THE UNCREATEDNESS OF THE DIVINE
SPEECH - THE GLORIOUS QUR'AN
by Dr. G. F. Haddad
Al-Hamdulillah for the favor
of Islam and the honor of right Belief. May Allah bless and salute our Master
Muhammad and his Family and Companions.
This article sums up the doctrine
of the massive majority of the Muslims, namely the People of the Sunna and the
Congregation, concerning the pre-existent, pre-eternal, beginningless, and
uncreated nature of the Divine Speech Allah Most High has named al-Qur'an, as
held by the Salaf al-Salihun and as formulated by the two Masters, Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari and Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and
their respective schools.
The position of Ahl al-Sunna wa
al-Jama`a differs fundamentally on this matter with that of the rest of the
Muslim sects, especially with that of the now defunct Mu`tazila. The position of the Shi`a is
indentical with that of the Mu`tazila, who denied not only the Pre-existent
status of the Divine Speech, but of all the Divine Attributes for they
considered that they are the same as the Essence.
Ahl al-Sunna agree one and
all that the Qur'an is the pre-existent, pre-eternal, uncreated Speech of Allah
Most High on the evidence of the Qur'an, the Sunna, and faith-guided reason.
In a rare instance of classic kalâm
reasoning, Imam Malik gave the most succinct statement of this doctrine:
"The Qur'an is the Speech of
Allah, the Speech of Allah comes from Him, and nothing created comes from Allah
Most High."
Hafiz Abu al-Qasim Ibn `Asakir said
in Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari:
"The Mu`tazila said: 'the
Speech of Allah Most High is created, invented, and brought into being.' The
Hashwiyya, who attribute a body to Allah the Exalted, said: 'The alphabetical
characters (al-hurűf al-muqatta`a), the materials on which they are
written, the colors in which they are written, and all that is between the two
covers [of the volumes of Qur’an] is beginning-less and pre-existent (qadîma
azaliyya). Al-Ash`ari took a middle road between them and said: The Qur’an
is the beginning-less speech of Allah Most High unchanged, uncreated, not of
recent origin in time, nor brought into being. As for the alphabetical
characters, the materials, the colors, the voices, the elements that are
subject to limitations (al-mahdűdât), and all that is subject to
modality (al-mukayyafât) in the world: all this is created, originated,
and produced."
Hafiz Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi said in al-Asma'
wa al-Sifat with a sound chain:
"Something Ibn Shaddad had
written was handed to Abu Bakr al-Marwazi which containing the phrase: "My
pronunciation of the Qur'an is uncreated" and the latter was asked to show
it to Ahmad ibn Hanbal for corroboration. The latter crossed out the phrase and
wrote instead: "The Qur'an, however used (haythu yusraf), is
uncreated."
"In another sound narration,
Abu Bakr al-Marwazi, Abu Muhammad Fawran [or Fawzan], and Salih ibn Ahmad ibn
Hanbal witnessed Ahmad rebuking one of his students named Abu Talib with the
words: "Are you telling people that I said: `My pronunciation of the
Qur'an is uncreated'?" Abu Talib replied: "I only said this from my
own." Ahmad said: "Do not say this - neither from me, nor from you! I
never heard any person of knowledge say it. The Qur'an is the Speech of Allah
uncreated, whichever way it is used." Salih said to Abu Talib: "If
you told people what you said, now go and tell the same people that Abu `Abd
Allah [Imam Ahmad] forbade to say it.""
The Proof of Islam and Renewer of
the Fifth Hijri Century, Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali said in his
"Foundations of Islamic Belief" (Qawa`id al-`Aqa'id) published
in his Rasa'il and his Ihya' `Ulum al-Din and partially translated in
Shaykh Nuh Keller's Reliance of the Traveller and by Mrs. Ahmad Darwish
on the Mosque of the Internet:
"The Qur'an is read by
tongues, written in books, and remembered in the heart, yet it is,
nevertheless, uncreated and without beginning, subsisting in the Essence of
Allah, not subject to division and or separation through its transmission to
the heart and paper. Musa - upon him peace - heard the Speech of Allah without
sound and without letter, just as the righteous see the Essence of Allah Most
High in the Hereafter, without substance or its quality."
And Imam al-Tahawi said of the
Qur'an in his "Creed of Abu Hanifa and his Companions": "It is
not created like the speech of creatures."
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was detained
and lashed for twenty-eight months for refusing to say that the Qur'an was created.
In his stand for the sake of the pure and undefiled Religion he was compared to
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq's unwavering stand with regard to the Arabian tribes who
committed apostasy after the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him and his Family
- left this life. May Allah be well-pleased with them and make them pleased.
Someone on the SRI forum mentioned
the following syllogism:
“Allah says that He is the
creator of every thing. The Qur'an is a thing. Therefore the Qur'an Is created.
. . If you want to prove that the Qur'an is uncreated you will first have to
prove that the Qur'an is not a thing. Can you do that? No.”
But elsewhere in the thread the
same person states:
“So Allah is called a thing in
the Qur'an.”
Therefore he admits that there is
an exception to the false reasoning stated above, but in a separate place than
where he brought it up.
He also stated his denial of the
reality and pre-eternity of the Divine Attributes, subsuming them into the
Essence:
“Coming back to the main point.
If someone believes that anything is eternal other than God (existed from ever)
he/she has committed shirk; made a partner with God.”
Yet elsewhere he affirms one such
attribute. Meaning, not according to his rule that the attribute IS God, but
predicating the attribute to God as a distinct reality in contradiction of his
former denial, committing shirk by his own principle:
“[...] Truth is an attribute of
God.”
Then he immediately annuls the
reality of the attribute he just mentioned:
“Other than God both Truth and
Evil don't really independently exist.”
So then
(1) according to him Allah
categorically created all things and both the Qur'an is a thing and Allah is a
thing; and
(2) according to him it is shirk
to hold anything to be eternal other than God, even an Attribute of His such as
Truth; for
(3) according to him such
attributes, anyway, "don't really independently exist."
Of course he extirpates himself by
adding “There is nothing like unto Him”. So he has shown that there is
at least One Exception Subhan
Allah! to his supposed axiom, and
he found that exception stated in the Qur'an. He himself has shown that it can
be misleading and horrendously so to
cite certain verses in isolation of others in the matter.
But he claims that it is apostasy
to make more than this single exception:
“Yet you are making TWO
exceptions. This is against the creed of Pure Islam. If you make more than ONE
exception what prevents you from making Three, four or more exceptions?”
However, we Sunnis hold there are
as many exceptions to the phrase "Allah has created everything" as
there are Divine Attributes, and that to speak of any of His Attributes as
created, is kufr.
The `Aqida of the People of
Truth is:
sifaatu-l-Laahi laysat `ayna
dhaatin The Attributes of Allah are neither the very Essence,
wa laa ghayran siwaahu
dha-nfisaali nor other than Himself, nor separate.
sifaatu-dh-Dhaati wa-l-af`aali
turran And all the Attributes of the Essence and of the Acts
qadiimaatun masuunaatu-z-zawaali
are pre-existent and without end.
[From the poem Bad' al-Amali
by the Maturidi master, Siraj al-Din `Ali ibn `Uthman al-Ushi (d. 569).]
Another argument the objector
brings forth is:
“The Qur'an is created. The
Qur'an is refers to itself as Muhdath in verses 21:2 and 26:5”
And this is an outright lie, for
the Qur'an refers to "a new/fresh reminder" (dhikr) in the
indefinite in both verses, not "to itself" as falsely claimed. This
would have been immediately noticeable if he had only cited the translations
that he pretended to adduce.
He also made false claims based on
his deficient knowledge of the Qur'an:
“The Qur'an says that it is
From/By the Knowledge of God but it doesn't say that it IS the Knowledge of God
therefore even this view is non-Qur'anic and it is a belief without burhaan
which Allah has not given any Sultaan or permission to believe in.”
This is false, the Qur'an most
explicitly states “wa ma-khtalafa ahlu-l-kitaabi illaa min ba`di maa
jaa'ahum AL-`ILM” - "...Nor did the People of the Book dissent
therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to
them..." (3:19) and “fa
man hajjaka min ba`di ma jaa'aka MIN AL-`ILM” - "...If any one
disputes in this matter with thee, now after (full) knowledge Hath come to thee,
say: "Come!..." (3:61) among other verses equating Divine Revelation with "The Knowledge".
This was pointed out by Imam Ahmad in many places, notably his first reply to
the Devils who interrogated him on the issue, as cited below. So to believe
that the Qur'an is the Speech of Allah and there is no disagreement over this
from the Shi`is is to believe that it is the Knowledge of Allah, though not
necessarily all His Knowledge.
The objector also said some more
enormities about the Qur'an and the Heavenly Books:
“The Qur'an is applicable only
from the time of the Prophet until the end of time. It is applicable in places
humans can live. If the truth was otherwise then there would be no need for the
Taurah, Zaboor and Injeel. If the truth was otherwise the Qur'an should have
come down with Adam but it didn't.”
The truth is, as Allah is my
witness and yours, that the Qur'an is the uncreated Speech of Allah to the
worlds in which He mentions the taking of the Covenant from all the Prophets
and their Communities and the all-encompassing witness of the Seal of Prophets
over them; that the Torah is the uncreated Speech of Allah; the Zabur is the
uncreated Speech of Allah; and the Injil is the uncreated Speech of Allah. And
the Heavenly Books shall surely stand witness for or against all those who
wrote in this thread on the Day of Judgment.
How well Imam al-Shafi`i spoke when
he said:
“My ruling concerning the practitioners
of kalâm is that they be flogged, then seated upon a camel and paraded
among the clans and the tribes while a herald proclaims: 'This is the reward of
those who abandon the Book and the Sunna in order to take up kalâm!'”
I.e. to take up false reasonings and speculations in the guise of defending the
Book and the Sunna instead of sticking faithfully to the latter. He also said:
“Every mutakallim according to the Qur'an and Sunna possesses diligence,
while every other type is delirious.”
It was correctly mentioned that
al-Shafi`i declared to a man who spoke of the Qur'an as created: "You have
just committed disbelief." The man in question was the
Mu`tazili-turned-Jabri, Hafs al-Fard of Basra. It is established that
al-Shafi`i entered into kalâm disputations with this Hafs over the issue
of the creation of the Qur'an until he declared Hafs a disbeliever, and he used
to nickname him “Hafs the Isolated” – Hafs al-Munfarid – as a word-play on his
name of Fard. Hafs had tried unsuccessfully to make `Abd Allah ibn `Abd
al-Hakim and Yusuf ibn `Amr ibn Yazid debate him before al-Shafi`i accepted –
and defeated him.
The objector also stated about his
supposed method:
“I don't want to hear the
opinions of Malik or Buyuti. Tell me what the Qur'an says. Tell me what the
Messenger of Allah said (saw).”
It seems he thinks he is stating
what the Qur'an says and rejecting imitation; but he actually misunderstands
the Qur'an in pure imitation - unwittingly or not - of the enemies of the
Qur'an. For he has used two of the exact same weak arguments used against Imam
Ahmad and the other Mountains of Islam by the underlings of Caliph Harun
al-Rashid's sons al-Ma'mun the scholar (198-218) and the near-analphabet
al-Mu`tasim (218-227), and the latter's profligate son al-Wathiq (227-232),
abetted by his Mu`tazili vizier Ibn Abi Du'ad and a certain Barghuth
["Gnat"] al-Jahmi.
He states: I don't want to hear the
opinions of Malik or Buwayti. But Malik or Buwayti's juridical and doctrinal
stands are based on a Mujtahid Mutlaq's understanding of the Qur'an and
Sunna. Whereas that person's use of the English meanings of the Qur'an on the
Internet - Ma Sha' Allah - is that of a layman, or less. So we have a choice
between following the Imams, or following at best a layman. How do ye judge?
Mujtahid Mutlaq = Qualified
for absolute independent juridical exertion i.e. to apply legal reasoning, draw
analogies, and infer rulings from the evidence independently of the methodology
and findings of the Sunni schools, through his own linguistic and juridical
perspicuity and extensive knowledge of the texts.
Allah have mercy on al-Buwayti and
give him the highest ranks in Paradise! He died in 231 in jail, bound in chains
in Iraq for refusing to say that the Qur'an was created. May Allah have mercy
on him and on all the scholars of Ahl al-Sunna and give them the merits
of their detractors.
Yes, a Nobody can quote Qur'an,
just like Imams Ahmad and al-Buwayti can quote it. However, the understanding
of the Mujtahid Mutlaq compared to that of the Nobody is like the
soaring eagle compared to a one-day gnat, although both can be said to fly.
I must also say that his
protestation against the opinions of the scholars is a hollow one coming from a
Shi`i, for Shi`is are notorious for their slavish imitation of their Imams'
opinion, not bothering even to check the validity of transmission of a given
opinion to a purported authority. That is why he is able to reject the Sunni
doctrine of Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq in this matter even as he claims, "Our
beliefs are based on what the 12 Imams of the Ahlul-bayt taught and endorsed as
authentic Islam."
Yes, in addition, somewhere in the
thread, he himself happily quotes from Imam Ja`far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq) to
make a point! Then he declaims: "Why can't you base your argument on the
Qur'an, Sunnah and Reason. Why must you bring the opinion of someone in the
10th century as a support?"
So we are to put forward a
Duodecimal Shi`i's
partial understanding of the Qur'an, biased abuse of the Sunna, and deficient
reasoning before exemplars of the Qur'an and Sunna such as the Mujtahid Imams
and Awliya' except, of course, when we mean a Twelver-Imam? - Although, to top
the irony, Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq is authentically reported to hold that the
Qur'an is uncreated, as indicated by Brother Ismaeel; here is the report:
Al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma' wa
al-Sifat narrated with his chain from Ja`far ibn Muhammad, from his father,
from `Ali ibn al-Husayn who said: "The Qur'an is neither creator nor
created, but it is the Speech of the Creator."
The objector claims to stick fast
to the Qur'an, but his likes reject and belie the Qur'an when it praises the
First and Foremost of the Muhajirun and Ansar! And he claims to stick to the
Sunna when his likes pick and choose among the most authentic narrations what
they want and reject what they want according to their lusts; rejecting Sayyidina
`Ali's affirmation of wiping (mash) on the khuff, and his
confirmation of the cancellation of mut`a to name but two fundamental
examples - both reports as sound and clear as the sun, and the first one is mutawatir.
He stated concerning the noble Sahaba:
“did all the Sahaba enjoin what
is good and forbid what is wrong? No.”
It must be understood that in
reality this is an attack upon the Lord of the worlds, as if reproaching him
for choosing unworthy Companions for the Seal of His Prophets! wallahu
al-musta`an. And did the Prophet (s) make any distinctions when praying
for his Companions when he said: "O Allah! have mercy on the Ansar and the
Muhajirin!" the day they were digging the Trench before the battle of the
Clans? Undoubtedly, such phrases as "did all the Sahaba enjoin what is
good and forbid what is wrong? No." shall come as millstones around
the neck of their speakers on the Day of Judgment, when they shall be facing
the Sahaba - and the Prophet (s) - in shame. And Allah Most High might ask
them: What business did you have reviling the men and women I chose as
Companions for My Most Beloved, Most Respected, Most Praised Servant??
Hear now the ironclad responses
given to the Shayatin who were torturing him, given by the Imam of the Sunna as
narrated by his son Salih ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal:
Questioner: What do you say about
the Qur'an?
Ahmad: And you, what do you say about the Knowledge of Allah Most High?
Another questioner: Did not Allah say: “Allah is the Creator of all things”
(13:16), and is not the Qur'an a thing?
Ahmad: Allah also said: “Destroying all things” (46:25), then it
destroyed all except whatever Allah willed.
Another questioner: “Never comes there unto them a new reminder from their
Lord” (21:2). Can something new be anything but created? Ahmad: Allah said:
“Sâd. By the Qur'an that contains the Reminder” (38:1). "The"
reminder is the Qur'an, while the other verse does not say "the".
Another questioner: But the hadith of `Imran ibn Husayn states: "Allah
created the Reminder."
Ahmad: That is not correct, several narrated it to us as: "Allah wrote the
Reminder.”
They cited the hadith of Ibn Mas`ud: "Allah Most High did not create a
garden of Paradise nor a fire of Hell nor a heaven nor an earth more tremendous
(a`zam) than the verse of the Throne (2:255)."
Ahmad: The creating here applies to the garden, the fire, the heaven, and the
earth. It does not apply to the Qur'an.
Another questioner: The narration of Khabbab states: "I admonish you to
approach Allah with all that you can; but you can never approach Him with
something dearer to Him than His speech.”
Ahmad: And that is true.
For the sake of completion on this
topic I will append the additional proofs already cited by Cbun in
message <8o2mle$d2l$1@samba.rahul.net>, with slightly modified spelling
and style:
Allah says, “Verily, His
Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, 'Be!' and it is!”
- Yaseen 82
Ibn `Uyayna explains, "Allah
has differentiated his Creation from his Command. His command is "Be"
(Kun)."
Allah says, “Verily! Our Word
unto a thing when We intend it, is only that We say unto it: "Be!"
and it is.” - Surah An-Nahl 40
Shaykh `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani
(Rahimahullah),* explaining
that the word of Allah is not created says, "Allah (subhanahu Wa ta'ala)
said, “Verily! to him (belongs) the creation and the Command”; (Allah)
has differentiated his Creation from his Command, If His Command which is
"Be" (Kun) that He creates His creation (with) is created it
would be a repetition that has no benefit - as if He (Allah) said 'Verily! to
him (belongs) the creation and the creation'; Allah (subhanahu Wa ta'ala) is
far removed from doing such a thing."
Allah bless and greet our Master
Muhammad, his Family, and all his Companions.
NOTES
[5]See
on this: Ibn `Asakir, Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari (1404 ed. p. 338-340) and
al-Lalika'i, Sharh Usul I`tiqad Ahl al-Sunna (2:252-253).