Approach of the Ahlus Sunnah on the Ambiguous Attributes of Allah
Allah does not have a body and the attributes he has mentioned such as ‘hand’, ‘face’, ‘shin’, etc are not taken on human terms, as Allah has said in the Quran, “There is none similar to Him”. (Shura 42:11) The verses mentioning them are also considered to be “mutashabihat” (ambiguous/unclear) verses.
“He is the One who has revealed to you the Book (the Qur’ān). Out of it there are verses that are Muhkamāt (of established meaning), which are the principal verses of the Book, and some others are Mutashābihāt (whose definite meanings are unknown). Now those who have perversity in their hearts go after such part of it as is mutashābih, seeking (to create) discord, and searching for its interpretation (that meets their desires), while no one knows its interpretation except Allah; and those well-grounded in knowledge say: “We believe therein; all is from our Lord.” Only the men of understanding observe the advice.” (Aali-Imran 3:7)
The First Point - Tasdiq (Affirmation)
Every believer is obligated to affirm and believe in what Allah has revealed without question.
Those well-grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in it, for all of it is from our Lord.” (3:7)
The Second Point - Tafwidh (Consignment)
The correct approach to the ambiguous attributes is to leave their realities to Allah, affirm it as Allah intended and to pass on through these verses without going into the details. The details of these are known only to Allah. This is the approach of tafwidh taken by the salaf, and Imam Malik famously regarded a person who seeks the details of these verses to be an innovator. (read further for the narration)
The Third Point - Tanzih (Transcendence)
Now that we have discussed above that the best course to take is to consign the meanings of these verses to Allah without contemplating about their reality, we must understand that Allah is in no way similar to his creation and he is free from being a substance and a body. That is, we must make tanzih which means that we declare Allah to be transcendent from resembling the creation in any way (denying tashbih).
ليس كمثله شيء “There is none similar to Him” (Shura 42:11) ولم يكن له كفوا أحد “And there is none comparable to Him” (Ikhlas 112:4)
As for the translatability of these unclear terms such as ‘yad’. Imam Abu Hanifah (RH) discouraged translating the term ‘yad’ into Persian (non-Arabic language) as ‘dast-e-khuda’ (hand of God). This is expressed in his Al-Fiqh al-Akbar:
وكل شَيْء ذكره الْعلمَاء بِالْفَارِسِيَّةِ من صِفَات الله عز اسْمه فَجَائِز القَوْل بِهِ سوى الْيَد بِالْفَارِسِيَّةِ وَيجوز أن يُقَال "بروىء خد" أَي عز وَجل بِلَا تَشْبِيه وَلَا كَيْفيَّة It is permissible to express all the attributes of Allah Most High that the scholars have expressed in Persian, with the exception of hand in Persian. It is permissible to say ru’e khuda (the Countenance of God) Most Mighty and Majestic without any comparison or modality.
This was to avoid any anthropomorphic ideas from developing in the minds of the common people. Al-Maghnisawi in his sharh (commentary) explains this deeper:
“It is permissible to express all the attributes of Allah Most High that the scholars have expressed in Persian, that is, in any language other than Arabic. Likewise, it is permissible to express all other terms the scholars have expressed in other languages concerning the names of Allah Most High. Hence, it is permissible to say khuday ta'ala tawanast (God Most High is the All-powerful) with the exception of hand in Persian, that is, in non-Arabic. Hence, it is not permissible to say daste khuda (the Hand of God) [in Persian]. It is permissible to say ru’e khuda (the Countenance of God) Most Mighty and Majestic without any comparison or modality.”
Mulla Ali al-Qari (RH) states in his sharh:
“What is understood from this is that it is permissible for the scholars [of other languages] and others to express the attributes of Allah [in those languages] by mentioning, for instance, the hand (yad) according to the way they have been revealed [in the texts, while specifically avoiding anthropomorphic interpretation or insinuation].”
The Fourth Point
This is an extension of the third point on tanzih. We must know that the question ‘how’ (kayf) describing modality does not apply to Allah as He is transcendent and independent from needing such. Therefore, we must make nafy (denial) of any kayfiyyah for Allah. A narration from Imam Malik:
قال البيهقي: أخبرنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ أحمد بن محمد بن إسماعيل بن مهران، ثنا أبي حدّثنا أبو الربيع بن أخي رشدين ابن سعد قال: سمعت عبد الله بن وهب يقول: كنا عند مالك بن أنس فدخل رجل فقال: يا أبا عبدالله الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى العَرْشِ اسْتَوَى كيف استواؤه؟، قال: فأطرق مالك وأخذته الرحضاء ، ثم رفع رأسه فقال: (( الرحمن على العرش استوى كما وصف نفسه، ولا يقال كيف، وكيف عنه مرفوع، وأنت رجل سوء صاحب بدعة أخرجوه، قال: فأُخرج From Ibn Wahb: “We were with Malik when a man asked him: ‘O Abu `Abd Allah! “al-Rahman ‘ala al-‘arshi stawa” (20:5): how is His istiwa?’ Malik lowered his head and began to sweat profusely. Then he lifted up his head and said: ‘”al-Rahman ‘ala ‘arshi stawa” just as He described Himself. One cannot ask “how.” “How” is raised from him (does not apply to Him). And you are an evil man, a man of innovation. Take him out!’ The man was led out.” (Narrated by al-Bayhaqi with a sound chain in al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (2:304-305 #866), al-Dhahabi in the Siyar (7:416), and Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (1959 ed. 13:406-407; 1989 ed. 13:501).)
The Fifth Point - Ta’wil (Interpretation)
Sometimes, a possible ta’wil (interpretation) of the ambiguous attributes are mentioned by the scholarly exegetes. As we will discuss in relation to the saq (shin), the companion Ibn Abbas (RA) and many other mufassirin (exegetes) of the ummah have made a general (ijmali) ta’wil of the attributes while avoiding anthropomorphism. However, it should be borne in mind that the absolute meaning is known only to Allah, and the ta’wil mentioned by the exegetes is only a possible interpretation without a certainty and should not be taken in an absolute sense.
Jazakumullah khayr
