Kalim Allah (Title)
Kalīm Allāh (literally: the one whom God spoke to) is a unique title attributed to Prophet Moses (a).[1] He earned this epithet because God directly spoke to him.[2] This distinctive attribute has been regarded as a virtue for Moses (a).[3]
In Qur'an 4:164 and Qur'an 7:144, it is stated that God spoke to Moses (a): "and to Moses (a) Allah spoke directly." Certain Muslim[4] and Jewish scholars argue that this direct form of communication was exclusive to Moses (a).[5]
Some Muslim scholars argue that during the ascension, Prophet Muhammad (s) received direct communication from God, as indicated by certain hadiths.[6] They assert that God's unmediated speech was exclusive to Prophet Muhammad (s) and Moses (a).[7] God's speech is described as not entailing a physical body, as speaking with the tongue implies embodiment, while God is not embodied.[8]
Al-Burusawi, a twelfth-century exegete of the Quran, posits that the exclusivity of direct divine communication to Moses (a) stemmed from an event in his childhood: the burning of his tongue. In response, God communicated directly with him and bestowed upon him the title "Kalim Allah."[9]
Other Quranic exegetes propose an alternative interpretation of the title "Kalim Allah." They suggest that during God's initial revelation to Moses (a), He introduced Himself by declaring, "Indeed, I am your Lord!" This marked the inception of Moses's prophethood through God's word (kalam), hence the title "Kalim Allah."[10]
Notes
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 20, p. 202.
- ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 3.
- ↑ Zuḥaylī, al-Tafsīr al-munīr, vol. 6, p. 35.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 3, p. 394; Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 11, p. 267.
- ↑ Qurashī, Tafsīr-i aḥsan al-ḥadīth, vol. 1, p. 470; Rashīd Riḍā, Tafsīr al-manār, vol. 3, p. 4.
- ↑ Amīn, Tafsīr makhzan al-ʿirfān, vol. 2, p. 379.
- ↑ Burūjirdī, Tafsīr-i Jāmiʿ, vol. 2, p. 462.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Yikṣad-u hashtād pursish wa pāsukh, p. 75.
- ↑ Burūsawī, Tafsīr rūḥ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 372.
- ↑ Qirāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 7, p. 328.
References
- Amīn, Nuṣrat Baygum. Tafsīr makhzan al-ʿirfān dar ulūm-i Qurʾān. Tehran: Naḥḍat-i Zanān-i Musalmān, 1361 Sh.
- Burūjirdī, Muḥammad Ibrāhīm. Tafsīr-i Jāmiʿ. Tehran: Kitābkhāna-yi Ṣadr, 1366 Sh.
- Faḍl Allāh, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Milāk li-Ṭabā'at wa al-Nashr, 1419 AH.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. al-ʿUmar al-. Mafātīḥ al-ghayb (al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr). Third edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Ḥaqqī Burūsawī, Ismāʿīl. Tafsīr rūḥ al-bayān. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, [n.d].
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Yikṣad-u hashtād pursish wa pāsukh. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1386 Sh.
- Qirāʾatī, Muḥsin. Tafsīr-i nūr. Tehran: Markaz-i Farhangī-yi Darshā-yi az Qurʾān, 1383 Sh.
- Qurashī, Sayyid ʿAlī Akbar. Tafsīr-i aḥsan al-ḥadīth. 3rd ed. Tehran: Bunyād-i Biʿthat, 1377 Sh.
- Rashīd Riḍā, Muḥammad. Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ḥakīm al-mushtahir bi ʾism tafsīr al-manār. Cairo: al-Hay'at al-Misriyya al-'Amma li l-Kitab, 1990.
- Ṭayyib, ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Aṭyab al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Second edition. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Islām, 1378 Sh.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Aḥmad Qaṣīr al-ʿĀmilī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d].
- Zuḥaylī, Wahba Muṣṭafā. Al-Tafsīr al-munīr fī al-'aqīda wa al-sharī'a wa al-manhaj. Second edition. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr al-Muʿāṣir, 1418 AH.