Is it true that Imam al-Bukhari fell into figurative interpretation in his exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted, "Every thing will perish except His Face," by interpreting "Face" as "Kingdom"?
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The questioner : May Allah increase you in His bounty, O Shaykh. I have approximately several questions, but before I begin, I will say that yesterday I mentioned an issue, or I overlooked mentioning this issue, when I said that Imam al-Bukhari provided a translation in his Sahih regarding the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Qasas 28:88] He said, "except His dominion." Explicitly, I quoted this statement from a book titled *Analytical Study of Ibn Hajar's Creed*, written by Ahmad 'Isam al-Katib. I believed that this man, if Allah wills, quoted it correctly, and I still say that his quotation may be correct. However, I want to read his words in this book, for he says: " ... The translation of al-Bukhari for Surat al-Qasas has already been mentioned: except His dominion, and it is said: except what I desire for the face of Allah. And regarding his saying 'except His dominion,' al-Hafiz said in the narration of al-Nasafi, and Ma'mar mentioned it. This Ma'mar is Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Muthanna. This is his statement in his book *Majaz al-Qur'an*, but with the wording 'except He is...' " So, I naturally returned to *al-Fath* itself and did not find a translation by al-Bukhari for this matter. I also returned to *Sahih al-Bukhari* without *al-Fath* and did not find this statement from Imam al-Bukhari. However, here he seems to indicate that this matter exists in the narration of al-Nasafi from Imam al-Bukhari. What do you know as your answer?
The Shaykh : My answer was presented previously!
The questioner : Yesterday.
The Shaykh : Ah.
The questioner : Of course, I wanted to clarify this for fear that I would fall into speaking ill of Imam al-Bukhari...
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. You heard from me the doubt that al-Bukhari would say this word, because[Ar-Rahman 55:78], meaning His Kingdom, my brother, this is what a Muslim and a believer says. And I also said that if this exists, it may be in some copies. So the answer was presented previously. And you, may Allah reward you with good, now with this statement you mentioned that there is not in al-Bukhari such a figurative interpretation, which is the very denial of the divine attributes. Please proceed.
Another questioner: ... It seems it exists in *al-Fath* in a phrase like this. And I remember that once I reviewed this phrase in someone's argumentation, and it seemed to me that I found something like this type of argumentation, meaning it exists, and it is in some copies. But I said to him, there is no "Except Allah" and "Except the creations of Allah the Exalted," there is nothing else like that. If every thing will perish except His Face, meaning except His Kingdom, then what is the thing that perishes?!
The Shaykh : This, my brother, does not need proof of its invalidity, but the important thing is that we exonerate Imam al-Bukhari from interpreting this verse, and he is an Imam in hadith and in the attributes, and he is a Salafi in creed, and praise be to Allah, unlike others.
Everything will be destroyed except His Face
كل شيء هالك إلا وجههEvery thing will perish except His Face
كل شيء هالك وجههThe Shaykh : My answer was presented previously!
The questioner : Yesterday.
The Shaykh : Ah.
The questioner : Of course, I wanted to clarify this for fear that I would fall into speaking ill of Imam al-Bukhari...
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. You heard from me the doubt that al-Bukhari would say this word, because
Blessed is the name of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.
ويبقى وجه ربك ذي الجلال والإكرامAnother questioner: ... It seems it exists in *al-Fath* in a phrase like this. And I remember that once I reviewed this phrase in someone's argumentation, and it seemed to me that I found something like this type of argumentation, meaning it exists, and it is in some copies. But I said to him, there is no "Except Allah" and "Except the creations of Allah the Exalted," there is nothing else like that. If every thing will perish except His Face, meaning except His Kingdom, then what is the thing that perishes?!
The Shaykh : This, my brother, does not need proof of its invalidity, but the important thing is that we exonerate Imam al-Bukhari from interpreting this verse, and he is an Imam in hadith and in the attributes, and he is a Salafi in creed, and praise be to Allah, unlike others.