The Methodology of the Salaf Regarding the Speech of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), with a Refutation of Those Who Oppose This from the Mu'tazilah and the Asha'irah

The Shaykh : Likewise, the Divine Speech. This is a very important point. They denied the Divine Speech; the Asha'irah and the Mu'tazilah. However, the Mu'tazilah were more explicit than the Asha'irah. The Mu'tazilah explicitly stated that Allah does not speak. The Asha'irah would say: How can He not speak? Allah said: . But when they interpret the speech, they end up with the position of the Mu'tazilah. Now... because what do the Mu'tazilah say? If we want to describe Allah as speaking, we have likened Him to the created things; we have likened Him to the human being who speaks! And the one who speaks has lips and teeth... the situation does not proceed unless there are molars, and there must be a palate, and I seek refuge in Allah from these details! So the Asha'irah met with the Mu'tazilah in that Allah does not speak a speech that is heard; because the speech of a human is heard, and Allah is not like a human.

The questioner : They used to deny the attribute...

The Shaykh : And for that reason, they invented something that has no existence in the Sunnah, let alone in the Qur'an. They said: "The mental speech" (al-kalam al-nafsi). Allah speaks, but His speech is mental; meaning the mental speech is the Divine knowledge. The Divine knowledge is not heard, not seen, and not... because it is an attribute subsisting in Him (Blessed and Exalted is He). The mental speech is not uttered, not read, and not heard. And for that reason, you find some of the contemporary Asha'irah debating in some of their marginal notes with the Mu'tazilah who deny the Divine Speech, and the Asha'irah in their claim... How do you deny the Divine Speech?
Is Allah not capable, when He spoke to Musa with direct speech, of making Musa understand His mental speech? And Allah says to Musa: , ; despite this verse, what does the Ash'ari say to the Mu'tazili? Allah is not capable of making him understand the mental speech that is not heard? And Allah says to him in the Qur'an: , and is it linguistically correct to say "listen to that which is not heard"?

The questioner : It means he must listen...

The Shaykh : Because of these interpretations, the scholars of the Salaf call the Asha'irah and their like those who deny the attributes (mu'til); because denial (ta'til) is negation and rejection. So have they not denied the Divine Speech? And therefore, in their brief and detailed explanations, they explicitly state that this Qur'an, on which the Muslims are unanimous that it is the speech of Allah, is not the speech of Allah; as speech that is read, and as He said (peace and blessings be upon him): مَن قرأ القرآن فله بكلِّ حرف عشر حسنات ، لا أقول : ألم حرف ، بل ألف حرف ، لام حرف ، ميم حرف Whoever reads the Qur'an, for him are ten good deeds for every letter. I do not say "Alif-Lam-Mim" is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, Mīm is a letter. Is there an Alif with Allah? Is there a Lam? Is there a Mīm? There is nothing of this at all; because this is mental speech. And for that reason, they say that the speech is all one thing, so He has been saying since eternity: , He has been saying since eternity, not on the occasion of addressing His Lord.

The questioner : Before His creation, meaning.

The Shaykh : Of course, unfortunately, Musa came into existence later, so since eternity our Lord says: , since eternity He says to him: ; things that are very absurd from the standpoint of logic, and very dangerous from the standpoint of creed; because it means denying the entire Qur'an. This is all from the blessings of figurative interpretation (ta'wil), and there is absolutely no need for it! Say, people, our Lord speaks, but His speech is not like the speech of the... And among the wonders of the power of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is that He created for them the recorder, He created for them the radio. Look, it speaks without teeth, without lips, without a larynx, without anything. So the Creator who created this device, is it possible that He is not like humans? Allah is the Greatest! .

The questioner : Now, Professor, those who adopt their views are the Sufis... the Mu'tazilah and the Asha'irah... currently they cling to them.

The Shaykh : Oh?

The questioner : And they are happy.

Another questioner : ... Now, they do not... the attribute of speech from the attribute of hearing; so how do they interpret hearing... the same thing? The Asha'irah only...?

The Shaykh : ... I tell you: they are contradictory.

Another questioner : Ah, sometimes it is like this and sometimes...

The Shaykh : That is it...