Ten textual and rational proofs that the Qur’an is the word of Allah and is not created

Praise
be to Allah

Refuting innovation should be based on the fundamentals of
the Sunnah and the fundamentals of ‘aqeedah, as knowledge should follow
sound methodology that is based on Qur’an and Sunnah. 

That type of knowledge cannot be acquired from random fatwas
or reading at random; rather it is done through the methodical pursuit of
knowledge, studying that is truly founded on the fundamentals, in which the
seeker of knowledge spends years of his life researching, memorising,
understanding and learning. Only then will he be able to understand the
specious arguments and to understand the words of the scholars, and he will
be able to have deep insight into ambiguous arguments that led to such
serious errors in ‘aqeedah. 

Here we will present a brief discussion to show how we could
build an argument based on the fundamentals of religion, in order to prove
that the Qur’an is the word of Allah and refute the specious argument that
it is created. We will present this argument in brief, quoting it from
specialised research, and from this presentation you will learn a little of
the way to discuss issues of ‘aqeedah, and how vast in scope and subtle it
is, and how much research and study is needed to understand it properly. 

Hence we say:

 We can quote ten proofs to demonstrate that the Holy Qur’an
is the word of Allah and is not created. These proofs are as follows: 

1. The first proof 

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Indeed your
Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, and then
He Istawa (rose over) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His
Majesty). He brings the night as a cover over the day, seeking it rapidly,
and (He created) the sun, the moon, the stars subjected to His Command.
Surely, His is the Creation and the Command. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of
the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists)”

[al-A‘raaf 7:54]. 

The evidence in this verse consists of two points: 

(i)               

Allah, may He be exalted, differentiated between the
creation and the command, which are two of His attributes which He ascribed
to Himself. As for the creation, this has to do with His deeds; as for the
command, it has to do with His words. In principle, when two words are
mentioned in conjunction, they should have different meanings, unless the
context indicates that no differentiation is intended. In this case there is
evidence to indicate that there is a difference between them, including the
following point.

(ii)             

Creation can only occur through the command, as Allah, may He be exalted,
says elsewhere (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily,
His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be!’ and
it is” [Ya-Seen 36:82].

The word “‘Be!’”
is His command. If it were created, then its creation would require a
command, and that command would require another command, and so on ad
infinitum. That cannot be so. 

Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted this verse as
evidence against the Mu‘tazili Jahamis. 

He (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

 I say: Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Surely,
His is the Creation and the Command”
[al-A‘raaf 7:54]. Thus
He differentiated between the creation and the command.

Narrated by Hanbal in al-Mihnah (p. 53) 

And he said to them: Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “The command of Allah has come” [an-Nahl 61:1], and His
command is His word and His power, and that is not created. So do not
interpret the Book of Allah in such a way as to make it sound as if it
contradicts itself. 

Narrated by Hanbal in al-Mihnah (p. 54) 

In what he wrote for al-Mutawakkil, when he asked him about
the issue of the Qur’an, Imam Ahmad said: 

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning): “And if anyone
of the Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the
Oneness of Allah) seeks your protection then grant him protection, so that
he may hear the Word of Allah (the Quran), and then escort him to where he
can be secure, that is because they are men who know not” [at-Tawbah 9:6]
and “Surely,
His is the Creation and the command”
[al-A ‘raaf 7:54]. So He
tells us that the creation is His, then He says “and
the command”. Thus He
informs us that the command is not created. End quote. 

Narrated by his son Saalih in al-Mihnah (p. 210-121) 

Before Imam Ahmad, this argument was presented by Imam
Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah al-Hilaali al-Haafiz ath-Thiqah al-Hujjah [a great
muhaddith] (may Allah have mercy on him) who said: 

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning): “Surely,
His is the Creation and the command”
[al-A‘raaf 7:54]. The
creation is the creation of Allah, may He be Blessed and exalted, and the
command is the Qur’an. 

Narrated by al-Aajurri in ash-Sharee‘ah (p. 80) with a
jayyid isnaad from him. 

2. The second proof 

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“The Most
Beneficent (Allah)

Has taught (you mankind) the Quran (by His Mercy).

He created man”

[ar-Rahmaan 55:1-3]. 

Here Allah may He be exalted, differentiates between His
knowledge (which He taught) and His creation. The Qur’an is His knowledge
and man is His creation. His knowledge is not created. 

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Say:
“Verily, the Guidance of Allah (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) that is the (only)
Guidance. And if you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him))
were to follow their (Jews and Christians) desires after what you have
received of Knowledge (i.e. the Quran), then you would have against Allah
neither any Walee (protector or guardian) nor any helper”

[al-Baqarah 2:120].

 Allah, may He be exalted, calls the Qur’an knowledge ,
because it is what came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) from his Lord, and it is what Allah, may He be exalted, taught him
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Allah’s knowledge is not created
because, if it were created, He would have had the opposite attribute before
it was created – glorified and exalted be Allah far above that.

 This proof was cited by Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on
him) when he presented his argument against the Jahamis in the court of al-Mu‘tasim: 

‘Abd ar-Rahmaan al-Qazzaaz said to me: Allah was there and
there was no Qur’an. I said to him: Then (what you are saying is that) Allah
was there and there was no knowledge that He possessed! He kept quiet,
because if he had claimed that Allah was there and there was no knowledge
that He possessed, then he would be a disbeliever in Allah.

Narrated by Hanbal in al-Mihnah (p. 45) 

It was said to him (may Allah have mercy on him): 

Some people say, if a man says that the words of Allah are
not created, they say: Who is the scholar who taught you that? Where did you
get the idea that His words are not created?

He said: The proof is the words of Allah, may He be Blessed
and exalted (interpretation of the meaning): “Then
whoever disputes with you concerning this matter  after (all this) knowledge
that has come to you” [Aal
‘Imraan 3:61]. There is
nothing that came to him except the Qur’an (i.e., the Qur’an is the
knowledge referred to here). 

And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The Qur’an is knowledge from Allah. Whoever claims that the
knowledge of Allah is created, is a disbeliever. 

Narrated by Ibn Haani’ in al-Masaa’il (2/153, 154) 

3. The third proof 

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Say (O
Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to mankind). ‘If the sea
were ink for (writing) the Words of my Lord, surely, the sea would be
exhausted before the Words of my Lord would be finished, even if we brought
(another sea) like it for its aid’”

[al-Kahf 18:109]

and

“And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea
(were ink wherewith to write), with seven seas behind it to add to its
(supply), yet the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Verily, Allah is
All-Mighty, All-Wise”

[Luqmaan 31:27]. 

Allah, may He be exalted, tells us – and what He says is true
– that His words are unending, and that if the seas that Allah has created
were ink with which to write, and the trees that Allah has created were pens
with which to write, the ink of the seas would run out, and the pens would
wear out, but the words of Allah would not be exhausted. 

This highlights the greatness of His words, and that His
words or speech is His attribute and His knowledge. This cannot be compared
with the created, finite words of His creation, for if His words were
created, they would have been exhausted before one of the seas was
exhausted. But Allah, may He be exalted, has only decreed an end and a limit
for created beings, not for Himself or His attributes. 

4. The fourth proof 

The names of Allah in the Qur’an, such as Allah, the Most
Beneficent, the Most Merciful, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, the
Oft-Forgiving, the Most Generous and so on are part of His words or His
speech, because it is He Who gave these names to Himself, with these words
and meanings. Allah, may He be exalted, has made it equal to glorify His
Essence and to glorify His names, as He, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Glorify
the Name of your Lord, the Most High”
[al-A‘laa 87:1]. He, may
He be exalted, has made it equal to call upon Him by His Essence and to call
upon Him by His names, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (all) the Most Beautiful
Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them” [al-A‘raaf 7:180].
Similarly, He, may He be exalted, has made it equal to remember Him by His
Essence and to remember Him by His names, as He says (interpretation of the
meaning): “And
remember the Name of your Lord every morning and afternoon”
[al-Insaan 76:25]. 

This glorification, supplication and remembrance, if applied
to anything that is created, would constitute disbelief in Allah. 

If it is said that His words are created, His names are
included in that, and whoever makes such a claim has gone beyond the pale of
Islam, for the reasons we have mentioned, and because what that implies is
that Allah, may He be exalted, did not have those beautiful names before He
created His words; and the one who swore an oath by one of His names would
be a mushrik, because he would be swearing by something that is created, and
that which is created is different from the Creator. 

This argument was presented by a number of the early
generations and imams to prove that the Qur’an is not created, including
Imam al-Hujjah Sufyaan ibn Sa‘eed ath-Thawri, who said: Whoever says that
[the words] “Say
(O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)): He is Allah, (the)
One, Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He
neither eats nor drinks)”[al-Ikhlaas
112:1-2] are created is
a disbeliever. 

Narrated by ‘Abdullah in as-Sunnah (no. 13). Its
isnaad is jayyid. 

Imam ash-Shaafa‘i said: 

Whoever swears by one of the names of Allah and breaks his
oath has to offer expiation, because the name of Allah is not created;
whoever swears an oath by the Ka‘bah, or by as-Safa and al-Marwa, does not
have to offer expiation (for breaking his oath), because these things are
created, whereas (the name of Allah) is not created. 

Narrated by Ibn Abi Haatim in Aadaab ash-Shaafa‘i (p.
193) with a saheeh isnaad. 

Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: 

The names of Allah are in the Qur’an, and the Qur’an is part
of the knowledge of Allah. So whoever claims that the Quran is created has
gone beyond the pale of Islam, and whoever claims that the names of Allah
are created has gone beyond the pale of Islam. 

Narrated by his son Saalih in al-Mihnah (p. 52,
66-67) 

5. The fifth proof 

Allah, may He be exalted, has told us that the Book is from
Him and is attributed to Him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The
revelation of the Book (this Quran) is from the Lord of the Alameen
(mankind, jinns and all that exists)”

[as-Sajdah 32:2]

“Those unto
whom We gave the Scripture (the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)) know
that it is revealed from your Lord in truth”

[al-An‘aam 6:114]

“Say (O
Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) Ruh-ul-Qudus (Jibrael
(Gabriel)) has brought it (the Quran) down from your Lord with truth”

[an-Nahl 16:102]. 

Allah has not attributed anything to Himself that He sent
down, except His words, which indicates that there is a special meaning for
that, so it is not like the sending down of rain, iron and so on. Allah has
told us that He sent down these things, but He did not attribute them to
Himself, unlike His words. His words or His speech is an attribute, and an
attribute can only be ascribed to the one who possesses it, and not to
anyone else. If His words were created, they could have departed from the
Creator and would not be attributed to Him, because He, may He be exalted,
has no need of His creation and none of it is His attribute. 

6. The sixth proof 

It was narrated that Khawlah bint Hakeem said: I heard the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “Whoever
stops at a place and says: I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from
the evil of that which He has created, nothing will harm him until he moves
on from that place.”. Narrated by Muslim (2708). 

If His words were created, then seeking refuge in them would
be shirk, because that would be seeking refuge in something that is created.
It is well-known that seeking refuge in anything other than Allah, may He be
exalted, and His names and attributes is shirk, so how could the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) have taught his ummah something
that is obviously shirk, when he is the one who came to teach them pure
Tawheed? 

This indicates that the words of Allah, may He be exalted,
are not created. 

Na‘eem ibn Hammaad said: Refuge is not to be sought in
anything that is created, or in the words of people, jinn, humans or
angels. 

Al-Bukhaari said, after quoting that: This indicates that the
words of Allah are not created, and that everything other than Him is
created. 

See: Khalq Af‘aal al-‘Ibaad (p. 143) 

7. The seventh proof 

The hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him)
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) who said:

“The superiority of the words of Allah over all other words
is like the superiority of Allah over all of His creation.” 

A hasan hadith, narrated by ‘Uthmaan ad-Daarimi in ar-Radd
‘ala al-Jahamiyyah (no. 287, 340); al-Laalkaa’i (no. 557) 

This hadith confirms the belief of the salaf, that the Qur’an
is the word of Allah and is not created. It does so in two respects: 

(i)               

It differentiates between the words of Allah and other
words. Words are either the speech of Allah, which is one of His attributes,
or they are created words, which are part of the creation of Allah. Whatever
is a divine attribute is ascribed to Allah, whereas the rest are mentioned
in general terms, so as to include all words other than those attributed to
Allah. If all words were created, there would be no need for this
differentiation.

(ii)             

The differentiation between the words of Allah and the
words of others is like the differentiation between the essence of Allah and
the essence of others. Allah’s words and the nature thereof are connected to
His essence and the nature thereof, just as the words of created beings and
the nature thereof are appropriate to and connected to the essence of
created beings and the nature thereof. 

This argument was presented by Imam ‘Uthmaan ibn Sa‘eed ad-Daarimi
in ar-Radd ‘ala al-Jahamiyyah (p. 162-163). After quoting the hadiths
on this topic, he said: 

These hadiths indicate that the Qur’an is not created,
because you would not see such a great difference when comparing between two
created beings as you will see when comparing between Allah and His
creation, because the difference between the two created beings is
measurable, whereas the superiority of Allah over His creation is
unmeasurable and no one can grasp it. The same applies to the superiority of
His words over the words of created beings. If the words of Allah were
created, there would not be such a great difference between them and the
words of others, which is like the superiority of Allah over His creation.
There is nothing like unto Him, so there are no words like His words, and no
one could ever produce anything like them. End quote. 

8. The eighth proof 

On the basis of rational thinking, if the words of Allah were
created, then it must be one of two scenarios: 

(i)               

They are created and exist as part of the essence of
Allah

(ii)             

or they are separate from Allah.

Both scenarios are false and in fact constitute abhorrent
disbelief.

As for the first, it implies that a created thing could exist
within the Creator, which is false according to the view of Ahl as-Sunnah
and most of the followers of innovation [among the Muslims]. Allah, may He
be exalted, is independent of His creation and has no need of any of them in
any way whatsoever.

As for the second, its implications lead to denying the
attribute of divine speech, because the attribute exists in the one who
possesses the attribute – as stated above – and does not exist in anyone or
anything else. If it existed in anything else, then it would be an attribute
of the one in whom it existed. What this would imply is that the Lord, may
He be exalted, does not speak, and this is obvious disbelief, as we have
explained above.

9. The ninth proof

As is clear to everyone, an attribute does not exist by
itself. If the attribute is an attribute of the Creator, it should exist in
Him, and if it is an attribute of a created being, it must inevitably exist
in him, such as moving, staying still, standing, sitting, power, will,
knowledge, life and other attributes. If an attribute is ascribed to
something, then it is describing it and it belongs to the one in whom it
exists. So these attributes may be ascribed to the created being, therefore
they are descriptions of the created being, as they are ascribed to him.
Some of them may also be ascribed to the Creator, such as power, will,
knowledge, life and so on. Therefore they are attributes of His, as they are
ascribed to Him. When they are ascribed to the created being, they are
created, and when they are ascribed to the Creator, they are not created.

The attribute of speech is like other attributes; it must
exist in something, and if it exists in that thing then it is an attribute
of that thing and not of anything else. If it is ascribed to the Creator,
may He be exalted, then it is His attribute. If it is ascribed to anyone
else, then it is an attribute of that other entity. The attribute of the
Creator is not created, just as His essence is not created, whereas the
attribute of the created being is created, just as his essence is created.
As Allah has ascribed speech to Himself, and has described Himself as
speaking, then His speech (or words) is not created, because it is something
that is connected to His essence, and His essence is not created. Discussion
of the divine attributes is connected to discussion of the divine essence,
and it must be discussed in the same terms.

If it is said that the Quran is created, we say: Allah should
be above having ascribed to Him anything that is created. You (Jahamis) –
according to your claim – declare Allah, may He be exalted, to be above
having any created things existing in Him. As you declare your Lord, may He
be exalted, to be above that, then you should not attribute speech to Him,
but if you do not attribute speech to Him, you will be denying textual and
rational evidence which testify that Allah, may He be exalted, possesses the
attribute of speech.

But they refuse to admit that the words of Allah, may He be
exalted, are not created, on the basis of an argument that is even more
false than what is discussed above. They say: We affirm that Allah speaks
with words that exist in something other than Him. Allah, may He be exalted,
spoke to Moosa through created words that existed in the bush and did not
exist in Him, therefore we declare Him to be above having created things
(i.e., words) exist in Him.

We say in response: you regard the words as an attribute of
the thing in which they exist, which implies – according to your view – that
these were the words of the bush, so it is the bush that spoke to Moosa and
said (interpretation of the meaning): “ ‘O
Moosa (Moses)! Verily! I am Allah, the Lord of the Alameen (mankind, jinns
and all that exists)’” [al-Qasas
28:30]. In that case,
there is no difference between the words of the bush and the words of the
accursed Pharaoh (interpretation of the meaning): “ ‘I am your lord, most
high’” [an-Naazi‘aat 79:24], because the words of the bush are its
attributes, and not the attributes of Allah, and the words of Pharaoh are
his attributes; each of them claimed to be divine [according to your claim],
so Moosa had no right to object to what Pharaoh said, yet accept the words
of the bush!

Think about this blatant disbelief which led people who
believed in this argument to this shameful innovation and not to submit and
accept the facts of revelation mentioned in the Qur’an, and to turn away
from the noble revelation and prefer to it the scum of minds that are
controlled by whims and desires that direct them wherever they want.

This rational argument was something used by Imam Ahmad (may
Allah have mercy on him) against the Mu‘tazili Jahamis when he debated with
them in the presence of al-Mu‘tasim. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

This is the story of Moosa. Allah said in His Book, speaking
of Himself (interpretation of the meaning): “and
to Moosa (Moses) Allah spoke directly”
[an-Nisa’ 4:164]. Thus
Allah affirms that He spoke to Moosa by way of honouring Moosa, and confirms
that it was indeed speech. Allah, may He be exalted, said (interpretation of
the meaning): O Moosa
“Verily! I am Allah! La ilaha illa Ana (none has the right to be worshipped
but I)” [Ta-Ha 20:14]
but you are denying this, so this pronoun (“I”) would then refer to
something other than Allah, and a created entity would be claiming to be the
lord!

Narrated by Hanbal in al-Mihnah (p. 52)

10. The tenth proof

Words of the leading scholars of the early generations
affirming this belief:

‘Amr ibn Dinaar – one of the best of the Taabi‘i imams –
said:

I have been meeting the companions of the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) and others who are next in status to them
for seventy years, and they say: Allah is the Creator, and everything other
than Him is created. The Qur’an is the word of Allah; it came from Him and
will return to Him.

‘Abdullah ibn Naafi‘ said: Maalik used to say:

The Qur’an is the word of Allah. And he used to regard as
abhorrent the view of those who said that the Qur’an was created.

Narrated by Saalih ibn Ahmad in al-Mihnah (p. 66) with
a saheeh isnaad from him.

Ar-Rabee‘ ibn Sulaymaan, the companion and student of ash-Shaafa‘i,
said, narrating a debate that took place between him and Hafs al-Fard
concerning the Qur’an:

He (Hafs) started the debate with Ash-Shaafa‘i, and ash-Shaafa‘i
presented his argument with proof, and there was a lengthy debate in which
ash-Shaafa‘i established proof that the Qur’an is the word of Allah and is
not created, and he regarded Hafs al-Fard as a disbeliever. Ar-Rabee‘ said:
I met Hafs al-Fard in the gathering later on and he said: ash-Shafaa‘i
wanted to kill me.

Narrated by ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Abi Haatim in Adaab ash-Shaafa‘i
(p. 194-195). Its isnaad is saheeh.

Ibn Abi Haatim said:

I asked my father and Abu Zar‘ah about the views of Ahl as-Sunnah
concerning the fundamentals of religion and what they learned from the
scholars in all regions, and what they believed concerning that.

They said:

We met the scholars from all regions, the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria
and Yemen, and their view was that faith is both words and deeds, and it may
increase or decrease; the Qur’an is the word of Allah and is not created in
any way.

Narrated by Ibn at-Tabari in as-Sunnah (1/176) with a
saheeh isnaad.

Imam Abu’l-Qaasim Hibatullah ibn al-Hasan at-Tabari al-Laalkaa’i
quoted, in his great book Sharh Usool I‘tiqaad Ahl as-Sunnah
wa’l-Jamaa‘ah:  This is the view of five hundred and fifty individuals
among the scholars and early generations of this ummah, all of whom say: The
Qur’an is the word of Allah and is not created; whoever says that it is
created is a disbeliever.

He (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

These people number five hundred and fifty or more, from
among the Taabi‘een and their followers and leading scholars, other than the
righteous Sahaabah, despite the differences in their locations and the
passage of many years. Among them are approximately one hundred imams from
whom the people learned their beliefs and followed them in their views. If I
wanted to write down the views of the hadith scholars (concerning this
issue), their names would be many thousands.

End quote from as-Sunnah (493)

Summarised from the book al-‘Aqeedah as-Salafiyyah fi
Kalaam Rabb al-Bariyyah wa Kashf Abaateel al-Mubtadi‘ah ar-Radiyyah (p.
121-147)

For more information on this topic, see also the twelfth
volume of Majmoo‘ Fataawa Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, “al-Qur’an Kalaam
Allah”; and Mukhtasar as-Sawaa‘iq al-Mursalah by Ibn al-Qayyim

See also a useful article on this topic entitled Lima
kaana al-Qawl bi Khalq al-Qur’an Kufran? Wa’l-Kalaam an-Nafsi by Shaykh
‘Amr Basyooni, on the following link:

http://taseel.com/articles/2626

And Allah knows best.