The Fifth Section: The intellect has no role in the chapter of the Names and Attributes
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : The Fifth Section: The abstract attributes, such as satisfaction, love, anger, displeasure, hearing, and sight. Good.
The Fifth Section: According to his statement: "What He has described Himself with in His Book", the intellect has no role in the chapter of the Names and Attributes, because the basis for affirming or denying the Names and Attributes is revelation. Our intellects never judge over Allah. So the basis is revelation, contrary to the Asha'irah, the Mu'tazilah, the Jahmiyyah, and others from the people of denial of the divine attributes who made the basis for affirming or denying the attributes what? The intellect. They said: What the intellect necessitates affirming, we affirm, whether Allah affirmed it for Himself or not. And what the intellect necessitates denying, we deny, even if Allah affirmed it. And what the intellect does not necessitate affirming or denying, most of them denied it. They said that the indication of the intellect is positive: if it necessitates an attribute, we affirm it; if it does not necessitate it, we deny it. Some of them suspended judgment on it: as long as the intellect does not affirm it, it does not affirm it. But do they deny it? No, they say we suspend judgment, because the indication of the intellect for this person is negative: if it does not necessitate it, he suspends judgment; if it does not necessitate it and does not deny it, it remains. So these people make the intellect the judge in what is obligatory or impossible for Allah. So it results in this: what the intellect necessitates, they described Allah with it, even if it is not in the Book or the Sunnah. And what the intellect necessitates denying of Allah, they denied it, even if it is in the Book and the Sunnah. Yes, they deny it, even if it is in the Book and the Sunnah.
For this reason, they say: Allah has no eyes, no face, no hand, He did not rise above the Throne, and He does not descend to the lowest heaven. But they distort and call their distortion figurative interpretation. If they denied it with a denial of rejection, they would be disbelievers, because they lied. But they deny it with a denial of what they call figurative interpretation, which is distortion in our view.
Good, pay attention. If the intellect has no place in the chapter of the Names and Attributes of Allah, and you say: Your statement contradicts the Qur'an, because Allah says:[Al-Ma'idah 5:50] And the preference of one thing over another returns to what? To the intellect. And He the Exalted said: [An-Nahl 16:60] And He said: [An-Nahl 16:17] And similar to that, where Allah refers to the intellect in what He affirms for Himself and what He denies of the false gods?
The answer is that we say: The intellect comprehends what is obligatory for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and what is impossible for Him in a general sense, not in a detailed sense. This speech is what? It comprehends what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has of attributes in a general sense, and what is impossible for Him in a general sense as well, without detail. For example: The intellect comprehends that the Lord must be perfect in attributes, is that not so? Good. But this does not mean that the intellect affirms every specific attribute, but it affirms in a general sense that the Lord must be perfect in attributes. Clear? For example, it comprehends that the Lord must be Hearing and Seeing, is that not so? Ibrahim said to his father:[Maryam 19:42] He must be a Creator, because Allah said: [An-Nahl 16:17] [An-Nahl 16:20] It comprehends this. It comprehends that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) it is impossible for Him to be a created thing after non-existence, or does it not comprehend this? What? Yes, because it is a deficiency. And because of His saying (the Exalted), arguing against those who worship idols: [An-Nahl 16:20] So it is impossible for the Creator to be a created thing by the intellect. You understood, good.
The intellect also comprehends that every attribute of deficiency is impossible for Allah, is that not so? Because the Lord must be perfect. I comprehended this with my intellect, so it comprehends that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is devoid of weakness, is that not so? Weakness, why? Because it is an attribute of deficiency. If the Lord were weak and was disobeyed and rebelled against, would He punish the one who disobeyed Him while He is weak? Is that possible or not? It is not possible. So the intellect comprehends that weakness cannot be attributed to Allah. Blindness likewise, deafness likewise, ignorance likewise, and so on. In a general sense, we comprehend that, but in a detailed sense, this is not something we can comprehend. We suspend judgment on what? On revelation. Good.
Is everything that is perfection in us perfection in the case of Allah? And is everything that is deficiency in us deficiency in Allah? If the created is like the Creator, then yes, the rule applies. And if the created is not like the Creator, then the rule does not apply, correct or not? So the standard for perfection and deficiency is not based on what is attributed to the human, because that is incorrect due to the clear difference between the Creator and the created. But it is based on the attribute insofar as it is an attribute. So every attribute of perfection is...
The Fifth Section: According to his statement: "What He has described Himself with in His Book", the intellect has no role in the chapter of the Names and Attributes, because the basis for affirming or denying the Names and Attributes is revelation. Our intellects never judge over Allah. So the basis is revelation, contrary to the Asha'irah, the Mu'tazilah, the Jahmiyyah, and others from the people of denial of the divine attributes who made the basis for affirming or denying the attributes what? The intellect. They said: What the intellect necessitates affirming, we affirm, whether Allah affirmed it for Himself or not. And what the intellect necessitates denying, we deny, even if Allah affirmed it. And what the intellect does not necessitate affirming or denying, most of them denied it. They said that the indication of the intellect is positive: if it necessitates an attribute, we affirm it; if it does not necessitate it, we deny it. Some of them suspended judgment on it: as long as the intellect does not affirm it, it does not affirm it. But do they deny it? No, they say we suspend judgment, because the indication of the intellect for this person is negative: if it does not necessitate it, he suspends judgment; if it does not necessitate it and does not deny it, it remains. So these people make the intellect the judge in what is obligatory or impossible for Allah. So it results in this: what the intellect necessitates, they described Allah with it, even if it is not in the Book or the Sunnah. And what the intellect necessitates denying of Allah, they denied it, even if it is in the Book and the Sunnah. Yes, they deny it, even if it is in the Book and the Sunnah.
For this reason, they say: Allah has no eyes, no face, no hand, He did not rise above the Throne, and He does not descend to the lowest heaven. But they distort and call their distortion figurative interpretation. If they denied it with a denial of rejection, they would be disbelievers, because they lied. But they deny it with a denial of what they call figurative interpretation, which is distortion in our view.
Good, pay attention. If the intellect has no place in the chapter of the Names and Attributes of Allah, and you say: Your statement contradicts the Qur'an, because Allah says:
But who is better than Allah in judgement
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْماًand for Allah is the highest attribute
وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الأَعْلَىThen is He who creates like one who does not create? So will you not be reminded?
أَفَمَنْ يَخْلُقُ كَمَنْ لا يَخْلُقُ أَفَلا تَذَكَّرُونَThe answer is that we say: The intellect comprehends what is obligatory for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and what is impossible for Him in a general sense, not in a detailed sense. This speech is what? It comprehends what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has of attributes in a general sense, and what is impossible for Him in a general sense as well, without detail. For example: The intellect comprehends that the Lord must be perfect in attributes, is that not so? Good. But this does not mean that the intellect affirms every specific attribute, but it affirms in a general sense that the Lord must be perfect in attributes. Clear? For example, it comprehends that the Lord must be Hearing and Seeing, is that not so? Ibrahim said to his father:
O my father, why do you worship that which does not hear and does not see
يَا أَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لا يَسْمَعُ وَلا يُبْصِرُThen is He who creates like one who does not create
أَفَمَنْ يَخْلُقُ كَمَنْ لاّ يَخْلُقُAnd those they invoke other than Allah create nothing
وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْئاًAnd those they invoke other than Allah create nothing, and they [themselves] are created.
وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْئاً وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَThe intellect also comprehends that every attribute of deficiency is impossible for Allah, is that not so? Because the Lord must be perfect. I comprehended this with my intellect, so it comprehends that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is devoid of weakness, is that not so? Weakness, why? Because it is an attribute of deficiency. If the Lord were weak and was disobeyed and rebelled against, would He punish the one who disobeyed Him while He is weak? Is that possible or not? It is not possible. So the intellect comprehends that weakness cannot be attributed to Allah. Blindness likewise, deafness likewise, ignorance likewise, and so on. In a general sense, we comprehend that, but in a detailed sense, this is not something we can comprehend. We suspend judgment on what? On revelation. Good.
Is everything that is perfection in us perfection in the case of Allah? And is everything that is deficiency in us deficiency in Allah? If the created is like the Creator, then yes, the rule applies. And if the created is not like the Creator, then the rule does not apply, correct or not? So the standard for perfection and deficiency is not based on what is attributed to the human, because that is incorrect due to the clear difference between the Creator and the created. But it is based on the attribute insofar as it is an attribute. So every attribute of perfection is...