c
 



÷




÷ 

÷
÷ 



’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’©

Listen

ImamMalik said, ³Allah attributed Himself with the Istawa' that befits Him. It is invalid to say
how; and how does not apply to Him.´ The how-characteristics are descriptions of the created.
Only the created can be described with sitting, settling and occupying a place. The word istawa
has 15 meanings, among them are to subjugate, to preserve, and to maintain. It also implies
physically-oriented meanings such as to sit, to settle and to stabilize. It is blasphemy to apply to
Allah to physical meanings of the creations such as to sit. The words preserve and subjugate are
meanings that comply with the religion and the Arabic language. Al-Qushayriyy explained the
meaning of istawa' in this Ayah as, to preserve, subdue and maintain. It cannot be believed that
Allah sits on the Throne as this belies Ayah 74 of Suratul-Nahlwhich means, ³Do not liken Allah
to any of His creation.´ Surat Ibrahim,Ayah48 means, ³And the slaves will be resurrected to
face the judgment of Allah, the One, the Subduer.´ Imam Aliyysaid, ³Allah created the Throne as
an indication of His Power and not to take it as a place for himself.´ (Related by AbuMansurAl-
Baghdadiyy.)

c




  


 





 
©

Listen

It is obligatory to believe that every Prophet of Allah must be attributed with truthfulness,
trustworthiness, intelligence, virtuous character, courage, and articulation. Consequently, lying,
dishonesty, vileness, fornication, other enormous sins, and blasphemy are impossible to be
amongst their attributes, both before and after the Revelation of Prophethood. In Suratul-
An^am, Ayah86 means, ³Allah has given the prophets ranks higher than the rest of the world.´
The Prophet, salallallahu ^alayhiwasallam, said in a hadith related by at-Tirmidhiyy, ³Every
Prophet Allah sent, had a pleasing face and an appealing voice´.

¦

 


©

Listen

Worshipping Allah is accepted only from the believers. The believers believe in the existence of
Allah, and do not liken Him to any of His creations. Suratush-Shura, Ayah11 means, ³Nothing is
like Allah in any way.´ The Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhiwasallam, said, ³Do not attempt to
imagine the Self of Allah´ (Related by Abul-Qasim Al-Ansariyy). The scholar Al-Ghazaliyy said,
³Worship is valid only after one has correct knowledge and belief in the One Who deserves to be
worshipped [÷
—.´
c
 


   

 £©

Listen

Allah created the humans and jinn to order them to worship Him.Suratul-Dhariyat, Ayah56
means, ³Allah has created jinn and mankind, only to order them to worship Him.´ The
Prophet,sallallahu ^alayhiwasallam, said, ³The greatest right due to Allah from his slaves is for
them to worship Him without associating partners to Him.´ (Related by al-Bukhariyy and
Muslim)

c
 


©

Listen

The most enormous sin is blasphemy. Shirk is a type of blasphemy; it is to worship other than
Allah. SuratLuqman,Ayah13 contains the meaning of what Luqman said is, ³O my son! Do not
worship other than Allah, for shirk is extreme injustice.´ It was narrated that ³The Prophet,
peace be upon him, was asked, µWhat is the most enormous sin?¶ He said, µTo attribute partners
to Allah, the One Who created you.¶´ (Related by al-Bukhariyy and others)

c


 


©

Listen

Worship is the ultimate submission and humility, as described by Hafidh al-Subkiyy. Suratul-
Anbiya¶Ayah25 means, ³No one is God except Allah, so worship Him alone.´ The Prophet,
sallallahu ^alayhiwasallam, said, ³The greatest right due to Allah from His slaves is for them to
worship Him without associating partners with Him.´ (Related by al-Bukhariyy and Muslim)

-
 ÷
 

 



Listen

Asking Allah by the Prophet is deemed permissible by the consensus of the top scholars
(mujtahids). Tawassul is seeking to gain benefit or to alleviate harm by mentioning a Prophet or
a righteous Muslim, in honor of the mentioned, with the firm belief that Allah is the Creator of
benefit and harm. In Suratul-Ma`idah, Ayah35 means, ³Seek the means of obedience to Allah.´
In the hadith related and authenticated by At-Tabaraniyy, The Prophet taught the blind man to
ask Allah by him. The blind man did so, and Allah returned his sight to him.

-
 ÷
 

 



Listen
Asking Allah by the Prophet is deemed permissible by the consensus of the top scholars
(mujtahids). Tawassul is seeking to gain benefit or to alleviate harm by mentioning a Prophet or
a righteous Muslim, in honor of the mentioned, with the firm belief that Allah is the Creator of
benefit and harm. In Suratul-Ma`idah, Ayah35 means, ³Seek the means of obedience to Allah.´
In the hadith related and authenticated by At-Tabaraniyy, The Prophet taught the blind man to
ask Allah by him. The blind man did so, and Allah returned his sight to him.

-
 ÷
  





Listen

Asking Allah by the righteous Muslims is permissible. No one on the right path, from the (Salaf)
or the (Khalaf) objected to this. The Salafare those who lived in the first three centuries dating
from the migration of the Prophet. The Khalafare those who came after them. It is narrated in the
hadith that during his caliphate in the year of the drought, ^Umar asked Allah for rain by al-
^Abbas saying, µO Allah, we ask You by the Uncle of our Prophet¶. They were granted rain.´
(Related by al-Bukhariyy).



 
 
 ¦


 

¦





Listen

The hadith is classified as inconsistent (mudtarib). This means that it was reported in a number
of ways with variations in the text. The scholars of hadith judge the hadith whose narrations, in
their apparent meaning cannot be reconciled, as a weak hadith. Nevertheless, even the scholars
who deemed it acceptable did not take it to mean that Allah occupies the sky. In explaining the
hadith, an-Nawawiyy said that the question ³aynallah?´which cannot be taken literally, is a
question about the rank not the location. Allah is not bound by locations. (NB, ayna in its literal
meaning is a query about location. According to the Arabic language it can also mean a query
about status). The question means, ³How much do you glorify Allah?´ The slave woman¶s
response ³fis-sama¶´ affirmed her belief in Allah having a high status. It did not imply restricting
Allah to a location. It is neither permissible to believe that the Prophet asked her about the
location, nor that she meant Allah occupies the sky. In the book Ar-Risalah Al-Qushayriyyah by
Abul-Qasim Al-Qushayriyy, Imam ^Aliyy said, ³The question of µwhere¶ (i.e. location) does not
apply to the One Who created the whereabouts.´AbuHanifah stated in his book ³Al-Fiqh Al-
Absat´, ³Allah existed eternally before creating the places. He existed and no place or creation
existed. He is the Creator of all things". Moreover,Suratush-Shura, Ayah11 means, ³Nothing is
like Allah in any way.´ The hadith also means, ³Allahexisted eternally, and eternally nothing
else existed.´(Related by al-Bukhariyyand others.)
·
 


  
 
 

÷


Listen

Qadi ^Iyad relayed the scholarly consensus that the one who curses Allahapostatizes even if he
or she was angry, joking or did not feel delighted by the utterance.

Suratut-Tawbah, Ayat65, 66 mean, ³If you question those who have blasphemed, they will say,'
we were only babbling and kidding. Say to them, µDo you jest about Allah, His Verses and His
Messenger? Make no excuses, for you have blasphemed after having been Muslim.

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhiwasallam, said, ³A slave may utter a word which he
thinks harmless, that results in his falling the depth of seventy years into Hellfire.´(Related by
at-Tirmidhiyy). This depth is the bottom of hellfire and a place occupied by blasphemers only.