Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The purpose of the hadith is to emphasize that what Allah has does not decrease by His giving to His creation. The “decrease” mentioned in the hadith is intended to illustrate the extreme insignificance and lack of any appreciable effect; it does not mean that a real decrease is being attributed to Allah’s possessions. There is no need to interpret the hadith as metaphorical. Rather, this is the apparent meaning of its wording, and it is a well-known Arabic style used to emphasize a meaning and strongly negate deficiency.
Muslim (2577) narrated from Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ related from his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, that He said:
“O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, your humans and your jinn, were all to stand together in one open plain and ask Me, and I were to give every person what he asked for, that would not diminish what I have any more than a needle diminishes the sea when it is dipped into it.”
The meaning is that even if Allah gave all of His creation everything they asked for, this would not decrease anything from His dominion or treasures, just as dipping a needle into the sea and then removing it does not cause any appreciable decrease in the water of the sea.
Thus, the purpose is to establish and emphasize the absence of any decrease, not to affirm that anything from Allah’s dominion actually decreases.
Allah’s statement, “It does not diminish what I have any more than a needle diminishes the sea when it is dipped into it,” is one of the styles in which an expression may initially suggest to the listener that some decrease exists, followed by an explanation showing that such decrease is extremely insignificant, so that the actual meaning is an affirmation of the absence of any decrease.
Imam al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that the meaning is: it does not decrease anything at all. The example of a needle in the sea was given because it is one of the clearest examples for bringing the meaning closer to people’s understanding: the sea is among the greatest things they observe, while the needle is among the smallest things that can be dipped into it.
Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that the words “It does not diminish what I have any more than a needle diminishes the sea when it is dipped into it” affirm that what Allah has does not decrease whatsoever. He cited Allah’s saying:
“Whatever you have will end, but whatever is with Allah is everlasting.” [Qur’an 16:96]
Just as dipping a needle into the sea and removing it does not produce any noticeable decrease in the sea, likewise what Allah has does not decrease by His giving to His creation.
There is no need to interpret the hadith as metaphorical. Rather, its apparent meaning is that it negates any decrease in Allah’s dominion.
As for the statement, “except as a needle diminishes the sea when it is dipped into it,” it does not mean that some actual amount of Allah’s dominion has decreased. Rather, it illustrates that any decrease—if one were to express it in such terms—would be so extremely small that it would have no appreciable effect.
This is one of the Arabic methods of bringing meanings closer to the mind and emphasizing them through examples involving things that are tangible and observable.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that this wording was used to emphasize the absence of any decrease, because the sea does not undergo any perceptible decrease when a needle is dipped into it. Likewise, Allah’s dominion does not decrease when He gives all of His creation what they ask for.
The hadith demonstrates Allah’s perfect richness and the greatness of His dominion, and that Allah’s gifts do not diminish His treasures.
Allah says:
“And whatever is with Allah is better and more lasting.” [Qur’an 28:60]
And He says:
“There is not a thing except that with Us are its treasures.” [Qur’an 15:21]
No matter how numerous the needs of creation or Allah’s gifts to them may be, this does not decrease anything from His dominion.
The hadith, “It does not diminish what I have any more than a needle diminishes the sea when it is dipped into it,” does not indicate any actual decrease in Allah’s dominion. Rather, it is an expression emphasizing His perfect richness and that what He possesses never runs out. The example of the needle and the sea is used to bring this meaning closer to people’s understanding. There is no need to interpret the hadith metaphorically; rather, this is the apparent meaning indicated by its wording.
And Allah knows best.