613 — Ubayd Allah informed us, saying: Ahmad ibn Kamil informed us, saying: Abu Abd Allah al-Warraq related to me by authorization, saying:

“I used to work as a copyist for Dawud al-Isbahani. One day, while I was with him in his entrance hall along with a group of strangers, he was asked about the Quran. He replied, ‘The Quran concerning which Allah says, “None touch it except the purified,” [Surah al-Waqi‘ah, 56:79] and, “in a well-protected Book,” [Surah al-Waqi‘ah, 56:78] is uncreated. As for that which is in our midst, which may be touched by one in a state of major ritual impurity or by a menstruating woman, it is created.’

Qadi Ahmad ibn Kamil said: “This is the doctrine of al-Nashi’, and it is disbelief in Allah, the Magnificent. It is authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that ‘he prohibited taking the Quran on a journey into enemy territory, lest it fall into the hands of the enemy.’ Thus, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, regarded what is written in pages and codices as Quran. Therefore, however the Quran is recited and read, it is one and the same, and it is uncreated.”