The day Allah will place all the Heavens on a Finger, the Earths on a Finger, the Trees on a Finger, He will Grasp the Earth, and Roll-up the Heavens in His Right Hand – Ahlus-Sunnah affirm the Attributes of Allah.

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Abdullāh Ibn Mas’ūd said, “A Jewish Rabbi came to Allah’s Messenger and said, ‘O Muhammad, we learn that Allah will place all the Heavens on a Finger, the earths on a finger, the trees on a Finger, the water on a Finger, the soil on a Finger and the rest of the creation on a Finger. Then He will say, ‘I am the King.’ So the Prophet (ﷺ) laughed till his pre-molar teeth became visible in affirmation of the truthfulness of the speech of the Rabbi. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) recited, ‘They made not a just estimate of Allah as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection, the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Exalted is He, free of all imperfections, High above all that they associate as partners with Him.’ (Surah Az-Zumar: 67)” (Reported by Al-Bukhārī no. 4711, Muslim no. 2786).

The People of Sunnah affirm for Allah His Names and Attributes as He has affirmed for Himself and as the Messenger (ﷺ) affirmed for Him, without negating them or explaining them away with metaphorical meanings. Additionally, the People of Sunnah never liken Allah’s Attributes to His creation.

From the earliest sects who rejected and refused to affirm the Attributes of Allah were the Jahmiyyah, founded by Jahm Ibn Safwān (died 128AH). The People of the Qur’an and Sunnah have refuted them throughout the centuries. From the Jahmiyyah arose other sects who explained the Attributes of Allah to mean other than what is apparent from the wording of the Qur’ān and Sunnah claiming they were fleeing from resembling Allah with the creation.

This led them to speak about Allah without knowledge, so the People of Sunnah refuted them on two grounds: 1. For rejecting the actual Attribute of Allah which is apparent from the Quranic wording (such as the Hand of Allah) 2. For inventing a metaphor that they know is based upon innovated opinion (such as claiming the Hand of Allah means His power).

Abu Hafs Ibn Shāhīn (died 385H) said: Abdullāh Ibn Sulaimān Ibn Ash’ath As-Sijistānī narrated to us saying: My father narrated to me from Sulaimān Ibn Harb, who said: Hammād ibn Zaid (died 179H) said: “The likeness of the Jahmiyyah is like a man to whom it is said: ‘Do you have a date palm tree in your gardens?’ So he says: ‘Yes.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have fresh green branches?’ He responds: ‘No.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have dried up branches?’ He responds: ‘No.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have low or fallen branches on the ground?’ He responds: ‘No.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have a trunk?’ He responds: ‘No.’ Then it is said to him: ‘Does it have roots?’ He responds: ‘No.’ So it is said to him: ‘You have no date palm tree in your grounds!’ It is said to the Jahmiyyah: ‘Do you have a Lord?’ They say: ‘Yes.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He speak?’ They respond: ‘No.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He have a Hand?’ They respond: ‘No.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He have a foot?’ They respond: ‘No.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He have a finger?’ They respond: ‘No.’ Then it is said to them: ‘Does He become pleased and does He get angry?’ They respond: ‘No.’ So it is said to them: ‘You have no Lord!’” (Al-Kitāb Al-Latīf li-Sharh Madhāhib Ahlus-Sunnah, no. 35. The narration is authentic, reported by Abdullāh Ibn Ahmad in As-Sunnah, no. 9-10)

So our Lord is as He has described Himself and as the Messenger (ﷺ) has described Him without any resemblance to the creation, “There is none like unto Him, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” (Ash-Shūrā 42:11) This is the saying of the early Muslim scholars.

At-Tirmidhī stated, “It has been stated by more than one scholar from the People of Knowledge about this narration and similar reports regarding the Attributes of Allah – and that our Lord, the Blessed and Most High, descends to the nearest heaven every night. So the scholars said: ‘Affirm these narrations, have faith in them, do not imagine them, nor ask how.’ The likes of this has been related from Mālik Ibn Anas (d. 179H), Sufyān ath-Thawrī (d. 161H), Sufyān Ibn ‘Uyainah and Abdullāh Ibn Al-Mubārak, who all said about such narrations, ‘Leave them as they are, without asking how.’ Such is the saying of the People of Knowledge from Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah. However, the Jahmiyyah oppose these narrations and say, ‘This is resemblance (tashbeeh)!’ However, Allah the Most High, has mentioned in various places in His Book, His Attribute of Hand, Hearing, and Seeing but the Jahmiyyah make false interpretations of these verses, explaining them in a way other than how they are explained by the People of Knowledge. They say, ‘Allah did not create Adam with His own Hand.’ They say that Hand means power.

Ishāq Ibn Ibrāhīm Ar-Rāhūyah (d. 238H) said, ‘Resemblance is when it is said: ‘Hand like my hand, or similar to my hand.’ Or it is said, ‘Hearing like my Hearing, or similar to my hearing.’ Then this would be resemblance. But if what is being said is what Allah Himself has said, ‘Hand, Hearing and Seeing’ and it is not asked how, nor is it said, ‘Like my hearing or similar to my hearing.’ Then it is not resemblance. Allah, the Most Blessed and Most High, said in His Book, ‘There is none like Unto Him,and he is the all-Hearing,the all-Seeing.’” (See As-Sunan of At-Tirmidhī  no. 662)

1 Comment

  1. Allah humma baarik, this is such an amazing article and refutation of all those misguided individuals, definitely worth a read and something to keep bookmarked or saved. May Allah bless our sheikh, sheikh Abu khadeejah حفظه الله ameen.

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