Allah yuhaddithu ibadahu an nafsihi
- Author died
- 1433 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Nafaes lil-Nashr wal-Tawzi'
Allah yuhaddithu ibadahu an nafsihi (God Speaks to His Servants About Himself) is a theological and exegetical work by the contemporary Islamic scholar Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar (d. 1433 AH / 2012 CE), examining how God introduces and describes Himself across various passages of the Quran .
Background and Purpose
The book was published posthumously by Dar al-Nafa'is . Because al-Ashqar died before penning the book's opening remarks, his son, Osama Umar al-Ashqar, provided the preface, incorporating an excerpt from one of his father's other writings to serve as its introductory text . The preface notes that the work concluded al-Ashqar's lifelong focus on grounding faith in God and acquainting people with their Creator through the direct light of revelation rather than through speculative philosophy or scholastic theology .
The primary aim of the book is to present the specific Quranic verses in which God speaks directly about His essence, names, attributes, actions, and sovereignty, and to explain their meanings in an accessible, straightforward manner that mirrors how the early Companions understood divine revelation .
Structure and Methodology
The work is organized sequentially around distinct Quranic thematic passages (al-mawāḍiʿ al-Qurʾāniyyah), beginning with Surat al-Fatihah . For each selected passage, the author applies a uniform five-part framework:
- Introduction (Taqdīm): A brief contextual opening outlining the central theme and virtue of the passage .
- Quranic Verses (al-Āyāt): The cited scriptural text containing divine self-disclosure .
- Vocabulary Exegesis (Tafsīr al-Mufradāt): Precise lexical definitions of key words and theological terms appearing in the verses .
- General Commentary (Sharḥ al-Mawḍiʿ): An exegesis of the verses detailing their broader theological and spiritual meanings .
- Divine Self-Introduction (Kayfa ʿarrafanā Rabbunā ʿalā nafsihi): An itemized synthesis enumerating the specific attributes, rights, and qualities that God conveys about Himself in that section .
Answer updated