Is THEM Guilty of Shirk? - Dr. Wesley Muhammad

ARGUMENT 1
First, Dr. Wesley refers to early Islamic history and he cites that there was a dispute between the early
Muslims as to whether the Qur'an and Hadeeth references to Allah's characteristics should be read
allegorically or literally. He references that there were Muslims of repute who believed literally that Allah
had attributes such as a hand, foot, etc. The most well known of them all would be Imam Ahmad Ibn
Hanbal, founder of one of the major madhabs, the Hanbali school. The Hanbalis are the literalists of the
four major madhabs.
Dr. Wesley argues that if the Hanbalis and other literalists in Islamic history can be accepted as legitimate
Muslims with a legitimate viewpoint, then why not the followers of the HEM? In fact, he argues that not
only are these literalists accepted, they are the ones who are correct and those inclined to treat the words
of Qur'an and Hadeeth as metaphorical are the ones who are misguided and guilty of shirk.
RESPONSE 1
The debates between the Mutazilites and the Asharites were not about whether Allah was a human being
or not, they were about whether Qur'anic statements referencing Allah's hand, foot, etc. should be
accepted on face value (literally) or understood as metaphorical.
So, Imam Hanbal and the others argued that Allah has a hand and a foot and a throne, but that no
human's eyes can see His hand, throne, foot, etc. Imam Hanbal would argue that Allah has a hand, but
His hand does not look like your hand. He would cite the hadith:
"Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will grasp the whole Earth
by His Hand, and all the Heavens in His right, and then He will say, 'I am the King." Abu Huraira said,
"Allah's Apostle said," Allah will grasp the Earth...' "
But, Imam Hanbal would tell us that Allah has a hand, but we can't see or comprehend Allah's hand that
will hold the earth and skies and it is certainly not a human hand. The Mutazilite would argue that Allah
does not have a hand at all; that this Qur'anic reference is a metaphor for Allah's power and control.
Imam Hanbal was concerned about preserving the integrity of the text of the Qur'an so that translators
and interpreters would not substitute their interpretations for the actual words used. He was not trying to
prove that Allah was a man or human being. If that was his point, he would have said so. He was a
scholar, prolific muhadith, and teacher. Surely, he could have and would have made this clear. But, you
cannot find anywhere where Imam Hanbal argued that Allah is a human being.
ARGUMENT 2
Secondly, Dr. Wesley points to the sayings of prophet Muhammad. He states that the prophet has
referred to Allah as a physical being in Sahih (sound) hadeeth, not while he was dreaming, but while he
was awake. He cites the following hadeeth as proof:
"Narrated 'Abdullah: Ad-Dajjal was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet. The Prophet said, "Allah
is not hidden from you; He is not one-eyed," and pointed with his hand towards his eye, adding, "While
Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a protruding grape."
3