Sharh as-Sunnah : Lesson 57: Point 99
Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|English]
Imaam Barbahaaree rahimahullaah said:
Know that whoever says : “My recital of the Qur’an is created” then he is a Jahmi. And whoever remains silent and will neither say it is created nor it is not created then he is a Jahmi. This was the saying of the Ahmad bin Hanbal.
And the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Whoever amongst you lives long will see great controversy, so beware of the newly introduced affairs for they are misguided. And adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided orthodox caliphs (Khulafaa). Bite upon it with your molar teeth.” [5]
Shaykh Fawzan’s Explanation:
Allaah affirmed speech; al-Kalaam for Himself in many aayahs, from them is the saying; He the Most High said:
قُل لَّوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِّكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَدًا
Say, “If the water of the ocean were ink to write down the words of My Lord then the ocean would be exhausted before the words of My Lord were finished…” (Sooratul-Kahf (18), aayah 109)
Meaning, the words of Allaah with which He commands and forbids and manages the creation with. Who can then enumerate the words of Allaah, He, the Perfect and Most High? They could not be written down by the oceans nor by all of the pens.
And the speech of Allaah, the Kalaam is as said by the Ahlus-Sunnah W`al Jamaa`ah,
“With respect to its type; eternal, with respect to its individual instances, it newly comes about.”
The Qadeemun-Nau` means that Allaah, the Most High has always had the attribute of speech. However, with regard to individual instances, for example, Allaah, the Most High speaking to Aadam or Allaah, the Most High speaking to Moosaa `alayhissalaam or Allaah, the Most High speaking to Muhammad sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam or speaking to Jibreel with the Qur·aan then these individual instances of the speech of Allaah; they newly occur.
So the Qur·aan is from the newly occurring instances of the speech of Allaah and some individual instances of the speech of Allaah, the Perfect and Most High.
So the speech of Allaah is confirmed by the Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam. And there is no doubt that sound intellect affirms speech for Allaah because it is Sifatul Kamaal (hidden attribute of perfection) and negation of it is an attribute of deficiency.
However, the Jahmiyyah and they are the followers of Al-Jahm ibn Safwaan who was a foul person who appeared amongst the people and tried to cause them to doubt about the religion of Allaah and he commanded them with apostasy and disbelief. And from that is that he tried to cause them to doubt about the fact that Allaah speaks and he said,
“The speech of Allaah which is present is something created; makhlooq. He created it in the Preserved Tablet or He created it in Jibreel or He created it in Muhammad sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam. So it is therefore just an ascription of a created thing to its creator just like saying Baitullaah (the House of Allaah) or Naaqatullaah (the she camel of Allaah).”
This is what he said ̶ may Allaah disfigure him. He said Allaah does not speak and the ascription of speech to Him is just an ascription of a created thing to its Creator. This is from his mathhab (position). And he also had the position of Al–Jabr with regard to Qadr (predecree); that people are compelled to do their deeds, no free will. And he had the position of with regard to denying the names and attributes and he also had a position with regard to denying the Sunnah of the Prophet sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam and denying the Qur·aan also. So he was a filthy apostate who appeared with the likes of this falsehood.
And this mathhab was derived from the Jews as was mentioned by Shaykh-ul-Islaam Ibnu Taymiyyah in the introduction to Al-Hamawiyyah. And Al-Jahm, he was not the one who began this mathhab. Before him, there was Al-Ja`ad ibn Dirham; he is the one who initiated this repulsive saying. And he took it from Taaloot; the Jew and Taaloot took it from Labeed ibn al-`A`asam, the Jew who did sorcery upon the Prophet sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam.
So, this saying is derived from the Jews, those who distort the speech of Allaah, away from its correct meaning, so this foul mathhab should not be considered something inexplicable when its source is known that it is from the Jews. They infiltrated it amongst the Muslims by means of this foul man Al-Ja`ad ibn Dirham, the one who was killed by Khaalid al-Qasree on the Day of Eid ul-Adhaa as Ibn-ul Qayyim mentioned.[1] So therefore Ibn-ul Qayyim said:
And on account of that, Khaalid Al–Qasree slaughtered
Ja`ad on the Day of the Sacrifice
Since he said Ibraaheem was not Allaah’s chosen beloved one
No, and nor was Moosaa one who He spoke to and drew close
So every person of Sunnah is thanked for that sacrifice
What an excellent thing Allaah has brought about through the sacrifice of this brother [2]
This saying was taken from him by Al-Jahm ibn Safwaan and it became ascribed to him because he is the one who propagated it but he is not the one who initiated it.[3]
And the people of the Sunnah rebuked and criticized them severely (the Jahmiyyah). And they spoke sternly in that regard and this will follow inshaaAllaah, the part that comes after. However, with us now we have a part of this foul mathhab, which is negation of speech for Allaah.
However, a problem arose with the People of the Sunnah, should it be said, “My recital of the Qur·aan is created or is not created?” This is something which they introduced also amongst the Muslims. So should you say: “My recital of the Qur·aan is created or should you say my recital of the Qur·aan is not created or should you tatawaqqaf (withhold)? And say if what you mean is what is recited, that which is recited, then it is the speech of Allaah, it is not created. And if what is meant is a person’s own particular recital of the Qur·aan then his own recital is a created thing and his voice is created. So therefore it must be mentioned with detail and it must be given then with detail.
And this is the detail, which was stated by Imaam Ahmad and Al-Bukhaariyy and a group of the verifiers. So do not say: my recital of the Qur·aan is created unrestricted and do not say it’s not created unrestrictedly and do not withhold. Rather, mention the answer with detail that if what you mean is what I’m reciting then that is the speech of Allaah, that is not created or if what is meant is the person’s own particular recitation, his own particular voice then that is created. That is the detail. [4]
Footnotes:
[1] Translator’s side-point: And he quotes three famous lines from the Nooniyyah of Ibn-ul Qayyim, poem on `aqeedah, each line ending in noon, concerning this event that this man Al-Ja`ad ibn Dirham that he was killed by Khaalid Al-Qasree.
[2] Translator’s side-point: They mention this happened around the year 118 AH in Kufa that Khaalid Al-Qasree who was the governor in Iraq at that time that he slaughtered this evil person Al-Ja`ad ibn Dirham.
[3] Translator’s side-point: Some of the people of Knowledge mention is that this saying that we heard was taken by Jahm from Al-Ja`ad and he took it from Taaloot and he took it from Labeed. Then this Labeed ibn al-`A`asam was a Jew. As we heard he did sorcery upon the Prophet sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam and his saying was taken from him by Taaloot; the Jew and from him, his student Al-Ja`ad ibn Dirham took this saying, the saying of the Jahmiyyah. And from Al-Ja`ad was taken by his student Al-Jahm ibn Safwaan and each was executed. We saw Al-Ja`ad being executed here and likewise Al-Jahm ibn Safwaan, he was killed as well; his student but before that, each time before the person was executed or killed, he had a famous student who took the saying from him. So, Al-Jahm ibn Safwaan, this saying was taken from him by Bishr al-Marisee and then he, Bishr al-Marisee, he taught this to Ahmad ibn Abee Du`aad, the one who was at the head of those who tortured Imaam Ahmad.
And just briefly with regard to the event; before the event that Khalid al-Qasree slaughtered Al-Ja`ad ibn Dirham on the Day of Sacrifices. He gave a khutbah to the people on the `Eid and he said: May Allaah accept your sacrifices for indeed I am going to sacrifice Al-Ja`ad ibn Dirham and he came down and he slaughtered Al-Ja`ad ibn Dirham.
Then Shaykh al-Albaaniyy said with regard to this report: “There’s some speech from the scholars, is it established or not? This is reported by a number of the scholars in their books Ad-Daarimee in Ar-Radd `alal-Jahmiyyah and Al-Bukhaariyy in his book Khalq Af`alul-`Ibaad and other books as well. Then Shaykh Al-Albaaniyy in Mukhtasar al-`Uluw, Ath-Thahabee’s book Al `Uluw, the originate of it, Shaykh al-Albaaniyy comments, he mentions that the first chain of narration for this that there is weakness in it, there is unknown people in the chain. But then he said, however, the narration that comes after it, another narration with a different chain is better than it and perhaps therefore that is why the scholars state that this story definitely happened. Meaning, there is more than one chain of narration before it.
[4] Translator’s side-point: With regard to the explanation of Shaykh Ahmad An-Najmee rahimahullaah then he said after mentioning a number of evidences from the Qur·aan affirming that the Qur·aan is indeed the speech of Allaah, not created and the speech of Allaah is an attribute of His. Then he said: ‘And whoever says that anything from the attributes of Allaah is a created thing then he is a kaafir (disbeliever). This is what the Ahlus-Sunnah W`al Jamaa`ah have affirmed.
And Al-Laalikaa’ee referring to here Imaam Al–Laalikaa`ee in his book Sharh Usool I`tiqaad Ahlus-Sunnah; famous book of `aqeedah mentioned from 550 scholars from the Salaf that they said: ‘Whoever says that the Qur·aan is a created thing then he is a kaafir (disbeliever) and whoever says that his recitation of the Qur·aan is something created then he is an innovator, a Jahmi (he is astray). And likewise, one who remains silent and doesn’t say whether it’s created or not created, he is also a Jahmi (astray). So what Allaah has informed is very clear that the Qur·aan is the speech of Allaah and whoever will not say that then he has belied Allaah in what He has informed of.’
[5] Translator’s side point: Obviously the last part of the text here is taken from the hadeeth that’s come a number of times, “Whoever lives long amongst you will see great differing…” and the rest of the point taken from the hadeeth of Al-Irbaad Ibn Saariyah radiyAllaahu `anh reported by Imaam Ahmad, Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithee and Ibn Maajah and declared authentic by Shaykh al-Albaaniyy, the famous hadeeth that’s come a number of times.
Ithaaful-Qaaree bit-Ta`leeqaat `alaa Sharhis-Sunnah
(A Gift To The Reader In Annotation Of Sharh As-Sunnah)
by Shaykh Saalih ibn Fowzaan al-Fowzaan hafizahullaah
Translated by Aboo Talhah Daawood Burbank, rahimahullaah
Posted with kind permission from Dawud Burbank rahimahullaah
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