Takwīn and the Active Attributes

These three are agreed upon. Now there is a fourth set, which is a matter of contention between the Ashʿarīs and the Māturīdīs. They are called the active attributes: ṣifāt fiʿliyyah. Imam Abū Ḥanīfah mentions them in his al-Fiqh al-Akbar. There are quite a few, but the main ones are here. Actually, there is only one: the one which can be called the collective active attribute. It is called takwīn: takwīn.

There is a major difference of opinion about takwīn between the Ashʿarīs and the Māturīdīs. The Ashʿarīs say that takwīn is not an independent attribute; it is just an association of power, the attribute of power. So they are saying there is no such thing as takwīn; it is just power. When that is used to give somebody provision, it is called tarzīq. When it is used to create something, it is called takhlīq. The name of the attribute depends on what the effect is going to be; there is no independent nature. The Māturīdīs say no, it is an independent attribute. It is called takwīn.

Underneath it, the manifestations of it are: creating, or takhlīq — creating, takhlīq; sustaining, or tarzīq, from rizq — tarzīq, sustaining; bringing into being, inshāʾ — inshāʾ, which means to bring into being. Then there is ibdāʿ, which means to originate. And then there is ṣunʿ, which means to make. And there are a number of others, like iḥyāʾ, to give life; imātah, to give death; inbāt, to cause growth; inmāʾ, to develop; taṣwīr, to shape; takhlīq, to create; and so on and so forth.

Some of those are very similar. But one means, roughly, to bring into being without any previous example; one means to bring something different into being; one means to bring something that was existent before into being, according to a previous model: these different things. These all come under takwīn. Takwīn means to bring into being. So sustaining somebody is bringing into being the sustenance; the death of somebody, the life of somebody: it all comes under takwīn.

The Ashʿarīs say that this is not an independent attribute; this is just an association of the qudrah. When it is takhlīq, when it is creating something, it is called takhlīq. When it is growing something, it is called inbāt. When it is providing something, it is called tarzīq. The Māturīdīs say no: these are attributes. According to some, it is a semantic difference; according to others, it is a real difference. But it is not one that leads to deviance at all, because… what the effect of that is: nobody is going to negate the fact that Allah is in control of everything. The only question is whether this is a separate attribute, or part of qudrah.