Manhaj wa Dirasat li Ayat al-Asma wa al-Sifat - Majallat al-Jami'a al-Islamiyya

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) that outlines the foundational methodology of the early Muslim generations (al-Salaf) concerning the divine names and attributes in the Quran al-Islam Din Kamil - ضمن …+1.

Background and Composition

The treatise originated as a public lecture delivered by al-Shinqiti at the Islamic University of Madinah on 13 Ramadan 1382 AH (1963 CE) al-Islam Din Kamil - ضمن …+1. It addressed the widespread reliance across Islamic academic circles on scholastic theology (ilm al-kalam), whose proponents engaged in figurative reinterpretation (ta'wil) or negation of divine attributes Durus li al-Shaykh Muhamm…+1. Al-Shinqiti intended the lecture to establish clear Quranic guidelines for students and scholars on the subject Durus li al-Shaykh Muhamm…+1.

Content and Core Principles

Al-Shinqiti opens the work by cautioning that excessive delving, over-investigation, and multiplying inquiries into the verses of divine attributes constitute reprehensible innovations disliked by the early generations Durus li al-Shaykh Muhamm…. He explains that the Quranic approach to the divine names and attributes rests upon three fundamental pillars:

1. Divine Transcendence (Tanzih): Fully declaring God transcendent above any resemblance to His creation in His essence, attributes, or actions Juhud al-Shaykh Muhammad …+1. Al-Shinqiti reasons that creation is God's handiwork, and the handiwork cannot resemble its Maker, citing verses such as لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ ("There is nothing like unto Him" [Surat al-Shura: 11]) and فَلَا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الْأَمْثَالَ ("So do not assert similarities to God" [Surat al-Nahl: 74]) al-Azab al-Namir min Maja…+1.
2. Affirmation without Resemblance (Iman wa Tashdiq): Believing in and affirming what God has stated of Himself in the Quran and what the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ affirmed of Him in the authentic Sunnah, grounded strictly upon the foundation of divine transcendence Juhud al-Shaykh Muhammad …+1. Al-Shinqiti highlights that God combined both principles in the verse لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ ("There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing" [Surat al-Shura: 11]), negating resemblance first and then affirming divine hearing and sight al-Azab al-Namir min Maja…+1.
3. Inability to Encompass the Modality (Nafy al-Ihata bi al-Kayfiyya): Recognizing that human intellects cannot comprehend the modality (kayfiyya) of God's attributes, as the Quran explicitly states: وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِهِ عِلْمًا ("and they encompass Him not in knowledge" [Surat Taha: 110]) al-Azab al-Namir min Maja…+1.

He also notes that understanding the modality of an attribute depends on knowing the modality of the essence; because the essence of the Creator is unlike that of created beings, His attributes are likewise distinct, just as a word such as "head" (ra's) differs vastly in reality when attributed to a human, a valley, a mountain, or capital wealth (ra's al-mal) Adab al-Bahth wa al-Munaz….

Publication and Reception

The text was published in Majallat al-Jami'a al-Islamiyya (the journal of the Islamic University of Madinah) and issued as an independent concise treatise by the Islamic University Press in Madinah and Mu'assasat Makka li al-Tiba'a wa al-I'lam Ibn Hazm wa Mawqifuhu min…+1. It was subsequently included in the collected volume of al-Shinqiti's lectures (al-Muhadarat), edited under the supervision of Bakr Abu Zayd al-Islam Din Kamil - ضمن …. Contemporary scholars have characterized the treatise as a concise and beneficial exposition of the creed of the early generations regarding the divine names and attributes Durus li al-Shaykh Muhamm…+1.