(Source: Adopted from the work of Shaykh Abu Adam al-Naruji)
Ibn Taymiyyah disagreed with the Ash’aris about the divisibility of an atom and supported the view of the philosophers that the atom is indeed infinitely divisible contrary to the Ash’ari school, later in his life he changed his opinion and adopted the Ashari Madhhab which was witnessed by many and reported by his student Imam al Dhahabi in his biography of Imam al Ashari.
Today even school children know about the divisibility of atoms.
This silly claim is based on translating the term “jawhar” as equivalent to the term “atom” in physics. The jawhar in Ashari Aqeedah is the term for the indivisible particle that bodies are made of. It is not important what particle is the indivisible one, this is the concern of physics. Is it the quark, for example, or something else?
The scholars said that if bodies are divided into smaller and smaller parts, one will eventually reach a particle that is impossible to divide in the mind’s eye. Some of the Greek philosophers denied this, because it disagreed with their idea that the world is eternal.
Ahl al Sunnah (Sunni Islam) are currently under the accusation that they founded their belief on the existence of the indivisible elements of bodies (anything with a bulk – i.e. all physical things, material structures, organisms – anything that fills space). The accusers say that Sunni Scholars took this idea from Greek philosophy, and that the affirmation of such elements’ existence has been shown to be ridiculous by science. None of these claims have been backed by proof, and they are a poorly disguised attempt to baselessly attack Orthodox Islam. Wide spread belief in anthropomorphism (believing Allah has a body) and bigoted literalist sophistry, has made many engage in assaults on the people of tanzih
وَيَتَكَلَّمُ فِيهَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ
“And in those days the silly people will speak about matters of public importance.”[2]
The Basis for Knowing that There is an Indivisible Element is from the Quran, not Greek Philosophy
It is important to hold that the elements of this world are finite, and not infinite in number. This is the case whether it be moments of time, bodies or their attributes (such as movement, stillness and colour), because the Quran unequivocally implies that created things are finite:
وَمَا مِنْ غَائِبَةٍ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَالأَرْضِ إِلا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ
Meaning: “there is nothing hidden of creation in the Heavens or the Earth that is not in a clear book.” [3]
Clearly, the book is not infinite in size. Therefore, the created things in the Heavens and the Earth are limited in number, and not infinitely many, otherwise there would be no room to record them all in a finite book.
Another ayah:
لا يَعْزُبُ عَنْهُ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلا أَصْغَرُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَلا أَكْبَرُ إِلاّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ
Meaning: “(He is) the Knower of the Unseen. Not an atom’s (a general translation of the word “Zaratin”) weight, or less than that or greater, escapeth Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear Record”(34:3)
Not what has the size of the smallest ant (as some translators have taken) in the Heavens or Earth, and nothing smaller or larger than that, and it is all recorded in a clear book.” [4] Allah referred the knowledge of what is the smallest thing back to himself, some translators assume the smallest thing here is referring to the smallest visible thing in the ancient world where by they are filling in the gaps and assuming what the most brilliant minds that lived more than a thousand years ago, knew of the universe, all the while, Ash’ari and Maturidi scholars have been discussing theoretical physics in there works and how these particles come into existence, particles they clearly stipulate have no magnitude or size until they are affected by the accident, showing there understanding of Quantum Mechanics and how particles form, was very advanced and they are not the simpleton’s the translators are.
This ayah states clearly that everything smaller than the smallest ant is recorded. If everything was infinitely divisible, then the elements that are smaller than the ant would not be a finite number. They would therefore not fit in a finite book.
Further to this is another ayah:
وأحْصَى كُلّ شَيْءٍ عَدَدا
Meaning: “He keepeth count of all things..” [5]
This ayah states that things are numbered. This means that they are not infinitely divisible, because that would make there quantity infinity.
Yet another ayah that affirms the finite existence of creation is:
وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ كِتَابًا
Meaning: “the count of everything has been recorded in a book.” [6]
Al-Tabari stated regarding the meaning of this ayah that all things are counted and recorded in a book, that is, “its total number, amount, and value”[7] is always known. Clearly then, they are not infinite, because that would make all the numbers infinity, and not real numbers.
The indivisible element of bodies is called ‘Al-Jawhar Al-Fard’ (lit. the unique essence) in Arabic jargon, but that is just a name. This ‘Jawhar’ as the scholars defined is not the same as the atom (because it has electrons and protons as parts,) or even necessarily the quark (as it to has parts.)
The existence of the indivisible element is affirmed by scholarly ijma’, consensus of Islamic scholars.
The existence of the indivisible element of bodies, call it a ‘Jawhar’ or whatever you like, is affirmed by scholarly ijma’ consensus. Abu Manṣur ‘Abdul Qahir Al-Baghdadi (429 H) said in his book Usul al-Din[8]:
“Ahl al-Sunnah agreed by consensus that any jawhar is a part that is indivisible, and they declared as a blasphemer Al-Nazzam (a Mu’tazilite leader) and the philosophers who said that all parts are divisible into infinitely many parts. This is because it leads to saying that their parts are not known as a limited count by Allah, and this contradicts the saying of Allah:
وأحْصَى كُلّ شَيْءٍ عَدَدا
Meaning: “He knows the number of all things[9].” The nature of the discussion between the Scholars and the philosophers makes it clear they are speaking about matters smaller than the atom because we are referring to infinity.
In his book Al-Farqu Bayna Al-Firaq, Abu Mansur said:
“As for affirming the existence of the jawhar, the indivisible part (of anything with bulk): this is the saying of most (of those who claim to be) Muslims, except Al-Nazzam, for verily he claimed that there is no end to the parts of a single body, and this is the saying of most of the philosophers. If this was true, then the mountain would not be bigger than the mustard seed…. because what does not have a finite existence, is not larger than something else that does not have finite existence (i.e. infinity=infinity, note that we are speaking of real existence, not potential existence, such as what is to be in the future)….
…. As for Al-Nazzam, it is said to him: If you believe in the Quran, then there is the saying of Allah:
وأحْصَى كُلّ شَيْءٍ عَدَدا
Meaning: He knows the number of all things.[10], so if the parts of all the kinds of creation were not limited (at all times), then they would not be known as a number.”[11]
This narration of ijma’ (consensus) must be taken seriously, because its proof is clear, and the narrator, ‘Abdul Qahir ibn Ṭahir Al-Baghdadi Al-Tamimi, Abu Mansur, (429 AH/ 1037 AD) was the head of the scholars of his time. The Major historian of his time Imam Al-Dhahabi (673-748 AH/ 1274-1348 AD) described him in his book Siyar ‘A’lam Al-Nubala’[12] as: “the great, outstanding, and encyclopedic scholar”…. “He used to teach 17 different subjects and his brilliance became the source for proverbs.” Al-Dhahabi said that he would have liked to write a separate, more complete article about him. He quoted Abu ‘Uthman Al-Ṣabuni[13] (373-449 AH/ 983-1057 AD) saying: “Abu Mansur is by scholarly consensus counted among the heads of the scholars of belief and the methodology of jurisprudence, as well as a front figure of Islam.”
From the above we can safely assume that the idea of the indivisible element, the Jawhar, is from the Quran and is affirmed by ‘ijma’ consensus. Therefore, it is not taken from Greek Philosophy.
The Importance of the Indivisible Element
As stated by Al-Taftazani and others, the knowledge about the indivisible part is important when fighting those who believe that there is something other than Allah that is without a beginning. He said:
“If someone asks: ‘Is there any particular benefit to this disagreement (proving the existence of the Jawhar, and refuting those who deny it)?’ Our answer: ‘in proving the existence of the Jawhar, there is salvation from a lot of the darkness of the philosophers, like the affirmation of their concepts of eternal matter, and of forms, which lead to the belief that the world is eternal and beginning-less[14].’”
The Real Nature of The Indivisible Element is Unknown to Us
Note that what is mentioned in scholarly works about the nature of the indivisible element, is not essential with regards to the Islamic belief. In fact, its nature is unknown. Some scholars such as Fakhr al-Dīn Al-Rāzī, felt confident enough to talk about it, and did.
Needless to say, the scholars of old differed widely in their views, with the limited mathematics and instruments they had. Many Ash’aris, such as Al-Zarakshi, contended that to speak of its nature is a mistake, because everything we observe is divisible. Others ventured to do it. Their purpose was to attack the philosophers on their own premises in geometry and other fields of science. They wanted to refute every argument that the philosophers presented.
They did not do this with the intention of making these arguments the core of the Islamic belief, they merely wanted to show that even based upon their own premises the philosophers were wrong. Many of these proofs are not of the unequivocal type, unlike the proofs for the jawhar’s existence, though they can be helpful in developing one’s conceptualization and finding out just how limited we are. Today, needless to say, many of these arguments are no longer needed, as they are no longer used by the opponent.
It is very important to understand then, that the weakness of some of the proofs which are based on geometry are not evidence for doubt in the indivisible element. The Prophet (saws) mentions that “Allah hath Seventy Thousand Veils of Light and Darkness: were He to withdraw their curtain, then would the splendours of His Aspect surely consume everyone who apprehended Him with his sight.”(Mishqat al Anwar, by Imam al Ghzali) keeping in mind that space and time are interwoven this means at some point this divisibility of particles ends and the splendor of Allah’s aspect can be known. These veils maybe pointing towards something outside of space and time which the Quantum world leads to. It is interesting the prophet (saws) mentioned veils of Darkness and Light because Black is thought of as the absence of light and not an object in it self permeating space on the same level as Light, in our time we have devised theories regarding Dark Matter and Dark Energy.
If we where to keep in mind how matter forms from the smallest particle to the objects and creatures we know of in life, then the different objects and creatures in the universe are the veils of form, of Allah’s attributes:
“Then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His spirit.” (32:7-9), “And when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ And they prostrated” (2:34), He said: O Iblis! What hindereth thee from falling prostrate before that which I have created with both My hands? Art thou too proud or art thou of the high exalted?(38:75), “Then his Lord chose Adam, relented towards him and guided him.” (20:122), “Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant” (of it). (33:72), “I created the jinn and mankind only so that they might worship Me.” (51:56), “We have removed the veil from your eyes, and so your vision will now be sharp and strong”.(on this day of judgment) (50:22), “By time, Indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed and (have) done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” (Surah al-Asr, 103)
Hence the proof of the indivisible particles existence, is firmly established by the Quran, scholarly ijma’ (consensus), and sound reasoning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, to say that the idea of the indivisible element is ridiculous is to contradict what the ayahs mentioned above necessarily imply. It is also a claim that contradicts scholarly ijma’ consensus. Moreover, it is an opinion that is not backed by scientific findings. It is finally a failure to think logically, for how would a scientific experiment show with certainty that an element is infinitely divisible, when dividing it in such a case would never end? Clearly then, science has not shown the idea of the Jawhar to be ridiculous because you can not make a claim about something you haven’t disproven yet. We are still coming to terms with the Higgs Boson and wondering if that particle itself is devisable and if so how much further does this goes on.
If the accusation of Greek philosophy still has not been settled in some peoples minds, then this is the equivalent of accusing Scholars of taking science from the Greeks in the general sense, and that is the basis for prohibiting it, not the nature of the matter, i.e whether the thing is correct or incorrect. To refute anything it first has to be studied and judged on its merits only if it wrong is it rejected, and to refute anything you have to quote it and find a solution to the problem, simplistic comparisons between Greek works and Islamic works without the study of the context for these works is not accurate.
At this point we should apply these warped principle in our lifetime as well and ban all modern science that came from the lands outside of Islam as haram and heresy, simply because a muslim scholar did not conceive it.
This is the reality of the accusation leveled at the Ashari Scholars, it is an ill thought out accusation of Kufr and bigotry in disguise, from a hypocritical perspective revolving around physics, that no one would be free of if applied today.
I hope that the modern attack on the belief in the indivisible element was not a sign for the coming of something far worse and the spreading of kufr.
References
[1] Tanzīh is the Sunni belief that Allāh does not resemble His creation, that He is not in a place or in time, because He existed before He created them and He did not change. Al-Ṭaḥāwī stated (in {brackets}): {Allāh is above} the status of {having limits, extremes, corners, limbs or instruments.} {The six directions} up, down, front, back, left and right {do not contain Him} because that would make Him {like all created things}. The opposite of tanzīh is anthropomorphism, which is the belief that Allāh has attributes similar to that of creation. The most prominent of such beliefs today is the belief that Allāh is above the ‘Arsh (throne) in the literal sense. They promote this idea to the general public by adding “but we don’t know how.” This does not help, because having this belief entails believing that Allāh is something adjacent to the throne, and that He therefore has a limit. This belief is blasphemous by the consensus of the Salaf, and all reasonable human beings. [2] Fatḥ al-Bārī, 13/84, [3] Sūrat al-Naml, 75, [4] Sūrat Saba’, 3, [5] Al-Jinn, 28 [6] Al-Naba’, 29, [7] Jāmi’ al-Bayān Fī Ta’wīl al-Qur’ān, [8] Uṣūl al-Dīn, 36 [9] Al-Naba’, 29, [10] Al-Naba’, 29, [11] Al-Farqu Bayna Al-Firāq, 354 [12] 17/572 [13] Abū ‘Uthmān Al-Ṣābūnī, who said this, is one of the greatest scholars of Islām and among Sunnis he is known as ‘Shaykh Al-Islām’ – the Shaykh of Islām. Al-Subkī, in his “The Levels of the Shāfi’ī Scholars,” quotes a number of scholars praising Al-Ṣābūnī. He stated that Al-Bayhaqī said, “Verily Al-Ṣābūnī is in reality the Imām of the Muslims and in truth the Shaykh of Islām. All the people of his time are humbled by his state of religion, leadership, sound beliefs, amount of knowledge, and his commitment to the way of the Salaf generation (the first three generations, or first three centuries of Muslims) (1/223-224).” [14] Sharḥ al-‘Aqā’id Al-Nasafiyyah, 36