What is the meaning of the Shaykh al-Islam's statement, "Whoever calls upon an attribute of Allah has committed disbelief"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. A questioner says: It is reported from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah that he said, "Whoever calls upon an attribute of Allah has committed disbelief." I would like further clarification on this matter, and what is the evidence for this issue? Does this include when a person says, "O Subhan Allah"?
The Shaykh:
This is clear; the Shaykh's statement is clear, because whoever calls upon an attribute necessarily holds that the attribute is other than Allah, that the attribute is something added to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This would be shirk (associating partners with Allah) regarding the attribute. The attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) are attached to His Essence. So the One who is called upon is Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and one seeks nearness to Him through His attributes. It is said, "O Most Merciful of the merciful, have mercy on me," or "O Generous, bestow upon me and grant me by Your grace and Your kindness," or "O Oft-Forgiving, forgive me." The One who is called upon is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). If one calls upon the attribute, this is proof that he sees the attribute as other than the One described, as if it were another person. This action is not permissible. Rather, one calls upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and seeks nearness to Him through His attributes.
The questioner:
Does this include saying "O Subhan Allah"?
The Shaykh:
"O Subhan Allah" is a matter of wonder; it is not of this category. "Subhan Allah" is not an attribute; rather, it is a glorification of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This is from the speech of people who say "Subhan Allah." This is dhikr (remembrance of Allah), a matter of dhikr and glorifying Allah (Mighty and Majestic). It is from the action of the created and the speech of the created. If one says "O Subhan Allah," it is a matter of wonder and is not like calling upon an attribute. Yes.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. A questioner says: It is reported from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah that he said, "Whoever calls upon an attribute of Allah has committed disbelief." I would like further clarification on this matter, and what is the evidence for this issue? Does this include when a person says, "O Subhan Allah"?
The Shaykh:
This is clear; the Shaykh's statement is clear, because whoever calls upon an attribute necessarily holds that the attribute is other than Allah, that the attribute is something added to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This would be shirk (associating partners with Allah) regarding the attribute. The attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) are attached to His Essence. So the One who is called upon is Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and one seeks nearness to Him through His attributes. It is said, "O Most Merciful of the merciful, have mercy on me," or "O Generous, bestow upon me and grant me by Your grace and Your kindness," or "O Oft-Forgiving, forgive me." The One who is called upon is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). If one calls upon the attribute, this is proof that he sees the attribute as other than the One described, as if it were another person. This action is not permissible. Rather, one calls upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and seeks nearness to Him through His attributes.
The questioner:
Does this include saying "O Subhan Allah"?
The Shaykh:
"O Subhan Allah" is a matter of wonder; it is not of this category. "Subhan Allah" is not an attribute; rather, it is a glorification of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This is from the speech of people who say "Subhan Allah." This is dhikr (remembrance of Allah), a matter of dhikr and glorifying Allah (Mighty and Majestic). It is from the action of the created and the speech of the created. If one says "O Subhan Allah," it is a matter of wonder and is not like calling upon an attribute. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما معنى كلام شيخ الإسلام «إن من دعا صفة من صفات الله فإنه كفر»؟ لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.