By contrast, when someone composes an utterance—whether in poetry or in prose—and another person produces its duplicate, people will say, “This is like So-and-so’s words.”

As the Exalted said:
“Likewise did those before them say something similar to what they say.” (al-Baqarah 2:118)

And about the Quran He said:
“Say: Even if humankind and the jinn joined forces to produce the like of this Quran, they would never produce its like.” (al-Isrāʾ 17:88)

Hence, were a reciter to declare, “I can bring a Quran equal to Muhammad’s Quran,” and then proceed to recite that very Quran itself, claiming, “This is its equivalent,” people would repudiate him, laugh at him, and retort, “This is the very Quran he himself has brought; it is not some other speech resembling it.”

Therefore, because the Quran that Muslims recite is the word of Allah conveyed by His Messenger, it is unlawful to say, “It is not Allah’s word; rather, it is merely something like it,” or, “It is only a report of it,” or, “It is just an expression of it.”

And since it is acknowledged to be Allah’s own speech, Allah—glorified be He—spoke it; He did not create it as something apart from Himself. It is thus impermissible to describe what is His word as “created.”

So if someone were to say of the very Quran Muslims recite, “It is created,” while whatever is created is distinct—