Manhaj wa Dirasat li Ayat al-Asma wa al-Sifat
- Author died
- 1393 AH
- Editions
- Ta al-Dar al-Salafiyya
Manhaj wa Dirasat li Ayat al-Asma wa al-Sifat (Methodology and Studies on the Verses of the Divine Names and Attributes) is a theological treatise by the Mauritanian scholar Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti (1325–1393 AH / 1907–1973 CE), expounding the creed of the early generations of Muslims (al-Salaf) regarding the Quranic verses on God's names and attributes.
Origin and Publication
The text originated as a public lecture delivered by al-Shinqiti at the Islamic University of Madinah on 13 Ramadan 1382 AH (1963 CE). It was subsequently published as a concise independent booklet by the Islamic University Press and other publishing houses, including Mu'assasat Makka li al-Tiba'a wa al-I'lam. It was also published in the journal of the Islamic University and later compiled within al-Shinqiti's collected lectures under the editorial supervision of Bakr Abu Zayd.
Content and Method
Al-Shinqiti opens the work by cautioning that excessive delving, overly technical speculation, and persistent questioning into the verses of divine attributes constitute innovations disliked by the early generations of Muslims. He posits that the correct Quranic methodology for approaching the attributes of God rests upon three foundational principles:
- Transcendence (Tanzih): Declaring God entirely free from any resemblance between His divine attributes and those of created beings. Al-Shinqiti cites Quranic proofs establishing this principle, including: لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ ("There is nothing like unto Him"; Surah al-Shura 42:11), وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ ("Nor is there to Him any equivalent"; Surah al-Ikhlas 112:4), and فَلَا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الْأَمْثَالَ ("So do not assert similarities to Allah"; Surah al-Nahl 16:74).
- Affirmation (Ithbat): Believing in and affirming everything that God has described Himself with in the Quran and everything conveyed by His Messenger, without denial (ta'til) or alteration (tahrif). He argues that no one is more knowledgeable of God than God Himself—referencing أَأَنْتُمْ أَعْلَمُ أَمِ اللَّهُ ("Are you more knowing or is Allah?"; Surah al-Baqarah 2:140)—and no one after God is more knowledgeable of Him than His Messenger, who وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى ("does not speak from his own desire; it is not but a revelation revealed"; Surah al-Najm 53:3–4).
- Relinquishing comprehension of the modality (Qat' al-tama' 'an idrak al-kayfiyyah): Abandoning any hope of grasping the intrinsic modality (kayfiyyah) of the divine attributes, because human intellect cannot encompass the Divine. Al-Shinqiti grounds this in the verse: يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِهِ عِلْمًا ("He knows what is before them and what will be after them, but they do not encompass Him in knowledge"; Surah Ta-Ha 20:110).
Al-Shinqiti explains that knowledge of the modality of an attribute depends on knowing the modality of the essence (dhat), and since the reality of God's essence cannot be grasped, the modality of His attributes cannot be perceived either. He applies this rule across individual divine attributes—such as istiwa' (ascending over the Throne), nuzul (descending), the Hand (yad), hearing, and sight—generalizing the well-known statement of Malik ibn Anas that the linguistic meaning is known in Arabic, the modality is beyond human intellect, and asking about its modality is an innovation.
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