Tafwid

For other uses, see Tafwid (disambiguation).

Tafwid is a religious word used by Muslim scholars in Islamic belief. It means leaving the knowledge of how something is to Allah.

In Islamic belief, tafwid means that the meaning of Allah’s attributes is known, but how they are is unknown. The how is left to Allah alone.^[1]

This idea became an important topic in Islamic belief discussions from the 4th century AH, especially when scholars spoke about Allah’s attributes.^[2]

Early Muslim scholars used tafwid to avoid comparing Allah to His creation. They believed that Allah is not like anything else, so people must not try to imagine how His attributes are.

Early scholars such as Ibn al-Majishun and Ahmad ibn Hanbal used tafwīḍ only for the how, not for the meaning. The attribute is affirmed as Allah described it, without asking how it is.

Tafwid according to Sunnis

For Sunnis, tafwid means:

• The meaning of Allah’s attributes is known
• The how of the attribute is unknown
• The how is left to Allah
• They do not change the meaning of the words.
• They believe in the attribute as it appears, but do not ask how it works.

A famous example is the saying of Imam Malik ibn Anas when he was asked about Allah’s rising over the Throne:

• “The rising is known,
• the how is not known,
• believing in it is required,

• and asking about it is an innovation.”^[3]

This means:

• People know what the word means
• But they do not know how it is
• And they do not try to imagine it

Explanation by Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn Taymiyyah explained that asking how Allah’s attributes work is wrong:

• He said asking “How does Allah rise?” is like asking:
• How does Allah hear?
• How does Allah see?
• How does Allah know?
• How does Allah create?
• He explained that Muslims:
• Know the meanings
• Do not know the how
• Leave the how to Allah

He said the early scholars all agreed on this way.^[4]

Rationale for Sunni view on tafwid

Sunnis say that Allah sent the Qur’an so people can understand it and think about its meanings. If meanings were unknown, people could not understand the Qur’an or think about it properly.^[5]

So:

• Meanings are understood
• The how is unknown
• The how is left to Allah