The Ruling on the One Who Interprets the Attributes

Question:
And the aim of Shaytan is for one to read them, and if one finds them without their proper context, one should warn against them and disavow them.

Answer:
This difference in ruling applies to the one who interprets the attributes. If the interpreter believes that this interpretation is correct and did not intend to deny the attributes, but rather thought that this was a valid interpretation, then the interpretation removes disbelief from him. An interpretation that arises from ignorance and the belief that it is correct, whether in a hadith or due to error, removes disbelief from him, but he is considered misguided, though not a disbeliever. However, if he is deliberate and knows that his interpretation is incorrect, but he wants to engage in sophistry and wants to refute the obvious and persist in his error, this is disbelief. This is disbelief if he acts in accordance with the pre-Islamic age of ignorance and the extremists of the misguided sects who know that they are not on the truth, but rather they did this out of stubbornness and defiance. There is no doubt that this is disbelief against Allah (Mighty and Majestic).