Discussion on the misguidance of al-Saqaf.
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The Shaykh : This al-Saqaf, who truly deserves the title of "the fool," explicitly states that anyone who says Allah is in every place is a disbeliever. He knows that those he lives with—his mother, his father, his sister, and so on, his uncle, his maternal uncle, his cousin, his maternal cousin, and you can expand the circle as much as you like—believe that Allah is in every place. He has appointed himself solely to fight the people of the Sunnah, while leaving these people in their misguidance, deluded.
The questioner : The doubt that the "how" is unknown; that He has a "how." How do we respond to this?
The Shaykh : What is the response to it?
The questioner : The response to this doubt.
The Shaykh : There is no power or might except in Allah. O Shaykh, you must know the misguidance of these people when he says that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is neither inside the world nor outside it. Is this stated in the Book and the Sunnah?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Why do we pay attention to the doubt of this one who, first of all, does not have what is in the Book and the Sunnah, but rather what contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, as we discussed earlier? Why do we care about his delusions? You ask me what we should answer him. I say, in answer to your question, but I want us not to pay attention to the questions of this one whom I rightly call a denier. Does Allah, Mighty and Majestic, have a Self?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : He has a Self. Does he believe in this Self?
The questioner : Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : No, he is supposed to believe in it, is he not? Good. Is this Self a reality?
The questioner : A reality.
The Shaykh : In terms of its reality, does it not have a "how"? When you say "Self," it must have a "how." Now, if we affirm a "how" that is a reality befitting the majesty and greatness of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and we say, disclaiming that we speak by guesswork, that we do not know the "how" of the Self of Allah—here you are affirming a "how" for Allah! My brother, I affirm a "how" for Allah that befits the Self of Allah. I affirm a reality for Allah that He is Forgiving, Compassionate, Merciful, and so on, but we do not know its reality. So he takes words and builds castles and palaces upon them.
The questioner : The doubt that the "how" is unknown; that He has a "how." How do we respond to this?
The Shaykh : What is the response to it?
The questioner : The response to this doubt.
The Shaykh : There is no power or might except in Allah. O Shaykh, you must know the misguidance of these people when he says that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is neither inside the world nor outside it. Is this stated in the Book and the Sunnah?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Why do we pay attention to the doubt of this one who, first of all, does not have what is in the Book and the Sunnah, but rather what contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, as we discussed earlier? Why do we care about his delusions? You ask me what we should answer him. I say, in answer to your question, but I want us not to pay attention to the questions of this one whom I rightly call a denier. Does Allah, Mighty and Majestic, have a Self?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : He has a Self. Does he believe in this Self?
The questioner : Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : No, he is supposed to believe in it, is he not? Good. Is this Self a reality?
The questioner : A reality.
The Shaykh : In terms of its reality, does it not have a "how"? When you say "Self," it must have a "how." Now, if we affirm a "how" that is a reality befitting the majesty and greatness of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and we say, disclaiming that we speak by guesswork, that we do not know the "how" of the Self of Allah—here you are affirming a "how" for Allah! My brother, I affirm a "how" for Allah that befits the Self of Allah. I affirm a reality for Allah that He is Forgiving, Compassionate, Merciful, and so on, but we do not know its reality. So he takes words and builds castles and palaces upon them.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.