Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah : Lesson 19
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|English]
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
And His saying, He the Most High:
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ وَالنُّجُومَ مُسَخَّرَاتٍ بِأَمْرِهِ ۗ أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ ۗ تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Indeed your Lord is Allaah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He ascended upon the Throne. He causes the night to cover the day, it follows it swiftly, and the sun and the moon and the stars are subservient to His command. Certainly creation and commandment are His alone. Exalted is Allaah, the Lord of the whole of the creation. [7:54] 8
[8]: Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan’s Explanation :
“Inna”: this is a particle for emphasis and it brings about the accusative case, and it is an introduction for an oath. An oath is to be understood as coming before it, which is taken to be, “By Allaah!”. “Inna Rabbakum”, (indeed your Lord): so this is the complement of the understood oath. “Inna Rabbakum”: meaning, your Creator and the One Who nurtured you with favours.
“… is Allaah”: not anyone else besides Him, He the Perfect and Most High.
And then He mentioned the proof for that saying:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ
The One Who created the heavens and the earth [7:54]
This is the clear proof for the Lordship of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, that He created the heavens and the earth. No-one else created anything from either of them, and no-one helped Him, He the Perfect and Most High upon that. Rather He is alone in creating.
خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ
He created the heavens and the earth [7:54]
Does anyone from the people of shirk or the atheists oppose this and say, “Allaah did not create the heavens and the earth, rather the one who created them was so-and-so”, or, “I created them”, or “Such-and-such idol created them”? Has anyone from the creation said this in previous times or lately, even though this aayah is recited night and day, and no-one can oppose it, and nor will anyone ever be able to oppose it.
فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ – “In six days”: these awe-inspiring and tremendous created things were created by Allaah in six days, and He was able to create them in a single moment, however He created them in six days for a wise purpose which is known to Him, He the Perfect and Most High. And the six days, the first of them was Sunday and the last of them was the day of Friday. So on the day of Friday the creation was completed, and therefore this day became the greatest of the days of the week. And it is the noblest one of the days, and it is the ‘Eed of the week and it is the most excellent of the days.
Allaah’s Messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallaam said:
خير يوم طلعت فيه الشمس يوم الجمعة
“The best day on which the sun has arisen, is the day of Friday”[1]
[1] Reported by Muslim and Aboo Daawood and At-Tirmidhee and An-Nasaa’ee from a hadeeth of Aboo Hurayrah radiy Allaahu ‘anhu
Because the creation of the creation was completed on it, and on it Aadam was created, and he was entered into paradise and he was sent down from it and on it the Last Hour will be established, all of that will be on the day of Friday, so it is the most excellent of the days, and it was the last of the days of the creation of the heavens and the earth and whatever they contain.
ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ
Then He ascended upon the Throne [7:54]
This (i.e. ثُمَّ “thumma”) is a particle which joins and which indicates sequence, meaning that His Ascending upon the Throne came after the creation of the heavens and the earth because it is from the Attributes which are actions which Allaah does whenever He wishes.
And the meaning of Istawaa’ (He ascended upon) is: He ascended and was High.
Al-‘Arsh: it is the ceiling of the created things. And it is in the language: as-Sareer (a throne), and it is a Throne which has supports and is carried by the Angels and it is the greatest and most tremendous of the created things, and the highest one of the created things.
Al-Istiwaa’ (ascending): is an Attribute from the Attributes of Allaah which are actions, as befits His Majesty, He the Perfect and Most High. It is not like the mounting of one created being upon another created object, and He has no need of the Throne since He is the One Who holds and maintains the Throne and other than it:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا ۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَا إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِهِ
Allaah holds the heavens and the earth lest they should move away from their places, and if they were to move away from their places, then no-one else besides Him could hold them. [35:41]
So the Throne is in need of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, since it is something created, and Allaah has no need of the Throne or anything else. However, He ascended upon it for a wise purpose which is known to Him, He the Perfect and Most High. And Al-Istiwaa’ (Ascending) is a type of Al-‘Uloow (being High and Exalted), however Al-‘Uloow is an Attribute of His Self. As for Al-Istiwaa’ then it is an Attribute which is an action which He does whenever He wishes He the Perfect and Most High.
يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ
He causes the night to cover the day [7:54]
He causes the night to be covered over with the day, and He causes the day to be covered over with the night so you see the creation being in light and then the night covers it over and it becomes dark, and the night is covered over by the day so it becomes bright.
يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا
It pursues it swiftly [7:54]
This one comes after that one immediately and is not delayed. So when the night departs the day comes, and when they day departs the night comes right away, this one is not delayed after this one. And this is from the completeness of His Ability, He the Perfect and Most High, that this one does not lag behind that one. And the sun is the tremendous star which is well-known, and the moon is likewise a celestial body from the seven major celestial bodies which orbit around each one of them floats and orbits around the earth, and the earth is fixed and still, He made it settled – meaning settled and firm for the welfare of the servants, and the sun and the rest of the celestial bodies orbit around it, not as is said by the people of conjecture who now say, those who claim to have knowledge, they say that the sun is fixed and the earth orbits around it, this is the opposite of what occurs in the Qur’aan.
وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا
And the sun runs on its fixed course to its appointed term [36:38]
Whereas they say the sun is fixed, O how Perfect is Allaah!
“And the stars”: they are the stars, “they are subservient to His command”: they are subservient in their moving around and their orbiting continually and not slackening, and this a refutation of those who worship the sun and the moon and the stars, because they are subservient to the command of Allaah, they are under command. Allaah is the One Who causes them to move, and it is Allaah who can cause them to stop if He wishes, He the Perfect and Most High. So they are subservient, under control, they have no control at all over the affairs.
So He the Perfect commands them, so they proceed, and they orbit and they give off light in accordance with His creational command, He the Perfect and Most High. This one rises and this one sets, and they follow each other in succession.
Ash-Shams (the sun), and Al-Qamar (the moon) and An-Nujoom (the stars) are in the accusative case because of being conjoined, because As-Samaawaat (the heavens) was in the accusative case, because it was the object of the verb, and the sign that it is in the accusative case is that it has a kasrah upon it in place of the fat-hah, because it is a sound feminine plural. And Al-Ard (the earth) is in the accusative case as is shown by the fat-hah, then He said, “and the sun and the moon” – they are joined grammatically to something [2] which is in the accusative case and what is joined to something in the accusative case is itself in the accusative case.
[2] i.e. they are ‘joined’ to the heavens grammatically.
“Musakhkharaatin”, (they are subservient): is the accusative case because it is the accusative of state or condition, meaning their condition is that they are subservient. And the sign that it is in the accusative case is a kasrah in place of a fat-hah, because it is joined to a sound feminine plural.
He said:
أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ
Certainly creation and commandment are His alone [7:54]
“Alaa”: is a term to draw attention and to affirm something.
“For Him”: meaning He the Perfect and Most High, not for anyone else besides Him.
“Creation”: it is to bring something into existence, so He is the One Who is Fully Able to create whenever He wants to, He the Perfect and Most High, He creates whatever He wishes.
“And the command”: His command, He the Perfect and Most High, and it is His speech, He the Perfect and Most High, His creational command and His legislational command.
His Creational Command: that which He has commanded the created beings with and they obey Him in it and respond to Him, such as His saying:
فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ ائْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا
So He said to it (the heavens) and to the earth, come about both of you willingly or unwillingly [41:11]
He commanded the two of them He the Perfect, and this was a creational command which He commanded the heavens and the earth with, so they came into being.
إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ
His command is just that when He wants something He says to it “Be!”, and it is. [36:82]
This is Allaah’s Creational Command.
As for His Legislational Command: then it is His revelation which was sent down by which He commands His servants. He commands them to worship Him, He commands them with the prayer, He commands them with the Zakaat, He commands them with dutifulness to the parents, this is His Legislational Command. Entering into it are His commands and prohibitions which are in the honourable Qur’aan and in the Prophetic Sunnah. This is from the command of Allaah the Perfect and Most High.
And since creation and commandment are for Him, then what remains for other than Him, He the Perfect and Most High? And therefore Ibn ‘Umar said when he recited this aayah, “Whoever has something then let him seek after it”. And the aayah proves the difference between creating and commanding, so it contains a refutation of those who say that the Qur’aan is created, because the Qur’aan is from the command, and Allaah’s command is not a created thing, since Allaah made a difference between creating and between commanding. So He made them two separate things, and the Qur’aan enters into His command, so it is not something created.
And this is what Imaam Ahmad used to overcome the Jahmiyyah in argument when they requested from him that he should say that the Qur’aan was something created. He said, “Is the Qur’aan from the creation or from the command?” They responded, “The Qur’aan is from His command.” He said, “The command is something different to the creation. Allaah made a difference between this and between the creation. So He made the creation one thing and His command something else.”
The command is His speech, and as for the creation then it is His bringing into existance and making something. There is a difference between them.
“Tabaarak Allaah”: means: tremendously great is the One whose actions are these, He the Perfect and Most High. And whose Ability is such and these are the things which He has created, He the Exalted and Most High.
And, “Tabaarak”: is a verb which is used specifically for Him, He the Perfect, so it cannot be applied to anyone besides Him. And al-Barakah (blessing) it means abundance of good and its increase, and the blessings which come from Allaah the Majestic and Most High do not end. As for a created being, it cannot be said about him, “tabaarak”. Rather it can be said to him, “mubaarak” meaning, “May you receive blessing”, meaning may Allaah put blessing into him and make him blessed. And all blessing is from Allaah the Perfect and Most High.
“The Lord of the whole of creation”: just as preceded.
So this aayah contains affirmation of at-Tawheed, tawheed of Allaah’s Lordship and tawheed of Allaah’s right to worship, as has preceded.
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Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah. Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles of Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab by Shaykh Saalih ibn Fowzaan al-Fowzaan hafizahullaah. Translated by Daawood Burbank, rahimahullaah
Posted with kind permission from Dawud Burbank rahimahullaah
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