The Meaning of the Poet's Saying: "If they agree with the scholars, welcome *** Or if they differ, the rebuttal is with kindness"
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The Shaykh :"If they agree with the scholars, welcome *** Or if they differ, the rebuttal is with kindness"
If the texts of the Book and the Sunnah agree with the scholars, then welcome them. For example, the Book and the Sunnah indicate that Allah is described as having hearing. What did these people say?
The student: Welcome.
The Shaykh : They said, "Welcome, welcome, Allah has hearing," because it agreed with the words of the scholars. The Book and the Sunnah indicate that Allah the Exalted has mercy. What did they say? They said, "No welcome." Why? Because the words of the scholars say that Allah does not have mercy; mercy is excellence in worship or the will to do good, and there is no mercy other than that.
"If they agree with the scholars, welcome *** Or if they differ, the rebuttal is with kindness"
The rebuttal, in their view, is divided into two categories:
"Either by figurative interpretation, or if that is too difficult, then by tafwid, and we leave it to the saying of so-and-so"
So their rebuttal of the texts is either by figurative interpretation, or if they are unable to do that, by tafwid. However, the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him), Ibn al-Qayyim, limited himself to some of the methods. Their methods are, first: rejecting the texts. This is before anything else, because if they reject them, there is no more discussion; its matter is ended. That is why they said that ahad reports are not used as evidence in matters of creed. If rejection is not possible, because the text is from the Qur'an or from the mutawatir Sunnah, they resort to figurative interpretation. If that is not possible, they resort to tafwid and say, "Allah knows best what He intended by it."
"Either by figurative interpretation, or if that is too difficult, then by tafwid, and we leave it to the saying of so-and-so".
If the texts of the Book and the Sunnah agree with the scholars, then welcome them. For example, the Book and the Sunnah indicate that Allah is described as having hearing. What did these people say?
The student: Welcome.
The Shaykh : They said, "Welcome, welcome, Allah has hearing," because it agreed with the words of the scholars. The Book and the Sunnah indicate that Allah the Exalted has mercy. What did they say? They said, "No welcome." Why? Because the words of the scholars say that Allah does not have mercy; mercy is excellence in worship or the will to do good, and there is no mercy other than that.
"If they agree with the scholars, welcome *** Or if they differ, the rebuttal is with kindness"
The rebuttal, in their view, is divided into two categories:
"Either by figurative interpretation, or if that is too difficult, then by tafwid, and we leave it to the saying of so-and-so"
So their rebuttal of the texts is either by figurative interpretation, or if they are unable to do that, by tafwid. However, the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him), Ibn al-Qayyim, limited himself to some of the methods. Their methods are, first: rejecting the texts. This is before anything else, because if they reject them, there is no more discussion; its matter is ended. That is why they said that ahad reports are not used as evidence in matters of creed. If rejection is not possible, because the text is from the Qur'an or from the mutawatir Sunnah, they resort to figurative interpretation. If that is not possible, they resort to tafwid and say, "Allah knows best what He intended by it."
"Either by figurative interpretation, or if that is too difficult, then by tafwid, and we leave it to the saying of so-and-so".