The Methodology of the People of the Sunnah Regarding the Names and Attributes of Allah

Question:
This is a student from Libya who has symbolized his name with (A. A. A). He says: Your Eminence, Shaykh! What is the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the names and attributes?

Answer:
The methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community is to affirm the names and attributes of Allah that are mentioned in the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah, and to let them pass as they came, without distortion, denial of the divine attributes, asking how an attribute is, or likening Allah to creation, just as He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said: [Surat al-Shura: 11]. The scholars have explicitly stated this, such as Ibn al-Qayyim in his books like al-Sawa'iq and al-Nuniyyah and others, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his books like al-Hamawiyyah, al-Tamriyyah, and al-Wasitiyyah, and Imam Ibn Khuzaymah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book al-Tawhid, and Abdullah ibn Ahmad in his book al-Sunnah and others. This is the path of the people of the Sunnah and the community: they believe in the names and attributes of Allah and let them pass as they came in the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah, affirming them without likening Allah to creation and purifying Him without denial of the divine attributes. They say: His names and attributes befit Him, (Exalted and Majestic is He), and He is not likened to His creation in them . For this reason, Malik and others said: "Let them pass as they came without asking how." Likewise, Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn 'Uyaynah, al-Awza'i, and others among the scholars say this. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) collected a portion of their statements in al-Hamawiyyah, and others among the scholars collected them as well, such as Ibn Abi al-'Izz in his commentary on the Tahawiyyah, and Ibn al-Qayyim in al-Sawa'iq al-Mursalah and others. Also, Ibn Khuzaymah (may Allah have mercy on him), Abdullah ibn Ahmad, and Shaykh Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Darimi in his refutation of al-Murrisi, among others.
The point is that the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community is to believe in the names and attributes of Allah that are mentioned in the Book and the authentic Sunnah, and to let them pass as they came, without distortion, denial of the divine attributes, asking how an attribute is, likening Allah to creation, addition, or subtraction. Rather, they are based on what came in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. They affirm them without likening Allah to creation, and they purify Allah from being like His creation, purifying Him without denial of the divine attributes . Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.