Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
There is no doubt that reflecting upon the Names and Attributes of Allah تعالى that He affirmed for Himself in His Book, or that His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم affirmed for Him, is among the greatest means of knowing Allah and among the most important causes of increased faith and worship.
Knowledge of the Names and Attributes of Allah is not merely theoretical knowledge. It has an effect on the heart and actions. Knowing His mercy سبحانه brings hope; knowing His power and greatness brings humility and veneration; knowing that He hears, sees, and knows all things brings awareness of His constant watch and modesty before Him; and knowing His sufficiency and support for His servants brings reliance upon Him and a sense of need before Him.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that knowledge of Allah تعالى and what He deserves of Names and Attributes is among the greatest forms of knowledge by which Allah gives some of His servants superiority over others, because it entails praising Allah, extolling Him, glorifying Him, and declaring Him free of all imperfection.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that the Qur’an introduces people to their Lord through His Names and Attributes, and that contemplating these Attributes produces love, hope, fear, reliance, humility, and other states of servitude in the heart.
Therefore, what is prescribed is to reflect upon what Allah has informed us about Himself, contemplate the meanings of His Names and Attributes and their effects in the life of the servant, without delving into the manner or modality of those Attributes about which Allah تعالى has not informed us.
This expression is not correct if stated without qualification, because some things that come to a person's mind when the Names and Attributes of Allah are mentioned may be true and correct if they are based on what Allah has informed us about Himself or what His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم informed us about Him.
If a Muslim thinks that Allah تعالى is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, All-Knowing, All-Wise, Merciful, and that He possesses the Attributes He has informed us about, this is not something false that must be rejected. Rather, it is part of believing in what is contained in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿There is nothing whatsoever like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.﴾ [Ash-Shura: 11]
Allah has therefore informed us that He is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. We must believe in this in a manner befitting His Majesty, while believing that He سبحانه is unlike anything else.
Thus, using the expression “Whatever comes to your mind, Allah is different from that” without qualification may suggest an incorrect meaning: that every conception of the meanings of Allah's Names and Attributes is false. This is not the case.
What a Muslim must reject is likening Allah to His creation, making comparisons, imagining a specific modality, and holding false conceptions.
If a person imagines that one of Allah's Attributes resembles the attributes of created beings, or attempts to imagine the modality of Allah's Attributes in a particular form, this is what he should cut off and reject, because Allah سبحانه does not resemble His creation.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿There is nothing whatsoever like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.﴾ [Ash-Shura: 11]
This verse combines two great principles:
This is the correct methodology regarding the Names and Attributes of Allah: affirming what Allah affirmed for Himself without likening Him to His creation, and declaring Him free of what does not befit Him without denying His Attributes.
It is important to distinguish between the meaning of an Attribute and the modality of an Attribute.
A Muslim understands the meaning of hearing, seeing, knowledge, mercy, power, and other Attributes in a manner befitting Allah تعالى, but he cannot comprehend the modality of His Attributes.
For example, we believe that Allah تعالى is All-Hearing, and that He possesses hearing befitting His Majesty. But we do not say that His hearing is like the hearing of created beings, nor do we attempt to imagine its modality.
Likewise, we believe what Allah has informed us about His rising over His Throne, without delving into the modality of His rising or comparing it to the rising of created beings.
Yahya ibn ‘Ammar, may Allah have mercy on him, expressed this meaning by stating that what is required is to believe in what has come from Allah and His Messenger, to deny knowledge of the modality, avoid doubt and obsessive speculation, and not allow imagination and conjecture to determine the modality of Allah's Attributes.
Reflecting upon the meanings of Allah's Names and Attributes and their effects is permissible and is among the greatest means of knowing Allah تعالى.
As for thinking about the modality of Allah's Attributes and imagining their specific nature, attempting to imagine the Essence of Allah سبحانه, or comparing His Attributes to the attributes of created beings, this is something from which a Muslim should refrain. Allah تعالى is far greater than the speculative thoughts and mental images of created minds can encompass.
The objective is therefore not for a Muslim to prevent himself from contemplating the meanings of Allah's Names and Attributes. Rather, he should adhere to what has come through revelation, stop where his knowledge ends, and not turn Allah's Attributes into mental images and fantasies measured against created beings.
The expression “Whatever comes to your mind, Allah is different from that” is not correct if understood literally and stated without qualification, because some things that come to mind are correct meanings that Allah تعالى has informed us about Himself, such as that He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, All-Knowing, and All-Wise. These meanings are true and must be believed.
However, if the intended meaning is that every imagined form, modality, or likeness that a person conceives regarding Allah تعالى is false, and that Allah سبحانه is unlike such conceptions, then this meaning is correct.
The comprehensive principle is:
We affirm for Allah تعالى what He affirmed for Himself, or what His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم affirmed for Him, without likening Him to His creation or making comparisons. We believe in the meanings of His Attributes, entrust their modality to Him سبحانه, and do not delve into matters about which He has not informed us.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿There is nothing whatsoever like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.﴾
And Allah تعالى knows best.