6.7. THE CONSENSUS OF EARLY SCHOLARS
The statements of the early scholars of Islaam confirming God’s transcendence are too numerous to mention in this concise work. The 15th century Hadeeth scholar, adh-Dhababee, wrote a book entitled al-‘Uloo lil-‘Alee al-‘AdHeem in which he gathered the statements of over 200 major scholars of the past confirming Allah’s transcendence.
A good example of such statements can be found in Mutee‘ al- Bukhaaree’s report that he asked Abu Haneefah his opinion of a person who says he does not know whether his Lord is in the heavens or on earth. Abu Haneefah replied, ‘He has disbelieved, because Allaah has said, “The Most Merciful is above the throne (Soorah Taahaa 20:5)’, and His throne is above His seven heavens.” He (al-Balakhee) then said, “What if he said that He is above the throne but he does not know whether the throne is in the heavens or on earth?” He (Abu Haneefah) replied, “He has disbelieved because he has denied that He (Allaah) is above the heavens and whoever denies that He is above the heavens has disbelieved.”Though many who follow the Hanafee school of law today claim that Allah is everywhere, the early followers did not hold that position. The incident in which Abu Haneefah’s main student, Abu Yousuf, told Bishr al-mareesee37 to repent when he denied that Allah is above the throne, was recorded in a number of books written during and about that era.
SUMMARY
Therefore, it can be safely said that according to Islaam and its key principle of tawheed,
- Allah is completely separate from His creation.
- Creation neither surrounds Him nor is above Him in any way.
- He, Allah, is above all things.
This is the classical conception of Allah according to the sources of Islaam. It is very simple and firm, and leaves no room for the type of misconceptions which often lead to the worship of creation.
This view, however, does not deny that Allaah’s attributes operate throughout His creation. Nothing escapes His sight, His knowledge and His power. But just as it is considered a major advance to technology to be able to sit in the comfort of our homes and watch events taking place half-way around the world, Allaah sees, hears and knows all that happens in the universe without having to be inside of it. Ibn ‘Abbaas was reported to have said, “In Allah’s hand, the seven heavens, seven earths. their contents as well as what is between them, is like a mustard seed in one of your hands’ ‘And, just as remote-control T.V. is considered a great technological improvement over manual control, Allaah’s power operates unhindered within the smallest elements of creation without Him having to be there. In fact, the concept that Allah is within His creation is really a form of Shirk in Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat where in Allah is given some of a man’s weaknesses. It is man who has to be present in the world for him to see, hear, know and affect what takes place in it.
Allaah’s knowledge and power, on the other hand, has no bounds. Man’s very thoughts are totally exposed to Allah, and even the emotional workings of his heart are subject to Allaah’s control. This is the light in which the few verses which allude to Allaah’s closeness should be understood. For example, Allaah said,
“Verily, We created man and know what his soul whispers, for We are closer to him than his jugular vein.”40
He also said,
“O believers, respond to Allah and His messenger when they call you that which will give you life. And know well that Allaah comes between a man and his heart. And to Him you will be gathered.”41
These verses should not be taken to mean that Allah is inside man at a point closer than his jugular vein or that He is inside man’s heart changing its states. They simply mean that nothing escapes Allaah’s knowledge, even the innermost thoughts of man, and nothing is beyond His power to control and change, even the emotions of the heart. As Allaah said,
“Don’t they realize that Allaah knows what they hide and what they expose.”42
“(Remembers) when you were enemies and He put love between your hearts and by His blessings you became brothers.”43
and the Prophet (r) often used to pray saying,
“Yaa muqallib al-Quloob (O, Changer of hearts) Thabbit Qalbee ‘alaa Deenik (steady my heart in Your Religion).”44
Similarly, verse like
“There is not a secret consultation between three, but He is their fourth, nor between five but He is the sixth, nor between fewer nor more but He is in their midst wheresoever they may be…”45
should be understood according to their context. By reading the preceding segment of the same verse,
“Can you not see that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and on earth?”
and the concluding segment of the verse,
“In the end He will tell them the truth of their conduct, on the Day of Judgement for Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
It becomes clear that Allah is here referring to His knowledge and not the fact that His Supreme Being is present among men, for He is above and beyond His creation.
As for the following statement which has been attributed to the Prophet, “The heavens and earth cannot contain Allah, but the heart of the true believer contains Him,” it is inauthentic. But, even if it were taken at face value, there is no way that a logical person could deduce from it that Allah is in mind. If a believer’s heart literally contains Allaah, and the believer is contained within the heavens and earth, then Allah is contained by the heavens and earth. Because, if A is inside of B, and B is inside of C, then A must also be inside of C.
Therefore, according to the classical Islamic outlook based on the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah, Allah is above the universe and its contents in a way which befits His majesty and He is not in anyway contained within His creation nor is it within Him, but His finite knowledge, mercy and power operate on every particle within it without any hindrance whatsoever.
By Bilal Philips
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