Is the attribute of the Self an attribute of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in addition to His Essence, or is it the Essence itself?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Welcome, please go ahead, I am listening.
The questioner : The verses that were revealed and established the attribute of the Self for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in many Prophetic hadiths. My question is: Is the Self an attribute of the Essence, distinct from the Essence, or is it the Essence itself?
The Shaykh : The woman you mentioned to you.
The questioner : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : They did nothing to her.
The questioner : They did nothing to her, if Allah wills, we will speak with them tomorrow.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : The Self mentioned in the verses and hadiths.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Is it an attribute of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in addition to the Essence, or is it the Essence itself? The origin of the question is that the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) (Glorified and Exalted is He) refutes those who say that the Self is an attribute of the Essence, distinct from the Essence, based on the common linguistic usage, such as "I saw Zayd himself" and similar expressions. So I do not know whether you agree with the Shaykh al-Islam in this statement or disagree with him?
The Shaykh : I do not have a clear opinion on this issue, but in my belief, the word "Self" is interpreted according to the text in which it appears. For example, are you recalling a text from those texts?
The questioner: He mentionedThe Shaykh : A collection of texts, including the following:[Al-Ma'idah 5:116], [Ali 'Imran 3:28], , and the transmitted hadiths.
The Shaykh : The apparent meaning here is that the Self means the Essence.
The questioner : And likewise in the other hadiths.
The Shaykh : I cannot make that generalization.
The questioner : The Shaykh al-Islam brings the texts, enumerates them, and multiplies the texts, and he refutes those who say that it is an attribute distinct from the Essence. This is the matter.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : I have a collection, for example, al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi in his creed mentions the attributes one by one and mentions the Self.
The Shaykh : One of the attributes!
The questioner : Likewise, 'Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Darimi, and likewise Ibn Khuzaymah and a group of others.
The Shaykh : As I told you at the beginning of the answer: I do not have a comprehensive study on the subject, but it is said: we interpret the term according to its context. In some of the texts you mentioned, it appears that the intended meaning of the Self is the Essence, and Allah knows best.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Do you have anything else?
The questioner: No.
The questioner : The verses that were revealed and established the attribute of the Self for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in many Prophetic hadiths. My question is: Is the Self an attribute of the Essence, distinct from the Essence, or is it the Essence itself?
The Shaykh : The woman you mentioned to you.
The questioner : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : They did nothing to her.
The questioner : They did nothing to her, if Allah wills, we will speak with them tomorrow.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : The Self mentioned in the verses and hadiths.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Is it an attribute of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in addition to the Essence, or is it the Essence itself? The origin of the question is that the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) (Glorified and Exalted is He) refutes those who say that the Self is an attribute of the Essence, distinct from the Essence, based on the common linguistic usage, such as "I saw Zayd himself" and similar expressions. So I do not know whether you agree with the Shaykh al-Islam in this statement or disagree with him?
The Shaykh : I do not have a clear opinion on this issue, but in my belief, the word "Self" is interpreted according to the text in which it appears. For example, are you recalling a text from those texts?
The questioner: He mentionedThe Shaykh : A collection of texts, including the following:
You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself
تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلَا أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَAnd Allah warns you of Himself
وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُYour Lord has decreed mercy for Himself
كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَThe Shaykh : The apparent meaning here is that the Self means the Essence.
The questioner : And likewise in the other hadiths.
The Shaykh : I cannot make that generalization.
The questioner : The Shaykh al-Islam brings the texts, enumerates them, and multiplies the texts, and he refutes those who say that it is an attribute distinct from the Essence. This is the matter.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : I have a collection, for example, al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi in his creed mentions the attributes one by one and mentions the Self.
The Shaykh : One of the attributes!
The questioner : Likewise, 'Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Darimi, and likewise Ibn Khuzaymah and a group of others.
The Shaykh : As I told you at the beginning of the answer: I do not have a comprehensive study on the subject, but it is said: we interpret the term according to its context. In some of the texts you mentioned, it appears that the intended meaning of the Self is the Essence, and Allah knows best.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Do you have anything else?
The questioner: No.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.