Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
Authentic hadiths establish that Allah makes the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) aware of the actions of his community. Thus, it is ‘as if’ he were present through his knowing the actions of his community.
This ‘presence’ is not in the physical sense we would understand: it is beyond the limits of the human mind to understand the perfections of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) who, though human, is not like other humans: he is a precious pearl and they mere stones, as the righteous explained.
Nor is this knowledge in any way like the knowledge of Allah: Allah knows absolutely all things, as they were, are and will be, from beginningless eternality, without any acquisition. The knowledge of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is vaster than that of any other human, but is acquired (by Allah’s granting) and is not absolute.
We do not say that Allah is ‘everywhere,’ though He is ‘with us’ wherever we are
Note that Sunni scholars do not believe that Allah is physically ‘everywhere’, either. Rather, Allah exists beyond both time and space, for both are His creation and the Beginningless Creator is not conditioned by His creation.
Allah is ‘with’ us, and closer to us than our very life blood because He is the One who created us, and is sustaining us through His Will and Power at every moment: if not for Allah’s sustaining us, we and everything else in creation would simply wink out of existence. This is our intrinsic indigence and need for Allah.
We owe our very faith and future felicity to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), who gave us the gift of Islam from Allah. Given that he is made aware of our actions, we should fulfill the dictates of thankfulness to him, and make our actions sincere and pleasing to Allah, by following the Prophet’s guidance, for it brings joy to the heart of the Beloved of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace).
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani
See also:
MMVIII © Faraz Rabbani and SunniPath.
All rights reserved
No part of this article may be reproduced, displayed, modified, or distributed without the express prior written permission of both copyright holders. For permission, please submit a request at our Helpdesk.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Knowledge is only through study." While some knowledge can be gained from reading or casually listening to lectures, the best means to gain knowledge is through finding a qualified teacher and then setting up a systematic program of learning. Picking up a book or reading an article and trying to figure things out on our own is no substitute for learning from someone who has a direct link to our living tradition.
Through joining an online class at SunniPath Academy, you can benefit from convenient, online courses that will give you access to reliable scholars and our popular curriculum learning tracks. Knowledge gained in these courses will both build your iman and assist you in putting into practice what you learn. Don't give yourself less than you deserve, register today.
| Feb 5 | Spring Late Registration Ends |
| March 16 | Summer Registration Begins |
| April 23 | Summer Financial Aid Deadline |
| April 25 | Spring Semester Ends |
| May 11 | Summer Semester Begins |
| May 28 | Late Registration Ends |
| View entire academic calendar |
