The Sunni Methodology of Belief in the Divine Attributes

All praise belongs to Allah, the Most High, the Highest, who created and proportioned, and who determined and guided. He alone possesses exaltedness in His essence, names, and attributes, and every perfection is therefore affirmed for Him. May Allah send prayers, peace, and blessings upon the one who said to his community on the Day of ʿArafah: «أنتم تُسألون عني فما أنتم قائلون»? They replied: We testify that you have conveyed the message, discharged your trust, and given sincere counsel. Raising his forefinger toward heaven and pointing it toward the people, he said: «اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَدْ، اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَدْ», three times ([1]).

O Allah, also send prayers upon his good and pure family and Companions, and upon those who follow their footsteps and walk their path until the Day of Judgment. To proceed:

The dispute among the people who face the qiblah over affirming the divine attributes is old and well known. Praise be to Allah, the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah, from the Companions to those who follow their path in every time and land, has been established through the clearest evidence and soundest course.

For a period of our lives, in our country—Egypt, may it be protected—and elsewhere, we saw the banners of the Sunnah prominent and unfurled, and the standards of innovation lowered and buried. Then came what stirred discord, provoked trials, and renewed old animosities. Some young people turned from the straight road of their righteous predecessors to the crooked paths of the speculative theologians; others moved toward the ruinous paths of the Sufis; still others departed from the entire way of the Sunnah to join the path of the perishing Rafidah.

Among the factors that helped this pathological and unacceptable phenomenon emerge was a weakness in knowledge and its foundations within Ahl al-Sunnah. Their scholarly schools became fewer, and much of their light faded. Some became preoccupied with their brethren instead of their enemies, while others devoted themselves to calling the general public rather than teaching and cultivating the select students. Matters were made worse by worldly life taking possession of hearts and hearts opening themselves to it.

All this was accompanied by internal and external support for the followers of desires and innovations. At home they are handed the reins of general religious leadership; abroad they establish global unions, organize international conferences, set up suspect institutions, and beg at the tables of the unbelieving West and the atheistic East. An international consensus of mutual exhortation has emerged that the dominant religious practice in the Middle East should be rooted in Sufi orders and philosophical speculative theology!!

One would never have imagined all these closed doors opening to innovations and errors, or all these drawn curtains lifting to reveal such forms of deviation and contravention, and such parties and tendencies, united only in fighting this great Islam and disfiguring the radiant face of the Sunnah.

Yet there is neither despair nor distress in the heart, praise be to Allah. Allah Most High supports His religion and the Sunnah of His Prophet in every time and place. He, exalted is He, has undertaken to grant victory to His allies on every land and beneath every sky. This war, praise be to Allah, strengthens the backs of Ahl al-Sunnah, fortifies their hearts, and tests and refines their knowledge and understanding. Truth is firmly rooted and enduring; falsehood is intrusive and perishing.

Since affirming Allah’s oneness in His names and attributes is among the greatest binding duties, our righteous predecessors devoted great attention to establishing its foundations, explaining its details, presenting its evidence, and clarifying its reasoning. Sometimes they devoted independent books to it; at other times they addressed it within commentaries on clear verses and firmly established hadiths. An example of this second kind of attention to the oneness of the attributes is the commentary on the hadith of divine descent in Imam Malik’s Muwaṭṭaʾ, which Imam Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr explained in his great book al-Tamhīd.

The importance of this commentary rests on several considerations:

1—The commentator is an imam whose leadership and eminence are universally acknowledged. Praise be to Allah, all of Ahl al-Sunnah, hadith scholars and jurists alike, agree on his trustworthiness, invoke Allah’s pleasure upon him, and refer to him as a leader in religion.

Hadith scholars regard him, without rival, as the great hadith master of the Maghrib. He spent a long lifetime in hadith scholarship, attained elevated chains of transmission, and his works were carried far and wide. The scholars of his age submitted to the abundance of his knowledge.

Jurists regard him as having reached the rank of the imams qualified for independent legal reasoning. His knowledge of jurisprudence was extensive, his understanding of it strong, and his mind ranged freely through its valleys.

As for the foundations of religion and adherence to and following of the Sunnah, his belief was that of the early predecessors and his religious commitment was firm. He followed the school of the Salaf and did not enter speculative theology, but followed the footsteps of his teachers, may Allah have mercy on them.

He is that towering scholar and eminent imam, Shaykh al-Islam and hadith master of the Maghrib: Abū ʿUmar Yūsuf ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Qurṭubī, al-Andalusī, the learned imam. Born in 368 AH, he died in 463 AH, on the night preceding Friday, aged ninety-five. May Allah grant him abundant mercy ([2]).

He authored al-Kāfī on Malik’s school, al-Tamhīd, al-Istidhkār, and Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa-Faḍlih. Had he written nothing else, these would have sufficed to establish his lofty standing and distinction—yet they are only some of his writings and a portion of his works.

He became famous, may Allah have mercy on him, as “Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr,” and was known for sound belief, a wholesome legacy, a good reputation, and the community’s acceptance. What a great blessing upon Ahl al-Sunnah in every time and land!

In his book Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa-Faḍlih, he said: “In belief concerning Allah’s attributes and names, there is only what is expressly stated in Allah’s Book, authentically reported from Allah’s Messenger ﷺ, or agreed upon by the community. Whatever comes through individual reports concerning all this or similar matters is accepted without engaging in disputation over it” ([3]).

In the introduction to his Tamhīd, affirming acceptance of individually transmitted reports in matters of belief, he said: “Our position is that such a report obligates action rather than certain knowledge, just like the testimony of two witnesses or four. This is the position of most scholars of jurisprudence and transmitted reports. All of them adopt the report of a single upright transmitter in matters of belief, base allegiance and opposition upon it, and regard it as law and religion within their creed. This is the position of the body of Ahl al-Sunnah; concerning legal rulings, their position is what we have mentioned. Allah grants us success” ([4]).

2—The imam was certainly born after the deaths of Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī and Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī and after their schools had spread through the lands. He was Sunni and Salafi, not a speculative theologian—neither Ashʿari nor Maturidi. Rather, he said, and how excellent his words were: “The scholars of jurisprudence and transmitted reports from every land unanimously agree that the people of speculative theology are people of innovation and deviation. They are not counted by anyone among the ranks of the jurists. Rather, the scholars are the people of transmitted reports and understanding of them; their relative distinction lies in precision, discernment, and understanding” ([5]).

He then quoted Ibn Khuwayz Mandād, the Egyptian Maliki who died toward the end of the fourth century, as saying: “According to Malik and all our companions, the followers of desires are the people of speculative theology. Every speculative theologian is therefore among the followers of desires and innovations, whether Ashʿari or otherwise. His testimony in Islam is not accepted; he is shunned and disciplined for his innovation. If he persists in it, he is called upon to repent of it” ([6]).

Then, approving these words, he said in the same book: “In beliefs concerning Allah’s attributes and names, there is only what is expressly stated in Allah’s Book…” and so on ([7]).

3—Accordingly, the method this imam established for dealing with the hadiths of the attributes is the authentic way of the Salaf, before figurative reinterpretation or negation became known, and before consigning meanings to Allah or distortion was heard of. This practiced method is what was transmitted from the best earlier generations who followed guidance. It is what Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and those who came after him in his school followed. Anyone who examines the words of Ibn Taymiyyah and his students and compares them with Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr’s words will recognize that they issue from a single lamp, even though Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr died roughly two centuries before Ibn Taymiyyah was born!

Strictly speaking, this is not the method of Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr or anyone else in particular. It is the belief of the people of Islam, pure of the stains of Greek philosophy, the heresy of the logicians, and the doubts of the speculative theologians. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds.

Before discussing this commentary and its contents, we would like to demonstrate the unity of the method followed by the earlier guided generations: the eminent imams and shaykhs of Islam who avoided the paths of ruin, especially those who preceded Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr. This concerns the affirmation of oneness in all the names and attributes, so that clear evidence and radiant proof may establish the soundness, stability, and consistency of this Salafi method in contrast to the hesitation, vacillation, bewilderment, and contradiction among the later scholars.

The belief of the Salaf in this matter rests on believing in all the attributes and understanding them in the real sense befitting Allah Most High, without likening Him to creation or specifying how His attributes are. The following reports briefly demonstrate this:

1—When ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, arrived in Syria and the people received him while he was riding his camel, they said: Commander of the Faithful, if only you would ride a fine horse, for the great men and notables will be receiving you. ʿUmar replied: “I do not see you here; the matter comes only from here”—pointing his hand toward heaven—“leave my camel’s path clear” ([8]).

This indicates describing Allah Most High as exalted above and the permissibility of pointing toward Him in heaven.

2—The Successor Rabīʿah ibn ʿAmr al-Jurashī (d. 64 AH), explaining the words of the Most High, said: {وَٱلۡأَرۡضُ جَمِيعٗا قَبۡضَتُهُۥ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ وَٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ مَطۡوِيَّٰتُۢ بِيَمِينِهِۦۚ} [الزمر: 67].

He said: “His other hand is empty, with nothing in it” ([9]). Does this not show that he affirmed the hand in the real sense befitting the majesty of Allah Most High, without reinterpreting it as blessing, ability, or power?!

3—Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 150 AH), said:

“He has a hand, a face, and a self, as Allah Most High has mentioned in the Qur’an. The face, hand, and self that Allah Most High mentions in the Qur’an are attributes of His, without asking how. It is not said that His hand is His power or His blessing, for that negates the attribute and is the position of the Qadariyyah and the Muʿtazilah” ([10]).

4—Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 179 AH), said:

“The manner is beyond rational comprehension; His rising over is not unknown; belief in it is obligatory; and asking about it is an innovation. I fear that you may be astray.” He ordered that the man be removed, and he was taken out ([11]).

5—Imam al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 204 AH), said:

After mentioning and enumerating several attributes, he said: “These meanings with which Allah described Himself and with which His Messenger ﷺ described Him are matters whose reality cannot be grasped by thought and reflection. No one therefore becomes an unbeliever through ignorance of them until the report of them reaches him. If what is received is a report that, in understanding what is heard, has the force of direct witnessing, the listener is obliged to profess belief in its reality and testify to it as though he had witnessed it and heard it from Allah’s Messenger ﷺ. Yet he affirms these attributes and denies resemblance, just as Allah, exalted be His mention, denied it of Himself, saying: {لَيۡسَ كَمِثۡلِهِۦ شَيۡءٞۖ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡبَصِيرُ}” ([12]) [الشورى: 11].

6—Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 241 AH), said, as reported from him by Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq:

He said: “I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh: Does Allah Most High descend to the lowest heaven? He replied: Yes. I asked: Is His descent by His knowledge, or by what? He told me: Be silent about this. He became extremely angry and said: What business do you have with this? Let the hadith pass as it was narrated, without asking how” ([13]).

Imam Aḥmad was asked: Does Allah descend to the lowest heaven however He wills, without a description of how? He answered: “Yes” ([14]).

This explicitly affirms a real descent, rather than a figurative one.

7—Imam al-Tirmidhī, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 279 AH), said:

“More than one scholar has said concerning this hadith and similar reports about the attributes and the descent of the Lord, blessed and exalted is He, every night to the lowest heaven: The reports concerning this are established and are to be believed; no imagining is to be entertained, nor is it to be asked: How? It is thus reported from Malik, Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak that they said concerning these hadiths: Let them pass without asking how. Such is the position of the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah. The Jahmiyyah, however, denied these reports and said: This is likening Allah to creation” ([15]).

What significance would the Jahmiyyah’s accusation that Ahl al-Sunnah liken Allah to creation have, if the latter did not believe in affirming the attribute in the real sense befitting Him Most High?

8—Imam al-Dārimī (d. 280 AH) said:

“The opponent claimed that Allah does not descend Himself; rather, His command and mercy descend…” He went on to say: “These too are the arguments of women, children, and those without clarity of expression” ([16]).

On affirming the attribute of the hand, he said: “He personally undertook Adam’s creation with His hand, in direct contact” ([17]).

This explicitly affirms the attributes of descent and the hand in the real sense befitting Allah’s majesty and perfection. He then said in rejection: “Praise be to Allah Most High, we know these figurative usages from the languages of the Arabs. You have adopted them as a deception and a sophistry to mislead the ignorant, denying the realities of Allah’s attributes on the pretext of figurative usages” ([18]).

9—Imam al-Ṭabarī, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 310 AH), said:

“The correct position on this matter, in our view, is to affirm their realities in accordance with what we understand by affirmation and the denial of resemblance, just as He, majestic be His praise, denied it of Himself, saying:

{لَيۡسَ كَمِثۡلِهِۦ شَيۡءٞۖ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡبَصِيرُ}” [الشورى: 11].

He went on to say: “We therefore affirm all these meanings that we have mentioned as having come through the reports, the Book, and revelation, according to what is understood by real affirmation, and we deny resemblance of Him. Thus we say: He, majestic be His praise, hears sounds, without an opening in an ear or an organ like the organs of Adam’s descendants. Likewise, He sees persons with sight unlike the eyes of Adam’s descendants, which are organs belonging to them. He has two hands, a right hand, and fingers; they are not organs, but two hands outstretched with blessings upon creation, not withheld from goodness. He has a face unlike the organs of Adam’s descendants, which are made of flesh and blood. We say that He laughs toward whomever He wills among His creation, without saying that this is a baring of teeth; and He descends every night to the lowest heaven” ([19]).

10—Imam Ibn Khuzaymah, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 311 AH), said:

After mentioning two noble verses, the first being the words of the Most High, {تَبَٰرَكَ ٱسۡمُ رَبِّكَ ذِي ٱلۡجَلَٰلِ وَٱلۡإِكۡرَامِ} [الرحمن: 78], and the second His words, {وَيَبۡقَىٰ وَجۡهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو ٱلۡجَلَٰلِ وَٱلۡإِكۡرَامِ} [الرحمن: 27]:

“These two verses indicate that Allah’s face is one of Allah’s attributes, an attribute of His essence—not that Allah’s face is Allah, nor that His face is other than Him, as the negating Jahmiyyah claimed…” ([20]).

11—Imam Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Karajī, known as al-Qaṣṣāb, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 360 AH), said:

In the Qadiri Creed, endorsed by Judge Abū Yaʿlā, Abū al-Ḥasan al-Qazwīnī, and others, he said: “He is described only by what He described Himself with or His Prophet described Him with. Every attribute by which He described Himself or His Prophet described Him is a real attribute, not a figurative attribute. Had it been figurative, its reinterpretation would have been necessary, and it would have been said: Sight means such and such, and hearing means such and such. They would have been explained contrary to what first comes to people’s understanding. Since the way of the Salaf was to acknowledge them without reinterpretation, it is known that they are not understood figuratively; rather, they are manifest truth” ([21]).

Ibn Abī Yaʿlā said, while relating his father’s creed in Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābilah: “What we have mentioned of belief in the reports concerning the attributes, without negation, resemblance, explanatory gloss, or reinterpretation, is the position of the Salaf from beginning to end. It is what the Commander of the Faithful al-Qādir, may Allah be pleased with him, stated in the Qadiri Epistle, where he said: ‘Whatever Allah, exalted is He, described Himself with, or Allah’s Messenger ﷺ described Him with, constitutes Allah’s attributes, mighty and majestic is He, in their real sense, not figuratively.’ Upon this belief, the Commander of the Faithful al-Qādir bi-Amr Allāh, may Allah be pleased with him, assembled those scholars of the time who were present with my blessed father—meaning Judge Abū Yaʿlā—and their ascetic, Abū al-Ḥasan al-Qazwīnī, in the year 432 AH, and took their written signatures affirming his belief” ([22]).

To proceed: This has been a sample of what the Salaf collectively and indisputably followed: affirming the attributes and avoiding reinterpretation, likening, and specifying their manner. Were brevity and concision not necessary, we could, praise be to Allah Most High, have supplied many times these reports for every generation. Let each person therefore consider his own belief concerning his Lord’s attributes. In sum, our predecessors, from the Companions of our Prophet onward, believe in Allah Most High’s attributes and affirm their existence and that they have a manner, without affirming knowledge of that manner. They require that the attributes be understood in the real sense befitting His majesty and perfection, exalted is He, and according to their apparent, immediately understood meaning. They deny resemblance and reinterpretation, avoid consigning their meanings to Allah, and say: What is said of some attributes is like what is said of the others.

This commentary on one of the hadiths of the Muwaṭṭaʾ was of great importance because of the distinctive method Abū ʿUmar Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, may Allah have mercy on him, followed. We will briefly indicate these methodological features, so that they may form a path along which his footsteps can be followed:

First: We saw the imam begin by establishing and authenticating this hadith and discussing its versions and transmitters, thereby confirming the foundation relied upon in explaining the creed.

Second: He then addressed affirming exaltedness and being above for Allah Most High, because descent indicates this. He also discussed affirming His rising over the Throne, since this too concerns exaltedness. He cited the verses indicating rising over together with verses indicating being above, and alluded to the opposing views of the Jahmiyyah, rejecting them.

Third: He refuted the opponents’ views and doubts, answered the claim that rising over is figurative, explained that the default in speech is its real meaning, defined the linguistic meaning of rising over, and rejected a disavowed report from Ibn ʿAbbās used as evidence by the opponents.

Fourth: He arranged the proofs for exaltedness in their proper order: first the indication of innate nature, then the transmitted proofs, and third the rational proofs. He denied that analogy can be drawn between Him Most High and His creation.

Fifth: He addressed the attribute of descent by explaining the correct position concerning it. He outlined the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah in the attributes as a whole, criticized the method of the speculative theologians who reinterpret them, and refuted those who attributed reinterpretation to Imam Malik and others. He also refuted the speculative theologians who consign the meanings of the attributes to Allah.

Sixth: In the course of his refutation, he affirmed that Allah Most High will be seen in the Hereafter and answered the doubt raised concerning that vision.

Seventh: He completed the commentary on the hadith by explaining the virtue and importance of seeking forgiveness, and the distinction of supplication in the final third of the night.

All this rich benefit lies in the commentary on the hadith of descent. This commentary truly deserves to be issued as a separate book and itself explained in a work of commentary.

If this was the belief of the hadith master of the Maghrib, who died in 463 AH, it was also the belief of the hadith master of the Mashriq, al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, who died in the same year. He said: “Concerning discussion of the attributes: the way of the Salaf, may Allah be pleased with them, regarding those narrated in the authentic Sunnah is to affirm them, let them stand according to their apparent meanings, and deny specifying their manner and likening them to creation. Some people denied them and thus nullified what Allah, exalted is He, affirmed. Some who affirmed them pressed their affirmation into a form of resemblance and specification of manner. The aim is to follow the middle path between these two, for Allah Most High’s religion lies between the one who goes to excess in it and the one who falls short. The fundamental principle is that discussion of the attributes derives from discussion of the essence and follows the same course and pattern.

“Since it is known that affirming the Lord of all worlds, mighty and majestic is He, affirms His existence without specifying its manner, affirming His attributes likewise affirms their existence without delimiting or specifying their manner. When we say that Allah Most High has a hand, hearing, and sight, these are attributes Allah Most High affirmed for Himself. We do not say that the hand means power, or that hearing and sight mean knowledge. We do not say that they are organs, nor do we liken them to the hands, hearing, and sight that are organs and instruments of action. We say: Affirming them is obligatory because revelation has conveyed them, and denying resemblance of them is obligatory because of His words, blessed and exalted is He: {لَيۡسَ كَمِثۡلِهِۦ شَيۡءٞۖ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡبَصِيرُ} [الشورى: 11], and His words, mighty and majestic is He: {وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدُۢ}” ([23]) [الإخلاص: 4].

O Allah, by Your grace show us truth as truth and grant us the ability to follow it; show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to avoid it. O Lord, make our hearts firm upon truth and direct our limbs and inner selves toward obedience, by Your mercy, Most Merciful of the merciful. May Allah send prayers, peace, and blessings upon our Prophet Muḥammad, his family, and all his Companions. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds.

([1]) Recorded by Muslim (1218/147).

([2]) See Tartīb al-Madārik (8/127); al-Dībāj al-Mudhhab (p. 440); al-Dhahabī’s Tārīkh al-Islām, events and deaths of the years 461–470 AH (31/142); and Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (18/161–162).

([3]) Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa-Faḍlih (2/943).

([4]) Al-Tamhīd (1/302–303).

([5]) Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa-Faḍlih (2/942).

([6]) The preceding source (2/943).

([7]) The preceding source (2/943).

([8]) Recorded by Ibn Abī Shaybah (7/9), Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ḥilyah (1/47), Ibn Qudāmah in Ṣifat al-ʿUluww (p. 111), and al-Dhahabī in al-ʿUluww (p. 62), with his chain back to Ibn Abī Shaybah. He said: Its chain is as clear as the sun.

([9]) Recorded by Ibn Jarīr in his Tafsīr (24/25) and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad in al-Sunnah (2/501).

([10]) Al-Fiqh al-Akbar with its commentary (p. 27).

([11]) See al-Radd ʿalā al-Jahmiyyah (104) and Sharḥ Uṣūl Iʿtiqād Ahl al-Sunnah (664).

([12]) Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābilah, in al-Shāfiʿī’s biography (1/283). Ibn Ḥajar quoted part of it in al-Fatḥ (13/407).

([13]) Al-Mukhtār min al-Ibānah, continuation of al-Radd ʿalā al-Jahmiyyah, volume three (184); and al-Lālakāʾī’s Sharḥ Uṣūl Iʿtiqād Ahl al-Sunnah (3/453).

([14]) Recorded by Abū Yaʿlā in Ibṭāl al-Taʾwīlāt (1/260). See also Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (6/146).

([15]) See Sunan al-Tirmidhī (3/50).

([16]) Al-Radd ʿalā al-Marīsī (1/214).

([17]) Al-Radd ʿalā al-Marīsī (1/230).

([18]) Al-Radd ʿalā al-Marīsī (2/855).

([19]) Al-Tabṣīr fī Maʿālim al-Dīn (pp. 141–145).

([20]) Al-Tawḥīd (1/52).

([21]) See Ibn al-Jawzī’s al-Muntaẓam, events of 433 AH; Darʾ al-Taʿāruḍ (6/254); al-Ṣawāʿiq al-Mursalah (4/1288); and Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (16/213–214).

([22]) Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābilah (3/391–392).

([23]) Al-Khaṭīb’s Risālat al-Ṣifāt (p. 3). Al-Dhahabī also narrated this report in al-Siyar (18/283–284), with his chain back to al-Khaṭīb.