Explanation of the author's statement: "And it is known to every person of sound mind that the intended meaning of such texts is to affirm the perfection of Allah the Exalted, and that He has no like in His attributes"
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The Shaykh :"And it is known" is a comment on this argument. "And it is known to every person of sound mind that the intended meaning of such texts is to affirm the perfection of Allah the Exalted". Is that so, Ya Isa? What is the intended meaning? Affirming perfection, and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, by His perfection, has no like in His attributes, meaning He has no peer in His attributes. And it is not possible, yes.
If we say[Al-Ikhlas 112:4] What is the meaning? Does it mean He has no attributes? On the contrary, the meaning is that no one resembles Him in His attributes, for negating resemblance to a thing is evidence of the existence of the thing itself. If the thing itself did not exist, negating resemblance would be meaningless speech with no benefit. So these verses and their like are the opposite of what these people said; they indicate the affirmation of attributes, but they indicate a perfection in which no one equals Him, yes.
And for this reason, when the poet said: "There is no one like the young man Zuhayr", what does the addressee understand? That Zuhayr is deaf? Blind? Mute? Stingy? Cowardly? Old? Paralyzed? No? Or the opposite? The opposite. No one understands from such an expression that he has no attributes. The only thing understood from this expression is that by the perfection of his attributes, he has no peer. Is that not so, Ya Abd al-Rahman?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Zuhayr is a man praising a praised one. He says: "There is no one like the young man Zuhayr," meaning: no one is like him. No one is like him in what? By saying he has no attributes? I say he has no attributes, or that he is perfect in attributes?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly. Thus[Ash-Shuraa 42:11] meaning: in the perfection of his attributes.
"And it is not possible that the intended meaning is to indicate the absence of attributes from Him, for there is no doubt that whoever guides people to the absence of attributes from Allah the Exalted with such speech is either obfuscating his speech, or being deceptive, or incapable of clear expression".
If someone wanted to guide people to the idea that Allah has no attributes with such an expression, he would be either obfuscating. Do you know what obfuscation is? What is obfuscation?
The student: Obfuscation is obfuscation.
The Shaykh : Obfuscation is obfuscation? No, that is not it, is it? Obfuscation, is it? Obfuscation is when a person presents something that appears to be contrary to reality on its surface, contrary to reality on its surface, yes, but upon reflection it is true.
A man said: "The donkey brayed and my prayer became invalid." How is that? What did the donkey bring to the prayer? A man said: "When the donkey brayed, my prayer became invalid," is that it? This is obfuscation, is it?
The student: His ablution was broken.
The Shaykh : How was his ablution broken?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, no.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Is it? No.
The student: He is praying with tayammum...
The Shaykh : Yes, he says: a man is bringing water on a donkey, yes. When the donkey approached the man while he was praying, sometimes a donkey, when it sees the man, especially if he is bringing it feed, will bray. When the donkey brayed and turned around, and the water skins were full on it, his prayer became invalid, yes. His prayer became invalid, why? Because if water is found, even during the prayer, the prayer becomes invalid, is that so? Good.
Meaning, there are many riddles in a book called "The Book of Solving Riddles," "Al-Tiraz fi Hal al-Alghaz" (The Pattern in Solving Riddles), which is available to us in the library as a manuscript on the chapters of jurisprudence. It mentions, for example, purity, and it answers all the riddles in purity, in prayer, in fasting, in funerals, and the like. These are the riddles.
The student: It tires the people of the Zahir school.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
If we say
Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
لم يكن له كفوا أحدAnd for this reason, when the poet said: "There is no one like the young man Zuhayr", what does the addressee understand? That Zuhayr is deaf? Blind? Mute? Stingy? Cowardly? Old? Paralyzed? No? Or the opposite? The opposite. No one understands from such an expression that he has no attributes. The only thing understood from this expression is that by the perfection of his attributes, he has no peer. Is that not so, Ya Abd al-Rahman?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Zuhayr is a man praising a praised one. He says: "There is no one like the young man Zuhayr," meaning: no one is like him. No one is like him in what? By saying he has no attributes? I say he has no attributes, or that he is perfect in attributes?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly. Thus
There is nothing like unto Him
ليس كمثله شيء"And it is not possible that the intended meaning is to indicate the absence of attributes from Him, for there is no doubt that whoever guides people to the absence of attributes from Allah the Exalted with such speech is either obfuscating his speech, or being deceptive, or incapable of clear expression".
If someone wanted to guide people to the idea that Allah has no attributes with such an expression, he would be either obfuscating. Do you know what obfuscation is? What is obfuscation?
The student: Obfuscation is obfuscation.
The Shaykh : Obfuscation is obfuscation? No, that is not it, is it? Obfuscation, is it? Obfuscation is when a person presents something that appears to be contrary to reality on its surface, contrary to reality on its surface, yes, but upon reflection it is true.
A man said: "The donkey brayed and my prayer became invalid." How is that? What did the donkey bring to the prayer? A man said: "When the donkey brayed, my prayer became invalid," is that it? This is obfuscation, is it?
The student: His ablution was broken.
The Shaykh : How was his ablution broken?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, no.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Is it? No.
The student: He is praying with tayammum...
The Shaykh : Yes, he says: a man is bringing water on a donkey, yes. When the donkey approached the man while he was praying, sometimes a donkey, when it sees the man, especially if he is bringing it feed, will bray. When the donkey brayed and turned around, and the water skins were full on it, his prayer became invalid, yes. His prayer became invalid, why? Because if water is found, even during the prayer, the prayer becomes invalid, is that so? Good.
Meaning, there are many riddles in a book called "The Book of Solving Riddles," "Al-Tiraz fi Hal al-Alghaz" (The Pattern in Solving Riddles), which is available to us in the library as a manuscript on the chapters of jurisprudence. It mentions, for example, purity, and it answers all the riddles in purity, in prayer, in fasting, in funerals, and the like. These are the riddles.
The student: It tires the people of the Zahir school.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.