Explanation of the author's statement: And without asking how an attribute is, or comparing Allah to creation
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The Shaykh : He said: "And without asking how an attribute is, or comparing Allah to creation". Asking how an attribute is refers to what is mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah, but there is evidence indicating the prohibition of it. What is asking how an attribute is? It is mentioning the manner of the attribute. Therefore, we say: how does one ask how an attribute is? It means mentioning the manner of the attribute; this is asking how an attribute is.
Asking how an attribute is is asked about with "how." If I say, for example, "How did Zayd come?" you say, "Riding." You have asked how he came. "What is the color of the car?" What? "White." You have asked how it is, mentioning the manner. It is clear. "What is its shape like?" You say "like this and that." This is the manner. The people of the Sunnah and the community do not ask how the attributes of Allah are, relying on that on the evidence of the hearing and the evidence of the intellect:
As for the evidence of the hearing, it is like His saying, the Exalted:[Al-A'raf 7:33] The proof is in His saying: [Al-Baqarah 2:169] Yes. Did Allah inform you that He rose above in this manner? No. Allah informed us that He rose above, but He did not inform us how He rose above.
Now, a man comes and says, "Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and he was on the roof, so he descended with the ladder." And he said, "My descent is..." What do we say? Is this asking how an attribute is or not? Is it saying about Allah without knowledge or not? It is saying about Allah without knowledge. For this reason, some of the Salaf said: "If the Jahmi says to you, 'Allah descends to the heaven, so how does He descend?' say, 'Allah informed us that He descends, but He did not inform us how He descends.'" And this is a useful rule.
Another evidence from the hearing: He said, the Exalted:[Al-Isra 17:36] Do not follow [Al-Isra 17:36] The manner of a thing is not perceived except by one of three things: seeing it, seeing its like, or the report of the truthful one about it. Correct? One cannot perceive the manner of a thing except by one of these three things.
Either you saw it yourself and knew its manner, or you saw its like, as if someone said, "So-and-so bought a Datsun car, model eighty-eight, number two thousand." Yes, you know its manner because you have one like it, or not? You know its manner because you have one like it. Now, or the report of the truthful one about it. A truthful man comes to you and says, "So-and-so's car is like this and like that," and he described it completely. Do you now perceive the manner or not? Now. We come to the manner of the attributes of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic. Is any one of these three things established by it? No. Why? We have not seen Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, and He has no like, and He did not inform us about His manner. So it is not possible to know the manner. For this reason, some scholars also gave a beautiful answer.
Asking how an attribute is is asked about with "how." If I say, for example, "How did Zayd come?" you say, "Riding." You have asked how he came. "What is the color of the car?" What? "White." You have asked how it is, mentioning the manner. It is clear. "What is its shape like?" You say "like this and that." This is the manner. The people of the Sunnah and the community do not ask how the attributes of Allah are, relying on that on the evidence of the hearing and the evidence of the intellect:
As for the evidence of the hearing, it is like His saying, the Exalted:
Say, "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."
قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَالْأِثْمَ وَالْبَغْيَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَأَنْ تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَاناً وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَand to say about Allah what you do not know.
وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَNow, a man comes and says, "Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and he was on the roof, so he descended with the ladder." And he said, "My descent is..." What do we say? Is this asking how an attribute is or not? Is it saying about Allah without knowledge or not? It is saying about Allah without knowledge. For this reason, some of the Salaf said: "If the Jahmi says to you, 'Allah descends to the heaven, so how does He descend?' say, 'Allah informed us that He descends, but He did not inform us how He descends.'" And this is a useful rule.
Another evidence from the hearing: He said, the Exalted:
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
وَلا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولاًIndeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولاًEither you saw it yourself and knew its manner, or you saw its like, as if someone said, "So-and-so bought a Datsun car, model eighty-eight, number two thousand." Yes, you know its manner because you have one like it, or not? You know its manner because you have one like it. Now, or the report of the truthful one about it. A truthful man comes to you and says, "So-and-so's car is like this and like that," and he described it completely. Do you now perceive the manner or not? Now. We come to the manner of the attributes of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic. Is any one of these three things established by it? No. Why? We have not seen Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, and He has no like, and He did not inform us about His manner. So it is not possible to know the manner. For this reason, some scholars also gave a beautiful answer.