The Study of the Attributes of Allah the Exalted.
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The Shaykh : Now, let us return to the attributes.
The scholars divided the attributes into three categories: essential, active, and descriptive. They said that the attributes of Allah the Exalted are divided into three categories: essential, active, and descriptive. Some of them said "conceptual" instead of "essential." The second is active, and the third is descriptive.
The attributes by which Allah has always been and will always be described are called essential by the scholars, because they are inseparable from the Essence. For example? The student? For example? Attributes by which Allah has always been and will always be described. We do not want to ask one person.
The student: The Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting.
The Shaykh : For example, the Ever-Living: He has always been and will always be described with life. The All-Hearing: hearing has always been and will always be an attribute of Him. And at the same time, these are also conceptual, they are conceptual at the same time, because the attributes are concepts.
Now, the active attribute is the one that relates to His will; if He wills, He does it, and if He wills, He does not do it. For example? Descending to the lowest heaven, rising above the Throne, speech in terms of its instances, and the like. Yes? Creation in terms of its instances, not the essence of the attribute. The essence of the attribute is among the essential attributes.
These attributes are called active attributes because they are the actions of Allah Mighty and Majestic. As for the descriptive attributes, they are the attributes that are neither a concept nor an action, neither a concept nor an action. For example: the Face, the Hand, the Eye, the Foot, and the Shin. These are not conceptual attributes, they are not conceptual according to the people of the Sunnah and the community, and they are not active either. So the scholars called them descriptive. They are, for us, partial or component attributes, because they are parts and components for us. But with regard to Allah Mighty and Majestic, we do not say this; we do not say that they are parts or components, because Allah Glorified and Exalted is free from this, meaning we do not apply this term. But we call them descriptive attributes, established by the report from the Qur'an or from the Sunnah.
This is the study. So the attributes are divided into three categories: essential, active, and descriptive. Among the essential ones, some are conceptual and some are descriptive. The descriptive ones are among the essential ones because He has always been and will always be described with the two Hands, the Eye, and the Face.
The second study regarding the attributes: Are the attributes broader than the names, or are the names broader? The attributes are broader than the names. The reason for this is that every name includes the attribute, but not every attribute is a name. And there are many attributes applied to Allah Mighty and Majestic that are not among His names. So the Speaker: Allah is described with it, is He not? He is described as the Speaker, but He is not named the Speaker. He is described as the Willer, but He is not named the Willer. Yes. So in that case, the chapter of attributes is broader than the chapter of names.
And the third study in the chapter of attributes: That everything by which Allah has described Himself is true in its reality, but He is free from likening and asking how. The expression "likening" is better than the expression "comparing," because it is the term that came in the Qur'an, and it is absolutely negated. As for comparing, it is what came in the Qur'an, but the scholars used it, although it did not come in the Qur'an. Then, comparing is not like likening, because likening means equality in every respect, and comparing is in most respects, and it may be in some respects. And similarity in some respects may be in the attributes of Allah Mighty and Majestic, because the essence of power in the Creator and the created is that it is to bring about a thing without weakness. This is established, even though this power is not that power. For this reason, it came in the Qur'an:[Ash-Shuraa 42:11] and it did not say "there is nothing like His likeness," but rather it said "there is nothing like Him."
So then, the attributes of Allah are free from what? Likening and asking how. They are not asked how, and it is not permissible to ask how, because Allah says:[Al-Isra 17:36], and He says [Al-A'raf 7:33]. So whoever asks how about any of the attributes of Allah, we say to him: You are lying about it. Why? Because you have no knowledge of it; you have no knowledge of that. And we say to him: With this, you are disobedient to Allah by asking how. What is the evidence that he is disobedient to Allah? Yes?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Due to His saying:[Al-Isra 17:36] [Al-A'raf 7:33] until He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:169]. And on this basis, the one who asks how is a liar and a sinner. A liar because he said what he has no knowledge of, and a sinner because he disobeyed Allah by falling into what Allah has forbidden him. And we do not say this only to the one who asks how with his tongue, but also to the one who asks how with his mind and imagines that the attributes of Allah have a specific manner. We say: This is forbidden for you. Whatever manner you imagine for Allah, you are lying about it, because you will not encompass Him [Taha 20:110] [Al-An'am 6:103]. For this reason, everyone who asks how about Allah, whether by estimation with his mind, by writing with his pen, or by saying with his tongue, is a liar and a sinner. And for this reason, you must abandon this matter entirely. You do not ask how about a specific attribute of His rising above the Throne, or of His descending to the lowest heaven, because this is something from which one must refrain. For this reason, Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Asking about it is an innovation". Yes, yes?
The questioner : ... asking how ...
The Shaykh : Yes, because if you ask how, it means you have affirmed that Allah Glorified and Exalted is in this manner. So you have said about Allah what you do not know, because asking how with the mind is believing that this thing is in this way, and this is not permissible except with evidence. And the meaning of our saying "we do not ask how" is not that we do not believe that it has a manner, but rather we believe that it has a manner. So rising above the Throne has a manner, descending has a manner, the Hand has a manner, the Face has a manner, and the Eye has a manner, but it is not known. So we must believe that it has a manner, it is obligatory, obligatory we believe, because what has no manner does not exist. There is no existent thing that does not have a manner. But we do not ask how. So there is a difference between affirming a specific manner, even by estimation, and believing that it has a manner that is not known. And this is what is obligatory. We say it has a manner, but we do not know it.
So if someone says: How can you believe that a thing has a manner when you do not know about this manner? We say: Yes, this is simple. Now, for example, one of us believes that this engine that moves the car and makes it go has a manner, does it not? And the person who has no knowledge of cars and has never looked at one, does he not not know it? He does not know the manner, and he knows that it has a manner, without doubt, made in a specific manner that makes the car go, but he does not know the manner. So it is possible to believe that a thing has a manner but you do not know it. And this is what is obligatory with regard to the Creator Mighty and Majestic. All His attributes have a manner, but they are not known to us. He wrote the Torah with His Hand, but we do not know how He wrote it. He wrote in the Preserved Tablet the measures of everything, but we do not know the manner of this writing[Al-Anbya 21:105]. We do not know how He wrote either. We only believe that this writing has a manner. And what harmed many people is that they started trying to ask how or liken, and from there they arrived at denial of the divine attributes, because they said: Allah has no like, and they imagine a manner, so they said: Then we will deny these attributes and be at ease. We ask Allah for safety. Yes?
The student: I say, if it comes to mind but the person does not believe it, does he sin?
The Shaykh : Yes, he must seek refuge from Satan. He must seek refuge from Satan. Whatever comes to your mind, Allah is greater than what you imagine. Yes.
The scholars divided the attributes into three categories: essential, active, and descriptive. They said that the attributes of Allah the Exalted are divided into three categories: essential, active, and descriptive. Some of them said "conceptual" instead of "essential." The second is active, and the third is descriptive.
The attributes by which Allah has always been and will always be described are called essential by the scholars, because they are inseparable from the Essence. For example? The student? For example? Attributes by which Allah has always been and will always be described. We do not want to ask one person.
The student: The Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting.
The Shaykh : For example, the Ever-Living: He has always been and will always be described with life. The All-Hearing: hearing has always been and will always be an attribute of Him. And at the same time, these are also conceptual, they are conceptual at the same time, because the attributes are concepts.
Now, the active attribute is the one that relates to His will; if He wills, He does it, and if He wills, He does not do it. For example? Descending to the lowest heaven, rising above the Throne, speech in terms of its instances, and the like. Yes? Creation in terms of its instances, not the essence of the attribute. The essence of the attribute is among the essential attributes.
These attributes are called active attributes because they are the actions of Allah Mighty and Majestic. As for the descriptive attributes, they are the attributes that are neither a concept nor an action, neither a concept nor an action. For example: the Face, the Hand, the Eye, the Foot, and the Shin. These are not conceptual attributes, they are not conceptual according to the people of the Sunnah and the community, and they are not active either. So the scholars called them descriptive. They are, for us, partial or component attributes, because they are parts and components for us. But with regard to Allah Mighty and Majestic, we do not say this; we do not say that they are parts or components, because Allah Glorified and Exalted is free from this, meaning we do not apply this term. But we call them descriptive attributes, established by the report from the Qur'an or from the Sunnah.
This is the study. So the attributes are divided into three categories: essential, active, and descriptive. Among the essential ones, some are conceptual and some are descriptive. The descriptive ones are among the essential ones because He has always been and will always be described with the two Hands, the Eye, and the Face.
The second study regarding the attributes: Are the attributes broader than the names, or are the names broader? The attributes are broader than the names. The reason for this is that every name includes the attribute, but not every attribute is a name. And there are many attributes applied to Allah Mighty and Majestic that are not among His names. So the Speaker: Allah is described with it, is He not? He is described as the Speaker, but He is not named the Speaker. He is described as the Willer, but He is not named the Willer. Yes. So in that case, the chapter of attributes is broader than the chapter of names.
And the third study in the chapter of attributes: That everything by which Allah has described Himself is true in its reality, but He is free from likening and asking how. The expression "likening" is better than the expression "comparing," because it is the term that came in the Qur'an, and it is absolutely negated. As for comparing, it is what came in the Qur'an, but the scholars used it, although it did not come in the Qur'an. Then, comparing is not like likening, because likening means equality in every respect, and comparing is in most respects, and it may be in some respects. And similarity in some respects may be in the attributes of Allah Mighty and Majestic, because the essence of power in the Creator and the created is that it is to bring about a thing without weakness. This is established, even though this power is not that power. For this reason, it came in the Qur'an:
There is nothing like unto Him
ليس كمثله شيءSo then, the attributes of Allah are free from what? Likening and asking how. They are not asked how, and it is not permissible to ask how, because Allah says:
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge
ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علمSay, "My Lord has only forbidden immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed - and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allah that which you do not know."
قل إنما حرم ربي الفواحش ما ظهر منها وما بطن والإثم والبغي بغير الحق وأن تشركوا بالله ما لم ينزل به سلطانا وأن تقولوا على الله ما لا تعلمونThe student: ...
The Shaykh : Due to His saying:
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge
ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علمSay, "My Lord has only forbidden immoralities
قل إنما حرم ربي الفواحشand to say about Allah what you do not know.
وأن تقولوا على الله ما لا تعلمونbut they do not encompass it in knowledge.
ولا يحيطون به علماVision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision
لا تدركه الأبصار وهو يدرك الأبصارThe questioner : ... asking how ...
The Shaykh : Yes, because if you ask how, it means you have affirmed that Allah Glorified and Exalted is in this manner. So you have said about Allah what you do not know, because asking how with the mind is believing that this thing is in this way, and this is not permissible except with evidence. And the meaning of our saying "we do not ask how" is not that we do not believe that it has a manner, but rather we believe that it has a manner. So rising above the Throne has a manner, descending has a manner, the Hand has a manner, the Face has a manner, and the Eye has a manner, but it is not known. So we must believe that it has a manner, it is obligatory, obligatory we believe, because what has no manner does not exist. There is no existent thing that does not have a manner. But we do not ask how. So there is a difference between affirming a specific manner, even by estimation, and believing that it has a manner that is not known. And this is what is obligatory. We say it has a manner, but we do not know it.
So if someone says: How can you believe that a thing has a manner when you do not know about this manner? We say: Yes, this is simple. Now, for example, one of us believes that this engine that moves the car and makes it go has a manner, does it not? And the person who has no knowledge of cars and has never looked at one, does he not not know it? He does not know the manner, and he knows that it has a manner, without doubt, made in a specific manner that makes the car go, but he does not know the manner. So it is possible to believe that a thing has a manner but you do not know it. And this is what is obligatory with regard to the Creator Mighty and Majestic. All His attributes have a manner, but they are not known to us. He wrote the Torah with His Hand, but we do not know how He wrote it. He wrote in the Preserved Tablet the measures of everything, but we do not know the manner of this writing
And We have already written in the book [of Psalms] after the [previous] mention
ولقد كتبنا في الزبور من بعد الذكرThe student: I say, if it comes to mind but the person does not believe it, does he sin?
The Shaykh : Yes, he must seek refuge from Satan. He must seek refuge from Satan. Whatever comes to your mind, Allah is greater than what you imagine. Yes.