INDICATIONS OF THE COMMENDERS' TEXTS
First, school of commendation came after that of interpretation.
Second, generation of the Prophet's companions were totally dependent on the Prophet's presence among them. They were either questioning him or not. The same thing occurred to the caliphs and their words, or imams of the Prophet's household (peace be upon them) and their words.
Third, majority of followers of the Prophet's companions depended upon interpretation or commendation. The third and fourth generations were almostly commenders that this was taken as the formal trend of hadithists facing Shias and Mutazilites, who were interpreters.
Fourth, commendation was nearly dedicated to the divine attributes and reports, such as Allah's settling on the Throne, laughter and ire. Attributes of operations were approximately interpreted.
Fifth, it is unnecessary for commenders to leave interpretation at all. Commendation and interpretation could be opted according to the question involved.
As we have previously referred to, on page 187, part 9 of IrshadusSari, Malik, the master, says:
The descending mentioned in the text, implies descending of God's mercy, affair or angels.
On page 91, part 3 of AdDurrulManthour, Malik's relying upon commendation in question of Allah's settling on the Throne is recorded. Question of Allah's settling on the Throne was largely distorted and adopted by the corporalists as an evidence.
Commendation and interpretation followed one of two matters. First, recognizing the narrator, who is usually one of the Prophet's companions, who communicate the significance of the text involved. Second, existence of an authentic hadith that is irrefutable and untranslatable on bases of reasoning.
JURISCOUNSULT OF ALAZHAR RECKONS THE COMMENDERS WITH THE INTERPRETERS
significances, without mentioning the very intendment, they are ruled as general interpreters. Sheik AlBishri named the late commenders as particularized interpreters, since they denied material significances and identified the exact intendments of allegorical Quranic and prophetic texts.
In his missive, entirely provided in Chapter Seven, Sheik AlBishri says:
Such questions are classified as conjectural phenomena that are not opposite to the absolute decisive evidences referring to nonexistence of the Lord's definite space and locale. Obligatorily, such questions are interpreted and based upon accurate predicates, admitted by evidences and legal texts, either generally without identifying the exact intendment, or particularly by identifying predicates and their intendments. The first, however, is attitude of the worthy ancestors while the latter is the late's."
REASON BEYOND FORBIDDING EXEGESIS AND INTERPRETATION
Jami'ulAhadithilQudsiya, part 2 page 46:
In addition to our believing in Allah's being exaltedly promoted against any unfitting saying, Verses and hadiths of divine attributes should be totally believed and credited according to conception of commendation adopted by the worthy ancestors. Since the late's sayings involved require a considerable amount of knowledge to understand, we would better ensue conception of the worthy ancestors so that dangers would be evaded. False interpretation of words of Allah and His apostle is a horrendous danger.
Reason beyond the analytical deficiency, intended by scholars, is not scarcity in scholastic levels, since most of scholars enjoyed penetrating mentalities. The reason is that narratives of practical descending, seeableness, anthropomorphism and corporeity of Allah publicly advertised by the ruling authorities, were contrary to intellects and the Holy Quran and each other. Such narratives repudiated reasonable interpretation. Owing to authenticity of such narratives, on their criteria, they had to admit and commit themselves to. The best solution they could attain had been stopping at relating these narratives and absconding from finding exegeses. They ruled of obligation of believing without inquiry.
It is, as a matter of fact, a perceptible circumstance that Sunni scholars, our brothers, admit contraposition and commit themselves to believing in it. Moreover, this question is not the only in this regard. Numerous questions
received by the worthy ancestors and delivered to the generations with full admission and believing without providing any evidence or exegesis.
The principal concern beyond such an impetuous admission and every contradiction noticed in Islamic rulings and conceptions was the discrepancies arisen just after the Prophet's decease. It was asserted by the formal situation adopted by Sunnis, our brother, when they declared the ultimate decency of the entire companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Contradiction is an inevitable result attained by acceding to contrasted groups. Perplexity, likewise, is an unavoidable result of committing to partners differing with one another.
Doors to solving contradiction would have been opened before Muslims if they majority of this nation and ruling authorities had confessed of the Prophet's companions' having been engaged in discrepancies to the degree that they exchanged charges of atheism and killed one another. They should have conceded to the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had foretold of some companions' being in Hell. He had also told that some of his companions would not be seen by him and would not see him because they would change to the other side just after his decease. Finally, they should have declared that Muslims, individually, should exert all efforts for scrutinizing the most virtuous and trustful individuals among the Prophet's companions, and leaving the others' affairs to Allah, the Exalted.
On the contrary, the Prophet's companions were imposed on Islam in spite of their contrast. According to personal desires, they forbade Muslims from putting any question or wonderment about the Prophet's companions.
We aim at exhibiting two matters. First, contradiction in narratives of the divine attributes is in the surface only. The factual contradiction falls in resting upon a definite individual in the entire questions of religion. Second, corporalists and anthropomorphists capitalized on silence imitated by the commenders. They alleged that the real reason beyond commendation was their abstinence from publicizing the cerebral exegeses of the divine attributes texts, that they totally had been acquainted with. This is the worst category of distortion. It is using words for interpreting silence, and misapplying commendation for interpreting commendation.
SCHOOL OF CORPORALISM
Seemingly, they differ little, but greatly, from the commenders. The latter adopted an attitude of abstinence from interpreting the divine attributes, while
resting upon extrinsic meanings is ruled as a declaration of opting for corporeal meanings.
For the commenders, the expression 'hand of Allah' does neither refer to ability, as the interpreters claim, nor does it refer to that material organ, as the corporalists claim. They abstain and halt before they discuss the meaning of such an expression.
Commenders, occasionally, deny and rule of unintendedness of the corporeal appearances, since they rule that meanings are commended to Allah exclusively. This has been obviously shown through AnNawawi's previous opinions.
Corporalists rule of obligation of opting for the actual meaning, not the metaphoric, of hand. They were so daring that they denied existence of any metaphoric style in the Holy Quran as well as hadiths. Hence, they canceled metaphor of the Arabic since the Quran and hadiths pursued the exact linguistic rules and expressions of this tongue.
During discussion, they expound that Allah has a corporeal hand, but different from that possessed by humans. They do believe that Allah has organs like a hand, a leg, an eye and so on. Nevertheless, they only declare that Allah's organs are different from ordinary ones, since they do believe that Allah's look is as same as humans; therefore, he should have the same limbs and organs. Later on, this shall be proved through their words.
FIRST EMERGENCE OF CORPORALISM
In his Ussoulu Matheb Ashi'etilImamiya, part 1 page 529, Dr. Nasir AlQifari, the Wahabist, records:
SheikhulIslam, Ibn Teimiya, identified the first man who took the charge of this terrible forgery. He said, "Husham Bin AlHakam was the first man in Islam whom was known as the originator of the saying that Allah is a corporeality. (MinhajusSunna, part 1 page 20.)"
On page 5301, part 1 of the same reference, AlQifari records:
Anthropomorphizing Allah is a trend existed at the Jews and found its way to Shias. Shism was the habitation of foes of Islam and its people. The first man who committed this great forgery was Husham Bin AlHakam from whom this conception transferred to others ascribed as immoderate and aberrant.
Masters of the Ithnasharites went on defending such devious individuals commonly known as seditious and evildoers. They also attempted to find interpretation and belie each heresy imputed to such individuals. AlMajlisi says, "Obstinacy might be the only motive adopted by the dissidents' ascribing these two sayings to those people."
Concerning denial asserted by some of Shias, this is not strange. Their habit was gainsaying obvious realities and trusting evident mendacities. Shias' supporting those individuals is not inexplicable since things usually defend their classes. They defended their associates. A faction of them went on exonerating the eminent disorderly ones whose evildoing, dissension and deviation had been too widespread to be concealed.
Had Al-Qifari taken a look at Al-Bukhari's book of hadith besides many other references of hadith, he would have practically perceived with hands, before eyes, that saying of anthropomorphism had been come forth since Aisha's time. Kabul-Ahbar and his party arose ideas and origin of this conception in the reign of Omar, the caliph. This means that before the birth of Husham Bin Al-Hakam's Abavus grandfather, this conception was prevailed among Muslims. References of Sunnis, our brothers, recorded (authentic) hadiths of the Divine Throne's cracking, fracturing and snapping due to the heavy weight of Allah, the Exalted. Al-Heithami's Majma'uzzawa'id; part 1 page 83:
Omar: A woman sought the Prophet's supplicating God to enter her to the Paradise. The Prophet glorified the Elevated and blessed Lord, and stated, "His Bench extended to the heavens and the earth. Its cracking is as same as cracking of the new saddle used by a heavy man."
AlBezar relates it with series of trustful men relied by the most authentic books of Hadith.
On page 159, part 10 of the same reference, the compiler says:
Saving Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al-Hamadani, the trustful, the hadith - previously provided - is written down in Abu Yali's Al-Kabeer, and ascribed to series of trustful men relied upon in the most authentic books of hadith.
On page 373, the compiler of Kenzul-Ummal, rules of authenticity of the hadith involved. Its authenticity is also asserted on page 466, part 2 of the same reference.
As-Suyouti's Ad-Durrul-Manthour, part 1 page 328:
Abd Bin Humeid and Ibn Abi Asim (in his As-Sunna), and AlBezar and Abu Yali and Ibn Jarir and Abusheik and At-Tabarani and Ibn Merdawayih and Addiya (in his Al-Mukhtara); all record the following:
Omar relates: A woman sought the Prophet's supplicating God to enter her to the Paradise. The Prophet glorified the Exalted and Blessed Lord, and stated, "His Bench extended to the heavens and the earth. Its cracking is as same as cracking of the new saddle used by a heavy man. Less than four fingers only remains."
Ad-Deilami's Firdawsul-Akhbar, part 3 page 86:
Omar Bin Al-Khattab stated:
Allah settles on the Throne so heavily that a cracking as same as that of a new can be heard.
AlKhatib's Tarikhu Baghdad, part 1 page 295:
Abdullah Bin Khalifa: Omar Bin Al-Khattab stated:
Allah settles on the Throne so heavily that a cracking as same as that of a new saddle can be heard.
Al-Khatib's Tarikhu Baghdad, part 4 page 39:
Jubeir Bin Mohammed Bin Jubeir Bin Mutim: his father: his father:
"O Apostle of Allah! Souls have striven, children starved and wealths lost. Seek your Lord's watering us with rainfall. We do seek Allah's intercession to you and your intercession to Allah.", a Bedouin orated. The Prophet (peace be upon him) went on uttering 'praised be Allah' severally that the attendants were bewildered. Then, he added, "Woe is you! Do you realize Allah? His divine concern is greater than anyone's interceding in His affairs. He is aloft His heavens on His Throne. A dome covers His throne that cracks as same as a new saddle under a heavy man."
AdDeilami's FirdawsulAkhbar, part 1 page 219:
Ibn Omar: Allah, the Exalted, has surely crammed in His throne. From every side of the Throne, four fingers of Him, the Beneficent, remain.
It seems that Abdullah Bin Omar made the Divine Throne four fingers larger than the Exalted Beneficent. Pursuant to authentic narratives, Adam, who is sixty or seventy arm long, was created as same as Allah's look; therefore, each finger of their (lord) should be longer than a meter!
Abu Dawud's book of hadith, page 418:
"His Throne forms a dome over His heavens. It makes sounds of cracking as same as those made by a new saddle under a heavy man."
Ibn Bashar: "Allah is on His Throne. His Throne is on His heavens…"
The same hadith is related by Abdul-Ala and Ibnul-Muthenna and Ibn Bashar. They referred it to Yaqub Bin Utba and Jubeir Bin Mohammed Bin Jubeir: his father: his father.
Yahya Bin Muin and Ali Bin Al-Madini, in addition to others, admitted the documentation of Ahmed Bin Sa'eed and regarded as the most authentic. Ahmed records that a good group of narrators relate the Ibn Isaaq's report. The same version was rested upon by AbdulAla, IbnulMuthenna and Ibn Bashar. As a footnote, it is written down: Cracking of saddle stands for its sounds.
Al-Bidaya Wen-Nihaya, part 1 page 54:
Cracking occurs when it is disable to carry heavy things. Cracking of saddle occurs only due to heaviness.
Although we are acceptably sufficed by the previously mentioned references of report of the Throne's cracking, the following related the same:
AdDeilami's FirdawsulAkhbar, part 1, page 220.
Majma'uzzawa'id, part 10 page 398.
KenzulUmmal, part 1 page 224, part 2 page 73, part 10 page 363 and 367 and part 14 page 469.
It is so obvious even for the minimal educated that sayings and hadiths of the Lord's corporeity came forth just after the Prophet's decease on the hands of Jews of AlMadina and, particularly, KabulAhbar. After that, these sayings took the form of the Prophet's traditions on the hands of some companions. Some brothers were so biased towards these sayings that they betook as an attitude. Sunni references of hadiths publicized such sayings exclusively. No single saying was mentioned in any of our reference books of hadith. On the contrary, imams of the Prophet's progeny related their refuting and denial of such sayings. Has it, now, become evident for Dr. AlQifari how corporalism found its way into Islam?
Sheik Mohammed Zahid AlKawthari, the researchist in AlAzhar, could approach the truth when he confessed that roots of corporalism and anthropomorphism had been in the Sunni reference books of hadith. Lacking enough courage to accuse the Prophet's companions, AlKawthari charged responsibility of these beliefs to the corporalists among followers of the Prophet's companions and the successive generations. In the introduction of AlBeihaqi's Asma'i WesSifat, AlKawthari records:
Hadithists and narrators occupy a great standing at majority of scholars. Unfortunately, among such hadithists and narrators there are those who
exaggeratively exceeded their limits and engaged themselves in fields they ignored. Hence, they introduced dishonor and harsh injury to their sects, associates and followers.
Most of those who engaged themselves in question of the divine attributes, are reckoned with the previous class. As an example, we cite Hemmad Bin Selema's narratives respecting the divine attributes. These contained a great number of fraudulent reports communicated among classes of narrators. This man married one hundred women without obtaining a single child. This matter affected his mentality to the degree that he confused his source narratives with those falsely intrigued by Ibn AbilAwja and Zeid Bin Hemmad, his fosterchildren. Narrators of Thabit AlBenani that are related to Hemmad Bin Selema, are entirely authentic. Majority of minor narrators were deviated by the false reports imputed to that previously eloquent supreme narrator. Readers may notice miscellaneous examples of such doubtful reports mentioned in sections dealing with monotheism in books of ordinary subjects and those of hadithists. Some spared no efforts for defending that man. Their efforts, still, went with the wind. Allah's laws should be preferred to defending an individual against whom decisive unjustifiable accusations were targeted.
Nueim Bin Hemmad's narrators played the same previous role. He was such an enthusiastic person that he was dragged to believing in Allah's corporeity. The same happened to master of his master, Muqatil Bin Suleiman.
Injurious effects of such narrators can be readily seen in books of narrators who followed partisan pursuance in referring to such erroneous hadithists. The following are examples of these books:
Khusheish Bin Assram's Kitabulistiqama.
As-Sunna books compiled by Abdullah, A-Khellal, Abusheikh, Al-Assal, Abu Bakr Bin Asim, At-Tabarani and Al-Jami.
Harb Bin Ismail As-Sirjani's As-Sunnetu Wel-Jama'a.
Ibn Khuzeima's At-Tawhid.
Ibn Minda's At-Tawhid.
Al-akam Bin Mabid AlKhuzai's As-Sifat.
Othman Bin Sa'eed Ad-Darmi's An-Naqdh.
Al-Ajuri's Ashari'a.
Ibn Batta and Abu Nasr As-Sejzi's Al-Ibana.
Abu Yali AlQadi's Naqdhut-Tawilat.
Dhemmul-Kelam.
Al-Faruq.
All these books contained narratives disdained by the doctrine and intellect in the same time. Othman Bin Sa'eed As-Darmi As-Sejzi was the daring among corporalists who gallantly distributed such injurious ideas. He said, "Had Allah, the Exalted, desired to settle on a back of a bug, His divine propensity would have enabled him of so. How is it, then, for an ample throne?!"
Sheik AlHarrani Ibn Teimiya- pursued him in such a saying. In Ghawthul-Ibad, Published in Al-Halabi Publication 1351, texts referring to the purport involved are recorded. In addition, many other calamities, such as Allah's moveableness and the like, are invented by that AsSejzi.
Many alike books of false and dishonorable reports and ideas were publicized. Fissure became highly extensive, and catastrophe became so effective till honest trustful scholars took charge of blocking that fissure by means of narration and hypothesizing. Al-Khattabi, AbulHassan At-Tabari, Ibn Fawrak, Al-Huleimi, Abi Isaaq Alisfraini, AbdulQahir Al-Baghdadi and many others are included with the honest scholars.
Like Al-Kawthari, the fair Sunni scholars admit that hadiths of Allah's seeableness, anthropomorphism and corporeity are entirely belonged to Hemmad Bin Selema, Nueim Bin Hemmad, Muqatil Bin Suleiman and Wahab Bin Munebbih. Those individuals had the same master; Kabul-Ahbar. They the fair Sunni scholars lack the heart to ascend a little to reach the Prophet's companions who adopted, publicized and islamized the ill ideas of KabulAhbar.
CORPORALISM OF KABULAHBAR BECAME AN ISLAMIC TREND
Majority of the worthy ancestors recognized the eternal attributes of Allah, the Exalted. Knowledge, competence, vitality, will, hearing, viewing, wording, exaltation, altruism, generosity, bestowal, potency and magnanimity are eternal attributes. They cited no difference between attributes of Entity and those of operation. They treated the two in the same measure. They also recognized communicative attributes such as Allah's having hands, face and the like. They neglected finding suitable interpretation for such questions. However, they called such attributes as communicative since they were perceived through reports of Islamic legalism.
Unlike the worthy ancestors, Mutazilites denied the divine attributes. Therefore, they were called 'Tatilites 16' -disavowers, while the worthy ancestors were called 'Sifatiya' -attributers. Some of the latter exceeded when
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16. Tatilism is a theologian Islamic faction that disavow the Lord's attributes.
they anthropomorphized the Lord. Others stopped at proving attributes indicated by - the divine - deeds and narratives. Hence, they became two parties. Some interpreted according to a form rather concordant to the expression used. Others vacated interpretation as a whole. "By intellects," the latter party claimed, "We perceive that Allah, the Exalted, has no equivalent at all."
Decisively, Allah is neither like any of His creatures, nor are they like Him. Purports of expressions of involved texts; such as, (The Beneficent settled on the Throne. 20:5), (I created with My hands. 38:75), (And your Lord came. 89:21), and the like, are unattainable for us. Besides, we are not legally required to recognize the exact exegeses and interpretation of such texts. We are only required to believe that Allah has no associate and nothing is like Him. We could prove these matters in means of conviction."
A group of the late added the following to the belief of the worthy ancestors. "Such expressions ought to be taken as they seem and interpreted as they are, without criticizing their interpretation or passing over the extrinsic meanings."
This conception, which is totally contrary to the worthy ancestors', led them to literal anthropomorphism, indeed. Anthropomorphism was adopted by certain Jewish groups. These were groups of their scholarly who found expressions bearing such meanings during reciting the Torah.
Ashehristani's current wording asserts that anthropomorphists became a limited sect that was exhortative for Sunni scholars. It also indicates that those group emerged in recent times surpassing the worthy ancestors' instructions of forbiddingness of interpreting divine texts of corporeality. On that account, Ashehristani compares them to the Jews who recited the Torah since they were believing in Allah's corporeity purely. He adduces that anthropomorphism adopted by those Muslims was mixed, not pure, because of their circumspection against the other Muslims.
This assertion coincides the following assertion of Ibn Khuldoun and others who identified history of establishment of this sect or belief that provided Allah's materiality!!
Ibn Khuldoun's Muqaddima, page 462:
In numerous Verses of the holy Quran, ascribing untranslatable, evidential and illimitable exaltation to the Lord is regularly emphasized. These Verses were entirely negative and comprehensible; therefore, it was obligatory to give credence to them. A good deal of Prophet's sayings, as well as his companions and their followers, referred to opting for the extrinsic purports of such Verses and hadiths. Other Quranic Verses, although few, referred illusively to Allah's corporeity. Some believed and, in the same time, rejected penetrating and interpreting such Verses as they revered them for their being words of Allah. This was the purport majority of them intended by saying, "Recite these Versesas they are. Believe that they are Allah's. But advance not upon their interpretation or exegesis. They might be a sort of divine trial. Hence, it is obligatory to abide and comply with them." In the same time, heretic people were deviated by pursuing allegorical Verses. They probed deep in anthropomorphism. A group of them anthropomorphized the Divine Entity by imputing a hand, foot or face to the Lord, depending upon illusory expressions respecting so. They fell in direct corporalism and dissented Verses of illimitable divine exaltation, that are greater in number and manifestation. Intellectuality of corporealities imposes deficiency and privation. fixing upon negational style in Verses of illimitable divine exaltation, that are greater in number and manifestation, is more approving than clinging to unessential illusory appearances. Another group combined the two evidences by resting upon personal interpretation. In fact, their claim of Allah's being an incomparable corporeal that is different from others, is seen as absconding from offensiveness of their combinatorial attitude. This claim, however, is profitless for them since it is a contrasted opinion that combined affirmation to negation in case of regarding the individual intellectuality of corporals. Providing they differentiate and deny the familiar intellectuality, they will be according us in attitude of exaltation. Then, they should reckon 'corporeality' with the Divine Names. Such matters depend upon permission.
Another group adopted anthropomorphism in the divine attributes. They ruled of Allah's having a definite locale, settling, descending, utterance and the like. This attitude proceeds straightly to chamber of corporalism. Therefore, they adopted the same saying, "Incomparable locate, settling, descending and utterance that are different from those of ordinary corporealities."
Like the former, this attitude collapsed. The worthy ancestors' beliefs and creeds of believing in such texts as they are, in order that denial of their meanings should not reach their authentic and avowed entities, survived alone.
From the above, it is understandable that ideological principals and sectarian forms of corporalism were Jewish and Sunni. Shias are totally remote from this version except that proofless and false accusation against Husham Bin Al-Hakam!!
