Three Clear Categories of Things Attributed to Allah’s Essence
Source: Fatāwā Arkān al-Islām
❖ Question
The Qur’an attributes certain things like Face, Hand, and others to Allah. Into how many categories are such attributions divided?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The attributions of various things to Allah’s noble Essence fall into three categories:
➊ First Category:
Things that exist by themselves (self-subsisting entities).
- Their attribution to Allah is in the sense of creature-to-Creator relation.
This has two forms:
- General attribution:
﴿إِنَّ أَرضى وسِعَةٌ﴾
(“Indeed, My earth is spacious.” — Sūrah al-ʿAnkabūt 29:56)
- Special attribution of honor or excellence:
﴿وَطَهِّر بَيتِىَ لِلطّائِفينَ وَالقائِمينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجودِ﴾
(“Purify My House for those who perform ṭawāf, those who stand, bow, and prostrate.” — Sūrah al-Ḥajj 22:26)
﴿ناقَةَ اللَّهِ وَسُقيـها﴾
(“The she-camel of Allah and her drink.” — Sūrah al-Shams 91:13)
➋ Second Category:
Things which inhere within another entity.
- Example:
﴿وَروحٌ مِنهُ﴾
(“…and a spirit from Him.” — Sūrah al-Nisāʾ 4:171)
Here, the attribution of spirit to Allah is an attribution of honor. The spirit is one of His created beings, not a part of Allah. For example, the spirit breathed into ʿĪsā (Jesus, عليه السلام) is a created soul, distinct from Allah’s Essence.
Thus, this type of attribution still refers to created entities.
➌ Third Category:
Pure attributes, where the attribution is of Allah’s own qualities.
- These are uncreated, because all of Allah’s Attributes are eternal and uncreated.
Examples:
- Allah’s Power (qudrah)
- Allah’s Might (ʿizzah)
- And similar Attributes frequently mentioned in the Qur’an.
These belong exclusively to Allah’s Essence and are not created.
❖ Conclusion
- Category 1 & 2: Refers to created things, either generally or by honor.
- Category 3: Refers to Allah’s eternal Attributes, which are uncreated.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
(This is what I hold, and Allah knows best what is correct.)
