Q: What is the difference between the Names and the Attributes of Allah?
A: All the Names of Allah (Glorified be He) imply Attributes that fit Him (Exalted be He), suit His Perfection, and are not comparable to the attributes of any of His creatures. It is worth mentioning that Allah's Names are both proper Names and Attributes for Him (Glorified be He). Examples of Allah's Names are the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, the AllMighty, the AllWise, the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects, the Giver of security, and the Watcher over His creatures. Muslims have to believe in all the foregoing Names of Allah (Glorified be He) in a way that suits Allah's Majesty with no Tahrif (distortion of the meaning), Ta`til (denial of Allah's Attributes), Takyif (questioning Allah's Attributes, or Tamthil (likening Allah's Attributes to those of His Creation). This is exactly what the scholars of our Salaf (righteous predecessors) such as Malik, AlThawry, AlAwza`y and others meant by saying: "Believe in Alla'h Names 'Attributes' as they stated by Qur'an and Sunnah without questioning them."
This signifies that it is Wajib (obligatory) to believe in Allah's Names and Attributes in a manner that suits Him (Glorified be He). However, the manner of Allah's Attributes is only known to Allah (Glorified be He). It is thus narrated that when Malik (may Allah be merciful with him) was asked about Allah's saying: The Most Gracious (Allâh) rose over (Istawâ) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). how does this Istiwa' (rising over) take place? He (may Allah be merciful with him) answered: "Istiwa' is wellknown, its manner is unknown, believing in it is Wajib and asking about it is Bid`ah 'innovation in religion'." Imam Malik, in the foregoing statement, meant that asking about the manner of Istiwa' is Bid`ah. In fact, Imam Malik conveyed this from his Shaykh Rabi`ah ibn Abu `AbdulRahman, and Um Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her). This is in fact the view of all the Salaf as conveyed from them by many scholars including Shaykh
Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah be merciful with him) in his books Al`Aqidah AlWasitiyyah, AlHamawiyyah, AlTadmuriyyah, and some of his other books as was conveyed by the prominent scholar Ibn AlQayyim (may Allah be merciful with him) in his renowned books. The same was also conveyed earlier by Abu AlHasan AlAsh`ary (may Allah be merciful with him).