What is the meaning of "how Allah hears and how Allah sees"? And does not knowing the "how" mean that what we humans see and hear is not like what Allah Almighty sees and hears, or is the "how" something else?
Allah is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. His hearing encompasses all sounds and His sight all creations. Not an atom's weight escapes Him, and He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the breasts conceal. We believe in Allah's attributes and names, but we do not know the how of His hearing and sight, nor the how of His essence or other attributes, due to His saying, the Most High: "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." (Surat Ash-Shura 42:11). Asking "how" (Takyif) is a form of anthropomorphism. Imam Ishaq ibn Rahawayh held that anthropomorphism is saying "a hand like a hand," whereas affirming what Allah has said about Himself without asking "how" is not anthropomorphism. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "He who does not know the how of Allah's essence does not know the how of His attributes." Sheikh Ibn Uthaymin mentioned that Allah and His Messenger did not inform us of the how of these attributes. Therefore, it is not possible to determine the how of Allah's attributes, and it is not permissible to ask about the how, because asking about it is ruinous and a form of extremism. We are not to delve into the unseen about which Allah has not informed us of its reality, especially concerning His essence, names, and attributes.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/2047