Chapter 4 — An Action Requires an Agent

Every action requires an agent or bearer through whom it is manifested.

We never see “treating” walking around by itself.

TREATING → there is someone who treats.

GIVING → there is someone who gives.

WRITING → there is someone who writes.

THROWING → there is someone who throws.

An action is AF‘AL.

Through AF‘AL, we recognise ATTRIBUTES.

ATTRIBUTES, in turn, become descriptions of ZAT.

Therefore, the foundation of this chapter is:

BEARER → AF‘AL → ATTRIBUTES → ZAT

Allah must not be turned into something imagined like a created being carrying out a task.

ALLAH IS NOT A THING.

Allah is described through:

ZAT + ATTRIBUTES + AF‘AL.

The question is how AF‘AL can be witnessed by human beings.

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1. AF‘AL REQUIRES A BEARER

The Quran provides a very striking example:

وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَمَىٰ

“And you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw.”

— Al-Anfal 8:17

Notice the structure:

إِذْ رَمَيْتَ

“when you threw”

There is an action that genuinely takes place through a bearer.

Muhammad ﷺ threw.

There is a physical body.

There is a hand.

There is movement.

There is a throw.

But the Quran then says:

وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَمَىٰ

“but Allah threw.”

Therefore, do not stop at the outward bearer.

The bearer can be seen.

AF‘AL can be witnessed.

But that AF‘AL leads human beings to recognise a description deeper than the physical body of its bearer.

This is the distinction between:

BEARER

and

THE AF‘AL BEING CARRIED.

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2. MUHAMMAD ﷺ EXPLAINS THE POSITION OF THE BEARER

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

إِنَّمَا أَنَا قَاسِمٌ وَاللَّهُ يُعْطِي

“Indeed, I am the one who distributes, and Allah gives.”

— Sahih al-Bukhari 71

Notice:

أَنَا قَاسِمٌ

“I am the one who distributes.”

The bearer is there.

Then:

وَاللَّهُ يُعْطِي

“Allah gives.”

يُعْطِي — GIVING

is AF‘AL.

This hadith shows that human beings can witness something reaching them through a bearer, but they must not stop at that bearer.

The bearer carries.

AF‘AL describes.

ATTRIBUTES are recognised through AF‘AL.

ATTRIBUTES become descriptions of ZAT.

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3. AF‘AL OPENS THE PATH TO RECOGNISING ATTRIBUTES

Take the example:

TREATING

We see someone providing treatment.

What is visible is the AF‘AL of treating.

But that action carries indications that there is:

KNOWLEDGE — knowing how to treat.

WILL — the will to provide treatment.

ABILITY — the ability to carry out the treatment.

Therefore, through AF‘AL, we recognise ATTRIBUTES.

Likewise:

GIVING

→ there is giving

→ there is will

→ there is ability.

KNOWING

→ is manifested through the one who knows.

That is why AF‘AL cannot be separated from its bearer and the attributes it describes.

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4. THE EVENTS OF THE UNIVERSE ARE AF‘AL OF ALLAH’S CREATION

The same principle applies to the universe.

Look at what is happening:

The wind moves.

Clouds gather.

Rain falls.

Seeds split open.

Trees grow.

A baby forms in the womb.

Wounds heal.

Day turns into night.

The sea surges.

Lightning strikes.

Mountains erupt.

All of these are events taking place.

These are the AF‘AL OF ALLAH’S CREATION that can be witnessed through events.

Allah states:

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَافِ ٱللَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي ٱلْأَلْبَابِ

“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day are signs for those who use reason.”

— Ali ‘Imran 3:190

The word used is:

خَلْقِ — CREATION

Therefore, do not turn the AF‘AL of creation into an image of Allah as an object or figure of a “Creator” resembling a created being engaged in making something.

What human beings witness is:

EVENT → AF‘AL OF CREATION.

And the Quran calls them:

آيَاتٍ — signs.

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5. RAIN SHOWS HOW AF‘AL TAKES PLACE THROUGH BEARERS

Allah states:

ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي يُرْسِلُ ٱلرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَيَبْسُطُهُۥ فِي ٱلسَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ يَشَآءُ وَيَجْعَلُهُۥ كِسَفًا فَتَرَى ٱلْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلَٰلِهِ

“Allah is the One who sends the winds, which then stir up the clouds, then He spreads them across the sky as He wills and makes them into masses; then you see the rain emerging from between them.”

— Ar-Rum 30:48

Notice the journey of AF‘AL:

WIND

↓

moves

↓

CLOUDS

↓

gather

↓

RAIN

↓

falls to the earth.

There is a bearer at every stage.

But do not stop at the wind.

Do not stop at the clouds.

Do not stop at the water.

The entire process reveals the AF‘AL of Allah’s creation.

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6. WAJH IS THE MANIFESTATION THAT MAKES SOMETHING KNOWN

Now consider a very important word in the Quran:

وَجْه — WAJH.

Wajh does not necessarily have to be understood as a physical face.

Even in ordinary usage, we recognise something through its face or manifestation.

THE FACE OF MAKKAH

When Makkah is mentioned:

the Kaabah and people performing tawaf around it

become manifestations that immediately make Makkah recognisable.

That is among the faces of Makkah.

THE FACE OF EGYPT

When we see:

the Pyramids

people immediately recognise Egypt.

The Pyramids become one of the manifestations that make the face of Egypt recognisable.

Therefore, wajh is that which makes something known through manifestation.

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7. “WHEREVER YOU TURN, THERE IS THE WAJH OF ALLAH”

Allah states:

وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْمَشْرِقُ وَٱلْمَغْرِبُ ۚ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا۟ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ ٱللَّهِ

“And to Allah belong the east and the west; so wherever you turn, there is the Wajh of Allah.”

— Al-Baqarah 2:115

Why is the Wajh of Allah present wherever one turns?

Because wherever human beings turn, they encounter manifestations of AF‘AL.

Look at the sky:

there are clouds moving.

Look at the earth:

there are plants living.

Look at the sea:

there are waves moving.

Look at the mountains:

there are structures and events.

Look at the body:

there is a heart beating.

Look within yourself:

there are thoughts, feelings, hearing, sight and life.

Therefore, the Wajh of Allah must not be imagined as a physical face.

Wajh is the manifestation through which something becomes known.

A manifestation of what?

THE AF‘AL OF ALLAH.

That is why wherever human beings turn, AF‘AL can be witnessed.

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8. NOT ONLY IN THE UNIVERSE — BUT WITHIN YOUR OWN SELF

Allah states:

وَفِي ٱلْأَرْضِ ءَايَاتٌ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ ۝ وَفِيٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ

“And on the earth are signs for those who possess certainty. And within yourselves. Will you not then see?”

— Adh-Dhariyat 51:20–21

This verse takes witnessing from:

THE EARTH

directly to:

YOUR OWN SELF.

Look at your hands.

Look at your eyes.

Look at your blood flowing.

Look at your heart beating.

Look at food being processed.

Look at wounds healing.

Look at human beings sleeping and then waking.

Look at the body changing from infancy to old age.

All of it takes place within the self.

Why continue searching for the evidence somewhere far away?

The Quran says:

أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ

“Will you not then see?”

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9. CLOSER THAN THE JUGULAR VEIN

Then comes an even more striking text:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِۦ نَفْسُهُۥ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ

“And indeed, We created the human being and We know what his self whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein.”

— Qaf 50:16

Notice:

أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ

“Closer to him than his jugular vein.”

Therefore, do not imagine Allah as something distant and then attempt to determine where the “place of Allah” is.

Allah is not a thing.

Meanwhile, within the human being, event after event takes place as manifestations of AF‘AL.

The heart beats.

Blood flows.

Breath moves in and out.

Thoughts move.

The body repairs wounds.

Cells change.

The human being lives.

All of this takes place so close to us that human beings themselves often fail to notice it.

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10. THESE THREE TEXTS INTERLOCK

Now place these three texts together:

AL-BAQARAH 2:115

فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا۟ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ ٱللَّهِ

“Wherever you turn, there is the Wajh of Allah.”

ADH-DHARIYAT 51:21

وَفِيٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ

“And within yourselves. Will you not then see?”

QAF 50:16

وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ

“We are closer to him than his jugular vein.”

Therefore, the search does not need to begin by imagining Allah as something located far away.

LOOK AT THE UNIVERSE.

There are manifestations of AF‘AL.

LOOK WITHIN YOURSELF.

There are manifestations of AF‘AL.

WHEREVER YOU TURN.

There is the Wajh of Allah.

HOW CLOSE?

Closer than the jugular vein.

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11. MANIFESTATION IS NOT ZAT

This must be firmly established.

The sun is not Allah.

The mountain is not Allah.

The sea is not Allah.

The tree is not Allah.

The human being is not Allah.

The bearer is not Allah.

All of these are things.

Whereas:

ALLAH IS NOT A THING.

Manifestation must not be equated with ZAT.

Just as:

the Pyramids introduce the face of Egypt, but the Pyramids are not the whole of Egypt.

Tawaf around the Kaabah introduces the face of Makkah, but tawaf is not Makkah itself.

That is the analogy.

Events within the universe become manifestations of Allah’s AF‘AL, but the universe must not be equated with ZAT.

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12. AN ACTION REQUIRES AN AGENT

Now return to the title.

We witness:

ACTION.

An action requires:

AN AGENT / BEARER.

The bearer manifests:

AF‘AL.

AF‘AL introduces:

ATTRIBUTES.

ATTRIBUTES become:

DESCRIPTIONS OF ZAT.

Therefore, the journey of Witnessing is:

BEARER

↓

AF‘AL

↓

ATTRIBUTES

↓

ZAT

Muhammad ﷺ as the Bearer of the Risalah becomes extremely important within this structure.

The Risalah has a bearer.

Commands are conveyed through a bearer.

Knowledge is explained through a bearer.

AF‘AL can be witnessed through a bearer.

But the bearer does not become ZAT.

And ZAT must not be turned into a thing.

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CLOSING — DO NOT SEARCH TOO FAR AWAY

Human beings see rain but stop at the clouds.

They see healing but stop at the medicine.

They see knowledge but stop at the teacher.

They see events but stop at the universe.

Yet the Quran teaches human beings to continue reading:

BEARER → AF‘AL → ATTRIBUTES → ZAT.

Then Allah gives three very great indications:

“Wherever you turn, there is the Wajh of Allah.”

— Al-Baqarah 2:115

“And within yourselves. Will you not then see?”

— Adh-Dhariyat 51:21

“We are closer to him than his jugular vein.”

— Qaf 50:16

Therefore, the Wajh of Allah is the manifestation through which His AF‘AL makes Him known.

The events of the universe are the AF‘AL of Allah’s creation.

The events occurring within the self also become a field for witnessing AF‘AL.

AF‘AL describes ATTRIBUTES.

ATTRIBUTES become descriptions of ZAT.

ALLAH IS NOT A THING.

But wherever human beings turn, they cannot escape the manifestations of AF‘AL that serve as indications of Him.