Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Linguistically, ilhad means turning away or deviating from something.
Allah says:
﴿The tongue of the one they refer to is foreign, while this is a clear Arabic tongue﴾ [An-Nahl: 103].
The Arabic word lahd for the niche in a grave is also derived from this meaning, because it inclines from the middle of the grave toward one of its sides.
The meaning of heresy in the Names of Allah cannot be properly understood until one understands the correct and upright approach in this matter, because things are understood through their opposites.
The upright approach concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah is to affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself and what His Messenger ﷺ affirmed for Him, in a manner befitting Allah’s majesty and perfection, without distortion, denial, asking how, or likening them to creation.
Therefore, if this is the upright approach concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah, then heresy means turning these Names away from the truth that is obligatory regarding them, or deviating from their correct meanings.
The scholars have mentioned several types of heresy regarding the Names of Allah, including the following:
One form of this is for a person to deny one of Allah’s Names that has been established in the Qur’an or Sunnah.
An example is denying the Name Ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful), as some of the people of pre-Islamic ignorance used to do.
Another form is to affirm the Name while denying the attribute indicated by it, such as saying: Allah is Merciful without mercy, and Hearing without hearing.
This is a deviation from the meaning of the Name and the attribute it entails.
Another form of heresy is for a person to give Allah a name that is not established in the Qur’an or Sunnah as one of His Names.
The reason this is considered heresy is that the Names of Allah are divinely determined. No one may give Allah a name that has not been established through revelation.
Naming Allah with something other than what He has named Himself constitutes speaking about Allah without knowledge and transgressing concerning Him.
Examples include the way some philosophers called Allah “the efficient cause,” and the Christians’ use of the name “Father” for Allah.
Another form of heresy is to believe that the Names and Attributes of Allah indicate a likeness between Allah’s attributes and the attributes of His creation.
This is a deviation, because the Names and Attributes of Allah do not indicate that He resembles His creation. Rather, they indicate meanings that befit His majesty.
Whoever believes that the meaning of Allah’s Names and Attributes is that His attributes are like the attributes of His creation has deviated from their correct meanings and made the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah indicate a false meaning.
Allah says:
﴿There is nothing whatsoever like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing﴾ [Ash-Shura: 11].
And He says:
﴿Do you know of anyone comparable to Him?﴾ [Maryam: 65].
Nu'aym ibn Hammad al-Khuza'i رحمه الله said:
“Whoever likens Allah to His creation has disbelieved; whoever denies what Allah has described Himself with has disbelieved; and there is no resemblance in what Allah has described Himself with.”
Therefore, what Allah has affirmed for Himself must be affirmed, while denying any likeness to Him.
Another form of heresy regarding the Names of Allah is deriving names for idols from His Names.
Among the examples mentioned by the scholars are:
Al-Lat, derived from Al-Ilah.
Al-'Uzza, derived from Al-'Aziz.
Manat, derived from Al-Mannan.
This is a form of heresy because it diverts the Names of Allah from the truth with which they must be honored and uses them in a manner that is inappropriate.
Heresy regarding the Names of Allah means turning them away from the truth and uprightness that is required concerning them. It includes several forms, among them:
Denying some of Allah’s Names or denying the attributes indicated by them.
Giving Allah names by which He has not named Himself.
Believing that Allah’s attributes resemble the attributes of created beings.
Deriving names for idols from the Names of Allah.
The correct methodology is to affirm the Names and Attributes of Allah as they have come in the Qur’an and Sunnah, without distortion or denial, and without asking how or likening them to creation, while believing that Allah is unlike His creation in every respect.
And Allah knows best.