Darʾ Taʿâroud al-ʿAql wa-n-Naql - Ibn Taimiya - (2/11)

His being distinct from creation and His exaltedness above the Throne. They described the doctrines of those who affirm the divine attributes—the people of the Sunnah—in ambiguous formulations that suggested to people that these doctrines were unsound. For when they said,

“Allah is free of accidents,”

there was nothing objectionable in the apparent meaning of this expression. People understood it to mean that He is free of transformation and corruption, such as the conditions that afflict human beings, including illnesses and ailments. There is no doubt that Allah is free of these things. What they intended, however, was that He has no knowledge, power, life, or speech subsisting in Him, nor any other attributes that they call accidents.

Likewise, when they said,

“Allah is free of limits, spatial regions, and directions,”

they led people to suppose that they meant He is neither confined by created things nor contained by what He has made. This meaning is correct. Yet what they intended was that He is neither distinct from creation nor separate from it; that there is no Lord above the heavens and no God upon the Throne; that Muhammad was not taken up to Him; that nothing descends from Him, nothing ascends to Him, nothing draws near to Him, and He does not draw near to anything; and that hands are not raised to Him in supplication or otherwise—along with other such notions held by the Jahmiyyah.

When they said,

“He is not a body,”

they led people to suppose that He is not of the same kind as created beings, nor like their bodies. This meaning is correct. What they intended, however, was that He cannot be seen, does not Himself speak, has no attribute subsisting in Him, and is not distinct from creation, along with similar notions.

مباينته للخلق وعلوه على العرش، وكانوا يعبرون عن مذاهب أهل الإثبات أهل السنة بالعبادات المجملة التي تشعر الناس بفساد المذهب، فإنهم إذا قالوا (إن الله منزه عن الأعراض) لم يكن في ظاهر هذه العبارة ما ينكر، لأن الناس يفهمون من ذلك أنه منزه عن الاستحالة والفساد كالأعراض التي تعرض لبني آدم من الأمراض والأسقام، ولا ريب أن الله منزه عن ذلك، ولكن مقصودهم أنه ليس له علم ولا قدرة ولا حياة ولا كلام قائم به، ولا غير ذلك من الصفات التي يسمونها هم أعراضاً. وكذلك إذا قالوا: (إن الله منزه عن الحدود والأحياز والجهات) أوهموا الناس أن مقصودهم بذلك أنه لا تحصره المخلوقات، ولا تحوزه المصنوعات، وهذا المعنىصحيح، ومقصودهم: أنه ليس مبايناً للخلق ولا منفصلاً عنه، وأنه ليس فوق السماوات رب، ولا على العرش إله، وأن محمداً لم يعرج به إليه، ولم ينزل منه شيء، ولا يصعد إليه شيء، ولا يتقرب إليه شيء، ولا يتقرب إلى شيء، ولا ترفع إليه الأيدي في الدعاء ولا غيره، ونحو ذلك من معاني الجهمية. وإذا قالوا: (إنه ليس بجسم) أوهموا الناس أنه ليس من جنس المخلوقات، ولا مثل أبدان الخلق، وهذا المعنى صحيح، ولكن مقصودهم بذلك أنه لا يرى ولا يتكلم بنفسه، ولا يقوم به صفة، ولا هو مباين للخلق، وأمثال ذلك.