How is the claim of the *ta'til* (denial of the divine attributes) group refuted, which states that affirming the attribute of seeing for Allah the Exalted necessitates affirming an eye for Him the Exalted, and that this necessitates likening Him to creation?
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The questioner : ... The Shaykh ... regarding the *ta'til* (denial of the divine attributes) group ... without an eye. The Shaykh said: If he means that we demand of you, we challenge you to bring a seer without an eye. We do not comprehend seeing except through an eye.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : And we compel you to say that Allah has an eye ... this is their doubt.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : That is to say, if affirming the seeing of Allah necessitates affirming an eye for Allah, then we say so, and we say that His eye does not resemble the eyes of the created beings. If it is necessitated, and if it is not necessitated, then Allah the Exalted has made clear that the earth reports its news, which is what is done upon it of good or evil, whether it is seen or heard.
The questioner : The Shaykh said: It is said that we do not know the eye except this one in existence ... the human being.
The Shaykh : Just as the *tashbih* (likening Allah to creation) group, those who affirmed likening, said: We do not know anything described with this attribute except that it is a likeness. So we say: We affirm that Allah the Exalted has an eye that does not resemble, does not equal, the eyes of the created beings.
The questioner : ... It happened. Good. If he said: You are evading ... we only know this one.
The Shaykh : This is what you know. The witness is only this. But the Creator, Mighty and Majestic, have you seen Him? So affirm for Him something whose modality is not known, as Imam Malik said: "The modality is not comprehensible". Yes.
The questioner : The Shaykh ... we mentioned[Al-An'am 6:59] ... the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ... the last one. So do we restrict ourselves to this, or ...
The Shaykh : It will come to us, if Allah wills. It will come to us, if Allah wills. This ... yes.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : And we compel you to say that Allah has an eye ... this is their doubt.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : That is to say, if affirming the seeing of Allah necessitates affirming an eye for Allah, then we say so, and we say that His eye does not resemble the eyes of the created beings. If it is necessitated, and if it is not necessitated, then Allah the Exalted has made clear that the earth reports its news, which is what is done upon it of good or evil, whether it is seen or heard.
The questioner : The Shaykh said: It is said that we do not know the eye except this one in existence ... the human being.
The Shaykh : Just as the *tashbih* (likening Allah to creation) group, those who affirmed likening, said: We do not know anything described with this attribute except that it is a likeness. So we say: We affirm that Allah the Exalted has an eye that does not resemble, does not equal, the eyes of the created beings.
The questioner : ... It happened. Good. If he said: You are evading ... we only know this one.
The Shaykh : This is what you know. The witness is only this. But the Creator, Mighty and Majestic, have you seen Him? So affirm for Him something whose modality is not known, as Imam Malik said: "The modality is not comprehensible". Yes.
The questioner : The Shaykh ... we mentioned
And with Him are the keys of the unseen
وعنده مفاتح الغيبThe Shaykh : It will come to us, if Allah wills. It will come to us, if Allah wills. This ... yes.