Tafwid

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Tafwid (

Arabic: تفويض) is an Arabic term meaning "relegation" or "delegation", with uses in theology and law.[1]

In theology

In Islamic theology, tafwid (or tafwid al-amr li-llah, relegation of matters to God) is a doctrine according to which the meanings of the ambiguous verses of the

Qur'an should be consigned to God alone.[1][2][3] Those who follow this school do not utilize metaphorical interpretation. Rather, they leave problematic texts uninterpreted, believing that the reality of their meaning should be left to the one who said them,[4] implying their unknowability.[5]

The doctrine of tafwid, which was held by a number of classical scholars such as

Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh, and others among the Imams of the Muslims, both ancient and modern that is, to let (the verse in question) pass as it has come, without saying how it is meant (min ghayr takyif), without likening it to created things (wa la tashbih), and without nullifying it (wa la ta'til): The literal meaning (zahir) that occurs to the minds of anthropomorphists (al-mushabbihin) is negated of Allah, for nothing from His creation resembles Him: "There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing" (Qur'an 42:11)[8][9]

The precise nature of tafwid has been subject to debate among Muslim scholars.

Salafis, hold that only the modality of the attributes should be consigned to God (tafwid al-kayfiyya), while the literal sense of the attributes should be accepted according to their lexical meaning in the Arabic language.[10] Thus they argue that the salaf accepted that God has a hand, because the meaning of the word "hand" (yad) was known, but without assuming that God's hand is comparable to a human hand, or asking how or why that is.[10] In contrast, anti-Salafi scholars reject this distinction and accept tafwid without qualification.[10]

Divorce

In Islamic personal status law, tafwid refers to a sub-type of divorce (talaq al-tafwid or tafwid al-talaq) in which the power of talaq (the type of divorce normally initiated by the husband) is delegated to the wife. This delegation can be made at the time of drawing up the marriage contract or during the marriage, with or without conditions.[1] Classical jurists differed as to the validity of different forms of delegation.[1] Most modern Muslim-majority countries permit this type of divorce in some form.[1]

Other uses

The term tafwid has also been used in law with various other meanings related to delegation of power, authorization of an act, or issuance of a warrant for arrest.[1]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780195125597
    .
  2. ISBN 9780199402069
    .
  3. ISBN 9780230106581
    .
  4. ISBN 9781438453712
    .
  5. ISBN 9781107014060
    .
  6. ^ Shah, Zulfikar (March 1997). A Study of Anthropomorphism and Transcendence in the Bible and Qur'an. Scripture and God in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic Traditions (PDF) (Ph.D. Dissertation). University of Wales, Lampeter. p. 338.
  7. ISBN 9781438453712
    .
  8. ISBN 9781438453712
    .
  9. ^ Ibn Kathir, Ismail (2000). Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim. Cairo: Maktabat Awlad al-Shaykh l'il Turath. pp. 6:320.
  10. ^ a b c d Lauzière, Henri (2015). The Making of Salafism: Islamic Reform in the Twentieth Century. Columbia University Press (Kindle edition). p. 6048 (Kindle location).
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