Al-Tisʿīniyya - Ibn Taimiya - (2/480)

Al-TisʿīniyyaIbn Taimiya

and also that supremacy, will, and speech are attributes of Allah the Exalted.

He said (1): They further state that the names and attributes of Allah, mighty and majestic, are not to be described as something other than Him; nor is it to be said that His knowledge is other than Him, as the Jahmiyyah claimed; nor is it to be said that His knowledge is He Himself, as some of the Muʿtazilah maintained. The same ruling applies to all of His attributes.

Al-Ashʿarī therefore mentioned that the followers of Ibn Kullāb agree with most of what the people of hadith profess, yet add other elements besides; this shows that they fall short of fully matching their positions.

As for Ibn Kullāb’s view regarding the Qur’an, al-Ashʿarī cited it only from him alone and gave it a separate heading, saying (2): “This is the view of ʿAbd Allah ibn Kullāb.”

(3) ʿAbd Allah ibn Kullāb said: Allah has never ceased to be speaking, and Allah’s speech is an attribute subsisting in Him; He is eternal by virtue of His speech (4). His speech resides in Him just as knowledge resides in Him and power resides in Him, and He is eternal in His knowledge and His power. Speech, however, is neither letter (5) nor sound; it is not divisible, subject to partition, composed of parts, or liable to variation. Rather, it is a single reality with Allah, Most High. The written form is the differentiated letters, which is the recitation of the reciter. It is incorrect to say that the speech of Allah is He Himself, or a part of Him, or something other than Him. The different expressions that convey Allah’s speech may vary, yet Allah’s speech itself does not differ or vary—just as our mention of Allah varies, whereas the One mentioned neither differs nor varies. Allah’s speech is called “Arabic” only because the script (6)—namely, the expression—

(1) In Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari’s al-Maqālāt, the passage is continuous with what precedes. (2) Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn by al-Ash‘ari, vol. 2, pp. 357–358. (3) In the margin of [S]: “Stop: the report of Ibn Kilāb concerning the speech of God Most High.” (4) “And He is eternal in His speech”: repeated in [S]. (5) In al-Maqālāt: written in letters. (6) In the original: al-ism (the noun). The attestations are found in [S], [T], and al-Maqālāt.

والكبرياء والإرادة والكلام صفات لله تعالى. وقال (١) : ويقولون أسماء الله تعالى وصفاته، لا يقال: هي غيره، ولا يقال: إن علمه غيره، كما قالت الجهمية، ولا يقال: إن علمه هو هو، كما قال بعض المعتزلة، وكذلك قولهم في سائر الصفات. فذكر الأشعري أن أصحاب ابن كلاب يقولون بأكثر قول أهل الحديث، وأن لهم زيادة أخرى، وذلك دليل على أنهم ينقصون عن أقوالهم. فأما قول ابن كلاب في القرآن فلم يذكره الأشعري إلا عنه وحده، وجعل له ترجمة، فقال (٢) : وهذا قول عبد الله بن كلاب. قال (٣) عبد الله بن كلاب: إن الله لم يزل متكلمًا، وإن كلام الله صفة له قائمة به، وإنه قديم بكلامه (٤) ، وإن كلامه قائم به كما أن العلم قائم به والقدرة قائمة به، وهو قديم بعلمه وقدرته، وإن الكلام ليس بحرف (٥) ولا صوت ولا ينقسم ولا يتجزأ ولا يتبعض ولا يتغاير، وإنه معنى واحد بالله تعالى، وإن الرسم هو الحروف المتغايرة، وهو قراءة القارئ وأنه خطأ أن يقال: كلام الله هو هو أو بعضه أو غيره، وإن العبارات عن كلام الله تختلف وتتغاير، وكلام الله ليس بمختلف ولا متغاير، كما أن ذكرنا لله يختلف ويتغاير، والمذكور لا يختلف ولا يتغاير، وإنما سمي كلام الله عربيًّا، لأن الرسم (٦) الذي هو العبارة

(١) أبو الحسن الأشعري في المقالات، والكلام متصل بما قبله. (٢) مقالات الإسلاميين -للأشعري- ٢/ ٣٥٧، ٣٥٨. (٣) في هامش س: قف: حكاية كلام ابن كلاب في كلام الله تعالى. (٤) وإنه قديم بكلامه: مكررة في: س. (٥) في المقالات: بحروف. (٦) في الأصل: الاسم. والمثبت من: س، ط، والمقالات.