By what do we establish the meanings of the attributes of Allah the Exalted? Is it by the indication of the language?

The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah bless you, by what do we establish the meanings of the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? Do we return to the linguistic indication, meaning, is it to the indication of the language?

The Shaykh : Yes, everything in the Qur'an and the Sunnah is referred back to the Arabic language, because the Qur'an was revealed in the Arabic language, except for what the Shari'ah has transmitted regarding its meaning, in which case it is referred back to the Shari'ah's reality. Keep this in mind, whether it pertains to creed or to practical rulings, because this entire Shari'ah is in the Arabic language, so everything is interpreted according to the Arabic language unless it has a specific Shari'ah designation, in which case it is referred back to the Shari'ah. However, even for terms that have a Shari'ah reality, there are sometimes indications that point to the intended meaning being the linguistic reality. For example: Now, if we were to take "prayer" here in the Shari'ah sense, the meaning would be that if a person came to us with his charity, we would tell him to lie down and we would pray over him the funeral prayer, because this is the meaning of "pray over them," is it not? But now we say that here there is an indication, or rather an explanation from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that indicates that the intended meaning is supplication. For he used to say when someone gave him his charity: Yes.