At-Tabari on the Mutashabih Verses (Divine Attributes)

Among the most theologically significant and contested areas in Quranic interpretation are the mutashabih verses — passages whose meaning is ambiguous or multi-layered — and within that category, the verses that describe Allah using language that, taken in its most straightforward sense, might seem to imply physical characteristics or spatial location. These verses include references to Allah's hand, face, eyes, settling above the Throne (istiwa), and coming on the Day of Judgment.

The early Muslim community held a range of positions on how these verses should be understood, and by at-Tabari's era the debate had crystallized into recognizable camps: those who took the verses at face value while denying any resemblance to creation (the approach later called ithbat or Athari), those who re-interpreted the language metaphorically to affirm Allah's absolute transcendence (ta'wil or the approach later associated with Mu'tazilites and some Ash'aris), and those who affirmed the words while refusing to specify their meaning or modality (tafwid).

At-Tabari's position is broadly Athari in orientation, though he articulates it with the careful nuance of a scholar who is first and foremost committed to what the transmitted evidence supports. For the istiwa verse — 'ar-Rahmanu ala al-arsh istawa' (Surah Ta-Ha: 5) — at-Tabari rejects the Mu'tazilite ta'wil that istiwa means istawla (to dominate or take control), on the grounds that this interpretation has no support in the transmitted reports and represents an arbitrary departure from the apparent meaning of the Arabic. He affirms that Allah settled above the Throne in a manner that befits His majesty, without specifying any modality or drawing any analogy with created beings.

For the verses referring to Allah's hand and face, at-Tabari similarly affirms the attributes as real and not reducible to metaphor, while insisting that they carry no implication of resemblance to creation. He invokes the principle that Allah is described by His own self-description and the description given by His Prophet, peace be upon him, without asking 'how' (bila kayf). This phrase — which became a watchword of the Athari approach — appears in at-Tabari in early and clear form, showing how deeply rooted it was in the transmitted scholarly tradition before it became a formal theological slogan.

At-Tabari is also consistent in his rejection of extreme positions in both directions. He argues against those who would strip Allah of all descriptive attributes (the Mu'tazilite position known as ta'til) just as firmly as he argues against those who imagine a physical resemblance between Allah and His creation (tajsim or tashbih). His insistence on navigating between these extremes by holding to the transmitted reports — affirming what is affirmed, denying resemblance without specifying modality — is the essence of the Athari method.

At-Tabari's handling of these verses was foundational for subsequent Sunni theology. Later scholars across different theological tendencies — Ash'ari, Maturidi, and Athari — all engaged with his positions as a starting point, even when they differed from his conclusions. His transparent presentation of the relevant narrations and arguments gave everyone working in the field a shared body of evidence to reason from, even as they reached different theological conclusions.