This, then, is not a description of Him in terms of mere capability to speak; rather, it is a description of the actual existence of speech whenever He wills. The words of Imām Ahmad on this point, as recorded by al-Marwazī, will be cited later (1).
He also said: “Allah has never been devoid of knowledge and speech, and neither of them is created, for He has never been without them; Allah has always been speaking and knowing.” By this he negated that either attribute is created—whether within His essence or outside of it—and affirmed that He has never lacked them. This (2) demonstrates that the Quran was not created, neither in His essence nor apart from Him.
His statement further shows that, in his view, both claims—“Events befall Him” and “Events do not befall Him”—are objectionable (3). Asking such a question is an innovation, and affirming either side is likewise an innovation.
For that reason, Ahmad condemned those who said, “The Quran is muḥdath (something that has come into being),” when by it they meant that it is a created entity. Al-Khallāl relates from al-Maimūnī (4) that he said to Abū ʿAbd Allāh:
(1) In manuscripts S and Ṭ it reads “al-Marwazī.” The same error appears in al-Bidāya wa-al-Nihāya. In fact, al-Marwudhī derives from Marw al-Rudh, and its correct nisba (attributive) is al-Marwudhī, borne by few. By contrast, Marw al-Kubrā (also called Marw al-Shāhjān) has the irregular nisba al-Marwazī, borne by many; hence some works refer to Imam Ahmad’s companion as al-Marwazī. See Muʿjam al-Buldān (al-Ḥamawī), 5:112–116; al-Muntaẓam (Ibn al-Jawzī), 6:111, note 3.
He is Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Marwudhī, the leading scholar of Baghdad and foremost associate of Imam Ahmad, much consulted; he transmitted numerous legal questions. He died in 275 AH. See Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābila (Ibn Abī Yaʿlā), 1:56–63; Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ (al-Dhahabī), 2:631–633; al-Bidāya wa-al-Nihāya (Ibn Kathīr), 11:62.
(2) In Ṭ: huna (here).
(3) In Ṭ: taqtiḍu (demands).
(4) He is Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Maymūn ibn Mihrān al-Maymūnī, a student of Imam Ahmad and one of the great imams; he was the leading scholar and mufti of Raqqa in his time. al-Nasāʾī narrated from him and deemed him reliable. He was born in 181 AH and died in 274 AH.