What the scholars said about their belief
Further to the point that those who believe Aļļaah to be a body i.e. occupy a location are not Muslims, as mentioned in “The difference between the Wahabi creed and Islam”, here are some quotes by well known scholars testifying to that:
Al-ˆAsqalaaniyy said they are not Muslims:
قال حذاق المتكلمين ما عرف الله من شبهه بخلقه أو أضاف إليه اليد أو أضاف إليه الولد فمعبودهم الذي عبدوه ليس هو الله وإن سموه به (فتح الباري, ابن حجر العسقلاني, دار المعرفة – بيروت ، 1379, 3 / 359)
The brilliant kalaam scholars said: “The one that likened Aļļaah to His creation, or ascribed a hand to Him (i.e. in the sense of a part or limb) or a child; what he worships is not Aļļaah, even if he called it Aļļaah.”
An-Nawawiyy and Al-Qaađii ˆIiaađ said they are not Muslims:
قوله صلى الله عليه و سلم ( فليكن أول ما تدعوهم إليه عبادة الله فإذا عرفوا الله فأخبرهم إلى آخره ) قال القاضي عياض رحمه الله هذا يدل على أنهم ليسوا بعارفين الله تعالى وهو مذهب حذاق المتكلمين في اليهود والنصارى أنهم غير عارفين الله تعالى وان كانوا يعبدونه ويظهرون معرفته لدلالة السمع عندهم على هذا وان كان العقل لا يمنع أن يعرف الله تعالى من كذب رسولا قال القاضي عياض رحمه الله ما عرف الله تعالى من شبهه وجسمه من اليهود أو اجاز عليه البداء أو أضاف إليه الولد منهم أو أضاف إليه الصاحبة والولد وأجاز الحلول عليه والانتقال والامتزاج من النصارى أو وصفه مما لا يليق به أو أضاف إليه الشريك والمعاند في خلقه من المجوس والثنوية فمعبودهم الذى عبدوه ليس هو الله وان سموه به اذ ليس موصوفا بصفات الاله الواجبة له فاذن ما عرفوا الله سبحانه فتحقق هذه النكتة واعتمد عليها وقد رأيت معناها لمتقدمى أشياخنا وبها قطع الكلام ابوعمران الفارسى بين عامة اهل القيروان عند تنازعهم في هذه المسألة هذا آخر كلام القاضي رحمه الله تعالى. (المنهاج شرح صحيح مسلم بن الحجاج , النووي , دار إحياء التراث العربي , 1392, 1 / 199-200)
The saying of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) “let the first you call them to be the worship of Aļļaah, then when they know Aļļaah tell them…” etc.
Al-Qaađii ˆIiaađ (رحمه الله) said: “This (i.e. the foregoing statement of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم))indicates that they (the Christians) do not know Aļļaah, and this is the saying of the brilliant kalaam scholars regarding the jews and the Christians; that they do not know Aļļaah (تعالى) even if they worship Him (i.e. call what they worship by His name) and making it appear as if they know Him, based on what they narrate amongst themselves, even though it is not impossible in the mind’s eye that someone who disbelieves in a messenger does know Aļļaah.”
Al-Qaađii ˆIiaađ (رحمه الله) said: The one that likened Aļļaah to His creation, or believed Him to be bodily among the jews and Christians, or believed that He gains knowledge over time, or claimed He has a child, or a female companion and a child, or said he could exist in created things, or move from one place to another, or be mixed with creation, among the Christians or attributed to Him what is not befitting, or associated with Him a partner or opponent in creating among the Magians an dualists; what they worship is not Aļļaah, even if they called it that. This is because it is not attributed with the attributes that are necessarily His. Accordingly, they do not know Aļļaah (سبحانه), so realize this point well, and depend on it, and I have seen this point made by our predecessor shaykhs.”
Ar-Raaziyy said they are not Muslims:
الدليل دل على أن من قال إن الإله جسم فهو منكر للإله تعالى وذلك لأن إله العالم موجود ليس بجسم ولا حال في الجسم فإذا أنكر المجسم هذا الموجود فقد أنكر ذات الإله تعالى فالخلاف بين المجسم والموحد ليس في الصفة بل في الذات فصح في المجسم أنه لا يؤمن بالله أما المسائل التي حكيتموها فهي اختلافات في الصفة فظهر الفرق وأما إلزام مذهب الحلولية والحروفية فنحن نكفرهم قطعاً فإنه تعالى كفر النصارى بسبب أنهم اعتقدوا حلول كلمة اللَّهِ في عيسى وهؤلاء اعتقدوا حلول كلمة اللَّهِ في ألسنة جميع من قرأ القرآن وفي جميع الأجسام التي كتب فيها القرآن فإذا كان القول بالحلول في حق الذات الواحدة يوجب التكفير فلأن يكون القول بالحلول في حق جميع الأشخاص والأجسام موجباً للقول بالتكفير كان أولى (مفاتيح الغيب – دار الكتب العلمية, 16 /24)
“Proofs tell us that the who says that God is a body is a disbeliever in God (who is greatly above and clear of flaws). The reason is that the God of the World exists, and He is not a body, or stationed in a body. So if the one who believes that God is a body denies this non-bodily existence, then he has disbelieved in God Himself.
This means that the disagreement between the one that believes that God is a body, and the monotheist (i.e. in the Islamic sense, namely that God does not have a partner, part or a like in His self of attributes), is not based on a disagreement regarding attributes, but regarding the self (i.e. the identity of the one attributed with godhood.)
It is sound to say then, that the one who believes that God is a body does not believe in Aļļaah….
This means that the disagreement between the one that believes that God is a body, and the monotheist (i.e. in the Islamic sense, namely that God does not have a partner, part or a like in His self of attributes), is not based on a disagreement regarding attributes, but regarding the self (i.e. the identity of the one attributed with godhood.)
It is sound to say then, that the one who believes that God is a body does not believe in Aļļaah….
As for the ĥuluuliyyah (those who believe that Aļļaah settles in created things, such as the sky or a human body) and ĥuruufiyyah (those who believe that Aļļaah’s attribute of kalam/speech consists of letters and sounds) sects, we say that they are unequivocally disbelievers. This is because Aļļaah declared the christians blasphemers for believing that Aļļaah’s speech entered into Jesus, whereas the ĥuruufiyyah believe that it settles in the tongue of all those who recite Qur’aan, and in all physical things that the Qur’aan was written on. Accordingly, if the belief in its settlement in one single body (Jesus) is blasphemy, then it is even more blasphemous to believe that it settles in all shapes and bodies.”
As-Subkiyy calls them idol worshipers:
As-Subkiyy in his Tabaqaatu-sħ-Sħaafiˆiyyatu-l-Kubraa says regarding scripture texts that appear to be referring to bodily attributes:
طبقات الشافعية الكبرى : إنما المصيبة الكبرى والداهية الدهياء الإمرار على الظاهر والاعتقاد أنه المراد وأنه لا يستحيل على الباري فذلك قول المجسمة عباد الوثن الذين في قلوبهم زيغ يحملهم الزيغ على اتباع المتشابه ابتغاء الفتنة عليهم لعائن الله تترى واحدة بعد أخرى ما أجرأهم على الكذب وأقل فهمهم للحقائق طبقات الشافعية الكبرى ج 5 ص 192
“the saying of the mujassimah(anthropomorphists), worshipers of the idol, makes them always focus on ambiguous aayahs.”
Al-Qurţubiyy and Ibn Al-ˆArabiyy
الصحيح القول بتكفيرهم ، إذ لا فرق بينهم وبين عباد الأصنام والصور.
Similarly, Al-Qurtubīy in his commentary in the Qur’ān narrates from his Shaykh Ibn Al-’Arabīy regarding the, those who say Allāh has a body:
“The sound verdict is that they are blasphemers, because there is no difference between them and those that worship idols and pictures.”
“The sound verdict is that they are blasphemers, because there is no difference between them and those that worship idols and pictures.”
(Tafsiir Al-Qurţubiyy, 4/14).
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Idol Worshipers
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The Nobel Quran:
“O Noble Messenger (Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him)! Do not let yourself be aggrieved by the people who rush towards disbelief - those who say with their mouths, “We believe” but whose hearts are not Muslims;...”
[Maidah 5:41]
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“They are not Muslims”
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Allah is not a body
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal said: "Whoever says that Allah is abody unlike the bodies have blasphemed (committed kufur)". This is because Allah is not a body, and is not like the creations in anyway.
Ibn al-Jawziy al-Hanbali said in his book "Daf^ Shubah at-Tashbih" page 58:
"The obligation upon us is to believe that the self of Allah ta^ala is not contained in a place, and He is not attributed with change nor movement".
Ibn al-Jawziy also said: "Some people lied when they heard about the Sifat (attributes of Allah) and interpreted them according to the physical meanings, such as those who claimed that Allah literally descends from the sky and moves from one place to another. This is an ill understanding, because the one who moves would be from a place to a place, and that necessitates that the place is bigger than him and that requires movement, and all of that is impossible to be attributed to Allah the Exalted".
Imam Ibn al-Jawziy is the great interpreter of al-Qur'an, and one of the great heads of the Hanbalis. In his book "Daf^ Shubah at-Tashbih" he refuted the Mushabbiha and Mujassimah that attributed themselves falsely to the Hanbali School. He also cleared Imam Ahmad and the Salaf from the beliefs of Tajsim (attributing a body to Allah) and Tashbih (likening Allah to his creations), and cleared Allah from the place, space, size, shape, limit, body, sitting, standing, settling, and other attributes of the creations.
Ibn Hajar al-Haitamiy also confirmed in his book "al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyah" page 144 that Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal clears Allah from being a body, or having a limit, size, shape, place or direction. He said: "The creed of the Imam of Alsunna Ahmad Bin Hanbal (Radiallahu ^Anhu) complies with the creed of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah in exceptionally clearing Allah completely from what the ungrateful wrongdoers did by attributing to Allah non befitting attributes such the direction and body and other attributes of imperfection, in fact any attribute that does not have complete perfection. And what became popular between the ignorant people who falsely claim to follow this great Imam(Ahmad bin Hanbal) al-Mujtahid, that he attributed the direction to Allah or such, this is a lie and a false accusation to him".
وقال الشيخ شهاب الدين أحمد بن محمد المعروف بابن حجر الهيتمي الأشعري (974 )ها ما نصه (الفتاوى الحديثية (ص/ 144): "عقيدة إمام السُّنة أحمد بن حنبل رضي الله عنه موافقة لعقيدة أهل السنة والجماعة من المبالغة التامّة في تنزيه الله تعالى عما يقول الظالمون والجاحدون علوّا كبيرا من الجهة والجسمية وغيرهما من سائر سمات النقص، بل وعن كل وصف ليس فيه كمال مطلق، وما اشتهر بين جهلة المنسوبين إلى هذا الإمام الأعظم المجتهد من أنه قائل بشىء من الجهة أو نحوها فكذب وبهتان وافتراء عليه"ا.هـ
Imam al-Baqillaniy (one of the great Asharis) said in his book al-'Insaf page 65:
"And we do not say that the ^arsh (throne) is a place of settlement or rest for Allah, because Allah existed and there was no place, and when He created the place, He did not change". Healso said: "Allah is clear from being in directions, or resembling the creations, and also He is not attributed with transformation or movement, nor with standing or sitting, because such attributes are of the creations, and Allah (the creator) is clear from that".
قال القاضي أبو بكر محمد الباقلاني المالكي الأشعري (403) ما نصه: "ولا نقول إن العرش له- أي الله- قرار ولا مكان، لأن الله تعالى كان ولا مكان، فلما خلق المكان لم يتغير عما كان" اهـ. وقال أيضا ما نصه: "ويجب أن يعلم أن كل ما يدل على الحدوث أو على سمة النقص فالرب تعالى يتقدس عنه، فمن ذلك: أنه تعالى متقدس عن الاختصاص بالجهات، والاتصاف بصفات المحدثات، وكذلك لا يوصف بالتحول والانتقال، ولا القيام ولا القعود، ولأن هذه الصفات تدل على الحدوث، والله تعالى يتقدس عن ذلك" اهـ.
When Imam al-Baqillaniy died, Abul Fadl at-Tamimi came to his funeral with bare feet, along with his brothers and friends and ordered to call out during his Janazah:
"This is the Imam of Alsunna and the Religion, He is the Imam of the Muslims, He is the one that used to defend the Shari^a and refute those who oppose, He is the one who compiled seventy thousand letters refuting the atheists". And he remained in his mourning ^azza' for three days, and he used to visit his grave every Saturday".
Al-Hafidh Ibn ^Asakr reported from ad-Damghaniy that Imam Abul Hassan at-Tamimi al-Hanbaliy said to his companions "Stick with this man (al-Baqillaniy), for he is indispensable".
Imam al-Hafidh al-^Iraqiy, and Imam al-Qurafiy, and Ibn Hajar al-Haitamiy, and Mulla ^Ali al-Qari, and Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthariy and others reported that the Imams of the Four Schools whom are the guide of the Ummah (Imam ash-Shafi^iy, Malik, Ahmad and Abu Hanfiah Radiallahu ^anhum) all declared those who attribute to Allah the direction or the body with kufur".
نقل الإمام الحافظ العراقي والإمام القرافي والشيخ ابن حجر الهيتمي وملا علي القاري ومحمد زاهد الكوثري وغيرهم عن الأئمة الأربعة هداة الأمة الشافعي ومالك وأحمد وأبي حنيفة رضي الله عنهم القول بتكفير القائلين بالجهة والتجسيم ".
Imam Ahmad Ibn Salamah, Abu Ja^far at Tahawiyy, who was born in the year 237 after Hijrah, and was one of the Heads of Great Salaf wrote a book called Al-^Aqidah atTahawiyyah.
He mentioned that the content of his book is an elucidation of the creed of Ahlus -Sunnah wal Jama^ah, which is the creed of Imam Abu Hanifah, who died in the year 150 after al Hijrah, and his two companions, Imam Abu Yusuf al-Qadi and Imam Muhammad Ibn al Hasan ash-Shaybaniyy and others.
At-Tahawiy said in his book at-Tahawiyah:
"Allah is supremely clear of all boundaries, extremes, sides, organs and instruments. The six directions do NOT contain Him--these are attributed to all created things.
Such is the saying of Imam Abu Ja^far who is among the heads of as-Salaf.
He explicitly stated that Allah is clear of being contained by the six directions, that is he is confirming that Allah exists without a place. The six directions are above, below, in front of, behind, right, and left. So this is clear evidence that the Salaf cleared Allah from organs, bodily parts, place, direction, limits and al-Kayf (manners of beings).
Imam at-Tahawiy also said:
"And whoever attributes to Allah any of the manners of beings is considered a blasphemer".
In his book, Ihya'u ^Ulum ad-Din, Imam al-Ghazaliyy said:
"... places do not contain Allah, nor do the directions, earth, or heavens.He is attributed with an "istiwa'" over al-^arsh as He said in the Qur'an--with the meaning that He willed--and not as what people may delude. It is an istiwa' which is clear of touching, resting, holding, moving and containment. Al-^arsh does not carry Him, but rather al-^arsh and those that carry al-^arsh are all carried by Allah with His Power and are subjugated to Him. He is above al-^arsh and above the heavens and above everything--in status-- an aboveness that does not give Him proximity to al-^arsh or the heavens as it does not give Him farness from earth. He is higher in status than everything: higher in status than al-^arsh and the heavens, as He is higher in status than earth and the rest of the creation."
Imam al-Ghazaliyy said:
" Allah, the Exalted, existed eternally and there was no place. Heis not a body, jawhar (atom), or property, and He is not on a place or in a place."
Shaykh ^Abdul-Ghaniyy an-Nabulsiyy said:
"He who believes that Allah filled the heavens and earth or thatHe is a body sitting above al-^arsh, is a kafir."
Ibn Hajar al-^Asqalaniy (who is also an Ash^ari hafidh) said in his explanation of Sahih al-Bukhary (Fath al-Bari):
"Attributing aboveness (Fawqiyah) to Allah is a matter of status, and the impossibility lies in it being physical."
This means Allah exists without a place and is clear from being in a direction or place. And the "Fawqiyah" or aboveness when attributed to Allah it refers to abovness of status and greatness of Allah, the exalted. He is the creator Subhanahu Wa Ta^ala that does not need any of the creations in any way.
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(Edited by ADHM)
22-Oct-2010
