Do all the sects of the Mu'tazilah deny the seeing of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?
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The questioner : As for the Mu'tazilah, there are many scholars among the Mu'tazilah; do all the Mu'tazilah agree on these views?
The Shaykh : Yes, they all agree; there is no disagreement among them, unfortunately, just as the Shi'ah agree that the imamate belongs to 'Ali. No matter how long the time passes and they claim independent legal reasoning and freedom from following a scholar without knowing his evidence, they all follow one another in this great misguidance, and in other matters that are well known.
The questioner : There are disagreements...
The Shaykh : Likewise with the Mu'tazilah.
The questioner : There are matters on which they agree.
The Shaykh: Yes.
But the strange thing is that the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah, whom you see on one side with the people of the Sunnah and the community in affirming the seeing of Allah in the Hereafter, ultimately meet with the Mu'tazilah in denying the seeing of Allah (Mighty and Majestic); for they say: He is seen, but not in a place, and He is seen, but not from above. I think the commentator here is saying in response to these people: How can the seeing of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) be conceived without Him being above us? The meaning of their words is that we should discard our statement and not believe in the words of our Lord. Why do they say this? Because they did not believe in the attribute of being above, and... the verses and hadiths have come in abundance to prove it. So when they deviated from the many verses that affirm being above, they came into conflict here with the seeing, so they affirmed it, but they noticed that affirming it obligates them to affirm being above for Allah (Mighty and Majestic); and so they said: They see their Lord, not in a place and not from above; so it is as if they are saying: Allah is seen and not seen!! Because we cannot conceive of seeing the Self, which is the greatest of selves and the most noble, except that it is above us; especially since the Messenger (peace be upon him) says:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2554Sahih (Darussalam), and in a condition: Sahih al-Bukhari 7436.
So the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah, even though they affirm the seeing, they attach to it attributes of negation, and in the end they meet with the Mu'tazilah where there is no seeing, or else He is not seen in a place; so where is Allah seen? Not from above; so where is He seen? It returns to the well-known formula of denial of the divine attributes: not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, and so on.
Eid Abbasi : In the same place, correct...
The questioner : If it is not in a place, that is wrong.
The Shaykh : Yes, they all agree; there is no disagreement among them, unfortunately, just as the Shi'ah agree that the imamate belongs to 'Ali. No matter how long the time passes and they claim independent legal reasoning and freedom from following a scholar without knowing his evidence, they all follow one another in this great misguidance, and in other matters that are well known.
The questioner : There are disagreements...
The Shaykh : Likewise with the Mu'tazilah.
The questioner : There are matters on which they agree.
The Shaykh: Yes.
But the strange thing is that the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah, whom you see on one side with the people of the Sunnah and the community in affirming the seeing of Allah in the Hereafter, ultimately meet with the Mu'tazilah in denying the seeing of Allah (Mighty and Majestic); for they say: He is seen, but not in a place, and He is seen, but not from above. I think the commentator here is saying in response to these people: How can the seeing of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) be conceived without Him being above us? The meaning of their words is that we should discard our statement and not believe in the words of our Lord. Why do they say this? Because they did not believe in the attribute of being above, and... the verses and hadiths have come in abundance to prove it. So when they deviated from the many verses that affirm being above, they came into conflict here with the seeing, so they affirmed it, but they noticed that affirming it obligates them to affirm being above for Allah (Mighty and Majestic); and so they said: They see their Lord, not in a place and not from above; so it is as if they are saying: Allah is seen and not seen!! Because we cannot conceive of seeing the Self, which is the greatest of selves and the most noble, except that it is above us; especially since the Messenger (peace be upon him) says:
you shall see your Lord as you see the moon on the night of a full moon, you shall not crowd one another to see Him
إنَّكم سترون ربَّكم يوم القيامة كما ترون القمر ليلة البدر لا تضامُون في رؤيتهyou will have no difficulty in seeing Him
لا تُضامُّون في رؤيتهSo the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah, even though they affirm the seeing, they attach to it attributes of negation, and in the end they meet with the Mu'tazilah where there is no seeing, or else He is not seen in a place; so where is Allah seen? Not from above; so where is He seen? It returns to the well-known formula of denial of the divine attributes: not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, and so on.
Eid Abbasi : In the same place, correct...
The questioner : If it is not in a place, that is wrong.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.