PART 1 – Were The 4 Imaams Mufawwidhah With Regards To The Sifaat of Allaah

Part 1- Were The 4 Imaams Mufawwidhah With Regards To The Sifaat of Allaah

Based on the article of Hafidh Muhammad Zubair

Further Additions/ Modifications and Translated Abu Hibbaan & Abu Khuzaimah Ansaari.

The scholars have divided Tawheed into 3 categories, Tawheed al-Uloowhiyyah, Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah and Tawheed Asma Was-Sifaat With regards to Tawheed Asma Was-Sifaat the Aqeedah of Ahlus Sunnah Wal-Jama’ah ie the companions, taabieen, taba taabieen, the four Imaams and the scholars of hadeeth is that they believe and affirm the real (haqeeqi) meaning of the Asmaa Was-Sifaat (names and attributes) of Allaah as they have been mentioned in the Quraan and Sunnah and they do not describe how they are ie their kayfiyyah. For instance Ahlus Sunnah affirm the attribute of Yadd (hand) for Allaah as has been mentioned in the Quraan and they also affirm that it is real (haqeeqi) and they also affirm its linguistic meaning. Ahlus Sunnah also say asking how the attribute is or to liken the attribute to the creation has been ordained to be an innovation.

In opposition to the Aqeedah of Ahlus Sunnah is the methodology adopted by the people of Ta’weel who make ta’weel of the Asma Was-Sifaat and they do so by giving the real meaning of these attributes a metaphorical meaning. For example Ahlus Sunnah say Allaahs Yadd means his Hand a real hand without asking how the hand is or likening it to any other hand or likening it to the hand of the Creation. The people of ta’weel whilst contradicting the well established belief of Ahlus Sunnah, say Allaahs Yadd or hand means Qudrah ie power and not a real hand, thereby denying the real meaning and not affirming this attribute of Allaahs Essence.

From the sects that resort to Ta’weel (figurative explanation) are the mu’tzilah, the ashaa’irah (asharees) and the matureediyyah (matureedees). The Asharees and Matureedees deny the meaning of yadd ie hand and hence do not affirm this attribute infact they reject it. They make ta’weel of some of the Sifaat Fi’liyyah and deny the real meaning and take a metaphorical meaning. For instance the Ashaa’irah and the Matureediyyah deny the speech of Allaah therefore the Quraan is the inner speech of Allaah or ie Allah’s kalaam subsists within Himself and therefore deny Kalaam lafdhee of Allaah.

The people of taweel have furthered into another offshoot and that is the people of tafweedh who present some metaphorical meaning for the Sifaat of Allaah but totally deny the meaning of the Arabic words ie they say we do not know what Yadd means etc and they return the meaning of these Sifaat to Allaah and say no linguistic meaning should be mentioned for these words which have been used for the Sifaat of Allaah. The deobandees, as the bareilwees over the years have lied on Imaam Abu Haneefah and tried to establish that his position was that of taweel and tafweedh. They did this just to establish that they were Muqallids of Imaam Abu Haneefah in Aqeedah and furoo.

In reality Imaam Abu Haneefah was free from the shackles of taweel and tafweedh and most of the deobandees hanafees are essentially the Muqallids of Abul Mansoor Matureedee and some of Abul Hasan al-Asharee. So was Imaam Abu Haneefah or the rest of the Imaams from those who did tafweedh or were they from amongst the Mufawidhah?…

TO BE CONTINUED…