Holy Qur’ān as Mutakallim or Kalīm, that is, as One Who speaks.11 It has already been shown that there are many names of the Divine Being that are taken from some attribute or act ascribed to Him in the Holy Qur’ān, as for instance, al-Rāfi’, al-Qābidz, al-Bā‘siṭ, al-Mujīb, al-Muḥyī, etc. There are even names that are taken not from an express attribute or act but from the sense simply, as al-Wājid, al-Muqaddim, al-Mu’akhkhir, etc. Now the attribute kalām of the Divine Being is mentioned frequently in the Holy Qur’ān. God spoke to (kallama) Moses (4:164; 7:143); He spoke to (kallama) other prophets (2:253); He speaks to those who are not prophets (42:51). This leaves no doubt that speaking is an attribute of God according to the Holy Qur’ān, just as seeing and hearing are His attributes. The list of the ninety-nine names that has been prepared may not include it, but the Holy Qur’ān definitely and decidedly states again and again that God has been speaking to His servants. Hence, though no prophet will come after Holy Prophet Muḥammad, yet God still speaks to His righteous servants, because it is one of His attributes, and because His attributes cannot cease to function.
The useless controversy which once occupied the attention of the Muslim world as to whether the Holy Qur’ān was created or uncreated, and whether it was eternal or came into existence afterwards (muḥdath), on account of which many men of note had to suffer great hardships, seems to have been due to some misunderstanding. It is recognized by all that speech (kalām) is an attribute of God, and all attributes of the Divine Being are inseparable from Him; indeed the Divine Being could not be conceived of as existing without these. Hence none of His attributes could be said either to have been created or to be muḥdath, that is, coming into existence afterwards. But there is equally no doubt that Divine attributes find expression at different times. God sees and hears from eternity, He sees and hears now and He will see and hear in the future. Similarly He speaks from eternity; He speaks even now and He will speak in the future. When Adam came into this world, He granted Him a revelation; afterwards He granted a revelation to Noah, then to Abraham, then to Moses. He granted revelations to all nations of the world, each at a particular time and in the language of that particular people. That revelation, and in fact all events of the
11 En. Is., art. Kalām.