The Formation of Sounds According to Basrian Mu'tazila

One of the prevalent inference methods the mutakallimün uses is qiyäs al-ghaib 'ala al-shahid (analogy from the visible world to the invisible world). Mu'tazila, who accepts this method as an absolute criterion in the divine attributes, rejects the possibility of difference between shahid and ghaib about the reality of attributes. By rejecting the concept of kaläm nafsi adopted by Ahl al-Sunnah, they mention the divine speech in the category of actual attributes and claim that kalämulläh (God's speech), like human speech, is an accident consisting of words and sounds. Mu'tazila, who defines mutakallim as the agent of kaläm, claims that God is also the agent of the word. In this regard, Mu'tazila, who defends the origin of the kalämulläh and the createdness of the Qur'än, focuses on the explanation of the nature of the kaläm at the beginning of these theological subjects. As an extension of the issue of whether the hikäy ah and mahki are the same or not, which is the subject of discussion in the context of the possibility of creating something similar to the Qur'än, Mu'tazila, who disagree on whether kaläm (word) is a kind of sound (sawt) or not, examine the problem of the nature of the word by expanding it to include sounds. Although they agree that sounds are accidents created by humans through tawlid, they propound different theories about the physical formation of sound and kaläm. These theories are differentiated according to discussions about the essential factors for the formation of sounds. Some scholars claim that i'timäd generates sounds, and the substrate (mahall) is enough to form the sounds. In contrast, others claim the necessity of a specific structure (binya), movement (haraka), and air added to the substrate. In this regard, this study will deal with the effect of these factors mentioned above to the formation of the sounds and the physical examples which every group mentioned to prove its opinions rightfulness. The most detailed explanations about this topic are seen in the works of Basrian Mu'tazila. Therefore, this study will examine the opinions about the production of sounds, which argued around metaphysical issues in the context of the createdness of the Qur'än and the attribute of kaläm, which are submitted by Abü 'Ali al-Jubbä'i (d. 303/916), Abü Häshim al-Jubbä'i (d. 321/933), and their followers Qädi 'Abd al-Jabbär (d. 415/1025), Abü Rashid al-Nisäbüri (d. first half of the 5./11. century), and Ibn Mattawayh (d. first half of the