This is the position of al-Shafi'i and the scholars of opinion (ashab al-ra'y), because these are attributes of His Essence, and He has never ceased to be described by them. Moreover, the tradition (athar) has been reported regarding swearing by some of them. It is reported that the Fire will say: "Qatt, qatt (11) [Enough, enough], by Your Honor." This was recorded by al-Bukhari (12). The one who emerges from the Fire says: "By Your Honor, I shall not ask You for anything else" (13). And in the Book of Allah the Almighty it is stated: {He said, "By Your Honor, I will surely mislead them all"} (14). The second category is that which is an attribute of the Essence but is used metaphorically to refer to something else, such as the Knowledge of Allah and His Power. These are attributes of the Essence by which He has never ceased to be described, yet they may be used for the 'known' (ma'lum) and the 'empowered' (maqdur) by way of extension, such as their saying: "O Allah, forgive us Your knowledge concerning us." It is said: "O Allah, You have shown us Your power, so show us Your pardon." It is also said: "Look at the power of Allah," meaning His empowered creation. Thus, whenever one swears by this, it is an oath. This is the view of al-Shafi'i. Abu Hanifa said: If one says "By the knowledge of Allah," it is not an oath, because it may refer to the known object. Our position is that knowledge is one of the attributes of Allah the Almighty, so taking an oath by it is an oath requiring expiation, just like greatness, honor, and power. The argument they raised is refuted by the case of 'power,' for they have accepted it, and it is its counterpart. As for if he intends by the oath the known object or the empowered object, it is possible that it is not an oath. This is the view of the followers of al-Shafi'i because he intended by the name something other than an attribute of Allah, while the wording allows for what he intended; thus, it is similar to if he intended an oath by an object of swearing among those names that (15) are used to name others besides Allah the Almighty. It has been reported from Ahmad that this is an oath in all cases, and an intention of something other than an attribute of Allah the Almighty is not accepted from him. This is the view of Abu Hanifa regarding 'power,' because that is established for the attribute, so an intention of something other than the attribute is not accepted from him, just like greatness. Talha al-'Aquli has mentioned regarding the names of Allah the Almighty defined by the definite article
(11) Qatt, qatt: Meaning 'enough, enough'. (12) Found in: Chapter of the Interpretation of Surah Qaf, from the Book of Tafsir; in: Chapter of Swearing by the Honor of Allah, His Attributes, and His Words, from the Book of Oaths; and in: Chapter of the Statement of Allah the Almighty: {And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise}, from the Book of Tawhid. Sahih al-Bukhari 6/173, 8/168, 9/143. The phrase "By Your Honor" did not appear in the first location. It was also recorded by Imam Ahmad in: al-Musnad 3/134, 141, 234. (13) Recorded by al-Bukhari in: Chapter of the Sirat (Bridge) over Hell, from the Book of Ar-Riqaq; in: Chapter of Swearing by the Honor of Allah, His Attributes, and His Words, from the Book of Oaths; and in: Chapter of the Statement of Allah the Almighty: {And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise} as a dangling narration (ta'liq), from the Book of Tawhid. Sahih al-Bukhari 8/148, 167, 168, 9/143. Also by Muslim in: Chapter of Knowing the Path of the Vision, from the Book of Faith. Sahih Muslim 1/166. And by Imam Ahmad in: al-Musnad 2/276, 293, 534, 3/27. (14) Surah Sad 82. The word "He said" did not appear in manuscript M. (15) In the original: "summiya".
يقولُ الشافِعِىُّ، وأصْحابُ الرّأى؛ لأنَّ هذْه من صِفَاتِ ذاتِه، لم يزلْ مَوْصُوفًا بها، وقد وَرَدَ الأثَرُ بالقَسَمِ بِبَعْضِها، فرُوِىَ أَنَّ النارَ تقولُ: "قَطْ قَطْ (١١)، وعِزَّتِكَ". روَاه البُخارىُّ (١٢). والذى يخْرُجُ من النارِ يقول: "وعِزَّتِك، لَا أَسْأَلُك غَيْرَها" (١٣). وفى كتاب اللَّه تعالَى: {قَالَ فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ} (١٤). الثانى، ما هو صِفةٌ للذَّاتِ، ويُعَبَّرُ به عن غيْرِها مَجازًا، كعِلْمِ اللَّه وقُدْرَتِه، فهذه صِفَةٌ للذَّاتِ لم يَزلْ مَوْصُوفًا بها، وقد تُسْتَعْمَلُ فى المعْلومِ والمَقْدُورِ اتِّساعًا، كقولِهم: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لنا عِلْمَك فينا. ويقالُ: اللَّهُمَّ قد أَرَيْتَنا قُدْرَتَك، فأَرِنَا عَفْوَكَ. ويُقالُ: انْظُرْ إلى قُدْرَةِ اللَّهِ. أى مَقْدُورِه. فمتى أَقْسَمَ بهذا، كان يَمِينًا. وبهذا قال الشافِعِىُّ. وقال أبو حنيفةَ: إذا قال: وعِلْمِ اللَّه. لا يكونُ يَمِينًا؛ لأَنَّه يَحْتَمِلُ المعلومَ. ولَنا، أَنَّ العِلْمَ من صفاتِ اللَّه تعالَى، فكانت اليَمينُ به يَمِينًا مُوجِبَةً للكفَّارَةِ، كالعَظَمَةِ، والعِزَّةِ، والقُدْرَةِ، ويَنْتَقِضُ ما ذكَرُوه بالقُدْرَةِ، فإنَّهم قَد سَلَّمُوها، وهى قَرِينَتُها. فأمَّا إنْ نَوَى القَسَمَ بالمَعْلُومِ، والمَقْدُورِ، احْتَملَ أَنْ لا يكونَ يَمِينًا. وهو قولُ أصحابِ الشافِعِىِّ؛ لأنَّه نَوَى بالاسمِ غيرَ صِفَةٍ للَّه، مع احتمالِ اللَّفْظِ ما نَواهُ، فأشْبَهَ ما لو نَوَى القَسَمَ بمحلُوفٍ فى الأَسْماءِ التى يُسَمَّى (١٥) بها غيرُ اللَّهِ تعالى. وقد رُوِىَ عن أحمدَ، أَنَّ ذلك يكونُ يَمِينًا بكُلِّ حالٍ، ولا تُقْبَلُ منه نِيَّةُ غيرِ صِفَةِ اللَّه تعالَى. وهو قولُ أبى حنيفةَ فى القُدْرَةِ؛ لأَنَّ ذلك مَوْضوعٌ للصِّفَةِ، فلا يُقْبَلُ منه نِيَّةُ غيرِ الصِّفَةِ، كالعَظَمَةِ. وقد ذكرَ طَلْحَةُ العاقُولِىُّ، فى أسماءِ اللَّه تعالَى المُعَرَّفَةِ بلامِ
(١١) قط قط: حسبى حسبى.(١٢) فى: باب تفسير سورة ق، من كتاب التفسير، وفى: باب الحلف بعزة اللَّه وصفاته وكلماته، من كتاب الأيمان، وفى: باب قول اللَّه تعالى: {وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ}، من كتاب التوحيد. صحيح البخارى ٦/ ١٧٣، ٨/ ١٦٨، ٩/ ١٤٣. ولم يرد فى الموضع الأول: "وعزتك".كما أخرجه الإمام أحمد، فى: المسند ٣/ ١٣٤، ١٤١، ٢٣٤.(١٣) أخرجه البخارى، فى: باب الصراط جسر جهنم، من كتاب الرقاق، وفى: باب الحلف بعزة اللَّه وصفاته وكلماته، من كتاب الأيمان، وفى: باب قول اللَّه تعالى: {وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ} تعليقًا، من كتاب التوحيد. صحيح البخارى ٨/ ١٤٨، ١٦٧، ١٦٨، ٩/ ١٤٣. ومسلم، فى: باب معرفة طريق الرؤية، من كتاب الأيمان. صحيح مسلم ١/ ١٦٦. والإمام أحمد، فى: المسند ٢/ ٢٧٦، ٢٩٣، ٥٣٤، ٣/ ٢٧.(١٤) سورة ص ٨٢. ولم يرد فى م: {قال}.(١٥) فى الأصل: "سمى".
