whereas this man says, “He does not descend,” so it is as though he were saying, “O Muhammad, you have lied!”

As for the second category, which is denial by way of figurative reinterpretation: this is when a person denies one of His attributes through reinterpretation rather than outright rejection. He says, “Yes, Allah rose over the Throne, but ‘rose over’ means ‘assumed dominion.’” Or he says, “Allah has two Hands, but what is meant by them is blessing and power,” and the like.

This falls into two cases. If such an interpretation has a basis in the Arabic language, he is not deemed a disbeliever, because this is what his independent reasoning led him to; thus, we do not declare him a disbeliever—unless this interpretation entails some deficiency with respect to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. If it entails deficiency, then he is a disbeliever, because affirming that which entails deficiency is an insult and a disparagement of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He; and insulting or disparaging Allah, Exalted is He, is disbelief.

But if it has no basis in the Arabic language, then he is a disbeliever, because such an interpretation amounts to denial and rejection; he is therefore not affirming the attribute.

An example of this is if, regarding the saying of Allah, Exalted is He, “Rather, both His Hands are extended” [al-Ma’idah 5:64], he says, “What is meant by His two Hands is the heavens and the earth.” This is disbelief, because it has no warrant in the Arabic language. But if he says, “What is meant by the hand is blessing or power,” then he is not deemed a disbeliever, because in Arabic the word “hand” may be used in the sense of blessing.

Thus, the author’s statement here is not unrestricted. However, if he persists after it has become clear to him that the truth is contrary to his interpretation—even if that interpretation has some basis—then he may be judged a disbeliever and an apostate, because he has denied the true meaning of the text while knowing that his interpretation is incorrect.