6.5. HADEETHIC PROOF
There is also ample evidence in the statements of the Prophet which clearly establish that Allah is not on the earth or within His Creation. Like the Qur’anic verses, some Hadeeths contain indirect references while others are direct. Among the indirect or implied references are those which refer to the angels ascending up to Allah as in the Hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah in which he narrated that Allah’s messenger said, “(A group of) angels stay with you at night and (another group of) angels by daytime, and both groups gather at the time of ‘Asr (evening) and Fajr (dawn) prayers. Then those angels who have stayed with you overnight, ascend (to Heaven) and Allah asks them (about you) though He knows all about you…”
Included among the indirect references are those which refer to Allah being above his throne which is itself above all creation. An example of this type can be found in Abu Hurayrah’s report that the Prophet said, “When Allaah completed creation, He wrote in a Book (which He kept) with Him above His throne, ‘Verily My mercy will precede my anger.”
An example of a direct reference is the narration about the Prophet’s wife Zaynab bint Jahsh who used to boast to the other wives of the Prophet that their families gave them away in marriage to the Prophet while Allaah from above the seven heavens gave her away in marriage.
Another may be found in the Du‘aa (prayer) by which the Prophet (r) taught the sick to pray for themselves,
“Rabbanaa Allah alladhee fis-Samaa’e Taqaddasasmuka. (Our Lord Allaah who is above the heavens, may Your name be Holy…)29
The following Hadeeth is perhaps the most explicit of the direct references:
Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam said, “I had a servant girl who used to tend my sheep in the area of Mount Uhud, near a place called al-Jawwaareeyah. One day I came to see them only to find that a wolf had made off with a sheep from her flock. Since I, like the rest of Aadam’s descendants, am prone to do regrettable acts, I gave her a terrible slap in her face. When I came to Allaah’s Messenger with the story, he considered it a grave thing for me to have done. I said, ‘Oh Messenger of Allah couldn’t I free her?’ He replied, ‘Bring her to me’, so I brought her. He then asked her, ‘Where is Allah?’ and she replied, ‘Above the sky.’ Then He asked her, ‘Who am I?’ and she replied, ‘You are Allaah’s Messenger.’ So he said, ‘Free her, for verily she is a true believer.’”
When testing the faith of others, the logical question to ask would be “Do you believe in Allah?” The Prophet did not ask that question, because most people at that time believed in Allah, as the Quran frequently mentions,
“And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth and controls the sun and the moon, they will certainly say, ‘Allaah.’”32
Because the pagan Makkans of that time believed that Allah was somehow present in their idols and thereby a part of creation, the Prophet wanted to determine if her belief was confused and paganistic like other Makkans or clearly unitarian and according to the divine teachings. Hence, he asked a question which would determine whether she knew that Allah was not a part of His creation or whether she believed that God could be worshipped in creation. Her answer that Allah is above the heavens has to be considered by true Muslims as the only valid answer to the question “Where is Allah?” because the Prophet ruled that she was a true believer on the basis of it. If Allah is everywhere as some Muslims today still contend, the Prophet would have had to correct her answer, “Above the sky”, since whatever was said in his presence which he did not reject is considered, according to Islamic Law, Prophet not only accepted her statement, but he also used it as a basis for judge her to be a true believer.
By Bilal Philips
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