Thank you for your enlightening responses Sayyid Ahmad Uwaisi Sahib, Naqshbandi Sahib and all those who contributed
Wa Alaykum as Salam Naqshbandi Sahib, Thank you for these quotes: 1. “It is not permissible for those that do not understand our terminologies to study our books” (Al-Fatāwā al-Hadīthiyya, pg 211 2. al-Safadi said regarding ibn al Arabi alayhie rehma's work al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (“The Meccan Conquests”) : “I saw that from beginning to end it consists in the doctrine of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari without any difference whatsoever.” [In as-Suyuti, Tanbih al-Ghabi (p. 71).] If you could find on the archives the page I started called 'A Wee Project', put them in there, as the understanding of Shaykh al Akbar is most important in Sunnism. To the original questioner, brother 'Ahlus Sunnah': Muhyddin's view of the Prophet being "Sami' al Basir", based on the Quranic verse you quoted would definitely get the approval of scholars during the 17th-19th centuries, particularly after the Deoband controversy, this is because it brought out the hidden Sufi knowledge of the attributes of the Prophet being 'Shahid al Alam', the Witness of the Cosmos. There would definitely be no dispute on that aqida point among any of Ahlus Sunnah, and definitely after the reign of Ala Hazrat on Islamic thought, approving such beliefs would be a key point of Sunni belief, and is the source of Sunnism's spiritual thought. Please reply to let us know what you make of all this inshallah.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Salaam sayyed sahib Nicely put, there maybe a few reasons why the brother asked maybe such a point is outside of his knowledge, since sayyidina ibne al arabi (A reviver of the deen - mujjaddad) at the beginning of his books he clearly states: “It is not permissible for those that do not understand our terminologies to study our books” (Al-Fatāwā al-Hadīthiyya, pg 211, Al-Fikr) No one should read his book(s) unless they have the requisite knowledge of the Deen (aqeeda, fiqh kalaam etc), so it is highly unlikely that the brother has come across such quote or thoughts as you have stated it is the level of knowledge of people like Muhuyydeen Sayyedi Abdul Qadir al Gaylani radi allahu ta'ala anho, Mujjaddad Paak and mulla Abdur Rahman jami (may Allah bless them all). al-Safadi said regarding ibn al Arabi alayhie rehma's work al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (“The Meccan Conquests”) : “I saw that from beginning to end it consists in the doctrine of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari without any difference whatsoever.” [In as-Suyuti, Tanbih al-Ghabi (p. 71).] Allah knows best
To brother 'Ahlus Sunnah': "What is the majority opinion on this?" When it comes to majority opinion, it involves subjects which were debated by theologians in Kalam books, and lawyers in Fiqh books, and so we look at these and we tell, in retrospect, "Ah yes, these scholars had ijma on this subject", involving basic matters of creed (six pillars) and basic matters of fiqh (five pillars). When it came to metaphysics, scholars of theology and law did not discuss or debate these, and the discourse was slowing down around the time of Nasafi, so if you read Sharh al Aqaid, you will get a general picture of the theological beliefs that scholars were debating from the Umayyad period, all the way down to Middle Ages when Nasafi wrote his works on creed. However, for things like Metaphysics, and especially, Prophetology, scholars did not discuss these things in a way that they did with other subjects because there was no need for them to do so and it was not a necessity. Also, this is more of a 'spiritual' matter that was only revealed to people who looked into it. Ibn Arabi was a person who reflected on Islamic truths from an experiential perspective and therefore he formulated opinions on the metaphysics of the prophet, not from rational investigation as is done with law, but just through gradual illumination. His information comes within the category of ilham, things which occur to an individual who goes through the spiritual path, and the most important subject for him and others on his way, such as al Hallaj, and other Sufi masters, such as Ghaws e Azam and Imam Rabbani, was the metaphysical realities of the Prophet. If he recorded something about it, i.e. the doctrine of 'insan al Kamil', there would not be anyone on his same level to refute him, as he was alone in his ability to see those things. In the book 'ash Shifa' by Qadi Iyad, he had recorded sections on the miraculous qualities of the Messenger. This was different from how theology books were written. Qadi Iyad wrote those hadiths from his own will to show people the greater abilities of the Messenger, whereas theology books were written to record the majority opinions on past debates. So for the latter types of books, seeing ijma is easy. But for the former types of books, seeing ijma is not so relevant, as it pertains to metaphysics and that area of information is all 'Relative', to the experience of the individual. The poetry of people like Ala Hazrat or others about the spiritual powers of the Prophet is something metaphysical as well, and you can use that sort of information to check if their views on the Messenger are the same. But as far as Ahlus Sunnah is concerned, they do not check people on 'praise' of the Messenger, that is the job of Deobandis and Wahhabis. Ahlus Sunna is only concerned on checking people on 'insult' of the Prophet, which is again, the job of Deobandis and Wahhabis. As far as the Usul of Ahlus Sunna is concerned on 'praise' of the Messenger, nobody has expressed it like al Busiri, who said something along the lines of 'Leave what the Christians say about their prophet, then say what you will in praise of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam'.
وفى التأويلات وفى قوله { انه هو السميع البصير } اشارة الى ان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم هو السميع الذى قال الله " كنت سمعا له في يسمع وبى يبصر " فتحقيقه لنريه من آيتنا المخصوصة بجمالنا وجلالنا انه هو السميع بسمعنا البصير ببصرنا فانه لا يسمع كلامنا الا بسمعنا ولا يبصر جمالنا الا ببصرنا (Tafsir Ruh al bayan)
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Salaam brother, can you give us a reference for your quote? Where did Sayyedina shaykhi akber say this since there will be a context for stating such a thing? Allah (subhana wa tallah) states in Qur’an: Surah An Nahl (16) Verse 7: “And they carry your heavy loads to lands that ye could not (otherwise) reach except with souls distressed: for your Lord is indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful i.e. Rauf ur Raheem” According to The Holy Quran Qualities of Rauf, Raheem are of Allah azza wa jal as well as of Messenger of Allah sallalahu alayhi was salam: Surah Tawbah (9) Verse 128: Now hath come unto you an Messenger from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that ye should perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to the Believers is he most kind and merciful i.e. Rauf ur Raheem. If a person was to believe that Prophet Muhammed sallalahu alayhi was salam is Rauf wa Raheem, but with the aqeedah that Allah azza wa jal granted, bestowed, given (i.e. Atahi) these qualities to Messenger sallalahu alayhi was salam., they are not his own (i.e. Zaati) or was to believe that his qualities of Rauf, Raheem are limited (i.e. Baaz) and are not equal with Allah azza wa jal in meaning quantity (i.e. Qulli) or believes these qualities were given to Messenger Muhammed sallalahu alayhi was salam at a time in creation, and negates possession of these qualities from eternity, then that person does not committed shirk, so being "all seeing and all hearing" depending on context is not shirk. All seeing and all hearing within the context of creation would not constitute shirk since the beloved of Allah sallalahu alayhi was salam is rehmatalilil 3alameen (mercy for the worlds), He sallalahu alayhi was salam must be aware and have knowledge of the state (haal) of all of creation otherwise he would not be or cannot be mercy to all of creation. Regarding the hadeeth, " اتقوا فراسة المؤمن ، فإنه ينظر بنور الله " what is the limits of (how far, how high and how deep) the one who sees with the "noor of Allah azza wa jal"? According to His Emminence Gauthi azam bamadaday radi allahu ta'alanho "he sees the heavens/earth like a grain of rice on a platter!" Allah knows best
Shaykh al-Akbar Muhi al-Din ibn ‘Arabi Rahimahullah said that the verse ‘He is the all hearing, the all-seeing.‘ referred to the Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). What is the position on this according to the majority of Ahlus Sunnah? And which scholars held such an opinion?
