The divine attribute of the Eye and affirming that Allah possesses this attribute
Question

I was talking with my friend about the etiquette of debate, and saying that if you advise me in front of a group, then you have shamed me, but if you advise me in front of six eyes, then you have been sincere in your advice to me. He said to me: What do you mean by six eyes? I said to him: As for the four eyes, they are my two eyes and your two eyes. As for the other two eyes, they are the two eyes of ar-Rahman (the Most Gracious), which are real, because He, may He be glorified, has two real eyes, without likening them to anything, discussing how they are, denying them, interpreting them in a manner other than the apparent meaning, or distorting the meaning. Allah sees me with His two eyes that are real. And I quoted as evidence the verse in which Allah, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{There are not three in a private conversation but that He is the fourth of them, nor are there five but that He is the sixth of them - and no less than that and no more except that He is with them [in knowledge] wherever they are…} [Al-Mujadilah 58:7].
Is what I did sound? I am one of Ahl as-Sunnah, praise be to Allah, may He be exalted. But before speaking, I ask the scholars, because I am very afraid that there may be something in which I go against the way of Ahl as-Sunnah.
Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
Ahl as-Sunnah affirm the divine attribute of the Eye; in their view, it is an attribute of His Essence that is known from the religious texts and is affirmed for Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, on the basis of the Quran and Sunnah. Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah believe that Allah sees with His eyes, and they believe that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has two eyes in a manner that is befitting to Him. {There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing} [Ash-Shura 42:11].
The evidence for that from the Quran:
-1-
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{And construct the ship under Our watchful eyes and Our inspiration} [Hud 11:37].
-2-
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{And I bestowed upon you love from Me that you would be brought up under My eye} [Ta-Ha 20:39].
-3-
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{Be patient with your Lord’s decree [O Muhammad], for verily you are under Our watchful eyes} [at-Tur 52:48].
Evidence from the Sunnah:
-1-
Abu Dawud (13/37) narrated from ‘Awn with a hasan isnad from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) recited this verse (interpretation of the meaning): {Indeed, Allah is ever Hearing and Seeing} [an-Nisa’ 4:58], and he placed his thumb on his ear and his forefinger over his eyes.
-2-
It was narrated that ‘Abdullah said: Mention was made of the Dajjal in the presence of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and he said: “Allah is not unknown to you. Indeed Allah is not one-eyed” – and he pointed to his eye – “but the false messiah the Dajjal is one-eyed and cannot see out of his right eye; his eye is like a floating grape.” Narrated by al-Bukhari (7407).
Ibn Khuzaymah said in Kitab at-Tawhid (1/97), after quoting a number of verses: It is obligatory for every believer to affirm for his Creator and Maker what the Creator and Maker affirmed for Himself of eyes. He is not a true believer who denies for Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, what He has affirmed for Himself in a clear text and was explained by the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), to whom Allah gave the task of explaining His words, as He said (interpretation of the meaning):
{And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them} [An-Nahl 16:44].
So the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explained that Allah has two eyes, and his explanation was in accordance with the revealed text, which you find in the pages of the Mushaf and it is recited by the imams in prayer and is taught to children in the schools.
And he said (1/114): We say: Our Lord the Creator has two eyes with which He sees whatever lies beneath the ground, whatever lies beneath the lowest, seventh earth, and whatever is in the highest heavens… End quote.
Al-Lalka’i included a chapter in Usul al-I‘tiqad (412) with the title: Texts from the Book of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and the Sunnah of His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) which indicate that the attributes of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, include the Face, the two Eyes and the two Hands. End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Ghunayman said in Sharh Kitab at-Tawhid min Sahih al-Bukhari (1/285): The words “Allah is not one-eyed”: this phrase is where the evidence regarding this matter is to be found in this hadith. This indicates that Allah has two real eyes, because the one who is one-eyed is lacking one of the two eyes, or has lost vision in one eye. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said in ‘Aqidat Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah (p. 12): Ahl as-Sunnah are unanimously agreed that the divine eyes are two, and that is supported by what the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said about the Dajjal: “He is one-eyed and your Lord is not one-eyed.” End quote.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) gave a lengthy answer about this attribute, in which he affirmed that Allah has two eyes, in Majmu‘ al-Fatawa (3/41-50).
See also what al-Baghawi said about His Fingers and what Ibn Kathir said about His hearing.
End quote from Sifat Allah by Shaykh ‘Alawi as-Saqqaf (260-262).
See also the answer to question no. 145166 .
Secondly:
What we think is that the way you spoke to your friend was too complicated and there was no need for it.
Yes, we affirm the divine attribute of the eye in a manner that befits the divine attribute of His Face, and we also say that He has two eyes, not one eye, and we would not refrain from pointing out that they are two, because the text is clear about that, as explained above. More than one of the scholars narrated that there is consensus among Ahl as-Sunnah on affirming that they are two eyes.
The impact of that on the individual’s behaviour and attitude is that he will strive hard not to let Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, see him where He forbade him to be, and to let Him see him where He commanded him to be; he will strive to do what Allah likes to see him do and will be wary of doing anything that will deprive him of Allah, the Most Generous, looking at him and will deprive him of that blessing.
But mentioning that in the plural form including your two eyes, the two eyes of your friend and the two eyes of the Most Gracious, may He be glorified and exalted, is unnecessary and silly. It is as if you wanted to say something weird, as is quite clear, since your friend needed to ask you about these six and you needed to explain that to him, then you had to follow that by mentioning how Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah understand the divine attributes. All of that is unnecessary; rather it would have been sufficient for you to remind him of the etiquette of offering advice, and the difference between that and shaming someone or exposing his faults, in accordance with what the scholars have said about the matter, with no need for any of the things you mentioned.
Therefore, we advise you not to do that or anything similar to it, and not to complicate straightforward matters. You should limit yourself to that which is clear and used by the scholars, and what was transmitted from the righteous predecessors (as-salaf as-salih); we did not see any of that in what you said.
And Allah knows best.