Attributes of Allah Almighty and Authentic Single Report
Narrated from (Abdullah) bin Urwah bin Al-Zubairؒ that:
’’ أن الزبير بن العوام سمع رجلاً يحدث حديثًا عن النبي ﷺ فاستمع له الزبير حتى إذا قضى الرجل حديثه قال له الزبير : أنت سمعت هذا من رسول الله ﷺ ؟ فقال الرجل : نعم ، قال : هذا و أشباهه مما يمنعنا أن نحدث عن النبي ﷺ ، قد لعمري سمعت هذا من رسول الله ﷺ و أنا يومئذ حاضر، و لكن رسول الله ﷺ ابتدأ هذا الحديث فحدثناه عن رجل من أهل الكتاب حدثه إياه ، فجئت أنت يومئذ بعد أن قضى صدر الحديث و ذكر الرجل الذي من أهل الكتاب فظننت أنه من حديث رسول الله ﷺ .‘‘
Indeed, (Sayyiduna) Zubair bin Al-Awwamؓ heard a man narrating a hadith from the Prophet ﷺ, so Zubairؓ put his ear close to him until the man finished narrating his hadith. Zubairؓ then asked him:
Did you hear this (hadith) from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? The man replied:
Yes! He said:
Such statements prevent us from narrating hadith from the Prophet ﷺ. I swear that you (or I) heard this hadith from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and I was present that day, but the Prophet ﷺ initially narrated to us a hadith from a man of the People of the Book. You came at that time when the beginning part of the hadith and the mention of the man from the People of the Book had ended, so you assumed that this was the hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
After this connected narration, it is written in Kitab al-Asma wa al-Sifat:
“قال الشيخ و لهذا الوجه من الاحتمال ترك أهل النظر من أصحابنا الإحتجاج بأخبار الآحاد في صفات الله تعالى ، إذا لم يكن لما انفرد منها أصل في الكتاب أو الإجماع و اشتغلوا بتأويله، و ما نقل في هذا الخبر إنما يفعله في الشاهد من الفارغين من أعمالهم من مسه لغوب ، أو أصابه نصب مما فعل ، ليستريح بالاستلقاء ووضع إحدى رجليه على الأخرى، وقد كذب الله تعالى اليهود ، حين وصفوه بالاستراحة بعد خلق السموات والأرض و ما بينهما فقال 🙁 ولقد خلقنا السماوات والأرض وما بينهما في ستة أيام وما مسنا من لغوب فاصبر على ما يقولون)”
The Sheikh (probably Al-Bayhaqi) said:
Due to this possibility, our companions (the theologians, the Ash’aris) abandoned taking proof from solitary reports regarding the attributes of Allah Almighty, if the original (of Allah) book or the consensus does not contain that uniqueness, and they engaged in its interpretation. And this narration (which is mentioned after this translation) is narrated by those who become tired after finishing their work, or fatigue comes from action so that they lie down and rest with their legs crossed over each other. When the Jews attributed to Allah Almighty that He rested after creating the earth and the heavens, Allah Almighty declared them liars and said:
And indeed, We created the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in six days, and no fatigue touched Us. So be patient over what they say.
The mentioned narration (to which reference is made) refers to that rejected (weak) narration, in which it is stated that when Allah Almighty created the creatures, He lay down and placed one leg over the other.
To our knowledge, no muhaddith has declared this narration authentic or good; therefore, this narration is rejected and repudiated. The statement in Imam Bayhaqi’s text:
“To take the report of singular narrations as proof regarding the attributes of Allah Almighty has been abandoned.”
is incorrect for several reasons.
For example:
The narration presented by Imam Bayhaqi is weak and rejected. The chain of this narration is as follows:
“أخبرنا أبو جعفر العرابي : أنا أبو العباس الصبغي : نا الحسن بن علي بن زياد نا ابن أبي أويس : حدثني ابن أبي الزناد عبدالرحمن عن هشام بن عروة عن (عبدالله بن) عروة بن الزبير”
The chain of this narration is weak for three reasons:
First:
Abu Ja’far al-Arabi (or al-Azai) is unknown (majhool). Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Yahya al-Muallimi al-Yamani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“لم أعرفه”
I did not recognize him.
Second:
The second narrator, Abu al-Abbas al-Sabghi Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Ayyub, is not authenticated; rather, his trustworthy brother Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Sabfi al-Nisaburi, may Allah have mercy on him, criticized him. He used to forbid him from narrating hadith due to his grandfatherly misconduct, i.e., hooliganism (الفتوة).
Third:
This narration was not reported by Urwah ibn al-Zubayr but by his son Abdullah ibn Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, as written in the manuscript of Al-Asma wa al-Sifat by Al-Bayhaqi
.
Abdullah ibn Urwah رضي الله عنه was born in 45 AH.
And our master Zubayr ibn al-Awwam رضي الله عنه was martyred in 36 AH upon returning from the Battle of Jamal.
Therefore, this narration is also disconnected (munqati‘) and disconnected narrations are weak.
Also see
Al-Tahawi Hanafi mentioned the statement of Imam Abu Hanifa against a hadith and then wrote:
” و كان من الحجة لهم في ذلك أن هذا الحدیث منقطع ”
And (to refute this hadith) their (Imam Abu Hanifa, etc.) argument is that this hadith is disconnected.
It is understood that according to Tahawi, Imam Abu Hanifa also did not consider a disconnected narration as proof.
In authentic hadiths, the attributes of Allah Almighty are mentioned, such as Qadam (foot), Rajul (leg), and Asabi’ (fingers). The noble hadith scholars have declared these hadiths authentic.
For example:
Hadith of Qadam (Foot):
Imam Ishaq ibn Mansur al-Kawsaj asked Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal about the hadiths mentioning Qadam and similar attributes, and he said:
“كلّ هذا صحيح”
All of these are authentic, meaning all these hadiths are authentic. Imam Ishaq ibn Rahwayh said:
’’هذا صحيح ولا يـدفـعــه إلا مبتدع أو ضعيف الرأي“
This is authentic and no one denies it except an innovator or a person with a weak opinion.
Abu Abdullah Ibn Manda said:
” و هذا حديث ثابت باتفاق “
And this hadith is established by consensus (general agreement).
Hafiz Ismail bin Muhammad al-Asbahani, that is Qiwam al-Sunnah (may Allah have mercy on him) (died 535 AH) said:
” هذا حديث صحيح ، و ذكر القدم فيه مما يجب الإيمان به ولا يتعرض له بالتأويل والتكييف “
This hadith is authentic and regarding the mention of the foot, it is obligatory (fard) to believe in it. One should not dare to interpret or question (how it is).
The Hadith of the foot has been narrated by
,
, and
.
The Imams of Islam have consensus on the authenticity of this Hadith, and to our knowledge, no Imam or scholar has opposed this consensus. Therefore, the conclusion is that affirming any attribute of Allah from the attributes mentioned in authentic solitary reports is entirely correct, and believing in it is obligatory.
Hadith of the Man:
, etc.
Hadith of the Fingers:
, etc.
Imam Bayhaqi himself has transmitted from the famous trustworthy Muhaddith and Imam Abu Ubaid al-Qasim ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) (with a strong chain) that these Hadiths (then mentioning some Hadiths about the attributes of Allah such as the Hadith of the foot, etc., he said:)
According to us, these are the truth, narrated by trustworthy narrators from one another, except that when we are asked about their interpretation (or explanation), we do not provide an interpretation, and we have not found anyone explaining them.
Ibn Manda has explained it at length and briefly in
, and Khilal has done so in
, and this narration from Abbas bin Muhammad al-Duri (may Allah be pleased with him) with various chains is also present in the following books:
➊
➋
➌
➍
➎
➏
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) has declared it authentic.
In the words of Imam Abu Ubaid (may Allah be pleased with him), there is also mention of Al-Kursi as the place of the feet, which is among the authentic reports, therefore it is established that according to the esteemed hadith scholars, the attributes of Allah Almighty are proven by authentic solitary reports and it is necessary to believe in them without any comparison, interpretation, or negation. Hence, the narration attributed to some unknown theologians by Imam Bayhaqi is weak, abrogated, or rejected.
Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Many scholars among the learned have said about this hadith, similar narrations regarding the attributes, and the hadiths about the descent of Allah Almighty every night to the lowest heaven:
These narrations are authentic and must be believed in; they are not considered doubtful or questioned as to how they occur. Similarly, it is narrated from Imam Malik, Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, and Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak that they said about these hadiths:
Continue to express (and believe) without “how,” this is the view of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah, but the Jahmiyyah (an extremely misguided and extremist sect among the innovators) denied these narrations and said:
This is an analogy. Allah Almighty mentioned in His Book (the Holy Quran) many times the hand (yad), hearing (sama’), and sight (basar), so the Jahmiyyah interpreted these verses allegorically and presented a different interpretation against the scholars and said:
“Allah did not create Adam with His own hand,” and said:
The meaning of hand (yad) is power.
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (Imam Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, may Allah have mercy on him) said:
An analogy occurs when it is said that (Allah’s) hand is like or similar to the hand of the creation, or Allah’s hearing is like or similar to the hearing of the creation; then this is an analogy. But if it is said, as Allah has said:
Hand (Yad), hearing (Sama‘), and sight (Basar) — it should not be said how? Nor should it be said that hearing is like the hearing of creation or similar to it, for this is not a comparison, and it is just as Allah Almighty has stated in His Book:
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
From this lengthy discourse, several points have been established:
The belief of Ahl al-Sunnah is that whether it is faith (iman), i.e., belief or rulings, the attributes of Allah Almighty or matters of the unseen, in all these, authentic solitary reports are proof and it is obligatory to believe in them.
It is necessary to believe in the attributes without comparison (tashbih), without metaphorical interpretation (ta’wil), and without negation (ta’til).
Interpreting the attributes of Allah Almighty, for example, interpreting hand (Yad) as power or capability, is the method of the misguided and those outside Ahl al-Sunnah, i.e., the Jahmiyyah and innovators.
Imam Bayhaqi himself has mentioned solitary reports regarding the attributes of Allah Almighty under “باب ما ذكر في القدم والرجل“.
For example, see
Therefore, their statement:
“The use of solitary reports as proof for the attributes of Allah Almighty has been abandoned.”
is abrogated.
It is not established from any reliable scholar of the early centuries (up to 300 AH) that solitary reports (authentic hadith) are not proof regarding the attributes of the Creator. Rather, the statements and actions of the Companions, the Successors, the Followers of the Followers, and the Muhaddithin prove that authentic hadith (solitary report) is proof, regardless of the issue of religion, and belief in the attributes of Allah Almighty is also a matter of religion.
Warning:
From the weak and rejected narration mentioned by Imam Bayhaqi, Mahmood Abu Riah (an extremist misguided person) and other deniers of hadith have tried to argue and create doubt about the hadith narrated by the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, and have attacked the justice of the Companions, whereas it is a unanimously agreed principle of Ahl al-Sunnah that “الصحابة كلهم عدول,” meaning all the Companions are just (truthful and reliable in narrating hadith).
The public and scholars should completely avoid weak and rejected narrations, stay away from them, and not use such narrations as evidence in any matter, so that they remain safe from all kinds of evil and corruption. This is the path that, if followed, can protect one from the misguidance of the misguided.
(2 / September 2010)
