All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
There is nothing wrong with saying, “The Quran says” or “the verse says.” These are correct and commonly used expressions, and their meaning is clear. They do not conflict with the belief that the Quran is the Speech of Allah, because what is meant is that this statement is contained in the Quran, while Allah Himself is truly the One who spoke the Quran.
Therefore, these expressions are not considered verbal innovations, nor does using them imply the belief that the Quran speaks independently of Allah.
One of the fundamental beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah is that the Quran is the Speech of Allah. Allah truly spoke it, and it was revealed and is not created.
The Quran is not speech originated by Jibril (Gabriel), peace be upon him, nor speech originated by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Rather, it is the Speech of Allah which He revealed to His Messenger ﷺ.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Speech is truly attributed to the one who originally uttered it, not to the one who merely conveys and transmits it.”
Thus, Allah is the One who originally spoke the Quran, while Jibril, peace be upon him, and the Prophet ﷺ conveyed it.
Although the Quran is truly the Speech of Allah, Allah attributed it to the Messenger because he conveys and delivers it.
Allah says:
﴿Indeed, it is the word of a noble Messenger.﴾
[Al-Haqqah: 40]
The Messenger intended here is Muhammad ﷺ.
Allah also says:
﴿Indeed, it is the word of a noble Messenger, possessing power and having a high position with the Lord of the Throne, obeyed there and trustworthy.﴾
[At-Takwir: 19–21]
The Messenger intended in these verses is Jibril, peace be upon him.
This does not mean that Jibril or Muhammad ﷺ composed the Quran themselves. Rather, the statement is attributed to them because of their conveying and delivering it, while the One who originally spoke it is Allah.
Yes, there is no problem with that.
Indeed, the Quran itself attributes actions of this kind to the Quran.
Allah says:
﴿Indeed, this Quran relates to the Children of Israel most of that over which they differ.﴾
[An-Naml: 76]
And He says:
﴿Indeed, this Quran guides to that which is most upright and gives glad tidings to the believers.﴾
[Al-Isra’: 9]
And Allah says:
﴿This, Our Book, speaks about you in truth.﴾
[Al-Jathiyah: 29]
Thus, the Quran is described as relating, guiding, and giving glad tidings, while the Book is described as speaking the truth.
Therefore, the expression “the Quran says” contains no religiously prohibited meaning.
When someone says, “This verse says such-and-such,” they do not mean that the verse is an independent person speaking by itself. Rather, what is meant is:
This is the meaning or statement contained in this verse from the Speech of Allah.
This is a well-known linguistic usage whose meaning is understood from context and does not cause confusion in matters of belief.
It is similar to a researcher saying, “The hadith says,” or “the text indicates such-and-such.” Such expressions are intended to explain what the text contains.
Saying “the Quran says” does not mean denying that Allah is the One who speaks the Quran.
The Quran is the Speech of Allah. Therefore, when we say that the Quran says something, the meaning is that Allah said it in the Quran.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him, explained this meaning when commenting on the verse:
﴿Indeed, this Quran relates to the Children of Israel...﴾
He explained that relating a story is a form of speech, and that the Quran relates these stories because it is the Speech of Allah, while Allah Himself is the One who narrated them.
Allah says:
﴿We relate to you the best of stories through what We have revealed to you of this Quran.﴾
[Yusuf: 3]
Therefore, there is no contradiction between saying “the Quran relates” and saying “Allah relates”, because the Quran is the Speech of Allah.
No. It is not correct to regard the expressions “the Quran says” or “the verse says” as verbal innovations merely because speech is attributed to the Quran or to a verse.
This is a clear and understood usage that does not involve any false belief. The Quran itself contains similar expressions in which relating, guidance, glad tidings, and speaking are attributed to the Quran and the Book.
What matters in such expressions is the intended meaning, so long as it is clear and does not imply a belief contrary to Islam.
It is permissible to say, “The Quran says” and “the verse says.” There is nothing wrong with this, and it is not considered a verbal innovation.
The Quran is truly the Speech of Allah, and Allah is the One who originally spoke it. Saying “the Quran says” means that this statement appears in the Quran, which is the Speech of Allah.
The Quran itself attributes relating, guidance, glad tidings, and speaking to the Quran and the Book, which demonstrates the validity and clarity of this expression.
And Allah knows best.