Allah Speaks With Audible Voice (Part 2)

 بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده

والعاقبة للمتقين

In a previous entry over two years ago I wrote about the affirmation of a Voice for Allah Most High. Today, a large segment of the Muslim Umma reject the doctrine that Allah speaks with a voice/sound. The Asharis, Maturidis and their subsects like Deobandis and Barelwis accuse Muslims such as myself who believe that Allah speaks with a voice/sound of gross anthropomorphism and corporalism. Likewise, those sects affected by the perverse theology of the Mu’tazila and Hellenic philosophy, such as the modern-day Shi’a, the Kharijite Ibadis and others, reject outright any notion that speech is an attribute of Allah, let alone that Allah speaks with a voice/sound that can literally be heard. All of these misguided groups have no satisfactory answer to explain the speaking of Allah with real speech to His beloved prophet Moses, with a speech that the latter actually heard and sensed at the ‘burning bush’.

In that previous entry, I also cited some narrations, including Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ proving that Allah speaks with a voice/sound that can be heard. In this entry, I shall quote some narrations regarding the sound of Allah’s speech, when He speaks or reveals something. Abdullah b. Mas’ud^RA narrates that Allah’s Apostle ﷺ said:

إِذَا تَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ بِالْوَحْىِ سَمِعَ أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ لِلسَّمَاءِ صَلْصَلَةً كَجَرِّ السِّلْسِلَةِ عَلَى الصَّفَا فَيُصْعَقُونَ، فَلاَ يَزَالُونَ كَذَلِكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَهُمْ جِبْرِيلُ حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُمْ جِبْرِيلُ فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ‏‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏:‏ ‏‏ فَيَقُولُونَ ‏:‏ يَا جِبْرِيلُ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكَ فَيَقُولُ ‏:‏ الْحَقَّ فَيَقُولُونَ ‏:‏ الْحَقَّ الْحَقَّ

“When Allah speaks with the revelation, the inhabitants of heaven hear a clanging from the heavens like a chain being dragged across rock, and they swoon, then they remain like that until Gabriel comes to them. When he comes them, they recover and say: ‘O Gabriel, what did your Lord say?’ He says: ‘The truth,’ and they say: ‘The truth, the truth.’” (Sunan Abi Daud, H. 4738)

جب اللہ تعالیٰ وحی کے لیے کلام کرتا ہے تو سبھی آسمان والے آواز سنتے ہیں جیسے کسی چکنے پتھر پر زنجیر کھینچی جا رہی ہو ، پھر وہ بیہوش کر دئیے جاتے ہیں اور اسی حال میں رہتے ہیں یہاں تک کہ ان کے پاس جبرائیل آتے ہیں ، جب جبرائیل ان کے پاس آتے ہیں تو ان کی غشی جاتی رہتی ہے ، پھر وہ کہتے ہیں : اے جبرائیل  تمہارے رب نے کیا کہا ؟ وہ کہتے ہیں : حق  فرمایا  تو وہ سب کہتے ہیں حق فرمایا  حق  فرمایا

In some other versions of this Hadith, there is a slight difference of wording, and the sound is described as ‘iron’ being dragged upon rock, or the clanging of iron.

Reference: al-Radd ‘Ala Man Yaqul al-Qur’an Makhluq; pp. 32-33

 

 

The content of these Hadith serve to affirm that the speaking of Allah is audible, and such a sound results from it which causes the Angels who listen to swoon. And Allah knows best!