issues that have been the subject of dispute between the People of the Sunnah and the Community (Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jama‘ah) and the deniers of the Divine Attributes (mu‘attilat al-sifat).
The First Issue:
The affirmation of a limit (hadd) for Allah the Exalted, and an explanation of its connection to the issue of the Lord’s loftiness (Exalted and Glorified is He), His distinctness from His creation, and His rising (istiwa’) over His Throne.
The Second Issue:
The affirmation of sitting (julus) and seating (qu‘ud) for Allah the Exalted in a manner that befits Him (Glorified is He), along with the mention of the evidence for its affirmation from the authentic and explicit Sunnah, and the narrations (athar) of the Righteous Predecessors (al-salaf al-salih) from among the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), the Successors (tabi‘un), and those who followed them (may Allah the Exalted have mercy on them).
In this book, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) has striven to record the creed of the People of the Sunnah and Narrations (Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Athar) and their statements regarding these two issues. He has not introduced any unprecedented speech or reprehensible belief; rather, he has carefully sought to emulate and follow the path of the predecessors of the Ummah—the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), the Successors, and the leading imams of the religion who came after them, walked upon their path, and followed in their footsteps, as you shall see throughout this book.
Therefore, do not be hasty—O reader—in rejecting this book or what has been transmitted therein from the imams of the People of the Sunnah, lest you fall into opposing them. For the denial of these two issues has generally only originated from the Jahmites, the enemies of the Sunnah and Monotheism (tawhid), who negate the attributes of the Lord of the worlds. From them, these views were adopted by those who came after them among those who occupied themselves with examining the books of the people of theological rhetoric (Ahl al-Kalam) and turned away from studying what the People of the Sunnah authored in these chapters.
المسائل التي حصلَ فيها الخلافُ بين أهل السُّنَّة والجماعة وبين مُعَطِّلةِ الصِّفَات.
المسألة الأولى:
إثبات الحدِّ لله تعالى، وبيان تعلقها بمسألة علوِّ الرَّبِّ سبحانه وتعالى، وبينونته عن خلقه، واستوائه على عرشه.
المسألة الثانية:
إثبات الجلوس والقعود لله تعالى على ما يليق به سبحانه، مع ذكر الأدلة على إثبات ذلك من السُّنَّة الصَّحيحة الصَّريحة، وآثار السَّلف الصَّالح من الصَّحابة رضي الله عنهم والتابعين ومن بعدهم رَحِمَهُمُ اللهُ تعالى.
والمُصَنِّفُ رَحِمَهُ اللهُ في كتابه هذا قد اجتهد في ذكر مُعتقد أهل السُّنَّة والأثر وأقوالهم في هاتين المسألتين، فلم يأتِ بِمُحدثٍ من القول، ولا بمُنكرٍ من الاعتقاد، بل تحرَّى فيه الاقتداء والاتباع لما كان عليه سلف الأمة من الصَّحابة رضي الله عنهم والتابعين وأئمة الدِّين ممن جاء بعدهم، وسار على طريقتهم، واقتفى أثرهم، كما سترى في أثناء هذا الكتاب.
وعليه فلا تعجل - أخي القارئ - بردِّ هذا الكتاب، ولا ما جاء فيه عن أئمَّة أهل السُّنَّة؛ فتقع في مخالفتهم؛ فإنه لم يأتِ إنكار هاتين المسألتين غالبًا إلَّا عن الجهمية أعداء السُّنَّة والتوحيد، نُفاة صفات ربِّ العالمين، فعنهم تلقَّفها من جاء بعدهم ممن اشتغل بالنظر في كُتُبِ أهل الكلام، وأعرض عن دراسة ما كتبه أهل السُّنَّة في هذه الأبواب.
