The Noble Shaykh (may Allah preserve him) — Is there any figurative language in the Noble Qur'an? I ask for clarification.
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The questioner : The Noble Shaykh (may Allah preserve him) says:The questioner : Is there any figurative language in the Noble Qur'an? I ask for clarification.
The Shaykh : We have researched this issue extensively in this journey and discussed it to the extent that Allah made easy for us. So, based on what I understood from the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his pious student Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah:
The figurative language claimed by the scholars of theology and the deniers of the divine attributes regarding many of the verses and attributes of Allah has no basis. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that what those people call figurative language, which they use as evidence against the people of the Sunnah in establishing their own figurative interpretation, is not a matter of figurative language. Rather, they are naming it with this name, as per the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):. For example, the scholars of theology claim or argue for the establishment of their figurative interpretation, by which they denied many of the attributes of their Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He), using such as the saying of the Exalted: [Yusuf 12:82]. Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: It is not valid for them to argue that there is figurative language in this verse, because figurative language, in the understanding of those who assert it, is taking the apparent meaning of the verse, which is the literal meaning, and moving it to a figurative meaning that does not come to mind first, but rather the listener is compelled to go to that meaning due to evidence or a context. The reality in this verse and its like is the opposite of that. That is, when the Arab man hears this verse as a report from the tongue of the brothers of Yusuf (peace be upon him) , no one’s mind suggests that he is commanding to ask the village with its mountains, its gardens, its trees, its soil, its sand, and the like. Rather, what comes to mind is the people of the village and the people of the caravan. So this is the literal meaning, and it is not called the figurative meaning, because the meaning that comes to mind from this verse is the literal meaning. Even if they agreed to call it figurative and that it is a matter of figurative omission and estimation, as is apparent from what I mentioned earlier that it is the intended meaning of the verse , meaning the people of the village, and so on for the entire verse, the apparent meaning here is the literal meaning, contrary to what they call the figurative meaning. This is what can be mentioned on this occasion.
And the summary of that is: that the figurative language... that it be a true figurative language in the understanding of those who assert figurative language, this has no basis in the Noble Qur'an or in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
Or it is a literal meaning to which they applied the name figurative, in which case we say: it is a naming that is not in accordance with its reality, as mentioned earlier. This is what I have, and we ask Allah to guide us to understand the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet according to the methodology of our righteous predecessors (may Allah be pleased with them).
The Shaykh : We have researched this issue extensively in this journey and discussed it to the extent that Allah made easy for us. So, based on what I understood from the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his pious student Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah:
The figurative language claimed by the scholars of theology and the deniers of the divine attributes regarding many of the verses and attributes of Allah has no basis. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that what those people call figurative language, which they use as evidence against the people of the Sunnah in establishing their own figurative interpretation, is not a matter of figurative language. Rather, they are naming it with this name, as per the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
There will be among my Ummah people who drink intoxicants and call it by a name other than its name.
ليكونن في أمتي أقوامٌ يشربون الخمر يسمونها بغير اسمهاAnd ask the city in which we were and the caravan in which we came - and indeed, we are truthful,"
واسأل القرية التي كنا فيها والعِير التي أقبلنا فيها وإنا لصادقونAnd ask the village
واسأل القريةAnd ask the village
واسأل القريةAnd the summary of that is: that the figurative language... that it be a true figurative language in the understanding of those who assert figurative language, this has no basis in the Noble Qur'an or in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
Or it is a literal meaning to which they applied the name figurative, in which case we say: it is a naming that is not in accordance with its reality, as mentioned earlier
