Maza Taarif an Allah
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Mādhā Taʿrif ʿan Allāh (What Do You Know About Allah?) is a theological treatise on Islamic creed and the divine attributes compiled by the Egyptian preacher Abu Dharr al-Qalamuni (Abd al-Munʿim ibn Husayn ibn Hanafi ibn Hasan ibn al-Shahid) . The book was first published in 1430 AH / 2009 CE as an accessible guide to the Sunni creed concerning the names and attributes of Allah .
Background and Purpose
The author was prompted to write the treatise after observing widespread misconceptions among both educated and uneducated Muslims regarding Allah's essence and transcendence, particularly when asked about Allah's whereabouts, where some erroneously asserted that Allah is everywhere or inside houses . In response, al-Qalamuni initially prepared a Friday sermon outlining the scholarly consensus on Allah's names and attributes in a simplified manner . Following requests from attendees to expand the material, he developed the sermon into a full written tract, elaborating on the distinction between general faith (al-maʿrifah al-ʿāmmah) and detailed theological knowledge (al-maʿrifah al-khāṣṣah al-ʿilmiyyah) derived from the divine names and attributes .
Structure and Content
The work opens with introductory supplications and an explanation of the core principles of monotheism (tawhid), dividing it into three standard branches: Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyyah (Lordship), Tawḥīd al-Ulūhiyyah (Worship), and Tawḥīd al-Asmāʾ wa-l-Ṣifāt (Names and Attributes) .
Al-Qalamuni then outlines foundational rules governing divine names and attributes:
- Divine Names: The author explains that the names of Allah are strictly scriptural (tawqīfiyyah), derived solely from Revelation without rational speculation, and are not restricted to ninety-nine, harmonizing the prophetic traditions on the matter .
- Divine Attributes: Attributes are classified into affirmative (thubūtiyyah) and negated (salbiyyah), as well as essential (dhātiyyah, such as hearing and sight) and active (fiʿliyyah, such as ascending above the Throne and descending to the lowest heaven) .
- Rules of Affirmation: Attributes must be affirmed literally (ḥaqīqī) without distortion (taḥrīf), nullification (taʿṭīl), claiming to know the exact modality (takyīf), or anthropomorphic comparison (tamthīl) .
The text proceeds to affirm specific divine attributes established in the Quran and Sunnah, including the Face (al-Wajh), the Two Hands (al-Yadayn), and Allah's elevation above the Throne (al-Istiwa'), while clarifying that these attributes belong to Allah in a manner befitting His majesty and are not physical limbs (jawāriḥ) resembling creation .
Methodology and Sources
The author relied heavily on classical and modern Salafi theological works as primary references for compiling and summarizing the text . Among the principal texts cited are al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṣāfiyah lil-Firqah al-Nājiyah by Sayyid Saʿid al-Sayyid (which served as the primary framework for the attributes), Ibn Uthaymeen's commentaries on Ibn Qudamah's Lumʿat al-Iʿtiqād and Ibn Taymiyyah's al-ʿAqīdah al-Wāsiṭiyyah, Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar's al-ʿAqīdah fillāh, and classical works such as Ibn Rajab's Jāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm wa-l-Ḥikam and Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di's Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān . The author noted that anyone is permitted to print and distribute the book freely without prior permission, provided they act with piety regarding its contents .
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