I say:
The
Ash'aris on True Tawhid and Shirk
Shaykh
Salah al-Din al-Idlibi
'You alone we worship'!
Imam Fakhr Al-Dīn Al-Rāzī
also said:
His saying: ‘You alone we worship’ indicates that there is no other worshipped entity besides Allah; and since this is the case, it is clearly established that there is no god except Allah; and His saying ‘You alone we worship and You alone we seek for help’ indicates pure monotheism… Everyone who takes a partner with Allah will inevitably offer worship to that partner in certain aspects, either seeking its benefit, or escaping its harm.
As for those who remain steadfast upon taw īd and deny that God has any partners or equals, and refrain from worshipping anything besides Allah, and pay heed to none but Allah, then their hope, fear, desire and awe is for Allah alone.
Therefore there can be no doubt that they worship none but Allah, and seek the aid of none but Allah. [1/244,245: Mafatih al-Ghayb] more info regarding (Imam Fakhr Al-Dīn Al-Rāzī ): here
If you refer to the books of Al-Baqillani in creed, then you will find him explaining taw īd in terms of taw īd al-uluhiyya, when he says:
‘Taw īd means affirming that He is Absolutely Existing, One God, the Object of all worship, and there is nothing like unto Him’. He continues: ‘It is obligatory to know that the Almighty Creator of the World is One and Only; and this means that there is no god but Him, and there is none worthy of worship save Him alone’.6
Imam Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him) says about the expression La Ilaaha Illa Allah, ‘The best form of invocation after the Qur’an is La Ilaaha Illa Allah; and what this means is nothing is all existence is rightfully worshipped except Allah’7
The mufassir Abu ‘Abd Allah Al-Qurtubi Al-Ash’ari clearly enunciated this doctrine in the introduction to his book titled “Reflection upon the state of the deceased and the condition of the afterlife”, when he said: ‘May Allah make it purely for His pleasure… there is no lord but Him, and no entity worthy of worship but Him, Be He Glorified’.
Imam Al-Izz Ibn ‘Abd Al-Salam
said:
after mentioning the necessary attributes of Allah
(Be He Glorified):
‘Verily, Divinity means the worthiness of being worshipped, and none deserves worship except the One who is described by all that we have mentioned’. He continued: ‘And none deserves status as God except the One who is described by all that we have resolutely affirmed’.8 more info regarding (Imam Al-Izz Ibn ‘Abd Al-Salam): Here
Imam Al-Sanusi
(Allah have mercy on him)
said:
There are six types of idolatry (shirk):
1) shirk implying autonomy, and that is the belief in two independent gods, as in the shirk of the Zoroastrians;
2) shirk of division, and that is the belief in a god made up of multiple gods, as in the shirk of the Christians;
3) shirk as a means of drawing close, and this entails worshipping other than Allah Almighty in order to draw near to Allah, as in the shirk of the ancient Arab polytheists;
4) shirk of imitation, and this entails worshiping other than Allah Almighty in blind following of others, as in the shirk of the later Arab polytheists;
5) shirk of causation, and this entails attributing normal causes other than Allah Almighty to natural phenomena, as in the shirk of philosophers and natural scientists and the students of such;
6) shirk of intention, and this entails working and striving for other than Allah Almighty. The first four are kufr by consensus (ijmā’); the sixth is sinful; judgment on the fifth depends on certain other considerations… 9
The first two types of shirk mentioned are at odds with taw īd al-rububiyyah, and they are the shirk implying autonomy and the shirk implying division.
The second two types of shirk are at odds with taw īd al-uluhiyyah, and they are the shirk as a means of drawing close and the shirk of imitation.
Al- Sanusi decided that the ruling of all these forms of shirk is kufr, and that such was by unanimous consent.
Al-Sanusi said:
The reality of the One God is that He the Necessary Being who deserves to be worshipped…and this means that nothing in existence is deserving of worship except for the One who is the Creator of the Universe (Majestic and Elevated be He)… because nothing deserves to be worshipped – meaning that all things humble themselves before it – save for He who is free of any need for all other beings beside Himself, and whom all other beings need. 10 (other Ref: Pdf)
---
What is Tawhid?
Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani (d.852 H)
states:
وأما
أهل السنة ففسروا التوحيد بنفي التشبيه
والتعطيل، ومن ثم قال الجنيد فيما حكاه
أبو القاسم القشيري ” التوحيد إفراد
القديم من المحدث ” وقال أبو القاسم
التميمي في ” كتاب الحجة ” التوحيد مصدر
وحد يوحد، ومعنى وحدت الله اعتقدته منفردا
بذاته وصفاته لا نظير له ولا شبيه، وقيل
معنى وحدته علمته واحدا، وقيل سلبت عنه
الكيفية والكمية فهو واحد في ذاته لا
انقسام له، وفي صفاته لا شبيه له، في
إلهيته وملكه وتدبيره لا شريك له ولا رب
سواه ولا خالق غيره.وقال
ابن بطال تضمنت ترجمة الباب أن الله ليس
بجسم لأن الجسم مركب من أشياء مؤلفة وذلك
يرد على الجهمية في زعمهم أنه جسم، كذا
وجدت فيه ولعله أراد أن يقول المشبهة،
وأما الجهمية فلم يختلف أحد ممن صنف في
المقالات أنهم ينفون الصفات حتى نسبوا
إلى التعطيل، وثبت عن أبي حنيفة أنه قال
بالغ جهم في نفي التشبيه حتى قال إن الله
ليس بشيء.
The orthodox ulama explained tawhid, (the uniqueness of God) to be the repudiation of the notion that Allah has any attribute which resembles the attributes of created things [which notion in Arabic is called tashbih], and of the notion that He does not possess those transcendent attributes which His perfection and majesty require [which notion in Arabic is called ta`til].
That is why al-Junayd (d. 297 H / 910 AD) in a report transmitted by al Qushayri [in his al-Risalah] said: “Al-Tawhid consists in maintaining the uniqueness of the Unoriginated [that is, the Eternal−Arabic: qadim] with respect to the originated [Arabic−hadith].”
Abu Qasim al-Tamimi said in his book al-Hujjah: Al-Tawhid is the verbal noun [Arabic −masdar] from which the past verb wahhada, and the present verb yuwahhidu are derived. The meaning of the sentence Wahhattu Allah is I`taqttu Allah munfaridan [that is, I declared (or maintained) categorically that Allah is unique] in His person (dhat), and that in respect of His attributes (sifat) He has no likeness nor resemblance.]” However, it has also been said that it means: “I acknowledge that He is one”, and likewise, that it means: “I deny Him all quality and quantity; for He is one in His Essence, indivisible; and one in His attributes; there is nothing which is like Him. He has no associate in His divinity, dominion, and providence. There is no other Lord than He, and no other Creator.”
Ibn Battal said: “The title that al-Bukhari has given the chapter [in his hadith collection called al-Sahih] implies that Allah is not a body because bodies are compounded of parts put together.” [Fath al-Bari, (Beirut: Dar al-Ma`rifah), p. 344, vol. 14.]
Imam Muhammad al-Sanusi (d. 895 H) said: in the commentary upon his al-Barahin, The establishment of the divinity of our Master the Majestic and Mighty with every reasonable person is undisputable. However, disbelief occurs when an additional deity is added. If other deities are added then negation of the deities that have been added to Allah ta`ala is required. This is how the science of Divine Unity (al-tawhid) came into being, so consider that.[Nur as-Sa`ada]
Imam al-Bayjurî (d. 1277 AH) said: It is to single-out al-Ma’bûd (the One to be worshipped – i.e. Allâh) with worship, along with belief and affirmation in the oneness and uniqueness of His Dhât (Essence), Sifât (Attributes) and Actions. [Tuhfat al-Murid ala Jawharah Al-Tawhid]
---
Al-Hafiz
Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani
on Attributing the Direction ‘Above’
to Allah
al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar states in Fath al-bari:
ولا يلزم من كون جهتي العلو والسفل محال على الله أن لا يوصف بالعلو لأن وصفه بالعلو من جهة المعنى والمستحيل كون ذلك من جهة الحس، ولذلك ورد في صفته العالي والعلي والمتعالي ولم يرد ضد ذلك وإن كان قد أحاط بكل شيء علما جل وعز
The fact that the two directions of “above” ['uluw] and “below” are inapplicable and impossible for Allah does not preclude His being described with the attribute of elevation (`uluw), for such description is only from the standpoint of the meaning of elevation, not that of sensory perception. And this is stated in the case of His attributes of al-`Aali and al-`Ali and al-Muta’ali and not the opposites of these and his knowledge encompasses everything, Azza wa Jal. Arabic Text Source
Elsewhere Ibn Hajar says:
قال الكرماني قوله ” في السماء ” ظاهره غير مراد، إذ الله منزه عن الحلول في المكان، لكن لما كانت جهة العلو أشرف من غيرها أضافها إليه إشارة إلى علو الذات والصفات،
Al-Kirmani said: “The outward meaning [dhahirahu] of the saying: “He Who is in the heaven” (man fi al-sama’) is not meant. Allah is transcendent above immanence and place. However, because the direction of aboveness [jiha al-uluw] is nobler than any other direction, Allah linked it to Him to indicate the loftiness of the Essence and the Attributes. Arabic Text Source
And again, the Imam says:
وقد حكى البيهقي عن أبي بكر الضبعي قال: العرب تضع ” في ” موضع ” على ” كقوله (فسيحوا في الأرض) وقوله (ولأصلبنكم في جذوع النخل) فكذلك قوله (من في السماء) أي على العرش فوق السماء كما صحت الأخبار بذلك
[...]
إلا حديث ابن عباس فليس فيه إلا قوله ” رب العرش ” ومطابقته والله أعلم من جهة أنه نبه على بطلان قول من أثبت الجهة أخذا من قوله (ذي المعارج) ففهم أن العلو الفوقي مضاف إلى الله تعالى، فبين المصنف أن الجهة التي يصدق عليها أنها سماء والجهة التي يصدق عليها أنها عرش كل منهما مخلوق مربوب محدث، وقد كان الله قبل ذلك وغيره، فحدثت هذه الأمكنة، وقدمه يحيل وصفه بالتحيز فيها والله أعلم.
Bayhaqi mentioned Abu Bakr al-Dab`i’s saying that the Arabs use “in” (fi) in place of “over,” as in Allah’s saying: “Roam over (fi) the earth” and “I shall crucify you over (fi) the trunks of the palm-trees.”
Likewise, Dab`i says, “In the heaven” means “Over the Throne above the heaven, as stated in the sound reports [...]
And by including the hadith of Ibn `Abbas containing the words: “Lord of the mighty Throne” into this chapter, Bukhari warned those that might predicate spatial elevation to Allah (`uluw fawqi) that both the direction in which the heaven is believed to be and that in which the Throne is believed to be are created, lorded over, and brought into existence by Allah Who existed before all that and before everything else. Thus these places were created, and his existence, being eternal without beginning, precludes reference to him as being bounded by them.
---
Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani
on
the Hadith of Descent
The hadith of descent from Sahih Al-Bukhari:
Abdullah bin Maslamah narrates from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Salamah and Abdullah Algharr both of whom narrate from Abu Huraira that:
The Messenger of
Allah
صلى
الله عليه وسلم
said:
‘Our
Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, descends every night to the nearest
Heaven when the last third of the night remains, saying: “Is there
anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there
anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there
anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?”‘
Ibn
Hajar’s comments from Fath
al-Bari :
Those
who assert direction for
Allah have used this hadith as proof that He is in the direction of
above-ness (uluww).
The
vast majority of the
scholars reject this, because
saying such leads to establishing boundaries for Him and Allah is
exalted above that.
And so there is disagreement regarding the
meaning of ‘Nuzool’ upon the [following] sayings (i.e. of
the scholars):
·
So from them are those who
hold that that it is upon its Thaahir (apparent) and its
Haqeeqi (real literal) meaning, and they are the Mushabbihah (those
who make tashbeeh which is to liken Allah to his creation), exalted
is Allah from their sayings.
· Some reject the
validity of the ahadith cited in that chapter altogether.
These are the Khawarij and the Mu‘tazila and this view is highly
contentious. What is strange is that they interpret figuratively what
is related to this in the Qur’an, but they reject what is
in the ahadith either out of ignorance or out of obstinacy.
·
Some have taken them
as they have come, believing in them without specificity,
declaring Allah to be transcendent above modality (kayfiyya) and
likeness to creation (tashbih): these are the vast majority
of the Salaf. That position is reported
by Al-Bayhaqi and others from the four
Imams, Sufyan ibn ‘Uyayna, Sufyan Ath-Thawri, Hammad ibn
Salama, Hammad ibn Zayd, Al-Awza’i, Al-Layth, and others.
·
Some interpreted them in
a way that befits the linguistic usage of the Arabs.
· Some
have over-interpreted them to the point that they almost
tampered with the text (tahrif).
· Some have made
a difference between
a kind of interpretation that is likely and current in the linguistic
usage of the Arabs, and another kind which is far-fetched and
archaic, interpreting in the former case and committing the meaning
to Allah in the latter. [I.e. if the Arabic equivalent is sensible
and befitting to Allah's majesty it would be accepted but if the
Arabic usage opposes the majesty of Allah then tafwid is
practised]. This is reported from Malik, and among
the later scholars (muta‘akhkhirun) it is asserted decisively by
Ibn Daqiq al-’Id.
Imam
Al-Bayhaqi said:
“The safest method
is to believe in them without modality,
and to maintain concerning what is meant except if
the explanation is conveyed from
the Prophet himself, in which case it is followed.”
The
proof for this is the agreement of the scholars that the specific
interpretation is not obligatory, and that therefore the commitment
of meaning to Allah (tafwid) is the safest option.
Imam
al-Bayhaqi said:
قال البيهقي ذهب بعض أهل النظر إلى أن اليد صفة ليست جارحة وكل موضع جاء ذكرها في الكتاب أو السنة الصحيحة فالمراد تعلقها بالكائن المذكور معها كالطي والأخذ والقبض والبسط والقبول والشح والانفاق وغير ذلك تعلق الصفة بمقتضاها من غير مماسة وليس في ذلك تشبيه بحال وذهب آخرون إلى تأويل ذلك بما يليق به انتهى
Some of the theologians were of the view that ‘yad’ is an attribute that is not a limb, and that in every place in the Book and the authentic Sunna where it is mentioned, what is meant is its linkage [ta'alluq] with the thing mentioned along with it, such as ‘folding up’, ‘taking’, ‘grasping’, ‘outstretching’, ‘accepting’, ‘avarice’, and spending, and other examples. All of these are [examples of] the linkage of the attribute to that which it entails, without any spatial contact; and in no way does this contain any resemblance [tashbih]. And yet others were of the view that this should be given a figurative interpretation in a manner that befits Him.
[Source:
Fath al-Bari, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani] Ref/more info: Here
---
SaˆdudDiin Al-Taftaazaaniy
(b.712-d.793AH/ 1312-1390 AD),
Sa'ad al-Din Masud ibn Umar ibn Abd Allah al-Taftazani also known as Al-Taftazani and Taftazani (1312– 1390AD)
He also wrote a commentary on the Qur'an in Persian called "Kashf-al-Asrar" and translated the Persian poetry and prose of Saadi into Turkic.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani famously remarked about him that "science ended with him in the East" and "no one could ever replace him", due to the Mongol invasion of Central Asia, which ended the Islamic Golden Age. He died in Samarkand in 1390 and was buried in Sarakhs.
He sincerely practiced Islam, and practiced and preached in the Hanafi and Maturidi schools.
He was of the Hanafi school in matters of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and a Maturidi with regard to issues of Aqidah.
Sħarĥu-l-Maqaaşid Fiy ˆIlmi-l-Kalaam, 2/514
At-Taftaazaaniyy states:
“The
belief of Ahlu-s-Sunnah is that the world has a beginning, and that
the Creator is beginninglessly eternal, attributed with
beginninglessly eternal attributes that are not Him himself, nor
other than Him1.
Moreover, He is One, He has no like or opposite, or equal. He has no end, or shape, or limit. He is not in something, and nothing begins to exist in Him (i.e. He does not change) and it is invalid (i.e. intrinsically impossible) that He could move, or be transported, or be ignorant, or lie, or have a defect. In addition, He is seen in the Hereafter, but He is not in a space, or in a direction. Whatever He has willed will be, and what He has not willed will not be. He does not need anything, and He has no obligations.”
-------
1 I.e.
it is impossible in the mind’s eye that they could be separated
from Him – because they are eternally attributes of His, and what
is eternal cannot change.
شرح
المقاصد فى علم الكلام ، 2
/ 514
وطريقة
أهل السنة أن العالم حادث والصانع قديم
متصف بصفات قديمة ليست عينه ولا غيره
وواحد لا شبه له ولا ضد ولا ند ولا نهاية
له ولا صورة ولا حد ولا يحل في شيء ولا
يقوم به حادث ولا يصح عليه الحركة والانتقال
ولا الجهل ولا الكذب ولا النقص وأنه يرى
في الآخرة وليس في حيز ولا جهة ما شاء كان
ومالم يشأ لم يكن لا يحتاج إلى شيء ولا
يجب عليه شيء
شرح
المقاصد في علم الكلام ، اسم المؤلف:
سعد
الدين مسعود بن عمر بن عبد الله التفتازاني
الوفاة:
791هـ
، دار النشر :
دار
المعارف النعمانية – باكستان – 1401هـ
– 1981م
، الطبعة :
الأولى
-------
Imam Abu Hanifa (d. 150AH) says in his Wasiyya:
"Had He been in a place and needing to sit and rest before creating the Throne, then the question:
'Where was Allah?' would have applied to Him, which is impossible...
We assert that Allah is established on the throne without His need (haja) nor settlement (istiqrar) upon it, for He it is Who preserves the Throne and other than it without needing any of them."
[Abu Hanifa, Wasiyyat al-imam al-a`zam Abu Hanifa, ed. Fu'ad `Ali Rida (Beirut : Maktabat al-Jamahir, 1970) p. 10.]
If someone
says,
'Where is Allah?'
The answer for him is that
Allah existed when there was no 'where,' no creation, nothing.
And He is the Creator of everything."
al-Nasàfi's Matn al-Manàr fï Usul al-Fiqh, Cairo: al-Matba'at al-Mahmudiyya, 1326): "...on the Throne without his having need for it and without settlement on it as He is the Preserver of the Throne and other than the Throne."
--------------------------
The word Shirk
Is Studying Hadith From Al-Bukhari And Muslim
on Your Own Advised?
---
Narrated Uqba: One day the Prophet went out and offered the (funeral) prayer for the people (i.e. martyrs) of Uhud as he used to offer a funeral prayer for any dead person, and then (after returning) he ascended the pulpit and said,
"I
am your predecessor before you, and I am a witness upon you, and I am
looking at my Tank just now, and I have been given the keys of the
treasures of the world (or the keys of the world). By
Allah, I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah
after me, but I am afraid that you will compete with each other for
(the pleasures of)
this world."
[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 5, Book 59,
Number 411] Also see [Muslim, Al-Nisa`i, Abu-Dawud, Ahmed b. Hanbal]
---
.jpg)
Who made the
Division of Tawhid?
The problem is not the usage of words like Rububiyyah and Uluhiyyah, but rather to make a strict division of Tawhid into three and build Ahkam (rulings) based upon it.
This
is exactly what Ibn
Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) did
and this is nothing but an innovation!
The
problem with this innovation is
not just that it later on (i.e. in the time of the bloodthirsty
criminal Ibn 'Abd
al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AH))
lead to completely unjustified Takfir and
the spilling of blood of
many many Muslims on the Arabian peninsula
and the regions around it, but also that it leads
to ignorance regarding real Tawhid.
The people who follow this innovation are so obsessed about secondary issues, that they've forgotten what actually Tawhid is.
Let them read Surat al-Ikhlas and ponder about it and then ask themselves why the Tawhid in the Qur`an al-karim is different from the so called "Tawhid" that ibn abdul Wahab Najdi blind followers teach them.
(by Abu Sulayman)
---
---
(Edited by ADHM)
