Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Visitors of his Facebook Page "Fikri"
Answer to a Question
To Um Saloom
Question:
Our Sheikh and Ameer, the eminent scholar, may Allah protect you, care for you, grant you health and well-being, and grant victory and empowerment at your hands.
The question: We have stated in The System of Islam, in the topic of "The Way to Belief" (The Dhat of Allah is beyond the universe, man, and life). What is the meaning of this statement?! Does Allah, Glory be to Him, have a Dhat, and what is the meaning of the word Dhat? What is the ruling on one who denies its existence and suffices by saying, "I believe in Allah and His attributes" without believing that He has a Dhat?
Umm Salma Al-Amiri – Yemen
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
Firstly, may Allah bless you for your kind prayers for us, and we pray for goodness for you. Here is the answer:
I will restate the text from which the sentence in question was taken from the book The System of Islam (p. 10), which is:
[Despite the necessity for man to use his intellect to reach belief in Allah, he cannot perceive what is beyond his senses and beyond his intellect. This is because the human intellect is limited; its power is limited, no matter how much it transcends and grows, by boundaries it cannot exceed. Therefore, it is limited in perception. Hence, the intellect must fall short of perceiving the Dhat (Essence) of Allah and be unable to perceive His reality, because Allah is beyond the universe, man, and life. The intellect in man cannot perceive the reality of what is beyond the universe, man, and life; therefore, it is unable to perceive the Dhat of Allah. It cannot be asked here: How did man believe in Allah intellectually while his intellect is unable to perceive the Dhat of Allah? This is because belief is simply belief in the existence of Allah, and His existence is perceived through the existence of His creations, which are the universe, man, and life. These creations fall within the limits of what he perceives; thus, he perceived them and, through his perception of them, perceived the existence of a Creator for them, who is Allah the Almighty. Therefore, belief in the existence of Allah is intellectual and within the limits of the intellect, unlike the perception of the Dhat of Allah, which is impossible because His Dhat is beyond the universe, man, and life; thus, He is beyond the intellect. The intellect cannot perceive the reality of what is beyond it due to its limitation in this perception. This very limitation must be one of the factors that strengthen belief...]
To clarify the meaning of (Dhat of Allah), before answering, I will explain to you how the connotation of the term is understood:
First: When determining the connotation of a term, one refers to the linguistic meaning—that is, the linguistic reality (Al-Haqiqah Al-Lughawiyyah), then the customary reality (Al-Urfiyyah), whether it is general among the Arabs or specific technical terminology (Al-Istilah). If the literal reality is impossible, then the metaphorical meaning (Al-Majaz) is sought. By tracing these meanings for the term Dhat, the following becomes clear:
1. Linguistic Meaning:
a. It is stated in Mukhtar al-Sahhah (p. 109) by its author Muhammad bin Abi Bakr bin Abd al-Qadir al-Razi (d. 660 AH): [ذُو means 'possessor' (Sahib), so it is only used in a possessive construction (Mudaf). If you use it to describe an indefinite noun, you annex it to an indefinite noun, and if you describe a definite noun, you annex it to the definite article. It is not permissible to annex it to a pronoun, nor to Zaid or similar names. You say: I passed by a man ذِي mal (possessing wealth), and a woman ذَاتِ mal, and two men ذَوَيْ mal with a fatha on the waw. Allah Almighty said:
وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَيْ عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ
"And bring to witness two just men from among you." (Surah At-Talaq 65:2)
...As for their saying ذَاتَ marrah (once/on one occasion) and ذَا sabah (this morning), it is an adverb of time (Zarf Zaman)...] Thus, Dhat in the language does not come annexed to proper names; for example, one does not say Dhat Zaid. However, it can be said ذو زيد meaning "this is Zaid," as stated in Lisan al-Arab: [(The phrase "and the annexation to it is ذوّيّ"... and the phrase in Al-Sahhah says: "if you were to attribute to it, you would say ذوويّ like عصوي...") and Ahmad bin Ibrahim, the teacher of Tha'lab, narrated from the Arabs: "this is ذو زَيْدٍ" meaning this is Zaid, i.e., the owner of this name which is Zaid...]
b. Dhat also comes with the meaning "for the sake of": It is mentioned in Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari: [...Al-Bayhaqi has a chapter in The Names and Attributes regarding what has been mentioned about the Dhat... and the Hadith of Abu al-Darda: "You do not understand all understanding until you hate people in the Dhat of Allah," and its narrators are trustworthy, except that it is interrupted (munqati'). The word Dhat in the mentioned Hadiths means 'for the sake of' or 'the right of'. Similar to this is the saying of Hassan: "And the brother of Al-Ahqaf when he stood among them, striving in the Dhat of the Deity and acting justly"...] So, in Hassan's poetry, it means for the sake of Allah or for Allah's cause.
c. It also comes with the meaning of direction or side, as in the books of Tafsir:
- Tafsir al-Tabari (d. 310 AH) from his book Jami' al-Bayan:
وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ
"And We turned them over to the right and to the left." (Surah Al-Kahf 18:18)
He says (Exalted be His praise): We turn these youths in their sleep once to the right side and once to the left side...]
- The book: Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir by Muhammad al-Tahir bin Ashur al-Tunisi (d. 1393 AH):
(...It occurs in their speech annexed to directions, times, and others; they treat it as an attribute for a described noun indicated by the context, such as His saying: "And We turned them over to the right and to the left" in Surah Al-Kahf [18], interpreted as direction...)
d. It also comes with the meaning of obedience to Allah: Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: People complained about Ali bin Abi Talib to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so he stood among us as a speaker and I heard him say: "O people, do not complain about Ali, for by Allah, he is most firm in the Dhat of Allah and in the way of Allah." This Hadith has a sound chain of narrators... Al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi's comment in Al-Talkhis: Sahih.
It is clear from the linguistic meanings that they do not apply to the instances mentioned in the text of The System mentioned in the question, and the general customary reality among Arabs regarding this word is almost the same. Therefore, one refers to the specific customary reality "the technical term" (Al-Istilah)...
2. Technical Meaning: By contemplating this matter, it becomes clear that the technical meaning is what applies here. The word (Dhat) technically means the Self (An-Nafs) or "The Reality" (Al-Haqiqah):
a. Al-Bukhari used it with this meaning... for Al-Bukhari established a chapter in his Sahih titled: (Chapter on what is mentioned regarding the Dhat, the Attributes, and the Names of Allah...). Regarding this chapter, Ibn Hajar stated in Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari:
[Fath al-Bari (His saying: Chapter on what is mentioned regarding the Dhat, the Attributes, and the Names of Allah Almighty), meaning what is mentioned regarding the Dhat of Allah and His Attributes in terms of the permissibility of using that term like His names, or its prohibition due to the absence of a text for it. As for the Dhat, Al-Raghib said: (It is the feminine of Dhu, a word used to describe generic nouns and types. it is annexed to the manifest noun rather than the pronoun. It is dualized and pluralized, and none of it is used except as an annex (Mudaf). They have borrowed the term Dhat for the essence of a thing (Ayn al-Shay) and used it singularly and annexed, and they entered the definite article upon it and treated it as the Self (An-Nafs) and the essence (Al-Khassah), and that is not from the speech of the Arabs) End quote.
Iyad said: (The Dhat of a thing is its self and its reality. The people of Kalam (theology) have used Al-Dhat with the definite article, and most grammarians deemed them mistaken, while some allowed it because it is used to mean the Self and the reality of a thing... Al-Bukhari's use of it indicates what was mentioned previously, that what is meant by it is the self of the thing, following the method of the theologians regarding Allah the Almighty...)]
b. For information, what Ibn Hajar mentioned regarding the sayings of the scholars above (Al-Raghib, Iyad) is what is mentioned in their books as follows:
- (Al-Mufradat fi Gharib al-Quran) by Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn bin Muhammad, known as Al-Raghib al-Asfahani (d. 502 AH):
(Dhu has two aspects: one used to describe generic nouns and types... the people of meanings borrowed the term Dhat and made it an expression for the essence of a thing, whether it be a substance or an accident. They used it singularly and annexed to the pronoun with the definite article, and they treated it as the Self and the essence, so they said: His Dhat, his self, and his essence, and that is not from the speech of the Arabs... The second aspect of the word Dhu: the dialect of Tayy, who use it like the word Al-Ladhi (which/who)...)
- (Mashariq al-Anwar 'ala Sihah al-Athar) by Qadi Abu al-Fadl Iyad bin Musa bin Iyad al-Yahsubi al-Sabti al-Maliki (d. 544 AH), in which it states: (The chapter on Dhi, Dha, Dhayt, Dhat, and Dhih... and the saying of Al-Bukhari: 'Chapter on what came regarding the Dhat' and in the Hadith 'on a certain day' (Dhat yawm) or 'a certain night' (Dhat laylah) and 'reconcile that which is between them' (Dhat baynihim). The Dhat of a thing is its self, and it refers back to what preceded, i.e., that which is such and such... The jurists and theologians have used Al-Dhat with the definite article and most grammarians deemed them mistaken... while some grammarians allowed the word Al-Dhat and that it is an allusion to the Self and the reality of a thing... As for Al-Bukhari's use of it, it follows the aforementioned interpretation that what is meant is the thing itself as used by the theologians regarding Allah the Almighty. Do you not see how he said 'what came regarding the Dhat and the Attributes,' meaning the characteristics? So he distinguished between the two in expression according to the method of the theologians...) End quote.
Second: From the above, it is clear that the word (Dhat) technically means the Self (An-Nafs). This meaning is not from the linguistic reality, i.e., it is not from the original speech of the Arabs as mentioned in Al-Raghib's statement above; rather, it is in the specific customary reality (technical terminology). Meaning that Dhat in the sense of the Self is a technical term and not the linguistic meaning. And attributing "The Self" (An-Nafs) to Allah the Almighty is something that occurs (in the texts):
- It is mentioned in Tafsir al-Tabari regarding the noble verse:
وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ
"And Allah warns you of Himself." (Surah Aali 'Imran 3:28)
That it means: (And Allah frightens you of Himself, lest you commit acts of disobedience to Him). Thus, the attribution of the "Self" (An-Nafs) to Allah is mentioned in the Shariah texts; therefore, to use (Dhat of Allah) meaning (the Self of Allah) is permissible.
Accordingly, the linguistic meaning does not apply to the meaning of "Dhat of Allah" mentioned in the text of our book The System of Islam; rather, the technical meaning is used—meaning Self or "Reality" (Haqiqah), as stated in Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari mentioned above.
Therefore, the meaning of the phrase (Dhat of Allah) in the two instances in our book The System of Islam is the technical meaning (the Self of Allah, "His Reality"). We do not perceive the Dhat of Allah in the sense of His Self, "His Reality," Glory be to Him. The Dhat of Allah in this sense is beyond the universe, man, and life. That is, Allah (Himself), Glory be to Him, is outside these three perceived and sensed matters. Thus, He does not fall within the scope of human intellectual thinking; He does not fall within the scope of our senses' perception.
لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ
"Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted." (Surah Al-An'am 6:103)
Third: As for your question: (What is the ruling on one who denies its existence and suffices by saying, 'I believe in Allah and His attributes' without believing that He has a Dhat), it seems there is a confusion for the one who says this. This is because the technical usage of the term (Dhat of Allah) to mean His Self and "His Reality" has nothing wrong with it. Denying that He (Glory be to Him) has a Dhat in this sense—meaning that He has a Self and a Reality—cannot be said by someone who understands the meaning correctly, especially since this meaning exists in the Shariah texts, such as: "And Allah warns you of Himself."
However, in Shariah definitions, one adheres to the definition without introducing other matters into it. For example, the Hadith of the Messenger ﷺ narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Prophet ﷺ was out one day among the people when Jibril came to him and said: "What is Iman (belief)?" He replied: "Belief is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, the meeting with Him, His messengers, and to believe in the Resurrection..." Muslim also narrated it.
Based on this, if you are asked about belief, you say what is mentioned in the Hadith. Likewise, the Shariah meanings that have been mentioned, such as the talk about Islam in the previous Hadith of Jibril, as well as about Ihsan (excellence), and similarly all Shariah definitions.
I hope this answer is sufficient, and Allah is most Knowing and most Wise.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
04 Rajab 1443 AH Corresponding to 05/02/2022 CE