Salafi Disease of Literalism

Some More Examples of Figurative Expressions in Qur'an

from our article Can the dead hear?

Allah uses the attribute of Karim for himself. [Yusufali 27:40]...... truly my Lord is Free of all Needs, Supreme in Honour !" Yet Allah in this same Qur'an also says about his Rasool [saww]: [Yusufali 69:40] That this is verily the word of an honoured messenger;

Indeed Karim (honoured), when attributed to Allah then it is in it's literal meaning, and when attributed to Rasool Allah [saww] then it is in it's figurative/ allegorical meaning. Or do you believe that Allah is himself committing shirk by attributing his characteristic to others than him? Qawi is an attribute of Allah, yet the Qur'an testifies that Rasool Allah [saww] is also Qawi. Allah says about himself in Qur'an:

[Yusufali 22:74] .......... for Allah is He Who is strong and able to Carry out His Will. And at the same time Qur'an says about Rasool Allah [saww]:

[Yusufali 81:20] Endued with Power, with rank before the Lord of the Throne, Is Allah committing here shirk by attributing his Characteristic to Rasool Allah [saww]? In fact, there are several times that Allah is be-stowing a mark of honour on his Prophets [as] by attributing some of his Characteristics for them in Qur'an. For example:

Alim (Knowing): An attribute of Allah, yet Ismail [as] is also remembered as Alim. Halim (Forbearing): An attribute of Allah, yet Ibrahim and Ismail [as] are remembered as Halim Shakur (Thankful): An attribute of Allah, yet Nuh [as] is also remembered as Shakur.

Barr (Devoted): An attribute of Allah, yet Isa and Yahya [as] are remembered as Barr and many more...

Conclusion:

The same Attributes of Allah have been used By Allah for His servants too. But it doesn't mean that these servants of Allah have become Shareholders of these Attributes with Allah. They are not the owner, but only given a part of it by Allah out of his bounty and mercy. The Salafi cannot simply deny these established proofs from Quran and Sunnah by using their Conjecture (Qiyyas) only.

When we say Allah is Karim, then it is in Absolute/Real sense. And when we say that Rasool Allah [saww] is Karim then it is not in Absolute and Real sense, but we have to do Taweel (Elucidation) that this expression has been used here in figurative/ allegorical sense.

And if the Salafi are still not ready to accept that there is Majaaz in Quran which needs Taweel, then they surely make all the Muslims Mushrik, along with Allah and his beloved Rasool [saww].

Difference between Special and Common Attributes of Allah (swt) In order to understand what is Tawheed and what is Shirk, it is very important to understand the difference between Special and Common Attributes of Allah (swt).

Special attributes are those, which Allah (swt) has only reserved for Himself. For example "Worship" is reserved for Allah only (for Signs of Allah i.e. Sha'ir Allah, there is only reverence, but no worship). Making Shariah is only a work of Allah and no one can make even a small law at his own. Whole of Surah Ikhlas is full of these special attributes of Allah (swt):

[Yusufali 112:1] Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;

[Yusufali 112:2] Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

[Yusufali 112:3] He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

[Yusufali 112:4] And there is none like unto Him.

But it is not worshipping Rasool Allah (saww) to say that he is karim

And it is not worshipping Rasool Allah (saww) to say that he enrich us through his grace (Fadhl)

And it is not worshipping Rasool Allah (saww) to say that he is our Wali

And it is not worshipping Rasool Allah (saww) to say that he benefit us through his intercession

And it is not worshipping Rasool Allah (saww) to say that he helps us by the permission of Allah (swt)..If Salafi don't differentiate between these Special and Common type of attributes, then surely they are going to make all of us Mushrikeen along with Allah and his beloved Rasool (saww).

Salafiyya vs. Jahmiyya

The highly praised Alim of Salafi "Abu Muntasir" writes in his famous booklet "Understanding the Evils of Innovations": "The Jahmiyya were a group of people, who denied the attributes of Allah using logic and argumentation, because they thought that would make Allaah similar to a man!"

But when we look at the behaviour of present day Salafi, it seems that: "The present day Salafiyya are a group of people, who deny the attributes of Rasool Allah [saww], because they think that would make Rasool Allah [saww] similar to Allah!"

And Allah knows the best.