A student's presentation on the name of Allah, al-Rafiq, and the Shaykh's commentary on it

The student: Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned...

The Shaykh : ...they will not get what you want.
The student: Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned the name al-Rafiq for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it is established in the Sunnah without doubt, as in the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It was narrated by Muslim and Abu Dawud. Also, the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:

The Shaykh : (peace and blessings be upon him)
The student: It was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his *Sharh Sahih Muslim*, Volume 16, page 145: “As for his saying (peace and blessings be upon him), ‘Indeed Allah is al-Rafiq,’ in it is an explicit naming of Him (Glorified and Exalted is He) and describing Him with al-Rafiq”. End of quote. These hadiths establish the name al-Rafiq, and there is no consideration for the speech of one who contradicts the text and follows reason, denying Allah of His attributes. Ibn Hajar mentioned in *al-Fath*, Volume 8, page 136, saying: “Al-Jawhari said: al-Rafiq al-A'la is Paradise, and this is supported by what was reported from Abu Ishaq that al-Rafiq al-A'la is Paradise. It was also said that al-Rafiq here is a generic name encompassing the singular and what is above it, and the intended meaning is the prophets”. Then he said: “Some of the Maghrebis claimed that it is possible that al-Rafiq al-A'la refers to Allah (Mighty and Majestic)”, to the end of what he quoted (may Allah have mercy on him). And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad.

The Shaykh : Well done, may Allah reward you. But the apparent meaning of the hadith is that it was also reported to refer to the prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs, and the righteous, due to the saying of the Exalted: As for “Indeed Allah is al-Rafiq,” it can be said that this is a name, as we said regarding the saying of the Exalted: that Ghafur is a name among the names of Allah. It can also be said that it is an attribute, meaning it is a description of Him with gentleness and not a name, because Ghafur was mentioned in the indefinite form and in the definite form . There is no doubt that the definite form is a known name. But the issue that confuses some people is: if it is in the indefinite form, like , do they say that this is an attribute, meaning it is only an active participle, like our saying that Allah is Mutakallim (Speaker), i.e., it is a report about Allah that He is al-Rafiq, or is this one of the names of Allah? The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) have differing views on this. Some hold that whatever is not made definite with the article (al) is not a name, and whatever is made definite with the article is a name. Others said that whatever is predominantly a description is a name, and whatever is predominantly an action is an attribute. In any case, there is no doubt that you are reporting about Allah that He is al-Rafiq, and that His description is gentleness. Yes, and there is no doubt in this, as you heard, that al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) considered it a name and an attribute. Allah knows best. Yes.