On the Question of Utterance (al-lafẓ)

We have now come to the purpose of this book and to the point for which it was written: the disagreement among the ḥadīth scholars over the utterance of the Qur’an, the mutual hostility that followed, and their declaring one another unbelievers. Yet the matter over which they differ is not something that should sever mutual affection or breed estrangement, for they are unanimously agreed on one fundamental principle: the Qur’an is the Speech of God, uncreated—in every place, from every angle, and under all circumstances. Their dispute concerns only a subsidiary point whose meaning is subtle and elusive. Each faction fastened onto one aspect of it, yet they lacked the tools of discernment, the probing of dialecticians, and the expertise of the linguists.

When one of them reflected on the act of recitation, he found that it might indeed be the Qur’an, for the listener hears the recitation, and whoever hears the recitation hears the Qur’an. God, Exalted is He, says, “So listen to it attentively” (7:204), and, “until he hears the speech of God” (9:6). They also noticed that the Arabs sometimes call the very act of reading ‘Qur’an’. A poet, speaking of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may God be pleased with him), said:

They slew a venerable, grey-haired man whose forehead bore the mark of prostration—
who spent the night in glorification and Qur’an,

i.e., in glorification and recitation.

Abū ʿUbayd observed: one may say, “I recited a qirāʾah and a Qur’an,” both meaning the same thing, treating them as verbal nouns of “I recited.” The Almighty also says, “and the Qur’an of dawn—indeed, the Qur’an of dawn is witnessed” (17:78), meaning the dawn recitation.

From indications such as these a person may conclude that the recitation is the Qur’an itself and therefore uncreated. Another, however, looks at the recitation and judges it a deed, for reward is given for deeds, not for the mere existence of the Qur’an on earth. He hears people say, “Today I recited such-and-such a sūrah,” and their word ‘recited’ functions like ‘I struck’, ‘I ate’, or ‘I drank’. He hears them say, “So-and-so’s recitation is better than so-and-so’s,” meaning only that the former’s performance of the Qur’an is superior; or, “So-and-so’s recitation is more accurate than so-and-so’s.” In every one of these expressions what is meant is the action, for one Qur’an cannot be better than another. From this standpoint he concludes that the recitation is a deed and that it is not—