What is the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the names and attributes?
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The questioner : What is the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the names and attributes? We ask our honorable Shaykh to answer, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : This is a great question. The methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community in the chapter of names and attributes is a middle path between the people of denial of attributes and the people of likening Allah to creation. The people of likening Allah to creation are a group who affirmed the attributes for Allah, but they exaggerated in affirming them and went to extremes in that, making them of the same kind as the attributes of created beings. By doing so, they deviated from the straight path, for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) says in His Book:[Ash-Shuraa 42:11] And He (Mighty and Majestic) says: [Maryam 19:65] And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) says: [Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4] And He (Mighty and Majestic) says: [Al-Baqarah 2:22].
The second group are those who denied the attributes. They stripped Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) of the attributes He affirmed for Himself, negating them from Him. For that reason, they distorted the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, stripping them of their intended meaning, using arguments that are actually mere doubts and not true arguments. They imposed their minds on the matter, affirming for Allah whatever their minds deemed necessary to affirm and denying whatever their minds did not deem necessary to affirm. In doing so, they went astray, becoming the judges over Allah, rather than the Book of Allah being the judge between them. They denied what Allah described Himself with, saying: Allah has no Face, Allah has no Eye, and Allah has no Hand. They also said: Allah has no Joy, Allah has no Anger, and Allah has no Wonder. They also said: Allah has no actions; there is no rising above the Throne and no descending to the lowest heaven. They even went so far as to say: Allah is not High above His creation; rather, His Highness is a highness of attribute and a highness of meaning, not a highness of essence. Some of them went so far as to say: It is not said that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is above the universe, nor below it, nor to the right, nor to the left, nor connected, nor disconnected. They produced statements that amaze a person, who asks: How can this be the requirement of reason?
As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they affirm for Allah the Exalted what He has affirmed of names and attributes, affirming them in a real sense, while negating any likeness, meaning any likeness to created beings. They say: We affirm for Allah everything He has affirmed for Himself of names and attributes. They affirm for Allah Life, Knowledge, Power, Hearing, and Sight. They affirm for Allah the actions related to His Will, such as rising above the Throne, descending to the lowest heaven, and coming to judge between the servants. They affirm for Allah Joy, Laughter, and Wonder. They affirm for Allah Wisdom, Mercy, and other things that Allah has affirmed for Himself or that His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has affirmed for Him, but without distortion, without denial of attributes, and without asking how.
And they say to those who denied what Allah affirmed for Himself and judged over Allah with their minds: We say that even if we concede, for the sake of argument, that what you denied is not indicated by reason, it has been indicated by revelation, and revelation is a legal proof on which we agree with you. We agree that the Book and the Sunnah are the proofs for affirming what Allah has affirmed for Himself or denying what Allah has denied of Himself. And when you say that affirming any of these attributes necessitates likening Allah to creation, we say to you: According to your own rule, what you have affirmed also necessitates likening Allah to creation. So what is the difference between the one who says that Allah has Hearing and Sight, and the one who says that Allah has Mercy, that Allah has a Face, and that Allah is established above the Throne? If what you have affirmed does not necessitate likening Allah to creation, then what we have affirmed does not necessitate likening Allah to creation. And if what we have affirmed necessitates likening Allah to creation, then what you have affirmed necessitates likening Allah to creation. Distinguishing between this and that is arbitrary and contradictory.
It is obligatory for a person not to precede Allah and His Messenger by denying what Allah has affirmed for Himself or what His Messenger has affirmed for Him, or by affirming what Allah has not affirmed for Himself and what His Messenger has not affirmed for Him. The obligation in this matter, meaning in the chapter of names and attributes, is to receive it from the Book and the Sunnah, because it is among the matters in which there is no room for reason. Reason cannot grasp what is obligatory for Allah of names and attributes, or what is permissible, or what is prohibited. Even if reason may grasp in general terms that Allah is described with attributes of perfection, and that is necessary, the details of that are not known except through revelation.
In summary: The school of the people of the Sunnah and the community is to affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself of names and attributes, without distortion, without denial of attributes, without asking how, and without likening Allah to creation; to deny what Allah has denied of Himself of attributes; and to remain silent regarding what has not come with either denial or affirmation, because this is the requirement of revelation and the requirement of reason. We ask Allah the Exalted to cause us to die upon the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community.
The questioner : O Allah, amen.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, our honorable Shaykh. This is a listener to the program who actually sent a set of questions; we are choosing this question from them. Umm Muhammad says: Our honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : This is a great question. The methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community in the chapter of names and attributes is a middle path between the people of denial of attributes and the people of likening Allah to creation. The people of likening Allah to creation are a group who affirmed the attributes for Allah, but they exaggerated in affirming them and went to extremes in that, making them of the same kind as the attributes of created beings. By doing so, they deviated from the straight path, for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) says in His Book:
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُLord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them - so worship Him and have patience for His worship. Do you know of any similarity to Him?"
رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فَاعْبُدْهُ وَاصْطَبِرْ لِعِبَادَتِهِ هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا(1) Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, (2) Allah, the Eternal Refuge. (3) He neither begets nor is born, (4) Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ * اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ * لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ * وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌSo do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].
فَلا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَThe second group are those who denied the attributes. They stripped Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) of the attributes He affirmed for Himself, negating them from Him. For that reason, they distorted the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, stripping them of their intended meaning, using arguments that are actually mere doubts and not true arguments. They imposed their minds on the matter, affirming for Allah whatever their minds deemed necessary to affirm and denying whatever their minds did not deem necessary to affirm. In doing so, they went astray, becoming the judges over Allah, rather than the Book of Allah being the judge between them. They denied what Allah described Himself with, saying: Allah has no Face, Allah has no Eye, and Allah has no Hand. They also said: Allah has no Joy, Allah has no Anger, and Allah has no Wonder. They also said: Allah has no actions; there is no rising above the Throne and no descending to the lowest heaven. They even went so far as to say: Allah is not High above His creation; rather, His Highness is a highness of attribute and a highness of meaning, not a highness of essence. Some of them went so far as to say: It is not said that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is above the universe, nor below it, nor to the right, nor to the left, nor connected, nor disconnected. They produced statements that amaze a person, who asks: How can this be the requirement of reason?
As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they affirm for Allah the Exalted what He has affirmed of names and attributes, affirming them in a real sense, while negating any likeness, meaning any likeness to created beings. They say: We affirm for Allah everything He has affirmed for Himself of names and attributes. They affirm for Allah Life, Knowledge, Power, Hearing, and Sight. They affirm for Allah the actions related to His Will, such as rising above the Throne, descending to the lowest heaven, and coming to judge between the servants. They affirm for Allah Joy, Laughter, and Wonder. They affirm for Allah Wisdom, Mercy, and other things that Allah has affirmed for Himself or that His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has affirmed for Him, but without distortion, without denial of attributes, and without asking how.
And they say to those who denied what Allah affirmed for Himself and judged over Allah with their minds: We say that even if we concede, for the sake of argument, that what you denied is not indicated by reason, it has been indicated by revelation, and revelation is a legal proof on which we agree with you. We agree that the Book and the Sunnah are the proofs for affirming what Allah has affirmed for Himself or denying what Allah has denied of Himself. And when you say that affirming any of these attributes necessitates likening Allah to creation, we say to you: According to your own rule, what you have affirmed also necessitates likening Allah to creation. So what is the difference between the one who says that Allah has Hearing and Sight, and the one who says that Allah has Mercy, that Allah has a Face, and that Allah is established above the Throne? If what you have affirmed does not necessitate likening Allah to creation, then what we have affirmed does not necessitate likening Allah to creation. And if what we have affirmed necessitates likening Allah to creation, then what you have affirmed necessitates likening Allah to creation. Distinguishing between this and that is arbitrary and contradictory.
It is obligatory for a person not to precede Allah and His Messenger by denying what Allah has affirmed for Himself or what His Messenger has affirmed for Him, or by affirming what Allah has not affirmed for Himself and what His Messenger has not affirmed for Him. The obligation in this matter, meaning in the chapter of names and attributes, is to receive it from the Book and the Sunnah, because it is among the matters in which there is no room for reason. Reason cannot grasp what is obligatory for Allah of names and attributes, or what is permissible, or what is prohibited. Even if reason may grasp in general terms that Allah is described with attributes of perfection, and that is necessary, the details of that are not known except through revelation.
In summary: The school of the people of the Sunnah and the community is to affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself of names and attributes, without distortion, without denial of attributes, without asking how, and without likening Allah to creation; to deny what Allah has denied of Himself of attributes; and to remain silent regarding what has not come with either denial or affirmation, because this is the requirement of revelation and the requirement of reason. We ask Allah the Exalted to cause us to die upon the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community.
The questioner : O Allah, amen.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, our honorable Shaykh. This is a listener to the program who actually sent a set of questions; we are choosing this question from them. Umm Muhammad says: Our honorable Shaykh.