Muhkam and Mutashabih
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “It is He Who has sent down to you (Muhammad) the Book (this Qur’aan). In it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book [and those are the Verses of Al-Ahkaam (commandments), Al-Faraa'id (obligatory duties) and Al-Hudood (laws for the punishment of thieves, adulterers)]; and others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (polytheism and trials), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save Allaah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord.” And none receive admonition except men of understanding”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:7]
What is meant is that
Read MoreQ & A on the 'Laughter' Of Allah
Sh Abdur Rahmaan al Barrak
Question 3:
Is it true that asking about attributes like Life, Power, Anger, and Pleasure is an inarticulate issue, in the sense that a person is not capable of making the meanings of these specific Attributes clear? If so, then is the same thing true for the Hand, the Shin, and especially Laughing since a person can make the meanings of these Attributes clear?
Answer:
Asking about these attributes is in two ways. The first way of asking is to ask about their real nature and their howness. This type of question is the one about which Imam Malik said: “Asking about it is a bid’a”, because these are questions that no one has any way to answer.
The second way of asking is to ask about their meaning. Because of their clear meanings, no one asks about these attributes except someone who is false and obstinate. For example, if someone was to ask about water, the sun, or humans. We don’t say that it’s impossible to clearly describe these words. In fact, all of these words can be explained by their synonyms, by mentioning their antonyms, by mentioning their effects and what occurs because of them. The purpose is to understand the aim [of those words] and to get close to it.
There is no doubt that among named items are intangible concepts which the mind perceives, and there are tangible ones which the sensory organs are aware of. It’s well known that the tangible objects are clearer than the intangible concepts, even though there are some concepts which are easier to understand than tangible objects.
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Question 6:
Is it correct to refer to language books which would contain the complete meaning of an attribute? For example, Mu’jam Maqaayees al Lugha by Ibn Faaris rahimahullah? It is mentioned in his text that the root meaning of laughing is “proof of exhaling and bulging”. So do we say that this is the meaning which is affirmed and understood? If so, why did the Bedouin say “We will not lack good from a lord that laughs”.
Answer:
What Ibn Faaris has mentioned as the complete meaning of laughing, is incorrect. It is not right to say that Allah’s laughing means inhaling, and in fact “inhaling” does not explain “laughing”. This is Ibn Faaris’ attempt, and it is obvious that he said that because of the way a person laughs. So this explanation is closest to what the created beings do. As for the Laughing of the Lord, Allah is the Most Knowledgeable of its true nature. There is evidence that it includes Mercy and Pleasure, as in the hadith: “Allah laughs at two men, one of whom kills the other…”, and the hadith “so He shades and Laughs, and knows that your happiness is near”. For this reason, the Bedouin said: “We will not lack good from a lord that laughs”.
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Question 12:
What is the correct answer to someone who says about the Laughing of our Lord:
We don’t know “laughing” except for what we see people doing, and this is what “laughing” means. So either you are making a similarity between Allah and humans, or you are simply making “laughing” an attribute [ie, without any meaning]
And they say that we don’t know anything about Allah’s laughter except that it means the intention of mercy and doing good, just like the Bedouin said: “We will not lack good from a lord that laughs”
Answer:
The point that has been brought up in this question is the same suspicion that everyone has who denies the reality of attributes of action, like Loving, Pleasure, Anger, Happiness, and Laughter In fact, it is the same suspicion that everyone has who denies Allah’s Attributes or some of [His attributes]. And that is that they don’t know anything about these attributes except what they have seen or what they know from themselves. So according to them, affirming these attributes is making similitude of Allah to the creation. So they escaped from that by denying the reality of the attributes to Allah. They considered that anything which is affirmed to Allah that could be affirmed to the creation must be denied.
Then they went into two understandings with regards to the texts that prove the affirmation of these attributes to Allah:
Either by tafweedh and tajheel [ignorance], that there is no way to understand their meanings, or by making ta’weel and turning away from the obvious and clear meaning.
The Jahmiyya and Mu’tazila expelled [the meanings] from all the attributes. The Ashaira and those close to them differentiated between attributes which have no differentiation. So it became necessary for them to contradict affirmation, denial, and ta’weel, just like contradiction became necessary for the Jahmiyya and Mu’tazila. Shaikhul Islam Ibn Taymiyya said: “Every one of the deniers of the attributes mentioned by the Messenger SAWS, denied the attribute fleeing from danger, and ended up affirming something similar to what he was fleeing from”.
So it should be said to the one who asked this question: You have to say this same statement with regards to all of Allah’s attributes of Action, and also His attributes of Self. It’s not sufficient to make this statement only for His Laughter and Happiness.
Ahlus Sunnah, walhamdulillah, believe in all that Allah and His Messenger have informed about Him, and they believe Him to be far above anything similar to His creation. They do not speak about the howness of His attributes, but they make tafweedh of the howness by saying: None knows His howness except Him.
No one knows the howness of His attributes except Him, just like Imam Malik and others said: Istiwaa is known, but the howness is unknown.
This statement of Imam Malik is the methodology to be used for all of the attributes. So it would be said: Descending is known, but the howness is unknown. Anger is known, but the howness is unknown. Happiness is known, but the howness is unknown. Laughter is known, but the howness is unknown. Happiness is the opposite of sadness, and laughter is the opposite of crying, as Allah said: “And that He it is who maketh laugh, and maketh weep” [53:43] So Allah described happiness opposed to sadness, and laughter opposed to crying. His Happiness is connected to His Love and ta’ajub [amazement], as in the hadith “Allah is more happy by one of his slaves’ repentance than…” and the hadith “Allah Laughs at two men, one who kills the other…”
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The Name ‘Allah’
Allah
It is He (Allah) Who is the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) in the heaven and the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) on the earth [Zukhruf 43:84]
Allah hath not chosen any son, nor is there any god [ilaah] along with Him; else would each god [ilaah] have assuredly championed that which he created
[Al-Mu'minoon 23:91]
Lexical interpretations:
The name Allah is originated from “ilaah”. In the aayah above, He said “there is no? ilaah along with Him”. There is no ilaah along with Him meaning there is no one that should be worshipped with Him. Also, there is no other Creator, Sustainer, Lawgiver, and so on. Whatever does not have these Names and Attributes cannot be an ilaah even if it is worshipped; it is only another creation.
Its root is “aliha ya’lahu”, which means to be bewildered. When the slave of Allah realizes His Greatness, Majesty, and other attributes, he will be the most unlikely to turn his heart towards anyone else. [Ibnul Atheer]
The root of ilaah is “wilaah”, in which the?waw was changed to a hamza as in some other Arabic words. The meaning of wilaah is that all of the creation turn to Him for their needs, to keep away harm, and retreat to Him when frightened.
- All of the following words: ilaaha, ulooha, and uloohiyya mean ‘ibaada, i.e, to worship. Regarding the following aayah:
Wilt thou suffer Moses and his people to make mischief in the land, and flout thee and thy gods (aalihatak)? [A'raaf 7:127]
Abdullah Ibn Abbaas RA used to recite the aayah as, “and flout thee and thy worship (ilaahatak),” because Pharoah was actually worshipped. For this reason, the action is referred to in this recitation as “ilaaha” (Of course, the first recitation listed is the most common and famous recitation) [Ibn Seedah].
An Additional proof is the statement of Pharoah: I know not that ye have a god (ilaah) other than me [Qasas 28:38]
The original form of the Name Allah is “al-ilaah”. This was stated by the grammarian and linguist Seebawayh and most of his students. [Ibnul Qayyim]. The hamza was dropped due to the common usage in the language, thereby the name became Allah. [Ibn Barree]
Please note: Repeating the name Allah by itself is not something found in the sharia. Rather, the remembrances [adhkaar] that are found in the sharia mention the name along with other words of praise and glory.
Some examples:
- “Whoever says subhaanAllahi wa bihamdihi 100 times in a day, his sins will be forgiven even if they were like the froth of the ocean” [Agreed upon]
- “There are two phrases which are light upon the tongue, heavy in the scale, and beloved to Ar-Rahmaan: subhaanAllahi wa bihamdihi, subhaanAllahil ‘adheem” [Agreed upon]
- “Four phrases are most beloved to Allah, and it doesn’t matter which one you start with: subhaanAllah, alhamdulillah, laa ilaaha illAllah, and Allahu akbar” [Muslim]
The most beloved names to Allah are the names Abdullah and AbdurRahmaan, as found in the saheeh hadith. Ibnul Qayyim explained in Zaad al Ma’aad (2/340):
As far as a name is related to the one that is named by it and affected by it, the names that Allah loves most are the names related to the Attributes that He loves most, like Abdullah and AbdurRahmaan. He loves that one would join worship to the names Allah and Al-Rahmaan more than than joining it to other names like Al-Qaahir and Al-Qaadir… This is because the relationship between the worshipper and Allah is one of absolute worship and absolute mercy from Him. It is by His Mercy that the worshipper exists, and everything related to his existence is due to Allah’s Mercy. He created and made the worshipper to exist in order that He is worshipped alone, loved, feared, hoped in, revered, and glorified. Then [the person] becomes a worshipper of Allah, worshipping Him because the name Allah means that He should be worshipped, and because of the impossibility that this meaning could be given to anyone else.?Allah’s mercy overcame His anger[as mentioned in the hadith], so He loves the name AbdurRahmaan more than the name AbdulQaahir.
The name Allah is the most comprehensive name because it contains the meanings present in all other names. Every other name signifies some specific attribute but not necessarily other attributes. However, the name Allah indicates that due to the fact that He has all these names and attributes, He alone is deserving to be worshipped. All other names explain and detail the attributes of Allah.
Whenever other names are mentioned, they are are listed as “among the names of Allah”. For example, “Al-Rahmaan, Al-Raheem, and Al-Ghaffaar are among the names of Allah”. No one says “Allah is one of the names of Al-Rahmaan.”
Allah Himself said: “Allah’s are the most beautiful names. Invoke Him by them.” [7:180]
All of the Messengers invited the people to the fact that only Allah deserves to be worshipped: “And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, ‘There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.’” (21:25)
Some ayaat that mention that only Allah deserves to be worshipped; that He is the only ilaah:
And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.(2:163)
Allah – there is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. (2:255)
Allah – there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. (3:2)
There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.(3:6)
Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge – [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (3:18)
That is Allah , your Lord; there is no deity except Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He is Disposer of all things. (6:102)
Follow, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you from your Lord – there is no deity except Him – and turn away from those who associate others with Allah . (6:106)
And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.(9:31)
Allah – there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the best names.(20:8)
Indeed, I am Allah . There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance. (20:14)
Your god is only Allah , except for whom there is no deity. (20:98)
And do not invoke with Allah another deity. There is no deity except Him. (28:88)
O mankind, remember the favor of Allah upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and earth? There is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded?(35:3)
That is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), where then you are turning away (from Allah, by worshipping others instead of Him)! (40:62)
He is the Ever-Living; there is no deity except Him, so call upon Him, [being] sincere to Him in religion. [All] praise is [due] to Allah , Lord of the worlds.(40:65)
So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah (47:19)
And Allah knows the best.
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