Abū Dāwūd said: “I asked Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ about someone who says, ‘The Qur’an is the speech of Allah,’ yet neither states that it is created nor that it is uncreated.” He replied, “This man is a doubter, and the doubter is an unbeliever (1).

I responded, “Rather, he is simply silent. Whoever keeps silent out of reverent caution is not to be charged with any position, but whoever keeps silent because he is uncertain and thereby belittles the early generations is an innovator.”

Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Miṣrī said: “I asked Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ: ‘Some people claim that our utterance of the Qur’an is other than the uttered text itself.’ He answered, ‘Our utterance of the Qur’an is precisely the uttered text; a citation is what is cited, and it is the speech of Allah, uncreated. Whoever says, “My utterance of it is created,” is an unbeliever.’

I said: ‘If a person says “my utterance” intending by it the Qur’an itself, then yes, that is unbelief. But if he says “my utterance” meaning only my articulation, my voice, my personal act, and affirms that these are created, then he is correct, for Allah—exalted is He—is the Creator of us, of our actions, and of our instruments. Still, refraining from such debates is the Sunnah. It is enough for a person to believe that the Glorious Qur’an is the speech of Allah, His revelation sent down to the heart of His Prophet, and that it is uncreated.

It is obvious to anyone of sound mind that when a group recites a surah they are all reciting one and the same thing, even though their voices, modes of reading, and throats are distinct entities. What is recited is the speech of their Lord, whereas their individual readings, articulations, and melodies differ. Whoever cannot grasp the distinction between the act of uttering and the uttered text—leave him alone and turn away from him.”