternal and Everlasting Sight, and He Sees Himself without a
pupil or organ because senses [which are related to organs] are among the attributes of
the creation. The mental evidence for the confirmation of His Sight is that had He not
been Attributed with Sight then He would have been blind, and blindness, i.e., lack of
sight, is deficiency for Allah, and deficiency is impossible for Him.
91. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 91 The textual evidence for Hearing and Sight
is verses and hadiths, like the Saying of Allah, [ which means] And He is
the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and the Prophets saying when counting the Perfect
Names of Allah: [ which means] The All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, which is in a
hadith narrated by at-Tirmidhiyy; Ibn Hibban authenticated it. Speech Speech is an
Eternal and Everlasting Attribute. He is a Speaker by this Attribute; a Commander,
Forbidder, Promiser, and Threatener. It is not like the speech of another, rather it is Eternal
by the Eternality of the Self. It does not resemble the speech of the creation. It is neither a
sound that takes place by the passage of air or the collision of bodies nor a letter that is
cut off by closing the lips or by the motion of the tongue. We believe that Musa heard the
Eternal Speech of Allah without it being a letter or sound, just as the believers will see the
Self of
92. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 92 Allah in the Hereafter without the Self being
a mass40 or a characteristic, because the mind does not deem hearing something that is
not a letter or sound as impossible. The Speech of His Self, Exalted is He, is not
successive letters like our speech. If the reciter recites the Speech of Allah [i.e. the
Revealed Quran, not the Attribute], then this recitation is of a letter and a sound; it is not
eternal. These details were conveyed by Abu Hanifah, and he is from the Salaf. He was
alive during part of the first century, then he died in year 150 after the Hijrah. He said,
Allah Speaks without an instrument and without a letter, and we speak with an instrument
and a letter. So let that be understood. The issue is not as the Likeners have said, that
the Salaf did not say that Allah is a Speaker with a Speech that is not of a letter, and that
this is only the innovation of the Ash^ariyys. This talk from Abu Hanifah is confirmed; he
mentioned it in one of his five treatises. The word Quran has two usages. It is used in
reference to the expression revealed to Muhammad , and in reference to the Speech
which is the Eternal Attribute; that Speech which is not a letter or a sound, neither is it
Arabic language nor any other language. If what is intended by it [i.e., the word Al-Quran]
is the Speech of the Self, then it is Eternal; it is not a letter or a sound. If 40 I.e., a body or
jawhar (indivisible particle).
93. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 93 what is meant by it and by the rest of the
Heavenly Books is the Revealed Expression, then among them is what is Hebrew, and
among it is what is Suriyaniyy. These languages as well as the other languages were not
existent, then Allah the Exalted Created them and they became existent. Allah the Exalted
was Existing before everything, and He was a Speaker before those languages existed,
and He never ceased to be a Speaker; and His Speech, which is His Attribute, is Eternal
and Everlasting, and it is One Speech. All of the Revealed Books are expressions of the
Eternal and Everlasting Speech of the Self. It is not necessary for the expression to be
created that the expressed be created. Had we written on a board or on a wall Allah and
then it was said, This is Allah, does that mean those scripted letters are the Self of
Allah? No intelligent person is deluded about that; no one thinks that is the case. Rather, it

is only understood from that that these letters are an expression referring to God, the One
Who is Existing and worshipped and is the Creator of everything. Despite that, it is not
said, The Quran is created. Rather it is clarified, when teaching, that the Revealed
Expression is not confirmed as an Attribute of the Self of Allah. Rather, it is Created by
Allah, because the Revealed Expression is made of letters. Some of those letters precede
other letters, and whatever is like that is definitely a created event; however, it is not the
authoring of an Angel or a human. Therefore, it is an expression of the
94. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 94 Speech of the Self, that Speech which is not
described as being Arabic or Hebrew or Suriyaniyy. All of those Revealed Expressions are
called the Speech of Allah. That is, the Attribute of Speech which is confirmed for the Self
of Allah is called the Speech of Allah, and the Revealed Expression, which is an
expression of that Eternal Speech, is also called the Speech of Allah. Both usages for AlQuran are literal usages, because literal usage will either be linguistic, religious or
normal. Using the word Al-Quran for the Revealed Expression is a religious literal
usage, so let that be known. What clarifies that is that the Majestic Expression, Allah, is
an expression that refers to the Eternal and Everlasting Self. So if we said, We worship
Allah, then that Self is the One that is intended by our statement; and if this expression
were written, and it was said, What is this?, it would be said Allah, meaning that these
letters refer to that Eternal Everlasting Self, not with the meaning that those letters are the
Self that we worship. Will Know that Will (Al-Iradah or Al-Mashiah) is necessary to
attribute to Allah. It is an Eternal and Everlasting Attribute; by it, Allah specifies the
mentally possible with existence instead of non- existence, and with an attribute over
another, and with a time instead of another. The evidence for the necessity of Allahs
Attribute of Will is that had He not been Willful, then nothing of
95. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 95 this world would exist, because the world is
a mental possibility; mentally, its existence is not inherently necessary. The world is
existent, so we know that it only existed by the Specification of He who Specified its
existence and Made the side of existence weightful over the side of non-existence.
Therefore, it is confirmed that Allah is Willful. Furthermore, the Will, according to the
People of the Truth, is inclusive of the deeds of the slaves entirely; the good and the bad.
So all of what came into existence of the bad deeds, good deeds, blasphemy, sins, and
obedience took place by the Will of Allah. This is perfection in reference to Allah the
Exalted, because the inclusivity of the Power and Will is befitting for the Greatness of
Allah. Had something in His Dominion taken place without His Will, that would have been
evidence of weakness, and weakness is impossible for Allah. The Will follows the
Knowledge, i.e., whatever Allah Knew would occur, He Willed for it to occur, and whatever
He Knew would not be, He did not Will for it to be. The Will does not follow the Order, as
proven by the fact that Allah ordered Ibrahim to slaughter his son, Isma^il, and He did not
Will that for him. If it were said, How would Allah Order for something that He did not Will
to happen?, the answer is that He could Order what He did not Will, just like He Knew
that the slave would do something when He Ordered him not to do it.
96. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 96 Power It is necessary that Allah would have
Power over everything. What is meant by everything here is the mental possibility. Thus,
the mental impossibility is excluded from that, because it does not accept existence, so it
is not suitable to be related to the Power of Allah. Ibn Hazm opposed that. He said, Allah
the Mighty and Great has the power to take a child for Himself. If He did not have the
power to do it He would be weak. However, what he said is not necessary, because

taking a child for Himself is impossible to be attributed to Allah. The mentally impossible is
not a subject of the Power. Power not being related to something could be because of
deficiency, and that is in reference to the creation, and sometimes it would be because
that thing does not accept entrance into existence, meaning to occur, because it is
mentally impossible, or because it does not accept non-existence because of it being
mentally necessary. The inability is the first one, which is negated from the Power of Allah
the Exalted; not the second one, it is neither permissible to say that Allah has power over
that, nor that He is weak. Some said, Just like you do not say about the stone [that it is]
knowledgeable or ignorant. Likewise is the response to the saying of some atheists, Is
Allah able to create one like Himself? In that there is deeming
97. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 97 permissible that which is mentally
impossible. The clarification for that is that Allah is Eternal, and had He had a similar it
would have been eternal, and the eternal would not be created because it is already
existent. So how would the existing thing be created? As for the mentally impossible, its
non-acceptance of entering into existence is clear. As for the mental necessity, it does not
accept an eventual existence because its existence is eternal. There is a difference
between existence and entering into existence. Existence includes the eternal existence
and the eventual existence; both are called existence. As for entering into existence, that
is the eventual existence. The mental necessity41 refers to Allah and His Attributes.
Allahs Existence is a mental necessity. His Existence is Eternal and His Attributes are
Eternal. It is not said about Allah or His Attributes that they came into existence, because
the Existence of Allah and His Attributes is Eternal. When we said, The mental necessity
does not accept entry into existence, that is correct. However, the understanding of some
of the beginners in the Creed is deficient in this. As for the one who is experienced in that,
the intended meaning is clear. 41 In reference to existence.
98. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 98 Knowledge Know that the Knowledge of
Allah is Eternal, Beginningless, just as His Self is Eternal. So He never ceased to be
Knowledgeable about His Self, Attributes, and what He Brings into existence of His
creations. So He is not attributed with an eventual knowledge, because had it been
permissible for Him to be attributed with eventual attributes, Eternality would be negated
from Him, because whatever is a vessel for events must then be an event. Whatever gives
a false impression of the renewal of Allahs Knowledge, Exalted is He, of the Quranic
verses like the Saying of the Exalted: [ which means] Now Allah
has lightened [the ruling of jihad] for you, and He Knew about weakness in you, it does
not mean that. His Saying: [ which means] He knew does not refer back to:
[which means] Now
99. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 99 Instead, the meaning is that Allah the
Exalted has lightened the ruling for you now. And likewise His Saying:
[ which translates literally as] And We will test you so that We
would Know the one who strives among you and those who are patient. It means We
would test you so that We would differentiate, i.e., make apparent for the creation between
you who strives and who is patient and others. Allah was already Knowledgeable about
that, as copied by Al-Bukhariyy from Abu ^Ubaydah Ma^mar Ibni-l-Muthanna. This is
similar to the Saying of Allah: [ which means] So that Allah would
distinguish [for the slaves] between the wicked and the good. Life Life is necessary to
attribute to Allah the Exalted. So He is Living unlike those who are alive. Since His Life is

Eternal and Everlasting, it is not by soul and blood. The evidence for the necessity of His
Life is the existence of this world, because had He not been Living,
100. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 100 then nothing of this world would exist.
However, the existence of the world is confirmed by the senses and necessity without
doubt. Oneness The meaning of Oneness is that He is not a Self composed of pieces. So
there is no self like His Self, and no one other than Him has an attribute like His Attribute,
or a doing like His Doing. The oneness of number is not meant by His Oneness. The one
who is one by number has a half, and parts as well. Instead, the meaning is that He has
no similar. The proof for His Oneness is that it is necessary that the Maker would be
Living, Powerful, Knowledgeable, Willful, and Choosing. So if the Attribute of the Maker is
confirmed as we have mentioned, then we say that had the world had two makers, it
would be necessary for each of them to be alive, powerful, knowledgeable, willing, and
choosing. If there are two choosers, then it is valid that they would differ in the choice,
because each of them is not forced to comply with the other in his choice; or else both of
them would be forced, and the one who is forced would not be God. If this is valid, then if
one of them willed for what opposes the will of the other in somethinglike for one of
them to will a person to be alive, and for the other to will his deaththen it must be that
either both of their wills are fulfilled, or neither of their wills is fulfilled, or one of their wills
is fulfilled and the others is not. It is
101. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 101 impossible that both wills would be
fulfilled, because of their opposition. That is, if one of them willed a persons life and the
other willed his death, it is impossible that this person would be alive and dead at the
same time. If both of their wills are unfulfilled, they are both weak; the one who is weak
would not be God. If the will of one of them were fulfilled and the will of the other were not,
then surely the one whose will was unfulfilled is weak, and the weak one would not be
God and would not be Eternal. This evidence is known to those who believe in the
Oneness; it is called the proof of mutual exclusivity. Allah the Exalted Said:
[ which means] Had there been for the Heavens and Earth gods other
than Allah, they would have been in ruins. Independence of Others Know that the
meaning of His Independence of the creation is His not being in need of everything that is
other than Himself. So He does not need someone to specify Him with existence,
because being in need of another negates His Eternality and the necessity of His
Eternality and Everlastingness has been confirmed.
102. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 102 Dissimilarity to the Creation It is
necessary that Allah the Exalted would be Different from the events. This means that He
does not resemble anything of His creation. Therefore, He is not a volume that occupies a
space and He is not an attribute. The volume is what has containment and an
independent standing, such as bodies. The quality is what does not have an independent
standing. It only stands through other than itself. Examples are motion, stillness, contact,
disconnection, colors, flavors, and smells. For that reason Imam Abu Hanifah said in
some of his works, The Creator does not resemble His creation. It means that it is not
mentally or textually valid that the Creator would resemble His creation. Abu Sulayman AlKhattabiyy said, Certainly, what is obligatory upon us and every Muslim to know is that
our Lord is not someone with an image or a shape. For certainly, the image dictates a
manner of being, and that is negated from Allah and His Attributes. Al-Bayhaqiyy
narrated that from him in his book Al- Asma was-Sifat. The word kayfiyyah [manner of
being] could be used to mean the reality, just like what some said:

[ which means] The how of man is not encompassed by man, so how about
the Reality of Al-Jabbar Who Exists Eternally?
103. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 103 What this person meant was the reality.
This line of poetry was narrated by Az-Zarkashiyy, Ibnul-Jawziyy, and others. Abu Ja^far
At-Tahawiyy said, Whoever attributes to Allah an attribute of the humans has
blasphemed. Abu Ja^far is among the people of the 3rd century, so he is included in the
hadith: [ which means] The best of centuries is my century,
then those who come after them, then those who come after them. This is narrated by atTirmidhiyy. The Arabic term qarn in the hadith means century, as said by Hafidh AbulQasim Ibn ^Asakir in his book Tabyin Kadhib Al-Muftari, which he wrote in defending
Abul- Hasan Al-Ash^ariyy, may Allah Accept his deeds.
104. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 104 All of the Attributes of Allah Are Perfect
The Attributes of Allah are Eternal and Everlasting, because the Self is Eternal. Therefore
He would not acquire an attribute He did not have in Eternity. As for the attributes of the
creation, they are events. They accept development from perfection to what is more
perfect. Hence, the Knowledge of Allah is not renewed. Allah Created everything in
accordance with His Eternal Knowledge, His Eternal Power, and His Eternal Will. Allah
has encompassed the past, present and future with His Eternal Knowledge. The Saying of
Allah the Exalted: [ which translates literally as And We
test you so that We would know the mujahids among you and those who are patient,]
does not mean that He will become knowledgeable of the mujahids by testing them after
He was not knowledgeable about them. This is impossible to be ascribed to Allah.
Instead, the meaning of the verse is, So We would make apparent for the slaves the
mujahids among you and the patient ones among you from others. Whoever says that
Allah the Exalted acquires new knowledge blasphemes. All the Attributes of Allah are
perfect. Allah the Exalted Said:
105. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 105 [ which means] Allah has the
Perfect Names. And Allah the Exalted Said: [ which means] Allah has
Attributes of Perfection, therefore every deficiency is impossible to be an attribute of His.
As for the Saying of Allah the Exalted: [ which translates literally as
They have harmed others by committing acts of makr, and Allah has harmed them with
makr.] Makr as an attribute of the slaves is wickedness and deceit by making harm reach
another through means of trickery. When attributed to Allah, it is that Allah would
Compensate the people of makr with punishment in a way that they do not expect. In
other words, Allah is Greater in making harm reach the practitioners of makr, as
compensation for them for their makr. Makr with meaning of trickery is impossible to
attribute to Allah. Likewise the Saying of the Exalted:
106. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 106 [which translates literally as Allah belittles
them,] it means that Allah will Compensate them for the belittling that they do. Know that
the scholars say, We believe in the confirmation of what came in the Quran and the
authentic hadith, like Al-Wajh, Al-Yad, Al-^Ayn, Ar-Rida, Al-Ghadab, and other than that.
We believe in them as Attributes that Allah Knows about, not as organs and emotions like
our hands, faces, eyes and anger. For certainly, organs are impossible to be attributed to
Allah because of the Saying of Allah: [ which means] Nothing resembles Him
whatsoever, and His Saying: [ which means] There was never a similar for
Him. They said that had Allah had a ^ayn with the meaning of an organ and a body, then
He would have [many] similars, let alone one, and whatever would be applicable to the

creation would be applicable to Him, such as death, annihilation, change, and

development. That would be abandoning what is dictated by the mental evidence about
the impossibility of change and development from one situation to another being
attributed to Allah.
107. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 107 It is not valid to negate the intellect,
because the Religious Law does not come with anything except what is permitted by the
mind; that is, it does not come with anything other than what is accepted by the mind,
because the mind is the witness for the validity of the Religion. The mind dictates that the
body and the bodily characteristics, i.e., the transient situations that occur to the body, are
all events, and there is no doubt about that and that they are in need of one to make them
occur. Accordingly, it is necessary that whoever is attributed with that would be in need of
someone to make him occur, and Godhood is not valid for someone who is in need of
someone else.42 42 The mental evidence that the world is an event is the occurrence of
attributes that it did not have previously and changing from one situation to another.
108. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 108 The Reason for the Revelation of Surah
Al- Ikhlas The Jews said to the Messenger, Describe your Lord for us. Their question
was out of stubbornness, not out of the love of knowledge and seeking to be guided by it.
For that reason Allah revealed Surah Al-Ikhlas: [ which means] [O Muhammad,]
say Allah is One, meaning the One Who does not accept multiplicity, or to be many. Also,
He does not have a partner in the Self or the Attributes or the Doings, and no one has an
attribute like His Attributes. Instead, His Power is One Power, with it He has Power over
everything, and His Knowledge is One; with it He Knows everything. The Saying of Allah:
[ which means] Allah is As-Samad, means the One to whom all the creations are
in need, while He is Free from being in need of anything that exists. It also contains the
meaning that He is the One Who is sought in times of hardship with all of its different
types. Allah does not obtain benefit for himself by His creation, and He does not repel
harm from Himself by them.
109. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 109 The Saying of Allah: [ which
means] He did not give birth and He was not born, is a negation of being made of
physical matter and being a vessel for containment. What came in the book Mawlid Al^Arus, [the false claim] that Allah took a handful of the light of His face and said, Be
Muhammad, and it became Muhammad, is among the invalid fabricated perversions. The
judgment of whoever believes that Muhammad is a part of Allah the Exalted is a
definite charge of blasphemy, and likewise for the one who believes that ^Isa [Jesus] is a
part of Allah. This book is not authored by Ibnul- Jawziyy, and no one attributed this book
to him except for the orientalist Brockelmann.43 Allah the Exalted Said:
[which means] There was never a similar for Him. This means that nothing resembles
Him, meaning He has no similar for Him in any way whatsoever. 43 Carl Brockelmann
(18681956).
110. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 110 The Decisive and Ambiguous Verses To
understand this topic as it should be understood, it is necessary to know that the Quran
has within it decisive (muhkam) verses and ambiguous (mutashabih) verses. Allah the
Exalted Said:
[ which
means] He is the one who revealed the Book to you, (O Muhammad). Within it are
decisive verses; they are the reference of the book, and others are ambiguous. As for
those who have deviance in their hearts, they follow what is ambiguous from it with the

purpose of fitnah [tribulation], and seeking its tawil44 . No one knows its tawil except
Allah and those who are deeply rooted in the knowledge. They say, We believe in it. All of
it is from our Lord. No one is admonished by it except those of sound mind. 44 Tawil has
a number of meanings which vary depending on the recitation of the verse, as will be
explained.
111. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 111 The Decisive Verses The decisive verses
are those which do not accept more than one meaning as an explanation as far as the
rules of the language are concerned, or [according to another definition] that which its
intended meaning is known with clarity. Like the Saying of Allah: [ which
means] Nothing is like Him in any way, and His Saying: [ which means] And
there was never a similar for Him, and His saying: [ which means] Do you
know of a similar for Him? The Ambiguous Verses The ambiguous verse is that which
what it refers to is not clear, or it could possibly have several facets in meaning and is in
need of contemplation to interpret it in accordance with the proper meaning, like the
Saying of Allah the Exalted: And the Saying of Allah the Exalted:
112. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 112 which
means the good words like La ilaha illallah ascend up to the place that Allah honored,
which is the sky, and the good deed is raised by it, i.e., the good word raises the good
deed. This is harmonious with and in compliance with the decisive verse:
[which means] Nothing is like Him in any way. Consequently it is necessary to refer the
interpretation of the ambiguous verses back to the decisive verses. This is in reference to
the ambiguous matters that are valid for the scholars to know. As for the ambiguous
matter that is meant by the Saying of Allah: [ which means] No one knows
its tawil except Allah, according to the recitation of stopping at the Majestic Expression
[the Name Allah], it refers to what is like the occurrence of Judgment Day and the precise
time that ad-Dajjal would appear. That is not the same type [of ambiguity] as in the verse
of Istiwa. It was narrated from the Prophet :
113. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 113 [which means] Apply its decisive and
believe its ambiguous. This hadith is slightly weak. The linguist, Muhaddith and Hanafiyy
scholar, Murtada Az- Zabidiyy said in his book Ithaf as-Sadatil-Muttaqin, conveying from
the book At-Tadhkirah Ash-Sharqiyyah by Abu Nasr Al- Qushayriyy45 : As for the Saying
of Allah: [ which means] No one knows its tawil except Allah, He only
means by that the exact time of the Hour [the Day of Judgment]. The pagans asked the
Prophet about the Hour, When will it happen? Therefore, the ambiguous is a sign of the
knowledge of the unseen; no one knows the outcome of the matters except Allah the
Mighty and Great. For that reason He Said: [ which means] Are
they awaiting anything other than its tawil? The day when its tawil comes Meaning,
are 45 Abu Nasr Al-Qushayriyy is the one who Hafidh ^Abdur-Razzaq At- Tabsiyy
described as the Imam of the Imams, as narrated by Hafidh Ibn ^Asakir in his book Tabyin
Kadhib Al-Muftari.
114. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 114 they awaiting anything other than the
occurrence of the Hour? How would it be valid for someone to say about the Book of Allah
the Exalted that there is something in it for which there is no way for a creation to know
what it means, and no one knows its meaning except Allah? Is this not among the
greatest discreditors of the Prophethood, that the Prophet did not know the meaning of
what came about the Attributes of Allah the Exalted, and called the creation to know what
cannot be known? Does Allah not Say: [ which means] [The Quran was

revealed] in a clear Arabic tongue? Then according to their claim it is necessary to say
that Allah lied when He said that the Quran is revealed in a clear Arabic tongue, since it
was not known to them [i.e., the Arabs]. Or else where is the clarity? If this were in the
Arabic language, how would he claim that this is something that the Arabs do not know,
while that speech was Arabic? So what kind of saying is this doctrine when it leads to
contradicting Allah the Glorified? Furthermore, the Prophet used to call the people to the
worship of Allah the Exalted, so had there been in what he
115. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 115 conveyed to his Nation something which
no one knows its meaning except Allah the Exalted, the people would have been able to
say, First clarify for us the one you are calling us to and what are you saying. For sure,
believing in something which cannot be known is unachievable in itself, and attributing to
the Prophet that he called to a Lord who is attributed with attributes that are inconceivable
[i.e., that cannot be known]is a serious matter; no Muslim accepts that. Ignorance of the
attribute leads to ignorance of the attributed. The goal is for the one who has some bit of a
mind to clarify that the saying of he who says, His Istiwa is an attribute of His Self and its
meaning is inconceivable, and His Yad is an attribute of His Self and its meaning is
inconceivable, and His Qadam is an attribute of His Self and its meaning is
inconceivable, is a distortion of facts within which is ascribing a manner of being to Allah,
likening Him to the creation, and a call to ignorance. And the truth has become clear for
the one who has sound mind. I wish I knew, this one who denies tawil, does he apply this
denial to everything and every verse, or is he content with abandoning tawil in reference
to the Attributes of Allah the Exalted?
116. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 116 If he prevents tawil in all cases, he has
invalidated the Religious Law and the different branches of knowledge, because there is
no verse46 or hadith except that it is in need of tawil and treatment.47 48 For there are
things that there is no escape from tawil for them. There is no difference among the sane
people about that except for the atheist whose intent is to invalidate the Religious Laws.
Furthermore, this creed [of denying tawil] leads to invalidating what he claims to be
adhering to of the Religion. If he said Tawil is valid in general49 , excluding what is in
reference to Allah and His Attributes, for there is no tawil in that, this claim of his implies
that what pertains to other than Allah should be known, and what pertains to the Maker
and His Attributes should be avoided, and this is something that no Muslim accepts. The
secret of the issue is that those who prevent tawil really believe in the reality of likening
Allah to the creation, except that they use trickery. They say, He has a 46 Among the
verses that there is difference in opinion about their meaning. 47 i.e., looking into it and
explaining it in some way. 48 Except for the decisive verse like the Saying of Allah:
[ which means] He is Knowledgeable of everything, in reference to what came
about the Attributes of Allah, and His Saying: [ which means]
Dead meat, blood, and pork have been made forbidden for you, in reference to what
came in the rules. 49 i.e., sometimes.
117. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 117 hand not like the hands and a foot unlike
the feet and an istiwa of the Self that is not like what we conceive among ourselves. So
let the precise one say, This is talk that must be clarified. For you to say, We take the
issue by the apparent meaning, and we cannot conceive its meaning, is a contradiction.If
you take the apparent meaning, then what appears from the Saying of the Exalted:
[ which means] The Day when the saq will be exposed, is the organ
composed of skin, muscle, bone, nerves, and marrow. If one took by this apparent

meaning, adhered to it, and confirmed these organs, then this is blasphemy. And if you
are unable to take by that, then where is taking by the apparent meaning? Did you not
abandon the apparent meanings and know that the Holy Lord was Exalted from that to
which the apparent meanings delude? Then how would that be taking the apparent
meaning? And if the opponent says that these apparent meanings are meaningless in
themselves, then that is judging them nullified; that there was no benefit in them being
conveyed to us and that they are a waste, and this is impossible. In the language of the
Arabs there is whatever one wants of figurative usage and vastness [of meaning] in
speech,
118. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 118 and they used to know the different
contexts, and they understood the intentions. So backing away from tawil is because of
ones puny understanding of Arabic, whereas by encompassing the different facets of the
Arabic language, realizing the true meanings is easy. It was Said:
[ which means] No one knows its tawil except Allah and those who are deeply
rooted in the knowledge. It is as if He Said, Those who are deeply rooted in the
knowledge also know it. Belief in something is only conceived after knowledge. As for
that which is unknown, believing in it is unachievable, and because of this, Ibn ^Abbas
said, I am among those who are deeply rooted in the knowledge. This is the end of the
quote of Hafidh Az-Zabidiyy in reference to what he conveyed from Abu-n-Nasr AlQushayriyy, may Allah have Mercy upon him. Here there are two methods; both are
correct. The first is the method of most of the Salaf, and those are the people of the first
three centuries; they interpret the [ambiguous] verses by other than their apparent
meanings, but in a general way. That is by
119. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 119 believing in them and having conviction
that those are not the attributes of a body, rather, that they have a meaning that befits the
Majesty of Allah and His Greatness, without specification; instead, they referred those
verses back to the decisive verses, like the Saying of Allah in the Quran:
[which means] Nothing is like Him in any way. The matter is as Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy said,
I believe in what came from Allah according to the meaning that Allah Willed, and what
came from the Messenger of Allah according to the meaning that the Messenger of Allah
meant, may Allah accept his deeds. He means that the meanings of those verses are not
according to what the delusions and thoughts of the people might go to in reference to the
physical, bodily meanings, those meanings that are not permissible to be attributed to
Allah. Furthermore, denying that the Salaf made detailed interpretation different from the
apparent meaning, like some have claimed, is rejected by what is in Sahih Al-Bukhariyy,
in the Book of Interpretation of the Quran, and Al-Bukhariyys expression there: Surah
Al-Qasas:
120. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 120 [which means] Except for His Wajh;
[which means] except for His Dominion50 , and it is said [about the meaning of this verse],
That which is done to seek a higher status from Allah. As for the Dominion, it is an
Eternal Attribute of Allah, it is not like the dominion that He Gives to his creations. And in
the book of Al- Bukhariyy is more than this case, like explaining the ( Dahik)51 in
the hadith as Mercy. Also, the detailed interpretation of a verse according to other than its
apparent meaning is confirmed from Imam Ahmad, and he is from the Salaf. It is
confirmed from him that he said about the verse of the Quran: [ which translates
literally as Your Lord comes], that it means The traces of His Power become apparent.
The chain for this narration by Imam Ahmad was authenticated by Hafidh Al- Bayhaqiyy,

the one about whom Hafidh Salahud-Din Al-^Alaiyy said, No one came after AlBayhaqiyy and Ad-Daraqutniyy like them, or even close to them. As for the saying of AlBayhaqiyy, it is in his book called Manaqib Ahmad. As for the saying of Hafidh Abu Sa^id
Al-^Alaiyy about Al-Bayhaqiyy and Ad-Daraqutniyy, that is in his book called Al-WashyulMu^lam; and as for Hafidh Abu Sa^id himself, he is the one about whom Hafidh Ibn Hajar
50 Supreme Ownership 51 Which could literally translated as smiling or laughing
121. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 121 said, The shaykh of our shaykhs. He
was from the people of the eighth Hijriyy century. There is a great number of scholars who
mentioned in their written works that Ahmad explained verses by other than their apparent
meanings. Among them is Hafidh ^Abdur-Rahman Ibnul- Jawziyy, who is one of the
sultans of the Hambaliyy School because of his great knowledge of the texts of the
Hambaliyy School and the situations of Ahmad. The second is the method of the Khalaf.
They interpreted with detailed meanings that are dictated by the language of the Arabs,
and like the Salaf, they do not carry those verses by their apparent meanings. There is no
problem taking this method, especially as protection from likening Allah to the creation
when fearing for one to take a corrupted creed. [An example of the method of the Khalaf is
their explanation of] the Saying of Allah in scolding Iblis: [ which means]
What prevented you from prostrating to what I have Created with My Yadayn52 ? It is
valid to be said that what is meant by Yadayn is Care and Preservation. 52 Which
literally translates as two hands.
122. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 122 Interpretation of His Saying and
His Saying Let it be known that Allah the Exalted is the Creator of the soul and
the body, so He is not a soul or a body. Despite that, Allah attributed to Himself the soul of
^Isa [Jesus] with the meaning of ownership and honor, not with the meaning of [the soul]
being a part of [Him] in His Saying: [ which means] from Our soul. Likewise, in
reference to Adam, is the Saying of Allah the Exalted: [ which means] from My
soul. So the meaning of the Saying of Allah: [ which literally translates as]
We blew Our soul into him, is We ordered Jibril to blow into Mary the soul which is
owned by and honorable to Us. This is because the souls are of two divisions, honorable
souls and wicked souls. The souls of the Prophets are from the first category, and
attributing the soul of Jesus and the soul of Adam to Himself is an attribution of ownership
and honor.
123. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 123 Whoever believes that Allah the Exalted is
a soul blasphemes. The soul is created; Allah is Exalted from that. [This is] like the Saying
of Allah the Exalted in reference to the Ka^bah: [ which means] My House. It is an
attribution of ownership because of honor. It is not an Attribute of Allah or relation
between Allah and that thing, because of the impossibility of touching or contact between
Allah and the Ka^bah. Likewise is the Saying of Allah: [ which means] The Lord of
the ^Arsh. It is not for other than proving that Allah is the Creator of the ^Arsh, which is
the largest of creations. It is not that the ^Arsh has a relation to Allah by Him sitting upon it
or being parallel to it without sitting on it. It does not mean that Allah is sitting on His ^Arsh
with contact and it does not mean Allah is parallel to the ^Arsh with the existence of space
between Allah and the ^Arsh, whether that space was estimated as vast or little. All of that
is impossible to attribute to Allah. The merit of the ^Arsh is that it is the Ka^bah for the
Angels, who circle it, just as the Ka^bah itself is meritorious by the believers
124. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 124 circling it. Also among the special merits
of the ^Arsh is that Allah was never disobeyed there, because those who surround the

^Arsh are all honorable slaves. They do not disobey Allah for a blink of an eye. Whoever
believed that Allah Created the ^Arsh to sit on it, he has likened Allah to the kings who
make big seats to sit upon, and whoever believes that does not know Allah. Whoever
believes that Allah is attributed with contact has blasphemed, because this is impossible
to be an Attribute of Allah the Exalted. Interpretation of the Verse It is
necessary that the interpretation of this verse be other than dwelling, sitting, and the likes
of that, and whoever believes that blasphemes. It is obligatory to leave out carrying this
verse by its apparent meaning; instead, it is carried by a meaning that is acceptable to the
intellect. Therefore, the expression istiwa is taken to mean subjugation. In the Arabic
language it is said: [ which means] So-and-so had istawa over the
kingdoms, if he possessed the keys of rulership and had dominion over the people. That
is like the saying of the poet:
125. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 125 [which means] Bishr conquered [istawa]
^Iraq without a sword or bloodshed. The benefit of specifically mentioning the ^Arsh is
that it is the greatest creation of Allah the Exalted in size, therefore the inclusion of what is
less than that is more so known. Imam ^Aliyy said, Certainly Allah the Exalted created
the ^Arsh as a demonstration of His Power, and He did not take it as a place for Himself.
This was narrated by the Imam, Muhaddith, Faqih and Linguist, Abu Mansur At-Tamimiyy
in his book At-Tabsirah. Or it is said that He Istawa with an Istiwa that He Knows, and He
is Exalted from the istiwa of the creations, like sitting and dwelling. Know that it is
obligatory to warn against those who validate Allah sitting upon the ^Arsh or dwelling
upon it by interpreting the Saying of Allah the Exalted, as sitting or
being parallel from above, claiming that no existing thing is conceived unless it is in a
place. Their evidence is invalid. They also claim that the saying of the Salaf, Istiwa
without a how, is in agreement with that. They did not know that the Salaf were negating
sitting, dwelling, containment in a place, being parallel, and all created attributes, such as
motion, stillness, and emotions. Al-Qushayriyy said:
126. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 126 What invalidates their fallacy is that it
would be said to them, Before creating the world, was He Existing or not? By the
necessity of the mind, they would say, Indeed. Hence, one of two matters is imposed on
them: either to say that the place, the ^Arsh, and the world are eternal, or else to say that
the Lord is an event, and this is the result of the saying the ignorant speakers of
nonsense. The Eternal is not an event and the event is not eternal. Al-Qushayriyy also
said in his book At-Tadhkirah Ash-Sharqiyyah: If it were said, Does Allah not Say:
while it is obligatory to take the apparent meaning?, we say to them,
Allah also Says : [ which translates literally as He is with you wherever you
are,] and the Exalted Says:
[ which translates literally as Is it not true that
Allah encompasses everything]? Then, according to you, it would also be necessary to
take these verses by the apparent meaning, so that all at once
127. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 127 He would be on the ^Arsh, and with us,
and encompassing the world, surrounding it by Himself. Al-Qushayriyy said, It is
impossible that the One Who is Indivisible would be, at one time, in every place by
himself. Al- Qushayriyy [also] said, They said: His Saying, means by
Knowledge and it means, Encompassment by Knowledge. He means that
they have made tawil for these verses and did not carry them by their apparent
meanings, so how would they blame others for making tawil for the verse of al-istiwa by
explaining it as subjugation? What is this capriciousness? Al-Qushayriyy [also] said: Had

what we said given the impression that He was overcome, then the Saying of Allah:
[ which means] He is the Subduer over His slaves, would also give that
impression; that reasoning implies that He
128. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 128 was subdued before the creation of the
slaveshow preposterous!since the slaves had no existence before He created them.
In fact, had the issue been as the ignorant people imagine, that His Istiwa is by the Self,
that would imply change and previous deficiency that existed before the time of that
istiwa; for certainly the Creator, the Exalted, was Existing before the ^Arsh, and the one
who is honest knows that saying that change occurred to the ^Arsh because of the Lord is
more appropriate than saying that change occurred to the Lord because of the ^Arsh. The
Lord is attributed with high Status and Greatness and He is cleared from connection or
disconnection and moving or stillness. He is clear from being in a place or being parallel
to things. Al-Qushayriyy, may Allah have Mercy upon him, [also] said: A group of ruffians
showed up, and had it not been that they present to the lay people what rushes to their
imaginations I would have exalted this book from staining it by mentioning them. They say,
We take by the apparent meaning; we take the verses that suggest resemblance and the
hadiths that give the illusion of Allah having an organ according to the apparent meaning.
And they say, It is not permissible for us to make tawil for any of that. According to their
claim, they are holding fast to the Saying of Allah,
129. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 129 [ which means] No one
knows the tawil except Allah. Those people, I swear by the One Who Controls our souls,
are more dangerous to Islam than the Jews, Christians, Majus, and idol-worshippers,
because the misguidance of the blasphemers is apparent; the Muslim refrains from that.
Those people come to the laymen from a path by which the weak people would be
deluded. Those people who propagated misguidance and conveyed those innovations in
the creed to others, in their hearts they have legitimated ascribing the Glorified,
Worshipped One with organs and body parts, and riding, and descending and leaning,
and sitting or dwelling in a place by His Self, and going back and forth in the different
directions. Whoever gives consideration to the apparent meanings, physical matters rush
to his imagination. Then he would hold the ugly, shameful matters as a creed, i.e., likening
Allah to the creation. Then the current would sweep him away without him realizing it. So
it became clear that the saying of those who say that interpreting the text by other than the
apparent meanings is not permissible is a mistake, and is ignorance; and it is disproven
by the saying of the Prophet about Ibn ^Abbas:
130. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 130[ which means] O
Allah, teach him the Wisdom [i.e., the Sunnah] and the Tawil of the Book. This hadith
was narrated by Al- Bukhariyy, Ibn Majah, and others, with varying expressions. Hafidh
Ibnul-Jawziyy said in his book Al-Majalis, And there is no doubt that Allah answered this
supplication of the Messenger. Ibnul-Jawziyy was very stringent against those who
denied interpreting those verses by other than their apparent meanings, and he spoke
about that at length, so whoever wants additional certainty then let him read that. The
meaning of the Saying of Allah the Exalted: [ which translates literally as
They fear their Lord from above them,] refers to the highness of subjugation and not the
highness of place or direction. The meaning of the Saying of Allah,
[which translates literally as: And your Lord will come and the angels will be row after
row,] is not a coming of motion, transfer, or moving and emptying one place and filling
up another in reference to Allah, and whoever believes that blasphemes.

131. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 131 Allah the Exalted created motion and
stillness, and everything that is an attribute of the created things. Therefore, Allah would
not be attributed with motion or stillness. What is meant by the Saying of Allah:
[which translates literally as Your Lord comes,] is the Order of your Lord comes. This
means that a trace among the traces of His Power becomes apparent. It is confirmed
from Imam Ahmad that he said about the Saying of Allah, [ which translates
literally as Your Lord comes,] that it means His Power came. This means that the
traces of Allahs Power will become apparent. This is related by Al-Bayhaqiyy in his book
Manaqib Ahmad. The Interpretation of the Ma^iyyah (53 (of Allah that is Mentioned in
the Quran The meaning of the Saying of Allah, 53 Ma^iyyah comes from
the word ma^ ()which means with.
132. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 132 [which translates literally as: He is with
you wherever you are,] is the encompassment by Knowledge. Also, ma^iyyah comes with
the meaning of support, like in the Saying of Allah the Exalted, [ which
translates literally as: Allah is with those who have piety.] Dwelling in something or being
connected to something is not meant by this ma^iyyah. Whoever believes like that has
blasphemed, because He, the Glorified and Exalted, is clear of connection and
disconnection by distance. So it is not said that He is connected to the world, nor is it said
that He is disconnected from the world [which would be] by a distance, because these
issues are attributes of the volume, i.e., the thing that takes up space. The mass and
volume are the things which accept these two issues, i.e., connection and disconnection,
and Allah is not an event. He negated that from Himself by His saying, [ which
means] Nothing is like Him in any way. Allah the Exalted is not described with being big
in size or small, nor is He described with being tall or short, because He is different from
the creation. And it is obligatory to reject every thought which comes to mind that leads to
limiting Allah.
133. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 133 The Jews attributed tiredness to Allah.
They said, After creating the heavens and the earth He rested, and so He lay on His
back. This saying of theirs is blasphemy. Allah the Exalted is cleared from that, and He is
cleared from feelings, like tiredness, pain and pleasure; he is cleared from all of that. It is
necessary that whoever has these situations would be a created event subject to change,
and this is impossible to be attributed to Allah the Exalted. Allah the Exalted Said:
[ which means] Allah Created the Heavens and the
Earth and what is between them in six days and was not touched by tiredness. The only
one who gets tired is the one who works with organs, and Allah the Exalted and Glorified
is cleared from the organ. Allah the Exalted Said, [ which means] Certainly
Allah is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. Allah the Exalted is Hearing and Seeing without a
manner of being. So Hearing and Sight are two attributes which are eternal and without
organs, i.e., without an ear or a pupil, and without the condition of being close or far, and
without the condition of a
134. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 134 direction, and without light rays reaching
the eye, and without airwaves. Whoever says that Allah has an ear has blasphemed, even
if he said Allah has an ear that is not like our ears. This is different from the one who says,
He has an ^Ayn that is not like our eyes, and a Yad that is not like our hands, with the
meaning of the Attribute [and not an organ]. This is certainly permissible, because the
expression of Al-^Ayn and Al-Yad came in the Quran; the expression of Al-Udhun [ear]
did not come in the Quran. The Explanation of the Saying of Allah Allah

Said: [ which means] To Allah belongs the east and the

west, so wherever you turn yourselves, there is the Wajh of Allah. The meaning is that
wherever you have directed yourselves in the optional prayer, while traveling, then there is
the Qiblah of Allah, i.e., that direction to which you have faced is a Qiblah for you. The
organ is not meant by the word wajh. The judgment of the one who believes in an organ
for Allah is that he is charged with blasphemy, because had Allah had an organ
135. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 135 then He would have been like us, and
then what is valid for us, such as annihilation, would have been valid for Him. Among what
could be meant by the word wajh is jihah [direction; directing oneself]. What is meant
by that direction is what one does for the sake of Allah, like for someone to say, I did such
and such for the wajh of Allah. The meaning of that is I did such and such out of
obedience to the Order of Allah. It is forbidden to say like what has become spread from
the ignorant people, Open the window so we can see the face of Allah. It is forbidden to
say that because Allah said to Musa, [ which means] You will not see Me [in this
life]. Even if the people say that they did not mean that they are really going to see Allah
Himself, it is forbidden [to say this statement]. The Explanation of the Verse
The meaning of this verse is Allah the Exalted is the guide of the people of the
skies and the people of the earth to the light of belief.54 Al-Bayhaqiyy related that from
^Abdullah Ibn ^Abbas, may Allah Accept his and his fathers deeds. So Allah the Exalted
is 54 The verse translates literally as: Allah is the light of the heavens and earth.
136. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 136 not a light with the meaning of an
illumination; rather, He is the One who Created the light. Allah said: [ which
means] And He Made the darkness and the light. This means that He Created the
darkness and the light, so how would it be that He would be a light like His creation? Allah
is Exalted from that with a great Exaltation. The judgment of whoever believes that Allah is
a light, meaning an illumination, is that he is definitely charged with blasphemy. The
verse: [ which means] Praise is due to Allah, the
One who Created the Heavens and the Earth and Made the darkness and the light, is the
most explicit evidence that Allah is not a tangible entity like the skies and the earth or an
intangible entity like darkness and light.55 So whoever believes that Allah is a volume that
is tangible or intangible has likened Allah to His creation, and the verse is a witness for
that. Most of the people who liken Allah to the 55 Because it explicitly mentions both types
of bodies and that He is their Creator, therefore He would not be of either type.
137. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 137 creation believe that Allah is a tangible
body, and some of them believe that He is an intangible body; they said, He is a shining
light. This verse alone is sufficient to refute both groups. There are many blasphemous
convictions, like the conviction that Allah is someone with a color or a shape. So let the
person be aware of that with his utmost effort in every situation.
138. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 138 The Meaning of Destiny and Believing in It
Some scholars said, Al-Qadar [the Destining] is Allahs Management of things in a way
that complies with His Eternal Knowledge and His Eternal Will. He Brings the thing into
existence at the time that He Knew it would exist; included in that is the voluntary deed of
the slave, whether good or evil. What proves that the Qadar is confirmed is the saying of
the Messenger of Allah to Jibril when Jibril asked him about Iman:
[ which means] Iman is to believe in Allah, and His Angels,
and His Books, and His Messengers, and the Last Day; and to believe in the Qadar, its
good and its evil.56 Narrated by Muslim. Allah has Ordained the creations, and among

them are the good and the evil. All of them exist by the Eternal Destining of Allah. As for
the Destining of Allah which is the Attribute of His Self, it is not described as being evil.
Instead, Allahs Destining of evil kufr, and sins, and His Destining of belief and obedience
is good from Allah. The Will of Allah is fulfilled in all of the subjects of His Will and in
accordance with His Knowledge of them. So whatever He Knew would exist, He Willed for
it to exist at the time that He Knew it 56 Narrated by Muslim.
139. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 139 would exist; and what He Knew would not
exist, He did not Will for it to exist. Therefore, nothing takes place in the world except by
His Will, and nothing will hit the slave, whether good or evil, health or sickness, poverty or
richness, or other than that, except by the Will of Allah, and nothing that Allah Willed to hit
the slave will miss him. It came that the Prophet taught one of his daughters to say:
[ which means] Whatever Allah Willed to be shall be, and whatever Allah did
not Will to be shall not be. This is narrated by Abu Dawud in his book As-Sunan. Then it
became tawatur from there and spread abundantly among the individuals of the nation.
Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated from our master ^Aliyy that he said: Certainly, the iman will not be
pure in the heart of one of you until he is absolutely certain that whatever hit him was not
going to miss him, and whatever missed him was not going to hit him, and he confesses
about the Qadar completely. This means it is not permissible to believe in some of the
Qadar and to disbelieve in some of it. Al-Bayhaqiyy also narrated with an authentic chain
of narration that ^Umar Ibnul-Khattab was in Al-Jabiyah, which is an area in Ash-Sham,
when he stood to give a speech. He praised Allah and then said, Whomever Allah
Guided, then there will be no one to
140. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 140 misguide him, and whomever Allah
Misguided, then there will be no one to guide him. In the audience was a non-Arab
blasphemer, i.e., he was among the people of adh-dhimmah.57 He said in his own
language, Certainly Allah does not misguide anyone. Then ^Umar said to the translator,
What is he saying? The translator said, He is saying that Allah does not misguide
anyone. Then ^Umar said, You lied, O enemy of Allah. And had it not been that you are
among the people of adh-dhimmah I would have beheaded you. He is the one who
Misguided you and He is the One who will Put you in Hell if He willed. Hafidh Abu
Nu^aym narrated from the nephew of Az-Zuhriyy, who narrated from his uncle, that ^Umar
Ibnul-Khattab used to love the poem of Labid Ibn Rabi^ah which has these verses:
[ which
means] Certainly the obedience of our Lord is the best nafl [that which is given without
obligation], and by the Will of Allah is my slowness and my swiftness. I praise Allah for
there is no similarity for Him and He Owns and Creates the good, and whatever He Willed
He Does. Whomever He Guided to the paths 57 A non-Muslim subject of the Muslim
state.
141. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 141 of goodness is guided and has a relaxed
mind, and whomever He Willed He Misguides. The meaning of what Labid said:
is that the taqwa to our Lord is certainly the best nafl that the human being has
been granted. The meaning of his statement: is that no slow person goes
slow and no fast person goes fast except by the Will of Allah and His Permission. When
he said: it means there is no similar to Him. And when he said: what
was meant by that is the good and the evil, and not just the good. He only settled with
mentioning the good because there is

142. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 142 something in the Arabic language called
al-iktifa [sufficiency]. An example of that is the Saying of Allah: [ which
means] Allah Created clothing for you that protects you from the heat. This also means
and the cold, because the clothing protects from both matters, not only the heat. When
the poet said: it means whatever Allah Willed to take place must take place and
whatever He did not Will to take place will not take place. And when he said:
this means that whomever Allah Willed to be on the straight, correct path is guided.
When he said: it means his mind is tranquil. When he said:
143. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 143 it means whomever Allah Willed
to be misguided, then Allah Misguides him. Al-Bayhaqiyy narrates from Ash-Shafi^iyy that
he said when he was asked about destiny:

[ which means] O Allah, whatever You Willed was [i.e., You
Made it come into existence] even if I did not will; and whatever I willed, if You did not Will
then it will not be. You Created the slaves according to what You Knew, and according to
that Knowledge the young person and the old person will run [i.e., act]. And You have
Endowed upon this one and that one you have Forsaken, and You have Empowered this
one and that one You did not Empower. So among them are those who will die as
blasphemers and among them are those who will die as believers, and this one is ugly
and this one is beautiful. So from this it becomes clear that the pronoun in the Saying of
Allah:
144. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 144 [ which means] He
misguides whomever He Willed and He guides whomever He Willed, goes back to Allah;
it does not go back to the slave as was claimed by the deniers of the Qadar. This is
proven by the Saying of Allah the Exalted, informing about what our Master Musa said:
[ which means] Certainly that issue is the fitnah that was
created by You, O Allah. You misguide by that fitnah whomever You Willed and You Guide
whomever You Will. Likewise said a faction that is attributed to Amin Shaykhu, those
whom their leader today is ^Abdul-Hadi Al-Baniyy, the one who is in Damascus. They
claimed that the Will of Allah follows the will of the slave, so the meaning of the ayah
according to them is that if the slave willed the guidance then Allah Willed the guidance
for him, and if the slave willed to go astray, then Allah will Misguide him. So they have
belied the verse: [ which means] You do not will unless Allah Wills. If
some of them try to use a verse in the Quran to prove the opposite of this meaning, it is
said to them that all the verses in the Quran verify each other and do not contradict.
There is no verse in the Quran
145. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 145 contradictory to another verse, and this is
not an issue of abrogation, because abrogation does not apply to the convictions. Also,
abrogation does not dictate contradiction, and abrogation does not apply to information;
rather, it applies to the order and prohibition. Abrogation is only the clarification of the
expiration of the judgment of a previously revealed verse by the judgment of a
subsequently revealed verse. Beyond that, this group does not believe in abrogation.
Among their strange stupidity is their interpretation of the Saying of Allah the Exalted:
[ which means] Allah Taught Adam the names of all the things. They said
this means that Allah Taught Adam the Perfect Names of Allah. Had it been said to them
that had these names been the Perfect Names of Allah, Allah would not have Said after
that: [ which means] so when he informed them of their names, and

instead He would have Said, When he informed them of My Names, they would be
silenced. Despite that, they will insist on their ignorance and their perversion of the
Quran. Al-Hakim, may Allah the Exalted have Mercy on him, narrated that ^Aliyy Ar-Rida,
the son of Musa Al-Kadhim, was sitting in the
146. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 146 Rawdah [of the Masjid of the Prophet]
wrapped in wool, and he was a young man; the people were asking him while the shaykhs
of the scholars were in the Masjid. He was asked about the Qadar, and so he said that
Allah Said: [ * * which
means] Certainly the criminals [i.e., blasphemers] are in a state of misguidance and
destruction. The day when they will be dragged in Hellfire on their faces, [it is said to
them] Taste of the touch of Hell. Certainly We Created everything by Qadar. Then ArRida said, My father used to mention from the route of his father that the Prince of the
Believers, ^Aliyy, used to say: Certainly Allah Created everything by Qadar, even stupidity
and intelligence. And to Him is the all-inclusive Will, and from Him is the ability to do the
good deeds or refrain from the bad deeds. So the slaves are driven to do what occurs
from them by their choice, not by compulsion and coercion like a feather stuck in the wind,
the wind taking it left and right, as said by the Jabriyyah.58 Had Allah not Created the sins
of the sinners, the blasphemy of the blasphemers, the belief of the believers and the
obedience of the obedient, He would not have Created Paradise and Hell. 58 A deviant
faction that denied that the slave has a will.
147. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 147 Whoever attributes to Allah the creation of
good, and not the creation of evil, has attributed inability to Allah; had it been like that, this
world would have two managers, a manager of good and a manager of evil, and this is
blasphemy and shirk. This foolish opinion, from another point of view, makes Allah the
Exalted overcome in His Dominion; according to this conviction, Allah the Exalted only
Willed the good, so the evil would have taken place by Iblis and his assistant blasphemers
despite whatever Allah Willed. Whoever believes in this opinion blasphemes, because of
its opposition to the Saying of Allah the Exalted:[ which means] Allah is
Dominant over whatever He Created. This means no one prevents the fulfillment of His
Will. The judgment of the one who attributes to Allah the good and attributes to the slave
the evil out of good manners is that there is no harm on him. However, if he believed that
Allah Created the good but not the evil he is charged with blasphemy. Know, may Allah
have Mercy upon you, that if Allah tortured the sinner, that is by His Justice without any
injustice; and if He gave reward to the obedient, that is from His Generosity with no
obligation upon Him, because injustice is only conceived to occur from someone who has
a commander and a prohibitor. Allah has no commander and no prohibitor, so He Does in
His dominion as
148. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 148 He Willed, because He is the Creator of
the things and their Owner. It came in the Sahih Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad in his
Musnad and Abu Dawud in his Sunan and Ibn Hibban from the route of Ibn Ad-Daylamiyy
that he said, I came to Ubayy Ibn Ka^b and I said, O Aba-l-Mundhir, something in myself
has taken place in reference to the Qadar; so talk to me, perhaps Allah will Benefit me.
He said: Certainly Allah, had He tortured the people of His earth and His skies, He would
have tortured them without being unjust to them; and had He had Mercy upon them, His
Mercy would have been Generosity, not due to them because of their good deeds. And
had you given in charity the likes of Mount Uhud in gold, Allah will not Accept it from you
until you believe in the Qadar and know that whatever hit you would not have missed you,

and whatever missed you was not going to hit you; and if you die on other than this, you
have entered Hell. Then I went to ^Abdullah Ibn Mas^ud and he told me the same, then I
went to Hudhayfah Ibn Al-Yaman and he told me the same, then I went to Zayd Ibn Thabit
and he told me the same from the Prophet.
149. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 149 Muslim narrated in his Sahih and AlBayhaqiyy narrated in Kitab Al-Qadar from the route of Abu Aswad Ad-Dualiyy: ^Imran
Ibnu Husayn said to me: Do you see what the people are doing today, and that in which
they are laboring? Is it something predestined for them that has come to pass on them, or
among what they encounter [without destiny]? [Answer] with that with which their Prophet
came to them, and by it the Evidence was established against them. I said, It is
something that has been destined for them and came to pass on them. Then ^Imran said,
Would that not have been injustice? I was very repelled by this question, and I said,
Everything is His creation and His ownership, He is not asked about what He Does,
rather, they are the ones who will be asked. He said, May Allah have Mercy on you, I did
not mean anything by my question except to test your intellect. Certainly two men from the
tribe of Muzaynah came to the Messenger of Allah and they said to him, O Messenger of
Allah, do you see what the people are doing today, and that in which they are laboring? Is
it something predestined for them that has come to pass on them, or among what they
encounter [without destiny]? [Answer] with that with which their Prophet came to them,
and by it the Evidence was established against them. He said, In fact, it is something
that has been ordained for them and
150. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 150 came to pass on them, and what proves
the truthfulness of that is the Saying of Allah: [ * which
means] And I swear by the soul and what Created it [Allah], He is the one who inspired it
with its wickedness and its piety. And there is also the sahih hadith,

[ which means] Whoever found goodness, then let
him praise Allah, and whoever found other than that, let him blame noone but himself,
narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Abu Dharr from the Prophet from Allah. As for the
first, and that is the one who found goodness, then he praises Allah because Allah is the
one who is Generous to him by Creating and Giving him the success without any
obligation on Him. So let the slave praise his Lord for His Generosity upon him. As for the
second one, and he is the one who found evil, it is because Allah Made the evil inclination
of the slave become clear by His Power. And so whomever Allah Misguided, that was by
His Justice, and whomever He Guided, that was by His Generosity.
151. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 151 Had Allah Created the creation and Put a
group of them in Paradise and a group of them in Hell based on His prior Knowledge,
then the situation of the tortured among them would have been as Allah Described in the
Quran when He Said:
( which
means) Had We Devastated them with a preemptive torture before they did anything,
they would have said, O our Lord! Had You only Sent to us a messenger, so that we
would follow Your signs before we were degraded. So Allah Sent the Messengers as
givers of good tidings and warners, so by the Sending of the Messengers Allah would
make clear what was the readiness of the slave, whether obedience or refusal; thus, the
one who is tortured would be tortured with evidence, and the one who lives in luxury
would live in luxury with evidence. He Informed us that the fate of a portion of His creation
is Hell because of the deeds they did by their choice, and He, the Exalted, was
Knowledgeable with His Eternal Knowledge that they would not believe. The Exalted Said:

152. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 152

[ which means] And had We Willed, We would have Given every soul its
guidance; however, what I have Eternally Said will come into existence: Certainly I will
surely fill Hell with jinn and humans. In this verse Allah Informed that He Eternally Said,
Certainly I will surely fill Hell with jinn and humans, and the saying of Allah is truth; He
does not go back on His Word, because going back His Word, i.e., changing, would be
lying in reference to Allah, and lying is impossible in reference to Him. Allah the Exalted
Said: [ which means] [O Muhammad] say, Allah has the
ultimate Evidence, and had He Willed He would have Guided all of you, i.e., He did not
Will the guidance of all of you, since that is not what He Knew would occur; and so the
slaves are driven to do the deeds that occur from them by their choice, not by compulsion
or coercion. Know that what we have mentioned about the issue of the Qadar is not
delving into the issue in the inappropriate way that the Prophet forbade when he said,
153. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 153 [ which means] If Destiny is
mentioned, then hold back, as narrated by At-Tabaraniyy, because this is the explanation
of the Qadar with which the religious text came. As for what is prohibited, that is delving to
reach its secret. Ash-Shafi^iyy and Ibn ^Asakir narrated from the route of ^Aliyy that he
said to the one who was asking about the Qadar, It is the secret of Allah, do not delve
into it, but the man insisted. ^Aliyy said to him, Then if you refused to stop, know that
certainly it is a matter between two matters; it is not compulsion and it is not unrestricted
free will. Also know that the Messenger of Allah dispraised the deniers of the Qadar, and
they are of factions. Among them are those who said that the slave is in charge of all of
his voluntary deeds, and among them are those who said that he is the creator of evil, not
the good, and both factions are blasphemers. The Messenger of Allah said,
[ which means] The Qadariyyah are the Majus of this nation, and in one narration
of this hadith,
154. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 154 [which means] Every nation had its
Majus, and the Majus of this nation are those who say There is no destiny. Narrated by
Abu Dawud from the route of Hudhayfah from the Prophet. In the book of Al-Qadar by AlBayhaqiyy, and in the book Tahdhibul-Athar by Imam Ibn Jarir At-Tabariyy, may Allah have
Mercy upon both of them, [it is narrated] from the route of ^Abdullah Ibn ^Umar that the
Messenger of Allah said, [ which means] Two factions
from my nation have no share in Islam: the Qadariyyah [those who deny the Qadar] and
the Murjiah [those who deny that believers will be punished]. The Mu^tazilah are the
Qadariyyah because they made Allah and the slave equal by negating the Power of Allah
over what the slave has power over. As if they are confirming [many] creators in reality,
just like the Majus have confirmed two creators, a creator for good, who according to them
is the light, and a creator for evil, who according to them is the darkness. Guidance Is of
Two Facets Guidance is of two types. The first of them is clarifying the truth and calling to
it, and establishing the evidence for it. According to this meaning, it is valid to attribute
guidance to the Messengers and to everyone who calls to the Religion of Allah, like in the
Saying of Allah about His Messenger, Muhammad :
155. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 155 [ which means]
Certainly you surely guide to a straight path, and also the Saying of Allah:
[ which means] As for Thamud, We guided them [i.e., sent a
Prophet to them], but they preferred blindness over guidance. The second type of
guidance is Allahs Guidance of His slaves, i.e., Creating the guidance within their hearts,

like in the Saying of Allah:

[ which means] Whomever Allah Willed to Guide, He
Expands his chest to Islam; and whomever Allah Willed to Misguide, He Makes his chest
tight. Misguiding is Creating the misguidance in the hearts of the misguided people. The
slaves will follows the Will of Allah. Allah the Exalted Said:
156. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 156 [which means] You do not will unless
Allah Wills. This verse is among the clearest evidence of the misguidance of the group of
Amin Shaykhu because they say that if the slave wills to be guided, then Allah will Guide
him, and the if the slave wills to be misguided then Allah will Misguide him. What would
they say about this verse [which means]: Whomever Allah Willed to Guide, He Expands
his chest towards Islam,? It is explicit in showing that the Will of Allah has precedence
over the will of the slave. In this verse Allah attributed the Will to Himself and he did not
ascribe it to the slave. As if those people are saying, Whoever the slave willed that his
chest would be expanded to Islam, then Allah will expand his chest. Furthermore, when
He Says [what means], Whomever Allah Willed to Misguide, then Allah Makes his chest
tight, there is no way to return the pronoun in He Wills back to the slave, because this
would make the expression in the Quran weak, and the Quran is the pinnacle of
eloquence; there is no eloquence above the eloquence of the Quran. By this their deep
ignorance and strong stupidity becomes clear, and according to the implications of their
talk, the meaning of the verse [which means]: Whomever Allah Willed to Guide, He
Expands his chest to Islam, would be that the slave who wills that Allah would Guide him,
then Allah would Expand his chest to the guidance, and this is opposite of the expression
that Allah Revealed. This is the necessary conclusion of what their creed
157. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 157 dictates: that if Allah and the slave willed
that Allah misguides him, then Allah Makes his chest tight, and this is not correct. This a
perversion of the Quran, because it takes the Quran out of the proper modes of the
Arabic language, those modes of the Arabic language according to which it was
Revealed. The Companions understood the Quran according to the rules of the Arabic
language, and the proof that the they understand the Quran differently than this group
understands it is the unanimous agreement of the Muslims, their Salaf and the Khalaf,
about saying, Whatever Allah Willed to be shall be, and whatever Allah did not Will to be
shall not be. The Destining of Allah Does Not Change Know that Allahs Eternal
Predestining is not changed by anything; neither the supplication of the one who
supplicates, nor the charity of the one who gives charity, nor the prayer of the one who
prays, nor anything else among the good deeds. Instead there is no escape from the
creation existing according to what Allah had Predestined for them Eternally without this
changing at all. As for the Saying of Allah:
158. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 158 [which means] Allah Erases whatever He
Willed, and He Confirms whatever He Willed, and to Him belongs the Guarded Tablet,
this does not mean the erasing and the confirmation is related to the Preordainment of
Allah. Instead, the meaning of this is that Allah, Whose praises are exalted, Ordered to be
written what would inflict the slave among His slaves, such as hardship, prevention from
goodness, death, and other than that; and if the slave were to make du^a, or he were to
obey Allah by staying in touch with his [Muslim] relative or other than that, this hardship
would not be inflicted upon that Muslim, or Allah will give him lots of provision instead, or
make his life long. He had written in the Guarded Tablet what will actually happen
between those two matters. So the erasing and the confirmation goes back to one of the

books of the angels in which this conditional destiny is written, just as Ibn ^Abbas
signaled to. Al- Bayhaqiyy narrated from Ibn ^Abbas that he said about the verse of the
Quran [which means]: Allah Erases whatever He Willed, and He Confirms whatever He
Willed, and to Him belongs the Guarded Tablet, Allah Erases whatever He Willed from
the two books of the Angels. There are two books; Allah Erases whatever He Willed from
one of them, and He Confirms the other one, and to Him belongs the Guarded Tablet [that
contains all of it]. Also, this erasing does not pertain to dying on the state of kufr
[shaqawah] or dying on the state of Islam [sa^adah] . Al159. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 159 Bayhaqiyy narrates from the route of
Mujahid that he said about the interpretation of the Saying of Allah: [ which
means] On that night, every definitive matter is distinguished, On the night of Qadr what
would take place in the coming year would be clarified, such as provision or hardship. As
for the confirmation of dying on a state of blasphemy or a state of belief, this is confirmed
and it will not change. For this reason, the du^a that some people say in the month of
Sha^ban is not authentic from the Prophet, which has in it: O Allah, if you had written me
in the Guarded Tablet as someone who will die as a blasphemer, then erase from me the
name of being miserable and confirm for me the state of bliss [dying as a believer]; and if
You wrote for me in the Guarded Tablet that I would be prevented from goodness and that
my provision would be cut off, then erase for me that prevention from goodness and the
cutting off of my provision, and confirm for me bliss and success in goodness. For
certainly You said in Your Book [what means]: Allah Erases whatever He Willed and He
Confirms whatever He Willed and to Him belongs the Guarded Tablet. Nor is any other
hadith of this sort confirmed from the Prophet, nor from ^Umar, nor from Mujahid, nor from
anyone else from the Salaf, as is known from the book of Al-Qadar by Al-Bayhaqiyy.
160. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 160 Let it be known that the Will of Allah and
His Destining do not change, because changing is impossible to attribute to Allah. As for
the hadith: [ which means] Nothing deflects the Qadar except du^a, it refers
back to the conditional destiny, not the definitive. Dividing the Matters into Four Categories
All of the matters are of four categories. The first is something that Allah Willed and
Ordered for it to be done, and that is the belief of the believers and the obedience of the
obedient. The second is something that Allah Willed but did not Order for it to be done,
and that is the sin of the sinners and the blasphemy of the blasphemers. However, Allah
does not Accept blasphemy; even though He Created it by His Will, He does not Accept it
from His slaves. Allah the Exalted Said: [ which means] He does not
Accept blasphemy for His slaves. The third category is a matter Allah did not Will for, but
He did Order for it to be done, such as belief in reference to the blasphemers that Allah
Knew would die on blasphemy. They were ordered with belief, but He did not Will that for
them. The fourth
161. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 161 is a matter that He did not Will and He did
not Order, such as blasphemy in reference to the Prophets and the Angels. So whoever is
a believer in the Honorable Quran, then let him stop at the Saying of Allah:
[ which means] He is not asked about what He does, they are asked. So it is
not said, How could Allah torture the sinners in the Hereafter for their sins that He Willed
for them to fall into? The Tawhid of Allah in the Doings59 It was narrated from Imam AlJunayd, the Imam of the true Sufiyys, that when he was asked about Tawhid he said,
Certainty. Then he was asked for clarification, so he said, Certainly, there is no one who
gives being to anything among the things, whether entities or deeds, and no creator for

them other than Allah. Allah the Exalted Said: [ which means] Allah
Created you and your deeds, and the Messenger of Allah said: 59 Allah being exclusively
Attributed with Creating.
162. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 162[ which means]
Certainly Allah is the Maker of every maker and his making, as narrated by Al-Hakim, AlBayhaqiyy, and Ibn Hibban from the hadith of Hudhayfah. Since the slaves do not create
anything of their deeds, and instead they acquire them, Allah certainly Said:
[which means] Allah is the Creator of everything. Allah is praised by this, because it is
something specific to him, and that dictates absolute inclusivity of all entities, deeds,
movements and stillnesses. Allah the Exalted Said: *
[ which means] [O Muhammad,] say: Certainly my prayer and
my nusuk,60 and my life and my death, are all owned by Allah; He has no partners. With
this I was Commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims among this nation. Allah
Mentioned the prayer, nusuk, life and death all in one context, and He made all of that His
Ownership. So just as Allah is the Creator of life and death, and 60 The worships of Hajj,
or slaughter.
163. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 163 likewise He is the Creator of the voluntary
deeds, like the prayer, and the nusuk, the involuntary deeds are even more obviously
Created by Allah. What is special about the voluntary deeds, meaning the deeds to which
we have an inclination, is that they are the deeds related to acquisition. Therefore
accountability is related to those voluntary deeds. Acquisition, which is the deed of the
slave, for which he is either rewarded or punished in the Hereafter, is for the slave to
direct his intention and his will towards a deed; meaning he spends his power in that.
Then Allah will Create it for him upon that. So the slave is an acquirer of his deed, and
Allah is the Creator of the deed of this slave, which is his acquisition, and this is among
the most ambiguous matters in this Science. Allah the Exalted Said:
[which means] For every soul is what it acquired, and against it is what it acquired.
Therefore the human being is not compelled, nor is he forced to act, because compulsion
negates accountability. This is the true way; it is different from [the belief of] compulsion
and it is different from denying the Qadar. It is different from the schools of the Jabriyyah
and the Qadariyyah. Whoever says that the slave creates his own deeds, like the
Mu^tazilah, blasphemes; as Ibn ^Abbas said, may Allah Accept his
164. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 164 deeds, The talk of the Qadariyyah is
blasphemy, and the Qadariyyah are the Mu^tazilah. Abu Yusuf said, The Mu^tazilah are
not people of religion, and Abu Mansur At-Tamimiyy in his book Al-Farqu Bayna-l-Firaq
described them as mushriks. Abu Mansur is the one that Ibn Hajar Al-Haytamiyy said
about him, The great Imam, the Imam of our colleagues, Abu Mansur Al- Baghdadiyy
said and he is among those from whom Al- Bayhaqiyy copied hadith. Do not be enticed
by the lack of charging them with blasphemy from the later scholars. Ustadh Abu Mansur
At-Tamimiyy conveyed the Imams charge of blasphemy against them in his books Usulud-Din and Tafsiru-l-Asmau wa-s-Sifat. He said in his book, Tafsiru-l-Asmau wa-s-Sifat:
Our colleagues have a consensus about charging the Mu^tazilah with blasphemy,
meaning those who say the slave creates his voluntary deeds, and likewise those who say
that it is obligatory on Allah to do what is most beneficial for the slave. He means by his
saying, Our colleagues, the Ash^ariyys and the Shafi^iyys, because he is an Ash^ariyy
and a Shafi^iyy; in fact, he is a prominent leader among the Shafi^iyys, as said by Ibn
Hajar, and he is a forerunning Imam in the conveyance of documents. He is known for

that among the scholars of fiqh, the scholars of usul, and the historians who have
authored works about the factions; so whoever wants more certainty, let him read these
books of his.
165. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 165 His conveyance is not discredited by the
talk of Al-Bajuriyy and his likes who came before him or after him. As for the talk of some
of the early scholars in reference to abandoning charging the Mu^tazilah with blasphemy,
that is in likes to Bishr Al-Marisiyy and Al-Mamun Al-^Abbasiyy because Bishr agreed
with them in saying that the Quran is created61 , and he charged them with blasphemy
for saying that the slaves create their own deeds. So know that not everyone who is
ascribed to the school of the Mu^tazilah is judged with the same judgment, but every
single individual among them is judged as being misguided. The Intellectual Evidence for
the Invalidity of the Saying of the Mu^tazilah that the Slave Creates his Deeds The people
of the truth say that the slaves creation of his own deeds is invalid because of the
absolute inclusivity of the Power, Will, and Knowledge of Allah. The clarification of that is
that the Power of Allah is all-inclusive, and His Knowledge is all-inclusive, and His Will is
all-inclusive. The relation of all these Attributes to the possible occurrences is one relation,
because the existence of the mentally possible is in need of the Powerful One in
reference to its possibility and its occurrence. 61 This statement is not explicit blasphemy,
because by it it may be meant that the Revealed Expressions are created.
166. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 166 If these Attributes of His were specific to
only some of the possible matters, that would dictate Allahs attribution with the opposites
of these Attributes, such as ignorance and inability; that is imperfection, and imperfection
in reference to Allah is impossible. Furthermore, the specification of those attributes would
have dictated a specifier, and then [the specification of] that specifier would be related to
the One with necessary Existence and His Attributes, and this is impossible. Therefore
the absolute inclusivity of His Attributes is confirmed. If Allah the Exalted Willed for the
creation of an occurrence, and the slave willed for what is different from that, and the will
of the slave took place instead of the Will of Allah, that would validate the impossible claim
of two gods and for there to be numerous gods. The multiplicity of God is impossible by
the known evidence, and whatever leads to an impossibility is impossible. Confirmation
that the Normal Reasons Do Not Affect in Reality and that the Only One Who Affects in
Reality is Allah Al-Hakim, the author of Al-Mustadrak, mentioned in his book Tarikh
Naysabur: I heard Zakariyyah Yahya Ibn Muhammad Al-^Anbariyy saying, I heard Abu
^Isa Ibn Muhammad Ibn ^Isa At- Tahmaniyy Al-Marwaziyy saying: Certainly Allah Makes
167. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 167 apparent whatever He Willed, if He Willed,
of signs and lessons of His creations. Then by those signs Islam would be increased in
honor and power, and it supports the Guidance that was Revealed and the Evidence that
was Revealed, and it spreads the Signs of Prophethood, and it clarifies the indications of
the Messenger. As Generosity from Him, those signs and lessons would more firmly
establish the reality of iman for His Waliyys; and it gives them more evidence and proof
against those who refused to obey Allah and left out His Religion. Then whoever was
tortured would be tortured with evidence, and whoever was rewarded would be rewarded
with evidence. So to Him is the praise, no one is God but He, the One with the Ultimate
Evidence, the One with the Dominating Might, the Extremely Powerful One; and may the
Salah of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy and the Messenger
of Guidance, and upon his pure Al is the salam and Mercy of Allah and His Blessings.
Among what he have seen with our own eyes and witnessed in our time, and known

about it with certainty, and as a result our certainty about our Religion increased, and our
faith in what our Prophet came with and the truth to which he called was increased, and it
encouraged the
168. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 168 practice of jihad because of the status of
the martyrs; and it increased our faith in what he conveyed from Allah the Mighty and
Honored about the martyrs, which is that He, may His praises be glorified, Says in the
Quran: [ *which means] Do not consider
those who were killed fighting for the sake of Allah as dead; in fact, they are alive to their
Lord, and they are provided for, happy, is that I came in the year 238 to a city of
Khuwarizm. It is west of the valley of Jayhun, and from that city to the largest there is a
distance of half a day. I was informed that there was a woman among the wives of the
martyrs, she saw a dream as if she was fed something in it, and she does not eat
anything or drink anything since the time of Abul-^Abbas Ibn Tahir, the Governor of
Khurasan; and before that he had died by eight years, may Allah Accept his deeds. Then
I passed by that city in the year 242, and I saw her, and she told me her story, but I did not
take good care to document all of what she told me because of my youth. Then I returned
to Khuwarizm at the end of the year 252, and I found her still alive, and her story was
widespread.
169. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 169 This city is in a place where the caravans
passed by, and many of those who settled there, if her story reached them, they would
love to go look at her. So they would not ask any man, woman or child except that they
would know her and give the indication to where she was. When I reached the area, I
sought her and found her outside of the town by many farsakhs. So I went after her by
following her traces from village to village, and caught up with her between two villages.
She walked in a strong fashion, and she was a middle-aged woman with a good stature
and high breast; the blood was apparent in her, her cheeks were rosy, and her heart was
intelligent. She walked while I rode; I offered her a ride and she did not take it, and she
started walking with me strongly. Among the people who were traveling with me in the
session were some traders and landlords, and among them was a scholar who is called
Muhammad Ibn Hamdawayh Al-Harithiyyand Musa Ibn Harun Al-Bazzar took from him
in Makkaha middle-aged man who was worshipful and narrated hadith. Also there was
a nice young man named ^Abdullah Ibn ^Abdur-Rahman, and he used show the people of
his area who had cases how to swear in front of the judge. I asked him about her, and
they praised her greatly and said good about her. They
170. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 170 said, Her situation is clear to us. There is
not any one among us who differs about her. The one who is named ^Abdullah Ibn
^Abdur-Rahman said, I heard her story since I was young. I was growing up, and the
people were talking about her story all the time; I dedicated attention to her situation and
busied myself with researching it. I did not see except that she was a good, chaste
woman, I did not some across any lie in her claim, and I did not find any trickery or any
deception. He mentioned some of the people who work for the governors around
Khuwarizm; in the past they used to summon her, and they would put her in a house for a
month, two months, or more and lock her in it. They would appoint someone to observe
her, and they would not see her eating or drinking nor find any trace of urine or feces.
Then they would set her free, and they would give her clothing and let her go. So when
the people of the area had all agreed to her truthfulness, I asked her her story, and her
name, and I asked her all about her situation. She mentioned that her name was Rahmah

Bintu Ibrahim, and that she had a husband who was a poor carpenter. His livelihood was
by the work of his hands,
171. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 171 and his provision came to him day by day.
What he earned was never more than what he needed for feeding his family. She had
given birth to a number of children for him. Al-Aqta^, the king of the Turks62 , came to the
town. [She said] When the river froze, he crossed the valley and came over to us with
three thousand horsemen. The people of Khuwarizm call him Kasra.63 Abul-^Abbas said
that this Al-Aqta^ was an extremely unjust blasphemer with a strong enmity towards the
Muslims. He had been troublesome to the people on the borders, and insisted on
capturing people of Khuwarizm and killing and raiding them. The governors of Khurasan
used to appease him and his likes among the leaders of the non-Arab [blasphemers] to
minimize their harm on the citizens and their bloodshed of the Muslims. They would send
each one of them money, lots of trinkets, and different types of fine clothing. One year this
blasphemer was disrespectful to the ruler, and I do not know why that was. Were the gifts
late? Or did he consider that what was sent to him was inferior to what was sent to the
other kings? He came with his army and blocked the roads. He killed and maimed and 62
They were blasphemers at that time. 63 The title of the old Persian kings.
172. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 172 committed corruptions and atrocities. The
horsemen of Khuwarizm were unable to defeat him. The news of his attack reached Abul^Abbas ^Abdullah Ibn Tahir, may Allah have Mercy upon him, so he dispatched four
commanders: Tahir Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Mudrik, Ya^qub Ibn Mansur Ibn Talhah, Mikal Mawla
Tahir and Harun Al- ^Arid. He loaded the town with soldiers and weapons and arranged
them into four segments of the region. Each commander took a quarter. They protected
the women by the Will of Allah. Furthermore, the valley of Jayhun at the highest point of
the river of Balkh froze over when the cold intensified. It is a great river, it is very
treacherous and destructive to the crops. When the river expands its width would be
about a farsakh, and if it would freeze it would become a level surface, and nothing
beneath it can be reached unless a hole is dug into it like digging wells out of boulders. I
have seen the thickness of the ice ten handspans, and I was informed that in the past it
would exceed twenty handspans. When it would freeze it would serve as a bridge for the
people of the area; the soldiers, the pack animals, and the caravans would pass over it,
and so what is between the two banks would become arranged. Sometimes it would
remain frozen for one hundred
173. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 173 twenty days. If in a year the cold would be
less, it would remain for seventy days to about three months. The woman said that the
blasphemer crossed over with his horsemen to the door of the fortress. The people
sought refuge in the fortress and gathered their belongings there. So they attacked the
Muslims in the morning and harmed them, and so the people of the town were detained
inside. They wanted to go out, but the magistrate prevented them until the soldiers of the
Sultan and the volunteer fighters arrived, and so some young men strapped up and went
close to the wall of the fortress with whatever weapons they could carry. They attacked
the blasphemers, so the blasphemers faked a retreat and pulled them away from between
the buildings and walls. When they got outside, the blasphemers returned to them, and
the Muslims wound up in something like the forest. They sought cover and took a
structure to fight from behind it; they were separated from the fortress, and help was far
from them. They battled the most severe battling; they stayed firm until their bowstrings
popped and their bows snapped, the tiredness reached them, and they were touched by

hunger and thirst. Most of them were killed and the rest were inflicted with severe injuries.
When the night came, both factions fell back.
174. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 174 The woman said that the fires were lit on
the mountaintops the hour the blasphemer crossed over. The signal reached Jurjaniyyah,
which is a large city on the outskirts of Khuwarizm, where Mikal Mawla Tahir was with his
army, so he rushed to respond out of reverence for the Amir, Abul-^Abbas ^Abdullah Ibn
Tahir, may Allah have Mercy upon him. He ran to Hazarasb in a day and a night, forty
Khuwariziyy farsakhs, and those were much bigger than the Khurasaniyy farsakhs. The
blasphemer decided to wipe out the band the next day. When that was in progress the
black flags showed up, and they heard the sounds of the drums, so they retreated from
the people, and Mikal reached the battlefield. He buried the dead and carried the
wounded. The woman said, That evening we had four hundred funerals in the fortress;
there was no house except that there was a dead person carried to it. It was a widespread
tragedy, and the whole region shook with crying. She said, My husband was placed in
front of me dead. So I was overcome with extreme sadness and crying, as a young
woman would cry over her husband, the father of her children, and we had dependents.
The women of my family and neighbors gathered to help me through the crying. The
children came, and they were babies; they had no concept of the issue. They asked for
bread, and I did
175. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 175 not have any, and my chest was tightened
by my situation. Then I heard the adhan of Maghrib, so I went to resort to the prayer. I
prayed what my Lord Ordained for me, then I prostrated, supplicating; and I was
beseeching Allah the Exalted, asking Him for patience and for Him to Mend the
orphanage of my children. Then sleep took me away in my prostration. I saw myself in
my dream as if I was in a beautiful land with many stones. I was seeking my husband. A
man called me, Where are you going, O free woman? I said, I am seeking my husband.
He said, Go to the right. I saw a level land; it was fragrant and had plenty of greenery,
and behold, there were palaces and buildings that I am unable to describe, and the likes
of which I have never seen, and there were rivers flowing on the face of the earth without
banks. I ended up at some people who were sitting circle by circle. They were wearing
green clothing and they were engulfed in light, and behold, they were the people who
were killed in the battle, eating from food laid out for them. I started going between them
and examining their faces so that I would meet my husband. However, he saw me, and so
he called me: O Rahmah! So I followed the voice and behold, he was in the same
situation in which I saw the other martyrs. His face was like the full moon. He
176. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 176 was eating with his companions that were
killed with him that day. He said to his companions, This poor woman has been hungry
all day. Do you permit me to give her something to eat? They permitted him, so he gave
me a piece of bread. She said I knew at that time that it was bread, but I do not know
how it was made. It was whiter than snow and milk, sweeter than honey and sugar, and
softer than butter and fat. I ate it, and when it settled in my belly, he said: Go. Allah has
Given you sufficient food and drink for the rest of your life in the dunya. I woke from my
sleep satiated and quenched. I needed neither food nor drink, and I have not tasted them
since then until this day of mine, nor anything the people eat. Abul-^Abbas said, She
used to sit with us. We used to eat and she would gag, and take hold of her nose,
claiming that she is harmed by the smell of the food. So I asked her, Do you seek
nutrition from anything, or drink anything other than water? She said No. I asked her,

does gas and waste come out of her like other people? She said: I have not experienced
waste since that time. I said, And menstruation? I think that she said, It stopped when
the eating stopped. I said, Do you have the womens need for men? She said, And you
are
177. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 177 not shy of me to ask me the likes of this?
I said, It is so I could tell the people about you, and it is necessary that I would be
thorough. She said, I do not need it. I said, Do you sleep? She said, Yes, the
sweetest of sleep. I said, What do you see in your dreams? She said, Like you see. I
said, Do you experience weakness because of the lack of food? She said, I have not
felt hunger since I was fed that food. She used to accept charity. I said to her, What do
you do with it? She said, I clothe myself and my children. I said to her, Do you feel the
cold, and are you harmed by heat? She said, Yes. I said, Do you become tired when
you walk? She said, Yes, am I not a human? I said, Do you make wudu for salah?
She said, Yes. I said, Why? She said, The scholars ordered me with that. I say: They
have given her this fatwa from the hadith that wudu is not obligatory except for impurity or
sleep. She mentioned to me that her stomach is stuck to her back, so I ordered a woman
who was with us, and she looked (i.e., without looking at her ^awrah), and her stomach
was as she described. She took a bag, stuffed it with cotton, and tied it to her stomach so
that her back would not snap when she walked. I never ceased to visit Hazarasb every
two or three years, and she would meet with me and I would repeat the questions. She
would not
178. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 178 add anything or omit anything. I presented
her talk to ^Abdullah Ibn ^Abdur-Rahman the faqih; he said, I have heard this talk since I
was raised, and I have never found anyone who denies it, or claims that he heard that she
eats or drinks or defecates. This story proves that there is no necessary intellectual
relation between the lack of food and sickness, the loss of health, and degeneration of the
body. Likewise, it is mentally valid that the rest of the normal reasons would be devoid of
their results. Furthermore, it proves that things are by the Will of Allah the Exalted, and
that the martyrs have a life in the graves. Glory be to the One Who has Power over
everything.
179. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 179 Important Notice The ignorant person is
not excused from what we mentioned of the basics of the Creed, and he is not excused if
he falls into blasphemy because of his lack of care about the Religion. Had ignorance
excused one from punishment, then ignorance would have been better than knowledge,
and this is against the Saying of Allah the Exalted:
[ which means] [O Muhammad,] are the people who know equal to the people who
do not know? However, whoever was new to Islam, or similar to him, does not blaspheme
for denying the obligation of the prayer, the prohibition of wine, and the like, if he never
heard that this is the Religion of Islam. The first obligation in reference to the family is
teaching them the fundamentals of the Creed so that they would not fall into blasphemy by
their ignorance of it. For instance, had they believed that Allah was a white, illuminated
body, and reached puberty believing in that, and then died believing it, they will dwell in
Hell as a result of their corrupted convictions. Al-Fudayl Ibn ^Iyad said:
180. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 180 Do not be enticed by the numbers of the
doomed. Is this ignorance of the Creed the result of ones love for his children? Allah the
Exalted Said: [ which means] I have not Created the jinn and the
humans except to worship Me. The interpretation of the verse came as, Allah did not

Create the jinn and humans except to Order them to worship Him. After the guidance
came to us, which is the Messenger, and the evidence was established against us by him,
we have no excuse. The Exalted Said: [ which means] We do not
Punish until sending a Messenger.
181. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 181 Prophethood Nubuwwah [Prophethood] is
derived from naba [news], because Prophethood includes informing from Allah; or it is
derived from nabwah [highness]. According to the first possibility, the word Nabiyy has the
pattern of fa^il with the meaning of the doer, because he informs from Allah about what
was Revealed to him. Or it could be with the meaning of the receiver; then it would mean
he is informed from Allah, meaning that the Angel informs him from Allah. Prophethood is
intellectually possible, not impossible. Certainly Allah the Exalted sent the Prophets as a
Mercy to the slaves, because the intellect does not have what frees the people from the
need for the Prophets. The mind does not independently know the things that save one in
the Hereafter, so in sending the Prophets there is a necessary welfare for the slave,
because of their need for that. So Allah is Generous by making Prophethood for His
slaves. It is the embassy between Allah and His slaves. The Difference between the
Prophets and the Messengers Know that the Prophet and the Messenger both share in
the reception of Revelation. Allah Revealed a Law to both of them to work according to
and to convey to the people, except that the Messenger comes with the abrogation of the
Law of the
182. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 182 Messenger before him, or he comes with
a new Law. It is Revealed to the Prophet who is not a Messenger to follow the Law of the
Messenger before him and to convey it. For that reason the scholars said, Every
Messenger is a Prophet, but not every Prophet is a Messenger. Furthermore, there is
also a difference between Prophets and Messengers in that the Angel would be ascribed
with being a Messenger and Prophethood would only be for the human. What is
Necessary for the Prophets and What is Impossible for Them Truthfulness is necessary
for the Prophets, and lying is impossible for them; and intelligence is necessary for them,
and dullness and stupidity is impossible for them; and trustworthiness is necessary for
them; and so the prophets are clear of blasphemy, major sins, and demeaning small sins.
This is the necessary impeccability for them, and treachery is impossible to be an
attribute of theirs. The Protection is necessary for them; despicability, foolishness and
cowardice are impossible for them, and they are clear of everything that repels the people
from accepting the Call from them. Likewise, it is impossible that they would be attributed
with any repulsive sickness. So anyone who attributes to them lying, treachery,
despicability, foolishness, cowardice, or the likes of that, has blasphemed.
183. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 183 The Miracle Know that the way to know
the Prophets is the Miracle; it is a supernatural matter, it happens in compliance with the
claim of the one who claims Prophethood, and it is clear of being discredited by
something similar. Any matter that is strange but does not oppose nature is not a Miracle.
Likewise, whatever does oppose nature but is not accompanied with the claim of
Prophethood is not called a Miracle, like the supernatural matters that happen to the
Waliyys, those who follow the Prophets. That is not a Miracle, rather it is called a
Karamah. Likewise whatever is possibly opposed by its likes is not a miracle, like magic,
for magic is opposed by magic of its likes. The Miracle is of two categories: a category
that takes place after the peoples challenge to the one who claims Prophethood, and a
category which happens without any challenge. The first is like the camel of Salih, the one

that came out of the boulder. His people challenged him with that. They said, If you are a
Prophet sent to us for us to believe in you, then bring a camel for us out of this boulder,
and its calf, so he brought a camel out of the boulder for them with its calf. They were
amazed, so they believed in him; because had he been a liar in saying that Allah sent
him, then he would not have performed this strange supernatural matter which no one
among the people was able to oppose with its likes.
184. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 184 Therefore the evidence was established
against them, and they had no valid option except acceptance in the heart and faith in
him, because the intellect dictates the truthfulness of the one who performs such a matter.
Those who oppose a Miracle are unable to perform something like it to discredit it, so
anyone who does not accept it in his heart and stubbornly opposes it is considered
someone who deems the value of intellectual evidence as nothing. Miracles That Took
Place for Those Who Came before Our Master Muhammad Among the examples of
Miracles that took place for those who came before Muhammad is the great fires lack
of effect on Ibrahim [Abraham], in such a way that it did not burn him or his clothing.
Among them is the transformation of Musas [Moses] staff into a real serpent, then it
returning to its original state after the magicians that Pharaoh prepared for opposing Musa
confessed, accepted in their hearts, and believed in Allah and disbelieved in the Pharoah,
and confessed about Musa that he was truthful in what he came with. Also among them is
what took place for ^Isa [Jesus], such as reviving the dead. That is something that cannot
be opposed with its likes. So the Jews, who were cursed for belying ^Isa, and were
diligent to fabricate about him, were unable to oppose what he did with its likes. He also
performed another great strange
185. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 185 matter, which was curing the one born
blind, and no one from his time was able to oppose that with its likes, despite the
proficiency in medicine at that era. So that is evidence of his truthfulness in everything
that he informed about, such as the obligation of worshipping the Creator alone, without
any association of partners with Him, and the obligation of them following him in the
deeds he ordered them to perform. Some of the Miracles of the Prophet As for
Muhammad, may the Salah of Allah be upon him and all of his brotherly Prophets, among
his Miracles is the moaning tree stump. The Prophet used to lean against a stump of a
palm tree when he would give the speech in his Masjid, before the pulpit was made for
him. Then when the pulpit was made for him, he ascended on it and he started with the
speech while he was standing on it. Then the tree stump moaned to the extent that
everyone in the Masjid heard its moaning, so he came down and embraced it until it was
silent. Also among his Miracles is the speaking of those who do not speak, i.e., the
animals. Imam Ahmad and Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated from Ya^la Ibn Murrah Ath-Thaqafiyy
with an authentic chain of narration that he said: We were walking with the Prophet when
a camel that was made to carry loads passed by. When the camel saw the Prophet it
made a strange noise and lowered its neck, and
186. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 186 so the Prophet stopped at it for a moment.
Then he said, Where is the owner of this camel? So the owner came, and the Prophet
said, Sell it to me. He said, In fact, we would give it to you, O Messenger of Allah,
however, it is for my family and we have no other means of making livelihood. So the
Prophet said, If you insisted on keeping it, this camel has complained about excessive
work and too little fodder, so treat it well. Ibn Shahin narrated in his book Dalailu-nNubuwwah from the route of ^Abdullah Ibn Ja^far that he said, The Prophet let me ride

with him that day behind him. He entered a garden of a man among the Ansar and there
was a camel there. When it saw the Prophet it moaned and cried until the Prophet came
to it and he rubbed the bases of its ears, and so it stopped. He said, Who is the owner of
this camel? Then a young man from the Ansar came and said, It is mine. The Prophet
said: Why do you not fear Allah in reference to this animal that Allah Enabled you to own?
For certainly it has complained to me that you starve it and overwork it. This is an
authentic hadith, just as said by Muhaddith Murtada Az- Zabidiyy in the explanation of
Ihya ^Ulumi-d-Din. Among them is the springing of water from between his fingers, which
was witnessed in several incidents in great battles that
187. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 187 were narrated through many routes. The
sum of those narrations promotes definitive knowledge, which is what the hadith that is
mutawatir by its meaning promotes. This did not happen for anyone other than our
Prophet; it happened in such a way that the water sprang from his bones, nerves, flesh
and blood, and this is more amazing than water springing from the stone that was hit by
Musa. For water to come out of a stone is known, which is different than water coming
from between flesh and blood. This was narrated through the route of Jabir, Anas, Ibn
Mas^ud, Ibn ^Abbas, Abu Layla Al-Ansariyy and Abu Rafi^. The two Shaykhs [AlBukhariyy and Muslim] narrated from the hadith of Anas: I saw the Messenger of Allah
and ^Asr came in, and he sought the water for wudu but he did not find it. Then the
Messenger was approached with water for wudu. He put his hand in that container and
then ordered the people to make wudu, and I saw the water springing from between his
fingers, and the people made wudu until the last one of them. In a narration of AlBukhariyy, the narrator said to Anas, How many of you were there? He said, Three
hundred. Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim also narrated from the hadith of Jabir: The people
were thirsty on the day of Al-Hudaybiyah and the Messenger of Allah had a bucket in front
of him from which he was making wudu. Then the people gathered, and he said, What is
wrong with you? They said: O Messenger of Allah, we do not have that by which we
would make wudu and we do not have
188. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 188 anything to drink except what is between
your hands. So the Prophet put his hands in the bucket and the water started to pour
forth from between his fingers like springs. So we began to drink and to make wudu.
Then it was asked, How many of you were there? He said, Had there been one hundred
thousand of us it would have been enough. We were fifteen hundred. What is precise is
that the water was springing from the flesh between the Prophets fingers itself. That is
what An-Nawawiyy said explicitly in the explanation of Muslim, and it is supported by the
saying of Jabir, I saw the water coming out, and in another narration, It was springing
from between his fingers. Among his Miracles is replacing Qatadahs eye after it was
knocked out. Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated in his book Dalailun- Nubuwwah from the route of
Qatadah ibn Nu^man that his eye was hit on the day of Badr and his eyeball dangled on
his cheekbone. They wanted to cut it, so they asked the Messenger of Allah. He said,
No. He called him and he buried his eye back into the socket with his palm. After that
Qatadah did not know which one of his eyes was hit. In reference to these two miracles,
some of the people praised the Prophet in the meter of poetry known as Al-Basit. They
said:
189. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 189
[which means] If Musa watered the Asbat64 from a stone, then certainly in the palm is a
meaning that does not exist in a stone. And if ^Isa cured the blind with his du^a, then how

many by his palm did he return their vision? Also among the Prophets Miracles is the
food saying subhanallah in his hand. Al-Bukhariyy narrated the hadith of Ibn Mas^ud
that he said, We used to eat the food with the Prophet and we would hear the food
saying Subhanallah. These three miracles were more astonishing than reviving the
dead, which was one of the Miracles of ^Isa. Al-Isra and Al-Mi^raj Among his Miracles are
Al-Isra and Al-Mi^raj. Isra, which was the Night Journey, is confirmed by the explicit
documentation of the Quran and the authentic hadith, so it is obligatory to believe that
Allah Made him take a night journey from Makkah to Al-Masjidu-l- Aqsa. As for the
Ascension into the sky, it was confirmed by the explicit hadiths. As for the Quran, it was
not documented therein with an explicit documentation that does not accept any other
explanation. However, it came in the Quran that which is virtually an explicit
documentation, i.e., it is practically explicit. The Saying of Allah came in reference to alIsra: 64 The Tribes of Israel.
190. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 190
[ which means] Glory be to Allah, Who is Clear of
resemblance, the One who Made His slave take a night journey at night from Al-Masjidu-lHaram to Al-Masjidu-l-Aqsa, which We have Blessed its surroundings, so that We would
Show him of Our amazing signs. If it were said that the Saying of Allah,
[which means] He saw him a second time, is possible to be a dream, we say, this is
interpreting the verse according to other than its apparent meaning, and it is not
permissible to make tawil from the religious texts without any definitive mental evidence
or confirmed transmitted evidence, as said by Ar-Raziyy in his book Al-Mahsul and others
among the scholars of Al-Usul. Muslim narrated from Anas Ibn Malik that the Messenger
of Allah said:

191. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 191
(( : )) .... [which means] I was
approached with Al-Buraq, a white, long animal, taller than a donkey and shorter than a
mule. He puts his hoof wherever his sight falls.,, So I rode it until I reached Jerusalem,
and so I tied him to the ring by which the Prophets tie their animals. Then I entered the
masjid and I prayed two rak^ahs in it. Then I went out and then Jibril came to me with a
container of wine and a container of milk, so I chose the milk. Then Jibril said, You have
adhered to the Religion. Then we went up into the sky In the hadith is the evidence
that Al-Isra and Al-Mi^raj took place in one night by both his body and soul while being
awake, since no one said that he reached Jerusalem and then went to sleep. The
Messenger Seeing his Lord with his Heart and Not with his Eyes on that Night As for the
Prophet seeing his Lord on the night of Al-Mi^raj, At- Tabaraniyy narrated in Al-Mu^jamulAwsat with a strong chain, as said by Hafidh Ibn Hajar, from the route of Ibn ^Abbas, may
Allah Accept his and his fathers deeds, Muhammad saw his Lord
192. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 192 twice. Also, Ibn Khuzaymah narrated with
a strong chain that Muhammad saw his Lord. What is meant is that he saw Him with
his heart, as proven by the hadith of Muslim from the route of Abu-l-^Aliyah from the route
of Ibn ^Abbas about the Saying of Allah the Exalted,
[ which means] The heart did not lie about what it saw. Do you debate with him
about what he sees? And he saw Him a second time. Ibn ^Abbas said, He saw his Lord
with his heart twice. Notice: Al-Ghazaliyy said in Ihyau-^Ulumi-d-Din, What is correct is
that the Prophet did not see his Lord on the night of the Ascension. What he means is

that the Prophet did not see Allah with his eyes, because it is not confirmed that the
Prophet said, I saw Him with my eyes. Nor is it confirmed from any of the Companions,
their followers, or the followers of their followers that the Prophet said, I saw him with the
eyes in my head. The Miracles Substantiation of the Truthfulness of the Prophet The
supernatural matter that occurs for the one who claims Prophethood when challenged,
without any possible opposition by something similar to it, is as if Allah Said, My slave is
truthful
193. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 193 in everything that he conveyed from Me.
This means that had it not been that he was truthful in his claim, then Allah would not
have Made this Miracle appear for him. So it is as if Allah Said, This slave of mine is
truthful in his claim of Prophethood because I have made this Miracle appear from him,
because the one who deems the liar truthful is a liar, and it is impossible that Allah would
be a liar. So that proves that Allah only Created the Miracle for deeming his Prophets as
truthful, because every sane person knows that reviving the dead, and transforming a
stick into a serpent, and bringing a she-camel out of a solid boulder, are not normal. The
Way to Know the Miracle by Definitiveness and Certainty The knowledge of the
occurrence of the Miracles takes place by observation, in reference to those who
witnessed it, and by way of tawatur in reference to whoever did not witness it. This is like
our knowledge of the far-off lands and the confirmed historical events that took place to
the people before us among the kings and the nations. The information that is narrated by
tawatur replaces witnessing. So, mentally, it is a necessity to accept, in the heart, the one
who came with the miracle, just as it is religiously necessary.
194. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 194 Belief in the Torture of the Grave and its
Enjoyment and Questioning Allah the Exalted Said,
[ which means] Hell will be
presented to them morning and evening, and on the day when the Hour takes place,
insert the aristocracy of Pharaoh into the most severe torture. Allah also Said,
[ which means] Whoever turns away from my remembrance
[i.e. believing in Me], then he will have a hard life. These two verses came in reference to
the torture of the grave for the blasphemers. As for the sinful Muslims among the major
sinners who died before repentance, they are of two groups. Allah will Pardon one group
from the torture of the grave; the other group will be tortured by Allah and then their
torture will stop. Then Allah will delay the remainder of their torture until the Hereafter. AlBukhariyy, Muslim, At-Tirmidhiyy, Abu Dawud, and An-Nasaiyy narrated from the route of
Ibn ^Abbas: The Messenger of Allah passed by two graves. He said, Certainly they are
being tortured.
195. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 195 And would they be tortured for a major
sin? Indeed. As for one of them, he used to walk with instigation [namimah]. As for the
other, he used to not protect himself from urine. Then he called for a moist palm branch,
and broke it in half, and he submersed one half into one grave and the other into the other
grave. Then he said, So that it would be lightened for them. Know that the return of the
soul to the body in the grave was confirmed in the authentic narrations, like the hadith of
Al-Bara Ibn ^Azib which was narrated by Al-Bayhaqiyy, Al-Hakim, and Abu ^Uwanah, and
more than one person deemed it as authentic, and the hadith of Ibn ^Abbas which is
elevated up to the Prophet: [ which
means], There is not one of you that passes by the grave of his fellow believer that he
knew in the dunya except that he [i.e., the dead one] would know him and return his

salam. This hadith was narrated by Ibn ^Abdul-Barr and ^Abdul-Haqq Al- Ishbiliyy, and
he deemed it as authentic. This dictates that the soul would return to the body entirely, or
to some of the body, and this is the apparent meaning of the hadith, and the return of life
to the body in the grave is prominently emphasized in reference to the Prophets. It was
narrated in the hadith of Anas from the Prophet,
196. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 196 [ which means] The
Prophets are alive in their graves praying. Al-Bayhaqiyy deemed it as authentic and the
Hafidh [Ibn Hajar Al- Asqalaniyy] agreed with him. Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim narrated from
the route of Anas from the Prophet that he said:
: - :
: . :
: [which means] Certainly the
slave, if he is put in his grave, and his companions turn away from him, he will surely hear
the steps of their sandals as they leave. Two angels will come to him. They sit him up and
say, What did you used to say about this man Muhammad? As for the (perfect) believer,
he will say, I testify that he is the slave of Allah and His Messenger. Then it will be said to
197. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 197 him, Look at your seat from Hell, Allah
has Replaced it with a seat from Paradise, and then he will see both of them. As for the
blasphemer or the hypocrite, he will say, I do not know. I used to say what the people say
about him. Then it will be said to him, You do not know and you do not know [i.e., he is
chastised]. Then he would be hit with an iron mallet between his ears, and he will scream
with a scream heard by everyone close to him except for the humans and jinn. From the
route of ^Abdullah Ibn ^Amr, the Messenger of Allah mentioned the two who come with
the fitnah of the grave [i.e., the questioning of the grave]. Then ^Umar Ibnul-Khattab said,
Will our minds be returned to us, O Messenger of Allah? He said, Yes, like you are
now. ^Abdullah Ibn ^Amr said, Then he had a stone in his mouth, [i.e., he could not
respond]. [It was narrated] from the route of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah
said: :
: : .
198. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 198 :
: .
:. [which
means] If the dead were put in his grave, two blue-black angels will come to him. One of
them is called Munkar and the other is called Nakir. They say to him, What did you used
to say about this man Muhammad?, and then he will say what he used to say. So if he
were a believer he would say, He is the slave of Allah and His Messenger. I testify that no
one is God but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger. Then the
angels will say to him, Certainly, we knew that you would say that. Then his grave would
be expanded for him seventy cubits by seventy cubits, and it will be illuminated for him,
and it will be said to him, Sleep. Then he will sleep like the sleep of a newlywed who is
not awakened except by his most beloved wife, until Allah Resurrects him from that bed of
his. If he were a hypocrite, he says, I dont know. I used to hear the people saying
something, so I used to say it.
199. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 199 Then they will say to him, Certainly we
knew you would say that. Then it would be said to the earth, Close. Then it will close on
him until his ribs cross, and he will not cease to be tortured until Allah Resurrects him
from that bed of his. Those two hadiths were narrated by Ibn Hibban, and he deemed
them as authentic. In the first of them is the confirmation of the return of the soul to the

body in the grave and the return of the feelings. In the second is the confirmation of the
soul remaining in the grave and the confirmation of sleep, and that will be the case as
long as the body has not decayed. This enjoyment is for the strong believer, and he is the
one who fulfills the obligations and refrains from the sins. He is the one that the
Messenger of Allah said about him: [ which means]
The dunya is the believers prison and his drought. If he departed the dunya then he
departed the prison and the drought. This is an authentic hadith narrated by Ibn Hibban,
and what he meant is the perfect believer. If the body had decayed entirely, and nothing
was left except the piece of the tailbone, the soul of the pious believer will be in Paradise.
The souls of the sinful believers, i.e., the people of the major sins who died without
repentance, will be between the sky
200. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 200 and the earth after the decay of the body,
and some of them will be in the first sky. The souls of the blasphemers will be in Sijjin
after the decay of the body, and that is a place in the lowest earth. As for the martyrs, their
souls ascend immediately into Paradise. Notice: Excluded from the questioning of the two
angels are the Prophets and the battlefield martyrs, and likewise the children who died
before pubescence. If it were said, How would a big number of people be questioned?
The answer is what Al-Halimiyy said, What is most likely is that the angels of questioning
are a large group. Some of them are named Munkar and some of them are named Nakir;
two of them will be sent to each dead person. The Judgment of the One who Denies the
Torture of the Grave The one who denies the torture of the grave blasphemes because of
[his opposition to] the Saying of Allah:
[ which means] Hell will be presented to them morning and evening, and on
the day when the Hour takes place, insert the entourage of Pharaoh into the most severe
torture.
201. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 201 This is different from the one who denies
the questioning of the grave. He would not be judged as a blasphemer unless he denied
that out of stubbornness.65 The Resurrection The Resurrection is true. It is the exiting of
the dead from the graves after the reconstruction of their bodies that had been eaten by
the soil, if they were among the bodies eaten by the soil. Those are the bodies of other
than the Prophets, the martyrs of the battlefield, and some of the Waliyys, because of
what was narrated by tawatur of witnessing some of the Waliyys. The first for whom the
grave would split open is our Master Muhammad , and the people of Makkah, Madinah
and At-Taif are among the first who will be resurrected. The Gathering The Gathering is
true. It is for the people to be gathered after Resurrection in a place, and that would be on
the transformed earth, a leveled earth which is completely flat; it is like a stretched skin,
with neither mountains nor valleys in it. It is bigger and wider than this earth of ours, and it
is white like silver. The gathering will be of three categories. One category are people who
will be fed, clothed, and riding on female camels with golden saddles, and those would be
the pious people; and another 65 i.e., he knows what Muslims believe and he denied it
anyway.
202. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 202 category will be barefoot and naked, and
those would be the Muslims who are major sinners; and another category will be gathered
and dragged on their faces, and they are the blasphemers. The Questioning of Allah It is
the presentation of the slaves deeds to them by Allah Speaking to the slaves in their
entirety. They will understand from the Speech of Allah the Questioning about what they
did with the endowments that Allah Gave them. So the pious believer will be pleased, and

the blasphemer will not be pleased, because he will not have any good deeds in the
afterlife. Instead, he would be practically about to die from the despair. It came in the
authentic hadith: [ which means] There is not one
of you except that his Lord will Speak to him on Judgment Day, and there will be no
interpreter between them. Narrated by Ahmad and At-Tirmidhiyy The Scale The Scale is
true. It is like the scale of this life; it has a pole and a beam and two pans; a pan for the
good deeds and a pan for the
203. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 203 bad deeds. The deeds will be weighed on
it on Judgment Day, and Jibril and Mikail are in charge of weighing the deeds. What is
weighed is the pages upon which the good and bad deeds were written. The one whose
good deeds outweigh his bad deeds will be among the saved people, and the one whose
good deeds and bad deeds are equal is also among the saved people, however, his
status is lower than the first level and higher than the third. The one whose bad deeds
outweigh his good deeds is under the Will of Allah. If Allah Willed, he will torture him, and
if He Willed, He will Forgive him. As for the blasphemer, his pan of bad deeds will be
weightful, and there will be no other situation, because he will not have any good deeds in
the Hereafter because he had been fed for his good deeds in the present life. Reward and
Punishment Reward, according to the people of truth, is not a right of the obedient that is
obligatory on Allah, it is only Generosity from Him. It is the compensation by which Allah
Compensates the believer with what pleases him in the Hereafter. The torture also is not
obligatory on Allah to inflict upon the sinners; it is only Justice from Him, and it is what
displeases the slave on Judgment Day. It is of two types, the greater torture and the
lesser torture. The greater torture is entering Hell, and the lesser torture is everything
other than that; like the harm of the heat of the sun on
204. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 204 Judgment Day, for the sun will be
unleashed on the blasphemers. They will drown until the sweat of one of them reaches
his mouth, and the sweat of one person will not mix with another persons, rather, it will be
restricted to him. The blasphemer will even say from the severity of what he suffers from
it, O my Lord, relieve me, even if that were by entering Hell. The pious believers will be
under the shade of the ^Arsh. This is the meaning of the hadith,[ which
means] There are seven types of people whom Allah will shade with His shade, i.e., in
the shade of His ^Arsh. The Bridge The Bridge is true. It is a wide, extended bridge over
Hell. All of the creations will come to it. Among them are those who will come to it and
enter Hell, and those are the blasphemers and some of the sinful Muslims; they slip from
the Bridge and fall into Hell. Also among them [the creations] are those who will come to it
by passing over it in its air. Among them are those who pass by it with the speed of a
lightning bolt, and among them are those who pass by it with the speed of a blink of an
eye, and all of this is taken by its apparent meaning with no other explanation.
205. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 205 One of its edges is at the transformed
earth, and the other is at what is close to Paradise. It is narrated about its description that
it is slippery, and among what was narrated about it is that it is sharper than a sword and
thinner than a hair, like what Muslim narrated from Abu Sa^id Al-Khudriyy. He said, It
reached me that it is thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword. That did not come as
a hadith elevated up to the Prophet, and the apparent meaning of this is not intended;
instead, it is wide. It is only meant by that that its danger is great, for the ease of passing it
or its difficulty is measured by the obedience and the sins, and no one knows the limits of
that except Allah. It came in the authentic hadith that their deeds will make them run over

the bridge; it means that their deeds will be the power of their stride. The Basin The Basin
is true. It is a place in which Allah has Prepared a drink for the people of Paradise; they
drink from it before entering Paradise and after passing the Bridge. For our Prophet there
is a Basin to which his nation comes exclusively; no other nation will come to it. Its length
is a walking distance of a month, and its width is similar; its containers are like the number
of the stars in the sky; its drink is whiter than milk, sweeter than honey, and more fragrant
then the smell of musk. Allah has Prepared for every Prophet a Basin, and the biggest of
those Basins is the Basin of our Prophet.
206. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 206 The Description of Paradise Paradise is
true. It is obligatory to believe in it and that it is presently created, just as is understood
from the Quran and the authentic hadith. It is presently above the seventh sky and not
connected to it. Its ceiling is the ^Arsh of Ar-Rahman. Its people have the appearance of
their father Adam, sixty cubits tall by seven cubits wide. They have a beautiful
appearance; they have no facial hair and no body hair. They would be thirty-three years
old. They will remain in it forever, and they never exit from it. The hadith was authenticated
that the people of Paradise have the image of their father Adam: sixty cubits in the sky,
seven cubits wide. The Messenger of Allah said about its description:
[which means]
I swear by the Lord of the Ka^bah, it is brilliant lights and fragrant musk, and firmly
structured castles and continually flowing rivers, and lots of ripe fruit and beautiful, lovely
wives, and lots of endowments in an everlasting abode that is a luxurious life. Narrated
by Ibn Hibban.
207. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 207 The Description of Hell Hell is true. It is
obligatory to believe in it and that it is presently created, as is understood by the verses of
the Quran and the authentic hadith. It is a place Allah has Prepared for the torture of the
blasphemers that never ceases, and it is also prepared for some of the sinful Muslims. Its
place is below the seventh earth without being connected to it. Allah will increase the size
of the blasphemer in Hell so that he would be increased in torture, to the extent that his
molar would be as large as Mount Uhud, and he will dwell in Hell forever and ever; he will
not die in it and he will not live.66 They will not have food it except from the plant of dari^,
and their drink will be from hot water that has reached the extremity of heat. As for
Paradise being above the seventh sky, that is confirmed in the authenticated hadith, and
that is the saying of the Prophet when he said: [ which means] Above it
(Firdaws) is the ^Arsh of Ar-Rahman. As for Hell being below the seventh earth, Al-Hakim
said in Al- Mustadrak that authentic narrations came in reference to that. 66 i.e.,
comfortably.
208. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 208 The Intercession The Intercession is true.
It is to ask for the good from another for another; and so the Prophet and the practicing
scholars and the martyrs and the angels will intercede. Our Prophet will intercede for the
major sinners of his nation, and it came in the authentic hadith, [ which
means] My intercession is for the major sinners of my nation, narrated by Ibn Hibban;
meaning that other than the major sinners are not in need of intercession. For some of
them it would be before they enter Hell, and for some of them it would be after they enter
Hell, but before the time that they deserve to be tortured passes. There will be no
intercession for the blasphemers. Allah the Exalted Said, [ which
means] They will not intercede for anyone except those who are accepted by Allah. The

first one to intercede is the Prophet. The Soul It is obligatory to believe in the soul. It is a
subtle body; no one knows its reality except Allah. Allah Made the norm that life is
209. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 209 sustained in the bodies of angels,
humans, jinn and animals as long as that subtle body is with them, and life will depart
them if it departed those bodies. It is created; it is not eternal. Whoever says it is eternal
and not created has blasphemed, and likewise whoever says the animals have no souls,
like what was said by Muhammad Mutawalli Ash- Sha^rawiyy in his two books; one of
them is a book of tafsir and the other is a book of fatwas. That is contradicting the Quran
and is objection to what is witnessed.67 Allah the Exalted Said, [ which
means] and on the Day of Judgment, when the beasts will be gathered and the
Messenger of Allah said:[ which means]
Certainly the rights will be given to those who deserve them on Judgment Day, to the
extent that it would be granted to the hornless sheep over the horned sheep that butted
him. 67 i.e., the difference between the dead and the living.
210. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 210 Clarification that the Mercy of Allah is
Inclusive of the Believers and the Blasphemers in the Present Life and Specific to the
Believers in the Afterlife Allah the Exalted has Mercy on the believers and the
blasphemers in the present life; His Mercy has encompassed all of them. As for the
afterlife, His Mercy will be specific to the believers. Allah the Exalted Said:
[ which means] My Mercy
encompasses everything [in this life], and I will reserve it for those who have taqwa [in the
next life], meaning that in the present life His Mercy has encompassed every believer and
blasphemer. He Says, I will reserve it for those who have taqwa, meaning, I will specify
it for those who feared shirk and all the other types of blasphemy. Also, Allah the Exalted
Said: [ which means]
The people of Hell will call out to the people of Paradise, Pour some water on us, or
something from what Allah
211. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 211 has Provided you. They will say,
Certainly Allah has Made both of them forbidden for the blasphemers, meaning Allah
Makes forbidden for the blasphemers that beneficial sustenance and the quenching water
in the Afterlife. That is because they neglected the greatest of the Rights of Allah, which
has no replacement, and that is believing in Allah and His Messenger. Furthermore, Allah
Made entering Islam, which is the greatest endowment from Allah, easy; and this by
uttering the two Shahadahs after knowing about Allah and His Messenger. He also made
blasphemy easy; one word that is an indication of belittling Allah or His Religion would
take the speaker out of belief and throw him into blasphemy, which is the worst situation.
It is such a bad state that he would be to Allah more insignificant than the vermin and the
beast. It does not matter whether he spoke that word seriously, jokingly or angrily. This
has been explained in the books of fiqh and the reliable madhhabs, and they have judged
that the one who utters such a word blasphemes. Allah the Exalted Said:
[ which means] Certainly the worst of the beasts to Allah
that walk the face of the earth are those who blaspheme; they are not believers.
212. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 212 The Innovation [Bid^ah] Linguistically, the
innovation [bid^ah] is what was invented without a previous example. Religiously, it is the
new thing that was not documented in the Quran or the hadith. It is divided into two
categories, as understood from the hadith of ^Aishah, may Allah Accept her deeds, that
she said: The Messenger of Allah said: [ which means] Whoever

innovates into this affair of ours that which does not comply with it is rejected. The first
category is the good innovation. It is called the good sunnah. It is the innovation that
complies with the Quran and the Sunnah. The second category is the evil innovation, and
it is called the evil sunnah. It is the innovation that opposes the Quran and the hadith.
This categorization is also understood from the hadith of Jarir Ibn ^Abdullah Al-Bajaliyy,
may Allah Accept his deeds, that he said: The Messenger of Allah said:


213. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 213 [which means] Whoever starts a good
sunnah in Islam has its reward and the reward of whoever practiced it after him, without
diminishing any of their rewards. And whoever starts an evil sunnah in Islam, then upon
him is its sin and the sin of whoever practiced it after him, without diminishing any of their
sins. Narrated by Muslim. From the first category is celebrating the birth of the Prophet in
the month of Rabi^ Al-Awwal. The first to innovate it was King Al- Mudhaffar, the King of
Irbil, in the 7th Hijriyy century. Also, Yahya Ibn Ya^mar, the high-ranking follower of the
Companions, dotting the book of the Quran (mushaf); he was among the people of
knowledge and piety. This was approved by the scholars, hadith scholars and otherwise;
they considered it good. It was not dotted when the Messenger dictated it to the scribes of
the Revelation, likewise when ^Uthman Ibn ^Affan had the five or six mushafs written;
they were not dotted. Since that dotting, the Muslims never ceased to be upon that until
today. Would it be said about this that it is an innovation of misguidance because the
Messenger did not do it? If this is the case, then let them abandon these dotted books of
the Quran, or let them erase these dots from them so that they would return to being
devoid of dots, as they were at the time of ^Uthman. Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Dawud[the son
of Abu Dawud,] the author of As-Sunanin his book Al-Masahif, said, The first to dot the
books of the Quran was Yahya Ibn Ya^mar. [Yahya Ibn Ya^mar] is among the scholars
214. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 214 of the Followers of the Companions. He
narrated through the route of ^Abdullah Ibn ^Umar and others. Among the second
category are the innovations in the Creed, such as the innovations of the Mu^tazilah,
Khawarij, and others who abandoned what the Companions, may Allah Accept their
deeds, were upon in the matters of the Creed. Also [among them is] writing , or
68 after the name of the Prophet instead of . The scholars of hadith have documented in
the books of hadith terminology that merely writing the is disliked. Despite that, they
did not prohibit it; in fact, [some of them] did it. So how do these troublemakers say that
observing the Mawlid is a forbidden innovation, and that making salah on the Prophet
aloud after the adhan is a forbidden innovation, claiming that the Messenger did not do it,
and the Companions did not do it? Another example is perverting the name of Allah to
Ah and the like, as done by many who are ascribed to the tariqahs, for this is an
example of the forbidden innovations. Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy, may Allah Accept his deeds,
said: The innovated matters are of two types. The first of them is what was innovated and
opposes something from the Book, the Sunnah, the Consensus, or the Athar.69 This is
the innovation of misguidance. The second was the good thing that was innovated; it does
not oppose anything from the Book, the Sunnah, or the consensus. 68 Or in English, S
or SAW. 69 The narrations of the Companions and their students.
215. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 215 This is an innovation that is not
blameworthy. This was narrated by Al-Bayhaqiyy with an authentic chain of narration in
his book Manaqibu-sh-Shafi^iyy.

216. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 216 Confirmation that Tawassul by the
Prophets and the Waliyys is Permissible, and not Shirk as Said by the Wahhabiyys Know
that there is no true evidence proving the lack of permissibility of tawassul by the Prophets
and awliya in their absence or after their deaths, claiming that this is worship of other than
Allah, because merely calling on one who is alive or dead is not worship of other than
Allah. Nor is mere glorification of someone, nor merely seeking the help of other than
Allah, nor merely seeking the grave of a Waliyy with the purpose of seeking blessings, nor
merely seeking what is not usually sought from people, nor the mere expression of
seeking help from other than Allah the Exalted. This means that none of that is shirk,
because that is not applicable to the definition of ^ibadah [worship] according to the
linguists; for worship, according to them, is the obedience with the humility. Al-Azhariyy,
who is one of the elite linguists, said in his book Tahdhibul-Lughah, copying from AzZajjaj, who is among their most famous, ^Ibadah in the language of the Arabs is the
obedience with the humility. Al-Farra said similar, as mentioned in Lisanul-^Arab by Ibn
Mandhur. Some said, The ultimate extent of fear and humility, and others said, The
extent of humility, as understood from the explainer of Al-Qamus, Murtada Az-Zabidiyy,
the Seal of the Linguists.
217. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 217 This is what is correct, linguistically and
normally. Mere humility is not worship of other than Allah, or else everyone who lowers
themselves to the kings and high-ranking people would blaspheme. It was confirmed that
when Mu^adh Ibn Jabal came from Ash-Sham, he prostrated to the Messenger of Allah,
and so the Messenger said, What is this? He said, O Messenger of Allah, surely I have
seen the people of Ash-Sham prostrating to their generals and their priests, and you are
more deserving of that. He said, Do not do that. Had I ordered anyone to prostrate to
anyone, I would have ordered the woman to prostrate to her husband. Ibn Hibban, Ibn
Majah, and others have narrated that. The Messenger of Allah did not say to him, You
have blasphemed, and he did not say to him, You have committed shirk, despite that his
prostration to the Prophet is a great sign of humility. Those who charge a person with
blasphemy because he sought out the grave of the Messenger or other than him among
the Waliyys for seeking blessings are ignorant about the meaning of ^ibadah. They have
opposed what the Muslims are upon, because the Muslims of the Salaf and the Khalaf
never ceased to visit the grave of the Prophet for seeking blessings. Traveling to seek
blessings does not mean the Prophet creates the blessing for them. Rather the meaning
is that they hope that Allah Creates the blessing for them by their visiting his grave.
218. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 218 The evidence for that is what AlBayhaqiyy narrated with an authentic chain of narration from Malik Ad-Dar, who was
^Umars treasurer, that he said: The people were inflicted with a drought during the time of
^Umar, so a man came to the grave of the Prophet and said O Messenger of Allah, seek
the rain for your nation, for surely they are perishing. So the man was approached in his
dream [by the Prophet]. It was said to him, Convey the salam to ^Umar, and inform them
that they will be watered, and say to him, Endeavor, endeavor. The man came to ^Umar
and informed him, so ^Umar cried and said, O my Lord, I do not fall short except in what I
am unable. The identity of this man came as Bilal Ibnul-Harith Al-Muzaniyy, the
Companion. This Companion sought the grave of the Messenger for blessings. ^Umar did
not object to him, nor did anyone else. Therefore, Ibn Taymiyahs claim that this is a travel
of shirk is invalidated. Hafidh Waliyyu-d-Din Al-^Iraqiyy said about the hadith of Abu

Hurayrah that Musa said, O my Lord, draw me as near to the Holy Land as the throw of a
stone, and that the Prophet said,
219. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 219 [which means] By Allah, had I been
there, I surely would have shown you his grave on the side of the road at the red hill, In
this hadith is evidence of the recommendation of knowing the graves of the pious for
visiting them and doing what is rightfully done there. Hafidh Ad-Diya said: Salim At-Tall
told me: I have not seen the supplication answered faster than a supplication made at
this grave. And Shaykh ^Abdullah Ibn Yunus, who is known as Al- Armaniyy, told me that
he visited this grave and that he slept, and in his dream he saw a dome there, and in it
there was a man with a tawny complexion [asmar]. So he gave him salam and he said to
him, You are Musa, the one to whom Allah Spoke, or he said, The Prophet of Allah. So
he said Yes. So [he said] I said, Say something to me. So he signaled to me with four
fingers and described their length. Then I woke up and I did not know what he said. So I
informed Shaykh Dhayyal about that and he said, Four children will be born for you. I
said, I have married a woman and I have not approached her. He said, She will be other
than this one. And so I married another one, and she gave birth to four children for me.
220. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 220 Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad with
a hasan chain of narration, as said by Hafidh Ibn Hajar, that Al-Harith Ibn Hassan AlBakriyy said to the Messenger of Allah, I seek refuge with Allah and His Messenger
from being like the delegate of ^Ad This hadith in its entirety is evidence that
invalidates the saying of the Wahhabiyys that seeking refuge with other than Allah is shirk.
It is narrated from Ibn ^Abbas that the Messenger of Allah said:
[ which means]
Certainly Allah Has angels who roam the earth other than the recorders. They write the
leaves that fall to the ground. So if any of you are inflicted with a hardship in a open land,
then let him call out, Help, O slaves of Allah. Narrated by At-Tabaraniyy, and Hafidh AlHaythamiyy said its narrators are trustworthy. Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah said:
[ which
means] My life is good for you and my death is good for you. You do things, and so the
Revelation occurs for you [i.e.,
221. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 221 comes in reference to what you have
done], and my death is good for you; your deeds will be presented to me. So any
goodness that I saw, I praised Allah for it, and any evil that I saw, then I have sought
forgiveness for you. This is narrated by Al-Bazzar and the narrators of the chain are
authentic narrators. At-Tabaraniyy narrates in his big and small Mu^jams from the route of
^Uthman Ibn Hunayf that a man used to go back and forth to ^Uthman Ibn ^Affan, and
^Uthman did not turn to him [i.e., pay him attention, because he was busy] and he would
not look into the mans need. So this man met ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf and complained about
that to him, so he said: Go to the place of wudu and make wudu, then pray two rak^ahs,
then say: O Allah, certainly I ask you, and I direct myself to you by our Prophet
Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, certainly I direct myself by you to my
Lord in my need, so that it would be fulfilled for me. Then come to me, so that I will go
with you. So the man left and did what ^Uthman [Ibn Hunayf] told him to do, then he
came to ^Uthman [Ibn ^Affan]s door. Then the doorman came and took him by the hand,
and he took him in to ^Uthman Ibn ^Affan, and he sat him on his carpet. So ^Uthman said,
What do you need? He mentioned his need to him, then ^Uthman fulfilled his need, and

he said I did not remember your need until this moment. He left ^Uthman Ibn ^Affan and
then he met ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf and he said: May Allah Compensate
222. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 222 you with goodness. He would not look into
my need, and he would not turn to me until you spoke to him about me. ^Uthman Ibn
Hunayf said, I swear by Allah, I did not speak to him. However, I witnessed the
Messenger of Allah when a blind man came to him and complained to him about the loss
of his sight. The Prophet said, If you want, you will be patient; and if you want, I will make
du^a for you. So he said to the Messenger of Allah, Certainly the loss of my sight is a
hardship upon me, and certainly I do not have a guide. So the Prophet said to him, Go to
the place of wudu and make wudu and pray two rak^ahs and then say these words. So
the man did what he said, and ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf said I swear by Allah, we had not
dispersed, and the session had not been long, when the man returned to us while he was
sightful as if he was never blind. At-Tabaraniyy said, The hadith is sahih. At-Tabaraniyys
habit is that he does not verify hadith, despite the vastness of his book Al- Mu^jamu-lKabir. He did not say about any hadith that he narrated, even if it were authentic, The
hadith is authentic, except for this hadith. In this hadith is evidence that the blind man
made tawassul by the Prophet in his absence, which is proven by the saying of ^Uthman
Ibn Hunayf, Until the man returned to us. Also in this hadith is evidence that it is
permissible to make tawassul by the Prophet in his life and after his death. So the saying
of Ibn Taymiyah that it is
223. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 223 not permissible to make tawassul, except
by the present and living, is invalidated; and every condition that is not in the Book of
Allah is invalid, even if it were a hundred conditions. As for this claim of Ibn Taymiyahs, to
which some Wahhabiyys hold fast, which is At-Tirmidhiyys narration of the hadith, which
has in it, [ which means] O Allah, Cure him by me and Cure me by
myself, this hadith does not prove that there is no seeking of blessings from the self of
the Prophet , rather, seeking the blessing from the self of the Prophet is a matter of
consensus. No one opposed that except Ibn Taymiyah, and the Messenger is the one
about whom someone said: [ which means] He
was fair in complexion. Rain would be sought from the clouds by the self of the Prophet
;the aid of the orphans and widows. As for ^Umars tawassul by Al-^Abbas after the
Prophets death, it was not because the Messenger had died; instead, that was for
the purpose of observing the right of his relation to the Prophet , as proven by the
saying of Al-^Abbas when ^Umar sent him forward to do the supplication: Oh Allah,
224. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 224 certainly the people have directed
themselves by me to You because of my place to Your Prophet. So the invalidity of Ibn
Taymiyahs opinions and those of those who follow him becomes clear. This athar was
narrated by Zubayr Ibn Bakkar, as said by Hafidh Ibn Hajar. What clarifies this further is
what Al-Hakim narrated in Al- Mustadrak, that ^Umar delivered a speech to the people
and said: O people, certainly the Messenger of Allah used to treat Al- ^Abbas like the
child treats his father; he would glorify him and give him high rank, and he would fulfill his
swear. So, O people, follow the Messenger of Allah in reference to his uncle Al-^Abbas,
and take him as a means to Allah in reference to what you are inflicted with. This clarifies
the reason for ^Umars tawassul by Al-^Abbas. After this, there is no consideration given
to the claim of some of those demagogues that in the chain of the aforementioned hadith
[of the blind man] is Abu Ja^far and he is an unknown man. The case is not as they have
claimed; in fact, Abu Ja^far is Abu Ja^far Al-Khitmiyy, and he is trustworthy. Likewise, no

attention is given to the claim of some of them, which is specifically Nasiru-d-Din AlAlbaniyy, that what At-Tabaraniyy meant when he said the hadith was sound is the original
amount of the hadith, which is only what the blind man did during the life of the
Messenger of Allah, and he did not mean to include what the man did during the days of
^Uthman Ibn ^Affan after the death of the Messenger .
225. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 225 This is rejected because the scholars of
hadith terminology said that the word hadith is used in reference to what is elevated up to
the Prophet and what is stopped at the Companions. This means that the speech of
the Messenger of Allah is called a hadith and the saying of the Companion is called a
hadith, and the expression hadith is not limited to the speech of the Prophet in their
terminology. The talk of this camouflager does not comply with what is confirmed in the
knowledge of hadith terminology, so whoever wants, let him look into the book Tadribu
Rawiyy and Al- Ifsah70 and other books of hadith terminology; for surely nothing dragged
Al-Albaniyy to this claim except for his strong partisanship making him adhere to his
desire, and his lack of concern for opposing the scholars, similar to his predecessor Ibn
Taymiyah. As for the hadith of Ibn ^Abbas that was narrated by At- Tirmidhiyy, that the
Prophet said to him: [ which means] If you ask, then ask Allah,
and if you sought help, then seek help from Allah, this hadith also does not contain
evidence for the prohibition of tawassul by the Prophets and the Waliyys, because the
hadith means that the most deserving to be asked and for help to be sought from him is
Allah the Exalted. The 70 By As-Siyutiyy and Ibn Daqiq Al-^Id, respectively.
226. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 226 hadith does not mean, Do not ask other
than Allah and do not seek help from other than Allah. What is similar to that is the
Prophets saying , [ which means] Do not accompany except
the believer, and no one eats your food except a pious person. Just like it is not
understood from this hadith the impermissibility of accompanying someone other than a
believer, or feeding someone other than a pious believer, and what is understood from it is
only that the best for companionship is the believer, and that the best for feeding is the
pious, likewise the hadith of Ibn ^Abbas; nothing is understood from it except what is
preferred. The prohibition that they are claiming is not in this hadith. There is no difference
between seeking the means and seeking help, because seeking the means [tawassul] is
called seeking help [istighathah], just as it came in the hadith of Al-Bukhariyy that the
Prophet said:[ which
means] Certainly the sun will draw near on Judgment Day until the sweat reaches the
mid-ear; and so when they are
227. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 227 at that point, they seek help from Adam,
then Musa, then Muhammad . This is ^Abdullah Ibn ^Umars narration of the hadith of
the intercession of Judgment Day, and in the narration of Anas, the hadith is narrated with
the expression, They seek the intercession. Both of those narrations are in books of
Sahih. So this proves that seeking intercession and seeking help have the same
meaning. So the Messenger named this seeking intercession from Adam with his Lord,
seeking help [istighathah]. Furthermore, the Messenger called the rain the one who
comes with help. Abu Dawud and others narrated with an authentic chain of narration
that the Messenger said:
[ which means] O Allah,
water us with the help, the helper, the quencher, the benefitter, without it being harmful,
soon and not delayed. So the Messenger called the rain helper, because it saves
one from the hard situation by the Will of Allah, and likewise the Prophet and the Waliyy

save one from the hard situation by the Will of Allah the Exalted. Seeking Blessings from
the Traces of the Prophet
228. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 228 Know that the Companions, may Allah
Accept their deeds, used to seek blessings from the traces of the Prophet during his life
and after his death, and the Muslims have never ceased to be upon that until this day of
ours. The permissibility of this matter is known from the doing of the Prophet, which is that
he distributed his hair when he shaved for the Farewell Hajj and distributed his nails. As
for the distribution of his hair, Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim have narrated that from the route
of Anas. According to the expression of Muslim, when he threw the stones at the station,
and slaughtered his sacrifices, and shaved, he directed the barber to his right side and
had him shave. Then the Prophet called Abu Talhah Al-Ansariyy and gave him that hair.
Then he made the barber go to his left side, and he said Shave. So he shaved, and he
gave it to Abu Talhah and he told him to distribute it among the people. In another
narration of Imam Muslim he started with the right side, and he distributed a hair or two
among the people. Then he said, The left side, and so he did the same. Then he said,
Here, Abu Talhah, and he gave the hair to Abu Talhah. In another narration, also by
Imam Muslim, he said to the barber, Ha and he signaled with his hand to the right side,
and then he distributed his hair to whoever was by him. Then he directed the barber to his
left side, and so he shaved it, and he gave the hair to Umm Sulaym. The meaning of the
hadith is that he personally
229. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 229 distributed the hair to the people who
were close to him, and he gave some to Abu Talhah so that he would distribute it among
the rest of the people, and he gave some to Umm Sulaym; therein is seeking blessings
from the traces of the Messenger. He distributed his hair so that they would seek the
blessing by it, and seek intercession with Allah by that which is from the Prophet, and
seek a higher status from Allah for that. He distributed that hair among them so it would
be a remaining blessing among them and a reminder for them. Then whoever Allah
endowed to follow the Companions in their footsteps did so in seeking the blessings from
his traces, and the latter-day Muslims took that from the Salaf. As for the distribution of his
nails, Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad that the Prophet clipped his nails and
distributed them among the people. It is known that that was not so that they would eat it,
rather, it was so they would seek the blessing by it. As for his cloak, Imam Muslim
narrated in the Sahih from the servant of Asma Bintu Abi Bakr that he said, She brought
out to us a cloak which is Tayyaalisa and Kisrayaniyyah and Farjaahu Makfufaan. She
said, This is the cloak of the Messenger of Allah. ^Aishah had it, and when she died I
took it. The Prophet used to wear it, and we wash it for the sick people to seek cure by it.
In another narration it is said, We wash it for the sick among us.
230. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 230 [It came] from the route of Handhalah Ibn
Hadhyam that he said, I came with my grandfather Hadhyam to the Messenger of Allah,
so my grandfather said, Oh Messenger of Allah, I have sons who have beards and other
than them, and this is the youngest of them. So the Messenger of Allah brought me close
and he wiped my head, and he said May Allah Bless you. Adh-Dhayyal said I saw
Handhalah approached with a man with a swollen face or a sheep with a swollen udder,
so he would say Bismillah on the spot where the Messenger of Allah wiped, then he
would wipe it and the swelling would go away. At-Tabaraniyy narrated this in Al-Mu^jamul-Awsat and Al-Mu^jamu-l-Kabir with the likes of this expression, and Imam Ahmad also
narrated it in a long hadith, and Ahmads narrators are trustworthy. It was narrated from

the route of Thabit that he said, I used to come to Anas, and when I came he would be
informed about my arrival, and so I would enter in on him and take him by his hands, and I
would kiss them and say, By my father, these two hands that have touched the
Messenger of Allah!, and I would kiss his two eyes and say, By my father, these two eyes
that have seen the Messenger of Allah! Abu Ya^la narrated this, and the narrators are
narrators of sahih except for ^Abdullah Ibn Abi Bakr Al-Maqdimiyy, and he is still
trustworthy. It was narrated from the route of Dawud Ibn Abi Salih that he said, One day
Marwan [Ibnu-l-Hakam] came and found a man putting his face on the Prophets grave .
He said, Do you know what
231. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 231 you are doing? So he approached him,
and behold, it was Abu Ayyub [Al-Ansariyy], who said, Yes. I came for the Messenger of
Allah, and I did not come for a stone. I heard the Messenger of Allah saying, Do not cry
for the Religion if it is under the supervision of those who are qualified, rather, cry for it if it
is under the supervision of those who are not qualified. This is narrated by Ahmad and
At-Tabaraniyy who narrated that in the Kabir and the Awsat. Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated in his
book Dalailu-n-Nubuwwah, and Al- Hakim narrated in his Mustadrak, and others have
narrated in a chain of narration, that Khalid Ibnu-l-Walid lost his qalansuwah on the day of
the battle of Al-Yarmuk. So he said, Seek it, but they did not find it; then they searched
for it again and they found it. Then Khalid said, The Messenger of Allah made ^Umrah
and he shaved his head, and the people rushed to get the hair from the sides of his head,
and I beat them to his forelock and put it in this qalansuwah. And I did not attend any
battle with this qalansuwah except that I was provided with victory. This story is authentic,
as mentioned by Shaykh Habibu-r-Rahman Al-A^dhamiyy in his commentary of the book
Al-Matalibu-l-^Aliyah. He said, Al- Busiriyy said, Abu Ya^la narrated this story with an
authentic chain of narration. Also, Al-Haythamiyy said that At-Tabaraniyy and Abu Ya^la
narrated this story by the likes of these words, and both of their narrators are men of
authentic narration. So there is
232. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 232 no consideration after this given to the
claim of those who reject seeking blessings from his honorable traces .
233. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 233 Ijtihad and Imitation Al-Ijtihad is extraction
of judgments for which there is no explicit text that can only have one meaning. The
mujtahid is the one who is qualified to do that by having memorized the verses related to
judgments, and the hadiths related to judgments, and the knowledge of their chains of
narration, and of the situations of the narrators of the chain, and the abrogating and the
abrogated, the general and the specific, the absolute and the restricted. Likewise he will
have mastered the Arabic language in a way that he memorized what the expression of
those texts refer to, i.e., he knows what those texts are in reference to according to the
language in which the Quran was revealed. He would also know what the mujtahids have
agreed upon, because if he does not know that, we do not feel safe that he will not breach
the consensus, i.e., the consensus of those who were before him. Above that is a great
condition in ijtihad, and that is fiqhun-nafs, i.e., great strength of understanding and
realization. Trustworthiness is conditional, which is being clear of major sins and being
clear of persisting in doing small sins in a way that they overcome his good deeds in
number. As for the imitator, he is the one who has not reached this level. The evidence
that the Muslims are of these two levels is that the Prophet said:
234. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 234
[ which means] May Allah Enlighten the face of the person who heard my saying,

understood it, and conveyed it as he heard it, for how many conveyors there are who have
no fiqh. Narrated by At-Tirmidhiyy and Ibn Hibban. The evidence in the hadith is his
saying, how many conveyors there are who have no fiqh. In a narration,
[ which means] How many a person received the conveyance and they
understood better than the one who heard. In this hadith is evidence that among the
Followers are those who were more knowledgeable than the Companions themselves.
This hadith makes us understand that among those who heard the hadith from the
Messenger are those whose share is only to narrate what he heard to someone else,
and his understanding would be less than the understanding of the one to whom he
conveys, [whereas] the one to whom he conveys is able, from the strength of his genius,
to extract rulings and cases from that hadith. This is called istimbat [derivation; extraction].
The one who heard does not have this strong genius; he only understands the meaning
that is close to the expression. From here it is known that some of the Companions would
have less understanding than
235. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 235 the one who heard the hadith of the
Messenger of Allah from them. [It came] in another expression for this hadith,
[ which means] How many a carrier of fiqh there is who carries it to he
who has more fiqh than him. These two narrations are in At-Tirmidhiyy and Ibn Hibban.
This mujtahid is the subject of the Prophets saying ,
[ which means] If the ruler makes ijtihad and he is
correct, then he has two rewards; and if he makes ijtihad and he is mistaken, then he has
one reward, narrated by Al-Bukhariyy. The Messenger of Allah only specified the ruler in
this hadith because he is more in need of ijtihad than others. In the past, there have been
mujtahids from the salaf who, along with being mujtahids, were also rulers, like the six
khalifahs: Abu Bakr, ^Umar Ibnu-l- Khattab, ^Uthman, ^Aliyy, Al-Hasan Ibn ^Aliyy, and
Judge Shurayh. The scholars of hadith who authored works of hadith terminology counted
the muftis among the Companions as less than ten. It was also said that they were about
six, and some scholars said about two hundred of them reached the level of ijtihad, and
this saying
236. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 236 is the most correct. So if the issue is like
this in reference to the Companions, then how would it be valid for every Muslim who is
able to read the Quran and to read in some of the books to say, They were men and we
are men. So we do not have to follow them? It is confirmed that most of the Salaf were
not mujtahids; rather, they were imitators of the mujtahids among them. It was mentioned
in Sahih Bukhariyy that a man was an employee of another man and he fornicated with
his employers wife. So his father asked, and it was said to him, It is obligatory on your
son to pay one hundred shah71 and a slave woman. Then he asked the people of
knowledge. They said, What is obligatory on your son is one hundred lashes and exile for
one year. So the father came to the Messenger with the husband of the woman and said,
O Messenger of Allah, this son of mine was an employee for this person, and then he
fornicated with his wife. People said to me, Your son is to be stoned. So I gave one
hundred ghanam and a slave woman on my sons behalf. Then I asked the people of
knowledge and they said, The only thing that is on your son is one hundred lashes and
exile for a year. The Messenger of Allah said, By God, I will surely judge between you
by the Book of Allah. As for the slave woman and the ghanam, they should be returned,
and on your son is one hundred lashes and a years exile. 71 Shah and ghanam are both
words that refer to sheep and goats as one category.

237. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 237 So this man, despite that he was a
Companion, asked some people who were also among the Companions, and they made
a mistake; then he asked scholars among them. Then the Messenger of Allah gave him
the religious judgment, which is what complied with what those scholars said. So if the
Messenger made us understand that some of those who heard the hadith from him have
no fiqh, this is that they do not have the ability to extract judgments from his hadith; and
their only share is to narrate from him what they heard, despite that they understand the
eloquent classical Arabic language. So what about those rabble-rousers, those people
who dare to say, Those are men and we are men? They mean by they are men the
mujtahids, like the four Imams. In the same meaning is what was narrated by Abu Dawud
about the story of the man who had his head split, then had a wet dream on a cold night,
so he sought the religious judgment from the people with him. They said to him, Take a
ghusl, so he took a ghusl and died. The Messenger of Allah was informed about this.
He said, They killed him, may Allah Kill them. Why did they not ask if they did not know?
The cure for ignorance is the question. This means the cure for ignorance is asking the
people of knowledge. He also said, It would have been enough for him to make
tayammum and squeeze a rag over his wound, then wipe over it and wash the rest of his
body. This hadith was narrated by Abu Dawud and others.
238. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 238 So, had ijtihad been valid from the
Muslims without restriction, the Messenger of Allah would not have dispraised those
who gave that man the religious judgment without being among the people of fatwa.
Furthermore, the function of the mujtahid that is specific to him is comparative analogy,
that is, for him to consider what has no narrated text according to what does have a
narrated text, because of a resemblance between them. So be warned and be warned
again from those who encourage their followers to make ijtihad, despite that they and their
followers are far from this rank. These people cause destruction, and they call their
followers to make destruction in the matters of the Religion. What is similar to them are
some people who got used to distributing the tafsir of an ayah or a hadith in their
sessions, despite that they did not previously have reliable transmission from the mouths
of the scholars. So those claimers, they deviated from the scholars of Usul, because the
scholars of Usul said that comparative analogy is the function of the mujtahid, and they
also oppose the scholars of hadith.
239. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 239 Epilogue The synopsis of the different
subjects that have passed is that whoever knows Allah and His Messenger and uttered
the shahadah even once in his life, and he accepted that with conviction, is a believing
Muslim. Whoever knew that and uttered that, but he did not have conviction, is not a
Muslim and not a believer to Allah. As for us, he is a Muslim, because his inner situation
is hidden from us. If he only shows Islam outwardly and he dislikes Islam inwardly, or is
doubtful in his heart whether Islam is correct or not, then he is a hypocrite blasphemer
and he is included in the Saying of Allah the Exalted,

[which means] Certainly the hypocrites will be in the very bottom of Hell. So he and the
damned blasphemer will both be forever and ever in Hell. What some have said, that the
faith of the blasphemer is valid without utterance72 , while able, is an invalid saying.
Some said, whoever was raised among Muslim parents, it is enough for him to know and
have the conviction about the validity of his Islam and Iman even if he did not utter it once.
Furthermore, whoever had a valid Iman and Islam is safe from staying in Hell forever,

even if he did not perform any of the obligatory acts, like the five prayers and the fasting of
Ramadan, 72 i.e., of the Shahadah.
240. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 240 and he did not avoid the sins, and he died
in this situation before repentance. Allah will Pardon a portion of those and Make them
enter Paradise without torture, and He will torture a portion of them, then Make them
come out of Hell and admit them into Paradise, and Allah Knows best about whom He will
Pardon and whom He will not pardon. As for the one who died after repentance, and he
fulfilled all of what Allah Made obligatory upon him, and he avoided the forbidden matters,
then it is as if he did not sin, because of what the Prophet said, [ which
means] The one who repents from the sin is like the one who has no sin. This is an
authentic hadith narrated by Ibn Majah from the route of Ibn Mas^ud. It is narrated in
Sahih Al-Bukhariyy that a man said, Oh Messenger of Allah, should I embrace Islam or
should I fight? He said, Embrace Islam, then fight. So he embraced Islam, he fought,
and he was killed. The Messenger of Allah said, He did little and was rewarded a lot,
meaning that he reached the status of a martyr after Islam eradicated every sin that he
did previously. So the great merit is for Islam, because had he not embraced Islam, no
deed that he did would have benefited him. This man was among the fighters because his
people, who were Muslims, went out to fight, but he had not embraced Islam. Then
241. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 241 Allah inspired him to ask the Messenger,
so he asked, and so the Messenger guided him to embrace Islam and then to fight.
242. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 242 The Epilogue of the Epilogue Let the
intelligent person think about the Saying of Allah, [ which means] No
saying is uttered except that it would be recorded by Raqib and ^Atid, for certainly
whoever thought about that knows that whatever he speaks about, whether seriously or
jokingly, while pleased or angry, is recorded by the two angels. So would it please the
intelligent person to see these wicked words in his book when it is presented to him on
Judgment Day? In fact, that would disturb him and sadden him at a time when regret will
have no benefit. So let him take care to preserve his tongue from the talk that disturbs him
if presented to him in the Hereafter. The Messenger of Allah said,
[ which means] There are two attributes that, if only the
creation would beautify themselves with the likes of those two: good manners and lengthy
silence. This was narrated by ^Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Abu Bakr Ibn Abi-d-Dunya AlQurashiyy in Kitabu- s-Samt. The End
243. It might be said: Unofficial Translation 243 Glory be to Allah, and Praise and Thanks
are due to Him, The Lord of the Humans and Jinn, And may the Salah of Allah be upon
our Master Muhammad, the Trustworthy And upon his Pure Family and Companions.