The saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: “And We built the sky with hands, and We are expanding it.” Does the meaning here refer to the attribute or the power?
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The questioner : The questioner says: The saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: [Adh-Dhariyat 51:47] Does the meaning here refer to the attribute or the power? And likewise in similar expressions like “with Our hands” or “with Our eyes”? Is there a rule that if the attribute is singular or dual, it refers to the intended attribute, but when the word comes in the plural form, the meaning is power? I ask for clarification.
The Shaykh : “Al-Ayd” here in the verse, as held by the scholars of tafsir without any disagreement we know of from them, is not the plural of “hand” but rather means power. The verse in the Qur’an is:[Sad 38:17] “Dawud, the one of al-ayd.” Does this mean he had many hands?! No, rather it means the one of strength. [Adh-Dhariyat 51:47] “Hands of power and strength befitting Allah, Mighty and Majestic.” So “al-ayd” here does not mean the plural of hands; that is an error, and there is no need then for any kind of ta'wil (figurative interpretation) or anything else...
The questioner : But if it is singular or dual, does it refer to the intended attribute? The hand.
The Shaykh : The hand!
The questioner : The two hands, rather, His two hands.
The Shaykh : Yes, of course, it is an attribute.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But here it is power.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Yes.
And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.
وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَThe Shaykh : “Al-Ayd” here in the verse, as held by the scholars of tafsir without any disagreement we know of from them, is not the plural of “hand” but rather means power. The verse in the Qur’an is:
David, the possessor of strength
دَاوُودَ ذَا الْأَيْدِAnd the heaven We constructed with strength
وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍThe questioner : But if it is singular or dual, does it refer to the intended attribute? The hand.
The Shaykh : The hand!
The questioner : The two hands, rather, His two hands.
The Shaykh : Yes, of course, it is an attribute.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But here it is power.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
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