Quora Answer: Why are the Mu’tazilah Concerned whether the Qur’an is Created or Uncreated?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why are the Mu’tazilah concerned whether the Qur’an was Created or Uncreated?” 

The Createdness of the Qur’an has implications on the Divine Attributes, and its relationship with free will.  This is a long and complicated story, but we can summarise it here for simplicity, and mention the salient points. 

Firstly, if the Qur’an is Uncreated, what is Its relationship with Allah (s.w.t.)?  It cannot be from the Dzat, Essence, so it has to be Swifat, an Attribute. Are these Attributes Co-Eternal, as Sunni Islam believes?  If that is so, does it imply a sort of shirk, as the Itsna’ ‘Ashari claim?  My belief is that of Sunni Islam’s that the Attributes, though Co-Eternal, does not imply a multiplicity of godheads, but an immensity of the Divine Absoluteness. 

Secondly, the contention is that if Allah (s.w.t.) Exists beyond time and space, why does He Address events within spacetime, and specific to a geographic region?  Is this a reaction to Creation?  If so, does this no imply the Qur’an is Created, and specific to our timeline?  Why would Kalamullah be limited?  Some Sunni scholars say that the Qur’an, as the muswhaf, we received, is Kalamullah from the perspective of Creation, where the actual Qur’an in the Lawh al-Mahfuzh, is this but in an expansive and much more comprehensive form, Befitting its status as Kalamullah.  Personally, I am not necessarily convinced. 

Thirdly, in relation to the second point, above, for the Qur’an to Address issues in Creation, there has to be Creation.  Unless we believe that Creation has always existed, which is untenable, how can the Qur’an be Uncreated?  This point has never been adequately addressed within Sunni Islam. 

The issue of whether the Qur’an is Created or Uncreated is one that has been debated from the beginning of Islam.  The credal schools of Sunni Islam hold that the Qur’an is Uncreated, and that is the majority position today.  The Mu’tazilah, the Shi’ah and other sects of Islam believe otherwise.  To the ordinary Muslim, this issue has no real relevance. It has no impact on ‘ibadah, worship, or how we approach the Qur’an as wahy, Revelation.  It is only a point of interest among the theologians.