Bilakaifa

Bi-la kaifa


Bi-la kayf (Arabic: بلا كيف) is an Arabic phase roughly translated as "without asking how." It addresses the theological problem in Islam of how do deal with verses in the Qu'ran that refer to Allah as having human characteristics, i.e. the Hand of Allah or the Face of Allah. These verses are problematic because they give Allah human characteristics, something which is contrary to the Islamic concept of Allah as being transcendental. The term was first used by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari in his development of a theological system that would resolve some of the paradoxes in Mu'tazilah thought. Instead of explaining how Allah can have a face, which would anthropomorphize Allah, or explaining the verses as metaphorical, which would cast doubt on the literalness of the Qur'an, the verse are simply accepted as they are, without asking how or why.