Discussion of the Philosophers and an Explanation of Their Belief, Which Is the Denial of Both Opposites
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author states in this chapter that those who stripped words of their meanings and did not specify the meaning by context are like those who stripped words, or rather, like those who stripped realities of their attributes, and they are the philosophers. For the philosophers, as is well known, said that Allah the Exalted is not described with affirmative attributes or negative attributes, meaning He is not described by existence or non-existence. The reason for this, in their view, is that if you described Him by affirmation, you would liken Him to existing things, and if you described Him by negation, you would liken Him to non-existent things. Therefore, do not describe Him by negation or affirmation. It was said to them: It is not possible for a reality to exist that is not described by affirmation or negation, except what the mind imagines. So they accepted that. As for in the external reality, meaning that an independent, embodied reality exists, it is not possible for a reality to exist without being described either by negation or by affirmation. Mental hypotheses do not indicate the reality of the hypothesized. A person may hypothesize the combination of two opposites, but is the combination of two opposites possible? No. This is what the author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: The error of these people in stripping words of meaning is like the error of those in stripping realities of attributes.
The author states in this chapter that those who stripped words of their meanings and did not specify the meaning by context are like those who stripped words, or rather, like those who stripped realities of their attributes, and they are the philosophers. For the philosophers, as is well known, said that Allah the Exalted is not described with affirmative attributes or negative attributes, meaning He is not described by existence or non-existence. The reason for this, in their view, is that if you described Him by affirmation, you would liken Him to existing things, and if you described Him by negation, you would liken Him to non-existent things. Therefore, do not describe Him by negation or affirmation. It was said to them: It is not possible for a reality to exist that is not described by affirmation or negation, except what the mind imagines. So they accepted that. As for in the external reality, meaning that an independent, embodied reality exists, it is not possible for a reality to exist without being described either by negation or by affirmation. Mental hypotheses do not indicate the reality of the hypothesized. A person may hypothesize the combination of two opposites, but is the combination of two opposites possible? No. This is what the author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: The error of these people in stripping words of meaning is like the error of those in stripping realities of attributes.