Part Three: Those who made the apparent meaning of the texts of the attributes a false meaning that is not befitting of Allah, which is likening Allah to creation
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The Shaykh :"Part Three: Those who made the apparent meaning of the texts of the attributes a false meaning that is not befitting of Allah, which is likening Allah to creation. Then, because of that, they denied the meaning befitting of Allah to which they pointed. They are the people of denial of the divine attributes, whether their denial is general in the names and attributes, or specific in both, or in one of them. These people diverted the texts from their apparent meaning to meanings they designated with their minds, and they fluctuated greatly in designating them, and they called that figurative interpretation, whereas in reality it is distortion of a text's meaning".
Part Three now: those who made the apparent meaning a false meaning that is not befitting of Allah, and then because of that denied what it pointed to. An example of this: The Asha'irah said: "The apparent meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Sad 38:75] is that Allah has two hands, and affirming the hands necessitates likening Allah to creation. So what do we do?" They said: "Distort it. Say the meaning of the hands is the two blessings. The meaning of the hands is the two blessings." That is correct. Now, if we affirmed that your Lord came in a real sense, it would be likening Him to creation. So distort it. Say the meaning is: the command of your Lord came. Now reflect: denial of the divine attributes is based on likening Allah to creation. Look, glory be to Allah, denial of the divine attributes is based on likening Allah to creation. For this reason, it is permissible for you to say that every denier of the attributes is one who likens Allah to creation. He is one who likens Allah to creation in terms of the beginning, and a denier of the attributes in terms of the end. Because if you asked these deniers why, they would say: because the apparent meaning is likening Allah to creation. And if this apparent meaning is impossible, which is likening Allah to creation, it must be diverted from its apparent meaning. And this is undoubtedly a deficiency in intellect and religion. As for the religion, it was not on the path of the Salaf, the earliest generations. And as for the intellect, it is known by necessity that two things may be similar in origin but differ in reality. Let us return to the words of the author.
He says: "Then, because of that, they denied the meaning befitting of Allah to which they pointed. They are the people of denial of the divine attributes, whether their denial is general in the names and attributes, or specific in both, or in one of them". This sentence includes the Asha'irah, the Mu'tazilah, the Jahmiyyah, and the philosophers. It includes everyone who denied Allah (Mighty and Majestic) of His attributes. "These people diverted the texts from their apparent meaning to meanings they designated with their minds, and they fluctuated greatly in designating them, and they called that figurative interpretation, whereas in reality it is distortion of a text's meaning". But they called it figurative interpretation to escape applying the term distortion to it.
And we say: every figurative interpretation that the Qur'an does not point to is distortion of a text's meaning. Yes.
Part Three now: those who made the apparent meaning a false meaning that is not befitting of Allah, and then because of that denied what it pointed to. An example of this: The Asha'irah said: "The apparent meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
to that which I created with My hands
لما خلقت بيديّYour Lord will come
جاء ربكHe says: "Then, because of that, they denied the meaning befitting of Allah to which they pointed. They are the people of denial of the divine attributes, whether their denial is general in the names and attributes, or specific in both, or in one of them". This sentence includes the Asha'irah, the Mu'tazilah, the Jahmiyyah, and the philosophers. It includes everyone who denied Allah (Mighty and Majestic) of His attributes. "These people diverted the texts from their apparent meaning to meanings they designated with their minds, and they fluctuated greatly in designating them, and they called that figurative interpretation, whereas in reality it is distortion of a text's meaning". But they called it figurative interpretation to escape applying the term distortion to it.
And we say: every figurative interpretation that the Qur'an does not point to is distortion of a text's meaning. Yes.