❖ Question: Are the Verses Regarding Allah’s Attributes Considered Mutashābihāt (Ambiguous)?
📚 Source: Fatāwā Amaanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amaanpuri
❖ The Answer:
No, the verses concerning the Attributes of Allah ﷻ (Āyāt al-Ṣifāt) are not from the mutashābihāt (ambiguous verses).
Declaring them as such is a form of ilḥād (deviation) and represents the belief of the Mufawwidhah — a sect who falsely claimed that the meanings of these verses are entirely unknown, even to the Prophets and the righteous.
❖ Understanding the Misconception:
Those who label the verses of Ṣifāt (Divine Attributes) as mutashābihāt do so under the claim that:
❝Only Allah knows the meanings of His Names and Attributes.❞
However, this is not the view of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn (righteous predecessors) or Ahl al-Ḥadīth.
❖ The Correct Understanding of the Salaf:
✅ The Salaf affirmed:
- The meanings of the attributes (e.g., istiwāʾ, nuzūl) are known.
- The reality and modality (kaifiyyah) of these attributes is known only to Allah ﷻ.
They would say:
❝We affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself, without taḥrīf (distortion), taʿṭīl (denial), takyīf (asking how), or tamthīl (likening to creation).❞
❖ Deviation from This Leads to Error:
Labeling the attributes-related verses as ambiguous has led various deviant sects to misinterpret or reject them, such as:
◉ Qadariyyah
◉ Jabriyyah
◉ Jahmiyyah
◉ Ashāʿirah
◉ Māturīdiyyah
◉ Rāfiḍah
◉ Mufawwidhah
◉ Khawārij
These groups took undue advantage of this distortion and rendered clear, powerful āyāt meaningless or suspended, thus becoming Muʿaṭṭilah (deniers of attributes).
❖ The Danger in Misclassifying These Verses:
✔ Verses concerning Allah’s Names and Attributes are from the muḥkamāt (clear and foundational verses) — not the mutashābihāt.
✔ They form the foundation of the belief in Tawḥīd.
✔ The true understanding is that the meanings are clear and affirmed, and only the exact nature of the attributes is unknown, and left to Allah ﷻ.
❖ Conclusion:
❌ Declaring the attributes of Allah as mutashābih is a grave deviation and opposition to the creed of the Salaf.
✔ The correct view is to affirm them as real, clear, and known in meaning, without delving into how they are.
✔ All claims contrary to this are invalid, and any belief opposed to the path of the Salaf is unreliable and rejected.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
