Sifat Allah wa Atharuha fi Iman al-Abd
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- Sifat Allah wa Atharuha fi Iman al-Abd
Sifat Allah wa Atharuha fi Iman al-Abd (The Attributes of Allah and Their Effects on the Faith of the Servant) is a theological work by contemporary scholar Muhammad Hasan Abd al-Ghaffar that examines the divine names and attributes in Islamic creed and illustrates their devotional and behavioral effects on the believer .
Purpose and Creedal Foundations
The work is grounded in the principle that knowing God through His names and attributes as conveyed in the Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah is an essential obligation . The text establishes that the comprehensive guiding principle governing divine attributes is God's statement: لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ ("There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing") .
The author underscores total submission to the apparent Arabic wording of scriptural texts without resorting to figurative reinterpretation (taʾwil) or nullification (taʿtil) . The book sets out foundational rules governing the divine names:
- God's names are all entirely beautiful (husna), denoting His essence while simultaneously encompassing attributes of ultimate perfection .
- Divine names and attributes are strictly revelatory (tawqifiyya), established solely by revelation rather than rational speculation, and are not restricted to an exhaustive fixed number .
- The divine attributes implied by the names are divided into intrinsic attributes (lazima), such as Greatness (al-ʿazama) and Might (al-ʿizza), and transitive attributes (mutaʿaddiya), such as Mercy (al-rahma) .
The text also refutes theological opponents who deny divine attributes (al-muʿattila), dividing them into total negators—namely the Jahmiyya, who deny both names and attributes—and partial negators—namely the Muʿtazila, who affirm the divine names while stripping them of their actual attributes .
Structure and Scope
The book is structured into ten parts or lectures, each dedicated to explaining specific divine attributes alongside their spiritual and practical ramifications:
- Introduction and Creedal Rules: The obligation of knowing God's attributes, principles of textual affirmation, and refutation of theological opponents .
- Priority and Finality (al-Awwaliyya wa-l-Akhiriyya): Establishing that all beginnings and ultimate ends rest with God alone .
- Oneness, Nearness, and Blessedness (al-Ahadiyya, al-Batiniyya, wa-l-Tabaruk): Focusing on God’s uniqueness without peer, His inward closeness and awareness of secrets, and the source of all blessing .
- Self-Sufficiency and Might (al-Samadiyya wa-l-ʿIzza): How the creation turns to God in total reliance and submission, and how contemplating divine might instills dignity in believers .
- Lordship, Transcendent Sanctity, and Peace (al-Rububiyya, al-Subbuh, wa-l-Salam): God’s creation and sustenance of the universe, His transcendence above all deficiencies, and peace granted to believers .
- Highness and Self-Sufficiency (al-ʿUluww wa-l-Ghina): Inspiring lofty aspiration through awareness of God's transcendence and freeing the believer from relying on created beings .
- Greatness and Knowledge (al-ʿAzama wa-l-ʿIlm): Cultivating awe through the greatness of creation and recognizing God’s exclusive grasp of the unseen (al-ghayb) .
- Hearing, Sight, Beauty, and Generosity (al-Samʿ, al-Basar, al-Jamal, wa-l-Jud): Fostering inner consciousness (muraqaba), veneration, and mirroring divine generosity by giving wealth and imparting religious knowledge .
- Truth, Praiseworthiness, and Forbearance (al-Haqq, al-Hamd, wa-l-Hilm): Demonstrating how the Prophet ﷺ and his companions embodied these attributes in their devotion .
- Judicial Authority and Wisdom (al-Hukm wa-l-Hikma): Requiring that all judgment and disputes be referred to God's decree, and cultivating contentment (rida) with divine destiny through recognizing God's absolute wisdom .
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