The Oneness of Allah and His Eternal Attributes

Among the foundational pillars of Islamic creed is the affirmation that Allah is One — unique and without partner in His essence, His attributes, and His acts. Imam at-Tahawi states this clearly: 'He is One God, ancient without beginning, eternal without end. He does not perish nor does He come to an end.' This declaration is not merely a theological formula; it is the central axis around which all Islamic belief revolves.

The divine attributes affirmed in the Tahawiyyah are those established by the Quran and the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. These include life (hayah), knowledge (ilm), power (qudrah), will (iradah), hearing (sam'), sight (basar), and speech (kalam), among others. Imam at-Tahawi affirms that these attributes are real and eternal — they are not metaphors, nor are they identical to their creaturely counterparts.

Ibn Abi al-Izz explains in his commentary that the correct Sunni position on the divine attributes is to affirm them as they appear in the texts without distorting their meanings (ta'wil), denying them outright (ta'til), asking how they exist (takyif), or comparing them to created attributes (tamthil). This fourfold methodology — sometimes called the way of ithbat bila takyif — represents the creed of the Salaf and was articulated with great clarity by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others of his generation.

The Quran itself repeatedly affirms attributes of Allah in clear language. Allah says: 'And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing' (al-Shura: 11). He says: 'The Most Merciful rose over the Throne' (Ta-Ha: 5). He says: 'Allah was ever All-Hearing, All-Seeing' (al-Nisa: 134). These verses, along with dozens of others and a vast number of hadiths, establish that Allah possesses real attributes that befit His majesty and have no resemblance to the attributes of created beings.

A key distinction in this chapter concerns the difference between the essence of Allah (dhat) and His attributes (sifat). The Salaf affirmed that Allah's attributes are real and subsist in His essence, but they are not additional beings or separate from Him. The Mu'tazilah, by contrast, denied all attributes to avoid what they perceived as a form of multiplicity in the divine essence. This denial — called ta'til — was roundly rejected by the scholars of the Sunnah as a distortion of the divine reality clearly described in revelation.

Imam at-Tahawi also affirms that Allah was knowing, powerful, and living before He created anything, and that these attributes are not contingent on creation. This is critical: Allah's attributes are not dependent on the existence of the world. His knowledge is not caused by things known, His power is not caused by things capable of being acted upon. He possesses these attributes essentially and eternally.

For the Muslim student of theology, the proper attitude is one of humble submission to the revealed texts. As Ibn Abi al-Izz counsels his readers: the intellect, when properly disciplined, will find no contradiction in the affirmation of divine attributes. It is only when the intellect presumes to sit in judgment over revelation that confusion arises. The Sunnah demands that we affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself and deny what He has denied, without addition, subtraction, or distortion.