“…so the only dispute that still stands between us and the Muʿtazilah,” he declares, “ultimately comes back to affirming or denying the ‘speech of the self’ (kalām al-nafs), and to the question of whether the Qur’an is that speech or this composition of letters which is perceptible—that is, audible. We have no quarrel with them over the originated nature of audible speech, nor do they contest the pre-eternity of the speech of the self, were it actually proven. The six-month debate reported between Abū Ḥanīfah and Abū Yūsuf should therefore be understood as an inquiry into the reality of the speech of the self and whether it is the Qur’an; in the end the two imams agreed that whoever says, ‘The Qur’an is created,’ is a disbeliever!”

Thus al-Kawtharī has converged with the Muʿtazilah in denying that the Qur’an is the speech of Allah, though he does so by means of verbal circumlocution—he and others like him who pose as members of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah. What their breasts hide is even worse, for they speak of an inaudible, internal speech; hence, when asked, “Who first uttered the Qur’an aloud, and who heard it from Him first?” they are left without an answer. In truth, those who negate the divine speech are simply saying that the Qur’an is not Allah’s word. If that is so, then whether the first to articulate it audibly was Gabriel or Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), their claim coincides with that of the pagan Quraysh about whom Allah said of the Qur’an, “This is nothing but the speech of a human being.” Even if they do not state outright that it is human speech, they must at least maintain that it is the speech of Gabriel or some other creature, and thus they share with the disbelievers the very aim behind the words, “This is nothing but the speech of a human being,” namely, that it is not the speech of Allah, the Exalted.

So Allah’s help is sought against this misguidance into which many of the later generations have fallen; it is a punishment from Him for their deviation from the way of the Salaf and the people of hadith. May Allah gather us in their company and cause us to die upon their creed.

For this reason Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ said:

“Do not take lightly their statement, ‘The Qur’an is created’; it is among the worst of what they say—for their real intent is to strip Allah of His attributes.”

Al-Bukhārī narrated this in Afʿāl al-ʿIbād ⦗71⦘, and so did al-Bayhaqī. Al-Bayhaqī then commented ⦗254⦘:

“We have transmitted something similar from a number of other jurists and scholars of the various regions—may Allah have mercy on them all—and no contrary view has reached us from anyone during the era of the Companions and the Followers.”

160- Bashshār al-Khuffāf said: I heard Abū Yūsuf say, “Whoever declares that the Qur’an is created must be openly opposed.”

141- I remark: Bashshār is weak, as was indicated shortly before.