The meaning of the poet's statement: When the two revelations, along with all the books of the Exalted, explicitly affirmed the above-ness of the Most Merciful, for what reason are we disbelievers with this figurative interpretation? Rather, you are upon faith.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: When the two revelations explicitly affirmed...
The Shaykh :"When the two revelations, along with all the books of the Exalted, explicitly affirmed the above-ness of the Most Merciful,
for what reason are we disbelievers with this figurative interpretation? Rather, you are upon faith.
We have interpreted, and you have also interpreted, so bring forth a clear distinction"
This means that you are interpreters and we are interpreters, so bring forth a clear distinction that your interpretation is permissible and ours is not permissible.
"Do you have two rewards for your interpretation, while we have two burdens for our interpretation?"
The answer is no, because these interpreters say: We exerted effort and we hit the truth, while you erred. So we have two rewards because we interpreted and hit the truth, and you have two burdens because the truth was presented to you but you denied it.
"This is their statement to you in their books, from which we have quoted it without aggression"
May Allah have mercy on Ibn al-Qayyim; he refers in this verse to the books of the philosophers who refuted the deniers of the divine attributes, and specifically those who denied the above-ness of Allah. They say: They have bridled you with a bridle with which you cannot loosen the jaw.
"Refute them if you are able, or else move away from the path of the armies of faith"
This is a challenge. Ibn al-Qayyim says:
"Refute them" Who is he addressing?
The student: The interpreters.
The Shaykh : Those who interpreted the above-ness. He says: Refute what they said to you, or else move away from the path of the armies of faith. If we move away from the path of the armies of faith, what do they say? They say: We do not interpret, neither this nor that, and we say that everything is true in its reality. So the above-ness of Allah is established, the matter of the Hereafter is established, and whatever the texts brought of every report is established.
The student: When the two revelations explicitly affirmed...
The Shaykh :"When the two revelations, along with all the books of the Exalted, explicitly affirmed the above-ness of the Most Merciful,
for what reason are we disbelievers with this figurative interpretation? Rather, you are upon faith.
We have interpreted, and you have also interpreted, so bring forth a clear distinction"
This means that you are interpreters and we are interpreters, so bring forth a clear distinction that your interpretation is permissible and ours is not permissible.
"Do you have two rewards for your interpretation, while we have two burdens for our interpretation?"
The answer is no, because these interpreters say: We exerted effort and we hit the truth, while you erred. So we have two rewards because we interpreted and hit the truth, and you have two burdens because the truth was presented to you but you denied it.
"This is their statement to you in their books, from which we have quoted it without aggression"
May Allah have mercy on Ibn al-Qayyim; he refers in this verse to the books of the philosophers who refuted the deniers of the divine attributes, and specifically those who denied the above-ness of Allah. They say: They have bridled you with a bridle with which you cannot loosen the jaw.
"Refute them if you are able, or else move away from the path of the armies of faith"
This is a challenge. Ibn al-Qayyim says:
"Refute them" Who is he addressing?
The student: The interpreters.
The Shaykh : Those who interpreted the above-ness. He says: Refute what they said to you, or else move away from the path of the armies of faith. If we move away from the path of the armies of faith, what do they say? They say: We do not interpret, neither this nor that, and we say that everything is true in its reality. So the above-ness of Allah is established, the matter of the Hereafter is established, and whatever the texts brought of every report is established.