I have read the many translations in english of the Holy Quran: Surat Mulk Verses 16-17 dr mosin khans say Do you feel safe from the one who is OVER the heaven, in both these ayats; however Yusaf Ali and pickthal state IN the Heaven, and some of the urdu translations say IN the heaven, im a little confused because my Aqeedah is that Allah swt is above the heavens and his throne in a manner that fits his majesty, and he does descend to the first heaven during the 3rd part of the night. Also there interpretation of Istawa is fixed on the throne, M.khans is rose over(in a manner that Suits my Lord). I would realy appreciate it if you could explain this in detail, What does the ayat really say and when was it revealed, I have read ibn kathir there is not much detail for this ayat there. Your website has been very helpful and i find it alhamdulilah very honest and frank, I have previously suffered from Waswasa, which i have recovered fom al praise be to Allah(swt) through your sites ansers.
Praise be to Allaah.
With regard to the issue of
Allaah being above His creation and rising above His Throne, there are two
important principles which must be established and highlighted:
1.
Affirming that which Allaah
has affirmed for Himself in His holy Book, in which He describes Himself as
being above all of His creation, and rising above His Throne after creating
the heavens and earth. This is stated in clear and unambiguous verses of the
Qur’aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And to Allaah prostrate
all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, of the moving
(living) creatures and the angels, and they are not proud [i.e. they worship
their Lord (Allaah) with humility].
50. They fear their Lord
above them, and they do what they are commanded”
[al-Nahl 16:49-50]
“Do you feel secure that
He, Who is over the heaven (Allaah), will not cause the earth to sink with
you, and then it should quake?
17. Or do you feel secure
that He, Who is over the heaven (Allaah), will not send against you a
violent whirlwind? Then you shall know how (terrible) has been My Warning”
[al-Mulk 67:16-17]
And the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do you not trust me, when I am the
trustee of the One Who is above the heaven and the news of heaven comes to
me morning and evening?” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4351) and Muslim (1064).
And he also said: “Show mercy to those who are on earth so that the One Who
is in heaven will show mercy to you.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (no. 1924) –
he said it is hasan saheeh. And he also said: “When Allaah created the
universe, he wrote in His Book, which is with Him above the Throne: “My
mercy prevails over My wrath.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3194) and Muslim
(2751).
See also the answers to
questions no. 992,
9564,
11035 and
47048.
2.
Nothing of Allaah's creation
can encompass Him and He is not contained within His creation. He, may He be
glorified, has no need of it. He is above needing it and exalted be He above
any of His creation encompassing Him.
Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“No vision can grasp Him,
but He grasps all vision. He is Al-Lateef (the Most Subtle and Courteous),
Well‑Acquainted with all things”
[al-An’aam 6:103]
“He (Allaah) knows what
happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them
(in the Hereafter) but they will never compass anything of His Knowledge”
[Ta-Ha 20:110]
From these two principles,
Ahl al-Sunnah established that the idea of Allaah’s being above His Throne
and above all of His creation means that He is above all creation, above the
heaven, above Paradise, above the Throne, and none of His creation
encompasses Him, He does not need any of them; rather He is their Creator
and Sustainer. The texts which describe Allaah as being in heaven mean that
He is high above His creation: they do not mean that the heaven surrounds
and encompasses Him. That is because heaven [sama’] here means high,
and it is not referring to the created heaven. Or it may be said that the
proposition in [fi] in this case means above [‘ala], i.e.,
above the heaven.
It is proven that ‘Ali ibn
al-Hasan ibn Shaqeeq, the shaykh of al-Bukhaari, said:
I said to ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak:
How do we know our Lord?
He said: [He is] in the
seventh heaven above His Throne. According to another version: [He is] above
the seventh heaven above His Throne, and we do not say as the Jahamiyyah do,
that He is here on earth.
That was said to Ahmad ibn
Hanbal, and he said: This is how we understand it.
Imam al-Dhahabi said,
commenting on this report:
This is saheeh and proven
from Thaabit ibn al-Mubaarak and Ahmad (may Allaah be pleased with them
both). The words ‘in heaven’ in another report explain to you that what he
meant by saying ‘in heaven’ was ‘above the heaven’, as in the other saheeh
report which he wrote to Yahya ibn Mansoor al-Faqeeh. End quote.
Al-‘Arsh
2/189
We will quote here the words
of the scholars which explained and clarified this matter:
Al-Haafiz Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to the words of
Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “Do you feel secure that He, Who
is over the heaven [fi’l-sama’] (Allaah), will not cause the earth to sink
with you, and then it should quake” [al-Mulk 67:16], what it means is
the One Who is above the heaven, i.e., above the Throne. The word fi
[in the phrase fi’l-sama’ (translated above as ‘over the heaven’);
fi literally means ‘in’] may mean ‘ala [above, over]. Haven’t you
seen the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “So
travel freely (O Mushrikoon) for four months (as you will) throughout the
land [fi’l-ard]” [al-Tawbah 9:2], meaning on the land; and the
verse in which He says (interpretation of the meaning): “and I will
surely, crucify you on the trunks of date palms [fi judhoo’ al-nakhl]”
[Ta-Ha 20:71]. End quote.
Al-Tamheed,
7/130
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The salaf, the imams and all
the scholars of the Sunnah, when they say that He is above the Throne, He is
in heaven above all things, do not mean that there is something which
contains Him or surrounds Him, or that He has a location, or that there is
something that encompasses Him. Exalted be He above that. Rather He is above
all things, He has no need of all things, and all things are in need of Him.
He is above all things, He is the One Who carries the Throne and its bearers
by His power and might. All created beings are in need of Him, but He has no
need of the Throne or of any created being.
With regard to what it says
in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, “Do you feel secure that He, Who is over the
heaven [fi’l-sama’]…?” [al-Mulk 67:16] and so on, some people may
understand the word heaven as being the same as the created heaven on high
or the Throne and what is beneath it, so they say that His words “in heaven
(fi’l-sama’)” mean that He is above the heaven, as the words “and
I will surely, crucify you on the trunks of date palms [fi judhoo’ al-nakhl]”
[Ta-Ha 20:71] mean on the trunks of date palms, and the words “So
travel freely (O Mushrikoon — see V.2:105) for four months (as you will)
throughout the land[ fi’l-ard]” [al-Tawbah 9:2] mean on the
land.
There is no need for that;
rather the word sama’ (often translated as heaven) refers to what is up
high, and does not apply to any specific thing. So the words fi’l-sama’
[translated above as ‘in heaven’] apply to that which is up high as opposed
to being low or down.
He is high and the highest,
and He is the Highest of the high; there is nothing beyond the Most High,
may He be glorified and exalted. End quote.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa
(16/100-101)
To sum up: What you believe,
that Allaah rose above His Throne, above His heaven, above all of His
creation, is what every believer must believe. What you have read in the
Tafseers referred to, that Allaah is ‘in heaven’ is also correct and is in
accordance with what you believe. It is mentioned in the Qur’aan and Sunnah,
but on condition that it be understood that the word heaven (sama’)
here means what is on high, above, or that fi [in] may mean ‘ala
[above], as we have explained above. If the mufassir intended some meaning
other than that which we have mentioned, then his words are to be rejected.
We would appreciate it if you could tell us exactly what he said so that we
may examine what is in it.
And Allaah knows best.
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