What is the meaning of Imam Ahmad's statement regarding the hadiths of the Descent and the Vision, among others: "We believe in them and affirm them without asking how, without interpreting their meaning, and without rejecting any of them"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Your Eminence, what is the meaning of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him)'s statement regarding the hadith of the Descent, the hadiths of the Vision, and others: "We believe in them and affirm them without asking how, without interpreting their meaning, and without rejecting any of them"?
The Shaykh : Yes. As for his statement: "without asking how", it means: we do not ask how, we do not say: He descends with a specific manner of descent, because the manner is unknown. As for his statement: "without interpreting their meaning", Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "His intended meaning is: the meaning of the people of figurative interpretation who interpret them", meaning: we do not assign to them a meaning that contradicts their apparent text. This is the truth; what Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned regarding the intent of Imam Ahmad is correct without doubt, because Imam Ahmad, like the other people of the Sunnah, believe in the meanings indicated by these words. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. As for his statement: "without asking how", it means: we do not ask how, we do not say: He descends with a specific manner of descent, because the manner is unknown. As for his statement: "without interpreting their meaning", Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "His intended meaning is: the meaning of the people of figurative interpretation who interpret them", meaning: we do not assign to them a meaning that contradicts their apparent text. This is the truth; what Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned regarding the intent of Imam Ahmad is correct without doubt, because Imam Ahmad, like the other people of the Sunnah, believe in the meanings indicated by these words. Yes.