Explanation of the author's statement: "5. The statement of the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah: 'It is a created thing among created things and is not one of the attributes of Allah'."
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The Shaykh : The fifth: The statement of the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah.
The Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah agree on the issue of speech and concur, whereas they—the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah—differ on the names of faith and religion, and they also differ on the issues of divine decree. The Jahmiyyah are Jabriyyah (determinists), and the Mu'tazilah are Qadariyyah (those who affirm free will).
In the chapter on the names of faith and religion, the Jahmiyyah say that deeds
do not enter into the definition of faith, and that faith is merely recognition, for example, that you know that Allah is One.
And the Mu'tazilah say that deeds are included in the definition of faith, and that if a person commits a major sin, he exits from faith, but he does not enter into disbelief; he is in a position between two positions.
Look at the difference. The Jahmiyyah say: "Commit adultery, steal, commit sodomy, drink intoxicants, and kill a soul. Yes, and do every forbidden act; it will not take you out of Islam, and you are a believer with complete faith. And we do not say: 'You are a believer with complete faith' only; we say: All people are equal in faith, even the faith of the most sinful person and the faith of Jibril (Gabriel) are on the same level."
And faith, according to them, is knowledge. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) refuted them in *al-Nuniyyah* with a strong and convincing refutation. He said: "
If faith is knowing Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then ask Iblis: does he know his Lord or not? Does he know his Lord? Yes, even the common people say that Iblis knows his Lord. So, for this reason, he asks: And ask all those who committed sins: do they know Allah? The answer is: they know Him. So, according to the Jahmiyyah, he says: according to the Jahmiyyah, faith is complete .
The Mu'tazilah and the Jahmiyyah agreed on the issue of attributes; all of them are deniers who negate the attributes, but they differ in the degree of exaggeration. The Jahmiyyah are more extreme in their denial than the Mu'tazilah. Regarding speech, they agreed that the Qur'an is that the speech of Allah is created, created among created things.
As for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), He does not speak, but He creates speech. Where does He create it? It is possible He creates it in a tree, as in the saying of the Exalted about Musa (Moses), yes,[Al-Qasas 28:30]. They said: Allah created speech in the tree, and Musa heard it and said, "This is the speech of Allah."
Or Allah the Exalted creates it in the air and it is heard. As for Allah speaking with speech that is His attribute, that is not the case.
And he says: "Then, some of the Jahmiyyah, if it is created, is it connected to His will? The answer is: Yes. So they agree with the people of the Sunnah that speech is connected to His will, but they differ with them in that it is created."
Let us now look at which is more severe in the issue of speech: the statement of the Asha'irah or the statement of the Jahmiyyah?
The Asha'irah say that speech is the meaning that exists in the self.
And the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah say that speech is what we hear; this is the speech of Allah. What is in the mushaf is the speech of Allah, both its wording and its meaning.
Those [Asha'irah] say that the speech of Allah is not by its wording and meaning; the speech of Allah is by its meaning only. As for the wording, Allah the Exalted created sounds to express what is in His self.
So the Asha'irah say: What is in the mushaf is not the speech of Allah, but it is an expression of it.
And the Jahmiyyah say: It is the speech of Allah. The speech of Allah is truly the speech of Allah, not an expression of it. So, from this perspective, the Jahmiyyah are better than the Asha'irah.
We come to creation. The Asha'irah say that these letters in the Qur'an and the sounds that the Messenger and Jibril heard are created.
And the Jahmiyyah also say that they are created.
For this reason, some of the precise scholars among them said: "There is no difference between us and the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah, because we all agree that what is between the covers of the mushaf is created. But we say it is created and it is the speech of Allah, while you say it is created and it is an expression of the speech of Allah."
He said: "Then, some of the Jahmiyyah explicitly denied speech for Allah, while others acknowledged it and said: 'It is created.'"
Meaning, some of them explicitly said that Allah does not speak, but He creates speech, while others said that He speaks, but the speech is created.
The Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah agree on the issue of speech and concur, whereas they—the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah—differ on the names of faith and religion, and they also differ on the issues of divine decree. The Jahmiyyah are Jabriyyah (determinists), and the Mu'tazilah are Qadariyyah (those who affirm free will).
In the chapter on the names of faith and religion, the Jahmiyyah say that deeds
do not enter into the definition of faith, and that faith is merely recognition, for example, that you know that Allah is One.
And the Mu'tazilah say that deeds are included in the definition of faith, and that if a person commits a major sin, he exits from faith, but he does not enter into disbelief; he is in a position between two positions.
Look at the difference. The Jahmiyyah say: "Commit adultery, steal, commit sodomy, drink intoxicants, and kill a soul. Yes, and do every forbidden act; it will not take you out of Islam, and you are a believer with complete faith. And we do not say: 'You are a believer with complete faith' only; we say: All people are equal in faith, even the faith of the most sinful person and the faith of Jibril (Gabriel) are on the same level."
And faith, according to them, is knowledge. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) refuted them in *al-Nuniyyah* with a strong and convincing refutation. He said: "
If faith is knowing Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then ask Iblis: does he know his Lord or not? Does he know his Lord? Yes, even the common people say that Iblis knows his Lord. So, for this reason, he asks:
My Lord, grant me respite
رب أنظرنيThe Mu'tazilah and the Jahmiyyah agreed on the issue of attributes; all of them are deniers who negate the attributes, but they differ in the degree of exaggeration. The Jahmiyyah are more extreme in their denial than the Mu'tazilah. Regarding speech, they agreed that the Qur'an is that the speech of Allah is created, created among created things.
As for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), He does not speak, but He creates speech. Where does He create it? It is possible He creates it in a tree, as in the saying of the Exalted about Musa (Moses), yes,
from the tree, "O Moses, indeed I am Allah, Lord of the worlds."
من الشجرة أن يا موسى إني أنا الله رب العالمينOr Allah the Exalted creates it in the air and it is heard. As for Allah speaking with speech that is His attribute, that is not the case.
And he says: "Then, some of the Jahmiyyah, if it is created, is it connected to His will? The answer is: Yes. So they agree with the people of the Sunnah that speech is connected to His will, but they differ with them in that it is created."
Let us now look at which is more severe in the issue of speech: the statement of the Asha'irah or the statement of the Jahmiyyah?
The Asha'irah say that speech is the meaning that exists in the self.
And the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah say that speech is what we hear; this is the speech of Allah. What is in the mushaf is the speech of Allah, both its wording and its meaning.
Those [Asha'irah] say that the speech of Allah is not by its wording and meaning; the speech of Allah is by its meaning only. As for the wording, Allah the Exalted created sounds to express what is in His self.
So the Asha'irah say: What is in the mushaf is not the speech of Allah, but it is an expression of it.
And the Jahmiyyah say: It is the speech of Allah. The speech of Allah is truly the speech of Allah, not an expression of it. So, from this perspective, the Jahmiyyah are better than the Asha'irah.
We come to creation. The Asha'irah say that these letters in the Qur'an and the sounds that the Messenger and Jibril heard are created.
And the Jahmiyyah also say that they are created.
For this reason, some of the precise scholars among them said: "There is no difference between us and the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah, because we all agree that what is between the covers of the mushaf is created. But we say it is created and it is the speech of Allah, while you say it is created and it is an expression of the speech of Allah."
He said: "Then, some of the Jahmiyyah explicitly denied speech for Allah, while others acknowledged it and said: 'It is created.'"
Meaning, some of them explicitly said that Allah does not speak, but He creates speech, while others said that He speaks, but the speech is created.