Statements from Imām Aḥmad ibn Hanbal Regarding the Negation of a Limit [ḥadd] for Allāh
“ذكر ما رواه المروذي المتوفى سنة 275 هجري عن الإمام أحمد في نفي الحد عن الله”
- What (Abu Bakr) al-Marrudhī, who died in 275 AH, narrated from Imam Aḥmad regarding the negation of a limit (hadd) for Allah
“قال المجسم ابن تيمية في كتابه المسمى نقض التأسيس ما نصه: قال المروذي: سمعت أبا عبد الله قيل . له: أي شيء أنكر على بشر بن السري ، وأي شيء كانت قصته بمكة ؟ قال : تكلم بشيء من كلام الجهمية. فقال: إن قوما يحدون ، قيل له التشبيه ؟ فأومأ برأسه: نعم. قال : فقام به مؤمل حتى جلس فتكلم ابن عيينة في أمره حتى أخرج ، وأراه كان صاحب كلام”
The anthropomorphist [mujassim] Ibn Taymiyyah said in his book titled “Naqḍ al-Ta’sīs”[i] the following text: Al-Marrudhī said: I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh (Ibn Hanbal) being asked: “What did he denounce about Bishr ibn al-Sarī, and what was his story in Makka?” He said: “He spoke something from the speech of the Jahmiyya. He said that some people assert limits.” He was asked, “You mean anthropomorphism [tashbīh]?” He nodded his head: “Yes.” He said: “Then Mu’ammal stood up with him until he sat, and Ibn ʿUyayna spoke about his matter until he was expelled, and I believe he was a person of theological rhetoric.”
“ب ذكر ما رواه حنبل عن الإمام أحمد في نفي الحد عن الله”
B. What Ḥanbal narrated from Imam Aḥmad regarding the negation of limits for Allah
“جاء في كتاب السنة لأبي بكر الخلال المتوفى سنة 311 هجري من رواية حنبل ما نصه: “قلت له أي أحمد بن حنبل والمشبهة ما يقولون ؟ قال : من قال بصر كبصري ويد كيدي وقدم كقدمي فقد شبه الله بخلقه وهذا يحده وهذا كلام سوء”
It came in the book “Al-Sunnah” by Abū Bakr al-Khallāl, who died in 311 AH, from the narration of Ḥanbal, which states: “I said to him, meaning Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal: ‘What do the anthropomorphists [mushabbiha] say?’ He said: ‘Whoever says His sight is like my sight, His hand is like my hand, and His foot is like my foot has likened Allah to His creation, and this assigns limits to Him, and this is evil speech.'”
“وذكره المجسم ابن تيمية في تلبيس الجهمية ونص عبارته: “وقال أبو عبد الله قال لي إسحاق بن إبراهيم أي مصعب الخزاعي – لما قرأ الكتاب بالمحنة تقول ليس كمثله شي” فقلت له :” ليس كمثله شئ وهو السميع البصير”. قال: “ما أردت بها ؟ ” قلت: “القرآن” وصفه من صفات الله وصف بها نفسه لا ننكر ذلك . ولا نرده. قلت له – وعند ابن كثير : قال له اسحاق – : “المشبهة ما يقولون ؟ ” قال: “من قال بصر كبصري . ويد كيدي”. وقال حنبل في موضع آخر وقد تقدم: “فقد شبه الله تعالى بخلقه وهذا يحده وهذا كلام سوء . وهذا محدود الكلام في هذا لا أحبه”
The anthropomorphist [mujassim] Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned it in “Talbīs al-Jahmiyyah” and his text states: “Abū ʿAbd Allāh said: Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm (meaning Muṣʿab al-Khuzāʿī) said to me – when he read the book during the Inquisition: ‘You say there is nothing like unto Him?’ I said to him: ‘There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.’ He said: ‘What did you mean by it?’ I said: ‘The Qur’an, it is from Allah’s attributes with which He described Himself. We neither deny that nor reject it.’ I said to him – and according to Ibn Kathīr: Isḥāq said to him: ‘What do the anthropomorphists [mushabbiha] say?’ He said: ‘Whoever says His sight is like my sight, and His hand is like my hand.’ And Ḥanbal said in another place, as mentioned before: ‘Has likened Allah the Exalted to His creation, and this assigns limits to Him, and this is evil speech. And this limited speech about this, I do not like it.'”
“فهذا الكلام من الإمام أبي عبد الله أحمد رحمه الله فيه الدليل على أن الحد لا يجوز على الله”
This speech from Imam Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad (ibn Hanbal), may Allah have mercy on him, contains evidence that affirming limits is not permissible for Allah.
“وذكر الخلال من طريق حنبل عن أحمد أنه قال: ” سميع بصير ، لم يزل متكلماً، عالماً غفوراً، عالم الغيب والشهادة علام الغيوب، فهذه صفات وصف بها نفسه لا تدفع ولا ترد وهو على العرش بلا حد. كما قال ثُمَّ اسْتَوى على العرش” كيف شاء، المشيئة إليه عز وجل، والاستطاعة له “ليس كمثله شيء”. وهو خالق كل شئ وهو كما وصف نفسه سميع بصير بلا حد ولا تقدير قول إبراهيم الأبيه: لم تعبد . ما لا يسمع ولا يبصر ولا يغنى عنك شيئا فثبت أن الله سميع بصير صفاته منه لا نتعدى القرآن والحديث”
Al-Khallāl reported through Ḥanbal from Aḥmad that he said: “All-Hearing, All-Seeing, He has always been Speaking, All-Knowing, All-Forgiving, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, All-Knowing of the unseen matters. These are attributes with which He described Himself that cannot be denied or rejected, and He is on the Throne without limit. As He said ‘Then He Istawa (established) over the Throne’ as He willed, the will belongs to Him, the Mighty and Majestic, and the ability is His. ‘There is nothing like unto Him.’ He is the Creator of everything, and He is as He described Himself: All-Hearing, All-Seeing, without limit or measure. The statement of Ibrāhīm to his father: ‘Why do you worship that which hears not and sees not and cannot avail you in anything?’ Thus, it is established that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, His attributes are from Him, we do not go beyond the Qur’an and Hadith.”
“نقله ابن تيمية في درء تعارض العقل والنقل 302-32 و ابن القيم في اجتماع جيوشه و أيضا في مختصر الصواعق 213/2 وقال: “أراد أحمد بنفي الصفة نفي الكيفية والتشبيه، وبنفي الحد حداً يدركه العباد ويحدونه”
Ibn Taymiyyah transmitted it in “Dar’ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa-l-Naql” 32:302 and Ibn al-Qayyim in “Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh” and also in “Mukhtaṣar al-Ṣawāʿiq” 2:213, and said: “By negating the attribute, Aḥmad meant negating the modality and anthropomorphism [tashbīh], and by negating the limit, he meant a limit that servants can perceive and define.”
“وقوله : ” ثُمَّ اسْتَوى على العرش” كيف شاء” معناه أن الإمام أحمد كان يذهب إلى أن الاستواء صفة فعل لا أنه صفة ذات”
And his saying: “Then He Istawa (established) over the Throne as He willed” means that Imam Aḥmad held that establishment [istiwā’] is an attribute of action, not an attribute of essence.
“و قال الخلال في كتاب “السنة” ما نصه : ” أخبرني عبد الله بن حنبل حدثني حنبل بن إسحاق، قال: قال عمي: “نحن نؤمن بالله عز وجل على عرشه كيف شاء وكما شاء بلا حد ولا صفة يبلغها واصف أو يحده أحد، فصفات الله عز وجل منه وله، وهو كما وصف نفسه، لا تدركه الأبصار بحد ولا غاية، وهو يدرك الأبصار، وهو عالم الغيب والشهادة، علام الغيوب، ولا يدركه وصف واصف، وهو كما وصف نفسه”
Al-Khallāl said in his book “Al-Sunnah” the following text: “ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥanbal informed me, Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq told me, he said: My uncle said: ‘We believe in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, on His throne as He willed and how He willed, without limit and without attributes that a describer can reach or anyone can limit. The attributes of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, are from Him and for Him, and He is as He described Himself. Vision cannot grasp Him with limit or endpoints, while He grasps all vision, and He is the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the All-Knowing of the unseen matters, and no describer’s description can encompass Him, and He is as He described Himself.'”
“وليس من الله شيء محدود ولا يبلغ علمه وقدرته أحد، غلب الأشياء كلها بعلمه وقدرته وسلطانه، ليس كمثله شيء وهو السميع البصير، وكان الله قبل أن يكون شيء والله الأول، وهو الآخر، ولا يبلغ أحد حد صفاته، فالتسليم لأمر الله والرضا بقضائه، نسأل الله التوفيق والسداد، إنه على كل شيء قدير”
“Nothing of Allah is limited, and no one can reach His knowledge and power. He has overcome all things by His knowledge, power, and authority. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. Allah existed before anything existed, and Allah is the First and He is the Last, and no one can reach the limit of His attributes. So, submission to Allah’s command and contentment with His decree [is required]. We ask Allah for success and guidance; indeed, He is over all things competent.”
“فأخبر الإمام أحمد أن الله عز وجل على العرش فوقيه قهر وهو منزه عن الحد، وأتبع ذلك بقوله: “لأ تُدركه الأبصار” بحد ولا غاية. وقوله : ” نؤمن بالله عز وجل على عرشه كيف شاء وكما شاء” دليل على أن الإمام أحمد كان يرى أن الاستواء صفة فعل و ليست صفة ذات الله سبحانه وتعالى”
So Imam Aḥmad informed that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is above the throne with dominion and He is free from limit, and he followed that with his saying: “Vision cannot grasp Him” with limits or endpoints. And his saying: “We believe in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, above His throne as He willed and how He willed” is evidence that Imam Aḥmad viewed establishment [istiwā’] as an attribute of action and not an attribute of Allah’s essence, glory and exalted be He.
“وروى الخلال في السنة من طريق عبيد الله بن حنبل عن أبيه حنبل أنه قال: ” قال أبو عبد الله: لم يزل الله عالما متكلما نعبد الله بصفاته غير محدودة ولا معلومة إلا بما وصف بها نفسه . سميع عليم غفور رحيم عالم الغيب والشهادة علام الغيوب فهذه صفات الله تبارك وتعالى وصف بها نفسه ولا تدفع ولا ترد وهو على العرش بلا حد كما قال. استوى على العرش كيف شاء”
Al-Khallāl narrated in “Al-Sunnah” through ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ḥanbal from his father Ḥanbal that he said: “Abū ʿAbd Allāh said: Allah has always been All-Knowing, Speaking. We worship Allah through His attributes which are not limited and unknown except through what He described Himself with. All-Hearing, All-Knowing, All-Forgiving, Most Merciful, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, All-Knowing of the unseen matters. These are the attributes of Allah, blessed and exalted be He, with which He described Himself, and they cannot be denied or rejected, and He is on the Throne without limit as He said. Istawa (established) over the Throne as He willed.”
“وقال أبو محمد موفق الدين عبد الله بن أحمد بن محمد بن قدامة الجماعيلي المقدسي المتوفى سنة 620 هجري في تحريم النظر ما نصه : وقال حنبل : سألت أبا عبد الله أحمد بن محمد بن حنبل رضي الله عنه عن هذه الأحاديث التي تروي أن الله تبارك وتعالى يرى وأنه ينزل إلى سماء الدنيا وأنه يضع قدمه وما أشبه ذلك”
And Abū Muḥammad Muwaffaq al-Dīn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Qudāma al-Jamāʿīlī al-Maqdisī, who died in 620 AH, said in “Taḥrīm al-Naẓar” the following text: Ḥanbal said: I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal, may Allah be pleased with him, about these hadith which narrate that Allah, blessed and exalted be He, is seen, and that He descends to the lowest heaven, and that He places His ‘foot’, and what is similar to that.
“فقال أبو عبد الله رضي الله عنه : نؤمن بها ونصدق بها ولا نرد منها شيئا إذا كانت بأسانيد صحاح، ولا نرد على الرسول قوله ونعلم أن ما جاء به الرسول حق ولا يوصف الله تعالى بأكثر مما وصف به نفسه بلا حد ولا غاية ليس كمثله شيء وهو السميع البصير – سورة الشورى آية 11”
Then Abū ʿAbd Allāh, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “We believe in them and affirm them and do not reject anything from them when they come with authentic chains of narration, and we do not reject the saying of the Messenger ﷺ, and we know that what the Messenger ﷺ brought is truth, and Allah the Exalted is not to be described with more than what He described Himself with, without limitsor endpoints. ‘There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing’ – Sūrah al-Shūrā, verse 11.”
“وهذا الأثر نقله ابن القيم في اجتماع جيوشه من طريق الخلال وفيه أنه قال: “وأخبرني علي بن عيسى أن حنبلاً حدثهم قال: سألت أبا عبد الله عن الأحاديث التي تروي أن الله سبحانه ينزل إلى سماء الدنيا، وأن الله يرى. وأن الله يضع قدمه. وما أشبه هذه الأحاديث ؟ فقال أبو عبد الله: نؤمن بها ونصدق بها، ولا ترد . منها شيئاً، ونعلم أن ما جاء به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حق إذا كانت أسانيد صحاح، ولا نرد على الله قوله، ولا يوصف بأكثر مما وصف به نفسه بلا حد ولا غاية ” لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعِ البَصِيرُ . سورة الشورى آية 11″
This narration was transmitted by Ibn al-Qayyim in “Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh” from the way of Al-Khallāl, and in it he said: “ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā informed me that Ḥanbal told them saying: I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh about the hadith which narrate that Allah, glory be to Him, descends to the lowest heaven, and that Allah is seen, and that Allah places His ‘foot’, and what is similar to these hadith? Then Abū ʿAbd Allāh said: We believe in them and affirm them, and nothing from them is to be rejected, and we know that what the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, brought is truth when the chains of narration are authentic, and we do not reject Allah’s word, and He is not to be described with more than what He described Himself with, without limit or endpoints. ‘There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing’ – Sūrah al-Shūrā, verse 11.”
“وقد ذكر عبد الله بن صالح البراك في كتابه نصوص مما فقد من كتاب السنة للخلال تحت باب مجمل الاعتقاد أن هذا الأثر نقله عن الخلال أيضا ابن تيمية في النقض والدرء والتسعينية و ابن أبي يعلى في الطبقات 144/1 و غيرهم”
And ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Barrāk mentioned in his book “Nuṣūṣ Mimmā Fuqida min Kitāb al-Sunnah lil-Khallāl” under the chapter “Summary of Belief” that this narration was also transmitted from Al-Khallāl by Ibn Taymiyyah in “Al-Naqḍ” and “Al-Dar'” and “Al-Tisʿīniyyah” and by Ibn Abī Yaʿlā in “Al-Ṭabaqāt” 1:144 and others.
“و نقل اللالكائي في شرح أصول اعتقاد أهل السنة والجماعة 402/3 برقم 675 مانصه: “قال حنبل: “قلت لأبي عبد الله: ما معنى قوله ” وَهُوَ مَعَكُم”، و”مَا يَكُونُ مِن نَّجْوَى ثَلاثَةٍ إِلا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ”؟. قال: علمه محيط بالكل، وربنا على العرش بلا حد ولا صفة”
And Al-Lālikā’ī transmitted in “Sharḥ Uṣūl Iʿtiqād Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah” 3:402, number 675, the following text: “Ḥanbal said: ‘I said to Abū ʿAbd Allāh: What is the meaning of His saying “And He is with you” and “There is not a private conversation between three except that He is the fourth of them”?’ He said: ‘His knowledge encompasses everything, and our Lord is above the Throne without limit and without modality.'”
“وأورده ابن قدامة في إثبات صفة العلو في الصحيفة 116 ، برقم 95 و الذهبي في العلو في الصحيفة 130 وفي الأربعين في صفات رب العالمين في الصحيفة 65 برقم 50 وأورده أيضا ابن تيمية في مجموع الفتاوى 496/5, و ابن القيم في اجتماع جيوشه وعزاه لللالكائي”
And Ibn Qudāma cited it in “Ithbāt Ṣifat al-ʿUluw” on page 116, number 95, and Al-Dhahabī in “Al-ʿUluw” on page 130 and in “Al-Arbaʿīn fī Ṣifāt Rabb al-ʿĀlamīn” on page 65, number 50, and Ibn Taymiyyah also cited it in “Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā” 5:496, and Ibn al-Qayyim in “Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh” and attributed it to Al-Lālikā’ī.
“وقوله بلا صفة معناه بلا كيف و لا تشبيه كما قال ابن القيم في مختصر الصواعق 213/2 ونص عبارته “أراد أحمد بنفي الصفة نفي الكيفية والتشبيه”
And his saying “without modality” means without “how” and without anthropomorphism [tashbīh], as Ibn al-Qayyim said in “Mukhtaṣar al-Ṣawāʿiq” 2:213, and the text of his statement is: “By negating the attribute, Aḥmad meant negating the modality and anthropomorphism [tashbīh].”
“تنبيه”
Warning:
“إن قيل أن هذه الروايات كلها من طريق حنبل بن إسحاق وقد تفرد بها عن الإمام أحمد بن حنبل وهو ممن يهم في بعض رواياته. فقد قال ابن أبي يعلى في طبقات الحنابلة ” وذكره أبو بكر الخلال ، فقال : قد جاء حنبل ، عَنْ أَحمد بمسائل أجاد فيها الرواية. وأغرب بغير شيء ، وإذا نظرت في مسائله شبهتها في حسنها ، وإشباعها ، وجودتها بمسائل الأثرم”
If it is said that all these narrations come through Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq, and he alone narrated them from Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and he is among those who sometimes err in their narrations. Ibn Abī Yaʿlā said in “Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābilah”: “Abū Bakr Al-Khallāl mentioned him, saying: ‘Ḥanbal came with issues from Aḥmad in which he excelled in narration. And he brought strange things in others, and when you look at his issues, they resemble in their excellence, comprehensiveness, and quality the issues of Al-Athram.'”
“وقال الذهبي في السير : ” له مسائل كثيرة عن أحمد ، ويتفرد ، ويغرب”
And Al-Dhahabī said in “Al-Siyar”: “He has many issues from Aḥmad, and he narrates alone, and brings strange reports.”
“وغلطه ابن شاقلا في إحدى رواياته. وذكر ابن القيم في الزاد رواية له عن أحمد في مسألة المتلاعنين فقال: ” وعن أحمد رواية أخرى : أنه إن أكذب نفسه حلت له وعاد فراشه بحاله ، وهي رواية شاذة شذ بها حنبل عنه . قال أبو بكر لا نعلم أحدا رواها غيره”
And Ibn Shāqillā pointed out his error in one of his narrations. And Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned in “Al-Zād” a narration from him from Aḥmad regarding the issue of mutual imprecation, saying: “And there is another narration from Aḥmad: that if he denies himself, she becomes lawful to him and his marital bed returns to its state, and this is an irregular narration that Ḥanbal alone reported from him. Abū Bakr said: ‘We do not know anyone who narrated it other than him.'”
“و ذكر له ابن رجب روايته عن أحمد في مسألة فقهية في صلاة الرجل بالثوب اللطيف الذي لا يمكنه عقده ثم قال ابن رجب: ” وهذه رواية مشكلة جدا ، ولم يروها عن أحمد غير حنبل ، وهو ثقة إلا أنه يهم أحيانا ، وقد اختلف متقدمو الأصحاب فيما تفرد به حنبل عن أحمد : هل تثبت به رواية عنه أم لا ؟”
And Ibn Rajab mentioned his narration from Aḥmad regarding a juristic issue about a man’s prayer in a thin garment that he cannot tie, then Ibn Rajab said: “And this is a very problematic narration, and no one narrated it from Aḥmad other than Ḥanbal, and he is trustworthy except that he sometimes errs, and the early companions differed regarding what Ḥanbal alone narrated from Aḥmad: Does it establish a narration from him or not?”
“فجواب ذلك من وجهين”
The answer to that is from two aspects:
“الأول أن يقال: لقد احتج بهذه الروايات زعماء المجسمة في كتبهم كابن تيمية وابن القيم و الذهبي و ابن قدامة وغيرهم ونقلوها عن الخلال في أكثر من موطن فهي صحيحة الاسناد عندهم”
The first is to say: The leaders of the anthropomorphists [mujassima] have used these narrations as evidence in their books, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, Al-Dhahabī, Ibn Qudāma, and others, and they transmitted them from Al-Khallāl in more than one place, so they are authentic in chain according to them.
“هذا وقد جاء في المبدع في شرح المقنع لأبي إسحاق برهان الدين بن محمد بن عبد الله الحنبلي ما نصه: قال الدارقطني : كان صدوقا . وذكره الخلال فقال : قد جاء حنبل عن أحمد بمسائل أجاد فيها الرواية . وإذا نظرت في مسائله ، شبهتها في حسنها وجودتها وإشباعها بمسائل الأثرم”
And it came in “Al-Mubdiʿ fī Sharḥ al-Muqniʿ” by Abū Isḥāq Burhān al-Dīn ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥanbalī the following text: Al-Dāraquṭnī said: “He was truthful.” And Al-Khallāl mentioned him saying: “Ḥanbal came with issues from Aḥmad in which he excelled in narration. And when you look at his issues, they resemble in their excellence, quality, and comprehensiveness the issues of Al-Athram.”
“الثاني أن يقال أن ابن رجب قال عن روايات حنبل: ” وكان أبو بكر الخلال وصاحبه لا يثبتان بما تفرد به حنبل، عن أحمد رواية”
The second is to say that Ibn Rajab said about Ḥanbal’s narrations: “Abū Bakr Al-Khallāl and his companion would not establish a narration based on what Ḥanbal alone narrated from Aḥmad.”
“وبما أن الخلال رواها في سنته من طريق حنبل فهي ثابتة عنده فلا وجه لإنكارها”
And since Al-Khallāl narrated them in his (book known as the) ‘Sunnah’ through Ḥanbal’s path, they are established according to him, so there is no reason to deny them.
“فالروايات التي سبق ذكرها ترويها المجسمة في معرض كلامهم عن عقيدة الإمام أحمد و لم يعترضوا عليها لكون حنبل يهم. وعليه فإن نفي الحد و الكيف عن الله هو الموافق لعقيدة أهل السنة والجماعة وهو الموافق لما نقله حنبل عن الإمام أحمد”
The previously mentioned narrations are transmitted by the anthropomorphists [mujassima] in the context of their discussion about Imam Aḥmad’s creed, and they did not object to them due to Ḥanbal’s errors. Therefore, negating limit and modality from Allah is in accordance with the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah and is in accordance with what Ḥanbal transmitted from Imam Aḥmad.
“ج / ذكر ما رواه أبو الفضل التميمي عن الإمام أحمد في نفي الحد عن الله”
C. Mentioning what Abū al-Faḍl al-Tamīmī narrated from Imam Aḥmad regarding the negation of limits from Allah.
“جاء في “اعتقاد الإمام المبجل أحمد بن حنبل” لأبي الفضل عبد الواحد التميمي المتوفى سنة 410 هجري ما نصه: وسئل رحمه الله قبل موته بيوم عن أحاديث الصفات فقال: “تمر كما جاءت ويؤمن بها ولا يرد منها شيء إذا كانت بأسانيد صحاح ولا يوصف الله بأكثر مما وصف به نفسه بلا حد ولا غاية ليس كمثله شيء وهو السميع البصير ومن تكلم في معناهما ابتدع”
It came in “The Creed of the Venerated Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal” by Abū al-Faḍl ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Tamīmī, who died in 410 AH, the following text: He was asked, may Allah have mercy on him, one day before his death about the hadith of attributes, and he said: “They are to be passed as they came and believed in, and nothing from them is to be rejected when they have authentic chains, and Allah is not to be described with more than what He described Himself with, without limit or endpoints. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and whoever speaks about their meaning has innovated.”
“ومعنى قوله : “ومن تكلم في معناها ابتدع أي عند حمل معناها على ظاهرها اللغوي الحقيقي إذا قطعت عن سياقها، أما التكلم في معناها بما تقتضيه لغة العرب فليس هو المقصود لأنه ثبت عن الإمام أحمد نفسه تأويل بعض النصوص”
And the meaning of his saying: “whoever speaks about their meaning has innovated” means when carrying their meaning upon their literal [ḥaqīqī] linguistic apparent [ẓāhir] meaning when taken out of context, but speaking about their meaning according to what the Arabic language requires is not what is meant because interpretation [ta’wīl] of some texts is established from Imam Aḥmad himself.
“و نقل أبو الفضل التميمي في نفس الكتاب أن الإمام أحمد قال: “ولا يجوز أن يقال استوى بمماسة ولا بملاقاة تعالى الله عن ذلك علوا كبيرا والله تعالى لم يلحقه تغير ولا تبدل ولا يلحقه الحدود قبل خلق العرش ولا بعد خلق العرش وكان ينكر – الإمام أحمد – على من يقول إن الله في كل مكان بذاته لأن الأمكنة كلها محدودة”
And Abū al-Faḍl al-Tamīmī transmitted in the same book that Imam Aḥmad said: “It is not permissible to say Istawa (established) by touching or by meeting – Allah is far above that with great transcendence – and Allah the Exalted is not affected by change or alteration, and limits do not apply to Him before the creation of the Throne nor after the creation of the Throne, and he – Imam Aḥmad – used to deny those who say that Allah is in every place in His essence because all places are limited.”
“د ذكر ما رواه ابن أبي يعلى عن الإمام أحمد في نفي الحد عن الله”
D. Mentioning what Ibn Abī Yaʿlā narrated from Imam Aḥmad regarding the negation of limits from Allah
“جاء في طبقات الحنابلة لابن أبي يعلى المتوفى سنة 526 هجري أن الإمام أحمد كان يقول: “والله تعالى لم يلحقه تغير ولا تبدل ولا يلحقه الحدود قبل العرش ولا بعد خلق العرش”
It came in “Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābilah”[ii] by Ibn Abī Yaʿlā, who died in 526 AH, that Imam Aḥmad used to say: “And Allah the Exalted is not affected by change or alteration, and limits do not apply to Him before the Throne nor after the creation of the Throne.”
“و جاء أيضا في طبقات الحنابلة 2-391 ما نصه: “كان” الإمام أحمد رحمه الله تعالى يقول الله تعالى له يدان و هما صفة له، ليستا بجارحتين وليستا مركبتين ولاجسم و لامن جنس الاجسام ولا من جنس المحدود والتركيب والابعاض والجوارح ولا يقاس على ذلك ولا له مرفق ولا عضلة ولا فيما يقتضي ذلك من إطلاق قولهم يد إلا ما نطق به القرآن الكريم”
And it also came in “Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābilah”[iii] 2:391 the following text: “Imam Aḥmad, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, used to say Allah the Exalted has two hands and they are an attribute of His, they are not limbs and are not compound, and not a body, and not of the genus of bodies, and not of the genus of what is limited, compound, divisible, or having limbs, and they are not to be analogized to that, and He has no elbow or muscle, and nothing that necessitates that from their unrestricted saying of ‘hand’ except what the Noble Qur’an has stated.”
“هـ ذكر ما نقله السفاريني عن الإمام أحمد في نفي الحد و الكيف عن الله“
E. Mentioning what Al-Safārīnī transmitted from Imam Aḥmad regarding the negation of limits and modality from Allah
“قال شمس الدين أبو العون محمد بن أحمد بن سالم السفاريني السفاريني الحنبلي المتوفى سنة 1188 هجري في منظومته في العقيدة”
Shams al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAwn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Sālim al-Safārīnī al-Ḥanbalī, who died in 1188 AH, said in his poetic composition on creed[iv]:
“ومن هنا نظمت لي عقيدة أرجوزة وجيزة مفيدة
وسمتها بالدرة المضية في عقد أهل الفرقة المرضية
على اعتقاد ذي السداد الحنبلي إمام أهل الحق ذي القدر العلي”
And from here I composed for myself a creed
A brief, beneficial poem in rajaz meter
And I named it “The Luminous Pearl”
Regarding the creed of the pleasing group
Upon the belief of the righteous Ḥanbalī
The Imam of the people of truth, of high stature
“حبر الملا فرد العلى الرباني رب الحجى ماحي الدجى الشيباني
فإنه إمام أهل الأثر فمن نحى منحاه فهو الأثري
وقوله: “رب” الحجي” : “رب” بمعنى صاحب، و “الحجى” : بمعنى العقل: يعني صاحب العقل”
The scholar of scholars, unique in high station, the divine one
The master of intellect, remover of darkness, Al-Shaybānī
For he is the Imam of the people of tradition
And whoever follows his way is a traditionalist (Athari)
And his saying “rabb al-ḥijā”: “rabb” means possessor, and “al-ḥijā” means intellect: meaning the possessor of intellect
“فهنا يبين السفاريني أن هذه العقيدة تمثل عقيدة أهل الأثر وهم أتباع الإمام أحمد بن حنبل ومن سار على نهج السلف في العقيدة، ثم يقول بعد عدة أبيات”
Here Al-Safārīnī explains that this creed represents the creed of the people of tradition, who are the followers of Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and those who followed the way of the predecessors in creed, then he says after several verses[v]:
“وليس ربنا بجوهر ولا عرض ولا جسم تعالى ذو العلا
سبحانه قد استوى كما ورد من غير كيف قد تعالى أن يحد
فلا يحيط علمنا بذاته كذاك لا ينفك عن صفاته
فكل ما قد جاء في الدليل فثابت من غير ما تمثيل”
And our Lord is not a substance, nor an accident, nor a body, Exalted is the Possessor of Highness
Glory be to Him, He Istawa (established) as it was reported, without modality, He is far above being limited
Our knowledge cannot encompass His essence, just as He is inseparable from His attributes
And everything that has come in evidence is established without any similitude
“فإن قال قائل: ان هذه المرويات منقولة بالمعنى، فيقال له لا دليل على ما تزعمه وحتى ولو كان الأمر كما تقول فذلك ما فهمه أصحاب أحمد عنه و أنه كان ينفي الحد عن الله وهو منقول عن غير واحد من أئمة الحنابلة”
If someone says: These narrations are transmitted by meaning, it is said to him: There is no evidence for what you claim, and even if the matter was as you say, that is what Aḥmad’s companions understood from him and that he used to negate limits from Allah, and it is transmitted from more than one of the Ḥanbalī Imams.
“كتبه أبو عمر التونسي ( محمود الشيخ الأشعري – تونس المحروسة”
Written by Abū ʿUmar al-Tūnisī (Maḥmūd al-Shaykh al-Ashʿarī – Protected Tunisia)
Translated with footnotes by: Abul Hasan Hussain Ahmed
[i] Also known as Bayān Talbīs al-Jahmiyyah (6/417)
[ii] The translator could not locate it in the named work but it is found in the work known as follows:
العقيدة للإمام أحمد بن حنبل رواية أبي بكر الخلال
[كذا على الغلاف، ومؤلفه هو أبو الفضل التميمي، «ذكر فيه مِن اعتقاد أحمد ما فهمه، ولم يذكر فيه ألفاظه، وإنما ذكر جمل الاعتقاد بلفظ نفسه»، نص على ذلك ابن تيمية، جميعا]المحقق: عبد العزيز عز الدين السيروان
الناشر: دار قتيبة – دمشق
الطبعة: الأولى، ١٤٠٨ هـ
عدد الصفحات: ١٢٨
Meaning:
The Creed of Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal Narrated by Abū Bakr al-Khallāl [This appears on the cover, though its author is Abū al-Faḍl al-Tamīmī, “who mentioned in it what he understood of Aḥmad’s creed, and did not mention his exact words, but rather mentioned the overall points of the creed in his own words,” as specified by Ibn Taymiyya, may Allah have mercy on them all]
Editor: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ʿIzz al-Dīn al-Sīrawān Publisher: Dār Qutayba – Damascus Edition: First, 1408 AH Number of Pages: 128
See it here: https://app.turath.io/book/6498?page=8
[iii] The translator could not locate it in the named work but it is found in the above-named work by Abū al-Faḍl al-Tamīmī. See the quote here – https://app.turath.io/book/6498?page=4
[iv] Details:
العقيدة السفارينية (الدرة المضية في عقد أهل الفرقة المرضية)
المؤلف: شمس الدين، أبو العون محمد بن أحمد بن سالم السفاريني الحنبلي (ت ١١٨٨هـ)
المحقق: أبو محمد أشرف بن عبد المقصود
الناشر: مكتبة أضواء السلف – الرياض
الطبعة: الأولى، ١٩٩٨
Meaning: The Safārīnī Creed (The Luminous Pearl Regarding the Beliefs of the People of the Pleasing Group)
[Al-ʿAqīda al-Safārīniyya (Al-Durra al-Muḍiyya fī ʿAqd Ahl al-Firqa al-Marḍiyya)]Author: Shams al-Dīn, Abū al-ʿAwn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Sālim al-Safārīnī al-Ḥanbalī (d. 1188 AH)
Editor: Abū Muḥammad Ashraf ibn ʿAbd al-Maqṣūd
Publisher: Maktabat Aḍwāʾ al-Salaf – Riyadh
Edition: First, 1998
The quote is available here – https://app.turath.io/book/6382?page=4
[v] See p. 54 here – https://app.turath.io/book/6382?page=15
Another related article: Refutation of Claims that Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241/855) Affirmed a Limit [ḥadd/حَدّ] for Allah
