Translation Of the 13 Attributes of Allah

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, his Al and Companions, and protect his nation from that which he fears for it. Thereafter, Imam al-Bukhariyy narrated that the Prophet said:

فإنَّ اللهَ حَرَّمَ عَلَى النَّارِ مَنْ قَالَ لا إِله إلا الله يَبْتَغِى بِذَلِكَ وَجْهَ الله

Which means <<Allah grants one safety from the everlasting torture in hellfire if one testifies that no one is God except Allah seeking Allah’s acceptance.>>

This hadith means that by the Will of Allah, one shall not dwell forever in Hellfire if one says ‘No one is God except Allah’ while believing in it in his heart. This mercy does not apply to the hypocrite who would utter the testification of faith by his tongue to please the Muslims while in his heart he refuses Islam either by doubting in Allah or belying Prophet Muhammad. The part of the hadith (يَبْتَغِى بِذَلِكَ وَجْهَ الله) means ‘seeking acceptance from Allah’.

The greatest right of Allah upon His slaves is to worship Him without associating any partner with Him.  Allah, the Exalted, forgives all the sins for whomever He willed amongst His Muslim worshippers (i.e. those who do not liken Allah to the creations and clear Him from all non-befitting attributes).

It is obligatory to believe in Allah and to know about what is necessary to be of His attributes, what is impossible to be of His attributes and what is permissible to attribute to Him.

The attributes of Allah that every pubescent and sane Muslim is obliged to know are thirteen attributes; they are:

1- Existence (al-Wujud): it is obligatory to believe in the Existence of Allah. Allah exists without a beginning, without an ending and without a place.

2- Oneness (al-Wahdaniyyah): It is obligatory to believe Allah is One without a partner. Allah is One in His Self, Attributes and Creating-hence Allah has no equal.

3- (al-Qidam): It is obligatory to believe Allah has no beginning to His existence. His attributes also have no beginning. Everything other than Allah has a beginning. Allah is the only one without a beginning.

4- Everlastingness (al-Baqa‘): It is obligatory to believe Allah is Everlasting i.e., His Existence does not end.

5- Non-neediness of others (al-Qiyamu bin-Nafs): Allah does not need anything.

6- Non-Resemblance to the Creations (al-Mukhalafatu lil-hawadith): Allah does not resemble any of His creations–neither in His Self nor in His Attributes nor in His Creating.

7- Power (al-Qudrah): It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Power. Allah’s Power has no beginning and no end, by His Power Allah brings into existence that which is intellectually possible to exist or annihilates it after its existence.

8- Will (al-‘Iradah): It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Will. The Will of Allah has no beginning and no end, by His will Allah specifies that which is intellectually possible with certain attributes rather than others.

9- Knowledge (al-^Ilm): It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Knowledge. The knowledge of Allah has no beginning and no end. This is an attribute of His Self that does not increase, decrease or develop. Allah knows eternally about His Self, attributes, and what He creates. Nothing is absent from His Knowledge.

10- Life (al-Hayah): It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Life. The Life of Allah also has no beginning and no end. The Life of Allah is not like our life. Our life is a combination of body and soul; however, the Life of Allah is not.

11- Hearing (as-Sam^): It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Hearing. This is an attribute of Allah which also has no beginning and is everlasting. Allah hears all the hear-able things. He hears without an ear, without means, and without instruments.

12- Sight (al-Basar): It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Sight. The sight of Allah has no beginning and no end. Allah sees all what is seeable without a pupil, instrument or any other means.

13- Speech (al-Kalam) : It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Speech (Kalam). The Kalam of Allah has no beginning and is an everlasting attribute with which Allah orders, forbids, and informs. It is not a letter nor a sound nor a language. The Qur’an and the other revealed Books are expressions of the eternal Kalam of the Self of Allah.

We ask Allah to end our life with Islam, to assemble us with the Prophets in the hereafter and to gather us with the Prophets in the highest levels of paradise.  Ameen.