and asceticism, and was renowned for his discourses on spiritual realities. Abū Bakr al-Kalābādhī, author of Maqālāt al-Sūfiyyah (The Doctrines of the Sufis), reported that he used to say that Allah speaks with sound. This accords with the account that he abandoned Ibn Kullāb’s position.
Abū Bakr al-Kalābādhī said:
“A group of Sufis said: ‘Allah’s speech consists of letters and sound, and speech is known only in this form,’ while affirming that it is an attribute of Allah inherent in His Essence and that it is uncreated.” He said: “This is the position of al-Hārith al-Muhāsibī and, among later scholars, Ibn Sālim.”
This principle continued to be debated until it occasioned a dispute between Abū Bakr ibn Khuzaymah, known as the Imam of Imams, and some of his companions. He learned that they had agreed with Ibn Kullāb, so he forbade them from doing so, censured them, and criticized Ibn Kullāb’s doctrine on grounds well known among the imams of hadith and the Sunnah.
From that time onward, those who affiliated themselves with the Sunnah disputed whether Allah speaks with sound or not. Ibn Kullāb’s followers denied this, saying that speaking with sound entails an act subsisting in the speaker and connected to his will. In their view, nothing connected to Allah’s will and power can subsist in Him, whether an act or anything else. They therefore said:
“Allah does not speak with sound. Rather, His speech is a single meaning that is command, prohibition, and statement. If expressed in Arabic, it is the Quran; if expressed in Hebrew, it is the Torah; and if expressed in Syriac, it is the Gospel.”
The majority of rational people, both among the adherents of the Sunnah and others, said that this view is known to be