Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
We ask Allah تعالى to grant you beneficial knowledge and certainty, and to protect you from the whispers of Satan.
You have done well by asking the scholars about what has confused you. Difficulties of this kind are treated through sound knowledge and by avoiding engagement with intrusive doubts.
Sahih Muslim narrates from Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه that a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
“I am exhausted by hunger.”
The Prophet ﷺ sent to some of his wives, but they had nothing except water. So he ﷺ said:
“Who will host this man tonight? May Allah have mercy upon him.”
A man from the Ansar stood up and said: “I will, O Messenger of Allah.”
He took the man to his family and said to his wife: “Do you have anything?” She replied: “No, except the food for my children.”
He instructed her to occupy the children with something, extinguish the lamp, and make the guest think that they were eating with him, so that he could eat their food.
The following morning, the man went to the Prophet ﷺ, who said to him:
“Allah was amazed by what the two of you did with your guest that night.”
Narrated by Muslim.
The difficulty arises from understanding the attribute of wonder (‘ajab) in relation to Allah تعالى in the same way that it occurs in created beings.
Human wonder may occur because something appears that a person did not previously know, or because something happens contrary to what he expected. A person may be surprised because he did not previously know its cause or reality.
This meaning cannot be attributed to Allah تعالى, because Allah سبحانه وتعالى knows everything. Nothing is hidden from Him in the heavens or on earth. He knows what was, what will be, and even what would have been, had it occurred, and how it would have been.
Therefore, it is not correct to say that Allah’s wonder results from ignorance, bewilderment, or confusion. Allah is far above such things.
The principle concerning Allah’s attributes is that whatever is established in the Qur’an and Sunnah is affirmed for Allah سبحانه وتعالى in a manner befitting His majesty, while denying that His attributes resemble those of His creation.
Allah تعالى says:
“There is nothing whatsoever like Him.”
Just as Allah has hearing, sight, life, and mercy that befit His majesty and do not resemble the hearing, sight, life, or mercy of created beings, likewise the attribute of wonder established in the revealed texts is not like human wonder.
Therefore, affirming wonder for Allah تعالى does not require affirming ignorance, confusion, or the kind of surprise associated with human beings.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymin رحمه الله explained that the wonder mentioned in the hadith is:
“Wonder of approval: He, Glorious and Exalted, approved of what the two of them did that night because of the tremendous benefits it contained.”
The meaning is that Allah تعالى approved of the man’s and his wife’s action and magnified the significance of what they did in terms of selflessness and generosity. It does not mean that their action was unknown to Allah and that He only learned of it after it happened.
This removes the difficulty: prior knowledge does not contradict wonder when wonder means approval and magnification of the matter.
The attribute of wonder is established in the revealed texts.
Allah تعالى says:
“Rather, you wondered, while they mock.”
[Al-Saffat 37:12]
Another recitation reads:
“Rather, I wondered, while they mock.”
Imam al-Tabari رحمه الله explained that both recitations are well known, and that the recitation with the first-person form conveys that Allah تعالى wondered at the enormity of what the polytheists said, their attribution of partners to Him, and their rejection of the truth, while they mocked.
It is also authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Allah was amazed by people who enter Paradise in chains.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
It was also narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, Allah عز وجل is amazed by a young man who has no youthful waywardness.”
Narrated by Ahmad; its researchers considered it hasan, and al-Haythami also graded it hasan.
The scholars explained that Allah’s wonder does not imply ignorance of the thing that He wonders at.
Abu Ya‘la al-Farra’ رحمه الله said concerning affirming the attribute of wonder:
“We do not affirm a wonder that means magnifying a matter that suddenly confronted Him and that He had not known, because such a meaning is not befitting His attributes. Rather, we affirm it as an attribute, just as we affirm His other attributes.”
Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Asbahani رحمه الله stated that those who rejected describing Allah with wonder argued that wonder occurs in someone who comes to know something he did not previously know. He then mentioned that those who affirmed the attribute relied upon the revealed texts concerning it and the recitation:
“Rather, I wondered, while they mock.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله explained, in summary, that wonder can sometimes result from ignorance, but it can also occur because something differs from its counterparts. Allah تعالى knows everything, so His wonder cannot be due to a lack of knowledge concerning the cause of something. Rather, He wonders at its exceptional nature and its departure from its counterparts, magnifying its significance.
This demonstrates that affirming Allah’s attribute of wonder does not entail any deficiency associated with the wonder of created beings.
When such questions occur to a Muslim, he should distinguish between a scholarly question asked for the purpose of understanding and intrusive whispering that causes him to continually pursue objections and imagined problems.
The Prophet ﷺ instructed Muslims to stop engaging with Satan’s whispers.
Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Satan comes to one of you and says: Who created this? Who created that? Until he says: Who created your Lord? When he reaches that point, let him seek refuge in Allah and stop.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Among the most beneficial ways to repel such whispers are therefore: sound knowledge, seeking refuge in Allah, and refusing to continue following false or intrusive thoughts.
There is no contradiction between Allah’s prior knowledge of everything and the affirmation of the attribute of wonder for Him سبحانه وتعالى.
Allah تعالى knows His servants’ actions before they occur, and nothing new enters His knowledge. His wonder is not like the wonder of created beings, which may arise from ignorance, surprise, or confusion.
Rather, Allah’s wonder is an established attribute befitting His majesty. Among the meanings mentioned by the scholars is wonder of approval and magnification. Allah تعالى approved of the action of the man and his wife toward their guest and praised the significance of what they did, while already knowing of it before it occurred.
Therefore, what is required is to affirm the attributes affirmed by Allah and His Messenger, while believing that they do not resemble the attributes of created beings, and to avoid continually engaging with intrusive thoughts that lead to confusion and distress.
We ask Allah تعالى to grant us and you beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, and to protect us from the whispers of Satan.
And Allah knows best.