Verses in the Holy Qur'an Pertaining to the Attributes of Allah

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Verses in the Holy Qur'an Pertaining to the Attributes of Allah

The Future Magazine

Verses in the Holy Qur'an Pertaining to the Attributes of Allah

I have, in this book, avoided discus*sions of problems pertaining to scholastic theology and the differences of opinion among scholars on this subject. But there is one issue, namely, the verses of the Holy Our'an pertaining to the Attributes of Allah, which has been a subject of much debates and wide differences of opinion. it is a subject that deserves attention and I therefore wish to apprise the readers of the issues involved there*in.
Our Lord the Almighty has, in the Holy Our'an described Himself with words which is normally used to denote mundane meanings and to express hu*man feelings and human activities. Needless to say, there is nothing equal to Allah; He is the Creator and the Sustainer; He is above all comparisons with any of the creations. These words therefore - when they occur in the context of Divine Attributes - cannot be interpreted to mean the same as when used in the context of human beings.
We may for instance, say that so and so is well informed and so and so is far*sighted. We also say of Allah the Almighty that He is All-Knowing and Far-Sighted. But the processes by which a human being learns and perceives are not the same as that of Allah the Almighty.
We also say for example; the teacher settled down on the plat*form; the verb "to settle" also occurs in the Holy Our'an: Verily, your Sustainer is Allah, who has created the heavens and the earth in six Days and is established on the Throne of his Almightiness" (7:54).
In this verse the verb "to settle" has been used in the meaning of "is established" (in Arabic the verb "ISTA*WA" is used in both the contexts).We know the lexical meaning of "to estab*lish", nevertheless we apply it to the teacher in a sense which is completely different from its sense in the verse "The beneficent One, who is established on the Throne."
Scholars do not differ in their opinion regarding the connotations of the verses pertaining to the Attributes of Allah; they are unanimous in saying that the words pertaining to the attributes of Allah are His words: If he said: "and is established" no one could say: "what (could) is established bet' But opinions differ widely on the purpose and intent of these Attributes. They posed the question whether these Attributes are real or ****phorical? Can they be subjected or not subjected to interpreta*tion and clarification?
One school of thought took the stand that these verses can be interpreted and clarified; it was in agreement with the scholars of the Science of Rhetoric who by and large hold the view that words are essentially to be used in the mean*ings which they denote. And there is no doubt that the Arabic ******** con*tained the words of the Holy Our'an even before it (the Holy Our'an) was revealed. These words were used to denote mundane meanings; they are not adequate enough even to express hu*man emotions and feelings. So, what to say about their inadequacy to express Divine Attributes. Let us consider For example, the words that are at our disposal to express the theme of beauty.
We know that beauty has several Forms and entities: beauty of nature; beauty of a poetic work, beauty of a well-appointed building; and the dazzling beauty of a glamorous young girl! When we want to express anything on the theme of beauty we are compelled to bring in the word beauty or beautiful because our linguistic repertoire is rather limited. Thus human ******** falls short of expressions to convey the concept of beauty, and it also Falls short of expressions on the concept of love. Consider the different manifestations of love and the words at our command to describe or discuss about them.
Among those who reject the theory of ****phorical usage of such words in the Holy Our'an is the Famous scholar Ibn Taymiyah. He is of the opinion that ****phorical interpretation is also a man-mode interpretation and therefore it will also reflect mundane meanings.
I Find, after a study of these verses, that they are in three categories:
1. Verses which are in the nature of a statement of Fact by Allah the Almighty: as in: "The Most Gracious established on the throne of His Almightiness" (20:5).
We do not interpret this verse either by denying the act of "establishment" or by saying that the Almighty "established or seated" Himself on the Throne in a manner similar to a person seating himself on a chair. Such a statement would amount to be a comparison between the Lord and his creation. But we believe that it is the Word of Allah and that the human intellect cannot grasp the inner meaning of such a statement. We have earlier cited situa*tions in which the human intellect remains helpless.
2. Verses containing "Extended Me*taphors" - a suggestion of likeness of analogy - which is a recognized form of stylistic expression.
This mode of expression can be noticed in several verses of the Holy Our'an: "They have forgotten Allah, and so He is oblivious of them" (9:67). The verb "to be oblivious" in this verse is to be taken in its lexical meaning with reference to us, human beings, but with reference to the Almighty it is to be token only as an extended ****phor because the Almighty is never oblivious of anything.
Similarly the verse: "And thy Lord was never forgetful." (19:64).
And: "And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah is Sees of what all ye do." (57:4).
All commentators say that this verse is to be understood in the sense of Omniscience of Allah. He is aware of your existence without His being with you physically.
And: "We shall dispose of you, 0 you two dependents (man and [inn]" (55:31 ).
"And they (the disbelievers) schemed, and Allah schemed (against them): and Allah is the best of Schemers." (3:54)
All such verses have Divine connota*tions and therefore they should not be understood in their literal and mundane meanings.
3. Verses, the meanings of which are mode clearly by other verses. For example:
"And the Jews say, "God's hand is shackled"! it is their own hands that are shackled; and rejected (by Allah) are they because of this their assertion. Nay, but wide are His hands stretched out: He dispenses (bounty) as He wills" (5:64)
The above verse can be understood by perusing another verse from a different chapter:
It make not thy hand tied (like a niggard's) to thy neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach .. it (17:29).
It is evident that the expression regarding stretching of hands has oc*curred here in a ****phorical sense in order to indicate generosity and munifi*cence. it is therefore incorrect to resume that Allah has two hands like us human beings.
Written originally in Arabic by His Eminence Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi; and translated by Dr. S.M.M. Nainar. Courtesy: The Presidency of Shari`ah Courts & Islamic Affairs, Doha-Qatar.