AL IMAANU BIL SIFAAT
AL IMAANU BIL SIFAAT
This manhaj is importance with regards to Allah’s name and attributes, and in relation to how we believe, Tawheed of Allah is based on two points and three foundations, firstly that:
We follow the Qur’an and Sunnah in relation to Tawheed, and
We look to the understanding of the sahabah and follow their path.
The three foundations of studying the names and attributes of Allah are as follows:
Tanzeeh Ullah Purification of Allah from the creation, from the deviants,
Al Imaanu Bil Sifaat To believe in the attributes,
Bi laa kaif Without to know how
Allah (swt) says,
“The Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you mates from yourselves, and for the cattle (also) mates. By this means He creates you (in the wombs). There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.” [EMQ Shura 42: 11]
Allah first negates all similarity to man then says that he is All hearing and All seeing, showing similarity between his attributes and mans attributes though they are not the same.
Allah (swt) says,
“Verily, We have created man from Nutfah drops of mixed semen (discharge of man and woman), in order to try him, so We made him hearer, seer.” [EMQ Insan 76: 2]
Allah (swt) sees and he hears all, matching with his majestic status bi laa kaif (without for us to know how), and man sees and hears what he is able to according to he is weak and limited status.
Allah (swt) says,
“So put not forward similitudes for Allah (as there is nothing similar to Him, nor He resembles anything). Truly! Allah knows and you know not.” [EMQ Nahl 16: 74]
Al Imaanu Bil Sifaat is to believe in the attributes as Allah described himself, and who knows Allah better than himself? Allah (swt) says,
“Or say you that Ibrâhim (Abraham), Ismâ'il (Ishmael), Ishâque (Isaac), Ya'qûb (Jacob) and Al-Asbât [the twelve sons of Ya'qûb (Jacob)] were Jews or Christians? Say, "Do you know better or does Allah (know better that they all were Muslims)? And who is more unjust than he who conceals the testimony he has from Allah? And Allah is not unaware of what you do." [EMQ Baqarah 2: 140]
Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad said,
“Do you know Allah or does Allah know best? And who is more oppressor than the one who conceals what Allah testified about.”
Also we must believe in what the Messenger described Allah, as no one can describe Allah after Allah except the Messenger. Allah (swt) said,
“I taught man all the names.”
And He (swt) says,
“He (saw) does not speak from his hawaa, it is only revelation revealed to him.” [EMQ Najm 53: 3-4]
So it is obligatory upon all Muslims to believe in what Allah said about Himself and however the Messenger described Him in order to elevate and purify him from being like his creation. And whosoever makes the mistake of deviating from those two will fall down in the hole of dalal, because the one who speaks without knowledge is a fool and claims to have perfect knowledge, and whosoever claims so is a liar. The one who thinks that the attributes of Allah is similar to mans attributes is a fool and a kaafir.
Whereas the one who believes that Allah’s attributes, elevating and purifying him from his creation, affirming his attributes how Allah describes Himself without to ask how, is a Mu’min. Allah (swt) says,
And it will be said to them: "Where are those (the false gods whom you used to set up as rivals with Allah) that you used to worship "Instead of Allah? Can they help you or (even) help themselves?" "Instead of Allah? Can they help you or (even) help themselves?" Then they will be thrown on their faces into the (Fire), They and the Ghâwûn (devils, and those who were in error). And the whole hosts of Iblis (Satan) together. They will say while contending therein, By Allah, we were truly in a manifest error, When We held you (false gods) as equals (in worship) with the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists); And none has brought us into error except the Mujrimûn [Iblis (Satan) and those of human beings who commit crimes, murderers, polytheists, oppressors, etc.]. [EMQ Shu’ara 26: 92-99]
The theologists divide Allah’s attributes to six divisions,
1. sifaat al nafsiyyah -
2. sifaat al ma’ani - meaning
3. sifaat al ma’nawiyyah - metaphorical
4. sifaat al fi’liyyah - functions
5. sifaat al salbiyyah
6. sifaat al jaamiyyah
Anything not in these six, they say that it is not including.
Ash’aris say that for any attributes apart from 8, they will make interpretation, whereas the Mu’tazilah make interpretation in all attributes because they do not want to separate any attributes from him, they argue about ‘is Allah one unit or many units?’
However Allah (swt) describes Himself and man, and includes many attributes that seem to have similarity He says that He has qudra and He says that man has qudra, He says,
“And to Allah belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth. And the matter of the Hour is not but as a twinkling of the eye, or even nearer. Truly! Allah is Able to do all things.” [EMQ Nahl 16: 77]
and
“Except for those who (having fled away and then) came back (as Muslims) with repentance before they fall into your power; in that case, know that Allah is Oft *!Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [EMQ Ma’idah 5: 34]
Allah has strength and power matching his majesty, and man has strength according to his capability, and there is a world of difference between the strength of Allah and that of man. Furthermore, He (swt) says,
“Verily! Allah commands that you should render back the trusts to those, to whom they are due; and that when you judge between men, you judge with justice. Verily, how excellent is the teaching which He (Allah) gives you! Truly, Allah is Ever All *!Hearer, All *!Seer.” [EMQ Nisa 4: 58]
and Allah (swt) says,
“Verily, We have created man from Nutfah drops of mixed semen (discharge of man and woman), in order to try him, so We made him hearer, seer.” [EMQ Insan 76: 2]
Again Allah (swt) demonstrates what seems to be a similarity in the Attributes of Allah (swt) and that of man, However, the seeing and hearing of man is not the same as Allah, Allah has seeing and hearing in matching with his majesty, and man has seeing and hearing according to his weakness, and there is a world of difference between the seeing and hearing of Allah and that of man.
Allah (swt) says,
“Allah! Lâ ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter. And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursî]extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” [EMQ Baqarah 2: 255]
and He (swt) says,
“Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, and then We parted them? And We have made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” [EMQ Anbiyah 21: 30]
The life of man is not the same as Allah, That Allah has life matching his majesty, and man has life according to his weakness, and there is a world of difference between the life of Allah and of man.
And Allah (swt) does whatever he wishes, Allah (swt) says,
“They will dwell therein for all the time that the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord wills. Verily, your Lord is the doer of what He wills.” [EMQ Hud 11: 107]
and
“Verily, (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) the Grip (Punishment) of your Lord is severe. Verily, He it is Who begins (punishment) and repeats (punishment in the Hereafter) (or originates the creation of everything, and then repeats it on the Day of Resurrection). And He is Oft-Forgiving, full of love (towards the pious who are real true believers of Islamic Monotheism); Owner of the throne, the Glorious He does what He intends (or wills).” [EMQ Buruj 85:12-16]
and
“They (the disbelievers, the Jews and the Christians) want to extinguish Allah’s Light with their mouths, but Allah will not allow except that His Light should be perfected even though the Kafirun (disbelievers) hate (it).” [EMQ Taubah 9: 32]
Also, Allah (swt) says,
“If an idolater seeks asylum with you, give him protection in order that he hears the Word of Allah, and then convey him to his place of safety, because they are a nation who do not know.” [EMQ 9: 6]
The Qur'an is the kalaam – word of Allah (swt), it is his attribute, However Allah (swt) also testified that man also has kalaam, that man also speaks and has words, Allah (swt) says,
“So be it between me and you,' said Moses.’Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, it will be no injustice to me. Allah is the Guardian of what we say.” [EMQ 28: 28]
and Allah (swt) says,
“If you do not bring him to me, you shall receive no measure (of corn) from me, nor shall you come near me (again). They replied: 'We will ask our father for him. This we will surely do. Then he said to his attendants: 'Put their merchandise in their saddlebags, hopefully they will recognize it when they return to their people. Perhaps they will come back. When they returned to their father, they said: 'Father, we have been denied the measure. Send our brother with us and we shall receive our measure. We will indeed look after him.' He replied: 'Am I to trust you with him as I once trusted you with his brother? Why, Allah is the Best of guardians, and He is the Most Merciful of the Merciful. When they opened their saddlebags, they found that their merchandise had been given back to them. 'Father,' they said 'what more do we desire? Look, our merchandise has been returned to us. We will receive provisions for our family and we will look after our brother. We shall receive an extra camel-load. That is an easy measure.' He replied: 'I will never send him with you until you swear by Allah that you will bring him back to me, unless you are prevented.' And when they had given him their oath, he said: 'Allah is the Guardian of what we say.' Then he said: 'My sons, do not enter from one gate. Enter through different gates. I cannot be of any help to you against Allah; judgement belongs to Allah alone. In Him I have put my trust. In Him let all put their trust.’ And when they entered from where their father had instructed them, nothing helped them against (the decree of) Allah. It was but a need in Jacob's soul which he had fulfilled. He possessed knowledge because of what We had taught him, though most people do not know.” [EMQ 12: 60-68]
and Allah (swt) says,
“The king said: 'Bring him before me. I will assign him to myself.' And when he had spoken with him he said: 'Today, you are firmly established in both our favour and trust.'” [EMQ 12: 54]
However there is a world of difference between the kalaam of Allah (swt) and the kalaam of mankind, the word of Allah (swt) matches with his majesty and his status, and the kalaam of man is within his limits and matches his weakness.
So we find that in Al Tawheed, and in our belief in Allah (swt) we cannot innovate anything into our Imaan, we cannot make interpretations of the verses of the Qur'an, we have no right to interpret and change the meaning of the saying of Allah (swt) about his names and attributes. Rather, whenever we study a topic we must do so according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and we must not do so innovating our own understanding of the revelation, but rather we must follow the understanding of the companions of Muhammad (saw). There is no doubt that the Sahabah (companions of Muhammad (saw)) are the best to understanding Islam, they had the best teacher - i.e. the Messenger Muhammad (saw), they had the closest relationship to the revelation as they were the ones to live in the time and place that it was revealed, they were the ones personally addressed by Allah (swt) in the Qur'an, they were the ones to whom Allah testified Imaan in their hearts, there is no one after them, no matter how knowledgeable or pious who is guaranteed paradise the way Allah testified in the hadith that "Abu Bakr Al Siddiq is in Jannah, that Umar ibn Khattab is in Jannah, Uthman ibn Affan is in Jannah, Ali ibn Abu Talib is in Jannah..." They are the ones who spread Islam after Muhammad (saw), they were the ones who compiled the Qur'an, they were the ones who narrated the Sunnah, they were the ones who struggled with Muhammad (saw) and lived Islam with him - It is impossible for anyone to claim that they understand Islam better than them. This is why, if we ever find ourselves in dispute, if we ever find ourselves differing in any matter we should refer back to them, tehy are the Islamic Standard (or criteria), we should compare ourselves and our opinions with their opinions, the opinions of Ahl Al Sunnah Wal Jama'ah (i.e. the Prophet (saw) and his companions).
Therefore, when we find that the ummah differ on the names and attributes of Allah (swt), when we find people interpreting the names of Allah (swt), negating and rejecting the attributes of Allah (swt), though they may do so with good intention; to elevate and purify Allah (swt) from His creation there is no way to accept it from them. This is because when we compare this form of elevation with the standard, we find that the elevation of Ahl Al Sunnah Wal Jama'ah was the elevation of Tawheed and Tathabbut, not of interpretation (ta'weel). we find that the Sahabah and all the scholars of Ahl Al Sunnah Wal Jama'ah elevated and purified Allah (swt) by believing in all His names and attributes literally and completely, without interpretation, without any rejection, without any Tafweedh (leaving the matter to Allah without to reach a decision) and without to wonder or ask 'how?'. This is the Aqeedah of the Sahabah of Muhammad (saw), and we find that the companions never differed in these matters, rather this innovation came from people after them who had deviated from their path, May Allah protect us all and make us firm on the manhaj of the salaf.