المعنى الاصطلاحي

Attributes which relate to the will of Allah, the Almighty, and whose instances recur according to His will.

الشرح المختصر

"Sifāt fi‘liyyah" (attributes of Allah's actions) are the "sifāt" (attributes) that are connected with Allah's will, may He be Glorified and Exalted. If He wills, He does those acts; if He does not will, He does not do them. They are the "sifāt" which are not constant in the one characterized by them or those which are not directly related to the essence, such as rising above the Throne, descending to the lowest heaven, coming, being pleased, loving, etc. "Sifāt fi‘liyyah" fall into two categories with respect to how they relate: 1. "Sifāt muta‘addiyyah": those whose effect passes on to something else, such as creating, providing sustenance, giving life, causing death, and other kinds of arrangements. 2. "Sifāt lāzimah": those that relate to the divine essence, such as speaking, descending, rising above the Throne, and so forth. An attribute could pertain to the divine essence and actions at the same time. Speaking, for example, is, in principle, an attribute of Allah's essence since Allah will always be and has always been speaking. Considering the individual instances of speaking, it is an attribute of Allah's actions, since speaking is connected with His will. Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, speaks whenever He wills and whatever He wills. "Sifāt Fi‘liyyah" fall into two categories from another respect: 1. Textually-reported "sifāt" pertaining to Allah's actions: these are the attributes which are affirmed entirely by textual evidence (the Qur'an and the Sunnah), and which cannot be recognized by the mind were it not for the texts which express them, but also which cannot be denied by reason, like rising above the Throne, descending, coming, etc. 2. Logical "sifāt" pertaining to Allah's actions: these are the attributes that can be perceived by the mind, although they are mentioned in the texts as well. Had they not been mentioned in the texts, the mind would still have perceived them, like, for example, creating, giving life, causing death, and providing sustenance. Competent researching scholars explained that "Sifāt Fi‘liyyah" are eternal in nature but occur in individual instances.