What is Tafweed?
Tafweed means “to leave up to” as is in the verse:
[1] وَأُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِي إِلَى اللَّهِ
“And I leave my affair to Allah.”
In Aqeedah discussions, it means “to leave the knowledge of this to Allah.” It is one of the methodologies of Ahlulsunnah when discussing the verses that seem outwardly to ascribe a deficiency to Allah, such as physical limitations. Such is the case with the following verses:
[2] يد الله فوق أيديهم
[3] الرحمن على العرش استوى
[4] ويبقى وجه ربك
[5] يوم يكشف عن ساق
[6] ولتصنع على عيني
The literal meanings of these verses refer to physical existences with limitations. However, Allah is not comprised of a physical body, as is agreed upon by the scholars of Islam. This lead the scholars to ask the questions: What is an ‘eye’ if it is not physical, or what is a non-physical hand, or what does it mean to ‘rise above’ if the thing ‘rising’ is not physical and, therefore, does not take up space to be able to move ‘above’ another space?
The response to these questions is unknown, as we cannot comprehend such a thing. Thus, the scholars said, “We will do tafweed.” In other words, “We affirm that Allah has said this, and we believe in it as Allah meant for it, and we know it is not in reference to something physical as Allah is superior to that, but we leave the meaning of its reality to Allah.” This is tafweed, and it is the majority position of the Salaf. Other scholars said these verses are to be understood in their respective contexts and they’re not meant literally, and this is ta’weel.
One may ask, does doing tafweed mean that we are unaware of what Allah is trying to convey to us? Does this mean the Prophet ﷺ and the Sahabah were ignorant?
The answer is no. Rather, we do understand the speech of Allah, but it is through the contexts and what they entail. For example, we understand that Allah is trying to convey His supremacy to us when He states that He created the 7 heavens, and then ‘rose above the throne’, because that is what the context entails. Likewise, we understand that He is trying to convey His honoring of Adam ﷺ when He says He “created with My hand,” because that is what the context with this wording entails and it is supported by other verses. But as for the reality of these specific wordings of ‘hand’ and ‘rose above’, we cannot give a definition to them because what we understand from it entails a limitation, and Allah is far beyond any limitation. Therefore, the specific meaning we leave to Allah, while affirming it, and understanding what is meant to be said through the context.
Both methodologies are part of Ahlulsunnah because the principles are the same, which are: 1) Affirm and believe in what Allah revealed, and 2) Negate any entailed deficiency for Allah by negating the literal meaning.
After this, whether one delves into the meaning and interprets, or one says, “I leave it to Allah,” both are upon the correct methodology for approaching the Qur’an and Sunnah.
This is represented by the following texts from the following Imams of Ahlulsunnah:
Imam alShafi’i:
آمنت بما جاء عن الله على مراد الله
“I believe in what has been narrated about Allah, upon the meaning Allah intended.” [This is tafweed because He left the meaning Allah intended to Allah and submitted to whatever it was, but he did not define them]. [6]
Imam Abu Hanifah:
وله يد، لكن يده صفته بلا كيف
“And He has a ‘hand’, but His ‘hand’ is an attribute (not a body part) without modality (size, weight, color, texture, etc).” [This is Tafweed because the Imam does not explain what such a ‘hand’ is, because of its reality being unknown] [7]
And Allah knows best.
Written by Umar Elhashimi
April 27, 2025
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