All praise is due to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Two well-known interpretations have been reported among the scholars of tafsir concerning Allah’s saying: “Everything will perish except His Face.” The first is that “the Face” refers to Allah’s attribute of the Face, meaning that everything will perish while the Face of Allah remains. The second is that the meaning is: everything will perish except that which is done seeking the Face of Allah, meaning sincere righteous deeds done for Him. There is no necessary contradiction between these two meanings, and Ibn Kathir’s interpretation of “the Face” as referring to the Divine Essence does not necessarily imply denial of Allah’s attribute of the Face.
Allah Almighty says:
“Everything will perish except His Face. To Him belongs the judgment, and to Him you will be returned.”
[Al-Qasas 28:88]
The scholars mentioned two interpretations of this verse:
The first view: “the Face” refers to the attribute of the Face that befits Allah Almighty. The meaning is that everything is passing away and perishing, while the Face of Allah remains.
This interpretation is supported by the verse in Surah al-Rahman:
“Everyone upon it will perish, and there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.”
[Al-Rahman 55:26–27]
The second view: the meaning is that every deed will perish and become worthless except that which was intended for the Face of Allah, meaning deeds performed sincerely for Allah Almighty and in accordance with the revealed law.
Al-Bukhari transmitted from Mujahid and al-Thawri concerning the interpretation of the verse:
“Except that which was intended for His Face.”
These two meanings do not necessarily contradict one another, since the verse may be understood as referring both to the permanence of Allah’s Face and to the lasting reward of righteous deeds performed seeking His Face.
Ibn ‘Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him, preferred the first meaning while also mentioning the second, and he explained that the verse contains evidence affirming the attribute of the Face for Allah Almighty.
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his commentary on the verse:
“The Face is used as an expression referring to the Essence. Likewise, His saying here: ‘Everything will perish except His Face,’ means: except Him.”
This statement does not necessarily mean that Ibn Kathir denied the attribute of the Face for Allah Almighty, because in certain contexts Arabs may use “face” to refer to the person or essence itself. Recognizing this linguistic usage does not mean denying that the Face is an established attribute of Allah in other texts.
Indeed, Ibn Kathir himself explicitly affirmed that the believers will see the Face of Allah Almighty. In his commentary on Allah’s saying:
“For those who do good is the best reward and even more.”
[Yunus 10:26]
he mentioned that “even more” includes looking upon the Noble Face of Allah, and he described this as the greatest delight of the people of Paradise.
Therefore, it is incorrect to claim that merely interpreting “the Face” in this specific verse as referring to the Essence necessarily means denying Allah’s attribute of the Face.
The attribute of the Face is established for Allah, Glorified and Exalted, in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Allah says:
“And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.”
[Al-Rahman 55:27]
And He says:
“And you do not spend except seeking the Face of Allah.”
[Al-Baqarah 2:272]
And He says:
“And those who are patient, seeking the Face of their Lord.”
[Al-Ra‘d 13:22]
The Sunnah also establishes this. Among the evidence is the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, concerning the story of the people trapped in the cave, in which one of them said:
“O Allah, if I did that seeking Your Face, then relieve us from what we are in.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Likewise, in the hadith of Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“You will not remain behind and perform any deed seeking thereby the Face of Allah except that you will increase in rank and elevation by it.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The leading scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah explicitly affirmed the attribute of the Face for Allah Almighty while denying that it resembles the faces of created beings.
Ibn Khuzaymah, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that Ahl al-Sunnah affirm for Allah what He affirmed for Himself, without likening the Face of the Creator to the face of any created being.
Allah’s saying:
“Everything will perish except His Face”
may correctly be interpreted to mean that all created beings will perish while the Face of Allah Almighty remains, and it may also be understood to mean that all deeds will pass away except those performed seeking the Face of Allah. There is no contradiction between these two meanings.
As for Ibn Kathir’s interpretation of “the Face” in this particular verse as referring to the Divine Essence, this does not mean that he denied the attribute of the Face for Allah Almighty, because Ibn Kathir himself affirmed that the believers will see the Face of Allah, and the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah establish the attribute of the Face for Him.
Therefore, what Allah has affirmed for Himself must be affirmed in a manner befitting His Majesty, without resemblance, without asking how, and without denial.
And Allah knows best.