The Difference Between the One Who Denies Attributes and the One Who Likens Allah to Creation, and Which of the Two Is More Misguided
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The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : ... but it seems to him that the one who denies attributes is, in his view, ... more numerous than the one who likens Allah to creation, and that the people ... are more inclined toward likening Allah to creation. And for this reason,
Denial of attributes is widespread in the community, but likening Allah to creation has not been established ... to the point that some of them say ... Yes.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : By Allah ... we say that the one who likens Allah to creation worships an idol, and the one who denies attributes worships nothing. Yes, we say that every one who likens Allah to creation is a denier of attributes, and every denier of attributes is one who likens Allah to creation. We do not say ... So we say: How is the one who likens Allah to creation a denier of attributes? We say he is a denier of attributes in three ways:
The first is that he has denied Allah of His obligatory perfection by likening Him to creation. For likening the Perfect to the deficient makes Him deficient. Thus, his likening of Allah to creation is a denial of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), a denial of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The second is that he has denied the very text that affirmed the attribute. And the text by which they affirmed the attribute or the likeness they claimed has been denied. Why? Because the text indicated an attribute of what? One befitting Allah. So when he ... or affirmed likeness by it, he denied it of its intended meaning without a doubt. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) did not intend, when He described Himself with what He described Himself with, for His servants to understand that He is ever similar to His creation. Rather, He intended the meaning and the attribute that befit Him.
The third is that the one who likens Allah to creation has denied every text that indicates the negation of likening Allah to creation ... So he has denied His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):[Ash-Shuraa 42:11] ... any likeness, and he has denied His saying: [Maryam 19:65] and He is too Exalted, and he has denied His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): [An-Nahl 16:74] and the like. So the one who likens Allah to creation has become a denier of attributes in three ways.
And the one who denies attributes is one who likens Allah to creation in two ways:
The first way is that when he negates an attribute from Allah, he has likened Him to one who is devoid of that attribute. For example, if he says: Allah is not Hearing, meaning He has no hearing, he has likened Him to the deaf. If he says: Allah does not descend, does not rise above the Throne, and does not act, to whom has he likened Him? To the paralyzed one who has no action. If he says: He has no eye, to whom has he likened Him? To the blind. And so on. So by his negation, he is one who likens Allah to creation. Also, the second way is that he denied it because of his belief that these proofs indicate likening Allah to creation. He says, for example: Affirming the hand means likening Allah to creation. Affirming the eye means ... So for that reason, he denied this attribute so that I would not fall into likening Allah to creation. The Shaykh al-Islam says: "He is a likening of Allah to creation first, and a denier of attributes second" And by this we know that both of these paths are bad, and each of them has taken its share from falsehood.
The Shaykh : ... but it seems to him that the one who denies attributes is, in his view, ... more numerous than the one who likens Allah to creation, and that the people ... are more inclined toward likening Allah to creation. And for this reason,
Denial of attributes is widespread in the community, but likening Allah to creation has not been established ... to the point that some of them say ... Yes.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : By Allah ... we say that the one who likens Allah to creation worships an idol, and the one who denies attributes worships nothing. Yes, we say that every one who likens Allah to creation is a denier of attributes, and every denier of attributes is one who likens Allah to creation. We do not say ... So we say: How is the one who likens Allah to creation a denier of attributes? We say he is a denier of attributes in three ways:
The first is that he has denied Allah of His obligatory perfection by likening Him to creation. For likening the Perfect to the deficient makes Him deficient. Thus, his likening of Allah to creation is a denial of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), a denial of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The second is that he has denied the very text that affirmed the attribute. And the text by which they affirmed the attribute or the likeness they claimed has been denied. Why? Because the text indicated an attribute of what? One befitting Allah. So when he ... or affirmed likeness by it, he denied it of its intended meaning without a doubt. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) did not intend, when He described Himself with what He described Himself with, for His servants to understand that He is ever similar to His creation. Rather, He intended the meaning and the attribute that befit Him.
The third is that the one who likens Allah to creation has denied every text that indicates the negation of likening Allah to creation ... So he has denied His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):
There is nothing like unto Him
ليس كمثله شيءDo you know of any similarity to Him?"
هل تعلم له سمياSo do not assert similarities to Allah
فلا تضربوا لله الأمثالAnd the one who denies attributes is one who likens Allah to creation in two ways:
The first way is that when he negates an attribute from Allah, he has likened Him to one who is devoid of that attribute. For example, if he says: Allah is not Hearing, meaning He has no hearing, he has likened Him to the deaf. If he says: Allah does not descend, does not rise above the Throne, and does not act, to whom has he likened Him? To the paralyzed one who has no action. If he says: He has no eye, to whom has he likened Him? To the blind. And so on. So by his negation, he is one who likens Allah to creation. Also, the second way is that he denied it because of his belief that these proofs indicate likening Allah to creation. He says, for example: Affirming the hand means likening Allah to creation. Affirming the eye means ... So for that reason, he denied this attribute so that I would not fall into likening Allah to creation. The Shaykh al-Islam says: "He is a likening of Allah to creation first, and a denier of attributes second" And by this we know that both of these paths are bad, and each of them has taken its share from falsehood.