And this is the correct interpretation of perceiving Him: meaning that visions do not encompass His Al-Ḥadd or His limit. Then he said: {And He perceives all vision}, and He is the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, to make clear that He is knowing of Himself and of everything](1).
And ʿAlī b. ʿĪsā informed me that Ḥanbal narrated to them, saying: I asked Abū ʿAbdullāh about the hadiths that are narrated: "That God Almighty descends to the lowest heaven," and "That God Almighty will be seen," and "That God Almighty places His foot," and similar hadiths.
So Abū ʿAbdullāh said: We believe in them, and we affirm them, without 'how' and without meaning, and we do not reject anything from them. We know that what the messengers brought is true, and we know that what is established from the Messenger is true if it is with authentic chains of transmission. We do not reject his statement, nor do we describe God, Blessed and Exalted, with anything greater than what He described Himself with, without Al-Ḥadd and without limit.
And Ḥanbal said in another place: There is nothing like unto Him in His essence, just as He described Himself.
For He, Blessed and Exalted, summarized the attribute for Himself, so He delimited for Himself an attribute that nothing resembles. Thus, God Almighty is worshipped by His attributes, which are neither delimited nor known except by what He described Himself with. God Almighty said: {And He is the Hearing, the Seeing} [Al-Shūrā: 11].
And he said: Ḥanbal said in another place: He is Hearing, Seeing, without Al-Ḥadd and without estimation. The describers do not reach His attribute; His attributes are from Him and belong to Him, and we do not go beyond the Qur'an
وهذا التَّفسير الصَّحيح للإدراك به: أي لا تُحيط الأبصارُ بحدِّه ولا غايتِه، ثم قال: ﴿ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَٰرَ ﴾، وهو عالم الغيب والشَّهادة، ليتبين أنه عالم بنفسه وبكلِّ شيء](١).
- قال الخلال:
وأخبرني علي بن عيسى، أن حَنبلًا حدَّثهم، قال: سألت أبا عبد الله عن الأحاديث التي تُروى: «أن الله تعالى ينزل إلى سماء الدنيا»، و«أن الله تعالى يُرى»، و«أن الله تعالى يضع قدمه»، وما أشبه هذه الأحاديث.
فقال أبو عبد الله: نؤمن بها، ونصدق بها، ولا كيف، ولا معنى، ولا نَردّ منها شيئًا، ونعلم أن ما جاءت به الرُّسل حقٌّ، ونعلم أن ما ثبت عن الرَّسول حقٌّ إذا كانت بأسانيد صحيحة، ولا نردُّ على قوله، ولا نصِفُ اللهَ تبارك وتعالى بأعظم مما وصف به نفسه بلا حدٍّ ولا غاية.
وقال حنبل في موضع آخر: ليس كمثله شيء في ذاته كما وصف به نفسه.
فقد أجمل تبارك وتعالى بالصِّفة لنفسه، فحدَّ لنفسه صفةً ليس يشبهه شيء، فيُعبد الله تعالى بصفاته غير محدودة ولا معلومة إلَّا بما وصف نفسه، قال تعالى: ﴿ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ ﴾ [الشورى: ١١].
وقال: حنبل في موضع آخر قال: فهو سَميعٌ، بصيرٌ، بلا حدٍّ، ولا تقديرٍ، ولا يبلغ الواصفون صفتَه، وصفاتُه منه وله، ولا نتعدَّى القرآن
(١) (٧٠٨/٣).
