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Chapter 5: The “Feet” Of Allah

The “Feet” Of Allah And His “Shin And Shank”!!

In the book of Tawhid by Ibn Khuzaimah several traditions related to ‘the leg’ and ‘the feet’ of Allah have been mentioned, chiefly reported by Abu Huraira. And they can also be found in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan of Tirmidhi, Musnad of Ahmad and the Tafsirs of Tabari, Ibn Kathir and Suyuti.Abu Huraira reports from the Prophet (S):“The Paradise and the Hell had an altercation, each trying to prove its own superiority over the other.”Then the Hell said:“I have been privileged by the presence of the arrogant and mighty people within me.”The Paradise said:“I do not know why no one but the weak and meek have been admitted within me!”So God addressed the Paradise:“You are My Mercy, and through you I shower mercy upon any of My servants.”And then He addressed to the Hell:“You are My wrath, and through you I punish whoever I want to punish. Each of you will be full.”“But the Hell will not be full, so Allah will insert His leg into it.”Then the Hell will exclaim:“Enough! Enough!”So this way the Hell will be full, for Allah does not wrong anyone. As for the Paradise, He will specially bring forth a new creation to make it full.

The “Shin” Or “Shank”

In Sahih Bukhari, Mustadrak of Hakim, Tafsirs of Tabari, Ibn Kathir and Suyuti, we find traditions dealing with the ‘lower leg’ of Allah. In the following verse:“The day shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to prostrate, but they shall not be able to do so....” (Surah al-Qalam, 68:42).Abu Saeed, a Companion of the Prophet says, he heard the Prophet (S) say:“Our Lord will lay bare His shin, then every believing man and woman will kneel before Him, except those who worshipped Him on earth to show off or to invite admiration from others - they will not be able to bend, and will stay erect.”This tradition has been given a detailed treatment by Bukhari in the Chapter of Tawhid; we are quoting some excerpts:“It will be announced on the Day of Judgement: ‘Everyone of you to line up behind the gods you worshipped.’ So people will run to form groups behind their deities, except the worshippers of Allah who will remain firm on the ground waiting for Him.Then Allah will appear and will ask them: ‘Did you have any identifying token or symbol between Allah and yourselves which would enable you to recognize Him?’‘Yes,’ they will say: ‘The Shin.’Then Allah will reveal His shin, upon seeing which the believers will prostrate and will follow Him to the Paradise.”Many interesting questions spring to our minds after reading the above tradition:

  1. What is the nature of this ‘token’ or ‘symbol’ of recognition represented by the so-called shin or shank of Allah?
  2. When had the scholars of the school of the Caliphs first seen the shin, so that they hope to recognize it on the Day of Judgement as a token?
  3. And if they had seen it here on earth, what was it like?
  4. What was its size?

Explanations From The School Of Ahl Ul-Bayt (‘A)

Let us take the following verse:“The day shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to prostrate, but they shall not be able to do so....” (Surah al-Qalam, 68:42).Obaidah bin Zararah narrates.“I asked Imam Ja‘far Al-Sadiq (‘a) about this verse. He immediately placed his hand on his ankle, removing the cloth on it, and kept his hand on his head saying:‘Glory be to Allah Who is High and Above’.”Shaikh Sadooq says that the purpose of doing so was to convey that Allah, the Most High, is above and beyond having a leg or a shin.Another Companion of Imam Ja‘far Al-Sadiq (‘a) named Muhammad bin Ali Halabi asked about the baring of the shin. This time the Imam (‘a) gave a detailed answer, he said:“Blessed be the Almighty (Allah)!”Then he recited the verse in full, together with the verse which immediately follows:“.... and they will be summoned to prostrate, but they will not be able to do so.” (Surah al-Qalam, 68:42).“Their eyes will be cast down, ignominy will cover them - surely, they had been summoned before to prostration, when they were whole and health ....” (Surah al-Qalam, 68:43).The Imam (‘a) said:“The phrase is a metaphor applied to the most difficult and trying times. It describes how certain people on the Day of Judgement will be overwhelmed by shame and disgrace, having no excuse to make. The verses, when read together, explain the metaphor.”Shaikh Sadooq in his book on Tawhid further elucidates:“When the Imam (‘a) said: ‘Blessed be the Almighty (Allah),’ and then removed the cover from his foreleg, it signified that Allah was above possessing any limb! The word ‘laying the shin bare’ should not be taken literally.”

“Baring Of The Shin” As Used In The Arabic Literature

Abdullah Ibn Abbas, the Prophet’s (S) cousin said:“Whenever you are unable to understand the Qur’an, seek elucidation from the Arabic literature. There in their usage, you may find the meaning. Have you not heard the Arab poet who said: Qamatil Harbu Bina Ala Saqin - ‘The war has begun with all its intensity and difficulties ....’”So ‘the laying bare of the shin’ in the verse described the intense fear, shame and distress which will prevail on that day.1Raghib Isfahani in his famous work Mufradatul Qur’an has given the same meaning to this verse, as explained by Ibn Abbas. Similarly, the Egyptian scholars have supported the interpretation in the Mu’jam Alfadh Al-Qur’an Al-Karim.Obviously, the metaphor was well-known among the Arabs and their scholars for the last fourteen centuries. Sadly, the School of the Caliphs has chosen to accept the reports from Abu Huraira and his likes, ascribing limbs and ligaments to Allah.The verb used in this verse is in passive voice: which means:“Shall be laid bare....”Yet we find their scholars adopting the verb in its active voice, hence this version:“Allah will bare His shin.”To summarize, we say:

  1. This school, which is alienated from Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a), has misinterpreted the Qur’an.
  2. They have ascribed a fake tradition to the Prophet (S).
  3. They have introduced anthropomorphism among the Muslims.

We are ever indebted to the Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a), who have tried against all odds to preserve the purity of Islam, and also preserve the true meaning of the Qur’an and the Hadith.All praise to Allah! We now know that Allah has no form, no body. He has no limbs, needs none of them. For if he had a body, He ought to have an abode! Let us now examine a further pitfall in which the school of the Caliphs has fallen!

  • 1. Tafsir by Suyuti - 6/254.