The Divine Names and Attributes (Asma' wa Sifat)

The longest and most detailed section of Lum'at al-I'tiqad addresses the names and attributes of Allah. This is the area in which theological controversy has historically been most acute, and it is the area in which Ibn Qudamah most directly engages — and refutes — the positions of the Mu'tazilah, Jahmiyyah, Ash'ariyyah, and other groups that departed in various ways from the position of the Salaf.

Ibn Qudamah articulates the Athari principle with precision: every name and attribute that Allah has affirmed for Himself in the Quran, or that the Prophet (peace be upon him) affirmed for Him in an authentic hadith, is to be affirmed in a manner that befits Allah's majesty, with no tashbih (likening to creation), no tamthil (drawing an analogy between Allah's attributes and those of His creation), no ta'til (stripping the attributes of meaning), and no takyif (asking how the attribute applies). This four-part formula reflects the methodology of Imam Ahmad and, before him, Imam Malik, who famously said when asked about Allah's 'istiwa' (rising over the Throne): 'Al-istiwa' is known, the how is unknown, asking about it is an innovation, and belief in it is obligatory.'

Among the attributes explicitly affirmed in this chapter, following the Quran and Sunnah, are: the Face of Allah (Surah al-Rahman 55:27), the Hands of Allah (Surah Sad 38:75), the Eye of Allah (Surah al-Tur 52:48), the Shin (Surah al-Qalam 68:42), His speech and voice, His laughter, His descending to the lowest heaven each night, and His settling over the Throne (istiwa'). Ibn Qudamah affirms each of these without apology, citing their Quranic and hadith basis.

He is equally firm in rejecting both extremes. Against the Mujassimah (those who liken Allah to His creation), he affirms the clear Quranic statement: 'There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing' (Surah al-Shura 42:11). Against the Mu'attilah (those who strip the attributes of meaning through ta'wil), he insists that affirming an attribute does not require knowing its modality (kayfiyyah), and that ta'wil — interpreting 'Hand' as 'power' and 'Face' as 'essence,' for example — is an unwarranted deviation from the apparent meaning of revelation without evidence.

Ibn Qudamah also addresses Allah's beautiful names (al-Asma' al-Husna). He affirms that Allah's names are tawqifiyyah — they are established solely by revelation, not by human reason or linguistic speculation. One may not derive new names for Allah based on logical inference. He affirms the names mentioned in the Quran and authentic Sunnah: al-Rahman, al-Rahim, al-Malik, al-Quddus, al-Hayy, al-Qayyum, al-Alim, al-Qadir, and the rest of the revealed names.

A recurring theme throughout this section is the insistence that the Salaf's position was not one of agnosticism about divine attributes but one of confident, reverent affirmation. They knew what was said, affirmed its truth, entrusted its modality to Allah alone, and did not trouble themselves further. This 'tafwid al-kayfiyyah' — delegating the 'how' to Allah — is the hallmark of Athari methodology, and Lum'at al-I'tiqad is one of its clearest classical expressions.