Overview of Ar-Razi’s Structure in Asas al-Taqdis
Ar-Razi divides his book Asas al-Taqdis into sections:
- Proofs that Allah is far above being a body or located in a place.
- Interpretation of ambiguous texts (mutashabihat).
- Presentation of the views of the Salaf.
First Section: Proofs Denying Corporeality and Spatiality for Allah
Introductory Chapter
Ar-Razi begins by laying out three key preliminary points before presenting his arguments:
- There exists a being that cannot be pointed to by sense perception.
- Not every existent must have a likeness or equal.
- Those who say Allah is a body differ greatly in what they mean.
(See Asas al-Taqdis, pp. 15, 26)
Clarification of Terminology
He affirms that what is meant by “not being pointed to” or “not being in a place or direction” is one idea: Allah’s existence is not defined by spatial boundaries or directions.
Use of “Six Directions”
Ar-Razi refers to “the six directions of the universe” but critiques this phrase himself, explaining that only animals, including humans, have six directions (front, back, right, left, above, below). The universe itself does not.
Response by Ibn Taymiyyah
The Error of Assuming All Existence Is Spatial
Ibn Taymiyyah comments that it is not proven by reason or revelation that every being must occupy one of six directions. Many wrongly assume this without proof. A spherical body, for example, does not have six directions it only has an outer and inner side.
Flawed Assumption about Dual Existence
He challenges the claim that if two beings exist, one must be within or spatially separate from the other. This view is not supported by the aql or philosophy.
Origins of the Denial of Allah’s Direction and Place
Ibn Taymiyyah attributes the origin of this doctrine to Jahm ibn Safwan (d. 128 AH), a major leader of the Jahmiyyah. Jahm taught that Allah has no names or attributes, and denied any spatial relationship to creation. He was executed in Marw for his heresies.
Jahm Bin Safwan Is A Kaffir
Imam At-Tabari, ʿAbd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, and Abu Hasan al-Ashʿari, report that the the majority of the scholars considered Jahm bin Safwan to be a kaffir.
The View of the Salaf and Mainstream Scholars
The Salaf and the people of hadith considered the idea that Allah is neither within the universe nor outside it in a spatial sense to be heretical. According to them, this view negates Allah’s existence altogether.
They affirmed that it is part of natural, created human knowledge to know that two existents must either be in contact or separation not beyond these spatial modes. This understanding is shared across religious traditions Muslims, Jews, Christians, and even polytheists.
Conclusion: Rational and Scriptural Rejection of Jahmiyyah Theology
Ibn Taymiyyah concludes that the belief promoted by Jahm and adopted by ar-Razi and his followers contradicts both reason and revelation. It represents a denial of Allah under the guise of theological sophistication. Human nature itself recognises its falsehood
Ar-Razi said: I arranged the book into four sections.
The four sections are:
- The first section is about the proofs showing that Allah is far above being a body or being in a place.
- The second section is about interpreting the ambiguous reports and verses.
- The third section is about presenting the position of the Salaf.
- The fourth section is about completing the discussion on this topic. (See Asas al-Taqdis, p. 11)
The first section is about the proofs showing that He, Most High, is far above being a body or being in a place.
The first chapter: On explaining the points that must be mentioned before getting into the actual proofs. They are three.
The three points, as listed in the order in Asas al-Taqdis, are:
- Proving that a being exists that cannot be pointed to by sense perception.
- That not every existent must have a likeness or equal.
- That those who claim Allah is a body differ greatly in what they mean. (See Asas al-Taqdis, pp. 15, 26)
The first point: Know that we claim that there exists a being that cannot be pointed to by sense perception like saying: “It is here” or “It is there.” Or we can say: We claim that there is a being that is not limited to any place or direction. Or we say: We claim that there is a being that is neither within the universe nor separate from it in a spatial sense. These phrasings vary, but what is meant by all of them is one and the same.
Ar Razi said: “From the six directions of the universe.” One might object to this phrase, as he himself explained in this book and elsewhere, because the universe does not have six directions. It only has above and below. It is animals like humans and other creatures that have six directions: front, back, above, below, right, and left. If he had just said “the six directions” and left it there, that would be more accurate, because the six directions are for living creatures like humans.
Or if he had said “the six directions that apply to animals,” that would be clearer. But his point is still understood, which is to state his view and the view of those who agree with him among the deniers who are the Jahmiyyah according to the Salaf and the people of hadith and their followers. The first person to openly preach this idea which goes against Islam and call others to it and push people to follow it was al-Jahm.
Al-Jahm ibn Safwan Abu Muhriz as-Samarqandi ar-Rasibi was a freedman of Banu Rasib. He was a misguided innovator and the head of the Jahmiyyah. His name appears frequently in history books and in writings about sects. Al-Tabari said: “He was the scribe of al-Harith ibn Surayj, who rebelled in Khurasan at the end of the Umayyad period.” Al-Jahm was a pure fatalist. His heresy became known in the region of Tirmidh.
He was a student of al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, and his creed was to deny Allah’s attributes and names. He was killed by Salm ibn Ahwaz in Marw at the end of the Umayyad era, in the year 128 AH. ʿAbd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi said in al-Farq bayna al-Firaq: “All the groups of the Ummah agreed that he was a disbeliever.”
(See: al-Maqalat by al-Ashʿari 1/224, al-Milal wa an-Nihal 1/86, al-Farq bayna al-Firaq, p. 119–200, Tarikh al-Umam wa al-Muluk by al-Tabari 9/69, Dar al-Fikr, 1399 AH / 1979 CE, and also Mizan al-Iʿtidal 2/142.)
He (ar-Razi) said: We are claiming the existence of a being who is neither inside the universe nor spatially separate from it.
Then he said: Some of our opponents claim that denying this is something everyone knows naturally. They say it is obvious that if there are two beings, then either one of them must be inside the other, or separate from it in a spatial way taking up one of the six directions that surround it.
And they say: To affirm two existents outside of these seven possibilities (inside it, or separate in one of six directions) is impossible by the very nature of the mind.
Shayk Al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says: What these opponents are really claiming is that for any two beings, one of them must either be inside the other or separate from it. And that means one must be spatially attached to the other. But they don’t necessarily have to say that it must be in one of the six surrounding directions.
Because it’s not something we know or can prove by reason or scripture that every existent must have six directions. Rather, many people assume this without any proof. In fact, it is well known through both reason and revelation that the universe does not have six directions only above and below.
And clearly, we all know that a round object can exist, and such a body doesn’t have six directions. It only has its upper part (the outside) and its lower part (the centre). So, if another being exists along with this round body, no one in their right mind would say it must be located in one of six directions surrounding it because it doesn’t even have six directions to begin with. Rather, it has just one surrounding direction. So the thing that is separate from it can only be in that one direction not in six.
Therefore, those people who say that to affirm the existence of two beings without either one being within the other or separate from it is absurd they are saying something that goes against our natural sense. They are claiming that any two beings must either be completely mixed or entirely separate in a spatial sense.
Whether that separation is in one direction or six doesn’t matter. But saying that two beings exist and are neither inside one another nor spatially apart from each other is something they believe is impossible and naturally false. That is the view of the scholars of Islam and the people of knowledge in general. They have made this clear in many places.
(See, for example: Majmuʿ al-Fatawa 5/269, Darʾ Taʿarud al-ʿAql wa an-Naql 1/253, 289, ar-Risalah at-Tadmuriyyah within Majmuʿ al-Fatawa 3/37–49, al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyyah al-Kubra, pp. 49–56.)
And they said that this denial first made public by al-Jahm is something that human nature, as created by Allah, knows to be wrong, impossible, and self-contradictory. For it affirms the existence of Allah but describes Him in a way that would mean He does not exist. This is the view of nearly everyone with a sound nature, from all types of people: Muslims, Jews, Christians, polytheists, and others.
Bayan Talbis Al Jahmiyyah (1/25-30)
