Imam Ibn Abī al ʿIzz says that interpreting “hand” as “power” is incorrect, because the Qur’an clearly uses the dual form in “لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ” “for what I created with My two hands” (Sad: 75).

If “hand” only meant power, then there would be no distinction, and Iblis could have claimed the same for himself.

He says the verse “what Our hands made” (Ya Sin: 71) uses the plural to match the plural pronoun and indicate greatness and ownership, not the same meaning as the dual form. This establishes that the wording is precise and cannot be reinterpreted away from its apparent meaning.

At the same time, he makes clear that these “ṣifāt” (attributes) are not described with terms like “ajzāʾ” (parts), “jawāriḥ” (limbs), or “aʿḍāʾ” (organs), because these words imply “inqisām” (division), “tarkīb” (composition), and need, all of which are impossible for Allah. These terms were not used in the “nass” (revealed texts), and they carry meanings that do not befit Him.

Imām al Dārimī also rejects the accusation that if we affirm the attributes, therefore we are affirming limbs or organs for Allah. He says that this is false. Those who affirm the attributes only affirm what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ intended, without imagining physical forms or likeness to creation. The accusation is presented as a tactic used to mislead people.

Shaykh al Barrāk then explains that the term “jāriḥah” (limb) is a “lafdh muḥdath” (newly introduced term). It is not found in the Qur’an or Sunnah, so it is neither affirmed nor denied in an absolute sense.

Ahl al Sunnah affirm the attributes such as the two hands and the two eyes as real, in a manner that befits Allah, without resemblance to creation.

He also points out that many who deny the term “jāriḥah” (limb) actually intend to deny the reality of the attributes. However, if someone uses the term only to reject resemblance to creation, then the meaning is correct, but the wording is flawed because it is unclear and can carry both correct and false meanings.

From this we understand that the attributes mentioned in revelation are affirmed as real and true in a manner that befits Allah, without reinterpretation, without likening them to creation, and without using newly introduced terms that carry incorrect or ambiguous meanings.

Full Quotes

Ibn Abi Al Izz said: It is not correct to interpret the one who said that what is meant by the hand is power. His saying, exalted,

لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ

“for what I created with My two hands” (Sad: 75), cannot be understood as “with My power” while the hand is mentioned in the dual form. If that were correct, then Iblis would have said, “I too was created by Your power, so he has no superiority over me in that.”

So Iblis, despite his disbelief, had more knowledge of his Lord than the Jahmiyyah.

There is no proof for them in His saying, exalted,

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا خَلَقْنَا لَهُمْ مِمَّا عَمِلَتْ أَيْدِينَا أَنْعَامًا فَهُمْ لَهَا مَالِكُونَ

“Do they not see that We created for them, from what Our hands made, cattle, so they are their owners” (Ya Sin: 71), because He used the plural “hands” when He attached it to the plural pronoun, so that the two plurals correspond. Both expressions indicate ownership and greatness.

He did not say “hands” attached to a singular pronoun, nor “two hands” attached to a plural pronoun. So His saying, “what Our hands made,” is not similar to His saying, “what I created with My two hands.”

And the Prophet ﷺ said about his Lord, the Mighty and Exalted:

“His veil is light. If He were to remove it, the radiance of His Face would burn whatever His sight reaches of His creation.”

Negating Terms Such as Limbs and Organs

However, these attributes are not described as limbs, organs, tools, or parts.

This is because a “part” is something that forms a portion of a thing’s essence, and Allah, exalted, is One, Self Sufficient, not divisible.

“Limbs” carry the meaning of division and separation, and Allah is far above that. From this meaning is His saying, exalted,

الَّذِينَ جَعَلُوا الْقُرْآنَ عِضِينَ

“those who made the Qur’an into parts” (Al Hijr: 91).

“Organs” carry the meaning of acquiring benefit and use. Likewise, “tools” are instruments by which benefit is obtained and harm is repelled.

All of these meanings are impossible for Allah, exalted. For this reason, none of these terms have been mentioned in describing Allah’s attributes.

So the revealed terms are correct in meaning and free from corrupt possibilities.

Sharḥ al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah by Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz pg 220

Refuting the False Claim Against the People Who Affirm the Attributes

Imam Ad Daarimi said: As for your accusation against those who affirm the attributes of Allah, those who believe in what Allah said, that they imagine limbs and organs in them, then you have made a claim against them that is false and baseless.

You are among the most knowledgeable of people regarding what they intend by these attributes. They only affirm from them what you deny and strip away. They do not imagine in them anything except what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ intended. They do not claim limbs or organs, as you have alleged against them.

Rather, you persist in attacking them with false accusations, so that your misguidance becomes more acceptable among the ignorant.

However, you became disturbed by the hadith of Ibn Masʿud about the Prophet ﷺ in the well known report. Yet there is no relief for you in the narrations of ʿAʾishah and Umm Salamah and others, which confirm the hadith of Ibn Masʿud and establish its authenticity.

Radd al-Imām al-Dārimī ʿalā Bishr al-Marīsī pg 61

Shaykh al-Barrāk حفظه الله said:

قال الشيخ البراك: لفظ الجارحة في صفات الله تعالى لفظ محدث؛ فلم يرد في الكتاب والسنة نفيه ولا إثباته، ولهذا أهل السنة يثبتون اليدين والعينين ونحوهما من الصفات لله تعالى، ويقولون: إن ذلك حقيقة، ولا تماثل صفات المخلوقين، ولا يقولون في هذه الصفات إنها ليست جارحة؛ لأنه لفظ محدث ومجمل، والغالب على من يقول عن هذه الصفات أنها ليست جارحة نفي حقائقها، ثم إما أن يثبت ألفاظها ويفوض معانيها، وإما أن يتأولها بخلاف ظاهرها كتأويل اليدين بالقدرة، والعينين بالرؤية، ومن أثبت هذه الصفات لله تعالى على حقيقتها اللائقة به سبحانه وقال: إنها ليست بجارحة، وأراد بالجارحة ما يماثل صفات المخلوقين فقد أصاب فيما أراد من النفي، ولكنه أخطأ في التعبير عن ذلك بلفظ محدث مجمل يحتمل حقاً وباطلاً

The term “limb” with regard to the attributes of Allah, exalted, is an introduced term. It has not come in the Book or the Sunnah, neither in affirmation nor in negation. For that reason, Ahl al Sunnah affirm the two hands, the two eyes, and similar attributes for Allah, exalted, and they say that this is real, while the attributes of the creation do not resemble His attributes.

They do not say regarding these attributes that they are “not limbs,” because this is an introduced and general term.

In most cases, the one who says about these attributes that they are “not limbs” intends by that to deny their real meanings.

Then he either affirms their wording while consigning their meanings, or he interprets them away from their apparent meaning, such as interpreting the two hands as power and the two eyes as sight.

Whoever affirms these attributes for Allah, exalted, upon their real meaning in a way that befits Him, and then says, “They are not limbs,” intending by “limbs” something that resembles the attributes of the creation, then he has reached the correct meaning in what he intended to negate.

However, he erred in expressing that through an introduced and general term that can carry both truth and falsehood.