A refutation of the Ash'arees

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Posted by Mahi on December 04, 19100 at 16:26:51:

III. A REFUTATION OF THE ASH'AREES

The Ash'arees are a group that take their 'aqeedah, and their name, from the
teachings of
Aboo al-Hasan Alee ibn Isma'eel al-Ash'aree (d. 324 A.H.).

With regards to the kalaam of Allaah, the Ash'arees brought forth an 'aqeedah
that was
unknown to the salaf. They claimed that Allaah does posses the Attribute of
Speech, and that
the Qur`aan was the kalaam of Allaah, and in this they agreed with the Ahl as-
Sunnah.
However, they explained this attribute in a unique way, for they claimed that
Allaah's kalaam
was an 'internal' kalaam - a kalaam that could not be heard by anyone. They
equated it with
the concept of thinking, and stated that, just as the thoughts of men are a
type of speech that
cannot be heard, likewise the kalaam of Allaah is an internal speech that
cannot be heard.
Therefore, they claimed that Allaah does not speak with sound, and that his
kalaam does not
consist of words or letters. They further stated that Allaah's kalaam is not
related to His Will;
in other words, according to the Ash'arees, Allaah is continually speaking, and
will always be
speaking - He does not speak when He wishes. They further claimed that the
kalaam of
Allaah is in fact one meaning, and cannot be divided into parts. This led them
to claim that the
Torah, Injeel and Qur`aan are all in fact 'expressions' of the same kalaam, but
the actual
kalaam of Allaah is without any language, and is of the same meaning.
Therefore, according
to them, the essence of the Torah, the Injeel and the Qur`aan is the same.
Since they claimed
that Allaah's kalaam is an internal kalaam, they then followed up this
principle by stating that
the actual text of the Qur`aan is created, but the kalaam of Allaah is not. The
Arabic
Qur`aan, according to the Ash'arees, is not the actual kalaam of Allaah, but
rather an
'expression' of the kalaam of Allaah.

Imam Aboo Haamid al-Ghazaalee (d. 505 A.H.), one of the leaders and expounders
of this
'aqeedah, wrote, "Allaah speaks without words, sounds and letters...and His
Speech is the
Speech of the mind (i.e., internal speech). Just as the speech of the mind has
no sound or
words, so His Speech has no sound or words."

The primary principle that led the Ash'arees to distort many of Allaah's Names
and Attributes
is that they wished to remove all resemblance between Allaah's Names and
Attributes, and
between those of the creation. This principle, which in essence is correct, was
taken by the
Ash'arees to an extreme. They used their intellect and logic to decide which of
Allaah's
Names and Attributes gave some type of resemblance, or anthropomorphic
qualities, and
those Names and Attributes which did not. Based on this classification, they
then interpreted
those Names and Attributes which they felt gave anthropomorphic qualities
contrary to their
literal, understood meanings, thinking that by doing this they were removing
any fear of
resemblance between Allaah and His creation. In reality, their over-zealousness
to free the
Names and Attributes of Allaah from resembling those of His creation led them
to deny and
distort many of His Names and Attributes. They used their intellect as the
criterion to
understand Allaah's Names and Attributes. Whatever they felt was not befitting
to Allaah,
even if Allaah Himself had affirmed it, they interpreted until it satisfied
their intellect.

As Aboo Haamid al-Ghazaalee, wrote, "All that is found in the traditions (the
Qur`aan and
sunnah) (concerning the attributes of Allaah) is examined. Then, if the
intellect can agree with
it, it becomes obligatory to believe in it...But as for those (attributes)
which are deemed by
the intellect to be impossible, then it becomes obligatory to interpret what
has been found in
the traditions (the Qur`aan and sunnah), for it is not imaginable that the
traditions will contain
something that contradicts the intellect. As for the hadeeth which contain
characteristics of
resemblance (of Allaah between His creation), then most of them are not
authentic, and those
that are authentic are not explicit, but rather can be interpreted."

Therefore, they took their intellect to be their criterion to accept and
understand the
Attributes of Allaah, so whatever their intellect agreed with, they accepted,
and whatever
their intellect could not understand, they rejected or re-interpreted. And had
they believed in
them, without asking, "How?" or "Why?" it would have been better for them.
However, they
neglected a very crucial point, and that is that Allaah, all Glory be to Him,
is more aware of
His Names and Attributes than His creation is, and Allaah is more eloquent than
any of His
creation is. Therefore, it is not appropriate to re-interpret any Name or
Attribute that Allaah
(or the Prophet (e)) has described Himself with, merely because our minds cannot
comprehend the actuality of an Attribute. They also neglected the fact that it
is not possible to
compare Allaah's Attributes and to try to understand them by making analogies
with the
attributes of the creation. Imaam al-Barbahaaree (d. 329), one of the scholars
of the salaf,
said: May Allaah have mercy upon you! Know that speculative speech about the
Lord, the
Most High, is a newly invented matter, and is an innovation and misguidance.
Nothing is to be
said about the Lord except what He has described Himself with in the Qur`aan,
and what the
Messenger of Allaah (e) explained to the Companions...No one says about the
attributes of
Allaah, "How?" or "Why?" except one who has doubts about Allaah. The Qur`aan is
the
kalaam of Allaah, His Revelation and Light...

Yet, the Ash'arees delved into concepts that could not be understood by men,
and tried to
reason the actuality of the Attributes of Allaah.

To illustrate this example, with regards to the attribute of kalaam, the
Ash'arees reasoned that
the one who speaks must speak with sound and breath, and these are created. In
addition,
they argued that speech must come from a combination of organs, such as the
tongue, throat
and mouth, but Allaah is free of these. They also reasoned that words, composed
of letters,
can never be eternal, since one letter follows another, and has a specific
place in each word.
Therefore, since each letter is sequential, following the one before it, it
cannot have existed
from eternity. Therefore, according to them, it was not possible for Allaah's
kalaam to be
with sound, or for Allaah's kalaam to be composed of words and letters, for if
it were, it
would be created.

It can be seen, then, that the Ash'arees used their logic to distort clear,
explicit concepts in
the Qur`aan and sunnah, by first comparing the Attributes of Allaah to those of
the creation,
and then reasoning that, since Allaah is not like His creation, these
Attributes must have a
different meaning. Had they only understood that Allaah is Unique, and there is
nothing similar
to Him, and that it is not possible to understand Allaah's Attributes by
comparing them to
those of the creation, it would have saved them from falling into the error of
denying these
Attributes.

As for their belief that the kalaam of Allaah is without sound, this
contradicts the proofs that
were given in the previous section from the Qur`aan, sunnah and statements of
the salaf. The
presumption that sound must come from organs is a presumption based upon the
characteristics of humans. Therefore, it is not necessarily true for all
objects. Allaah, all Glory
and Praise be to Him, has made the Heavens and the Earth speak, for they
responded to His
Command and "said, 'We come, willingly!'" (41:12), and Allaah, all Glory and
Praise be to
Him, will make the skins of the disbelievers speak on the Day of
Judgement, "And they (the
disbelievers) will say, 'Why did you (our skins) testify against us?' They will
say, 'Allaah has
caused us to speak, as He causes all things to speak...'" (41:21). Allaah
caused these objects
to speak, yet these objects do not have the organs that humans need to speak.
Is not Allaah,
the one who created all things, capable of speaking as He wishes? Imaam Ahmad
(d. 241
A.H.) stated, "As for their claim (meaning the claim of the Jahmiyyah, which
was later taken
by the Ash'arees) that sound can only occur from a combination of the throat,
and lips, and
tongue, then did not Allaah say to the Heavens and Earth "'Come willingly or
unwillingly!'
They both said, 'We come, willingly!'" (41:12). And did not Allaah say, "And We
subjected
the mountains and the birds to glorify Our praises, along with (Prophet)
Dawood" (21:79).
Do these people presume that they (i.e., the mountains, the Heavens and the
Earth) glorified
with a throat, and lips, and tongues?! And how about when a disbeliever's limbs
will testify
against him... Do you think that they will testify with throats, lips and
tongues?! Nay, rather
Allaah will make them to speak, as He wishes, without any throat or lips or
tongues!"

Therefore, to claim that if the kalaam of Allaah were with sound, it would
entail giving these
characteristics to the Creator, cannot be accepted, for it is an analogy of
Allaah with man,
and this is improper. Abdullaah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 290 A.H.) said, "My
father
(Imaam Ahmad) said, 'The hadeeth of Ibn Mas'ood states that when Allaah Speaks,
a sound
is heard which sounds like (the moving of) a chain over a rock. And this
(hadeeth) is denied
by the Jahmiyyah. These people are disbelievers, they wish to cause confusion
and deceive
the people. Whoever presumes that Allaah does not Speak is a disbeliever!
Verily, we will
continue to narrate these hadeeth as they came to us!" In this narration, Imaam
Ahmad is
stating that any person who denies the fact that Allaah speaks with a sound is
of the
Jahmiyyah. In another narration, Abdullaah said, "I asked my father: Some
people are
claiming that Allaah does not speak with a sound." Imaam Ahmad replied, "Nay!
Allaah
speaks with a sound, and the only people who deny this are the Jahmiyyah. They
wish to
confuse the people and deny (the Attributes of Allaah)."

Imaam as-Shahrastaanee (d. 548 A.H.), while discussing the historical
development of the
various sects related to the kalaam of Allaah, wrote, "Then (Aboo al-Hassan) al-
Ash'aree
came, and invented a third opinion, and claimed that all sound must be created.
And with this
(opinion), he contradicted the consensus (ijmaa') before him, for he claimed
that what we
recite is not the actual kalaam of Allaah. And this (belief) is the essence of
innovation."

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?

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."

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, 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:

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 (e), 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 (e), thus making the Qur`aan the speech of the Prophet Muhammad (e).

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."

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"!! 'Are these two
examples the same? Alhamdulillaah; but most of them do not know!" (39:29).

The beliefs of the Ash'arees were refuted by many early scholars. 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 (e)..." . 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
[ad-Dhahabi, Siyar, 14/201], and because of whom the fiqh of Imaam as-Shafi'ee
(d. 204
A.H.) was popularised, wrote, "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
(e) 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 (e) 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!'" .

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 (e))." [ad-Dhahabi, al-Uluww, p. 191]. 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 (e) preached something created!" It is noted that the belief that
Jibreel came with
something created, and the Prophet (e) 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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Re: A refutation of the Ash'arees Mahi 16:28:46 12/04/100 (0)

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Comments: :III. A REFUTATION OF THE ASH'AREES :The Ash'arees are a group that take their 'aqeedah, and their name, from the :teachings of :Aboo al-Hasan Alee ibn Isma'eel al-Ash'aree (d. 324 A.H.). :With regards to the kalaam of Allaah, the Ash'arees brought forth an 'aqeedah :that was :unknown to the salaf. They claimed that Allaah does posses the Attribute of :Speech, and that :the Qur`aan was the kalaam of Allaah, and in this they agreed with the Ahl as- :Sunnah. :However, they explained this attribute in a unique way, for they claimed that :Allaah's kalaam :was an 'internal' kalaam - a kalaam that could not be heard by anyone. They :equated it with :the concept of thinking, and stated that, just as the thoughts of men are a :type of speech that :cannot be heard, likewise the kalaam of Allaah is an internal speech that :cannot be heard. :Therefore, they claimed that Allaah does not speak with sound, and that his :kalaam does not :consist of words or letters. They further stated that Allaah's kalaam is not :related to His Will; :in other words, according to the Ash'arees, Allaah is continually speaking, and :will always be :speaking - He does not speak when He wishes. They further claimed that the :kalaam of :Allaah is in fact one meaning, and cannot be divided into parts. This led them :to claim that the :Torah, Injeel and Qur`aan are all in fact 'expressions' of the same kalaam, but :the actual :kalaam of Allaah is without any language, and is of the same meaning. :Therefore, according :to them, the essence of the Torah, the Injeel and the Qur`aan is the same. :Since they claimed :that Allaah's kalaam is an internal kalaam, they then followed up this :principle by stating that :the actual text of the Qur`aan is created, but the kalaam of Allaah is not. The :Arabic :Qur`aan, according to the Ash'arees, is not the actual kalaam of Allaah, but :rather an :'expression' of the kalaam of Allaah. :Imam Aboo Haamid al-Ghazaalee (d. 505 A.H.), one of the leaders and expounders :of this :'aqeedah, wrote, "Allaah speaks without words, sounds and letters...and His :Speech is the :Speech of the mind (i.e., internal speech). Just as the speech of the mind has :no sound or :words, so His Speech has no sound or words." :The primary principle that led the Ash'arees to distort many of Allaah's Names :and Attributes :is that they wished to remove all resemblance between Allaah's Names and :Attributes, and :between those of the creation. This principle, which in essence is correct, was :taken by the :Ash'arees to an extreme. They used their intellect and logic to decide which of :Allaah's :Names and Attributes gave some type of resemblance, or anthropomorphic :qualities, and :those Names and Attributes which did not. Based on this classification, they :then interpreted :those Names and Attributes which they felt gave anthropomorphic qualities :contrary to their :literal, understood meanings, thinking that by doing this they were removing :any fear of :resemblance between Allaah and His creation. In reality, their over-zealousness :to free the :Names and Attributes of Allaah from resembling those of His creation led them :to deny and :distort many of His Names and Attributes. They used their intellect as the :criterion to :understand Allaah's Names and Attributes. Whatever they felt was not befitting :to Allaah, :even if Allaah Himself had affirmed it, they interpreted until it satisfied :their intellect. :As Aboo Haamid al-Ghazaalee, wrote, "All that is found in the traditions (the :Qur`aan and :sunnah) (concerning the attributes of Allaah) is examined. Then, if the :intellect can agree with :it, it becomes obligatory to believe in it...But as for those (attributes) :which are deemed by :the intellect to be impossible, then it becomes obligatory to interpret what :has been found in :the traditions (the Qur`aan and sunnah), for it is not imaginable that the :traditions will contain :something that contradicts the intellect. As for the hadeeth which contain :characteristics of :resemblance (of Allaah between His creation), then most of them are not :authentic, and those :that are authentic are not explicit, but rather can be interpreted." :Therefore, they took their intellect to be their criterion to accept and :understand the :Attributes of Allaah, so whatever their intellect agreed with, they accepted, :and whatever :their intellect could not understand, they rejected or re-interpreted. And had :they believed in :them, without asking, "How?" or "Why?" it would have been better for them. :However, they :neglected a very crucial point, and that is that Allaah, all Glory be to Him, :is more aware of :His Names and Attributes than His creation is, and Allaah is more eloquent than :any of His :creation is. Therefore, it is not appropriate to re-interpret any Name or :Attribute that Allaah :(or the Prophet (e)) has described Himself with, merely because our minds cannot :comprehend the actuality of an Attribute. They also neglected the fact that it :is not possible to :compare Allaah's Attributes and to try to understand them by making analogies :with the :attributes of the creation. Imaam al-Barbahaaree (d. 329), one of the scholars :of the salaf, :said: May Allaah have mercy upon you! Know that speculative speech about the :Lord, the :Most High, is a newly invented matter, and is an innovation and misguidance. :Nothing is to be :said about the Lord except what He has described Himself with in the Qur`aan, :and what the :Messenger of Allaah (e) explained to the Companions...No one says about the :attributes of :Allaah, "How?" or "Why?" except one who has doubts about Allaah. The Qur`aan is :the :kalaam of Allaah, His Revelation and Light... :Yet, the Ash'arees delved into concepts that could not be understood by men, :and tried to :reason the actuality of the Attributes of Allaah. :To illustrate this example, with regards to the attribute of kalaam, the :Ash'arees reasoned that :the one who speaks must speak with sound and breath, and these are created. In :addition, :they argued that speech must come from a combination of organs, such as the :tongue, throat :and mouth, but Allaah is free of these. They also reasoned that words, composed :of letters, :can never be eternal, since one letter follows another, and has a specific :place in each word. :Therefore, since each letter is sequential, following the one before it, it :cannot have existed :from eternity. Therefore, according to them, it was not possible for Allaah's :kalaam to be :with sound, or for Allaah's kalaam to be composed of words and letters, for if :it were, it :would be created. :It can be seen, then, that the Ash'arees used their logic to distort clear, :explicit concepts in :the Qur`aan and sunnah, by first comparing the Attributes of Allaah to those of :the creation, :and then reasoning that, since Allaah is not like His creation, these :Attributes must have a :different meaning. Had they only understood that Allaah is Unique, and there is :nothing similar :to Him, and that it is not possible to understand Allaah's Attributes by :comparing them to :those of the creation, it would have saved them from falling into the error of :denying these :Attributes. :As for their belief that the kalaam of Allaah is without sound, this :contradicts the proofs that :were given in the previous section from the Qur`aan, sunnah and statements of :the salaf. The :presumption that sound must come from organs is a presumption based upon the :characteristics of humans. Therefore, it is not necessarily true for all :objects. Allaah, all Glory :and Praise be to Him, has made the Heavens and the Earth speak, for they :responded to His :Command and "said, 'We come, willingly!'" (41:12), and Allaah, all Glory and :Praise be to :Him, will make the skins of the disbelievers speak on the Day of :Judgement, "And they (the :disbelievers) will say, 'Why did you (our skins) testify against us?' They will :say, 'Allaah has :caused us to speak, as He causes all things to speak...'" (41:21). Allaah :caused these objects :to speak, yet these objects do not have the organs that humans need to speak. :Is not Allaah, :the one who created all things, capable of speaking as He wishes? Imaam Ahmad :(d. 241 :A.H.) stated, "As for their claim (meaning the claim of the Jahmiyyah, which :was later taken :by the Ash'arees) that sound can only occur from a combination of the throat, :and lips, and :tongue, then did not Allaah say to the Heavens and Earth "'Come willingly or :unwillingly!' :They both said, 'We come, willingly!'" (41:12). And did not Allaah say, "And We :subjected :the mountains and the birds to glorify Our praises, along with (Prophet) :Dawood" (21:79). :Do these people presume that they (i.e., the mountains, the Heavens and the :Earth) glorified :with a throat, and lips, and tongues?! And how about when a disbeliever's limbs :will testify :against him... Do you think that they will testify with throats, lips and :tongues?! Nay, rather :Allaah will make them to speak, as He wishes, without any throat or lips or :tongues!" :Therefore, to claim that if the kalaam of Allaah were with sound, it would :entail giving these :characteristics to the Creator, cannot be accepted, for it is an analogy of :Allaah with man, :and this is improper. Abdullaah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 290 A.H.) said, "My :father :(Imaam Ahmad) said, 'The hadeeth of Ibn Mas'ood states that when Allaah Speaks, :a sound :is heard which sounds like (the moving of) a chain over a rock. And this :(hadeeth) is denied :by the Jahmiyyah. These people are disbelievers, they wish to cause confusion :and deceive :the people. Whoever presumes that Allaah does not Speak is a disbeliever! :Verily, we will :continue to narrate these hadeeth as they came to us!" In this narration, Imaam :Ahmad is :stating that any person who denies the fact that Allaah speaks with a sound is :of the :Jahmiyyah. In another narration, Abdullaah said, "I asked my father: Some :people are :claiming that Allaah does not speak with a sound." Imaam Ahmad replied, "Nay! :Allaah :speaks with a sound, and the only people who deny this are the Jahmiyyah. They :wish to :confuse the people and deny (the Attributes of Allaah)." :Imaam as-Shahrastaanee (d. 548 A.H.), while discussing the historical :development of the :various sects related to the kalaam of Allaah, wrote, "Then (Aboo al-Hassan) al- :Ash'aree :came, and invented a third opinion, and claimed that all sound must be created. :And with this :(opinion), he contradicted the consensus (ijmaa') before him, for he claimed :that what we :recite is not the actual kalaam of Allaah. And this (belief) is the essence of :innovation." :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? :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." :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, 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: :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 (e), 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 (e), thus making the Qur`aan the speech of the Prophet Muhammad (e). :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." :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"!! 'Are these two :examples the same? Alhamdulillaah; but most of them do not know!" (39:29). :The beliefs of the Ash'arees were refuted by many early scholars. 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 (e)..." . 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 :[ad-Dhahabi, Siyar, 14/201], and because of whom the fiqh of Imaam as-Shafi'ee :(d. 204 :A.H.) was popularised, wrote, "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 :(e) 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 (e) 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!'" . :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 (e))." [ad-Dhahabi, al-Uluww, p. 191]. 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 (e) preached something created!" It is noted that the belief that :Jibreel came with :something created, and the Prophet (e) 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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