Yad, Wajh and the Word Jism

The previous chapter mentioned, regarding giving Allah (swt) a jism, that a jism can be separated and is composed of structures. But what about the Qur'an, where Allah (swt) says wajhun and yadun about Himself? These can be separated, and these can be separated.

The word jism is not used, so we cannot use it. The words yad and wajh are used; we can use them. But then it is necessary to repel from Allah (swt) any meaning that would imply that He is similar to something, because He also says laysa ka-mithlihi shayʾ. Jism is out of the question, because He does not say that at all, so we cannot even use that. These words we can; but we have to leave the meanings of that to Allah (swt), according to the Salaf's opinion. According to the Khalaf, the later ʿulamāʾ, they said an appropriate speculative taʾwīl can be given; but at the same time, they said it is safer. That is discussed in more detail later. But jism is out of the question, because that has never been said.

Taking from this, one thing to remember is that sometimes adults speak to children in these babyish terms, just so that they can relate to them a bit more. They have a different word for water, for rice, for bread. Not everyone will know all of that. So a person observing this communication between the parent and the child, or the adult and the child, starts to think that this adult is a child, because he or she is speaking in that particular way: oh, you're a child. Would that not be considered a bit silly, and a bit short-sighted?

A similar thing seems to be happening with this. Allah (swt) is so great, and so transcendent, and so mighty, that it is impossible for us to understand Him. In the Qur'an, and through His Messenger, He has used certain terms that are common to us, just so that He can give us a small understanding of Him. So what the human being does is that he starts thinking that Allah is like that. He uses certain words which we can comprehend and which we can relate to, so we start saying Allah is like that — lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh — whereas He makes it clear: laysa ka-mithlihi shayʾ.

So yes, He says yadun and wajhun; but at the same time, we have to say He has a yad, He has a wajh, but it is unlike anything else, and we leave it to Allah. To say that one has to believe it is part of a body — because the yad is a part of our body — but that it is not going to be described: that is blasphemy. Even the current-day Salafīs do not do that — meaning the scholars do not. Whether the common people do that is not known, but the scholars do not do that. Even in Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz, and a lot of the Saudi commentaries, they say He has a yad: we have to take this literally, but it is not a limb. It is not a limb. They make that very clear. The problem is that the way it is being said does insinuate that — though they make it clear — and it is a dangerous way to say it. That is the problem.

But nobody has said that it is a part of a body. Because when Allah said yadun, He did not say: yadun, i.e. as a part of the body, and you have to believe that. So that is actually mujassimah, anthropomorphic: to say that it is a part of the body, and that Allah says He has it.