:salam2:
(Continuation of 'Section III. A Refutation of the Ash'arees')
In addition, if the Ash'arees maintain that the kalaam of Allaah is without sound, then the following points must be answered:
1) If the kalaam of Allaah is without sound, then what did Moosa hear when Allaah spoke to Him? If they respond that Allaah created a sound, and caused Moosa to hear that created sound, then this means that this created object stated,
"O Moosaa, Verily, I am your Lord...Verily, I am Allaah, there is not god save me, so worship Me..." (20:12-14).
Therefore, if they state this, it implies that this created object claimed to be Allaah, and asked Moosa to worship it! However, if they state that it was the actual kalaam of Allaah, then it must be asked, "How then did Moosa hear it if you claim that Allaah's kalaam is without sound?" The scholars of the Ash'arees have not been able to provide a satisfactory response for this.
2) If the kalaam of Allaah is without sound, then what special status do those prophets whom Allaah spoke to gain? In other words, what is the superiority of Moosa over the other prophets if he did not hear the kalaam of Allaah? The Qur`aan mentions that one of the blessings that certain prophets have been given is that Allaah spoke to them directly:
"These are the Messengers! Some of them We blessed (with a higher status) over others. Some of them Allaah spoke to..." (2:253).
Also, if Allaah speaks to a prophet, but that prophet cannot hear him, then of what difference is this type of inspiration to the other types of inspiration? Allaah says,
"It is not possible for any human being that Allaah should speak to him, unless it be by Inspiration, or from behind a veil, or (that) He sends a Messenger to reveal what He will by His Permission. Verily, He is the Most High, Most Wise" (42:51)
This verse mentions different types of inspirations. If, according to the Ash'arees, the kalaam of Allaah cannot be heard, then when Allaah speaks from 'behind a veil,' how is this different from the other forms of inspiration? [47]
3) If the kalaam of Allaah is an 'internal' kalaam, similar to the 'speech' of the mind, then what is the difference between the Knowledge ('ilm) of Allaah, and His Speech. Allaah has described Himself with both of these characteristics in the Qur`aan. If the Speech of Allaah cannot be heard, and is an internal Speech, then this implies that it is the same as the Attribute of Knowledge.
There is another point that the belief of the Ash'arees implies, and this is a very dangerous implication: Just as the attribute of speech is a noble attribute, its opposite, muteness, is a characteristic that is not desired, nor is it considered praiseworthy. It is well known that the one who is mute is not like the one who speaks. Therefore, to claim that Allaah does not possess the attribute of speech (or to interpret it away as the Ash'arees do) is in reality blasphemous, as this then implies that the Creator is mute, yet Allaah is free of all attributes of imperfection. In fact, this principle of faith was one of the most powerful arguments that the prophets used to deny the worship of other than Allaah! The stories of Ibraheem and Moosaa clearly show this.
The Story of Ibraheem
Ibraheem's story with the idols is well known: Ibraheem destroyed all of the idols of his people except the largest one. When his people discovered this, they questioned him as to whether he was the culprit.
Ibraheem answered, as mentioned in the Qur`aan,
"'Rather, this one, the largest of them, did it! (Why don't you) ask them, if they can speak!' So they turned to themselves, and said, 'Verily, you are the wrong-doers (since you left the idols unguarded).' Then they turned to themselves (again) and (responded), 'You know very well (O Ibraheem) that these (idols) do not speak' (Abraham) replied, 'Do you then worship besides Allaah objects that can neither profit you nor harm you? Fie to you, and upon that which you worship besides Allaah! Have you no sense?!'" (21:63-67)
In these verses, Ibraheem showed his people that their idols were not worthy of worship, primarily because they could not speak. After they themselves acknowledged this, Ibraheem rebuked them, and asked them, "Have you no sense?!" meaning, "How can an object that cannot even speak be worthy of worship?" Notice that Ibraheem was referring to a speech that could be heard, for Ibraheem's people did not answer Ibraheem with the belief of the Ash'arees, "Our god speaks, but a speech that is not heard - an internal speech of the mind!" for they understood what Ibraheem meant!! This is why they turned to themselves, and realised the foolishness of their actions, and could only reply with the feeble response that everyone knew that their idols could not speak!
The Story of Moosa
Likewise, when the Children of Israa`eel took the calf that they had built as an object of worship, they were reprimanded in the Qur`aan. Allaah says,
"Did they (those who worshipped the calf) not realise that it (the calf) could not respond to them with a (single) word, nor did it have any power to harm or benefit them?" (20:89)
In another verse, Allaah says,
"And the people of Moses made in his absence, out of their ornaments, the image of a calf that made a sound (like the mooing of a cow). Did they not realise that it could not speak to them, nor guide them to the (straight) path?" (7:148)
In these two verses, Allaah reprimanded the Children of Israa`eel for worshipping the calf, since the calf was not a perfect object, and one of the clearest indications that it was not worthy of worship was that it could not speak! Even though the calf made noises, it was not capable of intelligent speech.
Therefore, these two stories show that muteness and incoherent speech are attributes that do not befit the Creator, and thus the people of Ibraheem and Moosaa were rebuked for taking gods that were mute. Yet, the Ash'arees, thinking that they were removing all negative attributes from Allaah, in reality equated the Creator with the attributes of these idols, and thus fell into the same error as the people of Moosa and Ibraheem did with regards to the attribute of speech! This is why Haaroon ibn Ma'roof (d. 231 A.H.), one of the scholars of the salaf, said, "Whoever presumes that Allaah does not speak, then in reality he is worshipping idols." [48]
The Ash'arees also claim that the kalaam of Allaah is not related to His will, which implies that Allaah does not speak when He wishes to, but rather He is continually speaking. The fact that Allaah's kalaam is related to His Will (in other words, Allaah Speaks when He wishes to Speak) is clearly shown in the Qur`aan. Allaah says,
"Verily, His Command, whenever He intends a thing, is only that He says, 'Be!' - and it is" (37:82).
In this verse, Allaah clearly shows that His kalaam is related to His Will, for whenever Allaah intends a thing, He says to it "Be!" which proves that Allaah Speaks when He wishes. Likewise, Allaah states,
"And when Moosa came to Our appointed time and place, and his Lord spoke with him..." (7:143).
This verse shows that Allaah spoke to Moosa after Moosa had arrived to the meeting point; not before it, nor after it - once again proving that Allaah speaks when He wishes.
The Ash'arees also claim that the kalaam of Allaah is all the same meaning, [49] and cannot be divided into parts. This principle then leads them to state that the Qur`aan, Torah and Injeel are in essence the same, and they only differ in their expressions and languages. If this were the case in reality, then the Qur`aan, Torah and Injeel, when translated into one language, should be the same, since their essence is the same. However, it is well known that each of these three books differs from the other greatly.
In addition, if the kalaam of Allaah cannot be divided into parts, and is one whole concept, then this raises a problem that the Ash'arees must solve. The following conversation between one of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah, Aboo Nasr as-Sijazee (d. 444 A.H.) and one of the scholars of the Ash'arees will prove interesting: [50]
QUOTE
Aboo Nasr said to the Ash'aree, "What do you say when Allaah spoke to Moosa? Did he understand all of the kalaam of Allaah (i.e., if the kalaam of Allaah cannot be divided into parts, then did Moosa hear all of the kalaam of Allaah)?"
The Ash'aree hesitated a little, and questioned, "What do you intend by this question?" Aboo Nasr responded, "Forget what I intend, and respond to my question!" but the Ash'aree refused to respond until Aboo Nasr told him what he meant by this question.
Aboo Nasr then responded, "What I intend is as follows: If you respond to my question by stating that Moosa understood all of the kalaam of Allaah, then this implies that there is not a single kalaam of Allaah except that Moosa comprehended it, and this is blasphemy and disbelief (for this would imply that Moosa had been given all of the knowledge of Allaah)... but if you do not say this, then you are forced to state that Allaah made Moosa comprehend some part of His kalaam, and by this statement you have caused yourself to fall into the same thing that you pretend to run away from, and that is the belief that Allaah's kalaam can be divided. You also claimed that one who says that the kalaam of Allaah can be divided is a disbeliever, yet you have been forced to say it yourself. Therefore, your opponent will be the victor over you, since he believed in what was stated in the Qur`aan and sunnah, (which came) from Allaah and His Messenger (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam), but you refused to submit to them, and instead claimed that it was obligatory to turn to your intellect (to understand these concepts). Yet, your intellect has forced you to agree with the revelation (in that the kalaam of Allaah can be divided into parts), and in the process you have humiliated yourself!"
The Ash'aree responded, "This requires some time for me to think," and left the conversation.
In other words, if the kalaam of Allaah is one essence, and cannot be divided into parts, then when Allaah spoke to Moosa, did Moosa hear all of the kalaam of Allaah? If so, then this implies that Moosa gained all the knowledge of Allaah, and this is not possible. However, if this is not so, then this implies that Moosa understood a part of the kalaam of Allaah, which is what the Ahl as-Sunnah believe.
The final point that will be discussed is in fact the most dangerous consequence of the belief of the Ash'arees. Since the Ash'arees claimed that Allaah did not actually speak the Qur`aan with a voice that is heard, and that His kalaam is not in any language, and not composed of words and letters, they then had to answer a number of questions, including: "Where did the Qur`aan that is present amongst us originate from? And what, then, is the Arabic Qur`aan, with its words and letters?"
In other words, since the Ash'arees claimed that Allaah's kalaam could not be heard, then from where did the Qur`aan come from? And who was the first to recite it? And if, as the Ash'arees claim, the kalaam of Allaah is not in any language, and neither is it composed of words and letters, then what is the relationship of the Qur`aan, which is in Arabic and composed of words and letters, with the kalaam of Allaah?
Concerning this point, the Ash'arees were forced to admit that the Qur`aan is not the actual kalaam of Allaah (since it is in Arabic, and composed of words and letters), but instead an 'expression' (Ar. 'hikaayah', or ''ibaarah') of the kalaam of Allaah. As to who (or what) was the first to actually 'express' it, the Ash'arees differed amongst themselves into a number of opinions, all of which are equally blasphemous! Most of them stated that the Qur`aan was first created in the Lauh al-Mahfoodh (in other words, the Arabic words of the Qur`aan did not exist until they were created by Allaah in the Lauh al-Mahfoodh), thus explicitly claiming that the Qur`aan was created; others stated that Allaah made Jibreel understand the meaning of the Qur`aan, and Jibreel was the first to verbalize it, thus making the Qur`aan the speech of Jibreel; yet others stated that the Qur`aan was inspired in meaning and first spoken by the Prophet (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam), thus making the Qur`aan the speech of the Prophet Muhammad (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam).
In other words, the Ash'arees were forced to admit that the Arabic Qur`aan is not the actual kalaam of Allaah, and that it is created. This is due to the fact that they differentiated between what they called an 'internal kalaam' of Allaah, which is without language, sound and words, and between the actual Qur`aan, which is in Arabic, recited and heard, and composed of words. This 'internal kalaam' of Allaah, according to them, is not created, but the Qur`aan, since it is only an 'expression' of the 'internal kalaam', and not the actual kalaam of Allaah, must be created.
Thus, the Ash'arees explicitly state and believe that the Qur`aan is created, even though they then follow up this statement with the phrase, "...but the kalaam of Allaah is not." As one of their most famous scholars, Ibraheem al-Baajooree (d. 1277 A.H.), wrote, "The belief of the Ahl as-Sunnah (intending the belief of the Ash'arees) is that the Qur`aan, meaning the internal kalaam (of Allaah) is not created, but the Qur`aan, meaning the one that we recite, is created." [51]
Therefore, in essence, the Ash'arees agreed with the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah that the Qur`aan is created.
It must be asked: When all of the scholars of the salaf vehemently spoke against those who believed that the Qur`aan was created, and even accused them of disbelief, were they referring to this concept of 'internal kalaam' that the Ash'arees invented, or where they referring to the Qur`aan that is well known to all Muslims? And when Imaam al-Lalikaa`ee (d. 418 A.H.) quoted over five-hundred scholars of the salaf stating that the Qur`aan is the kalaam of Allaah, and not created, did any of these scholars differentiate between this 'internal kalaam' and the actual Qur`aan, and state that the Qur`aan is only an 'expression' of this 'internal kalaam'?
The answer is very clear: none of the salaf preached or believed the doctrines that the Ash'arees invented, and none of them differentiated between an 'internal kalaam of Allaah' and the Qur`aan. What the salaf were referring to when they said that the Qur`aan is the kalaam of Allaah, and that the Qur`aan is not created, is the actual Qur`aan, and not an imaginary and invented 'internal kalaam'. None of them, not even a single scholar (before Aboo al-Hasan al-Ash'aree and his teacher Ibn Kullaab), mentioned this concept of an 'internal' kalaam, and differentiated between it and the actual Qur`aan! The salaf are all quoted as saying, "The Qur`aan is the kalaam of Allaah, not created," yet the Ash'arees state, "The Qur`aan is only an expression of the kalaam of Allaah, and is created"!!
أ¢â‚¬إ“Are these two examples the same? Alhamdulillaah; but most of them do not know!" (39:29).
In fact, some of the early scholars during the time of the salaf explicitly refuted the beliefs of the Ashأ¢â‚¬â„¢aarees. Ahmad ibn Seenan al-Waasitee (d. 256 A.H.), one of the teachers of Imaam al-Bukhaaree (d. 256 A.H.) and Imaam Muslim (d. 261 A.H.), said in refutation of the belief of Ibn Kullaab (which was later taken by Aboo al-Hasan al-Ash'aree), "Whoever presumes that the Qur`aan...is only an 'expression' (of the kalaam of Allaah) is a heretic who wishes to destroy Islaam. He is a disbeliever in Allaah. This Qur`aan is the Qur`aan that Allaah revealed through Jibreel to the Prophet (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam)..." [52]
The scholar Aboo al-Abbaas Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Surayj (d. 303 A.H.), whom Imaam ad-Dhahabi called the 'Renovator' (mujaddid) of the fourth century [53], and because of whom the fiqh of Imaam as-Shafi'ee (d. 204 A.H.) was popularised, wrote,
QUOTE
"And it has been affirmed and agreed by all the people of this religion, of the sunnah and jamaa'ah, from the salaf that past, from the Companions, and the Successors, and the famous and rightly guided scholars to this time of ours, that all the verses pertaining to the Attributes of Allaah, and the authentic narrations coming from the Prophet (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam) concerning the Attributes...that it is mandatory to believe in them, in each and every one of them, just as they came, and to leave the actuality of them to Allaah..." (and he mentioned some Attributes, then said) "...and to affirm the kalaam (of Allaah), with letters, and with sound, and in different languages, and in words, and soorahs.... and all of this, we accept it, and do not reject it, nor do we interpret them with the interpretations of the other (groups), or with the anthropomorphism of the anthropomorphists...Rather, we say what Allaah has said, and interpret it as the Prophet (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam) interpreted it, and the Companions, and the Successors, and the scholars of the salaf, those who are well known for their religion and character. And we agree upon that which they agreed upon, and do not talk with what they did not talk about (i.e., we do not give interpretations that were not given by them), but rather we accept the apparent (meanings) of the narrations (of the hadeeth) and the verses (of the Qur`aan). And we do not give the interpretations of the Mu'tazilah, or of the Ash'arees, or of the Jahmiyyah...but rather we accept it (these Attributes) all without any interpretation (i.e., we accept the apparent meanings of it), and believe in it without comparing (them to the Creation). And we state, 'The belief in these (Attributes) is obligatory, and to speak of them is from the sunnah, but to try to interpret it (i.e., the way these groups have done) is an innovation!'"
[54]
In addition, the beliefs of the Ash'arees are very similiar to the beliefs of the Lafdhiyyah (mentioned above), who believed that a person's recitation of the Qur`aan is created (whereas the Ash'arees believe that the actual text of the Qur`aan and the recitation of the Qur`aan is created). Imaam Ahmad (d. 241 A.H.) stated, "The Lafdhiyyah are in reality encircling the belief of Jahm (ibn Safwaan), for they believe that Jibreel came with something created (to the Prophet (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam))." [55]. In another narration, Imaam Ahmad was asked, "What is your opinion concerning those who say, 'Our recitation of the Qur`aan is created''? Imaam Ahmad replied, "These people are worse than the Jahmiyyah. Whoever believes this, then he believes that Jibreel came with something created, and the Prophet (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam) preached something created!" [56] It should be noted that the belief that Jibreel came with something created, and the Prophet (sulAllahu أ¢â‚¬ثœalayhi wassalaam) preached something created, is exactly the belief of the Ash'arees, for they believe that the Arabic Qur`aan is created.
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Footnotes:
[47]Refer to Chapter 3 of the book for the discussion of the various types of inspiration (wahy).
[48]Reported by أ¢â‚¬ثœAbdullah ibn Ahmad, #209.
[49]It should be pointed out that the Ashأ¢â‚¬â„¢aree scholars themselves have differed with regards to this point. Some of them claim that the kalaam of Allaah can be divided into commands, prohibitions, and facts, others have different classifications, but the majority did not agree with this. This difference of opinion in and of itself is an indication of the people of innovation. The scholars of the Ahl as-Sunnah do not disagree amongst themselves in primary matters of Aqeedah.
[50]Reported in Dar Taأ¢â‚¬â„¢aarud al-أ¢â‚¬ثœAql wa an Naql, 2/90. Taken from Noor, p. 537, with some changes.
[51]Reported in Kifaayat alثAwaam, p. 104. Taken from Judayأ¢â‚¬â„¢, p. 398. Al-Baajooree was perhaps the most famous of the Ashأarees during the last century. He has an extremely popular explanation to the Jawharah (the basic text book of the Ashأ¢â‚¬â„¢aree faith), entitled, Tuhfat al-Mureed alaa Jawharat at-Tawheed.
[52]Judayأ¢â‚¬â„¢, p. 436.
[53]Adh-Dhahabee, Siyar, 14/201.
[54]Judayأ¢â‚¬â„¢, p. 438.
[55]ad-Dhahabi, al-Uluww, p. 191
[56]ad-Dhahabi, al-Uluww, p. 212.
