The ruling on using gestures in the hadiths of the attributes to clarify the meaning of an attribute or the like
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A teacher who teaches people; in the section on the attributes in the creed, you see him using gestures to facilitate understanding. For example, if he cites a hadith about the manifestation of the Lord to Musa, he extends his little finger, gesturing with the little finger or the like in the hadiths of the attributes. Is this action permissible? And if it is permissible, how do we reconcile the prohibition of some of the Salaf regarding it, such as the statement of al-Shafi'i and others? May Allah reward you with good.
This is a serious issue, and we are not more eager than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to convey the message to the Ummah. It was not his (peace and blessings be upon him) custom to gesture when speaking about the attributes. He informed his Ummah that the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night and says: (Who is calling Me that I may respond to him?) .
Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) extend his leg to show people how Allah descends? Absolutely not.
And he said: (He will come to judge between His servants on the Day of Resurrection) and he did not say "like this and like that." Likewise, Allah rose above the Throne, and he did not say "like my rising above the bed," or attempt to describe how that is.
And there is no doubt that the one who addresses the general public and then gestures with his hand to the meaning of an attribute, there is no doubt that he will cause the general public to imagine a physical form—Meaning: They will move from the meaning to the physical form—because the common person does not understand or think. So we say to the one who wishes to clarify or convey what Allah informed about Himself of the names and attributes, and what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) conveyed,We say: The guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient for you.
Then he may bring to us: (That the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the words of Allah the Exalted: ((Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing)) [al-Nisa: 58] and he placed his finger on his eye and the other on his ear),So we say: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to clarify the realization of this attribute, and he was addressing a group who had understanding and awareness. As for the general public, especially in our time, if they were told about every attribute in action, it would be a trial for some of them.And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [You will not tell a people a story that their minds cannot grasp, except that it will be a trial for some of them] and Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [Tell the people what they know. Do you want Allah and His Messenger to be lied about?] .
So if someone brings to us something like what occurred from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding hearing and seeing, or regarding the grasping of the heavens on the Day of Resurrection,So we say to him: For every occasion there is a specific statement, and we restrict ourselves to what the text has brought only, so he does not gesture in anything else; because no text has come regarding it.
This is a serious issue, and we are not more eager than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to convey the message to the Ummah. It was not his (peace and blessings be upon him) custom to gesture when speaking about the attributes. He informed his Ummah that the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night and says: (Who is calling Me that I may respond to him?) .
Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) extend his leg to show people how Allah descends? Absolutely not.
And he said: (He will come to judge between His servants on the Day of Resurrection) and he did not say "like this and like that." Likewise, Allah rose above the Throne, and he did not say "like my rising above the bed," or attempt to describe how that is.
And there is no doubt that the one who addresses the general public and then gestures with his hand to the meaning of an attribute, there is no doubt that he will cause the general public to imagine a physical form—Meaning: They will move from the meaning to the physical form—because the common person does not understand or think. So we say to the one who wishes to clarify or convey what Allah informed about Himself of the names and attributes, and what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) conveyed,We say: The guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient for you.
Then he may bring to us: (That the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the words of Allah the Exalted: ((Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing)) [al-Nisa: 58] and he placed his finger on his eye and the other on his ear),So we say: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to clarify the realization of this attribute, and he was addressing a group who had understanding and awareness. As for the general public, especially in our time, if they were told about every attribute in action, it would be a trial for some of them.And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [You will not tell a people a story that their minds cannot grasp, except that it will be a trial for some of them] and Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [Tell the people what they know. Do you want Allah and His Messenger to be lied about?] .
So if someone brings to us something like what occurred from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding hearing and seeing, or regarding the grasping of the heavens on the Day of Resurrection,So we say to him: For every occasion there is a specific statement, and we restrict ourselves to what the text has brought only, so he does not gesture in anything else; because no text has come regarding it.