Who are the Mu'attilah and the Mumaththilah?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. The Mu'attilah means... the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, and the Asha'irah... regarding the attributes. And who are the Mumaththilah, and are these the followers of...
The Shaykh : Yes, yes.
The questioner : Especially...
The Shaykh : The term Mu'attilah is derived from ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). Ta'til means vacating or negating. It is explained in two ways: negating the texts of their meaning, and negating the Creator of His attributes. All of this occurred among the people of ta'til. They negated the texts of the meaning that Allah and His Messenger intended, and they negated the Creator of the descriptions that were established for Him by the Book and the Sunnah. Do you understand? However, it is divided into categories: total negation, partial negation, general negation, and specific negation. This is because some of the Mu'attilah may negate some attributes while leaving others.
For example, the Asha'irah affirmed seven attributes and negated the rest. Some of their followers affirmed all attributes except the active attributes. That is, they said all the affirmed conceptual attributes except the active and descriptive ones. So they denied His voluntary actions and said that Allah does not descend, does not rise above the Throne, does not laugh, does not rejoice, and so on. In any case, you know that the Ummah (the Muslim community) numbers in the millions, and there are desires and opinions that differ.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : The Mumaththilah say that the first one to speak of likening Allah to creation was Hisham ibn al-Hakam the Rafidi (Twelver Shi'ah).
The questioner : Its origin is from the Rafidah (the Twelver Shi'ah).
The Shaykh : This is the origin, and that some of them, may Allah protect us from that, describe Allah with the attribute of a human being. They say, for example, that He is a person with hair, a white round face, and so on. They mention attributes of beauty without limit, until some of them said: "Ask me about everything, but excuse me regarding the private parts and the beard". And this is what he calls scrupulousness: "Do not ask me about the private parts and the beard, but ask me about everything else." We ask Allah for safety from what He has afflicted them with. Do you understand? And in truth, the matter is as the Shaykh al-Islam said: "Every one who likens Allah to creation is one who denies the divine attributes, and every one who denies the divine attributes is one who likens Allah to creation". Do you understand? Every one who denies the divine attributes is one who likens Allah to creation, and every one who likens Allah to creation is one who denies the divine attributes. How is the one who denies the divine attributes one who likens Allah to creation? Because he negates it, for he only denied it because he believed that affirming it necessitates likening Allah to creation. So first he likened Allah to creation in his concept, and then he denied it in its explicit meaning. Do you understand, people? That is, if it were said to the Mu'attilah, "Why did you deny it?" they would say, "Because affirming this necessitates likening Allah to creation." So first he likened Allah to creation in his concept, where he understood from the text the negation, the likening, and then he denied it in its explicit meaning, saying, "Enough, since it necessitates likening Allah to creation, I do not affirm it." The one who likens Allah to creation is one who denies the divine attributes because he denied Allah of His perfection by likening Him to the deficient. And whoever likens the perfect to the deficient has diminished Him. Do you understand? Until it was said:
"Have you not seen that the sword is diminished in value *** When it is said that the sword is sharper than the stick?
" And the poet said:
"When the Ta'i was described as stingy, though he was not *** And Qas was blamed for foolishness, Baq..." Yes.
"And the Pleiades said to the sun, 'You are small' *** And the darkness said to the dawn, 'Your color is pale. O death, come, for life is despicable *** And O soul, hasten, for your time is mocking'"
Now, I do not know who is the most stingy of people. He says to Hatim that he is stingy. The Pleiades are faint and do not shine, so it says to the sun, "You are small." The dawn says to the darkness, "Your color is pale," and you... Yes, and what about "And Qas was blamed for foolishness, Baq"? Qas, who is among the most eloquent and most expressive of people, is blamed for foolishness. The man is called Baq, who does not know how to speak. After this, there is no good in life.
"O death, come, for life is despicable *** And O soul, hasten, for your time is mocking" So do you now know that every one who likens Allah to creation
The student: is one who denies the divine attributes.
The Shaykh : And every one who denies the divine attributes is one who likens Allah to creation. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, yes.
The questioner : Especially...
The Shaykh : The term Mu'attilah is derived from ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). Ta'til means vacating or negating. It is explained in two ways: negating the texts of their meaning, and negating the Creator of His attributes. All of this occurred among the people of ta'til. They negated the texts of the meaning that Allah and His Messenger intended, and they negated the Creator of the descriptions that were established for Him by the Book and the Sunnah. Do you understand? However, it is divided into categories: total negation, partial negation, general negation, and specific negation. This is because some of the Mu'attilah may negate some attributes while leaving others.
For example, the Asha'irah affirmed seven attributes and negated the rest. Some of their followers affirmed all attributes except the active attributes. That is, they said all the affirmed conceptual attributes except the active and descriptive ones. So they denied His voluntary actions and said that Allah does not descend, does not rise above the Throne, does not laugh, does not rejoice, and so on. In any case, you know that the Ummah (the Muslim community) numbers in the millions, and there are desires and opinions that differ.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : The Mumaththilah say that the first one to speak of likening Allah to creation was Hisham ibn al-Hakam the Rafidi (Twelver Shi'ah).
The questioner : Its origin is from the Rafidah (the Twelver Shi'ah).
The Shaykh : This is the origin, and that some of them, may Allah protect us from that, describe Allah with the attribute of a human being. They say, for example, that He is a person with hair, a white round face, and so on. They mention attributes of beauty without limit, until some of them said: "Ask me about everything, but excuse me regarding the private parts and the beard". And this is what he calls scrupulousness: "Do not ask me about the private parts and the beard, but ask me about everything else." We ask Allah for safety from what He has afflicted them with. Do you understand? And in truth, the matter is as the Shaykh al-Islam said: "Every one who likens Allah to creation is one who denies the divine attributes, and every one who denies the divine attributes is one who likens Allah to creation". Do you understand? Every one who denies the divine attributes is one who likens Allah to creation, and every one who likens Allah to creation is one who denies the divine attributes. How is the one who denies the divine attributes one who likens Allah to creation? Because he negates it, for he only denied it because he believed that affirming it necessitates likening Allah to creation. So first he likened Allah to creation in his concept, and then he denied it in its explicit meaning. Do you understand, people? That is, if it were said to the Mu'attilah, "Why did you deny it?" they would say, "Because affirming this necessitates likening Allah to creation." So first he likened Allah to creation in his concept, where he understood from the text the negation, the likening, and then he denied it in its explicit meaning, saying, "Enough, since it necessitates likening Allah to creation, I do not affirm it." The one who likens Allah to creation is one who denies the divine attributes because he denied Allah of His perfection by likening Him to the deficient. And whoever likens the perfect to the deficient has diminished Him. Do you understand? Until it was said:
"Have you not seen that the sword is diminished in value *** When it is said that the sword is sharper than the stick?
" And the poet said:
"When the Ta'i was described as stingy, though he was not *** And Qas was blamed for foolishness, Baq..." Yes.
"And the Pleiades said to the sun, 'You are small' *** And the darkness said to the dawn, 'Your color is pale. O death, come, for life is despicable *** And O soul, hasten, for your time is mocking'"
Now, I do not know who is the most stingy of people. He says to Hatim that he is stingy. The Pleiades are faint and do not shine, so it says to the sun, "You are small." The dawn says to the darkness, "Your color is pale," and you... Yes, and what about "And Qas was blamed for foolishness, Baq"? Qas, who is among the most eloquent and most expressive of people, is blamed for foolishness. The man is called Baq, who does not know how to speak. After this, there is no good in life.
"O death, come, for life is despicable *** And O soul, hasten, for your time is mocking" So do you now know that every one who likens Allah to creation
The student: is one who denies the divine attributes.
The Shaykh : And every one who denies the divine attributes is one who likens Allah to creation. Yes.