Madarijas-Salikeen
9th June 2007, 05:04 PM
as salaamu alaykum
A good friend of mine allowed me to borrow Tawhid of Allah's Most Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes The Belief of Ahl al-sunnah wa l-jama'ah by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Khalifah al-Tamimi (Associate professor, Islamic University of Madinah)
It is from what I have seen (through skimming) is very good and detailed on the subject of Tawhid al asma wa sifaat. It is a great defense of Ahlus sunnah views. I want to share something on page 52-53
Ah al-sunnah Deem it necessary for the one who wants to affirm these attributes and possess the belief that they are Attributes of perfection affirmed for Allah in a real sense, to observe and take into account the following points:
1. To affirm the Attribute, hence, he does not negate or refute it.
2. Not to oberstep the specific Name given to this Attribute, rather, he must respect the Name given to this Attribute just as he respects the Attribute itself. Hence, he does not nullify the Attribute nor does he change its Name by giving it another, as do the jahmiyyah al-mu'attilah with regard to hearing, Sight , and speech of Allah, by terming them a'rad. They also term His Face, Hands and Foot, Jawarih and ab'ad. They term His Highness over His creation and ascension over His Throne, tahayyuz
(Footnote 72)
It is from the methodology of the people of innovation that they seek to estrange and make repulsive, by adopting falsehood, the methodology of ahl al-sunnah, the people of hadith, the salaf of this ummah. One of the means they adopt to achieve this is to hurl false charges at the methodology and belief ot he salaf, which have no legitimate basis whatsoever. An example of this is their accusation that ahl al-sunnah commit tashbih and tamthil in the area of Allah's Names and Attributes. The foreign terms mentioned above by the author are employed by them in an attempt to justify this accusation.
The word a'rad is the plural of arad, one of its meanings is an accidental characteristic. The people of innovation slander ahl al sunnah saying that ahl al sunnah affirm such a'rad for Allah and hence, this is tashbih (likening) that is not permissible because of their premise: "a'rad can only exist alongside a body". This argumentation of theirs, which relies on flawed premises and vague terminology that is used inconsistently, is refuted in many ways. What the people of innovation actually intend by a'rad here, are the Attributes Allah has mentioned in His book and on the tongue of His messenger salalahu alayhi wa salam such as His Hearing, Sight, and Speech.
The word jawarih is the plural of Jarihah, which means a bodily limb such as one's hand and leg. This is the meaning of the attribute with regards to its relation to a human being. However when the specific Attributes of Hands, eyes, etc. are affirmed for Allah-because He himself has revealed this to us- then such an affirmation is done so in a manner that befits His majesty without any likeness to His creation and ahl al sunnah do not label such attributes as being jawarih. The people of innovation however slander by saying, ahl al sunnah affirm limbs for Allah. The same is the case for the word ab'ad. It is the plural of ba'd which means some, a part or a portion of something. When ahl al sunnah affirmed for Allah the attributes He affirmed for Himself, the people of innovation slandered them by saying, 'ahl al sunnah liken Allah to His creation by affirming parts to Him.'
The word tahayyuz is from the verb tahayyaza, which carries meaning such as occupy, isolate oneself and seclude oneself. Ahl al sunnah affirm for Allah His ascension above the throne as He himself has mentioned that in seven places in His book. They affirm that Allah is above His creation and with this belief they hold that He (ta'ala) is not contained, confined or encompassed by a place, direction or creation. The people of innovation however, slander ahl al sunnah by saying that they believe that Allah is in a place and direction that has confined, taken hold of Him and encompassed Him, HIghly exalted He is above that.
A good friend of mine allowed me to borrow Tawhid of Allah's Most Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes The Belief of Ahl al-sunnah wa l-jama'ah by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Khalifah al-Tamimi (Associate professor, Islamic University of Madinah)
It is from what I have seen (through skimming) is very good and detailed on the subject of Tawhid al asma wa sifaat. It is a great defense of Ahlus sunnah views. I want to share something on page 52-53
Ah al-sunnah Deem it necessary for the one who wants to affirm these attributes and possess the belief that they are Attributes of perfection affirmed for Allah in a real sense, to observe and take into account the following points:
1. To affirm the Attribute, hence, he does not negate or refute it.
2. Not to oberstep the specific Name given to this Attribute, rather, he must respect the Name given to this Attribute just as he respects the Attribute itself. Hence, he does not nullify the Attribute nor does he change its Name by giving it another, as do the jahmiyyah al-mu'attilah with regard to hearing, Sight , and speech of Allah, by terming them a'rad. They also term His Face, Hands and Foot, Jawarih and ab'ad. They term His Highness over His creation and ascension over His Throne, tahayyuz
(Footnote 72)
It is from the methodology of the people of innovation that they seek to estrange and make repulsive, by adopting falsehood, the methodology of ahl al-sunnah, the people of hadith, the salaf of this ummah. One of the means they adopt to achieve this is to hurl false charges at the methodology and belief ot he salaf, which have no legitimate basis whatsoever. An example of this is their accusation that ahl al-sunnah commit tashbih and tamthil in the area of Allah's Names and Attributes. The foreign terms mentioned above by the author are employed by them in an attempt to justify this accusation.
The word a'rad is the plural of arad, one of its meanings is an accidental characteristic. The people of innovation slander ahl al sunnah saying that ahl al sunnah affirm such a'rad for Allah and hence, this is tashbih (likening) that is not permissible because of their premise: "a'rad can only exist alongside a body". This argumentation of theirs, which relies on flawed premises and vague terminology that is used inconsistently, is refuted in many ways. What the people of innovation actually intend by a'rad here, are the Attributes Allah has mentioned in His book and on the tongue of His messenger salalahu alayhi wa salam such as His Hearing, Sight, and Speech.
The word jawarih is the plural of Jarihah, which means a bodily limb such as one's hand and leg. This is the meaning of the attribute with regards to its relation to a human being. However when the specific Attributes of Hands, eyes, etc. are affirmed for Allah-because He himself has revealed this to us- then such an affirmation is done so in a manner that befits His majesty without any likeness to His creation and ahl al sunnah do not label such attributes as being jawarih. The people of innovation however slander by saying, ahl al sunnah affirm limbs for Allah. The same is the case for the word ab'ad. It is the plural of ba'd which means some, a part or a portion of something. When ahl al sunnah affirmed for Allah the attributes He affirmed for Himself, the people of innovation slandered them by saying, 'ahl al sunnah liken Allah to His creation by affirming parts to Him.'
The word tahayyuz is from the verb tahayyaza, which carries meaning such as occupy, isolate oneself and seclude oneself. Ahl al sunnah affirm for Allah His ascension above the throne as He himself has mentioned that in seven places in His book. They affirm that Allah is above His creation and with this belief they hold that He (ta'ala) is not contained, confined or encompassed by a place, direction or creation. The people of innovation however, slander ahl al sunnah by saying that they believe that Allah is in a place and direction that has confined, taken hold of Him and encompassed Him, HIghly exalted He is above that.