An Analysis of Implications and Consequences of Salafism for Semantics of Transmitted Attributes

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD student, Theological Schools, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Philosophy and Kalam, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

3 Assistant professor, Department of Islamic Schools (of Kalam), University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Since early centuries AH in the Islamic world, various interpretations were proposed for certain Quranic verses and the Prophet’s hadiths—attributes in these texts were later dubbed as “transmitted attributes” (al-ṣifāt al-khabariyya): attributes ascribed to God in religious texts, although it rationally seems impossible to ascribe them to Him in their literal meanings. Various accounts have been proposed of how they should be ascribed to God: anthropomorphism, interpretivism, and relegationism. In their analysis of such attributes, Salafis have adopted relegationism: ascription of the attributes to God, without interpreting them away. They do ascribe transmitted attributes to God in their literal meanings, although they acknowledge their failure to understand their quality. The Salafi semantics of transmitted attributes implies divesting God of His attributes, the denial of linguistic miracles of the Qur’an, and the impossibility of self-knowledge. This paper adopts an analytic-critical approach to consider the Salafi semantics of transmitted attributes. Their account contradicts the connotations and even apparent denotations of verses in which people are commanded to reflect and reason. Furthermore, the denial of the linguistic miracle of the Qur’an is not compatible with its eloquence.

Keywords

References

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