Introduction

From the greatest principles of al-Jahm bin Safwaan, the greatest of his many taaghuts by which he misguided hordes from the Ummah,and which was inherited by others (the Mu'tazilah, Raafidees, Kullaabiyyah, Karraamiyyah, Ash'ariyyah, Maturidiyyah), and upon which they all built their theology is:

To Jahm, Allaah's attributes and actions are "hawaadith" which must be denied in order for him not to be considered a body like all created bodies.

This taaghut was taken by al-Jahm, from al-Ja'd who in turn took it from the students of the Hellenized Jews, Christians and Sabeans (see this series), and particular through the Sabean Philosophers who had already formulated a proof, huduth al-ajsaam, to argue that the universe is originated (see here). This premise, and this proof is the foundation of deen of the Ahl al-Kalaam, and it is this very speech that was explicitly condemned by Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi'ee and Imam Ahmad, and the entirety of the Salaf. This was also the premise behind two other premises on account of which al-Jahm bin Safwaan denied Allaah's chosen actions on the one hand and claimed both Paradise and Hellfire will perish and expire on the other, as is well-documented about him.

The Associated Language

This proof required a new type of language (in definition and meaning) which clearly did not exist in the language of the Arabs or nor was it known to the Muslims and their Imaams who were holding on to the light of revelation. So the Kalaam Innovators then introduced and incorporated the philosophical definitions that were already current with the Hellenized Jews, Christians and Sabeans - [who were already using this Kalaam in their own languages] - into Arabic terms, thereby introducing ambiguity, vagueness and obscurity. Subsequently, their theology was based upon a series of negations of these very terms (called "negative theology") such as "Allaah is not a jism, nor a jawhar, nor an 'arad, nor in makaan, or in jihah, and he is not subject to hawaadith ..." and so on. And by this they aim to reject true meanings, in addition to the false meanings they have deliberately loaded into these words, in order to give the illusion that they are "purifying Allaah of defects."

Hence, what the Ahl al-Kalam call "rational evidences" are neither rational, nor evidences. They are all based upon polluted corrupt language, and it is a means to conceal their falsehood and their opposition to the Book and the Sunnah. It is this very kalaam that all the Salaf condemned including the four Imaams in very unclear, unambiguous words. These are the very people whom Abu Hanifah, Malik and Shafi'ee were condemning in the second century hijrah, here are some statements of Imaam Malik (d. 179H), Ibn Mahdee (d. 198H) and al-Thawree (d. 161H) as related by al-Baghawi in Sharh al-Sunnah (1/217):

And Malik bin Anas said: "Beware of innovations." It was said to him, "O Abu Abdullaah, and what are the innovations?" He replied, "The people of innovation who speak regarding Allaah's Names, and His attributes and His speech, His knowledge and His power, and they do not remain silent about that which the Companions and those following them in goodness remained silent about.

And Abd al-Rahman bin Mahdee narrated from Malik: "If Kalaam had been knowledge, the Companions and Successors would have spoken about it, just as they spoke about the rulings and legislative matters. However it is baatil (falsehood), which only directs to baatil."

And Sufyan al-Thawree was asked about Kalaam and he said: "Leave baatil. Where are you from the truth? Follow the Sunnah and leave bid'ah." And he also said: "I found the affair to be imitating and following (and nothing else)."

And this is only a very small selection of the sum whole of what is found in the speech of the Salaf regarding these deviants.

Deception About the Kalaam Prohibited by the Salaf

As we have repeatedly explained in other articles on this site, the Kalaam that the Salaf condemned was this very specific Kalaam, this language of al-jawhar, al-jism, al-'arad and so on which all of the Ahl al-Kalaam (every single group, whether they are Mu'attilah or Mujjassimah), used to speak about Allaah, His Names, His speech, His power, and His attributes in general. These are the ones condemned by Abu Hanifah, Malik, al-Shafi'ee, Ahmad and others, and they include the Jahmiyyah, Mu'tazilah, Raafidah, the Kullaabiyyah, the Karraamiyyah, the Ash'ariyyah, the Maturidiyyah and every faction who induldged in this Kalaam and spoke about Allaah, His Names, attributes and actions through it. The Salaf of the first three centuries were free and innocent of it, completely.

This is why you have to be extremely careful when you speak to these people, because they are operating entirely upon definitions (meaning, their innovated ones) which are concealed within Arabic words. They are not operating fundamentally from the Book, the Sunnah, and the pure Arabic language. When they use these general ambiguous words, a person thinks it is nothing but the pure truth, in all its ambiguity, whereas what they intend in reality, is the greatest of falsehood and it clearly clashes with what is established in the Book and the Sunnah. In this practice, they follow the same path as previous nations, the People of the Book, whom Allaah chastised in the Qur'an for "distorting the words from their proper places" and "clothing truth with falsehood" and the likes, so these verses apply to them, the Ahl al-Kalaam, just as they applied to the People of the Book.

In this series therefore, we are going to analyze these terms, with a view to lifting that veil and exposing the undercurrent of deception that is play. And from the words we will be looking at inshaa'Allaah are: al-jism, al-'arad, hulul al-hawaadith, al-tarkib, al-jihah, al-hadd, al-hayyiz, al-makaan, al-ghayr, al-taghayyur, al-iftiqar, al-munqasim, al-jawhar, al-juz', al-ab'aad, al-tasalsul, al-tashbeeh, al-dhaahir, al-harakah, al-jabar, al-nadhar amongst others.