Ahmad bin Sinaan al-Waasitee (d. 258H) is one of the great Scholars of the Salaf, he was the Shaykh of al-Bukhaaree and Muslim, who both took hadeeth from him, as did Abu Daawood and an-Nasaa'ee and Ibn Khuzaimah (d. 311H) and others. And from those whom he reached and heard from amongst the great Imaams were Abdur-Rahmaan bin Mahdee, Wakee' bin al-Jarraah, Yahyaa al-Qattaan, Yazeed bin Haaroon.
And he lived in the time when the likes of the Kullaabiyyah and Lafdhiyyah (from whom the Ash'arites took their creed) reared their heads after Imaam Ahmad had subdued the Jahmiyyah and their saying that the Qur'aan is created. Abdullaah bin Sa'eed bin Kullaab (d. 240H) and Husayn al-Karaabeesee (d. 248H) were two Innovators, the first innovated the doctrine of "Kalaam Nafsee" and the second innovated the statement "My recitation of the Qur'aan is created" - and the rejection of the Salaf was severe against them, as is known and documented.
These two individuals are the predecessors of the Ash'arites on the issue of the Qur'an. From the greatest of intellectual frauds that Jahmite Ash'aris perpetrate in contemporary times is to claim or deceptively portray that their saying regarding Allaah's Speech and the Qur'an is the very saying of the Salaf. And this fraud has been uncovered elsewhere in this site, see this series of articles for more information.
In "Iktisaas ul-Quran bi Awdihi Ilaa ar-Raheem ar-Rahmaan" of Diyaa ud-Deen al-Maqdisi (d. 634H) - a book bringing together the ahaadeeth and narrations pertaining to the Qur'an being erased from this Earth and returning to Allaah, he brings - with an authentic (saheeh) chain of narration - the statement of Ahmad bin Sinaan al-Waasitee:
This translates as:
Whoever claims that the Qur'an is two things, or that the Qur'aan is a hikaayah (quotation), then he is, by Allaah, besides whom there is none worthy of worship, a zindeeq (heretic), kaafir (disbeliever) in Allaah. This Qur'an is the [very] Qur'an that Allaah revealed upon the tongue of Jibreel, upon Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam). It it is not changed or altered. "Falsehood cannot reach it from in front nor from behind, it is a revelation (tanzeel) [sent down] from the all-Wise, all-Praiseworthy" [41:42], as Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic said: "Say: If [the whole of ] mankind and the jinn gathered together to bring a like of this Qur'an, they would not be able to bring a like of it, even if they were helpers to one another." (al-Israa 17:88)
And if a man swore an oath that he will not speak today, then he recited the Qur'an, or prayed, reciting the Qur'an (therein), or made salutation in the prayer, he would not have broken his oath. Nothing is to be analogised with the Speech of Allaah. The Qur'an is the Speech of Allaah, it began with Him (i.e. He spoke it), and to Him will it return. Nothing from Allaah is created, neither and nor are His attributes, nor His Names, nor His Knowledge.
Comments and Notes
There are many important points from the saying of this Imaam that are not to be passed by:
Whoever claims that the Qur'an is two things, or that the Qur'aan is a hikaayah (quotation)...
A few points regarding this:
- The verifier of the treatise states in his footnote to the above quotation the following issues: That the one who said the Qur'an is two things was Dawud adh-Dhaahiree (d. 270H), meaning that there is a Qur'an that was revealed and one that was not revealed, and others agreed with him on that from his contemporaries and those who came after. And that the first of those who said it is a "hikaayah", a quotation, was Abdullaah bin Sa'eed bin Kullaab (d. 240H), who is the chief of the Kullaabis, he said this in order to corroborate the saying that the Qur'an (present with us) is created and that it is the "Kalaam Nafsee" (meaning present with Allaah's self from eternity) that is uncreated. In saying this he afffirmed for Allaah an attribute that Allaah is not described with ("Kalaam Nafsee", a singular eternal meaning), and negated from Allaah the attribute He is described with ("Kalaam", as it is correctly known and defined in the language). And that al-Ash'ari (d. 324H) came after him, agreed with Ibn Kullaab, but said that this Qur'an we have is an "ibaarah" (expression) of that "Kalaam Nafsee", and this saying is worse than the saying of Ibn Kullaab.
- The Ash'arites too say that "the Qur'an is two things", for they hold that there is a Qur'an which is not revealed and which is with Allaah (the Kalaam Nafsee, singular, indivisible meaning, present with Allaah) and that there is a created Qur'an that we have present with us, which is the Qur'an in letter and word as we have it.
... then he is, by Allaah, besides whom there is none worthy of worship, a zindeeq (heretic), kaafir (disbeliever) in Allaah.
There are a number of points from this saying of al-Waasitee:
- Takfir of anyone who claimed the Qur'an is two things, or that the Qur'an is merely a "hikaayah" - this is takfir of the Kullaabiyyah - whilst noting that there is a difference between takfir bil-wasf (attaching takfeer to a belief, saying or action) and takfir bil-ayn (making takfir of a specific individual), and this statement does not necessitate specific takfir of everyone who speaks with the saying of Ibn Kullaab (or the Ash'arites) - since these people hold this view upon a faulty ta'weel (interpretation and understanding), thinking they are purifying Allaah of deficiencies and defects. It is not until this faulty ta'weel is removed and explained and a person then persists upon this saying of kufr, that takfir is made. And the Salaf were wise to the likes of Ibn Kullaab and al-Karaabeesee and others who were protecting the saying of the Jahmites that the Qur'an is created because these people (Ibn Kullaab, al-Karaabeesee) were Mutakallimoon who were upon that intellectual proof of demonstrating the universe is created (to prove a creator) through the use of the language, terminology and classifications of the atheist Philosophers themselves, and this is the "Tawheed of al-Jawhar wal-Arad" - the "Tawheed of Aristotle's substance and Incidental Attribute". For an explanation of this see the next point.
- The intellectual fraud committed by contemporary Jahmite Ash'aris in claiming that the differences regarding the issues of the Qur'an were only differences specifically between Ahmad bin Hanbal (d. 241H) and the likes of Ibn Kullaab and al-Karaabeesee and others. And this is false, rather the difference was between the entirety of the Salaf and those who inherited the saying of the Jahmites that the Qur'an is created. The Jahmites and Mu'tazilah said this in order not to invalidate the proof of "hudooth ul-ajsaam" and trying to purify Allaah of "hawaadith" (events, occurrences) so as not to render Him a body (jism). And they (the Jahmites, Mu'tazilah, Kullaabiyyah, Ash'ariyyah, Maturidiyyah) said this because they are all agreed that Allaah cannot be described with actions that are tied to His will and power (sifaat fi'liyyah, sifaat ikhtiyaariyyah). This is the actual root and origin of the saying that the Qur'an we have with us is created, and all of this follows on from this intellectual proof of theirs called "hudooth ul-ajsaam" - which they all made to be the very foundation of the religion of Islaam itself. To learn more about this, pop into our support group, Aristotelians Anonymous, here and here. The Jahmiyyah, Mu'tazilah, Kullaabiyyah, Ash'ariyyah and Maturidiyyah are all agreed with each other that this Qur'an that we have with us, in letter and word, recited, heard, memorized, written, is created. Thereafter, the Kullaabiyyah, Ash'ariyyah and Maturidiyyah only feign and pretend to oppose their ancestors (the Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah) on this issue with plays with words and definitions. We have uncovered this fraud with much detail already in previous articles from their own books - see this series of articles for more information, and particularly the articles on ar-Razi, al-Buti, al-Juwaynee and al-Bayjuri.
This Qur'an is the [very] Qur'an that Allaah revealed upon the tongue of Jibreel, upon Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).
A number of points regarding this:
- This is the saying of the entirety of the Salaf, that there is only one Qur'an and it is all the same - whether written in the Preserved Tablet (as the Qur'an is from Allaah's knowledge, in that Allaah knows, from eternity, what He will say and speak with), or spoken by Allaah, or heard by Jibreel, or spoken by Jibreel, or heard by Muhammad (alayhis salaam), or memorized by Muhammad or recited by Muhammad, or heard by the Companions, or memorized by them in their hearts, or written on parchments, scrolls, and in the copies of the Qur'an - all of that is a single Qur'an. And anyone who claimed that anything from that was created - which was the saying of the Jahmiyyah - then the Salaf made takfir of them (whilst noting the difference between takfir bil-wasf and takfir bil-ayn). And the Jahmiyyah did not intend by their saying that "the Qur'an is created" that the ink and paper and voices of the servants when they recite are created, as this was already known, understood and accepted. Rather they meant the words of the Qur'an, that which is being recited (the words uttered by the tongue and not the utterance of the tongue itself), the words being heard (conveyed through the Voice and not the Voice itself), that this is created. And they said this because they rejected that Allaah has actions tied to His will and power, such that He can speak when He wills, as He wills, however He wills, as this amounts to "hawaadith" (events, occurrences), which can only take place in bodies (ajsaam), as per Aristotle's al-Maqoolaat al-Ashar, and they could not accept this for Allaah.
- So when we see the Jahmite Ash'aris saying there are two Qur'ans, and not a singular Qur'an, then they say this only to support the saying of the Jahmites that the Qur'an we have with us is indeed created and cannot be the speech of Allaah except "metaphorically". This is the kufr that the Salaf spoke of and for for which they made takfir of the Jahmiyyah. However, whilst this saying is kufr, due to the intricate nature of this issue, most Ash'arites do not recognized the kufr they are speaking with and thus, we do not make takfir of them unless and until the shubhah (confusion, doubt) is removed and they understand the reality of what the Salaf were upon and the reality of what the Jahmiyyah were upon and then persist upon their misguidance, deliberately opposing what is manifest and clear from the Salaf.
It it is not changed or altered. "Falsehood cannot reach it from in front nor from behind, it is a revelation (tanzeel) [sent down] from the all-Wise, all-Praiseworthy" [41:42], as Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic said: "Say: If [the whole of ] mankind and the jinn gathered together to bring a like of this Qur'an, they would not be able to bring a like of it, even if they were helpers to one another." (al-Israa 17:88)
This challenge has been made because the Qur'an originated with Allaah, it is His Speech, and it is not possible for the Jinn and men to produce something like it. This Qur'an that we have, in letter and word, is Allaah's Speech, and it is uncreated and it cannot be rivaled or matched or equaled. The saying of the Jahmites and their offshoots (Mu'tazilah, Kullaabiyyah, Ash'ariyyah, Maturidiyyah), is that this Qur'an is either the creation of Jibreel, or of Muhammad (alayhis salaam), meaning that the Qur'an that we have with us, in letter and word, actually originated with the creation. As for the unanimous saying of the Salaf, it is that "the Qur'an is Allaah's Speech, it originated with Him (i.e. He spoke it) and to Him will it return".
And if a man swore an oath that he will not speak today, then he recited the Qur'an, or prayed, reciting the Qur'an (therein), or made salutation in the prayer, he would not have broken his oath. Nothing is to be analogised with the Speech of Allaah.
This means that since a person is only speaking the Qur'an, then he has not broken his oath, since that speech is not his, it is Allaah's speech, meaning the words that he is uttering, they are not his words and did not originate with him, they belong to Allaah in reality.
The Qur'an is the Speech of Allaah, it began with Him (i.e. He spoke it), and to Him will it return.
This is a saying reported from hundreds amongst the Salaf and it deserves a separate article.
Nothing from Allaah is created, nor His attributes, nor His Names, nor His Knowledge.
This is why the saying of the Jahmiyyah, Mu'tazilah, Kullaabiyyah, Ash'ariyyah and Maturidiyyah is kufr. As they claim that this Qur'an we have present with us is created, then it means that Allaah's speech is created and that His knowledge is created, because the Qur'an, as well as being from Allaah's knowledge - in the sense that the Qur'an contains what is from Allaah's knowledge, as well as Allaah knowing from eternity, that He will speak the Qur'an - it is also His speech. This would mean that that Allaah's attributes are created.
Closing Note
This is a great statement from one of the Imaams of the Salaf and there are many others which expose the intellectual fraud of the later and contemporary Jahmite Ash'aris - for they are very adept at concealing the reality of their saying on this issue as they know that its falsehood is readily apparent and that they are in reality in agreement with the Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah - by admission in their own books.
Another great statement you can read is here:
