علیرضا روحی

The knowledge of God and His attributes has always occupied the minds of humans. Throughout history, many individuals have resorted to anthropomorphism and corporealization to understand God and His attributes. They often imagined God in their minds as a physical being, either resembling their forefathers or a human-like figure with commendable or extraordinary characteristics. With the advent of Islam and its relentless struggle against polytheism, many polytheistic ideas were pushed to the margins; however, significant discussions emerged concerning the attributes of God and their interpretation, marking the onset of the first religious disputes among Muslims. A group of Muslims, later known as Mushabbiha (anthropomorphists) and Mujassima (corporealists), argued for the attribution of human and corporeal traits to God, based on the apparent meanings of certain Qurʾanic verses and Hadiths, particularly those classified as Israelite traditions ( Isrāʾīliyyāt ). This research, structured descriptively and analytically, explores the background of this theological movement and the role of Imam al-Rida in combating it. The findings of this study indicate that this movement has deep historical roots, reaching its peak during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Following the conduct of the Ahl al-Bayt, Imam al-Rida not only repelled the accusations of corporealization and anthropomorphism directed at the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt by their opponents, but also engaged in a thorough battle against this deviant ideology by explaining the correct meaning of the reported attributes ( al-ṣifāt al-khabariyya ), providing a systematic interpretation of the verses concerning divine attributes, clarifying the Hadiths that could be construed as supporting anthropomorphism, and taking a firm stance against the proponents of these ideas.