Ar-Razi argued that if Allah had limbs like a hand, eye, or foot, He would need them to act, see, or walk. This, he claimed, contradicts Allah’s name As-Ṣamad, which means being absolutely free of need.
Ibn Taymiyyah’s Response Simplified — Full Response Below The Scan
Ibn Taymiyyah responded by first pointing out that affirming an attribute like “hand” for Allah does not imply that Allah needs it in the way humans do. He explained that Allah is capable of creating with His hand and without it. The revealed texts clearly mention that Allah created some things with His hand, such as Adam, and other things without it. This proves that the use of the hand is not out of need, but by choice and will. Ibn Taymiyyah noted that even among humans, acting with one’s own hand is more independent than acting with a tool or another person’s help, so applying this claim of “need” to the Creator is even more inappropriate.
Ibn Taymiyyah mentions that Ar-Razi misapplyied the meaning of As-Ṣamad. He says that As-Ṣamad refers to Allah being free from need of His creation, not free from His own attributes or essence. To argue that Allah cannot have attributes like a hand because it would contradict al-Ṣamad is to misunderstand the name. Allah’s attributes are not separate from Him or added to Him from the outside; they are part of His very being. So affirming them does not imply need in any sense.
Comparison with the Argument of the Jahmiyyah
Ar-Razi’s logic here is no different from that of the Jahmiyyah, who denied all of Allah’s attributes. They argued that if Allah had knowledge or power or speech, He would need those qualities, and so He must be without them to be self-sufficient. Ibn Taymiyyah says that if it is accepted that Allah is knowing and powerful and living, and these attributes do not imply need or dependency, then by the same logic, the attribute of hand does not imply need either. If the Jahmiyyah are wrong for denying knowledge and power, then Ar-Razi is also wrong for denying the hand.
False Analogy Between Creator and Creation
This entire line of argument relies on comparing the Creator to creation. In creation, limbs imply need, because created beings are dependent on parts and organs. But Allah is not like creation. His action through a hand, as revealed in the texts, is not to be understood as dependent or material. He acts in the way that befits His majesty and uniqueness. Affirming the attribute does not mean affirming human-like limitation.
Created Beings Also Called Self-Sufficient
To expose Ar-Razi’s inconsistency, Ibn Taymiyyah says that even some created beings can be described as ṣamad or ghaniyy (rich and self-sufficient) despite having limbs and body parts. If that language does not contradict their attributes, then it is even more unjustified to claim that these names contradict the affirmed attributes of the Creator, especially when those attributes have been clearly stated in the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah.
Translation: Ar-Razi said: If He were composed of limbs and body parts, He would need the eye in order to see, the hand in order to act, and the foot in order to walk—and that contradicts His being absolutely ṣamad (self-sufficient). (Asas al-Taqdis, p. 33)
I say: This argument could have been used regarding the name of Allah itself, just as it was used in reference to the name al-Samad, because its meaning involves using His names as proof of His being free of need, and thus negating these attributes (of limbs). But since it is of the same kind as the previous argument, he only used it here regarding the name al-Samad, due to how clearly it shows self-sufficiency.
We have already explained that the wording “limbs” and “body parts” is not something the affirmers of attributes use. So the substance of his argument is that if Allah created Adam with His hand, and wrote the Torah with His hand, and created Paradise with His hand, then He would be in need of a hand in order to act—and that contradicts His being al-Samad. But this has been affirmed in the Quran and the sound Sunnah agreed upon by the ummah and received with acceptance.
This issue may be addressed from several angles:
First: The affirmation of such attributes by textual evidence does not imply that Allah is in need of them. Allah, the Exalted, is able to create by His hands, and He is also able to create without His hands. And remnants of knowledge (atharah) have come to us showing that He created some things with His hands and others without.
Al-Darimi also said: Musa ibn Ismail narrated to us, from Abd al-Wahid ibn Ziyad, from Ubayd ibn Mihran (known as al-Maktab), from Mujahid, that Abdullah ibn Umar said: “Allah created four things with His hand: the Throne, the Pen, Paradise, and Adam. Then He said to the rest of creation: ‘Be!’ and it was.”
Maysarah said: “Allah did not touch anything from His creation except three: He created Adam with His hand, wrote the Torah with His hand, and planted Paradise with His hand.”
Ka’b Al Abhar, who said: “Allah did not create anything with His hand except three: He created Adam with His hand, wrote the Torah with His hand, and planted Paradise with His hand. Then He said to it: ‘Speak.’ It said: ‘The believers have succeeded.’”
It has been confirmed in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim, in the hadith of intercession, that it will be said to Musa: “You are Musa, whom Allah spoke to and for whom He wrote the tablets with His hand.” In another version: “and He wrote the Torah for you with His hand.” (Sahih Muslim, 1/176, hadith 312)
And in Sahih Muslim: “He planted the honour of His allies in Paradise with His hand.” (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-iman, hadith 312)
As for actions with the hand other than creation, it has been confirmed in the Quran and Sunnah that He will grasp the earth and the heavens, as in the famous authentic reports in Sahihayn and others, like: “Allah will fold the heavens on the Day of Resurrection, then take them in His right hand and say: ‘I am the King! Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant?’ Then He will fold the earth in His other hand.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Riqaq, 7/194; Kitab al-Tawhid, 8/166; Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Munafiqin, hadith 24)
And in another version: “He will grasp the earth like one of you grasps his bread during a journey and flip it, and it will be a meal for the people of Paradise.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Riqaq 44, 7/194; Sahih Muslim, Munafiqin 30, 4/2151)
This is like His writing in the Preserved Tablet and other records what He has decreed for creation. He said: “Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heavens and the earth? Indeed, all that is in a Book. That is easy for Allah” (al-Hajj: 70). And He said: “No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a Book before We bring it into being. Indeed that is easy for Allah, so that you may not grieve over what has escaped you nor exult over what He has given you” (al-Hadid: 22–23).
Yet His writing of all that does not mean He needs the book—books are written out of fear of forgetting or error. And the book is something separate from Him, so His creating something with His hand is even less reason to say He needs it.
Second: One may say: He, the Exalted, is the Rich, the Samad, the Powerful. He created what He created in the heavens, the earth, this world, and the next, through the causes He created, making some of creation a cause for other creation. As He said: “It is He who sends the winds as glad tidings before His mercy. Then, when they carry a heavy cloud, We drive it to a dead land and send down rain from it, bringing forth all kinds of fruits” (al-A’raf: 57), and: “And He sends down rain from the sky, bringing the earth to life after its death, and dispersing in it all kinds of creatures” (al-Baqarah: 164), and: “And We sent down from the sky blessed water, bringing forth gardens and grain for harvest” (Qaf: 9), and: “He brings forth for you crops, olives, palms, grapes, and every type of fruit” (al-Nahl: 11), and: “We bring forth with it gardens of beauty” (al-Naml: 60).
So if His creating some things through others does not imply need for them, and does not contradict His being Samad, then how can His creating Adam with His hand and grasping the earth and heavens with His hand mean that He needs others? It is clear that acting with one’s own hand is less dependent on others than acting through tools or intermediaries.
Third: This argument is the same type as the pure Jahmi argument used to reject attributes. For their claim is: If He had knowledge, power, life, and speech, He would need these in order to know, act, and speak—just as this one says: If He had a hand, He would need it to act, and that would contradict Him being Samad. The response to them is the same as the response to this. Especially since it has already been shown that He is able to create both with and without a hand. It is not allowed to say: He knows without knowledge or is powerful without power. If affirming attributes implied need, then such need would be stronger in those attributes. If it does not imply need, then the argument falls apart.
Fourth: The Samad, the Rich, is the one free from dependence on His creations and products. It is invalid to say He is free from His own Self or Essence—as already discussed. And His attributes are not something outside His Essence. So His having attributes and acting through them is like His Essence and acting through it.
We already discussed that these are vague words—like “need” (iftiqar) and “part.” This is like saying: “He exists by Himself,” “He is necessarily existent in Himself,” “He acts by Himself,” and similar expressions. (See Sharh al-Aqidah al-Asbahaniyyah, pp. 20–21: “If it is said: the necessary existent does not need anything else, we say: does this mean He does not need something that can be separate from Him, or even something that cannot? The first is true. As for the second, it is false. And the use of the word ‘need’ in this way is not well known in language or reason…”)
Fifth: If a created being can be rightly described as rich and samad, even with the attributes it has, and such naming is not contradicted by those attributes—then how can it be claimed that naming the Creator with these names contradicts His attributes?!
Bayan Talbis Al Jahmiyyah (3/219-236)
