that people have put forward concerning the speech of Allah, even though most of those positions are mistaken. Now, because the unsoundness of the Christians’ claim is more obvious to people of reason, the error contained in the majority of those other views remained hidden from the very thinkers who espoused them, whereas the falsity of the Christian claim did not escape their notice.

Moreover, the extremists who profess indwelling (ḥulūl)—whom Muslims deem to be unbelievers—such as those who assert that He indwells certain members of the Prophet’s household (Ahl al-Bayt) or particular shaykhs, although they are indeed disbelievers and share with the Christians the idea of indwelling, never said that the Word which indwelt is the Creator-God. Consequently, they did not fall into the flagrant self-contradiction found in the Christian doctrine—although in some respects their view is even worse than that of the Christians.

Fourth point: One may say, If the Messiah were Himself the very Word of Allah, that Word is still not the deity who created the heavens and the earth, nor does it forgive sins or requite people for their deeds—whether His Word is an attribute of His, like His other attributes, or something created by Him, like His other creations. Allah’s knowledge, power, and life did not bring the universe into existence, and no one says, “O knowledge of Allah, forgive me; O power of Allah, accept my repentance; O speech of Allah, have mercy on me,” nor does anyone say, “O Torah of Allah,”