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1/What is the nature of the Qur’an? Was it created in time? Or has it always been (قديم)? A thread on how medieval Muslim thinkers, theologians, philosophers, and jurists understood the nature of the Muslim sacred scripture 
2/Most Sunni theologians (متكلمون) consider the Qur’an the uncreated word of God. Writing in his famous credo, which was to represent the orthodox Sunni position, Abu Ja’far al-Tahwai (d. 932) says:


3/Tahawi last statement is indicative of the magnitude of the debate regarding the nature of the Qur’an. Muslims were divided on the issue. Some alleged the Qur’an was created in time, while others held it to be pre-eternal. Philosopher & polymath Dashtaki (d. 1498) explains
4/Muslims agree that the Qur’an is the speech (كلام) of God, but that is the only extent of their agreement. Eight century Shi’i theologian Hisham b. Al-Hakam argues the Qur’an is not a creator nor created (القران لا خالق و لا مخلوق)
5/Later followers of Hisham added that it is better to be cautious & avoid uttering the statement that, “Qur’an is not created,” for it is an attribute & an a tribute cannot be described (و لا يقال غير مخلوق لانه صفة و الصفة لا تصف)
6/Keeping in the Shi’i camp, whence earliest Muslim theological deliberations emerged, Hisham advised his followers that, “Qur’an May be termed according to two categories (ضربين): first, that which is heard (مسموع). God created sound which enunciate written letters.
7/Second, if you want the Qur’an, then it is the action of God, which is similar to God’s knowledge. Put differently, Qur’an is neither God nor other than God (لا هو هو و لا غيره)
8/In the view of Kharijis, another early medieval theological current, the Qur’an was created. The Hanbalis held that God’s words are brought forth by way of “letting them be without how” & hence Qur’an is not created.
9/The Hanbalis held an austere position, that anyone who believes the words or utterances of Qur’an are created shall fall into disbelief (كفر). Majority of Hanbalis said that God’s speech is words & sounds that inhere in His essence & are thus eternal.
10/The Murji’a, another early medieval theological group fiercely opposed to Kharijis, fell into 3 camps: 1) rejectors of createdness thesis 2) upholders of createdness thesis 3) middle grounders, for whom Qur’an is neither created nor uncreated
11/The Mu’tazilis, most influential theological movement in Islam, broke into 6 camps: 1) those who said speech of God is a body (جسم) & thus Qur’an is created. 2) followers of Nazzam (d. 845) who said Qur’an is a body made up of broken letters that produce sounds when recited
12/However, for Nazzam the recitation (قراءة) is not the Qur’an per se. 3) the Qur’an is a created body that can be found in many locations at once. It is present when letters & writings that form it are organised accordingly.
13/Third camp was headed by Abu l-Hudhayl (d. 842). 4) the Qur’an is a created body but remains in same location, known as Preserved Tablet (اللوح المحفوظ), in which it is created.
14/The fourth camp represented view of Ja’far b. Harb (d. 850) & majority of Mu’tazilis in Baghdad. 5) camp headed by Mu’ammar al-Sulami (d. 830) asserted that the Qur’an is an accident (عرض) which is produced by humans during recitation.
15/Mu’ammar said God is a speaker, He is a maker of speech in others. 6) al-Iskafi (d. 854) held that the Qur’an is a created accident found in many locations at once. Iskafi claimed God is speaker because “speaker” suggests incarnation & act of speaking is identical with speech.
16/In the view of Ash’aris, majority of Sunnis today, followed deliberation of Abu Hasan al-Ash’ari (d. 936) who said the expressions (اعتبارات) & sensible pronunciations (ألفاظ), conveyed by Gabriel to Muhammad, are created. But...
17/...pointers (دلالت), which point to pre-eternal speech (الكلام الأزلي) are uncreated. One must distinguish between what is recited & recitation (المقروء و القراءة), former is pre-eternal, latter is created.
18/Later Ash’aris, such as Imam Juywani (d. 1085), said God is a speaker. His speech is pre-eternal & inheres in the divine essence, known by the technical phrase كلام نفسي.
19/In the view of al-Baqillani, eleventh century Ash’ari theologian, the speech of God is mental & an attribute of His essence that cannot be exhausted. Words are pointers to it but it is neither created nor originated. Recitation is created, though reading remains uncreated.
20/According to Ghazali (d. 1111), normative voice in Sunni theology, the speech of God is pre-eternal attribute that inheres in divine essence & not separate from God (صفة قديمة قائمة بذات الله غير منفصلة عنه).
21/Insofar as it is an entitative determinant (معنى), which inheres in divine essence, the divine speech is pre-eternal. But insofar as it is sensibly originated sounds it is created. The pre-eternal Qur’an is that which is read, it is with God,
22/Even though its arrangement took place in time. While God’s speech is contained in Qur’an, the pre-eternal attribute which point at it is not there. E.g., word “fire” in Qur’an, big fire did not exist in Qur’an all eternity, otherwise Qur’an would 
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