Abu
Bakr (radhi allahu anhu):
Abdullah Ibn Umar (radhi
allahu anhu) reported: “When
the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) was taken
(passed away). Abu Bakr
(radhi allahu anhu) entered
and kissed his (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) forehead
and said: “May my father and
mother be sacrificed on you!
You were good in life and in
death.” Then he remarked:
“He who worshiped Muhammad (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam), then
Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam) is dead. (But)
he, who worships Allah, then
Allah is above the sky, He
lives and does not die.”[1]
Imam
Malik (d.179H): Abdullah
Ibn Naafi reported that
Malik Ibn Anas
(rahimahullah) said: “Allah
is above the sky and His
Knowledge is in every place,
not being absent from
anything.”[2]
Shaikh al-Islam Abdullah Ibn
Mubarak (d. 181H): Alee
Ibn al-Hasan Ibn Shaqeeq
reports, I asked Abdullah
Ibn al-Mubarak: “How are we
to know our Lord?” He
replied: “He is above the
seventh Heaven above His
Throne. We do not say as the
Jahmiyyah[3]
say, He is here on the
earth.” This was mentioned
to Ahmad Ibn Hambal
(rahimahullah), he stated:
“That is how it is with us
(i.e. how we believe).”[4]
Imam
Muhammad Ibn Idrees ash-Shafi’ee
(d. 204H): Abu Thawr and
Abu Shuaib both reported
that ash-Shafi’ee said: “The
saying which I found and
hold regarding the Sunnah,
those which I have seen
Sufyan, Malik and others
believing in are; ‘the
testification, ‘None has the
right to be worshiped but
Allah and Muhammad (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) is the
Messenger of Allah’, Allah
is above His Throne over the
Heavens, He draws near to
His creation as He wishes
and descends to the lowest
Heaven as He wishes....”[5]
Imam
Ahmad Ibn Hambal (d. 241H):
It was said to Abu Abdullah
(Imam Ahmad): “Allah is
above the seventh Heaven,
over His Throne, separate
from His creation. His Power
and Knowledge are in every
place.” He said, “Yes, He is
above the Throne and His
Knowledge is in every
place.”[6]
Shaikh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyyah writes, ‘the early
generations of Muslims and
their Imams were in complete
and unanimous agreement that
the Lord is separate and
distinct from His creation.’[7]
These are few sayings of the
scholars, Adh-Dhahabee has
collected more than two
hundred sayings of the early
scholars in this regard in
his book al-’Uluw.[8]
[1]
Reported by ad-Daarimee
in ar-Radd ‘alal
Jahmiyyah, with a hasan
isnaad.
[2]
Reported by Abdullah Ibn
Ahmad in As-Sunnah
(p.5), Aboo Dawood in
al-Masaa’il (p.263), Al-Aajuree
in ash-Sharee’ah (p.
289) and al-Laalikaa’ee
(1/92/2).
[3]
Jahmiyyah are the
followers of Jahm Ibn
Safwan, who was the
first one to publicly
declare the denial of
Allah’s Attributes.
Before long he denied
the Attributes of Allah,
he was killed and
crucified by Khalid Ibn
Abdullah Al-Khusari,
Prince of Iraq. This
took place during the
era of the Tabioon,
(students of the
Companion). All the
scholars at his time
called him a Kafir on
account of plainly
denying the Attributes
of Allah.
[4]
Reported by ad-Daarimee
in ar-Radd
‘alal-Mareesee (p.24 and
103) and ar-Radd
‘alal-Jahmiyyah (p. 50)
and Abdullaah Ibn Ahmad
in as-Sunnah (p.7, 25,
35 and 72).
