Ahmad Ibn Hanbal believes that God speaks with sounds

Question:

Did the founder of the Hanbalite school try to define the speech of God?

Answer:

Muhammad Ibn Ali reported that Ya’qub Ibn Bukhtan said: “Ahmad Ibn Hanbal was asked about the one who claimed that God does not speak with sounds, to which he replied: “Yes, He does speak with sounds and we only deal with these traditions as they reached us. Every tradition should be seen from one point of view. You want to make people derail. Whoever claims that God did not speak to Moses (a.) is an disbeliever (Kafir).” [Dar’-ut-Ta’arud, volume 2 page 38]

عن الخلال عن محمد بن علي بن بحر عن يعقوب بن بختان أن أبا عبد الله (أحمد بن حنبل) سئل عمن زعم أن الله لم يتلكم بصوت؟ فقال: بلى تكلم بصوت وهذه الأحاديث كما جاءت نرويها لكل حديث وجه يريدون أن يموهوا على الناس  من زعم أن الله لم يكلم موسى فهو كافر

Al-Khallal reported that Abu Bakr Al-Maruzi said: “I was listening to Ahmad Ibn Hanbal when someone narrated to him: “Abd-ul-Wahhab gave a speech and said: “Whoever claims that God spoke to Moses (a.) without a sound is a Jahmite: an enemy of God and an enemy of Islam!” Then Ahmad Ibn Hanbal smiled and said: “How beautiful is what he said, God protect him!” [Dar’-ut-Ta’arud, Volume 2, pages 38-39]

عن الخلال عن أبي بكر المروزي قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله (أحمد بن حنبل) وقيل له إن عبد الوهاب قد تلكم وقال من زعم أن الله كلم موسى بلا صوت فهو جهمي عدو الله وعدو الإسلام فتبسم أبو عبد الله وقال: ما أحسن ما قال عافاه الله

Ahmad Ibn Tamiyyah writes: “Abdullah, the son of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, narrated: “I asked my father about people who say: “When God spoke to Moses (a.) He did not speak with sounds.” My father replied: “But, the Blessed and Exalted One speaks with sounds and we only deal with these traditions as they reached us.” Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud said: “When God speaks in a revelation, we hear sounds from Him that resemble the pulling of a chain over the rocks.” My father said: “The Jahmites deny this.” My father said: “These people are disbelievers (kafir). They want to derail the people. Whoever claims that God does not speak is an disbeliever (kafir). We only deal with these traditions as they reached us.” I say: “These sounds with which God speaks are not the sounds heard from His servant, but they are His sounds known to ordinary people, and this has already been put down on paper by imams such as Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and others.” [Dar’-ut-Ta’arud, Volume 2, pages 39-40]

قال أحمد بن تيمية: وقال عبد الله بن أحمد سألت أبي عن قوم يقولون لما كلم الله موسى لم يتكلم بصوت فقال أبي بلى تكلم تبارك وتعالى بصوت وهذه الأحاديث نرويها كما جاءت وحديث ابن مسعود إذا تكلم الله بالوحي سمع له صوت كجر السلسلة على الصفوان قال أبي والجهمية تنكره قال أبي وهؤلاء كفار يريدون أن يموهوا على الناس من زعم أن الله لم يتكلم فهو كافر إنما نروي هذه الأحاديث كما جاءت قلت: وهذا الصوت الذي تكلم الله به ليس هو الصوت المسموع من العبد بل ذلك صوته كما هو معلوم لعامة الناس وقد نص على ذلك الأئمة أحمد وغيره

Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali writes: “Others exaggerate in trying to stop the subject matter, which includes Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, who even went so far as to forbid the interpretation of the statement: ‘Be! and it is.” (6:73) And they claimed that speaking is done with letters and sounds, which at all times is expressed in the number that God creates every existence.” [Ihya’ Ulum Ad-Din, page 122]

قال أبو حامد الغزالي: وغلى آخرون في حسم الباب منهم أحمد بن حنبل رضي الله عنه حتى منع تأويل قول كن فيكون وزعموا أن ذلك خطاب بحرف وصوت يوجد من الله تعالى في كل لحظة بعدد كون كل مكون