Continuation of the explanation of the differences among Islamic sects in their understanding of this verse: “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearer, the Seer.”

The Asha'irah are the most widespread among the people in the Islamic lands. For this reason, it is obligatory for us to know their school of jurisprudence completely and to know the refutation of them, so that this school of jurisprudence may diminish or disappear entirely. We ask Allah the Exalted to remove it toward the truth. They say: We affirm these seven attributes and others? No. Therefore, in their use of the texts, they say regarding anything other than this: either we assign it to Allah and say, “We do not know its meaning,” or we interpret it figuratively. We call their figurative interpretation distortion, because figurative interpretation without evidence is distortion. In this regard, the poet of their creed says: “And every text that suggests likening Allah to creation, interpret it or assign it, and throw away [the idea of] purifying Him”. And Allah, it is wondrous. If we assign it or interpret it in the sense of distortion, then we have not thrown away purifying Him, but rather we have fallen into a defect. The reason is that if we say, “We do not know this meaning,” or “We do not know the meaning,” this means that Allah has revealed to us a book that is unknown and whose meaning is not known. If only it were not known in matters concerning the actions of the servant, such as prayer and ritual purity in creed. And if we distort it, we also fall into a calamity in accusing Allah Mighty and Majestic that He did not clarify to His servants except what is contrary to the truth. Both are great matters. So much so that the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The statement of the people of assignment is among the worst of the statements of the people of religious innovation and atheism. And it is what opened the door for the philosophers to criticize the religion. They said: If you do not know the meaning, and you are non-Arabs with respect to the Arabic Qur'an, we know it. And they began to blunder blindly.
Now we return to the school of the Asha'irah. They affirm for Allah seven attributes: life, knowledge, will, power, hearing, sight, and speech. However, their affirmation of them is not like the affirmation of the people of the Sunnah and the community. We give an example with speech. They say: Allah Mighty and Majestic does not speak with a heard voice at all. Rather, His speech is the meaning that subsists in His Self. And what the servants hear is merely an expression of the speech, which is created. So when Allah said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): with this wording or its meaning, Allah did not say it, because the speech is the meaning that subsists in the Self. But He created sounds that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard, which express what is in His Self. Glory be to Allah. Now, if we reflect, we will find that their statement is more wicked than the statement of the Jahmiyyah. Why? The Jahmiyyah explicitly said: The speech of Allah is created and heard, but it is created. These people said: The speech of Allah is not created, but it is not heard. It is the meaning that subsists in the Self, and He creates sounds that are heard to express what is in His Self. Which is more explicit? The Jahmiyyah. The Qur'an is before us. The Jahmiyyah say: This is the speech of Allah in reality, but it is created. The Asha'irah say: No, this is not the speech of Allah in reality. This is an expression of the speech of Allah, and the speech of Allah is the meaning that subsists in the Self. Which is better? The first. And both are not good. But we say it is better, as Allah Mighty and Majestic said: even though there is no stable good in the people of the Fire. In any case, the Asha'irah affirmed seven attributes. They were asked: What is the evidence for affirming the seven attributes and denying the rest? They said: The evidence is reason. Reason indicated the affirmation of these attributes and did not indicate the affirmation of others. So they judged by reason what they affirm for Allah, and they did not judge by Allah what He affirms for Himself. And this is an encroachment upon the rights of Allah Mighty and Majestic. Who judges for Himself? Allah Mighty and Majestic. You are judging Allah. They said: Allah addressed us, and we have minds, so we must use our minds. We said: Fine, give us a rational evidence for these seven attributes. They said: Yes, we will give you rational evidences. Creation indicates power, because the incapable does not create anything. And it is known that we see the created things appearing one by one. They said: Their creation indicates power. Fine, the existing created things, some are human, some are horses, some are camels, some are the sun, some are the moon, some are the sky, and some are the earth. This specification indicates will. If it were not for will, this would not be such and such, and that would not be such and such. So we have affirmed will and power. These created things are precise and well-crafted, with no contradiction or collision. We have never seen the sun collide with the earth, or the moon, or the stars. It is precise and well-crafted, which indicates knowledge. So three attributes are established through reason: knowledge, will, and power. They said: These attributes cannot subsist except in a living being. So the attribute of life is established by that. They said: The living being is either hearing, seeing, and speaking, or deaf, blind, and mute. The first is perfection, and the second is deficiency. And Allah the Exalted is free from deficiency. So it is obligatory that He be hearing, seeing, and speaking. We may agree with them on this and say: Reason indicated that. But as for the rest, the Shari'ah indicated them, and we descend with them to the last thing. We say: The rest were indicated by the Shari'ah. And it is known that the absence of a specific evidence does not necessitate the absence of the indicated thing, because evidences may be multiple for one indicated thing. So if we assume that reason did not indicate the attributes that Allah affirmed for Himself other than the seven, the Shari'ah indicated them. And the Shari'ah establishes with one evidence, two evidences, or three; the important thing is that there is evidence. This is one point. This is an answer. Another answer is to deny that reason did not indicate the remaining attributes, and we say: Of the remaining attributes, some were indicated by reason, and some were indicated only by hearing [revelation]. For example, the sending down of rain, the growth of plants, the lifting of the plague, and the expansion of provision. Whose is this? It is from Allah Mighty and Majestic. What does this indicate? It indicates mercy with a clear indication, stronger than the indication of specification for will. Because the indication of specification for will is not understood except by that specialized student of knowledge. Even the female student of knowledge, sometimes we argue with them. He says: How did specification indicate will? But that these beneficial matters, the occurrence of blessings and the repelling of harms, indicate mercy. Is it obscure or clear? It is clear. Even the common person. The common person goes out of his house in the morning, and it rained at night, and he says: We have been rained upon by the grace and mercy of Allah, and he is a common person. So we say to them: Now, what you denied, claiming that reason does not indicate it, we have two answers regarding it:
The first answer is that we do not concede that reason does not indicate it. Rather, we say: Reason indicates it, even if it does not indicate every attribute, but in general.
Second: We say: Suppose that reason does not indicate it, but hearing [revelation] indicated it, the Qur'an and the Sunnah. And it is not necessary that the absence of the indication of reason means that the thing is not established by another evidence. Because the absence of a specific evidence does not necessitate the absence of the indicated thing. And this is a useful rule. I give you an example of something tangible. How many roads does Makkah have? Multiple roads. So if it is assumed that this road is impassable due to the presence of bandits, or the presence of rains that ruined it, or something similar, is it not possible to reach Makkah from another road? Yes. So it is with meanings. If one of the evidences is absent, but we find another evidence, do we deny this indicated thing because one of the evidences is not present? No. As long as this evidence is not present, there is another evidence.
Therefore, Allah guided the people of the Sunnah and the community to the middle path: no likening Allah to creation and no denial of the divine attributes. They said: We affirm for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) all that He has described Himself with in the Qur'an or in what is authentic in the Sunnah. Note that this qualification regarding the Sunnah is necessary: "in what is authentic in the Sunnah," because some hadiths are weak or fabricated. You do not say "what is authentic in the Qur'an" because the entire Qur'an is authentic. In the Sunnah, you must qualify it with "what is authentic in the Sunnah." We affirm every attribute without hesitation or fear. If Allah (Mighty and Majestic) affirmed a hand for Himself and said: , should we be afraid to affirm the hand? No, is it even permissible for us to be afraid? It is absolutely not permissible. Rather, the fear should be in contradicting Him. Affirm the hand and do not be concerned. Your Lord affirmed a face for Himself; are you afraid to affirm the face? No, the true fear is in denying the face. As for what Allah has affirmed, we must affirm it, but based on this principle: There is nothing like Him. So we say: Allah has a face, and it is not like the face of the created. We are certain that it is not like the faces of the created beings. If someone asks: What is your evidence? Why do you not interpret the face as the known face? The evidence is: .
Allah the Exalted affirmed that He will come on the Day of Resurrection: . Are you afraid to describe Allah with coming? No, we are not afraid; we say: We describe Allah with coming. But is it like the coming of an angel on a horse or a car or something similar? No, certainly it is not so. But it is a coming befitting His Majesty. Allah affirmed for Himself that He rose above the Throne in several places in the Qur'an, reaching seven with this wording: . Are you afraid to affirm that for Allah? No, rather He is truly above the Throne. Are you afraid that I say: , meaning He took control? Because interpreting "rose above" as "took control" is a distortion of the word from its place. But I believe with no doubt that this rising above is not like the rising above of the created beings in any way. If I rise above a jaw or a camel and what I am on is removed, I will fall, without doubt. But the rising above of Allah on the Throne is not so. It is not a rising above that implies a need for the Throne, because Allah is free of the Throne and of everything else. But it is a rising above of greatness and dominion. Establish the creed and do not let illusions deceive you. What is the sin of a person if he says: I believe in everything He affirmed for Himself? It is not a sin. Rather, this is the reality of submission and surrender to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But one thing is obligatory: that you believe that there is nothing like Him. Because Allah said: and He said: and the like. And you do not know the unseen. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the One who knows, and He informed you about Himself thus, so say: We believe and we have affirmed.
The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that those who deny the divine attributes are divided into categories: a group denied some, a group denied the attribute but not the name, a group denied the attribute and the name by negation rather than affirmation, meaning they said: We do not describe Allah with anything affirmed, but we describe Him by negation. And a group said: We do not describe Him by negation or by affirmation. If we describe Him with something affirmed, we liken Him to existing things, and if we describe Him with something negated, we liken Him to non-existent things.