Refuting the Ashariyyah by proving that the Quran consists of Letters and the speech of Allah is with sound

This small treatise is taken from : حكاية المناظرة في القرآن مع بعض أهل البدعة

The author of which is the famous : Imaam Ibn Qudaamah - بو محمد موفق الدين عبد الله بن أحمد بن محمد بن قدامة الجماعيلي المقدسي ثم الدمشقي الحنبلي، الشهير بابن قدامة المقدسي (المتوفى: 620هـ)

 This treatise by this magnificent shaykh ul-Islaam is a very good refutation against the Ash`aris in specific comparing their belief system with that of the Atheist and refuting them using Qur`an and hadeeth.  Also this is only for those students of knowledge who are aware of the belief of the Ashariyyah. Those who aren't, are requested to contact scholars and simultaneously study from their books. Without carrying both of these together it is recommended not to indulge in this subject except with the very basic of studying the `Aqeedah of Ahlus sunnah with regards to the Asmaa was-Sifaat and the Qur`an. 

I'll post only a few short topics from in between that would serve the purpose of our blog post's subject in discussion  . we haven't carried out the tahkeeq for the individual narrations but the comments of Imaam ibn Qudamah and the (partial and sometimes complete) referencing shall be provided with for now.

Proof of the Qur`anic verses consisting of letters from the narrations of the prophet (salallahu `alayhi wa sallam) and his companions (may allah be pleased with them all)

1)

من قَرَأَ الْقُرْآن وأعربه فَلهُ بِكُل حرف مِنْهُ عشر حَسَنَات وَمن قَرَأَهُ ولحن فِيهِ فَلهُ بِكُل حرف مِنْهُ حَسَنَة

The prophet (sallalahu `alayhi wa sallam) said : "Whoever recites the Recitation and expresses it, so for him in every letter from it is ten good deeds, and whoever recites it and makes grammatical errors in it, so for him in every letter from it is a good deed"

[Ref:  It is found in ‘al-Mihrar feel-Fiqh’ (1/73) from Muhammad bin Muflih, and in Luma’ah al-`Itiqaad’ (1/17). ‘The grammatical error which does not change the meaning makes healthy the prayer…’ ]

2)

وَقَالَ النَّبِي صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم اقرأوا الْقُرْآن قبل أَن يَأْتِي قوم يُقِيمُونَ حُرُوفه إِقَامَة السهْم لَا يُجَاوز تراقيهم

"Recite the Qur'an before there come a people who will straighten its letters just as an arrow is made straight. It will not go beyond their collarbones."

[Ref: Suyuti narrated this in Jaami` al-Ahadeeth (11789) ; أخرجه أحمد (5/338، رقم 22916) ، وعبد بن حميد (ص 171، رقم 466) ، وأبو داود (1/220، رقم 831) ، وابن حبان (3/36، رقم 760) ، والطبرانى (6/207، رقم 6024) ، والبيهقى فى شعب الإيمان (2/539، رقم 2645) .]

3)

أنزل الْقُرْآن على سَبْعَة احرف

And he, (sallalahu `alayhi wa sallam), said: "The Recitation was sent down upon seven dialects

[Ref: Saheeh al-Bukhaaree]


4)

وَقَالَ أَبُو بكر وَعمر رَضِي الله عَنْهُمَا إِعْرَاب الْقُرْآن أحب إِلَيْنَا من حفظ بعض حُرُوفه

And Abu Bakr and `Umar – may Allah be pleased with them both –  (said) expressing the Recitation is more preferred to us than memorizing some of its letters

[Ref: Jaami` al-Ahadeeth lis-Suyuti (30427 - 27/437) ; See Majmoo` al-Fataawa (3/402) of Ibn Taymiyyah and Majmoo` Fataawa (5/23) of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen for detailed explanation]

5)
وَقَالَ عَليّ رَضِي الله عَنهُ من كفر بِحرف من الْقُرْآن فقد كفر بِهِ كُله
The famous (mashoor) narration of `Ali (radhiallahu anhu) : Whoever disbelieves in one LETTER of it (i.e the Qur`an) disbelieves in all of it 

[Ref: `Abd ar-Razzaaq (8/472, Hadeeth 15946); Ibn Hajar in Mutaalib al-`Aaliyah (5/339) ; Imam at-Tabari in the Muqaddimah of his Tafseer (1/54) and others]

Note:  This narration is the biggest proof that the rawafidh are Kaafir because almost all of them are born, bread and raised up on a foundation that rests on the pillars of tahreef fil Qur`anil-Kareem


وَقَالَ ايضا تعلمُوا الْبَقَرَة فَإِن بِكُل حرف مِنْهَا حَسَنَة والحسنة بِعشْرَة أَمْثَالهَا

And he (`Ali ) also said :  'Whoever teaches al-Baqarah, so surely in every letter from it is a good deed, and the deed with ten equal to it'

6)

وَقَالَ عبد الله بن مَسْعُود رَضِي الله عَنهُ من حلف بِالْقُرْآنِ فَعَلَيهِ بِكُل حرف كَفَّارَة

`Abdullah ibn Mas`ood (radhiallahu anhu) said :'Whoever swears by the Recitation, so upon him are each letter as an expiation

[Ref: Al-Musannaf by Ibn Abi Shaybah (3/476)]

7)

وَقَالَ ابْن عمر إِذا خرج أحدكُم لِحَاجَتِهِ ثمَّ رَجَعَ إِلَى أَهله فليأت الْمُصحف فيفتحه فيقرا سُورَة فَإِن الله يكْتب لَهُ بِكُل حرف عشر حَسَنَات اما إِنِّي لَا أَقُول {الم} وَلَكِن الْألف عشر وَاللَّام عشر وَالْمِيم عشر

Ibn `Umar (may allah be pleased with him) said : "When one of you goes out to his pilgrimage, then returns to his people, so he brings the Book, then commences, so he recites a Chapter, then surely Allah will write for him in every letter, ten good deeds, whereas I surely do not say {Alif, Laam, Meem}, rather Aalif is ten, Laam is ten, and Meem is ten"

[Ref: Jaami` al-Ahadeeth (39231) and elsewhere]


Refuting the Asha`ris by proving that the Speech of Allah is with sound


8) The verse : Allah spoke to Musa `alayhis salaam [An-Nisaa 164]

9) The verse : .. مِنْهُم من كلم الله  - From them, whoever Allah spoke to…  [Al-Baqarah 254]

10) The verse : {And it was not for a man, that Allah Speak to him, except as revelation or from behind veils [Ash-Shura 51]


11) The verse : ...And when your Master called Musa (`alayhis salaam) -
الشُّعَرَاء 10

12)

إِن الله يجمع الْخَلَائق فيناديهم بِصَوْت يسمعهُ من بعد كَمَا يسمع من قرب أَنا الْملك أَنا الديَّان

the Prophet, (sallalahu `alayhi wa sallam) said : "Surely Allah will gather the creation, so He will call them with a sound, hearing it (from) whoever (heard it) after, just as he heard it from nearby, that (Allah is saying) I am the Malik (Sovereign) and I am the Vanquisher...

[Ref: Khalq Af`al al-`Ibaad;  al-’Adab al-Mufrad (Book 1, Hadith 970); Abu Ya`laa, at-Tabaraanee; Musnad ‘Ahmad, and others]


13)

إِذا تكلم الله بِالْوَحْي سمع صَوته أهل السَّمَاء

`Abdullah ibn Mas`ood (radhiallahu anhu) said : 'When Allah Speaks with the revelation – the People of the Sky hear His Voice'

[Ref: There is Inqit`a in this. the sanad is : حَدثنَا عبد الرَّحْمَن بن مُحَمَّد الْمحَاربي قَالَ حَدثنَا سُلَيْمَان بن مهْرَان الْأَعْمَش عَن أبي الضُّحَى عَن مَسْرُوق عَن عبد الله بن مَسْعُود رَضِي الله عَنهُ انه قَالَ]

14)

وَفِي بعض الثار أَن مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام لما ناداه ربه يَا مُوسَى اجاب سَرِيعا استئناسا بالصوت فَقَالَ لبيْك اسْمَع صَوْتك وَلَا أرى مَكَانك فَأَيْنَ أَنْت قَالَ انا فَوْقك وامامك ووراءك وَعَن يَمِينك وَعَن شمالك

فَعلم ان هَذِه الصّفة لَا تنبغي إِلَّا لله عز وَجل قَالَ فَكَذَلِك انا يَا رب أفكلامك أسمع أم كَلَام رَسُولك قَالَ بل كَلَامي

Allah (s.w.t) said : "Oh Musa, he answered quickly – in response to the sound- so he said: 'At your service, I hear your Sound (اسْمَع صَوْتك) and I do not see your Place (وَلَا أرى مَكَانك), so where are You (فَأَيْنَ أَنْت)?' He said: "I am above you, and in front of you, and behind you, and from your right, and from your left";

.....So Musa said : 'So that is you Oh Rabb (Master/Lord), is it then Your Speech I hear or the Speech of your Messengers (أم كَلَام رَسُولك) ?' He said: "Indeed, it is My Speech

[Ref: Ibn `Asaakir in Taareekh ad-Dimashq (61/50) and elsewhere]


CONCLUSION:

وجمهور المسلمين يقولون: إن القرآن العربي كلام الله، وقد تكلم الله به بحرف وصوت

Ibn Taymiyyah says very clearly:

"And the majority of the Muslims say: 'Indeed the Arabic Qur'an is the Speech of Allah, and Allah has spoken it with letter and sound..."

[Ref: Sharh Hadith an-Nuzul 1/172]

Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) also said (Taken from Multaqa Ahl al-Hadeeth) :


Thus indeed the generalization of the answer in this issue in rejection or affirmation is incorrect.

And it is from the innovations newly generated after the 3rd century when people from those who engaged in rhetoric about the Attributes said:

‘Indeed the Speech of Allah is that which was sent down upon His Prophets – like the Torah, Bible, and Qur’an - and that which was not sent down; and the words through which He created the living beings, and the words comprising His command and His prohibition and His news are not but merely a single meaning; it is a single Attribute undertaken by Allah. If it is expressed in Hebrew, it is the Torah; and if it is expressed in Arabic, it is the Qur’an, and indeed the command and prohibition and news are Attributes- for them there are not divisions. And indeed the letters of the Qur’an are created; Allah created them and He did not speak them and they are not from His Speech; when He spoke, it was not with letters and sound’.

Others who affirmed [letters and sounds] opposed them saying: "Rather the Qur`an is letters and sounds " and people imagined that they intended the letters of ink and the sounds issued forth by the slaves, and/but a scholar did not say this.

And the correct position is that which the Salaf of the Ummah were upon - like Imam Ahmad, al-Bukhari, author of the Sahih, in the book Khalqi Af'al il-`Ibaad, and other than him, and the rest of the Imams before them and after them - to follow the established texts and the consensus of the Salaf of the Ummah - and it is that:

1) the Qur'an, all of it, is the Speech of Allah, its letters and its meanings, and there is nothing from that which is the speech of someone else. And rather He revealed it to His Messenger and ‘the Qur’an’ is not named so due to the meaning alone, and it is not due to the letters alone; rather due to the combination of them both and as such is the rest of ‘speech’- it is not only letters or only meaning. Just as mankind, the one who speaks and pronounces is not purely the soul and not purely the body; rather a combination of the two;

2) and that Allah speaks with sound just as has come in the authentic Ahadith and that is not like the sounds of the slaves, not the sound of the reciter, and not anyone else; and that there is nothing like Allah, not in His Self, and not in His Attributes, and not in His actions. And just as there is no comparing His knowledge and His ability and His life to the knowledge, ability and life of the creation, thus there is no comparing His Speech to the creation – its meanings do not compare to His meanings; its letters do not compare to His letters; the sound of the Creator cannot be compared to the sound of the slave. Thus whoever compares Allah to His creation has disbelieved in His Names and Verses; and whoever resists what He described Himself with has disbelieved in His Names and Verses”.


[Ref: Majmu' al-Fatawa 12/241-242]