Question: Are the verses that mention Allaah’s Attributes from the verses that are unclear (Mutashaabihaat) or clear (Muhkamaat)?

Answer: They fall under the unclear verses from one perspective, and that is with regard to the manner (of the Attributes), which are related to Allaah. And they do not fall under the unclear verses from any other perspective. This is such that they have clear meanings , i.e. they have meanings that are well known in the Arabic language.

So therefore, with regard to the manner of how the Attributes of Allaah are, they are unclear (Mutashaabihaat), since we are not able to know the manner of Allaah’s Dhaat (Essence). Hence, because of that, we are not able to know the manner of Allaah’s Attributes, since speaking about the Attributes falls under speaking about the Essence (Dhaat). This is why some of the scholars of hadeeth, such as Abu Bakr Al-Khateeb, said: “What is said concerning the Attributes is the same thing as what is said concerning the Essence: negating and affirming.”

So just as we affirm Allaah’s Essence and we do not negate it – for this negation would be an absolute denial (of Allaah’s existence) – then the same applies for Allaah’s Attributes. We affirm them and we don’t negate (deny) them. But just as we do not describe how Allaah’s Essence is, then likewise, we do not describe how His Attributes are. [Al-Asaalah, Issue #3]

Shaykh Naasir al-Deen al-Albaanee
taken from ‘The Fataawaa of Shaikh Al-Albaanee’ which can be downloaded from this link http://AhlalHadeeth.wordpress.com/books/fataawaa/