8. Whoever holds the belief or says that the Attributes of Allāh are accidents [ĥādith],
is a heretic.17
9. Whoever says that anything else [other than Allāh] is Pre-eternal [qadīm]; or doubts18
that [everything else] has come into existence at some point in time [ĥudūth], is a kāfir.
10. Allāh is neither the father, nor the son of anyone; nor does He have a spouse. Whoever
says that He has a father or a son or a wife is certainly a kāfir. In fact, whoever deems
it to be within the realm of possibility [for Allāh to have a son or wife] is a heretic.19
11. He is Ever-Living [ĥayy]; He gives life to every living thing. He gives life or death to
anyone or anything, whenever He Wills.
12. His Power [qudrah] encompasses every contingent20 thing; no contingent thing is
beyond His Divine Power.
13.That which is impossible to exist [muĥāl] is precluded from Divine Power; because
muĥāl, by the very definition, means something that is impossible to exist; if it were
subject to Divine Power [maqdūr] it would become possible for it to exist – which
means that it would not be muĥāl anymore. For instance, it is impossible [muĥāl] for
another god to exist; if [another god] were subject to Divine Power, then it would be
possible for [such a god] to exist; then, it ceases to be impossible anymore. And if one
does not believe that it is impossible [muĥāl] for another god to exist, he rejects
monotheism [tawĥīd]. Similarly, annihilation [fanā] of the Creator is impossible
[muĥāl]. If it were subject to Divine Power, it would then become possible [for Him
to be annihilated]. And that which can be annihilated cannot be God; which proves
that one who believes that the impossible [muĥāl] is included in Divine Power has in
essence, rejected God.
17 One who considers şifāt dhātiyyah as accidents is a kāfir. However, there is a difference of opinion between
Māturīdīs and Ashárīs on şifāt fiýliyyah. See Endnote 2.
18 Doubts or is undecided or is unsure; because one should have firm and unflinching belief in fundamental
precepts. Imām Aáżam (and thus, Māturīdīs) do not admit such ‘doubt’ even superficially and therefore,
disallow the statement: “in-sha’Allāh, I am/will be a believer.” Rather, one should say: “I am certainly a
believer” because the istithnā or saying In-shā’Allāh, appears as if one is not sure about their faith.
19 That is, if one mistakenly assumes that ‘taking a son is in Divine Power’ or in the metaphorical meaning of
‘son’ as the Jews and Christians say that we are ‘children of God’. However, if someone means ‘son’ as in
‘begotten by Him’ and who shares His Attributes, then it is outright kufr and idolatry.
20 Contingent [mumkin]: which may or may not exist; dependent on something for existence. Something that
can possibly exist – and if exists, which can also be annihilated.