What is the meaning of (they deceive Allah, and He is deceiving them)? Because I have read some exegeses and feared that some of them may contain what contradicts the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community.

The questioner : I am asking about the saying of Allah the Exalted: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan: Because I have read some exegeses and feared that some of them may contain what contradicts the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community, and also in the saying of Allah the Exalted: We want a satisfying answer, may Allah reward you?

The Shaykh : I would like to point out the questioner's statement that he is asking about the saying of Allah the Exalted: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan: , for the apparent meaning of his words is that: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan is part of the words of Allah. What is required when a person wants to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan is to place it before the words of Allah. For example, he should say: I am asking about this verse, then mention it, or say: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, what is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted such and such?
As for his question, the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community is to describe Allah the Exalted with what He has described Himself with and with what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has described Him with, without distortion, but the speech is to be taken at its apparent meaning. This is because the One who speaks, who is Allah Mighty and Majestic, is more knowledgeable about Himself and about others, and because He Blessed and Exalted is He is the most truthful of speakers, and His speech is the most eloquent and clearest speech. His intention Mighty and Majestic is that His servants should be guided and not go astray. Likewise, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most knowledgeable of people about his Lord, and his speech is the most truthful and most eloquent speech of creation, and his intention (peace and blessings be upon him) is to guide creation, not to lead them astray. These four attributes: knowledge, truthfulness, eloquence, and the intention of good, when they are present in speech, it reaches the limit in the obligation of taking its meaning at its apparent level, and it is not permissible to distort it to other than the apparent. Based on this great principle, we say: every attribute with which Allah has described Himself is true at its apparent meaning.
In the first verse he mentioned, Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said about the hypocrites: He said that Mighty and Majestic to make clear that their deception and their plotting are less than the deception of Allah the Exalted for them and His plotting against them. It is like His saying: , and deception is not an absolute attribute for Allah, but it is an attribute in contrast to those who deceive Him, to make clear that He Mighty and Majestic is more capable of deception and plotting than they are. This undoubtedly indicates strength and the weakness of the counterpart, and it does not imply any deficiency directed at Allah Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, we see that when people want to deceive a person and he knows their deception and deceives them, they know that he is stronger than them and more severe. So deception in contrast to the one being deceived is an attribute of perfection, not an attribute of deficiency.
It is mentioned that Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), when he challenged Amr ibn Wad and Amr came out to him, Ali said: "I did not come out to challenge two men" So Amr turned around thinking that someone else had caught up with him. When he turned around, Ali struck him until he killed him. This is permissible deception because Amr ibn Wad only came out in order to kill Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and war is deception. So Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) deceived him with this word until he disposed of him, and this is counted among the capability and strength of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in deceiving his opponent.
For this reason, we say: the deception, mockery, plotting, and scheming with which Allah has described Himself, Allah is only described with these in contrast to those who did so, not in an absolute sense.
For this reason, we point out an issue that some of the common people say. They say: Allah betrays those who betray. They think that betrayal is like deception, and this is not correct. Because betrayal is deception in the wrong place and plotting in the wrong place, so it is not permissible to describe Allah with it. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: and He did not say: so He betrayed them, because betrayal is an attribute that does not befit Allah the Exalted in any way, because it is blameworthy in all circumstances.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, the questioner. O esteemed Shaykh, he read in some exegeses and feared that some of them may contradict the saying of the people of the Sunnah and the community and the methodology of the people of the Sunnah. So we would like to reassure this questioner about some of the exegeses?

The Shaykh : In any case, I say: some of the exegetes follow the methodology of those who take the texts away from their apparent meaning regarding the attributes of Allah. It is necessary to be cautious of this methodology, because its reality is distorting the words from their places, and it is not a correct interpretation intended by Allah Mighty and Majestic. Because if Allah the Exalted had addressed people with what He intends to be other than its apparent meaning, this would not be of the clarity that Allah committed to in His saying to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): and in His saying the Exalted: .
It is not permissible for us to turn away from the apparent meaning of the speech of Allah or the speech of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), neither in the chapter of creed nor in the chapter of practical rulings, except with evidence. Because Allah addressed us with the clear Arabic tongue, so it is obligatory upon us to take the wording according to the requirement of this clear Arabic tongue, unless there comes evidence from the One who spoke that He does not intend the apparent. Then we interpret His speech with some of it by some of it. As for mere illusions and imaginations that occur to some people of knowledge, such as that affirming this attribute, for example, necessitates likening or comparing, then it is not permissible for us to judge by them regarding the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Because they are illusions that those who followed them did so thinking that the attributes of Allah are to be measured by the measure of the attributes of the created. So the one who denies the attribute is first a likening one, and second a denier of attributes. He is a likening one first according to his thought and illusion, and a denier of attributes second because he denied the attribute indicated by the apparent speech of Allah and His Messenger.

The questioner : The other verse, O esteemedThe Shaykh : ؟

The Shaykh : This verse, as we said in the first verse: and as we referred to a third verse: and to a fourth verse: .

The questioner : May Allah bless you.