What are the correct sources that clarify the creed of the Imams (especially their stance on the names and attributes of Allah) such as Imam Abu Hanifa, Malik, Al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, Al-Ghazali, Al-Nawawi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abi Zayd Al-Qayrawani, and Abu Al-Hasan Al-Ash'ari, to help my brother who believes that "the Hand of Allah" means "Power"?
The creed of the Salaf is to affirm the attributes of Allah Almighty that He has affirmed for Himself or that His Messenger, peace be upon him, has affirmed for Him, without tashbeeh (likening Him to creation), tamtheel (anthropomorphism), ta'weel (figurative interpretation), or ta'teel (negating the attributes). Interpreting the "hand" as power or capability is the doctrine of the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, and later Ash'aris. As for Allah's Hand, it is an attribute befitting His majesty and perfection, and it does not resemble the attributes of created beings. This has been explicitly stated by imams such as Abu Hanifah, Al-Tirmidhi, and Abu Al- Al-Ash'ari. Abu Hanifah said that Allah has a Hand, a Face, and a Self, without kayf (modality), and His Hand is not His power or His blessing, because that would be negating the attribute. Al-Tirmidhi said that the narrations concerning the attributes must be believed in without takyif (describing their modality), and that the Jahmiyyah interpreted the verses regarding the Hand, Hearing, and Sight differently from how the people of knowledge interpreted them, and that tashbeeh (likening) occurs by saying "a hand like a hand." The creed of the imams can be known from their writings and from specialized books on creed.
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