OMAR MURSALIN (Y11)
This article placed 1st in the WBGS Fuller Research Prize Competition 2022.
In the early generations of Islam after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s death, Muslims relied on the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ, and their faith was not fortified. The Prophet ﷺ had warned his followers not to delve too deeply into questions about fate and destiny, and his advice gave the earlier scholars of Islam hesitance to tread the waters of theology.
ʿIlm al-Kalām or Kalām, is the science of rational theology in Islam. It developed in the first 300 years of Islam due to the translation of Greek books on philosophy and logic by Khālid ibn Yazīd, then later commissioned by Caliph Al-Ma'mun. The purpose of Ilm al-Kalām is to break down the arguments of philosophical doubters of Islam and silence them through a rational basis. The Arabic term “Kalām (كلام)” means speech: There are many explanations for why this discipline was originally called so; one is that one of the biggest controversies was about the Word of God (Kalām Allāh).
Kalām was used by two sets of people. The first is those philosophers who allowed Greek and other philosophies to dictate its rational discourse. These Philosophers contravened religious orthodoxy and attempted to fit the teachings of ancient Greek philosophy into Islam. It was also used by people who were traditionalists and used rational tools to dismantle any argument that contravened the Qur’an and consensus-based belief. These traditionalists at the time condemned Kalām because distinction between the two groups had not been established. Later in history, the term ‘Kalām’ mostly referred to the rational theology of the traditionalists (Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah [1]).
One of the main groups that formed was the Muʿtazila. The cousin of the Prophet ﷺ, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, had a student named Hasan al-Basri, who taught in the Mosque of Basra, where debates arose on many theological issues. One of his students was called ‘Wāṣil ibn ʿAtāʾ, who left the circle of Imam Basri and made his own circle with its own unique views on various issues. This new sect became known as the Muʿtazilah. It is said that the term Mu’tazila comes from the word “i’tizalah ‘an-nā,” because Imam Basri said this statement regarding Wāṣil ibn ʿAtā, “he separated (from us)”.
The Muʿtazilah were challenged by Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī, a student of Abū 'Alī Muḥammad al-Jubbā'ī (a Mu'tazili theologian). One day he questioned his teacher regarding a Mu’tazili view: God must do for an individual what is beneficial for him, and it was an obligation on God to do so. [2]
Al-Ashʿarī asked his teacher regarding three brothers, one who died obedient, another disobedient and one who died young. Al-Jubbā'ī replied that the first would be awarded paradise, the second hellfire, and the third not punished. Al-Ashʿarī responded saying “What if the third boy asked God why he made him die young, not keeping him alive so that he might have the chance to obey and thus enter paradise?”. Al-Jubbā'ī answered “God knew the boy would commit sin, therefore enter hell, so He did what was best for him”. Al-Ashʿarī said, “What if the second brother asked God, ‘Why did you not make me die young (so I would not commit sin)?’” His teacher couldn’t answer the question given to him, and Al-Ash’arī left the circle, as well as adopting traditional Sunni beliefs.
Arguments on God’s attributes have been disputed for centuries between the groups. The Mu‘tazilah held the view that if we converse about divine attributes we ultimately describe divinity. The Ahlus Sunnah opposed this claim by contrasting attributes and description (the word “attribute” is used to denote an existing meaning that subsists with the one who is described and which is not the entity and this is the intent here) [3]. One of the attributes that is debated about is God’s ability to see and hear everything that has, and will happen.
The Qadiriyya was a School of Thought which preceded the Mu'tazila movement. This sect was initiated at the hands of Ma'bad Al-Juhani and they denied destiny, they believed in the freedom of human will, and were the people who rejected the concept of Jabr (fatalism). The Qadiriyya opposed Taqdir (Predestination), claiming that everything that happens is not predestined in God's understanding, but that God discovers about them as they exist. The Mu'tazila believed that humans have free will as evil exists in the world, which God (who is wise and good) can’t have caused. An example of this, is their belief that God intends belief for every non-believer, but that a disbeliever's will of disbelief runs counter to God's will.
The significance of God being all-hearing and all-seeing, according to Al-Jubbā'ī and his son, is that He is living and without flaw. The Sunnis believe it means he knows everything including our destiny. According to Sunnis, everything acts according to God's Will, Knowledge, Predestination, and Decree, and His Will prevails above everything. It is impossible to negate the fact that everything is in need of God, because it has been affirmed for Him both rationally and textually.
Miḥnat Ḵẖalaq al-Qurʾān (Al-Ma'mun's Mihna)
The events of Mihna, which took place between 833 - 847 CE and were undertaken by the seventh Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun, literally mean "trial/test". It was an era of oppression within which scholars were imprisoned and killed if they did not accept Mu'tazilah belief. It lasted eighteen years, through Ma'mun's successors al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq, and four years during al-Mutawakkil, who overturned it in 851. While the Abbasid caliphs remained Sunni, there was no persecution when debating on theological matters, so the Mu'tazilah debated with Sunnis throughout the caliphate, and eventually influenced the Caliphs. Ma'mun and Wathiq began punishing anyone and everyone who differed with them over the nature of the Qur'an, like whether it was God's speech and therefore a divine trait, or whether it was merely a creation of God.
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Baghdad's most renowned scholar, was brought before al-Ma'mun and was instructed to surrender his religious principles [4]. He was tormented and tortured when he refused, and his suffering at the hands of the rulers was severe. After Ma’mun's death in 833, the punishment of Imam Ahmad continued through the caliphate of Mutasim. He was a prisoner for 28 months, and was eventually released by Mutasim. In 842, the son of Mutasim, Wathiq became the Caliph and banished Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal from Baghdad. After Wathiq's death, his brother Mutawakkil became the Caliph and things began to change. He ordered to stop all discussions regarding the Quran’s creation and reinstated order and law in the nation.
Is ʿIlm al-Kalām the incorrect approach in Aqīda (Islamic Creed)?
Narrations of scholars such as Imam Shāfiʿī and other scholars have been used to discredit ʿIlm al-Kalām [5]. Many hold the view that their views were specific to the Muʿtazilah, as scholars such as Ghazali saw both good and bad in Kalām and cautioned from the unorthodox sects such as the Mu’tazilah, Hashawiyyah, Qadariyah, Karamiyah etc. Their view was that Imam Shāfiʿī was referring to the impermissible use of Kalām and the Mu’tazila sect, who would use Kalām for heretical arguments.
Ibn Taymiyyah, who was one of the most influential scholars of the late Hanbali school, gave a verdict declaring Kalām & Manṭiq (Logic) as 'unlawful' and classed it as an innovation (Bid'ah). Ibn Taymiyyah categorised the Asha'irah alongside sects like Khawarij, Mu’tazilah, Jahmiyya and Shia, which separated from Sunni orthodoxy. Despite his positions, Ibn Taymiyyah held the view that all those sects are not to be excommunicated, except for the Jahmiyya and extreme Shia. Many scholars refuted him for his views and opposition to the Ahlus Sunnah, yet he went into Kalām and philosophy more than most. Many of his works contained numerous arguments that refer to rational arguments, therefore he is included by some scholars as amongst the Mutakallimin (Scholars of Kalam).
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe Kalām allows Muslims to defend their beliefs, as well as using logic and reason to explain different aspects of God, humans and the world. The Quran obliges people to have knowledge of the foundations of their beliefs. In numerous verses of the Quran, the divine imperative is to know; therefore, the Foundation of belief in Islam must be based upon knowledge.
“And do not pursue the matter you do not have the knowledge of; indeed the ear, and the eye, and the heart - each of these will be questioned.” [6]
Notes & References
[1] Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah (translates as ‘the people of the way and
the group’ and broadly refers to Muslim orthodoxy and consensus) - The ‘way’ signifies that of the Prophet ﷺ and the ‘group’ refers to his noble companions (Ṣaḥāba), and their successors (Tābiʿīn) and those after them represented by the main spectrum of Muslims in every age.
[2] The Sunni view is that God is not obliged to do anything, and is able to do what he wills.
[3] The 20 necessary attributes are divided into four categories:
- Nafsiyya (self-signifying attribute): Existence (al-Wujūd)
- Salbiyyal (negating attributes): Non-beginning existence (al-Qidam), Non-ending existence (al-Baqā’), Dissimilarity with created things (Mukhālafa li l-Ḥawādith), Self-Subsistence (Qiyām Bil-Nafs) & Oneness (Waḥdāniyya)
- Ma‘ani (qualitative attributes): Power (Qudrah), Will (Irāda), Knowledge (Ilm), Life (Ḥayāt), All-Hearing (al-Sam‘), All-Seeing (Al-Baseer), Speech (Kalām)
- Ma'nawiyya (predicative attributes): Being Qādir - being attributed with Power, Being Murīd - being attributed with Will, Being ‘Ālim - being attributed with Knowledge, Being Ḥayy - being attributed with Life, Being Samī‘ - being attributed with Hearing, Being Bașīr - being attributed with Seeing, Being Mutakallim - being attributed with Speech (which is not letters, sounds or language)
[4] Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ believed the Qur’an was uncreated, that it is the Kalam (Speech) of Allah ﷻ, and that’s all we should affirm.
[5] Many people bring up narrations of Scholars such as Imam Shāfiʿī, such as the narration which states the people of Rhetoric (Kalām) should be beaten with palm branches. → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZAFmbWH5AA&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=MuhammadUmarMustafa
[6] [Surat Al-'Isra' 17:36]
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