Explanation of the statement that the speech of Allah is ancient in type but recent in instances
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Is this the truth in that matter?
Answer:
The speech of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is ancient in type but recent in instances. It is not said that all of Allah’s speech is ancient, nor is it said that it is all recent. Rather, it is said with detail: it is ancient in type. For Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is described with speech without a beginning; there is no limit to the beginning of the speech. Rather, it is ancient by the antiquity of Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and His eternity which has no beginning, like His other attributes. As for the instances of the speech, they are recent. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, speaks whenever He wills, if He wills. This is the meaning of the limits: He speaks whenever He wills, if He wills. He spoke in the past, and He will speak in the future on the Day of Resurrection. He will address the people on the Day of Resurrection, and speak to them, and speak to the messengers on the Day of Resurrection,[Al-Ma'idah 5:109]?
He spoke to them on the Day of Resurrection; this is recent speech on the Day of Resurrection. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, speaks whenever He wills, if He wills, with speech that is recent or that He makes recent, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, according to His will and His wisdom, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. So not all of Allah’s speech is ancient, and not all of it is recent. Rather, the type is ancient, while the instances and individuals are recent. Yes,[Al-Anbya 21:2], meaning the Qur'an: "except that they listen to it while they are playing." It is recent because Allah spoke with it at the time of the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and revealed it to him. Yes.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Is this the truth in that matter?
Answer:
The speech of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is ancient in type but recent in instances. It is not said that all of Allah’s speech is ancient, nor is it said that it is all recent. Rather, it is said with detail: it is ancient in type. For Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is described with speech without a beginning; there is no limit to the beginning of the speech. Rather, it is ancient by the antiquity of Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and His eternity which has no beginning, like His other attributes. As for the instances of the speech, they are recent. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, speaks whenever He wills, if He wills. This is the meaning of the limits: He speaks whenever He wills, if He wills. He spoke in the past, and He will speak in the future on the Day of Resurrection. He will address the people on the Day of Resurrection, and speak to them, and speak to the messengers on the Day of Resurrection,
[Be warned of] the Day when Allah will assemble the messengers and say, "What was the response you received?"
يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ اللَّهُ الرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَا أُجِبْتُمْHe spoke to them on the Day of Resurrection; this is recent speech on the Day of Resurrection. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, speaks whenever He wills, if He wills, with speech that is recent or that He makes recent, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, according to His will and His wisdom, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. So not all of Allah’s speech is ancient, and not all of it is recent. Rather, the type is ancient, while the instances and individuals are recent. Yes,
No mention comes to them anew from their Lord except that they listen to it
مَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن ذِكْرٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِم مُّحْدَثٍ إِلَّا اسْتَمَعُوهُ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 17 من 36/شرح العقيدة الواسطية (مع الأسئلة)/ومن أصدق من الله حديثا/صالح الفوزان/العقيدة/كبار العلماء — youtube.com (48:20)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
