Attributes of Essence and Attributes of Actions

Al-Tawḥīd|Volume 1|Book 2|Chapter 11

Al-Tawḥīd

Book 2, Chapter 11

Attributes of Essence and Attributes of Actions

Hadith #19

19 - أبي رحمه الله، قال: حدثنا علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن ابن أبي - عمير، عن عمر بن أذينة، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: خلق الله المشية بنفسها، ثم خلق الأشياء بالمشية . قال محمد بن علي مؤلف هذا الكتاب رضي الله عنه: إذا وصفنا الله تبارك و تعالى بصفات الذات فإنما ننفي عنه بكل صفة منها ضدها، فمتى قلنا: إنه حي نفينا عنه ضد الحياة وهو الموت، ومتى قلنا: إنه عليم نفينا عنه ضد العلم وهو الجهل، ومتى قلنا: إنه سميع نفينا عنه ضد السمع وهو الصمم، ومتى قلنا: بصير نفينا عنه ضد البصر وهو العمى، ومتى قلنا: عزيز نفينا عنه ضد العزة وهو الذلة، ومتى قلنا: حكيم نفينا عنه ضد الحكمة وهو الخطأ، ومتى قلنا: غني نفينا عنه ضد الغنى وهو الفقر، ومتى قلنا: عدل نفينا عنه الجور والظلم ومتى قلنا: حليم نفينا عنه العجلة، ومتى قلنا: قادر نفينا عنه العجز، ولو لم نفعل ذلك أثبتنا معه أشياء لم تزل معه، ومتى قلنا: لم يزل حيا عليما سميعا بصيرا عزيزا حكيما غينا ملكا حليما عدلا كريما، فلما جعلنا معنى كل صفة من هذه الصفات التي هي صفات ذاته نفي ضدها أثبتنا أن الله لم يزل واحدا لا شئ معه وليست الإرادة والمشية والرضا والغضب وما يشبه ذلك من صفات الأفعال بمثابة صفات الذات، لأنه لا يجوز أن يقال: لم يزل الله مريدا شائيا كما يجوز أن يقال: لم يزل الله قادرا عالما. باب تفسير قول الله عز وجل (كل شئ هالك إلا وجهه)

19. My father (may Allah have mercy on him) said: `Ali ibn Ibrahim said, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn Abu `Umayr, on the authority of `Umar ibn Udhaynah, that Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq said: “Allah created the Will itself, then created everything by means of the Will.” The Compiler of this book says: If we attribute Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, with Attributes of Essence, then each one of these attributes negates its opposite. Thus, when we say: He is Ever-Living, we have negated from Him the opposite of life, which is death. When we say: He is all-Knowing; we have negated from Him the opposite of knowledge, which is ignorance. When we say: He is AllHearing; we negate from Him the opposite of hearing, which is deafness. When we say: He is AllSeeing; we negate from Him the opposite of seeing, which is blindness. When we say: He is the Honorable; we negate from Him the opposite of honor, which is dishonor. When we say: He is the All-Wise; we negate from Him the opposite of wisdom, which is error. When we say: He is the Self-Sufficient; we negate from Him the opposite of self-sufficiency, which is neediness. When we say: He is Just; we negate from Him oppression and tyranny. When we say: He is the Forbearing; we negate from Him impatience. When we say: He is the Omnipotent; we negate from Him incapability. If we did not do that we would have proved Him with things that have always been with Him. When we say “He has always been Ever-Living, All-Knowing, All-Hearing, All-Seeing, Honorable, All-Wise, Self-Sufficient, Sovereign, Forbearing, Just, and Generous [karim]” we have used these Attributes of Essence in order to negate their opposites. We have proved that Allah has always been the One and Only. The Intent, the Will, the Pleasure, the Wrath or any of the other Attributes of Action are of the same intensity as the Attributes of Essence because it is not permissible to say: Allah has always been the Intender and the Willer, like it is permissible to say: Allah has always been Omnipotent and All-Knowing.