Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah bless his resting place—said:
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As for faith: is it created or uncreated?
The answer is that disagreement over this issue arose when the Jahmiyyah’s inquisition began over whether the Quran was created or uncreated. This was the ordeal suffered by Imam Ahmad and other Muslim scholars. Much occurred during it that would take too long to describe here.
However, when the position that the Quran is Allah’s uncreated speech prevailed, and Allah extinguished the fire of the Jahmiyyah, who deny His attributes, a group began saying that the speech Allah had sent down was created. They expressed this in terms of “utterance,” saying, “Our utterances of the Quran are created,” or, “Our recitation,” or, “Our reading is created.” They did not mean merely their own speech and movements; rather, they included in their statement the very speech of Allah, which we recite with our voices and movements.
Another group opposed them, saying, “Our utterances of the Quran are uncreated.” Imam Ahmad refuted both groups, saying: “Whoever says, ‘My utterance of the Quran is created,’ is a Jahmī; and whoever says, ‘It is uncreated,’ is an innovator.”