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Is the statement that the Quran is ancient and eternal considered polytheism or disbelief?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Saying "the Word of Allah is eternal (qadim)" is not polytheism (shirk) or disbelief (kufr), but rather it is a contradiction to the Mu'tazilah who say that the Quran is created. However, it is a bad innovation (bid'ah) to believe that Allah spoke the Quran in eternity (al-azal) and that the Quran is eternally existent in its very essence ('ayn). But if it is meant by it that the Quran is the Word of Allah, and His Word is uncreated, but rather a attribute (sifah) of His attributes, then He has always been speaking whenever He wills, then this is a correct meaning. The Word of Allah is eternal in its type (naw') and originated in its individual instances (ahad), and it is a self-related and active attribute (sifah dhatiya fi'liya). Describing the Word of Allah as eternal (qadim) is a newly introduced term, and it is more appropriate to say: eternal in its type and originated in its individual instances, and that Allah has always been speaking and will continue to speak as He wills.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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