On the Two Hands of Allah

Ibn Khuzaymah dedicates a substantial chapter to the attribute of the Hands of Allah (yadaan), collecting the Quranic verses and prophetic hadiths that establish this attribute and affirming it in accordance with the way of the Salaf: confirmation of the text, denial of resemblance, and silence on the modality.

The Quranic evidence is abundant. Allah says: 'The Jews said: The Hand of Allah is chained. Their hands are chained and they are cursed for what they said. Rather, His two Hands are extended — He spends however He wills.' (Al-Ma'idah: 64). This verse explicitly affirms two Hands using the dual form in Arabic (yadaani), in a context of refuting the false claim that Allah is miserly or restricted. Allah says: 'O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to what I created with My two Hands?' (Sad: 75). This verse specifies that Adam was created by Allah directly with His two Hands — a distinction granting Adam a dignity not shared by any other creature, who was called into existence through the command 'Be.'

The hadith evidence is likewise extensive. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 'Allah will fold up the heavens on the Day of Resurrection, then He will take them in His right Hand, then He will say: I am the King — where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant?' (Bukhari and Muslim). In another narration: 'Both of His Hands are right Hands.' (Muslim). The Prophet also said: 'Allah created Adam with His Hand, then breathed into him of His spirit, then commanded the angels to prostrate to him.' (Numerous transmissions).

The critics of attribute affirmation raised the objection that affirming Hands for Allah implies anthropomorphism — making Him resemble His creation. Ibn Khuzaymah and the Athari scholars answered this objection directly: the error lies in the premise. The verse 'There is nothing like unto Him' (Al-Shura: 11) was revealed precisely to prevent any such likening. When we affirm that Allah has two Hands, we do not imagine them as resembling human hands or the hands of any creature. Allah's Hands are an attribute befitting His perfection, majesty, and absolute distinction from creation.

The distinction the scholars draw is precise: affirming the name or the attribute (ithbat al-wasf) is not the same as affirming resemblance (tashbih). A person can say 'Allah has knowledge' and 'human beings have knowledge' without meaning that the two knowledges are alike in any way. Similarly, affirming that Allah has Hands and that human beings have hands does not imply any similarity. The word may be shared; the reality is utterly different.

The phrase 'with My two Hands' in Surah Sad is particularly significant to Ibn Khuzaymah's argument. The Mu'tazilah and others sometimes interpreted 'Hand' as meaning 'power' or 'grace.' But if Hand meant merely 'power,' the specification 'with My two Hands' would be redundant — everything Allah creates is by His power. The specification indicates something additional and particular about the creation of Adam, which the Salaf understood as referring to a real attribute.

Ibn Khuzaymah's approach throughout is that of a hadith scholar: gather the authentic reports, affirm their apparent meaning, apply the theological principle of bila kayf (without asking how), and refuse both the extreme of anthropomorphism and the opposite extreme of negation.