The Turn of the People of Kalam Away from Adjudicating by the Qur'an and the Sunnah and Their Adjudicating by Reason and Greek Logic
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The Shaykh : Likewise, the people of kalam in matters of creed abandoned the Book and the Sunnah. They said, "Certainty is not attained through the Qur'an or the Sunnah. Where do we take it from? We must have a creed; where do we take it from?" They said, "From the philosophers, Greek logic, and the opinions of men. As for the Qur'an, even if it provides certainty in its existence, it does not provide certainty in its indication." I seek refuge in Allah. They say, "We have no objection to its existence; it is certain, mass-transmitted to the highest degree of mass transmission, but it does not provide certainty in its indication."
As for the Sunnah, they said, "First, we look to see if it provides certainty in its existence or not." They say, "Mass-transmitted reports provide certainty, but as for ahad reports, cast them aside; do not accept them in matters of creed." Then, ahad reports are also certain in their existence, but is their indication certain?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Mass-transmitted reports are certain in their existence, but is their indication certain? They say it is like the Qur'an; its indication is not certain. Therefore, neither the Qur'an nor the Sunnah can provide certainty in matters of creed, and all creeds based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah are based on conjecture, based on conjecture. Where do we turn if we do not gain certainty from the Book and the Sunnah? To the minds, the conflicting and differing minds, where each one declares the other misguided. Indeed, a person himself contradicts himself in his writings in the beginning of his life and in the end of his life. As the Shaykh al-Islam said in *Al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyyah*: "Oh, I wish I knew by what the Book and the Sunnah are weighed: by the mind of Zayd or the mind of 'Abd?" And Imam Malik said: "Is it that whenever a man comes to us who is more eloquent than another, we abandon the Book and the Sunnah for the saying of this debater?" Is this appropriate? No. So what one fears for himself, my brothers, is what the author says:
"But I fear the heart's detachment from *** adjudicating by this revelation and the Qur'an,
and contentment with the opinions of men and their conjectures *** that was not a favor from the Most Merciful
This phrase is a supplication. He says, "I ask Allah that it not be by His grace."
As for the Sunnah, they said, "First, we look to see if it provides certainty in its existence or not." They say, "Mass-transmitted reports provide certainty, but as for ahad reports, cast them aside; do not accept them in matters of creed." Then, ahad reports are also certain in their existence, but is their indication certain?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Mass-transmitted reports are certain in their existence, but is their indication certain? They say it is like the Qur'an; its indication is not certain. Therefore, neither the Qur'an nor the Sunnah can provide certainty in matters of creed, and all creeds based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah are based on conjecture, based on conjecture. Where do we turn if we do not gain certainty from the Book and the Sunnah? To the minds, the conflicting and differing minds, where each one declares the other misguided. Indeed, a person himself contradicts himself in his writings in the beginning of his life and in the end of his life. As the Shaykh al-Islam said in *Al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyyah*: "Oh, I wish I knew by what the Book and the Sunnah are weighed: by the mind of Zayd or the mind of 'Abd?" And Imam Malik said: "Is it that whenever a man comes to us who is more eloquent than another, we abandon the Book and the Sunnah for the saying of this debater?" Is this appropriate? No. So what one fears for himself, my brothers, is what the author says:
"But I fear the heart's detachment from *** adjudicating by this revelation and the Qur'an,
and contentment with the opinions of men and their conjectures *** that was not a favor from the Most Merciful
This phrase is a supplication. He says, "I ask Allah that it not be by His grace."