—peace be upon him—and there had been a span of many years between the two.
When Allah revealed His message to Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—the angels heard the sound of the revelation, like iron striking hard stone. They thought it heralded something of the Final Hour, so they panicked and fell on their faces in prostration. Concerning this He said:
“until, when the dread is lifted from their hearts” ⦗Sabaʾ 34:23⦘.
That is: when the terror departs from their hearts, the angels raise their heads and ask one another, “What did your Lord say?”¹ They do not say, “What did your Lord create?”² This clarifies the guidance Allah intended.
After that, al-Jahm put forward another claim, saying, “I have found a verse in the Book of Allah—blessed and exalted be He—that shows the Quran is created.” We asked, “Which verse is that?” He replied:
“No reminder comes to them from their Lord but that it is newly revealed” ⦗Al-Anbiyāʾ 21:2⦘.
(1) Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in humble submission to His word, as though it were a chain striking a smooth stone. When the dread is lifted from their hearts, they say, ‘What did your Lord say?’ They answer the one who has spoken: ‘The truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great …’” — to the end of the hadith. Recorded by al-Bukhari, nos. 4701, 4800, 7481.
(2) In the Book of Tawhid (monotheism) of his Sahih, al-Bukhari entitled a chapter: The Words of Allah Most High: “Intercession will not avail with Him except for those to whom He grants permission … When the fear is removed from their hearts, they say, ‘What did your Lord say?’ They say, ‘The truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great’” (Saba 23). He does not say: “What did your Lord create.” The Exalted also says: “Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission” (al-Baqarah 255). Masruq related from Ibn Masud: when Allah speaks the revelation, the inhabitants of the heavens hear something; when the terror is lifted from their hearts and the sound subsides, they know that it is the truth and call out, “What did your Lord say?” They reply, “The truth.” It is also reported from Jabir, from Abdullah b. Unays, that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “Allah will assemble the servants and will address them with a voice audible to the one who is far just as to the one who is near: I am the King, I am the Judge.” Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Tawhid, chapter 32, p. 1427, Bayt al-Afkar edition.