Can Allah be described as having protective jealousy (gheerah)? Can it be said that Allah has protective jealousy for His Prophets and close friends?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

The way of Ahl
as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah in understanding the attributes of Allah, may He be
exalted, is based on certain principles, the most important of which include
the following:

1.

They are
tawqeefi issues [i.e.,
they can only be known through divine Revelation and sound texts of hadeeth,
with no room for ijtihad]
and it is not permissible for anyone to affirm any attribute unless there is
evidence for it in the Qur’an and Sunnah. So Allah, may He be exalted,
cannot be described as possessing any attribute except those which He
ascribed to Himself or His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) ascribed to Him.

2.

The divine
attributes are to be understood in a manner that is befitting to the majesty
and greatness of Allah, may He be exalted. Therefore we may learn the
meanings of these attributes, but as for the nature thereof, it cannot be
known.

3.

One should
believe in these attributes without distorting the meaning, likening them to
those of any of His creation, discussing their nature, or denying any of
them.

See the answers
to questions no 72318 and 39803.

Secondly:

The divine
attribute of gheerah (protective jealousy) is affirmed in the saheeh Sunnah.
The reports that speak of that include the following:

1.

It was narrated
from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “Allah
has protective jealousy, and the protective jealousy of Allah is provoked
when the believer does something that Allah has forbidden.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(4925) and Muslim (2761).

2.

It was narrated
that al-Mugheerah said: Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubaadah said:
If I saw a man
with my wife, I would strike him with my sword, and not with the flat side
of it. News of that reached the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) and he said: “Are you surprised at the protective
jealousy of Sa‘d?
By Allah, I am more jealous than him, and Allah is more jealous than me. It
is because of His protective jealousy that Allah forbade immoral deeds, both
open and secret.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(6980) and Muslim (1499); Muslim narrated an extra phrase: “There
is no one who is more jealous than Allah.”

3.

It was narrated
from ‘Aa’ishah that she said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “O
ummah of Muhammad, there is no one who has greater protective jealousy than
Allah if His male or female slave commits zina. O ummah of Muhammad, if you
knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(1044) and Muslim (901).

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

The protective
jealousy (gheerah) of Allah is provoked when a person does that which He has
prohibited, and His protective jealousy is provoked when His male or female
slave commits zina…

The protective
jealousy that Allah attributes to Himself is provoked either when a believer
commits that which is forbidden to him, or when immoral deeds are committed,
either openly or secretly.

End quote from
al-Istiqaamah (2/9-11).

Ibn al-Qayyim
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: Protective jealousy implies hatred and
resentment (of bad deeds), so Allah told us that no one has protective
jealousy greater than His, and because of His protective jealousy He
prohibited immorality and obscenity. According to those who deny the divine
attributes, protective jealousy is regarded as a matter of feelings and
emotions, like shyness, joy, anger, wrath, resentment and hate. So in their
view, it cannot be attributed to Allah. But it is well-known that these
divine attributes are attributes of perfection that are entirely
praiseworthy according to reason, religious texts, customs and traditions,
and sound human nature; and their opposites are blameworthy according to
reason, religious texts, customs and traditions, and sound human nature. If
someone has no sense of protective jealousy, then it is all the same to him
whether one commits immoral deeds or refrains therefrom; such a person is
utterly blameworthy and deserves to be rebuked harshly.

End quote from
as-Sawaa‘iq al-Mursalah (4/1497).

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez
ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

What is not
right or appropriate is to describe Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
as having protective jealousy similar to that of people. As for describing
Him as having protective jealousy in a manner that is befitting to His
majesty, may He be glorified and exalted, it is not wrong or incorrect to
ascribe that to Him, as is indicated by this hadith and other similar
reports. Allah, may He be glorified, is described by Ahl as-Sunnah as having
protective jealousy in a manner that cannot be likened to that of people,
and no one knows the essence and nature thereof except Him, may He be
glorified. This is similar to what is said about His rising over the Throne
[istiwaa’] and descending, and His pleasure and wrath, and other divine
attributes. And Allah knows best.

End quote from
the comment of Shaykh Ibn Baaz on Fath al-Baari by Ibn Hajar (2/531).

Shaykh ‘Abdullah
al-Ghunaymaan (may Allah preserve him) said, commenting on the hadith, “the
protective jealousy of Allah is provoked when the believer does something
that Allah has forbidden”:

The protective
jealousy of Allah, may He be exalted, is one of His attributes that are His
alone, and it is not like the protective jealousy of people; rather it is an
attribute that is befitting to His greatness, like the attributes of wrath,
pleasure and other unique attributes that no created being shares with Him.
It is already established that there is none like unto Him, may He be
exalted, in His Essence or in His attributes or deeds.

End quote from
Sharh Kitaab at-Tawheed min Saheeh al-Bukhaari (1/287).

Thirdly:

Once the meaning
of this great attribute is established, which is one of the attributes of
our Lord, may He be exalted – namely protective jealousy (gheerah) – it
will become clear that speaking of it in the manner asked about is sound and
correct, as in the hadith of Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubaadah (may Allah be pleased with
him), for protective jealousy, when provoked, implies anger at the
transgression of the sacred limits. Allah, may He be glorified, hates what
He has forbidden and is angered when His sacred limits are transgressed, as
it says in Ta‘leeqaat ash-Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan al-Barraak ‘ala al-Mukhaalafaat
al-‘Aqdiyyah fi Fath al-Baari, no. 55.

There can be no
doubt that impugning the honour of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) by slandering his wife as-Siddeeqah ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be
pleased with her) is one of the gravest sins by which the protective
jealousy (gheerah) of Allah, may He be exalted, will be provoked, for Allah,
may He be exalted, has protective jealousy for His noble Messengers (peace
be upon them). Therefore, no one speaks ill of them but he will be disgraced
and destroyed. And Allah has protective jealousy for His close friends and
chosen ones, therefore He, may He be exalted, said [in a hadith qudsi]:
“whoever takes as an enemy a close friend of Mine, I shall declare war on
him.” Allah has protective jealousy for His laws and sacred limits, lest
they be transgressed. Therefore He, may He be exalted, warned sinners and
transgressors of punishment, and He hastens the punishment for some of them
in this world, so that they may be a lesson for others. All of that is
appropriate and befitting to the Majesty of Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted.

Imam Ibn Katheer
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:

When the people
of the slander (al-ifk) spoke ill of ‘Aa’ishah and fabricated lies
against her, Allah’s protective jealousy for her was provoked, so He
revealed ten verses of Qur’an establishing her innocence, which will be
recited until the end of time.

End quote from
al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah (8/99; see also 3/334).

With regard to
the phrase “Your image never leaves my mind”, when it said of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), we do not see anything wrong
with it, even though something else may be better and avoiding that is more
appropriate, lest the matter be confused with the words of lovers and their
ilk (of immoral people), for these words are more akin to that.

For more
information on types of praise of the Messenger (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him), please see the answer to question no.
112152.

And Allah knows
best.