The First Topic: The Establishment of the Attributes for Allah the Exalted. The Second Topic: That we do not describe Allah the Exalted with what He has not described Himself with.
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The Shaykh : The First Point: The establishment of the Attributes for Allah. The evidence for this is from revelation and reason. As for revelation, the texts regarding the Attributes are too numerous to count, or are they not? Yes. And as for reason, it is because there is no existent thing in the external world that does not have an attribute. Therefore, once the establishment of the Attributes for Allah is confirmed.
The Second Topic: That we do not describe Allah the Exalted with what He has not described Himself with. The evidence for this is also from revelation and reason. We mentioned two verses from revelation, which are:[Al-A'raf 7:33] up to His saying: [Al-Baqarah 2:169] and His saying the Exalted: [Al-Isra 17:36].
And as for reason, we said: This is a matter of the unseen that cannot be grasped by the intellect. We gave two examples for this: one regarding the pleasure of Paradise that Allah mentioned, and the other regarding the soul between our sides, which we do not grasp, even though we know of its attributes what we know. This is the faith in what He has described Himself with in His Book.
Now, this phrase also includes the obligation to take the texts found in the Book of Allah at their apparent meaning, and likewise the texts in the Sunnah at their apparent meaning, without going beyond them. Yes. An example of what Allah described Himself with is that He has an eye. Do we say: The meaning of the eye is vision, not the actual eye? No. If we said that, we would not be describing Allah with what He described Himself with. Allah described Himself as having two hands:[Al-Ma'idah 5:64] If we say: Allah the Exalted does not have an actual hand, but the meaning of the hand is the blessings He bestows upon His servants, have we then described Allah with what He described Himself with? No.
Four topics, not three? Three.
The Second Topic: That we do not describe Allah the Exalted with what He has not described Himself with. The evidence for this is also from revelation and reason. We mentioned two verses from revelation, which are:
Say, "My Lord has only forbidden immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed
قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَand to say about Allah what you do not know.
وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَAnd do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge
وَلا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌAnd as for reason, we said: This is a matter of the unseen that cannot be grasped by the intellect. We gave two examples for this: one regarding the pleasure of Paradise that Allah mentioned, and the other regarding the soul between our sides, which we do not grasp, even though we know of its attributes what we know. This is the faith in what He has described Himself with in His Book.
Now, this phrase also includes the obligation to take the texts found in the Book of Allah at their apparent meaning, and likewise the texts in the Sunnah at their apparent meaning, without going beyond them. Yes. An example of what Allah described Himself with is that He has an eye. Do we say: The meaning of the eye is vision, not the actual eye? No. If we said that, we would not be describing Allah with what He described Himself with. Allah described Himself as having two hands:
Rather, both His hands are extended
بَلْ يَدَاهُ مَبْسُوطَتَانِFour topics, not three? Three.