Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām - Abd Allah al-Bassam - (7/129)

Tawḍīḥ al-AḥkāmAbd Allah al-Bassam

Deviation (ilḥād) with respect to His Names is to turn them—and the realities and meanings they carry—away from the truth that rightly belongs to them. The term is derived from a root that denotes veering or inclining.

Forms of deviation regarding the Divine Names include:

Assigning those Names to idols, as when the polytheists named one idol al-Lāt, deriving it from Allah, and another al-ʿUzzā, deriving it from al-ʿAzīz (the Almighty).
Attributing to Him what is unbefitting His majesty, such as the Christians’ claim that He has a son, or the philosophers’ assertion that He is an effect necessitated by His own essence or an efficient cause acting by natural compulsion.
Describing Him with deficiencies from which He is supremely exalted, like the vilest of the Jews who said, “He is poor,” or their statement, “The hand of Allah is chained” (Al-Māʾidah 5:64).
Stripping the Names of their meanings and denying their realities, as the Jahmiyyah and those who follow them say: the Names are mere utterances that contain no attributes or meanings. They will affirm, “He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing,” yet deny that He possesses hearing or sight. This is among the gravest kinds of deviation, both rationally and scripturally. Whoever denies anything Allah has affirmed for Himself, or that His Messenger has affirmed for Him, has deviated in that respect.
Likening His attributes to the attributes of His creatures. This form of deviation stands opposite to the deviation of those who negate the attributes altogether: the latter deny the attributes of His perfection, while the former liken them to created qualities. Both camps are united by deviation, though their routes differ. Allah has absolved the followers of His Messenger from both extremes: they describe Him only as He has described Himself, neither negating His attributes nor likening them to those of creation. Thus their affirmation is free of anthropomorphism, and their exaltation of Him is untainted by repudiation.

To conclude: these are the principles you must learn and observe. Thereafter, expound upon the Most Beautiful Names—if you find a discerning heart; otherwise, silence is better for you. The majesty of Lordship is far beyond what the mind can envision or what speech can convey. Allah knows best.

والإلحاد في أسمائه: هو العدول بها، وبحقائقها، ومعانيها، عن الحقِّ الثَّابت لها، وهو مأخوذٌ من الميل؛ كما يدل عليه مادته. والإلحاد في أسمائه تعالى أنواع: أحدها: أنْ تسمى الأصنام بها؛ كتسميتهم اللات من الله، والعزَّى من العزيز. الثاني: نسبته تعالى إلى ما لا يليق بجلاله؛ كنسبة النصارى له ابنًا، ونسبة الفلاسفة له موجبًا بذاته، أو علَّة فاعلة بالطبع. الثالث: وصفه بما يتعالى عنه ويتقدَّس من النقائص؛ كقول أخبث اليهود: إنَّه فقير، وقولهم: ﴿يَدُ اللَّهِ مَغْلُولَةٌ﴾ [المائدة: ٦٤]. الرَّابع: تعطيل الأسماء عن معانيها، وجحد حقائقها؛ كقول الجهمية وأتباعهم: إنَّها ألفاظ مجرَّدة، لا تتضمن صفات، ولا معاني، فيقولون: هو السميع، والبصير، ولا سمع، ولا بصر، وهذا من أعظم الإلحاد عقلًا وشرعًا. فكل من جحد شيئًا ممَّا وصف الله به نفسه أو وصفه به رسوله، فقد ألحد في ذلك. الخامس: تشبيه صفاته بصفات خلقه؛ فهذا الإلحاد في مقابلة إلحاد المعطلة؛ فإنَّ أولئك نفوا صفات كماله، وهؤلاء شبهوها بصفات خلقه، فجمعهم الإلحاد، وتفرقت بهم طرقه، وبرَّأ الله أتباع رسوله عن ذلك، فلم يصفوه إلاَّ بما وصف به نفسه، ولم يجحدوا صفاته، ولم يشبهوها بصفات خلقه، فكان إثباتهم بريئًا من التشبيه، وتنزيههم خاليًا من التعطيل. وبعد: فهذه قواعد عليك بمعرفتها ومراعاتها، ثمَّ اشرح الأسماء الحسنى إنْ وجدت قلبًا عاقلاً، وإلا فالسكوت أولى بك، فجناب الربوبية أجل ممَّا يخطر بالبال، أو يعبر عنه المقال، والله أعلم. ***