Re: Do Salafis take literal meaning of the Quran?
Shaykh Nuh Keller, does the Arabic word for “Forget” here means erasing something from memory?
1) This ayah is not from one of the Sifaat (attributes) of Allah, how can then one claim that the Salaf made ta’weel of the dhahir meaning of the ayah?
2) The arabic word “nasnsakum” comes from the root verb “nasiya, yansaa”, which can mean “to neglect or deliberately leave and abandon”. So, the word here doesn’t mean to erase something from memory. The disbelievers did not forget Allah Ta’ala because they erased him from their memories. They were simply negligent of their duty towards Him, and likewise, He too would neglect them that day. This is the dhahir that comes to our minds! Hence, the meaning of the ayah is, “Today we abandon them as they have abandoned this Day of theirs”. This is the dhahir meaning of the ayah as it was interpreted by the Salaf!
So this means you're in agreement that "forget" is used with Allah metaphorically. :)
However Allah is not neglectful one, to cut down the argements I'll quote Ibn Kathir:
He said that Allah’s words mean “We will treat them as those who had forgotten them would.” What this means is that Allah deals with them as someone that has forgotten them would treat them. Hence there is no hope of getting out of hell. Because if someone has forgotten someone else, it’s not even on their minds to help them, let alone thinking about considering helping them. This is a powerful way to tell them that they will be eternally left in hell. Ibn kathir also gives a reason for why he explained it the way he did, he said, “because indeed He, the exalted, doesn’t lose anything from His knowledge, nor does He forget it.”