A scholar of the Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) was asked about the names and attributes, and he said, "Let them pass as they came." What does this mean, and is this statement attributed to any of the Salaf?
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The questioner : A scholar of the Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) was asked about the names and attributes, and he said: "Let them pass as they came." What does this mean, and is this statement attributed to any of the Salaf?
The Shaykh : This statement is attributed to the Salaf in general. They say regarding the verses of attributes and their hadiths: "Let them pass as they came, without asking how". Their saying "Let them pass as they came" means: do not deal with them by distortion, i.e., by interpretation that takes them away from their apparent meaning. Rather, let them pass according to their apparent meaning. This statement also includes affirming their meanings, and it is not intended to be merely affirming the wording, because the texts of attributes in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger are words that came to affirm their meaning, not that we let them pass on our tongues without understanding the meaning. So it is as if they are saying: let them pass according to their intended meaning, do not change them. And their saying "without asking how" means: do not ask about their modality. The meaning is not "without believing in a modality for them," because they have a modality necessarily, due to their affirmation, for it is not possible to affirm something that has no modality. So the meaning of "without asking how" is: without asking about their modality. Do not ask about their modality. Do not say: the modality of the Face of Allah is such and such, or the modality of His Hands is such and such, or the modality of His Eyes is such and such. For Allah the Exalted is too great and too exalted for the servants to comprehend the modality of His attributes. In this famous statement of the Salaf is a refutation of two deviant groups. One is the group of those who deny the attributes, who stripped Allah the Exalted of all the meanings of His attributes and made them words with no meaning, or gave them meanings contrary to the apparent wording. For those who did not let them pass as they came divided into two sections. One section said: they have no meaning at all, and it is not upon us but to let the wording pass without dealing with its meaning. Another section said: we deal with the meaning, but they carried the meaning contrary to its apparent meaning and affirmed for them meanings from themselves, with no evidence from the Book of Allah or from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), nor from the sayings of the Caliphs and the Companions. The first is the group of the Mu'tazilah and the Jahmiyyah, and those who follow their path among those who deny the attributes. The second is the way of the Asha'irah and those who follow their path among those who distorted the texts of attributes to meanings they invented from their minds, and Allah has not sent down authority for them, and they did not affirm except what they claimed the intellect indicates, such as the seven attributes that the group of Asha'irah affirmed, and they denied of the attributes what the intellect indicates more strongly than the indication of the intellect for these attributes they affirmed. In any case, the first sentence contains a refutation of two groups: the first is those who denied the meanings absolutely, and the second is those who affirmed meanings with no evidence for them. Perhaps the second group is more contrary than the first group, because the first group held back and said: we do not affirm a meaning, so they denied the meaning. This is denial without knowledge, without doubt. And the second denied the intended meaning and affirmed another meaning that the wording does not indicate. So in that there are two crimes. The first crime is: denying the meaning which is the apparent meaning of the wording.
And the second is: affirming a meaning that the wording does not indicate. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone.
As for their saying "without asking how," it is a refutation of a deviant group on the opposite of the two groups of those who deny the attributes, and it is the group of those who liken Allah to creation, who said: we affirm for Allah the attributes, but they are like the attributes of the created beings. So the Face of Allah the Exalted, according to their claim—Glory be to Allah above their saying—would be like the most beautiful human face, and so on with the rest of His attributes, Mighty and Majestic. These people also contradicted the statement of Allah the Exalted:[Ash-Shuraa 42:11] and they disobeyed the command of Allah the Exalted in His prohibition in His saying: [An-Nahl 16:74]
And the summary of the answer is: that the meaning of the saying of the Salaf: "Let them pass as they came" is: affirm these words with their meanings that they indicate, which is what is understood from their apparent meaning, in the manner befitting Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And their saying "without asking how" is a refutation of those who liken Allah to creation, i.e., do not ask about their modality. The meaning is not "do not believe in a modality for them," because they have a modality. So merely the statement of affirming them necessitates that they have a modality, but it is not known. For this reason, Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said regarding the rising of Allah above His Throne: "The rising is not unknown, the modality is not comprehensible, belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation".
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This statement is attributed to the Salaf in general. They say regarding the verses of attributes and their hadiths: "Let them pass as they came, without asking how". Their saying "Let them pass as they came" means: do not deal with them by distortion, i.e., by interpretation that takes them away from their apparent meaning. Rather, let them pass according to their apparent meaning. This statement also includes affirming their meanings, and it is not intended to be merely affirming the wording, because the texts of attributes in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger are words that came to affirm their meaning, not that we let them pass on our tongues without understanding the meaning. So it is as if they are saying: let them pass according to their intended meaning, do not change them. And their saying "without asking how" means: do not ask about their modality. The meaning is not "without believing in a modality for them," because they have a modality necessarily, due to their affirmation, for it is not possible to affirm something that has no modality. So the meaning of "without asking how" is: without asking about their modality. Do not ask about their modality. Do not say: the modality of the Face of Allah is such and such, or the modality of His Hands is such and such, or the modality of His Eyes is such and such. For Allah the Exalted is too great and too exalted for the servants to comprehend the modality of His attributes. In this famous statement of the Salaf is a refutation of two deviant groups. One is the group of those who deny the attributes, who stripped Allah the Exalted of all the meanings of His attributes and made them words with no meaning, or gave them meanings contrary to the apparent wording. For those who did not let them pass as they came divided into two sections. One section said: they have no meaning at all, and it is not upon us but to let the wording pass without dealing with its meaning. Another section said: we deal with the meaning, but they carried the meaning contrary to its apparent meaning and affirmed for them meanings from themselves, with no evidence from the Book of Allah or from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), nor from the sayings of the Caliphs and the Companions. The first is the group of the Mu'tazilah and the Jahmiyyah, and those who follow their path among those who deny the attributes. The second is the way of the Asha'irah and those who follow their path among those who distorted the texts of attributes to meanings they invented from their minds, and Allah has not sent down authority for them, and they did not affirm except what they claimed the intellect indicates, such as the seven attributes that the group of Asha'irah affirmed, and they denied of the attributes what the intellect indicates more strongly than the indication of the intellect for these attributes they affirmed. In any case, the first sentence contains a refutation of two groups: the first is those who denied the meanings absolutely, and the second is those who affirmed meanings with no evidence for them. Perhaps the second group is more contrary than the first group, because the first group held back and said: we do not affirm a meaning, so they denied the meaning. This is denial without knowledge, without doubt. And the second denied the intended meaning and affirmed another meaning that the wording does not indicate. So in that there are two crimes. The first crime is: denying the meaning which is the apparent meaning of the wording.
And the second is: affirming a meaning that the wording does not indicate. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone.
As for their saying "without asking how," it is a refutation of a deviant group on the opposite of the two groups of those who deny the attributes, and it is the group of those who liken Allah to creation, who said: we affirm for Allah the attributes, but they are like the attributes of the created beings. So the Face of Allah the Exalted, according to their claim—Glory be to Allah above their saying—would be like the most beautiful human face, and so on with the rest of His attributes, Mighty and Majestic. These people also contradicted the statement of Allah the Exalted:
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُSo do not assert similarities to Allah. Indeed, Allah knows and you do not know.
فَلا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الأَمْثَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَAnd the summary of the answer is: that the meaning of the saying of the Salaf: "Let them pass as they came" is: affirm these words with their meanings that they indicate, which is what is understood from their apparent meaning, in the manner befitting Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And their saying "without asking how" is a refutation of those who liken Allah to creation, i.e., do not ask about their modality. The meaning is not "do not believe in a modality for them," because they have a modality. So merely the statement of affirming them necessitates that they have a modality, but it is not known. For this reason, Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said regarding the rising of Allah above His Throne: "The rising is not unknown, the modality is not comprehensible, belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation".
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.