To: Every Ash'ari sane of mind ('aaqil)
and of mature age (baaligh):
Notice and Demand
This notice has been served upon you because you claim ascription to the name of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324H), and we have very strong reasons - in addition to strong circumstantial evidence gathered from books, lectures, forums and websites - to believe that you are in opposition to the creed of al-Ash'ari and the early Ash'ari Scholars, and that you may in fact be secretly harboring the deen of the Jahmites of:
- Negating that Allaah is more than just a concept in the mind, or
- Negating that He exists outside of the human mind, or
- Negating that He exists outside of His creation, with a true and real existence, or
- Negating that His existence outside of the creation is signified by a true and real Essence (dhaat) that is described with true and real attributes.
As you are suspected of harboring the deen of the Mu'attil Jahmites of negating some or all of these realities, in opposition to the early Ash'ari Scholars, you are being served with this notice. This notice is considered served upon you with the loading of this page in your browser. You have 28 days to respond to this notice. Details of how to respond are given at the end of the notice.
You are hereby noticed:
- That the true founder and real author of much of the deen you are subscribing to is in fact Abdullaah bin Sa'eed Ibn Kullaab (d. 240H) who tried to tread a middle ground between the Mu'tazilah and Ahl us-Sunnah. Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324H) adopted, in the bulk, the creed of Ibn Kullaab.
- That Ibn Kullaab, despite trying to reconcile between the creed of the Mu'tazilah and the creed of Ahl us-Sunnah, nevertheless refuted the Jahmites on the issue of Allaah being above His creation, separate and distinct from it. This same creed was adopted by Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari (d. 324H), Ibn Mahdi at-Tabari (d. 380H), Abu al-Abbas al-Qalanisi and Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (d. 403H), and Ibn Fawrak (d. 406H) in one of the two sayings quoted from him - and the Early Ash'aris held Ibn Kullaab in high esteem as is evident from the writings of Ibn Fawrak. Rather, to Ibn Fawrak, he was a lofty Imaam.
- That the early Ash'ari Scholars held Allaah to be above the Throne with His Essence (bi dhaatihi) whilst negating that He is a jism (body) as proven in the incontestable evidence provided below. They held that believing Allaah to be above the Throne, with His Essence does not necessitate that He is a body (jism). And that in their affirmation of Allaah being above the Throne, with His Essence (bi dhaatihi), they used phrases negating "confinement by space", and "contact" and the likes, indicating their acceptance of the admissibility that Allaah exists above the Throne without that necessitating He is a body (jism) - whilst at the same time refuting the ta'weels of the Mu'tazilah and Jahmiyyyah of al-istiwaa and al-Uluww - pay attention to this last point, it is significant. And that al-Qurtubi has corroborated this as the view of the early Ash'ari Scholars (see here).
- That it is binding upon you to look at the following evidence with an observation that is free of partisanship, prejudice, bigotry and bias:
- That the Throne of Allaah is in fact a real, true, created entity, and in the words of al-Bayhaqi (see here), a created body which is an elevated Throne. And that the Early Ash'aris affirmed this and spoke of Allaah being above this Throne, with His Essence, alongside their additions such as "without "confinement", or "touching" or "contact" and the likes.
- That the charge of Tajseem (Anthropomorphism) made by your contemporary mentors, teachers, leaders and scholars against Ahl us-Sunnah - for their affirmation of a Lord who with His Essence is above the heaven and above the Throne - applies to the early Ash'ari Scholars by default. There is no fleeing or escaping from this.
- That in addition to your charge of Tajseem against them, the early Ash'ari Scholars are also deemed by you to be guilty of claiming that which is absurd and and that which is a plain contradiction - which is believing that Allaah is above the Throne with His Essence AND not a jism (body). According to Aristotelian Metaphysics (see here), anything in "place (makaan)" is by definition a "body (jism)", and that irrespective of whether you use the definition of "place (makaan)" give by the Philosophers' (Falaasifah) or the Theologians' (Mutakallimoon), you still consider it binding that anything in place is by necessity a body. In light of this, the early Ash'ari Scholars are deemed by you to have been practicing sophistry in their creed, and upon misguidance and rational absurdity.
- That on account of your claim that "Allaah being above the heaven and above the Throne" necessitates that He is a body (jism), you thereby hold the Karraamiyyah, who said, "Allaah is above the Throne, and He is a body (jism)" to be rationally and intellectually more sound and better guided (in rational truth) than the Early Ash'aris, despite the repugnance in the saying of the Karraamiyyah.
- That two of the greatest of the Imaams of the Ash'aris, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 505H) and Fakhr ud-Din ar-Razi (d. 606H) have textually and explicitly admitted that the inherent, instinctive innate disposition (fitrah) of the common people would reject outright a belief in a Lord upon the way of the Ash'aris, and that they would in fact be led to Atheism. You can see their statements here and here. And since Allaah, the Most High, has said in His Book, "...the fitrah of Allaah upon which He created mankind... (30:30), and since it is known, established and undisputed that the sound fitrah only knows of Allaah being above the creation, then this is an independent, self-substantiating proof for the invalidation of the use of Metaphysics in the determination of what can and cannot be said of the Lord Most High. This also indicates the discreet acknowledgment by the Imaams of the Ash'aris of the invalidation of their own creed through textual ruling of the Book of Allaah and as a result of which they were forced to advocate what amounts to pure deception in inviting the people towards their creed. You can see all of that here and here.
- That this information has reached you and therefore, that the hujjah (proof) is qaa'imah (established) against you and as such, you will be testified against.
As this notice has now been served upon you, you are hereby demanded:
- To objectively look at the evidence for the creed of the Early Ash'aris on the subject of Allaah's uluww - and it is present and incontestable.
- To cease and desist making charges of Tajseem against the early Ash'ari Scholars which occurs from you by default through your charge of Tajseem against everyone who affirms a Lord that is above the heaven, above the Throne, with His Essence.
You now have two options:
- To stop harboring the saying of the Jahmites that Allaah is neither within the universe nor outside of the universe, and neither attached to it (with His Essence) nor detached from it (with His Essence) and to abandon much of the sophistry in language used to argue for what amounts in reality to the deen of the Jahmites - and instead to adopt the saying of the founders and most important figures of the early Ash'ari madhhab which is the admissibility of Allaah being above the Throne, with His Essence, without that necessitating that He is a body, and to abandon subjecting the texts of the Book and the Sunnah to the classifications, definitions and necessities of Aristotelian Metaphysics. This will bring you much closer to the truth.
- Or to just abandon all of that and simply hold the creed of the Salaf which is that Allaah exists outside of the mind, outside of His creation, above His creation, separate and distinct from it, with His Essence - using the speech of the Book and the Sunnah, the Companions and the Taabi'een in that - and just throw away the Greek Metaphysics in its entirety against the wall, or down the well. And if your mind can't conceive of this without imagining definitions of "makan" and "jism", then you need to suspect your own mind and not the Book, the Sunnah, the unanimous agreement of the Companions and of the entirety of the Salaf.
You are offered 28 days - from the date that this notice is deemed served upon you - to analyze the evidence and to subsequently announce your repentance and adopt the truth and what is more just. Your failure to take action will result in a default summary judgment in absentia that you are in fact upon the deen of the Mu'attil Jahmites, that you are an opponent and disputant of the Imaam of the Early Ash'aris, Abdullaah bin Sa'eed bin Kullaab al-Qattaan al-Basri (d. 240H) and an opposer, disputant, and reviler of the Early Ash'aris, Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324H), Ibn Mahdi at-Tabari (d. 380H), Abu al-Abbas al-Qalanisi and Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (d. 403H) - let alone of the creed of the entirety of the Salaf without exception on the issue of Allaah's uluww.
This notice takes effect for all time, from today's date, the 27th night of Ramadan, 1430H corresponding to 16th September 2009CE.
