Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The basic principle concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah تعالى is that one should restrict oneself to what has been established in the Qur’an and Sunnah, because the Names and Attributes of Allah are matters of revealed authority; nothing is affirmed except on the basis of evidence.
As for expressions that do not appear in the Islamic texts, they should not be attributed to Allah تعالى by way of either affirmation or negation until their intended meaning is understood.
A distinction should be made between the Names and Attributes of Allah and the broader category of statements used to describe or report something about Allah تعالى.
The expressions used to report something about Allah are broader than the Beautiful Names and established Attributes. Therefore, Allah may be described using an expression whose meaning is correct even if it is not one of His Beautiful Names.
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:
“What falls under the category of reporting about Him تعالى is broader than what falls under the category of His Names and Attributes, such as ‘the thing,’ ‘the existent,’ and ‘the self-subsisting’; He may be described by these expressions, but they do not constitute His Beautiful Names or His exalted Attributes.”
Accordingly, not every expression that may correctly be used to report something about Allah تعالى must necessarily be one of His Beautiful Names or an established Attribute.
The term “ḥadd” is not mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah—as stated in this discussion—as one of the Names or Attributes of Allah تعالى. Therefore, it should not be treated like the clear revealed expressions found in the texts.
Rather, it is an expression that requires clarification and explanation of what is intended, because one word may be used to mean something correct or something false.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله established that newly introduced and ambiguous expressions should not be affirmed or negated before their meaning is known. Rather, they should be referred back to the clear texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
If an expression contains both a true and a false meaning, it is not correct to affirm or negate it absolutely. Affirming it without qualification may imply affirming a false meaning, while rejecting it absolutely may imply rejecting a true meaning.
The Qur’an and Sunnah are therefore the standard by which truth is distinguished from falsehood.
If clarification is sought concerning what is meant by “ḥadd”, and a correct meaning established by the Qur’an and Sunnah is intended, then it may be used when speaking about Allah تعالى when clarification requires it, even though the term itself does not appear in the revealed texts.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله explained that if a person affirms a correct meaning, rejects a false meaning, and needs to use an expression that the person being addressed understands, there is no harm in doing so as long as the expression conveys the meaning established by the Qur’an and Sunnah.
The consideration in such a case is therefore the intended meaning, not merely the wording itself.
If by “ḥadd” it is meant that Allah تعالى is distinct from His creation, separate from them, and unlike them; that none of creation enters into His Essence, that He does not become united with anything, and that He does not indwell any of His creation, then this meaning is correct in itself, and it may be reported about Allah تعالى in this sense.
However, this does not necessarily mean that the word “ḥadd” is a revealed Attribute established for Allah تعالى. Rather, it is an expression used to convey a correct meaning concerning the distinction between the Creator and His creation.
It has been reported that when Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak رحمه الله was asked, “How do we know our Lord?”, he replied:
“By knowing that He is above His heavens, upon His Throne, distinct from His creation.”
When he was then asked: “With a ḥadd?”, he replied: “With a ḥadd.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله mentioned that this term was used by some of the early scholars in the context of responding to those who denied that Allah تعالى is distinct from His creation. They intended by it a correct meaning: that Allah سبحانه وتعالى is above His creation, distinct from them, and neither united with them nor indwelling in them.
He also explained that the intended meaning was not to establish an additional attribute beyond what is found in the Qur’an and Sunnah, but rather to clarify what those who deny Allah’s attributes reject: the existence of the Lord تعالى, His distinction from His creation, and the reality of His existence.
If the term “ḥadd” is used with this meaning, it must not be understood to mean that created beings can encompass Allah تعالى or know the reality, modality, or extent of this matter.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى is too great for His creation to encompass Him in knowledge.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they do not encompass Him in knowledge.﴾ [Ta-Ha: 110].
And He سبحانه says:
﴿They encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills.﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 255].
It has been narrated from Imam Uthman ibn Sa‘id al-Darimi رحمه الله that Allah تعالى has a ḥadd that no one besides Him knows, and that a person must not imagine for that ḥadd an extent or modality that he can know. Rather, one believes in the meaning and entrusts knowledge of its reality to Allah تعالى.
Thus, affirming Allah’s distinction and exaltedness does not mean that a person knows how this is or can encompass Allah سبحانه وتعالى.
The term “ḥadd” is not among the clear revealed expressions established by a text from the Qur’an or Sunnah as a Name or Attribute of Allah تعالى. Therefore, it is an ambiguous expression that should not be absolutely affirmed or negated concerning Allah تعالى without clarifying what is intended.
If a false meaning is intended—such as claiming that Allah is encompassed by created beings, or that creation can know the modality or extent of His Essence—then this meaning is false.
But if a correct meaning is intended, namely that Allah تعالى is distinct from His creation, separate from them, above them, and neither indwells any of His creation nor is united with it, then this meaning is correct in itself, and some of the early scholars used the term “ḥadd” to express it when responding to those who denied Allah’s distinction from His creation.
When speaking about the Names and Attributes of Allah, it is preferable to use the expressions found in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and when dealing with ambiguous expressions, their intended meaning should first be clarified before making a judgment concerning them.
And Allah تعالى knows best.