“Human actions, whether good or evil, are eternal.” They say, “By actions, we do not mean the movements themselves; rather, we mean the reward granted for them, as stated in the hadith: ‘The believer sees his deeds in the form of a handsome, sweet-smelling man.’”
They argued that actions are part of divine decree, that divine decree is Allah’s secret and one of His attributes, and that His attributes are eternal. They also argued that the revealed laws are uncreated because they are Allah’s command and speech, and that actions are those revealed laws and must therefore be eternal.
This view is utterly unsound and contradicts the explicit statements of all the imams of Islam, including Imam Ahmad. He and other imams expressly stated that the reward Allah grants for reciting the Quran is created. How much more so, then, the reward He grants for people’s other deeds!
When the Jahmiyyah argued before Imam Ahmad and other scholars of the Sunnah that the Quran was created, citing the Prophet’s words (may Allah bless him and grant him peace):
“Al-Baqarah and Āl ‘Imrān will come as though they were two clouds, or two ghayābahs, or two flocks of birds with outspread wings; and the Quran will come in the form of a pale man,”
and similar reports, they said, “Whatever comes and goes can only be created.” Imam Ahmad answered them by pointing out that Allah Most High had described Himself as coming and arriving, saying:
“Are they waiting for anything but for the angels to come to them, or for your Lord to come, or for some of your Lord’s signs to come?”
He also said:
“And your Lord comes, and the angels, rank upon rank.”
Yet this was no evidence that He is created