The Ahl al-Sunnah – inclusive of the Ashʿarīs, the Māturīdīs and the noble ones from Ḥanbalis – are all in agreement regarding the principles of Religious Creed (ʿaqīdah), whilst some difference remains with respect to its subsidiary matters (furūʿ). Similarly, the Companions, the Salaf, the People of Ḥadīth and the Ḥanābilah differed in the subsidiary matters of creed [and other matters] though these were semantic disputes, rather than actual differences.
- They agree that Allāh has The Most Beautiful Names (al-Asmā’ al-Ḥusnā) and He has Lofty Attributes (al-Ṣifāt al-ʿUlā). They affirm them all and do not negate any of them. Imām Abū Ḥanīfah said: “And we describe Him just as He described Himself—The One, The Everlasting. He does not beget nor was He begotten.”
- They agree that He is absolutely transcendent from all flaws, in every way.
- They agree regarding the transcendence of Allāh and His total and complete dissimilarity to creation in all of the Attributes, just as He said: ﴾There is nothing like unto Him. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.﴿ [al-Shurā 42:11].
And also that He is perfect, as Imām Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī said: “Imagination cannot reach Him, comprehension cannot perceive Him nor can He be likened to creation.” And he also said: “And He is transcendent from having opposites and peers.” And he also said: “Whoever is not wary of denying His Attributes or of negating anthropomorphism has erred and has not understood Divine Transcendence properly.”
- They agree that Allāh does not have any likeness in His Entity, His Attributes nor His Actions; and Allāh is not a physical entity (jism), substance (jawhar), nor is He an accident (ʿarḍ). And so, He cannot be described with physicality or its inherent necessities (lawāzim).
Imām Abū Ḥanīfah mentions in al-Fiqh al-Akbar: “He is ‘an existent being’ unlike any other. What we mean by an existent being is affirming His Existence without being a body, substance, accident; nor is He encapsulated by any limit nor does He have any opposite, equal or anything remotely like Him.”
Imām Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī said: “It is not permissible to use the word ‘body’ (jism) to describe Allāh.”
And Imām Aḥmad [ibn Ḥanbal] refuted those who used the word ‘body’ [to describe Allāh] and he said: “The names of Allāh will only be derived from the Sacred Law or lexically. The linguists use this word (i.e. jism – body) for things that have length, width, thickness, structure, form and composition; and Allāh is far removed from all of these things, so the ascription of the word ‘body’ is not permissible due to his transcendence from the entailments of the word. Furthermore, [this concept of Him being a body] has no basis in the Sacred Law so it is invalid and discarded.”
The [position of the] school of Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was: Allāh has a wajh which is unlike a pictured image nor like an outlined object, but the word wajh is attributed to Him due to His saying ﴾Everything will perish except His wajh.﴿ [al-Qaṣaṣ 28:88]. Then he said: “And the meaning of wajh does not come under the meaning of a physical body with regards to Him, nor does it indicate an image or an outline – whosoever says this has innovated.”
- They agree that Allāh’s Attributes are pre-eternal – they do not undergo change nor development; they do not increase or decrease. Imām al-Ṭaḥāwī said: “Just as His Attributes were Pre-Eternal before He created [anything], He remains with these same Attributes without any increase in them coming about due to His creation coming into existence. And just as He existed pre-eternally with His Attributes, He will exist with them eternally.”
- They are all united in the belief that Allāh is independent of the Universe; neither time nor place can encompass Him. Imām al-Tahāwī said: “Allāh is Transcendent beyond limits, ends, supports, components or tools. from [being restricted by] any limit, end, [being a] compound and tools. The six directions cannot encompass Him as they do created beings.”
So, He – Exalted and Sublime is He – does not exist within space nor is He dependent on space [to exist]. Allāh existed even when space did not, and He exists currently as He has always existed. This is also what is stated by al-Tamīmī, the transmitter of the creed of al-Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, in that he said: “And Allāh did not undergo any development or change, nor was He subject to any [temporal or spatial] limitation before the creation of the ʿArsh nor after it.”
And also: “He used to say regarding the meaning of istiwā’: it is in the meaning of exaltedness (ʿuluw) and loftiness (irtifāʿ), and Allāh was still exalted and lofty before the creation of the ʿArsh – and so He is above everything and exalted above everything. The ʿArsh was specified [in the verses of the Qur’an] only due to it being different to other creations—the ʿArsh is the most superior and elevated of all creation, so Allāh praised it in that He did istiwā’ on the Throne, meaning: He is exalted above even the ʿArsh. And it is not permissible to say Istiwā’ occurs with touching or meeting for Allāh is far exalted beyond that.”
- They are united in the belief that His Attributes are not limbs, nor organs, nor instruments or body parts. This is because if He were a body then He would have resembled the bodies [of creation], and Allāh is far exalted beyond that.
Imām Abū Ḥanīfah said: “And all of His Attributes in their entirety are different to the attributes of creation: He Knows in a manner which does not resemble our knowing. He has Power in a manner that does not resemble our power. He Sees in a manner that does not resemble our seeing. He Speaks in a manner that does not resemble our speech and He Hears in a manner that does not resemble our hearing. We speak through instruments and letters (ḥurūf) and Allāh speaks without instruments and letters for all letters are created, and the Speech of Allāh is not created.”
al-Bekri, Ḥamzah; Usus al-ʿAqīdah al-Islāmīyyah
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