Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
It has not been established in the Quran or in the authentic Sunnah that Allah Almighty is described with “tenderness.” Therefore, it is not correct to affirm it as an attribute of Him, Glorified be He.
As for what has been narrated in some reports describing “Ar-Rahman” and “Ar-Rahim” as two tender names, it has not been established through an authentic chain of transmission. Even if some of these expressions were assumed to be authentic, they would not necessarily establish an independent attribute of Allah called “tenderness.”
What is authentically established in the Sunnah is that Allah is described with gentleness, as the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, Allah is Gentle and loves gentleness.”
The basic principle concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah is that a Muslim affirms what Allah has affirmed for Himself in the Quran, or what His Messenger ﷺ has affirmed for Him in the authentic Sunnah, and does not add an attribute for which there is no evidence.
Therefore, scholars have stated that the subject of Allah’s Attributes is based strictly upon revelation. It is not permissible to infer one attribute from another merely because they are linguistically similar.
For example, the fact that mercy is affirmed for Allah does not mean that every term close in meaning to mercy may be made an attribute of Allah.
There is no authentic hadith describing Allah Almighty with tenderness.
Among the well-known reports in this regard is what has been attributed to the Prophet ﷺ in explaining the Basmalah:
“My servant has called upon Me by two tender names, one of which is more tender than the other...”
However, this report is extremely weak. Its chain includes Muqatil ibn Sulayman, concerning whom the hadith scholars spoke very critically. The chain also contains a break and unknown narrators.
It has also been narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both:
“Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim are two tender names, one being more tender than the other.”
This has not been authentically established from him either, because the chains through which this statement was narrated are weak. Among the best-known is the chain of Al-Kalbi from Abu Salih from Ibn Abbas, and Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar explained that this chain is not established.
Other reports with similar meanings have also been narrated, but their chains are not free from weakness.
Therefore, none of these reports provides sound evidence for affirming “tenderness” as an attribute of Allah Almighty.
Not necessarily.
Even if we assumed that the statement attributed to Ibn Abbas were authentic, it would not necessarily mean that an independent attribute of Allah called “tenderness” was being affirmed.
Some scholars have explained that, if the report were authentic, its intended meaning would be to clarify that the two Names Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim indicate Allah’s mercy, and that one of the two Names may be stronger or broader in meaning than the other—not to establish a new attribute called “tenderness.”
For this reason, the scholars of the Sunnah who authored works on Allah’s Names and Attributes did not count tenderness among His Attributes.
It is important not to confuse tenderness with gentleness.
Tenderness has not been established as an attribute of Allah through authentic evidence, while gentleness has been established in the authentic Sunnah.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, Allah is Gentle and loves gentleness, and He grants through gentleness what He does not grant through harshness.”
Narrated by Muslim.
For this reason, Al-Bayhaqi transmitted from Al-Husayn ibn Al-Fadl his objection to the report in which the word “tenderness” appears, and that in his view the correct expression is gentleness, because gentleness is established in the Sunnah.
Someone may say: If mercy and compassion are affirmed for Allah, and tenderness is close to them in meaning, why do we not affirm it as well?
The answer is that Allah’s Attributes are not established merely through linguistic analogy.
Not every word carrying a good meaning or a meaning close to an established attribute may be made an attribute of Allah. Some expressions may contain additional meanings that are not appropriate for Allah, and revelation has chosen certain words to describe Allah rather than others.
Therefore, scholars established an important principle:
Allah’s Attributes are not derived from one another by analogy, and no attribute is affirmed except with evidence.
Thus, we do not say that because mercy is established, tenderness must also be established. Nor do we derive new attributes for Allah merely because their meanings resemble established attributes.
We have authentic terms established in the revealed texts that make unestablished expressions unnecessary.
We say that Allah, Glorified be He, is:
Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim, Ar-Ra’uf, and Ar-Rafiq, and we affirm for Him mercy, compassion, and gentleness in a manner befitting His Majesty, according to what is stated in the Quran and Sunnah.
This is more precise and safer than using a description that has not been established in the revealed texts.
“Tenderness” is not established as an attribute of Allah Almighty, because it is not mentioned in the Quran or the authentic Sunnah, and the reports in which this expression is attributed to Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, are not authentic.
It is also not correct to derive this attribute from mercy or compassion merely because of similarity in meaning, because the subject of Allah’s Attributes is based strictly on revelation.
As for gentleness, it is established in the authentic Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, Allah is Gentle and loves gentleness.”
Therefore, one must adhere to the words and meanings established in revelation, without adding to them or using analogy in matters concerning Allah’s Names and Attributes.
And Allah knows best.