Wahhābī Contention: “Mālik says Allāh has a how”

A detailed refutation of the modern Wahhābī claim that Imām Mālik’s statement “al-kayf majhūl” affirms a bodily modality for Allāh. This page explains the classical Sunni meaning of “bilā kayf,” the early Imāms’ rejection of modality, and the distortion of Mālik’s creed by anthropomorphists.

The Wahhābī Argument

Wahhābī claim: “Disassociating the unknown ‘how’ from Allāh’s attributes is silly. We will know the ‘how’ of seeing Allāh in Jannah, Moses learned the ‘how’ of Allāh’s speech when he spoke to Him. Mālik said ‘kayf is unknown,’ not ‘kayf is non-existent.’”

Response Summary

This argument mixes two different meanings of “how” (kayf):

  • Kayf = Reality (kunh) → Agreed: unknown to creation.
  • Kayf = Modality / bodily manner → Impossible for Allāh.

The Salaf negated modality — “bilā kayf” — meaning “without a manner,” not “there is a manner but we don’t know it.”

What Mālik Really Said

There are several narrations from Imām Mālik about the verse “ar-Raḥmān istawā ʿalā al-ʿArsh.” Two authentic versions say:

  • “al-kayf marfūʿ” — “the modality is negated / impossible.”
  • “al-kayf ghayr maʿqūl” — “the modality is inconceivable.”

Both of these explicitly deny modality, not affirm it. The phrasing “al-kayf majhūl” (unknown) was later misunderstood by literalists.

Statement of al-Qarāfī

Al-Qarāfī, a towering Mālikī jurist, said:

“The meaning of Mālik’s saying ‘the istiwā is not unknown’ is that our minds guide us to the istiwā that befits Allāh: istiilā (dominion), not sitting, which is only for bodies. And Mālik’s statement ‘the kayf is impossible’ means that Allāh is not described with what the Arabs meant by kayf — bodily states and changing conditions. This is impossible for the Lord.”

The Evolving Usage of “Kayf”

Later scholars sometimes used “kayf” in the sense of “reality” (kunh). Al-Zarkashī wrote:

“There is no way to comprehend the reality (kunh) of His essence or attributes. Human inability to conceptualize His reality is itself comprehension.”

Thus, if an Imām says “its kayf is unknown,” he means its reality is beyond comprehension — not that Allāh has a bodily modality hidden somewhere.

The Sunni Creed

Ahl al-Sunnah hold:

  • Allāh exists without place or direction.
  • His attributes are eternal and do not have modality.
  • Any word suggesting bodily manner (how, shape, location, movement) is categorically impossible for Allāh.

Therefore, the Wahhābī reading of “kayf” contradicts the foundations of tawḥīd and the consensus of the early scholars.