‫اهلل‬
‫اهلل‬
‫اهلل‬
‫‪Allah‬‬
‫‪ A name for the True Existent, the One who comprises of‬‬
‫‪all Divine Attributes; the One described with Qualities of‬‬
‫‪Lordship; and Unique in terms of Authentic Existence.‬‬
‫‪ Comprises the meanings of all other Names‬‬
‫‪ Al-Imam ash-Shafi‘i and proof of Allah’s existence ...‬‬
‫جاء بعض الزاندقة اإىل الإمام الشافعي ‪-‬رمحه هللا‪ -‬وسألوه‪ :‬ما ادلليل عىل وجود هللا؟ فقال‪ :‬ورق‬
‫التوت طعمه واحد‪ ،‬تألكه ادلودة فيخرج مهنا الإبريسم (احلرير)‪ ،‬ويألكه النحل فيخرج منه العسل‪،‬‬
‫بعرا ً‬
‫وروًث‪،‬وتألكه الظباء فيخرج مهنا مساك مفن جعل هذه الش ياء‬
‫وتألكه الشاة والبقر والنعام فتلقيه ً‬
‫مع أن الطعم واحد‪.‬‬
Allah
 It is inconceivable for man to be characterised with the
Name Allah, contrary to the other Names of Allah.
 Al-Gazzali describes Man’s portion of this name:
The portion of this name which man (may possess) is ta’alluh. By this I
mean that his heart and concern should be so completely engrossed in
Allah Most High that he does not see, pay attention to or hope for
anyone except Him. How can he not be so when he understands from
this name that Allah is the Authentic Existent, the Real One, and that
everything and everyone that is apart from Him is doomed to
destruction and perdition and is worthless except through Him... Thus
the Messenger of Allah observed Allah such that he said, "The truest
verse the Arabs spoke was the saying of Labid 'Everything besides Allah
is worthless batil.
Islamic Doctrine
 In brief, belief in Allah entails:
Belief that Allah subhanahu wata‘la is characterised with
all perfections and exalted beyond all imperfections.
The vast majority of Muslims over the past 13 centuries,
generation after generation, ascribed to the belief code
delineated by the great scholars al-Imam Abu al-Hasan
al-Ash‘ari and al-Imam al-Maturidi
The 20 Attributes of Allah
1. Wujud (Being)
SIFAH NAFSIYYAH
His being/existence is compulsory, intrinsic not by means of
anyone or anything. Non-existence is impossible in
relation to Allah.
The 20 Attributes of Allah
 Thereafter He subhanahu wata‘ala has 5 Salbiyyah
Attributes:
SIFAT SALBIYYAH
2. Qidam (Pre-Eternal)
The belief that Allah is Qadim - He existed before
everything; He was never non-existent; and His existence
has no beginning
The 20 Attributes of Allah
3. Baqa (Eternal)
SIFAT SALBIYYAH
To believe that Allah is eternal. His eternality has no
end, by no means does He fade away, and He cannot
be overcome by nonexistence
The 20 Attributes of Allah
4. Mukhālafatuhu li’lhawādith (Dissimilar to contingents)
SIFAT SALBIYYAH
To believe that Allah does not resemble anything of created
beings in any way or manner. Not in His Essence, Attributes
or Actions. Thus, all that you see or crosses your mind, Allah
is unlike it.
Digression
‫ ((الرمحن عىل العرش‬:‫س ئلت أم سلمة ريض هللا عهنا عن قول هللا تعاىل‬
‫ والإقرار به من‬،‫ والاس تواء غري جمهول‬،‫ الكيف غري معقول‬:‫اس توى)) فقالت‬
‫ وروي مثهل عن ربعة بن أيب عبد الرمحن وماكل بن أنس‬.‫الإميان واجلحود به كفر‬
Ummu Salamah radiayaLlahu anha was asked about the
verse ar-Rahman has made istiwa’ over the thrown and
she replied, “al-kayf (its modality) is inconceivable; Its
(meaning) is known; belief in it is from Iman and
rejecting it is disbelief”
The 20 Attributes of Allah
5. Qiyāmuhu bi-nafsihi (Self-sufficient)
SIFAT SALBIYYAH
To believe that Allah does not need anything whatsoever. Thus,
He is not in need of time, place or anything from created
beings. He is independent of everything and everything is
dependent in Him
The 20 Attributes of Allah
6. Waḥdāniyyah (Unique/ Absolutely)
SIFAT SALBIYYAH
To believe that Allah is One, Unique, He has no partner,
parallel or equal, nothing resembles Him.
The 20 Attributes of Allah
SIFAT MA‘ANI
7. Hayat (Life)
To believe that Allah is living and His living does not resemble
our living because our living is via intermediaries such as
the circulation of blood and breathing whereas Allah’s living
is without the intermediary of anything and it is eternal and
permanent
The 20 Attributes of Allah
SIFAT MA‘ANI
8. Ilm (Knowledge)
To believe that Allah all-Knowledgeable. He knows all things,
hidden and apparent. He know the number of sand grains,
raindrops, tree leaves. He knows the secret and that which is
more hidden. Nothing is kept hidden from Him. His
knowledge is not acquired – He knows all things prior to
their existence.
The 20 Attributes of Allah
9. Qudrah (Power)
SIFAT MA‘ANI
To believe that Allah is attributed with power and that He has
power over all things.
The 20 Attributes of Allah
10. Irādah (Will)
SIFAT MA‘ANI
To believe that Allah is attributed with will and that nothing
occurs without His will, thus anything He willed existed
and anything He did not will cannot exist.
SIFAT MA‘ANI
11. Sama’ Hearing
To believe that Allah hears everything whether it is silent or
loud. However, His hearing is not like our hearing because
our hearing is by means of the ear and His hearing is
without the means of anything.
The 20 Attributes of Allah
12. Basar (Sight)
SIFAT MA‘ANI
To believe that Allah sees everything. He even sees the black
ant on a dark night and what is smaller than it. Nothing on
the face of the Earth and in its inner core or above the sky
and below it is hidden from His sight. However, His seeing is
not like our seeing because our seeing is by means of the eye
and His seeing is without the means of anything.
The 20 Attributes of Allah
13. Kalām (Speech)
SIFAT MA‘ANI
To believe that Allah’s speech does not resemble our speech
because our speech is created in us and is by the means of a
tool consisting of a mouth, tongue, and lips, and His speech
is not like that.