Meaning of tafweed with regard to the names and attributes of Allah (i.e., thinking that only Allah knows what is meant)

Firstly: 

Tafweed with regard to the names and attributes of Allah, may
He be exalted, has two meanings: 

1.

A correct meaning, which is affirming the wording and the
meaning to which is points, then leaving knowledge of how it is to Allah. So
we affirm the beautiful names and sublime attributes of Allah, and we
acknowledge and believe in their meanings, but we do not know how they are. 

So we believe that Allah, may He be exalted, rose over the
Throne in a real sense as befits His Majesty, in a manner that is not like
this action on the part of human beings, but how that occurred is unknown to
us. Hence we leave knowledge of how it occurred to Allah, as Imam Maalik and
others said when asked about this rising over (istiwa’): The rising over is
known but how is unknown. 

See: Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa by Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn
Taymiyah], 3/25 

This is the view of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah: We affirm
the attributes of Allah, may He be exalted, without likening Him to His
creation or discussing how. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning): “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the
All-Hearer, the All-Seer” [ash-Shoora 42:11]. 

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ahl
as-Sunnah are unanimously agreed on affirming the attributes that are
mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and interpreting them as they appear to
mean, not metaphorically. But they do not discuss how any of them are. 

Al-‘Uluw li’l-‘Aliy al-Ghaffaar, p.250 

2.

The second meaning of tafweed, which is an incorrect meaning,
is affirming the wording without understanding what it means. So they affirm
the words only, “The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the
(Mighty) Throne” [Ta-Ha 20:5], then they say: We do not know what it
means or what Allah meant by it! 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: 

With regard to tafweed, it is known that Allah, may He be
exalted, has commanded us to ponder the Qur’an and urged us to understand
it. So how can it be possible that we are expected to turn away from
understanding it, knowing it and pondering it? 

Moreover, the text (of the Qur’an) is intended to guide us,
explain to us and bring us forth from darkness into light. But if there are
parts of this text the apparent meaning of which is falsehood and disbelief,
and we are not expected to understand the apparent meaning or the hidden
meaning, or we are expected to understand the hidden meaning without any
reference to that hidden meaning in the text, in either case the text that
is addressed to us does not explain the truth, and we do not know whether
the apparent meaning of the text is falsehood and disbelief. 

In fact what these people say about the One Who addressed
these words to us, that He did not make the truth clear to us and He did not
explain it to us, yet He instructed us to believe in it; and that what He
addressed us with and commanded us to follow and refer to does not explain
the truth or disclose it, and rather the apparent meaning of these verses
may lead to disbelief and falsehood; and that He wanted us to understand
from these texts or to conclude from them something for which there is no
supporting evidence– all of that amounts to something that it is known from
the basic teachings of Islam that Allah and His Messenger are above such a
thing and that this tafweed is akin to the views of the distorters and
heretics. … Thus it is clear that the view of those who promote tafweed and
claim that they are following the Sunnah and the early generations of the
ummah is one of the worst views of innovation and heresy. End quote. 

Dar’ at-Ta‘aarud, 1/115 

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) said: 

The view of the early generations was not tafweed; rather
their way was to believe in these texts as they were revealed and to affirm
the apparent meaning that is indicated by these words and their linguistic
usage. At the same time, they did not liken any of these (divine) attributes
to the attributes of His creation, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning): “There is nothing like unto Him, and He
is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer” [ash-Shoora 42:11]. 

Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan,
25/1 

Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The correct view is to refrain from interpreting the texts in
a way other than the apparent meaning and to affirm the divine attributes
that are mentioned in these texts according to the apparent meanings
indicated in these texts, yet refraining from discussion of their nature,
leaving knowledge thereof to Allah, and also believing that they are not to
be understood in a manner that likens the Lord or any of His attributes to
any of His creation. So we should not liken any of His attributes to those
of any of His creation or interpret them in a way other than the way they
are meant to be understood. End quote. 

Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn Jibreen,
64/41 

Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: 

The view of the salaf is that tafweed applies only to the
nature of the divine attributes, not the meaning. End quote. 

Fataawa ash-Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi,
p. 104                     

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Ahmad said concerning those who promote tafweed: They are
worse than the Jahamis. Tafweed means saying: Only Allah knows what it
means. This is not permissible because the meaning is known to the scholars.
Maalik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Istiwa’ (rising over) is known,
but how it occurred is unknown. This was narrated from Imam Rabee‘ah ibn Abi
‘Abd ar-Rahmaan and from other scholars. The meanings of the divine
attributes are known to and understood by Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah, such
as pleasure, anger, love, rising over, smiling and so on. These are meanings
that are distinct from other meanings. Smiling is something other than
pleasure; pleasure is something other than anger; anger is something other
than love; hearing is something other than seeing. All of them are known to
be attributes of Allah, may He be exalted, but they cannot be likened to the
attributes of created beings. End quote. 

Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb by Ibn
Baaz, p. 65 

He also said: 

Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) and other leading
scholars of the early generations denounced those who promoted tafweed and
regarded them as innovators because what their view implied was that Allah,
may He be exalted, addressed to His slaves something the meaning of which
they could not understand or know what He meant by it. But Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, is far above such a thing and Ahl as-Sunnah
wa’l-Jamaa‘ah know what He, may He be glorified, meant by His words; they
ascribe to Him what is implied by His names and attributes and they declare
Him to be above anything that is not befitting to Him. They know from His
words and from the words of His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) that He has the attribute of absolute perfection in all that He
has told us Himself or that His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) has told us about Him. End quote. 

Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 3/55 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Tafweed is of two types; one has to do with the meaning and
the other has to do with discussing how. 

Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah refrain from discussing how, but
they do not reject the meaning; rather they affirm it and explain it. Anyone
who claims that Ahl as-Sunnah are the ones who promote tafweed in the sense
of saying that only Allah knows the meaning is telling lies about them. End
quote. 

Liqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh. 67/24 

Secondly: 

Some people think that the view of the salaf is tafweed; they
misunderstand that from what the salaf said about the hadeeths which speak
of the divine attributes: “Let them pass as they came without discussing
how.” 

But this is an incorrect understanding; rather the view
narrated from the salaf indicates that they affirmed the divine attributes
according to their meanings, but they stated that they did not know how
those attributes were. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: 

The words of Rabee‘ah and Maalik, “The rising over (istiwa’)
is not unknown, how cannot be comprehended and belief in it is obligatory”,
are in accordance with the words of the others, “Let them pass as they came
without discussing how.” They only stated that it is not possible to know
the nature of the attribute; they did not deny the attribute itself. 

If the scholars had believed in the mere wording, without any
understanding of the meaning in a manner that is befitting to Allah, they
would not have said “The rising over (istiwa’) is not unknown and how cannot
be comprehended”, and they would not have said “Let them pass as they came
without discussing how.” In that case the
rising over would not have been known; rather it would have been unknown. 

Moreover, there would be no need to deny comprehension of the
nature of the attribute if he did not understand any meaning from the
wording; rather there would be a need to deny comprehension of the nature of
the divine attributes when the attributes are affirmed. 

Moreover, the one who denies the divine attributes does not
need to say “without discussing how”. The one who says that Allah is not on
the Throne does not need to say “without discussing how”. Therefore if the
way of the salaf was to deny the divine attributes in end of themselves,
they would not have said “without discussing how”. 

Moreover, their saying “Let them pass as they came without
discussing how” implies acceptance of the apparent meaning of the
attributes. As these words refer to certain meanings, if the meanings
referred to are not what was intended, then they should have said: Let these
words pass whilst believing that what they indicate is not the intended
meaning, or: Let these words pass whilst believing that Allah is not to be
described by what these words indicate. In that case they would not be
allowed to pass as they came, and in that case it would not be said “without
discussing how”, because denying the nature of an attribute that is not
proven is meaningless.

End quote from al-Fataawa al-Hamawiyyah, 5/41 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said
something similar: 

It is well known that the salaf said some things in general
terms and made other statements that were more specific concerning the
verses and hadeeths that speak of the divine attributes. An example of a
general statement is: “Let them pass as they came without discussing how.” 

This was narrated from Makhool, az-Zuhri, Maalik ibn Anas,
Sufyaan ath-Thawri, al-Layth ibn Sa‘d and al-Awzaa‘i. 

This phrase is a refutation of those who denied the divine
attributes (ta‘teel) and those who likened Allah to His creation (tamtheel).
The words “Let them pass as they came” are a refutation of those who denied
the divine attributes, and the words “without discussing how” are a
refutation of those who likened Allah’s attributes to those of His
creation. 

This also indicates that the salaf attributed sound meanings
to the texts which speak of the divine attributes, in a manner that is
befitting to Allah. This is indicated in two ways: 

1.

Their saying “Let them pass as they came”. What is meant is
accepting the meaning indicated by these words. There is no doubt that this
wording affirms the concept in a manner that is befitting to Allah, may He
be exalted. If they did not believe that these words (that speak of the
divine attributes) had a meaning, they would have said: Let this wording
pass and do not discuss its meaning, and the like. 

2.

Their saying: “without discussing how”. It is obvious that
they affirmed the meanings of these words, because if they did not accept
the meanings of these words they would not have needed to say, Do not
discuss how. That which is denied does not exist in the first place, so to
say that we should not discuss how is meaningless. End quote. 

Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen,
4/32 

And Allah knows best.