Praise be to Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and Companions!
In its issue no. 3383 of 3/4/1408 A.H, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper published an article by Dr. Muhiy Al-Din Al-Safy entitled "In Order to be the Most Powerful Ummah". When I read the article, my attention was seized by the writer's words about the difference between the Salaf (righteous predecessors) and Khalaf (later scholars) regarding some of Allah's Attributes. The following is what he wrote:
"However, there are Ayahs (Qur'anic verses) which describe Allah (Exalted be He) with some of the attributes of His creatures, such as: The Hand of Allâh is over their hands. , Everything will perish save His Face. and, The Most Gracious (Allâh) rose over (Istawâ) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). Scholars have two methods in explaining these Ayahs; the first is the method of the Salaf, which is to affirm the Attributes that Allah has affirmed for Himself, but without Takyif (questioning Allah's Attributes), Tamthil (likening Allah's Attributes to those of His Creation), or Ta`til (denial of Allah's Attributes). The Salaf aimed not to deny that these are Allah's Attributes, but they
affirmed that the apparent meanings of these Ayahs were not the intended meanings and that the basic rule is to deem Allah (Exalted be He) far above any attribute similar to that of His creation. This is because Allah (Exalted be He) states: There is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.
The Khalaf's method, on the other hand, depends on making Ta'wil (allegorical interpretation) of these terms and turning them away from their literal meanings, by saying that the "Hand", for example, refers to power, the "Face" refers to Allah's Self, and "Istiwa'" denotes His Dominance and Omnipotence. This is because conclusive texts indicate that Allah has no body and because Allah (Exalted be He) says: There is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. Both methods are correct and mentioned in the recognized books compiled by outstanding scholars..."
The writer was mistaken - may Allah pardon him and us - when he attributed to the Salaf their affirmation of the literal meanings of these Ayahs are not the intended meanings. This is because the Salaf (may Allah be merciful with them) and those who have followed in their footsteps attributed to Allah the Attributes of Perfection, which He has attributed to Himself or which His Messenger (peace be upon him) has attributed to Him. They believed in the presence of these attributes, but in a manner befitting His Majesty without Tahrif (distortion of the meaning), Ta`til, Takyif, Tamthil, Ta'wil, or Tafwid (relegation of the meaning).
Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah be merciful with him) said in Risalat Al-Fatwa Al-Hamawiyyah: "Regarding Allah's Names and Attributes, it was reported on the authority of Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqy with a Sahih (authentic) Sanad (chain of narrators) from Al-Awza`y who said, 'In the presence of Tabi`un (Followers, the generation after the Companions of the Prophet), we used to say that Allah (Exalted be He) is rising over His Throne and we believed in the Attributes that were mentioned in the Sunnah (whatever is reported from the Prophet).' Al-Awza`y was one of the Four Imams appeared during the age of the following generation of the Tabi`un, namely Malik, Imam of the people of Al-Hijaz; Al-Awza`y, Imam of the Levant (the region covering Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine); Al-Layth, Imam of Egypt; and Al-Thawry, Imam of Iraq.