How do we respond to the people of figurative interpretation regarding the attributes of Allah?
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The Shaykh : Yes, you are.
The questioner : ... Shaykh
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Almost all the people of religious innovation, all the people of religious innovation in the names and attributes, almost all of them say to the people, meaning, regarding the common folk...
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The questioner : You, people of the Sunnah, when verses come to you that are not befitting of Allah, verses from the Qur'an and the Sunnah that are not befitting of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), such as running, speech, walking, and the hand, they mean to say that you stop at them and... Allah the Exalted described Himself without likening Him to creation or asking how an attribute is. We say that we divert them... by Allah... that is not what is intended by them; faith is intended by this, and mercy is intended by this, and so on. How do we respond to this?
The Shaykh : It is easy to respond to them. We say: Where is your evidence for this diversion?
The questioner : They say it is to avoid likening Allah to creation and comparing Allah to creation.
The Shaykh : Well, if we say that He runs without any likeness, just as you say that Allah has an essence that does not resemble essences, we ask him: Do you affirm an essence for Allah? He will say yes. Well, I have an essence. Does affirming an essence for Allah necessitate that it is similar to mine? He will say no. Then the attribute is the same thing. Then we say: O man, what is your position before Allah (Mighty and Majestic) on the Day of Resurrection if He says to you, "I said such and such," or "My Messenger said such and such"? What took you away from this? What is the answer? He says: My intellect. Do you submit My words to your intellect? If your intellect says such and such, and the other person's intellect says such and such, what then? To which intellect do we return? For this reason, you find the people of kalam, the Mu'tazilah and the Asha'irah, to be contradictory. They affirm of the attributes what they deny of their counterparts, or what is more deserving of affirmation, or even more so. They contradict themselves. You find one of them saying, "This attribute is obligatory for Allah (Mighty and Majestic)," and the second saying, "This attribute is impossible for Allah," and the third saying, "I will be in the middle; I say it is permissible but I do not affirm it." Do you understand? The result is that they have no evidence. And it is astonishing that they apply the verses of rulings to their apparent meaning and act upon their apparent meaning, and they make blood and wealth lawful based on their apparent meaning, yet they do not describe Allah the Exalted with what He described Himself with. What is the difference between the ruling of Allah and the attribute of Allah? There is no difference. If the rulings of Allah are applied to the texts based on their apparent meaning, then apply the attributes of Allah to their texts based on their apparent meaning, and beware of two things: likening Allah to creation and asking how an attribute is. And praise be to Allah. And my argument before Allah, if my Lord says to me on the Day of Resurrection, "Why did you affirm two eyes for Allah?" I will say: My argument for that is Your saying, O my Lord, and the saying of Your Messenger.
The questioner : ... Shaykh
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Almost all the people of religious innovation, all the people of religious innovation in the names and attributes, almost all of them say to the people, meaning, regarding the common folk...
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The questioner : You, people of the Sunnah, when verses come to you that are not befitting of Allah, verses from the Qur'an and the Sunnah that are not befitting of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), such as running, speech, walking, and the hand, they mean to say that you stop at them and... Allah the Exalted described Himself without likening Him to creation or asking how an attribute is. We say that we divert them... by Allah... that is not what is intended by them; faith is intended by this, and mercy is intended by this, and so on. How do we respond to this?
The Shaykh : It is easy to respond to them. We say: Where is your evidence for this diversion?
The questioner : They say it is to avoid likening Allah to creation and comparing Allah to creation.
The Shaykh : Well, if we say that He runs without any likeness, just as you say that Allah has an essence that does not resemble essences, we ask him: Do you affirm an essence for Allah? He will say yes. Well, I have an essence. Does affirming an essence for Allah necessitate that it is similar to mine? He will say no. Then the attribute is the same thing. Then we say: O man, what is your position before Allah (Mighty and Majestic) on the Day of Resurrection if He says to you, "I said such and such," or "My Messenger said such and such"? What took you away from this? What is the answer? He says: My intellect. Do you submit My words to your intellect? If your intellect says such and such, and the other person's intellect says such and such, what then? To which intellect do we return? For this reason, you find the people of kalam, the Mu'tazilah and the Asha'irah, to be contradictory. They affirm of the attributes what they deny of their counterparts, or what is more deserving of affirmation, or even more so. They contradict themselves. You find one of them saying, "This attribute is obligatory for Allah (Mighty and Majestic)," and the second saying, "This attribute is impossible for Allah," and the third saying, "I will be in the middle; I say it is permissible but I do not affirm it." Do you understand? The result is that they have no evidence. And it is astonishing that they apply the verses of rulings to their apparent meaning and act upon their apparent meaning, and they make blood and wealth lawful based on their apparent meaning, yet they do not describe Allah the Exalted with what He described Himself with. What is the difference between the ruling of Allah and the attribute of Allah? There is no difference. If the rulings of Allah are applied to the texts based on their apparent meaning, then apply the attributes of Allah to their texts based on their apparent meaning, and beware of two things: likening Allah to creation and asking how an attribute is. And praise be to Allah. And my argument before Allah, if my Lord says to me on the Day of Resurrection, "Why did you affirm two eyes for Allah?" I will say: My argument for that is Your saying, O my Lord, and the saying of Your Messenger.