In this post I will be quoting specific references from the Quran,
ahadith and writings of some of the greatest sunni scholars, which attest that
Allah possesses a corporeal body of some kind, which is supposedly unlike
anything in creation. I do this for the benefit of those Christians working
with and/or debating Muslims so they can have a quick, handy reference to the
Islamic sources, which attest that the Muslim god is a an embodied soul, and is
therefore a finite, temporal being, who is not the transcendent, immortal,
immaterial, infinite and omnipresent Triune God revealed in the Holy Bible.
Allah appears as a
beautiful man.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith – 237
Narrated AbdurRahman ibn A’ish
Allah’s Messenger said: I saw my Lord, the Exalted
and Glorious IN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FORM the most beautiful form. He
said: What do the Angels in the presence of Allah contend about? I said: Thou
art the most aware of it. He then placed HIS PALM between my shoulders
and I felt its coldness in my chest and I came to know what was in the
Heavens and the Earth. He recited: `Thus did we show Ibrahim the kingdom of the
Heavens and the Earth and it was so that he might have certainty.’ (6:75)
Darimi reported it in a mursal form and Tirmidhi also reported.
(Alim.org http://www.alim.org/library/hadith/TIR/237;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith – 245
Narrated Mu’adh ibn Jabal
Allah’s Messenger was detained one morning from observing the
dawn prayer (in congregation) along with us till the sun had almost appeared on
the horizon. He then came out hurriedly and Iqamah for prayer was observed and
he conducted it (prayer) in brief form. When he had concluded the prayer by
saying As-salamu alaykum wa Rahmatullah, he called out to us saying: Remain in
your places as you were. Then turning to us he said: I am going to tell you
what detained me from you (on account of which I could not join you in the
prayer) in the morning. I got up in the night and performed ablution and
observed the prayer as had been ordained for me. I dozed in my prayer till I
was overcome by (sleep) and lo, I found myself in the presence of my
Lord, the Blessed and the Glorious, IN THE BEST FORM. He said: Muhammad! I
said: At Thy service, my Lord. He said: What these highest angels contend
about? I said: I do not know. He repeated it thrice. He said: Then I
saw Him put HIS PALMS between my shoulder blades till I felt the coldness of
HIS FINGERS between the two sides of my chest. Then everything was
illuminated for me and I could recognize everything. He said: Muhammad! I said:
At Thy service, my Lord. He said: What do these high angels contend about? I
said: In regard to expiations. He said: What are these? I said: Going on foot
to join congregational prayers, sitting in the mosques after the prayers, performing
ablution well despite difficulties. He again said: Then what do they contend? I
said: In regard to the ranks. He said: What are these? I said: Providing of
food, speaking gently, observing the prayer when the people are asleep. He
again said to me: Beg (Your Lord) and say: O Allah, I beg of Thee (power) to do
good deeds, and abandon abominable deeds, to love the poor, that Thou forgive
me and show mercy to me and when Thou intendst to put people to trial Thou
causes me to die unblemished and I beg of Thee Thy love and the love of one who
loves Thee and the love for the deed which brings me near to Thy love. Allah’s
Messenger said: It is a truth, so learn it and teach it.
Transmitted by Ahmad, Tirmidhi who said: This is a HASAN
SAHIH hadith and I asked Muhammad ibn Isma’il about this hadith and he
said: It is a SAHIH hadith. (Alim.org http://www.alim.org/library/hadith/TIR/245;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
Here’s another version of the foregoing narrative:
Jami` at-Tirmidhi
Chapters on Tafsir
Narrated Mu’adh bin Jabal:
“One morning, the Messenger of Allah was prevented from coming
to us for Salat As-Subh, until we were just about to look for the eye of the
sun (meaning sunrise). Then he came out quickly, had the Salat prepared for.
The Messenger of Allah performed the Salat, and he performed his Salat in a
relatively quick manner. When he said the Salam, he called aloud with his voice
saying to us: ‘Stay in your rows as you are.’ Then he turned coming near to us,
then he said: ‘I am going to narrate to you what kept me from you this morning:
I got up during the night, I performed Wudu and prayed as much as I was able
to, and I dozed off during my Salat, and fell deep asleep. Then I SAW
MY LORD, Blessed and Most High, IN THE BEST OF APPEARANCES. He said: ‘O
Muhammad!’ I said: ‘My Lord here I am my Lord!’ He said: ‘What is it
that the most exalted group busy themselves with?’ I said: ‘I do not know
Lord.’ And He said it three times.” He said: “So I saw Him place HIS PALM
between my shoulders, and I sensed the coolness of HIS FINGERTIPS between my
breast. Then everything was disclosed for me, and I became aware. So He
said: ‘O Muhammad!’ I said: ‘Here I am my Lord!’ He said: ‘What is it that the
most exalted group busy themselves with?’ I said: ‘In the acts that atone.’ He
said: ‘And what are they?’ I said: ‘The footsteps to the congregation, the
gatherings in the Masajid after the Salat, Isbagh Al-Wudu during difficulties.’
He said: ‘Then what else?’ I said: ‘Feeding others, being lenient in speech,
and Salat during the night while the people are sleeping.’ He said: ‘Ask.’ I
said: ‘O Allah! I ask of you the doing of the good deeds, avoiding the evil
deeds, loving the poor, and that You forgive me, and have mercy upon me. And
when You have willed Fitnah in the people, then take me without the Fitnah. And
I ask You for Your love, the love of whomever You love, and the of the deeds
that bring one nearer to Your love.'” The Messenger of Allah said: “Indeed it
is true, so study it and learn it.”
Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)
English reference: Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3235
Arabic reference: Book 47, Hadith 3543 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/urn/642690;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
Allah wears a garment.
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “Allah created His
creation, and when He had finished it, the womb, got up and caught hold of Allah whereupon
Allah said, “What is the matter?’ On that, it said, ‘I seek refuge with you
from those who sever the ties of Kith and kin.’ On that Allah said, ‘Will you
be satisfied if I bestow My favors on him who keeps your ties, and withhold My
favors from him who severs your ties?’ On that it said, ‘Yes, O my Lord!’ Then
Allah said, ‘That is for you.’” Abu Huraira added: If you wish, you can recite:
“Would you then if you were given the authority do mischief in the land and
sever your ties of kinship? (47. 22). (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 354 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=60&translator=1&start=0&number=354)
… Al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Hurayrah that Allah’s Messenger
said…
<<“After Allah completed creating the creation, THE
WOMB STOOD UP AND PULLED AT THE LOWER GARMENT OF THE MOST MERCIFUL.
He said, ‘Stop that!’ IT REPLIED,
‘My stand here is the stand of one seeking refuge in you from severance of
ties.’ Allah said, ‘Would it not please you that I join whoever joins you and
sever whoever severs you’ IT REPLIED,
‘Yes indeed!’ He said, ‘You are granted that!’”>>…
<<Verily, the womb is
attached to the Throne. And connecting its ties
does not mean dealing evenly (with the kinsfolk), but it rather means that if
one’s kinsfolk sever the ties, he connects them.>> This
Hadith was also recorded by Al-Bukhari. Ahmad also recorded from `Abdullah bin
`Amr that Allah’s Messenger said…
<<The womb will be placed on the Day of Resurrection, curved
like a spinning wheel, speaking with an eloquent
fluent tongue, calling to severing whoever had
severed it, and joining whoever had joined it.>>… (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q.
47:22 http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2028&Itemid=103;
bold, capital, and underline emphasis ours)
Allah possesses shins
and feet, and must therefore have legs.
Narrated Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri… Then the Almighty will come to
them in a shape other than the one which they saw the first time, and He will
say, ‘I am your Lord,’ and they will say, ‘You are not our Lord.’ And none will
speak: to Him then but the Prophets, and then it will be said to them, ‘Do you know any sign by which you
can recognize Him?’ They will say. ‘THE SHIN,’ AND SO ALLAH WILL THEN
UNCOVER HIS SHIN whereupon every believer will prostrate
before Him and there will remain those who used to prostrate before Him just
for showing off and for gaining good reputation… (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93,
Number 532s https://sunnah.com/bukhari/97/65)
Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, “The people will be thrown into
the (Hell) Fire and it will say: ‘Are there any more (to come)?’ (50.30) till Allah puts His Foot over it and
it will say, ‘Qati! Qati! (Enough
Enough!)’” (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 371 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=60&translator=1&start=0&number=371)
Allah has two right
hands and a left one, along with fingers.
Abdullah b. ‘Umar reported Allah’s Messenger saying: Allah, the
Exalted and Glorious, would fold the Heavens on the Day of Judgment and then He
would place them on
His right hand and say: I am the Lord; where are the
haughty and where are the proud (today)? He would fold the earth (placing
it) on the
left hand and say: I am the Lord; where are the
haughty and where are the proud (today)? (Sahih
Muslim, Book 039, Number 6704 https://sunnah.com/muslim/52/7)
49 The Book of the Etiquette of Judges
(1) Chapter: Virtue of the Judge Who is Just in Passing
Judgement
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘As that:
The Prophet said: “Those who are just and fair will be with
Allah, Most High, on thrones of light, at the right hand of the Most Merciful,
those who are just in their rulings and in their dealings with their families
and those of whom they are in charge.” Muhammad (one of the narrators) said in
his Hadith: “And both of His hands ARE RIGHT HANDS.”
Grade: SAHIH (Darussalam)
Reference: Sunan an-Nasa’i 5379
In-book reference: Book 49, Hadith 1
English translation: Vol. 6, Book 49, Hadith 5381
(sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/nasai/49/1;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar: Allah’s Apostle said, “On the Day of
Resurrection, Allah will grasp the whole Earth by His Hand, and
all the Heavens in
His right, and then He will say, ‘I am the King.’” Abu Huraira
said, “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Allah will grasp the Earth…'” (Sahih al-Bukhari,
Volume 9, Book 93, Number 509 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=93&translator=1&start=0&number=509)
Narrated ‘Abdullah: A Jew came to the Prophet and said, “O
Muhammad! Allah will hold the heavens on a Finger, and the mountains on a
Finger, and the trees on a Finger, and all the creation on a Finger, and then
He will say, ‘I am the King.’ ” On that Allah’s Apostle smiled till his
premolar teeth became visible, and then recited:– ‘No just estimate have they
made of Allah such as due to him… (39.67) ‘Abdullah added: Allah’s Apostle
smiled (at the Jew’s statement) expressing his wonder and believe in what was
said. (Sahih al-Bukhari,
Volume 9, Book 93, Number 510)
Allah shakes people’s
hands.
The fact that Allah has hands explains how he could shake the
hands of Muslims like Umar ibn al-Khattab:
Sunan Ibn Majah
The Book of the Sunnah
It was narrated that Ubayy bin Ka’b said:
“The Messenger of Allah said: ‘The first person with
whom Allah WILL SHAKE HANDS will be ‘Umar, (and he is) the first person to
be greeted with the Salam, and the first person who will be taken by the hand
and admitted into Paradise.'”
Grade: Da’if (Darussalam)
English reference: Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 104
Arabic reference: Book 1, Hadith 109 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/urn/1251040)
Allah rejoices, laughs
and mocks.
4247. It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said: “Allah
rejoices more over the repentance of anyone of you, than you rejoice
over your lost animal when you find it.” (Sahih) (English Translation of Sunan
Ibn Majah – Compiled by Imam Muhammad Bin Yazeed Ibn Majah Al-Qazwini, From
Hadith No. 3657 to 4341, Ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir
Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), final review by
Abu Khaliyl (USA) [Darussalam Publications and Distributors, First Edition:
June 2007], Volume 5, 37. The Chapters On Asceticism, Chapter 30. Repentance,
p. 362 https://sunnah.com/urn/1293500;
underline emphasis ours)(1)
Sunan Ibn Majah
The Book of the Sunnah
Waki’ bin Hudus narrated that his paternal uncle Abu Razin said:
“The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Allah laughs at the despair of
His slaves although He soon changes it.’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, does
the Lord laugh?’ He said: ‘YES.’ I said: ‘We shall never be deprived of
good by a Lord Who laughs.'”
Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)
English reference: Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 181
Arabic reference: Book 1, Hadith 186 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/urn/1251800;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
“… He would continue calling
upon Allah till Allah,
Blessed and Exalted, would laugh. When Allah would laugh at
him, He would say: Enter the Paradise…” (Sahih Muslim, Book
001, Number
349 http://searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=001&translator=2&start=0&number=0349)
“… He (the narrator) said. He (that man) would say: Art Thou making a fun of me? or Art Thou laughing at me,
though Thou art the King? He (the narrator) said: I saw the Messenger
of Allah laugh till his front teeth were visible…” (Sahih Muslim, Book 001,
Number
359 http://searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=001&translator=2&start=0&number=0359)
“… He would say: Art Thou making a fun of me, though
Thou art the King? I saw the Messenger of Allah laugh till his
front teeth were visible…” (Sahih
Muslim, Book 001, Number
360 http://searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=001&translator=2&start=0&number=0360)
“O my Lord! art
Thou mocking at me, though Thou art the Lord of the worlds? Ibn
Mas’ud laughed and asked (the hearers): Why don’t you ask me what I
am laughing at. They (then) said: Why do you laugh? He said: It is in
this way that the Messenger of Allah laughed. They (the companions of
the Holy Prophet) asked: Why do you laugh, Messenger of Allah? He
said: On
account of the laugh of the Lord of the universe,
when he (the desirer of Paradise) said Thou mocking at me though Thou art the Lord of the
worlds? He would say: I am not mocking at you, but I have power
to do whatever I will.” (Sahih
Muslim, Book 001, Number
361 http://searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=001&translator=2&start=0&number=0361)
It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the
Messenger of Allah said: God laughs at
the two men both of whom will enter Paradise (though) one
of them kills the other. They said: Messenger of Allah, how is it? He
said: One of them fights in the way of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted,
and dies a martyr. Then God turns in mercy to the murderer who embraces Islam,
fights in the way of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, and dies a martyr.” (Sahih Muslim,
Book 020, Number
4658 http://searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=020&translator=2&start=0&number=4658)
Allah is seated on an
actual corporeal throne, which groans on account of how heavy Allah is.
Jabir b. Mut‘im told that a nomadic Arab came to God’s messenger
and said, “People are suffering distress, the children are hungry, the crops
are withered and the animals are perishing, so ask God to grant us rain, for we
seek you as our intercessor with God and God as our intercessor with you.”
Thereupon the Prophet said, “Glory be to God, glory be to God,” and he
continued declaring God’s glory till the effect of that was apparent in the
faces of his companions. He then said, “God’s state is greater than that. Woe
to you! Do you know how great God is? His Throne is above the heavens thus
(indicating with his fingers something like a dome over him), and it groans on account of Him as
a saddle does because of the rider.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.
(Mishkat Al Masabih,
English Translation With Explanatory Notes By Dr. James Robson [Sh. Muhammad
Ashraf Publishers, Booksellers & Exporters, Lahore, Pakistan, Reprinted
1994], Volume II, Book XXVI – Fitan, Chapter XVII. The Beginning of Creation
and Mention of the Prophets, pp. 1226-1227; bold emphasis ours)
Here is an explicit affirmation that Allah sits on his throne in
a corporeal manner, just as a rider sits on a saddle, thereby making the throne
groan, obviously due to Allah’s weight and size!
These are just some of the many statements that have led Muslim
scholars of both the past and present to conclude that their deity possesses an
actual tangible body of some kind, and therefore exists as an embodied soul. As
the late Iranian Muslim scholar Ali Dashti noted:
Many Moslems, however, have had rigid minds. Such men only
accepted interpretations which are confirmed by Hadiths, and they considered
any use of reason in religious matters to be misleading and
impermissible. They
took the above quoted Qur’anic phrases literally and believed that God
possesses a head, mouth, eyes, ears, hands, and feet just like those of a human
being. In the opinion of Abu Ma’mar al-Hodhali (d.
236/850), a preacher in Baghdad, anyone
who denied this belief was an infidel. Adherents of the
school of the famous traditionist and lawyer Ahmad b. Hanbal (164/780-241/855)
have stuck to the same unthinking literalism ever since. The school’s chief
later exponent, Ahmad b. Taymiya, was so fanatical that he called the
Mo’tazelites infidels and Ghazali a heretic; on one celebrated occasion, after
quoting the Qor’an in a sermon, he said to the congregation as he stepped down
from the pulpit of the Great Mosque at Damascus, “God will step down from His throne
in the same way as I am stepping down from this pulpit.”
These narrow-minded bigots considered not only the Mo’tazelite
but even the Ash’arite theologians to be un-Islamic and condemned any sort of
divergence from their own crudely simplistic views as pernicious innovation.
Abu ‘Amer ol-Qorashi, a Moor from Majorca who died at Baghdad in 524/1130, declared
that it was heretical to understand the sentence “There is nothing similar to
Him” in verse 9 of sura 42
(osh-Showra)
as meaning what it says; it meant, in his opinion, that nothing resembles God
in respect of His divinity, because
“God possesses limbs and organs like yours and mine.” As
proof of God’s possession of such limbs and organs, Abu ‘Amer ol-Qorashi cited
the description of the last judgement in verse 42 of sura 68 (ol-Qalam) “On the day
when the leg will be bared and they will be bidden to kneel but cannot,” and then slapped his thigh and
said, “God has legs just like mine.” (Dashti, 23 Years: A Study of the Prophetic
Career of Muhammad [Costa Mesa, Ca. 1994; Mazda Publishers],
pp. 157-158; bold and underline emphasis ours)
Speaking of Ibn Taymiyyah, here are some of the things this
darling of Salafi Muslims wrote concerning his god:
Allah has an actual
body.
وليس في كتاب الله ولا سنة رسوله
ولا قول أحد من سلف الأمة وأئمتها أنه ليس بجسم وأن صفاته ليست أجساما
“There is nothing in the book, Sunnah, nor in the statements of
the Salaf, or Imams of the nation that He (Allah) is not a body and His
features are not a body.” (Bayan
Talbis al-Jahamia, Volume 1, p. 101)
And:
فمن المعلوم أن الكتاب والسنة
والإجماع لم ينطق بأن الأجسام كلها محدثة وأن الله ليس بجسم ولا قال ذلك إمام من
أئمة المسلمين ، فليس في تركي لهذا القول خروج عن الفطرة ولا عن الشريعة
It is known that the Book, Sunnah and Ijma (consensus)
didn’t say that all the bodies are created, also didn’t say that Allah is not a
body and nor did any Imam of the Muslims, assert such a thing. Therefore, in my
abandoning that statement there isn’t any deviation from neither instinct nor
the law. (Al-Tasis
fi al-Rad ala Assas al-Taqdis, Volume 25, p. 31)
Allah looks like a
curly haired, beardless man.
فيتضح أنها رؤية عين كما في
الحديث الصحيح المرفوع عن قتادة عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس قال قال رسول الله رأيت ربي
في صورة أمرد له وفرة جعد قطط في روضة خضراء
We conclude that it was eyesight as it is in the Sahih narration
from Qutada from Ikrama from Ibn Abbas said that the Prophet said: “I saw my
God in image of beardless (man), with long curly hair in a green garden.” (Al-Tasis
fi al-rad ala Asas al-Taqdis, Volume 3, p. 214)
Allah is able to ride
on the back of a mosquito.
ولو قد شاء لاستقر على ظهر بعوضة
If He (Allah) wants, He can sit on a mosquito’s back. (Bayan Talbis al-Jahamia,
Volume 1, p. 568)
Allah swings on ropes.
اللَّهَ قَادِرٌ عَلَى أَنْ
يَخْرُقَ مِنْ هُنَا إلَى هُنَاكَ بِحَبْلِ
“Allah is able to relocate from here to there through rope.” (Majmo’a
al-Fatawa, Volume 2 page 76)
{The foregoing citations were adapted from Shia Pen, “Ibn
Taimiyah,” Chapter Five – The Kufr beliefs of Ibn Taimiyah http://www.shiapen.com/comprehensive/ibn-taimiyah/kufr-beliefs.html.}
He wasn’t the only Muslim scholar who made such outlandish
claims about the Islamic deity. The following citations are taken from a book
attributed to the renowned Muslim jurist Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, though some have
supposed that was actually written by his son Abdullah:
“… when He Most Blessed and Exalted sits on the Kursi, a squeak
is heard like the squeak of a new leather saddle.” (Kitab As-Sunnah [Dammam, Saudi
Arabia 1986], Volume, p. 301)
“Allah wrote the Torah for Moses with His hand while leaning
back on a rock, on tablets of pearl, and the screech of the quill could be
heard. There was no veil between Him and him,” (Ibid., p. 294)
“The angels were created from the light of His two elbows and
chest,” (Ibid., Volume 2, p. 510)
{The preceding citations were adapted from Understanding Islam,
“More Clarifications Regarding “Where is Allah?,” November 22, 2004 http://www.understanding-islam.com/more-clarifications-regarding-where-is-allah/.}
And here are references taken from this same work concerning the
uncreated nature of the Quran:
Al-Lalika’i (d 418H) mentioned in his “Sharh Usui Ttiqad Ahlis
Sunnah:
“388: Ahmad ibn Abdillah ibnal Khidr Al-Ma’dal narrated to us,
he said Ahmad ibn Sulayman narrated to us, he said ABDULLAH IBN AHMAD narrated
to us, he said Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibnal Husayn narrated to us, he said Abbas
ibn AbdilAzeem Al-Anbari narrated to us, he said Ruwaym Al- Muqri narrated to
us from Abdullah ibn Ayash Al-Washa – Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn said: I have seen
Abdullah ibn Ayash and he was a neighbour to us and he was from integer Thiqat-
from Yunus ibn Bakeer from Ja’far ibn Muhammad from his father from Ali ibn
Al-Husayn that he said concerning the Quran: “It is not creator nor created, but
it is the speech of Allah.
Abdullah ibn Ahmad said: it has reached me that this Abdullah
ibn Ayash is Abu Yahya ibn Abdillah Al-Khazar, Abu Kurayb narrated many Ahadith
from him.”
This narration and speech of ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad is present in
“Kitab As-Sunnah” n 135 as such:
“135: Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibnal Husayn Mawla An-Nadhr narrated
to us, he said Abbas ibn AbdilAzeem Al-Anbari narrated to us, he said Ruwaym
Al-Muqri narrated to us from Abdullah ibn ‘Ayash Al-Washa -Muhammad ibn
Al-Husayn said: I have seen Abdullah ibn Ayash and he was a neighbour to us and
he was from integer Thiqat- from Yunus ibn Bakeer from Ja’far ibn Muhammad from
his father from ‘Ali ibn Al- Husayn that he said concerning the Quran: “It is not creator nor created, but
it is the speech of Allah.
Abu AbdirRahman said: it has reached me that this Abdullah ibn
Ayash is Abu Yahya ibn Abdillah Al-Khazar, Abu Kurayb narrated many Ahadith from
him.”
So the narration is exactly the same showing the reliability of
these manuscripts of “Kitab As-Sunnah”, the narrators of Al-Lalika’i only
omitted the words “Mawla An-Nadhr (free slave of An-Nadhr)” which is a
description of the first narrator and the rest is exactly the same and at the
end it has Abdullah ibn Ahmad instead of Abu AbdirRahman, which is the Kuniya
of Abdullah ibn Ahmad.
Al-Lalika’i (d 418H) mentioned in his “Sharh Usui I’tiqad Ahlis
Sunnah”:
“457: Muhammad ibn Ubaydillah narrated to us, he said Ahmad ibn
Al-Hasan narrated to us, he said ABDULLAH IBN AHMAD narrated to us, he said: I
heard Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah (saying): and a man from our companion said: The
Quran is the speech of Allah and
it is not created. Abu Bakr said: whoever does not say such, he is
misguided and misguiding others, innovator.
458: ABDULLAH said: I heard ‘Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah saying: The
Quran is the speech of Allah and
it is not created.
459: I (ABDULLAH) heard ‘Uthman another time saying: whoever
does not say that the Quran is the speech of Allah and it is not created, he is
worse than these Jahmiyah.”
And these narrations are present in “Kitab As-Sunnah” with
words:
“162: I heard Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah (saying): and man from
his companion said to him: The Quran is the speech of Allah and it is not
created. Abu Bakr said: whoever does not say such, he is misguided and
misguiding others, innovator.
163: I heard ‘Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah saying: The Quran is the
speech of Allah and it is not created.
164: I heard ‘Uthman another time saying: whoever does not say
that the Quran is the speech of Allah and it is not created, he is worse than
these, meaning the Jahmiyah.”
So the narrations are identical, and the slight changes of words
from narrators of Al-Lalika’i do not change meaning such as “than these
Jahmiyah” instead of “than these, meaning the Jahmiyah”, and narrators do
narrate with meaning, meaning with slight changes of words which do not alter
meaning.
Al-Lalika’i (d 418H) mentioned in his “Sharh Usui I’tiqad Ahlis
Sunnah”:
“460: Muhammad narrated to us, he said Ahmad narrated to us, he
said ‘ABDULLAH narrated to us, he said: I heard Muhammad ibn Sulayman Lawayn
saying: The Quran is the speech of Allah not created, and I have not seen anyone saying
that the Quran is created, may Allah protect us (from such).”
461: ‘Abdullah said: I heard Abu Ma’mar, meaning Isma’eel ibn
Ibraheem Al-Huzli, saying: The Quran is the speech of Allah not created, and
whoever doubts that it is not created, he is a Jahmi, rather he is worse than the Jahmi.
462: And I heard Abu Ma’mar saying: I reached the people saying:
The Quran is the speech of Allah, it is not created.”
The narration 460 is with exact same words in “Kitab As-Sunnah”
n 168:
“168: I heard Muhammad ibn Sulayman Lawayn saying: The Quran is
the speech of Allah not created, and
I have not seen anyone saying that the Quran is created, may Allah protect us
(from such).”
Narration 461 and 462 are present in Kitab As-Sunnah n 175 and n
176 with same words in texts:
“175: I heard Abu Ma’mar, saying: The Quran is the speech of
Allah not created, and whoever doubts that it is not created, he is a Jahmi, rather he is worse
than the Jahmi.
176: I heard Abu Ma’mar saying: I reached the people saying: The
Quran is the speech of Allah, it is not created.”
There is no difference of wording in sayings of Abu Ma’mar, only
narrator in narration 46 1 added about Abu Ma’mar: “meaning Isma’eel ibn
Ibraheem Al-Huzli”
So we can see from these 7 narrations narrated from Al-Lalika’i
(4 1 7H) through Abdullah ibn Ahmad that the manuscripts of “Kitab As- Sunnah”
contain them, showing in a certain manner their reliability. How could these
manuscripts of “Kitab As-Sunnah” be wrong and Al- Lalika’i narrates from two
narrators exactly the same narrations?
And Al-Lalika’i is not alone is narrating through Abdullah ibn
Ahmad, rather Al-Bayhaqi also narrated in his “Asma wa Sifat” p 246 through his
Isnad containing Abdullah ibn Ahmad going up to Ja’far ibn Muhammad saying:
“The Quran is the speech of Allah, it is neither creator nor created”, and this
saying of Ja’far ibn Muhammad is narrated with same text and isnad above by
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad in his “Kitab As-Sunnah” n 134.
Furthermore Hafiz ibn Al-Jawzi mentioned in his “Manaqib Ahmad”
p 204 the letter of Imam Ahmad to ‘Ubaydullah ibn Khaqan and he mentioned it
through the Isnad of Abdullah ibn Ahmad. And this letter is present in “Kitab
As-Sunnah” n 84.
So all these scholars quoting from “Kitab As-Sunnah” and
narrating with their Isnad through Abdullah ibn Ahmad with same wordings as
these manuscripts show the authenticity of the book “Kitab As- Sunnah” without
any doubts. (The
authenticity of the book “Kitab As-Sunnah” of Imam Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn
Hanbal https://archive.org/stream/KitabSunnah/KitabSunnah_djvu.txt;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
The implication of the uncreated nature of the Quran should be
clear to any rationally thinking person. If the Quran is the uncreated speech
of Allah, then it is an inseparable and essential part of him. And since the
Quran became a physical object, namely a book, this means that an essential,
integral aspect of Allah’s own essence has become part of the physical
creation. There’s simply no way around this logic.
Endnotes
(1) This narration has
obviously plagiarized the teaching of the Lord Jesus concerning what takes
place in heaven when a sinner repents on earth:
“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no
repentance… Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:7, 10
Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2019/01/20/islam-portrays-allah-as-a-finite-limited-temporal-embodied-soul/
IHS
