so much so that Jahm, their leader, is reported to have said: “If I were to say that Allah has ninety-nine names, I would be worshipping ninety-nine gods.”1.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said in response to this specious argument: “Consider this deception and obfuscation, which give the listener the impression that they have affirmed eternal entities alongside Allah Most High. They have affirmed only one eternal Being with His attributes, and His attributes are included in what His name denotes. Likewise, they have affirmed only one God and have not made each of His attributes a god. Rather, He is the one God with all His names and attributes. This very argument was taken from the idolaters who associated partners with Allah Most High and rejected His Messenger, saying: ‘Muhammad calls people to one god, yet then says, “O Allah, O All-Hearing, O All-Seeing,” thus invoking multiple gods.’ So Allah revealed:
‘Say: Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful; by whichever name you call upon Him, to Him belong the most beautiful names.’2
Whatever name you call upon Him by, you are calling upon the One denoted by that name. He, glorified be He, thus declared that He is one God, even though His most beautiful names, derived from His attributes, are many. That is why they are most beautiful …”3.
In any case, we know of no difference between this statement of Jahm and that of his disciples among the contemporary Jahmiyyah, who claim that affirming Allah’s divinity, lordship, and names and attributes necessarily entails plurality within tawhīd. The specious argument is the same, and their kinship is plain.
- The writer says on p. 6: “In this short, modest introduction, we must briefly refute this classification of tawhīd, summarizing the discussion contained in this treatise. In it, we shall follow the maxim that the best speech is brief and to the point. We therefore say—and Allah Most High grants success.”