The discourse on understanding divine attributes [ṣifāt] in Islamic theology represents one of the most intricate and sensitive areas of scholarly debate. In the text presented here, Imam al-Dhahabī (d. 748 AH/1348 CE), the renowned hadith scholar and historian, discusses two fundamental approaches to dealing with apparently anthropomorphic descriptions of Allah in revealed texts: delegation of the meaning to Allah [tafwīḍ al-ma’nā] and a non literal interpretation [ta’wīl].

Al-Dhahabī highlights the approach of Ibn Khuzayma (d. 311 AH/924 CE) regarding the famous hadith of the image [ḥadīth al-ṣūrah], in which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stated that “Allah created Adam in His image.” Rather than adopting the methodology of delegation [tafwīḍ] practiced by most of the pious predecessors [Salaf], Ibn Khuzayma chose to interpret [ta’wīl] this particular text. He explained that the pronoun in “His image” refers not to Allah but to the person being discussed in the context of the hadith.

This passage is particularly significant because it demonstrates al-Dhahabī’s nuanced position that while delegation of meaning to Allah [tafwīḍ al-ma’nā] was the predominant approach of the predecessors [Salaf], he nevertheless acknowledges the legitimacy of careful figurative interpretation [ta’wīl] by major scholars like Ibn Khuzayma when done with sound intention and methodology. Al-Dhahabī’s balanced assessment reflects the broader scholarly principle that differences in approach to theological matters should not become grounds for divisive accusations of innovation when the scholars involved are recognized for their knowledge, piety, and sincere pursuit of truth.

The text thus offers valuable insight into classical Islamic theological discourse and the methodological diversity that existed even among adherents to the way of the pious predecessors [Salaf] in understanding divine attributes.

Ibn Khuzayma said in his Kitāb al-Tawḥīd (p. 84):

٦ – حَدَّثَنَا نَصْرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْجَهْضَمِيُّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي أَبِي قَالَ: ثنا الْمُثَنَّى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ، وَهُوَ الْأَزْدِيُّ عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ مَالِكٍ الْمَرَاغِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، رضي الله عنه، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: «إِذَا قَاتَلَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَيَجْتَنِبِ الْوَجْهَ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ»

6 – Naṣr ibn ‘Alī al-Jahḍamī narrated to us, saying: My father informed me, saying: al-Muthannā ibn Sa’īd narrated to us, from Qatādah, from Abū Ayyūb, who is al-Azdī ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Mālik al-Marāghī, from Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who said: “When one of you fights, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in His image [ṣūratihi].”

قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ: تَوَهَّمَ بَعْضُ مَنْ لَمْ يَتَحَرَّ الْعِلْمَ أَنَّ قَوْلَهُ: «عَلَى صُورَتِهِ» يُرِيدُ صُورَةَ الرَّحْمَنِ عَزَّ رَبُّنَا وَجَلَّ عَنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ هَذَا مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ، بَلْ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: «خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ»، الْهَاءُ فِي هَذَا الْمَوْضِعِ كِنَايَةٌ عَنِ اسْمِ الْمَضْرُوبِ، وَالْمَشْتُومِ، أَرَادَ ﷺ أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَةِ هَذَا الْمَضْرُوبِ، الَّذِي أَمَرَ الضَّارِبَ بِاجْتِنَابِ وَجْهِهِ بِالضَّرْبِ، وَالَّذِي قَبَّحَ وَجْهَهَ، فَزَجَرَ ﷺ أَنْ يَقُولَ: «وَوَجْهَ مَنْ أَشْبَهَ وَجْهَكَ»، لِأَنَّ وَجْهَ آدَمَ شَبِيهُ وُجُوهِ بَنِيهِ،

Abū Bakr (Ibn Khuzayma) said: “Some who have not carefully examined knowledge have imagined that his saying ‘in His image [ṣūratihi]’ means the image of the Most Merciful. Our Lord is far exalted above this being the meaning of the report. Rather, the meaning of his saying ‘created Adam in his image [ṣūratihi]’ is that the pronoun in this context refers to the name of the person who is struck and insulted. The Prophet ﷺ meant that Allah created Adam in the image [ṣūrah] of this person who was struck, whom he commanded the striker to avoid striking in the face, and whose face was insulted. The Prophet ﷺ forbade saying ‘and the face of whoever resembles your face,’ because Adam’s face resembles the faces of his children.

فَإِذَا قَالَ الشَّاتِمُ لِبَعْضِ بَنِي آدَمَ: قَبَّحَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَكَ وَوَجْهَ مَنْ أَشْبَهَ وَجْهَكَ، كَانَ مُقَبِّحًا وَجْهَ آدَمَ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ ⦗٨٥⦘ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَامُهُ، الَّذِي وُجُوهُ بَنِيهِ شَبِيهَةٌ بِوَجْهِ أَبِيهِمْ، فَتَفَهَّمُوا رَحِمَكُمُ اللَّهُ مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ، لَا تَغْلَطُوا وَلَا تَغَالَطُوا فَتَضِلُّوا عَنْ سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ، وَتَحْمِلُوا عَلَى الْقَوْلِ بِالتَّشْبِيهِ الَّذِي هُوَ ضَلَالٌ

So if the insulter says to one of Adam’s children: ‘May Allah disfigure your face and the face of whoever resembles your face,’ he would be disfiguring the face of Adam, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, whose children’s faces resemble the face of their father. So understand, may Allah have mercy on you, the meaning of the report. Do not err or deceive yourselves, for you will stray from the right path and adopt the doctrine of anthropomorphism [tashbīh], which is misguidance.”

Al-Dhahabī said in his Siyar A’lām al-Nubalā’ (14/374) with footnotes by Shu’ayb al-Arnā’ūṭ and others:

وَلابْنِ خُزَيْمَةَ عَظَمَةٌ فِي النُّفُوْسِ، وَجَلاَلَةٌ فِي القُلُوْبِ؛ لِعِلمِهِ وَدِينِهِ وَاتِّبَاعِهِ السُّنَّةَ.
وَكِتَابُه فِي (التَّوحيدِ) مُجَلَّدٌ كَبِيْرٌ، وَقَدْ تَأَوَّلَ فِي ذَلِكَ حَدِيْثَ الصُّورَةِ (١).

“Ibn Khuzaymah has great stature in the souls and reverence in the hearts, due to his knowledge, religiosity, and following of the Sunnah. His book on (Tawḥīd) is a large volume, and in it he (figuratively) interpreted (Ta’wīl) the hadith regarding the image (1).

فَلْيَعْذُر مَنْ تَأَوَّلَ بَعْضَ الصِّفَاتِ، وَأَمَّا السَّلَفُ، فَمَا خَاضُوا فِي التَّأْوِيْلِ، بَلْ آمَنُوا وَكَفُّوا، وَفَوَّضُوا عِلمَ ذَلِكَ إِلَى اللهِ وَرَسُوْلِه، وَلَوْ أَنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ أَخْطَأَ فِي اجْتِهَادِهِ – مَعَ صِحَّةِ إِيْمَانِهِ، وَتَوَخِّيْهِ لاتِّبَاعِ الحَقِّ – أَهْدَرْنَاهُ، وَبَدَّعنَاهُ، لَقَلَّ مَنْ يَسلَمُ مِنَ الأَئِمَّةِ مَعَنَا، رَحِمَ اللهُ الجَمِيْعَ بِمَنِّهِ وَكَرَمِهِ.

So let there be excuse for one who interpreted [ta’awwala] some of the attributes. As for the predecessors (Salaf), they did not delve into interpretation [al-ta’wīl], but rather believed, refrained [from speculation], and delegated [fawwaḍū] the knowledge of that to Allah and His Messenger, and if we were to disregard and declare innovation against everyone who erred in his independent reasoning [ijtihādihi] – despite the soundness of his faith and his striving to follow the truth – few of the Imams would remain safe with us. May Allah have mercy on all of them by His favour and generosity.”

Al-Dhahabī did know of an evidence for performing interpretative exegesis [Ta’wīl] when necessary as he authenticated such a text in his Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak.. One may refer to the following article – Ta’wil of ‘Saaq’ from Ibn Abbas

Footnote (by Shu’ayb al-Arnā’ūṭ et al):

(١) حديث الصورة، أخرجه البخاري في «صحيحه» ١١ / ٢ في أول الاستئذان، ومسلم (٢٨٤١) في الجنة: باب يدخل الجنة أقوام أفئدتهم مثل أفئدة الطير، وأحمد: ٢ / ٣١٥، وابن خزيمة في «التوحيد» ٤٠ ٣٩ من طريق معمر، عن همام بن منبه، عن أبي هريرة، عن النبي ﷺ قال: «خلق الله آدم على صورته، طوله ستون ذراعا، فلما خلقه، قال: اذهب، فسلم على أولئك نفر من الملائكة جلوس فاستمع ما يحيونك، فإنها تحيتك وتحية ذريتك، فقال: السلام عليكم: فقالوا: السلام عليك ورحمة الله. فزادة:»ورحمة الله «فكل من يدخل الجنة على صورة آدم، فلم يزل الخلق ينقص بعد حتى الآن».

(1) The hadith regarding the image: It was reported by al-Bukhārī in his “Ṣaḥīḥ” 11/2 at the beginning of the chapter on Seeking Permission, and Muslim (2841) in the chapter on Paradise: “The section on people entering Paradise whose hearts are like the hearts of birds,” and Aḥmad: 2/315, and Ibn Khuzayma in “Al-Tawḥīd” 39-40 from the path of Ma’mar, from Hammām ibn Munabbih, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet ﷺ who said: “Allah created Adam in His image, his height being sixty cubits. When He created him, He said: ‘Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen to their response, for it will be your greeting and the greeting of your descendants.’ So he said: ‘Peace be upon you,’ and they replied: ‘Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.’ They added ‘and the mercy of Allah.’ So everyone who enters Paradise will be in the form of Adam, and creation has continued to diminish in stature until now.”

وأخرجه مسلم (٢٦١٢) (١١٥) وأحمد: ٢ / ٤٦٣ و٥١٩، وابن خزيمة ص ٣٧ من طريق قتادة، عن أبي أيوب المراغي، عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: «إذا قاتل أحدكم أخاه فليجتنب الوجه، فإن الله خلق آدم على صورته». وأخرجه أحمد: ٢ / ٢٤٤، والآجري في «الشريعة» ١٤٣، والبيهقي في «الأسماء والصفات» ٢٩٠ من طريق سفيان، عن أبي الزناد، عن الاعرج، عن أبي هريرة..وأخرجه أحمد: ٢ / ٣٢٣ من طريق المغيرة بن عبد الرحمن، عن أبي الزناد، عن موسى =

And it was reported by Muslim (2612) (115) and Aḥmad: 2/463 and 519, and Ibn Khuzayma p. 37 from the path of Qatāda, from Abu Ayyūb al-Marāghī, from Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When one of you fights his brother, he should avoid striking the face, for Allah created Adam in His image.” And it was reported by Aḥmad: 2/244, and al-Ājurrī in “Al-Sharī’a” 143, and al-Bayhaqī in “Al-Asmā’ wal-Ṣifāt” 290 from the path of Sufyān, from Abu al-Zinād, from al-A’raj, from Abu Hurayra… And it was reported by Aḥmad: 2/323 from the path of al-Mughīra ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān, from Abu al-Zinād, from Mūsā =
١٤ ‏/ ٣٧٤
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
= ابن أبي عثمان، عن أبيه، عن أبي هريرة..وأخرجه أحمد: ٢ / ٢٥١، ٤٣٤، وابن خزيمة ٣٦ من طريق يحيى، عن ابن عجلان، عن سعيد، عن أبي هريرة. وأخرج البخاري في «الأدب المفرد» رقم (١٧٣) وابن خزيمة ص ٣٦ من حديث ابن عجلان، عن سعيد، عن أبي هريرة، عن النبي ﷺ قال: «إذا ضرب أحدكم فليجتنب الوجه، ولا يقل: قبح الله وجهك ووجه من أشبه وجهك، فإن الله خلق آدم على صورته».
14/374
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
= ibn Abī ‘Uthmān, from his father, from Abu Hurayra… And it was reported by Aḥmad: 2/251, 434, and Ibn Khuzayma 36 from the path of Yaḥyā, from Ibn ‘Ajlān, from Sa’īd, from Abu Hurayrah. And al-Bukhārī reported in “Al-Adab al-Mufrad” number (173) and Ibn Khuzaymah p. 36 from the hadith of Ibn ‘Ajlān, from Sa’īd, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet ﷺ who said: “When one of you strikes, let him avoid the face, and let him not say: ‘May Allah disfigure your face and the face of whoever resembles your face,’ for Allah created Adam in His image.”

قال ابن خزيمة بعد أن أورد هذه الأحاديث: «توهم بعض من لم يتحر العلم أن قوله:»على صورته «يريد صورة الرحمن، عز ربنا وجل عن أن يكون هذا معنى الخبر، بل معنى قوله: خلق آدم على صورته: الهاء في هذا الموضع كناية عن اسم المضروب والمشتوم. أراد ﷺ أن الله خلق آدم على صورة هذا المضروب الذي أمر الضارب باجتناب وجهه بالضرب، والذي قبح وجهه، فزجر ﷺ أن يقول: ووجه من أشبه وجهك، لان وجه آدم شبيه وجه بنيه. فإذا قال الشاتم لبعض بني آدم: قبح الله وجهك ووجه من أشبه وجهك، كان مقبحا وجه آدم صلوات الله وسلامه عليه.

Ibn Khuzayma said after citing these hadiths: “Some who have not thoroughly investigated knowledge have imagined that His saying ‘in His image’ means the image of the Most Merciful. Exalted is our Lord and far above this being the meaning of the report. Rather, the meaning of His saying ‘Allah created Adam in His image’ is that the pronoun [his] in this context refers to the name of the one being struck and insulted. The Prophet ﷺ meant that Allah created Adam in the image of this person who was struck, whom the striker was commanded to avoid striking in the face, and whose face was insulted. So the Prophet ﷺ forbade saying: ‘and the face of whoever resembles your face,’ because Adam’s face resembles the faces of his children. So when the insulter says to one of Adam’s children: ‘May Allah disfigure your face and the face of whoever resembles your face,’ he would be disfiguring the face of Adam, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him.”

ثم أورد حديث ابن عمر، من طريق الأعمش، عن حبيب بن أبي ثابت، عن عطاء بن أبي رباح، عن عمر مرفوعا بلفظ:»لا تقبحوا الوجه، فإن ابن آدم خلق على صورة الرحمن«. ورواه أيضا من طريق سفيان الثوري، عن حبيب بن أبي ثابت، عن عطاء مرسلا، وقال: في هذا الخبر علل ثلاث، أولاهن: أن الثوري قد خالف الأعمش في إسناده فأرسل الثوري ولم يقل: عن ابن عمر. والثانية: أن الأعمش مدلس، لم يذكر أنه سمعه من حبيب بن أبي ثابت، والثالثة: أن حبيب بن أبي ثابت أيضا مدلس، لم يعلم أنه سمعه من عطاء» وانظر تمام كلامه فيه.

Then he cited the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar, from the path of al-A’mash, from Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, from ‘Aṭā’ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, from ‘Umar, elevated [to the Prophet], with the wording: “Do not disfigure the face, for the son of Adam was created in the image of the Most Merciful.” And he also narrated it from the path of Sufyān al-Thawrī, from Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, from ‘Aṭā’ in mursal form [without mentioning the Companion]. And he said: “In this report there are three defects. First: that al-Thawrī contradicted al-A’mash in its chain, as al-Thawrī narrated it as mursal and did not say: from Ibn ‘Umar. Second: that al-A’mash is a mudallis [one who conceals his immediate source], and did not mention that he heard it from Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit. Third: that Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit is also a mudallis, and it is not known that he heard it from ‘Aṭā’.” And see the rest of his statement about it.

قال الحافظ ابن حجر في «الفتح» ١١ / ٣ ٢ في أول الاستئذان: «واختلف إلى ماذا يعود الضمير؟ فقيل: إلى آدم، أي: خلقه على صورته التي استمر عليها إلى أن أهبط، وإلى أن مات، دفعا لتوهم من يظن أنه لما كان في الجنة كان على صفة أخرى، أو ابتدأ خلقه كما وجد، لم ينتقل في النشأة كما ينتقل ولده من حالة إلى حالة. وقيل: للرد على الدهرية أنه لم يكن إنسان إلا من نطفة، ولا تكون نطفة إنسان إلا من إنسان، ولا أول لذلك، فبين أنه خلق من أول الامر على هذه الصورة. وقيل: للرد على الطبائعيين الزاعمين أن الإنسان قد يكون من فعل الطبع وتأثيره.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar said in “Al-Fatḥ” 11/2-3 at the beginning of the chapter on Seeking Permission: “And there is disagreement about to what the pronoun refers. It is said: to Adam, meaning: He created him in his form that he continued to have until he was sent down [from Paradise], and until he died, refuting the illusion of one who thinks that when he was in Paradise, he was in another form, or that he was created initially as he was found, not transitioning in development as his children transition from one state to another. And it is said: to refute the materialists [who claim] that a human can only come from a sperm drop, and a human sperm drop can only come from a human, and there is no beginning to that, so it clarifies that he was created from the beginning in this form. And it is said: to refute the naturalists who claim that the human may be from the action of nature and its influence.”

وقيل: الضمير لله، وتمسك قائل ذلك بما ورد في بعض طرقه» على صورة الرحمن «والمراد بالصورة: الصفة، والمعنى: أن الله خلقه على صفته من العلم والحياة والسمع والبصر وغير ذلك، وإن كانت صفات الله تعالى لا يشبهها شيء. وراجع ما كتبه الحافظ ابن حجر أيضا عن عود الضمير في» صورته «في» الفتح ” ٥ / ١٣٣، و٦ / ٢٦٠.

And it is said: the pronoun refers to Allah, and the proponent of this view holds to what is reported in some of its paths “in the image of the Most Merciful.” And what is meant by “image” is attribute, and the meaning is that Allah created him with His attributes of knowledge, life, hearing, sight, and other things, even though the attributes of Allah the Exalted are not resembled by anything. And review what al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar also wrote about the reference of the pronoun in “His image” in “Al-Fatḥ” 5/133 and 6/260.

End of quotes.

Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH) said in his Lisān al-Mīzān (edited by: ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghuddah, 3/284):

٢٧٦٥ – حمدان بن الهيثم، روى عن أبي مسعود أحمد بن الفرات، وروى عنه أبو الشيخ ووثقه، لكنه جاء عن أحمد بن حنبل في معنى قوله ﷺ: «خلق الله آدم على صورته» بشيء منكر، زعم أن أحمد قال: صوّر الله صورة آدم قبل أن يخلقه، ثم خلقه على تلك الصورة. وأما أن يكون خلقه على صورته، فلا، لأن الله تعالى يقول: ﴿ليس كمثله شيء﴾.

قال يحيى بن منده في مناقب أحمد: قال المظفر بن أحمد الخياط في كتاب السنة: “وحمدان بن الهيثم يزعم أن أحمد قال: صور الله صورة آدم قبل خلقه.” وأبو الشيخ يوثقه في كتاب الطبقات. ويدل على بطلان روايته ما رواه حمدان بن علي الوراق، الذي هو أشهر من حمدان بن الهيثم وأقدم، أنه سمع أحمد بن حنبل وسأله رجل عن حديث «خلق آدم على صورته» يعني: على صورة آدم، فقال أحمد: فأين الذي يُروى عن النبي ﷺ أن الله خلق آدم على صورة الرحمن؟ ثم قال أحمد: وأيّ صورة لآدم قبل أن يُخلق؟

قال الطبراني: سمعت عبد الله بن أحمد يقول: قال رجل لأبي: إن فلانًا يقول في حديث رسول الله ﷺ: «إن الله خلق آدم على صورته» أنه يعني: على صورة الرجل، فقال أبي: كذب، هذا قول الجهمية، وأيّ فائدة في هذا؟

[٢٨٥] وقيل إن أبا عمر بن عبد الوهاب هجر أبا الشيخ لمكان حكاية حمدان، وقال: إن أردت أن أُسلّم عليك، فأخرج من كتابك حكاية حمدان بن الهيثم.

2765 – Ḥamdān ibn al-Haytham. He narrated from Abū Maʿsūd Aḥmad ibn al-Furāt. And Abū al-Shaykh narrated from him and deemed him reliable. But he brought something objectionable from Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal regarding the meaning of the saying (peace be upon him): “Allah created Adam in His image.” He claimed that Aḥmad said: “Allah formed the image of Adam before creating him, then created him according to that image. As for Allah creating him in His own image—no, for the Almighty has said: ‘There is nothing like unto Him.'”

Yaḥyā ibn Mandah said in Manāqib Aḥmad (The Virtues of Aḥmad): Al-Muẓaffar ibn Aḥmad al-Khayyāṭ said in Kitāb al-Sunna (The Book of the Sunna): “Ḥamdān ibn al-Haytham claims that Aḥmad said: ‘Allah formed the image of Adam before creating him.’” And Abū al-Shaykh deemed him reliable in Kitāb al-Ṭabaqāt (The Book of Classes). What indicates the falsehood of his narration is what was reported by Ḥamdān ibn ʿAlī al-Warrāq, who is more famous and earlier than Ḥamdān ibn al-Haytham, that he heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal when a man asked him about the ḥadīth “created Adam in His image,” meaning in Adam’s image. Aḥmad said: “So what about what is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that Allah created Adam in the image of the Most Merciful?” Then Aḥmad said: “And what image did Adam have before he was created?”

Al-Ṭabarānī said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad saying: A man said to my father: “So-and-so says regarding the ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ‘Allah created Adam in His image,’ that it means ‘in the image of the man.’” So my father said: “He has lied. This is the saying of the Jahmiyyah. And what benefit is there in this?”

[285] It is said that Abū ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb boycotted Abū al-Shaykh because of the account of Ḥamdān, and said: “If you want me to greet you, then remove from your book the account of Ḥamdān ibn al-Haytham.”

Compiled by:

Abul Hasan Hussain Ahmed

1-5-25