by His action, His command, His creation, and His forming is an effected, created, and fashioned thing (1).

Imām Aḥmad said (2)—in the text he transmitted in al-Radd ʿalā al-Jahmiyyah, clarifying what the Jahmiyyah denied, namely (3) that Allah spoke to Moses, peace be upon him, upon our Prophet, and upon all the prophets:

(We asked, Why (4) did you deny that?)

They replied, Because (5) Allah has never spoken and does not speak; He merely brought a thing into being that expressed on behalf of Allah, and He created a sound which was heard. Thus they alleged (6) that speech can issue only from an interior cavity, a mouth, lips, and a tongue (7).

So we said, Is it [yajūzu] (permissible) (8) for something created, or for anyone (9) other than Allah, to say to Moses:

“There is no deity but I, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance” (10),

and,

“Indeed, I am your Lord” (11)?

Whoever claims that has claimed that someone other than Allah has laid claim to lordship. For had it been (12) as the Jahmiyyah allege—that Allah merely fashioned something—it would have been that fashioned thing which said:

“O Moses, indeed I am Allah, the Lord of the Worlds” (13).

It is not (14) permissible that