Explanation of the author's statement and his saying: (And Allah spoke to Moses directly)
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The Shaykh : is the doer, so the speech is from Him, and is an emphasizing noun. The scholars said that the emphasizing noun negates the possibility of metaphorical meaning. It negates
The student: the possibility of metaphorical meaning
The Shaykh : the possibility of metaphorical meaning. Do you see, if I said "Zayd came," what do you understand? I understand that he himself came. It is possible that the meaning is "the news of Zayd came," which is a possibility, even if it is contrary to the apparent meaning. But if I emphasized and said "Zayd himself came" or "Zayd, Zayd came," and I emphasized, the possibility of metaphorical meaning is negated. When He said "directly," He emphasized the verb, which indicates that it is real speech, because the noun negates the possibility of metaphorical meaning. Now, the speech of Allah the Exalted to Moses: was it real speech that he heard, or did he not hear it?
The student: He heard it
The Shaykh : He heard it. He heard it, and for this reason a dialogue took place between them, as in Surat Ta-Ha and others. So he heard it. And in that case, we say that the speech of Allah is with letters
The student: and sound
The Shaykh : and sound. Now, the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). Here it is appropriate to speak about their school of thought.
They differed from the people of the Sunnah regarding the speech of Allah that we described earlier. Several groups differed from them, and their opinions reached seven or eight. We will mention two of them because of their prominence: the opinion of the Mu'tazilah and the opinion of the Asha'irah. The Mu'tazilah say that Allah speaks with letters and audible sound, but His speech, O Jamal, is created, like all other created things. It is said: He spoke, just as He created. His speech is letters and audible sound, connected to His will, but it is separate from Him. It is not one of His attributes, but a created thing among the created things. So, Allah's speaking to Moses does not mean that the speech came out from Allah, but that the speech was created in the tree, created on the side of the mountain, created in the air, and Moses heard it. The speech is not one of His attributes. And in that case, they denied Allah the Exalted of the attributes of perfection, because speech is a perfection. They say that speech is impossible for Allah, that it is impossible, so they denied Allah of this perfect attribute merely with their corrupt minds. But they affirm letters, agreeing with the people of the Sunnah
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : and sound
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : connected to His will
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Correct.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Now, they differ from them in that it is not one of the attributes of Allah, but a created thing. And the people of the Sunnah and the community say it is an attribute, not created.
As for the Asha'irah, they say that the speech of Allah the Exalted is not with letters or sound, and it is not connected to His will, but it is a meaning subsisting in Himself, necessary to Him, like the necessity of life and knowledge. These Asha'irah say that Allah the Exalted does not speak with letters or sound, and the speech is not connected to His will, but it is among His necessary attributes, like the necessity of life and knowledge. Just as Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is described with life, and we do not say that it is connected to His will. He is described with knowledge, and we do not say that it is connected to His will, because this is among the necessary attributes. They say that speech is likewise among the necessary attributes of Allah. Now, how can it be among His necessary attributes when it is heard sometimes and not heard other times? They said that what is heard is sounds that Allah creates, and the letters are created by Allah to express what is in Himself, to express what is in Himself. As for whether it is His speech, it is not His speech. Do you understand? Now.
These people differed from the people of the Sunnah in several aspects:
First: They said that speech is a meaning, not with letters or sound.
Second: They said that it is necessary to His life, not connected to His will, but it is necessary to Him like the necessity of life and knowledge, not connected to His will. It is not that He speaks when He wills and does not speak when He wills, but the speech is necessary. Do you understand?
Third: That what is heard is created, created among the created things. The people of the Sunnah and the community say that what is heard is the attribute of speech. Now, what is in the mushafs that people are reading now, is it the speech of Allah according to them?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, this is an expression of the speech of Allah, which Allah created to express what is in Himself. The Mu'tazilah say that what we read in the Qur'an is the speech of Allah. See the difference? These people made it an expression of the speech, and these people said it is the speech itself. So the agreement of the Mu'tazilah with the people of the Sunnah is greater than the agreement of the Asha'irah with the people of the Sunnah. Some of the precise scholars among them said: The reality is that there is no difference between us and the Mu'tazilah, because we all agreed that what exists
The student: Created.
The Shaykh : between us of the speech of Allah is created. But the Mu'tazilah say it is the speech of Allah, and we say it is an expression of the speech of Allah. Now, what compelled the Mu'tazilah to say that speech is created? Because they do not believe in the attributes of Allah. They affirm what? The names without the attributes. So if He has no attribute, no hearing, no sight, no speech, or anything else, then what is heard is what? Say, O brothers.
The student: It is not an attribute
The Shaykh : It is not an attribute. It is not an attribute, so it remains a created thing among the created things. As for the Asha'irah, what compelled them to say that speech is not connected to the will is that they deny the subsistence of voluntary actions with Allah. We say: If we said that He speaks by His will, it would necessitate that accidents occur in Him, and whatever accidents occur in it, it is an accident. Therefore, the speech is not connected to His will, but it is a necessary attribute for Him. The reality of the matter with the Asha'irah is that the speech of Allah is not the speech of Allah, but it is the knowledge of Allah, because they say it is what is in Himself, it is what is in Himself. Is that clear, O people? Now, the sound opinion, and praise be to Allah, is what the people of the Sunnah and the community are upon: that speech is one of His attributes, not something separate from Him that is created, and that His speech is connected to His will. He speaks when He wills. And then?
The student: With what He wills
The Shaykh : With what He wills
The student: How He wills
The Shaykh : How He wills.
The student: With letters and sound
The Shaykh : With letters and sound, not resembling the sounds of the created beings. This is the truth, and it is clear. No one understands from the texts except this, except one whose fitrah (innate natural disposition) is corrupt, and I seek refuge in Allah. Now, we said He speaks with what He wills, with what He wills. And we said that the meaning of "with what He wills" is with any subject or any meaning He wills to speak about. Is it not possible to say, and He also speaks in any language He wills, and we make "with what He wills" from the aspect of language and from the aspect of the subject of the speech?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is that appropriate or not appropriate?
The student: It is appropriate
The Shaykh : Yes, it is appropriate. It is appropriate that He speaks in any language He wills, the Exalted. Now, because He addresses 'Isa in what language?
The student: In his language
The Shaykh : In his Syriac language. And Moses likewise, in his Hebrew language. And Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
The student: In Arabic
The Shaykh : In his Arabic language. Now, on what basis or with what do the Mu'tazilah refute the verse? They say that "kalim" in the Arabic language means a wound, as in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Riyad as-Salihin 1295 And "kalim" means a wound, and the meaning of
The student: A wound
The Shaykh : He wounded. He wounded Moses. How did he wound Moses? I seek refuge in Allah. Yes, meaning Moses was at the sweetest moment at that time when Allah was confiding in him. And they say he wounded him. He said...
Allah spoke to Moses directly
كلم الله موسى تكليماًAllah
اللهdirectly
تكليماًThe student: the possibility of metaphorical meaning
The Shaykh : the possibility of metaphorical meaning. Do you see, if I said "Zayd came," what do you understand? I understand that he himself came. It is possible that the meaning is "the news of Zayd came," which is a possibility, even if it is contrary to the apparent meaning. But if I emphasized and said "Zayd himself came" or "Zayd, Zayd came," and I emphasized, the possibility of metaphorical meaning is negated.
Allah spoke to Moses directly
كلم الله موسى تكليماًThe student: He heard it
The Shaykh : He heard it. He heard it, and for this reason a dialogue took place between them, as in Surat Ta-Ha and others. So he heard it. And in that case, we say that the speech of Allah is with letters
The student: and sound
The Shaykh : and sound. Now, the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). Here it is appropriate to speak about their school of thought.
They differed from the people of the Sunnah regarding the speech of Allah that we described earlier. Several groups differed from them, and their opinions reached seven or eight. We will mention two of them because of their prominence: the opinion of the Mu'tazilah and the opinion of the Asha'irah. The Mu'tazilah say that Allah speaks with letters and audible sound, but His speech, O Jamal, is created, like all other created things. It is said: He spoke, just as He created. His speech is letters and audible sound, connected to His will, but it is separate from Him. It is not one of His attributes, but a created thing among the created things. So, Allah's speaking to Moses does not mean that the speech came out from Allah, but that the speech was created in the tree, created on the side of the mountain, created in the air, and Moses heard it. The speech is not one of His attributes. And in that case, they denied Allah the Exalted of the attributes of perfection, because speech is a perfection. They say that speech is impossible for Allah, that it is impossible, so they denied Allah of this perfect attribute merely with their corrupt minds. But they affirm letters, agreeing with the people of the Sunnah
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : and sound
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : connected to His will
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Correct.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Now, they differ from them in that it is not one of the attributes of Allah, but a created thing. And the people of the Sunnah and the community say it is an attribute, not created.
As for the Asha'irah, they say that the speech of Allah the Exalted is not with letters or sound, and it is not connected to His will, but it is a meaning subsisting in Himself, necessary to Him, like the necessity of life and knowledge. These Asha'irah say that Allah the Exalted does not speak with letters or sound, and the speech is not connected to His will, but it is among His necessary attributes, like the necessity of life and knowledge. Just as Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is described with life, and we do not say that it is connected to His will. He is described with knowledge, and we do not say that it is connected to His will, because this is among the necessary attributes. They say that speech is likewise among the necessary attributes of Allah. Now, how can it be among His necessary attributes when it is heard sometimes and not heard other times? They said that what is heard is sounds that Allah creates, and the letters are created by Allah to express what is in Himself, to express what is in Himself. As for whether it is His speech, it is not His speech. Do you understand? Now.
These people differed from the people of the Sunnah in several aspects:
First: They said that speech is a meaning, not with letters or sound.
Second: They said that it is necessary to His life, not connected to His will, but it is necessary to Him like the necessity of life and knowledge, not connected to His will. It is not that He speaks when He wills and does not speak when He wills, but the speech is necessary. Do you understand?
Third: That what is heard is created, created among the created things. The people of the Sunnah and the community say that what is heard is the attribute of speech. Now, what is in the mushafs that people are reading now, is it the speech of Allah according to them?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, this is an expression of the speech of Allah, which Allah created to express what is in Himself. The Mu'tazilah say that what we read in the Qur'an is the speech of Allah. See the difference? These people made it an expression of the speech, and these people said it is the speech itself. So the agreement of the Mu'tazilah with the people of the Sunnah is greater than the agreement of the Asha'irah with the people of the Sunnah. Some of the precise scholars among them said: The reality is that there is no difference between us and the Mu'tazilah, because we all agreed that what exists
The student: Created.
The Shaykh : between us of the speech of Allah is created. But the Mu'tazilah say it is the speech of Allah, and we say it is an expression of the speech of Allah. Now, what compelled the Mu'tazilah to say that speech is created? Because they do not believe in the attributes of Allah. They affirm what? The names without the attributes. So if He has no attribute, no hearing, no sight, no speech, or anything else, then what is heard is what? Say, O brothers.
The student: It is not an attribute
The Shaykh : It is not an attribute. It is not an attribute, so it remains a created thing among the created things. As for the Asha'irah, what compelled them to say that speech is not connected to the will is that they deny the subsistence of voluntary actions with Allah. We say: If we said that He speaks by His will, it would necessitate that accidents occur in Him, and whatever accidents occur in it, it is an accident. Therefore, the speech is not connected to His will, but it is a necessary attribute for Him. The reality of the matter with the Asha'irah is that the speech of Allah is not the speech of Allah, but it is the knowledge of Allah, because they say it is what is in Himself, it is what is in Himself. Is that clear, O people? Now, the sound opinion, and praise be to Allah, is what the people of the Sunnah and the community are upon: that speech is one of His attributes, not something separate from Him that is created, and that His speech is connected to His will. He speaks when He wills. And then?
The student: With what He wills
The Shaykh : With what He wills
The student: How He wills
The Shaykh : How He wills.
The student: With letters and sound
The Shaykh : With letters and sound, not resembling the sounds of the created beings. This is the truth, and it is clear. No one understands from the texts except this, except one whose fitrah (innate natural disposition) is corrupt, and I seek refuge in Allah. Now, we said He speaks with what He wills, with what He wills. And we said that the meaning of "with what He wills" is with any subject or any meaning He wills to speak about. Is it not possible to say, and He also speaks in any language He wills, and we make "with what He wills" from the aspect of language and from the aspect of the subject of the speech?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is that appropriate or not appropriate?
The student: It is appropriate
The Shaykh : Yes, it is appropriate. It is appropriate that He speaks in any language He wills, the Exalted. Now, because He addresses 'Isa in what language?
The student: In his language
The Shaykh : In his Syriac language. And Moses likewise, in his Hebrew language. And Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
The student: In Arabic
The Shaykh : In his Arabic language. Now, on what basis or with what do the Mu'tazilah refute the verse
And Allah spoke to Moses with direct speech
وكلم الله موسى تكليماًWhoever is wounded while fighting in the way of Allah, will come on the Day of Resurrection with blood oozing from his wound
ما من مكلوم يكلم في سبيل الله إلا جاء يوم القيامة وجَرحه يثعُب دماHe spoke
كلّمThe student: A wound
The Shaykh : He wounded. He wounded Moses. How did he wound Moses? I seek refuge in Allah. Yes, meaning Moses was at the sweetest moment at that time when Allah was confiding in him. And they say he wounded him. He said...