17. Al-Sabuny mentioned in his sixth article, which opens with his saying, "This is a plain statement
for mankind. The Ta'wil (allegorical interpretation) of some verses and Hadiths on Attributes does not rule the Muslim out of Ahl-ul-Sunnah, since some of it are wrong while some others are right. Besides, there are explicit verses on Ta'wil that were allegorically interpreted by the Companions, the Tabi'un (Followers, the generation after the Companions of the Prophet), and no one could dare accuse them of aberration or rule them out of Ahl-ul-Sunnah".
Then, he gave examples of this, including Allah's (Exalted be He) saying, They have forgotten Allâh, so He has forgotten them. The examples also include verses on Allah's (Exalted be He) mocking at the mockers, scoffing at the scoffers, and planning against the plotters, and also the authentic Hadith about Allah's (Glorified and Exalted be He) saying, I was sick but you did not visit Me and I asked food from you but you did not feed Me.
He went on to say, "Thus, the case is not like what some people think, namely, that the Madh-hab of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) does not involve Ta'wil at all. Rather, the Madh-hab of the Salaf requires allegorical interpretation of what should inevitably be allegorically interpreted." (End of quote)
A: This claim requires detail. It includes truth and falsehood, for his claim that performing Ta'wil in some of Allah's Attributes does not remove a Muslim from Ahl-ul-Sunnah is generally true, since the person who performs Ta'wil of some of Allah's Attributes, such as Al-Asha'irah, is not consequently removed from the Muslims or from Ahl-ul-Sunnah, as regards matters other than the Attributes. Yet, he is not included in Ahl-ul-Sunnah when it comes to their affirmation of the Attributes and disaffirmation of Ta'wil. Al-Asha'irah and their likes are not included in Ahl-ul-Sunnah as regards the affirmation of the Attributes, since they disagree with them in this matter and assume different approach. This, however, requires repudiating them, exposing their mistake as regards Ta'wil, and explaining that it is opposite to the approach of Ahl-ul-Sunnah Wal-Jama'ah, as is already stated in the first of the present notes. There is no problem in saying that Al-Asha'irah are not among Ahl-ul-Sunnah as regards (Divine) Names and Attributes, even though they are among them as regards other matters. In this way, anyone reviewing their Madh-hab would recognize that they make a mistake when they performed Ta'wil on some Attributes and disagree with the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and those who graciously followed them in this matter. This, in turn, would imply confirmation of truth and setting Ahl-ul-Sunnah and Al-Asha'irah in the positions where they really are.