Silsilat al-Asma wa al-Sifat
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- Silsilat al-Asma wa al-Sifat
Silsilat al-Asma wa al-Sifat (Arabic: سلسلة الأسماء والصفات, "The Series on the Divine Names and Attributes") is a theological lecture series and commentary by the Mauritanian scholar Muhammad al-Hasan al-Dadu, in which he expounds upon his own didactic poem (manzumah) dedicated to Sunni creed regarding the names and attributes of God.
Content and Method
The work is organized around poetic verses authored by al-Dadu, each followed by an analytical commentary covering foundational principles of theology, linguistic distinctions, and refutations of various creedal doctrines.
Foundational Principles and Divine Attributes
The commentary addresses fundamental creedal topics deduced from the Quran and Sunnah:
- Divine Oneness and Negative Attributes: Analyzing Surat al-Ikhlas, al-Dadu extracts five negating attributes (al-sifat al-salbiyyah): oneness (wahdaniyyah), absolute self-sufficiency (al-ghina al-mutlaq), eternity (al-qidam), permanence (al-baqa), and non-resemblance to created beings (mukhalafat al-hawadith). He incorporates a fourfold ontological classification of entities regarding their need for or independence from a locus (mahall) and a determining creator (mukhassis), citing verses by Muhammad ibn Fal al-Muttali.
- Rules of Affirmation: He articulates standard theological maxims, such as the principle that statements regarding the divine attributes derive from statements regarding the divine essence itself, utilizing this to counter both anthropomorphists (Mushabbihah) and negationists (Mu'attilah).
- Active and Essential Attributes: He examines various divine active attributes (al-sifat al-fi'liyyah), including hearing, seeing, loving, wondering, laughing, being pleased, answering prayers, and anger, explaining how specific attributes also necessitate corresponding divine names.
- The Attribute of Speech: Al-Dadu affirms divine speech (kalam) as an attribute of perfection, distinguishing between God's legislative and cosmic words (kalimat tashri'iyyah wa kawniyyah). He affirms belief in the revealed scriptures—with the Quran as their seal—and maintains that God speaks whenever He wills and however He wills, with voice and letter, without resembling creation.
- Signification of the Divine Names: He distinguishes between revealing attributes (sifat kashifah) and distinguishing attributes (sifat mumayyizah), establishing that every divine name indicates one or more attributes of perfection and cannot be stripped of meaning.
Theological Refutations
The text refutes doctrines of divine incarnation and union (ittihad), noting its origins among Christians and its adoption by heterodox sects such as the Assassins (Hashashin), Isma'ilis, and Qarmatians. He also critiques extreme Sufi concepts and the doctrine of the unity of existence (wahdat al-wujud) associated with Ibn Arabi, referencing al-Biqa'i's polemical treatise Tanbih al-Ghabi ila Takfir Ibn Arabi (Warning the Ignorant regarding the Excommunication of Ibn Arabi).
Dissemination
The lessons were delivered as an audio lecture series and made available online through the author's official platform as well as the Islamway website. Transcripts of the series have circulated as reference texts on Sunni theology and the creed of the early generations (Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah).
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