—may Allah have mercy on him—in his commentary on the preceding verse: “Its interpretation is: They include among them what does not belong to them.”1 End quote.

Examples of this include the Christians calling Him “Father,” the philosophers calling Him “the efficient cause that acts by nature,” and some misguided people calling Him “the Architect of the universe,” and similar expressions. All of this is deviation concerning Allah’s Names.

The third type is to divest the Names of their meanings and deny their realities. Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—said: “Deviation is denial.”2 There is no doubt that whoever denies the meanings of these Names and rejects their realities thereby denies them and deviates concerning Allah’s Names. Among such claims is that of those who negate the attributes, who say that the Names are mere words that convey no meanings and entail no attributes. They call Him the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the Ever-Living, and the Most Merciful, yet they say that He has neither life, hearing, sight, nor mercy. Allah is exalted far above what they say and utterly transcends what they ascribe to Him. There is no doubt that this is deviation concerning Allah’s Names.

These negators differ in the extent of their negation. Some negate them only partially, affirming some and negating others. Others negate them entirely, affirming none of the attributes indicated by Allah’s Most Beautiful Names. Whoever denies anything by which Allah has described Himself or by which His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—has described Him has deviated in that regard. The degree to which he falls into this deviation corresponds to the extent of his denial.

The fourth type is to liken the attributes encompassed by Allah’s Most Beautiful Names—