of me.” (1)

Between Negation and Anthropomorphism

Such self-imposed severity exceeds what Allah has prescribed. The Exalted says, “Believers, do not forbid the good things Allah has made lawful for you” [al-Māʾidah 87]—that is, do not do so as an act of devotion. And He says, “Do not transgress” [al-Māʾidah 87]. The verse therefore encompasses both extremes, while the religion itself remains in the middle.

So it is in creed as well: Islam stands between negation and anthropomorphism—between stripping Allah of His names and attributes and likening the created to the Creator. The sound creed occupies the center. The negators went to excess in declaring Allah’s transcendence, thus denying His names and attributes, whereas the anthropomorphists went to excess in affirmation until they compared Allah to His creation. The creed, however, stays balanced. The Exalted says, “There is nothing like unto Him” [ash-Shūrā 11]—a refutation of the anthropomorphists; and He says, “He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” [ash-Shūrā 11]—a refutation of the negators.

We, Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah, affirm whatever Allah has affirmed for Himself and whatever His Messenger has affirmed for Him of names and attributes. We neither nullify nor deny them, nor do we liken Allah to any of His creation. Rather, we hold that Allah’s names and attributes befit Him alone. Even though these names and attributes may also exist in human beings, their modality is utterly different, for every attribute accords with the reality of the One who possesses it.