Hearing
He hears all without ear or instrument
Core Claim
Allah is described with an eternal hearing — He hears all that can be heard, without ear or instrument; His hearing is intrinsic
Why It Matters
Knowing that Allah hears everything plants vigilance and modesty in the heart — Allah hears your du'a, your whisper, and what is in your heart
Lesson
Hearing (as-Samʿ) — Allah is described with an eternal hearing — He hears all that can be heard, without ear or instrument.
He hears the crawl of a black ant under a solid rock on a dark night — meaning His hearing is not limited by faint sound, distance, or any obstacle.
His hearing is intrinsic to His Essence — it is an attribute subsisting in Him from eternity, not contingent, acquired, or dependent on any instrument.
Allah said: 'There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing' (ash-Shura 42:11) — in this verse, hearing and sight are affirmed for Allah while His dissimilarity from creation is established.
Warning on pronunciation: In the hadith qudsi, the word adhina (with fatha on hamza and kasra on dhal) means 'heard,' not udhun (with damma on hamza and dhal) meaning 'ear.' The diacritics change the meaning entirely.
The rule: Affirming hearing for Allah does not require affirming an ear — just as all Allah's attributes are free from 'how' and from instruments.
Key Points
- 1
Allah hears everything without ear or instrument — His hearing is intrinsic and eternal
- 2
He hears the crawl of a black ant under a rock on a dark night
- 3
Affirming hearing for Allah does not entail affirming an ear — all His attributes are free from instruments
Evidence
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.
Quran 42:11 (Surah ash-Shura)
Glossary
السمع
as-Samʿ
Allah's eternal attribute — He hears all that can be heard without instrument
السميع
as-Samīʿ
One of Allah's beautiful names indicating eternal hearing
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