Madhhab Jumhur al-Asha'ira fi al-Quran
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- Madhhab Jumhur al-Asha'ira fi al-Quran
Madhhab Jumhur al-Asha'ira fi al-Quran (The Doctrine of the Majority of the Ash'aris Regarding the Quran) is a theological treatise by the contemporary author Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Maqshi examining the Ash'ari theological school's doctrine on the nature of the Quran in comparison with the Mu'tazila and the early Sunni traditionalists (Ahl al-Hadith and the Salaf) .
Purpose and Scope
The full subtitle of the work is Batinuhu al-I'tizal wa-Zahiruhu al-Tastattur bi-Madhhab al-Salaf ("Its Inward Essence Is Mu'tazilism and Its Outward Appearance Is Veiling Behind the School of the Salaf") . The stated objective of the study is not to expound the Salaf's doctrine in detail—which the author treated in another published treatise titled al-Quran al-Arabi al-Muthbat bayna Daffatay al-Mushaf Kalam Allah Ta'ala Munazzal Ghayr Makhluq Kayfama Tasarraf—but rather to demonstrate that the majority of Ash'ari theologians fundamentally agree with the Mu'tazila regarding the createdness of the revealed Arabic Quran, while using traditionalist formulations to present their stance to the public .
Content and Arguments
Ash'ari Conceptions of the Quran
The book explains that Ash'ari theologians apply the term "Quran" to two distinct realities :
- Inner speech (kalam nafsi), which is an eternal, uncreated attribute subsisting in the divine essence that is neither heard nor revealed in letters or sounds .
- The revealed Arabic Quran (al-Quran al-munazzal), recorded in codices (masahif), recited by tongues, and memorized in hearts, which Ash'aris regard as temporal and created, functioning as an expression ('ibara) and indication (dalala) of the inner speech .
The author notes an internal disagreement among Ash'aris over whether the revealed Quran is designated as God's speech literally or metaphorically . The majority of early Ash'aris held that applying the term "speech of God" to the Arabic text is metaphorical (majazan), while true speech is solely the inner meaning . Later authorities, led by Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, treated the term as a homonym (mushtarak) applied literally to both realities, clarifying that calling the physical revelation God's speech means that He originated its creation in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) without human authorship . The author also clarifies that when Ash'ari manuals declare that "the Quran is eternal" (al-Quran qadim), they refer strictly to the inner meaning rather than the physical text of the revelation .
Historical and Scholarly Citations
To substantiate its thesis, the work adduces passages from both traditionalist critics and prominent Ash'ari figures:
- Traditionalist and Hanbali polemics critiquing the Ash'ari position as concealed Mu'tazilism, citing scholars such as Ibn Batta, Abu Nasr al-Sijzi, Abu Isma'il al-Harawi, Ibn Aqil, Yahya ibn Abi al-Khayr al-Imrani, Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama, and Ibn Taymiyya .
- Explicit statements from Ash'ari authorities acknowledging that letters, sounds, and recited texts are originated creations, including al-Juwayni in al-Irshad ila Qawati' al-Adilla and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali in al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad .
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