A Summary of the Discussion on the Actions of Allah and the Doctrines of the Sects Regarding This
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The Shaykh : So, to summarize the discussion before we enter into the words of the people of hadith: the people of kalam (theological discourse) differed regarding the actions of Allah. First: Is His action His created thing, or is it other than it? What did the Jahmiyyah and their followers say? They said His action is His created thing, meaning that the action is identical to the created thing. Why? They said that if we said the action is other than the created thing, and we observe the emergence of created things, it would necessitate that the action is an accident subsisting in Allah. And if accidents subsisted in Allah, it would necessitate that Allah is an accident, because accidents do not subsist except in an accident. Now, who is this for?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, these are the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, and their followers.
The second opinion in this issue is that the action is other than the created thing. Then these people differed among themselves. A group from them said: The action is eternal, just as the power and knowledge are eternal, and the created thing is subsequent to the action; the action is eternal and the created thing is subsequent. It was said to them: It is not possible; it is not possible for the action to be eternal and the created thing to be subsequent, because the action is concurrent with the created thing. Is that correct or not? When you make a door, your making is concurrent with the formation of this door. They said: We call this a prior formation; we call it a prior formation. But this does not remove them from the difficulty.
The second group of those who said that the action is other than the created thing also divided into two sections. One section said: The action is other than the created thing, but it is not eternal; it was impossible, then it became possible. The action was impossible, then it became possible. Whose opinion is this? The Karramiyyah. The second group said: No, the action subsists in Him, and it is other than the created thing, but it is renewed. It is eternal; Allah has always been and will always be an Actor. And this is the doctrine of the people of hadith.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, these are the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, and their followers.
The second opinion in this issue is that the action is other than the created thing. Then these people differed among themselves. A group from them said: The action is eternal, just as the power and knowledge are eternal, and the created thing is subsequent to the action; the action is eternal and the created thing is subsequent. It was said to them: It is not possible; it is not possible for the action to be eternal and the created thing to be subsequent, because the action is concurrent with the created thing. Is that correct or not? When you make a door, your making is concurrent with the formation of this door. They said: We call this a prior formation; we call it a prior formation. But this does not remove them from the difficulty.
The second group of those who said that the action is other than the created thing also divided into two sections. One section said: The action is other than the created thing, but it is not eternal; it was impossible, then it became possible. The action was impossible, then it became possible. Whose opinion is this? The Karramiyyah. The second group said: No, the action subsists in Him, and it is other than the created thing, but it is renewed. It is eternal; Allah has always been and will always be an Actor. And this is the doctrine of the people of hadith.