Quran Created? Abbas Hamdani’s Epic Debate

Abbas Hamdani’s Powerful Debate on the Quran’s Uncreated Nature

The Issue of the Quran Being Created: The Debate of Abbas Hamdani (may Allah have mercy on him) Against Caliph Al-Wathiq Billah, Regarding Which Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) Said: This is a debate that should be written down and hung in every mosque, and its teachings should be taught to family members and children.

Salamah bin Ja’far Ramli narrates that Abbas bin Mishkawiyyah Hamdani (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated to us (the incident of the debate), saying:

“I and a group of scholars were presented before Caliph Al-Wathiq Billah. He began questioning me in front of everyone. I said: O Commander of the Believers! I am currently a fearful man, and I have no prior experience in speaking with the Caliphs.”

He said: “Do not be afraid, no harm will come to you. By the way, what is your opinion about the Quran?”

I said: “It is the Word of Allah and is not created.”

He said: “I am certain that you will confess that the Noble Quran is created, otherwise I will strike off your head.”

I said: “If Allah has decreed this, then you are sitting in the very place where you will kill me, O Commander of the Believers! My advice to you is to be lenient with me, for either I will be a knowledgeable person, in which case my argument (regarding the Quran being the Word of Allah) will be strong, or I will be ignorant, in which case it is obligatory upon you to teach and instruct me with clear and explicit evidence, for you are the Commander of the Believers and Allah’s Caliph on earth and the cousin (descendant) of the Prophet ﷺ.”

The Caliph said: “Do you not recite this verse:

{إِنَّا كُلَّ شَیۡءٍ خَلَقۡنَـٰهُ بِقَدَرࣲ} – (١)

“Indeed, all things We have created with predestination.” (Quran 54:49)

Similarly: {وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَیۡءࣲ فَقَدَّرَهُۥ تَقۡدِیرࣰا} – (٢)

“And He created every thing and determined [it] with [precise] determination.” (Quran 25:2)

I said: “O Commander of the Believers! Is the word ‘all’ in the Noble Quran general or specific?” He said: “General.”

I said: “No, rather it is specific, because in another place Allah the Almighty says (regarding the Queen of Sheba):

{وَأُوتِیَتۡ مِن كُلِّ شَیۡءࣲ} – (٣)

"And she has been given of all things." (Quran 27:23)

So, according to the word ‘all’ in the verse, was the Queen of Sheba also given the kingdom of Solomon (peace be upon him)?”

Upon this, he grabbed me and struck me against the pillar in front of him, and then ordered the executioner:

“Take him out and strike off his head.” I was taken to a circular niche near the Caliph, where my neck was bound. Then I addressed the Caliph, saying: “O Commander of the Believers! You are striking off my head, and I am going to the Divine Presence as a slain person before you. So, be prepared for the answer (on the Day of Judgment).”

The Caliph then ordered:

“Take this heretic out and put him in the most confined prison.”

So, I was taken towards Dar al-Ammah (a public place where people usually gather to discuss religious and worldly affairs), where Ibn Abi Du’ad al-Mu’tazili was already debating with people about the Quran being created. When he saw me, he said: “O Khurrami! (5)” I said: “You and your companions are the Dajjalic group.”

So, I was imprisoned in a Baghdad prison called Mitbaq. Then, a group of scholars sent me a letter in which they encouraged me and urged me to remain steadfast in my position. When I read that letter, it contained these verses – (4):

(١) عَلَیْكَ بِالعِلْمِ وَاهْجُرْ کُلَّ مُبْتَدِع

وَکُلَّ غَاوِ إِلَی الأَهْوَاءِ مَیَّالِ

Adhere to knowledge and forsake every innovator, and every misguided person inclined towards desires.

(٢) وَلَا تَمِیلَنَّ یَا هَذَا إِلَی بِدَعٍ

یَضِلُّ أَصْحَابُهَا بِالقِیلِ وَالقَالِ

O servant! Never incline towards innovations, for the innovators are misguided by idle talk and debate.

(٣) إِنَّ القُرْآنَ کَلَامُ اللهِ أَنْزَلَهُ

لَیْسَ القُرْآنُ بِمَخْلُوقٍ وَلَا بَالِ

Indeed, the Quran is the Word of Allah, which He revealed, and the Quran is not created, nor is it worn out.

(٤) لَوْ أَنَّهُ کَانَ مَخْلُوقاً لَصَیَّرَهُ

رَیْبُ الزَّمَانِ إِلَی مَوْتِ وَإِبْطَالِ

If the Quran were created, the doubts and uncertainties of time would have led to its demise and nullification.

(٥) وَکَیْفَ یَبْطُلُ مَا لَا شَیْءَ یُبْطِلُهُ

أَمْ کَیْفَ یَبْلَی کَلَامُ الخَالِقِ العَالِی

How can something perish which nothing can cause to perish? Or how can the Word of the Exalted Creator become worn out?

(٦) وَهَلْ یُضِیفُ کَلَامَ اللهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ

إِلَی البِلَی غَیْرُ ضُلَّالٍ وَجُهَّالِ

And who attributes the Word of Allah to decay except the misguided and the ignorant?

(٧) فَلَا تَقُلْ بِالَّذِی قَالُوا وَإِنْ سَفِهُوا

وَأَوْثَقُوكَ بِأَقْیَادٍ وَأَغْلَالِ

So do not speak according to what they say, even if they act foolishly, and even if they bind you with shackles and chains.

(٨) أَلَمْ تَرَ العَالِمَ الصَبَّارَ حَیْثُ بُلِی

بِالسَّوْطِ هَلْ زَالَ عَنْ حَالٍ إِلَی حَالِ

Have you not seen the patient scholar when he was afflicted with the whip? Did he waver from his state?

(٩) فَاصْبِرْ عَلَی کُلِّ مَا یَأْتِی الزَّمَانُ بِهِ

فَالصَّبْرُ سِرْبَالُهُ مِنْ خَیْرِ سِرْبَالِ

So be patient with all that time brings, for patience is its best garment.

(١٠) یَا صَاحِبَ السِّجْنِ فَکِّرْ فِیمَ تَحْسِبُهُ

أَقَاتِلُ هُوَ أَمْ عَوْنٌ لِقِتَالِ

O companion of the prison! Think about what you consider me to be. Am I a murderer, or an aid to a murderer?

(١١) أَمْ هَلْ أَتَیْتَ بِهِ رَأْساً لِرَافِضَةٍ

یَرَی الخُرُوجَ لَهُم جَهْلًا عَلَی الوالی

Or have I come with this as a leader of the Rafidah (a deviant sect), who ignorantly consider rebellion against the ruler permissible for them?

(١٢) أَمْ هَلْ أُصِیبَ عَلَی خَمْرٍ وَمِعْزَفَةٍ

یُصَرِّفُ الکَأْسَ فِیهَا کُلُّ ضَلَالِ

Or have I been afflicted for wine and musical instruments, in which every misguided person circulates the cup?

(١٣) مَا هَکَذَا هُوَ بَلْ لَکِنَّهُ وَرِعٌ

عَفٌّ عَفِیفٌ عَنِ الْأَعْرَاضِ وَالمَالِ

It is not like that at all, but rather he is pious, chaste, and abstinent from [violating] honors and [misusing] wealth.

Then, after a few days, the Caliph summoned me, brought me out of prison, stood me before him, and said: “Perhaps you are still holding onto the same thing that I heard from you last time?”

I said: “O Commander of the Believers! By Allah, I supplicate to my Lord day and night that He may cause me to die upon the same belief that you heard from me.”

The Caliph said: “I see you as steadfast!”

I said: “This is not something that I have said on my own (meaning that the Quran is the Word of Allah, not created), but rather it is what I encountered the scholars of Makkah, Madinah, Kufah, Basra, Syria, and other lands upon, and I found them upon this same Sunnah (creed) and Jama’ah (community).”

So, the Caliph asked me: “What is the Sunnah and the Jama’ah?”

I said: “I asked the scholars about this, and each one told me that the characteristic of a believer from Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah is that:

(1)The servant sincerely says: ‘There is no true god except Allah, He is One, He has no partners, and Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and messenger.’

(2)He affirms all that the prophets and messengers brought.

(3)The servant testifies to his faith with his tongue and heart.

(4)He has complete faith in the decree that comes from Allah, whether it is good or bad.

(5)The servant knows that whatever affliction has befallen him was bound to happen, and whatever affliction did not befall him was not meant to happen to him.

(6)Faith is a matter of words and deeds, it increases with obedience to Allah and decreases with disobedience.

(7)Allah the Exalted has knowledge of what His creation will do, and where they will return, one group to Paradise and one group to Hellfire.

(8)To pray the Friday and Eid prayers behind every righteous and wicked Imam.

(9)To offer the obligatory prayers on time, neither early nor late.

(10)To testify to the Paradise of the ten individuals (Asharah Mubasharah) whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ testified to from among the Quraysh.

(11)To love and hate people for the sake of Allah.

(12)Divorce occurs with a single utterance.

(13)To wipe over the socks for three days for the traveler and one day and night for the resident.

(14)To shorten prayers while traveling when he travels sixteen farsakh according to the Hashemi mile, which is forty-eight miles (77 kilometers).

(15)To hasten the breaking of the fast and delay the pre-dawn meal (Suhoor).

(16)To place the right hand over the left hand in prayer, to say ‘Aameen’ loudly, and to say ‘Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim’ silently.

(17)To testify with one’s tongue and believe in one’s heart that the best people of this Ummah after the Prophet ﷺ are Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman, then Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all).

(18)To refrain from mentioning the differences and disputes that occurred among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

(19)To believe in the Resurrection, the Gathering, the punishment of the grave, Munkar and Nakir (the two angels who question in the grave), the Bridge (Sirat), and the Scale (Mizan).

(٢٠) اس بات پر ایمان رکھنا کہ اللہ عزوجل اس امت کے کبیرہ گناہ کرنے والوں کو جہنم سے (ایک مقررہ مدت کے بعد) نکالے گا اور یہ کہ اس میں صرف مشرک ہی ہمیشہ رہیں گے.

(20)To believe that Allah the Exalted will bring out the major sinners of this Ummah from Hellfire (after a specified period), and that only the polytheists will remain in it forever.

(٢١)اسی طرح جنتیوں کا اللہ عزوجل کو اپنی آنکھوں سے دیکھنے پر ایمان رکھنا.

(21)Similarly, to believe that the people of Paradise will see Allah the Exalted with their own eyes.

(٢٢) اور یہ ایمان رکھنا کہ قرآن، اللہ کا کلام ہے، مخلوق نہیں.

(22)And to believe that the Quran is the Word of Allah, not created.

(٢٣) اور یہ کہ قیامت کے دن پوری زمین اس کی مٹھی میں ہوگی، اور تمام آسمانیں اس کے دائیں ہاتھ میں لپٹے ہوں گے، وہ ذات مشرکوں کے شرک سے پاک اور بلند وبالا ہے. – (٦)

(23)And that on the Day of Resurrection, the entire earth will be in His grasp, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand. Glorified and exalted is He above all that they associate with Him. – (Quran 39:67)

When the Caliph heard this from me, he ordered that my four molar teeth be extracted, and said:

“Take him away from me, lest he corrupt my belief as well.”

So, I was taken out. Then I met Abu Abdullah Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him). He asked me about what had happened with the Caliph, so I told him all the details. Upon this, he said: “When you stand before Allah, Allah will not forget your position (of patience).”

Then Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“We should write this incident and hang it on the doors of our mosques, and teach it to our families and children.”

Then he looked at his son Salih and said:

“Write down this Hadith (narration), record it on a white sheet, and preserve it. And know that this is the best Hadith that you will have written when you meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection. You will find this Hadith in accordance with the Sunnah and the Jama’ah.”

📘[الإبانة لإبن بطة العكبري : ٢٨٤/٢]

Selection and Translation:
Umm Muhammad Khushnuma Muslehuddin
Jamiat Umm Al-Qura, Makkah Al-Mukarramah

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(1) القمر : ٤٩

(2) الفرقان : ٢

(3) النمل : ٢٣

(4) These verses are by Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him), which he said to Nu’aim bin Hammad as advice.

(5) الخرمية: A Persian word meaning those who follow desires and act according to them (Mu’jam al-Buldan: 2/362)

(6) The righteous predecessors (Salaf Salih) mentioned some of these jurisprudential issues in their creeds in which the people of Sunnah differed from other false sects. This was because at some point, extremist heretical groups denied these issues, to the extent that these issues became their distinguishing features. Therefore, the Imams of Ahlus Sunnah mentioned these issues in the chapter of creed so that Ahlus Sunnah would be distinguished from other false sects.