Three Theological Treatises

And even if a man becomes a master in his own craft, he remains incapable of the subtle intricacies of goldsmithing. This is because he only understood the nuances of carpentry by spending his entire life in its learning and practice; likewise, he would understand goldsmithing only if he had spent his life learning and practicing it. Since he does not understand the latter, those preoccupied with the world and with sciences that do not pertain to the knowledge of God Almighty are incapable of knowing divine matters—just as all those who turn away from specialized crafts are incapable of understanding them.

In fact, it is like the inability of a nursing infant to nourish itself with bread and meat. This is due to the infant's natural constitution, not because bread and meat lack nourishment, nor because the child lacks the potential to eventually become strong, but because the current state of weakness prevents such digestion. Thus, whoever feeds a weak infant meat and bread and enables him to consume it? has effectively destroyed him. Similarly, when the common folk original: "al-Awwam"; referring to laypeople without specialized theological training seek to ask about these deeper meanings, it is mandatory to rebuke them, prevent them, and even strike them with a whip, just as Umar—may God be pleased with him—used to do.

Umar—may God be pleased with him

He did this to anyone who asked about the "ambiguous verses" original: "al-ayat al-mutashabihat"; verses in the Quran whose meanings are not definitively clear and require interpretation, just as the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—did when he rebuked a group he saw diving into the question of predestination al-Qadar: the theological concept of divine decree and human free will. He said: "Is this what you were commanded?" and said: "Those before you were only destroyed because of their excessive questioning," or words to that effect, as is well known in the reports.

Because of this, it is forbidden for preachers upon their pulpits to answer questions by diving al-khawd: literally "wading in," used here to mean reckless or unauthorized speculation into figurative interpretation al-ta'wil: the process of shifting a word from its literal meaning to a metaphorical one and detailed explanation. Rather, their duty is to limit themselves to what we have mentioned and what the righteous predecessors the "Salaf" mentioned, which is: emphasizing sanctity al-taqdis and transcendence al-tanzih: affirming that God is above any human-like qualities, and the negation of anthropomorphism al-tashbih: the act of comparing God to His creation.

They must emphasize that God Almighty is transcendent above having a physical body or its accidental properties. The preacher should emphasize this perpetually, even saying: "Whatever occurs to your mind, or is seen in your conscience, or imagined in your thoughts—God is different from that; He is transcendent above it and above any resemblance to it. These reports do not mean any of those physical things. As for the true nature of what is meant, you are not the people suited to know it or ask about it. Occupy yourselves instead with piety: whatever God commanded you, do it; and whatever He forbade you, avoid it."

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"And this [questioning] is something you have been forbidden from, so do not ask about it. Whenever you hear anything of this sort, remain silent and say: 'We believe and we attest, and we have been given but little knowledge, and this is not part of the knowledge we were given.'"

The Fifth Duty

Refraining from altering the received wording. It is mandatory for the general public to strictly adhere to the specific words found in these reports and to refrain from altering them in six ways: literal explanation al-tafsir, figurative interpretation al-ta'wil, morphological derivation al-tasrif, branching al-tafri', combining, and separating.

The First

Literal explanation. By this, I mean replacing the Arabic word with another language that stands in its place, such as its meaning in Persian or Turkish. Indeed, it is not permissible to speak except using the received Arabic term. This is because there are Arabic words for which no matching Persian word exists, and some for which a matching word exists, but the Persians do not customarily use it as a metaphor for the same meanings the Arabs do. Furthermore, some words are broad in Arabic but not in non-Arabic languages.

An example of the first case is the word Establishing al-Istawa: often translated as "ascending" or "sitting" upon the Throne. In Persian, there is no exact matching word that conveys to Persians the same meaning that al-Istawa conveys to Arabs without including something that contradicts it. For the Persian translation would be rast bastad Persian: "stood straight" or "became upright". This consists of two words: the first suggests an uprightness and straightness in something that could potentially be bent or crooked, and the second suggests stillness and stability in something that could potentially move or be disturbed. The suggestion of these physical meanings in the non-Arabic tongue is much more apparent than the suggestion of the word al-Istawa.

Thus, if we lose the correct indication and suggestion, the translation is not equivalent to the original. It is only permissible to replace a word with its exact synonym that does not differ from it in any way, not with something that diverges or differs even by the slightest degree or increased ambiguity.

Example of the second

Example of the Second

The word Finger Arabic: "Isba'" is used as a metaphor in the Arabic language for a "blessing" or "favor." It is said: "So-and-so has a 'finger' with so-and-so," meaning a blessing, and its meaning—