Everything shall perish except for His Face

Benefits from al-’Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah

In the name of Allah, and all praise belongs to Allah.

May salutation and blessing also be bestowed upon the Messenger of Allah.

Book : al-’Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah
Teacher: Shaikh Khaalid ibn Muhammad al-Qahtaanee

On the 1st of Jumaadaa al-Oolaa of the year 1433 coinciding with the 24th of March of the year 2012, we benefited the following from the esteemed Shaikh  Khaalid ibn Muhammad al-Qahtaanee, may Allah preserve him:


Shaikhul Islaam Abul ‘Abbaas Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah (d.728), may Allah bestow mercy upon him, states,

“Allah, the Exalted, has stated,

‘Everything shall perish except for His Face.’”

Soorah al-Qasas (28):88

This verse affirms the Face of Allah as one of His attributes, and it is from among the Sifaat adh-Dhaatiyyah (Attributes of His Essence).

So it is possible to categorize the attributes of Allah into two or three categories:

1) Dhaatiyyah (His Essence), and they are that which are never separate from His Essence such as His Face, Hands, and Eyes.

2) Fi’liyyah (His Actions), and they are connected to the Will of Allah such as His Ascension, Pleasure, Anger, and Coming. He enacts these attributes whenever He wills and however He wills.

3) It is possible to say the third is that which joins between the first two categories such as His Speech.

The meaning of the verse is that everything in existence will perish except for that which Allah has willed.

Our Lord has excluded eight things among the creation from perishing:

The Throne
The Footstool
Paradise
Hell
The Tailbone of the Human Being
The Souls
The Preserved Tablet
The Pen
A remarkable benefit extracted from this verse is the fact that what is sought seeking Allah’s Face will never perish…ever!

We ask Allah, al-Quddoos (The Holy), that He grants us the highest level of Ikhlaas (sincerity) accepting all of our righteous deeds multiplying them and that he alters all of our bad deeds changing them into good deeds forgiving us for them.

Abu Rayhaanah Aqil ibn Kenneth Ingram
The Names and Attributes of Allaah