—all of them.
He said: The opponent also claimed that Allah, Most High, is not to be described as having inward thought, and that inward thought must be denied of Allah. This statement did not originate with the opponent; it is an old, pernicious saying of Jahm’s, with which Jahm challenged Allah’s words:
“You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself.”
[al-Mā’idah 116]
By this he sought to deny that Allah had knowledge within Himself of any creatures and their deeds before creating them. He subtly employed the expression “inward thought” to conceal his intent more effectively from the ignorant. One of the scholars refuted this statement of Jahm’s and said to him:
“By saying this, you have disbelieved in three respects, O enemy of Allah. First, you denied that Allah had foreknowledge within Himself before the creatures and their deeds came into existence. Second, you accused the Messiah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—of ignorance for describing his Lord in terms you regard as inapplicable to Him: that He possesses hidden knowledge within Himself, as he says to Him:
‘And I do not know what is within Yourself.’
[al-Mā’idah 116]