The ruling on one who denies the names and attributes and shows disdain for learning them.

The questioner: If Allah wills, we will begin discussing ... - if Allah wills - this topic, and then we will leave the discussion to the brothers.
The question I wish to raise is: A few months ago, a man stood in one of the mosques in Kuwait and said: "Tawhid al-Asma' wa al-Sifat (the oneness of the names and attributes) did not exist in the first three noble centuries." He also said: "The issue of the names and attributes is not the basis for any actions." He also said: "They are purely philosophical issues, and 'ilm al-kalam (speculative theology)." He launched a severe campaign against the callers to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), claiming that they take the responses of the people of the Sunnah and the community to the philosophers and make them tawhid. He gave as an example "Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah" by Ibn Taymiyyah and "Sharh al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah"; he said: "These are the responses of the people of the Sunnah and the community to the philosophers, and they cannot be learned by a person simply; they require a teacher. Whereas the Companion would come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and learn the Islamic creed from him in five minutes." He said: "I do not know how to affirm that Allah has a hand?!"

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: He said: "Allah is the All-Knowing, the Subtle. Yes, but He has a hand. I do not know how to affirm Allah in the hand? What concerns me, is Allah in the sky or everywhere?" The issue of the names and attributes, tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat; did the righteous Salaf - the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and those with him - know it as we know it today with this precision, or is it - as this lecturer claims - that they pass over these texts as they come; meaning: they do not stop at them and contemplate their meanings?

The Shaykh: Praise is to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and the bad of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is no one who can misguide him, and whom He misguides, there is no one who can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His messenger, , , . As for what follows:
Indeed, the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the worst of matters are their innovations, every innovation is a religious innovation (bid'ah), every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. And after that:
What should be noted regarding this problem raised by that lecturer mentioned is: Do we stand upon the texts of the Book and the Sunnah in the way the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) understood them, or in the way the Khalaf (the later generations) understood them? This lecturer does not say a word that has not been preceded by a man from the scholars of the Salaf or the scholars of the Khalaf, in my belief and certainty. This is because both groups agree that the verses of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) must be understood, whether they relate to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) His names and attributes, or relate to His rulings and signs, or other matters of the Shari'ah that are gathered in the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). There is no one among the people of knowledge who says that we should not understand a verse from the verses of Allah! How, when our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) says: ? The attempt to understand the Qur'an and thereby understand the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is a matter in which there is no disagreement between the two groups, the Salaf and the Khalaf. Rather, the disagreement is: Are the texts of the Book and the Sunnah understood according to their apparent meaning without ta'wil (figurative interpretation) and tashbih (likening Allah to creation), or are they understood by the way of ta'wil with the tanzih (transcendence) agreed upon by both groups? This is the disagreement. And therefore, when the man says what was indicated by His ExcellencyThe questioner : he is only saying a word that no Muslim scholar before him has said. And it is sufficient for him - in my belief - as a warning, the saying of our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He): . This severe warning applies to everyone who follows a path in the Shari'ah that contradicts the path of the believers. And there is no doubt that the path of the believers is the path of the righteous Salaf, due to the consensus of the Ummah that the righteous Salaf are those whom Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) praised with excellence. And therefore, these Salaf proceeded to understand the verses of Allah and the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) all of them, including what relates to the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His beautiful names. As for the fact that the Salaf are the best of the generations; I do not think anyone needs to be reminded of that. But I want to remind you that the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) understood the verses and hadiths regarding the names and attributes of Allah as the Salafis who belong to this righteous Salaf understand them. They interpreted them and understood them according to their apparent meaning, with the tanzih (transcendence) that our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) imposes in such as His saying: .
Everyone knows that this verse, that this surah, and in it these short, blessed, good verses, contains tawhid (the oneness of Allah) for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His names and in His attributes. So who dares to say that the righteous Salaf did not understand the meaning of "Allah is One, the Self-Sufficient, who has not begotten nor been begotten, and there is none comparable to Him"? Naturally, the answer will be no, no one claims this claim. But I take this word as a preamble to say: Who dares to say that the Salaf did not investigate this surah at all, and passed over it like the noble ones, and did not stop at it, and did not build upon it a true, correct creed, which is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is One with no partner, and He is One in His essence, and One in His names, and One in His attributes and in His worship (Blessed and Exalted is He)?
This surah came in the Noble Qur'an explaining the terms of these verses one by one. So the claim that the righteous Salaf did not stop at these verses, if the intention is that they did not stop at them because of the clarity of their meaning and the clarity of what is intended from them; then this is a matter in which there is no doubt or doubt. And we say the same for all the verses in which there was disagreement in interpretation between those who belong to the righteous Salaf, like us, and the others who belong to the Khalaf, and who say - with severe regret, frankly: "The madhab (school of thought) of the Salaf is safer, and the madhab of the Khalaf is more wise and more knowledgeable."
But there is another group who are not of these nor of those, and the followers of this group have increased in the present time to escape the establishment of the argument against them. This group was named by the followers of the Salaf as "al-Waqifah" (the standers), and they are those who stand at the verses of attributes and hadiths of attributes, they do not explicitly state that they are with the Salaf in interpreting them clearly without ta'wil with tanzih, and they do not explicitly state that they are with the Khalaf in their way of ta'wil. As for their not standing with the righteous Salaf; that is due to the prevalence of partisanship over them, and their arrogance from following the truth after its clarity with those who call Muslims to follow the righteous Salaf in everything, especially what relates to the names and attributes of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). And they do not say or go to what the Khalaf went to; because it has become clear to them that this word - "that the madhab of the Khalaf is more knowledgeable and more wise" - is a false and lying statement that a person of intellect and sense would not say; because we all know, Salaf and Khalaf, that at the head of the list of the righteous Salaf is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So how can a Muslim who knows what comes out of his mouth say: "The way of the Salaf, and at its head is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), is safer, but the way of the Khalaf is more knowledgeable and more wise"?!
In that is an explicit preference of what the Khalaf are upon over what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and their followers from the righteous Salaf - I mean the three centuries attested to with excellence - were upon.
It is mentioned in the book *Al-Asma' wa al-Sifat* by Imam Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi; he narrated from Umm Salama that famous phrase which later became attributed to Imam Malik ibn Anas, the Imam of the City of Migration, that when he was asked—may Allah have mercy on him—about His saying—Blessed and Exalted is He—: , how did He rise above? He said: "The rising is known, the how is unknown, and asking about it is an innovation." Malik said: "Take this man out—meaningThe questioner : —; for he is an innovator." The origin of this word, which is authentic from the Imam of the City of Migration, is actually from Umm Salama—may Allah be pleased with her. Al-Bayhaqi narrated, as I mentioned earlier, that Umm Salama said: "The rising is known, the how is unknown." So how is it permissible for a person who has knowledge—while one who has no knowledge says whatever his desire and his soul, which commands evil, dictates—how can a person who has some knowledge, and fears Allah—Mighty and Majestic—, and does not stand on what he has no knowledge of, say: "The Salaf did not interpret these verses, but they passed over them as the noble ones do," as it is said?!
This is in addition to what I referred to earlier, which is attributing to the Companions a lack of reflection and contemplation of the Qur'an, especially what relates to the One who revealed the Qur'an—Glorified and Exalted is He. How can it be said, after the establishment of such narrations from the Salaf, from Umm Salama, and from Imam Malik, let alone others whose statements the famous al-Hakim, namely Imam al-Dhahabi, cited in his book titled *Al-'Ulu li-Allahi al-Ghafar*, or *Al-'Ulu li-Allahi al-'Azim*, which I abridged a few years ago? He mentioned there the reports—after mentioning the verses and hadiths—the reports from the Companions, then from the Tabi'un, then from those who followed them, and so on, then the scholars who came after them up to the time of Imam al-Dhahabi, who was in the first part of the eighth century of the Hijra. He mentioned the reports, and all of them hold to the interpretation of the verses and the hadiths in a way that contains absolutely no exaggeration, while adhering to the principle of His saying—Blessed and Exalted is He—: . Among those reports are the two we mentioned earlier from Umm Salama and from Imam Malik—may Allah have mercy on him: that the rising is known—meaning linguistically—but the how is unknown. This is the position of the Salaf. And this is what I say from the previous verse itself: . This denies the how, while hearing and sight are known to every Arab man.
And among the wonders of the contradiction of these "waqifah" (those who stop at the text without interpretation), who are neither from the Salaf nor from the Khalaf, is that they stop at certain points where there was seen to be disagreement between the people of hadith and the Sunnah on one hand, and the Mu'tazilah on the other. Then some of the Asha'irah and Maturidiyyah who claim affiliation with the people of the Sunnah followed the example of these Mu'tazilah. They forgot that the Salaf affirmed both the transcendence of Allah and the attribution of attributes to Him, applying this verse. They only forgot that there is no difference between affirming the attributes about which there was disagreement between the people of hadith and the Asha'irah, and the other attributes on which both groups, the people of hadith and the Asha'irah and their like, agreed to affirm; such as the attribute of hearing and sight. They do not hesitate, and they have the right to do so, and this is the belief of the Salaf, to say that Allah—Mighty and Majestic—has the attribute of hearing and the attribute of sight. So what is the difference between these two attributes established in the verse and any other attribute from the attributes mentioned in the Noble Qur'an? Such as the hand, for example, which the brother mentioned as an exampleThe questioner : , and the rising of the Most Merciful above His Throne—Blessed and Exalted is He—and the attribute of coming . What is the difference between believing in these two attributes—the attribute of hearing and sight—let alone the other attributes; the attribute of life, and the attribute of will, and power, and the like? They believe with us, we Salafis, and we follow the righteous Salaf. They believe in these attributes and find no difficulty in their hearts regarding it, and this is true faith. But why do they not apply this principle of believing in every attribute mentioned in the Book or in the Sunnah without asking how? When they believed in the attribute of hearing and sight, they said: "Hearing not like our hearing, and sight not like our sight." So what prevented them from saying: "Rising not like our rising, and descending not like our descending, and a hand not like our hand," and so on, applying this to all verses and hadiths of the attributes? We believe in them as they came, without asking how and without figurative interpretation. We believe in them as they came, not out of ignorance of them, but with knowledge of them; because Allah—Mighty and Majestic—revealed these verses in the language of the Qur'an, this language by which He revealed all the rulings of the Shari'ah, and by which we understood them. Similarly, we understand all matters of the unseen by this language, but without likening Allah to creation or comparing Him to creation.
As for the claim that researching the essence of Allah—Mighty and Majestic—His attributes and names is something that occurred later, and that it is from the philosophy of the philosophers; this is a very strange matter. Our Lord—Mighty and Majestic—says: . The scholars interpreted the word "worship" in its apparent meaning, so that they may fulfill the right of His worship, Him alone having no partner. But some mentioned another interpretation and said: "So that they may know Me, and I did not create the jinn and mankind except to know Me." This meaning does not contradict the first meaning in any way; because the true worship of Allah—Blessed and Exalted is He—cannot be realized in the heart of the believer unless he knows Allah—Mighty and Majestic—with true knowledge. And naturally, this knowledge can only be reached through the path of the Book and the Sunnah. This is because Allah—Mighty and Majestic—mentioned in the first chapter of al-Baqarah the first condition for the true believers when He said: . After mentioning faith in the unseen, He mentioned prayer and zakah and the like, then He said: . And if we return to the books of tafsir, we will find them in agreement on detailing the unseen here as everything that is hidden from your mind; that is, that your mind cannot grasp it. That is the unseen which must be believed in, with one condition: that it be from what came in the Book of Allah, or from what came in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah—(peace and blessings be upon him)—as an authentic hadith.
And there is no doubt that Allah—Blessed and Exalted is He—is the unseen of the unseen. Therefore, the scholars say: whatever comes to your mind, Allah—Mighty and Majestic—is other than that. They say this because it is an unseen that we do not grasp, as He said—Exalted is He—: . And since the matter is so, it is not permissible for us to stop at believing in this unseen—which we described approximately for the minds as the unseen of the unseen—except within the limits of what Allah—Mighty and Majestic—defined Himself by in the verses of His Book, and in the hadiths of His Prophet—(peace and blessings be upon him). And there is no doubt or doubt that the definition of Allah—Mighty and Majestic—of Himself to His servants was in this language—as I mentioned earlier—by which we understood the entire Shari'ah of Allah. So we must understand Allah—Mighty and Majestic—in His attributes in the same way we understood the verses of rulings and morals and the like.
The Salaf, as we have said, did not depart from this principle. They interpreted the Qur'an in the way that every Arab understands it. This is the intent behind some phrases attributed to some of the Salaf, such as Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah and others, when they say, "Let it pass as it came." They do not mean let it pass as it came without understanding, but rather let it pass as it came without figurative interpretation (ta'wil). This is because the meaning in it is clear, as we gave an example earlier with the attributes of hearing and sight. Therefore, one should not stop here and engage in figurative interpretation (ta'wil) as some of the extremists among the Mu'tazilah did. Some of these later people, who departed from the Salaf and the Khalaf in their stance of complete ignorance toward the verses of Allah and the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning the attributes, may not know that some of the Mu'tazilah interpreted the previous verse . They said: means the All-Knowing. This example clarifies for our brothers present what the term "denial of the divine attributes" (ta'til) means; that is, their negation. Naturally, this negation can only occur through the path of figurative interpretation (ta'wil) by one who claims to belong to Islam. So when the Mu'tazilah said: meaning: the All-Knowing; it became clear to anyone with knowledge that this is a denial of the attributes of hearing and sight. And why did the Mu'tazilah deny these two attributes? For the same reason that the figurative interpreters (muta'wilah) deny many of the verses of the attributes, such as rising above the Throne (istiwa'), the hand, and the like, which we referred to earlier. What is this reason? The Mu'tazilah said: If we say that Allah has hearing, we have likened Him to us. And if we say that Allah has sight, we have likened Him to us. Therefore, we say—meaning the Mu'tazilah—that Allah is not described as Hearing or Seeing, but rather the intent of this verse regarding these two attributes is that He is All-Knowing.
What did the Mu'tazilah gain by this figurative interpretation (ta'wil)? It is the same thing that the figurative interpreters (muta'wilah) gained by their many interpretations, and in reality, it is nothing. This is because when they said the All-Knowing, we today say so-and-so is All-Knowing. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) related from Yusuf (peace be upon him) when he said to the governor of Egypt: . So what did the Mu'tazilah gain from this interpretation of that noble verse when they said there is no hearing and no sight, but the meaning is All-Knowing? They gained nothing, because this attribute is also something by which the created are described. So what is the way out? The way out is to adhere to the Qur'anic text in its transcendence and affirmation; this is the transcendence, and the All-Knowing in the other verse. So we say He is the Hearing, but His hearing is not like our hearing. He is the Seeing, but His sight is not like our sight. His knowledge is not like our knowledge. It is sufficient for us to say that He is the Creator of these created beings, including their hearing and sight, as He said: . But everyone knows that the hearing and sight of this first created being—Adam (peace and blessings be upon him), whom Allah Himself described as making him hearing and seeing—everyone knows that his hearing and sight are created. And all that is created does not resemble the Creator (Glorified and Exalted is He). Therefore, the truth that a Muslim must believe in first, and find rest in it from the trial of likening Allah to creation (tashbih) and denial of the divine attributes (ta'til) in which the Mu'tazilah fell long ago, and then some of those who claim to follow the Sunnah, the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah, followed them, is the combining of transcendence and affirmation. Because there is no escape for any person or any sect from affirming for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) at least some of the attributes. And whatever attribute one affirms for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), one will find that attribute present in the creation of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So we say, for example, after every prayer, the Verse of the Throne: "The Living, the Everlasting." And here we are now, we are alive. Does the fact that we say we are alive mean that we have likened ourselves in the attribute of life to the life of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), which is eternal, having no beginning and no creator, and He is the One who exists where there is nothing, as came in the authentic hadiths? No one ever thinks of such a doubt except in the manner of these deniers of attributes (mu'til) who led them to deny real facts because of their deviation from the Islamic Shari'ah, the Book and the Sunnah, and even more so their deviation from the methodology of the righteous Salaf. These people are compelled to say one of two things according to their method of denying the attribute of hearing and sight like the Mu'tazilah, and the method of denying the attribute of descending, coming, and rising above the Throne (istiwa') and the like by the Asha'irah and their like. They must say one of two things:
We who are alive are not alive. Why? Because if we say I am alive and you are alive, it becomes a sharing with the Living (Glorified and Exalted is He), the Everlasting. Does anyone say this? In order to transcend Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from resembling the created, there is no necessary connection between the two things at all. And therefore, they did not fall into this catastrophe. None of them said, "We are not alive." Rather, they say, "Our life is not like His life (Blessed and Exalted is He). His life is intrinsic, and our life is acquired by His creation (Blessed and Exalted is He)."
Or they say—and this is more extreme—since we are alive, then Allah is not Alive, because He is Seeing, which is likening. No, this is not what a person is required to say. And they never fell into this great catastrophe. But they said something exactly similar to it. Reflect with me and you will find the matter with this complete clarity. What is the difference between saying "Man is alive, and Allah is alive, but the life of Allah is not like our life," which is a self-evident truth, and the difference between saying "Allah is Hearing and Seeing, but not like our hearing and sight"? This is exactly like that, because we established transcendence and then affirmed . So what is the difference then between saying "He rose above the Throne (istiwa') not like our rising, and He comes not like our coming, and He descends not like our descending"? And what is the meaning of the claim that the Salaf did not understand the meaning of "Allah descends every night in the last third to the lowest heaven"? Who says that the Salaf did not understand this? The Salaf understood and believed, as He (the Exalted) said: .
Look at what the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah did with one of these attributes that the Salaf affirmed, and we are with them in that, of course. They did what the Mu'tazilah did. The Mu'tazilah interpreted hearing and sight with what you know to be knowledge. They were told, "You have done nothing, because humans are also described as knowing. What do you say to that?" They said, "The knowledge of Allah is not like the knowledge of these people." So, leave the text alone and say, "The hearing of Allah is not like the hearing of humans, and His sight is likewise." The later Asha'irah did something similar. What did they say? Everyone knows that they interpreted the verse of istiwaa' , as "seizing control" (istiwla'). You know this, but perhaps many of you did not know the objection raised against them and how they got out of it. They were told, "You interpreted the istiwaa' mentioned in the verse as istiwla' to escape likening Allah to creation, because you claim that if we say , it is likening Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to kings. So you said 'He seized control.' But what you fled from is what you fell into, and into something more severe. Because the word 'istawla' (seized control) implies that it preceded Allah (Mighty and Majestic), even for a moment, that He was overpowered in His affairs, not in control of His kingdom, and then He seized control. This is far more dangerous than what you imagine from interpreting the verse of istiwaa' as an istiwaa' befitting His Majesty and Perfection. So what did they say? They said, "No, we say 'istawaa' means 'istawla' (seized control)' but we remove the meaning of 'overcoming' (mughalabah). That is, the meaning by which they interpreted the Qur'anic text, claiming to escape likening, they returned from, because if it is said that so-and-so seized control of something, it means he seized control by overcoming. So they say, "No, we remove the word or meaning of 'overcoming.' So nothing was left in their hands! If they had remained with the verse as the Salaf did, and as you just learned from the reports of the predecessors , namely: the istiwaa' is known, and the how is unknown, if they had remained with this meaning, it would have been better for them than that ta'wil (figurative interpretation) which they quickly disavowed and returned from. Yet they still argue with falsehood to this day, saying, "No, we do not say 'istawaa' because on its surface it implies likening. Well, what do you say? Because of this ta'wil, whose falsity has become apparent, a group emerged who called themselves, or were called by others, "the Waqifah" (the standers). They are neither with the Salaf nor with the Khalaf. And I think this lecturer referred to is one of these people. Therefore, the truth—as the investigating scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah and their like said—is that "the madhab (school) of the Salaf is safest, most knowledgeable, and most wise." It is all good, as it was said:
"And all good is in following those who came before *** And all evil is in the innovation of those who came after"
And this is something we feel with our own hands.
Look now, when we affirm all the divine attributes, what do they accuse us of? That we liken our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) to the created things. And we say, "O people, fear Allah. We say as Allah taught us: , , and He comes and descends, and He istawa' (rose above) the Throne, and the like of that, . So they accuse us of an accusation! And this is one of the effects of partisanship against the madhab of the righteous Salaf. But look now how they compel themselves to misguidance and deviation from the Shari'ah when they submit to the madhab of the Khalaf in ta'wil. When verses of istiwaa', being above, and descending, and the like of those verses by which Imam al-Dhahabi affirmed the attribute of Highness for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), these Khalaf deny all these legal realities. They say Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not described as being above, and consequently not described as being below. And they explicitly stated absolute negation, saying Allah is not above, nor below, nor right, nor left, nor in front, nor behind, not inside the world, nor outside it. And some of them added—as it is said, "a straw on a camel's load"—"not connected to it, nor separated from it!" By Allah, you are being asked about the great matter. Tell me: if it were said to the most eloquent of the Arabs, "Describe for us the non-existent thing that has no existence," could he describe it with more than what these people describe their object of worship? When they say of it: "Allah is not above, nor below, not right, nor left, not in front, nor behind, not inside the world, nor outside it." What is left? Nothing is left but non-existence. And some of them added—as you heard—"not connected to it, nor separated from it!"
And therefore, be aware of the danger of this negation. One of the intelligent princes, when he witnessed a discussion between one of the great scholars of the Salaf and many of the shaykhs of the Khalaf, they debated in his presence. This Salafi affirmed for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) the attribute of being above with many verses, which you do not need us to recite for you; such as: . When he heard the affirmation of thisThe Shaykh : Salafi, and the denial of those like what you heard, he said a word that indicates his wit and intellect. He said: "These are a people who have lost their Lord! These are a people who have lost their Lord!" Those who say of their Lord: "Not above, nor below, not right, nor left, not inside the world, nor outside it," no doubt they have been ignorant of their object of worship! And from here it becomes clear to you how a Muslim can believe in Allah while he purifies Him, in his claim, from being inside the world or outside it? There is only a created thing or an uncreated thing... And at that time, this Creator; either He is inside the world, or He is outside the world. So if it is said He is not inside the world nor outside it, they have judged Him as non-existent. And therefore that wise prince said: "These are a people who have lost their Lord!" And this is a reality we know and hear here in the lands of Sham on the pulpits. This word denying the existence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), I heard it on the pulpit repeatedly, teaching the common Muslims this attribute for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it is negation and absolute denial. And true is the one who said: "The one who ascribes a body to Allah worships an idol, and the one who denies the attributes worships non-existence!" "The one who ascribes a body to Allah worships an idol, and the one who denies the attributes worships non-existence!" Who is the one who denies the attributes? It is the one who denies the divine attributes. So this one who says, fleeing in his claim from likening and from ascribing a body, says: "Allah is not above, nor below," to the end of the great misguidance that you heard. This is better than that one who ascribes a body—and both are in misguidance!—I say it is better than him because he affirmed something to worship, whereas this one who denies the attributes has denied the existence of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), and described Him with an attribute that no person who truly believes in the existence of the Creator would believe except that He is one of two things: either He is inside the world, or He is outside it.
And the texts from the Book and the Sunnah all came mutually supporting, affirming that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has the attribute of Highness. And we know that all Muslims agree on a reality, even if they differ in its details as we are now, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has all attributes of perfection, and He is purified from all attributes of deficiency. So let us think now about what the Salaf believe, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said: , and described His believing servants as ; so He has the attribute of being above. As for these people, they say what you heard of absolute negation. Some of them realized this clear, easy misguidance, so they fled to another misguidance. When they said He is not described as being inside the world nor outside it, it became clear to them that this equals Allah having no existence! Because this existence is either in this created existence, or it is an independent existence completely separated from this created existence. It became clear to them that when those say He is not inside the world nor outside it, this is false rationally, let alone being false religiously! So what solution did they bring? This solution you hear today in every place, in every gathering, on no occasion or on an occasion, you hear them saying: "Allah exists in every existence," "Allah exists in every place." This is the belief of the Muslims existing today, from those who are known as the people of the Sunnah.
What we mentioned earlier is the belief of some of the theologians, but its falsity has been exposed, so it has fallen from its root. However, they turned to other misguidances; they said, "Allah is present in every place!" How is Allah present in every place, when you denied that Allah is above all creation, claiming that if we say Allah is above all creation, we have placed Him in a location?! That is a doubt raised by them. The second doubt is that we have ascribed a body to Him. Both of these doubts are false. That is because the first doubt, which is that if we say Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above all creation, we have, in their claim, placed Him in a location—a claim that is false, as I will explain, if Allah wills—so their statement that Allah is present in every place is a more misguided path than the one who says that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above all creation. This is because the phrase "every place" includes pure places and filthy places; it includes places with taverns, bars, dance halls, sewers, and so on. So if you refuse to say with us that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above all creation, claiming that we have placed Him in a location, how are you satisfied with yourselves to place Him in every place, even in these filthy places?! When this misguidance becomes clear to them—and it is clear, praise be to Allah—they return and say, "No, we do not intend that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is in every place by His Essence, but we say His knowledge is in every place." We say, "Good, that Allah is in every place by His knowledge is a correct and Salafi belief." Therefore, it was reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) in the interpretation of the verse to which some of these people who use figurative interpretation to deny the attribute of being above might resort, which is His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): —excuse me—. It is authentic from Ibn Abbas that he interpreted it as: "And He is with you by His knowledge." So if they say, "We did not intend that He is in a place by His Essence, but by His knowledge," we say: This interpretation is correct, and this belief is correct; that is, Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is with all His creations by His knowledge. But we return and ask a question clearer than the previous one: Where is Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) by His Essence, O you who use figurative interpretation? Rather, O you who deny the divine attributes? Rather, O you who stand still? Those who say that researching this belief is misguidance and deviation, and such words? You will find them bewildered! You will not hear an answer from them! After they have cleared themselves by using figurative interpretation, saying, "We mean that Allah is present in every place by His action," good, but the question returns. And we often classify the question as follows, so that the misguidance of the group and their deviation from the Shari'ah becomes clear: The Allah whom you worship, O Muslim, is this Allah whom you worship present or lost?
Look at the question now; it does not contain any of the attributes of Allah, but it is a question about the Essence of Allah, who is described with all attributes of perfection. Is the Allah whom you worship present or lost? The answer will obviously be "present." I seek refuge in Allah! What kind of question is this?! Good, this Allah whom you worship—and He is certainly present—where is He? Now, here you do not hear the answer. Why? Because he cannot say, "Allah is in every place," after we have clarified to him the misguidance of that answer. And so they were forced to say that Allah is in every place by His knowledge. But we returned the question to them in another way, so that we confined the question to the Essence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), who has all attributes of perfection. You do not hear an answer from them. Why? Because they disbelieved in the verses of Allah, not by their wording. You will not find a Muslim—and this is a fact that our Salafi brothers in all lands of the world must know—you will not find a Muslim, no matter how deep in misguidance he is, who denies a verse from the Noble Qur'an, because in that case he exits the religion and has no relation to this Islam at all. But many of them deny dozens of texts from the Qur'an, let alone the Sunnah, by way of figurative interpretation, which is denial of the divine attributes. For that reason, they fell into absolute denial, as you heard, that the one who denies the divine attributes worships non-existence. They do not say the answer to the previous question: "Allah is above all the heavens." Why? Even though the answer is what we read every night, especially we, the people of the Sunnah, who maintain the supplications reported from the Messenger. Among them is that he did not sleep every night except after reading Surat al-Buruj. In Surat al-Buruj, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) says: . How do you say, "You are asked where Allah is," and you remain silent? Did you not read this verse? Yes, our brothers, they read this verse, but they distorted it, they changed its meaning. Do you know what they said? , meaning the angels of Allah. This is the figurative interpretation that is exactly similar to absolute denial. He is saying: You are saying, meaning the angels of Allah? We brought them a famous hadith on the tongues—and it is established, praise be to Allah—. Who is in the sky? Again, the angels of Allah!!
All of this is a distortion of dozens, indeed hundreds, of texts. Why, O people? If the matter were something worthy and secured by such figurative interpretation, we would say, by Allah, they have a right to it. But what do they benefit from figurative interpretation after you have known that when they interpret the texts, they say, "No, we do not want the bad meaning from this figurative interpretation," as you heard in the issue of rising above the Throne, they said, "The rising above!" "The seizing" means overcoming. No, we removed the word "overcoming." So you did nothing, you did not interpret, the verse remained as it is, and we remained with the verse: . The Salaf, Abu al-Aliyah and others, interpreted it as in "Sahih al-Bukhari": "He rose above," with a height exalted from resembling created things. The matter ends there. So here you find these people do not answer that question with an answer from the Noble Qur'an . Why? They interpreted this, and they interpreted that, so they live in a vortex of figurative interpretation by which they do not reach knowledge of the Lord of the worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He). But if we return to the righteous Salaf, we find a slave girl who may be non-Arab, and may be black. And I say, she may be non-Arab, and may be black, because some narrations that came in which she was non-Arab and black are not authentic, but it is possible that she was so. But she is a gentle woman and a shepherdess of sheep, and you find her in this belief more knowledgeable than the great scholars, these people who use figurative interpretation, like the Maturidiyyah and the Asha'irah. Perhaps you remember with me the story of this slave girl whose master was Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami. He narrates his story himself, and in it are lessons, including what we are discussing. Mu'awiyah said: "I prayed one day behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and a man next to me sneezed in the prayer, so I said to him, 'May Allah have mercy on you.' They looked at me, so I raised my voice saying, 'Woe to your mother! Why are you looking at me?' It is very clear that the man was new to Islam and had not learned what is permissible for him to say in prayer and what is not. He said: 'So they struck their thighs to silence him.' He said: 'When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he turned to me.' Imagine the situation of this person after it became clear to him that he had made a grave error in prayer, that he would be reprimanded, if he had not insulted him or wronged him. This is how such a man imagines it, and this is what happens today, unfortunately. But the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), whom Allah (Mighty and Majestic) described with truth in His saying: , did not investigate what might have been in this person's mind. He said: 'When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he turned to me. By Allah, he did not humiliate me, nor did he overpower me, nor did he strike me, nor did he insult me, but he only said to me: . This is all the advice the Messenger (peace be upon him) gave him for that sin that occurred from him in the prayer."
And there is no doubt that a rational person, when he is blessed with a teacher and guide of great character, hopes to learn something new after realizing that he was in deep ignorance. So he seized the opportunity and began asking the Messenger (peace be upon him) question after question. He asked him, saying: “O Messenger of Allah, some of us visit fortune-tellers.” He said: . He said: “Some of us take omens.” He said: . He said: “Some of us draw lines in the sand.” He (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Then he said: “O Messenger of Allah—and here is the point— I have a slave girl who tends my sheep at Uhud. One day a wolf attacked my sheep, and I am a human being who gets angry as humans do, so I struck her a blow, and I am obligated to free a slave. It is as if he was asking: Is that sufficient for me?—he admitted his mistake—Is it sufficient for me to free her?” He said: . When she came, he (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: ; she answered, without being confused as those who engage in figurative interpretation are confused, . She said: “In the sky.” He said to her: . She said: “You are the Messenger of Allah.” He said to her master: . I say: This is a slave girl tending sheep, and what is required of a shepherdess is that she be ignorant, but I believe that this woman lived in a pure Muslim environment. Why not? And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was reciting to them morning and evening what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) was revealing to them of the verses of Allah?!
In short, this woman lived in a Muslim environment in terms of creed and practice, and this is natural. Likewise, the Muslim world should live in such an environment entirely. But how can it do so? They have split into many paths and numerous schools, and divided into seventy-three sects? Where do they get the environment that was available to that slave girl, so that our women, like our men, understand the creed that every Muslim must believe in? Where do they get that? And we find people who hold the pen and write in some magazines whatever comes to mind, attacking the creed of the Salaf, claiming that the Salaf did not believe in this creed?!
This is the most dangerous thing a person hears in the present age: that someone comes to the creed of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and dilutes its subject matter, and that it is enough to say “La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad rasul Allah” (There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), even if one does not understand the meaning of “Ilah” (God)? This slave girl understood her Lord as He is described (Blessed and Exalted is He) in the Book and the Sunnah. She answered with complete ease and without thinking, looking at the matter, because she lived in this creed: “Allah is in the sky.” Today, gather with the great scholars, the great preachers, and the writers; ask them this question. I consider this an exam directed at every Muslim today. If you wish, ask: “Where is Allah?” You will find their faces darken at this question. Some of them explicitly state that this question is misguidance, and they are ignorant that the one who taught us this is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who testifies with his tongue that he is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, and he says this question is misguidance. Better than them are those who are confused by this question and do not know what to say. And some of them, as you heard, say: “Allah is present everywhere!” When they realize the danger and misguidance of this statement, they go back and say: “I meant that He is everywhere with His knowledge.” Well, where is Allah? They do not know! So true is the saying of the one who said: “These are a people who have lost their Lord!”
I return now to prove that the creed of the Salaf is truly the safest, the most knowledgeable, and the most wise. Now you know what is refuted regarding the creed of the Khalaf (the later generations) by their figurative interpretation of the verses of attributes. This interpretation led them to rule that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) does not exist, because He is neither inside the world nor outside it, with the certain knowledge that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) was before He created, and there was nothing at all. So where was Allah before? Was He in a place? Obviously, logical and religious speech says He was not in a place, because Allah is the One who is free from needing a place. So when we say, as stated in the Noble Qur'an: , is He in a place? The answer is: He is not in a place.
And I had a discussion with some of the Azhar scholars a few years ago while I was in Mina...
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The completion of the answer is in the next tape, number: .