Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Worshipping while seeking the Face of Allah means that a servant devotes his worship sincerely to Allah, seeking His pleasure and His reward in the Hereafter. There is no contradiction between this meaning and affirming the attribute of the Face for Allah in a manner befitting Him, without likening Him to His creation or asking how. Likewise, asking about such matters for the purpose of learning and understanding Islamic creed is neither shirk nor doubt concerning the Quran or the attributes of Allah.
There is nothing wrong with a Muslim asking about the meanings of Allah’s names and attributes or researching something concerning them that he finds difficult to understand, as long as his aim is to know the truth.
Indeed, knowledge of Allah, His names, and His attributes is among the noblest branches of knowledge, because it increases a servant’s knowledge of his Lord, love for Him, veneration of Him, and fear of Him.
Allah says:
﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ﴾
“Only those of His servants who have knowledge truly fear Allah.”
[Fatir: 28]
A person is not born knowledgeable; rather, knowledge is acquired through asking questions, researching, and referring to scholars. When the truth becomes clear to him, he follows it. If something remains unclear, he refrains from making claims until it becomes clear and asks Allah to guide him to the truth.
Therefore, merely asking, “What does seeking the Face of Allah mean?” does not imply denying the attribute or doubting the Quran, much less committing shirk.
This expression occurs in a number of verses of the Quran.
Allah says:
﴿وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلِأَنْفُسِكُمْ وَمَا تُنْفِقُونَ إِلَّا ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ اللَّهِ﴾
“Whatever good you spend is for your own benefit, and you should spend only seeking the Face of Allah.”
[Al-Baqarah: 272]
And He says:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً﴾
“And those who patiently persevere, seeking the Face of their Lord, establish prayer, and spend from what We have provided them, secretly and openly.”
[Ar-Ra‘d: 22]
In this context, “seeking the Face of Allah” means being sincere to Allah, seeking His pleasure and reward, and not performing worship in order to receive people’s praise or achieve a corrupt worldly purpose.
Thus, a person who gives charity seeking the Face of Allah gives sincerely for Allah, hoping for His pleasure and reward, not so that people will call him generous or praise him.
No.
The fatwa distinguishes between affirming the attribute itself and the meaning associated with a servant seeking the Face of Allah through his deeds.
Ahl al-Sunnah affirm the attribute of the Face for Allah as it occurs in the Quran, in a manner befitting His majesty, without likening it to the faces of created beings and without discussing its modality.
Allah says:
﴿وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ﴾
“And the Face of your Lord, full of majesty and honor, will remain.”
[Ar-Rahman: 27]
At the same time, saying that “seeking the Face of Allah” includes sincerity to Allah and seeking His pleasure and reward does not mean denying the attribute of the Face or interpreting it in a way that negates it.
The fatwa therefore emphasizes that there is no contradiction between affirming Allah’s attribute of the Face and understanding seeking His Face as sincerely directing one’s intention to Him and seeking His reward.
Some people may think that whoever worships Allah seeking His Face should neither seek Paradise nor fear Hell. This is incorrect.
Complete worship combines love of Allah, fear of Him, and hope for His reward.
Allah says about the prophets and the righteous:
﴿إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ﴾
“Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and call upon Us with hope and fear, and they were humbly submissive to Us.”
[Al-Anbiya: 90]
And He says:
﴿يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا﴾
“They call upon their Lord in fear and hope.”
[As-Sajdah: 16]
Therefore, whoever worships Allah sincerely, hopes for His Paradise and reward, and fears His punishment has combined these legitimate meanings, and there is no contradiction between them.
One matter that further clarifies this issue is that the believer hopes for the blessings of Paradise in the Hereafter, and among the greatest of these blessings is looking at the Face of Allah Most High.
Therefore, a person who worships Allah and hopes that Allah will honor him by allowing him to look at His Face in the Hereafter has not abandoned hope for reward. Rather, he is hoping for one of the greatest forms of reward and bliss.
It is reported in the supplication of the Prophet ﷺ:
“I ask You for the delight of looking at Your Face and the longing to meet You.”
The servant who seeks this blessing hopes to attain it and fears being deprived of it. Thus, love, hope, and fear come together in his worship.
No.
Simply having a question or difficulty concerning the meaning of a verse or one of Allah’s attributes does not make a person a polytheist, nor does it mean that he denies the Quran.
Rather, when something is unclear, one should learn and ask people of knowledge while avoiding giving in to obsessive doubts.
Whoever seeks to know the truth and to believe in what Allah has informed us about Himself should not allow fear of making a mistake to prevent him from seeking knowledge.
Worshipping Allah while seeking His Face means devoting worship sincerely to Allah and seeking His pleasure and reward, while also affirming the attribute of the Face for Allah in a manner befitting His majesty, without likening Him to His creation or asking how.
There is no contradiction between worshipping Allah while seeking His Face and hoping for Paradise and fearing Hell. The Quran praises Allah’s servants who call upon Him with both hope and fear.
Likewise, looking at the Face of Allah Most High is among the greatest delights of the people of Paradise. Therefore, seeking the Face of Allah, seeking His reward, and hoping for Paradise are harmonious meanings, not contradictory ones.
Asking questions and researching in order to understand these matters is neither shirk nor a denial of Allah’s attributes. Rather, it is one of the means of learning and arriving at a correct understanding.
And Allah knows best.