Although the issue of the names and attributes of Allah Almighty and the differences between the Ahl-as-Sunnah and the Jahmiyyah has been explained in detail previously, in this section, we aim to address some of the attributes that have been most disputed. These attributes require further elaboration and explanation, which we will attempt to provide for each one separately and in detail below.
This part of our research is focused on proving the attributes of the hand, face, and soul for Allah Almighty. The key questions are whether these attributes are fixed for Allah Almighty, if they should be interpreted and justified, or whether they are a reflection of reality whose quality and nature are left to Allah Almighty, or whether these attributes are completely denied for Allah Almighty. There are two views on this matter:
The Jahmiyyah Viewpoint
The Jahmiyyah have denied the attribute of the face for Allah Almighty and have also rejected hearing, seeing, and having eyes as attributes of Allah Almighty. They align with the Christians in this regard, as the Christians have similarly not affirmed the attributes of hearing and seeing for Allah Almighty.
The Jahmiyyah group has denied the attribute of the face and has also denied the attribute of the hand for Allah Almighty.
Imam Abu Isa Tirmidhi (MABH) writes under the hadith: «إن الله یقبل الصدقة بیمینه فیربیها» Translation: “Indeed, Allah accepts charity with His right hand and nurtures it.”
It is narrated from Malik, Sufyan bin Uyaynah, and Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allah bless them) that they say regarding these hadiths: “Accept these narrations for their truth without stating their nature, and this is the view of Ahl-as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’at; but the Jahmiyyah have denied these narrations, claiming they are metaphorical. Allah Almighty has mentioned the attributes of “hand, hearing, and sight” for Himself in several places in the Quran; however, the Jahmiyyah have interpreted these verses differently from the interpretations of the commentators. They assert that Allah Almighty did not create Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) with His hand, asserting that the meaning of “hand” here is power and strength.
The View of Ahl-as-Sunnah wa-al Jammah
Imam Abu Hanifa (MABH) states: «وله ید ووجه ونفس، فما ذکر الله في القرآن من ذکر الوجه والید والنفس فهو له صفات بلا کیف، ولا یقال إن یده قدرته أو نعمته لأن فیه إبطال الصفة» Translation: “Allah Almighty has a hand, a face, and a soul. The face, hand, and soul mentioned in the Quran are attributes of Allah Almighty without any qualities. We do not say that what is meant by “hand” is power or grace, because that would negate the attributes of Allah Almighty.”
Fakhr al-Islam says: “The affirmation of the hand and face is true according to us; their essence is known, but their description is similar. Since we are unable to comprehend their description with qualities, we cannot invalidate their essence either.”
Reasons of Ahl-as-Sunnah
Quranic Verses
Evidence of the Attribute of the Hand
1. Allah Almighty states: «قال یا إبلیس ما منعك أن تسجد لما خلقت بيدي أستكبرت أم كنت من العالین» Translation: “The Lord said: O Iblis! What prevented you from prostrating to what I created with My hands? Have you been rebellious or are you of the arrogant?”
2. Allah the Almighty says in another place: «وقالت الیهود ید الله مغلولة غلت أیدیهم ولعنوا بما قالوا بل یداه مبسوطتان ینفق کیف یشاء» Translation: “The Jews said: ‘The hand of Allah is tied.’ So may their own hands be tied, and they have been kept away from the mercy of Allah because of what they said. Rather, His two hands are outstretched; He spends however He wills.”
Evidence of the Attribute of the Face
3. Allah the Almighty states: «كل شيء هالك إلا وجهه» Translation: “Everything is destroyed except His Face.”
4. Allah the Almighty also says: «ويبقى وجه ربك ذو الجلال والإكرام» Translation: “And the glorious and honorable face of your Lord remains.”
Evidence of the Attribute of the Soul
5. Allah the Almighty says: «تعلم ما نفسي ولا أعلم ما في نفسك» Translation: “You know what is within my soul, and I do not know what is within your soul.”
6. Allah the Almighty says in another place: «کتب ربکم علی نفسه الرحمة» Translation: “Your Lord has written for Himself mercy.”
Hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
Evidence of the Attribute of the Hand
In the hadith of the debate between Adam and Musa (peace be upon them), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) states: «قال له آدم یا موسی اصطفاک الله بکلامه وخط لك بیده أتلومنی علی أمر قدرالله علي قبل أن يخلقنی بأربعین سنة» Translation: Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him) said to Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him): “O Musa, Allah Almighty chose you with His word and wrote for you with His hand. Do you blame me for something Allah Almighty had destined for me forty years before He created me?”
2. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: «إن الله عزوجل یبسط یده باللیل لیتوب مسیء النهار ویبسط یده بالنهار لیتوب مسیء اللیل حتی تطلع الشمس من مغربها» Translation: “Indeed, Allah Almighty extends His hand at night so that the sinner of the day may repent; and He extends His hand during the day so that the sinner of the night may repent, until the sun rises from the west.”
3. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also said in another hadith: «حجابه النور، لو کشفه لأحرقت سبحات وجهه ما انتهی بصره من خلقه» Translation: “His veil is light. If He were to uncover it, the lights of the Almighty would certainly burn whatever His eye reaches among His creatures.”
Sayings of Scholars
The author of Umdat al-Qari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari writes about the attribute of the hand as follows: “The meaning of hand is not a member, but rather this attribute is a restrained one. As stated, we affirm it and do not describe its quality.”
Ibn Zamnin Maliki (MABH) writes in Riyadh al-Jannah Bat Takhreej Usool al-Sunnah: “Ishaq narrated to me from Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Lubaba, and he from Muhammad ibn Ahmad Utbah, and he from Isa ibn Dinar, and he from Abdur Rahman ibn Qasim, that he (Abdur Rahman ibn Qasim) said: ‘It is not appropriate for anyone to describe Allah with an attribute or description unless Allah, the Exalted, has mentioned it in the Quran [and in the explanation of the book it is stated: And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has also mentioned them in his hadiths; because the Sunnah is also from Allah, the Exalted]. Therefore, the hands of the Lord of the Worlds and His face should not be likened to anything. Allah, the Exalted, has hands as He has stated. He has a face as He has stated, and this should suffice; because Allah has neither a like nor a likeness!’”
Allamah Baghvi (MABH) mentioned in Sharh al-Sunnah: “All such attributes that have been mentioned in the Book and Sunnah, such as soul, face, eye, finger, hand, etc., are attributes of Allah the Exalted that have been conveyed directly. Believing in them and maintaining them in their apparent form while avoiding interpretation and justification is obligatory.”
As mentioned earlier, the reason some later scholars resorted to interpretation was this: [although the belief of the Sunnis—the Ash’arah and Maturidiyah sects—is not to interpret these attributes, as Mulla Ali Qari (MABH) has considered this to be the Maturidi belief in Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar, p. 37]. Among the innovative and misguided sects, some emerged who interpreted Allah Almighty’s attributes arbitrarily. The author of Al-Hasun al-Hamidiyyah writes about this: “When some innovative sects appeared and discussed seemingly contradictory texts (verses and hadiths in which the attributes of Allah Almighty are stated) and extracted meanings from them that implied an event, the scholars grew concerned for the beliefs of some weak individuals so that these innovations would not spread to them. Therefore, later scholars interpreted these contradictory texts in an appropriate manner that aligned with reason. The critical motivation for this interpretation was to counter the innovative schools of thought and to uphold the beliefs of the weak. They seemed to believe that when there are suitable meanings for these texts, in accordance with rational evidence and the rules of Arabic language, it is preferable to proceed based on these evidence…” He continues by citing many verses and hadiths in this regard and concludes by stating: “We believe that Allah Almighty has hands, feet, and legs that are not like our limbs; rather, these attributes are befitting of Allah Almighty and do not require division or quantification, and Allah Almighty is more aware of the true meanings of these texts.”
By admin2
