The obligatory nature of Allah SWT is a characteristic attached to Him with all perfection, which is owned by Him alone as al-Kabir or Allah, the Greatest of all.
In Essence, Allah, as God Almighty, has unlimited characteristics, but the obligatory attributes for Allah that Muslims must believe are 20 characteristics.
In the book Akidah Akhlak Madrasah Aliyah Class X, written by H. Aminudin and Harjan Syuhada, the 20 obligatory characteristics for Allah are classified into four parts, namely nafsiyah, salbiyah, ma’ani, and ma’nawiyah.
So, are there any attributes that are obligatory for Allah? And what is meant by the obligatory attributes of Allah? To increase the value of our faith, let’s study the reviews below, as quoted from the same source.
The Definition of Obligatory Characteristics of Allah and Its Evidence
The attribute that is obligatory for Allah is the opposite of the attribute that is impossible for Allah, which means that Allah is the Most Perfect and Most Praised, without any ugliness that can be mentioned to Him.
The following are 20 obligatory attributes of Allah for Muslims to know.
1. Wujud (وُجُوْدٌ)
The first attribute obligatory for Allah is Wujud, which means existence. When we believe in Allah, we can feel His existence from all contents in this universe.
This has been stated in Surah Ibrahim verse 14:
وَلَنُسْكِنَّكُمُ الْاَرْضَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِهِمْ ۗذٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامِيْ وَخَافَ وَعِيْدِ
Meaning: “It is Allah who has created the heavens and the earth and sends down rainwater from the sky, then with that water, He brings out various fruits as sustenance for you.” (QS. Abraham, verse 14:32)
2. Qidam (قِدَمٌ)
Qidam means that Allah preceded and was not preceded by anything. Because He is a substance that has no beginning. This is written in the word of Allah surah Al Hadid verse 3, which reads:
هُوَ الْاَوَّلُ وَالْاٰخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُۚ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيْمٌ
Meaning: “He is the First, the Last, the Outward and the Inward; He is All-Knowing of all things.” (QS. Al Hadid, verse 3).
3. Baqa (بَقَاٌ)
Everything Allah creates will perish and be destroyed, while Allah will not. For it is kcal and does not change forever.
This is stated in surah Al Qasas verse 88:
وَلَا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللّٰهِ اِلٰهًا اٰخَرَۘ لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَۗ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ اِلَّا و َجْهَهٗ ۗ لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَاِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُوْنَ ࣖ
Meaning: “And do not (also) you worship other gods besides Allah. There is no god (who has the right to be worshiped) besides Him. Everything must perish except Allah. All decisions become His authority, and only you will be returned to Him. (QS. Al Qasas, verse 88).
4. Mukhalafatu lil hawaditsi (مُخَالَفَتُهُ لِلْحَوَادِثِ)
Mukhalafatu lil hawaditsi is Allah is different from all creatures. He can create all contents in the universe so that this Essence has the power to create various forms of creatures on Earth.
The argument regarding the obligatory nature of Allah Mukhalafatu lil hawaditsi is contained in the letter Asy Shura, verse 11 and Al Ikhlas verse 4, which reads:
فَاطِرُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا وَمِنَ ٱل ْأَنْعَٰمِ أَزْوَٰجًا ۖ يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ ۚ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِۦ شَىْءٌ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّم ِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ
Meaning: (He) Creator of the heavens and the Earth. He made pairs for you from your kind and partners from livestock types (also). He made you multiply in that way. There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing and All-Seeing.
وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ
Meaning: And there is no one equal to Him.
5. Qiyamuhu binafsihi (قِيَامُهُ بِنَفْسِهِ)
God stands alone with all perfect abilities, so he doesn’t need any help, unlike His creatures, who can only rely on God’s help.
يٰٓاَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاۤءُ اِلَى اللّٰهِ ۚوَاللّٰهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيْدُ
Meaning: “O people! It is you who need Allah, and Allah is the Richest (does not need anything), the Most Praised.” (QS. Fatir, verse 15).
6. Wahdaniyyah (وَحْدَانِِۃٌ)
The obligatory nature of Allah Wahdaniayh means that Allah is One or one. There can’t be two Gods. If that happens, the entire universe will be destroyed, and catastrophe will occur.
لَوْ كَانَ فِيْهِمَآ اٰلِهَةٌ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ لَفَسَدَتَاۚ فَسُبْحٰنَ اللّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُوْنَ
Meaning: “If in both (in the heavens and on earth) there was another god besides Allah, surely both of them would have perished.” (QS. Al Anbiya, verse 22)
7. Qudrat (قُدْرَۃٌ)
Countless proofs of Allah’s power, and none can match it. From humans since the prophetic era until now, billions more heavenly bodies, and many more.
لِلّٰهِ مُلْكُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِ وَمَا فِيْهِنَّ ۗوَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ ࣖ
Meaning: “To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is in them, and He has power over all things.” (QS. Al Maidah, verse 120)
8. Iradat (اِرَادَۃٌ)
Allah has the nature of will, so what He wants is absolute from Allah, and nothing can hinder or forbid Him.
اِنَّمَآ اَمْرُهٗٓ اِذَآ اَرَادَ شَيْـًٔاۖ اَنْ يَّقُوْلَ لَهٗ كُنْ فَيَكُوْنُ
Meaning: “Indeed, his business if He wants something, He just said to him. Be! Then be something.” (QS. Yasin, verse 82)
9. ‘Ilmun (عِلْمٌ)
Humans need to learn to gain knowledge and knowledge. But not with Allah, because He is the All-Knower of whatever happens in the heavens and the Earth.
“Surely Allah is All-Knower of all things.” (QS. Al Mujjadi, verse 7)
10. Hayat (حَيَّۃٌ)
Allah Ta’ala is the Living One. Because only He is eternal and eternal. It is God who can animate everything. Without being preceded by Him, there would be no life as it is today.
هُوَ الْحَيُّ لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ فَادْعُوْهُ مُخْلِصِيْنَ لَهُ الدِّيْنَ ۗ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ
“He is the one who lives eternally; there is no God but Him, so worship Him sincerely and have faith in Him.” (QS. Gafir, verse 65)
11. Sama’ (سَمَعٌ)
The 11th obligatory attribute of Allah is Sama’ or Samu’un which in Arabic means to hear.
Whatever the sound his creature utters, only Allah, the best Hearers. Even without a sound, He is the All-Knowing.
وَاِذْ يَرْفَعُ اِبْرٰهٖمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَاِسْمٰعِيْلُۗ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا ۗ اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ السَّمِيْعُ الْعَلِيْمُ
Meaning: And (remember) when Abraham raised the foundation of the Baitullah with Ismail, (while praying), “O our Lord, accept (charity) from us. Verily, You are the All-Hearing, All-Knowing. (QS. Al Baqarah, verse 127)
12. Bashar (بَصَرٌ)
Everything small, big, even hidden things can be seen clearly by God without the need for any tools. Even in the human heart, it does not escape the sight of God.
وَحَسِبُوْٓا اَلَّا تَكُوْنَ فِتْنَةٌ فَعَمُوْا وَصَمُّوْا ثُمَّ تَابَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ثُمَّ عَمُوْا وَصَمُّوْا كَثِيْرٌ مِّنْهُمْۗ وَاللّٰهُ بَصِيْرٌۢ بِمَا يَعْمَلُوْنَ
Meaning: And they thought that no disaster would happen (against them by killing the prophets), because of that they became blind and deaf, then Allah accepted their repentance, then many of them were blind and deaf. And Allah is Seeing of what they do. (QS. Al Maidah, verse 71)
13. Kalam (كِلَامٌ)
Unlike humans, who need to learn first to say something, God communicates in his language, called kalamullah, or the word of God.
Allah said through the book that was revealed by the intermediaries of the Prophets. The Koran is a sign of God’s existence and proof that God spoke or spoke.
وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ اَنْ يُّكَلِّمَهُ اللّٰهُ اِلَّا وَحْيًا اَوْ مِنْ وَّرَاۤئِ حِجَابٍ اَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُوْلًا فَيُوْحِيَ بِاِذْنِهٖ مَا يَشَاۤءُ ۗاِنَّهٗ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيْمٌ
Meaning: “And it is not proper for a human being that Allah will speak to him except by means of revelation or from behind the veil or by sending messengers (angels) then revealed to him with his permission what he wants. Truly He is Most High, Most Wise.” (QS. Asy Shura, verse 51)
14. Qadiran (قَادِرًا)
Allah is the most powerful Essence in the entire universe. Only Allah can create everything.
15. Muridan (مُرِیدًا)
Everything that God wants can happen with his permission, without anyone being able to resist destiny or His will.
16. Aliman (عَالِمًا)
Humans and other creatures created by God have limitations in knowing something. But not with Allah; he already knows what his creatures do not know.
17. Hayyan (حَيًّا)
Allah is the only Essence of Life and can give life. This nature is the same as eternal, which will not perish. He always watches over His servants and never sleeps.
18. Sami’an (سَمِيْعًا)
Hearing God’s creatures is very limited compared to Him, who is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Nothing is left out of sight for God, and nothing can pass His hearing.
19. Bashiran (بَصِيْرًا)
Only Allah can oversee the various conditions of each people person’s entire universe. For that, we should always do good.
20. Mutakalliman (ﻣُﺘَﻜَﻠِّﻤًﺎ)
The last obligatory attribute of Allah is the One who speaks or speaks. The word of God has been written in the entire Koran and hadith.
Classification of Mandatory Characteristics of Allah
Classification of mandatory attributes for Allah (Photo: Parboaboa/Ratni)
After we learn about the features obligatory for Allah, another essential thing is to know the classification of these characteristics.
Quoting from a book entitled Faith and Morals by Taofik Yusmansyah, there are four categories of obligatory attributes for Allah, namely:
1. Nature of Nafsiyah
The nature of nafsiyah means it is only related to the Essence of Allah SWT. The nature of nafsiyah is only one, namely form, which means there is.
Believing that Allah is existential is one of the characteristics of faith in Allah SWT. If Allah does not exist, then the world and the universe do not exist.
This has been written in Surah Ibrahim verse 32:
ٱللَّهُٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَخْرَ جَ بِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ رِزْقًا لَّكُمْ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ ٱلْفُلْكَ لِتَجْرِىَ فِى ٱل ْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَنْهَٰرَ
Latin reading: ” Allāhullażī khalaqas-samāwāti wal-arḍa wa anzala minas-samā`i mā`an fa akhraja bihī minaṡ-ṡamarāti rizqallakum, wa sakhkhara akumul-fulka litajriya fil-baḥri bi`amrih, wasakhkhara akumul-an-hār . ”
Meaning: “It is Allah who has created the heavens and the earth and sends down rainwater from the sky, then He brings forth with it various fruits as sustenance for you; and He has subjected the ark to you so that the ark sails in the ocean with His will Him, and He has subjected (also) rivers to you,”
2. Salbiyah nature
The nature of salbiyah means rejecting all qualities that are not worthy of Allah or used to eliminate something inappropriate because Allah is perfect and has no flaws.
The nature of salbiyah is only possessed by Allah, not His creatures. The characteristics that go into it are qidam, mukhalafatu lil hawadisi, qiyamuhu binafsihi, and wahdaniyah.
Qidam itself means the former, meaning Allah is the first to exist from all, including the world. In the past, God did not use the word beginning; if God used the beginning, something must have caused God’s existence.
This is impossible because Allah is the end of all in the heavens and the Earth, by what is embedded in the letter Al Hadid verse 3.
هُوَٱلْأَوَّلُ وَٱلْءَاخِرُ وَٱلظَّٰهِرُ وَٱلْبَاطِنُ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Latin reading: ” Huwal-awwalu wal-ākhiru waẓ-ẓāhiru wal-bāṭin, wa huwa bikulli syai`in ‘alīm.”
Meaning: “He is the First and the Last, the Zhahir and the Inner; and He is All-Knowing of everything,”
Like baqa, which means eternal, Allah will not be destroyed and damaged. If God can be corrupted, then He is not God but a creature. The eternal nature of God is mentioned in the Qur’an in the letter Ar Rahman, verse 27, as follows:
وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو ٱلْجَلَٰلِ وَٱلْإِكْرَامِ
Latin reading: ” Wa yabqā waj-hu rabbika żul-jalāli wal-ikrām .”
Meaning: “And the Substance of your Lord will remain eternal, which has greatness and glory,”
Next is mukhlafatu lil hawadisi, which means Allah SWT differs from His creatures. There is not a single creature that resembles Allah in terms of nature and deeds.
Then, another obligatory attribute of Allah which is included in the attribute of salbiyah, is qiyamuhu binafsihi. That is, Allah SWT stands alone and does not need any help from anyone.
Allah does not depend on other than Him; in fact, He is the one who depends on all the creatures that He created.
The last one is wahdaniyah, which means the one and only. This attribute shows that Allah is the only God.
3. The nature of Ma’ani
The nature of ma’ani means the nature contained in the Essence of Allah by His perfection. Seven attributes of Allah fall into this category of details: qudrat, iradat, knowledge, life, sama, basar, and kalam.
According to the book Aqidah Akhlak by Taofik Yusmansyah, qudrat means power. The existence of the universe and its contents is proof of Allah’s power. Meanwhile, iradat means will. Allah’s will is free; no one can forbid or rule Him, and everything created by Allah is His will.
The nature of life that belongs to God means life. Allah is Alive and does not need anything to survive because Allah’s life has no beginning or end.
Furthermore, the exact nature ‘means to hear even though God can listen to all sounds, whether explicit, faint, or even those not heard by humans.
Nature means to see. God can see everything, both visible and hidden. Everything does not escape the sight and supervision of Allah SWT.
The last is the nature of kalam. Kalam means to say or speak. This attribute shows that Allah communicates with His creatures, such as the prophets and messengers. Allah communicates with His language, which is called kalamullah.
4. The nature of Ma’nawiyah
The nature of ma’nawiyah is a trait closely related to the characteristics of ma’ani. This characteristic cannot stand alone because, in each ma’ani characteristic, there is a ma’nawiyah characteristic, also referred to as a reinforcement for ma’ani characteristics. The nature of ma’nawiyah consists of the following:
- Qadiran means Almighty over everything
- Muridan means the Most Willing of all things
- Aliman means All-Knowing; nothing escapes the supervision of Allah
- Hayyan means Most Living; it is Allah who gives life to all creatures on Earth
- Sami’an means Hears over everything
- Basiran means All-Seeing; Allah can see anything that is visible or hidden
- Mutakalliman means All-Speaking or Saying; Allah gives instructions to humans through His word
Those are mandatory attributes for Allah. Hopefully, after understanding these mandatory characteristics, we can increase our faith in the Creator.