And we believe that He is: << He is Allah, there is no deity except Him, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. * He is Allah, there is no deity except Him, the King

The Shaykh : Then the author said "And we believe that He is" meaning Allah The discussion on this has already preceded.
The intended meaning is the absolute unseen, because the unseen is of two types: relative unseen and absolute unseen. The unseen is everything that is hidden from a person. The absolute unseen is known only by Allah, while the relative unseen is known by those for whom it is not hidden. For example, you currently have matters in your mind, matters that are in your mind, which are relative to me
The student: Unseen

The Shaykh : And relative to you, witnessed. The unseen that Allah has exclusive knowledge of is the absolute unseen. Allah the Exalted said So whoever claims to know the unseen is a disbeliever, because he is denying Allah the Mighty and Majestic by His saying If he said, for example, "Tomorrow such and such will happen," we would say this is a disbeliever. This is a disbeliever if he says, "I know what will happen tomorrow." But if he said, "I am guessing based on events and circumstances, I say such and such will happen tomorrow," is this claiming knowledge of the unseen?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : No. If he said, "So-and-so will arrive tomorrow based on the prevailing circumstances," this is not knowledge of the unseen. But if he said, "I am certain that such and such will happen tomorrow, and I know that as I know the present," we would say this is a lie and a denial of the Qur'an.
And His saying "He also knows the witnessed" means nothing is hidden from Him, neither what is witnessed nor what is absent.
Al-Rahman is a name among the names of Allah, and al-Rahim is likewise a name among the names of Allah. Their meanings are "the Possessor of Mercy," but the first is considered as an attribute, and the second is considered as an action. Pay attention: the first is considered as what?
The student: An attribute

The Shaykh : An attribute, and the second is considered as an action. This is because the mercy of Allah is both an attribute and an action; He is the Possessor of Mercy and He bestows mercy. Allah the Exalted said What? And He the Exalted said Based on this, there is no repetition in that. If we say al-Rahman is a name for Allah the Exalted considering it as an attribute of Allah, yes, al-Rahman indicates it. Al-Rahman is mercy considered as an attribute, and al-Rahim indicates mercy considered as an action. At that point, we say there is no repetition in the verse. There is no repetition in combining these two names. So what is mercy? Mercy is an essential attribute of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. An essential attribute means it is from the necessary attributes, forever and eternally. Pay attention: it is, in its relation to the one who is shown mercy, an actional attribute in our
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Considering mercy as an attribute of Allah, here
The student: Essential

The Shaykh : Essential, and in its relation to the created being
The student: Action attribute

The Shaykh : Actional. How is this? We say that Allah has always been and continues to be Merciful, considering it as being described with mercy. In its relation to the one who is shown mercy, it is an actional attribute, because Allah shows mercy to so-and-so and does not show mercy to so-and-so. Everything that is like this is from the actional attributes. So, mercy is an essential attribute of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, considering it
The student: ...

The Shaykh : What?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : As an attribute, and actional considering it in its relation to the one who is shown mercy. The Ash'ariyyah, and those behind them the Mu'tazilah and the Jahmiyyah, said that Allah has no mercy, and that mercy means will. Mercy means will. As for affirming mercy for Allah, this is forbidden for you, forbidden. You have described Allah with what is not fitting for Him. There is no deity except Allah. If you describe Allah with mercy, you have described Him with what is not fitting for Him. If you describe Allah with mercy, you have described Him with what is not fitting for Him. They say, "Yes, because mercy implies softness and ease, and the Lord the Mighty and Majestic is free from that. The Lord has great authority and does not soften. Mercy has softness." We said to them, "What do you say about What do you say about His saying the Exalted What do you say about His saying the Exalted They said, "Yes, it means will, meaning the will for good. So the meaning of al-Rahman is the One who wills bestowal and kindness, or it is the kindness itself. They interpret mercy sometimes as the will for kindness and sometimes as the kindness itself. Are you with us now?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : We say to them, "The will for kindness results from what?
The student: From mercy

The Shaykh : Yes, from mercy. Who wills kindness except one who is Merciful? And the kindness itself results from what?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : From the will that results from mercy. Good. Why did they interpret mercy as the will for bestowal or as the bestowal itself, rather than as an attribute of Allah the Mighty and Majestic? They said, "Because mercy implies what?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Softness and tenderness, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic is free from that. And will, they affirm it, they affirm it by rational evidence, saying will is established, so we convert mercy to the meaning of will which we agree on and affirm. Some of them say, "No, mercy is kindness. Mercy is the kindness itself. Kindness is Allah bestowing wealth on you, Allah bestowing knowledge on you, Allah bestowing a child on you. This is the kindness intended. This blessing is created, because the knowledge you have is created, the child is created, the wealth is created. So they interpret it either as the created thing or as the will, because they do not deny that Allah has created things. They do not deny that Allah has created things, nor do they deny will. Shall we continue in this discussion, or is it difficult for you?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: We benefit...

The Shaykh : You benefit from this. Good. We say to them, "If you affirm will, you have likened Allah to the created, because the created has will. Allah the Exalted said Yes And He the Exalted said So you have affirmed will for Allah and will for the created. What necessitates by your principle? What necessitates?
The student: Likeness

The Shaykh : Likeness. Good. Also, if you interpret mercy as bestowal, as the blessings Allah has bestowed, then these blessings cannot issue except from will, and the will for blessings cannot issue except from
The student: Mercy

The Shaykh : From mercy. So the affirmation of mercy is necessitated for you in all cases.
And in summary, we, the people of the Sunnah and the community, affirm every attribute that Allah has affirmed for Himself. But we say that the attribute which Allah has affirmed for Himself and for the created, its counterpart in the original is not similar between them, but there is a difference between them, just as there is a difference between the Creator and the created. The mercy of the Creator is vast and great, and the mercy of the created is little and weak. It may be absent in a place where it should be present, and it may be present in a place where it should not be present. Is it not the case that some people show mercy to the fornicator, saying, "Do not flog him, this is Ibn Halal. Ibn Halal prays, fasts, and pays zakah. His desire overcame him one day and he committed fornication. Let him go. Show him mercy, or else..." Is this a place for mercy? No. Allah the Exalted said So the mercy of the created is deficient. It may be absent in a place where one should be merciful, and it may be present in a place where one should not be merciful. Clear? As for the mercy of Allah, it is complete and does not occur except in a place where mercy is deserved.
The student: Whom He wills

The Shaykh : So there is a great difference between them. Then, regarding softness and tenderness, and your saying that mercy does not occur except with softness and tenderness, this is not correct. We find among the strong rulers who are described with tyranny that mercy is sometimes found in them, or it is not found.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : It is found. So your saying is false. In summary, we, our brothers, say that every attribute that Allah has affirmed for Himself, it is not permissible for us to be repelled by it. We, and Allah, are not more knowledgeable about Allah than Allah is. If Allah affirms any attribute for Himself, we affirm it. But we do not liken and we do not ask how, because likening is denied in the Qur'an and asking how is prohibited in the Qur'an. Let this principle be in your hearts and in your belief. Every attribute that Allah has affirmed for Himself, so what? So affirm it. But beware of two things: likening and asking how. Likening, because Allah has denied it for Himself And asking how, because if you ask how, you say what you do not know. This principle, walk upon it. Whatever Allah has affirmed for Himself, that He laughs, we affirm this.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, we affirm it and do not care. And we must affirm this. Did Allah affirm for Himself? The Messenger affirmed for Allah, rather Allah affirmed for Himself that He runs Do we affirm that or not?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : We affirm that. Allah affirmed for Himself that He comes And that He comes Do we affirm that or not?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : We affirm this. Who affirmed this for Allah? He the Mighty and Majestic, and He is more knowledgeable about Himself and about others. So we affirm this and do not be repelled, because if you are repelled by something, you think it is repulsive, another person comes and is repelled by something you see is not repulsive. At that point, the affirmation of attributes or their denial regarding Allah is based on arbitrary rational judgment. Arbitrary rational judgment. And by what is measured what is affirmed for Allah and what is denied from Him?
The student: By the Shari'ah

The Shaykh : I do not mean that if we return to reason, by what reason does one measure what is affirmed of Allah and what is denied of Him? Then we say, as Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Do we abandon what the Messenger brought because of the argument of a man who is more eloquent than another?" Is that permissible?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : I mean, if a person comes to you arguing about one of the attributes, do we leave what Allah and His Messenger said for the sake of this argument? Never. We say: You are arguing with falsehood, and your reward is that we leave you alone. For this reason, you will find that the most sincere people in their hearts regarding this matter are the
The student: the righteous Salaf.

The Shaykh : the righteous Salaf, and then the common people are better than these scholars who claim to be the rational ones and deny what Allah has affirmed for Himself. So, my brother, do not be repelled by what Allah has affirmed for Himself, ever. But be repelled by two things: likening (tashbih) or asking how (takyif). As for the rest, affirm it. Yes, if there were evidence indicating that the apparent meaning is not intended, you must follow the evidence. For example, His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, to man: I And what is the apparent meaning of the hadith?
The student: That Allah...

The Shaykh : That Allah the Exalted gets hungry, gets sick, and gets thirsty. It is known that this is not befitting of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. It is not befitting of Him, Blessed and Exalted is He. So what do we do? Allah clarified this in the same hadith, saying: Since the meaning is not befitting of Allah, He, Mighty and Majestic, clarified it. This indicates that everything Allah has affirmed for Himself is befitting of Him, and we must affirm it. Now, this is an important discussion, but it relates to the issue of al-Rahman and al-Rahim.
confirms the first sentence. The Possessor of Sovereignty, which includes complete control. Therefore, is stronger than al-Malik. Sovereignty (al-Mulk) is stronger than ownership (al-Malik). The original meaning of al-Malik in al-Mulk is that he is an owner, but he may be a sovereign without ownership. As for al-Malik, he is an owner but not a sovereign. It is clear and apparent. What do you have with you? A notebook? Are you the owner of it or not? Are you the sovereign? His words are correct, and his answer is correct.
The student: Correct.

The Shaykh : So, he is an owner.
The student: Not a sovereign.

The Shaykh : And not a sovereign. Yes. And the evidence for that is that he was afraid when I said, "What do you have with you?" In any case, a person is either an owner or a sovereign. And Allah the Exalted is al-Malik, meaning the Possessor of Sovereignty, which includes complete control and absolute authority.
means the One who is purified, Mighty and Majestic. So He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is purified from every defect and every shortcoming. It means al-Salam or is close to it. Al-Salam means the One who is free from every real, expected, or imagined shortcoming. That is, free from every shortcoming, neither in the present nor in the absent. Therefore, it is more specific than al-Quddus. And
The student: Al-Salam.

The Shaykh : And if you say "al-Salam" regarding Allah, it means that Allah may be afflicted with shortcoming, which is impossible. Therefore, if a person says "al-Salam" regarding Allah, we say: Do not say it that way. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, why do I not say it?
The student: Because Allah is al-Salam.

The Shaykh : Because Allah is al-Salam.
Al-Mu'min has two meanings.
The first meaning is that He makes safe from His punishment those who do not deserve punishment. So al-Mu'min means the One who makes safe.
The second is al-Mu'min, the One who believes in His messengers. Allah the Exalted said: meaning by believing. So al-Mu'min has two meanings: the first is from safety (aman), and the second is from faith (iman). What does the first meaning, from safety, mean? It means He makes safe. It is said: He made him safe (amma'ahu). And you call upon Allah saying: "O Allah, make us safe in our homelands. Make us safe in our homelands." So He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is al-Mu'min, making safe whom He wills from His punishment. Al-Mu'min means what? The One who believes. Allah the Exalted said: meaning by believing in us. And these two attributes are both true for Allah. So He, the Exalted, makes safe whom He wills of His servants. And He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is al-Mu'min in truth, believing in it, believing in His messengers, and believing in every truth, Mighty and Majestic. Because Allah the Exalted confirms the truth and invalidates falsehood. Al-Muhaymin means the One who has control and judgment over all others. So He is al-Muhaymin over everything. And among that is His saying, the Exalted: What is it? Therefore, the Book of Allah, the Exalted, the Noble Qur'an, was abrogating everything that came before it of the books.
The Possessor of Majesty. So what is majesty (al-'izzah)? They said: Majesty is the majesty of power, the majesty of subjugation, and the majesty of immunity. What are they? Three: the majesty of power, the majesty of subjugation, and the majesty of immunity. The majesty of power means the majesty of honor and sovereignty, and the like. So Allah the Exalted is the most noble of all who are noble in power, honor, and perfection. The majesty of subjugation means dominance. Dominance means He is dominant over everything.
"Where is the escape, and the seeking God, and the defeated one who is not dominant?" He is not the one who is dominated.
The third is the majesty of immunity. The majesty of immunity means that He, the Exalted, is immune from every shortcoming. Every shortcoming is immune from Allah. That is, it is impossible in the case of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So majesty, then, is what?
The student: Three...

The Shaykh : Three meanings. Majesty has three meanings. Let us return to detailing these meanings. First, the majesty of power and honor. Allah the Exalted: no one is more honorable than Him or greater in status. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Master is Allah. He is the One who has absolute sovereignty, and His sovereignty is intrinsic, Mighty and Majestic. The majesty of dominance and subjugation. Allah the Exalted said: The humble is dominated, and the Mighty is dominant. And among that is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, regarding the hypocrites: And they mean by "the noble ones"
The student: themselves.

The Shaykh : themselves, and by "the humble ones" the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. So Allah the Exalted refuted their saying: And He did not say "By Allah, they are the noble ones," because if He had said "the noble ones," it would have implied that the hypocrites
The student: have majesty.

The Shaykh : have majesty, but it is weaker than the other majesty. But the hypocrites do not have majesty. It is strange that the hypocrites are more humble than the disbelievers. Correct?
The student: Correct

The Shaykh : The hypocrites are more humble than the disbelievers. Why? The disbeliever is open; he openly says that he is a disbeliever and does not care. The hypocrite is humble; he conceals himself, saying that he is a believer out of fear of being killed or opposed. Yes, and he is a disbeliever. So the hypocrite is what? More humble than the disbeliever because he is a hypocrite. So, therefore, he has no majesty. Now, the third: al-Aziz means
The student: immunity.

The Shaykh : Majesty in the sense of immunity. He is immune from every shortcoming and defect. This is taken from their saying "a noble land" (ardh 'azaz). What is a noble land?
The student: Strong...

The Shaykh : Strong, hard. Strong, hard. It is called a noble land. As for sand, it is soft. But the hard, strong land is called 'azaz. So Allah the Exalted has majesty in the three meanings. And His saying:
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, al-Aziz al-Jabbar. We stop here. The time is up.