Al-Ṣaffārīnī on Delegation of Meaning [Tafwīḍ al-Maʿnā] of the Divine Attributes [Ṣifāt of Allāh]
Imam Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Ṣaffārīnī (d. 1188 AH) was a distinguished Ḥanbalī scholar of the Atharī[i] creed from Nābulus in Palestine, celebrated by his own disciple Shaykh Muḥammad Kamāl al-Dīn al-Ghazzī al-ʿĀmirī (d. 1214 AH) as “the seal of the Ḥanbalīs in the lands of Nābulus” and “the most accomplished of the later scholars.” He was the author of numerous works across the Islamic sciences, most notably his creedal poem al-Durra al-Muḍiyya fī ʿAqd Ahl al-Firqa al-Marḍiyya and its extensive commentary Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār al-Bahiyya wa-Sawāṭiʿ al-Asrār al-Athariyya.
Despite his Ḥanbalī affiliation, al-Ṣaffārīnī’s theological positions on a number of significant creedal questions diverged markedly from those of Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al-Qayyim, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, and the contemporary Salafi movement that regards these scholars as its primary authorities after the era of the Salaf. These divergences are not minor or superficial; they touch upon matters that contemporary Salafism has made central to its theological identity, including the definition of Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jamāʿa, the permissibility of kalām terminology, the methodology of delegation of meaning [Tafwīḍ al-Maʿnā] regarding the divine attributes [Ṣifāt Allāh], the classification of istiwāʾ as among the ambiguous [mutashābih] passages of the Qurʾān.
In his Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār (1/8), al-Ṣaffārīnī stated the following on delegation [Tafwīḍ] of the attributes [ṣifāt] of Allah:
وَأَصْحَابُ التَّأْوِيلِ ضِدُّ أَصْحَابِنَا مِنْ أَتْبَاعِ الْمَأْثُورِ، وَالْمُرُورِ كَمَا جَاءَ مَعَ التَّفْوِيضِ، وَاعْتِقَادِ التَّنْزِيهِ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ، وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ.
“And the proponents of interpretation [Taʾwīl] stand in opposition to our colleagues from amongst the followers of the transmitted [maʾthūr], who accept narrations as they have come, along with delegation [Tafwīḍ] and the belief in transcendence [tanzīh] — that Allah has no likeness whatsoever, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
In his Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār (1/219), al-Ṣaffārīnī stated the following on delegation of meaning [Tafwīḍ al-Maʿnā] regarding the divine attributes [Ṣifāt Allāh]:
ثُمَّ أَخَذَ فِي ذِكْرِ الصِّفَاتِ الَّتِي يُثْبِتُهَا السَّلَفُ فَقَالَ «فَكُلُّ مَا» أَيْ وَصْفٍ «قَدْ جَاءَ» مَضْمُونُهُ «فِي الدَّلِيلِ» الشَّرْعِيِّ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ الْعَظِيمِ، وَسُنَّةِ النَّبِيِّ الْكَرِيمِ، وَوَصَفَهُ بِهِ السَّلَفُ الصَّالِحُ «وَ» أَنَّهُ «ثَابِتٌ» لَهُ سبحانه وتعالى، وَمَوْصُوفٌ بِهِ «مِنْ غَيْرِ مَا» زَائِدَةٌ لِمَزِيدِ النَّفْيِ وَتَأْكِيدِهِ «تَمْثِيلٌ» بَلْ نُثْبِتُ لَهُ مَا وَرَدَ وَلَا نَتَعَرَّضُ لَهُ بِتَأْوِيلٍ وَلَا رَدٍّ، فَمَذْهَبُ السَّلَفِ فِي آيَاتِ الصِّفَاتِ أَنَّهَا لَا تُؤَوَّلُ، وَلَا تُفَسَّرُ بَلْ يَجِبُ الْإِيمَانُ بِهَا، وَتَفْوِيضُ مَعْنَاهَا الْمُرَادُ مِنْهَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَقَدْ رَوَى اللَّالْكَائِيُّ الْحَافِظُ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ قَالَ اتَّفَقَ الْفُقَهَاءُ كُلُّهُمْ مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ إِلَى الْمَغْرِبِ عَلَى الْإِيمَانِ بِالصِّفَاتِ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَفْسِيرٍ وَلَا تَشْبِيهٍ.
‘He then proceeded to mention the attributes that the Salaf affirm, saying: ‘So every’ — that is, every attribute — ‘that has come’ — whose import has come — ‘in the scriptural proof [al-dalīl al-sharʿī]’ from the Great Book [al-Kitāb al-ʿAẓīm] and the Sunna of the noble Prophet, and which the pious predecessors [al-Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ] attributed to Him — ‘and’ that it is ‘established’ for Him — Glorified and Exalted be He — and that He is described by it — ‘without any’ — the word mā here is an additional particle serving to reinforce and emphasise the negation — ‘likening [tamthīl].’ Rather, we affirm for Him what has been transmitted and do not subject it to interpretation [taʾwīl] or rejection. For the doctrine of the Salaf regarding the verses of the attributes [āyāt al-ṣifāt] is that they are not to be interpreted [tuʾawwal] nor subjected to exegesis [tufassar]; rather, it is obligatory to believe in them and to delegate [tafwīḍ] the intended meaning [maʿnā] thereof to Allah the Exalted. Indeed, the Ḥāfiẓ al-Lālikāʾī transmitted from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, who said: all the jurists [fuqahāʾ], from East to West, were in agreement upon believing in the attributes without exegesis [tafsīr] and without likening [tashbīh].’
Al-Ṣaffārīnī also explicitly endorsed delegation of knowledge [Tafwīḍ al-ʿIlm] as the methodology of the Salaf regarding the divine attributes. In his Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār (1/96–97) he stated:
فَمَذْهَبُ السَّلَفِ أَنَّهُمْ يَصِفُونَ اللَّهَ – تَعَالَى – بِمَا وَصَفَ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ، وَبِمَا وَصَفَهُ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ – ﷺ – مِنْ غَيْرِ تَحْرِيفٍ وَلَا تَكْيِيفٍ، وَهُوَ – سُبْحَانَهُ – لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ لَا فِي ذَاتِهِ، وَلَا فِي صِفَاتِهِ، وَلَا فِي أَفْعَالِهِ، وَكُلُّ مَا أَوْجَبَ نَقْصًا أَوْ حُدُوثًا فَاللَّهُ – تَعَالَى – مُنَزَّهٌ عَنْهُ حَقِيقَةً، فَإِنَّهُ – تَعَالَى – مُسْتَحِقُّ الْكَمَالِ الَّذِي لَا غَايَةَ فَوْقَهُ، وَمَذْهَبُ السَّلَفِ عَدَمُ الْخَوْضِ فِي مِثْلِ هَذَا، وَالسُّكُوتُ عَنْهُ، وَتَفْوِيضُ عِلْمِهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ – تَعَالَى. قَالَ حَبْرُ الْقُرْآنِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبَّاسٍ – رضي الله عنهما: هَذَا مِنَ الْمَكْتُومِ الَّذِي لَا يُفَسَّرُ، فَالْوَاجِبُ عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ أَنْ يُؤْمِنَ بِظَاهِرِهِ، وَيَكِلَ عِلْمَهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ – تَعَالَى. وَعَلَى ذَلِكَ مَضَتْ أَئِمَّةُ السَّلَفِ، كَالزُّهْرِيِّ وَمَالِكٍ، وَالْأَوْزَاعِيِّ، وَسُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ، وَاللَّيْثِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ، وَالْإِمَامِ أَحْمَدَ، وَإِسْحَاقَ، فَكُلُّ هَؤُلَاءِ – رضي الله عنهم – يَقُولُونَ فِي الْآيَاتِ الْمُتَشَابِهَةِ: أَمِرُّوهَا كَمَا جَاءَتْ.
“The Madhhab of the Salaf is that they describe Allah the Exalted with what He described Himself with, and with what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ described Him with, without distortion [taḥrīf] and without ascription of modality [takyīf]. He — Glorified be He — is such that nothing is like Him, neither in His essence [dhāt], nor in His attributes [ṣifāt], nor in His acts [afʿāl]. Everything that necessitates deficiency or createdness [ḥudūth] — Allah the Exalted is truly transcendent above it, for He the Exalted is deserving of perfection [al-kamāl] beyond which there is no higher degree. The Madhhab of the Salaf is to refrain from delving into matters such as these, to remain silent concerning them, and to delegate knowledge [tafwīḍ al-ʿilm] of them to Allah the Exalted. The great scholar of the Qurʾān [ḥibr al-Qurʾān] ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās — may Allah be pleased with them both — said: ‘This is among the concealed matters [al-maktūm] that are not to be subjected to exegesis [tafsīr].’ It is therefore obligatory upon a person to believe in its apparent purport [ẓāhirihi] and to delegate knowledge [tafwīḍ al-ʿilm] of it to Allah the Exalted.” Upon this proceeded the Imams of the Salaf — such as al-Zuhrī, Mālik, al-Awzāʿī, Sufyān al-Thawrī, al-Layth ibn Saʿd, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak, Imam Aḥmad, and Isḥāq — all of whom — may Allah be pleased with them — used to say regarding the ambiguous verses [al-āyāt al-mutashābiba]: “Pass them as they came [ammirūhā kamā jāʾat].”‘
Al-Ṣaffārīnī stated in Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār (1/240–241) that the methodology of the Salaf and the Atharīs regarding the divine attributes is to leave the texts as they have come, refrain from probing their specific meanings [maʿānī], negate anthropomorphism [tashbīh], and avoid all modalistic description [takyīf]. He cited this from Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal through Imām Ibn Ḥamdān and concluded that this is the truth. This is precisely delegation of meaning [tafwīḍ al-maʿnā] regarding the divine attributes [Ṣifāt] of Allah:
وَقَالَ سَيِّدُنَا الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ – رضي الله عنه – أَحَادِيثُ الصِّفَاتِ تُمَرُّ كَمَا جَاءَتْ مِنْ غَيْرِ بَحْثٍ عَنْ مَعَانِيهَا، وَنُخَالِفُ مَا خَطَرَ فِي الْخَاطِرِ عِنْدَ سَمَاعِهَا، وَنَنْفِي التَّشْبِيهَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عِنْدَ ذِكْرِهَا مَعَ تَصْدِيقِ النَّبِيِّ – ﷺ – وَالْإِيمَانِ بِهَا، وَكُلُّ مَا يُعْقَلُ وَيُتَصَوَّرُ فَهُوَ تَكْيِيفٌ وَتَشْبِيهٌ وَهُوَ مُحَالٌ – كَمَا نَقَلَهُ عَنْهُ الْإِمَامُ ابْنُ حَمْدَانَ فِي نِهَايَةِ الْمُبْتَدِئِينَ، انْتَهَى. وَهَذَا مَذْهَبُ السَّلَفِ الْأَثَرِيَّةِ فَهُوَ الْحَقُّ، وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ.
“Our master Imām Aḥmad, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The ḥadīths of the divine attributes [aḥādīth al-ṣifāt] are to be left as they have come, without investigating their meanings [maʿānī]; we reject whatever comes to mind upon hearing them; we negate anthropomorphism [tashbīh] from Allah, exalted be He, when they are mentioned, while affirming the truthfulness of the Prophet ﷺ and believing in them; and everything that can be rationally conceived or mentally pictured constitutes modalistic description [takyīf] and anthropomorphism [tashbīh], and that is impossible — as transmitted from him by Imām Ibn Ḥamdān in Nihāyat al-Mubtadiʾīn. End of quote. And this is the position of the Salaf, the Atharīs [al-Athariyya], and it is the truth. And with Allah lies all success [tawfīq].”
Al-Ṣaffārīnī likewise quoted Imām al-Nawawī’s verdict in Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār (1/233–234) without raising any objection to it:
قَالَ النَّوَوِيُّ: هُوَ مِنْ أَحَادِيثِ الصِّفَاتِ، إِمَّا نُؤْمِنُ بِهَا وَلَا نَتَكَلَّمُ بِتَأْوِيلٍ، وَنَعْتَقِدُ أَنَّ ظَاهِرَهَا غَيْرُ مُرَادٍ، وَأَنَّ لَهَا مَعْنًى يَلِيقُ بِاللَّهِ، أَوْ تُؤَوَّلُ عَلَى أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِكَوْنِهِمْ عَلَى الْيَمِينِ عَلَى الْحَالَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَالْمَنْزِلَةِ الرَّفِيعَةِ، وَقَوْلُهُ ««وَكِلْتَا يَدَيْهِ يَمِينٌ»» فِيهِ تَنْبِيهٌ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ الْمُرَادُ بِالْيَمِينِ الْجَارِحَةَ وَأَنَّ يَدَيْهِ تَعَالَى بِصِفَةِ الْكَمَالِ لَا نَقْصَ فِي وَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُمَا لِأَنَّ الشِّمَالَ تَنْقُصُ عَلَى الْيَمِينِ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ وَقَدْ تَكُونُ الْيَمِينُ بِمَعْنَى التَّبْجِيلِ وَالتَّعْظِيمِ، يُقَالُ فُلَانٌ عِنْدَنَا بِالْيَمِينِ، أَيْ بِالْمَحَلِّ الْجَلِيلِ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُ الشَّاعِرِ: أَقُولُ لِنَاقَتِي إِذَا بَلَغَتْنِي … لَقَدْ أَصْبَحْتِ عِنْدِي بِالْيَمِينِ أَيْ بِالْمَحَلِّ الرَّفِيعِ، وَأَحْسَنُ مِنْهُ قَوْلُ بَعْضِهِمْ: أَلَمْ أَكُ فِي يُمْنَى يَدَيْكَ جَعَلْتَنِي … فَلَا تَجْعَلْنِي بَعْدَهَا فِي شِمَالِكَا.
“Al-Nawawī said: It is one of the ḥadīths of the attributes [aḥādīth al-ṣifāt]. Either we believe in them without engaging in any interpretation [tāʾwīl], whilst holding the conviction that their apparent [ẓāhir] meaning is not intended and that they have a meaning befitting Allah — or they are interpreted [tuʾawwal] such that what is meant by their being ‘to the right’ is that they are in a good state and an exalted station. And his saying ‘both His hands are right hands’ contains an indication that what is meant by ‘right hand’ [yamīn] is not a bodily limb [jāriḥa], and that His two hands, exalted be He, are characterised by perfection with no deficiency in either of them, for the left hand [shimāl] is inferior to the right. Some of them said: ‘Right hand’ [yamīn] may also carry the meaning of honour [tabjīl] and veneration [taʿẓīm]; one says ‘So-and-so is with us at the right [bi al-yamīn],’ meaning in the exalted position [al-maḥall al-jalīl]. From this is the saying of the poet: ‘I say to my she-camel, when she has borne me [to my destination]: You have indeed come to occupy with me the place of honour [bi al-yamīn]” — meaning the exalted position [al-maḥall al-rafīʿ]. And better than this is the saying of another: ‘Was I not placed in the more favoured of your two hands? Then do not place me thereafter in your left.’”
Compiled by:
Abul Hasan Hussain Ahmed
Friday 17th July 2026/3rd of Safar 1448AH
Updates on Telegram: https://t.me/Darul_Tahqiq
[i] He designated himself as an Atharī in his ijāza to ʿUthmān al-Ruḥaybānī (see p. 334 of his Thabat, available here – https://ia800301.us.archive.org/32/items/sa71mir_gmail_20160511_1533/ثبت%20الإمام%20السفاريني%20الحنبلي.pdf
