[Excerpted from the Reliance of the Traveller] Figurative Interpretation (Ta'wil) of the Quran and Hadith (Ghazali) Those who are profligate in disregarding the literal meaning of texts go so far as to alter most or all scriptural evidences and proofs, metaphorically interpreting even the words of Allah Most High "Their hands shall speak to us and their feet shall testify" (36:65) and, "They will say to their skins, Why have you testified against us,' and they will reply, Allah has made us speak, as He has made all to speak(41:21) likewise explaining away the questions of Munkar and Nakir the scale and the bridge over the hell, and the final reckoning and words of the people of hell to the people of paradise, "Pour water upon us, or of that which Allah has provided you"(7:50) claiming that all this is "what their state would say if it could speak." Others have gone to the opposite extreme of barring all figurative interpretation, among them Ahmad ibn Hanbal rahimullah who even forbade metaphorical interpretation of Allah's words, "Be! and it is"(36:82) some of his school claiming that this is an actual utterance of articulated letters and a voice, proceeding from Allah Most High at every moment, commensurate in number with every existent being. I have heard some members of his school say that he forbade metaphorical interpretations of all but three expressions, namely the Prophet' salalahu alayhi wa salam having said 1 The black stone is the right hand of Allah in His earth 2 The heart of the believer is betweent the fingers of ar rahman 3 Verily, I find the breath of ar rahman from the direction of yemen Literalists have shown an inclination towards prohibiting all figurative interpretation, while what one should believe of Ahmad ibn hanbal rahimullah is that he knew that Allah's establishment on the Throne did not consist of being at rest, any more than HIS coming down consisted of physical motion, but rather he forbade figurative interpretation in order to close the discussion in the itnerests of the people, for once the door is opened, the rift widens and the matter gets out of control, exceeding the bounds let alone between the servant and the Lord Most High. Allah is Exalted Above Needing Space or Time (Muhammed Hamid): What is obligatory for a human being to know is that Allah the Creator subhanahu wa ta ala is absolutely free of need (al ghani) of anything He has created, and free of need for the heavens or the earth. He is transcendently beyond being in the sky or being on the earth in the manner that things are in things, created being in created being, or things in circumstances are encompassed by their circumstances, for it is He who said "There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him, and He is the All Hearing, the All Seeing (42:11) and, "He did not beget nor was He begotten there is nothing like until Allah" (112:3-4) Aside from all the proofs from the Quran and sunnah, the rational evidence is decisive that Allah Most High is absolutely beyond any resemblance to created things, in His entity, attributes, and acts. The Noble Ayah "He is Allah in the heavens and the earth; He knows your secrets and what you reveal, and knows what you are earning"(6:3) means that He Most Glorious is the one who is rightfully worshipped in both the heavens and the earth, who alone possesses the attribute of divinity in both; and the inhabitants of the heavens know He is the True GOD, just as the inhabitants of the earth know it, and the former worship him just as the later do (Rudud ala abatil wa rasa'il al-shaykh Muhammed Al-Hamid) (Qurtubi) Allah Most High says, "Do you feel secure that He who is in the heavens will not make the earth swallow you wihle it quakes?"(67:16) which may mean, "Do you feel secure that He who is the Creator of whomever is in the heavens will not make the earth swallow you, as He did Korah?" The more exacting hold that it (in the heavens fi sama) signifies, Do you feel secure from Him who is over(ala) the heavens just as Allah says, "Journey in the earth"(9:2) meaning over it; not over it by way of physical contact or spatialization, but by way of omnipotenet power and control. Another position is that it means, "Do you feel secure from HIm who is over the heavens" just as it is said So and so is over Iraq and the Hijaz, meaning that he is the governor and commander of them. The hadeiths on this subject are numerous, rigoriously authenticated (sahih) and widely known, and indicate the exaltedness of Allah, being undeniable by anyone save an atheist or obstinate ignoramus. Their meaning is to dignify Allah and exalt Him above what is base and low, to characterize Him by exaltedness and grandeur, not by being in places, particular directions, or within limits, for these are the qualities of physical bodies. The hands are only raised skyward when one supplicates because the sky is from whence divine revelation descends and rains fall, the place of purity and the wellspring of the purified ones of the angels, and that servants works are raised to it and over it are the Throne and His paradise Just as Allah has made the kaaba the direction of supplication and the prayer. He created all places and has no need of them. He was without space or time in His beginningless eternality before creating space and time, and is now as He ever has been (al-Jami Li ahkam al-Quran)
