The Importance of Doctrinal Principles in Understanding the Descriptive Attributes - An Analytical Study

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Lecturer at Al-Azhar University – Division of Usul al-Din (Fundamentals of Religion) – Department of Creed and Philosophy – Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies for Boys in Qena.

Abstract

This research addresses a highly significant topic in Islamic theology, namely "The Importance of Doctrinal Principles in Understanding the Descriptive Attributes." The study discusses the doctrinal principles that serve as the true bridge to understanding the descriptive (khabariyyah) attributes, avoiding the quagmire of anthropomorphism. The issue of these attributes is one of the most critical theological matters due to its connection to the Divine Essence and because of the anthropomorphists' historical and modern misinterpretation of ambiguous texts based on their literal appearances, stemming from a lack of sound methodological approach.
Scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah, past and present, when addressing this issue, possessed the scholarly qualification grounded in the observance of doctrinal principles that enable a proper understanding of these ambiguous attributes based on a core theological foundation—declaring Allah far above anything unbefitting of Him.
Accordingly, the primary motive behind writing this study was to clarify the meaning of the descriptive attributes within Islamic theology and to promote their correct understanding, particularly in this age when the Ummah is afflicted by individuals who fall into anthropomorphism and mislead others under the guise of following the Salaf, while the Salaf are in fact innocent of such claims. This study thus represents a scholarly foundation for understanding these attributes in accordance with sound doctrinal principles—free from anthropomorphism or likening, with pure exaltation of Allah Almighty.

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