And Ahmad said:

“Allah’s speech is from Allah; it is not a part of Him.”

For this reason, the early generations said:

“The Quran is Allah’s speech, sent down and uncreated. From Him it began, and to Him it returns.”

They said, “From Him it began”—it did not begin from anyone other than Him, as the Jahmiyyah claim. They say that it began from the locus in which it was created. This has been discussed at length elsewhere. The point is that if it contains His knowledge, then it is true, whereas the discourse used to oppose it contradicts Allah’s knowledge and is therefore false. It is like the association of partners with Allah, concerning which Allah Most High says:

“They worship besides Allah that which neither harms nor benefits them, and say, ‘These are our intercessors with Allah.’ Say, ‘Are you informing Allah of something He does not know in the heavens or on earth?’ Glory be to Him! Exalted is He above what they associate with Him.”

Section

The principle I have stated—that the fundamentals of religion must be referred back to the Book and the Sunnah—makes the truth clear through both scriptural and rational proofs. As I have explained, the Book sets out the rational proofs through which truths concerning Allah are known, and explains what establishes the Messenger’s truthfulness in everything he says. It also makes clear that the expression “reason and transmitted revelation” has come to be used ambiguously. For everyone who