What is the interpretation of "face" in the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Every thing will be destroyed except His face"? Does this imply metaphorical usage?

The questioner : May Allah preserve you, honorable father, he says:The questioner : What is the interpretation of "face" in the saying of Allah the Exalted: Does this verse imply metaphorical usage? I ask for clarification, and may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : This is also one of the verses they call metaphorical, but there is no metaphor here, because the intended meaning, as is the usage of the Noble Qur'an in some verses, is the Essence of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. If the matter concerned humans, we would say it is from the category of mentioning a part to mean the whole, but our Lord is not described as having parts. However, this expression is known in the Arabic language. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says: So His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: means the Fajr prayer, and there is no metaphor here, because this is the Qur'anic style indicated by the context, or more precisely, by the preceding text, where He said at the beginning of the verse: meaning: Establish the Qur'an So the Qur'an intended here is the Fajr prayer. Therefore He said: If we refer to the authentic hadiths, we will find that it means the Fajr prayer which the angels witness. So calling this a metaphor, as mentioned previously in the answer to a previous question, is a term used by some, but the truth is that this is the reality. And there is much of this, and a great deal of it, of mentioning a part to mean the whole. He said, Exalted is He: Here too, the intended meaning is "read," meaning: Pray what is easy for you of the night prayer. This is the meaning of this verse; it is not intended to mean "read in the night prayer what is easy for you of the Qur'an," but rather "pray what is easy for you of the standing in the night prayer," a quarter, a third, or half, as came in the verses preceding this one. Similarly, for example, the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): An Arab does not understand that if a Muslim does not perform any of the pillars of Hajj except standing at 'Arafah, and that is it, everything is finished, with no arrival tawaf, no sa'y, and no tawaf of ifadah, but only standing at 'Arafah. Who understands it in this way?
The non-Arab does, but the Arab says: meaning: The greatest pillar of Hajj is 'Arafah. This style is known among the Arabs; some call it metaphor. There is no dispute over terminology, but no one understands that the entire Hajj is standing at 'Arafah. So the important point in the matter is that the verse: does not mean that His face remains while His Essence, Blessed and Exalted is He, does not, but rather His Essence, Blessed and Exalted is He, remains with all His attributes.