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AMERICAN ORIENTAL ABU 'L-HASAN ' A L ~IBN ISMA'~LALASXRPS

SERIES AL -ISANAH 'AN U S ~ AD


L -DIYANAH

VOLUME 19
(The Elucidation of IsliZm's Foundation)

TRANSLATION
WITH

EDITOR INTRODUCTION AND NOTES

W. NORMAN BROWN

BY
JOHN K. SHRYOCK E. A. SPEISER WALTER C. KLEIN, PH.D., TH.D.

AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY


NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
1940

Reprinted with the permission of the original publisher Reprinted with the permission of the original publisher
KRAUS REPRINT CORPORATION KRAUS REPRINT CORPORATION
New York New York
1967 1067
A contribution from the American Councd of Learned
Societies has assisted in the pulilication
of this volume

TO

MY WIFE

P R l N T F D I N T H E UNITEl) STA I I S O F AMERIC A


PREFACE
Besides helping to advance the studies of the specialist, for whom it is
primarily designed, this translation of the whole Ib&.uh-the first in a
modem language, so far as I know-will, T hope, serve to introduce the
non-expert, particularly the Christian theologian, to the resourceful
intricacies of Muslim theology, with which most Christian thinkers are
unacquainted, to their loss.
I thank the Editors of the American Oriental Society for granting my
monograph a place in the AXERICAN ORIENTAL SERIES.TO Mrs.
dlexandef' Macintosh and to my wife I am beholden for intelligent and
accurate typing. Finally, I am glad to have an opportunity of acknowl-
edging my debt to those who, by their interest and atlvice, h w e elimi-
nated from this work many of the imperfections it contained in its
original form : the late Professor Gottheil, his successor Professor Jeffery,
Professor Gray, Dr. Marcus, and Dr. Halkin, all of Columbia University;
and Dr. Della Vida, of the University of Pennsylvania.

vii
CONTENTS
PAGE

PREFACE . . vii

INTRODUCTION.
The First Three Centuries of Isliim . 1
T h e three trends in Isl5m -the positions of Ibn
Hanbal, al-Agari, and al-baziili-the political back-
ground of religious differences in Isliim-the situation
a t the time of Muhammad's death-the first caliphs-
the Hiirijitep-the g~'ites--the Umayyads-the Mur-
jites-the 'Abbisids-canon law-mysticism.
The Mu'tazilah . . 15
Earlp precursors of the Mu'tazilah - origin of the
sect-Mu'tazilite creeds-freedom of the will-doctrine
of God-God and His predicates-the Divine Knowl-
edge-summary of al-Jubbii'i's views--estimate of the
Blu'tazilah.
Al-ASari and 13is Theology . . 25
General observations on his character, significance,
and work-his ancestr~-:tssociation with the Blu't;~-
zilah-conversion to orthodoxy-writings-summm
of his dogmatic position -relation between al-;lb'ari
~ i i dhis contemporaries :~t,-Tahlwiand al-Mlturidi-
al-A8'ari's school.

T]:XKSIJATION.
I. The Author's Preface . . 43
It. Chitptcr OII the I<xposition of the Belief of the Dc-
viators and 1ii~lovittors . . 4G

111. (%apter C!oncerning the I~spositionof the Belief of


the People of the Truth and the Su~lnnh . . 49

IV. Cliiiptvr (:oiit;~~nirigtlw / ~ ( I Z $ I J ~to Prove the Yisibllity


ol' God to Sight (ubuiir) 111 thc Nest Worlfl . >fi
A Questiori and thc Answer to it . . 60

V. Cliapter on God's Visibility . . (is


Contents Contents xi
PAGE
PAGE:
VI. Chapter Containing the Kaldm on the Doctrine that XIV. Chapter Containing the Traditions Cited Concerning
the Q u r l n is the Uncreated Word of Cod . . 66 the Qadar . . 124
Section . . 68 Proof Concerning the Qadar . . 12s
Section . . 69
XV. Chapter Containing the Kaliinr Concelming the Inter-
Reply to the Jahmiyyah , . '73 cession and the Going Forth from Hell . . 130
Reply to the Jahmiyyah . . 74
XVI. Chapter Containing the Xaldnz Concerning the Pool . 131
VII. Chapter Containing the Traditions Cited Concerning
the Qur'iin . . '75 XVII. Chapter Containing the Kalrlm Concerning the Pun-
ishment of the Grave . 132
VIII. Chapter Containing the Ealdm Concerning Those Who
Suspend Judgment upon the Qur'8.n . . 80 XVIII. Chapter Containing the galdm Concerning the ImH-
mate of ,4bi1 Rakr the Veracious - . 135
IS. Chapter Containing the Discussion Concerning God's
Being Seated on the Throne . . S3 INDEX O F ARABIC WORDS . . 131
X. Chapter Containing the Ealdm Concerning God's Face, INDEX OF P E R S O ~ A LAND GROUP NAMES OCCURRING
His Eyes, His Sight, and His Hands . . 88 I N THE INTRODUCTION . . 139
XI. Chapter Containing the Reply to the Jahmiyyah Con- INDEX OF Q U X ~ ~ S ~ CITATIONS
C AND REFERENCES . 141
cerning their Denial of God's Knowledge and His
Power and His Attributes in General , . 94

XI. Chapter Containing the Ealam Concerning God's Will 100

XIII. Chapter Containing the Xalam Concerning the Pre-


destination of the Works of Human Beings and the
Capacity and the Justification and the Condemnation 107
Question Concerning the Capacity . 108
Question Concerning the Imposition of Religious Obli-
gations ( t a k l i f ) . . 111
Question Concerning the Torture of Infants . . 112
Keply to the Mu'tazilah . . 113
Question Concerning the Sealing . . 114
Question Concerning the Reservation (istiin$) . 115
Question Concerning the Appointed Ternls . . 113
Question Concerning the Provision of Sustcnnnce . I 17
Another Question Concerning the Provision of Sustc-
I~~II~C'P . . 11'7
Question Concernil~gGuidance . . 119
(Jucstion Concwning Error . . 120
TRANSLITERATION

Not represented at the


beginning of a word.
h

&'

P-

?
L-
ih+p
-,\
cv
*
INTRODUCTION

I n every religious fellowship of sufficient size and permanence three


forms of activity appear soon or late and the prosperity, if not the life,
of the community depends upon its ability to reconcile these'clashing
forces. Traditionalism, rationalism, and mysticism have entered into the
composition of Isllm, as into that of other religions. Early in the
twelfth century, after long and acrimonious struggles, the Sunnite divi-
sion of the Community, in the person of al-Qaxiililr,. the most illustrious of
all Muhammad's followers, reached an adjustment in which all three
trends were accepted and combined. The achievement of this integration
did not, of course, stabilize Sunnite Islam completely. Nevertheless,
al-0azlli's work stands, for he recapitulated, in his own interior growth,
the developments of the centuries before him and, when he had attained
to a symbolic peace in his own soul, handed on to posterity an Isliim a t
last mellow and mature.
Abu 1-Hasan al-APari, the author of the Ibdnah, is commonly re-
garded among his fellow Muslims as the founder of the school to which
a1-6azZli, as a theologian, belonged. These two persons with a third and
earlier one, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, are of cardinal importance in Muham-
madanism. Ahmad (died 855) stood for the primitive Isllm of Muham-
mad's Companions. To his mind, revelation and tradition, accepted with
no attempt to resolve their disharmonies, were the groundwork of reli-
gion. He was a fundamentalist, an obscurantist, an authoritarian. He
could not abide speculation on theological questions. However, less than
a century later, al-Mari (died 935), a liberal reconverted in middle life
to orthodoxy, succeeded, while professing to bt! an a d h e & Ahmaqs,
in drafting the kal&m,' or dialectical method, into the service of Sunnite
theology. When his work was done, institutionalism and rationalism had
come to terms. It remained only for al-Oadli to introduce the third
'\car'> dement, mysticism, into their union.
(,hO

D
<>&,XI$
'
Each of these men may be regarded as the most eminent and successful
rrpresentative of a certain drift in the Isl5mic religion. Others, hom-
rrcr, had attempted what only they accomplished. Ahmad was not thr:

,T+
I

i+,,'- hut
Literally "speech." Thr word was npplicd not only to the clialcctical method.
also to the dircussionn in which it was used and the body of doctrine that
resulted.
1
.,0 Al-ZbcZnah 'An Usul Ad-DiycZnah T h e First Thl-ee Centuries of IslcZm 3
only traditionist; others before al-AB'ari had tried to take away the
cerning which some accused others of error and some repudiated
reproach of the knldrn, and two of his contemporaries were pioneer theo- others, with the result that they were split up into distinct factions
logians like himself; and finally al-Qaziili, from one point of view, simply and various parties. Nevertheless, lsliim embraces and includes
marks the culmination of a sequence of developments clearly traceable in them all.
the theologians of the M a r i t e school. Neither did these key figures lack The first dissension to arise among the Muslims after the death of
successors. About 1300 Ibn Taynliyyah revived Ahmsd's rigorism, and their Prophet was their disagreement regarding the imkmate.2 This
is the way it came about. When God took the Prophet and trans-
again in the eighteenth century Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhiib returned to the same lated him to Paradise and the abode of Bis favors, the He1 ers met &% ;nil
simple position. Al-AE;'ari7s school elaborated his teachings, and all in the porch of the Banii Sg'idah in al-Madinah an s$-
eclded to
Sunnite Isllm, since al-Oazili's day, has borne the stamp of the great invest Sa'd ibn 'Ubgdah with the imiimate. Abii Bakr and 'Umar
Sheikh's doctrine and practice. Nor were the three leaders wholly suc- learned of i t and made for the meeting of the 8H -
of the Emigrants.* Ab6;Pakr informed them that the imiimate
with some b- F
cessful. Ahmad's heroic witness to the truth as he accepted i t did not belonged exclusively to t%e Qurayr! and quoted against them the 0
extirpate rationalism, nor did al-Azari's kaldm make a complete end Prophet's words "The imkmate belongs to the Quray8;" whereupon .
of it, for in the thirteenth century i t still flourished in Persia and Fabr . q they yielded, being convinced by this argument, and returned obe- 2>u
ad-Din ar-RBzi, a member of the AB'arite school, adopted some of its 6 : dientlg to the truth. Afterwards the He1 ers said, "Let us choose ,- \

doctrines. I n the West al-ABari and al-Oaziili were execrated. a leader (ornir), and you choose a lead+~ftemards Al-Qubiib
ibn al-Mundir unsheathed his sword and said, " I am their well-
It is evident, then, that the course of change through which the maill '
stream of Isllm passed was far from being a simple one. But what of ' rubbed stock and their propped-up palm. Who will do battle with
me? " Afterwards Qays ibn Sa'd undertook to aid his father Sa'd
the separatists? Each group had its own origin, its own history. Some -& ('5 ibn 'ITbiidah, so that T m a r ibn al-gat@b made his well-known
have survived to the present, others have perished or continued only in statement about him. Then they acclaimed Abii Bakr, agreed upon
attenuated or modified forms. How can this welter of sects be made /bJ+ his imlmate, were of one accord regarding his caliphate, and yielded
obediently to him; and he fought against the renegades because of WuCLA~-=h.
intelligible to a novice? It is only against the background of Isliim's their defection, just as the Apostle of God had fought against them
political history that its religious development can be presented t o the &
because of their unbelief; wherefore God gave him victory over them
reader with a semblance of clarity and order. The justice of this obser- all and aided him against all the backsliders, and there was a general
vation is amply confirmed by the opening paragraphs of the earliest ex- return to Isliim, and God made clear, by his agency, the illuminating
tant work dealing with religious groups in Mul~ammadanism,al-AB'ari's truth. The disagreement after the Prophet's death concerned the
imlmate, and no other difference arose during the life of Abii Bakr
31aqdldt : or in the time of 'Umar, until 'Ut_miin ibn 'AffBn was in power, and
certain persoss, in his latter days, disapproved of his acts-persons
For him who seeks knowledge of religious groups and the ability who sinned in the accusations they made against him, departing
to tell them apart acquaintance with the opinions and the views held from the strait and narrow path. Hence i t was that the things of
in IslPm is essential. I have seen people, in the accounts they give which they disapproved in him became a source of dissension that
of the various views and in the books they write on the philosophical has continued to the present day. Then he was assassinated and
schools and the religious groups, err ( 1 ) hy treating their subject they disagreed concerning his assassination. As for the upright fol-
too concisely; or ( 2 ) by making a faulty statement of their oppo- lowers of the sunnnh: they say, " R e was blameless in his acts; his
nents' beliefs; or ( 3 ) by l~oldlygiving a false account with the intrrl- assassins slew him wrongfully. and unrighteotisly." Others make a
tion of discrediting those who differ fmrn thctn; or (4) by makirlp contrary statement. This is a matter of disagreement among people
110 attempt at thoroughness in their report of the different views;
to the present day.
or (5) by tacking onto the beliefs of their opponents what they sup- Then 'A1 ibn Abi TBlib was acclaimed caliph ; whereupon people
pose is perforce proved to follow from these beliefs. (This is the
method neither of the rabbis nor of thosc wise scholars wlto nrr The person who sncceedcd to the Prophet's leadership of Islam was called the
~ilrefulto nlnke the nrcessilry distinctions.) My experiences alollg " caliph " ( Ambic halifah " vicar " or " substitute ") , the " imdm," and the
t h : ~ tlira. hiire inovn(1 me to un~lertakctllc f o l l o w i ~ lcx~jositios
~ nl. " leader ( a m i r ) of the faithful."
f h r r~u(stio11 of views alld to (10 it ill brief (:onlpiiss, ilvoicli~rnlcngtlly = Scc I)C~O\V, 5. ' 1,. e.
a1id ~I~t;liled trr;~tnlc111t.T b(1gin my cs1)ositi01lof tllee tlllllnS
t, wit11 Muhnn~mxd's tribe. Thry were dcfcatcd at thc Battle of Badr (024) and
Cotl's 11vlp ;it111 l)y I lis I)O\V(~I.. accepted Isl%~n iu 630.
.Zfter the l'roplwt's (lcatli mcln disagreed ilbol~tmany tltirlgs, r8oli- I'lurnl sunan. The custom of the Prophct.
4 Al-IbGnuh 'An U@l Ad-Diganah The First Three Centuries of IsIrEm 5

disagreed as to his authority: some denied that he was i d m ; others to 'Ali ibn Abi TBlib; and it became a matter of disagreement that
refused him active support; still others asserted their belief i n his has lasted to the present dag.O
'
imiimate and accepted his caliphate. This is a matter of disagree-
ment among people to the present day. What are the facts?
Then arose the dissension in 'A1iJs time concerning the authority Muhammad had been both a prophet and a political leader. I n the
of T m a h and Az-Zubayr and the war they waged with him,
and concerning Mu%wiyahYscontest with him. 'Ali and Mu'iiwiyah former capacity he had enjoyed unrestricted authority and none of his
met a t &fEi, and 'A11 fought with Mu'iiwiyah until the swords of Companions could legitimately dream of inheriting either his gifte or his
both sides were broken, their lances drooped, their strength was prestige. Unfortunately, when he died, his prophetic legacy was in
spent, and they sank to their knees. When they stood thus face to chaotic condition. The Qur'Bn, which for most parties in IslBm has
face in fear and hatred, Mu'iiwiyah said to 'Amr ibn al-'As, " 0 always been the primary source of belief and discipline, had yet to be
'Amr, isn't i t true that you have never yet been in a difficult position
without being able to find a way out of it? " ... 'Amr ibn al-'& collected, and was not in fact issued in acceptable form until about
twenty years after Muhammad's death. From the start, the task of the
said to him, " The condition I make is that you do not remove Egypt
from my control so long as I live." He replied, "It is granted, Community was to apply the revealed truth it possessed-a truth as yet
by the faith and covenant of God !" 'Amr said, " Let the command uncodified-to questions as they arose, and to develop principles to con-
be given to lift up the exemplars of the Qur'iin, then let the Syrians trol its application. Intertwined with this problem was another, that of
say to the 'Irgqites, ' 0 'Iriiqites, the Book of God is our judge. A the selection of a ruler, and its solution admitted of no delay. I n the
truce, a truce! ' Then, if he grants you what you desire, his fol-
lowers will quarrel with him; and, if he quarrels with you, his temporal sphere the Prophet's authority had been less absolute than in
followers will quarrel with him." 'Amr ibn al-'5% in the counsel he the eternal, but it can hardly be doubted that his nominee for the cali-
gave, was like one who beholds secret things from behind a thin phate, had there been one, would have been accepted with little question.
veil. Therefore Mn'iiwiyah commanded his followers to raise the There is, however, no certain evidence that he had committed the govern-
exemplars and to carry out the directions of 'Amr ibn al-'As. Then
they did so, and the 'Irlqites made a demonstration against '&i and ment of the Community to any single person. The Si'ah, the party that
would hear of nothing but arbitration, requiring him to send an later supported the claims of 'Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law,
arbitrator and Mu'iiwiyah to send an arbitrator, Hence 'Ali con- maintained that Muhammad had "designated" 'Ali to succeed him.
sented to the demand of the 'Iriiqites, when he saw that they would Abii Bakr, on the other hand, is represented as enunciating the principle
not accept a refusal. When 'Ali had consented, and Muciiwiyahand
the Syrians had sent 'Amr ibn al-'iis as arbitrator, and 'Ali and the that the imam or caliph is to be chosen from the Qurays, and Sunnite
'Iriiqites had sent Abii Miis5 as arbitrator, and these two had ex- Isliim accepted this principle. The truth seems to be that Muhammad
changed pledges of good faith, 'Ali's followers fell into disagree- had left no ruling in the matter. It was to be anticipated that grave
ment with him. They said, " God has said, 'fight against that party differences of opinion would exist in the absence of such a pronouncement.
which doth the wrong, until they come back to the precepts of The kernel of the caliphate problem, to which most of the theological
God; ' but H e does not say, ' Arbitrate with them.' (They are the
wrongdoers.) Therefore, if you resume hostilities with them and con- daerences of Isliim are closely or distantly related, lies in the state of
fess that you played the part of an infidel in consenting to their affairs that existed in al-Madinah in 6332, at the Prophet's death. There
proposal of arbitration, well and good; but, if not, we will fight with was as yet no legitimist faction: 'Ali's title to the caliphate, later so
you and war against you." Then 'Ali said, " I refused to do what you insistently urged, found no effective sponsors a t that time. Three other
demanded at the beginning of this affair, but you would hear of noth- parties, however, can plainly be discerned. The Emigrants had shared
ing except my consenting to what they asked, so I consented and persecution with the Prophet and followed him to al-Madinah. The
exchanged pledges of faith with them. I cannot go back on my
Helpers, inhabitants of the town, had rallied to his cause. His conquest

".
word." Therefore they mould hear of nothing but deposing him
and declaring him an infidel because of the arbitration. They of the QurayB had brought these former enemies of his to their knees, but
"went out in opposition to him, and for this reason they are they remained opportunists and self-seekers despite their profession of
called the Biirijites, namely because they "went out " in opposition IslLm. The Helpers had a candidate at the first election, against whom
'If Mu'Lwiyah will make 'Amr governor of Egypt for life, 'Amr will render
Abii Bakr, the most venerable and esteemed person in the Community
tho needed assistance. at that moment, won the day. Much of his energy, during his short
'Qur'fin 40. 9. See below, 6.
6 Al-Zb&nah 'An Ugul Ad-Diyanah The First Three Centuries of IsZanz 7

rule, was devoted to stabilizing the organization of Islam in Arabia. were in part disloyal or unreasonable trouble makers (largely from the
Before his death he nominated 'Umar, the next caliph. The decade of tribe of Tamim), in part QurEn scholars. They were beaten by 'Ali a t
the latter's tenure of office was the golden period of Arab rule. The NahrawSn the year after the arbitration (658). 'Ali died a t al-Kiifah
swift extension of Muslim power to Syria, 'Iraq, Persia, and Africa made (661) by the hand of Ibn Muljam, one of these fanatics, after witnessing
organization essential, and under the circumstances this organization the steady growth of MuEwiyah7sfortunes.
had to be of a military nature. The Arabs were quartered in immense The JiJirijites gave small comfort to the Umayyad dynasty of caliphs,
camps. An effort was made to preserve the simplicity and mobility of which began with Mu'awiyah. Their exploits, however, are of no rele-
desert life. The soil of the subdued countries was left in the hands of vance here. We have only to evaluate their influence on orthodox the-
the vanquished, who had to pay a tax on it. Settled occupations were ology. They were a t one in branding 'Ali as an infidel for consenting to
made taboo for the Muslims. The revenues derived from land- and poll- the arbitration. They had recourse to the Qur'iin to prove this and other
taxes, as well as the booty that came into the possession of the Arab points.ls 'Ali, they asserted, was the "bewildered man," l4 and the
forces, were spent in the maintenance of the victors. 8Hrijites who fought with him at Nahrawiin were "his companions "
A little corruption s f i c e d to bring this halcyon era to a close. When, who " call him to the true guidance." Again, 'Ali was "the man who
at 'Umar7s death, 'Utmiin prevailed over the other members of the group surpriseth thee by his discourse concerning this life present," l5 and Ibn
of six named by 'Umar as eligible to the caliphate, the beginning of dis- .
Muljam, his murderer, was "the man . . who selleth his life out of
union was in sight. ' U i m h was an Umayyad.ll H e was charged with desire to please God." l6
displaying unjust favor towards his kinsmen and friends, dissatisfaction The garijites maintained that the caliph needed no dignity of birth,
grew, and &ally he was slain in al-Madinah (656) by a group of rebels but only the qualification of righteousness; and that if he lost this claim
headed by Abii Bakr's son.
- to his position he was to be deposed. Their intercourse with the Mus-
The leaders of Isliim were now hopelessly at odds. They had scarcely lims outside their own sect gave occasion for the development of theo-
lifted a h g e r to prevent the murder of 'UtmZin, but, the deed once done, logical differences within the giirijite group. What was the religions
vengeance was demanded. 'AE accepted the caliphate, only t o cope with status of these Muslims? Were they to be slain and spoiled at all times,
trouble in all quarters. A t the Battle of the Camel he whipped 'Pigah, or only in open war? Were their children to be killed at once or allowed
Talhah, and Zubayr, but when Mu'iiwiyah, to whom the Umayyads had to reach maturity and then compelled to choose between faith (Hiirijism)
committed their destinies, met him in combat at Siffin, his descent to and infidelity (non-giirijite Islam) ? What was the proper attitude
ruin commenced. Mu'iiwiyah, worsted, appealed to the Book to compose towards the stay-at-homes in their own ranks, those who refused to " emi-
their differences. The Qur'iin readers in 'Ali's ranks called loudly for a grate" to battle? The Azraqites were the strait sect among the @hi-
favorable answer to this proposal. Against his better judgment, 'Ali jites. Moderation found a place with the Najdiyyah and the IbHdiyyah.
made a tragic concession. Two commissioners were appointed to arbi- The question of mortal sins was the most important of the many ques-
trate between the rivals: 'Amr ibn al-'As representing Mu6%wiyah;Abii tions under discussion. All except the Najdiyyah considered mortal sin
Miisii al-AS'ari, an ancestor of our al-AB'ari7s, acting for 'Ali, to whose unbelief and were convinced that the mortal sinner would suffer eternal
cause he was not deeply attached. These two came to an understanding punishment. The liberal factions softened this doctrine, and in their
before the formal meeting, and, when the court sat, Abii Mtha betrayed theology, which distinguished at least five grades of belief and unbelief,
his superior, and 'Ali was deposed. Immediately the decision became there was an effort towards a milder and more reasonable solution of the
known, a group of malcontents went out to make common cause with problem.
another*party, which had forsaken 'Ali on learning that the Qur'Sn was The Uiirijites were not the only sect that owed its origin to 'AliJs mis-
not, after all, to determine the issue. These people, the first Biirijites,'" fortunes. It was to be expected that some Muslims would feel he had
'l The clans of HZiim and Umayyah were separate groups withiq the tribe of
been defrauded of his rights in being passed over at three elections and
QurayB. The Prophet and the 'Abbssid caliphs were HiiBimites, while 'Utman raised only late in the day to the caliphate. 'Abdalliih ibn Sabii', a con-
and the Umayyad caliphs belonged to the other group. verted Jew, had hailed 'Mi with the words, " Thou art Thou," meaning.
la From haraja " t o go out." On the other names applied to them see Maqcibit

127. 128. la Ibid. 102. 103. Qur'Hn 0. 70. l6 Ibid. 2. 200. 'l Ibid. 2.203.
Al-Ibanah 'An Uyil Ad-Diyanah The First Three Centuries of Ishim 9
" Thou art God," and 'A1 had banished him for what must have seemed
visualized by the S ~ a hwas the advent of the mahdf, or h a 1 imdm, to
to him a blasphemous assertion. 'AbdallZhys followers, however, believed consummate the eternal design to the execution of which his predecessors
that 'Ali was not dead, but would return to fill the world with righteous- had contributed from generation to generation. The Sunnites had their
ness, and that a divine particle resided in him and was handed down by apocalyptic doctrine, to be sure, but the Bi'ah differed from them here as
transmigration (tan&u&) to his successors in the imiimate. From such elsewhere. They believed in a return (raj'ah) of the dead for a second
beginnings grew the bizarre doctrines of the SiStes. We must extend our death before the resurrection, and some of them taught the eternity of
digression to include a concise sketch of them. m a t t e r - doctrine for which the Sunnites had a well-nigh pathological
There lay behind the strange beliefs of the Si'ites and their opposition loathing. Some believed themselves immortal, others discarded the
to the Sunnite caliphs much more than disinterested devotion to the Islkmic belief in a resurrection. Moreover, the f3i'a.hrepudiated 'Umb'8
'Alids and sympathy for them in their tribulations. On their victorious edition of the Qur'iin and pur~uedtheir own peculiar course in the inter-
emergence from the Peninsula the Arabs met a complex of religious, pretation of the Book. Finally, some called the Prophet a liar and said
political, and culturril concepts and habits, which the older nations, even that he had stolen *AliJsthunder.
when converted to the new religion, could not wholly put away. Some 81-APari arranges the sub-sects of the Si'ah in three sections. (a)
of these ideas were intruded into Isliim. Old doctrines, Jewish, Chris- The C4dliyyah are so called "because they went to extremes ($a%) with
tian, and Magian, reasserted themselves against the upstart teaching of regard to 'Ali and made tremendous claims for him." 21 (b) The Mfi@
the P r ~ p h e t . ' ~ are the central group, in whose views the vicissitudes of the twelve intiim
SNsm produced a new interpretation of Isliim. Yuhammad, while are reflected. (c) The Zaydiyyah are the liberals, who modify the usual
accepting a certain measure of adulation, had never suffered his admirers SiSte attitude of antagonism to the first three caliphs so far as to recog-
to lose sight of his humanity, and his followers had, indeed, sometimes nize the first two and, in the cases of some sects, the third as well.
questioned his judgment and opposed h i m P The Si'ite imcim was funda- A brief sketch of the second group will enable us to follow the history
mentally different; he was a divinity, or the abode of a divine spirit, and of SiSsm in outline to and beyond al-AiYari's day.22 The R d w h con-
possessed immunity from both sin and error. The mainspring of the sisted of (I) the Imcimiyyah, who recognized the entire line of twelve
Prophet's religion-originally, at least-was his conviction of an im- imdms, and (2) the various sects that stopped short of the full tale of
pending judgment and of the reality of paradise and hell. SiTte alle- twelve and departed from the main channel of succession a t one point o r
gory often explained the latter away. The Sunnites at an early, although another. 'Ali was succeeded by his son al-Hasan, a voluptuary who sar-
undetermined, date, closed the gate of the ijtihdd.lD The bounds within rendered his rights to MuPwiyah. The next imam was his brother
which religion was to function were firmly established, and by al-AP'ariJs al-Husayn, who was cut d o h with his small company at Karb%' in
time the fixation of the law had precluded almost all initiative. Mysti- A. H. 61. 'Ali the Younger then succeeded. Already there was one
cism and rationalism were the only ways of escape. &ism preferred a schismatic party, the Kaysdniyyah, who believed in the right of 'Ali's son,
perpetual revelation through the imam to the Sunnites' frozen tradition. Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, to the imiimate. We may use them to
I n some sects prophecy was not limited to him, and even ordinary per- illustrate the proliferation of sub-sects to be found in the branches of t h e
sons sometimes claimed a supernatural provenance for their most casual &ah. Al-AZi'ari numbers eleven groups among the K a y ~ d n i y y a h . ~ ~
ideas. Mujtahids *O have continued to appear among the Wah. Beyond They differed as to the way in which Muhammad ibn al-ganafiyyah had
this, there was the antinomianism of many of the sects, which in been appointed, some holding that the designation had come directly
some cases transcended the distinction between good and evil. The end from 'Ali himself, others that it had come through al-Hasan and al-
lT The Bu'nbiyyah movement was an effort in the same direction, pursued along
Husayn. They were divided as to Muhammad's fate, some believing
cultural lines. that he was dead, others that he was hidden on Mount RadwB, awaiting
"Andrae, Die Person Muhnrnmeds 24, 25. the time to reappear. They could not even agree on the reason for this
l B Literally, " effort," " struggle." Independent formulation of belief. Creation

of an original system or scl~ool. The authority of the founder of a system or Maqcildt 5 .


school. " Al-Kulayni, the earliest Bi'ite traditionist, was a contemporary of aLAS'ari'8-
'O Those who exercise ijtihbd. "Afaqbkit 18fF.
10 Al-Ibanuh 'An Ugul Ad-Diyanah T h e First Three Centuries of Islcim 11
concealment. The succession was a further occasion of schism. Abii
before this date, the caliph al-Mutawakkil, the third successor of al-
H ~ g i m Bfuhammad's
, son, followed him in the imiimate. After his death,
Ma*miin, had instituted a persecution of the Mu'tazilah and the party
'Ali, his nephew, and several others were acclaimed by divers groups.
of 'Mi. The last two imams were al-Hasan al-'Askari, who died in
One of these was an 'Abbiisid, another a member of the tribe of Tamim.
captivity at Siimarrii, and Muhammad al-Mahdi,25 who vanished about
Finally, one sub-sect recognized 'A1 the Younger as imam after Abii
869 and was represented for seventy years after that by four successive
HHgirn.
The fifth imam, Muhammad al-Biiqir, gave rise to another faction,
agents (wakils) .
It is high time to resume the history of the Sunnite caliphate. From
divided ultimately, like the rest, into many smaller parties.24 JaYar 661 to 750 the Umayyads governed the Muslim empire from Damascus.
as-Sgdiq, the sixth h i m , was an erudite scholar, and men of such Their secularity was unmistakable. Only one of them, 'Umar 11, was a
eminence as Abii Hanifah, Miilik ibn Anas, and Wii~ilibn A '@' sat devout man, and his rule was short. The Sunnites had now to face a
under him. JaYar and the mystic, Hasan al-Basri, may be taken as
problem that arose, not out of division, but out of the scandal given by
representative of the period when the IslImic sciences were as yet rela-
a succession of caliphs who, while they confessed Islam, did not scruple
tively unspecialized and scholars could display a versatility that later
to shed the blood of the devout in order to establish their authority.
became impossible. Ja'far took a mean stand on the moot theological Apart from open rebellion, three responses to this situation were pos-
question of the qadar. He had fixed upon his son IsmZil for the imiimate, sible. (1) One might favor and further the policy of the rulers, and
but the latter, besides being a reprobate, predeceased his father, and Miisii
there were many who took this course. (2) One might, while offering
al-K@im succeeded. A large party, however, advocated IsmB'il's claim, them no aggressive resistance, show one's disapproval of them by mute
and to this group, called the " Seveners " and the "IsmB'iliyyah," many opposition. There grew up a class of persons who, in their practice of
of the most romantic exploits of the Wah are due. Maymiin the Oculist wara' "self-restraint," believed that they were preserving the zuhd
and his son 'Abdalliih conceived the amazing design of centering a care- " simple living" of the first caliphs. ( 3 ) A third adjustment to these
fully scaled organization about the IsmB'iliyyah pretensions. The initi- conditions was that of the Murjites-not, accurately speaking, a sect,
ates advanced from grade to grade and only the choicest were admitted but the representatives of a point of view widely adopted because it
to the final degrees of emancipation, where they dropped all connection enabled those who held it to satisfy the claims both of religion and of
with revealed religion. This plan was pursued through four genera- citizenship. The Murjites did not go the length of withholding obedience
tions before it issued in the establishment of the Fgtimid dynasty in from the rulers and calling them unbelievers, but they refrained from
Egypt. Other parties centered about other sons of JaYar, and the sect identifying themselves with the Umayyad programme. This attitude
of the Wdqifiyyah left the parent trunk at the death of Miisii al-Klzim. was encouraged by some teachers of religion, and in time it led to dis-
From the death of al-Husayn to the time of 'A1i ar-Ridii; the eighth cussions of faith as against unbelief and sin. Although not a great deal
of the series, the im6ms lived obscurely in al-Madinah, making no effort is known about the historical development of the theology of this sect or
to vindicate their claims by force of arms, although more than one adven-
that of the Hiirijites, we see clearly in al-As'ari's accounts of the two
turer was willing to try his fortune in the r8le of champion. 'Ali was cast
that the questions in which they were most interested had been subjected
for a more conspicuous part. S t Hiirfin ar-Ragid's death the empire had
to searching discussion long before his day. Not only is this true, but
been divided between his two sons, al-Amin, the focus of the Arab party's
the problems usually associated with the rationalistic trend in Isliim, to
hopes, and al-Ma'miin, who was Persian in his sympathies. The latter which the next section will be devoted, did not escape the other sects,
summoned 'Ali from his retirement and put him in line for the caliphate.
which were by no means water-tight.
Tt was a time when both the Mu'tazilah and the Sl'ah -were favored by the
The 'AbbBsids remain to be considered, for it is in the period during
ruling power. But 'A1i died in TGs while returning from gurBsRn to which this house hcld thc caliphate that al-Ab'ari lived. The Quraygite
Thg'dad with the caliph, and from this time on the hopes of the B T ' ~ ~
clan of the Banii IIBBim includcil both the 'Alids and thc 'Abbiisiils, and
were blighted. Muhammad at-Taqi and, after hinl, 'Ali an-Naqi, held
the latter rose to power largely by capitalizing this connection. Whilc:
the office of irncim, the latter dying a prisoner at SCnlarrC in 868. Long
the Unxryyacls pursued their roursc of sclf-intlu1gcnc.c imd opprrssion i l t
" Ibid. 23 8.
Z5 A mysterious and largely l ~ g v t t d ~ rfigurr.
y
12 Al-Ibanah 'An U& Ad-Dipinah The First Three Centuries of Islcim
Damascus, Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Abdalliih ibn 'AbbL made the place sunnah to the Qur'Ln? Was the latter to be interpreted by reference to
of his banishment, Humaymah, on the limits of Palestine and Arabia, a the had$! or by some other method? Abii Hanifah and his followers em-
centre of 'AbbHsid intrigue. Here Abii HLlim, the son of Muhammad ployed r e " opinion," istihsh " preference " (on the basis of expedi-
ibn al-Hanafiyyah the son of 'Ali, died, and the 'AbbIisids declared that ency), and qiyiis " analogy." These instruments, however, were suspect
his title to the caliphate had passed to them. The two members of the among the conservatives of al-Madinah, where MUik sought the answers
house who were to be the first caliphs of the new line, with the aid of to legal questions in tradition. A6-&fi9 cultivated the "root" called
the Wah, who had thrown in their lot with them, prevailed over the last ijM " agreement," admitting qiyds in cases where the other roots gave
Umayyad caliph a t the Battle of the ZLb in 750. no solution. A b a d ibn Hanbal was not really a lawyer at all, but an
The second 'Abbiisid caliph, al-Man~iir,made the city of BagdHd his obscurantist and fundamentalist, who took his stand upon the Qurym
capital in 768. It was the commencement of a new age in Isliim. The and the sunnah, and refused to acknowledge any other roots either in law
caliph, now a despot, had a vizier to administer his afirrirs and an execu- or in The methods of these two sciences were closely related,.
tioner to give swift effect to his displeasure. Under these conditions, since both dealt with the same material. 81-APari often employs ijm5'
the military element in the state ultimately gained great power. Luxury, in the Ibanah, although so strict an adherence to m a d ' s views as he
contention, and decay supplanted the better conditions of an earlier time. professed should have restricted him to the two fundamental roots. He
The undisputed dominance of the Arabs was at an end. The dynasty is thus a S~fi'iterather than a pure Hanbalite, even in the Ibdmh. It
reached the summit of its splendor under Hlriin. When he died, in 809, may be that the tradition representing him as a Mllikite was inspired by
a bitter contest between the Persian and the Arab factions began. The a desire to identify him more dehitely with fundamentalism. One infers
defeat of the Arabs led to the temporary victory of unorthodoxy, but from the Ibdnah that he did not value q i y a highly, but whatever his
when al-Mutawakkil became caliph in 847 he brought both the heterodoxy views regarding it, he wrote a book on the use of this root.a8
and the prosperity of the 'Abblsids to an end. It was no longer possible Mysticism, in its most comprehensive meaning, includes asceticism,
to prevent the formation of independent states in regions outside the devotional exercises designed to produce mystical states in those who
caliph's control. Finally, in 945, the Buwayhids, a Persian dynasty favor- use them, and the doctrine that is a rationalization of these states. All
ably disposed towards the Bi'ah, established themselves in Bagdiid and three of these elements occur, combined with a conspicuous earthiness, in
left the caliph nothing but his title. Muhammad. IslLmic mysticism could therefore, like every other move-
Two departments of religious activity need to be touched upon before ment in Islam, quote the Qur'ln in its own favor. Nevertheless its de-
this portion of our study can pretend to completeness. Mysticism and velopment was predominantly the effect of influences from without.
canon law 26 stand a t opposite ends of the scale, the former commonly Before the Muslim period many Arab tribes had been converted to Chris-
indicating to the religionist the maximum of opportunity, the latter the tianity and these conversions had been wrought by monks. Christian
minimum of requirement. I n Islam practical necessity brought about asceticism afforded the Prophet and early IslLm a ready and
the crystallization of the law at an early date. The four recognized Christian monks seem in fact to have been the principal mentors of the
schools of law are those of Abii Hanifah (died 767), MUik ibn Anas Muslim ascetics. Influence came from other quarters as welLaO
(died 795)) 6-B~fi'i (died 820)) and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (died 855). The rigors of the nomad's life compelled him to learn and exercise
All are accepted and their differences are regarded as legitimate and profound patience and detachment. Certain features of the monastic
tolerable. There is considerable diversity in the methods by which the life were therefore matters of every day experience to the Arab; its
founders of these schools reached their conclusions-a matter that in- physical abstinences, at least, were not a novelty to him. 'Umar was
terests us here because these methods necessarily bore a close resemblance
to those of the theologians and were simply, in the hands of the latter, On t h e principles of the founders of the four schools, see R. Levy, A n
Introduction to the Sociology of Tsliim (1933) I 234 8.
the same tools adapted to a somewhat different kind of work. Both the Spitta, Zur Geschichtc Abu'l-Basan al-Ab'arl's 63. Cf. 74 (no. 57).
lawyer and the theologian grounded their work upon the QurZn. I t was 'gSee particularly M. Smith, Studies in Early Mysticism in the Near a n d
the primary " root" of the law. What was the precise relation of the Middle E a s t (1931).
'O Nicholson (The Mystics of Islam 10 ff.) names four sources of influence:
Canon and civil law a r e not clearly separated in M8m. Christianity, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, and Buddhism.
14 Al-Zbanah ' A n Upi1 Ad-Diyanah
alive to the need of keeping these stern virtues active, as his system
clearly shows. I n later times men recalled admiringly the hard living
the early caliphs were supposed to have preferred to the comfort of the
world they had captured. Repeatedly single persons or groups adopted
a mode of living expressive of these or similar ideals, but such move- T H E MU'TAZILAH
ments often encountered keen disfavor. However, this current of Muslim Both the origin and the character of the Mu'tazilah are still matters of
mysticism, joined, as in the persons of Hasan al-Basri and W@il ibn dispute. A rudimentary drift towards rationalism is evident in two
'AN', with learning and originality, was the guardian and transmitter of earlier sects. Virtually at the outset of Isliim's career, there were certain
Isl;imYsfinest values. It preserved the old desert fortitude, refining it ah1 a2-ahwa' "people of straying impulses," who, in an effort to organize
until it became a religious quality. It stood for an Isliim undefiled with their religious ideas, held animated discussions and matched texts from
worldiness. the Qur'iin. The Tradition indicates that they met with disapproval and
Every mystic is unique. Even though the pure love and the disin- were regarded as an unruly element in the Community?' Later there
terested service of God underlie all 1sl;imic mysticism, the mystics them- arose a group of thinkers who dealt particularly with the question of the
selves differed widely in the extent of their attachment to institutional qadar, God's decree, and were styled the Qadariyyah because of their
1sl;im and the coincidence of their doctrine with orthodoxy. Some, like occupation with this problem. They held, in opposition to the rest of
al-Qugayri, felt it necessary to prove that mysticism was justified by the the Community, that man's will was not wholly under the domination of
QurPn. Others were pantheists and showed no great concern about their the decree. This sect had a political significance, which no doubt resulted
detachment from the remainder of Isliim. It was al-Gaziili (died 1111) from the fact that it was a closely knit group, and this compactness, in
who finally removed the stigma from mysticism and reconciled i t with turn, was the natural consequence of the severe persecutions the party
orthodoxy. suffered a t the hands of the Umay~ads.~*The designation Qadariyyah
Mysticism as such had little to contribute to the growth of theology. was also applied to the MuYazilah, but the latter resented it.
I n certain respects, like Br'ism, i t was a menace and functioned as a Whatever the Mu'tazilah inherited from these movements, their origin
warning against extremes. I n the realm of devotion, the life beyond the was an independent one. Wiisil ibn 'A@' is traditionally mentioned as
law, its effect was deeper. The common word for mysticism, tcqsawwuf, the f i ~ sleader
t of the sect, and he is said to have enunciated his "mean "
could be applied to the piety of al-Ai'ari. Mysticism, directly or indi- position in connection with a discussion of the place to be assigned
rectly, left its mark upon men of his calling. I n addition, the usage of mortal sinners among the Muslims. Wiisil believed that they were neither
mysticism gave a distinctive turn to words commonly employed in other Muslims in good standing nor unbelievers. A;-~ahrasGni, in his resum6
religious circles. Yet it was the least important of the forces that of Wiisil's beliefs, includes this among the four principal doctrines he
operated upon al-AB'ari. enumerates. The others are the denial of God's attributes, the assertion
of man's free will, and an intermediate position as to the rival parties a t
the Battle of the Camel and the Battle of Siffin, WQil having held that
one of them was in the wrong, but not venturing to say which party it
was. A1-HayyLt says that this attitude of suspended judgment was "the
way of the ah1 al-wara' among the scholars." This stand on the cali-
phate, as Prof. Nallino has pr0ved,3~is the true i'tizal, and therefore the
position of the Mu'tazilah, at its commencement, was simply another of
51 E. g. W. Patton, Ahmed ihn Hanbal nnd the Mihna ( 1897 ) 158 ff.
"See the references t o the Qadariyynh i r ~Wellhauscn, The Arab Kingdom and
i t s Pall, tr. M. G . Weir ( 1 9 2 7 ) .
'' C. A. Nallino, " Sull' origine drl nornc tlci ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ' t a"z iRivista
liti dcgli stadi
orientali 7 (1916-18) 429-454. See 431 for a summary of interpretations of t h e
name " Mu'tazilite."
15
18 Al-Zbamh 'An Usul A d - D i y i n a h The Mu'tazilah 19
Arabic, which Graf considers spurious.47 Nevertheless, the abundance kind, or likened to creatures in any way at all; nor do defects come
of this kind of writing is evidence of the frequency of such arguments. upon Him; nor do diseases descend upon Him. Everything that is
I n the Apology of al-Kindi we have an instance of the freedom the outlined in the mind or given form in thought is without resem-
blance to Him. He is eternally first, antecedent, prior to contingent
Christians sometimes permitted themselves. I n the reign of al-Maamfin, beings, existent before created things. He is eternally knowing,
to which this work belongs, discussions of this kind were encouraged. powerful, living, and thus He continues. Eyes do not see Him, nor
Such intercourse suggested the method, and to a degree the subject does sight attain to Him. Thought does not embrace Him, nor is He
matter, of the kaldm. heard by the hearing-a Thing unlike things, knowing, powerful,
living, unlike the knowers, the potentates, the livers, He is the
(b) We may illustrate Mu'tazilite doctrine with an example from eternal one alone, and there is no eternal one besides Him, and no
each of the two principal divisions of their teaching. Obviously the most god is there but He. " He hath no associate"52 in His kingship,
vital question with regard to "justice" is whether or not man's will is nor a vizier in His authority, nor a helper in the development of
genuinely free. According to al-AS'ari there was only one Mu'tazilite what He has deveioped or the creation of what H e has created. H e
who dissented from the sect's general view that God "does not create has not created the creation after an antecedent similitude, and the
creation of one thing is not easier or more difficult for Him than
belief and disobedience, or any act of one not Himself," and he held the creation of another. The withholding of advantages .is not possi-
that God created these things "in that He creates their names and their ble for Him, and harm does not overtake Him; nor do joys or de-
principles." Again, " the Mu'tazilah, except 'Abbiid, agree that God ap- lights reach Him; nor does damage or suffering attain to Him. H e
points faith as good and unbelief as bad, and the meaning of this is is not finite. Coming to an end is not possible for Him, and weakness
that H e appoints the name for faith and the principle that i t is good," and loss do not overtake Him. He is too holy to embrace women or
to possess wife and children.53
and similarly with unbelief, " and that God creates the unbeliever as not
an unbeliever, then he disbelieves; and the believer i n like manner. The relation between God and His predicates was an important ques-
'AbbId denied that God appointed unbelief in any way a t all or created tion among the Mu'tazilah. God is qualified in the Qur'iin with a variety
the unbeliever and the believer." This is sufficient to indicate how of " names," such as " the knowing," "the powerful," "the hearing,"
widely the Mu'tazilah differed from the orthodox on this crucial question. " the seeing." Taken at their face value, these adjectives imply the exist-
Al-AS'ari nobly summarizes the Mu'tazilite doctrine of God i n these ence of the predicates of knowledge, power, and the rest. But is not
words : God's unity destroyed by the introduction of eternal predicates? The
Mu'tazilah, holding firmly to God's inflexible unity and complete other-
The Mu'tazilah agree that God is "one," 49 " nought is There
like Him; " 5a and H e "is the hearing One, the seeing One," 51 and ness, could not admit these qualities unless they were shown to be indis-
is not a substance or a n object or a body or a form or flesh or blood tinguishable from the divine essence, from God Himself. 81-AS'ari
or a person or a n essence or an accident; nor has H e color or taste probably puts the matter accurately when he says that most of the
or odor or a pulse; nor has He heat or cold or moisture or dryness, Mu'tazilah refer the predicates to God's Self; e. g., H e is a knower by
or length or breadth or depth, or union or separation; nor does He His own nature and not by knowledge.54 'AbbBd, however, would not
move or rest; nor is He divided. He has not parts or atoms, or limbs
or members; nor has H e sides; nor has He right or left or front or attach the predicates to God's essence; the use of the divine "names "
back or above or below. He is not subject to the limitations of space meant for him only "the assertion of a name as belonging to God" and
or time. Contact and withdrawal are not possible for Him, nor de- the knowledge of an effect corresponding to the name. Others would
scent upon this place or that. None of the predicates of creatures admit that God posscsscd predicates only in the sense that there are
that prove their contingency is attributed to Him. Superlatives are objects of the activities implied in the names. For some the names had
not predicated of Him, nor measure, nor extension in various direc-
tions, nor is IIe defined. IIe is neither begetter nor begotten. The only a negative validity; e. g., to say that God was a knower was simply
decrees do not embrace ZTim, nor do the screens veil Him. Tht. to disclaim ignorance i n IIis behalf. Still others endeavored to solve the
senses do not attain to IIim; nor is He to be compared with marl-
1I)id. G. 163.
n3 hfaqcilat 135, 156. Cf. Werrsinrk's translntio~~(The h.lri.ilir~iCrcwl 7.3 f . ) .
"G. G m f , Die : ~ r n l ~ i s c l ~Schriftcn
cn dcs Tlieotlor A b i ~Qrtrra ( 1 9 1 0 ) 77 ff,
=' hfaqcildt 104 ff. Cf. ibicl. 172, whcrc they are said to I)c.l~c~vcthat " the ~iaroer;
M a q d d t 227, 228. 'O Ibid. 42. 9.
and the predicates trrr e ~ p r c s s i o n s .nntl they are our s t ~ y i n g'God i s knowing.'
Qur'gn 2. 158 alltl ~ R S Y ~ I I I .
ID " Ibitl. 17. 1 a r ~ dpassim.
'God is powerful,' and the like."
20 Al-IbGnah 'An Upil Ad-Diyanah The Mu'tazilah 21
problem by reducing the number of predicates and identifying one with be negatively valid.e1 They were therefore not pressed beyond the point
another. where their value ended. When there was no longer danger of a miscon-
So much for the predicates. What of their objects-the objects of ception he was willing to let the matter rest. From this point of view it
God's knowledge, to choose a single group? Does God "know objects was not necessary to subject all the predicates to the same logical treat-
eternally, and are known things known before they exist, and do things ment. Thus, when one affirms that God is " in eternity other than a
exist eternally ? " 55 A1-A3ari informs us that there were seven views speaker of truth," somebody may be misled into concluding that God is a
among the Mu'tazilah with regard to this question. He grades them and for this reason one must further maintain that God is in
skilfully. They range from the teaching of HigBm ibn 'Amr, who would eternity other than a liar. One must use the same method in dealing
not grant that God was eternally a knower of things, for fear of com- with the attributes of justice and reason, but creation and provision are
promising His unity, to that of Uhayb, who is supposed to have spoken predicates of a different sort and the statement that God is " in eternity
of things as " created in the predicates before existence " and " existent other than a creator, a provider" carries with it no risk of misunder-
in the predicates." 6e The intermediate views belong to those who tried standing, since presumably God is under no compulsion to create or pro-
to solve the problem by distinguishing between the antecedent and the vide. God and man are both creators, for God makes things prede-
non-antecedent elements in objects. termined, and man performs predetermined acts.BS The meaning seems
(c) The views of al-JubbZT, al-Ar3'ari's master, as the latter reports to be that i n each case predetermination precedes the act and therefore
them in the Maqdlcit, do not form a complete system, but one must not he who performs the act is a creator, since, whether he is God or man, he
overlook the probability that al-Ar3'ariysmode of presentation tends to does a predetermined thing.
make them appear more fragmentary and disjointed than they really God's foreknowledge of events does not preclude doubts on man's
were. p ~ r64t as to these events nor is man entirely bound by God's foreknowl-
For alJubb55, as for the Mu'tazilah in general, God was transcendent. edge, since " if somebody God had known would not believe had believed,
Although he declined to recognize an existence of things before their God would have admitted him to Paradise." 65 Yet when God adds reve-
appearance in the world, he admitted God's eternal knowledge of things, lation to foreknowledge events must take place as God has foreknown and
substances, and accidents, as well as piety and impiety, because he could revealed them and it is impious to entertain doubts of any sort. Al-
conceive of them apart from their phenomenal e x i s t e n ~ e . ~He
~ also JubbBT was a more rigid determinist than the rest of the Mu'tazilah. H e
granted that one might speak of God as eternally "hearing" (sami') saw a connection between man's ability to act (quwwah) and his action,
and "seeing" (heir), but denied that He was eternally a "hearer" but he held that the ability was not "put to use" in acti0n.6~ Accord-
(sdmi') or a " person who sees " (mub$r) .58 This is not wholly an idle ing to his view a definite quantity of ability is required for each act and
distinction. The former two words are adjectives, while the latter are that quantity does not suffice for the performance of further acts, for, if
participles, and participles are often employed as substantives. God may it did, there would be no limit to what man could do?' Still, God's
be described as " hearing " and " seeing " independently of objects of grace (tawfi-q) is given to believers and unbelievers alike, even though
hearing and sight. However, when we say He is a "hearer" and a the latter reject itT8 It remains grace even when it has no effect upon
" seer " me imply that He actually hears and sees things. Al-JubbBS had the soul. Al-JubbiL'I dissented from the position of his fellow Mu'tazilah
no objection to the use of the participle so long as there was no assertion in regarding it as possible for God to forgive one man a sin and punish
that God performed eternally the action in question. For example, he another for a similar sin.60
held that " God is a muhbi2 (one who causes pregnancy) when He creates Faith embraces all the obligations God has imposed upon His ser-
pregnancy ""-but only, of course, in the temporal world. God is vants.1° It does not include acts of supererogation. I n his attempt to
rapable of any act of which He makes man ca~able.~o
Al-Jubbii'i's statements concerning God's predicates were designed to "IThid. 170. "" Ibid. 235.
" Ibid. 179, 187. O7Ibid. 241.
A f n q ( i l d t 158. "Ihid. 175, 176. Cf. 492, 493. Ibid. 195. " Ibid. 203.
'"Ihid. 103. Ibid. 194, 195.
"'Ibid. 200. " Ibid. 270.
Ibid. 100-102. Cf. 522 ff., 526 ff. Ibid. 204. Cf. 500, 575. Ibid. 209.
""Ihid. 199, 200. Cf. 551.
Al-Ibanah 'An Uyil Ad-Diyanuh The Mu'tazilah
determine whether or not a reprobate ( f a i q ) was still a believer al-Jub- of God and His justice in this world and the next against what really
ba'i made a distinction between the sense a word has in classical Arabic seemed to them unworthy beliefs. There were Mu'tazilites and Mu'tazi-
and its religious meaning. According to the former, a man who has lites. The Jlihnah, or test, illustrates one of the least admirable aspects
once believed is always a believer, and even the Jew has sufficient faith to of the movement. I t was a systematic attempt to impose the doctrine
entitle him to be called a believer and a Muslim, but religion does not of the createdness of the Qur'iin by means of a sort of holy office. It
allow us to use the word " believer " of one who no longer believes. lasted from A. H. 218 to 234, beginning in the last year of al-Ma'm6nJs
Some sins are mortal, others venial.ll If a man avoids grave sins he caliphate, extending through the reigns of al-Mu'tasim and al-Wiihiq,
escapes punishment for his light sins, but a mortal sin destroys the hope and ending under al-Mutawakkil. It was only the founder of the
of salvation. The intention of committing a sin is equivalent to the sin lllihnah who cared greatly for the end he hoped to achieve by it. The
itself. Lest men take the presumptuous view that they may indulge in test was carried on by al-Mu'tasim and al-Wiihiq without great enthu-
venial sins with impunity, al-Jubbii'i teaches that a number of such sins siasm, and the latter is even said to have given up the doctrine of a
may, when taken together, be as grievous as a mortal sin. The theft of a created QurEn. It was under al-Mu'tasim that Ahmad ibn Hanbal was
single dirham is a venial sin, while the theft of five dirhams is a mortal tried and took an adamantine stand against the heretical dogma. The
sin. If a man steals five dirhams one by one he has committed a mortal Mihnah, particularly in its first stages, caught many teachers unprepared,
sin, because the five thefts, although each in itself is light, are grave in both spiritually and intellectually. The unfortunate complaisance shown
their totality. 81-Jubbg'i is more difficult to follow when he adds the by some at the very start was responsible, to Ahmad's thinking, for the
effects of intentions to those of acts, as he does in an interesting passage.12 continuation and partial success of the test. Neither al-Ma'miin nor his
Here he tells us that if a man makes up his mind to take one and two- inquisitor, Alynad ibn Abi Duwiid, was a person of high calibre of soul.
thirds dirhams at some future time and when the time comes wills to They despised what they regarded as the superstition of the many, and
steal and steals, he takes three times one and two-thirds dirhams, or five they did not carry out their programme, as Alynad did his opposition to
dirhams.13 it, with prayer and fasting. It was an ill-advised effort to coerce the
This digest of al-Jubbii'i's opinions seems to warrant our placing him people into accepting a highbrow point of view. By making martyrs and
in the right wing of the Mu'tazilite movement. I t will be necessary to confessors it simply frustrated its own purpose and gave additional
return to him later in our discussion of the training and conversion of vitality to the opposite belief.
his renowned pupil. Surely, if we compare thinkers like al-Ma'arri,74 al-JBhiz, and Ibn
It was not among irreverent zindiqs (dualists, atheists) or mulhids ar-Rawandi with moderate Mu'tazilites, we are compelled to grant that
(enemies of religion) that the Mu'tazilite movement began, but among the two groups are widely different both in spirit and in actual doctrine.
persons of uncommon piety. I n Isliim the Mu'tazilah were called "the Al-Hayyiit charges Ibn ar-Rawandi, against whom his Kitab al-inti@r is
people of justice and unity," "the people of the promise and the threat." directed, with holding the following beliefs: l5 that matter is eternal;
European writers have applied the names "free thinkers " and " rational- that God's wisdom is disproved by the fact that He afflicts men and com-
ists " to them. Such designations are hardly admissible without consider- mands obedience that He knows will not be rendered; that eternal
able reservation and qualification. To be sure, reason was accorded a very punishment is disproportionate to the guilt of human sin; that the
high place by the Mu'tazilah, and in bringing their doctrine of God into Qur'sn contains error; that prophets are guilty of false miracles; and
line with its requirements they were running counter to Isliim as i t had that the Emigrants and the Helpers declined to accept the caliph
come from the hand of the Prophet and as it was received and believed designated by the Apostle.
by the simple. But at their best they were broad churchmen, who tried The author is plainly eager to clear his party of charges of unortho-
to make peace between revelation and reason and maintained the unity doxy. This is obvious in his statement of the Mu'tazilite creed, already
Ibid. 270, 272. 7 2 Ibid. 273.
quoted. Besides, he points out that certain matters of which the Mn'tn-
73This would ueem t o indicate that, in al-JubbA'i'u opinion, a person taking zilah have treated are of "the obscure and refined of the h-aldm,"
this slim wns linble t o the punishment of the amputation of the I~and. Muslim
nuthorities disagree a s t o how much a nian must steal t o incur this punishment. I' See Nicholson, Studies in IsI:~~nir
l'oetry ( 1921 ) passim.
Op. cit. 2, 3.
24 Al-Ibanah 'An U@l Ad-Diycnah
and that their discussions are not sources of doctrine, but only attempts
to solve speculative difficulties. Abu 1-Hudayl regretted having engaged
in this sort of kaldm. Al-Hayyiit boasts that only the Mu'tazilah dis-
tinguish between this and the other sort of kaldrn, which aims at AL-AS'ARf AND H I S THEOLOGY
enunciating doctrine.76
Ibn Halliksn, in his bare account of al-Ag'ari's life, makes his sub-
There is a great difference, of course, between the tenor of al-Ma'miin's
ject's fame an excuse for the brevity of his sketch.78 The significance of
letters early i n the course of the Mihnah and the relatively chastened
apology of al-HayySlt. The one hopes that his views may prevail in al-A3ariJs achievement made him perhaps more a symbol than a person
in the minds of his successors, who, while maintaining stoutly that he
Isliim, the other knows that he and his fellows represent only one of
had not given rise to a new school in Islsm, were nevertheless well aware
many points of view, and is intent simply upon establishing the good
that his skilful fusion of clashing forces had been in reality a fresh
character of his sect. Nevertheless, the general impression of the
point of departure for theology. His title to renown is based mainly not
Mu'tazilah one gains is that they served both their masters, reason and
upon eminent spirituality or the invention, on his part, of anything
revelation, with such fidelity as they could command. They were not
radically new in the domain of religion, but upon his discovery of a
relentless in their use of reason. Yet, once their method and doctrines
middle intellectual ground for orthodoxy, and upon his foundation of
were established, they closed their minds and settled down to their own
a school in whose hands the kaltim, largely suspect until his time, became
sort of conservatism.
the method of the speculative theologians of IslHm. The man is thus
This desire on the part of the Mu'tazilah to make religion reasonable,
obscured by his work and its effects. He left behind no confessions,
however strongly we may approve it, took no account of the real nature
like his brilliant successor al-Baziili. Virtually all his writings are
of Isliim, or indeed, of religion in general. Religion is either irrational
polemical, either directly or incidentally, and their often crabbed lan-
or suprarational. It must vindicate its supernatural character if it is to
guage discloses little of the author's personal life. We know him, from
continue as religion, and not suffer transformation into something else.
his own books, only in this crusading mood or in the dispassionate,
Reason cannot dictate belief; it can only support i t onee the truth of
analytical temper he displays in his great digest of the sects. No doubt
revelation has been granted. IslSlm &ally settled down to the acceptance
he was predominantly an extravert. His good voice and his genius for
of reason in the latter capacity, and, once admitted, reason took a firm
argument, as well as the animus against heretics that, if tradition speaks
hold on theology. Prof Wensinck says, "Theology, once having called
truly, continued with him to the end, must have made the world outside
kalam to its aid, ends in a state of utter dependence on its benefactor.
a matter of more constant concern to him than the world within. Yet
A1 Sanusi's short catechism deduces God and His qualities, the universe,
his devotion was remembered,7Das well as his competence in theology and
the Prophets and their mission, as well as the last thmgs, from a simple
law,80 and his frugality 81 was too marked to be forgotten. Perhaps he
logical premise." 77 If this is true, it may be asked why the Mu'tazilah
hid behind a genial S2 and urbane manner the traces of many a deep
failed to effect the introduction of reason into theology. Several reasons spiritual experience, but he seems never to have written about his soul,
may be suggested: the tactics of the Mihnah, the intellectualism and
for the record of the decisive struggle that transferred him to the camp
aloofness of the Mu'tazilah, their lack of cohesion and numerous internal
difficulties. Undoubtedly the position of Ahmad ibn Hanbal was nearer 7sTr. de Slane (1842-71) I1 227, 228. The most important source is the Kitcib
the heart of Isliim. His piety and obscurantism commanded more ven- tabyin kidb al-muftati fi ma nasaba ila'l-imdm Abi'l-gasan al-All'at-i by Ibn 'Asakir
eration than the brilliant dialectics of the Mu'tazilah. '' I am no master (A. H. 499-571), a defence of the great kalamist against the slanders levelled a t
him by the Mu'tazilite Abii'Ali of Damascus. See Bibliography. See also as-SubkS,
of the kaldm," he declared. The QurEn and the Tradition were enough Tabaqcit I1 245 ff. (based largely on Ibn 'AsLkir, whose work underlies all later
for him and he took what they said " bild kayfa" "without further in- accounts) ; al-Hatib al-Bagdndi, Ta'rilr Bag&d XI 340, 347; as-Sam'Ani, Kitcib
quiry." To what is essentially the same point of view various groups al-ansab 3%; al-Uwnnsitri, Rawckt a l - j a n ~ d 474-476.
t All the facts of al-A8'ari's
have since returned, and it seems to possess a curious power to renew life will be found concisely set down in Spitta's book.
and invigorate IslSm. 7 0 A ~ - S ~ b247.
k i Spitta, op. cit. 1G.
'O As-Subki 249.

'#Ibid. 13. Cf. 50. " The Muslim Creed 248. Ibid. 248. He lived modestly on the income of an estate left by BilB1.
Ibid. 247.
25 -
26 Al-Zbanuh 'An Usul Ad-Diyanah Al-AB'ari and His Theology 27
of the orthodox after a long youth spent in the ranks of the Mu'tazilah him off his balance it is impossible to say. Very likely it was his recog-
survives only in traditions about his disputes with his master al-JubbB'i, nition that al-JubbL'i's arguments were inadequate, for the master was
his visions of the Prophet, his fifteen days' retreat, and the striking not a remarkable thinker. One group of stories makes his defection the
declaration of his reconversion to the Sunnite position. This volte-face, result of an unsatisfactory answer given him by a l - J ~ b b i i ' i . ~The
~ ver-
however, was genuine, the calumnies of the Mu'tazilah notwithstanding. sion given by as-Subki runs as follows: " The Sheikh (al-AI'ari) asked
Al-AI'ari's background was a compelling factor in his life. He was Abii 'Ali (al-Jubbs'i), ' 0 sheikh, what have you to say about three per-
the scion of a long line of aristocrats in IslBm,83 who traced their ancestry sons, one a believer, another an unbeliever, and the third an infant.' He
t o Abii MiisB, reputed to have been a Refugee and a man dear to the replied, ' The believer is among the glorified, the unbeliever among those
heart of the Prophet. This person and his son and grandson, Abii who perish, and the infant among those who are safe.' The Sheikh an-
Burdah and BilB1, attained to eminence as office-holders in church and swered, ' If the infant wills to rise to a place among the glorified, can
state. Abii Miid himself was an opportunist, and, as we have seen, he he do so? ' Al-JubbB'l said, ' No; it will be said to him, '' The believer
played a discreditable part in the arbitration between 'Ali and achieved this grade of glory only by obedience, and you have nothing of
Mu'ii~iyah.~*It was an efficient, self-interested race, proud of its Arab the sort."' The Sheikh said, ' Then if he says, "The deficiency is no
blood, pure diction, and eloquence. These traits descended to al-ABbri, fault of mine, and therefore if Thou hadst suffered me to live, I would
and, like Biliil.1,85he could be supercilious towards those who were not so have rendered obedience like the believer "-what? ' Al-Jubbii'i said,
conversant with the ancestral tongue as he pretended to be. Often in ' God will say to him, "I knew that if you survived you would surely be
the Ibdnah he argues from the usage of the pure Arabic. A story is told disobedient and incur punishment, wherefore I considered what was best
of a dispute he had with al-JubhT, who had been asked whether God for you and brought death upon you before you reached the age of re-
might be called intelligent ('aqil) and had answered in the negative, sponsibility." ' The Sheikh said, ' Then, if the unbeliever says, " 0 my
contending that " intelligence " ('aql) was derived from " halter " ('igdl) Lord, Thou didst know his condition as Thou knewest mine; therefore
and that the halter restrained, and because restraint was impossible with why didst Thou not consider also what was best for me?"-what?'
respect to the reality of God, the expression was prohibited. Al-AS'ari Then al-Jubbii'i was nonplussed."
replied, "According to your analogy, God may not be called 'wise ' The Mutazilah were firmly convinced that God would do only what
(hakim) because this name is derived from the ' ring ' (hakamah) of the was best (ma$ahah " welfare ") for each soul. Al-AS'ari had discovered
bridle, which is the iron instrument used to prevent a beast from escap- a flaw in this doctrine. Probably he questioned other Mu'tazilite dogmas
ing." H e then quoted verses in support of his position.86 as well. At any rate, in A. H. 300, during the month of Ramadiin, he
Al-AS'ari was born in Ba~rah,A. E. 260 (A. D. 873).87 Although had three visions of the P r ~ p h e t . In
~ ~the first Muhammad said to him,
reared, one infers, in Sunnite circles, he yielded at a very early age to " 0 'Ali, give your support to the opinions related on my authority, for
the attractions of the Mu'tazilite school and continued in it, as the pupil they are the reality." Al-Ar;'ari thought long and hard about this. The
of al-Jubbs'i (A. H. 235-303), until he was forty years old. He was Prophet came again and asked, "What have you done concerning the
profoundly attached to the Mu'tazilah by years of association and had thing about which I commanded you? " Al-Marl replied, ('I have done
become prominent among them, often substituting in public discussions what I could, for I have found some support for the opinions related on
for his master, whose gift was for writing rather than for rough and your authority." Mul~ammadsaid, " Give your support to the opinions
ready disputation. The exhibition of his talents must have afforded related on my authority, for they are the reality." A1-AS'ari then re-
al-AI'ari much pleasure as well as constant occupation. What first threw
solved to give up the kaldm and devoted himself assiduously to the Qur'itn
'* T h e y were rigid Sunnitrs, but there was a Bi'ite 'alim named Abil Ja'far and to tradition. 011the twenty-seventh of the month, forced by drowsi-
al-A8'ari ( P i h r i s t , r d . Fliijiel 2 2 2 ) . ness to give 11p his vigil, al-As'ari had a third vision, in which 3lu]>nm-
AS-hhrastiini r q m s r ~ ~ Ah11 t s Mli~iins defending the qadar against 'Alnr ibn mad again asked whtlt he had done to fuIfil the cornm:intl laid upon Ilinr.
S I I - ' ~ ~ !S ( K i t O b ul-mila1 t o ~ ~ ' ~ ~ i6 !6 t) a. l This time al-AB'ari :~nnounced that he 1 i : ~ l forsilk~rl the liuliin~;IIKI
" S p i t t a , op. c i t . 30 IT.
AS-Subki 251. Cf. Afaqcil8t 526.
O n thc c1:dcx of hix birth and death scc Spitta, op. c i t . 30, 37, 115, 140;
Mehren, " Expoab " 183, 200. O0 Spitta, op. c i t . 47 If. Ax Subki 24ti.
28 Al-Ibanah 'An Ugul Ad-Diyanah Al-ASari and His Theology 29

studied only the Book and the sunnah. The Prophet replied that this some of them of considerable bulk. Of his writings, the following seven
was not what he had ordered him to do. Then al-AB'ari protested that are now known to exist:
he could not relinquish views he had held thirty years. Muhammad (1) The Ibdnah. There are two printed editions, published respec-
promised him God's aid, and when al-A2ari waked up he began a new tively at Eyderabad (A. H. 1321) and Cairo (A. H. 1348).8' Trans-
life. "Everything besides truth is error," he said, and commenced at lations of portions of this work by Spitta,gs Mehren,'O0 and Macdonald lol
once to adore what he had burned and to burn what he had adored. are referred to below. Goldziher lo2and Wensinck lo3have translated
Another story 91 tells of his retirement at home for fiftten days and his small portions of the Ibdnah. The work is highly combative in tone. I n
return to public life in a new character. He climbed into the pulpit of the present state of knowledge, it seems impossible to assign it a precise
the mosque and solemnly announced the change God had effected in him. date. I n any case, it must have been written after the auth.or7sconver-
It was characteristic of him to make the most of such an opportunity. sion in A. H. 300. I n it al-A2ari displays a very high degree of forensic
These traditions indicate that aLA8.ari suffered a short period of acute genius. The following pages afford so many illustrations of his acumen
perplexity and tension, which in all likelihood had been preceded by a that no elaborate discussion of it is necessary here. The book, while con-
much longer phase of discontent and uneasiness. Once assurance came taining an adequate statement of al-A8.ari7stheological position, is not a
he resumed his old occupation-but with a different purpose. Hence- systematic treatise so much as an arsenal of arguments, capable of use
forth he was untiring in his contest with heresy. There are anecdotes as a manual of telling replies to the unorthodox.
about his cleverness in dispute and his knowledge of the law as well as of (2) Among the works attributed to al-Agari is the Risdlah f l stihsdn
theology. He was identified with the madhab (school) of ag-88fi'i, and, al-bawd fi '1-kaldrn--or "Tract in Favor of the Free Use of the
while resident in BagdZd, attended the lectures of the Slfi'ite faqZh kahim "-a reasoned justification of the kaGm as a method of arriving
(legal expert) Abii Ishiiq al-Marwazi s2 in the mosque of Mansiir. As- at truth.lo4 I n it the author tells of a certain party of obscurantists-
Subki emphatically denies that he was a MBliki. 81-A?ari7s school had perhaps the Hanbalites-who will have nothing to do with inquiry into
some difficulties with the Hanbalites, and the Sheikh himself, perhaps the roots of Isllm, and "think that the kaldm concerning motion, rest,
because he realized the desirability of avoiding a quarrel with them, regis- substance, accidents, essences, external forms, atoms, the fafrah, and the
ters himself in the Ibdnah as a follower of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. How- attributes of the Creator" is error, on the ground that the Prophet said
ever, this was not simply a gesture, for in his reversion to the Qur'ln and nothing about these things. The author replies with three lines of argu-
the sunnah, and in his frequent use of " bih kayfa," O3 he approximated ment: (1) the kaldln is not explicitly condemned; (2) the roots of these
Ahmad's position, so far as the latter went. Nevertheless, Ahmad, who things are to be found in the Qur'ln and the sunnah ; ( 3 ) " the Apostle
could condemn the kalnm even when he had to admit that the conclu- of God knew these questions .. . ,but they did not arise in specific form
sions to which it led were ~nexceptionable~ would not have gone the in his time." This tractate is more likely from the hand of an AParite
whole way with al-Azari. than from al-AE;'ariYsown.
At some time in the latter part of his life Abu 1-Hasan moved to (3) The Eitdb al-luma*or " Book of Aphorisms." Spitta (op. cit. 83,
Bagdgd, where he died in A. H. 324 (A. D. 935). He was buried, fit- 84) summarizes its contents. There are ten chapters, dealing respectively
tingly enough, near Ahmad ibn Hanbal. with the Qur'gn, God's will, His visibility, the qadar, the istitd'ah, the
Despite his preference for verbal argument, al-Marl wrote many ta'dil and the tajwir (" accounting just" and "accounting unjust "),
books.s5 A number given by several authorities is fifty-five. The Pihrist
O0 H. Ritter in Der Islam 18 (1929) 40. Brockelmann, Gcsehichte der arabischen
assigns him only six. His own school knew apparently of three hun-
Literatur (1898) I 195; Supplementband I (1937) 345-0.
dred, more or less, and of these Ibn 'Asgkir mentions ninety-nine. Be- "'In the K i t d b iarh al-fiqh al-akhar.
sides letters, monographs, and refutations of individual heretics, he wrote The Hyderabad text is indicated, in the notes to the present version, by the
commentaries on the Qur'iin and works on tradition, dogma, and heresy, aymhol IT, the Cairo text by 8.
so See below, 43. l o oSee below, 43. '"See below, 49.
O1 Spitta, op. cit. 49 f. As-SubkI 246. lo' Vorlesungen iiber den Islam ( 1925) 119 ff.
D. 951. 'OJ The Muslim Creed 88 ff.
O' This convenient and essentially meaningless phrase was in common uae.
loATranalntion in hl. IIorten, Die philosophischen Systeme der spekulativen
O A Patton, op. cit. 32, 33. Spitta, op. cit. 61 ff. Theologen im Islam (1912) 023 ff.
30 Ak-Zbanuh 'An Usul Ad-Diyinuh Al-AS'ari a n d His Theology 31

faith, the particular and the universal, the promise and the threat, and went in his school. He himself is an enigma, from a literary point of
the imiimate. The third chapter, on the divine will, has been translated view, and so long as we have no precise knowledge of the chronological
into German by Joseph Hell.105 order of his writings-nor, indeed, any assurance that all the works
(4) The Risiilat al-%man,a tract on faith. Spitta (op. cit. 101-104) ascribed to him are really his own-we cannot be certain of the course
presents a translation of this work, in which al-AB'ari defends the of development his theology followed, if in reality it suffered any re-
uncreatedness of faith. markable change between the first few years after his conversion and the
(5) The RisBlah kataba bihd ild ah1 a!-jagr bi b8.b al-abwdb. (Cf. last years of his life. I n view of these considerations, the present essay
Spitta, op. cit. 81).lo0 will confine itself, in its r h m 6 of al-8B'ariys doctrine, to the Ibdnah
( 6 ) The Maqdldt al-lsldmiyy%n. This work " contains ( a ) a heresi- and the creed. The latter reads as follows:
ology, (b) the orthodox creed, (c) different opinions on philosophical I. The substance of that upon which the Sunnites take their
questions-a division which is identical with that of the chief work of stand is the confession of God, His angels, His books, His apostles,
John of Damascus, though the arrangement is different in t h a t in John's the revelation of God, and the Tradition of the trustworthy on the
Foundation (sic) of Knowledge (the title of the tripartite work) the authority of God's Apostle; and they do not reject any of those
logical part forms the introduction to the other two." lo* things. God is one God, single, eternal. There is no god besides
Him. H e has neither wife nor children. Muhammad is His servant
Quotations from and references to the Maqdlat occur throughout the and Apostle. Paradise is a reality, and Hell is a reality. There is
present work. It is mature and objective and one is inclined to suppose no doubt about the Coming Hour, and God will effect a resurrection
that it was written during al-AB'ari's last years in BagdBd,108 rather than from the graves.
during the long period when he was engaged with heretics of one sort or 11. God is upon His throne, as H e has said, " The Merciful is
another-if, to be sure, we are entitled to conclude that he ever gave up seated on The Throne." 110 H e has two hands, bild kayfa, as H e has
this sort of work. Whenever it was written, it is certainly the earliest said, " I have created with My two hands," 111 and as He has said,
and in many respects the best work of its kind, and I have therefore not "Nay! outstretched are both His hands; " 112 and H e has two eyes,
bild kayfa, as H e has said, " Under Our eyes it floated on; " 113 and
scrupled to quote from i t generously. H e has a face, as He has said, "And the face of thy Lord shall abide
('7) The Qawl jumlat q h & b al-had%! wa ah1 as-sunnah fi 'I-i'tiqdd resplendent with majesty and glory." 11*
(Brockelmann, Supplementband I 345). 111. It is not to be said that the names of God are anything but
And now, what of al-AH'ari's theology? I n retrospect, he assumes the Himself, as the Mu'tazilah and the UBrijites believe. The Sunnites
appearance of an accomplished intellectual diplomatist, who drafted the confess that God has knowledge, as H e has said, " I n His knowl-
kalam into the service of orthodoxy, took a mean position-halfway be- edge H e sent it down," 115 and as He has said, "And no female con-
ceiveth or bringeth forth without His knowledge." 116
tween rationalism and anthropomorphism-, and paved the way for the
IV. They assert the existence of His hearing and sight; and
subsequent rationalization and intellectualization of IslBm. Up to this they do not deny that those things belong to God, as the Mu'tazilah
point we have accepted posterity's view of him. But the al-AH'ari of the do. They assert that God has prowess (quwwah), as H e has said,
Ibdnah and the creed in the Maqddt 'OD does not answer to such a de- " Saw they not that God Who created them was mightier than they
scription. H e is simply a disciple of Ahmad ibn Hanbal's, without the in prowess ? " 117
I:ltttr7s prejudice against the kttl8m. On the one hand, his is not the V. They believe that there is no good or evil on earkh, except
first effort to usc the kaldm for orthodox purposes: and on the other what God wishes; and that things arc by the wish of God, as He
h:~nd,he cannot be held wholly responsible for the alterations it under- has said, "But wish it ye shall not, unless as God wisheth it," 118 and
as the Muslims say, "What God wishes is, and what 1Ie does not
"'6 Von Mollantn~cdIris Ghaziili (1923) 49-59. wish is not."
'Oa I regret t h a t Qiw&~ncddin'sedition of this work, ~ ~ t e ~ ~ t i oby
n e Ritter,
d in VI. They believe that nobody has the capacity to do a thing
not ~ c w s s i b l rto&. before he does i t ; ant1 that nobody is capable of quitting the spherc
lo' Wensinck, Tlw Muslim Creed 87.

'OR I t wan 11ot writtert Ir~forcA. IT. 291 (Itittcr in the I ~ ~ t r o d u c t ito
o ~the
~ Qnr'Xn 20.4. 'I3 Ibid. 54. 14. Ilrid. 35. 12.
Mnqdl& 15). Ibid. 38. 75. Ilrid. 55. 27. Ibid. 41 . 14.
= l aIbid. 5. 09. "= Ibid. 4. 104. Ibid. 81. 29.
32 Al-Ibanah 'An Usti1 Ad-Diyanah Al-AS'ari a n d His Theology 33
of God's knowledge, or of doing anything God knows he will not do. God and Muhammad is God's Apostle,lZ2 according to what the
They confess that there is no creator save God; and that Cod creates traditions say; and Isliim, according to them, is not the same thing
the works of human beings; and that human beings are not capable as faith.
of creating anything
XI. They confess that God changes men's hearts.
VII. God gives the faithful grace to be obedient to Him and XII. They confess the intercession of God's Apostle, and believe
deserts the infidels. He favors the faithful, helps them, does what is that it is for the grave sinners of his people and for the punishment
salutary for them, and guides them; but He does not favor the infi- of the grave. They confess that the Pool is a reality, and the
dels, nor does He do what is salutary for them or guide them. If Bridge is a reality, and the resurrection after death is a reality,
He did what was salutary for them they would be sound; and if H e and God's settlement of His account with human beings is a reality,
guided them, they would be guided. God is capable of doing what and the standing in God's presence is a reality.
is salutary for the infidels and favoring them so that they may
become believers; nevertheless He wills not to do what is salutary for XIII. They confess that faith is word and deed, subject to in-
the infidels, and not to favor them so that they may become be- crease and decrease, and they do not call i t created or u n ~ r e a t e d . ~ ~
lievers, but wills them to be infidels, as He knows, and deserts them They say, "The names of Cod are God." They do not relegate any
and misguides them and seals their hearts. Good and evil depend mortal sinner to Hell, and they do not assign any of the unitarians
upon the general and particular decrees of God. They believe in to Paradise, but wait for God to send them where He wishes. They
God's general and particular decrees, and His good and evil, His say, "Their lot is in God's hands; if He wishes H e mill punish
sweet and bitter. They believe that they are not their own masters them, and if He wishes He will forgive them." They believe that
for weal or for woe, save as God wishes, as B e has said. They com- God will take certain of the unitarians out of Hell, according to
mit their affairs to God, and assert their need of God at all times what is stated in the traditions related on the authority of God's
and their dependence upon God under all circumstances. Apostle. They discountenance arguments and quarrels concerning
Isliim, and contentions concerning the qadar, and discussions con-
VIII. They believe that the Qur'h is the uncreated Word of God. cerning such religious questions as the disputers discuss and wrangle
As for the kal&n concerning the neutral position (waqf) 'la and about, in agreement with the sound traditions and with the content
the utterance,120 those who discuss the utterance and the neutral of the ii_tiir,12*which the trustworthy have related, one just man on
position are innovators according to them. It is not to be said that the authority of another, back to God's Apostle. They do not say
the utterance of the Qur'iin is created, or that it is uncreated. how or why, because that is innovation.
IX. They believe that God will be beheld by sight on the day of XIV. They believe that God does not command evil, but forbids
resurrection: as the moon is beheld on the night it is full shall the it; and that He commands good; and that He has no pleasure in
faithful behold Him; but the infidels shall not behold Him, because evil, even though He mills it.
they will be veiled from God. God has said, "Yea, they shall be
shut out as by a veil from their Lord on that day." lZ1 Moses asked XV. They recognize the reality of the men of old, whom God
God for the sight of Him in this world, and God manifested Him- elected to be the Companions of His Prophet, and they cherish their
self to the mountain and turned it to dust, and so taught Moses that virtues and keep clear of what is disputed among them, be it small
he should not see Him in this world, but should see Him in the or great. They give priority to Abii Bakr, then 'Umar, then 'Utmiin,
next world. then 'Ali, and confess that they are the rightly guiding, rightly
guided caliphs, the best of all men next to the Prophet.
X. They do not brand any of the people of the qiblah an infidel
for any grave sin he may commit, such as fornication, or theft, or XVI. They ratify the traditions that are related on the authority
any such grave sin; but hold that they are believers to the extent to of God's Apostle to the effect that God descends to the lower heaven
which they have faith, even though they commit grave sins. Faith, and says, "Who seeks forgiveness?," as the tradition is related on
according to them, is faith in God, His angels, His books, His apos- the authority of God's Apostle. They hold fast to the Book and the
tles, and in the qndar, its good and its evil, its sweet and its bitter. sunnah, as God has said, " If in aught ye differ, bring it to God and
What misses them was not to befall them, and what befalls them was lg'Here i s the Y'ahddah (brief statement of belief) in its final form. The five
not to miss them. Islam is bearing witness that there is no God but "pillars of Islam " are not enumerated a s such either here or in the Ibcinah.
' l o See I)c~low,
80 and Goldziher, op. eit. 328. Some persons declined to take either l'SA1-AB'ari does, however, call it created in his tract on the subject, if the
side in the c o ~ ~ t r o v e r son
y the &ur'%rr,and this position was known a s the waqf. latter i s genuirie.
la' The cijcir arc traditions handed down from the Companions. The ahhdr are
lZO See below, 81.
''l Qur'ln 83. 15. traditions that come from the Prophet.
34 Al-lbanah 'An Usul Ad-DiyGnuh At-Af'ari a n d His Theology 35

the Apostle," lZ5 and they approve loyalty to the past imnms of XXIX. And that God knows what human beings do and has
Islam, and agree that they ought not to introduce into their religion written that these things shall be; and that things are in the hand
novelties that God does not permit; of God. They approve patience in the face of what God has or-
XVII. They confess that God will bring the dead to life on the dained, and holding fast to what God has commanded, and refusing
day of resurrection, as He has said, " And thy Lord shall come and what God has refused, and purity of manners, and sincere counsel
the angels rank on rank; " lZ6 and that God is near His creatures, to the Muslims. They believe in the service of God in His servants,
as He wishes, even as He has said, " We are nearer to him than his and sincere counsel to the congregation of the Muslims, and the
neck vein." lZ1 avoidance of grave sins, fornication, perjury, party spirit, vain-
glory, self-esteem, condemnation of men, and pride.
XVIII. They approve the Feast, and the Friday Assembly, and
gatherings for prayer, under the leadership of any imam, pious or XXX. They approve the avoidance of everyone who summons to
dissolute. They receive the wiping of the sandals as a sunmh and innovation; and diligence in the reading of the Qur'kn, and the
approve i t at home and in travel. They believe in the precept of writing of the $dr, and legal research with humility and restraint
the jihad lZ8 against the polytheists, from the time God sent His and urbanity; and devotion to what is known, and the shunning
Prophet to the last of the band that will fight against Antichrist. of what is injurious; and the abandonment of mysteries, slander,
and thereafter. evil speaking, and too great anxiety about food and drink.
XIX. They approve prayer for the welfare of the imams of the XXXI. This, then, is the substance of what they command and
Muslims, and agree that they ought not to "go out " against them use and approve; and we hold all the beliefs of theirs we have men-
with the sword, and that they ought not to fight in civil commo- tioned and adopt them as our views. Our grace is but by Cod, and
tions (fitnah). They believe that Antichrist will go forth, and that He is our s&ciency. How excellent is His agent! I n God do we
'Is& ibn Maryam will slay him. seek help, in Him do we trust, and to Him is the return.
XX. They believe in Munkar and Nakir, and the Ascension, and I n the last paragraph of this formulary, the Sheikh subscribes to all it
visions in sleep, and hold that prayer for the Muslim dead and alms contains, and identifies himself completely with the Sunnite position.
in their behalf after their decease avail for them. His claim to be regarded as a Sunnite is advanced i n all sincerity, and
XXI. They believe that there is witchcraft in the world, and its validity must be allowed. Al-AFari is as much a conservative and a
that the wizard is an infidel, as God says, and that sorcery is actually traditionist as Ahmad; but he has a far more acute mind, and cannot
in existence in the world.
be satisfied with Ahmad's obscurantism. He accepts a multitude of doc-
XXII. They approve prayer for every departed person of the trines and practices, primarily, if not solely, upon the authority of tra-
people of the qiblah, pious or dissolute, and recognize that one may
inherit from them. dition. Several times, in the Ibdnah, he quotes a number of traditions
in confirmation of a position already established by argument. These
XXIII. They confess that Paradise and Hell are created;
components of his theological and disciplinary system (he is at no pains
XXIV. And that he who dies, dies at his appointed term, and to separate doctrine and discipline in his formularies) need not claim
likewise he who is slain, is slain at his appointed term;
our attention very long at this point; the notes below cast sufficient light
XXV. And that God bestows His sustenance upon His servants, on their background to enable the reader to see how much al-AZari ac-
be it lawful or prohibited; and that Satan whispers to men, and
makes them doubt, and tramples upon them; cepted from the past. From Ahmad comes his doctrine of the Qur'kn,
XXVI. And that God may give to the righteous particularly the and he is quite as rigid as Ahmad in his condemnation of innovating
signs that appear to them. discussions regarding it. I n the Ibnnah he lays down principles for its
XXVII. And that the sunnah is not abrogated by the QurEn; 12" interpretation: God addresses the Arabs only in their classical language,
and the usage of the latter is decisive; the Book does not contradict
XXVIII. And that the lot of infants is in the hands of God:
if TTe wishcs, JTe punishes them, and if IIe wishes, He does with itself; it is to be construed literally, except by proof, and a particular
then) w h a t I Ie wills; meaning is to be given it only by ijmri' and by proof. The Qurln, for
him as for Ahmod, is the eternal, uncreated Word of God-a predicate of
126 Q I I ~ ' R I I 4 . 02. I Z TIbid. 50. 15. God's, like His knowledge.
la' I I l l . 80. 23. Wcnsinck, op. cit. 27. "The n:tmes of God arc God." n i s predicates are eternal; they exist
l Z s Larorr~cns,Islam, nclicfs and Institutions, tr. Ross (1929) C5ff.
eternally in God. But what of the divine face, hands, eyes mentioned in
36 Al-Ibanah 'An U@l A d - D i y h a h Al-Ali'ari and His Theology 37
the Qur'Hn? Here, as in the case of the predicates strictly so-called, one are merely aspects of a single kind. It is hardly possible, indeed, to tell
must steer a middle course between ta'fil, stripping God of His attri- precisely how far apart the two sheikhs stood on this question.
butes, and tanzih, declining to recognize in Him any resemblance to the No creed of al-MBturidi's is available for comparison, but in the book
created world, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, tas'bih, making known as Ar-raw&h al-bahigyah,181 a twelfth century work, thirteen
God too closely like His creatures, and tajsim, clothing Him with a body differences between the Ali'arite and the MBturidite schools are
like ours. " Bila kayfa" is the magic form of words; and it proves enumerated :
nothing, except that God's face, hands, eta. are neither to be explained Answer
Question
figuratively nor to be regarded as similar to our own corresponding mem- al-Afi'ari al-MBturidi
bers. Yet when he discusses God's being seated on the Throne, al-Ali'ari,
1. When one calls a certaiq person a be-
in his eagerness to prove that the Throne is in a definite place and that
liever, must one add, <' If God
it is not merely an image of Cod's sovereignty, is so literalistic as to seem
almost an anthropomorphist jn comparison with later theologians.
wishes ? " . . .............. .... Yes. No.
2. Can a righteous man still be damned,
Faith is "word and deed, subject to increase and decrease." I s l h
a d a r n e d person still be saved?. . NO. Yes.
and faith are not coextensive. The problem of sin is not a grave one for
the al-A2ari of the Ibdnah and the creed. And no wonder! for his
3. Do infidels receive divine favors?. . NO. YeL.
4. Do deceased prophets continue to
belief in God's decree is absolute. God wills, knows, and creates all the
actions of creatures. He might, if H e wished, guide the infidels; but as
exist as prophets?. ........... . Undecided. Yes.
5. I s God's "will" the same as His
a matter of fact H e misleads them. lCHuman beings are not capable of
creating anything; '' "nobody has the capacity to do a thing before he
....... ... ...
cc satisfaction " ? . Yes. No.
does it; " " there cannot be, under the authority of God, any acquisition
6. Is blind faith true faith?. ........ Undecided. Yes.
7. " Acquisition," on which they dif -
on the part of human beings that H e does not will." Behind everything
is the arbitrary will of Cod, and even man's " acquisition " or "appro-
fered ........................
8. Can God punish one who obeys Him ? Yes. No.
priation >' (iktisiib) of the deeds God wills for him implies no independ-
9. I s our knowledge of God the result
ence on his part.
The Murjite "sect" is the only one whose beliefs have found a place
of revelation or of riason?. . ... .. Revelation. Reason.
10. Are God's active attributes eternal,
in this creed. Against the other sects al-Agari takes a determined stand.
The two other Sunnite theologians of al-APariYsperiod, at-Tahiiwi and
..
or do they come to an end?. . . . Come to an end. Eternal.
11. I s (rod's eternal Word heard, or not? Yes. No.
al-MHturidi, were Hanifites. The Ibdnah contains several traditions
12. Can God hold man responsible for
that disparage Abii Hanifah. These three thinkers, despite their com-
mon purpose, were not in complete agreement on all questions. A certain
what he cannot do?. . .... ... ...
Yes. No.
13. The Hanifites believed that prophets
rapprochement between the AParite and the Miituridite schools undoubt-
were preserved from all sins; the
edly took place in later times; but al-APari himself was not wholly of one
AParites, that they could commit
mind with his two contemporaries. Where he diverges from at-Tahgwi,
light sins.
to be sure, the difference is chiefly one of language and emphasis. One
point, however,-the question of the capacity-requires special notice. Of these differences, 4 and 13 may be struck out at once, since the
Al-APari makes the flat statement that nobody has the capacity to do a al-APari we are considering did not discuss them. I n the Ibdnah, al-
thing before he does it. At-TahHwi makes a distinction between the APariYsuse of Tradition implies that he would have answered 2 in the
ability God gives and the ability that consists in a natural fitness for the affirmative, instead of in the negative. Article XIV of the Maqdadt creed
performance of actions. Nevertheless, although he seems to regard the shows that al-AB'ari said " no " to question 5, and not " yes." The state-
imposition of religious duties as based upon the latter ability,lsOthe lan- ment of the Rawhh with regard to 11 and 12 is in accord with d--
guage in which he phrases his belief implies that the two kinds of ability APariJs theology as we know it from the Ibanah and the creed; and he
Cf. Wensinck, op. cit. 157. ln Spitta, op. cit. 112 ff.
Al-Zbanah 'An U@l Ad-Diyinah
would probably have answered 8 and 9 in the way the Rawdah represents
BIBLIOGRAPHY
him as answering them. On the question of the acquisition, al-Maturidi
probably took the more liberal view of the two from the beginning. The ( a ) Works of al-ASari's:
answer to 1 is very likely correct. Numbers 6 and 10, like 4 and 13, are
questions discussed rather by later AB'arites than by al-Agari. 1 Kitdb al-ibdnah 'an usti1 ad-diycinah (Hyderabad A. H. 1321) (Cairo A.H.
1348).
The information given by the Rawdah cannot be accepted without A few observations on the translation will be pertinent here. The divisions
much criticism; and, in addition, one must beware of reading back into and the text of the Cairo edition have been followed throughout.13e I regret
the teaching of the-founders the differences of the schools. Nevertheless that considerations of time and expense have prevented me from making a
the founders, in all likelihood, really disagreed on some important eritical study of the manuscripts. However, the Cairo text is critical lS7-at
points.la2 least, according to Oriental standards-and I am confident t h a t it is sound
enough for practical purposes. I have called attention i n the footnotes to all
Al-Agari's school did not at once attain to security. Under
the variant readings of the Hyderabad text t h a t seem worthy of considera-
Tugrilbeg (died A. H. 455), the vizier al-Kmduri succeeded in effect- tion. The quotations from the Qur'Bn have been borrowed-in many instances
ing an extensive persecution of the Agarites, and this was the occasion with slight alterations-from Rodwell's t r a n ~ 1 a t i o n . l ~ ~
of a widespread dispersion of the Aii'arite teachers. Under Alp Arslan, If the style of my rendering occasionally seems unsuitably colloquial, I
the persecution came to an end; and the vizier Niziim al-Mulk, four years beg the reader t o attribute the lapse, not to a want of taste, but t o a
desire-not always realized, perhaps-to express a s fully as possible the
later, gave the Aii'arites an academy in Bagdiid. From that time on, they
manner of the original. When he encounters a tradition with a long and
were established in the Muslim world. Their position had been chal- intricate chain of authorities, he should remember t h a t the antecedent of a
lenged in the vitriolic tirades of Ibn H a m , the 3iihirite (died A. H. pronoun i n the first person, in such a tradition, is t h e name of the original
456) ; but, not much later, Ibn Tiimart achieved his great success in authority, and the latter is the person who relates the anecdote or quotes
North Africa, and both AB'arite and Ziihirite elements were to be found the dictum t h a t is the substance of the tradition. So long as the reader
remains aware of this fact, he will labor under no confusion. Manifestly,
in his teaching. The great Afi'arites al-BBqilliini, Ibn Ffirak, al-IsfarB'ini,
the use of quotation marks in the translation of traditions is impracticable.
al-QuHayri, al-Juwayni, and al-BazBli, succeeded one another. Al-
Juwayni dealt with the roots of the law, and, like al-AB'ari, did not 2 Eitcib maqdcit al-isldmiyyila wa 'htilgf al-musallin (Bibliotheca Islamica I ) ,
edited by H. Ritter (1929-30). Issued in two parts, with continuous pag-
recognize qiy&.la3 A1-Baziili likewise follows the Master; his roots are ing. There is a translation of the chapter on the Bgrijites in 0.Rescher,
the Qur'iin, the sunnah, and the ijmd' lS4 I n theology, the adherence of Orientalistische Miszellen (1925) 132-105.
the school to the founder was less close. "Apart from isolated efforts, 3 Riscilah fi 'sbihscin al-bawd fi 'I-kaldm (A. H. 1323)
the development of Muslim dogmatics from the age of al-ABari to the
present day follows a course which can be characterized as that of a ( b ) Arabic sources for the life of al-AVari:
growing intellectualism." la5 Against this sterility so fine a soul as
1 Ibn 'As&kir.l3D Mehrcn and Spitta have used his E i t d b tabyin ki&b at-muftari
al-Gaziili's could not but rebel. He is even more a symbol than al-AB'ari; f i m a nasaba ila '1-imam Abi'l-pasan al-Ad'ari in their works listed below.
for into the latter's union of tradition and reason-the latter wonder- There is a printed edition (A. H. 1347), which I had no opportunity of
fully developed since al-Agari's death-he brought mysticism. The rude consulting before the completion of the present study.
religion of Muhammad had sustained the impact of its encounter with 2 Ibn Ballikan, Ifitdb wafaydt al-a'yitn wa anbci' abna' az-zamcin ( A . H. 1299)
many forces-Christian theology, Neoplatonism, Greek philosophy in 3 volumes (the biographical sketch of al-AS'ari is in I 586-587) ; Ibn
general, science, skepticism-, and the strands of tradition, reason, and Hhallikan's Biographical Dictionary, translated by W . Mac G. de Slam
devotion, in the person of the greatest of Muslim theologians, were once ( 1842-71) 4 volumes.

more bound together in the firm knot of conviction. 3 M-Batib al-BagdFdi, Ta'ri!~Bajdfitl (A. H . 1340) 14 volumes.

IS' These matters of difference were not secondary, as Spitta thinks. See the
article " MBturidi " in thc Encyclopaedia of IslLm.
lSSM. Schreiner in ZDMG 52 (1898) 403.
la' M. Schreiner, " Zur Geschichte des Ak'aritenthums " 97.

lS5 Wensinck, op. eit. 248.


42 Al-Ibanah 'An Ufil Ad-Diganah
24 Riiling, J., Beitrlge zur Eschatologie des I s h n ( 1 8 9 5 ) .
25 Smith, M., Studies in Early Mysticism in the Near and Middle East ( 1 9 3 1 ) . TRANSLATION
26 Weil, G., Geschichte der Chalifen (1846-51) 3 volumes.
27 Wellhausen, J., Das arabische Reich und sein Sturz ( 1 9 0 2 ) ; The Arab King-
dom and its Fall, translated by M. G. Weir ( 1 9 2 7 ) . I n the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
28 Wensincli, A. J., A Handbook of Early Muhammadan Tradition (1927) ; The
Muslim Creed ( 1 9 3 2 ) . The Sayyid and Imsm Abu '1-Hasan 'Ali ibn IsmB'i1 al-Agari al-Basri
29 Wright, W., A G r a m u a r of the Arabic Language (1933) 2 volumes.
(may God have mercy upon him !) l said :
Praise to God ! the One, the Almighty, the Glorious, the only One to
whom unity is ascribed, the Magnified in praise, whom the attributes of
human beings do not adequately describe. He has neither adversary nor
rival, and He is the Creator and the Restorer, "the Doer of what H e
wills." He is too exalted to possess consorts or children: too holy to
associate with the genera of creation or things corrupt. H e has not any
form capable of expression, nor is a definition of Him by means of a
simile possible. He has always had the attributes of primacy and power,
and He will always continue to be knowing and cognizant. His knowl-
edge embraces created things, His will is fully realized in them, and
the secrets of things are not far from Him. The vicissitudes of passing
time do not alter Him, nor does fatigue or weariness overtake Him in
the creation of anything He creates, nor does exhaustion or loss of power
touch Him. He creates things by His power, directs them by His wish,
compels them by His strength, and reduces them by His might; where-
fore the proud submit to His power, the lofty are subject to the strength
of His lordship, doubters are cut off from a sure foundation in the knowl-
edge of Him, to Him the necks of men submit, and the prudence of the
discreet is confounded in His kingdom. By His word, the seven heavens
arose, the extended earth is fixed, the firm mountains are established,
the "fertilizing winds" blow, the clouds pursue their journey in the
celestial atmosphere, and the seas observe their bounds. He is a com-
pelling God: to whom the strong do homage and the exalted bow, and
the worlds render Him their duty whether they will or no.*
We praise Dim as He praises Himself, and as He merits and deserves,
= T h e devout ejaculations of the original are almostly invariably omitted from
thc translation.
a A translation of the opcning section into German will he found in Spitta,
op. cit. 88-101, and a translation into French in hfchren, op cit. 208-220.
Qur'fin 11. 109. ' Cf. ibid. 112. 3.
Or '' limit cqmblc of being c\p~esscdI)y a similc," i. c., to wllicl~thcre is a
conntt~p:trt:tn:onf created tl1ing2. S w \17cwsinck, T l ~ cMusl~rnCrcrtl 210.
" 011c1112. 11:~s" ~ ) r c ~ ~"~ t l t ~ l Qur'fin 15. 22.
' 11 omits. Instcxd of " Ilc is a c o ~ ~ ~ p c l l God,"
i n g it ~ e : ~ d"sl i e i , the‘ OIIC Goti,
t i l e ( I I I I I ~ ~ I I C."I
43
44 Al-Ibiinuh 'An Upil Ad-Diyinah Translation 45

and as the praisers among all [p. 61 His creatures praise Him. We made clear to us the religious law of Isllm, until by him the dark night
ask His help in the manner of one who entrusts his affairs to Him and of gloom was lifted from us, the doubts were removed from us, the
confesses that there is no asylum or refuge from Him, but only to Him. screens were drawn back, the proofs were made clear to us. He brought
We ask His forgiveness in the manner of one who confesses his wrong- us " a glorious Book. Vanity shall not come to it from before it, or from
doing and acknowledges his sin. With a confession of His unity and a behind it; it is a missive sent down from the Wise and Praiseworthy," 21
clear acknowledgment of His lordship, we bear witness that there is no in which is comprised the knowledge of "the first and the last." 22 By
God but All& alone, "who hath no associate; " that He is the One
@
him He perfected the duties and the Religion, and therefore he is the
who knows what the privy thoughts shut away and the secrets enwrap, " sure road "23 of God and His firm rope. He who holds fast to him
what souls hide, and what the seas keep out of sight, what hearts conceal, shall escape, but he who opposes him shall err and wander. I n ignorance
and "how much the wombs lessen and enlarge; with Him everything is is thy ruin, and God has urged us in His Book to hold fast to the
by measure." lo No word is concealed from Him, no pu.-pose is unknown sunnah of His Apostle; wherefore God has said, [p. 61 "What the
to Him, "not a leaf falls but He knoweth it, neither is there a grain in Apostle has given you, take: what he has refused you, refuse," 24 and
the dark places of the earth, there is neither moisture nor dryness but it God has said, "And let those who transgress his command beware, lest
is noted in a distinct writing," l1 and He knows what the doers do, and some present trouble befall them, or a grievous chastisement befall
that to which the returners return. We seek guidance from Him, and we them," 25 and, "but if they would report them to the Apostle and to
ask Him for grace (tawf%q)12to avert ruin. We bear witness that those who are in authority among them, those who desire information
Muhammad is His Servant, His Apostle, His Prophet, His Trustworthy would learn it from them," 26 and "And whatever the subject of your
One, His Chosen One, whom He sent to His creation with the light that disputes, with God doth its decision rest," 27 " and if in aught ye differ,
sheds its beams afar, with the flashing lamp, the clear arguments, the bring it to God and the A p o ~ t l e , " ~meaning
~ God's Book and His
evidences, the dazzling signs, the compelling wonders; wherefore he de- Prophet's sunnah, and He has said, "neither speaketh he from mere
livered his message from God,la consulted His good in His creation,14 impulse. The Qur'Bn is no other than a revelation revealed to him," 29
labored strenuously for God with a true zeal,15 consulted His good in the and " Say: It is not for me to change it as mine own soul prompteth. I
countries of the earth,15 and opposed the rebellious people,16 until the follow only what is revealed to me," and "The words of the faithful,
Word of God was fuliilled, until he attained success, and all l7 men when called to God and His Apostle that He may judge between them,
obeyed the truth with homage, and assurance of success came to him, are only to say, ' We have heard and we obey,' " (and so He commands
unfatigued, unwearied. Therefore, may God's grace be with him (for them to hear his words, obey his command, and beware of transgressing
he led the way to guidance and made clear ls the road of escape from it), and He has said, " obey God and obey the Apostle," 32 (and so H e
error and b l i n d n e s ~ ) and
, ~ ~ with the blessed people of his house, and with commands them to obey His Apostle, just as He commands them to obey
his chosen Companions and his pure wives, the mothers of the faithful ! Himself; and He bids them hold fast to the sunnuh of His Prophet, just
By him God informed us of the religious laws (iar$i')l9 and the ordi- as He commands them to act in strict conformity with His Book). But
nances (ahkdrn),2O of the lawful and the prohibited, and by him H e a great many of those against whom their " misery prevailed " 3a and
those over whom "Satan has won the mastery " 34-the sunan of God's
Q u r ' h 6.163. lo Ibid. 13.9. l1 Ibid. 6.59. Prophet are "behind their backs" 35 and they have inclined towards
la God gives " grace," " guidance," " right direction," " help," " preservation " forebears of theirs whose guidance in religion they have accepted and
t o the believer, while H e " deserts " and "misleads" the infidel. adopted their beliefs, set at nought the sunan of God's Apostle and
lS H: " he delivered h i s Lord's message."
l4 H : "gave good counsel t o his community." forbidden (Juynboll, Handbuch des islilmischen Gesetzes 59ff.; Macdonald, De-
l5 H omits. la H omits. l7 H omits " all." velopment of Muslim Theology 73) are also called "ahkdm."
la H omits. II seems t o mean "for he led t h e way t o illuminating guidance." " Qur'Bn 41. 41, 42. " Ibid. 4. 85. " Ibid. 24. 50.
l 0 T h e religious law of t h e Qur'Bn controls every aspect of the Muslim's life. Ibid. 50. 49. Ibid. 42. 8. " Ibid. 4.62.
The science t h a t explains BnB gppfies this law is'known a s the fiqh. Dogmatic " Ibid. 1 . 5 and passim. " Ibid. 4 . 6 2 . Ibid. 23. 108.
theology i s " the greater fiqh." " Ibid. 59.7. " Ibid. 53.3, 4. " Ibid. 58.20.
' O The five classes of a c t s : obligatory, meritorious, lawful, disapproved, and s5 Ibid. 24. 63. ' O Ibid. 10. 10. "Ibid. 2.95, 3. 184, 0 . 9 4 .
46 Al-Ibanah 'An Usul Ad-DiycEnah Translation 47

shunned them, denied and gainsaid them, by their calumny against God, and their departed forebears; so that they interpret the QurEn according
and have erred and not been rightly guided. I enjoin upon you, 0 ser- to their opinions with an interpretation for which God has neither re-
vants of God! the fear of God, and warn you against the world; for it is vealed authority nor shown proof, and which they have not derived from
fresh and sweet, and it deceives 36 its inhabitants and deludes those who the Apostle of the Lord of the Worlds or from the ancients of the past;
dwell in it, and God has said, "And set before them a similitude of the and, as a result, they oppose the traditions of the Companions, related
present life. It is as water which We send down from heaven, and the on the authority of the Prophet of God, concerning God's visibility to
herb of the earth is mingled with it, and on the morrow i t becometh dry sight, although with regard to i t the traditions come from various
stubble which the winds scatter; for God hath power over all things." sources, and the @dr upon it have been continuous, and the a@dr upon i t
To him who is in good circumstances 38 in it, it brings tears later on, and have come down in steady succession. (1) They deny the intercession
upon him to whom i t has imparted its joys in secret, it bestows the open of the Apostle of God for sinners, and reject the traditions concerning
sequel of its woes. Its abundant vanities are transitory, for the things it that are related on the authority of the ancients 44 of the past. ( 2 )
it contains agree with the judgment pronounced upon it by its Lord in They gainsay the punishment of the grave and the doctrine that the
His words, ('All on the earth shall pass away." 39 Then labor for the infidels are punished in their graves, although the Companions and the
abiding life and for endless eternity. The world shall pass away from its Successors have agreed upon this matter unanimously. (3) They main-
inhabitants, and their works shall remain as strings upon their necks.40 tain the createdness of the QurPn; thereby approximating the belief of
Know that you are mortal, and then that you return to your Lord after their brethren among the polytheists, who said, " it is merely the word
your deaths. Assuredly H e will reward those who have done evil with of a mortal "; and so they think that the Qura&nis like the word of
that which [p. ?'I they have done, and He will reward those who have a rn~rtal.'~ (4) They assert and are convinced that human beings create
done good with good. Therefore, be diligent in obedience to your Lord, evil; thereby approximating the belief of the Magians, who assert that
and refuse what He has refused you. there are two creators, one of them creating good and the other creating
evil (for the Qadariyyah think that God creates good and that Satan
creates evil). (5) They think that God may wish what is not,lT and
what He does not wish may be; in disagreement with that upon which
the Muslims have unanimously agreed, namely, that what God wishes
To begin with, there are many deviators from the truth among the is, and what He does not wish is not; and contrarily to the words of
~ ~ the ah1 al-qadar,4' whose straying desires have in-
B l u ' t a ~ i l a h and God "but ye shall not wish except God ~ish"'~--He says that we shall
clined them to the acceptance of the principles (taqlid) 43 of their leaders not wish a thing unless God has wished that we wish it-, and to His
H: " harms."
words "If God had wished, they would not have wrangled," and His
30 Qur'3n 18.43.
38 H has " & a y e h i " "his good," E " hayrah " "perplexity." The former read- words "Had We wished, We had certainly given to every soul its
ing clearly makes the better sense. Perhaps the correct reading is & a y r a l ~ .The guidance," 50 and His words " Doer of what He wills," 51 and His state-
t e s t s differ in several details. H reads: " ~ o ' h i mwho is in good circu~nstxnces ment with reference to gu'ayb, that he said, "nor can we return to it,
in it, i t brings other things after i t (the ~ o r l d ) and , on him whon~it 11ns given except God our Lord wish; our Lord embraceth all things in His ken." 62
its c o n s o l i ~ ~bever:~ges
g in secret, i t besto\vs the open sequel of its strife." Tile
:~\vk\vardncfisof "nftcr i t " disappears if we rcacl hograh i u ~ dregard this \tvord
pretation of a recognized authority. Al-As'ari means to insult the Mu'tazilah by
; I S the antecedent of " it."
:XI* ~ ~ ~ 55.2(i.
, f Ati ~the ~ bcgit~ning of this sentence E ~uisprir~ts Barciral~ for stressing their derivation from the "people of straying impulses" and the
Qadariyyah.
!jrcziral~" abuntl:~nc.c."
4 4 H omits "ancients," reading " those of the past." The word translated
' O Cf. ihid. 3. 170, 17. 14.
"ancients " is salaf, which Macdonald r e ~ ~ d e r"sFathers." " Primitive 3Zuslims "
" The Mu'hzil;th are x-A5':tri's c11ic.f :ttlvc~.s:~rics.He cnolrilnrllcc,xu.itl~:t ~ 1 1 1 1 1 -
perhaps conveys the sense better than any other translation. Like the apostolic
I I I : Iof ~ Ythvir tcn(~ts.
Christians, the salaf were idealized and imitated.
" I'coplc \vho t l i w ~ s spretlcsti~~atiot~.
'6 Qur'sn 74.25. Qur'iln 76. 30. Ibid. 11. 109.
4 3 With the fisi~tionof the l a w the possit)iliLy of i r ~ ; t ~ ~ p r ; ~ It Ii ~r\~
V ,SCIIOOIS
n :III,~
II omits. 'O Ibid. 2. 254. 6 a Ibid. 7. 87.
~ ~ ~ th(! Icgill c o ~ ~ t of
i ~ t t v r p r v t iafresh c ~ Is1:~tn
~ t C;LIII(:to :LIIet~tl. 'I'l~crowits, tllcrl--
fore, after this (kit(., no x1tcrn;itive to faglid, Ijy whicl~O I I ~ t~cccptcdt11c inter- " Il omits " not." Ibid. 32. 13.
48 Al-Ibcinuh 'An U,d Ad-Diyanuh Translation 49
Therefore the Apostle of God called them "the Magians of this Com-
God's Apostle. Of like fashion are all the innovatorethe Jahmiyyahp6
munity," 5a because they have adopted the religion of the Magians and
the M~rji'ah,B" and the Hariiriyyah,B7-deviators in their innovations,
copied their tenets, and think that there are two creators, the one for who dissent from the Book, and the sunmh, and that upon which the
good and the other for evil, just as the Magians think, and that there
Prophet and his Companions take their stand and the Community have
are evils God does not wish, as [p. 81 the Magians believe. (6) They unanimously agreed, as do the Qadariyyah Mu'tazilah. I will discuss the
think that they, and not God, have control over what is hurtful and matter chapter by chapter and point by point, God willing.e8 Help and
what is helpful to them, contrarily to the words of God to His Prophet, strength are by Him, and from Him are grace and right direction?'
" Say: I have no control over what may be helpful or hurtful to me, but
as God wisheth," 64 and in opposition to the Qur'iin and to that upon
which the people of Isliim have unanimously agreed. - (7) They think
that they alone, and not their Lord, have power over their works, and
assert that they are independent of God, and attribute to themselves If anybody says to us, " YOUhave denied the beliefs of the MuTazilah,
power over that over which they do not attribute power to God, just as the Qadariyyah, the Jahmiyyah, the Hariiriyyah, the Eifidah, and the
the Magians assert that Satan has power over evil that they do not Murji'ah; now let us know the beliefs you hold and the religion you
assert God has. Hence they are "the Magians of this Community," follow," the answer is :
since they have adopted the religion of the Magians, hold fast to their The belief we hold and the religion we follow are holding fast to the
beliefs, incline to their errors, cause men to despair of God's mercy and Book of our Lord [p. 93, to the sunnah of our Prophet,'O and to the
lose their hope of His spirit, and have condemned the disobedient to Hell traditions related on the authority of the Companions and the Successors
forever, in disagreement with God's words, "But other than this will H e and the i d m s l1 of the had%t;-to that we hold firmly, professing what
forgive to whom H e wishes." 65 (8) They think that he who enters ,4bE 'Abdalliih A b a d ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal 7"rofessed, and
Hell will not come forth from it, in disagreement with the tradition, avoiding l3 him who dissents from his belief, because he is the excellent
related on the authority of the Apostle of God, that God will bring forth i&m and the perfect leader, through whom God declared the truth, re-
people out of Hell 5e after they have been burned in it and become ashes. moved error, manifested the modes of action, and overcame the innova-
( 9 ) They deny that God has a face, notwithstanding His words "but
the face of thy Lord shall abide resplendent with majesty and glory." 67 O5 The followers of Jahm ibn Safwln, who believed " t h a t Paradise and Hell
They deny that H e has two hands, notwithstanding His words "before would perish and come to an end; and t h a t faith is merely the knowledge of God
and unbelief i s merely ignorance of Him; and t h a t none possesses t h e power of
him whom I have created with My two hands." 68 They deny that God
action save God alone; and that He is the doer and men's acts are only ascribed
has an eye,6O notwithstanding His words "under Our eyes it floated . .
to them metaphorically . and Jahm believed in the enjoining of the known
on," e0 and His words "that thou mightest be reared in Mine eye." . .
and the forbidding of the unknown. . It is related t h a t he used to say, '1
They deny that God has knowledge, notwithstanding His words " in His do not say t h a t God is a thing, because t h a t is saying t h a t He resembles created
knowledge He sent it down." 62 They deny that God has power, not- things.' He used t o say that God's knowledge originated in time, according to
what is related of him, and he used to express his belief t h a t the Qur'Bn was
withstanding His words " Possessed of might, the Unshaken." es (10) created and t h a t God might not be said to be an eternal knower of created things
They reject the tradition, related on the authority of the Prophet, that before they exist" (MagirlBt 279, 280). See also Wensinck, The Muslim Creed
God descends each night to the lower heaven,8' and other traditions 119ff.
among those that the trustworthy have handed down on the authority of ad See Introduction, 11.

OT One of the names applied to the Barijites ( M a q a l a t 127).

6Wee Wensinck, Handbook 121 for the authorities. H omits most of this, reading merely "Help is by Him."
Qur'ln 7. 188. as A translation of this section into English will be found in Macdonald, op.
66 Ibid. 4.51. Qur'ln 54. 14. eit. 283-299.
6 8 Wensinck, op. eit. 97. Wensinck, Handbook 130. The founders of the hadis science.
Ibid. 20. 40. H omits this text.
7' A. D. 780-855. On his life and work see Patton, op. cit.; Goldziher in the
Qur'ln 55.27. " Ibid. 4. 104.
BE Ibid. 38.75. Oa Ibid. 51.58.
Encyclopaedia of Islam; and the Introduction to the prevent work.
6s H: " two eyes." T S H : " dissenting from what is a t variance with his belief."
O' See below, 53, 85.
AE-ZbcEnah 'An Uyil Ad-DiycEnah Translation
tions of the innovators, the deviation of the deviators, and the skepticism capacity to do anything until God causes him to act, and we are not
of the skeptics. The mercy of Cod be upon him,-for he is an eminent independent of God, nor can we pass beyond the range of God's knowl-
imam and an exalted, honored friend,Pr4 and upon all the other irnIZms edge; and that there is no creator save God, and the works of human
of Islam! 74 The substance of our belief is that we confess God, His beings are things created and decreed by God (as He has said, " God has
angels,75 His books, His apostles, the revelation of God,76 and what the created you and what you make ") ; and that human beings have not
trustworthy have handed down on the authority of God's Apostle, reject- the power to create anything, but are themselves created (as H e has said,
ing none of them. We confess that God is one Cod-there is no god but " I s there a creator other than God?," 89 and as He has said, "they
He-unique, eternal, possessing neither consort nor child; and that create [p. 101 nothing, but are themselves created,." and as He has
Muhammad is His Servant and Apostle, whom H e sent with the guid- said, " Shall He then who creates be as he who creates not?," 91 and as
ance and the real Religion; and that Paradise is real and Hell is real; He has said, "Were they created by nothing or were they the crea-
and that there is no doubt regarding the Coming Hour; " and that God tors?," m for this is mentioned in God's Book frequently) ;and that God
will raise up those who are in the graves; and that God is seated on His gives the faithful grace to be obedient to Him, is gracious to them, con-
throne (as He has said, "The Merciful is seated on the Throne") ;78 siders them, does what is salutary for them, guides them; whereas He
and that He has a face (as He has said, " but the face of thy Lord shall causes the infidels to err, does not guide them, does not give them the
abide resplendent with majesty and glory ") ;79 and that H e has two grace to believe,03 as the deviators and rebels think (for, if He were
hands, bila kayfa (as H e has said, "I have created with My two gracious to them and did what was salutary for them, they would be
hands," and as He has said, "Nay! outstretched are both His sound; and if H e guided them, they would be guided; as He has said,
hands ") ;81 and that He has an eye? bila kayfa (as H e has said, " He whom God guides is the guided, and they whom He misleads shall
"under Our eyes it floated on"),83 and that anybody who thinks that be the lost ") ;g4 and that God has power to do what is salutary for the
the names of God are other than He is in error; and that God has knowl- infidels and be gracious to them, that they may become believers, never-
edge (as He said, "in His knowledge H e sent it down,." and as H e theless He wills that they be infidels, as He knows; and that H e forsakes
said, "and no female conceiveth or bringeth forth without His knowl- them and seals up their hearts; and that good and evil are dependent
edge ") .85 We also assert that God has hearing and sight, and we do not upon the general and particular decrees of God. We believe in God's
deny it as the Mu'tazilah, the Jahmiyyah, and the g r i j i t e s deny it; and general and particular decrees, His good and His evil, His sweet and
we assert that God has prowess (quwwah) (as He has said, " Saw they His bitter; and we know that what passes us by was not to befall us,
not that God Who created them was mightier than they in prowess? ')) ;86 and what befalls us was not to pass us by; 95 and that human beings do
and we believe that the Word of God is uncreated, and that He has not control for themselves what is hurtful or what is helpful, except what
created nothing without first saying to it, "Be!," and it is (as He has God wishes; 96 and that we ought to commit our affairs to God and
said, " Our word to a thing when We will i t is but to say, ' Be !,.' and i t assert our complete need of and dependence upon Him. We believe, too,
is ") ; and that there is no good or evil on earth, save what God wishes ; that the Qur'iinSr is the uncreated Word of God, and that he who be-
and that things exist by God's wish; and that not a single person has the lieves the Q u r l n is created is an infidel. We hold that God will be seen
in the next world by sight ga (as the moon is seen on the night it is full,
I'H omits. so shall the faithful see Him, as we are told in the traditions that come
"On the angels, the books, and the apostles, see Lammens, L'Islam 55 f f . ;
Wensinck, The Muslim Creed 198ff. " Ibid. 37.94. O" Ibid. 10.20. Ibid. 52. 35.
loLiterally, "what comes from God." The same phrase occurs in the Maqcildt Ibid. 35.3. Ox Ibid. 10.17.
creed (diaqdllit 2 0 0 ) . IT: "what they bring from God." OS H: "does not favor them with the signs."

l1 Wensinek, IIandbook 100 f. 0' Qur'an 7. 177. U omits this text.

lqur'An 20.4. Qur'Bn 54. 14. D5Cf.Piqh Akbar I and parallels (Wensinck, The Muslim Creed 103), where
Ibid. 65. 27. Ibid. 4. 164. the samc statement i s found.
B" Ibid. 38.75. SVbid. 35. 12. O e I T : "save by God, a s He has said."

Ihitl. 5. 09. Ibitl. 41. 14. I? omits and reads " t h a t the Word of God is uncreated."
11: " two eyes." Ibid. 10.42. 9' One ms. adds " o n the day of resurrection."
52 Al-Ibcimh 'An U@l Ad-Diycinah Translation 53
down on the authority of God's Apostle) ;gs and we believe that the grave,lo8 and in the Pool,log and hold that the Scales 110 are real, and
infidels will be veiled from Him when the faithful see Him in Paradise the Bridge 111 is real, and the resurrection after death is real, and
(as God has said, "Yea, they shall be shut out as by a veil from their that God will line up human beings at the Station,l12 and settle the
Lord on that day ") ;looand that Moses asked God for the sight of Him account with the faithful. We believe that faith consists of words and
in this world, and " God manifested Himself to the mountain " and deeds, and is subject to increase and decrease; 113 and we receive the
"turned it to dust," 1°1 and taught Moses by it that he should not see authentic traditions 114 regarding it 114 related on the authority of the
Him in this world. It is our opinion that we ought not to declare a Apostle of God, which the trustworthy have transmitted, one just man
single one of the people of the qiblah lo2an infidel for a sin of which he from another, until the tradition goes back to the Apostle of God. We
is guilty, such as fornication or theft or the drinking of wine, as the believe in affection towards our forebears in the. faith,l15 whom God
Birijites hold, thinking that such people are infidels; but we believe chose for the company of His Prophet, and we praise them with the
that he who commits any of these mortal sins, such as fornication or praise wherewith God praised them, and are attached to them all. We
theft or the like, presumptuously declaring it lawful and not acknowl- believe that the excellent imam, after the Apostle of God, is Abfi Bakr
edging that it is forbidden, is an infidel.lo3 We believe that Islam is the Veracious, and that God strengthened the Religion by him and gave
more extensive than faith, and that faith is not the whole of IslBm.lo4 him success against the backsliders, and the Muslims promoted him to
We hold that God changes men's hearts,'05 and that their hearts are the imamate just as the Apostle of God made him leader of prayer, and
between two of God's finge~s,and that God will place the heavens on a they all named him the caliph of God's Apostle; then after him came
finger and the earth on a finger?' as we are told in the tradition that 'Umar ibn al-ga@b ; then 'Ukmiin ibn 'AffBn (those who fought with
comes down on the authority of God's Apostle [p. 11). We hold that him fought with him wrongfully and unrighteously) ; then 'Ali ibn Abi
we ought not to relegate any of the monotheists, or those who hold fast TBlib; wherefore these are the imams after the Apostle of God, and their
to the faith, to Paradise or to Hell, save him in whose favor the Apostle caliphate is a caliphate of prophecy. We bear witness concerning Para-
of God has borne witness concerning Paradise; lo7and we hope that dise in favor of the ten in whose favor the Apostle of God bore witness
sinners will attain to Paradise, but we fear that they will be punished in to it,"' and we are attached to all 117the Companions of the Prophet, and
Hell. We believe that God, by the intercession of Muhammad, God's avoid what was disputed among them. We hold that the four imams are
Apostle, will bring forth a people from He11 after they have been burned orthodox, divinely guided, excellent caliphs, unmatched by others in ex-
to ashes, in accordance with what we are told in the traditions related on cellence. We accept all the traditions for which the traditionists vouch:
the authority of God's Apostle. We believe in the punishment of the the descent into the lower heavens, and the Lord's saying, " I s there any
who has a request? Is there any who asks forgiveness?," and the
For references t o traditions see Wensinck, Handbook 17. other things they relate and voueh for; dissenting from what the devia-
loo Qur'iin 83. 15.
lo' Ibid. 7. 139. Cf. Baydiwi, Comm. in Cor., ed. Fleischcr, a d loc.: "When his
log Found i n the traditions (ibid. passim), b u t not explicitly i n t h e Qur'ln. The
Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, His majesty appeared t o i t a n d His three texts in the latter used t o prove the doctrine a r e 40.11, 40.49, 52.47
power and command were brouglit to bear upon it. Another interpretation i s t h a t
(Riiling, Beitrage zur Eschatologie des Islam 8 ) .
H e gave i t life and vision, so t h a t i t saw Him." logIbid. 33 8.
l0'The direction in which onc faces when praying-in the case of Muslims, to- 110 Qur'in 55.0 and passim. Wensinck, op. cit. 40.
wards Mecca. The people of thc qiblah a r e the Muslims. 11' Mawqif. See t h e Encyclopaedia of IslHm a. v.
'oSThe Fiqh Akbar I1 ( a r t . 11) adopts the same position. The earlier Fiqh 11' Cf. Testament of AbB P a n i f a h arts. 2 and 5. Fiqh Akbar I 1 a r t . 18. Both
-4kbar I and Testament of Abfi Hanifah lack the exception, simply atating t h a t
regard faith a s a fixed quantity, and the latter distinguishes works from faith.
sins do not make believers unbelievers. IK omits.
'O' Cf. Fiqh Akbar I 1 (Wensinck, The Muslim Creed 194) : "Language distin- 'Is W ~ e i n c k ,op. cit. 23. Love towards them was regarded a s a n evidence,
guis11e.s between fuith ant1 Islam. Yet there is no f a i t h without Islam a n d Islam and even a n elernent, of faith.
without faith cannot be found. The two are a s back and belly. Religion is a Cf. above, 52.
noun covering faith nnd Islam and all t h r cornn~and~nents of the law."
" 7 Literally " t h e rest of," b u t " a l l " is probably the meaning intended by the
loSA t deuth.
uuthor. See W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language ( 1 9 3 3 ) 11 'LOO.
'04 On the Last Day. Io1 Wensinck, Handbook 181.
Wensinck, op. eit. 03.
54 Al-Ibcinah 'An U@l Ad-Diy&uzlt
tors and followers of error assert. We rely, in that wherein we differ, many of the visions in sleep,133and confess that there are interpretations
upon our Lord's Book, and the sunnah of Qur Prophet, and the unanim- to them. We approve alms 134 in behalf of the Muslim dead, and
ous consent (ijma') of the Muslims and what [p. 121 it signifies; and we prayer 135 for their welfare; and we believe that God helps them by it.
do not introduce into God's religion innovations "= that God does not We accept it as true that there are wizards and witchcraft in the world,
allow, nor do we believe of God what we do not know. We believe that and that witchcraft exists in the world.130 We believe in praying for
God will come in the Day of Resurrection (as He has said, "and thy those of the people of the qiblah who are dead, the pious and the impious,
Lord shall come and the angels rank on rank ") ;120 and that God is and in the lawfulness of being their heirs.13' We confess that Paradise
near His servants, even as He wishes (as He has said, "We are nearer and Hell are created; 138 and that he who dies or is slain dies or is slain
to him than his neck vein," and as He said, " then He came nearer and a t his appointed term; and that sustenance is from God who gives it to
approached and was a t the distance of two bows or even closer ") . 1 2 V t His creatures in the permitted and the forbidden; and that Satan whis-
belongs to our religion to observe the Friday Assembly, and the feasts, pers to man and causes him to doubt lSgand infects him, contrarily
and the remaining prayers and puMic devotions under the leadship of to the belief of the MuYazilah and the Jahmiyyah (as God has said,
every pious man or impious (as it is related of 'Abdalliih ibn 'Umar 123 " They who swallow down usury shall arise in the resurrection only as he
that he used to pray behind al-Hajjiij) ;12* and we believe that the ariseth whom Satan hath infected by his touch," and as H e has said,
wiping of the sandals lZ5is a sunnah at home and in travel, contrarily to "against the mischief of the stealthily withdrawing whisperer, who whis-
the belief of anybody who denies it; and we approve prayer for the pereth in man's breast-against jinn and men ") .141 We believe that God
welfare of the imams of the mu slim^,'^^ and the confession of their can design particularly for the just the signs He manifests to them. Our
imiimate; and we regard it as an error on anybody's part to approve belief regarding the children of the polytheists is that God will kindle a
"going out" lZ7against them when they have clearly abandoned recti- fire for them in the next world, and then will say to them, " Rush into
tude; and we believe in abstinence l" from "going out" against them it!," as the tradition tells us concerning it. We hold [p. 131 that God
with the sword, and abstinence from fighting in civil commotions knows what human beings are doing, and what they are going to do,
( f i t n ~ h ) . ' ~We
~ confess the going forth of Antichrist (ad-Dajjiil):SO as what has been, what is, and how what is not would have been if it had
it is contained in the tradition related on the authority of God's Apostle. been. We believe in obedience to the imams and in theM2 sincere
We believe in the punishment of the grave, and in Munkar and Nakir,131 counsel M2 of the Muslims. We approve separation from every innovat-
and in their interrogation of those who are buried in their graves. We ing tendency, and the avoidance of the people of straying i m p ~ 1 s e s . l ~
accept the h a d 3 of the Ascension (mi'nij),ls2 and regard as authentic We will give arguments for the beliefs of ours we have mentioned, and
the remaining ones we have not mentioned, chapter by chapter, and
'lo H omits "innovations " a n d reads " w h a t He does not allow us." matter by matter, God willing.14*
laO Qur'ln 89.23. laaIbid. 53.8, 9.
la' Ibid. 50. 15. '""ensinck, op. cit. 4. Wensinek, op. eit. 61 f.
'"'The notorious Umayyad general, whom some of the Muslims refused t o '?' Ibid. 20. One ms. has " faithful dead."
regard a s a believer. Ibid. 36 f., 52.
lS5Cf. Qur'ln 5.8. On the development of this view see Wensinck, The Muslim 13' Ibid. 138 f.

Creed 158 ff. On t h e traditions see Wensinck, Handbook 282. l J 7 Ibid. 90. Only those of the same religion rnay inherit from each other.
"'Al-AS'ari means the public prayer offered for the sovereign i n the butbah. Naturally, if one hluslim eonsidcrcd a n o t l ~ e rMuslinr a n infidel, h e could not
la711ere al-AS'ari repudiates the practiee of t h e Blrijites. tonvistcntly inherit from him. I t w i ~ sthe Utirijitev particularly who f e l t such
la' H : " the denial of." scruples. -
lgo No matter how great the provocation, the Sunnites discountenanced resist- '38Tlle vital question regarding 1'ar:ldise and IIell was really whether or not
ance of the ruling power. See Goldziher, Muhammedanische Studien I1 93, 97. they would disappear. The Jallinitc.; maintained t h a t they would, the Sunnites
Wensinck, op. cit. 50. t h a t they would not.
lJ1The angels of the grave. See Riiling, op. eit. 42, Wensinck in the Encyclo- '" O : " leads him :~strity."
paedia of Islfinr s. v. The names a s such do not occur in the Qur'Bn and Wensinck l L O Qur'iin 2. 276. Il: " company."
finds them in only one tradition. "l Ibid. 114.4-0. I1 has the singulal
lS1Wensinck, op. cit. 25. Qur'ln 17. 1. ''I The t r a ~ ~ s l a t i o l r
ofs Spittzl z u ~ lJIchren end here.
56 Al-Ibtinah 'An Ugiil Ad-Diyfinah
Among the things that invalidate the belief of the Mu'tazilah that God
CHAPTERCONTAINING THE Kaldm TO PROVETHE VISIBILITY OF meant, by His words " looking towards their Lord," the regard of expec-
GODTO SIGIIT (ab@r) I N THE NEXTWORLD."' tation, is the fact that He said "looking towards their Lord," whereas
the regard of expectation 153 as they understand it it cannot be con-
-
God has said, "On that day shall faces beam with light,"-meaning nected with His use of the word " towards," because, among the Arabs, it
" shall shine,"-" looking towards their Lord," 14T-meaning " seeing." is not correct to say " towardsyywith reference to the regard of expecta-
The vision can be only one of the following kinds: (a) God means the tion. Do you not agree that God, when He said, "They await but a
regard of scr~tiny,l'~as when He says, " Can they not look up to the
single blast," did not say " towards," since His meaning was expectation?
clouds, how they are created?;" 150 or (b) He means the regard of
He has quoted from Bilqis : " and await what my envoys bring back " ;
expectation, as when He says, "They await but a single blast;"lS1 or
and thus, since she meant [p. 141 expectation, she did not say "towards."
(c) He means the regard of sight. Now God cannot mean the regard of
Imru' '1-Qays says :
reflection and scrutiny, because the next world is not the abode of
scrutiny, and H e cannot mean the regard of expectation, because, since If you two will await me but an hour,
" vision " and " face '.' are mentioned together, " vision " means the
Beside Umm Jundub you'll afford me time.155
vision of the eyes, which are in the face (just as, when the lexicographers Therefore, since he meant expectation, he did not say " towards." Hence,
mention the vision of the heart and say, "Look upon this thing with since God said "looking towards their Lord," we know that He did not
thine heart," its meaning is not the vision of the eyes) and if this is mean expectation, but meant only the regard of sight; and since God
true, since " vision " and " face " are mentioned together, " vision " does connected the vision with the mention of the face, He meant the vision
not mean the regard of expectation that is in the heart. Besides, surely of the eyes that are in the face, just as He has said, " We have seen thee
the regard of expectation does not exist i n Paradise, because expectation turning thy face towards every part of heaven; but We will have thee
is accompanied by misgivings and uncertainty, while those who dwell in
Paradise possess there such peaceful, pleasant, enduring life as neither
turn ... ,"1 5 and
~ thus He mentioned the face, but meant only the
turning of his eyes towards heaven in expectation of the descent of the
eye has seen nor ear heard, and since this is so, they cannot be in a state angel upon him, when God shifted him from the qiblah of Jerusalem to
of expectation, for whenever they think of anything, it is theirs by the the Ka'abah.
very thought. Since that is true, God cannot have in mind the regard If anybody says, "Why do you not say that, by His words 'looking
of fellow-feeling ( ta'attuf ) ,'5"ecause creatures cannot entertain this towards their Lord,' He meant only 'looking towards the reward of
sentiment towards their Creator. Since three kinds of vision fail to their Lord '?," the answer is: The reward of God is something other
answer the purpose, the fourth kind is certain, namely, that the meaning than Himself. God said " looking towards their Lord," but H e did not
of His words " looking towards their Lord " is that they are seeing, they say " looking towards something other than Himself." The Qur'sn is to
see their Lord. be understood literally, and it is not for us to understand it in any other
ld6The chapter headings are not necessarily from 81-Mari's own hand. The way, except by proof; otherwise it is to be understood literally. Do you
word kal6m i s not used in the Ibdnah except in these captions. not think that, since God said, " Pray to Me and serve Me," nobody can
"8diaqdldt 157: "The Mu'tazilah agree that God will not be beheld by sight, say He meant something other than Himself and understand these
but they disagree a s to whether or not He will he beheld by the hearts. Abrl words in any but a literal way? Wherefore, if that is so, since He says
'I-Hudayl and most of the Mu'tazilah say, ' W e shall see God with our hearts, "looking towards their Lord," we cannot, without proof, understand the
in the sense that we shall know Him with our hearts.'"
lA1 Qur'tin 75.22, 23.
Qur'iin in any but a literal way. Furthermore, it may be said to the
3'BThe word " regard " is used here in the sense of " look." The involved Mu'tazilah: If you may think that by God's words "looking towards
argument in this passage hangs upon the interpretation of naqara " t o look,"
which is used in different senses. '"Literally, "among the~n." I am indebted to Dr. Abralrsrrl Halkin for t h e
"OOr "the regard by which one contemplates a thing as an example." elucidation of these words.
lS0Qur'Bn 88. 17. The word translnted " clouds " really means " camels."
Qur'fin 27. 35.
16' Iirid. 30. 49.
'"I)iw6n I1 iine 2 (dc Slane's translation 37; Riickert's translatiotl 3 8 ) .
16' Wensinek translates *' atTection."
"'Qur'fin 2. 130. Is' II: '' R U W W ~ I ) " " vicegerents."
58 Al-ZbcZnah ' A n Upil Ad-DiycZnah Translation 59
their Lord," H e meant only that they were looking towards something
Another proof. One of the things that prove the possibility of God's
other than Himself, why may not somebody else say that by His words
being visible to sight is the words of God to Moses " and if i t abide firm
" The eyes do not reach Him," '" God meant " They do not reach some-
in its place, then shalt thou see Me," le2and thus, since God was capable
thing other than Himself," and did not mean that they do not reach
of rendering the mountain firm in its place, H e was capable of doing the
H i m ? And this is a distinction they have not the capacity to make. thing by which, if H e had done it, Moses would have seen him. Hence
Another proof. One of the things that prove that God is seen by sight that is a proof that God is capable of showing His servants Himself, and
is the words of Moses, " 0 Lord, show Thyself to me, that I may look H e can be seen.
upon Thee! Moses, whom God had clothed in the habit of the If anybody says, " Then why do you not say that God's words ' and if
Prophets, and to whom H e had given the impeccability leOvouchsafed the i t abide firm in its place, then shalt thou see Me' are intended to show
Apostles, cannot have asked his Lord what was impossible with reference that His visibility is impossible?," the answer is: If God had intended to
t o H i m ; and since Moses could not do that, we know that he did not ask show that visibility was impossible, He would have connected the speech
of his Lord an impossibility, and that visibility is possible with reference with what cannot occur, and not connected it with what can occur. But
t o our Lord. If visibility were impossible with reference to our Lord, since H e connected i t with the mountain's abiding firm ( a thing within
as the Mu'tazilah think, and Moses did not know it, while they know it, God's power), that proves that God can be seen. Do you not agree that
they would certainly, according to their belief, know more about God al-Bans$, when she intended to show that she could not be a t peace with
than Moses; and this is what no Muslim will maintain. one who was a foe to her brother, connected the speech with an
I f anybody says, Do you not know the decree of God concerning the impossibility, and said :
&iirlal today, whereas the Prophet did not know it before i t was re-
I will never be a t peace with a folk whose foe I've been
vealed?," the answer is: The Prophet did not know it before God im- Until bitumen's blackness is changed to gleaming white? le3
posed upon men the decree of the zihdr, but when the decree regarding it
was obligatory upon them, H e informed His Prophet before them, then God addresses the Arabs only in their classical language, and 164 we have
the Prophet of God informed God's servants of it, and there was not a recourse to what we find understood1e4 in their speech and compre-
time when, His decree was obligatory upon him and he did not know it hended in their address; and, therefore, since God connected H i s visi-
[p. 151. You think that i t was obligatory upon Moses that he know bility with a thing within His power and possible, we know that the
the decree of visibility, and that it was impossible with reference to him, visibility of God to sight is possible and not absurd.
and since he did not know it a t the time the knowledge of i t you now Another p~oof. God has said, " Goodness itself and an increase of it
possess was obligatory upon him, you must admit, in your ignorance, for those who do goad ! " l e v h e exegetes say, " It means the contempla-
that you know more about what you are under obligation to know now tion of God, for God does not bestow upon the people of His Paradise a
than did Moses about what he was under obligation to know; and this is more excellent favor than their contemplation of Him and their sight of
a departure from the religion of the Muslims. Him, and God has said, ' and Ours will it be to augment their bliss."' lo6
Qur'nn 0. 103. '"Ibid. 7. 139. The answer is: It does mean the contemplation of God, for H e has said,
lea See Fiqh Akbar I1 8, 9 (Wensiricl~,The Muslim Creed 192, 217 f . ) . The "Their greeting on the day when they shall meet Him shall be
notion of the 'ismah of the Prophets was probably new among the Sunnites a t ' Peace !,' " la7 and, since the faithful meet Him, they see a i m . God has
t h i s period (ca. A. 11. 3 0 0 ) . Although this in~peccability docs not necessarily also said, " Yea, they shall be shut out as by a veil from their Lord on
include complete inerrancy, Moses could not, in any case, have been mistake11 that day." la' Hence R e will shut them out from thc sight of IIim but
about s o important a matter a s the visibility of God.
Ie1 Qur'ln 58. 1-5. The $LOT was the act of repudiating onc's wife by conl- will riot shut out the faithful from it.
paring her with the bttcli (aakr) of onc's ~notlicror, nwrc generally, putting her
Ifl2 Qur'Bn 7. 139.
in the same class with one's close f ~ n i ~ rv1:~tivcs
lc whom one was forbidtien to
lo3 I)iw(i~tR VIIL 11 ( d e Coppicr's tr:~nuiation 9 4 ) . Tbe t~rothcr ni~.ntionctl is
marry. In hcatben tinicxs, i t hat1 tlic effect o f :I divorce and the Prophet bail
followed the iic:cthc~~ivu~torn, hut Gotl'q " tlccrcc of the dhrir" altered it to a $ah r.
l a ' I I : " we do not find i t understootl."
temporary separation.
'"Qur'Bn 10. 27. '"Ihid. 60. 34. la' Ibid. 33. 43. Ibid. H3 l .T
Al-Zb6nah 'An Upil Ad-Diyinah Translation
Question. If anybody says, " Then what is the meaning of His words various versions. The number of its narrators is greater than the num-
' The eyes do not reach Him '?," lBD the answer is: It may be supposed ber for the _habar of the S t ~ n i n g , ' ~and
~ the number of those who relate
that it is " They do not reach Him in this world, but reach Him in the that the Prophet said, '' No testament for an heir," 17@and the number
next world," because the visibility of God is the best of delights, and the of the narrators of the wiping of the sandals' and the number of the
best of delights belongs to the better of the two abodes. It may also narrators of the words of God's Apostle " A woman shall not be mar-
be supposed that God means, by His words [p. 161 "The eyes do not ried to the same man as her paternal or maternal aunt." lT7 Since
reach Him," "The eyes of the denying infidels do not reach Him," be- the stoning and the other things we have mentioned are sumn among the
cause God's Book agrees part with part, and so, since He says in one Mu'tazilah, God's visibility has a better title to be a sunnah, because of
verse,170 '' On that day shall faces beam with light, looking towards their the large number of its narrators and its traditionists, who pass it on
Lord," l r Oand in another verse, '' The eyes do not reach Him," we know from generation to generation.178 There is a padi_t that I certainly view
that H e means only, "The eyes of the infidels do not reach Him." as not containing a proof, for its narrator asked the Prophet merely con-
cerning the visibility of God in this world, and said to him, " Have you
seen your Lord?," and the Prophet said, " A light-how can I see i t ? ; "
If anybody says, " God scorned the request of those who asked of Him for the eye does not reach [p. 171 created lights in this world in their
that He might be seen by sight, and therefore He said, ' The people of the realities, because if man directed his gaze towards the full orb of the
book will ask of thee to cause a book to come down unto them from sun and continued to look towards its orb, most of the light of his eye
heaven. But a greater thing than this did they ask of Moses, for they would disappear; and therefore, since God has decreed in this world that
said, " Show us God plainly !," ' " I" it may be said to them : The chil- the eye shall not endure to look towards the full orb of the sun, a fortiori,
dren of Israel asked to see God because they denied the prophecy of the eye is not prepared to look towards God in this world, unless God
Moses and would not believe him until they li2 should see God (for they strengthens it. Now opinions differ concerning the visibility of God in
said, "we will not believe thee until we see God plainly 'y):7s and there- this world, whereas i t has been related on the authority of the Compan-
fore, since they made this request for the visibility because they would ions of God's Apostle that the eye shall see God in the next world, and
not believe Moses until God should show Himself to them, God disdained it has not been related on the authority of any of them that the eye shall
their request, and not because visibility was impossible with reference to not see God in the next world. Wherefore, since they agree unanimously
Him; just as God disdained the request of the people of the book that on this matter and believe it, even though they differ regarding God's
He send down to them a book from heaven, not because it was impossi- visibility in this world, His visibility in the next world is certain by their
ble, but only because they refused to believe in the Prophet of God until unanimity, even though there be differences of opinim regarding i t in
he should bring down to them a book from heaven. this world. We ourselves purpose only to prove God's visibility in the
next world, inasmuch as this tradition works out to the disadvantage of
Another proof. One of the things that prove the visibility of God to the Mu'tazilah, not to their advantage, because they deny that God is
sight is the tradition related by groups of persons from various sources light in reality; and therefore, if they base their argument on a habar
on the authority of God's Apostle, that he said, " You shall see your they abandon and swerve from, they are defeated in argument.
Lord as you see the moon on the night it is full and you shall not suffer
harm in His visibility." 17' Since the visibility is spoken of without Another proof. One of the things that prove the visibility of God to
qualification and compared with the vision of the eyes, its meaning is sight is the fact that nothing exists that God cannot show us, and i t is
none other than visibility to the eyes. The tradition concerning the visi- only the non-existent that He cannot show us; wherefore, since God
bility of God is handed down on the authority of God's Apostle, in certainly exists, it is not impossible that He should show us Himself.

l" Ibid. 6. 103. lT6 I. e. stoning in punishment of ndultery.


lT0 Ibid. 75. 22,23. I?: "the faces shall look townrds Hini on the day of Wensinck, op. cit. 251. Those who inherit by right do not need a written
resurrection." will.
lT1 Ibid. 4. 152. 17' Qur'h 2. 52. lT7 Al-Bubiiri, ed. Krehl I11 422.
1 7 %H : we.- lT4 See Wensinck, Handbook 17. lT8 H has a poor text, with several words missing. See note ad loc.
Al-Ibanah 'An Uqul Ad-Diyanah Translation
Those who reject the visibility of God to sight have in mind only or the congregation of the faithful and just, the view of His counte-
ta'til; 17@ but, since it is impossible for them to profess ta'tid openly, in nance-and that because vision does not leave a mark upon the thing
so many words, they profess what is tantamount to ta'@ and denial. seen (for the vision of the beholder remains in him) ; wherefore, since
May God be very far above it! this is so, and vision does not leave a mark upon the thing seen, it does
not necessitate tas'bih lsZ or swerving from truth, and it is not impossible
Another proof. One of the things that prove the visibility of God to
with respect to God that He should show His faithful servants Himself
sight is the fact that God beholds created things; and, since He is a be-
holder of things, then He must behold Himself; lsO and, since He is a in His Paradise.
beholder of Himself, H e can show us Himself. That is true because he
who does not know himself does not know a thing; wherefore, since God
is a knower of things, He is a knower of Himself; and, in the same way, The Mu'tazilah have based their argument that God is not visible to
he who does not behold himself, does not behold things; wherefore, since sight on His words " Their sight does not reach Him, but He reaches
God is a beholder of things, He is a beholder of Himself; and since He their sight." ls3 They say, " Since God connects His words 'but He
is a beholder of Himself, then He can show us Himself, just as, since H e reaches their sight' with His words ' Their sight does not reach Him,'
is a knower of Himself, He can cause us to know Himself. God has said, and His words ' but He reaches their sight' have the universal meaning
" I am with you both. I will hearken and I will behold." lsl Thus He that He reaches it in this world and the next world, and that He beholds
tells us that He heard the words of them both and beheld them both; and them in this world and the next, then His words ' Their sight does not
he who thinks that God cannot be beheld by sight will be compelled to reach Him ' are a proof that sight does not behold Him in this world or
admit that God cannot be a beholder or a knower or a wielder of power, the next; and they share the universal meaning of His words 'but H e
because i t is possible for the knower, the wielder of power, the beholder, reaches their sight,' because each phrase is connected with the other."
to be seen. If anybody says, " The words of the Prophet [p. 181 ' You The answer is: If the universal meaning of the two phrases is one, and
shall see your Lord ' mean ' You shall know your Lord necessarily,' " the the sight in question is both the sight of the eyes and the sight of the
answer is that the Prophet said this to his Companions as an evangel heart (for God said, " I t is not that the sight is blind, but the hearts in
(and then said, " How shall it be with you when you see God? "), and the breasts are blind ! " lS4 [p. 191 and, " men of hands and sight " lS5
it is impossible that he should have given them, as an evangel, a thing in (that is, it is by the sight) ; wherefore R e meant the sight of the heart,
which he associated the infidels with them, inasmuch as the Prophet said, and it is that with which the faithful smite the infidels; and the philolo-
" You shall see your Lord," and did not mean one kind of vision rather gists say, " So-and-so is discerning in his craft," meaning " discerning in
than another. On the contrary, it applies equally to the vision of the eye knowledge," and they say, " I have discerned it with my heart" just as
and the vision of the heart. they say, "I have discerned it with my eyem)-since, I say, the discern-
Another proof. The Muslims agree that in Paradise there is such ment in question is both the discernment of the eyes and the discernment
peaceful, pleasant, abiding life as neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor of the hearts; and, in addition, they think that, according to us, His
mortal heart conceivcd; and there is not a more pleasant thing in Para- words "Their sight does not reach Him" must be universal, like His
dise than God's visibility to sight. Most of those who serve God serve words "but He reaches their sight," because each of the two phrases is
IIim for the view of His countenance. Ifence, if there is not, after the connected with the other; then it must be true according to them, by
risibility of God, a better thing than the visibility of His Prophet, and their argument, that God is reached neither by the sight of the eyes nor
the visibility of God's Prophet is the greatest delight of Parnilise, the by the sight of the heart, because His words " Their sight does not reach
visibility of God is hettcr tltnn the visibility of Jlis Prophct. Since that Him " are universal, like Bis words "but He reaches their sight." But,
is so, God does not forbid thc prophets Tie scnds, or IIis attending angels, since this is not their belief, His words "Their sight does not reach
Him" must be more particular than His words "but He reaches their
17@ See Introdr~ction,3fi.
lWn Litcrully, " the11 lrc tlocts not scc things who docs not see I~irr~self." l" Pee Introduction, 36. la' Ibid. 22.45.
18' Qur'fin 20.48. 183 Qur'sn 6. 103. '86 Ibid. 38.45.
Translation 65
sight," and their argument is self-contradictory. It may be said to them : Him by vision, or by touch, or by taste, or in any specific way? lgl If
You think that, if His words "Their sight does not reach Him" were they say yes, it may be said to them: la' Tell us concerning His words
particular at one time and not at another, His words "but He reaches "but He reaches their sight "--do you think that He reaches i t by touch
their sight" would be particular at one time and not at another, and and by taste, because He touches i t ? lsl If they say no,lD1 it may be said
His words " nought is there like Him !, " ls6 and His words "nor slum- to them : Your belief is self-contradictory, if His words " but H e reaches
ber seizeth Him nor sleep," lS7and His words " God will not wrong men their sight" are general, like His words "Their sight does not reach
in aught " lS8would also be particular at one time and not at another; lsa Him."
wherefore if you make His words "Their sight does not reach Him"
particular, your argument will turn against you. It may be said to you: Question. If any of them says, " Certainly real sight is the sight of
If His words " Their sight does not reach Him " are particular, although the eye, not the sight of the heart," the answer is: Why do you think so,
the particularity of these verses is not necessary, then why do you deny although the philologists have named the sight of the heart " sight," just
that His words " Their sight does not reach Him" mean only " i n this as they have named the sight of the eye " sight "? If you may think as
world and not in the next," just as His words "Their sight does not you do, others may hold the opinion that real sight is the sight of the
reach Him" mean one kind of sight and not another, although these heart, and not of the eye; and, since this is impossible, the sight must be
verses, which you use as arguments against us, need not be particular? the sight of the eye and the sight of the heart.
If they say, " His words ' Their sight does not reach Him ' make it neces- It may be said to them: Inform us concerning God's words
Answer.
sary that He be not reached by it in this world or the next world; but
" but H e reaches their sight," what their meaning is. If they say, " The
that is no denial of our beholding Him with our hearts and discerning
meaning of ' H e reaches their sighty is that He knows it," the answer
Him with them; nevertheless we do not reach Him with them," the an-
is: If each phrase is connected with the other and the meaning of H i s
swer is : Then you have not denied that, while we do not reach Him with
words "but H e reaches their sight" is that He knows it, then His words.
the sight of the eyes, a t the same time it does not necessarily follow, if
we do not reach Him with it, that we do not behold Him with it; and,
" Their sight does not reach Him " must mean " It does not know Him,"
and this is a denial of knowledge, not of the vision of sight. Then, if
therefore, our vision of Him with the eyes and lg0our discernment of
they say, " The meaning of His words ' but He reaches their sight ' is
Him with them lg0are not attainment of Him with them, just as our
that He beholds it by vision; its meaning is not ' knowledge,' " the answer
discernment of Him with our hearts and our vision of Him with them
is: Then the sight that is in the eye can behold. If they say yes, they
are not attainment of Him. If they say, "The vision of sight is the
contradict their statement that we shall not behold with our sight any-
attainment of sight," the answer is: What is the difference between you
thing but the sort of thing that is beheld now. If God and all things
and those who say that the vision of the heart and its discernment are
that are not of the visible kind can behold, and this is sight i n the eye,
its attainment and its comprehension? But, if the heart's knowledge of
then how can He behold Himself (although He is invisible) and, at the
God and the heart's discernment of Him are its vision of Him, without
same time, not be able to show us Himself, even though He is invisible?
comprehension or attainment, you have not denied that the vision of the
It may be said to them: Inform us, when we behold a thing, do we
eyes and their discernment of God may exist without comprehension or
actually see it or does the beholder merely behold without seeing? If
attainment.
they say that it is impossible for the sight that is in the eye to behold,
[p. 201 Answer. It may be said to them: Since God's words "Their then i t may be said to them : The verse denies that sight beholds Him, but
sight does not reach Him" are universal, like His words "but He does not deny that those who have sight behold Him. God said only,
reaches their sight," because each phrase is connected with the other, then "Their sight does not reach Him," but this does not prove that those
tell us whether it is not true that the sight and the eyes do not reach who have sight shall not behold him, if the verse is taken literally.
Ibid. 42. 9. la' Ibid. 10.45.

Is'1t)id. 2. 250. 17 has a slight niisprint.


"O .
11: "our discernment of Him, because they are not . ."-a reading that l e l IT: "Those whose answer is yes-it may be said to them." II often uees
gives no sense. this phrase where E uses "if they say yes."
66 Al-Zbanah 'An Usiil Ad-Diyanah
all creation; whereupon He says, after speaking of the creation, "and
the command," and so distinguishes the command from the creation.
The command of God is His word, and this makes it necessarily true
If anybody asks concerning the proof that the Qur'iin is the uncreated that the Word of God is uncreated. God has also said, " The command
Word of God, the answer is: The proof of it is His words " And of His is God's first and last," lsO meaning, before He creates the creation and
signs also one is that the heavens and the earth stand firm by His com- thereafter; and this makes it necessarily true that the command is
mand,"ls3 and the command of God is [p. 211 His Word and His uncreated.
Speech; wherefore, since He commands them to stand firm, and they
stand firm without being hurled down, their standing firm is by His Another argument. One of the things in God's Book that prove that
command. God has also said, "Are not the creation and the command His Word is uncreated is His words " Our word to a thing when We will
His?; " l" and therefore all that He created is included in "the crea- it, is but to say, ' Be ! ' and it is." lgT Hence, if the Qur'iin were created,
tion," because, if the use of the expression is universal, i t is universal in " Be !" would have to be said to it, and it would be; and if God said to
its real meaning (and we may not remove the expression from its real the Word, " Be !, " there would be a word to the Word. This makes one
meaning without argument or proof) ;wherefore, since H e has said, "Is of two things necessary : either it leads to the conclusion that God's Word
not the creation His?," this applies to all creation; and since He has is uncreated; or else every word depends upon another word, ad infini-
said, "and the command," He speaks of the command as something turn, and that is impossible; and since that is impossible, it is certain
other than all creation; and so, our account of this matter is a proof that and sure that God has an uncreated Word.'98
the command of Cod is uncreated. If anybody says, " Has not God said, Question. If anybody says, "The meaning of God's words that He
'whoso is an enemy to God or His angels or His apostles or Gabriel or
says to it, ' Be!,' and it is, is only ' He causes i t to be and it is,' " the
Michael ' ... ?", lB5 the answer is : We give a particular meaning to the answer is : The actual reading is that He "says " to it. God's Word to
Qur'an, by ijmZ and by proof, in the case of God's mentioning Himself
all things "Be! ', cannot be the things themselves, because then all
and His angels, but not including Gabriel and Michael in the mention
things would have to be the Word of God; and whoever says so tells a
of the angels (although they are of the angels), but mentioning them
great lie, because it compels him to admit that everything in the world-
afterwards, as though He had said, "The angels, save Gabriel and
be it men, or horses, or asses, or whatever-is the Word of God, and the
Michael," mentioning them after mentioning the angels, and so saying.
error of this is plain enough.1gQ Wherefore since that is impossible, it is
"and Gabriel and Michael." Since H e said, "Are not the creation and certain that God's Word to things " Be ! " is something other than they,
the command His?," and no proof gives a particular meaning to His
and if it is something other than created things, the Word of God is [p.
words "the creation," His words " I s not the creation His?" apply to
221 beyond the possibility of being created. He who holds that the Word
'"'In this section al-AVari repeats himself frequently. He attempts to show, of God is created must hold that God is not a discourser or speaker; but
on the one hand, that the Qur'an i s not created, because i t has not the charac- that does not hold true, just as i t does not hold true that the knowledge
teristics of a created thing and exists independently of creation, and, on the other of God is created, or that God is a non-knower. Wherefore, since God
hand, that i t is eternal and uncreated because i t is, in a sense, a predicate of is eternally a knower (for He cannot be eternally qualified with the oppo-
God's, like His knowledge and His will. Most of the arguments are directed
against the Jahmiyyah. Al-AB'ari, in his treatment of this question, shows hirn-
site of knowledge), it is impossible for Rim to be eternally qualified
self greatly indebted to his predecessors-particularly to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, with the opposite of speech,200because the opposite of speech, with which
who by his unflinching resistance to the Mihnah had acquired a unique authority there is no speech, is silence, or a defect, just as the opposite of knowl-
in all orthodox discussions concernirlg the Word. edge, with which there is no knowledge, is ignorance, or doubt, or a
lg3 Qur'iln 30. 24.
defect. I t is impossjble for our Lord to be qualified with the opposite
lo' Ihid. 7. 52. Cf. Alunad ibn Hnnbal's argumeut in Putton, op. cit. 139, 1G2.

l S 6Qur'an 2.92. The point of this objection is that, if the versc here quoted l V 7Ibid. 16. 42.
lV6 Ibid. 30. 3.
nntl 7.52 arc esscntinlly the same, the eorurnand is a part of the creation, just lVR Cf. the si1nil:~rargument of d-Duwayti (Patton, op. cit. 119).
as Miclml and Gnbriel are nngels. The author, in reply, shows that the verses '"I~iterally, " in this is w l ~ i ~i, t in it."
differ. '00 ~ 0 t htexts llnve " knowleclge," but the sense seems to require " speech."
68 Al-Ib6nah 'An U f i l Ad-Diy6nah. Translation 69

of howledge, and, for the same reason, it is impossible for Him to be thing, because that created thing would have to be the speaker of i t / o 4 and
qualified with non-speech, that is, silence and defects; and so, for the it is impossible for the Word o w o d to be a word belonging to a created
same reason, H e must be eternally a discourser, just as H e must be thing.
eternally a knower. Another proof. One of the things that invalidate their belief is the
fact that God said, speaking of the polytheists, that they said, " it is
Another proof. God has said, " Say: Should the sea become ink, to
merely the word of a mortal," *06 meaning the Qur'iin; wherefore, he
write the words of my Lord, the sea would surely fail ere the words of
who thinks that the Qur'b is created makes it the word of a mortal, and
my Lord would fail." 201 Therefore, if the seas were ink for writing, this is the statement of the polytheists that God denied. Besides, if God
surely the seas would fail and the pens be broken; but my Lord's Words
had not uttered words until He had created the creation, then had ut-
have not run out, just as God's knowledge has not run out. If any one's
tered words thereafter, things would have existed otherwise than as the
speech runs out, he is subject to defects, and silence comes upon him.
Wherefore, since that is impossible with reference to our Lord, it is cer- result of His command and of His words, and He would not have said
tain that H e is eternally a discourser, because, if He were not a dis- to them, "Be!," and this is a rejection of the Qurln and a departure
from that upon which the vast majority of the people of Islgm agree.
courser, silence and defects would necessarily follow. May our Lord be
far above the beliefs of the Jahmiyyah!

Know that, by the belief of the Jahmiyyah that the Word of God is
created, they are compelled to admit that God would have been from dl
The Jahmiyyah have the same ideas as the Christians-because the eternity like the idols, which have neither speech nor language, if He had
Christians think that the womb of Mary enclosed the Word of God-and been from all eternity a non-discourser, because God says of Abraham,
the Jahmiyyah have improved upon them, with the result that they think that he said to his people, when they said to him, " Who hath done this
a created word of God descended upon a bush and the bush enclosed it; to our gods, 0 Abraham?," 208 " Nay, their chief hath done it, but ask ye
and so they are compelled to admit that the bush discourses with that them if they can speak; " 207 wherefore he argued against them that idols,
word, and it is necessarily true, according to them, that a certain created since they have neither speech nor language, are not gods, and that a god
thing addressed Moses, and that the bush said, " 0 Moses ! . . Verily . cannot be a non-speaker or a non-discourser; wherefore, since the idols,
I am God: there is no God but Me: therefore worship me." Hence, which God might, if He wished, bring to life and cause to speak, are not
if the Word of God had been created in a bush, it would have been the gods, how can one with reference to whom speech is impossible from
created thing that said, " 0 Moses! Verily I am God: there is no God eternity be a god? May God be very far above that! Since God cannot
but Me : therefore worship Me." But God has said, " But true shall be be, from eternity, on a level lower than that of the idols, which have n o
the word which hath gone forth from Me--I will surely fill hell with language, He must be eternally a discourser.
jinn and men together; " 20S and the Word of God is from God, whose
Word, which ie from Him, cannot be created in a created bush, just as Another proof. God has said, speaking of Himself, that He says,
His knowledge, which is from Him, cannot be created in something other " With whom shall the kingship be on that day?," 208 and there are tra-
than Himself. May God be very far above that! ditions to the effect that He speaks these words and no answer is made
to Him. Hence He says, "With God, the One, the Almighty."20a
Answer. It may be said to them: Just as God cannot create His will Wherefore, since God speaks notwithstanding the disappearance of
in any [p. 231 created thing, so He cannot create His Word in any
=O' Cf. the argument of Muhammad ibn Adam (Patton, op. cit. 38, 4 0 ) : either
created thing. I f God's will were created in any created thing, it would God spoke by an uncrented Word, or i t was a created word, and not God, t h a t
certainly be the created thing that was the willer of it, and that is impos- bpokc.
sible. Likewise, it is impossible for God to create Eis Word in a created 'O' Qur'Ru 74. 25.
Ibid. 21.00. 'Oa Ibid. 40. 16.

lo' Qur'Bn 18. 109. 'O' Ibid. 20. 14. 'Oa Ibid. 32. 13. 3n IIbid. 21. 64. L. c.
At-lbanah ' A n Ugiil Ad-Diyanah
created things, when there are not men or angels or animals or jGnn or Another proof. One of the things that prove that the belief of the
trees or clods of clay, i t is certain that the Word of God is outside Jahmiyyah is null and void, and that the Qura5n is the uncreated Word
creation, because it exists although no created thing exists. of Cod, is the fact that the names of God are from the Qur'h. God has
[p. 241 Another proof. God has said, " and discoursing did God dis- said, " Praise the name of thy Lord, the Most High, who hath created
course with Moses." *I0 Discourse is iptercourse by speech. The speech and balanced," 216 and "the name of thy Lord, the Most High, who hath
of the Discourser cannot inhere in something other than Himself or be created and balanced" cannot be created, just as "the majesty of our
created in anything except Himself, just as this is impossible with Lord" cannot be created; for God has said, in the Siirah of the Jinn,
" may the majesty of our Lord be exalted !, " and just as His might
respect to knowledge.
cannot be created, so His Word cannot be created.
Another proof. God has said, " Say: He is God alone: God the eter-
nal ! He begetteth not, and He is not begotten, and there is none like Another proof. God has said, "It is not for mortal man that God
unto him." 211 Then how can the Qur'Fin be created, when the name of should speak with him but by vision or [p. 251 from behind a veil: or,
God is in the Q u r I n ? for this makes it necessarily true that the names H e sendeth a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what H e
of God are created, and if His names were created, His unity would be wishes;"218 wherefore, if the Word of God were not found except in
created, and likewise His knowledge and His power. May God be very created form in a created thing, there would be no meaning in this limi-
far above that! tation of the vehicles of revelation, because all creation would hear the
Word and find it, on the supposition of the Jahmiyyah, created in some-
Another proof. God has said, " Blessed be the name of thy Lord," 212 thing other than God; and this would perforce deprive the Prophets of
but " Blessed be " is not said of a created thing; wherefore this is a proof all distinction. But it is necessarily true, according to them, since they
that the names of God are uncreated. He also said, "the face of thy think that God created His Word to Moses in a bush, that they who hear
Lord shall abide; " 21J wherefore, just as the face of our Lord cannot the Word of God from angels, or from a prophet who has brought it from
be created, so His names are not created. God, are on a higher level, so far as the hearing of the Word is concerned,
Another proof. God has said, " God witnesseth that there is no god than Moses, because they have heard it from a prophet, and Moses did
but He: and the angels, and men endued with knowledge, stablished in rlot hear it from God, but only from a bush; and they must think that
.
righteousness. . . "214 Undoubtedly He bears this witness and hears the Jew, since he hears the Word of God from a prophet, is on a higher
it from Himself, because, if He hears it from a created thing, it is no level, so far as this is concerned, than Moses ibn 'Imran, because the Jew
witness of His; but since it is a witness of His, and He has borne it, the has heard it from one of the prophets of God and Moses heard it in
only alternatives are that He bore it before created things came into created form in a bush; and also, if it had existed in created form in a
existence, or after created things came into existence; wherefore, if He hush, He would not have discoursed with Moses from behind a veil, be-
bore i t after created things came into existence, His witness to Himself cause such jinn and men as were present at the bush would have heard
= cannot be reconciled with the divine source of creation; and how can the Word from that place, and the course pursued by Moses and others
that be the case? for it would then necessarily be true that nobody 215 under those circumstances would have been evil, inasmuch as he did not
bore witness to the divine unity prior to creation; and if the witness to receive the Word of God from behind a veil.
the divine oneness before the existence of creation were impossible, the Answer. Then it may be said to them: Since you think that the mean-
proof of the existence of the divine unity would be impossible, and it ing of God's addressing Moses is that I-Ie created a word with which H e
would be impossible for God to be one prior to creation, because that
addressed him, and God also created, according to you, a word in the
regarding which witness is impossible, is itself impossible; but if His
joint (for the joint said to the Apostle of God, " Eat me not, for I am
witness to His own unity is prior to creation, it is out of the qucstion
poisoned! "j,"' then yo11 must admit that this word that the Prophet
that His Word should be created, becausc IIis Word is His witness.
z'e Qur'iin 87. 1.2. a" Ihid. 72. 3. Ibid. 42. 50, 51.
'I0Ibid. 4. 162. See Ihn Sa'cl, ed. S a c h n ~I~ I 113: "The Prophet was not accustomed t o eitt
"' Ibid. 112. 'IS Ibid. 5.5. 27. what wan offered a s alms ( s n d a r l a l ~ )I, ~ u t he wo11lc1 eat what was given a s a
Ibid. 5 5 . 78.
I?: 1-L ? *.. "' Ibicl. 3. 16.
Correct, with Dr. Della Vitla, t o -Mk, +.
gift. A ,Jcwess presented hi111wit11 il roast shrcp . . . but i t said, ' I am poisoned.' "
72 Al-Zbanuh 'An UQ.iil Ad-Dipinah Translation 73
heard is the Word of God. But if God cannot have discoursed by that Answer. Furthermore, it may be said to them: Has not God said to
created word, you do not deny that it is impossible for God to create Iblis, "and lo ! My ban shall be upon thee till the day of reckoning " ? 225
His Word in a bush, because the word of the created thing is not a Word. Then they will certainly answer yes, &d it may be said to them: Hence,
Therefore, if it is the Word of God, and the meaning of God's discours- since the Word of God is a created thing, and created things come to
ing, according to you, is that He created the Word, you must admit that an end, you are compelled to admit, if God brings things to an end, that
God discoursed by a word He created in the joint. Then, if they reply the ban upon Iblis has been brought to an end, and thus Iblis is un-
to this, the answer is: According to your belief, then, it is God who says, banned; and this is a forsaking of the Religion of the Muslims, and a
"Eat me not, for I am poisoned!" May God be very far above your rejection of the words of God " and lo! My ban shall be upon' thee till
belief and your calumny against Him! And if they say, " God's Word the day of reckoning." But since the ban remains upon Iblis until the
cannot exist in created form in a joint," the answer is: And, for the day of reckoning, which is the day of recompense, the day of resurrec-
same reason, God's Word cannot exist in created form in a bush. tion (because God has said, "King in the day of reckoning," 226 mean-
ing, the day of recompense), and thereafter it is eternally in Hell, and
[p. 261 Answer. Furthermore, when they ask concerning the word
with which God gave the wolf 220 utterance when it spoke concerning the the ban is the Word of God, which is His words " My ban shall be upon
prophecy of the Prophet, it may be said to them: If God discourses by thee," then it necessarily follows that the Word of God cannot come to an
a word H e creates in something other than Himself, you do not deny end, and that it is uncreated; because non-existence is possible with refer-
that the word he heard from the wolf is a Word of God's, and its un- ence to created things, and, therefore, since it is impossible with reference
natural eloquence proves that it is the Word of God (and it necessarily to the Word of God, the latter is uncreated.
follows, according to them, that the wolf himself did not discourse by it,
and that it is the Word of God, because the existence of the Word on the REPLYTO TEE JAIXMITYAH.~~~
part of the wolf is unnatural, just as its existence on the part of the bush Furthermore, it may be said to them: Since God's anger is uncreated,
is unnatural) ;wherefore, if the wolf discourses by that made word, you and likewise His satisfaction and His wrath, why do you not believe
do not deny that the bush discourses by the Word, if it is created in a [p. 271 that His Word is uncreated? for he who thinks that God's anger
bush, and that it is the created thing 221 that '' 0 Moses ! I truly is created must admit that Cod's anger and His wrath against the infidels
am God." 222 May God be very far above that ! come to an end, and that His satisfaction in the angels and the prophets
comes to an end, so that He is no longer satisfied with His friends nor
Answer. Furthermore, one may say to them: Since the Word of God
angry with His enemies; and this is a departure from IslIm. It may
exists in created form in something other than Himself, according to
also be said: Tell us about God's words " Our word to a thing when We
you, does this not make you believe that every word you hear in created
will it is but to say, ' Be! ' and it is." 228 Do you think that His Word
form in a thing 223 is fit to be a Word of God's? Wherefore, if they to the thing, " Be !," is something created by God's will? Wherefore, if
say, "The bush is not a discourser because the discourser can be only a
they say no, the answer is: Then you do not deny that the Word of God,
living being," the answer is: And the creation of the Word in a bush
which is the Qur'ltn, is uncreated, just as you think that God's Word to
is impossible because he in whom the Word is created can be only a living
the thing, "Be!," is uncreatcd. But if they think that God's Word to
being; and therefore, if the Word can be created in that which is inani-
the thing, "Be!," is created, the answer is: Then if you think it is
mate, why cannot one who is inanimate discourse? It may also be said a thing created by will, God says, "Our word to a thing when We will
to them: Do you not believe that one who is inanimate speaks, because
it is but to say, 'Be!,' and it is;" and so you must admit that He has
He has said that the heavens and the earth "both said, 'We come
obedient ' " ? 224 Ibid. 38.79.
'16 Ibid. 1.3.
'"Ahmad ibn Hanbal wrote n book entitled Reply to the Jahmiyyah (Patton,
"OThe wolf whose eloquent homily made a Muslim of AhbHn ibn Aws. See OD.cit. 1 9 ) .
ad-Damiri, flaydt al-hayamin tr. Jayakar (1906-8) I 841. Qur'nn 16. 42. The verse appears again in this passage a few lines t ~ l o w ,
SO H. E : "just a s He has said." preceded by &, which cannot be construed intelligibly. In the translation I
"* Qur'Bn 28. 30. "a 61: " i s truly." "' Q u r ' h 41. 10. have ndoptctl Dr. Delta Vida'a erncndation to &.
74 Al-Ibunuh 'An U@l Ad-Diyunuh Translation 75

already said, "Be! " to His Word to the thing, " Be !," and this corn- Answer. It may also be said to them: I f the Word of God were
pels you to choose one of two alternatives: either that God's Word to created, it would certainly be a bodily organism, or a qualification of a
what is not Himself, "Be!," is uncreated, or else that each word has bodily organism's; and if it were a bodily organism, it could be a dis-
another word ad infinitum, and that is impossible. Therefore, if they courser, for God has power to change w h things. They cannot escape
say that God has an uncreated Word, the answer is: Then you do not this argument, and, according to their view, t h e must consider it possi-
deny that God's willing of faith is uncreated. Furthermore, it may be ble for God to change the Qur'iin into man or jinn or devil. (May
said to them: For what reason do you say that God's Word to the thing, God be too exalted for His Word to be thus!) But if it is a qualification
Be !," is uncreated ? Wherefore, if they say, Because ' Be ! ' is not of a bodily organism's, like other qualifications, and therefore God has
said to the Word," it may be said to them: The Qur'iin also is uncreated, the capacity to make them bodies, then, according to their view, the
because it is the Word of God and God does not say to His Word, " Be ! Jahmiyyah must consider i t possible for God to make the Qur'iin a body
with bodily functions, eating and drinking, and to make it a man, and
cause him to die; but this is impossible as regards God's Word !

It may also be said t o them: I s not God eternally cognizant of His


friends and his enemies? They will certainly answer yes. The answer
is: Then do you say, " H e is eternally a willer af the separation of His
- Question. Abii Bakr 2s0 says, I and al-'Abbiis ibn 'Abd al-'Azim al-
friends and His enemies " ? Then, if they say yes, the answer is: Since
'Anbari went to Abii 'Abdallsh, and al-'Abbiis ibu 'Abd al-'Azim ques-
the will of God is eternal, it is uncreated, and since His will is uncreated,
tioned Abii 'Abdalliih Ahmad ibn Hanbal,231 and so he said to him, Some
why do you not believe that His Word is uncreated? But if they say,
people here have newly arisen, saying, The Qur'iin is neither created nor
"We do not say H e is eternally a willer of the separation of His friends
uncreated. These are more harmful t o men than the Jahmiyyah. Woe
and His enemies," then they think that God does not will the separation
to you! Wherefore, if you say not uncreated, then say created. Abii
of His friends and His enemies, and ascribe deficiency to Him. May He
'Abdalllh said, These are a wicked lot. AL'Abbk said, What is your
be very far above the belief of the Qadariyyah !
belief, 0 Abii 'Abdalliih? He said, I n my creed and madhab there is
Answer. It mag be said to them that the created thing either is a no doubt that the Qur'ln is uncreated. Then he said, Who has doubts
certain body-a certain person-or is one of the qualifications of per- concerning this? Then Abii 'Abdalliih discoursed, wondering greatly at
sons. Now, the Word of God cannot be a person, because eating, drink- doubt concerning this, and so he said, I s there doubt concerning this?
ing, and marriage are possible with respect to persons, but those things God has said, Are not the creation and the command His?; " 232 and
are impossible with respect to the Word of God; and also the Word of H e has said, "The Merciful hath taught the Qur'ln, hath created
God cannot be a qualification of a created person's, for [p. 281 qualifica- man." 233 And so he distinguished between man and the Qur'iin; where-
tions do not survive the twinkling of an eye, because they are not capable fore he said, " taught, created," and kept repeating it, "taught, created."
of survival, and the Word of God would have to come to an end and pass that is, he distinguished between them. Abl 'Abdalliih said, T h e
away. Therefore, since it cannot be a person, or a qualification of a Qur'iin is from God's knowledge.234 Do you not agree that He says,
person, it cannot be created, inasmuch as persons can die; and therefore Ahmad, in his letter on the Qur'Bn, has a simiIitr string o f traditions
he who asserts that the Word of God is a created person must admit that directed against speculation about the Book.
death is possible with reference to the Word of God; but that is an im- Probably Ibn Ahi Saybah (died ea. 848), mentioned below. Since the Muslin1
possible thing. Besides, the Word of God cannot be created in a created year does not coincide w i t h t h e Christian year, the dates assigned t o the tradition-
person, just as it cannot be a qualification of a. crcatcd person's; and if ists are only approximately correct. Besides, in Inmy instances, several datcs
;ire given in the sources. The works n t m y disposal have yielded dates for only
it were created in a person, like the speech of man, made in him, the dis- about two-thirds o f the traditionists ~nentionetl in the IbQnah. The dates of
tinction between the Word of Cod and the specch of crc:iturcls would hc the remaining third can frequently l ~ einferred frorn the other dates in thr isncid.9.
impossible, since they would both hc ~rcntcd i n :I creatcld person-just 21' Died 855. "' Qur';in 7 . 52. z3a Ibid. 5 5 . 1, 2.

as IIis knowledge cannot he created in a crrntcd person. Ahmad makes the same statenlent in his letter (I'atton, op. cit. 102; w e trlso
illid. 101 ) .
" He taught the Qur'iin "? I n the Qur'iin are the names of God. What Hammkd ibn Abi Sulaymiin 241 said to me, Go tell Abii Hanifah,242the
is the belief of these people ? Do they not believe that the names of God polytheist, that I repudiate him ! Said Sulaymiin, Sufyiin added, Because
are uncreated, that God is eternally powerful, [p. 291 knowing, strong, he was in the habit of saying, The Qur'iin is created.
wise, hearing, seeing? We do not doubt that the names of God are Sufyiin ibn Waki' 24s cites the following tradition: I heard 'Umar ibn
uncreated, we do not doubt that God's knowledge is uncreated. The Hammiid ibn Abi Hanifah say, My father told me, The speech whereof
Qur'iin is from God's knowledge and in it are the names of God ;where- Ibn Abi urged Abii vanifah to repent was his saying, The
fore we do not doubt that it is uncreated. It is the Word of God and Qur'iin is created. He said, And so he repented of it and advertised the
He discourses by i t eternally. Then he said, And what infidelity is fact universally, said my father, and so I said to him, How did you come
greater than this? or what infidelity is worse than this? Since they to this? H e said, I feared, by God, that he would fall upon me,.and so I
think that the Qur'iin is created, then they must think that the names used dissimulation towards him.
of God are created and that God's knowledge is created, only people treat Hiiriin ibn Ishiiq cites the following tradition : I heard IsmH'iZ ibn Abi
the matter lightly and say, " All that they say is, ' The Qur8n is created; '1-Hakam cite, on the authority of TJmar ibn 'Ubayd at-Tanghi, the tra-
and they are joking," and consider it a joke and are not aware of its dition that RammBd, that is, Ibn Abi Sulaymiin, sent to Abii Hanifah
seriousness, for it is infidelity. But I am unwilling to reveal this to any- the message, I have nothing to do with what you say, except you repent.
one. They ask and I am unwilling to speak on this matter and so it has Ibn Abi ?nabah was with him, said he, and so he said, Your neighbor
come to my knowledge that they proclaim that I am close-mouthed. informed me that Abii Hanifah tried to convert him to that whereof h e
Wherefore I said to him, Then he who says, The Qur'iin is created, and had been urged to repent by him, after he had been urged to repent.
does not say that the names of God are created, or that His knowledge is A tradition is cited on the authority of Abii Y i i s ~ f ? ' in
~ which he says :
created, and does not explain himself further-I say, he is an infidel. I watched Abii Hanifah [p. 301 two months until he abandoned the
H e said, So he is, according to us. Then Abii 'Abdalliih said, We do not createdness of the Qur'iin.
need to doubt concerning this Qurln. According to us, in it are the Sulaymiin ibn Harb says, The Qur'kn is uncreated. Passages of His
names of God, and it is from God's knowledge; and so he who says to Book tell of it. God said, " God will not speak to them and will not
us that it is created is an infidel, according to us. I started to refute look on them."247 The word of God and His regard are one, that is,
him. Al-'Abbiis, who was listening, said to me, Is not this more than uncreated.
enough for you? Abii' Abdalliih said, It certainly is. Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Awwal cites the following tradition: Muhammad
Al-Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Awwal cites the following tradition: I heard ibn al-Husayn Abi Yazid al-Hamdiini said, on the authority of 'Amr ibn
Waki' 235 say, He who says, The QurPn is created, is an apostate who Qays, and he on the authority of Abii Qays al-Mal8'i, and he on the
shouId be urged to repent. If he repents, well; and if not, he is to be authority of 'Atiyyah,248and he on the authority of Abii Sa'id a l - Q ~ d r i , ? ' ~
put to death. The Apostle of God said, The Word of God is as superior to other words
Muhammad ibn as-Sabbiih al-Bazzkr 286 cites the following tradition : as God is superior to His creation. Hence this proves that the Qur'iin i s
'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Sufyiin said, I heard Ibn al-Mubiirak 237 say, We the Word of God, and what is the Word of God is not a creature of
are able to relate the discussions of the Jews and the Christians, but we God's. God has explained that the Qur'iin is His Word by His words
are not able to relate the discussions of the Jahmiyyah. Muhammad "that he may hear the word of God." 2" There is proof of it in various
said: 238 Saying,230We fear lest we be infidels unwittingly. passages of His Book. God has spoken, saying that c'discoursing did
Hiiriin ibn IshBq al-Hamdgni cites the following tradition on the God discourse with Moses."
authority of Abii Nu'aym, and he on the authority of Sulaymiin ibn
'fsii al-QLri, and he on the authority of Sufyiin at-Ta~ri,~'Owho said, *" Died 738.
Died 767. "7 Qur'Bn 3.71.
'"Died 812. "' Died 861. "'Probably Ibn Qaya (died 7 3 8 ) .
Or al-Bazziiz (died 841 ). " 7 Probably 'Abdalliih (died 797) *" Muhammad (died 7 0 6 ) . Died 693.
Muhammad added these words on his own authority. '"Died 798. Qur'Bn 9 . 0 .
U : " You say." "O Died 777. '"Died ca. 838. Ibid. 4. 102.
78 Al-Zbcinah 'An Usiil Ad-Diycinah
Waki' relates a tradition on the authority of al-Ab~al,~"' and he on the QurPn is not a creator and not created, are sound. He related them on
authority of Uaytamah, and he on the authority of 'Adi ibn Hiitim,25~ the authority of his paternal uncle, Zayd ibn 'A1i,ZaTand on the authority
who said, The Apostle of God said, There is none of you whose Lord of his grandfather 'All ibn al-Husayn 268 [p. 311.
will not address him without the intervention of an interpreter. The 'ulamd' and the transmitters of the $dr and the ahbar tradi-
One of the things that explain that God is a discourser and that E e tionists who ~ a that y the Qur'Ln is uncreated, and that he who says it is
possesses a Word is what 'Affgn 254 relates: Hammld ibn Salamah 255 created is an infidel, are too many to count. Among them are the two
said on the authority of al-AB'at al-Harrlni, and he on the authority of Hammiids,ZBSat-Tawri, 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Abi Salamah, Miilik ibn
Bahr ibn tIawHab, The Word of God is as superior to other words as Ana~,2~O ali-8iifi'i 2T1 and his followers, al-Layt ibn Sa'd72T2Sufyiin ibn
God is superior to His creation. 'Uyaynah,2Ts Higiirn,aT4'Tsii ibn Yiinus,ZT5Hrrfs ibn Oayyiit,ZT8Sa'd ibn
Ya'lii ibn al-Minhiil as-Sa'di relates the following tradition: Ishiiq ibn 'Amir, 'Abd ar-Ralynln ibn Mahdi,ZTTAbii Bakr ibn 'Ayyiig:78 Waki',
Sulaymiin ar-Riizi 256 said, Al-Jarriih ibn ad-Dahhiik al-Kindi said, on Abii 'Bsim an-Nabil,ZTgYa'lii ibn 'Ubayd,"O Muhammad ibn Yiisuf, Bigr
the authority of 'Alqamah ibn Martad,257and he on the authority of Abii ibn al-Mufaddal,Zsl 'Abdalliih ibn Dii~iid,2~* Salliim ibn Abi Mutl', Ibn
'L\bd ar-Rahmsn as-Sulan~i,"~and he on the authority of 'Utmiin ibn al-Mubiirak, 'Ali ibn 'Ksim:83 m a d ibn 1-iinus, Abii Nu'aym, Qabkah
'.\ffln, The Apostle of God said, The best of you is he who is learned in ibn 'Uqbah,284Sulayrniin ibn Diiwiid, Abii 'Ubayd al-Q8sim ibn Salliim,285
the Qur'iin and its science, and he said that the Qur'iZn was as superior Yazid ibn Hiiriin,ZE6and others. If we continued the citation of those
to other words as God is superior to His creation-and that means that it who hold that doctrine, the discourse would be long in the citation of
is from Him. them. Those we have mentioned will suffice. We have now argued for
Sunayd ibn Diiwkd cites the following tradition: Abii Sufyln quoted the validity of our belief that the Qur'iZn is uncreated, from God's Book
on the authority of Mainar,259and he on the authority of Qatiidah,260 and such evidence and proof as it contains. We have not found any
God's words "If all the trees that are upon the earth were to become scholar, on whose authority the &ir are transmitted or the ahbar related,
pens, and if God should after swell the sea into seven seas of ink, His or who ranks as an authority, believing that the Qur'iin is created. Only
words would not be exhausted " 261-the verse. worthless and very ignorant people, whose belief is without authority,
HAriin ibn Ma'riif cites the following tradition: Jarir ibn Mansfir believe it. The arguments we have given above concerning the matter
quoted, on the authority of Hiliil ibn P a d f , what Farwah ibn Nawfal 262 are fatal to most of their beliefs, and the falsity of the latter is rejected.
said: I was a neighbor to IJabblb ibn al-Aratt.'G3 He said to me, Ho
there ! offer to God what you can. Nothing can be offered to God dearer
to Him than His Word.
It is related on the authority of Ibn 'rlbbls that, regarding Goil's
words " an Arabic Qur'lin, free from tortuous wording." ?""~e saitl,
Untreated.
2w Died ca. 740.
&4l-Layiibn Yahyl cites the following tradition: Ibrlhinl ibn al-A2nt
2"8Died 712.
told me, I heard Mu'ammal ibn IsmB'i1 say on the authority of nj-Tawri,
a60 De Slane (op. cit. I1 127) concludes that Ibn Salamah and Ibn Zayd (died
IIe who thinks that the Qur'zn is created is an infidel. 795) are the two VammBds. The two Hammiids mentioned in the Zbdnah are Ibn
The traditions on the authority of Ja'far ibn Muhammad that the Salamah and Ibn Abi SulayrnBn.
a'0 Died 795.
Dicd ca. 765. Died 820. ='O Died 827.

Died 686. '" Died 736. 172 Died 791. Died 824.
"' Probably Ibn Muslin1 (died ca. 8 % ) . '"Qur'r'.i~l31. 26. Died 814. "l Died 802.
26"ied 784. IJ>cd (i(iI . ?'' Probably Ibn 'Urwah (diet1 7 6 9 ) . 2 8 2 Died ca. 826.

26e Died en. 815. Died 057. I'crl~apsits-S8bi.i (died 80G). Died 81G.
2 6 7 Died 737. Died 81 1 . Dicd ca. 829.
"'Died G87. 2'E
I)ietl 693. ?" Qor'nl~39. 29 2 7 7 I)i(ltl 813. 2 8 V i e d ra. 837.
Perhaps Ibn Hnaid (died 7 6 9 ) . "'Died 7f1.3. ='Wied 808. '" Dictl 821.
80 Al-Zbamh 'An U@l Ad-Diyanah Translation 81
the words of my Lord; " 2s3 and the other verses of the Qur'iin we have
CHAPTEBCONTAINING THE Kabcim CONCERNING THOSEWHO SUSPEND used as proofs concerning it. It may also be said to them :This principle
JUDGMENT UPONTHE QUR'KNAND SAY, " I DO NOT SAY, compels you to suspend judgment regarding everything about which
' ITIS CREATED; ' NOR DO 1 SAY, ' ITIS people disagree, and you must not make up your minds too hastily con-
UNCREATED.' " 287 cerning that question; and therefore, if you may believe some of the
Answer.z88 I t may be said to them: Why do you think and believe interpretations of the Muslims when a proof demonstrates their sound-
that? Then, if they say, " We believe it because God does not say in ness, why do you not believe that the Qur'lin is uncreated, on the basis of
His Book that it is created, neither does the Apostle of God say so, nor the arguments we have cited above in this book of ours?
d o the Muslims agree unanimously that it is so; and God does not say in Question. If anybody says, " Tell us, do you believe that God's Word
His Book, ' It is uncreated,' neither does His Apostle say so, nor do the is on the Preserved Table?," the answer is: That is what we believe, be-
Muslims agree unanimously that it is so; and, therefore, we suspend cause God has said, " Yet it is a glorious QurJ5nJ written on the Pre-
judgment on it, and do not say, ' It is created,' or, ' It is uncreated ' "- served Table " 284 (and therefore the Qur'fin is on the Preserved Table) ;
if they say this, it may be said to them: Does God say to you in E i s and it is in the breasts of those whom the knowledge has reached (Cod
Book, " Suspend judgment on it," and "Thou dost not say, 'un- has said, "but it is a clear sign in the breasts of those whom the knowl-
created; ' " or does God's Apostle say to you, " Refrain from saying, ' It edge hath reached ") ;29"d it is read by the tongues (God has said,
is uncreated; ' " or do the Muslims agree unanimously that one should '' Move not thy tongue in haste ").2s6 The Qur'lin is really written i n
refrain from saying that it is uncreated? Then, if they say yes, they lie; our books, really preserved in our breasts, really read by our tongues,
but, if they say no, the answer is: Then do not refrain from saying and really heard by us (as He has said : "grant him an asylum, that he
"uncreated," by the same sort of proof as that by which you have im- may hear the word of God ") .2s7
posed restraint upon yourselves.2s0 After this, it may be said to them: Question.298 If he says, "Tell us about the utterance (laf~) of the
Why do you deny that God's Book contains proof that the Qur'Hn is Qur'iin, what do you believe concerning it ?," the answer is : The Qur'iin
uncreated? If they say, " We have not found it," the answer is : Why do is really read and recited, but it may not be said to be uttered, because
you think, simply because you have not found it in the Qur'iin, [p. 321 one may not say that it is an uttered word (for, when an Arab says, " I
that it is not to be found there? Then, we will see that they find it, and have uttered the morsel from my mouth," his meaning is " I have cast it
read them the verses upon which we base our argument in this our book, forth ") and the Word of God is not said to be uttered, but only to be
and prove our case that the Qur'iin is uncreated: such as His words read, recited, written, and memorized. Certain peopleZss say, "We have
"Are not the creation and the cornma$d His?;" 281 and His words uttered the Qur'iin," only that they may assert that i t is created, and give
" Our word to a thing when We will it is but to say to it, ' Be ! ' and

it is; " 292 and His words " Say: Should the sea become ink to write Ibid. 18. 109.
Ibid. 85. 21,22. '@"bid. 75.16.
Ibid. 29.48. Ibid. 9.6.
' 0 7 I n t h e Maqdldt (153) al-A8'ari speaks of this attitude a s having been
2Ps Al-Bu?~Bridistinguished between the uncreated Q u r ' h and the created l a f ~
adopted by some of the Murji'ah. It was also to be found among the Mu'tazilah
(Patton, op. cit. 34 f.), a s did Ahmad ibn Vanbal. A l - M a r & as t h e present
(ibid. 582ff.).
argument shown, sees the danger of allowing a free use of the verb " u t t e r " i n
"'The argument here advanced recalls the first of the three answers in the
connection with the Qur'iin. Like his predecessors, he was content with t h e
risdlah on the kalam. See nbove, 29.
distinction between the uncreated Word and t h e created acts of human beings i n
"@NOdoubt the jussive plural is t o be read here, and the meaning is " Do not
relation t o it, and regarded a s innovation a n y further inquiry into t h e impli-
hag, ' uncreated.' " The rending of the t e x t i s a misprint.
cations of this distinction. Later orthodoxy was less cautious than t h e Master;
" 'Up to this point, in the present chapter, a l - A h r i has simply proved t h a t
c. g. a1 Faclfili speaks of the lafz a s "created and written on the Preserved
tlrerc in nothing to forbid the usc of the term " uncreated." He XIOW goes on t o
slrow, against Iris oppo~rents,t h a t the Book itself contains proof of i t s uncreated- Table" (Macdonald, op. cit. 335). Wensinck says: "Probably the idea of t h e
pre-existence of the Kuran was supported by the popular representation of t h e
ness. I n the following parngrnphs Ire discusses certain ancillary questions, which
preserved table " (The Muslim Creed, 151 ) .
h u w no obvious conncctio~~ with the a t t i t u d e of suspended judgme~ltmentiorled in
2 0 0 The Mu'taziluh were divided on the question of the utteruncc of the Qur'Bn
the clrapter hending.
( MaqUldt 225).
=*' Qur'ZLn 7. 52. 'O' Ibid. 16. 42.
82 Al-Zbanah 'An Usul Ad-DiycZnuh Translation 83
a specious appearance to their innovation and their doctrine of its
createdness; and so they conceal their infidelity from those who do CHAPTERCONTAINING
THE DISCUSSION
CONCERNING
GOD'S BEING
not apprehend their meaning. But, since we apprehend their meaning, SEATEDON THE THRONE.^'^
we deny their belief. Also, it may not be said, " A part of the Qur'gn If anybody says, "What do you say regarding God's being seated on
is created," because the QurZn in its entirety is uncreated. the Throne?," the answer is: We say that God is seated on His Throne,
Question. If anybody says, " Has not God said, ' Every fresh warning as He has said, "The Merciful is seated on the Throne." 307 God has
that cometh to them from their Lord they only hear to mock it '?," aOO the also said, " The good word riseth up to Him;" and, "but God took
answer is: The warning God means is not, the Qur'iin, but the discourse him up to Himself;" 309 and, " From the heaven to the earth He gov-
of the Apostle and his threat to them; for God said to His Prophet, "yet erneth all things; hereafter shall they come up to Him." He has also
warn them, for verily warning will profit the faithful;" and God said, quoting Pharaoh: " 0,Haman! build for me a tower that I may
also said, "a warning, an apostle," [p. 333 thus calling the Apostle reach the avenues, the avenues of the heavens, and may mount to the
" a warning." The Apostle is also " a fresh warning; " for God also God of Moses, for I verily deem Him a liar ;" and so Pharaoh gave the
said, " Every fresh warning that cometh to them from their Lord they lie to Moses, the prophet of God, for saying that God was above the
only hear to mock it," telling us that every fresh warning that comes to heavens. God has also said, "What! are you sure that He who is in
them they only hear to mock it; but He did not say, " There comes not heaven will not cleave the earth beneath you?" Now the Throne is
to them a warning except it be fresh," and, since He does not say this, above the heavens; wherefore, since the Throne is above the heavens, He
i t is not necessarily true that the Qur'gn is fresh (for if anybody were to .
said, "What! are you sure that He who is in heaven . .?," because H e
say, '' No Tamimi comes to them, summoning them to the truth, without is seated on the Throne, which is above the heavens, for all that which
their opposing him," one would not have to say, "Nobody except a is on high is heaven, and, therefore, the Throne is the highest thing in
Tamimi comes to them ") ;and the same holds true of that about which the heavens. Also, when H e says, " What! are you sure that He who is
they ask us. .
in heaven . .?," He does not mean all the heavens, but has in mind
only the Throne, which is the highest thing in the heavens. Do you
Question. If they ask us concerning God's words "an Arabic not agree that God is speaking of the heavens when He says, " and He
Qur'h," the answer is : God sent it down and i t is not created. There-
fore, if they say, " God has said, 'And we have sent down iron. Dire
. .
appointed . the moon," [p. 341 in them, "for light," 313 yet He does
not mean that the moon fills them entirely, and that it is in them
evil resideth in it,'304 and iron is created," the answer is: Iron is a entirely? Then, too, see the Muslims all raising their hands, when thev
perishable body; and it is not necessarily true that the Qur%n, since it is pray, towards heaven, because God is seated on the Throne, which is
sent down, is a perishable body; and, for the same reason, it is not
necessarily true that the Qur18n, since it is sent down, is created, even See references to " throne " in Wensinck, op. eit. Al-AS'ari's successors really
abandoned the belief he had held. Al-~az,ili,to cite one instance, says: "Lo, H c
though iron is created.
is seated firmly upon H i s Throne ( a r s h ) , after the manner which He has said.
Answer. I t may be said to them: God has commanded us to take and in the sense in which He willed a being seated firmly ( i s t i w a ) , which i s
refuge in Him, who is uncreated, and He commands us to take refuge far removed from contact and fixity of location and being established and being
enveloped and being removed. The Throne does not carry Him, but the Throne
in the perfect Words of God; 30%nd, since we are not commanded to and those that carry i t are carried by the grace of His power and nlastered b y
take refuge in a certain created thing, but He commands us to take His grasp. He is above the Throne and the Heavens and above everything unto
refuge in the Word of God, the Word of God must be uncrcatd. the limit of the Pleiades, with an aboveness which does not bring Him nearer
to the Throne and the Heavcns, just as i t does not make Him further from t h e
earth and the Pleindcs " (Macdonald, op. cit. 301). For an example of anthropo-
aoOQur'Rn 21. 2. morphism in this connection sce the Si'ite discussion as to whcther the bcnrers
Ihid. 51. 55. of the Throne bear the Throne or the Crentor (Mnqdlc2t 3 5 ) . For traditions see
301 'OS Ibid. 39. 29.
Ibid. 65. 11. Wensinck, Hnndbook 18.
Ibid. 57. 25.
" 0 1 Qur'iin 20. 4.
'" Ihitl. 16,100: " When thou rcndrst the Qt~r'iin,take refuge with God n g a i n ~ t
Satan, the stonctl." Ibid. 35. 1 1 . Ibid. 32.4. "Ibid. 6 7 . 16.
Ibid. 4. 156. Ibid. 40.38, 30. 'I3 Ihid. 10. 5.
84 Al-lbanah 'An U&l Ad-Diyanah
above the heavens; but, if God were not upon the Throne, they would and this is impossible and self-contradictory. May God be very far above
not raise their hands towards the Throne, just as they do not lower them, your calumny against Him !
when they pray, to the earth.
Another proof. Among the things that make it certain that God is
Question. Some of the Mu'tazilah s14 and the Jahmiyyah and the seated upon His Throne, and not upon all created things, is the tradi-
Hariiriyyah have said that God's words " The Merciful is seated on the tion quoted by the traditionists on the authority of the Apostle of God
Throne" mean that He has the mastery and reigns and exercises [p. 351. 'AffBn relates it on the authority of Hammiid ibn Salamah,sz0
power, and that God is in every place, and they deny that God is on His who said, 'Amr ibn Diniir s21 told us, on the authority of Niifi' ibn
Throne, as the true believers say, and hold the opinion, regarding God's J ~ b a y r , 8and
~ ~he on the authority of his father, that the Prophet said,
being seated, that it is God's power. But, if this were as they put it, " God descends every night to the lower heaven and says, ' I s there any
there would be no difference between the Throne and the earth; for God who has a request? and I will grant it him. I s there any who asks for-
has power over the earth and over gardens S1s and over everything in the giveness? and I will forgive him,'-until the dawn arrives."
world; and, therefore, if God were seated on the Throne in the sense of 'Abdall5.h ibn Bakr 328 relates the following tradition: Hi5Lm ibn Abi
having the masters since He has the mastery over all things, H e would ',lbdall%h s24 told us, on the authority of Yahyii ibn Abi Katir,SZ5and he
certainly be seated on the Throne and on the earth and on heaven and on the authority of Abii JaYar,sz6 that he heard Abii Ja'far say that he
on gardens and on each separate thing, because He has power over had heard Abii Hurayrah s27 say, The Apostle of God said, "When a
created things, possessing the mastery over them. But, since He has third of the night remains, God descends and says, 'Who is there that
power over all things, and no Muslim regards it as right to say that God prays to Me? and I will answer him. Who is there that asks to be shielded
is seated on the gardens and on the waste, God's being seated on the from harm? and I will shield him from it. Who is there that asks Me
Throne cannot mean His having the mastery that is common to all to supply his needs? and I mill supply them for him,'-until the dawn
things; and it is necessarily true that its meaning is a being seated that breaks."
belongs particularly to the Throne and not to ail things. But the The following tradition is related on the authority of '-4bdallBh ibn
Mu'tazilah and the Hariiriyyah and the Jahmiyyah think that Cod is Bakr as-sahmi: Higiim ibn Abi 'Abdalliih told us, on the authority of
in every place; and so they are compelled to admit that He is in the Yahy5 ibn Abi Katir, and he on the authority of HilLl ibn Abi May-
womb of Mary and in gardens and the waste; and this is contrary to the miinah, who said, 'At2 ibn Yasiir 328 told us that RifSi'ah al-Juhani had
Religion. May God be exalted above their belief ! told him, We were making the journey home to Mecca with God's
Answer. It may be said to them: If He is not seated on the Throne Apostle, and, when we arrived a t al-Kudayd, (or else he said, al-
(in the sense of the Throne particularly, and not anything else, as the Qudayd),Sz8' he praised God and extolled Him. Then he said, "When
scholars and the @dr traditionists and those who relate the abbiir say), a third of the night has passed "--or else he said, " two-thirds of the
but is in every place, then He is under the earth, over which the heaven night "-" God descends to the heaven and says, ' Who is there that prays
is; and if He is under the earth and the earth above Him and the heaven to Me, that I may answer him? Who is there that asks forgiveness of
above the earth, then this compels you to believe that God is under the Me, that I may forgive him? Who is there that has a request to make
depth, and created things are above Him, and that He is above the of Me, that I may gmnt it him? '-until the dawn breaks."
height, and created things are below Him; and if this is true He must Another proof. God has said, "they f e y their Lord who is above
be under that above which He is and above that under which He is,
" g e e above, 48, 53. Jag No doubt as Sahml, mentioned below.
"' See Maqiild t 157. Qur'im 20.4. m0 Died en. 825. Died ca. 769.
Understand " latrines " here nntl below. Died 784. SaWied74f.
"'l d i a q d l d t 157: " The belief regarding the place: The Mu'tazilah disagree con- "l Died 743 Died ca. 749.
cerning it. Some say, ' The Creator is in every place in the sense that He controls "" Died 717. $" Died 670.
every place and that His control is in every place.' TIie vast majority of the "**A Qur'fin render in al-Madinah. A member of the second generation of
.
Mu'tazilah believe this. . . Otlrern say, ' The Creator is not in a place, but He ~cholarsafter 'Ali.
i~ upon that upon which He has eternally been.'" Al-Kadayd (al-Kadid) and al-Qudayd were situated on the road from Meccs
to al-hfadinah. They were sixteen miles apart.
86 Al-Zbiinah 'An U s d Ad-Diyanuh
them; " 32D and, " the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him ;" 330 and, Another proof. God has said, "then are they returned to God, their
"then He applied Himself to the heaven, which then was but smoke; " 331 Lord, the True;" 341 and, " But if thou couldest see when they shall be
.
and, "then mounted His Throne. . . Ask now of the wise concerning set before their Lord !; " 342 and, " Couldst thou but see when the guilty
Him;"332 and, "then ascended His Throne. Save Him ye have no shall droop their heads before their Lord ! ;" 343 and, " And they shall be
patron, and no intercessor." 333 Therefore, all that proves that God is set before thy Lord in ranks." 34' A11 that proves that He is not in His
in heaven, seated upon His Throne. Now, by unanimous consent, heaven creation, and His creation not in Him, and that He is seated upon His
is not the earth; and therefore this is a proof that God is unique in His Throne. May He be far above the belief of the malefactors ! Therefore
oneness, seated upon His Throne. they have not established any reality in their predication, nor have those
Another proof. God has said, "and thy Lord shall come and the who attempt to prove oneness by discussing their predication, done so;
angels rank on rank;" 334 and, "What can such expect but that God since all their reasoning amounts to ta'tzl, and all their predications
should come down to them overshadowed with clouds?; " 333 and, "then prove rejection. Do you mean by that the assertion of tanzih, and the
came He nearer and approached, and was at the distance of two bows, or rejection of tas'bsh? Then we take refuge in God from a tanzih that
even closer, and He revealed to His servant what H e revealed. His heart necessitates denial or t ~ ' t z 1 . ~ ~ ~
falsified not what he saw. What! will ye then dispute with him as to
Another proof. God has said, "God is the light of the heavens and of
what he saw?," to His words "for he saw the greatest of the signs the earth; " 346 and therefore He called Himself light. Now " light,"
of his Lord." 337 God also said to 'Is5 ibn Maryam, "verily, I will cause
according to the Community, must have one of two meanings : it is either
thee to die, and will take thee up to Myself; " 338 and He has said, '' they
light that is or light that is seen. But he who thinks that God
did not really slay him, but God took him up to Himself; " 339 and the
is heard, and not seen, errs in his rejection of the visibility of his Lord,
Community agree unanimously that God raised 'fsl to heaven. Also
and his false denial bf His Book and the words of His Prophet; for the
one of the common prayers of the people of Islilm, when they supplicate
'ulamQ' relate, on the authority of 'Abdallilh ibn 'Abbls, that he said,
God concerning the thing that descends upon them, is their saying to-
"Reflect upon the creation of God, but reflect not upon God Himself;
gether, [p. 361 " 0 Dweller upon the Throne !; " and one of their
there are between His throne and heaven a thousand cubits, and God is
common oaths is " Nay, by Him who is veiled by seven heavens ! "
above them."
Another proof. God has said: " I t is not for mortal man that God
should speak with him but by vision, or from behind a veil; or, He Another proof. The 'ulamd' relate, on the authority of the Prophet,
sendeth a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wishes; " 340 that he said, "Man's feet shall not leave the presence of God until He
and the verse speaks of man particularly, and not of other, non-human questions him regarding his works." The 'ulamd' relate that a man
creatures. If the verse were equally applicable to man and to other brought to the Prophet a black slave woman, and said, " 0 Apostle of
creatures, it would be far removed from ambiguity, and from furnishing God! I desire to free her by way of atonement. Is her liberation
an occasion to him who hears it to doubt that He says, "It is not for lawful?" Then the Prophet said to her, [p. 373 "Where is God?"
any creature that God should speak with him but by vision, or from She said, " In heaven." He said, " Who am I ? " She said, " The
behind a veil; or, ITe sendeth a messenger . ..
;" but doiibt and per- Apostle of God." The Prophet said, "Free her, for she is a believer."
This proves that God is upon His throne ahove heaven.
plexity arc removed by His saying, " I t is not for a certain kind of crea-
ture that God should speak with him but by vision, or from behind a
.
veil; or, He sendeth a messenger . . ," and we leave out of consideration
Ibid. 6. 62. Ibid. 32. 12.
species IIc does not include, by a general designation, in the verse; where- Ibid. 0. 30. ='' Ibid. 18. 40.
fore wlmt we have said is a proof that IIe means man particularly, to Tanzih is an attenipt t o obtain a conception of God's "otherness" by nega-
the exclusion of other creatures. tion, thnt is, by declaring that He is not what hunlan beings are. This, t o
al-A8'nri's mind, leads t o ta'til, depriving God of His prcdicntes. See Introduction,
Qur'an 10. 52. Ibid. 2.5. (10. "O hid. 2. 206. Ibid. 3. 48. 36.
Ibid. 70.4. Ibid. 32. 3. "' Ibid. 53. 8-12. s'x Ibid. 4. 150. ''3 Qur'ftn 24.35.
'31 Ibitl. 41. 10. S3' Ibid. 89. 23. Ibid. 53. 18. J'n Ibid. 42 50, 51 "'That is, li=ht to the intelligence.
88 Al-Zbtinah 'An Uqul Ad-Diyinah Translation 89
rely; for there is no might or power except in God, and He is the God
from whom help is sought. Whosoever questions us and says, ' Do you
believe God has a face?,' the answer is: We believe it contrarily to the
God has said, " Everything shall perish except His face; " 348 and H e belief of the innovators; and His words ' But the face of thy Lord shall
has said, " but the face of thy Lord shall abide resplendent with majesty abide resplendent with majesty and glory' 3" are a proof of it."
and glory" S4g (thus He tells us that He has a face that does not dis- Question. If we are asked, " Do you believe God has two hands?," the
appear, that dissolution does not overtake) ; and He has also said, answer is : We believe it, and His words " the hand of God was over their
'c Under Our eyes it floated on; ." 850 and He has said, "But build the hands," s58 and His words "before him whom I have created with My
ark under Our eye and after Our revelation" (thus He tells us that two hands " are a proof of it; and also, it is related, on the authority
He has a face and an eye, unqualified and undefined) ; and He has also of the Prophet, that he said, " God rubbed Adam's back with His hand
said, " Wait thou patiently the judgment of thy Lord, for thou art in Our and produced from i t [p. 381 his offspring," S60 and therefore the exist-
eye;" and He has said, "that thou mightest be reared in Mine ence of the hand is proved, and the truth of His words "before him
eye; " a5a and He has said, "And God heareth, beholdeth;" 364 and H e whom I have created with My two hands ;" and we are told in the
said to Moses and Aaron, "for I am with you both. I will hearken and h a ~ a r ~ e l a t eon
d the authority of the Prophet, that God created Adam
I will behold; " 355 and therefore H e speaks of His hearing and His sight with His hand, and created the Garden of Eden with His hand, and
and His visibility. The Jahmiyyah deny that Cod has a face, as H e wrote the Law (tawrah) with His hand, and planted the Tree of
has said; and they regard as false the doctrine that He has hearing and Happiness with His hand. God has also said, '' Nay! outstretched are
sight and an eye. They agree with the Christians; for the Christians do both His hands," 381 and we are told, on the authority of the Prophet,
not believe that God is "hearing, beholding," except in the sense that He that he said, "Both His hands are right hands." He also said, "We
is knowing. The Jahmiyyah hold the same belief; and therefore what had surely seized ,him by the right hand," S62 and in the Arabic lan-
they really say is, "We say that God is knowing, but we do not say, guage, and in the usage of conversation, one may not say, " I have done
' hearing, beholding ' in any other sense than 'knowing ' " (the belief of thus-and-so with my two hands," meaning by it "grace." Since God
the Christians is the same). The Jahmiyyah say that God has neither addresses the Arabs only in their language, and what He reveals is under-
knowledge, nor power, nor hearing, nor sight. The end they have in stood in their speech and comprehended in their converse, and in the
view is simply a ta'til of the unity and a false denial of the names of language of careful speakers one may not say, "I have done something
God. Therefore, they talk about it, but do not carry their beliefs to a with my two hands," meaning " grace," it is untrue that the meaning of
logical conclusion. However, if they did not fear the sword, they would His words "with My two hands" is " grace "-and that because one
certainly say plainly that God is non-hearing and non-seeing and non- may not say, " I have a hand upon him," meaning " I have a grace upon
knowing; nevertheless, the fear of the sword restrains them from making him." He who would forbid us the use of the classical language and has
an open profession of their zandaqah. A sheikh much esteemed among not recourse to the lexicographers who reject the idea that "the hand"
them thinks that God's knowledge is God, and that God is knowledge. has the meaning of "the grace" may not persist in the idea that " t h e
However, he denies the divine knowledge when he supposes he has hand" is "the grace," except in accordance with classical usage; but,
asserted its existence, and therefore he is compelled to say, " 0 Knowl- since he rejects classical usage, he must not interpret the Qur'iin i n
edge, forgive me!" (since the knowledge of God, according to him, is accordance with it, or assert that "the hand " is "grace " by its rules,
God Himself, and God, according to his analogy (qiya), is knowledge because, if he has recourse, in the interpretation of God's words "with
and power). May God be vcry far abore that! Abu 'I-Hasan 'Ali ibn My two hands" as " My two graces," "3 to ijmci', the Muslims do not
IsmB'il al-AB'ari said, " To God we look for guidance and on Him do we
Qur'Rn 55. 27. ?" SPITWensinek, Ihndbook 11.
"'Qnr'iln 28. 88. Illid. 54. 14. J6' Ibid. 52. 48. "' Ibid. 4. 133. Ibid. 48.10. ?"' Qur'f 11 5. 69.
Ibid. 55. 27. Illid. 11. 30. S6a Ibid. 20. 40. Ibid. 20. 48. Ihid. 38. 75. Ibid. 69. 43.
3.16 Abu 'l-H~lc!nyl, who *aid, " God is ir kr~owerby a knowledge that in IIirnself "
"6311crc and in the next Qnestion the form of this word in the unvocnlizecl
( I t l a q d l d l 165). text is ambiguous: i t may rnmn " My grace " or " My [two1 graces." However,
90 Al-lbanuh 'An Ugil Ad-Diy&zah
agree upon that which he maintains; and if he has recourse to classical hands" cannot possibly be the same as that of His wol'ds "with Our
usage, classical usage does not allow anyone to say, " with my two hands," hands We have built it up." Besides, if He meant " prowess," the mean-
meaning "my two graces ;" and if he seeks safety in a third direction, ing of that would be " by My two powers;" and this contradicts the
we will question him about it, and he will surely not find a way to justify statement of our opponents and shatters their opinions, because they
himself. cannot prove one power, and so how can they prove two? Besides, if
God meant "power " by B i s words "before him whom I have created
Question. It may be said to the innovators, "Why do you think that
the meaning of His words 'with My two hands ' is ' My two graces '? with My two hands," Adam would have no quarrel with Iblis regarding
that matter. But God intended that he should see the superiority of
Do you think it by ijmd', or by classical usage?" They will not find it
in the ijmd' or in the classical language, and if they say, " We believe it Adam, since H e had created him, and not Iblis, with His hand; whereas
by qiycis," the answer is: Where do you find i n the q i y a that God's words if He had created IblTs with His two hands, as he had created Adam
" with My two hands " have no meaning but " My two graces " ? Whence
with His two hands, H e would have had no reason for preferring
is it possible t o know by reason that it is interpreted thus-and-so? Adam to Iblis in that respect, and Iblis would have said, arguing
although we have seen that God has said in His Boqk, which speaks by against his Lord, "Thou hast created me by Thy two hands as Thou
the tongue of His Prophet, the Truthful, " We have not sent any apostle, has created Adam by them." Therefore, since God willed to prefer Adam
save with the speech of his own people; " and H e has said, " But the to Iblis in this respect, H e said to Iblis, rebuking him for his pride
tongue of him a t whom they hint is forei,p, while this Qura$in is in the against Adam in refusing to worship him, "what hindereth thee from
plain Arabic;"365 and H e has said, "We have made it an Arabic prostrating thyself before him whom I have created with My two hands?
Qur'iin; " 366 and H e has said, " Will they not then meditate on the I s it that thou art puffed up with pride?," which thing is a proof that
Qur'ln? " 3G7 If the Qur8n were in a language other than Arabic, surely the meaning of the verse is not " power" since God created all things
i t would not be possible for us to meditate upon it or to understand its by His power; but i t signifies only the assertion of the existence of two
meaning when we hear i t ; wherefore; since one who is not expert in the hands, and Iblis did not share with Adam the dignity of being created
Arabic language is not expert in the Qur'gn, and only the Arabs under- by them. It must be that the meaning of God's words "before him
stand it when they hear it, it is obvious that only the latter know it, whom I have created with My two hands " is an assertion of the existence
because i t was revealed in their language; and their language does not of two hands that are two graces; or that their meaning is a n assertion of
allow what the innovators claim. the existence of two hands that are two members; or that their meaning
is an assertion of the existence of two hands that are two powers; or
[p.. 391 Question. An argument has been advanced on the basis of that their meaning is a n assertion of the existence of two hands that are
God's words " And the heaven-with our hands We have built i t up." not two graces and not two members and not two powers, not qualified
They say, "The hands (aydtl) are the prowess, and the meaning of except as God is qualified. Therefore its meaning cannot be "two
His words 'with My two hands' is 'by My two powers."' 389 The graces," because, according to the lexicographers, one may not say, " I
answer is: This interpretation does not hold true for a number of have done something with my two hands," when he means "my two
reasons, the final and most decisive one being that aydin is not the plural graces;" nor according to us nor according to our opponents, may we
of pad, because the plural of the yad that is " grace " is ay8dtn, and H e mean " two members; " nor, according to our opponents, may we mean
says only, "beforc him whom I have created with My two hands;"370 'd
two powers; " and if three alternatives fail to hold true, the fourth is
wherefore according to this the meaning of His words "with My two sound, namely, that the meaning of His words "with My two hands"
is an assertion of the existence of two hands that are not two members
t& Qt~estioti beginning on page 91 seertis conclunive, s i ~ t c ethere the use of the
dual i s clenr. The phmse " with My [two] harids " might he translated " with
and not two powers and not two graces, not qualified except insofar a s
My Itand " in rut ~rnvocnlizedtext, but Jrere, sizrce the words nre q ~ ~ o t from
e ~ l the it is said that they are two hands not like ordinary hands, and that they
Qur':in. tlic dual i* to be rend. are not includcd in the thrcc foregoing categories.
. " I t)ur':in 14. 4.

I l ~ i d .11;. 105. '"'Ibitl. 47. 26. '"'Set note 303.


Question. l~esidcs,if the meaning of God's words " with My two
'Oqbid. 43. 2. Ibid. 51. 47. "O Qur'iin 38. 7;).
912 AE-Zbanuh 'An U@l Ad-Diganah Translation 9%

hands " were " My two graces," Adam would have no superiority over Question. If they say, "Since you assert that God has two hands,
Iblis in that respect, according to our opponents' opini because of His words 'before him whom I have created with My two
created Iblis, according to their belief, as He create hands,' why do you not assert that He has a number of hands, because
means, and it must be that by the two graces [p. 401 He meant either of His words 'from what Our hands have made,'" 373 the answer is:
the body of Adam or that two accidents are created in the body of Adam. It is unanimously agreed that the belief of those who assert God has a
Therefore, if He meant the body of Adam, then bodies, according to our number of hands is false; and therefore, since it is unanimously agreed
Mu'tazilite opponents, are one genus; and since bodies, according to that the belief of those who entertain that idea is false, God must indeed
them, are one genus, then, according to their opinions, the same grace have spoken of a number of hands, but really have meant to assert the
occurs in the flesh of Iblis as occurs in the flesh of Adam. Likewise, if existence of two hands, because the ijma' has demonstrated the sound-
He means two accidents, then there is no accident He has made in the ness of the proof, and if the i j m Z is sound, He must really have meant
body of Adam--color, life, prowess, nor anything besides-that H e has by His word "hands" "two hands," because the Qur'gn is to be inter-
not made, of the same genus, according to them, in the body of Iblis; preted literally, and we do not depart from its literal meaning, except by
and from this it follows that Adam has no superiority over Iblis in that proof; and so we find a proof by which we transfer the reference to hands
respect. God is Almighty, and He uses that as an argument against from its primary literal meaning to another literal meaning; and the.
Iblis only in order to show him that Adam is superior in that respect; latter literal meaning must rest on a truth from which there is no de-
wherefore what we have said is a proof that God, since He said, "before parture except by proof.
him whom I have created with My two hands," did not mean " My two [p. 41) Question. If anybody says, " Since God speaks of ' hands '
graces." and means 'two hands,' why do you deny that He speaks of ' hands ' and
means ' one hand '?," the answer is: God speaks of " hand " and means
Answer. It may also be said to them: Why do you deny that God
"two hands," because it is unanimously agreed that the belief of those
means, by His words "My two hands," two hands that are not two
who say " many hands," and the belief of those who say " one h.and " are
graces? Therefore, if they say, " Because, if the hand is not grace, it is
false. But we say "two hands," because the Qur'lin is to be interpreted
nothing but a member," the answer is: Why do you conclude that the
literally, unless there is a proof that i t is to be interpreted otherwise
hand, if it is not grace, is nothing but a member? If, then, they refer
than literally.
us to our proof text and to our own experience of the created world, and
say, "The hand, if it is not grace in the proof text, is nothing but a Question. If anybody says, " You do not deny that God's words ' from
member," the answer is: If you make use of the proof text and draw what Our hands have made ' and His words 'before him whom I have
conclusions concerning God from it, then neither do we find a living created with My two hands ' are metaphorical," the answer is : The rule
creature that is not a body consisting of flesh and blood; and therefore, of the Word of God is that it is to be interpreted literally and truly,
draw conclusions about God from that, and if you do not, you go back and a thing is not transferred from its literal meaning to a metaphorical
upon your belief and contradict your argument. But if you assert the one, except by proof. Do you not agree that if the literal meaning of
existence of a living thing not like the living things we know, then why the Word is the universal one, then, if the universal meaning occurs in
do you deny that the two hands of which God spoke are two hands that an expression, and what is intended by it is the particular meaning, it is
are not two graces and not two members and not like a number of hands? not really to be interpreted literally; nevertheless, that of which the
Likewise, it may be said to them : You do not find a wise ruler who is not literal sense is universal may not be withdrawn from its universal mean-
human, but assert that the world has a wise Ruler who is not like man. ing without proof? Likewise God's words before him whom I have
('

and you dissent from the proof text and contradict your argument. created with My two hands " are to be interpreted 1itcraIly and truly, as
Therefore do not refuse to assert the existence of two hands that arc being a proof of the existence of the two hands, and they may not bc
not two graces and not two members, because that is contrary to the transferred from the literal sense of " two hands" to that which our
proof text. opponents maintain, except by proof; for if that were permitted, one

"'See note 303. "a Qur'Bn 30.71.


1
94 Al-Ibanah 'An Usul Ad-Diyanah Translation 95

might maintain, without proof, that what has a universal sense in its Question. One of their chief persons, Abu 'I-Hudayl al-'Alliif, has
literal interpretation is particular, and what has a particular sense in its said that God's knowledge is God, and so he makes God knowledge. It
literal interpretation is universal; and since one may not make this must be said to him, " Since you say that God's knowledge is God, say,
contention without evidence, you may not maintain that it is a metaphor, 0 knowledge of God, forgive me and have mercy on me! '," and then
unless there is proof; but, on the contrary, God's words "before him he will decline to do this and will be involved in contradictions. Know
whom I have created with My two hands" must be a proof of God's that they who say, " a knower but not knowledge " contradict themselves,
possession of two hands in reality, and not two graces, since, when two just as they who say, " knowledge but not a knower" contradict them-
graces are in question, according to the lexicographers, nobody who selves; and so it is with the beliefs regarding power and the wielder of
follows their principles may say, " I have done something with my two power, life and the living one, hearing and eight and the hearing one and
hands," meaning '!the two graces." the seeing one.
Answer. It may be said to them: Tell us about those who think that
CHAPTERCONTAINING Y THE JAHMIYYAH
THE E E ~ L TO CONCERNING Cod is a discourser, a speaker, eternally a commander, a forbidder,
O F GOD'SKNOWLEDGE
THEIR DENI-4~ AND HIS POWER
AND without words or a discourse or a command or a prohibition-are they
HIS ATTRIBUTES IN GENERAL. not self-contradictory and deserters from the company of the Muslims?
God has said, " in His knowledge He sent i t down; " 3 7 4 and He has They will undoubtedly answer yes. Hence, it may be said to them: And
said, "and no female conceiveth or bringeth forth without His knowl- so likewise, he who says that God is a knower, but has not knowledge,
edge." 37" H e has also mentioned His knowledge in fire other places in contradicts himself and is a deserter from the company of the Muslims.
His Book. H e has said, "But if they answer you not, then know that it The Muslims unanimously agreed, before the origin of the Jahmiyyah
hath been sent down to you in the wisdom of God only." 37s He has said, and the Mu'tazilah and the Hariiriyyah, that God had knowledge eter-
" yet nought of His knowledge shall they grasp, save what He willeth." 377 nally, and said, " God's knowledge is eternal, for God's knowledge pre-
He has also mentioned His prowess and said, " Saw they not that Cod cedes created things," and they do not refuse to say of every new thing
who created them mas mightier than they in prowess?; " 3i8 and He has that arises and everything that comes down from God, " All this exists
said, " Possessed of might, the Unshaken." 379 He has said, " And the antecedently in God's knowledge;" and therefore he who denies that
heaven-with our hands We have built it up." 380 Now the Jahmiyyah God has knowledge dissents from the Muslims and is guilty of a depar-
think that God has neither knowledge, nor power, nor life, nor hearing, ture from their agreement.
nor sight, and they mean to deny that God is a knower, a wielder of
Answer. It may be said to them : Since God is a willer, has He a will?
power, a living one, a hearing one, a seeing one; and therefore, while the
Then if they say no, the answer is: And so, since you assert the existence
fear of the sword restrains them from denying it publicly, nevertheless
of a willer who has not a will, assert the existence of a speaker who has
the denial is there, because, since they say, " God has neither knowledge
not speech. But if they assert the existence of God's will, the answer is:
nor power," they believe that He is neither a knower nor a wielder of
And so, since He is a willer, He cannot be a willer except by a will; and
power; and that is necessarily true according to them. They have simply therefore you do not deny that the knower knows only by knowledge, and
borrowed this [p. 421 from the zindiqs and the advocates of ta'til; be-
that God has knowledge, as you have asserted He has a will.
cause many of the zindiqs believe that God is not a knower, or a wielder
of power, or a living one, or a hearing one, or a seeing one. Therefore, Question. They also make a distinction between God's knowledge and
the Mu'tazilah have not the power to state it openly (although they really His Word; wherefore they say that God knew Moses and Pharaoh, but
mean it), but say that God is a knower, a wielder of power, a living one, spoke to Moses and not to Pharaoh. Hence i t may likewise be said:
a hearing one, a seeing one, by appellation (tasmiah), without asserting He taught Moses the art of governing and skill in public speaking, and
that LIe has real kiiowleclge, power, hearing, or sight. gave him prophecy, but did not teach those things to Pharaoh; wherefore,
if God has a Word, because He spoke to Moses, but did not speak to
"' Illid. 4. 164.
'"Ibid. 2. 256. Pharaoh, then likewise God has knowledge, because He taught Moses,
Ihid. 3.5. 12. '" 111id. 51. 58. but did not teach Pharaoh. Moreover it may be said [p. 431 t o them:
3'8 Ibid. 11. I f . Ibid. 41.14. "O Ibid. 51. 47.
98 Al-Zbanuh 'An Usul Ad-Diyanah Translation 99 -
is not different for the indication of whose nature it is used; and, since eminent than you believe!). Do you not agree that ignorance and loss
the meaning of " knower " when we use the term is that the knower has overtake the creature who does not know? And does not he who believes
knowledge, every knower must be a possessor of knowledge, just as, since that of God qualify Him with what is not appropriate to H i m ? There-
my words "actually existent" are, to our minds, a clear assertion of fore, likewise, if ignorance and loss overtake the creature of whom it is
existence, the Creator necessarily exists by this assertion of His existence, said, " H e has not knowledge," that denial must not be made in (rod's
because H e is actually existent. case, because neither ignorance nor loss overtakes Him.
Answer. It may be said to the Mu'tazilah and the Jahmiyyah and Answer. It may also be said to them: I s it possible for acts of govern-
the Hariiriyyah : Do you say, " God has antecedent knowledge of created ment on the part of one who is not a knower to possess an orderly
things, and of the delivery of every pregnant woman and the pregnancy arrangement? Therefore if they say, " This is impossible and acts that
of every woman, and of the revelation of all H e reveals? " Therefore, proceed according to law and order are possible only on the part of a
if they say yes, they assert the existence of God's knowledge and agree. knower, a wielder of power, a living one," the answer is: And likewise
But if they say no, the answer is: This is a denial on your part of God's acts that proceed according to law and order are possible only on the
words " in His knowledge H e sent it down," a87 and His words "and n o part of a possessor of knowledge and power and life; and so if their
female conceiveth or bringeth forth without His knowledge," 388 and appearance apart from a possessor of knowledge is possible, why do you
E i s words "But if they answer you not, then know that it hath been deny the possibility of their appearance apart from a knower, a wielder
sent down to you in the wisdom of God only;" 38g and, since God's of power, a living one? Every question we put to them concerning
words "knowing everything " 390 and "not a leaf falls but H e knoweth knowledge includes, on their premisses, power and life and hearing and
it " 391 make it necessarily true that H e is " knowing " and knows created sight.
things, likewise you do not deny that these verses make it necessarily
true that God has knowledge of created things. Question. The Mu'tazilah think that the meaning of God's words
hearing, seeing" is "knowing." The answer is: hen since God says,
Answer. It may be said to them: God has knowledge of the distinc- "verily with you both I hearken and behold," 392 and, '' God hath heard
tion between His friends and His enemies; and does H e will i t ? and the words of her who pleaded with thee against her husband," 3gs do
has H e a will for faith, since H e wills faith? Therefore if they say yes, these words mean " knowledge " according to you? Therefore, if they
[p. 451 they agree; and if they say, " Since H e wills faith, H e has a say yes, the answer is: Then you must say, " The meaning of His words
will," the answer is: And, likewise, since H e distinguishes between His ' I hearken and behold ' is ' I know and I know,'" since those words
friends and His enemies, He certainly has knowledge of this distinction; mean God's knowledge.
for how could creatures have knowledge of i t and the Creator not have
knowledge of i t ? for creatures would then outrival the Creator in knowl- Question. The Mu'tazilah deny the attributes of the Lord of the
edge and be superior to Him. May God be very far above that! It may Worlds, and think that the meaning of "hearing, seeing," is identical
also be said to them: Siiice the creature who has knowledge is more with the meaning of "knowing," just as the Christians think that God's
worthy of exalted dignity than he who has not knowledge, then since you hearing is IIis sight and His visibility and His Word and IIis knowledge
think that God has not knowledge, you must admit that the creatures and IIis Son. May God be very far above that! It may be said t o the
are higher in rank than the Creator. May God be very far above that! Mu'tazilah : Since you think that " hearing, seeing " mean " knower," do
you not agree that "wielder of power " [p. 461 means " knower " ?
Answe~. I t may also be said to them: If ignorance and loss overtake Therefore, since you think that the meaning of "hearing, seeing" is
the creature who has not knowledge, you do not deny that the existence " wieltler of power," do you not think that the meaning of "wielder of
of God's knowledge is undoubtedly asserted; and if not, you cause loss power " is " knower " ? And therefore, since you think that " living
to overtake JIim (may He be more glorified, and stronger, and more one " means " wielder of power," why do you riot think that "wielder of
3R7 Qur'iln 4. 104.
[)owel: " means " knower " ? Wherefore, if they say, " In that case every-
a88 Ibid. 35. 12. "" Ibid. 42. I0 and paasi~n.
''' Ibid. 20. 48. Ibid. 58. 1.
Ibitl. 11. 17. Ibid. 0. 6 0 .
Translation 101
Muslims have agreed unanimously, namely, that what God wishes to be,
thing known must be an object of power," the answer is: If " hearing,
seeing " meant " knower," every known thing would certainly be heard ; is, and what He does not wish, is not.
but since that is impossible, your belief is false. [p. 471 Another answer. It may also be said to them: 397 It may be
gathered SgT from your words that most of what Iblis wishes to be, is (be-
cause infidelity is greater than faith), and most of what is, he wishes;
and therefore you make the wish of Iblis more effective than the wish of
The reply to the Mu'tazilah regarding this : It may be said to them : the Lord of the Worlds, because most of what he wishes, is, and most
Do you not think that God is eternally a knower? If they say yes, the of what is, he wishes. It follows necessarily from this that you assign
answer is: Then why do you not believe that what He eternally knows to Iblis a rank, with respect to wishing, that does not belong to the Lord
will be a t a given time, He eternally wills to be at that time; and what H e of the Worlds. May God be very far above the belief of the wrongdoers !
eternally knows will not be, H e eternally wills not to be; and that H e
eternally wills that what H e knows shall be as H e knows i t ? Then, if Another answer. It may be said to them : Which is the worthier of the
they say, "We do not believe that God is eternally a willer, because God attribute of effective power: he of whom it is true that, when he wishes
is a willer by a created will," the answer is: Why do you think that God a thing to be, it most certainly is, and when he does not wish it; i t is
is a willer by a created will? What is the dserence between you and not; or he who wills it to be and it is not, and what he does not will, is?
the Jahmiyyah, who falsely believe God is a knower by created (ma&laq) Wherefore, if they say, " He of whom it is true that most of what he
knowledge? But, since God's knowledge cannot be created, you cannot wills is not, is the worthier of the attribute of effective power," they treat
deny that His will is not created. Wherefore, if they say, "God's the matter with scorn, and it may be said to them: If you may say what
knowledge cannot be because then there would have to be you do, anyone may say, " H e of whom i t is true that there is what he
an origin in another knowledge, and so on ad inlinitum," the answer is: does not know, is worthier than he of whom it is true that there is nothing
You cannot deny that God's will is not originated or created, because except what he knows." But if they abandon this scornful attitude, and
then it must have had its origin in another will, and so on ad infinitmn. think that he of whom it is true that, when he wills a thing, it is, and,
And if they say, " God's knowledge cannot be originated, because then when he does not will it, i t is not, is the worthier of the attribute of effec-
He must be a willer by a will that one not Himself has originated in tive power, they must admit, according to their opinions, that Iblis
Him; and that is impossible," and if they say, " God's knowledge is worthier of effective power than God, because most of what he wills, is,
cannot be originated, because loss overtakes him who was not a knower and most of what is, he has willed; and the answer is: If he of whom it is
and then knew," the answer is: And God's will cannot be originated or true that when he wills a thing, i t is, and when he does not will it, it is
created, because loss overtakes him who is not a willer until he wills ;and, not, is the worthier of the attribute of effective power, then you must
just as His will cannot be originated or created, so His Word cannot admit that when God wills a thing, it is, and when He does not will it, it
be originated or created. is not, because He is the worthier of the attribute of effective power.

Another answer. It may also be said to them: If you think that Answer. It may also be said to them : Which is the worthier of divinity
infidelity and rebellion are in the power of God; nevertheless, H e does and authority: he of whom i t is true that nothing exists except what he
not will them, but wills that all creatures should believe, yet they do not knows, and nothing is absent from his knowledge, and that is not pos-
believe; then i t is necessarily true, according to your belief, that most sible with respect to him; or he of whom it is true that things exist that
of what God wishes to be, is not, and most of what God wishes not to be, he does not know, and most things are remote from his knowledge?
is; because the infidelity that exists, God not wishing it, according to you, Wherefore, if they say, " H e of whom it is true that nothing exists
exceeds the faith that exists, in conformity with His wish, and most of except what he knows, and nothing is remote from his knowledge, is the
what He wishes to be is not; and this is a denial of that upon which the worthier of the attribute of divinity," the answer is: Then, likewise, he
who does not will the existence of anything except what exists, and
muhda! " made from what is already in existence." The word mnhliiq means nothing exists except what he wills, and nothing is remote from his will,
" created out of nothing."
sos E has irdrah-misprint. See note on L7 ad loc. ( 0 0 ) . '07 II-omits and reads: "One of the things you believe is. . . ."
10% Al-lbanah 'An U@l Ad-Diyanah Translation 103

is the worthier of the attribute of divinity, just as you hold that belief ness and inadequacy to effect what H e wills. And so, if they say yes,
regarding knowledge; and since they hold that belief, they abandon their the answer is: And likewise he who thinks that human beings do what
God does not know must accuse God of ignorance. They will certainly
belief, and give it up, and assert that God is a willer of every existent
answer yes. Therefore, it may be said to them: And so likewise, if from
thing, and they make it necessarily true that H e does not will that
anything shall be, except what is. the existence of a deed that God has done, not willing it, i t necessarily
follows that there is neglect, or weakness and inadequacy to effect what
Answer. It may also be said to them: If you say that there are under H e wills, then likewise if there is, on the part of one who is not He,
His authority things H e does not will, there exist, in that case, under what H e does not will, the assertion of the existence of carelessness and
His authority things of which H e disapproves. They will certainly neglect, or of weakness and inadequacy to effect what He. wills, neces-
answer yes. Then it may be said to them: And so if there are under sarily follows; for there is no difference in this respect between what is
His authority things of which H e disapproves [p. 481 you cannot den3 done by Him and what is done by one who is not He.
that there are under His authority things the existence of which H e
forbids, Wherefore, if they make a reply to this, the answer is: Then Another answer. It may also be said to them: If there is under the
authority of God what He does not will, yet H e knows it [p. 493 and is
disobedience exists, whether God wishes or forbids it; and this is an
attribute of weakness and poverty. May God be very far above that ! not subject to weakness and inadequacy to effect what H e wills, you
cannot deny that there is under His authority mhat H e does not know,
Answer. It may also be said to them : Are there not, among the things yet H e is not subject to loss. Therefore, if this is impossible, what you
human beings do, that a t which God is wrathful, and that for which beliere is impossible.
when they do it God is angry with them; and therefore they anger Him
Another question. If anybody says, "Why do you believe that God
and make H i m wrathful? They will certainly answer yes. Wherefore,
wills that everything that exists should exist, and that all that which
i t may be.said to them: Then, if human beings do what H e does not will
does not exist should not exist?," the answer is : The proof of it is the
and that of which H e disapproves, they certainly make Him disapprove ;
fact that the argument makes i t clear that God creates infidelity and
and this is a n attribute of power. May God be very far above that!
disobedience, and we are going to explain this further on in our book;
Answer. It may also be said to them : Has not God said, " Doer of and, since God must be the creator of those things, H e must be the willer
what H e wills " ? Ss8 They will certainly answer yes. Wherefore, it may of them, because He cannot create what H e does not will.
be said to them: Then he who thinks that God does what H e does not
Another answer. There cannot be, under the authority of God, any
will, and that H e wills results of His action that do not come to pass,
acquisition ( i k t i ~ i i bon
) ~the
~ ~ part of human beings that God does not
must admit that this happens, and God is unmindful and negligent of it,
will, just as there cannot be any universally recognized act of God's own
or that H e is subject to weakness and inadequacy to prevent what He
that He does not will, because, if any act of His occurred without His
does not will. They will certainly answer yes. Therefore, it may be
knowing it, it would imply a lack in God, and the same thing would be
said to them: Then likewise he who thinks that there is under God's
true if any human act occurred without His knowing it. Therefore, in
authority what H e does not will on the part of human beings, must
the same way, no human act can occur without His willing it, because
admit one of two things: either that he thinks this is the result of care-
that would imply that it occurred out of carelessness and neglect or out of
lessness or neglect, or that he thinks H e is subject to weakness and
weakness and inadequacy on His part to effect what He wills, just as that
inadequacy to prevent mhat Ife does not will.
would necessarily be true if there occurred any universally recognized act
Another answer. It may also be said to them: Does not he who thinks of God's that IIe did not will. Besides, if disobedience existed without
that God does what H e does not know, accuse God of an ignorance that is His wishing it to exist, He would disapprove of and forbid its existence,
not appropriate to H i m ? They will certainly answer yes. Therefore. and it would rlccessarily be true that disobedience was in existcnee
it may be said to them: Then likewise he who thinks that human beings whethcr God wished or forbade it, and this is an attribute of weakness.
do what IIe does not wish, must admit that he accuses Gotl of careless- May Gotl be very far sbovc that! We have made it clear that God eter-
Qur'iin 11. 109.
104 Al-Zbinah 'An Ugiil Ad-Dipinah Translation 105
nally really wills what He really knows ; . a h so, since infidelity is among prescribes his actions; and therefore, since he does what is forbidden
the things that exist and He knows it, then He wills it to exist. him he is foolish. But the Lord of the Worlds is not under a bari'ah
Answer. It may also be said to them: If God knows that infidelity and there is not above Him anyone who defines and prescribes His
will be and wills i t not to be, what H e knows is contrary to what H e actions, and there is not above Him a revealer, or an inaccessible one, or
knows; but if that is impossible, H e wills what He knows to be as H e a commander, or a rebuker; and therefore it does not necessarily follow
knows. that, since He wills it, He is a reprobate and is to be accused of folly.
Answer. It may also be said to them: Why do you deny that God Question. It may also be said to them: Is not any man foolish who
wills the infidelity that He knows will be, to be foul, corrupt, self- leaves the issue free between his servants and his handmai* who commit
contradictory, contrary to faith? If they say, " Because the willer of fornication with one another, when he is not powerless to separate them?
folly is foolish," the answer is: Why do you believe i t ? Has not God told But the Lord of the Worlds leaves the issue free between His servants
us, concerning the son of Adam, that he said to his brother, "Even if and handmaids who commit fornication one with another, although
thou stretch forth thine hand against me to slay me, I will not stretch He has the power to separate them, yet He is not foolish. Likewise a
forth my hand against thee to slay thee. Truly I fear God, the Lord of man who wills folly is foolish, but the Lord of the Worlds wills folly, yet
the Worlds. Yea, rather would I that thou shouldst bear my sin and is not foolish.
thine own sin, and that thou become an inmate of He11 "? '0° And so he Another question. It may also be said to them: A man who wills
willed not to kill his brother, that he might not be punished, but willed obedience to God is obedient, just as anyone who wills folly is foolish;
that his brother should kill him. so that he might bear the sin of his but the Lord of the Worlds wills obedience, yet is not obedient, and
murder for him and the rest of [p. 501 his sins that were upon him, hence, in like manner, He wills folly, yet is not foolish.
and so become an inmate of Hell; wherefore, he willed his brother's act [p. 511 Another question. It may also be said to them: God said, " If
of murder, which is folly, but was not foolish because of it. Then why God had wished, they would not have wrangled," '02 and thus H e says
do you think that, if God wills the folly of men, it necessarily follows that if He had wished them not to wrangle, "they would not have
that He Himself is to be charged with i t ? wrangled," He says, "but God does what He wills" 403 in the way of
Answer. It may also be said to them: Joseph said, " 0 my Lord ! I fighting, and therefore, since fighting takes place, He wishes it, just as
prefer the prison to compliance with their bidding," and their im- when He said, "but though they should return, they would surely go
,prisonment of him is disobedience; wherefore he willed disobedience, back to that which was forbidden them," '04 and thus He makes it neces-
which is their imprisonment of him, and did not will to do their bidding, sarily true that, if the return were to the world, they would surely go
but was not foolish because of it. Then you cannot deny that the back to infidelity, and that since He does not cause them to return to
Creator is not necessarily foolish if He wills the folly of men, simply the world, they do not go back; and therefore, in the same way, if H e had
because i t is abominable on their part and contrary to obedience. wished that they should not wrangle, they would not have wrangled, but
Another question. It may also be said to them: Is not any of us who since they do wrangle, He wishes them to wrangle.
sees the crimes of the Muslims foolish? But Cod sees them and is Another question. I t may also be said to them: God said, " Had We
not to be accused of folly-is it not certainly so? Then it may be said wished, We had certainly given to every soul its guidance. But true
to them: Then you cannot deny that any of us who wills folly is foolish, shall be the word which hath gone forth from Me--I will surely fill Hell
but God wills the folly of the foolish, yet is not to be accused of being with jinn and men together; " '05 and since the word concerning that is
foolish. May God be above that! true, He does not wish to give every soul its guidance (because He
Another question. It may also be said to them: Among us a foolish simply does not give it its guidance, since the word concerning the
man is foolish only when he wills folly, because it is forbidden him and punishment of the infidels is true) ; nnd since He does not will it, He
he is under the law ( S n s n h ) of someone above him who defines and wishes them to err. Therefore, if the: say, '(The meaning of that is
'O' Ibid. 2.254. '04 Ibid. 6. 28.
'0° Qurl&n 5.31,32. '01 Ibid. 12.33.
*Oa L. c. '06 Ibid. 32. 13.
106 Al-lbcinah 'An U9ul Ad-Diyanuh Translation 107

' If We had wished, We should certainly have forced them to be guided


and compelled them to it,'" the answer is: Then, since He forces them CHAPTERCONTAINING
THE Kctldm CONCERNING THE PREDESTINATION OF
to be guided and compels them to it, are they guided? 406 Wherefore, if THE WORKSOF HUMANBEINGSAND THE CAPACITY A N D THE

they say yes, the answer is: Then if, since He makes guidance, they are JUSTIFICATION
AND THE ~ O N D E M N A T ~ O N . ~ ~ ~

guided, you cannot deny that if He makes the infidelity of the infidels, It may be said to the Qadariyyah: Can God teach His servants a
they are infidels. (This is fatal to their belief because they think that thing He does not know? Wherefore, if they say, " God does not teach
except an infidel makes infidelity.) It may also be said to them: His servants a thing unless He knows it," the answer is: Then likewise
I n what ' 0 1 way would their perseverance be guidance, if He gave it to He does not give them power over a thing unless He has power over it.
them and wished i t for them? Therefore, if they say, "By defence There is no doubt about the answer to that. Wherefore, it may be said
(ilja')," the answer is: If He defends them and enables them to perse- to them : Then, if He gives them the power 'I4 to be infidels, He has the
vere, does what they do because of the defence avail them? If they say power to create infidelity for them; and if He has the power to create
yes, the answer is: Then, since He tells us that if He had wished, He infidelity for them,'I5 you do not prove that the doctrine of the creation
would have given them guidance (unless there is no truthfulness on His of infidelity for them is415 corrupt, self-contradictoq, and false. God
part in the statement that He will fill Jahannam), and since, if He de- has mid, " Doer of what H e wills," and if infidelity is among the
fended them, it would not avail them and would not avert punishment things He wills, He makes it and predetermines it and refuses the
from them (just as Pharaoh's words that he spoke at the drowning and infidels the gift of grace. It may be said to them: Has not God the
the defence did not avail him), then there is no meaning in your words, power to bestow upon His creatures such abundance that, if He gave it
because, unless there is no truth in the words " Certainly every s o d them, they would surely act wantonly, and to do to them a thing of
would have been given its guidance," 408 the giving of guidance, in the such character that, if H e did it to the infidels, they would surely dis-
way you believe, does not avert punishment. believe, as He has said, " Should God bestow abundance upon His ser-
Another question. It may also be said to them: God said, " Should vants, they might act wantonly on the earth," and, "But for fear that
God bestow abundance upon His servants, they might act wantonly on all mankind would have become a single people (of unbelievers), verily
the earth," 'O9 and, " But for fear that all mankind would have become a We would certainly have given to those who believe not in the God of
single people (of unbelievers), verily We would certainly have given Mercy roofs of silver to their h o ~ s e s " ~ ~ ~ - - t h
verses?
e They will cer-
to those who believe not in the God of Mercy roofs of silver to their tainly answer yes; wherefore it may be said to them: Then you cannot
houses.." And so He tells us that, were i t not that mankind would deny that He has the power to give them such grace that, if He gave i t to
all be infidels,"' He would bestow abundance upon the infidels and put them, they wouId certainly all believe, just as He has the power to do
roofs of silver on their houses; nevertheless He does not bestow abun- to them a thing of such character that, if He did it to them, they would
dance upon them and does not give the infidels roofs of silver. Then all disbelieve.
you cannot deny that, if He did not will [p. 521 the infidels to disbelieve, Another question. I t may also be said to them: Has not God said,
He would not create them, although He knows that if He creates them "But for the goodness and mercy of God towards you, ye would have
they will be unbelievers, just as, if Be willed that mankind should all be followed Satan, except a few," 419 and, "but for the goodness of God
intidels,"' He would certainly give the infidels roofs of silver and stairs towards you, and His mercy, no one of you would have been cleansed
to ascend by; nevertheless "T rIe does not give the infidels roofs of forever " ? He has also said, "And he shall look and see him in the
silver and stairs to ascend by, in order that mankind may not all be midst of Hell," 421 meaning " in the middle of Hell." R e has also said,
infidels, sinee i t is known to Him that, if H e did not follow that course, "By God, thou hadst almost caused me to perish, and, but for the
they would certainly all be infidels.
"a Read " lajwir " instead of " tajwiz."
H : " they ure guided." H nriuprints . .
f o ~J
J
'"'II niiupritrt.q u1 for &I. "O Ibid. 43. 32. .
I J : " W h y do you assert that He creates their infidelity . . 9 "
Q o r l n 32. 13. 'llJZ omits. See note ad loc. ( 6 7 ) Qur'iin 1 1 . 100. Ibid. 43.32. Ibid. 24. 2 1 .
'Om Ibid. 42. 20. " ' I I omits. "* Ibid. 42.28. Ibid. 4. 85. "' Ibid. 37. 53.
108 Al-lbanuh 'An Upil Ad-Diyanah Translation 109
favor 422 of my Lord:22 I had surely been of those who have been brought that is impossible, it is impossible for them to have the power to believe;
(with thee into torment)." 428 What is the goodness H e did to the and it necessarily follows that God gives the power to believe exclusively
faithful, of which it is true that, if He had not done it, they would to the faithful.
surely have followed Satan, and, if He had not done it, none of them Another question. It may be said to them: If the power to disbelieve
would have been cleansed forever? And what is the grace, of which it is were the power to believe, the power to disbelieve would be desired of
true that, if He had not given it, he would surely have been of those who God. But since we see the faithful desiring of God the power to believe
have been brought into torment? I s it a thing that He did not do to and shunning the power to disbelieve, we know that what they desire is
the infidels, but did exclusively to the faithful? Wherefore, if they say not what they shun.
yes, they abandon their belief and assert that God gives grace [p. 531
and goodness to the faithful, to whom He gives all grace and goodness Another question. It may also be said to them: Tell us about the
when H e creates them, and does not vouchsafe similar t h i n g to the ability to believeis it not a favor from God? They will certainly
infidels; and if they say this, they speak the truth. But if they say, answer yes. Then it may be said to them: And so is not the bestowal of
" God does it at the same time to the infidels: when H e does it to the favors a power that belongs to the Bestower of favors, by which H e both
faithful, He does it to them," then, if God does it at the same time to bestows and withholds favors? 426 There is no doubt of an affirma-
the infidels, yet they are not cleansed but follow Satan and are brought tive answer to that,'25 because it is the distinction between favor and
into Hell, is it also possible for Him to say to the faithful, "Unless I merit. It may also be said to them: It belongs to the Bestower of
had created for you hands and feet, you would surely have followed favors, if He enjoins faith, to suspend His power of bestowing favors
Satan," when He creates hands and feet for the infidels, yet they follow and not bestow favors by it, and so to enjoin faith upon them, even if
Satan? Wherefore, if they say, "It is impossible," the answer is: Like- H e deserts them and does not give them the ability to believe ;and this is
wise what you say is impossible; and this makes i t clear that God gives our belief and our opinion.
exclusively to the faithful such favor and grace and direction as He does Answer. It may also be said to them: Has God power over the grace
not give to the infidels, and prefers the faithful to them. He gives the infidels, [p. 543 so that they may be faithful? Wher'efore
if they say no, they assert God's impotence. May God be very far above
THE CAPACITY.'~~
QUESTIONCONCERNING that! But if they say, " Yes, He has power over it, and if He gave them
It may also be said to them: Is not the capacity to believe a gracious grace, they would surely believe," they abandon their belief and believe
gift of God's and a favor and a kind act on His part? wherefore, if the truth.
they say yes, the answer is: Then you cannot deny that i t is grace and Question. If they ask concerning God's words "God wiIleth not in-
direction. There is no doubt about the answer to that. It may also justice to His servants" 428 and concerning His words " God willeth
be said to them: Therefore, if the infidels have the power to believe, not injustice to the worlds," 427 the answer is: Its meaning is that He
you cannot deny that they are given grace to believe. But if they were wills not to do them injustice, because He said, " God does not will injus-
given grace and directed, they would surely be commendable; and since tice to them;" but He did not say, " He does not will their injustice to.
each other," and therefore He does not will to do them injustice, even if
1 omits. Qur'iin 37. 54, 58.
He wills their injustice to each other, that is, He does not will to do them
For the views of the Mu'tazilah on this question see MaqdEBt 229 ff. "The
Mu'tazilah agree that the capacity exists before the act, and that it i s the injustice, even if He wills that they do each other injustice.
power to do i t or its opposite, and that i t is not the cause of the act. They all Question. If they ask concerning God's words " no defect canst thou
deny that God makes obligatory for a human being what he has not the power
see in the creation of the Merciful," 428 and say, "Infidelity is a defect,
to d o " (ibid. 230). See also ibid. 42 ff., 72, 73. Their more recondite discussions
of the capacity and related matters belong to the " ohscure and refined of the and so how can it belong to the creation of God?," the answer concern-
kaldm." Al-AS'arl discharges competently enough his task of proving that the ing it is that God said, ". .
. who hath created seven heavens, one above
Mu'tazilite position is not the position of Isl.'lni, but he does not close with the
real problem, that of God's seeming injustice in requiring of man what the latter U : " There is no doubt of the answer to that."
cannot render. Qur'fin 40. 33. "' Ibid. 3. 104. "'Ibid. 07.3.
110 Al-Ibanah 'An U@l Ad-Dipinah Translation 11 1

another. No defect canst thou see in the creation of the Merciful. Re- from God. But what hath come to these people that they are not near
peat the gaze. Seest thou a single flaw? Then twice more repeat the to understanding what is told them?," "'435 with reference to their
gaze. Thy gaze shall return to thee dulled and weary ;" 429 wherefore words "Whatever good befalls thee is from God, and whatever evil
H e merely means in this passage "And thou shalt not see in the befalls thee is from thyself," and so H e struck out their words, because
heavens any flaw," because H e mentions the creation of the heavens, but the speech that precedes proves it, for the Qur'iin does not contradict
does not mention infidelity; and if this is in accordance with our belief, itself, and H e cannot say, in the one verse, that all is from God, and
their belief is false. then say, in the other verse, which follows it, that all is not from God, in
such wise that what betides men is not what betides them; and this
Answer. It may also be said to them: Do you recognize that God
makes clear the falsity of their dependence on this verse, and makes the
gave a gracious gift to Abii Bakr the Veracious, which H e gave to him
proof against them a necessary consequence.
particularly, and not to Abii Jah1,430 originally? Wherefore, if they say
no, their belief is vile; but if they say yes, they abandon their opinions, Question. If they ask concerning God's words " I have not created
because they do not believe that God bestowed a particular favor upon jinn and men, but that they should worship me," 436 the answer concern-
the faithful originally that He did not bestow upon the infidels. ing that is that God means only the faithful and not the infidels, because
H e tells us that H e creates for Jahannam most of His creatures; and
Question. If they ask concerning God's words "We have not created
so those H e creates for Jahannam H e reckons and numbers, and writes
the heavens and the earth and what is between them for nought,"
them down by their names and the names of their fathers and their
and say, " This verse proves that God does not create what is useless,"
mothers, but does not do these things to those H e creates for H i s
the answer concerning it is that God had in mind the falsification of the
worship.
polytheists who say, " There is no resurrection, or quickening, or restora-
tion," and so H e said, " I have not created them in such wise that I
shall not reward him who obeys Me, and punish him who disobeys Me "-
such as the infidels who thought that there was no resurrection, or
quickening, or reward, or punishment. Do you not agree that He said, It may be said to them: Has not God imposed it as an obligation upon
" That is the thought of the infidels; but woe to the infidels because of the infidels that they hearken to the truth, and receive it, and believe in
the fire ! " 432 and explained i t by E i s words " Shall We treat those who God? They wilt certainly say yes. Then it may be said to them: And
believe and do the things that are right like those who propagate evil so God has said, "They were not able to hearken," 438 and, "and who
[p. 551 on earth? Shall We treat the God-fearing like the impious?," 433 had no power to hear," 439 and has imposed upon them the obligation of
that is, "We do not make them equal by destroying them all or restoring hearkening to the truth.
them, that their way should be one way "? Answer. It may be said to them: Has not God said, "On the dav
Question. If they ask concerning God's words " Whatever good when legs shall be bared, and they shall be called upon to worship and
bctideth thee is from God, and whatever evil betideth thee is from shall not be able " ? 440 Does not God command them to worship in the
thyself," 434 the answer concerning that is that God said, "And if good next life? We are told in the habar that B e will place in the loins of
betide them," (meaning "abundance " and "good fortune ") " they say, the hypocrites as it wcre slabs of stone, and they will not be able t o
'This is from God,' and if evil betide them," (meaning " poor soil," worship, and this is a proof of what we believe, namely, that it is not
" drought,)' and " mishaps ") " they say, ' This is from thce ' " (that is, necessary for God, if He commands them, to enable them to fulfil EIis
" by thine ill luck "), and then God said, " 0 Muhammad, ' Say, " A11 is commandment; and this shows the falsity of the belief of the Qadariyyah.

4" Ibid. 67. 3, 4. 436 Ihid. 4. 80. Ihid. 51. 50.


Tiliu Itrune, ' I inthcr of folly," \YRY given to 'Amr ibn IIiBilnt, otle of tile Thin term was later given a witler upplication, so that i t inclntled not only
I'ropl~et'sbitterest et~cnlies. the obligation to believe, but also tltc duty to undrr4:mtl what was helicved (nee
4 3 1 gur'iin 38. 26. Ibid. 38. 27. JI:~ctlon:tltl,hf~isliniTheology 317 ) .
"* I,. c. 4s4 Ibid. 4. 81. 4'8 Qur'iin 11. 22. '"I Ihid. 18. 101. Ihitl. OX. 42.
upon one He knows will not believe? Wherefore if they say yes, it may
THE TORTUBE
[p. 561 QUESTIONCONCERNING O F INFANTS.'~' be said to them: Then you have the power to believe and it comes eaily
It may also be said to them: Does not God torture infants in this to you ! If they say no, they agree, but if they say yes, they think that
world with the torture He causes to befall them-as, for example, leprosy, men have power to depart from the knowledge of God. May God be
which cuts off their hands and their feet, and other things besides with very far above that!
which He tortures them-and is that not seemly and legitimate? Where-
fore if they say yes, the answer is: Then, if these things are just, you
cannot deny that H e tortures them in the next life, and that it is just Abii l-Hasan al-AiYari said: It may also be said to them: Do not the
on His part. Then if they say, " H e tortures them in this world that Magians assert that Satan has power over evil, over which God has not
their fathers may take warning by them," the answer is: And so, if He power, and are they not infidels because they believe this? They will
does it to them in this world that their fathers may take warning by certainly answer [p. 571 yes. Therefore it may be said to them: Then
them, and it is just on His part, why does He not torture the infants of since you think that the infidels have power over infidelity, but God has
the infidels i n the next life:42 in order to distress their fathers by their not power over it, you exceed the Magians in their belief, because you
tortures, and why is that not just on His part? It is said in the habar: believe, with them, that Satan has power over evil and God has not power
"A fire will be kindled for the infants on the Day of Resurrection, and over it. This is among the things that the habar related on the authority
then it will be said to them, ' Rush headlong into it,' and whoso rushes of the Apostle of God explains : " The Qadariyyah are the Magians of
this Community; " and they are "the Magians of this Community" only
headlong into it I will cause to enter Paradise, and whoso does not
rush headlong into it, I will cause to enter Hell." 448 because they hold the beliefs of the Magians.

Question. It has been said concerning infants, and related on the Question. The Qadariyyah think that we merit the name " qadar "
authority of the Apostle, that the Banii IsmBSl-their 444 in Hell.... . .. because we believe that God decrees evil and infidelity; wherefore he who
asserts the existence of the qadar is a Qadari, and not he who does not
Answer. It may also be said to them : Has not Cod said, " Let the assert it. Therefore it may be said to them: The'Qadarz is he who
hands of Abii Lahab perish, and let himself perish! His wealth and asserts that he himself and not his Lord has the qadar, and that he, and
his gains shall avail him not. Burned shall he be at the fiery flame !"? 446 not his Creator, decrees his deeds. That is the usage of the pure Arabic,
He commanded him, nevertheless, to believe, but He must have known because the goldsmith is he who asserts that he does goldsmith's work,
that he would not believe. God is sincere in saying of him that he would and not he who says that it is done for him, and the carpenter is he who
not believe; nevertheless, He commanded him to believe, for faith and makes carpentry his business, and not he who asserts that carpenter's
the knowledge that it will not exist do not exist together. Nobody has work is done for him. Therefore, since you assert that you, and not your
the power to believe although He knows that he will not believe; and Lord, decree your works and do them, you must be Qadariyyah; but we
since this is so, God has enjoined upon Abii Lahab a thing he is power- are not Qadariyyah, because we do not make the works our business
less to do, because He commands him to believe, yet He knows that he instead of our Lord's, and me do not believe that we decree them, and
will not believe. not He; but we believe that they are decreed for us.
Question. It may also be said to them: Does not God enjoin faith
Answer. It may also be said to them: If he who asserts that God
'41 Maqdtdt 253: " Most of the Mu'tazilah believe that God tortures them as an
decrees is a Qadari, then you must admit, since you think that God
example to adults and afterwards makes it up to them; for if He did not make it decrees the heavens and the earth, and decrees acts of obedience, that
up to them, His torturing them would be an injustice." See also ibid. 55, 56, 111, you are Qadariyyah; but since you are not compelled to admit this, your
128, 120. belief is false, and your argument contradicts itself.
"'Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Mrrsnad VI 208) records a tradition in which the
Prophet s a p to 'Zilah, regarding the children of the polytheists, "If I wish,
1 can let you hear their cries in Hell."
' 4 3 On this question cf. Schreiner, " %ur Geschichte des AQ'nritenthums" 105 f .

"*Tire letters omitted give no sense. The text of this question is defective.
Sre note to E :ad loc. *'= Qur'fin 1 1 1 . 1-3.
Al-Ibiinuh 'An Ugicl Ad-Diyiinah Translation
they are not capable. Since God creates in their hearts such straitening
THE SEA LING.^"
QUESTIONCONCERNING against faith as we have mentioned, then is the straitening against
It may be said to them: Has not God said, "their hearts and their faith anything except the unbelief that is in their hearts? This makes
ears hath God sealed up, and over their ears is a covering," 44T and, " And it clear that God creates their unbelief and their disobedience.
whom God shall please to guide, that man's breast will He open to IslBm; Answer. It may also be said to them: God said to His Prophet, " ancl
but whom He shall please to mislead, strait and narrow will He make his had We not settled thee, thou hadst well nigh leaned to them a little; " 4 z 4
breast"? Then tell us about those whose hearts and ears God has and He said, speaking of Joseph, " But she longed for him, and he had
sealed-do you think that He guides them, and opens their breasts to longed for her, had he not seen a token from his Lord." 455 NOWinform
IslZim, and yet causes them to err? Wherefore, if they say yes, their us concerning that settlement and token-does God do it, or.what is like
belief is self-contradictory. How can the lock, of which God spoke: it, to the infidels? Wherefore, if they say no, they abandon belief in the
" Are locks upon their hearts?"44g exist with the opening, and the qadar; but if they say yes, the answer is: Then, since the settlement
straitening with the capacity, and guidance with error? If these things keeps the Prophet from leaning to them, if God does it to the infidels,
exist together, orthodoxy and heterodoxy, which is the opposite of ortho- they must be settled and kept from infidelity; but, since they are not
doxy, can exist together, and infidelity and faith together, in one heart. dissociated from infidelity, it is simply not true that He gives them any
But if this is impossible, what you believe is impossible. Then, if they such settlement as He gave the Prophet-which settlement kept him
say, " The sealing and the straitening and error-it is not possible for from leaning to the infidels.
them to exist together with God's opening of the breast," the answer is:
And Iikewise guidance does not exist together with error; [p. 581 and THE RESERVATION
QUESTIONCONCERNING (iSti_tn&')
.456

since this is so, God does not open the breasts of the infidels to faith, but It may be said to them: Tell us about a man's seeking of another
on the contrary seals their hearts and locks them to the truth and what is due him, and the latter's saying to him, " By God, I will surely
hardens them, as when the Prophet of God, Moses, wished ill to his peo- give i t thee tomorrow, if God wishes"-does not God wish him to give
ple and said, " 0 our Lord, confound their riches and harden their the other man his due? Then, if they say yes, it may be said to them:
hearts, that they may not believe until they see the grievous torment " Do you not think that, if the morrow comes and he does not give him
(God has also said, " The prayer of you both is heard ") ;451 and God his due, he does not violate his oath? They will certainly answer yes.457
has said, speaking of the infidels, that they said, " Our hearts are under Then it may be said to them: But, if God wished him to give the other
shelter from thy teachings, and in our ears is a deafness, and between us man his due, he would certainly violate his oath if he did not give i t to
and thee there is a veil;" 452 and therefore, since God creates the shelter him, just as, if he said, "By God, I will give thee thy due when dawn
in their hearts, and the lock, and the going astray (because God said, comes on the morrow," and then it came and he did not give it to him, he
"And when they went astray, God led their hearts a ~ t r a y " ) , 4 and ~~ would be a violator of his oath.
the sealing and the straightening of the breasts, then enjoins faith upon
them that He knows will not exist, EIe enjoins upon them that of which QUESTION
CONCERNING TERMS.~~'
THE ~ ' ~ T O I N TED

"'" The Mn'tazilah disagree concerning that question atid there nre two views: It may be said to them : Has not God said, " And when their appointed
( a ) fiorne think that the sealing and tlle marking (tab') of t l ~ einfidels' hearts term has come, they shaI1 not retard it an hour, [p. 591 and they shall
are the witness and the decision that they do not believe, but those things do not
prevent the111 fro111 believing; ( I ) ) ancl certain ones say, ' The se;iling and the Ibid. 17.70. 466 Ibid. 12. 24.

marking are a blackness in the Itcart, just as i t is said that n xword is n~arked The name given to the practice of appending to a stittetnent t l ~ cwords " if
((abi'a) whru it is rrzrtetl; nc~vertl~eless, t11ost' things do not pre~t't~t thcnr from God wills." The word was also applied to God's making an exception to a rcvela-
doing what (:od hits c.trr~~m;~ntletl them to do.' They also say, 'God n~:lkestl~osc tion or allowing Himself an alternative-a question discnxsed nrnong the b1urji';th
things u ~nurk for them, I,y wltic.11 mark in thcir hearts the :lngcls distinguisll (Maqcildt 144 f f . ) .
the friends of Got1 from IIis enrtrlies "' ( A f n q 8 l d t 2 5 9 ) . hleaning " We think that he does not violate his ontb."
"' Qur'Rn 2 . 6 . '" ' T h e Alu'tazilah disagree concerning that questioc~nntl hold two tliffcret~t
Ibid. 0. 123. Tbid. 10. 88. J 5 2 Ibid. 41. 4.
beliefs: ( a ) n ~ o s tof the Mu'tnzilab say, 'The appointed term i.: the tirr~c :kt
Il~id.47. 21; lbid. 10. 89. IbitI. 61. 3. which, God kno\vs, a man will die or be killed, and therefore, i f he is killed, hc
116 Al-Ibcinah 'An U@Z Ad-DiycZmh Translation 117

not advance it;" 458 and has He not also said, "And by no means will beings to survive and make them attain, and to send forth their spirits;
God delay a soul when its appointed term has come " ? '0° They will and this is heterodoxy in the Religion.
certainly answer yes. It may be said to them: Then tell us about him
whom someone kills violently-do you think that he is killed in his QUESTIONCONCERNING OF SUSTENANCE.^^^
THE PROVISION
appointed term or at his appointed term? Wherefore, if they say yes, It may also be said to them : Tell us about him who takes food by force
they agree, believe the truth, and abandon the qadar. But if they say and eats it as a forbidden thing-has God provided him with that for-
no, the answer is: Then what is the appointed term of this murdered bidden thing as sustenance? Then, if they say yes, they abandon the
person? And so, if they say, " The time at which, God knew:62 if he qadar; but if they say no, the answer is: Then he who eats the forbidden
had not been killed, he would have married a woman, whom H e knew thing all his l i f e G o d does not provide him with anything with which
to be the woman destined for him, even though he did not actually marry to nourish his body. It may be said to them: If somebody else forces
her," and, "When, it was known to God:62 if he had not been killed, that food upon him and makes him eat it until he dies-then this man,
but had survived, he would have disbelieved, that Hell would be his and not God, is a provider, according to you. (This is a confession on
home," 463 since this is impossible, it is impossible that the time to which their part that creatures have two providers, one of them providing the
he does not attain should be a term appointed for him, inasmuch as these permitted, the other the forbidden, and that men's flesh grows and their
words do not support the words of God " And when their appointed term bones wax strong, God not providing for them that with which they
has come, they shall not retard it an hour, and they shall not advance are nourished.) But since you say that God does not provide him with
jt." 464
the forbidden, you must admit that God does not feed him with it and
Another question. It may also be said to them: If the slayer, accord- does not make i t maintenance for his body, and that his flesh and his
ing to you, has the power not to kill his victim (and, in that case, of body subsist and his bones wax strong by another than God, who is the
course, the latter mould go on living), then he has the power to cut short one who provides him with the forbidden; and this is great infidelity, if,
his appointed term and send him on before his appointed term, and he indeed, they are borne with at all.
has the power to retard him from his appointed term; and so man,
according to your belief, has the power to anticipate the appointed terms
of human beings and to retard them, and has the power to cause human It may also be said to them: Why do you deny that God provides the
is killed a t h i s appointed term, and if he dies, he dies a t his appointed t e r m ; '
forbidden? Therefore, if they say, "Because, if R e provided the for-
while ( b ) certain ignorant members of the sect stand alone i n thinking t h a t bidden, He would transfer the ownership of the forbidden," i t may be
the time until which, Cod knows, a Inan will survive, if he is not killed, and not said to them: Tell us about the infant who is nourished by his mother's
the time a t which he is killed, is his appointed term. milk, and about the beast that feeds upon the hay-who provides them
" Those who think t h a t the appointed term is the time a t which, God knows, a
with those things? If they say, " God," the answer is: Does He transfer
111:tn will die or be killed, disagree a s t o the person who i s killed, whether, if
he were not killed, he would die o r not; and there are three beliefs: ( a ) some
the ownership to them? [p. 603 does E e transfer it to the beast? But
I~elievet h a t the nlan would die a t this time, even if he were not killed ( t h e belief if they say no, the answer is: Then why do you think that, if Ile pro-
of A h 'I-Hngayl) ; ( b ) others believe that, if the murderer did not kill him, he vides the forbidden, He transfers the ownership of the forbidden, when
~ u i g h teither die or live; ( c ) still others regard the second belief a s impossible " God sometimes provides a thing without transferring its ownership?
( i i f a q d l d t 256, 257, and notes). It may also be said to them: Does God give man power to do the forbid-
Qur'iin 7. 32. ' 0 ° Ibid. 03. 11. '01 Literally, " wheu? "

'O* The punctuation in these two pluces indicates what I conceive t o be t h e real

sense of the Arabic. If we translate "When i t w r s I;nown to God that," etc., i t


.
s's "The Mu'tazilah believe t h a t . . the provisio~iof sustenance is God's pro-
vision, and therefore he who deprives a man of goods or food and devours it,
is implied t h a t the matter in question became known to God a t a certain time. devours what God h a s provided for another and not for him. They all think t h a t
Since God's knowledge is eternal, this is imposbihle. Cod does not provide the forbidden, just as He does not transfer the ownersl~ip
"S Cf. Introduction, 27. o f the forbidden, and t h a t Cod provides with sustenanw only those t n w l m ~He
Qur'iln 7. 32. Common sense i s certainly on :I]-AVari's side in t h i s argument. tr:tnsfcrs the ownership of the things He gives and not those who trike them
.\,I appointed term t h a t the person for whom it has been appointed does not forcibly " ( M a g d l d t 287 and notes).
~.uuc.hor passes is simply not a n appointed term.
Al-Ibiinah 'An U@l Ad-Diyanuh Translation 119
den and not transfer its ownership to him? And so, if they say yes, it ples; because if he who is the source of evil is worse than evil, God has
may be said to them: Then you cannot deny that He provides him with created Satan, who is worse than the evil of which he is the source, and
the forbidden, even if H e does not transfer its ownership to him. therefore He has created what is the worst of all evils; " I and this is a
A n s w e r . It may be said to them: If the grace of the faithful is God's
contradiction in your religion and a discordant note in your doctrine
work, you cannotdeny that the desertion of the infidels proceeds from (madhub).
God; and if not, then, if you think that God gives the infidels the help [p. 611 QUESTION GUIDANCE."^^
CONCERNING
of His grace that they may believe, you ought to say, " He preserves them It may be said to the Mu'tazilah : Has not Cod said, " Elif Lam Mim.
from infidelity." But how can He preserve them from infidelity, when No doubt is there about this Book; i t is a guidance to those who fear
infidelity on their part occurs? If, on the other hand, they assert that God; " 469 and so He tells us that the Qur'8n i s guidance to those who
God deserts them, the answer is: Then is not desertion on the part of fear God? They will certainly answer yes. Then it may be said to
God the infidelity that He creates in them? If they say yes, they agree, them: Has not God spoken of the Q u r l n and said, " but as to those who
and if they say no, the answer is: Then what is that desertion He creates? believe not, there is a thickness in their ears, and to them it is a blind-
If they say, " His leaving free the issue between them and infidelity," ness," telling us that the Qur8n is a blindness to the infidels? They
the answer is: I s i t not part of your belief that God leaves the issue free will certainly answer yes. I t may be said to them: Then can the Qur'iin
between the faithful and infidelity? If they say yes, the answer is: be a blindness to him of whom God has told us that it is a guidance to
Then if the desertion is leaving the issue free between them and infi- him? They will certainly answer no. And so it may be said to them:
delity, you must admit that He deserts the faithful because He leaves Then, just as the Qur'iin cannot be a blindness to him to whom God has
the issue free between them and infidelity; and this is a departure from told us that it is a guidance, likewise i t cannot be a guidance to him to
the Religion. They will undoubtedly assert that God gives them over to whom God has told us it is a blindness.
the infidelity that H e creates in them, and therefore they give up belief
A n o t h e r questiolt. Then it may he said to them: If God's summons
in the qadar.
to faith can be guidance to him who accepts it and to him who does not
Question. If anyone of the people of the qadar asks, " I s a human accept it, you cannot deny that the summons of Iblis to infidelity is
being ever so placed that he has not either a benefit, for which he must misguidance to him who accepts it and to him who does not accept it.
thank God, or a trial, patience towards which is necessary for him?," And so if the summons of Iblis to infidelity is misguidance to the infidels
the answer is: A human being is never without a benefit or a trial; and who accept it from him, but not to the faithful who do not accept it from
he must thank God for the benefit, but trials are of two sorts: some him, you cannot clenv that God's summons to faith is guidance to the
requiring patience (such as sickness and diseases and similar things), faithful who accept it from EIim, but not to the infidels who do not
and others requiring complete separation from them (such as infidelity accept it from Him. If not, then what is the difference between them?
and disobedience).
' 0 7 And it would follow from this that He was worse than the worst of evils
Question. If they ask, "Which is better: the good or he who is the (since He i s the latter's source, a s Creator), and tllerefore the worst of beings
source of the good?," the answer is: IIe the good from whom confers instead of the best.
benefits by his agency, is better than the good. On the other hand, if 'On " The Mu'tazilah disagree as to wlietlwr or not God may be said t o guide

they say, " Which is worse: cvil or he who is the source of the evil?," the the infidels, nnd there are two views: ( a ) nmst of the Mu'tiuilah believe that
answer is: He the evil from whom does wrong by his agency, is worse God guides the infidels, but they are not gnided, and favors tl~ernby giving then1
the power to bc o b e d i e ~ t ,but they are not favored, and does what is salutary
than evil. Nevertheless, evil comes from God as a creature, hut is just
for them, but they do not respond to His salutary trcat~ncnt; ( b ) certain ones
by IIis agency; and in view of that wc are not compelled to admit w h a t say, ' We do not believe that God guides the ilrfidels in :tuy speeific way, by
is implied in your question,'" 0nasmuch as you contradict your princai- giving tl~ernexplanations or directing then,, hecause God's explanation and surn-
mom are guidance for tllose who accept and not for tltosr w l ~ odo not accept,
just ~ t sthe summons of Iblis is ~ n i ~ , n n i d a nto
~ e those \v110 i ~ c ~ e p tand
, not to
those who do not accept' " (dfnqcilirt 259, 2 6 0 ) .
Qnr'iin 2 . 1. Ibid. 4 1 . 4 4 .
120 Al-Ibanah 'An U@il Ad-DiyZnuh Translation 121
Another question. It may be said to them: Did not God say, "He What is the difference between you and him who says that God guides
will mislead many by it " ? 'I1 Do His words "He will mislead many the faithful, but does not guide them to any specific thing? And so if
by it " prove that He does not mislead all, because, if He had meant all, it is impossible for Him to guide the faithful without guiding them to
He would have said, " He will mislead all by it," and since He said, " H e faith, you cannot deny that it is impossible for Him to mislead the
will mislead many by it," we know that He does not mislead all? They infidels without misleading them from faith.
will certainly answer yes. Wherefore it may be said to them: Then you
cannot deny that His words " and He will guide many by it" *I2 are a Another question. It may be said to them: What is the meaning of
proof that He does not mean all, because if He had meant all, He would God's words but the wicked shall He cause to err " ? 4'4 Wherefore, if
have said, "and He will guide all by it; " and therefore, since He said, they say, "Its meaning is that H e calls them erring and convicts them
" and He will guide many by it," we know that He does not guide all;
of error," the answer is: Does not God address the Arabs in their classi-
and this is a nullification of your belief that Cod guides all creatures. cal language, and has H e not said therefore, "in the clear Arabie
tongue," 476 and, "We have not sent any apostle, save with the speech
Another question. It may be said to them: If you believe that God's of his own people"? 'I6 They will certainly answer yes. Therefore it
summons to faith is guidance to the infidels who do not accept from may be said to them : Then, if God has revealed the Q u r ' h in the Arabic
God His command, you cannot deny that God's summons to faith is tongue, where do you find in the classical Arabic language that one may
profit and a salutary thing and right direction to the infidels who do not say, "So-and-so misled so-and-so," meaning "He called him erring"?
accept from God His command, and you cannot deny that they have Then if they say, " We find it said, when a man says of an erring man,
preservation ('Gmah) from infidelity (even if they are not preserved ' I have found him erring,'" the answer is, We find the Arabs saying,
from infidelity), and that it is grace to believe (even if they are not given "So-and-so found so-and-so erring," when he calls him erring, but we
grace to believe). From this it necessarily follows that God directs the do not find them saying, " So-and-so misled so-and-so," in this sense.
infidels aright, and does what is salutary for them, and preserves them, Therefore, when God says, "but the wicked shall H e cause to err," 4i7
and gives them grace to believe, even though they be infidels; and this is its meaning cannot be naming and judgment. Since it is not correct
an [p. 621 impossible thing, because the infidels are deserted, and how according to the Arabs to say, " So-and-so misled so-and-so," when he
can they be given grace to believe when they are deserted? And so if an calls him erring, your interpretation is false, since it is contrary to the
i d d e l can be given grace to believe, you cannot deny that faith actually Arabic tongue.
occurs in his case; and if this is considered possible, you cannot deny
that what you believe is impossible. Another question. It may also be said to them: If you say, "God
misleads the infidels because He calls them erring," (but that is not
classical usage, as you claim), then you must admit that, when the
QUESTION
CONCERNING
ERROR.'"
Prophet calls a people erring and corrupt, he misleads and corrupts
It may be said to them: Does God lead the infidels astray from faith them, because he calls them erring and corrupt; and since this is impos-
or from infidelity? Wherefore, if they say, " From infidelity," the an- sible, it is untrue that the meaning of "The wicked shall He cause to
swer is: Then how can they err from infidelity, departing from it, when err" is naming and judgment, as you claim.
they are infidels? If they say, " He leads them astray from faith," they
abandon their belief. But if they say, "We believe that God misleads these things i s leading astray " and "leading astray " is an act done in time.
I t may also be supposed that i t means that, since He finds them erring, IIe tell.;
them, but does not mislead them from any specific thing," the answer is: us that Re misleads them, just as it is said, " So-and-so made so-and-so a coward,"
when he finds him a coward!
Ibid. 2.24. L. e. " Some of them say, ' God's leading the infidels astray is His causing them to
4TJ" Most of the Mu'tazilah sag, ' I t may be supposed thnt the meaning of
perish and a punishment of them on His part.' rrnd they use as an argument God's
God's "leading astray" i s naming them and judging them erring. I t may also words ' in bewilderment and folly' (Qur'fin 5 3 . 4 7 ) (they helieve thnt the folly
be supposed thnt when they err from God's command He tells us that He mis-
is the folly of H e l l ) , and God's words ' whct~ we shall have lait1 hidden in the
leads them, that is, they err from His religion. I t may also be supposed that earth' [Qur'tln 32.9) (that is, ' we have perished and our particles are dis-
the " leading astray" means that God ceases to produce the gift and direction
persed ') " ( M a q a l d t 261, 262).
and strengthening that He gives the faithful, and therefore the cessation of
Qur'Bn 14. 32. "'Ibid. 26. 195. Ibid. 14. 4. Ibid. 14. 32.
122 Al-Zbcinah 'An UMl Ad-Diycinah Translation 133
[p. 631 'Aruwer. It may also be said to them: Has not God said,
who suffer harm, then likewise He benefits only those who are benefited.
" Guided indeed is he whom God guideth; but for him whom He mis-
If He could benefit those who are not benefited, IIe could enable those
Ieadeth, thou shalt by no means find a patron, a director," and "HOW
shall God guide a people who disbelieved after their belief? "? 479 There- who are not enabled; but since that is impossible, He cannot benefit those
who are not benefited or guide those who are not guided.
fore He says explicitly that He does not guide them. He has also said,
" And God calleth to the abode of peace; and H e guicleth whom He will Questio~l. You put this question to us and say, "Ras not God said,
in the right way." 480 Therefore He makes the summons universal and ' the month of Ramadan, in which the Qur'8n was sent down as guidance
the guidance particular. He has also said, " He guideth not the unbe- to man, and explanation'? 4sD Then you cannot deny that the Qur'iin
lieving people." Then, since God tells us that H e does not guide the is [p. 641 guidance to the infidels and to the faithful." The answer is:
unbelieving people, how can anyone say that He guides the infidels when The verse has a particular meaning, because God has already explained
He asserts that He does not guide them and when H e says, " Thou truly to us that He guides those who fear Him, and told us that H e does not
canst not guide whom thou desirest; but God guideth whom He guide the infidels. The Qur'an does not contradict itself; and so it is
wisheth," and when H e says, " Their guidance is not thine affair, but necessarily true that His words '' guidance to man " mean the faithful
God guideth whom H e wisheth," and when H e says, "Had We and not the infidels.
wished, We had certainly given to every soul its guidance " ? 484 If this is Question. If anyone sap, " Has not God said, ' Thou shalt warn only
possible it is possible to say, "He misleads the faithful," when He says, him who followeth the admonition,' "O and, ' thou art only charged with
" He whom God guides is the guided," 48s and when H e says, " guidance the warning of those who fear it; ' and has not the Prophet warned
to those who fear God." Wherefore, if that is not so, you cannot him who follows the admonition, and him who does not follow it, and him
deny that He cannot guide the infidels, when H e says, '' He guideth not who fears, and him who does not fear?," the answer is yes. Wherefore
the unbelieving people," and in face of the rest of the verses in which if they say, " Then you cannot deny that His words 'guidance to those
we have examined you. who fear God ' mean guidance to them and to those who are not they,"
Aszswer. It may also be said to them : Has not God said, " What the answer is: The meaning of God's words " Thou shalt warn only him
thinkest thou? He who hath made a god of his passions, and whom who followeth the admonition " is merely " He who follows the admoni-
God causeth wilfully to err, and whose ears and whose heart He hath tion shall be benefited by thy warning." His words "thou a r t only
sealed up, and over whose sight He hath pIaced a reil . . ." ? They charged with the warning of those who fear it" mean that he who fears
will certainly answer yes. Then it may be said to them: Then does H e the hour and dreads the punishment in it will be benefited by the warn-
mislead them that they may err, or that they may be guided? If they ing. God has told us in another place in the Qur'iin that He warned the
say, " He misleads them that they may be guided," the answer is: How infidels and said, " Verily, those who do not believe-alike is it t o then1
can He mislead them that they may be guided? If this is possible, He if thou warn them or warn them not; they will not believe " '"? and
can guide them that they may err; but if He cannot guide the faithful this is information (habar) concerning the infidels. He also said, "but
that they may err, you cannot deny that He cannot mislead the infidels warn thy relatives of nearer kin," '" and, " I warn you of a tempest,
that they may be guided. like the tempest of 'Ad and Tamid ;" 494 and this is an address to the
Answer. It may also be said to them: Since you think that God infidels. Wherefore, since Got1 tells us in some verses of the Qur'iin that
guides the infidels, but they are not guided, you cannot deny that IIe I-Ie warns the infidels, just as He tells us in other verses that I3.e warns
benefits them but they are not benefited, and that E e does what is salu- him who fears it and him who follows the admonition, it is necessarily
true, by the Qur'Qn, that God warns both the faithful and the infidels.
tary for them but they show no effect of His salutary treatment. If IIe
can benefit those who are not benefited by His benefits, you cannot deny And so since Cod tells us that it is guidance to those who fear God and
thaw who suffer no h:wm. But if E e harms only those
th:lt Ilc 11i11.m~ blindness to the infidels, and that ZIP does not guide the infidels, it is
necessarily true that the Qur'iin is guidance to the faithful and not to the
'?* 1bid. 18. 16. '"'Ibid. 2.266. 'S' Ibid. 32. 13. infidels.
'lo Ibid. 3. YO. 'M Il~itl.28. 56. '*" Ihitl. 7. 177. Ibid. 2. 266.
Ibid. 10. 26. Ibid. 2. 2 7 4 "* Ibid. 2. 1.
4S7

Ibid. 45. 22. '"Ihid. 2. 181. Ibitl. 70.45. '"* Ibid. 2G. 214.
Ibid. 36. 10. '"'Jt~id.,2. 5. '"Ibid. 41. 12.
124 Al-Zbanah ' A n Upil Ad-Diganah Translation 125
Question. If any one asks about God's words "And as to Tamiid, We who is the truthful and the trustworthy, told us, " The nature of each of
had vouchsafed them guidance; but to guidance did they prefer blind- you is assembled in the womb of his mother in forty nights. Then i t is a
ness," 405 and says, " Were not Tamiid infidels, and has not God told u5 clot of blood the same length of time, and then it is an embryo the
that H e guided them Y," the answer is : The matter is not as you suppose. same length of time. Then God sends the angels," said he, "and four
Regarding this verse there are two answers. The first of them is that words of command are given. I t is said, ' Write his appointed term, and
Tamiid is in two parts: the infidels and the faithful. The latter arc his sustenance, and his work, and whether he will be miserable or happy.'
those H e tells us that H e ~escuedwith Siilih, in His words " We rescuecl Then He breathes into him the spirit." He said, " One of you shall
SSIlih and those who believed with him." 4D6 Those of Tamiid Cod has in work the work of the people of Paradise, until there be between him and
mind as having been guided by Him are the faithful, and not the infidels, them but a cubit's space, but the writ shall forestall him, and he shall
because God explains to us in the Qur'iin that He does not guide the work the work of the people of Hell, and enter therein; and one of you
infidels; and the Qur'iin does not contradict itself, but, on the contrary, shall work the work of the people of Hell, until there be between him
one part tallies wi% another. And so if He tells us in one place that and them but a cubit's space, and the writ shall forestall him, and t h e
H e does not guide the infidels, then tells us in [p. 651 another place work of the people of Paradise shall be sealed to his account, and he
that H e guided Famiid, we know that He has in mind only the faithful shall enter therein." '03
of Tamiid and not the infidels. The other answer is that God means Mu'iiwiyah ibn 'Amr relates the following tradition: Z;E'idah told us
people of Tamiid who were believers, then apostatized; and so H e tells on the authority of al-A'mag, and he on the authority of Abii Siilih,JO'
us that H e guided them, but they preferred, after guidance, unbelief to and he on the authority of Abii Hurayrah, and he on the authority of the
faith, yet they had been believers in their state of guidance. And so if Prophet, " Adam and Moses argued. Moses said, ' 0 Adam, thou art he
anyone says, objecting to the first ansGer, " How can He say, 'We had whom Cod created with His hand and breathed into thee of His spirit,
vouchsafed them guidance,' and mean the faithful of Tamed, and say, Thou hast seduced men and sent them forth from Paradise.' Adam
'but they preferred,' meaning the infidels among them, who are non- said, 'Thou art Moses, whom God chose by His words. Thou blamest
believers?," i t may be said to him: It is correct, in the classical language me for a work that God wrote down against me before He created the
in which the Qur'iin is written, for Him to say, "We had vouchsafed heavens."' [p. 661 He said, "So Adam defeated Moses in the
them guidance," and mean the faithful of Tamiid, and to say, " but they argument." 'OS
preferred," meaning the infidels among them. God's words present MLlik also related the hadit of Adam's defeating Moses in the argu-
similar examples: God said, " But God chose not to punish them while ment, on the authority of Abu '2-Zin5d,So6 and he on the authority of
thou wast with them," 407 meaning the infidels; then He said, "nor al-A'raj, and he on the authority of Abii Hurayah, and he on the author-
would God punish them when they sued for pardon," 498 meaning the ity of the Prophet. This proves the falsity of the belief of the Qadariy-
faithful; then He said, "nothing is there on their part why God should yah, who say that God does not know a thing until it is, because if God
not punish them," 40g meaning the infidels. There is nothing contrary, writes it and commands it to be written, He does not cause a thing He
according to the grammarians, to the correctness of speech in these does not know to be written. May He be too great and holy for that!
terms: namely, that in its literal sense it should apply to one genus, but God has said, " and not a leaf falls but He knoweth it, neither i s there a
the thing meant by it be two genera. And so the objectio~the objector grain in the dark places of the earth, there is neither moisture nor drv-
has raised is false, and i t is a proof of his ignorance. ness, but it is noted in a distinct writing." '07 He has also said, " There
is no moving thing on earth whose nourishment dependeth not on God;
CHAPTERCONTAINING
THE TRADITIONS
CITEDCONCERNING
THE Qadar. He knoweth its haunts and final resting place." 508 He has also said,
Mu'liwiyah ibn 'Amr relates the following tradition: ZL'idah told " God hath taken count of them, though they have forgotten them." 509'
us, Sulaym5n a1-h'ma; told us on the authority of Zayd ibn Wahb,
SOS Wensinck, Handbook 64; al-Dubfiri, ed. Krehl I\' 251. 469.
and he on the authority of 'AhdnllLh ibn Mas'fidFSo2
The Apostle of God,
Died 710.
Wensinck, op. cit. 1 1 ; al-Bukbri, IV 255, 48.5.
Ibid. 41. 16. '" Ibid. 8. 33. 'OD Ibid. 8.34. "' Died ca. 703. Died 748. "O' Qur'fin 6 . 5 0 . Ibid. 1 1 . 8. so8 Ibid. 58. i
Ibid. 11. 88. ros L. c. '0° Died 777. 'O' Died ca. 662.
126 Al-Ibanah 'An U@l Ad-DiyQnah Translation 127
IIe has also said, " H e
.
hath taken count of them and numbered them the authority of 'Ali,S21 We were at a funeral in Baqi' al-0arqad,s'2 and
with numbering." 510 He has also said, " H e embraceth all things by the Prophet came and sat, and we about him, and he had a staff of his
knowledge," 511 and, " and taketh count of all that concerneth them." with him, and he wrote upon the ground with it, and raised his head and
H e has also said, "knowing everything." 513 Therefore those verses ex- said, " There is not among you a living soul, whose place in Paradise or
plain that He knows5'" all things; for God tells us that His creatures [p. 671 Hell has not been written, and who has not been written down
will come to life and arise, and the infidels will be eternally in IIell, and miserable or happy." A man of the company said, " 0, Apostle of God,
the Prophets and the faithful will enter into Paradise, and that the shall we not abide by our writ and claim the work and will not he of us
resurrection will take place (yet the resurrection has not taken place who is of the people of happiness attain to happiness, and he who is of
since this revelation) ;515 wherefore that proves that God knows what is the people of misery attain to misery? " He said, "Act, for all is easy.
going to be before it is. God has said concerning the people of Hell, As for the people of misery, they do easily the works of misery, and as for
"but though they should return, they would surely go back," 51s where- the people of happiness, they do easily the works of happiness." Then he
fore He tells us concerning what is not, how it would be if it were. H e said, " ' But as to him who giveth (alms) and feareth God and yieldeth
has said, " But what was the state of generations past? He said, ' The assent to the Good, to him will We make easy the path to happiness. But
knowledge thereof is with my Lord in the Book of His decrees. My as to him who is covetous and bent on riches, and calleth the Good a lie,
Lord erreth not, nor forgetteth ' " 517 (for He who does not know a thing to him will We make easy the path to misery.' " 523
before it exists does not know it after its completion). May He be very Mas8 ibn IsmZi1 624 relates the following tradition : Hammiid told us,
far above the beliefs of the wrongdoers ! Ei&m ibn 'Urwah 525 informed us on the authority of ' U r ~ a hand ~ he
~ ~
MuPwiyah ibn 'Amr relates the following tradition : ZB'idah told us on on the authority of 'Pii'igah,5" that the Apostle of God said, " A man
the authority of Sulaymiin al-A'maS, and he on the authority of 'Amr ibn shall work the work of the people of Paradise, even though he be written
Murrah, and he on the authority of 'Abd ar-Rahmiin ibn Abi Lay18,518 in the Book among the people of Hell. But if, before his death, he has
and he on the authority of 'Abdalliih ibn ~abi'ah,We were with 'Sbdal- turned about and worked the work of the people of Hell and then died,
liih, he said, and they mentioned a man and they discussed who created then he enters Hell; and a man shall work the work of the people of
him. The people said, " Has he not one who punishes his hands? " 'Ab- Hell, even though it be written in the Book that he is of the people of
dallah said, "Think you, if his head were severed, you could make a Paradise, but if, before his death, he has turned about and worked the
hand for i t ? " They said, "No." 'Abdallah said, "The semen, when works of the people of Paradise, and then died, then he enters Paradise."
it enters a woman, abides forty days, then it swells with blood, then it These had$ prove that God knows that what will be: will be, and
becomes a clot a like period of time, then it becomes an embryo a like writes it down; and that He writes down the people of Paradise and the
period of time, then He sends angels, saying, ' Write his appointed term, people of Hell, and creates them as two groups: a group for Paradise,
and his work, and his sustenance, and his mark, and his character, and and a group for the flame. His Book states that clearly when it says,
whether he will fare ill or well,' and you cannot alter his character until "some hath E e guided, and some hath He justly left in error; " 528 atid
you alter his creation.'' He also says, "when part shall be in Paradise and part in the flame," 523
hIu'%wiyah ilm 'Amr relates the following tradition: Zii'idah told us and He also says, " and some shall be miserable and others blessed." 530
on the authority of M n n s f ~ r ,and
~ ~ ~he on the authority of Sa'tl ibn And so God creates the miserable for misery and the blessed for blessecl-
'Ubaydah, and he on the authority of Abfi 'Abd a r - R a l . ~ n l n , ~and
? ~ he on ness. He has said, " Nany, moreover, of the j i n l t :ind men have We
Ibid. 19. w. ""bid. 72.28.
created for Jahannam." 531 The following has bcen related on the iiu-
Ibid. 05. 12.
611 Ibid. 42. 10 and pnssin~. thority of the Prophet: " God has ordained a people for Pnmdise, and a
"'E: "docs not know." PerI~nps a snrcnstic question: " Then those w r w s people for Hell."
mnke it clear that IIc does not know all things, csen tltoug11 Cod trlls 119 . . . ? "
Literally, " y e t the rebrtrrection did not tuke place aftcr\vards." "* Died 661.
The cemetery a t al-Mndinah. Died 678.
Qur'iin G. 28. 6'2

5 2 5 Qur'5n 92. 5-10.


6*e Qur'Ln 7. 28.
ll&l. 20. 5 3 , 54. "'O Probnbly lbrr n1 X1u't:~rnir (dirt1 7 4 9 ) .

ma Died ctr. 702. Probably as-Sulutni (died 093). &'' Perhaps Abil Snlan~nhf died 837 ) . Ibid. 42.5.
s30 Ibid. 11. 107.
"'" Died ca. 763.
62'Ihn az-Zubayr (died ca. 7 1 1 ) . Ibid. 7. 178.
128 Al-Zbanah 'An U& Ad-Diycinuh Translation 129

PROOF
CONCERNINC~
THE Q a d a ~ . ~ ~ ~ prevailed over us, and we became an erring people." '" All that is by
;t command that exists antecedently in God's knowledge, in which His
Aniong the things that prove the falsity of the belief of the Qadariyyah will is completely fulfilled and His wish realized.
are God's words " And when thy Lord brought forth their descendants Mu'&wiyah ibn 'Amr relates the following tradition: Zii'idah said,
from the reins of the sons of Adam " 533-the verse. There is a tradi- Talhah ibn Yahyii the QurayBte said, 'Pigah bint Ta1hahmDtold
tion, on the authority of the Apostle of God, that God rubbed the back me, on the authority of 'A'iGah, Mother of the Faithful, that the Prophet
of Adam and brought forth his offspring from his back in the likeness was called to the funeral of a young man of the Helpers to pray for him.
of ants, then H e compellcd them to acknowledge His unity and raised 'A'iHah said, " Blessed, 0 Apostle of God, be this sparrow of Paradise,
an argument against them, because H e said, " and took them to witness who did not evil, neither did it overtake him! " He said, " Or other-
against themselves. 'Am I not,' said He, 'your lord?' They said, wise, 0 *Pigah! God ordained a people for Paradise, when they were
' Yes, we witness it.' " ''"God has said, " lest ye should say on the Day in the loins of their fathers, and a people for Hell, whom He ordained for
of Resurrection, 'Truly, of this were we heedless.'" 6s6 And so He i t when they were in the loins of their fathers.', s40 This explains that
makes their having been compelled to acknowledge His unity, when H e blessedness precedes its recipients, and misery precedes its recipients.
brought them forth from Adam's back, an argument against them, when The Prophet said, "Work your works, for everyone does easily that for
they deny, in the world, that of which they admitted knowledge when which he was created."
they were first multiplied, then, after the acknowledgment, repudiated.
It has been related on the authority of the Prophet that God seizes Another proof. God has said, "Guided indeed is he whom God
[p. 683 a handful for Paradise and a handful for Hell, distinguishing y i d e t h ; but for him whom He misleadeth, thou shalt by no means find
a patron, a director," and, " Many will He mislead by it and many
the one from the other; and so misery prevails over the people of
misery and blessedness over the people of blessedness. God has said, guide?" and so He tells us that He misleads and guides. H e has
telling us of the people of Hell, that they said, " 0 our Lord ! our misery said, "but the wicked shall He cause to err; God doeth what He wish-
eth," "'and so He tells us that He is the " Doer of what H e wills," s44
&" " This i s t h e exposition of t h e belief of the Mu'tazilah concerning the qadar. and since infidelity is one of the things E e wills, He makes it and prede-
T h e Mu'tazilah agree t h a t God does not create unbelief o r disobedience o r any termines it and originates i t and develops it and creates it. He has ex-
of t h e acts of others besides Himself--all except one of them, who thinks t h a t
God creates them because H e creates their names and the decisions regarding
plained that by His words " Worship ye what ye carve, when God hath
them. The latter idea is attributed t o giilih Qubbah. created you and what ye make? p wherefore, even if their service of
" T h e Mu'tazilah agree--all except 'Abbiid-that God makes faith good and idols were a work of theirs, the latter would in any case be a thing created
infidelity bad ( a n d the meaning of t h a t i s t h a t God makes the appellation for by God. God has also said, " in recompense of their works," meaning
faith and the decision t h a t i t i s good, and t h e appellation for infidelity and the that He recompenses them for their works; and therefore the same thing
decision t h a t i t ia bad) and t h a t God creates t h e unbeliever a s not a n unbeliever
and h e disbelieves afterwards, and the believer i n the same way.
is true when He speaks of their service of idols and their infidelity to-
"'Abbld denies t h a t God makes unbelief i n a n y way a t all or creates the wards the Merciful, for if it were a thing that they predetermined and
unbeliever and the believer. did by themselves, they would do and predetermine what lies outside the
" T h e Mu'tazilah disagree an t o whether o r not i t may be said t h a t man predetermination of their Lord and His operation; and how can they
creates his acts, and there a r e three vicws: ( a ) some think t h a t t h e meaning of possess a predetermination and an operation and a power that do not
' doer' and of 'creator' is the same, and t h a t we ought not t o use t h a t term
belong to their Lord? He who thinks that makes God deficient. Nay
roncerning rnan w i t l ~ o u tqualification, because we are forbidden to do ao; ( b ) God be far above the belief of those who make Him deficient! Do you
others say, ' It i s a n a c t without instrument o r member, and this is impossible
0 1 1 his p n r t ; ' ( c ) others cay, 'The meaning of "creator" is t h a t the a c t occurs not agree that, when one thinks that human beings know what God does
on his p t ~ r tby predetcrminntion, nnd therefore cvcryone whose act occurs by
prcdctern~inntiot~ is the crentor of thc nct, whether in etcrnity or in t i m e ' " 6'7Qur'5n 23. 103.
(araqaiat 227, 2 2 8 ) . bS8Perhaps the Talhah ibn YahyB who died in 762.
539 Siece of 'T'iBah, Moth of the F a i t l ~ f d .
c3JSQur'fin 7. 171. 6 3 4 L. c, 6ss L. c.
5.O Ahmad ibn Ijanbnl, Nusnad VI, 208.
11 has qalubal " turnu," instead of galnbat. I find no parallcl for t h e use of
Qur'An 18. 1 G . s43 Ibid. 14.32. Ibid. 37.93, 9 4
qnlaba with 'ald.
6" Ibid. 2.24. s44 Ibid. 11. 109. Ibid. 32. 17.
Al-Zbanah 'An U& Ad-Diytinah Translation
not know, it is as though he gave them knowledge that is not included His bounty will H e increase them;" and God does not break His
in the knowledge of God, and made them equal with God? And so like- promises. Hence he intercedes with God, according to you, only that
wise, he who thinks that human beings make and predetermine what God He may not break His promise; and this belief is an evidence of igno-
does not predetermine and that they have the power to do what He has rance on your part. The intercession in question is only for those who
not the power to do, gives them authority and power and ability that deserve punishment, that their punishment may be removed from them,
he does not give to the Merciful. May God be very far above the belief or for those to whom He has not promised a thing, that He may bestow
of the people [p. 691 of falsehood and slander and lying and insolence ! it upon them; and so, without doubt, since the promise of the bestowal
Answer. It may be said to them: Does the infidel make infidelity precedes, there is no room for intercession.
corrupt, vain, and self-contradictory? And so if they say yes, the answer Question. If they ask concerning Cod's words "no plea shall they
is: How can he make i t corrupt, self-contradictory, and vile, when he is offer, save for whom He p l e a ~ e t h ; " the
~ ~ ~answer concerning that is:
firmly convinced that it is good, and sound, and the best of religions? "Save for whom H e pleaseth" among them-they shall intercede for
And since that is impossible because an act is not really an act except him. There is a tradition that the intercession of the Prophet is for the
on the part of one who knows i t according to the real nature upon which people who have committed mortal s h s , and there is a tradition on the
it is grounded (just as i t is impossible that there should be an act on the authority of the Prophet thaysinners will go forth from Hell.
part of one who does not know it as an act), then God must be the one
who predetermines infidelity and creates i t as infidelity, corrupt, false,
and self-contradictory, contrary to the truth and to what is right.
[p. 701 CHAPTERCONTAINING
THE Ka2cim CONCERNING
THE POOL.
The MuYazilah also deny the Pool; but there are traditions about it
on the authority of the Prophet, from many sources; and on the author-
ity of the Companions, without disagreement; and 'AfEiin relates the
following tradition: Hammiid ibn Salsmah told us on the authority of
It may also be said to them: The Muslims have unanimously agreed 'Ali ibn Zayd, and he on the authority of al-Ha~an,5~l and he on the
that the Apostle of God has the power of intercession. Then for whom authority of Anas ibn MIlik,55S" that he mentioned the Pool in the pres-
is the intercession? I s it for sinners who commit mortal sins, or for the ence of *UbaydallBh ibn Ziyiid 553 and he denied it, and Anas learned of
devout faithful? Therefore, if they say, "For sinners who commit it. He said, "Indeed, by God, I will attend to him ! " He went t o him
mortal sins," they agree; but if they say, " For the faithful who are told and said, "What did you say about the Pool? " Tbaydalliih said, " Have
the good news of Paradise and receive the promise of it," the answer is: you heard the Prophet speak of i t ? " He said, "I have heard the Prophet
Then, since they receive the promise of Paradise and are told the good more than such-and-such a number of times say, ' The space between its
news of it, and God does not break His promise, what is the meaning of extremities '-meaning the Pool-' is the space between Aylah 554 and
the Prophet's intercession for a people whom, according to you, it is im- Mecca,' or 'between SanC8'and Mecca, and its vessels are more numerous
possible for God not to cause to enter His Paradise? 547 And what is the than the stars of heaven.' "
meaning of your words 5 4 7 "They have deserved it of God and merited Ahmad ibn Hamdalliih ibn Yiinus relates the following tradition:
it of IIim"? For, since "God will not wrong anyone the weight of a Ibn Abi Zl'idah told us on the authority of 'Abd al-Malik ibn 'Umayr,SJ5
mote," 5 4 8 thcir retardation from Paradise is a wrong; but the interces- and he on the authority of Jundub ibn SufyLn, I heard the Apostle of
sors jntercedc with God only that Re may do no wrong, according to God say, " I have explained the Pool to you clearly in many ahbdr."
your opi~~ions.May God be wry far above your calumny against IIinl!
Wl~ercforo,i f they say, "The Prophet i~~terccdcs with God that IIe may
incrcw TIis bounty to~i11.tlstl~em,not that 1Ic may cause them to enter
g
'
n Ibid. 4. 172.
I lis I't~r~lisc~," t l ~ cansww is: fJ;~snot Got1 already promised them that :C '60Ibid. 21. 28,29. 66P Died ca. 509.
T11r~wl'or.cI I e , ~ i \ i t l ," I l c will pay thcn) thcir due recomperise and out of Died ca. 609. Died 686.
'j4At the headd?f the Gulf of 'Aqabah. The ilah of the text is an error.
s66 Died en. 753.
Translation 133

THE PUNISHMENT
THE Kaldm CONCERNING
CHAPTERCONTAINING OP THE Kaldm CONCERNING
CHAPTEECONTAINING THE I M ~ M A
O FT
AEB ~
THE GRAVE. BAKETHE V E E A C I O U S . ~ ~ ~
The Mu'tazilah 55B also deny the punishment of the grave; but there are God has said, " God hath promised to those of you who believe and do
traditions about it on the authority of the Prophet from many sources, the things that are right, that E e will cause them to succeed others in
and on the authority of his Companions. It has not been related on the the land, as He gave succession to those who were before them, and that
authority of any of them that he denied it or rejected it or gainsaid it: He will establish for them that religion which they delight in, and that
and so i t must be an i j m g of the Companions of the Prophet. Abii after their fears H e will give them security in exchange. They shall
Bakr i6n Abi Saybah 567 relates the following tradition : Abii Mu'Iwiyah worship me; nought shall they join with me." 56s He has also said,
told us on the authority of al-Aha;, and he on the authority of Abii " those who, if We establish them in this land, will observe prayer, and
$iiQ, and he on the authority of Abii Hurayrah, The Apostle of God pay alms of obligation, and enjoin what is right and forbid what is
said, " Take refuge with Cod from the punishment of the grave." evil." 564 God has also praised the Emigrants, and the Helpers, and the
A b a d ibn Ishlq al-IJadrami relates the following tradition : Wuhayb first to accept Isliim, and the people of acceptable fealty; and the Qur'ln
told us, Ma& ibn 'Uqbah 558 told us, Umm @lid bint H a d ibn Sa'id has clearly proclaimed the praises of the Emigrants and the Helpers, in
ibn al-'XT,told me that she heard the Apostle of God take refuge from many passages; and it has praised the people of acceptable fealty, and
the punishment of the grave. therefore God has said, " Well pleased now hath God been with the be-
Anas ibn Mllik relates, on the authority of the Prophet, that he said, lievers when they plighted fealty to thee under the tree'' 585- the verse.
"Were it not that you would not bury each other, I would surely ask God Those whom God praised and commended have agreed unanimonsly upon
to let you hear of the punishment of the grave what H e has let me hear." the imgmate of Abii Bakr the Veracious, and they have called him the
caliph of the Apostle of God, and pledged him fealty, and obeyed him,
Another proof. Among the things that explain the punishment of
and confessed his excellence; for he was the best of the Muslim fellow-
the infidels in the graves are the words of God "It is the fire to which
ship in all the good qualities that qualified him for the imlmate : howl-
they shall be exposed morning and evening, and on the day when the
edge, and frugality (zuhd), and power of judgment, and diplomacy in
Hour shall arrive-' Bring in the people of Pharaoh [p. 711 into the
the Community, and other things besides.
severest punishment; ' " 559 wherefore H e places their punishment on a
day when the Hour shall arrive, after their exposure to the fire in the Another proof, from the QuT'an, on the hdmate of the Veracious.
world morning and evening. He has also said, "twice will We chastise God has furnished proof of the imiimate of Abii Bakr in the Siirah of
them "--once by the sword and another time in their graves-, "then the Immunity; and therefore He said to the hangers-back, who would
shall they be given over to a great chastisement" 580- in the next world. not help His Prophet, and those who remained behind, not taking the
God also tells us that the martyrs are richly sustained and rejoice in field with him, " say, ' By no means shall ye ever take the field with me,
God's bounty in this world; for He has said, " And repute not those who and by no means shall ye fight an enemy with me,' ',587 and H e has also
are dain in God's path to be dead. Nay, alive with their Lord, are they said in another Siirah, " They who took the field with you will say, when
richly sustained; rejoicing in what God of His bounty hath vouchsafed ye go forth to the spoil to take it, ' Let us follow you.' Fain would they
them, filled with joy for those who follow after them, but have not yet change the word of God " 588--meaningHis words " By no means shall
overtaken them, that on them nor fear shall come, nor grief ;" and ye ever take the field with me "-then [p. 721 He said, "thus hath God
these things can exist only in this world, because those who have not said already. They will say, ' Nay, ye are jealous of us.' Nay! They
overtaken them are alive, not dead nor slain. sea Ag-~iddiq. The name, according to a tradition, was bestowed upon him by
Gabriel (Wensinck, Handbook 5 ; Ibn Sa'd, ed. Sachau 111 I 1 2 0 ) .
Qur'ln 24. 54. Ibid. 22.42.
me The Biirijites also denied i t ( M a q 8 l d t 127 ) . "%Ibid. 48. 18. The "people of acceptable fealty" are the Companions who
6" Died ca. 848. promised ( A . H. 6 ) , upon hearing a false report of ' U t m h ' s death, to remuin
'&' Died 758. "O Ibid. 9.102. I;~ithfulto the Prophet in his ronflict with the Qurayli.
Qur'Bn 40. 49. "' Ibid. 3. 163, 164. Stirah 9. 6'7 Qur'an 9. 84. see Ibid. 48. 13.
Translation 135
134 Al-Ibiinah ' A n U&1 Ad-DiycZnuh
is the belief of those who say, " The imiim after him is al-'Abbiis." The
are men of little understanding." He has also said, " Say to those of
belief of those who say, " He is Abii Bakr the Veracious," is based on
the Arabs who remain behind, ' Ye shall be called forth against a people the unanimous consent of the Muslims and the witness of it he re-
of mighty valor. Ye shall do battle with them or they shall profess
ceived; and, furthermore, we see that 'Ali and al-'Abbiis obeyed him and
Isllm. If ye obey, a goodly recompense will God give you; but if ye agreed upon his imlmate; and therefore he must be imam d t e r the
turn back' "-meaning "if ye fail to answer him who summons you to Prophet [p. 7'31 by the unanimous consent of the Muslims. Nobody
fight them "-" as ye turned back aforetime, H e will punish you with a may say, " The private opinions of 'Ali and al-'AbbL are different from
grievous punishment.',' 570 Now he who summons them to that is not their expressed opinions," for if this claim could legitimately be made,
the Prophet, to whom God said, "say, ' By no means shall ye ever take unanimous consent would not be sound, and one might make that state-
the field with me, and by no means shall ye fight an enemy with me; ' " ment regarding every unanimous consent of the Muslims. This disposes
and He said also in the Siirah of VictoryPT1 "Fain would they change of the secret meaning of unanimous consent, because Cod has not sub-
the word of God;" and therefore He refuses to let them, take the field jected us in the unanimous consent to the private opinions of men, but
with His Prophet, and makes their taking the field with him a changing only to their expressed opinions. Now since that is so, the unanimous
of His word; and from that it necessarily follows that the summoner consent and the agreement upon the imiimate of Abii Bakr the Veracious
who will summon them to fighting is one who will summon after His are clear; and since the imiimate of the Veracious is proved, the imiimate
Prophet. People say, "They are Persians," and they say, " The people of the Distinguisher is proved, because the Veracious designated him,
of the Yamiimah;" and it is true that Abii Bakr the Veracious fought and committed the imiimate to him, and chose him for it, and he was
with them and issued a summons to fight with them.672 And if they are the best of them after Abii Bakr. The imiimate of 'Utmiin after 'Umar
the Byzantine~,6~~ the Veracious fought with them also; and if they are is proved by the act of the members of the Council,JT8appointed by
the Persian peoplePT4there was fighting with them in the days of Abii 'Umar, who committed the imiimate to him, wherefore they chose 'Ubiin,
Bakr and 'Umar fought with them after him and made an end of them.575 and consented to his imiimate, and agreed unanimously upon his excel-
NOWsince the imiimate of 'Umar is necessarily true, the imiimate of Abii lence and his justice. The imiimate of 'Ali after 'Ubiin is proved by the
Bakr is necessarily true, just as the imiimate of 'Umar is necessarily act of the Companions who had the right to invest and to deprive, for
true, because Abii Bakr transmitted the imiimate to him; and therefore they committed the imamate to him, and another proof of it is that no
the Qursn furnishes proof of the imiimate of the Veracious and the Dis- other member of the Council was called to the imiimate in his time, for
tinguisher; and since the imlmate of Abii Bakr, after the Apostle of they agreed unanimously upon his excellence and his justice, and if they
God, is necessarily true, he must be the best of the Muslims. refused to allow him to claim sovereignty for himself in the time of the
Another proof: The ijmci' on the imdmate of Abii Bakr the Veracious. caliphs before him, it is true on the face of it that it was not the time
Among the things that prove the imlmate of the Veracious is the fact of his elevation. And so since he stood by himself at a later time, it is
that the Muslims all followed him, and were subject to his imlmate, and true on the face of i t that the latter is the time of his elevation. Then
said to him, " 0 caliph of the Apostle of God! " We have also seen when the sovereignty became his i t was open and public and did not
that 'Ali and al-'Abbtis obeyed him and acknowledged his imlmate. Now diminish until he attained to right direction and leadership, as the
since the Riifidah say, " 'Ali is the one designated for his imlmate," and caliphs who were before him and the just imams had attained t o right
the Gwandiyyah say, " Al-'Abbls is the one designated for his imimate," direction and leadership, following the Book of their Lord and the
there are but three beliefs among men with regard to the imiimate: (1) sunnah of their Prophet. These are the four imams whose justice and
there are those who say, "The Prophet designated the imlmate of the excellence are unanimously agreed upon.
Veracious, who is the imdm after the Apostle; " (2) there is the belief Surayh ibn an-Nu'miin has related the following tradition : Ha'iraj ibn
of those who say, "He designated the imamate of 'Ali;" and ( 3 ) there NubHtah told us on the authority of Sa'id ibn Jumhiin, Safinah 677 told

L. c. 6" Ibid. 37 ff. Ibid. 129. The members of the Council were: 'Ali, 'UtmBn, 'Abd ar-Rahmh
Ibid. 48. 10. Ibid. 30 ff. ibn 'Awi, az-Zubayr, Talhah, and Sa'd ibn Abi WaqqBs. See also ibid. 149 ff.
"?' Ibid. ch. 2. 6 T T A Persian client of the Prophet. Died ca. 708.
Sarah 48.
b7' Weil, Geschichte der Chalifen I 21 ff. sT6n 'Urnar.
I

136 At-Zbiinuh 'An Ugiil Ad-Diyiinrsh


me, The Apostle of God said, " The caliphate shall be among my people
thirty years, then a kingdom after that." Then Safinah said to me, Take
the caliphate of Abii Bakr, and the caliphate of 'Umar, and the caliphate INDEX OF ARABIC WORDS
of 'Utmiin, then, said he, take the caliphate of 'Ali ibn Abi TUib, said
he, and you find them thirty years.678
That, then, is a proof of the imamate of the four imams. As for what abgar 56 ilji' 106
abbdr See habar. i m d m ( s ) 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 34, 49, 50, 53,
happened among 'Ali and az-Zubayr and 'Alikh, i t was only a matter of 54, 55, 134, 135, 136
ahkdm 44, 45
interpretation and ijtihdd. 'Ali is the imiim, and all of them are people ah1 al-ahwii' 15 'iqfil 26
of the i j t i h a . The Prophet has borne witness concerning Paradise in ah1 al-qadar 46 irdrah 100
their favor, and the witness is a proof that they all were right in their ah1 at-ward 15 'iismah 58, 120 .
i j t i k d . Likewise what happened between 'Ali and Mu'iiwiyah was a 'at@128 isnads 75
'alim ('ulamb') 26, 79, 87 isti@8n 13
matter of interpretation and i j t i h a . All [p. 747 the Companions are
amir 3 istit8'ah 29
trustworthy imiims, not to be suspected of error in Religion. God and istiinci' 115
'Lqil 26
His Apostle praise them all, and we render our service by extolling and 'aql 26 istiwa 83
magnifying them and being their helpers, and by opposing everyone arsh 83 i'tiz6l 15
who would detract from the honor of any of them. We have made, d@r 33, 35, 47, 79, 84
regarding the acknowledgment of the inuims, a statement and an asser- ayddcn 90 jdnn 70
aydcn 90 jihad 34
tion. Praise be to God first and last ! jinn 55, 68, 71, 75, 105, 127
ba+ir 20
bila kayfa 24, 28, 31, 36, 50

faqih 28
f b i q 22
fiqh 44
fitnah 34, 54
madhab 28, 75, 119
gala 9 mahdi(s) 9
galabat 128 mablaq 100
gardrah 46 m q l a h h 27
gazdrah 46 mCrdj 54
mubsir 20
babar (ahbdr) 33, 47, 61, 79, 84, 89, muhbil 20
111, 112, 113, 123, 131 mu&da_t 100
hadil 13, 49, 54, 61, 125, 127 mujtahids 8
k k a m a h 26 mulhids 22
hakim 26
Califah 3
kraja 6
hayrah 46
qadar 10, 15, 26, 29, 32, 33, 113, 115.
116, 117, 118, 124, I28
Qadari 113
ijma' 13, 36, 38, 64, 60, 89, 90, 93, 132, qalabat 128
134 qiblah 32, 34, 52, 55, 57
ijlihdd 8, 136 qiyds 13, 38, 88, 90
Cf. Wensinck, o p . cit. 109.
iktisab 36, 103 quwwah 21, 31, 50
Index of Arabic Words
tasmiah 94 INDEX OF PERSONAL AND GROUP NAMES OCCURRING
raj'ah 9 ta'til 3.6, 62, 87, 88, 94
ra'y 13 tawfiq 21, 44
I N THE INTRODUCTION
risdlah 80 tuscrcih 89

gadaqah 7 1 'ulamci' See ' d i m . 'Abbld 18, 19 Christian(s) 8, 17, 18, 38


Bahadah 33 u@ 16 '-4tb%sid(s) 6, 10, 11, 12 Christianity 13
salaf 47 'Abdalliih ibn Maymiin 10 Companions 1, 5, 33
galcih 17 wakils 11 'Abdalllh ibn SabB' 7, 8
sami' 20 waqf 32 Abii 'Ali of Damascus 25 Emigrants 3, 5, 23
sdmi' 20 wara' 11 Abii Bakr, the Caliph 3, 5, 6, 33
Barci'i' See Bari'ah Abii Burdah .26
Baniah (8ar8'i') 44, 104, 105 yad 90 Abii panifah 10, 12, 13, 36
ag-gddiq 133 Abu '1-Hasan 'Ali ibn Ismii'il al-Ks'ari
sunan See sunnah gahr 58 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, hlliyyah 9
sunnah (sunan) 3, 13, 28, 29, 33, 34, zandaqah 88 25 ff. a l - ~ a z a l i1, 2, 14, 25, 38
38, 45, 49, 54, 61, 135 &hdr 58 -4bii HaLim 10, 12 Gnosticism 13
Z i d f q (£3) 22, 94 Abu '1-Hu&yl 24 Goldziher, I. 29
ta'atfuf 56 zuhd 11, 133 . Abii Ishiiq al-Marwazi 28 Graf, G. 18
fab' 114 Abii Ja'far al-Ae'ari 26 Greek philosophy 38
tabi'a 114
j
l 106
Abii Miis5 al-Ae'ari 4, 6, 26
ta'dil 29 51 106 @mad ibn Abi Duwld 23 Hanbalite(s) 13, 28, 29
tafrah 29 Ahmad ibn Hanbal 1, 2, 12, 13, 23, 24, qanifites 36 ff.
4 70
tajsim 36 28, 30, 35 Eiirijites (Eiirijism) 4, 6, 7, 11, 3 1
tajroir 29, 107 - ~ 7 0b A ~sah6
.-9.-
Hlriin ar-RaLid 10, 12
tajwiz 107 1- b 70 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib 3, 4, 5,. 6, 7, 8, 9, al-Hasan ibn 'Ali 9
taklif 111 11, 12, 26, 33 al-Easan al-Askari 11
73
tanPsu6 8 'Ali, nephew of Abii H%im 10 Hasan al-Basri 10, 14
tanzih 36, 87 & 73 'AIi an-Naqi 10 HiiHirn 6
'Ali ar-Rid% 10 HiiLimites 6
ta~awwuf14 'Ali the Younger 9 al-Eatib al-BagdHdi 25
taibih 36, 63, S7 'Alids 8, 11 al-Eayylt 15, 16, 23, 24
Alp Arslan 38 Hell, J. 30
al-Amin 10 Helpers 3, 5, 23
'Amr ibn al-'As 4, 6 HiBgm ibn 'Amr 20
Antichrist 34 al-Hublb ibn al-Mundir 3
Arab(s) 8, 10, 12, 13 al-Husayn ibn 'Ali 9
Aristotle 17 al-Uw%nsiiri25
ATarites 17, 29, 36 8.
Azraqites 7 Ibiidiyyah 7
Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhnb 2
Bane Hiibim 11 Ibn 'Asfikir 25, 28
Banii Sa'idah 3 Ibn Fiirak 38
al-BAqillAni 38 Ibn Ballikiin 25
Beckcr, C. 13. 17 Ibn H a m 38
Uil%l 2G Ibn Muljam 7
Urockelmann, C. 30 Ibn ar-Rawandi 10, 23
Buddhism t3 Ihn Taymiyyah 2
Buwayhids 12 Ibn Tfiniart 38
140 Index of l'ersonal and Group iVames
Imiimiyyah 9
'Irtiqites 4
'188 ibn Maryam 34
INDEX OF Q U K ~ N I C CITATIONS AND REFERENCES
al-Isfarii'ini 38 Persian 10, 12
Ismi'il 10
Ismti'iliyyah 10 Qadariyyah 15
Qays ibn Sa'd 3
Ja'far ag-@diq 10 Qiwiimeddin 30
al-Jiihiz 23 QurayB 3, 5, 6
J e w (Jewish) 7, 8, 22 Quraysite 11
S. J o h n of Damascus 17, 30 al-Qugayri 14, 38
al-JubbH'i 16, 20 ff., 26 f.
al-Juwayni 38

Sa'd ibn 'Ubiidah 3


as-&fi'i 12, 13, 28
Bifi'ite 13
as-Sahrastgni 15, 17
as-Sam'ini 25
al-Ma'arri 23 al-Sanusi 24
Macdonald, D. B. 29 Satan 34
Magian 8 " Seveners " 10

MHlik ibn Anas 10, 12, 13 Sieite(s) (Si'ah, L'ism) 5, 8, 9, 10, 12.
Miilikite (MHliki) 13, 28 14
al-Ma'miin 10, 11, 18, 23, 24 Spitta, W. 29, 30
al-Mansiir 12, 28 as-Subki 25, 28
al-Mituridi 36 ff. Sunnite(s) 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 11, 26, 31, 35
Miituridite ( s ) 36 ff. Su'tibiyyah S
Maymiin the Oculist 10 Syrians 4
Mehren, A. I?. 29
Moses 32 at-Tahiiwi 36 ff.
Mu'iwiyah 4, 6, 7, 9, 26 Talhah 4, 6
Muhammad, the Prophet 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, Tamin 7, 10
9, 13, 23, 26, 27f., 31, 33, 34, 38 Theodore Abii Qurrah 17
Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn :AbdalIah ibn Tugrilbeg 38
'Abbits 12
Muhammad al-Biqir 10 'Umar, the Caliph 3, 6, 13, 33
Muhammad ibn al-Qanafiyyah 9, 10, 12 'Umar I1 11
Muhammad al-Mahdi 11 Umayyad(s) 6, 7, 11, 12, 15
Muhammad at-Taqi 10 Umayyah 6
Munkar 34 Unayb 20
Murjite(s) 11, 36 'Utmiin, the Caliph 3, 6, 9, 33
Miisit al-Ktipinl 10
al-Mu'tagim 23 Wiiqifiyyah 10
al-Mutawakkil 11, 12, 23 Wilsil ibn 'A@' 10, 14, 15
Mu'tazilite ( a ) (Mu'tazilah ) 10, 11, al-Witiq 23
15ff., 26, 27, 31 Wensinck, A. J. 17, 24, 29

Najdiyyah 7 Tiihirite 38
Nakir 34 Zaydiyyah 9
Nallino, C. A. 15 az-Zubayr 4, 0
Index of Qur'anic Citations and References
Index of Qur'anic Citations and References

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