The Hand of God

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

Salutations and peace upon you, my master, Apostle of Allah

The luminous Mujaddid of the 14th century Hijri was undoubtedly Ala Hadrat, namely, Imam Ahmad Rida Khan of Bareli, rahmatullah alaih. His translation of the Holy Quran, titled Kanz ul-Iman, is certainly the best such translation of the Scripture in the Urdu language and is a remarkable contribution to the legacy of Islam. Some contemporary scholars, particularly those of the Ash'ari school of theology, say that words that occur in the Quran in relation to Allah such as Yad should be left untranslated in keeping with the spirit of tafwid, or consigning the meaning and modality of those words and relation to Allah that are from the mutashabihat. But Ala Hadrat, rahmatullah alaih, did translate Yad in relation to Allah to hath (hand) in Urdu, for instance:

 بَلْ يَدَاهُ مَبْسُوطَتَانِ يُنفِقُ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ

اس کے ہاتھ کشادہ ہیں عطا فرماتا ہے جیسے چاہے

His Hands are wide open; He gives as He wills

(Surah 5, Ayah 63)

يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ

ان کے ہاتھوں پر اللہ کا ہاتھ ہے

Upon their hands is the Hand of Allah

(Surah 48, Ayah 10)

Like Ala Hadrat, I see no problem in translating Yad to hand in relation to Allah. Nor is it problematic to speak of God's Face or God's Eyes. But the meaning of Hand, or Face or Eyes in relation to God is obviously not literal, and to understand it as a bodily limb is surely heresy—the heresy of anthropomorphism. We either consign the true meaning of these words in relation to God to the knowledge of God and the knowledge of His Apostle, peace be upon him, or give a figurative interpretation of them that fits the context and is sensible. For instance, when Allah says His Hands are wide open and He gives as He wishes, it is quite apparent that the meaning is not that God literally has hands but that He possesses the faculty to grant generously. Likewise, when the Quran speaks of the Eyes of God is it obvious it means that God has the faculty of sight, and not literal eyeballs, certainly not like the eyes of humans and animals.