Does the verse {Allah is the Creator of all things} [az-Zumar 39:62] indicate that the Qur’an is created?

Praise be to Allah.

Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah are unanimously agreed that the Qur’an is the word of Allah, revealed and not created, and they denounced those innovators who said that the Qur’an is created; they regarded them as innovators and shunned them, and many of the scholars regarded as disbelievers those who hold this misguided notion.

One of the specious arguments that the innovators make to support this misguided notion is that they quote the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): {Allah is the Creator of all things} [az-Zumar 39:62] and say: The Qur’an is a thing, so it is created!

This argument is flawed and is a wrong conclusion based on a misinterpretation of the verse.

The Qur’an is the word of Allah, and the word or speech of Allah is one of His divine attributes, and His divine attributes are not created, because the attributes are connected to the one who is described by them. Therefore the attributes of the Creator are not created, because they are connected to the Creator, and the attributes of the created being are created, because they are connected to the created being.

Moreover, Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): {Say, “What thing is greatest in testimony?” Say, “Allah…} [al-An‘aam 6:19]. Here Allah refers to Himself as a “thing,” but can it be said that Allah is created?!

Rather what the verse [az-Zumar 39:62] means is that Allah is the Creator of everything that is created, and no one else had any part in the creation thereof; He has no rival, no partner, no helper and no supporter in creating creation.

There follow some comments of the scholars refuting this specious argument:

• Al-Khallaal narrated in Kitaab as-Sunnah (5/109) that Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah said: What is this insignificant creature – meaning Bishr al-Mirreesi – saying? It was said: He is saying that the Qur’an is created.

He said: He is lying, may Allah disgrace him. Indeed Allah is the Creator of all things, and the word of Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, is not created.

• Ibn Battah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Moreover, the Jahamis say something else to mislead the simple-minded and those who have no knowledge, as they say: Tell us about the Qur’an; is it a thing or is it nothing? It is not permissible to say that it is nothing, so they will say that it is a thing. At that moment, the Jahami will think that he can prove his point, so he will say: Allah says {the Creator of all things} [az-Zumar 39:62]} and the Qur’an is a thing; the word “thing” is applicable to it, therefore it is created, because “all things” includes everything!

The answer to that is: As for your saying that “all things” includes everything, Allah has refuted that and the Qur’an proves that you are lying. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): {Every being will taste death} [Aal ‘Imraan 3:185], and Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, may be referred to as a being, but He is not included in this phrase, “Every being.” Similarly, His word is a “thing”, but it is not included among created things, as in the verse (interpretation of the meaning): {Everything will perish except His Countenance} [al-Qasas 28:88]. End quote from al-Ibaanah al-Kubra (6/170).

• Ibn Abi’l-‘Izz al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

As for their quoting the verse {Allah is the Creator of all things} [az-Zumar 39:62] as evidence, and saying that the Qur’an is a thing so it is included in the general meaning of “all things”, and therefore it is created, this is very strange indeed. That is because people’s actions – according to them – are not created by Allah, may He be exalted; rather people create all their actions and Allah does not create them [according to their view]. Thus they excluded people’s actions from the general meaning of “all things,” when they included the words of Allah in the general meaning of the verse, even though His word is one of His attributes, by means of which created things come into being, because created things come into being by His command. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): {and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, subjected by His command. Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command} [al-A‘raaf 7:54]. Thus He differentiated between the act of creation and the command; if the command were created, then it must be created by another command, and that other command must be created by yet another command, and so on ad infinitum; this would lead to an unending chain, and that is a false notion.

To apply their false argument to other divine attributes, it would mean that all the divine attributes are created, such as Allah’s knowledge, might and so on, and that is blatant disbelief (kufr). For His knowledge is a thing, His might is a thing, and His life is a thing, so all of that would come under the general meaning of “all things,” and thus He would be created after having not existed – exalted be Allah far above what they say.” (Sharh at-Tahhaawiyyah  p. 131-132).

• The scholars of the Permanent Committee said:

The Holy Qur’an is not included in the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): {Allah is the Creator of all things} [az-Zumar 39:62], because the Qur’an is the word of Allah, and the word of Allah is one of His attributes and is not created, because the attributes are connected to the one whom they describe.

Thus Allah, with His attributes – including His speech or His word – is the Creator of all things, and everything other than Him is created, as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): {Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command} [al-A‘raaf 7:54]. Thus Allah, may He be glorified, differentiated between the act of creation and the command by means of the conjunction (wa, “and”), which indicates that they are not the same, and the command occurs by words. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): {His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, “Be,” and it is} [Yaa-Seen 36:82].” ( Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (3/18-19).

• Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The answer is twofold:

Firstly: the Qur’an is the word of Allah, may He be exalted, and it is one of His divine attributes; the attributes of the Creator are not created.

Secondly: such phrases as “all things” are general in meaning and may refer to some specific things, such as when Allah, may He be exalted, says of the Queen of Saba’ (interpretation of the meaning): {and she has been given of all things} [an-Naml 27:23], although there were many things that were not included in her realm, such as the dominion of Sulaymaan.” (Majmoo‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il al-‘Uthaymeen (8/366).

And Allah knows best.