Explanation of the Belief of the Jahmiyyah, Which Contradicts the Belief of the Salaf

The questioner : The book of al-Darimi: "The Refutation of the Jahmiyyah." In the introduction, the discussion concerns the modern Jahmiyyah. Is there a difference between the Jahmiyyah...?

The Shaykh : Yes, the modern group naturally adopts some of the ideas of the old Jahmiyyah, but they do not belong to them by name or school of thought; rather, they converge with them on some of what the Jahmiyyah used to hold in thought and belief. The extremists of the true Jahmiyyah converge with those who assert the Oneness of Existence, because they do not describe Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with the attributes mentioned in the Noble Qur'an. They deny Him the attributes, and when they deny Him the attributes, they negate Him, meaning they rule that He does not exist, exactly as the materialists say. These are the extremists of the Jahmiyyah. Below them is a class of Jahmiyyah who deny what was mentioned earlier, namely that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above all His creations. They explicitly state what the majority of Muslims explicitly state, even though they do not intend the meaning that those Jahmiyyah intend. They explicitly state that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is in every place. Many people today, even writers and the like who have not studied the correct Islamic creed, say this phrase. They also deny many other attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), for example, despite the explicit statement of the Qur'an in the words of the Exalted: They say that Allah does not speak. This is part of the belief of the Jahmiyyah, and all the Mu'tazilah agreed with them on this. The Mu'tazilah explicitly state that speech is not among the attributes of Allah. The reason for this denial, both in the past and the present, is the application of reason to matters of the unseen, and the unseen of the unseen is Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). It is not permissible for us to ask how the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) are in the manner that we know, which some of us know from others. For example, we know speech; it requires a known apparatus: the mouth, the tongue, the throat, the teeth, the molars, and so on. If something is missing from these organs that Allah created in man, speech becomes somewhat unnatural. When they imagine that Allah spoke to Musa (Moses) directly, they transfer their conception of the created to the Creator, and they deduce from this that Allah speaks with a palate, a tongue, molars, teeth, and so on. This is, of course, likening Allah to creation, and likening is false, and what necessarily follows from the false is false.
They establish premises that are originally on the brink of a collapsing cliff, mere imagination, and then they build high towers and palaces upon them. This is what they build upon to negate the Qur'anic texts and the Prophetic hadiths. Our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), in His perfect wisdom, created for this humanity in this age a deaf and dumb machine, which is the recorder, from the box of hearing, the microphone. It speaks with clear Arabic speech, and there is nothing of those organs by which a human speaks. Allah (Mighty and Majestic), who created this device, is inanimate and not a human. And man, as we all know, is preferred over all creations: This deaf and dumb device speaks without having those organs. Do you not see that our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), who is able to do everything, cannot speak to His prophets and messengers without us imagining, as the Mu'tazilah imagine, that a human speaks by means? If so, our Lord must have such and such. Far be it from Him. Therefore, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says in the Noble Qur'an, combining what the scholars affirm regarding the attributes of Allah and purifying these attributes from resembling the attributes of the created. He says, the Exalted and the Most High: It is amazing that you see these Mu'tazilah and some who imitate them, both in the past and the present, say that Allah is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. Well, since you affirmed the attribute of hearing and seeing, and you did not say that He must have a pupil and eyelids, and must have, I don't know, the human eye, and must have, must have... you did not say any of that. You simply stated that Allah the Exalted said: Similarly, say regarding the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): The matter is settled. Nevertheless, some who fled from likening by negation came to this same verse:
They deny that He has hearing and that He has sight, on the pretext that the human has sight and the human has hearing. This is likening. Glory be to Allah. The people of affirmation from the people of the Sunnah and the community answered them: If you have pursued the denial of all the attributes that Allah affirmed for Himself merely because of the sharing in the name and not in the reality, then say as the extremists of the Sufis say: There are not two existences, but only one existence. Why? Because now we ask each other: Are we existent or non-existent? Of course, we are existent. Is Allah existent or non-existent? Allah is existent with the existence of the Truth, as we said before. So there is a sharing between the existence of Allah and the existence of man. Deny the existence of Allah, and you will be done with all these problems. "There is no existence except our existence" is a word of truth. Affirm upon it that His existence is other than our existence, His attributes are other than our attributes, and the problem is ended. So we say: His speech is not like our speech, His sight is not like our sight, His hearing... everything that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) affirmed for Himself of attributes does not resemble the attributes of the created, as in the previous verse:
So the Jahmiyyah of the present age are those who converge with the first Jahmiyyah in denying some of the attributes of Allah. Those earlier ones denied all the attributes of Allah, while these share with the old Jahmiyyah in denying some of the attributes in the name of purifying Allah. But the reality of purifying Allah is to affirm for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) what Allah affirmed for Himself without asking how and without likening. On this occasion, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says a word of truth, which is:
"Knowledge is: Allah said, His Messenger said... The Companions said, it is not deception
Knowledge is not setting you up for foolish disagreement... Between the Messenger and the opinion of a jurist
Nor is it denying the attributes and negating them... Out of fear of negation and likening"
Denying the attributes out of fear of likening and negation is the school of the Mu'tazilah, who are a branch of the Jahmiyyah, and the school of some of the contemporaries today, who converge with those earlier ones in some of the attributes they denied.
I recall on this occasion a story that happened to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his time. In truth, he was a unique scholar in his comprehensive knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah, in addition to his knowledge of the beliefs of the deviant sects, including the philosophers who deny the laws. So among his qualities was a courage that is rarely found, unfortunately, among the scholars. So they complained to the governor in Damascus at that time, saying that this man believes such and such, accusing him of likening. So he held a council of debate for him with the sheikhs, and the prince heard from each ofThe Shaykh : the group. The group denies some of the attributes, including that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above His creations. And he heard fromThe Shaykh : many verses, some of which we mentioned earlier. And among what was mentioned is a hadith known to the scholars of hadith as the Hadith of the Girl. This hadith was narrated by Imam Malik, one of the four Imams as you know, in his Muwatta, and by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, and by Imam Muslim in his Sahih with a sound chain from a man...
The Shaykh said: Mu'awiyah is narrating what happened to him at the beginning of his Islam. He said: He was praying and he was a man who prayed like men do He was new to Islam, not having learned the rulings of prayer as they should be, and he did not know that speaking during prayer invalidates it and renders it void. So he shouted out of the habit of the Bedouins, raising his voice: "What am I doing with you?" The congregation were slapping their thighs to quiet him down. Without a doubt, the man prayed, and he did not know how he had prayed; he needed to know what his sin was. But without a doubt, generally speaking, he understood that the congregation did not treat him this way except that he had made a mistake. So he now imagined that this Prophet whom he had prayed behind—what would he do to him? And he was surprised, as is natural from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he turned to me, and by Allah, he did not humiliate me, nor did he overpower me, nor did he strike me, nor did he curse me, but he only said to me: " This is all that he did with him. And without a doubt, when one of us makes a mistake before a great man, he imagines that this great man wants to scold him, wants to overpower him, but he is surprised by what is befitting the Messenger, as the Exalted said: And he saw nothing but teaching, as if he had done nothing and so on. When he saw this gentleness, and he felt that he needed to learn, he began to throw question after question at the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger would answer him. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, among us are people who come to the fortune-tellers." The astrologers, the diviners, those whom they call the "basirah" (insight). He said: Concise words, whose explanation is known among the scholars. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, among us are people who draw lines." Drawing lines means striking on the sand.
"Among us are people who draw lines, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: " The scholars call this "suspension on the impossible." The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to this man:The questioner ...

The questioner : What is meant by drawing lines?

The Shaykh : On the sand, my teacher. They write on the sand. Some astrologers use the sand as a medium, in their claim, to discover the unseen. Do you not have such a thing?

The questioner : This "basirah" (insight) is known. It sees through the sand.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, this is the "basirah" (insight).

The questioner : Does the Prophet do this?

The Shaykh I said at the end of what I said: The scholars call this "suspension on the impossible," meaning from the perspective of explanation. That is, Allah the Mighty and Majestic had made striking on the sand a special means for one of the previous prophets to discover some of the unseen. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to this man:The questioner : When he said that among us are people who draw lines, his answer was: "The drawing of that one is from you" meaning the one who hits the mark. But this is a suspension on the impossible. This is impossible because that was a prophetic miracle for that prophet.
. He said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), among us are people who take omens." He said: Taking omens is pessimism, which is well known. And pessimism today, despite the fact that Islam has abolished it and said: You will find many Muslims, because of their immersion in ignorance, taking omens, especially women among them. For example, doing laundry on such-and-such a day is not permissible, bringing in soap on such-and-such a day is not permissible. Superstitions and many, many superstitions. All of this is taking omens, which is not permissible in Islam. There is no taking of omens in Islam.
He said: "Among us are people who take omens." He said: An answer of the utmost wisdom and gentleness, and without imposing restrictions or tightening things on people. Because he does not say "Do not take omens." There is a very big difference between saying, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "It will not hinder you," and if the statement were "Do not take omens," if he said "Do not take omens," that would be imposing what is not bearable. And Allah says: But He obligated them with what they can bear.
The word "taking omens" (tatayyur) is derived from "birds" (tayr). And in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, among their superstitions and delusions, if one of them intended to travel and left his house, a bird would inevitably cross his path. If this bird, the animal, flew to the right, the journey was auspicious in the claim of this person. I wonder, which is more alive, this person or that animal? If this bird flew, and the bird itself, if asked why it flew to the right, would not know. If it flew to the right, his journey was auspicious, and if it flew to the left, his journey was inauspicious. This was the custom of the pre-Islamic age. It flew to the left and went to his house. All the planning he had made for this journey was invalidated simply because the bird flew to the left and to the west. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) abolished this taking of omens. But he did not abolish it as something that comes from a person suddenly without thought or planning. But he abolished responding to the omen. He abolished responding to the omen and said: For example, a person intends to travel, leaves his house, and takes his suitcase with him... and so on. And if one person is quarreling with another and arguing with him, and says to him: "May Allah not make you successful," a blow comes to his ear, he takes it as a bad omen, and he returns. But if he is a Muslim who has been taught the manners of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he does not return. What effect does a word that came on the fly have, like that bird? It has no effect. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So you heard a word from which you took a bad omen, do not respond to it. The fact that you took a bad omen at the first moment, you are not to be blamed for that. But if you responded to it, then here the blame comes.
He said: "Among us are people who take omens." He said: Now the witness comes. He said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I have a slave girl who grazes my sheep in Uhud. One day, a wolf raided my sheep." The wolf devoured, may Allah will it, some of this man's sheep. He said: "And I am a human being, I get angry as humans get angry, so I struck her a blow." Where were you, negligent, sleeping, and so on, "until the wolf raided my sheep." Of course, he struck her this blow and then regretted it. Therefore, he says in the middle of his question: "And upon me is the freeing of a slave neck." As if he is saying, "I freed her. Is it permissible for me as an expiation?" He said: When she came, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: She said: "In the sky." He said to her: She said: "You are the Messenger of Allah." He said to her master: The scholars say she knew her Lord in the sky, as He said: " and so on, the verse we mentioned earlier. And she knew that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger on earth. So he testified to her faith and said to her master, "Free her." So your freeing of her is fulfillment of your vow to free a slave neck.
The witness: We were in the story of Ibn Taymiyyah with the council of examination, discussion, and debate. So Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned from these hadiths what Allah willed, including the hadith that, praise be to Allah, is still widespread on the tongues of people: He heard the words of Ibn Taymiyyah: "Allah said, the Messenger said," just as Ibn al-Qayyim said in the previous poem:
"Knowledge is: Allah said, His Messenger said... The Companions said, it is not deception
Knowledge is not setting you up for foolish disagreement... Between the Messenger and the opinion of a jurist
Nor is it denying the attributes and negating them... Out of fear of denial of the divine attributes and likening Allah to creation"
Ibn Taymiyyah heard that he affirmed the existence of Allah and that He is above all creation. As for the sheikhs, when it was said to them, "Where is Allah?" they said, "We do not know." So what was the answer of the wise prince? He said: "These are people who have lost their Lord." Indeed, our Lord is the One who created the universe. And Allah, as it came in the hadith of 'Imran ibn al-Husayn in Sahih al-Bukhari: Then He created this universe with what is in it of heavens, of lands, of mountains, of valleys, of angels, of jinn, of humans, of animals. How can they not know where Allah is, when the verses and hadiths are mass-transmitted and mutually supporting, all of them, that Allah the Mighty and Majestic is above all creation! And therefore, it was among the recitations of the Muslim when he placed his forehead prostrating to his Lord that he would magnify Him and say: "Glory be to Allah, my Lord, the Most High. Glory be to Allah, my Lord, the Most High."
It is a recommended practice (sunnah) when one hears this verse recited to say, "Glory be to Allah, my Lord, the Most High," because Allah commanded in the verse that one of us should say, "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High." So when he heard that debate, that wise prince, and the discussion betweenThe Shaykh : From one side, and the scholars from the other side, he said: "These are a people who have neglected their Lord." Indeed, this is a reality we hear today; we touch it with our own hands. As for saying "we do not know," and following this negation with a denial of the question posed by the Messenger, the Messenger asked the slave girl, "Where is Allah?" Now we hear a denial of the question posed by the Messenger, let alone their acceptance of the answer given by the slave girl, which the Messenger testified for her as faith, and from that he ordered her master to free her. People today either say, as a fact, that Allah is everywhere, and these are the Jahmiyyah and some of the Mu'tazilah, or they say, in answer to the Messenger's question to the slave girl, "Where is Allah?", "We do not know." And I heard from one of the preachers, one of those I studied jurisprudence and grammar with, on the pulpit in a mosque—if any of you know Damascus well, it is called the Mosque of Repentance in al-'Uqayba—I heard him say: "Allah is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not inside the world, and not outside it." And I say, O people, and I think you will all support me, if it were said to the most eloquent of the Arabs in tongue, "Describe for us the non-existent thing that has no existence," his entire eloquent Arabic language would not be sufficient to describe the non-existent in the way this man described hisThe Shaykh : Lord, and this is not from his own invention; he received it from books, in the way he described thisThe Shaykh : Lord, where he said: "Not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not inside the world, and not outside it." This is non-existence, O people. This is non-existence. Some philosophers add a straw to a camel's load, as they say, by saying: "Not connected to Him, and not separated from Him." Not connected to Him, and not separated from Him. So this is the non-existent. This is the unity of existence, indeed, but the extremists of the Sufiyyah declare it openly: "It is He alone, everything you see with your eye is Allah." But other people, in a way of turning and twisting, and they fasted and prayed, but this is what they were influenced by from the logic of the philosophers, and they were unable, because of their ignorance of the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to refute that with what you heard from the words of 'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak: "Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is above His Throne with His Essence, distinct from His creation, and He is with them with His knowledge."
This is a story that happened to Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) with the scholars. And the ruler, as you know, most rulers do not have knowledge, but it is supposed that they have intellect, and they have shrewdness to distinguish right from wrong. So with his intellect and his sound fitrah (innate natural disposition), he said about the scholars of knowledge: "These are a people who have neglected their Lord." Indeed, this is correct speech.