and they render the hand a favor, and the like, twisting the words away from their proper meaning, for they are the muʿaṭṭilah (1).
[I say:] (2) It has therefore become clear what underlies the account transmitted by Ibn Shujāʿ al-Thaljī, Zurqān, and others when they accuse the upholders of the divine attributes of distortion—claims such as, “Allah is the Qur’an,” or, “The Qur’an is a part of Him.” It has likewise become evident (3) that Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ—the leader of the Wāqifah (4)—and his followers, who refuse to say either “the Qur’an is created” or “the Qur’an is uncreated,” describe it instead as muḥdath, meaning that Allah brought it into being in something other than Himself. This is exactly what is meant by those who say, “It is created”; the only difference between the two statements is a matter of wording (5).
Groups of innovators, among the Rāfiḍah and others, have followed this same course. They say, “It is muḥdath, a thing made,” but will not say, “It is created,” claiming that the word khalq (creation) can imply fabrication. In reality, however, they agree in meaning with those who declare it created. The equivalence of the two terms is likewise affirmed by factions of the Kullābiyyah, the Ashʿariyyah, and by multitudes of jurists, ḥadith scholars, and Sufis, who maintain that the muḥdath is simply that which is created in something other than itself (6).