Some of the matters or points covered:
- Principle/Rule 3) Taking the texts upon what is apparent of their meaning (in accordance to what the Arabic tongue necessitates), unless there is a Sharee’ah reality which prevents us from taking it upon the apparent meaning.
- What is the dhāhir of the text?
- Some texts can only have one possible meaning. The meaning becomes clear from the context. Example ayāt mentioned.
- People of Kalām like Mu’tazilah introduced ideas and concepts into the Arabic language not known to the Salaf. Mu’tazilah said every word has a literal meaning and also a metaphorical meaning. They claim Arabs came together and agreed upon this.
- Mu’tazilah saying this to give credence to majāz (allegory), so they can give figurative meanings to the Names and Attributes of Allāh.
- Imāms and specialists of the Arabic language [like Abu’Amr bin al-‘Alā’ (d. 154H), al-Khalīl bin Ahmad (d. 170H) and Sībawaih (d. 180H)] in the past didn’t know about haqiqah and majāz. This concept is one of the greatest tools and weapons used by people of Kalām to justify distortion of the texts and reject the attributes of Allāh.
- Another convention was saying that we can’t accept any āhad hadith (i.e. ones that aren’t mutawātir) in creed because this amounts to speculation. This principle wasn’t known by the Sahaba, Tābi’een, Atbā at-Tābi’een and the imāms of hadith. It was innovated to allow Mu’tazilah (and others) to reject the ahadīth of the attributes they didn’t like.
- Two examples provided (Zakāh and Salāh) with the linguistic and Sharee’ah meanings mentioned to illustrate the point about a Sharee’ah reality which prevents from taking the dhāhir.
Listen to the lesson/download here:
Lesson 22.mp3