Is there pure negation in the attributes of Allah?
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The reader: "The fourth rule: The affirmative attributes are attributes of praise and perfection. The more numerous and varied their implications, the more the perfection of the one described by them becomes apparent. This is why the affirmative attributes by which Allah informed us of Himself are far more numerous than the negative attributes, as is well known."
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Is there pure negation in the attributes of Allah? The question is: Is there pure negation in the attributes of Allah, pure negation that does not indicate anything?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : There is not.
The student: Does negation indicate its opposite, meaning perfection?
The Shaykh : Perfection, the perfection of its opposite. Good. Why?
The student: Because pure negation is not perfection and not praise, and because pure negation either indicates incapacity or lack of capacity.
The Shaykh : Wrong. Yes?
The student: Pure negation is nothing.
The Shaykh : It is nothing, pure non-existence. And what is nothing cannot be perfection, because perfection must be something. Good. And it must include perfection. Why? It must include perfection?
The student: ... or it is for incapacity.
The Shaykh : Or for incapacity. Good. Come on, let's argue. The first example.
The student: And it would be perfection if it were lack of capacity. The wall has no capacity. If we said the wall is strong.
The Shaykh : I mean, if I said the wall does not oppress, that is not praise. Why is that?
The student: Because it has no capacity; it does not accept this.
The Shaykh : It does not accept to oppress. It does not accept to oppress. Good. Or incapacity. What is its example?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, no. Perhaps it escaped your notice.
The student: The poet said:
"A tribe that does not betray a pledge *** Nor does it oppress people by a mustard seed"
The Shaykh : I mean, like saying to a person, "This man is a friend; if he is attacked, he does not take his right." Yes, and so on. This is a deficiency. And from this is the saying of the poet:
"A tribe that does not betray a pledge *** Nor does it oppress people by a mustard seed"
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Is there pure negation in the attributes of Allah? The question is: Is there pure negation in the attributes of Allah, pure negation that does not indicate anything?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : There is not.
The student: Does negation indicate its opposite, meaning perfection?
The Shaykh : Perfection, the perfection of its opposite. Good. Why?
The student: Because pure negation is not perfection and not praise, and because pure negation either indicates incapacity or lack of capacity.
The Shaykh : Wrong. Yes?
The student: Pure negation is nothing.
The Shaykh : It is nothing, pure non-existence. And what is nothing cannot be perfection, because perfection must be something. Good. And it must include perfection. Why? It must include perfection?
The student: ... or it is for incapacity.
The Shaykh : Or for incapacity. Good. Come on, let's argue. The first example.
The student: And it would be perfection if it were lack of capacity. The wall has no capacity. If we said the wall is strong.
The Shaykh : I mean, if I said the wall does not oppress, that is not praise. Why is that?
The student: Because it has no capacity; it does not accept this.
The Shaykh : It does not accept to oppress. It does not accept to oppress. Good. Or incapacity. What is its example?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, no. Perhaps it escaped your notice.
The student: The poet said:
"A tribe that does not betray a pledge *** Nor does it oppress people by a mustard seed"
The Shaykh : I mean, like saying to a person, "This man is a friend; if he is attacked, he does not take his right." Yes, and so on. This is a deficiency. And from this is the saying of the poet:
"A tribe that does not betray a pledge *** Nor does it oppress people by a mustard seed"