Part 5 - Qur'aan as the Speech of Allah

The Kalaam of Allah is an attribute that Allah has described Himself with. Two basic principles to keep in mind when dealing with any attribute of Allah:

1) Allah has described Himself with the Best and Most Perfect Names. We should avoid associating any names with Allah other than the ones, Allah Himself has taught us. Allah says:

“And to Allah belongs the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave those who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing” (Sahih International – 7:180)

2) Allah's Names and Attributes are unique and do not resemble the attributes of His creation. Allah says:

“ Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing” (Sahih International – 42:11)

Since Allah has the most Perfect Names and the meanings of which are not similar to anything, it is impossible for humans to comprehend the beauty and perfection of His names. After all, how can something created having imperfections claim to understand something perfect. Although the exact nature of the Attributes of Allah are beyond our comprehension, He would not have informed us of His names, had it not been of any benefit to us. We understand the meanings of al-Hayy as 'The Ever-Living', but our created life does not resemble that of the creator. The life we have was given to us by Allah for an appointed time, but Allah's life has no beginning or end. We should not distort the names of Allah, should not try to make Allah's Attributes similar to that of the creation and should not delve in to the 'how-ness' of His Attributes.

The Speech of Allah is one of many Attributes of Allah as He has described Himself with this characteristic. Allah says

“And messengers about whom We have related to you before and messengers about whom We have not related to you. And Allah spoke to Moses with speech.” (Sahih International – 4:164)

“And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can alter His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing. “ (Sahih International – 6:115)

“Say, "If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as a supplement." (Sahih International – 18:109)

“And when he came to it, he was called, "O Moses, Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa. And I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed ” (Sahih International – 20:11-13)

It is evident that Allah spoke to Moosa (عليه السلام ) and Moosa heard His speech. In addition to the Qur'aan, Our Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) described a meeting between Aadam (عليه السلام )and Moosa (عليه السلام ) in which Aadam (عليه السلام ) asked Moosa (عليه السلام ) “Are you the one whom Allah spoke to, from behind a veil and there was no interpreter between you, nor was their any messenger?”. Moosa (عليه السلام ) answered 'Yes'. There are other hadith as well confirm that Allah speaks with sound which can be heard. Imaam Ahmad ibn Hambal (d. 241 A.H) and Imaam al-Bukhaaree (d. 256 A.H) also agreed with this.

Since the Qur'aan is the kalaam of Allah, it follows that the Kalaam of Allah consists of words and letters as every Muslim knows that the verse of the Qur'aan are formed by words and letters. Our Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) himself mentioned this when he stated, “Whoever recites one word from the Book of Allah will have ten rewards. And I do not say the Alif Laam Meem is (counted as) a word, but rather Alif is a word, and Laam is a word and Meem is a word”.

The words of Allah are not just limited to the Qur'aan. Allah revealed the Torah (Book revealed to Moosa (عليه السلام )) and Injeel (Gospel) in Hebrew. Allah is capable of speaking in any language. Allah sent every Prophet with the language of their people and therefore His revelation to the Prophets was in their language. Allah made the Qur'aan his kalaam in Arabic and there are several places in the Qur'aan where Allah described the Qur'aan as being in clear Arabic language.

Another characteristic of the Kalaam of Allah is that it is uncreated. Some people of innovation have cast much confusion over this point and it is important that we attempt to clear away any doubts regarding this point. The fact that the Speech of Allah is uncreated (meaning it is not something created by Allah but a part of His Being) is supported by the Qur'aan, the Sunnah, the statements of salaf and by clear logic. Allah Says

“Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days. Thereafter He leveled Himself upon the Throne (How He did so is beyond human understanding). He envelops the daytime (with) the night, (which) seeks it out promptly, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars are subjected to His Command. Verily, to Him (belong) the creation and the Command. Supremely Blessed be Allah, The Lord of the worlds " (Dr. Ghali – 7:54)

In this Ayah, Allah differentiates between His creation and His command (The Qur'aan). In fact it is the command or speech that causes something to be created as Allah says

“Surely Our only Saying to a thing when We have willed it, is that We say to it, "Be!" so it is.” (Dr. Ghali – 16:40)

Therefore the Speech of Allah, by the will of Allah is the cause of the creation. Can a created thing, create something? No! Only Allah has the power to create something. The Speech of Allah is therefore not a creation like the birds, trees and us. Furthermore Our Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) advised us to “..seek refuge in the Kalimaat of Allah from the evil that is created...” Refuge can only be provided by the Creator and not by the Creation. Another way to think about this is that all of Allah's Attributes are constant and eternal. His Attributes do not have a beginning nor do they have an end. Therefore it is illogical to say that Allah's Attribute of Speech is a created thing, because all created things have a beginning.

Another proof that Qur'aan is indeed the Kalaam of Allah is that Allah Himself says

“And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah . Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know. “ (Sahih International – 9:6)