discord in its interpretation.
The point is this: in the Quran the verb jaʿala, when it relates to created beings, appears in two ways—either in the sense of designating or naming something, or in the sense of an action they perform.¹
Concerning His words,
“those who have made the Quran into separate fragments” (15:91),
they said, “It is poetry, the tales of the ancients, a jumble of dreams.” Here jaʿala is used in the sense of naming or labelling.²
He also says,
“and they have made the angels, who are servants of the All-Merciful, females” (43:19),
meaning that they called them females.
Later He mentions jaʿala again—this time as an action—and says,
“they thrust their fingers into their ears” (2:19).
Here it clearly denotes an act performed by them.³
And He says,
“until, when he had made it a fire” (18:96),
which likewise expresses an action. These are all examples of jaʿala attributed to created beings. After that comes jaʿala in reference to Allah’s command with a meaning other than creating,
(1) Ibn Batta (may Allah have mercy on him) states in al-Ibana ‘an Shari‘at al-Firqa al-Najiya, 2/157: “We replied: Allah–the Mighty and Exalted–has deprived you, O Jahmi, of comprehension of the Quran when you claimed that everything which is ma‘jul (made) is necessarily makhluq (created) and that every occurrence of the verb ja‘ala in the Book of Allah equals khalaqa (to create). From this point you fell into your repugnant error, interpreting the Book of Allah out of ignorance, whim, and what your devil adorned for you and placed upon your tongue and the tongues of your companions. For we find a single word in the Book of Allah, Most High, with one form yet carrying diverse meanings in many verses; we omit listing them because they are numerous and confine ourselves to the verse you cited. The verb ja‘ala in the Book of Allah does not invariably mean khalaqa. Allah employs it regarding created beings as a description among their attributes or a category among their categories, and He also employs it for actions they perform that are neither creation nor equivalent to creation. Grasp this well and understand it.”
(2) In al-Ibana Ibn Batta builds directly on the argument Imam Ahmad advances here against the Jahmiyya; see al-Ibana, 2/157–158.
(3) See al-Ibana, 2/159.