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The Position Of Imam al Bukhari And Imam Ahmad On Lafdh
Imam Ahmad’s Clear Rejection Of Speaking About Lafdh Or Tilawah In A General Way
al Bukhari Denied That He Said His Lafdh Of The Qur’an Was Created
The Actions Of The Servants Are Created, But What Is Recited Is Not Created
What Was Attributed To al Bukhari And His Denial Of It
Some Of al Bukhari’s Contemporaries Erred In This Issue
Why al Bukhari Gave More Detail Than Imam Ahmad
The First Reason
The Second Reason
The Third Reason
The Fourth Reason
Points Of Clarification
The First Point Of Clarification
The Second Point Of Clarification
The Third Point Of Clarification
The Fourth Point Of Clarification
The Fifth Point Of Clarification
Summary
The Correct Position Of al Bukhari On Lafdh
Imam al Bukhari (d. 256AH) did not believe that the Qur’an itself is created, nor did he say, “My lafdh (utterance) of the Qur’an is created.” His position was that the actions of the servants are created, such as their voices, movements, writing, and recitation, while the Qur’an itself, which is recited, heard, written, and preserved, is Kalam Allah (the speech of Allah) and is not created.
This is the same position as Imam Ahmad (d. 241AH). The difference is only in method and level of detail. Imam Ahmad was stronger and more direct in closing the door against the lafdhiyyah (those who spoke about utterance in a misleading way), while al Bukhari explained the matter in more detail because a need arose in his time.
The main distinction is between tilawah (recitation) and matlu (what is recited), and between lafdh (utterance) and malfuz (what is uttered).
The servant’s reciting, voice, movement, and writing are created. The Qur’an being recited, uttered, heard, and written is not created.
Imam Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751AH) said: “This is the saying of the Salaf, the imams of the Sunnah, and the hadith imams. They distinguish between what stands with the servant and what stands with the Lord…” Then he said: “This is the madhhab of Imam al Bukhari, the madhhab of Imam Ahmad, their companions, and the rest of Ahl al Sunnah. So al Bukhari’s distinction and his differentiation were hidden from a group of Ahl al Sunnah and hadith.” (Mukhtasar al Sawaʿiq al Mursalah, Ibn al Qayyim, p. 510.)
Why Saying “My Lafdh Of The Qur’an Is Created” Was Rejected
Imam Ahmad rejected speaking about lafdh or tilawah in a general way, whether by saying it is created or not created. The reason is that these words can carry more than one meaning. They can mean the action of the servant, which is created. They can also mean the Qur’an itself, which is not created.
For this reason, a general statement could be used to hide a false belief. The lafdhiyyah would say, “Our lafdh of the Qur’an is created,” while intending to reach the saying that the Qur’an itself is created. Imam Ahmad therefore closed the door and rejected this kind of wording.
Imam Ahmad said: “The Jahmiyyah split into three groups. One group said: the Qur’an is created. One group said: it is Allah’s speech, and then remained silent. One group said: our lafdh of the Qur’an is created. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said in His Book:
فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ
“So grant him protection until he hears the speech of Allah.” (al Tawbah 6)
So Jibril heard it from Allah, the Prophet ﷺ heard it from Jibril, and the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ heard it from the Prophet. Therefore, the Qur’an is the speech of Allah and is not created.” (Dhikr Mihnat al Imam Ahmad bi Riwayat Salih, p. 72. al Ibanah al Kubra, Ibn Battah, 5/297, no. 72. al Sunnah, al Khallal, 5/125, no. 1777. al Hujjah fi Bayan al Mahajjah, al Asbahani, 1/420.)
ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad (d. 290AH) also reported that Imam Ahmad disliked that anyone speak about lafdh by saying it is created or not created. (al Sunnah, ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad, 1/165, no. 186.)
al Bukhari’s Own Denial Of The Claim
The claim that al Bukhari said, “My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,” is directly rejected by al Bukhari himself. He made clear that he only meant that the actions of the servants are created.
Ibn Hajar (d. 852AH) said: “It is established from al Bukhari that he said: Whoever reports from me that I said, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ has lied. I only said: the actions of the servants are created.” (Fath al Bari, Ibn Hajar, 13/503.)
Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728AH) said: “It has been established from him through a sound chain that he said: Whoever says about me that I said, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ has lied.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/572.)
Al Dhahabi (d. 748AH) also made the same point. He said that al Bukhari did not say, “Our utterances of the Qur’an are created.” Rather, al Bukhari said that people’s movements, voices, and actions are created, while the Qur’an that is heard, recited, uttered, and written in the masahif is Kalam Allah (the speech of Allah), not created. (Siyar Aʿlam al Nubala, al Dhahabi, 11/510.)
al Bukhari’s Positive Position
Al Bukhari clearly separated between the servant’s action and the Qur’an itself. He said: “Their movements, their voices, their earning, and their writing are created. As for the Qur’an that is recited, made clear, fixed in the mushaf, written, recorded, and preserved in the hearts, then it is the speech of Allah and is not created.”
He then quoted Allah’s saying:
بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ
“Rather, it is clear verses in the hearts of those who were given knowledge.” (al ʿAnkabut 49)
(Khalq Afʿal al ʿIbad, al Bukhari, p. 47.)
This proves that al Bukhari’s view was not that the Qur’an is created. His view was that the servant’s recitation is created, while the Qur’an being recited is not created. This is the exact distinction that later imams clarified: the action of the reciter is created, but Kalam Allah (the speech of Allah) is not created.
The Same Meaning Is Found From Imam Ahmad
Imam Ahmad also affirmed that the actions of the servants are created, while the Qur’an itself is not created. He said: “The Qur’an, however it is expressed in its statements and actions, is not created. As for our actions, they are created.” When asked whether the lafdhiyyah should be counted among the Jahmiyyah, he replied: “No. The Jahmiyyah are those who said: the Qur’an is created.” (Reported by al Hakim as found in Siyar Aʿlam al Nubala, al Dhahabi, 11/291.)
This shows that Imam Ahmad understood the difference between the created action of the servant and the uncreated Qur’an. But he still disliked general wording about lafdh because it could mislead people and open the door to the saying of the Jahmiyyah.
Why Some Scholars Thought al Bukhari Held The Created Lafdh View
Some scholars misunderstood al Bukhari because of a statement he made when asked about lafdh of the Qur’an. He said: “Our actions are created, and our utterances are from our actions.” Some who heard this thought he meant, “My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,” while others rejected that understanding. (Siyar Aʿlam al Nubala, al Dhahabi, 12/458. Hady al Sari, Ibn Hajar, p. 490.)
The error spread for several reasons.
First, al Bukhari did not become widely known for strongly rejecting the lafdhiyyah, even though he was accused of their saying. Since he avoided speaking too much about this matter, the accusation continued.
Second, some of his contemporaries already believed that the lafdh of the Qur’an was not created. So when al Bukhari said that the servant’s utterance is from the servant’s action, they saw this as opposition to their own view.
Third, some envy also entered the matter. Al Bukhari had great fame, people gathered around him, and his rank became widely known. This caused resentment from some people of his time. Ibn al Qayyim said that a hidden envy against al Bukhari helped spread the trial, because Allah had spread love and acceptance for him among people. (Mukhtasar al Sawaʿiq al Mursalah, Ibn al Qayyim, p. 510.)
Fourth, the wording itself was delicate. Since the word lafdh could mean the servant’s action or the Qur’an itself, people who did not carefully separate the meanings fell into confusion.
Which Scholars Misunderstood Or Opposed al Bukhari
Among those who did not understand al Bukhari’s intent, or were counted among those who rejected him in this issue, were Muhammad ibn Yahya al Dhuhli (d. 258AH), Abu Zurʿah al Razi (d. 264AH), Abu Hatim al Razi (d. 277AH), Abu Bakr al Aʿyan, and others. Al Dhahabi mentioned that they rejected al Bukhari and did not understand his aim. (Siyar Aʿlam al Nubala, al Dhahabi, 11/510.)
Abu Hatim al Razi said: “The lafdh and the malfuz, the recitation and what is recited, are one. It is not created.” (al Hujjah fi Bayan al Mahajjah, al Asbahani, 1/420.)
Abu Saʿid al Ashajj (d. 257AH) also said: “The Qur’an is the speech of Allah and is not created. Our lafdh of it is not created. It is through our lafdh and is not created. It is in our chests and is not created. What we recite in our prayer niches is not created.” (al Hujjah fi Bayan al Mahajjah, al Asbahani, 1/421.)
This shows that some people went to the opposite extreme. In trying to reject the Jahmiyyah, they made the servant’s lafdh, voice, and recitation sound as if they were not created. Al Bukhari corrected this by separating between the servant’s created action and the uncreated Qur’an.
Later Scholars Who Attributed The Opposite View To Ahmad
Ibn Taymiyyah explained that later groups affiliated with the Sunnah and with Imam Ahmad also said, “Our lafdh of the Qur’an is not created.” Among them were Abu ʿAbd Allah ibn Mandah (d. 395AH), Abu Nasr al Sijzi (d. 444AH), Abu Ismaʿil al Ansari (d. 481AH), Abu al ʿAla al Hamadhani (d. 569AH), and others. They claimed this was the saying of Ahmad, rejected the narration of Abu Talib, or claimed that Ahmad had returned from it. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/207.)
Ibn Taymiyyah rejected this. He said that the people most knowledgeable of Ahmad and closest to him were the ones who transmitted that Ahmad rejected both sides. The people of Iraq knew Ahmad’s statements better than the people of Khurasan, because they were closer to him and more connected to his direct students. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/207.)
He also said that al Bukhari and those like him were among the most knowledgeable people concerning the saying of Ahmad and the imams of the Sunnah. He said that those who claimed Ahmad said, “My lafdh of the Qur’an is not created,” brought narrations that were undoubtedly false. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 7/659.)
Why al Bukhari Gave More Detail Than Ahmad
Imam Ahmad was mainly facing the Jahmiyyah, who openly said the Qur’an is created. So his strongest response was against anyone whose wording could lead to that false belief.
Al Bukhari, however, faced another problem. Some people had gone too far in the opposite direction and said that the servant’s lafdh, recitation, writing, and even ink were not created. Because of that, al Bukhari gave more detail. He explained that voices, movements, writing, and actions are created, while the Qur’an itself is not created.
Ibn Taymiyyah explained that Ahmad rejected both sayings, but his rejection of the group saying “created” was more famous because they were the main trial of his time. When al Bukhari was tested by the opposite side, his rejection of them appeared in his chapter headings and in Khalq Afʿal al ʿIbad. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/433.)
The Balanced Sunni Position
The balanced position is neither the saying of the Jahmiyyah nor the opposite excess.
The wrong saying is to say generally, “My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,” because this can include the Qur’an itself and lead to the saying that Kalam Allah (the speech of Allah) is created.
The other wrong saying is to say generally, “My lafdh of the Qur’an is not created,” because this can make the servant’s voice, movement, and action seem uncreated.
The correct position is to distinguish. The servant’s action is created. The Qur’an itself is not created. The tilawah (recitation) as an action of the servant is created, while the matlu (what is recited) is not created. The lafdh (utterance) as the servant’s act is created, while the malfuz (what is uttered), meaning the Qur’an itself, is not created.
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “None of the Salaf and the imams said that the voices of the servants when reciting the Qur’an are not created or eternal. None of them said that the ink with which the Qur’an is written is eternal or not created.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/210.)
He also explained that whoever says the speech of Allah sent down upon the Prophet ﷺ is created is a Jahmi, while whoever says that the servant’s voice, movement, action, or ink is eternal or uncreated is a misguided mubtadiʿ. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/210.)
Conclusion
Al Bukhari’s position was the position of Ahl al Sunnah. He did not say that the Qur’an is created, nor did he say that his lafdh of the Qur’an is created. He only said that the actions of the servants are created. His wording was misunderstood because the issue was delicate, because some contemporaries held an opposing view, because he avoided lengthy public speech about the matter, and because envy helped spread the accusation.
The clearest proof of his position is his own statement: “Whoever reports from me that I said, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ has lied. I only said: the actions of the servants are created.” (Fath al Bari, Ibn Hajar, 13/503.)
His actual creed is that the Qur’an is Kalam Allah (the speech of Allah), not created. The servant’s recitation, voice, writing, and movement are created. This is the same distinction affirmed by Imam Ahmad, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al Qayyim, and the imams of Ahl al Sunnah.
Research by ʿAbdul ʿAzīz al Rayyis Translated
The Position Of Imam al Bukhari And Imam Ahmad On Lafdh
The madhhab of Imam al Bukhari (d. 256AH) is like the madhhab of Imam Ahmad (d. 241AH) regarding lafdh (utterance). There is no difference between them. It is the madhhab of Ahl al Sunnah, except that Imam Ahmad was clearer in rejecting the lafdhiyyah, while al Bukhari gave more detail and explanation that the actions of the servants, such as uttering, reciting, and ink, are created, but not what is uttered and not what is recited. This was due to the need in his time.
Both of them believed that one should not simply say, “Our utterances and our recitations of the Qur’an are created,” nor simply say, “Our utterances and our recitations of the Qur’an are not created.” Rather, they differentiated between the tilawah (recitation) and the matlu (what is recited), and between the lafdh (utterance) and the malfuz (what is uttered).
Imam Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751AH) said: “This is the saying of the Salaf, the imams of the Sunnah, and the hadith imams. They distinguish between what stands with the servant and what stands with the Lord…” Then he said: “This is the madhhab of Imam al Bukhari, the madhhab of Imam Ahmad, their companions, and the rest of Ahl al Sunnah. So al Bukhari’s distinction and his differentiation were hidden from a group of Ahl al Sunnah and hadith.” (Mukhtasar al Sawaʿiq al Mursalah, Ibn al Qayyim, p. 510.)
Imam Ahmad’s Clear Rejection Of Speaking About Lafdh Or Tilawah In A General Way
The speech of Imam Ahmad is clear in rejecting whoever spoke about lafdh or tilawah alone, claiming that it is created or not created. I do not know of anything from Ahmad in which he declared misguided the one who distinguished between the tilawah and the matlu, although he closed the door, as will come, due to a wisdom.
He said: “The Jahmiyyah split into three groups. One group said: the Qur’an is created. One group said: it is Allah’s speech, and then remained silent. One group said: our lafdh of the Qur’an is created. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said in His Book:
فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ
“So grant him protection until he hears the speech of Allah.” (al Tawbah 6)
So Jibril heard it from Allah, the Prophet ﷺ heard it from Jibril, and the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ heard it from the Prophet. Therefore, the Qur’an is the speech of Allah and is not created.” (Dhikr Mihnat al Imam Ahmad bi Riwayat Salih, p. 72. al Ibanah al Kubra, Ibn Battah, 5/297, no. 72. al Sunnah, al Khallal, 5/125, no. 1777. al Hujjah fi Bayan al Mahajjah, al Asbahani, 1/420.)
ʿAbd Allah said: “I asked my father, may Allah have mercy on him. I said: What do you say about a man who says: the tilawah is created, our utterances of the Qur’an are created, and the Qur’an is the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and is not created? What do you think about avoiding him? Is he called a mubtadiʿ (person of innovation)? He said: ‘This person is to be kept away from. This is the saying of the mubtadiʿ. This is the speech of the Jahmiyyah. The Qur’an is not created.’ Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited:
هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ
“It is He who sent down upon you the Book. From it are clear verses. They are the foundation of the Book.” (Al ʿImran 7)
So the Qur’an is not created.” (al Sunnah, ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad, 1/163, no. 178. Sahih al Bukhari 4547. Sahih Muslim 2665.)
ʿAbd Allah said: “My father, may Allah have mercy on him, disliked speaking about lafdh in any way, or saying that it is created or not created.” (al Sunnah, ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad, 1/165, no. 186.)
al Bukhari Denied That He Said His Lafdh Of The Qur’an Was Created
Ibn Hajar (d. 852AH) said: “It is established from al Bukhari that he said: Whoever reports from me that I said, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ has lied. I only said: the actions of the servants are created.” (Fath al Bari, Ibn Hajar, 13/503.)
Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728AH) said: “Except that some people with an aim attributed to al Bukhari that he said this. It has been established from him through a sound chain that he said: Whoever says about me that I said, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ has lied.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/572.)
Al Dhahabi (d. 748AH) said in al Siyar: “As for al Bukhari, he was one of the great intelligent imams. He said: I did not say: our utterances of the Qur’an are created. Rather, their movements, voices, and actions are created. The Qur’an that is heard, recited, uttered, and written in the masahif is the speech of Allah and is not created. He wrote a volume on that, the book Khalq Afʿal al ʿIbad. A group rejected him and did not understand his intent, such as al Dhuhli, Abu Zurʿah, Abu Hatim, Abu Bakr al Aʿyan, and others.” (Siyar Aʿlam al Nubala, al Dhahabi, 11/510.)
The statement of Imam Ibn al Qayyim has already preceded: “This is the saying of the Salaf, the imams of the Sunnah, and the hadith imams. They distinguish between what stands with the servant and what stands with the Lord…” Then he said: “This is the madhhab of Imam al Bukhari, the madhhab of Imam Ahmad, their companions, and the rest of Ahl al Sunnah. So al Bukhari’s distinction and his differentiation were hidden from a group of Ahl al Sunnah and hadith.” (Mukhtasar al Sawaʿiq al Mursalah, Ibn al Qayyim, p. 510.)
The Actions Of The Servants Are Created, But What Is Recited Is Not Created
Imam Ahmad and Imam al Bukhari believed that the actions of the servants, such as tilawah, are created, while the matlu is not created.
Imam Ahmad said: “The Qur’an, however it is expressed in its statements and actions, is not created. As for our actions, they are created.” I said: “Do you count the lafdhiyyah, O Abu ʿAbd Allah, among the Jahmiyyah?” He said: “No. The Jahmiyyah are those who said: the Qur’an is created.” (Reported by al Hakim as found in Siyar Aʿlam al Nubala, al Dhahabi, 11/291.)
Al Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Their movements, their voices, their earning, and their writing are created. As for the Qur’an that is recited, made clear, fixed in the mushaf, written, recorded, and preserved in the hearts, then it is the speech of Allah and is not created. Allah said:
بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ
“Rather, it is clear verses in the hearts of those who were given knowledge.” (al ʿAnkabut 49)
(Khalq Afʿal al ʿIbad, al Bukhari, p. 47.)
This is clear from al Bukhari in differentiating between the tilawah and the matlu in one context. It is the saying of all the ulama of the Sunnah when they differentiated between the servant’s action and the Qur’an itself, as has already preceded and as will come.
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “But Imam Ahmad and others from the imams of the Sunnah said: Whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an, my tilawah, or my recitation is created,’ is a Jahmi. And whoever says, ‘It is not created,’ is a mubtadiʿ, because ‘lafdh’, ‘tilawah’, and ‘recitation’ may refer to the verbal noun of uttering, reciting, and reading. What is named by the verbal noun is the action of the servant and his movements.
This is not eternal by agreement of the Salaf of the Ummah and its imams. Even the Qadariyyah, who say that the actions of the servants are not created, say that this is not eternal. They say that it is created by Allah.
The Salaf and the imams, such as Hammad ibn Zayd (d. 179AH), Muʿtamir ibn Sulayman (d. 187AH), Yahya ibn Saʿid al Qattan (d. 198AH), Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others, rejected the one who said that the statements and actions of the servants are not created. Yahya ibn Saʿid said: I continued hearing our companions saying that the actions of the servants are created. Some of them said: Whoever says that this is not created is like the one who says that Allah’s heaven and His earth are not created.
Tilawah, recitation, and lafdh may also refer to the Qur’an itself, which Allah sent down upon His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and which is the speech of Allah.
Whoever says that the speech of Allah, which He sent down upon His Prophet, is created, then he is a Jahmi. For this reason Ahmad and others from the Salaf said: The Qur’an is the speech of Allah wherever it is expressed. It is not created.
None of the Salaf and the imams said that the voices of the servants when reciting the Qur’an are not created or eternal. None of them said that the ink with which the Qur’an is written is eternal or not created. Whoever says that anything from the voices of the servants, their actions, their movements, or their ink is eternal or not created is a misguided mubtadiʿ opposing the consensus of the Salaf and the imams. Ahmad ibn Hanbal declared people better than these to be innovators, and he ordered that they be abandoned if they did not return from their innovation. In the question of the Qur’an, people became greatly confused, until some of them said: the question of speech confused the minds of creation.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/210.)
The speech of Ibn al Qayyim has already preceded, along with his attribution of this to Ahl al Sunnah.
What Was Attributed To al Bukhari And His Denial Of It
The saying, “Our utterances of the Qur’an are created,” was attributed to al Bukhari. He denied it from himself, as has been established in what has already preceded from Ibn Taymiyyah, al Dhahabi, and Ibn Hajar.
Ahmad and al Bukhari rejected whoever said: “My lafdh of the Qur’an is not created.”
Al Marwadhi (d. 275AH) said: “Abu ʿAbd Allah wrote in his own handwriting between the lines: ‘The Qur’an, wherever it is expressed, is not created.’ He said: ‘I have not heard anyone speak about this with anything.’ He rejected whoever said: ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is not created.’” (Reported by al Khallal as found in Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/424.)
Salih ibn Ahmad (d. 266AH) mentioned from his father that he rejected Fawran al Muhajir when it was reported from him that the lafdh of the Qur’an is not created. (Dhikr Mihnat al Imam Ahmad bi Riwayat Salih, p. 172.)
ʿAbd Allah said: “My father, may Allah have mercy on him, disliked speaking about lafdh in any way, or saying that it is created or not created.” (al Sunnah, ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad, 1/165, no. 186.)
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Harun al Khallal (d. 311AH), the one who gathered the texts of Ahmad concerning the foundations of religion, the foundations of fiqh, all chapters of fiqh, manners, character, asceticism, softening of the heart, defects in hadith, history, and other sciences of Islam, reported in Kitab al Sunnah, in the section on speech about the lafdhiyyah, from Abu Bakr ibn Zanjawayh, who said: I heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal say: Whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ is a Jahmi. Whoever says, ‘It is not created,’ is a mubtadiʿ who should not be spoken to.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/325.)
Al Bukhari said: “I have from Ahmad ibn Hanbal twenty two forms regarding this matter, each one differing from the other. What is correct with me is that he said: I never heard any scholar say, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is not created.’” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/366.)
Some Of al Bukhari’s Contemporaries Erred In This Issue
Some of al Bukhari’s contemporaries erred and said: “Our utterances of the Qur’an are not created,” such as Abu Hatim al Razi (d. 277AH). He said: “The lafdh and the malfuz, the recitation and what is recited, are one. It is not created.” (al Hujjah fi Bayan al Mahajjah, al Asbahani, 1/420.)
Abu Saʿid al Ashajj (d. 257AH) said: “They have introduced something new regarding the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the speech of Allah and is not created. Our lafdh of it is not created. It is through our lafdh and is not created. It is in our chests and is not created. What we recite in our prayer niches is not created.” (al Hujjah fi Bayan al Mahajjah, al Asbahani, 1/421.)
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “The saying that ‘the lafdh is not created’ was attributed to Muhammad ibn Yahya al Dhuhli (d. 258AH) and Abu Hatim al Razi. Rather, some people also attribute it to Abu Zurʿah al Razi (d. 264AH), and they say that he and Abu Hatim abandoned al Bukhari when Muhammad ibn Yahya al Dhuhli abandoned him. The story regarding that is well known.
After Ahmad died, this occurred between some of his companions and others, and between groups besides them, because of this issue. The people of the frontier were with Muhammad ibn Dawud al Masisi, the shaykh of Abu Dawud (d. 275AH), and they held this saying.
When Salih ibn Ahmad became judge of the frontier, Abu Bakr al Marwadhi requested from him that he make clear to the people of the frontier the ‘question of Abu Talib’, because Salih and ʿAbd Allah, the two sons of Ahmad, al Marwadhi, Fawran, and others had witnessed it. Al Marwadhi wrote a book rejecting the one who said, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is not created.’ He sent it to the ulama in Makkah, Madinah, Kufah, Basrah, Khurasan, and other places, and they agreed with him.
Abu Bakr al Khallal mentioned this in Kitab al Sunnah and gave a detailed explanation of it. Along with this, groups affiliated with the Sunnah and with following Ahmad, such as Abu ʿAbd Allah ibn Mandah (d. 395AH), Abu Nasr al Sijzi (d. 444AH), Abu Ismaʿil al Ansari (d. 481AH), Abu al ʿAla al Hamadhani (d. 569AH), and others, say: our lafdh of the Qur’an is not created. They say that this is the saying of Ahmad. They declare the narration of Abu Talib false, or some of them declare it false, and say that it was fabricated against him. Or they say that he returned from that, as Abu Nasr al Sijzi mentioned in his famous book al Ibanah.
The matter is not as these people said. The people most knowledgeable of Ahmad, the closest people to him, and the most truthful people in transmitting from him are the ones who reported that from him. However, the people of Khurasan did not have the same knowledge of Ahmad’s statements as the people of Iraq, who were closest to him.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/207.)
He also said: “As for al Bukhari and those like him, they are among the most knowledgeable people concerning the saying of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and other imams of the Sunnah. I saw a group affiliated with the Sunnah and hadith, such as Abu Nasr al Sijzi and those like him, who refuted Abu ʿAbd Allah al Bukhari. They say that Ahmad ibn Hanbal used to say: my lafdh of the Qur’an is not created. They mentioned narrations that are undoubtedly false. What is mass transmitted from Ahmad ibn Hanbal through the narration of his two sons Salih and ʿAbd Allah, Hanbal, al Marwadhi, Qawzan, and people whose number none can count except Allah, makes clear that Ahmad rejected both of these groups.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 7/659.)
Why al Bukhari Gave More Detail Than Imam Ahmad
Al Bukhari expanded in explaining the difference between tilawah and matlu, and between the Qur’an and the actions of the servants, such as recitation, just as he gave lengthy detail in Kitab al Tawhid and his book Khalq Afʿal al ʿIbad. This was because some of his contemporaries went too far and claimed that tilawah is not created, as has already been quoted from some of them.
The reason for the error regarding al Bukhari, and Allah knows best, goes back to four matters.
The First Reason
Al Bukhari did not have a well known rejection of the lafdhiyyah, as far as I know, despite the need for it, because he was attributed to them. Even if he rejected them once or twice and it did not become famous from him, that would not have been enough because the attribution of lafdhiyyah to him had spread.
There is only one narration transmitted by Abu Yaʿla (d. 458AH), and I have not seen a chain for it. There is something objectionable in it.
Abu Yaʿla said: “Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil al Bukhari said: I said to Abu ʿAbd Allah Ahmad ibn Hanbal: I am a man who has been tested. I have been tested. I do not say this to you, but I will say it. If you reject anything, then turn me back from it:
The Qur’an, from its beginning to its end, is the speech of Allah. Nothing from it is created. Whoever says that it is created, or that anything from it is created, is a disbeliever. And whoever claims that his lafdh of the Qur’an is created is a Jahmi disbeliever?
He said: Yes.” (Tabaqat al Hanabilah, Ibn Abi Yaʿla, 1/278.)
What is objectionable in it is his saying: “I am a man who has been tested,” because his trial and test only occurred after the death of Ahmad.
The Second Reason
Al Bukhari was asked about lafdh of the Qur’an, so he said: “Our actions are created, and our utterances are from our actions.” Some of those who attended his gathering understood from this that he was saying: “My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,” while others refused that understanding. (Siyar Aʿlam al Nubala, al Dhahabi, 12/458. Hady al Sari, Ibn Hajar, p. 490.)
This wording could cause uncertainty. Along with the fact that he did not strongly reject the lafdhiyyah, and along with envy, this trial and test spread.
The Third Reason
Some of his contemporaries erred and thought that lafdh was not created, as has already preceded.
So they spoke severely against him because he differed with them in what they believed.
The Fourth Reason
Envy from some people of his era.
Muhammad ibn Shadhil, who was a firm hadith narrator, said: “When what happened between Muhammad ibn Yahya and al Bukhari happened, I entered upon al Bukhari and said: O Abu ʿAbd Allah, what way is there for us regarding what has happened between you and Muhammad ibn Yahya? Everyone who comes to you is driven away.
He said: ‘How often Muhammad ibn Yahya is overtaken by envy in knowledge. Knowledge is provision from Allah. He gives it to whom He wills.’
I said: ‘This matter which is reported from you?’
He said: ‘My son, this is an ill fated matter. I saw Ahmad ibn Hanbal and what happened to him in this matter, so I made it binding upon myself not to speak about it.’” (Siyar Aʿlam al Nubala, al Dhahabi, 12/457.)
Ibn al Qayyim said: “A kind of hidden envy against al Bukhari aided that, because of the fame, acceptance, and love in the hearts of creation that Allah spread for him, and because people gathered around him wherever he settled. This reduced much of the status of some people of knowledge, so they became upset because of that.
The hidden desire agreed with the doubt arising from the general wording, and they held on to the general wording of Imam Ahmad and his rejection of whoever said, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ and that he is a Jahmi. From all these matters together, a trial occurred among the people of hadith.
Al Hakim Abu ʿAbd Allah (d. 405AH) said: I heard Abu al Qasim Tahir ibn Ahmad al Warraq say: I heard Muhammad ibn Shadhan al Hashimi say: When what happened between Muhammad ibn Yahya and Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil happened, I entered upon Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil and said: O Abu ʿAbd Allah, what way is there for us regarding what has happened between you and Muhammad ibn Yahya? Everyone who comes to you is driven away from his house, and you have no house. He said: Muhammad ibn Yahya is often overtaken by envy in knowledge, and knowledge is provision from Allah Most High. He gives it to whom He wills. I said: O Abu ʿAbd Allah, this matter which is reported from you? He said to me: This is an ill fated matter. I saw Ahmad ibn Hanbal and what happened to him in this matter, so I made it binding upon myself not to speak about it.” (Mukhtasar al Sawaʿiq al Mursalah, Ibn al Qayyim, p. 510.)
Points Of Clarification
The First Point Of Clarification
Al Bukhari needed further detail in order to correct the exaggeration that had spread among some people of the Sunnah. They said: the servants’ utterances of the Qur’an are not created. Some of them thought that the ink with which the Qur’an was written was not created. So al Bukhari needed further detail, unlike Imam Ahmad.
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “The question of reciting the Qur’an, reading it, and uttering it. Is it said that it is created or not created? Imam Ahmad and all the imams of the Sunnah from the earlier and later imams explicitly rejected both sayings. But his rejection of the ‘negating lafdhiyyah’ was greater, more famous, and harsher for two reasons.”
Then he said: “Ahmad was only tested by the Jahmiyyah, the negators. They were his opponents. So his concern was directed towards refuting their sayings, not towards the people of affirmation, because at that time and in that place, there was no one calling to excess in affirmation as there appeared those who called to excess in negation. Rejection occurs according to the need. When al Bukhari was tested by the ‘affirming lafdhiyyah’, his rejection of them appeared, as found in the chapter headings at the end of al Sahih and in Kitab Khalq al Afʿal, even though he declared false whoever reported from him that he said: my lafdh of the Qur’an is created, from all the people of the lands. I think he swore upon that, and he is the truthful and righteous one.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/433.)
The meaning of this is that Imam al Bukhari distinguished between the matlu and the tilawah in one connected statement. Likewise, he distinguished between the lafdh and the malfuz in one connected statement. All imams of the Sunnah affirm this meaning, as has already preceded. Ahmad did not give detailed separation between them because his rejection of the negating lafdhiyyah was greater, as was mentioned previously in the speech of Ibn Taymiyyah, unlike al Bukhari.
This is except in one narration, according to what I have come across. It is what Ibrahim al Harbi (d. 285AH) reported from Imam Ahmad, that he said: “I was sitting with Ahmad ibn Hanbal when a man came to him and said: O Abu ʿAbd Allah, among us are people who say that their utterances of the Qur’an are created. Abu ʿAbd Allah said: The servant turns towards Allah through the Qur’an in five ways, and it is not created in these ways: memorising with the heart, reciting with the tongue, hearing with the ear, looking with the eye, and writing with the hand. So the heart is created and what is memorised is not created.
The tilawah is created and the matlu is not created. The hearing is created and what is heard is not created. The looking is created and what is looked at is not created. The writing is created and what is written is not created.” (Risalah fi Anna al Qur’an Ghayr Makhluq, Ibrahim al Harbi, p. 33. Sifat Rabb al ʿAlamin, Ibn al Muhibb, 2/531. Mentioned by Ibn al Qayyim as found in Mukhtasar al Sawaʿiq al Mursalah, p. 515.)
Although the chain of this narration is weak, there is nothing objectionable in its meaning, due to what has already been explained. And Allah knows best. (In its chain is Jaʿfar ibn Idris al Qazwini. al Daraqutni graded him weak, as found in Lisan al Mizan, Ibn Hajar, 2/110.)
The Second Point Of Clarification
The custom of the Ashʿaris is to agree with Ahl al Sunnah in wording while differing from them in reality. One example is the question of lafdh. Abu al Hasan al Ashʿari (d. 324AH) and others from the Ashʿaris affirmed the rejection of the phrase “my lafdh of the Qur’an”, then they interpreted it and played with it by saying that the reason this wording was rejected is that the meaning of lafdh is throwing away and casting aside.
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “Another group, such as Abu al Hasan al Ashʿari, al Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al Tayyib (d. 403AH), al Qadi Abu Yaʿla, and others who say that they are upon the creed of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and the imams of Ahl al Sunnah and hadith, said: Ahmad and others disliked that it be said, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an,’ because lafdh means throwing away and casting aside.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 7/659.)
He also said: “Such as al Ashʿari, al Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al Tayyib, al Qadi Abu Yaʿla, and others. They agree with Ahmad in rejecting both groups: whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ and whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is not created.’ But they make the reason for dislike the fact that the Qur’an is not uttered, because lafdh means throwing and casting.
Then, among these people are those who reject Allah speaking with sound, and among them are those who affirm that. Rather, among them are those who say that the sound that is heard is the eternal sound. Despite that, they reject whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is not created,’ because they think that the dislike is due to what it contains of throwing and casting. The matter is not as they thought.
Imam Ahmad and other imams did not reject the saying, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ or, ‘not created,’ because lafdh means throwing. If that were the case, they would only have rejected the mere use of what is derived from the letters of lafdh. But this is not the case. Rather, they rejected whoever said that tilawah and recitation are created, and whoever said: my tilawah and my recitation are not created, even though it is permissible for Muslims to say: I recited the Qur’an and I read it.
Also, it is permissible to say: I uttered speech and I spoke it, as Allah Most High said:
مَا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ
“He does not utter any word except that with him is an observer ready.” (Qaf 18)
But Imam Ahmad and other imams of the Sunnah said: Whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an, my tilawah, or my recitation is created,’ is a Jahmi. Whoever says, ‘It is not created,’ is a mubtadiʿ, because ‘lafdh’, ‘tilawah’, and ‘recitation’ may refer to the verbal noun of uttering, reciting, and reading, and what is named by the verbal noun is the action of the servant and his movements.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/209.)
The Third Point Of Clarification
Imam Ahmad did not declare the lafdhiyyah to be disbelievers merely for speaking about lafdh, unless the person intended that the Qur’an itself is created.
ʿAbd Allah reported from his father, Imam Ahmad, that he said: “Whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ intending by that the Qur’an, then he is a disbeliever.” (al Sunnah, ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad, 1/165, no. 183.)
He said: “Everyone who aims at the Qur’an through lafdh or anything else, intending by that that it is created, is a Jahmi.” (al Sunnah, ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad, 1/165, no. 183.)
Ahmad ibn al Furat said: “Whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ intending to use a trick against the Qur’an through anything or through any way that leads to him saying that the Qur’an is created, then he is a filthy Jahmi.” (al Hujjah fi Bayan al Mahajjah, al Asbahani, 1/421.)
Ahmad describing the lafdhiyyah as Jahmiyyah does not necessarily mean takfir.
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “The imams, such as Ahmad and others, used to say: The Jahmiyyah split into three groups. A group says: the Qur’an is created. A group stops and does not say created or not created. A group says: our utterances of the Qur’an are created.
It is known that they only intended by that their splitting in the question of the Qur’an specifically. Otherwise, many of these people affirm the attributes, the seeing of Allah, and the rising above the Throne. He made him from the Jahmiyyah in some issues, meaning that he agreed with the Jahmiyyah in them, so that the weakness of his saying would become clear. Not that he is like the Jahmiyyah, nor that his ruling is their ruling.
No one who knows what he is saying would say this. For this reason, the general speech of Ahmad is that he would describe the lafdhiyyah as Jahmiyyah. He would hardly ever speak generally of declaring them disbelievers as he would speak generally of declaring the people who say the Qur’an is created to be disbelievers.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 12/206.)
The Fourth Point Of Clarification
The lafdhiyyah hid behind the word lafdh instead of clearly saying that the speech of Allah is created. Their statement about lafdh was only a way of hiding and moving gradually towards that belief. So Imam Ahmad cut off the path for them.
Al Sabuni (d. 449AH) said: “What he quoted from Ahmad, may Allah be pleased with him and make him pleased, that the lafdhiyyah are Jahmiyyah, is sound from him. He only said that because Jahm and his companions openly declared that the Qur’an is created, while those who spoke about lafdh used it as a gradual path towards saying that the Qur’an is created.
They feared Ahl al Sunnah in that time from openly declaring that the Qur’an is created, so they inserted it into this ambiguous statement so that they would not be counted among the group of Jahm, those devils of mankind who inspire one another with beautified speech in deception. They mentioned this wording and intended by it that the Qur’an through our lafdh is created. For that reason Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, called them Jahmiyyah. It was also quoted from him that he said: The lafdhiyyah are worse than the Jahmiyyah.” (ʿAqidat al Salaf wa Ashab al Hadith, al Sabuni, p. 172.)
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “But when the saying that the Qur’an is the speech of Allah and is not created became manifest, and Allah extinguished the fire of the negating Jahmiyyah, a group began to say that the speech of Allah which He sent down is created, and they expressed that through lafdh. So they would say: our utterances of the Qur’an are created, or our tilawah, or our recitation, is created. Their intent was not merely their own speech and movements. Rather, they included within their speech the speech of Allah itself, which we recite with our voices and movements. Another group opposed them and said: our utterances of the Qur’an are not created. Imam Ahmad refuted both groups and said: Whoever says, ‘My lafdh of the Qur’an is created,’ is a Jahmi. Whoever says, ‘It is not created,’ is a mubtadiʿ.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, 6/557.)
The Fifth Point Of Clarification
When what has preceded is understood regarding the issue of lafdh and tilawah, and that there is a difference between mentioning lafdh or tilawah alone in negation or affirmation, and mentioning them with detail by distinguishing between lafdh and malfuz and between tilawah and matlu, it becomes clear, and Allah knows best, that there is no disagreement between Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al Qayyim on this issue, contrary to what some contemporary writers have said.
