The Questions: Allah the Exalted said: "Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you are only pledging allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is above their hands." Do the people of the Sunnah affirm that the hand of Allah is above the hands, or do they interpret it?

The questioner : Allah the Exalted said: . Do the people of the Sunnah affirm that the hand of Allah is above the hands, or do they interpret it, or what? Please inform us. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : First, it is obligatory for us to know that ta'wil (figurative interpretation) among the people of the Sunnah is not entirely blameworthy. Rather, what is indicated by the evidence is not ta'wil—my brothers—do not think that diverting the evidence from its apparent meaning is blameworthy ta'wil in an absolute sense. Rather, if evidence is established for diverting the evidence from its apparent meaning, then diverting it from its apparent meaning is called tafsir (exegesis). Pay attention, my brother.
We said that ta'wil is not entirely blameworthy. The ta'wil that is diverting the text from its apparent meaning, when evidence is established for it, is not blameworthy ta'wil, but rather it is tafsir. This is whether the evidence indicating the diversion from the apparent meaning is connected to the text or separate from it.
An example of ta'wil by what is connected: The authentic hadith in Sahih Muslim, in the words of Allah the Exalted in the Qudsi hadith addressing the servant: . What is the apparent meaning of this hadith? Its apparent meaning is that Allah Himself is the one who was hungry and the one who was sick, but this is certainly not intended. So the explanation of this hadith is by the hadith itself, where it said: . Who diverted the apparent meaning of the first phrase to this meaning, that it is the human being who is hungry and the human being who is sick? Allah Mighty and Majestic is the one who explained His speech to us. Do we say that diverting the apparent meaning of the first phrase to this second meaning is blameworthy ta'wil? Never.
Very well.
And Allah the Exalted said: . What is the apparent meaning of the phrase? That if you have completed the Qur'an, then seek refuge. But the separate evidence has indicated that the intended meaning is: , meaning if you intend to read. However, the intention was expressed by the action to clarify that the intended meaning is the intention accompanied by the action, not the prior intention. If he had intended to express it by the action, then if a person intended in the morning to read in the evening, we would say to him: Seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, because you intend to read at the end of the day. But because the intention was expressed by the action, it indicates that the intention here is what? The intention that is accompanied by the action.
The important point is that if we understand this rule—may Allah bless you—which is that ta'wil for which evidence is established is not blameworthy, we know the answer to the verse quoted by the questioner, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: . Did the Companions, when they pledged allegiance to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah regarding fighting, were they pledging allegiance to Allah? Answer, my brothers? Do not stop. No, never. They pledge allegiance to... In reality, they are pledging allegiance directly to the Messenger, but because the Messenger was a messenger from Allah, conveying from Him, his pledge became like a pledge to Allah. The one who pledges to him is as if he is pledging to Allah. The hand of the Messenger. But the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was conveying from Allah, so he directly performs the pledge, and his hand is above their hands. It is permissible for us to say: in the sense of absolute elevation, for Allah, Glorified is He, is above everything by His Essence. And Allah knows best.