The Ash'ari Position on Seeing Allah and the Interpretation of “Toward Her Lord She Gaze”
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The questioner:
And the Shaykh, meaning the Ash'aris or the Kitabiyah, deny the mercy of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The Shaykh:
Yes. They do not deny it absolutely. I do not know about the Kitabiyah, but the Ash'aris say that He is seen, but not in a direction. They do not affirm the attribute of being above for Allah. They say He is seen in a non-direction, which is impossible. Is there anything that is seen while being in a non-direction? This is impossible. This is a concession to falsehood. Yes. The issues that are mentioned as being held by Abu al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) are strong in the matter of kasb (acquisition). He says that the actions of the servants are an acquisition for them, and are not called their actions, but are only called an acquisition. The people of the Sunnah say they are their actions, which they did by their choice. He says no, it is a direction.
So there is no difference between acquisition and actions. For this reason, a great scholar said a point, saying: “It is said, but there is no known reality beneath it for those of understanding. Acquisition is with the Ash'ari, the state is with the Hashimi, and the leap is with the Nazzami. The first is the acquisition of the Ash'ari. He says there is no difference between acquisition and action. He says no, there is a difference. Yes.
The questioner:
Yes, indeed.
The Shaykh:
He says this is not in the language of the Arabs, nor even in the language of the non-Arabs. There is no “toward Her Lord She Gaze” meaning looking toward. Yes. “Ila” means the plural of a tool, and it is “niam” (blessings). “Ila” means they say it is the plural of “niam.” “Ala'” means blessings. He says this is not in the language of the Arabs, nor in the language of the non-Arabs, nor in the language of any nation.
When “nazar” (looking) is transitive with “ila” (toward), its meaning is direct visual perception. “Ila” is not a plural, but rather a preposition. No one from the people of language has said this. No one from the people of human language has said that “ila” becomes a plural. It is a preposition. A preposition of connection. Yes.
And the Shaykh, meaning the Ash'aris or the Kitabiyah, deny the mercy of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The Shaykh:
Yes. They do not deny it absolutely. I do not know about the Kitabiyah, but the Ash'aris say that He is seen, but not in a direction. They do not affirm the attribute of being above for Allah. They say He is seen in a non-direction, which is impossible. Is there anything that is seen while being in a non-direction? This is impossible. This is a concession to falsehood. Yes. The issues that are mentioned as being held by Abu al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) are strong in the matter of kasb (acquisition). He says that the actions of the servants are an acquisition for them, and are not called their actions, but are only called an acquisition. The people of the Sunnah say they are their actions, which they did by their choice. He says no, it is a direction.
So there is no difference between acquisition and actions. For this reason, a great scholar said a point, saying: “It is said, but there is no known reality beneath it for those of understanding. Acquisition is with the Ash'ari, the state is with the Hashimi, and the leap is with the Nazzami. The first is the acquisition of the Ash'ari. He says there is no difference between acquisition and action. He says no, there is a difference. Yes.
The questioner:
Yes, indeed.
The Shaykh:
He says this is not in the language of the Arabs, nor even in the language of the non-Arabs. There is no “toward Her Lord She Gaze” meaning looking toward. Yes. “Ila” means the plural of a tool, and it is “niam” (blessings). “Ila” means they say it is the plural of “niam.” “Ala'” means blessings. He says this is not in the language of the Arabs, nor in the language of the non-Arabs, nor in the language of any nation.
When “nazar” (looking) is transitive with “ila” (toward), its meaning is direct visual perception. “Ila” is not a plural, but rather a preposition. No one from the people of language has said this. No one from the people of human language has said that “ila” becomes a plural. It is a preposition. A preposition of connection. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 24 من 36 /شرح العقيدة الواسطية (شرح قديم)/الإيمان بأن القرآن كلام الله/صالح الفوزان/العقيدة — youtube.com (1:03:01)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.