Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The Noble Qur’an is truly the Word of Allah تعالى, and it is uncreated, because the Speech of Allah is one of His attributes, and the attributes of Allah تعالى are uncreated. As for the servant’s recitation of the Qur’an and the movements, voice, and writing that proceed from him, all of these are created acts of the servants.
Allah تعالى truly spoke the Qur’an. Jibril عليه السلام heard it from Him, then descended with it to the Prophet ﷺ and conveyed it to him.
The Speech of Allah تعالى is one of His attributes, and the attributes of Allah سبحانه وتعالى are uncreated. Therefore, Ahl al-Sunnah affirmed that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah and is uncreated.
Allah تعالى says:
“And Allah created you and what you do.” [As-Saffat 37:96]
This verse indicates that the actions of the servants are included in Allah’s creation.
In this matter, two things must be distinguished:
First: The Speech of Allah تعالى itself.
It is the Qur’an that Allah spoke, which Jibril عليه السلام heard and brought down to the Prophet ﷺ. This is the Speech of Allah and one of His attributes, and it is uncreated.
Second: The servant’s action when reciting the Qur’an.
When a servant recites the Qur’an, he uses his tongue, movement, and voice. All of these are created, because the servant himself is created and his actions are created.
Thus, the tongue that recites is created, the reciter’s movement is created, the voice that comes from him is created, and the paper, ink, and pen are created. All of these are means and vessels through which the servant carries, conveys, and recites the Word of Allah تعالى.
Imam al-Bukhari رحمه الله clarified this matter in his book Khalq Af‘al al-‘Ibad (The Creation of the Acts of the Servants). He transmitted from Yahya ibn Sa‘id that the acts of the servants are created, and then said:
“Their movements, voices, actions, and writing are created. As for the recited, clear Qur’an established in the written manuscript and preserved in the hearts, it is the Word of Allah, not created.”
He also transmitted the statement of Ishaq ibn Ibrahim concerning the vessels that carry the Qur’an: “As for the vessels, who could doubt that they are created?”
Thus, the mushaf before us contains the Word of Allah, while the paper, ink, writing, and instrument with which it was written are created things.
When a Muslim recites the Qur’an, the Qur’an he recites is the Word of Allah تعالى, while the voice that comes from his mouth is the created voice of the reciter.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله said:
“The Qur’an that we recite is the Word of Allah, conveyed from Him... We only recite it through our movements and voices. The speech is the Speech of the Creator, while the voice is the voice of the reciter.”
He cited the saying of Allah تعالى:
“And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allah, then convey him to his place of safety.” [At-Tawbah 9:6]
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Beautify the Qur’an with your voices.”
Thus, the hadith attributes the voices to the reciters, while what is being recited itself is the Word of Allah تعالى.
There is no contradiction here, because the Qur’an, insofar as it is the Speech of Allah تعالى, is uncreated, while recitation, insofar as it is an action performed by the servant, is created.
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’ stated that the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah is that the Qur’an is truly the Word of Allah, with both its letters and meanings, revealed and uncreated; that it remains the Word of Allah wherever it is recited and wherever it is written; and that the servant merely recites it through his movements and voices. The speech is the Speech of Allah, and the voice is the voice of the reciter.
Therefore, a Muslim should not allow this matter to become a cause of anxiety or obsessive doubt. Rather, one should affirm what is established in the Qur’an and Sunnah and distinguish between the attribute of Allah تعالى and the actions of the servants without confusing the two.
The Noble Qur’an is truly the Word of Allah تعالى and is uncreated, because it is from the Speech of Allah and is one of His attributes. As for the servant’s recitation of the Qur’an, his movements, voice, and writing, all of these are created acts of the servants.
When a Muslim recites the Qur’an, what he recites is the uncreated Word of Allah, while the reciter’s voice, movement, and performance are created. Thus, the difficulty is resolved, and saying that the reciter’s voice is created does not entail that the Qur’an itself is created.
And Allah تعالى knows best.