The Islamic Belief of True Salaf

Allah is Attributed with Perfection

Bismillah, Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, to Him
belong the endowments and the befitting perfections and commendations.
I ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi
wa sallam, and to protect his nation from that which he fears for it,
Thereafter:

The saying that Allah, ta^ala, exists without a place is the
belief and the creed of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa
sallam, the Companions and the True Salaf and Khalaf, those who
graciously followed them, and it shall be until the Day of Judgment.
The proof of this precious statement is what Allah said in the Qur'an,
in Surat ash-Shura, ayah 11 which means: "There is nothing like Him
and He has the attribute of Hearing and Seeing." This ayah absolutely
and totally clears Allah of resembling the creation. It comprises that
Allah, ta^ala, is different from the creations in the Self,
Attributes, and Doings. Hence, it shows that Allah, ta^ala, exists
without a place, because the one who exists in a place would, by
nature, be composed of atoms, i.e., he would be a body, occupying a
space, and Allah, ta^ala, is clear of occupying spaces.

Al-Bukhariyy, al-Bayhaqiyy and Ibn al­Jarud related that the
Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said which means:
"Allah existed eternally and there was nothing else." This hadith
proves that Allah was alone in al-'azal, (the status of existence
without a beginning,) i.e., before creating any of the creation. There
was nothing with Him: no place, no space, no sky, no light, and no
darkness. It is determined in the rules of the Religion and the
judgments of the sound mind that Allah, the Exalted, does not change.
Hence, it is impossible that after having been existing without a
place, He would become in a place, because this is a development, and
the development is a sign of needing others, and the one who needs
others is not God.

Imam Abu Mansur al-Baghdadiyy related in his book, Al-Farqu Bayn
al­Firaq, that Imam ^Aliyy, the fourth of the caliphs, may Allah
reward his deeds, said which means: Allah existed eternally and there
was no place, and He now is as He was, i.e., without a place.

Imam Abu Hanifah, who is one of the authorities of as-Salaf, said
in his book Al-Fiqh al­Absat: "Allah existed eternally and there was
no place. He existed before creating the creation. He existed, and
there was no place, creation, or thing; and He is the Creator of
everything."

Imam al-Hafidh al-Bayhaqiyy said in his book, Al-Asma'u was-Sifat,
on page 400: ".... What was mentioned towards the end of the hadith is
an indication of denying Allah has a place and denying the slave is
alike to Allah, wherever he was in proximity or remoteness. Allah, the
Exalted, is adh­Dhahir--hence, it is valid to know about Him by
proofs. Allah is al-Batin--hence, it is invalid that He would be in a
place."

He also said: "Some of our companions used as a proof to refute
the place to Allah the saying of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa
sallam : 'You are adh-Dhahir and there is nothing above You, and You
are al-Batin and there is nothing underneath You.' Therefore, if there
is nothing above Him and nothing underneath Him, He is not in a place."

Imam Ahmad Ibn Salamah, Abu Ja^far at­Tahawiyy, 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 Ahl as­Sunnah
wal Jama^ah, which is the creed of Imam Abu Hanifah, who died in the
year 150 after al­Hijrah, and his two companions, Imam Abu Yusuf
al-Qadi and Imam Muhammad Ibn al­Hasan ash-Shaybaniyy and others. He
said in his book: "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. The six directions are above, below, in front of, behind,
right, and left.

The linguist and scholar of hadith, Imam Muhammad Murtada
az-Zabidiyy, narrated by a continuous chain from himself back to Imam
Zayn al-^Abidin ^Aliyy Ibn al-Husayn Ibn ^Aliyy Ibn Abi Talib, (who
was among the first of as-Salaf, who earned the title of as-Sajjad,
i.e., the one who prays a lot), that Zayn al-^Abidin said in his
treatise as­Sahifah as-Sajjadiyyah about Allah: which means: "O Allah,
You are clear of all imperfection. You are Allah, the One Who no place
contains You." He also said which means: "O Allah, You are clear of
all imperfection. You are Allah, the One Who is not in boundaries."



In the explanation of al-Bukhariyy in the chapter on Al-Jihad,
Hafidh Ibn Hajar said: "The fact that the two directions above and
below are impossible to be attributes of Allah, does not necessitate
that Allah would not be attributed with aboveness, because attributing
aboveness to Allah is a matter of status and the impossibility lies in
it being physical."

The scholar Imam Zayn ad-Din Ibn Nujaym, the Hanafiyy, in his book
Al-Bahr ar­Ra'iq, on page 129 said: "Whoever says it is possible that
Allah would do a doing in which there is no wisdom commits blasphemy,
and also he commits blasphemy by affirming a place to Allah, the Exalted."

Imam Muhammad Ibn Hibah al-Makkiyy, in his book Hada'iq al-Fusul
wa Jawahir al-^Uqul,--also called Al-^Aqidat-as-Salahiyyah because he
gave it as a gift to Sultan Salah-ad-Din al-Ayyubiyy who ordered that
this book be taught to the children in schools and broadcast from the
top of minarets--said:

which means: "Allah existed eternally and there was no place, and
the judgment about His existence now is that He is as He was, i.e.,
without a place."

The great true Salafi, Imam Ja^far as-Sadiq said: "He who claims
that Allah is in something or on something or from something, commits
ash-shirk. Because if He was in something, He would be contained, and
if He was on something, He would be carried, and if He was from
something, He would be a creature."

Shaykh ^Abdul-Ghaniyy an-Nabulsiyy said: "He who believes that
Allah fills the heavens and earth or that He is a body sitting above
al-^arsh (ceiling of Paradise; throne) is a kafir."

Imam Abul-Qasim ^Aliyy Ibnul-Hasan Ibn Hibatillah Ibn ^Asakir said
in his ^Aqidah: "Allah existed before the creation. He does not have a
before or an after, an above or a below, a right or a left, an in
front of or a behind, a whole or a part. It must not be said when was
He, where was He, or how was He. He exists without a place."

Imam Abu Sulayman al-Khattabiyy said: "What is obligatory upon us
and upon every Muslim to know is that our Lord has no shape or form,
because the shape has a 'how' and 'how' does not apply to Allah or His
Attributes."

Know beyond doubt that the question 'how' does not apply to Allah,
because this is a question about shapes, bodies, places, depths and
dimensions; Allah is clear of all of that. Also be firm that it is
invalid to say about Allah "... but we do not know how", because in
essence, it falsely indicates that Allah has a color, shape,
dimensions, body, place, but one is ignorant of the 'how' of it.

Imam al-Ghazaliyy said: " Allah, the Exalted, existed eternally
and there was no place. He is not a body, jawhar (atom), or property,
and He is not on a place or in a place."

All of these sayings show that attributing the sensuous physical
aboveness and place to Allah is contrary to the Qur'an, the Hadith,
the Ijma^, and the intellectual proof. The intellectual proof that
Allah exists without a place lies in the fact that the one who is in a
place would have an area, and the one who has an area is in need of
it, and the one who needs others is not God. Moreover, as the mind
determines that Allah existed without a place before creating places,
the mind determines that after Allah created the places He still
exists without a place.

The scholars like Imam Ahmad ar­Rifa^iyy determined that lifting
the hands and the faces towards the sky when performing du^a
(supplication) is because the heavens are the qiblah of du^a just as
the Ka^bah is the qiblah of as­Salah. From the heavens, the mercies
and blessings of Allah descend.

Hence, it is clear for the one who seeks the truth that the saying
that Allah exists without a place is what complies with the Qur'an,
the Hadith, the Ijma^, and the criteria of the sound intellect. Be
firm and certain that before creating places, Allah Who created
everything (places and others), existed without a place, and after
creating places, He still exists without a place.

Since we have determined that the creed of the Muslims is that
Allah exists without a place and that the question 'how' does not
apply to Allah, it is clear to us that al-^arsh (the throne) which is
the biggest of the creations of Allah and the ceiling of Paradise, is
not a place for Allah, the Exalted.

Imam Abu Hanifah said in his book, al­Wasiyyah,: " ... and He is
the Preserver of al­^arsh and other than al-^arsh, without needing it,
for had He been in need, He would not have the power to create the
world and to manage and preserve it. Moreover, had He been in a place
needing to sit and rest­­before creating al-^arsh, where was Allah?"
That is, the question 'where was Allah' would have applied to Him,
which is impossible.

Also, in his book, Al-Fiqh al-Absat, Imam Abu Hanifah said: "Allah
existed eternally and there was no place; He existed before creating
the creation. He existed and there was not a place, a creation or a
thing; and He is the Creator of everything. He who says 'I do not know
if my Lord is in the heavens or on the earth,' is a kafir. Also is a
kafir whoever says that 'He is on al-^arsh, and I do not know whether
al-^arsh is in the heaven or on the earth'."

Consequently, the great True Salafi Scholar Imam Ahmad declared a
kafir whomever says these last two phrases because they contain
attributing a direction, boundary, and place to Allah. Everything
which has a direction and boundary is by necessity in need of a
Creator. Thus it is not the intention of Imam Abu Hanifah to prove
that the heaven and al-^arsh are places for Allah, as those who liken
Allah to the creation claim. This is by virtue of the aforementioned
saying of the Imam: "Had He been in a place needing to sit and rest,
then before creating al-^arsh where was Allah?", which is clear in
negating that Allah has a direction or a place.

In his book, Ihya'u ^Ulum ad-Din, Imam al­Ghazaliyy said: "...
places do not contain Him, 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."

Shaykh ^Abdul-Ghaniyy an-Nabulsiyy said: "He who believes that
Allah filled the heavens and earth or that He is a body sitting above
al-^arsh, is a kafir." Ayah 93 of Surat Maryam:

means: "All those in the heavens and earth must come to Allah as a
slave." In his Tafsir (book of explaining the Qur'an), Imam ar-Raziyy
said: "... and since it is affirmed by this ayah that everything that
existed in the heavens and earth is a slave to Allah, and since it is
obligatory that Allah is clear of being a slave, thus He is clear of
being in a place or direction, or on al-^arsh or al-kursiyy."


Hence Surat Taha, ayah 5, in the Qur'an, clearly does not mean
that Allah sits on the throne or that Allah is firmly established on
the throne. In the Arabic language, the word istawa has fifteen (15)
different meanings, among of which are to sit, to subjugate, to
protect, to conquer, and to preserve. Based on what we have covered so
far it is clear that it is blasphemous to apply the meaning 'to sit'
to Allah. However the terms to preserve and to subjugate are in
compliance with the Religion and the language. And those so-called
translations of al-Quran that referred to the term "Istawa" to "Sits"
or "Sat"or "Established himself firmly on the throne" contradict
Arabic rules, and Islamic bases. Bewarned from such translations and
such attribues, Allah is almighty clear from the sitting, movement,
size, shape, form or change. Allah is great.

In Conclusion to what has been mentioned, Allah's attributes are
perfect. The scholars of Islam said that it is obligatory upon every
mukallaf (Accountable preson) to know Attributes of Allah, among which
13 attributes that have been mentioned repeatedly in al-Quran. Allah
is attributed with: Existence, Oneness, Eternity, Everlastingness,
Non-neediness of others, Power, Will, Knowledge, Hearing, Sight, Life,
Speech, and Non-resemblance to the creation.



The explanation of the attributes of Allah is as follows:

1.

Existence: It is obligatory to believe that Allah exists
and that there is no doubt in His Existence.He exists without a
place.Time does not lapse on Allah.
2.

Oneness: Allah is One without any partners.He is One in
His Self, His Attributes, and His Actions.
3.

Eternity: Allah is Eternal; there is no beginning to His
Existence.He has existed since before the creation.
4.

Everlastingness: Allah is Everlasting; His existence
does not come to an end.He does not perish.
5.

Non-neediness of others: Allah does not need any of His
creations and they are all in need of Him.
6.

Power: Allah has Power over everything.
7.

Will: Everything that occurs in this world is by the
Will of Allah.
8.

Knowledge: Allah knows about all things before they occur.
9.

Hearing: Allah hears all what is hearable, without an
ear or any other organ.
10.

Sight: Allah sees all what is seeable, without a pupil
or any other organ.
11.

Life: Allah is alive without a soul, skin, or heart.His
Life is not similar to ours.He is alive and does not die.
12.

Speech: Allah's Speech (Kalam) is without a tongue or
lip.His Speech is not in a language, Arabic or anything else.His
Speech does not resemble the speech of the humans.
13.

Non-resemblance to the creations: Allah does not
resemble the creations.

Allah knows best.