Chapter 2: The “Face” Of Allah
1. The “Face” Of Allah As Understood By The School Of The Caliphs
Ibn Khuzaimah in his work entitled Tawhid writes on its tenth page. The chapter on confirming the face for Allah, which He Himself has described as full of majesty and honour in the following verses:“And the face of Your Sustainer will abide, fall of majesty and honour.” (Surah Al-Rahman, 55:27).And He has also confirmed that His face will never perish:“Everything that exists will perish except His Own face.” (Surah Al-Qasas, 28:88).Thereafter, Ibn Khuzaimah seeks further substantiation from other Qur’anic verses, and then says:“So Allah has firmly established that He has a face, has described It as Majestic and Honourable, and has decreed that the face will endure forever, never to perish ....”In his concluding remarks, he adds:“Whatever Allah has confirmed for Himself, we also confirm. But His face is not like the face of the creatures.”On the eleventh page of the same book, Ibn Khuzaimah quotes 14 traditions from the Prophet (S) in which the word ‘face’ has been mentioned, and bases his claim on them. For example, when the Prophet (S) supplicates by saying:“I seek refuge with Your Graceful Face ....”Ibn Khuzaimah infers that the Prophet (S) referred to the face in its literal sense. In other words, he insists that the ‘face’ is a part of God’s body, similar to that of man or any other animal.Now, let us examine what Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a) have explained in their traditions:
2. The “Face”- As Explained By Ahl Ul-Bayt (‘A)
As a prelude, let us deal with a tradition from Amir Al-Mu’minin, Ali bin Abi Talib (‘a) in which he laid down the laws for understanding the verses of the Qur’an, especially those concerned with the Divine Attributes.A person referred his question to Ali bin Abi Talib (‘a), quoting several verses from the Qur’an, raising his objections. Among them we select the two following verses:The literal meaning of these two verses are:“[And on the Day of Judgement] your Lord comes, and the angels, rank upon rank ....” (Surah Al-Fajr, 89:22).“Are they waiting to see if the angels come to them, or comes your Lord Himself or come some of the signs of your Lord?” (Surah Al-Ana’am, 6:158).The question raised was whether Allah Himself would appear on the Day of Judgement, as apparently conveyed in the verses. Imam Ali (‘a) explained:“Whatever Allah, the Most High, has revealed in the verses, is the absolute truth; except that His coming is not the same as coming of His creatures. I have advised you earlier that certain parts of the Qur’an must not be construed literally; instead you have to understand the metaphor. The word of Allah is not like a human word, and His act is not like a human act. In order to make my point clear, I will give you examples from the Qur’an, so that, Inshallah, your understanding of the Qur’an will be proper and correct. The Qur’an reports Prophet Ibrahim (‘a) saying: ‘I will go to my Lord. He will surely guide me.’ (Surah Al-Saffat, 37:99).Here, “going to the Lord” does not mean walking to Him with the help of limbs. It means to turn to Him, firmly and truly, through worship, and seek nearness to Him. Can you observe the difference between its literal sense and its actual meaning conveyed by the metaphor? Again, the literal translation of the following verses would be:“.... He sent down for you eight pairs of the cattle.” (Surah Al-Zumar, 39:6).“And We sent down iron, in which there is immense strength....” (Surah al-Hadid, 57:25).Now if you were to rely on the literal sense, you would infer that the eight pairs of the cattle and the iron were ‘sent down’ from the heaven. But that is definitely not meant. The words here mean ‘We created,’ or ‘He created’.”1Ali bin Abi Talib (‘a) has taught us two important rules for understanding the Divine Attributes and Works: First, the acts and deeds of Allah cannot be compared to our acts and deeds. When Allah in the Qur’an, says:“Allah has indeed heard ....” (Surah al-Mujadillah, 58:1).It does not compare with the hearing of man, animal or any creature. We hear with the help of our ears. Hearing by Allah denotes no such thing.Allah in the Qur’an declares:“.... I have created with My hands.” (Surah Sad, 38:75).Man may also say that he has created something with his hands. But both have different meanings. Allah has no limbs, needs no limbs.Allah revealed to Prophet Musa (‘a):“Fear not! I am with both of you, I hear and I see.” (Surah Taha, 20:46).To be with someone has a different meaning when applied to us. When Allah is “with” someone, it does not denote physical company or proximity.Secondly, Amir Al-Mu’minin, Ali bin Abi Talib (‘a) said that it was necessary to understand the literal as well as the metaphorical usage of words in the Qur’an, before one started commenting or elucidating. He cited two examples from the Qur’an to explain his point.Actually, when we sit to read any classic or literary piece of work, in any language whatsoever, we are required to be fully conversant with the figures of speech, the different usage of the words and so on. Based on this universal principle, let us now see how the school of Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a) deals with the term the “face” of Allah.Abu Hamza asked Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (‘a) about the meaning of the verse:“Everything that exists will perish except His Own face.”Imam (‘a) replied:“Do they presume that Allah has a face and that everyone will die and perish but His face? Allah is far above having a face! The actual meaning of the verse is that everything will perish except the religion of Allah, the direction and the way which leads to Allah.”In another tradition from Imam Ja‘far Al-Sadiq (‘a), this verse has been further explained:“Everything shall perish except the adoption of the right path.”Both the explanations point to one and the same thing, the right path or the religion of Allah. This is how the school of Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a) interprets the phrase “face” of Allah.
- Wajh meaning “the beginning” or “the early part,” as used in Wajhun Nahar - i.e., the morning.
- Wajh meaning “the truth or essence of the matter” - as used in Arabic, Asaba Wajhal Masa’lah - i.e., he came upon the crux of the matter.
- Wajh meaning “direction, aim,” like Ittajahat Tijarah - i.e., he aimed at doing business.
Modern Arabic scholars have confirmed these meanings as well, like the authors of Mu’jamu Alfaazil Qur’an al-Karim, published from Egypt in 1390 A.H.In view of the diverse meanings attached to the word Wajh, the school of the Caliphs had no plausible reason to adhere to one meaning which suggested that Allah had bodily parts the same way as we human beings have. It is quite clear that they were influenced by the Jewish interpolations and by such traditions, which were ascribed to Companions like Abu Huraira.In this brief discussion, we realize that the two schools have totally divergent views about Allah. One believes in anthropomorphism, imagining Him to be like us, or like any other creature, possessing limbs and ligaments. The other believes in an Existence far above and exalted, in no way comparable to the creation.There are verses in the Qur’an which requires divine assistance to comprehend, and that assistance comes through the Prophet (S) or his pure, immaculate Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a). Allah says:“.... From it are verses of established meaning, they are the foundation of the Book. Others are allegorical, but those who have perverse hearts, they follow the allegorical parts, seeking discord and searching for its hidden meaning. But no one knows its hidden meaning except Allah.” (Surah Ale Imran, 3:7).Allah has entrusted His Prophet (S) with the duty to explain all the meanings of the Qur’an:“We have sent down to you the message that you may explain clearly to men what is sent for them ....” (Surah Al-Nahl, 16:44).And the Prophet (S) imparted his knowledge to Ali bin Abi Talib (‘a) who recorded it and faithfully committed it to memory. After the passing away of our Prophet (S), Muslims referred to Ali (‘a) whenever difficulty arose in respect of understanding the Qur’an; and he always supplied a satisfactory answer. The knowledge with Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a) is divine. It does not in any way depend upon personal opinions or interpretations of the scholars who were in turn influenced by un-Islamic notions.The chapter to follow will put these differences in sharp focus.
- 1. Tawhid by Sadooq, p. 265.