Accordingly, whoever denies the existence of Allah is a disbeliever—may Allah protect us—condemned to dwell forever in the Fire. Anyone who hesitates or entertains doubt about this is likewise a disbeliever, because true faith requires firm conviction that Allah is living, all-knowing, all-powerful, and existent. Whoever doubts His lordship is a disbeliever, and whoever attributes a share of that lordship to anyone besides Him is a disbeliever. The same ruling applies to one who claims that saints administer the universe, exercise control over it, calls upon them, seeks their aid, or relies on them for victory; such a person is a disbeliever—may Allah protect us—for he has failed to believe in Allah.
Whoever directs any form of worship to other than Allah is a disbeliever, because he has not affirmed Allah’s exclusive right to be worshiped. Thus, if someone prostrates to the sun or moon, to a tree, a river, the sea, the mountains, an angel, a prophet, or a saint, he has committed unbelief that expels him from the religion, for he has associated others with Allah.
Similarly, whoever rejects—out of outright denial—anything Allah has attributed to Himself is a disbeliever, for he has belied Allah the Exalted and His Messenger ﷺ. Should a person deny one of Allah’s attributes in this manner, he is a disbeliever because he has rejected what appears in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. For example, if he says that Allah did not rise above the Throne or does not descend to the lowest heaven, he is a disbeliever.
However, if the denial stems from interpretation, the matter must be examined: Is the interpretation reasonably valid and open to scholarly judgment or not? If it is a legitimate interpretation, he is not deemed a disbeliever, though he is considered sinful for departing from the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah. But if there is no valid basis, then denying the attribute on the strength of an interpretation that has no justification