Continuation of the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “There is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”

Now, regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: We see in some books: “Indeed, Allah has no likeness”. Is this expression equivalent to our saying: “Indeed, Allah has no like”? No. Therefore, expressing it by saying: “We believe in affirming this without likening Allah to creation” is better than expressing it by saying: “We affirm this without likening Allah to creation,” even though we see that most of the books in our hands state: “without likening Allah to creation.” But this is a deficiency. The expression “without likening Allah to creation” is preferable. First: because it is the expression of the Qur’an, and whenever you can express the meanings you intend using the Qur’an or the Sunnah, that is preferable.
Second: because likening Allah to creation, according to some people, means affirming the attributes. They say: “Everyone who affirms an attribute for Allah is one who likens Him to creation.” So if you say: “without likening Allah to creation,” and the person you are addressing understands by likening Allah to creation only the affirmation of attributes, they will understand from you that you do not affirm anything. Also, likening Allah to creation has possibilities. If you deny likening Allah to creation in every aspect, that is not possible, because the Creator and the created must share in the origin of the attribute. For example, life exists in us, and Allah the Exalted is Alive. The origin of life exists, but what is denied is that our life is similar to the life of Allah. Hearing exists in us and exists with Allah Mighty and Majestic, for Allah the Exalted is Hearing. So there must be a sharing in the origin. We exist, and the Lord Mighty and Majestic is also necessarily existent, and so on. Thus, the expression denying likening Allah to creation is preferable to the expression denying likening Allah to creation.
Now, Allah the Exalted said: This is a refutation of whom? The deniers of the divine attributes. The first phrase: is a refutation of those who liken Allah to creation. “The Hearing” means the One who possesses hearing. And the hearing of Allah Mighty and Majestic has two meanings:
The first meaning: responding, as in His saying the Exalted: The meaning of “Hearing” is “One who responds.” It is not intended that He only hears, because merely hearing without responding is of little benefit. But: means “One who responds to it.” And His responding to it necessitates His hearing it, without doubt. Also, from the fact that hearing means responding, is the saying of the one praying: “Allah hears the one who praises Him”. Does this mean He heard his voice, or that He responded to him? It means He responded to him. Because, as I told you: merely hearing the voice does not benefit the supplicant. So if a person says to you: “So-and-so, I hope you will help me,” and you say: “I hear,” meaning I hear with my ear, does he benefit from this or not? He does not benefit, because he will say to you: “If you are hearing, give it to me.” So everything added to supplication from the word “hearing” means responding.
The second type of hearing: perceiving what is heard, meaning that no sound is hidden from Allah, whether near or far, hidden or apparent, for Allah hears everything. Have you seen His saying the Exalted: [Al-Mujadilah: 1] Where is Allah? In the sky, above the Throne. And where was the place where this woman was complaining? On the earth. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “Praise be to Allah, whose hearing encompasses all voices. Indeed, she was arguing with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and I was in the chamber, and some of her conversation was hidden from me”. She was in the chamber, and nothing is hidden from Allah Mighty and Majestic. He heard the argument and the conversation, and He revealed the solution to the problem. If hearing means perceiving, it encompasses every sound. Then this hearing is either for support, or for threat, or for encompassing. Three categories: either for support, or for threat, or for encompassing. Support is like His saying Blessed and Exalted is He to Moses and Aaron: Why did Allah the Exalted say: ? To support them, meaning: I hear what you say and what is said to you, and the command is His command. This is hearing intended for support.
The second: what is intended for threat, like the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He: What is intended by this verse? It is not intended that Allah merely informs that He hears their secret and their open talk. The intention is threat. Similar to this is His saying the Exalted: This is a threat, as evidenced by His saying: So this is a threat.
Encompassing: informing, like: Informing that He the Exalted encompasses everything in hearing. And as in the story of the woman who argued, Allah the Exalted informed of this to let us know that He encompasses it. I return once more to hearing. It is divided into hearing meaning responding, and hearing meaning perceiving what is heard. The first, its example is His saying the Exalted: and the saying of the one praying: “Allah hears the one who praises Him”.
And the second is divided into three categories:
The first is what is intended for support.
And the second: what is intended for threat.
And the third: what is intended for encompassing, and you have known the examples.
Now: has two meanings:
The first meaning: perceiving things with sight.
And the second: knowledge. So here: includes both meanings. The sight of Allah the Exalted encompasses everything, and nothing is hidden from Him. The evidence that “Seeing” includes sight is His saying in the authentic hadith: meaning: I would have burned everything, because the sight of Allah reaches everything. So the meaning is: I would have burned these splendors. And the splendors are the radiance and the greatness, everything: there is no god but Allah.
“Seeing” meaning “Knowing” is like His saying the Exalted: And it is known that we do things that are not seen. There are things in our hearts that are not seen, and Allah knows them. So “Seeing” is among the names of Allah Mighty and Majestic, meaning the One who possesses sight. And it has two meanings: “Seeing” meaning perceiving what is seen with His sight.
And the second: meaning the All-Knowing.
Our brothers, if you hear the names of Allah and His attributes, the intention is not just for us to know the meaning, but to worship Allah with them. So if we know that He is Hearing, it obligates us to fear saying what angers Allah, because Allah hears. If we know that He is Seeing, it obligates us to beware of every action that angers Allah, because Allah the Exalted sees it and perceives it. So in these names that Allah informs us of, there is training for the person to fear Allah Mighty and Majestic from disobeying Him in word or deed.
And perhaps we have exhausted the speech on this. And the most important thing is that you build your creed on two things: affirming what Allah affirmed for Himself in the Qur’an or the Sunnah.
And the second: denying similarity, that He has no like.