Tafwid

Tafwid is a religious word used by Muslim scholars in Islamic belief.
It means leaving the knowledge of how something is to Allah.

In Islamic belief, tafwid means that the meaning of Allah’s attributes is known, but how they are is unknown. The how is left to Allah alone.النظام الفريد بتحقيق جوهرة التوحيد، لمحمد محيي الدين عبد الحميد، (ص: 128)

This idea became an important topic in Islamic belief discussions from the 4th century AH, especially when scholars spoke about Allah’s attributes.مشكل الحديث وبيانه، ابن فورك، عالم الكتب (ص 496)

Early Muslim scholars used tafwid to avoid comparing Allah to His creation. They believed that Allah is not like anything else, so people must not try to imagine how His attributes are.

Early scholars such as Ibn al-Majishun and Ahmad ibn Hanbal used tafwīḍ only for the how, not for the meaning. The attribute is affirmed as Allah described it, without asking how it is.

 Tafwid according to Sunnis 
For Sunnis, tafwid means:

 The meaning of Allah’s attributes is known
 The how of the attribute is unknown
 The how is left to Allah
 They do not change the meaning of the words.
 They believe in the attribute as it appears, but do not ask how it works.

A famous example is the saying of Imam Malik ibn Anas when he was asked about Allah’s rising over the Throne:

 “The rising is known,
 the how is not known,
 believing in it is required,

 and asking about it is an innovation.”موطأ مالك، مؤسسة زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان للأعمال الخيرية والإنسانية، مالك بن أنس (1/253)

This means:

 People know what the word means
 But they do not know how it is
 And they do not try to imagine it

 Explanation by Ibn Taymiyyah 
Ibn Taymiyyah explained that asking how Allah’s attributes work is wrong:

 He said asking “How does Allah rise?” is like asking:
 How does Allah hear?
 How does Allah see?
 How does Allah know?
 How does Allah create?
 He explained that Muslims:
 Know the meanings
 Do not know the how
 Leave the how to Allah

He said the early scholars all agreed on this way.شرح حديث النزول، المكتب الإسلامي، أحمد بن عبد الحليم ابن تيمية (ص: 32)

 Rationale for Sunni view on tafwid 
Sunnis say that Allah sent the Qur’an so people can understand it and think about its meanings. If meanings were unknown, people could not understand the Qur’an or think about it properly.درء تعارض العقل والنقل، دار الكتب العلمية، أحمد بن عبد الحليم ابن تيمية (1/278)

So:

 Meanings are understood
 The how is unknown
 The how is left to Allah

 References 

Category:Quran interpretation
Category:Islamic creed
Category:Islamic terminology