Point of Clarification: Allegations against the Salafi creed of Tashbeeh(resembling Allah to his creation)

All praise is due to Allah who is the cherisher and sustainer of all creation. The best speech is that of Allah, and the best guidance is that of his messenger SalAllahu Alehi Wasalaam. We ask Allah to bless the Prophet Muhammad SalAllahu Alehi Wasalaam, his family, his companions and those who follow them in righteousness til the day of Yawm Al Qiyamah
As to what follows: Whomever Allah guides no one can lead him astray and whomever it is that Allah allows to go astray, no one can guide him. Verily every innovation is a misguidance and every misguidance leads to hell.
I testify there is no god, worthy of praise except Allah, exalted is he, and Muhammad, SalAllahu Alehi Wasalaam, is his slave and messenger.
To proceed:
This "Point of Clarification" is going to be on the issue of "Comparing Allah to his creation" and how this is a truly horrendeous accusation against the Salafi Muslims. Also I will hope to make it known that Ibn Taymiyyah, May Allah forgive him, was not a "Kaffir". To say he was is an extreme case of "over zealous" Muslims loyal to their "Scholars" who proclaimed him as such. We must first discuss, What can we know about Allah and the Salafi creed concerning the name and attributes of Allah.
****I also must again stress that the Salafiyya are not a sect, but are within the fold of Ahlus Sunnah. They respect the Madhabiyya of the great scholars of fiqh and suggest their madhabs for the new or novice students of Islam. The only thing they have disagreed with in regards to madhabs, is following a madhab's opinion when the sunnah of the Prophet was opposite. This position in accordance to the Scholars own words, "Whatever I say that contradicts the words of the messenger...then reject it" and "When I find a hadith to be sahih then it IS my madhab".  WAllahu Alim.****
WHAT CAN WE KNOW ABOUT ALLAH, THE EXALTED AND MAJESTIC AND HIS ATTRIBUTES?
Most assuredly Allah's essence is unknown to us. We only know that which Allah has revealed in his book, the Quran, or by his Messenger, SalAllahu Alehi Wasalaam. It is actually prohibited, according to the Scholars, to look too deeply into Allah's essence because this leads to sayings about Allah which are not true, and a source of fitnah and misguidance within the Ummah.
Understanding the attributes of Allah must come from the Quran and Sunnah as these are the only two sources we are given to know our lord and the little bit of his nature he described. Shaykh Al Uthaymeen said:
"All that we have mentioned about Allah's attributes, whether briefly or in detail and affirmatively or negatively, is based on the book of our Lord (the Qur'an) and the traditions of our Prophet. It also agrees with the practice of the previous generations of Muslims and the rightly guided scholars who came after them.
We believe it is obligatory to take the texts of the Qur'an and the prophetic traditions conceding Allah's attributes at their face value and to interpret them in a way that is suitable to Almighty Allah. We reject the practice of those who twist the meanings of these texts and understand them in a way that was not intended by Allah and His messenger.
We also reject the practice of those who make them devoid of their meanings as conveyed by Allah and His Messenger. Finally, we reject the approach of those who exaggerate, who gave them a physical interpretation that makes Allah similar to some of His creatures."
It is apparent from the words of the Shaykh that Allah is only knowable from the Quran and Sunnah. This is explained more in his book which is in PDF form: http://abdurrahman.org/faith/muslimsbeliefUthaimeen.html
It is for this reason the Shaykh also mentioned " We reject the practice of those who twist the meanings of these texts and understand them in a way that was not intended by Allah and His messenger". We do not in any way take something Allah has said and twist its wording to befit our own desires. This is the practice of many Muslims today concerning issues of belief, but most assuredly the best interpretation is that which is supported by the Holy Quran and the honorable Sunnah. All else is an innovation.
So it goes without saying, to know Allah one must first know the Quran and the Sunnah.
THE TRANSCENDENCE OF ALLAH ABOVE CREATION
Allah the exalted says,
"and for Allah is the highest attribute. And He is Exalted in Might, the Wise."[16:60]
Allah is above his creation as the lord of all. He sees and hears all and is ever watching over his creation. However many have taken the position that this cannot be so. Such was the way of the Ashar'i and Mutazillah. They take the position that Allah is not "above" his creation but that he, in his essence, is everywhere. The Problem is that, this is a twisting of the daleel Allah has given about his transcendence. Dr Saleh As Saleh, leading student of Al Uthaymeen, has said:
"And make tasbeeh [declaring that Allaah  is far removed above all
imperfection]  of your  Rabb,  the Most High, above everything.  [Qur’aan,
soorat al-A’laa (87:1)].
Others state the  Fawqiyyah  [Allaah being above creation], as in Allaah’s
saying:
( ﻭَ ﻫُ ﻮَ ﺍﻟﻘﺎﻫِﺮُ ﻓﹶ ﻮْ ﻕَ ﻋِ ﺒ ﺎ ﺩِ ﻩِ ) [ ﺍﻷﻧﻌﺎﻡ: ١٨].
And He [Allaah] is al-Qaahir above His slaves. [Qur’aan, soorat al-An’aam (6:18)].
And in His Saying:
(ﻳَ ﺨَ ﺎ ﻓﹸ ﻮ ﻥﹶ ﺭَ ﺑﱠ ﻬُ ﻢْ ﻣِ ﻦْ ﻓﹶ ﻮْ ﻗِ ﻬِ ﻢْ ﻭَﻳَﻔﹾﻌَﻠﹸﻮﻥﹶ ﻣَﺎ ﻳُﺆْﻣَﺮُﻭﻥﹶ) [ﺍﻟﻨﺤﻞ:٥٠ ]
They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are
commanded..[Qur’aan, soorat an-Nahl (16: 50)].
( ﺇِ ﺫﹾ ﻗﹶ ﺎ ﻝﹶ ﺍ ﻟ ﻠﱠ ﻪُ ﻳَﺎ ﻋِﻴﺴَﻰ ﺇِﻧﱢﻲ ﻣُﺘَﻮَﻓﱢﻴﻚَ ﻭَ ﺭَ ﺍ ﻓِ ﻌُ ﻚَ ﺇِ ﻟﹶ ﻲﱠ ﻭَ ﻣُ ﻄﹶ ﻬﱢ ﺮُ ﻙَ ﻣِ ﻦَ ﺍﻟﱠﺬِﻳﻦَ ﻛﹶ ﻔﹶ ﺮُ ﻭ ﺍ ﻭَ ﺟَ ﺎ ﻋِ ﻞﹸ ﺍﻟﱠﺬِﻳﻦَ ﺍ ﺗﱠ ﺒَ ﻌُ ﻮ ﻙَ ﻓﹶ ﻮْ ﻕَ ﺍﻟﱠﺬِﻳﻦَ ﻛﹶ ﻔﹶ ﺮُ ﻭ ﺍ
ﺇِﻟﹶﻰ ﻳَ ﻮْ ﻡِ ﺍﻟﹾﻘِﻴَﺎﻣَﺔ ) [ﺁﻝ ﻋﻤﺮﺍﻥ:٥٥]
And (remember) when Allaah said: O `Eesa (Jesus)! I will take you and
raise you to Myself and clear you (of the forged statement that ‘Eesa
(Jesus) is Allaah's son) of those who disbelieve, and I will make those
who follow you (Monotheists, who worship none but Allaah) superior to
those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allaah, or disbelieve in some of
His Messengers, e.g. Muhammad r ‘Eesa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), etc., or
in His Holy Books, e.g. the Taurât (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), the
Qur'aan) till the Day of Resurrection. [Qur’aan, soorat aal-‘Imraaan (3:55)].
Allaah’s Saying:  ﱄﱠ ﺇ ﻭﺭﺍﻓﻌﻚ indicates that the one to whom ‘Eesa is being
raised is qualified with the Attribute of  ‘uluw (Transcendence). Shaykh bin
‘Uthaymeen (ﺍﷲ ﺭﲪﻪ) commented: if someone says that what is intended here is that Allaah is raising him in rank, then our response is: “This is incorrect,
because the raising here has been followed with the letter  ﻙ kaaf which is
specific to the process of raising, raising the body (of ‘Eesa), not the raising
of his rank.  So, this is a proof for the Allaah’s Transcendence of alFawqiyyah (being above creation).
Some aayaat (verses) mention the su’ood (ascent) of things up to Him U:
( ﺇ ﻟ ﻴ ﻪِ ﻳَ ﺼ ﻌَ ﺪُ ﺍ ﻟ ﻜﹶ ﻠِ ﻢُ ﺍ ﻟ ﻄﱠ ﻴﱢ ﺐُ ﻭ ﺍ ﻟ ﻌَ ﻤَ ﻞﹸ ﺍﻟﺼﺎﻟِﺢُ ﻳ ﺮ ﻓﹶ ﻌُ ﻪُ ) [ﻓﺎﻃﺮ:١٠].
To Him ascend [all] the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it
[the goodly words, i.e. the goodly words are not accepted by Allaah unless
and until they are followed by good deeds]. [Qur’aan, soorat Faatir (35:10)].
( ﺗَ ﻌ ﺮُ ﺝُ ﺍ ﳌ ﻼ ﺋِ ﻜﹶ ﺔﹸ ﻭﺍﻟﺮﱡﻭﺡ ﺇﻟﻴﻪ ) [ﺍﳌﻌﺎﺭﺝ:٤].
The angels and the rooh [Jibreel u] ascend to Him.
[Qur’aan, soorat al-Ma’aarij (70:4)].
Sometimes the Qur’aan mentions the descent of things from Him I:
(ﻳُ ﺪَ ﺑﱢ ﺮُ ﺍ ﻷَ ﻣْ ﺮَ ﻣِ ﻦَ ﺍ ﻟ ﺴﱠ ﻤَ ﺎ ﺀِ ﺇﱃ ﺍ ﻷَ ﺭ ﺽِ ) [ﺍﻟﺴﺠﺪﺓ:٥].
He [Allaah] arranges [every] affair from the heavens to the earth.
[Qur’aan, soorat as-Sajdah (32:5)].
( ﺇﻧﱠﺎ ﻧَ ﺤْ ﻦُ ﻧَ ﺰﱠ ﻟﹾ ﻨَﺎ ﺍ ﻟ ﺬﱢ ﻛﹾ ﺮَ ) [ﺍﳊﺠﺮ:٩].
Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the thikr [i.e. the Qur’aan].
[Qur’aan, soorat al-Hijr (15:9)].
In the Qur’aan there is also the affirmation that Allaah  I is above the
heavens:
(ﺀﺃﻣِﻨْﺘُﻢ ﻣَﻦ ﰲ ﺍ ﻟ ﺴﱠ ﻤَ ﺎ ﺀِ ﺃﻥ ﻳَ ﺨْ ﺴِ ﻒَ ﺑِ ﻜﹸﻢُ ﺍ ﻷ ﺭْ ﺽَ ) [ﺍﳌﹸﻠﻚ:١٦].
Do you feel secure that He, who is above the heaven [Allaah], will not
cause the earth to sink.  [Qur’aan, soorat al-Mulk (67:16)].
In addition to the above  aayaat, there are many other references in the
Qur’aan which affirm the ‘uluw of Allaah.  (2) Similarly the  sunnah  affirms Allaah’s  ‘uluw in His Essence by way of
saying, action, and approval. The affirmation in the saying is as in the
statement of the Prophet:
" ﺭَﺑﱠﻨَﺎ ﺍ ﻟ ﻠﱠ ﻪُ ﺍﻟﱠﺬِﻱ ﻓِﻲ ﺍﻟﺴﱠﻤَﺎﺀ". [ﺭﻭﺍﻩ ﺃﺑﻮ ﺩﺍﻭﺩ].
“Our Rabb is Allaah Who is above the heaven...”
And in his action as when he  pointed towards the heavens when he said:
“O! Allaah be witness [saying it thrice],” before the greatest assembly of Muslims
then.
As to his approval, the Prophet asked a slave girl: "Where is Allaah?" She
replied: “Above the heavens.” He then ordered her master, “Grant her freedom,
because she is a believer.” So, this slave girl knows that her Rabb (Allaah) is
above the heavens while the misguided  of the children of Adam deny that
Allaah is above the heavens and say that he is neither above the world nor
below it, nor to the left or to the right! or that they say He is everywhere!!
The prophet  not only accepted her answer, but also affirmed that she is a
believer based upon her correct response. "
The Quran and Sunnah's explanation on the subject are only in a way that befits the Majesty of Allah. It is concluded that when Allah says he has established himself on the throne, He has done so in a way that befits his glory and majesty.
ALLAH'S ATTRIBUTES ARE NOT LIKE OURS, AND THUSLY,  NO COMPARISON CAN BE MADE BETWEEN THE CREATOR AND HIS CREATION
It has been established by Shaykh Al Uthaymeen's comments that it is forbidden to draw a comparison between Allah and his companions. That which Allah describes himself with is different from that which is in the creation.
The committee of senior scholars stated:
"Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah (those adhering to the Sunnah and the Muslim main body) believe in these Attributes and confirm their indications without Tashbih (comparison) or Tamthil (likening Allah’s Attributes to those of His Creation). Allah (may He be Exalted) says:(Surah Al-Shura, 42: 11) There is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer."
source:http://abdurrahmanorg.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/allah-is-not-imageless/
Allah, the exalted, states again in his book concerning this matter:
"Nor is there to Him any equivalent."[112: 4]
Therefore it is obligatory for the Muslim to reject Tashbih or Tamthil within his heart, in his speech and within his actions. Reflect, Ya Muslim, on the saying of Allah to Iblis:
Allah] said, "O Iblees, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty?"[38:75]
So Allah has affirmed for himself hands but this does not mean his hands are like that of our hands as Allah has said "There is none like unto him". The following are the saying of some scholars, both classical and contemporary, concerning this topic:
Imam Malik:
"Allah's rising over the throne is known, and how is unknown, to have faith in it is obligatory and to question it is an innovation ". Then he said to the questioner: "I do not think except that you are an evil man". So he ordered him to be expelled

Abu Hanifa:
God knows, but not as we know; He has power, but not as we have power; He sees, but not as we see; He hears, but not as we hear; and He speaks, but not as we speak. We speak by means of the speech organs and sounds, whereas God Most High speaks with neither organs nor sounds. Sounds are created, and the word of God Most High is uncreated. He is a thing, but unlike other things; by saying "thing," we intend merely to affirm His reality. He has neither body nor substance, neither accidental property nor limit, neither opposite nor like nor similitude. He has a hand, a face, and a self (nafs); the mention that God most High has made of these in the Qur'an has the sense that these are among His attributes, and no question can be raised concerning their modality (bila kayf). It cannot be said that His hand represents His power or His bestowal of bounty, because such an interpretation would require a negation of an attribute. This is the path taken by the Qadarites and the Mu'tazilites Rather, His hand is an attribute, of unknowable modality, in the same way that His anger and pleasure are two attributes of unknowable modality God Most High created things out of nothing, and He had knowledge of them in pre-eternity, before their creation.

Salih al-Fawzaan:
The meaning of (...Takyeef...) is to specify the exact nature and reality of the established meaning of the attribute. It is said: He gave something a shape or form (kayyafa) when he made for it a known quality. Committing takyeef with Allaah's attributes is to specify their precise nature, state or condition and their form or shape. This is impossible for mankind since the knowledge of this is amongst that knowledge which Allaah has kept to Himself. Therefore, there is no way of knowing the precise nature of His attributes because the attribute follows the Self (dhaat). Just as it is not possible for a person to know the exact nature of the Self of Allaah, it is likewise impossible to know the exact nature of His attributes. Their exact nature is not known. This is why when Imaam Maalik was asked about the verse:
Ar-Rahmaan has ascended (istawaa) the Throne [Taahaa 20:5]
How is the ascending (istawaa)? He replied: "The ascending is known, its reality is unknown, having eemaan in it is obligatory and asking about it is an innovation."

And this is said with respect to all of Allaah's attributes.
The meaning of (...Tamtheel...) is resemblance (tashbeeh) and it is committed when it is said that Allaah's attributes are like the attributes of the creation. For example, it might be said: The hand of Allaah is like our hands and His hearing is like our hearing. High is Allaah above such things. Allaah said:

There is nothing like Him and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing [Shooraa 42:11]
Therefore, it cannot be said that His attributes are like our attributes or that they resemble our attributes just like it cannot be said that the Self of Allaah is like our selves or that it resembles our selves.

Imaam at-Tirmidhee
"It has been stated by more than one person from the People of Knowledge about such ahaadeeth, that there is no tashbeeh (resemblance) to the Attributes of Allaah, and our Lord - the Blessed and Most High - descends to the lowest heaven every night. So they say: "Affirm these narrations, have eemaan (faith) in them, do not deny them, nor ask how." The likes of this has been related from Maalik ibn Anas, Sufyaan ath-Thawree, Ibn Uyainah and Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak, who all said about such ahaadeeth: "Leave them as they are, without asking how." Such is the saying of the People of Knowledge from the Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah. However, the Jahmiyyah oppose these narrations and say: This is tashbeeh! However, Allaah the Most High, has mentioned in various places in His Book, the Attribute of al-Yad (Hand), as-Sama' (Hearing), and al-Basr (Seeing) - but the Jahmiyyah make ta'weel of these aayaat, explaining them in a way, other than how they are explained by the People of Knowledge. They say: Indeed, Allaah did not create Aadam with His own Hand - they say that Hand means the Power of Allaah."
source: http://muslim-responses.com/Attributes_of_God/Attributes_of_God_
SO THEN DID IBN TAYMIYYAH MAKE TASHBIH UPON OUR LORD? DO THE SALAFIYYA DO THE SAME?
I would hope by now it would be clear to my brothers and sisters that the Salafiyya do not make Tashbih upon Allah. Rather the Scholars are upon the staunchest in opposing such an ideology. Then what of the Allegations against Ibn Taymiyyah and this unwarranted Kaffir upon our Shaykhul Islam?
"They (Ahlus-Sunnah) do not make resemblance between His Attributes and the attributes of the creation, because for Him, Glorfied is He, there is no comparison, nor equal, nor partner, and there is no analogy for Him with His creation." (al-'Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah 1/p.127 with the commentary of ibn al-Uthaymeen)"
This quote alone refutes the accusation against Shaykul Islam. If we must further elaborate then we will use the quote in which many of the Ashari', sufi, and Shia, use to make Takfeer upon him.
"In his infamous 'Aqida wasitiyya, Ibn Taymiyya establishes a clear-cut case of tamthil or similitude for Allah and His attributes by comparing Him to the moon in his interpretation of the verse 57: 4: 'He is with you wherever you are' (Ibn Taymiyyah says): 'The phrase 'and He is with you' does not mean that He blends into creation... Nay the moon... one of the smallest of Allah's creations, is both placed in the heaven (mawdu'un fi al-samaa') and present with the traveller and the non-traveller wherever they may be. And the Exalted is above (fawq) the Throne, as a watchful guardian of His creatures and their protector Who is cognizant of them.' (Kabbani continues):... we all know that none of the Ahl al-Sunna ever compared Allah to the moon, or Allah's knowledge to the moon's rays. Exalted is Allah high above the fancies of those who give such examples for Him. Yet we find today the same type of aberration still passing for Islamic education, in books such as Ibn al-'Uthaymin's Sharh al 'aqida al-wasitiya, which we will address in a few pages, and where the author, dissatisfied with Ibn Taymiyya's moon, turns to comparing Allah to the sun instead."
(Kabbani, Islamic Beliefs and Doctrine According to Ahl al-Sunna, p. 98, 1997)
Kabbani alledges that the example Ibn Tayimiyyah gave was Tashbih which is clearly an unwarranted assertion of the Shaykh's intention and meaning. If those such as Kabbani wished to make Takfeer upon Ibn Tayimiyyah based on that statement then look at the words of our Prophet SalAllahu alehi Wasalaam:
Jareer ibn 'Abdullah reports: We were with the Prophet and he looked at the (full) moon and said:Certainly you will see your Lord as you see this moon and you will have no trouble in seeing Him... (Al-Bukhaaree)
Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree relates:
We said: O Allaah's Messenger! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection? He said: Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun and the moon when the sky is clear? We said: No. He said: So you will have no difficulty in seeing your Lord on that Day as you have no difficulty in seeing the sun and the moon. (Al-Bukhaaree)
Abu Hurayrah relates:
They (the Companions of the Prophet) said: O Messenger of Allaah, will we be able to see our Lord on the Day of Judgement? He replied: Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun at noon when there is no cloud over it? They said: No. He again said: Do you have any difficulty in seeing the moon on the fourteenth night when there is no cloud over it? They said: No. Thereupon he said: By Allaah Who is the One in Whose Hand is my life, you will not face any more difficulty in seeing your Lord than you face in seeing one of them. (Muslim)
It is an amazing thing that the Prophet can say "you will see your lord as you see the moon" yet no one dares question these Ahadith? It shows the amount of ignorance and hatred some of our brothers and sisters have inherited from their so called, "Scholars".  To claim that Ibn Taymiyyah and essentially the Salafiyya in general, are guilty of Kufr by anthropromorphism is a weak claim and a laughable one at that when it is the Salafiyya who agree and have made clear that Tashbih is FORBIDDEN and an act of Kufr.
To conclude. These allegations and arguments used by the oppossers of the Salafi creed are baseless. A clock has "hands" and I too have hands but this does not mean my hand is the same as the clock! Rather they fall under the general term "hand" but it does not mean we must now compare the human hand to the hand of a clock. It would be best for these allegations to cease and that we all study more before accusing those who came before us of major kufr, without barely understanding the basics of aqeedah. Allah knows best.
All knowledge is with Allah the exalted, and whatever I say that is beneficial and truthful is from him and that which I say which maybe wrong, then it is from my own misguidance, ego, and the whispers of Shaytaan.
Assalaamu alaykum