Ruling on one who is not able to see the wisdom behind one of the rulings of Allah and thinks himself to be more knowledgeable and wiser than Allah

Believing in Allah, may He be exalted, is not limited to
believing that He exists. Rather it is believing that and also, just as
importantly, believing that He possesses attributes of perfection and
majesty, and that what He possesses of greatness and sublimity is far beyond
human comprehension. This is what is referred to in the Holy Quran as “the
highest description (al-mathal al-a‘laa)”. Allah, may He be exalted,
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And He it is Who originates the
creation, then will repeat it (after it has been perished), and this is
easier for Him. His is the highest description (i.e. none has the right to
be worshipped but He, and there is nothing comparable unto Him) in the
heavens and in the earth. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise”

[ar-Room 30:27].

Al-‘Allaamah Shams ad-Deen Ibn al-Qayyim made a brilliant
comment on the meaning of “the highest description (al-mathal al-a‘laa)”,
as he (may Allah have mercy on him) said in as-Sawaa‘iq al-Mursalah
fi’r-Radd ‘ala al-Jahamiyyah wa’l-Mu‘attillah (2/430):

If you want to have more understanding about this “highest
description”, then estimate in your mind the strength of all creatures, and
imagine it being all gathered and concentrated in one individual, then
imagine that they all have the strength of that one individual. If you
compare the power of that one to the power of Allah, may He be blessed and
exalted, you will find that there is no comparison at all, just as you will
find no comparison between the strength of the mosquito and the strength of
the lion.

If you imagine the knowledge of all of humanity gathered into
one man, then you think of them all having the knowledge of that one man,
then their knowledge, put together, in comparison to the knowledge of Allah,
may He be exalted, will be like a bird pecking in the sea.

If you estimate the wisdom of all of humanity in the same
manner, there can be no comparison between it and the wisdom of Allah.

If you estimate all the beauty in existence, and imagine it
gathered in one person, then imagine if all people were as beautiful as that
one, then in comparison to the beauty of Allah, may He be exalted and
glorified, it is less than the light of a weak lamp in comparison to the
light of the sun. Allah, may He be glorified, highlighted this idea when He
said (interpretation of the meaning):

“And if all the trees on the
earth were pens and the sea (were ink wherewith to write), with seven seas
behind it to add to its (supply), yet the Words of Allah would not be
exhausted. Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise”

[Luqmaan 31:27].

So think of the oceans throughout the world as being ink,
beyond which there are seven more oceans surrounding it, all of them being
ink with which to write the words of Allah. Those seas would run dry and the
pens, if you imagine all the trees of the earth from the time when it was
created until the end of the world as being made into pens, would wear out,
but the words of Allah would never be exhausted. End quote.

Once you understand this,
then you will realise that the rulings of Allah, may He be exalted, all stem
from knowledge, justice, wisdom and kindness. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And the Word of your Lord has
been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can change His Words. And He is
the All-Hearer, the All-Knower”

[al-An‘aam 6:115].

And Allah, may He be exalted, says, speaking of His slave and
Prophet, Hood (interpretation of the meaning):

“I put my trust in Allah, my
Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving (living) creature but He has grasp
of its forelock. Verily, my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth)”

[Hood 11:56].

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in
Madaarij as-Saalikeen bayna Manaazil Iyyaaka Na‘budu wa Iyyaaka Nasta‘een
(1/44): With regard to the verse in Soorat Hood, it clearly means, and
cannot be interpreted in any other way, that Allah, may He be glorified, is
on a straight path, and He, may He be glorified, is more deserving of being
on a straight path, for all His words are truth, fairness, guidance, justice
and wisdom, “And
the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice” [al-An‘aam
6:115]. And all His deeds are
beneficial, wise, merciful, just and good. Evil cannot be part of the deeds
or words of the One Who is on the straight path; rather evil can only be
part of the words and deeds of one who drifts away from that path. End
quote.

Allah, may He be glorified, tells us that His rulings are
based on truth and justice, and the rulings of others are based on
ignorance.

Think of what the word of ignorance contains of wrongdoing,
darkness, injustice and misguidance. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Do they then seek the judgement
of (the days of) Ignorance? And who is better in judgement than Allah for a
people who have firm Faith”

[al-Maa’idah 5:50].

Al-‘Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Sawaa‘iq al-Mursalah
(3/1046):

Allah, may He be glorified, stated that every ruling that is
contrary to His ruling that He revealed to His Messenger is a ruling that is
based on whims and desires, not a ruling that is based on wisdom, and it is
the ruling of ignorance, not a ruling of knowledge and guidance. Allah, may
He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And so
judge (you O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) among them
by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain desires, but beware of
them lest they turn you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him)) far away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you. And if
they turn away, then know that Allah’s Will is to punish them for some sins
of theirs. And truly, most of men are Faasiqoon (rebellious and disobedient
to Allah).

Do they
then seek the judgement of (the days of) Ignorance? And who is better in
judgement than Allah for a people who have firm Faith”

[al-Maa’idah 5:49-50].

Thus Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, tells us that
there is nothing else beyond what He has revealed except the following of
whims and desires which divert people from His path, and there is nothing
beyond His rulings except the rulings of ignorance.

All of these views and ideas that are contrary to what the
Messenger brought are based on whims and desires and the rulings of
ignorance, even if those who propagate them describe them as
rationally-proven facts and certain proof, which is akin to the polytheists
describing their idols and statues as gods, and the hypocrites describing
their endeavour to spread mischief on earth and turn people away from faith
as an effort to spread righteousness and do what is right. End quote.

After all of that, do you think – O insignificant slave of
Allah, weak creature that you are – that you know more than Allah, may He be
exalted, knows, and that with your weak mind you could understand that which
the Knower of the unseen, may He be glorified and exalted, cannot
understand?!

May Allah be glorified and exalted, how great is His might
and how forbearing is He!

You have indeed brought forth (said) a terrible evil thing,
whereby the heavens are almost torn, and the earth is split asunder, and the
mountains fall in ruins, by regarding your weak and insignificant self as
equal to the Lord of the Worlds!

Where are you headed with all these misguided notions? What
path of misguidance is the accursed Shaytaan leading you on?

Listen to what the wise men and philosophers say:

Knowledge belongs to the Most Gracious, may He be glorified
and exalted, and everyone else is sinking in ignorance.

What does the human being who is created from dust have to do
with knowledge? Rather he is striving hard to learn that he knows nothing.

Even the great philosopher Abu’l-Waleed Ibn Rushd (d. 595 AH)
said: The truest thing that the philosophers say is that reason has a limit
at which it stops and cannot go beyond it. He stated this in his book
Tahaafut at-Tahaafut (2/534).

Allah, in His sublime wisdom, may test His slave by making
him blind to the wisdom behind a command or ruling, so as to test the faith
of His slave and see whether he will submit to the ruling of his Lord or
will object to His ruling and take an arrogant stance towards Allah, may He
be exalted. The person with mature thinking who is truly a believer is the
one who submits to the ruling of his Lord, even if the wisdom behind it is
hidden from him, then after that he prays to his Lord and beseeches Him,
asking Him to guide him and teach him that which is hidden from him.

Because Allah, may He be glorified, knows that people are
unable to fully comprehend His wisdom, His might and His control of the
affairs of His creation, He, may He be glorified, left them with no hope of
competing with Him in His dominion, or of questioning Him about anything
that He does. For it is their Lord Who will question His slaves and judge
them. As for His slaves, they are no more than slaves.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“And your Lord creates
whatsoever He wills and chooses, no choice have they (in any matter).
Glorified is Allah, and exalted above all that they associate (as partners
with Him).

And your
Lord knows what their breasts conceal, and what they reveal.

And He is
Allah; Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He).
all praises and thanks be to Him (both) in the first (i.e. in this world)
and in the last (i.e.in the Hereafter). And for Him is the Decision, and to
Him shall you (all) be returned”

[al-Qasas 28:68-70]

“To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and on earth. And
those who are near Him (i.e. the angels) are not too proud to worship Him,
nor are they weary (of His worship).

They (i.e. the angels) glorify His Praises night and day,
(and) they never slacken (to do so)

Or have they taken (for worship) aalihah (gods) from the
earth who raise the dead?

Had there been therein (in the heavens and the earth) aalihah
(gods) besides Allah, then verily both would have been ruined. Glorified is
Allah, the Lord of the Throne, (High is He) above all that they attribute to
Him!

He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will
be questioned.

Or have they taken for worship (other) aalihah (gods) besides
Him? Say: ‘Bring your proof:’ This (the Qur’an) is the Reminder for those
with me and the Reminder for those before me. But most of them know not the
Truth, so they are averse”

[al-Anbiya’ 21:19-24].

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:

Allah is not to be questioned about what He does because of
His perfect wisdom, mercy and justice, not just because of His subjugation
of creation and His might.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (8/511)

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, did not appoint any
partner in His creation; rather He is the only Creator. There was no one who
witnessed that (creation) or watched it or learned about it, let alone
helped or assisted in it or was a partner therein:

“I (Allah) made them (Iblees and
his offspring) not to witness (nor took their help in) the creation of the
heavens and the earth and not (even) their own creation, nor was I (Allah)
to take the misleaders as helpers”

[al-Kahf 18:51].

So how about a matter the nature of which is hidden from you,
and you were not present when it was created and first began, and you knew
nothing of its origin and development, yet you dispute with your Lord
concerning His knowledge of it, when He is the One Who has knowledge of His
creation, may He be glorified:

“Should
not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His
slaves) All-Aware (of everything)”

[al-Mulk
67:14].

You are ignorant of your own status and have gone beyond your
limits and wronged yourself; you have not done yourself any favours, and you
have exposed yourself to grievous harm and are causing your own doom.

The main cause of your error and misguidance is the fact that
you do not differentiate between what is rationally impossible and what is
rationally incomprehensible.

That in which wisdom is hidden or it is rationally impossible
to comprehend that wisdom come under the heading of that which is rationally
incomprehensible, which makes people wonder about the wisdom behind things.
In religion you may see some matters that are beyond rational comprehension
(and make people of reason wonder about them), as a test from Allah to His
slaves.

But there is nothing in religion that is rationally
impossible, and is false and incorrect according to reason. This is
something that Allah never included in His religion and is something that He
never included in His creation and command, may He be glorified. The failure
to differentiate between the two is the cause of many people being
misguided.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:

Undoubtedly the Messengers (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon them) may tell people of matters that their reason cannot comprehend,
but they do not tell them of anything that people know on the basis of
reason to be impossible. So the Messengers tell people of that which is
rationally incomprehensible (that is, beyond the grasp of reason), but it is
not impossible. So whoever would like to comprehend by his reason what the
messengers said is akin to those concerning whom Allah, may He be exalted,
said:

“And when there comes to them a
sign (from Allah) they say: ‘We shall not believe until we receive the like
of that which the Messengers of Allah had received. Allah knows best with
whom to place His Message”

[al-An‘aam 6:124]

“Nay, everyone of them desires
that he should be given pages spread out (coming from Allah with a writing
that Islam is the right religion, and Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) has come with the truth from Allah the Lord of the heavens and
earth)”

[al-Muddaththir 74:52].

End quote from Dar’ Ta‘aarud al-‘Aql wa’n-Naql (7/327)

He also said:

It is not possible for the Messengers to say something that
is not possible on the basis of common sense and rational thinking. Rather
it is not possible for them to say something that cannot be accepted on a
rational basis.

So they may say things that are incomprehensible according to
reason, but they are not impossible.

And there may be something that they say that is beyond the
ability of some people to comprehend and imagine, because people vary in
their powers of reasoning. In the glory, dominion, signs and creation of the
Lord, may He be exalted, there are issues that people – many of them –
cannot understand or imagine.

It is sufficient for you to know that Moosa (peace be upon
him), despite his great status, when His Lord appeared to the mountain, He
made it collapse to dust and Moosa fell unconscious, then when he came to,
he said:

“Glory be to You, I turn to You
in repentance and I am the first of the believers”

[al-A‘raaf 7:143].

But many people think, on the basis of their reasoning, that
there are things that are not possible, when they are not impossible, and
they may think that there are things that are possible or necessary, when
that is not the case.

End quote from Bayaan Talbees al-Jahamiyyah (8/534).

The first step that a person takes on the path of Islam and
surrender to the Lord of the Worlds is to surrender to Him wholeheartedly,
and surrender to His Lordship, and not to dispute with his Lord with regard
to His dominion, power and deeds.

And he surrenders to His divinity, so he submits to His
rulings and accepts His commands and prohibitions. There is no way that a
person’s commitment to Islam can be acceptable unless he surrenders
completely, in every single matter, major r minor, to the Lord of the Worlds
and accepts His laws and His religion, whether it is in accordance with his
whims and desires, or not.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“But no, by your Lord, they can
have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him)) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no
resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission”

[an-Nisa’ 4:65].

Allah does not give you the choice, when it comes to any
issues of religion, to believe in some of it if it makes sense to you or
suits you, and to invent for yourself a law or system or religion, if you do
not like anything of the religion of Islam. Allah is the most free of need
of having any partner.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“They (hypocrites) say: ‘We have
believed in Allah and in the Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him)), and we obey,’ then a party of them turn away
thereafter, such are not believers.

And when
they are called to Allah (i.e. His Words, the Qur’an) and His Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), to judge between them, lo! a
party of them refuse (to come) and turn away.

But if the
truth is on their sides, they come to him willingly with submission.

Is there a
disease in their hearts? Or do they doubt or fear lest Allah and His
Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) should wrong them in
judgement. Nay, it is they themselves who are the Zaalimoon (polytheists,
hypocrites and wrong-doers).

The only
saying of the faithful believers, when they are called to Allah (His Words,
the Qur’an) and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), to
judge between them, is that they say: “We hear and we obey.” And such are
the successful (who will live forever in Paradise).

And
whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), fears Allah, and keeps his duty (to Him), such are the
successful.

They swear
by Allah their strongest oaths, that if only you would order them, they
would leave (their homes for fighting in Allah’s Cause). Say: ‘Swear you
not; (this) obedience (of yours) is known (to be false). Verily, Allah knows
well what you do’”

[an-Noor 24:47-52]

“It is not for a believer, man
or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they
should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His
Messenger, he has indeed strayed in to a plain error”

[al-Ahzaab 33:36].

At-Tahhaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Religious
commitment cannot be sound unless one surrenders and submits, so whoever
tries to seek knowledge of that which was concealed from him and is not
content to surrender, his aspiration (to know everything) will prevent him
from attaining pure Tawheed, proper knowledge and sound faith. So he will
waver between disbelief and faith, belief and denial, acceptance and
rejection, controlled by doubts, confused and not believing or denying
anything.

End quote from Fi Matn at-Tahhaawiyyah bi Ta‘leeq
al-Albaani (1/43).

Disapproving of anything that Allah has revealed, and not
accepting it wholeheartedly, is what may lead a person to doom, take away
his faith and nullify all his deeds.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“O you who believe! If you help
(in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm.

But those
who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah (Islamic Monotheism), for them is
destruction, and (Allah) will make their deeds vain.

That is
because they hate that which Allah has sent down (this Qur’an and Islamic
laws etc.), so He has made their deeds fruitless”

[Muhammad 47:7-9].

You need to truly and sincerely renew your faith and your
Islam, and surrender to the Lord of the Worlds, and to take care of your
heart and cleanse it from what has befallen it of bad thoughts and doubts,
and to repent sincerely and turn anew to the Lord of the Worlds. Then you
will know for sure what faith means and how it should be.

It was narrated from al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib that he
heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say:
“He has found the taste of faith who is content with Allah as his Lord,
Islam as his religion and Muhammad as his Messenger.” Narrated by Muslim
(39).

There is nothing to save you from the pain of doubt,
uncertainty, hesitation and confusion – there is nothing greater than the
Book of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. Read it with understanding,
persist in reading it, reflecting and pondering upon its meanings, seeking
guidance, comfort and reassurance from it, as Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And those who disbelieve say:
‘Why is not a sign sent down to him (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him)) from his Lord?’ Say: ‘Verily, Allah sends astray whom He wills
and guides unto Himself those who turn to Him in repentance.’

Those who
believed (in the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts
find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah
do hearts find rest”

[ar-Ra‘d 13:27-28].

Listen to this advice, from a smart literary man and wise
philosopher, who has read the words of wise men and has great knowledge of
philosophy and kalaam, and now is telling us of the way of salvation:

The book of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is
protection and refuge; in it there is healing, clarity, guidance and light;
in it is the answer to every problem and to it will turn everyone who is
confused.

Its verses that speak in general terms are sufficient for
people with sound hearts, and its verses that speak in detail offer
sufficient healing for people with doubts in their hearts.

Its apparent meanings will call you in clear words to
surrender to that which is hidden from you.

And its hidden meanings will indicate to you that you should
comply with its apparent meanings.

This is if you understand the difference between the divine
and the slave.

But if you are controlled by doubts and confusion, and you
cannot see the difference between the good and the bad, or differentiate
between the true reality of this and the false reality of that, then I fear
that you will be doomed and you will continue to be confused, then your fate
will be utter loss.

End quote from al-Basaa’ir wa’dh-Dhakhaa’ir by at-Tawheedi
(2/112-113)

And Allah knows best.