THE GOLDEN PRINCIPLES REGARDING ASMAA WAS SIFAAT

Transcription

1 THE GOLDEN PRINCIPLES REGARDING ASMAA WAS SIFAAT By Abu Yusuf Tawfique Chowdhury May Allah forgive him, his parents, his family, his teachers and all Muslims Version 2.0 Ramadan 1426 October 2005 Copyright All rights reserved for Tawfique Chowdhury

2 INTRODUCTION 1. The importance of learning about this knowledge: It is regarding the most important of all things It is the essence of our Ibaadah It is the command of Allah Nothing increases emaan like knowledge of Allah's names and attributes Numerous sects that deviated from the truth in this matter 2. The evolution of bida in Islam 3. The manhaj of Ahlus-Sunnah in this matter. 4. The reality of Kalam. 5. The return of the imams of Ahlul-Bidaa to the correct path. 2

3 GOLDEN RULES ABOUT ALLAH'S NAMES 1. All the names of Allah are Husnaa - Limitless in their beauty and perfection 2. Emaan in Allah's names and attributes necessitate 3 things: a. Emaan in attributing that name to Allah b. Emaan in attributing to Allah that characteristic which this name points to c. Emaan in whatever this name necessitates 3. The names of Allah are A'laam (Signs that point to Him) and Awsaaf (Characteristics of Him) 3

4 4. The names of Allah are signs that point to His Self (Dhat) and His attributes in 3 different ways: a. Mutabaqah :[مطابقة] That the name of Allah in its entirety points to other names of Allah it its entirety b. Tadammun :[تضمن] A name of Allah points to a part of another name of Allah c. Iltizaam :[ا لتزام] That the name of Allah necessitates another name of Allah, however it does not point to it in meaning. 5. The names of Allah are tawqeefiyyah (are upon Allah to clarify). There is no place for Aql in this matter. 4

5 6. The names of Allah are not limited to a specific number االله الا حد الا على الا كرم الا له الا ول الا خر الظاهر الباطن البارىء الب ر البصير الت و اب الجب ار الحافظ الحسيب الحفيظ الحفي الحق المبين الحكيم الحليم الحميد الحي القيوم الخبير الخالق الخل اق الرءوف الر حمن الرحيم الر زاق الر قيب الس لام السميع الش اكر الش كور الش هيد الص مد العالم العزيز العظيم العف و العليم العلي الغف ار الغفور الغني الفتاح القادر القاهر القد وس القدير القريب القوي القه ار الكبير الكريم الل طيف المو من المتعالي المتكب ر المتين ا يب ا يد المحيط المصو ر المقتدر المقيت الملك المليك المولى الودود الواسع الوارث الواحد الن صير المهيمن الوه اب الولي الوكيل الس ب وح الرفيق الرب الحيي الحكم الجميل الشافي الطيب الباسط القابض السيد الجواد الوتر المنان المحسن المو خر المقد م 5

6 7. Apostasy (Ilhaad) regarding the names and attributes of Allah is to deviate away from that which is wajib regarding it. 6

7 GOLDEN RULES ABOUT ALLAH'S ATTRIBUTES 1. All of Allah's names are attributes of perfection; there are no deficiencies in it in any way at all. They were always there and they will always be there. 2. The attributes of Allah are greater in number than His names 3. Attributes of Allah are of two types: a. That which must be established for Allah (positive attributes - complete in every aspect) b. That which Allah is deemed to be far removed from (negative attributes) 7

8 4. The attributes which must be established for Allah are praise-worthy and point to His absolute perfection. So the more that this type of attribute is, the more it points to the perfection of Allah 5. The attributes which must be established for Allah الثبوتية] [الصفات are of 3 types: a. Allah's self :[الذاتية] Those attributes which are completely about Allah's self b. Allah's actions :[الفعلية] Those attributes which are completely about Allah's actions c. Allah's self by one consideration and Allah's action by another consideration [ذاتية با عتبار وفعلية با عتبار [ 6. It is imperative when ever we establish the attributes of Allah, that we stay away from two important things: a. At-Tamtheel :[التمثيل] exemplifying or depicting Allah to be like the created b. At-Takyeef :[التكييف] To ask how regarding the attributes of Allah 8

9 7. Allah's attributes are all tawqeefiyyah [توقيفية] - there is no place for Aql in it. The texts of the Quran and sunnah point to Allah's attributes in 4 different ways: a. By clearly mentioning it to be from the attributes of Allah b. By mentioning a name of Allah that points to this attribute c. By clearly mentioning an action of Allah that points to be attribute d. By mentioning a negative attribute from which Allah is far removed from. So we establish for Allah the perfect opposite of that negative attribute. 8. The necessary matters [لوازم] from an attribute of Allah is not like the necessary matters of an attribute of the creation. It is a grave mistake to make the necessary matters of an attribute of Allah to be like the necessary matters of an attribute of creation 9. Whenever an attribute is appended to any of Allah's names, then it can mean one of two things: a. That the thing which is appended to Allah's name, is an attribute of Allah. b. That the thing which is appended to Allah's name is an effect or consequence of the attribute of Allah 9

10 GOLDEN RULES REGARDING THE PROOFS FOR THE NAMES AND ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH 1. That which is used to establish the names and attributes of Allah are two: a. The Quran b. The Sunnah It is not permissible to establish the names and attributes of Allah from any other source. 2. It is obligatory to take the texts of the Quran and Sunnah upon its apparent clear meaning without any distortion of its meanings.[تحريف] This is more so about the texts pertaining to the names and attributes of Allah in particular. There is no place for opinion or Aql in these texts. 3. The clear texts of the Quran and Sunnah pertaining to the names and attributes of Allah are understandable to us or not understandable: a. Understandable: in its meaning b. Not understandable: in the manner of it 10

11 4. The clear meaning of the Quran and Sunnah and that which the apparent meaning from any text of the Quran and Sunnah point to are dependent upon the context in which it is mentioned. So a particular word could mean one thing in a particular verse and another in another verse depending on the context in which it is mentioned. So the construction of the wordings of a sentence from the Quran and Sunnah can mean different things based upon its context. 11