Sunday, 29 May 2022

Islam Portrays Allah as a Finite, Limited, Temporal Embodied Soul

 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, ‘QatiQati! (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

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