Explanation of the author's statement: It contains issues: The first: The prohibition of asking by the face of Allah except for the highest of desires. The second: Affirming the attribute of the face.
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The Shaykh :"The first is the prohibition of asking by the face of Allah except for the highest of desires". "Except for the highest of desires" means Paradise and what brings one near to it in terms of speech and action, as well as safety from the Fire.
"The second is affirming the face" of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). We have previously discussed this and clarified that the people of the Sunnah and the community believe in everything by which Allah described Himself, whether attributes of essence or attributes of action, yes, in the manner befitting Him. We have also previously stated that the attributes of essence are divided into conceptual and descriptive, is that not so? Yes?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Now, the conceptual ones are like knowledge, power, hearing, and sight, and the descriptive ones are like the face and the hands. They do not call them conceptual because if we said they were conceptual, we would have arrived at what the people of figurative interpretation arrived at. The people of figurative interpretation, or more accurately, the people of distortion, say that the hand means power or the blessing which is the act. But they call them descriptive attributes, meaning that the report came with them, yes. The counterpart of their names for us are parts; the hand is a part of a person, and the face is a part of a person, as well as the shin, the foot, and the eye. But we do not say this regarding Allah; we do not say that His eye is a part of Him, or that His hand is a part of Him, or the like, due to the consensus of the Salaf that Allah the Exalted is not described with what indicates division or parts. But we say that their counterparts in naming for us are parts for us. For this reason, we do not call them conceptual; we call them descriptive, yes, yes.
The questioner : ... Paradise
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, because there are hadiths indicating that the Messenger asked by the face of Allah for something other than Paradise, yes, such as his saying "I seek refuge in Your face" when he said[Al-An'am 6:65]. The Messenger said, "I seek refuge in Your face." ... Because this face is always used to refer to the essence, but because it is the most noble of what is described in us, it is used to refer to the essence, yes.
The questioner : It does not become ...
The Shaykh : No, this is general, but I told you that it is general, even regarding the face of Allah. What do you say, for example, "O Allah, I ask You by Your face to provide me with a car" or "to provide me with such and such of the matters of this world"? This is on the assumption that the hadith is authentic. As for if it is not authentic, the matter is clear.
The questioner : ... the people of the Sunnah do not describe Allah except with what He described Himself with or what His Messenger described Him with.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : The essence and the body
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Describing Allah with the essence and the body
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : These were not transmitted
The Shaykh : Regarding the body, we do not say that Allah is a body; we neither affirm it nor deny it.
The questioner : ... in the discussion of these people ...
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, this is in terms of meaning. As for the wording, it is not permissible to affirm it, nor is it permissible to deny it.
The questioner : And the essence
The Shaykh : As for the essence, it is used to refer to the reality of the thing.
The questioner : Meaning, if it was not transmitted
The Shaykh : If it was not transmitted, if it was not transmitted, because it is the counterpart of the attributes, yes.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, their appropriateness to the chapter of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) is that they involve glorifying Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Whoever asks by Allah will be given, and whoever seeks refuge in Him will be protected, because that is part of glorifying Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And the face of Allah is clearly part of His glorification; glorifying the face is that one does not ask by it except for the highest of desires, yes?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, attributes of the essence?
The questioner : The essence
The Shaykh : They say, first, the essence is divided into essential and active, and then the essential is divided into descriptive and conceptual.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Knowledge, hearing, and sight, yes, because the attributes of the essence are those from which Allah is not separated. Every attribute that is necessary is from the attributes of the essence, and every attribute that relates to the will is from the attributes of action.
"The second is affirming the face" of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). We have previously discussed this and clarified that the people of the Sunnah and the community believe in everything by which Allah described Himself, whether attributes of essence or attributes of action, yes, in the manner befitting Him. We have also previously stated that the attributes of essence are divided into conceptual and descriptive, is that not so? Yes?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Now, the conceptual ones are like knowledge, power, hearing, and sight, and the descriptive ones are like the face and the hands. They do not call them conceptual because if we said they were conceptual, we would have arrived at what the people of figurative interpretation arrived at. The people of figurative interpretation, or more accurately, the people of distortion, say that the hand means power or the blessing which is the act. But they call them descriptive attributes, meaning that the report came with them, yes. The counterpart of their names for us are parts; the hand is a part of a person, and the face is a part of a person, as well as the shin, the foot, and the eye. But we do not say this regarding Allah; we do not say that His eye is a part of Him, or that His hand is a part of Him, or the like, due to the consensus of the Salaf that Allah the Exalted is not described with what indicates division or parts. But we say that their counterparts in naming for us are parts for us. For this reason, we do not call them conceptual; we call them descriptive, yes, yes.
The questioner : ... Paradise
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, because there are hadiths indicating that the Messenger asked by the face of Allah for something other than Paradise, yes, such as his saying "I seek refuge in Your face" when he said
He is the [one] Able to send upon you affliction from above you
هو القادر على أن يبعث عليكم عذابا من فوقكمThe questioner : It does not become ...
The Shaykh : No, this is general, but I told you that it is general, even regarding the face of Allah. What do you say, for example, "O Allah, I ask You by Your face to provide me with a car" or "to provide me with such and such of the matters of this world"? This is on the assumption that the hadith is authentic. As for if it is not authentic, the matter is clear.
The questioner : ... the people of the Sunnah do not describe Allah except with what He described Himself with or what His Messenger described Him with.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : The essence and the body
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Describing Allah with the essence and the body
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : These were not transmitted
The Shaykh : Regarding the body, we do not say that Allah is a body; we neither affirm it nor deny it.
The questioner : ... in the discussion of these people ...
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, this is in terms of meaning. As for the wording, it is not permissible to affirm it, nor is it permissible to deny it.
The questioner : And the essence
The Shaykh : As for the essence, it is used to refer to the reality of the thing.
The questioner : Meaning, if it was not transmitted
The Shaykh : If it was not transmitted, if it was not transmitted, because it is the counterpart of the attributes, yes.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, their appropriateness to the chapter of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) is that they involve glorifying Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Whoever asks by Allah will be given, and whoever seeks refuge in Him will be protected, because that is part of glorifying Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And the face of Allah is clearly part of His glorification; glorifying the face is that one does not ask by it except for the highest of desires, yes?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, attributes of the essence?
The questioner : The essence
The Shaykh : They say, first, the essence is divided into essential and active, and then the essential is divided into descriptive and conceptual.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Knowledge, hearing, and sight, yes, because the attributes of the essence are those from which Allah is not separated. Every attribute that is necessary is from the attributes of the essence, and every attribute that relates to the will is from the attributes of action.