In His Keshfulirtiyab Fi Ittiba Ibni AbdilWahab, page 94, Sayid AlAmin records:
Quran and the Prophet's traditions are in Arabic. Like ordinary Arabic texts, they comprise factuality and metaphor. Factuality is the actual use of an expression; such as saying, "I saw a lion in the jungle." Lion, here, stands for that strong animal. Metaphor, on the other hand, is the use of an expression for exposing a condition between the expression and the meaning intended. As an example on this, we cite the sentence, "I saw a lion in the meeting." Lion, here, may stand for a brave individual. The acceptable condition linking the two is courage.
Like Quranic and prophetic texts, Arabic texts used metaphor so generally. The following are Quranic metaphorical texts:
(The hand of Allah is above their hands.)
(And make the ark before Our eyes.)
(That you might be brought up before My eyes.)
(You are surely before Our eyes.)
(And could you see when they are made to stand before their Lord.)
(Woe is me, for what I have squandered in the side of Allah.)
(Everything is perishable except His face.)
(Whither you turn, thither is Allah's face.)
(And there will endure only the face of your Lord.)
(The Beneficent settled on the Throne.)
(They fear their Lord above them.) (So he was the measure of two bows or closer still.) (Only whom your Lord will have mercy on.)
(Only whom Allah will have mercy on.)
(And Allah will send His wrath on him.)
(Allah shall pay them back their mockery.)
(And does come your Lord.)
Presumption of metaphor of the previous Quranic texts, is impossibility of intending the factual meanings that result in God's corporeity, occupying a definite space, existing in a definite point and being encountering contingent affairs.
Metaphorical expressions should be having a presumption. Back to the earlier example, wild animals do not attend meetings usually. Occasionally, the presumption is circumstantial, that is indicated through the circumstance, not expressional, that is indicated through representation of wording; therefore, some cannot comprehend it correctly. Metaphor, sometimes, is used so commonly that it does not need a presumption. It is also named reported metaphor when it attains rank of factuality.
Keshfulirtiyab Fi Ittiba Ibni AbdilWahab, page 119:
Wahabists claimed their being the only monotheists, while other Muslims are entirely polytheists. In fact, Ibn Teimiya, Mohammed Bin AbdilWahab and their followers abused, desecrated and raped monotheism. They ascribed unbecoming affairs to Allah, the Exalted. Allah be highly exalted and glorified against sayings of the wrong. They materialized Allah's having the physical upper locality, settling on the Throne which is above the heavens and the earth, descending to the lowest heavens, coming, going and alike material matters. Without any interpretation, they also claimed His having a face, two hands, fingers, palm and eyes. This is indeed a clear corporalism. They rested upon the extrinsic meanings of aspect of the divine attributes and names texts; therefore, they proved Allah's affection, mercy, pleasingness, wrath and the like. They alleged that Allah articulates physically. Thus, they decided God as a contingent being.
Ibn Teimiya asserted the Lord's occupying a locality, having corporeality, material settling on the Throne and physical articulation. He was the foremost in this misbelief. He wrote dependent essays in this regard. His AlAqidetul Hamawiya and AlWasitiya and many other essays are good examples. His two students; IbnulQeyim AlJawziya and Ibn AbdilHadi, as well as their partisans, ensued him. Jurisprudents and master scholars of his time judged him as deviant and atheist. They asked the ruler to kill or detain him. Hence, he was banished to Egypt where he was argued commonly. He was sentenced to imprisonment. In the prison, he died after he had breached his word of repentance.
For recognizing the actual value of Ibn Teimiya, the following are sayings of the master scholar regarding his personality and beliefs.
Ahmed Bin Hajar AlHeithami AlMekki, the Shafiite, writes in his AlJawharul Munaddham Fi Ziyaretin Nabiyyil Mukarram:
Ibn Teimiya transgressed the divine presence and violated fence of the divine excellence when he provided claims of Allah's having a locality and a corporeality before the public.
In His AdDurrarul Kamina, Ibn Hajar records:
People stated various opinions about Ibn Teimiya. Some assigned claims of corporalism to him. This was because of his writings in his AlAqidetul
Hamawiya and AlWasitiya, when he claimed Allah's having material hands, feet, leg and face. He also claimed that He is settling on the Throne physically. As he was argued that these beliefs lead to corporalism, he answered, "I do not submit to the matter that having a locality or divisibility are specifications of corporealities." This means that he had indeed claimed the Lord's having a definite space.
In Ashraful Wasail Ila Fehmi Shemail, the writer records that IbnulQeyim and his master, Ibn Teimiya, pronounced a funny thing when they claimed that the reason beyond recommendation of sending edges of the turban on the shoulders, was the Lord had fixed His hands between shoulder of the Prophet while he was looking at him! Therefore, the Prophet honored that position. "We have not found a single report supporting this claim." AlIraqi asserted. However, such claims are listed under misbeliefs and deviation of these two individuals. They adopted and spared no efforts in finding evidences on corporalism and anthropomorphism. In addition, they aimed at debasing AhlusSunna for their denying this misbelief. Greatly exalted be Allah against sayings of the wrong and atheists. Moreover, they oversaid in this topic such catastrophic statements that ears cannot bear, and forgery, belying and fraudulence are easily decided. Deformed be their sayings and them. Ahmed, master of Hanbalism, and his reverent acquaintances are freed from such a hideous stain. For majority, it is decided as atheism.
In Hellul Ma'aqid, AlMawlawi AbdulHalim AlHindi records, "Taqiyuddin Ibn Teimiya was Hanbalite. But he transcended limits and attempted at substantiating matters contradicting the Lord's glorification and excellence. Besides many others, he claimed Allah's occupying a locality and a corporeality. The judge sentenced him to imprisonment in 705. In Damascus, it was publicly declared that properties and souls of followers of Ibn Teimiya's misbeliefs are lawfully disregarded. This was recorded in Abu Mohammed Abdullah AlYafii's Miratul Jinan. After he has shown repentance and declared of being Asharite, Ibn Teimiya was released in 707. Immediately, he breached his repentance and showed his heretic affairs anew. Thus, he was detained in more severe circumstances. He could escape and resettle in Syria. Historical records wrote down his circumstances, conditions and sayings. Sheik Ibn Hajar, in the first volume of his AdDurarul Kamina, recorded his manners and events. The same thing was written by AtThehbi, in his book of history, as well as many others. In brief words, Ibn Teimiya claimed Allah's being a corporeality and lacking a space. He relied upon the fact that every corporeality needs a space. Resting upon God's saying, (The Beneficent settled on the Throne.), Ibn Teimiya claimed the Lord's occupying the Throne. Accordingly, he had to state anteriority, eternality and ceaseless renovation. The Lord's final possibility is eternal, while the limited are contingent.
AbulFida, in his book of history; events of 705, records:
On that year, Taqiyuddin Ahmed Bin Teimiya was summoned to Egypt where he was publicly argued. Owing to his belief of corporalism, he was detained. Within the royal judgment against Ibn Teimiya, the following statements are mentioned, "During this period, Ibn Teimiya, the miserable, used his quill and wording for delving into questions of the Quran and the divine attributes. He spoke in illfavored affairs, and asserted what was denied by masters of Islam. Unanimity of scholars contracted him, since he contravened savants and jurisprudents of his time and province. We have been informed that his people complied with him after he had betrayed them. We have been acquainted that they declared their misbeliefs of the Lord's having physical articulation and corporeality."
Mohammed Bin AbdilWahab and his group did adhere to beliefs of Ibn Teimiya regarding corporalism, visitating tombs, intercession to Allah and the like. Without interpretation, son of AbdulWahab exceeded his master in substantiating that Allah has a definite locality, which is above, and settles on the Throne that is above the heavens and the earth, and enjoys physical corporeality, material mercy, satisfaction, wrath, right and left hand, fingers and palm.
Partisans of Mohammed Bin AbdilWahab claimed Allah's occupying an upper locality, settling on the Throne, having a face, hands and eyes, descending to the lower heavens, coming, nearness and the like; all with the material meanings wanting interpretative exegeses.
The following is written down in the fourth chapter of AlHadiyetus Sunniya, recorded by Mohammed Bin AbdulLatif, the grandson of Mohammed Bin AbdilWahab. "Allah, the Exalted, is on His Throne as he said, (The Beneficent settled on the Throne;), and He has two hands wanting a certain condition, as he said, (When I created with My hands;) and (His hands are open.) He also has eyes and face wanting a certain condition, as he said, (And there will endure the face of your Lord,)…" They give credence to the Prophet's saying, "Allah descends to the lowest heavens…" and they believe that Allah shall come on Resurrection Day, as he said, (And there come your Lord and the angels.) By the same token, they believe that Allah comes near to His creatures as he desires. He said, (We are nearer to him than his lifevein.)
In the fifth chapter of the previous book, the writer records, "We do believe that Allah settles on the Throne and exalts over His creatures. We believe that His Throne is above the heavens. Allah said, (The Beneficent settled on the Throne.) We believe in the expression and substantiate reality of settling, without suggesting a definite condition or picture. We adopt the saying of Malik Bin Anas, master of DarulHijra (AlMadina). When he was asked about condition of the Lord's settling, Malik answered, 'Settling is known and its way
is unexplored, and believing in this is obligatory and questioning about it is heresy.'"
This saying results in one of two things; either corporalism or impossibility. Both, however, are impracticable. Occurring of material settling wanting a definite condition is impossible, on criteria of mentality. Occurrence of material settling with a definite condition results in opting for corporalism. Hence, it is requisite to opt for finding interpretative exegesis or resting upon metaphorical meaning. Presumption, however, should be intellectuality. This proves that the previous statement ascribed to Malik is rarely true. The good reputation of the man makes us suspect authenticity of assigning this statement to him. Malik's statement, 'Settling in known', if the material meaning of settling is intended, is impracticable according to intellectuality, since Allah's corporeity is infeasible. It is also impossible to settle materially without being a corporeality. How is it practicable to decided asking about it as a heresy while giving credence to unknown matters is impossible?! If the meaning intended by Malik is believing in the settling proposed by the Lord without asking about its detailed conditions, its impracticability should be ruled for the same previous intellectual grounds. If he alludes to the metaphorical meanings only, where is the actuality of settling, then?!
Moreover, if those faction take Malik's words as their guidance and principals, what for did they shun his statements regarding directing towards the Prophet's tomb and seeking his intercession to Allah, then? Malik did instruct AlMansour, the caliph, to turn his face towards the Prophet's tomb and seek his intercession to the Lord.
Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin AbdilWahab, in the second chapter of AlHadiyetus Saniya, states, "Our claiming of the Lord's having a locality; which is the above, does in no means require our being corporalists, since consequences of a sect are not the sect itself." If the previous rule is true, it stands for the idea that adopting a certain faith does not necessarily require believing in its consequences. But, when this faith is false, its consequences shall be false, too. Falsity of consequences leads to falsity of principals. Lest, inherence is totally null. If corporeity of Allah is false, accrediting locality of exaltation to Him shall be void and null, too. We have previously provided that Ibn Teimiya, their master and guide, was decided as atheist, and sentenced to death penalty in absentia and imprisonment, because he claimed corporeity of the Lord. Mohammed Bin AbdilWahab, founder of their faction, followed Ibn Teimiya in claiming Allah's having right and left hands, fingers and palm. Those are following these two so accurately and comprehensively that they would not be acquitted even if they declare freeing from corporalism.
