Nearness and Accompaniment as Divine Attributes: By Essence or By Knowledge?
Source: Qur’an o Hadees Ki Roshni Mein Ahkam o Masail – Volume 01
Nearness (Qurb), Accompaniment (Ma‘iyyah), Encompassing (Ihatah), and similar attributes of Allah — are these by essence (bil-dhāt) or by knowledge (bil-‘ilm)?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
Regarding nearness, accompaniment, and similar attributes of Allah:
◈ Some scholars interpret these attributes as bil-dhāt (by essence) and offer explanations accordingly.
◈ Other scholars interpret them as bil-‘ilm (nearness or encompassing through knowledge).
Research shows that the majority (jumhūr) of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah hold that:
◈ Belief in all attributes of Allah is obligatory without asking “how” (bilā kayf) and without likening them to anything else (bilā tashbīh).
Allah the Exalted says:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ﴾
(There is nothing like unto Him.)
The scholars have stated:
◈ We believe in all the narrations regarding these attributes.
◈ We do not doubt them, nor do we inquire into their “how.”
Imam Mālik ibn Anas, Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, and ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak رحمهم الله all said regarding such attributes:
◈ “Amirrūhā bilā kayf” — Accept them without asking how.
This position has also been adopted by other scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah, as recorded in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī.
Although scholars have written detailed discussions and treatises on this matter, the conclusion of the researchers is:
◈ It is obligatory to believe in all the attributes of Allah without asking how (bilā kayf) and without likening them to anything (bilā tashbīh).
◈ One should remain steadfast upon this creed.
Wallāhu A‘lam biṣ-ṣawāb, wa ilayhi al-marjaʿ wa-al-ma’āb.
Verification of the Fatwa:
➊ 1281 AH – Sayyid Muhammad Nazir Husain
➋ 1299 AH – Sayyid Muhammad ‘Abd al-Salām (May Allah forgive him)
➌ 1305 AH – Sayyid Muhammad Abu al-Hasan
➍ 1309 AH – Abu Sa‘īd Muhammad Husain
Source: Qur’an o Hadees Ki Roshni Mein Ahkam o Masail – Volume 01
Question:
Nearness (Qurb), Accompaniment (Ma‘iyyah), Encompassing (Ihatah), and similar attributes of Allah — are these by essence (bil-dhāt) or by knowledge (bil-‘ilm)?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
Regarding nearness, accompaniment, and similar attributes of Allah:
◈ Some scholars interpret these attributes as bil-dhāt (by essence) and offer explanations accordingly.
◈ Other scholars interpret them as bil-‘ilm (nearness or encompassing through knowledge).
The Position of the Majority of Scholars
Research shows that the majority (jumhūr) of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah hold that:
◈ Belief in all attributes of Allah is obligatory without asking “how” (bilā kayf) and without likening them to anything else (bilā tashbīh).
Evidence from the Qur’an
Allah the Exalted says:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ﴾
(There is nothing like unto Him.)
Consensus of the Scholars
The scholars have stated:
◈ We believe in all the narrations regarding these attributes.
◈ We do not doubt them, nor do we inquire into their “how.”
Statements of the Senior Scholars
Imam Mālik ibn Anas, Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, and ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak رحمهم الله all said regarding such attributes:
◈ “Amirrūhā bilā kayf” — Accept them without asking how.
This position has also been adopted by other scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah, as recorded in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī.
Summary of Research
Although scholars have written detailed discussions and treatises on this matter, the conclusion of the researchers is:
◈ It is obligatory to believe in all the attributes of Allah without asking how (bilā kayf) and without likening them to anything (bilā tashbīh).
◈ One should remain steadfast upon this creed.
Wallāhu A‘lam biṣ-ṣawāb, wa ilayhi al-marjaʿ wa-al-ma’āb.
Verification of the Fatwa:
➊ 1281 AH – Sayyid Muhammad Nazir Husain
➋ 1299 AH – Sayyid Muhammad ‘Abd al-Salām (May Allah forgive him)
➌ 1305 AH – Sayyid Muhammad Abu al-Hasan
➍ 1309 AH – Abu Sa‘īd Muhammad Husain
