al-Sifat al-Ilahiyya fi al-Kitab wa al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya fi Daw al-Ithbat wa al-Tanzih
- Author died
- 1415 AH
- Editions
- Al-Majlis al-‘Ilmī bi-al-Jāmi‘ah al-Islāmīyah
al-Sifat al-Ilahiyya fi al-Kitab wa al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya fi Daw al-Ithbat wa al-Tanzih (The Divine Attributes in the Book and the Prophetic Sunna in Light of Affirmation and Transcendence) is a treatise on Islamic theology by Muhammad Aman al-Jami (d. 1415 AH / 1996 CE), dedicated to articulating and defending the traditionalist Salafi creed regarding the names and attributes of God .
Background and Purpose
The book was originally composed as the author's doctoral dissertation . In his preface, al-Jami states that knowledge of God is the primary religious obligation, which cannot be attained comprehensively without knowledge of His divine names, attributes, and actions . He explains that historical theological disputes obscured this topic, leading many students to confuse correct doctrine with erroneous interpretations .
A central motivation for the work was correcting misconceptions among contemporary youth who equated the creed of early Muslims (al-salaf) with absolute delegation of meaning (al-tafwid al-mutlaq) or agnostic suspension (al-wuquf) . The author clarifies that the Salafi approach entails affirming the real, apparent meanings of the scriptural attributes as befitting God, while rejecting anthropomorphic comparisons (tamthil or tashbih), figurative reinterpretation (ta'wil), and divesting God of attributes (ta'til), while relegating knowledge of their modality (kayfiyya) exclusively to God .
Structure and Content
The work consists of an extensive introduction (madkhal) divided into nine sections, followed by seven main parts (abwab) and a conclusion .
Introductory Portal (al-Madkhal)
The introductory portal covers foundational methodological principles across nine sections:
- The linguistic and technical definitions of sunna .
- The authoritative status of the Quran and the Sunna in matters of doctrine, and the validity of solitary transmissions (ahad reports) in establishing divine attributes .
- A refutation of groups who claim sufficiency with the Quran alone to the exclusion of the Sunna .
- The methodology of the Salaf in establishing attributes, which relies on three core principles: prioritizing scriptural transmission over speculative reason, rejecting figurative interpretation (ta'wil), and treating the Quran and Sunna equally as divine revelation .
- The concept of the Divine Essence (al-Dhat al-Ilahiyya) among scholars of hadith and the Sunna, including linguistic and terminological definitions of divinity (ilahiyya), attributes (sifa), and descriptions (na't) .
- An overview of major historical scholars who championed the Salafi creed: Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhari, al-Darimi, Ibn Taymiyya, and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab .
- A critical engagement with the Mu'tazilite and Ash'arite stances on texts concerning divine attributes .
- An examination of the historical factors behind the spread of the Ash'arite school, and accounts of prominent figures who shifted toward the Salafi methodology near the end of their lives, including Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, Abu al-Ma'ali al-Juwayni and his father, al-Shahrastani, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali .
Main Parts (al-Abwab)
- Part One: Discusses the Most Beautiful Names and Exalted Attributes, analyzing their interdependence and the distinctions between names and attributes .
- Part Two: Explores the classifications of attributes according to both early (salaf) and later (khalaf) theologians, covering negative (salbiyya), affirmative (thubutiyya), essential (dhatiyya), active (fi'liyya), rational-revealed (shar'iyya 'aqliyya), and purely report-based (khabariyya) attributes . It includes a detailed study of twenty selected attributes, comprising twelve active attributes and eight textual attributes .
- Part Three: Investigates the theological relationship between divine attributes and the Divine Essence .
- Part Four: Analyzes how divine attributes relate to one another in terms of their semantic meanings and cosmological effects .
- Part Five: Addresses the legal and theological ruling on denying attributes affirmed in revelation, alongside an analysis of deviation (ilhad) regarding divine names and attributes .
- Part Six: Provides a comparative summary of the approaches of the Salaf and the Khalaf concerning the comprehension of divine attributes .
- Part Seven: Examines the spiritual and psychological impacts of believing in divine attributes on the human soul and their manifestation in the cosmos .
Methodological Approach
The author bases his theological arguments primarily on textual evidence (al-adillah al-naqliyya) from the Quran and authentic Prophetic traditions, interpreted through the understandings and commentaries of early Islamic authorities, while also incorporating corroborative rational arguments (al-adillah al-'aqliyya) . The book maintains that reason must remain subordinate to revelation in metaphysical matters, arguing that figurative reinterpretation yields purely conjectural meanings that risk speaking about God without divine sanction .
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