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Arianism is a Christological doctrine which considers Jesus to be a creation of God. Here, Jesus who is believed in the orthodox teaching as the revelation of God Himself is thus regarded just as a created being, not divine; He is distinct from God and has some divine attributes. In the context of Islam, the polemic on the ‘createdness’ and the ‘uncreatedness’ of God’s WordS manifested in the debate between the theological thoughts of the Mu’tazilites and that of the Ash'arites. The status of the Qur'an as the verbatim words of God is undisputed belief among Muslims. However, beyond the agreement on this fundamental doctrine, there was, throughout Islamic history, the different understanding on the nature of the Qur’an whether it is eternal and co-existent with God or created by God. In understanding the nature of the Qur’an as God’s words, the Mu'tazilites upheld the doctrine of the creation of the Qur'an, whereas the Ash’arites maintained that the Qur’an is eternal or uncreated. The discourse here will explore further the origin of the doctrine of the createdness and the uncreatedness of the Qur’an, including the debate on this issue in classical and contemporary Islamic thoughts, as well as its methodological implications on the interpretation of the Qur’an.

Arianism, Mu’tazilites, Ash’arites, Qur'an