Chapter Twelve (1)

Clarifying that, despite the speaker’s perfect knowledge, eloquence, clarity, and sincerity, it is impossible for him to intend by his words anything contrary to their outward wording and real meaning, or to leave unclarified the most important matters for which people are in urgent need of guidance.

In this chapter we shall limit ourselves to reporting a debate that took place between a Jahmite negator and a Sunni affirmer. The substance of it was related to me by our teacher, ‘Abd Allah ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy upon him—who said that he and a group of Jahmites once met in a gathering (2). The Shaykh said:

“The texts of the Book, the Sunnah, and the transmitted reports are unanimous in affirming the divine attributes, and their modes of indication are so varied that they yield certain knowledge of their reality and of the speaker’s intent that we hold as belief whatever they denote. The Quran is filled with mention of the attributes, and the Sunnah speaks with the same wording (3) as the Quran, confirming and attesting to it, while also containing further affirmations.

“At times the affirmation comes by naming the attribute-bearing Name itself—such as as-Samī‘, al-Basīr, al-‘Alīm, al-Qadīr, al-‘Azīz, al-Hakīm. At other times it comes by mentioning the verbal noun, the description from which the attribute is derived, as in His words: ‘He sent it down with His knowledge’ (al-Nisa’ 4:165); His words: ‘Indeed, Allah is the Provider, the Possessor of might, the Strong’ (al-Dhariyat 51:58); His words: ‘I have chosen you above the people with My messages and with My words’ (al-A‘raf 7:144); and His words: ‘By Your might, I shall certainly mislead them all’ (Sad 38:81).” [ق 14 ب]

Likewise is the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—statement in the sound hadith: “His veil is light; were He to remove it, the splendor of His Face would burn…”