Asharis.Com |
Jahmite Ash'aris And al-Baqillani's Affirmation of al-Uluww (Bi Dhaatihi): From Initial Shock to Wilful Ignorance to Stubborn Denial Posted by Abu.Iyaad on Friday, July, 24 2009 and filed under Articles Key topics: Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani Al-Uluww Istiwaa Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani Al-Uluww Istiwaa We have covered in numerous articles previously the affirmation of Abu Bakr al-Baqillani - perhaps the most important figure in the codification and formalization of the Ash'arite creed - of Allaah being above the Throne with His Essence (bi dhaatihi) and his affirmation of Face, Hands and Eyes for Allaah without ta'weel, takyeef, tamtheel or ta'teel, and his refutation of those who made ta'weel of "hand" to power (qudrah) or favour (ni'mah).
So when al-Baqillani's position was made known, a faction amongst the Jahmite Ash'aris with weak hearts and timid dispositions swooned with the shock and after regaining composure, sought psychological comfort and relief in their mantra that Allaah cannot be above, because that necessitates being a body (jism), since location and direction are only the special qualities of bodies (jism) that are made up of indivisible particles (al-jawaahir al-munfaridah). And according to the Aristotelian manhaj of the classification of the universe into jawhar (substance) and 'arad (accident), incidental attributes (such as space, location) can only be said of bodies (ajsaam, made up of jawhar, substance) and thus, the only thing we see from what al-Baqillani said is that he denies space (makaan) and direction (jihah) for Allaah. As for the other things he said, like Allaah being above the Throne, with His Essence, then we can't see it. We don't see it. We won't see it.
And the reason why their intellects cannot see it is because their intellects have been corrupted by the terms and phrases they borrowed from the Philosophers and the atheists who classified all reality into either matter (maadah) and form (soorah) or substance (jawhar) and accident ('arad), and thus in attempting to prove to such Philosophers, materialists, existentialists and atheists, they devised a rational proof using these same concepts, with a view to establishing a creator, the prophethood and the ressurrection. And then they made these principles and their rational foundation to be the judge and criterion and thus they judged what Allaah can and cannot be described with, and so the texts of the Book and the Sunnah became of little value to them, except as a means of playing around and fooling around inventing and fabricating ta'weels to make sure that their intellectual, rational proof for the createdeness of the universe is left intact.
What Is It About What al-Baqillani Affirmed That Jahmite Ash'aris Don't Grasp? Let's go through it again. Here is what al-Qurtubi (considered an Ash'ari) said regarding the position of al-Baqillani. In his book "al-Asnaa Fee Sharh Asmaa Allaah il-Husnaa", Abu Abdullaah Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Qurtubi (and he is the mufassir, author of al-Jaami' Li Ahkaam il-Qur'aan) says, when discussing the numerous opinions held on the issue of Allaah's istiwaa (ascending) over the Throne (Volume 2, page 123):
And here is the translation of this statement:
Al-Qurtubi makes it clear that Abu Bakr al-Baqillani held Allaah to make istiwaa bi dhaatihi (with His Essence) and that He is above His Throne (fawqa arshihi) and that this is the same view as Ibn Abee Zaid (al-Qayrawaanee al-Maalikee) al-Haafidh Abu Umar Ibn Abdul-Barr and Abu Umar at-Talamankee. Now if al-Qurtubi said this is the same view as that of al-Qayrawaane, at-Talamankee and Ibn Abdul-Barr, then we can get more clarity by simply referring back to their statements. So here they are (again): From adh-Dhahabee's Mukhtasar al-Uluww Abu Umar at-Talamankee (d. 429H) in his book al-Wusool ilaa Ma'rifat il-Usool, in two volumes:
And Ibn Abee Zayd al-Qayrawaanee (d. 389H) said:
And Ibn Abdul-Barr (d. 463H) after discussing the hadeeth of Nuzool:
Now, so far so good. Now let's go back to what al-Baqillani said in at-Tamheed (pp.300-301):
And also what he said in his book "al-Ibaanah" - as quoted by adh-Dhahabi (Mukhtasar al-uluww pp.258-259)
Putting it All Together We've already highlighted above how the Jahmite Ash'ari mind is incapable of conceiving that Allaah can be above the Throne, above the seven heavens - which is what is clear and manifest from the texts of the Book and the Sunnah - without that necessitating that He is confined by space, or body (jism) like the bodies (ajsaam) - upon the language of the Mutakallimoon. So here al-Baqillani, brought these two things together - namely affirming that Allaah is above the Throne, with His Essence (bi dhaatihi), and qualifying that with the negation of confinement by space and negation of Tajseem and whatever would necessitate that. So in other words that means it is plausible and conceivable to one of the most important figures in the Ash'ari madhhab that it can be held that Allaah is above the Throne, with His Essence (bi dhaatihi) whilst negating confinement by space and Tajseem and the likes. Now, if we put aside the terminology, then this is exactly what Ahl us-Sunnah say, like Ibn Abdul-Barr, al-Qayrawaanee, at-Talamankee and the entirety of the Salaf - however the usage of the statements like "confinement by space" and so on, these are the inventions of the Mutakallimoon (Theologians) who were poisoned with ilm ul-kalaam and so they introduced this type of language into their creed - and this was a necessity for them because otherwise what they made to be the foundation of their religion (proving the createdness of the universe through "hudooth ul-ajsaam" - see this article) would be uprooted and destroyed and falsified. However, the Early Ash'aris were more sound and consistent and they knew they could not reject what is clear and manifest in the revelation and which all the Salaf were united upon - and thus in these issues - like for example Allaah being above the Throne, with His Essence - they adopted the truth and spoke in terms which approximated to the truth and this is the general import of the statement of al-Baqillani. So walillaahil-hamd ... the truth is clear and manifest and the statements of al-Baqillani and the corroboration of that by al-Qurtubi (in his honest and fair assessment of what the Salaf were upon) are like a nuclear blast at the core of the Ash'arite creed which is simply extended from the usool (foundations) of the Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah who came a couple of centuries before them. What About the Sayings of al-Qurtubi? As for al-Qurtubi, then the issue with his statements - [see this article and this article where al-Qurtubi states unequivocally that the belief of the Salaf was that Allaah is above the Throne, separate and distinct from the creation]- then the issue is that he was just and fair in that he correctly affirmed what the true and real position of the Salaf was, even if he stated that he does not adopt it. What al-Qurtubi holds as his view is actually irrelevant since our use of the quotation from al-Qurtubi is not because we consider the saying of this scholar to be an independent proof - rather it was quoted to show the fairness and justice displayed by al-Qurtubi, even if he disagrees with the view that he has defined and characterized, honestly, correctly and with integrity. Thus, Jahmite Ash'aris have a problem in that al-Qurtubi correctly characterizes and defines the actual view of the Salaf - which is Allaah being above the Throne, separate and distinct from His creation, and he went as far as to say that the Salaf affirmed "jihah" for Allaah (see previously linked article here) - even though we say that the use of this word is not befitting and that the words of the Book and the Sunnah should be adhered to. So what al-Qurtubi holds (of negation of location and direction, makaan and jihah) is irrelevant to the issue - since our creed does not depend on the statement of al-Qurtubi, or al-Baqillani - rather it is based upon the ijmaa' of the Salaf before, during and after the emergence of the Imaams of ta'teel (the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah) and their effeminates, the Ash'ariyyah, who tried to take a middle path, neither being full men, nor full women.
|