Describing Allah with correct meanings that are not found in the Book or the Sunnah
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The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah inform you, among the general public there are those who describe Allah with attributes whose meanings are correct, but they have not found evidence for them in the Qur'an or the Sunnah, such as "O You Who Veil" and "O You Who Aid." They hear of Abd al-Nasir and Abd al-Sathaj, so what is the ruling on that?
The Shaykh:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says:Sunan Ibn Majah 2544Sahih (Darussalam) So Allah covers the faults of His servants, (Glorified and Exalted is He), in this world and the Hereafter. He does not reveal to them, (Exalted and Majestic is He), their sins; rather, He covers them over so that they may repent. Among His attributes, (Glorified and Exalted is He), is that He covers the faults of His servants, and of His favor and kindness. Al-Nasir (The Helper) is derived from nasr (victory). [Al-Hajj 22:40] So Allah helps His believing servants [Muhammad 47:7] Among His attributes, (Exalted and Majestic is He), is that He helps His believing servants.
The questioner:
And a little of the Shaykh, and he informed you, may Allah.
The Shaykh:
As for the original question, which is whether it is permissible for a person to describe Allah with a correct meaning, even if its wording is not found in the Book and the Sunnah, we say: No. The names and attributes are based on revelation (taqifi), and it is not permissible for you to add anything. Perhaps the meaning is correct in your opinion and in your view, but it is not correct in reality. So it is not permissible to add to the names and attributes of Allah anything that is not found in the Book and the Sunnah. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah inform you, among the general public there are those who describe Allah with attributes whose meanings are correct, but they have not found evidence for them in the Qur'an or the Sunnah, such as "O You Who Veil" and "O You Who Aid." They hear of Abd al-Nasir and Abd al-Sathaj, so what is the ruling on that?
The Shaykh:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says:
Whoever covers (the sin of) a Muslim, Allah will cover him (his sin) in this world and in the Hereafter.
من ستر مسلما ستره الله في الدنيا والآخرةAnd Allah will surely support those who support Him
وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُif you support Allah, He will support you
إِن تَنصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْThe questioner:
And a little of the Shaykh, and he informed you, may Allah.
The Shaykh:
As for the original question, which is whether it is permissible for a person to describe Allah with a correct meaning, even if its wording is not found in the Book and the Sunnah, we say: No. The names and attributes are based on revelation (taqifi), and it is not permissible for you to add anything. Perhaps the meaning is correct in your opinion and in your view, but it is not correct in reality. So it is not permissible to add to the names and attributes of Allah anything that is not found in the Book and the Sunnah. Yes.
Source
شرح لمعة الاعتقاد [ صالح الفوزان ]، بداية من قوله : وما أشكل من ذلك وجب إثباته لفظا — islamhouse.com (58:56)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.