Original post by Sh Hatim al-'AwniTranslated and abridged by The Kaafiyah Channel Here follows a snapshot of a historical debate between Abu al-'Abbas, the 'Ubaidi Shia, and Abu Uthman Ibn al-Haddad, one of the grand scholars of the Malikis of that time. Abu Uthman cites a part of the dialogue between them: ○The Shia said: What is the meaning of…
The correct definition of worship (ibadah) | Ash’ari perspective
The word ‘ibādah is used in two senses: al-ma‘na al-maṣdariyy (as an infinitive, i.e. ‘to worship’): It is the act of worshipping itself [nafs fi‘l al-ta‘abbud], i.e. the action of the worshipper to worship. al-ma‘na al-ismiyy (as a noun, i.e. ‘worship’): It is the objective form derived from the verb ‘to worship’ [al-maf‘ūl min fi‘l…
Clarification of Imam Razi’s passage on Aql vs Naql
Shaykh Sa'id Foudah writes in al-Naqd wa al-Taqweem (footnotes on p.31): The gist of Imam al-Razi's statement is that definitive reason [al-'aql al-qat'i] and definitive scripture [al-naql al-qat'i] don't ever clash or oppose each other. It's not possible to imagine the occurrence of contradiction. Every rational proof is either: 1. definitive [qat'i] 2. or speculative…
Is Allah physically above the Throne? An Ash’ari response
Ibn Furak writes in his book Ta'weel Mushkil al-Hadith: Know that when we say "Allah is above [fawqa] what He created" we don't refer to spatial aboveness, elevation measured in distance to beings or adjacency to anything. Instead it carries two possible meanings. The first is that He subjugates it [qahir laha] and controls it…
Can Allah commit oppression?
Ibn Furak writes: Know that [Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari] used to say that Allah is indeed ascribed with the ability to carry out that which inherently is oppression (ظلم), but for someone other than Himself. In the meaning that [by it] someone else would be an oppressor, not [Allah] Himself. Just like He's capable of carrying…
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