What does the image Allah (s.w.t) mean? Does Allah (s.w.t) have an image? These questions have been the hot debates in Ilm al-Kalam for a long time. The questions about the image of Allah (s.w.t) stems from a hadith. The text of the hadith is:
“Allah created Adam in His image, sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), “Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring.” Adam (went and) said, ‘As-Salamu Alaikum (Peace be upon you).’ They replied, ‘AsSalamu-‘Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah’s Mercy be on you), So they increased ‘Wa Rahmatullah’. The Prophet (s.a.w) added ‘So whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and picture of Adam Since then the creation of Adam’s (offspring) (i.e. stature of human beings is being diminished continuously) to the present time.”
Reference: Sahih Al Bukhari (6227)
Sahih Al Muslim (2841)
The same statement “God created Adam in His image” is also present in the bible (Book of Genesis 1:26).
The hadith mentioned above has been categorized as Saheeh by Shaykh Albaani (rh) and Imam Ahmad (rh). Some scholars like Ibn e Khuzymah mentioned it to be daeef, however, the knowledge of scholars who consider it Saheeh is more than Ibn e Khuzymah, and hence it is considered to be Saheeh.
A cursory reading of the hadith may get one thinking, “How can Allah (swt) have an image”? Qur’an says, ‘there is none like unto Him’ (Naas: 114:4). The Upanishads describe their conception of God as ‘Neti Neti’ (not this, not this). There has been a lot of debate on the meaning of this hadith in Islamic Tradition. One of the debates was if the pronoun ‘his’ in the hadith refers to Allah (swt) or Adam i.e. in the word Suratihi, to whom does it refer to, Allah (swt) or Adam?
Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) thinks that the pronoun refers to Allah (swt). Shaykh Albaani (rh) opines that the pronoun refers to Allah (swt). He supports this argument by another hadith from Abu Hurairah (ra), established from Ibn Abi Asim (rh), which states that Prophet (pbuh) said, “When anyone among you fights, let him avoid the face, for Allah swt created Adam in the image of his face”(islamqa). The hadith was classified as Saheeh by Shaykh Albaani (rh). Some scholars tried to associate the pronoun with Adam in a bid to prevent anthropomorphism (belief God can take human shape), however, it was dealt with seriously. It is said, Imam Ahmad (rh) was left red-faced due to anger when he heard some people have associated the pronoun to Adam.
The word Adam has not only to be taken for mankind but in a historical sense also, as in Adam (as). Since Adam (as) didn’t have any biological parents, the creation of Adam (as) in his image means the pronoun refers to Allah (swt) only. Had he had parents, the pronoun could have referred to the Adam (Human) i.e. Allah created Adam (a.s) in the image of Adam (Human) (for which he needed no previous image.)
Various scholars understand the image of Allah (swt) in different contexts. Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) says “Just as everything that exists must-have attributes that, so too everything that exists by itself must have a form or image. It is impossible for something that exists by itself not to have a form or image.”
Ibn Qutaybah (rh) states that, “Allah (swt) should have an image is no stranger than his having hands, fingers, eyes. Like those attributes, soorah (image) is also an attribute”.
Imam Tahawi (rh) states in Aqeedah al Tahwiyyah, “Allah (swt) is beyond having limits placed on him or being restricted, nor is he contained in six dimensions as we are”.
Imam Nasafi (rh) in Aqeedah al Nasafiyya states,” He is not the body (jism), nor atom (zarra), nor something formed of (murrakab), nor something limited nor a thing numbered, nor compounded. He is not in space and time”. As can be seen, Imam Tahawi describes Allah (swt) by negation, realizing not knowing is knowing actually. Thus, soorah is described as an attribute of Allah (swt).
However, Shaykh Ibn e Arabi (rh) understood this hadith in his understanding of Insaan E Kaamil. The term Insaan e Kaamil was used before in literature but he was the first to use it in a technical sense. Ibn E Arabi, in his book Fusoos al Hikam (Bezels of Wisdom), says the relation of man to the universe is like a jewel in a seal ring. By Jewel, King seals his treasure. Unless the seal is on the order, nothing can leave or enter his treasure.
Allah (swt) preserves his creation through man. He has made man as His vicegerent (deputy) [Qur’an 6:165] in the universe. A deputy is someone who represents someone in power and authority and this authority is delegated to him by the one whom he represents. Allah (swt) made Adam deputy on earth because man rules over the rest of creation with the authority delegated to him by Allah (swt). Thus, the attribute of the ruling which Allah (swt) has kept for himself is given to man on the earth. In this sense, Ibn Arabi (rh) understands man as the image of Allah (swt). The absolute authority to rule over the creation belongs to Allah (swt). Thus, man is very important in Ibn e Arabi’s (rh) cosmology. It’s because of the presence of man, the universe gets order and meaning.
Further, Allah (swt) describes Himself by the opposing attributes like Al- Zaahir (The Manifest) and Al- Baatin (The Hidden), Al- Raheem (The Merciful) and Al- Qahar (The Subduer). These attributes are manifested in man in a limited and contingent sense. Man has a Zaahir, the outward physical bodily manifestation, and a Baatin, the inward soul. Similarly, man has the element of mercy, which he manifests towards his children and an element of Ghazab due to which he carries out massacres. Ibn e Arabi (rh) says Satan didn’t have these opposing attributes in his Jamiet (amalgam). That is why He wasn’t made the Vicegerent (before he transgressed). Also, the only man was made the vicegerent, not any other creation, because man is on the top of the pyramid of attributes in creation. A snake can’t be expected to have mercy, for it eats its children, when hungry.
As man occupies a central position in Ibn e Arabi’s cosmology, man has a positive value in the universe. He is the deputy of Allah (swt). This creates an aura of positivity regarding the man. As compared to this, in Christianity man has a negative value. He is regarded as a person who has been thrown out of heaven, ridiculed for his original sin.
Ibn E Arabi (rh) continues to say, Allah (swt) has multiciplity of attributes but they remain undifferentiated. When a man is in the scene with all his contingent and limited attributes, the Attributes of Allah (swt) get differentiated. The man understands Allah (swt) in all His magnificence and grandeur, which no other creature does. When the man does Tasbeeh of his beloved Lord (swt), he does it with the highest understanding of the tasbeeh among all the creation of Allah (swt). Before the advent of the man in the universe, it is an unpolished mirror. After the man arrives in the universe, it gets meaning and the majesty of Allah (swt) is understood in full might. A tree doesn’t know what a tree, only man does, a mountain doesn’t know what a mountain is, only man does. In this sense, man is the image of Allah (swt), for he knows things which other creation doesn’t know.
The separation of creator and creation has been a central tenant of Islamic theology. The greatest challenge for the Islamic scholars was to understand the said hadith without any Tashbeeh (similitude) or Tajsim (incorporation) of anything to Allah (swt). This was accomplished by the incorporation of Greek Philosophy in Islamic theology. In the Aristotelian duality of matter and form, the form does not necessarily denote a sensible shape but that which establishes the identity of the substance. Thus for Humans, it is the reason which distinguishes it from animals. This idea of form is used to explain Soorah (Image) of Allah (swt) in terms of the attribute of Allah (swt) i.e. what defines HIM (swt), without Tashbeeh or Tajsim to any creation. In contrast with it, Christians believe in anthropomorphism, the decent of Allah (swt) in the human form of Jesus (a.s).
Imam Ghazali (rh) says it is the divine spirit that is in man that makes him qualified to be the vicegerent of Allah (swt) on earth. It is in this sense he understands Man as Image of Allah (swt) (Richter- Bernburg)
In the contemporary scenario, the hadith had led discussions on the Islamic concept of Human Rights. Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam in 1990 made the mentioned hadith a basis for forming the framework of the Islamic concept of human rights. Some scholars didn’t have a good going with the western concept of human rights. Ayatollah Khamenei said, “When we want to find out what is right and what is wrong we don’t go to UN but to holy Quran. Human rights declaration is nothing but a mumbo jumbo of the disciples of Satan”. (Mayer, Islam and Human Rights)
A Tunisian scholar Muhammad Talbi has worked in these dimensions. According to him, man has three-fold rights. He has the right to live weather he believes in Islam (is a muslim), disbelieves in Islam (is a non muslim), or becomes an apostate (murtad). It is because of the presence of divine rooh in every human, irrespective of the belief, every life is important. Whether an apostate should be punished or not is a matter of debate in Islam. Some scholars, who second death penalty, cite apostasy as equivalent to ‘High Treason’ in the modern nation-state. Some say it is non-punishable if there is no suspicion of civil disobedience in the state. Others contend the matter should be left to Allah (swt).
Man is undoubtedly the most important creation of Allah (swt).
The author works in the Telecom Department, Government of India. He has a masterS in sociology and pursuing masterS in political science. He can be mailed at [email protected]
