Is the Qur’an Allah?
Eternity, Createdness, and the Problem of Monotheism in Islamic Theology
By Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
Abstract
One of the most persistent and unresolved theological tensions within Islam concerns the nature of the Qur'an. Classical Islamic theology is divided over whether the Qur’an is created or uncreated. This article argues that both positions generate serious philosophical and theological problems for Islamic monotheism (tawḥīd). If the Qur’an is created, it cannot be the eternal speech of Allah. If it is uncreated and eternal, then Islam appears to affirm two eternal realities, raising fundamental questions about whether Islam consistently maintains monotheism while simultaneously rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.
1. The Central Question: What Is the Qur’an?
Islam universally affirms that the Qur’an is the kalām Allāh—the speech of Allah. However, Islamic theology has never reached consensus on how this speech exists in relation to Allah Himself. The dilemma can be framed simply:
Is the Qur’an created in time, or
Is the Qur’an uncreated and eternal?
This question is not peripheral. It strikes at the heart of divine ontology, revelation, and the coherence of Islamic monotheism.
2. The Created Qur’an: A Finite Revelation?
The Muʿtazilite school famously argued that the Qur’an is created. Their motivation was to preserve absolute divine unity and avoid positing anything eternal alongside Allah.
However, this position generates severe consequences:
Denial of Eternal Speech
If the Qur’an is created, then Allah’s speech is not eternal. This implies that Allah was once without speech, contradicting the Islamic claim that divine attributes are eternal.Undermining Divine Perfection
Speech is not an accidental attribute but an essential expression of intellect and will. A God who acquires speech in time is, by definition, mutable—an attribute incompatible with classical theism.Theological Instability
If the Qur’an is created, then it becomes a contingent object, subject to historical conditions. This weakens claims of its absolute, timeless authority.
Thus, in attempting to protect monotheism, the “created Qur’an” position undermines divine immutability and perfection.
3. The Uncreated Qur’an: Two Eternals?
The dominant Sunni position holds that the Qur’an is uncreated, eternal, and subsisting with Allah. This view avoids the problems of mutability but introduces a far deeper contradiction.
If the Qur’an is:
Eternal
Uncreated
Distinct from creation
then the following dilemma arises:
Is the Qur’an identical to Allah, or distinct from Allah?
3.1 If Identical to Allah
If the Qur’an is Allah, then Muslims effectively identify a book, words, sounds, and letters with God Himself. This is theologically incoherent and borders on bibliolatry.
3.2 If Distinct from Allah
If the Qur’an is not Allah, yet eternal and uncreated, then Islam affirms two eternal realities:
Allah
The Qur’an
This violates the very principle of tawḥīd Islam claims to defend. Monotheism, by definition, does not permit multiple uncreated eternals.
4. The Trinity Objection Reconsidered
Islam frequently rejects the Christian Trinity on the grounds that it compromises divine unity. Yet Christianity does not teach three gods, but one God with eternally existing personal distinctions.
Ironically, classical Sunni Islam affirms:
One God (Allah)
An uncreated, eternal speech (the Qur’an)
Multiple eternal divine attributes without personal distinction
The question then becomes unavoidable:
How can Islam accuse Christianity of polytheism while affirming an eternal reality alongside Allah that is not Allah?
At minimum, Islam faces the same metaphysical complexity it condemns—without the philosophical clarity Christianity provides through Trinitarian ontology.
5. Philosophical Implications
From a philosophical standpoint, Islam is caught in a false dilemma:
Created Qur’an → God is mutable and not eternally speaking
Uncreated Qur’an → Two eternals, undermining monotheism
Both options compromise either:
Divine perfection, or
Divine unity
There is no third coherent alternative within Islamic theology.
6. Conclusion
The question “Is the Qur’an Allah?” is not rhetorical—it is unavoidable. Islamic theology cannot coherently maintain that the Qur’an is eternal, uncreated, and yet not divine without collapsing into contradiction.
Thus, Islam faces a fundamental challenge:
How can Islam consistently claim monotheism if both Allah and the Qur’an are eternal and uncreated?
Until this dilemma is resolved, Islamic claims of theological simplicity and superior monotheism remain philosophically and logically unsubstantiated.
Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
No comments:
Post a Comment