Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Among the fundamental beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah is that the Noble Quran is the Word of Allah. Allah spoke it in a manner befitting His majesty and greatness, and the Quran is not created.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿And if any of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allah.﴾ [Al-Tawbah 9:6]
And He says:
﴿He said: O Moses, I have chosen you above the people through My messages and My speech.﴾ [Al-A‘raf 7:144]
More than one of the leading scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah transmitted their consensus that the Quran is the Word of Allah and is uncreated. Among them was Imam al-Ajurri, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book al-Shari‘ah, where he stated that the Quran is part of the knowledge of Allah, and that Allah’s knowledge is one of His attributes; therefore, it cannot be created.
This principle is established by the Quran, the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions, and the words of the Muslim imams.
It is narrated in Sahih Muslim from Abu Umamah al-Bahili, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Recite the Quran, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection as an intercessor for its companions. Recite the two radiant ones: al-Baqarah and Surat Al ‘Imran, for they will come on the Day of Resurrection as though they were two clouds, or two canopies, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading on behalf of their companions.”
Some people of innovation have used this hadith as evidence that the Quran is created, arguing that whatever comes and moves must necessarily be created.
This argument is incorrect. The hadith does not entail that the very Speech of Allah becomes a created thing. Rather, as a number of the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah explained, what is intended is the reward and virtue resulting from reciting the Quran, and that Allah will give that reward a form by which it will be recognized on the Day of Resurrection, making it a means of supporting and interceding for its companion.
Ibn Qutaybah, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that the meaning of al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran coming as though they were two clouds is that their reward will come to the person who recited them, and that this reward will become a means of shading and defending him on the Day of Resurrection.
It is important to distinguish between the Quran as the Word of Allah and the reward resulting from reciting it and acting upon it.
The revealed texts may sometimes refer to a thing while intending what results from it, such as its reward or recompense. This is well known in the Arabic language and in the religious texts.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.﴾ [Al-Zalzalah 99:7–8]
This does not mean that a person will literally see the very deed he performed in this world in its worldly form. Rather, he will see the reward, recompense, or punishment resulting from that deed.
Accordingly, what has been narrated about the coming of the Quran, prayer, fasting, and other deeds may be understood as referring to the reward for them, or to the recompense and form that Allah has prepared for them, through which their doer will benefit.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned that the Jahmiyyah used the hadiths about al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran coming, and the Quran coming in the form of a pale man, as evidence against Imam Ahmad and other imams of Ahl al-Sunnah. They argued that whatever comes and goes must be created.
He explained that this reasoning is invalid, because merely mentioning coming and arriving does not mean that the thing described is created. The Quran itself describes Allah تعالى as coming and arriving. Allah says:
﴿Are they waiting for anything but that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come?﴾ [Al-An‘am 6:158]
And He says:
﴿And your Lord comes, and the angels, rank upon rank.﴾ [Al-Fajr 89:22]
Thus, the words “coming” and “arriving” in themselves do not indicate that the one described by them is created.
Furthermore, the hadith occurs in the context of encouraging people to recite the Quran and explaining the reward of its reciter. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Recite the Quran, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection as an intercessor for its companions.” He then specifically mentioned al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran and explained that they would plead on behalf of their companions.
For this reason, a number of the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah understood this coming as referring to the coming of the reward and recompense connected to reciting the Quran and acting upon it.
Allah may give meanings and deeds forms that can be seen in the realm of the barzakh or on the Day of Resurrection, as indicated by numerous texts. This does not necessarily mean that the original deed or speech itself is created.
Reciting the Quran is an action performed by the servant, its reward is created, and Allah may give that reward a form through which it appears on the Day of Resurrection and benefits its recipient.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between affirming that the Quran is the uncreated Word of Allah and the reports that it, or some of its surahs, will come in the form of a cloud or another form. These texts do not indicate that the Speech of Allah itself has become created. Rather, they relate to the reward and recompense resulting from reciting it, or to the forms and representations that Allah may give that reward on the Day of Resurrection.
The hadiths concerning the coming of the Quran, or Surat al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran, on the Day of Resurrection cannot validly be used as evidence that the Quran is created.
The Noble Quran is the Word of Allah and is uncreated. As for the reports that al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran, or the Quran, will come in a particular form, they are understood—according to the explanation given by a number of the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah—as referring to the coming of the reward for reciting and acting upon the Quran, or to the form and recompense that Allah will give it on the Day of Resurrection.
In this way, the apparent difficulty is resolved, and there is no contradiction between the texts.
And Allah تعالى knows best.