BECAUSE HE IS THE NECESSARILY EXISTENT.

HENCE NON

EXISTENCE, BOTH PREVIOUS (sâbiq) AND CONSEQUENT (lâḥiq),

IS FOR HIM IMPOSSIBLE.

66

70. These four qualities are required in order that His existence be necessary (wajib). And PRIOR is that entity the existence of which is not derived from anything else. And FROM ETERNITY is the being related to (muşâḥib) the ascertained ages (the ages after creation-muḥaqqaq) and "implied ages" (the ages before creation-muqarrar), as regards the past. And ABIDING is existence that continues and that is related to all ages. And To ETERNITY is being related to all ages, either ascertained or implied, as regards the future. And Eternal (sarmadî) comprises all ages.

71. And the proof of this is that since it has been proved that He is Necessarily Existent, non-existence is impossible for Him absolutely, whether it be previous, on the supposition. (taqdîr) that He is not from all eternity, or consequent, on the supposition that He is not to all eternity. And since absolute. non-existence is impossible for Him, it is proved that He is Prior and From Eternity and Abiding and To Eternity, which is what we sought.

72. SEVENTH, THE MOST HIGH IS A SPEAKER (mutakallim), BY THE AGREEMENT OF ALL. AND BY SPEECH (al-kalâm) IS

INTENDED LETTERS AND SOUNDS WHICH ARE AUDIBLE AND ORDERLY. AND THE MEANING OF THE MOST HIGH'S BEING A SPEAKER IS THAT HE BRINGS SPEECH INTO EXISTENCE IN SOME

SORT OF BODY (jism). AND THE EXPLANATION OF THE ASH'ARITES IS CONTRARY TO REASON.

73. Among the qualities of the Most High is His being a Speaker. And in that Muslims have agreed, but after that they differ in four points (maqâmât): (1) First, in the way in which they prove this quality. The Ash'arites say it is reason ('aql). And the Mu'tazilites say it is tradition (sam), according to the word of the Most High, " And discoursing did Allâh discourse (takallama) with Moses" (4: 162). And this is reality (that is, the Mu'tazilite position), because there is no rational evidence (dalîl), and the evidence which they adduce

is not complete. Now all the prophets have agreed in this (that Allâh speaks). (And if one says that the very fact that there are prophets is a rational proof that Allâh speaks-for how could they speak unless He first spoke to them ?—we reply) that the proof of their being prophets is not dependent on this (that is, His Speaking), because it is possible to attest (the validity of the mission of) the prophets apart from Speech, for it is rather dependent on miracles, otherwise a circle would have to follow. (That is, the prophet says that Allâh is a Speaker, but the truth of his being a prophet depends on Allâh's being a Speaker.) Hence it is incumbent to prove (ithbât) it for Him. For it is possible to deduce (istidlâl) the truth of prophecy from miracles apart from the Koran, or else from the Koran considered not as Speech but as a miracle. And undoubtedly there is a disagreement (taghâyur) about miracles. Hence it is necessary to prove (by tradition that Allâh is a Speaker).

74. (2) As to the quiddity (mâhiyya) of His Speech. The Ash'arites thought it was a prior idea (ma'nâ) inherent in His essence which is expressed in various terms (‘ibârât) and is distinct from Knowledge and Power. Hence it is neither letters nor sounds nor commands nor prohibitions nor narrative nor interrogation nor any other such form of speech.a

a

75. And the Mu'tazilites and Karrâmites and Hanbalites say it is letters and sounds compounded in such a way as to express something. And this is reality, for two reasons: (a) First, that which takes precedence (al-mutabâdir) in the opinion of intelligent people is what we have mentioned (namely, that kalám is speech), because they do not attribute the quality of speech to one who does not possess that quality, such as one who is silent or dumb. (Speech means speaking, not merely having ideas in one's mind, as the Ash'arites say.) (b) Second, what they have said cannot be conceived (ghayru mutaṣawwar). For that which they conceived is either essential Power from which proceed letters and sounds, and they have said that Speech is other than that-nor can the other qualities properly be the source of what they have said. And whenever a thing cannot be conceived it cannot be

properly proved, for attestation (tașdîq) is consequent upon conception (taṣawwur).

76. (3) Third, as to that in which the quality Speech inheres. The Ash'arites, because of their doctrine that it is an idea (ma'nâ),a say that it inheres in His essence. And those who say that it is letters and sounds have differed among themselves. The Hanbalites and Karrâmites say that it inheres in His essence, so according to them He speaks with letters and sounds. And the Mu'tazilites and Imâmites say (and this is reality) that it is inherent in something else, not in His essence as when He made speech to exist (awjada) in the bush, and Moses heard it. And the meaning of His being a Speaker is that He makes Speech, not that He is one in whom Speech inheres. And the proof of that is that Speech is a possible thing, and God Most High has power over all possible existences.

77. And what we mentioned (namely, the Ash'arite doctrine) is to be rejected, for two reasons (sanad): (a) First, if a speaker be that in which speech inheres, then the air in which letters and sounds inhere would be a speaker, and that is not true. For the lexicographers do not call anything a speaker except that which makes speech, not that in which speech inheres, and in this way voice (aş-şadâ) is something other than a speaker. And they say that a jinnî speaks through ('alâ) the tongue of an epileptic, because they believe that the maker (fâ'il) of the speech that is heard from the epileptic is the jinnî.

78. (b) Second, Speech is either an idea (ma'nâ)—and the fallacy of this has been proved; or it is letters and soundsand it is not possible for them to inhere in His essence, for then He would become the possessor of senses, because the existence of letters and sounds necessarily depends on the existence of their instruments. Then the Most High Creator would become the possessor of senses, and that is false.

79. (4) Fourth, as to the priority or origin of Speech. Now the Ash'arites said that the idea was prior. And the Hanbalites said that the letters were prior. And the Mu'tazilites said that Speech was an originated thing, and

that is the reality, for several reasons: (a) First, if it were prior, then a plurality of prior things would be necessary, and that is false, for the calling anything besides Allâh prior is infidelity (kufr) by the agreement of all.a Hence the Christians are guilty of infidelity in affirming the priority of the Persons (al-uqnûm). (b) Second, it is compounded of letters and sounds which become non-existent when succeeded by others. And non-existence is not possible for a prior thing. (c) Third, if it were prior then it would necessarily follow that Allâh lies. But that which is necessitated is false (namely, Allâh's lying), hence that which necessitated it (kalâm's being prior) is false also. And the proof of this necessity (of His being a liar) is that He informed us of His sending Noah from eternity (fi'l-azal), by the word of the Most High, "We sent Noah to his people " (71: 1). And He did not send him from eternity, since there is nothing previous to eternity. (If the word of Allâh was from eternity, then Noah must have been sent before eternity!) Hence it would be a lie.

80. (d) Fourth, if it were prior, then His word would be nonsense ('abath), in the word of the Most High, "Observe prayer and pay the legal impost" (22: 78), because in eternity there was no mukallaf. Now nonsense is evil (qabîḥ), hence it is impossible for the Most High. (f) Fifth, the word of the Most High, "Every fresh (muḥdath) warning that cometh to them from their Lord they only hear to mock it " (21: 2). And warning (dhikr) is the Koran, because of the word of the Most High, "Verily we have sent down the warning (adhdhikr), and verily we will be its guardian " (15: 9), “ For truly to thee and to thy people it is an admonition (dhikr) ” (43: 43). And He has attributed to it the quality of origin (ḥudûth), hence it is not prior. And the word of the author and the statement that the Ash'arites are not to be accepted refer to what we have mentioned in these places.

81. EIGHTH, THE MOST HIGH IS VERACIOUS (sâdiq). FOR A LIE (al-kidhb) IS OF NECESSITY EVIL (qabîḥ) AND ALLÂH THE MOST HIGH IS FAR REMOVED FROM EVIL, BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO HAVE ANY IMPERFECTION (naqs).

82. Among His positive qualities is His being Veracious. And veracity is a report that corresponds to reality, and a lie is a report that does not so correspond. Because if He were not Veracious He would be a liar, and that is false; for a lie is of necessity evil, and it would be necessary for the Most High Creator to be qualified by what is evil, and that is false, because of what shall later appear. And a lie is an imperfection, and the Most High Creator is far removed from imperfection.