Summarising the Imam’s Proofs

Creation and Command Are Distinguished

Allah تعالى said: أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ, “Unquestionably, for Him is creation and command.” (al Aʿraf: 54) Creation and command are separated, so what is apparent is that command is not created. Command here is the Qur’an.

Teaching the Qur’an Is Distinguished From Creating Man

Allah said: الرَّحْمَنُ ۝ عَلَمَ الْقُرْءَانَ ۝ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ ۝ عَلَمَهُ الْبَيَانَ, “The Most Merciful taught the Qur’an. He created man. He taught him clear speech.” (al Rahman: 1 to 4)

The Qur’an is mentioned distinctly from creating man, and this indicates denying newness from the Qur’an, meaning it does not come into existence in the way created things do.

Threat Against Calling It Human Speech

Allah تعالى threatened the one who said: إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ, “This is nothing but the statement of a human being.” (al Muddaththir: 25)

with: سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ, “I will drive him into Saqar.” (al Muddaththir: 26)

The Qur’an is described as a statement, and Allah said: إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا, “Indeed, We will cast upon you a weighty statement.” (al Muzammil: 5)

and: فَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَقَّ أَقُولُ, “So the truth, and the truth I say.” (Sad: 84)

A statement only comes from the essence of a speaker, so once it is negated that this statement is from creation, it is established that it is from the Creator.

Allah’s Speech Is Affirmed and It Is Real Speech

Allah تعالى said: قَالَ يَا مُوسَى إِنِّي اصْطَفَيْتُكَ عَلَى النَّاسِ بِرِسَالَاتِي وَبِكَلَامِي, “O Moses عليه السلام, indeed I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My speech.” (al Aʿraf: 144) Allah تعالى said: وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا, “And Allah spoke to Moses عليه السلام with direct speech.” (al Nisa: 164)

and: مِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ, “Among them are those to whom Allah spoke.” (al Baqarah: 253)

and: وَلَمَّا جَاءَ مُوسَى لِمِيقَاتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ, “And when Moses عليه السلام came to Our appointed time, and his Lord spoke to him.” (al Aʿraf: 143)

Speech is also affirmed by negation, since Allah تعالى said: وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ, “And Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection.” (al Baqarah: 174)

and: وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ, “And Allah will not speak to them, nor look at them, on the Day of Resurrection.” (Al ʿImran: 77) Allah تعالى said: فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ, “So grant him protection until he hears the speech of Allah.” (al Tawbah: 6)

Blame is placed on worshipping what cannot speak. Allah تعالى said about the calf: أَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّهُ لَا يُكَلِّمُهُمْ, “Do they not see that it does not speak to them.” (al Aʿraf: 148) and: أَفَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَلَّا يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ قَوْلًا, “Do they not see that it does not return to them any speech.” (Ta Ha: 89)

Allah تعالى gave the example of the mute one who commands nothing, and the one who commands justice: وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا رَجُلَيْنِ… هَلْ يَسْتَوِي هُوَ وَمَنْ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ, “Is he equal to one who commands justice.” (al Nahl: 76) The mute is explained as the idol, as said in tafsir from Qatadah (Tafsir ʿAbd al Razzaq, 2/274; Jamiʿ al Bayan, 14/312). This indicates that speech and command are attributes of praise, and that worship belongs to Allah alone, not to what cannot bring forth speech.

“And Allah spoke to Moses with direct speech” Removes Doubt

The verbal noun in وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا (al Nisa: 164) comes to remove doubt, so it is known to be speech from one who speaks to one spoken to. This is connected to the explanation of Abu al ʿAbbas Ahmad ibn Yahya al Shaybani Thaʿlab, as cited (Manhaj Thaʿlab fi Taqrir al ʿAqidah, 306-310).

The Qur’an Is Speech, and Speech Must Be Attached to a Speaker

Text and ijmaʿ are affirmed that the Qur’an is speech. Speech must be attached to a speaker. It is negated that the Qur’an is the speech of other than Allah, so it must be attached to His essence, and the ruling is that it is His speech, as He said.

Tafsir of Ibn ʿAbbas on “An Arabic Qur’an, without crookedness”

Allah تعالى said: قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ ذِي عِوَجٍ, “An Arabic Qur’an, without crookedness.” (al Zumar: 28) It is reported from Ibn ʿAbbas that this means “not created”, with an acceptable chain, and the report is traced through the well known copy of ʿAli ibn Abi Talhah from Ibn ʿAbbas, which was with Abu Salih the scribe of al Layth (al Ajurri, al Shariʿah, 14/495; Ibn Battah, al Ibanah, 5/288).

Reliance on this copy is noted, with mention of al Bukhari selecting from it and Ibn Hajar discussing it (Fath al Bari, 8/438). Follow ups are mentioned from Saʿid ibn Jubayr and Mak’hul (Bahr al ʿUlum, 3/184; Sharh Usul Iʿtiqad Ahl al Sunnah, 2/241)

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal is mentioned as being pleased with the report, and Hamawayh ibn Yunus is mentioned as stating that Imam Ahmad wrote to Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad ibn Fudayl seeking permission to transmit it.

“Be” and the Endless Chain Argument

Allah تعالى said: إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ… أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ, “His command… is only that He says to it: Be, and it is.” (Ya Sin: 82) and: إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا… أَنْ نَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ, “Our statement… is only that We say to it: Be, and it is.” (al Nahl: 40) and: وَإِذَا قَضَى أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ, “When He decrees a matter, He only says to it: Be, and it is.” (al Baqarah: 117)

Ijmaʿ is stated that the muhdath does not come into being by itself, nor by the act of another muhdath, rather it exists only by the creating of the Creator. Once Allah clarified that bringing into being is by His saying “Be”, it is not permissible to seek another meaning against what He clarified.

If speech were created, its existence would not be permissible except by saying “Be” to it. Then “Be” would also require another statement before it, without end. An endless chain collapses in both reason and transmitted proof. This meaning is reinforced with the quote from Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah in al Safadiyyah, 2/121, using (Ya Sin: 82) as proof that Allah’s speech is not created, since making “Be” created would require “Be” before it without end.

This way is connected to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s argument in this issue, as Abu Bakr al Athram is mentioned reporting that Ahmad argued with the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbas, “The first thing Allah created was the Pen. He only created the Pen by His saying: Be.”

Allah’s Words Do Not Run Out, So Newness Is Negated From Them

Allah تعالى said: مَا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ, “The words of Allah would not be exhausted.” (Luqman: 27) and: لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنْفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي, “The sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord are exhausted.” (al Kahf: 109) Allah clarified that His words do not run out, so newness is negated from them, because created things come to an end, as indicated by the Qur’an verse.

“In a preserved tablet” and Precedence Over Created Containers

Allah تعالى said: بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَجِيدٌ ۝ فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ, “Rather, it is a noble Qur’an, in a preserved tablet.” (al Buruj: 21 to 22)

It is known that the Qur’an verses came before the created things in which the Qur’an was sent down, and before their times. Once this is established as permissible, judging that it comes before every created thing is permissible, since no difference is claimed between created things in reason or transmitted proof.

Speech Remains After Creation Perishes

Allah تعالى said: لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ, “To whom belongs the dominion today. To Allah, the One, the Overpowering.” (Ghafir: 16) This is connected to the report that Allah will say this when He causes creation to perish, and He will answer Himself with the Qur’an verse, with reports traced through Ibn ʿAbbas (al Darimi, al Radd ʿala al Jahmiyyah, 142; ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad, al Sunnah, 2/393; Ibn Battah, al Ibanah al Kubra, 3/333; al Bayhaqi, al Sunan al Kubra, 5/9; Majmaʿ al Zawaʾid, 7/190).

Speech remains when creation perishes, so speech is not created. This is connected to the argument of Abu Bakr al Athram, with the statement, “This proves that speech remains after creation perishes. If it were created, it would perish.”

Allah Speaks to Human Beings in the Ways Mentioned

Allah تعالى said: وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَنْ يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولًا, “It is not for any human being that Allah speaks to him except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or that He sends a messenger.” (al Shura: 51)

This includes speech from behind a veil as speech by His essence, not merely making someone understand, and not limited to conveying through a mediator. This is counted among the clearest proofs for denying newness from the speech of Allah.

The Qur’an Is From Allah’s Knowledge, and Knowledge Is Not Created

Imam Ahmad’s proof is mentioned: “The Qur’an is the knowledge of Allah, and His knowledge is not created.”

Proof is taken from: الرَّحْمَنُ ۝ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْءَانَ, “The Most Merciful taught the Qur’an.” (al Rahman: 1 to 2)

Further support is placed with Qur’an verses where “knowledge” is understood as the Qur’an in tafsir, such as: وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ, “And if desires are followed after the knowledge that has come.” (al Baqarah: 120)

and: مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ الْعِلْمُ, “After the knowledge that has come.” (al Baqarah: 145)

and: بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ, “After knowledge came to them.” (al Shura: 14)

Calling the Qur’an “knowledge” does not merge knowledge and speech into one attribute. Allah’s knowledge encompasses everything, as in: أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ, “Does He who created not know.” (al Mulk: 14)

Knowledge is not called speech. Naming the Qur’an “knowledge” is naming it with an additional name, just as it is named guidance, clarification, book, criterion, sending down, Qur’an, proof, light, cure, reminder, spirit, and mercy, by the text.

Allah’s words do not run out, so speech exists beyond what was sent down and preserved. Allah’s knowledge does not run out, and creation does not encompass it, as in: وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ, “They do not encompass anything of His knowledge except what He wills.” (al Baqarah: 255)

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Establishing the Proof for Denying Creation Of the Qur’an

Allah تعالى said:

أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ

“Unquestionably, for Him is creation and command.” (al Aʿraf 54)

So He distinguished between them, and that requires, by what is apparent, that the command is not created, and the command is the Qur’an.

And He said:

الرَّحْمَنُ ۝ عَلَمَ الْقُرْءَانَ ۝ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ ۝ عَلَمَهُ الْبَيَانَ

“The Most Merciful taught the Qur’an. He created man. He taught him clear speech.” (al Rahman 1–4)

So He also made them distinct, and that shows denying newness (it does not come into existence in the way created things do) from the Qur’an.

And He threatened the one who said:

إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ

“This is nothing but the statement of a human being.” (al Muddaththir 25)

With His saying:

سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ

“I will drive him into Saqar.” (al Muddaththir 26)

And there is no doubt that the Qur’an is a statement, and Allah says:

إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا

“Indeed, We will cast upon you a weighty statement.” (al Muzammil 5)

And He said:

فَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَقَّ أَقُولُ

“So the truth, and the truth I say.” (Sad 84)

A statement only comes from the essence of a speaker, so when it is negated that it is from creation, it is established that it is from the Creator.

And Allah تعالى said:

قَالَ يَا مُوسَى إِنِّي اصْطَفَيْتُكَ عَلَى النَّاسِ بِرِسَالَاتِي وَبِكَلَامِي فَخُذْ مَا آتَيْتُكَ وَكُنْ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ

“He said: O Moses عليه السلام, indeed I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My speech, so take what I have given you and be among the grateful.” (al Aʿraf 144)

And He said:

وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا

“And Allah spoke to Moses عليه السلام with direct speech.” (al Nisa 164)

And He said:

مِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ

“Among them are those to whom Allah spoke.” (al Baqarah 253)

And He said:

وَلَمَّا جَاءَ مُوسَى لِمِيقَاتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ

“And when Moses عليه السلام came to Our appointed time, and his Lord spoke to him.” (al Aʿraf 143)

And He said:

وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

“And Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection.” (al Baqarah 174)

And He said in another surah:

وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

“And Allah will not speak to them, nor look at them, on the Day of Resurrection.” (Al ʿImran 77)

And He said:

فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ

“So grant him protection until he hears the speech of Allah.” (al Tawbah 6)

And He said:

أَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّهُ لَا يُكَلِّمُهُمْ وَلَا يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلًا

“Do they not see that it does not speak to them, and does not guide them to a way.” (al Aʿraf 148)

And He said:

أَفَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَلَّا يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ قَوْلًا

“Do they not see that it does not return to them any speech.” (Ta Ha 89)

And He said:

وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا رَجُلَيْنِ أَحَدُهُمَا أَبْكَمُ لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ كَلٌّ عَلَى مَوْلَاهُ أَيْنَمَا يُوَجِّهْهُ لَا يَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي هُوَ وَمَنْ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَهُوَ عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“And Allah gives an example of two men. One of them is mute and cannot do anything, and he is a burden upon his master. Wherever he directs him, he brings no good. Is he equal to one who commands justice and is upon a straight path.” (al Nahl 76) (In tafsir it is said that the “mute” here means the idol. A marginal note about the wording was not fixed because dampness and wetness covered it, and it is not unlikely that the intended wording was: “In tafsir, the mute mentioned here…”. It was said by Qatadah. See Tafsir ʿAbd al Razzaq, 2/274, and Jamiʿ al Bayan of al Tabari, 14/312.)

It clarified that it has no power and no command, while another makes it and carves it, so it is a burden upon him. Allah is the One who commands justice, able over everything, and His path is straight.

They are not equal. Rather, Allah is deserving of worship, because He created it, and it is binding upon them to single Him out, and not take any god besides Him. In this is blame of the one who worships what cannot bring forth speech. So by that, it became clear that speech is from the attributes of praise.

And in what came before, of the two expressions, meaning “speech” and “statement”, in the Qur’an verses recited at the beginning of the chapter, there is proof for us from ways.

The first is that He brought the verbal noun in His saying:

وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا

“And Allah spoke to Moses عليه السلام with direct speech.” (al Nisa 164)

To remove doubt, so it is known that it is speech from one who speaks to one spoken to. This is the saying of Abu al ʿAbbas Ahmad ibn Yahya al Shaybani Thaʿlab in its meaning, and he is an authority in this field. (Meaning, in the Arabic language. Thaʿlab was the leading Arabist of Baghdad, the imam of the Kufans in grammar, author of al Fasih and other works. He died in 291 AH, and he was from the students of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Ismaʿil ibn Muhammad al Saffar said: “I heard Thaʿlab say: If Allah تعالى had not singled out the act with the verbal noun, it could have been as one of us says to another: I spoke to so and so for you, meaning: I wrote to him about him, or I sent to him a messenger. But when He said: ‘and direct speech’, it could only be heard speech from Allah.” See: Manhaj Thaʿlab fi Taqrir al ʿAqidah within the book Manahij al Lughawiyyin fi Taqrir al ʿAqidah ila Nihayat al Qarn al Rabiʿ al Hijri, by Muhammad al Shaykh ʿAliyu Muhammad, 306–310.)

The second is that He blamed them for believing in what cannot bring forth speech and statement from its own essence, so it became clear that both occur from Him.

The third is that He threatened people that He will not speak to them, so it is known that there is speech.

And there have come established reports confirming this meaning.

The fourth is that the text and ijmaʿ (consensus) have both been found that the Qur’an is speech, and speech must be attached to a speaker. It has been negated that the Qur’an is the speech of other than Allah, so it is necessary that it is attached to His essence, and the ruling is that it is His speech, as He said.

And Allah تعالى said:

قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ ذِي عِوَجٍ

“An Arabic Qur’an, without crookedness.” (al Zumar 28)

And it is reported from Ibn ʿAbbas that in his tafsir it is “not created”. (Reported by al Ajurri in al Shariʿah, 14/495, and Ibn Battah in al Ibanah, 5/288, through Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad ibn Fudayl: ʿAbd Allah ibn Salih, Abu Salih the scribe of al Layth, narrated to us: Abu Salih Muʿawiyah ibn Salih narrated to us, from ʿAli ibn Abi Talhah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, regarding His saying: “An Arabic Qur’an, without crookedness”, he said: “Not created.” Its chain is acceptable.

The narration of ʿAli ibn Abi Talhah from Ibn ʿAbbas is a well known written compilation that was with Abu Salih the scribe of al Layth, and al Bukhari selected from it items from the tafsir of Ibn ʿAbbas.

Ibn Hajar said in Fath al Bari, 8/438: this copy was with Abu Salih the scribe of al Layth, he narrated it from Muʿawiyah ibn Salih from ʿAli ibn Abi Talhah from Ibn ʿAbbas, and it is with al Bukhari from Abu Salih, and he relied on it often in his Sahih in what he quoted as suspended reports from Ibn ʿAbbas in tafsir.

Then Ibn Abi Talhah was followed from Ibn ʿAbbas by Saʿid ibn Jubayr with Abu al Layth in Bahr al ʿUlum, 3/184, and by Mak hul with al Lalakaʾi in Sharh Usul Iʿtiqad Ahl al Sunnah, 2/241.

Abu Salih, the scribe of al Layth, though he made many mistakes, was followed from Muʿawiyah ibn Salih by Ibn Wahb with Ibn Battah in al Ibanah, 5/288, and by Abu Harun Ismaʿil ibn Muhammad al Jabrini with al Bayhaqi in al Asmaʾ wa al Sifat, 1/950, and with al Wahidi in al Wasit, 580.

Abu Harun al Jabrini, even though he was accused of lying and stealing hadith, a liar may still speak truth. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was pleased with this report from Ibn ʿAbbas.

Hamawayh ibn Yunus, one of its narrators as found with al Ajurri and Ibn Battah, said: This hadith reached Ahmad ibn Hanbal, so he wrote to Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad ibn Fudayl asking him to grant permission to transmit it, and he granted him permission.

Ahmad was pleased with this hadith and said: How did this hadith from ʿAbd Allah ibn Salih escape me. It may be that these follow ups are what led the author to say here: It is reported from Ibn ʿAbbas through an acceptable way in his tafsir that it is not created.)

And He said:

إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ

“His command, when He wills a thing, is only that He says to it: Be, and it is.” (Ya Sin 82)

And He said:

إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا لِشَيْءٍ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَنْ نَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ

“Our statement to a thing, when We will it, is only that We say to it: Be, and it is.” (al Nahl 40)

And He said:

بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِذَا قَضَى أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ

“Originator of the heavens and the earth, and when He decrees a matter, He only says to it: Be, and it is.” (al Baqarah 117)

And there is ijmaʿ that what is muhdath (a created thing) does not come into being by itself, nor by the act of a muhdath like it.

Rather, it only exists by the creating of a Creator who is eternal, and that alone. So when the eternal One has clarified for us the way of bringing into being, it is not permissible to push it away and seek another meaning against what He clarified.

Allah has informed us in His Book, whose proof is certain, that when He wills a thing He says to it: “Be.”

So it is not permissible that any muhdath exists except by His saying: “Be,” just as it is not permissible that the muhdath exists except that the eternal One is willing.

(Calling Allah “the Eternal” in this context falls under the category of informing, similar to speaking about His authority as eternal. A number of the people of hadith and narrations were lenient regarding such wording. This was clarified by Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah in Majmuʿ al Fatawa 9/300–301 and Minhaj al Sunnah al Nabawiyyah 2/123, and by Ibn al Qayyim in Badaʾiʿ al Fawaʾid 1/285, among others.

However, to treat it as one of the most beautiful names of Allah, by which He is formally called, as some of the theologians did, has no support in the Book or the authentic Sunnah. The name “al Awwal” is sufficient. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ spoke the truth when he said: “You are the First, so there is nothing before You.”)

So there is no difference between them in what is apparent. If speech were created, then its existence would not be permissible, by the text, except that it is said to it: “Be.”

And likewise, His saying: “Be” would not exist except by another statement before it, without end.

When objection becomes an endless chain, it collapses in both the way of reason and the way of transmitted proof. (Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah increased this in clarity when he said in al Safadiyyah, 2/121: “For this reason, more than one from the imams of the Muslims used His saying تعالى: ‘His command, when He wills a thing, is only that He says to it: Be, and it is’ (Ya Sin 82) as proof that the speech of Allah is not created, because the text shows that He does not create a thing until He says to it: Be, and it is.

If ‘ Kun (Be)’ were created, it would follow that He creates it by ‘Be’, and likewise this would have to be created by another word, and that requires an endless chain in the origin of creation, meaning an endless chain in causation, and that is impossible in itself.”)

And it is not permissible to carry this on what is not truly described as willing, like a wall and other lifeless things, and some animals, because of the clear difference.

And this way is from what Abu ʿAbd Allah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal used to argue with in this issue. Abu Bakr al Athram mentioned in Kitab al Sunnah that Ahmad used to argue with the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbas: “The first thing Allah created was the Pen.

He only created the Pen by His saying: Be.” So the priority of the statement over created things is established. (Kitab al Sunnah by Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al Athram, who died around 260 AH, was in the pattern of the early books of creed that gathered the belief of the people of hadith and narrations, like al Sunnah of his Shaykh Imam Ahmad, and of his son ʿAbd Allah, and of al Khallal, and of al Marwazi, and many others. Most of them were with chains.

The book of al Athram is among what was lost from his heritage, and many good quotations from it remain in the books of later writers. If a researcher gathered them, it would be valuable.

There is also a published piece from his book al Sunan, edited by ʿAmir Hasan Sabri, containing fiqh chapters about purification with chains for hadith, narrations, and statements, and it seems to be a different book, not connected to Kitab al Sunnah that is quoted here.)

And Allah تعالى said:

وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلَامٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ مَا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ

“And if whatever trees are in the earth were pens, and the sea, with seven seas after it, were to supply it, the words of Allah would not be exhausted.” (Luqman 27)

And He said:

قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنْفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَدًا

“Say: If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord are exhausted, even if We brought its like as a supply.” (al Kahf 109)

So He clarified that His words do not run out, so origination (like creation) is negated from them, because all created things come to an end, as mentioned in the Qur’an verse.

And He said:

بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَجِيدٌ ۝ فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ

“Rather, it is a noble Qur’an, in a preserved tablet.” (al Buruj 21–22)

So it is known that the Qur’an verses came before the created things in which the Qur’an was sent down, and before their times.

When that is established as permissible, judging that it comes before every created thing is permissible, because there is no difference between them in reason or in transmitted proof.

And Allah تعالى said:

لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

“To whom belongs the dominion today. To Allah, the One, the Overpowering.” (Ghafir 16)

And it clarified that He will say this when He causes all creation to perish, and He will answer Himself with what is in the Qur’an verse. (Reported by al Darimi in al Radd ʿala al Jahmiyyah, 142, and by ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad in al Sunnah, 2/393, and by Ibn Battah in al Ibanah al Kubra, 3/333, and by al Bayhaqi in al Sunan al Kubra, 5/9, and others, through chains from ʿAbd Allah ibn al Mubarak: Rabah ibn Zayd reported from ʿUmar ibn Habib, from al Qasim ibn Abi Bazzah, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, as a marfuʿ report.

Al Haythami said in Majmaʿ al Zawaʾid, 7/190: “Reported by al Bazzar and its men are trustworthy.” It is also reported from Ibn ʿAbbas as a mawquf report with the ruling of being marfuʿ, and it has many supporting reports.

Al Albani gathered them in al Silsilah al Sahihah, and al Basarah mentioned them in Anis al Sari. See also the argument of Imam Ahmad with this report against the claim that the Qur’an is created, in al Ibanah of Ibn Battah, and in al Shariʿah of al Ajurri, and others.)

So the existence of speech with the absence of creation becomes clear. It must be attached to a speaker, and that is Allah, who remains after the creation perishes.

This is how Abu Bakr al Athram used to argue in this issue, and he used to say: “This proves that speech remains after creation perishes. If it were created, it would perish.”

And Allah جلت عظمته said:

وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَنْ يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولًا فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَاءُ

“It is not for any human being that Allah speaks to him except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or that He sends a messenger who reveals, by His permission, what He wills.” (al Shura 51)

So it clarified the permissibility of His speaking to human beings by His essence from behind the veil, and that is not merely making someone understand, nor by conveying through a mediator, because the Qur’an verse contains all the ways. This is from the clearest proof for denying newness (it does not come into existence in the way created things do) from the speech of Allah.

And from correct consideration that is not rejected: there is no disagreement about the existence of One who is eternal, knowing, wise, living, willing, able, commanding, hearing, seeing, doing perfectly made things, aware of events, encompassing them in knowledge from every way. Reason and revelation match on this.

So it is not permissible that it differs in the One described with what was mentioned being a speaker by His essence, because what is witnessed requires that, and the text has come with it at the place of dispute. What has been mentioned is enough to establish what has been chosen.

As for the doubts of the opponents about mentioning bodily parts, exits of letters, and succession, it may be mentioned, with Allah’s help, later, what removes them, if Allah wills.

In the Qur’an there are many Qur’an verses that can be used as proof for the correctness of what has been said, but they were left here, being content with what was brought.

And from what Ahmad used as proof in this issue is his saying: “The Qur’an is the knowledge of Allah, and His knowledge is not created.” He used as proof His saying:

الرَّحْمَنُ ۝ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْءَانَ

“The Most Merciful taught the Qur’an.” (al Rahman 1–2)

So it is clear that it is from His knowledge. (This is from the fine proofs used by Imam Ahmad in the trial when debating Ibn Abi Duʾad and others in the gathering of al Maʾmun. Abu Talib Ahmad ibn Humayd al Faqih said, as in al Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 6/249: Ahmad ibn Hanbal said to me: “O Abu Talib, nothing is harder on them than what I put upon them when they debated me. I said to them: Is the knowledge of Allah created.

They said: No. I said: The knowledge of Allah is the Qur’an. Allah said: ‘And if anyone argues with you about it after knowledge has come to you’ and He said: ‘And if you follow their desires after knowledge has come to you’.”

This is in the Qur’an in more than one place. The imam’s saying “the knowledge of Allah is the Qur’an” means interpreting the word “knowledge” in those Qur’an verses, otherwise the great Qur’an is from the knowledge of Allah, and it is not all His knowledge.

The author will make this clear shortly after. See: al Sunnah of ʿAbd Allah, and al Shariʿah of al Ajurri, and al Ibanah of Ibn Battah, and Sharh Usul Iʿtiqad Ahl al Sunnah of al Lalakaʾi.)

And in the Qur’an, supporting this meaning, beyond what was already mentioned, is His saying تعالى:

وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

“And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, there is for you, against Allah, no protector and no helper.” (al Baqarah 120)

And He said:

وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ الْعِلْمُ إِنَّكَ إِذًا لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, then you would be among the wrongdoers.” (al Baqarah 145)

And what is meant by it is the Qur’an, as has been said in tafsir.

And Allah تعالى said, when mentioning those who came before:

وَمَا تَفَرَّقُوا إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ

“They did not split except after knowledge came to them, out of wrongdoing between them.” (al Shura 14)

And what came to them was the Torah, the Gospel, the Zabur, and the scrolls.

And what has been said does not harm, along with affirming, when mentioning the attributes, knowledge and speech together.

So it is said: If it is said: “The Qur’an is His knowledge,” that does not make the two attributes one. It is known that the knowledge of Allah encompasses everything, as He says:

أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ

“Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Aware.” (al Mulk 14)

And this is not called speech. So if His speech is called knowledge, there is nothing in it beyond naming the Qur’an with an additional name, and that does not weaken what Ahmad said and what has been said. The two attributes do not become one.

And this is like saying: Allah is a speaker from eternity, and the Qur’an, the Torah, the Gospel, the Zabur, and the scrolls are His speech, and that does not require, upon this understanding, that His speech is limited to these books and scrolls.

He already said that His words do not run out, rather these books are His speech as He said, and He has speech that He did not send down, and He did not make for His creation a way to hear it and preserve it. (It may be a noble text from the Torah, or the Gospel, or other revealed books besides the Qur’an.)

Likewise, the Qur’an is His knowledge, and the Torah and the rest of the books, as the text requires, and He has knowledge that does not run out and creation does not encompass it. Do you not see that He said:

وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ

“They do not encompass anything of His knowledge except what He wills.” (al Baqarah 255)

And since it is permissible that the Qur’an is called guidance, clarification, book, criterion, sending down, Qur’an, proof, light, cure, brightness, reminder, spirit, mercy, by the text, it is permissible that it is called knowledge by the text. There is no difference between that.

And it has been reported from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and from his companions رضي الله عنهم, and from the followers, and from the imams of guidance, what agrees with what has been mentioned, of denying creation from the speech of Allah.

Seeking refuge in Allah from opposing the Book and the Sunnah, leaving following and taking as a guide, and moving forward upon invention and innovation.

Kitab al-Ibānah by Imam al-Sijzī 2/135–145