What is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And the Face of your Lord will remain, Possessor of Majesty and Honor"?

The questioner : Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It is a statement that He is the Everlasting, the Remaining, the Living, the Self-Sustaining, as Allah the Exalted said: , so He used 'Face' to refer to His Essence. And so is His saying here: , meaning: except Him."
Mujahid and al-Thawri said—and this is what I intend—regarding His saying: {Every thing will perish except His Face}, meaning: what is intended for His Face.
Ibn Kathir says: "This does not contradict the first opinion," meaning: the second opinion does not contradict the first opinion. "For this is a statement that all deeds are invalid except the righteous deeds intended for the Face of Allah the Exalted. The implication of the first opinion is that all essences are perishable and vanishing except His Essence, Glorified and Exalted is He."
So what is your opinion of this last statement?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that the first opinion is the most appropriate to the wording of the verse: . The second interpretation is not correct, because deeds will perish along with their doers, whether they are righteous or evil. So his saying that the intended meaning is righteous deeds—righteous deeds also go away with their people. Add to that that Allah the Exalted said at the beginning of the passage: . So He, Mighty and Majestic, is speaking about essences and persons. Therefore, the first opinion is the one that should be relied upon.
In my opinion, the second opinion is called, in the terminology of jurists, an interpretation of intent (ma'na murad) rather than a literal interpretation. The literal interpretation is the first one.

The questioner : So is this statement acceptable?

The Shaykh : It is acceptable, but not as an interpretation of the verse.

The questioner : So it is not the intended meaning of the verse?

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : So if we say regarding these two verses: , Glorified and Exalted is He, and the second verse: , we affirm from these two verses the attribute of the Face for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and we also understand from them that deeds, if not intended for the Face of Allah, are invalid and rejected?

The Shaykh : No, we do not say: we understand from the verse. We understand from the statements made in the second opinion, from the statements of the Salaf in interpreting the verse. As for the interpretation of the verse, it does not bear any meaning other than the first one.

The questioner : Is it not possible to derive more than one meaning from the verse, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : No, I told you it is possible that more than one meaning can be taken, in cases where there is no context specifying one of the two meanings.

The questioner : Yes, but here there is a context?

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : The correct opinion is that it refers to the Essence?

The Shaykh : The first one, yes.

The questioner : But you, O Shaykh, accepted the interpretation of al-Thawri and Mujahid.

The Shaykh : I told you, as a correct meaning.

The questioner : So it is not denied to its proponent?

The Shaykh : No, it is not denied, but we do not see that it has a connection to the verse.

The questioner : It could be said that this is from the category of the implied meaning (mafhum).

The Shaykh : Yes, welcome, how are you, how are you doing?

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.