The hadiths in which the attributes of Allah Almighty are described contain comparison and anthropomorphism; therefore, they are contradictory to the verses of the Holy Quran. Because in the Holy Quran it is stated that
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ ۖ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
Reference: (Ash-Shura:11)
Translation: There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
First Point
The fundamental reason for this objection is unfamiliarity with the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah regarding the attributes of Allah Almighty and the opinions of other sects deviating from the truth. Because it should be understood that Ahl al-Sunnah consider the attributes of Allah free from any comparison, attributing to Him what befits His Majesty (as befits His dignity). And instead of arbitrary interpretation of the meanings of the attributes, they understand them in their true meanings. The belief of Ahl al-Sunnah regarding the attributes of the Lord of the Worlds can be understood in the light of the following fundamental principles:
First Principle
In affirming the attributes of Allah Almighty, only the Quran and authentic Hadith will be relied upon. The attributes of the Exalted Allah mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah will be accepted without any (distortion, anthropomorphism, negation, or likening).
◈ "Distortion": To divert the texts of the names and attributes or their meanings from the intended divine meaning.
◈ "Negation": To deny some or all of Allah’s names and attributes, or to deny the existence of attributes with Allah’s essence.
◈ "Anthropomorphism": To assign a specific form to any attribute of Allah Almighty, or to describe its modality when we have not seen it.
◈ "Likening": To believe that Allah’s attributes are like the attributes of creatures, or that they resemble the attributes of creation.
For clarification of this principle, consider some statements of the scholars.
Imam Ahmad’s Statement
Imam Ahmad says:
لا يوصف الله إلا بما وصف به نفسه أو وصفه به رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا نتجاوز القرآن والسنة
Reference: (Majmoo’ al-Fatawa: 26/5)
Translation: Allah Almighty will be attributed with the same attributes that Allah Almighty has described for Himself or that the Noble Prophet ﷺ has described. In this matter, we cannot go beyond the Quran and Sunnah.
Statement of Imam Ibn Khuzaymah
Imam Ibn Khuzaymah says:
نَحْنُ نُثْبِتُ لِخَالِقِنَا جَلَّ وَعَلَا صِفَاتِهِ الَّتِي وَصَفَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِهَا نَفْسَهُ فِي مُحْكَمِ تَنْزِيلِهِ، أَوْ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ الْمُصْطَفَى صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِمَّا ثَبَتَ بِنَقْلِ الْعَدْلِ عَنِ الْعَدْلِ مَوْصُولًا إِلَيْهِ
Reference: (Kitab al-Tawheed wa Ithbat Sifaat al-Rabb Azza wa Jal by Ibn Khuzaymah: p. 57)
Translation: We affirm for our Creator only those attributes which Allah Almighty has clearly described in the verses of the Holy Quran or which have reached us through the connected chain of trustworthy and just narrators from the tongue of the Noble Prophet ﷺ.
Statement of Imam Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili
Imam Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili says:
اعلموا -رحمنا الله وإياكم- أن مذهب أهل الحديث -أهل السنة والجماعة- الإقرار بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله، وقبول ما نطق به كتاب الله تعالى وما صحت به الرواية عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، لا نعدل عما ورد به ولا سبيل إلى رده؛ إذ كانوا مأمورين باتباع الكتاب والسنة مضموناً لهم الهدى فيهما، مشهوداً لهم بأن نبيهم صلى الله عليه وسلم يهدي إلى صراط مستقيم، محذرين في مخالفته الفتنة والعذاب الأليم.ويعتقدون أن الله تعالى مدعو بأسمائه الحسنى، موصوف بصفاته التي سمى ووصف بها نفسه ووصفه بها نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم
Reference: (I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah: 31, 32)
Translation: Know that the creed of Ahl al-Hadith, Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah is to believe in Allah Almighty, the angels, the books, and the messengers, and to accept the Holy Quran and the authentic hadiths as mentioned. They do not reject anything that comes in the hadiths, nor is there any room for that, because following the Book and Sunnah has been commanded. They fear falling into trials and painful punishment, and they hold the belief that good names have been mentioned for Allah Almighty in the Holy Quran and hadiths, and Allah Almighty Himself is described by the attributes mentioned by Him or by the Noble Prophet ﷺ.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah's Statement
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
ومن الإيمان بالله: الإيمان بما وصف به نفسه في كتابه، وبما وصفه به رسوله محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم من غير تحريف، ولا تعطيل، ومن غير تكييف، ولا تمثيل
Reference: (Al-‘Aqeedah Al-Waasitiyyah, p.57)
Translation: To accept what Allah Almighty has stated about Himself in the Holy Quran and what the Noble Prophet ﷺ has stated without any distortion, denial, modality, or likening is part of faith in Allah.
At another place, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah says:
وطريقة سلف الأمة وأئمتها أنهم يصفون الله بما وصف به نفسه، وبما وصفه به رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم، من غير تحريف، ولا تعطيل، ولا تكييف، ولا تمثيل، إثبات بلا تمثيل، وتنزيه بلا تعطيل، إثبات الصفات ونفي مماثلة المخلوقات قال تعالى: {لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ} فهذا رد على الممثلة {وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ} رد على المعطلة
Reference: (Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah: 2/231)
Translation: The method of the righteous predecessors of the Ummah and the Imams has been to affirm for Allah Almighty those attributes without any distortion, negation, anthropomorphism, or metaphorical interpretation, which Allah Almighty Himself has described or which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has described. In the Qur'anic verse "There is nothing like unto Him," those who liken Allah to others are refuted, and in the part "He is the Hearing, the Seeing," those who deny Allah's attributes are refuted.
Second Principle
The texts describing the Divine Attributes will be understood in their apparent meaning only; no interpretation or negation will be made that contradicts the intent of Allah Almighty and His Messenger ﷺ. Waleed bin Muslim states that I asked Imam Awza'i, Imam Sufyan Thawri, Imam Malik bin Anas, and Laith bin Saad about the hadiths in which the attributes of Allah Almighty are described, and all these noble Imams, may Allah have mercy on them, said to accept them exactly as they have come.
Reference: (Sharh Usool I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah by Abu al-Qasim al-Lalakai)
And when the same question was asked from Ibn Mubarak, this was the answer of Ibn Mubarak, Abu Zur'ah, and other righteous predecessors.
Reference: (Ibtal al-Ta'wilat li-Akhbar al-Sifat by Al-Qadi Abu Ya'la: 1/43, 44, 253)
Third Principle
The attributes of Allah Almighty will not be likened to the attributes of the creation. Imam Abu Ya'la states:
وَالْوَاجِبُ حَمْلُهَا عَلَى ظَاهِرِهَا، وَأَنَّها صِفَاتٌ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى لا تُشْبِهُ سَائِرَ الْمَوْصُوفِينَ بِها مِنَ الْخَلْقِ، وَلا نَعْتَقِدُ التَّشْبِيهَ فيها
Reference: (Ibtal al-Ta'wilat li-Akhbar al-Sifat by Al-Qadi Abu Ya'la: 1/43)
Translation: It is obligatory to understand these attributes according to their apparent meanings, and that these are the attributes of Allah Almighty which are not similar to the attributes of the creation, nor do we believe in any resemblance.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
أهل السنة والجماعة والحديث من أصحاب مالك والشافعي وأبي حنيفة وأحمد وغيرهم متفقون على تنزيه الله تعالى عن مماثلة الخلق، وعلى ذم المشبهة الذين يشبهون صفاته بصفات خلقه، ومتفقون على أن الله ليس كمثله شيء لا في ذاته ولا في صفاته ولا في أفعاله
Reference: (Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah: 2/231)
Translation: The Ahl al-Sunnah, who are the companions of the four Imams and others who agree, affirm the transcendence of Allah Almighty from being likened to the creation, and they condemn those who liken the attributes of Allah Almighty to those of the creation, and affirm that there is nothing like Allah, neither in His essence nor in His attributes and actions.
Fourth Principle
To entrust the reality of the attributes of the Exalted Allah to the Shariah and not to be eager or curious to know their reality, and there are three reasons for this:
➊ Allah Almighty has described His attributes to us through the Quran and Sunnah but has not described their modality.
➋ When we do not know the modality of Allah’s essence, how can we know the modality of His attributes, because the modality of the attributes can only be known if the modality of the essence is known.
➌ There are three ways to know the modality of something:
(a) Observing it (b) Observing something similar to it (c) Information from a truthful person about it. And regarding the attributes of Allah Almighty, none of these methods is possible.
Second Point
If the mention of the Divine attributes leads to criticism of the blessed hadiths, then this objection can also be raised against the Glorious Quran, because the Glorious Quran contains mention of many blessed attributes of the Lord Almighty, such as the attribute: mercy, wrath, coming in honor, right hand, face, eye, modesty, and others. Therefore, the correct approach is to accept what is mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah and not to try to make it objectionable.
Third Point
The hadiths that objectors consider objectionable, the reality is that none of these hadiths are objectionable when we form the belief about these attributes that we accept these attributes according to the meaning intended by Allah Almighty and His Messenger ﷺ. Whatever words have been used regarding the attributes of Allah Almighty, by accepting them in their literal sense, we remain silent about the nature of these attributes which has not been explained to us, such as seeing, hearing, speech, descent, establishment, laughter, anger, and other attributes of Allah Almighty, accepting them in their literal sense without likening or comparing them to creation and without describing their nature. When this fundamental principle is understood, then there will be no room for objection, nor will any verse of the Holy Quran or any authentic Prophetic hadith be considered objectionable.
