Aqida Tahawiyya, Lesson 2: Two Schools and the Oneness of Allah
Section 26 of 27 · Aqeedah · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Alive, He Never Dies; All-Sustaining, He Never Sleeps
Ḥayyun lā yamūt, qayyūmun lā yanām. Alive, He never dies. All-sustaining, He never sleeps.
Ḥayyun: alive. Allah's life is different from our life. Allah's life is essential. Our life is not essential to us; it is not intrinsic to us. It is something that was given to us, because we are possible beings. Allah is the necessary being, and for that, He has to have ḥayāt, life. His life is essential to Him. It never leaves. It did not come into being; it has always been with Him. He never dies: that is a reiteration.
All-sustaining, He never sleeps. That again brings out a very important point. It is agreed that He did not come into being, that He has always been there, and that He always will remain. But does He take a nap? Does He sleep? Does He take a rest? Is some form of sustenance beyond Him? No. Qayyūmun. The word qayyūm means all-sustaining. He is the one to whom everybody turns, for sustenance and for life. He is the self-sustaining, and the sustainer of everybody else.
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
“Allah: There is no god but He, the Living, the All-Sustaining. Neither dozing overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. Who can intercede with Him without His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them; while they encompass nothing of His knowledge, except what He wills. His Kursiyy (Chair) extends to the Heavens and to the Earth, and it does not weary Him to look after them. He is the All-High, the Supreme.” (2:255)
Lā yanām: He never sleeps; He does not slumber. Lā taʾkhudhuhu sinatun wa lā nawm: neither even a slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. He is active as He is; He is always like that.