Sifaat/Hands? Is it literal?

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: There is a hadeeth narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in which he forbids saying “May Allaah deform your face”, and says that Allaah created Adam in His image. What is the correct belief with regard to this hadeeth?

He replied:

This hadeeth is proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), in which he said: “If any one of you strikes (another), let him avoid the face, for Allaah created Adam in His image.” According to another version: “In the image of the Most Merciful.” This does not imply resemblance or likeness.

What is meant, according to the scholars, is that Allaah created Adam with the ability to hear and see, and to speak when he wants. These are also attributes of Allaah, for He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and He speaks when He wants, and He has a Face, may He be glorified and exalted.

But it does not mean that there is any resemblance or likeness. Rather the image of Allaah is different from that of created beings. What is meant is that He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and He speaks when He wants, and He created Adam also able to hear and see, with a face and hands and feet. But man’s hearing is not like Allaah’s hearing, his seeing is not like Allaah’s seeing, his speaking is not like Allaah’s speaking. Rather Allaah has attributes that befit His majesty and might, and man has attributes that befit him, attributes that are finite and imperfect, whereas the attributes of Allaah are perfect, with no shortcomings, infinite and without end. Hence Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“There is nothing like Him, and He is the All‑Hearer, the All‑Seer”
[al-Shoora 42:11]

“And there is none co‑equal or comparable unto Him”
[al-Ikhlaas 112:4]
The Prophet’s words, “Adam was created in His image” means that Allaah created Adam in His image, for He has a face, an eye, a hand, and a foot, and Adam had a face, an eye, a hand, and a foot… but that does not mean that these things are exactly the same. There is some similarity, but it is not exactly the same. Similarly the first group to enter Paradise are likened to the moon, but they are not exactly the same. This confirms the view of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah, who say that none of the attributes of Allaah can be likened to the attributes of created beings, without distorting or misinterpreting, or discussing how or likening Him to His creation.

So if you say: what is the Image that belongs to Allaah and in which Adam was created? We say that Allaah has a Face and Eyes and Hands and Feet, but that does not mean that because of these things He resembles man. There may be some similarity but that does not mean that these things are identical, just as the first group of the people of Paradise to enter Paradise are likened to the moon, but that does not mean that they resemble the moon. This confirms the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, that none of the attributes of Allaah can be likened to the attributes of created beings, and they do not misinterpret the Divine attributes or deny them, and they do not liken them to the attributes of human beings.
endquote
The People of the Sunnah and Congregation, the Ahlus–Sunnah wal–Jamā’ah, affirm that God has what He and His Prophet have affirmed in a literal sense, as they affirm all other divine attributes of God, affirming that He, may He be exalted, has two Eyes, two Hands, and two Feet.
But these are not parts of God. These cannot be separated from God.
Correct belief is based upon the Qur’ān and Sunnah, as understood by the Pious Predecessors (Salaf) and the leading scholars.
They were unanimously agreed that the Divine Attributes mentioned in the Qur’ān and Sunnah are to be affirmed, in a literal sense, without likening Him to His Creation,
without denying the reality of any His Attributes, without distorting them, without twisting their meaning, and without discussing “how” – or the modality (kayfiyyah) – of an Attribute.
The meaning of the attribute itself is not relegated to God alone (what is known as tafweedh) – rather, the meaning of the Attribute is affirmed – in a manner befitting His Majesty – whilst we relegate the modality to God. Every authentically transmitted Divine Attribute is affirmed.
We do not differentiate between any of His Attributes, no matter what category they come under.
We deny that anything resembles God, and deny any faults and shortcomings He has denied Himself.
The Prophet conveyed the Qur’an in word and in meaning, and not a single letter was narrated from him to suggest any divine attribute should be interpreted in any way different from its apparent meaning, or that its apparent meaning is not intended, or that it likens Him to His Creation.
The approach of the Salaf is to affirm the Attributes without interpreting them in a way that is different from the apparent meaning, and this proves they are not to be understood in a metaphorical sense.