The Claim That the Salaf Interpreted the Verses of Attributes
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
O Shaykh, we love Allah. How should I respond to those who follow the interpretation (ta'wil) of some of the scholars of the Salaf regarding the verses of the attributes? And what about those who follow these scholars, as is the case with many Muslims today? Do they know about Allah?
The Shaykh:
First, I ask you to give me an example of what you say, that the scholars of the Salaf interpreted (ta'wil) something of the attributes, so that we can see what is in it, that the scholars of the Salaf interpreted something of the attributes.
The questioner:
The Shaykh, the Shaykh Abu
The Shaykh:
Only some of the people of misguidance claim this. They say, "The Salaf interpreted (ta'wil), so why do you prevent us from interpretation (ta'wil)?" We say to them: You have lied. The Salaf did not interpret (ta'wil); rather, they believed in what came from Allah and His Messenger, and they did not distort it, nor did they divert it from its correct meaning.
O Shaykh, we love Allah. How should I respond to those who follow the interpretation (ta'wil) of some of the scholars of the Salaf regarding the verses of the attributes? And what about those who follow these scholars, as is the case with many Muslims today? Do they know about Allah?
The Shaykh:
First, I ask you to give me an example of what you say, that the scholars of the Salaf interpreted (ta'wil) something of the attributes, so that we can see what is in it, that the scholars of the Salaf interpreted something of the attributes.
The questioner:
The Shaykh, the Shaykh Abu
The Shaykh:
Only some of the people of misguidance claim this. They say, "The Salaf interpreted (ta'wil), so why do you prevent us from interpretation (ta'wil)?" We say to them: You have lied. The Salaf did not interpret (ta'wil); rather, they believed in what came from Allah and His Messenger, and they did not distort it, nor did they divert it from its correct meaning.
Source
شرح لمعة الاعتقاد [ صالح الفوزان ]، المقدمة — islamhouse.com (54:16)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.