Is it permissible to describe Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with forgetfulness and plotting in the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) ((They forgot Allah, so He forgot them)) and in His saying (Exalted is He) ((And they plot, and Allah plots

The questioner : Our Shaykh, a question regarding creed in the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and in His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) . Here a question is raised: Is it permissible to describe Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with these things, with forgetfulness and with plotting, or what is the meaning of this?

The Shaykh : Allah is described by what He described Himself with. If His description is in a sentence, He is described by that sentence, and no attribute is derived from it. So, "They plotted, and Allah plotted" . Now, here we do not derive from the words "so He forgot them" and "Allah plotted, and Allah is the best of plotters" an active participle name, so we do not say "Allah is a plotter" or "Allah is a plotter" or "Allah is a forgetter" or "Allah is forgetful" or the like. But we say that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forgets some people, but this forgetfulness is not permanent. It is not attributed to the human being in the sense of his nature of forgetfulness, which means being absent-minded and heedless of a thing. Even if the word for forgetfulness is attributed to a human being in the Qur'an or in the Sunnah, it is not in that common meaning that comes to mind, which is the exit of a thing from memory and heedlessness of it. So His saying (Exalted is He) then His saying is not in the meaning of being absent-minded. It is not only the negation regarding Allah, but even regarding the servants about whom He said . So it does not mean they forgot Allah in the sense that it left their minds, like a person who memorizes, for example, a verse or a hadith, then forgets it and no longer remembers it. No, the forgetfulness here in this verse is like what came in His saying (Exalted is He), which is a very clear verse: . It is an explanation of . It is an explanation of , meaning He left them and turned away from them and cast them into Hellfire to abide therein. So here there is no problem regarding the forgetfulness attributed to Allah, because it is of the same kind as the forgetfulness attributed to humans, which is the meaning of intentionally turning away. And it is not so in the verse of . So the plotting of Allah is other than the plotting of humans, but He counters their plotting with something more cunning and more severe than their plotting. This is the plotting of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But I return to say: We do not take from it or derive from it a name by which we describe Allah. But we say the best of plotters. But we do not say "Allah is a plotter," because this is a derivation contrary to what the Salaf were upon. But the thing by which our Lord described Himself, we describe Him with it. So we say Allah is the best of plotters.
Yes