Hamzah Yusuf
Hamzah Yusuf says: “In Judaism there is some anthropomorphism where you begin to describe God as human having hands and feet and limbs and things like that which is haraam to do that. … Leave it the way it is but we know it does not mean this with absolute certainty.”
Hamzah Yusuf issues a deceitful fatwa here. Who among the Salafi scholars, the true scholars of the Sunnah, said that Allah’s Hands are like human hands or that He has limbs? This is wicked. He is mixing up two issues. First, Allah described Himself of having Two Hands. Second, the Jews and others equated Allah’s Hands with hands of humans and of having limbs.
Conclusion: Hamzah Yusuf denies Allah having Hands, making it look like that he did that because the Jews equated Allah’s Hands with hands of creation.
However, Hamzah Yusuf did not say, “Do not equate Allah’s Hands with hands of humans; it is haraam (with two a’s) to do that.” Instead, he said, “you begin to describe God as human.” How? By describing Allah as ‘having hands and feet and limbs.”
Examine how Hamzah Yusuf threw ‘limbs’ in, to make the argument seem strange. So, according to him, merely describing Allah of having Hands, constitutes the haraam anthropomorphism. He is thereby rejecting the attribute of Allah having Hands, “with absolute certainty,” so he said.
Well, Hamzah Yusuf, forget about the Jews: is it halaal (with my own two ‘a’s) for Allah to say that He has Two Hands: {“Bi-Yadayy (Both My Hands)”} (38:75)? Is it halaal for Muslims to say that Allah has Two Hands by simply reciting ayah 38:75?
Question: Does Allah have a Yad (Hand)?
Answer 1: {Say: “All the bounty is in the Yad (Hand) of Allâh; He grants to whom He wills. And Allâh is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower”} (3:73).
Answer 2: The Quran commands Muslims to, {Say: “O Allâh! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honor whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. Bi-Yadika (in Your Hand) is Al-Khair (all that is good and righteous). Verily, You are Able to do all things. You make the night to enter into the day, and You make the day to enter into the night (i.e., increase and decrease the hours of night and day in different seasons), You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living. And You give wealth and sustenance to whom You will, without limit.} (3:26-7)
Who knows better, Allah, Who describes Himself of having Two Hands and used this attribute of His in the context of creating, i.e., a definite meaning from among the 17 meanings for ‘hand’? Or, does Hamzah Yusuf have more knowledge in Allah than Allah Himself has in His Own-Self?
According to Hamzah Yusuf, Allah used the term ‘Hand’ without defining which among its 17 meanings He means. Yet, Hamzah Yusuf says, “…we know it does not mean this with absolute certainty,” refuting Allah’s declaration that He has Hands! Well, if ‘hand’ has 17 meanings, then why did Hamzah Yusuf insist on denying one of them, making the meanings 16 instead of 17, especially after he said, “Ghazali says that the word in Arabic for hands has 17 meanings yet which one are you going to choose that God meant? In other words do not interpret that.”
Yet, Hamzah Yusuf interpreted the meaning of Allah’s Hand, by denying one meaning out of the 17 possible meanings for, hand, even though he says, “yet which one are you going to choose that God meant?” Thus, Hamzah Yusuf denied one of the possible 17 meanings for hand, leaving only 16 meanings for Allah to choose from!
Well, we choose that which Allah chose for this attribute of His, {They made not a just estimate of Allâh such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth Qabdhatuhu (will be grasped by His Hand) and the heavens will be rolled up bi-Yaminih (in His Right Hand). Glorified be He, and High be He above all that they associate as partners with Him!} (39:67)
As for ‘we’ Hamzah Yusuf used above, we will explain it next, Allah willing.