Is there any proven report that attributes a knee to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted?

I read in the book Naqd 'Uthmaan ibn Sa'eed 'alaBishr al-Muraysi the
following report from Mujaahid: "Dawood will say on the Day of
Resurrection: 'Bring me closer.' It will be said to him: 'Come
closer." So hewill come closer until he touches His knee.'"
Do Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah believe that Allah has a knee? Did
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah or Ibn Baaz or Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may
Allah have mercy on them all) say that? Is this report attributed to
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?.
Praise be to Allaah.
What the questioner has mentioned about the report of Mujaahid was
narrated by ad-Daarimi (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book
an-Naqd (p. 463) via Sufyaan ibn 'Uyaynah from Humayd al-A'raj from
Mujaahid.
In the commentary of Shaykh Mansoor as-Saamiri on an-Naqd, it says
that this report was narrated by 'Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his
book as-Sunnah (hadeeth 1085, 1181) from Mujaahid from 'Ubayd ibn
'Umayr, without any mention of touching the knee, and he classed it as
saheeh from him.
There are other narrations and versions of the report from Mujaahid,
'Ubayd ibn 'Umayr, Sa'eed ibn Jubayr and others, with isnaads some of
which are saheeh and some areda'eef. All of these narrators are among
thesenior Taabi'een. Even if these people were narrating from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), these reports
would be classed as mursal and da'eef, but they did not narrate
thatfrom the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him);
perhaps they narrated it from the books of the Children of Israel.
Whatever the case, the basic principle of Ahl as-Sunnah (may Allah
have mercy on them) was not to ascribe any attribute to Allah, may He
be exalted, on the basis of the words of anyof the Sahaabah or
Taabi'een; rather attributes can only be ascribed to Allah, may Hebe
exalted, on the basis of the texts of the Qur'aan and saheeh Sunnah.
The attributes of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, are
tawqeefi, which means that nothing of that nature can be ascribed to
Him except that which Allah ascribed to Himself or that His Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him ascribed to Him, becauseno
one is more knowledgeable about Allah than He Himself, and no created
being is more knowledgeable about his Creator than the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
At the same time, Ahl as-Sunnah do not deny any attribute for Allah,
may He be exalted, except that which Allah Himself negated or that His
Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) negate.
Seeing as the "knee" is not proven in any verse or saheeh hadeeth, we
do not ascribe it to Allah,may He be exalted, because it is not
proven. But we do not deny it either, because there is no text of the
Qur'aan orSunnah to that effect. If this attribute was proven in the
texts of the Qur'aan or Sunnah, then our attitude towards it would be
the same as our attitude towards all the other divine attributes that
areproven in the Qur'aan and Sunnah, which is to affirm it and to
believe in it without any distortion, denial, likening Him to His
creation or discussing how.
See the answer to question no. 145804
We have not seen this attribute affirmed in the books of Shaykh
al-IslamIbn Taymiyah or Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on them),
and it has not been confirmed by our two contemporary shaykhs, Ibn
Baaz and al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on them).
And Allah knows best.

Translating the names and attributes of Allah into other languages and swearing by them

Is it permissible to translate the names and attributes of Allah into
a language other than Arabic, such as saying "God" in English, or
"Khoda" in Kurdish, meaning Allah? is it permissible to swear by these
names in the languages mentioned?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
There are a number of conditions which must be met for it to be
permissible to translate the meanings of the names and attributes of
Allah into a language other than Arabic:
1. The one who is translating the words should have deep knowledge
of the Arabiclanguage and of the language into which he is
translating.
2. He should be trustworthy in his translation.
3. He should have knowledge of sharee'ah and he should be a
follower of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah, otherwise he cannot be
trusted not to introduce misguided and deviant beliefs into his
translation.
For a fatwa from the scholars discussing the conditions of this
matterbeing permissible, please see the answers to questions no. 9347
and 98553
Secondly:
One of these rulings is swearing oaths. Oaths may be sworn by any of
the names and attributesof Allah, may He be exalted, even if that is
in a language other than Arabic. Whoever utters these words referring
to the Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, then his oath is binding
and he must offer expiation if he breaks it.
Ibn Hazm said: There is no (valid) oath except one that is sworn by
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, either by one of His names or
by one of the attributes that He has told us of, and not referring to
anyone other than Him, such as the Controller of the hearts, the
Inheritor of the earth and everythingon it, the One in Whose hand is
my soul, the Lordof the Worlds, and so on.That may be said in all
languages. Or (one may swear) by the knowledge of Allah, or by His
power, His might, His majesty, and so on, as mentioned in the text.If
a person swears by any of that, he has indeed sworn an oath and if he
breaks it then he must offer expiation.
End quote from al-Muhalla, 8/30
Ibn al-Humaam al-Hanafi(may Allah have mercy on him) said: If he says
in Farsi "I swear by God",this is an oath by Allah.
End quote from Fath al-Qadeer, 5/76
Whatever the case, whoever refers by these words to the Lord of the
Worlds, then the shar'i rulings (on oaths) come into effect. If a
person swears an oath in his own language referring to the One Lord,
then theoath is binding.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:The
Lord, may He be glorified, may be referred to in Arabic as Allah,
ar-Rahmaan (the Most Gracious), ar-Raheem (the Most Merciful), and in
Farsi as Khoda and so on, but He,may He be glorified, is One, and
there are manyways to refer to Him.
End quote from al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 6/568
But what the Muslim should use in his worship, his du'aa'
(supplication) and all other circumstances when referring to Allah,
may He be exalted and glorified, is the word "Allah" as it is, because
that has become a symbol for the Muslims and something that
distinguishes them, and it helps to avoid any confusion between
whatthey mean and what others mean when they say "God", as others may
sometimes be referring to Allah, but sometimes they may be referring
to something else.
Everything that we have mentioned above applies to one who does not
have a good knowledge of Arabic; as for the one who has a good
knowledge of Arabic, it is permissible for him to use the translated
words in order to explain Islam and help others to understand it. But
when offering du'aa' or swearing oaths, he has to avoid doing that
with words other than the known Arabic words for the divine names and
attributes, as they are confirmed in the Qur'aanand Sunnah.
And Allah knows best.

Is it permissible to say “So and so is my benefactor (wali ni‘mati)”?

Is it permissible to say "So and so is my benefactor (wali ni'mati)"?
Praise be to Allah.
The basic principle is that the One who is to be described as wali
an-ni'mah (benefactor or source of blessings) is Allah, may He be
exalted,Who bestows His abundant blessings, both visible and
invisible, upon His slave.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
All goodness is to be attributed to Allah; it is in His hands, by His
leaveand from Him. He is the benefactor and source of the individual's
blessings, as He is the One Who initiated them without anyone being
entitled to them; He bestows them upon him,even though the individual
may be displeasing Him by his turning away from Him and his negligence
and sin. So Allah deserves all praise and thanks, and the slave
deserves blame, criticism and shame.
End quote from al-Fawaa'id, p. 113.
But that does not prevent any of His slaves whom He has blessed from
being a benefactor or source of blessings to another of His slaves.
Yetit must be noted that there is a huge difference between the true
blessings of Allah to all of His slaves, as He is the Creator of those
blessings and the One Who divides provision among them and causes
provision to come down from His stores, and the blessings that some of
His slaves bestow upon others, from what Allah has given to them and
caused them to possess and put under their control. They are no more
than a means of directing the blessings of Allah to other slaves of
Allah. The blessings bestowed by the Creator are unlimited, whereas
the blessings bestowed by people are limited to what Allah has given
to them.
Giving the name "benefactor" or"source of blessings" (wali an-ni'mah)
to the one who does a favour is something that is knownin Arabic
language and in Islam. The closest thing to that and the most
well-known example is the use of this name for a master who has
manumitted a slave.
Al-Bayhaqi (21966) narrated that Huzayl ibn Shurahbeel said: A man
came to 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood and said: I manumitted a slave of mine
and made him a saa'ibah (a freed slave with no wala' connection to
anyone), then he died and left behind some wealth. 'Abdullah said: The
people of Islam did not free slaves as saa'ibah; rather the people of
the Jaahiliyyah used to do that. You are his heir and his benefactor
or the source of his blessings (wali ni'matihi). If you are not
comfortable with that, then show it to us and we will put it in the
bayt al-maal (the treasury of the Muslims)."
This report was originally narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6753
Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Mashaariq (2/18):
The "benefactor" or "source of blessing" (wali an-ni'mah) is the one
who manumits a slave. End quote.
Al-Jassaas (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Ahkaam al-Qur'aan (2/231):
(It refers to) the master who has manumitted a slave, because he is
the source of the favour of manumission. Hence he is called "source of
blessing" or "benefactor" (wali an-ni'mah). End quote.
He also (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
He (the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) made the
rights of the "benefactor" or "source of blessing" (wali an-ni mah,
i.e., the master who manumits a slave) like the rights of the father.
The evidence for that is the hadeeth: "No son can repay his father
unless he finds him enslaved and buys him and manumits him." (Narrated
by Muslim, 1510). So he described the ransom of the father as
equivalent to his rights (over his son), andequal to his favours to
his son.
End quote from Ahkaam al-Qur'aan, 1/169
See also: Sharh Muntaha al-Iraadaat, 2/500; Kashshaaf al-Qinaa',
4/405; Ikhtilaaf al-A'immah al-'Ulama', 2/85; Anees al-Fuqaha', p. 98;
al-Fawaakih ad-Dawaani, 2/250
In linguistic terms:
Ibn Manzoor (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The master who is the "benefactor" or "source of blessings" is the one
who manumits the slave i.e., he blesses his slave by manumitting him.
End quote from Lisaan al-'Arab, 15/405
See also: Tahdheeb al-Lughah, 5/205; al-Misbaah al-Muneer, 2/614; Taaj
al-'Uroos, 40/243.
Based on that, there seems to be no reason not to use this phrase to
refer to some people, bearing in mind the difference mentioned above.
However there is the fear that this matter may involve some going to
extremes and exaggerating about people. In that case it should not be
used for that reason, not becausea person cannot be a source of
blessing to another.
And Allah knows best.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Spiritual Muscles

Every part of you must beexercised in order to grow stronger. Those
who memorize Quran, study for advanced degrees, or perform other
difficult mental tasks know that it becomes easier with time. The
brain responds by building neural connections that, essentially, make
you smarter.
With the body it's obvious, right? A weightlifter lifts 100 pounds one
week, his muscles get stronger, andthe next week he can lift 105. As
long as he keeps challenging himself, his muscles continue growing, to
the limits of his genetic capacity. If hequits working out, his
muscles shrink.
As for the soul, it is exercised through hardship. There's no getting
around this. Our spiritual muscles are developed by confronting pain
and loss.
Allah says,
"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a
loss of wealth and lives and fruits…" - Quran, Al-Baqarah, 2:155-157
My friend Bilal Mustapha comments on this verse,
"God has to test us with lost of life, property, love ones, health,
money, beauty, power, influence,prestige, ego, relationships,
knowledge…etc. to provethat we are who we say we are or claim to be,
and there's no shortcut or easy way around it. True Believers have to
be separated from the Fake Ones. With that said, LET'SGET READY TO
RUMMMMMBLLLLLE!!! (in my Michael Buffer voice)"
(Yes, Bilal is much more interesting than I am).
This is why the Prophet Muhammad (sws) said, "When Allah desires
goodfor someone, He tries himwith hardships." (Al-Bukhari)
A bodybuilder must lift huge weights in order to challenge himself. A
believer is tested more severely than the average person because he's
already powerful. A lesser test would be no test at all. It's got to
hit hard, it's got to be heavy.
Then why bother? Wouldn't it be easier to be a weak, apathetic
non-believer and not be afflicted with tests?
Let's read the rest of the ayah quoted above:
"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a
loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the
patient, who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeedwe belong to
Allah , and indeed to Him we will return. Those are the ones upon whom
are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is thosewho are the
[rightly] guided." - Quran 2:155-157
Those tests bring blessings and mercy fromAllah, in ways we see
anddon't see. They help us lead lives of meaning, and if we are
patient then the results accrue for us in Jannah. From the moment we
die, we see the results of all the tests we suffered. We see light,
and ease, and comfort. I know this because I have been told so in the
Quran and by the Messenger of Allah (sws), and I believe it. It makes
sense to me, and it's confirmed by countless anecdotal near-death
experiences from cultures all over the world.
Don't be jealous when you see that those who commit evil on earth are
living in luxury. The tyrants of the world who steal billions, or the
capitalists who build wealth on the suffering of others, or any who
gain coin through haram means; and even those whose work is halal but
who hold their money back from the needy :- that wealth is an anvil
around their necks. It is their test, and most of them are failing
miserably.
Don't fear hardship. When the time comes to exercise your spiritual
muscles, stay firm in faith. This is how we grow into our potential,
how we prove ourselves. In the words of Helen Keller, who was blind
and deaf from childhood and yet became an author and women's rights
advocate, "We could never learn to be brave & patient, if there were
only joys in the world."
This is Allah's manhaj , His way, His methodology of life. It makes
perfect sense because it's rooted in the way things really work. So
let's welcome the opportunity to use our spiritual muscles.
This is not all theoretical for me. The day I wrote this article, I
was treated badly by someone close to me, I was stressed about the
future, and I was berating myself for not being as good a father as I
would like. Strangely enough it was also the day of the Eid picnic,
and amid the crowd of Muslim families I found myself feeling very
alone.
So I wrote this piece for all of you and as a reminder to myself,
because I do know the solution: Pray, meditate, contemplate Allah's
love and care for you. Enjoy what you have. Appreciate the small
things in life. Be brave. Dare to dream, and then make those dreams
happen. Lift that weight, move that rock, and forge ahead with a
straight back and clear sight.