In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
Shaikhul-Islam Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhāb said:
Chapter: “Whoever denies anything from the Names and Attributes of Allah.”
The Text:
Allah the Most High says:
وَهُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِالرَّحْمَٰنِ
“And they disbelieve in ar-Rahmān.” (Surah ar-Ra’d 13:30)
قَالَ عَلِيٌّ حَدِّثُوا النَّاسَ، بِمَا يَعْرِفُونَ، أَتُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يُكَذَّبَ، اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
It is reported in Saheeh al-Bukhāri (no. 127) that ‘Ali (radiAllahu ‘anhu) said: “Speak to the people according to their [level of] knowledge. Do you want Allah and His Messenger to be rejected?”
‘Abdur Razzāq reports from Ma’mar from Ibn Tāwus, from his father, from Ibn ‘Abbās (radiyallāhu ‘anhumā) that he saw a man objecting and showing displeasure when he heard a Hadeeth being narrated upon the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) regarding the Attributes of Allah. Ibn ‘Abbās said: “What is it that alarms these people? They find ease with the clear-cut narrations but are destroyed due to the ambiguous narrations.” (Reported by ‘Abdur Razzāq in his Musannaf (11/423, no. 20895), saheeh)
When the Quraysh heard Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) mention the name of Allah ‘ar-Rahmān,’ they rejected it, so Allah revealed regarding them:
وَهُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِالرَّحْمَٰنِ
“And they disbelieve in ar-Rahmān.” (Surah ar-Ra’d 13:30)
(Ibn Jareer in his Tafseer from Mujāhid–mursal (disconnected)–16/446, no. 20398)
Explanation
The chapter heading questions: ‘What is the ruling on a person who denies and rejects the Names and Attributes of Allah?’ Is he considered to be an unbeliever or is it something that is harām but has not reached the level of kufr that exits a person from Islām? This is a matter that requires investigation. What is apparent is that whoever outright rejects any of the Names and Attributes of Allah that are established in the Qur’ān and the Sunnah which cannot be shared by anyone alongside Him (the Most High) – and they are well-known to be from Allah’s Names and Attributes [yet one still rejects them] then he is considered to be an unbeliever.
However, if he rejects anything from the Attributes of Allah due to doubt, and if the reason for his rejection is that he seeks to purify Allah from imperfections [as he claims], or that he interprets the Attributes of Allah as is done by the Ashā’irah, then such a person is not considered to be a disbeliever.
Al-Bukhāri reported that ‘Ali (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said: “Speak to the people according to their [level of] knowledge. Do you want Allah and His Messenger to be rejected?” From this narration, we learn that it is necessary for the student of knowledge that he conveys to the people according to what they know and are already acquainted with. If he speaks to them about affairs which they do not know about (above their comprehension), it leads them to reject and deny something which is established in the Religion.
What is apparent, and Allah knows best, is that the affairs that are subtle and hidden from the general folk should be avoided – because it will be difficult for them to comprehend. Therefore, they should not be presented to them. If the affair needs to be spoken about, then it is obligatory to explain it and to make it clear in such a manner that the layman understands the true path. The reality is that some obligatory matters, which many of the general folk are ignorant of, must be learned so that they do not neglect them or reject them. Perhaps their initial rejection is because they have not heard this matter before, and Allah (the Most High) rebuked the people of the Book due to them making apparent some of the revelation and concealing some of it – and Allah (the Most High) forbade us from imitating them in this.
So, it is important to speak to people at their level. If a person does not know about Allah’s Names and Attributes, you would not begin by telling him that Allah will reveal His shin on the Day of Judgment–this would be too heavy for him. Rather, you would begin by explaining to him that from Tawheed is to believe that Allah has Names and Attributes which He has affirmed for Himself, so we do not negate them, distort them or ask how they are, nor do we liken them to the creation. Once this has been established, then you can build upon this.
Rejection occurs when a layman lives among people who warn him from listening to certain Hadeeth which affirm the Attribute of Mercy for Allah (for example). So he feels fear and alarm from what he hears from them. Whoever lives amongst communities of the Jahmiyyah or the Mu’tazilah and constantly hears Allah’s Names and Attributes being rejected or distorted away from their apparent meaning will [no doubt] be alarmed and disturbed when he hears the narrations brought by Ahlus-Sunnah affirming these very Names and Attributes. This is because he was not cultivated upon understanding Allah’s Names and Attributes – or because they were never narrated to him. Therefore, such matters must be clarified for him correctly.
For example, it should be said to such people: “When we affirm Allah’s Hand, it befits His Majesty, and we do not liken His hand to the hands of the creation. So, we do not say that Allah’s Hand is like the hand of His creation, rather His hand befits His Majesty.”
Abdullāh Ibn Mas’ūd (Allah be pleased with him) said, “A Jewish Rabbi came to Allāh’s Messenger and said, ‘O Muhammad, we learn that Allāh will place all the Heavens on a Finger, the earths on a Finger, the trees on a Finger, the water on a Finger, the soil on a Finger and the rest of the creation on a Finger. Then He will say, ‘I am the King.’
So the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) laughed till his pre-molar teeth became visible in affirmation of the truthfulness of the speech of the Rabbi. Then the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) recited,
وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالْأَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
‘They made not a just estimate of Allāh as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection, the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand, and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Exalted is He, free of all imperfections, High above all that they associate as partners with Him.’ (Surah Az-Zumar:67)” (Reported by Al-Bukhārī no. 4711, Muslim no. 2786).
In a wording, he (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “Allāh will roll up the heavens on the Day of Resurrection and take them in His Right Hand and say, ‘I am the King! Where are the tyrants and where are the haughty ones?’” (Muslim no. 2788)
So our Lord is as He has described Himself and as the Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) has described Him without any resemblance to the creation, “There is none like unto Him, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” (Ash-Shūrā 42:11) This is the saying of the early Muslim scholars.
There is also the statement of the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam): “The hearts of mankind are between the two fingers of the Most Merciful, and He turns them whatever way He wishes.”
Abu Hanīfah (d. 150H) stated in Al-Fiqhul-Akbar, “Allāh has a Hand, a Face and a Self just as Allāh, the Most High, has said in the Qur’ān when He mentioned the Hand, Face and Self. He has attributes without saying ‘how’. It is not to be said: ‘His Hand means His power and His bounty’ because by doing so entails the rejection of the Attribute.” (See Sharh ‘Aqīdah At-Tahāwiyyah of Ibn Abil-‘Izz Al-Hanafī (d. 792H), p. 137)
People who are cultivated by the Jahmiyyah, Mu’tazilah, Ashā’irah and Mātureediyyah become alarmed when they hear such narrations, and they flee from them or reject them, even though these are all authentic narrations from the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam).
Likewise, we say about Allah’s Face, that it is not like the faces of creation. Rather, His Face that befits His Majesty. Likewise, we say the same about Allah’s Foot and Shin. We affirm these Attributes because they are mentioned in the Quranic verses or the authentic Ahādeeth. When this is made clear to the layman who has not heard these narrations before, he will believe (inshā’-Allāh) and he will realise that there is a difference between the attributes of the Creator and the attributes of the creation. Then, the fear and alarm will disappear from him by Allah’s permission.
This is what is obligatory upon Ahlus Sunnah; that if they see a person rejecting an attribute from the Attributes of Allah, or a name from the Names of Allah, then it must be clarified to him.
This affirmation of the Attributes of Allah can be explained to the layman using the following narration:
Abu Hafs Ibn Shāhīn (d. 385H) said: Abdullāh Ibn Sulaimān Ibn Ash’ath As-Sijistānī (d. 316 AH) narrated to us saying: My father (Abu Dawood Sulaimān Ibn Ash’ath, d. 275 AH) related to me from Sulaimān Ibn Harb, who said: Hammād ibn Zaid (died 179H) said:
“The example of the Jahmiyyah is like a man to whom it is said: ‘Do you have a date palm tree in your gardens?’ So he says: ‘Yes.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have fresh green branches?’ He responds: ‘No.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have dried up branches?’ He responds: ‘No.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have low or fallen branches on the ground?’ He responds: ‘No.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have a trunk?’ He responds: ‘No.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have roots?’ He responds: ‘No.’ So it is said to him: ‘Then you have no date palm tree in your grounds!’ It is said to the Jahmiyyah: ‘Do you have a Lord?’ They say: ‘Yes.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He speak?’ They respond: ‘No.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He have a Hand?’ They respond: ‘No.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He have a foot?’ They respond: ‘No.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He have a finger?’ They respond: ‘No.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He become pleased and does He get angry?’ They respond: ‘No.’ So it is said to them: ‘You have no Lord!’”
(Al-Kitāb Al-Latīf li-Sharh Madhāhib Ahlus-Sunnah, no. 35. The narration is authentic, reported by Abdullāh Ibn Ahmad in As-Sunnah, no. 9-10)
If a person persists after these matters have been explained to him, then he is a person who is afflicted and has been put to trial. For this reason, when ‘Abdullah ibn Abbās saw a man objecting and showing displeasure when he heard a Hadeeth upon the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) regarding the Attributes of Allah, he said: “What is it that alarms these people? They find ease with the clear-cut narrations but are destroyed due to the ambiguous narrations.”
Sheikh Sālih Aal ash-Sheikh said that the point here is not that the Attributes of Allah are ambiguous. Rather, it is the people who see them as ambiguous. So, Ibn ‘Abbās regarded the objection of this man to what he heard of the Attributes of the Magnificent Lord to be the cause of his destruction, and this shows the fiqh (understanding) of Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with him.
Likewise, in our times, we see that the Ashā’irah and Mātureediyyah who are offshoots of the Jahmiyyah of old, and upholders of the laws of the Mu’tazilah, who deny and distort the Attributes of Allah, are misguided people of innovation, on the edge of destruction.
However, it is necessary to know that the sharing of the name of an Attribute of Allah and an attribute of the creation does not necessitate sharing of the reality of those names and attributes. For example, we say that Allah is Living and we describe the creation as living, but we all know the difference between Allah’s Life and the life of His creation. Allah’s life is eternal without beginning, and it is everlasting, without end – it is perfect and complete just as Allah (the Most High) has described Himself in His saying:
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ
“Allah! 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 overtakes Him.” (Surah al-Baqarah 2: 255)
As for the living of the creation, then it came about after not existing, and it has an endpoint, and between its creation and its end, it does not remain except by Allah causing it to remain. Our life comes to an end, it is dependent and reliant upon Allah and cannot survive without Allah even for the blink of an eye, whereas Allah is the Ever-Living who never dies, Self-Sufficient, not in need of His creation, the Sustainer and Provider of all His creation.
Allah has described Himself as being the Ever-Living (al-Hayy) and the One who sustains and protects all that exists (al-Qayyoom), that neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him. Therefore, there is a difference between the Life of Allah and the life of the creation – a clear and apparent distinction, and this is the same for all the Names and Attributes of Allah (the Most High).
What is important to know is that if the creation shares any of the names or attributes with Allah (the Most High), then the reality behind these names and attributes is different. This is what is said regarding the Hearing and Seeing of Allah [and all the Attributes of the Most Merciful] – their realities are completely different, there is no comparison between our hearing and Allah’s Hearing, or our seeing and Allah’s Seeing.
So, when this is explained to a person, perhaps he will come to know the difference between the Attributes of Allah the Lord and Creator, and the attributes of the creation – and the difference between the Names of Allah and the names of the creation.
It is possible that one of the people may be given the title ‘Malik,’ (King), and Allah is called ‘Malik,’ however, Allah’s Kingship is all-encompassing whereas the kingship of people is limited, confined, restricted and only for a certain length of time. So, the real, true Kingship and Sovereignty is for Allah, and He (the Most High) said:
وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِن قِطْمِيرٍ
“And those who you call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmir (the thin membrane over the date-stone).” (Surah Fatir 35:13) Thus, the difference between the two is clear and obvious.
Imām Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Wahhāb then mentioned the denial of Quraysh of Allah’s name, Ar-Rahmān, so He (the Most High) rebutted and reprimanded them in His saying:
وهُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِالرَّحْمَٰنِ
“And they disbelieve in Ar-Rahman.” (Surah Ar-Ra’d 13:30)
Ar-Rahmān is a name from the Names of Allah. All of the Names of Allah (the Most High) are mutarādifah, i.e., they all refer to Allah Himself. So, if it is said to you, ‘Be dutiful to Ar-Rahmān,’ then it is referring to Allah (the Most High). At the same time, each of Allah’s Names has a distinct meaning and attribute that it carries. Quraysh rejected the Name of Allah ‘Ar-Rahmān,’ so Allah revealed the above ayah.
Ar-Rahmān (the Most Merciful) is derived from the term rahmah (mercy), and the name Ar-Rahmān is more encompassing than rahmah because the name Ar-Rahmān encompasses complete and boundless mercy. Likewise, His name, Ar-Raheem, is also derived from rahmah, but it is more specific – it is for the believers (only) just as Allah (the Most High) has said:
وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا
“And He is ever most Merciful to the believers.” (Surah al-Ahzab 33:43)
So, Ar-Raheem is specific for the believers, whereas Ar-Rahmān is encompassing (for all of creation). The mercy that Allah has made in His slaves is just one part of a hundred parts of mercy, as occurs in an authentic Hadeeth from Abu Hurairah who said that he heard the Messenger of Allah (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) say: “Allah made mercy in a hundred parts, He kept with Himself 99 out of those hundred parts, and He sent down to the earth one part. It is because of this one part that a mare lifts its hooves from its foul fearing that it will be trampled.” (Al-Bukhāri)
There also occurs in a Hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim from Salmān al-Fārisi (radiyallāhu ‘anhu): “Indeed for Allah there are 100 mercies, from them is a mercy due to which the creation is merciful amongst itself, and 99 parts are for the Day of Resurrection.”
O Allah! Have mercy upon us and make us from those to whom you show mercy and enter us by your Mercy amongst your righteous slaves.
End
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
From Al-ʿAllāmah Shaikh Ahmad Ibn Yahyā An-Najmi’s (rahimahullāh) explanation with added notes from Abu Khadeejah.
Essential reading: On the topic of the Names and Attributes of Allah and the sects that deviated.
الحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم
This article was transcribed by Umm Maryam (may Allah reward her) from the classes of Abu Khadeejah (SalafiSounds.com). Please share it with others.
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