Allah will lead him astray; it is Allah’s firm rope, the wise reminder, and the straight path. Caprice cannot cause it to deviate, tongues are not confused by it, scholars never have their fill of it, it never wears thin through constant repetition, and its wonders never cease. Whoever speaks according to it speaks truth; whoever acts upon it is rewarded; whoever judges by it judges justly; and whoever calls to it is guided to a straight path.

The Quran’s rank and excellence are commensurate with the rank and excellence of the One to whom it belongs as an attribute. The Quran is Allah’s speech and an attribute of His. Just as He—Mighty and Majestic—has no equal or likeness in His names and attributes, His speech likewise has no equal or likeness. Absolute perfection belongs to Him—Mighty and Majestic—in His Essence, names, and attributes. Nothing in His creation resembles Him, nor does He—Mighty and Majestic—resemble anything in His creation. Exalted and holy is He, far above any likeness or peer: “There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”1 The difference between Allah’s speech and the speech of created beings is like the difference between the Creator and created beings.

Abu Abd al-Rahmān al-Sulamī—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “The excellence of the Quran over all other speech is like the excellence of the Lord over His creation, for it is from Him.”2

This wording has also been narrated as a statement of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—but that attribution is not established, as Imam al-Bukhārī—may Allah have mercy on him—explained in his book The Creation of the Servants’ Acts3, as have other leading scholars. Its meaning, however, is undoubtedly true; nor can there be any doubt about its excellence, cogency, soundness, and the beauty of what it conveys. Scholars have adduced