Question:
Assalamu alaykum,
Whats the meaning of ” wala tanfusuna illa bi sultan“. If it is possible for them to get permission is it also possible to change the truth or to make the good ones bad ones and the bad ones to be good ones ?
Answer:
`Alaykum as-Salam,
la tanfuduna illa bi-sultan, “You cannot cross without authority or permission.” (Ar-Rahman, 55:33)
Sultan=chief authority, permission.
Yes, Allah Most High is Muqallib al-qulub, He can change hearts and cause Prophets to change hearts the way Sayyidina Musa, upon him peace, changed the sorcerers into awliya. Similarly the other way: The Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, said, “A person lies and lies until he is recorded in the Divine Presence as an Arch-Liar (kadhdhab),” i.e. he has been changed from a good one to a bad one, but the original responsibility is with himself; otherwise shaytan can never change a good one into a bad one as the power of shaytan is weak.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
