How can we respond to the people of kalam who deny the attribute of the Hand of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?
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The questioner : ... such matters of report are intended to be taken in their literal sense, and we say that there is no room for opinion in them... what is understood from this...?
The Shaykh : We mentioned a principle regarding this question: we said that the people of kalam introduced words into the matters of creed that we must engage with them in the arena. They said that the Hand is a metaphor for such-and-such, so we had to say, rather, it is a literal reality. This does not mean that the rest of the Qur'an is metaphorical. They also spoke about other things, such as the issue of a body and the issue of spatial dimensions, so the people of the Sunnah were compelled to speak as well about the issue of increase in His Essence regarding rising above the Throne, descending, and coming. All of this was to counter what these distorters spread among the common people, saying that the intended meaning is an allusion to such-and-such, a metaphor for such-and-such, and the like.
The questioner : ... we said it is a literal Hand, a literal reality...
The Shaykh : In any case, He has a Hand, and that is sufficient. If we say He has a Hand, that is enough; it is the literal reality. But when we encounter what is in most books that discuss creed, except for the books of the Salaf, and they say that it is a metaphor for power, that is a problem. It is necessary to remove this concept.
The Shaykh : We mentioned a principle regarding this question: we said that the people of kalam introduced words into the matters of creed that we must engage with them in the arena. They said that the Hand is a metaphor for such-and-such, so we had to say, rather, it is a literal reality. This does not mean that the rest of the Qur'an is metaphorical. They also spoke about other things, such as the issue of a body and the issue of spatial dimensions, so the people of the Sunnah were compelled to speak as well about the issue of increase in His Essence regarding rising above the Throne, descending, and coming. All of this was to counter what these distorters spread among the common people, saying that the intended meaning is an allusion to such-and-such, a metaphor for such-and-such, and the like.
The questioner : ... we said it is a literal Hand, a literal reality...
The Shaykh : In any case, He has a Hand, and that is sufficient. If we say He has a Hand, that is enough; it is the literal reality. But when we encounter what is in most books that discuss creed, except for the books of the Salaf, and they say that it is a metaphor for power, that is a problem. It is necessary to remove this concept.