(Explanation of the Origin of the School of Thought) To Allah belongs a visitor who came by night, not fearing *** the prince's sentries or the jailer's watch. She crossed the lands of Sham, then turned her face *** toward the land of Taybah, the dawn of faith.
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The Shaykh : This beloved woman, look how she traversed these vast distances from Sham to Madinah to the places of worship: 'Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina. She did all the things, she performed sa'y, and yet her soul was not at peace until she reached her Beloved. He was seeing her as if in a dream, between sleep and wakefulness, and he was speaking to her, saying:
"You told me a story that I thought was true, *** but the two eyes have lied about it."
Just as these people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) speak to people a story that the naive and foolish person thinks is true, but it is a lie. And for this reason, he said to her:
"If you are the liar who told me this, *** then upon you is the sin of the deceptive liar."
And which is greater, her lie or the lie of Jahm ibn Safwan? Of course, the lie of Jahm ibn Safwan is greater. But look at the beauty of the author's (may Allah have mercy on him) escape and transition from this strange story that makes a person travel with his heart from Sham to Madinah to Makkah to the sacred sites, and then in the end, we make this transition which is actually a great pitfall, but we do not feel this great pitfall. We transition from tangible, depicted matters to abstract matters with such ease. And this is the favor of Allah, which He grants to whom He wills. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) is known for being good in style, very strong in his style, to the point that his styles (may Allah have mercy on him) enter a person as sleep enters the man who is awake. Yes. Now, regarding Jahm ibn Safwan, it is my intention, if Allah wills, that for every person who passes by us in this poetry, we will assign one of you to review his biography so that he brings us a summary that includes his life, his opinion, and his death. Yes, three things. For example, Jahm ibn Safwan, for example, we start with this hadith.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What contradicts the commentary is not in our hands; we are not reading the commentary now, because everyone wants to pass by us, if Allah wills, from this and others, hundreds of people whom Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned. Yes, now with Yasser, please write down Jahm ibn Safwan. It is necessary that we know that he was from Tirmidh and that he received the doctrine of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) from al-Ja'd ibn Dirham. Al-Ja'd ibn Dirham was the first to say ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). He said two words: "Indeed, Allah did not take Ibrahim as a friend, and He did not speak to Musa with direct speech." Then Jahm ibn Safwan took it from him and began to debate with it and call to this school of thought. The school of thought spread through his hands, so it was attributed to him and came to be called the school of the Jahmiyyah, not the school of the Ja'diyyah, because he was the one who spread it. It is based on ta'til (denial of the divine attributes), the denial of the attributes of Allah. This is the first thing they denied, the attributes of Allah. Then they exaggerated and denied the names and attributes. Then they exaggerated and denied everything that indicates affirmation. Then they exaggerated and denied everything that indicates affirmation or negation, and they said it is not correct to describe Allah with negation or affirmation. Yes, as will come, if Allah wills, in his speech.
"You told me a story that I thought was true, *** but the two eyes have lied about it."
Just as these people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) speak to people a story that the naive and foolish person thinks is true, but it is a lie. And for this reason, he said to her:
"If you are the liar who told me this, *** then upon you is the sin of the deceptive liar."
And which is greater, her lie or the lie of Jahm ibn Safwan? Of course, the lie of Jahm ibn Safwan is greater. But look at the beauty of the author's (may Allah have mercy on him) escape and transition from this strange story that makes a person travel with his heart from Sham to Madinah to Makkah to the sacred sites, and then in the end, we make this transition which is actually a great pitfall, but we do not feel this great pitfall. We transition from tangible, depicted matters to abstract matters with such ease. And this is the favor of Allah, which He grants to whom He wills. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) is known for being good in style, very strong in his style, to the point that his styles (may Allah have mercy on him) enter a person as sleep enters the man who is awake. Yes. Now, regarding Jahm ibn Safwan, it is my intention, if Allah wills, that for every person who passes by us in this poetry, we will assign one of you to review his biography so that he brings us a summary that includes his life, his opinion, and his death. Yes, three things. For example, Jahm ibn Safwan, for example, we start with this hadith.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What contradicts the commentary is not in our hands; we are not reading the commentary now, because everyone wants to pass by us, if Allah wills, from this and others, hundreds of people whom Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned. Yes, now with Yasser, please write down Jahm ibn Safwan. It is necessary that we know that he was from Tirmidh and that he received the doctrine of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) from al-Ja'd ibn Dirham. Al-Ja'd ibn Dirham was the first to say ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). He said two words: "Indeed, Allah did not take Ibrahim as a friend, and He did not speak to Musa with direct speech." Then Jahm ibn Safwan took it from him and began to debate with it and call to this school of thought. The school of thought spread through his hands, so it was attributed to him and came to be called the school of the Jahmiyyah, not the school of the Ja'diyyah, because he was the one who spread it. It is based on ta'til (denial of the divine attributes), the denial of the attributes of Allah. This is the first thing they denied, the attributes of Allah. Then they exaggerated and denied the names and attributes. Then they exaggerated and denied everything that indicates affirmation. Then they exaggerated and denied everything that indicates affirmation or negation, and they said it is not correct to describe Allah with negation or affirmation. Yes, as will come, if Allah wills, in his speech.