Comparative Analysis of the Interpretation of Anthropomorphic Attributes in the Views of the Ahl al-Hadith and Wahhabism with Emphasis on the Qur’an and the Sunnah
Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
The Research Working Group on the Flow of Wahhabism, Institute of Higher Education for the Religious Scholars of the Imams (Peace Be Upon Them).
2
دانشجوی دکتری مدرسی معارف اسلامی دانشگاه پردیس فارابی
Abstract
Anthropomorphic attributes (Sifat al-Khabariyya) are among the complex topics in Islamic theology that have been widely debated by Muslim theologians. These attributes refer to divine characteristics that cannot be comprehended by reason alone and must be understood through transmitted sources. The Ahl al-Hadith adopted either the approach of “deferring the meaning” (tafwid) or “interpretation” (ta’wil)—believing in the apparent wording of such attributes but entrusting their meaning to God, or interpreting them in a way that avoids their literal sense. Prominent scholars of this school, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Qudamah, and al-Saffarini, rejected all forms of anthropomorphism and emphasized that the knowledge of these attributes’ reality belongs solely to God. However, the Wahhabis interpreted these attributes as literal and comprehensible, rejecting the methods of tafwid and ta’wil used by Ahl al-Hadith and labeling their proponents as innovators outside the fold of Ahl al-Sunnah. Wahhabis also refrain from explicitly denying or affirming corporeal qualities such as substance, body, and composition, adopting instead a stance of suspension (tawaqquf).
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