What is the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the names and attributes mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah?
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The questioner : Tell us about the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the names and attributes mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah?
The Shaykh : The methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the names and attributes mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah is the well-known statement: affirm them as they came without asking how, and it is obligatory to believe in them, accept them, and hold to their implications, without distortion, denial of the divine attributes, asking how an attribute is, or comparing Allah to creation. It is not permissible to distort the words from their places, for example, saying that the intended meaning of "hands" is strength, power, or grace. It is also not permissible to distort "face" from its meaning, saying that the intended meaning of "face" is reward or something similar. It is also not permissible to distort Allah's rising above the Throne to mean His dominion over it, saying "The Most Merciful rose above the Throne" means He dominated it. It is not permissible to distort Allah's descent to the lowest heaven to mean the descent of His command, or the descent of His mercy, or the descent of an angel from His angels. It is not permissible to distort His saying, the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:158] to mean that the intended meaning is the coming of something from His signs. It is not permissible to distort the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: to mean that the intended meaning is our knowledge or something similar. The important point is that the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community is to keep the texts on their apparent meaning befitting Allah, Mighty and Majestic. It is also not permissible for them to compare Allah to creation, meaning likening these attributes to the attributes of the created beings, for example, saying that the face of Allah, the Exalted, is like our faces, or His hand is like our hands, or His eye is like our eyes, or His descent is like our descent, or His rising above the Throne is like our rising above the Throne. All of this is forbidden. Their path is what the Book, the Sunnah, and reason indicate to be the truth, and that is by affirming them on their apparent meaning without comparing Allah to creation or distortion.
The Shaykh : The methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the names and attributes mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah is the well-known statement: affirm them as they came without asking how, and it is obligatory to believe in them, accept them, and hold to their implications, without distortion, denial of the divine attributes, asking how an attribute is, or comparing Allah to creation. It is not permissible to distort the words from their places, for example, saying that the intended meaning of "hands" is strength, power, or grace. It is also not permissible to distort "face" from its meaning, saying that the intended meaning of "face" is reward or something similar. It is also not permissible to distort Allah's rising above the Throne to mean His dominion over it, saying "The Most Merciful rose above the Throne" means He dominated it. It is not permissible to distort Allah's descent to the lowest heaven to mean the descent of His command, or the descent of His mercy, or the descent of an angel from His angels. It is not permissible to distort His saying, the Exalted: