How should we understand the information about belief that begins with the words, “Allah is something, but He is not like other things”?

The Details of the Question

“Allah is a thing (entity), but He is not like other things. His existence is far from body, substance, being parts of a whole, limits, opposites, equals and partners. As is mentioned in the Quran, He has a hand, face and soul. As is mentioned in the Quran, things like hand, face and soul are attributes without quality. It cannot be said that His hand is His power or His blessing because, in that case, the attribute is annulled. It is the view of Qadariyya and Mutazila. Just as His hand is an attribute without quality, His wrath and His consent are also two attributes without quality.”

- How should we understand the paragraph above, which is included in al-Fiqh al-Akbar?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

- What is emphasized here is that the attributes in the Quran and the Sunnah are accepted without interpretation. Since they are expressed in the verses and hadiths, the same expressions should be accepted because otherwise, interpreting those attributes means giving up their apparent meaning, which means disregarding the attributes. The view of Salaf scholars is generally like that. 

For example: There is “Allah’s hand”, but it is not material like the hands of other beings. Whatever Allah means is true. However, since we do not know it, we refer their reality to the knowledge of Allah.

The view of the vast majority of Salaf scholars, including Abu Hanifa, is like that.

- On the other hand, Ahl as-Sunnah scholars who have been given the title of “khalaf scholars” since the period starting with Abul-Hasan al-Ash’ari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, the imams of creed of Ahl as-Sunnah, argue that those attributes are ambiguous and therefore in need of interpretation.

The existence of ambiguous verses in the Quran is accepted and the way of interpretation is accepted. Since ambiguous verses are interpreted in other issues, ambiguous attributes should also be interpreted.

- We should state that both salaf and khalaf scholars unanimously agree on accepting the attributes of Allah and not resorting to ta’til (disregarding) and tashbih (simile). The only difference between them is whether ambiguous attributes are to be interpreted or not.

- There are legitimate reasons for khalaf scholars to accept that interpretation is obligatory. For example: During the period of salaf scholars, minds were pure, belief was strong, the paths of doubt were closed, and submission was a state of nature. However, later on, in a period when people’s belief in general had lost its strength compared to the past, submission was broken, and the door was opened to new questions and different cultures resulting from the translation of Greek philosophy and the intertwining with societies of different civilizations, it was inevitable to interpret such attributes that would seemingly constitute evidence for the corporeality of Allah.

Otherwise, there would be a conception of Allah that was contrary to the spirit of the Quran. The fact that aberrant sects dredged up this issue also shows that these interpretations were obligatory and true.

Let us give just one example:

According to the apparent meaning of the verse “(Allah) Most Gracious is firmly established on the Throne” in the Quran, its full explanation is as follows: “Allah sat on a chair called the Throne, which is accepted to exist above the heavens.”

This perception has no place in the religion; besides, it is incorrect in terms of reason, logic and reality because the Throne, like the earth and the sky, is a creature, and was created afterwards. It is unthinkable that Allah, who is an eternal being, would need to sit on a chair that He created afterwards. It is a well-accepted fact that the eternal being does not undergo change - even by moving from one place to another. However, “being established on the Throne” apparently means a change, a movement, a transfer from one place to another.

From this point of view, khalaf scholars’ interpretation of this verse as: “Just as Allah created the universe alone, His sultanate / administration / sovereignty is also without partners” is correct and completely compatible with the spirit of Islam’s perception of Allah.

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