[DefendingIslam]

Salam Alaykum,

I heard from someone that during one of his speeches, Dr. Zakir Naik presented a list of things which he said "Allah cannot do", and he exemplified it by saying things like "Allah cannot create a tall short man".

I would like to ask whether making such a statement is a sort of blasphemy. As Muslims, we know that Allah's power extends over things that are logically possible, and it does not pertain to things that are impossible, such as a "rectangular circle" or the like.

Given that there are so many Muslims that listen to Dr. Zakir Naik and other speakers who may not have a solid background in Islamic philosophy, how should we treat the person who says something like "Allah is unable to create a rectangular circle, or a tall short man", etc. Should we simply correct them, or tell them that they have commited blasphemy and need to re-enter Islam, or what should we do?

I would appreciate answers from 'Ulama and those who are firmly grounded in Islamic Aqeedah.

Wa Salam.

[finqalandar]

Tall and short are relative descriptions and saying what you quoted Zakir Naik of having said is nothing like square circle. In other words, the person who made the statement doesn't know what he is saying. Ignorance may be his excuse.

[Ibn Ajibah]

I'm not too sure about his "tall short man" example, but Shaykh Sa'id Foudah mentioned something relevant to this:

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al-Bājūrī was asked about the disbelief of the one who says: “Allah is not able to expel me from His kingdom.” He answered: “Such a person is not guilty of disbelief because it is impossible for such a person to be expelled from His kingdom because it is not possible for there to exist a kingdom for anyone else, so He can not exile him to it. The Divine Omnipotence is not linked with that which is impossible so there is no harm in this, just as there is no harm if it is said that Allah can not take a son, a wife, or the like.” I say: this response is weak. Had al-Bājūrī said that Allah’s Omnipotence is not linked with that which is impossible, it would have been better. When you say that Allah “is not able”, it indicates imperfection because it implies that that the Divine Omnipotence is linked with it, however He is not able. The proper answer is to say that the basis for Divine omnipotence is that it is not linked with that which is impossible, because the impossible cannot exist in the first place. There is a distinction between saying that He is not able, and saying that the Divine omnipotence is not linked with it... One should take note that in this case, delivering a legal verdict is formed from two parts: [one] the legal judgment that answers the question: “Is the one who says this guilty of disbelief or not?”, and [two]: the legal reasoning for this ruling. My critique here [of al-Bājūrī’s] words is only directed at the reasoning and not the legal ruling itself. Nay, I say regarding the one who says that Allah’s Omnipotence is not linked to that, that he might in fact be guilty of disbelief if he thinks that it is correct for such a thing to be linked to Allah’s Omnipotence. If that is not the case, then regardless, his expression is mistaken because of its aforementioned ambiguity. By ambiguity, we mean that the answer is not complete as it should be in the domain of delivering legal verdicts, therefore attention must be given to this because of the possible false meanings contained in the verdict.

Imām al-Shahrastānī in Nihāya al-Iqdām (pg 47):

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“Regarding that which can not exist, it is not to be said that the Creator, Exalted is He, is not capable over it. Nay, it should be said: ‘That which is intrinsically impossible is not decreed, so it its existence is inconceivable.’”

Shaykh Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Tafajarūtī, a scholar of the tenth century said :

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“Also, if it is asked: ‘Is it permissible for one to say that Allah is not able to do the impossible and that He is not capable over it?’ We respond by saying: This is impermissible, because this expression seems to impute inability and it is not permissible to employ ambiguous expressions concerning Allah, the Exalted, unless such expressions are revealed. What is correct is for one to say that the Divine Omnipotence is not linked with that which is impossible, or that the impossible is not decreed, and similar expressions that do not seem to impute inability to Him, the Glorified and Exalted. This is what our Imāms have mentioned – may Allah be pleased with them – and it is clear.”