TAJSIM IN THE WAHHABI IDEOLOGY
THEOLOGY
AL-'AQA'ED RESEARCH CENTER
3 min read


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Can you tell me in which book the Wahhabis said that Allah has legs, hands, face, and eyes?
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You can inquire about the Wahhabi belief in anthropomorphism through the fatwas of their scholars or by asking their scholars about the interpretation of the verse 'Then He rose over the Throne' (Yunus: 3) or His saying, 'He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing' (Al-Isra: 1), and so on. See what answers you receive from them, and then you can judge for yourself what they believe regarding the attributes of the Lord, the Blessed and Exalted. Perhaps we will provide you with some of what can be mentioned in this brief context from the sayings of their Sheikh, Ibn Taymiyyah, in his book 'Al-Iman' (p. 346), where he said that Allah laughs at two men, one of whom kills the other, and both enter Paradise...'" [1]
And refer to the book 'Al-Rasa'il' by Ibn Taymiyyah, and in his 'Aqidah 'Al-Wasatiyyah' letter (p. 136), where he quotes the following [narration]:
ولا تزال جهنم يلقى فيها وهي تقول هل من مزيد ؟ حتى يضع رب العزة فيها رجله ، فينزوي بعضها إلى بعض وتقول : قط قط
'Hell continues to be cast into it, and it says: "Is there more?" until the Lord of Glory places His foot in it, and it shrinks together, saying: "Enough, enough." [2]
And refer to what Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab has quoted the following [narration] in his book 'At-Tawhid' [from Ibn Mas'ud]:
إن الله جعل السماوات على إصبع من أصابعه ، والأرض على إصبع ، والشجر على إصبع ، والثرى على إصبع ، وسائر الخلق على إصبع ... ثم اعتز الله وافتخر وقال : أنا الملك ، أنا الله ، أين الجبارون ؟ أين المتكبرون ؟ فالله يحمل السموات السبع والارضين السبع في يده ، وهي فيها كحبة خردل في يد أحدنا وهذا معنى قوله تعالى: ( والأرض جميعاً في قبضته يوم القيامة)
'Allah placed the heavens on one of His fingers, the earth on another finger, the trees on another, the dust on another, and all other creation on another... Then Allah took pride and said: "I am the King, I am Allah. Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant ones?" Indeed, Allah holds the seven heavens and the seven earths in His hand, and they are in His hand like a mustard seed in one of our hands. This is the meaning of Allah’s saying: "And the earth, all of it, will be in His grip on the Day of Judgment." (Az-Zumar: 67).' [3]
Ibn Battuta said in his (Rihla, Volume 1, Page 316):
وكان بدمشق من كبار الحنابلة تقي الدين بن تيمية كبير الشام يتكلم في الفنون إلاّ أن في عقله شيئاً ، وكنت إذ ذاك بدمشق ، فحضرته يوم الجمعة وهو يعظ الناس على منبر الجامع ويذكرهم فكان من جملة كلامه أن قال : إن الله ينزل إلى سماء الدنيا كنزولي هذا ونزل ربعة من ربع المنبر فعارضه فقيه مالكي يعرف بابن الزهراء وأنكر ما تكلم به ، فقامت العامة إلى هذا الفقيه وضربوه بالأيدي والنعال ضرباً كثيراً حتى سقطت عمامته
"In Damascus, there was a prominent Hanbali scholar, Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, the great scholar of the Levant. He spoke on various subjects, but there was something off about his intellect. I was in Damascus at the time, and I attended one Friday when he was preaching to the people from the pulpit of the mosque. Among the things he said was: 'Indeed, Allah descends to the lowest heaven just as I am descending now,' and he descended a quarter of the pulpit. At that moment, a Maliki scholar known as Ibn al-Zahra objected to what he had said. The people immediately rose to defend him and beat the Maliki scholar with their hands and shoes to such an extent that his turban fell off." [4]
And [the Salafi Scholar] Ibn Baz issued a fatwa in (Fatawa 4/131), stating:
التأويل في الصفات منكر ولا يجوز ، بل يجب إقرار الصفات كما جاءت على ظاهرها اللائق بالله جل وعلا ، بغير تحريف ولا تعطيل ولا تكييف ولا تمثيل
"The interpretation of the attributes of Allah is rejected and not permissible. Rather, the attributes must be affirmed as they are in their apparent meaning, as befits Allah, Glorified and Exalted, without distortion, denial, modification, or likening." [5]
And the following has also been stated by (Fatawa 24/386), Shaykh Ibn Baz said:
الصحيح الذي عليه المحققون أنه ليس في القرآن مجاز على الحد الذي يعرفه أصحاب فن البلاغة وكل ما فيه فهو حقيقة في محله
"The correct view held by scholars is that there is no metaphorical meaning in the Qur'an in the way it is understood by those who specialize in rhetoric. Everything in it is literal in its place." [6]
May you remain under the protection of God.
References
[1] Kitab Al-Iman, Ibn Taymiyyah, Page 346
[2] Al-'Aqidah Al-Wasitiyyah, Ibn Taymiyyah, Page 76
[3] Kitab At-Tawhid, Muhammad bin 'Abd Al-Wahhab, Page 148
[4] Rihlah Ibn Battuta, Ibn Battuta, Volume 1, Page 316
[5] Majmu' Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanwa'ah, Ibn Baz, Volume 5, Page 372
[6] Majmu' Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanwa'ah, Ibn Baz, Volume 24, Page 386
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