Continuation of the explanation of Ibn Malik's (may Allah have mercy on him) statement: "It is like the letter kaf, and by it causation may *** be meant, and it is extra for emphasis, it is said."

The Shaykh : People's opinions have differed regarding it. Some said, "Pray two rak'ahs, pray two rak'ahs, O Ibrahim, pray two rak'ahs." Because of this, people's opinions differed on how to interpret it. Some said that the kaf is extra, and this is the path Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) followed, which is the well-known view. On this view, the intended meaning of the phrase is: "Nothing is like Him," meaning: nothing resembles Allah. This is a clear and simple meaning, and the kaf is for emphasis, as if the likeness is negated twice, as if it is negated twice, because the kaf is for comparison and *mithl* is for representation, so it is as if it is negated twice. Yes, or as if the similar and the resembling are both negated. There is a difference between comparison and representation. Representation: complete correspondence in every aspect. Comparison: approximation, meaning: similarity in most attributes. For this reason, so-and-so is similar to so-and-so. Is he his like?
The student: Corresponding.

The Shaykh : No, approximating in most attributes, but so-and-so is like so-and-so, corresponding. Now, this is one view. The second view says that the extra word is *mithl*, the word *mithl*, meaning: nothing is like Him. And this is as I told you a moment ago regarding his statement: contrary to what is best, because adding letters is less severe than adding nouns. The third opinion is that *mithl* means attribute, i.e., nothing of the attributes is like His attribute. Yes. And the fourth opinion is that *mithl* means essence, nothing is like His essence. These last two opinions were resorted to by their proponents to avoid affirming an extra word. Otherwise, they are far from the apparent meaning of the text. But they said, instead of saying the kaf is extra or *mithl* is extra, I say: nothing is like His essence or nothing is like His attribute. But we say: as long as the Arabic language has this style where the kaf is added for emphasis—may Allah have mercy on you—there is no objection. Allah the Exalted revealed the Qur'an in a clear Arabic language, and when the Arabs say "nothing is like so-and-so," it means that no one can resemble or approximate him. And they cited in support of this: "Nothing is like the youth, Zuhayr"
They said: Nothing is like the youth, Zuhayr. Yes, this is known in the Arabic language.
The summary now is: that the kaf comes as extra, but for emphasis. And Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) only said "for emphasis" in this issue and did not say it in what came before, because this example regarding the attributes of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, became well-known in it.
The student : Shaykh?

The Shaykh : Yes?