Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The Creator and the created being sharing the same name for certain attributes does not mean that the reality or manner of those attributes is identical. Allah, the Exalted, has attributes befitting His perfection and majesty, while created beings have attributes appropriate to their weakness and created nature. We understand the basic meaning of an attribute from language, but we do not know how Allah’s attribute is, nor do we liken it to the attributes of created beings. Allah says:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Ash-Shura: 11]
The fundamental principle concerning Allah’s names and attributes is that we affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself in the Qur’an and what His Messenger ﷺ affirmed for Him in the authentic Sunnah.
Allah says:
﴿وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا﴾
“And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them.”
[Al-A‘raf: 180]
And He says:
﴿وَلَهُ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَى فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ﴾
“And to Him belongs the highest description in the heavens and the earth. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
[Ar-Rum: 27]
Among His attributes are knowledge, hearing, and sight. The revealed texts also affirm the face, the two hands, anger, laughter, and other attributes, in a manner befitting Allah, the Exalted.
The Qur’an describes Allah as All-Hearing and All-Seeing, and it also describes human beings as hearing and seeing. Allah says:
﴿إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا﴾
“Indeed, We created man from a mixed drop to test him, so We made him hearing and seeing.”
[Al-Insan: 2]
But is human hearing like Allah’s hearing? Certainly not.
Human hearing is limited. A person may hear one thing while many other things escape him. As for Allah, nothing is hidden from Him. Likewise, Allah’s knowledge is not like human knowledge, and His sight is not like human sight.
Therefore, sharing the name of an attribute does not necessitate that its reality or manner is the same.
Imam al-Tirmidhi narrated from Ishaq ibn Rahawayh that resemblance occurs when someone says: “a hand like a hand,” “hearing like hearing,” or “like the hearing of a created being.”
As for affirming what Allah has affirmed for Himself without specifying how and without likening Him to created beings, this is not anthropomorphism.
Thus, a single verse combines the denial of resemblance with the affirmation of attributes:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Ash-Shura: 11]
Allah denied that anything resembles Him while, at the same time, affirming hearing and sight for Himself.
Attributes such as knowledge, power, hearing, and sight are attributes of perfection in their basic meanings, and Allah, the Exalted, is more deserving of every perfection that contains no deficiency.
A deity that does not know, hear, or see would be characterized by deficiency and inability, and Allah is exalted above all of that.
For this reason, the Qur’an demonstrates the falsehood of worshipping idols by pointing to their inability and deficiency. Allah says:
﴿أَلَهُمْ أَرْجُلٌ يَمْشُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ أَيْدٍ يَبْطِشُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا﴾
“Do they have feet with which they walk? Or hands with which they grasp? Or eyes with which they see? Or ears with which they hear?”
[Al-A‘raf: 195]
The perfection of the Creator is not derived from human perfection. Rather, Allah Himself is perfect, and He is the One who granted His creatures whatever limited attributes and abilities they possess.
There is another important aspect: Allah revealed the Qur’an in a language that human beings can understand.
Allah says:
﴿كِتَابٌ فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ﴾
“A Book whose verses have been clearly explained—an Arabic Qur’an for people who know.”
[Fussilat: 3]
If people were addressed concerning Allah and the unseen with words whose meanings they did not know at all, they would not be able to understand the message.
Therefore, we understand the basic linguistic meanings of knowledge, hearing, sight, and power, while knowing that when these attributes are ascribed to Allah, they befit Him and do not resemble the attributes of created beings.
This can be illustrated by what exists in Paradise. We know water, honey, and other things in this world, and Allah has informed us that they also exist in Paradise. Yet the realities of what exists in Paradise are not identical to what exists in this world. If sharing a name does not necessitate identical reality even between one created thing and another, then it is even more evident that it does not necessitate similarity between the Creator and the created being.
It is incorrect to say that Allah’s attributes are “human attributes.” Rather, they are Allah’s attributes that befit Him, Glorified and Exalted. A created being may possess an attribute bearing the same name, while its reality and manner differ in a way appropriate to each one.
The wisdom behind using words whose meanings human beings understand is that they may comprehend the message of revelation and the basic meaning intended, while the true reality and manner of Allah’s attributes remain beyond our knowledge.
Thus, we affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself and deny that He resembles His creation, just as He combined both principles in His statement:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Ash-Shura: 11]
And Allah knows best.