Is THEM Guilty of Shirk? - Dr. Wesley Muhammad

all things.‖ Those who engage the Qur‘an in Arabic and are sensitive to the philology of this text, know
well that this is a very mischievous use and translation of it by our Beloved Brother (or those from whom
he learned this use and translation). The Arabic reads: Lā tudrikuhu ‟l-absār wa huwa yudrik ‟l-absār, which
literally translates as: ‗(Physical) vision [al-absār] comprehends Him not, and He comprehends vision‘. The
first bit of mischief is in the translation offered by Bro. Mubaashir: no vision can comprehend or perceive
Him. Bro. Mubaashir (or whoever) added ―or perceive Him‖ no doubt because they knew that the term
used in the Qur‘an, adraka (comprehend), does not make the point they want to make – that God can‘t be
seen or perceived (absara) by the eyes (al-absār). The verse only denies that eyes adraka God, not that they
absara Him. What does this mean?
The Arabic term adraka/yudriku/idrāk has the basic meaning ‗to overtake, catch up with‘ and
implies a sense of ultimacy (see Lane). This is why Classical Sunni tafsir equated idrāk in this verse with
ihāta, ‗encirclement, encompassment‘. Idrāk is thus understood as a ‗total seeing‘ versus ru‟ya or basar which
is understood as a general, limited seeing. Surat al-An‘am [6]: 103 denies that the eyes can accomplish the
former (Idrāk/ ihāta), not the latter (ru‟ya/basar). Thus the Shafi‘i scholar al-Nawawi (d. 1278) declared:
―idrāk is ihāta and Allah Most High is not encompassed by vision (ru‟ya). Hence, the text (6:103) furnishes a
denial of encompassment (idrāk). The non-encompassing ru‟ya is not necessarily denied here (Sharh Sahih
Muslim, 2:11).‖ See also Ibn Hajar (d. 1449), who stated: ―the intent of the verse is the denial of
encompassment (ihāta) of Him by means of seeing Him (ru‟ya), not the denial of the theoretical basis (asl) of
seeing Him (Fath al-Bari 8:607).‖ The Hanafi qadi Ibn Abi al-‗Izz (d. 1390) explained that ―One can see
Allah but cannot grasp (idrāk) Him, just as one can know Him but cannot comprehend Him (Sharh al-„aqida
al-Tahawiya, 1:57).‖ The point of Surat al-An‘am [6]:103 is therefore not that God can‘t be seen. The
point is that seeing God with the eyes is not tantamount to comprehending His divine fullness.
Nor does Bro Mubaashir‘s use of the Hadith of Jibril make out any better. The relevant part for
our discussion is the exchange between the Prophet and the Angel about Ihsan. Bro Mudaashir quotes it
thusly:
―Inform me about al-Ihsan (performance of good deeds). He (the Holy Prophet) said: That you worship
Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you don't see Him, He, verily, sees you.... (Sahih Muslim)‖
Bro Mubaashir concludes from this the following:
―In this report the prophet tells us that you can't see Allah, but Allah sees you. This is consistent with the
Qur'anic verse 6:103 that no vision can grasp Him, but His vision grasps all things.‖
This conclusion is wrong both with regard to this report and, as we saw, with regard to the Qur‘anic
verse. Nowhere in this report does it say Allah can‘t be seen. The Arabic reads: an ta‟buda Allah ka-annaka
tarāhu fa-in lam takun tarāhu fa-innhu yarāka. This translates: ―It is to worship Allah as though you see Him,
and if (fa-in) you see Him not, He truly sees you.‖ This is yet another example of philology overturning
theology, and the issue is a tiny syntactical point. The particle in means ―if‖ even when preceded by fa (fain)
. Bro. Mubaashir translates it ―though you don't see Him,‖ as if the Arabic uses the conjunction wa-in,
which means ―although, even if‖. ―Though (wa-in) you don‘t see Him‖ implies a negation of seeing Him
(though not a categorical negation). ―And if (fa-in) you see Him not‖ implies no such negation; it is simply
a conditional phrase.
Thus neither of the two evidences adduced by Bro Mubaashir supports his claim that Allah is
invisible or can‘t be seen. This claim is supported only by theologically man-handling the Arabic in both
the Qur‘an and the hadith and making them say what they don‘t naturally. Nowhere in the Qur‘an or
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