Adorning Oneself with the Attributes of Allah
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Q: From Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz to the honorable brother, the Shaykh: A. S. H. (may Allah grant him safety and take charge of him). Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
And after: Your noble letter, dated 23/3/1386 AH, has arrived, may Allah guide you. The question it contained regarding what some preachers said in the Friday sermon, urging the adoption of the attributes of Allah and adorning oneself with His character, whether it has a valid interpretation, and whether anyone has said it before, etc., was known.
A: This expression is not appropriate, but it has a correct interpretation, which is urging the adoption of what is implied by the attributes of Allah and His names 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. And so it is with names similar to these.
And the intended meaning is: the attributes that Allah loves for His servants to adopt what is implied by them, such as knowledge, strength, mercy, forbearance, generosity, munificence, and forgiveness, and the like. He, the Exalted, is All-Knowing and loves the scholars, Strong and loves the strong believer more than He loves the weak believer, Generous and loves the generous, Merciful and loves the merciful, Forgiving and loves the forgiving, and so on. But what belongs to Allah, the Exalted, of these attributes and others is more perfect and greater than what belongs to the created being, indeed, there is no comparison between them; for He, the Exalted, is not like anything in His attributes and His actions, as He has no like in His essence. Rather, 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 generosity exceeds the limit, it becomes extravagance, and if mercy exceeds the limit, it nullifies the Shari'ah limits and discretionary punishments. And so, if forgiveness exceeds the Shari'ah limit and is placed where it does not belong, these examples indicate others.
The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) has explicitly stated this meaning in his two books: *Al-‘Uddah* and *Al-Wabil al-Sayb*, and he has probably stated it in others, such as *Madarij al-Salikin* 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* on page 310: "Since He, the Exalted, is the True Thankful, 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 negates 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 opposite. For this reason, He hates the ungrateful, the oppressor, the ignorant, the hard-hearted, the miserly, the cowardly, the humiliating, and the base. He, the Exalted, is Beautiful and loves beauty, All-Knowing and loves the scholars, Merciful and loves the merciful, Doer of Good and loves those who do good, Concealer and loves those who conceal, Capable and blames weakness, and the strong believer is more beloved to Him than the weak believer. He is Forgiving and loves the forgiving, and the Odd (Witr) and loves the odd (prayer). Everything He loves is from the effects of His names and attributes and what is implied by them, and everything He hates is that which contradicts and opposes them." End of quote.
And he said in *Al-Wabil al-Sayb* on page 543 of the Hadith Collection: "Munificence is among the attributes of the Lord, Glorious is His Majesty, for He gives and does not take, and He feeds and is not fed. He is the most munificent of the munificent, and the most generous of the generous. The most beloved of creation to Him is the one who adopts what is implied by His attributes, for He is Generous and loves the generous among His servants, All-Knowing and loves the scholars, Capable and loves the brave, and Beautiful and loves beauty." End of quote.
I hope that what we have mentioned is sufficient and that benefit is obtained. I ask Allah, the Exalted, to guide us all to understand His religion and to fulfill His rights, for He is the All-Hearing, the Near. And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Vice President of the Islamic University.
And after: Your noble letter, dated 23/3/1386 AH, has arrived, may Allah guide you. The question it contained regarding what some preachers said in the Friday sermon, urging the adoption of the attributes of Allah and adorning oneself with His character, whether it has a valid interpretation, and whether anyone has said it before, etc., was known.
A: This expression is not appropriate, but it has a correct interpretation, which is urging the adoption of what is implied by the attributes of Allah and His names 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. And so it is with names similar to these.
And the intended meaning is: the attributes that Allah loves for His servants to adopt what is implied by them, such as knowledge, strength, mercy, forbearance, generosity, munificence, and forgiveness, and the like. He, the Exalted, is All-Knowing and loves the scholars, Strong and loves the strong believer more than He loves the weak believer, Generous and loves the generous, Merciful and loves the merciful, Forgiving and loves the forgiving, and so on. But what belongs to Allah, the Exalted, of these attributes and others is more perfect and greater than what belongs to the created being, indeed, there is no comparison between them; for He, the Exalted, is not like anything in His attributes and His actions, as He has no like in His essence. Rather, 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 generosity exceeds the limit, it becomes extravagance, and if mercy exceeds the limit, it nullifies the Shari'ah limits and discretionary punishments. And so, if forgiveness exceeds the Shari'ah limit and is placed where it does not belong, these examples indicate others.
The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) has explicitly stated this meaning in his two books: *Al-‘Uddah* and *Al-Wabil al-Sayb*, and he has probably stated it in others, such as *Madarij al-Salikin* 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* on page 310: "Since He, the Exalted, is the True Thankful, 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 negates 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 opposite. For this reason, He hates the ungrateful, the oppressor, the ignorant, the hard-hearted, the miserly, the cowardly, the humiliating, and the base. He, the Exalted, is Beautiful and loves beauty, All-Knowing and loves the scholars, Merciful and loves the merciful, Doer of Good and loves those who do good, Concealer and loves those who conceal, Capable and blames weakness, and the strong believer is more beloved to Him than the weak believer. He is Forgiving and loves the forgiving, and the Odd (Witr) and loves the odd (prayer). Everything He loves is from the effects of His names and attributes and what is implied by them, and everything He hates is that which contradicts and opposes them." End of quote.
And he said in *Al-Wabil al-Sayb* on page 543 of the Hadith Collection: "Munificence is among the attributes of the Lord, Glorious is His Majesty, for He gives and does not take, and He feeds and is not fed. He is the most munificent of the munificent, and the most generous of the generous. The most beloved of creation to Him is the one who adopts what is implied by His attributes, for He is Generous and loves the generous among His servants, All-Knowing and loves the scholars, Capable and loves the brave, and Beautiful and loves beauty." End of quote.
I hope that what we have mentioned is sufficient and that benefit is obtained. I ask Allah, the Exalted, to guide us all to understand His religion and to fulfill His rights, for He is the All-Hearing, the Near. And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Vice President of the Islamic University.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.