Anthropomorphism: The Debate Over Taʾwīl and Tafwīḍ

The next section of the creed, which is worth reading through in full, talks about anthropomorphism, and how Allah (swt) is beyond and transcendent of any human quality, and the dangers of going into that.

There is a whole debate that has raged on for quite a while about taʾwīl and tafwīḍ. These are two very famous concepts, very popular concepts. Tafwīḍ means to relegate the knowledge to someone else. In this context: when a person hears a verse, or sees a verse of the Qur'an, something ambiguous that is not very clear, which the ʿulamāʾ have mentioned is one of the ambiguous mutashābihāt verses of the Qur'an, or is a mutashābih in the hadith, that is left to Allah, without trying to determine its exact meaning, while saying that we believe in this as Allah has intended. That is the meaning of tafwīḍ.

Taʾwīl means to take that verse and say: the most likely meaning, a possible meaning, is this. So when it says that Allah's hand is with a group, as the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) says, yad Allāhi ʿalā al-jamāʿah, to do taʾwīl of that would mean asking: what is the most likely meaning of this? It is a metaphor; the Arabs use this. In fact, English uses this too: someone says, “Don't worry, he's in my hands,” or says of a matter that they have got their hands on it. Even though, physically, the one saying it is not touching the person, and they are not physically under his hand, it just means that they are in his control. And likewise in Arabic, in sound Arabic parlance, common parlance, that is the meaning that is acceptable.

So those who accept taʾwīl said: “This is a possible meaning. We are not insisting on it; but if you really have to have this mean something (otherwise you cannot sleep at night, because of what the Mujassimah created, this whole atmosphere of anthropomorphism, of human form and human likeness), if you really want some meaning which does not go against laysa ka-mithlihi shayʾ, while taking that into consideration, a meaning that is not against the nature of Allah (swt), as the ʿulamāʾ have explained to us, as we have received it, then this is the likely meaning.” So that is called taʾwīl. This is only a description of it; what is permissible and what is not permissible has not yet been addressed.