What is the authenticity of attributing the book *Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar* to Abu Hanifah, and in its commentary by Ali al-Qarri, page 51, it states: "That Allah the Exalted speaks without an instrument or letters"
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The Shaykh : We are now assuming that this statement, or this entire book, is authentically attributed to Abu Hanifah and that he said this. We do not accept it. Why?
Because we know that the innovators who opposed the creed of the Sunnah and the people of the Sunnah and the people of the Hadith are those who deny these things, namely the letters and the voice, and the like. They use this to deny what the Noble Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah have explicitly stated. For example, I am connecting you now to the fundamental issue: There is no doubt that among the attributes of Allah the Glorious and Exalted is speech, as the Lord of mankind said: And the Qur'an, by the consensus of the Muslims, is the speech of Allah the Glorious and Exalted. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So Allah has said: Therefore, we affirm the speech of Allah the Glorious and Exalted and do not deny it through any form of figurative interpretation. We affirm that the speech of Allah consists of letters, as you heard from his saying (peace be upon him): Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq 6:133 But when we affirm this and that, we do not say that the speech of Allah is like our speech, nor do we say that the letter that comes from the speech of Allah the Glorious and Exalted is like our speech. [Ash-Shuraa 42:11] So we affirm what He affirmed and deny what He denied. What did He deny? [Ash-Shuraa 42:11] What did He affirm? He affirmed hearing and sight. Is this what He affirmed for Himself? Is this what He affirmed for Himself?!
Far from it. He affirmed for Himself hearing. Is this what He affirmed for Himself? Far from it. Rather, here is a word from some of the hadith scholars, specifically Abu Bakr al-Khatib, the author of *Tarikh Baghdad*, which you must have heard of. He said a word of truth: if the sects that differed greatly regarding the divine speech had stopped at this, they would all have agreed upon a common word, as Allah the Exalted said:[Ali 'Imran 3:64] Likewise, if they had agreed upon this word that al-Khatib (may Allah have mercy on him) reminded us of, the disagreement would have vanished, and that is: "What is said regarding the attributes is what is said regarding the Essence". Do we know the modality of the Essence?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : We do not know the modality of the Essence, is that not so?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But we believe that Allah is an Essence, not merely a mental concept that has no external existence. So what we say regarding the Essence, we say regarding the attributes, because the attributes are connected to the Essence. Just as we believe in the existence of the Divine Essence, we fully believe in the existence of the Divine attributes. Just as we believe that His Essence is not like essences, we say: His attributes are not like attributes.
Because we know that the innovators who opposed the creed of the Sunnah and the people of the Sunnah and the people of the Hadith are those who deny these things, namely the letters and the voice, and the like. They use this to deny what the Noble Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah have explicitly stated. For example, I am connecting you now to the fundamental issue: There is no doubt that among the attributes of Allah the Glorious and Exalted is speech, as the Lord of mankind said:
And Allah spoke to Moses with a direct address
وكلَّم الله موسى تكليمًاWhoever reads the Qur'an, for every letter he has ten good deeds. I do not say: Alif-Lam is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, Mim is a letter
من قرأ القرآن فله بكل حرف عشر حسنات، لا أقول: ألم حرف، بل ألف حرف، لام حرفُ، ميم حرفAnd Allah spoke to Moses with a direct address
كلَّم الله موسى تكليمًاWhoever reads the Qur'an, for him is ten good deeds for every letter
من قرأ القرآن فله بكل حرف عشر حسناتThere is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
ليس كمثله شيء وهو السميع البصيرThere is nothing like unto Him
ليس كمثله شيءFar from it. He affirmed for Himself hearing. Is this what He affirmed for Himself? Far from it. Rather, here is a word from some of the hadith scholars, specifically Abu Bakr al-Khatib, the author of *Tarikh Baghdad*, which you must have heard of. He said a word of truth: if the sects that differed greatly regarding the divine speech had stopped at this, they would all have agreed upon a common word, as Allah the Exalted said:
O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah.
يا أهل الكتاب تعالوا إلى كلمة سواء بيننا وبينكم ألا نعبد إلا الله ولا نشرك به شيئًا ولا يتخذ بعضنا بعضًا أربابًا من دون اللهThe questioner : No.
The Shaykh : We do not know the modality of the Essence, is that not so?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But we believe that Allah is an Essence, not merely a mental concept that has no external existence. So what we say regarding the Essence, we say regarding the attributes, because the attributes are connected to the Essence. Just as we believe in the existence of the Divine Essence, we fully believe in the existence of the Divine attributes. Just as we believe that His Essence is not like essences, we say: His attributes are not like attributes.