المعنى الاصطلاحي

Negating the Names and Attributes that are due to Allah Almighty, or denying some thereof.

الشرح المختصر

"Ta`teel" (Negation): to negate Allah's most beautiful Names and His divine Attributes, and denying their ascription to Him, by negating their facts, indications and the meanings they imply. The difference between this and "tahreef", is that "ta`teel" is to deny the true meaning that is proven by the Qur'an and Sunnah, while "tahreef" is to explain the texts by using incorrect meanings that do not indicate their true meaning in any way. Hence, "tahreef" and "ta`teel" can occur together, like when the the false meaning is affirmed while the true one is negated. "Ta`teel" may occur without "tahreef" as in the case of those who negate the attributes reported in the Qur'an and Sunnah and claim that they mean something other than what is apparently understood. However, they do not adopt a specific meaning for such attributes. Those people call themselves "Mufawwidah". Another opinion suggests that "tahreef" occurs in the evidence (of the name or attribute), while "ta`teel" occurs in the meaning.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر

"Ta`teel": emptying and vacating. It is derived from the word "`atal", which means emptiness, vacancy and leaving.

التعريف

To negate what God has mentioned of his names and attributes, whether totally or partially, by distortion or outright denial. Those who subscribe to this doctrine call it tafwīḍ.