The Correct ʿAqīdah Regarding Allah’s Speech and His Istiwaʾ Over the ThroneSource: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1 – Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 33
❖ Belief About the Speech (Kalam) of Allah:
It is a clear and correct belief that the Qur’an is the actual speech of Allah and not created. As Allah states in the Qur'an:
﴿ وَإِنْ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ٱسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّىٰ يَسْمَعَ كَلَـٰمَ ٱللَّهِ ﴾(Surah al-Tawbah: 6)
“And if any of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the speech of Allah.”
This verse clearly proves that the Qur'an recited by the Prophet ﷺ and the companions was genuinely the speech of Allah, not authored by any human being.
Allah also says:
﴿ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَتَنزِيلُ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ﴾(Surah al-Shuʿarāʾ: 192)
“Indeed, it is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.”
❖ Belief of the Salaf (Righteous Predecessors):
The belief that the Qur'an is uncreated and the speech of Allah is affirmed by the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn. Some of their statements include:
✔ Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه:
When asked about certain verses, he replied:
“This is neither my word nor my companion’s; it is the speech of Allah.”
(Kitāb al-Iʿtiqād by al-Bayhaqī, p. 108 – Hasan isnād)
✔ Imām Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah (d. 198 AH):
“For seventy years I heard my teachers—including ʿAmr ibn Dīnār—saying that the Qur’an is Allah’s speech, not created.”
(Khalq Afʿāl al-ʿIbād by al-Bukhārī, p. 7 – Ṣaḥīḥ)
✔ Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (d. 148 AH):
“The Qur’an is not created; it is the speech of Allah.”
(Masāʾil Abī Dāwūd, p. 265 – Hasan isnād)
✔ Imām Mālik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH):
“Whoever says the Qur’an is created should be beaten and imprisoned until he dies.”
(al-Sharīʿah, p. 79 – Hasan isnād)
✔ Imām al-Shāfiʿī (d. 204 AH):
“Whoever says the Qur’an is created is a disbeliever.”
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ, 9/113 – Hasan isnād)
✔ Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241 AH):
“Whoever says the Qur’an is created is a disbeliever.”
(Masāʾil Abī Dāwūd, p. 262 – Ṣaḥīḥ isnād)
❖ Does Saying That Allah Speaks With Letters and Sound Imply Anthropomorphism?
Some people claim that believing Allah speaks with letters and sound (ḥarf wa ṣawt) implies that He has a body. This is incorrect.
According to Imām Aḥmad, Ibn Taymiyyah, and the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah, Allah speaks with letters and sound, but not like the speech of creation.
✦ Evidence from Revelation:
﴿ وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ ﴾(Surah al-Aʿrāf: 143)
“And his Lord spoke to him (Mūsā).”
If someone says this speech was without sound or letters, what did Mūsā (عليه السلام) hear then? Was it imaginary or internal? Such a notion leads to Jahmiyyah deviation.
“Allah will speak to people on the Day of Judgement with His voice.”(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 7483)
Imām Aḥmad said:
“Yes, your Lord speaks with sound.”
(Kitāb al-Sunnah, 1/280)
❖ Did Ibn Taymiyyah Say the Throne Is Eternal?
Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī falsely claimed in his Malfūẓāt (p. 203) that Ibn Taymiyyah said the Throne is eternal (qadīm).
This is a false attribution.
Ibn Taymiyyah explicitly stated:
"فإن العرش أيضاً مخلوق"“Indeed, the Throne is also created.”
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 18/214)
❖ Did Ibn Taymiyyah Interpret
It is falsely claimed that Ibn Taymiyyah interpreted istiwaʾ as sitting. However, he never used the term "julūs" in any authentic writing.
He wrote:
"Allah is truly established (mustawī) over His Throne, without modality or resemblance.”(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 3/217)
Final Word:
◉ The unanimous belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah is:
✔ The Qur’an is the uncreated speech of Allah, composed of letters and sound, but unlike any human speech.
✔ Allah is established over His Throne (istiwaʾ) in a manner befitting His majesty, without likeness or knowledge of how (bi-lā kayf).
✔ Denying these foundational beliefs leads to clear deviation from the creed of the righteous predecessors (Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn).
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
