In many tafsirs, if not all of them, they interpret the saying of Allah the Exalted

The questioner : A questioner says: Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Then he says: I inform you that I love you for the sake of Allah. Then he asks: In many tafsirs, if not all of them, they interpret the saying of Allah the Exalted: as meaning that He is with us by His knowledge, hearing, and sight. They also interpret His saying: as meaning that the angels are the ones close to us. What is your opinion, may Allah reward you with good, if we depart from this interpretation and say that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, is with us in a manner befitting His majesty, and is near to us in a nearness befitting His majesty?

The Shaykh : What the questioner has arrived at is acceptable in general. However, specifically regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: , the Salaf interpreted this verse. And when I say “interpret” (ta’wil), I mean the authentic Arabic meaning, which is tafsir (exegesis), because ta’wil has two meanings: a linguistic meaning and a later technical meaning. The linguistic meaning is tafsir. When Allah the Exalted said in the Noble Qur’an: , He only meant this meaning, which is tafsir, and what matters ultimately lead to. It does not mean ta’wil in the technical sense, which is taking the meaning of a verse or hadith away from its apparent meaning to another meaning, either due to a legal or rational indication, as they say. Ta’wil in the sense of interpreting the text is contrary to what is commonly assumed technically. However, ta’wil in the sense of tafsir is the authentic, ancient legal and Arabic meaning. Its usage in the Qur’an came in this way, as you heard: . Likewise, for example, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated for Abdullah ibn Abbas and said about him: , he did not intend by ta’wil here... like the scholars of kalam (theology) who negate the legal texts by interpreting them and taking them away from their correct indication. No, the intention was: O Allah, grant him deep understanding in the religion and teach him tafsir, meaning: the exegesis of the Qur’an. And so it was; Allah, Mighty and Majestic, answered the supplication of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Ibn Abbas, despite his young age when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) died—he was on the verge of puberty—died while still young in age. Nevertheless, he was truly the interpreter of the Qur’an. It is established from Ibn Abbas that he interpreted this verse. Therefore, I say: interpreting it in what some people call ta’wil in the technical sense, meaning taking the meaning away from its apparent text, is not the case. And when he said: His saying, the Exalted: “by His knowledge,” this is not ta’wil in the technical sense, meaning it should have been said, as it appears from the questioner’s words, “He is with you by His Essence,” or he should have remained silent and not interpreted it. Since Ibn Abbas interpreted this phrase of this verse to mean: “by His knowledge,” this is an interpretation by the interpreter of the Qur’an. Second, it is not ta’wil in the technical sense, meaning it did not take away the indication.