What is the ruling on using gestures when speaking about the attributes of Allah, such as fingers?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : Some people, when they speak about the attributes of Allah or His actions, use gestures along with the phrase. Is that befitting the majesty of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)?
The Shaykh : Using gestures in relation to the attributes of Allah: if the people around him are common folk, it is not permissible for him to do so, because they will move from the magnification of the heart to likening Allah to creation, since the common person does not distinguish between this and that. However, if they are students of knowledge, there is nothing wrong with what has come in an explicit text, such as the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and His saying (the Exalted):[An-Nisa 4:58] And as for what has not come in an explicit text, it is not permissible, because we do not know the modality of what has not come in an explicit text, so it is not permissible for us to speak about it.
The questioner : As if he says, "O Shaykh:Sunan Ibn Majah 3834" and gestures with his fingers.
The Shaykh : This is forbidden, forbidden for him, because he does not know the modality of how they are between two fingers of the fingers of the Most Merciful, and then he does not know which of the two fingers it is, so it is not lawful for him at all, whether there are common folk with him or students of knowledge. Rather, he should say: "Between two fingers," as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said.
The Shaykh : Using gestures in relation to the attributes of Allah: if the people around him are common folk, it is not permissible for him to do so, because they will move from the magnification of the heart to likening Allah to creation, since the common person does not distinguish between this and that. However, if they are students of knowledge, there is nothing wrong with what has come in an explicit text, such as the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and His saying (the Exalted):
Indeed, Allah is ever Hearing and Seeing.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ سَمِيعاً بَصِيراًThe questioner : As if he says, "O Shaykh:
Hearts are between two of the fingers of the Most Merciful
القلوب بين إصبعين من أصابع الرحمنThe Shaykh : This is forbidden, forbidden for him, because he does not know the modality of how they are between two fingers of the fingers of the Most Merciful, and then he does not know which of the two fingers it is, so it is not lawful for him at all, whether there are common folk with him or students of knowledge. Rather, he should say: "Between two fingers," as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said.