Part of Concepts of Ahl as-Sunnah (series completed) · Lesson 67 of 1251

Summary of Sunni concepts | Concept (65) | Suspicion of the negation of attributes and the response to it

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0:00 A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
0:09 The misconceptions of those who negate the divine attributes and the refutation thereof.
0:13 The Mu'attilah—those who negate the attributes of Allah—claim
0:18 that by this negation, they are merely declaring Allah’s transcendence and affirming His oneness.
0:24 Their argument for this is that affirming an attribute
0:28 necessitates likening Allah to His creation.
0:31 This is because we only recognize attributes in existence as they pertain to created beings.
0:36 Therefore, if we affirm them for Allah,
0:39 we have likened Him to His creation.
0:42 The answer to this is that affirming an attribute does not in any way necessitate anthropomorphism.
0:48 Rather, we affirm the attribute of the Creator without likening it to the attribute of the created.
0:53 Even created beings share certain attributes among themselves,
0:57 yet they are not identical in them.
0:59 A human has a hand, and an animal has a hand,
1:03 yet there is a vast difference between the two, even though both are created.
1:07 The common denominator between attributes exists only in the mind,
1:12 not in the reality and essence of the matter.
1:15 How much more so, then, for the Creator, who is distinct from His creation in all His attributes,
1:20 all of which are attributes of perfection and majesty.
1:23 Secondly:
1:25 Their claim that asserting a plurality of attributes
1:28 leads to the assertion of a plurality of essences.
1:31 They argue that if we affirm attributes for Allah,
1:34 they would be eternal just as He is,
1:36 and this leads to the claim of a plurality of eternal entities,
1:40 which contradicts the doctrine of Tawhid.
1:42 The answer to this is that such talk is nonsense and delirium.
1:47 The attributes of Allah are established by His essence,
1:51 not separate from it.
1:53 They are attributes of majesty and perfection belonging to a single essence.
1:57 Thirdly:
2:00 As for the Ash'aris, who affirm only seven attributes for Allah while rejecting the rest,
2:06 they have fallen into contradiction.
2:09 Both the Ahl al-Sunnah and the Mu'attilah have refuted them,
2:13 arguing that your affirmation of these seven attributes,
2:16 which you claim are proven by reason,
2:20 traps you in the very anthropomorphism you claim to be fleeing from.
2:25 For every one of these attributes that Allah has affirmed for Himself in His Noble Book,
2:31 He has also affirmed for others among His creation,
2:35 even if the reality of their nature differs.
2:38 Allah has described Himself with power, saying:
2:43 ﴾Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.﴿
2:47 And He described some of the created beings with power, saying:
2:51 “Save those who repent before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (5:34)
2:56 ﴾...so they knew that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.﴿
3:00 However, we say that Allah has a real power
3:05 that befits His perfection and majesty.
3:09 Just as created beings have a power that befits their state, their incapacity, and their mortality.
3:15 The difference between these two powers
3:18 is like the difference between the essence of the Creator and the essences of the created.
3:23 This holds true for all seven attributes.
3:26 Allah described Himself with will, saying:
3:31 “But His command, when He intendeth a thing, is only that He saith unto it: Be! and it is.” (36:82)
3:38 And He described some of the created beings with will, saying:
3:42 “It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land. Ye desire the lure of this world and Allah desireth (for you) the Hereafter, and Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (8:67)
3:47 He described Himself with knowledge, saying:
3:51 ﴾And Allah is Knowing of all things.﴿
3:54 And He described some of the created beings with knowledge, saying:
3:58 “They said: Be not afraid! Lo! we bring thee good tidings of a boy possessing wisdom.” (15:53)
4:02 He described Himself with life, saying:
4:05 ﴾Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence.﴿
4:10 And He described some of His creation with life, saying:
4:14 “Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were of one piece, then We parted them, and we made every living thing of water? Will they not then believe?” (21:30)
4:18 He described Himself with hearing and sight, saying:
4:23 ﴾Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing.﴿
4:27 And He described the created human as hearing and seeing, saying:
4:33 “Lo! We create man from a drop of thickened fluid to test him; so We make him hearing, knowing.” (76:2)
4:40 ﴾...and We made him hearing and seeing.﴿
4:43 He described Himself with speech, saying:
4:47 “And messengers We have mentioned unto thee before and messengers We have not mentioned unto thee; and Allah spake directly unto Moses;” (4:164)
4:51 And He said:
4:53 “And when Moses came to Our appointed tryst and his Lord had spoken unto him, he said: My Lord! Show me (Thy Self), that I may gaze upon Thee. He said: Thou wilt not see Me, but gaze upon the mountain! If it stand still in its place, then thou wilt see Me. And when his Lord revealed (His) glory to the mountain He sent it crashing down. And Moses fell down senseless. And when he woke he said: Glory unto Thee! I turn unto Thee repentant, and I am the first of (true) believers.” (7:143)
4:58 And He described some of the created beings with speech, saying:
5:02 “And the king said: Bring him unto me that I may attach him to my person. And when he had talked with him he said: Lo! thou art to-day in our presence established and trusted.” (12:54)
5:09 Thus, the Ash'ari claim that affirming attributes necessitates anthropomorphism
5:15 is a burden they must also bear regarding the seven attributes they accept via their reason.
5:20 If they say that these seven attributes are affirmed for Allah in a manner befitting His majesty and perfection,
5:28 and are not like the attributes of the created,
5:31 we say to them:
5:32 Then you must apply this same logic to all the other attributes
5:36 that Allah has affirmed for Himself and that His Messenger (peace be upon him) has affirmed for Him.
5:43 There is no validity to your claimed distinction between "attributes of essence" and "attributes of meaning,"
5:49 otherwise, you are contradicting your own arguments.
5:53 The conclusion, therefore,
5:55 is the obligation to affirm everything that Allah has affirmed for Himself,
5:59 and everything that His Messenger (peace be upon him) has affirmed for Him, of His Most Beautiful Names and Exalted Attributes.
6:06 We must be certain that they are all real attributes
6:10 that befit the majesty and perfection of Allah.
6:14 They are distinct from the attributes of the created, which correspond to their state—a state that is never free from incapacity
6:20 and is destined for annihilation.
6:23 The difference between His attributes and the attributes of His creation
6:28 is exactly like the distinction and difference between the essence of the Creator and the essences of the created.
6:34 A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.