. J (cont.)

In numerous places in the Quran, Allah makes it clear that the unbelievers cannot harm Allah in any way. For example, Allah states, .!I. ,,.,, 0 .... ;::; (.. J .,. ,,.,, """' .... ,.. \ฮ :ǣH ;11 IJ I ? 0Y-fJl @::UI dij;; ) "And let not those grieve you [O Muhammad] who rush with haste to unbelief; verily, not the least harm will they do to Allah" (ali-Imraan 176). All of the creation belongs to Allah while He is not in need of any of it. A verse states, .,. J ,,,. ... .!I. .... .,.,.# .... 4/ I i)°Ji :JI I /·:-7, 1..,. , • .i.; . u • . . , o I ଻Ǩ , . . ଞ( ห- - ೡ ศ rส i./'J ) "Allah's hand is full. [Its fullness] is not affected by continuous spending, day and night." He [the Prophet (peace be upon him) then] said, "Do you see what He has spent since He created the Heavens and the Earth? All of it did not decrease what is in His hand." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) Ibn Taimiya's Discussion of This Portion of the Hadith Ibn Taimiya has one of the most detailed and informative discussions of this portion of the hadith. He states that it has been interpreted in two different ways. 1 The first interpretation is that Allah has everything existing with Him and from that storage He gives to whomever He wills. In this case, what He gives does actually decrease, although relative to the large amount He possesses, the decrease is virtually nothing. This is why, in this portion of the hadith, Allah said, "decrease what is with me," and He did not say, "decrease My dominion." Now, when things are given from one to another, they 1 Ibn Taimiya, Majmoo, vol. 1 8, pp. 196-201 . Hadith #24: "O My Servants, I have Forbidden Wrongdoing . . . " sometimes decrease their source and sometimes they do not, depending on their nature. For example, if a person has one hundred dollars and gives ten dollars to somebody else, what he has left is ninety dollars. However, one person may impart to another person some of his knowledge; the other person receives it while the giver's knowledge has not decreased in any fashion. So if the reference is to things that are with Allah, they may decrease. But His dominion does not decrease at all because what He gives is still part of His dominion. The second way of viewing this phrase is to understand the word, "decrease," in the same way that it is used in the famous hadith concerning Moses and Khidr. In that hadith, recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim, Khidr told Moses, upon seeing a bird take a drink from the sea, "O Moses, my knowledge and your knowledge does not decrease Allah's knowledge except like what this bird has taken from this sea." Obviously, Allah's knowledge remains with Him at all times and does not leave Him at all, even when He imparts some of it to others. In other words, the word "decrease" here does not mean decrease in the way that word is normally understood. Therefore, what Allah gives could be part of His dominion but it can be imparted to others without any decrease in the original, in the same way that Moses' and Khidr's knowledge is separate and distinct from Allah's knowledge. Alternatively, Allah gives from what is with Him and part of His dominion but what He gives is virtually nothing in comparison to all that He has, in the same way that a needle takes virtually nothing from the mass of an ocean. "O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon for you. Then I recompense you for them." This hadith began by Allah stating the fact that He does not commit any zulm. At the end of the hadith, He demonstrates His justice by showing that He is preserving the deeds that mankind is performing. All of mankind will be recompensed according to those deeds. No one will be wronged in any way. Everyone's deeds will be presented and weighed. Allah says, J,.,. \;,.. à/ J' "Ƴ: ੼ ,,.,,. 0 J,. ,,. 1.f·; à,,,. J' "Ƴ: ੽ ,.. .,,,,. ,,,. ,,,. JO_r.. Y:,. OJ Ui.. ȓ if) CQ JO_r.. _;:.>- OJ Ui.. Ĝ u-9 J' ,,.. "/ ,,.. "So whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom shall see it. And whoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom shall see it" (al-Zalzalah 78). The most apparent meaning of this phrase is that the people shall be recompensed in the Hereafter. Allah has said, ... •,., J à i:ii ೟' ,..., ,.. .,J. ,.. J t / •. ,.. , .. wr' ,,. ȓ,,. i.J-1. FJЋ ǢYY ; "And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be recompensed in full" (ali­ Imraan 185). Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Ibn Rajah points out the recompense could possibly be both in this world and the Hereafter.