Bu sifatlar Muqaddas Qur'onda xuddi ilohiy birlik [wahdaniyya] va azaliy mavjudlik [qidam] kabi boshqa sifatlar singari zikr qilingan. Musulmonlar orasida Allohning Bir, Azaliy, Tirik, Qodir ekani, Eshituvchi, Ko'ruvchi, So'zlovchi, Biluvchi va irodasini amalga oshiruvchi ekani borasida hech qanday farq bo'lmagan.
These attributes have been mentioned in the Noble Qur’ān just as other attributes like divine Unity [wahdaniyya] and Eternal Pre-existence [qidam] have been mentioned. There was no difference between the Muslims that Allah is One, Eternal, Living, Able and that He Hears, Sees, Speaks, Knowing and excersing Divine Will.
Faylasuflar kelib, falsafa fikrlari musulmonlar orasiga kirib borgach, mutakallimlar o'rtasida Alloh sifatlari haqida ixtiloflar paydo bo'ldi. Shunda Mu'tazila dedi: Allohning Zoti va Uning sifatlari bir narsadir. Shunday ekan, Alloh Zoti bilan Tirik, Biluvchi va Qodir. U Zotidan tashqari ilmga, qudratga, hayotga ega emas. Chunki agar Alloh Zotidan tashqari bir ilm bilan Biluvchi, Zotidan tashqari bir hayot bilan Tirik bo'lganida, insonlarda bo'lgani kabi, bu zarurat bilan sifat va sifatlanuvchi, tashuvchi va tashilgan narsa bo'lishini talab qilar edi. Bu esa jismlarning holatidir. Alloh esa bunday jismoniy antropomorfizmdan (jismiyya) poktir. Agar sifat o'z-o'zicha mavjud, deb desak, Azaliy va Qadim Zot bir nechta bo'lib qolar edi, ya'ni bir nechta xudo bo'lardi.
Ahli sunna esa dedi: Allohning Zotida mavjud bo'lgan azaliy sifatlari bor. Ular Uning Zotidan ham, Undan boshqadan ham emas (la huva va la g'ayruhu). Uning sifatlarga ega ekanligi esa, Uning Biluvchi, Tirik, Qodir va boshqa ekanligi isbotlangani uchundir. Ma'lumki, ilm, hayot, qudrat va boshqalar, Vojib al-vujud tushunchasiga nisbatan tashqi ma'noni anglatadi. Barcha so'zlar ma'no jihatidan sinonim emas. Mu'tazila aytgandek, Uning ilmsiz Biluvchi, qudratsiz Qodir bo'lishi mumkin emas. Bu aniq ravishda mumkin emas va bu bizning biror narsani qorasiz qora deyishimizga o'xshaydi.
Matnlar Uning ilmi, qudrati va boshqa sifatlari uchun dalil keltirgan. Aniq va mukammal amallarning sodir bo'lishi Uning ilmi va qudratining mavjudligini bildiradi, faqat "biluvchi" va "qudratli" degan nomlanishning o'zi emas. Uning abadiyligi sifatiga kelsak, bu yangi mavjudotlarning Uning Zotida mavjud bo'lishining imkonsizligi tufaylidir. Chunki, yangi bir mavjudotning Ezgu va Azaliy Zotda (al-Qadim al-Azali) paydo bo'lishi tasavvur qilib bo'lmaydigan narsadir. Sifatlarning Uning Zotida mavjud bo'lishiga kelsak, bu mavjudlik uchun zarur bo'lgan narsalardandir. Chunki biror narsaning sifatini tavsiflashning ma'nosi yo'q, agar sifat o'sha narsada mavjud bo'lmasa.
Sifatlarning "Uning o'zi ham emas, Undan boshqa ham emas" ekanligiga kelsak. Allohning sifatlari Zotning o'zi emas. Chunki aql tavsif qilingan narsadan boshqa bo'lgan tavsifni taqozo qiladi. Bu Zotdan tashqari bo'lgan ma'nodir. Chunki u Allohning sifati bo'lib, Allohdan boshqa emas. U narsa, mohiyat yoki javhar emas, balki faqat Zotning tavsifidir. U Allohning Zoti bo'lmasa-da, Allohdan boshqa emas. Balki u Allohning sifatidir.
Mu'tazilaning qarashiga kelsak: agar har bir sifat o'z-o'zicha mavjud qilinganida, bir nechta Azaliy Mavjudot bo'lar edi. Bu sifat mohiyat bo'lganida shunday bo'lar edi. Lekin u Zotning tavsifi bo'lganida, Zotning bunday sifat bilan tavsiflanishi mohiyatlarning ko'pligini taqozo qilmaydi. Balki bir Zotning bir nechta tavsifi bo'lishini taqozo qiladi. Bu Allohning yagonaligini (wahdaniyyah) inkor etmaydi va xudolarning ko'pligini anglatmaydi.
Shu tariqa Ahl as-Sunna aql bilan isbotladiki, Allohning Zotidan boshqa, lekin Undan ajralmagan sifatlari bor. Chunki tavsif tavsif qilingan narsadan boshqa, lekin tavsif qilingan narsadan ajralmagandir. So'ngra ular bu abadiy sifatlarning har birining ma'nosini izohladilar. Shunday qilib, ular ilm sifati bilishni ko'rsatuvchi, unga aloqador bo'lgan ma'lum narsalarni ochib beruvchi abadiy sifat ekanini, qudrat sifati esa hukm qilingan narsalarga ta'sir qiluvchi abadiy sifat ekanini aytdilar. Va Hayot — sihhat (salomatlik) ni taqozo qiluvchi abadiy sifatdir. Va Qudrat — kuchdir. Sam' (eshitish) — eshitiladigan narsalarga taalluqli abadiy sifatdir. Basar (ko'rish) — ko'riladigan narsalarga taalluqli abadiy sifatdir. Shular orqali U to'liq idrok etadi, bu tasavvur, xayol yoki his-tuyg'uning ta'siri bilan yoki xohish-istak bilan bo'ladigan idrok emas. Iroda (xohlash) va Mashiyat (irodaga o'xshash) ikkalasi ham hayot sifatining ifodasi bo'lib, hukm qilingan narsalardan biri aniq bir paytda sodir bo'lishini taqozo qiladi, garchi ularning barchasi ustidan qudrat bir xil bo'lsa ham. Kalom sifati — Qur'on deb ataladigan nazm orqali ifodalanadigan abadiy sifatdir. Alloh harflar bilan so'zlaydi; bu Uning abadiy sifatlaridan biri bo'lib, harflar va tovushlar turiga kirmaydi. Bu sifat sukut va nuqsonga qarama-qarshi sifatdir. Alloh shu sifat bilan so'zlaydi. Shu sifat bilan U buyuradi, qaytaradi, xabar beradi; buyurgan, qaytargan va xabar bergan kishi esa o'zida ma'no ifodalaydi.
When the philosophers came and the thoughts of philosophy infiltrated the Muslims, The differences between the scholastics [Mutakallimūn] about the attributes of Allah crept in. So, the Mu'tazila said: The Essence [dhat] of Allah and His attributes are the same thing. Thus, Allah is Living, Knowledgable and Able/Powerful in His Essence. He does not have Knowledge, Power, Life external to His Essence. Because, if Allah was Knowldgable due to a knowledge external to His Essence, and Living due to life that is external to His Essence as is the case with human beings. Then, this inevitably necessiates that there is a description [sifa] and one that is described [mawsuf], a carrier [hamil] and the carried [mahmul], and this is the state/condition of (corporeal) objects/bodies. And Allah is free of all such corporealist anthroporphomism [jasmiyya]. If we say the attribute exists by itself then there will be more than one Eternal Pre Existent Being, in other words there will be more than one god. The Ahl al-Sunnah said: 'Allah has eternal attributes which exist in His Essence. They (the attributes) are: neither He but not other than He' (la huwa wala ghairuhu). As for Him having attributes, this is due to the fact that it has been proven that He is knowledgable, living, able etc. It is known that knowledge, life and power etc in their entriety, indicate an external meaning to the concept of Absolute Being [Wajib al-wujud]. Not all the words are synonymous in meaning. It cannot be as the Mu'tazila say that He is knowledgable without knowledge and Able [qadir] without power etc. This is obviously impossible, and it is similar to us saying that a thing is black without any blackness.The texts have stated the evidence for His Knowledge, Ability etc. The issuance of exact and precise actions indicate the presence of His Knowledge and Power and not just a mere designation of knowledgable and powerful. As for His attribute being eternal, this is due to the impossibility of new entites existing in His Essence. Since, it is inconceivable that a new entity would exist in the Pre-Existent and Eternal Being [al-Qadim al-Azali]. As for the attributes existing in His Essence, that is because it is from the neccesary things required for existence. Because there is no meaning to describing the attribute of a thing except if it (the attribute) exists in the thing. As for the attributes being 'neither He or other than He'. The attributes of Allah are not the Essence itself. Because the mind dictates that the description/attribute is other than the thing described. It is a meaning external to the Essence. Because it is an attribute of Allah and not other than Allah . It is not a thing, essence or substance but only a description of the Essence. Though it is not the Essence of Allah , it is not other than Allah . Rather it is an attribute of Allah. As for the view of the Mu'tazila; if every attribute was made to exist by itself then there would be more than one Pre-existent Being. This would have been the case if the attribute was an Essence. As for when it is a description of the Essence, the description of the Essence by such an attribute does not necesitate that there is a plurality of essences. Rather it necesitates that there are more than one description of the One Essence. That does not negate Allah's Oneness [wahdaniyyah] or mean the plurality of gods. In this manner the Ahl al-Sunnah proved rationally that Allah has attributes which are other than His Essence but not other than He , because the description is other than the thing described but not detached from the thing described. Then they explained the meaning of each of these eternal attributes. Thus, they said the attribute of Knowledge is the eternal attribute which reveals the known things that relates to it and the attribute of Ability is an eternal attribute which effects the things decreed. And Life is an eternal attribute which necesitates the health [sihhat] of the living. And Ability is power. And Sam' (hearing) is an eternal attribute that relates to things that are heard. And seeing/sight is an eternal attribute relating to the seen things. Through them he has a complete understanding, not one that is by way of imagination or delusion or by way of being effected by sensation or arriving at a whim. The 'wish' (iradah) and 'will' (desire) are both expressions of the attribute of life that requires one of the decreed (matters) specifically occurs at one moment, though the qudrah (power) over all of them (decreed matters) is the same. The attribute of speech (kalam) is an eternal attribute which is expressed by the composition called the Qur’ān. Allah speaks with words; it is one of His eternal attributes and not of the category of letters and sounds. It is an attribute which is opposite to silence and aafah (deficiency). Allah speaks with this attribute. With this attribute He orders, forbids, informs; and anyone who orders, forbids and informs expresses a meaning in oneself.
Shu tarzda Ahli Sunna, Allohning abadiy sifatlarga ega ekanini isbotlagandan so'ng, sifatlarning ma'nolarini bayon qildi. Biroq Mu'tazila bu ma'nolarni Allohning sifatlariga nisbat berishni inkor etdi, chunki ular Allohning Zotidan tashqari sifatlarga ega ekanini rad etdilar. Ular dedilar: Allohning Qodir, Olim va barchani qamrab oluvchi ekani isbotlangan, Allohning Zoti va sifatlari o'zgarishga duchor bo'lmaydi, chunki o'zgarish yaratilgan narsalarning sifatidir, Alloh esa undan pokdir. Agar biror narsa ma'lum bir vaqtda mavjud bo'lib, undan oldin mavjud bo'lmagan bo'lsa, u mavjud bo'lganidan keyin yo'qoladi; Allohning Qudrati va Iroda shunga ta'sir qiladi. U oldin mavjud bo'lmagan narsani yaratdi va u mavjud bo'lganidan keyin uni yo'q qildi.
Shunda biz so'raymiz: Ilohiy va abadiy Qudrat qanday qilib yaratilgan narsaga taalluq qiladi va uni yaratadi, nega aynan shu paytda yaratdi, holbuki Allohning Qudratiga nisbatan bir payt boshqasidan afzal emas? Demak, oldin boshlanmagan narsani boshlash uchun Qudratning harakatga kelishi Qudratda o'zgarish hisoblanadi, holbuki Allohning o'zgarishga duchor bo'lmasligi isbotlangan, chunki U azaliy, qadim Zotdir. Xuddi shunday, Iroda haqida ham, Ilm sifati haqida ham shuni aytish mumkin. Ilm – ma'lum narsani o'zi qanday bo'lsa, shundayligicha ochib berishdir. Ma'lum narsa bir vaqtdan boshqasiga o'zgarishi mumkin: daraxtning bargi yiqilmagan bo'lsa, keyin yiqiladi (ya'ni u qotib turgan edi); nam narsa quruq bo'ladi; tirik narsa o'lik bo'ladi. Allohning ilmi shunday bir ilmdirki, unda narsa o'zi qanday bo'lsa, shundayligicha ochiladi. Demak, U narsa bo'lishidan oldin, u qanday bo'ladigan bo'lsa, o'shanday bilguvchidir. U narsa bo'lgan bo'lsa, qanday bo'lgan bo'lsa, o'shanday bilguvchidir. U narsa yo'q bo'lib ketgan bo'lsa, yo'q bo'lib ketganini ham bilguvchidir. Qanday qilib Allohning ‘ilmi mavjudotlarning o‘zgarishi bilan o‘zgarishi mumkin? Va haqiqatlarning o‘zgarishi bilan o‘zgaradigan ilm – hodis (yangi paydo bo‘lgan) ilmdir, Allohning ilmi esa hodis emas, chunki hodis bilan bog‘liq bo‘lgan narsaning o‘zi ham hodisdir.
Ahl as-sunna ularni rad etib shunday dedi: “Qudratning ikki bog‘lanishi bor: biri azaliy bo‘lib, unga maqdur (qudrat bilan amalga oshiriladigan narsa)ning haqiqiy mavjudligi bog‘liq emas; ikkinchisi hodis bog‘lanish bo‘lib, unga maqdurning haqiqiy mavjudligi bog‘liqdir. Shunday ekan, qudrat narsa bilan bog‘langanda uni vujudga keltiradi, qudrat esa narsaga bog‘lanmasdan oldin ham mavjud edi. Uning narsa bilan bog‘lanishi, ya’ni uni vujudga keltirishi qudratni hodis qilmaydi. Qudratning ilgari amal qilmagan narsaga keyin amal qilishi qudratning o‘zgarishi hisoblanmaydi. Shuning uchun qudrat doimo bir xil bo‘ladi; u faqat narsaga bog‘lanadi va shu bilan uni vujudga keltiradi. Demak, o‘zgaradigan narsa – taqdir qilingan (maqdur)dir, qudrat esa o‘zgarmaydi.”
In this manner the Ahl al-Sunnah explained what the attributes meant after proving that Allah has eternal attributes. However, the Mu'tazila denied that these meanings are for the attributes of Allah since they rejected that Allah has attributes external to His Essence. They said; It is proven that Allah is Able, Knowledgable and All-incompassing and that the Essence of Allah and His attributes are not effected by change, because change is the attribute of created things and Allah is free of that. If something is present at a specific point in time and did not exist before that point, then it will disappear after its existence, the Ability and Will of Allah has affected that. He created something which had not previously existed and He made it non existent after it had existed. We must ask how can Divine and Eternal Ability relate to a created thing, and thus create it, and why it created it at this moment, when no moment is preferable to another one to the Power of Allah . So for the Power (qudra) to initiate a thing which previously had not been initiated constitutes change in the Qudra, though it has been proven that Allah is not effected by change, for He is the Pre-Existent Being (al-qadeem al-azali). Similarly regarding the Will (iradah), the same can be said for the attribute of Knowledge ('Ilm). Knowledge is the revealing of the known matter (ma'lum) as it is. The known matter may change from one time to another, so the leaf of the tree falls after it was not falling (i.e It was fixed); the damp thing changes to dry, and the living becomes dead. The knowledge of Allah (‘ilmu Allah) is that by which the thing is revealed as it is, so He is knowedgable of the matter before it is as it would be. He is also knowledgable of the matter if it was that it was. He is also knowledgable of the matter if it became non-existent, that it became non-existent. So how can the Knowledge (‘ilm) of Allah change with the change of the existent things (al-mawjoodat)? And the knowledge that changes with change in realities is a recent knowledge, and Allah’s knowledge is not recent because what is linked to the recent is itself is recent. The Ahl as-sunnah refuted them saying: “The Qudra has two links, one of them is eternal (azali), upon which the actual existence of the decreed thing –pre-determined (magdoor) - does not depend; and the recent link, upon which the actual existence of the decreed thing (maqdoor) depends. So when the Qudra is related to the thing it brought it into existence and it (the Qudra) existed before it was related to the thing. Its relationship (linkage) to the thing by bringing it into existence does not make it recent. The Qudra’s exercise over the thing after it did not do such exercise is not considered a change in the qudra, so the qudrah is always the same, it only related to the thing, and thus brought it into existence. So the destined is what changes, as for the Qudra its does not change.
Ilmga kelsak, ilm bilan bog‘liq bo‘lgan har bir narsa haqiqatan ma’lumdir. Chunki ilmga ega bo‘lgan zot Allohning Zotidir, ma’lumlar esa narsalardir, va Zotning barcha narsalarga bo‘lgan munosabati bir xildir. Ilm Zot jihatidan o‘zgarmaydi, uning (narsaga) bo‘lgan munosabati esa o‘zgaruvchandir, bu esa joizdir. Allohga nisbatan mumkin bo‘lmagan narsa ilmning o‘zgarishi va qudra, ilm va shunga o‘xshash qadim sifatlarning o‘zlarining o‘zgarishidir. Ularning qadim bo‘lishi ularning bog‘lanishlari ham qadim ekanligini anglatmaydi. Demak, bular qadim sifatlardir va yaratilgan narsalarga bog‘langandir.
As for the knowledge (‘ilm), anything with which the knowledge (‘ilm) is related (linked) is actually known (ma’loom). For the one who is entitled to knowledge is the essence of Allah , while the knowns are the things and the relation of the essence to all things is the same. Knowledge does not change in regard to the essence, while its relation (to the thing) is that which changes, a matter which is allowed/possible. What is impossible (on the side of Allah) is the change of the knowledge and the pre-establishment (qadeem) attributes themselves, such as the qudra and knowledge and the like thereof, and it is not necessary that it being Qadeem (Eternal) means its links are old. So they are pre-existent (qadeem) attributes, and are linked to the created things.
Shunday qilib, Allohning sifatlari masalasida skolastik Mu'tazila bilan Ahl as-Sunna o'rtasidagi bahs-munozaralar avj oldi, xuddi qazo va qadar kabi boshqa masalalarda ham shunday bo'lgan. Ajablanarlisi shundaki, mutakallimlar qo'zg'agan ixtilof nuqtalari ilgari yunon faylasuflari qo'zg'agan nuqtalarning o'zidir. Shunday qilib, yunon faylasuflari Yaratguvchining sifatlari bilan bog'liq bu nuqtalarni tashlab qo'ygan edilar. Keyin Mu'tazila kelib, ularga javob berdi. Ammo bu javob Allohga bo'lgan e'tiqodlari doirasida va Tavhid (Allohning birligi) haqidagi qarashlari chegarasida edi. Ahl as-Sunna esa ularga qarshi chiqdi, yunon faylasuflariga ergashishlarini va ular tushungan spekulyativ taxminlar hamda mantiq masalalarini nazorat qilish uchun. Lekin ular Mu'tazila tushgan o'sha tuzoqqa o'zlari ham tushib qolishdi. Shu sababli ular ham xuddi o'sha pog'onada javob berdilar, ya'ni aql anglagan yoki anglamagan masalalarda, inson sezgan yoki sezmagan narsalarda aqlni munozara va dialektikaning asosi qilib oldilar. Ular o'z qarashlarini qo'llab-quvvatlash uchun Qur'on oyatlari va hadislarni keltirdilar. Ularning fikriga zid keladigan oyat va hadislarni esa ta'vil qildilar. Shunday qilib, Mu'tazila, Ahl as-Sunna va boshqa barcha mutakallimlar bir xil darajada turib qoldilar: aqlni asos qilib oldilar va Allohning oyatlarini o'z aqllari olib kelgan xulosalarni qo'llab-quvvatlash uchun yoki o'sha xulosalarga mos keladigan tarzda tushunish uchun ta'vil qildilar.
Thus, the polemics between the scholastic Mu'tazila on one side and the Ahl al-Sunnah on the other flared up regarding the attributes of Allah , just as it flared up in other issues such as qadā’ and qadār. What is strange is that the points of disagreement provoked by the Mutakallimūn, are the same points provoked by the Greek philosophers before. Thus, the Greek philosphers had instigated these points in relation to the attributes of the Creator. Then the Mu'tazila came and responded to them. But the response was within the limits of their belief in Allah and within the limits of their views on Tawheed (Oneness of Allah ). The Ahl al-Sunnah opposed them to control their following of the Greek philosophers and the specultive asumptions and issues of logic understood by them. But they fell in the same trap the Mu'tazila had fallen in. So they responded on the same echelon, which is that the mind was made a basis for discussion and dialectics in matters comprehended or not comprehended by it, and in matters sensed or not sensed by human beings. They quoted verses of the Qur’ān and ahadīth to support their views. And they explained away verses and hadīth which contradicted their opinions. Thus, all the Mutakallimūn from the Mu'tazila, Ahl al-Sunnah and others came to be on the same level in making the mind the basis and making the ayāt of Allah to support what their minds had lead to or interpret away so that they are understood according to what the mind of the one comprehending has lead to.
Ko‘rinishicha, mutakallimlarni bu yo‘lga – bu o‘rganishda – kirishga majbur qilgan ikki omil bor. Birinchisi, ular aql ta’rifini bilmaganlari. Ikkinchisi, Qur’onning haqiqatlarni anglashdagi usuli bilan faylasuflarning haqiqatlarni anglashdagi usulini farqlamaganlari. Aql ta’rifini bilmaslik masalasiga kelsak, bu ularning aql haqidagi o‘z ta’riflaridan ayon bo‘ladi. Ulardan rivoyat qilinishicha, ular shunday deb aytar edilar:
It appears that what led the Mutakallimūn to tread in this path in study are two factors; First, they did not know the definition of the mind. Second, they did not distuguish between the methodology of the Qur’ān in the comprehension of truths and the methodology of the philosophers in comprehending the truths. As for the issue of them not comprehending the definition of the mind, it is obvious from their own definition of ration. It has been reported about them that they used to say: