Discussion of the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and our position regarding them.

The Shaykh : It is not permissible to ask "how" regarding any of the attributes of Allah. Has this rule been established or not? Has it been imprinted on our minds? It is impossible to ask "how" regarding any of the attributes of Allah. If someone were to say, "Allah rose above the Throne; how did He rise?" it is not permissible; it is forbidden. . How does it happen? It is forbidden. How are His hands? It is forbidden. You do not ask about the "how." One only asks about the manner of something whose manner can be comprehended. As for that whose manner cannot be comprehended, it is not possible to ask about it. Listen to the story of an Imam who is one of the Imams of the Muslims in the east and west of the earth, the Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), the Imam of the Maliki school. A man asked him, saying: "O Abu 'Abdullah, O Abu 'Abdullah!" Abu 'Abdullah is a kunyah (nickname). "O Abu 'Abdullah, name your son, my brother, 'Abdullah." Beware of newly invented names that have no known meaning, basis, or origin. Stick to the names prescribed by the Shari'ah. . As for the common saying that goes: , this is a lie, a fabrication, and not authentic. The names most beloved to Allah are 'Abdullah and 'Abd al-Rahman. Name your son 'Abdullah first when you name him. Imam Ahmad's name was Abu 'Abdullah. Malik was Abu 'Abdullah. When he said: "O Abu 'Abdullah, how did He rise?" Do you know what happened? Listen, my brother. Do you know what happened to this Imam who esteems Allah with His due esteem? May Allah make us among those who esteem You with Your due esteem, O Lord of the worlds. What happened? He stood up, drenched in sweat. Imam Malik lowered his head and stood, sweating profusely from the weight of the question upon him, as if he were saying, "Am I asking about the manner of the attributes of Allah? Who asks about the manner of the attributes of Allah?" Then he raised his head, and Allah opened for him with these words: "The rising above the Throne is not unknown, the manner is not comprehensible, belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation". Then he said: "And I do not think", meaning I do not suppose, "except that you are an innovator. Take him out of the mosque". So they took him out of the mosque, the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because this question is not fitting. How do you ask about the manner of the attributes of Allah? And who are you to encompass the manner of the attributes of Allah? So if someone were to ask you, "What is the face of Allah? How is the face of Allah?" What would you say? You would say, "You are an innovator." Do not ask about this, and you have no right to an answer, and I will not answer you on that. You have the right, you have the right. I hope you pay attention to this important rule so that you build your creed upon a correct creed, because those who deny the attributes of Allah, or some of them, come to the people who affirm them and say, "O so-and-so, you affirm the face of Allah?" He says: "Yes." They say: "How is the face of Allah?" What is their intention? Their intention is to divert you from the correct creed. Bring me any one of the Companions who said, "O Messenger of Allah, how is the face of Allah? How did Allah rise above the Throne?" or the like of that. You will not find any. And we are more eager to know Allah than the Companions. Answer, my brothers.
Are we more eager to know Allah than the Companions? No. Are we more loving of knowledge than the Companions? No, by Allah. Is any one of us able to answer correctly with the infallible correctness of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? No. And yet, they did not ask. My brother, let what sufficed these people suffice you. Do not ask about the manner of the attributes of Allah.
So we return to what we intend to discuss: the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, and He spoke with it truly, with a heard voice. But if a person were to say, "What is this voice like?" What do we say? Yes? We say, "You are an innovator." The Companions did not ask the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) about that. How do you ask this question? Then we recite for him a verse that breaks his back, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: That is it; it leaves no excuse for a believer. The saying of Allah the Exalted: . Did you understand, my brother? Also, if he asks you about the attributes of Allah, "What are they like?" Say, "Come. Do you affirm the essence of Allah?" If he says yes. He will either say yes or say no. Correct, my brothers? Do you affirm the essence of Allah? That Allah has an essence. What does he say? If he says no, he is a disbeliever immediately. Or if he says He has an essence, but it does not resemble the essences of the created beings, what do we say to him? Affirm attributes that do not resemble the attributes of the created beings, because the attributes are a branch of the essence. And I love to focus on these creedal matters, because I know with certainty that in other lands, such matters may be confused for the student of knowledge, and they do not have the books of sound creed that they study. The issue needs treatment. So we focus on this, perhaps more than we focus on knowing what breaks the fast, what invalidates the prayer, and what breaks the ablution? All of these are Shari'ah, and all of them must be attended to. But which is more important: that we attend to the creed and establish it in the hearts of the Muslims, or that we take up the subsidiary jurisprudential issues? Which one? The first or the second? The first, my brothers. Good. So we understand from this discussion that the Qur'an is what? It is the speech of Allah, truly, and He (Exalted and Majestic is He) spoke with it. And how did He speak? Answer, my brothers. We do not know, we do not ask, and we do not answer the one who asks, because we can never encompass this. And asking about it is a characteristic of the people of innovation, those who ask about the manner of the attributes, and the Salaf denied that. Good.