Unit: Knowing Allah
Affirming without likening.
Allah has the most beautiful names (7:180), and the Prophet ﷺ said that there are ninety-nine names, whoever preserves them enters Paradise (Bukhari 2736, Muslim 2677). They include Ar-Rahman, Al-Hakim, Al-Latif, Al-Ghafur, Al-Basir and many others.
The common principle of Ahl as-Sunna is to believe in what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have said about Him, without denying the meaning, without likening Allah to creation, and without asking how. Allah says: "There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing" (42:11): an affirmation and a denial of resemblance in the same verse.
The schools differ on the way to understand some texts about attributes (for example, those that mention Allah's hand or rising over the Throne): the Athari approach leaves their modality to Allah, while the Ash'ari and Maturidi traditions also use figurative interpretation. All reject likening Allah to His creation. The mainstream Sunni schools of creed (Athari, Ash'ari, Maturidi) agree on these foundations and differ on some points of method and detail, which this lesson signals without settling. Study further with a qualified teacher.
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