a Muslim or not? Such asthe one who says that what is meant by the
"hand of Allah" is the power of Allah, and theymisinterpret other
attributes of Allah. Is it the case that these people who deny the
divine attributes are notof Ahl as-Sunnah, or are they beyond the pale
of Islam altogether?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The teaching of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah with regard to the Tawheed
(Oneness) of the Divine names and attributes is that they believe in
what it says in the Book of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
and in that which is proven from the Messenger ofAllah (blessings and
peace of Allah be uponhim), without any misinterpretation(interpreting
them in a way other than they appear to mean) or likening Him to His
creation, and without distorting the meaning or denying the Divine
names and attributes. So they ascribe to Allah, may He be exalted,
that which He has ascribedto Himself and that which His Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has ascribed to Him.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ahl as-Sunnah unanimously agreed on affirming and believing in all the
divine attributes mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah, and
understanding them in a true sense (as they appear to be),not as being
metaphorical. But theydo not discuss how any of them are. As forthe
innovators, Jahamis and Mu'tazilah, and the Khaarijis, all of them
deny them and do not understand any of them in a true sense (as they
appear to be).
End quote fromat-Tamheed, 7/145
Secondly:
The one who denies the names and attributes of Allah altogether and
does not ascribe them to Allah, may He be exalted, as is the case with
the baatinis (esoteric sects) and the extreme Jahamis, is a kaafir who
is beyond the pale of Islam, disbelieves in the Qur'an and Sunnah, and
goes against the consensus (ijmaa') of the ummah.
The same applies to anyone who denies any of the names or attributes
of Allah thatAllah, may He be exalted, has affirmed in His Book; he is
a disbeliever, because what is implied by his denial is that he
rejects the Qur'an.
With regard to the one who misinterprets any of the attributes of
Allah and distorts its meaning, such as those who misinterpret the
attribute of the hand as referring to His power, and they say that
istiwa' (rising over the Throne) means taking control of it, and so
on, he is mistaken in interpreting it in a manner other than
theapparent meaning, and he is an innovatorin so far as what he
believes is contrary to the Sunnah, and he has strayed from the path
of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah. But he is not a disbeliever just
because of this misinterpretation, and he may be excused for his
efforts to understand, depending on his levelof knowledge and faith.
Rather the measuring stick in that regard is the extent to which he
sought to learn what the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) taught and the extent of his keenness to follow him.
Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is not permissible tomisinterpret the divine attributes or to
understand them in any way other than their apparent meaning in a
manner that is befitting to Allah, or to say that knowledge of what is
meant belongs only toAllah. Rather all of thatcomes under the heading
of the beliefs of the innovators. As for Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah,
they donot misinterpret the verses and hadeeths that speak of the
divine attributes, and they do not understand them in a way other than
the apparent meaning, and they do not say that knowledge of what is
meant belongs only to Allah. Rather they believe that every meaning
(of these attributes) that may be indicated is true in a manner that
is befitting to Allah, may He be exalted, without likening Him to His
creation.
End quote fromMajmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 2/106-107
He was also asked (may Allah have mercyon him):
Are the Ash'aris among Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah or not? Do we
regard them as being fellow Sunnis oras being disbelievers?
He replied:
The Ash'aris are among Ahl as-Sunnah with regard to most matters, but
they are not among them with regard to interpretation of the divine
attributes, but they are not disbelievers either. Rather among them
are some leading scholars and good people, but they erred in their
interpretation of some of the divine attributes.
They differed from Ahlas-Sunnah in some issues, such as the
interpretation of mostof the divine attributes, in which they were
mistaken. The view of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah is to accept the
verses and hadeeths that speak ofthe divine attributes as they came,
without interpreting them (in a way other than the apparent meaning),
denying them, distorting the meaning or likening Allah to His
creation.
End quote fromMajmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 28/256
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ar-Raajihi was asked:
If it is proven that the Ash'aris have misinterpreted one of the
divine attributes, are they to be regarded as disbelievers?
He replied: No, the onewho misinterprets and misunderstands some (of
the divine attributes) is not to beregarded as a disbeliever; the one
who denies one of the names of Allah becomes a disbeliever. Allah,
mayHe be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):"while they
disbelieve in the Most Beneficent (Allah)" [ar-Ra 'd13:30]. If he
denies one of the names or attributes ofAllah without misinterpreting
it, then he becomes a disbeliever. And Allah says (interpretation
ofthe meaning):"The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the
(Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)" [Ta-Ha 20:5].
Ifhe denies this verse, he becomes a disbeliever, but if he
misinterprets it as referring to taking control, then in that case he
is confused, therefore we cannot say that he is a disbeliever. End
quote.
www.ar.islamway.net
For information on the conditions of labelling a specific individual
as a disbeliever, please seethe answer to question no. 107105
Thirdly:
The Khaarijis are one of the misguided sectswho have gone beyond the
pale of Islam.
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