al-Mana fi Sifat Allah Taala Malum wal-Kayf Majhul
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- al-Mana fi Sifat Allah Taala Malum wal-Kayf Majhul
al-Mana fi Sifat Allah Taala Malum wal-Kayf Majhul (The Meaning of the Attributes of God Almighty Is Known and the Modality Is Unknown) is a theological compendium by Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Maqshi dedicated to documenting the stances of Islamic scholars on the affirmation of the divine attributes and their meanings while consigning knowledge of their modality to God .
Purpose and Scope
The work is designed to establish the traditional Athari theological position regarding divine names and attributes (al-asma' wa-l-sifat), centering on the principle that the linguistic meaning (al-ma'na) of divine descriptions found in the Quran and the authentic Sunnah is intelligible and affirmed in reality, whereas the exact modality (al-kayfiyyah) or nature of how they exist is unknown to human reason and known only to God .
The author compiles textual citations from major scholars across Islamic history to argue against two opposing theological tendencies: figurative interpretation (ta'wil), which reinterprets literal meanings metaphorically, and absolute consignment (tafwid al-ma'na), which treats the texts as unintelligible words whose meanings are wholly unknown .
Structure and Content
The book is structured chronologically into 117 numbered entries, each presenting statements, theological verdicts, or textual excerpts from a specific Islamic scholar arranged by their death dates, extending from the early generations of the second century AH up to the fifteenth century AH .
- Early authorities (2nd–4th centuries AH): The collection begins with early figures such as Rabi'ah ibn Abi Abd al-Rahman (d. 136 AH), Hammad ibn Abi Hanifah (d. 176 AH), and Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH), citing their formulations regarding divine ascension (al-istiwa'): "Ascension is known [or not unknown], the modality is unintelligible [or unknown], faith in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation" . It includes subsequent early authorities such as Hammad ibn Zayd (d. 179 AH), Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH), al-Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH), Waki' ibn al-Jarrah (d. 197 AH), Yazid ibn Harun (d. 206 AH), Abu Ubaydah Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna (d. 209 AH), Ibn Abi Asim (d. 287 AH), the grammarian Tha'lab (d. 291 AH), Abu Ja'far al-Tirmidhi (d. 295 AH), Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d. 310 AH), and Ibn Khuzaymah (d. 311 AH) .
- Middle and classical figures (8th–12th centuries AH): The compilation features extended extracts from scholars such as Najm al-Din al-Tufi (d. 716 AH), Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH), Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi (d. 845 AH), Mar'i al-Karmi (d. 1033 AH), Abd al-Baqi al-Mawahibi (d. 1071 AH), Salih ibn Mahdi al-Maqbali (d. 1108 AH), and Muhammad al-Saffarini (d. 1188 AH) .
- Late classical and modern scholars (13th–15th centuries AH): The work concludes with later authors such as Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shawkani (d. 1250 AH), Mahmud al-Alusi (d. 1270 AH), Siddiq Hasan Khan (d. 1307 AH), Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (d. 1332 AH), Anwar Shah Kashmiri (d. 1353 AH), Muhammad Rashid Rida (d. 1354 AH), Abd al-Hamid ibn Badis (d. 1359 AH), Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Sa'di (d. 1376 AH), Abd al-Rahman al-Mu'allimi (d. 1386 AH), Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti (d. 1393 AH), Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (d. 1420 AH), Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani (d. 1420 AH), Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH), and Baddah ibn al-Busayri al-Shinqiti (d. 1430 AH) .
Methodological Focus
Through these collected statements, the work maintains that the classical dictum on istiwa' applies equally to all reported attributes, such as descent (al-nuzul), coming (al-maji'), the Hands (al-yadan), the Face (al-wajh), anger (al-ghadab), pleasure (al-rida), and laughter (al-dahik) . The book highlights the principle that discussing divine attributes follows the same rule as discussing the divine essence (al-qawlu fi al-sifat kal-qawli fi al-dhat): just as God is affirmed as an actual being without resembling created beings or having His essence's modality comprehended, His attributes are affirmed in reality without resembling created attributes or having their modalities comprehended .
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