Ruling on the statement: Adorning oneself with the names and attributes of Allah
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From Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz to the honorable brother, may Allah grant him safety and take charge of him.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
Your noble letter, dated 23/3/1386 AH, has reached you, may Allah guide you, and what it contained regarding the question about what some preachers said in the Friday sermon, encouraging the adoption of the attributes of Allah and adorning oneself with His character, whether it has a valid interpretation, and whether anyone had previously said it, etc., was known.
The answer is: This expression is inappropriate, but it has a correct interpretation, which is encouraging the adoption of what is implied by the attributes and names of Allah and their requirements. This is by looking at the attributes that it is good for the created being to adopt what is implied by them, unlike the attributes specific to Allah, such as the Creator, the Provider, the God, and the like, for this is something that the created being cannot adopt, and it is not permissible for him to claim it. Likewise, what is similar to these names. The intended meaning is the attributes that Allah loves for His servants to adopt what is implied by them, such as knowledge and strength in truth, mercy, forbearance, generosity, kindness, forgiveness, and the like. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is All-Knowing and loves the scholars; He is Strong and loves the strong believer more than He loves the weak believer; He is Generous and loves the generous; He is Merciful and loves the merciful; He is Forgiving and loves the forgiving, and so on. But what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has of these attributes and others is more perfect and greater than what the created being has, indeed there is no comparison between them; for He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is not like anything in His attributes and actions, as He has no like in His essence. It is sufficient for the created being to have a share of the meanings of these attributes that befits him and suits him within the limits of the Shari'ah. If he exceeds the limit in generosity, he becomes extravagant; if he exceeds the limit in mercy, he nullifies the limits and discretionary punishments of the Shari'ah; and likewise, if he increases in forgiveness beyond the limit of the Shari'ah, he places it in the wrong place. These examples indicate others. The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, has stated this meaning in his two books: (Al-'Uddah al-Sabirin) and (Al-Wabil al-Sayb), and he has probably stated it in others such as (Al-Madaraj) and (Zad al-Ma'ad) and others. Here is the text of his words in Al-'Uddah and Al-Wabil. He said in Al-'Uddah, page 310:
(And since He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is the Most Thankful in truth, the most beloved of His creation to Him is the one who adopts the attribute of gratitude, just as the most hated of His creation to Him is the one who nullifies it or adopts its opposite. This is the case with His beautiful names: the most beloved of His creation to Him is the one who adopts what is implied by them, and the most hated to Him is the one who adopts their opposites. For this reason, He hates the disbeliever, the oppressor, the ignorant, the hard-hearted, the miserly, the cowardly, the humiliating, and the base. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is Beautiful and loves beauty; He is All-Knowing and loves the scholars; He is Merciful and loves the merciful; He is the Doer of Good and loves those who do good; He is the Concealer and loves those who conceal; He is Able and blames weakness. The strong believer is more beloved to Him than the weak believer. So He is Forgiving and loves the forgiving, and the Odd and loves the odd. Whatever He loves is from the effects of His names and attributes and their requirements, and whatever He hates is from what contradicts and opposes them).
And he said in (Al-Wabil al-Sayb), page 43 of the collection of hadith: (And generosity is among the attributes of the Lord, Exalted is His Majesty, for He gives and does not take, and He feeds and is not fed. He is the most generous of the generous, the most noble of the noble, and the most beloved of His creation to Him is the one who adopts the implications of His attributes. For He is Generous and loves the generous among His servants, All-Knowing and loves the scholars, Able and loves the brave, and Beautiful and loves beauty). End of quote.
I hope that what we have mentioned is sufficient and that the benefit is obtained. I ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to make us all successful in understanding His religion and fulfilling His right, for He is the All-Hearing, the Near. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
Your noble letter, dated 23/3/1386 AH, has reached you, may Allah guide you, and what it contained regarding the question about what some preachers said in the Friday sermon, encouraging the adoption of the attributes of Allah and adorning oneself with His character, whether it has a valid interpretation, and whether anyone had previously said it, etc., was known.
The answer is: This expression is inappropriate, but it has a correct interpretation, which is encouraging the adoption of what is implied by the attributes and names of Allah and their requirements. This is by looking at the attributes that it is good for the created being to adopt what is implied by them, unlike the attributes specific to Allah, such as the Creator, the Provider, the God, and the like, for this is something that the created being cannot adopt, and it is not permissible for him to claim it. Likewise, what is similar to these names. The intended meaning is the attributes that Allah loves for His servants to adopt what is implied by them, such as knowledge and strength in truth, mercy, forbearance, generosity, kindness, forgiveness, and the like. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is All-Knowing and loves the scholars; He is Strong and loves the strong believer more than He loves the weak believer; He is Generous and loves the generous; He is Merciful and loves the merciful; He is Forgiving and loves the forgiving, and so on. But what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has of these attributes and others is more perfect and greater than what the created being has, indeed there is no comparison between them; for He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is not like anything in His attributes and actions, as He has no like in His essence. It is sufficient for the created being to have a share of the meanings of these attributes that befits him and suits him within the limits of the Shari'ah. If he exceeds the limit in generosity, he becomes extravagant; if he exceeds the limit in mercy, he nullifies the limits and discretionary punishments of the Shari'ah; and likewise, if he increases in forgiveness beyond the limit of the Shari'ah, he places it in the wrong place. These examples indicate others. The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, has stated this meaning in his two books: (Al-'Uddah al-Sabirin) and (Al-Wabil al-Sayb), and he has probably stated it in others such as (Al-Madaraj) and (Zad al-Ma'ad) and others. Here is the text of his words in Al-'Uddah and Al-Wabil. He said in Al-'Uddah, page 310:
(And since He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is the Most Thankful in truth, the most beloved of His creation to Him is the one who adopts the attribute of gratitude, just as the most hated of His creation to Him is the one who nullifies it or adopts its opposite. This is the case with His beautiful names: the most beloved of His creation to Him is the one who adopts what is implied by them, and the most hated to Him is the one who adopts their opposites. For this reason, He hates the disbeliever, the oppressor, the ignorant, the hard-hearted, the miserly, the cowardly, the humiliating, and the base. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is Beautiful and loves beauty; He is All-Knowing and loves the scholars; He is Merciful and loves the merciful; He is the Doer of Good and loves those who do good; He is the Concealer and loves those who conceal; He is Able and blames weakness. The strong believer is more beloved to Him than the weak believer. So He is Forgiving and loves the forgiving, and the Odd and loves the odd. Whatever He loves is from the effects of His names and attributes and their requirements, and whatever He hates is from what contradicts and opposes them).
And he said in (Al-Wabil al-Sayb), page 43 of the collection of hadith: (And generosity is among the attributes of the Lord, Exalted is His Majesty, for He gives and does not take, and He feeds and is not fed. He is the most generous of the generous, the most noble of the noble, and the most beloved of His creation to Him is the one who adopts the implications of His attributes. For He is Generous and loves the generous among His servants, All-Knowing and loves the scholars, Able and loves the brave, and Beautiful and loves beauty). End of quote.
I hope that what we have mentioned is sufficient and that the benefit is obtained. I ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to make us all successful in understanding His religion and fulfilling His right, for He is the All-Hearing, the Near. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.