Is there figurative language in the Noble Qur'an?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Is there figurative language in the Qur'an?
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : Is there figurative language in the Noble Qur'an?
The Shaykh : We do not believe in figurative language except in the narrow, defined sense, and we can bring a part of it; there are expressions in the Qur'an that some of the later scholars call figurative, but labeling this type as figurative contradicts their statement: "The default for every expression is literal, meaning it is to be interpreted according to its apparent meaning and its reality; it is not permissible to depart from it by interpreting it figuratively except for a sign." This is their definition of the literal and the figurative, but despite that, we find them coming to some expressions and saying that they are figurative, so their classification of this as figurative is purely a convention.
For example, His saying - the Exalted - :[Yusuf 12:82] They say: This is figurative, perhaps they call it the figurative of omission. Now, from the standpoint of Arabic style, no one understands the apparent meaning of the expression; and it is meaning its trees, its walls, and the like. This meaning does not occur to the mind of an Arab at all; rather, what occurs is its inhabitants, its people. And because this meaning is what occurs, this speech is not called figurative; because it is what occurs, yet they force it into the category of the figurative.
For example, the Arab says: The gutter of the Ka'bah flowed. If we were to take this old Arabic expression according to the method of the literal and the figurative; the literal of this expression is that the gutter melted due to the intensity of the heat until it flowed, but no one understands this meaning at all. What is understood? The gutter flowed; meaning: the water of the gutter. This is the literal, not the figurative, but they call it figurative.
When the discussion of this issue moves to what concerns the hadiths of the attributes and the verses of the attributes; we find that they deviated from the rule they indicated; that the default for every Arabic sentence is the literal, and one does not move from it to the figurative except out of necessity. So, for example, the well-known verse:[Al-Fajr 89:22] , they interpret it to mean "Your Lord did not come" !! And therefore he calls.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, the scholars of the Salaf call these who interpret figuratively "the deniers of the attributes," so our Lord says: , and they say: No, our Lord does not come and does not arrive, no, no, and so on, ; no, He does not descend. Why? He said: This is figurative! What compelled them to say it is figurative? There is nothing except their deviation from understanding the Book and the Sunnah in the Arabic style that the Companions understood directly from their Prophet - (peace and blessings be upon him) - , and therefore they did not strain themselves with figurative interpretation.
So, there is no figurative language except out of necessity; and where is the necessity in interpreting the verses of the attributes and the hadiths of the attributes? And this is a study that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah provided, where no one is able to bring what he brought.
The questioner : In faith?
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : In faith?
The Shaykh : The book "Faith and Figurative Language".
The questioner : And the figurative ... .
The Shaykh : A small treatise, yes, well known. Yes, do you have something here?
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : Is there figurative language in the Noble Qur'an?
The Shaykh : We do not believe in figurative language except in the narrow, defined sense, and we can bring a part of it; there are expressions in the Qur'an that some of the later scholars call figurative, but labeling this type as figurative contradicts their statement: "The default for every expression is literal, meaning it is to be interpreted according to its apparent meaning and its reality; it is not permissible to depart from it by interpreting it figuratively except for a sign." This is their definition of the literal and the figurative, but despite that, we find them coming to some expressions and saying that they are figurative, so their classification of this as figurative is purely a convention.
For example, His saying - the Exalted - :
And ask the city in which we were and the caravan in which we came
وَاسْأَلِ القَرْيَةَ الَّتِي كُنَّا فِيهَا وَالعِيرَ الَّتِي أَقْبَلْنَا فِيهَاAsk the town
اسأل القريةFor example, the Arab says: The gutter of the Ka'bah flowed. If we were to take this old Arabic expression according to the method of the literal and the figurative; the literal of this expression is that the gutter melted due to the intensity of the heat until it flowed, but no one understands this meaning at all. What is understood? The gutter flowed; meaning: the water of the gutter. This is the literal, not the figurative, but they call it figurative.
When the discussion of this issue moves to what concerns the hadiths of the attributes and the verses of the attributes; we find that they deviated from the rule they indicated; that the default for every Arabic sentence is the literal, and one does not move from it to the figurative except out of necessity. So, for example, the well-known verse:
And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank,
وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّاYour Lord came
جاء ربُّكThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, the scholars of the Salaf call these who interpret figuratively "the deniers of the attributes," so our Lord says:
Your Lord will come
جاء ربكOur Lord descends every night
ينزل ربنا في كل ليلةSo, there is no figurative language except out of necessity; and where is the necessity in interpreting the verses of the attributes and the hadiths of the attributes? And this is a study that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah provided, where no one is able to bring what he brought.
The questioner : In faith?
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : In faith?
The Shaykh : The book "Faith and Figurative Language".
The questioner : And the figurative ... .
The Shaykh : A small treatise, yes, well known. Yes, do you have something here?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.