Sharh Al-Aqeedat-il-Wasitiyah (Islamic book) -A muslims foundation of beliefs

10. Affirmation and negation of the Attributes..

Affirmation and negation of the Attributes with which Allah glorified Himself or by His Messenger (peace be upon him)

For He knows best His Own Self and the selves of others. What He says is the truest and the best and His Messengers are true. They have been testified as against those who say such things about Allah which they themselves do not know. That is why Allah says: "Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of honor and power! (He is free) from what they attribute unto Him! And peace be on the Messengers! And all the praise and thanks are to Allah, Lord of the 'Aalamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)." (Surah As-Saffat,37: 180-182). He stated His Self free from the things with which the opponents of the Messengers of Allah qualified Him, and sent peace unto the Prophets since their statements were free of defects and drawbacks. He also mentioned negation and affirmation of the Attributes with which He qualified Himself.

To have faith in the Attributes of Allah, mentioned in the Quran and the Hadith, is justified on account of the fact that Allah is the Best Knower of His Self and all other things. The best and the truest thing is that which He says; and whatever His Messengers say about Him is always true. They are innocent of telling lies about Allah, nor do they say anything which is against reality. That is why it is necessary to have faith in whatever Allah and His Messengers have said about the Attributes in a negative or positive form. Such things should not be left for believing in the statements of those people who falsify Allah and say such things about Him which they do not know themselves.

The detail behind it is that a defect in the failure of a statement to establish its intended meaning occurs because of one or more of the three factors mentioned below:

1. The speaker is himself ignorant of what he says.

2. He does not have the power of eloquence and the required amount of skill to communicate.

3. He resorts to lies, distortions, and adulteration.

The Quran and the Hadith are in every sense free from these three things. The statements of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) are extremely clear and bright. These are in accordance with the reality and the highest example of truth. These things have emerged after cutting off all external relations. They also include the highest admonition and guidance for the creatures.

In this way all the three elements of narration and understanding are available in the statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) has the highest knowledge of those things which he wants the people to be apprised of. He adopts the best style of narrating them. He is most willing to give admonition and guidance to the creatures. That is why it is not possible that his statements suffer from weakness or defect, while the statements of others in these matters and also in other matters are not free of shortcomings and defects. That is why it is not correct to regard the statements of others and equal to the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him), let alone having faith in the statements of others compared with the statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

This is an extremely shameful thing and leads astray. That is the reason why Allah described His Own Glorification and sent peace on His Messengers. Subhaan is the infinitive of Tasbih which means keeping purified and remote from evil. The root of this word is Sabh which means speed, flow, and remoteness. That is why the horse that runs very fast is called Sabooh.

Allah, the Pure, keeps His Self purified from all those things which the polytheists attribute to Him (such as having a wife or a son) and other defects and drawbacks. Then He sends peace on His Messengers. This indicates that just as it is necessary to have faith that Allah the Mighty and the Great is free from defects and drawbacks, so also it is necessary to have faith in the purity of the words and deeds of Prophets, for the Prophets and Messengers of Allah neither tell lies about Allah nor associate partners to Him, nor put their followers in make-believe positions. They never say anything except the truth regarding Allah. The command of Allah is:

"And all the praises and thanks are to Allah, Lord of the 'Aalamin (mankind, jinns and all the exists)."

On account of being in possession of perfection in Attributes, most magnificent qualities and most righteous deeds, the Glorified Allah Himself praises His Self.

Negation and affirmation are included in both general and specific terms in His Names and Attributes. The meaning of generality in negation is that all those defects and drawbacks are denied in the Self of Allah which go against His Perfection. For example:

"There is nothing like unto Him," (Surah Ash-Shura, 42:11);

"Do you know of any who is similar to Him? (Of course none is similar or coequal or comparable to Him, and He has none as partner with Him)" (Surah Maryam, 19:65);

"Glorified is Allah above all that they attribute to Him!" (Surah AI-Mu 'minun, 23:91). 

Specificity in negation means negating the allegation that Allah is associated in His Attributes with such defects and drawbacks as father, son, partner, wife, peer, opponent, ignorance, helplessness, misguidance, forgetfulness, drowsiness, sleep, uselessness and falsehood.

The word negation does not stand alone in the Quran and the Hadith , for a mere negation does not denote any attribute; there is rather the affirmation of the perfection of the Greatness of Allah and the Uniqueness in His Attributes as against both the negations. The negation of ignorance stands for the affirmation of His broad and unlimited Knowledge; the negation of injustice is for the affirmation of the perfection of His Justice, the negation of uselessness is for the affirmation of His eternal life and stability. That is the reason why negation has often come in the Quran and the Hadith in a general sense in contrast with affirmation in which there are greater specifications than generalities, for these are intended for His Self.

The generality in affirmation means that absolute perfection, absolute praise, absolute magnificence, etc., are proved. Allah says:

"All the praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of the 'Aalamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists) (Surah Fatihah, 1:2);

"And for Allah is the highest description.." (Surah Al-Nahl, 16:60).

The detail in this matter includes all nouns and adjectives mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah, and it is so frequent that it cannot be counted. Some have been specified by Allah along with His Knowledge as the Prophet (peace be upon him) has said:

"Glorified are You, we cannot enumerate Your praise. You are exactly as You have praised Yourself."

In a Hadith regarding prayer, the Prophet (peace be upon him) has said:

"I ask you through every name by which You have named Yourself or You have revealed Your Name or taught someone from amongst Your creatures, or kept it with You in the knowledge of the Unseen".