Endnotes

1. Non-Existent [mádūm] is not a ‘thing’. The following couplet is from Bad’ al-Amālī:820 The ‘Non-Existent’ cannot be seen; nor is it a thing By evidence, resplendent like the munificent crescent. Mádūm: non-existent. This is the opposite of mawjūd: something that exists. There are two kinds of mádūm: The first is mádum basīţ [merely non-existent], which is possible to exist, but does not actually exist. The second is mádūm mumtaniý al-wujūd li-dhātih [intrinsically impossible to exist], such as a hypothetical ‘thing’ where the opposites coincide or self-contradictory things. Falsehood in Divine Speech is also intrinsically impossible as it would negate Absolute Truth. Ibn Jamāáh [in Daraj al-Máālī]: There are two issues discussed in this distich. 1. Can Allāh ‘See’ the non-existent or not? The Mútazilah say ‘yes’ and Ĥanafīs say ‘no’. 2. Can the non-existent be termed a ‘thing’ or as an ‘entity’? The Mútazilah say ‘yes’ and the Ahl al-Sunnah say ‘no’. The Mútazilah say that mádūm is a ‘thing’, an ‘entity’ – shayy – and that all things are established even before their coming into existence, but are hidden, similar to clothes being concealed in a suitcase. The Ahl al-Sunnah say that the non-existent is NOT a thing, regardless of its being possible to exist or impossible to exist.821 In the Qur’ān: And I created you, prior to which you were nothing.822 In another verse: Indeed, there has passed a time upon the human, when he was not even a thing mentioned anywhere.823. Here the non-existent is described as ‘not a thing’ or ‘nothing’. The latter verse means: ‘a time has passed, when man was not a thing at all, nor even a mention’ and the word ‘upon’ is used due to the idiomatic expression. The Mútazilah, citing the Qur’ānic verse: Indeed, the tremor of the Final Hour is a terrible thing824 [shayy’un áżīm], say that the Hour has not occurred, nor the tremor; but it has been described as a ‘thing’ even though it has hitherto not come into existence. The Sunni response: This actually means that it will be a terrible thing when it occurs, even if it is not a ‘thing’ right now. Moreover, Allāh táālā knows that it will certainly occur. According to research scholars, being a ‘thing’ is synonymous with being existent [wujūd] and not being a thing is synonymous with non-existence [ádam]. Sharīf Jurjānī has said that it has been linguistically accepted down the ages that ‘thing’ is used to refer to something that exists and ‘No-thing’ means non-existent [summarised from Qārī’s commentary]. The second line in the couplet above means: “by proofs and knowledge that is apparent to me like the munificent crescent”. Also, the author hints that the crescent is named a ‘shining crescent’ only after the birth of the new moon when it can be seen; not when it is hidden and we are unable to see it. Similarly, only things that exist can be seen.825 •

2. Attributes of Action – Şifāt Fiýliyyah are Not Accidents. Takwīn: the ability to create, Creating Power; mukawwan: the thing that is created. Takwīn and mukawwan are two different things – they are not the same; one is the cause [musabbib] and the other is the effect [musabbab]. This is the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah; the Mútazilah believe that both are the same and both are accidents; i.e. came into existence later and are not pre-eternal [qadīm]. The Ashárīs say that takwīn is not a separate attribute but is actually a manifestation of Divine Power, which they term as the Effecting Power [qudrah tanjīzīyyah]; according to them, Divine Power is pre-eternal, but the Attributes of Action such as bringing to life, giving death, giving sustenance etc. are all accidents, and is the effect of exercising Divine Power. Musāyarah/Musāmarah: This issue revolves around the Attributes of Action [şifāt al- afáāl], the existence of which is known by verses such as: The Creator, the Maker, the Originator of forms [Ĥashr 59:24]. Similar are the names, Giver of Sustenance, Giver of Life and Giver of Death [rāziq, muĥyī, mumīt]. These are attributes that imply an effect; they have names other than Divine Power [qudrah], and are named according to the effect that is produced – and all these attributes are grouped under one name: takwīn; that is, all the Attributes of Action are grouped under one term. Thus, if the effect produced is creation, then the Divine Name [on account of this action] is Creator [Khāliq] and the Attribute is Creating [khalq]. If the effect is sustenance [rizq], the Name is Giver of Sustenance [rāziq/razzāq], and the Attribute is Giving Sustenance [tarzīq]; if the effect is life [ĥayāh], the Name that implies the attribute is Giver of Life [muĥyī] and the attribute is Giving of Life [iĥyā’a]; if the effect is death [mawt], the Name that indicates the attribute is Giver of Death [mumīt] and the attribute is Giving of Death [imātah]. But all these Attributes of Action converge under one attribute, and that is takwīn. Musāyarah/Musāmarah [summarised]: The Ashárīs say: Takwīn is not a distinct or a separate attribute, and nothing other than Divine Power, when it is linked to a specific action. Thus, To Create [takhlīq] is Divine Power related to bringing creation into existence; Giving Sustenance [tarzīq] is Divine Power related to providing sustenance – and since Attributes of Action are actually a ‘relation of’ Divine Power to something that occurs, they are accidents [ĥādith]. Bājūrī in Tuĥfatu’l Murīd §30: They differed concerning takwīn; the Māturīdīs affirmed takwīn as a Divine Attribute which is beginningless, pre-eternal and subsisting by Allāh Himself – and it is by this Attribute He brings into existence or annihilates something. But if it is related to existence, it is known as ‘Bringing into Existence’ [īyjād]; if it is related to annihilation, it is known as ‘Annihilation’ [iýdām]; if it is related to life, it is known as ‘Giving Life’ [iĥyā’a], etc. Thus, according to Māturīdīs, the Attributes of Action [şifāt al- afáāl] are beginningless and pre-eternal because they are [all actually under one term:] the Attribute of Creating [takwīn] – some have said that they are all separate attributes, which is debated by ancient scholars. Ashárīs do not accept this and say that Attributes of Action are a relation of Divine Power in Execution [tanjīzīyyah], which are accidents. Abū Ádhabah in Rawđatu’l Bahiyyah: Ibn al-Ghars al-Ĥanafī [833-894AH] has said: Takwīn is a term used to describe the act of creation, of bringing into existence and other Divine Actions. This is an Attribute of His Self and it subsists by Allāh Himself. That is to say, Allāh has brought into existence every particle in this universe, and everything comes into existence at the time He has ordained – and the exact time of its coming into existence is known to Allāh ﷻ and is linked to His Will. Takwīn is pre-eternal, similar to Divine Will; but its connection to the creation is an accident. But one cannot say that the Power to Create [takwīn] does not exist until the creation [mukawwan] exists, just as ‘hitting’ 157 does not exist unless the object that can be hit exists [i.e. the action requiring an object, such as hitting a thing, cannot exist until the object exists; unlike knowledge or power concerning that object which can exist prior to the existence of the object]; because we [Māturīdīs] say that takwīn has two meanings: 1. The Attribute of Self [şifat nafsiyyah] which is the intrinsic ability to create and bring into existence [every contingent thing]. 2. The Divine Act of creation: this is the relation of the Attribute of Self to the thing that is created [at the time of its creation]. That which Māturīdīs profess to be pre-eternal is the Attribute, not the Action per se. Know that the Ĥanafīs derive the concept of takwīn from the Qur’ān, where Allāh ﷻ says: Indeed, Our saying to a thing, when We Will for it [to exist], that We say ‘Be’ and it becomes [Naĥl, 16:40]. So they say, the word ‘Be’ [kun] precedes the existince of that thing, and this is known as the ‘Command’ [amr] and the ‘Word’. [Māturīdīs say:] Allāh ﷻ has described takwīn by the word, ‘Be’ [kun] and the created thing [mukawwan] by the word, ‘so it becomes’ [fa-yakūn]. The words takwīn, ikhtirāá [to originate], yījād [to bring into existence], khalq [to create] are all synonymous in one aspect and are dissimilar in another. They mean the same in the sense ‘a thing that is brought into existence, and previously it was non-existent’ and this [attribute] has a more specific relation than Divine Power [qudrah] to that thing. Because Divine Power has the same relation concerning all things subject to Divine Power [maqdūrāt]; but takwīn is related only to those things [maqdūrāt] which can come into existence; this is not [merely] a relative attribute [şifah nisbiyyah] that can only be understood in the context of something to which it is related – rather, it is a [definitive] attribute that is evinced by the result that is produced by that relation [i.e. Giving Life is manifested by life]. As for the claim that [Māturīdīs] say ‘Divine Power is effective in the possibility of a thing’, such an ascription to them is incorrect. Rather, according to them, Divine Power is related to a thing [maqdūr] concerning its possibility to exist; takwīn is related to bringing that thing into existence and is the cause that brings it into existence; its relation to the action-accident [fiýl ĥādith] is similar to Divine Will concerning something that is willed [murād]. However, everything that is subject to Divine Power and everything that is in Divine Knowledge need not necessarily exist; only takwīn brings a thing into existence. Therefore this attribute is pre-eternal, because accidents cannot subsist in the Self [dhāt] of Allāh. 158 Shaykh-Zādah Ábd al-Raĥīm in his Nażm al-Farā’id §10: Ashárīs say that takwīn is not a separate attribute of Allāh ﷻ; rather it is a nominal description, an abstract concept, that is the relation of the cause with its effect as mentioned in Sharĥ Jawharah, Musāyarah, Maqāşid, etc. Ĥanafī scholars say that it is agreed by consensus, and the evidence for which is from both Revelation and reason, that Allāh ﷻ has brought the creation into existence and has created this universe; to affirm a name derived from the word denoting an attribute, without that attribute being present, is an absolute impossibility – else it would imply the presence of an effect without the attribute that brought about that effect [i.e., since Allāh ﷻ has been named the Creator, Originator, He must have the attributes of being able to create and to originate, takhlīq]. It is mentioned in the Book of Allāh ﷻ that He has Power over all things [Baqarah, 2:20] and also He is the Creator of every thing [Anáām, 6:101/102]. Now, ‘all things possible’ [maqdūrāt] were not present in pre- eternity, just as creation [makhlūqāt] did not exist – so to affirm one attribute [qudrah] in pre-eternity and deny another [takwīn], by bringing the latter under the rubric of the former and attempt to redefine the meanings of both; this is nothing but high- handedness. The Ashárīs say that, if the meaning of takwīn is ‘the very influence that Power exercises in a thing that is subject to it’, then it is a relative attribute. It is not present unless the thing to which it is related [muntasib] is present, then the accidence of a created thing [ĥudūth al-mukawwan] necessitates the accidence of the Creating Power [takwīn]. But if it is taken to mean the effecting attribute [the cause] in the existence of the effect, then it is Divine Power itself...[Answering the above objection, Shaykh-Zadah says:] Indeed, the Attribute of Allāh ﷻ in bringing about the existence of the creation is takwīn; it is a causal attribute influencing the existence of the effect. Divine Power is another attribute of Allāh ﷻ, which means that the influence CAN be exercised. Imām Ţaĥāwī in his Áqīdatu’t Ţaĥāwīyyah: And just as Allāh ﷻ is Pre-eternal, beginningless with all His Attributes, so also is He, and His Attributes eternal, unending, interminable [azalī, abadī]. It is not that He gained the name ‘Creator’ only after He made the creation; nor did He come to be known as the Originator [bāriy] only after the origination of the universe – rather, He was the Sustainer [rabb] when none existed whom He sustains [marbūb]; He was very much the Creator, even when there was no creation. Just as He is entitled to the name ‘He who Resurrects the dead’ [muĥyi’l mawtā] even before resurrecting them, He is entitled to be called the ‘Creator’ before He created the universe – and that is because He has Power over all things. • 159

3. On Immutable and Suspended Decree [mubram – muállaq]. Shaykh Aĥmad Sirhindi826 رضي الله عنه has explained this concept in one of his letters as follows:827 May Allāh táālā guide you (Glorified is He): Know that Divine Decree828 is of two kinds. The absolutely immutable [qađā mubram] and the suspended [qađā muállaq]. It is possible for the Suspended Decree to be altered or changed; but there is no room for the Immutable Decree to be altered or changed. Allāh táālā has said concerning Immutable Decree: مَا يُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا بِظَلَّٰمٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ The Statement with Me [i.e. My Word] does not change829 And concerning Suspended Decree, He has said: يَمْحُوا اللهُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيُثْبِتُ وَعِنْدَهُ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ Allāh effaces whatever He wants and affirms and with Him is the Mother-Book830 My noble master – may his secret be sanctified – said that the grandmaster Sayyid Muĥīyuddīn Jīlānī831 (may his secret be sanctified) has written in one of his epistles: “It is not possible for anyone to change the Immutable Decree, but I can do so; if I wish, I can dispense in such matters.” He expressed immense amazement832 at this, and said that this was beyond comprehension. This citation remained in the mind of this poor man833 for a long time until Allāh – Glory to Him – blessed me with the great fortune.834 One day, I wanted to ward off a calamity which was ordained in the destiny of a friend. I supplicated and intensely beseeched [Allāh táālā] with utmost humility and devotion – and I came to know that this matter was decreed, and on the Preserved Tablet [lawĥ mahfūż] it was not suspended [muállaq] or associated with a condition [upon which it could be altered]. I was disappointed upon this – and then I was reminded of the statement made by Shaykh Muĥīyuddīn (may his secret be sanctified). So I entreated and supplicated a second time – and I ardently beseeched with humility and obeisance, [in the Presence of the Lord Almighty] – and at that time, by the Grace and bounty of Allāh táālā I was given the enlightenment that the Suspended Decree is of two kinds: a) Decree, whose being suspended is made apparent on the Preserved Tablet and Angels are made aware of this. b) Decree, whose being suspended is only in the Knowledge of Allāh táālā – but on the Preserved Tablet, it appears to be as if it is immutable. And the possibility of alteration is possible even in this second type of Suspended Decree. And then I realised that the statement of the Sayyid [may his secret be sanctified] was related to this type of Suspended Decree – which appears to be immutable, but is not the actually Immutable Decree, because it is absolutely impossible [muĥāl] to change or alter such a decree, according to both reason and scripture, as is obvious. Truly, when one does not know the reality of such a decree, how can one dispense in it?835 As for the affliction of my friend, I found it to be of this second type [of Suspended Decree] and I was informed that Allāh táālā had warded off the calamity. Shaykh Fađl al-Rasūl Badāyūnī836 in his Al-Mútaqad al-Muntaqad: Divine Decree is of two types: Immutable [mubram] and Suspended [muállaq]. The first cannot change – and it is possible for the second to change. And it is this type [of Decree] that the King of Gnostics [Sulţān al-Áārifīn], my master Ábdu’l Qādir Jīlānī – may his secret be sanctified – has said on one occasion: “The real man [of Allāh] is one who is faced with a decree and can alter it” – because it is possible for the suspended decree to be altered by Allāh táālā even without intercession; so He changes that decree to honour His Friends [awliyā’a]. And it is in this regard, the Messenger of Allāh has said: “Divine Decree cannot be turned away except by supplication”837 and such other reports in Kanz [al-Úmmāl]; but any claim of changing the Immutable Decree is invalid and incorrect [bāţil].838 Imām Aĥmad Riđā Khān, commenting on the above says: 839 I say: Abū’sh Shaykh in his Kitāb al-Thawāb has reported from Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه that RasūlAllāh ﷺ said: “Do duáā often, for indeed duáā turns away the immutable decree.”840 Daylami has extracted in Musnad al-Firdaws from Abū Mūsā al-Ashárī رضي الله عنه, and Ibn Ásākir from Numayr ibn Aws al-Ashárī رضي الله عنه, in a mursal narration; both [raised to] RasūlAllāh ﷺ that he said: “Duáā is an army from the armies of Allāh, which is mobilised to ward off the Decree after it has been ordained as unalterable.”841 •

4. Divine Vision. Ibn Ĥajar al-Haytami was asked about this issue whether it is possible for anyone to see Allāh táālā in this world in a state of wakefulness. QUESTION: A man believes that he saw the Lord Almighty (Glory to Him) in this world, and that it has happened and he has seen [Allāh] with his waking eyes! Is this deemed possible? A group of scholars say that it is possible to behold Allāh táālā with their eyes in a state of wakefulness and by the heart in dreams, even though it has not occurred according to the preferred opinion. But this necessitates that it is possible for someone other than our Prophet ﷺ to see Allāh – even though there is a well-known difference of opinion about our Prophet ﷺ himself whether he saw Allāh táālā (with waking eyes). In which case, is it ĥarām for him (to say so) because if it didn’t happen to our Prophet ﷺ himself, how can it occur for anyone else? Or will such a person be ruled kāfir for such a belief as said by Kawashī in his tafsīr of Sūrah al-Najm, where he said after mentioning the difference of opinion on whether the vision was by his eyes in a state of wakefulness, that ‘one who has the belief that Allāh táālā can be seen by one’s eyes in this world is not a Muslim.’ Can his statement be accepted [and affirmed] or not? 842 ANSWER: The answer must address two aspects. The First: Concerning the rational possibility [of seeing Allāh táālā with waking eyes in this world]. The position of Ahl al-Sunnah is that it is a possibility in this world, both rationally and by scriptural evidence [áql, shará]. They presented many proofs for both cases, i.e. rational and scriptural proofs, however, the rational proofs in this issue can be confusing and complicated. Therefore, the relied upon proof for its possibility is from the scripture. Among these evidences is that Sayyidunā Mūsā asked Allāh táālā: O my Lord Almighty! Show me, I want to see You. If seeing Allāh táālā was not a possibility per se, or if it was not possible to occur [jā’izatu al-wuqūú], then the request of Mūsā would necessitate ignorance about Allāh táālā on his part on what is possible and what is not possible – or foolishness, or vain or meaningless or asking for something which is impossible [to occur]. By unanimous agreement of Muslims, the Prophets of Allāh are free from every such thing. Rather, anyone who deems one of the above is possible for a Prophet of Allāh is a disbeliever and is liable to be executed. Also, Allāh táālā said that the Vision was possible if the mountain remained untouched, which is a possibility in itself. This necessitates that the Vision should be possible if the dependency is possible – because, an impossibility cannot be dependent on a possible843 thing. The Mútazilah explained it in a manner that contradicts the literal meaning, and in a way that supports their false belief, that it is rationally impossible to see Allāh táālā both in this world and in the Hereafter. This is discussed and refuted in detail in books of Tafsīr and Uşūl. The Second: Concerning its actual occurrence [in this world] – this is another question, as is clear; but it was included in the question and may Allāh give him benefit for including it844 when he said: “Is this possible as said by a group of scholars..” Here, by possibility, he means to ask: whether it is deemed possible rationally and by scripture [imkān al-áqlī wa’l sharýī] and therefore, what he asks about here, is about actual occurrence. There is a huge difference between the two aspects (possibility and actual occurrence). For illustration, [consider] a sea of mercury that would grow plants that are solid, and are also sentient, mobile and have wills of their own.845 Such a thing is rationally possible to exist, but does not actually exist. Such a thing has never come into existence. Similarly, the possibility of seeing Allāh táālā [with waking eyes in this world] is possible rationally and by scripture according to the Ahl al-Sunnah; however, it [has not occurred and] will not occur in this world, except for our Prophet ﷺ. Similarly, about the last point, some Companions have disagreed, but an overwhelming majority [jumhūr] of Ahl al-Sunnah believe that it occurred – i.e. our Prophet ﷺ saw Allāh táālā with his waking eyes on the night of Miýrāj. • Mullā Álī al-Qārī, in his commentary on Fiqh al-Akbar also says something similar to Haytami [mentioned above] concerning seeing Allāh táālā in dreams: Seeing Allāh táālā in dreams: The majority of scholars deem it possible, but it will be without modality, direction or form as well. Imām Abū Ĥanīfah رضي الله عنه is reported to have said: “I have seen the Lord Almighty ninety-nine times in my dreams; then I saw him once again, the hundredth time...” It is a lengthy anecdote which is beyond the scope of our current discussion. It is also reported from Imām Aĥmad رضي الله عنه that he said: “I saw the Lord Almighty in my dream and I asked: ‘O, my Lord! By what means do your honoured slaves [muqarribūn] draw closer to you?’ He said: ‘By My [Divine] Speech, O Aĥmad.’ I asked: “O my Lord! Is it by understanding it or without understanding?’ He said: ‘[Both] by understanding and [reciting] without understanding’. As for the possibility of seeing Allāh in dreams, he says: A group of scholars – who affirm that Allāh táālā can be seen in the Hereafter, have taken the view that it is impossible to see Allāh táālā in dreams – and among them is the grand sage [Shaykh] Abū Manşūr al-Māturīdī. Research scholars are said to hold this view and their proof is: all that is seen in dreams are mere thoughts, imagination and images, and Allāh táālā is transcendent from such things. Some among our scholars [Ĥanafīs] permitted it – however, they said that such a vision will be without modality, direction, facing, imagination or images, relying upon anecdotes of pious predecessors [salaf].846 • Imām Ibrāhīm al-Laqānī in his larger commentary of Al-Jawharah writes concerning the issue of RasūlAllāh ﷺ seeing Allāh táālā on the night of miýrāj: We have mentioned earlier that he ﷺ saw his Lord Almighty with his physical eyes [in a waking state] and this is the position of Anas [ibn Mālik], Íkrimah, Ĥasan [al-Başrī], Rabīý and a group of exegetes رضي الله عنهم. Ibn Ábbās and Abū Dharr رضي الله عنهما have said, and Al-Taymī has supported them: He ﷺ saw [Allāh táālā] with his heart. Ibn Áţiyyah has said: Based on this opinion, he ﷺ saw his Lord Almighty with his heart; it was a true vision and Allāh táālā gave sight to his heart and created the power of vision in his heart – and he saw his Lord, just as one beholds with one’s eyes. I say: Ţabarānī has reported with a şaĥīĥ chain from Ibn Ábbās رضي الله عنهما that he would say: “Muĥammad ﷺ saw his Lord twice; once by his eyes – and once by his heart.” Thus, based on this [report of] occurrence of seeing with the eyes and the heart, there are two opinions of Ibn Ábbās رضي الله عنهما. Imām Nawawi attested to the opinion of Ibn Áţiyyah mentioned above, and Ibn Ĥajar accepted it and he further said: ‘Vision by the heart’ does not mean that it was mere attainment of knowledge, because he ﷺ always possessed knowledge about Allāh táālā.847 • In Sharĥ al-Áqāýid, Taftāzānī has said: It is validated and true that he ﷺ saw his Lord Almighty with his heart, not with his eyes. Shaykh Ramađān in his supercommentary, after citing various opinions mentioned by Laqānī [in the previous paragraph] also adds that Ĥasan al-Başrī would swear by Allāh that Sayyidunā Muĥammad ﷺ saw his Lord Almighty with his eyes. In the supercommentary of Sharĥ al-Áqāýid, Shaykh Parharwi has mentioned four opinions among Sunni scholars on the issue of whether RasūlAllāh ﷺ saw Allāh táālā with his waking eyes: First: is repudiation; that he ﷺ did not see with his waking eyes as reported by Sayyidah Áayishah رضي الله عنها and this is the better known opinion of Ibn Masúūd and Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنهما. Reported by Masrūq, that he asked Sayyidah Áayishah رضي الله عنها whether [Sayyidunā] Muĥammad saw his Lord? She replied: “My hair stood on end because of what you said. Whoever told you that Muĥammad ﷺ saw his Lord has certainly lied.” So he asked her: “What about the saying of Allāh táālā: And then he drew closer. So he was [at a distance of] two bows or even closer.848 She replied: “That was Jibril. He would often come to him in the form of a man. But this time, he appeared in his original form and covered the horizon” as has been reported in Bukhārī and Muslim.849 Second: Affirmation of Divine Vision, except that he ﷺ saw with his heart. This is [one of the two opinions] reported from of Ibn Ábbās رضي الله عنهما; Qāđī Íyāđ said that it is vide the ĥadīth: “I did not see [Allah] with my eyes; rather, by my heart, twice” and “I saw Him [Allāh] by my heart” both reported by Ibn Jarīr Ţabarī in his Tafsīr. Third: Affirmation of Divine Vision for RasūlAllāh ﷺ with his physical eyes, in a waking state. This is the second and the more famous opinion of Ibn Ábbās رضي الله عنهما – and also the position of Imām Abu’l Ĥasan al-Ashárī. Imām Muĥīyuddīn al-Nawawī has said in his commentary of Şaĥīĥ Muslim that it is the preferred opinion of most scholars. Fourth: Non-commital stance [tawaqquf].This is the position of Saýīd ibn Jubayr. However, Taftāzānī preferred the second opinion over the third because it is supported by ĥadīth narrations – whereas, there is no ĥadīth in proof of seeing with eyes. As for the statement of Ibn Ábbās, it could be an extrapolation – or his own interpretation [ijtihād]; the ĥadīth of Jābir: “I saw my Lord without a barrier, there is no doubt in it,” this report requires investigation [as to its authenticity]. Do not be deceived by the statement in Ghunyatu li Talibin attributed to Ghawth al-Aáżam Shaykh Ábdu’l Qādir Jīlānī – may Allāh táālā sanctify his honoured secret – this attribution is incorrect, and there are numerous fabricated narrations in it.850 •

5. Necessity, Impossibility, Possibility / wājib, muĥāl and mumkin. Al-Sanūsī says in the opening lines of Umm al-Barāhīn: 851 Know that these three definitions cover the rational argument: wujūb [wājib]: necessary istiĥālah [mustaĥīl]: impossible jawāz [mumkin]: contingent, possible wājib means: that whose non-existence is inconceivable; mustaĥīl means: that whose existence is inconceivable; jāyiz is that whose existence and non-existence are both conceivable and possible. Every issue falls in one of the three classes of rulings: Sharýī: That which is ordained by scripture and revelation; this is also known as something ordained by Dalīl Samýī. Áādī: That which is understood by habit and is considered as common knowledge. Such as: fire burns and fire is extinguished by water. Áqlī: That which is known and proved by a rational argument. Rulings in each of these classes fall in these three basic categories: Wājib: That which is necessary to exist; it is impossible for something wājib to NOT exist. Mustaĥīl:852 That which is impossible to exist; it is impossible for something mustaĥīl to exist. Mumkin:853 That which is contingent – can or cannot exist; it is not necessary for a contingent thing to exist and nor is it impossible for it to exist. When we say muĥāl sharýī – it means that the impossibilty of such a thing is known by the Scripture [the Qur’ān]. When we say muĥāl áādī, we mean that such a thing is impossible as known by common observation [áādah] such as a human flying in air without any contraption, or water converting to milk or pebbles becoming edible food. For a more extensive explanation, see the book The Truth About a Lie.854 •

6. Prophets are Given Knowledge of the Unseen. In Tafsīr Qurţubī, explaining the verse: عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا He is the [Absolute] Knower of the Unseen; so He does not reveal [His] Knowledge of the unseen to anyone. Except, [to] those Messengers whom He pleases...855 {He does not give knowledge of the unseen to anyone, except those with whom He is Pleased among the Messengers} thus, He GIVES [makes apparent] knowledge of unseen about anything He Wishes – because Messengers are aided by prophetic-miracles [mujizah] and from those [mujizat], is partial knowledge of the unseen [baáđ al-ghāyibāt] as mentioned in the Qur’ān: “And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your homes” 856. Ibn Jubayr said: “Except to those among the Messengers He pleases” refers to Jibril عليه السلام; but this is far-fetched. The more appropriate meaning is: He does not reveal the unseen [lit. from His Knowledge of the Unseen] except with whom He is pleased; that is, those whom He has chosen for Prophethood. He informs them about whatever He Wishes from the unseen, so that it becomes evidence for their prophethood. Imām Nawawī in his Fatāwā has said that verses that negate Knowledge of the Unseen in the Qur’ān and ĥadīth refer to absolute and independent knowledge. QUESTION: What is the meaning of the verse: “Say, nobody in the heavens or the earth knows of the unseen except Allāh” 857 and the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: ‘Nobody knows what will happen on the morrow, except Allāh’ and other such statements which are found in both the Qur’ān and the Ĥadīth; even though it has come to pass from the miracles of the Prophets – may Allāh bless them all and give them peace – and the miracles of saints, that they have been imparted ‘knowledge of the morrow’ [mā fī ghadd] ANSWER: The [correct] meaning is nobody knows [the unseen] absolutely [istiqlālan]. And [nobody has] such absolute knowledge that is complete and all-encompassing, except Allāh táālā. As for the miracles of Prophets and saints, then it is by the informing of Allāh táālā, not independently by themselves. And this is similar to what we know: such as the sun rises and stays for six hours and then begins to wane, and then stays for another six and it sets; then it remains thus for the next twelve hours and then rises again. Similar [prediction] can be made about the moon and other such events which are actually ‘news about the future.’ This knowledge of unseen did not come to us independently, but rather by the informing of Allāh táālā, through the constancy of such things [following the laws of nature, which are also ordained by Him].858

7. Prophets are Given Knowledge of the Universe. The author, Şadru’sh Sharīáh, has said describing the knowledge of Prophets: Allāh táālā has given Prophets [partial] knowledge of unseen. Every Prophet knows about every speck in the heavens and the earth. This is adduced by the ĥadīth narrated by Ábdullāh ibn Úmar and mentioned in the following books of ĥadīth [also mentioned in the footnotes]: Imām Ţabarānī in Al-Mújam al-Kabīr §14112; Kanzu’l Úmmāl of Álī al-Muttaqi §31971; Khaşā’is al-Kubrā of Suyūţī 2/184; Nuáym ibn Ĥammād in Al-Fitan §2; Jāmiý al-Aĥādīth of Suyūţī §5403. Ĥilyatu’l Awliyā’a of Abū Nuáym 6/101, under the biographical notice of Ĥudayr ibn Kurayb; Jalā’a al-Qulub of Kattānī 2/288. The ĥadīth reported by Ţabarānī is as follows: Narrated to us Bakr ibn Sahl – narrated to us Nuáym ibn Ĥammād al-Marwadhi – narrated to us Baqiyyah – from Saýīd ibn Sinān – narrated to us Abū al-Zāhiriyyah – from Kathīr ibn Murrah from Ibn Úmar رضي الله عنهما, who said: RasūlAllāh ﷺ said: Indeed Allāh – Glorified and Exalted is He – has raised859 for me the world; so I look at it and at all that will happen in it until Judgement Day, as if I am looking at this palm of mine – clearly made visible860 [to me] by Allāh. This was illuminated to His Prophet [i.e. RasūlAllāh ﷺ]; Allāh táālā has illuminated to His Prophet just as He illuminated [jalā] to the Prophets before him.861 ،ةَّ رُم نب ريثَك نع ،ةَّ يرهازلا وبأ انث ،نانس نب ديعس نع ،ةَّ يقَبانث ،يزَوْرَملا داَّ مح نب ميَعُـن انث ،لْهَس نب ُركب انثدح ىلإو اَهْـيَلإ ُرُظْنَأ ََأَف ،اَيْـنُّ دلا َِيل َعَفَر ْدَق َّ لَجو َّ زَع َهللا َّ نإ:ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص هللا ُلوسر لاق لاق ،رمع نبا نع هلْبَـق ْنم َنيّيبَّ نلل َالَج اَمَك هّيبَنل ُهَالَج هللا َنم ٌناَيّلج ؛هذَه يّفَك ىلإ ُرُظْنَأ اَمنَأَك ،ةَماَيقلا مْوَـي ىلإ اَهيف ٌنئاَك َوُه اَم •

8. On the Actual Number of Prophets Sent to Mankind. Állāmah Taftāzānī has said in Sharĥ al-Áqāýid, the commentary on Nasafī’s Creed: {The number of Prophets has been mentioned in some hadith} that is, as reported that RasūlAllāh was asked about the number of Prophets [sent by Allāh] and he replied: 124,000.862 In another narration: 224,000. {It is better not to narrow down to a specific number because Allāh táālā has said: Among them are [Messengers] whose stories We have mentioned to you, and among them are [Messengers] whose stories We have not mentioned to you.863 One is not required to believe in a specific number, so that one does not include among Prophets those who are not} if the number you believe in is higher than the actual number {or exclude those who are Prophets} if one believes in a number lesser than the actual number.864 Under the verse: “And Messengers, whom We have mentioned to you earlier, and Messengers whom We have not mentioned to you,”865 Imām Suyūţī mentions the following ĥadīth: Ábd ibn Ĥumayd, Ĥakīm al-Tirmidhī in Nawādir al-Uşūl, Ibn Ĥibbān in his Şaĥīĥ, Ĥākim [in his Mustadrak] and Ibn Ásākir narrate the following ĥadīth from Abū Dharr رضي الله عنه: I said: O Messenger of Allāh, how many Prophets are there? He said: “124,000 Prophets [anbiyā’a]”. I asked: O Messenger of Allāh, how many among them are Messengers [rusul]? He said: “Three hundred and thirteen, a great host.” Then he said: “O Abū Dharr – four of them are Suryānī:866 Ādam, Shīth [Seth], Nūĥ and Khanūkh [Enoch] – who is Idris, and he is the first [human] who wrote with a pen. Four are Arabs: Hūd, Şāliĥ Shuáyb and your Prophet. The first Prophet among the children of Isrā’īl is Mūsā,867 the first of all Prophets is Ādam and the last is your Prophet.” عليهم السلام Suyūţī mentions another narration of Abū Yaálā and Abū Nuáym via a weak chain, reporting from Anas رضي الله عنه, who said: RasūlAllāh ﷺ has said: Allāh táālā has sent 8,000 prophets; 4,000 among the Children of Isrā’īl [Banu Isrā’īl] and 4,000 among the rest of the people. Conclusion: Suyūţī has listed many other narrations with varying figures, and therefore, one cannot fix a specific number. We can however say, that Allāh has sent more or less 124,000 prophets. The ‘more or less’ will cover either case and thus one will not be guilty of omitting a Prophet or admitting a non-Prophet to their august community. •

9. On Miracles. There is a difference between miracles in general, and Prophetic-miracles known as mújizah. Imām Shihābuddīn Khafajī in his commentary on Qāđī Íyāđ’s Shifā says: On His ﷺ Miracles [karāmātih] The supernatural occurrences and miracles that Allāh táālā – Glory to Him - has bestowed upon him, as an honour [karāmah]. A miracle [karāmah] is general and a Prophetic-miracle [mújizah] is a special type of miracle. The mújizah – special miracle at the hands of a Prophet – occurs after the Prophet has declared his Prophethood, and such a miracle is shown as a response when he is challenged,868 either by his action or by capability [quwwah]. A general miracle [karāmah] is not bound by these conditions; such miracles can occur for Prophets as well as the Friends of Allāh, Glory to Him [i.e. non-prophets, Awliyā’a]. Even though it is a commonly held belief that karāmah is for saints [wali] and mújizah is for Prophets, this specification is not valid.869 Miraculous happenings for a Prophet before his declaration of prophethood are known as irhāş.870 Álī al-Qārī in the commentary of Bad’ al-Amālī871 has said: Karāmāt is the plural of karāmah.872 The technical meaning is – an unnatural occurrence that [appears at the hand of a] pious and knowledgeable [Muslim], who does not claim to be a Prophet; this is how it is different from a Prophetic miracle [mújizah]. Waliy: A [Muslim] who has attained the gnosis of Allāh, and attained that knowledge which [a non-prophet] can attain concerning the Essence and Attributes of the Lord Almighty; such a person is diligent and unfailing in his duties as a Muslim [ţā’áh];873 abstains from sins; refrains from indulging in pleasures and desires; turns away from the world and is focused on the Hereafter and one who is always busy in the remembrance of his Creator, the Lord Almighty. The Mútazilah differed in this matter and rejected that miracles [for non-prophets] are possible,874 based on the premise that it would cause confusion due to an inability to differentiate between a prophetic miracle875 and other miracles. Master [ustādh] Abū Is’ĥāq Isfarā’ini rejected some types of miracles as he has said: “Any miracle which is deemed a prophetic miracle [mújizah] is impossible to occur for a waliy.” I say: The prophetic-miracle [mújizah] is a condition to validate the claim of prophethood, in contrast to the miracle [karāmah] which is bestowed upon [a waliy] as a continuation of the prophetic-miracle due to being a follower. If a waliy claims prophethood, he will leave the fold of Islām,876 let alone remain a waliy! This proves that every miracle of a waliy is a manifestation of the prophetic-miracle, [and] in support of a Prophet’s follower. Shaykh Bakri,877 in his commentary on Bad’ al-Amālī, refers to various miracles mentioned in the Qur’ān to refute the standpoint of Khawārij and the Mútazilah: Know, that the miracles of Awliyā’a are valid and true, in contrast to the belief of the Khawārij and the Mútazilah, because Allāh táālā has said about the mother of Sayyidunā Mūsā عليه السلام: “And leave him in the river...”878 and this was a miracle for her. Similarly, for Maryam, winter fruits were given in summer and summer fruits were given in winter, a miracle for her. And in the Qur’ānic verse: “And said he, who had knowledge from the book: I shall bring it879 to you, in the blink of an eye”880 This was said by Āşif ibn Barkhiyyā, a minister of Sayyidunā Sulaymān عليه السلام. And Allāh has said: “And shake the trunk of the date-palm towards you, fresh, ripe dates will fall upon you”881 this was a miracle for Maryam رضي الله عنهما. And the verse: “Whenever Zakariyyā entered the prayer niche [miĥrāb], he found food near her; he asked: ‘O Maryam, where is this from?’ She replied: ‘This is from Allāh.’”882 •

10. Qurb or Nearness of Allāh.. Imām Būşīrī has said in the poem famously known as the Burdah: wa bitta tarqā ilā an nilta manzilatan min qābi qawsayni lam tudrak wa lam turamī and you kept ascending until you reached the destination of ‘two bow-lengths’ which none has attained, nor anyone can aspire to. That is you reached the nearness of the Lord Almighty such that the closeness was ‘two bow-lengths or lesser.’ A rank no one has attained other than you – not even other Prophets; nor can anyone dare to seek because of its immense greatness. ‘Two bow- lengths’ or qāba qawsayn is originally from the term qābay qaws [the two arches of the bow] but the words are transposed. This is an idiom to mean ‘very little distance,’ because a bow has two arches and there is very little distance between the two [in the middle, where one holds the bow]. Therefore, the Closeness of RasūlAllāh ﷺ is described as if it were the distance between the two arches. This is metaphorical nearness [al-qurb al- mánawī] and not physical nearness. We do not believe that Allāh táālā is “physically” present on the Throne. Istawā does not mean ‘sitting’ or ‘being established’ or other such anthropomorphic descriptions; Allāh táālā is transcendent from being in any direction, space and distance. While the journey of the Prophet ﷺ was indeed physical [and was not just a dream], the ‘qurb’ or closeness mentioned is, however, metaphorical. Unfortunately, ignorant speechmakers in our time make egregious mistakes883 in explaining the following verses of the Holy Qur’ān: فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ Then he approached and became closer; until he was closer than the distance between two bows, or even lesser884 Imām Qurţubī has said that it may refer to either Jibrīl عليه السلام coming closer to RasūlAllāh ﷺ or to the Closeness of Allāh táālā: It is reported by Ibn Ábbās رضي الله عنهما concering the verse {then, He drew closer} the meaning is that Allāh táālā became closer to Muĥammad ﷺ and His Mercy descended [tadallā].885 Imām Rāzī has said:886 This is an indication towards a metaphorical meaning [maánā al-majāzī], and here when He declares that the Prophet progressed and rose higher than any station that can be imagined – not a physical place [lā fi’l makān al-ĥissī]; Allāh táālā ‘draws closer’ as explained in the ĥadīth qudsi: “one who comes close to me by one arm’s length,887 I come closer twice as much”.888 In Sharĥ al-Shifā: {the Lord Almighty drew Muhammad sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam closer} here, it does not mean nearness of space [dunuww al-makaniy] because Allāh táālā is transcendent from space [li tanazzuhihi], nor is it nearness of knowledge because this is not exclusive to him so that such a station may be praised and exalted; rather, such 'nearness' is nearness of rank, and exalting of his station [iýlā’i maqāmuh] and informing him of the wonders in the universe [ájayibu malakutihi]. {and drew closer towards him} i.e. the Lord Almighty ‘drew close’ [nazala]889 to Muĥammad ﷺ similar to coming close as mentioned in the ĥadīth: {our Lord Almighty ‘descends’ towards the lowest heaven in the last third of the night}890 – ‘descend’ means He illuminates it and blesses it with Mercy and Graciousness and bestows honour by addressing those [who beseech Him at that time]. 891 Further, he says: {and nearness of Allah which is boundless} that is Nearness [dunuww] of Allah, which is not nearness of distance [dunuww makaniy] which is bounded by space for bodies; rather it is figurative nearness [dunuww ma'anawi]892 Sharīf Jurjānī in his commentary on Al-Mawāqif: dunuww means closeness [qurb] of His Messenger by way of obedience [bi't ţāáh], and the description of ‘qaba qawsayn’ is for a mental picture of [the closeness] that was felt [taşwir li'l máqul bi'l maĥsūs].893 •

11. The ĥadīth: Everything was illuminated to me – fa tajallā lī kullu shayy. In the main text: ‘And he was shown every little thing in the universe.’ This is based on a famous ĥadīth which is reported by multiple sources, i.e., many Companions.894 In the narration of Muáādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه: One day, the Messenger of Allāh delayed his arrival for the dawn prayer so much that we felt [and we feared that] we would soon see the sun rise. Presently, the Prophet came hurrying and the iqāmah was said, and the Messenger commenced the prayer and completed the prayer. After he ended the prayer, he said loudly: “In your place, stay where you are.” Then he turned towards us and said: I will indeed tell you what delayed my coming to the dawn prayer. In the night, I stood up for [tahajjud] prayer, I did ablution and I prayed as much as I could. Then, I felt drowsy in my prayer, and my eyelids became heavy, and [in that state] I saw my Lord Almighty in a beautiful manner, and He said: O Muĥammad! I replied: O my Lord Almighty, I am present! He asked: What do those [the Angels] in the highest heaven dispute [or discuss] about? I replied: “I do not know my Lord.” He asked me three times. Then I saw that He placed His kaff895 between both my shoulders and I could feel the coolness of His anāmil896 in my bosom – so, every thing was illuminated to me and I knew897 Then, He asked: O Muĥammad! I replied: I am present my Lord. He asked: What do those [Angels] in the loftiest heaven dispute [or discuss] about? I replied: About expiation [of sins; kaffārrāt] He asked: What are they? I replied: Walking [lit. going on foot] to the congregational prayer,898 sitting in the mosque after prayer, and doing ablution at times when one is disinclined to do so. He asked: And then, by what else? I replied: Feeding and giving food, speaking gently and praying in the night when people are asleep. He said: Ask! I said: O my Lord Almighty! I ask you to give me guidance to do good deeds, to forsake reprehensible actions, loving the destitute, and that You forgive me, and that You have mercy upon me, and if You wish to visit a trial upon a nation, then let me die without being entangled in their mischief. I ask you to grant me Your Love and the love of those whom You love, and the love of those deeds that bring closer to Your Love.899 RasūlAllāh ﷺ said: Indeed, this is the truth. Learn about this and then teach it to others. Imām Tirmidhī says in the postscript of this ĥadīth: ‘I asked Muĥammad ibn Ismāýīl [al- Bukhārī] about this [narration] and he said that it was a şaĥīĥ ĥadīth’. In a similar [mursal] narration, with slightly different wording reported by Ábdu’l Raĥmān ibn Áayish: 900 I saw my Lord Almighty in a beautiful manner, and He asked me: “O Muĥammad! What do the [Angels] in the highest heaven dispute about?” I replied: “O my Lord Almighty! I do not know.” Then, I saw that He placed His kaff between both my shoulders and I could feel the coolness of His anāmil in my bosom901 – so I knew about everything in the heavens and the earth. [and he recited this verse]: And thus, We showed Ibrāhīm the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, so that his conviction is [further] strengthened.902 In the narration of Ibn Ábbās رضي الله عنهما: I saw my Lord Almighty in a beautiful manner, and then He said: “O Muĥammad!“ I replied: “I am present my Lord Almighty, at Your service.” He said: “What do the [Angels] in the highest heaven dispute about?” I replied: “O my Lord Almighty! I do not know.” Then, I saw that He placed His kaff between both my shoulders and I could feel the coolness of His anāmil in my bosom – so I knew about everything between the east and the west.903 Ibn Ĥajar al-Haytami has said in the commentary of this narration: {so I could feel its coolness in my bosom} this is an allusion to the attainment of the exalted and sublime grace, and the extraordinary and marvellous secrets entrusted to his blessed and honoured heart, and that which was revealed [ma’āthir] and his learning of it comprehensively and mastering it [itqān]. Therefore, he said: “coolness in my bosom” – because he experienced the coolness [i.e. satisfaction] of absolute conviction [yaqīn] that one feels when one gains certainty about something and validates it. And [he described it thus] because of this effusion of grace in his heart, as he mentioned this to the be the reason for his immense knowledge [li-ittisāýi úlūmihi] which has no bounds, nor can the mind comprehend it, which he further explained as: {and I gained the knowledge} that is, about everything in the universe in which are, {in the heavens} rather, beyond that, which we know from the events of the Ascension [miýrāj]. {and the earth} meaning, the planets; in other words – all that is present in the seven earths and what is below it... 904 Ţībī explaining the same ĥadīth, in his commentary on Mishkāt: ...the kingdom of the heavens and the earth was revealed to him [i.e., Ibrāhīm ]; [similarly,] the doors to the knowledge of unseen [abwāb al-ghuyūb] were opened for me – until I learned of everything – their essences and their attributes [dhawāt, şifāt], all that is manifest [żawāhir] and that which is hidden [mughayyibāt], so much that from the lower realm, I rose up [álawtu] towards that which is far greater [i.e., the highest heaven]905 The şaĥīĥ ĥadīth explicitly says that RasūlAllāh ﷺ was given the knowledge of everything between the heavens and the earth. And to illustrate the extent of his knowledge, Allāh táālā asked him about the discussion of the Angels in the highest heaven, not just the number of leaves in a tree! Yet, the Wahābī and Deobandī naysayers prattle that he ﷺ did not know what was behind a wall! Only diseased minds obdurately refuse to acknowledge the extent of the knowledge of our master ﷺ, and shamelessly oppose şaĥīĥ ĥadīth just to satisfy their whims and justify the blunders of their elders who fell into heresy. Numerous books on the extensiveness of the knowledge of RasūlAllāh have been written by Sunni scholars. Some of the easier ones such as Al-Kalimatu’l Úlyā, Khālişu’l Iýtiqād and the relevant portion in Jā’a al-Ĥaqq are highly recommended for beginners and non-specialists. See Appendix I: Further Reading for a list of books on the subject. •

12. On Writing the Full Şalawāt. Ibn Salah in his Muqaddimah, 25th Category: On Inscribing Ĥadīth and the manner of writing it down with precision: The writer/copyist of the ĥadīth should refrain from both ways of shortening the şalawāt (blessings of Allāh upon the Prophet): First: Writing it in short form – i.e. abbreviating it by writing one or two letters, etc., in the place [of full salawat]. Second: Writing it snipped, such that one writes “sallAllahu alayhi” partially, without writing “wa sallam,” even though it is found in the books of some writers of the past. .... I say: It is also disliked to shorten the blessing to just álayhi’s salām906 He has also mentioned an anecdote about a ĥadīth master, Hamzah al-Kināniyy: I used to write/copy ĥadīth and would write upon the mention of the Prophet: “blessings of Allāh upon him” [şallAllāhu álayhi]. I would not write “and greetings of peace” [wa sallam]. I saw the Prophet ﷺ in my dream and he said: “Why do you not complete your asking for blessings upon me?” [Kināniyy says:] Thereafter, whenever I wrote the şalawāt, I would write it in full as “Blessings of Allāh upon him and greetings of peace” [şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam].907 Suyūţī in Tadrīb al-Rāwī, commentary of Nawawī’s Taqrīb has said:908 It is disliked {to abbreviate the şalawāt}, and indicate by one or two letters; such as a person who would write معلص şād-lām-áyn-mīm. {Rather, one should write the şalawāt in full}. It is said that the first person to abbreviate şalawāt was punished by his hand being cut off.909 Ţaĥtāwī in his commentary on Al-Durr al-Mukhtār: In certain places, it is cited from TātārKhaniyyah that: “whoever writes álayhi’s salām in an abbreviated form such as the shape of hamzah and mīm ءمwill be ruled kāfir because he has diminished [takhfīf] and diminishing [or making light of] the Prophets is kufr without any doubt.” If the citation is accurate, then it is restricted [i.e the context of the ruling is] upon the intention to denigrate – otherwise, it is obvious that such an action is not kufr...910 •

13. Muşţafā ﷺ has the Absolute Authority to Dispense in the Sharīáh. The Prophet ﷺ was given the authority to make anything ĥalāl or ĥarām; two well known ĥadīth are given below as an example: Indeed Ibrāhīm made Makkah a sanctuary [ĥaram] and prayed for it; I have made Madīnah a sanctuary, just like Ibrāhīm made Makkah a sanctuary and I have prayed for it [for plenty and prosperity] in their measures911 just as Ibrāhīm prayed for Makkah.912 In another ĥadīth of Muslim narrated by Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه: The Prophet ﷺ gave a sermon and said: “O people! Allāh has made pilgrimage [ĥajj] obligatory upon you, so undertake pilgrimage.” A man asked: “Is it obligatory every year, O Messenger of Allāh?” He remained silent – until the man had asked three times, and then RasūlAllāh ﷺ said: “If I had said ‘yes’ it would become obligatory [every year] and you would not be able to fulfill it.” And then he said: “Do not ask until I have left you – for earlier people were destroyed because of excessive questioning and disputing their Prophets. If I command you to do something, do it to the best of your abilities and if I prohibit you from something, then abandon it”.913 •

14. Brief Tafsīr of the “You shall certainly bear faith in him...”. Our Prophet ﷺ was the first to be created and the last to be sent as a Prophet in this world. In the realm of the souls, Allāh táālā took a covenant from all the souls when He asked them: “Am I not your Lord-Sustainer?” and they replied: “Why not?”914 Thereafter, another covenant was taken from [the souls of] the Prophets عليهم السلام. وَاِذْ اَخَذَ اللهُ مِيْثَاقَ النَّبِيّٰٓئِنَ لَمَآ اٰتَيْتُكُمْ مِّنْ كِتَابٍ وَّحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُوْلٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهٖ وَلَتَنْصُرُنَّهٗ ۝ قَالَ ءَاَقْرَرْتُمْ وَاَخَذْتُمْ عَلَىٰ ذٰلِكُمْ اِصْرِيْ ۝ قَالُوْا اَقْرَرْنَا ۝ قَالَ فَاشْهَدُوْا وَاَنَا مَعَكُمْ مِّنَ الشّٰهِدِيْنَ And [recall,] when Allāh took the covenant from the Prophets [and said]: Whenever I give you Book and Wisdom, thereafter comes to you the Messenger who will affirm [and validate] that [the books] with you, then you will most certainly bear faith in him and most certainly aid him. He [i.e. Allāh] asked: Have you acknowledged and taken that upon yourselves as My weighty Covenant? They replied: We have accepted. He [i.e. Allāh] said: Then, ye [all] bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.915 Imām Aĥmad Riđā in his monograph Tajallī al-Yaqīn says about this verse: Imām Állāmah Taqīyuddin Abu’l Ĥasan Álī ibn Ábdu’l Kāfī as-Subkī has written a priceless epistle, Al-Táżīm wa’l Minnah fī la-tu’minunna bihi wa la-tanşurunnah, explaining this verse and proved that our Master is the Prophet of all Prophets and all the Prophets and their followers are the followers [ummah] of our Prophet. The prophethood of our Prophet ﷺ is all encompassing – from the time916 of Abū’l Bashar, ‘the father of all humans,’ until Judgement Day, everyone in the creation is obligated to follow him. The ĥadīth of our Master: “I was a Prophet when Ādam was still between soul and body”917 should therefore be taken literally, and upon its apparent meaning. He then mentions ten points in the explanation of this verse. I say, and guidance rests with Allāh: Let us look at the salience and immense importance the Qur’ān has accorded this subject and emphasised this aspect918 repeatedly: FIRST: The Prophets of Allāh are given Divine Immunity [máşūm]. It is impossible for them to ever oppose the Command of Allāh. It was enough for Allāh táālā to merely command them as: “If that [last] Prophet comes to you, bear faith in him and aid him.” But He did not just mention it – instead, He took a covenant from them. This was the second covenant after the first one: “Am I not your Lord-Almighty?”919 Similar to the Excellent Word [of Belief]920 in which the first part is: There is no God except Allāh, and followed by Muĥammad is the Messenger of Allāh; so that it is made abundantly clear that the first obligation upon the creation is absolute submission and obedience to Allāh and along with it is bearing faith in the Messengership of Muĥammad – Blessings of Allāh táālā be upon him and greetings; may Allāh bestow upon him grace, and honour, increase his esteem and exalt him. SECOND: This covenant was emphasised upon by the particle lām [ meaning, certainly]:921 لَـ Similar to the covenant taken by the rulers, and governors swearing allegiance to their sovereigns. Imām Subkī has said that perhaps the format of swearing allegiance922 is derived from this verse. THIRD: Emphasis by using the particle nūn of emphasis [nūn ta’kīd]. FOURTH: That too, with the heavy nūn – because this form of stressed nūn [thaqīlah] doubles the emphasis.923 FIFTH: Look at the immense consideration given to this covenant: The Prophets had not yet answered [the first question], Allāh táālā asked: “Have you acknowledged and accepted this command of mine?” The immediacy in the tone expects ready acceptance is acknowledgement from the Prophets. SIXTH: He did not stop at mere affirmation: [as if He says:] ‘Mere affirmation is not enough, rather accept this weighty Covenant of Mine’. SEVENTH: Instead of saying “upon it” [álayhi] or “upon this” [ála hādhā] – the demonstrative pronoun for far is used to highlight its importance: “upon that” [ála dhālikum]. EIGHTH: Further emphasis by saying: “Then bear witness upon each other” [fa’sh’hādū] – whereas, to accept [a covenant] and to go back on their word cannot be imagined to be possible on the part of these august personalities [the Prophets]. NINTH: The interesting thing is that in addition to their testimony, Allāh táālā has further said: “and I am with you among the witnesses”. TENTH: Above all, after emphasising the importance in multiple ways in the above verse, it is followed by [the next āyah, 3:82], a severe warning – even though the Prophets are Divinely Protected [and hence cannot disobey, but still]: فَمَنْ تَوَلّٰى بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ فَاُولٰٓئِكَ هُمُ الْفٰسِقُوْنَ Whoever turned away after this [acceptance], then indeed, they will be among the transgressors.924 Allāh be praised! This is the same kind of importance and complete attention that Allāh táālā requires from the Divinely protected Angels, when He said: اِنَّهٗ مَنْ يُّشْرِكُ بِاللهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَاْوٰىهُ النَّارُ وَمَا لِلظّٰلِمِيْنَ مِنْ اَنْصَارٍ Whoever among them says that I am a god other than Him [Allāh] – then, We will punish him by Hellfire; it is thus We punish the wrongdoers.925 He has indicated that just as we deem the first part [of the kalimah], There is no God but Allāh as paramount, so also the second part, Muĥammad is the Messenger of Allāh is immensely important. [As if He says:] “I am the God of the entire creation and not even the most prominent Angels can turn away from worshipping Me, and My Beloved is the Messenger for the entire creation and the absolute leader [muqtadā] such that all the Prophets and Messengers are included among those who are commanded to swear allegiance to him and to serve him. And praise be to Allāh, the Lord Sustainer of the universe, and may Allāh táālā send blessings upon the Leader of all Messengers – Muĥammad – and upon his progeny and upon all his Companions. I bear witness that there is no God except Allāh – the only One God, there is no partner unto Him – and [I bear witness] that our master, Muĥammad is His beloved slave and Messenger, the Leader of all Messengers, the Seal of the Prophets, and the most honoured among the first and the last. Numerous blessings of Allāh and greetings of peace be upon him, and his progeny and all his Companions. •

15. Sirājan Munīrā – The Lamp, He who Illuminates. Allāh táālā has described the Prophet ﷺ as a light that illuminates the world: يٰأَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ اِنَّآ اَرْسَلْنٰكَ شَاهِدًا وَّمُبَشِّرًا وَّنَذِيْرًا ۝ وَّدَاعِيًا اِلَى اللهِ بِاِذْنِهٖ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيْرًا O beloved Prophet! Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a giver of glad tidings and a warner. And one who invites towards Allāh, by His permission and a brilliant star that illuminates.926 The Prophet ﷺ is lightsome like the sun whose brilliance is not only self-evident, but it also illuminates the entire world. Al-Bayđāwī in his tafsīr of this verse says: {O beloved Prophet! Indeed, We have sent you as a witness} upon all those towards whom I have sent you – a witness of their affirmation or belying; their salvation or their going astray – and therefore: {a giver of glad tidings and a warner}. {And one who invites towards Allāh} to accept in the Oneness of the Diety and all that is necessary to believe among His Attributes. {by His permission} i.e. by His making it easy, because it is His Permission that makes it easy. Inviting towards the Lord Almighty is a difficult task which cannot be fulfilled except by Divine Aid, which is indicated by ‘His Permission.’ {and a brilliant star that illuminates} that spreads light and banishes the darkness of ignorance and from which light for the insight is gained. Ĥāfiż Ibn Kathīr in his commentary of these verses says: {as a witness} i.e. witness for the Oneness of Allāh táālā, and that there is no God other than Him and a witness upon people for their deeds on the Day of Judgement.927 Allāh táālā has said: “And We bring you as a witness on these people”928 and said in another verse: “So that you [i.e. Muslims] are a witness upon other people and the Messenger is a witness upon you”929 {a giver of glad tidings and a warner} Giver of good news of reward for believers and warner of punishment to the disbelievers. {And one who invites towards Allāh, by His permission} One who invites people to worship their Lord-Sustainer by His Command to do so. {and a brilliant star that illuminates} and it is well known that you have come with the truth – like the bright and shining sun and its illumination; none but an obstinate rejecter will deny it. •

16. Disbelievers will ask for a second chance but it is not possible. The Qur’ān informs us that on Judgement Day, disbelievers will lament that they should have heeded the Message brought by Prophets عليهم السلام and will even ask for a second chance, but they will be told that there will not be any, as mentioned in these verses. In this world, people follow the opinions of various political and religious leaders and fashion their beliefs after their opinions; including atheist influencers on social media, authors and polemicists whom people cite as authorities for their disbelief in God. Allāh táālā says in the Qur’ān: If these unjust people [or tyrants] could see the time when they will see the Punishment [with their own eyes], they will realise that Power belongs entirely and absolutely to Allāh táālā and that His Punishment is severe. Celebrities and influencers who confidently deny the existence of God today and those who ridicule Muslims and Islām, mocking belief in the Creator, will realise that they have committed an irreparable error. This includes all kind of oppression and injustice, and on that day, these leaders who bask in the glory of numerous followers will disown them: اِذْ تَبَرَّأَ الَّذِيْنَ اتُّبِعُوا مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّبَعُوْهُمْ وَرَاَوُا الْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ الْاَسْبَابُ And when leaders will disown their followers when they behold the Punishment, and that all their ties will have been severed 930 At that moment, followers will also disown their leaders – and all those who led them astray and away from the truth – whether atheist writers, or scientists who confidently declare that the universe does not need a creater or heads of states who carry out and support genocides...their followers will regret that they took them as their leaders وَقَالَ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّبَعُوْا لَوْ اَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تَبَرَّؤُوا مِنَّا And those who followed them will say: If we could only go back [to the world], we would distance ourselves from them, just as they have disowned us now. Thus Allāh will show them their deeds to rue [and regret] – and they will never exit Hell fire.931 كَذٰلِكَ يُرِيْهِمُ اللهُ اَعْمَالَهُمْ حَسَرٰتٍ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِيْنَ مِنَ النَّارِ And if you were to see the criminals hang their heads near their Lord Almighty and say: O our Lord, we have seen and heard; so send us back, we will do good deeds, indeed we are now convinced932 In the verses of Sūrah al-Anáām, the state of disbelievers is mentioned – how they behaved in this world, as if there is no life after death and their regret upon this in the Hereafter, and wish they had become Muslims; they say this when they see punishment and torment prepared for them, but there will be no second chance: وَلَوْ تَرٰىٓ اِذِ الْمُجْرِمُوْنَ نٰكِصُوْا رُؤُوْسِهِمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَآ اَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَارْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صٰلِحًا اِنَّا مُوْقِنُوْنَ And if you were to see933 when they are made to stand by the Fire, then they will say: “Alas! Were it, that we can be returned [to the world] and we will not belie the Signs of our Lord and will become believers.” But it is now manifest to them, that which they used to conceal before and if they were sent back, they would return to what they were prohibited from934 – indeed, they are liars. And they say: “There is not, except our life in this world, and we will not be resurrected.” And if you could see them when they stand before their Lord Sustainer; He asks: “Is this not true?” They will reply: “Why not! By our Lord Almighty.” He will say: “Then taste the punishment, recompense for your disbelief.” Indeed, they are in a great loss, those who belied and rejected meeting Allāh – until, when the Hour was suddenly upon them – and they [will] say: “O our regret upon our immense error [in belief]” and they will carry their burden on their backs – what a vile burden they carry! وَلَوْ تَرٰىٓ اِذْ وُقِفُوْا عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُوْا يٰلَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلَا نُكَذِّبَ بِاٰيٰتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُوْنَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ What do they await, except the fulfilment [of what is promised in this Book]? On that day, when [that which is foretold] will come to pass, those who had forgotten it earlier will say: “Indeed the Messengers of Lord-Almighty had come with the truth; So, do we have any intercessors who can intercede for us; or can we be returned, then we would act differently to what we used to do. Undoubtedly, they have put their own souls in a loss, and absent from them, are [false] things they used to concoct.935 In the above verse, ta’wīl means: fulfilment of the promises of reward, punishment and events of the Hereafter mentioned in the Qur’ān. The disbelievers assume that none of this will come true and when it actually does [in the Hereafter], they will lament that they should have accepted the word of the Messengers; at this point, they will wish for someone to interecede for them and wish for a second chance. But they put their own selves in a great loss by rejecting Islām and concocting false gods in this earthly life. Đalla ánhum: They are amiss; not that they existed and were lost – rather, these false gods never existed except in the imagination of those who invented and believed in them. Thus, inexistent gods and helpers will not avail them. [Summarised from Ibn Kathir, Qurţubī]. وَاَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَاْتِيْهِمُ الْعَذَابُ فَيَقُوْلُ الَّذِيْنَ ظَلَمُوْا رَبَّنَآ اَخِّرْنَآ اِلٰىٓ اَجَلٍ قَرِيْبٍ نُّجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ And warn the people of that day when Divine Punishment will come to them; then, those who have been unjust will say: “O our Lord! Delay this, and give us respite for a short while, we will accept Your Call and follow the Messengers.” Were you not the ones who had earlier sworn that you will not suffer decline? 936 The meaning of mā lakum min zawāl, or ‘not suffer decline’, or ‘see no termination,’ is that disbelievers rejected the idea of life after death. They swore that they would not vanish after death, and would forever remain in this world. Perhaps they swore in arrogance just to deny life after death. Or because that they would build excessively and had lengthy hopes, as if death would never come to them. Or they did not expect to see a life in the Hereafter, and even if they died, their condition would not be worse than their present condition. [Summarised from Bayđāwī and Qurtubi]. حَتّٰىٓ اِذَا جَآءَ اَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُوْنِ Until death comes to anyone among them and he says: “O my Lord! Send me back. Mayhap, I will do good deeds from that which I have left behind”. Certainly not! These are mere words that he utters and beyond them is a barrier, until the day they will be resurrected.937 When a disbeliever sees his place in Hell at the time of his death, he will desire to have the deadline extended, but will be harshly told that it is impossible. Disbelievers will acknowledge their mistake, and lament that they have no friends or intercessors: تَاللهِ اِنْ كُنَّا لَفِىْ ضَلٰلٍ مُّبِيْنٍ ۝ اِذْ نُسَوِّيْكُمْ بِرَبِّ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ By Allāh! Indeed, we were in manifest misguidance. When we equated you [i.e. false gods] with the Lord-Sustainer of the universe. We were not led astray except by criminals. Thus, we do not have any intercessors, nor a dear friend. If we had a second chance, we would be among the believers938 وَهُمْ يَصْطَرِخُوْنَ فِيْهَا رَبَّنَآ اَخْرِجْنَا نَعْمَلْ صٰلِحًا غَيْرَ الَّذِيْ كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ And they will scream therein: “O our Lord Almighty, take us out; we will do good deeds, unlike the ones we used to do. [Allāh says:] Did we not give you life long enough to ponder about it, for one who cared to reflect and a Warner came to you? Now, taste this [punishment] so there will be no helper for the oppressors.939 اَوْ تَقُوْلَ حِيْنَ تَرَى الْعَذَابَ لَوْ اَنَّ لِيْ كَرَّةً فَاَكُوْنَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ Or you say when you see the torment: If I had another chance, I would do good deeds940 اِنَّآ اَنْذَرْنٰكُمْ عَذَابًا قَرِيْبًا يَوْمَ يَنْظُرُ الْمَرْءُ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ Indeed We have warned you of a punishment that is near. On that day when every man will see what his hands have sent forth and the disbeliever will lament: “Alas! If I were turned to dust.”941 We seek Allāh’s refuge and beseech Him to give us death upon true faith. •

17. On Abdāl. There are ranks among Awliyā’a and those of higher ranks are known as abdāl, awtād nujabā and ghawth. The rank of abdāl is mentioned in various ĥadīth, some authentic, some weak. Some scholars rejected them outright and termed the ĥadīth as forgeries – but others validated those ĥadīth, and according to Imām Suyūţī, these ĥadīth have attained the status of mutawātir. Shaykh Muĥammad ibn Jaáfar al-Kattānī, in his compilation of mutawātir ĥadīth, has said:942 On the existence of Abdāl: This [is reported] from various routes via: 1. Anas رضي الله عنه in varying wording but all of those through weak chains. 2. Úbādah ibn al-Şāmit رضي الله عنه 3. Ibn Úmar رضي الله عنهما 4. Ibn Masúūd رضي الله عنه 5. Abū Saýīd رضي الله عنه 6. Álī [ibn Abī Ţālib] رضي الله عنه 7. Áwf ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه 8. Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه 9. Muáādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه and others. Ĥāfiż Sakhāwī943 has written an epistle on this topic named: Nażm al-La’āl fi’l Kalāmi ála’l Abdāl. Ibn al-Jawzī mentioned various ĥadīth on this topic in his Al-Mawđūáāt and criticised every one of them and ruled them as forgeries. But Suyūţī did a reassessment and regraded them in his book Al-Nikāt or Al-Táqqubāt,944 he says: “Not only is the concept of Abdāl valid and proven by şaĥīĥ ĥadīth, it is even mutawātir; I have compiled a separate book on this topic that examines the routes of these ĥadīth in detail. He then mentioned the Companions and Followers who have narrated these ĥadīth – and the existence of Abdāl is widely known and accepted [tawātur mánawi]. Ibn al-Jawzī945 claimed that all the ĥadīth that mention Abdāl are forgeries, and Suyūţī disagreed and said that the information about Abdāl is true and valid, and if you wish you can say that it is unanimously accepted [tawātur] – i.e., the meaning is accepted. This also demonstrates the falsity of Ibn Taymiyyah’s claim that the word ‘Abdāl’ has never appeared in either a şaĥīĥ or a weak report; [and could have appeared] except in interrupted [munqaţiý] narrations. Alas! It would have been better if he had just admitted that he had not seen it; instead, he denied the existence of such reports and belied those who said that such reports exist. In the Fatwā of Ibn Ĥajar [al-Ásqalānī]:946 Abdāl have been mentioned in a number of reports; some are şaĥīĥ and some are not şaĥīĥ. Quţb has been mentioned in a few narrations – as for the [title of] Ghawth, this title is well-known among the Sufis, but it is not established [from hadith]. Jalāluddīn Suyūţī, in the aforementioned work has said:947 I say: The mention [of abdāl] is found in various marfūú and mawqūf ĥadīth narrating from: 1. Úmar ibn al-Khaţţāb 2. Álī ibn Abī Ţālib 3. Anas [ibn Mālik] 4. Ĥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān 5. Úbādah ibn Şāmit 6. [Ábdullāh] Ibn Ábbās 7. Ábdullāh ibn Úmar 8. Ábdullāh ibn Masúūd 9. Áwf ibn Mālik 10. Muáādh ibn Jabal 11. Wāthilah ibn al-Asqaá 12. Abū Saýīd al-Khudrī 13. Abū Hurayrah 14. Abū Dardā’a 15.Umm Salamah And via mursal narrations: 16. Ĥasan 17. Áţā 18. Bakr ibn Khunays And numerous reports [aāthār] from the Followers and those who came after them.948 He has listed 87 such narrations in the work, some with complete chains of narration with critical comments on some of the chains. The second ĥadīth is deemed the most authentic in this regard, found in Musnad of Imām Aĥmad and sixteen other routes: Ĥadīth of Álī رضي الله عنه Imām Aĥmad ibn Ĥanbal in his Musnad:949 Abū Mughayrah narrated to us: Şafwān narrated to us from Shurayĥ ibn Úbayd who said: The people of the Levant [shām] were mentioned in front of Álī ibn Abī Ţālib and he was in Iraq at that time. They said: “Curse them, O Commander of the faithful!” He replied: “No. Because I have heard RasūlAllāh ﷺ say: Abdāl are in the Levant [shām]. They are forty men – whenever one among them dies, Allāh táālā will replace him with another [man] in his place. Rain is sought for their sake, victory upon enemies is beseeched for their sake, and it is for their sake, that for the people of the Levant punishment is averted.” All the narrators in the chain are narrators of Bukhārī, except Shurayĥ ibn Úbayd, who is also graded as a trustworthy [thiqah] narrator. Further reading on this topic: 1. Al-Khabar al-Dāl álā Wujudi’l Quţbi wa’l Awtādi wa’n Nujabā’i wa’l Abdāl by Ĥāfiż Jalāluddīn Suyūţī. 2. Ijābatu’l Ghawth bi Bayāni ĥāli: Al-Nuqabā’a, wa’n Nujabā’a, wa’l Abdāli, wa’l Awtādi, wa’l Ghawth by the great Ĥanafī jurist, Imām Muĥammad Amin Ibn Áābidīn al-Shāmī [d. 1252 AH]. 3. Al-Qawl al-Dāl álā Ĥayāti’l Khađir wa Wujūdi’l Abdāl by Shaykh Nūĥ ibn Muşţafā al-Ĥanafī al-Rūmī [d. 1070 AH]. •

18. The Extolled Station – The Station of Praise – al-Maqām al-Maĥmūd. Qur’ānic exegetes are in unanimous agreement that the Extolled Station refers to the lofty rank of intercession [shafāáh] and it is mentioned in the Qur’ān, and the Prophet ﷺ himself explained it as “It is the rank from whence I will intercede for my followers”950 عَسٰىٓ اَنْ يَّبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُوْدًا It is nigh that your Lord-Sustainer will bring you forth upon the Station of Praise951 In the commentary of the above: It is the station where you [i.e. the Prophet ﷺ] will be praised by those who came before and those who came later, and it is the station of intercession [Jalālayn]. Most scholars say that it is the rank of intercession as indicated by various narrations, but it could also mean that he will be given the Standard of Praise [Madārik]. People will praise him when he comes forth on that station, and it is nothing but the rank of intercession [Bayđāwī]. •

19. The Standard of Praise [Liwā al-Ĥamd]. Munāwī952 has explained it thus:953 It was the practice of Arabs that the flag or the standard would be in the hand of the most senior, the most venerable in the group so that the [high] position of that person would be known. The reason, therefore, is to highlight the prominence of the leader. The author954 was asked whether the Flag of Praise is to be taken literally, as indeed a physical flag, or whether it is metaphorical, to which he replied that it is metaphorical and it is only praise of Allāh. In reality, the flag is a sign of leadership as the flag is held by the commander of the army. Here, it means that the Prophet ﷺ will praise Allāh táālā immensely on that day. This is not merely Suyūţī’s sole opinion; rather, this is one of the two opinions related by Ţībī955 and others who said: This is meant to indicate his ﷺ exceptional manner in praising Allāh táālā on that day and his prominence to everyone in the creation; or that praise will be like a real flag on the Day of Judgement, and named Standard of Praise. Turpushtī956 has said: Among Allāh’s righteous slaves, there is no station higher and more exalted than the Station of Praise, and all other (higher ranks) end below this one. Since Muşţafā ﷺ is the one who praises Allāh táālā the most in the entire creation, in both this world and the next, he will be handed the Standard of Praise, and everyone from the first to the last will congregate under this standard. The word flag [or standard] is attributed with the word ‘praise,’ which is praise of Allāh, which he ﷺ alone can rightfully fulfill, and whose deserved place it is on the Day of Judgement, and this is the Station of Praise [maqām maĥmūd] granted exclusively to him.957 •

20. Seeing Allāh táālā in the Hereafter. In a previous endnote, we read that seeing Allāh táālā is possible in this world, but as an actual occurrence, is a special attribute of our Master, Sayyidunā Muĥammad ﷺ. However, all believers will be given this blessing in the Hereafter, as the Qur’ān says: وُجُوْهٌ يَّوْمَئِذٍ نَّاضِرَةٌ ۝ اِلٰى رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ Faces on that day will be radiant; [because ] of seeing their Lord-Almighty 958 Nāđirah, meaning ‘radiant,’ is derived from nađārah, which means beautiful, shining, illuminated and beaming with joy. It is mentioned in the ĥadīth of Bukhārī: “Indeed you will see your Lord-Almighty with your eyes.”959 It is narrated in multiple authentic ĥadīth via multiple routes and hence deemed mutawātir according to ĥadīth masters, that believers will see Allāh táālā in the Hereafter. It is not possible to reject these reports or try alternative explanations, like the ĥadīth of Abū Saýīd [al-Khudrī] and Abū Hurayrah as mentioned in Bukhārī and Muslim summarised below by Ibn Kathīr: [some] people asked: “O Messenger of Allāh! Will we see our Lord-Creator on the Day of Judgement?’ He said: “Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun or the moon, when there are no clouds?” They replied: “No.” He said: “You will see your Lord-Creator [Rabb] in the same manner.”960 In various narrations, RasūlAllāh ﷺ came out on a full moon night [in a clear, cloudless sky] and asked his Companions: “Do you have difficulty seeing the moon?” with slight variations in the words used; such as tuđāmmūna: that you are not able to see due to crowding, or tuđāmūna: that some are able to see and some others are deprived due to the jostling of the crowd, or tuđārrūna: you get hurt by jostling or some can see and others cannot due to the crowd. The analogy of seeing the sun or the moon in the ĥadīth is only to explain that everyone will be able to see Him; this is not to affirm a distance or direction to Allāh táālā. We cannot say how we will be able to see Him or describe the modality of this Vision. Muslims are only obligated to believe that they will see Allāh táālā with their eyes in the Hereafter. •

21. Verses on the Wine of Paradise. The wine in this world is produced by fermentation of grapes – in simpler language, it is produced by the putrification of grapes; other liquors are produced by the fermentation of carbohydrates such as dates, barley, maize etc. The wine in Paradise, however, is not the same. It will be pure and will not be a derived product; it will be like water which is an abundant natural resource and not ‘derived’ from other sources. The Qur’ān tells us: مَثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِيْ وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُوْنَ ۖ فِيْهَآ اَنْهٰرٌ مِّنْ مَّآءٍ غَيْرِ اٰسِنٍ وَّاَنْهٰرٌ مِّنْ لَّبَنٍ لَّمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهٗ وَاَنْهٰرٌ مِّنْ خَمْرٍ لَّذَّةٍ لِّلشّٰرِبِيْنَ The exemplification of Paradise, which is promised for the righteous: In it are streams of water that never stagnate [or stink], and streams of milk that will never be spoiled [or become unpalatable], and streams of wine, delicious for those who drink and streams of pure honey.961 In this world, honey is produced in the mouths of bees and wine by fermentation (action of bacteria); but in Paradise, wine and honey will be like water, created by Allāh táālā, without the involvement of any insect or the decomposition of fruit. Honey in this world is also admixed with wax and dust – but not so in Paradise, hence the attribute of ‘pure’. Thus ‘wine’ of Paradise resembles wine of this world, only in name. It is a drink that is immensely delicious and it will not cause one to become inebriated and lose their mind.962 يُطَافُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِكَاْسٍ مِّنْ مَّعِيْنٍ ۝ بَيْضَآءَ لَذَّةٍ لِّلشّٰرِبِيْنَ And goblets [from flowing streams of wine] will be passed around them; white, delicious for those who drink. There is no intoxication in it, nor will one lose their minds.963 According to Suddī, all the instances, where ka’s is mentioned, refers to goblet of wine. Maýīn means a flowing stream and therefore the goblets will be filled from streams of flowing wine. ‘White’ is the attribute of goblets or the colour of wine, similar to milk. This drink will not cause any harm, nor intoxication, nor hangovers or headaches, nor will it cause them to lose their minds or damage their health. [Summarised from Qurţubī]. Until the 20th century, it was believed in the west that drinking in moderation was not harmful, rather even beneficial. In fact, small amounts were administered as ‘medicine.’ But now, after extensive research and numerous studies, medical science has established and emphatically proven that even a single drop of alcohol is harmful to the human body. This was foretold by RasūlAllāh ﷺ, when a Companion asked him whether wine could be taken as medicine; he replied: “It is no medicine; rather, it is a disease.” And in another narration: “It has no cure; rather, it is a malady.” 964 يَطُوْفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُّخَلَّدُوْنَ ۙ بِاَكْوَابٍ وَّاَبَارِيْقَ وَكَاْسٍ مِّنْ مَّعِيْنٍ [They will go around] with cups and pitchers and goblets of wine [from flowing streams] They will not get headaches because of it, nor will they lose their minds.965 يُسْقَوْنَ مِنْ رَحِيْقٍ مَّخْتُوْمٍ ۝ خِتَامُهٗ مِسْكٌ They will be given [pure] wine to drink, sealed. The last sip of which is musk. And it is for this, those who desire, should aspire. And it is mixed with [wine] from Tasnīm966 In addition to the streams of wine given to all the dwellers of Paradise, those of higher ranks, the immensely righteous, the abrār, will be given special wines that are sealed and will be opened only by them. The last of the draught will be like musk. Raĥīq means pure wine, or the best wine – the nectar; it is white in colour, pure and a drink that does not intoxicate or harm one’s health or make one lose their mind [Qurţubī]. The last sip of the nectar will be like musk or that it is mixed with musk [Ibn Kathīr]. If one craves or desires for something, this is the life worth striving for; tasnīm is a stream from the higher levels of Paradise from whence those closest to Allāh táālā, the muqarrabūn, drink. It is also said that tasnīm is the best wine in Paradise. The most honoured slaves of Allāh drink from pure tasnīm, and the rest of the Paradise dwellers will drink other wine mixed with tasnīm [Summarised from Qurtubi]. In a ĥadīth, RasūlAllāh ﷺ said: “Whoever gives a drink to a thirsty believer, Allāh táālā, on Judgement day, will give him drink from the sealed nectar...”967 •

22. Uttering Kufr in Duress. From Mawlānā Naýīmuddīn Murādābādī’s Kitāb al-Áqāýid:968 Belief means that it is necessary to accept all the tenets of faith, uttering by the tongue and attesting to their veracity by the heart. However, a person is excused if he/she utters disbelief under duress, or when threatened by loss of limb or life if they do not utter words or do deeds that amount to disbelief. They will be excused as long as faith is firm in their hearts, and they say or do such things only to escape torment and torture.969 Even though it is better to avoid saying it, the person who utters kufr under duress will remain a Muslim, a believer. •

23. On Differences between Ashárī and Māturīdī. There are two major schools of creed among the Ahl al-Sunnah: The Ashárī and the Māturīdī. Their differences are on secondary issues – Imām Tājuddīn Subkī has said in his work that there are only thirteen differences, six of which are interpretative and seven are semantic. In the introduction of his Qaşīdah Nūniyyah, he says: I have heard the Shaykh, the imām [my father970] – may Allāh have mercy upon him say: “The contents of Áqīdah al-Ţaĥāwīyyah are entirely the creed of al-Ashárī. There is no difference, except in three issues.” I say: I know that all the Mālikīs are Ashárīs, without exception. Among Shāfiýīs, almost all of them are Ashárīs except those who joined the anthropomorphists or followed the Mútazilah, and Allāh táālā will not care about them. The Ĥanafīs are mostly Ashárī – I mean, their belief is the same as the belief of Ashárīs – none has gone out of this [boundary] except those who became Mútazilah.971 The Ĥanbalīs – most of the early masters – are Ashárī; none of them goes out of the Ashárī creed except those who became anthropomorphists [ahl al-tajsīm] and they are more among Ĥanbalīs than among any other [madh’hab]. I [read and] reflected upon the Áqīdah al-Ţaĥāwīyyah of Abū Jaáfar al-Ţaĥāwī,972 and found the matter to be exactly as described by the Shaykh and Imām [my father]. The [author of the] book Áqīdah al-Ţaĥāwīyyah stated that it is the belief professed by [Imām] Abū Ĥanīfah, Abū Yūsuf and Muĥammad, and he has explained it in an excellent manner. Thereafter, I investigated the books of Ĥanafīs and came to the conclusion that the total number of issues in which we [i.e the Ashárīs] differ with the Ĥanafīs [i.e Māturīdīs] are [only] thirteen. Six among them are interpretative [mánawī] and the rest [seven] are semantic [lafżī]. government agencies such as the police, the army and the courts. Muslims are forced to chant such slogans or risk being lynched by a mob of frenzied Hindus. In such cases, if a Muslim complies and utters such words to save himselves from being lynched or being beaten mercilessly, they will be excused so long as they say it only to save their lives and have firm and unwavering faith in Islam. The six interpretative ones among them do not necessitate that they refute us, or we refute them or anathematise them [takfīr] or deem each other as heretics [tabdīý]. This was clearly stated by the savant, Abū Manşūr al-Baghdādī973 and others among our imāms and their [Māturīdī] imāms – which is not necessary to further clarify due to its being well known. Scholars have pointed out these differences in their works on áqīdah, such as commentaries of Al-Jawharah, or Al-Musāyarah of Ibn Humām, commentaries of Sharĥ al-Áqāýid and Áqīdah Ţaĥāwīyyah etc.; some well known works on this specific topic are: 1. Al-Qaşīdah al-Nūniyyah fi’l Khilāf bayn al-Ashāýirah wa’l Māturīdiyyah, by Imām Tājuddīn Ábdu’l Wahhāb ibn Taqīyuddīn Álī ibn Ábdu’l Kafi al-Subkī [727-771 AH]. 2. Al-Rawđatu’l Bahiyyah fi mā bayn al-Ashāýirah wa’l Māturīdiyyah, by Állāmah Ĥasan ibn Ábdu’l Muhsin Abū Adhbah [d. 1172 AH]. 3. Nażm al-Farā’id wa Jamá al-Fawā’id fī Bayāni’l Masā’il al-latī Waqaá fīhā al- Ikhtilāf bayn al-Māturīdīyyah wa’l Ashárīyyah fi’l Áqāýid maá Dhikri Adillah al- Farīqayn, by Állāmah Ábdu’l Raĥīm ibn Álī Shaykh Zādah [1078 AH]. •

24. Qur’ānic verses on ‘increase’ of faith.. Among the verses that mention an ‘increase’ in faith is the one in Sūrah Aāl Ímrān: الَّذِيْنَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ اِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوْا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ اِيْمَانًا وَّقَالُوْا حَسْبُنَا اللهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيْلُ Those unto whom people said: “Indeed, people have gathered [an army] against you, so fear them.” [But] this [only] increased their faith and they said: “Allāh is sufficient for us and He is the best Disposer of Affairs”.974 When the Hypocrites tried to scare the believers and tried to dissuade them from facing the enemy, the believers dismissed their scaremongering and put their trust in Allāh. Qurţubī says: {this increased them in faith} means, the threat only increased their conviction and certainty of their attestation to the truth of their belief; increased their steadfastness in defending it; their strength, their courage and their resolve was further strengthened. Thus ‘increase’ in faith here stands for [increase in] actions. Scholars have differed on the issue of increase or decrease in faith and there are various opinions in this regard. The belief [áqīdah] in this matter is that the essence of faith [īymān] is one unit – and it is like a unique crown, and a singular attestation irrespective of everything else. Rather it is in the sense of one whole unit [fard] which does not allow for any increment when it is present, and when it vanishes, nothing remains [to be decreased]. Thus, the increase or decrease is in its related aspects [mutállaqāt] and not in the essence itself. Another group of scholars say that it increases or decreases according to the deeds that emanate from it [faith]. This is because many scholars allude to actions as being part of faith based on the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: “Faith is seventy plus branches; the highest is the saying: ‘There is no God except Allāh and the lowest is removing harm from the road.’ Reported by Tirmidhī. Muslim’s narration has the additional phrase: “And modesty is from faith.”975 In this verse, it is clear that they did not do any additional action – only their conviction and resolve was strengthened; this was termed as an ‘increase’ in faith. In another verse: وَلَمَّا رَاَى الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ الْاَحْزَابَ قَالُوْا هٰذَا مَا وَعَدَنَا اللهُ وَرَسُوْلُهٗ وَصَدَقَ اللهُ وَرَسُوْلُهٗ وَمَا زَادَهُمْ اِلَّآ اِيْمَانًا وَّتَسْلِيْمًا And when the believers saw the army [of disbelievers,] they said: “This is what Allāh and His Messenger promised us, and Allāh and His Messenger have spoken the truth.” And it did not increase them, except in faith and submission [i.e., being pleased with Allāh’s Will].976 The Companions said this upon seeing the Confederates who had gathered to attack them. {Allāh and His Messenger promised us} means the trial they would face and the ordeal they would have to endure, which would be followed by a decisive victory [Ibn Kathīr]. Ibn Ábbās رضي الله عنهما has reported that the Prophet ﷺ had told his companions: ‘The Confedarates are moving towards you and will reach here by the ninth or tenth night.’ When they landed on the promised date, the Companions said this. [Tafsīr Nasafī]. Here as well, there was no additional action – the conviction in the truth of Islām and the Messenger was reinforced, and their faith was strengthened. Similarly in the verse: اِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ الَّذِيْنَ اِذَا ذُكِرَ اللهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوْبُهُمْ وَاِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ اٰيٰتُهٗ زَادَتْهُمْ اِيْمَانًا وَّعَلٰى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُوْنَ Indeed, [true] believers are those who, when reminded of Allāh, their hearts tremble with fear and when His signs [verses of the Qur’ān] are recited, it increases their faith and they have complete trust in their Lord-Almighty [rabb].977 Qāđī Abu’s Súūd has said in the commentary of the above verse: Here, {increases their faith} means: their conviction and tranquillity of the soul [is increased]. Because the corroboration of evidence, and support of arguments and proofs lead to the increase in reassurance, peace of mind and the strength of conviction. It is said that faith itself does not accept an increase or decrease, but instead the increase is in proportion to the increase [of things] that one believes in [mu’man bihi]. Because whenever a verse was revealed, and the believer accepted it and attested to its being true [şaddaqa bihā], then his faith ‘increased’ in quantity [meaning the number of things one believed in] – however, the state of faith itself remains unchanged.978 Qurţubī has also said something similar: {When His verses are recited upon them, it increases their faith} that is, their affirmation. For indeed, the faith at this moment is increased and is more than the faith of yesterday; thus, affirmation of the second and third time is an increase in affirmation of what was affirmed before. It is also said: This is an increase in the expansion of one’s heart due to the abundance of signs and proofs.979 وَاِذَا مَآ اُنْزِلَتْ سُوْرَةٌ فَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ يَّقُوْلُ اَيُّكُمْ زَادَتْهٗ هٰذِهٖٓ اِيْمَانًا ۚ فَاَمَّا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا فَزَادَتْهُمْ اِيْمَانًا وَّهُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُوْنَ And when a chapter [sūrah] comes down, then some of them say: “Who amongst you has this increased in faith?” As for those who are [true] believers – it has increased them in faith and they rejoice.980 However, Qurţubī has said under this āyah that scholars such as Imām Bukhārī, Imām Shāfiýī, Imām Aĥmad and others have taken this literally and have said that faith [īymān] increases or decreases in quantity; he also says that it is unanimously agreed upon,981 even though this is one of the points of contention between Ashárīs and Māturīdīs; in any case, it is merely a semantic difference and not a real one. This increase in faith – or strength of conviction – can be understood by an analogy: A man known for his honesty, righteousness, piety and truthfulness enters a huge door and comes out saying: “There is a huge and exquisite garden in there, with flowers, fruits and beautiful things. There are sweets and delicious things to eat. And there are treasures – diamonds, gold and precious stones.” Now, a few people believe him and some others do not believe him. The man re-enters the door and brings out a beautiful fragrant flower. Those who believed in him felt vindicated and their belief in the garden became stronger. He then entered and brought out an exquisite sweet, and then again a costly pearl and so forth. The belief in the garden behind the door becomes stronger with every item the man brings out. Now, the man who has seen the garden also believes in it – and so are those who affirm his statement. ‘The belief in the garden’ remains the same – but the strength of belief of the man who witnessed the garden and the treasures is far greater than those who saw him bring out items – though there is no difference in the essence of the ‘belief’ itself. The belief itself does not increase in quantity; however, the strength of conviction in the existence of the garden increases with each piece of evidence. Allāh knows best. •

25. The Ambivalent: A foot in either camp; neither here, nor there.. One is either a Muslim or a disbeliever – there is no third path in the middle of these two. Those who try to straddle both boats are hypocrites – those who are externally Muslim but do not have faith in their hearts. The Qur’ān describes them as: مُذَبْذَبِيْنَ بَيْنَ ذٰلِكَ لَآ اِلَىٰ هٰٓؤُلَآءِ وَلَآ اِلَىٰ هٰٓؤُلَآءِ Vacillating in between – neither [belonging] here, nor [belong] there; and those whom Allāh lets go astray, they will never find the [right] way982 The hypocrites are neither sincere Muslims – nor openly disbelievers; because they are hesitant to take either of the two positions and are perplexed; they do not take a fixed position on either side and keep vacillating and hesitating between faith and disbelief. After the passing of RasūlAllāh ﷺ, it is not possible [nor permissible] to brand someone a hypocrite with certainty, as faith is a matter of the heart, and only Allāh táālā knows the truth. However, we should be careful and heed the warnings mentioned in the ĥadīth, that certain traits indicate that one is a hypocrite. The above verse mentions one such trait: when the hypocrites stand for prayer, they do so lazily and pray only to show off to people, and they do not remember Allāh except little.983 We should abstain from such traits and behaviour. Other examples in the ĥadīth: Three signs of a hypocrite: When he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it and when he is given a trust, he is dishonest and betrays that trust.984 And in another narration: Four things, if found in someone, [he] is a hypocrite [munāfiq] – or – if he has one of these four traits, he has a trait of a hypocrite: He lies when he speaks, reneges after making a promise, betrays after making a pledge and becomes unjust when he fights.985 The last trait is also explained as: becomes abusive or resorts to expletives when he fights. Many other traits are mentioned such as, being two-faced, gluttony [A believer eats to fill one intestine, but the hypocrite tries to fill seven]; greed, profanity and obscenity. One who deliberately misses the Friday prayer for three consecutive weeks is said to be a hypocrite. Another prominent trait of a hypocrite is hatred for the Companions of RasūlAllāh ﷺ, especially those who hate Mawlā Álī رضي الله عنه as mentioned in the ĥadīth,986 and the Helpers987 [anşār] as mentioned in another ĥadīth. •

26. The Hypocrites will be in the Lowest Depths of Hell. اِنَّ الْمُنٰفِقِيْنَ فِى الدَّرْكِ الْاَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ Indeed, the Hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of Hell and you will never find for them a helper.988 •

27. Ĥadīth: Get Out, you are a Hypocrite. Imām Suyūţī states in the tafsīr of the verse: “And among those around you, from the bedouins, are hypocrites – and [some] among the people of Madīnah, who have become inured to hypocrisy; you do not know them – We know them...”989 Ibn Jarīr [al-Ţabarī], Ibn Abī Ĥātim, Ţabarānī in Awsaţ, Abu’sh Shaykh and Ibn Marduwayh report from Ibn Ábbās about this verse: RasūlAllāh ﷺ stood [on the pulpit] on a Friday for the sermon and said: “Stand up, so-and- so, get out, for indeed you are a hypocrite. Get out, so-and-so for indeed you are a hypocrite. He expelled them by their names and humiliated them. Úmar ibn al-Khaţţāb had not [yet] come to the prayer that Friday due to some reason and he met them as they [hypocrites] were exiting the masjid. So he tried to hide from them, embarrassed that he had not come for the Friday prayer, thinking that people were returning from prayer – and they tried to hide from Úmar thinking that he had learned about them. When Úmar entered the masjid, he saw that people had not dispersed [i.e. the prayer was not over yet]. A man informed him: “Good news Úmar! Allāh táālā has humiliated the hypocrites today – and this is the first punishment; the second punishment will be torment in the grave.” It is clear from the above report that Allāh táālā informed the Prophet ﷺ about the hypocrites as he named them one by one and expelled them from the masjid. •

28. Ismāýīl Dihlawī’s misinterpretation of the ĥadīth of prostrating towards graves. Ismāýīl Dihlawī added his blasphemous spin as an implied meaning [fā’idah] after quoting the following ĥadīth from Abū Dāwūd: Qays ibn Saád رضي الله عنهما said: I went to Ĥīrah and I saw them prostrating to the captain of their cavalry [marzubān] and I said, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ is more deserving to be prostrated to. He says: I came to the Prophet ﷺ of Allāh and told him: I went to Ĥīrah and saw them prostrating to their captain [marzubān] – but O Messenger of Allāh! You are more deserving to be prostrated to. He ﷺ said: “Do you not see that if you were to pass by my grave, would you prostrate to it?” [Qays] said: “No” He ﷺ said: “Then do not do it. If I were to allow anyone to prostrate to another [creature], I would command the women to prostrate to their husbands, because of their right that Allāh has placed upon them”.990 Ĥīrah was the capital of the Lakhmid kingdom of pre-Islamic Persia; today it is in Iraq and known as Hirta. Marzubān means ‘the head of the cavalry’ – i.e. the Captain of the Horse. The reason the Prophet ﷺ asked him whether he would prostrate to his grave and he replied in the negative was because it was known to the Companions at that time that it is not allowed to prostrate to the graves or pray facing them. In another narration: “It is not appropriate for one human to prostrate to another human.”991 The Prophet ﷺ forbade prostrating to anything in the creation – whether the sun, the moon or other humans.992 The reason the Prophet ﷺ prohibited the Companion – and rejected his request to prostrate to him – was NOT on the basis that his blessed body would decay [we seek Allāh’s refuge]. He was only emphasising that ‘You would not prostrate to me when I have passed away and have been placed in my grave – even though I will be alive even then – because Prophets are alive in their graves, and Allāh has forbidden the earth to consume the blessed bodies of Prophets. Thus, if you would not prostrate then because of the general prohibition of prostrating to anyone other than Allāh, so also, do not prostrate to me now. This is further supported by another ĥadīth in which Muáādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه, actually prostrated to the Prophet ﷺ after he returned from the Levant. The Prophet ﷺ asked: “What is this Muáādh?” He replied, I went to the Levant and I saw them prostrating to the Captain of the Horse [marzubān]; but O Messenger of Allāh! You are more deserving to be prostrated to their captains.993 Notice, that the Prophet ﷺ did not command him to renew his faith. If prostration was indeed idolatry [shirk], as claimed by Ismāýīl and other Wahābīs, then the Companion had committed shirk and rightfully, he should have repeated his faith. This proves that prostration to anyone other than Allāh without the intention of worship is forbidden, but not disbelief. Another point to note is that the Prophet ﷺ has the authority to allow or disallow anything in the Sharīáh; because he said: “If I would allow someone to prostrate another, I would command women to prostrate to their husbands”. In other words, he did not like it himself, and hence forbade it. Because, prostration of respect was allowed in previous sharīáh – such as Angels prostrating to Sayyidunā Ādam عليه السلام and the brothers of Sayyidunā Yūsuf عليه السلام prostrating to him, as mentioned in the Qur’ān. Commenting on the above ĥadīth, Ismāýīl said, even tweaking the translation to suit his whims: ...that we prostrate to you. So he said: “To me! Ponder, that if you were to pass by my grave would you prostrate to it?” I said “No.” He said: “Then do not do it.” Insight: That is, when one day, I too shall die and become dust [i.e. decay], then how am I deserving of being prostrated to? Prostration is due only to the Transcendent Being [i.e. Allāh] who does not die. We also learn from this ĥadīth that one should not prostrate to the living or the dead, nor towards any grave... Here also, the heretic Ismāýīl obliquely denied the şaĥīĥ ĥadīth which says: “Prophets are alive in their graves.” Because in his fā’idah, the reprobate said: “Neither the living, nor the dead.” Regardless, the entire explanation is a product of a wicked mind and a devilish whisper, and utter ignorance of the Qur’ān and sunnah! Anyone with a passing knowledge of tafsīr knows that the Qur’ān has mentioned that the Angels prostrated to Sayyidunā Ādam عليه السلام and it was a prostration of respect. Indeed, the prostration of worship is allowed only for Allāh táālā – but the Companions were not saying that they wanted to ‘worship’ the Prophet ﷺ; rather, they only wanted to do so as a mark of respect. If he only wanted to warn the people sternly, he could have done so without adding his faa and denigrating the Prophet ﷺ; instead of fā for fā’idah, it turned out to be fā for fuzūl.994 •

29. The difference between Ajr and Thawāb. Imām Ţaĥtāwī995 citing Imām Áynī: Ajr [reward] and thawāb [recompense] are synonyms. It is also said that thawāb is that which is obtained as assured by the law [uşūl al-sharīáh] and ajr is that which is gained due to complementing [mukammalāt] that which is duly deserved. Linguistically thawāb means emolument – payment that is duly deserved, and ajr is payment of dues with surplus. However, it is not incorrect to use one of these terms in place of another.996 •

30. Shāh Ábdu’l Ázīz Dihlawī’s opinion on Úrs. Replying to an objection by Mawlawi Ábdu’l Ĥakīm Punjabi, Imām Ábdu’l Ázīz Dihlawī wrote explaining the status of gatherings known as úrs: This criticism is due to critic’s ignorance about that which he criticises. Because, other than things which are ordained by the sharīáh [as obligatory], nobody considers anything else as obligatory. Yes, visiting graves of pious Muslims [şāliĥīn] and to derive blessings [barakah] by donating reward [of good deeds] and recite the Qur’ān and do duáā; thereafter distribute sweets or food is deemed a commendable act [amr mustaĥsin] and considered as good by the ijmāá of scholars. Appointing a day for the úrs [is only] because it is a remembrance of that day when the soul crosses from this World of Endeavour to the World of Reward [dār al-ámal, dār al-thawāb] otherwise, it can be done any day and will be a deed towards success and salvation.997 •