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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Discursive Theology Volume 1 Lesson 18: The Attributes of Khabariyyah In an earlier discussion, we have pointed out that some of the Divine Attributes are called “Transmitted Attributes” ( ṣifāt al-khabariyyah ). These are Attributes of God which are mentioned in verses of the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions, and if we believe in their outward meaning and implication, we will succumb to the notion of anthromorphism and incarnation.

Examples are “settling on the Throne” ( istawā’ ‘ala ’l-‘arsh ) in the verse “The All-beneficent settled on the Throne , ” [^1] “face” ( wajh ) in the verse “Yet lasting is the Face of your Lord, majestic and munificent , ” [^2] and “hand” ( yadd ) in the verse “The hand of Allah is above their hands.” [^3] In this regard, Shahristānī has said: “A group of the predecessors ( ṣalaf ) used to affirm Transmitted Attributes such as yadayn (hands) and wajh (face) for God, without interpreting ( ta’wīl ) them, but they would say, ‘Since these attributes have been transmitted in religious texts, we shall call them ‘transmitted attributes’’.”[^4] Regarding the semantics of these attributes, different viewpoints and approaches have been advanced.

In this lesson, we shall state and examine them: Literalism and Anthropomorphism A group of the Ahl al-Ḥadīth who are labeled Hashwiyyah [^5] clings to the outward meaning of such verses, and as a result, they likened God to His creatures and believed in anthropomorphism and incarnation. Regarding them, Shahristānī has said: “A number of the Ahl al-Ḥadīth Ḥashwiyyah openly subscribed to anthropomorphism and affirm limbs and dimensions, ascent and descent, movement and transfer for God.

Moreover, they attributed baseless narrations to the Holy Prophet ( ‘a ), most of which were taken from Jews, and regarding the Qur’an, they believed that even its letters, sounds and words are pre-existent and eternal.”[^6] Regarding the notion of anthropomorphism, Ibn Khaldūn[^7] has also said: “But there were a few innovators in their ( ṣaḥābah and tābi‘ūn ) time who occupied themselves with the ambiguous verses and delved into anthropomorphism.

One group operated with the plain meaning of the relevant verses. They assumed anthropomorphism for God’s essence, in that they believed that He has hands, feet, and a face… Another group turned to anthropomorphism with regard to the attributes of God.