IMĀM TĀJ AL-DĪN AL-SUBKĪ (D. 771 AH) SAID THE FOLLOWING ON TAFWĪḌ, TA’WĪL, TANZĪH AND THE MUJASSIMA

Imām Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī (d. 771 AH) said the following on Tafwīḍ, Ta’wīl, Tanzīh and the Mujassima in his Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah al-Kubrā (5/191-192):

ثمَّ أَقُول للأشاعرة قَولَانِ مشهوران فِي إِثْبَات الصِّفَات هَل تمر على ظَاهرهَا مَعَ اعْتِقَاد التَّنْزِيه أَو تؤول

“Then I say: The Ashʿarīs have two well-known positions regarding the affirmation of divine attributes – whether to accept them [al-Imrār] according to their apparent meaning [ẓāhir] while believing in divine transcendence [Tanzīh], or to figuratively interpret them [Ta’wīl].

وَالْقَوْل بالإمرار مَعَ اعْتِقَاد التَّنْزِيه هُوَ المعزو إِلَى السّلف وَهُوَ اخْتِيَار الإِمَام فِي الرسَالَة النظامية وَفِي مَوَاضِع من كَلَامه فرجوعه مَعْنَاهُ الرُّجُوع عَن التَّأْوِيل إِلَى التَّفْوِيض وَلَا إِنْكَار فِي هَذَا وَلَا فِي مُقَابلَة فَإِنَّهَا مَسْأَلَة اجتهادية أَعنِي مَسْأَلَة التَّأْوِيل أَو التَّفْوِيض

The position of acceptance [al-Imrār] while believing in divine transcendence [Tanzīh] is attributed to the Salaf, and it is the choice of the Imām (al-Juwaynī) in al-Risālah al-Niẓāmiyyah and in other places in his works. His return to this means returning from interpretation [Ta’wīl] to delegation [Tafwīḍ], and there is no rejection in this or its opposite, for it is a matter of legal reasoning (ijtihad) – I mean the matter of interpretation [Ta’wīl] or delegation [Tafwīḍ].

مَعَ اعْتِقَاد التَّنْزِيه إِنَّمَا الْمُصِيبَة الْكُبْرَى والداهية الدهياء الإمرار على الظَّاهِر والاعتقاد أَنه المُرَاد وَأَنه لَا يَسْتَحِيل على الْبَارِي فَذَلِك قَول المجسمة عباد الوثن الَّذين فِي قُلُوبهم زيغ يحملهم الزيغ على اتِّبَاع الْمُتَشَابه ابْتِغَاء الْفِتْنَة عَلَيْهِم لعائن الله تترى وَاحِدَة بعد أُخْرَى مَا أجرأهم على الْكَذِب وَأَقل فهمهم للحقائق

While believing in divine transcendence [Tanzīh], indeed the greatest calamity and the most severe catastrophe is accepting [al-Imrār] the apparent meaning [ẓāhir] and believing that it is what is intended and that it is not impossible for the Creator. That is the position of the anthropomorphist’s (al-Mujassima), the idol worshippers who have deviation in their hearts – the deviation leads them to follow the ambiguous verses [mutashābih] seeking discord. May Allah’s curses come upon them one after another. How audacious they are in lying and how little they understand the realities.”