The doctrine of negation of Divine Attributes in the Shi‘a hadiths

The approach of negation of Divine Attributes in the matter of Divine Essence is a doctrine that is deemed today odd (shādhdh), but the hypothesis of affirmation of the Divine Attributes and their being exactly as the Divine Essence, as an interpretation of Unity of Divine Attributes (al-tawḥīd al-ṣifātī), is ascribed to the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a.s.). This research aims at seeking the approach of negation of Divine Attributes in the traditions transmitted from the Ahl al-Bayt and has reached the conclusion that an enormous volume of the Shi‘a traditions denotes negation of Divine Attributes, however, affirming the Divine Attributes is the approach of the late philosophers. For this reason, wherever in the traditions the negation of Divine Attributes is mentioned, it is interpreted and justified. by these thinkers. The traditions denoting negation of the Divine Attributes can be classified in four categories:  1) traditions denoting negation of Divine Attributes; 2) traditions denoting negation of description; 3) traditions denoting the mediation of the Divine Attributes (for instance, Knower by virtue of His Essence (‘ālimun li dhātih) instead of Knower of His knowledge (‘ālimun bi ‘ilmih)); and finally, 4) traditions denoting the contingency of names (ḥudūth al-asmā’).