Explanation of the author's statement: "Rather, they believe that Allah, the Exalted, is not like anything, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing."
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The Shaykh : The author said, "A new lesson: 'Rather, they believe'. The pronoun refers to the people of the Sunnah and the community. 'Rather, they believe that Allah [Ash-Shuraa 42:11]'.
This means: they affirm this with affirmation and verification, that Allah is not like anything, as He said about Himself:[Ash-Shuraa 42:11] Here, He negated likeness and then affirmed; He negated the defect and then affirmed perfection. This is because negating the defect comes before affirming perfection. For this reason, it is said: "Purification before adornment", meaning: clean the place first, then adorn it. Similarly, Allah negated likeness from Himself and then affirmed hearing and sight. So, negating defects is done first, and then the affirmation of perfection is mentioned.
And the word [Ash-Shuraa 42:11] is an indefinite noun in the context of negation, so it encompasses everything. Nothing is ever like Him, meaning any created being, no matter how great, is not similar to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Good, because the likeness of the deficient is a deficiency. In fact, seeking to compare the deficient with the perfect makes it deficient, as it was said:
"Have you not seen that the sword is diminished in its worth *** When it is said that the sword is sharper than the stick"
If you say, "The sword is sharper than the stick," there is no doubt that you belittle the sword because you intended to compare it with the stick. How much more so if you equate one thing with another? If you equate the perfect with the deficient, the perfect becomes deficient. So here, if we said that Allah has a like, it would necessitate diminishing Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, we say: Allah negated likeness to the created beings from Himself, because likeness to the created beings is a deficiency and a defect. How is it a deficiency and a defect? Because the created being is deficient, and likening the perfect to the deficient makes it deficient. In fact, seeking to compare between them or mentioning the comparison between them makes it deficient, like the verse we referred to. Good.
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُThis means: they affirm this with affirmation and verification, that Allah is not like anything, as He said about Himself:
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُAnd the word
anything
شَيْءٌThere is nothing like unto Him
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ"Have you not seen that the sword is diminished in its worth *** When it is said that the sword is sharper than the stick"
If you say, "The sword is sharper than the stick," there is no doubt that you belittle the sword because you intended to compare it with the stick. How much more so if you equate one thing with another? If you equate the perfect with the deficient, the perfect becomes deficient. So here, if we said that Allah has a like, it would necessitate diminishing Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, we say: Allah negated likeness to the created beings from Himself, because likeness to the created beings is a deficiency and a defect. How is it a deficiency and a defect? Because the created being is deficient, and likening the perfect to the deficient makes it deficient. In fact, seeking to compare between them or mentioning the comparison between them makes it deficient, like the verse we referred to. Good.