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Praise be to Allah.
Believing in Allah, may He be exalted, is not limited to believing that He exists. Rather it is believing that and also, just as importantly, believing that He possesses attributes of perfection and majesty, and that what He possesses of greatness and sublimity is far beyond human comprehension. This is what is referred to in the Holy Quran as “the highest description (al-mathal al-a‘laa)”. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And He it is Who originates the creation, then will repeat it (after it has been perished), and this is easier for Him. His is the highest description (i.e. none has the right to be worshipped but He, and there is nothing comparable unto Him) in the heavens and in the earth. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise”
[ar-Room 30:27].
Al-‘Allaamah Shams ad-Deen Ibn al-Qayyim made a brilliant comment on the meaning of “the highest description (al-mathal al-a‘laa)”, as he (may Allah have mercy on him) said in as-Sawaa‘iq al-Mursalah fi’r-Radd ‘ala al-Jahamiyyah wa’l-Mu‘attillah (2/430):
If you want to have more understanding about this “highest description”, then estimate in your mind the strength of all creatures, and imagine it being all gathered and concentrated in one individual, then imagine that they all have the strength of that one individual. If you compare the power of that one to the power of Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, you will find that there is no comparison at all, just as you will find no comparison between the strength of the mosquito and the strength of the lion.
If you imagine the knowledge of all of humanity gathered into one man, then you think of them all having the knowledge of that one man, then their knowledge, put together, in comparison to the knowledge of Allah, may He be exalted, will be like a bird pecking in the sea.
If you estimate the wisdom of all of humanity in the same manner, there can be no comparison between it and the wisdom of Allah.
If you estimate all the beauty in existence, and imagine it gathered in one person, then imagine if all people were as beautiful as that one, then in comparison to the beauty of Allah, may He be exalted and glorified, it is less than the light of a weak lamp in comparison to the light of the sun. Allah, may He be glorified, highlighted this idea when He said (interpretation of the meaning):
“And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea (were ink wherewith to write), with seven seas behind it to add to its (supply), yet the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise”
[Luqmaan 31:27].
So think of the oceans throughout the world as being ink, beyond which there are seven more oceans surrounding it, all of them being ink with which to write the words of Allah. Those seas would run dry and the pens, if you imagine all the trees of the earth from the time when it was created until the end of the world as being made into pens, would wear out, but the words of Allah would never be exhausted. End quote.
Once you understand this, then you will realise that the rulings of Allah, may He be exalted, all stem from knowledge, justice, wisdom and kindness. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can change His Words. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower”
[al-An‘aam 6:115].
And Allah, may He be exalted, says, speaking of His slave and Prophet, Hood (interpretation of the meaning):
“I put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving (living) creature but He has grasp of its forelock. Verily, my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth)”
[Hood 11:56].
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Madaarij as-Saalikeen bayna Manaazil Iyyaaka Na‘budu wa Iyyaaka Nasta‘een (1/44): With regard to the verse in Soorat Hood, it clearly means, and cannot be interpreted in any other way, that Allah, may He be glorified, is on a straight path, and He, may He be glorified, is more deserving of being on a straight path, for all His words are truth, fairness, guidance, justice and wisdom, “And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice” [al-An‘aam 6:115]. And all His deeds are beneficial, wise, merciful, just and good. Evil cannot be part of the deeds or words of the One Who is on the straight path; rather evil can only be part of the words and deeds of one who drifts away from that path. End quote.
Allah, may He be glorified, tells us that His rulings are based on truth and justice, and the rulings of others are based on ignorance.
Think of what the word of ignorance contains of wrongdoing, darkness, injustice and misguidance. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Do they then seek the judgement of (the days of) Ignorance? And who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm Faith”
[al-Maa’idah 5:50].
Al-‘Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Sawaa‘iq al-Mursalah (3/1046):
Allah, may He be glorified, stated that every ruling that is contrary to His ruling that He revealed to His Messenger is a ruling that is based on whims and desires, not a ruling that is based on wisdom, and it is the ruling of ignorance, not a ruling of knowledge and guidance. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And so judge (you O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) among them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they turn you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) far away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you. And if they turn away, then know that Allah’s Will is to punish them for some sins of theirs. And truly, most of men are Faasiqoon (rebellious and disobedient to Allah).
Do they then seek the judgement of (the days of) Ignorance? And who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm Faith”
[al-Maa’idah 5:49-50].
Thus Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, tells us that there is nothing else beyond what He has revealed except the following of whims and desires which divert people from His path, and there is nothing beyond His rulings except the rulings of ignorance.
All of these views and ideas that are contrary to what the Messenger brought are based on whims and desires and the rulings of ignorance, even if those who propagate them describe them as rationally-proven facts and certain proof, which is akin to the polytheists describing their idols and statues as gods, and the hypocrites describing their endeavour to spread mischief on earth and turn people away from faith as an effort to spread righteousness and do what is right. End quote.
After all of that, do you think – O insignificant slave of Allah, weak creature that you are – that you know more than Allah, may He be exalted, knows, and that with your weak mind you could understand that which the Knower of the unseen, may He be glorified and exalted, cannot understand?!
May Allah be glorified and exalted, how great is His might and how forbearing is He!
You have indeed brought forth (said) a terrible evil thing, whereby the heavens are almost torn, and the earth is split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins, by regarding your weak and insignificant self as equal to the Lord of the Worlds!
Where are you headed with all these misguided notions? What path of misguidance is the accursed Shaytaan leading you on?
Listen to what the wise men and philosophers say:
Knowledge belongs to the Most Gracious, may He be glorified and exalted, and everyone else is sinking in ignorance.
What does the human being who is created from dust have to do with knowledge? Rather he is striving hard to learn that he knows nothing.
Even the great philosopher Abu’l-Waleed Ibn Rushd (d. 595 AH) said: The truest thing that the philosophers say is that reason has a limit at which it stops and cannot go beyond it. He stated this in his book Tahaafut at-Tahaafut (2/534).
Allah, in His sublime wisdom, may test His slave by making him blind to the wisdom behind a command or ruling, so as to test the faith of His slave and see whether he will submit to the ruling of his Lord or will object to His ruling and take an arrogant stance towards Allah, may He be exalted. The person with mature thinking who is truly a believer is the one who submits to the ruling of his Lord, even if the wisdom behind it is hidden from him, then after that he prays to his Lord and beseeches Him, asking Him to guide him and teach him that which is hidden from him.
Because Allah, may He be glorified, knows that people are unable to fully comprehend His wisdom, His might and His control of the affairs of His creation, He, may He be glorified, left them with no hope of competing with Him in His dominion, or of questioning Him about anything that He does. For it is their Lord Who will question His slaves and judge them. As for His slaves, they are no more than slaves.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses, no choice have they (in any matter). Glorified is Allah, and exalted above all that they associate (as partners with Him).
And your Lord knows what their breasts conceal, and what they reveal.
And He is Allah; Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). all praises and thanks be to Him (both) in the first (i.e. in this world) and in the last (i.e.in the Hereafter). And for Him is the Decision, and to Him shall you (all) be returned”
[al-Qasas 28:68-70]
“To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and on earth. And those who are near Him (i.e. the angels) are not too proud to worship Him, nor are they weary (of His worship).
They (i.e. the angels) glorify His Praises night and day, (and) they never slacken (to do so)
Or have they taken (for worship) aalihah (gods) from the earth who raise the dead?
Had there been therein (in the heavens and the earth) aalihah (gods) besides Allah, then verily both would have been ruined. Glorified is Allah, the Lord of the Throne, (High is He) above all that they attribute to Him!
He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will be questioned.
Or have they taken for worship (other) aalihah (gods) besides Him? Say: ‘Bring your proof:’ This (the Qur’an) is the Reminder for those with me and the Reminder for those before me. But most of them know not the Truth, so they are averse”
[al-Anbiya’ 21:19-24].
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah is not to be questioned about what He does because of His perfect wisdom, mercy and justice, not just because of His subjugation of creation and His might.
End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (8/511)
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, did not appoint any partner in His creation; rather He is the only Creator. There was no one who witnessed that (creation) or watched it or learned about it, let alone helped or assisted in it or was a partner therein:
“I (Allah) made them (Iblees and his offspring) not to witness (nor took their help in) the creation of the heavens and the earth and not (even) their own creation, nor was I (Allah) to take the misleaders as helpers”
[al-Kahf 18:51].
So how about a matter the nature of which is hidden from you, and you were not present when it was created and first began, and you knew nothing of its origin and development, yet you dispute with your Lord concerning His knowledge of it, when He is the One Who has knowledge of His creation, may He be glorified:
“Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves) All-Aware (of everything)”
[al-Mulk 67:14].
You are ignorant of your own status and have gone beyond your limits and wronged yourself; you have not done yourself any favours, and you have exposed yourself to grievous harm and are causing your own doom.
The main cause of your error and misguidance is the fact that you do not differentiate between what is rationally impossible and what is rationally incomprehensible.
That in which wisdom is hidden or it is rationally impossible to comprehend that wisdom come under the heading of that which is rationally incomprehensible, which makes people wonder about the wisdom behind things. In religion you may see some matters that are beyond rational comprehension (and make people of reason wonder about them), as a test from Allah to His slaves.
But there is nothing in religion that is rationally impossible, and is false and incorrect according to reason. This is something that Allah never included in His religion and is something that He never included in His creation and command, may He be glorified. The failure to differentiate between the two is the cause of many people being misguided.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Undoubtedly the Messengers (blessings and peace of Allah be upon them) may tell people of matters that their reason cannot comprehend, but they do not tell them of anything that people know on the basis of reason to be impossible. So the Messengers tell people of that which is rationally incomprehensible (that is, beyond the grasp of reason), but it is not impossible. So whoever would like to comprehend by his reason what the messengers said is akin to those concerning whom Allah, may He be exalted, said:
“And when there comes to them a sign (from Allah) they say: ‘We shall not believe until we receive the like of that which the Messengers of Allah had received. Allah knows best with whom to place His Message”
[al-An‘aam 6:124]
“Nay, everyone of them desires that he should be given pages spread out (coming from Allah with a writing that Islam is the right religion, and Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has come with the truth from Allah the Lord of the heavens and earth)”
[al-Muddaththir 74:52].
End quote from Dar’ Ta‘aarud al-‘Aql wa’n-Naql (7/327)
He also said:
It is not possible for the Messengers to say something that is not possible on the basis of common sense and rational thinking. Rather it is not possible for them to say something that cannot be accepted on a rational basis.
So they may say things that are incomprehensible according to reason, but they are not impossible.
And there may be something that they say that is beyond the ability of some people to comprehend and imagine, because people vary in their powers of reasoning. In the glory, dominion, signs and creation of the Lord, may He be exalted, there are issues that people – many of them – cannot understand or imagine.
It is sufficient for you to know that Moosa (peace be upon him), despite his great status, when His Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust and Moosa fell unconscious, then when he came to, he said:
“Glory be to You, I turn to You in repentance and I am the first of the believers”
[al-A‘raaf 7:143].
But many people think, on the basis of their reasoning, that there are things that are not possible, when they are not impossible, and they may think that there are things that are possible or necessary, when that is not the case.
End quote from Bayaan Talbees al-Jahamiyyah (8/534).
The first step that a person takes on the path of Islam and surrender to the Lord of the Worlds is to surrender to Him wholeheartedly, and surrender to His Lordship, and not to dispute with his Lord with regard to His dominion, power and deeds.
And he surrenders to His divinity, so he submits to His rulings and accepts His commands and prohibitions. There is no way that a person’s commitment to Islam can be acceptable unless he surrenders completely, in every single matter, major r minor, to the Lord of the Worlds and accepts His laws and His religion, whether it is in accordance with his whims and desires, or not.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission”
[an-Nisa’ 4:65].
Allah does not give you the choice, when it comes to any issues of religion, to believe in some of it if it makes sense to you or suits you, and to invent for yourself a law or system or religion, if you do not like anything of the religion of Islam. Allah is the most free of need of having any partner.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“They (hypocrites) say: ‘We have believed in Allah and in the Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), and we obey,’ then a party of them turn away thereafter, such are not believers.
And when they are called to Allah (i.e. His Words, the Qur’an) and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), to judge between them, lo! a party of them refuse (to come) and turn away.
But if the truth is on their sides, they come to him willingly with submission.
Is there a disease in their hearts? Or do they doubt or fear lest Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) should wrong them in judgement. Nay, it is they themselves who are the Zaalimoon (polytheists, hypocrites and wrong-doers).
The only saying of the faithful believers, when they are called to Allah (His Words, the Qur’an) and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), to judge between them, is that they say: "We hear and we obey." And such are the successful (who will live forever in Paradise).
And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), fears Allah, and keeps his duty (to Him), such are the successful.
They swear by Allah their strongest oaths, that if only you would order them, they would leave (their homes for fighting in Allah's Cause). Say: ‘Swear you not; (this) obedience (of yours) is known (to be false). Verily, Allah knows well what you do’”
[an-Noor 24:47-52]
“It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in to a plain error”
[al-Ahzaab 33:36].
At-Tahhaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Religious commitment cannot be sound unless one surrenders and submits, so whoever tries to seek knowledge of that which was concealed from him and is not content to surrender, his aspiration (to know everything) will prevent him from attaining pure Tawheed, proper knowledge and sound faith. So he will waver between disbelief and faith, belief and denial, acceptance and rejection, controlled by doubts, confused and not believing or denying anything.
End quote from Fi Matn at-Tahhaawiyyah bi Ta‘leeq al-Albaani (1/43).
Disapproving of anything that Allah has revealed, and not accepting it wholeheartedly, is what may lead a person to doom, take away his faith and nullify all his deeds.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! If you help (in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm.
But those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah (Islamic Monotheism), for them is destruction, and (Allah) will make their deeds vain.
That is because they hate that which Allah has sent down (this Qur’an and Islamic laws etc.), so He has made their deeds fruitless”
[Muhammad 47:7-9].
You need to truly and sincerely renew your faith and your Islam, and surrender to the Lord of the Worlds, and to take care of your heart and cleanse it from what has befallen it of bad thoughts and doubts, and to repent sincerely and turn anew to the Lord of the Worlds. Then you will know for sure what faith means and how it should be.
It was narrated from al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib that he heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “He has found the taste of faith who is content with Allah as his Lord, Islam as his religion and Muhammad as his Messenger.” Narrated by Muslim (39).
There is nothing to save you from the pain of doubt, uncertainty, hesitation and confusion – there is nothing greater than the Book of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. Read it with understanding, persist in reading it, reflecting and pondering upon its meanings, seeking guidance, comfort and reassurance from it, as Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And those who disbelieve say: ‘Why is not a sign sent down to him (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) from his Lord?’ Say: ‘Verily, Allah sends astray whom He wills and guides unto Himself those who turn to Him in repentance.’
Those who believed (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest”
[ar-Ra‘d 13:27-28].
Listen to this advice, from a smart literary man and wise philosopher, who has read the words of wise men and has great knowledge of philosophy and kalaam, and now is telling us of the way of salvation:
The book of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is protection and refuge; in it there is healing, clarity, guidance and light; in it is the answer to every problem and to it will turn everyone who is confused.
Its verses that speak in general terms are sufficient for people with sound hearts, and its verses that speak in detail offer sufficient healing for people with doubts in their hearts.
Its apparent meanings will call you in clear words to surrender to that which is hidden from you.
And its hidden meanings will indicate to you that you should comply with its apparent meanings.
This is if you understand the difference between the divine and the slave.
But if you are controlled by doubts and confusion, and you cannot see the difference between the good and the bad, or differentiate between the true reality of this and the false reality of that, then I fear that you will be doomed and you will continue to be confused, then your fate will be utter loss.
End quote from al-Basaa’ir wa’dh-Dhakhaa’ir by at-Tawheedi (2/112-113)
And Allah knows best.