Ruling on one who misinterprets the attributes of Allah, may He be exalted

Firstly: 

The teaching
of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah with regard to the Tawheed (Oneness) of the
Divine names and attributes is that they believe in what it says in the Book
of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and in that which is proven from
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), without
any misinterpretation(interpreting them in a way other than they appear to
mean) or likening Him to His creation, and without distorting the meaning or
denying the Divine names and attributes. So they ascribe to Allah, may He be
exalted, that which He has ascribed to Himself and that which His Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has ascribed to Him. 

Ibn ‘Abd
al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Ahl as-Sunnah
unanimously agreed on affirming and believing in all the divine attributes
mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and understanding them in a true sense
(as they appear to be), not as being metaphorical. But they do not discuss
how any of them are. As for the innovators, Jahamis and Mu‘tazilah, and the
Khaarijis, all of them deny them and do not understand any of them in a true
sense (as they appear to be).

End quote from
at-Tamheed, 7/145 

Secondly: 

The one who
denies the names and attributes of Allah altogether and does not ascribe
them to Allah, may He be exalted, as is the case with the baatinis (esoteric
sects) and the extreme Jahamis, is a kaafir who is beyond the pale of Islam,
disbelieves in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and goes against the consensus
(ijmaa‘) of the ummah. 

The same
applies to anyone who denies any of the names or attributes of Allah that
Allah, may He be exalted, has affirmed in His Book; he is a disbeliever,
because what is implied by his denial is that he rejects the Qur’an. 

With regard to
the one who misinterprets any of the attributes of Allah and distorts its
meaning, such as those who misinterpret the attribute of the hand as
referring to His power, and they say that istiwa’ (rising over the Throne)
means taking control of it, and so on, he is mistaken in interpreting it in
a manner other than the apparent meaning, and he is an innovator in so far
as what he believes is contrary to the Sunnah, and he has strayed from the
path of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah. But he is not a disbeliever just
because of this misinterpretation, and he may be excused for his efforts to
understand, depending on his level of knowledge and faith. Rather the
measuring stick in that regard is the extent to which he sought to learn
what the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught and the
extent of his keenness to follow him. 

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

It is not
permissible to misinterpret the divine attributes or to understand them in
any way other than their apparent meaning in a manner that is befitting to
Allah, or to say that knowledge of what is meant belongs only to Allah.
Rather all of that comes under the heading of the beliefs of the innovators.
As for Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah, they do not misinterpret the verses and
hadeeths that speak of the divine attributes, and they do not understand
them in a way other than the apparent meaning, and they do not say that
knowledge of what is meant belongs only to Allah. Rather they believe that
every meaning (of these attributes) that may be indicated is true in a
manner that is befitting to Allah, may He be exalted, without likening Him
to His creation.

End quote from
Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 2/106-107 

He was also
asked (may Allah have mercy on him): 

Are the
Ash‘aris among Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah or not? Do we regard them as
being fellow Sunnis or as being disbelievers? 

He replied: 

The Ash‘aris
are among Ahl as-Sunnah with regard to most matters, but they are not among
them with regard to interpretation of the divine attributes, but they are
not disbelievers either. Rather among them are some leading scholars and
good people, but they erred in their interpretation of some of the divine
attributes. 

They differed
from Ahl as-Sunnah in some issues, such as the interpretation of most of the
divine attributes, in which they were mistaken. The view of Ahl as-Sunnah
wa’l-Jamaa‘ah is to accept the verses and hadeeths that speak of the divine
attributes as they came, without interpreting them (in a way other than the
apparent meaning), denying them, distorting the meaning or likening Allah to
His creation.

End quote from
Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 28/256 

Shaykh ‘Abd
al-‘Azeez ar-Raajihi was asked: 

If it is
proven that the Ash‘aris have misinterpreted one of the divine attributes,
are they to be regarded as disbelievers? 

He replied:
No, the one who misinterprets and misunderstands some (of the divine
attributes) is not to be regarded as a disbeliever; the one who denies one
of the names of Allah becomes a disbeliever. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning): “while they disbelieve in the Most
Beneficent (Allah)” [ar-Ra ‘d
13:30].
If he denies one of the names or attributes of Allah without misinterpreting
it, then he becomes a disbeliever. And Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty)
Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)” [Ta-Ha 20:5]. If he denies
this verse, he becomes a disbeliever, but if he misinterprets it as
referring to taking control, then in that case he is confused, therefore we
cannot say that he is a disbeliever. End quote.

www.ar.islamway.net  

For
information on the conditions of labelling a specific individual as a
disbeliever, please see the answer to question no.
107105 

Thirdly: 

The Khaarijis
are one of the misguided sects who have gone beyond the pale of Islam. We
have previously discussed them in detail in the answer to question no.
182237

For more
information, please see also the answers to questions no.
145804 and
151794

And Allah
knows best.