Why do we not adhere to what the Salaf said regarding the divine attributes, that their interpretation is merely to read them, without affirming or denying attributes such as the Hand, and that al-istiwa' (establishment) means highness and elevation, and to suffice with reading the verse and interpreting the general meaning without dwelling on ambiguous words like al-istiwa', the Hand, and the Shin? Is this safer and a true following of the Salaf?

The intent of the Salaf regarding the interpretation of the خبرية (khabariyyah) descriptive attributes is that reading them is not a negation of their meaning. Rather, their meaning is clear enough to be understood by reading and comprehending them according to linguistic dictates, while believing that they do not resemble human attributes. As for the doctrine of تفويض المعاني (tafwid al-ma'ani – delegating the meanings), which denies the affirmation of the meaning and delegates the knowledge of it to God, it is an innovation that emerged after the preferred generations (al-qurun al-mufaddalah). The Salaf affirm the meanings of the attributes mentioned in the texts and delegate the كيفيّة (kayfiyyah – modality/how) to God's knowledge.

Categories of people regarding the texts of the divine attributes: 1. The Salaf: They interpreted the texts according to their apparent meaning, befitting Allah, without distortion (تحريف), negation (تعطيل), anthropomorphizing (تكييف), or likening (تمثيل). 2. The Mumaththilah (Anthropomorphists): They interpreted the texts according to their apparent meaning but made them of the same kind as the attributes of creation. 3. Ahl al-Ta'til (Negators): They interpreted the texts contrary to their apparent meaning and distorted them. 4. Ahl al-Tajhil (The Ignorants/Mufawwidah - Delegators): They delegated the knowledge of their meanings solely to Allah. 5. The Undecided: They said it was permissible to affirm an attribute befitting Allah or not. 6. The Averse: They confined themselves to reading the texts without delving into them.