The Best Knowledge: The Speech (Kalaam) of Allah

In our previous blog, we started with a short introduction regarding the attribute of Speech of Allah, the most controversial attribute between the Muslims and their opponents. We also mentioned two sects, each of which is an extremist; the first is the Mu^tazilah, the ones who renounce this attribute, and the other is the anthropomorphists, the ones who say the Speech of Allah is like the Speech of the creations.

Let it be known that both sects that follow the aforementioned are non-Muslims. The Muslims, Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama^ah, are the just and moderate sect, who believe that Allah is attributed with Speech, dissimilar to the speech of the creation.

The Muslims have a firm belief that Allah doesn't resemble His creations in any way. This belief protects them from anthropomorphism. Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama^ah also possess a sound intellect, which protects them from renouncing attributes of God that the sound intellect dictates are present.

The Speech of Allah:

Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama^ah believe that Allah is attributed with Speech; He is not mute. His Speech does not resemble the Speech of the creation. His Speech is not letters, sounds, or languages. With His Speech, Allah orders the obligations, forbids the prohibitions, promises the enjoyment of Paradise, and threatens with the torture of Hellfire. His Speech is Eternal (without a beginning) and Everlasting (without an end); it is not letters, words, or sentences that occur sequentially.

Proofs of the attribute of Speech of Allah:

1. Intellectual proof:

   If Allah was not attributed with Speech, this implies He is mute, and muteness is an attribute of deficiency and weakness if attributed to Allah. Hence, Allah is attributed with Speech, a Speech that doesn't resemble the speech of the creation.

2. Textual Proof:

   It is mentioned in the Qur'an: ﴾ وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا ﴿ [Surat An-Nisa': 164],

   which means: "Allah spoke to Musa (Moses) with His Speech (Kalam)", Allah enabled Moses to hear His Eternal and Everlasting Speech, which is not letters, sounds, or languages, and Moses understood from it what Allah willed for him to understand.

   From the Hadith: "ما منكم من أحد إلا سيكلمه ربه يوم القيامة",

   which means: "Allah will Speak to every single one of you on the Day of Judgement", Allah will Speak to the humans on the Day of Judgement, and they will understand from it what Allah willed for them to understand.

These are some of the proofs of Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama^ah regarding the attribute of Speech.

After explaining that Allah is attributed with Speech and proving it, we will start explaining the meaning of the phrase "The Qur'an is the Speech of God".

We will start with an introduction to expressions in order to make the topic clearer, and it will be explained using examples. If a person writes on a paper "fire" and he is asked what is written on the paper, he would answer "fire". His answer is correct, "fire" is written on the paper, but is there any actual fire that would burn a hand if placed over it? No, there is not. This is what we call an expression; the written word "fire" is an expression of the fire that burns.

If a Muslim were to write "Allah" on a paper, and was asked what did you write on the paper, he would answer "Allah". Does this mean He worships the letters A-l-l-a-h written on the paper? Or does it mean he worships the being that the word Allah refers to? Definitely, the second. The word Allah is an expression referring to the Being of Allah, the Eternal and Everlasting Being, Whom every accountable person must worship.

Similarly, the created expressions, the revealed scriptures revealed to some Prophets, are an expression of the Eternal and Everlasting Speech of Allah. Although the revealed scripture is created but what it refers to is not created, which is the Speech of Allah.

After the brief introduction, let it be known that the Speech of Allah is called "the Qur'an", and the term "the Qur'an" can also refer to the scripture revealed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which Muslims recite and call the Qur'an or the Mushaf (المصحف). The revealed scripture is called the Speech of God since it refers to the Eternal Speech of Allah, and it was not authored by Prophet Muhammad nor the Angel Jibreel; it was revealed by Allah to the Prophet and Jibreel taught it to Prophet Muhammad following the orders of God.

The previous Holy Books are also referred to as the Speech of God, but none of the previous books is present among humans today; the Injeel and Torah were both perverted by humans. Allah protected the Qur'an from being perverted or tampered with.

In our next blog, we will discuss the prohibition of saying: "The Qur'an is created", even if the person meant the revealed scripture without a context clarifying the meaning, like teaching in this case it is permissible. We will also explain the story of the great honorable scholar Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, the defender of the Religion against the misguidance of the Mu^tazilah at that time.

Stay tuned...