Sharaiyyat al-Ikhbar an Allah bima lam yat bihi Quran wa la Sunna
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- Sharaiyyat al-Ikhbar an Allah bima lam yat bihi Quran wa la Sunna
Sharaiyyat al-Ikhbar ‘an Allah bima lam ya’t bihi Qur’an wa-la Sunna (Arabic: شرعية الإخبار عن الله بما لم يأت به قرآن ولا سنة, lit. 'The Legitimacy of Informing about Allah with What Has Not Come in the Qur’an or Sunna') is a treatise on Islamic theology by Abu Abd Allah al-Misri examining the rules of predication (al-ikhbar) concerning God in Sunni creed .
Background and Purpose
The treatise was prompted by a debate between the author and an Al-Azhar University graduate who argued that describing God with expressions not explicitly mentioned in the Quran or the Sunna—such as stating that God is "existent" (mawjud)—is an illicit innovation (bid‘a) . In response, al-Misri authored the work to demonstrate that theological predication (bab al-ikhbar) is broader than the divine names and attributes (al-asma’ wa-al-sifat), that early scholars consistently utilized descriptive phrasing and synonyms to elucidate Quranic meanings, and that such usage is legally permissible under defined scholarly conditions .
The book contains introductory endorsements by Mahmud Abd al-Raziq al-Ridwani, associate professor of creed at King Khalid University, and Shaykh Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Aziz, who both commended its treatment of the subject . In his acknowledgments, the author also credited Shaykh Abu Abd al-Rahman as his initial teacher in creed and noted the assistance of Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Aziz in reviewing and arranging the draft .
Structure and Content
The book is organized into three main chapters following its preliminary introductions:
- Chapter One (Introduction and Preliminaries): Outlines the reason for writing and the significance of the topic, followed by linguistic and theological definitions distinguishing between names (al-ism), attributes (al-sifa), and predicates (al-khabar) . Al-Misri delineates four categories of predicates regarding God:
- Synonyms of textual attributes and actions, or expressions derived from contextual Quranic phrasing (such as saying God emphasized or repeated a matter) .
- Terms explicitly established by consensus of early scholars (ijma‘ al-salaf) to convey correct theological meanings or refute false ones (such as bain min khalqih, "distinct from His creation", and dhat Allah) .
- Terms used by some early scholars in polemical contexts (such as al-qadim or al-hadd), where the intended meaning is examined .
- Ambiguous terms introduced by theological sects (such as jism or tahayyuz), which are prohibited from standard usage, while their underlying meanings are subjected to clarification during debate .
- Chapter Two: Sets forth scriptural proofs from the Quran and Sunna, as well as narrations from the Companions and early generations, illustrating the permissibility of informing about God without strict adherence to literal textual wording .
- Chapter Three: Refutes counterarguments and addresses objections raised against this theological principle .
Methodology and Theological Rules
The author maintains that while the establishment of divine names and attributes is strictly revealed (tawqifi) and restricted to explicit texts, informing about God is wider in scope . He establishes two essential conditions governing non-scriptural predicates:
- The predicate must not convey or imply any defect or deficiency regarding God .
- The predicate must not be treated as a divine name or attribute for ritual worship or supplication, because devotional acts are tied exclusively to confirmed textual names and attributes .
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