Shaykh ʿAbd al-Muḥsin ibn Ḥamad al-ʿAbbād al-Badr (b. 1353 AH/1934 CE), may Allah preserve him, authored this article to demonstrate the soundness of the creed of Imām Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf an-Nawawī (d. 676 AH/1277 CE) and al-Ḥāfiẓ Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH/1449 CE) and their freedom from the beliefs of the speculative theologians. He acknowledges that some of their well-known works contain the beliefs and figurative interpretations of the Ashʿarīs and others, and presents evidence that he considers indicative of their adherence to the creed of the Salaf.
Shaykh al-ʿAbbād found a work attributed to Imām an-Nawawī, entitled Juzʾ fīhi Dhikr Iʿtiqād as-Salaf fī al-Ḥurūf wa-l-Aṣwāt. Its conclusion states that copying was completed on Thursday, 3 Rabīʿ al-Awwal 676 AH, less than five months before an-Nawawī’s death. Shaykh al-ʿAbbād takes this as evidence of the Imām’s settled and final doctrinal position.
The Creed of An-Nawawī
Shaykh al-ʿAbbād stated that an-Nawawī ؒ concluded what he transmitted from Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Armawī ؒ with an excellent chapter (pp. 80–82), in which he mentioned the creed of the Salaf concerning the Divine Attributes. He wrote:
فصل في أحاديث تؤكد القول بهذا المعتقد وتؤيده على هذا التنزيه الذي عليه أئمة الإسلام حشرنا الله على معتقدهم وأماتنا على محبة السلف الصالحين والأئمة المهديين رضي الله عنهم أجمعين
“Chapter: Concerning the prophetic traditions which emphasise this creed and support it upon this affirmation of Allah’s transcendence, which was the way of the Imāms of Islam. May Allah gather us upon their belief, cause us to die while loving the righteous predecessors and the rightly guided Imāms, and may Allah be pleased with them all.” [An-Nawawī, Juzʾ fīhi Dhikr Iʿtiqād as-Salaf fī al-Ḥurūf wa-l-Aṣwāt, pp. 80–82.]
An-Nawawī then stated:
ونؤمن بجميع أحاديث الصفات لا نزيد على ذلك شيئاً ولا ننقص منه شيئاً كحديث قصة الدجال وقوله فيه: «وإن ربكم ليس بأعور»، وكحديث النزول إلى السماء الدنيا، وكحديث الاستواء على العرش، وإن القلوب بين أصبعين من أصابعه، وإنه يضع السماوات على إصبع و الأرضين على إصبع، ونقول بتصديق حديث المعراج وبصحيح ما فيه من الروايات وندين أن الله مقلب القلوب، وما أشبه هذه الأحاديث جميعها كما جاءت بها الرواية من غير كشف عن تأويلها، وأن نمرها كما جاءت، وأن الإيمان قول وعمل يزيد بالطاعة وينقص بالمعصية
“We believe in all the prophetic traditions concerning the Attributes. We neither add anything to them nor omit anything from them, such as the ḥadīth concerning the Dajjāl, wherein he said: ‘Your Lord is not one-eyed’; the ḥadīth of Allah’s descent to the lowest heaven; the ḥadīth of His rising over the Throne; that the hearts are between two of His Fingers; and that He places the heavens upon one Finger and the earths upon one Finger. Likewise, we affirm the ḥadīth of the Miʿrāj and whatever has been authentically reported concerning it. We also believe that Allah turns the hearts. We believe in all such narrations exactly as they have been reported, without uncovering their interpretation, and let them pass as they have come. We believe that īmān consists of statements and actions. It increases with obedience and decreases with sin.” [An-Nawawī, Juzʾ fīhi Dhikr Iʿtiqād as-Salaf fī al-Ḥurūf wa-l-Aṣwāt, pp. 80–82.]
The passage affirms that Allah will come on the Day of Standing, citing His saying:
وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا
“And your Lord will come, and the angels, row upon row.” [Q 89:22]
It also states that Allah draws near to His servants however He wills, citing His saying:
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
“And We are closer to him than his jugular vein.” [Q 50:16] (excerpt)
And His saying:
ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَى
“Then he drew near and descended, until he was two bow-lengths away or nearer.” [Q 53:8–9]
The passage continues:
وأشباه ذلك من آيات الصفات، ولا نتأولها ولا نكشف عنها بل نكف عن ذلك كما كف عنه السلف الصالح، ونؤمن بأن الله على عرشه كما أخبر في كتابه العزيز ولا نقول هو في كل مكان، بل هو في السماء، وعلمه في كل مكان لا يخلو منه مكان
“And whatever resembles these verses concerning the Attributes. We do not reinterpret them or uncover them; rather, we refrain from that as the righteous predecessors refrained. We believe that Allah is upon His Throne, as He has stated in His Mighty Book. We do not say that He is everywhere. Rather, He is above the heavens, and His knowledge encompasses every place, and no place is devoid of it.” [An-Nawawī, Juzʾ fīhi Dhikr Iʿtiqād as-Salaf fī al-Ḥurūf wa-l-Aṣwāt, pp. 80–82.]
It then cites the report of the Prophet’s night journey to the seventh heaven, in which he came close to his Lord, and the report of the slave woman:
وكما جاء في حديث الإسراء إلى السماء السابعة: «ثم دنا من ربه» وكما في حديث سوداء أريدت أن تعتق فقال لها النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: «أين ربك؟» فقالت: في السماء فقال : «أعتقها فإنها مؤمنة»
“And as has been reported in the ḥadīth of the night journey to the seventh heaven: ‘Then he drew near to his Lord’; and as in the ḥadīth of a black slave woman whom it was intended to free. The Prophet asked her: ‘Where is your Lord?’ She replied: ‘Above the heavens.’ He said: ‘Free her, for she is a believer.’” [An-Nawawī, Juzʾ fīhi Dhikr Iʿtiqād as-Salaf fī al-Ḥurūf wa-l-Aṣwāt, pp. 80–82.]
The passage affirms belief in all such reports in the Book and the Sunnah, without rejecting any of them, and cites Mālik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH/795 CE), when asked about Allah’s rising over the Throne:
الاستواء غير مجهول، و الكيف غير معقول، والإيمان به واجب، والسؤال عنه بدعة
“Rising is not unknown, its modality is incomprehensible, belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation.” [An-Nawawī, Juzʾ fīhi Dhikr Iʿtiqād as-Salaf fī al-Ḥurūf wa-l-Aṣwāt, pp. 80–82.]
Shaykh al-ʿAbbād expressly corrects the preceding reference to the Lord drawing near and descending. He explains that the correct interpretation of [Q 53:8–9] concerns Jibrīl, citing ʿĀʾishah’s answer in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 3235, and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 442, together with Ibn Kathīr’s discussion. This is the author’s own qualification of the passage he cites. ʿĀʾishah said:
ذَاكَ جِبْرِيلُ
“That was Jibrīl.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 3235; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 442, as cited by al-ʿAbbād.]
The Creed of Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī
As for al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, ؒ, evidence of the soundness of his creed is found in the conclusion of his monumental commentary Fatḥ al-Bārī fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Therein, he transmitted statements of the Salaf regarding the Divine Attributes which affirm them without takyīf (detailing their modality) or tashbīh (resemblance), while simultaneously affirming tanzīh (declaring Allah free of imperfection) without taʾwīl (figurative reinterpretation) or taʿṭīl (negation).
At the end of his commentary on the chapter concerning the statement of Allah, Exalted is He:
يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ
“O Messenger, convey what has been revealed to you from your Lord.” [Q 5:67] (excerpt)
Ibn Ḥajar cited in Fatḥ al-Bārī (vol. 13, p. 507) the words of Abū al-Muẓaffar ibn as-Samʿānī (d. 489 AH/1096 CE). He stated that Ibn as-Samʿānī used these verses and ḥadīths to demonstrate the error of the speculative theologians who adopted kalām methodology by categorising existence into jism, jawhar, and ʿaraḍ.
They relied upon speculative reasoning and then subjected the revealed texts to it, accepting what conformed to their conjecture and rejecting what opposed it. Yet Allah commanded His Messenger to convey the revelation in its entirety, particularly the matter of pure tawḥīd, which is the foundation of the religion. The Messenger conveyed every fundamental and subsidiary matter without resorting to philosophical terminology. Neither he nor any of his Companions ever employed such language.
Thus, this path of speculative theology constitutes an innovation unknown to the Messenger and his Companions, and it necessarily entails criticism of the Salaf and the attribution of ignorance and doubt to them. Ibn as-Samʿānī therefore warned sternly against engaging with or showing interest in such discourse.
Likewise, Ibn Ḥajar transmitted in Fatḥ al-Bārī (13:407–408) statements from a group of the Salaf affirming the Attributes without tashbīh, taḥrīf, or taʿṭīl. He concluded with his own remarks, citing al-Bayhaqī, who narrated from Abū Dāwūd aṭ-Ṭayālisī that Sufyān ath-Thawrī (d. 161 AH/778 CE), Shuʿbah ibn al-Ḥajjāj (d. 160 AH/776 CE), Ḥammād ibn Zayd (d. 179 AH/795 CE), Ḥammād ibn Salamah (d. 167 AH/784 CE), Sharīk ibn ʿAbd Allah (d. 177 AH/793 CE), and Abū ʿAwānah (d. 176 AH/792 CE) all narrated the ḥadīths of the Attributes without delving into their modality or resembling them to creation.
Abū Dāwūd said:
وهو قولنا
“This is our belief.” [Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-Bārī, vol. 13, pp. 407–408.]
Al-Bayhaqī commented:
وعلى هذا مضى أكابرُنا
“Our senior scholars proceeded upon this.” [Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-Bārī, vol. 13, pp. 407–408.]
Al-Lālikāʾī further transmitted with his chain of narration from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ash-Shaybānī (d. 189 AH/805 CE), who stated:
اتفق الفقهاء كلُّهم من المشرق إلى المغرب على الإيمان بالقرآن وبالأحاديث التي جاء بها الثقاتُ عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في صفة الرَّبِّ من غير تشبيه ولا تفسير، فمن فسَّر شيئاً منها وقال بقول جهم فقد خرج عمَّا كان عليه النَبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابُه وفارق الجماعةَ؛ لأنه وَصفَ الرَّبَّ بصفَة لا شيء
“The jurists of Islam, from the East to the West, are unanimously agreed upon belief in the Qurʾān and in the prophetic traditions transmitted by trustworthy narrators from the Messenger of Allah concerning the Attributes of the Lord, without resembling them to creation or explaining them. Whoever explains any of them and adopts the belief of Jahm ibn Ṣafwān has departed from what the Prophet and his Companions were upon and has separated from the main body of the Muslims, because he described the Lord with the attributes of a non-entity.” [Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-Bārī, vol. 13, pp. 407–408.]
Shaykh al-ʿAbbād concludes that Ibn Ḥajar’s endorsement of the agreement of the first three generations indicates, in his probable judgement, the soundness of his creed and his following the path of the Salaf, particularly because this passage occurs near the end of Fatḥ al-Bārī.
References
Al-Qurʾān: [Q 5:67], [Q 50:16], [Q 53:8–9], [Q 89:22].
Al-ʿAbbād al-Badr, ʿAbd al-Muḥsin ibn Ḥamad, Bayān Salāmat al-Ḥāfiẓayn an-Nawawī wa-l-ʿAsqalānī min ʿAqāʾid al-Mutakallimīn, article dated 20 Shaʿbān 1438 AH, the author’s website.
Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 3235, cited by al-ʿAbbād.
Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-Bārī fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 13, pp. 407–408, 507.
Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, discussion of the night journey cited by al-ʿAbbād.
Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 442, cited by al-ʿAbbād.
An-Nawawī, Juzʾ fīhi Dhikr Iʿtiqād as-Salaf fī al-Ḥurūf wa-l-Aṣwāt, edited by Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Muḥammad al-Jamal, 1429 AH, pp. 80–82, 91, as cited by al-ʿAbbād.
