On the saying of Allah the Exalted (And the Face of your Lord will remain), one of them says: We affirm the attribute of the Face for Allah and interpret it to mean: the Essence of Allah!
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what about the one who says regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted[Ar-Rahman 55:27] that he affirms the attribute of the Face for Allah in a manner befitting His Majesty, and interprets the verse to mean the Essence of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and that this is from the generalization of some people.
The Shaykh:
This is a contradiction. He says we affirm the Face for Allah in a manner befitting His Majesty, then he says it is the Essence. This is a contradiction. The Face is not the Essence, my brother. The Face is not the Essence. This is the interpretation of the Jahmiyyah. They say the Face is the Essence. So the Face is one of the essential attributes of Allah, and it is not the Essence. This is a contradiction. Yes, repeat the question.
The questioner:
What is your opinion of the one who, regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted,[Ar-Rahman 55:27], says: “We affirm the attribute of the Face for Allah in a manner befitting His majesty, and we interpret the verse to mean that it refers to the essence of Allah, Mighty and Majestic”?
The Shaykh:
This is a contradiction. How does he affirm the Face and then say it is the Essence? This is a contradiction. The beginning of his speech is according to the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community, and the end is according to the methodology of the Jahmiyyah. He affirms, but they do not combine. The methodology of the Jahmiyyah and the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community do not combine. He must choose one of the two: either he is a Jahmi or he is a Sunni. He cannot mix them. He becomes a Sunni-Jahmi. This is not possible. This is a contradiction. Yes.
The questioner:
And this is considered a generalization by some people to the whole.
The Shaykh:
No, this means, or this is an excuse, because the intended meaning of the Face is the Essence. This is a generalization from the part to the whole. This is wrong. This is wrong. This means that the Face has no reality, but it is only the Essence. This is a fallacy. He must repent to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and not force this interpretation. The Salaf never said this. Nor did the scholars of the people of the Sunnah and the community say it. This is a forced interpretation on his part. He wants to combine the Jahmiyyah and the Sunnah. This is not possible. And Allah the Exalted knows best. May Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what about the one who says regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted
And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.
وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِThe Shaykh:
This is a contradiction. He says we affirm the Face for Allah in a manner befitting His Majesty, then he says it is the Essence. This is a contradiction. The Face is not the Essence, my brother. The Face is not the Essence. This is the interpretation of the Jahmiyyah. They say the Face is the Essence. So the Face is one of the essential attributes of Allah, and it is not the Essence. This is a contradiction. Yes, repeat the question.
The questioner:
What is your opinion of the one who, regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted,
And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.
وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِThe Shaykh:
This is a contradiction. How does he affirm the Face and then say it is the Essence? This is a contradiction. The beginning of his speech is according to the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community, and the end is according to the methodology of the Jahmiyyah. He affirms, but they do not combine. The methodology of the Jahmiyyah and the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community do not combine. He must choose one of the two: either he is a Jahmi or he is a Sunni. He cannot mix them. He becomes a Sunni-Jahmi. This is not possible. This is a contradiction. Yes.
The questioner:
And this is considered a generalization by some people to the whole.
The Shaykh:
No, this means, or this is an excuse, because the intended meaning of the Face is the Essence. This is a generalization from the part to the whole. This is wrong. This is wrong. This means that the Face has no reality, but it is only the Essence. This is a fallacy. He must repent to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and not force this interpretation. The Salaf never said this. Nor did the scholars of the people of the Sunnah and the community say it. This is a forced interpretation on his part. He wants to combine the Jahmiyyah and the Sunnah. This is not possible. And Allah the Exalted knows best. May Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [107 -1024] في قوله تعالى (ويبقى وجه ربك) يقول أحدهم: نثبت صفة الوجه لله ونفسر بأن المراد: ذات الله! — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.