The Creator is Clear from Anthropomorphism (Part 1B )

Aqidah of the Pious Predecessors

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400 AH

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Imam Al-Baqillani (d.403H) Here is an explicit statement showing that he did not mean that Aļļaah is in a direction:

And Aļļaah, (تعالى) is neither ascribed with directions, nor that He is in a direction. [Al-Inşaaf, 177.]

قال الباقلاني في كتابه الإنصاف : والله تعالى لا يوصف بالجهات، ولا أنه في جهة.

[الباقلاني, الإنصاف, 177.]

He also said:

If someone said, “How is He?” then it is said to him, “If you mean by howness composition, form or kind, then (the answer is that) He has no form or kind to tell you about.

If you meant by “how is He?” to ask, ”What is His attribute?” then the answer is that He is attributed with Life, Knowledge, Power, Hearing and Seeing.

If you meant by “How is He?” to say, “How does He deal with His creation?” then the answer is: “By justice and grace.” [Tamid, 300.]

قال الباقلاني (ت 403 هـ) في [التمهيد : "فإن قال قائل وكيف هو قيل له إن أردت بالكيفية التركيبوالصورة والجنسية فلا صورة له ولا جنس فنخبرك عنه. وإن أردت بقولك كيف هو أي على أي صفةهو فهو حي عالم قادر سميع بصير. وإن أردت بقولك كيف هو أي كيف صنعه إلى خلقه فصنعه إليهمالعدل والإحسان" اهـ

All Al-Baqillani is doing is saying that Aļļaah is ascribed with aboveness, but not in the sense of direction, just as many of the Salaf did, like Aţ-Ţabari.

They did not explain it further, and simply left it at that. This is what we call tafwiid. Then there are those that explain it further, such as Al-Qurţubiyy in this quote.

Note that the wahabis (so called "salafis") have also claimed explicitly or implied that:

Abuu Ĥaniifah, Al-Qurţubiyy, An-Nawawiyy and Al-ˆAsqalaaniyy believed Aļļaah to be in a direction. We have shown this to be false. Click the ^above links!

Wahabi contention: Al-Baaqillaaniyy believed Aļļaah’s aboveness to be in the sense of location (Read: Here)

Abu Bakr al-Baqillaniyy In his book ‘Al-‘insaf fima yajibu ‘i^tiqaduhu wa la yajuzu al-jahlu bihi’ (the just ruling regarding what one is obligated to believe in and cannot be ignorant of) Al-Qadi (Judge) Abu Bakr al-Baqillaniyy, a renowned Malikiyy scholar (d.403AH) said: “We do not state that the Grand ^Arsh (Throne) is a residence or a location for Allah, due to the fact that Allah, the Exalted, is eternally existent and place is not, hence when place was brought into existence by His Creating He did not change”.

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Imam Ibn Furak al-Shafi’i (d.406H) Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn al-Hussayn, also known as Imam Ibn Furak, In his book ‘Mushkil al-Hadith’ said: “It is intellectually impossible for Allah, the Exalted, to occupy places, by reason of the impossibility of limits and ends applying to Him which is in turn due to the impossibility that Allah is created”.

The statement of Ibn Mas'ud

وقال بن مسعود في قوله "ثم استوى على العرش" قال العرش على الماء ولله فوق العرش وهو يعلم ماأنتم عليه

Ibn Mas'ud said about the Istiwaa verse: The Throne is on water, and Allah is above the Throne, and He knows what you are on [i.e. what you are doing]

Ibn Mas'ud is explaining that Allah [subhanahu wa ta’ala] does not require a local presence amongst us in order to have knowledge regarding, in this case, our deeds. As previously described in this thread one of the Salaf's sayings regarding “istawa ˆala-l-ˆArsh” is that it means that Allah is distinct from His creation, not in a place, location or direction, because there is nothing beyond the ˆArsh.

Imam Ibn Furak Explains the Statement ‘Allah is Above His Creation’

Know that when we say that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is above what He has created that does not mean that He is above in terms of a physical place, or that He has risen above physical places by a certain distance and He supervises these places by applying Himself to something from them. Rather, our saying that He is above them carries two senses: What is Meant When We Say Allah is Above What He Created

Imam Ibn Furak al-Shafi’I A short excerpt from the article:

: one of them means that He is the Absolute Master, in charge of them and establishing His all-encompassing power over them, as well as His comprehensive mastery over them and them being under his direction, progressing in accordance with His knowledge and His will.

The second sense is that He is above them meaning He is distinct (mubāyin) of His creation.

He is different in terms of His attributes and qualities, and that which is possible for temporal beings, such as defects, imperfection, incapacity, problems, and needs, are not befitting of Him at all and it is not possible for him to be attributed with any of them. It is also commonplace in the language that it is said that ‘so-and-so is above so-and-so’ , and what is meant is a higher rank and position. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is above His creation in both senses while the third sense is impossible for him, which is, being confined in some direction, or in a specific place as opposed to another place.

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Abul Fadl At Tameemi (d.410AH) said about the creed of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal:

وأنكر على من يقول بالجسم وقال: إن الأسماء مأخوذة بالشريعة واللغة. وأهل اللغة وضعوا هذا الإسم على كل ذي طول وعرض وسمك وتركيب مصورة وتأليف. والله خارج عن ذلك كله. فلم يجز أن يسمى جسما لخروجه عن معنى الجسمية. ولم يجئ في الشريعة, فبطل. أهـــ

"And he (Imam Ahmad) disapproved of anyone stating that Allah is a “jism”. And he would say, “Names of Allah are taken from the Sharee’ah and from the Arabic Language. The people of the Arabic Language coined that term for whatever has length, width, depth, composition, and form. And Allah the Exalted is free from all of that. So it is impermissible to call him a "jism", since He is free from what a "jism" means. Furthermore, it did not come in the Sharee’ah [so it is null and void]."

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Imam Abu al-Qasim Hibatullah al-Lalaka'i (d.418 AH) born in Tabaristan and pursued his knowledge in Rayy and later settled in Baghdad as his residence. He studied Shafi'i Fiqh under Imam Abu Hamid al-Isfara'ini. Lalaka'i is both a Shafi'i Faqih and Muhaddith. He wrote the great work on Sunni Aqeedah based on the way of Muhaddithun:`شرح إعتقاد أهل السنة والجماعة, and the book on the miracles of Muslim Saints:` Karamat al-Awliya which was also part of his main work on Aqeedah. Imam Lalaka'i is following the traditional methods in his Aqeedah on the true way of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Non Mujassima, Hanbali Aqeedah) and rejected the rational approach of Ilm al-Kalam. Some modern Pseudo Salafis/Wahhabis inserted their false ideas in the name of `Tahqiq' on the margins of his great work on Aqeedah. But Imam Lalaka'i was not a Mujassim, he is a true Sunni/Sufi and Muhaddith in the real sense.

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Al Hafiz Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d.423 AH) in his work الاستذكار writes:

وَأَمَّا قَوْلُ عُمَرَ نِعْمَتِ الْبِدْعَةُ فِي لِسَانِ الْعَرَبِ اخْتِرَاعُ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ وَابْتِدَاؤُهُ فَمَا كَانَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فِي الدِّينِ خِلَافًا لِلسُّنَّةِ الَّتِي مَضَى عَلَيْهَا الْعَمَلُ فَتِلْكَ بِدَعَةٌ لَا خَيْرَ فِيهَا وَوَاجِبٌ ذَمُّهَا وَالنَّهْيُ عَنْهَا وَالْأَمْرُ بِاجْتِنَابِهَا وَهِجْرَانُ مُبْتَدِعِهَا إِذَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ مَذْهَبِهِ وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ بِدْعَةٍ لَا تُخَالِفُ أَصْلَ الشَّرِيعَةِ وَالسُّنَّةِ فَتِلْكَ نِعْمَتِ الْبِدْعَةُ كَمَا قَالَ عُمَرُ لِأَنَّ أَصْلَ مَا فَعَلَهُ سُنَّةٌ
وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ فِي صَلَاةِ الضُّحَى وَكَانَ لَا يَعْرِفُهَا وَكَانَ يَقُولُ وَلِلضُّحَى صلاة
وذكر بن أبي شيبة عن بن عُلَيَّةَ عَنِ الْجَرِيرِيِّ عَنِ الْحَكَمِ عَنِ الْأَعْرَجِ قال سألت بن عُمَرَ عَنْ صَلَاةِ الضُّحَى فَقَالَ بِدْعَةٌ وَنِعْمَتِ الْبِدْعَةُ
وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى حَاكِيًا عَنْ أَهْلِ الكتاب (ورهبانية ابتدعوها ما كتبنها عليهم إلا ابتغاء رضوان الله الحديد 27
وَأَمَّا ابْتِدَاعُ الْأَشْيَاءِ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الدُّنْيَا فَهَذَا لَا حَرَجَ فِيهِ وَلَا عَيْبَ عَلَى فَاعِلِهِ

Here

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Al-Raghib al-Isfahani (d. 425 H) explained that Allah Tal’a is the Manifest because His existence is intuitively evident to us through everything we see in the creation, while He is the Hidden because we can not comprehend the nature of His existence. (Mufradat al- Qur`an; Damascus, Dar al-Qalam; Beirut, Dar al-Shamiyya, 1992, p.131)

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Imam Abu Manşur Al-Baghdadi (d.429H) states about those who say that Aļļaah has a body, or that events happen in Him or His attributes(such as hearing or seeing one thing after another as they happen to creation) :

“All those who disagreed with them say that they are blasphemers, so in this respect they are the worst of all the deviant sects (‘Uşuulu-d-Diin, 338).”

He also commented: “By claiming that Aļļaah has events happen to Him, they ruined for themselves the proof of the monotheists which holds that bodies are creations since they have events in them. Based on this principle of theirs, they cannot prove that the world has a beginning, and thus they have no way of knowing the Creator of the world. Consequently, they are like all others who do not know Him (‘Uşuulu-d-Diin, 337-338).” (Ed. That is, they are idolaters.)

Imam Abdul Qahir al-Baghdadi said: Our Companions differed in this matter. Amongst them were those who said: The verse of Istawa is "AMONGST MUTASHABIHAAT (ALLEGORICAL VERSES)" the meaning of which none knows but Allah. "THIS IS THE SAYING OF IMAM MALIK BIN ANAS" the Fuqaha of Madina and al-Asma'i [Abdul Qahir al-Baghdadi, in Usool ad-deen, Page # 113]

Imam abu Mansur Al-Baghdadi , in his book: Al-Farqu Baynal-Firaq, that Imam Ali ibn abi Talib said:

قالَ الإِمامُ أَبو مَنْصُورٍ البَغْدادِيُّ في كِتابِهِ ‘الفَرْقُ بَيْنَ الفِرَقِ’ أَنَّ الإِمامَ عَلِيَّ بْن أَبِى طالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُقالَ :

كانَ اللَّهُ وَلا مَكان، وَهُوَ الآنَ عَلَى ما عَلَيهِ كانَ.

Means: “Allàh existed eternally and there weren’t any places created and after He created all the places, He is now as He was without a place.”

Imam abu Mansur Al-Baghdadi related that Imam Ali ibn abi Talib said:

قَالَ الإِمامُ سَيِّدُنا عَلِيُّ بْن طالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ الْعَرْشَ إِظْهارًا لِقُدْرَتِهِ وَ لَمْ يَتَّخِذْهُ مَكاناًلِذاتِهِ.

رَوَاهُ الإِ مامُ أَبُو مَنْصُورٍ البَغْدَادِيُّ.

Means: Allàh created the ^Arsh as an indication of His Power and did not take it as a place for Himself.

It is Allàh who created the ^Arsh as a ceiling for Paradise and did not create the ^Arsh as a place for Himself to sit on as some people wrongly claim.

The saying: "Allah existed eternally without a place, and He is now as He ever was" is related - without chain - from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

As cited by 'Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d.429AH) in his al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq (p. 256)

[Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Sakandari (d. 709AH) cites it as one of his Hikam (#34).]

Regarding: al-Imam Abdul Qahir ibn Tahir Al Baghdadi Al Tamimi, also known as Abu Mansur,

Al Dhahabi (d. 748 AH) described him in his book Siyar A`lam al Nubala’ as: “the great, outstanding, and encyclopedic scholar” …. “He used to teach 17 different subjects and his brilliance became the source for proverbs.” Al Dhahabi said that he would have like to write a separate, more complete article about him, and quoted Abu Uthman Al Sabuni saying: Abu Mansur is by scholarly consensus counted among the heads of the scholars of belief and the methodology of jurisprudence, as well as a front figure of Islam.

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Imam al-Mawardi (d.448H)

Recommends seeking intercession through the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam:

فأما زيارة قبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فمأمور بها ومندوب إليها ، روى عبيد الله ، عن نافع عن ابن عمر عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال : من زار قبري وجبت له شفاعتي ، وحكي عن العتبي أنه قال : كنت عند قبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأتى أعرابي ، فقال : يا رسول الله وجدت الله تعالى يقول : ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم جاءوك فاستغفروا الله واستغفر لهم الرسول لوجدوا الله توابا رحيما [ النساء : 64 ] ، وقد جئتك تائبا من ذنبي مستشفعا بك إلى ربي وأنشأ يقول : يا خير من دفنت بالقاع أعظمه *** فطاب من طيبهن القاع والأكم *** نفسي الفداء لقبر أنت ساكنه *** فيه العفاف وفيه الجود والكرم

قال العتبي : فغفوت غفوة فرأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : يا عتبي الحق الأعرابي ، وأخبره بأن الله تعالى قد غفر له

"As for visiting the grave of the Prophet - sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam - then this is something that is ordered [in the Shari'ah] and recommended.

'Ubaydallah reported from Nafi', [who reported] from Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet - sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam - said: "Whoever visits my grave, then my intercession will surely be granted to him."

And it was narrated from al-'Utbi, that he said:

"As I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet - sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam -, a Beduin Arab came and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I've found Allah ta'ala saying: { If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful } [4:64], so I have come to you repenting from my sins and seeking intercession through you unto my Lord."

Then he began to recite poetry:

O best of those whose bones are buried in the deep earth,

And from whose fragrance the depth and the height have become sweet,

May I be the ransom for a grave which thou inhabit,

And in which are found purity, bounty and munificence!

Then he left, and I dozed and saw the Messenger of Allah - sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam - [in my sleep]. He said to me: "O 'Utbi, run after the Beduin and tell him that Allah ta'ala has forgiven him.""

Source: "Al-Hawi al-Kabir"

He has also mentioned almost the same in his "al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah":

In Arabic: الكتب » الأحكام السلطانية » الباب العاشر في الولاية على الحج

Translation of the relevant passage: Abu al-Hasan al-Mawardi (362-448 H) recommends tawassul | Wahhabism Unveiled

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Imam al-Hafidh al-Bayhaqi (d.458H) said in his book, Al-Asma' was-Sifat, on page 400 [Kawthari edition]:

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والذي روي في اّخر هذا الحديث إشارة إلى نفي المكان عن الله تعالى، وأن العبد أينما كان فهو فيالقرب والبعد من الله تعالى سواء، وأنه الظاهر فيصح إدراكه بالأدلة، الباطن فلا يصح إدراكه بالكونفي مكان. واستدل بعض أصحابنا في نفي المكان عنه بقول النبي صلّى الله عليه و سلّم أنت الظاهرفليس فوقك شىء، وأنت الباطن فليس دونك شىء، وإذا لم يكن فوقه شىء ولا دونه شىء لم يكن فيمكان

".... What was mentioned towards the end of the hadith is an indication of denying Allah has a place and denying the slave is alike to Allah, wherever he was, in proximity or remoteness.Allah, the Exalted, is adh-Dhahir--hence, it is valid to know about Him by proofs. Allah is al-Batin--hence, it is invalid that He would be in a place."

He also said:

"Some of our companions used as a proof to refute the place to Allah the saying of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam : 'You are adh-Dhahir and there is nothing above You, and You are al-Batin and there is nothing underneath You.'Therefore, if there is nothing above Him and nothing underneath Him, He is not in a place."

Similarly, regarding this same hadith [from Sahih Muslim]:

O Allah, You are the first: there is nothing before You; and You are the last: there is nothing after You. You are the Manifest (al-Zahir): there is nothing above You. You are the Hidden (al-Batin): there is nothing below You.

Al-Raghib al-Isfahani (d. 425 AH) in his Mufradat al-Qur`an explained that Allah is the Manifest because His existence is intuitively evident to us through everything we see in the creation, while He is the Hidden because we can not comprehend the nature of His existence. [Mufradat al-Qur`an, (Damascus, Dar al-Qalam; and Beirut, Dar al Shamiyyah, 1992), p.131.]

“O Allah, You are the first: there is nothing before You; and You are the last: there is nothing after You. You are the Manifest (al-Zahir): there is nothing above You. You are the Hidden (al-Batin): there is nothing below You.” [ Sahih Muslim, kitab al-dhikr wal-du`a wal-tawba wal-istighfar, bab ma yaqulu `ind al-nawm wa-akhd al-madhja, #7064]

Imam Al-Bayhaqi also said, commenting on a haditħ: “What is at the end of this hadith is a hint to the fact that Allah exists without a place…. Some of our companions used as a proof for Allah not being in a place the saying of the Prophet (about Aļļaah): “You are Al-Thaahir so there is nothing above You. And You are Al-Baatin, so there is nothing below You.” If there is nothing above Him and nothing below Him, then He is not a body or in a direction, and He does not have physical specification.” (Al-Asmaa’ wa Sifaat 2/391).

Imam Al-Bayhaqi said, “He means separation of self in the sense of being isolated or at a distance, because contact and separation, of which the latter is the opposite of the former, and standing and sitting, are attributes of bodies, and Allah is One, did not beget and was not begotten, and there is nothing that resembles Him. So it is impossible that what is possibly true of bodies should be possibly true of Him.” (Al-Asmaa’ wa Sifaat 2/412).

Imam Al-Bayhaqi, al-Asma' wa al-Sifat, chapter entitled "The Beginning of Creation": Allah ( said: (He it is Who produces creation then reproduces it( (30:27). 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As narrated that the Prophet ( said: "Allah foreordained (qaddara) all the destinies (al-maqâ dî r) before creating the heavens and the earth by fifty thousand years." [Narrated from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As by al-Tirmidhi (hasan sahîh gharîb) and Ahmad; also by Muslim with the following wording: "Allah inscribed (kataba) the destinies of all created things before creating the heavens and the earth by fifty thousand years, while His Throne stood upon the water (wa 'arshuhu 'alâ al-mâ')."] 'Imran ibn Husayn narrated ... that the Prophet said - Allah bless and greet him: "Allah was when there was nothing other than Him. His Throne stood upon the water...." His words "Allah was when nothing was other than Him" indicate that there was nothing else other than Him - neither water, nor the Throne, nor anything else, since all of that is "other than Him." His words: "His Throne stood upon the water" means that He then created water, and He created the Throne upon the water, after which He inscribed all things in the Remembrance, as we narrated in the hadith of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As.

From the most authentic variants transmitted from Imam Malik with Isnad is the following version narrated by Hafiz Al-Bayhaqi:

قال البيهقي: أخبرنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ أحمد بن محمد بن إسماعيل بن مهران، ثنا أبي حدّثنا أبو الربيع بن أخي رشدين ابن سعد قال: سمعت عبد الله بن وهب يقول: كنا عند مالك بن أنس فدخل رجل فقال: يا أبا عبدالله الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى العَرْشِ اسْتَوَى كيف استواؤه؟، قال: فأطرق مالك وأخذته الرحضاء ، ثم رفع رأسه فقال: (( الرحمن على العرش استوى كما وصف نفسه، ولا يقال كيف، وكيف عنه مرفوع، وأنت رجل سوء صاحب بدعة أخرجوه، قال: فأُخرج ))( ).

البيهقي الأسماء والصفات (2/304)،

قال الذهبي في العلوّ: (( وساق البيهقي بإسناد صحيح عن أبي الربيع الرشديني عن ابن وهب ... )) وذكره . مختصر العلوّ (ص:141).

وقال الحافظ ابن حجر: (( وأخرج البيهقي بسند جيِّد عن ابن وهب ..)) وذكره. فتح الباري (13/406،407 ـ

From Ibn Wahb: "We were with Malik when a man asked him:‘O Abu `Abd Allah! "The Merciful is established over the Throne" (20:5): how is His establishment?’ Malik lowered his head and began to sweat profusely. Then he lifted up his head and said: ‘"The Merciful is established over the Throne" just as He described Himself. One cannot ask "how." "How" does not apply to Him. And you are an evil man, a man of innovation. Take him out!’ The man was led out." [Narrated by al-Bayhaqi with a sound chain in al-Asma' wa al-Sifat (2:304-305 #866), al-Dhahabi in the Siyar (7:416), and Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (1959 ed. 13:406-407; 1989 ed. 13:501).]

Imam al-Dhahabi said regarding this: al Bayhaqi brought it with an authentic isnad from abi rabi' from Ibn Wahb.... Imam Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: Al-Bayhaqi's isnad from Ibn Wahb is good.

Implication: If 'How' does not apply to Him then the idea of Tafwid of 'How' is impossible.Read more: Here

Imam al-Bayhaqi ,In his book al-Asma’a was-Sifat, narrated with a strong chain of narrators that the cousin of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him), whose name is Abdullàh ibn Abbas said:

قال ابن عباس رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : تَفَكَّرُوا في خَلْقِ اللَّه وَلا تَفَكَّرُوا في ذَاتِ اللَّه. رَوَاهُ البيهقيُ.

Means: Think about the creations of Allàh, but do not attempt to imagine the Self of Allàh.

Imam al-Bayhaqi said in his book, al-I'tiqad, in which he has a whole section on ru'yah:

قال الشيخ الإمام أحمد رحمه الله: سمعت الشيخ الإمام أبا الطيب سهل بن محمد بن سليمان رحمه الله يقول فيما أملاه علينا في قوله: لا تضامون في رؤيته بضم التاء وتشديد الميم: يريد لا تجتمعون لرؤيته في جهته، ولا يضم بعضكم إلى بعض لذلك، فإنه عز وجل لا يرى في جهة كما يرى المخلوق في جهة، ومعناه بفتح التاء لا تضامون لرؤيته مثل معناه بضمها، ل تتضامون في رؤيته بالإجتماع في جهة وهو دون تشديد الميم من الضيم معناه: لا تظلمون في رؤيته برؤية بعضكم دون بعض، وأنكم ترونه في جهاتكم كلها، وهو يتعالى عن جهة، قال: والتشبيه برؤية القمر ليقين الرؤية دون تشبيه المرئي، تعالى الله عن ذلك علوا كبيرا

“I heard Shaykh Imam Abut Tayyib Sahl ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman [al-Sa'luki] (may Allah have mercy on him) say in that which he dictated to us regarding his saying, “you will not huddle together to see Him”: he means you will not huddle together to see Him in His direction, and one of you will not join to the other for that, as He will not be seen in a direction as creation is seen in a direction…You will see Him in all your directions, and He is beyond direction. He said: The comparison with seeing the moon is for the certainty of seeing not a comparison of that which is seen, exalted is Allah beyond that with great exaltation.”

As for Arabic expression, for example

'Ala al-Din al-Bukhari said in his Risalah fil I'tiqad:

اعلم أن رؤية الله تعالى بمعنى الانكشاف التام بالأبصار للمؤمنين فى الآخرة بعد دخولهم الجنة جائزة عقلا وواجبة سمعا فيرى لا في مكان ولا في جهة ولا اتصال شعاع ولا ثبوت مسافة بين الرائي وبينه تعالى وغير ذلك من أمارات الحدث

"Know that Ruy'ah in the meaning of a complete opening-up by means of the sights of believers in the afterlife after their entrance into Jannah is possible rationally and necessary textually, so He will be seen, neither in a place, nor in a direction..." (p 139)

- The "opening-up" as the editor of the book mentioned in the footnote is a perception that is acquired by the eyes more complete than what we have through knowledge, reason and reports. So the "complete" that al-Bukhari is referring to is in reference to the inkishaf itself, not the reality of Allah.

Al-Hafiz al-Bayhaqi (ra) said after narrating the Hadith of “descent” [nuzul]:

This is a rigorously authentic Hadith narrated by a group of the Companions from the Prophet(s).

Regarding the likes of this report mentioned in the Book and the Sunna, and the meaning of which none of the Companions and followers spoke about, the Companions of Hadith are two groups:

Some of them accepted it and believed in it without interpreting it, and they entrusted the knowledge of it to Allah and negated resemblance and modality.

Some of the accepted it and believed in it and interpreted it in a manner that conforms to its usage in the [Arabic] language and that does not contradict Divine Oneness…

In general, it must be known that Allah’s rising [istiwa] is not a rising [that entails] straightening up after being bent, nor it is settlement in a place or with contact with anything of His creation. Rather, He is risen above His Throne as He informed and without modality , … without ‘where;’ He is distinct from all of His creation. It must also be known that His ‘coming’ is not the coming from one place to another place. It must be known that His approaching is not a movement, His descent is not by displacement, His Self is not a corporeal body, His face is not an image, His hand is not a limb, and His eyes are not pupils. These descriptions are Divinely inspired, and thus we believe in them and negate modality from them, for Allah, the Exalted, said: ‘Do you know any equal to Him?’ [Al-Itiqad, p.92.]

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Hadeeth of Abu Razeen al-`Uqailee

Hadith: "Our Lord was in a heavy cloud" Here

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al-Qadhi Abu Ya'la (d. 458 AH) and his Hanbali predecessors as reported from his son - the Imam Ibn Abi Ya'ala (d. 526 AH) - in his famous Tabaqat al-Hanabila: Whatever comes to the mind from limitation (Hadd) or attributing similarity (Tashbih) or attributing modality (Takyif), then Allah is glorified and exalted above it and there is nothing like Him. He is not described with the attributes of the creation that indicate their temporality and that which is possible regarding them - from the changing of one state to another - is not possible regarding Him. [Allah ta'ala] is not a body (Jism) or a particle (Jawhar) or an accident ('Aradh) and has always existed and will always exist. He's the One who can not be imagined and His attributes are not similar to the attributes of the creation, { nothing is like Him; and He only is the All Hearing, the All Seeing. } [42:11]. [...]
So whoever believes that Allah - glory be to Him - is a body from among the bodies (Jism min al-Ajsam) and describes Him with the reality of a body from composition (Ta`lif) and change [of place or state] (Intiqal), then he's a disbeliever (!) (Kafir) because he does not know Allah - azza wa jall. For it is impossible regarding Allah - glory be to Him - to be described with these attributes [in reality]; and if someone does not know Allah - glory be to Him -, then it necessitates him being a disbeliever.”
(Note: His statement regarding the Takfir upon the one who believes that God is a body from among the bodies is found in his book al-Mu'tamad (page 271). In the same quote he mentions the Takfir upon the one saying "He's a body unlike [other] bodies" (Jism la kal Ajsam), while also mentioning that the latter is differed upon.)

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Al Hafiz Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d.463H) said Al Istidhkâr (2/530):

“And a group ascribed to the Sunna said that He, the Exalted, descends with His Essence (bi dhatihi)! This statement is rejected, because He, Exalted is His mention, is not a locus for movement and He has nothing from the signs (characteristics) of the creation.”

This is an exaltation of Allah from the occurrence of accidents in His Essence by Ibn ‘Abd al Barr, an agreement with a major principle among the principles of Ahl al-Sunnah and a divergence with the principles of the Hashwiyyah.

Examples of the Ta’wil of Imam Ibn Abdal-Barr said in Al-Tamhîd (7/137):

“His ‘coming’ is neither a movement nor a disappearance nor a displacement, for all this is only valid for a body or substance. As it is established that He is neither a body nor a substance then it follows that His coming is not to be understood as a movement or displacement. And if you contemplate on this by taking into account expressions such as “so and so’s time has come,” or “death has come to him” or “disease came to him” and so on which occurs to man without their having to ‘come’ in a literal sense, then you will understand. “

Here, Ibn ‘Abd Barr uses the terminology of mutakallimin as he mentions substance, accidents and body and then denies them for Allah, as he also denied motion and movement, and this is consistent with the opinion of the majority and clearly diverges from the position of the hashwiyyah.

And he also said (may Allah have mercy on him) in Al Istidhkâr (8/596):

“Mi’âmar narrated from Ayyub, from Al Qasim Ibn Muhammad, from Abu Hurayrah who said “Certainly Allah accepts charity if it comes from what is halal and He takes it with his His Right.“ Regarding his word “His Right” This is a metaphor (majaz) and an eloquent speech expressing acceptance of charity by Allah, and his taking it is His acceptance; And there is nothing like Unto Him, yet He is the Hearing, the Seeing . “

Ibn Abd Al-Barr also said in Al-Tamhid 18:345:

‘And as for his statement (Allah ‘laughs’), it means He has mercy on His servant at that, and receives him with repose, comfort, mercy and affection; and this is a well-understood metaphor.’

Ibn Abd Al-Barr said: ‘….as for the jama’ah (community) they are upon the opinion of (Imam) Malik, Allah have mercy upon him, except where one is compelled to engage in kalam, as there is no room to remain silent when desiring to refute falsehood and turn its advocate from its school or where there is fear of its general influence on the masses, or something to that effect.’

Hence, his own position towards kalam is a moderate one in keeping with that of the majority of Sunni ‘Ulema.

Whilst the aim of this article is not to sweep under the carpet any valid criticism the Imam received for certain statements of his that were considered problematic, it remains important to highlight that when taking his other clear statements into account it is obvious to all how far he was from the beliefs of the Wahhabi / pseudo-‘salafis’ of today who like to selectively quote him when it suits their twisted agenda.