and the same applies to calling His Speech a prohibition or a report. He rejected the idea that the Creator, al-Bāriʾ, had ever (1) been an Informer and had ever (2) been a Forbidder. He said: “Allah creates nothing without saying to it, ‘Be,’ and it is impossible (3) that His saying ‘Be’ should itself be created.”

He (4) said: ʿAbd Allah ibn Kullāb claimed that what people (5) hear when they recite it is merely an expression (ʿibāra) of the Speech of Allah; that Moses heard Allah speaking by means of His Speech; and that the meaning of His words, “Give him protection until he hears the Speech of Allah” (Qur’an 9:6) (6) is: until he understands the Speech of Allah.

He (7) added: on Ibn Kullāb’s view it could also mean: until he hears the reciters reciting it.

He (8) further said: Some of those who denied that the Qur’an is created declared that the Qur’an can be written down and heard (9), that it is multifaceted yet uncreated; that knowledge is distinct from power and power from knowledge; and that it is impossible for Allah Most High to be other than His attributes, while His attributes are distinct and He Himself is not subject to distinction.

He (10) said: It has been reported from the advocate of this opinion that he maintained: “Some of the Qur’an is created and some of it is uncreated; whatever portion of it is created is analogous to the attributes of created beings.”