All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The principle according to Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah is that the Attributes of Allah Almighty are established only through revelation. Therefore, no Attribute is affirmed except on the basis of valid evidence from the Qur’an or Sunnah. Whatever has been authentically established is affirmed without distortion, denial, asking how, or likening Allah to His creation. Accordingly, the Attribute of “ear” is not affirmed for Allah Almighty because there is no authentic and explicit evidence establishing it.
Ahl al-Sunnah affirm for Allah Almighty whatever He has affirmed for Himself in His Book and whatever His Messenger ﷺ has affirmed for Him, in a manner befitting His Majesty, without likening Him to His creation.
Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Allah is not described except by what He has described Himself with or by what His Messenger has described Him with. One does not go beyond the Qur’an and Hadith.”
This is an important principle regarding the divine Attributes, because reason alone cannot independently establish Attributes for Allah Almighty that have not been mentioned in revelation.
In some narrations, there is a hadith from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir, may Allah be pleased with him, in which the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, our Lord is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.”
And he pointed to his eyes.
In a narration reported by Ad-Darimi, there is mention of pointing to the eyes and ears.
However, merely pointing to the ears in this narration is not sufficient to establish the Attribute of “ear” for Allah Almighty, because affirming divine Attributes requires evidence indicating that what is mentioned is actually an Attribute of Allah, rather than merely mentioning or pointing to a bodily organ in the context of explaining hearing and sight.
Scholars have established that regarding anything for which there is no evidence affirming or denying it as an Attribute of Allah Almighty, one should refrain from making either affirmation or denial.
There is no authentic and explicit text regarding the Attribute of “ear” that requires affirming it for Allah Almighty. Therefore, it is not correct to regard it as one of the established divine Attributes.
Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Barrak, may Allah have mercy on him, explained this principle by stating that whatever is not indicated by evidence as being either affirmed or denied—whether explicitly, by implication, or by necessary consequence—must be left without affirmation or denial.
He mentioned the ear as an example, explaining that one must refrain from affirming or denying it because there is no evidence establishing it.
This differs from Attributes established by revealed texts, such as hearing, sight, the eyes, the hands, and the face. These are affirmed as they have been revealed, while denying any resemblance between Allah’s Attributes and those of created beings.
Some people may assume that affirming the Attribute of hearing necessarily requires affirming an ear, because created beings hear by means of ears.
This does not follow, because Allah Almighty is not like His creation, and His Attributes must not be analogized to the attributes of created beings.
Allah says:
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Ash-Shura 42:11]
Allah Almighty is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. We affirm for Him whatever He has affirmed for Himself and do not go beyond the revealed texts to affirm implications that Islamic revelation has not established.
The Attribute of “ear” is not affirmed for Allah Almighty because there is no authentic and explicit evidence establishing it. Regarding Attributes for which no evidence has been revealed, one must refrain from affirmation or denial.
As for hearing, sight, the two eyes, and whatever else has been established by the revealed texts, these are affirmed for Allah Almighty in a manner befitting His Majesty, without likening Him to creation or asking how.
And Allah knows best.