In the name of Allāh, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
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All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation, may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and security―and his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly until the establishment of the Hour.
Additional notes from Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wāhid.
Belief in the Scales (Meezān) on the Day of Resurrection and That Allāh Will Speak Without an Interpreter
The Noble Imām Ahmad bin Hanbal (rahimahullah) began his great work, Usool us-Sunnah, by saying: “The Foundations of the Sunnah with us are…” and then he listed all those affairs that constitute the Islamic Creed. We have come to the point where he said:
والإيمان بالميزان يوم القيامة, كما جاء: يوزن العبد يوم القيامة, فلا يزن جناح بعوضة, وتوزن أعمال العباد, كما جاء في الأثر. والإيمان به والتصديق به, والإعراض عمن رد ذلك, وترك مجادلته.
“To have faith in the Scales on the Day of Judgement just as it has been revealed, ‘A servant will be weighed on the Day of Judgement and he will not be equal in weight to the wing of a fly.’ The deeds of people will be weighed just as it has been reported in the narrations. [It is necessary] to have Imān in that, to attest to its truthfulness, to turn away from whoever rejects that – and to abandon argumentation with such a person.”
Belief in the Meezān (Scales) on the Day of Judgement: One’s Deeds and Body will be weighed on that Day.
The ‘Ulamah have differed as to whether the actual bodies of the people will be weighed. However, they all agree that the deeds of the believers will be weighed. What is authentic and correct is that the bodies themselves will be weighed just as the deeds of the people are weighed. One of the evidences that point to that is the statement of the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) where he said: “A large fat man will be brought forth and he will be weighed on the Day of Resurrection and his body will not be equal to the weight of the wing of a fly. Recite the words of Allah:
فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا
‘And We will not give them any weight on the Day of Resurrection.’” (Collected by Bukhāri and Muslim).
Imām Bukhāri collected it in his chapter of the commentary of the saying of Allah (the Most High):
أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ فَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا
“They are those who deny the Ayāt of their Lord and the meeting with Him (in the hereafter). So their works are in vain, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall assign no weight for them.” (Surah al-Kahf 18:105). Imām Bukhāri then reports the above Hadeeth of the large man being brought forth. This proves that the bodies themselves will be weighed as well as the deeds.
We also have the saying of the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) when he asked the noble companion ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) to climb a tree. When the Sahabāh saw him in the tree, they laughed at the thinness of his shins, so the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, ‘You are amused at the thinness of his shins? By Allah! His shins are heavier than Uhud in the Meezān (on Judgement Day).’ (Collected by Imām Ahmad in his Musnad, at-Tabarāni, al-Bazzār, al-Haythami, Imām al-Bukhāri in Adab al-Mufrad and it is authentic).
As for the weighing of the deeds, there are numerous Ahādeeth of Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) that prove that the deeds of people shall be weighed. From them is the Hadeeth famously known as the Hadeeth of the Batāqah (the parchment or card). It has been reported by Imām Ahmad in his Musnad, Imām at-Tirmidhi in Kitāb ul-Imān and Ibn Mājah, and the Hadeeth is authentic. The wording of the Hadeeth with Imām Ahmad is as follows: From Abu ‘Abdur Rahmān al-Hubali who said that he heard ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (radiyallāhu ‘anhumā) say that Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “Allah will distinguish a man from my Ummah over the rest of creation on the Day of Resurrection. Then 99 scrolls of his bad deeds will be spread out as far as the eye can see. It will be said to him, ‘Do you deny any of these sins (that have been recorded against you?) Did my two writers of deeds wrong you in any way?’ So the man will say, ‘No, my Lord.’ Then Allah will say, ‘Do you have an excuse to put forward or a good deed to offer?’
The man will be dumbfounded and will not be able to offer anything and will say, ‘No my Lord.’ Allah will say to him, ‘Rather you have with us one good deed, and no wrong will be done to you on this Day.’ So a batāqah (small parchment or card) will be brought upon which will be written:
أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمد رسول الله
‘I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’ Allah will say, ‘Bring it forth.’ The man will say, ‘O my Lord! What is this mere parchment next to those 99 scrolls?’ So Allah will reply to him saying, ‘You will not be wronged.’ The scrolls will then be placed on one side of the scale, and the parchment will be placed on the other pan, and the parchment will outweigh the 99 scrolls (of bad deeds). The Prophet (salallāu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, ‘For nothing outweighs the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.’ In another narration, he (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, ‘Nothing can be heavier next to the Name of Allah.’”
Furthermore, proof that the scales will be set upon Yawm ul-Qiyāmah is in the statement of Allah (the Most High):
وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا ۖ وَإِن كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ
“And We shall set up balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there is the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And sufficient are We to take account.” (Surah al-Anbiya 21:47)
We also have the Hadeeth of the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) collected by at-Tirmidhi and others, graded authentic by Sheikh al-Albāni, where he (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “There is nothing that is placed in the scale [with Allah on Yawm ul-Qiyāmah] that is heavier than an excellent and noble character.” This again shows that Allah (the Most High) will weigh the deeds.
The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) also said. “There are two phrases that are loved by the Most Merciful, they are light upon the tongue and heavy on the scales: Subhānallāhi wa bihamdihi, Subhānallāhil ‘Adheem (Most perfect is Allah and all praise be for him, Most perfect is Allah, the Mighty).” (Collected by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim).
All of these Ahādeeth are authentic, and the setting up of the scales on the Day of Judgement and the weighing of the deeds was not denied except by the Mu’tazilah and those like them, who also denied the punishment in the grave and its bliss. As for Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamā’ah, they believe in it, and in whatever else was revealed, whether in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam).
We have true faith in these matters, and we leave the narrations alone without distorting or denying them. We do not consider the narrations to be metaphorical or allegorical. We believe that the Meezān (Scale) will be erected on Yawm ul-Qiyāmah – we believe that the man will come whose 99 scrolls of bad deeds will be weighed, and we believe that when the parchment is placed on the other side of the scales, it will outweigh those 99 scrolls. We believe in the weightiness of excellent manners. We believe in all of these matters of the Unseen (Al-Ghayb).
Innovators such as the kalām/speculative theologians, philosophers and modernists have claimed that if something cannot be seen, is not tangible or does not agree with the ‘intellect’ and ‘rational’ [as they perceive it], then it cannot be believed it or accepted. So, they reject or falsely interpret
Evidence for the Speech of Allah – and that Allah will Speak to His Servants on the Day of Judgement with no Interpreter Between Them.
Imām Ahmad bin Hanbal (rahimahullah) then mentions the next point of ‘Aqeedah from the beliefs of Ahlus-Sunnah:
وأن الله يكلم العباد يوم القيامة, ليس بينهم وبينه ترجمان, والإيمان به والتصديق به
“Allah will speak to the servants on the Day of Judgement, without there being a translator between Him and them – to have faith in this and to attest to its truthfulness.”
There occurs in a narration collected by Imām Bukhāri, that Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said:
وأن الله عز وجل ينادي بصوت يسمعه من بعد كما يسمعه من قرب
“And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will call out with a voice that will be heard by those far away just as it will be heard by those nearby.” (Khalq Af’ālil-‘Ibād, p. 149)
So, Allah (the Most High) will speak to them with a voice which they will hear, just as Musa (‘alaihis-salām) heard Allah (the Most High) when He spoke to him, and just as Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) heard Him when He spoke to him on the night of Isrā and Mi’rāj.
Therefore, Ahlus-Sunnah believe that Allah will speak to the people on Yawm ul-Qiyāmah without an interpreter. We have Imān in this. Likewise, we believe that Allah speaks and that He never ceases to be described with the attribute of speech, it is a Sifah Dhātiyyah – it is an Attribute that is eternally with Allah. It is also a Sifah Fi’liyyah, meaning that the Speech of Allah is connected to His will, i.e., Allah speaks to whom He wills, whenever He wills. The Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam):
يَقُولُ اللَّهُ يَا آدَمُ. فَيَقُولُ لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ. فَيُنَادَى بِصَوْتٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكَ أَنْ تُخْرِجَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ بَعْثًا إِلَى النَّارِ
“Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection), ‘O Adam!’ Adam will reply, ‘At your service!’ Then a loud voice will say: ‘Allah Commands you to take out a number from the Fire of your offspring.'” (Al-Bukhāri, no. 7483)
The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) also said:
إِذَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ عَبْدًا نَادَى جِبْرِيلَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ فُلاَنًا، فَأَحِبَّهُ. فَيُحِبُّهُ جِبْرِيلُ، فَيُنَادِي جِبْرِيلُ فِي أَهْلِ السَّمَاءِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ فُلاَنًا، فَأَحِبُّوهُ. فَيُحِبُّهُ أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ، ثُمَّ يُوضَعُ لَهُ الْقَبُولُ فِي أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ
“When Allah loves a person, He calls Jibreel saying: ‘Allah loves so and so! O Jibreel, love him.’ So Jibreel loves him – then Jibreel announces to the residents of the Heavens, ‘Allah loves so-and-so, therefore, you should love him also.’ So, all the residents of the Heavens love him and then he is granted the pleasure of the people of the earth.” (Al-Bukhari, no. 6040)
Shaikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: “There is not from the imams and the Salaf anyone who said: ‘Allah does not speak with a voice (صوت).’ Rather, it is established from the Salaf and the imams (leaders in knowledge) that Allah speaks with a voice. And this has been reported in well-known narrations from the Salaf and the imams. The Salaf and the great scholars would make mention of the narrations wherein it is stated that Allah speaks with a voice and no one from them would ever reject that. Abdullah Ibn Ahmad said: ‘I said to my father (i.e. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal): ‘There are some people who say that Allah does not speak with a voice?’ He replied: ‘My son! These people are Jahmiyyah, they wish to negate the Attribute.’ He then mentioned some narrations in that regard.
The position of Imam Al-Bukhari in his Kitāb Khalq Al-Af’āl is clear in stating that Allah speaks with a voice and he makes a distinction between the Voice of Allah and the voices of the creation. Al-Bukhari reported a number of Ahādeeth from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He also placed a chapter heading in his Saheeh entitled: The Saying Of Allah (the Most High):
وَلَا تَنفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ ۚ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ – 34:23
“Until when fear is banished from their (angels’) hearts, they (angels) say: “What is it that your Lord has said?” They say: “The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” Then he narrates ahādeeth which prove that Allah speaks with a voice.” (See Majmū’ Al-Fatāwa of Ibn Taymiyyah 6/527-528)
The Jahmiyyah denied the Speech of Allah and said: ‘If we affirm Attributes for Allāh, it necessitates the occurrence of events in the One being described. And if events occur in the One being described with them, then that necessitates Him being a jism (body)—and bodies are originated (i.e., created).’ This, however, is a futile statement. They introduced their ideology with this futile premise and from it, they derived false conclusions—then they distorted and denied the Revealed Texts in order to justify their innovated and misguided creed.
It is this foundation of the Jahmiyyah that was adopted by the Muʿtazilah, Kullābiyyah, Ashʿariyyah and the Māturīdiyyah (throughout the first four centuries) and was the cause of their deviation and further division of the Ummah—and it misled every other sect that deviated in the arena of the Names and Attributes of Allāh (the Most High). Scholars have called this principle Ḥulūl al-Aʿrāḍ meaning: the occurrence of incidents and the presence of traits. It is these sects that are referred to as Ahlul-Kalām (the People of Speculative Theology).
There has never been a group of Muslims who ever denied that Allah speaks with a voice except for Ibn Kullāb (the founder of the Ash’ari creed) and his followers. Likewise, there has never been a group of Muslims who said: ‘Speech is one essence or a singular entity (معنى واحد) established with the speaker himself’ except for Ibn Kullāb and his followers (the Ashʿaris). (See Majmū’ Al-Fatāwa of Ibn Taymiyyah, 6/528)
There has never been from the Muslims anyone who ever said that the letters, that are the ink of the Mushafs, are eternal without beginning. So the affirmation of Letters and Voice for Allah (Al-Harf was-Sawt) with the meaning that the ink used to write the Mushafs and the voices of people who recite the Quran are therefore eternal is a false innovation that none of the Imāms of the religion ever stated. Additionally, to deny that Allah speaks with a voice – and to believe that His Speech is a singular entity (or meaning) present with His Self (معنى واحد قائم بالنفس) is an innovation and a falsehood not mentioned by any of the Salaf or the great Scholars. (Majmū’ Al-Fatāwa of Ibn Taymiyyah, 6/528)
The Ashʿarīs refer to Chosen Actions or Discretionary Attributes of Allah as Aʿrāḍ (incidents or events) and they say: It is not permissible to describe Allāh with these attributes, because that would necessitate Ḥulūl al-Aʿrāḍ (the occurrence of incidents) in Allāh, and that is to ascribe to Allāh a body! The evidence of Ḥulūl al-Aʿrāḍ in bodies, i.e., that whatever has within it the occurrence of incidents and traits must be a body—and a body itself is a created thing that in turn requires these incidents and traits to exist. They further asserted that these incidents and traits cannot exist by themselves, they must exist in bodies. This was the doctrine invented by the Jahmiyyah that misguided them and those who followed them, including the Ashʿarīs.
The Sahābah, Tābi’een, and the Atbā ut-Tābi’een (the first three generations) never spoke with these invented principles. Rather, they affirmed that Allah (the Most High) spoke to Musa (‘alihis-salām), they affirmed that Allah (the Most High) spoke to Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam), they affirmed the Ascension (Istiwā) of Allah over His throne, they affirmed the descent (Nuzool) of Allah to the nearest Heaven in the last third of every night, they affirmed the coming of Allah (al-Majee) on Yawm ul-Qiyāmah, whereas Ahlul-Bid’ah (the Ash’aris and Mātureedis) deny and negate these Attributes of Allah, and explain them away with metaphors and false meanings for which they have no proof.
Ahlus Sunnah affirm all of the Attributes without likening Allah to the creation, as Allah (the Most High) stated:
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ ۖ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
‘There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.’ (Surah ash-Shura 42:11). So we do not say that Allah’s Voice is like our voice or His Speech is like our speech because this is resemblance (tashbeeh) and likening Allah to the creation (tamtheel). Rather, we affirm whatever Allah has affirmed for Himself without likening Allah to the creation. We also affirm the Attributes of Allah (the Most High) are not created.
That which further proves that Allah (the Most High) will speak is the narration of the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) reported by Bukhāri (no. 7443) and Muslim where he (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said:
ما منكم من أحَدٍ إلا سيُكَلِّمُه رَبُّه، ليس بينه وبينه تَرجمانٌ، ولا حِجابٌ يَحجُبُه
“There will be none among you but his Lord will speak to him, and there will be no interpreter between them nor a screen to screen Him.” So Allah will speak to the people on Yawm ul-Qiyāmah.
والحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wāhid.
Copyright 2024.
This article was transcribed by Umm Maryam (may Allah reward her) from the classes of Abu Khadeejah (SalafiSounds.com). Please share it with others.
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