Is it permissible to negate what Allah has not mentioned of His attributes, whether by negation or affirmation?

The questioner : The questioner says: May the Shaykh be respected, we hold to the creed of the people of the Sunnah in affirming the attributes of Allah that He has affirmed for Himself and negating what He has negated from Himself. So, is it permissible for us to negate from Him what He the Exalted has not mentioned about Himself of His attributes, neither by negation nor by affirmation?

The Shaykh : What? So, is it?

The questioner : He says: So, is it permissible for us to negate from Him what He the Exalted has not mentioned about Himself of His attributes, neither by negation nor by affirmation?

The Shaykh : Yes. It is not permissible. What is attributed to Allah Mighty and Majestic is either something that Allah has affirmed for Himself, in which case we affirm it, such as

The questioner : al-Rahman.

The Shaykh : Well done. Rest a moment. Such as al-Rahman, al-Rahim, al-Seeer, al-Baseer; we affirm these. Or it is something that Allah has negated from Himself, in which case it is obligatory for us to negate it. For example? Rest a moment. . It is obligatory for us to negate this. So we say that Allah does not sleep, and no drowsiness overtakes Him. And that Allah is not heedless. And that Allah does not wrong, and the like of that. It is obligatory for us to believe in this. There is a third thing for which neither its affirmation nor its negation has come. So it is not permissible for us to affirm it, nor is it permissible for us to negate it. An example of this is what the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) and denial have been fussing about: Is Allah a body or is He not a body? Do you know that the people of ta'til made this a fundamental principle for denying the attributes? So when it is said to them: Allah Glorified and Exalted is He rose above the Throne, they say: If we say He rose above the Throne, it necessitates that He is a body, and a body is impossible for Allah. So they made this taghut (false object of worship) that they committed into the standard for affirmation and negation. If someone were to say to us, wanting to put us in a difficult position: Do you affirm that Allah has a body? What do I say? If I say: No, I am wrong. And if I say: Yes, I am wrong. What is obligatory for me if affirming makes me wrong and negating makes me wrong? What is obligatory? The obligatory thing is that I suspend judgment. I say: By Allah, I do not affirm anything that Allah has not affirmed about Himself, nor do I negate anything that Allah has not negated about Himself. And you do not compel me to affirm or negate. I am more respectful of Allah and His Messenger than you, because I do not go beyond what Allah and His Messenger have defined. But I ask you: You said, affirm the body or negate it. I ask you: What do you mean by body? If he says: I mean by body the thing composed of parts such that these parts can be separated and cut into pieces. If he says: I mean by body this, what do we say? Do we negate it from Him or do we not negate it? We negate it. We definitely negate this meaning. And if he says: I mean by body what is described with the attributes of essence and action. We say: This is not negated from Allah. For Allah Glorified and Exalted is He is the Living, the Self-Subsisting, the Doer of what He wills. He rises above the Throne and descends to the lowest heaven. He comes to judge between His servants. He takes the alms. He grasps the heavens. All of this is affirmed. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.