GOD’S NEEDLESSNESS ABOUT PLACE IN ISLAMIC HADITH

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THE ARGUMENTS by THE OPPONENTSWHY DO WE RAISE OUR HANDS TO THE SKIES WHEN WE PRAY?

This issue has been discussed at length in Islamic traditions recorded in Usul Kafi, Behar-ol-Anwar, Nahjul Balagha, Tawhid etc. We will not mention all the Hadith due to limitations but will present the best:

There is a Hadith about Imam Jafar Sadiq in which he said:

“God cannot be attached to time, place, movement, transfer and rest. He has created them all and is above what these unjust people attribute to Him.” (1)

The Hadith tells us that once Hazrat Ali heard a man swearing “By the God who rests above the seven heavens” the man thought that the place of God was the Arsh which is above the heavens. The Imam struck him on the head and said, “woe on you! God is above the fact that He is hidden in something or something is hidden from Him. He is pure and above place. Nothing is hidden from Him in the heavens and the earth.” The Hadith in the end tells us that the man asked, “Should I pay compensation for this oath?” the Imam said, and “No You have not sworn on God to give compensation but have sworn on some other.” (2)

One Hadith tells us that Suleiman bin Mehraan asked Imam Jafar Sadiq, “Can we say that God is at so and so place?’ the Imam replied, “God is far above what you say. If He is found in a place then He will be contingent because he who lives in a house is dependent and need is the sign of contingency. This is not the attribute of the eternal and ever living God.” (3)

Some one asked Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib, “Where was God before the creation of the heavens and the earth?” The Imam answered, “Where was he? He was but there was no place and He still has no place.”

Imam Musa Kazim is reported to have said in another Hadith:

“God was ever present before place and time were created and He still is, no place is without Him, and He have never been busy with any place. He has never entered or stayed in any place”(4)

It is clear from all the above Hadith that the Imams were asked about the

station of God and they always refuted such ideas. These unanimous explanations are so enlightening that no doubt remains after them. (5)

The books Irshad and Ehtejaj record that once two Jews came asking about the Successor of the Apostle of God and someone directed them to Abu Bakar; they looked at him and said, “ this is not whom we mean.” They asked the Khalifa, “what relation do you have with the Messenger?’ He answered, ‘I am from his family and he has married my daughter Ayesha.”

“Is there any other relationship?’ they asked and he said, “No” So then they said that this is no relationship. “ Where is your God?” they asked. The Khalifa answered, “Above the seven heavens” they again asked, “Is He anywhere else?” and he answered “No”. They said, “Direct us to a person who has more knowledge than you. You are not the person we read about in the Torah. Only he will be the successor of the Messenger.” Abu Bakar got very angry and threatened them.

Then someone sent them to Omar bin Khattab and when they met him they asked him, “What is your relationship with the Messenger?” He said, “I am from his family because he has married daughter Hafsa” They asked “any other relationship?’ He said, “No” then they said that it was no special relationship and this is not the sign mentioned in the Torah.” They asked, “where is your God?’ He answered, “On the seventh heaven” they asked, “Does He live anywhere else?” He answered “No” they said, “Tell us about the person who has more knowledge than you” He sent them to Hazrat Ali. When they met him one of them said “This must be him who is described in the Torah. He is the successor of God’s Messenger who gave his daughter to him. He is the father of his grandchildren and he is the one who stands for the truth. They asked the Imam, “what is your relationship with the Messenger?’ He said, “I am his successor and I was the first to believe in him and am married to his daughter Fatima” They said, “This is the relationship that can be boasted about and this is the closest relationship. These are the attributes mentioned in the Torah. Then asked their question and He said, “I have heard about your question and the answer given but I say that He has created places so how can He be in one of them? He is far elevated to declare some place His abode. Have you not read in your book that Moses was sitting when an angel appeared so he asked, “Where have you come from??” He answered, “From our Lord” Then another angel came from the west and he asked, “Where have you come from?” He too said, “From God” Yet another angel came and he asked the same and he said, “I come from the seventh heaven and God” the next angel told him that he had come from seven earth and from God. Moses said, “Free and pure is God that no place is empty of Him and no place is closer to Him than another place.”

The Jew said, “I give witness that you are the most suitable successor of the Apostle of God.” (6)

We will end this discussion with the sermon (176) of Hazrat Ali recorded in Nahjul Balagha: He says, “Neither time makes any changes in Him nor can any place contain Him. No human words can explain Him.”

In sermon 184 the Imam says, “God will undoubtedly be alone after the destruction of the world. Nothing will be with Him just like it was before the creation of this world. He will be without time, place or station”

In Sermon No 49 the Imam says, “He is so elevated that nothing can be higher than Him. He is so close that nothing can be closer than Him. His elevated status has not distanced Him from the creations and His closeness did not make Him stand in line with others.”

These are the true and logical explanations that have reached us through the Ahlulbait and the revelations.

 


 

1. Behar-ol-Anwar vol.3 page 309
2. Behar-ol-Anwar vol.3 page 310
3. Tawhid by Shaykh Suduq page 178 Hadith 11
4. Tawhid of Shaykh Suduq page 175 Hadith 4
5. Tawhid of Shaykh Suduq page 178 Hadith12
6. Tawhid by Shaykh Suduq page 180 Hadith15

 

 

THE ARGUMENTS by THE OPPONENTSWHY DO WE RAISE OUR HANDS TO THE SKIES WHEN WE PRAY?
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