Chapter: And everything we have mentioned regarding the attributes of Allah the Exalted, whether in detail or in summary, whether affirming or denying, we rely in that upon the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet,
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The Shaykh :"Everything that came before", and we regret that some of you, my brothers, did not grasp it, but they can grasp it from the tapes and by reviewing it with their classmates who did grasp it. "Everything we have mentioned regarding the attributes of Allah the Exalted, whether in detail or in summary, whether affirming or denying, we rely in that upon the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet, whether in detail or in summary", whether in detail or in summary.
An example of the detailed is what Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) mentioned at the end of Surat al-Hashr:[Al-Hashr 59:22] up to the end of what Allah mentioned; all of it included names, what? Detailed, elaborated names containing the attributes. And what was mentioned in summary is like His saying, the Exalted: [Al-A'raf 7:180] Here He summarized; He did not say name and name and name, but He said: [Al-A'raf 7:180] And likewise regarding the attributes, some are mentioned in summary, like the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Nahl 16:60] meaning the most perfect description, and some are mentioned in detail.
So all that we have mentioned, "we rely upon the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet", because they are the source of the evidence. There is no evidence stronger than the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And every piece of evidence other than them, if it is built upon them, it is truth and is from them; and if it contradicts them, it is invalid. And based on this, the invalidity of the madhhab of the Asha'irah, the Mu'tazilah, and the Jahmiyyah becomes clear to us, because it is built upon the intellect which they claimed is intellect, whereas in reality it is misguidance and not intellect. But they themselves see it as intellect, and that they only affirm for Allah what the intellect indicates, and what the intellect does not indicate is, in their view, negated from Allah, even if it is mentioned in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. So what is the source of receiving the creed?
The student: The Book and the Sunnah.
The Shaykh : The Book and the Sunnah. And for this reason he said: "we rely upon the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet". We do not rely on anything other than them from what is mentioned as intellect. Do you understand? Good.
So if someone says, "The intellect indicates that the Lord does not become sad due to the perfection of His dominion and power," and we negate sadness from Him, what do we say? Is it truth or not truth? It is truth, indicated by the Book and the Sunnah. It is truth, indicated by the Book and the Sunnah, due to His saying:[An-Nahl 16:60] And sadness is a deficiency, which contradicts the meaning of this verse. So we say: Do not rejoice over the fact that you denied sadness because the intellect denies it. We say to you: The text also denied it. Because if we read: [An-Nahl 16:60] meaning the most perfect description, it necessitates that He does not become sad, for only one who is deficient becomes sad. Good. If they say, "We do not affirm anger for Allah because the intellect denies it," what do we say?
The student: Rejected.
The Shaykh : We say: This is refuted. First, because the intellect necessitates it. For anger, when its cause exists, is perfection. Anger, when its cause exists, is perfection. So the intellect necessitates it.
An example of the detailed is what Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) mentioned at the end of Surat al-Hashr:
He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
هو الله الذي لا إله إلا هو عالم الغيب والشهادة هو الرحمن الرحيمAnd to Allah belong the best names
ولله الأسماء الحسنىAnd to Allah belong the best names
ولله الأسماء الحسنىand for Allah is the highest attribute
ولله المثل الأعلىSo all that we have mentioned, "we rely upon the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet", because they are the source of the evidence. There is no evidence stronger than the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And every piece of evidence other than them, if it is built upon them, it is truth and is from them; and if it contradicts them, it is invalid. And based on this, the invalidity of the madhhab of the Asha'irah, the Mu'tazilah, and the Jahmiyyah becomes clear to us, because it is built upon the intellect which they claimed is intellect, whereas in reality it is misguidance and not intellect. But they themselves see it as intellect, and that they only affirm for Allah what the intellect indicates, and what the intellect does not indicate is, in their view, negated from Allah, even if it is mentioned in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. So what is the source of receiving the creed?
The student: The Book and the Sunnah.
The Shaykh : The Book and the Sunnah. And for this reason he said: "we rely upon the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet". We do not rely on anything other than them from what is mentioned as intellect. Do you understand? Good.
So if someone says, "The intellect indicates that the Lord does not become sad due to the perfection of His dominion and power," and we negate sadness from Him, what do we say? Is it truth or not truth? It is truth, indicated by the Book and the Sunnah. It is truth, indicated by the Book and the Sunnah, due to His saying:
and for Allah is the highest attribute
ولله المثل الأعلىand for Allah is the highest attribute
ولله المثل الأعلىThe student: Rejected.
The Shaykh : We say: This is refuted. First, because the intellect necessitates it. For anger, when its cause exists, is perfection. Anger, when its cause exists, is perfection. So the intellect necessitates it.